THE WEEK IN CHESS 632 18th December 2006 by Mark Crowther
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Games section
Russian Championship SuperFinal 20 games
Russian Women's Championship 6 games
XIX Torre Memorial 89 games
XVI Magistral Elgoibar 40 games
1st Granada International Open 78 games
Marshall Club Championship 123 games
First Saturday December 114 games
12th Navalmoral de la Mata International 37 games
Kateryna Lahno vs Parimarjan Negi Match 2 games
Dallas UTD GM Invitational 66 games
1st President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup 333 games
Ukrainian Women's Championships 8 games
Italian Championship 1 game
917 games
My thanks to Vishal Sareen, Hassan Jundi, Mikhail Golubev, Luiz Roberto
Da Costa Jr, Miklos Orso, Anatoly Lisenko, Bobby Ang, Larry S Tamarkin, Claudio
Pantaleoni, John Donaldson, Eugenio Davolio, Adolivo Capece and everyone else
who helped with the issue.
When I first discovered the internet and then started writing TWIC I
used to write pages and pages of stuff on all sorts of subjects, Kasparov (Bob
Rice, don't do it), Deep Blue (you can stop now, you've proved your point) and
so on. Often these days after processing 12 swiss system tournaments where the
games are all in a mess I don't have the time. Which is kind of lucky sometimes
as I certainly did used to upset people, my, Shirov was cross when I called his
opening choices trashy in one event, indeed when it comes to straight over the
board play it probably was a little presumptuous. But I do think my instincts
are rather better when we come to chess politics and issues on the edge of the
board.
So this week after a long time I make another enemy. Evidently due to my
lack of objective reporting I'm not supposed to mention the name Silvio
Danailov or Veselin Topalov again and Silvio's not talking to me. I think its
my job to be objective sure, and that includes not credulously publishing
everything that crosses my path, but to take a view on it. Its up to others to
decide if they think I'm a good or bad source of information and go elsewhere
for it if they think its bad. The catalyst was an interview with Veselin
Topalov with a
Spanish
Newspaper ABC where according to a
translation
Topalov came straight out and accused Kramnik with the help of the KGB
(actually the FSB these days) of computer cheating in their world championship
match in Elista.
Some extracts: Q So he got outside help? Topalov: Yes. They were
Russians, but not from the chess world. Q So his team is innocent.
Topalov: I think so. They aren't involved; that's why they doubt and deny
everything. Q Did he get help from the KGB? Topalov: The trick is that
no professional [player] was implicated and those who told him the moves were
fans or from the KGB. If you gave Illescas that job they'd crush me. Q What
do you think of President Ilyumzhinov? He's a businessman and he simply
needed to have a Russian champion. It's nothing personal. He got the order.
If that's all true, what is going to happen in the future when computers are
even stronger? If things continue this way, with the technology the
Russians have, Kramnik will be invincible in a match.
To which I commented "I find it sad that Topalov appears to be so
paranoid but this could also very easily go to court because I really don't
think you can go round making such allegations with zero proof." I was then
sent some photos of some wiring hanging down from the ceiling of Kramnik's
toilet along with documents from FIDE around October 1st. None of which looked
like proof of anything to me.
But this wasn't the first time such accusations of computer cheating
have been made. Alexander Morozevich and Rustam Kasimdzhanov came home from the
FIDE San Luis tournament in 2005 with tales of signalling from the audience by
Silvio Danailov to Veselin Topalov (with the story continuing that Ivan
Cheparinov was back in the hotel doing the analysis). Then I was told that most
of Topalov's opponents at least believed it was possible (really rather too
much discussion after the event I think, one rather more sensible opponent is
said to have described the allegations as bullshit). All of this I gather has
been heavily detailed in Russia on Russian websites and Sergey Dolmatov has
written an article (which I've never seen) outlining his "proof" which I gather
is some rather spurious computer analysis and adding that other Topalov events
were involved (but not Wijk where cheating was impossible and funnily enough
Topalov came joint first). My reaction at the time was I want to be precisely a
million miles away from this story when it goes off. I could not then and I
still cannot see how in full view of the other competitors and under the
scrutiny of the arbiters (which certainly started early) how cheating could
have been pulled off without it being absolutely plain and obvious. Furthermore
to make such accusations without a shred of evidence was both libelous and just
plain wrong. And there it was left until the start of the Kramnik - Topalov
Match.
The Kramnik - Topalov match conditions built in anti-computer
regulations, I'm not sure if Topalov felt these were a slight on his integrity
but my view was thank goodness, the loser won't be able to complain. How wrong
I was. I'm not going to rehash the whole story of the toilet and the cheating
allegations as I think they're too well known but one thing was interesting in
the Topalov interview which speaks to state of mind. "Q Before the match did
you suspect anything like this? We had it in mind and we thought, well, in
the worst case we'll get the money. The problem was that we found out. If you
don't discover it you just play chess. But if you find out it wrecks you. You
can't sleep and you spin yourself in circles."
Just as in the case of Topalov earlier, I also dismissed the accusations
against Kramnik out of hand, they simply didn't match the games (Topalov came
close in game one and had a straight win in game two before later reverses left
him 2-0 down) nor did they match the demeanor of Topalov and Danailov in game
five where broad grins were seen as they made off with the default. And again
just as with Topalov, I simply don't see how this works, this time there was a
computer cable in Kramnik's toilet, which he was supposed to plug into where? I
guess explanation is easy if the Russian security services are involved, its a
ready explanation of everything, except you really wouldn't really need to use
wires if you were the security services (Topalov "The definitive proof for me
is the cable"). Flatly I don't believe either are computer cheats I don't
believe its in either's nature even if it were possible to do without being
caught and again making these accusations is libelous. I'm talking about this
at length because well known chess professionals seem to think it OK to
casually say that in around half a dozen of the most important chess events in
the last year or two computer cheating is involved. I presume they're the same
ones who expect to collect cheques from future events organised by sponsors who
read this stuff. Its a poison at the heart of the game and it will have
consequences.
Lets make things clear. If a top level player was ever caught cheating
it would be the end of their career. Most of the best events are by private
invitation, can you imagine a player caught being invited anywhere again? There
is no more serious accusation, the closest analogy I can think of is that it is
chess what steroid abuse is to the 100m, except I think its worse.
No-one is denying that computer cheating has been tried and that the
technology is there to make it work. But there is no evidence it is going on in
top level chess (in big swiss opens it has been tried a few times with the case
of a player claiming to be called John von Neumann cheating in the US Open)
unless this is the new professional secret (I was shocked in my early twenties
to learn the extent to which games were bought and sold in the final rounds of
swisses where big prizes and title norms were at stake) that everyone knows for
certain is going on all the time. Instead we're asked to believe that the only
examples of cheating (accused by their opponents not the arbiters) are by the
winners of the last two world championship events.
These stories are an attack on the integrity of the game and this
situation of accusations and distrust simply cannot be allowed to continue. The
best excuse for them is that they are the rationalisations of the losers which
help them keep up their nerve for the next event but I think its more like the
whinings of the sore loser. In Topalov's interview its more like paranoia
brought about through being in Russia where he thought in advance dirty tricks
were bound to happen, its really my best excuse for him and this interview.
Whatever the reasons its clear that its going to become the standard excuse
when you don't win. Throw a little mud at the winner. My, how we all laughed,
when the first major loser of a game by default when their mobile phone went
off (incidently I found an interesting article with a side light on this by the
always great Hans Ree when looking this up
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hans88.pdf)
was FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov. I'd pretty much naively thought the rule
was brought in because of the disturbance the ring tone caused. Its now clear
to me that players should not be permitted to carry phones or any electronic
devices, on or off, with them to the playing area. It has to go further and
regulations need to be drawn up to prevent cheating or more like to protect the
integrity of the game. All of which could be quite onerous and unpleasant but
the professionals will only be reaping what they sowed. Without such measures
its clear to me we will witness the slow death of professional chess as the
integrity of the game is completely undermined.
Hope you enjoy this issue.
Mark
The Russian Championship SuperFinal took place in Moscow 3rd-15th
December 2006 (rest days 7th and 12th). Evgeny Alekseev beat Dmitry Jakovenko
1.5-0.5 in a rapid playoff after both tied for first on 7.5/11.
