THE WEEK IN CHESS 694 25th February 2008 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Mitko Iliev, Toni Ayza, Tomas Dvorak, Gavin Strachan, Mark Orr, Gaguik Oganessian, Frank Berry, Franz Jittenmeier, Pascal Villalba, Robert Fontaine, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Axel Fritz, Brian Stephenson, George Mirijanian and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Morelia half of the tournament is completed and now the players go on to Linares to finish the event. Viswanathan Anand leads but he has enjoyed a little bit of good fortune to be there with a couple of bad moments. No-one seems in top form so almost anyone can win. For instance Topalov hasn't played that wonderfully and in fact played terribly for his two losses but lies only half a point off the lead. Last placed Peter Leko has also played some good stuff in amongst some very bad moments, not least his round 7 loss to Topalov where someone seemed to take his chess ability away on the run up to first time control. Elsewhere no doubt the Aeroflot Open will be a tremendous source of study and pleasure. The winner Ian Nepomniachtchi is a very interesting young and up and coming player. I couldn't find official confirmation but it seems that the recent prize that the winner is invited to the Dortmund supertournament. If so that could be very interesting indeed. Also Cappelle La Grande used to be one of the strongest opens in the world, the scheduling of Aeroflot at the same time has certainly affected that status but it was still a very interesting event. So plenty of news and games to get your teeth into this week.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Morelia - Linares Tournament

The Morelia - Linares tournament takes place 15th-23rd February (Mexican half) and then 28th February - 7th March 2008 (Spanish half). The first half has been completed and the players now fly to Spain and restart on Friday. Viswanathan Anand leads by half a point from Alexei Shirov and Veselin Topalov but with seven rounds to go almost everyone is still in with a chance of winning.

Alongside was the III Morelia Open tournament which took place 14th-17th February 2008 won by Alejandro Ramirez. No games seem to be available.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares (MEX/ESP), 15 ii-7 iii 2008																	cat. XXI (2756)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2799	*	*	1	.	½	.	0	.	1	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	4½	2851
2.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2755	0	.	*	*	1	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	½	.	4	2805
3.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2780	½	.	0	.	*	*	1	.	0	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	4	2802
4.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2739	1	.	½	.	0	.	*	*	0	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	3½	2758
5.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2733	0	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	*	*	0	.	½	.	½	.	3½	2758
6.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2735	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	*	*	½	.	0	.	3	2708
7.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2751	½	.	½	.	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	1	.	3	2706
8.	Lékó, Peter	g	HUN	2753	0	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	0	.	*	*	2½	2654

Round 4 (February 19, 2008)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	22	C63	Ruy Lopez Schliemann
Shirov, Alexei	- Topalov, Veselin	1-0	63	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Carlsen, Magnus	- Lékó, Peter	½-½	41	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Aronian, Levon	0-1	60	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Round 5 (February 20, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin	- Carlsen, Magnus	0-1	44	B04	Alekhine's Defence
Aronian, Levon	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½	18	A21	English Opening
Radjabov, Teimour	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	38	B46	Sicilian Paulsen
Lékó, Peter	- Anand, Viswanathan	0-1	45	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Round 6 (February 22, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	42	E21	Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3
Aronian, Levon	- Lékó, Peter	½-½	50	A33	English Symmetrical
Radjabov, Teimour	- Carlsen, Magnus	1-0	43	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½	27	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Round 7 (February 23, 2008)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	31	B47	Sicilian Paulsen
Shirov, Alexei	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	44	E98	King's Indian Classical
Carlsen, Magnus	- Aronian, Levon	1-0	40	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Lékó, Peter	- Topalov, Veselin	0-1	38	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation

3rd Morelia Open, 14-17 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 7 Standings:
1	Ramirez, Alejandro	GM	CRC	2509	6
2	Hernandez Guerrero, Gilber	GM	MEX	2548	5.5
3	Huerta, Dayron	FM	CUB	2353	5.5
4	De La Paz Perdomo,Frank	GM	CUB	2441	5.5
5	Blanco Fernandez, Alvaro	IM	MEX	2335	5.5
6	Akobian, Varuzhan	GM	USA	2599	5.5
7	Garmendez Gonzalez, Carlos	FM	MEX	2231	5
8	Capo Vidal, Uriel	FM	MEX	2338	5
9	Dominguez Aguilar, Guiller	FM	MEX	2400	5
10	Vega Garcia, Jorge Arturo	FM	MEX	2273	5
11	Guerrero Rodriguez, Alejan	WIM	MEX	2131	5
12	Gutierrez Carmona, Juan Al		MEX	2205	5
13	Verduga Zavala, Denis	IM	MEX	2359	5
14	Escobedo Tinajero, Alberto	IM	MEX	2374	5
15	Navarrete Mendez, Gonzalo		MEX	2168	5
16	Silva Carmona, Abraham		MEX	1983	5
17	Alford Phillipe, Jason	FM	MEX	2310	4.5
18	Norgaard, Jesper	FM	DEN	2434	4.5
19	De Winter Gallegos, Willy	IM	MEX	2061	4.5
20	Venegas Ocampo, Pablo Juan	FM	MEX	2263	4.5
21	Della Morte, Pablo	FM	ARG	2273	4.5
22	Sanchez Enriquez, Oscar Ge	NM	MEX	2264	4.5
23	Gonzalez Arroyo, Lenin		MEX	2205	4.5
24	Altamirano Gonzalez, Yehud		MEX	2127	4.5
25	Gongora Montes, Benjamin	IM	MEX	2270	4.5
26	Medina Garcia, Manuel Alva		MEX	1931	4.5
95 players

3) Aeroflot Open

The Aeroflot Open took place 14th-22nd February 2008. This is usually regarded as the strongest open of the year with $30,000 US first place and $100,000 US total prizes in the top group (and good prizes in the lower groups). Ian Nepomniachtchi took clear first with 7/9 half a point clear of the field.

Official site: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/

Aeroflot Open Moscow (RUS), 14-22 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk	Name	Ti	NAT	Elo	Score	TPR
1	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	GM	RUS	2600	7.0	2822
2	Motylev, Alexander	GM	RUS	2644	6.5	2761
3	Dreev, Alexey	GM	RUS	2633	6.5	2767
4	Rodshtein, Maxim	GM	ISR	2614	6.0	2717
5	Volokitin, Andrei	GM	UKR	2674	6.0	2706
6	Grachev, Boris	GM	RUS	2601	6.0	2736
7	Guseinov, Gadir	GM	AZE	2617	6.0	2727
8	Amonatov, Farrukh	GM	TJK	2649	6.0	2701
9	Mamedov, Rauf	GM	AZE	2583	5.5	2694
10	Bologan, Viktor	GM	MDA	2663	5.5	2655
11	Asrian, Karen	GM	ARM	2621	5.5	2677
12	Predojevic, Borki	GM	BIH	2641	5.5	2659
13	Sutovsky, Emil	GM	ISR	2642	5.5	2653
14	Azarov, Sergei	GM	BLR	2594	5.5	2611
15	Khismatullin, Denis	GM	RUS	2564	5.0	2648
16	Le, Quang Liem	GM	VIE	2540	5.0	2650
17	Kotanjian, Tigran	GM	ARM	2545	5.0	2647
18	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	GM	FRA	2637	5.0	2599
19	Volkov, Sergey	GM	RUS	2623	5.0	2598
20	Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son	GM	VIE	2551	5.0	2673
21	Zhou, Jianchao	GM	CHN	2551	5.0	2669
22	Minasian, Artashes	GM	ARM	2578	5.0	2647
23	Timofeev, Artyom	GM	RUS	2664	5.0	2643
24	Grigoriants, Sergey	GM	RUS	2583	5.0	2638
25	Najer, Evgeniy	GM	RUS	2634	5.0	2616
26	Akopian, Vladimir	GM	ARM	2700	5.0	2602
27	Jobava, Baadur	GM	GEO	2643	5.0	2609
28	Riazantsev, Alexander	GM	RUS	2628	5.0	2587
29	Dyachkov, Sergej	GM	RUS	2559	4.5	2613
30	Frolyanov, Dmitry	GM	RUS	2544	4.5	2615
31	Hou, Yifan	WGM	CHN	2527	4.5	2605
32	Bindrich, Falko	GM	GER	2497	4.5	2591
33	Khalifman, Alexander	GM	RUS	2638	4.5	2557
34	Lysyj, Igor	GM	RUS	2593	4.5	2521
35	Evdokimov, Alexander A.	GM	RUS	2569	4.5	2630
36	Safarli, Eltaj	IM	AZE	2496	4.5	2576
37	Zhigalko, Andrey	GM	BLR	2556	4.5	2597
38	Feller, Sebastien	GM	FRA	2522	4.5	2605
39	Iordachescu, Viorel	GM	MDA	2586	4.5	2566
40	Jussupow, Artur	GM	GER	2585	4.5	2564
66 players

