E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk www http://www.tcc.net/gmtchess.html Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England] Produced for Thoth Communications Corporation part of Grandmaster Technologies Incorporated.
1) Introduction
2) Dos
Hermanas Tournament Spain
3) New York Open
4) The Rise or Fall of Chess by Silvio Danailov
5) The Staffordshire Centenary Chess
Tournament
6) Leinster Chess Union Tournament
7) First Saturday Tournament April
8) Golden Cleopatra-Cairo-Egypt
9) Perenyi Bela Memorial Gyula
10) 70th Congress Baden/GER by Gerald Schendel
11) Passau 1997 by Philipp Schlosser
12) Nelson Navarro Memorial by Pablo Rodriguez
13) Danish Championships
14) Upcoming events
15) PCA WORLD CHESS RANKING April 1st
16) Theoretical Corner by Marco R. Martini
(ITA)Games Section
It, Dos Hermanas ESP 1997 25 ch-DEN, Esbjerg 1997 5 NY Open, New York USA 1997 96 Bela mem, Gyula HUN 1997 78 Navarro mem, Santiago CHI 1997 45 Staffordshire Centenary, Walsall ENG 1997 45 open, Passau GER 1997 21 GM A, Cairo EGY 1997 48 GM B, Cairo EGY 1997 48 FS March IM A, Budapest HUN 1997 66 FS March IM B, Budapest HUN 1997 66
My thanks to John Henderson, Lars Zwisler, Michael Atkins, Marco R. Martini, John Hurley, Sam Sloan, Eric Schiller, Gerald Schendel, Laszlo Lovass, Laszlo Nagy, Istvan Almasi, Angel Martin, Silvio Danailov, Philipp Schlosser, Pablo Rodriguez and all others who helped with this issue.
The top event this week was the Dos Hermanas. One of the characteristics modern events is their short duration. No sooner have the players got settled than they're off again to another event. Nine rounds is the standard but it hardly encourages bold chess. Kramnik took the headlines with his win against Karpov but even more impressive was his heavyweight endgame win against Illescas. Tomorrow with suitable belligerence there should be an exciting round 6 from the event.
This issue has an interesting article by Topalov's second Silvio Danailov. I don't necessarily agree but its very interesting.
Hope you enjoy this issue
Mark
The Category 19 Dos Hermanas tournament in Spain got underway on Tuesday 1st April 1997. After five rounds the lead is shared by three players. Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand and Judit Polgar. Perhaps one of the key moments of the event occurred in the first round. Vladimir Kramnik was the exchange up for a pawn just out of the opening in his game against Viswanathan Anand. He failed to convert this advantage, and the game ended in a draw. Kramnik has played two of the most interesting games in the event. His demolition of Anatoly Karpov in the third round was aesthetically pleasing. Even more attractive was his complex win against Illescas in round 5. He was clearly better in the ending but the complex play required great skill. The game will be one that requires extensive analysis. Here are some early notes from IM Luis Santos.
Kramnik,V (2740) - Illescas Cordoba,M (2635) [A17]
It Dos Hermanas ESP (05), 1997
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 b6 7.g3 Bb7 8.Bg2 c5 9.b4 d6 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Bb2 Qe7 12.d3 Rfc8 13.b5 a6 14.a4 axb5 15.axb5 Qf8 16.e4 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Ra8 18.Qc1 Rxa1 19.Qxa1 Qa8 20.Qxa8+ Bxa8 21.Nd2 Ne8 22.Nb1 Bb7 23.f4 f6 24.Nc3 Kf7 25.Na4 Ke7 26.d4 Kd8 27.d5 exd5 28.exd5 Nc7 29.Bh3 Na8 30.Be6! Nf8 31.f5! Bc8 32.Kf2 Bd7 33.g4! Fixing f6 for later attack 33...Ke7 34.g5 Nxe6! 35.fxe6 Be8 36.gxf6+ gxf6 37.Ke3 Bg6 38.Kd2! Controlling d3 and protecting c4 freeing his pieces for manoevre. 38...Be4 39.Bc1 Bg2 40.Kc3 Bf1 41.Bh6 Bg2 42.Bf4 Bf1 43.Nb2! White has to move the knight to make progress. This frees black's knight too. 43...Nc7 44.Nd1 Bg2 45.Ne3 Be4 46.Bh6 Ne8 47.Kd2! Nc7 [47...f5? 48.Bg5+ Nf6 (48...Kf8 49.Bd8) 49.Ke2] 48.Ke2 Ne8 49.Kf2 Nc7 50.Kg3 Bd3 51.Kg4! Obliging black to move his bishop from d3. 51...Ne8 52.Kf4 Bb1! 53.Nf5+! Finally Kramnik makes his winning attempt 53...Kd8 [53...Bxf5 54.Kxf5 Kd8 (54...Nc7 55.Bg7 Ne8 56.Bh8) 55.Bf8] 54.Bf8 Bd3 55.Be7+! Further infiltrating Black's position. 55...Kc7 56.Ne3 Kc8 57.Kg4 Kc7 58.Kh5 Ng7+ 59.Kh6 Ne8 60.h4! Kc8 61.h5 Kc7 Another key position. How does white progress? 62.Ng2! Kc8! [62...Bxc4 63.Nf4 Bxb5 64.Kxh7 Ba4 65.h6 Bc2+ 66.Kg8 b5 (66...Kc8 67.Kf7 Nc7 68.Ng6 Nxd5 69.h7 Bxg6+ 70.Kxg6 Nxe7+ 71.Kf7) 67.Kf7 b4 68.Kxe8 c4 69.Bxf6] 63.Nf4 Bc2 Black is defending tenaciously. Again how does white make progress? 