Official site: http://russiachess.org/content/view/94/:
live coverage: http://russiachess.org/online
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (RUS), 3-15 xii 2006 cat. XV (2622)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2671 * = 1 = = 0 1 = 1 = 1 1 7.5 2750
2. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2639 = * = = 0 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 7.5 2753
3. Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2628 0 = * = = 1 0 = 1 1 1 1 7.0 2723
4. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2750 = = = * = = = = 1 1 = = 6.5 2675
5. Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2688 = 1 = = * = = = 0 = = = 5.5 2616
6. Khairullin, Ildar m RUS 2543 1 = 0 = = * = = 1 0 = = 5.5 2629
7. Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2595 0 0 1 = = = * 1 = = = = 5.5 2624
8. Grigoriants, Sergey g RUS 2582 = 0 = = = = 0 * = = = 1 5.0 2590
9. Nepomniachtchi, Ian m RUS 2545 0 = 0 0 1 0 = = * 1 = 1 5.0 2593
10. Khismatullin, Denis g RUS 2583 = 0 0 0 = 1 = = 0 * 1 1 5.0 2589
11. Vitiugov, Nikita m RUS 2596 0 0 0 = = = = = = 0 * = 3.5 2491
12. Najer, Evgeniy g RUS 2648 0 0 0 = = = = 0 0 0 = * 2.5 2409
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 9 (December 13, 2006)
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Rublevsky, Sergei 1/2 25 D19 Slav Defence
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1-0 35 C11 French Defence
Svidler, Peter - Najer, Evgeniy 1/2 35 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Alekseev, Evgeny 0-1 39 A30 English Symmetrical
Khismatullin, Denis - Khairullin, Ildar 1-0 56 A23 English Opening
Vitiugov, Nikita - Grigoriants, Sergey 1/2 47 E48 Nimzo Indian
Round 10 (December 14, 2006)
Rublevsky, Sergei - Svidler, Peter 1/2 47 B86 Sicilian Sozin Attack
Khairullin, Ildar - Inarkiev, Ernesto 0-1 64 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Grigoriants, Sergey - Alekseev, Evgeny 0-1 39 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Tomashevsky, Evgeny 1/2 68 C22 Centre Gambit
Vitiugov, Nikita - Jakovenko, Dmitry 0-1 49 E56 Nimzo Indian
Najer, Evgeniy - Khismatullin, Denis 0-1 40 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Round 11 (December 15, 2006)
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Grigoriants, Sergey 1/2 18 B82 Sicilian Scheveningen
Alekseev, Evgeny - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1/2 109 B91 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.g3
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Najer, Evgeniy 1-0 41 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Svidler, Peter - Vitiugov, Nikita 1/2 36 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Khairullin, Ildar 1/2 13 A26 English Sicilian Attack
Khismatullin, Denis - Rublevsky, Sergei 1/2 55 A22 English Opening
Yury Vasiliev interviewed Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on 13th December 2006. The
main news is that World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has agreed to take part in
the World Championship tournament in Mexico City (http://www.chessmexico.com/) in
September, 2007 in the same format as San Luis (8 player double round robin).
Half the participants are already known:Vladimir Kramnik, Vishwanathan Anand,
Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich. The remaining four players will be
established in matches in May 2007 in Elista. In answer to the question as to
whether Topalov had challenged Kramnik to a match under FIDE rules he said no
such challenge had been received and the next window would only occur only
after a period of 6 months after the Mexico city tournament.
Original Vasiliev interview in Russian http://www.chesspro.ru/.
According to a report by
Mig
on Chess Ninja "There were extensive negotiations about this going on
behind the scenes, not all of them friendly. There will now likely be a new
contract signed, perhaps at a public press conference."
All that remains to be seen is a confirmation from Kramnik himself.
I received today a message from Silvio Danailov proposing April 12-30th
2007 for a world title match between Topalov and Kramnik. The relevant
FIDE
regulations suggest say the match would have to finish before March 12th
2007 because it should finish 6 months before Mexico City. The say they're
willing to start earlier if they have to follow the regulations to the letter.
The regulations say a) that Kramnik is obliged to accept a valid financed
challenge, b) it doesn't set an minimum period between issuing the challenge
and it taking place (so theoretically a 2700 player who had money and venue set
up could organise one next week unless I missed something). But it does say
that FIDE have five months to set the match up (which is way outside that date)
which will probably be the get out clause. There is of course no chance Kramnik
will accept the challenge]
If the chances of a match were zero, they're now less than zero. Topalov
has at least stopped messing about with innuendo and has directly accused
Kramnik and the Russian Government of fixing the match in Elista.
Translation
of the interview in Spanish daily ABC 14/12/2006 -
Original
article in Spanish. I find it sad that Topalov appears to be so paranoid
but this could also very easily go to court because I really don't think you
can go round making such allegations with zero proof.
The Russian Women's Championship took place in Gorodets 1st-12th
December 2006. Ekaterina Korbut took clear first place with 8/11.
Official site: http://russiachess.org/content/view/125/38/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-RUS w Gorodets RUS (RUS), 1-12 xii 2006 cat. VII (2407)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Korbut, Ekaterina wg RUS 2435 * 0 1 1 = 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 8.0 2579
2. Tairova, Elena wg RUS 2415 1 * = = = = 0 1 1 1 1 = 7.5 2539
3. Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2458 0 = * = = 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 7.5 2535
4. Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2493 0 = = * 0 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 7.5 2532
5. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2434 = = = 1 * 0 = 1 = = 1 1 7.0 2506
6. Galliamova, Alisa m RUS 2470 0 = 0 0 1 * = 1 = 1 1 1 6.5 2466
7. Shadrina, Tatiana wg RUS 2396 = 1 0 0 = = * 0 = 1 = 1 5.5 2408
8. Zaiatz, Elena m RUS 2395 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 0 1 = 4.5 2343
9. Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2415 0 0 0 = = = = 0 * 1 0 = 3.5 2273
10. Bodnaruk, Anastasia wf RUS 2255 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 3.5 2287
11. Gunina, Valentina wf RUS 2392 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 0 1 0 * 0 2.5 2197
12. Komiagina, Maria wm RUS 2326 0 = 0 0 0 0 0 = = 0 1 * 2.5 2203
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The XIX Torre Memorial takes place in Merida 14th-21st December 2006.
Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergey Tiviakov and Lázaro Bruzón (it seems
that Harikhisna Pentala didn't manage to make it to the event although
initially announced) join the competition at its knockout stage. 13 players
qualified from a 6 round swiss which will continue on for the players who miss
the knockout stage (and those eliminated in the first round of the KO will also
rejoin).
Qualifiers: GM Milov 5 points, GM Georgiev, GM Ehlvest, MI Roberto
Martin del Campo, GM Graf, GM Nogueiras, GM Gonzalez, GM Quezada, MI
León Hoyos, MI Rodney Pérez, GM Reynaldo Vera, GM Zapata y GM
Frank De la Paz con 4.5 points.
Official site: http://www.carlostorre.org.mx
Ranking after round 6
Rank Name Fed.Rat Score BH SB TPR W-We BH-H
1 GM Milov, Vadim SUI 2657 5.0 24.5 20.0 2709 +0.37 17.0
2 IM Leon Hoyos, Manuel MEX 2437 4.5 25.0 16.25 2575 +0.94 17.0
3 GM Nogueiras, Jesus CUB 2554 4.5 24.5 18.0 2615 +0.55 16.5
4 GM Graf, Alexander GER 2601 4.5 23.5 16.75 2636 +0.32 16.0
5 GM Georgiev, Vladimir MKD 2532 4.5 23.5 16.75 2592 +0.53 16.0
6 GM Gonzalez Zamora, Juan Carl MEX 2517 4.5 22.5 15.75 2604 +0.77 15.5
7 GM Quezada, Pérez Yuniesky CUB 2515 4.5 22.5 16.0 2566 +0.45 15.0
8 GM De La Paz, Frank CUB 2442 4.5 22.0 15.25 2483 +0.43 15.0
9 IM Martin Del Campo C, Robert MEX 2455 4.5 21.5 15.25 2549 +0.61 14.5
10 GM Ehlvest, Jaan USA 2597 4.5 21.0 15.0 2596 +0.07 14.0
11 GM Vera, Reynaldo CUB 2510 4.5 20.5 13.75 2553 +0.44 13.0
12 IM Perez, Rodney CUB 2385 4.5 19.5 12.75 2577 +1.29 13.5
13 GM Zapata, Alonso COL 2470 4.5 19.5 14.5 2432 -0.16 13.0
14 IM Ibarra Chami, Luis Fernand MEX 2339 4.5 19.0 12.75 2448 +0.90 13.5
15 GM Arencibia, Walter CUB 2530 4.5 19.0 13.0 2493 -0.18 12.5
16 IM Corrales, Fidel CUB 2496 4.0 23.0 14.5 2414 -0.39 15.5
17 GM Hernandez Guerrero, Gilber MEX 2551 4.0 20.5 12.75 2387 -1.02 14.0
18 IM Escobedo Tinajero, Alberto MEX 2383 4.0 20.0 11.25 2419 +0.48 14.5
19 Morales Garcia, Sergio Jos MEX 2230 4.0 19.5 11.5 2382 +0.96 14.0
20 IM Fernandez, Daniel USA 2451 4.0 19.0 11.0 2362 -0.50 12.5
21 FM Dominguez Aguilar, Guiller MEX 2378 4.0 16.0 10.75 2269 -0.40 10.0
22 IM Estrada Nieto, Julian MEX 2379 3.5 24.0 12.75 2446 +0.66 17.0
23 GM Mitkov, Nikola MKD 2565 3.5 23.0 12.75 2382 -1.25 16.0
24 IM Hungaski, Robert Andrew USA 2366 3.5 21.5 8.25 2415 +0.30 14.5
25 FM Alford Phillipe, Jason MEX 2294 3.5 21.0 9.75 2309 +0.24 14.5
26 GM Garcia Martinez, Silvino CUB 2316 3.5 21.0 8.75 2263 -0.30 14.0
27 Beltran Medina, Jorge MEX 2154 3.5 20.5 10.0 2347 +1.11 14.0
28 FM Capo Vidal, Uriel MEX 2385 3.5 20.0 10.5 2259 -0.81 13.0
29 Arreguin Hernandez, Alan G MEX 2148 3.5 19.5 8.75 2319 +1.01 13.5
30 IM Gongora Montes, Benjamin MEX 2256 3.5 19.5 9.75 2258 +0.18 13.0
31 Ancheyta Tejas, Jose Aleja MEX 2175 3.5 18.5 7.5 2190 +0.02 13.0
32 IM Russek Libni, Guil MEX 2390 3.5 18.5 10.25 2153 -1.43 12.5
33 Sanchez Enr., Oscar G. MEX 2196 3.5 18.5 8.75 2254 +0.55 12.0
34 FM Huerta, Carballo Dayron CUB 2338 3.5 18.0 8.0 2345 +0.12 12.0
35 Altamirano Gonzalez, Yehud MEX 2101 3.5 18.0 8.0 2269 +0.73 12.0
36 Gonzalez, Arroyo Lenin MEX 2174 3.5 17.5 7.5 2181 -0.03 11.0
37 FM Szmetan, Ricardo BAR 2302 3.5 17.0 7.0 2237 -0.32 12.0
38 Duarte Barahona, Raul Alej MEX 2067 3.5 17.0 8.25 2161 +0.46 11.5
87 players
The XVI Magistral Elgoibar took place 12th-17th December 2006. Azer
Mirzoev won the event with 7/9 undefeated half a point clear of Oleg Korneev.
