THE WEEK IN CHESS 751 30th March 2009 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Bela Lengyel, Harald Grafenhofer, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Miklos Orso, Ana Matnadze, Jan Mazuch, Dragan Babic, Eldar Mukhametov, Georgios Souleidis, Laszlo Nagy, Mikhail Golubev, George Mirijanian, Misha Savinov, Peter Sowray, Steffen Wirth and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Levon Aronian won the Amber tournament in Nice finishing half a point clear of Vladimir Kramnik and World Champion Viswanathan Anand. In addition the Bundesliga finished and also saw a retained title with OSG Baden-Baden winning for the fourth time in a row. This has been a big couple of weeks for team events all over the world with many concluding. I do wonder about next year and the economic crisis, professional teams may be amongst the first to feel the big squeeze as sponsorship money runs out. This week saw confirmation of that the 4th FIDE Grand Prix event will take place next month in Nalchik. The event will again be very strong and should be extremely enjoyable. I had pretty much given up on the Grand Prix as sponsors withdrew, along with some of the leading players. The series deserves far better than this, and even if the economics crisis finally means that this is the last event (the one in December is up in the air I understand, and even if that takes place the series will still be one tournament short and its rewards have been undermined a bit too) this is a format that can and should be revisited in the future when the world economy recovers (as I'm sure we all hope it does) as they really have all been wonderful tournaments. The FIDE rating list may very well be out by the time you read this, but isn't at the moment. If http://chess.liverating.org/ is to be believed (as I'm sure it can) then the top 12 will be Topalov, Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, Radjabov, Jakovenko, Aronian, Leko, Morozevich, Grischuk, Gelfand and Ivanchuk. I'll no doubt get more chance to go into this next week.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Amber Blindfold and Rapid

The 18th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament took place March 14th (first round) - March 26 (last round) at the five-star hotel Palais de la Mediterranee, splendidly located on the famous Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. The event was organised by the Association Max Euwe in Monaco.

Levon Aronian tied for first in both Blindfold and Rapid events and took the combined title by half a point from Vladimir Kramnik and World Champion Viswanathan Anand.

The total prize-fund was 216,000 Euros.

Official website: http://www.amberchess2009.com

18th Amber Blindfold Nice (FRA), 14-26 iii 2009													cat. XXI (2759)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	*	1	½	0	1	1	½	0	1	½	1	½	7	2860
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2776	0	*	½	1	1	½	1	½	0	½	1	1	7	2859
3.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2750	½	½	*	½	½	0	½	1	1	½	1	1	7	2861
4.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2791	1	0	½	*	0	1	½	½	1	1	½	½	6½	2820
5.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2771	0	0	½	1	*	½	1	0	½	1	1	1	6½	2822
6.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2751	0	½	1	0	½	*	1	1	½	0	½	½	5½	2759
7.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2796	½	0	½	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	1	1	5½	2755
8.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	1	½	0	½	1	0	½	*	1	0	0	½	5	2720
9.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2761	0	1	0	0	½	½	½	0	*	1	½	1	5	2722
10.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2706	½	½	½	0	0	1	0	1	0	*	½	½	4½	2698
11.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2739	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	1	½	½	*	½	3½	2627
12.	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2725	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	*	3	2586

Round 9 (March 24, 2009)
Kramnik, Vladimir	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	0-1	73	D82	Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Morozevich, Alexander	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	48	D10	Slav Defence
Topalov, Veselin	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	27	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Radjabov, Teimour	- Leko, Peter	½-½	24	B18	Caro Kann
Karjakin, Sergey	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	41	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Wang Yue	- Kamsky, Gata	½-½	59	D15	Slav Defence
Round 10 (March 25, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Kramnik, Vladimir	0-1	20	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Aronian, Levon	- Wang Yue	1-0	67	D12	Slav Defence
Anand, Viswanathan	- Morozevich, Alexander	0-1	25	B07	Pirc Defence
Leko, Peter	- Karjakin, Sergey	0-1	56	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	83	E62	King's Indian 6...Nc6
Kamsky, Gata	- Topalov, Veselin	0-1	33	B43	Sicilian Paulsen
Round 11 (March 26, 2009)
Kramnik, Vladimir	- Leko, Peter	1-0	36	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Morozevich, Alexander	- Kamsky, Gata	1-0	85	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Topalov, Veselin	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	46	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Radjabov, Teimour	- Carlsen, Magnus	1-0	54	C53	Giuoco Piano
Karjakin, Sergey	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0	111	A61	Benoni
Wang Yue	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	85	D12	Slav Defence

18th Amber Rapid Nice (FRA), 14-26 iii 2009													cat. XXI (2759)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2791	*	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	1	7	2857
2.	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2725	0	*	1	½	0	1	1	½	1	½	1	½	7	2863
3.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2750	½	0	*	0	1	1	½	1	1	1	½	½	7	2861
4.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	½	½	1	*	½	½	½	0	1	½	½	1	6½	2823
5.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2706	½	1	0	½	*	0	1	1	½	1	0	½	6	2799
6.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2776	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	6	2793
7.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2796	½	0	½	½	0	½	*	1	½	½	½	½	5	2719
8.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2771	½	½	0	1	0	½	0	*	0	½	½	1	4½	2692
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2751	1	0	0	0	½	½	½	1	*	0	½	½	4½	2694
10.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	*	½	½	4½	2691
11.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2761	0	0	½	½	1	0	½	½	½	½	*	0	4	2656
12.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2739	0	½	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	1	*	4	2658

Round 9 (March 24, 2009)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	17	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Kamsky, Gata	- Wang Yue	½-½	22	D56	Queens Gambit Lasker's Defence
Aronian, Levon	- Morozevich, Alexander	1-0	36	E04	Catalan
Carlsen, Magnus	- Karjakin, Sergey	1-0	62	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Leko, Peter	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	34	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Kramnik, Vladimir	½-½	65	A29	English Four Knights
Round 10 (March 25, 2009)
Kramnik, Vladimir	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	60	D82	Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Karjakin, Sergey	- Leko, Peter	½-½	41	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Topalov, Veselin	- Kamsky, Gata	0-1	30	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Morozevich, Alexander	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	28	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Radjabov, Teimour	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	28	B22	Sicilian Alapin
Wang Yue	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	46	D11	Slav Defence
Round 11 (March 26, 2009)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Wang Yue	1-0	61	D15	Slav Defence
Kamsky, Gata	- Morozevich, Alexander	½-½	48	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Aronian, Levon	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	17	E10	Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Carlsen, Magnus	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	37	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Leko, Peter	- Kramnik, Vladimir	0-1	43	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Karjakin, Sergey	0-1	52	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit

18th Amber Combined Nice (FRA), 14-26 iii 2009																				cat. XXI (2759)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12
1.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2750	*	*	½	0	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	½	1	½	14.0	2861
2.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	½	1	*	*	0	½	1	½	1	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	0	½	1	½	1	1	13.5	2838
3.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2791	½	½	1	½	*	*	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	0	½	1	1	1	½	1	13.5	2835
4.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2776	½	0	0	½	1	½	*	*	1	½	1	½	½	1	1	0	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	1	13.0	2822
5.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2771	½	0	0	1	1	½	0	½	*	*	1	0	1	0	1	½	½	0	0	½	½	½	1	1	11.0	2757
6.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2796	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	0	1	*	*	1	0	1	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	10.5	2741
7.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2706	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	0	0	1	0	1	*	*	½	1	1	½	1	1	0	0	½	½	10.5	2749
8.	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2725	0	1	½	½	½	0	0	1	0	½	0	1	½	0	*	*	½	1	½	½	0	1	½	½	10.0	2725
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2751	1	0	0	0	0	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	0	½	½	0	*	*	1	0	½	½	½	½	10.0	2723
10.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	0	0	1	½	½	0	½	½	1	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	1	*	*	1	½	0	½	9.5	2706
11.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2761	0	½	0	½	0	0	1	0	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	0	½	½	0	½	*	*	½	0	9.0	2693
12.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2739	0	½	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	*	*	7.5	2643

3) Reykjavik Open

The Reykjavik Open takes place 24th March - 1st April 2009. Paul Frigge is producing the PGN bulletin, very nicely too.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/. Results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr18947.aspx?lan=1 and blog: http://reykjavikchess.blogspot.com/

Open Reykjavik (ISL), 24 iii-1 iv 2009 Leading Round 7 (of 9) Standings:
Rk.	Name		FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	Vocaturo Daniele	IM	ITA	2445	5.5	29	21	21.5
2	Kryvoruchko Yuriy	GM	UKR	2604	5.5	27.5	19.5	20.5
3	Marin Mihail	GM	ROU	2556	5.5	27	19.5	20.25
4	Shulman Yuri	GM	USA	2639	5	29.5	20.5	19.5
5	Maze Sebastien	GM	FRA	2579	5	26.5	19	17.5
6	Nataf Igor-Alexandre	GM	FRA	2533	5	25	17.5	17
7	Steingrimsson Hedinn	GM	ISL	2547	4.5	29	20.5	17.5
8	Guilleux Fabien		FRA	2303	4.5	27	20.5	15
9	Areshchenko Alexander	GM	UKR	2673	4.5	26.5	19	16
	Stefansson Hannes	GM	ISL	2563	4.5	26.5	19	16
11	Hillarp Persson Tiger	GM	SWE	2586	4.5	26.5	19	14.75
12	Gupta Abhijeet	GM	IND	2569	4.5	24.5	18	15.5
13	Leon Hoyos Manuel	GM	MEX	2542	4	29.5	21	15.75
14	Conquest Stuart C	GM	ENG	2531	4	28	19.5	13.5
15	Ris Robert	IM	NED	2436	4	27.5	20	12.75
16	Zak Uri		ISR	2198	4	27.5	19.5	14.25
17	Oleksienko Mikhailo	GM	UKR	2550	4	27.5	19.5	14
18	Grandelius Nils	IM	SWE	2464	4	27	19.5	14
19	Meszaros Michal	IM	SVK	2376	4	26.5	19	12.75
20	Danielsen Henrik	GM	ISL	2482	4	26	18.5	12.75
21	Roussel-Roozmon Thomas	IM	CAN	2479	4	25.5	18.5	13.25
22	Siebrecht Sebastian	GM	GER	2440	4	24	17.5	12.25
	Rombaldoni Axel	FM	ITA	2309	4	24	17.5	12.25
24	Caspi Israel	IM	ISR	2402	4	24	17.5	11.5
25	Breder Dennis	IM	GER	2427	4	23.5	17.5	11.25
26	Williams Simon K	GM	ENG	2507	4	23.5	17	12
27	Lund Esben	IM	DEN	2421	4	23	15.5	11.5
28	Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn		ISL	2279	4	22	17.5	10.75
29	Popovic Milos T	IM	SRB	2400	4	21.5	15.5	10
30	Cohen Or	FM	ISR	2286	4	21	15	10.25
31	Cori Jorge	FM	PER	2370	4	21	15	10
32	Vernay Clovis	IM	FRA	2339	3.5	27	19.5	12.5
110 players

4) Bundesliga

The last two rounds of the Schachbundesliga took place 28th - 29th March 2009. OSG Baden-Baden retained their title beating Solingen and Wattenscheid 6-2. The team from the Southwest of Germany needed only two points to celebrate it's fourth title in a row. The teams of Solingen, Tegernsee, Eppingen and Bremen fought for two qualification places for the European Club Cup. Tegernsee and Bremen seemed to have the best chances thanks to their easier schedule on the final weekend and thus it proved to be (although it seems Tegernsee has withdrawn from the league next season so perhaps Eppingen will pick up the place). Because of the aforementioned Tegernsee withdrawal for the next season only three sides are relegated, Dresden, Trier and Munich.

