THE WEEK IN CHESS 739 5th January 2009 by Mark Crowther

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Mark Crowther
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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Ivanchuk - Leko Rapid Match
3) Aker Chess Challenge and the Gjovik International Festival 2008-9
4) Hastings Chess Congress
5) 51st Reggio Emilia Tournament
6) FIDE Rating List for January 2009
7) Groningen Chess Festival
8) Indian National A Championships
9) Asian Chess Club Championship League
10) Leon World Chess Open
11) Rilton Cup
12) North American Open
13) 5th IRT Merlo
14) 17th Donau Open
15) X Mirko Srajber Memorial
16) III Open Internacional d'Escacs
17) Herb Healy Open House Tournament
18) IX El Sauzal International Rapid Open
19) Christmas Master Open Zurich
20) 5th Vandoeuvre Open
21) XX Abierto Internacional de Roquetas de Mar
22) Forthcoming Events and Links

Games Section
Ivanchuk - Leko Rapid Match6 games
Aker Chess Challenge19 games
Gjovik International Festival 2008-9171 games
Hastings Chess Congress459 games
51st Reggio Emilia Tournament61 games
Groningen Chess Festival65 games
Indian National A Championships6 games
Asian Chess Club Championship League413 games
Leon World Chess Open50 games
Rilton Cup211 games
North American Open30 games
5th IRT Merlo17 games
17th Donau Open106 games
X Mirko Srajber Memorial45 games
IX El Sauzal International Rapid Open186 games
Christmas Master Open Zurich136 games
5th Vandoeuvre Open150 games
2131 games

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ChessBase Now Out

1) Introduction

My thanks to John Saunders, Steve Giddins, Dave Clayton, Luiz Roberto De Costa Jr, Christophe Philippe, Denis Vretenar, Georg Kradolfer, Harald Grafenhofer, Marcelo Pagano, George Mirijanian, Agustin Manrique, Alfonso Romero Holmes, Istvan Brindza and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Christmas and New Year period is always a busy one with Pamplona, Hastings, Reggio Emilia, Rilton Cup, Groningen all being regular festivals, some for many decades. In addition there were two other important events this year. Vassily Ivanchuk defeated Peter Leko in a Rapid event in the Ukraine. The centenary of the Gjovik Chess Club saw the Aker rapid play and Magnus Carlsen appear in his home country for the first time in over a year. He played OK but Peter Svidler rained on his parade beating him in a rather strange endgame to take the event in its knockout phase. The new FIDE rating list is out. Topalov stands at the top and again the issue of what events you include is again raised. Topalov added yet more rating points at the Pearl Spring tournament which finished a week before the rating list was released. There is no reason that this event should not have been included except outdated FIDE rules and deadlines. It makes the list out of date before its even released which just doesn't seem right to me. We're into 2009 and I wish everyone a happy, healthy and fruitful year.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Ivanchuk - Leko Rapid Match

Vassily Ivanchuk beat Peter Leko in a 6 game rapid match in Mukachevo , Ukraine 3rd-5th January 2009. Ivanchuk won the 5th game. Time control: (6 rounds, 25 min + 10 sec per move).

According to google with the offical site: http://www.ivanchukleko2009.com and http://chess32x64.org/ (Ukrainian language) had problems with trojans, but they claim to have fixed this now.

Rapid Rematch Mukachevo UKR Results
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Leko, Peter ½-½ 79 A46 Queen's Pawn Opening
Leko, Peter - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 16 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Leko, Peter ½-½ 85 E04 Catalan
Leko, Peter - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 62 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Leko, Peter 1-0 77 A32 English Symmetrical
Leko, Peter - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 35 B01 Centre Counter

Rapid Rematch Mukachevo (UKR), 3-5 xii 2009
Name Ti NAT Rtng 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Perf
Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2779 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 2808
Leko, Peter g HUN 2751 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 2722

3) Aker Chess Challenge and the Gjovik International Festival 2008-9

The Gjovik International Chess Festival 2008-9 takes place 29th December - 7th January 2009.

The main event was the Aker Chess Challenge with Magnus Carlsen, Peter Svidler, Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Kjetil Lie played in a Super rapid tournament with similar format to the Mainz Classic, January 2nd-5th 2009. Peter Svidler defeated Magnus Carlsen in the final when he won with black in the second game. Hikaru Nakamura beat Lie to take 3rd place.

The rapid contest is part of a chess festival with a big and varied program, held on occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Gjovik chess club. The festival starts on December 29th, and the main tournament is a 9 round GM-Swiss open to players with a rating abov 2100. Reigning European champion Sergei Tiviakov (NL) 2686 is the highest rated player of the preliminary list of participants. There is also a parallell group open for all players rated below 2100.

Official site: http://www.gjovikfestival.sjakkweb.no


Aker Chess Club Rapid Final Gjovik (NOR), 5 i 2009
Round 1 (January 5, 2009)
Svidler, Peter - Carlsen, Magnus 1/2 20 C65 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Round 2 (January 5, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter 0-1 52 C84 Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Aker Chess Club Rapid Final Gjovik (NOR), 5 i 2009
Name Ti NAT Rtng 1 2 Total Perf
Svidler, Peter g RUS 2723 ½ 1 2969
Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2776 ½ 0 ½ 2530

Aker Chess Club Rapid Bronze Gjovik (NOR), 5 i 2009
Round 1 (January 5, 2009)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Lie, Kjetil A 1-0 36 A45 Trompowsky
Round 2 (January 5, 2009)
Lie, Kjetil A - Nakamura, Hikaru 1/2 35 B00 Owen or Nimzowitsch Defence

Aker Chess Club Rapid Bronze Gjovik (NOR), 5 i 2009
Name Ti NAT Rtng 1 2 Total Perf
Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2699 1 ½ 2732
Lie, Kjetil A g NOR 2539 0 ½ ½ 2506

Aker CC Rapid Gjovik (NOR), 2-4 i 2009 cat. XVIII (2684)
1 2 3 4
1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2776 * * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 4 2778
2. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2699 1 ½ * * 0 ½ 1 1 4 2804
3. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2723 ½ 0 1 ½ * * 1 1 4 2796
4. Lie, Kjetil A g NOR 2539 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * 0

Round 1 (January 2, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus - Lie, Kjetil A 1-0 48 B38 Sicilian Maroczy Bind
Svidler, Peter - Nakamura, Hikaru 1-0 45 B12 Caro Kann Advanced
Round 2 (January 2, 2009)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Lie, Kjetil A 1-0 34 A36 English Botvinnik
Svidler, Peter - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 29 A30 English Symmetrical
Round 3 (January 3, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus - Nakamura, Hikaru 0-1 45 E92 King's Indian Classical
Lie, Kjetil A - Svidler, Peter 0-1 37 A00 Irregular Openings
Round 4 (January 3, 2009)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 34 D15 Slav Defence
Lie, Kjetil A - Carlsen, Magnus 0-1 28 A11 Reti Opening
Round 5 (January 4, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter 1-0 35 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Lie, Kjetil A - Nakamura, Hikaru 0-1 35 B00 Owen or Nimzowitsch Defence
Round 6 (January 4, 2009)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 12 D14 Slav Exchange
Svidler, Peter - Lie, Kjetil A 1-0 58 B37 Sicilian Maroczy Bind

Aker CC Blitz Gjovik (NOR), 4 i 2009 cat. XX (2733)
1 2 3
1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2776 * 1 1 2
2. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2723 0 * 1 1 2737
3. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2699 0 0 * 0

Round 1 (January 4, 2009)
Svidler, Peter - Nakamura, Hikaru 1-0 39 B92 Sicilian
Round 2 (January 4, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter 1-0 42 C76 Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz
Round 3 (January 4, 2009)
Nakamura, Hikaru - Carlsen, Magnus 0-1 53 D15 Slav Defence

4) Hastings Chess Congress

The Hastings Chess Congress took place 28th December 2008 - 5th January 2009.

The Hastings Masters saw Igor Kurnosov finish on 7.5/9 half a point clear of multiple defending champion Valeriy Neverov who Kurnosov held with black in the final round and Emanuel Berg. Mark Hebden and Simon Williams were a further half point back. My thanks to Dave Clayton and Steve Giddins for their help.