Final round games not yet available.
Official site: http://www.xake.net
with
this
long link giving the details
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
XVI Magistral Elgoibar ESP (ESP), 12-17 xii 2006 cat. IX (2470)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Mirzoev, Azer g AZE 2543 * = = = = 1 1 1 1 1 7.0 2681
2. Korneev, Oleg g RUS 2657 = * 1 = = = 1 1 = 1 6.5 2614
3. Salgado Lopez, Ivan f ESP 2425 = 0 * = 1 1 = = 1 = 5.5 2554
4. Perez Candelario, Manuel m ESP 2496 = = = * 0 1 = = = = 4.5 2466
5. Argandona Rivero, Inigo f ESP 2396 = = 0 1 * 0 0 = = 1 4.0 2434
6. Gonzalez de la Torre, Santiago f ESP 2357 0 = 0 0 1 * 1 = 0 1 4.0 2439
7. Gomez Esteban, Juan Mario g ESP 2486 0 0 = = 1 0 * 1 1 0 4.0 2424
8. Landenbergue, Claude m SUI 2446 0 0 = = = = 0 * 1 = 3.5 2392
9. Kononenko, Tatiana m UKR 2375 0 = 0 = = 1 0 0 * = 3.0 2355
10. Prie, Eric g FRA 2516 0 0 = = 0 0 1 = = * 3.0 2339
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Granada International Open took place 6th-10th December 2006. Jose
Carlos Ibarra Jerez won the event on tie-break, he was in a group of 7 players
on 7/9.
Official site: http://www.internacionaldegranada.com/
Rank ELO Name Tit Pts T P B GR PER IT
1 2479 IBARRA JEREZ, Jose Carlos im Murcia 7 7 57 2536
2 2657 KORNEEV, Oleg gm Rusia 7 7 54,5 2504
3 2565 MOVSZISZIAN, Karen gm Armenia 7 7 54,5 2494
4 2547 CAMPORA SIVORI, Daniel Hugo gm Argentina 7 7 54 2451
5 2445 RODRIGUEZ GUERRERO, Enrique im Ogíjares 7 7 54 2450
6 2386 POMES MARCET, Joan im Terrassa 7 7 52,5 2338
7 2453 KOZIAK, VITALI im Ucrania 7 7 51 2325
8 2476 STAROSTITS, Ilmars im Letonia 6,5 6,5 53 2410
9 2549 CONQUEST, Stuart gm Navarra 6,5 6,5 51,5 2405
10 2509 GOFSHTEIN, Zvulon gm Israel 6,5 6,5 51,5 2370
11 2535 SUBA, Mihai gm Rumanía 6 6 56 2398
12 2441 MATEO, Ramon im Lleida 6 6 55,5 2424
13 2456 KOZAKOV, Mikhail gm Ucrania 6 6 51,5 2326
14 2508 ORAL, Tomas gm R. Checa 6 6 51 2320
15 2542 MATAMOROS FRANCO, Carlos S. gm Ecuador 6 6 51 2292
16 2516 CIFUENTES PARADA, Roberto gm Gipuzkoa 6 6 50,5 2271
17 2350 FERNANDEZ SILES, Luis fm Motril 6 6 49 2197
18 2331 RADOVANOVIC, Jovica fm Serbia 6 6 49 2188
19 2455 TERAN ALVAREZ, Ismael im Sevilla 6 6 48,5 2307
20 2354 FIERRO BAQUERO, Martha L. im Ecuador 6 6 48,5 2173
21 2393 KOVACEVIC, Slobodan im Serbia 6 6 47,5 2226
22 2479 SIMACEK, Pavel im R. Checa 6 5,5 52 2291
23 2542 ANDERSSON, Ulf gm Suecia 6 5,5 50 2371
24 2472 DJURIC, Stefan gm Serbia 6 5,5 49,5 2276
25 2375 KONONENKO, Tatiana wgm Ucrania 6 5,5 48,5 2230
26 2401 MOGRANZINI, Roberto fm Italia 6 5,5 48,5 2225
147 player
The 90th Marshall Club Championship (Edward Lasker Memorial) took place
1st-10th (1st-3rd, 9th-10th) December 2006. Jaan Ehlvest lead throughout and
finished on 7/9 half a point clear of the field. Larry S Tamarkin has produce
an almost full bulletin and I've also corrected an error to one of the names in
the PGN file I gave previously.
Official site: http://www.marshallchessclub.org/
---------------------------------------------------------
90th ch-Marshall CC New York USA (USA), 1-10 xii 2006
---------------------------------------------------------
1. Ehlvest, Jaan g USA 2597 7.0 $2,000
2. Ivanov, Alexander g USA 2587 6.5 $750
3. Sarkar, Justin m USA 2380 6.5 $750 GM Norm
4. Izoria, Zviad g GEO 2657 6.0 $225
5. Stripunsky, Alexander g USA 2597 6.0 $225
6. Yudasin, Leonid g ISR 2578 5.5
7. Almeida Saenz, Alfonso m MEX 2409 5.5
8. Krush, Irina m USA 2443 5.0
9. Privman, Boris f USA 2266 5.0 $150
10. Treger, Effim USA 2232 5.0 $150
11. Hoffmann, Asa f USA 2282 5.0 $150
12. Bonin, Jay R m USA 2310 4.5
13. Jacobs, John N f USA 2300 4.5
14. Chernin, Oliver USA 2162 4.5
15. Zenyuk, Iryna wf USA 2192 4.5 $25
16. Gaillard, Edward USA 2155 4.5 $25
17. Waxman, Marian USA 2033 4.5 $25
18. Paciulli, Frank USA 2026 4.5 $25
19. Pressman, Leif USA 2020 4.0
20. Vayserberg, Tatia USA 2023 4.0
21. Kopiecki, Edward USA 2189 4.0
22. Kelleher, Jeff USA 2089 4.0
23. Hess, Robert L f USA 2394 3.5
24. Pearson, Michael USA 2187 3.5
25. Hammer,Dale M USA ---- 3.5
26. Santanna,Paulo USA ---- 3.5
27. Sena, Juan DOM 2187 3.0
28. Rabin, Evan Z USA 2028 3.0
29. Lamb,Terence P USA ---- 3.0
30. Mehmedovic,Sabrij USA ---- 2.5
31. Sloan Aravena, Peter USA 2250 2.0
32. Frumkin, Edward USA 2036 2.0
33. Szuper, Paul USA 2085 0.0
34. Maffeo,Nicole USA ---- 0.0
--------------------------------------------
The First Saturday December tournaments in Budapest including GM-IM-FM
round robins, took place 3rd-14th December 2006. Peter Prohaszka and Zlatko
Ilincic finished on 7.5/12 in the GM event.
Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGM December Budapest HUN (HUN), 2-12 xii 2006 cat. VIII (2427)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Prohaszka, Peter f HUN 2392 * 1 = = = 0 1 0 1 1 1 = = 7.5 2525
2. Ilincic, Zlatko g SCG 2451 0 * = = = = = 1 = 1 1 1 = 7.5 2520
3. Hoang Thanh Trang m HUN 2470 = = * 1 0 = 0 = = = 1 1 1 7.0 2480
4. Kosic, Dragan g SCG 2518 = = 0 * = = = = = = 1 1 1 7.0 2476
5. Boros, Denes m HUN 2465 = = 1 = * 1 = = = = 0 0 1 6.5 2453
6. Rombaldoni, Denis f ITA 2377 1 = = = 0 * = 0 1 0 1 1 = 6.5 2460
7. Fogarasi, Tibor g HUN 2425 0 = 1 = = = * = 0 1 = = = 6.0 2427
8. Szabo, Krisztian1 m HUN 2476 1 0 = = = 1 = * = 0 0 = 1 6.0 2423
9. Pataki, Gyozo HUN 2370 0 = = = = 0 1 = * = 1 = = 6.0 2431
10. Bergez, Luc m FRA 2395 0 0 = = = 1 0 1 = * 0 = 1 5.5 2400
11. Banusz, Tamas m HUN 2450 0 0 0 0 1 0 = 1 0 1 * = 1 5.0 2368
12. Smith, Bryan G f USA 2390 = 0 0 0 1 0 = = = = = * = 4.5 2343
13. Paschall, William M m USA 2374 = = 0 0 0 = = 0 = 0 0 = * 3.0 2238
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSIM December Budapest HUN (HUN), 2-14 xii 2006 cat. II (2277)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2303 * = 1 = = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.0 2547
2. Balog, Imre1 HUN 2330 = * 1 = 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 9.0 2465
3. Horvath, Andras f HUN 2305 0 0 * = 0 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 8.0 2399
4. Humphrey, Jonathan f AUS 2256 = = = * 1 = = 1 1 0 = 1 = 7.5 2373
5. Gerard, Nicolas f FRA 2333 = 0 1 0 * 1 = = 0 = 1 1 1 7.0 2329
6. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2326 = 0 0 = 0 * = = 1 1 1 1 1 7.0 2329
7. Brustkern, Juergen f GER 2224 0 0 0 = = = * 0 1 1 1 1 1 6.5 2310
8. Leroy, Didier m FRA 2316 0 0 0 0 = = 1 * = 1 1 1 1 6.5 2302
9. Rombaldoni, Axel ITA 2260 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 = * 1 0 1 1 5.5 2249
10. Schneider, Veronika wm HUN 2221 0 1 = 1 = 0 0 0 0 * 0 1 1 5.0 2224
11. Stenersen, Gudmund NOR 2202 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 1 * 1 1 4.5 2196
12. Dombai, Istvan HUN 2207 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1.0 1881
13. Fette, Martin f GER 2315 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0.5 1772
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 12th Navalmoral de la Mata International tournament took place
6th-10th December 2006. Ibraghim Khamrakulov, Alon Greenfeld, Atanas Kolev and
Elizbar Ubilava all finished on 7/9 with the tie-break being in that order.
