THE WEEK IN CHESS 174 - 9th March 1998 by Mark Crowther

Sponsored by the London Chess Center

E-Mail          mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk
Tel or fax      01274 882143 [Bradford England]
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html

1) Introduction
2) Linares 1998
3) Cannes "Festival des Jeux"
4) Cappelle la Grande
5) Golden Jubilee International Chess tournament
6) First Saturday Tournament March
7) Portuguese Honor (Honra) Tournament
8) Blackpool Chess Congress
9) 1998 Varsity Match
10) 14th Chess Festival Bad Woerishofen
11) Belgrade Women's Supertournament
12) The Best Rated player in Italy by Roberto Ricca
13) Upcoming Events

Games section

Linares GM Tournament        18 games
Cannes Open                 216 games
Cannes Generations           18 games
Cappelle la Grande Open     222 games
First Sat IM March            9 games
Honra Tournament             45 games
Blackpool Open                2 games
Varsity Match                 8 games
ChessOrg Open                15 games
Belgrade Women's Tournament  25 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Net64, Roberto Ricca, Pompeo Silingardi, Massimiliano Orsi, Sinisa Joksic, Gerhard Hund, Bob Wade, Carl Tillotson, Luis Santos, Laszlo Nagy, V Krishnaswamy, Christophe Bouton of Europe Echecs and all those who helped with this issue.

The Linares tournament was a great demonstration of top class chess. This was serious sport with the players committed to achieving the best results possible. Of course there were winners and losers. There were three big winners for me in this event. Anand, who won the event. Shirov, who harnessed his talent to the production of results. And Peter Svidler who after getting over his baptism at this level (its simply impossible to maximise your results first time) with a very credible performance has the potential to do much better next time with the invaluable experience gained here. Garry Kasparov, in spite of being undefeated will have had better weeks. He simply couldn't get going, a combination of a cold and the strength of play of his opponents saw himonly manag one win. His plans for a World championships had a setback with Anand's almost certain rejection of them and the average result of the other player in those plans, Kramnik. But its chess that's the winner, this was high quality stuff with the closeness of the competition showing healthy competition amongst the World's best.

Stop Press.

Almost as twic174 was about to be published I received this information which emerged at the end of the Linares tournament (and will supercede some of the comments in this issue). My thanks to Michael Greengard for the translation. The original I believe is an official press release from the event by Leontxo Garcia who is also the chess correspondent of El Pais.

Excerpt from the official tournament report by Leontxo Garcia [Translated by Mig]

Viswananthan Anand, 28 years old and ranked number three in the world, added to his trophy case by triumphing in one of the greatest tournaments of all time. The Indian drew in the last round with Russian Vladimir Kramnik and by so doing maintained his half-point lead over the surprising Spaniard, seventh ranked Alexei Shirov who drew in only 17 moves with Gary Kasparov. Kasparov, playing without his habitual aggressiveness, finished in fourth place in one of the worst performances of his career, despite finishing undefeated with eleven draws and only one victory, this coming against Anand.

"I've suffered a lot during this tournament. Every game was really tough and I was really let down after losing to Kasparov in round three. This victory is that one I most value along with Reggio Emilia [1992, ahead of Kasparov and Karpov] and the just finished Groningen [FIDE World Champion Candidates Tournament]", said Anand, World Championship finalist in 1995 and this year, after being embraced by his wife and sent off with a huge ovation from the spectators.

Anand confirmed that he will reject the invitation of the new World Chess Council (WWC) to play a match against world number two Vladimir Kramnik to be disputed in Cazorla, Jaen (Spain), the winner of which will face Kasparov in Seville and Linares from the 16 of October with more than $1,300,000 US dollars in prizes. "I have signed a contract with FIDE that prevents me from participating in world championships of other organizations. Even if it's true that the clause in question is poorly worded and maybe wouldn't hold up in court, my signature binds me, I am a man of my word," added the Indian, resident of Collado-Mediano, Madrid.

The WWC is presided over by Luis Rentero who is also the organizer of Linares. Three weeks ago Kasparov publicly offered his support to Anand in case FIDE took legal action against him. Aware that the Indian didn't like the idea, and in light of the excellent performance of Shirov, who led the tournament most of the way, Rentero approached the Spaniard a week ago in a restaurant with the following temptation: "If Anand doesn't play, you will take his place in Cazorla" [In the match against Kramnik - Mig]. Shirov appreciated the gesture, "Even if I win the tournament the financial reward will be small because I have to pay my two analysts. But the possibility of playing for the world championship against Kasparov really motivates me."

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Linares 1998

Anand win in Linares

This years Linares SuperGrandmaster tournament is a 7 player Category 21 event with an ELO average of 2752.

Viswanathan Anand won the Linares Supertournament alone on 7.5/12 by half a point from long time leader Alexei Shirov. Anand's wins came in two's. He won rounds 1,2 and a late spurt in rounds 12,13. His only loss came in round 3 to Garry Kasparov. The victory was almost clinical in its execution with Anand being extremely efficient in achieving this result.

Alexei Shirov finished second and in fact was probably unlucky not to finish with at least a share of first. Its always dangerous to base theories on one tournament but from the games we saw a well prepared and mentally determined Shirov produce some of the most convincing chess of his career. It may be that after the upheaval of moving from Latvia to Spain his career has finally found its focus again. He has the talent to be better than he is. Perhaps 1998 will be his year.

Kasparov and Kramnik tied for 3rd place. Most people would give a lot for a result like Kasparov scored in Linares. A plus score, undefeated and a win against the victor of the event. However we expect more of Kasparov and the previous sentence only tells half the story. It is likely that he will regard this as one of the most disappointing results of his career. Kasparov won just once, in the third round against Anand and drew the rest. He played fewer moves than the other players in the tournament. He never got his momentum going and one suspects that someone would have done him a favour by beating him in the first half of the event to break the drawing habit. He started the event announcing the World Chess Council with Linares organiser Luis Rentero and finished it being fined for too many short draws by that same organiser. Although he had a heavy cold for much of the event it was his opening repertoire that caused most cause for concern. He rarely got the kind of advantage he routinely expects, not many errors either so the result was a lot of draws. In addition the subtext of the event was would Anand commit himself to the plans that Kasparov had for the rest of the year. A match between Kramnik and Anand followed by the winner playing Kasparov were on the WCC's agenda. Its now pretty clear they are not on Anand's. Whilst this is a disappointment for the chess watching public it makes absolute sense for Anand. He does not want to get into a dispute with FIDE with a potential knockout tournament at the end of the year where he will be one of the favourites to win. Kasparov will no doubt try to respond to all this in his next tournament or match appearance. It should be one to look forward to.

Vladimir Kramnik too hardly set the world on fire with his performance. Make no mistake this was a very tough event with questions being asked of people's opening repertoire's across the range and very few errors were there to be taken advantage of. Kramnik got some nice positions but only converted two including a nice win against Svidler. His only loss came in a very old fashioned Ruy Lopez against Shirov. Not terrible but he was not hard enough against those playing slightly less well than the other players.

Peter Svidler was one of the winners of this event. This was his first elite invitation (Category 20-21) and with no easy opponents it requires a different approach. He brought Nigel Short a player who he is friendly with and his -1 and a performance 43 rating points above his expected result represents a successful start. Kramnik before the event remarked that a solid result at Linares would be a great result for Svidler as he gets used to this level of competition, next time he will look to build on that.

Many people believe that Ivanchuk would be the best player in the World were it not for his nerves. Perhaps this is an overstatement but he certainly contributed mightily to the entertainment in the tournament. A fine win against Shirov contributed to costing the Spanish representative first place, and it was never really possible to predict what he would play. 5/12 was not as good as he could have scored but it wasn't so terrible either.

Its hard to know what's gone wrong for Topalov. At one stage it seemed he was securely moving towards the World number one spot. Of course players take his tactical abilities very seriously these days, but it just seems that his game isn't firing on all cylinders anymore. His fierce competitive abilities and capacity for hard work will undoubtably bring him back but now is a time to rethink what he was doing a couple of years ago that he isn't doing now.

Round 9

Alexei Shirov lost for the second time in the event, and for the second time with white. This time against the mercurial Vassily Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk chose the Caro-Kann and Shirov seemed to gain a dangerous initiative. A creative sacrifice of the rook seemed to turn the tables. Shirov found himself in a passive position and Ivanchuk's knights drove into Shirov's position forcing an attractive finish. Kramnik-Topalov was another Grunfeld where the a2 pawn was grabbed by black. Kramnik's passed d-pawn looked enough to win but Topalov's a-pawn in combination with his bishop allowed him to draw. Anand defended a Rauzer Sicilian against Peter Svidler. Svidler seemed to get a dangerous initiative until a patent Anand exchange sacrifice put a stop to that. Anand seems to know when the exchange won't grant many winning chances and he held the draw without difficulty in a simplified ending.

Round 10

The Anand - Kasparov showdown proved to be a disappointment. In a Sicilian, Kasparov equalised quite easily and Anand simplified to a dull position.Someone had to pay for grabbing the a-pawn in the Grunfeld and it was Svidler against Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk after thinking very hard over his first 25 moves found a way to embarrass black's queen and in spite of time shortage got a technical winning ending with the concessions he extracted. Shirov took a lot of risks on the black side of the Grunfeld to test out of form Topalov. He won a couple of pawns but was faced with the prospect of a bishops of opposite colour ending. However it proved to be winning, especially after his spectacular 47. ...Bh3.