Further details: http://www.hastingschess.org.uk

Hastings Masters 2008-9 (ENG), 28 xii 2008 - 5 i 2009
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
1 GM Kurnosov, Igor 2606 RUS 7.5 2761 2488 7.5 1.69
2 GM Berg, Emanuel 2623 SWE 7 2678 2458 7 0.64
3 GM Neverov, Valeriy 2571 UKR 7 2687 2467 7 1.32
4 GM Howell, David W L 2593 ENG 6.5 2573 2407 6.5 -0.07
5 GM Conquest, Stuart C 2526 ENG 6.5 2625 2459 6.5 1.21
6 GM Hebden, Mark L 2515 ENG 6.5 2500 2334 6.5 0.04
7 GM Williams, Simon K 2494 ENG 6.5 2521 2355 6.5 0.46
8 GM Jones, Gawain C B 2548 ENG 6 2580 2455 6 0.41
9 GM Pavlovic, Milos 2524 SCG 6 2477 2352 6 -0.46
10 GM Haslinger, Stewart G 2506 ENG 6 2415 2274 5.5 -0.77
11 IM Houska, Jovanka 2399 ENG 6 2447 2322 6 0.63
12 IM Bates, Richard A 2387 ENG 6 2460 2335 6 0.92
13 IM Bergez, Luc 2356 FRA 6 2432 2307 6 0.96
14 Green, Andrew D 2102 SCO 6 2390 2265 6 3.36
15 IM Gordon, Stephen J 2521 ENG 5.5 2454 2374 5.5 -0.6
16 GM Gormally, Daniel W 2514 ENG 5.5 2315 2235 5.5 -1.93
17 GM Summerscale, Aaron P 2467 ENG 5.5 2348 2253 5 -1.11
18 IM Bernal Moro, Luis Javier 2451 ESP 5.5 2404 2324 5.5 -0.47
19 IM Greet, Andrew N 2440 ENG 5.5 2323 2243 5.5 -1.17
20 GM Cherniaev, Alexander 2438 RUS 5.5 2329 2249 5.5 -1.12
21 IM Hunt, Adam C 2431 ENG 5.5 2395 2315 5.5 -0.32
22 IM Ansell, Simon T 2410 ENG 5.5 2410 2330 5.5 0.12
23 IM Knott, Simon J B 2348 ENG 5.5 2368 2288 5.5 0.35
24 IM Capo Vidal, Uriel 2339 MEX 5.5 2317 2237 5.5 -0.21
25 IM Leroy, Didier 2286 FRA 5.5 2458 2378 5.5 2.02
26 FM Kjartansson, Gudmundur 2284 ISL 5.5 2369 2289 5.5 1.03
27 FM White, Michael J R 2242 ENG 5.5 2296 2216 5.5 0.67
28 Roelvaag, Mikael 2199 NOR 5.5 2301 2221 5.5 1.22
29 Sugden, John N 2173 ENG 5.5 2421 2341 5.5 2.84
30 IM Hendriks, Willy 2447 NED 5 2368 2325 5 -0.8
31 IM Rendle, Thomas E 2385 ENG 5 2346 2303 5 -0.4
32 FM Rudd, Jack 2344 ENG 5 2427 2384 5 1.02
33 FM Eames, Robert S 2329 ENG 5 2260 2217 5 -0.77
34 IM Marusenko, Petr 2320 UKR 5 2282 2239 5 -0.48
35 FM Grover, Sahaj 2314 IND 5 2239 2196 5 -0.91
36 FM Mohammed Abdul, Malek 2264 BAN 5 2188 2145 4.5 -0.77
37 Anderton, Matthew N 2232 ENG 5 2229 2186 5 -0.03
38 Kwiatkowski, Feliks J 2219 ENG 5 2255 2212 5 0.39
39 Anderson, John 2213 ENG 5 2418 2375 5 2.35
40 Chkhaidze, Nikoloz 2203 GEO 5 2302 2259 5 1.15
41 Dickson, George 2135 ENG 5 2173 2130 5 0.46
42 Griffiths, Ryan Rhys 2107 IRL 5 2265 2222 5 1.87
43 WIM Flear, Christine 2092 FRA 5 2269 2269 4 1.82
44 WFM Norinkeviciute, Rasa 2005 LTU 5 2230 2187 5 2.63
45 IM Prosviriakov, Vladimir 2327 USA 4.5 2199 2199 4.5 -1.5
104 players

5) 51st Reggio Emilia Tournament

The 51st Reggio Emilia Tournament took place 27th December 2008 - 4th January 2009. Top seed Ni Hua won the tournament comfortably with 7.5/9 a point and a half clear of last year's winner Zoltan Almasi.

Official site: http://www.ippogrifoscacchi.it/


51st It Reggio Emilia (ITA), 27 xii-4 i 2008 cat. XIV (2576)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Ni Hua g CHN 2710 * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 2834
2. Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2663 0 * 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 6 2691
3. Landa, Konstantin g RUS 2613 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ ½ 5 2614
4. Gustafsson, Jan g GER 2634 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 5 2612
5. Marin, Mihail g ROU 2556 0 0 0 1 * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 5 2621
6. Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2670 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 2565
7. Leon Hoyos, Manuel g MEX 2535 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 2580
8. Ronchetti, Niccolo m ITA 2414 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 3 2469
9. Shytaj, Luca m ITA 2472 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 2421
10. Cebalo, Miso g CRO 2493 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * 2 2365

Round 1 (December 27, 2008)
Almasi, Zoltan - Landa, Konstantin 1-0 41 C43 Petroff's Defence
Marin, Mihail - Shytaj, Luca 1-0 43 A25 English Sicilian Attack
Dreev, Alexey - Leon Hoyos, Manuel 1-0 50 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Ronchetti, Niccolo - Gustafsson, Jan 0-1 81 C45 Scotch Game
Cebalo, Miso - Ni Hua 0-1 45 D17 Slav Defence
Round 2 (December 28, 2008)
Ni Hua - Ronchetti, Niccolo 1-0 45 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
Almasi, Zoltan - Marin, Mihail 1-0 43 B07 Pirc Defence
Landa, Konstantin - Leon Hoyos, Manuel 0-1 46 B47 Sicilian Paulsen
Gustafsson, Jan - Dreev, Alexey ½-½ 17 D13 Slav Exchange
Shytaj, Luca - Cebalo, Miso ½-½ 30 B36 Sicilian Maroczy Bind
Round 3 (December 29, 2008)
Marin, Mihail - Landa, Konstantin 0-1 30 A13 Reti Opening
Dreev, Alexey - Ni Hua ½-½ 15 D11 Slav Defence
Leon Hoyos, Manuel - Gustafsson, Jan ½-½ 36 C51 Evans Gambit
Ronchetti, Niccolo - Shytaj, Luca ½-½ 18 B29 Sicilian Defence
Cebalo, Miso - Almasi, Zoltan 0-1 42 A45 Trompowsky
Round 4 (December 30, 2008)
Ni Hua - Leon Hoyos, Manuel 1-0 45 C92 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Almasi, Zoltan - Ronchetti, Niccolo 1-0 26 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
Landa, Konstantin - Gustafsson, Jan ½-½ 16 D11 Slav Defence
Marin, Mihail - Cebalo, Miso 1-0 78 A29 English Four Knights
Shytaj, Luca - Dreev, Alexey ½-½ 28 B56 Sicilian Defence
Round 5 (December 31, 2008)
Gustafsson, Jan - Ni Hua ½-½ 19 D11 Slav Defence
Dreev, Alexey - Almasi, Zoltan 1-0 96 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Leon Hoyos, Manuel - Shytaj, Luca 1-0 41 B52 Sicilian Rossolimo
Ronchetti, Niccolo - Marin, Mihail ½-½ 26 B09 Pirc Defence
Cebalo, Miso - Landa, Konstantin ½-½ 53 E21 Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3
Round 6 (January 1, 2009)
Almasi, Zoltan - Leon Hoyos, Manuel ½-½ 45 B36 Sicilian Maroczy Bind
Landa, Konstantin - Ni Hua ½-½ 22 D11 Slav Defence
Marin, Mihail - Dreev, Alexey 1-0 62 A11 Reti Opening
Shytaj, Luca - Gustafsson, Jan ½-½ 48 C22 Centre Gambit
Cebalo, Miso - Ronchetti, Niccolo 0-1 31 D27 QGA
Round 7 (January 2, 2009)
Ni Hua - Shytaj, Luca 1-0 33 B29 Sicilian Defence
Gustafsson, Jan - Almasi, Zoltan ½-½ 22 A17 English Opening
Dreev, Alexey - Cebalo, Miso ½-½ 48 A65 Benoni
Leon Hoyos, Manuel - Marin, Mihail ½-½ 75 E91 King's Indian Classical
Ronchetti, Niccolo - Landa, Konstantin 0-1 59 B13 Caro Kann Exchange
Round 8 (January 3, 2009)
Almasi, Zoltan - Ni Hua 0-1 41 B33 Sicilian Sveshnikov
Landa, Konstantin - Shytaj, Luca ½-½ 84 A37 English Symmetrical
Marin, Mihail - Gustafsson, Jan 1-0 40 A07 Barcza System
Ronchetti, Niccolo - Dreev, Alexey ½-½ 24 B30 Sicilian Rossolimo
Cebalo, Miso - Leon Hoyos, Manuel ½-½ 42 E25 Nimzo Indian Saemisch
Round 9 (January 4, 2009)
Ni Hua - Marin, Mihail 1-0 42 C80 Ruy Lopez Open
Gustafsson, Jan - Cebalo, Miso 1-0 46 E11 Bogo Indian Defence
Dreev, Alexey - Landa, Konstantin 0-1 61 E35 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Leon Hoyos, Manuel - Ronchetti, Niccolo ½-½ 46 A35 English Symmetrical
Shytaj, Luca - Almasi, Zoltan 0-1 24 C34 Kings Knight Gambit

51st It B Reggio Emilia (ITA), 27 xii-4 i 2008 cat. V (2351)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Thorfinnsson, Bjorn f ISL 2399 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 2512
2. Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor m ISL 2430 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 2508
3. Galyas, Miklos m HUN 2454 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2464
4. Kovacevic, Blazimir m CRO 2472 0 ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 5 2380
5. Pomaro, Alberto ITA 2254 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 5 2405
6. Rombaldoni, Axel f ITA 2334 0 0 ½ 1 0 * ½ 1 1 1 5 2396
7. Cocchi, Andrea f ITA 2305 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 2356
8. Corvi, Marco f ITA 2343 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 3 2227
9. Lucaroni, Massimiliano f ITA 2320 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 2 2134
10. Barillaro, Luca ITA 2202 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 2094

6) FIDE Rating List for January 2009

Source: http://www.fide.com. The full list is available for download there.

