THE WEEK IN CHESS 686 31st December 2007 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Russian Championship Superfinals
3) FIDE Rating List January 2008
4) XVII Pampona International
5) 83rd Hastings International Congress
6) 50th Reggio Emilia
7) Groningen Chess Festival
8) 3rd Bosnian Championship
9) VI Memorial Pereyra Puebla
10) II Obert Internacional d'Escacs
11) Carlos San José Memorial
12) XXXVII Rilton Cup
13) 16th Donau Open
14) 28th Bethune Open
15) Czech Chess Christmas
16) North American Open
17) 17th IPCCC Paderborn
18) Central Serbian Championships
19) Forthcoming Events and Links

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Games Section
Russian Championship Superfinals 60 games
XVII Pampona International 125 games
83rd Hastings International Congress 206 games
50th Reggio Emilia 15 games
Groningen Chess Festival 98 games
3rd Bosnian Championship 10 games
VI Memorial Pereyra Puebla 82 games
XXXVII Rilton Cup 100 games
North American Open 60 games
17th IPCCC Paderborn 35 games
Central Serbian Championships 28 games
819 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to John Saunders, Lara Barnes, Steve Giddins, Jeroen Noomen, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Adolivio Capece, Urcan Olimpiu, J Fernandez, Jesper Norgaard Welen, and everyone else who helped with the issue and indeed over the whole of 2007.

2007 comes to an end with chess continuing over into 2008. Whilst I'd be reluctant to call it a vintage year, it certainly has been a very good one. It saw Viswanathan Anand become undisputed World Chess Champion for the first time and he will now meet Vladimir Kramnik in a 12 game match next year which could be the match that puts chess back in the headlines. Its nice that both those players end the year level on 2799 at the top of the rating list. The restoration of an orderly system for establishing a world champion which was started with the Kramnik - Topalov match and will continue next year with the Anand-Kramnik match and a Topalov-Kamsky match is vital for the future of the game. This year also saw for a large part of it Vassily Ivanchuk being in the form of his life. At one stage it seemed that he might end the year on top but recent results saw him lose all of the ground he gained over the year. Next month sees one of the strongest ever editions of the Wijk aan Zee tournament and its not just the A-Group, the B-Group definitely at record strength also. Linares follows the month after with less, but many of the same players. So there is plenty to look forward to. I wish everyone a happy and fruitful 2008.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Russian Championship Superfinals

The Russian Championship Superfinals took place 17th-30th (Round 1 18th) December 2007. Alexander Morozevich won the event with 8/11 a point clear of Alexander Grischuk.Tatiana Kosintseva won the women's event on tie-break after a four way tie on 7/11.

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

60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (RUS), 18-30 xii 2007 cat. XVII (2656)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2755 * 1 1 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8 2821
2. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2715 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 7 2752
3. Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2646 0 0 * ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 6½ 2721
4. Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2607 1 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ 5½ 2660
5. Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2674 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2654
6. Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2594 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 5½ 2661
7. Sakaev, Konstantin g RUS 2634 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 5½ 2657
8. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2710 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 5½ 2650
9. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2732 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 5 2612
10. Amonatov, Farrukh g TJK 2637 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 1 4½ 2592
11. Rychagov, Andrey g RUS 2528 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ * 0 4 2565
12. Timofeev, Artyom g RUS 2637 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 1 * 3½ 2524


60th ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (RUS), 18-30 xii 2007 cat. XVII (2656)
Round 7 (December 26, 2007)
Morozevich, Alexander - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 27 D10 Slav Defence
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Svidler, Peter 1-0 45 A29 English Four Knights
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Rychagov, Andrey ½-½ 65 C11 French Defence
Vitiugov, Nikita - Dreev, Alexey ½-½ 54 D61 Queens Gambit Main Line with 7.Qc2
Sakaev, Konstantin - Timofeev, Artyom 0-1 39 D31 Semi-Slav Defence
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Amonatov, Farrukh 1-0 86 D78 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Round 8 (December 27, 2007)
Grischuk, Alexander - Sakaev, Konstantin ½-½ 49 C42 Petroff's Defence
Dreev, Alexey - Tomashevsky, Evgeny ½-½ 42 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 36 E05 Catalan
Svidler, Peter - Morozevich, Alexander 0-1 38 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Amonatov, Farrukh - Vitiugov, Nikita ½-½ 58 B47 Sicilian Paulsen
Rychagov, Andrey - Timofeev, Artyom 0-1 56 D90 Gruenfeld Flohr
Round 9 (December 28, 2007)
Morozevich, Alexander - Dreev, Alexey 0-1 49 B56 Sicilian Defence
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Amonatov, Farrukh 1-0 46 E90 King's Indian Classical
Vitiugov, Nikita - Inarkiev, Ernesto 0-1 53 E74 King's Indian Averbakh
Sakaev, Konstantin - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 42 D78 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Rychagov, Andrey ½-½ 53 D35 QGD Exchange
Timofeev, Artyom - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 61 B12 Caro Kann Advanced
Round 10 (December 29, 2007)
Dreev, Alexey - Sakaev, Konstantin 0-1 45 E36 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Tomashevsky, Evgeny 1-0 57 C84 Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Vitiugov, Nikita ½-½ 44 C12 French MacCutcheon
Svidler, Peter - Timofeev, Artyom ½-½ 34 B51 Sicilian Rossolimo
Amonatov, Farrukh - Morozevich, Alexander ½-½ 34 B17 Caro Kann
Rychagov, Andrey - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 100 D44 Anti-Meran Gambit
Round 11 (December 30, 2007)
Morozevich, Alexander - Inarkiev, Ernesto 1-0 58 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Grischuk, Alexander - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 39 A16 English Opening
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 24 D47 Queens Gambit Meran
Vitiugov, Nikita - Rychagov, Andrey 1-0 27 D35 QGD Exchange
Sakaev, Konstantin - Amonatov, Farrukh 1-0 63 E91 King's Indian Classical
Timofeev, Artyom - Dreev, Alexey ½-½ 50 B65 Sicilian Rauzer


57th ch-RUS w Moscow RUS (RUS), 18-30 xii 2007 cat. VII (2415)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2492 * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 0 7 2509
2. Tairova, Elena m RUS 2391 0 * 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 1 7 2518
3. Ovod, Evgenija m RUS 2386 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7 2519
4. Korbut, Ekaterina m RUS 2443 ½ ½ 0 * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 7 2514
5. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2462 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 6 2446
6. Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2469 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2445
7. Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2433 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 * 0 1 0 ½ 1 5½ 2412
8. Shadrina, Tatiana wg RUS 2379 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 ½ 1 1 5½ 2417
9. Stepovaia, Tatiana wg RUS 2375 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ 0 1 5 2382
10. Girya, Olga wf RUS 2338 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ * 1 1 4 2319
11. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2448 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 * ½ 3½ 2278
12. Gunina, Valentina wf RUS 2359 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 ½ * 2½ 2208

3) FIDE Rating List January 2008

Vladimir Kramnik gained 14 points in winning the Tal Memorial to catch World Champion Viswanathan Anand on 2799 nicely setting up their match next year. Veselin Topalov moves back to 3rd in the world gaining 11 points from 14 games in the period. The wheels finally came off Vassily Ivanchuk's fantastic run of form and he dropped back to 9th in the world from 2nd. Peter Svidler also returns to the top 10 at 5 in the world after gaining 31 points (many of which he has already lost after a very poor Russian Championships) Alexei Shirov rises 16 points after playing a massive 49 games in this period. Tiemour Radjabov drops from 8th to 12th in the world just ahead of the rising stars Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin on 2733 and 2732 respectively. Ivan Ivanisevic of Serbia gains 42 points to be the highest new entry at 62 in the world. Thirteen players drop out and thirteen come in as the list stays at 101 names. The bottom rating remains at 2627.

