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Contact The Week in Chess Mark Crowther E-Mail mdcrowth@netcomuk.co.uk Tel or fax 01274 882143 [Bradford England] Mobile 07866 484824 http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html Contents 1) Introduction |
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Games section
78th Hastings Congress 78 games Groningen 2002 5 games Rilton Cup 135 games 45th Reggio Emilia 40 games 11th Donau Open 60 games Ramat-Aviv 30 games 26th Zurich Christmas Open 126 games Robecchetto Open 72 games Third Saturday December 12 games Hallsberg Junior 117 games Bethune Christmas Open 205 games XVIII Nice Winter Open 70 games 950 games
My thanks to Jovan Petronic, Leonid Gofshtein, John Hillery, Antonio Bento, John Henderson, Laszlo Nagy, David Llada, Graziano Ottolini, Mikhail Golubov, Georg Kradolfer, Görgen Andersson and Arne Nyberg, Harald Grafenhofer, Chris Bird and everyone else who helped with the issue.
The new FIDE rating list shows Kasparov extending his lead at the top of the list after his Olympiad performance. Not such good news for him from Israel where the collapse of kasparovchess.com has led to him being targeted by the First International Bank of Israel as they try and recover some money from the failure. This week will see the start of the US Championships in Seattle. The final lineup for the Linares tournament in February has been announced with Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Leko, Ruslan Ponomariov, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Teimour Radjabov in what should be a fascinating tournament.
Hope you enjoy this issue.
Mark
The 78th Hastings International Chess Congress took place at the Horntye Park Sport Complex Saturday 28th December 2002 to Sunday 5th January 2003. The Premier Tournament was a 9-round all-play-all event for ten invited players which was won by Peter Heine Nielsen. The Challengers finished 1 Daniel Gormally (ENG) 7.5/9; 2 Alexander Cherniaev (RUS) 7; 3-5 Mark Hebden, Nick Pert, Vladislav Borovikov (UKR) 6.5.
Official coverage: http://hastingschess.org.uk/
Premier Hastings ENG (ENG), 28 xii-5 i 2002 cat. XII (2549) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2620 * = 1 = 1 0 0 1 1 1 6.0 2665 2 Arkell, Keith C g ENG 2521 = * = = = 1 = = = 1 5.5 2631 3 Harikrishna, Pentala g IND 2551 0 = * 1 = = = 1 1 = 5.5 2628 4 Barsov, Alexei g UZB 2525 = = 0 * = 1 = = 1 = 5.0 2594 5 Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2527 0 = = = * 0 = 1 1 1 5.0 2594 6 McShane, Luke J g ENG 2546 1 0 = 0 1 * 1 = 0 = 4.5 2549 7 Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2670 1 = = = = 0 * = = = 4.5 2535 8 Flear, Glenn C g ENG 2527 0 = 0 = 0 = = * 1 1 4.0 2508 9 Kosteniuk, Alexandra m RUS 2455 0 = 0 0 0 1 = 0 * 1 3.0 2434 10 Tseshkovsky, Vitaly g RUS 2545 0 0 = = 0 = = 0 0 * 2.0 2329 ------------------------------------------------------------------
The FIDE January ELO 2003 list is out. A quick look at the top 100 shows big changes throughout the list because of the Olympiad. Kasparov gains 9 points, Adams drops 11, Shirov back in the top 10, Akopian and Khalifman gain, Judit Polgar at 13 in the World is the highest she's been in years, Ivanchuk drops down to 15th and below 2700, Karpov down to 20th in the world, Morozevich's decline continues down from 10th to 23rd in the World, Smirin drops 19 points, Landa gains, Rublevsky loses 20, Korchnoi back in the top 50, Khenkin gains 24 points, Pelletier gains 37 points and jumps into the top 100 for the first time as does Peter Acs (gains 33). Granda Zuniga returns to the top 100 with a gain of points after a number of years inactivity, Hichem Hamdouchi gains 22 points to become possibly the first African player in the top 100, 17 year old Evgeny Alekseev gain 21 points to enter the list for the first time Oleg Korneev gains 61 points to reenter the top 100, Pavel Tregubov returns to the top 100, Levon Aronian gains 29 points to enter the top 100, out of the top 100 are Artur Jussupow, Vadim Milov, Laurent Fressinet, Andrei Istratescu, Giovanni Vescovi, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Joel Benjamin, Evgenij Agrest, Joerg Hickl, Peng Xiaomin, Valeriy Neverov and Bu Xiangzhi.
Source: http://www.fide.com. The full list is available for download there.
No. Name t NAT ju01 oc01 ja02 ap02 ju02 oc02 ja03 Gms 1 Kasparov, Gary.................. g RUS 2838 2838 2838 2838 2838 2838 2847 9 2 Kramnik, Vladimir............... g RUS 2802 2809 2809 2809 2807 2807 2807 0 3 Anand, Viswanathan.............. g IND 2794 2770 2757 2752 2755 2755 2753 11 4 Topalov, Veselin................ g BUL 2711 2733 2739 2745 2745 2743 2743 0 5 Leko, Peter..................... g HUN 2730 2739 2713 2707 2717 2743 2736 11 6 Adams, Michael.................. g ENG 2744 2731 2742 2744 2752 2745 2734 20 7 Ponomariov, Ruslan.............. g UKR 2684 2684 2727 2743 2743 2743 2734 11 8 Bareev, Evgeny.................. g RUS 2719 2719 2707 2724 2726 2737 2729 7 9 Shirov, Alexei.................. g ESP 2706 2706 2715 2704 2697 2699 2723 16 10 Grischuk, Alexander............. g RUS 2669 2666 2671 2702 2702 2702 2712 18 11 Akopian, Vladimir............... g ARM 2660 2660 2680 2678 2689 2689 2703 18 12 Khalifman, Alexander............ g RUS 2700 2702 2688 2698 2690 2690 2702 22 13 Polgar, Judit (GM) w ........... g HUN 2686 2686 2677 2677 2681 2685 2700 25 14 Gelfand, Boris.................. g ISR 2704 2701 2703 2707 2710 2704 2700 14 15 Ivanchuk, Vassily............... g UKR 2731 2731 2717 2711 2711 2709 2699 25 16 Svidler, Peter.................. g RUS 2695 2686 2688 2688 2690 2690 2693 16 17 Short, Nigel D.................. g ENG 2664 2675 2663 2673 2682 2684 2690 20 18 Dreev, Alexey................... g RUS 2690 2676 2683 2677 2676 2673 2690 16 19 Sokolov, Ivan................... g NED 2659 2658 2659 2647 2677 2684 2688 27 20 Karpov, Anatoly................. g RUS 2692 2692 2693 2690 2687 2688 2688 0 21 Ye, Jiangchuan.................. g CHN 2677 2681 2676 2676 2676 2667 2682 19 22 Azmaiparashvili, Zurab.......... g GEO 2674 2674 2676 2676 2676 2666 2678 28 23 Morozevich, Alexander........... g RUS 2749 2742 2742 2718 2716 2707 2678 16 24 Malakhov, Vladimir.............. g RUS 2637 2637 2647 2663 2668 2670 2677 22 25 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam............ g UZB 2704 2706 2695 2674 2648 2653 2676 22 26 Almasi, Zoltan.................. g HUN 2630 2630 2644 2650 2672 2672 2676 13 27 Bacrot, Etienne................. g FRA 2653 2653 2649 2653 2653 2653 2671 35 28 Zvjaginsev, Vadim............... g RUS 2638 2640 2656 2645 2668 2680 2671 6 29 Lautier, Joel................... g FRA 2675 2653 2687 2675 2663 2665 2670 18 30 Van Wely, Loek.................. g NED 2695 2714 2697 2642 2645 2681 2668 24 31 Vaganian, Rafael A.............. g ARM 2650 2650 2662 2664 2667 2667 2667 0 32 Sasikiran, Krishnan............. g IND 2589 2569 2569 2633 2650 2670 2664 16 33 Smirin, Ilia.................... g ISR 2702 2698 2702 2685 2676 2683 2664 11 34 Movsesian, Sergei............... g SVK 2627 2631 2624 2624 2654 2651 2663 21 35 Onischuk, Alexander............. g USA 2667 2660 2655 2641 2644 2649 2658 9 36 Georgiev, Kiril................. g MKD 2695 2686 2655 2654 2658 2658 2654 24 37 Sutovsky, Emil.................. g ISR 2651 2664 2656 2660 2658 2657 2651 20 38 Landa, Konstantin............... g RUS 2619 2619 2619 2623 2621 2632 2649 34 39 Beliavsky, Alexander G.......... g SLO 2659 2668 2649 2661 2652 2650 2649 30 40 Piket, Jeroen................... g NED 2630 2649 2659 2659 2646 2646 2646 0 41 Sakaev, Konstantin.............. g RUS 2630 2639 2649 2649 2647 2647 2645 10 42 Rublevsky, Sergei............... g RUS 2639 2634 2655 2657 2658 2664 2644 20 43 Korchnoi, Viktor................ g SUI 2617 2639 2633 2635 2620 2634 2642 25 44 Tkachiev, Vladislav............. g FRA 2642 2632 2634 2633 2625 2632 2642 8 45 Lutz, Christopher............... g GER 2643 2643 2644 2644 2650 2645 2640 14 46 Motylev, Alexander.............. g RUS 2627 2641 2639 2622 2634 2634 2640 7 47 Nikolic, Predrag................ g BIH 2652 2652 2653 2653 2661 2661 2638 27 48 Lputian, Smbat G................ g ARM 2608 2618 2634 2634 2627 2627 2638 18 49 Lastin, Alexander............... g RUS 2628 2628 2630 2619 2625 2625 2636 18 50 Seirawan, Yasser................ g USA 2644 2644 2644 2631 2618 2629 2636 9 51 Tiviakov, Sergei................ g NED 2618 2599 2614 2625 2628 2631 2635 24 52 Kobalia, Mikhail................ g RUS 2595 2603 2620 2602 2625 2625 2635 17 53 Gurevich, Mikhail............... g BEL 2633 2605 2641 2641 2649 2634 2634 0 54 Hjartarson, Johann ............. g ISL 2633 2633 2633 2634 2634 2634 2634 0 55 Aleksandrov, Aleksej............ g BLR 2646 2645 2645 2654 2646 2621 2633 23 56 Krasenkow, Michal............... g POL 2573 2592 2632 2641 2657 2651 2633 16 57 Bologan, Viktor................. g MDA 2655 2668 2651 2652 2631 2627 2630 26 58 Graf, Alexander................. g GER 2610 2610 2605 2623 2624 2635 2630 24 59 Vallejo Pons, Francisco......... g ESP 2630 2630 2629 2638 2648 2635 2629 29 60 Macieja, Bartlomiej............. g POL 2588 2582 2612 2585 2607 2615 2629 22 61 Kaidanov, Gregory S............. g USA 2605 2605 2596 2616 2638 2646 2629 10 62 Xu, Jun......................... g CHN 2646 2654 2654 2654 2654 2643 2626 18 63 Epishin, Vladimir............... g RUS 2583 2583 2599 2606 2643 2628 2626 16 64 Huebner, Robert Dr.............. g GER 2612 2612 2628 2628 2634 2640 2625 18 65 Khenkin, Igor................... g GER 2579 2572 2598 2587 2598 2603 2624 26 66 Zhang, Zhong.................... g CHN 2667 2657 2656 2639 2637 2620 2624 26 67 Volkov, Sergey.................. g RUS 2578 2578 2567 2609 2636 2642 2624 24 68 Radjabov, Teimour............... g AZE 2558 2567 2599 2610 2618 2628 2624 23 69 Pelletier, Yannick.............. g SUI 2531 2545 2571 2568 2571 2587 2624 21 70 Sadler, Matthew................. g ENG 2631 2631 2631 2631 2624 2624 2624 0 71 Acs, Peter...................... g HUN 2514 2530 2560 2529 2560 2591 2623 15 72 Granda Zuniga, Julio E.......... g PER 2605 2605 2605 2605 2605 2605 2621 26 73 Goldin, Alexander............... g USA 2594 2612 2630 2618 2609 2630 2621 9 74 Nielsen, Peter Heine............ g DEN 2593 2620 2642 2636 2626 2620 2620 13 75 Ftacnik, Lubomir................ g SVK 2580 2566 2574 2576 2602 2603 2616 13 76 Filippov, Valerij............... g RUS 2617 2617 2625 2612 2615 2615 2616 7 77 Hamdouchi, Hichem............... g MAR 2533 2501 ---- 2570 ---- 2593 2615 15 78 Pigusov, Evgeny................. g RUS 2613 2613 2623 2623 2622 2622 2615 7 79 Alekseev, Evgeny................ g RUS 2544 2548 2580 2567 2580 2593 2614 14 80 Korneev, Oleg................... g RUS 2572 2544 2583 2599 2583 2551 2613 63 81 Bruzon, Lazaro.................. g CUB 2573 2564 2590 2569 2590 2613 2613 18 82 Shabalov, Alexander............. g USA 2574 2585 2606 2622 2624 2621 2613 14 83 Tregubov, Pavel V............... g RUS 2617 2611 2599 2627 2599 2594 2612 24 84 Nunn, John D.M.................. g ENG 2584 2595 2595 2595 2611 2611 2611 0 85 Aronian, Levon.................. g ARM 2562 2571 ---- 2571 2585 2581 2610 31 86 Dorfman, Josif D................ g FRA 2602 2599 2602 2613 2617 2617 2610 21 87 Hansen, Curt.................... g DEN 2626 2613 2613 2613 2625 2610 2610 0 88 Hodgson, Julian M............... g ENG 2581 2589 2598 2598 2608 2608 2608 0 89 Baklan, Vladimir................ g UKR 2599 2590 2609 2618 2614 2607 2605 16 90 Dautov, Rustem.................. g GER 2630 2630 2636 2636 2611 2617 2604 21 91 Eingorn, Vereslav S............. g UKR 2598 2601 2604 2598 2604 2600 2604 16 92 Rustemov, Alexander............. g RUS 2607 2611 2589 2598 2589 2597 2604 12 93 Kazhgaleyev, Murtas............. g KAZ 2585 2569 2561 2583 2604 2604 2604 0 94 Shipov, Sergei.................. g RUS 2625 2625 2630 2613 2613 2604 2604 0 95 Dominguez, Lenier............... g CUB 2585 2596 2594 2601 2613 2608 2602 13 96 Hracek, Zbynek.................. g CZE 2610 2610 2586 2596 2600 2607 2601 20 97 Giorgadze, Giorgi............... g GEO 2585 2585 2591 2591 2591 2601 2601 0 98 Ehlvest, Jaan................... g EST 2627 2626 2589 2588 2600 2600 2600 17 99 Novikov, Igor A................. g USA 2593 2588 2583 2603 2601 2592 2598 15 100 Najdoski, Toni.................. g MKD 2600 2600 ---- 2600 ---- 2598 2598 0 101 Kharlov, Andrei................. g RUS 2656 2656 2638 2633 2609 2606 2597 24 102 Moiseenko, Alexander............ g UKR 2581 2569 2578 2575 2578 2570 2597 19 103 Kacheishvili, Giorgi............ g GEO 2583 2583 2588 2584 ---- 2597 2597 0 104 Vladimirov, Evgeny.............. g KAZ 2612 2592 2597 2605 2597 2597 2597 0
David Llada reports that the final line-up for the traditional Linares Supertournament will be Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Leko, Ruslan Ponomariov, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Teimour Radjabov. There are no definitive dates available but 22nd February - 9th March 2003 will be very close.
The final schedule of the Kasparov vs. Deep Junior has been announced. The schedule is Game 1 Sun Jan 26th, Game 2 Tue Jan 28th, Game 3 Thu Jan 30th, Game 4 Sun Feb 2nd, Game 5 Wed Feb 5th and Game 6 Fri Feb 7th all games start at 3:30pm EST. In the New York Athletic Club (NYAC)-180 Central Park South - New York. The event is International Chess Federation (FIDE) and International Computer Games Association (ICGA President David Levy) and the The US Chess Federation (USCF).
The event is called the "The FIDE Man Vs Machine World Chess Championship" and is sponsored by FIDE and presented by X3D Technologies Corporation which covered the recent Kasparov - Karpov match.
The time control is 40 moves in 2 hours followed by 20 moves in one hour then 30 minutes for the rest of the game.
The Prize Fund is $1m with a $500,000 fee for Garry Kasparov, the other half being divided: Winner gets $300,000 to the winner and the loser $200,000, in the case of a tie, $250,000 each.
There was supposed to be a preliminary event 7th-9th January 2003 in Jerusalem. This was cancelled because of Kasparov's ongoing problems as a result of the folding of his website kasparovchess.com and action taken by the First International Bank of Israel which is trying to recover $1.6m loaned to the site.
Read an article on Globes On-line and a Generally Kasparov hostile article at Pravda.ru
Kasparov has now commented in a press release from his management agency:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Kathleen Dezio January 6, 2003 The McGinn Group
ISRAELI BANK THWARTED IN ATTEMPT TO GAIN PERPETUAL USE OF CHESS CHAMPION GARRY KASPAROV'S NAME AND LIKENESS
MOSCOW--The First International Bank of Israel (FIBI) was rebuffed by a U.S. judge recently in its attempt to improperly use the name and likeness of renowned Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov to recoup money it lost in a failed business loan to Kasparov Chess Online, Inc. (KCO), a venture with which Kasparov was associated.
In a Dec. 27 ruling, a U.S. chancery judge in the state of Delaware refused to grant First International Bank of Israel a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction against Kasparov Chess Online and several of its board members, calling the record in the case "far too thin." The ruling came after the Israeli bank filed a surprise complaint on Christmas Eve asking for the injunction to force the company to reconnect its Web site on the theory that this would assist the bank in trying to recoup the $1.6 million it loaned the failed Internet business venture.
Kasparov Chess Online was a business venture created in mid-1999 by Garry Kasparov and a group of Israeli investors at the crest of the Internet boom to provide international subscribers the opportunity to play chess against each other online, to receive instruction and information from Garry Kasparov, and to promote the game of chess internationally, especially among children. Kasparov never received any compensation from the company and provided $110,000 in 2001 to keep the venture afloat. His role in the company was to oversee content for the site and to participate in promotional activities supporting it, while the Israeli investors would run the business side of the venture.