Veselin Topalov topped the 2009 FIDE rating list for the 2nd time in a row increasing his rating to 2796. He actually has more rating points to come as the Pearl Spring tournament in Nanjing missed the FIDE Deadline. Although it doesn't matter so much for the ranking at the very top it is, in my view, still time to change the regulations to have leading events rated almost right up until the release date. World Champion Viswanathan Anand also increased his rating in beating Vladimir Kramnik to retain his title. Vassily Ivanchuk holds on to his 3rd place in the world in spite of having a slightly rocky end to the year after some tremendous chess the rest of the time. Magnus Carlsen missed out on the top spot last time but is back down to 4th as his form has been patchy in this quarter. Alexander Morozevich drops to 5th from 2nd place dropping a lot of points this time. The top 5 has become the top 2, in the last rating list there was only 5 points between the top 5 but this has now become 25 points. Teimour Radjabov and Dmitry Jakovenko gained points and both moved above Vladimir Kramnik who lost points against Anand and in the Olympiad. Peter Leko holds on to 9th and Sergei Movsesian is the only new entry in the top 10 edging out Levon Aronian who drops from 7th to 11th. The rating required to be tied for the 100th player moves up from 2633 to 2634.

FIDE Rating List January 2009 Top 100
Rkoc08NameTitleNATYroBap07ju07oc07ja08ap08ju08oc08ja09Games
11Topalov, VeselingBUL1975277227692769278027672777279127968
25Anand, ViswanathangIND19692786279228012799280327982783279111
33Ivanchuk, VassilygUKR19692729276227872751274027812786277919
44Carlsen, MagnusgNOR19902693271027142733276527752786277617
52Morozevich, AlexandergRUS19772762275827552765277427882787277120
68Radjabov, TeimourgAZE19872747274627422735275127442751276127
710Jakovenko, DmitrygRUS19832708273527102720271127092737276040
86Kramnik, VladimirgRUS19752772276927852799278827882772275920
99Leko, PetergHUN19792738275127552753274127412747275123
1013Movsesian, SergeigSVK19782642266726702677269527232732275116
117Aronian, LevongARM19822759275027412739276327372757275016
1218Shirov, AlexeigESP19722699273527392755274027412726274519
1311Wang, YuegCHN19872656269627032698268927042736273928
1423Grischuk, AlexandergRUS19832717272627152711271627282719273328
1520Gelfand, BorisgISR19682733273327362737272327202719273317
1622Ponomariov, RuslangUKR1983271727062705271927192718271927269
1716Kamsky, GatagUSA19742705271827142726272627232729272516
1814Mamedyarov, ShakhriyargAZE19852757275727522760275227422731272429
1931Gashimov, VugargAZE19862644265526632665267927172703272328
2017Svidler, PetergRUS19762736273527322763274627382727272327
2129Bacrot, EtiennegFRA19832709269526952700270526912705272240
2225Alekseev, EvgenygRUS19852679268927162711271127082715271833
2321Dominguez Perez, LeiniergCUB19832678268026832691269527082719271710
2412Adams, MichaelgENG19712734272427292726272927352734271229
2535Sasikiran, KrishnangIND19812690267626612677267926842694271124
2628Ni, HuagCHN19832654268126412680270327052710270915
2715Karjakin, SergeygUKR19902686267826942732273227272730270617
2855Vallejo Pons, FranciscogESP19822676266626602675268426502664270234
2926Bu, XiangzhigCHN1985265626852692269127082710271427029
3032Rublevsky, SergeigRUS1974268026792676269526952699270227020
3142Akopian, VladimirgARM19712698270827132700267326732679270033
3230Nakamura, HikarugUSA19872658264726482670268626972704269919
3324Vachier-Lagrave, MaximegFRA19902593259526342637263226812716269628
3419Eljanov, PavelgUKR19832686270126912692268727162720269329
3544Naiditsch, ArkadijgGER19852654264426392638262326652678269317
3627Polgar, JuditgHUN1976272727072708270727092711271126938
3747Malakhov, VladimirgRUS19802679267626902689268926892675269218
3834Wang, HaogCHN1989263826242643266526842691269626917
3952Dreev, AlexeygRUS19692633260626072633265726572670268824
4041Efimenko, ZahargUKR19852620262426242638266026702680268815
4189Vitiugov, NikitagRUS19872592260825942609261726162638268728
4250Kasimdzhanov, RustamgUZB19792677268326902681268126792672268722
4339Bologan, ViktorgMDA19712636265026572663266526862682268715
4436Tiviakov, SergeigNED19732663264826432649263426452686268410
4559Almasi, ZoltangHUN19762675268226912667267426682663268027
4633Cheparinov, IvangBUL19862646265726702713269526872696267931
4784Sargissian, GabrielgARM19832651266726732676264326602642267820
4843Moiseenko, AlexandergUKR1980263026412646264326502632267826769
4949Motylev, AlexandergRUS1979264226482645264426662674267226766
5037Nisipeanu, Liviu-DietergROU19762693268326682684268426922684267525
5162Harikrishna, P.gIND19862650266426682664267926682659267326
5257Areshchenko, AlexandergUKR1986264726452638264526502664266426735
5351Timofeev, ArtyomgRUS19852658265026372664266426502670267126
5461Volokitin, AndreigUKR19862654268126782674268426722659267121
5556Jobava, BaadurgGEO19832658264426442643265826652664266924
5638Najer, EvgeniygRUS19772624262326352634262726702682266918
5740Milov, VadimgSUI19722676267526762690269027052681266910
58--Miroshnichenko, EvgenijgUKR19782646267126512647264225932632266723
5946Fressinet, LaurentgFRA1981264426462654265626562673267626668
6079Tomashevsky, EvgenygRUS19872641265426462646265826462646266419
6185Short, Nigel DgENG19652691268326492645266026552642266331
6270Guseinov, GadirgAZE19862586261226142617262526432650266117
6360Nielsen, Peter HeinegDEN19732651264926382626262926522662266010
6468Sutovsky, EmilgISR1977263726562655264226302654265126607
6582Onischuk, AlexandergUSA19752663265026742664266426702644265925
6671Sokolov, IvangNED19682655266626732686269026582650265717
6758Tkachiev, VladislavgFRA1973265226552661265726572664266426578
6853Inarkiev, ErnestogRUS19852669266326742681268426752669265630
6973Zhang, ZhonggSIN1978262126342634261726132632264926569
7066Grachev, BorisgRUS19862578260126022601261026402653265514
7174Savchenko, BorisgRUS19862583257725832589256925782648265419
7248Postny, EvgenygISR19812622259825992627264926612674265228
7380Berkes, FerencgHUN1985260025972606261826182645264526519
74--Predojevic, BorkigBIH19872609262826452641265126342615265036
75--Fridman, DanielgGER19762635262826212627264026372630265030
76--Rodshtein, MaximgISR19892530258626152614262626052609265025
77--Bocharov, DmitrygRUS19822614260526032600256925822597264736
7893Amonatov, FarrukhgTJK19782574259826372649????26502634264726
7945Roiz, MichaelgISR19832605263026442659265926802677264724
8072Smirin, IliagISR19682650264926392616263026372649264714
81--Delchev, AleksandergBUL1971260025912613263026392618263226479
8277Tregubov, Pavel V.gRUS1971261525992609263626292658264626479
83--Beliavsky, Alexander GgSLO19532648265326462638264126062619264635
8487Caruana, FabianogITA19922513254925942598262026302640264622
8564Avrukh, BorisgISR19782644264526412628263226562657264523
8676Bareev, EvgenygRUS1966264326532653267726772655264726454
8795Nyback, TomigFIN19852585256725652579258726392634264415
8875Khenkin, IgorgGER19682629260226002602260926552647264410
8969Karpov, AnatolygRUS1951266826682670265526552651265126448
9091Zhang, PengxianggCHN1980265726492644264026402643263626447
9167Lastin, AlexandergRUS19762590258325972604262226392651264313
9290Graf, AlexandergGER1962262025952576258626112621263626439
93--Shulman, YurigUSA19752600261026162614260626232616263920
94--Mamedov, RaufgAZE19882584259125822583261726272631263816
9599Navara, DavidgCZE19852720265626562680267226462633263810
96--Aleksandrov, AleksejgBLR19732609260526142618258325742617263629
9778Zvjaginsev, VadimgRUS19762659265826742677267426632646263611
9892Vescovi, GiovannigBRA1978260926092617261726172631263526350
9981Georgiev, KirilgBUL19652660266326492662266526712645263428
10065Riazantsev, AlexandergRUS19852621261526232628263826172656263419
10196Gustafsson, JangGER1979258826062606260726032620263426348
102--Kobalia, MikhailgRUS1978263926342631262326272618263026347
Dropping Out of the list in January 2009
--54Nikolic, PredraggBIH19602631264626572665267426692669262321
--63Ivanisevic, IvangSRB19772614259526072649264926642658262834
--83Sadvakasov, DarmengKAZ19792615261826352619262926322643261612
--86Sakaev, KonstantingRUS19742633263426342646264926342640261928
--88Kazhgaleyev, MurtasgKAZ19732603259925882594261726412640263026
--94Gurevich, MikhailgTUR1959263926332627260726112631263426248
--97Seirawan, YassergUSA1960264226342634262826302634263426340
--98Malakhatko, VadimgBEL19772598259625962600262126122633261018
--100Istratescu, AndreigROU19752625262926312617262826362633262415

7) Groningen Chess Festival

The annual Groningen Chess Festival took place December 21st-30th 2008. in the renowned Harmoniegebouw and the event is closely related to the 1946 Staunton tournament won by Botwinnik. Merab Gagunashvili, Robin Swinkels and Arkadij Rotstein finished on 7/9.