Source: http://www.fide.com. The full list is available for download there.

January 2008 FIDE Rating List. Top 100
No Oc Name NAT YroB ap06 ju06 oc06 ja07 ap07 ju07 oc07 ja08 Gms
1 3 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 1975 2729 2743 2750 2766 2772 2769 2785 2799 9
2 1 Anand, Viswanathan IND 1969 2803 2779 2779 2779 2786 2792 2801 2799 3
3 4 Topalov, Veselin BUL 1975 2804 2813 2813 2783 2772 2769 2769 2780 14
4 6 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 1977 2730 2731 2747 2741 2762 2758 2755 2765 12
5 12 Svidler, Peter RUS 1976 2743 2742 2750 2728 2736 2735 2732 2763 19
6 7 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz AZE 1985 2699 2722 2728 2754 2757 2757 2752 2760 35
7 10 Shirov, Alexei ESP 1972 2699 2716 2720 2715 2699 2735 2739 2755 49
8 5 Leko, Peter HUN 1979 2738 2738 2741 2749 2738 2751 2755 2753 9
9 2 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 1969 2731 2734 2741 2750 2729 2762 2787 2751 30
10 9 Aronian, Levon ARM 1982 2756 2761 2741 2744 2759 2750 2741 2739 16
11 11 Gelfand, Boris ISR 1968 2727 2729 2733 2733 2733 2733 2736 2737 9
12 8 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 1987 2717 2728 2729 2729 2747 2746 2742 2735 20
13 16 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 1990 2646 2673 2698 2690 2693 2710 2714 2733 37
14 24 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 1990 2661 2679 2672 2678 2686 2678 2694 2732 36
15 17 Kamsky, Gata USA 1974 2671 2697 2705 2705 2705 2718 2714 2726 32
16 13 Adams, Michael ENG 1971 2720 2732 2735 2735 2734 2724 2729 2726 31
17 19 Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 1983 2675 2667 2671 2691 2708 2735 2710 2720 33
18 21 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 1983 2738 2721 2703 2723 2717 2706 2705 2719 40
19 42 Cheparinov, Ivan BUL 1986 2635 2632 2632 2640 2646 2657 2670 2713 36
20 14 Alekseev, Evgeny RUS 1985 2640 2644 2639 2661 2679 2689 2716 2711 35
21 15 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 1983 2719 2709 2710 2717 2717 2726 2715 2711 21
22 20 Polgar, Judit HUN 1976 2711 2710 2710 2727 2727 2707 2708 2707 10
23 18 Akopian, Vladimir ARM 1971 2706 2713 2713 2700 2698 2708 2713 2700 30
24 23 Bacrot, Etienne FRA 1983 2708 2707 2705 2705 2709 2695 2695 2700 23
25 22 Wang, Yue CHN 1987 2598 2626 2644 2644 2656 2696 2703 2698 49
26 35 Rublevsky, Sergei RUS 1974 2687 2667 2688 2677 2680 2679 2676 2695 26
27 26 Eljanov, Pavel UKR 1983 2665 2651 2658 2675 2686 2701 2691 2692 8
28 25 Bu, Xiangzhi CHN 1985 2640 2664 2671 2644 2656 2685 2692 2691 51
29 30 Dominguez Perez, Lenier CUB 1983 2647 2658 2655 2677 2678 2680 2683 2691 15
30 34 Milov, Vadim SUI 1972 2625 2620 2657 2665 2676 2675 2676 2690 17
31 28 Malakhov, Vladimir RUS 1980 2691 2691 2682 2663 2679 2676 2690 2689 40
32 39 Sokolov, Ivan NED 1968 2676 2652 2670 2652 2655 2666 2673 2686 23
33 46 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ROM 1976 2695 2693 2690 2689 2693 2683 2668 2684 33
34 29 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam UZB 1979 2673 2672 2672 2682 2677 2683 2690 2681 21
35 31 Van Wely, Loek NED 1972 2655 2675 2676 2683 2674 2679 2679 2681 16
36 37 Inarkiev, Ernesto RUS 1985 2598 2625 2628 2669 2669 2663 2674 2681 12
37 78 Ni, Hua CHN 1983 2607 2607 2621 2632 2654 2681 2641 2680 62
38 54 Navara, David CZE 1985 2658 2719 2725 2719 2720 2656 2656 2680 20
39 49 Sasikiran, Krishnan IND 1981 2692 2681 2675 2700 2690 2676 2661 2677 30
40 38 Zvjaginsev, Vadim RUS 1976 2670 2675 2674 2658 2659 2658 2674 2677 27
41 57 Bareev, Evgeny RUS 1966 2701 2683 2683 2643 2643 2653 2653 2677 25
42 41 Movsesian, Sergei SVK 1978 2618 2637 2637 2637 2642 2667 2670 2677 21
43 40 Sargissian, Gabriel ARM 1983 2612 2667 2667 2658 2651 2667 2673 2676 18
44 50 Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 1982 2666 2674 2674 2679 2676 2666 2660 2675 23
45 33 Volokitin, Andrei UKR 1986 2660 2662 2645 2645 2654 2681 2678 2674 12
46 61 Nakamura, Hikaru USA 1987 2664 2632 2640 2651 2658 2647 2648 2670 22
47 27 Almasi, Zoltan HUN 1976 2657 2672 2664 2669 2675 2682 2691 2667 29
48 75 Wang, Hao CHN 1989 2605 2610 2622 2619 2638 2624 2643 2665 62
49 47 Gashimov, Vugar AZE 1986 2659 2644 2643 2658 2644 2655 2663 2665 21
50 51 Nikolic, Predrag BIH 1960 2596 2626 2626 2626 2631 2646 2657 2665 21
51 86 Timofeev, Artyom RUS 1985 2646 2657 2662 2663 2658 2650 2637 2664 23
52 36 Onischuk, Alexander USA 1975 2650 2668 2668 2663 2663 2650 2674 2664 12
53 45 Harikrishna, P IND 1986 2680 2682 2674 2673 2650 2664 2668 2664 8
54 52 Bologan, Viktor MDA 1971 2666 2645 2659 2658 2636 2650 2657 2663 7
55 60 Georgiev, Kiril BUL 1965 2677 2685 2680 2661 2660 2663 2649 2662 28
56 73 Roiz, Michael ISR 1983 2590 2611 2611 2605 2605 2630 2644 2659 26
57 48 Tkachiev, Vladislav FRA 1973 2643 2645 2645 2649 2652 2655 2661 2657 18