Round 11

No-one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition. (As Monty Python might and John Henderson would say) Three Ruy Lopez's and two wins for white. The draw was from the game Kasparov-Ivanchuk. Kasparov got some sort of minute advantage which never ever looked likely to be enough. Shirov won a fine game against Kramnik. The surprise factor would have been all Kramnik's with the new 9. ...Bf5 in an old fashioned variation of the Ruy Lopez. But Shirov got some pressure which he just kept on for around 20 moves before making significant inroads into Kramnik's position. He finally brought home the full point just after move 40. Peter Svidler played the delayed Ruy Lopez exchange variation (something I remember Mark Hebden and other English players specialised in and Short was Svidler's second). He secured pressure out of the opening which transformed into a huge advantage after a Nxc4 pseudo-sacrifice which was brought home after a few technical difficulties.

Round 12

With Alexei Shirov having a day off this was the opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap. Garry Kasparov again played the Grunfeld defence and but Topalov simplified the game so much that a draw was agreed after only 19 moves. Anand did move to within half a point of Shirov when he demolished Vassily Ivanchuk in only 27 moves in a game where he sacrificed a whole rook for an attack. It was nevertheless a poor performance from Ivanchuk. Kramnik pulled himself into a tie for third with a powerful crush of Peter Svidler in only 29 moves.

Round 13

Viswanathan Anand beat the out of form Veselin Topalov in 74 moves to take sole lead in the Linares tournament with one round to go. A Najdorf Sicilian saw Anand play 10. Bc4 which didn't appear in my database but possibly is not unusual, and took the initiative which allowed him to win Topalov's Queen for two minor pieces on move 28. However there were considerable technical difficulties and Anand first had to return material to be the exchange up and then overcome the Bulgarian's final resistance. Anand leads by half a point but has black against Vladimir Kramnik in the final round.

Alexei Shirov finally had his drawing weapon of the 6. ...Bc5 Ruy Lopez broken in his final black of the competition. Peter Svidler followed the game Ivanchuk-Shirov Investbanka Belgrade 1997 until move 15. when Svidler played 15. Kh1 rather than the 15. Be3 played by Ivanchuk (that game ended in a draw). Shirov seemed to be in quite a lot of trouble almost straight afterwards although some creative play seemed to offer some hopes of salvation. His 34. ...Qd8 definitely lost perhaps the computer suggestion of 34. ...Rba2 might have been more tenacious.

Kasparov turned to 1.d4 for his game against Kramnik and for the third time it was a Nimzo-Indian. (Kramnik lost to Kasparov in this opening at Linares last year and drew against him in the Fontys tournament later in the same year.) Kasparov certainly obtained a nice initiative but Kramnik drew and unfavourable Bishop and pawn ending without difficulty.

Round 14

In the final round Viswanathan Anand drew held Vladimir Kramnik on the black side of a Qc2 Nimzo Indian to secure clear first place. He was comfortably placed out of the opening and even made some brief attempts to win. Earlier in a sharp sicilian ended in a draw by perpetual check in 17 moves between Shirov and Kasparov. Another sicilian was drawn in 41 moves between Topalov and Ivanchuk when they reached a sterile bishops of opposite colour ending.

The dates of the event were: 21st Feb - Opening Ceremony, 22nd Feb. Round 1. Rest days 27th Feb and 5th March. Final round March 9th, closing ceremony March 10th.

Internet coverage at http://chess.net64.es/leon98/

Round 9 (1998.03.03)

Shirov, Alexei      -  Ivanchuk, Vassily   0-1   47  B17  Caro-Kann
Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Topalov, Veselin    1/2   55  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Svidler, Peter      -  Anand, Viswanathan  1/2   44  B65  Sicilian

Round 10 (1998.03.04)

Anand, Viswanathan  -  Kasparov, Gary      1/2   24  B90  Sicilian; Najdorf
Ivanchuk, Vassily   -  Svidler, Peter      1-0   58  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Topalov, Veselin    -  Shirov, Alexei      0-1   53  D85  Gruenfeld indian

Round 11 (1998.03.06)

Shirov, Alexei      -  Kramnik, Vladimir   1-0   41  C67  Ruy Lopez
Kasparov, Gary      -  Ivanchuk, Vassily   1/2   54  C92  Ruy Lopez
Svidler, Peter      -  Topalov, Veselin    1-0   67  C67  Ruy Lopez

Round 12 (1998.03.07)

Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Svidler, Peter      1-0   29  E05  Nimzo indian
Ivanchuk, Vassily   -  Anand, Viswanathan  0-1   27  B63  Sicilian
Topalov, Veselin    -  Kasparov, Gary      1/2   19  D85  Gruenfeld indian

Round 13 (1998.03.08)

Anand, Viswanathan  -  Topalov, Veselin    1-0   78  B90  Sicilian; Najdorf
Kasparov, Gary      -  Kramnik, Vladimir   1/2   52  E32  Nimzo indian
Svidler, Peter      -  Shirov, Alexei      1-0   37  C78  Ruy Lopez

Round 14 (1998.03.09)

Shirov, Alexei      -  Kasparov, Gary      1/2   17  B81  Sicilian
Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Anand, Viswanathan  1/2   34  E32  Nimzo indian
Topalov, Veselin    -  Ivanchuk, Vassily   1/2   41  B84  Sicilian

Linares ESP (ESP), II-III 1998                   cat. XXI (2752)
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7 
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Anand, Viswanathan  g IND 2770 ** 1= 0= == 1= =1 =1  7.5  2844
2 Shirov, Alexei      g ESP 2710 0= ** == =1 10 10 11  7.0  2816
3 Kasparov, Gary      g RUS 2825 1= == ** == == == ==  6.5  2769
4 Kramnik, Vladimir   g RUS 2790 == =0 == ** =1 == 1=  6.5  2774
5 Svidler, Peter      g RUS 2690 0= 01 == =0 ** 10 =1  5.5  2733
6 Ivanchuk, Vassily   g UKR 2740 =0 01 == == 01 ** 0=  5.0  2697
7 Topalov, Veselin    g BUL 2740 =0 00 == 0= =0 1= **  4.0  2629
----------------------------------------------------------------

3) Cannes "Festival des Jeux"

The Cannes "Festival des Jeux" took place February 21st - March 1st 1998. A number of games including bridge, draughts, backgammon were involved and chess had a major part with several high profile events. Anatoly Karpov played an internet simultaneous event on Feb 28th (more details and games hopefully soon). There was a Swiss system event for players rated 2350 and more and which was won by Josif Dorfman on tie break from Aleksander Wojtkiewicz. There was also a battle of the generations event between veterans and young players 3 of whom are based in France. This was a very close affair which turned on the game Korchnoi-Nataf in the final round (unfortunately missing from the games file), Nataf losing from a completely winning position. The Veterans and Young players played two games against each of the opposition team. Veterans Spassky and Gligoric both scored results quite a bit above their current ratings (although I must admit its painful for me to look at Spassky's games these days given what a great player he used to be. His last real motivated chess occurred in his matches against Fischer and Judit Polgar a number of years ago now). Only Bacrot scored a good result for the young players. My thanks to Christophe Bouton and Europe Echecs for the information.