Games from the first four rounds only are available.
Official site:
http://www.ajedrezenmadrid.com/torneos/torneo.asp?torneo=06120601
Final Round 9 Standings:
1. Khamrakulov, Ibragim S ESP 2527 g 2511 7.0 43.0 Ext
2. Greenfeld, Alon ISR 2567 g ---- 7.0 42.0
3. Kolev, Atanas BUL 2538 g 2579 7.0 41.5 Cat
4. Ubilava, Elizbar ESP 2533 g 2533 7.0 41.5 Cat
5. Spasov, Vasil BUL 2582 g ---- 6.5 42.5
6. Komljenovic, Davor CRO 2487 g 2484 6.5 41.5 Val
7. Mirzoev, Azer AZE 2543 g 2527 6.5 40.0 Cat
8. Pogorelov, Ruslan UKR 2462 g 2443 6.5 39.5 Ara
9. Epishin, Vladimir RUS 2527 g ---- 6.5 39.0 Ext
10. Maze, Sebastien FRA 2510 m ---- 6.5 39.0
11. Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel ESP 2508 m 2517 6.5 39.0 Cat
12. Libiszewski, Fabien FRA 2469 m ---- 6.5 39.0
13. Narciso Dublan, Marc ESP 2511 g 2502 6.0 41.5 Cat
14. Baron Rodríguez, Jesus ESP 2424 m 2424 6.0 40.0 Ara
15. Vila Gazquez, Xavier ESP 2404 f 2346 6.0 39.5 Cat
16. Heberla, Bartlomiej POL 2569 g ---- 6.0 39.0
17. Garcia Romero, Benjamin Abel ESP 2223 2222 6.0 37.5 Ext
18. Rivera, Daniel URU 2309 m 2294 6.0 37.0 Gal
19. Prunescu, Claudiu ROM 2183 ---- 6.0 31.5
20. Strikovic, Aleksa SCG 2535 g 2509 5.5 43.0 Gal
21. Damljanovic, Branko SCG 2595 g 2575 5.5 41.0 Ara
22. Delgado Palomeque, Marco A ESP 2202 2177 5.5 37.0 Ext
23. Carbonell Bofill, Carlos ESP 2205 f 2183 5.5 36.5 Val
24. Molina, Jorge BOL 2181 f ---- 5.5 36.5
25. Cabezas Ayala, Ivan ESP 2328 f 2339 5.5 36.0 Ext
26. Barria Zuñiga, Daniel CHI 2426 m 2400 5.5 36.0 Val
27. Almagro Mazariegos, Sebastian ESP 2306 2277 5.5 36.0 And
28. Carrasco Martinez, Juan M ESP 2426 m 2420 5.5 36.0 Ext
29. Guerra Tulcán, Lenin ECU 2298 ---- 5.5 35.5
30. Garcia Loro, Marcos ESP 2054 2069 5.5 35.0 Ext
31. Chueca Forcen, Alberto ESP 2129 2102 5.5 35.0 Ara
32. Gallardo Retortillo, Enrique ESP 2151 2184 5.5 34.5 Ext
33. Sanchez Jiménez, Juan Carlos ESP 2285 f 2258 5.5 34.0 And
34. Cruz Condoni, Alfredo BOL 2133 f 2190 5.5 32.5 Gal
35. De Francisco De Diego, Felipe ESP 1989 1947 5.5 30.5 Mad
36. Garcia Moral Garcia, Jose Danie ESP 2222 2232 5.0 37.0 Ctm
37. Gomez Gomez, Francisco Jose ESP 2052 2050 5.0 34.5 Ext
38. Tscharotschkin, Michael GER 2215 ---- 5.0 34.0
39. Macias Rodríguez, Francisco ESP 1992 2022 5.0 34.0 Ext
40. Larino Nieto, David ESP 2406 m 2393 5.0 33.5 Gal
41. Escobar Felix, Eduardo ESP 2162 2086 5.0 33.0 Ext
42. Gonzalez Manchon, Juan Miguel ESP 2107 2110 5.0 33.0 Ext
43. De La Torre Suarez, Angel ESP 2139 2118 5.0 33.0 Ext
44. Ribas Gomez, Diego ESP 2047 1784 5.0 33.0 Ctl
45. Ramirez Diaz, Jose Ramon ESP 2097 2058 5.0 32.5 Ctm
46. Garcia Galeote, Lorenzo ESP 2104 2108 5.0 32.0 Mad
47. Fernandez Barrera, Victor ESP 2207 2188 5.0 32.0 Ctm
48. Antolin Concha, Diego ESP 1903 1943 5.0 31.5 Ara
49. Prats Rodriquez, Juan ESP 2158 2091 5.0 31.0 Cat
50. Aloma Vidal, Robert ESP 2337 f 2317 5.0 31.0 Cat
51. De Nacimiento Montano, Angel ESP 2014 1995 5.0 30.0 Ext
52. Miranda Gonzalez, Jose Luis ESP 2032 2015 5.0 30.0 Ast
53. Garcia Domingo, Jose Antonio ESP 2066 1995 4.5 35.0 Val
54. Forcen Esteban, Daniel ESP 2087 2088 4.5 33.5 Ara
55. Quintin Navarro, Alberto ESP 1736 1788 4.5 33.5 Ara
56. Mateos Gomez, Juan Francisco ESP 2116 2002 4.5 32.5 Ext
57. Garcia Moreno, Carlos ESP 2096 2011 4.5 31.5 Ctm
58. Lorenzo Grande, Jorge ESP 1956 1934 4.5 31.0 Ext
59. Espinosa Aranda, Angel ESP 2156 2084 4.5 30.5 Ctm
60. Encinas Encinas, Alvaro ESP 2131 2101 4.5 30.5 Ext
61. Martin Rodríguez, Adolfo ESP ---- ---- 4.5 30.0 Ext
62. Cilleruelo Garcia, Jaime ESP 2121 2041 4.5 29.0 Ext
63. Guerrero Vacas, Jose Carlos ESP ---- 1701 4.5 28.0 Ext
64. Pulido Vega, Emiliano ESP ---- 1999 4.5 24.5 Ext
65. Aguado Solana, Juan ESP 1979 1889 4.0 33.5 Ext
66. Sanchez Lopez, Diego ESP 1962 1929 4.0 32.0 Ctm
67. Munoz Fernández, Jose Luis ESP 1943 1894 4.0 31.0 Ctl
68. Jimenez Garcia, Alberto ESP ---- 1778 4.0 31.0 Ctl
69. Crespo Santiago, Angel ESP ---- 1841 4.0 31.0 Ext
70. Romero Lopez, Marta ESP 1985 1960 4.0 30.5 And
71. Serrano Fuentes, Martin ESP ---- 2004 4.0 30.5 Ext
72. Macias Rodríguez, Joaquin ESP ---- 1895 4.0 30.0 Ext
73. Sanchez Marcos, Andres ESP ---- 1902 4.0 29.0 Ext
74. Garcia Gomez, Roberto ESP ---- 1654 4.0 28.5 Ctm
75. Montero Gomez-Serranilla, Jesus ESP ---- 1782 4.0 28.0 Ctm
76. Zamora Beamud, Andres ESP 1713 1735 4.0 27.5 Ctm
77. Garcia Gomez, Oscar ESP ---- ---- 4.0 27.0 Ctm
78. Fernandez Soria, Jose ESP ---- 1875 4.0 26.5 Ext
79. Crespo Ramos, Maria ESP ---- 1595 4.0 26.0 Ext
80. Gutierrez Leon, Cristobal ESP 1949 1937 3.5 35.0 Cat
81. De Nacimiento Montano, Antonio ESP 1968 1979 3.5 34.0 Ext
82. Sanchez Garcia, Jesus ESP ---- 2104 3.5 32.5 Ext
83. Solis Fernández, Fernando ESP ---- 1908 3.5 29.0 Ext
84. Charro Calvo, Jesus ESP ---- 1737 3.5 28.0 Ctl
85. Ugalde Ortiz, Antonio ESP 1957 1917 3.5 27.0 Ext
86. Subirats Barbera, Eladio ESP ---- 1689 3.5 27.0 Cat
87. Garrido Sánchez, Agustin ESP ---- ---- 3.5 26.0
88. Garcia Sánchez, Jesus ESP ---- ---- 3.5 25.0 Ext
89. Portela Garcia, Alvaro ESP 1618 1539 3.5 23.0 Ext
90. Castellano Pruñonosa, Josefina ESP ---- ---- 3.5 22.0 Ext
91. Velasco Gomez, Esperanza ESP 1900 1969 3.0 30.5 Mad
92. Garcia Heras, Ignacio ESP 1848 1776 3.0 27.5 Ext
93. Gutierrez Soria, Javier ESP ---- ---- 3.0 27.5 Ext
94. Buch Prades, Joan ESP ---- ---- 3.0 27.5 Cat
95. Holgado Maestre, Andres ESP 1930 1812 3.0 27.0 Ext
96. Corrochano Utrilla, David ESP ---- ---- 3.0 26.5 Ctm
97. Subirats Ferrando, Jordi ESP 1445 1722 3.0 26.0 Cat
98. Rodriguez Lucena, Angel ESP ---- 1793 3.0 24.0 Mad
99. Elviro Vivas, Fernando ESP ---- ---- 3.0 23.5
100. Martin Perez, Maximo ESP ---- 1759 3.0 22.0 Ext
101. Vega Sánchez, Tania ESP ---- 1573 2.5 29.5 Val
102. Aguado Guadalupe, Juan ESP ---- ---- 2.5 27.5 Ext
103. Casares Fernández, Sergio ESP ---- ---- 2.5 22.5 Ext
104. Gonzalez Gonzalez, Ruben ESP ---- 1820 2.0 25.0 Ext
105. Campos Rodríguez, Alvaro ESP ---- ---- 2.0 24.5 Ext
106. Fernandez Moreno, Jose Antonio ESP ---- ---- 2.0 23.5 Ext
107. Serrano Duque, Javier ESP ---- ---- 2.0 23.5 Ext
108. Portela Garcia, Adrian ESP ---- ---- 2.0 23.0 Ext
109. Viguera Moreno, Fernando ESP ---- ---- 1.5 28.0 Ext
110. Garcia-Ortega Mendez, Jose M ESP 2095 2026 0.5 31.5 Ext
111. Hidalgo Bermejo, Dionisio ESP 2074 2148 0.5 31.5 Ext
112. Fernandez Lago, David ESP 1997 1935 0.5 31.5 Gal
113. Ceron Carrion, Cesar ESP 1913 1802 0.5 31.5 Mur
114. Siguenza Martinez, Francisco ESP ---- 2047 0.5 31.5 Mur
115. Poveda Jiménez, Vicente ESP ---- 1935 0.5 31.5 Mur
116. Castellanos Gomez, Pascual ESP ---- 1879 0.5 31.5 Mur
117. Boluda Fernández, Antonio ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
118. Boluda Garcia, Eusebio ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
119. Camara Boluda, Sergio ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
120. Camara Catalan, Manuel ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
121. Crespo Amigo, Angel ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
122. Fuentes Alamar, Juan ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
123. Hornero Vaca, Jose C ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5
124. Jimenez Gomez, Carlos ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Ext
125. Martinez Alegria, Pedro ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
126. Sanchez Fernández, Jose Joaquin ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Mur
127. Torres Perez, Joaquin ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Mur
