E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk www http://www.tcc.net/gmtchess.html Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England]
1) Introduction
2) Interplay US Championships 1997
3) World Chess Championships
4) Kasparov impressive against Argentinian Olympiad
side.
5) Double triumph for Tiviakov in China
6) 119th New York State Championships
7) Bacrot vs Korchnoi Match.
8) Icelandic Blindfold Chess Championships
9) Portuguese Chess Championships by Luis Santos
10) Upcoming Events
Games section
ch-USA Semi-final Chandler USA 1997 17 ch-USA Final Chandler USA 1997 1 Simul Buenos Aires ARG 1997 12 3rd TCN Cup Beijing 66 4th ST Lee Cup Beijing 230 Blindfold Reykjavic ISL 1997 24 NY State Action 1997 4 NY State Saratoga Springs USA 1997 68 ch-POR Maceira 1997 24
My thanks to the hard working Matt Guthrie for his excellent job as the US Championships press officer, John Henderson, Clarin, Adjedrez Argentino, Joel Lautier, Curt Hansen, Luis Santos, Bill Townsend, Christophe Bouton, Daði Örn Jónsson, Jon Speelman, Bob Wade and all those who helped with this issue.
As I mentioned last week The Week in Chess is now an independent production. My thanks to all those who wrote in appreciation, too many to reply to individually but it is nice to hear from the readers. I am hopeful of work connected with chess news within the next few weeks, my priority has to be to make a living however.
The US Championships have reached their final stages with Larry Christiansen and Joel Benjamin contesting the final. Garry Kasparov played another one of his exhibitions where he takes on an Olympiad squad of a nation simultaneously as he impressively beat the Argentine squad losing only one game over two days. China may very well be the future of chess and Jon Speelman and Bob Wade send news of events there. Elsewhere many of the top players have complained of the seeding of Karpov through to the final of the FIDE knockout Championships.
Hope you enjoy this issue
Mark
Matt Guthrie reports that the 1997 US Men's and Women's Championships begin August 23rd at the San Marcos Hotel in Chandler, Arizona. The Women's Championship is a ten player round robin, but for the Men's event a slightly original format is being used:
The field is split into two groups of eight, each of which plays a round robin. The top two players from each group the advance, with the winner of each group playing a four game match against the runner-up of the other.
The winners of these matches then play a six game match for the title.
Round by round by Matt Guthrie
US Women's Champ, Round 9 September 2nd 1997
The last round of the women's championship began with Esther Epstein and Anna Gulko sharing first place, and Anjelina Belakovskaia a mere half point back. The first game to conclude was a draw between the two teenage friends, Shahade and Frenklakh. Right at the first time control Jezierska's centralized pieces broke through and mated Zitserman. Immediately following time control Burtman resigned to Khan, and Epstein guaranteed herself at least a share of the title by cornering Krush's King. That game had been a Leningrad Nimzo-Indian, in which Irina's decision to trade Queen for two Rooks had proven extremely misguided. Epstein then had to wait for the result of Belakovskaia-Gulko, in which a large middle-game edge for Anjelina had dissipated in time pressure. However, applying superlative endgame technique, she eventually converted Q vs. R+2P into a full point (in 125 moves!) to clinch second place for herself, and first for Epstein.
US champs Semifinal Round 1. Wed, 3 Sep 1997
Both White players, Seirawan and Benjamin, won hard fought games of over 60 moves to take 1-0 leads in their matches against Larry Christiansen and Gregory Kaidanov, respectively. Yasser got a nice endgame squeeze, while Joel won a couple of pawns when tactics erupted around the time control. Both winners gave brief post-game interviews, shortly available on the USCF web page.
US champs Semifinal Round 2. Thursday 4 Sept 1997
Both semi-final games today featured exchange sacrifices which ultimately proved sufficient only for draws. Against Seirawan, Christiansen invested an exchange almost immediately out of the opening. During the post-mortem Yasser was amazed that he was not just winning the position, as one resource after another for White kept appearing. Yasser disliked his ...Qc4, exchanging queens, which came very close to losing in many lines. Following the time control there was no logical way for either side to play for a win. Kaidanov-Benjamin was balanced throughout the early going, as a typical IQP position evolved from a QGA. Toward the end Joel sacrificed an exchange, but almost immediately after Gregory forced a perpetual check, which Joel could only avoid by taking a bad queen trade.
Semi-Final Round.3. Friday 5th Sept 1997
Joel Benjamin became the first qualifier for the US Championship Finals, after treating spectators to the sight of a Catalan System turning into a vicious Kingside attack. Joel conducted the attack with elan, swinging his Knight across from the Queenside by way of the seemingly inaccessible d7 square, and then sacrificing it on f6. Noteworthy is that Kaidanov's c8 Bishop never moved throughout the entire game. In the second semi-final, Larry Christiansen won a wild slugfest against Yasser Seirawan from an opening that transposed rapidly from a Pirc to a KID Samisch to a Benoni. Larry's central and Queenside pressue eventually led to an invasion down the c-file, after which some elegant tactical play led to an easy pawn up ending. Larry stated after the game that he was especially proud of his ...Qe5, after which he believes White to be lost. The concludinggame of their match will be played tomorrow at 12:30 PDT, not 3:30 as originally scheduled.
Semi-Final Round.3. Saturday 6th Sept 1997
After their semi-final match ended deadlocked at 2-2 with a draw today, Yasser Seirawan and Larry Christiansen embarked on a marathon series of mini-matches. The G/25 match was tied, each player winning with White. The same occurred in the G/15 match. No less than 3 G/5 matches were necessary before Christiansen finally overwhelmed Seirawan's Kalashnikov Sicilian. The two players played 11 total games today, not a one being drawn, in a total time of only slightly less than 12 hours. All the games apart from the 5 minute games are available.