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

Bundesliga 2008-9 (GER), 2 x 2008 - iii 2009 Final Round 15 Standings:
1.	OSG Baden-Baden	15	28	88,0
2.	Werder Bremen	15	24	69,5
3.	TV Tegernsee	15	23	71,0
4.	SC Eppingen	15	23	69,5
5.	SV Muelheim-Nord	15	22	74,0
6.	SG Aljechin Solingen	15	22	69,0
7.	SC Kreuzberg	15	15	63,0
8.	Hamburger SK	15	15	60,5
9.	SV Wattenscheid	15	14	60,0
10.	SC Remagen	15	14	60,0
11.	SF Katernberg	15	12	60,0
12.	SK Turm Emsdetten	15	10	50,5
13.	SF Berlin	15	8	46,0
14.	SG Trier	15	6	49,5
15.	FC Bayern Muenchen	15	4	41,5
16.	USV TU Dresden	15	0	28,0

Bundesliga 2008-9 (GER), 2 x 2008 - iii 2009
Home Team: Baden-Baden
Round 14 Saturday, 28th March 2009, 2 pm
OSG Baden-Baden	6-2	Aljechin Solingen
SC Eppingen	5,5-2,5	SV Wattenscheid
Round 15 Sunday, 29th March 2009, 10 am
Aljechin Solingen	4-4	SC Eppingen
SV Wattenscheid	2-6	OSG Baden-Baden
Home Team: Werder Bremen
Round 14 Saturday, 28th March 2009, 2 pm
Werder Bremen	5,5-2,5	SF Berlin
SK Turm Emsdetten	3-5	Hamburger SK
Round 15 Sunday, 29th March 2009, 10 am
SF Berlin	3,5-4,5	SK Turm Emsdetten
Hamburger SK	3,5-4,5	Werder Bremen
Home Team: Remagen
Round 14 Saturday, 28th March 2009, 2 pm
SC Remagen	4,5-3,5	TV Tegernsee
SG Trier	4,5-3,5	Bayern Muenchen
Round 15 Sunday, 29th March 2009, 10 am
TV Tegernsee	5-3	SG Trier
Bayern Muenchen	3-5	SC Remagen
Home Team: Muelheim
Round 14 Saturday, 28th March 2009, 2 pm
SV Muelheim Nord	4,5-3,5	SC Kreuzberg
SF Katernberg	7,5-0,5	USV TU Dresden
Round 15 Sunday, 29th March 2009, 10 am
SC Kreuzberg	3-5	SF Katernberg
USV TU Dresden	2,5-5,5	SV Muelheim Nord

5) 4NCL

The 4NCL takes place 4th October 2008 - 4th May 2009. Rounds 7-8 took place 21st-22nd March 2009 in the Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island. The 8 team Groups 1A and 1B concluded with round 7 and the top 4 teams from each group went on to the Championship Pool and the bottom four to the Relegation Pool. The teams have already played the three other teams from their preliminary groups and these results will stand. The first of the four remaining rounds was round 8 played on March 22nd. This system is used in the French TOP 16.

Official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk - Live coverage: http://www.bcfservices.org.uk/livechess/4ncl/0809/index.htm

4NCL Hinckley Island ENG 4 x 2008 - 4 v 2009 Final Round 7 Tables before the split
Group 1A
	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	GP	MP
1	WGHK 1	xxx	4½	7	4½	8	6½	4½	6½	41½	14
2	Guildford-A&DC 2	3½	xxx	2½	5	5½	7½	4½	6½	35	10
3	White Rose 1	1	5½	xxx	2	4½	6½	6	5	30½	10
4	Barbican 4NCL 1	3½	3	6	xxx	4	5½	7½	7½	37	9
5	S. Wales Dragons 1	0	2½	3½	4	xxx	4	4½	5	23½	6
6	Cambridge Univ. 1	1½	½	1½	2½	4	xxx	5	5	20	5
7	Richmond	3½	3½	2	½	3½	3	xxx	5	21	1 *
8	Sambuca Sharks	1½	1½	3	½	3	3	3	xxx	15½	0
Group 1B
	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	GP	MP
1	Guildford-A&DC 1	xxx	8	6	5½	7	7	6½	7½	47½	14
2	WGHK 2	0	xxx	4	4	4½	4½	5½	5½	28	10
3	The GAMBIT ADs	2	4	xxx	4½	5½	3	5½	4	28½	8
4	Pride and Prejudice	2½	4	3½	xxx	5	6	3½	5	29½	7
5	Betsson.com	1	3½	2½	3	xxx	4	5½	6	25½	5
6	Barbican 4NCL 2	1	3½	5	2	4	xxx	3½	6	25	5
7	Bristol 1	1½	2½	2½	4½	2½	4½	xxx	3	21	4
8	North West Eagles	½	2½	4	3	2	2	5	xxx	19	1 *

4NCL Hinckley Island ENG 4 x 2008 - 4 v 2009
Championship Pool
	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	GP	MP
1	WGHK 1	xxx		4½	4½		7		7	23	8
2	Guildford-A&DC 1		xxx		3	6		5½	8	22½	6
3	Barbican 4NCL 1	3½		xxx	3	5	6			17½	4
4	Guildford-A&DC 2	3½	5	5	xxx		2½			16	4
5	The GAMBIT ADs		2	3		xxx		4½	4	13½	3
6	White Rose 1	1		2	5½		xxx	4		12½	3
7	Pride and Prejudice		2½			3½	4	xxx	4	14	2
8	WGHK 2	1	0			4		4	xxx	9	2
Demotion Pool
	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	GP	MP
1	Betsson.com	xxx		4		6	5½		5½	21	7
2	Cambridge Univ. 1		xxx		4		6	5	5	20	7
3	Barbican 4NCL 2	4		xxx		6	3½	5½		19	5
4	S. Wales Dragons 1		4		xxx	½		4½	5	14	5
5	North West Eagles	2		2	7½	xxx	5			16½	2 *
6	Bristol 1	2½	2	4½		3	xxx			12	2
7	Richmond		3	2½	3½			xxx	5	14	1 *
8	Sambuca Sharks	2½	3		3			3	xxx	11½	0

6) Austrian 2nd Bundesliga

The Austrian 2nd Bundesliga (Ost, Mitte and West) took place 11th October 2008 - 29th March 2009. My thanks to Harald Grafenhofer for the games. Some rounds are missing.

Results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr13483.aspx?lan=1 - http://www.chess-results.com/tnr12919.aspx?lan=1 -

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

2nd Bundesliga Austria West (AUT), 11 x 2008 - 8 iii 2009
Rk.	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	TB1	TB2
1	Mayrhofen/Zillertal	*	3½	3½	4½	3½	5½	4	3	3	3	4½	4½	42.5	27
2	ATSV Ranshofen	2½	*	4½	3½	3½	2½	3½	3	4	3½	4	5½	40	25
3	Sparkasse Schwarzach	2½	1½	*	1½	3	5	3½	4½	4½	5	4	3	38	20
4	Wüstenrot Inter Sbg Süd	1½	2½	4½	*	3½	4	5	5	3	3	3½	3	37	21
5	Hohenems II	2½	2½	3	2½	*	2	3½	2½	4	4½	3	3	33	12
6	Rochade Rum	½	3½	1	2	4	*	3	3½	2	3	5	4½	32	17
7	Goetzis	2	2½	2½	1	2½	3	*	4½	2½	4	3	4½	32	11
8	Bregenz	3	3	1½	1	3½	2½	1½	*	3½	4½	3½	4	31.5	17
9	Sparkasse Jenbach II	3	2	1½	3	2	4	3½	2½	*	2	4	3½	31	14
10	Schwaz	3	2½	1	3	1½	3	2	1½	4	*	3½	3½	27	12
11	Dornbirn	1½	2	2	2½	3	1	3	2½	2	2½	*	3	25	3
12	ASK Salzburg	1½	½	3	3	3	1½	1½	2	2½	2½	3	*	24	4
2nd Bundesliga Austria Mitte (AUT), 11 x 2008 - 29 iii 2009
Rk.	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	TB1	TB2
1	Schachklub Sparkasse Fürstenfeld	*	5½	2	3½	2½	4	4½	3½	4	4½	4½	4½	43	27
2	ZH- Technologies Wolfsberg	½	*	3	2½	5½	3½	4	4½	4½	3	3½	4½	39	23
3	SC Die Klagenfurter	4	3	*	3	3½	2½	3½	3	2	4	4	5½	38	21
4	Straßenbahn Graz	2½	3½	3	*	3½	3½	3½	2½	5	3	3½	4	37.5	23
5	ESV Austria Graz	3½	½	2½	2½	*	3	2½	4	2½	5	4	5½	35.5	16
6	RbEJ Volksbank Gleisdorf	2	2½	3½	2½	3	*	2½	4	4½	2	3½	5	35	16
7	SV Raika Rapid Feffernitz	1½	2	2½	2½	3½	3½	*	3½	3	2½	4	3½	32	16
8	ASK St. Valentin	2½	1½	3	3½	2	2	2½	*	2	3½	4	4½	31	13
9	Schachgemeinschaft Voecklabruck	2	1½	4	1	3½	1½	3	4	*	3	3	4	30.5	15
10	Kl. Zeitung MPO Maria Saal	1½	3	2	3	1	4	3½	2½	3	*	2	3½	29	12
11	SK Leoben	1½	2½	2	2½	2	2½	2	2	3	4	*	3½	27.5	7
12	Union Styria Kleine Zeitung Graz	1½	1½	½	2	½	1	2½	1½	2	2½	2½	*	18	0
2nd Bundesliga Austria Ost (AUT), 11 x 2008 - 29 iii 2009
Rk.	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	TB1	TB2
1	ASVO SK Lackenbach	*	3½	2	5	3½	4	4½	4½	3	4	1½	4	39.5	25
2	ASVO VHS Poechlarn	2½	*	3	4½	2½	3½	2½	3½	3½	2	4½	4½	36.5	19
3	Blackburne Nickelsdorf	4	3	*	2	1½	4½	2	2½	4½	4	4½	1½	34	16
4	ASVO Pamhagen	1	1½	4	*	3½	3	4	3½	2½	3	3½	4	33.5	20
5	Raiffeisen Währing	2½	3½	4½	2½	*	4	2	3½	1½	3	3½	3	33.5	17
6	SV Stockerau	2	2½	1½	3	2	*	4½	3½	3	3½	4½	3½	33.5	17
7	Spg Data Technlogy Eichgraben/P.	1½	3½	4	2	4	1½	*	3	4	3	2½	4	33	17
8	SV Tschaturanga Neubau	1½	2½	3½	2½	2½	2½	3	*	4	3½	3	3	31.5	12
9	SK Zwettl	3	2½	1½	3½	4½	3	2	2	*	4	3	2	31	12
10	SK Advisory Invest Baden	2	4	2	3	3	2½	3	2½	2	*	4	2½	30.5	9
11	1. Wr. Neustädter SV	4½	1½	1½	2½	2½	1½	3½	3	3	2	*	4½	30	11
12	Austria Wien	2	1½	4½	2	3	2½	2	3	4	3½	1½	*	29.5	11