Cannes FRA (FRA), II 1998               
---------------------------------------------------------
                                    1  2  3  4   
---------------------------------------------------------
Young players 15.5
1 Bacrot, Etienne        g FRA 2565 01 == 1= =1 5.0  2628
2 Ponomariov, Ruslan     m UKR 2580 =0 =0 1= 11 4.5  2576
3 Nataf, Igor-Alexandre  m FRA 2485 10 == =0 01 3.5  2490
4 Shaked, Tal            g USA 2535 =0 0= 0= == 2.5  2392
---------------------------------------------------------
Veterans 16.5
1 Korchnoi, Viktor       g SUI 2630 10 =1 01 =1 5.0  2636
2 Spassky, Boris V       g FRA 2535 == =1 == 1= 5.0  2636
3 Gligoric, Svetozar     g YUG 2480 0= 0= =1 1= 4.0  2541
4 Taimanov, Mark E       g RUS 2490 =0 00 10 == 2.5  2400
---------------------------------------------------------
Cannes FRA (FRA), II-III 1998 Open A results
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander      g POL 2535  +22 +43 = 2 =13 + 6 = 4 =12 = 5 +19  6.5 /9  2663
 2 Dorfman, Josif D             g FRA 2600  +45 +10 = 1 =16 = 3 = 5 +19 +26 = 7  6.5 /9  2669
 3 Hamdouchi, Hichem            g MAR 2535   .  +35 +33 +17 = 2 = 9 +13 = 6 = 4  6.0 /8  2666
 4 Romanishin, Oleg M           g UKR 2570  =23 =39 =15 +36 +18 = 1 = 7 +12 = 3  6.0 /9  2599
 5 Palac, Mladen                g CRO 2545  =28 =33 =25 +39 +31 = 2 + 9 = 1 = 6  6.0 /9  2592
 6 Rotstein, Arkadij            g UKR 2485  =30 +46 +19 =12 - 1 +15 + 8 = 3 = 5  6.0 /9  2618
 7 Ashley, Maurice              m USA 2500  =37 +49 - 9 =29 +27 +25 = 4 +16 = 2  6.0 /9  2578
 8 Korneev, Oleg                g RUS 2560   .  +48 +43 = 9 +32 =16 - 6 =11 +24  5.5 /8  2591
 9 Marciano, David              m FRA 2485  =46 +42 + 7 = 8 =12 = 3 - 5 +23 =10  5.5 /9  2550
10 Arkell, Keith C              g ENG 2455  +24 - 2 =38 =37 +44 -26 +28 +13 = 9  5.5 /9  2501
11 Anic, Darko                  m FRA 2455  +44 -12 =40 =23 +30 =14 =32 = 8 +26  5.5 /9  2545
12 Sokolov, Andrei              g RUS 2580  +27 +11 =16 = 6 = 9 =13 = 1 - 4 =18  5.0 /9  2514
13 Lamoureux, Charles           m FRA 2370  +20 +21 =14 = 1 =16 =12 - 3 -10 +43  5.0 /9  2533
14 Drazic, Sinisa               m YUG 2515  =33 +28 =13 =31 =25 =11 =17 =18 =16  5.0 /9  2480
15 Zueger, Beat                 m SUI 2445  =34 =37 = 4 =26 +24 - 6 =29 =22 +31  5.0 /9  2478
16 Gallagher, Joseph G          g SUI 2490  +48 +40 =12 = 2 =13 = 8 =26 - 7 =14  5.0 /9  2531
17 Godena, Michele              g ITA 2500  =29 +36 =18 - 3 =23 +42 =14 =24 =20  5.0 /9  2454
18 Golubovic, Boris             m CRO 2450  =49 +34 =17 =25 - 4 =32 +33 =14 =12  5.0 /9  2508
19 Kogan, Artur                 m ISR 2505  +35 =25 - 6 =27 +33 +29 - 2 +31 - 1  5.0 /9  2493
20 Bouaziz, Slim                g TUN 2385  -13 +41 =37 =24 -29 =44 +38 +43 =17  5.0 /9  2423
21 Macieja, Bartlomiej          m POL 2485  +41 -13 =24 -38 +37 -31 +44 =29 +33  5.0 /9  2414
22 Giffard, Nicolas             m FRA 2395  - 1 -38 -41 +51 +40 =30 +42 =15 +32  5.0 /9  2391
23 Bukal, Vladimir              m CRO 2400  = 4 =26 =32 =11 =17 +38 =31 - 9 =27  4.5 /9  2469
24 Roos, Louis                  m FRA 2360  -10 +45 =21 =20 -15 +36 +25 =17 - 8  4.5 /9  2450
25 Mirzoev, Azer                m AZE 2430  +47 =19 = 5 =18 =14 - 7 -24 =30 +42  4.5 /9  2423
26 Shchekachev, Andrei          g RUS 2565  =50 =23 =39 =15 +38 +10 =16 - 2 -11  4.5 /9  2436
27 Skripchenko-Lautier, Almira wg MDA 2400  -12 =47 +46 =19 - 7 =37 +40 =32 =23  4.5 /9  2427
28 Spiridonov, Nikola           g BUL 2395  = 5 -14 -42 +46 +48 =39 -10 =34 +41  4.5 /9  2408
29 Mrdja, Milan                 m CRO 2380  =17  .  +47 = 7 +20 -19 =15 =21  .   4.0 /7  2492
30 Lukasiewicz, Grzegorz        m POL 2370  = 6 =32 -31 +34 -11 =22 =45 =25 =35  4.0 /9  2383
31 Fressinet, Laurent             FRA 2450  -40 +44 +30 =14 - 5 +21 =23 -19 -15  4.0 /9  2395
32 Pelletier, Yannick           m SUI 2515  =36 =30 =23 +40 - 8 =18 =11 =27 -22  4.0 /9  2373
33 Kovacevic, Blazimir          f CRO 2395  =14 = 5 - 3 +42 -19 +41 -18 +39 -21  4.0 /9  2415
34 Kaabi, Mejdi                 m TUN 2330  =15 -18 =45 -30 =43 +46 =39 =28 =44  4.0 /9  2362
35 Boudre, Jean-Pierre          m FRA 2380  -19 - 3 =48 +47 -42 -40 +49 +38 =30  4.0 /9  2325
36 Dunnington, Angus J          m ENG 2390  =32 -17 +49 - 4 =39 -24 =48 =41 +46  4.0 /9  2383
37 Bokan, Danko                 f YUG 2380  = 7 =15 =20 =10 -21 =27 -43 =40 =39  3.5 /9  2349
38 Berthelot, Yannick           f FRA 2285  -43 +22 =10 +21 -26 -23 -20 -35 +48  3.5 /9  2350
39 Roeder, Mathias              m GER 2435  =42 = 4 =26 - 5 =36 =28 =34 -33 =37  3.5 /9  2348
40 Huss, Andreas                m SUI 2330  +31 -16 =11 -32 -22 +35 -27 =37 =45  3.5 /9  2349
41 Fontaine, Robert             m FRA 2365  -21 -20 +22 -48 +45 -33 +47 =36 -28  3.5 /9  2308
42 Janssen, Ruud                  NED 2290  =39 - 9 +28 -33 +35 -17 -22 +48 -25  3.5 /9  2341
43 Kinsman, Andrew P.H          m ENG 2430  +38 - 1 - 8 -44 =34 +49 +37 -20 -13  3.5 /9  2314
44 Bernard, Christophe          m FRA 2355  -11 -31 +51 +43 -10 =20 -21 =45 =34  3.5 /9  2282
45 Mednis, Edmar J              g USA 2400  - 2 -24 =34 =49 -41 +51 =30 =44 =40  3.5 /9  2241
46 Manolov, Ivan                m BUL 2365  = 9 - 6 -27 -28 =49 -34 +51 +47 -36  3.0 /9  2195
47 Le Roux, Jean-Pierre           FRA 2275  -25 =27 -29 -35 +51 =48 -41 -46 +49  3.0 /9  2188
48 Bergez, Luc                    FRA 2380  -16 - 8 =35 +41 -28 =47 =36 -42 -38  2.5 /9  2215
49 Doghri, Nabil                  TUN 2350  =18 - 7 -36 =45 =46 -43 -35 +51 -47  2.5 /9  2147
50 Levacic, Patrick             f CRO 2365  =26  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5 /1  2565
51 BYE                                ----   .   .  -44 -22 -47 -45 -46 -49  .   0.0 /6      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Cappelle la Grande

The strong Cappelle la Grande was won by Igor Glek with 7.5/9 above 7 players: Kruppa, Shipov, Minasian, Safin, Ibragimov, Slobodjan and Sulskis. The event took place Feb 21st-28th and 440 players took part in the strong open. My thanks to Christophe Bouton of Europe Echecs for the games (to round 7) and results. Also to Jerome Trapeaux for providing a correction to one of his games.