US Championship Finals Rd 1. Sun, 7 Sep 1997
A fatigued Larry Christiansen succumbed rapidly in the face of Joel Benjamin's accurate positional and tactical play in the first round of the U.S. Championship Finals today. An exchange variation of the Slav defense led to the usual nagging pressure for white. Christensen's...Nd7 was a clear error allowing Benjamin to pick up the c6 pawn. A few moves later, a second error, ...a5, allowed Benjamin to add the a pawn to his booty. The rest of the game was a smooth explotation of the material advantage. "Larry was so tired from yesterday that he fell for a lot of cheap tactics." said the winner afterwards. The second game of the 6 game match takes place tomorrow.
Semi-Finals
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 1-0 65 E11 Bogo indian
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1/2 44 C10 French
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 0-1 35 E81 Kings indian; Saemisch
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1/2 55 C10 French
g25 match
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 1-0 55 C41 Philidor defence
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1-0 49 B12 Caro-Kann
g15 Match
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 1-0 40 E81 Kings indian; Saemisch
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1-0 77 B17 Caro-Kann
g5 Matches
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 0-1 40 E12 Nimzo indian
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 0-1 33 B30 Sicilian
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 1-0 55 A63 Modern Benoni
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1-0 31 B12 Caro-Kann
Seirawan, Yasser - Christiansen, Larry M 0-1 53 A62 Modern Benoni
Christiansen, Larry M - Seirawan, Yasser 1-0 37 B32 Sicilian
Chandler USA (USA), IX 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
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Christiansen, Larry M g USA 2550 0 = 1 = 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 8.0 2680
Seirawan, Yasser g USA 2630 1 = 0 = 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 6.0 2500
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Benjamin, Joel - Kaidanov, Grigory S 1-0 62 C77 Ruy Lopez
Kaidanov, Grigory S - Benjamin, Joel 1/2 38 D20 QGA;
Benjamin, Joel - Kaidanov, Grigory S 1-0 43 E00 Nimzo indian
Chandler USA (USA), IX 1997
------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4
------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin, Joel g USA 2580 1 = 1 . 2.5 2873
Kaidanov, Grigory S g USA 2600 0 = 0 . 0.5 2307
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FINAL
Benjamin, Joel - Christiansen, Larry M 1-0 39 D12 Slav defence
Chandler USA (USA), IX 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin, Joel g USA 2580 1 . . . . . 1.0
Christiansen, Larry M g USA 2550 0 . . . . . 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Women's Championship
Round 7 (1997.08.30)
Krush, Irina - Khan, Anna 1/2 45 D36 Queen's gambit
Round 9 (1997.09.01)
Belakovskaia, Anjelina - Gulko, Anna 1-0 125 E11 Bogo indian
Krush, Irina - Epstein, Esther 0-1 41 E31 Nimzo indian
Burtman, Sharon - Khan, Anna 0-1 42 D10 Slav defence
Jezierska, Ivona - Zitserman, Tatyana 1-0 40 A08 Reti (1.Nf3)
Frenklakh, Jennie - Shahade, Jennifer 1/2 22 B01 Scandinavian
Chandler USA (USA), VIII-IX 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
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1 Epstein, Esther wm USA 2210 * = 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 7.5 2456
2 Belakovskaia, Anjelina wg USA 2355 = * 1 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 7.0 2387
3 Gulko, Anna wg USA 2305 0 0 * 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 6.5 2339
4 Shahade, Jennifer USA 2070 = 0 0 * 1 = = 1 = 1 5.0 2242
5 Khan, Anna wm USA 2260 0 = 0 0 * = 1 1 1 1 5.0 2221
6 Krush, Irina USA 2260 0 1 = = = * = 0 = 1 4.5 2178
7 Burtman, Sharon wm USA 2060 = 0 0 = 0 = * 1 1 0 3.5 2120
8 Jezierska, Ivona wf USA 2085 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 3.0 2072
9 Frenklakh, Jennie USA 2135 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 0 * 1 2.0 1972
10 Zitserman, Tatyana USA 2125 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 * 1.0 1842
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Coverage and updates are available through the USCF at:
http://www.uschess.org/updates.html
And a page devoted to background information is:
http://www.store2.com/uschess/news/uschamp97.html
also Smart Chess are covering the event
FIDE's knockout Championships at the end of the year took a couple of new turns this week. Firstly Anatoly Karpov decided he would enter the Championships. The rules initially tried to seed Kasparov and Karpov to the semi-finals to be joined by qualifiers. Kasparov was always likely to reject participation which he did via a letter to Juan Antonio Samaranche when he interceded in the matter. Karpov's position was initially clear, he did not believe in the format but many believed he would change his mind, especially after Kasparov's withdrawal. Karpov is to be seeded to the final and with it he gets $768,000 for turning up with the opportunity of doubling his money.
This week many of the top participants complained about the conditions of the event. In particular the seeding of champion Anatoly Karpov through to the final. One can't help feeling this complaint is very late in the day but there are some factors which probably lead to this. Firstly the prize money is huge and really unrealistic for this event. Most players half believed that the money would not be forthcoming. The sponsor is a Russian oil company whose motivation for and ability to provide $5m is obscure. Secondly Karpov had initially indicated that he would not enter the event. Earlier this week Karpov confirmed his participation and this lead to a strong letter from most of his closest rivals. Their points are strictly correct but should have been raised before they signed their contracts. Indeed it would be difficult to see how FIDE could reverse its decision now it has a signed contract from Karpov. My thanks to Joel Lautier for sending me the letter.