64.Bxf6! Nxf6! [64...Be4 65.Be7 Bf5 66.Kg5 winning: for example 66...Be4 67.h6 Bc2 68.Nh5 Bd3 69.Ng7! Nc7 (69...Bg6 70.Nxe8 Bxe8 71.Bxd6 Bg6 72.Be7 Bd3 73.d6) 70.Bxd6 Bxc4 71.Bxc7 Kxc7 72.e7 Bxb5 73.e8Q Bxe8 74.Nxe8+ Kd7 75.Nf6+ Ke7 (75...Kd6 76.Nxh7 c4 77.Nf6) 76.Ne4 c4 77.Kf5 b5 78.Ke5 b4 79.d6+ Kd8 80.Ke6 c3 81.Nc5 c2 82.Nb3 Ke8 83.d7+! Kd8 84.Kd6 c1Q 85.Nxc1 b3 86.Nd3 (86.Nxb3?? is stalemate) 86...b2 87.Nc5 b1Q 88.Ne6#] 65.Kg7 Ne8+ 66.Kf7 Nc7! [66...Kd8 67.e7+! Kd7 68.Ne6 Bd1 69.Nf8+ Kc8 70.h6 Bh5+ 71.Kg8 A) 71...Nf6+ 72.Kh8! With the idea of Nxh7 eg 72...Be2 (72...Be8 73.Nxh7 Ng4! 74.Kg7 Nxh6 75.Kxh6 Kd7 76.Nf6+ Kxe7 77.Nxe8 Kxe8 78.Kg6 Ke7 79.Kg7) 73.Nxh7 Ne8 74.Nf6!! Nxf6 75.Kg7 Ne8+ 76.Kf8+-; B) 71...Kc7 72.Nxh7 (72.Kxh7? Bf7=) 72...Kd7 73.Kf8+-] 67.e7 h6? [67...Kd7 68.Ne6 Bd1 69.Nf8+ Kc8 70.h6+-; 67...Bb3 68.Ne6 Bd1 69.h6 Bh5+ 70.Kf8+-; 67...Bd1!] 68.Ne6 Bd1 69.Kg6 Ne8 70.Nf8 Be2 71.Kxh6 Bxc4 72.Kg6 Bxd5 73.h6 c4 [73...Bg8 74.h7 Bxh7+ 75.Nxh7 c4 (75...Nc7 76.Nf6) 76.Nf6 Nc7 77.Nd5 Ne8 78.Kf7] 74.h7 Be4+ 75.Kf7 Bxh7 76.Kxe8 Bg8 77.Nd7 c3 3:20-3:30 White wins on time. But he is winning after 78. Kf8 1-0
Anand is in the lead too. Apart from his vastly inferior ending in game one he hasn't looked in trouble. Judit Polgar started with three draws before beating Illescas and Short. She has yet to meet either Kramnik or Anand. Gelfand is just half a point off the pace. Those tied on 50% Salov, Karpov and Topalov will all entertain hopes of improvement. Karpov won rather easily against Shirov but still looks well short of his best. Topalov's loss to Salov was a surprise the game looked drawn, possibly both players wanted to win. Karpov-Anand and Polgar-Kramnik could answer a lot of questions about the eventual winner of the event.
Round 1 (1997.04.01)
Kramnik, Vladimir - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 41 D39 Queen's gambit
Polgar, Judit - Salov, Valery 1/2 52 B65 Sicilian
Gelfand, Boris - Short, Nigel D 1-0 37 E41 Nimzo indian
Shirov, Alexei - Topalov, Veselin 1/2 41 C02 French; Advance
Illescas Cordoba, Miguel - Karpov, Anatoly 1/2 49 B17 Caro-Kann
Round 2 (1997.04.02)
Anand, Viswanathan - Shirov, Alexei 1-0 35 D15 Slav defence
Gelfand, Boris - Illescas Cordoba, Miguel 1/2 32 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Salov, Valery - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 25 A07 Reti (1.Nf3)
Karpov, Anatoly - Polgar, Judit 1/2 60 E05 Nimzo indian
Short, Nigel D - Topalov, Veselin 0-1 65 B23 Sicilian; Closed
Round 3 (1997.04.04)
Kramnik, Vladimir - Karpov, Anatoly 1-0 35 A17 English; 1.c4
Polgar, Judit - Gelfand, Boris 1/2 29 B93 Sicilian; Najdorf
Topalov, Veselin - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 26 D17 Slav defence
Shirov, Alexei - Salov, Valery 1/2 40 B81 Sicilian
Illescas Cordoba, Miguel - Short, Nigel D 0-1 35 C66 Ruy Lopez
Round 4 (1997.04.05)
Gelfand, Boris - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 17 D46 Semi-Slav
Salov, Valery - Topalov, Veselin 1-0 91 B07 Pirc
Karpov, Anatoly - Shirov, Alexei 1-0 32 E63 Kings indian
Short, Nigel D - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 48 B66 Sicilian
Illescas Cordoba, Miguel - Polgar, Judit 0-1 32 B88 Sicilian
Round 5 (1997.04.06)
Kramnik, Vladimir - Illescas Cordoba, Miguel 1-0 77 A17 English; 1.c4
Anand, Viswanathan - Salov, Valery 1-0 42 B89 Sicilian
Polgar, Judit - Short, Nigel D 1-0 66 C18 French; Winawer
Topalov, Veselin - Karpov, Anatoly 1/2 35 B17 Caro-Kann
Shirov, Alexei - Gelfand, Boris 1/2 45 B92 Sicilian; Najdorf
Dos Hermanas ESP (ESP), IV 1997 cat. XIX (2702)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2740 * = . = = . 1 . . 1 3.5 2854
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2765 = * . . 1 = . 1 = . 3.5 2851
3 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2645 . . * = = . = . 1 1 3.5 2839
4 Gelfand, Boris g BLR 2700 = . = * . . . = 1 = 3.0 2752
5 Salov, Valery g RUS 2665 = 0 = . * 1 . = . . 2.5 2713
6 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2725 . = . . 0 * = = 1 . 2.5 2714
7 Karpov, Anatoly g RUS 2760 0 . = . . = * 1 . = 2.5 2687
8 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2690 . 0 . = = = 0 * . . 1.5 2574
9 Short, Nigel D g ENG 2690 . = 0 0 . 0 . . * 1 1.5 2545
10 Illescas Cordoba, Miguel g ESP 2635 0 . 0 = . . = . 0 * 1.0 2467
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The New York Open started on April 2nd-6th with 51 Grandmasters entered. The event was probably a useful reminder of how tough the average professional can find it to make a living. The field had a smattering of former World Championship candidates and well-known players, many going home with very little for their efforts. The winners scored an exceptional 8/9. Mikhail Krasenkow has had a number of impressive results over the years and has frequently impressed me as a player. He shared first with Victor Bologan another seasoned player of the open chess circuit.