"I joined in this venture and put my name and my own money in it with great hopes of using the Internet to spread the game of chess throughout the world and especially to help children learn about and appreciate the game," said Garry Kasparov. "Unfortunately, the economics of chess, the collapse of the high tech market, and some unwise spending decisions on the part of those controlling the business side of the venture combined to preclude us from realizing the potential of this super chess site and eventually taking the company public through an IPO, which we had all hoped to do. A number of people and institutions lost time and money in the venture, and that is regrettable."
The company's business plan was to gain subscribers and then make money through advertising, a common dot com strategy at the time. However, the business strategy proved untenable, and the company was unable to achieve profitability. It became apparent that there was a limited market for this service, and the company's funding rapidly eroded.
The short history of the company has been marked by disputes between its minority Israeli stockholders who control the business and administrative functions of the company and its majority stockholders associated with Garry Kasparov. Although the directors associated with Kasparov had majority control of the company in theory, the physical location of the site was in Israel, and the Israeli directors refused to comply with instructions they received from the majority Kasparov directors and insisted on the continuing use of Kasparov's name and likeness. The Israeli directors utilized their relationships with the Israeli bank to obtain the loan to the company, which was issued in the summer of 2000. In its lifespan, the company raised and spent 13 million dollars most of which went to pay for business and administrative operations in Israel.
Ignoring customary practices, the bank is seeking to hold both the company and its corporate directors responsible for the loan. The company's directors did not guarantee the loan. However, First International Bank of Israel did not sue the company's entire board of directors, but instead sued only those directors associated with Garry Kasparov and excluded the company's Israeli directors from the suit.
Following the court's refusal to grant the injunction the bank sought, FIBI threatened to sue Garry Kasparov in Israel, forcing him to cancel an event he had scheduled in Jerusalem next week. Kasparov had arranged for the event to show his support for Israel.
"At the end of the day, this is about a financial institution trying to squeeze individuals to pay a corporate obligation," said Richard Conn, Kasparov's attorney and partner with the international law firm of Latham & Watkins. "Through this lawsuit, the bank is attempting to seize permanent control of the world-class asset of Garry Kasparov's name and likeness as compensation for a failed loan to a corporation."
The company ceased operations months ago, and finally, in September of 2002, the Kasparov Chess Online board of directors voted unanimously to shut down operations of the company due to lack of funds. Employees were dismissed, site content was no longer updated, and Kasparovchess.com was eventually disconnected from the Internet. FIBI Bank responded by demanding foreclosure of company property, contending that company property includes the perpetual use of the name and likeness of Garry Kasparov in connection with the site. The bank filed its unusual Christmas Eve lawsuit in the U.S. State of Delaware where the company is registered without any attempt to resolve the dispute through negotiation and demanded a hearing on that date.
The Harmonie Chesstournament in Groningen took place December 21st-30th 2002. Dgebuadze played the first four rounds but then had to withdraw after becoming ill. Friso Nijboer won the event with 6/8.
Internet coverage: http://www.so-on.org/kerst2002/2002.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Harmonie Groningen NED (NED), 21-30 xii 2002 cat. IX (2471) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Nijboer, Friso g NED 2556 * = 1 0 1 1 1 = 1 6.0 2653 2. Romero Holmes, Alfonso g ESP 2524 = * = 1 = = = 1 = 5.0 2559 3. Smeets, Jan NED 2461 0 = * 1 = = = 1 1 5.0 2567 4. Werle, Jan m NED 2434 1 0 0 * = = 1 1 1 5.0 2570 5. Stellwagen, Daniel f NED 2426 0 = = = * 1 0 1 = 4.0 2476 6. Li Wenliang m CHN 2497 0 = = = 0 * 1 = 1 4.0 2468 7. Baramidze, David GER 2390 0 = = 0 1 0 * 0 1 3.0 2394 8. Ernst, Sipke m NED 2497 = 0 0 0 0 = 1 * 1 3.0 2381 9. Jonkman, Harmen g NED 2456 0 = 0 0 = 0 0 0 * 1.0 2151 --------------------------------------------------------------------
The 32nd Rilton Cup took place 27th December 2002 - 5th January 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden. The 9 Round Swiss was won by Jonas Barkhagen with 7.5/9 half a point clear of Artur Jussupow, Tom Weberg and Tomi Nyback.
Full details: http://www.stockholmschack.nu/rilton.asp
Leading Final (Round 9) Standings 32nd Rilton Cup Stockholm SWE (SWE), 27 xii 2002 - 5 i 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------- NAT Rtg Score SmRat Progr --------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Barkhagen, Jonas m SWE 2458 7.5 20135 38.0 2 Jussupow, Artur g GER 2622 7 19792 36.5 3 Wedberg, Tom g SWE 2530 7 19375 37.5 4 Nyback, Tomi m FIN 2445 7 19308 34.5 5 Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel g ESP 2428 6.5 19324 33.5 6 Brynell, Stellan g SWE 2524 6.5 19317 35.5 7 Berg, Emanuel m SWE 2535 6.5 18963 32.0 8 Gleizerov, Evgeny g RUS 2581 6.5 18928 33.0 9 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina wg RUS 2466 6.5 18671 31.0 10 Hunt, Harriet m ENG 2406 6.5 18402 28.5 11 Vasquez, Rodrigo m CHI 2481 6 0 35.0 12 Stefansson, Hannes g ISL 2566 6 0 33.0 13 Fries-Nielsen, Jens Ove m DEN 2444 6 0 33.0 14 Handke, Florian m GER 2504 6 0 31.5 15 Djurhuus, Rune g NOR 2479 6 0 31.0 16 Ivanov, Sergey g RUS 2561 6 0 30.5 17 Ornstein, Axel m SWE 2426 6 0 30.5 18 Brendel, Oliver f GER 2378 6 0 28.5 19 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2508 5.5 0 30.5 20 Kiik, Kalle m EST 2450 5.5 0 30.5 21 Von Bahr, Oskar SWE 2320 5.5 0 30.5 22 Taimanov, Mark E g RUS 2406 5.5 0 30.0 23 Lehtinen, Heikki f FIN 2332 5.5 0 30.0 24 Ulibin, Mikhail g RUS 2581 5.5 0 29.5 25 Nyysti, Sampsa f FIN 2410 5.5 0 29.5 26 Shumiakina, Tatiana wg RUS 2364 5.5 0 29.5 27 Karttunen, Mika m FIN 2413 5.5 0 29.0 28 Spielmann, Alain f FRA 2308 5.5 0 29.0 29 Popov, Valerij g RUS 2568 5.5 0 28.5 30 Akesson, Ralf g SWE 2440 5.5 0 28.5 31 Lindberg, Bengt f SWE 2382 5.5 0 28.5 32 Trygstad, Kristian f NOR 2299 5.5 0 28.5 33 Johansen, Terje NOR 2267 5.5 0 27.0 34 Aagaard, Jacob m DEN 2371 5.5 0 25.5 35 Kopasov, Evgeny RUS 2098 5.5 0 25.0 36 Hedman, Erik f SWE 2336 5.5 0 24.5 37 Gallagher, Joseph G g SUI 2540 5 0 33.0 38 Furhoff, Johan f SWE 2302 5 0 32.5 39 Lobron, Eric g GER 2500 5 0 31.0 40 Ernst, Thomas g SWE 2450 5 0 29.5 41 Hermansson, Emil m SWE 2370 5 0 29.5 42 Naslund,Mikael SWE ---- 5 0 26.0 43 Johansson, Victoria wm SWE 2165 5 0 25.5 44 Couso, Luis f SWE 2355 5 0 25.0 45 Winge, Stefan SWE 2262 5 0 25.0 46 Hellborg, Teodor SWE 2240 5 0 25.0 47 Wikstrom, Joel SWE 2185 5 0 25.0 49 Lindberg, Henrik SWE 2218 5 0 23.5 50 Ask, Josef SWE 2128 5 0 21.5 51 Iivari, Magnus SWE ---- 5 0 20.5 121 players
The 45th Reggio Emilia International Chess Tournament took place December 29th 2002 - January 6th 2003. Jean-Luc Chabanon took first place from Mladen Palac on Sonnen-Berger tie-break both finished on 7/9. My thanks to Giorgio Gozzi for the information.