3rd of September 1997
To FIDE President Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov and the delegates of the 68th FIDE Congress
Dear Mr President,
Dear delegates of the FIDE Congress,
Under the new knock-out system of the forthcoming World Chess Championship, the seeding of two of the participants - G.Kasparov and A.Karpov - directly into the semi-finals seemed undemocratic, but president K.Ilyumzhinov explained this serious concession as a search for an exceptional compromise. The refusal from one of the personally invited champions has created a new situation, which, as the FIDE leadership admitted, demands further discussion and sensible corrections. As such we recommend:
- In case G.Kamsky refuses to take part, we believe that the fairest and most democratic decision would be to seed Karpov in his place, that is, from the third round.
- If the runner-up of the previous cycle decides to participate in the WCC, it is possible, as a last resort, to revert to the question of allowing Karpov into the semi-final. Then, for example, he would be joined by the two winners from the previous stage and the third participant would be determined after a short tie-break among the two losers of the same round. Other variations are also possible.
The only formula that is absolutely unacceptable is allowing anyone, whoever it may be, straight into the final. Under the given tournament system, we are deeply convinced that such a procedure would discredit the very idea of an official World Championship.
We would also like to draw your attention to the extremely difficult schedule of the competition. This could be improved by introducing an additional day for tie-breaks in all stages of the competition and allowing two-three days for acclimatization after the long journeys of the participants who shall get to the semi-final and final stages.
Respectfully,
Signed by:
A.Aleksandrov V.Kramnik V.Anand M.Krasenkov E.Bareev J.Lautier J.Benjamin V.Malaniuk L.Christiansen S.Rublevsky B.Gelfand A.Shirov B.Gulko P.Svidler V.Ivanchuk A.Yermolinsky
It is an indication of the feeling about this that Curt Hansen also asked for his name to be added to this list. He believes that even if nothing comes of the initiative it at least registers the players objections to the unfairness of the system in operation. Perhaps this letter might lead in future to a Grandmaster's Association (even a loose organisation) involving many of the top players in order to have a voice in future negotiations.
The saga of the possible bid for a Karpov vs Kasparov match to be held in France in October came to a head this week. Mr. Stroe the potential organiser tried to get the players to agree to play in his home town of Compeigne in France. Whether his bid had any realistic chance of success is open to question as he wanted the event under the FIDE banner and he also didn't really provide a satisfactory explanation. He appears to have continued to try and organise the match long after the players had given up on his bid. This week almost certainly saw the end of the possibility when Mr. Stroe was responsible for an article suggesting the players were on the verge of signing. This was untrue, Karpov now wants at least 3 months preparation time and Kasparov is organising other appearances for the end of the year. The Reuters banner fooled me into believing it but it very quickly became obvious that the story was an empty one despite being widely reported. The original article can be seen at:
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/02/swiss.chess.reut/index.html As soon as Owen Williams, Kasparov's manager heard of the report he issued an unambigious denial which will end speculation about Compeigne.
Here is a faxed press release from Owen Williams produced on September 3rd 1997.
Garry Kasparov's agent responds to recent misleading statements from Compeigne.
This week Mr. Carol Stroe announced a press conference in Paris at the Crilton Hotel on Sept. 10 and claims to have Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov close to signing. Nothing could be further from the truth and as Garry's world wide representatives we would like to set the record straight.
Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov signed an agreement in Moscow in Sept. of 1996 to play for the World Championship. If an acceptable offer was forthcoming. They agreed that it would not be played under the auspices of FIDE or the PCA.
Garry Kasparov first beard of the Compeigne idea six months ago via media statements. Mr. Stroe was busy announcing grandiose plans without even bothering to contact the World Champion - a very strange start! He also announced that he was the official FIDE appointee for the World Championship and that he had paid the required fee to FIDE. When he was asked how this could be possible when FIDE was busy making statements about its own tournament he did not reply and refuses to deal with this basic question!
Constantly we informed Mr. Stroe that Garry Kasparov would not play under the FIDE banner and he just proceeded as if he had not heard. Now, both of the players agents have told him that before any further discussion can take place he must prove to us that he has the necessary financial backing. This has not been forthcoming!
Mr. Stroe's latest announcement has three more misleading statements regarding the dates, the format and the television revenues. The date he has unilaterally announced coincides with appearances we have committed on Garry's behalf. We also know that Anatoly Karpov is definitely not available on those dates because we received a serious offer in late July for the World Championship to be played in that time period and Karpov could not make it.
He announced a 24 game series, which has also not bee discussed with the players and finally he keeps referring to sponsors and television revenues totaling ff 25m which he cannot substantiate.
This charade has gone far enough and we believe that Mr. Stroe and the City of Compeigne should cease using Garry Kasparov's name in this irresponsible fashion.
Issued by Owen Williams Agent for Garry Kasparov
Contact:
Buenos Aires 541-340-7100 x 1914 until September 7th.
Palm Beach 561-833-4220 from Sept 8th.
Garry Kasparov is visiting Argentina from September 2nd - September 13th. The trip has almost a pre-war feel to it with the Champion being feted by the press and offered the keys to the city of Buenos Aires. The central part of the visit was the simultaneous exhibition match over two days against the Argentine Olympiad squad. Kasparov gave a major interview with the newspaper Clarin which was written by Ariel Scher and Luis Scalise. You can see the full text at: http://www.clarin.com It appeared in the paper on September 4 1997. My thanks to Michael Greengard for sending me his translation.
The interview concentrated on Kasparov's loss to Deep Blue earlier this year. Kasparov believes that he was inadequately prepared for the match and that he is still better than the machine. He has quite recovered from the match which did give him nightmares for a time. He hasn't had any written communication from IBM and it looks like they are undecided whether Deep Blue will play again.
