THE WEEK IN CHESS 538 28th February 2005 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Linares 2005
3) 6th Poikovsky Karpov tournament
4) FIDE Unification Proposal
5) 4th Aeroflot Chess Festival
6) 76th German Championship
7) 71st Brazilian Championship
8) 4th Sao Jose de Rio Preto
9) Polish Under-20
10) Shulman - Wojtkiewicz Match
11) 12th Russian Clubs
12) OCF Winter FIDE Open
13) Nordic Youth Championships
14) VIII Malaga International Open
15) III Festival Olimpico Salinas
16) Mimoza Open
17) Córdoba City Championship
18) Mercantile Bank 31st Bangladesh Championship
19) Belgian Teams 2004-2005
20) Jersey International Chess Festival
21) 21st Cappelle la Grande Open
22) TWIC Theory
23) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Linares 2005                          18 games
6th Poikovsky Karpov tournament       15 games
4th Aeroflot Chess Festival           64 games
76th German Championship             138 games
71st Brazilian Championship            1 game
4th Sao Jose de Rio Preto             45 games
Polish Under-20                       66 games
Shulman - Wojtkiewicz Match            4 games
12th Russian Clubs                   232 games
OCF Winter FIDE Open                  84 games
Nordic Youth Championships            36 games
VIII Malaga International Open       135 games
III Festival Olimpico Salinas         45 games
Mimoza Open                           20 games
Córdoba City Championship              2 games
31st Bangladesh Championship          20 games
Belgian Teams 2004-2005                1 game
Jersey Chess Festival                 92 games
21st Cappelle la Grande Open         109 games
1127 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Igor Glek, Jesús J. Boyero, Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk, Goran Tomic, Javier Rubio, Haroon Rashid, Ravi Abhyankar, Thomas Henrich, Doru Ionescu, Jean-Claude Templeur, Pascal Villalba, Martha Fierro, Frank Berry, David Clayton, Arthur Brameld, Steve Laios, Andy McFarland, Julio Alberto González, Victor Hansen, Brian Stephenson and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Linares tournament is coming up to the half way stage and the event is still very difficult to call. Garry Kasparov seems to be playing at the same level as at the Russian Championship and he leads with 3.5/5. Half a point behind him are Anand and Topalov on 3/5 and Kasimdzhanov on 3/6. Half a point further back is Peter Leko who hasn't struck form yet and indeed he was lucky to escape with a draw against Topalov. Michael Adams has won one but lost two to lie on 2/5 but Vallejo is really struggling, he drew his first two games but three consecutive losses suggest that this may be the year he struggles in this company. Its all to play for.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Linares 2005

Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Peter Leko, Michael Adams, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Rustam Kasimdzhanov will be the 7 players at this year's event. The event takes place 22nd February - 10th March 2005. Round 1 Wednesday February 23rd 2005. For the first time most if not all the money for the players is in the prizefund instead of in appearance fees. Prizes: 1º 100.000 € ; 2º 75.000 € ; 3º 50.000 € ; 4º 25.000 € ; 5º 20.000 € ; 6º 15.000 € et 7º 12.500 €. Rest days March 1st and 7th 2005.

Michiel Abeln will be on the spot for TWIC from March 2nd 2005.

Official sites: http://www.ajedrezenlinares.com/XXII_ciudad_linares.htm and http://www.marca.com/ajedrez/linares05/index.html

XXII SuperGM Linares ESP (ESP), 23 ii-17 iii 2005          cat. XX (2743)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Kasparov, Garry          g RUS 2804 ** =. .. =. =. 1. 1.  3.5 / 5  2877
2 Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2786 =. ** 1. =. =. .. =.  3.0 / 5  2806
3 Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2757 .. 0. ** =. =. 1. 1.  3.0 / 5  2800
4 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     g UZB 2678 =. =. =. ** =. =. =.  3.0 / 6  2753
5 Leko, Peter              g HUN 2749 =. =. =. =. ** =. ..  2.5 / 5  2753
6 Adams, Michael           g ENG 2741 0. .. 0. =. =. ** 1.  2.0 / 5  2662
7 Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g ESP 2686 0. =. 0. =. .. 0. **  1.0 / 5  2513
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (February 23, 2005)

Topalov, Veselin         -  Adams, Michael           1-0   41  E37  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1/2   26  E52  Nimzo Indian
Leko, Peter              -  Kasparov, Garry          1/2   26  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation

Round 2 (February 24, 2005)

Kasparov, Garry          -  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     1/2   51  C42  Petroff's Defence
Anand, Viswanathan       -  Topalov, Veselin         1-0   59  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Adams, Michael           -  Leko, Peter              1/2   18  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed

Round 3 (February 25, 2005)

Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     -  Adams, Michael           1/2   27  C89  Ruy Lopez Marshall
Leko, Peter              -  Anand, Viswanathan       1/2   24  C42  Petroff's Defence
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Kasparov, Garry          0-1   29  D02  Queen's Pawn Game

Round 4 (February 26, 2005)

Anand, Viswanathan       -  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     1/2   33  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Topalov, Veselin         -  Leko, Peter              1/2   57  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Adams, Michael           -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   34  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation

Round 5 (February 27, 2005)

Kasparov, Garry          -  Adams, Michael           1-0   54  E37  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     -  Topalov, Veselin         1/2   40  E94  King's Indian Classical
Vallejo Pons, Francisco  -  Anand, Viswanathan       1/2   41  E15  Queens Indian

Round 6 (February 28, 2005)

Anand, Viswanathan       -  Kasparov, Garry          1/2   44  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Topalov, Veselin         -  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  1-0   32  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Leko, Peter              -  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam     1/2   76  C89  Ruy Lopez Marshall

3) 6th Poikovsky Karpov tournament

The 6th Karpov tournament in Poikovsky, Russia takes place 26th February - 7th March 2005. Etienne Bacrot and Viktor Bologan lead on 2/3.

Further details: http://www.chesspro.ru/events/poikovsky05.shtml

--------------------------------------------------------------------
6th Karpov Poikovsky RUS (RUS), 26 ii-7 iii 2005   cat. XVIII (2682)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Bacrot, Etienne       g FRA 2715  * . = = . 1 . . . .  2.0  2805 
 2. Bologan, Viktor       g MDA 2683  . * . . = . = . 1 .  2.0  2804 
 3. Vaganian, Rafael A    g ARM 2670  = . * = . . . = . .  1.5  2693 
 4. Dominguez, Lenier     g CUB 2661  = . = * = . . . . .  1.5  2679 
 5. Onischuk, Alexander   g USA 2652  . = . = * . . . = .  1.5  2664 
 6. Grischuk, Alexander   g RUS 2710  0 . . . . * = 1 . .  1.5  2718 
 7. Svidler, Peter        g RUS 2735  . = . . . = * . . =  1.5  2676 
 8. Dreev, Alexey         g RUS 2704  . . = . . 0 . * . 1  1.5  2671 
 9. Rublevsky, Sergei     g RUS 2650  . 0 . . = . . . * 1  1.5  2656 
10. Sadvakasov, Darmen    g KAZ 2635  . . . . . . = 0 0 *  0.5  2423 
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (February 26, 2005)

Bacrot, Etienne      -  Grischuk, Alexander  1-0   61  E20  Nimzo Indian
Vaganian, Rafael A   -  Dominguez, Lenier    1/2   38  A07  Barcza System
Svidler, Peter       -  Bologan, Viktor      1/2   22  B17  Caro Kann
Dreev, Alexey        -  Sadvakasov, Darmen   1-0   45  E34  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Rublevsky, Sergei    -  Onischuk, Alexander  1/2   45  C45  Scotch Game

Round 2 (February 27, 2005)

Bologan, Viktor      -  Rublevsky, Sergei    1-0   69  D27  QGA
Vaganian, Rafael A   -  Bacrot, Etienne      1/2   43  D15  Slav Defence
Dominguez, Lenier    -  Onischuk, Alexander  1/2   23  C78  Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Grischuk, Alexander  -  Dreev, Alexey        1-0   35  D52  Queens Gambit Cambridge Springs
Sadvakasov, Darmen   -  Svidler, Peter       1/2   37  C96  Ruy Lopez

Round 3 (February 28, 2005)

Bacrot, Etienne      -  Dominguez, Lenier    1/2   52  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Onischuk, Alexander  -  Bologan, Viktor      1/2   23  B13  Caro Kann Exchange
Svidler, Peter       -  Grischuk, Alexander  1/2   18  B92  Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Dreev, Alexey        -  Vaganian, Rafael A   1/2   69  D31  Semi-Slav Defence
Rublevsky, Sergei    -  Sadvakasov, Darmen   1-0   42  B52  Sicilian Rossolimo

4) FIDE Unification Proposal

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has given an interview to Yuri Vasiliev of Sport Express with a World Championship Unification proposal. The decision was taken at the FIDE Presidential meeting in Tbilisi 26th-27th February 2005.

Eight players will be invited: Rustam Kasimdzanov (Fide champion), Michael Adams (Fide runner-up), Vladimir Kramnik (Braingames champion, a very interesting use of terminology), Peter Leko (Braingames runner-up), Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Vaselin Topalov and Alexander Morozevich (the four top rated players) for a double round robin.

All 8 players will be sent official contracts by 15th April 2005. A player declining invitation will be replaced by the next highest rated player. Elista is proposed as venue for the time being, although other countries are expected to bid. The prize money for the tournament is currrently 500,000 US dollars. Singapore, Armenia and Georgia have so far expressed willingness to organise this tournament. Their official offers are awaited. In December 2005, a world cup tournament (on the lines of FIDE KO) will be held. Its winner will be the challenger to play against the Unified champion. Source: http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?99853

The proposals don't look likely to be attractive enough to get all the players to sign up. The event would probably have to be a quadrouple round to make it special enough to be a world title (although I have always advocated a match tournament to clear up the mess a number of players object to this format because they believe the other players would throw games), the money doesn't look anywhere near enough and Kramnik has made it clear that reunification only has meaning if bound up with a proper cycle, this proposal is bound up with the failed FIDE KO system with its fast time-rates and media unfriendly format. Also cast iron financial guarantees would be important to everyone.

Earlier material.

English translation of the interview of the FIDE President in Sport Express by Y. Vassiliev. Source of translation: Elista FIDE Office. 16th February 2004

Kasparov response: http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=547705

Kasparov Press Release 18th January 2005

FIDE Respond to Kasparov Press Release 18th January 2005

ACP Respond to Kasparov Press Release 18th January 2005

Vladimir Kramnik gave a detailed and important interview to New in Chess after his match against Leko that appears in full on the ChessBase site. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2154

5) 4th Aeroflot Chess Festival

The 4th Aeroflot Chess festival took place in Hotel Rossija in Moscow, 14th (arrival day) - 24th February 2005 (departure day). 36 players in the top 100 competed. Emil Sutovsky took first place on tie-break (more black's than white's). There are errors in some of the games eg Round 5: Radjabov- Timofeev and Efimenko-Beliavsky given last week.