45th It Reggio Emilia ITA (ITA), 29 xii-6 i 2002 cat. VIII (2437) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Chabanon, Jean-Luc g FRA 2481 * = = = 1 = 1 1 1 1 7.0 2651 2 Palac, Mladen g CRO 2568 = * = = = 1 1 1 1 1 7.0 2642 3 Tomescu, Vlad m ROM 2432 = = * = = 1 = 1 1 1 6.5 2603 4 Cebalo, Miso g CRO 2544 = = = * = = 1 = 1 1 6.0 2549 5 Romanishin, Oleg M g UKR 2562 0 = = = * = 1 = 1 1 5.5 2502 6 Mrdja, Milan m CRO 2368 = 0 0 = = * = = 0 1 3.5 2364 7 Vezzosi, Paolo m ITA 2394 0 0 = 0 0 = * 1 1 = 3.5 2361 8 Castaldo, Folco f ITA 2338 0 0 0 = = = 0 * 1 = 3.0 2322 9 Scalcione, Michelangelo f ITA 2366 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 * = 1.5 2171 10 Iotti, Pierluigi f ITA 2314 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = = * 1.5 2177 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Bird reports: The North American Open (Las Vegas, USA) was won by GMs Nikola Mitkov and Ildar Ibragimov on 5/6. Mitkov took a quick draw in the last round having taken the sole lead after round 5 with a win against Valerij Filippov. Ibragimov beat Rogelio Barcenilla in round 6 to take a share of first. Final Standings: 1st-2nd (5 points) - Ibragimov, Ildar g USA 2566; Mitkov, Nikola g MKD 2534; 3rd-9th (4½ points) - Milov, Vadim g SUI 2620; Filippov, Valerij g RUS 2615; Shabalov, Alexander g USA 2613; Ehlvest, Jaan g EST 2600; Kacheishvili, Georgi g GEO 2597; Georgiev, Vladimir g MKD 2549; Akobian, Varuzhan m USA 2514. Games to follow.
The 11th Donau Open took place in Aschach an der Donau in Austria 26th-31st December 2002. Nikolaus Stanec won the event with 6/7.
Internet coverage: http://www.aschach.at/schach/
Final Round 7 Standings: --------------------------------------------------------- 11th Donau Open Aschach AUT (AUT), 26-31 xii 2002 --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stanec, Nikolaus m AUT 2523 6 24,0 2643 2. Horvath, Csaba g HUN 2506 5½ 24,0 2562 3. Krivoshey, Sergei m UKR 2498 5½ 24,0 2549 4. Mahdi, Khaled m AUT 2374 5½ 23,0 2494 5. Mazi, Leon m SLO 2391 5½ 23,0 2440 6. Jurek, Josef m CZE 2350 5 21,5 2460 7. Lau, Ralf g GER 2491 5 20,0 2386 8. Orel, Oskar f SLO 2322 5 19,0 2321 9. Wegener, Dirk f GER 2324 5 18,0 2325 10. Teske, Henrik g GER 2527 4½ 21,5 2453 11. Bogdanov, Valentin m UKR 2403 4½ 20,0 2361 12. Butunoi, Alexandru ROM 2404 4½ 20,0 2349 13. Studnicka, Tomas CZE 2124 4½ 19,5 2427 14. Devide, Zoran CRO 2273 4½ 19,5 2387 15. Bogdanov, Oleksi UKR 2297 4½ 19,5 2348 16. Cifka, Stanislav CZE 2114 4½ 19,0 2362 17. Roeberg, Frank GER 2259 4½ 19,0 2317 18. Hiermann, Dietmar f AUT 2240 4½ 16,5 2266 19. Knoll, Hermann f AUT 2365 4½ 16,5 2239 20. Mayerhofer, Peter AUT 2148 4½ 14,5 2351 89 players
There is a Category II tournament in Ramat-Aviv taking place 24th December 2002 - 6th January 2003. IM norm 8 points. My thanks to Leonid Gofshtein for the news.
Round 9 Standings: --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th It Ramat-Aviv ISR (ISR), 24 xii 2002 - 6 i 2003 cat. II (2291) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Porat, Shi f ISR 2343 * . = 1 0 = = 1 1 1 1 . 6.5 2448 2. Tseitlin, Mark D g ISR 2472 . * 1 1 . 1 1 0 = = 1 = 6.5 2433 3. Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2221 = 0 * . = = = 1 = 1 . = 5.0 2361 4. Okunev, Lev RUS 2196 0 0 . * = = = 1 1 . = 1 5.0 2341 5. Deutsch, Eyal ISR 2272 1 . = = * = = = 0 = . = 4.5 2282 6. Botvinnik, Ilia m ISR 2431 = 0 = = = * = = . = 1 . 4.5 2303 7. Rapoport, Igor UKR 2301 = 0 = = = = * . = . = 1 4.5 2275 8. Shevelev, Danny f ISR 2323 0 1 0 0 = = . * . 1 = 1 4.5 2297 9. Porat, David ISR 2195 0 = = 0 1 . = . * = 1 = 4.5 2282 10. Nisman, Boris I m RUS 2393 0 = 0 . = = . 0 = * 1 1 4.0 2246 11. Okunev, Taras RUS 2206 0 0 . = . 0 = = 0 0 * 1 2.5 2144 12. Porat, Ido ISR 2139 . = = 0 = . 0 0 = 0 0 * 2.0 2066 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
The 26th Christmas Open Masters took place in Zurich 26th-30th December 2002. 6 players finished first on 5.5/7 ahead on tie-break from 5 other players including Daniel Fridman and Vladimir Burmakin. Across the various events there were 404 participants. My thanks to Georg Kradolfer for the information.
Internet coverage: http://www.weihnachtsopen.ch
------------------------------------------------------------- 26th Christmas Open Masters Zurich SUI (SUI), 26-30 xii 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Pelletier, Yannick g SUI 2587 5½ 34½ 5 2. Fridman, Daniel g LAT 2572 5½ 32 5 3. Burmakin, Vladimir g RUS 2581 5½ 32 5 4. Pavlovic, Milos g YUG 2549 5½ 31 5 5. Malakhatko, Vadim g UKR 2515 5½ 29½ 4 6. Kveinys, Aloyzas g LTU 2530 5½ 29½ 5 7. Kengis, Edvins g LAT 2570 5 32 4 8. Tukmakov, Vladimir B g UKR 2568 5 30½ 4 9. Bauer, Christian g FRA 2562 5 29½ 4 10. Ciuksyte, Dagne wg LTU 2334 5 29½ 3 11. Jenni, Florian m SUI 2483 5 28 4 12. Knoedler, Dieter GER 2338 5 27½ 5 13. Georges, Sacha f SUI 2250 5 27 4 14. Meijers, Viesturs m LAT 2463 5 27 4 15. Papa, Severin SUI 2326 5 26 4 16. Solomunovic, Igor f BIH 2429 4½ 33 4 17. Cvitan, Ognjen g CRO 2562 4½ 31 4 18. Hochstrasser, Michael f SUI 2339 4½ 30 4 19. Delchev, Aleksander g BUL 2560 4½ 29½ 4 20. Pedersen, Nicolai Vesterbaek m DEN 2495 4½ 29½ 4 21. Rukavina, Josip m CRO 2393 4½ 28½ 4 22. Siegel, Georg m GER 2443 4½ 28 4 23. Moor, Roger f SUI 2400 4½ 28 3 24. Kuehn, Manfred GER 2267 4½ 28 3 25. Loetscher, Roland f SUI 2312 4½ 27½ 3 26. Umbach, Andreas SUI 2192 4½ 27 3 27. Duessel, Udo GER 2140 4½ 27 3 28. Pikula, Dejan g YUG 2485 4½ 26½ 3 29. Ciric, Dragoljub M g YUG 2272 4½ 26½ 3 30. Ekstroem, Roland m SUI 2478 4½ 26½ 4 31. Nemet, Ivan g SUI 2429 4½ 26 4 32. Kelecevic, Nedeljko m BIH 2377 4½ 25½ 4 33. Vidoniak, Roman m UKR 2452 4½ 24½ 4 34. Brunner, Karl SUI ---- 4½ 24½ 3 35. Kamber, Bruno f SUI 2332 36. Moor, Olivier f SUI 2377 37. Gaponenko, Inna wg UKR 2411 141 players
Graziano Ottolini reports: After missing three years the Robecchetto chess festival was held from December 26th to 29th 2002. 76 players took part to this event, 24 of them in the main open reserved to FIDE rated players or with national rating over 1700. The rate of play was 100 minutes for all the game and a bonus of 30 seconds for every moves beginning from the first. In spite of the presence of IM Milan Mrdja from Croatia and FM Alessio De Santis from Rome, the tournament was won by 25 year old Emiliano Aranovitch, born in Varese, Italy but with Russian roots. The same player won also the Novara Open last November.
Further details: http://digilander.libero.it/g8lini/cs/
------------------------------------------------- Open Robecchetto ITA (ITA), 26-29 xii 2002 ------------------------------------------------- 1. Aranovitch, Emiliano ITA 2192 5.0 20.5 2. Mrdja, Milan m CRO 2368 4.5 24.0 3. Sgnaolin, Davide ITA 2118 4.5 17.5 4. De Santis, Alessio f ITA 2267 4.0 21.0 5. Ticozzi,Stefano ITA ---- 4.0 14.5 6. Petrini,Roberto ITA ---- 4.0 18.5 7. Moncelli, Giorgio ITA 2166 3.5 17.0 8. Tomasi, Diego ITA 2037 3.5 21.0 24 players
The Third Saturday December tournament took place in Belgrade December 21st-31st 2002. Bosko Abramovic won the event with 7/11.