Kasparov has made a speciality of these very tough clock exhibitions ( Karpov was in China and he lost a similar exhibition against weaker opponents although it seems he wasn't really expecting very strong opponents) and his preparation is excellent. He tends to agree a couple of quick draws if he can and then concentrate on the reduced numbers. Nevertheless it is really quite a result to play to nearly 2700 under such conditions. Over the two days he just lost one game.
Official coverage from Clarin at : Clarin
Additional coveragehttp://www.adrian-roldan.com
Round 1 (1997.09.06) Ricardi, Pablo - Kasparov, Gary 1/2 35 B52 Kasparov, Gary - Spangenberg, Hugo 1-0 26 D27 Zarnicki, Pablo - Kasparov, Gary 1/2 20 B22 Kasparov, Gary - Panno, Oscar 1-0 38 E32 Sorin, Ariel - Kasparov, Gary 0-1 30 D91 Kasparov, Gary - German, Gustavo 1/2 24 E17 Round 2 (1997.09.07) Kasparov, Gary - Ricardi, Pablo 1-0 27 B90 Spangenberg, Hugo - Kasparov, Gary 1-0 28 B91 Kasparov, Gary - Sorin, Ariel 1-0 54 C45 Panno, Oscar - Kasparov, Gary 1/2 15 A33 Kasparov, Gary - Zarnicki, Pablo 1-0 38 E15 German, Gustavo - Kasparov, Gary 1/2 30 B86 Summary of the results Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2820 8.5 /12 2673 Argentine Team -------------- Ricardi, Pablo g ARG 2575 0.5 /2 2627 Spangenberg, Hugo g ARG 2565 1.0 /2 2820 Zarnicki, Pablo g ARG 2550 0.5 /2 2627 Panno, Oscar g ARG 2450 0.5 /2 2627 Sorin, Ariel g ARG 2460 0.0 /2 German, Gustavo ARG 2495 1.0 /2 2820
| September 2nd | Tuesday | 12am Arrive in Buenos Aires |
| September 2nd | Tuesday | 5pm City Hall Mayor Dr. De la Rua will honour the World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov with the Key to the City. |
| September 2nd | Tuesday | 5-20pm Press Conference |
| September 3rd | Wednesday | 1pm Kasparov vs the Mayor of Buenos Aires Dr. De la Rua, Live Chess Game and Simul with school children. |
| September 4th | Thursday | Free day |
| September 5th | Friday | Free day |
| September 6th | Saturday | 4pm Kasparov vs Argentine Olympiad Team. 1st Match. |
| September 7th | Sunday | 4pm Kasparov vs Argentine Olympiad Team. 2nd Match |
| September 8th | Monday | Rest Day |
| September 9th | Tuesday | 7pm Kasparov vs 20 famous Celebrities. |
| September 10th | Wednesday | Blitz I in Cordoba City |
| September 11th | Thursday | Blitz II La Plata City |
| September 12th | Friday | Blitz III Buenos Aires |
| September 13th | Saturday | 11am Opening ceremony of a scholastic chess championships. |
| September 13th | Saturday | 4pm Blitz IV at the Buenos Aires racing club. |
My thanks to Jon Speelman and Bob Wade for the games and information.
Six foreign players took on six locals in the 3rd Tan Chin Nam Cup which finished on August 20th in Beijing China. First prize was $4,000 which went to Sergei Tiviakov out of a total fund of $12,000. The organiser Mr. Tan announced that the prizefund would increase to $16,000 next year in the hope of raising the event to Category 13.
Beijing CHN (CHN), VIII-IX 1997 cat. XII (2540)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Tiviakov, Sergei g RUS 2590 * = 0 = 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 8.5 2746
2 Oll, Lembit g EST 2645 = * = = 1 = 1 1 = = = 1 7.5 2663
3 Xie Jun g CHN 2495 1 = * 1 0 0 = = = = 1 = 6.0 2579
4 Pigusov, Evgeny g RUS 2560 = = 0 * = = = = 1 = = 1 6.0 2573
5 Ye Jiangchuan g CHN 2530 0 0 1 = * = = = 1 = = 1 6.0 2576
6 Liang Jinrong m CHN 2425 0 = 1 = = * = = = 0 1 = 5.5 2550
7 Zhang Zhong m CHN 2475 0 0 = = = = * 1 = = = 1 5.5 2545
8 Atalik, Suat g TUR 2590 0 0 = = = = 0 * = 1 1 = 5.0 2499
9 Zhu Chen wg CHN 2515 = = = 0 0 = = = * 1 0 = 4.5 2476
10 Alterman, Boris g ISR 2615 0 = = = = 1 = 0 0 * = = 4.5 2467
11 Sermek, Drazen g SLO 2565 0 = 0 = = 0 = 0 1 = * = 4.0 2435
12 Lin Weiguo m CHN 2470 0 0 = 0 0 = 0 = = = = * 3.0 2370
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Most of the players stayed in Beijing in order to play the 4th S.T. Lee Cup. An open event with a prize fund of $16,600 plus appearance fees for some of the top players. The event attracted 42 players 13 of whom were Grandmasters. Van Wely was the top rated player. The event is sponsored by ST Lee a tycoon from Singapore who started the event to encourage Chinese chess players on the occasion of Xie Jun winning the Women's World Chess Championships in 1992. Lembit Oll walked out of the tournament after losing in round 10. Possibly he was upset by the second black in a row he was given. He immediately caught the plane home.
Sergei Tiviakov and Boris Alterman shared first place in the event. Tiviakov continued his success from the TCN Cup but Alterman seemed in poor form. 9th= in the TCN Cup followed by a first round loss in this event did not seem to promise much but 6 wins and 2 draws in the following rounds took him to the joint first place here.