The 45th edition of the Groningen Chess Festival will also feature a match between two young Dutch grandmasters. Groningen based law student Jan Werle, who became EC champion in October, and this year's Dutch champion Jan Smeets. Both players were members of the Dutch team that competed at the Chess Olympiad in Dresden. Jan Smeets won the final game to take the match.

Official site: http://www.schaakstadgroningen.nl/index.php/festival-2008

Challenge Match Werle 1.5 - Smeets 2.5

Werle, Jan - Smeets, Jan ½-½ 41 D12 Slav Defence
Smeets, Jan - Werle, Jan ½-½ 125 C92 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Werle, Jan - Smeets, Jan ½-½ 16 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Smeets, Jan - Werle, Jan 1-0 72 C92 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Invitation Match Groningen (NED), 26-29 xii 2008
1234
1 Smeets, Jan g NED 2604 ½ ½ ½ 1 2677
2 Werle, Jan g NED 2582 ½ ½ ½ 0 2517
Groningen Chess Festival Open A (NED), 21-30 xii 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank Name TiFed. Rating Score BH SB TPR
1Gagunashvili, Merab GMGEO 2576750.5392673
2Swinkels, Robin IMNED 245174936.52685
3Rotstein, Arkadij GMGER 249674936.252662
4Giri, Anish FMRUS 24666.550.534.252595
5Ernst, Sipke GMNED 25766.54631.752579
6Van Den Doel, Erik GMNED 2570654352575
7Sundararajan, Kidambi IMIND 2501648282508
8Bojkov, Dejan GMBUL 2472647.530.252530
9Hoffmann, Michael IMGER 2469645.528.252531
10Spoelman, Wouter IMNED 245964527.752530
11Bitalzadeh, Ali IMNED 2370640.525.52459
12Brandenburg, Daan IMNED 243663825.252432
13Reinderman, Dimitri GMNED 25435.552302519
14Van Der Wiel, John GMNED 25015.548272506
15Levin, Felix GMGER 25365.54726.52473
16Danielian, Elina IMARM 25135.54525.52409
17Rohit, Gogineni IMIND 24575.543.524.752447
18Van Oosterom, Chiel IMNED 24285.541.521.52396
19Nijboer, Friso GMNED 2540549.524.252453
20Afek, Yochanan IMISR 2319547242391
21Venkatesh, M.R. IMIND 246854422.752377
22Simutowe, Amon IMZAM 2463543.523.52334
23Bok, Benjamin NED 226554220.52392
24Hopman, Pieter NED 2319541.520.52324
25Khantuev, Alexander FMRUS 234954117.752297
26Burg, Twan FMNED 2382540202362
27Bensdorp, Marlies WIMNED 2303538.518.252341
28Saravanan, V. IMIND 24174.544.519.52375
29De Jong, Migchiel FMNED 23494.54320.252314
30Tan, Matthew FMNED 23214.54118.752222
31Admiraal, Miguoel NED 19534.54018.252264
32Starostits, Ilmars IMLAT 24804.54017.52261
33Kuling, Lody NED 21954.53916.252284
34Pijpers, Arthur NED 21504.538.516.252306
35Van Kooten, Luuk FMNED 22634.53817.752257
36Clemens, Adrian FMNED 22614.538162290
37Otte, Marijn NED 23514.536.5182233
38Kuipers, Stefan FMNED 22924.536152236
39Van Assendelft, Floris NED 225344719.52349
68 players

8) Indian National A Championships

The 46th Indian National A Championship for men took place in Mangalore 17th-30th December 2008. Surya Shekhar Ganguly took clear first with 8/12.

The 35th Indian National A Championship for women took place in New Delhi 18th-28th December 2008. Kruttika Nadig won the women's title.

I've taken the standings from the games. The moves from the round 1 women's games are missing.

Various websites cover the event: http://www.karnatakachess.com/ - http://www.indianchessfed.org/ with results of the men's (but not as far as I can see women's): http://chess-results.com/tnr18097.aspx and games at: http://monroi.com/

46th ch-IND National A Mangalore (IND), 17-30 xii 2008 cat. IX (2466)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
1. Ganguly, Surya Shekhar g IND 2603 * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8 2579
2. Akshayraj, Kore m IND 2400 ½ * 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 2566
3. Negi, Parimarjan g IND 2597 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 2550
4. Deepan, Chakkravarthy J g IND 2464 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 7 2523
5. Rathnakaran, K m IND 2458 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 2496
6. Neelotpal, Das g IND 2477 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 2494
7. Sriram, Jha m IND 2457 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 2496
8. Satyapragyan, Swayangsu m IND 2417 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 0 6 2470
9. Thipsay, Praveen M g IND 2444 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 0 0 * ½ ½ 0 ½ 5 2411
10. Konguvel, Ponnuswamy m IND 2463 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 2379
11. Shyam, Sundar M m IND 2402 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 2384
12. Thejkumar, M. S IND 2441 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ * ½ 2381
13. Adhiban, B m IND 2439 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 4 2343

35th ch-IND w National A New Delhi IND (IND), 18-28 xii 2008 cat. II (2284)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Nadig, Kruttika wm IND 2387 * 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 8 2449
2. Sachdev, Tania m IND 2425 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 7 2372
3. Mohota, Nisha wg IND 2311 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 6 2317
4. Karavade, Eesha wg IND 2386 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 6 2310
5. Swathi, Ghate wg IND 2320 0 0 0 1 * ½ 1 1 0 1 1 ½ 6 2316
6. Gomes, Mary Ann wg IND 2298 0 1 ½ ½ ½ * 0 0 1 1 0 1 2282
7. Soumya, Swaminathan wm IND 2326 0 1 0 0 0 1 * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 5 2243
8. Bhakti, Kulkarni wf IND 2163 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 5 2258
9. Amrutha, Mokal IND 2163 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 * ½ 1 ½ 5 2258
10. Pon, N Krithika wf IND 2191 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 2227
11. Padmini, Rout wm IND 2235 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 4 2186
12. Kiran, Manisha Mohanty wm IND 2198 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 4 2189

9) Asian Chess Club Championship League

The Asian Chess Club Championship League took place in Alain, UAE 25th-31st December 2008 and the home team took the title.

Official site: http://asia-chess.com/main/index.php

1st Asian Clubs Al Ain (UAE), 25-31 xii 2008
Rk.SNoTeamNATGames + = - TB1 TB2 TB3
11Al Ain Chess Club AUAE752012168,559,0
23Qi Yuan ClubCHN760112137,554,0
32Fajr Shams Chess ClubIRI751111139,553,0
44Tagaytay Chess ClubPHI750210139,058,0
56Vietnam Victory ClubVIE74129122,556,0
611Mon-CadMGL74129108,050,0
713GalkynyshTKM74129101,545,0
89Al Ain Chess Club BUAE7412997,048,0
98Club IntchessSIN7412995,053,0
107Club IndiaIND74038127,055,0
115Chirchik ChessUZB74038102,560,0
1216Al MuhafazaSYR7403870,544,0
1319Al ShuolaaYEM7403861,544,0
1410Rah AhanIRI7313787,052,0
1518PeshmergaIRQ7313769,549,0
1620Lahore Chess ClubPAK7313760,040,0
1717Sport Electricity ClubIRQ7304675,546,0
1814Yemen Chess ClubYEM7304657,046,0
1927Brunei Chess CenterBRU7223655,537,0
2024Tanmiyah Sports ClubLIB7304654,040,0
2121Sri Lanka Chess ClubSRI7304643,537,0
2223NablesPLE7304635,537,0
2312Sharjah Chess ClubUAE7214569,044,0
2422Bahrain Union ClubBRN7214544,540,0
2515Tajikistan Chess ClubTJK5212537,041,0
2628Afghanistan Chess ClubAFG7214536,534,0
2726Elite Chess ClubNEP7115339,537,0
2825Ilsan Chess ClubKOR7115336,031,0
2929Al Shulah ClubSYR7115334,534,0
3030Jerusalem Chess ClubPLE7025225,031,0

10) Leon World Chess Open

The city of Leon held it's World Chess Open 26th-28th December 2008. Evgeny Bareev took first place from Artur Jussupov, Alexei Shirov, Daniel Fridman, Sergey Fedorchuk, Renier Vazquez Iharza, Orelvis Perez Mitjans and Dragan Paunovic after all scored 7.5/9. 50 games now available.

