The Week in Chess 251

THE WEEK IN CHESS 251 - 30th August 1999 by Mark Crowther

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1) Introduction

My thanks to Duif Calvin, Tim Hanke, Alexander Khalifman, Ole and Carlos Penin, Europe Echecs, Antonio Bento, Nicholas Ravené Lanier, Luís Santos, Michael Atkins, Anjo Anjewierden, Bernd Rosen, Dr. G. Neelakantan, Sergei Movsesian and Xie Jun and all those who helped with this issue.

Alexander Khalifman won the FIDE Chess Championships in Las Vegas. These Championships, whatever its future, may very well prove to be extremely influencial. They saw all the favourites fail (as Khalifman points out below, I got it quite wrong in my pre-event predictions) and most certainly the players who did reach the final stages used the opportunity to say how hard it is for them to get the professional invitations that would even give them an opportunity to develop their chess. I must admit to knowing little about Khalifman's personality before the event. I'm the same age as him and around 13 years ago I thought he had what it takes to be a top player and have followed his results. The intervening years have given him only patchy results, although there have been good ones in there. In the last year he saw his chess future in his GM Chess School and website http://www.gmchess.spb.ru and this has surely received a boost, but may have to rethink his committment in the light of his victory. In Las Vegas, he not only used the opportunity to win and earn a lot of money, but he also was the most conciencious in his dealings with the press and revealed a very down to earth attitude. This could be a breath of fresh air. A few invites for him and players such as Nisipeanu and Akopian should follow.

According to reports on the Spanish website Ole Karpov is to sue FIDE for loss of earnings and a match where Khalifman is the challenger. I predict nothing will come of this and FIDE have strongly indicated they will resist such moves. I don't sense any great simpathy for Karpov who has had more than his fair share of breaks over the last few years from FIDE to a background of an alarming (for him) rate of decline in his chess playing powers.

FIDE's task now is to find venues and sponsors for the annual championships, and there were indications that the financial support of the FIDE President is to be phased out. The problems of achieving commercial sponsorship for major events recently will make this a hard task.

In the letters section Xie Jun (in response to statements on Polgar's own website) says she is ready and willing to play Zsuzsa Polgar in a match if she can raise the finance. Movsesian rails against Kasparov and the elite invitations system.

The US Championships, the Rubinstein Memorial and more roundup a busy week of chess.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Alexander Khalifman, FIDE World Chess Champion

The FIDE World Chess Championships held in Las Vagas July 30th-August 29th 1999 in Las Vegas USA were won by 33 year old Russian Alexander Khalifman. The seven round event culminated in a six game final between Khalifman and Vladimir Akopian. Khalifman triumphed 3.5-2.5. Khalifman received $528,000 for winning the event and Akopian $316,800.

The Final Match

Game 1

Akopian held the advantage according to Khalifman until 17. Nxe4 although Akopian insisted that this was still his best chance for a draw and play was probably balanced for a long time. He could have drawn in several ways, including by playing Rb1 instead of Re1 later on. Result Khalifman win.

Game 2

The game was a typical Hedgehog position with no advantage for White according to Khalifman. Result draw.

Game 3

Akopian equalised the match 71. ... Rh8 was the final blunder with 71. ...Kf7 being a draw in an attractive endgame. Result Akopian win.

Game 4

After equalising in game three Akopian chose the Kings Indian Defence. Khalifman countered with 7. Be3 a system he doesn't normally use. Khalifman played 34.a5 which gave him a huge advantage (according to Kasparov Akopian should have played a5 himself to stop this possibility). He calmly realised his advantage. Result Khalifman win.

Game 5

This was a key day for Khalifman, if he survived with black then the title was definitely within grasp. He said: "Today's game was tough for me. I used a lot of time during the opening. Later in the game, perhaps I could have played better, but being short of time I did not want to make any risky moves. My position was not really bad at any time. In other games during this tournament I have had some really bad positions, so I know what it feels like. Today I never had that feeling." Result draw.

Game 6

Khalifman played actively to secure a draw and the title. He said "I told myself, "Come on, this is the final game, I have to play the best moves." And I think 4 d5 is the best move. At the end of the game, I was no longer fighting to find the win. I said, "Enough is enough. I only need a draw." Result draw.

Comments from the Champion and others

As Khalifman has progressed in the Championships he's enjoyed the opportunities at the press conferences, with a nice line in wry humour. (On the difference winning the title might make he said "Perhaps now the organizers of open tournaments will offer me full board instead of just the continental breakfast.") I also discovered that I'd upset him by not giving a link to his Linares coverage in February which was due to an over-literal reading of one of his E-Mails. However he's a very down to Earth player who should be a lot more fun than Karpov as FIDE Champion. Almost certainly it won't sink in what it means both financially and in terms of his status for a little time yet. Here are some brief comments he made on Sunday night to me via E-Mail after he'd had a little chance to think a little about the win.

Q: What does winning the FIDE title mean to you?

It means that I've got a chance to make my little voice a bit more loud. I feel I've got something to tell to the chess world.

Q: Were you optimistic of doing well in Las Vegas before the Championships?

No, but I always knew something like this would happen to me sometime.

Q: Do you hope to have more invitations now that you have won the title? Is this now a year where you hope to play a lot?

All the best tournaments' fields are formed by people mesmerized by numbers. Am I wrong? Anyway I don't care.

Q: Do you consider yourself the 14th World Chess Champion?

Isn't question 5 provocative? [Yes! but its the question everyone is asking MC] Do you REALLY think the 13th World Chess Champion will play some "non-hand-picked" candidate in a match? Or is his title just a lifetime property? Oh, something's wrong with the format? Would you consider Kramnik or Shirov or ... (see favorites list - TWIC N 245 (?), I guess) the 14th World Chess Champion then? I consider myself just the Grandmaster Chess School (http://www.gmchess.spb.ru) director who occasionally won the FIDE World Chess Championship - maybe not perfect championship but still the only one organized in reality.

Q: We talked about the ignorance of the general public about your own chess record against Kasparov and Karpov and your rating seems a little low, how strong do you think you are? [Khalifman's tournament record with his comments: vs. Karpov +1-2=2 (1988-1995) "negative but not disastrous" vs. Kasparov +0=2-0 (1988 & 1992) - "not enough games to make any conclusion but still enough to forget "pawn+move" nonsense". ]

I had chances to become top player when I was 20 or like this - somehow I never managed to get enough invitations to the grandmaster-level tournaments what is, in my opinion, the most necessary condition for the promising young player to improve his chess. How strong I am now? Relax everybody - I'm just a patzer.

Q: You've talked about your website (GM Chess School) as being a big part of your life, winning the title must help that project, where do you see that going?

I still believe I can be able to make the game of chess winning back some prestige it lost recently due to great geniuses' ambitions and their permanent readiness to start some scandal instead of just a game. [I've left this answer as it was sent, Khalifman apologised at the start for his poor English. I've also had my critics (probably justified) on this front. MC]

Q: Is this going to make a huge difference to your life now? (The money must be almost larger than your entire career earnings so far).

I'll try to remain the same - the ghost of poverty disappeared somehow - that's good.

Q: Is there anything you'd like to see changed in the way professional chess is organised?

Yeah, a lot - hopefully some of my ideas will be discussed now.

Quotes to the press during the Championships.

Khalifman said about his path to the final "[Gelfand] was the toughest player I faced on my way to the Final. But the semifinal against Nisipeanu was also very hard. When I was even with him after four games and we had to continue the tiebreak, that was no fun for me. That was the critical moment for me in the tournament." Khalifman also survived being one down to Barua and Kamsky in the first two rounds. He scored +10=5 with white to secure the title.

"First of all, I now regard myself as an amateur player. The Grandmaster Chess School in St. Petersburg is my main activity."

" I think the results of this tournament mean that we must examine the very definition of "elite." If Kramnik and Shirov were playing now in this Final, people would all say this is a good format. So if Khalifman and Akopian are playing, is it not a good format?"

"I don't want to play professionally, but I will play from time to time."

"I do not claim that I am the world's best chessplayer, but I am the FIDE World Champion, the only championship of the world that we have now. Kasparov has some informal claims to be the world's best chessplayer. I am afraid to say anything about Karpov because he is very experienced in lawsuits."

On the prospect of defending his title Khalifman felt that he would suffer a lot more pressure.

"I think many of the best players here were unable to manage their nerves, so they lost and were eliminated. During the last week, sometimes in the middle of the night, I would wake up and realize, "I'm playing in the World Championship Final." And this idea would disturb my sleep."

In answer to the question, do you think the Elo system needs to be changed? Khalifman replied. Professor Elo worked out a very interesting mathematical model, but as far as representing the relative strength of the players, it just makes me laugh. This system works very well for a few players who are invited over and over again to the small round-robin tournaments. What I am saying now about this elite system, I have already been saying for a long time. But I was not important enough to be noticed."

"I do not feel this title belongs to me; it belongs to FIDE. It's easy to criticize FIDE, but they are now the only viable organization that can organize world championships."

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, FIDE President said "I want to congratulate Alexander Khalifman, the 14th World Chess Champion. I want to invite him to play again next year to defend his title. From now on, the World Champion must defend his title on the chessboard, not in press conferences or in the courts."

Garry Kasparov "Alexander Khalifman in my opinion fully deserved his sensational victory in FIDE KO championship. He played very well throughout the tournament and looked better than any other player."

Venue and future

FIDE President has announced that from now on the FIDE Championships will take place every year in a fixed part of the calendar. They will be held during the last week of November and the first three weeks of December. Hong Kong, Dortmund, Germany and the Sun City Hotel in South Africa are in the frame for holding the next Championships. FIDE will invite Kasparov, Karpov and possibly Fischer to the next championships in the year 2000. Pre-empting the news that Karpov has launched legal action against FIDE

Dr. G. Neelakantan attended the event with a friend on days two and three of the event being accredited as "journalists from India" (although they were in reality just spectators who got to attend the press conferences). They arrived early to get better seating but found the hall empty until only 10 minutes before play started.

Neelakantan reports: "There was absolutely no security. My friend and I sat in those wonderful chairs and asked a man, who was adjusting the drapes, to take pictures of us in the players' chairs....that man turned out to be one of the FIDE committee members! We were one of the very few people who actually bought the $10 tickets. When I wanted to "rent" the little radio receiver ($5 rental) to listen to the commentary, the FIDE lady said that she wanted my driver's license as a security, to prevent 'incidents' from happening! You could hear the same commentary in the press room (free coffee!). FIDE baseball caps were offered for $50. No one bought those. At least not when we were looking."

I think there would defintely have been more spectators if the event had been held in New York and I believe all things being equal Dortmund should be given the event as there will definitely interest in Germany (one rather suspects that Sun City will be the venue in which case the number of spectators will almost certainly be fewer than in Las Vegas. FIDE themselves were a little surprised at the lack of local interest and had to accept they hadn't read the nature of Las Vegas correctly.

