THE WEEK IN CHESS 623 16th October 2006 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Vladimir Kramnik World Chess Champion
3) European Club Cup
4) World Junior Championships
5) First Saturday October
6) US Chess League
7) XI Blind Individual World Chess Championship
8) Bulgarian Team Championship
9) Goodbye Summer Open
10) 1st Open Patrimonio De La Humanidad
11) Corporation de Sur
12) 24th Muensterland Open
13) 7th Veselin Boskovic Memorial
14) Croatian Team Championship
15) Tatry Open
16) Izmir Open
17) Vasylyshyn Memorial
18) English Chess Federation Book of the year 2006
19) Forthcoming Events and Links

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Games section

Vladimir Kramnik World Chess Champion      6 games
European Club Cup                       1037 games
World Junior Championships               347 games
First Saturday October                    88 games  
US Chess League                           20 games
XI Blind Individual World Championship   215 games
Bulgarian Team Championship              179 games
Goodbye Summer Open                      145 games
1st Open Patrimonio De La Humanidad       78 games
Corporation de Sur                       132 games
24th Muensterland Open                    61 games
7th Veselin Boskovic Memorial            284 games
Croatian Team Championship               531 games
Tatry Open                               450 games
Izmir Open                               743 games
4316 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Philipp Schlosser, Sinisa Joksic, Anjo Anjewierden, Einar S. Einarsson, Lou Caruana, Miklos Orso, Allard Hoogland, Thomas Henrich, Jordi Parayre, Jonathan Berry, Soren Bech Hansen, Ching Kim Lye, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Nebojsa Baralic, Urcan Olimpiu and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Vladimir Kramnik emerged as World Chess Champion after beating Veselin Topalov in their title match in Elista. The match will probably be remembered for the off the board controversy rather than the play on. That would be a shame as this was a really interesting match full of interesting games featuring a clash of styles which make the best contests. Probably Kramnik's greater experience and his superior rapid abilities gave him the tiny edge necessary to win the match. Critics may refer to the number of bad blunders in the match but there was more actual chess content in this match than many in recent years. Both players probably have another half dozen years of their best chess which could produce an interesting rivalry. There will be press conferences over the next few days. The real question is will the unified title produce the single orderly title series we all desperately want. Topalov almost immediately sets off for the Netherlands where he plays the Essent tournament in Hoogeveen. I hope there aren't too many errors in this issue, I'm dog tired, World Championship plus a lot of tournaments with less than great game files have added up to a lot of work this week. I haven't even mentioned the European Club Cup which was full of great players but got completely overshadowed by the World Championship match.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Vladimir Kramnik World Chess Champion

Vladimir Kramnik became the first undisputed world chess champion since the split in world chess in 1993. Kramnik won the reunification match in Elista 23rd September - 13th October 2006 only after a rapid playoff. The match will go down as one of the most controversial with becoming only the second player ever (after Fischer) to default a game after a dispute. In the end Kramnik overcame the default to win the match 2.5-1.5 in a rapid playoff.

The Match finished 6-6

We left the match tied at 5-5 after 10 games. After three consecutive decisive games the match had been blown wide open. Topalov had white in game 11 and it was again a Slav Defence. Topalov again camed armed with a novelty 8.Rb1 but Kramnik found a very playable position and traded off pieces with 18... Ne4. Topalov still had something of an advantage but this gradually decreased. Kramnik believed 35.Be4 was a mistake and he certainly took the initiative in a drawish looking position. He pressed until move 66 but never looked like breaking through.

The final standard time rate game 12 saw Topalov play the Slav Defence. Kramnik set up a standard minority attack on the queenside, Topalov had some chances on the Kingside. Both side's Kings were exposed and perpetual check was eventually given by Topalov on move 47.

The Rapid Playoff

After a dramatic 12 games at normal time rates finished at 6-6 (including the disputed default to Topalov in game 5) it all came down to a rapid playoff with the potential for blitz and a final Armageddon game.

It was hard to predict who would win the rapid playoffs. Topalov has been the form player for some time but he's not the same force at rapid chess. Kramnik has an excellent record both personally against Topalov and in rapid event but would Topalov's generally acknowledged better fitness count here.

Under the circumstances you could have expected some very bad error strewn games but in fact they were incredibly tense exciting struggles. Kramnik emerged a 2.5-1.5 winner which certainly looked like the most clean cut result given that he also win the over the board portion of the match 6-5.

Game one of the playoff again saw a Slav where Kramnik as black equalised straight out of the opening, maybe standing a bit better, he then seemed to lose his way (some comments reported by Mig say that Kasparov thought that Topalov was winning at this stage) before finding a nice liquidation to draw the game.

Game two was a Semi-Slav where again black (this time Topalov) didn't seem to have a whole lot of problems. A queenless middlegame emerged and Kramnik again showed that his reputation as the best player without queens was entirely deserved. Gradually Topalov's position became unco-ordinated and after Kramnik won Topalov's a-pawn and created a passed pawn the game was all over.

Game three was another Slav Defence and yet again black looked more than fine out of the opening. Topalov managed to keep the position complicated and broke through with an exciting attack on the Kingside to level the match at 1.5-1.5.

The final game of the rapid match saw Kramnik as white again. It turned out to be a Semi-Slav Meran Variation where Topalov played an important novelty that seemed just to equalise on the spot. Kramnik again took queens off and it seemed the best he could hope for was a draw, this was perhaps Topalov's downfall. He felt obliged to press for more and he started to play ambitiously. 19... a6 was risky his 20... Na4 was probably just an error but only because of the extremely precise 21.Rab1. This and Kramnik's next five moves turned the tables and put Topalov in severe danger. 31.Ra1!! probably sealed the fate of the championship something that was confirmed by 44... Rxc5?? which lost a rook and the match in a position that was already probably gone.

Video report in Russian including pictures of the finish of the match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va9Hxr7bfEk

Post Match

Veselin Topalov and his manager landed in Sofia quickly after the match concluded. There were dark mutterings from Silvio Danailov and Veselin Topalov about how they would explain everything. Topalov was strangely ambivalent to the accusations: "I do not think this issue is closed. I do not want to take part of the scandal, though. This is the job of my manager and I do not know all the details. Of course, that was something very strange that the team Kramnik could not explain." - "Did Kramnik’s going to the toilet disturb your concentration? No, I was calm. I would not say I have problems with nervousness in general." - Silvio Danailov summarized the past WCC on the way out of the airport. “We were under a lot of pressure, the hosts made everything to win the title. Expect a whole book on the events in Elista where the scandal with the toilet will be explained in details”. I don't think Topalov can really try and walk away from the accusations by saying it was his manager that did it.

http://www.veselintopalov.net/article/veselin-topalov-is-in-bulgaria

To me Topalov's accusations seem to boil down to they were irritated that Kramnik spent so little time at the board instead he spent it in his rest room. Some players don't need to be at the board to think. It would be up to the regulators of future events to decide whether its desirable that a player spends so long outside the public view. This area however was a sealed and checked area and Kramnik had every right to believe that he would not be subject to accusations no matter what his behaviour was in this area. He stated that he was just pacing around which is something I can understand, I do that a lot too.

Topalov actually seemed much more exercised by Kramnik's early draw offer in game four where Topalov felt he had the advantage and the comments that Kramnik made to the effect that he thought the game was an easy draw and he was wanting to get off to watch the football champions league match, comments that I can only take as some sort of attempt at humour. It seems to me that Topalov took this way too seriously.

Topalov made a very interesting observation after the match restarted:

– Veselin, one of the statements issued by your team asserted that you will not shake hands with Vladimir and will not participate in joint press conferences… Veselin TOPALOV: Perhaps it sounded too emotional; there is nothing for me to be proud of. I shook hands with Kramnik, and the match continued. I believe that his play is fair, and my decision to continue the match proves it. We are humans, and sometimes we make mistakes.

Leaving it pretty unclear what he thought the dispute was about.

The final accusation was that Kramnik was on home soil and had the support of the Putin Government. This for the Topalov team seems to open up the possibility in their mind that Kramnik could have got round to computer surveillance with the aid of the secret services. If you're going to believe that then I think you're pretty much open to believing anything. It is true that the Russian Government put some pressure on to Ilyumzhinov to make sure the match continued but to find anything more seems absurd. Its also true that Kramnik felt he was playing on foreign FIDE soil. He felt that FIDE and the appeals committee were generally on Topalov's side as he was their champion and a loss would mean that another lucrative world title match in March would be lost. I think it clear both sides were not entirely happy with the location of the match.

On Vladimir Kramnik's side I don't believe he did much wrong. Under the title regulations he was allowed a side rest room and bathroom and because of the controls essentially sterilising it from cheating put in place I think he was entitled to do what he wanted in there. He probably couldn't explain why he chose the rest room to stride about it, he was probably too busy thinking. He probably like Topalov shouldn't have got too personally involved in the dispute but instead left it to his management to sort out. My only criticism is that he should have played game five whatever, at least given it one game for the decision to be reversed. But its easy to say in retrospect when your honour is called into question. Kramnik's decision to play on after the default (Karpov and Korchnoi all said they wouldn't have) was one that will not be forgotten by the chess public for a long time and vastly enhanced his reputation.

Actually an interview http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?129039 (summarised in one of the entries athttp://www.chessninja.com/dailydirt/2006/10/elista_aftermath.htm) answers a couple of the above questions (this is a few minutes before I put the magazine out). Most of the communications were in Russia which dragged Kramnik into the discussion as his manager doesn't speak Russian. They were afraid of further provocations which is why they didn't play game five. "Regarding the WC tournament plans, he can't give an exact answer yet. He needs to re-read the contract to refresh the memory about obligations taken in detail (because it was mostly taken care by Hensel), and to talk to Kirsan first, because it is not clear what is happening with the cycle (candidate matches postponed, etc.). We'll hear the answer, but he needs time to make the decision."