7) Danish League

The Danish League took place 21st-22nd March 2009. Helsinge Guldmedaljer won the cup for the 9th time. IM Christian Kyndel Pedersen made a GM norm with 7/9. The final set of games from the final round now available.

Official site: http://www.divisionsskak.dk/holdarkiv/div0809/

47th XtraCon TCh-DEN 2008-9 (DEN), 1 xi 2008 - 22 iii 2009
1	Helsinge Guldmedaljer	54	18
2	Aarhus/Skolerne 1 Solvmedaljer	44½	13
3	Jetsmark 1 Bronzemedaljer	43½	13
4	Bronshoj	38½	9
5	K41 1	37½	12
6	Nordkalotten	32½	7
7	Aalborg 1	31½	9
8	SK 1968 1	28	4
9	Naestved Nedrykning	26	3
10	Helsingor Nedrykning	24	2

8) 3rd Georgi Agzamov Memorial

The 3rd Georgi Agzamov Memorial took place in Tashkent (UZB). 15th-26th March 2009, Vitaly Tseshkovsky took clear first place with 7.5/9. Former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov was in 10th place with 6 points.

Official site: http://www.uzchess.uz

3rd Georgi Agzamov Mem Tashkent (AZE), 15-26 iii 2009 Final Round 9 Standings:
Pl.	Name	Ti	NAT	ELO	Pts	T/B	T/B	Perf	Chg
1	Tseshkovsky, Vitaly	GM	RUS	2542	7.5	54	44.25	2756	2.44
2	Amonatov, Farrukh	GM	TJK	2647	7	51.5	39.25	2703	0.66
3	Filippov, Anton	GM	UZB	2556	6.5	54.5	36	2619	0.83
4	Volkov, Sergey	GM	RUS	2627	6.5	53.5	36.25	2642	0.37
5	Malakhatko, Vadim	GM	BEL	2610	6.5	48.5	32	2586	0
6	Potapov, Pavel	IM	RUS	2414	6.5	48.5	32.5	2564	1.92
7	Kuzubov, Yuriy	GM	UKR	2626	6.5	47.5	31.75	2594	-0.18
8	Golod, Vitali	GM	ISR	2575	6.5	47.5	32.25	2551	-0.06
9	Chatalbashev, Boris	GM	BUL	2560	6.5	47	33.25	2481	-0.64
10	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	GM	UZB	2687	6	51.5	33.75	2563	-1.17
11	Fedorov, Alexei	GM	BLR	2619	6	49.5	32.75	2483	-1.22
12	Dzhumaev, Marat	GM	UZB	2529	6	48	30.75	2500	-0.14
13	Sattarov, F.		UZB	2330	6	47.5	30.5	2425	1.07
14	Khamrakulov, Dzhurabek	IM	UZB	2524	6	47	27.75	2464	-0.47
15	Khamroev, Ravshan		UZB	2206	6	46.5	28.75	2466	2.6
16	Temirov, Bakhyt		KAZ	2243	6	46	25	2431	1.88
17	Ismagambetov, Anuar	GM	KAZ	2523	6	45	27.75	2523	0.21
18	Iuldachev, Saidali	GM	UZB	2520	5.5	52.5	29.75	2554	0.61
19	Kvon, Andrey		UZB	2425	5.5	47	26.75	2374	-0.47
20	Potapov, Alexander	GM	RUS	2456	5.5	46.5	25.25	2481	0.55
21	Khoroshev, Nikita		UZB	2174	5.5	46.5	27.5	2459	3.18
22	Kotsur, Pavel	GM	KAZ	2563	5.5	45.5	26.75	2397	-1.54
23	Djuraev, Sokhib	FM	TJK	2353	5.5	45.5	25.5	2425	1
24	Holmirzaev, Bahodir		UZB	2251	5.5	43.5	21.75	2407	1.51
25	Faizulaev, Akmal		UZB	2275	5.5	42.5	21.75	2348	0.8
26	Mustafaev, Jamshid		UZB	2367	5.5	39.5	22.5	2211	-1.6
27	Safin, Shukhrat	GM	UZB	2518	5.5	38	21	2282	-2.26
28	Belyi, Anton		UZB	0	5.5	35	19	2285	0.5
29	Jumabayev, Rinat	IM	KAZ	2522	5	47.5	24	2391	-1.34
30	Karimov, I.		UZB	2358	5	47.5	22.25	2348	-0.06
31	Mustafaev, Khurshed		UZB	2320	5	44.5	23	2274	-0.37
32	Kasyan, Aleksandr	FM	UZB	2305	5	44.5	21	2322	0.17
33	Hamrakulova, Yulduz	WIM	UZB	2169	5	44	22.5	2393	2.48
34	Muminova, Nafisa	WIM	UZB	2220	5	43.5	21	2339	0.96
35	Gubaydulin, T.		UZB	2265	5	42.5	22.25	2333	0.72
36	Nazarov, Elyor	FM	UZB	2181	5	42.5	19.5	2353	1.62
37	Ohunov, Bobur		UZB	2123	5	42.5	22	2277	1.6
38	Dauletova, Gulmira	WIM	KAZ	2247	5	42	21.5	2240	-0.17
39	Artemenko, Oleg		UZB	2041	5	42	22.5	2289	2.38
40	Rustamov Alisher Abdusatta		UZB	2228	5	41	18.25	2264	0.3
41	Pak, Evgeniy		KAZ	2278	5	40	19.25	2264	-0.18
42	Amanov, Zhanibek	IM	KAZ	2413	5	38.5	19.25	2242	-1.78
43	Semiev, Suhrab	FM	TKM	2228	5	38.5	18.25	2168	-0.69
44	Nodirjanova, Nodira		UZB	2155	5	38	17.5	2157	-0.01
45	Sabirova, O.	WIM	UZB	2192	5	37.5	18	2139	-0.58
46	Vakhidov, Jahongir		UZB	2186	4.5	45	20.75	2277	0.82
98 players

9) Kaissa Kharkiv

The "Kaissa-2009" men's tournament took place in Kharkiv 21st-27th March 2009. Martyn Kravtsiv won the event with 7/9.

Official site: http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t190.html

Kaissa Men Kharkiv (UKR), 21-27 iii 2009												cat. VI (2390)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Kravtsiv, Martyn	m	UKR	2510	*	½	1	½	1	½	1	½	1	1	7	2596
2.	Simantsev, Mikhail	g	UKR	2511	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	6½	2542
3.	Kharchenko, Boris	m	UKR	2461	0	½	*	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	6½	2547
4.	Efanov, Nikolai	f	RUS	2411	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	5½	2467
5.	Potapov, Alexey	f	RUS	2316	0	½	½	½	*	1	0	1	1	1	5½	2477
6.	Arzumanian, Georgy	m	ARM	2504	½	½	0	½	0	*	½	½	½	1	4	2333
7.	Ivanov, Alexander Al	g	RUS	2503	0	0	0	½	1	½	*	1	½	0	3½	2296
8.	Mischuk, Dmitry		UKR	2299	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	*	1	1	3½	2319
9.	Sukharev, Sergey		UKR	2255	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	*	½	1½	2131
10.	Varchenko, Grigory		UKR	2125	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	½	*	1½	2145

10) Ajedrez Plus Chess Festival

The Ajedrez Plus Chess Festival took place in Ramos Mejia - Buenos Aires 14th-22nd March 2009. Christian Goldwaser took clear first place in the main category III international with 8/11.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezplus.com.ar/ver_noticia.php?id=32

Copa Ajedrez Plus Ramos Mejia (ARG), 14-22 iii 2009													cat. III (2301)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Goldwaser, Christian		ARG	2356	*	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	0	½	½	½	8	2470
2.	Quiroga, Facundo	m	ARG	2329	0	*	1	0	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	7½	2431
3.	Rodriguez Vila, Andres	g	URU	2524	0	0	*	1	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	1	7½	2413
4.	Larrea, Manuel	f	URU	2276	0	1	0	*	½	1	0	1	1	½	½	1	6½	2368
5.	Valiente, Cristobal	m	PAR	2254	0	½	0	½	*	½	1	1	0	½	1	½	5½	2305
6.	Shcherbine, Andrei		RUS	2171	½	½	½	0	½	*	0	½	1	0	1	1	5½	2312
7.	Nedilsky, Diego	f	ARG	2285	0	½	0	1	0	1	*	0	1	½	½	1	5½	2302
8.	Guerrero, Alvaro		URU	2178	0	0	1	0	0	½	1	*	0	1	1	1	5½	2312
9.	Barrionuevo, Pablo	f	ARG	2327	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	*	1	½	0	4½	2233
10.	Ginzburg, Maximiliano	m	ARG	2455	½	0	0	½	½	1	½	0	0	*	½	½	4	2184
11.	Mayorga, Nicolas	f	ARG	2306	½	0	0	½	0	0	½	0	½	½	*	1	3½	2167
12.	Daneri, Martin		ARG	2149	½	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	1	½	0	*	2½	2103

11) 25th Budapest Spring Festival

The 25th Budapest Spring Festival took place as usual in the second half of March in Budapest March 20th-28th 2009. The Hungarian Chess Federation provided the venue next to the Parlaiment in the Falk Miksa street. On this occassion 90 chess players from 16 countries competed. (HUN, BRA, IRI, CAN, ESP, ISR, RUS, USA, HKG, ENG, SCO, SLO, GER, BAN, ITA, AUT). Amongst the 90 players were 4 IMs, a female grandmaster from Hong Kong - Anya Corke, 8 Fide masters competed, 90% had a FIDE ELO rating. The winner was Hungarian IM Miklos Galyas with 8/9. Laszlo Nagy organised and the main arbiter was Erno Kovacs. Games from Bela Lengyel.

Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

25th Budapest Spring Festival (HUN), 20-28 iii 2009
1.	Galyas, Miklos	2456	8.0	54.5	47.50	2601
2.	Paschall, William M.	2354	7.5	51.5	41.50	2501
3.	Berczes, Csaba	2382	6.5	53.0	34.50	2413
	Papp, Tamas	2315	6.5	51.5	34.75	2366
	To, Nhat Minh	2356	6.5	49.0	34.50	2311
	Jamrich, Gyorgy	2294	6.5	44.5	32.00	2293
7.	Volman, Horacio	2175	6.0	50.0	29.75	2278
	Juhasz, Kristof	2181	6.0	49.0	30.25	2249
	Corke, Anya	2260	6.0	47.5	29.50	2294
	Amstadt, Aron	2219	6.0	47.0	28.50	2242
	Lukacs, Janos	2137	6.0	45.5	26.75	2197
	Horvath, David	2154	6.0	42.5	25.75	2223
	Somogyi, Istvan	2225	6.0	44.5	27.00	2134
	Szabo, Bence	2229	6.0	41.5	25.50	2149
	Kiraly, Zoltan	1854	6.0	44.0	27.75	2250
16.	Sebestyen, Balazs	2283	5.5	50.0	28.75	2250
	Schenkerik, Csaba	2215	5.5	45.0	25.25	2122
	Hantak, Adam	2112	5.5	44.5	25.75	2125
	Green, Andrew D	2136	5.5	47.0	25.50	2239
	Kabai, Zsuzsanna	1894	5.5	42.5	25.25	2232
	Tate, Alan	2170	5.5	43.0	24.25	2051
	Bacso, Gabor	2123	5.5	41.0	22.50	2095
	Bea, Boglarka	1809	5.5	42.5	25.25	2204
24.	Dargan, Paul A G	2206	5.0	47.5	22.75	2143
	Bodrogi, Mihaly	2192	5.0	47.0	23.25	2038
	Monir, Arman	2150	5.0	49.5	24.00	2181
	Torok, Tamas Titusz	2087	5.0	43.0	22.25	2197
	Metaxasz, Vaszilisz	2132	5.0	45.0	22.25	2112
	Lengyel, Bela	2268	5.0	44.5	23.25	2087
	Marodi, Matyas	2145	5.0	43.5	22.00	2066
	Hocevar, Nikola	2118	5.0	46.0	23.25	2067
	Havaskori, Laszlo	2053	5.0	41.5	20.00	2104
	Styazhkina, Anna	1926	5.0	45.5	25.50	2214
	Surinya, Tibor	2050	5.0	43.5	19.50	1982
	Dinayet, Kazi Rashed Ullah	2028	5.0	41.5	22.25	2068
	Radnai, Adam	2285	5.0	41.5	22.00	2057
	Ngo Tan, Don	1928	5.0	38.5	17.25	2101
	Koczo, Kristof	2220	5.0	41.0	21.00	1993
90 players

12) Mar de Ajo International

The Mar de Ajo International takes place 23rd-31st March 2009.

Official site: http://scalise.fortunecity.com/ajo09/ajo09ini.htm

Magistral Mar de Ajo (ARG), 23-31 iii 2009												cat. VIII (2439)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Diamant, Andre	m	BRA	2472	*	.	0	1	1	½	½	1	1	.	5	2601
2.	Alonso, Salvador	m	ARG	2441	.	*	½	0	½	1	1	1	.	1	5	2598
3.	Rodriguez, Jorge Luis	f	ARG	2393	1	½	*	.	½	½	.	½	½	1	4½	2528
4.	Rodriguez Vila, Andres	g	URU	2524	0	1	.	*	½	1	½	.	1	½	4½	2533
5.	Slipak, Sergio	g	ARG	2452	0	½	½	½	*	.	.	1	.	½	3	2443
6.	Hobaica, Juan Pablo	m	ARG	2402	½	0	½	0	.	*	1	.	1	.	3	2451
7.	Garcia Palermo, Carlos	g	ITA	2484	½	0	.	½	.	0	*	½	½	1	3	2387
8.	Ginzburg, Maximiliano	m	ARG	2455	0	0	½	.	0	.	½	*	½	1	2½	2327
9.	Van Riemsdijk, Herman C	m	BRA	2392	0	.	½	0	.	0	½	½	*	½	2	2285
10.	Claverie, Raul		ARG	2374	.	0	0	½	½	.	0	0	½	*	1½	2218

13) Zagreb Open

The Zagreb Open took place 21st-29th March 2009. The main Open A was won by Ante Brkic with a score on 7.5/9 a point clear of the field. The B tournament was won by Nenad Frouth with 8/9.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/turniri/zagreb/open_09.htm

Open A Zagreb (CRO), 21-29 iii 2009
Rk.	Name		FED	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	Brkic Ante	GM	CRO	7.5	7.5	36.5	47
2	Simutowe Amon	IM	ZAM	6.5	6.5	36.5	48
3	Bachmann Axel	GM	PAR	6	6	38.5	49.5
4	Kovacevic Blazimir	IM	CRO	6	6	37	47.5
5	Zivkovic Vjekoslav	IM	CRO	5.5	5.5	37	47
6	Cebalo Miso	GM	CRO	5.5	5.5	35.5	47
7	Martinovic Sasa	IM	CRO	5.5	5.5	34	42
8	Zelcic Robert	GM	CRO	5.5	5.5	33.5	44.5
9	Zaja Ivan	GM	CRO	5	5	35.5	43.5
10	Popchev Milko	GM	BUL	5	5	33.5	44.5
11	Dutina Dario	FM	CRO	5	5	33	42
12	Bukal Vladimir Jr.	IM	CRO	5	5	32.5	40.5
13	Mrdja Milan	IM	CRO	5	5	31.5	41
14	Plenkovic Zdenko	FM	CRO	4.5	4.5	34	44.5
15	Petkov Vladimir	GM	BUL	4.5	4.5	33.5	43
16	Zelic Mladen	FM	CRO	4.5	4.5	31.5	40.5
17	Banas Jan	IM	SVK	4.5	4.5	31.5	39.5
18	Saric Ante	GM	CRO	4.5	4.5	31	40
19	Loncar Robert	IM	CRO	4.5	4.5	30.5	39
20	Kalajzic Ivan	MK	CRO	4.5	4.5	29.5	37.5
21	Franic Milan	IM	CRO	4.5	4.5	26	32.5
22	Biti Ozren	IM	CRO	4	4	31	41.5
23	Vukic Radivoj	FM	SRB	4	4	30.5	40
24	Kristovic Marijan	FM	CRO	4	4	29.5	37.5
25	Bender Ivan	FM	CRO	4	4	29	38
26	Sale Srdjan	IM	CRO	4	4	29	36.5
27	Jadrijevic Ante	MK	CRO	4	4	25.5	32
28	Armanda Ivica	IM	CRO	3.5	3.5	32.5	42
29	Brumen Dinko	IM	CRO	3.5	3.5	25.5	33
30	Jurkovic Ante	NM	CRO	3.5	3.5	25.5	32
31	Majeric Zoran	IM	CRO	3	3	29	38.5
32	Kostrun Slaven	FM	CRO	2.5	2.5	29.5	38
33	Djurovic Goran	MK	CRO	2	2	28	34.5
34	Brigljevic Milan	FM	CRO	2	2	26	33

14) Belgrade Spring Open

The Belgrade Spring Open takes place 21st-31st March 2009.

Official site: http://www.beochess.rs

Spring Open Belgrade (SRB), 21-31 iii 2009
Pl	Name	Ti	Rtg	Pts	BK.	BK.	SB.	pobd
1	Ostojic Nikola	IM	2388	6	28	30½	26.25	5
2	Marinovic Bozidar	M	2395	5½	28½	32	25.75	4
3	Radlovacki Jovan	M	2387	5½	27½	30½	23.25	4
4	Maksimovic Marko	MK	2155	5½	26½	29½	21.25	5
5	Maksimovic Miroslav	MK	2269	5½	25½	29	22.75	4
6	Grubisic Ilija	MK	2265	5½	25	28	21.5	4
7	Damjanovic Dragan	FM	2229	5½	23	24½	20.25	5
8	Nadj Hedjesi Balind	M	2348	5	28½	31½	20	4
9	Dimitrijevic Radmilo	MK	2218	5	27	29	17.75	4
10	Djokic Nenad	FM	2350	5	26	29	19.75	3
11	Svetac Nenad	MK	2322	5	26	28½	20	3
12	Nestorovic Lazar	MK	2207	5	25½	28	18.5	4
13	Cetkovic Miodrag	IM	2283	5	23	25	16.5	4
14	Milanko Nikola	MK	2096	5	22	24	16	3
15	Skare Goran	FM	2310	4½	29½	33	19.25	3
113 players

15) Rector Cup

The Rector Cup took place 25th-29th March 2009 in the Palace of Students of the National Law Academy in Kharkov, Ukraine.

The event included a match between the two strongest Ukrainian clubs, Law Academy and PVK-Kievchess. This was won by PVK Kievchess 11-9.

Players included: GMs Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Beliavsky, Vladimir Baklan, Alexander Moiseenko, Pavel Eljanov, Valeriy Aveskulov, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, Zahar Efimenko and the most talented Ukrainian young player, Illya Nyzhnyk.