Willy Iclicki speaking towards the end of the Championships implied that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's sponsorship of the prizefund was coming to an end. "[Kirsan] had to take all the expenses on his count, but it cannot be always the case. So far, three cities have shown an interest in organizing the next WCC : Dortmund, Hong Kong and Sun City (South Africa). It's too soon to talk about this, we have to take in account a lot of parameters. Certainly, a city with chess tradition would be important, but without sponsorship, it's not enough."

He was equally clear about the players who did not play "we cannot push everyone to participate".

"For Kasparov, we know the situation since 1993, when he left the FIDE. And he prefer matches to Knock-Out systems. About Anand, he was invited to play Kasparov, at very good financial conditions. In a way, I can understand him. It will be difficult for Karpov now to pretend that he is World Champion, with the results that he showed recently. We didn't want to give privileges to some players, as we did in Groningen/Lausanne last time. When we see how exhausted Khalifman and Akopian are, we have to remember the huge advantage Karpov had in 1998, waiting quietly for Anand, who had fought so long to achieve the final… Well, Karpov is no more the World Champion, that's over. FIDE has a new World Champion. "

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov quotes:

"When Kasparov and Karpov continue to criticize, I have one answer. The Title of the World Champion has to be won and defended in an honest chess fight and not in the courts or at press conferences."

"They have to prove their superiority by playing in the world championship. There will be no matches between the winner here and Kasparov or Karpov. If Kasparov and Karpov have questions, FIDE will be happy to invite them to the 2000 World Championship."

FIDE World Championships, Final

Akopian, Vladimir     -  Khalifman, Alexander  0-1   57  A15  English; 1.c4
Khalifman, Alexander  -  Akopian, Vladimir     1/2   18  E38  Nimzo indian
Akopian, Vladimir     -  Khalifman, Alexander  1-0   84  B51  Sicilian
Khalifman, Alexander  -  Akopian, Vladimir     1-0   61  E92  Kings indian; Classical
Akopian, Vladimir     -  Khalifman, Alexander  1/2   49  C90  Ruy Lopez
Khalifman, Alexander  -  Akopian, Vladimir     1/2   40  A77  Modern Benoni


FIDE World Championships Las Vegas (USA), 22-27 viii 1999
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1   2   3   4   5   6 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Khalifman, Alexander  g RUS 2628    1   =   0   1   =   =   3.5  2703
Akopian, Vladimir     g ARM 2646    0   =   1   0   =   =   2.5  2571
---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Official FIDE site for the event was at: http://www.worldfide.com/chess/index.html

Further coverage at: http://www.insidechess.com/

Ole Sports have official live coverage in Spanish, including the games live, reports and chat at: http://deportes.ole.com/espdep/ajedrez/portada.cfm

3) Interplay US Championships 1999

The Interplay US Championships 1999 started August 23rd in Salt Lake City. As last year (and also the French Championships below) the event consists of two round robin events followed by a knockout between the top two players in each group.

The final round is tonight and already the defending Champion Nick DeFirmian is not in a position to defend his title. In the A group the qualifiers for the semi-finals will come from Gulko, Christiansen and Yermolinsky and in the B group the likely qualifiers will come from Serper, Seirawan and Benjamin (with Kaidanov and Ivanov having some chances still, especially and Seirawan and Benjamin playing each other in the final round of the prelims).

With two rounds to go Anjelina Belakovskaia has 6/7 ahead of Jennifer Shahade on 5.

Coverage at: http://www.uschess.org/news/uschamp99/

Round 1 (August 23, 1999)

Gulko, Boris F         -  Shabalov, Alexander    1-0   67  A21  English; 1.c4 e5
Kudrin, Sergey         -  Christiansen, Larry M  0-1   42  C10  French
Gurevich, Dmitry       -  Yermolinsky, Alex      1/2   68  A16  English; 1.c4
Shliperman, Igor       -  Fedorowicz, John P     1/2   51  B06  Modern defence

Round 2 (August 24, 1999)

Christiansen, Larry M  -  Gulko, Boris F         1-0   43  B57  Sicilian
Yermolinsky, Alex      -  Kudrin, Sergey         1/2   47  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Fedorowicz, John P     -  Gurevich, Dmitry       1/2   10  D23  QGA;
Shabalov, Alexander    -  Shliperman, Igor       1/2   51  E20  Nimzo indian

Round 3 (August 25, 1999)

Gulko, Boris F         -  Yermolinsky, Alex      1/2   16  D27  QGA;
Christiansen, Larry M  -  Shabalov, Alexander    1/2   14  C05  French; Tarrasch
Kudrin, Sergey         -  Fedorowicz, John P     1-0   18  B87  Sicilian
Gurevich, Dmitry       -  Shliperman, Igor       1/2   45  B38  Sicilian

Round 4 (August 26, 1999)

Yermolinsky, Alex      -  Christiansen, Larry M  1-0   29  D36  Queen's gambit
Fedorowicz, John P     -  Gulko, Boris F         0-1   44  B57  Sicilian
Shliperman, Igor       -  Kudrin, Sergey         1-0   44  D86  Gruenfeld indian
Shabalov, Alexander    -  Gurevich, Dmitry       1/2   45  B41  Sicilian

Round 5 (August 28, 1999)

Christiansen, Larry M  -  Fedorowicz, John P     0-1   46  A65  Modern Benoni
Yermolinsky, Alex      -  Shabalov, Alexander    1/2   27  E10  Nimzo indian
Kudrin, Sergey         -  Gurevich, Dmitry       1/2   10  B70  Sicilian; Dragon
Shliperman, Igor       -  Gulko, Boris F         0-1   38  A17  English; 1.c4

Round 6 (August 29, 1999)

Fedorowicz, John P     -  Yermolinsky, Alex      1/2   32  E54  Nimzo indian
Gurevich, Dmitry       -  Gulko, Boris F         0-1   89  D17  Slav defence
Shliperman, Igor       -  Christiansen, Larry M  0-1   71  B30  Sicilian
Shabalov, Alexander    -  Kudrin, Sergey         0-1   48  D71  1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6


Interplay US Championships Salt Lake City, Utah Prelim A (USA), 5-15 viii 1999cat. XIII (2559)
--------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Gulko, Boris F         g USA 2618 * 0 = . 1 1 1 1  4.5  2748
2 Christiansen, Larry M  g USA 2610 1 * 0 1 0 . 1 =  3.5  2611
3 Yermolinsky, Alex      g USA 2588 = 1 * = = = . =  3.5  2627
4 Kudrin, Sergey         g USA 2525 . 0 = * 1 = 0 1  3.0  2555
5 Fedorowicz, John P     g USA 2565 0 1 = 0 * = = .  2.5  2500
6 Gurevich, Dmitry       g USA 2537 0 . = = = * = =  2.5  2497
7 Shliperman, Igor       m USA 2466 0 0 . 1 = = * =  2.5  2513
8 Shabalov, Alexander    g USA 2566 0 = = 0 . = = *  2.0  2432
--------------------------------------------------------------


Round 1 (August 23, 1999)

Benjamin, Joel           -  Serper, Grigory          0-1   46  B43  Sicilian
Kaidanov, Gregory S      -  Ivanov, Alexander        0-1   65  A46  Queen's pawn
DeFirmian, Nick E        -  Dzindzichashvili, Roman  1-0   40  B04  Alekhine defence
Finegold, Benjamin       -  Seirawan, Yasser         1/2   11  D61  QGD;

Round 2 (August 24, 1999)

Serper, Grigory          -  Finegold, Benjamin       1-0   35  B36  Sicilian
Seirawan, Yasser         -  Kaidanov, Gregory S      1/2   25  D30  Queen's gambit
Ivanov, Alexander        -  DeFirmian, Nick E        1-0   83  B80  Sicilian
Dzindzichashvili, Roman  -  Benjamin, Joel           1/2   21  A41  Queen's pawn

Round 3 (August 25, 1999)

Kaidanov, Gregory S      -  Serper, Grigory          1-0   43  D38  Queen's gambit
Ivanov, Alexander        -  Dzindzichashvili, Roman  1/2   17  B91  Sicilian; Najdorf
DeFirmian, Nick E        -  Seirawan, Yasser         1/2   28  C11  French; Classical
Finegold, Benjamin       -  Benjamin, Joel           0-1   36  A41  Queen's pawn

Round 4 (August 26, 1999)

Serper, Grigory          -  DeFirmian, Nick E        1/2   63  A33  English; 1.c4 c5
Seirawan, Yasser         -  Ivanov, Alexander        1-0   26  A46  Queen's pawn
Benjamin, Joel           -  Kaidanov, Gregory S      1-0   54  C54  Italian game
Dzindzichashvili, Roman  -  Finegold, Benjamin       1/2   39  D70  1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6

Round 5 (August 28, 1999)

Seirawan, Yasser         -  Dzindzichashvili, Roman  1/2   38  D31  Queen's gambit
Kaidanov, Gregory S      -  Finegold, Benjamin       1-0   32  B65  Sicilian
Ivanov, Alexander        -  Serper, Grigory          0-1   28  B40  Sicilian
DeFirmian, Nick E        -  Benjamin, Joel           1/2   29  C78  Ruy Lopez

Round 6 (August 29, 1999)

Serper, Grigory          -  Seirawan, Yasser         1/2   15  A46  Queen's pawn
Benjamin, Joel           -  Ivanov, Alexander        1/2   57  B40  Sicilian
Dzindzichashvili, Roman  -  Kaidanov, Gregory S      1/2   11  D40  QGD; Tarrasch Defence
Finegold, Benjamin       -  DeFirmian, Nick E        1-0   43  E90  Kings indian; Classical


Interplay US Championships Salt Lake City, Utah Prelim B (USA), 5-15 viii 1999cat. XIII (2568)
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Serper, Grigory          g USA 2540 * = 1 0 1 = . 1  4.0  2701
2 Seirawan, Yasser         g USA 2653 = * . = 1 = = =  3.5  2608
3 Benjamin, Joel           g USA 2579 0 . * 1 = = = 1  3.5  2608
4 Kaidanov, Gregory S      g USA 2611 1 = 0 * 0 . = 1  3.0  2555
5 Ivanov, Alexander        g USA 2515 0 0 = 1 * 1 = .  3.0  2587
6 DeFirmian, Nick E        g USA 2598 = = = . 0 * 1 0  2.5  2498
7 Dzindzichashvili, Roman  g USA 2544 . = = = = 0 * =  2.5  2519
8 Finegold, Benjamin       m USA 2500 0 = 0 0 . 1 = *  2.0  2462
----------------------------------------------------------------


Round 1 (August 23, 1999)

Shahade, Jennifer       -  Epstein, Esther         1/2   36  B42  Sicilian
Sagalchik, Olga         -  Burtman, Sharon         1-0   42  A83  Dutch defence
Frenklakh, Jennie       -  Airapetian,Chouchanik   0-1   40  C54  Italian game
Khan, Anna              -  Marinello, Beatriz M    0-1   52  E97  Kings indian; Main line
Groberman, Elina        -  Belakovskaia, Anjelina  0-1   32  E54  Nimzo indian