Further details: http://www.aeroflotchess.com

 Rank  Name                           Score    Title    Fed.     Flags    Col.Bal.  Rat-HiLo
 1     Sutovsky, Emil                 6,5      GM       ISR      -        -1        2611,9
 2     Kharlov, Andrei                6,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2633
 3     Ivanchuk, Vassily              6,5      GM       UKR      -        1         2628,6
 4     Motylev, Alexander             6,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2617,3
 5     Akopian, Vladimir              6,5      GM       ARM      -        1         2610,4
 6     Sorokin, Maxim                 6        GM       RUS      -        -1        2635,6
 7     Bacrot, Etienne                6        GM       FRA      -        -1        2627,7
 8     Volkov, Sergey                 6        GM       RUS      -        1         2641,9
 9     Eljanov, Pavel                 6        GM       UKR      -        1         2638,7
 10    Khalifman, Alexander           6        GM       RUS      -        1         2621,9
 11    Radjabov, Teimour              6        GM       AZE      j        1         2591,4
 12    Malakhov, Vladimir             6        GM       RUS      -        1         2588,3
 13    Sargissian, Gabriel            5,5      GM       ARM      -        -1        2643
 14    Wang, Yue                      5,5      GM       CHN      j        -1        2624,3
 15    Aronian, Levon                 5,5      GM       ARM      -        -1        2602,3
 16    Van Wely, Loek                 5,5      GM       NED      -        -1        2602,1
 17    Tregubov, Pavel V.             5,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2583,4
 18    Kempinski, Robert              5,5      GM       POL      -        -1        2573,4
 19    Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan           5,5      GM       IRI      -        -1        2568,6
 20    Ni, Hua                        5,5      GM       CHN      -        1         2637,1
 21    Belov, Vladimir                5,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2635
 22    Kobalia, Mikhail               5,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2630,7
 23    Riazantsev, Alexander          5,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2628
 24    Bologan, Viktor                5,5      GM       MDA      -        1         2617,9
 25    Bu, Xiangzhi                   5,5      GM       CHN      -        1         2614,7
 26    Asrian, Karen                  5,5      GM       ARM      -        1         2587,1
 27    Naiditsch, Arkadij             5,5      GM       GER      -        1         2574,7
 28    Iordachescu, Viorel            5,5      GM       MDA      -        1         2564,6
 29    Minasian, Artashes             5        GM       ARM      -        -1        2638,6
 30    Erenburg, Sergey               5        GM       ISR      -        -1        2597,3
 31    Karjakin, Sergey               5        GM       UKR      j        -1        2588,6
 32    Timofeev, Artyom               5        GM       RUS      -        -1        2584
 33    Sasikiran, Krishnan            5        GM       IND      -        -1        2574,9
 34    Beliavsky, Alexander G         5        GM       SLO      -        -1        2571,7
 35    Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter        5        GM       ROM      -        0         2596,4
 36    Efimenko, Zahar                5        GM       UKR      -        1         2651
 37    Yermolinsky, Alex              5        GM       USA      -        1         2623,7
 38    Berkes, Ferenc                 5        GM       HUN      -        1         2621
 39    Sakaev, Konstantin             5        GM       RUS      -        1         2598,1
 40    Ponomariov, Ruslan             5        GM       UKR      -        1         2587,6
 41    Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar         5        GM       AZE      -        1         2585,3
 42    Zvjaginsev, Vadim              5        GM       RUS      -        1         2581,1
 43    Shabalov, Alexander            5        GM       USA      -        1         2564,9
 44    Galkin, Alexander              4,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2646,9
 45    Lugovoi, Aleksei               4,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2632,7
 46    Fedorov, Alexei                4,5      GM       BLR      -        -1        2589,7
 47    Nepomniachtchi, Ian            4,5      IM       RUS      j        -1        2586,6
 48    Smirnov, Pavel                 4,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2579,3
 49    Ehlvest, Jaan                  4,5      GM       EST      -        -1        2571,4
 50    Tkachiev, Vladislav            4,5      GM       FRA      -        -1        2570,3
 51    Izoria, Zviad                  4,5      GM       GEO      -        -1        2555,4
 52    Areshchenko, Alexander         4,5      GM       UKR      -        1         2646
 53    Tseshkovsky, Vitaly            4,5      GM       RUS      s        1         2643,3
 54    Petrosian, Tigran L.           4,5      GM       ARM      -        1         2631
 55    Postny, Evgeny                 4,5      GM       ISR      -        1         2626,4
 56    Filippov, Valerij              4,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2618,9
 57    Azarov, Sergei                 4,5      GM       BLR      -        1         2618,3
 58    Kotsur, Pavel                  4,5      GM       KAZ      -        1         2609,1
 59    Kurnosov, Igor                 4,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2599,9
 60    Sandipan, Chanda               4,5      GM       IND      -        1         2599,1
 61    Sadvakasov, Darmen             4,5      GM       KAZ      -        1         2582,3
 62    Anastasian, Ashot              4        GM       ARM      -        -1        2651,4
 63    David, Alberto                 4        GM       LUX      -        -1        2632,7
 64    Yakovich, Yuri                 4        GM       RUS      -        -1        2608,9
 65    Neverov, Valeriy               4        GM       UKR      -        -1        2598,3
 66    Fontaine, Robert               4        GM       FRA      -        -1        2595,1
 67    Kotronias, Vasilios            4        GM       GRE      -        -1        2583
 68    Gyimesi, Zoltan                4        GM       HUN      -        -1        2581,9
 69    Epishin, Vladimir              4        GM       RUS      -        -1        2565,3
 70    Jakovenko, Dmitry              4        GM       RUS      -        -1        2553,3
 71    Bocharov, Dmitry               4        GM       RUS      -        1         2620,3
 72    Roiz, Michael                  4        GM       ISR      -        1         2611,1
 73    Ganguly, Surya Shekhar         4        GM       IND      -        1         2608,1
 74    Nataf, Igor-Alexandre          4        GM       FRA      -        1         2607,9
 75    Atalik, Suat                   4        GM       BIH      -        1         2605,1
 76    Popov, Valerij                 4        GM       RUS      -        1         2594,7
 77    Vaganian, Rafael A             4        GM       ARM      -        1         2586,1
 78    Kaidanov, Gregory S            4        GM       USA      -        1         2576,3
 79    Najer, Evgeniy                 4        GM       RUS      -        1         2574,3
 80    Guseinov, Gadir                3,5      GM       AZE      -        -1        2618,7
 81    Lastin, Alexander              3,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2605,6
 82    Ivanov, Sergey                 3,5      GM       RUS      -        -1        2604,1
 83    Kulaots, Kaido                 3,5      GM       EST      -        -1        2595,1
 84    Solak, Dragan                  3,5      GM       SCG      -        -1        2588
 85    Romanishin, Oleg M             3,5      GM       UKR      -        -1        2581,9
 86    Nyback, Tomi                   3,5      GM       FIN      -        0         2599,6
 87    Inarkiev, Ernesto              3,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2583,6
 88    Dvoirys, Semen I.              3,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2555,9
 89    Vasquez, Rodrigo               3        GM       CHI      -        -1        2600,1
 90    Markowski, Tomasz              3        GM       POL      -        -1        2600
 91    Kosteniuk, Alexandra           3        GM       RUS      w        -1        2590,4
 92    Zhao, Jun                      3                 CHN      -        -1        2580,3
 93    Al-Modiahki, Mohamad           3        GM       QAT      -        -1        2571,3
 94    Kornev, Alexei                 3        GM       RUS      -        1         2612,7
 95    Kuzubov, Yuriy                 3        IM       UKR      j        1         2591,1
 96    Galliamova, Alisa              3        IM       RUS      w        1         2581,3
 97    Amonatov, Farrukh              2,5      GM       TJK      -        1         2575,6
 98    Rustemov, Alexander            2,5      GM       RUS      -        1         2549,1
 99    Wojtaszek, Radoslaw            2        IM       POL      j        -1        2584,9
100    L'Ami, Erwin                   2        IM       NED      -        -1        2545,7
101    Ivanov, Alexander              1,5      GM       USA      -        1         2573
102    Shaposhnikov, Evgeny           0,5      GM       RUS      -        5         2590,8

6) 76th German Championship

The 76th German Championship took place in Altenkirchen / Westerwald 18th-26th February 2005. Artur Jussupow took clear first place with 7/9.

Official Site: http://www.skak.de/dem2005/index.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
76th ch-GER Altenkirchen GER (GER), 18-26 ii 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Jussupow, Artur        g  GER 2582  +32 =22 +10 = 3 + 6 + 5 = 2 = 7 +14  7.0  2749 
 2. Gustafsson, Jan        g  GER 2616  +25 +28 = 6 + 5 = 3 =16 = 1 = 4 + 7  6.5  2708 
 3. Khenkin, Igor          g  GER 2604  =19 +43 +13 = 1 = 2 +11 - 7 + 9 = 4  6.0  2625 
 4. Baramidze, David       g  GER 2550  +18 +23 - 5 = 6 +20 = 9 +16 = 2 = 3  6.0  2633 
 5. Graf, Alexander        g  GER 2637  +38 + 9 + 4 - 2 +23 - 1 =11 +13 = 6  6.0  2637 
 6. Luther, Thomas         g  GER 2543  +41 +26 = 2 = 4 - 1 +17 = 9 +21 = 5  6.0  2601 
 7. Kritz, Leonid          g  GER 2547  =31 +35 =20 =22 +21 +37 + 3 = 1 - 2  6.0  2562 
 8. Hort, Vlastimil        g  GER 2515  =29 =34 =31  .  +26 =28 +35 =23 +19  5.5  2508 
 9. Braun, Arik            m  GER 2463  +21 - 5 +34 +12 =10 = 4 = 6 - 3 +22  5.5  2574 
10. Sprenger, Jan Michael  m  GER 2491  =37 +19 - 1 +26 = 9 =13 =23 +16 =11  5.5  2530 
11. Prusikin, Michael      g  GER 2540  =34 =31 +32 =20 +22 - 3 = 5 +28 =10  5.5  2537 
12. Schlosser, Philipp     g  GER 2570  +27 =30 =17 - 9 -19 =29 +31 +32 +23  5.5  2472 
13. Fish, Gennadij         m  GER 2523  +39 =20 - 3 +35 =15 =10 +37 - 5 +21  5.5  2517 
14. Meister, Yakov         m  GER 2519  =43 =37 +41 -23 +32 =19 +18 +20 - 1  5.5  2462 
15. Rabiega, Robert        g  GER 2539  -26 +36 =30 +25 =13 =23 =20 =19 =18  5.0  2427 
16. Bischoff, Klaus        g  GER 2555  =35 +33 =22 +30 =37 = 2 - 4 -10 +29  5.0  2473 
17. Handke, Florian        g  GER 2488  =24 +29 =12 -37 +31 - 6 -21 +35 +28  5.0  2430 
18. Kraemer, Martin        f  GER 2357  - 4 =45 +24 =28 =30 +22 -14 +33 =15  5.0  2467 
19. Meier, Georg              GER 2372  = 3 -10 =29 +34 +12 =14 =28 =15 - 8  4.5  2484 
20. Breutigam, Martin      m  GER 2403  +40 =13 = 7 =11 - 4 +44 =15 -14 =24  4.5  2436 
21. Schunk, Thomas1        f  GER 2280  - 9 +27 =38 +33 - 7 +30 +17 - 6 -13  4.5  2458 
22. Meins, Gerlef          m  GER 2440  +44 = 1 =16 = 7 -11 -18 +38 +37 - 9  4.5  2440 
23. Wisnewski, Christoph   f  GER 2401  +46 - 4 +39 +14 - 5 =15 =10 = 8 -12  4.5  2476 
24. Schneider, Bernd2      f  GER 2293  =17 -38 -18 +40 =25 =27 =30 +41 =20  4.5  2370 
25. Alber, Horst           f  GER 2387  - 2 =44 +43 -15 =24 =36 +26 =30 =27  4.5  2374 
26. Scherer, Max              GER 2325  +15 - 6 =28 -10 - 8 +43 -25 +44 +38  4.5  2432 
27. Muranyi, Karl-J        f  GER 2365  -12 -21 +45 +39 -28 =24 +44 =29 =25  4.5  2340 
28. Tischbierek, Raj       g  GER 2477  +36 - 2 =26 =18 +27 = 8 =19 -11 -17  4.0  2385 
29. Schulz, Karsten        f  GER 2310  = 8 -17 =19 +41 =38 =12 =32 =27 -16  4.0  2398 
30. Henrichs, Thomas       m  GER 2407  +45 =12 =15 -16 =18 -21 =24 =25 =34  4.0  2346 
31. Pajeken, Wolfgang      f  GER 2354  = 7 =11 = 8 =38 -17 =33 -12 =36 +46  4.0  2388 
32. Reuss, Andreas         f  GER 2370  - 1 +40 -11 +36 -14 +34 =29 -12 =33  4.0  2370 
33. Bastian, Herbert       f  GER 2400  +42 -16 -37 -21 +39 =31 +36 -18 =32  4.0  2282 
34. Schunk, Eduard            GER 2337  =11 = 8 - 9 -19 +42 -32 +45 =38 =30  4.0  2330 
35. Deglmann, Ludwig       f  GER 2361  =16 - 7 +44 -13 +43 =38 - 8 -17 +37  4.0  2386 
36. Asendorf, Joachim      f  GER 2282  -28 -15 +42 -32 +46 =25 -33 =31 +41  4.0  2304 
37. Degtiarev, Evgeny         GER 2297  =10 =14 +33 +17 =16 - 7 -13 -22 -35  3.5  2400 
38. Solonar, Stefan        m  GER 2393  - 5 +24 =21 =31 =29 =35 -22 =34 -26  3.5  2290 
39. Dresen, Ulrich         f  GER 2322  -13 +42 -23 -27 -33 +40 -41 +45 =43  3.5  2235 
40. Schmidt, Rainer           GER 2183  -20 -32 =46 -24 =45 -39 +43 =42 +44  3.5  2184 
41. Ljubarskij, Jurij         GER 2348  - 6 +46 -14 -29 -44 +42 +39 -24 -36  3.0  2181 
42. Heidorn, Oliver           GER 2111  -33 -39 -36 +47 -34 -41 =46 =40 +45  3.0  2120 
43. Namyslo, Holger           GER 2314  =14 - 3 -25 +45 -35 -26 -40 =46 =39  2.5  2171 
44. Leiber, Bernard           GER 2230  -22 =25 -35 +46 +41 -20 -27 -26 -40  2.5  2162 
45. Schinke, Andreas          GER 2191  -30 =18 -27 -43 =40 +46 -34 -39 -42  2.0  2062 
46. Bischoff, Dieter          GER 2145  -23 -41 =40 -44 -36 -45 =42 =43 -31  1.5  1995 
47. BYE                           ----   .   .   .  -42  .   .   .   .   .   0.0       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) 71st Brazilian Championship