Topalov and his camp have complained about the treatment their complaints got in the media and the general bias in favour of Kramnik. All I can say is that much of the public was on his side at the start of the match due to his enterprising and exciting play. However this changed after reading the complaints and I can tell you few took them as anything other than gamesmanship. I think particularly people felt that taking a free point was really wrong. They also looked at the pictures on the official site of the defaulted game five: http://www.worldchess2006.com/main.asp?id=1006 and saw that whilst team Topalov seemed to be enjoying the situation, team Kramnik had an appreciation of what a disaster this was for the game. Topalov enjoyed a great reputation before this match but I think it will be a little while before he can restore it ,although I do see the potential for this to happen in the long term as this is the only time he's been involved in anything as remotely controversial as this. Veselin Topalov is supposed to be trying to raise money for a rematch which they propose for March 2007 the date originally he was set to play Teimour Radjabov. This obviously isn't going to happen.

Kramnik gave an interesting interview to Dylan Loeb McClain: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/15/sports/web.1015chess**.php in which he said "he understood that Topalov had been under a lot of pressure during the match, but that he believed that Topalov and his manager, Silvio Danailov, who filed the protests, had gone too far. "In any world championship, there is a lot of pressure, and people act differently sometimes," Kramnik said. "It doesn't mean that you have to go under certain standards of ethical actions." Kramnik said he believed that the accusations were intended to upset him, and were not born of a belief that he was actually cheating. "We were checked with metal detectors," Kramnik said. "Our restrooms were checked. There was not a single chance. The main purpose of all these actions was to disturb me." Asked to explain his frequent trips to his bathroom, Kramnik said that he liked to pace while playing and that the main room available for his use was too small, so the bathroom became a "continuation of the room" as he walked back and forth."

"Kramnik said he had still not decided whether to sue the World Chess Federation, which organized the match, over the forfeit of Game 5 and over its treatment of him. As for his opponent, Kramnik said, "I have definite admiration for the way he plays." He also said that he did not hold a grudge against Topalov. "I am not the guy who keeps such things too long," Kramnik said. "I am rather an easy person in general. For me, it would be enough if he does not do such things again."

It remains to be seen whether Kramnik is obligated to defend his title in a tournament in Mexico City in September 2007 - http://www.chessmexico.com/. Neither Kramnik nor his manager have been clear on the matter which is a little puzzling. Why there was a unification match if the champion's obligations were not clear. At the moment Topalov is not entitled to appear in this event.

Lessons learnt?

This is the second championship in a row scarred by unjustified accusations against the winner having computer help made by the losers. In San Luis Topalov was subject during and after to a whispering campaign. Topalov and his second Danailov were the ones throwing the muck in Elista. Doping control in chess has been the subject of derision in chess ever since it was brought in. But computer cheating to chess is what doping is to athletics. I don't see any evidence at all that computer cheating is going on at the top level but we simply cannot permit this drip, drip of accusations to continue. Anti-computer control in Elista was the greatest its ever been, if these insinuations can be made there, they can be made at any event. They are poison to the game and they have to stop. In athletics we have WADA to administer doping control, the athletes themselves don't test each other. As the professional association for the players the ACP is in the best place to come up with suggestions. They have to come up with proceedures that will be in place at the leading events that will satisfy their members. In return their members have an obligation not to bring the game into disrepute by making the accusations. Its not the competitors place to monitor computer regulations. One immediate regulation needs to be brought in. For quite some time now if a player's mobile phone goes off during play he forfeits the game. I don't believe it can be permitted for a player to carry such an item whether on or off. I must stress I believe this is an issue simply because of the accusations, I don't believe its an issue because its happening.

Its clear that the appeals committee has a wide range of powers (the extent of which we may find out if Kramnik still takes his appeal against the default to the Court of Arbitration in Lausanne). It is however clear that the players will have to jointly approve the members of the committee in the future. However I do think it a poor precident that a player who disagrees with a decision of the appeals committee to then feel it right to not play a game until the decision is reversed. No matter how poor they feel the decision is. You can make arguments as Kramnik's team did that the decision violated the match contract (and they made a very strong case) but in the future I think that the contract needs to make it clear that you play whatever. I think sponsors and the viewing public (especially if the match was held under more commercial circumstances) would not understand how a situation could happen where a player doesn't play because of a locked toilet. The decision not to play escalated the dispute to a point where it was not possible to satisfactorily fix the problem.

Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov played their 12 game world championship reunification match in Elista, 23rd Sept - 10th Oct 2006. Dates: Open Ceremony 21st September 2006, 7.00 p.m. Play on: 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, 29th, September, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 13th (tie-breaks) October 2006. Closing ceremony 13th October 2006.

Official site: http://www.worldchess2006.com/

Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1-0   75  E04  Catalan
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  0-1   63  D19  Slav Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1/2   38  E02  Catalan
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   54  D47  Queens Gambit Meran
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   0-1            Default
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   31  D17  Slav Defence
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   60  D27  QGA
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   0-1   52  D47  Queens Gambit Meran
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1-0   39  D12  Slav Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1-0   43  E08  Catalan
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   66  D12  Slav Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1/2   47  D12  Slav Defence

WCh Elista RUS (RUS), 23 ix-12 x 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------
                               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------
Topalov, Veselin  g  BUL 2813   0 0 = = 1 = = 1 1 0 = =  6.0  2743
Kramnik, Vladimir g  RUS 2743   1 1 = = 0 = = 0 0 1 = =  6.0  2813
------------------------------------------------------------------
The TPRs will be wrong due to the default.

Rapid playoffs g/25 + 10 seconds a move

Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   47  D18  Slav Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1-0   45  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Topalov, Veselin   -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1-0   50  D12  Slav Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Topalov, Veselin   1-0   45  D47  Queens Gambit Meran

WCh Elista Playoffs RUS (RUS), 13-13 x 2006
----------------------------------------------------------
                                 1   2   3   4 
----------------------------------------------------------
Kramnik, Vladimir g  RUS 2743    =   1   0   1   2.5  2908
Topalov, Veselin  g  BUL 2813    =   0   1   0   1.5  2656
----------------------------------------------------------

3) European Club Cup

The European Club Cup 2006 took place 8th-14th October 2006. Tomsk-400 won the men's event, Yerevan the women's. I hope to round things up better next week along with a better file of round 1 games than given last week.

Official site: http://www.ecc2006.com

Men's Final Standings
Rk. SNo  Team                          Team Games + = - TB1 TB2  TB3
1   3    Tomsk-400                     RUS  7     5 2 0 12  30,0 165,0
2   6    Ladya Kazan                   RUS  7     5 2 0 12  26,5 181,0
3   1    Ural Sverdlovskaya            RUS  7     5 2 0 12  26,5 174,0
4   5    Ashdod City Club              ISR  7     5 1 1 11  27,5 169,0
5   4    TPS Saransk                   RUS  7     5 0 2 10  30,0 148,0
6   14   Vesnianka Gran                BLR  7     5 0 2 10  28,0 147,5
7   10   Gros Xake Taldea              ESP  7     5 0 2 10  26,5 171,0
8   7    Clichy                        FRA  7     5 0 2 10  26,5 167,5
9   13   Bauset Pardubice              CZE  7     5 0 2 10  26,0 156,0
10  2    Elara Cheboksary              RUS  7     5 0 2 10  25,5 177,5
11  8    Bank King                     ARM  7     4 2 1 10  25,0 177,5
12  24   Reykjavik Chess Club          ISL  7     5 0 2 10  23,0 158,5
13  9    Werder Bremen                 GER  7     4 1 2 9   28,5 163,0
14  17   Schachfreunde Reichenstein    SUI  7     4 1 2 9   23,5 167,5
15  16   Schachgesellschaft Zürich     SUI  7     4 0 3 8   27,0 137,0
16  18   Siroki Brijeg                 BIH  7     4 0 3 8   25,5 148,5
17  27   Schachfreunde Berlin          GER  7     4 0 3 8   25,5 142,0
18  21   SG 1868 Aljechin Solingen     GER  7     4 0 3 8   25,0 148,0
19  12   Beer Sheva                    ISR  7     3 2 2 8   24,0 164,5
20  11   Alkaloid Skopje               MKD  7     4 0 3 8   23,5 176,0
21  19   Sollentuna Chess Club         SWE  7     4 0 3 8   23,0 157,5
22  26   Vilnius Chess Club NSEL30     LTU  7     4 0 3 8   21,5 145,5
23  30   Rochade Eupen                 BEL  7     4 0 3 8   21,0 139,0
24  15   KSK 47 Eynatten               BEL  7     4 0 3 8   19,0 176,0
25  44   Skolernes Skakklub Aarhus     DEN  7     4 0 3 8   19,0 136,5
26  37   Joensuun Shakkikerho          FIN  7     4 0 3 8   18,5 158,5
27  22   Csuti Hydrocomp Zalaegerszeg  HUN  7     3 1 3 7   22,5 136,0
28  20   Jenbach                       AUT  7     3 1 3 7   20,5 152,5
29  25   Wulkaprodersdorf              AUT  7     3 1 3 7   20,5 146,0
30  32   Hellir Chess Club             ISL  7     3 1 3 7   19,5 148,0
31  35   Oslo Schakselskap             NOR  7     3 1 3 7   19,0 165,0
32  41   Asker Schakklubb              NOR  7     3 0 4 6   23,0 127,5
33  31   CRE Charleroi                 BEL  7     3 0 4 6   22,5 130,0
34  28   SK Hohenems                   AUT  7     3 0 4 6   22,5 124,0
35  39   Matinkyla Chess Club Espoo    FIN  7     3 0 4 6   20,5 128,0
36  23   Hilsmark Kingfisher           ENG  7     3 0 4 6   19,0 159,5
37  48   Slough Sharks Chess Team      ENG  7     3 0 4 6   18,0 131,0
38  29   Schachverein Wollishofen      SUI  7     2 2 3 6   17,5 170,0
39  34   Styria Graz                   AUT  7     3 0 4 6   16,5 133,0
40  51   Istogu                        ECU  7     3 0 4 6   15,0 155,0
41  45   Vilnius Chess School          LTU  7     3 0 4 6   14,5 152,5
42  52   Chess Club Pristina           ECU  7     2 1 4 5   21,0 118,5
43  47   Haukar Chessclub              ISL  7     2 1 4 5   19,5 117,5
44  33   HMC Calder                    NED  7     2 1 4 5   18,0 150,0
45  40   Dudelange                     LUX  7     2 1 4 5   17,0 148,5
46  38   Bronshoj Skakforening         DEN  7     2 1 4 5   17,0 144,0
47  42   Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova ITA  7     2 0 5 4   19,0 130,5
48  36   LSG                           NED  7     2 0 5 4   19,0 128,0
49  50   Kilkenny                      IRL  7     2 0 5 4   17,0 123,0
50  55   Butrinti                      ALB  7     2 0 5 4   16,5 113,0
51  46   de Sprenger Echternach        LUX  7     2 0 5 4   15,0 129,0
52  54   Belfast                       ECU  7     2 0 5 4   11,0 126,5
53  43   Cardiff                       WLS  7     1 1 5 3   17,0 120,5
54  49   C.E. Monte Carlo              FRA  7     1 0 6 2   11,5 131,5
55  53   Nidum Liberals                WLS  7     1 0 6 2   11,0 134,5
56  56   Galway                        IRL  7     0 0 7 0   10,0 107,0
 