Round 2 (August 24, 1999)

Belakovskaia, Anjelina  -  Shahade, Jennifer       1/2   83  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Epstein, Esther         -  Khan, Anna              0-1   31  B33  Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Marinello, Beatriz M    -  Frenklakh, Jennie       1-0   27  B10  Caro-Kann
Airapetian,Chouchanik   -  Sagalchik, Olga         0-1   25  B41  Sicilian
Burtman, Sharon         -  Groberman, Elina        0-1   43  A65  Modern Benoni

Round 3 (August 25, 1999)

Shahade, Jennifer       -  Burtman, Sharon         1-0   12  B35  Sicilian
Sagalchik, Olga         -  Frenklakh, Jennie       0-1   12  D35  Queen's gambit
Epstein, Esther         -  Marinello, Beatriz M    1-0   15  B70  Sicilian; Dragon
Khan, Anna              -  Belakovskaia, Anjelina  0-1   17  D15  Slav defence
Groberman, Elina        -  Airapetian,Chouchanik   1/2   16  C54  Italian game

Round 4 (August 26, 1999)

Belakovskaia, Anjelina  -  Epstein, Esther         1/2   10  E15  Nimzo indian
Frenklakh, Jennie       -  Groberman, Elina        1-0   16  A48  Queen's pawn
Marinello, Beatriz M    -  Sagalchik, Olga         0-1   14  B42  Sicilian
Airapetian,Chouchanik   -  Shahade, Jennifer       0-1   22  B75  Sicilian; Dragon
Burtman, Sharon         -  Khan, Anna              0-1   23  D10  Slav defence

Round 5 (August 27, 1999)

Belakovskaia, Anjelina  -  Marinello, Beatriz M    1-0   32  E76  Kings indian
Shahade, Jennifer       -  Frenklakh, Jennie       0-1   31  B18  Caro-Kann
Epstein, Esther         -  Burtman, Sharon         1-0   45  B35  Sicilian
Khan, Anna              -  Airapetian,Chouchanik   1/2   41  D58  QGD;
Groberman, Elina        -  Sagalchik, Olga         0-1   73  B43  Sicilian

Round 6 (August 28, 1999)

Sagalchik, Olga         -  Shahade, Jennifer       0-1   40  D00  Queen's pawn
Frenklakh, Jennie       -  Khan, Anna              1/2   43  B25  Sicilian; Closed
Marinello, Beatriz M    -  Groberman, Elina        1/2   33  C86  Ruy Lopez
Airapetian,Chouchanik   -  Epstein, Esther         1-0   49  B40  Sicilian
Burtman, Sharon         -  Belakovskaia, Anjelina  0-1   66  D10  Slav defence

Round 7 (August 29, 1999)

Belakovskaia, Anjelina  -  Airapetian,Chouchanik   1-0   35  D37  Queen's gambit
Shahade, Jennifer       -  Groberman, Elina        1-0   37  C56  Two knights
Epstein, Esther         -  Frenklakh, Jennie       1-0   69  B11  Caro-Kann
Khan, Anna              -  Sagalchik, Olga         1/2   73  D63  QGD;
Burtman, Sharon         -  Marinello, Beatriz M    0-1   63  E80  Kings indian; Saemisch


Interplay US Women's Championships Salt Lake City, Utah (USA), 5-15 viii 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Belakovskaia, Anjelina wg USA 2255 * = . = . 1 1 1 1 1  6.0  2481
 2 Shahade, Jennifer       m USA 2290 = * 1 = 0 . . 1 1 1  5.0  2291
 3 Sagalchik, Olga           USA 2137 . 0 * . 0 = 1 1 1 1  4.5  2260
 4 Epstein, Esther        wm USA 2236 = = . * 1 0 1 0 . 1  4.0  2236
 5 Frenklakh, Jennie      wf USA 2137 . 1 1 0 * = 0 0 1 .  3.5  2177
 6 Khan, Anna             wm USA 2295 0 . = 1 = * 0 = . 1  3.5  2155
 7 Marinello, Beatriz M   wm USA 2221 0 . 0 0 1 1 * . = 1  3.5  2175
 8 Airapetian,Chouchanik         ---- 0 0 0 1 1 = . * = .  3.0  2151
 9 Groberman, Elina          USA 2062 0 0 0 . 0 . = = * 1  2.0  2005
10 Burtman, Sharon        wm USA 2104 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 . 0 *  0.0      
--------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Rubinstein Memorial Polanica Zdrój 1999

The Rubinstein Memorial Polanica Zdrój 1999 ran August 14th-26th. The players were: Tomasz Markowski (2557) ; Alexander Onischuk (2657) ; Igor Khenkin (2633) ; Vadim Milov (2626) ; Mikhail Gurevich (2643) ; Loek Van Wely (2629) ; Alexander Rustemow (2573) ; Emil Sutovsky (2587) ; Robert Kempiñski (2549) ; Dimitrij Bunzmann (2596).

Dutchman Loek Van Wely scored an undefeated 7/9 to take clear first ahead of Mikhail Gurevich on 6.5 in the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica Zdroj.

Coverage at: http://rubinstein.netgate.com.pl/

Round 5 (August 21, 1999)

Van Wely, Loek       -  Kempinski, Robert    1-0   38  E91  Kings indian; Classical
Gurevich, Mikhail    -  Markowski, Tomasz    1-0   33  E91  Kings indian; Classical
Milov, Vadim         -  Onischuk, Alexander  0-1   67  E12  Nimzo indian
Khenkin, Igor        -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij   1/2   30  A40  Queen's pawn
Rustemov, Alexander  -  Sutovsky, Emil       0-1   32  D97  Gruenfeld indian

Round 6 (August 22, 1999)

Onischuk, Alexander  -  Gurevich, Mikhail    1/2   20  A28  English; 1.c4 e5
Khenkin, Igor        -  Milov, Vadim         0-1   40  D38  Queen's gambit
Kempinski, Robert    -  Rustemov, Alexander  1-0   43  B14  Caro-Kann
Bunzmann, Dimitrij   -  Sutovsky, Emil       0-1   40  A37  English; 1.c4 c5
Markowski, Tomasz    -  Van Wely, Loek       0-1   33  A09  Reti (1.Nf3)

Round 7 (August 23, 1999)

Van Wely, Loek       -  Onischuk, Alexander  1/2   22  E12  Nimzo indian
Gurevich, Mikhail    -  Khenkin, Igor        1/2   43  D31  Queen's gambit
Milov, Vadim         -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij   1/2   65  A40  Queen's pawn
Sutovsky, Emil       -  Kempinski, Robert    1-0   57  B23  Sicilian; Closed
Rustemov, Alexander  -  Markowski, Tomasz    1/2   31  E62  Kings indian

Round 8 (August 25, 1999)

Onischuk, Alexander  -  Rustemov, Alexander  1/2   59  A13  English; 1.c4
Milov, Vadim         -  Gurevich, Mikhail    1/2   30  D13  Slav defence
Khenkin, Igor        -  Van Wely, Loek       1/2    8  D80  Gruenfeld indian
Bunzmann, Dimitrij   -  Kempinski, Robert    0-1   33  E94  Kings indian; Classical
Markowski, Tomasz    -  Sutovsky, Emil       1-0   29  A36  English; 1.c4 c5

Round 9 (August 26, 1999)

Van Wely, Loek       -  Milov, Vadim         1/2   51  D22  QGA;
Gurevich, Mikhail    -  Bunzmann, Dimitrij   1-0   32  A10  English; 1.c4
Kempinski, Robert    -  Markowski, Tomasz    1/2   11  A43  Queen's pawn
Sutovsky, Emil       -  Onischuk, Alexander  0-1   37  C45  Scottish
Rustemov, Alexander  -  Khenkin, Igor        1-0   38  D35  Queen's gambit


Rubinstein Memorial Polanica Zdroj (POL), 17-26 viii 1999cat. XV (2605)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Van Wely, Loek       g NED 2629 * = = = = 1 1 1 1 1  7.0  2822
 2 Gurevich, Mikhail    g BEL 2643 = * = = = 1 1 = 1 1  6.5  2766
 3 Onischuk, Alexander  g UKR 2657 = = * 1 = 0 1 = 1 1  6.0  2724
 4 Milov, Vadim         g SUI 2626 = = 0 * 1 1 0 = = 1  5.0  2645
 5 Khenkin, Igor        g GER 2633 = = = 0 * = 1 0 = 1  4.5  2601
 6 Kempinski, Robert    g POL 2549 0 0 1 0 = * 0 1 1 =  4.0  2568
 7 Sutovsky, Emil       g ISR 2587 0 0 0 1 0 1 * 1 1 0  4.0  2564
 8 Rustemov, Alexander  g RUS 2573 0 = = = 1 0 0 * = =  3.5  2528
 9 Bunzmann, Dimitrij     GER 2596 0 0 0 = = 0 0 = * 1  2.5  2440
10 Markowski, Tomasz    g POL 2557 0 0 0 0 0 = 1 = 0 *  2.0  2390
-----------------------------------------------------------------

5) Spanish Chess Championships

The Spanish Chess Championships ran 19th-27th Aug 1999 in Palencia. There were 97 players in this nine round Swiss system event. There were three players who finished with 7/9 with Illescas taking first on Buchholz tie-break from Zenon Franco and Javier Moreno. Felix Izeta, Jorge Magem and Jose Lopez Martinez were just behind on 6.5 points.