Official site: http://www.chesslaw.org.ua (in English http://www.chesslaw.org.ua/Eng/)

11th Rector Cup Match of Champions Kharkov (UKR), 26-29 iii 2009
Round 1 (March 26, 2009)
	"LAW ACADEMY"	Results	"PVK - KIEVCHESS"
1	Eljanov Pavel (2693)	0 : 1	Ponomariov Ruslan (2726)
2	Moiseenko Alexander (2676)	½ : ½	Miroshnichenko Evgenij (2667)
3	Firman Nazar (2546)	1 : 0	Beliavsky Alexander (2646)
4	Brodsky Michail (2517)	½ : ½	Baklan Vladimir (2627)
5	Onischuk Vladimir (2487)	1 : 0	Nyzhnyk Illya (2503)
Round 2 (March 27, 2009)
	"PVK - KIEVCHESS"	Results	"LAW ACADEMY"
1	Ponomariov Ruslan (2726)	1 : 0	Eljanov Pavel (2693)
2	Miroshnichenko Evgenij (2667)	½ : ½	Moiseenko Alexander (2676)
3	Beliavsky Alexander (2646)	½ : ½	Firman Nazar (2546)
4	Baklan Vladimir (2627)	½ : ½	Kovchan Alexander (2543)
5	Vysochin Spartak (2526)	1 : 0	Onischuk Vladimir (2487)
Round 3 (March 28, 2009)
	"LAW ACADEMY"	Results	"PVK - KIEVCHESS"
1	Eljanov Pavel (2693)	½ : ½	Ponomariov Ruslan (2726)
2	Moiseenko Alexander (2676)	½ : ½	Miroshnichenko Evgenij (2667)
3	Firman Nazar (2546)	1 : 0	Beliavsky Alexander (2646)
4	Kovchan Alexander (2543)	½ : ½	Nyzhnyk Illya (2503)
5	Brodsky Michail (2517)	½ : ½	Vysochin Spartak (2526)
Round 4 (March 29, 2009)
	"PVK - KIEVCHESS"	Res	"LAW ACADEMY"
1	Ponomariov Ruslan (2726)	1 : 0	Eljanov Pavel (2693)
2	Miroshnichenko Evgenij (2667)	½ : ½	Moiseenko Alexander (2676)
3	Beliavsky Alexander (2646)	1 : 0	Firman Nazar (2546)
4	Baklan Vladimir (2627)	½ : ½	Aveskulov Valeriy (2526)
5	Vysochin Spartak (2526)	½ : ½	Brodsky Michail (2517)

16) Dutch Teams

The Dutch Team Championship takes place 27th September 2008 - 10th May 2009. Round 7 was on the 28th March 2009. Round 8 is on 18th April 2009.

Great coverage at: http://www.schakers.info/ and also the http://www.schaakbond.nl/wedstrijdschaak/knsb-competitie/

Dutch Teams (NED), 27 ix 2008 - 10 iv 2009 Round 7 (28th March 2009) results
BSG	ESGOO	3.5-6.5
Utrecht	Voerendaal	6-4
HMC Calder	HSG	4.5-5.5
Hotels.nl	LSG	5-5
Rotterdam	Apeldoorn	5.5-4.5

Dutch Teams (NED), 27 ix 2008 - 10 iv 2009 Round 7 Standings:
	Meesterklasse	Mp	Bp	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1.	HSG	14	50	x	.	.	5.5	8.5	8.5	6.5	7.5	5.5	8
2.	Hotels.nl	11	44½	.	x	6.5	6	8.5	4.5	6	.	5	8
3.	Schrijvers Rotterdam	10	39	.	3.5	x	6	4.5	5.5	5.5	6	.	8
4.	HMC Calder	8	39½	4.5	4	4	x	5.5	.	5.5	.	7.5	8.5
5.	Utrecht	8	31	1.5	1.5	5.5	4.5	x	.	5.5	6	6.5	.
6.	ESGOO	7	31	1.5	5.5	4.5	.	.	x	2.5	5.5	5	6.5
7.	Homburg Apeldoorn	4	34	3.5	4	4.5	4.5	4.5	7.5	x	5.5	.	.
8.	Voerendaal	4	33	2.5	.	4	.	4	4.5	4.5	x	6.5	7
9.	LSG	4	32	4.5	5	.	2.5	3.5	5	.	3.5	x	8
10.	BSG	0	16	2	2	2	1.5	.	3.5	.	3	2	x

17) V Ciocaltea Memorial

The Victor Ciocaltea Memorial takes place in Bucharest, Romania 23rd March - 2nd April 2009.

Official site: http://www.sahclub.ro/

Victor Ciocaltea Mem Bucharest (ROM), 23 iii-2 iv 2009													cat. X (2484)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Szabo, Gergely-Andras-Gyula	m	ROU	2506	*	1	½	½	.	½	½	1	.	.	½	1	5½	2614
2.	Chirila, Ioan Cristian	m	ROU	2485	0	*	.	1	½	.	.	1	½	1	1	½	5½	2618
3.	Lupulescu, Constantin	g	ROU	2608	½	.	*	½	½	1	½	.	½	½	.	1	5	2570
4.	Miron, Lucian-Costin	m	ROU	2443	½	0	½	*	1	1	.	½	½	.	½	.	4½	2535
5.	Jianu, Vlad-Cristian	g	ROU	2544	.	½	½	0	*	.	½	1	.	0	1	1	4½	2526
6.	Abasov, Nijat Azad		AZE	2397	½	.	0	0	.	*	½	.	1	1	½	1	4½	2534
7.	Shishkin, Vadim UKR	g	UKR	2493	½	.	½	.	½	½	*	0	½	½	.	½	3½	2447
8.	Haznedaroglu, Kivanc	m	TUR	2451	0	0	.	½	0	.	1	*	.	1	1	0	3½	2439
9.	Murariu, Andrei	g	ROU	2490	.	½	½	½	.	0	½	.	*	0	½	½	3	2389
10.	Roganovic, Milos	f	SRB	2475	.	0	½	.	1	0	½	0	1	*	0	.	3	2404
11.	Erdogdu, Mert	m	TUR	2460	½	0	.	½	0	½	.	0	½	1	*	.	3	2386
12.	Burnoiu, Nicolae-Costel	m	ROU	2453	0	½	0	.	0	0	½	1	½	.	.	*	2½	2355

18) Icelandic Team Championship

Icelandic Team Champ 1st division first half took place 3rd-5th October 2008. The 2nd set of games were March 21st-22nd March 2009. The team, Bolungarvik won the event. There was some live coverage of the first half of the event but couldn't find any games from the second half.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5982&Itemid=499# and results: http://chess-results.com/tnr16443.aspx

Icelandic Teams (ISL), 3 x 2008 - 22 iii 2009 Final Round 7 Standings:
Rk.	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	TB1	TB2
1	Bolungarvik a	*	6½	6	6	6	6½	6½	7	44,5	14
2	Hellir a	1½	*	5	5	3½	7	6	7½	35,5	10
3	Fjolnir a	2	3	*	5½	3½	5	7	7	33,0	8
4	Haukar a	2	3	2½	*	4	4	7	6½	29,0	6
5	TR a	2	4½	4½	4	*	4½	4	5	28,5	10
6	Hellir b	1½	1	3	4	3½	*	5	4	22,0	4
7	SA a	1½	2	1	1	4	3	*	5½	18,0	3
8	TR b	1	½	1	1½	3	4	2½	*	13,5	1

19) I Costa del Sol International

The I Costa del Sol International took place 22nd February - 29th March 2009. No news on the final rounds yet.

Official site: http://es.geocities.com/clubajedrezsanpedro/

20) Szombathely IM

The Szombathely (HUN) IM tournament takes place 26th March - 3rd April 2009. 100 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes , 30 sec addition after each move

21) Nashua Open

George Mirijanian reports: The Nashua Open took place 28th-29th March 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA. GM Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton, Massachusetts posted a perfect score of 5-0 to capture first place. Taking second place with a 4-1 tally was FIDE master William Kelleher, 59, of Watertown, Mass. Deadlocked in third place with 3-2 results were national master Henry "Hal" Terrie of Manchester, N.H., and U.S. Chess Federation-rated experts Sheriff Khater of Nashua and Carlos Avalos of Pawutcket, Rhdoe Island. The FIDE-rated event drew 44 players in two sections and was directed by F. Alexander Relyea of Bedford, N.H., with assistance from Nital Patel, also of Bedford.

22) Chess Oscar 2008

Below is a press release announcing voting for Chess Oscar 2008 from Misha Savinov dated 29th March 2009. It gives the results of some of the favourites helping to make it clear that only results from 2008 count. Sometimes I think people in the past have been influenced by results in the first third of the following year in coming up with their winner. The list is interesting. The general reader should be warned, they don't take entries from just anyone, but they did want the press release publisheds.

The 64-Chess Review magazine (http://www.64.ru) announces the voting for Chess Oscar 2008! We encourage all chess journalists and chess experts send us their top 10 lists to chess@64.ru! Please provide your name, media and/or chess title.

Below is the list of the most important results of the world’s leading players. Your selection, of course, does not have to be limited to these names, but please make sure you only take 2008 results into account.