The 71st Brazilian Championship took place 14th-20th February, 2005. 9 round swiss with 34 players. Rafael Leitao won the event using normal swiss tie-break. The event took place in São José do Rio Preto and not in São Paulo. São José do Rio Preto (State São Paulo) is a beautiful town with about 400.000 inhabitants and is over 300 miles (to the west) distant of the city São Paulo. Correction from Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk to his round 1 game appears in this issue. I changed venue in the PGN file and cbv file for last week on the TWIC site otherwise you can change it to Sao Jose do Rio Preto manually. Roberto Assumpção is a very strong amateur. He's a physician who lives in Santos (São Paulo's harbour) and in 1981 was São Paulo State Champion with 8 out of 9 (The highest score ever). He was in the top 10 in the Brazilian rating list (about 2400) and had no international rating.

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/2005/festriopreto/principal.htm

Official Final Standings:
  1   Leitão, Rafael                   BRA   2580      7.5      37.5  49.5   39.0
  2   Milos Jr., Gilberto              BRA   2598      7.5      37.0  49.0   37.0
  3   Lima, Darcy                      BRA   2529      7        37.0  48.5   37.5
  4   Limp, Eduardo                    BRA   2445      5.5      40.0  50.5   31.0
  5   El Debs, Felipe De Cresce        BRA   2351      5.5      33.5  43.0   23.5
  6   Assumpção, Roberto               BRA        2238 5.5      33.0  42.5   28.0
  7   Di Berardino, Diego Rafael       BRA   2358      5.5      29.0  38.0   22.5
  8   van Riemsdijk, Herman Claudius   BRA   2409      5        39.5  51.0   28.0
  9   Caldeira, Adriano                BRA   2320      5        37.5  47.5   25.5
 10   Coelho, Luis                     BRA   2381      5        35.5  46.0   27.0
 11   Matsuura, Everaldo               BRA   2462      5        34.5  46.0   28.5
 12   Fier, Alexandr                   BRA   2489      4.5      36.5  47.5   26.5
 13   Galati, Mario Augusto            BRA   2195      4.5      34.0  44.5   24.0
 14   Matsuura, Frederico              BRA   2280      4.5      33.0  43.0   25.0
 15   Marra, Eduardo da Costa          BRA   2261      4.5      30.0  40.0   18.5
 16   Asfora, Marco                    BRA   2308      4.5      29.5  35.0   21.0
 17   Araujo, Adalberto                BRA   2258      4.5      27.5  35.0   19.0
 18   Miranda Jr, Roberto Calheiros de BRA   2208      4        31.0  40.5   20.5
 19   da Silva, Alessandro Rodrigues   BRA   2204      4        30.5  38.0   20.0
 20   Mekitarian, Krikor Sevag         BRA   2207      4        30.0  36.0   23.0
 21   Name, Gabriel                    BRA   2198      4        27.5  33.0   15.0
 22   Bil, Angelo                      BRA   2135      4        27.0  32.5   16.5
 23   Capatti, Eduardo                 BRA   2164      4        26.0  31.0   18.0
 24   Chemin, Vitorio                  BRA   2363      3.5      28.0  35.5   18.5
 25   Araujo, Alcides Alexandre        BRA   2175      3        30.5  36.0   17.0
 26   Macedo, Maximo Iack              BRA   2094      2.5      25.5  30.5   11.0
 27   De Paula, Guilherme              BRA   2135      2        26.5  32.0    9.0
 28   Tasoko, Toshinobu                BRA   1935      0        26.0  32.5    0.0

Crosstable
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
71st ch-BRA Sao Jose do Rio Preto BRA (BRA), 14-20 ii 2005
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Milos, Gilberto                 g  BRA 2598  +15 = 8 + 6 +13 = 2 + 3 = 4 +10 + 9  7.5  2691 
 2. Leitao, Rafael                  g  BRA 2580  +17 + 6 +11 = 3 = 1 + 4 + 8 + 9 =10  7.5  2690 
 3. Lima, Darcy                     g  BRA 2529  +18 +10 + 4 = 2 +13 - 1 +14 +11 = 8  7.0  2641 
 4. Limp, Eduardo                   m  BRA 2445  +21 +25 - 3 + 5 + 8 - 2 = 1 = 6 =11  5.5  2446 
 5. Assumpcao,Roberto                  BRA ----  +14 + 7 -13 - 4 +15 +12 - 9 = 8 +20  5.5  2416 
 6. El Debs, Felipe de Cresce       f  BRA 2351  +27 - 2 - 1 =25 =16 +22 +13 = 4 +12  5.5  2420 
 7. Di Berardino, Diego Rafael         BRA 2358  =22 - 5 -24 +21 +25 +18 -10 +19 +14  5.5  2289 
 8. Van Riemsdijk, Herman C         m  BRA 2409  +12 = 1 =16 +18 - 4 +13 - 2 = 5 = 3  5.0  2415 
 9. Coelho, Luis                    m  BRA 2381  -25 =22 +21 +17 +11 =14 + 5 - 2 - 1  5.0  2341 
10. Caldeira, Adriano               f  BRA 2320  +26 - 3 -12 +23 +19 =11 + 7 - 1 = 2  5.0  2396 
11. Matsuura, Everaldo              m  BRA 2462  +19 +23 - 2 +12 - 9 =10 +20 - 3 = 4  5.0  2379 
12. Galati, Mario Augusto              BRA 2195  - 8 +15 +10 -11 +17 - 5 +16 =14 - 6  4.5  2294 
13. Fier, Alexander Hila            m  BRA 2489  +20 +16 + 5 - 1 - 3 - 8 - 6 +24 =17  4.5  2335 
14. Matsuura, Frederico                BRA 2280  - 5 =21 +25 +16 +20 = 9 - 3 =12 - 7  4.5  2261 
15. Marra, Eduardo da Costa            BRA 2261  - 1 -12 +26 +22 - 5 =19 =18 =20 +24  4.5  2222 
16. Asfora, Marco                   f  BRA 2308  +28 -13 = 8 -14 = 6 +23 -12 =18 +25  4.5  2245 
17. Araujo, Adalberto               f  BRA 2258  - 2 +27 =19 - 9 -12 =21 +28 +23 =13  4.5  2253 
18. Miranda, Roberto Calheiros de      BRA 2208  - 3 +26 +22 - 8 =24 - 7 =15 =16 =19  4.0  2252 
19. Da Silva, Alessandro Rodrigues     BRA 2204  -11 +24 =17 =20 -10 =15 +27 - 7 =18  4.0  2242 
20. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag          BRA 2207  -13 +28 +23 =19 -14 +24 -11 =15 - 5  4.0  2196 
21. Name, Gabriel                      BRA 2198  - 4 =14 - 9 - 7 +28 =17 +22 -27 +26  4.0  2181 
22. Bil, Angelo                        BRA 2135  = 7 = 9 -18 -15 +26 - 6 -21 +28 +27  4.0  2170 
23. Capatti, Eduardo                   BRA 2164  +24 -11 -20 -10 +27 -16 +26 -17 +28  4.0  2188 
24. Chemin, Vitorio                 f  BRA 2363  -23 -19 + 7 +27 =18 -20 +25 -13 -15  3.5  2164 
25. Azevedo, Alcides Alexandre         BRA 2175  + 9 - 4 -14 = 6 - 7 +28 -24 =26 -16  3.0  2154 
26. Macedo, Maximo Iack                BRA 2094  -10 -18 -15 +28 -22 +27 -23 =25 -21  2.5  2004 
27. De Paula, Guilherme                BRA 2135  - 6 -17 +28 -24 -23 -26 -19 +21 -22  2.0  1969 
28. Tasoko, Toshinobu                  BRA 1935  -16 -20 -27 -26 -21 -25 -17 -22 -23  0.0       
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8) 4th Sao Jose de Rio Preto

The 4th Sao Jose de Rio Preto tournament took place alongside the Brazilian Championship 14th-20th February 2005. Alfredo Giaccio won the event with 6/9.