Coverage at: http://ajedrez.ole.com/

Final Crosstable
Absolute Championships of Spain (ESP), 19-27 viii 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Illescas Cordoba, Miguel        g ESP 2600  +69 + 6 +12 =11 + 2 + 8 = 7 = 4 = 5  7.0 /9  2666
 2 Franco Ocampo, Zenon            g ESP 2474  +44 +19 =24 +20 - 1 +17 =18 +13 + 7  7.0 /9  2618
 3 Moreno, Javier                    ESP 2474  +53 +28 =18 +34 = 4 +15 = 5 = 7 + 8  7.0 /9  2610
 4 Izeta Txabarri, Felix           g ESP 2505  +62 +37 =20 +24 = 3 = 9 +30 = 1 =14  6.5 /9  2583
 5 Magem Badals, Jordi             g ESP 2528  +60 =23 +70 - 8 +37 +24 = 3 +20 = 1  6.5 /9  2524
 6 Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel      ESP 2378  +56 - 1 -46 +38 =44 +76 +45 +30 +21  6.5 /9  2412
 7 Comas Fabrego, Luis             m ESP 2510  +46 +27 =15 +13 =21 +12 = 1 = 3 - 2  6.0 /9  2555
 8 Narciso Dublan, Marc            m ESP 2447  =55 +58 +23 + 5 +11 - 1 +10 =14 - 3  6.0 /9  2545
 9 Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis  m ESP 2465  +48 +52 =10 =17 +26 = 4 =13 =18 =16  6.0 /9  2496
10 Vallejo Pons, Francisco         m ESP 2519  +59 +26 = 9 =15 +35 =21 - 8 =31 +36  6.0 /9  2514
11 Romero Holmes, Alfonso          g ESP 2489  +76 +32 +25 = 1 - 8 -13 +34 =23 +31  6.0 /9  2502
12 Del Rio Angelis, Salvador G     m ESP 2471  +42 +47 - 1 +73 +16 - 7 =20 +29 =17  6.0 /9  2484
13 Oms Pallise, Josep              m ESP 2412  +66 =43 +49 - 7 +46 +11 = 9 - 2 +40  6.0 /9  2449

14 De la Riva Aguado, Oscar        m ESP 2458  +51 =50 -34 +69 +32 =31 +35 = 8 = 4  6.0 /9  2447
15 Paramos Dominguez, Roberto      m ESP 2425  +81 +54 = 7 =10 +29 - 3 +52 =19 =18  6.0 /9  2464
16 Pablo Marin, Alejandro          f ESP 2385  =63 +89 =22 +39 -12 +40 +26 =21 = 9  6.0 /9  2428
17 Vehi Bach, Victor M             m ESP 2389  +97 +68 =21 = 9 =22 - 2 +39 +25 =12  6.0 /9  2470
18 Rojo Huerta, Gabriel            f ESP 2384  +67 +94 = 3 -21 +88 +22 = 2 = 9 =15  6.0 /9  2463
19 Baches Garcia, Guillermo          ESP 2285  +79 - 2 +81 =88 +33 +36 =21 =15 =22  6.0 /9  2465
20 Garbisu de Goni, Unai           m ESP 2422  +45 +39 = 4 - 2 +34 +28 =12 - 5 =23  5.5 /9  2439
21 De la Villa Garcia, Jesus M     m ESP 2473  +57 +73 =17 +18 = 7 =10 =19 =16 - 6  5.5 /9  2455
22 San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo     g ESP 2510  =58 +55 =16 +47 =17 -18 +37 =24 =19  5.5 /9  2390
23 Gallego Jimenez, Victoriano     m ESP 2348  +65 = 5 - 8 +59 +45 -30 +48 =11 =20  5.5 /9  2391
24 Pomes Marcet, Juan              m ESP 2393  +77 +88 = 2 - 4 +54 - 5 +28 =22 =33  5.5 /9  2437
25 Candela Perez, Jose             f ESP 2417  +41 +40 -11 -29 =76 +59 +73 -17 +47  5.5 /9  2346
26 Gonzalez Velez, Fermin            ESP 2344  +83 -10 +76 +40 - 9 +62 -16 =27 +53  5.5 /9  2357
27 Merino Garcia, Rafael             ESP 2330  +93 - 7 -44 +66 -48 +71 +60 =26 +52  5.5 /9  2274
28 Perpinya Rofes, Lluis Maria       ESP 2270  +96 - 3 +41 +70 =30 -20 -24 +48 +45  5.5 /9  2313
29 Mate Adan, Carlos                 ESP 2238  +61 =33 =30 +25 -15 +51 =31 -12 =35  5.0 /9  2381
30 Teran Alvarez, Ismael           f ESP 2419  +82 =49 =29 +50 =28 +23 - 4 - 6 =39  5.0 /9  2329
31 Bernal Moro, Luis Javier        m ESP 2396  =85 +63 =43 =46 +49 =14 =29 =10 -11  5.0 /9  2312
32 Santos Izquierdo, Francisco       ESP 2305  +38 -11 +48 =45 -14 +46 =33 -36 +65  5.0 /9  2293
33 Martin Gonzalez, Angel          m ESP 2422  +74 =29 =50 =43 -19 +49 =32 =47 =24  5.0 /9  2303
34 Olaizola Ortega, Luis             ESP 2276  =89 +85 +14 - 3 -20 +44 -11 +55 =41  5.0 /9  2303
35 Colas Longares, Rafael P        f ESP 2347  -70 +71 +62 +44 -10 +43 -14 =52 =29  5.0 /9  2276
36 Martinez Martin, David            ESP 2390  +71 -70 =59 +60 =43 -19 +62 +32 -10  5.0 /9  2263
37 Rodriguez Lopez, Rafael         m ESP 2326  +80 - 4 =51 +67 - 5 +42 -22 =58 +62  5.0 /9  2296
38 Diez Fraile,Mariano               ESP ----  -32 +53 =54 - 6 +69 =57 +88 -40 +58  5.0 /9  2295
39 Cardenas Valero, Ramon            ESP 2236  +72 -20 +64 -16 +82 =48 -17 +71 =30  5.0 /9  2253
40 Rojas Sol. P., Pedro              ESP 2234  +92 -25 +75 -26 +41 -16 +82 +38 -13  5.0 /9  2241
41 Castillo Gallego, Sergio          ESP 2113  -25 +92 -28 +90 -40 +72 =43 +59 =34  5.0 /9  2225
42 Insua Mellado, Jose Luis          ESP 2170  -12 -64 +86 +93 =73 -37 =49 +84 +60  5.0 /9  2210
43 Ibanez Terradellas, Eduardo       ESP 2229  +87 =13 =31 =33 =36 -35 =41 =65 =44  4.5 /9  2252
44 Garcia Garcia, Ruben              ESP 2193  - 2 +79 +27 -35 = 6 -34 =54 +64 =43  4.5 /9  2254
45 Palacios Perez, Manuel            ESP 2129  -20 +72 +57 =32 -23 +54 - 6 +50 -28  4.5 /9  2277
46 Rodriguez Garcia, Manuel          ESP 2212  - 7 +83 + 6 =31 -13 -32 =63 +80 =56  4.5 /9  2222
47 Cenal Gutierrez, Ruben            ESP 2267  +64 -12 +68 -22 -53 +67 +51 =33 -25  4.5 /9  2244
48 Timon Piote, Silvia            wf ESP 2155  - 9 +78 -32 +64 +27 =39 -23 -28 +72  4.5 /9  2217
49 Garcia Vicente, Nieves         wm ESP 2234  +75 =30 -13 +61 -31 -33 =42 =51 +70  4.5 /9  2219
50 Cardenas Valero, Joaquin          ESP 2252  +86 =14 =33 -30 -51 +66 =53 -45 +71  4.5 /9  2203
51 Baena, Jesus                      ESP 2153  -14 +86 =37 =52 +50 -29 -47 =49 +73  4.5 /9  2253
52 Cid Royo, Jonathan                ESP 2251  +91 - 9 =61 =51 +55 +53 -15 =35 -27  4.5 /9  2226
53 Fernandez Lopez, Francisco        ESP 2171  - 3 -38 +89 +56 +47 -52 =50 +73 -26  4.5 /9  2204
54 Planas, Juan                      ESP 2248  +84 -15 =38 +58 -24 -45 =44 +82 =55  4.5 /9  2180
55 Larios Crespo, Manuel             ESP 2149  = 8 -22 =91 +75 -52 +92 +57 -34 =54  4.5 /9  2223
56 Pares Peris, Jose                 ESP ----  - 6 -59 +84 -53 +91 =58 +76 =57 =46  4.5 /9  2184
57 Castro, Manuel                    ESP 2275  -21 +97 -45 =71 +87 =38 -55 =56 +74  4.5 /9  2099
58 Castany Pampalona, Luis Maria     ESP 2215  =22 - 8 +65 -54 =72 =56 +74 =37 -38  4.0 /9  2142
59 Carbonell, Carlos                 ESP 2216  -10 +56 =36 -23 +63 -25 +81 -41 =61  4.0 /9  2171
60 Serra Olives, Tomas               ESP 2218  - 5 =65 +63 -36 =67 +70 -27 +66 -42  4.0 /9  2122
61 Diez Fraile,David                 ESP ----  -29 +82 =52 -49 -66 =68 +67 =81 =59  4.0 /9  2105
62 Llaneza Vega, Patricia            ESP 2201  - 4 +80 -35 +68 +70 -26 -36 +63 -37  4.0 /9  2176
63 Pascua Vilchez,F                  ESP ----  =16 -31 -60 +89 -59 +75 =46 -62 +84  4.0 /9  2137
64 Ramirez Garrastacho,Manuel        ESP ----  -47 +42 -39 -48 +85 -69 +87 -44 +82  4.0 /9  2113
65 Elexpe Ugarteburu,Pedro           ESP ----  -23 =60 -58 -74 +89 +90 +68 =43 -32  4.0 /9  2125
66 Pol Valveny, Ramon                ESP 2075  -13 -75 +79 -27 +61 -50 +78 -60 +80  4.0 /9  2092
67 Perez Gonzalez,JM                 ESP ----  -18 =69 +74 -37 =60 -47 -61 +92 +81  4.0 /9  2145
68 Blasco Frasquet, Raul             ESP 2059  +95 -17 -47 -62 =78 =61 -65 +83 +87  4.0 /9  2096
69 Garcia Ares, Felix                ESP 2219  - 1 =67 +85 -14 -38 +64 -71 +89  .   3.5 /8  2096
70 Paul Tomillo,Jesus                ESP ----  +35 +36 - 5 -28 -62 -60 =72 +88 -49  3.5 /9  2188
71 Garcia Moreno, Jose A             ESP 2008  -36 -35 +78 =57 +74 -27 +69 -39 -50  3.5 /9  2163
72 Calleja Ruiz,A                    ESP ----  -39 -45 =83 +86 =58 -41 =70 +76 -48  3.5 /9  2035
73 Fos Santacreu, Juan Andres        ESP 2255  +78 -21 +77 -12 =42 +88 -25 -53 -51  3.5 /9  2155
74 Fernandez Palacio, Eduardo        ESP 2139  -33 =91 -67 +65 -71 +79 -58 +75 -57  3.5 /9  2022
75 Alcaide Luque,A                   ESP ----  -49 +66 -40 -55 =77 -63 +79 -74 +88  3.5 /9  2042
76 Durban Piera, Joan                ESP 2195  -11 +93 -26 +77 =25 - 6 -56 -72 +78  3.5 /9  2105
77 Esnaola Sansebastian, Ion         ESP 2038  -24 +90 -73 -76 =75 =78 -84 =86 +89  3.5 /9  2013
78 Diaz Sanchez,JF                   ESP ----  -73 -48 -71 +80 =68 =77 -66 +85 -76  3.0 /9  1967
79 Rubio Mancebon, Pedro J           ESP 2005  -19 -44 -66 +84 =81 -74 -75 +90 =86  3.0 /9  1967
80 Rojas Sola, Jose                  ESP ----  -37 -62 -82 -78 +86 +85 +92 -46 -66  3.0 /9  1983
81 Flores Escuin, Sadurni            ESP 2142  -15 +84 -19 -87 =79 +93 -59 =61 -67  3.0 /9  1978
82 Enjuto Velasco, Roberto           ESP 2117  -30 -61 +80 +91 -39 +87 -40 -54 -64  3.0 /9  2001
83 Moya Mallafre,Erik                ESP ----  -26 -46 =72 =85 -92 -84 +90 -68 +93  3.0 /9  1948
84 Blas Rincon,D                     ESP ----  -54 -81 -56 -79 +98 +83 +77 -42 -63  3.0 /9  1942
85 Diaz-Flores Garcia, Pablo         ESP 2049  =31 -34 -69 =83 -64 -80 +98 -78 +91  3.0 /9  1974
86 Veganzones Rojo,David             ESP ----  -50 -51 -42 -72 -80 +98 +91 =77 =79  3.0 /9  1943
87 Calleja Ruiz,E                    ESP ----  -43 +98 -88 +81 -57 -82 -64 +93 -68  3.0 /9  1991
88 Fernandez de Pablo, Miguel A      ESP 2224  +90 -24 +87 =19 -18 -73 -38 -70 -75  2.5 /9  1980
89 Ayala Ronda, Juan C               ESP ----  =34 -16 -53 -63 -65 +91 +93 -69 -77  2.5 /9  1955
90 Santamarta Marcos,ML              ESP ----  -88 -77 +98 -41 =93 -65 -83 -79 +92  2.5 /9  1876
91 Platero Manteca,Javier            ESP ----  -52 =74 =55 -82 -56 -89 -86 +98 -85  2.0 /9  1858
92 Abad Pereda, Jose Luis            ESP ----  -40 -41 -93 +98 +83 -55 -80 -67 -90  2.0 /9  1835
93 Cabrerizo Fernandez,Jorge         ESP ----  -27 -76 +92 -42 =90 -81 -89 -87 -83  1.5 /9  1820
94 Meyer, Kuno                       ESP ----  +98 -18  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0 /2  2192
95 Cuadras Avellana, Jorge         f ESP 2399  -68  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0 /1      
96 Cabeza Escobar,JM                 ESP ----  -28  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0 /1      
97 Rodriguez Izquierdo,B             ESP ----  -17 -57  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0 /2      
98 BYE                                   ----  -94 -87 -90 -92 -84 -86 -85 -91  .   0.0 /8      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) French Chess Championships