Final Standings after 9 rounds
1       GMI GLEK            IGOR         RUS     S/M  2565  7½ 2746
2       GMI KRUPPA          YURI         UKR     S/M  2540  7  2719
3       GMI SHIPOV          SERGEI       RUS     S/M  2620  7  2707
4       GMI MINASIAN        ARTASHES     ARM     S/M  2570  7  2702
        MI  SAFIN           SHUKHRAT     UZB     S/M  2510  7  2702
6       GMI IBRAGIMOV       ILDAR        RUS     S/M  2590  7  2693
7       GMI SLOBODJAN       ROMAN        GER     S/M  2530  7  2682
8       GMI SULSKIS         SARUNAS      LTU     S/M  2485  7  2669
9       GMI LUTHER          THOMAS       GER     S/M  2510  6½ 2695
10      GMI ATALIK          SUAT         TUR     S/M  2595  6½ 2664
11      GMI MOVSESIAN       SERGEI       CZE     J/M  2595  6½ 2644
12      GMI SPRAGGETT       KEVIN        CAN     S/M  2565  6½ 2642
13      GMI KVEINYS         ALOYZAS      LTU     S/M  2535  6½ 2637
14      GMI STEFANSSON      HANNES       ISL     S/M  2540  6½ 2617
15      MI  PAPAIOANNOU     IOANNIS      GRE     S/M  2490  6½ 2612
16      GMI HEBDEN          MARK         ENG     S/M  2585  6½ 2610
17      MI  GRABARCZYK      MIROSLAW     POL     S/M  2505  6½ 2604
18      GMI TIMOSHENKO      GEORGY       UKR     S/M  2560  6½ 2599
19      GMI GLEIZEROV       EVGENY       RUS     S/M  2545  6½ 2595
20      GMI FOMINYH         ALEXANDER    RUS     S/M  2530  6½ 2591
21      GMI GUREVICH        MIKHAIL      BEL     S/M  2640  6½ 2587
22      GMI SCHANDORFF      LARS         DEN     S/M  2525  6½ 2584
23      GMI CONQUEST        STUART       ENG     S/M  2470  6½ 2577
24      GMI MIEZIS          NORMUNDS     LAT     S/M  2505  6½ 2560
25      MI  MARKOWSKI       TOMASZ       POL     S/M  2505  6½ 2557
26      GMI NIELSEN         PETER HEINZ  DEN     S/M  2505  6½ 2555
27      GMI CHUCHELOV       VLADIMIR     BEL     S/M  2545  6½ 2549
28      MI  BANIKAS         HRISTOS      GRE     J/M  2495  6½ 2519
29      MI  POLAK           TOMAS        CZE     S/M  2500  6½ 2513
30      MI  GEORGIEV        VLADIMIR     BUL     S/M  2565  6½ 2495
31      CF  KEKELIDZE       MIKHEIL      GEO     S/M  2405  6  2622
32      GMI NAUMKIN         IGOR         RUS     S/M  2435  6  2598
33      GMI KOBALIJA        MIHAIL       RUS     J/M  2500  6  2597
34      GMI NOVIKOV         IGOR         UKR     S/M  2550  6  2588
35      GMI RAUSIS          IGORS        LAT     S/M  2520  6  2584
36      GMI SALTAEV         MIHAIL       UZB     S/M  2510  6  2581
37      MI  BLEHM           PAWEL        POL     C/M  2380  6  2577
38      MI  HAUCHARD        ARNAUD       FRA     S/M  2480  6  2575
39      GMI ISTRATESCU      ANDREI       ROM     S/M  2575  6  2574
40      MI  DUMITRACHE      DRAGOS       ROM     S/M  2385  6  2568
        GMI IULDACHEV       SAIDALI      UZB     S/M  2515  6  2568
        GMI KAMINSKI        MARCIN       POL     S/M  2535  6  2568
43      GMI APICELLA        MANUEL       FRA     S/M  2520  6  2562
44      GMI MILES           ANTHONY      ENG     S/M  2595  6  2559
45      MI  SOCKO           BARTOSZ      POL     J/M  2485  6  2556
46      GMI TESKE           HENRIK       GER     S/M  2475  6  2554
47      GMI LALIC           BOGDAN       CRO     S/M  2545  6  2551
48      MI  COSMA           IOAN         ROM     S/M  2480  6  2547
49      GMI PUSHKOV         NIKOLAI      RUS     S/M  2520  6  2544
50      CF  NAUMANN         ALEXANDER    GER     J/M  2375  6  2542
51      MI  FRIDMAN         DANIEL       LAT     S/M  2520  6  2539
        GMI MARIC           ALISA        YUG     S/F  2480  6  2539
        GMI THORHALSSON     THROSTUR     ISL     S/M  2480  6  2539
54      GMI SAN SEGUNDO CAR PABLO        ESP     S/M  2505  6  2526
55      MI  GRABLIAUSKAS    VIRGINIJUS   LTU     S/M  2465  6  2520
56      GMI CVITAN          OGNJEN       CRO     S/M  2560  6  2519
        MI  FRIES-NIELSEN   JENS OVE     DEN     S/M  2395  6  2519
        GMI KOMLJENOVIC     DAVOR        CRO     S/M  2425  6  2519
59      GMI IZETA           FELIX        ESP     S/M  2475  6  2514
60      GMI KEMPINSKI       ROBERT       POL     S/M  2520  6  2508
        GMI NISIPEANU       LIVIU-DIETER ROM     S/M  2610  6  2508
62      MI  ZEZULKIN        JURIJ        BLR     S/M  2485  6  2499
63      MI  IORDACHESCU     VIOREL       MDA     S/M  2520  6  2495
64      MI  NIKCEVIC        NEBOJSA      YUG     S/M  2505  6  2494
65      GMI BURMAKIN        VLADIMIR     RUS     S/M  2550  6  2491
        MI  CHATALBASHEV    BORIS        BUL     S/M  2550  6  2491
67      GMI PLACHETKA       JAN          SVK     S/M  2425  6  2490
68      MF  SHAW            JOHN         SCO     S/M  2380  6  2487
69      MI  TZERMIADIANOS   ANDREAS      GRE     S/M  2445  6  2486
70      MF  MITON           KAMIL        POL     B/M  2375  6  2484
71      GMI LUKOV           VALENTIN     BUL     S/M  2470  6  2477
        MI  VLASSOV         NIKOLAJ      RUS     S/M  2440  6  2477
73      MI  GONZALEZ GARCIA JOSE         MEX     S/M  2435  6  2469
74      MI  KAIUMOV         DMITRY       UZB     S/M  2455  6  2462
75      MI  MAGOMEDOV       MAGARAM      TJK     S/M  2505  6  2453
76      MI  BARSOV          ALEXEI       UZB     S/M  2465  6  2446
77      MI  URBAN           KLAUDIUSZ    POL     S/M  2480  6  2444
78      GMI KARPATCHEV      ALEKSANDR    RUS     S/M  2570  6  2443
79      MI  KLOVANS         JANIS        LAT     V/M  2460  6  2442
80      MI  GUREVICH        VLADIMIR     UKR     S/M  2435  6  2438
81      MI  PEDERSEN        STEFFEN      DEN     S/M  2415  6  2434
82      MF  SZIEBERT        ADAM         HUN     S/M  2390  6  2433
83      MI  GROOTEN         HERMAN       NED     S/M  2390  6  2432
84      GMI KLINOVA         MACHA        ISR     S/F  2355  6  2429
85      GMI LELCHUK         ZOJA         GER     S/F  2365  6  2427
86      MI  GALDUNTS        SERGEY       ARM     S/M  2445  6  2426
87      MI  KOBESE          WATU         RSA     S/M  2330  6  2421
88      MF  EHRENFEUCHT     WOJCIECH     POL     S/M  2340  6  2391
89      GMI RADZIEWICZ      IWETA        POL     C/F  2420  6  2379
90      GMI DWORAKOWSKA     JOANNA       POL     J/F  2355  6  2365
91      GMI MIROSLAWSKA BOB MONIKA       POL     J/F  2320  5½ 2584
92      MI  KOVACEVIC       SLOBODAN     YUG     S/M  2420  5½ 2533
93      GMI BAGIROV         VLADIMIR     LAT     V/M  2460  5½ 2523
94      MI  VAN DEN DOEL    ERIK         NED     J/M  2485  5½ 2522
95      MI  BOSBOOM         MANUEL       NED     S/M  2470  5½ 2511
96      MI  TUROV           MAXIM        RUS     J/M  2445  5½ 2508
97      MI  YUFEROV         SERGEY       RUS     S/M  2390  5½ 2504
98      GMI SHNEIDER        ALEKSANDR    UKR     S/M  2560  5½ 2496
99      GMI KUZMIN          GENNADI      UKR     S/M  2580  5½ 2493
100     MI  DEGRAEVE        JEAN-MARC    FRA     S/M  2525  5½ 2489
        MI  MATLAK          MAREK        POL     S/M  2430  5½ 2489
102     GMI HABA            PETR         CZE     S/M  2570  5½ 2486
        MI  SEUL            GEORG        GER     S/M  2435  5½ 2486
104     GMI KASIMDZHANOV    RUSTAM       UZB     J/M  2565  5½ 2483
105     GMI RASHKOVSKY      NUKHIM       RUS     S/M  2520  5½ 2478
106     MI  ORSAG           MILAN        CZE     S/M  2365  5½ 2474
107     GMI ZHU             CHEN         CHN     S/F  2490  5½ 2472
108     MI  HASANGATIN      RAMIL        RUS     S/M  2460  5½ 2468
109     GMI SZEKELY         PETER        HUN     S/M  2475  5½ 2467
110     MI  PERALTA         FERNANDO ROD ARG     J/M  2360  5½ 2462
        GMI SUETIN          ALEXEY       RUS     W/M  2390  5½ 2462
112     MI  ZAGORSKIS       DARIUS       LTU     S/M  2515  5½ 2456
113     CF  CHOMET          PASCAL       FRA     S/M  2400  5½ 2454
114     GMI ROGOZENKO       DORIN        MDA     S/M  2495  5½ 2451
115     MI  VUL             ARKADI       RUS     S/M  2385  5½ 2449
116     MF  TIMMERMAN       GERT JAN     NED     S/M  2325  5½ 2443
117     CF  DE VREUGT       DENNIS       NED     C/M  2395  5½ 2442
        MI  WELLING         GERARD       NED     S/M  2335  5½ 2442
119     GMI AGNOS           DIMITRI      GRE     S/M  2475  5½ 2439
120     MI  GORBATOW        ALEXEJ       RUS     S/M  2435  5½ 2438
121     MI  LEWIN           FELIX        GER     S/M  2465  5½ 2427
        GMI SAVCHENKO       STANISLAV    UKR     S/M  2595  5½ 2427
123     MF  VAN MIL         JOHAN        NED     S/M  2430  5½ 2424
124     GMI BRODSKY         MICHAIL      UKR     S/M  2545  5½ 2423
125     MI  YANDEMIROV      VALERI       RUS     S/M  2545  5½ 2419
126     MF  TELLA           JUSSI        FIN     S/M  2390  5½ 2418
127     MI  SULAVA          NENAD        CRO     S/M  2450  5½ 2414
128     GMI MC NAB          COLIN        SCO     S/M  2500  5½ 2412
        MI  NEGULESCU       ADRIAN       ROM     S/M  2445  5½ 2412
        GMI ULIBIN          MIKHAIL      RUS     S/M  2575  5½ 2412
131     CF  BELICHEV        NIKOLAI      UKR     J/M  2370  5½ 2409
132     MF  ROSSI           CARLO        ITA     S/M  2330  5½ 2402
133     MI  AL MODIAHKI     MOHAMAD      QAT     S/M  2425  5½ 2399
        MI  CICAK           SLAVKO       SWE     S/M  2480  5½ 2399
135     MI  GOLOSHCHAPOV    ALEXANDER    UKR     J/M  2400  5½ 2396
        MF  KOCH            THOMAS       GER     S/M  2335  5½ 2396
        MI  MANNION         STEPHEN RICH SCO     S/M  2370  5½ 2396
138     CF  GROENN          ATLE         NOR     S/M  2350  5½ 2394
139     CF  HANDKE          FLORIAN      GER     M/M  2260  5½ 2390
140     MI  DAMASO          RUI          POR     S/M  2440  5½ 2387
141     MI  ALMASI          ISTVAN       HUN     S/M  2430  5½ 2373
        MI  SCHALLER        SVEN         GER     S/M  2320  5½ 2373
143     GMI FOISOR          CRISTINA     ROM     S/F  2410  5½ 2372
144     GMI GIPSLIS         AIVARS       LAT     V/M  2450  5½ 2371
145     GMI SANTO ROMAN     MARC         FRA     S/M  2375  5½ 2368
146     MI  FRANZEN         JOZEF        SVK     S/M  2310  5½ 2366
147     MI  HEGDE           RAVI         IND     S/M  2420  5½ 2363
        MI  MOHAMED         ESAM         EGY     S/M  2485  5½ 2363
149     GMI RUZELE          DARIUS       LTU     S/M  2515  5½ 2359
150     MF  OSTROWSKI       LESZEK       POL     S/M  2350  5½ 2357
151     MI  SCHULZE         ULRICH       GER     S/M  2360  5½ 2354
152     MI  BERG            KLAUS        DEN     S/M  2400  5½ 2348
153     MI  YASSEEN         ALI          EGY     S/M  2325  5½ 2347
154     MF  DOROFEEVA       ANNA         RUS     J/F  2345  5½ 2344
155     MI  VOLODIN         VIKTOR       RUS     S/M  2305  5½ 2339
156     MI  BUCKLEY         GRAEME       ENG     S/M  2315  5½ 2338
157     MI  FERNANDES       ANTONIO      POR     S/M  2490  5½ 2336
158     MI  TSIGANOVA       MONIKA       EST     S/F  2305  5½ 2315
159     GMI GHITESCU        THEODOR      ROM     V/M  2355  5½ 2292
160     MF  ATLAS           DIMITRY      LIE     S/M  2315  5½ 2268
161     CF  SVIRIDOV        ALEXANDER    RUS     M/M  2350  5½ 2222
162     CF  MCKENNA         JASON PAUL   ENG     S/M  2140  5½ 2177
163     CF  PELLE           GUILLAUME    FRA     S/M  2180  5½ 2149
164     MI  TITORENKO       NATALIA      RUS     S/F  2125  5½ 2078
165     MI  BORGE           NIKOLAJ      DEN     S/M  2390  5½ 2370
440 players

5) Golden Jubilee International Chess tournament

V Krishnaswamy reports on the Category 10 Golden Jubilee International Chess tournament in Kozhikode, Kerala (India). There are five GMs and seven IMs GM norm is set at 7.5/11.