Aeroflot Open Moscow A2 (RUS), 14-22 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk	Name	Ti	NAT	Elo	Score	TPR
1	Askarov, Marat	GM	RUS	2521	7.0	2710
2	Zhou, Weiqi		CHN	2530	7.0	2703
3	Wan, Yunguo		CHN	2389	6.5	2652
4	Kryakvin, Dmitry	IM	RUS	2535	6.5	2652
5	Kacheishvili, Giorgi	GM	GEO	2544	6.5	2647
6	Dvoirys, Semen I.	GM	RUS	2549	6.0	2590
7	Shaposhnikov, Evgeny	GM	RUS	2537	6.0	2591
8	Solodovnichenko, Yuri	GM	UKR	2541	6.0	2579
9	Yudin, Sergei	IM	RUS	2519	6.0	2569
10	Kalegin, Evgenij	IM	RUS	2480	6.0	2619
11	Maslak, Konstantin	IM	RUS	2510	6.0	2620
12	Novikov, Stanislav	GM	RUS	2545	6.0	2618
13	Iljin, Artem	GM	RUS	2548	6.0	2619
14	Dobrov, Vladimir	GM	RUS	2501	6.0	2562
15	Nakhapetiane, Pogos	FM	RUS	2442	5.5	2585
16	Gorbatov, Alexej	IM	RUS	2384	5.5	2572
17	Petrosian, Davit G.	IM	ARM	2459	5.5	2551
18	Iljushin, Alexei	GM	RUS	2549	5.5	2550
19	Friedel, Joshua E	IM	USA	2487	5.5	2521
20	Bosiocic, Marin	IM	CRO	2498	5.5	2512
21	Gomez, John Paul	IM	PHI	2469	5.5	2468
22	Potapov, Pavel	IM	RUS	2395	5.5	2577
23	Safin, Shukhrat	GM	UZB	2493	5.5	2566
24	Hauchard, Arnaud	GM	FRA	2476	5.5	2555
25	Vorobiov, Evgeny E.	GM	RUS	2537	5.5	2548
26	Magomedov, Magaram	GM	RUS	2530	5.5	2543
27	Bachin, Vitaly	IM	RUS	2488	5.5	2532
28	Salem, A.R. Saleh	FM	UAE	2415	5.0	2533
29	Ovod, Evgenija	IM	RUS	2386	5.0	2532
30	Balashov, Yuri S	GM	RUS	2421	5.0	2522
31	Gubajdullin, Alexei	FM	RUS	2504	5.0	2496
32	Krapivin, Alexander	GM	RUS	2483	5.0	2486
33	Haznedaroglu, Kivanc	IM	TUR	2459	5.0	2459
34	Yagupov, Igor	GM	RUS	2491	5.0	2462
35	Ostrovskiy, Andrey	IM	UKR	2430	5.0	2555
36	Chadaev, Nikolai	IM	RUS	2471	5.0	2530
37	Shimanov, Aleksandr	IM	RUS	2441	5.0	2526
38	Kharlov, Andrei	GM	RUS	2538	5.0	2508
39	Iskusnyh, Sergei	GM	RUS	2478	5.0	2450
92 players

4) 24th Cappelle La Grande Open

The 24th Cappelle La Grande Open took place 16th-23rd February 2008. The winner was GM Vugar Gashimov who scored 7/9 and had the best tie-break ahead of 7 others on 7/9 (Arutinian, Fedorchuk, Kryvoruchko, Chernyshov, Deviatkin, Kotronias and L’Ami). I give all the games again as they added many per round more than I gave last week.

There were 14 norms (17 last year) : # GM : Kravtsiv - Salgado Lopez - Papp - Deviatkin # IM : Gosset - Nabaty - Grandelius - Hrabinska - Melia - Bijaoui - Rasmussen # WGM : Hoolt # WIM : Hoolt - Schuurman

Official site: http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

24th Cappelle La Grande Open (FRA), 16-23 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings
Pl	Surname	First Name	Ti	NAT	Rat	PTS	DEP
1	Gashimov	Vugar	GM	AZE	2665	7.0	2741
2	Arutinian	David	GM	GEO	2576	7.0	2736
3	Fedorchuk	Sergey	GM	UKR	2652	7.0	2735
4	Kryvoruchko	Yuriy	GM	UKR	2597	7.0	2735
5	Chernyshov	Konstantin	GM	RUS	2543	7.0	2722
6	Deviatkin	Andrei	IM	RUS	2543	7.0	2712
7	Kotronias	Vasilios	GM	GRE	2628	7.0	2651
8	L'ami	Erwin	GM	NED	2581	7.0	2637
9	Moiseenko	Alexander	GM	UKR	2643	6.5	2665
10	Vitiugov	Nikita	GM	RUS	2609	6.5	2664
11	Kazhgaleyev	Murtas	GM	KAZ	2594	6.5	2662
12	Malakhatko	Vadim	GM	BEL	2600	6.5	2653
13	Petrosian	Tigran l	GM	ARM	2606	6.5	2653
14	Miroshnichenko	Evgenij	GM	UKR	2647	6.5	2645
15	Kravtsiv	Martyn	IM	UKR	2516	6.5	2642
16	Luther	Thomas	GM	GER	2526	6.5	2632
17	Gulko	Boris F	GM	USA	2550	6.5	2622
18	Kanep	Meelis	GM	EST	2523	6.5	2614
19	Papp	Gabor	IM	HUN	2484	6.5	2611
20	Ulibin	Mikhail	GM	RUS	2518	6.5	2607
21	David	Alberto	GM	LUX	2557	6.5	2606
22	Degraeve	Jean-Marc	GM	FRA	2535	6.5	2601
23	Savchenko	Stanislav	GM	UKR	2558	6.5	2601
24	Renet	Olivier	GM	FRA	2513	6.5	2593
25	Rozentalis	Eduardas	GM	LTU	2567	6.5	2568
26	Simutowe	Amon	IM	ZAM	2457	6.5	2565
27	Sokolov	Andrei	GM	FRA	2594	6.5	2541
28	Szelag	Marcin	IM	POL	2484	6.5	2534
29	Maiorov	Nikita	GM	BLR	2525	6.5	2506
30	Erdos	Viktor	GM	HUN	2575	6.5	2503
31	Llaneza Vega	Marcos	IM	ESP	2445	6.5	2477
32	Salgado Lopez	Ivan	IM	ESP	2459	6.0	2637
33	Oleksienko	Mikhailo	GM	UKR	2590	6.0	2631
34	Timoshenko	Georgy	GM	UKR	2560	6.0	2624
35	Panarin	Mikhail	GM	RUS	2511	6.0	2613
36	Gharamian	Tigran	IM	FRA	2558	6.0	2585
37	Shneider	Aleksandr	GM	UKR	2532	6.0	2567
38	Dervishi	Erald	GM	ALB	2543	6.0	2561
39	Belov	Vladimir	GM	RUS	2578	6.0	2553
40	Li	Shilong	GM	CHN	2502	6.0	2552
41	Olszewski	Michal	IM	POL	2430	6.0	2548
42	Aveskulov	Valeriy	GM	UKR	2532	6.0	2547
43	Dzagnidze	Nana	IM	GEO	2429	6.0	2547
44	Tissir	Mohamed	IM	MAR	2428	6.0	2542
45	Burmakin	Vladimir	GM	RUS	2611	6.0	2534
46	Hess	Robert L	IM	USA	2445	6.0	2530
47	Martinez Martin	David	IM	ESP	2395	6.0	2527
48	Spraggett	Kevin	GM	CAN	2588	6.0	2527
49	Khruschiov	Alexey	GM	MDA	2504	6.0	2526
50	Cyborowski	Lukasz	GM	POL	2543	6.0	2521
51	Banusz	Tamas	IM	HUN	2489	6.0	2520
52	Lalic	Bogdan	GM	CRO	2507	6.0	2519
53	Butnorius	Algimantas	GM	LTU	2441	6.0	2510
54	Sandipan	Chanda	GM	IND	2593	6.0	2505
55	Ghane	Shojaat	IM	IRI	2442	6.0	2503
56	Mamedov	Nidjat	GM	AZE	2574	6.0	2502
57	Gutman	Gennadi	GM	UKR	2496	6.0	2501
58	Grandelius	Nils	FM	SWE	2371	6.0	2500
59	Moroz	Alexander	GM	UKR	2512	6.0	2496
60	Danielian	Elina	IM	ARM	2480	6.0	2494
61	Kharitonov	Alexandr	GM	RUS	2524	6.0	2485
62	Van Der Weide	Karel	GM	NED	2483	6.0	2473
63	Naumkin	Igor	GM	RUS	2475	6.0	2472
64	Rasmussen	Allan stig	FM	DEN	2468	6.0	2465
65	Vera Gonzalez Q	Reynaldo	GM	CUB	2495	6.0	2464
66	Mogranzini	Roberto	IM	ITA	2401	6.0	2461
67	Llorente Zaro	Alfonso	IM	ESP	2435	6.0	2448
68	Khurtsidze	Nino	IM	GEO	2441	6.0	2446
69	Sulskis	Sarunas	GM	LTU	2553	6.0	2444
70	Petkevich	Jusefs	GM	LAT	2434	6.0	2430
71	Wang	Puchen	IM	NZL	2383	6.0	2425
72	Smith	Axel	CF	SWE	2458	6.0	2420
73	Durarbeyli	Vasif	IM	AZE	2392	6.0	2419
74	Grabinsky	Vladimir	IM	UKR	2295	6.0	2416
75	Aloma Vidal	Robert	FM	ESP	2393	6.0	2410
76	Klovans	Janis	GM	LAT	2447	6.0	2359
77	Sandu	Mihaela	IM	ROU	2313	6.0	2349
78	Petrosian	Suren	IM	ARM	2404	6.0	2368
79	Vavrak	Peter	IM	SVK	2472	5.5	2550
80	Zubarev	Alexander	GM	UKR	2491	5.5	2528
612 players

5) 1st Pfalz Open

The 1st Pfalz Open took place in Neustadt a.d. Weinstraße 15th-23rd February 2008. Tomasz Markowski took clear first place with 7.5/9 half a point clear of the field. News: Axel Fritz.