The French championships which started Wednesday 18th August in Besancon were won by Etienne Bacrot. A complex system involving two preliminary groups (final results were given last week) followed by playoffs for the various places saw Bacrot emerge as champion. He first of all had to win a playoff against Laurent Fressinet for second place in the B preliminary group which allowed him to compete for the title with Darko Anic, David Marciano and Christian Bauer. Bacrot beat Anic in the semi-finals and Marciano in the final in both cases drawing the first game with black and winning with white.

Further coverage at: http://www.echecs.asso.fr/besancon and http://www.europechecs.com

FINAL STANDINGS

 1 Bacrot, Etienne      g FRA 2592  
 2 Marciano, David      g FRA 2529  
 3 Bauer, Christian     g FRA 2480  
 4 Anic, Darko          m FRA 2467  
 5 Lautier, Joel        g FRA 2638  
 6 Relange, Eloi        g FRA 2452  
 7 Fressinet, Laurent   m FRA 2440  
 8 Koch, Jean-Rene      m FRA 2510  
 9 Vaisser, Anatoli     g FRA 2564  
10 Apicella, Manuel     g FRA 2501  
11 Degraeve, Jean-Marc  g FRA 2542  
12 Lepelletier, Benoit  m FRA 2468  
13 Hauchard, Arnaud     m FRA 2518  
14 Benitah, Yohan         FRA 2381  
15 Bricard, Emmanuel    m FRA 2506  
16 Boudre, Jean-Pierre  m FRA 2397  

Results in detail

Match for the title of French Champion

Marciano, David      -  Bacrot, Etienne      1/2   25  C69  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Bacrot, Etienne      -  Marciano, David      1-0   46  D55  QGD;

1st Etienne Bacrot
2nd David Marciano

3rd-4th place playoff

Bauer, Christian     -  Anic, Darko          1-0   36  C60  Ruy Lopez
Anic, Darko          -  Bauer, Christian     1-0   95  A07  Reti (1.Nf3)

Bauer, Christian     -  Anic, Darko          1/2
Anic, Darko          -  Bauer, Christian     0-1

3rd Christian Bauer
4th Darko Anic

5th-6th place playoff

Lautier, Joel        -  Relange, Eloi        1-0   17  D10  Slav defence
Relange, Eloi        -  Lautier, Joel        1/2   34  E12  Nimzo indian

5th Joel Lautier
6th Eloi Relange

7th-8th place playoff

Koch, Jean-Rene      -  Fressinet, Laurent   1/2   49  B01  Scandinavian
Fressinet, Laurent   -  Koch, Jean-Rene      1-0   31  B76  Sicilian; Dragon

7th Laurent Fressinet
8th Jean-Rene Koch

9th-10th place playoff

Apicella, Manuel     -  Vaisser, Anatoli     1/2   53  B83  Sicilian
Vaiser,Anatoly       -  Apicella, Manuel     1/2   18  D31  Queen's gambit
Vaiser,Anatoly       -  Apicella, Manuel     1-0
Apicella, Manuel     -  Vaisser, Anatoli     1-0
Apicella, Manuel     -  Vaisser, Anatoli     1-0
Vaiser,Anatoly       -  Apicella, Manuel     1-0
Vaiser,Anatoly       -  Apicella, Manuel     1-0
Apicella, Manuel     -  Vaisser, Anatoli     0-1

9th Anatoly Vaiser
10th Manuel Apicella

11th-12th place playoff

Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1/2   12  C10  French
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1/2   10  B22  Sicilian; Alapin (2.c3)
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1/2   
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1/2   
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1/2   
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1/2   
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1-0   
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1/2   

11th Jean-Marc Degraeve
12th Benoit Lepelletier

13th-14th place playoff

Hauchard, Arnaud     -  Benitah, Yohan       1-0   47  D10  Slav defence
Benitah, Yohan       -  Hauchard, Arnaud     1/2   10  A40  Queen's pawn

13th Arnaud Hauchard
14th Yohan Benitah

15th-16th place playoff

Bricard, Emmanuel    -  Boudre, Jean-Pierre  1-0   41  B07  Pirc
Boudre, Jean-Pierre  -  Bricard, Emmanuel    0-1   27  C12  French; Macutcheon

15th Emmanuel Bricard
16th Jean-Pierre Boudre

Semi-finals

Bauer, Christian     -  Marciano, David      1/2   28  D53  QGD;
Marciano, David      -  Bauer, Christian     1-0   55  A34  English; 1.c4 c5

Anic, Darko          -  Bacrot, Etienne      1/2   14  D73  1.d4 d5 2.c4 g6
Bacrot, Etienne      -  Anic, Darko          1-0   49  D35  Queen's gambit

5th-8th places

Koch, Jean-Rene      -  Lautier, Joel        1-0   48  B20  Sicilian
Lautier, Joel        -  Koch, Jean-Rene      1-0   57  D34  Queen's gambit
Koch, Jean-Rene      -  Lautier, Joel        0-1   71  B85  Sicilian
Lautier, Joel        -  Koch, Jean-Rene      0-1   39  E10  Nimzo indian
Koch, Jean-Rene      -  Lautier, Joel        1/2   46  B25  Sicilian; Closed
Lautier, Joel        -  Koch, Jean-Rene      1-0   40  B38  Sicilian

Fressinet, Laurent   -  Relange, Eloi        1/2   10  B40  Sicilian
Relange, Eloi        -  Fressinet, Laurent   1/2   10  D43  Semi-Slav
Relange, Eloi        -  Fressinet, Laurent   1/2    6  D10  Slav defence
Fressinet, Laurent   -  Relange, Eloi        0-1   48  B56  Sicilian

9th-12th place

Vaisser, Anatoli     -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1/2   18  A49  Queen's pawn
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Vaisser, Anatoli     1/2   14  B52  Sicilian
Vaisser, Anatoli     -  Degraeve, Jean-Marc  1-0   28  C41  Philidor defence
Degraeve, Jean-Marc  -  Vaisser, Anatoli     0-1   38  C12  French; Macutcheon

Apicella, Manuel     -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1-0   41  C60  Ruy Lopez
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Apicella, Manuel     1-0   78  C06  French; Tarrasch
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Apicella, Manuel     1/2   12  C01  French; Exchange
Apicella, Manuel     -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1/2   12  C97  Ruy Lopez
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Apicella, Manuel     1/2   10  A03  Bird (1.f4)
Apicella, Manuel     -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1/2   10  D02  Queen's pawn
Apicella, Manuel     -  Lepelletier, Benoit  1-0   80  C42  Petroff defence
Lepelletier, Benoit  -  Apicella, Manuel     1/2   45  C06  French; Tarrasch

13th-16th places

Benitah, Yohan       -  Boudre, Jean-Pierre  1-0   21  D10  Slav defence
Boudre, Jean-Pierre  -  Benitah, Yohan       1/2   14  C10  French

Hauchard, Arnaud     -  Bricard, Emmanuel    1-0   61  C00  French
Bricard, Emmanuel    -  Hauchard, Arnaud     1/2   35  A08  Reti (1.Nf3)

Playoff for second place in group B

Fressinet, Laurent   -  Bacrot, Etienne      1-0   57  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Bacrot, Etienne      -  Fressinet, Laurent   1-0   53  D10  Slav defence
Bacrot, Etienne      -  Fressinet, Laurent   0-1   40  D10  Slav defence
Fressinet, Laurent   -  Bacrot, Etienne      0-1   71  B06  Modern defence
Bacrot, Etienne      -  Fressinet, Laurent   1-0   30  D16  Slav defence
Fressinet, Laurent   -  Bacrot, Etienne      0-1   31  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange

7) 3rd Brazilian Chess Club Cup (19th-27th August)

The 3rd Brazilian Chess Club Cup took place 19th-27th August in Brasilia. Darcy Lima produced a 2700+ performance and 11.5/12. The event was a 16 player swiss tournament of 12 rounds with Darcy Lima, Everaldo Matsuura, Edson Tsuboi, Sadi Dumont, Wellington Rocha, Gerson Batista and local some players. The best tactical game was Coelho-Rocha. Report: Antonio Bento.