Women's Final Standings
Rk. SNo  Team                      Team Games + = - TB1 TB2  TB3
1   6    Mika Yerevan              ARM  7     5 2 0 12  17,5 113,5
2   5    Energy-Investi Sakartvelo GEO  7     4 3 0 11  18,5 108,5
3   1    AVS Krasnoturinsk         RUS  7     5 0 2 10  19,5 103,5
4   7    Economist SGSEU Saratov   RUS  7     4 1 2 9   18,0 88,5
5   3    Finec ST. Petersburg      RUS  7     4 0 3 8   17,5 86,5
6   2    Southern Ural Cheliabinsk RUS  7     3 2 2 8   14,5 97,5
7   8    Kristallens Schackklubb   SWE  7     4 0 3 8   10,0 78,5
8   4    Chess Club Podgorica      MNE  7     3 0 4 6   15,0 90,5
9   9    Herzliya Chess Club       ISR  7     3 0 4 6   10,5 75,0
10  10   Lucija Rijeka             CRO  7     2 0 5 4   6,5  78,0
11  11   Vandoeuvre Echecs         FRA  7     1 0 6 2   6,5  77,5

4) World Junior Championships

The World U-20 s and Girls Chess Championships takes place October 2nd to 17th 2006, in Yerevan, Armenia. Zaven Adriasian of Armenia won the Boys event, Shen Yang of China the women's.

Official site: http://www.armchess.am

Leading Final Round 13 Standings: 
----------------------------------------------------
WJun Yerevan ARM (ARM), 3-16 x 2006
----------------------------------------------------
 1   29   IM   Andriasian, Zaven     2463   ARM   9.5     2534   2555.2   2684   2509   3.84
 2    4   IM   Vitiugov, Nikita      2596   RUS   9       2529   2539.1   2657   2516   1.12
 3    7   GM   Kryvoruchko, Yuriy    2581   UKR   9       2523   2533.9   2652   2511   1.3
 4    3   GM   Pantsulaia, Levan     2596   GEO   9       2517   2528.3   2648   2507   0.96
 5   22   IM   Frolyanov, Dmitry     2498   RUS   8.5     2538   2561.5   2624   2514   2.33
 6    1   GM   Wang, Yue             2644   CHN   8.5     2524   2535.5   2624   2514  -0.23
 7    8   GM   Stellwagen, Daniel    2576   NED   8.5     2524   2534.1   2621   2511   0.88
 8   37        Wen, Yang             2416   CHN   8.5     2505   2527.2   2586   2476   3.08
 9    2   GM   Wang, Hao             2622   CHN   8.5     2491   2499.7   2593   2483  -0.39
10    9   IM   Khairullin, Ildar     2543   RUS   8.5     2481   2489.9   2582   2472   0.77
11   24   IM   Meier, Georg          2484   GER   8.5     2477   2496.1   2568   2458   1.6
12   14   IM   Rodshtein, Maxim      2517   ISR   8.5     2446   2458.3   2544   2434   0.56
13   12   GM   Zhou, Jianchao        2522   CHN   8       2474   2482.8   2551   2464   0.48
14   10   GM   Zhao, Jun             2539   CHN   8       2468   2477.6   2544   2457   0.08
15   27   IM   Howell, David WL      2471   ENG   8       2455   2475.2   2522   2435   0.95
16   30   FM   Brunello, Sabino      2460   ITA   8       2415   2427     2488   2401   0.49
83 players

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WJun Girls Yerevan ARM (ARM), 3-16 x 2006
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1   2    WGM   Shen, Yang            2468   CHN   9     2345.4   2354.5   2472   2331   0.16
 2   1    WFM   Hou, Yifan            2481   CHN   9     2342.4   2352.7   2469   2328  -0.05
 3   4    WGM   Melia, Salome         2395   GEO   9     2339.8   2348.3   2465   2324   1.28
 4   5    WGM   Mongontuul, Bathuyag  2383   MGL   9     2339.3   2349.4   2464   2323   1.48
 5   14   WGM   Karavade, Eesha       2321   IND   8.5   2276.1   2294.0   2370   2260   1.01
 6   20   WIM   Gomes, Mary Ann       2264   IND   8.5   2270.0   2298.0   2356   2246   1.81
 7   12   WIM   Pourkashiyan, Atousa  2330   IRI   8.5   2233.4   2248.8   2324   2214   0.17
 8   18   WIM   Rudolf, Anna          2265   HUN   8.5   2221.4   2245.7   2310   2200   1.05
 9   8    WGM   Harika, Dronavalli    2353   IND   8     2332.2   2346.1   2402   2315   0.88
10   6    WGM   Tania, Sachdev        2383   IND   8     2330.3   2341.4   2402   2315   0.34
11   16   WIM   Zhang, Jilin          2292   CHN   8     2318.3   2340.1   2383   2296   1.61
12   26   WFM   Hamrakulova, Yulduz   2209   UZB   8     2265.7   2297.1   2326   2239   2.09
13   3    WGM   Tairova, Elena        2415   RUS   8     2239.8   2259.3   2300   2243  -1.64
14   17   WFM   Abrahamyan, Tatev     2292   USA   7.5   2360.0   2371.9   2389   2332   1.73
15   10   WGM   Hoang, Thi Bao Tram   2345   VIE   7.5   2228.1   2242.5   2270   2213  -1.17
16   21   WFM   Dolgova, Olga         2259   RUS   7.5   2190.7   2212.2   2226   2169  -0.42
57 players

5) First Saturday October

The First Saturday October tournaments in Budapest including GM-IM-FM round robins, take place 7th-19th October 2006. Peter Prohaszka won the GM event with 7/9. The IM event continues.

Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

---------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGM October Budapest HUN (HUN), 7-17 x 2006          cat. VII (2401)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Prohaszka, Peter       f HUN 2392  * 0 = 1 1 1 = 1 1 1  7.0  2622 
 2. Erdos, Viktor          m HUN 2503  1 * 0 = 1 1 = = 1 =  6.0  2514 
 3. Kosic, Dragan          g SCG 2518  = 1 * = = = = 1 = =  5.5  2468 
 4. Fogarasi, Tibor        g HUN 2425  0 = = * = 1 = = = =  4.5  2398 
 5. Papp, Gellert            HUN 2324  0 0 = = * = 1 0 1 1  4.5  2409 
 6. Rajlich, Vasik G       m USA 2304  0 0 = 0 = * = 1 1 1  4.5  2411 
 7. Ilincic, Zlatko        g SCG 2451  = = = = 0 = * = 0 1  4.0  2352 
 8. Toth, Ervin            f HUN 2331  0 = 0 = 1 0 = * 0 1  3.5  2328 
 9. Eisenbeiser, Amadeus   f GER 2349  0 0 = = 0 0 1 1 * 0  3.0  2281 
10. Vitor, Antonio         f POR 2414  0 = = = 0 0 0 0 1 *  2.5  2233 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSIM October Budapest HUN (HUN), 7-19 x 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Henris, Luc            f BEL 2269  * = . . . 1 . = = 1 . 0 1 1  5.5  2390 
 2. Werner, Dimo           m GER 2315  = * = = . . = . . = 1 1 1 .  5.5  2367 
 3. Bandy, Attila          f HUN 2323  . = * . 1 . . = = . = 1 = 1  5.5  2380 
 4. Brustkern, Juergen     f GER 2207  . = . * = . . 1 = = 0 1 1 .  5.0  2332 
 5. Graf, Felix              GER 2221  . . 0 = * = = . 1 = . 1 . 1  5.0  2335 
 6. Titz, Heimo            f AUT 2286  0 . . . = * = 0 1 . 1 . 1 1  5.0  2343 
 7. Bednay, Bence            HUN 2268  . = . . = = * 1 0 . 1 . = =  4.5  2299 
 8. Lengyel, Bela          m HUN 2339  = . = 0 . 1 0 * = 1 . . . =  4.0  2255 
 9. Farago, Sandor         m HUN 2275  = . = = 0 0 1 = * . . . . =  3.5  2223 
10. Schneider, Veronika   wm HUN 2195  0 = . = = . . 0 . * 1 1 0 .  3.5  2194 
11. Adams, Nick A            USA 2184  . 0 = 1 . 0 0 . . 0 * = . =  2.5  2104 
12. Shanmugam, Ravindran     SIN 2156  1 0 0 0 0 . . . . 0 = * 1 .  2.5  2099 
13. Revesz, Zoltan           HUN 2212  0 0 = 0 . 0 = . . 1 . 0 * .  2.0  2059 
14. Toth, Lili            wm HUN 2217  0 . 0 . 0 0 = = = . = . . *  2.0  2077 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) US Chess League

The 7th week of the US Chess League took place on 9th and 11th October 2006 on ICC. News: Greg Shahade.