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

Leon World Chess Open (ESP), 26-28 xii 2008
1Bareev, Evgeny2647RUS7.55256
2Jussupow, Artur2570GER7.549.553.5
3Shirov, Alexei2726ESP7.549.553
4Fridman, Daniel2630GER7.54853
5Fedorchuk, Sergey2604UKR7.54853
6Vazquez Igarza, Renier2546 7.54751
7Perez Mitjans, Orelvis2446CUB7.54549
8Paunovic, Dragan2532SRB7.541.545
9Granda  Zuñiga, Julio2628PER751.556.5
10Beliavsky, Aleksander2619SLO749.553.5
11Timman, Jan2580NED74953.5
12Ljubojevic, Ljubomir2553SRB74953.5
13Suba, Mihail2531ROM748.552.5
14Peralta, Fernando2557ARG747.550.5
15Lopez Martinez, Jose Manuel2548CAT745.550
16Guliyev, Namig2521AZE74548.5
17Perez Candelario, Manuel2520EXT741.545.5
18Milov, Vadim2681SUI6.554.559.5
19Malakhatko, Vadim2633UKR6.55356
20Rivas Pastor, Manuel2514 6.550.554.5
21Agrest, Eugeny2574SWE6.550.554
22Naiditsch, Arkadij2678GER6.548.553
23Andersson, Ulf2562SWE6.546.551
24Oms Pallise, Josep2522CAT6.54549
25Del Rio De Angelis, Gabriel2531AND6.54548.5
26Escobar  Forero, Alder2482COL6.54448.5
27San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo2564CAN6.54447.5
28Shchekachev, Andrei2514FRA6.54447.5
29Portisch, Lajos2513HUN6.54446.5
30Panelo Munoz, Marcelo2427ARG6.54347
31Arruebarrena Rodriguez, Rafael Erne2274AST6.541.545
341 players

11) Rilton Cup

The XXXVIII Rilton Cup took place in Stockholm 27th December 2008 - 5th January 2009. Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Sebastian Bognar finished on 7/9. There should be some more round 9 games later.

Official site: http://www.rilton.se/

38th Rilton Cup 2008-9 Stockholm (SWE), 26-29 xii 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.NameFEDRtgPts. TB1
1GMWojtaszek RadoslawPOL25997,037,0
2IMBogner SebastianGER24487,032,5
3GMKuzubov YuriyUKR26226,535,0
4GMBerczes DavidHUN25146,534,0
5GMGleizerov EvgenyRUS25456,532,5
6GMCramling PiaSWE25506,531,0
7GMIvanov SergejRUS25476,036,0
8GMHillarp-Persson TigerSWE25436,033,5
9IMGrandelius NilsSWE24646,033,0
10GMBrynell StellanSWE24476,028,0
11Blomqvist ErikSWE24186,027,0
12FMNithander VictorSWE23655,530,5
13IMWillemze ThomasNED24195,529,5
14GMUlibin MikhailRUS25215,529,0
15FMRauan SagitSWE23145,529,0
16IMLindberg BengtSWE24065,527,5
17FMHedman ErikSWE23535,525,5
18IMEngqvist ThomasSWE23635,525,5
19GMÅkesson RalfSWE24835,029,5
20IMHuschenbeth NiclasGER24175,029,0
21FMHirneise TobiasGER24405,028,0
22IMTikkanen HansSWE24155,027,5
23GMBellon JuanESP24405,027,5
24IMBerczes CsabaHUN23995,027,0
25IMGagarin VasilijRUS23905,026,5
26GMKlovans JanisLAT24115,025,5
27IMKolbus DietmarGER24145,025,0
28WIMBoric ElenaBIH22925,024,0
29Hammar UlfSWE21975,021,5
30Forsberg ViktorSWE22105,021,5
31Ängskog KentSWE22435,021,0
32IMFurhoff JohanSWE24054,529,0
72 players

12) North American Open

The 18th North American Open took place 26th-29th December 2008. Giorgi Kacheishvili took clear first place with 6/7.

Official site: http://chesstournamentservices.com/cca/category/north-american-open/

18th North American (USA), 26-29 xii 2008
# NameTiRatAfterTot
1Giorgi Kacheishvili GM265727036
2Zviad Izoria GM26592687
3Melikset Khachiyan GM25862608
4Alexander Shabalov GM26232636
5Julio J Becerra GM26572643
6Jaan Ehlvest GM26462647
7Yury Shulman GM267726765
8Samuel Shankland IM242524495
9Eric Hansen FM234523825
10Enrico Sevillano IM256525685
11Luis Belliard 220722505
12Slavko Cicak GM26642647
13Michael Lee 23262375
14Andranik Matikozyan IM24822487
15John D Bryant 24072423
16Dashze Sharavdorj GM24662468
17Rogelio Antonio Jr GM25892576
18Mark Ginsburg 24102414
19Robert L Hess IM25442521
20Matt J Parry 23032314
21Vadim Kudryavtsev 21852232
22Gregg H Small 22872305
23David Pruess IM24572433
24Steven C Zierk 225822944
89 players

13) 5th IRT Merlo

The 5th IRT Merlo takes place 19th December 2008 - 7th January 2009.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezplus.com.ar/index.php

5th IRT Merlo (ARG), 19 xii 2008 - 7 i 2009
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Barrionuevo, Pablo f ARG 2341 * 1 1 . 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 2366
2. Sapienza, Julian ARG 2169 0 * . 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 6 2438
3. Tomeo, Nicolas ARG 2043 0 . * ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 6 2329
4. Koch, Juan ARG 2037 . 0 ½ * ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 2158
5. De Picciotto, Marcelo ARG 2070 1 0 ½ ½ * . 1 0 0 1 4 2148
6. Pagano, Marcelo ARG 2049 ½ 0 0 0 . * ½ 1 1 1 4 2148
7. Preuss, Maximiliano ARG 2114 0 0 0 1 0 ½ * ½ . 1 3 2036
8. Menon, Daniel ARG 2186 0 . 0 0 1 0 ½ * 1 . 2019
9. Godoy, Carlos ARG ARG 2199 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 . 0 * 1 1982
10. Tomeo, Ivan ARG 2095 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 * 0

14) 17th Donau Open

The 17th Donau Open took place 26th - 31st Decemberr 2008. Jozsef Horvath won the event with 6/7. My thanks to Harald Grafenhofer.

Official site: http://www.aschach.at/schach/

17th Donau Open Aschach (AUT), 26-31 xii 2008
Rg.SNrTitNameEloNatVereinPkteRFRp
12GM Horvath Jozsef 2542HUNSC Die Klagenfurter 625,02678
24IM Neuman Petr 2455CZE 24,02556
31GM Shengelia Davit 2547GEOStyria Graz 23,02544
48IM Mazi Leon 2374SLOSV Asvoe Raika St.Veit 19,52347
520MK Wiesinger Robert 2237AUTUnion Hartkirchen 522,02486
610IM Jurek Josef 2354CZE 522,02364
76IM Neubauer Martin Mag. 2422AUTSV Asvoe Raika St.Veit 521,52439
83GM Hertneck Gerald 2519GER 521,52429
921WIM Borosova Zuzana 2234SVK 520,52381
109IM Knoll Hermann 2371AUTUnion Ansfelden 520,02366
1111FM Hebesberger Thomas DI.Dr 2354AUTSV Asvoe Raika St.Veit 20,52346
1241FM Holzmann Herbert 2120AUTSV Steyregg 20,02272
1314MK Testor Sebastian 2271AUTSpg. Sauwald 19,02288
1427 Sadilek Peter 2183AUTRaffeisen Waehring 18,52345
1513FM Schnider Gert 2304AUTFrauental 18,52290
167IM Sakelsek Tadej 2403SLOESV Austria Graz 18,52275
1728 Punzenberger Franz 2182AUTTSV St. Georgen/Gusen 18,02322
1835 Schreiner Peter 2143AUTFrauental 18,02310
1930MK Obermayr Hermann 2176AUTSV Grieskirchen 16,52231
2025 Juhasz Kristof 2214HUN 16,02162
2137 Wagner Stefan 2133AUTSgm. Litschau-Eisgarn 16,02112
2218 Poetz Florian 2255AUTFuerstenfeld 420,02279
235IM Eisenbeiser Amadeus 2424GERSC BG Buchen 419,52284
2432 Lang Christian 2149AUTAskoe Muehltal 419,02310
2529 Binder Michael 2181AUTSK Kirchdorf/Krems 416,52285
2623 Konrad Edmund 2226AUTUnion Hartkirchen 416,52196
83 players

15) X Mirko Srajber Memorial

The X Memorial "Mirko Srajber" took place 17th-25th December 2008. Marius Manolache, Milos Roganovic and Robert Markos finished on 6.5/9. My thanks to Istvan Brindza for the games.

Coverage: http://chess-results.com/tnr18237.aspx. Games were broadcast at: http://chess-press.com/open/index.html and the official site was: http://www.spartakchess.com/site/index.php

10th Mirko Srajber Mem Subotica (SRB), 17-25 xii 2008 cat. X (2488)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Manolache, Marius g ROU 2494 * ½ 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2653
2. Roganovic, Milos f SRB 2458 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 2657
3. Markus, Robert g SRB 2616 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 2639
4. Sedlak, Nikola g SRB 2553 1 ½ ½ * 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 4 2437
5. Chirila, Ioan Cristian m ROU 2462 1 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ 0 0 1 4 2448
6. Pap, Misa m SRB 2493 0 ½ 0 1 1 * ½ ½ ½ 0 4 2444
7. Pap, Gyula m HUN 2467 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 4 2447
8. Bogosavljevic, Boban g SRB 2541 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 * 0 ½ 2402
9. Skoberne, Jure m SLO 2501 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 * 0 3 2361
10. Nadj Hedjesi, Balind SRB 2296 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 * 3 2384

16) III Open Internacional d'Escacs

The III Open Internacional d'Escacs Illes Medes took place 28th December 2008 - 4th January 2009. Konstantin Maskak and Marc Narciso Dublan finished on 7/9. I'll wait and see if the games section gets a little better on the official site: http://www.openillesmedes.com at the moment they have a random set of rounds available.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr18305.aspx