58 53 Lautier, Joel FRA 1973 2682 2675 2667 2656 2661 2654 2657 2657 0
59 56 Fressinet, Laurent FRA 1981 2633 2626 2628 2646 2644 2646 2654 2656 19
60 43 Karpov, Anatoly RUS 1951 2672 2668 2668 2668 2668 2668 2670 2655 10
61 68 Fedorchuk, Sergey A UKR 1981 2576 2592 2599 2601 2603 2618 2645 2652 27
62 -- Ivanisevic, Ivan SRB 1977 2598 2598 2579 2602 2614 2595 2607 2649 32
63 74 Tiviakov, Sergei NED 1973 2669 2668 2680 2667 2663 2648 2643 2649 30
64 85 Amonatov, Farrukh TJK 1978 2569 2542 2567 2559 2574 2598 2637 2649 13
65 80 Baklan, Vladimir UKR 1978 2606 2621 2622 2618 2618 2648 2639 2647 24
66 58 Miroshnichenko, Evgenij UKR 1978 2597 2616 2626 2632 2646 2671 2651 2647 22
67 92 Sakaev, Konstantin RUS 1974 2637 2642 2641 2641 2633 2634 2634 2646 32
68 64 Tomashevsky, Evgeny RUS 1987 2595 2594 2595 2624 2641 2654 2646 2646 31
69 66 Afromeev, Vladimir RUS 1954 2612 2620 2635 2628 2628 2642 2646 2646 0
70 -- Korneev, Oleg RUS 1969 2671 2638 2657 2606 2565 2565 2587 2645 80
71 84 Areshchenko, Alexander UKR 1986 2660 2641 2640 2644 2647 2645 2638 2645 23
72 59 Short, Nigel D ENG 1965 2677 2676 2677 2691 2691 2683 2649 2645 15
73 70 Motylev, Alexander RUS 1979 2660 2662 2662 2647 2642 2648 2645 2644 24
74 72 Jobava, Baadur GEO 1983 2646 2651 2650 2650 2658 2644 2644 2643 20
75 65 Moiseenko, Alexander UKR 1980 2662 2649 2632 2627 2630 2641 2646 2643 19
76 55 Sutovsky, Emil ISR 1977 2628 2607 2607 2629 2637 2656 2655 2642 17
77 69 Predojevic, Borki BIH 1987 2566 2568 2590 2587 2609 2628 2645 2641 27
78 32 Landa, Konstantin RUS 1972 2600 2584 2570 2596 2608 2669 2678 2641 17
79 71 Zhang, Pengxiang CHN 1980 2623 2622 2636 2643 2657 2649 2644 2640 42
80 83 Naiditsch, Arkadij GER 1985 2664 2665 2676 2663 2654 2644 2639 2638 30
81 67 Beliavsky, Alexander G SLO 1953 2622 2625 2639 2639 2648 2653 2646 2638 27
82 -- Efimenko, Zahar UKR 1985 2662 2632 2612 2616 2620 2624 2624 2638 25
83 76 Khalifman, Alexander RUS 1966 2640 2622 2622 2619 2624 2632 2643 2638 12
84 77 Izoria, Zviad GEO 1984 2647 2660 2657 2644 2641 2645 2643 2637 10
85 91 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime FRA 1990 2576 2577 2575 2573 2593 2595 2634 2637 8
86 44 Krasenkow, Michal POL 1963 2650 2635 2647 2651 2661 2660 2668 2636 27
87 -- Tregubov, Pavel V. RUS 1971 2563 2594 2596 2613 2615 2599 2609 2636 18
88 63 Socko, Bartosz POL 1978 2606 2621 2630 2629 2641 2660 2646 2635 21
89 97 Mchedlishvili, Mikheil GEO 1979 2567 2561 2583 2583 2609 2624 2631 2635 9
90 89 Najer, Evgeniy RUS 1977 2653 2677 2648 2605 2624 2623 2635 2634 15
91 -- Dreev, Alexey RUS 1969 2673 2666 2655 2658 2633 2606 2607 2633 28
92 -- Mikhalevski, Victor ISR 1972 2566 2571 2580 2590 2590 2598 2584 2632 27
93 -- Delchev, Aleksander BUL 1971 2640 2637 2628 2598 2600 2591 2613 2630 24
94 -- Pantsulaia, Levan GEO 1986 2609 2584 2596 2612 2616 2611 2617 2629 16
95 -- Kotronias, Vasilios GRE 1964 2598 2611 2587 2572 2570 2612 2614 2628 31
96 79 Avrukh, Boris ISR 1978 2633 2641 2644 2644 2644 2645 2641 2628 18
97 -- Riazantsev, Alexander RUS 1985 2593 2622 2632 2629 2621 2615 2623 2628 8
98 -- Seirawan, Yasser USA 1960 2635 2638 2638 2638 2642 2634 2634 2628 3
99 -- Postny, Evgeny ISR 1981 2572 2591 2609 2616 2622 2598 2599 2627 28
100 -- Fridman, Daniel GER 1976 2562 2569 2604 2626 2635 2628 2621 2627 11
101 101 Vladimirov, Evgeny KAZ 1957 2616 2616 2616 2616 2627 2627 2627 2627 0
Dropping out of the top 100 in January 2008
No Oc Name NAT YroB ap06 ju06 oc06 ja07 ap07 ju07 oc07 ja08 Gms
  62 Volkov, Sergey RUS 1974 2620 2628 2628 2636 2640 2659 2648 2623 24
  81 Stellwagen, Daniel NED 1987 2543 2575 2576 2585 2600 2631 2639 2625 33
  82 Smirin, Ilia ISR 1968 2662 2659 2659 2654 2650 2649 2639 2616 14
  87 Smirnov, Pavel RUS 1982 2614 2613 2623 2621 2631 2636 2636 2599 29
  88 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw POL 1987 2597 2622 2630 2637 2620 2637 2635 2614 31
  90 Bauer, Christian FRA 1977 2638 2599 2589 2609 2629 2626 2634 2614 16
  93 Zhang, Zhong CHN 1978 2640 2639 2609 2618 2621 2634 2634 2617 20
  94 Lputian, Smbat G ARM 1958 2619 2634 2634 2634 2634 2633 2633 2616 10
  95 Ye, Jiangchuan CHN 1960 2641 2641 2641 2641 2632 2632 2632 2612 9
  96 Istratescu, Andrei ROM 1975 2621 2612 2616 2619 2625 2629 2631 2617 19
  98 Kobalia, Mikhail RUS 1978 2654 2647 2643 2639 2639 2634 2631 2623 22
  99 Miton, Kamil POL 1984 2646 2638 2638 2655 2653 2648 2628 2609 25
  100 Gurevich, Mikhail TUR 1959 2643 2643 2648 2635 2635 2633 2627 2607 36

4) XVII Pampona International

The XVII Pampona International took place 21st-29th December 2007. Francisco Vallejo Pons won the main Magistral all-play-all with 4.5/7. Ivan Salgado Lopez, Pablo San Segundo Carrillo and Julio Granda Zuniga were all tie on 7.5/9 with the former taking first place on tie-break.