Chess Oscar Favourites 2008. Best results and rating change
Vishy Anand		2799-2791
Standard Time Control
3-4	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	7,5 (13)
1	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	8,5 (14)
6	Bilbao (XXI)	4 (10)
	World Championship Match against Kramnik	6,5 (11)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6 (11)
6-8	Amber, total (XX)	11 (22)
1	Leon	3,5 (6)
1	Mainz	4 (6)
	Mainz, match against Carlsen	3 (4)
Levon Aronian		2739-2750
Standard Time Control
1-2	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	8 (13)
3-4	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	7,5 (14)
5	Sofia (XX)	2,5 (10)
1	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	8,5 (13)
2-4	Bilbao (XXI)	5 (10)
	European Club Cup	3,5 (6)
	Olympiad	5,5 (10)
2	Nanjing (XXI)	5,5 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	8 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6,5 (11)
1	Amber, total (XX)	14,5 (22)
1	Asrian Memorial (XIX)	8,5 (14)
Wang Yue		2698-2739
Standard Time Control
	Asian Team ch	7 (10)
10-20	Gibraltar open	7 (10)
1-3	Reykjavik open	7 (9)
1-3	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	8 (13)
2-4	China ch (XII)	7 (11)
3-4	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	7,5 (13)
1	Youth vs. Experience	8,5 (10)
2	China-Russia match	3,5 (5)
	European Club Cup	3 (5)
	Olympiad	6,5 (10)
5-9	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	6,5 (13)
Rapid chess and blitz
26-30	Mind Games, rapid	3,5 (9)
	Mind Games, team blitz	7,5 (10)
Vugar Gashimov		2665-2723
Standard Time Control
2-4	Reggio Emilia (XVI)	5,5 (9)
2-4	Cappelle la Grande	10 (13)
	Russian Club ch	5 (10)
1-3	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	8 (13)
1-4	Poikovsky (XVIII)	5,5 (9)
8-9	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	6,5 (13)
	Spanish League	1 (5)
	European Club Cup	3,5 (6)
	Olympiad	6,5 (9)
4	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	7,5 (13)
Boris Gelfand		2737-2733
Standard Time Control
12-14	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	5 (13)
	Russian Club ch	4,5 (9)
12	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	5,5 (13)
2-5	Tal Memorial (XX)	5 (9)
	Spanish League	3 (5)
	European Club Cup	4,5 (7)
	Olympiad	7,5 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
1/4	World ch, rapid	2,5 (4)
	Amber, rapid (XX)	6 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	3 (11)
10-12	Amber, total (XX)	9 (22)
1-4	Odessa (XV)	9 (14)
3-4	Asrian Memorial (XIX)	7,5 (14)
9-10	Tal Memorial,
blitz	17,5 (34)
9-10	World Blitz ch	7 (15)
Alexander Grischuk		2711-2733
Standard Time Control
	Russian Club ch	5 (8)
4-5	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	7,5 (13)
10	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	6 (13)
	European Club Cup	5,5 (7)
	Olympiad	4,5 (8)
1-3	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	8 (13)
Rapid chess and blitz
2	World ch, rapid	8,5 (15)
6-8	Tal Memorial, blitz	18 (34)
3-4	World Blitz ch	10 (15)
Lenier Dominguez		2691-2717
Standard Time Control
2	Sarajevo (XVIII)	6 (10)
1	Biel (XVIII)	6,5 (10)
1	Capablanca Memorial (XV)	6 (10)
	Spanish League	3 (5)
	Olympiad	6 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
1	World Blitz ch	11,5 (15)
Vassily Ivanchuk		2753-2779
Standard Time Control
5-6	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	7 (13)
	Bundesliga	2 (3)
6	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	6,5 (14)
	Russian Club ch	7,5 (11)
1	Sofia (XX)	8,5 (10)
2	Aerosvit (XIX)	7 (11)
2-4	Dortmund (XVIII)	4 (7)
8-9	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	6,5 (13)
1	Tal Memorial (XX)	6 (9)
2-4	Bilbao (XXI)	5 (10)
	Spanish League	0,5 (2)
	European Club Cup	5 (7)
	Olympiad	6 (11)
5-6	Nanjing (XXI)	4 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
1/4	World ch, rapid	3,5 (7)
	Amber, rapid (XX)	6,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	4,5 (11)
6-8	Amber, total (XX)	11 (22)
2	Leon	3 (4)
1	Tal Memorial, blitz	23,5 (34)
2-3	Cap d’Agde, group (XVI)	7,5 (11)
2	Cap d’Agde, playoff	6 (10)
2	World Blitz ch	11 (15)
1	Benidorm	8 (10)
Gata Kamsky		2732-2725
Standard Time Control
8-10	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	6 (13)
	Russian Club ch	5,5 (9)
7	National open, USA	3,5 (4)
3-4	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	7,5 (13)
7-8	Tal Memorial (XX)	4 (9)
	European Club Cup	2,5 (6)
	Olympiad	6,5 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
9-10	Tal Memorial, blitz	17,5 (34)
9-10	World Blitz ch	7 (15)
Magnus Carlsen		2733-2776
Standard Time Control
1-2	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	8 (13)
	Bundesliga	2 (2)
2	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	8 (14)
1-3	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	8 (13)
3	Biel (XVIII)	6 (10)
1	Aerosvit (XIX)	8 (11)
2-4	Bilbao (XXI)	5
	Olympiad	7,5 (11)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	6 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6 (11)
2-5	Amber, total (XX)	12 (22)
	Match against Leko	5 (8)
2	Mainz	3,5 (6)
	Mainz, match against Anand	1 (4)
3	Tal Memorial, blitz	21 (34)
1-2	Cap d’Agde, group (XVI)	5,5 (7)
1/2	Cap d’Agde, playoff	3
Sergey Karjakin		2732-2706
Standard Time Control
8-10	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	6 (13)
	Russian Club ch	6,5 (11)
3-4	Aerosvit (XIX)	6 (11)
5-7	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	7 (13)
	Spanish League	0 (3)
	European Club Cup	2,5 (6)
	Olympiad	5 (9)
Rapid chess and blitz
1/2	World ch, rapid	7 (11)
	Amber, rapid (XX)	4,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	5 (11)
9	Amber, total (XX)	9,5 (22)
	Kiev, match against Short	7,5 (10)
6-8	Tal Memorial, blitz	18 (34)
Vladimir Kramnik		2799-2759
Standard Time Control
7-8	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	6,5 (13)
7	Dortmund (XVIII)	3 (7)
2-5	Tal Memorial (XX)	5 (9)
	World Championship Match against Anand	4,5 (11)
	Olympiad	5 (9)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	5,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6.5 (11)
2-5	Amber, total (XX)	12 (22)
	Prague, match against Navara	5,5 (8)
2	Tal Memorial, blitz	22,5 (34)
Peter Leko		2753-2751
Standard Time Control
5-6	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	7 (13)
7-8	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	5,5 (14)
1	Dortmund (XVIII)	4,5 (7)
6	Tal Memorial (XX)	4,5 (9)
	Olympiad	8,5 (11)
5-9	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	6,5 (13)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	6 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6 (11)
2-5	Amber, total (XX)	12 (22)
	Match against Carlsen	3 (8)
2	Asrian Memorial (XIX)	8 (14)
6-8	Tal Memorial, blitz	18 (34)
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov		2754-2724
Standard Time Control
9-11	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	6 (13)
1-3	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	8 (13)
	Russian Club ch	5 (10)
2-4	Dortmund (XVIII)	4 (7)
9	Tal Memorial (XX)	3,5 (9)
	European Club Cup	4,5 (6)
	Olympiad	6 (10)
	Bundesliga	1 (2)
5-9	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	6,5 (13)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	4,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	4,5 (11)
10-12	Amber, total (XX)	9 (22)
4-5	Tal Memorial, blitz	20 (34)
1	Corsica	5,5 (6)
5-6	World Blitz ch	9,5 (15)
Alexander Morozevich		2765-2771
Standard Time Control
	Russian Club ch	5 (8)
1	Sarajevo (XVIII)	7,5 (10)
2-5	Tal Memorial (XX)	5 (9)
4-6	Russian championship (XVII)	6,5 (11)
	Olympiad	6 (9)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	4,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6,5 (11)
6-8	Amber, total (XX)	11 (22)
3-4	Asrian Memorial (XIX)	7,5 (14)
3	Mainz	3 (6)
13-15	Tal Memorial, blitz	14 (34)
8	World Blitz ch	7,5 (15)
Teimour Radjabov		2735-2761
Standard Time Control
3-4	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	7,5 (13)
5	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	7 (14)
	Russian Club ch	5 (8)
8-10	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	6 (13)
3	Sofia (XX)	5,5 (10)
2	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	8 (13)
5	Bilbao (XXI)	4,5 (10)
	European Club Cup	3,5 (5)
	Olympiad	5 (9)
1-3	Grand Prix, Elista (XIX)	8 (13)
Rapid chess and blitz
1	World ch, rapid	9 (13)
3	Cap d’Agde, group (XVI)	5 (7)
1/4	Cap d’Agde, playoff	1 (4)
5-6	World Blitz ch	9,5 (15)
Peter Svidler		2763-2723
Standard Time Control
	Bundesliga	6 (9)
1	Ireland, open	5,5 (6)
	Russian Club ch	5,5 (10)
6-7	Grand Prix, Baku (XIX)	6,5 (13)
8-10	Aerosvit (XIX)	5,5 (11)
5-7	Grand Prix, Sochi (XX)	7 (13)
	Russia-China Match	2 (5)
1	Russian championship (XVII)	7 (11)
	European Club Cup	4 (7)
	Olympiad	4,5 (9)
4	Nanjing (XXI)	4,5 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
1/4	World ch, rapid	2,5 (4)
4-5	Tal Memorial, blitz	20 (34)
1	Russian championship playoff	3 (4)
3-4	World Blitz ch	10 (15)
Veselin Topalov		2780-2796
Standard Time Control
9-11	Wijk aan Zee (XX)	6 (13)
3-4	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	7,5 (14)
2	Sofia (XX)	7,5 (10)
1	Bilbao (XXI)	65
	Olympiad	6,5 (8)
1	Nanjing (XXI)	7 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
	Amber, rapid (XX)	5,5 (11)
	Amber, blind (XX)	6,5 (11)
2-5	Amber, total (XX)	12 (22)
1	Spain, open	8 (9)
Alexei Shirov		2755-2745
Standard Time Control
	Bundesliga	3 (6)
7-8	Morelia/Linares (XXI)	5,5 (14)
	Russian Club ch	5,5 (9)
5-7	Aerosvit (XIX)	5,5 (11)
1-4	Poikovsky (XVIII)	5,5 (9)
10	Tal Memorial (XX)	3 (9)
	Spanish League	6,5 (9)
	European Club Cup	5,5 (7)
	Olympiad	7 (10)
Rapid chess and blitz
1/8	World ch, rapid	0,5 (2)

23) 4th FIDE Grand Prix Tournament in Nalchik

FIDE Grand Prix Series Tournament Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia 14th -29th April 2009

The fourth FIDE Grand Prix Series Tournament will be held in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, during 14th -29th April 2009 at the Intour - Hotel "Sindica".

14 participants are: Vladimir Akopian (Armenia), Evgeny Alekseev (Russia), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Etienne Bacrot (France), Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Gata Kamsky (USA), Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine), Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan), Peter Leko (Hungary), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Peter Svidler (Russia).

The fourth FIDE Grand Prix will be the strongest one in the series, and one of the strongest tournaments of the world this year. New functions on the FIDE website allow us to see the current rating changes of top-grandmasters. The average rating of the tournament in Nalchik will be around 2725 points based on the April 2009 list to be published soon. Previously the highest average rated tournament was held in the third stage of the series, Elista (2715 points).

The top-rated player of the competition is the World Cup 2005 and Olympiad winner Levon Aronian.