Full coverage at: http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/index33.htm

III Taca BCX Brasilia BRA (BRA), 19-27 viii 1999

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Lima, Darcy               m BRA 2488  + 6 + 7 = 2 + 4 + 9 + 3 + 8 + 5 +10 +13 +11 +12  11.5  2701
 2 Matsuura, Everaldo        m BRA 2408  +16 +14 = 1 + 5 + 6 = 4 + 7 + 3 +11 = 8 +10 = 9  10.0  2492
 3 Batista, Gerson P           BRA 2198  +13 - 5 +14 - 9 +12 - 1 +10 - 2 +15 + 4 + 7 + 8   8.0  2331
 4 Tsuboi, Edson Kenji       f BRA 2322  =12 +10 + 5 - 1 + 7 = 2 = 6 = 8 + 9 - 3 +15 =11   7.5  2309
 5 Dumont, Sadi Glasser      f BRA 2370  +11 + 3 - 4 - 2 -10 +16 +12 - 1 + 6 - 7 +13 +14   7.0  2252
 6 Valle, Adriano              BRA 2191  - 1 +13 + 8 = 7 - 2 +11 = 4 = 9 - 5 =14 +16 +15   7.0  2258
 7 Silveira, Marcos            BRA 2212  +15 - 1 + 9 = 6 - 4 +10 - 2 +14 =13 + 5 - 3 +16   7.0  2256
 8 Rocha, Wellington Carlos    BRA 2361  -14 =11 - 6 +15 +13 + 9 - 1 = 4 +16 = 2 +12 - 3   6.5  2187
 9 Roland,Marcos               BRA ----  =10 +12 - 7 + 3 - 1 - 8 +15 = 6 - 4 +16 =14 = 2   6.0  2219
10 De Andrade, Waldomido       BRA 2232  = 9 - 4 +11 =12 + 5 - 7 - 3 +16 - 1 +15 - 2 =13   5.5  2158
11 Januario, Severino          BRA 2074  - 5 = 8 -10 +16 +15 - 6 +14 =13 - 2 =12 - 1 = 4   5.0  2159
12 Coelho, Luis                BRA 2041  = 4 - 9 +16 =10 - 3 +13 - 5 -15 +14 =11 - 8 - 1   4.5  2098
13 Vieira,Arnaldo              BRA ----  - 3 - 6 +15 +14 - 8 -12 +16 =11 = 7 - 1 - 5 =10   4.5  2109
14 Carvalho, Carlos Alberto    BRA 2044  + 8 - 2 - 3 -13 -16 +15 -11 - 7 -12 = 6 = 9 - 5   3.0  1973
15 Catta Preta,Daniel          BRA ----  - 7 =16 -13 - 8 -11 -14 - 9 +12 - 3 -10 - 4 - 6   1.5  1829
16 De Sa, Antonio              BRA 2141  - 2 =15 -12 -11 +14 - 5 -13 -10 - 8 - 9 - 6 - 7   1.5  1839
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8) Faro Open

Nicholas Ravené Lanier reports on the 3rd "Cidade de Faro" Open which took place 9th-17th August: GM Evgeny Solozhenkin from St. Petersburg coasted to an easy victory in the 3rd Faro Open which finished on 17th August. Solozhenkin was never in any trouble, and even could afford a quick draw in the last of the 8 rounds in order to guarantee first prize, impressing with his methodic and faultless positional play. His only serious competitor (in terms of rating grounds), was the Bulgarian IM Vladimir Georgiev, who had participated in several Spanish open events in the preceding weeks. However he seemed tired and overplayed, and lost a spectacular game against the Portuguese master tactician IM Rui Damaso. In second place was Bulgarian IM Jordan Ivanov. He remained unbeaten like Solozhenkin, and most deservedly took second prize. Rui Damaso was the top Portuguese player. He played his usual sprightly tactical chess taking 3rd.place after winning a wild game against. Players, from Germany, England, the US, Spain, France, and Morocco also competed in an event that has seen a spectacular rise in participation of 30 %. The tournament was unusual in that the games were played in the evening. The venue was the inner courtyard of Algarve University in the open air. The Faro Open was organized by the Nucleo de Xadrez de Faro under its president Armando Pires Lopes, who is also organised the European Team Cup round in Vila Real de Santo Antonio in October. Games from Luís Santos.

Leading final standings

Faro Open POR (POR), 10-17 viii 1999
------------------------------------------------------
 1 Solozhenkin, Evgeniy       g RUS 2544  7.0 /8  2611
 2 Ivanov, Jordan             m BUL 2404  6.5 /8  2515
 3 Damaso, Rui                m POR 2399  6.5 /8  2533
 4 Georgiev, Vladimir         m BUL 2519  6.5 /8  2442
 5 Galego, Luis               m POR 2427  6.5 /8  
 6 Del Rey, Diego             f ARG 2369  6.5 /8  2444
 7 Rocha, Sergio              m POR 2427  6.0 /8  2397
 8 Frois, Antonio             m POR 2397  6.0 /8
 9 Vitor, Antonio               POR 2310  6.0 /8
10 Reis, Luis Sousa             POR 2249  6.0 /8
11 Malo Quiros, Miguel Angel    ESP 2217  6.0 /8
12 Lanier, Nicholas             USA ----  6.0 /8
13 Danzer, George               GER 2203  6.0 /8
14 Rodrigues, Rui               POR 2171  6.0 /8
15 Santos, Luis               m POR 2376  6.0 /8
132 players

9) Atlantic open

Michael Atkins reports: the Atlantic Open took place in Washington DC over the weekend starting Aug 27th 1999. Over 300 players took part on this years Atlantic Open, held at the luxurious Wyndham Hotel in Washington DC. GM Alex Wojtkeiwicz defeated FM William Morrison in an exciting final round game and joined IM Mikhail Zlotnikov (who defeated IM Jay Bonin in the 5th round) in a share of frist place with 4.5/5. FM Morrison defeated GM Alex Stripunsky in a G/75 second round game which feaured a rare quadrupled pawn setup.

Coverage at: http://www.wizard.net/~matkins/atlanticopen.htm

Top Open scores:
   Name                         rtng ID No.   rd 1  rd 2  rd 3  rd 4  rd 5 TOT

  1 Wojtkiewicz, Alek...........2681 12528454 W 20  W 19  D  2  W  4  W  7 4.5
  2 Zlotnikov, Mikhail..........2414 11453015 W 33  W 11  D  1  W  9  W  6 4.5
  3 Stripunsky, Alexander.......2617 12715435 W 38  L  7  W 21  W 28  W 12 4.0
  4 Kriventsov, Stanislav.......2428 12739627 W 21  W 14  W 28  L  1  W 15 4.0
  5 Meyer, Eugene B.............2509 10122953 D 16  W 15  L  8  W 25  W 14 3.5
  6 Bonin, Jay R................2457 10098327 W 23  W 40  D  7  W  8  L  2 3.5
  7 Morrison, William...........2360 10099277 W 35  W  3  D  6  W 18  L  1 3.5
  8 Figler, Ilye................2318 12713319 W 39  D  9  W  5  L  6  W 18 3.5
  9 Strenzwilk, Denis...........2216 10179629 W 37  D  8  W 13  L  2  W 19 3.5
 10 Rouleau, John S.............1790 12657897 D 29  L 13  W 36  W 38  W 27 3.5
 11 Gershov, Yegeniy............2350 12769011 W 41  L  2  W 23  L 14  W 30 3.0
 12 Stamnov, Aleksandar.........2333 12738381 W 17  L 28  W 39  W 20  L  3 3.0
 13 Ritvin, Stanislav...........2331 12573681 D 24  W 10  L  9  W 31  D 16 3.0
 14 Shibut, Macon A.............2316 10195624 W 32  L  4  W 22  W 11  L  5 3.0
 15 Kamat, Anand S..............2282 12704122 W 34  L  5  W 37  W 26  L  4 3.0
 16 Reichstein, Boris...........2214 12455549 D  5  D 31  W 40  D 19  D 13 3.0
 17 Bush, Chris J...............2055 12457509 L 12  W 42  L 20  X---  W 28 3.0 


Sectional Winners were:
Under 2200 - Vladimir Grechikhin
Under 2000 - Terry M  Klein, Scott B. Webster, Eugene Motz
Under 1800 - Robert A. Walker, Mark A Sinz, Michael Agulnick
Under 1600 - Duncan E. Lee
Under 1400 - David Paulina, James T Wallace, Kelvin K Wallace
Under 1200 - Osman Aslan

10) Dutch Open Juniors

Anjo Anjewierden sends news of the Dutch junior open. the event was very strong this time with many IM's. IM Stelios Halkias of Greece won the main A event with 7.5/9. There were four groups altogether and the games and results can be found at the website below.

Full information can be found at: http://www.schaakbond.nl/update/nieuws/stork99/index.html

  1.    6  Halkias, Stelios            7.5  54.5  44.00  39.5  2406 2613 +1.62
  2.    4  Gustafsson, Jan             7.0  55.5  41.75  38.0  2436 2525 +0.80
        9  Johannessen, Leif Erlend    7.0  53.5  40.50  38.0  2356 2457 +0.82
        1  Iljushin, Alexey            7.0  52.5  39.75  35.0  2527 2561 +0.20
  5.   11  Middelburg, Tom             6.5  49.5  32.00  35.0  2326 2246 -0.46
       12  Mah, Karl                   6.5  48.5  33.75  33.0  2316 2347 +0.16
        2  Janssen, Ruud               6.5  47.5  33.75  32.5  2448 2375 -0.38
  8.    5  Azarov, Sergei              6.0  53.0  33.50  34.0  2432 2307 -0.85
        7  Solleveld, Maarten          6.0  50.5  31.50  35.0  2404 2331 -0.50
       68  Groenewold, Jan Joris       6.0  50.0  32.25  32.5  1640 2184  2184
       10  Beek, Lucien van            6.0  49.5  31.25  30.5  2326 2365 +0.15
        3  Ernst, Sipke                6.0  49.5  31.00  32.0  2444 2320 -0.51
       14  Delft, Merijn van           6.0  48.5  29.25  33.5  2292 2277 -0.10
       16  Willemze, Jeroen            6.0  48.0  29.50  31.0  2269 2317 +0.21
       18  Span, Paul                  6.0  47.0  28.75  30.5  2226 2120 -0.52
       25  Keessen, Albert-Jan         6.0  44.5  25.00  31.0  2105 2290  2290
       27  Molinari, Gabriel           6.0  43.0  26.50  27.5  2003 2486 0    
       35  Dongen, Cor van             6.0  42.5  27.00  29.0  1944 2276 0    
 19.   15  Wortel, Marten              5.5  50.0  29.00  32.5  2283 2034 -0.91
       21  Dambacher, Martijn          5.5  48.5  27.00  32.5  2197 2297 +0.76
       19  Remmel, Tim                 5.5  48.0  27.25  31.5  2201 2294 +0.34
       22  Azadmanesh, Moosa           5.5  48.0  26.50  29.5  2147 2189 +0.16
       17  Willemze, Thomas            5.5  46.0  26.00  29.0  2244 2150 -0.31
       33  Rijnaarts, Sjef             5.5  44.5  24.25  28.0  1948 1741 0    
       52  Cupido, Alexander           5.5  42.5  24.00  24.5  1833 2124 0    
       57  Snuverink, Michiel          5.5  42.0  22.50  23.5  1771 2128 0    
       24  Jong, Jan-Willem de         5.5  42.0  22.25  28.0  2125 2084 0    
       97  Mrndzic, Armin              5.5  41.0  22.75  24.5  2118 2171 0    
97 players

11) The Porto San Giorgio Open

The Porto San Giorgio (Marche) Open ran August 20-28th,1999. There were more than 300 players (including Lputian, Malakhov, Razuvaev, Glek, Davies, Timoshenko etc) Also there was the Italian Women's Championships. The Open was won by Vladimir Malakhov with 7.5/9 ahead of Genadij Timoscenko on 7.0. Sonia Sirletti won the women's event.