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

Magistral Pamplona (ESP), 22-29 xii 2007 cat. XVII (2652)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2660 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 4½ 2752
2. Wang Yue g CHN 2703 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 4 2694
3. Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2644 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 4 2703
4. Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2646 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 0 3½ 2652
5. Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2670 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 3½ 2649
6. Rodshtein, Maxim m ISR 2615 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 3 2607
7. Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2673 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * 1 3 2598
8. Khamrakulov, Ibragim S g ESP 2604 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 0 * 2½ 2556


Open Pamplona (ESP), 22-29 xii 2007 cat. XVII (2652) Final Round 9 Standings
Pos Name Tít Rtg FED Pts ratP vict BH.
1 SALGADO LOPEZ, Ivan IM 2460 ESP 7½ 2607 6 52
2 SAN SEGUNDO CARRILLO, Pablo GM 2536 ESP 7½ 2565 6 49½
3 GRANDA ZUÑIGA, Julio E. GM 2592 PER 7½ 2554 7 49
4 LI, Chao B GM 2553 CHN 7 2501 7 48½
5 HUERGA LEACHE, Mikel FM 2440 ESP 7 2438 5 45½
6 MORETO QUINTANA, Alex 2121 ESP 6½ 2635 5 46½
7 POGORELOV, Ruslan GM 2411 UKR 6½ 2487 5 51
8 MARTINEZ MARTIN, David IM 2400 ESP 6½ 2457 5 51½
9 RUBIO MEJIA, Luis Ignacio FM 2327 ESP 6½ 2448 5 48
10 KRIVOSHEY, Sergei GM 2484 UKR 6½ 2400 5 47
11 ROS OCTAVIO DE TOLEDO, Eduardo 2166 ESP 6½ 2301 6 43½
12 PAULET, Iozefina WIM 2276 ROU 6½ 2211 6 42
13 STRIKOVIC, Aleksa GM 2551 SRB 6½ 2193 6 43
14 LAFUENTE, Pablo IM 2489 ARG 6 2378 6 46½
15 ESTREMERA PAÑOS, Sergio IM 2400 ESP 6 2365 5 49½
16 LLANEZA VEGA, Marcos IM 2426 ESP 6 2347 5 45½
17 MELLADO TRIVIÑO, Juan IM 2410 ESP 6 2290 4 47½
18 SANCHEZ ROMERO, Miguel Angel 2252 ESP 6 2273 4 43
19 SANDE EDREIRA, Jose Antonio FM 2342 ESP 6 2243 6 41½
20 CALZETTA RUIZ, Monica WGM 2287 ESP 6 2233 5 42
21 PUERTO TRAVER, Juan Manuel 2130 ESP 6 2205 5 41½
22 GARCIA PAOLICCHI, Raul FM 2237 AND 6 2151 3 39½
23 LAKUNZA OYARBIDE, Juan Carlos 2128 ESP 6 2137 5 40
24 LOPEZ OROIS, Jose Manuel 2103 ESP 6 2122 5 40
25 IGNACZ, Rozsa 2079 HUN 5½ 2312 5 45½
26 RECUERO GUERRA, David FM 2407 ESP 5½ 2295 4 45
27 RIVERO OJEDA, Jesus Carmelo FM 2326 ESP 5½ 2284 4 46½
28 DELGADO CRESPO, Mairelys WGM 2285 ESP 5½ 2245 5 43½
29 MINDEGUIA GURUCEAGA, Juan Jesus 2224 ESP 5½ 2233 4 44
30 MONTOYA IRIGOYEN, Iñigo 2072 ESP 5½ 2181 5 41
31 AGUINAGA RUIZ, Jesus Luis 2063 ESP 5½ 2169 5 43
32 DE PABLOS FERNANDEZ, Mariano 2020 ESP 5½ 2157 5 41½
33 ANGUAS FANLO, Sergio 2048 ESP 5½ 2144 4 42½
34 PADURARIU, Ioana-Smaranda WIM 2220 ROU 5½ 2137 5 40½
35 BLAZQUEZ GOMEZ, Miguel 2099 ESP 5½ 2132 4 40
36 NAVARRO CIA, Miguel FM 2359 ESP 5½ 2114 5 45
37 SOLA PLAZA, Gregorio 2030 ESP 5½ 1920 5 34½
131 players

5) 83rd Hastings International Congress

The Celebration 83rd Hastings International Congress takes place 28 December 2007 to 6 January 2008. Mark Hebden leads on 3.5/4.

Full details http://www.hastingschess.org.uk/ Contact: Con Power conpowr@aol.com

83rd Hastings International Congress 28 xii 2007 - 6 i 2008.
Leading Round 4 (of 10) Standings
1 Hebden, Mark L g ENG 2542 3.5 2749
2 Tahirov, Farhad g AZE 2540 3.0 2607
3 Conquest, Stuart C g ENG 2540 3.0 2601
4 Chatalbashev, Boris g BUL 2581 3.0 2566
5 Pert, Nicholas g ENG 2539 3.0 2534
6 Gormally, Daniel W g ENG 2484 3.0 2607
7 Bates, Richard A m ENG 2378 3.0 2517
8 Georgiev, Vladimir g MKD 2576 3.0 2559
9 Sengupta, Deep m IND 2447 3.0 2658
10 Lalic, Bogdan g CRO 2500 3.0 2450
11 Haslinger, Stewart G m ENG 2502 3.0 2600
12 Flear, Glenn C g ENG 2493 3.0 2483
13 Bindrich, Falko g GER 2512 3.0 2608
14 Neverov, Valeriy g UKR 2558 3.0 2432
15 Mamedov, Nidjat g AZE 2575 3.0 2489
16 Pavlovic, Milos g SRB 2536 3.0 2464
17 Houska, Jovanka m ENG 2404 3.0 2441
18 Malakhatko, Vadim g BEL 2603 3.0 2375
19 Radovanovic, Jovica f SRB 2355 3.0 2300
20 Marusenko, Petr m UKR 2304 3.0 2440
21 Jones, Gawain C B g ENG 2567 3.0 2496
22 Abu Sufian, Shakil f BAN 2361 3.0 2427
23 Collins, Sam E IRL m IRL 2401 2.5 2444
24 Bogner, Sebastian m GER 2383 2.5 2524
25 Williams, Simon K m ENG 2475 2.5 2510
26 Satyapragyan, Swayangsu m IND 2404 2.5 2472
27 Goodger, Martyn ENG 2067 2.5 2328
28 Prosviriakov, Vladimir m USA 2319 2.5 2277
29 Greet, Andrew N m ENG 2441 2.5 2488
30 Roy Chowdhury, Saptarshi m IND 2418 2.5 2483
31 Formanek, Edward W m USA 2276 2.5 2244
32 Rendle, Thomas E m ENG 2397 2.5 2331
33 Dinger, Florian f GER 2378 2.5 2395
34 Afek, Yochanan m ISR 2349 2.5 2224
35 Zozulia, Anna m BEL 2347 2.5 2286
36 Sugden, John N ENG 2116 2.5 2365
37 Zhou, Yang-Fan ENG 2068 2.5 2331
38 Jackson, Oliver A ENG 2219 2.5 2173
39 Ledger, Dave J f ENG 2266 2.5 2355
40 Snape, Ian L ENG 2229 2.5 2075
103 players

6) 50th Reggio Emilia

The 50th "Torneo di Capodanno" in Reggio Emilia takes place December 29th 2007 - January 6th 2008.