Two players have also shown excellent results this year: Alexander Grischuk - the winner of Linares and Elista super tournaments, and Sergey Karjakin, who has won the Corus tournament in January in Wijk-an-Zee.

World Cup 2007 winner Gata Kamsky this year has shown also a good performance during the Challenge match against Veselin Topalov.

The tournament is so evenly balanced that everyone of the 14 participants who comes to Nalchik is in a good position to win the tournament.

Time control: 120 minutes for the first forty moves, 60 minutes for the next twenty moves and then each player will be allotted 15 minutes after the second time control and an increment of 30 seconds per move will be allowed from move 61 onwards.

Games will be played from April, 15 till April, 29 every day. April 20 and 25 are rest days. The total prize-fund is 162,000 Euros.

Official website: http://www.nalchik2009.fide.com

For more information please contact: moscowchess@gmail.com

24) Forthcoming Events and Links

M-Tel Masters

The 5th M-Tel Masters takes place in Sofia 12th-23rd May 2009 (rest day 18th May).

The Category XXI event sees Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk, Wang Yue, Leinier Dominguez Perez and Alexei Shirov play in a double round robin format. The games will be played in a glass pavilion on the square in front of the National Theatre Ivan Vazov.

The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves per player and 60 minutes per player till the end of the game. The maximum period for a single game is 5 hours. "Sofia rules" will again be used. They are that: Opponents cannot communicate during the games and cannot offer a draw. Proposals for a draw can be made only through the Chief Arbiter in three cases: triple repetition, eternal chess and theoretical draw position. When making the decisions the Chief Arbiter will be consulted by Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Vice President of FIDE.

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

French League Top 16

The French Team Championship (TOP 16) took place in 4 towns (Clichy, Cannes, Metz, Mulhouse) 20th-22nd March 2009. The next rounds take place 30th April - 3rd May 2009.

Official site: http://www.echecs.asso.fr/Equipes.aspx

14th International Stuttgart Championship

The 14th "International Stuttgart Championship" in Germany takes place 21th-24th May 2009. Contact Michael Meier e-mail: info@stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

For further information on the event: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

20th International Chess and Games Festival Czech Open

The 20th International Chess and Games Festival Czech Open 2009 takes place 16th July - 2 August 2009 in Pardubice (the Czech Republic). There are more than 100 tournaments in chess and other games, eg. European Youth Chess Teams Championship, ISCU Children Clubs Chess Championship and European Amateurs Championship in Chess.

More detailed information: http://www.czechopen.net/news/index.php. the festival website will be ready at the end of April.

6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit

The 6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit takes place May - September every year as part of the Catalan Chess Circuit, which is composed of 28 International Tournaments, and held in Spain, extended beyond Catalonia.

In 2009 there will be 14 Opens with traditional time control to be played over 9-10 days, as well as 14 Opens in Rapid Chess, played over 1-2 days (see Tournament Calendar).

During 120 days of tournaments, around 22.000 chess games will be played with selected ones broadcast.

Approximately 3,000 players from more than 30 different countries. The prize fund will reach 175.000 euros.

Apart from the traditional tournament prizes, the Catalan Chess Federation establishes a special classification composed of player´s results in each Circuit tournament, based on which players will be able to claim such special Circuit Prizes as General Final Standings, Prizes by Categories, Specific Prizes for best Catalan Players.

Prizegiving Ceremony will be held at Fiesta Catalana (Catalan Chess Party), on September, 27th, 2009

For more information please contact the Catalonia Chess Federation on federacio@escacs.cat or visit the official website: http://escacs.cat/circuit2009/torneigs.html

6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit (ESP), 5 v - 20 ix 2009
5-13 May	VILA DE SALOU	SALOU	9 Rd Swiss	B	C	Francesc Linan 616094289
17 May	VILA DE CANOVELLES	CANOVELLES	9 Rd Swiss	b	b	Daniel Flores 938493564
24 May	VILA DE L'AMPOLLA	L'AMPOLLA	9 Rd Swiss	a	b	Enric Gallimo 666187061
31 May	VILA DE STA COLOMA DE QUERALT	SANTA COLOMA DE QUERALT	8 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Salvador Barrot 654095338
20 June	CIUTAT DE REUS	REUS	9 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Joan Pinol 649341056
21 June	MOLLET DEL VALLES	MOLLET DEL VALLES	9 Rd Swiss	b	a	Francesc Fernandez 647625832
24 June-2 July	VILA DE SORT	SORT	9 Rd Swiss	B	C	Joan A. Conesa 609825066
25 June-3 July	VILA DE MONTCADA	MONTCADA	9 Rd Swiss	A	A	Reyes Cantero 938152902
4-12 July	BARBERÀ DEL VALLES	BARBERA DEL VALLES	9 Rd Swiss	A	A sup	Víctor Pont 629386528
4-12 July	TORREDEMBARRA	TORREDEMBARRA	9 Rd Swiss	C	B	Jordi Salvat 649061984
13-22 July	CIUTAT DE BALAGUER	BALAGUER	10 Rd Swiss	A sup	A	Antoni Montoliu 679082837
18-26 July	ANDORRA	LES ESCALDES	9 Rd Swiss	A sup	A sup	Oscar la Riva 00376-347085
22-30 July	VILA DE SITGES	SITGES	9 Rd Swiss	A	A	Francesc González 600923277
25 July	CERVELLO	CERVELLO	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Juan Mª Santiago 936840402
26 July	OLOT	OLOT	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Josep Ma Mir 606119678
1-8 August	FIGUERES "MIQUEL MAS"	FIGUERES	9 Rd Swiss	C	A	Jordi Serra 699848479
1-9 August	CIUTAT DE BADALONA	BADALONA	9 Rd Swiss	A	A sup	Manel Triquell 609683157
2-10 August	LA POBLA DE LILLET	LA POBLA DE LILLET	9 Rd Swiss	C	C	Josep Salvador 630625152
15-16 August	VILA DE POBLENOU	BARCELONA	10 Rd Swiss	a sup	a	Joan Lorda 659529581
21-30 August	SANTS	BARCELONA	10 Rd Swiss	A sup	A sup	Cotxeres 932918701
22-23 August	AJEDREZND	BARCELONA	9 Rd Swiss	a sup	a	Jordi Morcillo 620341266
1-10 September	FESTIVAL DE SABADELL	SABADELL	9 Rd Swiss	B	B	Ivan Aguilar 666346958
6 September	VILA DE SANTPEDOR	SANTPEDOR	9 Rd Swiss	b	b	Josep Mascaro 616477533
11 September	DIADA DE L'11 DE SETEMBRE	SABADELL	9 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Ivan Aguilar 666346958
12 September	RIBERA D'EBRE	MORA D'EBRE	8 Rd Swiss	a	a	Josep Terrones 696204203
13 September	CIUTAT DE TORTOSA	TORTOSA	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Abraham Pla 680532570
19-20 September	VALLFOGONA DE BALAGUER	VALLFOGONA DE BALAGUER	Suís 11 rondes	a sup	a	Jaume Parramon 649960831
Potential
13-21 July	SANT MARTI	BARCELONA	9 Rd Swiss			Ricard Llerins 933082425

First Saturday April

The First Saturday tournaments (GM, IM and FM) take place 4th-17th April in Budapest.

Contact Laszlo Nagy if you want to play. Mobile: +36-30-230-19-14 Phone-fax: +36-1-263-28-59 E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

Official site: http://www.firstsaturday.hu/

FSGM April Budapest (HUN), 4-17 iv 2009 Potential players
IGM	HORVATH, Peter	HUN
IGM	KOSIC, Dragan	MNE
IGM	ILINCIC, Zlatko	SRB
IM	NGUYEN Huynh Minh Huy	VIE
IM	DOUNG, The Anh	VIE
WGM	GARA, Anita	HUN
FM	HEINZ, Axel	GER
IM	PASCHALL, William	USA
IM	GALYAS, Miklos	HUN
	CSIRIK, Andras	HUN
IM	KAHN, Evarth	HUN
IM	MUIR, Andrew	SCO
Minimum 9 - maximum 13 rounds.

FSIM April Budapest (HUN), 4-17 iv 2009 Potential players
IM	PARKANYI, Attila	HUN
IM	LENGYEL, Bela	HUN
IM	FARAGO, Sandor	HUN
IM	KAHN, Evarth	HUN
IM	SZALANCZY, Emil	HUN
IM	EPERJESI, Laszlo Dr.	HUN
	COX, Tristan	ENG
FM	BACSO, Gabor	HUN
FM	LYELL, Mark	ENG
	KATZIR, Moshe	ISR
	KISLIK, Erik	USA
WIM	TOTH, Lili	HUN
	FRICK, Christoph	GER
	KOPPENHOFER, Bernhardt Dr	GER
	SZABO, Bence	HUN
WGM	CORKE, Anya	HKG
Reserve:
	YIP,Michael	CAN
	HEYL, Thomas	GER
Minimum 9 - maximum 13 rounds.

9th Znojmo Open

The 9th International Chess Festival Znojmo Open 2009, takes place 30th April -3rd May 2009 in the town of Znojmo (the Czech Republic). Events include FIDE open with 7 rounds, the Znojmo Queen - Open Women’s Czech Championship in Active Chess, the Znojmo Princess-active chess for girls up to 14 years of age and Ing. Turek’s Memorial Competition. Open Local Championship of South Moravian Chess Federation in Active Chess for individuals. More detailed information at http://www.czechtour.net/znojmo-open/

Czech Tour 2009/2010 http://www.czechtour.net/news/

5th Thessaloniki Games Festival

The 5th Thessaloniki Games Festival takes place 26th April - 4th May 2009.

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

Chess Classic Mainz

The Chess Classic Mainz takes place 27th July - 2nd August 2009 in the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz.

The world championships in rapid chess and Chess960 will be staged in a tried and trusted double round robin format with four players, after which the players battle it out in mini-matches to determine the top spot. The players for the main events have already been contracted.

The GRENKELEASING Rapid World Championship sees the World Chess Champion and Chess Classic serial winner Vishy Anand will try to defend his title for the 11th time in a row. He faces Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Arkadij Naiditsch.

Other events include the gigantic ORDIX rapid chess Open, the FiNet Ches960 Open, the open tournaments for U14 talents, the 40 board simultaneous exhibition with Levon Aronian, the Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship, etc., etc.

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

XXVII Andorra International Chess Open

The XXVII Andorra International Chess Open takes place 18th-26th July 2009. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com

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

40th Mar del Plata International

The 40th Mar del Plata International takes place 5th-12th April 2009.