Further details: http://www.fpx.com.br/2005/festriopreto/principal.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4th It Sao Jose de Rio Preto BRA (BRA), 14-20 ii 2005       cat. III (2323)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Giaccio, Alfredo             m ARG 2467  * = 1 = = = = = 1 1  6.0  2431 
 2. Cubas, Jose Fernando         m PAR 2401  = * 0 1 1 = = = 1 =  5.5  2394 
 3. Bachmann, Axel                 PAR 2314  0 1 * = 0 = 1 = 1 1  5.5  2403 
 4. Crosa, Martin                m URU 2401  = 0 = * = = = 1 1 1  5.5  2394 
 5. Valiente, Cristobal          m PAR 2321  = 0 1 = * = = 1 = =  5.0  2365 
 6. Borges, Leomar Barbero         BRA 2289  = = = = = * 1 = 0 1  5.0  2369 
 7. Frare, Fernando                BRA 2247  = = 0 = = 0 * = 1 1  4.5  2331 
 8. Disconzi da Silva, Rodrigo   f BRA 2386  = = = 0 0 = = * 0 1  3.5  2235 
 9. Oliveira, Silvio Eduardo       BRA 2242  0 0 0 0 = 1 0 1 * 1  3.5  2251 
10. Melo, Vanderlei Cason          BRA 2159  0 = 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 *  1.0  1989 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

9) Polish Under-20

The Polish Under-20 Championship took place 31st January - 8th February 2005. Radoslaw Wojtaszek won the event with 9.5/11.

Official site: http://www.pzszach.org.pl/partie/mp20.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-POL u-20 Sroda Wlkp. POL (POL), 31 i-8 ii 2005        cat. VII (2401)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw   m POL 2553  * 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 =  9.5  2696 
 2. Heberla, Bartlomiej   m POL 2438  0 * 0 = = 1 1 = = 1 1 1  7.0  2499 
 3. Czakon, Jakub           POL 2428  0 1 * 1 0 0 0 1 = 1 = 1  6.0  2434 
 4. Stopa, Jacek            POL 2334  0 = 0 * = = 1 = 1 = 1 =  6.0  2443 
 5. Luch, Michal          f POL 2384  0 = 1 = * 0 0 = = 1 1 1  6.0  2438 
 6. Pakleza, Zbigniew       POL 2413  = 0 1 = 1 * = = 1 0 0 =  5.5  2400 
 7. Szoen, Dariusz          POL 2465  0 0 1 0 1 = * 0 = = 1 1  5.5  2395 
 8. Gajewski, Grzegorz    m POL 2401  0 = 0 = = = 1 * = 0 = 1  5.0  2365 
 9. Warakomski, Tomasz      POL 2397  = = = 0 = 0 = = * 1 0 =  4.5  2336 
10. Skalski, Michal       f POL 2350  0 0 0 = 0 1 = 1 0 * = =  4.0  2303 
11. Tomczak, Jacek          POL 2294  0 0 = 0 0 1 0 = 1 = * =  4.0  2308 
12. Ejsmont, Krzysztof      POL 2356  = 0 0 = 0 = 0 0 = = = *  3.0  2230 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) Shulman - Wojtkiewicz Match

There was a 6 game match between Yuri Shulman and Aleksander Wojtkiewicz February 19th-21st in Stillwater, Oklahoma USA. After 6 draws there were two rapid playoff games, Yuri Shulman won the second of those. Arbiters are Frank Berry, Fred Roper, Alex Relyea and Jim Berry. The match was sponsored by Frank Berry and the Oklahoma Chess Foundation and broadcast on ICC.

Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  -  Shulman, Yuri            1/2   58  A31  English Symmetrical
Shulman, Yuri            -  Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  1/2   29  D10  Slav Defence
Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  -  Shulman, Yuri            1/2   31  E05  Catalan
Shulman, Yuri            -  Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  1/2   35  D17  Slav Defence
Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  -  Shulman, Yuri            1/2   30  E05  Catalan
Shulman, Yuri            -  Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  1/2   16  D18  Slav Defence

Rapid playoff

Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  -  Shulman, Yuri            1/2   60  E05  Catalan
Shulman, Yuri            -  Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander  1-0   29  D17  Slav Defence

Match Stillwater USA (USA), 19-21 ii 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shulman, Yuri           g  USA 2551    =   =   =   =   =   =   =   1   4.5  2579
Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander g  USA 2536    =   =   =   =   =   =   =   0   3.5  2508
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11) 12th Russian Clubs

The 1st League of the 12th-ch Russia Club Teams took place 3rd-12th February 2005. Merie from Moscow won the event. There are some problems with the games although they generally seem OK but some players play each other twice or play two games in a round. My thanks to Thomas Henrich for converting the games.

Details in Russian: http://www.smolchess.ru

12) OCF Winter FIDE Open

The OCF Winter FIDE Open took place February 19th-21st 2005 in Stillwater, Oklahoma USA at the same time and place as the Shulman - Wojtkiewicz match. Sergey Galant of Oklahoma City won the Open event with 5.5 from 7. My thanks to Frank Berry.

Further details: http://www.okchess.org/

-----------------------------------------------
OCF Winter Stillwater USA (USA), 19-21 ii 2005
-----------------------------------------------
 1. Galant, Sergey        USA 2211    5.5
 2. Movsisyan, Movses     USA 2340    5.0
 3. Curdo, John        f  USA 2257    5.0
 4. Latino,Carl           USA ----    5.0
 5. Patton,Tom            USA ----    4.5
 6. Datta, Deepyaman      USA 2119    4.5
 7. Braunlich, Tom        USA 2210    4.5
 8. Graham,Shaun          USA ----    4.5
 9. Datta, Anjali         USA ----    4.5
10. Langer, Michael       USA 2259    4.5
48 players

13) Nordic Youth Championships

The Nordic Youth Championships were played in Oslo, 18th-20th February 2005. Dagur Arngrimsson won the event with 5.5/6.

Official site: http://folk.uio.no/vahansen/nord05/ - games - http://folk.uio.no/vahansen/nord05/nordall.cbv

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-Nordic Youth Oslo NOR (NOR), 18-20 ii 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Arngrimsson, Dagur        ISL 2304  + 6 + 3 + 2 + 9 + 4 = 5  5.5  2469 
 2. Nithander, Victor         SWE 2229  + 4 +10 - 1 + 3 + 9 = 8  4.5  2276 
 3. Skrondal,Inge             NOR ----  +11 - 1 +10 - 2 + 6 = 4  3.5  2206 
 4. Dyrgaard, Kristoffer      DEN 2083  - 2 + 8 + 7 +11 - 1 = 3  3.5  2234 
 5. Bryn, Askild              NOR 2009  - 7 +13 - 9 +10 +11 = 1  3.5  2177 
 6. Nyback, Jukka             FIN 2088  - 1 =11 = 8 + 7 - 3 + 9  3.0  2139 
 7. Karlsson, Bjorn-Ivar      ISL 2224  + 5 = 9 - 4 - 6 = 8 =10  2.5  1991 
 8. Hynninen, Juha            FIN 2112  -10 - 4 = 6 +13 = 7 = 2  2.5  2047 
 9. Thorsteinsson,Sjurdur     FAI ----  +12 = 7 + 5 - 1 - 2 - 6  2.5  2112 
10. Madsen,Michael            DEN ----  + 8 - 2 - 3 - 5 +13 = 7  2.5  2038 
11. Berg, Olaf                FAI 2194  - 3 = 6 +12 - 4 - 5 +13  2.5  2000 
12. Mohammadi, Amir           SWE 2163  - 9  .  -11  .   .   .   0.0       
13. BYE                           ----   .  - 5  .  - 8 -10 -11  0.0       
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

14) VIII Malaga International Open

The VIII Malaga International Open took place 19th-26th February 2005. Six players tied on 6.5/9 with Aleksander Colovic took first on tie-break. News: Javier Rubio.

Official site: http://www.malagajedrez.org/open/05open/05Open.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIII Malaga Open Campillos ESP (ESP), 19-26 ii 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1    Colovic, Aleksander             im  MKD   2404  6.5   48.5   36.5
  2    Matamoros Franco, Carlos        gm  ECU   2522  6.5   48.0   35.5
  3    Galego, Luis                    gm  POR   2496  6.5   46.5   34.5
  4    Cramling, Pia                   gm  SWE   2481  6.5   46.0   32.0
  5    Komljenovic, Davor              gm  CRO   2492  6.5   45.0   33.0
  6    Khamrakulov, Ibragim            im  UZB   2501  6.5   43.0   30.5
  7    Suba, Mihai                     gm  ROM   2529  6     46.5   31.5
  8    Barrientos Chavarriada, Sergio  fm  COL   2432  6     46.0   33.5
  9    Perez Garcia, Rodney            im  CUB   2430  6     45.5   33.5
  10   Saldaño Dayer, Horacio          im  ARG   2482  6     43.5   30.5
  11   Llanes Hurtado, Miguel          fm  ESP   2418  6     42.5   31.5
  12   Belezky, Sasha                  im  UKR   2399  6     42.5   30.0
  13   Arizmendi Martinez, Julen       gm  ESP   2509  6     42.5   29.5
  14   Tissir, Mohamed                 im  MAR   2426  6     41.0   28.0
  15   Rizouk, Aimen                   im  ALG   2457  5.5   48.0   33.5
  16   Baron Rodriguez, Jesus          im  ESP   2422  5.5   46.0   32.0
  17   Alonso Garcia, Rene             im  CUB   2395  5.5   45.5   31.0
  18   Kovacevic, Slobodan             im  SCG   2358  5.5   42.5   28.5
  19   Slaby, Jerzy                    im  POL   2401  5.5   42.0   28.0
  20   Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel       gm  ESP   2428  5.5   41.5   30.5
  21   Fernandez Siles, Luis           fm  ESP   2280  5.5   40.0   28.5
  22   Barria Zuñiga, Daniel           im  CHI   2349  5     46.5   28.0
  23   Matnadze, Ana                   wgm GEO   2376  5     46.0   28.5
  24   Javakhishvili, Lela             wgm GEO   2456  5     45.0   30.5
  25   Carlsson, Pontus                fm  SWE   2381  5     42.5   28.5
  26   Yeo, Michael J.                     ENG   2222  5     42.5   26.0
  27   Frois, Antonio                  im  POR   2349  5     41.5   26.0
  28   Fenollar Jorda, Manuel              ESP   2226  5     41.0   25.0
  29   Picazo Lopez, Juan Antonio          ESP   2094  5     39.0   24.0
  30   Milla de Marco, Carlos              ESP   2092  5     38.5   24.0
  31   Rubio Doblas, Ricardo               ESP   2090  5     36.5   23.0
  32   Naranjo Moreno, Antonio             ESP   2169  5     36.0   25.0
  33   Nava Baro, Enrique              .   ESP   2218  5     34.5   23.5
  34   Gavilan Diaz, Mario                 ESP   2078  5     34.5   20.0
  35   Ladron de Guevara Pinto, Miguel     ESP         4.5   40.0   24.0
  36   Lopez Gonzalez, Daniel              ESP   2128  4.5   35.5   22.5
  37   Bolle, Leendert                     ESP   2036  4.5   30.5   16.0
  38   Kopischke, Maik                     GER         4     38.0   22.0
  39   Guadamuro Torrente, Ana Isabel      ESP   2040  4     37.5   20.0
  40   Naranjo Rivera, Antonio             ESP         4     37.0   21.0
  41   Gutierrez Castillo, Paloma      wfm ESP   2120  4     36.5   22.5
  42   Muñoz Jorva, Miguel Angel           ESP         4     36.5   20.0
  43   Garcia Gata, Jorge David            ESP   2010  4     35.0   19.0
       Festa, Samuele                      ITA         4     35.0   19.0
  45   Blanco Villalba, Jose Francisco     ESP   1982  4     35.0   17.0
  46   Borrego Gil, Diego                  ESP   2102  4     34.5   22.0
  47   Torres Tellez, Jonathan             ESP   2042  4     34.5   18.0
  48   Cantos Galan, Francisco             ESP         4     33.0   18.5
  49   Vecchia, Mario                      ITA   2069  4     32.0   18.0
  50   Almagro Guardia, Elena              ESP         4     31.5   16.5
  51   Pedraza Fernandez, Miguel Angel     ESP   1960  3.5   34.5   18.0
  52   Garzon Rodriguez, Jose Manuel       ESP   1975  3.5   33.5   18.0
  53   Garcia Castilla, Manuel             ESP         3.5   33.0   11.5
  54   Gomez Cerezo, Diego Jesus           ESP   2132  3.5   32.5   18.5
  55   Escofet Llongueras, Joan            ESP   1928  3.5   32.5   16.5
  56   Gil Rodriguez, Isabel               ESP   1938  3.5   31.5   15.5
  57   Anaya Lopez, Victor                 ESP         3.5   31.5   15.0
  58   Ladron de Guevara Pinto, Fermin     ESP         3.5   30.0   14.5
  59   Martinez Garret, Jose Francisco     ESP         3.5   29.5   11.0
  60   Korneev, Oleg                   gm  RUS   2602  3.5   28.0   13.0
  61   Garcia Molina, Francisco Miguel     ESP   2023  3     35.5   18.0
  62   Navas Lopez, Francisco              ESP         3     35.5   16.0
  63   Biletska, Iryna                     UKR         3     30.5   11.0
  64   Trabazos Gallego, Javier            ESP         2.5   34.5   13.0
  65   Jimenez Lupiañez, Laura             ESP         2.5   33.5   13.5
  66   Garcia Ruiz, Angel                  ESP         2.5   32.5   13.5
  67   Ladron de Guevara Pinto, Paolo      ESP         2.5   31.0   14.0
  68   Anaya Lopez, Gonzalo                ESP         2     28.0    7.0
  69   Garriga Marrodan, Enrique           ESP         2     27.5    9.0
  70   Nieto Asencio, Maria del Carmen     ESP         1.5   30.0   10.0
  71   Ortega Gonzalez, Jose Luis          ESP   1920  0.5   20.0    1.5