Internet coverage: Coverage at: http://www.infcom.it/fsi

Leading final standings (Porto San Giorgio Open)
  1'   2-MALAKHOV Vladimir        RUSGM  7.5   50.0                 
  2'   8-TIMOSCENKO Genadij       SVKGM  7.0   46.5                 
  3'   4-IORDACHESCU Viorel       MDAIM  6.5   49.5                 
  4'   5-GRISCHUK Alexander       RUSIM  6.5   49.0                 
  5'   1-LPUTIAN Smbat            ARMGM  6.5   48.5                 
  6'  13-NAUMKIN Igor             RUSGM  6.5   47.0                 
  7'   6-SERMEK Drazen            SLOGM  6.5   46.0                 
  8'   7-GLEK Igor                RUSGM  6.5   45.5  4.0     5      
  9'   3-RAZUVAEV Yuri            RUSGM  6.5   45.5  4.0     4      
 10'  18-EFIMOV Igor               PTGM  6.0   47.0  3.5            
 11'  23-SEDINA Elena             UKRGM  6.0   47.0  3.0            
 12'  12-LAZAREV Vladimir         RUSIM  6.0   45.0                 

 13'  14-BADEA Bela               ROMIM  6.0   43.0                 
 14'  17-TOMESCU Vlad             ROMIM  6.0   41.5                 
 15'  21-LEZCANO Jaen             ESPIM  6.0   40.0                 
105 players

Porto San Giorgio ITA (ITA), 20-28 viii 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Sirletti, Sonia          ITA ---- * = = = = = 1 1 1 1  6.5  2171
 2 Arnetta,M Teresa         ITA ---- = * 0 1 1 1 = 0 1 1  6.0  2130
 3 Parrino, Giuseppina      ITA ---- = 1 * 0 = 0 1 1 1 1  6.0  2130
 4 Capuano, Francesca       ITA ---- = 0 1 * 1 1 = 0 1 =  5.5  2085
 5 Barbiso, Tiziana         ITA 2050 = 0 = 0 * 1 = 1 1 1  5.5  2080
 6 Arnetta, Marianna        ITA ---- = 0 1 0 0 * 1 1 1 =  5.0  2048
 7 De Nisi, Roberta         ITA ---- 0 = 0 = = 0 * 1 1 1  4.5  2005
 8 Sautto, Alessandra       ITA ---- 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 * 0 1  3.0  1880
 9 Bonzano, Maria Angela    ITA ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1  2.0  1785
10 De Nisi, Martina         ITA ---- 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 0 0 *  1.0  1654
-------------------------------------------------------------------

12) 4th Borowski Rapid Play

Bernd Rosen reports: A very strong rapid play tournament was held in Essen on August, 28th. In the 4th Borowski - Schnellturnier there were 6 GM, 6 IM, 1 WIM and 6 FM among the participants. GM Arthur Jussupov won the event ahead of IM Daniel Fridman, both 8.5/11 (30 players). For details see http://home.t-online.de/home/LuckyBaer/

 1. Arthur Jussupov           GM 2636 8,5 53,5
 2. Daniel Fridman            IM 2526 8,5 48,5
 3. Rustem Dautov             GM 2597 7,5 49,5
 4. Loek van Wely             GM 2629 7,5 47,0
 5. Karl-Heinz Podzielny      IM 2512 7,0 46,5
 6. Vadim Milov               GM 2626 6,5 42,5
 7. Sergey Kalinitschev       GM 2524 6,5 41,5
 8. Daniel Hausrath           IM 2413 6,5 39,0
 9. Romuald Mainka            GM 2476 6,5 38,5
 10. Patrick Florath             2284 6,5 30,5
 11. Volkmar Dinstuhl         FM 2404 6,0 40,0
 12. Sebastian Siebrecht      IM 2379 6,0 36,5
 13. Ralf Appel               IM 2475 5,5 37,0
 14. Dimitrij Bunzmann           2596 5,5 36,5
 15. Michael Richter             2410 5,5 31,5
 16. Dr. Matthias Steinbacher FM 2364 5,5 31,0
 17. Klaus Walbaum               2172 5,5 31,0
 18. Volker Achenbach            2199 5,5 29,0
 19. Gisela Fischdick        WIM 2233 5,5 27,0
 20. Bernd Rosen              FM 2340 5,5 27,0
 21. Rafael Fridman              2328 5,0 33,0
 22. Olaf Heinzel             FM 2305 5,0 29,0
 23. Volker Bünermann         FM 2306 5,0 29,0
 24. Dirk Hennig              IM 2430 5,0 28,5
 25. Mark Freckmann              2306 4,5 29,0
 26. Francesco De Gleria         2422 4,5 26,0
 27. Kai Uwe Schiffer         FM 2351 4,5 26,0
 28. Hans-Ernst Reiter           2102 2,5 15,5
 29. Ard van Beek                  ?  1,5 10,5
 30. Thomas Adolph               1594 0,0 0,0

13) XXVII Open Internacional d'Escacs Ciutat de Manresa

The XXVII Open Internacional d'Escacs Ciutat de Manresa took place in Catalonia August 21st-28th 1999. Players such as Cicak , Pogorelov, Campos Moreno, Mellado Trivino, Moskalenko etc competed. IM Joan Mellado Trivino won with 8/9.

Internet site: http://www2.minorisa.es/catalonia/

Leading final standings
   1.-    4      MI  Joan       MELLADO TRIVINO      2477  8.0   40.5   53.5 ESP
   2.-    8      MI  Sergio     ESTREMERA PANOS      2387  7.0   39.0   54.5 ESP
   3.-    5      GM  Viktor     MOSKALENKO           2471  7.0   37.5   55.0 UKR
   4.-    3      MI  Javier     CAMPOS MORENO        2484  7.0   36.5   53.5 CHI
   5.-   10          Jorge      IGLESIAS             2280  7.0   36.0   52.5 ARG
   6.-    1      MI  Slavko     CICAK                2501  6.5   37.5   55.0 SWE
   7.-    7      MI  Alexandar  PANCHENKO            2398  6.5   36.5   50.0 UKR
   8.-    6      GM  Antoaneta  STEFANOVA            2444  6.5   34.5   49.5 BUL
   9.-    2      GM  Ruslan     POGORELOV            2489  6.5   34.0   54.5 UKR
  10.-   11          Jean       MASCLA               2246  6.5   33.5   50.0 FRA
  11.-   16          David      HUESCA VANCELL       2213  6.5   32.5   48.0 ESP
  12.-   25          I¤aki      REBOLE ARBEA         2144  6.5   31.0   40.5 ESP
113 players

14) 3rd Mind Sports Olympiad

The main chess event at the 3rd Mind Sports Olympiad saw a three way tie for first.

A Baburin (IRL), L Psakhis (ISR), J Speelman (ENG) 7/9

M Chandler (ENG), Y Murey (ISR), I Smirin (ISR), Y Zilberman (ISR) 6.5/9

K Arkell (ENG), V Golod (ISR), B Kelly (IRL), A Kunte (IND), B Lalic (ENG), R Bin-Sattar (BAN), C Ward (ENG) 6/9

A selection of games and fuller results should appear next week.

Chess £20,000; Bridge £10,000; Go £8,500; 10x10 Draughts £8,000; Othello £7,000; Chinese Chess £6,000; Scrabble £6,000; Shogi £5,000; Stratego £5,000; 8x8 Draughts £4,000; Memory Skills £3,000; Cribbage £2,000; Dominoes £2,000; Intelligence £2,000

Prize funds for other games will be announced in due course. The detailed tournament schedule will be announced on their web site http://www.mindsports.co.uk/ in early June and printed entry forms will be available shortly thereafter.

15) Glorney & Faber Cups

The Glorney & Faber Cups took place in Bruges (Belgium) July 26th-30th 1999. These are prestigious under-18 events for Boys and Girls. Both events saw the 8 countries split into two groups of 4, with the top two teams going through to the final and carrying through their individual match result. The event was decided on board results and the Netherlands edged out England in the Glorney (Boys) event to take first place. The Faber Cup was won by the very strong Czech Republic team ahead of the Netherlands and England.

16) Garry Kasparov vs the World

The Garry Kasparov vs. the World chess tournament. The event continues, you can follow the game at: http://zone.msn.com/Kasparov It allows players to consult in choosing which move is played against Kasparov. Players can vote for one of the suggested moves or for their own recommended move. The move with the most votes will be chosen as the world team's move. There is a team of coaches Etienne Bacrot, 16, Florin Felecan, 19, Irina Krush, 15, and Elisabeth Pähtz, 14 who will aid the choice of moves and GM Danny King will act as moderator during the match. Moves so far Kasparov,G (2812) - The World [B52] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.0-0 g6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bg7 10.Nde2 Qe6 11.Nd5 Qxe4 12.Nc7+ Kd7 13.Nxa8 Qxc4 14.Nb6+ axb6 15.Nc3 Ra8 16.a4 Ne4 17.Nxe4 Qxe4 18.Qb3 f5 19.Bg5 Qb4 20.Qf7 Be5 21.h3 Rxa4 22.Rxa4 Qxa4 23.Qxh7 Bxb2 24.Qxg6 Qe4 25.Qf7 Bd4 26.Qb3 f4 27.Qf7 Be5 28.h4 b5 29.h5 Qc4 30.Qf5+ Qe6 31.Qxe6+ Kxe6 32.g3 fxg3 33.fxg3 b4 34.Bf4 Bd4+ ...

17) Letters from GMs

Letters from Sergei Movsesian and Xie Jun expressing their personal points of view on recent chess issues. The letters are virtually unedited (except for very small amounts of cleaning up of English expression, although I'm reluctant even here, to do very much) and are the opinions of the writers. Both are responding to material that has appeared on the internet. Xie Jun to Zsuzsa Polgar and Sergei Movsesian to Garry Kasparov.

Xie Jun Women's World Chess Champion

Beijing, 30th August 1999

Dear Zsuzsa Polgar, Having finished my match against Alisa Galliamova, I finally have the time and energy to reply to the open letters and comments you published on your web site, some of which I felt were directed to me personally. And I am sure you would not want to do all the talking just by yourself. During the last two years, I have been following the updates on your web site, read your book with patience and studied your letters to FIDE carefully. Now I feel obliged to write this open letter in order to clear up some issues. I did not reply earlier for the simple reason that I decided to save my energy for a real chess match.