Official site: http://www.pfalzopen.de/ - Live coverage at: http://www.schach.com/neustadt

1st Pfalz Open Neustadt a.d. Weinstrasse (GER), 16-23 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings
Pl	Player	Ti	NAT	Rat	Pts	Buchh	BuSumm
1	Markowski,Tomasz	GM	2585	POL	7.5	48	379.5
2	Tiviakov,Sergei	GM	2649	NED	7	51	373
3	Greenfeld,Alon	GM	2559	ISR	7	49.5	375.5
4	Postny,Evgeny	GM	2627	ISR	7	49.5	372
5	Milov,Leonid	IM	2482	GER	7	48.5	367.5
6	Kempinski,Robert	GM	2590	GER	7	46.5	369
7	Korneev,Oleg	GM	2645	RUS	7	42.5	343.5
8	Graf,Alexander	GM	2586	GER	6.5	49	371.5
9	Khenkin,Igor	GM	2602	GER	6.5	49	368
10	Epishin,Vladimir	GM	2577	RUS	6.5	47	354
11	Berelovich,Aleksa	GM	2606	UKR	6.5	46	366
12	Borovikov,Vladisl	GM	2583	UKR	6.5	46	342
13	Kekelidze,Michail	GM	2454	GEO	6.5	45.5	351
14	Dgebuadze,Alexand	GM	2512	BEL	6.5	45	351.5
15	Teske,Henrik	GM	2493	GER	6.5	44.5	349.5
16	Brener,Ilja	IM	2394	GER	6.5	44	341
17	Djuric,Stefan	GM	2448	SRB	6.5	43	357.5
18	Starostits,Ilmars	IM	2500	LAT	6.5	43	343.5
19	Haba,Petr	GM	2536	CZE	6	51.5	366.5
20	Manolache,Marius	GM	2530	ROU	6	50	363
21	Drozdovskyy,Yuriy	GM	2574	UKR	6	50	358
22	Moldovan,Daniel	IM	2446	ROU	6	48.5	346.5
23	Morawietz,Dieter		2424	GER	6	48	352.5
24	Lauber,Arnd	IM	2417	GER	6	47	344
25	Agopov,Mikael	IM	2444	FIN	6	45	344
26	Chernov,Vadim	IM	2505	ROU	6	45	342
27	Wegerle,Jörg	FM	2415	GER	6	44.5	331
28	Mäurer,Christoph,	FM	2266	GER	6	44	352
29	Helbig,Mark	FM	2343	GER	6	43.5	331.5
30	Dyballa,Markus	FM	2324	GER	6	42.5	345
31	Mezhlumian,Vahram		2264	ARM	6	42	334.5
32	Piasetski,Leon	IM	2308	CAN	6	42	330
33	Heimann,Andreas		2403	GER	6	41.5	315
34	Zdebskaja,Natalia	WGM	2313	UKR	6	40.5	326.5
35	Haker,Johann-Chri		2342	GER	5.5	45	349
36	Kopylov,Michael	IM	2457	UKR	5.5	45	348
37	Schulze,Ulrich	IM	2316	GER	5.5	44.5	351.5
38	Dittmar,Peter	FM	2329	GER	5.5	44.5	342
39	Nekrasov,Michail	IM	2375	UKR	5.5	44	345
40	Sorm,Daniel	FM	2330	FID	5.5	44	315
41	Esterluss,Johanne		2126	GER	5.5	43	345
42	Hillenbrand,Micha		2167	GER	5.5	42.5	346
43	Krockenberger,Mar	FM	2208	GER	5.5	42.5	334.5
44	Ferkingstad,Sjur		2232	NOR	5.5	42.5	332.5
45	Degenhardt,Horst	FM	2286	GER	5.5	42.5	328.5
46	Meiser,Markus		2187	GER	5.5	41.5	333.5
47	Friedrich,Norbert	FM	2306	GER	5.5	41	345.5
48	Frotscher,Thomas		2174	GER	5.5	41	332
49	De Andres Gonalon		2092	ESP	5.5	41	324.5
50	Vogel,Johannes		1954	GER	5.5	41	317.5
51	Wind,Lutz		2174	GER	5.5	40.5	338.5
52	Kopylova,Ljubov	WIM	2218	GER	5.5	40.5	331
53	Piekors,Mark		2094	GER	5.5	38.5	317.5
54	Spitzer,Martin		2223	GER	5.5	37.5	311
55	Müller,Waldemar		2168	GER	5.5	36	327.5
56	Braun,Peter	FM	2309	GER	5.5	35	302.5
57	Weisenburger,Hors		2135	GER	5.5	34.5	307
58	Dushatskiy,Fedor		2206	GER	5.5	32	301
59	Kunz,Konstantin		2161	GER	5	43.5	339
60	Feibert,Fred	FM	2256	GER	5	43	327.5
61	Bongartz,Philipp		1993	GER	5	43	323
62	Busch,Lorenz		2098	GER	5	43	316.5
63	Meier,Volker	FM	2246	GER	5	42.5	336.5
64	Martin,Stefan		2226	GER	5	40.5	329.5
65	Wilhelm,Jochen		2167	GER	5	40.5	319
66	Busch,Andreas		2115	GER	5	40.5	313
67	Schleich,Theodor,		2052	GER	5	40	304
68	Viebahn,Dirk		2177	GER	5	39.5	328.5
69	Dewenter,Ulf		2220	GER	5	39	334
70	Nowik,Volker		2171	GER	5	39	325
71	Frick,Christoph		2271	GER	5	39	321
72	Wurzel,Andre		2193	GER	5	38.5	339.5
73	Wüst,Hans-Heiner,		2072	GER	5	38	301.5
74	Scheeff,Volker		2130	GER	5	37.5	314
75	Schaefer,Michael		2219	GER	5	37	308.5
76	Inhoven,Stefan		2140	GER	5	37	307.5
77	Ludy,Klaus		2134	GER	5	37	304
78	Weber,Dominik		2097	GER	5	36.5	310
79	Hankel,Dennis		2208	GER	5	36.5	300
80	Hauck,Heiko		2170	GER	5	36	309
81	Zweschper,Erich		2146	GER	5	36	308
82	Ackermann,Hans We	FM	2342	GER	5	35.5	315.5
83	Kastek,Thomas		2207	GER	5	35.5	306.5
84	Halt,David		2044	GER	5	35.5	290.5
85	Hansult,Manfred		2042	GER	5	35	301.5
86	Naundorf,Maik		2134	GER	5	34.5	320
87	Kaiser,Elmar		2142	GER	5	34	312.5
88	Bohne,Lutz		2135	GER	5	33	309.5
193 players

6) Ibero-Americano Championship

The II Ibero-Americano Championship took place in Morelia, Mexico 14th-19th February and produced 8 qualifiers from 4 groups. The event then moves to Linares, Spain 28th February - 8th March 2008 for the final phase. The qualifiers are: Giovanni Vescovi (BRA), Oscar de la Riva (AND) (substituting for Juan C. González who finished 2nd in group A but presumably can't make the trip to Spain), Diego Flores (ARG), Lázaro Bruzón (CUB), Julio Granda (PER), Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN), Axel Bachman (PAR) and Holden Hernández (CUB).

Official sites: http://www.fibda.com/ and http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

II ch-Ibero-Americano Gp A Morelia (MEX), 15-19 ii 2008										cat. IX (2454)
					1	2	3	4	5	6
1.	Vescovi, Giovanni	g	BRA	2617	*	1	½	½	1	1	4	2661
2.	Gonzalez Zamora, Juan Carlos	g	MEX	2556	0	*	1	1	1	1	4	2673
3.	De la Riva Aguado, Oscar	g	AND	2548	½	0	*	½	1	1	3	2507
4.	Valdes, Leonardo	m	CRC	2401	½	0	½	*	0	1	2	2392
5.	Bermudez Adams, William		PUR	2183	0	0	0	1	*	1	2	2436
6.	Roselli Mailhe, Bernardo	m	URU	2420	0	0	0	0	0	*	0

II ch-Ibero-Americano Gp B Morelia (MEX), 15-19 ii 2008										cat. IX (2460)
					1	2	3	4	5	6
1.	Flores, Diego	m	ARG	2558	*	½	1	1	1	1	4½	2806
2.	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	g	CUB	2607	½	*	1	½	1	1	4	2670
3.	Galego, Luis	g	POR	2529	0	0	*	½	1	1	2½	2446
4.	Escobar Forero, Alder	m	COL	2461	0	½	½	*	0	1	2	2388
5.	Davila, Carlos	m	NCA	2376	0	0	0	1	*	1	2	2405
6.	Lorenzana, Wilson Estuardo	f	GUA	2230	0	0	0	0	0	*	0

II ch-Ibero-Americano Gp C Morelia (MEX), 15-19 ii 2008										cat. IX (2465)
					1	2	3	4	5	6
1.	Granda Zuniga, Julio E	g	PER	2588	*	½	1	½	1	1	4	2680
2.	Iturrizaga, Eduardo	m	VEN	2470	½	*	½	1	½	1	3½	2612
3.	Illescas Cordoba, Miguel	g	ESP	2605	0	½	*	½	1	1	3	2508
4.	Ibarra Chami, Luis Fernando	m	MEX	2364	½	0	½	*	½	1	2½	2484
5.	Matamoros Franco, Carlos S	g	ECU	2529	0	½	0	½	*	½	1½	2302
6.	Guillen Ramirez, Jose Antonio	f	HON	2232	0	0	0	0	½	*	½	2145

II ch-Ibero-Americano Gp D Morelia (MEX), 15-19 ii 2008										cat. IX (2460)
					1	2	3	4	5	6
1.	Bachmann, Axel	g	PAR	2505	*	½	1	½	1	1	4	2691
2.	Hernandez Carmenates, Holden	g	CUB	2590	½	*	½	½	1	1	3½	2583
3.	Khamrakulov, Ibragim S	g	ESP	2589	0	½	*	1	½	1	3	2506
4.	Arias, Lemmys A	f	ESA	2293	½	½	0	*	1	1	3	2565
5.	Zambrana, Oswaldo	g	BOL	2492	0	0	½	0	*	1	1½	2304
6.	Baules, Jorge	f	PAN	2291	0	0	0	0	0	*	0

7) German Championships

The 79th German Championship took place in Bad Woerishofen 15th-23rd February 2008. The event was won by the ELO favourite Daniel Fridman, a point clear of Klaus Bischoff.