Category 10 Golden Jubilee International Chess tournament
Venue: Kozhikode, Kerala (India)
Dates: March 5 -16, 1998 (rest day March 11)
Play time: 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.;
Final round: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Round 1

Utut Adianto of Indonesia the highest ranked Asian after Vishy Anand was held to a draw by young 16-year-old K Sasikiran (India - 2470) in the opening round of the Category 10 Golden Jubilee International Chess tournament at Kozhikode, Kerala (India). The draw came in 57 moves of an English opening. There were two other surprise results, as Dibyendu Barua, a GM, was held to a draw by DV Prasad, the lowest rated player at 2400. Indian National champion Abhijit Kunte defeated GM Pravin Thipsay in 52 moves of a Ruy Lopez.

Round 2

Viktor Komliakov took the lead with two points after two rounds in the Golden Jubilee Category 10 tournament. Playing with black he beat Indian P Konguvel in Modern defence as the game went into a bishop ending. Komliakov was two pawns ahead and won in 54 moves. Indian GM Dibyendu Barua was lucky to escape with a draw againt Leonid Yurtayev following a Guico-Piano. Yurtayev was at one stage two pawns ahead in a rook ending, as the Indian went on a saccing spree. But with a superb endgame he managed a draw in 74 moves, as his rival missed many winning chances.

Round 3

The three foreign Grandmasters, Utut Adianto of Indonesia, Leonid Yurtayev of Kyrghistan and Viktor Kmliakov of Moldova,in the fray shared the lead with 2.5 points after three rounds in the Category 10 Golden Jubilee International chess tournament. The day's highlight for India came in the form of draws by Ahbjit Kunte and Kiran Sasikiran, both of who are looking for GM norms. Komliakov played the Italian opening against Sasi and looked like having some advantage after taking the Indian's black rook. But still Sasi managed a lot of positional advantage from that loss. At the same time there was a race against the clock and there was very little time for the last eight moves before first time control when Komliakov offered a draw which Sasi accepted gladly. Kunte, Indian national champion, playing with black held Indian GM Dibyendu Barua. Pravin Thipsay, seven times national champion, is having a bad time and lost his third game in a row. He went down to Zia ur Rehman of Bangladesh.

Round 4

Indian National champion Abhijit Kunte looking for his final GM norm enroute to becoming India's fourth Grandmaster, felled the top seed Utut Adianto of Indonesia in the fourth round of the Category 10 Golden Jubilee chess tournament. There were other good results for India as Kiran Sasikiran another strong candidate for a GM norm, defeated Lanka Ravi to share the lead with Kunte. They both have three points in four rounds. It was a bad day for the the foreign GMs. While Adianto lost to Kunte, Ponnuswamy Konguvel (white) defeated Leonid Yurtayev of Kyrghistan in a Phildor defence. Pravin Thipsay finally got onto the scoreboard drawing with Viktor Komliakov, who struggled for sometime before getting half a point. Dibyendu Barua defeated K Murugan's Sicilian. Kunte played the Panov Botwinnik against Adianto's Caro Kann. Adianto, who played Karpov in a match before the latter met Anand in the World Championships, lost a pawn in the middle game and then a sacrificed a second one to get some counter play. But ultimately he resigned after 61 moves.

Round 1 (1998.03.06)

Komliakov, Viktor        -  Murugan, Krishnamoorthy  1-0    
Adianto, Utut            -  Sashikiran, Krishnan     1/2    
Kunte, Abhijit           -  Thipsay, Praveen M       1-0    
Prasad, Devaki V         -  Barua, Dibyendu          1/2    
Rahman, Ziaur            -  Konguvel, Ponnuswamy     1-0    
Ravi, Lanka              -  Yurtaev, Leonid          0-1    

Round 2 (1998.03.07)

Sashikiran, Krishnan     -  Rahman, Ziaur            1-0    
Barua, Dibyendu          -  Yurtaev, Leonid          1/2    
Prasad, Devaki V         -  Kunte, Abhijit           1/2    
Murugan, Krishnamoorthy  -  Ravi, Lanka              1/2    
Konguvel, Ponnuswamy     -  Komliakov, Viktor        0-1    
Thipsay, Praveen M       -  Adianto, Utut            0-1    

Round 3 (1998.03.08)

Yurtaev, Leonid          -  Murugan, Krishnamoorthy  1-0    
Adianto, Utut            -  Prasad, Devaki V         1-0    
Komliakov, Viktor        -  Sashikiran, Krishnan     1/2    
Kunte, Abhijit           -  Barua, Dibyendu          1/2    
Rahman, Ziaur            -  Thipsay, Praveen M       1-0    
Ravi, Lanka              -  Konguvel, Ponnuswamy     1/2    

Round 4 (1998.03.10)

Sashikiran, Krishnan     -  Ravi, Lanka              1-0    
Kunte, Abhijit           -  Adianto, Utut            1-0    
Barua, Dibyendu          -  Murugan, Krishnamoorthy  1-0    
Prasad, Devaki V         -  Rahman, Ziaur            1-0    
Konguvel, Ponnuswamy     -  Yurtaev, Leonid          1-0    
Thipsay, Praveen M       -  Komliakov, Viktor        1/2   

Kozhikode IND (IND), III 1998                                cat. X (2478)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Sashikiran, Krishnan     f IND 2470  * . = . = . . 1 . 1 . .  3.0  2696
 2 Kunte, Abhijit           m IND 2460  . * . = 1 . = . . . 1 .  3.0  2705
 3 Komliakov, Viktor        g MDA 2510  = . * . . . . . 1 . = 1  3.0  2649
 4 Barua, Dibyendu          g IND 2520  . = . * . = = . . . . 1  2.5  2542
 5 Adianto, Utut            g INA 2615  = 0 . . * . 1 . . . 1 .  2.5  2556
 6 Yurtaev, Leonid          g KGZ 2520  . . . = . * . . 0 1 . 1  2.5  2536
 7 Prasad, Devaki V         m IND 2400  . = . = 0 . * 1 . . . .  2.0  2520
 8 Rahman, Ziaur            m BAN 2485  0 . . . . . 0 * 1 . 1 .  2.0  2453
 9 Konguvel, Ponnuswamy     m IND 2430  . . 0 . . 1 . 0 * = . .  1.5  2393
10 Ravi, Lanka              m IND 2405  0 . . . . 0 . . = * . =  1.0  2264
11 Thipsay, Praveen M       g IND 2515  . 0 = . 0 . . 0 . . * .  0.5  2195
12 Murugan, Krishnamoorthy  m IND 2410  . . 0 0 . 0 . . . = . *  0.5  2166
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) First Saturday Tournament March

This months First Saturday Tournament started on the 7th of March in the tournament halls of the Hungarian Chess Federation. It runs until March 17th. There is a category II. event with an average rating of 2299 and an IM-norm set at 8 points. There is also a Scheveningen system tournament. After 2 rounds of the IM event there is a four way tie for the lead.

Between 4th-17th of April there will be a cat.VII. GM-event, a Cat. II IM event and a Scheveningen system tournament. Contact Laszlo Nagy for more details: Tel-fax: int-(361)-263-28-59 or 100263.1700@compuserve.com

Round 1 (1998.03.07)

Senff, Martin            -  Karatorossian, David     1/2   35  C16  French; Winawer
Kahn, Evarth             -  Farago, Sandor           1/2    
De Gleria, Francesco     -  Todorov, Todor           1-0   42  B07  Pirc
Rodriguez Lopez, Rafael  -  Ferencz, Istvan          1/2   12  B00  1.e4
Goczo, Melinda           -  Grabics, Monika          0-1   42  E66  Kings indian
Bordas, Gyula            -  Dudas, Janos             0-1   56  A30  English; 1.c4 c5

Round 2 (1998.03.08)

Karatorossian, David     -  De Gleria, Francesco     1-0   87  E68  Kings indian
Grabics, Monika          -  Farago, Sandor           1/2    
Dudas, Janos             -  Kahn, Evarth             1/2    
Todorov, Todor           -  Bordas, Gyula            1-0   40  B52  Sicilian
Ferencz, Istvan          -  Senff, Martin            0-1   30  B33  Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Goczo, Melinda           -  Rodriguez Lopez, Rafael  1/2   63  A70  Modern Benoni


Budapest HUN (HUN), III 1998                                cat. II (2299)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Karatorossian, David       ARM 2375  * = . . . . 1 . . . . .  1.5  2530
 2 Senff, Martin              GER 2430  = * . . . . . . . 1 . .  1.5  2453
 3 Grabics, Monika         wm HUN 2345  . . * . = . . . . . 1 .  1.5  2420
 4 Dudas, Janos             m HUN 2405  . . . * . = . . . . . 1  1.5  2440
 5 Farago, Sandor           m HUN 2285  . . = . * = . . . . . .  1.0  2337
 6 Kahn, Evarth             m HUN 2330  . . . = = * . . . . . .  1.0  2345
 7 De Gleria, Francesco       GER 2245  0 . . . . . * . 1 . . .  1.0  2390
 8 Rodriguez Lopez, Rafael  f ESP 2285  . . . . . . . * . = = .  1.0  2157
 9 Todorov, Todor             BUL 2405  . . . . . . 0 . * . . 1  1.0  2205
10 Ferencz, Istvan            HUN 2145  . 0 . . . . . = . * . .  0.5  2164
11 Goczo, Melinda             HUN 2170  . . 0 . . . . = . . * .  0.5  2122
12 Bordas, Gyula              HUN 2165  . . . 0 . . . . 0 . . *  0.0      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) Portuguese Honor (Honra) Tournament

Luis Santos sends the games and results of the Portuguese Honor (Honra) tournament won by Antonio Pereira Santos which finished on Sunday. The event which took place in 28th Feb - 8th March 1998 had 10 candidate masters and is Portugals 3rd most important event of the year behind the Masters National Tournament (in February) and the National championship (in September).