Krasenkow emerged undefeated. He beat amongst others Tony Miles, Victor Bologan, Alexsei Aleksandrov and in the final round Alexander Morozevich. He drew with Loek Van Wely and Vadim Zvjaginsev.
Bologan won eight games losing just to Krasenkow. He beat Yermolinsky, Granda Zuniga, Vadim Milov and Vadim Zvjaginsev.
Quite a number of players went undefeated until the final rounds but too many draws was a problem when the winners were scoring so heavily. My thanks to Michael Atkins and the The New York Open website for information. Sam Sloan has added some interesting information.
NEW YORK - April 7 - Adam Maltese, aged 9, has won the eight thousand dollars first prize for players rated under 1800 at the New York Open Chess Championship.
Adam lost his first round game, but then won his remaining 8 games in a row to take clear first. All of his opponents were adults.
In the first round, Adam lost to Gustavo Franco (1793). Adam then defeated Rockford Riviere (1747), Li Zhang (1625), Peter Maiwald (1654), Leonid Goltser (1788), Jeff Magid (1777), Haylin Svan Lim (1655), Frank Paciulli (1793) and Richard Knauss (1784).
Adam generally got a bad game out of the opening and early part of the game. However, he then battled back and won through extremely accurate play in the endgame.
Adam is coached by Taghian M. Taghian, the Manager of the Manhattan Chess Club.
The top boards in the Open Section featured previously unknown young men from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union battling for the big prize money. Almost all of the pre-tournament favorites and those expected to do well bombed out. In the final round, on board one, Krasenkow of Poland defeated Morozevic of Russia. On board two, Zvjaginsev of Russia lost to Bologan of Moldova. As a result, Krasenkow tied with Bologan for the top two prizes and each won nine thousand dollars.
Bologan lost to Krasenkow in round 4, but then won all of his remaining games, defeating Yermolinsky, Granda, Milov and Zvjaginsev in the final four rounds.
The most talked about game in the tournament was the hotly disputed last round game between Nati Ribshtein of Israel and Emory Tate of the USA. Tate had 18 seconds left on his clock and sudden death time controls applied. With no chance of making the time limit, Tate stopped the clock and invoked the "no winning chances" rule, a little known and little understood fairly new USCF rule. His opponent, who spoke no English, did not understand. The arbiters accepted Tate's claim. Under the rule, Tate was required to take half of his time off the clock, which would leave him with only 9 seconds for the remainder of the game, but he would get 5 seconds added for every move that he played. However, Tate became abusive about this and, after being warned three times by Chief Arbiter Carol Jarecki to stop his abusive behaviour, Tate was forfeited by Assistant Arbiter Vincent Moore.
This controversial ruling was still being debated late into the night and perhaps will be debated for years to come.
The New York Open this year had 57 grandmasters and was undoubtedly the strongest Swiss System chess event ever held in America. The main factor contributing to the great strength of the tournament was the generous offer by tournament organizer Jose Cuchi of free airline tickets and hotel rooms to any grandmaster rated over 2600, plus the total prize fund of $140,000.
Tonight, Monday, April 7, will be held the New York City Blitz Championship at the Marshall Chess Club. In the past, this has been the strongest blitz chess event in America. It will likely be tremendously strong this year as well, coming directly after the New York Open, with so many strong players from all over the world now in New York for the New York Open.