III Open Internacional d'Escacs (ESP), 28-31 xii 2008
Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.NameFEDRtgPts.TB1 TB2
1Maslak KonstantinGMRUS2544741.551
2Narciso Dublan MarcGMESP2511739.548.5
3Genov PetarGMBUL2473639.548.5
4Ivanov AlexeyIMRUS243163948
5Alonso Rosell AlvarFMESP2416638.545
6Moskalenko ViktorGMUKR256863846v
7Cuartas Medin Jaime AlexanderIMCOL24895.542.550.5
8Chatalbashev BorisGMBUL25795.54149.5
9Fluvia Poyatos JoanIMESP24675.540.550
10Vitoux ColombanFMFRA24495.539.546.5
11Djuric StefanGMSRB24635.53947.5
12Valle Luis ECUB21805.53743
13Schut LisaNED21535.53642
14Fluvia Poyatos JordiIMESP24555.53542.5
15Vehi Bach Victor ManuelIMESP239553947
16Hartikainen MarkkuFMFIN2294537.545
17Lillo Castay VictorESP2177537.544.5
18Sepman YuliusRUS2297537.543.5
19Vernay ClovisIMFRA234153745
20Nikolaev NikitaIMRUS2441535.543.5
48 players

17) Herb Healy Open House Tournament

George Mirijanian reports: The Herb Healy Open House Tournament took place on New Year's Day at the Boylston Chess Club in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. Mass. state champion Denys Shmelov, 22, of Pepperell, Mass. scored a perfect 4-0 to win first place. National master Christopher Williams, 19, of Brighton, Mass., captured second place with a 3.5-0.5 tally. Tied for 3rd-8th place with 3-1 results were senior master Marc Esserman, 25, of Cambridge, Mass.; IM David Vigorito, 38, of Somerville; national master Carey Theil, 30, of Arlington, Mass.; U.S. Chess Federation-rated experts Andrew Tichenor, 26, of Brookline, Mass. and Patrick Sciacca, 45, of New Hampshire; and Class A contestant Terrence Fricker of Massachusetts. The USCF-rated tournament drew 36 players and was directed by Bernardo Iglesias of Stoughton, Mass. An additional 16 players participated in an unrated section, jointly won by FMs William Kelleher, 59, of Watertown, Mass., and Paul MacIntyre, 46, of Malden, Mass. with scores of 3.5-0.5.

18) IX El Sauzal International Rapid Open

The IX El Sauzal International Rapid Open took place 1st-2nd November 2008. The winner was Sergei Tiviakov who scored 8.5/9. My thanks to Agustin Manrique for a big selection of the games.

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

19) Christmas Master Open Zurich

The Christmas Master Open Zurich took place 26th-30th December 2008. Imre Hera edged out a big group of players on tie-break all of whom finished on 5.5/7.

Official site: http://www.kradolfer-informatik.ch/schach/wop/resultate2008.html

Christmas Master Open Zurich (SUI), 26-30 xii 2008
Rang Teilnehmer Titel TWZ Land Punkte Buchh BuSumm
1Hera Imre GM 2530HUN 5.533.5196
2Georgiev Vladimir GM 2517MKD 5.532196
3Bindrich Falko GM 2517GER 5.531.5201
4Prohaszka Peter IM 2502HUN 5.530199
5Czebe Attila GM 2468HUN 5.529196
6Baramidze David GM 2557GER 5.529184
7Pelletier Yannick GM 2557SUI 5.528.5202.5
8Heimann Andreas 2428GER 531.5192.5
9Rusev Krasimir GM 2541BUL 531192
10Gasthofer Viktor IM 2335GER 530184.5
11Stojanovic Mihajlo GM 2573SRB 528.5195.5
12Klauser Markus IM 2382SUI 527179.5
13Dimitrov Atanas 2329GRE 525.5189.5
14Moor Olivier IM 2365SUI 524.5178
15Moor Roger IM 2357SUI 4.527.5183
16Gähwiler Gabriel 2246SUI 4.527186.5
17Friedrich Norbert FM 2347SUI 4.527184.5
18Eschbach Dennis 2416GER 4.527184
19Hobuss Udo 2405GER 4.525.5182.5
20Wyss Jonas 2243SUI 4.525185
21Bigg Andrew 2266ENG 4.525184
22Nuri Kambez 2179SUI 4.525179
23Wegerer Fred FM 2227AUT 4.524.5176
24Kelecevic Nedeljko IM 2366BIH 4.524.5170
25Haas Carmi 2218SUI 4.524.5166
26Jenni Florian GM 2543SUI 430.5190.5
27Gasthofer Alexander IM 2452GER 428.5180
28Rosenthal Jonathan 2301SUI 428188.5
92 players

20) 5th Vandoeuvre Open

The 5th Vandoeuvre Open took place 26th-30th December 2008. Christian Bauer and Dmitry Svetushkin finished on 7.5/9. Games now available my thanks to Christophe Philippe.

Official site: http://www.vandoeuvre-echecs.com/

5th Open Vandoeuvre les Nancy (FRA). 26-30 xii 2008
Pl Nom Fede Elo Pts Tr. Bu. Perf.
1BAUER Christian g FRA 25927.544552662
2SVETUSHKIN Dmitry g MDA 25887.54453.52652
3HAUB Thorsten Michael m GER 24546.543.5532454
4GOZZOLI Yannick m FRA 25036.543532498
5ABERGEL Thal g FRA 25096.542512438
6VELICKA Petr g CZE 24646.541.551.52465
7RIFF Jean-Noel m FRA 25126.54049.52425
8MARZOLO Cyril m FRA 2484642.552.52386
9BROCHET Philippe m FRA 2377642.551.52382
10BRETHES Francois FRA 2148642.5512385
11GENZLING Alain f FRA 2335641.550.52318
12TADDEI Benoit f FRA 231264149.52357
13BRUNNER Nicolas m FRA 2415640502339
14GOLDSZTEJN Gildas m FRA 2415639492293
15KANTORIK Marian m SVK 2288639482203
16GROETZ Harald m AUT 2376637462180
17IGLESIAS Joachim FRA 21785.543.551.52335
18SPIELMANN Alain f FRA 23285.542512266
19JEITZ Christian LUX 22515.541.550.52215
20MARIE Loic FRA 19035.541.546.52166
21AMIGUES Emmanuel m FRA 23555.540.5502286
22CONGIU Mathilde mf FRA 22305.540482148
23LE BAIL Clara FRA 20445.539452141
24GUICHARD Pauline mf FRA 22775.537.545.52195
25LINSTER Philippe LUX 21965.537.545.52111
92 players

21) XX Abierto Internacional de Roquetas de Mar

The XX Abierto Internacional de Roquetas de Mar takes place 2nd-6th January 2009. Marcelo Panelo leads with 5.5/6 with three rounds to go.

Coverage: http://www.aulajedrez.com/directo/2009/roquetas/, http://festivaldeajedrez.blogspot.com/ and results: http://chess-results.com/tnr18254.aspx

22) Forthcoming Events and Links

Pula Open 2009

The 23rd International Chess Tournament "Pula Open 2009" takes place 27th June - 4th July 2009 in Pula, Croatia. Official site: http://www.skpula.hr and contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr.

Aeroflot Open 2009

The mega Aeroflot Open takes place in Moscow 16th February (the day of arrival) to 27th February 2009 (the day of departure). There are five tournaments the main ones being: A1 higher than 2549 70000 Euros, A2 higher than 2399, but lower than 2550 36000 Euros, B higher than 2199, but lower than 2400 19500 Euros and C lower than 2200 and unrated 12000 Euros. Time control: Tournament A 1 and A 2: 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour, finally 15 minutes for the remaining moves with an increment of 30 seconds per move in the last period. Tournament B and C: 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1.

Blitz Tournament 26 Feb. 2009 a double nine-round Swiss Blitz Tournament will be held in the same venue. It is a Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship 2009 (Final). The final tournament will take place in Moscow from 15 to 17 Nov.2009.

Information e-mail: aeroflotchess@gmail.com tel/fax: +7 (495) 691-8578 tel.: +7 (495) 690-6084

Details at the official site: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/

Novi Sad in January 2009

1) Bosnjaci open, 3-9 jan.2009 , 9 rounds , fide tempo , 80 km from N.Sad, more on http://www.drazic.co.rs

2) Open turnir , 10-11 jan. 2009 , Srpska Nova g. u N. Sadu , 5 kola , rejtinguje se !!, fide tempo http://www.drazic.co.rs

3) IM , berger, 10-18.jan.2009. , 10 rounds, fide tempo, Novi SAd, for elo and norms fide, http://www.drazic.co.rs

4) Open turnir , 16-18 jan.2009, Novi Sad "Zima u Novom Sadu", 5 kola , rejtinguje se !!, fide tempo http://www.drazic.co.rs

5) cuger turnir , Olimpik, 12. jan.2009, Novi Sad, start 20 h , http://www.drazic.co.rs

6) program of chess edukation, every day from 12-15 jan. 2009 chess lessons with varius GM and Im (available in 3 languages),,,, some of teachers GM Kosanovic G. , GM SEdlak Nikola, GM Kovacevic A , GM DRazic Sinisa etc...

7) Open t. , "Dunav-Drava -Sava" , Banja Junakovic(87km from N.Sad), 9 rounds, fide tempo, possible norms fide and elo, date - 21-25.01.2009., special package , only 130 eur, 4 days full board with available swiming pool, and include also entry fee !! more http://www.drazic.co.rs Special discount for people who take part in more than one events.