Official site: http://www.uschessleague.com

WEEK 7 - Monday October 9th 2006

1. Miami Sharks vs Dallas Destiny                           Mia 2.5-1.5

Wednesday October 11th 2006

2. New York Knights vs Carolina Cobras                      Car 2.5-1.5
3. Baltimore Kingfishers vs Philadelphia Masterminds        TIE 2-2
4. Tennessee Tempo vs Boston Blitz                          Bos 3.5-0.5
5. San Francisco Mechanics vs Seattle Sluggers              TIE 2-2
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|EASTERN DIVISION|W   |L   |Points     |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Boston          |6.0 |1.0 |19.0 (68%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Baltimore       |3.5 |3.5 |15.0 (54%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|New York        |3.0 |4.0 |12.5 (45%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Carolina        |2.5 |4.5 |12.0 (43%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Philadelphia    |2.0 |5.0 |12.5 (45%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|WESTERN DIVISION|W   |L   |Points     |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|San Francisco   |6.0 |1.0 |18.0 (64%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Seattle         |5.5 |1.5 |19.5 (70%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Miami           |3.5 |3.5 |13.0 (46%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Dallas          |2.5 |4.5 |13.0 (46%) |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+
|Tennessee       |0.5 |6.5 |5.5 (20%)  |
+----------------+----+----+-----------+

7) XI Blind Individual World Chess Championship

The All India Chess Fedederation for the Blind organises the XI individual world chess championship for the blind in Goa 8th-19th October 2006 at the Radisson white sands hotel. The event is held every 4 years. More than 35 countries have confirmed their participation. The round 6 standings below are based on the games.

Official site: http://www.aicfb.org/index.asp

-------------------------------------------------
XI WCh-Blind Goa IND (IND), 9-18 x 2006
-------------------------------------------------
 1. Wassin, Sergej               f  UKR 2299  5.5
 2. Guzynin, Vasiliy                RUS 2302  5.0
 3. Smirnov, Sergei                 RUS 2288  5.0
 4. Krylov, Sergey               m  RUS 2393  4.5
 5. Gunajew, Rafal                  POL 2251  4.5
 6. Berlinsky, Vladimir          m  RUS 2301  4.5
 7. Pribeanu, Dacian                ROM 2328  4.5
 8. Popov, Gennady                  RUS 2233  4.5
 9. Schellmann, Frank               GER 2116  4.5
73 players

8) Bulgarian Team Championship

The Bulgarian Team Championship took place in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria between 5th-11th October 2006. Lukoil-Neftohimik of Burgas won the event on tie-break from Lokomotiv 2000 of Plovdiv. Shach XXI Sofia won the women's event.

Official site: http://www.chessmix.com/bulteam06/

Final Ranking

Rank Team                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  Pts. MP Res.   SB   
   1 Lukoil-Neftohimik, Burgas  *  3  2½ 3½ 5½ 4½ 5½ 3½  28  11  0   535,25 
   2 Lokomotiv 2000, Plovdiv    3  *  3  3½ 5  3  5  5  27½  11  0   526,00 
   3 Lokomotiv, Plovdiv         3½ 3  *  3  3½ 3½ 4  5½  26  12  0   505,00 
   4 Lokomotiv, Sofia           2½ 2½ 3  *  3½ 4½ 3  4   23  8   0   454,00 
   5 CSKA, Sofia                ½  1  2½ 2½ *  4  3½ 3½ 17½  6   0   333,50 
   6 Spartak Pleven XXI, Pleven 1½ 3  2½ 1½ 2  *  4  2½  17  3   0   356,25 
   7 Tradex, Dimitrovgrad       ½  1  2  3  2½ 2  *  5½ 16½  3   0   309,00 
   8 Hemus, Sofia               2½ 1  ½  2  2½ 3½ ½  *  12½  2   0   268,00 

Women's Final Ranking

Rank Team                   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  Pts. MP Res.   SB   
   1 Shach XXI Sofia        *  2½ 1½ 2½ 3  3  1  2½  16  11  0   153,75 
   2 Lokomotiv Plovdiv      ½  *  2  1½ 2½ 2½ 1½ 3  13½  10  0   120,75 
   3 Lokomotiv 2000 Plovdiv 1½ 1  *  2  2  1  2½ 2½ 12½  9   0   120,25 
   4 G.Daskalov Varna       ½  1½ 1  *  2  3  2  2   12  9   0   108,75 
   5 64 Stara Zagora        0  ½  1  1  *  1  2  3   8½  4   0   71,75  
   6 Fenix Sofia            0  ½  2  0  2  *  2½ 1   8   6   0   74,25  
   7 Lokomotiv Sofia        2  1½ ½  1  1  ½  *  1½  8   4   0   91,25  
   8 Spartak Pleven XXI     ½  0  ½  1  0  2  1½ *   5½  3   0   54,25  

9) Goodbye Summer Open

The Goodbye Summer Open took place in Omis (CRO), 4th - 8th October 2006.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye Summer Open Omis CRO (CRO), 4-7 x 2006
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Zaja, Ivan             g  CRO 2445   6.0  23.5  32.5   26.5    5
 2. Zelcic, Robert         g  CRO 2556   6.0  22.5  31.5   24.0    6
 3. Sutkovic, Damir           BIH 2311   5.5  20.5  29.0   21.5    5
 4. Ljubicic, Filip        m  CRO 2404   5.5  19.5  28.5   21.5    4
 5. Orak, Ljubomir         f  CRO 2298   5.0  22.5  31.5   21.0    5
 6. Ribicic, Mate             CRO 2200   5.0  18.5  26.5   20.0    5
 7. Pavkovic, Mario           CRO 2200   5.0  18.5  26.0   18.0    5
 8. Ivic, Mateo               CRO 2253   4.5  21.5  31.0   22.0    4
43 players

10) 1st Open Patrimonio De La Humanidad

The 1st Open "Patrimonio De La Humanidad" took place as a 9 round swiss in Alcalà De Henares (Spain) 7th-15th October of 2006. GM Elshan Moradiabadi won the event with 7/9 on tie-break from 4 others on that score.

Official site: http://ajedrezdetorneo.com/alcaladehenares/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I Patrimonio de la Humanidad Open Alcala de Henares ESP (ESP), 7-15 x 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Moradiabadi, Elshan               g  IRI 2539  7 	43½ 	54
 2. Mirzoev, Azer                     g  AZE 2543  7 	43 	55
 3. Hernandez, Holden                 m  CUB 2524  7 	42½ 	54
 4. Caruana, Fabiano                  m  ITA 2474  7 	42 	54
 5. Martinez Martin, David            m  ESP 2415  7 	41 	52½
 6. Borges Mateos, Juan               g  CUB 2431  6½ 	37½ 	49
 7. Candela Perez, Jose               m  ESP 2406  6½ 	36 	47½
 8. Bruzon, Lazaro                    g  CUB 2648  6½ 	35 	46½
 9. Kasparov, Sergey                  m  BLR 2529  6 	44½ 	55½
10. Serrano Salvador, Eduardo         f  ESP 2362  6 	40½ 	51½
11. Gonzalez Somoza, Oliver              ESP 2294  6 	39 	49
12. Perez Gonzalez, Jose Manuel       f  ESP 2339  6 	38 	48½
13. Neelotpal, Das                    g  IND 2490  6 	37½ 	48
14. Pogorelov, Ruslan                 g  UKR 2462  6 	37 	48
15. Gonzalez Rodriguez, Jorge A       m  COL 2431  6 	36 	46
16. Rodriguez Yuste, Marcelo             ESP 2229  6 	35½ 	46
17. Valbuena Mota, Alejandro             ESP 2119  6 	35 	45½
18. Ballesteros, David                   ESP 2217  6 	32½ 	43
19. Rubio Mejia, Luis Ignacio            ESP 2222  6 	32½ 	42
20. Blanco Sanchez, Jose Fernando        ESP 2167  6 	31½ 	41
105 players

11) Corporation de Sur

The Corporación del Sur A+B (Felix Bernasconi) tournaments took place 2nd-13th October 2006 in the Corporation de Sur, Buenos Aires. Pablo Ricardi won the main event with 7.5/11.