15) III Festival Olimpico Salinas

Martha Fierro sends news of a closed Category 8 tournament. The tournament was held in Salinas-Ecuador February 18th-24th 2005. Julio Granda Zuniga won the event with 7.5/9. Cuban Miguel Medina is about to change nationality to Ecuador.

Further information: http://www.marticafierro.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
III Festival Olimpico Salinas ECU (ECU), 17-23 ii 2005       cat. VIII (2440)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Granda Zuniga, Julio E        g PER 2599  * 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 = =  7.5  2695 
 2. Blatny, Pavel                 g CZE 2456  0 * 0 1 = 1 1 1 = 1  6.0  2563 
 3. Arencibia, Walter             g CUB 2528  0 1 * = = = = 1 1 1  6.0  2555 
 4. Hellsten, Johan               g SWE 2554  = 0 = * = = 1 1 1 1  6.0  2552 
 5. Fierro Baquero, Martha L     wg ECU 2330  0 = = = * = 0 = 1 1  4.5  2452 
 6. Medina, Miguel CUB            f CUB 2440  0 0 = = = * = = 1 1  4.5  2440 
 7. Mieles Palau, Daniel          m ECU 2444  0 0 = 0 1 = * = 1 1  4.5  2439 
 8. Ricaurte Lopez, Juan Carlos   f ECU 2333  0 0 0 0 = = = * = =  2.5  2286 
 9. Lopez Velez, Marlon           f ECU 2331  = = 0 0 0 0 0 = * =  2.0  2232 
10. Munoz Sanchez, Miguel         m ECU 2388  = 0 0 0 0 0 0 = = *  1.5  2173 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

16) Mimoza Open

The 6th Mimoza Open takes place 25th February - 3rd March, 2005 in Herceg Novi.

Further details: http://www.sah.paracin.co.yu/SSCG/index.htm

The players are from Serbia and Montenegro (GM Damljanovic Branko, GM Blagojevic Dragisa, GM Savic Miodrag, GM Abramovic Bosko), Bulgaria (GM Genov), Romania (GM Vaida Levente, WGM Adina Bogza, IM Nanu Ciprian), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Miljkovic Milan). There are six grandmasters, 2 woman grandmasters, eight international masters etc. News: Goran Tomic.

Round 3 Standings:
 1-2  Abramovic, Bosko      SCG   2478 3       5.5     2.0    6.0    3
      Popovic, Dusan        SCG   2462 3       5.0     1.5    6.0    3
3-13  Blagojevic, Dragisa   SCG   2537 2.5     6.5     2.0    5.5    2
      Miljanic, Boro        SCG   2436 2.5     6.0     2.0    5.5    2
      Bodiroga, Predrag     SCG   2418 2.5     5.5     1.5    5.5    2
      Vajda, Levente        ROM   2542 2.5     5.5     1.5    5.0    2
      Genov, Petar          BUL   2470 2.5     5.0     1.5    5.5    2
      Misailovic, Nebojsa   SCG   2349 2.5     5.0     1.5    5.0    2
      Todorovic, Jovan      SCG   2387 2.5     4.5     1.5    5.5    2
      Savic, Miodrag R.     SCG   2508 2.5     4.5     1.0    5.5    2
      Nanu, Ciprian-Costica ROM   2453 2.5     4.0     1.5    5.0    2
      Nestorovic, Dejan     SCG   2402 2.5     4.0     1.5    5.0    2
      Bogza, Adina-Maria    ROM   2272 2.5     3.0     1.0    4.5    2
14-26 Damljanovic, Branko   SCG   2587 2       7.0     2.0    5.0    2
      Vajda, Albert         ROM   2436 2       5.5     1.5    5.0    2
      Ceranic, Miodrag      SCG   2110 2       5.0     1.5    4.0    1
      Mihajlovic, Veselin   SCG   2351 2       4.5     1.5    4.5    1
      Toth, Aleksandar      SCG   2251 2       4.5     1.5    4.5    1
      Popadic, Dragan       SCG   2274 2       4.5     1.5    4.0    1
      Pejovic, Branko       SCG   2223 2       4.5     1.5    4.0    1
      Vulinovic, Radivoje   SCG   2219 2       4.5     1.5    3.0    2
      Radojcic, Slobodan    SCG   2279 2       4.0     1.0    4.0    2
      Savic, Miomir         SCG   2269 2       4.0     1.0    4.0    2
      Vujacic, Igor         SCG   2172 2       4.0     1.0    3.0    2
      Stanojevic, Branko    SCG   2319 2       3.5     1.0    4.0    2
      Krivokapic, Marko     SCG   2330 2       3.0     1.0    4.0    2
27-38 Brajovic, Radovan     SCG   2278 1.5     6.0     2.5    4.0    1
      Benderac, Ana         SCG   2287 1.5     5.5     1.5    3.5    1
      Vlatkovic, Milos      SCG   2307 1.5     5.0     2.5    4.0    1
      Petijevic, Vaso       SCG   2270 1.5     5.0     2.0    4.0    1
      Nestorovic, D. Nikola SCG   2328 1.5     5.0     1.5    3.5    1
      Pejovic, Jovan        SCG   2199 1.5     5.0     1.5    2.5    1
      Miljkovic, Milan      BIH   2285 1.5     4.5     1.5    3.5    1
      Raicevic, Momcilo     SCG   2351 1.5     4.5     1.5    2.5    1
      Nestorovic, Lazar     SCG   1981 1.5     4.5     1.5    2.5    1
      Andric, Vladimir      SCG   1500 1.5     4.5     1.5    2.5    1
      Vukcevic, Nemanja     SCG   1400 1.5     4.5     1.5    2.5    1
      Petijevic, Snezana    SCG   1400 1.5     4.0     1.5    2.5    1
39-55 Konjevic, Djordje     SCG   2336 1       6.0     2.5    3.0    1
      Djekovic, Zoran       SCG   2034 1       5.5     2.0    2.0    1
      Bubanja, Masan        SCG   1500 1       5.5     2.0    2.0    1
      Kusturica, Omar       SCG   1500 1       5.0     2.0    2.0    1
      Vujkovic, Djordjije   SCG   1500 1       5.0     2.0    2.0    1
      Zoric, Vladimir       SCG   1400 1       5.0     1.5    2.0    0
      Rosandic, Martin      SCG   1907 1       4.5     2.0    2.0    1
      Kontic, Djordjije     SCG   2347 1       4.0     1.5    2.5    0
      Cerovic, Vukoman      SCG   1500 1       4.0     1.5    2.0    1
      Mikic, Savo           SCG   1500 1       4.0     1.5    2.0    1
      Djurickovic, Milos    SCG   1400 1       4.0     1.5    1.0    1
      Grdinic, Petar        SCG   1400 1       4.0     1.5    1.0    1
      Uzelac, Ana           SCG   1400 1       4.0     1.5    1.0    0
      Kovacevic, Dragica    SCG   1400 1       3.0     1.0    1.0    1
      Milosevic, Bojan      SCG   1400 1       2.5     1.0    1.0    1
      Petijevic, Zeljko     SCG   1400 1       2.5     1.0    1.0    1
      Rolovic, Boris        SCG   1400 1       2.5     1.0    1.0    1
56-58 Kovacevic, Milica     SCG   1400 0.5     5.0     1.5    1.5    0
      Djurickovic, Ivana    SCG   1400 0.5     4.5     1.5    1.0    0
      Vasiljevic, Kristina  SCG   1400 0.5     3.5     1.0    1.0    0
59-63 Kovacevic, Filip      SCG   1400 0       4.5     1.5    0.0    0
      Nikolic, Milan        SCG   1400 0       4.5     1.5    0.0    0
      Podovac, Nikola       SCG   1400 0       4.5     1.5    0.0    0
      Rubezic, Rados        SCG   1400 0       4.0     1.5    0.0    0
      Nogulovic, Nikola     SCG   1400 0       3.5     1.0    0.0    0

17) Córdoba City Championship

There was a 2 game match between IM Guillermo Soppe (Elo 2451) and FM Raúl Monier (Elo 2412) on February 22nd in Cordoba city, Argentina. The small event was a two game rapid g/30 minutes finish match. Both games finished drawn, and Soppe was awarded the AACC title (better tie break). AACC is the Asociación de Ajedrez de la Ciudad de Cordoba. News: Julio Alberto González.