128. Avila Catalan, David ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
129. Garcia Martinez, Jorge ESP ---- 1783 0.5 31.5 Mad
130. Cerezo Pelegri, Enrique ESP ---- ---- 0.5 31.5 Val
131. Merlo Morales, Jonathan ESP 1972 1813 0.0 31.5 Ctm
132. Portela Garcia, Patricia ESP ---- 1431 0.0 25.0 Ext
There is a lengthy match between Kateryna Lahno and Parimarjan Negi
called the Amity Grandmasters Challenge. 18 games in all take place 17th-25th
December 2006. The prize pool is Rs. 500000/- (USD 11000). There will be six
FIDE time control games, six rapid and on the final day six blitz. The winner
will be decided on cumulative score.
The official websites for the event are
http://www.amitychessacademy.com,
http://www.parimarjannegi.com and
http://www.delhichess.com
Lahno, Kateryna - Negi, Parimarjan 1/2 37 B92 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Negi, Parimarjan - Lahno, Kateryna 0-1 45 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Amity GM Challenge New Delhi IND (IND), 17-25 xii 2006
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lahno, Kateryna m UKR 2459 = 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 2731
Negi, Parimarjan g IND 2538 = 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 2266
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The UTD GM Invitational in Dallas took place 5th-13th December 2006.
Yuri Shulman and Drasko Boskovic finished on 7.5/11.
Official site:
http://chessweb.utdallas.edu/grandmasterinv2006.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTD GM Invitational Dallas USA (USA), 5-13 xii 2006 cat. IX (2455)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Shulman, Yuri g USA 2614 * = 1 = = 1 0 = 1 = 1 1 7.5 2573
2. Boskovic, Drasko m SCG 2444 = * = 0 = 1 1 = 1 = 1 1 7.5 2588
3. Ramirez, Alejandro g CRC 2485 0 = * = = = = 1 = 1 1 1 7.0 2553
4. Novikov, Igor A g USA 2568 = 1 = * = = 0 1 = 1 = = 6.5 2509
5. Bartholomew, John f USA 2411 = = = = * = = = 1 = = 1 6.5 2523
6. Panchanathan, Magesh Chandran g IND 2485 0 0 = = = * 1 1 = = 1 1 6.5 2516
7. Kuljasevic, Davorin m CRO 2448 1 0 = 1 = 0 * = = = 0 1 5.5 2455
8. Bradford, Joseph M f USA 2451 = = 0 0 = 0 = * = 1 1 1 5.5 2454
9. Kiewra, Keaton F USA 2264 0 0 = = 0 = = = * 1 1 0 4.5 2406
10. Zivanic, Marko m SCG 2451 = = 0 0 = = = 0 0 * 1 1 4.5 2389
11. Stopa, Jacek m POL 2465 0 0 0 = = 0 1 0 0 0 * = 2.5 2242
12. Schneider, Igor f USA 2369 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 = * 2.0 2200
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The 1st President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup Duty Free, Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA) took place in Manila November 17th-23rd, 2006.
Zhang Pengxiang won the event with 7.5/9. Bobby Ang reports.
---------------------------------------------
1st GMA Cup Manila PHI (PHI), 17-23 xi 2006
---------------------------------------------
1. Zhang Pengxiang g CHN 2636 7.5
2. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2668 7.0
3. Mikhalevski, Victor g ISR 2580 7.0
4. Akobian, Varuzhan g USA 2598 6.5
5. Ni Hua g CHN 2621 6.5
6. Wang Rui m CHN 2463 6.5
7. Zhang Zhong g CHN 2609 6.0
8. Nouri,Hamed PHI ---- 6.0
9. Belov, Vladimir g RUS 2589 6.0
10. Laylo, Darwin m PHI 2448 6.0
11. Ranola, Yves m PHI 2414 6.0
12. Dableo, Ronald m PHI 2425 6.0
13. Gonzales, Jayson m PHI 2418 6.0
14. Senador, Emmanuel PHI 2383 6.0
15. Sadorra, Julio Catalino f PHI 2374 6.0
16. Bancod, Ronald m PHI 2375 6.0
73 players
Recently, during the Subroto Mukherjee Memorial Chess Tournament in
India, IM Rahul Shetty suspected some foul play in his 7th round game vs
Umakanth Sharma, who was doing very well in the tournament. Shetty complained
to the arbiter that his opponent might be getting some computer assistance and
requested that the hat which his opponent was wearing be inspected. The arbiter
then went over and ordered the removal of the hat, which revealed a concealed
Bluetooth device. Sharma was thrown out of the tournament and the incident
reported to the All India Chess Federation.
With the advances in information technology the possibilities of
cheating have increased and suspicions of such abuse led to an embarrassing
incident during the GMA Cup held in the Fiesta Mall of the Duty Free
Philippines.
National Hamed Nouri from Bacolod was enjoying the tournament of his
life - In the 6th round he defeated GM Joey Antonio and he followed this up
with another upset of a GM in the 7th round, the victim being Bong Villamayor.
Come the 8th round it was the turn of the Russian GM Vladimir Belov to fall.
Belov cried foul and accused Nouri of cheating - he confiscated the score
sheets of the three GM upsets and promised to go over the games with a fine
toothcomb to prove his allegation.
Come the 9th round Hamed Nouri was approached by the arbiter and was
forced to remove the hat he was wearing. Not only was no cheating device found,
but it was also discovered that the 28-year old Bacolod player was suffering
from premature balding which was why he was covering it up. Anyway, they
prevailed upon him not to wear the hat for his final round game against
Mikhalevski. Hamed Nouri lost badly in the last round game, but it was probably
more due to embarrassment than anything else. Belov did not bring up his
complaint anymore although he never returned the score sheets, which is why the
official tournament bulletins have those three games missing.
Was the gap in playing level between the Russians and the Filipino
players so great that any upset should be viewed with suspicion? I am not so
sure. In the last round Belov defeated 14-year old Wesley So to crush his
GM-norm aspirations. Let us look at that game:
So,Wesley (2411) - Belov,Vladimir (2589) [B82]
1st GMA Cup
International Open CC Duty Free Fiesta Mall
(9.7), 23.11.2006
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 e6 7.Qf3 Qb6
8.Nb3 Qc7 9.Bd3 b5 10.g4 Bb7 11.g5 Nfd7 12.Qh3 g6 13.Rf1!? The latest
attempt to squash Black, and it is a dangerous one. White usually castles
kingside and storms Black's position, but the open king position allows Black
to counter. This new idea is to attack Black's king in the same way as if he
castled kingside, but with the king on the other side of the board. As you will
see Wesley quickly gets a winning attack. 13...Bg7 14.f5 exf5 15.exf5 0-0
16.Be3 Re8? With perfect hindsight it appears that Black's only viable
option here would be 16...Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 Qxc3+ 18.Kf2 Ne5 with counterplay.
17.0-0-0 Ne5 Too slow. Black has to provoke a crisis with 17...b4! so as
to put the question on White's c3-knight before it is ready. The continuation
could be 18.Bd4! Ne5 with an unclear position. Oh yes, Black cannot accept the
sacrifice because of 18...bxc3? 19.fxg6 fxg6 20.Bxg6 hxg6 21.Bxg7 Black cannot
survive long. 18.Be4! Gets his knight into a powerful attacking
position. 18...Bxe4 [18...Nc4 19.Bd4! Bxe4 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nxe4 Ne3 (The
knight is immune to capture because of mate: 21...Rxe4 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.f6)
22.Nd4 you don't have to be a calculating wizard to conclude that Black is dead
lost] 19.Nxe4 Nbd7? Best is 19...Nc4 although after 20.Bd4 Rxe4 21.Bxg7
Ne3 22.Bc3 b4! 23.fxg6 fxg6 24.Qf3! Black's position is still difficult.