The round 8 game Santos - Rodrigues has a combination using the same theme as the Reti - Tartakower (Vienna 1910) game. (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5 8.0-0-0 Nxe4 9.Qd8+! Kxd8 10.Bg5+ 1-0)

Santos,A (2290) - Rodrigues,N (2165) [D08]
Honra Almada (8), 1998
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Be6 6.Nbd2 Qd7 7.Qa4 Nge7 8.0-0-0 Ng6 9.g3 Bg4 10.Bg2 Nxf4 11.gxf4 0-0-0 12.Nb3 Qf5 13.Nfxd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Qxf4+ 15.e3 Qxf2 16.Qxa7 Qxg2 17.Qa8+ Kd7 18.Qxd8+! 1-0

Final results
Torneio Nacional de Honra Complexo de Desportos de Almada 
28 Feb - 8 March 1998 

Almada POR (POR), II-III 1998
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Santos, Antonio P    POR 2290  * 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1  7.5  2434
 2 Reis, Luis Sousa     POR 2225  1 * = 0 = 1 1 1 1 1  7.0  2384
 3 Rodrigues, Nuno      POR 2165  0 = * = 1 1 1 0 = =  5.0  2242
 4 Boino, Claudio       POR 2120  = 1 = * 1 0 0 0 = 1  4.5  2162
 5 Dantas, Carlos       POR 2200  0 = 0 0 * 1 = = 1 =  4.0  2152
 6 Peixoto, Antonio     POR 2195  0 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 0 1  4.0  2108
 7 Andrade, Leonardo    POR 2250  0 0 0 1 = 0 * 1 1 =  4.0  2145
 8 Ferreira, Paolo      POR 2205  0 0 1 1 = 0 0 * = =  3.5  2107
 9 Carvalho, Alda       POR 2110  0 0 = = 0 1 0 = * =  3.0  2065
10 Fernandes,Carlos     POR ----  0 0 = 0 = 0 = = = *  2.5  2029
----------------------------------------------------------------

8) Blackpool Chess Congress

Carl Tillotson of the Lancashire Chess Association reports on the Blackpool Chess Congress held 6th-8th March 1998.

The chess players of the North West were out at force once again at the Blackpool Conference this weekend. They were joined by players up and down the country, and a few illustrious visitors from abroad.

The OPEN was as always keenly contested, and the bookies had GM Julian Hodgson and GM Mark Hebden down as favourites to waltz off with the prize-money. With over £6,500 in prize-money the final attendance once again approached the 500 mark.

Hebden and Hodgson quickly swept to 3/3 and found themselves paired against each other on Board One in Round Four. Hodgson was white, this meant we might see some of his new theory from his latest book, 'Secrets of the Trompovsky'. Speaking to Julian after the game he felt he had a strong initiative early on, Hebden miscalculated a combination but with Hodgson running into severe time trouble Hebden won a few pawns back and the players agreed a draw.

This left both players going into Round 5 on 3.5/4, surely it was a case of them winning their respective games and then waltzing away with £375 each ! Unfortunately for Julian, there was a Russian in his path under the name of Alexandra Cherniaev. Against all expectations, Julian lost and let Hebden in to win first prize outright with Cherniaev picking up second.

Blackpool Conference Results
Sponsored by Blackpool Borough Council
Organised by Lancashire Chess Association

Blackpool OPEN 

1st     GM Mark Hebden  4.5/5
2nd     A. Cherniaev    4/5
3rd=    D Bisby         3.5/5
        G Buckley
        W Giblin
        GM J Hodgson
        J Horner
        B Lund
        AJ Muir
        R Phillips

Blackpool Centenary

1st     I Pendlebury    4.5/5
2nd=    R Bryant        4/5
        G Chisango
        R De-Coverley
        I Debrange
        D Horsman
        P Pugh
        R Taylor
        M Whitehead

Blackpool Major

1st=    I Abuleela      4.5/5
        D Hartley
        I Johnson
        A Legge

Blackpool Intermediate
Sponsored by Southbank Hotel

1st     P Howarth       5/5
2nd=    A Ashton        4.5/5
        P Ramsey

Blackpool Minor

1st     S Webster       5/5
2nd=    S Fanning       4.5/5
        P Gardnier
        I O'Brien

Blackpool Standard

1st=    R Hinsley       5/5
        B Shorter    
3rd     G Moore         4.5/5

Best Performance by a Junior Player
D Wood 4/5

Sharon Furlong Trophy Winner
C Lusher 3.5/5

9) 1998 Varsity Match

The 1998 Oxford vs Cambridge varsity match took place on Saturday 7th March at the RAC Club in London and was sponsored mainly by Tony Buzan. Oxford outgraded Cambridge on most of the boards and won 5-3. My thanks to Bob Wade for the games.


Cambridge                         Oxford
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Ferguson, Mark   m ENG 2410 0-1 Kumaran, Dharshan    g ENG 2505
2 Kelly, Bryan       IRL 2390 0-1 Rowson, Jonathan     m SCO 2485
3 Hunt, Harriet   wg ENG 2390 1-0 Tonkov, Bojan          BUL 2320
4 Cohen, Aron        ENG 2265 1/2 Devereux, Maxim        ENG ----
5 Moskovic, David M  ENG 2220 1/2 Trifunovic, Aleksandar ENG 2260
6 Rudd, Jack         ENG 2165 0-1 Rosten, Oliver         ENG 2240
7 Morgan,Ben         ENG ---- 0-1 Ouaknine,Joel              ----
8 White, Stuart      ENG 2020 1-0 Howard, Emily          ENG 2045
-----------------------------------------------------------------
3.0                               5.0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------

10) 14th Chess Festival Bad Woerishofen

The 14th International ChessOrg Chess Festival is taking place in Bad Woerishofen 6.-15. March 98. There will be an open aswell as a seniors championships. The previous winners were 1985: GM Smejkal, 1986: GM Kusmin, 1987: GM Meduna, 1988: GM Klinger, 1989:GM Kindermann, 1990: GM Miles, 1991: GM Dautov, 1992: GM Knaak, 1993: GM Magerramov, 1994:Magerramov, 1995: GM Boensch, 1996: GM Movsziszian and 1997: GM Kupreichik

Gerhard Hund is reporting on the event daily from the venue at http://www.teleschach.de/aktuelles/woeris98.html

Leading standings after 3 rounds

 1  Giorgadze, Giorgi                 g  GEO  2605 3.0
 2  Dautov, Rustem                    g  GER  2600 3.0
 3  Lerner, Konstantin Z              g  UKR  2575 3.0
 4  Gabriel, Christian                g  GER  2555 3.0
 5  Bischoff, Klaus                   g  GER  2545 3.0
 6  Baklan, Vladimir                  m  UKR  2540 3.0
 7  Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander           g  POL  2535 3.0
 8  Slobodjan, Roman                  g  GER  2530 3.0
 9  Kupreichik, Viktor D              g  BLR  2505 3.0  
10  Miezis, Normunds                  g  LAT  2505 3.0 
11  Kalinitschew, Sergey              g  GER  2495 3.0  
12  Arbakov, Valentin                 g  RUS  2445 3.0
13  Gutman, Lev                       g  GER  2475 3.0
14  Martinovic, Slobodan              g  YUG  2470 3.0   
15  Lewin, Felix                      m  GER  2465 3.0     
16  Schmittdiel, Eckhard              g  GER  2460 3.0      
17  Wilhelmi, Christian               m  GER  2445 3.0      
18  Foisor, Ovidiu                    m  ROM  2445 3.0      
19  Zude, Arno                        m  GER  2390 3.0      
20  Eingorn, Vereslav S               g  UKR  2605 2.5     
21  Epishin, Vladimir                 g  RUS  2590 2.5   
22  Korneev, Oleg                     g  RUS  2560 2.5   
23  Wells, Peter K.                   g  ENG  2530 2.5      
24  Timoshchenko, Gennadi A           g  SVK  2520 2.5      
25  Mainka, Romuald                   g  GER  2500 2.5     
26  Ortega, Lexy                      m  CUB  2475 2.5      
27  Teske, Henrik                     g  GER  2475 2.5      
28  Paehtz, Thomas                    g  GER  2470 2.5  
29  Maiwald, Jens-Uwe                 m  GER  2460 2.5 
30  Galdunts, Sergey                  m  ARM  2445 2.5     
31  Nikolac, Juraj                    g  CRO  2435 2.5      
32  Espig, Lutz                       g  GER  2405 2.5      
33  Gustafsson, Jan                      GER  2385 2.5      
34  Naumann, Alexander                   GER  2375 2.5      
35  Dittmar, Peter                    f  GER  2340 2.5      
36  Fuchs, Heinz                         GER  2315 2.5       
37  Roemer, Ulrich                    f  GER  2285 2.5       
38  Loew, Gerald                         GER  2280 2.5       
39  Fernandez, Juan Luis                 ESP  2265 2.5      
40  Klein, Manfred                       GER  2265 2.5       
41  Roeder, Frank                     f  GER  2265 2.5       
270 players

Bernhard Bierwisch, Gregor Kasüschke, Hans Kraft and Egon Kolb all
have 3/3 in the 100 player seniors event.