Let me start by saying that I am not the person as depicted in your book "Queen of the King's Game" which, in my opinion, is full of incorrect assumptions. I cannot begin to understand why you should write about me and members of my team as if you knew exactly what we were thinking. And I guess that phrases like "she defeated the forces of communism..." sell better than the more modest "she defeated an ordinary chess player from China..." Still, I take offense to the manifold violation of the truth in your story and the ill-natured style of writing.

Recalling our match in Jaen (1996) brings no pleasant memories. Mr. Rentero's letter was very disturbing, for both of us, as it distracted us from what we were there for: to play chess. Personally, I was most annoyed by the timing of the match - it started in the midst of the Spring Festival, the major festive season in China. But I accepted the conditions and did not complain, even though I, too, could probably have found some stipulation in the FIDE rules which would have allowed a delay of the start of the match. I decided, however, that it was not in the interest of women's chess, or chess in general, to introduce controversy. Which is also why I have never contested the result of the match. It was me alone who I blame for the mistakes in the games that eventually presented you with the title of Women's World Champion. From the moment I lost the title to you, I have been waiting for our rematch.

Why don't you forget for now who is the rightful owner of the title Women's World Champion, stop talking and go ahead with the things you announce on your web site. If you manage to find a sponsor for the amount you specify (between half a million and two million US dollars) you will know where to find me - although it seems far from realistic to me. I am easily satisfied and ready to consent to all conditions that you consider acceptable. Unfortunately, your statement that you will refuse to play in China frustrates in advance any of my attempts to find a sponsor in my home country. Hence, I am forced to leave this job to you.

There is one thing I would like to add. After us there will be a ninth, a tenth, and many, many more Women's World Champions in chess history. The title does not belong to anyone in particular and should be defended over the chessboard, not in the courtroom. Admittedly, the current situation is unsatisfactory, but adding insult to injury will deter rather than attract any future sponsors. If you are genuinely interested in promoting chess, and women's chess in particular, then you should do your best to ensure we can play at the chessboard. You will have a major advantage in preparation, as there is no database showing any of your games in the last three and a half years. On the other hand, if you have decided not to take up playing serious chess again, then just admit it and stop making excuses.

I do not expect a personal reply to this letter, since I intend to keep myself busy with more meaningful things than practice English prose. Just inform me when you have found a sponsor that suits your conditions. I am only interested in hearing whether we will meet each other over the chessboard or not. I look forward to that.

Let the games do the talking.

Best regards,

Xie Jun

Sergei Movsesian

Sergei Movsesian
Rybitvi 144/8,
53354 Pardubice
Czech Republic
tel: 00420/40/6680329
fax:00420/40/6822972
00420/40/6822976
e-mail:movsesian@post.cz
frantisek.navratil@vuosas.cz

Open letter to Mr.Kasparov

I have to disagree to somebody, who asks questions like "why the elitist small group is privileged to be part of all major events". I think it is just the tournament organizers business and nobody can dictate them which players to choose.

The thing is not why always the same people play in this tournaments, but why they are to be considered chess „elite", what are the criterions that say they are better, than all other „mortal" chess players? If based on ratings, then all this „elite" players doubtless have an advantage - they permanently play in high-category tournaments, without the danger if losing their ratings and redistributing it amongst each other and, of course, paying a certain tax to Your Majesty's ELO-treasury (you already have 2838 of them and I think, your points providers will upgrade it to 3000+ in the near future). At the same time „mortal" chess players are fighting for their ratings, as true sportsmen have to.

It fact, you and your points providers abuse the ELO-system's imperfections, which equally evaluates all kinds of tournaments. By the way, a tournament system with a permanent composition of participants already have „successful" followers (in Myanmar, for example). If based on playing strength, I don't really think, that „elite" is better than „mortals" (Las Vegas World Championships proved this). I understand you are „doomed" to protect your favorites (who think you are their God), without them you would be forced to join chess „plebs".

I'm glad you compare chess events with tennis: „I can not recall a Grand Slam tennis tournament missing number 1,2,3,4 of official ranking plus the winner of last year contest" But you immediately „forget" to mention maybe the most important thing: in all tennis tournaments „elite" tennis players are seeded to second round (in a best case) and fight for a victory with „non-elite" participants. All credit to such winners! And what we have got in chess? Your „elite" tournaments with permanent composition of participants who are fully faithful to Your Majesty? Why did your favorites come to Las Vegas World Championships? To become a World Champion?

Earlier in Dortmund some of them said, that they wouldn't consider themselves World Champion even if they win Las Vegas. So what motivation they had in Las Vegas? The answer is: money or, probably Disneyland. They couldn't submit that some „chess plebes" can be threatening to their „property" - prize fund. So they are the true tourists you wrote about. The reason of your non-presense in Las Vegas could be financial (your beloved $1000000 USD was not provided) or also you simply couldn't be sure you win this World Championships.

But this time favorites (differently from „mortals") had to play in „unbearable" conditions. Firstly, they didn't get any starting money, then they had to beat their opponents (something new for super-tournament participants) to earn their money. Finally, the „elite" had to play completely unknown chessplayers (what a disaster!). It's simply scandlous, what conditions „elite" guys had in Las Vegas. It was awfully hot (never for their opponents, but just for them), also (only) they had personal problems. It's now clear, why did „elite" play so badly in Las Vegas.

It was quite entertaining to see your comments about the „favorites" failure. Every round the „elite" guys dissapointed you more and more. You explain the succeses of „non-elite" players (like Akopian) solely because of their opponents mistakes. But you don't mention, that for example Anand qualified to the final in Groningen just because of Khalifman's incredible mistake in completely winning position in the third round. That's about you „objectiveess" and „unprejudiced" approach.

I went to Las Vegas to fight for World Champion's Title.

In conclusion, I have to mention, that I was unplesantly surprised by your remarks, reminding a very low-standard yellow press. I can hardly imagine world's best tennis players, swimmers, athletes trying to offend his colleagues. I think, you still have to learn a lot about professional sportsmen's behavior! P.S. For your information, I'm not ex-, I always was, I am and I would be Armenian and I'm proud of this, and, unlike others, I never changed my name and nationality, trying to adapt to concrete circumstances and concrete people (I can define more precisely, if you want).

Sergei Movsesian

18) Professional World Chess Rankings

PROFESSIONAL WORLD CHESS RANKING For player rated 2500 and higher Produced by Ken Thomson, New Jersey Calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow Results up to September 1, 1999.

The alternate rankings which are updated monthly move faster than the FIDE ratings as they are updated monthly. The big moves include Kramnik moving up to two from three, Akopian from 30 to 19, Nisipeanu 195 to 70 and FIDE Champion Khalifman 34 to 21.

1.	Kasparov,Garry	RUS	2838	140
2.	Kramnik,Vladimir	RUS	2730	114
3.	Shirov,Alexei	ESP	2729	195
4.	Anand,Viswanathan	IND	2720	119
5.	Morozevich,Alexander	RUS	2719	166
6.	Leko,Peter	HUN	2711	136
7.	Kamsky,Gata	USA	2696	184
8.	Gelfand,Boris	ISR	2693	135
9.	Bareev,Evgeny	RUS	2678	156
10.	Adams,Michael	ENG	2674	172
11.	Ivanchuk,Vassily	UKR	2673	156
12.	Karpov,Anatoli	RUS	2658	132
13.	Short,Nigel D	ENG	2654	141
14.	Seirawan,Yasser	USA	2652	178
15.	Azmaiparashvili,Zurab	GEO	2648	137
16.	Dreev,Alexey	RUS	2647	157
17.	Topalov,Veselin	BUL	2640	171
18.	Movsesian,Sergei	CZE	2639	145
19.	Akopian,Vladimir	ARM	2638	171
20.	Sokolov,Ivan	BIH	2638	170
21.	Khalifman,Alexander	RUS	2636	164
22.	Almasi,Zoltan	HUN	2633	166
23.	Svidler,Peter	RUS	2631	157
24.	Korchnoi,Viktor	SUI	2629	161
25.	Nikolic,Predrag	BIH	2627	141
26.	Georgiev,Kiril	BUL	2626	158
27.	Zvjaginsev,Vadim	RUS	2620	129
28.	Sadler,Matthew	ENG	2615	166
29.	Smirin,Ilia	ISR	2614	163
30.	Gurevich,Mikhail	BEL	2614	172
31.	Polgar,Judit	HUN	2613	181
32.	Ponomariov,Ruslan	UKR	2613	171
33.	Salov,Valery	RUS	2612	199
34.	Rublevsky,Sergei	RUS	2611	161
35.	Lautier,Joel	FRA	2611	146
36.	Yusupov,Artur	GER	2611	156
37.	Sakaev,Konstantin	RUS	2610	143
38.	Krasenkov,Mikhail	POL	2608	190
39.	Van Wely,Loek	NED	2607	183
40.	Onischuk,Alexander	UKR	2605	202
41.	Piket,Jeroen	NED	2604	146
42.	Granda Zuniga,Julio E	PER	2602	202
43.	Wolff,Patrick G	USA	2602	186
44.	Magerramov,Elmar	AZE	2600	183
45.	Timman,Jan H	NED	2600	191
46.	Kharlov,Andrei	RUS	2599	172
47.	Hjartarson,Johann	ISD	2597	176
48.	Dolmatov,Sergey	RUS	2593	143
49.	Vaganian,Rafael A	ARM	2593	165
50.	Hracek,Zbynek	CZE	2592	182
51.	Kobalija,Mikhael	RUS	2592	169
52.	Polgar,Zsuzsa	HUN	2592	176
53.	Rohde,Michael A	USA	2589	190
54.	Fedorov,Alexey	BLR	2588	185
55.	Kosashvili,Yona	ISR	2588	198
56.	Baklan,Vladimir	UKR	2587	172
57.	Khenkin,Igor	RUS	2587	194
58.	Hellers,Ferdinand	SWE	2583	167
59.	Hansen,Curt	DEN	2581	161
60.	Tkachev,Vladislav	FRA	2581	158
61.	Andersson,Ulf	SWE	2580	140
62.	Speelman,Jonathan S	ENG	2579	168
63.	Avrukh,Boris	ISR	2579	211
64.	Aleksandrov,Aleksej	BLR	2578	181
65.	Illescas Cordoba,Miguel	ESP	2578	162
66.	Chernin,Alexander	HUN	2577	152
67.	Psakhis,Lev	ISR	2577	129
68.	Kuzmin,Alexey	RUS	2577	172
69.	Ye Jiangchuan	CHN	2576	176
70.	Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter	ROM	2575	180

19) Forthcoming Events and Links

V. Open Tatry 1999 (2nd - 9th October)

Open in Tatranska Lomnica, High Tatras (mountains), Slovakia. Blitz, Solving competition. Further details: http://www.chess.sk/turnaje/propoz.html (download in English or German).

British Rapidplay Chess Championships

The British Rapidplay Chess Championships take place in Leeds, 16/17 October 1999. Further details http://www.leedschess.freeserve.co.uk/rapid