Internet coverage: http://www.beochess.org.yu/srpski.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TSGM Dec Belgrade YUG (YUG), 21-31 xii 2002 cat. VII (2406) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Abramovic, Bosko g YUG 2492 * 1 = 1 1 = = = = = = = 7.0 2500 2. Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel m ESP 2437 0 * 1 = 1 = = = 0 1 1 = 6.5 2468 3. Abergel, Thal FRA 2361 = 0 * = = = 1 1 = 1 0 1 6.5 2474 4. Stojanovic, Mihajlo m YUG 2472 0 = = * = 1 = = = = 1 1 6.5 2464 5. Dimitrijevic, Aleksandra wf YUG 2336 0 0 = = * = = 1 1 = 1 1 6.5 2477 6. Arsovic, Zoran m YUG 2410 = = = 0 = * = = = = 1 1 6.0 2441 7. Popchev, Milko g BUL 2436 = = 0 = = = * = = = = 1 5.5 2403 8. Tadic, Branko m YUG 2480 = = 0 = 0 = = * 1 = = 1 5.5 2399 9. Cabrilo, Goran g YUG 2457 = 1 = = 0 = = 0 * = = = 5.0 2365 10. Matulovic, Milan g YUG 2423 = 0 0 = = = = = = * = = 4.5 2339 11. Weinzettl, Ernst m AUT 2354 = 0 1 0 0 0 = = = = * = 4.0 2308 12. Lundin, Jan SWE 2212 = = 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = = * 2.5 2212 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Görgen Andersson and Arne Nyberg of Hallsberg Chessclub send news of the 38th Hallsberg International Junior Tournament which took place 28th December 2002 - 5th January 2003. IM Nikola Sedlak won the event with 7.5/9.
Internet site: http://hijt.kh72.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38th Junior Hallsberg SWE (SWE), 28 xii-5 i 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Sedlak, Nikola m YUG 2497 + 4 + 2 +17 = 3 + 5 = 9 + 7 +10 = 8 7.5 2582 2. Gajewski, Grzegorz POL 2436 + 6 - 1 +10 +15 = 4 = 3 = 9 + 8 = 5 6.0 2441 3. Palo, Davor f DEN 2489 =18 +11 + 5 = 1 +12 = 2 = 4 = 9 =10 6.0 2477 4. Tikkanen, Hans SWE 2313 - 1 +22 + 6 +21 = 2 =12 = 3 = 5 + 9 6.0 2475 5. Hovmoller, Kristian DEN 2287 +13 +15 - 3 +17 - 1 = 8 +12 = 4 = 2 5.5 2404 6. Tan, Kevin NED 2222 - 2 + 7 - 4 =19 =14 +23 +20 =12 +17 5.5 2307 7. Kjartansson, David ISL 2224 =22 - 6 +23 +24 = 8 +17 - 1 =11 +14 5.5 2316 8. Eriksson, Jonas SWE 2278 =21 = 9 =18 +10 = 7 = 5 +16 - 2 = 1 5.0 2373 9. Kanep, Meelis EST 2389 =25 = 8 +19 =12 +15 = 1 = 2 = 3 - 4 5.0 2345 10. Grecescu, Gabriel ROM 2187 =12 +20 - 2 - 8 +21 +13 +17 - 1 = 3 5.0 2362 11. Carlsson, Pontus SWE 2376 =19 - 3 +25 =13 =16 =20 +18 = 7 =12 5.0 2290 12. Szabo, Gergely ROM m ROM 2376 =10 +23 +21 = 9 - 3 = 4 - 5 = 6 =11 4.5 2296 13. Mohammadi, Amir SWE 2160 - 5 +14 =16 =11 =22 -10 -19 +24 +18 4.5 2226 14. Meier, Georg GER 2181 -15 -13 +26 =20 = 6 =21 +22 +16 - 7 4.5 2201 15. Muhren, Willem NED 2184 +14 - 5 +24 - 2 - 9 -18 =26 +25 +23 4.5 2218 16. Grafl, Florian f GER 2351 -17 +26 =13 =18 =11 +22 - 8 -14 +24 4.5 2202 17. Semcesen, Daniel SWE 2185 +16 +24 - 1 - 5 +18 - 7 -10 +19 - 6 4.0 2207 18. Tomczak, Rafal f POL 2313 = 3 =19 = 8 =16 -17 +15 -11 +20 -13 4.0 2206 19. Vernacki, Srdjan CRO 2063 =11 =18 - 9 = 6 -20 +26 +13 -17 =21 4.0 2195 20. Andersson, Fredrik2 SWE 2162 =23 -10 =22 =14 +19 =11 - 6 -18 =25 3.5 2109 21. Olsson, Linus SWE 2291 = 8 +25 -12 - 4 -10 =14 -24 =26 =19 3.0 2057 22. Halldorsson, Halldor ISL 2168 = 7 - 4 =20 +25 =13 -16 -14 =23 -26 3.0 2057 23. Wallin, Dennis SWE 2111 =20 -12 - 7 =26 +24 - 6 =25 =22 -15 3.0 2050 24. Gogin, Ruslan EST 2109 +26 -17 -15 - 7 -23 +25 +21 -13 -16 3.0 2057 25. Vovk, Oksana DEN 2088 = 9 -21 -11 -22 +26 -24 =23 -15 =20 2.5 2038 26. Nestorow, Marta SWE 2050 -24 -16 -14 =23 -25 -19 =15 =21 +22 2.5 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Tapolca Open takes place in Budapest, sponsored by the tourist town of Tapolca - 200 km West from Budapest, near to the Balaton lake. The organizer is Mr. Jozsef Parej. There are 89 players, 76 ELO rated, 19 title holders, players out of 7 nations. Round 4. is today. Info Laszlo Nagy.
Round 3 Standings: 1. Gonda Laszlo * 2317 3.0 Biro Andras Dr 2311 3.0 Dobos Jozsef 2283 3.0 Pasztor Ferenc 2280 3.0 Martini Balazs 2278 3.0 Jamrich Gyorgy 2247 3.0 Berczes Csaba * 2240 3.0 8. Majeric Zoran 2302 2.5 Bencze Laszlo Dr 2274 2.5 Harmatosi Jozsef 2251 2.5 Alfred Nathan 2250 2.5 GOCZO MELINDA 2222 2.5 Balog Marton ** 28.08.88. 2156 2.5 Hegedus Gyula 2105 2.5 89 players
The Bethune Christmas Open took place 26th-30th December 2002. The clear winner was Mihail Golubev with a score of 6.5/7.
Internet coverage: http://bethunechess.free.fr/
Final Standings: --------------------------------------------------------- Open A Bethune FRA (FRA), 26-30 xii 2002 --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Golubev, Mihail g UKR 2528 6,5 28,0 2714 2. Shchekachev, Andrei g RUS 2551 6,0 33,0 2628 3. Degraeve, Jean-Marc g FRA 2575 5,5 31,0 2592 4. Sprenger, Jan Michael m GER 2430 5,5 29,5 2522 5. Vanderstricht, Geert m BEL 2403 5,5 29,0 2457 6. Lazarev, Vladimir g RUS 2477 5,5 28,0 2508 7. Maitesian, Sergei FRA 2305 5,5 27,5 2448 8. Van der Weide, Karel m NED 2400 5,5 27,5 2400 9. Bunzmann, Dimitrij m GER 2498 5,0 31,5 2511 10. Shirazi, Kamran m USA 2439 5,0 30,0 2419 11. Jossien, Remy FRA 2181 5,0 26,5 2324 12. Michiels, Bart BEL 2254 5,0 26,5 2295 13. Safranska, Anda wg LAT 2312 5,0 25,0 2303 14. Szylar, Eric FRA 2121 5,0 25,0 2281 15. Jossien, Arnaud f FRA 2355 5,0 24,5 2246 16. Spiridonov, Nikolai UKR 2182 4,5 29,5 2294 17. Chemali, Lahcene FRA 2017 4,5 28,0 2359 18. Marechal, Andy f BEL 2248 4,5 27,5 2262 19. Gharamian, Tigran ARM 2239 4,5 27,0 2232 20. Pfleger, Sascha GER 2214 4,5 26,5 2236 21. Hareux, Hubert FRA 2241 4,5 26,0 2249 22. Houdart, David BEL 2086 4,5 26,0 2165 23. Wallart, Adrien FRA 2261 4,5 25,0 2176 24. Jagodzinski, Andreas GER 2181 4,5 24,5 2248 25. Degand,Alain FRA ---- 4,5 24,5 2141 26. Lebon, Joffrey FRA 2031 4,5 24,0 2276 27. Bruned, Yvalin ESP 2130 4,5 24,0 2121 28. Cappon, John FRA 2175 4,5 23,5 2209 29. Vandemeulebrouck,Renaud FRA ---- 4,5 21,5 2148 30. Van Maele,Richard FRA ---- 4,5 21,0 2024 31. De Lagontrie, Jean FRA 2072 4,5 20,5 2048 32. Marciniak, Marcel FRA 2068 4,5 19,5 2034 33. Maupin, Valerie FRA 2004 4,5 19,0 1990 123 players
The XVIII Nice Winter Open took place 26th-30th December 2002. Hichem Hamdouchi, Petar Genov, Igor Miladinovic, Gabriel Battaglini and Emmanuel Amigues finished on 6/7.