20.Nxd6 Nc4 21.Nxc4 Wesley misses 21.fxg6! hxg6 (21...fxg6 22.Nxe8 Rxe8
23.Rxd7 Rxe3 24.Rxg7+ Qxg7 25.Qc8+ leads to mate) 22.Rxf7! Rxe3 23.Rxg7+ Kxg7
24.Qh6+ Kg8 25.Qxg6+ Kf8 26.Qf7# but anyway the game does not throw away the
win. 21...bxc4 22.fxg6! hxg6 This is the critical position. Wesley
calculated both Rxd7 and Rxf7 and concluded that both won. Unfortunately, only
one did and he did not choose that one. 23.Rxd7? The crusher is 23.Rxf7!
Kxf7 (23...Rxe3 does not work. White mops up with 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Rxd7+ and
the game is over) 24.Rxd7+ Qxd7 25.Qxd7+ Kg8 26.Bd4 Bxd4 27.Nxd4 Rad8 28.Qc6
forces resignation. The knight cannot be taken: 28...Rxd4 29.Qxg6+ Kf8 30.Qf6+
snares the rook. 23...Rxe3! Ouch! This move was not possible if he had
taken the other pawn. 24.Rfxf7? Wesley is in a state of shock and
blunders again. He could still hope to hold out with 24.Rxc7 Rxh3 25.Rxc4.
24...Bxb2+! 25.Kb1 [25.Kxb2 Qe5+ 26.Kb1 Rxh3] 25...Rxh3 26.Rxc7
Be5 White plays on but actually he can resign here with a clear conscience.
27.Rce7 cxb3 28.axb3 Rxh2 29.Rf1 Bg7 30.Re6 Kh7 31.Rc6 a5 32.Ka2 Re8 33.Rf7
Re1 34.b4 a4 35.Rxg7+ Kxg7 36.b5 Ree2 37.Kb1 Re5 0-1
A bitter disappointment for Wesley. He had started the tournament with
2/2 but needed one more win to get his second GM norm (three norms get you the
full title). Anyway, after seeing the tactical display he put up against you
will agree that he was not inferior by much to his tough Russian opponent and
that it would only be a matter of time before he gets the title.
The GMA Cup was organized under the stewardship of Congressman Prospero
Pichay as President of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines. It
appears that finally we have a Federation President who genuinely wants to
uplift the lot of the local players and increase our competitiveness. This is
not only me talking, even GM Alexander Onischuk, the former Ukrainian who is
now the US Chess Champion, had a few good words about this, which he published
in US Chess online:
"I'm very glad that I went to Manila. I was happy to see that
chessplayers get so much respect there. After the tournament I spoke with the
congressman Prospero Pichay. I was really impressed by the depth of his
knowledge of chess and his concern for local players. He has huge plans for the
future. In December and March the Philippine Chess Federation will arrange
another two big international events, in October 2007 they are planning to
organize the second president's cup. Next year they want to start the chess
league. The congressman also told me about his idea to play matches against
other countries and they want to invite the US team. One of his goals is to
help young talented children develop their skills to become new Grandmasters.
He believes that in 5 years there will be 10 new GMs in the Philippines. Can
the USA also promise 10 new GMs in 5 years? Don't get me started.."
Congressman Pichay could not hide his disappointment though on the poor
showing of the local players. During his closing remarks he thanked the foreign
GMs for the lessons they have taught our players, and then commented that our
local grandmasters did not play like grandmasters.
At the risk of putting too much into those words, I sense a changing of
the wind. Perhaps the issues I voiced in my earlier column on the GMA Cup will
finally be addressed. International Grandmasters should not be automatically
seeded into our national teams because they have the title. Rather the
privilege of being automatically included in our teams should be based on
ratings. Ever since I retired from the Executive Directorship of the NCFP in
2001 we have seen the titled players getting all the perks and stunting the
growth of our young up-and-comers. The projects lined up in 2001 to host the
ASEAN Youth Championship in Manila, to form a training team of 16 year olds and
below to represent our country in the future, the establishment of a nationwide
series of youth championships to comb the countryside for promising players,
all of these programs were shelved to have enough funds to send our titled
players abroad and compete.
Some of our titled players have the correct connections, and some of
them have loud mouths, but I have not seen anyone take up the cudgels for the
youngsters. Well, now we are feeling the effects of those mistakes. It is only
now that I am once more getting excited about our chess future.
May I congratulate Congressman Pichay on a great job so far.
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is
bangcpa@gmail.com
The Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship took place in Odessa 26th
November - 6th December 2006. Oksana Vozovic won the event on tie-break from
Anna Ushenina after both finished on 8/11. IA Oleg Tovchyga examined the texts
of the games received from The Ukrainian Women Chess Championship (Odessa,
26.11-05.12.06) and found number of errors these corrections are in the PGN
section.
The 66th Italian Championship took place in Cremona 21st November - 4th
December 2006. Michele Godena beat 14 year old Fabino Caruana 2.5-1.5 in a
rapid (25 mins + 10 sec a move) and then blitz (5 mins) playoff. This is
Godena's 5th Italian title. The decisive 5 minute game is now available.
Official site: http://www.federscacchi.it/cia2006/
IMs Enrico Sevillano and John Donaldson tied for first with 4.5 from 5
in the 2nd Annual Igor Ivanov Memorial held December 9 in St. George, Utah.
IM-elect Emory Tate was third at 4-1 in the 35 player field. Alan Crooks
organized and Kim Patraw directed the annual event held to commemorate Ivanov's
death on November 17, 2005.
The 15th Asian Games took place in Doha 1st-15th December 2006. Murtas
Kazhgaleyev won the men's rapid, Humpy Koneru the women's rapid and India the
swiss team event. I'm not at all hopeful that games will turn up.
Details: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1167,
official site: http://www.doha-2006.com/
Men's Rapid
Final Classification
As of 04 DEC 2006
Rank Title NOC Name I.Rating Points F.Rating Medal
1 GM KAZ KAZHGALEYEV Murtas 2609 7.5 - GOLD
2 GM VIE DAO Thien Hai 2557 7 - SILVER
3 GM CHN BU Xiangzhi 2671 7 - BRONZE
4 GM UZB KASIMDZHANOV Rustam 2672 6 -
5 GM KAZ SADVAKASSOV Darmen 2596 6 -
6 GM CHN WANG Yue 2644 5.5 -
7 GM IRI MORADIABADI Elshan 2539 5.5 -
8 PHI LAYLO Darwin 2448 5.5 -
9 GM VIE NGUYEN Anh Dung 2541 5.5 -
10 GM UZB BARSOV Alekxei 2537 5.5 -
11 GM IND PENTALA Harikrishna 2674 5.5 -
12 GM QAT AL MEDAIHKI Mohammed 2550 5.5 -
13 GM IND KRISHNAN Sasikiran 2675 5.5 -
14 TKM ANNABERDIYEV Meylis 2457 5.5 -
15 IM PHI DABLEO Ronald 2425 5 -
16 GM IRI GHAEM MAGHAMI Ehsan 2581 5 -
17 GM INA MEGARANTO Susanto 2492 5 -
18 IM BAN HOSSAIN Enamul 2503 4.5 -
19 IM QAT AL SAYED Mohammed 2486 4.5 -
20 GM BAN SATTAR Reefat Bin 2489 4.5 -
21 FM MGL TSEGMED Batchuluun 2404 4.5 -
22 IM SYR HAKKI Imad 2422 4.5 -
23 FM BRN AYYAD Husain 2003 4.5 -
24 GM UAE IBRAHIM Talib Moosa 2365 4.5 -
25 NEP SHRESTHA Bilam Lal 2104 4.5 -
26 JPN NANJO Ryosuke 2186 4.5 -
27 GM INA WAHJUWIDAJAT Utut Adianto 2589 4 -
28 MGL BAYARSAIKHAN Gundavaa 2237 4 -
29 SRI RUSSELL Athula 2234 4 -
30 SYR BAKR Jwan 2335 4 -
31 SRI GALAPPATHTHI Chinthaka 2204 3.5 -
32 TKM AMANOV Mesgen 2339 3.5 -
33 IM UAE AL-HAMMADI Abdulla Hasan 2311 3.5 -
34 FM JOR EL RIMAWI Bahjat Thaer 2308 3.5 -
35 NEP LAMA Surbir 2095 3.5 -
36 JOR SAMHOURI Ahmad 2322 3.5 -
37 FM BRN AYYAD Maher 2137 3.5 -
38 JPN KOJIMA Shinya 2187 3 -
39 PLE TAAMRA Atta 2102 3 -
40 MAC MAK Tong Kuan - 2.5 -
41 MAC ABELGAS Rodolfo - 1.5 -
RET PLE SHOUBAITA Talal - 0 -
Women's Rapid
Final Classification
As of 04 DEC 2006
Rank Title NOC Name I.Rating Points F.Rating Medal
1 GM IND KONERU Humpy 2545 8 - GOLD
2 WGM CHN ZHAO Xue 2467 7.5 - SILVER
3 GM QAT CHEN Zhu 2501 6 - BRONZE
4 WIM IRI POURKASHIYAN Atousa 2329 5.5 -
5 WGM TKM GELDYYEVA Mahri 2273 5.5 -
6 WGM MGL BATKHUYAG Munguntuul 2383 5.5 -
7 WIM UZB SABIROVA Olga 2230 5.5 -
8 WFM INA SUKANDAR Irine Kharisma 2239 5.5 -
9 WGM VIE NGUYEN Thi Thanh An 2312 5 -
10 SRI METHMALI Yasoda 1895 5 -
11 WIM KAZ AKETAYEVA Dana 2312 4.5 -
12 PHI DOCENA Jedara - 4.5 -
13 BAN AKTER Samima 2096 4.5 -
14 SYR MIR MAHMOD Afamya 1983 4.5 -
15 WIM JOR JAMALIAH Natalie 1988 4 -
16 WFM UAE SALEH Noura Mohamed 1879 4 -
17 PLE JARADAT Shadia - 3.5 -
18 JPN NAKAGAWA Emiko 1933 3.5 -