Further details: http://www.notichess.com

Soppe, Guillermo  -  Monier, Raul      0-1   42  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
Monier, Raul      -  Soppe, Guillermo  0-1   41  D40  Semi-Tarrasch Defence

City-ch m g/30 Cordoba City ARG (ARG), 22-22 ii 2005
-------------------------------------------------
                               1   2 
-------------------------------------------------
Monier, Raul     f  ARG 2412    1   0   1.0  2451
Soppe, Guillermo m  ARG 2451    0   1   1.0  2412
-------------------------------------------------

18) Mercantile Bank 31st Bangladesh Championship

The Mercantile Bank 31st Bangladesh National Chess Championship 2005 takes place in Dhaka 25th February - 11th March 2005. News: Haroon I.A. Chief Arbiter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
31st ch-BAN Dhaka BAN (BAN), 25 ii-10 iii 2005                 cat. II (2299)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Rahman, Ziaur          g BAN 2523  * . = . . . . . 1 1 . . . .  2.5  2550 
 2. Abdulla, Al-Rakib      m BAN 2454  . * . . . = . 1 . . 1 . . .  2.5  2603 
 3. Murshed, Niaz          g BAN 2479  = . * . . . . . . . . 1 . 1  2.5  2546 
 4. Reefat, Bin-Sattar     m BAN 2462  . . . * . . 1 . . . . . . 1  2.0       
 5. Uten                     BAN 2141  . . . . * . . = = . . . 1 .  2.0  2356 
 6. Hossain, Enamul        m BAN 2434  . = . . . * = . . . = . . .  1.5  2335 
 7. Hasan, Mehdi             BAN 2282  . . . 0 . = * . . 1 . . . .  1.5  2346 
 8. Islam, Kh. Aminul      f BAN 2287  . 0 . . = . . * . . . . 1 .  1.5  2264 
 9. Rahman, S. Manfuzur      BAN 2210  0 . . . = . . . * . . 1 . .  1.5  2261 
10. Ahmed, Mainuddin         BAN 2143  0 . . . . . 0 . . * . . . 1  1.0  2201 
11. Abu Sufian, Sakil      f BAN 2270  . 0 . . . = . . . . * . . .  0.5  2251 
12. Hasan Md, Emam           BAN 2121  . . 0 . . . . . 0 . . * = .  0.5  2022 
13. Islam, Aminul Polash     BAN 2198  . . . . 0 . . 0 . . . = * .  0.5  1910 
14. Haque, Rezaul          f BAN 2175  . . 0 0 . . . . . 0 . . . *  0.0       
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

19) Belgian Teams 2004-2005

The Belgian Teams started on 19th September 2004 for division 1 teams. The title is likely to be won by SK47 Eynatten 1, Temse Boey 2 or SK Rochade Eupen. Round 6 correction to Landa-Kveinys. News Steve Laios.

20) Jersey International Chess Festival

The Jersey International Chess Festival took place 13th-19th February 2005. 7 rounds. There was a total of £7,000 in prizes and is part of the British Chess Federation Grand Prix. My thanks to Arthur Brameld for the games.

Results: http://chesscircuit.blogspot.com/

No Name                Feder   Rtg  Title Total 
1  David Howell          ENG   2348 im    6       £1500 1st + Trophy
2  Jonny Hector          SWE   2516 gm    5.5     £1000 2nd + Trophy
3  Simon Fowler          ENG   2116       5       £750  3rd
4  Tiger Hillarp-Persson SWE   2545 gm    4.5     £250 =4-7th
5  Matthew Dignam        IRL   2149       4.5     £250 =4-7th
6  Alan Spice            WLS   2182       4.5     £250 =4-7th
7  Mark G Fraser         SCO   2168       4.5     £250 =4-7th
8  Watu Kobese           RSA   2419 im    4       --------
9  Henry Duncanson       ENG   2110       4       £150 U2200 1st
10 John Trevelyan        WLS   2178       3.5     £34.00 U2200 =2nd
11 Juergen Brustkern     GER   2251 fm    3.5     --------
12 John R Hawes          JER   2151       3.5     £34.00 U2200 =2nd **
13 Thomas Eggleston      ENG   2169       3.5     £75.00 JUNIOR =1st
14 Ian Heppell           ENG   2167       3.5     £34.00 U2200 =2nd
15 James Heppell         ENG   2109       3.5     £75.00 JUNIOR =1st
16 David Eggleston       ENG   2159       3       --------
17 Peter Constantinou    ENG   2122       3       --------
18 Ian Clark             ENG   2107       3       --------
19 David O Collier       ENG   2142       3       --------
20 Dr Felix Buchkremer   GER   2030       3       £150.00 U2040 1st
21 William Bennet        ENG   2122       3       --------
22 Phil J Taylor         ENG   2058       2.5     --------
23 Kieran S Murphy       ENG   2005       2.5     £100.00 U2040 2nd
24 Sebastian C Pozzo     ENG   1960       2       --------
25 Chris S Jones         ENG   1910       1       --------
26 Brian Gosling         ENG   2109       1       --------
27 Jeffrey Heath         ENG   1978       1       --------

21) 21st Cappelle la Grande Open

The 21st Cappelle la Grande Open took place 12th-19th February 2005. 590 players competed. IM David Shengelia and GM Michail Brodsky finished on 7.5/9. Murtas Kazhgaleyev was the top seed but only finished on 6. Games from rounds 7-8 now available, round 9 is still missing and maybe won't appear.

Official site: http://www.cappelle-chess.com

22) TWIC Theory

TWIC Theory is a new electronic magazine with high quality articles delivered in ChessBase, PGN or PDF format. A 3 month subscription costs $15. 1st subscription article: GM Victor Mikhalevski revitalises Botvinnik's idea, 9.Be3.

To subscribe click here: http://www.chesscenter.com/twictheory/ or at http://www.chess4less.com (Directly: http://www.classicalgames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=001316&AFFIL=CBL)

E-Mail for comments and contact: twictheory2005@yahoo.co.uk

Next Four Articles:
Mar 8   Sicilian Najdorf 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nc6!?  GM Tony Kosten
Mar 15  Ruy Lopez Breyer Variation            IM Malcolm Pein
Mar 22  Crushing the Pirc                     IM Andrew Martin
Mar 29  Slav 4.e3 Bg4                         GM Eric Prie

23) Forthcoming Events and Links

2nd Coventry Chess International

The 2nd Coventry Chess International March 24th-28th 2005 Easter weekend.

VENUE: Britannia Hotel, Fairfax Street, Cathedral Square, Coventry. CV1 5RP (Opposite Pool Meadow bus station) STATUS: FIDE Rated BCF Grand Prix (Elite Status) and British Championship Qualifier The event has an exceptionally strong Grandmaster and International Master line-up and will provide excellent IM and GM norm opportunities for strong aspiring players Confirmed/expected titled players so far: GMs Kiril Georgiev 2654,Christain Bauer 2635, Igor Khenken 2604,Vladislav Tkachiev 2610, Zahar Efimenko 2601,Kiriakov,Wells, Arkell, Nick Pert, Greenfield, Stuart Conquest,Alexander Cherniaev IMs P.Littlewood,Berzinsh,Cooper, Colovic, Dearing, Gwaze, Simon Williams, Sherwin,Adam Hunt,M.Tissir WGM Jovanka Houska

Prize Fund £7000+ 1st prize £2000 (3000 Euros approx) 2nd prize £1000 (€1500) 3rd prize £ 800 (€1200) 4th prize £ 600 (€900) 5th prize £ 500 (€750) 6th prize £ 400 (€600) 7th prize £ 300 (€450) 8th prize £ 200 (€300) 9th prize £ 100 (€150) Ladies prize £ 400 (€600) Best Game Prize £ 100 (€150) Best FIDE Rating performance using k=10 £100 (€150) Plus grading prizes: Under 2400/225 BCF £100 (€150) Under 2200/200 BCF £100 (€150) Under 2000/175 BCF £100 (€150) Under 2000/175 BCF £100 (€150) Highest unrated player £100 (€150) Highest Placed Coventry & District League Player £100 and Roy Woodcock Trophy for one year Ladies' Prize £400 (€600) Highest Placed Junior Player £100 plus book prize

Further details: http://www.coventrychess.org.uk/

Karpov vs Istratescu Match

Anatoly Karpov and Andrei Istratescu will play a match in Bucharest 20th-26th March 2005. There will be 4 classical games on 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th and 4 rapid chess on 25th and 26th. More details soon.

Sofia SuperGM

Spanish newspaper Marca is reporting that a category XXI tournament will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria (May 12th-22nd 2005) mainly organized by Veselin Topalov. Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Ruslan Ponomariov & Judit Polgar have already confirmed their participation, and it looks like the organisers have invited Garry Kasparov with Peter Leko as a possible replacement.

Report: http://www.marca.com/edicion/noticia/0,2458,596499,00.html

Moscow Open 2005

The Moscow Open 2005 takes place 23rd February - 3rd March 2005 in the Central Chess House, Gogolevsky Boulevard 14. The Moscow Chess Federation organises this 9 round event with a time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1.

Coverage: http://www.volgachess.ru/, http://www.russiachess.ru and http://www.chess-players.org

Millennium Chess Festival

The 6th annual Millennium Chess Festival takes place February 25th-27th 2005, at the Ramada Plaza Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. The event, with over $18,000 in total prizes, is sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton and is presented by Beach Events and the city of Virginia Beach. It is a 5-round swiss, FIDE rated.

Comps available: GMs/WGMs/IMs: free entry fee. GMs/WGMs: free hotel accommodations if you commit to come by February 10, 2005. Contact eschlich@aol.com for details.

Special events include: Lecture by Susan Polgar on Fischer-Random Chess (Chess 960), Fischer-Random Blitz Chess Tournament, Nakamura vs Susan Polgar ³Dinner/Exhibition Match²

Further information: http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival

Oslo Easter Chess Festival

The Oslo Easter Chess Festival 2005 takes place 19th-27th March 2005.

The main event is The Open Norwegian Championships 19th-27th March (Swiss tournament with chances for IM norms). The tournament is divided into to groups: Group A (open) and group B (national rating 0-1999). Lists of participants are available at the homepage, and the homepage will be updated once a day at the homepage.

Side events are a cup 19th-23rd March, rapid tournament 24-25 March, blitz tournament 26 March and team blitz tournament 20 March.

Further details: http://folk.uio.no/vahansen

Ratings Article

Jean-Claude Templeur on ratings manipulation: http://www.chessmile.com/articles.php?id=30

Final of the WCBCSC 2004-2005

Brian Stephenson of the British Chess Problem Society reports. The Final of the WCBCSC 2004-2005 took place at Oakham School on Saturday 19th February. It was a resounding success for solving GM and Ex-World Champion Jonathan Mestel, who came ahead of two other ex-world champions. The event was sponsored by Winton Capital Management: http://www.wintoncapital.com/

The full results can be found at my website. Follow this link for the final table: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/0405/finaltable.html and this for the problems used: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/0405/final_diag.html

British Chess Problem Society: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/

7th European Senior Teams

The 7th European Senior Teams takes place in Dresden 18th-25th February 2005. No games available.

Official site: http://www.schachfestival.de

Evry Tournaments

The 2nd GM and IM tournaments in Evry takes place 21st-27th February 2005. No games available.

Official site: http://www.evry-grandroque.com

Blackpool Open

The Blackpool Open takes place 11th-13th March 2005. GM's Jonathan Rowson & Mark Hebden and IM's Craig Hanley and Richard Pallicer have already entered. Eight games from the Open will be broadcast live on the internet.

With a prize fund of over £8,000 between 6 sections the tournament is expected to attract over 500 players.

On the Friday afternoon, GM Jonathan Rowson will be giving a simultaneous before the congress commences, spaces are still available.

Further information available from http://www.blackpoolchess.org.uk

US Amateur Team East

The US Amateur Team East takes place February 19th-21st 2005 in Parsippany, New Jerey USA

Further info: http://www.uschess.org/tla/yState.php?st=Natl

Swiss Chess Tour Davos Festival 2005

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2005" will continue in Davos with Chess Festival, the first time, besides "Open Davos", will be separate "Senior Open Davos", "Junior Open Davos" and "Summer-night open".