Internet coverage: http://www.echiquier-nicois.org/
Final (of 7) Standings: ------------------------------------------------------------ XVIII Winter Open Nice FRA (FRA), 26-30 xii 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Hamdouchi, Hichem g MAR 2593 6,0 36,0 2649 26 2. Genov, Petar m BUL 2515 6,0 35,0 2599 24,5 3. Miladinovic, Igor g GRE 2518 6,0 33,5 2529 23,5 4. Battaglini, Gabriel FRA 2229 6,0 31,5 2495 23 5. Amigues, Emmanuel FRA 2252 6,0 29,5 2461 21 6. Sulava, Nenad g CRO 2551 5,5 31,5 2378 22,5 7. Dunis, Aurelien FRA 2399 5,5 31,0 2434 22 8. Bujisho, Benjamin FRA 2400 5,5 30,5 2403 21,5 9. Lamorelle, Yves f FRA 2199 5,5 28,5 2374 21,5 10. Caposciutti, Maurizio f ITA 2338 5,5 28,0 2358 20 11. Cossin, Sebastien FRA 2230 5,0 34,0 2449 24,5 12. Georgieva, Liubka BUL 2232 5,0 33,5 2406 24 13. Contin, Daniel m ITA 2330 5,0 33,0 2417 23,5 14. Komljenovic, Davor g CRO 2450 5,0 32,5 2390 23 15. Sanchez, Joseph PHI 2307 5,0 32,5 2368 23 16. Daurelle, Herve FRA 2217 5,0 31,0 2367 22,5 17. Libiszewski, Fabien FRA 2316 5,0 30,5 2367 21 18. Planell, Eric FRA 2225 5,0 30,0 2320 20,5 19. Lazic, Miroljub g YUG 2461 5,0 30,0 2256 21,5 20. Dubois, Loic FRA 2262 5,0 29,5 2277 20,5 21. Shoker, Samy FRA 2233 5,0 29,0 2229 20 22. Satta, Vladimiro ITA 2233 5,0 28,5 2301 20 23. Lamorelle, Julien FRA 2219 5,0 28,5 2294 19,5 24. Bjarnason, Oskar ISL 2195 5,0 28,5 2264 20 25. Dimitrov, Christo FRA 2223 5,0 28,0 2274 18,5 26. Acher, Mathieu FRA 2308 5,0 27,0 2281 19 27. Djalal, Boris FRA 2176 5,0 26,75 2258 19,5 28. Cornette, Matthieu FRA 2355 5,0 26,5 2264 19 251 players
The Mans International Open took place 26th-30th December 2002. No games available.
Internet coverage: http://www.opendumans.fr.tc/
Final (Round 7) Standings 1 Todorov Todor m BUL 2455 7½ 56.00 2 Bagheri Amir m IRI 2438 7½ 55.00 3 Rainfray Arnaud FRA 2372 7½ 53.50 4 Gervasio Ricardo BRA 2347 7 56.50 5 Bergez Luc m FRA 2361 7 55.50 6 Le Roux Jean-Pierr FRA 2345 7 55.00 7 Petrosian Suren m ARM 2392 7 53.00 8 Tirard Hugo m FRA 2409 7 48.00 9 Blanche Paul FRA 2070 7 44.50 10 Saiboulatov Danial BEL 2305 6½ 55.50 11 Maze Sebastien FRA 2374 6½ 53.50 12 Tripoteau Nicolas FRA 2250 6½ 51.00 13 Sorbe Stephane FRA 2246 6½ 50.00 14 Laurent Bruno f BEL 2257 6½ 48.50 15 Giroux Fabrice FRA 2217 6½ 44.00 183 players
The 2003 US Chess Championships will take place in Seattle starting on January 9th 2003. The event is organised by the Americas Foundation for Chess (AF4C). 58 of the US's Best Chess Players Compete for $255,000, the event incorporates the women's title event. The venue is the Seattle Center Northwest Rooms.
There will be several other events of interest to the general public, including live championship commentary, a Childrens Simul; Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open-Chess Tournament for children, and the awards ceremony of the U.S. Chess Championships.
For further information: http://www.af4c.org
The Australian Open takes place January 1st-9th 2003 in Penrith, Australia. Top seeds: John-Paul Wallace, Peter Froelich, David Smerdon, Gary Lane and Stephen Solomon.
Internet coverage: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/penrith/, http://austopen.chesskit.com/ and Live on ICC.
The 69th Brazilian Chess Championship takes place from January 9th - 15th 2003, in Torre Palace Hotel, Brasília City/DF, Brazil. It´s a nine round swiss FIDE tournament organized by Brazilian Chess Confederation, Brasilia Chess Federation and Brasilia Chess Club. Top players: GM Darcy Lima (2521), IM Everaldo Matsuura (2438), IM Jefferson Pelikian (2407), Luís Henrique Coelho (2392) and MF Rodrigo Disconzi (2389).
Internet coverage at http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/
The World Youth Chess Championships 2003 and the 74th FIDE Congress takes place 24th October - 2nd November 2003 in Halkidiki, Greece.
Internet coverage: http://www.sportmeeting.gr/
The III Savaria Summer International Chess Open takes place in Szombathely, Hungary 19th-27th July 2003.
The event is a 9 round Swiss system 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move.
Further Information: Korpics Zsolt H-9700 Szombathely, Rohonci 13. +(36)-30/951-0063 korpicschess@axelero.hu and Pergel László H-9700 Szombathely, Tátra 2. +(36)-30/530-4904 a_mester@freemail.hu
There were various events during the Hilton Chess Festival 31st December - 5th January 2002. I hope to be able to publish some games next week when I'll try and round up the results.
Info: http://www.beochess.ch
Patrick Wolff has launched a pay site at: http://www.wolffchess.com
April 11-13, Western Pacific Open. 5-SS. Los Angeles Airport Radisson, Los Angeles, CA. $10,000 based on 200 players, $5000 guaranteed. Top section FIDE-rated. Details: http://www.westernchess.com.
May 24-26, Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic. 6-SS. Los Angeles Airport Radisson, Los Angeles, CA. $12,000 based on 240 players, $7200 guaranteed. Details: http://www.westernchess.com .
The ZMD Schachfestival Dresden 2003 takes place 17th-27th July 2002 in the Treff-Hotel Dresden.
Further details: http://www.schachfestival.com/index_schachfestival.html
The World Amateur Championships take place in the Sammy Marks Building, Pretoria, South Africa 2nd - 12th July 2003.
Internet site: http://www.chessa.co.za/
4th Yateley Manor International Fide Open This 9 round Swiss event, takes place over 2 weekends Friday 24th to Sunday 26th January 2003 and Saturday 1st to Sunday 2nd February 2003 at Yateley Manor School, Reading Road, Yateley, Hampshire, England. 36 miles South West of central London. Free entry for GM, IM, WGM, WIM. Prizes include a free place in the 2003 British Championships (highest placed player not previously qualified). The prize fund and allocation depends on entry. Event is FIDE rated and BCF rated and part of British Chess Federation Grand Prix. Tournament Director: IM Andrew Martin. Contact: Phone : + 44 (0)1753 883300 e-mail: rayclark.mc@tiscali.co.uk
"TAPOLCA" Open 9 rounds Swiss, Budapest, Hungary 3rd-11th of January 2003. Venue: Hungarian Chess Federation, Bp. Falk Miksa Str.10. (Usually 75-80 players, 5-8 IM-s, 4-6 FM-s, 50-70 % ELO rated/. Thinking times: 2 hours 40 moves, then 30 min until the end. Organizer: PAREJ Jozsef, fax: 00-(36)-87-511-163 More info /e.g. accommodation in Budapest/ : Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu
6 GM and IM tournaments in a row in HUNGARY in April-May-June 2003 /3 months chess trip to Hungary is possible for the GM-IM-norms/ The info: 1. 5th-17th of April, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM Budapest, org: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu, website: http://www.elender.hu/~firstsat 2. 19th-29th of April, GM-IM, MINDSZENTKALLA, GM-IM, 200 km West from Budapest, org.IM Istvandi, e-mail: sakkozo@netposta.net, 3. 3rd-15th of May, FIRST SATURDAY, GM-IM Budapest, org: NL., 4. 17th-27th of May GM-IM Elekes memorial, Budapest, org: IM Zsinka, fax: 00-(361)-327-18-71, 5. 7th-19th of June, FIRST SATURDAY, GM-IM Budapest, org: NL, 6. 20th-30th of June, Balatonlelle /130 km West from Budapest/ GM-IM-OPEN, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@matavnet.hu
The Swiss Chess Tour starts in Basle in the New Year. The 5th Hilton Open features Viktor Korchnoi, Vlastimil Hort, Yannick Pelletier and Ivan Nemet. They will play each other, one game on classic time control and the other in rapid. Timetable of the 5th Hilton Open: 31.12.2002. Blitz open; 14.00-17.00; registration 13.00; 9 rounds, 5 minutes. 1.1.2003. Fujitcu Siemens Juniors Open; 10.00-16.00; 7 rounds, 15 minutes. 1.-5.1.2003. Hilton Open; 7 rounds, 6 hours (40 moves-120 minutes, 60 minutes till the end.) 1.-5.1.2003. Baloise Open; 7 rounds, 4 hours (30 moves-90 minutes, 30 minutes till the and.) 1.-5.1.2003. Senior Open; same as Baloise Open. 1.-4.1.2003. ITAG Tele-Rapid; with Korchnoi, Hort, Pelletier, Nemet; 15 minutes per game. 2.-5.1.2003. ITAG Masters (Korchnoi, Hort, Pelletier, Nemet); classic time control, 6 hours. 5.1.2003. Fujitsu Siemens VIP&PC Challenge (+ 5 best juniors); 10.00-14.00 5.1.2003. Closing ceremony
Prizes: Hilton Open: 2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/2x200 Fr. Entry fee: 130 Fr. (FM & Juniors) GM & IM free. At the door 10 Fr. Baloise Open: 500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 Fr. Entry fee: 110 Fr. (Juniors 50 Fr.) At the door 10. Senior Open: 400/300/200 Fr. + natural prizes Entry fee: 60 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Junior Open: Natural prizes. Entry fee: 5 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Blitz Open: 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 Fr. Entry fee: 20 Fr. (Junior 5 Fr.) Venue Hotel Hilton Basle.