Official site: http://www.ippogrifoscacchi.it

50th "Torneo di Capodanno" Reggio Emilia
December 29th 2007 - January 6th 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2691 * . . ½ . 1 . ½ . . 2 2765
2. Landa, Konstantin g RUS 2678 . * . ½ . . 1 ½ . . 2 2726
3. Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2664 . . * . ½ . . . ½ 1 2 2735
4. Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2611 ½ ½ . * . . . . ½ . 1½ 2634
5. Ni Hua g CHN 2641 . . ½ . * ½ . . . ½ 1½ 2662
6. Harikrishna, P g IND 2668 0 . . . ½ * . . 1 . 1½ 2622
7. Marin, Mihail g ROU 2551 . 0 . . . . * 1 . ½ 1½ 2659
8. Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2643 ½ ½ . . . . 0 * . . 1 2515
9. Godena, Michele g ITA 2535 . . ½ ½ . 0 . . * . 1 2522
10. Navara, David g CZE 2656 . . 0 . ½ . ½ . . * 1 2493

7) Groningen Chess Festival

The Groningen Chess Festival included the Harmonie Open A which took place 21st-30th December 2007. Stelios Halkias took first place from four other players on tie break after all finishedon 6.5/9. Games from the final two rounds not yet available.

Official site: http://www.so-on.org/kerst2007/2007eng.html

Harmonie Open A Groningen (NED), 21-30 xii 2007 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank Name Ti Fed. Rating Score BH SB TPR W-We
1 Halkias, Stelios GM GRE 2589 6.5 46.0 31.0 2559 -0.17
2 Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios GM GRE 2559 6.5 48.5 33.5 2654 +1.17
3 Ernst, Sipke GM NED 2539 6.5 48.0 33.75 2642 +1.30
4 Adly, Ahmed GM EGY 2494 6.5 45.0 30.25 2578 +1.05
5 Lobzhanidze, Davit IM GEO 2489 6.5 43.0 30.5 2490 +0.26
6 Banikas, Hristos GM GRE 2591 6.0 47.5 30.0 2598 +0.14
7 Li, Shilong GM CHN 2509 6.0 50.0 31.25 2600 +1.14
8 Hoffmann, Michael IM GER 2471 6.0 46.5 29.5 2532 +0.80
9 Nijboer, Friso GM NED 2559 5.5 52.0 31.0 2527 -0.30
10 Rotstein, Arkadij GM GER 2534 5.5 43.0 23.75 2475 -0.48
11 Swinkels, Robin IM NED 2433 5.5 46.5 27.0 2454 +0.41
12 Pruijssers, Roeland IM NED 2408 5.5 44.5 25.5 2425 +0.28
13 Burg, Twan FM NED 2275 5.5 39.0 20.5 2433 +1.84
14 Reinderman, Dimitri GM NED 2510 5.0 42.5 21.75 2367 -1.53
15 Simutowe, Amon IM ZAM 2446 5.0 43.5 23.5 2407 -0.40
16 Spoelman, Wouter IM NED 2445 5.0 43.5 21.5 2438 -0.03
17 Hendriks, Willy IM NED 2402 5.0 46.0 23.0 2410 +0.12
18 Van Oosterom, Chiel IM NED 2401 5.0 42.0 21.0 2332 -0.80
19 De Jong, Migchiel FM NED 2341 5.0 40.5 19.25 2396 +0.64
20 Clemens, Adrian FM NED 2316 5.0 38.5 19.25 2254 -0.69
21 Hovenga, Alje   NED 2186 5.0 39.5 19.5 2397 +2.39
22 Van Den Berg, Harmen   NED 2167 5.0 45.5 24.75 2438 +3.01
23 Otte, Marijn   NED 2155 5.0 43.0 22.75 2422 +3.00
24 Skatchkov, Pavel GM RUS 2509 4.5 39.0 19.0 2260 -2.60
25 Van Ketel, Raoul FM NED 2336 4.5 36.5 16.0 2195 -1.62
26 Michielsen, Joost   NED 2309 4.5 46.0 20.25 2347 +0.47
27 Kuipers, Stefan   NED 2283 4.5 37.0 16.25 2260 -0.33
28 Pijpers, Arthur   NED 2000 4.5 34.0 16.25 2242 +2.60
29 Brandenburg, Daan IM NED 2483 4.0 44.0 15.0 2276 -2.21
30 Hoeksema, Hendrik Pieter IM NED 2373 4.0 42.5 16.75 2212 -1.80
31 Geurink, Jasper   NED 2339 4.0 39.0 11.0 2229 -1.27
32 Pel, Bonno FM NED 2280 4.0 40.5 13.5 2277 -0.08
33 Van Kampen, Robin   NED 2252 4.0 38.5 16.5 2242 -0.10
34 Vinke, Andreas   GER 2173 4.0 41.0 15.75 2329 +1.66
35 Cooke, Eric   USA 2253 3.5 35.0 8.75 2053 -2.13
36 Ringoir, Tanguy   BEL 2236 3.5 45.0 19.5 2352 +1.09
37 Heemskerk, Wim FM NED 2230 3.5 42.0 14.75 2278 +0.38
38 Balje, Jan   NED 2222 3.5 37.0 12.75 2130 -1.14
39 Kuling, Lody   NED 2213 3.5 30.0 8.5 2184 -0.44
40 Cako, Laszlo   NED 2168 3.5 32.0 11.0 2156 -0.18
41 Hoffman, Ron   NED 2158 3.5 35.0 11.0 2163 +0.00
42 Jellema, Yme Jan   NED 2119 3.5 35.0 12.0 2191 +0.79
43 Pham, Toan Thanh   NOR 2100 3.5 33.0 10.25 2173 +0.75
44 Kamali, Mehran   NED 1988 3.5 32.5 8.25 2072 +0.67
45 Kodentsov, Grisja FM NED 2307 2.5 31.5 8.75 2093 -2.33
46 Goudriaan, Etienne   NED 2123 2.5 33.5 7.0 2077 -0.68
47 Vogel, Jaap FM NED 2218 2.0 38.0 14.0 2185 -0.29
48 Kleijn, Christov   NED 2210 2.0 38.5 9.25 2043 -1.94
49 Wielenga, Wiebe   NED 2118 2.0 29.5 5.5 1977 -1.55
50 Hartoch, Robert G. IM NED 2232 1.5 35.5 12.25 2110 -0.87

8) 3rd Bosnian Championship

3rd Bosnian Championship took place in Sarajevo 18th-26th December 2007. Predrag Nikolic won the event with 7/9.