Beijing CHN (CHN), VIII-IX 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Tiviakov, Sergei g RUS 2590 +34 =14 +38 = 6 +12 = 2 + 8 = 3 = 7 + 4 = 5 8.0 /11 2705
2 Alterman, Boris g ISR 2615 - 9 +35 +37 +27 +24 = 1 + 4 =12 + 6 = 5 = 7 8.0 /11 2671
3 Pigusov, Evgeny g RUS 2560 +32 = 6 +33 =14 - 4 +16 = 5 = 1 = 8 +12 +11 7.5 /11 2628
4 Atalik, Suat g TUR 2590 +24 =23 = 9 +21 + 3 = 6 - 2 = 7 +14 - 1 +18 7.0 /11 2577
5 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2655 +29 =16 - 6 =34 +18 +15 = 3 =20 +12 = 2 = 1 7.0 /11 2598
6 Liang Jinrong m CHN 2425 +40 = 3 + 5 = 1 +27 = 4 -12 +25 - 2 +13 = 8 7.0 /11 2638
7 Yakovich, Yuri g RUS 2610 =30 -18 +32 =41 +34 +13 =20 = 4 = 1 +15 = 2 7.0 /11 2557
8 Speelman, Jonathan S g ENG 2630 +22 =13 +18 =12 =14 +26 - 1 =15 = 3 =17 = 6 6.5 /11 2562
9 Karaklajic, Nikola m YUG 2380 + 2 =33 = 4 -15 -16 +41 -13 =28 +32 +27 +23 6.5 /11 2487
10 Wu Wenjin m CHN 2320 -13 -31 =35 =40 =28 +30 +34 =29 =16 +24 +17 6.5 /11 2451
11 Zhang Pengxiang CHN 2360 -14 =41 +30 -13 =29 =28 +21 +32 +22 +20 - 3 6.5 /11 2479
12 Oll, Lembit g EST 2645 +36 +19 +20 = 8 - 1 +14 + 6 = 2 - 5 - 3 . 6.0 /10 2614
13 Tong Yuanming m CHN 2510 +10 = 8 -27 +11 =17 - 7 + 9 +26 =15 - 6 =16 6.0 /11 2494
14 Peng Xiaomin m CHN 2530 +11 = 1 +23 = 3 = 8 -12 =22 +24 - 4 -18 +35 6.0 /11 2524
15 Wang Zili g CHN 2520 =21 =17 +22 + 9 =26 - 5 +23 = 8 =13 - 7 =19 6.0 /11 2531
16 Zhang Zhong m CHN 2475 +42 = 5 =21 -24 + 9 - 3 +19 =17 =10 =23 =13 6.0 /11 2480
17 Ye Jiangchuan g CHN 2530 =18 =15 =34 +29 =13 =23 =26 =16 +20 = 8 -10 6.0 /11 2489
18 Li Shilong f CHN 2335 =17 + 7 - 8 =23 - 5 -19 +36 +37 +26 +14 - 4 6.0 /11 2559
19 Xu Jun g CHN 2505 +31 -12 -26 =22 =32 +18 -16 =27 +28 +29 =15 6.0 /11 2448
20 Zhu Chen wg CHN 2515 +28 +37 -12 -26 +33 +25 = 7 = 5 -17 -11 =21 5.5 /11 2460
21 Xu Yuhua wm CHN 2335 =15 +30 =16 - 4 =37 =27 -11 +35 =29 =22 =20 5.5 /11 2440
22 Yu Shaoteng f CHN 2400 - 8 +28 -15 =19 +42 +24 =14 =23 -11 =21 =25 5.5 /11 2442
23 Lin Weiguo m CHN 2470 +41 = 4 -14 =18 +38 =17 -15 =22 +25 =16 - 9 5.5 /11 2430
24 Wang Lei wg CHN 2375 - 4 +39 +31 +16 - 2 -22 +27 -14 =30 -10 +37 5.5 /11 2420
25 Landa, Konstantin g RUS 2560 -27 -26 +39 +31 +41 -20 +37 - 6 -23 +34 =22 5.5 /11 2376
26 Wang Yaoyao f CHN 2430 -38 +25 +19 +20 =15 - 8 =17 -13 -18 =32 =27 5.0 /11 2421
27 Xie Jianjun CHN 2365 +25 =38 +13 - 2 - 6 =21 -24 =19 +33 - 9 =26 5.0 /11 2375
28 Zhang Weida f CHN 2335 -20 -22 =42 +36 =10 =11 =33 = 9 -19 =31 +39 5.0 /11 2314
29 Yin Hao f CHN 2410 - 5 =32 +40 -17 =11 =37 +42 =10 =21 -19 =30 5.0 /11 2353
30 Wang Pin wg CHN 2380 = 7 -21 -11 -32 +39 -10 +41 +42 =24 =35 =29 5.0 /11 2321
31 Ning Chunhong wm CHN 2260 -19 +10 -24 -25 -40 -35 =39 +36 +37 =28 =34 4.5 /11 2313
32 Liang Chong f CHN 2360 - 3 =29 - 7 +30 =19 =33 +38 -11 - 9 =26 =36 4.5 /11 2337
33 Xu Yuanyuan CHN 2190 +35 = 9 - 3 =38 -20 =32 =28 =34 -27 -36 +41 4.5 /11 2310
34 Qin Kanying wg CHN 2370 - 1 +42 =17 = 5 - 7 =38 -10 =33 +40 -25 =31 4.5 /11 2330
35 Simonovic, Aleksandar f YUG 2420 -33 - 2 =10 -37 =36 +31 +40 -21 +41 =30 -14 4.5 /11 2284
36 Liu Dede m INA 2400 -12 =40 -41 -28 =35 +39 -18 -31 +42 +33 =32 4.5 /11 2250
37 Li Wenliang m CHN 2410 +39 -20 - 2 +35 =21 =29 -25 -18 -31 +42 -24 4.0 /11 2293
38 Sun Hui CHN 2200 +26 =27 - 1 =33 -23 =34 -32 -41 -39 =40 =42 3.5 /11 2203
39 Wang Yuemin CHN 2280 -37 -24 -25 -42 -30 -36 =31 +40 +38 +41 -28 3.5 /11 2191
40 Durao, Joaquim m POR 2185 - 6 =36 -29 =10 +31 -42 -35 -39 -34 =38 +43 3.5 /11 2140
41 Ni Hua CHN 2220 -23 =11 +36 = 7 -25 - 9 -30 +38 -35 -39 -33 3.0 /11 2211
42 Li Ruofan wf CHN 2245 -16 -34 =28 +39 -22 +40 -29 -30 -36 -37 =38 3.0 /11 2174
43 BYE ---- . . . . . . . . . . -40 0.0 / 1
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Saratoga Springs was the host of the 119th New York State Championships. August 29 - September 1, 1997 Bill Townsend, chess columnist for the Daily Gazette, sends new of the Championships.