11) Belgrade Women's Supertournament

Sinisa Joksic sends news of the 32nd Women's Super Tournament. Belgrade is hosting the traditional Women's Super Tournament celebrating the March 8th, Women's Day. This year tournament is Category 9 (2455). All participant have the women's grand master title. The first three rounds were more or less peaceful with only two decisive games. Next three had more fighting chess. Leading are Pia Cramling and Natalia Zhukova. Cramling has played convincingly and Zhukova has had a more little luck.

Round 1 (1998.03.04)

Zhukova, Natalia      -  Vasilevich, Tatjana   1/2   19  D38  Queen's gambit
Chiburdanidze, Maia   -  Matveeva, Svetlana    1/2   19  A10  English; 1.c4
Maric, Alisa          -  Peng Zhaoqin          1/2   26  D12  Slav defence
Prudnikova, Svetlana  -  Cramling, Pia         0-1   49  E94  Kings indian; Classical
Bojkovic, Natasa      -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1/2   20  B01  Scandinavian

Round 2 (1998.03.05)

Cramling, Pia         -  Chiburdanidze, Maia   1/2   34  E15  Nimzo indian
Zhukova, Natalia      -  Maric, Alisa          1/2   53  E14  Nimzo indian
Vasilevich, Tatjana   -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1/2   47  D11  Slav defence
Matveeva, Svetlana    -  Bojkovic, Natasa      1/2   24  E31  Nimzo indian
Peng Zhaoqin          -  Prudnikova, Svetlana  1/2   48  D31  Queen's gambit

Round 3 (1998.03.06)

Chiburdanidze, Maia   -  Peng Zhaoqin          1/2   21  A25  English; 1.c4 e5
Maric, Alisa          -  Vasilevich, Tatjana   1/2   50  D38  Queen's gambit
Prudnikova, Svetlana  -  Zhukova, Natalia      1/2   97  E01  Nimzo indian
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Matveeva, Svetlana    0-1   33  D02  Queen's pawn
Bojkovic, Natasa      -  Cramling, Pia         1/2   23  B47  Sicilian

Round 4 (1998.03.07)

Cramling, Pia         -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1-0   22  D17  Slav defence
Zhukova, Natalia      -  Chiburdanidze, Maia   1-0   33  E14  Nimzo indian
Vasilevich, Tatjana   -  Matveeva, Svetlana    1-0   43  D38  Queen's gambit
Maric, Alisa          -  Prudnikova, Svetlana  1/2   24  D39  Queen's gambit
Peng Zhaoqin          -  Bojkovic, Natasa      1/2   53  A35  English; 1.c4 c5

Round 5 (1998.03.08)

Chiburdanidze, Maia   -  Maric, Alisa          1-0   48  E32  Nimzo indian
Matveeva, Svetlana    -  Cramling, Pia         1/2   29  A57  Benko gambit
Prudnikova, Svetlana  -  Vasilevich, Tatjana   1/2   46  E18  Nimzo indian
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Peng Zhaoqin          1-0   45  E01  Nimzo indian
Bojkovic, Natasa      -  Zhukova, Natalia      0-1   45  B01  Scandinavian

Round 6 (1998.03.09)

Zhukova, Natalia      -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1/2 (Queen's Gambit Accepted 24)   
Vasilevich, Tatjana   -  Cramling, Pia         1/2 (Volga 47)   
Maric, Alisa          -  Bojkovic, Natasa      1-0 (Nimzo-Indian 36)   
Prudnikova, Svetlana  -  Chiburdanidze, Maia   1/2 (English 27)   
Peng Zhaoqin          -  Matveeva, Svetlana    1/2 (Nimzo-Indian 34)   


Belgrade YUG (YUG), III 1998                         cat. IX (2456)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Cramling, Pia         g SWE 2535  * . = = . = 1 1 . =  4.0  2579
 2 Zhukova, Natalia     wg UKR 2395  . * = 1 = . = = . 1  4.0  2582
 3 Vasilevich, Tatjana  wg UKR 2410  = = * . = 1 = = . .  3.5  2518
 4 Chiburdanidze, Maia   g GEO 2535  = 0 . * 1 = = . = .  3.0  2451
 5 Maric, Alisa          m YUG 2480  . = = 0 * . = . = 1  3.0  2433
 6 Matveeva, Svetlana   wg RUS 2460  = . 0 = . * . 1 = =  3.0  2466
 7 Prudnikova, Svetlana wg RUS 2420  0 = = = = . * . = .  2.5  2405
 8 Stefanova, Antoaneta  m BUL 2480  0 = = . . 0 . * 1 =  2.5  2383
 9 Peng Zhaoqin          m NED 2420  . . . = = = = 0 * =  2.5  2408
10 Bojkovic, Natasa     wg YUG 2420  = 0 . . 0 = . = = *  2.0  2336
-------------------------------------------------------------------

12) The Best Rated player in Italy by Roberto Ricca

My thanks to Roberto Ricca for sending me his own story of how he became the best rated player in Italy and to Pompeo Silingardi for editing it. Thanks too to Massimiliano Orsi who also brought this situation to my notice. He believes that the Italian system is close enough to the FIDE system for this kind of problem to occur there too.

The Best Rated player in Italy by Roberto Ricca

In order to become the best rated chessplayer in Italy you don't need to play good chess. On the contrary this might be a disadvantage. Playing very good chess might earn you the "best" player title but I was talking about the "best rated" player. And, believe me, the relationship between "best" and "best rated" is close to random, as will be shown by the following story.

Indeed you will note that the most important thing is playing and it does not really matter if you play bad or good chess: you just have to keep on playing, over and over and over again ... When, at the end of December 97, the new Italian ELO standings were published (still in an unofficial form and you may easily guess why they never became "official"), the shock was general. They looked this way:

Surname, Name    City   DOB    title  elo   K  Norm Fide  Last 
RICCA Roberto     TO    051259  -M   2579  20       2145  301197
EFIMOV Igor       PT    160960  GM   2515  10       2540  261097
GODENA Michele    TV    300667  GM   2500  10       2515  221197

and one question arose immediately. Efimov and Godena are quite solid players (as their international rating shows ), but who the hell is Roberto Ricca and what the heck is he doing at the top of Italian standings?

Well, who is Roberto Ricca can be told by myself (because it is me!). Why I became the best rated chessplayer can be explained only by the Italian Chess Federation (F.S.I.) which, a few years ago, introduced a new rating system that has allowed such a great absurdity to take place. A little introduction.: around the 2000 points, there is about a 100 points differential between the Italian and the US (or the international-FIDE) rating. There was a time when I got an Italian rating of 2072 and a US rating of 2172, thus showing in a wonderful way that what stated above was true.

The ratings mentioned in the following part will be the Italian ones.

Another note. The Italian equivalent of an (US) Expert player is the Candidate Master, whose rating ranges usually between 1900 and 2100. To become a Master you don't have only to pass the 2100 points. You have to play two other tournaments and mantain at the end of both of them a rating above 2100 points.

If you fail just once, you have to start all over again. Back to me. For several years my rating floated in the higher part of the 2000 points. I passed 2000 points for the first time in 1985, passed them again for good in 1988 and in 1989 I reached 2045 points. For about seven years I stayed in the range 2045-2093, showing a good consistency (in the same period I stayed between 2135 and 2172 in the US).

I started 1997 with a goal: to become a Master. And with such goal in my mind the first step was exceeding 2100 Italian Elo points. I had already passed them several times *during* tournaments, but never at their conclusion, since it seemed I got the proficiency to find a way to lose the decisive games.

This year, however, I was pretty determined to play several tournaments all over Italy until I could get the title I was aiming to. My official rating was 2051 points, but I had already earned 21 points in a tournament played in December that was going to be registered in June. It's right: the Italian Federation was (better: is) updating the ratings of its chessplayers twice a year, following the same cycle of FIDE, without realizing that the environment is a lot different, as it will be shown in this story.

Again back to me. I played in Bologna at the start of the year in a tournament reserved to players with more than 1900 points (I will use the notation 1900+). I got three points out of six which earned me 9 Elo points (Italian K is 30 for Candidate Masters): not bad. The result could have been much better since had I won my last game, I would have passed the 2100 points.

But, as usual, I lost and had to settle for 2081 virtual points. Two weeks later I played in Milan. It was a 1700+ tournament, where I was the only player rated better than 1905 points. There i scored six points out of eight, but *lost* 12 Elo points,and went back to 2069 virtual points. Pretty sad, isn't it?

But the turning point came at Camaiore Lido , in the middle of February. The tournament was a 1500+ and probably I wasn't in the best sporting shape of my life but ,anyway, I could never have figured out before playing the horrible result I got in the end. I lost my first game after probably playing my worst game ever; I lost the second game because my opponent was brilliant and, after a third game win, I lost the two following games on time, even if in the first of them I had a Rook more than my opponent! I drew my sixth game without playing just to ran away from Camaiore: I got one point and a half out of six, facing all 1600-rated players. The final result caused me to lose 126 Elo points; my rating splashed down at 1943, my lowest rating since 1985.