Official site: http://www.bihchess.com/sarajevo07/index.htm

3rd ch-BIH Sarajevo (BIH), 18-26 xii 2007 cat. X (2498)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2657 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 7 2700
2. Predojevic, Borki g BIH 2645 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 6½ 2647
3. Saric, Ibro g BIH 2541 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 6 2617
4. Jakovljevic, Vlado m BIH 2461 0 ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 5 2544
5. Bogut, Zeljko m BIH 2458 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 4½ 2502
6. Runic, Zoran m BIH 2417 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 1 ½ 1 ½ 4½ 2506
7. Stojanovic, Dalibor m BIH 2510 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ 0 ½ 3 2371
8. Vukic, Milan g BIH 2474 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 3 2375
9. Nurkic, Sahbaz m BIH 2415 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 * ½ 3 2381
10. Dumpor, Atif m BIH 2399 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 2½ 2342

9) VI Memorial Pereyra Puebla

VI Abierto Internacional de Ajedrez En Mendoza (VI Memorial Pereyra Puebla 2007) took place 14th-22nd December 2007. Andres Carlos Obregon and Pablo Ricardi finished on 7.5/9. My thanks to J Fernandez for the games.

Official site: http://www.ajedrez.ucongreso.edu.ar/presentacion.php

VI Memorial Pereyra Mendoza (ARG), 14-22 xii 2007
1 Obregon, Andres Carlos ARG 2355 7.5 39.5 52.0 46.00
2 Ricardi, Pablo gm ARG 2519 7.5 39.0 50.0 44.25
3 Soppe, Guillermo im ARG 2421 7 36.5 48.5 40.75
4 Rosito, Jorge im ARG 2414 7 36.5 48.5 38.50
5 Rodriguez Vila, Andres gm URU 2541 7 35.0 45.0 38.25
6 Salguero, Francisco ARG 2310 6.5 37.0 50.0 37.50
7 Alonso, Salvador im ARG 2403 6.5 36.5 50.0 34.75
8 Cejas, Jose fm ARG 2322 6.5 35.5 49.0 27.25
9 Luconi, Cristian ARG 2297 6.5 35.0 46.0 33.75
10 Kanefsck, Gustavo im ARG 2387 6.5 34.5 47.0 34.25
11 Pereyra, Juan ARG 2222 6.5 34.0 46.5 28.00
12 Mac Donal, Oscar ARG 2023 6.5 33.5 44.5 31.00
13 Charaf, Leonardo ARG 2043 6.5 32.5 43.0 33.00
14 Mavrich, Demian ARG 2214 6.5 32.0 41.5 30.50
15 Dibenedetto, Guillermo fm ARG 2312 6 34.5 50.0 34.75
16 Barria Yaitul, Armin CHI 2074 6 34.0 48.0 31.50
17 Virgillito, Cristian ARG 2215 6 33.0 48.5 30.25
18 Liascovich, Lucas im ARG 2430 6 33.0 48.0 32.00
19 Ferragud, Leandro ARG 2157 6 31.5 41.0 26.00
20 Duarte, Leonardo im ARG 2352 6 31.0 43.5 30.50
21 Daneri, Martin ARG 2210 6 31.0 43.0 26.50
22 Truviano, Sebastian ARG ---- 6 31.0 42.5 26.50
23 Valenzuela, Joao ARG ---- 6 30.5 45.0 29.25
24 Sandrone, Mauricio ARG ---- 6 30.5 44.0 27.75
25 Abraham, Miguel ARG ---- 6 30.0 42.5 29.75
26 Fernandez, Esteban ARG ---- 6 29.5 43.5 24.75
27 Herrera, Kevin ARG ---- 6 29.0 42.0 27.00
28 Pirola, Marcos ARG ---- 6 29.0 39.5 28.00
29 Elhom, Matias ARG ---- 6 25.0 39.5 26.00
136 players

10) II Obert Internacional d'Escacs

II Obert Internacional d'Escacs Illes Medes takes place 28th December 2007 - 4th January 2008. The games section barely seems to be working. 5 rounds have been played so far.

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

II Obert Internacional d'Escacs Illes Medes L'Estartit ESP, 28 xii 2007 - 4 i 2008
Rk. Name   FED Rtg Pts. TB1
1 Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel GM ESP 2563 4,5 17,5
2 Moskalenko Viktor GM UKR 2575 4,5 14,5
3 Cruz Cristhian FM PER 2464 4,5 14,0
4 Fluvia Jordi IM ESP 2508 4,0 16,0
5 Alsina Leal Daniel FM ESP 2435 4,0 15,5
6 Groetz Harald IM AUT 2321 4,0 15,5
7 Bartel Mateusz GM POL 2608 4,0 15,0
8 Gerber Richard IM SUI 2386 4,0 14,5
9 Almagro Llamas Pablo FM ESP 2429 4,0 14,5
10 Buhmann Rainer GM GER 2567 4,0 13,5
11 Narciso Dublan Marc GM ESP 2546 4,0 13,0
12 Czakon Jakub IM POL 2510 4,0 12,5
13 Rasmussen Allan Stig FM DEN 2485 3,5 17,5
  Edouard Romain IM FRA 2472 3,5 17,5
15 Aroshidze Levan GM GEO 2523 3,5 16,5
16 Rombaldoni Denis FM ITA 2402 3,5 14,0
17 Perez Mitjans Orelvis FM CUB 2421 3,5 14,0
18 Demuth Adrien   FRA 2256 3,5 11,0
19 Hartikainen Markku FM FIN 2310 3,5 10,5
98 players

11) Carlos San José Memorial

The I Festival de Ajedrez Memorial Carlos San José took place 22nd-30th December 2007. Judit Polgar was guest of honour and gave a simultaneous display. Azer Mirzoev led with 7/8 with one round to go.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezstadiumcasablanca.es/resultados.htm

I Festival de Ajedrez Memorial Carlos San José 22-30 xii 2007.
Round 8 of 9 Standings
Rank Name Club Pts BH. BH.
1 Mirzoev Azer Azerbaijan 7 34 42
2 Adla Diego Stadium Casablanca 6½ 33 40
3 Vassily Yemelin Rusia 6½ 32 40
4 Ubilava Elizbar España 6 36½ 45
5 Garza Marco Sergio Jaime Casas 6 35½ 44
6 Meijers Viesturs Letonia 6 34 42
7 Ramiro Ovejero Juan Luis Caissa-Exalumnos Ee.pp. 6 33½ 41
8 Barsov Alexei Uzbequistan 6 31½ 39
9 Gomez Anadon Daniel Stadium Casablanca 6 31 37
10 Astasio Lopez David Euskadi 6 30 37½
11 Avila Jimenez Javier Cataluña 6 29½ 37
12 Chueca Forcen Alberto Cai Olivar 5½ 30 36½
13 Lana Rodriguez David Caissa-Exalumnos Ee.pp. 5½ 29 35½
14 Villuendas Valero Adrian Stadium Casablanca 5 32½ 41½
15 Martin Alvarez Inigo Euskadi 5 32 40
16 Bayod Rubia Angel Cai Olivar 5 32 39
17 Navarro Alonso Jorge Luis Stadium Casablanca 5 31½ 39½
18 Argueso Pascual Jorge El Soto 5 30½ 37½
19 Leon Fernandez Mario Stadium Casablanca 5 30½ 37½
20 Artal Alegria Francisco Javier Las Fuentes 5 29½ 33
21 Gimenez Martinez Alberto Stadium Casablanca 5 29 33½
22 Royo Onde Manuel Ramiro 5 27½ 34
23 Lorente Ibañez Luis Alfaro 5 27½ 34
24 Labena Bernal Antonio Stadium Casablanca 5 26½ 32
25 Roche Simon Miguel A. Delicias 5 26 33
26 Lopez Guaita Fernando Cai Olivar 5 25½ 32½
27 Pes Mateo Angel Stadium Casablanca 5 20½ 24½
103 players