19 NEP KHAMBOO Mona Lisha - 3 -
20 BRN MUTAYWEA Aysha - 3 -
21 MAC CHAN I Sin - 1 -
Mixed Team's Classical
Final Classification
As of 14 DEC 2006
Rank Title NOC Name Points Medal
1 IND - India 22.5 GOLD
GM KRISHNAN Sasikiran
GM PENTALA Harikrishna
GM KONERU Humpy
2 CHN - PR China 17.5 SILVER
GM BU Xiangzhi
GM WANG Yue
WGM ZHAO Xue
3 IRI - Islamic Republic of Iran 16.5 BRONZE
GM GHAEM MAGHAMI Ehsan
GM MORADIABADI Elshan
WIM POURKASHIYAN Atousa
4 KAZ - Kazakhstan 16
GM SADVAKASSOV Darmen
GM KAZHGALEYEV Murtas
WIM AKETAYEVA Dana
5 INA - Indonesia 16
GM WAHJUWIDAJAT Utut Adianto
GM MEGARANTO Susanto
WFM SUKANDAR Irine Kharisma
6 QAT - State of Qatar 15
GM AL MEDAIHKI Mohammed
IM AL SAYED Mohammed
GM CHEN Zhu
7 BAN - Bangladesh 14.5
IM HOSSAIN Enamul
GM SATTAR Reefat Bin
AKTER Samima
8 PHI - Philippines 14.5
LAYLO Darwin
IM DABLEO Ronald
DOCENA Jedara
9 UZB - Uzbekistan 14
GM KASIMDZHANOV Rustam
GM BARSOV Alekxei
WIM SABIROVA Olga
10 MGL - Mongolia 14
FM TSEGMED Batchuluun
BAYARSAIKHAN Gundavaa
WGM BATKHUYAG Munguntuul
11 TKM - Turkmenistan 13.5
ANNABERDIYEV Meylis
AMANOV Mesgen
WGM GELDYYEVA Mahri
12 SYR - Syrian Arab Republic 13.5
IM HAKKI Imad
BAKR Jwan
MIR MAHMOD Afamya
13 SRI - Sri Lanka 13
RUSSELL Athula
GALAPPATHTHI Chinthaka
METHMALI Yasoda
14 UAE - Emirates 12.5
GM IBRAHIM Talib Moosa
IM AL-HAMMADI Abdulla Hasan
WFM SALEH Noura Mohamed
15 JOR - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 12.5
SAMHOURI Ahmad
FM EL RIMAWI Bahjat Thaer
WIM JAMALIAH Natalie
16 VIE - Vietnam 12
GM DAO Thien Hai
GM NGUYEN Anh Dung
WGM NGUYEN Thi Thanh An
17 BRN - Kingdom of Bahrain 11.5
FM AYYAD Maher
FM AYYAD Husain
MUTAYWEA Aysha
18 PLE - Palestine 11
TAAMRA Atta
SHOUBAITA Talal
JARADAT Shadia
19 JPN - Japan 10.5
NANJO Ryosuke
KOJIMA Shinya
NAKAGAWA Emiko
20 NEP - Nepal 10
SHRESTHA Bilam Lal
LAMA Surbir
KHAMBOO Mona Lisha
21 MAC - Macau, China 3
ABELGAS Rodolfo
MAK Tong Kuan
CHAN I Sin
ACP Rapid Cup in Odessa
The Association of Chess Professionals
http://www.chess-players.org/eng/index.html
have announced their first major event. The 1st ACP World Rapid Cup is set to
take place in Odessa in the Ukraine 4th-8th January 2007. The event will be
sponsored by the Bank Pivdennyi based in Odessa. The venue will be the Hotel
Londonskaya. The tournament organisers are the Bank Pivdennyi and the
Association of Chess Professionals. The total prize fund will amount to 136,000
US Dollars. 16 grandmasters will participate in this Knock-Out tournament. The
time control will be 20 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 5
seconds per move.
The 14 players who will therefore take part in the first ACP WRC are:
Alexander Morozevich (Russia), Peter Leko (Hungary), Boris Gelfand (Israel),
Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Alexei Shirov (Spain), Etienne Bacrot (France),
Sergey Rublevsky (Russia), Evgeny Bareev (Russia), Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany),
Pentala Harikrishna (India), Ivan Sokolov (Netherlands), Victor Bologan
(Moldova), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Farrukh Amonatov (Tajikistan). In addition,
on the proposal of Bank Pivdennyi, two Wild Cards are given to Vassily Ivanchuk
(highest rated Ukrainian Grandmaster) and Ilia Smirin (Israel).
Detailed press release:
http://www.chess-players.org/eng/news/viewarticle.html?id=585
Chess FM Chess and Books with Fred Wilson
Chess & Books with Fred Wilson - This Week's guest: Noah Sheola
(Paul Morphy playwright)
Fred Wilson's guest on Tuesday evening (8pm EST), Dec. 19th, 2006, will
be Noah Sheola, author of the well-received new play, "Paul Morphy", currently
running at The Players Ring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Noah, a USCF rated
player and avid reader of chess history, is the author of four plays, including
one about Marie Antoinette, produced on the East Coast and in Chicago. He is a
winner of the F. Gary Newton Playwriting Competition, and also an accomplished
actor, performing with the New Hampshire improvisational theater troupe
Stranger Than Fiction. He is a graduate of Bard College and now lives in
Portsmouth, NH.
Noah says "Writing from history is all about making compromises between
the historical record and the need to be concise, coherent and entertaining...I
think I have a sense of who Morphy was and what it was like to spend time with
him. When you read his letters the force of his personality is there". Please
send questions for Noah Sheola about Paul Morphy to fred@fredwilsonchess.com.
The show runs from 8:00 to 10:00 PM (EST) every Tuesday evening. As always,
there will be replays of the show almost immediately afterwards for our chess
enthusiasts on the West Coast & elsewhere, and often there will be several
replays the following day.
You can access "Chess and Books with Fred Wilson" at the following
website: http://www.chess.fm, ONLY IF YOU ARE
AN ICC MEMBER. However, if you visit chessclub.com you can sign up for a one
week FREE trial membership, listen to the show that week, and access all the
other good stuff on Chess.fm while you're at it!
6th Amplico AIG Life
The 6th Amplico AIG Life International Chess Tournament - European Rapid
Chess Championship Under the auspices of the President of the city of Warsaw.
All players play the 8-round Swiss Qualification Tournament with the rate of
play G-15'+10" (15 minutes for a game for a player, with an increment of 10
seconds per move). After the 8th round 16 players qualify to the Final
Tournament, which contains 4 Group Tournaments, Tournaments for places 5-8,
9-12, 13-16, the Semi-finals, the Match for the 3rd place and the Final.
Players who didn't qualify to the Final Tournament play further 5 rounds for a
win in the Swiss Tournament. 16th-17th December 2006.
Official site:
http://www.poloniachess.pl/amplico2006/index.php?lang=en
ACP Christmas Blitz Tournament 2006
The ACP Board is glad to invite you to take part in the ACP Christmas
Blitz Tournament. The prize fund will amount to 4,550 euros. The event will be
organized on the ACPO, the official playing zone of our association. The
preliminary stages of the tournament will take place from December 19th to 22nd
2006, and the final stages on December 26th and 27th 2006.
The prize distribution as well as the registration form can be found on
our special page http://www.acpochess.com/acpo/acpxb_index.php
49th Reggio Emilia Tournament
The 49th edition of the Reggio Emilia Torneo di Capodanno takes place
December 30 2006 - January 7 2007. 9 rounds at the hotel Astoria Mercure
starting 2,30 pm. Time rate: 1h and 40 min x 40 moves then 50 min to end, plus
30 sec starting from the first move.
Players
GM KHENKIN IGOR GER ELO 2620
GM GELASHVILI TAMAD GEO ELO 2606
GM LANDA KONSTANTIN RUS ELO 2570
GM IORDACHESCU VIOREL MOL ELO 2564
GM ROMANISHIN OLEG UKR ELO 2542
IM BRUNELLO SABINO ITA ELO 2460
IM SHYTAJ LUCA ALB/ITA ELO 2441
IM MANCA FEDERICO ITA ELO 2425
IM BORGO GIULIO ITA ELO 2420
MOGRANZINI ROBERTO ITA ELO 2401
GM norm = 6 points - IM norm = 4 points
Sydney International Open
SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL OPEN (10/04/2007-14/04/2007) - Australia's
strongest Open tournament ever held.
More information at http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/open
or contact info@chessaustralia.com.au
Novi Sad Chess
Novi Sad will host the 2009 Europian National Team Championship. In the
run up to that the Championship of Novi Sad takes place 18th-25th March 2007.
Further detail: http://www.drazic.co.yu
Politiken Cup
The 29th Copenhagen Open Politiken Cup takes place 21st-29th July 2006.
Official site: http://www.politikencup.dk/
Coulsdon Christmas International
The Coulsdon Christmas International takes place 11th-15th December
2006. The organisers need 2 titled and 1 non-titled players for the 10 player
all-play-all event for IM norms. In addition, we there are 3 spaces in their
Challengers' event. If interested contact Scott Freeman chess@ccfworld.com
Details:
http://www.ccfworld.com/Chess/Results/2006-12-15_International.htm
Hungarian tournaments January - May 2007
The list of the chess tournaments from January - May 2007 in Hungary:
1. 27th of December until 4th of January, Kecskemet, IM Berger tmt,
org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website:
www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s
in Kecskemet. 100 km South from Budapest.