10 KRASENKOW, MICHAL 2000A 2615 OPEN 8.0 1 26 BOLOGAN, VICTOR 2629 2575 OPEN 8.0 2 7 OLL, LEMBIT 2758 2625 OPEN 7.0 3 23 GUREVICH, DMITRY 2635 2580 OPEN 7.0 4 25 ONISCHUK, ALEXANDER 2623 2580 OPEN 7.0 5 35 IBRAGIMOV, ILDAR 2646 2555 OPEN 7.0 6 2 ROZENTALIS, EDUARD 2676 2650 OPEN 6.5 7 3 VAN WELY, LOEK 2699 2645 OPEN 6.5 8 9 ALEKSANDROV, ALEKSEJ 2000A 2615 OPEN 6.5 9 14 ZVJAGINSEV, VADIM 2610 OPEN 6.5 10 17 ALTERMAN, BORIS 2595 OPEN 6.5 11 19 MOROZEVICH, ALEXANDER 2595 OPEN 6.5 12 20 KAIDANOV, GRIGORY 2689 2590 OPEN 6.5 13 21 HJARTARSON, JOHANN 2597 2585 OPEN 6.5 14 22 VAGANIAN, RAFAEL 2705 2585 OPEN 6.5 15 24 MOROVIC-FERNANDEZ, IVAN 2581 2580 OPEN 6.5 16 28 SMIRIN, ILYA 2655 2575 OPEN 6.5 17 32 CHRISTIANSEN, LARRY 2624 2560 OPEN 6.5 18 33 ATALIK, SUAT 2598 2555 OPEN 6.5 19 39 DIZDAR, GORAN 2550 OPEN 6.5 20 62 ASHLEY, MAURICE 2528 2465 OPEN 6.5 21 1 AZMAIPARASHVILI, Z 2660 2650 OPEN 6.0 22 4 CHERNIN, ALEXANDER 2648 2635 OPEN 6.0 23 11 SOKOLOV, IVAN 2680 2615 OPEN 6.0 24 12 MILOV, VADIM 2000A 2610 OPEN 6.0 25 13 PSAKHIS, LEV 2607 2610 OPEN 6.0 26 15 EPISHIN, VLADIMIR 2644 2600 OPEN 6.0 27 16 IVANOV, ALEXANDER 2666 2600 OPEN 6.0 28 18 GULKO, BORIS 2684 2595 OPEN 6.0 29 29 WOLFF, PATRICK 2669 2575 OPEN 6.0 30 30 LOBRON, ERIC 2659 2570 OPEN 6.0 31 31 BABURIN, ALEXANDER 2560 OPEN 6.0 32 34 BENJAMIN, JOEL 2638 2555 OPEN 6.0 33 37 SHABALOV, ALEXANDER 2640 2555 OPEN 6.0 34 40 MILES, ANTHONY 2669 2550 OPEN 6.0 35 43 BLATNY, PAVEL 2604 2540 OPEN 6.0 36 44 DLUGY, MAX 2592 2530 OPEN 6.0 37 45 FISHBEIN, ALEXANDER 2602 2525 OPEN 6.0 38 51 KUDRIN, SERGEY 2612 2515 OPEN 6.0 39 57 SEVILLANO, ENRICO 2580 2490 OPEN 6.0 40 58 GARCIA, GILDARDO 2578 2485 OPEN 6.0 41 73 LIMA, DARCY 2521 2420 OPEN 6.0 42 78 SHLIPERMAN, IGOR 2481 2395 OPEN 6.0 43 81 KALIKSHTEYN, ALEXANDER 2424 2395 OPEN 6.0 44 90 DOROBANOV, SVETOSLAV 2302 2365 OPEN 6.0 45 92 PALOS, OSMAN 2418 2365 OPEN 6.0 46 5 EHLVEST, JAAN 2695 2635 OPEN 5.5 47 8 GRANDA-ZUNIGA, JUL 2584 2620 OPEN 5.5 48 27 DE FIRMIAN, NICK 2638 2575 OPEN 5.5 49 38 STEFANSSON, HANNES 2560 2555 OPEN 5.5 50 41 SAGALCHIK, GENNADY 2588 2550 OPEN 5.5 51 47 PUSHKOV, NICOLAI 2525 OPEN 5.5 52 48 SOKOLIN, LEONID M. 2598 2520 OPEN 5.5 53 50 KREIMAN, BORIS 2604 2515 OPEN 5.5 54 53 VERA, REYNALDO 2510 OPEN 5.5 55 54 OLAFSSON, HELGI 2551 2500 OPEN 5.5 56 55 THORHALLSSON, THROSTUR 2571 2500 OPEN 5.5 57 56 VESCOVI, GIOVANNI 2487 2490 OPEN 5.5 58 59 WEDBERG, TOM 2558 2480 OPEN 5.5 59 64 DAVID, ALBERTO 2455 OPEN 5.5 60 65 SHAKED, TAL 2519 2445 OPEN 5.5 61 66 HENLEY, RONALD W 2523 2440 OPEN 5.5 62 68 BURNETT, RONALD WA. 2465 2435 OPEN 5.5 63 82 SITURU, NATHANAEL 2469 2390 OPEN 5.5 64 88 SUAREZ, DIEGO 2375 OPEN 5.5 65 94 PERELSHTEYN, EUGENE 2468 2360 OPEN 5.5 66 95 RESENDE, ANTONIO C. 2360 OPEN 5.5 67 96 ALZATE, DARIO 2461 2360 OPEN 5.5 68 98 VULICEVIC, NENAD 2424 2350 OPEN 5.5 69 115 FILATOV, LEONID 2425 2320 OPEN 5.5 70 123 LARSEN, STEEN SKOV 2406 2305 OPEN 5.5 71 135 RIBSHTEIN, NATI 2290 OPEN 5.5 72 136 PASCHALL, WILLIAM 2419 2285 OPEN 5.5 73 147 IPPOLITO, DEAN 2419 2280 OPEN 5.5 74 148 MORRIS, MATTHEW 2275 2280 OPEN 5.5 75 149 IBAR, MARCELO RODOLFO 2275 OPEN 5.5 76 191 FURDZIK, RAFAEL 2188 2220 OPEN 5.5 77 6 YERMOLINSKY, ALEX 2698 2630 OPEN 5.0 78 36 KHARLOV, ANDREI 2641 2555 OPEN 5.0 79 60 MITKOV, NIKOLA 2475 OPEN 5.0 80 67 WAITZKIN, JOSH 2488 2440 OPEN 5.0 81 76 KAUFMAN, LAWRENCE 2490 2405 OPEN 5.0 82 83 KARPATCHEV, ALEXSANDR 2390 OPEN 5.0 83 87 KELLEHER, WILLIAM 2433 2380 OPEN 5.0 84 89 BONIN, JAY 2447 2370 OPEN 5.0 85 93 ZLOTNIKOV, MIKHAIL 2423 2360 OPEN 5.0 86 97 MAC INTYRE, PAUL 2356 OPEN 5.0 87 101 KLINOVA, MASHA 2340 OPEN 5.0 88 105 KARKLINS, ANDREW 2417 2335 OPEN 5.0 89 112 PERDOMO, CARLOS ANDRES 2330 OPEN 5.0 90 113 FRIEDMAN, AVIV 2445 2325 OPEN 5.0 91 116 LAPSHUN, YURIJ 2434 2320 OPEN 5.0 92 120 POPOVYCH, OREST 2316 2315 OPEN 5.0 93 130 NOGUEIRA, IVAN K. 2295 OPEN 5.0 94 132 ZAREMBA, ANDRIE 2292 OPEN 5.0 95 133 CHOW, ALBERT C. 2396 2290 OPEN 5.0 96 137 YOUNG, RONALD M. 2391 2285 OPEN 5.0 97 138 RODRIGUEZ, ROBERTO 2364 2285 OPEN 5.0 98 146 CASELLA, MICHAEL 2371 2280 OPEN 5.0 99 150 DOLGITSER, KONSTAN 2353 2270 OPEN 5.0 100 157 XANTHOS, CONSTANTIN 2202 2255 OPEN 5.0 101 176 SCHNEIDER, DMITRY 2106 2240 OPEN 5.0 102 180 SIEGEL, NOAH J 2278 2235 OPEN 5.0 103 197 GRECHIKHIN, VLADIM 2213 OPEN 5.0 104 202 COOKE, ERIC N. 2328 2205 OPEN 5.0 105 223 DE OLIVEIRA, PAULO 2157 2165 OPEN 5.0 106 52 FEDOROWICZ, JOHN 2604 2510 OPEN 4.5 107 61 ASHLEY, MAURICE 2528 2465 OPEN 2.5 223 46 KAVALEK, LUBOMIR 2562 2525 OPEN 1.5 246 77 BISGUIER, ARTHUR 2373 2395 OPEN 1.5 247 85 SHAMKOVICH, LEONID 2404 2385 OPEN 1.5 248
An Article sent by Angel Martin from Topalov's second Silvio Danailov.