12) XXXVII Rilton Cup

XXXVII Rilton Cup takes place 27th December 2007 – 5th January 2008 in Mälarsalen, Stockholm, Sweden.Time rate: 40 moves in two hours, 20 moves in one hour and 30 minutes for the rest of the game. Radoslaw Wojtaszek leads with 4.5/5.

Further details: http://www.stockholmschack.nu

37th Rilton Cup Stockholm (SWE), 27 xii 2007 - 5 i 2008
Round 5 of 9 Standings
Rk. Name   FED Rtg Pts. TB1
1 Wojtaszek Radoslaw GM POL 2635 4,5 14,0
2 Nybäck Tomi GM FIN 2565 4,0 13,5
  Cramling Pia GM SWE 2531 4,0 13,5
4 Cicak Slavko GM SWE 2569 4,0 13,0
5 Kotronias Vasilios GM GRE 2614 4,0 12,5
6 Agrest Evgenij GM SWE 2541 4,0 12,5
7 Berg Emanuel GM SWE 2593 4,0 12,0
  Berczes David IM HUN 2430 4,0 12,0
9 Ivanov Sergey GM RUS 2537 4,0 11,0
10 Grandelius Nils FM SWE 2377 4,0 10,5
11 Åkesson Ralf GM SWE 2468 3,5 13,0
12 Szabo Krisztian IM HUN 2492 3,5 11,0
13 Bellon Juan GM ESP 2434 3,5 10,5
14 Hansen Lars-Bo GM DEN 2572 3,5 10,5
  Farago Ivan GM HUN 2505 3,5 10,5
16 Meskovs Nikita   SWE 2085 3,5 9,5
17 Jiretorn Eva   SWE 2121 3,5 9,0
18 Kulaots Kaido GM EST 2547 3,5 8,0
19 Carlsson Pontus GM SWE 2481 3,0 11,5
20 Hillarp Persson Tiger GM SWE 2567 3,0 11,0
21 Fontaine Robert GM FRA 2562 3,0 11,0
  Ernst Thomas GM SWE 2450 3,0 11,0
23 Lindberg Bengt IM SWE 2439 3,0 11,0
24 Smith Axel   SWE 2384 3,0 10,5
25 Blomqvist Erik   SWE 2334 3,0 10,0
26 Bejtovic Jasmin FM BIH 2307 3,0 9,5
27 Berczes Csaba IM HUN 2419 3,0 9,0
28 Nyysti Sampsa IM SWE 2364 3,0 9,0
29 Dimitrijevic Radmilo   SRB 2070 3,0 9,0
30 Sevkan Akdag Dara   DEN 2042 3,0 8,0
31 Holving Rasmus   SWE 2210 3,0 8,0
32 Livner Anders   SWE 2281 3,0 7,5
33 Karlsson Lars GM SWE 2485 3,0 7,0
34 Ask Josef   SWE 2235 3,0 6,5
84 players

13) 16th Donau Open

The 16th Donau Open took place 26th-31st December 2007. Stanislav Cifka won with 6/7. Some games are available in a viewer but not for download currently.

Further details: http://www.aschach.at/schach/

16th Donau Open 26-31 xii 2007.
Final Round 9 Standings
Rg. Name Tit Elo Nat Pts RF Rp
1 Cifka Stanislav FM 2406 CZE 6 21,5 2498
2 Neuman Petr IM 2415 CZE 5½ 21,5 2467
3 Horvath Jozsef GM 2543 HUN 5½ 21,0 2472
4 Bellia Fabrizio IM 2392 ITA 5½ 21,0 2445
5 Jurek Josef IM 2351 CZE 5 22,5 2409
6 Havlik Jan 2282 CZE 5 22,0 2373
7 Manole Vasile 2380 ROM 5 19,0 2348
8 Winiwarter Felix Dr. OE 2193 AUT 5 17,5 2304
9 Danilov Vladimir IM 2414 ROM 4½ 22,5 2361
10 Testor Sebastian MK 2188 AUT 4½ 21,0 2431
11 Szuhanek Ranko IM 2485 ROM 4½ 21,0 2347
12 Bernal Moro Luis Javier IM 2443 ESP 4½ 20,5 2318
13 Ungureanu Vlad 2319 ROM 4½ 19,5 2318
14 Wagner Stefan 2126 AUT 4½ 17,0 2244
15 Sadilek Peter 2110 AUT 4½ 17,0 2226
16 Glantz Robert 2071 GER 4½ 16,5 2341
17 Zojer Thomas MK 2157 AUT 4½ 16,5 2240
18 Rapport Richard 2197 HUN 4 19,5 2358
19 Hofbauer Peter 2091 AUT 4 19,0 2317
20 Poley Vladimir IM 2321 BLR 4 18,5 2216
21 Lau Ralf GM 2468 GER 4 17,5 2192
22 Sandhoefner Florian FM 2253 AUT 4 17,5 2138
23 Lautner Josef Mag. 2245 AUT 4 17,0 2165
24 Dumancic Pero 2175 CRO 4 16,0 2196
25 Knechtel Roland FM 2288 GER 4 14,5 2122
26 Huber Guenther 2046 AUT 4 13,0 2133
66 players

14) 28th Bethune Open

The 28th International Open, Hall Olof Palme, Commercial centre La Rotonde, Bethune, France (Pas-de-Calais) took place December 26th-30th 2007. Sergey Fedorchuk won the main event ahead of Vladimir Burmakin and Jean Marc Degraeve. I couldn't find tables or games yet.

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

15) Czech Chess Christmas

The Czech Chess Christmas 2007 tournament takes place in Litomysl (CZE) 26th December 2007 - 1st January 2008.