IM Jay Bonin was the winner, defeating GM Michael Rohde (the event's highest rated player) in round 5. GM Rohde tied for second, along with FM Ron Burnett, Yurij Lapshun, Donny Airel and Taghian Taghian. The NY State championship is usually a pretty strong tournament, but the fact that the US Championships was running at the same time hurt the GM turnout a bit. Usually GM Joel Benjamin plays, in fact he has been State Champion six times. The New York State Championship may also be the longest running annual tournament in the world. The 1997 edition was the 119th, and past champions include Anthony Santasiere, I.A. Horowitz, Reuben Fine, Isaac Kashdan, William Lombardy and even Jose Capablanca (1910). More recently Michael Rohde, Joel Benjamin, Roman Dzindzichashvili, Max Dlugy and John Fedorowicz have been state champions.
New York State Championships ----------------------------- # Name rtng US rd1 rd2 rd3 rd4 rd5 rd6 TOT 1 IM Bonin, Jay 2484 D34 W30 W24 W7 W2 D3 5 2 GM Rohde, Michael 2603 W27 D14 W17 W3 L1 W12 4.5 3 FM Burnett, Ronald 2480 W21 W13 W10 L2 W6 D1 4.5 4 Lapshun, Yurij 2411 D35 W34 D12 W17 W16 D5 4.5 5 Ariel, Donny 2383 W50 D15 D18 W32 W13 D4 4.5 6 Taghian, Taghian 2338 W36 D12 W31 W8 L3 W18 4.5 7 Golyak, Isay 2311 W43 D18 W15 L1 W31 D11 4 8 Siegel, Noah 2296 W37 W26 1/2 L6 W15 1/2 4 9 Noble, Matthew 2295 W28 D32 D29 W25 L12 W26 4 10 Schneider, Dmitry* 2275 W22 W25 L3 W14 D18 1/2 4 11 Kwartler, Lonnie 2249 W45 D29 D32 D19 W20 D7 4 12 Weeramantry, Sunil 2212 W46 D6 D4 W37 W9 L2 4 13 Dean-Kawamura, Ben 2211 W39 L3 W22 W28 L5 W25 4 14 Levine, Viktor 2097 W53 D2 D27 L10 Bye W24 4 15 Basecu, Neil 2241 W38 D5 L7 W29 L8 W35 3.5 16 Simon, Jerry 2240 D47 W35 1/2 W21 L4 D19 3.5 17 Nur, Nawrose 2209 W42 W23 L2 L4 D19 W36 3.5 18 Jackson, Rich 2204 W40 D7 D5 W24 D10 L6 3.5 19 Kharroubi, Clifton 2116 W49 L24 W46 D11 D17 D16 3.5 20 Michelman, Peter 2115 L30 D45 W51 W42 L11 W40 3.5 21 Kantor, Alan 2107 L3 W38 W30 L16 D40 W33 3.5 22 Adamec, Carl 2071 L10 W52 L13 D46 W53 W31 3.5 23 Clague, James 1859 Bye L17 D42 L26 W50 W34 3.5 24 Grechikhin, Vladimir 2268 W44 W19 L1 L18 W37 L14 3 25 Bucemi, Edward 2158 W52 L10 W43 L9 W27 L13 3 26 McMullan, Kirk 2152 W41 L8 L28 W23 W29 L9 3 27 Steffek, Bruce 2063 L2 W53 D14 1/2 L25 W46 3 28 Farrell, Gary 2047 L9 W48 W26 L13 D33 D32 3 29 Waxman, Marian 1957 W33 D11 D9 L15 L26 W44 3 30 Groberman, Elina** 1917 W20 L1 L21 W43 L34 W45 3 31 Sarkar, Justin 2208 D51 W47 L6 W45 L7 L22 2.5 32 Taylor, Steven A 2200 W48 D9 D11 L7 0 D28 2.5 33 Benen, Samson 2118 L29 D51 W50 D40 D28 L21 2.5 34 Ross, Philip 2108 D1 L4 L45 W49 W30 L23 2.5 35 Scher, Edward 2093 D4 L16 L40 W48 W51 L15 2.5 36 Rozic, Isaac 2077 L6 L46 W47 D51 W41 L17 2.5 37 Arluck, William 2077 L8 W39 W49 L12 L24 D38 2.5 38 Harris, Frederic 2032 L15 L21 W52 D41 D42 D37 2.5 39 Lack, Jonathan 2016 L13 L37 D48 D50 D43 W53 2.5 40 Lohrman, Ronald 2010 L18 D50 W35 D33 D21 L20 2.5 41 Townsend, William 1996 L26 L43 W44 D38 L36 W51 2.5 42 Pixton, Aaron 1929 L17 Bye D23 L20 D38 1/2 2.5 43 Felber, Joseph 2067 L7 W41 L25 L30 D39 1/2 2 44 Kalifas, Richard 2042 L24 L49 L41 W47 W52 L29 2 45 Nakamua, Asuka 2038 L11 D20 W34 L31 D46 L30 2 46 Stenzel, Harold 2025 L12 W36 L19 D22 D45 L27 2 47 Lawson, Brian 1984 D16 L31 L36 L44 W49 1/2 2 48 