Not long ago, at a well-known elite tournament, when in the first hours of play a lot of the games had finished in draws, I was approached by a great chess fan, a doctor who had come from a distant part of Spain especially to enjoy a weekend of good chess, who asked me, somewhat disappointed, " How is it possible for some of the best chess players in the world to produce games which are so boring, with no brilliant combinations?" I answered that the games, from a technical point of view, were of good quality and that the players had simply played solid openings, with correct moves by both parties, but without risking themselves, which logically ended in draws.
However, this fan's question presupposed a degree of attention which led me to reflect upon the current state of chess. Hence I arrived at two basic conclusions:
1: Chess is a minority sport that can't afford to and mustn't lose its audiences, something which is already happening.
2: If this is happening - and whilst it may be what people think - it's not the fault of the players, who are really just victims of, on the one hand a scoring system that doesn't adequately reward their strife for victory, and on the other hand,obsolete tie-break systems.
Over the years there have been quite a few attempts to attack the " Famous GrandMasters draws", like the 30 move FIDE rule (no draws before 30 moves) or Luis Rentero's fines in the Linares tournament.
These initiatives, which haven't been very successful, have been the only attempts to introduce any modification to the most conservative of all sports.
It's evident that chess, in the same way that has been done in football, basketball, volleyball, and so on, needs a facelift with a view to selling itself better and to attract a wider audience.
With this aim, the PCA took the first step with its idea, in my opinion correct, of organizing semi-rapid tournaments. But I think it is also important to revitalise and give a new spirit to the classic old tournaments of our art-science (both closed and open) to make them more combative in nature, and therefore more spectacular and attractive.
My proposal consists of modifying the scoring system for the games, awarding more for, and therefore, encouraging the win.
The method for adjudicating the points would be as follows:
Win: 3 Points
Draw with White: 1 Point
Draw with Black: 1.5 Points
Defeat: 0 Points
My reasons are:
1: Two draws (one with white and one with black) logically don't amount to a win.
2: I give 1.5 points to a draw with black, because the statistics demonstrate clearly that in any tournament the white pieces win much more games than the black pieces, which proves that they have a considerable advantage.
I still remember Novgorod-96 (Cat.XIX) where the ratio of wins was favourable to white by 15 to 1!
3: When the player with the white pieces has an ELO much lower than his opponent's, in many cases, and quite logically, he plays for a draw because not only is he satisfied with the result, but because he wins 2 or 3 ELO points in one game. We have frequently heard some masters complain: " What can I do with black if white plays so solidly?".
Using my system, the white pieces wouldn't be able to play for a draw because not only would they not win ELO, but they would lose half a point with respect to their rival, whereas with a win they would get 3 points.
It's reasonable to assume therefore that the game would be more open and more interesting for the fans.
4: With this formula it is extremely difficult for two players to tie with the same points ( they would have to achieve practically the same results), which would render unnecessary going to the traditional tie-break methods, which are always conflictive, and prejudicial to some players.
I am going to give some examples:
In Linares 97, before the final round, Kasparov and Kramnik had the same points and had to play each other in the last game. In the case of a draw, Kramnik would have won the tournament because he had achieved a weaker result against the last player classified. I think it absurd that the victory should be decided like this in a tournament of such a category.
In Dos Hermanas 96 - the first Category XIX tournament - Kramnik and Topalov tied for first position with 6/9; the Berger system gave the victory to Kramnik but Topalov had played black in 5 games and white in 4, and Kramnik the other way round, which, at this level, is very important.
Again we saw a dubious tie-break system.
The basic principle of the new scoring system is that the player who has risked most, and so won more games, should always have an advantage over the rest, which will clearly encourage desire for victory, thus enhancing any tournament.
Let's suppose a tournament of 9 games in which between two of the players, one of them wins three games and draws six; the other player wins six games and loses three. With the current scoring system both players would tie on six points. With the new method, the first player would achieve 17,5 points in the best of the cases (playing black in 5 of the 6 draws), and the second player would win with 18 points because he had had to struggle more, had taken more risks, had secured more wins, and effectively had offered more entertainment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Player A 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 6
Player B 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 6
1w 2w 3w 4w 5b 6b 7b 8b 9b Total
Player A 3 3 3 1 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 17½
Player B 3 3 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 18
So, I am convinced that the idea will satisfy players, better rewarded for their efforts for victory, and spectators, since the tournament will gain in tension and excitement.
For instance, even in cases where a player, with a round left, is leading with 2.5 points of advantage over the second classified, he might not win the tournament if he loses his last game and the second classified wins his.
I think that if the majority of we chess lovers want our sport to compete with other professional sports, we must be very clear about the need to improve player incentives, in order that they offer more entertainment, and so attract a wider audience.
It's clear that with this system it will be necessary to modify the method of calculating the ELO in tournaments, but I'll leave this to the mathematicians.
I am also conscious that this approach isn't perfect, and that it will invite both favourable and not so favourable opinions, but if it's able to generate an open debate I will be satisfied, because in my opinion that is the cornerstone of progress.
Signed: Silvio Danailov
Angel Martin amartin@filnet.es
Information from John Henderson of Channel Four Teletext.
After five rounds the Grandmaster team "A", led by Croatian GM Bogdan Lalic has a two point led over the IM team "B" led by IM Ketevan Arakhamia from Georgia, now resident in Edinburgh.