More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+34+424-01-06, fax +41+34+424-01-07 E-mail info@beochess.ch Further information: http://www.beochess.ch
The Gibraltar Chess Congress takes place 28th January 6th February 2003. Two 10 round Swisses. Amateur £3000 prize fund open to players under 2000 or unrated. Open £12,000 prize fund. Acceptances so far in attached list. Play takes place at the 4 star Caleta Hotel. Further details about Gibraltar, accommodation and visas: conf.banq@caletahotel.gi Technical details: Stewartreuben@aol.com
Players accepted so far: Nigel Short England gm 2684 Sergei Tiviakov Netherlands gm 2631 Alexander Lastin Russia gm 2625 Zoltan Gyimesi Hungary gm 2596 Jon Speelman England gm 2583 Hichem Hamdouchi Morocco gm 2582 Simen Agdestein Norway gm 2578 Mladen Palac Croatia gm 2569 Vladimir Kosyrev Russia gm 2562 Vasilios Kotronias Cyprus gm 2561 Alonso Zapata Colombia gm 2556 Julio Becerra Rivero Cuba gm 2552 Oleg Korneev Russia gm 2551 Luke McShane England gm 2546 Bogdan Lalic England gm 2542 Milos Pavlovic Yugoslavia gm 2531 Karen Movsziszian Armenia gm 2530 Vadim Malakhatko Ukraine gm 2515 Darryl Johansen Australia gm 2512 Pia Cramling Sweden gm 2508 Dmitri Reinderman Netherlands gm 2506 Alexander Cherniaev Russia im 2506 Daniel Campora Argentine gm 2505 Boris Chatalbashev Bulgaria gm 2503 Sergei Beshukov Russia gm 2475 James Plaskett England gm 2467 Viesters Miejers Latvia gm 2463 Hans Jonkman Netherlands gm 2456 Tejas Bakre India im 2452 Doru Ionescu Rumania im 2433 Juan Bellon Spain gm 2428 Inna Gaponenko Ukraine im/wg 2411 Colin McNab Scotland gm 2406 Watu Kobese South Africa im 2399 Martha Fierro Ecuador wgm 2384 Nora Medvegy Hungary wgm 2375 Mohamed Tissir Morocco im 2366 Robert Bellin England im 2360 Anna Zozulia Ukraine wgm 2311
Website: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/
The International Chess Open Festival "Aeroflot Open 2003" will be held in Moscow from 10 February (the day of arrival) to 20 February 2003 (the day of departure). The total prize fund is 150000 USD. The Festival consists of 3 tournaments: A: for the chessplayers with Elo > 2400; B: for the chessplayers with Elo 2150-2451; C: for the chessplayers with Elo < 2201 or without rating
The Organizers of the Festival are "Aeroflot-Russian Airlines" and the Association of Chess Federations in cooperation with the Committee on Tourism of the Municipality of Moscow. The official hotel and tournament venue is hotel "Rossija" (near Kremlin).
Official site: http://www.aeroflotchess.com
The XIII Rapid Chess Tournament Paul Keres Memorial takes place January 10th-12th 2003 in Tallinn, Pärnu Rd. 41, Estonia.
There are two stages, a preliminary event 25 + 25 mins, 7 round Swiss system.
The Men's Main tournament (25 + 25 min) played by 4 best players from group A, 3 players invited directly to Main Tournament and the best Estonian player. The Women's event will be played by the 5 best players of group A of Preliminary Tournament and 3 players invited directly to the Main Tournament.
Participation is free for IM - s and GM- s. GM - s will be accommodated in a hotel and their travel expences wil be covered within the limits of the cost of railway tickets by ESA Kalev.
Contact: Phone : + 372 644 66 67 Fax: + 372 644 29 87 e-mail: maleliit@maleliit.ee
Further details http://www.maleliit.ee
The 25th Copenhagen Open Politiken Cup took place 14th-25th of July 2003. The Politiken Cup will be an 11-round open tournament played in one big group - from novices and club players to strong grandmasters The Tournament takes place in the Nørrebrohallen, Bragesgade 5, 2200 København.
Further information and online enrolment at http://www.politikencup.dk
Howick and Pakuranga Times Auckland International Open, Auckland (NZL) Dates: 26.01.03 - 31.01.03 Organiser: Paul Spiller spillerfamily.enterprise@xtra.co.nz
Web Site: http://www.tuidesign.co.nz/chess/chessindex.htm
Info: Hosted at the prestigious Pakuranga Country Club, this 9 round open tournament aims to give strong players from New Zealand and neighbouring countries the chance to compete for FIDE ratings. Top prizes are 1st-$1,000, 2nd-$600, 3rd -$400, 4th-$200. Entry fees are as follows: 2300+ Free, 2200+ $50, 2100+ $75, 2000+ $100, Unrated $125, Juniors (U20) $100, GMs IMs & Overseas FIDE rated players free, FM's receive 20% discount off entry fee.
Details of the Praha Open 2003 (17.-24.1. 2003) and Marianske Lazne Open 2003 (25.1.-1.2. 2003) and the round robin master tournament category 3-4 FIDE Marianske Lazne 2003 (25.1.-2.2. 2003) are now available at: http://www.proclient.cz/czechtour.
The Budva 2002/03 tournament (with max. 120 players) takes place in Budva (the town is on Montenegro's seaboard) 27th December 2002 - 05th January 2003 10.000. Eur prizes (first prizes 2000. -Eur ,20.prizes altogher + Special prizes for Juniors, Women, Veterans). Organizers :Yugoslav Chess Federation & Tourist Agency MAS travel TRADE. Details :http://www.yuchess.org
The Friendship chess tournament takes place 6th- 15th December 2002 in Cartak (Czech Republic). There will be events including a: round-robin GM tournament, round-robin IM tournament and an open tournament.
Further details: http://www.proclient.cz/a64/tournaments/tp2002/default.htm
Ruslan Ponomariov talks about his position over his match with Garry Kasparov "I don't want Kasparov, the challenger, to have more rights than me, the Champion" and the Ukraine's performance in the Olympiad.
Website: http://chess-sector.odessa.ua/ponofide.htm
The 65th Corus Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee takes place January 10th-26th 2003.
GMA Group: Vladimir Kramnik 2809 (RUS), Viswanathan Anand 2755 (IND), Vesselin Topalov 2743 (BUL), Ruslan Ponomariov 2743 (UKR), Evgeny Bareev 2737 (RUS), Vassily Ivanchuk 2709 (UKR), Alexander Grischuk 2702 (RUS), Alexei Shirov 2699 (ESP), Anatoly Karpov 2688 (RUS), Judit Polgar 2685 (HUN), Loek Van Wely 2681 (NED), Michal Krasenkov 2651 (POL), Teimour Radjabov 2628 (AZE) and Jan Timman 2594 (NED).
GMB Group: GM Zhang Zhong (CHN, 2620), GM Peter Acs (HUN, 2591), GM Johnny Hector (SWE, 2590), GM Arkady Naiditsch (GER, 2586), GM Ian Rogers (AUS, 2557), GM Friso Nijboer (NED, 2556), GM Sergey Karjakin (UKR, 2527), GM John van der Wiel (NED, 2509), GM Dennis de Vreugt (NED, 2501), GM Koneru Humpy (IND, 2484), IM Viktorija Cmylite (LITH, 2460), IM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS, 2455), GM Harmen Jonkman (NED, 2456) and FM Daniel Stellwagen (NED, 2426).
The Bermuda tournament in 2003 will consist of GM 'A' and 'B' 12 players from 25th January to 5th February Pan American Amateur (players under 2000 FIDE or no FIDE at all; 9 rounds from 27th January to 5th February 20th Open & Blitz 6th February to 9th February. Confirmed participants (at present) A - Blehm, Christiansen, Macieja, Motylev, Movsesian, Shabalov, Svidler, Vescovi & Volokitin B - E. Berg, Blatny, Charbonneau, Nakamura, Seul & Teplitsky. Website: http://www.Bermuda.bm/chess
The SK DURAS 80 Open takes place in Brno 25th-31st December 2002. E-mail - bchmelicek@bvk.cz for more details.