Official site: http://members.tripod.com/~scalise/scalise8/sur06.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporacion del Sur A Buenos Aires ARG (ARG), 2-13 x 2006              cat. X (2484)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Ricardi, Pablo                   g ARG 2504  * = = 1 = = 1 1 = = = 1  7.5  2615 
 2. Needleman, Gaston                  ARG 2427  = * 0 0 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 =  7.0  2591 
 3. Cordova, Emilio                  m PER 2482  = 1 * = 0 0 1 = = 1 1 =  6.5  2549 
 4. Flores, Diego                    m ARG 2512  0 1 = * 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1  6.5  2546 
 5. Fier, Alexander Hilario Takeda   m BRA 2490  = = 1 0 * 1 0 0 = = 1 1  6.0  2519 
 6. Giaccio, Alfredo                 m ARG 2462  = 0 1 0 0 * 1 1 1 0 = 1  6.0  2522 
 7. Cubas, Jose Fernando             m PAR 2426  0 0 0 1 1 0 * 1 0 = 1 1  5.5  2489 
 8. Roselli Mailhe, Bernardo         m URU 2445  0 = = 1 1 0 0 * 1 = = 0  5.0  2451 
 9. Felgaer, Ruben                   g ARG 2591  = 0 = 0 = 0 1 0 * 1 = =  4.5  2409 
10. Valerga, Diego                   m ARG 2461  = 0 0 0 = 1 = = 0 * = 1  4.5  2421 
11. Hellsten, Johan                  g SWE 2592  = 0 0 1 0 = 0 = = = * =  4.0  2372 
12. Lujan, Carolina                 wg ARG 2419  0 = = 0 0 0 0 1 = 0 = *  3.0  2315 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporacion del Sur B Buenos Aires ARG (ARG), 2-13 x 2006       cat. VII (2425)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Lemos, Damian                m ARG 2371  * 1 = 1 = = = 1 = = 1 1  8.0  2604 
 2. Zambrana, Oswaldo            m BOL 2427  0 * 1 1 0 = = 1 = 1 1 1  7.5  2557 
 3. Rodriguez, Andres            g URU 2496  = 0 * 1 = = 1 0 1 1 1 1  7.5  2551 
 4. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag    m BRA 2425  0 0 0 * 1 = 1 = = 1 1 1  6.5  2489 
 5. Alonso, Salvador             m ARG 2434  = 1 = 0 * = 0 1 = = = 1  6.0  2460 
 6. Slipak, Sergio               g ARG 2445  = = = = = * = = = = = 0  5.0  2387 
 7. Lafuente, Pablo              m ARG 2459  = = 0 0 1 = * = 0 = = 1  5.0  2385 
 8. Perdomo, Leandro             m ARG 2346  0 0 1 = 0 = = * = = = =  4.5  2367 
 9. Quinteros, Miguel A          g ARG 2488  = = 0 = = = 1 = * 0 0 0  4.0  2317 
10. Contin, Daniel               m ITA 2386  = 0 0 0 = = = = 1 * = 0  4.0  2326 
11. Labollita, Martin            m ARG 2429  0 0 0 0 = = = = 1 = * =  4.0  2322 
12. Disconzi da Silva, Rodrigo   m BRA 2392  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 = 1 1 = *  4.0  2325 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12) 24th Muensterland Open

The 24th Muensterland Open took place 7th-14th October 2006. Vladislav Borovikov took first place from Ivan Farago on tie-break after both finished on 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.chess-international.de/ticker/muensterland_open2006/index.html

Leading Final Round 9 Standings: 
----------------------------------------------------------
Muensterland Open Senden GER (GER), 7-14 x 2006
----------------------------------------------------------
1.   Borovikov,Vladisl GM    2578 UKR  7.5    2314  374.5
2.   Farago,Ivan       GM    2522 HUN  7.5    2302  372.5
3.   Porper,Eduard     IM    2462 ISR  7.0    2270  366.5
4.   Tereick,Benjamin        2302 GER  6.5    2285  362.0
5.   van der Weide,Kar GM    2463 NED  6.5    2244  353.0
6.   Zelbel,Patrick          2079 GER  6.5    2213  350.5
7.   Langhanke,Günther       2124 GER  6.5    2130  335.5
8.   Haub,Thorsten Mic IM    2474 GER  6.0    2298  365.0
9.   Karpatchev,Aleksa GM    2515 RUS  6.0    2232  348.5
10.  Ebert,Manuel            2044 GER  6.0    2187  341.0
11.  Kleinegger,Frank        2256 GER  6.0    2136  341.5
12.  Jungbluth,Michael       2019 GER  6.0    2126  331.5
13.  Felczer,Kevin           2239 GER  6.0    2099  325.5
14.  Glaser,Wolfgang         2239 GER  6.0    2098  335.5
15.  Ottens,Stephan          2242 GER  6.0    2090  329.5
16.  Sicherl,Peter           2179 GER  6.0    2066  333.5
17.  Seegers,Hendrik   FM    2212 GER  6.0    2065  337.5
18.  Platz,Thomas            2175 GER  6.0    1959  312.5
19.  Simon,Roland            2058 GER  6.0    1873  301.0
98 players

13) 7th Veselin Boskovic Memorial

The 7th Veselin Boskovic Memorial Open took place in Beograd 2nd-9th October 2006. Milos Perunovic took clear first place with 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.beochess.org.yu

------------------------------------------------------------------
7th Veselin Boskovic Mem Op Beograd SRB (SRB), 2-11 x 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. Perunovic, Milos       g  SCG 2532  7½   42½   51½   2664   6
  2. Tadic, Branko          m  SCG 2482  7    42½   54½   2596   5
  3. Tosic, Miroslav        g  SCG 2442  7    42½   54    2633   6
  4. Vuckovic, Bojan        g  SCG 2544  7    42    54    2597   6
  5. Ivanisevic, Ivan       g  SCG 2579  7    41½   51½   2591   5
  6. Miladinovic, Igor      g  SCG 2598  7    40½   52    2545   7
  7. Pavlovic, Milos        g  SCG 2507  7    39    49½   2551   6
  8. Vasiukov, Evgeni       g  RUS 2502  7    39    48½   2465   5
  9. Todorovic, Goran M     g  SCG 2467  7    36    46    2552   5
 10. Arsovic, Goran         m  SCG 2470  7    36    45    2533   5
 11. Milanovic, Danilo      m  SCG 2477  6½   42    54½   2545   6
 12. Romanishin, Oleg M     g  UKR 2542  6½   41½   49½   2551   4
 13. Cabrilo, Goran         g  SCG 2480  6½   40½   47½   2529   5
 14. Nestorovic, D. Nikola     SCG 2400  6½   38½   50½   2422   6
 15. Predojevic, Borki      g  BIH 2590  6½   38½   49    2506   5
 16. Marinkovic, Ivan       m  SCG 2452  6½   36½   46    2368   6
212 players

14) Croatian Team Championship

The Croatian Team Championship took place in Sibenik 22nd September - 2nd October 2006. Zagreb took the title with 9 wins a draw and a loss.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/

Rk. SNo Team                          Team                      Games + = - TB1  TB2 TB3
1   5   Zagreb, Zagreb                Zagreb, Zagreb            11    9 1 1 43,5 19  293,50
2   11  Mravince-Dal.cement, Mravince Mravince-Dal.cement, Mrav 11    8 2 1 41,5 18  284,50
3   10  Gjuro Pilar, Slavonski Brod   Gjuro Pilar, Slavonski Br 11    5 3 3 38,0 13  188,00
4   3   Liburnija, Rijeka             Liburnija, Rijeka         11    5 3 3 37,0 13  194,25
5   8   Mladost, Zagreb               Mladost, Zagreb           11    5 3 3 37,0 13  184,50
6   7   Rijeka, Rijeka                Rijeka, Rijeka            11    5 5 1 35,0 15  236,50
7   1   Osijek, Osijek                Osijek, Osijek            11    5 3 3 34,0 13  193,00
8   9   Pozega, Pozega                Pozega, Pozega            11    4 1 6 32,0 9   138,00
9   2   TKC Split, Split              TKC Split, Split          11    3 1 7 27,0 7   96,50
10  4   Pula, Pula                    Pula, Pula                11    1 2 8 25,0 4   60,50
11  12  Casper, Zadar                 Casper, Zadar             11    2 1 8 24,0 5   70,50
12  6   Goran, Bibinje                Goran, Bibinje            11    1 1 9 22,0 3   36,50

15) Tatry Open

The Tatry Open took place 23rd-30th September 2006 in Tatranské Zruby, Slovakia. Emil Klemanic won the event iwtht 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.slovan-bratislava.com/

-----------------------------------------------------
Tatry Open Tatranske Zruby SVK (SVK), 23-30 ix 2006
-----------------------------------------------------
 1. Klemanic, Emil         f  SVK 2293  7½  43½ 
 2. Dobrovolsky, Ladislav  m  CZE 2376   7  49  
 3. Vojta, Tomas           f  CZE 2303   7  46  
 4. Rachela, Milan            SVK 2351   7  45½ 
 5. Manik, Mikulas         m  SVK 2460   7  44  
 6. Petran, Peter          m  SVK 2326  6½  49½ 
 7. Vojtek, Vladimir          SVK 2387  6½  47  
 8. Pribyl, Josef          m  CZE 2432  6½  46½ 
 9. Markos, Jan            m  SVK 2526  6½  44½ 
10. Langner, Ladislav      m  CZE 2396  6½  44½ 
11. Mozny, Milos           m  CZE 2385  6½  44  
12. Ostrowski, Leszek      m  POL 2322  6½  43½ 
13. Cech, Pavel            m  CZE 2417  6½  42½ 
14. Michenka, Jozef        m  CZE 2367  6½  42  
15. Klima, Lukas           m  CZE 2443  6½  40½ 
16. Ramik, Zdenek          f  CZE 2274  6½  39  

16) Izmir Open

The Izmir Open took place 10th-19th September 2006. Evgenij Miroshnichenko won the event with 8.5/10.