Arakhamia, who is on 4/5 needs to score 7/9 for her second GM norm. Ireland's Mark Quinn needs to score 2/4 for an IM norm.
TEAM A: Bogdan Lalic 4/5, Keith Arkell 3, Paul Motwani 3.5, Brian Kelly 3, Lawrence Cooper 1.5, John Richardson 0.5, Mark Quinn 4, Harriet Hunt 1, Lee Grinsell 1. Total 23.5 TEAM B: Ketevan Arakhamia 4/5, Jonathan Rowson 3.5, Angus Dunnington 3.5, Robert Bellin 2.5, Ervin Sandik 3.5, Graeme Buckley 2, Jonathan Grant 2, David Anderton 0.5, Jana Bellin 2. Total 21.5.
The Leinster Chess Union ran the Leinster International Masters at the Teachers Club, Dublin March 25-31. John Hurley sends news of the final results. Games will follow.
TOURNAMENT REPORT EVENT NAME: Leinster International Masters CITY: Dublin FEDERATION: Irish Chess Union (ICU) START: 25th March 1997 FINISH: 31st March 1997 Leinster International Masters, (IRL), (Cat. IV) March 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------- Seed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 --------------------------------------------------------------- 2 McDonald, Neil g ENG 2495 1 * 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 0 7.5 1 Summerscale, Aaron m ENG 2500 * 0 = 1 1 = = 1 1 1 6.5 3 Lehtivaara, Petri f FIN 2365 = 0 * = = 1 = = 1 1 5.5 7 Etchegaray, Patrice m FRA 2275 = 0 = = 1 1 * 1 0 1 5.5 10 Gillen, Adrian IRL 2230 0 1 0 1 1 = 0 0 1 * 4.5 4 Brady, Stephen f IRL 2325 0 = = * 1 = = = 1 0 4.5 8 O'Cinneide, Mel IRL 2255 0 0 = = 1 1 0 * 0 1 4 9 Ryan, Joe IRL 2245 0 0 0 0 1 = 1 1 * 0 3.5 6 Gillen, Stephen IRL 2290 = 0 0 = 0 * 0 0 = = 2 5 Daly, Colm IRL 2310 0 0 = 0 * 1 0 0 0 0 1.5 --------------------------------------------------------------- Time limit: 40 moves in 2 hours; then 20 moves in 1 hour followed by 30 minutes each for the remainder of the game. EXCEPT rounds 4 through 7 where time limit was 40 moves in 2 hours followed by one hour each for the remainder of the moves. Average rating: 2329 category IV. 6/9 required for GM norm.
Laszlo Nagy sends news of the April First Saturday tournaments. He sends the games from the March First Saturday events.
FIRST SATURDAY 1997 April A Category 7. Average 2409, GM norm 8,5, IM-norm 6,5 points last day 16th of April Ergebnisse zur Runde 1 am 5. 4.1997 1 STOCEK, Jiri - AGREST, Evgeny 1/2 2 OOI, Chern Ee - KAHN, Evarth postponed 3 ACS, Peter - VADASZ, Laszlo 1:0 4 CSOM, Istvan - LUKACS, Peter 1/2 5 CAO, Sang - LENGYEL, Bela 1:0 6 TRANG, Th.Hoang - ALMASI, Istvan 1/2 FIRST SATURDAY 1997 April B-tournament Category 1. Average 2252 IM-norm 7 points, last day 14th of April Round 1 4th April. 1 FARAGO, Sandor - GRABICS, Monika 1:0 2 CZEBE, Attila - KISS, Gedeon postponed 3 GUDAT, Alfons - EPERJESI, Laszlo 0:1 4 MAS, Hafizulhelmi - DE SANTIS, Alessio 1:0 5 PINSKI, Jan - SZEBERENYI, Adam 1:0
Khaled Hassan and Laszlo Nagy send news of this, the first in a series of events to be held in Egypt.
In the first series there were two GM events both 12 player round robins and a 10 round Swiss open which had 54 players , 26 rated , 14 foreign (GER-AUT-HUN-MAR-SYR-JOR-LIB-UKR-TUN-EGY-SVK) The scores after 9 rounds of the all-play-all events are:
1st GM Tournament
Cairo (EGY), III-IV 1997 cat. VII (2402)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Novikov, Igor A g UKR 2580 * 1 . = 1 1 = = . . 1 1 6.5 2654
2 Horvath, Csaba g HUN 2485 0 * = . = 1 . . 1 1 1 1 6.0 2581
3 El Ghazali, Youssef M m EGY 2275 . = * = 1 1 0 . 1 1 = . 5.5 2532
4 Szekely, Peter g HUN 2455 = . = * = . . = = 1 1 = 5.0 2496
5 Krizsany, Laszlo m HUN 2435 0 = 0 = * . . 1 1 0 . 1 4.0 2421
6 Georg, Magdy EGY 2345 0 0 0 . . * = 1 0 . 1 1 3.5 2356
7 Repkova, Eva wg SVK 2330 = . 1 . . = * 0 1 0 0 0 3.0 2303
8 El Taher, Fouad m EGY 2445 = . . = 0 0 1 * 0 = = . 3.0 2316
9 Kaabi, Majdi m TUN 2345 . 0 0 = 0 1 0 1 * = . . 3.0 2308
10 Ahmed, Esam Aly m EGY 2395 . 0 0 0 1 . 1 = = * . 0 3.0 2308
11 Rahman, Yehya m EGY 2345 0 0 = 0 . 0 1 = . . * 1 3.0 2326
12 Hassan, Sayed Barakat m EGY 2390 0 0 . = 0 0 1 . . 1 0 * 2.5 2280
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2nd GM Tournament
Cairo (EGY), III-IV 1997 cat. VII (2402)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Timoshenko, Georgy g UKR 2510 * = . . = 1 = 1 1 1 . 1 6.5 2644
2 Horvath, Jozsef g HUN 2535 = * = 1 = . = . = . = 1 5.0 2503
3 Csom, Istvan g HUN 2460 . = * 1 = = . = . = = 1 5.0 2481
4 Mohamed, Esam Ahmed Nagib m EGY 2340 . 0 0 * = 1 . = 1 . 1 1 5.0 2504
5 Poldauf, Dirk m GER 2470 = = = = * . . = 1 . 1 0 4.5 2456
6 Himdan, Maher m EGY 2350 0 . = 0 . * 0 . = 1 1 1 4.0 2391
7 Yasseen, Aly m EGY 2370 = = . . . 1 * 0 0 1 = 0 3.5 2355
8 Afifi, Assem m EGY 2340 0 . = = = . 1 * 0 = = . 3.5 2362
9 Hakki, Imad m SYR 2395 0 = . 0 0 = 1 1 * = . . 3.5 2362
10 Hamed, Ahmed m EGY 2330 0 . = . . 0 0 = = * = 1 3.0 2306
11 Mohamed, Farag Amrou f EGY 2365 . = = 0 0 0 = = . = * . 2.5 2258
12 Sarwat, Walaa m EGY 2360 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 . . 0 . * 2.0 2227
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The Category 8 Perenyi Bela Memorial took place in Gyula Hungary from 24th March-3rd April 1997. The event was jointly won by Evgenij Agrest and Gyula Sax.