Ansel, Andrew 1968 L32 L28 D39 L35 Bye 1/2 2 49 Bloom, Bryan 1735 L19 W44 L37 L34 L47 Bye 2 50 Frumkin, Edward 2083 L5 D40 L33 D39 L23 D52 1.5 51 Chipkin, Leonard 2014 D31 D33 L20 D36 L35 L41 1.5 52 Barker, David W 2009 L25 L22 L38 Bye L44 D50 1.5 53 Collins, James unr L14 L27 Bye 1/2 L22 L39 1.5 Note: No tie-breaking systems were used. Players are listed in rating order within score groups. *Dmitry Schneider is just 12 years old. **Elena Groberman, New York State Women's Champion, is just 14 years old. Under 2,000 Section 1. Johnson, Robert C 5 2. Nakamura, Hikaru 4.5 3. Scott, Calvin 4.5 4. Traldi, Arthur 4.5 26 others… Under 1,800 Section 1. Lehmann, John T 5 2. Lehmann, Alex 5 3. Larsen, James E 5 4. Woodward, Timothy 4.5 34 others… Under 1,600 Section 1. Levina, Anna V 5.5 2. Massaro, James 5 3. Kotlarchyk, Maxwel 5 4. Finnerman, David 4.5 5. Stein, Jason L 4.5 35 others… Under 1,400 Section 1. Gunter, Andrew 5.5 2. Prince, Howard 5 3. Friedman, Weston 4.5 4. Lieberman, Mark 4.5 25 others… Under 1,200 Section 1. Boas, Ryan 5 2. Hui, Adrian 5 3. Tannascoli, David 4.5 4. Backer, Bruce 4.5 5. Dalland, Michael 4.5 6. Sniffen, Brian 4.5 33 others… New York State Action Championship (G/30) August 29, 1997 (5 Rounds) 1. Ariel, Donny 4.5 2. FM Burnett, Ronald 4 3. Sarkar, Justin 4 4. Nakamura, Asuka 4 5. GM Rohde, Michael 3.5 6. Nakamura, Hikaru 3.5 20 others… Note: GM Alex Wojtkiewicz (2,702) drawn by Ronald Sperber (1,921) in round 3.
Christophe Bouton reports that Etienne Bacrot is going to play a 6 game match in the Jeu de Paume theater in the town of Albert (departement de la Somme close to Etienne's home village) The match is scheduled for 10-15 September with the games starting at 2:30 pm. The time rate is 40 moves in two hours, 20 moves in one hour followed by 30 minutes to finish the game. The match will be covered on the internet by the FM radio station which has some involvement in sponsoring Etienne. http://europe2.fr The games will be annotated by Bacrot's second, Iossif Dorfman. The current lifetime score between the players stands in Korchnoi's favour at + 3 (2 Cannes 1996, 1 Linz 1997) -1 (Enghien 1997. In the same place last year, Etienne defeated Smyslov 5 to 1.
The First Icelandic Blindfold Chess Championship took place betwen September 5th-7th, 1997. The opening ceremony was held at Nýherji, Skaftahlíð 24, Reykjavík. The Icelandic Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson opened the tournament by making the first move. Amongst others who were present at the opening ceremonies were the president of the Icelandic Blind Association and the president of the Icelandic Chess Federation. The finals were be shown live on the Icelandic TV station Sýn. The tournament was sponsored by Nýherji and Búnaðarbanki Íslands
Internet coverage (the source for this article) was Chess in Iceland by Daði Örn Jónsson at:
http://vkshp.vks.is/skak/blind97.html
Helgi Gretarsson emerged the winner after drawing an initial two game match with Hannes Stefansson.The time rate was 10 minutes with an additional 20 seconds per move for the preliminary sections. The finals was at 10 minutes per side with an additional 12 seconds per move. The final playoff game was at White: 5m + 12s. Black: 3m + 12s.