Official site: http://www.mdpajedrez.org.ar/arch800/abierto40.htm

27th Elba Chess Festival

The 27th Elba Chess Festival takes place 10th-17th May 2009.

Official site: http://www.tuscanhotels.it/cmsx.asp?IDPg=10

Calgary International

Calgary, Alberta (Canada) stages a small 9 round international norm event May 14th-18th, 2009. A host of GM's and IM's will be in attendance, IM norms will be available.

Official site:http://www.albertachess.org/Calgary_International.html

For more info, email the tournament organiser Tony Ficzere at tficzere@telus.net

London super-tournament in December 2009

Cream of world chess to play in new London tournament. [Press release 9th March 2009]

London Chess Centre is proud to announce a world-class chess tournament to be held in London in December, 2009. The event will be an elite eight-player all-play-all in the most prestigious tournament in the capital since former world champion Anatoly Karpov won the Phillips and Drew Masters in 1984.

Since then, despite London hosting three world title contests, there has not been a tournament in which England's leading players could lock horns with the world's best on home soil. The December 09 tournament will be the first in a series of events designed to reinvigorate UK chess and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities.

The tournament will be FIDE Category 19 with an average FIDE rating of 2700 and a minimum prize fund of €100,000. The eight players will comprise of three English and five world-class Grandmasters from abroad. Included in the prize fund will be a €10,000 Brilliant Game award along with separate prizes for each victory with the White and Black pieces. Matches will be covered live online where fans will be able to vote for Game of the Day.

The tournament has applied for membership of the prestigious annual Grand Slam of Chess which culminates in Bilbao and boasts a €400,000 prize fund.

The games will be under Classical Chess time control; 40 moves in two hours, 20 in the subsequent hour then an additional 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds a move until the end of the game. The tournament will further benefit from the use of Sofia Rules which disallow early draws. Players will receive three points for a win and one for a draw.

The opening ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 10 and will include a blindfold chess display and charity simultaneous. Play will take place daily from Friday, December 11 to Thursday, December 17 inclusive.

The list of players and venue will be announced in April.

Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre

Notes for editors: All communications to Malcolm Pein IM at London Chess Centre: 020 7388 2404. E-Mail: info@chess.co.uk. Website: www.chess.co.uk

Masterskill Commonwealth Chess Championships

The Masterskill Commonwealth Chess Championships takes place 14th-21st July 2009 in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Details: http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/3827-commonwealth-chess-championship-2009-in-malaysia

Maia Chiburdanidze Cup

The "Maia Chiburdanidze Cup" (International Open Women's Chess Tournament) takes place in the Chess Palace, Tbilisi (Georgia) 4th-13th June 2009. The Tournament is open to all women players. Each player must herself (or her federation) cover all her expenses: entry fee, transportation, accommodation and board. 9 round Swiss. Rate of play: 90 min for all moves, increment 30 seconds per move. Details available from the addresses below.

Contact IA, FM Varlam Vepkhvishvili E-mail: chessgeorgia@hotmail.com or chessvarlam@hotmail.com.

Phone:
(995)32-997736 - Federation
(995)32-960199 - Home
(995)99-771974 - Mobile

Official site: http://www.gcf.org.ge

1st International Open Tbilisi

The 1st International Open Tbilisi Chess Tournament takes place 14th-24th June 2009.

Official site: http://www.chess.tbilisi.ge (not yet up and running)

9 round Swiss. Rate of play: 90 min for all moves, increment 30 seconds per move. Details available from the addresses below.

e-mail: chessvarlam@hotmail.com - Varlam Vepkhvishvili
e-mail: ggrs92@hotmail.com - Giorgi Khomeriki

Varna Chess Festival

The 1st International Chess Festival Varna, takes place at the Grand Hotel Varna 11th-20th June 2009. Contact: seahorse@abv.bg for more details.

Website: http://euroschoolchess.org/ (although I couldn't find the event myself)

Tournament of Young Talents

The 30th annual Tournament of Young Talents takes place 9th - 13th April 2009 in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. It is a festival of three tournaments: Tournament of young talents - several groups for youth players under 14 years Up to 8 years children championship - open Czech Championship under 8 years Pobeskydi - FIDE open and at least one round-robin with the possibility to achieve IM/WGM norm.

Further details: http://www.chessfm.cz

European Youth Championships

The European Youth Championships (U10 - U18) takes place in Fermo/Italy 30th August - 10th September 2009.

Details: http://www.euroyouth2009.com

European Senior Championships

The European Individual Senior Championship takes place in Rogaska Slatina/Slovenia 22nd - 31st July 2009. For the first time just before the event a European Senior Rapid Championship will be organised. The dates are 19th - 21st July.

Further details are published under http://www.sahohlacnik.com/eu-sen/

European Union Website

The European Chess Union Website ECU website has changed address to http://www.europechess.org

Alushta Diary 2009

Alushta Diary 2009:

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, 5.09 - 13.09, Open tournament (under 16 years) 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, 10.07 - 18.07, 20.07 - 28.07, 22.08 - 30.08, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, 19.07, 29.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, 30.07 - 31.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06, 15.07 - 24.07. Individual and group studying Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32, +380505828911 (for Russian speaking), + 380506692604 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

21st Lenk International Chess Festival

After a great jubilee with the 20th Lenk Chess Festival, last year has come the shock news that the, 21st Lenk International Tournament, April 9th-13th 2009 will be the last chess event in the Simmental region, a very attractive tourist area. "Beochess" with "Swiss Chess Tour" this year close all their chess activity. During 21 years Lenk became very popular in chess world and it will be pity if nobody keeps on the tremendous tradition.

So, last time, Hotel Kreuz will be venue, Lenk 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 prizes: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600, 400, 2x300 and 3x200 SF. Special prizes: Ladies, senior (1948), junior(1989-92), schoolboy (1993) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 April 9,; Rounds 2/3 10.00-15.00 and 16.00-21.00 April 10,; Round 4 14.00-19.00 April 11,; Rounds 5/6 10.00-15.00 and 16.00-21.00 April 12,; Round 7 10.00-15.00 April 13. Closing ceremony April 13 at 16.00.

Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or event@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.

Zuerich Chess Club 200th Anniversary

Dr. Christian Rohrer reports: The world's oldest chess club celebrates its 200th year with spectacular jubilee events, including World Champions Spassky, Kasparov and Anand.

The Schachgesellschaft Zuerich celebrates 200th anniversary with spectacular jubilee events

The Schachgesellschaft Zuerich, the world's oldest chess club, celebrates its 200th year in 2009 with spectacular jubilee events. To mark the anniversary, some of the greatest masters of the last five decades, including World Champions Spassky, Kasparov and Anand, will play at the event. Highlights will be a simultaneous exhibition and a rapid chess tournament on the 22nd and 23rd of August, held in Zurich Main Railway Station. With generous sponsor support from Credit Suisse the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich continues its long standing tradition of world class chess tournaments.

On Saturday the 22nd of August, in simultaneous games 200 amateurs will be honoured to face eight word-class chess players, who have made historical contributions to world chess over the last 50 years: Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viktor Korchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov. On Sunday the 23rd of August, these champions will compete against each other in an exciting rapid chess format. Judit Polgar, the strongest female chess player ever, and Werner Hug of Schachgesellschaft Zuerich, former world junior chess champion, will replace Kasparov and Spassky, who have retired from competitive chess.

A huge number of spectators, from enthusiasts to the generally curious, is expected for the events at Zurich Railway Main Station. And no one need miss it: All commemorative events will be streamed live via Internet.

The jubilee commences with an open tournament; certain to be one of the most exciting open chess tournaments of 2009. Players of every skill level, from beginners to the elite world class, are expected and will be welcomed at the Zurich Kongresshaus from August 9th to the 15th, 2009. They will compete in two tournaments, 9 rounds each, for CHF 100.000 guaranteed prize money and many attractive prizes.

To further honour the occasion, Richard Forster, reputable chess historian, will release his comprehensive book, researched in great detail, on the unique history of the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich. Entitled "Schachgesellschaft Zuerich: 1809 bis 2009", Forster's work will analyze the development of the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich from the times of Napoleon to the present day.

Details: http://www.sgzurich2009.ch

32nd Ikaros Chess Festival 2009

The traditional 32nd Ikaros Chess Festival 2009 takes place on Ikaria island.

The main event of the festival, the International Aegean Open Championship takes place 11th-19th July 2009. It is a 9 round swiss event with prize fund 3600 Euros in total (1st prize 1000 Euros, special money prizes for ladies and veterans). Special conditions for GMs/IMs and WGMs/WIMs are provided, special discounts for families and club teams are also offered (more information will be available in the official announcement of the festival that will be out soon on the official webpage.

Contact info: ikaros@chess.gr while to contact us on the phone one can try: +30 6932 478386 or +30 210 5010871 (Mr. Savas Kyriakou). For general information about the island of Ikaria one can also check at: http://www.island-ikaria.com

Official site: http://www.chess.gr/ikaros

32nd San Sebastian Open

32nd San Sebastian International Open, takes place 5th-12th April 2009 in the Spanish northern city of San Sebastian (near french border).

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

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.

Hungarian Chess Tournaments March-October 2009

1. 7th-19th of February, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM Budapest FIRST SATURDAY Budapest, 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/

2.20th-28th of February IM-Rating Caissa, Kecskemet, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, cellphone: +36-30-271-33-38, Landline phone-fax: +36-76-481-685 e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM and rating tournaments in Kecskemet, a city 80 km South-East from Budapest.

3.7th-19th of March, First Saturday, Budapest, GM-IM-FM, org Nagy L.

4.20th-28th of March, 25th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL 9 rounds Swiss Open, org: Nagy L. - e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

5.4th-16th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.Nagy L.

6.18th-26th of April Caissa, IM + rating Kecskemet, Org.Erdelyi,

7.2nd-14th of May, First Saturday GM-IM-FM Budapest, org Nagy L.

Kecskemet Caissa IM + rating tournaments more: 16th-25th of May, 20th-28th of June, 18th-27th of July, 15th-24th of August, 19th-28th of September. FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM tournaments more: 6th-18th of June, 4th-16th of July, 1st-13th of August, 5th-17th of September.

Novi Sad Open

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

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

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

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

5) 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...

6) 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.

Luis Scalise

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

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

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

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

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

GM Boris Alterman's Chess Lessons

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

Website: http://chesslessons.wordpress.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.

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