Gyula (HUN), III-IV 1997 cat. VIII (2427)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
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1 Agrest, Evgenij m RUS 2460 * = = = 0 1 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 8.5 2582
2 Sax, Gyula g HUN 2545 = * = = 0 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 8.5 2575
3 Bezold, Michael m GER 2500 = = * = 1 = 1 = = = = 1 1 8.0 2545
4 Lukacs, Peter g HUN 2470 = = = * = 1 = = = 1 1 = = 7.5 2518
5 Almasi, Istvan m HUN 2415 1 1 0 = * = 0 = = = = = = 6.0 2427
6 Ruck, Robert m HUN 2450 0 = = 0 = * = = = 1 1 1 0 6.0 2425
7 Anka, Emil m HUN 2450 0 0 0 = 1 = * 0 = 1 = 1 1 6.0 2425
8 Estrada Nieto, Julian m MEX 2340 = 0 = = = = 1 * = = = 0 = 5.5 2405
9 Gonzalez Garcia, Jose m MEX 2475 0 = = = = = = = * 0 = = = 5.0 2365
10 Lauber, Arnd GER 2360 = 0 = 0 = 0 0 = 1 * = = = 4.5 2345
11 Vadasz, Laszlo g HUN 2365 0 0 = 0 = 0 = = = = * = 1 4.5 2345
12 Grund, Holger GER 2360 0 0 0 = = 0 0 1 = = = * 1 4.5 2345
13 Dittmar, Peter f GER 2360 0 0 0 = = 1 0 = = = 0 0 * 3.5 2274
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The 70th Congress of the German chess association "Badischer Schachverband" since 1911 was held in Tauberbischofsheim where the chess club "Schachclub Tauberbischofsheim" celebrated the 50th anniversary this year. The organizers in Tauberbischofsheim, a town situated at the periphery of Baden/Germany, nevertheless had 318 participants in several groups of the Congress (28th March - 5th April), and 67 participants in an international rapid chess open (5-6 April).
It was a congress for young players - the commander of the artillery regiment 12, Colonel Hans-Juergen Reusch, had offered bed and breakfast in his barracks ("Kurmainz-Kaserne"), and about 100 young chess players accepted this offer. The event took place under the patronage of the mayor in Tauberbischofsheim, Wolfgang Vockel.
The champion of Baden 1997 is (as in 1996) IM Roland Schmaltz, 2430 (SF Anderssen Bad Mergentheim). IM Schmaltz and FM Arndt Miltner, 2375 (SC Eppingen) are qualified for the next German championship.
Championship of Baden / 11 rounds
IM Schmaltz Roland 2430 x = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 = 0 + 8.5 FM Miltner Arndt 2375 = x = = 1 = 1 1 0 1 1 + 8.0 Rudolph Johannes 2250 0 = x = 1 1 = 0 = 1 1 + 7.0 FM Doettling Fabian 2310 0 = = x 1 = = 1 = = 1 + 7.0 FM Maier Christian 2360 = 0 0 0 x 1 = 1 1 1 = + 6.5 FM Mueller Matthias 2360 0 = 0 = 0 x 1 1 = = 1 + 6.0 Schmidt-Schaeffer S. 2395 0 0 = = = 0 x 1 1 = 1 + 6.0 Scherer Max 2250 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 x + 1 1 + 5.0 FM Herbrechtsmeier Ch. 2290 0 1 = = 0 = 0 - x - 1 + 4.5 Doll Stefan 2265 = 0 0 = 0 = = 0 + x = + 4.5 Kluss Kai 2240 1 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 = x + 3.0 IM Sokolov Andrei LAT 2480 - - - - - - - - - - - x 0.0 *
* IM Sokolov (SC Viernheim/Baden/Germany) was invited, accepted the invitation but did not play. The organizers didn't know the reason.
International Rapid Chess Open / 11 rounds Swiss
1. GM Gavrikov Viktor 2590 SUI 9.0 2. IM Bezold Michael 2500 GER SV Wuerzburg 1865 8.5 3. GM Golubev Mihail 2530 UKR 8.5 4. GM Dautov Rustem 2590 GER SC Anderssen St. Ingbert 8.0 5. GM Martinovic Slob. 2495 YUG 8.0 6. GM Bischoff Klaus 2550 GER SG Solingen 8.0 7. Beresovski Igor 2385 RUS 8.0 8. IM Klundt Klaus 2370 GER TV Tegernsee 7.5 9. IM Solonar Stephan 2300 MDA 7.0 10. Scherer Max 2250 GER SGem Dreisamtal 7.0 11. Gheng Josef 2295 GER SC Freiburg 7.0 12.FM Gastgofer Viktor 2380 RUS 7.0 13. Kistner Klaus 2230 GER SF Anderssen Bad Mergentheim 7.0 14. Schaefer Michael 2210 GER SC Freiburg 7.0 15.FM Bach Edwin 2320 GER Karlsruher SF 1853 7.0 16.FM Vatter Hajo 2265 GER SK Zaehringen 1921 6.5 17.FM Solomunovic Igor 2350 BIH 6.5 18. Kekelidze Mikheil 2325 GEO 6.5 19.FM Maier Christian 2360 GER SK Zaehringen 1921 6.5 ...