2. 5th-13th of January 2007 - EVADNYITO (SEASON STARTING) Open, First
prize: brutto 100 000 Ft (1 EURO = 258 Ft now) Prize found: 300 000 Ft.
Budapest, org: Marti György, more info: Nagy Laszlo, firstsat@hu.inter.net
http://www.firstsaturday.hu
3. 3rd-16th of February 2007 FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, 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/..
4. 3rd-16th of March FS Budapest, GM-IM-FM, org: NL.
5. 16th-24th of March Budapest Spring Festival 9 round Swiss Open, org:
Nagy L. www.firstsaturday.hu
6. 25th of March - 7th of April, GM closed tournament in SIKONDA,
South-West 250 km from Budapest, org: Mr.Gruenwald, mobile phone:
+36-30-9971005
7. 7th-20th of April, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, org: NL
8. 21st of April - 1st of May GM tmt minimal cat.9. Planned /2451-2475
Elo range/, Org: NL,
9. 5th-18th of May, GM-IM-FM Budapest, org NL,
10. 19th-29th of May, ELEKES MEMORIAL, GM-IM closed, Org: IM Zsinka,
e-mail: zsinkala@t-online.hu
Corus and Linares 2007
The Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee takes place 12th-28th January 2007.
The fields for the top two groups have been announced.
A Group : Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik,
Peter Svidler, David Navara, Levon Aronian, Teymour Radjabov, Alexei Shirov,
Ruslan Ponomariov, Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Tiviakov, Loek van Wely, Sergey
Karjakin and Alexander Motylev
David Navara replaces Alexander Morozevich who withdrew for personal
reasons.
B Group: Dmitry Jakovenko, Bu Xiangzhi, Gabriel
Sargissian, Pavel Eljanov, Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Suat Atalik, Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave, Daniel Stellwagen, Jan Werle, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Vladimir
Georgiev, Jan Smeets and Tatiana Kosintseva
Official site: http://www.coruschess.com
In addition the line up for the Morelia / Linares tournament (again in
Mexico and Spain) has been announced. The Morelia half takes place 16th-25th
February 2007 and Linares 2nd-11th March 2007.
The field is: Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Leko, Peter
Svidler, Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Magnus Carlsen and one of either
Alexander Morozevich (it may be that marca has is right as they are the
official site and its Moro), Alexei Shirov or Francisco Vallejo Pons depending
on who you read. (Mexican
Story - or
Marca
story)
Karpov Simul in Moscow
On Thursday at capital restaurant " Stork"
(www.novikovgroup.ru/restaurants/aist) took place a simul of of Anatoly Karpov.
Opponents of the Ex-World Champion became well-known businessmen, politicians,
representatives of show business. Considering, that the place of action was
fashionable restaurant, it has turned to a cheerful secular party with chess
subjects.
See details: http://en.chess-events.org/News
5th Crikvenica Rapid
The 5th Crikvenica Rapid takes place 29th December 2006 - 1st January
2007.
Details:
http://www.crochess.com/turniri/crikvenica/crikvenica_06.htm
First Saturday December 2006
First Saturday Budapest GM-IM-FM closed tournaments, Budapest, HUNGARY,
2nd-15th of December... Vacancies in the GM - IM and FM sections. Website:
http://www.firstsaturday.hu .
Contact: Lazlo Nagy firstsat@hu.inter.net - Phone-fax: (+36)-1-263-28-59
Mobile: (+36)-30-230-1914 ICC, SKYPE, YAHOO and MSN messenger nickname:
mrfirstsaturday
Prague Open 2007
PRAGUE OPEN 2007 (11.-18.1. 2007 - 2 FIDE opens, one of them with a
possibility to fulfill IM norm, active chess and blitz tournament, more
information at the address http://www.czechtour.net/praha/index.php
Marienbad Open 2007
MARIENBAD OPEN 2007 Marienbad is the second largest spa town in the
Czech Republic, 19.-27.1. 2007 - closed GM tournament, closed IM tournament,
FIDE open, active chess and blitz tournament,
http://www.czechtour.net/marlazne/index.php
ACP Tour Report August - October
Read the ACP Tour Report August - October 2006.
Read the report:
http://www.chess-players.org/eng/news/viewarticle.html?id=579
Dutch Team Championship
The Dutch Team Championship Meesterklasse takes place 23rd October 2006
- 12th May 2006. The first three rounds have already taken place. Ivanchuk,
Tiviakov and Ivan Sokolov are amongst the players who have already played.
Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse
Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/ - Photo report
at: http://www.chessvista.com
Swiss Chess Tour 2007
The Swiss Chess Tour 2007 starts in Basle in the New Year
(1.-7.1.2007.). Venue of Chess Festival for 9th time is Hotel Hilton in Basle.
Hilton Open (1-7.1.2007.) 7 Rounds, 6 hours (2 hours for 40 moves + 60
minutes for complete the game.) Prizes:
2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/5x200 CHF. Special prizes 200 CHF for
best Lady, Senior (1947), junior (1987-90), schoolboy (1991). Enter fee: 140
CHF (FM and juniors 70 CHF) GM & IM free. At the door 20 CHF.
Players so far for Basle: GM Ulf Andersson (SWE), GM Borislav Ivkov
(SCG), GM Andrei Sokolov (FRA), GM Miso Cebalo (CRO), GM Igor Rausis (BAN), GM
Nenad Sulava (CRO), GM Stefan Djuric (SCG), IM Martin Senff (GER), IM Simon
Kuemin (SUI) etc.
Basle amateur (1-7.1.2007.) 7 Rounds, 4 hours (90 minutes 30 moves + 30
minutes to complete the game). Players under 1900 rating (FIDE or national).
Enter fee: 120 CHF (juniors 60 CHF). At the door 20 CHF. Prizes:
500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 CHF.
Basle juniors (2.1.2007.) 7 Rounds, 15 minutes for the game. Juniors
1987 and younger. Enter fee 5 CHF. Natural prizes for all players.
Basel Lighting Chess (6.1.2007. from 14.00 to 16.00) 9 Rounds, 5
minutes. Enter fee: 20 CHF (juniors 5 CHF). Prizes 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 CHF
natural prizes for everybody 50% and more points.
More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+62+9654-650,
fax +41+62+9654-651 E-mail info@beochess.ch Further information:
http://www.beochess.ch or
http://yubc.net/~yuchess
Italian Championship
Players: GM Michele Godena, GM Carlo Garcia-Palermo, IM Daniel Contin,
IM Fabio Bruno, IM Sabino Brunello (17 years old), IM Daniele Vocaturo (16
years old), IM Federico Manca, IM Fabiano Caruana (14 years old), IM Pierluigi
Piscopo, IM Giulio Borgo, IM Spartaco Sarno, FM Michelangelo Scalcione.
XVI Pamplona Open
The XVI Pamplona Open takes place 21st-29th December 2006.
Official site: http://www.chesspamplona.com/
Austrian Team Championship
The first three rounds of the Austrian Team Championship took place in
Graz 3rd-5th November 2006.
Schedule: R 01-03: 03.11.-05.11.2006, Graz (Hotel Novapark) R 04-07:
18.01.-21.01.2007, Leoben (Gösserbräu) R 08-11: 08.03.-11.03.2007,
Mattersburg
Official site: http://www.chess.at/staatsligen/stl_a.htm
Slovenian Chess Centre
The Slovenian Chess Federation opened a centre on the 21st October 2006.
Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/news/0610/sahdom/
Pierre Barthélémy Chess Blog
Pierre Barthélémy Chess Blog in French:
http://echecs-info.blogspot.com
II Magistral 5 Soles
The II Magistral 5 Soles took place 3rd-11th November 2006. Details may
become available.
Official site: http://www.comunic.com.br/xadrez/
Insel-Seniorenturnier
The Insel-Seniorenturnier takes place in Wyk auf Föhr im Hotel
"Schloss am Meer" 8th-16th November 2006.
Official site: http://www.schach-info.de/wyk/teil.html
10th A.V.Momot Memorial
The 10th A.V.Momot Memorial takes place November 11th-12th 2006 in
Kramatorsk (Ukraine).
Participants: GMs Eljanov (2658), Areshchenko (2640), Efimenko (2612),
Brodsky (2566), Kuzubov (2559), Lahno (2459), Andreev (2459) etc.
Official site: http://www.chess.krm.dn.ua/memor.htm
66th Italian Championship
The 66th Italian Championship takes place 21st November - 4th December
2006. The tournament will consist of 11 players in a round robin at Hotel
Impero in Cremona. Games will be played on DGT boards, and viewable live at the
Italian Chess Federation web site.
Official tournament information:
http://federscacchi.it/doc/notcom/d20060902032222_bando_66.pdf
Official federation site: http://www.federscacchi.it/
Rilton Cup
The Rilton Cup takes place 27th December 2006 - 5th January 2007.
Details and entry.
Official site: http://www.rilton.se/
Czech Chess Christmas 2006
Czech Chess Christmas 2006 Litomysl (CZE) 26.12.2006-1.1.2007 8th
christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h
+ 30s/move, prize fund 61.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 680 EUR), special
conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme. Contact:
Proclient s.r.o., Jaroslav Fuksik, Svedska 3, 772 00 Olomouc, mobil: 608 364
664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, web: http://www.a64.cz
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/ is the radio
station, (MP3 at: http://www.deep-chess.de/)
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/
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/
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.
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/
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.
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/
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/
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