Blindfold Group A
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Reykjavic ISL (ISL), IX 1997 cat. VII (2409)
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1 2 3 4 5
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1 Stefansson, Hannes g ISL 2545 * = 1 1 1 3.5 2711
2 Gretarsson, Helgi Ass g ISL 2475 = * = 1 1 3.0 2585
3 Olafsson, Helgi g ISL 2505 0 = * 1 1 2.5 2480
4 Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor ISL 2315 0 0 0 * = 0.5 2110
5 Sigfusson, Sigurdur f ISL 2205 0 0 0 = * 0.5 2138
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Blindfold Group B
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Reykjavic ISL (ISL), IX 1997 cat. V (2373)
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1 2 3 4 5
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1 Thorhallsson, Throstur g ISL 2510 * = = 1 1 3.0 2531
2 Hansson, Dan ISL 2230 = * 1 0 1 2.5 2503
3 Hjartarson, Johann g ISL 2605 = 0 * 1 = 2.0 2315
4 Thorfinnsson, Bragi ISL 2215 0 1 0 * = 1.5 2325
5 Karason, Askell O ISL 2305 0 0 = = * 1.0 2197
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Semi-Finals
Stefansson, Hannes - Hansson, Dan 1-0
Thorhallsson, Throstur - Gretarsson, Helgi Ass 0-1
Final
Stefansson, Hannes - Gretarsson, Helgi Ass 0-1
Gretarsson, Helgi Ass - Stefansson, Hannes 0-1
Playoff
Stefansson, Hannes - Gretarsson, Helgi Ass 0-1
The Portuguese Championships are underway. After four rounds Joao Leonardo leads. Luis Costa reports that it will be held until September 14 in the HOTEL DA TERMAS DO VIMEIRO, in Maceira, a well known holiday resort in the north of Lisbon District. You may follow up the tournament at http://www.costa-do-estoril.com/ix/97porch.htm
Maceira (POR), IX 1997
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
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1 Leonardo, Joao POR 2320 * . . 1 . . . 1 . 1 1 . 4.0
2 Dantas, Carlos POR 2200 . * . = . . . 1 1 . 1 . 3.5 2560
3 Ribeiro, Fernando f POR 2340 . . * . 1 = . . = 1 . . 3.0 2551
4 Dias, Paulo POR 2250 0 = . * . . 1 . . . . 1 2.5 2285
5 Galego, Luis m POR 2440 . . 0 . * 1 = . . . . 1 2.5 2343
6 Santos, Carlos P f POR 2355 . . = . 0 * . . 1 . . 1 2.5 2421
7 Silva, Fernando m POR 2335 . . . 0 = . * = . 1 . . 2.0 2152
8 Fernando,Diogo ---- 0 0 . . . . = * . . 1 . 1.5 2012
9 Damaso, Rui m POR 2485 . 0 = . . 0 . . * . = . 1.0 2025
10 Rodrigues,Rui ---- 0 . 0 . . . 0 . . * . 1 1.0
11 Boino,Claudio ---- 0 0 . . . . . 0 = . * . 0.5 2062
12 Costa, P POR ---- . . . 0 0 0 . . . 0 . * 0.0
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Léo Battesti is organising the 1st "Open international de Corse" with a prize fund of 250 000 F of p (around $41,000)
Open international de Corse Bastia, 8, 9, 10, 11 november 1997 1st : 5000 $, 2nd : 3300$, 3rd : 2500, 4th : 1600 $, 5th 1300 $ 7th 850$,8th : 800 $, 9th 700$, 10th : 650 $, 11th to 20th : 500 $ 2200-2300 elo : 1st 700$, 2nd 580$ 3rd : 420$ 1800-1990 elo : 1st 630$, 2nd 500$ 3rd : 370$ 1600-1799 elo : 1st 580$, 2nd 420$ 3rd : 250$ 1400-1599 elo : 1st 500$, 2nd 330$ 3rd : 170$ 1000-1399 elo : 1st 330$, 2nd 170$ 3rd : 90$ 1st woman : 670 $, 2nd 380$ 1st junior : 700 $ For more information contact : Corsicaflash@mic.fr
The organisers are looking for players for the Hajduboszormeny tournament taking place between October 21-31 1997. They are looking for players from outside Hungary including non-GMs above 2400. The players so far: GM Istvan Csom, GM Gyozo Forintos, GM Istvan Bilek, IM Jose Gonzales (MEX), FM Julian Estrada (MEX), FM Jozsef Forgacs, FM Ballai Zsolt, FM Gal Jozsef Istvan etc. Entry fee: 110 US $ Accommodation+food: 170 $ Tournament winners: 1994 - GM Vladimir BURMAKIN 1995 - IM KISS Pal 1996 - IM KRIZSANY Laszlo
Further information: Dr. Imre Deli H-4220 Hajduboszormeny, Petofi u. 28.Hungary Tel/fax: 00 36 52 371224 E-mail: mrbean@tigris.klte.hu
Both computers and chessplayers can enter the competition. Place: Grand Hotel Aranybika, H-4025 Debrecen (Hungary) 11-15. Piac Street. Tel: 00 36 52 416777. Fax: 00 36 52 421834. E-mail: civisrt@mail.datanet.hu System: 9 round, swiss system. Time: 40 moves/120 minutes + 15 minutes till the end. Opening ceremony: Wednesday 15.00, 22. october 1997. Prizes: 45000, 39000, 33000, 27000, 22000, 16000, 11000, 6000 HUF. (107 HUF = 1 DEM) and other awards. Entry fees: computers 5000 HUF, players: 1500-3000 HUF. In the competition chess programs can also enter and can win prizes. Players must play with programs. The organisers can provide the hardware. (monitors, etc.) About Points: Win 3 points, Draw with White 1 point, Draw with Black 1.5 points, loss O point. Other information: SZABO Zsolt, H-4027 Debrecen, Furedi 46. I/6. Tel: 00 36 20 663610, E-mail: mrbean@tigris.klte.hu
Computers can't enter !! Place: Grand Hotel Aranybika, H-4025 Debrecen (Hungary) 11-15. Piac Street. Tel: 00 36 52 416777. Fax: 00 36 52 421834. E-mail: civisrt@mail.datanet.hu System: 9 round, swiss system. Time: 40 moves/120 minutes + 15 minutes till the end. Opening ceremony: 16.00, 26. December 1997. Prizes: 27000, 24000, 20000, 16000, 13000, 10000, 6000, 4000 HUF. (107 HUF = 1 DEM) and other awards. Entry fees: 1000-3000 HUF. About Points: win 3 poits, draw with white 1 point, draw with black 1.5 points, loss O point. Accommodation: 500 HUF/night/person ...
Winners: 1995 - IM Horvath Peter 2370 HUN 1996 - Peredy Ferenc 2430 HUN Other information: SZABO Zsolt, H-4027 Debrecen, Furedi 46. I/6. Tel: 00 36 20 663610, E-mail: mrbean@tigris.klte.hu