Davos is one of the most popular tourist places in Europe (summer and winter). Last year when all Europe caught by high tropical temperature at Davos was 20-25 degrees Celsius, always with a cupful of mountain wind. Next year, 2006, Davos will host European Individual Senior Championship.

Main event, the 4th "Sunstar Park Hotel Open", July 30th - August 7th 2005. "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars) will be host festival in the new, comfortable "Congress Center". Swiss system, 9 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and FIDE rating. Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 900, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. From 11.- 20. places natural prizes. Special prizes for best Lady, best local player. Entry fee 140 SF, FMs and juniors 70 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GMs and IMs free. Time table: Rounds 1 16.00-22.00 July 30th; Round 2/8 14.00-20.00 July 31st- August 6th; Round 9 10.00-16.00 August 7th.

"Senior Open" July 31st - August 6th, senior 1945, 7 rounds and the games last of 5 hours (40 moves 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and FIDE rating. Prize is: 500/400/300/2x200/2x150 SF. Natural prizes for players with 4 points. Entry fee 70 SF, at the door 10 SF more. Time table 9.30 - 14.30 every day.

"Junior Open", born 1985 and younger. Exactly the same like "Senior Open" except, juniors lodging at "Sunstar Park Hotel" don't pay enter-fee. (Hotel pays for them).

"Summer-night Open", 7 rounds, 45 minutes for game; time-table 21.15-22.45 every day; natural prizes for all players with 4 points; enter fee 10 SF.

Venue: "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars). Closing ceremony August 8th, half-hour after the last game. Unbelievable chess-rates. Info: Beochess +41+34+424-01-06 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch

Acropolis 2005

The Greek Chess Federation is organising the "Acropolis 2005" International Open in Athens (Hotel President) 6th-14th March 2005. Total prizes: over 16.000 Euros

Unofficial list of GM participants: Lputian 2640 ARM , Avrukh 2629 ISR , Izoria 2607 GEO , Pelletier 2604 SUI , Inarkiev 2602 RUS , Solak 2596 SCG , Socko 2591 POL , Gashimov 2585 AZE , Kotronias 2585 GRE , Rozentalis 2584 LTU , Sokolov 2582 FRA , Mastrovasilis 2580 GRE , Papaioannou 2578 GRE , Gelashvili 2577 GEO , Romanishin 2558 UKR , Gershon 2533 ISR , Halkias 2533 GRE , Nikolaidis 2520 GRE , Stefanova 2491 BUL , Skembris 2445 GRE

Further details: http://www.chess.gr/tourn/2005/acropolis05_announ.html

37th Belgrade Women's International

The Belgrade Chess Association organises the traditional 37th Women International Grandmaster "March 8th" Chess Tournament 6th-14th March 2005 in Belgrade. The Round Robin event has 10 participants. Confirmed names: wg Chelushkina, Irina SCG 2369 wg Olarasu, Gabriela ROM 2327 wf Dimitrijevic, Aleksandra SCG 2295 wf Stojanovic, Marija SCG 2182 wm Savic, Marijana SCG 2173 wf Trujillo Delgado, Dafnae ESP 2173

Websites: http://www.beochess.org.yu (Belgrade Chess Association) http://www.scgchess.org (Serbia and Montenegro Chess Federation)

9th Chess Festival Voronezh

The 9th Chess Festival Voronezh 2005 takes place 10th-21st June 2005.

Official site: http://www.relex.ru/~xuser/voronezh_open/

Kramnik Exhibition Match

North Rhine-Westphalian Minister President Peer Steinbrück has challenged Classical World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from Moscow to an exhibition game on March 5th 2005. Regarded by chess experts as a particularly ambitious and adept chess amateur, Peer Steinbrück is a serious opponent. We are told we "can expect a serious game of approximately one hour duration. There will be no handicap for one of the players. The exact rules of play will be published in due course or on the day of the event. " The event takes place at the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany on Saturday, March 5 2005.

18th Ciudad de Leon

The 18th edition of the Ciudad de Leon chess tournament will be held in Leon, Spain June 9th-13th 2005. Players: Viswanathan Anand, Rustam Khasimdanov, Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen. As usual, there will be 2 semi finals (June 10th and 11th) and a final (June 12th) and the venue will be the "Edificio de la Junta de Castilla y León" building. The sponsors are: the Ayuntamiento de León, the Junta de Castilla y León, the Diputación de León, the Universidad de León, Cajaduero and Alsa

The official web will be http://www.advancedchessleon.com and/or http://www.elajedrezdelfuturo.com

10th Stuttgart International Championship

The 10th Stuttgart International Championship takes place in Germany 5th-8th May 2005. Further details; Thomas Clemens e-mail: tc1772@nexgo.de

Further information: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de.

Brno 2005

There are GM, IM and Open tournaments in Brno, Czech Republic 30th June - 10th July 2005.

Information: Internet - http://volny.cz/skduras E-mail - petr.pisk@centrum.cz Phone - Petr Pisk, +420- 731 465 344

Lenk Chess Festival

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2005" will continue in Lenk with the 17th "Kreuz-Open" March 24th-28th 2005. The host will be Hotel Kreuz, "Grande" Open, 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. From 11.- 20. places natural prizes. Special prizes for best Lady, senior (1945), junior(1985-88), schoolboy (1989) and best local player. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GMs and IMs free. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz".

Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 March 24,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 25,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 March 26,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 27,; Round 7 10.00-15.00 March 28. Closing ceremony March 28 at 16.00.

List of players till January 27th ? GMs: Andrei Sokolov (FRA), Joseph Gallagher (SUI), Adam Horvath (HUN), Lothar Vogt (GER), Florin Gheorghiu (ROM); WGM Elvira Berend (LUX), WIM Nellya Vidonyak (GER); IMs: Alexander Raetsky (RUS), Roman Vidonyak (GER), Sandor Videki (HUN), Fred Berend (LUX) etc.

Info: Beochess +41+34+424-01-06 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.

FIDE Trainers Committee

IM Jovan Petronic. Chairman, FIDE Computer & Internet Chess Committee has written about the FIDE Trainers Committee. Link to his article below. In 1998 FIDE formed a powerful Committee comprising of leading chess trainers around the chess globe. Accordingly, it was named the FIDE Trainers Committee, and below, I will try to summarize the immense useful information for the readers, current major chess training activities and appeals of the Committee, etc. The number of certified FIDE Trainers has grown and they are now (in alphabetical order) - none other than: Alburt Lev (USA), Asanov Bolat (Kazahstan), Azmaiparashvili Zurab (Georgia), Boensch Uwe (Germany), Beliavsky Alexandr (Slovenia), Chernin Alexandr (Hungary), Dorfman Iossif (France), Dvoretsky Mark (Russia), Gelfer Israel (Israel), Georgadze Tamaz (Georgia), Gulko Boris (USA), Illescas Miguel (Spain), Kuzmin Alexey (Katar), Khodarkovsky Michael (USA), Leong Ignatius (Singapore), Mikhalcishin Adrian (Slovenia), Marjanovic Slavoljub (Serbia & Montenegro), Mohr Georg (Slovenia), Nikitin Alexandr (Russia), Petrosjan Arshak (Armenia), Polgar Zsuzsa (USA), Postovsky Boris (USA), Psakhis Lev (Israel), Razuvaev Yuri (Russia), Seirawan Yasser (USA), Sosonko Genna (Netherlands), Schmidt Wlodzimerz (Poland), Tukmakov Vladimir (Ukraine), Ubilava Elizbar (Georgia), Vladimirov Evgeny (Kazahstan), Zapata Alonso (Columbia) and Xie Yun (China).

Read the article: http://www.jovanpetronic.com/fidetrainerscommittee.htm

19th Pula Open

The 19th "Pula Open 2005" in Croatia takes place 19th-26th June 2005.

For further information on the event: http://www.skpula.hr. Contact Denis Vretenar by e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr.

International Chess Festival Varna

The Varna (Bulgaria) International Chess Festival takes place 10th-17th April 2005. Contact: Boris Hristov Tel’052 64 28 77, fax: 052 574 940; GSM: 088 60 25 403 e-mail: seahorse@abv.abv.bg

Further details: http://www.seahorse-chess.com

European Individual Women's Chess Championship

The European Individual Women's Chess Championship takes place in Chisinau, Moldova 10th-25th June 2005. Organisers Chess Federation of Moldova Sciusev Street, 111 2004, Chisinau Tel.: 00373-22-565451 Fax.: 00373-22-565451 or 210707 E-Mail: fskrip@company.md

Details on http://www.eurochess.org.

Official site for the event: http://eiwcc2005.chisinau.md/

Sozina 2005

The Sozina 2005 tournament takes place in Bar a city on the Montenegro coast 4th-12th March 2005. Prize fund is EUR 10.000, and organizer guaranty possibility of getting norms for international titles. Also, special conditions are provide for the grandmasters. Further details contact: sozina2005@yahoo.com

Further details; http://www.scgchess.org/

Azura Chess Open

The Azura Chess Open International Rapid Chess Tournament also Belgian Rapid Chess Championship 2005 Brussels Rapid Chess Championship 2005 takes place Saturday-Sunday 23rd-24th April 2005 (11 rounds ~ 25 minutes games) Tournament for players with more than 2000 elo.

Playing venue: Palais du Midi rue van der Weyden 3 1000 Brussels Entry fee : IGM and IM free Others 25 euro Junior 15 euro

Registration: Registration only by e-mail. No registration at the venue. bennyasman@skynet.be Send payment to 210-0937331-72 with your name and elo rating as message

Details: http://www.creb.be/

HB Global Chess Challenge

The HB Foundation has posted $500,000 prize fund for the HB Global Chess Challenge, a Maurice Ashley-led event expects to bring more than 4,000 participants to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The event takes place May 18th-22nd 2005 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. First place in the Open section has a cash prize of $50,000, and that overall more than 50 others will receive cash prizes. Many other side events. There is an extension to the discount period for signing up for the event.

Official sites: http://www.hbfoundation.org and http://www.generationchess.com

16th Pobeskydi Tournament

The 16th Pobeskydi Chess Tournament takes place 24th-28th March 2005 in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic. There will be at least two tournaments. Round-robin with possibility to achieve IM and WGM norm and FIDE Open.

For futher details: http://www.chessfm.cz

7th United Insurance GM Rescheduled due to Tsunami

The 7th United Insurance & United Leasing Grandmasters Chess Tournament has been rescheduled (due to the Tsunami) and now takes place 4th-14th April 2005 in the Conference-Room of the National Sports Council 62/3 Purana Paltan Dhaka-1000. Organised by the Bangladesh Chess Federation. 11 round Swiss System with around 40. Total Prize Money US $5000.00 Accommodation & Food : Free for all GM’s & IM’s, only accommodation 2350+ Appearance Money : GM 2500+ US $ 500.00. Contact: Syed Shujauddin Ahmed, General Secretary Bangladesh Chess Federation, 2nd Floor, 62/3 Purana Paltan, Dhaka-1000, Fax + Phone: 88 (02) 7169336 , E-mail: bcf@bdonline.com

12th Echternach International Open

The 12th Echternach International Open takes place 25th-26th June 2005. Seniors should also note the following dates: 2nd Open (rapid chess) for young seniors (aged 50 and above) 13th-14th August 2005. 5th Open-seniors (aged 60 and above) 15th-21st August 2005.