Official site: http://www.schachclub-tuerkheim-bw.de/

79th ch-GER Bad Woerishofen (GER), 15-23 ii 2008
Pl	Player	Ti	NAT	ELO	Pts	Av Op	Buchh
1.	Fridman,Daniel	GM	GER	2627	7.5	2475	46.0
2.	Bischoff,Klaus	GM	GER	2537	6.5	2506	48.5
3.	Kritz,Leonid	GM	GER	2592	6.0	2527	50.5
4.	Kunin,Vitaly	GM	GER	2538	6.0	2488	49.5
5.	Buhmann,Rainer	GM	GER	2570	6.0	2468	47.0
6.	Baramidze,David	GM	GER	2582	6.0	2461	49.0
7.	Henrichs,Thomas	IM	GER	2481	6.0	2449	42.5
8.	Gustafsson,Jan	GM	GER	2607	5.5	2492	49.5
9.	Markgraf,Alexander	FM	GER	2442	5.5	2490	46.0
10.	Chevelevitch,Evgueni		GER	2456	5.5	2455	47.5
11.	Siebrecht,Sebastian	IM	GER	2487	5.5	2452	44.0
12.	Zude,Arno	IM	GER	2452	5.5	2384	34.5
13.	Tischbierek,Raj	GM	GER	2487	5.5	2367	39.5
14.	Hausrath,Daniel	IM	GER	2507	5.0	2440	45.5
15.	Gschnitzer,Oswald,Dr.	IM	GER	2408	5.0	2423	42.0
16.	Huschenbeth,Niclas		GER	2437	5.0	2396	37.5
17.	Rotstein,Arkadij	GM	GER	2548	5.0	2366	39.0
18.	Levin,Felix	GM	GER	2563	5.0	2360	42.0
19.	Braun,Arik	IM	GER	2536	4.5	2500	48.0
20.	Jorczik,Julian	FM	GER	2286	4.5	2449	43.5
21.	Naumann,Alexander	GM	GER	2541	4.5	2441	44.0
22.	Lichmann,Peter		GER	2334	4.5	2436	42.5
23.	Schütze,Norman		GER	2317	4.5	2430	41.0
24.	Kachiani-Gersinska,Ketino	IM	GER	2395	4.5	2335	34.0
25.	Heinig,Wolfram,Dr.	FM	GER	2338	4.5	2330	37.0
26.	Tabatt,Hendrik		GER	2310	4.5	2284	33.5
27.	Meister,Jakob	IM	GER	2491	4.0	2439	46.0
28.	Grimberg,Boris		GER	2261	4.0	2429	41.0
29.	Wehner,Janis		GER	2184	4.0	2410	41.5
30.	Reuß,Andreas	FM	GER	2326	4.0	2371	37.5
31.	Pajeken,Wolfgang	FM	GER	2361	4.0	2363	36.5
32.	Krause,Ullrich	FM	GER	2276	4.0	2349	37.0
33.	Bastian,Herbert	IM	GER	2385	4.0	2265	30.5
34.	Pähtz,Elisabeth	IM	GER	2420	3.5	2414	29.5
35.	Neerforth,Philipp		GER	2258	3.5	2377	39.0
36.	Graf,Felix		GER	2177	3.5	2377	37.5
37.	Sieber,Patrick		GER	2236	3.5	2357	34.0
38.	Salov,Sergej	IM	GER	2279	3.5	2305	32.5
39.	Namyslo,Holger	FM	GER	2327	3.5	2264	31.5
40.	Kesten,Sebastian		GER	2048	3.0	2342	33.5
41.	Schunk,Thomas	FM	GER	2284	3.0	2330	34.0
42.	Bischoff,Dieter		GER	2155	3.0	2325	30.0
43.	Schlenker,Jörg		GER	2297	2.5	2325	36.0
44.	Solonar,Stefan	IM	GER	2371	2.5	2281	22.5
45.	Goy,Udo		GER	2282	2.0	2282	34.0
46.	Gschwendtner,Michael		GER	2301	1.0	2315	17.0

8) European Senior Team Championships

The 10th European Senior Team Championship took place in Dresden, 11th-19th February 2008. A team from the Czech Republic headed by Vlastimil Jansa won with 7 wins and 2 drawn matches.

Official site: http://www.schachfestival.de/

10th TCh-Euro sen Dresden (GER), 11-19 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
1	2	Czech Republic	2403	7	2	0	16-2	23.5	108
1		Jansa, Vlastimil	2486	2	2	0	3.0 - 1.0	17	11.75
2		Lechtynsky, Jiri	2422	3	6	0	6.0 - 3.0	46	31.25
3		Pribyl, Josef	2367	3	6	0	6.0 - 3.0	54	36.25
4		Trapl, Jindrich	2337	3	3	2	4.5 - 3.5	44	22.75
5		Sikora-Lerch, Jan	2260	2	4	0	4.0 - 2.0	30	20.5
2	1	Stiller Don Rostov	2468	7	1	1	15-3	26	108
1		Tseshkovsky, Vitaly	2504	5	3	1	6.5 - 2.5	40.5	30.5
2		Pushkov, Nikolai	2513	3	3	3	4.5 - 4.5	45	19.25
3		Zakharov, Alexander	2427	6	2	1	7.0 - 2.0	43	31
4		Petrushin, Alexander	2426	7	2	0	8.0 - 1.0	35.5	31
3	4	Moscow	2393	6	3	0	15-3	23	104
1		Chernikov, Oleg	2408	2	6	1	5.0 - 4.0	46	22.75
2		Shabanov, Yury	2451	4	5	0	6.5 - 2.5	44.5	31
3		Kremenietsky, Anatoly	2354	5	4	0	7.0 - 2.0	43.5	32.5
4		Arkhangelsky, Boris	2358	3	3	3	4.5 - 4.5	39.5	16
4	3	Germany	2395	5	3	1	13-5	23.5	108
1		Uhlmann,Wolfgang	2434	2	6	0	5.0 - 3.0	42.5	26
2		Donchenko,Anatoly	2361	1	6	0	4.0 - 3.0	34	19
3		Hecht,Hans-Joachim	2387	4	3	0	5.5 - 1.5	30	23.25
4		Klundt,Klaus	2378	2	4	1	4.0 - 3.0	36.5	19
5		Malich,Burkhard,Dr.	2380	4	2	1	5.0 - 2.0	30	17.25
5	9	Catalonia	2275	6	1	2	13-5	20.5	98
1		Rodriguez, Orestes	2428	5	1	3	5.5 - 3.5	43.5	23.25
2		Simon Padros, Emili	2251	2	5	1	4.5 - 3.5	31	16.25
3		Anguera Maestro, Jaime	2223	3	4	1	5.0 - 3.0	37	21.25
4		Buxade Roca, Guillermo	2199	2	2	2	3.0 - 3.0	28.5	10.75
5		Coll Enriquez, Lluis	2168	1	3	1	2.5 - 2.5	28	14
6	7	WIS Odessa	2307	6	1	2	13-5	20.5	94
1		Murey, Jakob	2411	0	0	9	0.0 - 9.0	48	0
2		Malisov, Boris	2350	7	1	1	7.5 - 1.5	37	27
3		Kaminik,Aleksandar	2247	4	5	0	6.5 - 2.5	39	27.5
4		Rodkin,Rafael	2218	5	3	1	6.5 - 2.5	40.5	29.25
7	5	Switzerland	2316	5	2	2	12-6	22.5	107
1		Korchnoi,Viktor,Dr.	2605	7	1	1	7.5 - 1.5	43.5	35
2		Vucenovic, Dragomir	2304	3	5	1	5.5 - 3.5	42	25.25
3		Hohler,Peter,Dr.	2184	0	6	0	3.0 - 3.0	29.5	14.75
4		Glauser,Hansruedi,Dr.	2169	3	2	2	4.0 - 3.0	36	20.25
5		Illi,Hans-Joerg	2167	1	3	1	2.5 - 2.5	25.5	12
8	6	SF Katernberg	2308	6	0	3	12-6	18.5	95
1		Rosen,Willy	2335	3	0	4	3.0 - 4.0	37.5	16
2		Neese,Hans-Joachim	2306	0	3	3	1.5 - 4.5	28.5	5.75
3		Schippan,Bernhard	2300	4	4	0	6.0 - 2.0	32	22.25
4		Nautsch,Werner	2290	3	2	3	4.0 - 4.0	39.5	15.75
5		Krüger,Erich	2200	3	2	2	4.0 - 3.0	30	12.5
9	14	St. Petersburg	2251	5	1	3	11-7	23	104
1		Turikov, Viktor	2334	4	3	2	5.5 - 3.5	41	22
2		Loktiev,Ivan	2327	2	5	2	4.5 - 4.5	50	24.75
3		Grinberg, Iosif	2268	5	3	1	6.5 - 2.5	44	32
4		Bagrunov,Vladimir	2074	5	3	1	6.5 - 2.5	33.5	23.25
10	17	Finland 1	2236	3	5	1	11-7	23	99
1		Westerinen, Heikki	2362	3	5	1	5.5 - 3.5	43	23.5
2		Hurme, Harri	2215	3	4	2	5.0 - 4.0	43.5	21.25
3		Kanko, Ilkka	2219	5	2	2	6.0 - 3.0	41.5	25.75
4		Aijala,Jouko	2146	6	1	2	6.5 - 2.5	31	20.75
68 teams

9) Festival des Jeux

The Festival des Jeux took place in Cannes, France 11th-17th February 2008. Christian Bauer won the event on tie-break from Ruben Felgaer and Joseph Sanchez after all finished on 7/9.