Gerald Schendel Press Officer "Badischer Schachverband"
Philipp Schlosser sent the results of the 5th Internationales Dreifluesse-Schachopen Passau'. 28th-31st March 1997 last week. He sent a number of games this week.
Ten of the best Chilean players joined the I Nelson Navarro Memorial, held in Santiago, Chile, March 11-19, in memory of Nelson Navarro who tragically died last February. He was 25 years old and recently had achieved the International Master title.
IM Rodrigo Vasquez got clear first place winning 6 games and drawing 3, getting an excellent 7.5/9 score. Daniel Barria was second at 6.5.
Santiago (CHI), III 1997 cat. III (2319)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
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1 Vasquez, Rodrigo m CHI 2505 * 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 7.5 2570
2 Barria, Daniel CHI 2355 0 * 1 1 1 = = 1 1 = 6.5 2480
3 Godoy, David A CHI 2295 = 0 * 1 = 1 1 0 1 1 6.0 2446
4 Cortes Moyano, Julio f CHI 2295 0 0 0 * 1 0 1 1 1 1 5.0 2364
5 Toloza, Pablo m CHI 2385 = 0 = 0 * 1 = 1 = = 4.5 2311
6 Arancibia, Eduardo CHI 2250 0 = 0 1 0 * = 1 0 1 4.0 2283
7 Velasquez, Cesar CHI 2365 = = 0 0 = = * = 0 = 3.0 2188
8 Montero Martinez, Cristian f CHI 2235 0 0 1 0 0 0 = * 1 = 3.0 2202
9 Llorens, Marcelo CHI 2235 0 0 0 0 = 1 1 0 * = 3.0 2202
10 Zapata, Marco CHI 2265 0 = 0 0 = 0 = = = * 2.5 2158
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The final round games from this event are available in the games section. The report and final scores were in twic125.
Information from Lars Zwisler. He had a web page at:
There was in additional coverage in Danish
Eric Schiller reports that the Outrigger Hawaii International begins on the 15th April 1997.
GMs include Yermolinsky, Psakhis, Atalik, Baburin, Blatny, Miles. Coverage will be at http://www.chessworks.com/hawaii97.htm Altogether there will be 17 countries and about 50 players.
The sponsors are Outrigger a hotel and restaurant chain in Hawaii. Saitek, First Hawaiian Bank and Chessworks are minor sponsors.
Produced by Ken Thomson with ChessBase
Calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Chess Union Int.
1. Kasparov,Garry RUS 2828 154
2. Anand,Viswanathan IND 2758 152
3. Kramnik,Vladimir RUS 2754 156
4. Topalov,Veselin BUL 2735 192
5. Karpov,Anatoli RUS 2710 147
6. Ivanchuk,Vassily UKR 2710 182
7. Kamsky,Gata USA 2701 181
8. Gelfand,Boris BLR 2689 135
9. Adams,Michael ENG 2685 158
10. Short,Nigel D ENG 2669 182
11. Beliavsky,Alexander G SLO 2666 133
12. Shirov,Alexei ESP 2663 201
13. Salov,Valery RUS 2661 183
14. Bareev,Evgeny RUS 2657 167
15. Andersson,Ulf SWE 2652 138
16. Khalifman,Alexander RUS 2639 152
17. Yermolinsky,Alexey USA 2638 154
18. Polgar,Judit (GM) HUN 2637 194
19. Piket,Jeroen NED 2631 168
20. Georgiev,Kiril BUL 2629 166
21. Seirawan,Yasser USA 2628 182
22. Lautier,Joel FRA 2628 200
23. Leko,Peter HUN 2626 155
24. Granda Zuniga,Julio E PER 2626 211
25. Dreev,Alexey RUS 2625 162
26. Svidler,Peter RUS 2624 135
27. Ehlvest,Jaan EST 2623 149
28. Timman,Jan H NED 2621 186
29. Yakovich,Yuri RUS 2621 159
30. Azmaiparashvili,Zurab GEO 2621 156
31. Rublevsky,Sergei RUS 2621 172
32. Nikolic,Predrag BIH 2620 171
33. Sadler,Matthew ENG 2614 180
34. Nunn,John D M ENG 2614 173
35. Sokolov,Ivan BIH 2614 171
36. Speelman,Jonathan S ENG 2613 149
37. Vladimirov,Evgeny KAZ 2611 163
38. Yusupov,Artur GER 2609 139
39. Van Wely,Loek NED 2608 205
40. Onischuk,Alexander UKR 2608 177
41. Kosashvili,Yona ISR 2606 197
42. Akopian,Vladimir ARM 2606 149
43. Magerramov,Elmar AZE 2604 188
44. Georgadze,George GEO 2601 135
45. Almasi,Zoltan HUN 2600 190
46. Tiviakov,Sergei RUS 2599 163
47. Illescas Cordoba,Miguel ESP 2599 168
48. Wolff,Patrick G USA 2599 179
49. Milov,Vadim SUI 2598 176
50. Aleksandrov,Aleksej BLR 2598 172
Tournaments processed for this list
ARG Villa Gesell Clarin GP Cat.11
BRA Rio de Janeiro Championship playoff
ENG Rotherham J.Hodgson-J.Rowson match
FRA Cappella la Grande open
FRA Cannes Cat.10
FRA Cannes open
GER Bundesliga Rounds 10/11
GER German Team's Cup quater-final
GER Bad Woerishofen open
GER Bad Zwesten open
IND Calcutta open
NED Ter Apel Cat.17
RUS Ekaterinburg Russian Cup open
RUS St.Peterburg 70th Championship swiss
YUG Niksic 52th Championship Cat.10
Special section in the games section Email: avvmartini@mailbox.icom.it WWW : http://www.icom.it./user/scac