Prague and Marienbad Open

The 8th International Chess Festival PRAGUE OPEN 2009, takes place 9th-16th January 2009 in the capital of the Czech Republic, has been prolonged without extra fee for the late entering till 4.1. 2009. On the date 18.12. 2008. 89 players were registered to the main FIDE open with the possibility to fulfil IM norm (out of which 5 GM, 1 WGM and 15 IM) and 53 players were registered to the side FIDE open. More detailed information should be found on http://www.czechtour.net/prague-open/.

8th International Chess Festival MARIENBAD OPEN 2009 will be held 17.-25.1. 2009 in Marienbad (the second biggest spa town in the Czech Republic). Within the frame of the festival there will be 1 closed GM tournament, 2 closed IM tournaments, FIDE open, active chess and blitz tournament. Regulatios should be found on http://www.czechtour.net/marienbad-open/).

Current list of applications for both events is available on http://www.czechtour.net/news/.

Paul Keres Memorial Rapid

The 19th International Rapid Chess Tournament of Paul Keres Memorial, takes place in 9th-11th January 2009.

Website: http://www.maleliit.ee/tabelid/2009/keres/. There's a pdf file with regulations on this link http://www.maleliit.ee/download/2009/kereseng.pdf

Luis Scalise

Luis Scalise's chess pages have moved to: http://scalise.fortunecity.com/

Corus Fields all settled 2009

The 71st Corus Chess tournament takes place Friday, January 16th to Sunday, February 1st, 2009 in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands. Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian and Teimour Radjabov are the favourites for the event in the absence of world champion Viswanathan Anand, challenger Vladimir Kramnik and World Number one Veselin Topalov. This shake up of the field with these three regular missing has really freshened things up and should make for exciting chess, in the usual way they do things they'll probably be all back next year.

Five players will make their debut in the A-group: the young Dutch grandmasters Jan Smeets and Daniel Stellwagen, the sensational Wang Yue from China, who climbed up to the 11th place on the latest world ranking list, the winner of Grandmastergroup B in 2008, Sergei Movsesian, and Leinier Dominguez from Cuba (ranked 21st on the FIDE October rating list).

Grandmastergroup B is stronger than ever, with an average rating of 2631. Remarkable names in this group include former World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) former world championship challenger Nigel Short and former World Championship Candidate Henrique Mecking (Brazil).

In Grandmastergroup C former top player Oleg Romanishin (Ukraine) is one of the 14 participants. Romanishin won the recently held Cultural Village Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Young GM Eduardo Iturrizaga (Venezuela) qualified early November by winning the ICC Online Qualifier, while Manuel Bosboom (The Netherlands) and Frank Holzke (Germany) gained their places in the C-group by winning the two highest amateur events (nine-rounds-all-play-all) in January 2008. Besides, two more names are remarkable: the two Junior World Champions Abhijeet Gupta (boys under 20) and Dronavalli Harika (girls under 20) will participate. Harika and Gupta both represent India.

As from January 2009, the rate of play in Grandmaster groups A, B and C will change. The rate of play will be: 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour, followed by 15 minutes with 30 seconds per move increment to finish the game.

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

71st Corus Wijk aan Zee A-Group (NED), 16 i - 1 ii 2009
No.NameCountryWRankRatingBorn
1Alexander MorozevichRUS227871977
2Vassily IvanchukUKR327861969
3Magnus CarlsenNOR427861990
4Levon AronianARM727571982
5Teimour RadjabovAZE827511987
6Wang YueCHN1127361987
7Michael AdamsENG1227341971
8Sergei MovsesianSLW1327321978
9Sergei KarjakinUKR1527301990
10Gata KamskyUSA1627291974
11Leinier DominguezCUB2127191983
12Loek van WelyNED26181972
13Daniel StellwagenNED26051987
14Jan SmeetsNED26041985
71st Corus Wijk aan Zee B-Group (NED), 16 i - 1 ii 2009
Average rating: 2631 Category: 16
No.TiNameCountryRatingBorn
1GMKrishnan SasikiranIND26941981
2GMZahar EfimenkoUKR26801985
3GMRustam KasimdzhanovUZB26721979
4GMAlexander MotylevRUS26721979
5GMFrancisco Vallejo PonsESP26641982
6GMAndrei VolokitinUKR26591986
7GMNigel ShortENG26421965
8GMFabiano CaruanaITA26401992
9GMDavid NavaraCZE26331985
10GMErwin L'AmiNED 26101985
11GMJan WerleNED25821984
12WGMHou YifanCHN25781994
13GMHenrique MeckingBRA25671952
14GMDimitri ReindermanNED25431972
71st Corus Wijk aan Zee C-Group (NED), 16 i - 1 ii 2009
Average rating: 2512 Category: 11
No.TiNameCountryRatingBorn
1GMWesley SoPHI26101993
2GMDavid HowellENG25931990
3GMAbhijeet GuptaIND25801989
4GMTiger Hillarp PerssonSWE25431970
5GMFriso NijboerNED25401965
6GMEduardo IturrizagaVEN25381989
7IMManuel Leon HoyosMEX25351989
8GMOleg RomanishinUKR25321952
9GMFrank HolzkeGER25241971
10FMAnish GiriRUS24661994
11WGMDronavalli HarikaIND24621991
12IMRoeland PruijssersNED24581989
13IMManuel BosboomNED24161963
14FMAli BitalzadehNED23701989

7th Nancy Chess Festival

The 7th International Chess Festival takes place in Nancy (France) 16th-22nd February 2009. It will be a category 13 with average elo over 2550 (with january-elo). With the indian number 3 Pentala Harikrishna, the french number 5 Christian Bauer, the young hope of Germany Georg Meier, and the numbers 2 and 3 under-20 in France : Edouard and Feller (born in 1990 and 1991)...

Players: GM Harikrishna, P 2659 India GM Tregubov, Pavel 2646 Russia GM Krasenkow, Michal 2624 Poland GM Bauer, Christian 2592 France GM Meier, Georg 2558 Germany IM Edouard, Romain 2531 France GM Feller, Sebastien 2526 France IM Gozzoli, Yannick 2503 France IM Brunner, Nicolas 2415 France IM Nezar, Mustapha 2399 France

The all Festival includes 14 closed tournaments (10 players each) for all levels of players. Web (in french and english) : http://echecs54.free.fr/

11th Hotel Hilton Basle

The 11th Hotel Hilton Basle chess meeting The Swiss Chess Tour 2009 traditional start in the Hilton Basle from January 1-4. Three tournaments, main tournament will be 1st Memorial Ivan Nemet. GM Ivan Nemet pass away December 16, 2007. Prizes: 1.500/1.200/800/600/500/400/2x300/2x250 CHF. Special prizes, 200 CHF for best Lady, junior (89-92) and schoolboy (1993). Enter fee 140 CHF; FM and juniors 70 CHF; GM & IM free. At the door 20 CHF. The other tournaments Amateur Open and Senior Open. Amateur Open (under 2000 rating) Prizes: 700/500/400/3x300/4x200 CHF. Enter fee: 120 CHF (junior 60). Senior Open 5 rounds: Prizes: 500/400/300/2x200 CHF. Enter fee: 100 CHF. Application at the door for all groups 20 CHF. Time-control for all tournaments 7 rounds, 2 hours for 40 moves + 30 minutes each. Closing dinner 70 CHF.

Open desk for registration at January 1st at 12; Round 1 start at 5 p.m. in all groups.

More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+62+9654-650, fax +41+62+9654-651 E-mail event@beochess.ch Further information: http://www.beochess.ch

Grand Slam Masters Final

The 2nd edition of the Grand Slam Masters Final will be played in Bilbao, September 2-15th 2009. The winners of Corus-Wijk aan Zee, Ciudad de Linares and Mtel Masters-Sofia tournaments will qualify directly for the Masters Final in Bilbao, where the first edition (played at a central square, inside a glass cube) was a very big success last September.

More details on the 2009 tournament (number of players, system of play, etc) will be announced at the end of the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee. The Grand Slam is in negotiations to include one more high level tournament in the 2009 circuit.

Grand Slam Chess Association (GSCA)

Dresden, 23 November 2008

The 7th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival takes place from Tuesday 27 January to Thursday 5 February 2009 at the Caleta Hotel. Details: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/gib2009/index.html

Austrian Team Championship

The Austrian team championship started in St Veit 7th-9th November 2008, the 11 round competition has further rounds 22nd-25th January and 19th-22nd March 2009. Players in the first three rounds included: Sergei Movsesian, Hikaru Nakamura, Emil Sutovsky, Jan Gustafsson and Alexander Beliavsky.

Official site: http://www.chess.at/ and results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr12353.aspx?art=2&lan=1&m=-1

Chess Study

Dr Robert Howard is making a study of rated chess players.

The full article: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/results

If you would like to participate, please go to this website: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/

For any queries, please contact Dr Robert Howard, University of New South Wales, on rwh@unsw.edu.au

Jose Marca Memorial

The III Open Internacional ITT Jose Marca Memorial takes place in 10th-18th Lima January 2009. Grandmasters Sergey Tiviakov, Julio Granda, Bartolomiej Macieja and Emilo Cordova compete.

Official site: http://www.peruchess.org

4NCL

The 4NCL takes place 4th October 2008 - 4th May 2009. Rounds 3-4 took place 6th-7th December 2008 in the Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island. Next round 17th-18th January 2009.