Official site: http://www.cannes-echecs.org

Festival des Jeux Cannes (FRA), 11-17 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Pl	Name	Ti	Elo	NAT	Pts	Tr.	Perf	Bu.
1	BAUER Christian	g	2614	FRA	7	44½	2662	53½
2	FELGAER Ruben	g	2539	ARG	7	43½	2678	52½
3	SANCHEZ Joseph	m	2492	PHI	7	43½	2634	52
4	HAMDOUCHI Hichem	g	2576	MAR	6½	42½	2556	50½
5	CVITAN Ognjen	g	2535	CRO	6½	41	2557	47½
6	ANTAL Gergely	m	2467	HUN	6½	41	2513	49½
7	GLADYSZEV Oleg	m	2485	RUS	6½	40	2476	48
8	LAZIC Miroljub	g	2512	SRB	6½	39½	2522	48
9	SARIC Ante	g	2438	CRO	6	43	2487	49
10	MILADINOVIC Igor	g	2604	SRB	6	42½	2545	51
11	HORVATH Jozsef	g	2519	HUN	6	40½	2485	49
12	BUJISHO Benjamin	m	2387	FRA	6	40	2461	46
13	DONCEA Vladimir		2444	FRA	6	40	2456	48½
14	MIDOUX Sebastien		2338	FRA	6	38½	2461	45½
15	PISCOPO Pierluigi	m	2357	ITA	6	38½	2459	42½
16	DVIRNYY Daniyyl	f	2326	ITA	6	38	2420	46
17	VERNAY Clovis	f	2391	FRA	6	34½	2321	40
18	ANIC Darko	g	2448	FRA	5½	43	2478	50
19	APICELLA Manuel	g	2544	FRA	5½	42	2431	51½
20	LAMOUREUX Charles	m	2354	FRA	5½	41½	2405	48
21	DIMITROV Christo	f	2286	FRA	5½	41	2490	49½
22	FARGERE Francois	f	2324	FRA	5½	38½	2399	46
23	CORNETTE Matthieu	m	2491	FRA	5½	38	2400	45
24	DOBREV Nanko	m	2427	BUL	5½	37½	2330	44½
25	DEMUTH Adrien		2249	FRA	5½	37½	2285	45
26	RIFF Vincent	f	2317	FRA	5½	37	2414	44½
27	QENDRO Llambi	m	2396	ALB	5½	36½	2324	43
28	SULAVA Nenad	g	2494	CRO	5½	36	2320	43
29	SCHARRER Patrick		2225	ITA	5½	35½	2335	40½
30	OLIVIER Jean-Christophe	m	2365	FRA	5½	35	2309	43
31	SANCHEZ Nicolas		2216	FRA	5½	31½	2180	38½
32	CORDARA Michele	f	2117	ITA	5½	30	2238	34
108 players

10) Brentwood Chess Congress

Gavin Strachan reports on the 2nd Brentwood International Chess Congress 16th-17th February 2008.

The 2nd Brentwood International took place at Brentwood School Sports Hall and once again the Masters Open section fielded had a good selection of strong titled players. Three times British Champion GM Jonathon Rowson headed the field with GM’s Matthew Turner and Neil McDonald leading a strong pack of titled players chasing after the £1000 first prize. Like last year, any small slip doesn’t go unpunished, and Rowson drew against FM Martin Walker in the first round. Rowson went on to admit that he was lucky to get a draw as he thought he had the worse position. IM Graeme Buckley could also only manage a draw against Bonafont and FM David Ledger lost against Ian Wallis.

In the 2nd round it was the turn of GM Matthew Turner and IM Dagne Ciuksyte to get surprise draws against Paul Talsma, a Dutch player currently resident in Norwich, and Dominic Gibbs respectively. In the next couple of rounds IM Sam Collins dropped off the pace after a draw against Alan Hanreck followed by a loss against Nigerian IM Odion Aikhoje.

In the final round four players were tied in first place on 3½: GM Jonathon Rowson, GM Neil MacDonald, IM Jovanka Houska, and IM Odion Aikhoje. Aikhoje faced MacDonald’s Dutch defence (the only opening he had played as Black all tournament) and Houska played against Rowson. As with many weekend congresses, not only are you battling against the opponent, but you are also trying to keep up with time. MacDonald lost to Aikhoje after being desperately short on time and the Houska also struggled for time in her game against Rowson.

So the 2nd Brentwood International Chess Congress Masters Open section ended with GM Jonathon Rowson and IM Odion Aikhoje in joint first. Other winners were Ali Kikoyo who was outright winner of the Brentwood Major section, and Radha Jain and Adrian Riley tied for first place in the Warley Minor section.

Official site: http://www.bichesscongress.co.uk

2nd Int Open Congress Brentwood (ENG), 16-17 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 5 Standings:
1	Aikhoje, Odion	m	NGR	2260	4½
2	Rowson, Jonathan	g	SCO	2580	4½
3	Ciuksyte, Dagne	m	ENG	2377	4
4	Spence, David J		ENG	2198	4
5	Turner, Matthew J	g	ENG	2482	4
6	Buckley, Graeme N	m	ENG	2392	3½
7	Houska, Jovanka	m	ENG	2393	3½
8	McDonald, Neil	g	ENG	2386	3½
9	Bonafont, Philip R		ENG	2103	3
10	Collins, Sam E IRL	m	IRL	2394	3
11	Eames, Robert S	f	ENG	2294	3
12	Fordham,Nicholas		ENG	----	3
13	Haldane, Robin W		ENG	2153	3
14	Haydon, David L		ENG	2108	3
15	Mutale, Elizabeth		ZAM	1828	3
16	Poobalasingam, Peter S		ENG	2165	3
17	Radovanovic, Jovica	f	SRB	2340	3
18	Sen, Subin		ENG	2010	3
19	Talsma, Paul		NED	2235	3
42 players

11) 1st ZSKA Open

The 1st ZSKA Open took place in Sofia 23rd-24th February 2008. Svetozar Tzekov edged out Georgi Filev on tie-break after both finsihed on 5/6. News: Mitko Iliev.

Official site: http://www.geocities.com/mitko74/sofia/zska.html

1st ZSKA Open Sofia (BUL), 23-24 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 6 Standings:
1	Tzekov, Svetozar		BUL	2219	5	15.6
2	Filev, Georgi		BUL	2353	5	0.9
3	Orev, Petar	m	BUL	2228	4.5	11.5
4	Andreev, Dobrotich		BUL	2124	4	11.4
5	Mitrev, Kiril		BUL	2149	4	3.1
6	Andreev, Stanislav		BUL	2101	4	4.4
7	Stanev,Ivan		BUL	----	3.5	8.5
8	Nikolov, Savko		BUL	1973	3.5	-0.2
9	Garnizov,Ivan		BUL	----	3.5	90.7
10	Dimitrova,Asenia		BUL	----	3.5	21.8
11	Nikolova, Adriana	wf	BUL	2194	3	-17.2
22 players

12) Bunratty Chess Festival

The Bunratty Chess Festival took place 22nd-24th February 2008. Peter Svidler won the event with 5.5/6. Some games will become available.

Official site: http://members.aol.com/bunrattychess/

Bunratty Chess Festival 22-24 ii 2008 Final Round 6 Standings:
Pl	Name	Ti	NAT	Rat	Pts
1	Svidler, Peter	GM	RUS	2763	5.5
2	Baburin, Alexander	GM	IRL	2542	5
3	Pert, Nicholas	GM	ENG	2528	4.5
4	Lopez, Alex	FM	IRL	2340	4.5
5	Thorfinnsson, Bjorn	FM	ISL	2364	4.5
6	Johannesson, Ingvar Thor	FM	ISL	2338	4.5
7	Quinn, Mark	IM	IRL	2403	4
8	Jones, Gawain	GM	ENG	2562	4
9	Wall, Gavin	IM	ENG	2305	4
10	Heidenfeld, Mark	IM	IRL	2343	4
11	Collins, Sam	IM	IRL	2394	3.5
12	Short, Philip	FM	IRL	2300	3.5
13	Cooper, Lawrence	IM	ENG	2306	3.5
14	Heinrich, Jan		SVK	2133	3.5
15	Gunnarsson, Jon	IM	ISL	2429	3.5
16	McPhillips, Karl		IRL	2236	3.5
17	Murphy, Dara		IRL	1956	3.5
18	Williams, Simon	GM	ENG	2482	3
19	Galligan, Brian		IRL	2041	3
20	Bjornsson, Gunnar		ISL	2149	3
21	Einarsson, Kristinn		ISL	2067	3
22	Aoustin, Arnaud		FRA	2130	3
23	Griffiths, Ryan-Rhys		IRL	2039	3
24	Quinn, Rory		IRL	2122	3
25	Fleuren, Jan		NED	2123	3
26	Wolferink, Frans		NED	2163	3
27	Healy, Tom		IRL	2016	3
28	Wijnhoven, Theo		NED	2039	3
29	O'Shea, Kevin		IOM	2035	3
30	Fox, Anthony		IRL	2100	2.5
31	Fitzsimons, David		IRL	2115	2.5
32	Osborne, Sam		IRL	2045	2.5
33	Murray, David		IRL	2019	2.5
34	Wilson, Alexandra	WFM	SUI	2070	2.5
35	Orr, Mark	IM	SCO	2258	2.5
36	Hanly, Steven		IRL	2020	2.5
37	Cafolla, Peter		IRL	2048	2.5
38	Schoonenberg, Olav		NED	2036	2.5
39	O'Connor, Eddie		IRL	2003	2.5
40	Armstrong, Malcolm		ENG	2109	2
41	Lyons, Brendan		IRL	2115	2
42	McCabe, Darren		IRL	2106	2
43	O'Donoghue, D.J.		IRL	2090	2
44	Delaney, Killian		IRL	2001	2
45	Short, Stephen		IRL	2033	1.5
46	Crichton, Martin		ENG	2109	1.5
47	Eliens, Arno		NED	2004	1.5
48	Duffy, Seamus		IRL	1873	1

13) 25th Bled Chess Festival

The 25th Chess Festival BLED takes place 23rd February - 2nd March 2008. Milan Drasko leads on 3/3.

Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/bled/2008/

25th Festival Open A Bled (SLO), 23 ii-1 iii 2008 Leading Round 3 (of 9) Standings:
Pl	Name	Ti	NAT	ELO	Pts
1	Drasko,Milan	GM	MNE	2540	3
2	Sedlak,Nikola	GM	SRB	2568	2.5
3	Sebenik,Matej	IM	SLO	2479	2.5
4	Skoberne,Jure	IM	SLO	2484	2.5
5	Lenic,Luka	GM	SLO	2568	2.5
6	Okhotnik,Vladimir	IM	FRA	2460	2.5
7	Romanishin,Oleg M	GM	UKR	2528	2.5
8	Sveshnikov,Evgeny	GM	LAT	2506	2.5
9	Dimitrov,Radoslav		BUL	2341	2.5
10	Barle,Janez	IM	SLO	2396	2.5
11	Pavasovic,Dusko	GM	SLO	2601	2
12	Khmelniker,Ilya	IM	ISR	2469	2
13	Klenburg,Mikhail	IM	UKR	2428	2
14	Zorko,Jure	FM	SLO	2333	2
15	Cebalo,Miso	GM	CRO	2547	2
16	Dimitrov,Pavel	IM	BUL	2448	2
17	Soln,Primoz	IM	SLO	2384	2
18	Muzychuk,Mariya	GM	UKR	2357	2
19	Stojanovic,Andjelija	IM	SRB	2310	2
20	Gjuran,Denis	FM	SLO	2309	2
21	Fucak,Emilio	FM	CRO	2296	2
22	Gombac,Jan	FM	SLO	2293	2
54 players

14) Nancy Chess Festival

The 6th international Festival took place in Nancy, France 18th-24th February 2008. There were 14 all-play-all events. The top two sections were a Category XII GM tournament won by Christian Bauer with 6.5/9 and a Category IV IM event won by Oleg Gladyszev of Russian on tie-break from RB Ramesh, both players also scored 6.5/9.

Official site: http://echecs54.free.fr/

6th Festival Gp A Nancy (FRA), 18-24 ii 2008												cat. XII (2528)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Bauer, Christian	g	FRA	2614	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	6½	2684
2.	Landa, Konstantin	g	RUS	2641	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	6	2640
3.	Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas	m	CAN	2442	½	½	*	½	1	½	½	½	0	1	5	2580
4.	Gozzoli, Yannick	m	FRA	2510	½	½	½	*	0	½	½	½	1	1	5	2573
5.	Miladinovic, Igor	g	SRB	2604	½	½	0	1	*	0	0	1	½	1	4½	2519
6.	Riff, Jean-Noel	m	FRA	2474	0	0	½	½	1	*	½	½	1	½	4½	2534
7.	Sikula, Vaszilij	m	UKR	2550	0	0	½	½	1	½	*	½	0	1	4	2482
8.	Marzolo, Cyril	m	FRA	2474	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	3½	2454
9.	Guliyev, Namig	g	AZE	2570	0	0	1	0	½	0	1	½	*	½	3½	2443
10.	Nezar, Mustapha	f	FRA	2404	½	½	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	*	2½	2376

6th Festival Gp B Nancy (FRA), 18-24 ii 2008												cat. IV (2340)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Gladyszev, Oleg	m	RUS	2485	*	1	1	0	½	1	1	½	½	1	6½	2489
2.	Ramesh, R.B	g	IND	2473	0	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	6½	2491
3.	Delorme, Axel	f	FRA	2366	0	0	*	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	6	2461
4.	Spielmann, Alain	f	FRA	2279	1	½	0	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	5½	2426
5.	Ramaswamy, Aarthie	wg	IND	2322	½	½	½	0	*	1	0	½	1	0	4	2298
6.	Paci, Cedric	f	FRA	2301	0	½	0	½	0	*	1	1	0	1	4	2301
7.	Berend, Fred	m	LUX	2343	0	0	0	0	1	0	*	1	1	1	4	2296
8.	Genzling, Alain		FRA	2264	½	0	½	½	½	0	0	*	½	1	3½	2268
9.	Pucher, Sebastien		FRA	2241	½	0	0	½	0	1	0	½	*	½	3	2225
10.	Fayard, Alain	f	FRA	2324	0	0	0	½	1	0	0	0	½	*	2	2121

15) 65th Polish Championship

The 65th Polish Chess Championship takes place in Lublin 25th February -9th March 2008

Official site: http://www.lzszach.lublin.pl/mpm2008/ There is live coverage.

65th ch-POL Lublin (POL), 2 ii-9 iii 2008																cat. XIII (2553)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Gajewski, Grzegorz	g	POL	2594	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1
2.	Szoen, Dariusz	m	POL	2491	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1
3.	Bobras, Piotr	g	POL	2581	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2476
4.	Bartel, Mateusz	g	POL	2613	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2609
5.	Czakon, Jakub	m	POL	2504	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2506
6.	Grabarczyk, Miroslaw	g	POL	2476	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2581
7.	Heberla, Bartlomiej	g	POL	2506	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2504
8.	Miton, Kamil	g	POL	2609	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2613
9.	Dziuba, Marcin	g	POL	2556	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	½	2635
10.	Lubczynski, Rafal	m	POL	2413	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	½	2614
11.	Socko, Bartosz	g	POL	2635	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	½	2556
12.	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	g	POL	2614	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	½	2413
13.	Macieja, Bartlomiej	g	POL	2617	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	0
14.	Moranda, Wojciech	m	POL	2533	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	0

16) 60th Polish Women's Championship

The 60th Polish Women's Championship took place in Krakow 14th-24th February 2008. Monica Socko won the event with a 9/11 score half a point clear of Joanna Majdan.

Official site: http://www.mp-kobiet.net/

60th ch-POL w Krakow POL (POL), 14-24 ii 2008															cat. I (2266)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Socko, Monika	m	POL	2479	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	9	2509
2.	Majdan, Joanna	wm	POL	2293	½	*	1	1	0	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	8½	2475
3.	Warakomska, Anna	wf	POL	2181	½	0	*	1	1	½	0	0	1	1	½	½	6	2310
4.	Zawadzka, Jolanta	wg	POL	2410	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	6	2289
5.	Przezdziecka, Marta	wm	POL	2277	0	1	0	½	*	1	½	1	0	0	1	1	6	2301
6.	Kulon, Klaudia	wf	POL	2128	0	0	½	½	0	*	1	½	1	1	½	1	6	2315
7.	Toma, Katarzyna	wm	POL	2259	½	½	1	0	½	0	*	½	0	½	1	1	5½	2267
8.	Dworakowska, Joanna	m	POL	2353	0	½	1	0	0	½	½	*	½	0	1	1	5	2222
9.	Czarnota, Dorota	wm	POL	2214	0	0	0	½	1	0	1	½	*	½	½	1	5	2235
10.	Szczepkowska-Horowska, Karina	wm	POL	2293	0	0	0	0	1	0	½	1	½	*	1	1	5	2228
11.	Krupa, Monika	wm	POL	2266	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	0	½	0	*	1	3	2091
12.	Golek, Jagoda		POL	2044	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	*	1	1903

17) OCF Stillwater Winter FIDE Open

The 2008 OCF Stillwater Winter FIDE Open took place 16th-18th February, 2008. FM Movses Movsisyan of Norman, OK and IM John Donaldson of Berkeley, CA tied for first with 5.5 pts from 7 rounds. Players from 7 states and 3 countries took place. Bad weather has been blamed on the low attendance of 40 players of which 18 were FIDE rated. IA Frank K. Berry was the chief TD assisted by Jim Berry and Dennis Glascock. Event was organized by the Oklahoma Chess Foundation. The city of Stillwater, Oklahoma was recognized in 2007 by the USChess Fed as the Chess City of the Year in the USA for holding the 2007 FKB USA Championships there. My thanks to Frank K. Berry for this report.

Official site: http://okchess.org/

Stillwater Winter FIDE Oklahoma (USA), 16-18 ii 2008 Leading Final Round 7 Standings:
1	Movsisyan, Movses	f	USA	2247	5.5
2	Donaldson, John W	m	USA	2420	5.5
3	Langer, Michael	f	USA	2314	5
4	Mokriak, Liudmila	wm	UKR	2147	5
5	Holt, Conrad		USA	2169	5
6	Orton, William R		USA	2158	4.5
7	Galant, Sergey		USA	2248	4.5
8	Simms, Gary		USA	2128	4.5
9	Braunlich, Tom		USA	2164	4.5
10	Hughes,Devin		USA	----	4.5
11	Nugent, Michael A		USA	1915	4
12	Glascock, Dennis G		USA	1941	4
13	Cao,Kevin		USA	----	4
14	Cao,Henry		USA	----	4
15	Harvey,Mike		USA	----	4
16	Fernandez, Jaime		USA	2048	4
17	Umbarger,Lance		USA	----	3.5
18	Berry, James E		USA	2087	3.5
19	Miller,Matt		USA	----	3.5
20	Kline,Les		USA	----	3.5
21	Simo, Judit		HUN	2022	3
22	Trammell, George		USA	2058	3
40 players

18) Bermuda Open

The Bermuda Open took place 7th-11th February, 2008. Alexander Ivanov won the trophy and the return trip in a play-off against Nick DeFirmian (all the games were drawn, but Nick was white in the Armageddon) in the blitz play-ff. They did not meet in the Open and Moses Mufandaedza met neither (his loss was to Lawrence Cooper, who was the only one to play both GMs, but not Dean Ippolito. News: Nigel P B Freeman.

Carol Jarecki article on the USCF site I've now converted the 3 games in this article into PGN.