Official site: http://izmiropen.tsf.org.tr/

--------------------------------------------------------------------
5th Open Izmir TUR (TUR), 10-19 ix 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. Miroshnichenko, Evgenij    g  UKR 2616  8½   58    64    55.50
  2. Mamedov, Rauf              g  AZE 2561  8    58½   64    53.75
  3. Vasilev, Milen             m  BUL 2429  8    57½   63    51.00
  4. Sanikidze, Tornike         m  GEO 2418  8    53½   58    47.50
  5. Atalik, Suat               g  TUR 2619  8    53    58½   48.00
  6. Bagaturov, Giorgi          g  GEO 2461  7½   56½   62    46.75
  7. Mihajlovskij, Sergei          BLR 2429  7½   52    57½   45.75
  8. Shanava, Konstantine       g  GEO 2490  7½   51    56½   44.25
  9. Esen, Baris                m  TUR 2459  7½   51    56    43.25
 10. Wintzer, Joachim           f  GER 2349  7½   49    54½   43.00
 11. Bojkov, Dejan              m  BUL 2445  7    55    61    43.50
 12. Ushenina, Anna             wg UKR 2410  7    52    56    39.25
 13. Gvetadze, Sopio            wg GEO 2391  7    49½   53½   38.50
 14. Secer, Ata                    TUR 2267  7    49    54½   39.50
 15. Husnullin, Ramil              RUS 2223  7    45½   49½   34.00
 16. Gaprindashvili, Valeriane  g  GEO 2484  6½   57    62½   39.00
 17. Annageldyev, Orazly        g  TKM 2486  6½   55    60½   39.75
 18. Georgiev, Vladimir         g  MKD 2518  6½   55    60½   38.50
 19. Gurevich, Mikhail          g  TUR 2643  6½   54    59½   38.25
 20. Kadimova, Ilaha            wg AZE 2330  6½   53    58    38.50
 21. Bratanov, Zsivko           m  BUL 2420  6½   53    58    37.75
 22. Khotenashvili, Bela        wm GEO 2329  6½   51½   57    36.75
 23. Sulashvili, Malkhaz        m  GEO 2431  6½   51    56½   37.75
 24. Karpatchev, Aleksandr      g  RUS 2533  6½   51    56    35.75
 25. Velikhanli, Firuza         wg AZE 2323  6½   50½   55½   36.75
 26. Tsereteli, Tamar           wg GEO 2331  6½   50    55    35.75
 27. Arduman, Can               m  TUR 2316  6½   50    53½   32.75
 28. Reyhan, Dogan                 TUR 2251  6½   49    54    34.75
 29. Dogantug, Ismail              TUR 2188  6½   48½   53    30.75
 30. Mamedjarova, Zeinab        wg AZE 2318  6½   48    52½   33.75
 31. Gurbanzade, Erkin             AZE 2150  6½   46½   50½   31.25
 32. Tereladze, Sopiko          wm GEO 2227  6½   46    50½   34.25
 33. Sipahioglu, Irmak             TUR 1959  6½   44½   48½   32.25
 34. Ceviz, Aydin Emre             TUR 2051  6½   43½   47½   31.00
153 players

17) Vasylyshyn Memorial

The Vasylyshyn Memorial takes place in Lviv, 7th-17th October 2006. I'll give the games when the event finishes next week, hopefully they'll have the round 1 games by then also. Viacheslav Zakhartsov leads on 8.5/11 in this 15 round event.

Official site: http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t101.html

18) English Chess Federation Book of the year 2006

The choice came down to two books this year. Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors V which covered Korchnoi and Karpov was excluded as the title matches between Kasparov and Karpov had been omitted -surely of the essence in assessing Karpov's career- since these epic contests will be covered in a later volume. However Kasparov's mammoth series has set new standards for writing about chess history.

Chess for Zebras Jonathan Rowson (Gambit) pp255 £17.99 All Rowson's writings are interesting and readable and this book is no exception. Rowson uses his formidable academic erudition to explore in depth various aspects of chess playing and thinking. The chess content is remarkable for Rowson's honesty in analysing the strengths and weaknesses of his games. This is a book that is simultaneously challenging, stimulating, instructive and guaranteed to make any reader think about how he plays the game. None the less the choice fell upon a totally different type of book, one which has not featured in the Book of the Year before, even though it is a popular genre.

Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics (New in Chess) pp479 £18.95 Collections of game positions for solving or instruction are not uncommon. Unfortunately many are computer generated with cursory instruction or comment added. This is emphatically not the case here. Van Perlo is a Dutch correspondence grandmaster who collected over a period of 30 years tactical end games that appealed to him. He cast his net wide and most of the 1105(!) positions were unknown to the judges. Van Perlo had a good chess eye for attractive situations and wrote about them in a humorous and entertaining manner. Above all he writes with wicked glee about the changes in fortune that lie in wait on the board for all players . The New in Chess team has edited and organised the material so that there is considerable instructional content in the book. But the winning factor for the judges was the sheer entertainment value - a rare commodity in the chess world these days.

R B Edwards J Farrand J Toothill 8th October 2006

English Chess Federation http://www.bcf.org.uk/

19) Forthcoming Events and Links

Essent Chess Tournament

The 10th edition of the Essent Chess Tournament takes place October 20th-28th 2006.

Topalov, Veselin 2813 GM BUL M
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2728 GM AZE M
Polgar, Judit 2710 GM HUN F
Sokolov, Ivan 2670 GM NED M

Official site: http://www.essentchess.nl/

University of Belgrade vs. University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Belgrade will play against University of Texas at Dallas Internet chess match on 16 boards on October 20th, 2006. Belgrade's team will be at Belgrade, Amphitheater "A" of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (approx. 700 seats) and team of Dallas at the Davidson Auditorium of the UTD School of Management Dallas, TX (approx. 300 seats). The Match is open to the public. All the games will be broadcast live in the playing hall with video beam. Both playing halls will be cover with video and audio conferencing connection.

Time control: 40 minutes per player + 5 seconds incremental time per each move

Board 1  GM Bojan Vuckovic (UB 2006 Champion) vs. GM Magesh Panchanathan (UTD) 
Board 2  GM Alejandro Ramirez Alvarez (UTD)   vs. GM Veljko Jeremic (UB)
Board 3  FM Milos Pavlovic (UB)               vs. IM Jacek Stopa (UTD)
Board 4  IM Marko Zivanic (UTD)               vs. IM Aleksandar Danilovic (UB)
Board 5  FM Vladimir Podinic (UB)             vs. IM Drasko Boskovic (UTD)
Board 6  IM Davorin Kuljasevic (UTD)          vs. FM Dusko Prelevic (UB)
Board 7     Balind Nadj Hedjesi (UB, ChJunSRB)vs. Amon Simutove (UTD)
Board 8  IM Bartholomew (UTD)                 vs. Ivan Radivojevic (UB)
Board 9     Ivan Martic (UB)                  vs. FM Igor Shneider (UTD) etc.

Arbiters will be IA Sinisa Joksic (Belgrade) and IA Frank Gvadalupe (Dalas) The Match begins at 8 p.m. CET (1 p.m. Dallas time) All chess players who want enjoy watching games in live are welcome to ICC.

The games will be on ICC http://www.chessclub.com/

Fischer on the Radio

Bobby Fischer appeared on the Icelandic private radio station Utvarp Saga on October 16th 2006, He discussed his public despute with UBS, Chess in the past and present, and Interntional affairs, even the North Korea crises.

50 minute interview. It may become available at: http://www.utvarpsaga.is/

3rd Singapore International Chess Convention

The 3rd Singapore International Chess Convention 2006 incorporates the 1. 2nd Asian Schools 17 to 24 December 2nd Asian Schools Entry Form for Singapore Only 2. Seminar for Coaches 18 to 24 December 3. Arbiters Training Seminar 19 to 24 December 4. Masters & Challengers Open 26 to 31 December Masters & Challengers Open.

Details of all events at: http://www.singaporechess.org.sg/

65th Anniversary of Sao Paulo State Chess Federation

65th Anniversary of Sao Paulo State Chess Federation takes place 16th-22nd October 2006.

Players: 1. José Fernando Cubas PAR 2426 im 2. Giovanni Portilho Vescovi BRA 2592 gm 3. Emilio Córdova PER 2482 im 4. Gilberto Milos Jr BRA 2563 gm 5. Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian BRA 2425 im 6. Alexandr Fier BRA 2490 im 7. Martin Crosa URU 2386 im 8. Alfredo Giaccio ARG 2462 im 9. Everaldo Matsuura BRA 2460 im 10. Rafael Duailibe Leitão BRA 2601 gm

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/2006/65/tabela.htm

Magistral Ciutat de Barcelona-Casino

The Magistral Ciutat de Barcelona-Casino takes place 19th-27th October 2006. The Category XIV event is organised by the Catalan Chess Federation. New fide time control, aproved in Turin (90' + 30'' + 30' + 30'').

Round 1 19th October 16:00
1 GM Granda Zuniga Julio E 2646 - GM Timman Jan H                2565 10
2 GM Narciso Dublan Marc   2511 - IM Lacasa Diaz Jose Antonio    2410 9
3 GM Peralta Fernando      2574 - IM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel 2508 8
4 GM Ivanchuk Vassily      2741 - GM Korneev Oleg                2657 7
5 GM Bologan Viktor        2659 - GM Dominguez Lenier            2655 6

Official site: http://www.fcde.org/ - http://www.fcde.org/circulars/circulars2006/circular54.htm

OBRO Chessclub tournament Copenhagen

The 70 year jubilee tournament of OBRO Chessclub Copenhagen takes place October 14th-22nd 2006. They could use two foreigners more (preferably 2300+ and chasing an IM norm) entering a 9 round modified Swiss tournament with so far 29 participants, headed by GM Varga (H), IM Antoniewski (PL), IM Vajda (H), IM Glud (DK) and IM Hermansson (S).