The VI Málaga International Open 2003 takes place 20th-28th February 2003. 7.800 euros in prizes.
Details: http://www.malagajedrez.org
The 1st Pan American Amateur Championship will be held at the elegant Fairmont Southampton from 27th January to 5th February 2003. It will be nine rounds plus a rest day and will be held alongside two GM Invitational Tournaments (Cat XV and X). The rate of play will be 150 plus 30 seconds per move. It is open to players under 2000 FIDE or no FIDE rating at all. Each Federation in the Americas is allowed to nominate two players who do not have to pay an entry fee, otherwise entry fee is $150 per player. It will be followed by the 20th Bermuda Open from 6th to 9th February.
Rooms are $125 per night plus taxes etc. for one or two people, a third person in a room would be an extra $30 plus taxes. etc To book rooms contact the Fairmont Southampton on 1-800-441-1414 or 1-441-238-8000, mentioning "PanAmerican Amateur Chess".
Details/Info: http://www.Bermuda.bm/chess or Nigel Freeman 441-234-2322, cadilly@ibl.bm or Carol Jarecki 917-690-8566, cjareck@attglobal.net.
The Chesmayne Chess Dictionary 2003 is out now. Available at: http://chesmayn.valuehost.co.uk/
Seagaard ChessReviews has now selected the best books that was suggested from our readers. It is now the readers time to make a choice and pick "Seagaard ChessReviews - Book of the Year 2002". Readers can vote from 1/12 until 8/12 2002 and the book with the highest number is the winner. Read more: http://seagaard.dk/review
There will be a match between Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Sergei Karjakin in Brissago 1st-6th February 2003.
Internet coverage: http://chess-sector.odessa.ua/danneeng.htm
The Skanderborg Chess Club is organising a new GM tournament in Denmark. There will be 2 groups, A-group category 15/16, B-group category 9/10, 10 players in each group, round-robin.
Dates of play: October 10th-20th 2003. Venue: Hotel Skanderborghus in Skanderborg, Denmark. The hotel is beautifully located near lake and forest, see much more at http://www.hotel-skanderborghus.dk/
Players who are interested may contact Tournament Organiser Michael Andersson, e-mail GM@skanderborgskakklub.dk
Bobby Fischer and his mother were investigated by the FBI. Read the story: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/4535883.htm
5th International Tournament in Tel Aviv IM Round Robin in Tel Aviv, December 24- January 7; Category 1-4 (average rating-2251-2350); 12 players round robin system; Beginning of rounds 17:30pm, Thursday 31st-16:00, Thursday January 2nd-day off,Fridays: 12:00pm; Saturdays- day off;
6th International Tournament in Tel Aviv GM Round Robin in Tel Aviv, January 10 - January 23; Category 7-9 (average rating:2401-2475); 12 players round robin system; Beginning of rounds 17:30pm, Friday 10th (round 1)-13:00pm, Friday 17th and Saturdays- day off;
Contact Gofshtein Zvulon (Leonid) if you wish to play, e-mail: gofshtein@hotmail.com tel. numbers international: (972) 54 696432, (972) 3 7329233; tel. numbers local: 054 696432, 03 7329233;
The Cup ShRGEK take s place 13th-18th January 2003 in the city of Shakhti (Rostov region, Russia).
Further information: http://www.fanchess.ru/kuda/2003/01/srgek.htm
2003 will be the year when the Danish Chess Federation turns 100! The Esbjerg Chess Union and the renowned Danish round-robin the North Sea Cup are scheduled to play a major role in the celebrations. The gm group with 10 players will play July 4-12. After 3 category 14s back to back the organisers are hoping for a category 15 this time. Also a B-group, primarily for young Danish up and coming players, will be on offer at this Danish chess festival. 4 foreign ims will be invited, and the winner of the B-group will be invited to the gm group of the 19th NSC. Interested players should contact Brian Isaksen at brisak@esenet.dk
Homepage: http://home1.inet.tele.dk/tpherman/vh2002/1index.htm
The Novoshakhtinsk Open takes place 6th-11th January 2003 in the city of Novoshakhtinsk (Rostov region - Russia). 1st stage of the "Cup of Don - 2003.
Official site: http://www.fanchess.ru and specifically http://www.fanchess.ru/kuda/2003/01/1kubok.htm
Coulsdon Chess Fellowship (CCF) is intending to host a 9 round IM norm closed tournament between Saturday 15th February and Sunday 23rd February with 1 round to be held each afternoon. Any players (title or non-title) who may wish to be considered for inclusion should email Scott Freeman at chess@ccfs.freeserve.co.uk
The X Anibal Chess Open takes place in Linares, 28th February - 10th March, 2003 Dates are parallel to the XX "Ciudad de Linares" International Chess Tournament. Swiss system. 10 Rounds. New FIDE time control. Hotel Aníbal - Linares.
Further details from: e-mail: linareschess@teleline.es linareschess@wanadoo.es fax: 34 953652204
DEADLINE: Monday, 17th Feb 2003.
There is a tournament in Novi Sad Yugoslavia January 18th-26th 2003. Novi Sad is 76 km from Belgrade or 100 km from the Hungarian border conection by train from Wien 8 hours , from Budapest 5 hours, Belgrade airport, 70 km from Ns, bus connection from all of Europe . Venue: Hotel Park 20 euro double room full board, 25 euro in single. GM tourn. 12 players - FIDE timerate, cat. 9 (4 places at the moment ) IM tourn. cat. 3 or 4 - FIDE timerate, 12 players (5 places at the moment) elo t. , 12 players - 90 min . each. 2 blitz to. during the tournament. inscription fee according organiser , depending on elo, title and which tournament. Organiser GM Drazic Sinisa mail sdrazic@eunet.yu or thirdsaturday2002@yahoo.com tel .++381\ 21 \ 450-714 or 58-922 mobil | 64 | 124-9741
The "Swiss Chess Tour 2002" will finish in Interlaken, one of the most attractive tourist towns in Switzerland.
The 2nd Casino Open December 26th-30th 2002. Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 900, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. The first time, natural prizes for all participants. Special prizes for best Lady, senior (1942), junior (1982-85), schoolboy (1986) and best local player. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GMs and IMs free. 2nd "Chalet Oberland" Open. Players under 2000. Swiss system, 5 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours. Prizes: natural, for all participants. Entry fee: 100 SF (juniors 50 SF). At the doors +10 SF. Venue: "Casino" New event - Blitz tournament, Swiss system, 9 double rounds.
Time table for "Casino Open": December 26.: The last registration 11.00-12.15. Open ceremony and apero reception from 12.15-12.30. Round 1st 12.30-17.30. December 27. Round 2nd 9.30-14.30 Round 3rd 15.30-20.30 December 28.: Round 4th 12.30-17.30. December 29. Round 5th 9.30-14.30. Round 6th 15.30-20.30 December 30. Round 7th 9.30-14.30 Closing ceremonies 16.00.
Time table for Chalet Oberland Open: December 26 Round 1st 12.30-17.30; December 27 Round 2nd 9.30-14.30; December 28 Round 3rd 12.30-17.30; December 29 Round 4th 9.30-14.30; December 30 Round 5thh 9.30-14.30. Special chess rates in Hotel Charlet Oberland. Main sponsor RAPP company.
More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+34+424-01-06, fax +41+34+424-01-07 E-mail info@beochess.ch or Ervin Tellenbach tel. +41+79+311-23-53 or Hotel Charlet Oberland tel. +41+33+827-87-87. Further information: http://www.beochess.ch/
The Gausdal Troll Masters Open GM-tournament will be played in Gausdal in Norway 7th -15th January 2003. 10 rounds modified Swiss 2 hours / 40 moves and 1 hour / rest Homepage: http://eirikgu.home.online.no/troll2003/ Contact: Hans Olav Lahlum at hanso.lahlum@c2i.net
Evgeny Bareev will play a match against HIARCS 8 January 28th-31st 2003.
Further details: http://www.chessevents.nl/bareev_match.shtml
6th Email Afro-Asian Championship: All players from Africa and Asia are invited to take part to the 6th email Afro-Asian championship which will start in January 2003. Like the previous editions, there are two stages : The preliminaries for all participants and the final for those who will qualify. The number of sections will depend upon the number of entries. The players interested by this competition may send their application to M. Samraoui. Email address is : samraoui@aol.com No entry fees is required but deadline for entries is 20.12.2002. (ICCF's website: http://www.iccf.com ) Announcement: Hirokaz Onoda (ICCF delegate for Japan)
GM Patrick Wolff will play the Rest of the World starting 31st August. The time limit for the match is 5 days per move. GM Wolff is a two times United States Champion. To play in the match go to http://www.letsplaychess.com and follow the Play menu to Play the expert and from there join the world team.
Contact e-mail: bethunechess@hotmail.com
The Australian Open Chess Championships is to be held 2nd-10th January 2003. The Championships are jointly organised by The New South Wales Chess Association Inc. and Australian Chess Enterprises on behalf of the Australian Chess Federation Inc.
Further information: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/penrith/index.cfm
Regular competition for players in New York Rated 2200 and above.
No tournament December 24, 31 or January 14 (US Championship)
Further details: http://www.newyorkmasters.com/