Further info: http://www.desprenger-echternach.lu/

Novi Sad Open A

The Novi Sad Open A (semi-closed for IMs and GMs) takes place 19th-26th March 2005.

Further info: http://www.drazic.co.yu or more specifically http://www.drazic.co.yu/t_2005_03_19-26_info.html

 1  gm Lalic Bogdan         ENG     
 2  gm Kosanovic Goran      SCG     
 3  gm Drazic Sinisa        SCG     
 4  gm Fontaine Robert      FRA     
 5  gm Lazic Miroljub 	     SCG
 6  gm Savic M .R.          SCG     
 7  im Colovic A.           MAC     
 8     Franchini Gabriele   ITA     
 9     Barilaro Luca        ITA     
10  im Pilgaard Kim         DEN     
11     Lundin Jan           SWE     
12  fm Kokeza Mirko         SCG     
13  fm Guadalpi D.          FRA     
14  fm Stupavski Z.         SCG     
15  im Popovic D.           SCG     
16  fm Juergen Brustkern    GER     
17  im Pap Misa             SCG     
18  im Marzolo Cyril        FRA     
19     Craig Young          ENG     
20  im Tratar M.            SLO     
21  im Sebenik  M.          SLO     
22  fm Dumpor A             BIH     
23  gm Kovacevic A.         SCG     
24  im Laketic Gojko        SCG     
25  im Kostic Vlada         SCG     
7 places left

Alushta Diary 2005

Leonid Galperin sends a calendar of planned events in Alushta, Ukraine 2005.

GM Norm events: 12.05 - 22.05 24.05 - 4.06 17.06-27.06. 1.09-11.09 25.09-5.10 7.10-17.10 IM Norm events 12.05 - 22.05 24.05 -4.06 17.06-27.06. 1.09-11.09 25.09-5.10 7.10-17.10 Rating tournament 5.06 - 13.06 Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200 $ 14.06 - 22.06 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 28.06 12.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 29 - 30.06 13-14.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize 1000 $ First prize (woman) 500$ 2.07-10.07 15.09-23.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 5.06-14.06 25.09-4.10 Alushta Individual and group studying

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32 (for Russian speaking) + 38 050 669-26-04 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

5th Chess Grand Prix of Bordeaux

The 5th Chess Grand Prix of Bordeaux takes place 28th April - 1st May 2005. In addition the 2nd Chess Grand Prix in d'Aix en Provence takes place in December 2005.

Details: http://www.grandprixdeparis.com/BA2005.html

Harald Malmgren 100 years Correspondence

31st Dec 2004 saw the start of the first Grandmaster tournament on the ICCF Webserver. The tournament is the "Harald Malmgren 100 years". The occasion is to commemorate the 100:d birthday of Harald Malmgren, Tierp in Sweden. Malmgren was runner up after Cecil Purdy in ICCF's first World Championship and earned his GM title in the event. Malmgren passed away in 1957. In his career he was also second in IFSB Championship 1939 and won the Swedish CC Championship in 1942. Malmgren was a true chess enthusiast and issued a book in 1953 "Mina bästa partier" (My best games) with only CC games he had played.

There are 13 participants and you will be able to follow the results on http://www.schack.se/SSKK/palview/res/malmgren.htm and as soon as about 10 moves are made in every game, SSKK will open a page for "live" games. That is games according to the ICCF CoC regulations for live games. The Category of the event is 10 which means that all norms are available.The tournament has two sponsors, Schackakademin and Svenska Schackbutiken AB.

The players are: IM Jan Bennborn, Sweden, IM Sture Olsson, Sweden, IM Rune Bergquist, Norway, IM Ervin Liebert, Estonia, IM Taisto Koskela, Finland, IM Leif Åhman, Sweden, SIM Jón A Pálsson, Iceland, SIM Josef Mrkvicka, Czech Rep, GM Matthias Rüfenacht; Switzerland, IM Gary S Benson, Australia, SIM John Pugh, England, Phillippe Chopin, France and Mads Smith Hansen, Denmark. The withdrawing ICCF President keeps playing CC and starts this event on his very last day in office.

Tomas Carnstam, Jonas Dahlgren, Robert Ericsson, Sebastian Nilsson and Per Söderberg wedish Correspondence Chess Federation (SSKK) Board members.

Games Festival Chalkidiki Greece

The Games Festival is is organised for the first time in Greece and takes place from 21st-29th of April 2005 at the Porto - Carras Grand Resort, in Chalkidiki in Greece.

Tennis, chess, golf, biliards, bridge, famous athletes, world champions will be present in Porto Carras. The festival includes a series of tournaments, competitions, seminars and exhibitions in sports and the most popular entertaining games.

The chess events are the 2nd International Open Chess Tournament "Porto Carras 2005" and the 1st World School Chess Championship. More specifically, the Open Tournament will be held 22nd-28th April 2005 at the Porto Carras Grand Rresort with open participation, 9 rounds swiss system and time control 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move, according to the official announcement of the Greek Chess Club "A.M.O. Galaxias". Total prizes: 6.500 EURO. For more information visit http://www.gamesfestival.com or contact info@gamesfestival.com & GrivasEfs@netonline.gr

The 1st World School Championship for school chess champions in categories Under 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16, will be held 21st-29th April 2005 at the Porto Carras Grand Resort. Organizers of this great event are the World Chess Federation (FIDE), the International School Chess Union, the Greek Chess Federation, the Chess Club "Galaxias" of Thessaloniki and the Hotel Complex of "Porto Carras Grand Resort".

38th Biel International Chess Festival

38th Biel International Chess Festival Dates: 16th-29th July 2005 with, in particular: - the Grandmaster tournament (17th-27th July 2005) - the Accentus Ladies Tournament 17th-27th July 2005) - the active chess tournament (16th and 17th July 2005) - the Master Open (18th-29th July 2005, last round in the morning) - the General Open (20th-29th July 2005, last round in the morning) - the Blitz tournament (23th July 2005)

Further details: http://www.bielchessfestival.ch

Events in India in 2005

5th Asian Individual Championship

The 5th Asian Individual Chess Championship 2005 takes place in Cochin, Total Prize Fund : US$33000. The event has been postponed until 21st-31st March 2005 due to the recent Tsunami disaster. Organiser : P.T. Ummer Koya , koya@chessindia.org ; aicf@chessindia.org Website: http://www.chessindia.org

Commonwealth Championships

The Commonwealth Chess Championships for Men, Women, Boys & Girls incorporating An International Open Chess Tournament TOtal Prize Fund: US$12000 ARRIVAL : 27/02/2005 CLOSING : 09/03/2005 Organiser : Rajastan State Chess Association Contact : aicf@chessindia.org ; slharsh2000@yahoo.co.uk Website: http://www.chessindia.org

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's International Open

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's International Open Chess Tournament, Raipur Total Prize Fund : Us$12000 Arrival : 10/03/2005 Closing : 20/03/2005 Organiser : Hotel Babylon, Vip Road, Raipur, India. Contact : aicf@chessindia.org ; vkrathi_aicf@rediffmail.com Website : Website: http://www.chessindia.org

Hamarat Challenge Match

The ICCF World Champion Tunc Hamarat (AUT) who has never lost a single game with White, has challenged the "Rest of the World" to a friendly 2-game match. He will have White in both games. The games (one will start with 1.e4 and one with 1.d4) will be played on the ICCF Webserver and started on 10th February 2005 with the rule "10 moves/70 days".

The players on the "Rest of the World" team will vote on each move. The move receiving the most votes will be selected. Should 2 or more moves receive the same number of votes, the "Rest of the World" will be given 2 more voting days to decide between the tied moves. Participation in this event is open to all players who pay an entry fee of 5 EUR or $7.00 US dollars via their National CC Federation or the ICCF Direct Entry (DE) option. All fees collected will be transferred to the ICCF Development Fund. The money will be used primarily for development and system support of the ICCF WebChess Server. It will be possible to join the "Rest of the World" team at any stage of the game.

The games may be seen "live" by all players and other observers at http://www.iccf-webchess.com

Each player who voted for the selected move will receive 1 point per move. The player(s) with the most points at the end of the games will receive an ICCF Gold Book. The list of all entrants will be published on the ICCF webpage.

Hungarian chess tournaments March 2005 - August 2005

1. 5th-18th of March 2005, FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, Org. : NL,

2. 18th- 26th of March, "SPRING FESTIVAL" 9 rounds Swiss Open, Budapest, Org.: NL

3. 2nd-15th of April , FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, Org: NL:

4. 7th-19th of May, FS GM-IM-FM closed, Budapest, org.: NL

5. 20th-28th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, (250 km West from Budapest), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, phone: +(36)-20-9777003

7. 21st-31st of May, ELEKES Memorial, GM-IM closed, Budapest, org.IM Zsinka, phone: +(36)-20-921-91-97

7. 4th-16th of June, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, Org: NL

8. 18th-26th of June, BALATONLELLE Open + GM-IM closed, 120 km West from Budapest, organizer: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@axelero.hu

9. 2nd-14th of July, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest, org. NL.

10. 23rd- 31st of July, Agria Open /EGER, 100 km North-East from Budapest/, organizer: Rauch Ferenc, e-mail: rauch@freemail.hu

11. 6th-18th of August, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest org.:NL

Kings Head Rapidplay

The 29th Kings Head Rapidplay will take place on Saturday 12th March 2005, 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £650, entry fee £17 > The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1949 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

Further details: http://www.khcc.org.uk

1st ICCF Webchess Open Tournament

The ICCF have announced the 1st WebChess Open Tournament and invites every player worldwide to participate in the event. The event is to be played on the ICCF dedicated Webserver http://www.iccf-webchess.com. This tournament is open to all correspondence chess players worldwide, also for those without any previous ICCF experience. Multiple entries are allowed. The tournament will be played in three stages - preliminaries, semifinal and final.

Details: http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Message.aspx?message=19

Russia vs ROW Correspondence

The Russian Chess Federation is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is using this occasion to challenge the rest of the world to a match over 64 boards with 2 games for each and the start is 15.02 2004. Players include Joop van Oosterom

http://www.mychessweb.com/Tables/Internationale/Play/russia-world.htm

2005 European Union Championship

The 2005 European Union Championship whic his part of the programme of events celebrating Cork City's status as European Capital of Culture for 2005. The event takes place 21st March - 3rd April 2005 in the Ballroom Suite Gresham Metropole Hotel MacCurtain Street Cork Ireland. Prize Fund - 7,750 Euros. A FIDE rated ten round Swiss Open for players registered with FIDE as a player in the European Union or a citizen of a European Union member state 1st prize 2,000 Euros plus numerous place prizes and other awards including a British Championship Qualifying Place.

In addition the 13th Annual Cork Congress takes place 1st-3rd April 2005 with a Prize Fund 5,000 Euros an ICU rated six round Swiss with three rated sections. 1st prize 750 Euros plus numerous place prizes and other awards

Full details, special offers to a limited number of IMs and GMs and entry forms are available from Michael Burniston Tournament Director Ladybird House Glengarriff County Cork Ireland. phone 00 353 27 63113 e mail jemcreations@eircom.net

Website: http://www.corkchess.com

TWIC Messageboard

With the Linares tournament about to start it seems a good time to launch a new discussion forum. Vote on your prediction of the winner of Linares. The TWIC message board. You need to register to post and vote. Address: http://www.chesscenter.com/messageboard