Bermuda Open (BER), 7-11 ii 2008 Final Round 5 Standings:
Pl.	Name	Title	NAT	Elo	Score
1-2	Nick De Firmian	GM	USA	2539	4.5
	Alexander Ivanov	GM	USA	2554	4.5
3	Moses Mufandzaedza		BER	1920	4
4-7	Lawrence Cooper	IM	ENG	2306	3.5
	Dean Ippolito	IM	USA	2417	3.5
	Paul Mac Intyre	FM	USA	2299	3.5
	Denis Strenzwilk		USA	2121	3.5
8-12	Conrad Ho		CAN	2053	3
	Esther Epstein	WIM	USA	2179	3
	Michael Radford		BER		3
	Gordon Ritchie		CAN		3
	Doug Pacchiana		USA		3
30 players

19) XI Malaga Open

The XI Malaga Open takes place 23rd February - 1st March 2008. Lars Karlsson leads on 4/4. More next week.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezmalaga.org/ and results updated at: http://chess-results.com/tnr10811.aspx

20) 32nd Queen City Open

George Mirijanian reports: The 32nd Queen City Open took place on 9th-10th February 2008 at the Comfort Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. IM David Vigorito, 37, of Lowell, Massachusetts scored 3.5-0.5 to finish first in the championship section. FM Braden Bournival, 23, of Manchester, N.H., took second place with a 3-1 tally. Tied for third place with 2.5-1.5 performances were IM Joseph Fang, 48, of Nashua, N.H.; FM John Curdo, 76, of Auburn, Massachusetts; and U.S. Chess Federation-rated Class A contestant John Elmore, 34, of Hampton Falls, N.H. The two-day event drew 39 players in four sections, with an additional ten players competing in a one-day tournament on February 10th. Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester directed for the sponsoring New Hampshire Chess Association. Complete results are available at: http://masschess.org

21) Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship

The Final of the 2007-2008 Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship took place at Oakham School on 16th February. 33 solvers took part, including for the first time all six titled British solvers, and two guests from overseas, Dutch GM Dolf Wissmann and ex-World Champion Piotr Murdzia, from Poland. The British title was expected to be a duel between the defending champion and current World Champion John Nunn and Jonathan Mestel, himself a former World Champion.

The event consists of six timed rounds, each involving a different type of problem, and saw a return to form for Piotr Murdzia, who had a poor 2007 by his elevated standards. Murdzia led throughout, and won the event by a big margin. Nunn had a disastrous second round, dropping 6 of the 10 points on the mates in 3, which left him in 7th place overall, 6 points behind Mestel. A determined fightback fell just short, and Mestel took the title by a ½ point, the fifteenth time he has won the British title. Wissmann pulled ahead of Nunn in the last round to tie with Mestel on points, though with a slower time. Report: Brian Stephenson.

Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship 2007-8 Leading final standings:
1	GM	Piotr Murdzia	59/65
2	GM	Jonathan Mestel	51½
3	GM	Dolf Wissmann	51½
4	GM	John Nunn	51
5	FM	Michael McDowell	45½
6	IM	Colin McNab	45½
7	GM	Graham Lee	38½
8	IM	David Friedgood	31½
33 finalists

The full table can be found at: http://www.bstephen.me.uk/the_final_-_results0708.html

A tough set of problems had been selected, necessary to separate such a strong field. The Reilly two-mover has a generous key that abandons the rook and allows a check. The Sabinin was the easier of the two studies for solving, but claimed notable victims in Mestel, Wissmann and Lee, all of whom dropped 3½ of the 5 points by failing to find the suicidal looking 3.Kb3. The 5-mover by Vetter, where the black queen is decoyed in front of the bishop, proved straightforward for most of the leading solvers, but was enjoyed for its artistry. The problems and solutions can be found at: http://www.bstephen.me.uk/the_final_-_problems0708.html

22) Forthcoming Events and Links

X Sants Open

The X International Open of Sants, Hostafrancs and la Bordeta (Barcelona - Spain) takes place 22nd-31st August 2008. 10 round swiss system tournament with + 12.000 euros in prizes.

Other activities include a blitz tournament and rapid chess tournament with 1500 euros in prizes. Last year: 500 players from 40 countries including 70 titled players competed. There were 2 GM and 5 IM norms.

Details: http://http://www.cotxeres.org/open

19th Pobeskydi Chess Festival

The 19th Pobeskydi Chess Festival takes place 20th-24th March 2008 in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. There will be at least two tournaments: - Round-robin with possibility to achieve IM and WGM norm - FIDE Open With very high probability, there will be more then one round-robin tournament.

Further details: http://www.chessfm.cz or more specifically in English at: http://www.chessfm.cz/English/Pobeskydi_eng/pobeskydi_e.php

FIDE Grand Prix Events

FIDE have announced their Grand Prix Circuit ( http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1588). The winner of the Grand Prix will play with the winner of the 2009 World Cup for the right to challenge the World Champion in 2010. Each Tournament will be a 14 player all play all. 14 players have the right to compete in the circuit and they have to play 4 of the 6 events (there will be local players too), these will be allocated to them.

Alexander Morozevich has declared he isn't playing in an interview in Sport Express and he claims Anand, Kramnik and Topalov won't play either although that has nothing to do with his decision. My doubts about this Grand Prix seem to be coming true. Reported in English at: http://www.chessdom.com/news/morozevich-grand-prix

FIDE Grand Prix 2008-9
Baku	AZE	April 20th - May 6th 2008
Krasnoyarsk *	RUS	July 30th - August 15th 2008
Doha	QAT	December 13th - 29th, 2008
Montreux	SUI	April 14th - 28th, 2009
Elista	RUS	August 1st - 17th, 2009
Karlovy Vary	CZE	December 7th - 23rd, 2009
* or other Russian city. Reserve cities are Istanbul and Teheran.

Grand Prix 2008-9 Qualified Players
No	Name	NAT	YroB	Ja08
1	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2799
2	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2799
3	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2780
4	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2765
5	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz	AZE	1985	2760
6	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	1972	2755
7	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2753
8	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2751
9	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2739
10	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2737
11	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	1987	2735
12	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2733
13	Karjakin, Sergey	UKR	1990	2732
14	Kamsky, Gata	USA	1974	2726
Reserves
1	Adams, Michael	ENG	1971	2726
2	Svidler, Peter	RUS	1976	2763
3	Polgar, Judit	HUN	1976	2707
4	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	1983	2711

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes Each Event
Place	EUR	Points
1	30,000	140 + 40 bonus
2	22,500	130 + 20
3	20,000	120 + 10
4	15,000	110
5	12,500	100
6	11,000	90
7	10,000	80
8	8,500	70
9	7,500	60
10	6,000	50
11	5,500	40
12	5,000	30
13	4,500	20
14	4,000	10

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes for Final Standings (Best three events)
Pl	Prize (Euros)
1st	75,000
2nd	50,000
3rd	40,000
4th	30,000
5th	25,000
6th	20,000
7th	18,000
8th	16,000
9th	14,000
10th	12,000

Yerevan Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2008

The Chess Federation of Armenia is organizing an International Open Rapid Chess Tournament which takes place June 12th-15th, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia. The event is organized simultaneously with the tournament "Chess Giants Yerevan 2008" with the participation of the world's top grandmasters.

The total prize fund of the open rapid tournament is 33000 USD with the following breakdown.

Breakdown of the Prize Fund
1st place	6 000 USD
2nd place	4 000 USD
3rd place	3 500 USD
4th place	2 500 USD
5th place	2 000 USD
6th place	1 800 USD
7th place	1 600 USD
8th place	1 500 USD
9th place	1 400 USD
10th place	1 300 USD
11th-20th	800 USD

Grandmasters and chess players with an Elo above 2450 will pay no entry fee. For the other participants the following fees are fixed: International Masters with an Elo up to 2450 30 USD Chess players with an Elo from 2301 to 2450 50 USD Chess players with an Elo from 2151 to 2300 70 USD Chess players with an Elo up to 2150 and without an Elo 100 USD The board and lodging costs will be covered by the participants. The following accommodation options are offered: Ani Plaza Hotel Single room – 80 Euro Double room – 50 Euro Breakfast is included in the prices. Optionally lunch – 10 Euro, dinner – 10 Euro Erebuni Hotel Single room – 60 Euro Double room – 35 Euro Breakfast is included in the prices.

For further information please contact: Mr. Gaguik Oganessian General Secretary, Armenian Chess Federation President, FIDE Zone 1,5
Tel.: (374)10-554923
Fax: (374)10-570758
E-Mail armchess@arminco.com

Belgian Interteams

The Belgian Interteams takes place 30th September 2007 - 6th March 2008.

Websites with further information: http://users.pandora.be/vmaes/interclub/ and also the http://www.frbe-kbsb.be/Interclubsnationaux.php

Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008. Round 7 is on 8th March 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/- Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/ and also photo coverage at: http://www.chessvista.com/

The 8th European Senior Championship

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" will present the 7th Chess Summer Festival in Davos from August 9th to 17th, 2008. The main event will be the 8th European Individual Senior Championship. The second tournament will be traditional, 7th Davos Open.

8th European Individual Senior Championship, August 9th to 17th 2008. "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars) will be host festival in Congress Center. Swiss system, 9 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and rating: FIDE, Swiss (SSB) and German (DWZ). Seniors: men born 1947 and earlier; women born 1957 and earlier. Prize (men): 2.500/1.700/1.000/700/600/500/2x400/2x300 CHF. 3-4 group rating prize (200/150/100 CHF). Women: 400/300/3x200 CHF; Entry fee 80 CHF; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 9th; Round 2/8 9.30-15.30 August 10th-16th; Round 9 9.30-15.30 August 17th.

7th Davos Open, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). Prize are: 1.000 SF, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 2x150 CHF. Natural prizes for 4 and more points. Entry fee 130 CHF, FMs and juniors 60 CHF, GMs and IMs free; juniors lodging at Sunstar Park Hotel free; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 10th; Round 2/7 16.00-22.00 August 10th-16th. Venue: "Sunstar Park Hotel" Congress Center. Closing ceremony August 17th, 4 p.m. Info Beochess: +41+62+9654-650 (Robert Spoerri) Email beochess@bluewin.ch or read the website: http://www.beochess.ch

Bologne Easter tournament

There is an Easter international tournament in Bologna 20th-24th March 2008. IM norms will be available.

Details: http://www.accademiascacchistica.it/labacheca/torneo_internazionale_di_pasqua.html

Bologne Easter tournament 20-24 iii 2008 Players:
Player	NAT	Ti	Rating
Laketic Gojko	SRB	IM	2443
Martinez Rolly	PHI	IM	2447
Berzinsh Roland	LAT	IM	2417
Ronchetti Niccolo’	ITA	FM	2431
Scalcione Michelangelo	ITA	FM	2431
Rombaldoni Axel	ITA	FM	2394
Tomba Ivan	ITA	MF*	2301
Vancini Edoardo	ITA	FM	2277
Barillaro Luca	ITA	M	2180
Gilevich Artem	UKR	CM	2069

VII Benidorm International Chess Festival 2008

The VII Benidorm International Chess Festival takes place 28th November - 8th December 2008. For information contact: E-Mail: eventosdeajedrez@yahoo.es festivaldebenidorm@gmail.com News: Patricia Claros Aguilar.