Official site: http://www.oebroskak.dk/turneringer/jubi70.asp

World Youth Championships

The World Youth Championships take place 18th-29th October 2006 in Batumi (Black Sea), Georgia.

Obrenovac 2006

International Open Championship of Belgrade "Obrenovac 2006" Obrenovac, 22-30.11.2006. Prizes : EUR 5,250.00

Contact information: BELGRADE CHESS INFORMATION 11000 Belgrade, Deligradska 27/III, Serbia and Montenegro Tel/Fax; +381-11 -656 846 E-mail: beochess@eunet.yu

Details: http://www.beochess.org.yu

XLI Capablanca Memorial

The XLI Capablanca Memorial had to move from its normal dates in May due to the Turin Olympiad. This years event takes place 19th-30th November 2006 in the hotel Habana Riviera.

As usual there will be a number of events, the elite for players rated over 2600 and an 11 round swiss with 22 players etc

For details and entry by 3rd November 2006 contact: anayar@inder.co.cu or baby@inder.co.cu or baby@23yb.uci.cu

27th Bethune International Open

The Bethune chess club is preparing his 27th International Open, Hall Olof Palme, Commercial centre La Rotonde, Bethune, France (Pas-de-Calais) from December 26 to 30. 9 rounds The tournament is divided in 2 tournaments: - Tournament A for players whose Elo rating is above or equal to 1600, 1st price : 1500 euros - Tournament B for players strictly below 1800 and not FIDE, 1st price : 300 euros, Fischer pace 1h30+30s KO for each game in both tournaments. At least 5500 euros of prices, prices for Elo categories in both tournaments. Inscription fee : 40 euros (adults), 20 euros (youngsters under 20), free for IM, GM and FIDE Masters. Conditions for IM and GM and special conditions for GM>2600, contact us at open@bethunechess.com For more information visit: http://www.bethunechess.com

Corus Invitations

in a press release on September 19th 2006 on their website the Corus, Wijk aan Zee organisers announced the first players for the event in January 2007. The top three in the world Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian will all play. It was already known that Alexander Motylev qualified from the B group last year and that Magnus Carlsen who officially lost out on tie-break to him would also be invited.

Official site: http://www.coruschess.com/article.php?s=n115

Hastings Congress

The Hastings Congress takes place 28th December 2006 - 7 January 2007. 9 round master Swiss +many other events including a FIDE Rated open 6-7 January. Details Con Power conpowr@aol.com.

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

3rd IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open

The 3rd IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship took place 21st-27th August 2006. Total prizes:USD$ 18,000 (RM 68,000). Dao Thien Hai won the event with 8/11 on tie break from four others on that score. Games may become available.

Official site: http://malaysiaopen.net/

17th NATO Championship

7th NATO CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP took place at Wellington College, Berkshire (UK) 21st-25th August 2006 after the Stauton Memorial. Results and games not yet available.

Official site: http://www.natochess.org/

Hungarian tournaments September-December 2006

1. 2nd-14th September FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER- ROUND ROBIN), 9-13 games, GM-IM norm possibilities in Budapest, venue: Hungarian Chess Federation, Falk Miksa Str.10. 2nd floor. Organisation: Nagy Laszlo, FIDE International Chess Organizer /NL/, E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Other website: http://home.hu.inter.net/~firstsat Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time - GMT+1 hour/..

2. 16th-24th of September Kecskemet, IM Berger tmt, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s in Kecskemet. 100 km South from Budapest.

3. 15th-23rd of September BUDAPEST AUTUMN - 1st GOLD CROWN Kup, 9 rounds Swiss Open, Org: Nagy Laszlo. firstsat@hu.inter.net Website: www.firstsaturday.hu

4.. 7th-19th of October, FS GM-IM, Budapest Org: .Nagy Laszlo,

5. 14th-22nd of October, 9 round Swiss Open tmt HÉVÍZ - 150 km West from Budapest, org: IM RIGO, Janos, website: www.lellechess.tar.hu

6. 4th-16th of November FS GM-IM-FM closed tmt, Budapest, info Nagy Laszlo.

7.. 16th-24th of of November, TENKES KUPA - OPEN, Harkány, 250 km South West from Budapest, Organizer: Mr FULOP, Csaba E-mail: fulopcsa@invitel.hu

8 2nd-15th of December, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, info Nagy Laszlo.

Hull Congress

The 43rd Hull Chess Congress (Yorkshire, England) will take place in the Student Union Building, University of Hull, over the weekend of November 17-19, 2006. This year's Hull Congress has three sections, Open, Under 150 and Under 100 and the total prize fund for the tournament is 1200 pounds (1st 250, 2nd 100, 3rd 50 each section), with the option of adding additional prizes based on the number of entries. The entry fee is just 15 pounds if you commit your entry on or before October 31, 2006 and just 20 pounds after that date. For more information about the Hull Congress and to download an entry form, please visit the new Hull & District Chess Association website at http://www.h-d-c-a.org.uk/ or contact Mark Ieronimo, Tournament Organizer, at congress@h-d-c-a.org.uk to obtain an entry form via email.

Secrets of the July 2006 FIDE Rating List

"Secrets of the July 2006 FIDE Rating List" by Boris Schipkov, 15.08.2006 appears on the website Chess Siberia http://www.chessib.com/. There are more than 1000 grandmasters in the World now. Germany leads on the number of players with rating. The greatest increase in number of players was in France.

Kramnik - Deep Fritz

Vladimir Kramnik will play the ChessBase computer program Deep Fritz in a 6 game match 25th November - 5th December 2006 in the German’s Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonne. Kramnik stands to win a prize of $1 Million US for a win in the match doubling his starting fee.

Asked how he estimates his chances, Kramnik reacted cautiously: "Fritz examines millions of moves per second. It is extraordinarily difficult to play against such a calculating monster. Right from the start you are walking on a very narrow ridge, and you know that any inattentiveness will be your downfall. It is a scientific experiment and I will have to fight very hard for my chance."

The WCC is being organized by Universal Event Promotion (UEP), in cooperation with the Art and Exhibition Hall.

Schedule: Game 1: Saturday 25.11.2006 16h Game 2: Monday 27.11.2006 16h Game 3: Wednesday 29.11.2006 16h Game 4: Friday 01.12.2006 16h Game 5: Sunday 03.12.2006 16h Game 6: Tuesday 05.12.2006 16h

During the entire period of the match the Art and Exhibition Hall will offer a varied program.

Official site: http://www.rag.de/microsite_chess_com/

Sydney International Open 2007

The 2007 Sydney International Open will be held as a 9-round FIDE-rated Swiss event from 10th-14th April 2007. The venue is Parramatta Town Hall, an historic centre and business hub just 30 minutes by train from Central Sydney and International Airport. Some conditions are offered to titled players. It is also possible to play in Australia's largest weekender, the Doeberl Cup, a 7-round FIDE-rated event held in Canberra 6-9 April 2007. An information sheet, registration form and other details are available at http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/open. The organisers are Australian Chess Enterprises. Contact is Brian Jones at info@chessaustralia.com.au

GibTelecom Chess Festival

The GibTelecom Chess Festival takes place 23rd January - 1st February 2007. including a 9 round Masters with a rest day. Also two 5 round Swisses for players under 2200 and two separately for players under 1800. Total prize fund £71,000, including £9000 awards specifically for females with a first of £4000; £12000 for players under 2200, where such a player could win £6000; seniors £2000; junior £1000. So far Arishchenko, Efimenko, Kuzubov, Milov, Krush, Ganguly, Kunte, Sand ipan, Bellon, Cramling have accepted invitations. further details Judy Whurr conf.banq@caletahotel.gi

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

European Rapid Chess Championship

The European Rapid Chess Championship 2006 takes place in Warsaw, Poland (at the same time the 6th AMPLICO AIG LIFE Tournament played during the 25th Memorial of Stanislaw Gawlikowski) takes place 16th-17th of December 2006. The prize fund is 20.000 Euros. The tournament is a part of the ACP Tour. Visit the Official site for more information, updates are coming soon. Contact details of Organizers and Chief arbiter.

Tournament Director - Mrs Maria Macieja mobile: + 48 603 391 318 e-mail: mariamacieja@o2.pl

Official site: http://www.warsawchess.pl/

olimpbase

The olimpbase website: http://www.olimpbase.org from April covers all team events. The latest addition is the European U18 Team Ch. has just finish in Balatonelle. Also, there is a lot on the history of this interesting event at my page, including details, games and results of all previous editions, overall statistics and medal table. See http://www.olimpbase.org/youth/euro18.html

Swiss Chess Tour Christmas 2006

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2006" will restore "Christmas Tournament" back after a one year break and four years in Interlaken this time in Bern. The change is only in the venue in the Hotel "Bern", in the very center of the city. The 1st International Open Hotel "Bern" December 26th-30th 2006. 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: 2.000 SF, 1.500, 1.000, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. The natural prizes till 20th place. Special prizes for best Lady, senior (1945), junior (1986-89), schoolboy (1990) and best local player. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. Venue: Hotel "Bern" Blitz tournament, Swiss system, 9 double rounds.Prize are: 300, 200, 150, 2x100, 2x50 CHF. Entry fee 20 CHF (juniors 5 CHF) Time table for "Bern Open": December 26. The last registration 12.00-13.00. Open ceremony and apero reception from 13.30-14.00. Round 1st 14.00-19.00. December 27. Round 2nd 9.30-14.30 Round 3rd 15.30-20.30 December 28.: Round 4th 14.00-19.00. Blitz Tournament 19.30-22.30. December 29. Round 5th 9.30-14.30. Round 6th 15.30-20.30 December 30. Round 7th 9.30-14.30 Closing ceremonies 15.00. Special chess rates in Hotel "Bern". More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+62+965-465-40, fax +41+62+965-46-51 E-mail beochess@bluewin.ch

Further information: http://www.beochess.ch/

Brian Jones' Chess Clinic in Malaysia

The Chess Club of the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Secondary School in Klang, Malaysia will be organizing a half-day chess clinic by FIDE Master Brian Jones from Sydney, Australia on the 19th of August 2006. To be held at the school's Library between 1 pm and 5 pm (Malaysian time), the fee for the chess clinic is Ringgit Malaysia 50 per person.