What should I do at that point? The goal I proposed to myself was definitely out of reach. I had no more chances to get my Master title , unless...

Well, there was an "unless": I couldn't become anymore a Master with an intelligent-to-good rating system, but that 's not true in Italy! In Italy you must keep on playing. And if you are in the middle of a slump, well, you have just hit the jackpot!

By having some familiarity with numbers (at least I believed so, but as you will read in the following part , this story defied me even in that field! I couldn't help but notice that losing Elo points was not such a bad thing on the whole .... I remember that, while talking with a friend about the delightful properties of the auto-correctiveness of the Elo system, I asked her a sapid question: don't you think that the Italian implementation of the Elo system allows for an alternative way to reach the desired goal?

The answer is: definitely yes. After the Camaiore delusion, I quickly recovered my determination: by virtue of what I said at the beginning of this report (i.e. the most important thing is to play, doesn't matter how) I decided to use, or better to abuse, my slump and continued to play. Just imagine: I played with the same 2051 rating,(slumping ) and increasing my problems with a choice of experimental and/or dubious openings (this way I learnt, for instance, that is better for me not to play the Greco Countergambit anymore!). Results couldn't be different: in Ivrea (near Torino), in a 1700+ tournament, I got three draws and three losses, losing other 102 points; in Monza (near Milano), in another 1700+ tournament, I got one win, one draw and three losses,thus losing 66 points. Then, tired of losing, I played a tournament in Corsico (near Milano) against players with an average rating of 1600 points and I ended up unbeaten. However, since I chose very quiet playing schemes, I was also unable to manage any win. The final result was of five draws: another minus 66 points performance!

All my losses of points were computed in the June update and, at the end of June, I got my new rating: 1709 points, and with such a rating I started the second part of the Italian chess season.

At the end of June I also got the Fide Elo . Strange as it may be, before my slumping phase, I was able to manage nine points and a half out of twenty against international rated players and those results netted me an international rating of 2145. I hoped that this rating was a better gauge of my playing strength, but it was not true. My playing ability was really deteriorating (well, my age is not green anymore, I am 38 years old...) and all the second six-months period showed just that (I lost 45 Elo Fide points). However, that was not a big problem. Do you remember what I said at the beginning? Playing well is just an optional feature; to keep on playing is the most important thing!

And I played. A lot. Throughout those six months of hectic chess activity there was just one week-end which I didn't spend in playing chess. That was not my original idea, but after playing in the first tournaments I realized it was so easy for me to earn Elo points that there was no reason to stop at 2100 points. I was able to go far, far ahead : I could become the "Chess Case of the (Italian) Year!"

And I did it! I managed to reach my goal since I was helped by another strange Italian rule which states that when you have a national rating under 1900 but an international rating, you have the option to use your FIDE rating to enter 1900+ tournaments. However your Italian Elo variation is computed by using the Italian rating. Therefore I played the Masters' tournaments thanks to my FIDE Elo of 2145 but my Italian version of my rating was computed by using my 1709 Italian Elo. Imagine the happiness of my opponents when they realized all that!

For all people crazy for data (by the way, me as first! ), here is the list of the tournaments I played in the first five months (the months which the December update is computed on ). Fields respectively are place of the tournament, type, end date, opponents average rating, results, Elo variation, virtual rating in progress):

Sarzana           1900+		1307	[2106]  3.5 su  8	+ 81	(1790)
Castel Volturno   1700+		2707	[1931]  5.5 su  9	+ 93	(1883)
Montecatini       1900+		0908	[2060]  3.5 su  9	+ 66	(1949)
Genova            1500+		1808	[1943]  6.5 su 11	+105	(2054)
Porto S. Giorgio  1501-1700	2808	[1747]  5   su  8	+ 42	(2096)
Castellaneta      1900+		3108	[2096]  2   su  5	+ 36	(2132)
Marostica         1900+		1409	[2169]  4   su  9	+ 93	(2225)
Asti              1900+		0510	[2022]  4   su  9	+ 63	(2288)
Corsico Open FIDE        	1210	[2110]  3   su  6	+ 75	(2363)
Lucca             1500+		2610	[1695]  5.5 su  8	+ 42	(2405)
Torino            1500+		0211	[1764]  4.5 su  6	+ 57	(2462)
Vitinia-Roma      1500+		1611	[1765]  5   su  8	+ 45	(2507)
Montecatini       1501-1900	3011	[1650]  7   su  8	+ 72	(2579)

Curious note: my effort ended in Montecatini, where Igor Efimov, the previous best rated Italian player (and probably the best player: period - since he recently won the Italian championship) lives. Just in his hometown, I became the new number one, and that is one of the most laughable things which ever happened to me. Anyway all this is true and any system which allows a patzer like me (which I still am - just look at my performance rating: it is around 1977) to become its best representative is an incredibly wrong system. And the Italian Rating System *is* terrible. Keep also in mind that I didn't push too hard for it! After my performance was over I decided to make some calculations and discovered some surprising things. Had I *lost* my last game played in Corsico in May, I would have played all my season with 1694 points (and thanks to my FIDE rating I 'd have been allowed to play in the same tournaments but one) and, by playing in the very same way, I would have ended at +915 for a grand total of 2609. Had I lost the last three games in Corsico, thus playing with 1664 points, I would have earned 1002 points (total: 2676). Had I played in Corsico just to lose (six losses instead of five draws and a bye) I would have ended the first six-months period at 1604 points and earned 1155 points in the second one thus ending my efforts at 2759. Had I wanted to throw away games for gift (never a problem, you just need to play) I could have hurled headlong until the minimum of 1501 points. In such a case, I had the chance of earning 1380 points , thus going beyond even Kasparov (obviously Kasparov's rating is the FIDE one, probably much more correct than the Italian one, even though the "Annakov case" may lead someone to get a different opinion).

If you go to the website of the Italian Chess Federation (http://www.infcom.it/fsi/ass.html) and download the current standings of the best 100 Elo-rated players, you will not find my name. It is not because I have just told everybody tons of lies... When the F.S.I. realized what I did, they reacted in a pretty childish way (in my opinion, of course), by regarding my rating as "anomalous" (look at http://www.infcom.it/fsi/anomali.html) and deciding to exclude it from the list until they would be able to find some rule somewhere in some place that could help them in legally erasing my rating.

I guess they are still searching... And until they do find something, I can't play. Funny, isn't it?

Roberto Ricca (Editing by Pompeo Silingardi)

13) Upcoming Events

Live Swedish Team Championships

Lennarth Eriksson editor of the Stockholm homepage will be covering the Swedish Team Championships over the weekend 13-15th March. Its the final leg of the championships and amongst others GM Ulf Andersson, GM Lars Karlsson, GM Agrest, IM Thomas Engqvist and GM Ralf Åkesson are playing. The games start at 18-00 Swedish time on Friday.(evening).

Web addresses:
http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-21958/elit.html
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1236/stock.html
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1236/direkt.html

7th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament

The "Seventh Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament" will be held at the Metropole Palace hotel at the casino square in Monaco, from March 12 until March 27 1998.

The event will be covered at:
http://www.tasc.nl/amber7

Play starts at March 13, from 1 p.m. until approximately 8 p.m., and continues daily except for March 16, 20 and 24. The 11th and last round is on March 26. Visitors are welcome to enjoy free entry to the games. The twelve participants are: Karpov, Ivanchuk, Van Wely, Sadler, Kramnik, Ljubojevic, Anand, Piket, Topalov, Shirov, Lautier and Nikolic The chief arbiter is Mr. G. Gijssen from the Netherlands; he is assisted by A. Bach, Russia. The players will play one rapid game and one blindfold game with reversed colours against the same opponent. The Fischer time registration method will be used. The time control is set at 25 min per game plus 10 sec (rapid)or 20 sec (blindfold) per move. The blindfold games will be conducted on a computer system designed by Tasc BV from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Each player is in front of a screen with an empty chessboard. He makes his moves by mouse click or keyboard. The opponent's moves are announced on the screen. Checking legality of moves and time registration are automatic. Although the players always see an empty board, the arbiters and audience can follow the game on video screens not visible to the payers. There will be three classifications: One for the rapid tournament, one for the blindfold and one for the combination. The total prize fund amounts to US$ 137,250.- The tournament is sponsored by the well-known chess patron Mr. J.J. van Oosterom, who also sponsors several other chess events.

36th Doeberl Cup

36th Doeberl Cup, a 7 round Chess Tournament will be held 10-13 April 1998. Venue: Fenner Hall, 210 Northbourne Ave, CIVIC, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Total prizes A$9500. Three Divisions: Open, Major (U2000), Minor (U1600). Open 1st A$2100, 2nd A$1000, 3rd A$500, 4th A$200. Major 1st A$1000, 2nd A$700, 3rd A$500 plus other rating prizes. Minor 1st A$600, 2nd A$400, 3rd A$300 plus rating prizes.

Program. Good Friday 12:30pm entries close, 1:15 Opening, 1:30pm Round 1. 7:00pm Round 2 Saturday: 10:00am Round 3. 3:00pm Round 4 Sunday: 10:00am Round 5. 3:00pm Round 6 Monday: 9:00 am Round 7

Entry: Adult A$85 (GMs, IMs free) / FMs A$45, Juniors A$45 (a A$20 / $10 discount applies if entry received by 3 April 98) Players must be ACT or State Association members.

Entries: Paul Dunn (Treasurer), 20 Richmond Street,Macquarie ACT 2614 phone (02) 62511360 Email:pjdunn@compuserve.com

Time Limits:Digital Clocks will be used: 40 moves in 90 minutes then 30 moves in 30 minutes Followed by 20 seconds per move. No smoking, Dress neat, casual.

Accommodation: For Fenner Hall, contact R. Curtin (02) 62799567