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. Rounds 10 and 11 take place 8th-9th March 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at: http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.phpand statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/.

3rd Kolkata Open

The 3rd Kolkata Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament takes place 24th March - 2nd April 2008.

Venue: Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace, Kolkata 700017 (near Minto Park) Tournament Schedule Arrival 23rd March 2008. Inauguration 24th March 2008 at 1.00pm Players' meeting 23rd March 2008 at 7pm. Prize Distribution ceremony : 2nd April 08 at 17.00 hrs at Gorky Sadan. It is compulsory for all players to attend the Prize Distribution Ceremony. Prizes : Total Cash Prizes: Rs. 9,00,000/- ( 1 U.S.$ = Rs.41 approx.)

Contact: Alekhine Chess Club Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace Kolkata 700017, West Bengal, India Tele fax:- 0091 33 22832746, Tel : 0091 33 22803957/3858 Email: alekhine_chess@rediffmail.com OR alekhinechessclub@hotmail.com

Web site: http://www.alekhinechessclub.com

Paleochora International Open 2008

The Paleochora (southern Crete) International Open takes place 21st-28th July 2008.

Further details: http://www.chaniachess.gr

Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament 2008

The 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament takes place March 14th-28th, 2008 at the Hotel Palais de la Mediterranée on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Twelve grandmasters from ten different countries will take part and the total prize-fund is 216,000 Euro.

Amber Rapid and Blindfold 14-28 iii 2008
No	Name	NAT	YroB	ja08	Gms	Wrnk
1	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2799	9	1
2	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2799	3	2
3	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2780	14	3
4	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2765	12	4
5	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz	AZE	1985	2760	35	6
6	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2753	9	8
7	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2751	30	9
8	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2739	16	10
9	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2737	9	11
10	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2733	37	13
11	Karjakin, Sergey	UKR	1990	2732	36	14
12	Van Wely, Loek	NED	1972	2681	16	35

31st San Sebastian City Open

The 31st San Sebastian City Open takes place 16th-23rd of March 2008.

Details: http://www.fgajedrez.org/open/open.htm

Hévíz GM, IM and Open Tournaments 2008

The Palace Hotel International Chess Tournament Hévíz (Hungary) 18th-28th March 2008. There are GM, IM and Open sections.

Further details: http://www.lellechess.tar.hu/

The Battle of Senta 1697 Chess Festival 2008

12th International Chess Festival "The Battle of Senta 1697" will be held 18th-25th. July 2008. in Senta (the Vojvodina /Serbia).

Further details: http://www.chess-senta.org.yuand in English: http://www.chess-senta.org.yu/select.php?lang=3&xid=2

XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra

The XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra takes place 19th-27th July 2008. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com FEVA - Tel/Fax: 00.376.824465

Further details: http://www.escacsandorra.com

Austrian Bundesliga

The second round of games from the Austrian Bundesliga took place in Jenbach 10th-13th January 2008. The final round of games (rounds 8-11) take place 13th-16th March 2008 in Graz (Novapark).

Official site: http://www.chess.at/

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008, 1st-4th May 2008, in Ditzingen, South-Germany. 7 Rounds, Swiss System, A/B/C-tournament, over 7000 € prizes.

Further Details: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

Alushta Diary 2008

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 - 27.06, Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 3.06 - 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06 Individual and group studying. phone +38 (06560)5-05-32,

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua

20th Lenk International Chess Festival

The great jubilee, 20th Lenk International Chess Festival part of the "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" continues in Lenk March 20th-24th 2008. The venue is the Hotel "Kreuz", Grande Open, Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). The Main Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600 and 400 SF. Special prizes: Ladies senior (1947), junior(1988-91), schoolboy (1992) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200/150/100 CHF. Golden prizes for the players who play more then 10 times: 300/200/150 CHF. Silver prizes for the players who play MORE THEN 5 TIMES 200/150/100 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. The teams competition, with 4 members; 3 prizes: 4x100/4x75/4x50 SF; entry fee 10 SF. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 March 20,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 21,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 March 22,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 23,; Round 7 9.30-14.30 March 24. Closing ceremony March 24 at 16.00. Gala jubilee dinner March 22 from 19-22 at Hotel "Kreuz". Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.chfor more details.

M-Tel Masters

M-Tel Masters takes place 7th-18th May 2008 in the Central Military Club in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner. Like in the previous three editions of M-Tel Masters the rule for the draws introduced in Sofia will be valid. According to it the players do not have the right to agree a draw. This can be decided only by the chef arbiter of the tournament.

Official site: http://www.mtelmasters.com

M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL 7-18 v 2008
Veselin Topalov	BUL	2780
Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2751
Levon Aronian	ARM	2739
Teimour Radjabov	AZE	2735
Ivan Cheparinov	BUL	2713
Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2691
Average rating: 2735 Category: 20

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 28th July - 3rd August 2008 in Mainz/Germany (a week later than originally advertised).

In addition there is a Chess Classic Calendar for the next year, which will be available in the first week of December. It is a big format (420 x 594 mm) and shows the stars and the biggest moments of the 14 years tournament history. The copies are limited to 200 (39,- Euro plus delivery) plus 64 with an autograph of World Champion Vishy Anand (48,- Euro plus delivery). Contact for order: juergen.wienecke@chesstigers.de

Further details: http://www.chesstigers.de

4NCL

The 3rd weekend of the 4NCL took place 12th-13th January 2008. Next rounds 1st-2nd April 2008.

Official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk/

IX European Individual Chess Championship 2008

The IX European Individual Chess Championship takes place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 20th April (day of arrival) - 4th May (day of departure) 2008.

Official site: http://www.eicc2008.com

Pula Open 2008

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia. Contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr

Further details: http://www.skpula.hr

echiquier-nicois Website

Thierry Foissez's echiquier-nicois website reports on news and events in French daily.

http://www.echiquier-nicois.org

Hungarian Chess Tournaments January - June 2008

1. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.hu. More info: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

2. 19th-28th of January 2008 KECSKEMET, IM Berger tmt, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu. Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s in Kecskemet. 100 km South-East from Budapest.

3. 2nd-14th of February FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER), 9-13 games, GM-IM norm possibilities in Budapest, venue: Hungarian Chess Federation, Falk Miksa Str.10. 2nd floor. Organisation: Nagy Laszlo, FIDE International Chess Organizer /NL/, E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net. Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu. Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time = GMT+1/

4. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet, org. Erdelyi

5. 1st-14th of March - First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy L.

6. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival 9 rounds Swiss Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

7. 5th-18th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.NL,

8. 19th-28th of April, KECSKEMET, CAISSA IM tmt, org. Erdelyi

9. 3rd-15th of May First Saturday Budapest, org. NL,

11. 22nd-30th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, 1st prize 500,000 Ft (brutto 2 thousand EURO), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, e-mail: mssz@zalaszam.hu Mobile: 36-20-9777003

12. 7th-19th of June First Saturday, Budapest, org: NL.,

13. 13th-21st of June, Balatonlelle Open, GM-IM round robin, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

Anand - Kramnik World Championship Match

A Press release from UEP Promotions announces that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany October 11th-30th October, 2008. Main sponsor Evonik Industries AG and prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The match will be 12 games followed by playoffs if required. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Website: http://www.uep-worldchess.com/

Mindsports

The World Mindsports games takes place in Beijing, China after the Olympics 3rd -18th October 2008.

Details: http://www.worldbridge.org/competitions/Calendar/files/WorldMindSportsGames2007.pdf.

Stockholm Ladies Open

The Stockholm Ladies Open tournament takes place 20th-25th March 2008. The prize money is over 100 000 Skr

The Invitation are in english, Dutch and Russian http://www.scandinavian-chess.se/

XXI Benidorm Open

The XXI Open Internacional de Ajedrez Villa de Benidorm 2008 Benidorm organised an international tournament 1977 till 1995 now it has returned second year. The event takes place 25nd April - 4th May 2008 (10 rounds). 35.000 Euros in prizes. Information: Mr. Alfonso Vilches Tel: +34 695 91 56 78. E-mail: open@chessbenidorm.com

Official site: http://www.chessbenidorm.com

Icelandic Rapid Championships

The Icelandic Rapid Championships took place 18th-20th October 2007. Bragi and Björn Þorfinnsson will meet in the final in December which be on TV in Iceland.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5661&Itemid=387

Halkidiki Chess Festival 2008

Games Festival is a mass event organized for the third year in Halkidiki, Greece 28th April - 6th May 2008. The festival includes series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, streetbasketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games, pc games etc.

Official site: http://www.gamesfestival.com/

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ with his analysis and news. Very worth while, especially when he's playing.

32nd Kings Head Rapidplay

The 32nd Kings Head Rapidplay takes place Saturday 5 April 2008 start time 11:00, details below: 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £700

The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2 5HS

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1849 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

Further details; http://www.khcc.org.uk

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site allows predictions for current chess tournaments. http://e4e6.com/toto

Sydney International Open 2008

The 2008 Sydney International Open takes place at Parramatta Town Hall 25th-29th March 2008. Free accommodation and modest conditions are offered to GMs. All enquiries to the Tournament Organiser, FM Brian Jones, at info@chessaustralia.com.au

Details: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/

ICC and FICS client for mobile phones

Mats Luthman has written a program that connects to ICC and FICS, compatable with many modern mobile phones. I've been looking for something like this for a while for watching live tournaments if I'm out and about. Its a nice free solution, you can also play but I haven't tried that.

Website: http://www.luthman.nu/Mobi/Mobi.html