To obtain more information and to register for the chess clinic, please contact the Chess Club at the following email address: starschool_chessclub@yahoo.com

2nd Lviv Chess Open

The Lviv Chess Club and Lviv Chess Federation organises the in Lviv (Ukraine) the 2nd International Chess Open "The Cup of Lion - 2006" from 20th-26th August 2006. ( 1 prize - 1000 $) Last year the event had 168 participants from 6 countries. The top rated players were Vysochin Spartak (UKR 2573), Kovchan Oleksander ( UKR 2508), Oleksienko Mikhailo (UKR 2487), Kryvoruchko Yurij (UKR 2476). There were 6 GMs and more than 15 IMs. Contact - nazar_f@mail333.com

Official page of the tournament - http://www.chessclub.lviv.ua/

Satka Tournament

The Satka tournament saw two all-play-all tournaments. Just results seem to be available. Chess Today reports that Parimarjan Negi became India's youngest GM at 13 years 142 days.

Tables: http://fgala.boom.ru/tourn/satka06.htm

Computer chess tournament calendar

The Computer chess tournament calendar by Frank Quisinsky has been updated. Frank's Chess Page: http://www.amateurschach.de Frank's Chess Page, CC-Calendar: http://www.amateurschach.de/atl4/_calendar.htm

AnMon 5.6 by Christian BARRETEAU won the computer chess tournament in Massy (France) with 6/6 . This tournament has been organised for many years by a very strong group of French computer chess engine programmers. Unfortunately, this year only seven French programs participated. Second place for Pharaon 3.4 by Franck ZIBI with 5/6 and the third place for ChessTiger 2006 Alpha by Christophe THERON with 4/6. In other words ... AnMon defended its title. The next computer chess tournament is the Australasian-NCC-ch in Canberra at August 20th, 2006. TOP favorits are Bodo, Trace and Warp.

Lugano tournaments

International Week-end Chess Open Lugano 2006 "ONE WEEKEND IN THE SOUTH PART OF SWITZERLAND" When: Friday, 17 November ' Sunday November Where: Hotel Flora, Via Geretta 16, 6900 Lugano- Paradiso Phone +41 91 994 16 71 Fax: +41 91 994 27 38 E-mail: hotelflora@bluewin.ch Modality: International Tournament. 5 Rounds Swiss System Rate of Play: 36 Moves in 90 Minutes + 30 Minutes K.O. Rating: CH- & FIDE

International Amateurs Chess Open Ascona 2006 Only for Amateurs, Max. 2299 ELO. , 26th December ' Saturday, 30th December 2006 Where: Hotel Ascona, via Collina, 6612 Ascona (Switzerland) Modality: International Chess Tournament. 7 Rounds Swiss System Rate of Play: 40 Moves in 120 Minutes + 60 Minutes K.O. ELO: Not valid for ELO Points (holiday mood!)

Lugano Rapid Chess Marathon Ticino Cureglia 2006 Sunday, 18.06.2006 Where? Parco Rusca (Park & town hall), CH-6944 Cureglia Modality? International Rapid Chess Tournament 24 rounds Swiss System Rate of play? 5 minutes to finish the game Prizes? CHF 600 (€ 400) / 400 (€ 268) / 300 (€ 200) / 200 (€ 133) / 100 (€ 67) CHF 100 (€ 67) Best Ticino player + 9 Special prizes (Full prize amount with 50 players, otherwise % to the number of participants ) Inscriptions? CHF 40 (€ 27) under 20 CHF 20 (€ 14), Sunday: 08.00 - 09.00 Timetable? Sunday 09.15 - 13.00 (15 rounds) 14.30 - 16.30 (9 rounds)

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

Frits Agterdenbos Photos

Chess Photographer Frits Agterdenbos has launched a website of his photos at: http://www.chessvista.com/. He is at the Turin Olympiad and his photo reports is available there.

FIDE Presidential Election Websites

Both Presidential tickets for the upcoming FIDE Elections in Turin now have websites.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: http://www.chessfidelity.com

Bessel Kok: http://www.rightmove06.org

French Team Championship

The final four rounds of the French Team Top 16 Championship took place 4th-7th May 2006 in Asnières-sur-Seine. NAO Chess Club again won the title three points clear of Monaco who they defeated in the final round. Games from the final two rounds are not yet available (apart from the Monaco - NAO match) if anyone has them I'd be grateful.

Further details: http://www.echecs.asso.fr, http://www.europe-echecs.com/ and http://www.nao-cc.com

IbeatGarry.com: The Six Degrees of Kasparov

If you've won a game that's appeared in Chessbase Megabase 2005 then find out a series of results which by separation means you beat Garry Kasparov! Fun stuff from Karlheinz Zoechling. I'm not in Megabase but have beaten someone who has a separation of two, giving me a separation of three!

Site: http://ibeatgarry.com/

15th Open International D’Echecs de Martigny

The 15th Open International D’Echecs de Martigny takes place 4th-7th August 2006.

Further detail: http://www.uve-wsb.ch/openmartigny/

IRT Buenos Aires

An IRT (International Rated Tournament) takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organized by FAOGBA (Federación de Ajedrez del Oeste del Gran Buenos Aires) Federation of Chess of the West of Great Buenos Aires. Apr, 19th-May, 20th 2006. 11 players, average ELO 2118 (eight rated players) It takes place in the halls of the Italian Society of the city of Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezfaogba.com.ar

Czech Tour 2006/2007

There is new information about the Czech Tour 2006/2007 including:

9th OLOMOUC CHESS SUMMER (the Sigma hotel) 2nd-10th August 2006.

3rd HIGHLANDS OPEN (Havlickuv Brod, the Slunce hotel) 23rd September - 1st October 2006.

7th LIBEREC OPEN (the Liberec hotel) 11th-18th November 2006.

6th PRAGUE OPEN (TOP HOTEL Praha) 11th-18th January 2007.

6th MARIENBAD OPEN (the Evropa hotel) 19th-27th January 2007.

Further details: http://www.czechtour.net or Dr. Jan Mazuch, Director of CZECH OPEN & CZECH TOUR - j.mazuch@avekont.cz

In addition there is the 27th Tournament of Chess Hopes and 17th Pobeskydi Tournament organised by the town of Frydek-Mistek 13th-17th April 2006.

Further details: http://www.chessfm.cz

10th Anniversary of correspondencechess.com

correspondencechess.com is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. It has a 10th Anniversary Commemorative Coin: http://www.correspondencechess.com/coin.htm

Home of: Grandmaster V.V. Palciauskas' The World of Correspondence Chess Senior International Master Knudsen's The Correspondence Chess Place The Campbell Report Ralph Marconi's Chess Pages The Canadian Correspondence Chess Association (CCCA) American Postal Chess Tournaments (APCT) The Correspondence Chess Message Board (TCCMB)   and much, much more!

Official site: http://www.correspondencechess.com/

Christophe Bouton Chess Blog

Christophe Bouton has started a chess blog in French at: http://echecs64.blog.20minutes.fr/

Free "How good is your chess" articles in German

For German Readers The excellent series "How good is your chess", written by the english Grandmaster Daniel King, appears also in the german language as "Test & Training". You can download a free sample in the section "Training" at http://www.schach-magazin.de

Spanish Championship

The Spanish closed and open Championships will be held in León November 22nd-30th 2006. The Hotel Conde Luna from León will be the venue and the official hotel of the organization.

Alushta Tournaments

01.02.06 Tournaments in Alushta:

GM Norm: 29.04-9.05, 11.05-21.05, 23.05-1.06, 2.06-12.06, 16.06-26.06, 2.09-12.09, 14.09-24.09, 26.09–6.10,

IM Norm: 29.04-9.05, 11.05-21.05, 23.05-1.06, 2.06-12.06, 16.06-26.06, 2.09-12.09, 14.09-24.09, 26.09–6.10,

Rating tournament: 5.06-13.06, 23.06–27.06

Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 14.06-22.06, Swiss 9 rounds.

Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman)- 500$: 28.06-6.07, Swiss 9 rounds. Open tournament (rapid chess) 7.07–8.07, Swiss 9 rounds. Blitz tournament 9.07. Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 23.06–27.06. Individual and group studying.

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32, +380505828911 (for Russian speaking) + 38 050 669-26-04 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

Seagaard ChessReviews

Soren Sogaard has announced that his site Seagaard ChessReviews will be updated after receiving a lot of positive e-mails, "I decided to try to keep running the site. I also got two new reviewers, and the well known danish IM Steffen Pedersen reviews his first book." He'll see if he can keep it going another 6 months.

Website: http://seagaard.dk/review

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