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

Fixtures 2008-9

Rounds 1 and 2: 4th/5th October 2008 De Vere Venues, Sunningdale Divisions 1-2

Rounds 3-4: 6th/7th December 2008 Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island Divisions 1-3

Rounds 5-6: 17th/18th January 2009 De Vere Venues, Sunningdale Divisions 1-2

Rounds 7-8: 21st/22nd March 2009 Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island Divisions 1-3

Rounds 9-11: 2nd-4th May 2009 De Vere Venues, Staverton Park Divisions 1-2

Bundesliga

The Schachbundesliga season 2008/09 runs 3rd-5th October and runs until March 2009. 16 Teams compete with team rosters of 16-18 players but only eight play each weekend. There will be live coverage of all the games.

Dates: 4th-5th October 2008 25th-26th October 2008 29th-30th November 2008 12th-14th December 2008 (Here the official seventh round will be played. Although some will be played at other times) 31st January 2008 - 1st February 2009. 28th February - 1st March 2009. 28th-29th March 2009.

Official site of the Schachbundesliga (http://www.schachbundesliga.de/index.aspx) Further information (in German) and the entrance site for the live coverage: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/index.aspx

European Youth U-16 winners Texas Scholarships

The University of Texas at Dallas (USA) has offered scholarships to the winners of the U-16 European Youth Chess Championships since 2007. The agreement with the European Chess Union has been extended for another three years. The total value of the scholarships during this five-year period will be approximately 1 million USD, said James A. Stallings, Director of the UTD chess program.

Interview on the ECU website: http://www.europechess.org/home518.aspx?art=ft

27th Elba Island Festival

The 27th International Chess Festival of Elba Island "Luigi Amalfi", takes place at the Hotel Lacona 10th-17th May 2009.

Details: http://www.tuscanhotels.it/en/cmsx.asp?IDPg=23

25th Bermuda Open

The 25th Bermuda Open takes place 30th January - 1st February 2008 at the luxurious Fairmont Southampton Resort on the South Shore with private tennis courts, golf course, beach, walking trails,  ferry into Hamilton for duty-free shopping 5 round Swiss. Register & pay on site.  For info contact Nigel Freeman at cadilly@northrock.bm or Carol Jarecki at carolj10280@yahoo.com  

Icelandic Team Championship

Icelandic Team Champ 1st div first half took place 3rd-5th October 2008. The 2nd set of games are March 21st-22nd March 2009 if I understand the website correctly. A small number of games are available.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5982&Itemid=499# and results: http://chess-results.com/tnr16443.aspx?tnr=16443&art=16&lan=2&flag=30&m=-1

Doeberl Cup and Sydney International 2009

The 2009 Doeberl Cup is in Canberra 9th-13th April 2009. See http://www.doeberlcup.com.au/

The 2009 Sydney International Open takes place 15th-19th April 2009. See http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/index.cfm?site=open

Free entry to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs.

Free accommodation for selected GMs and WGMs.

For further information, please contact Brian Jones info@chessaustralia.com.au

Czech Litomysl Chess Christmas

Czech Chess Christmas 2008 Litomysl (CZE) 26.12.2008-2.1.2009

10th christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h + 30s/move, prize fund 64.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 750 EUR), 10 financial prizes redeemable by drawings, special conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme.

Contact: Proclient s.r.o., Jaroslav Fuksik, Svedska 3, 772 00 Olomouc, mobile: +420 608 364 664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, web: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2008/

So - Torre Match 2009

14-year-old Wesley So and 56-year-old Eugene Torre play a 12 game match starting February 10, 2009 at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. Two games each will be played in Quezon City, Davao and Iloilo, and if the match remains undecided, the protagonists will return to Quezon City and finish the match. A knockout game will be played if the duel ends up 6-6. The winner will take home P600,000 while the loser will earn P400,000.Another P100,000 goes to the winner of each provincial leg while the loser will get P50,000.

VI Transcarpathian Rapidtournament Chess Decyk

VI Transcarpathian Rapidtournament "Chess Decyk" Ukraine, Uzhgorod, 28-29.08.2008

Organizers of tournament: Chess Federation of Uzhgorod Organizational committee: B. Borshosh, A. Samoylenko, V. Prokopishin Place: Ukraine, Uzhgorod, Pub-museum "Deca u notaria", Gagarin street, 98 Also Traditional Beer blitz-tournament will take place in Pub-museum "Deca u notaria"! Phone: +380503723900, +380503179153, (+3803122) 2-25-87 E-mail: chessfeduzh@rambler.ru Details: http://www.chessfeduzh.narod.ru

Hungarian Chess Tournaments July 2008 - March 2009

1. 19th-28th of July 2008 KECSKEMET, IM-FM 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.

2. 2nd-14th of August, 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.

3.16th-25th of August, IM-FM tmt, Kecskemet, org: Erdelyi

4.6th-18th of September GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L,

5.20th -29th September IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi

6.4th-16th of October, GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org.Nagy L.

7.18th-30th of October, SAKKAKADEMIA, GM-IM closed, org: WGM Csonkics, Tunde, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

8.18th-27th of October IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi.

9.1st-13th of November GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

10. 15th-23rd of November, Kecskemet, IM dr.Erdelyi.

11.14th-22nd of November Tenkes Kupa Open, Harkany, 300 km South-West from Budapest, 9 round Swiss, org: Ambrus Lajos, mobile: 36-30-851-4224 e-mail: info@baranyasakk.hu www.baranyasakk.hu

12.6th-18th of December GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

13.27th of Dec - 5th of January IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org: Erdelyi.

14.9th-17th of January, EVADNYITO Open 9 rounds Swiss, Budapest, org: IA FAZEKAS, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

15.23rd of January - 2nd of February, BALASSAGYARMAT WINTER, GM-IM closed, 100 km North from Budapest, Org: Nagy Laszlo, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

16.7th-19th of February, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM Budapest - org: Nagy Laszlo, www.firstsaturday.hu - info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

17.7th-19th of March, First Saturday, Budapest, GM-IM-FM, org Nagy L.

18.20th-28th of March, 25th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL 9 rounds Swiss Open, org: Nagy L. - e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

2nd Queenstown Chess Classic 2009

Queenstown Chess Classic takes place in Queenstown, South Island of New Zealand 15th-24th January 2009.

This will be the second such event, the first was held in Jan 2006.

The Tournament promoter is GM Murray Chandler. Over $50,000 (NZ) is being offered in prizes with additional prizes in the Rapid and Blitz events being held on January 25th-26th 2009.

Full details: http://www.queenstownchess.com

GM Boris Alterman's Chess Lessons

GM Boris Alterman has a blog with free chess lessons on it.

Website: http://chesslessons.wordpress.com/

FIDE Grand Prix Events

The line ups for the FIDE Grand Prix events have been announced. The top four players in the world, along with players such as Morozevich and Shirov are missing. It seems that in the case of Kramnik and Topalov that they believe that the event doesn't have big enough prize money (according to quotes in Chess Today). All this was more or less known beforehand. However the players who have signed up make this a very attractive and interesting series of events. The grand prix is organised by Global Chess which is headed by Bessel Kok.

Details: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1607


FIDE Grand Prix 2008-9
Surname First Name NAT Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ck 08 Criteria WRk
Svidler Peter RUS 2763 2763 2763
2763
2763 4 2 Pres Nom 5
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2760 2760
2760 2760
2760 4 2 Rating 6
Leko Peter HUN 2753

2753 2753 2753 2753 4 1 Rating 8
Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2751
2751
2751 2751 2751 4 1 Rating 9
Aronian Levon ARM 2739
2739
2739 2739 2739 4 1 Rating 10
Gelfand Boris ISR 2737
2737
2737 2737 2737 4 1 Rating 11
Radjabov Teimour AZE 2735 2735 2735 2735 2735

4 3 Rating 12
Carlsen Magnus NOR 2733 2733
2733 2733
2733 4 2 Wcup 13
Karjakin Sergey UKR 2732 2732 2732
2732 2732
4 2 Wcup 14
Adams Michael ENG 2726 2726
2726
2726 2726 4 2 Reserve 16
Kamsky Gata USA 2726 2726 2726
2726 2726
4 2 Matches 15
Jakovenko Dmitry RUS 2720
2720 2720
2720 2720 4 2 Hcity 17
Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2713 2713 2713 2713

2713 4 3 Pres Nom 19
Grischuk Alexander RUS 2711 2711 2711 2711 2711

4 3 Reserve 21
Bacrot Etienne FRA 2700 2700
2700 2700 2700
4 2 Pres Nom 22
Wang Yue CHN 2698 2698 2698 2698
2698
4 3 Pres Nom 25
Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2681 2681
2681
2681 2681 4 2 Hcity 34
Navara David CZE 2680 2680 2680

2680 2680 4 2 Hcity 37
Gashimov Vugar AZE 2665 2665 2665 2665
2665
4 3 Hcity 48
Pelletier Yannick SWZ 2600

2600 2600 2600 2600 4 1 Hcity 165
Al Modiahki Mohamad QTR 2569
2569 2569 2569
2569 4 2 Hcity 274
AVERAGE RATING


2715.9 2709.9 2697.4 2714.9 2707.7 2708.9



Player Count 21
2709.1 14 14 14 14 14 14 84 42

Event 1 April 20th - May 6th 2008, Baku, Azerbaijan
Event 2 July 30th - August 15th 2008, Sochi, Russia
Event 3 December 13th - 29th, 2008, Elista, Russia (Doha, Qatar withdrew)
Event 4 April 14th - 28th, 2009, Montreux, Switzerland
Event 5 August 8th - 24th, 2009, Elista, Russia
Event 6 December 7th - 23rd, 2009, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

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

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.

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