Official site: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2007/

Czech Chess Christmas Litomysl (CZE) 26 x 2007 - 1 i 2008.
Standings Round 7 (of 9)
Rk. Name   FED Pts. Rp
1 Cernousek Lukas IM CZE 6,5 2660
2 Kanovsky David IM CZE 6,0 2567
3 Swicarz Maciej   POL 5,5 2468
4 Petr Martin IM CZE 5,5 2465
5 Krejci Jan FM CZE 5,5 2391
6 Zawadzka Jolanta WGM POL 5,5 2441
7 Manik Mikulas GM SVK 5,5 2424
8 Stachowiak Kamil   POL 5,5 2370
9 Jasik Krzysztof   POL 5,0 2431
10 Kubecka David   CZE 5,0 2407
11 Cerveny Petr   CZE 5,0 2391
12 Spirin Oleg FM RUS 5,0 2391
13 Cerveny Martin FM CZE 5,0 2307
14 Mueller Oliver FM GER 5,0 2395
15 Skliba Martin   CZE 5,0 2353
16 Biolek Richard Jr   CZE 5,0 2309
17 Zeberski Jakub IM POL 5,0 2250
18 Mudrak Josef FM CZE 5,0 2328
19 Novotny Michal   CZE 5,0 2348
20 Jirasek Pavel   CZE 5,0 2322
132 players

16) North American Open

The North American Open took place 26th-29th December 2007 in the Bally's Casino Resort, Las Vegas. Time Controls: 40/2, SD/1 - 7 Rounds. Hikaru Nakamura and David Preuss won the event with 6/7.

Official site: http://www.chesstournamentservices.com/nao/ and live coverage: http://www.monroi.com

North American Open Las Vegas (USA), 26-29 xii 2007
1 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2648 6
2 Pruess, David m USA 2417 6
3 Shabalov, Alexander g USA 2626 5½
4 Becerra Rivero, Julio g USA 2568 5½
5 Kretchetov, Alexandre f RUS 2320 5½
6 Akobian, Varuzhan g USA 2585 5
7 Kraai, Jesse g USA 2505 5
8 Shmeliov, Denis UKR 2270 5
9 Garcia, Gildardo g COL 2430 5
10 Mezentsev, Vladimir m RUS 2398 5
11 Ibragimov, Ildar g USA 2598 4½
12 Sevillano, Enrico m USA 2513 4½
13 Kleiman, Jake f USA 2347 4½
14 Mikhailuk, Slava f USA 2446 4½
15 Sharavdorj, Dashzegve g MGL 2448 4½
16 Monokroussos, Dennis USA 2245 4½
17 Medina, Rodelay USA 2159 4½
18 Lucky, David f USA 2299 4½
19 Serpik, Ilia V USA 2263 4½
20 Higgins, Sean K USA 2148 4½
21 Mitkov, Nikola g MKD 2528 4
94 players

17) 17th IPCCC Paderborn

The 17th IPCCC Paderborn computer tournament took place 27th-30th December 2007. Hiarcs edged out Rybka on tie-break after both finished on 5.5/7. News: Jeroen Noomen.

Official site: http://wwwcs.uni-paderborn.de/~IPCCC/

17th IPCCC Paderborn (GER), 27-30 xii 2007
Rank Name Fed Points Bhz.
1 Hiarcs GB 5,5 25,5
2 Rybka USA 5,5 24,5
3 Cluster Toga GER 5 27
4 Jonny GER 4 25,5
5 Shredder GER 4 24,5
6 Spike GER 4 23,5
7 Diep NL 2,5 23
8 Gandalf DEN 2 24
9 Isichess GER 1,5 24
10 ParSOS GER 1 23,5

18) Central Serbian Championships

The 2007 Central Serbian Championships took place in Vrnjacka Banja on 10th-16th December 2007. GM Pikula and GM Drazic qualified for the main 2008 Serbian Men Championship. Games from the final round are now available.

Official site: http://www.sah-centralnasrbija.com/2007/prvcs07/prvcs07.htm and final standings at http://www.sah-centralnasrbija.com/2007/prvcs07/muskarci_prvcs07/tab_prvcs 07m.html.

The women's championship had only 5 players because the WGMs preferred to play in the men's event. The winner was WFM Marija Urosevic with 2nd place for Sandra Djukic.

ch-Central Serbia Vrnjacka Banja SRB (SRB), 10-16 xii 2007
1 5 GM Pikula Dejan 2494 SRB 7 41
2 6 GM Drazic Sinisa 2493 SRB 7 39½
3 8 GM Todorovic Goran M 2470 SRB 6½ 40
4 1 GM Savic Miodrag R 2539 SRB 6½ 39½
5 9 IM Arsovic Zoran 2459 SRB 6 42
6 14 GM Kostic Vladimir G 2402 SRB 6 38½
7 17 WGM Chelushkina Irina 2351 SRB 6 38
8 32 Zivkovic Ivan B 2222 SRB 6 37
9 4 GM Cabrilo Goran 2497 SRB 6 37
10 10 IM Vratonjic Slobo 2453 SRB 6 36
11 7 IM Arsovic Goran 2478 SRB 6 34
12 16 FM Sredojevic Ivan 2357 SRB 6 32½
13 12 GM Tosic Miroslav 2422 SRB 5½ 37½
14 2 GM Lajthajm Borko 2512 SRB 5½ 36½
15 15 IM Maksimovic Branimir 2367 SRB 5½ 33½
16 22 Biljanic Ljubomir 2291 SRB 5½ 32½
17 11 Bozic Milan 2435 SRB 5 41½
18 3 GM Abramovic Bosko 2508 SRB 5 36½
19 18 WGM Benderac Ana 2328 SRB 5 34½
20 13 FM Kojovic Dragan 2413 SRB 5 33½
21 26 Stojanovic Zlatko 2245 SRB 5 33½
22 28 Pantelic Sasa 2237 SRB 5 33
23 21 GM Nikolic Stanimir 2297 SRB 5 33
24 29 Colovic Zoran 2234 SRB 5 30½
25 20 Mrsevic Miroslav 2313 SRB 5 30
26 24 FM Spiric Igor 2278 SRB 5 30
27 23 FM Djosic Slavoljub 2280 SRB 4½ 33½
28 35 Radovanovic Slavko 2200 SRB 4½ 33
29 25 FM Radosavljevic Slobodan D 2256 SRB 4½ 32
30 34 Boskovic Zlatomir 2207 SRB 4½ 31½
31 42 Ilic Slobodan S 2166 SRB 4½ 31½
32 27 FM Milicevic Miodrag 2243 SRB 4½ 30
33 38 Vasic Vladimir 2185 SRB 4½ 29
34 37 Radenkovic Dragan 2188 SRB 4½ 26½
35 49 Karaklajic Milutin 2099 SRB 4 32½
36 31 Savic Dragan 2229 SRB 4 30½
37 48 Manojlovic Selimir 2110 SRB 4 30½
38 43 Dodic Dragan 2162 SRB 4 30
39 44 Antic Dragan 2158 SRB 4 30
40 33 Marcetic Predrag 2219 SRB 4 28
41 47 Pantovic Dragan M 2137 SRB 4 27½
42 36 Pantic Ivica 2192 SRB 4 26
43 19 IM Misailovic Nebojsa 2318 SRB 3½ 30½
44 46 Simic Milan 2140 SRB 3½ 30
45 59 Pavicevic Jovan 0 SRB 3½ 29½
46 39 Tasic Zoran 2178 SRB 3½ 29
47 40 Jokic Miodrag 2174 SRB 3½ 27½
48 51 Simic Vladica 2082 SRB 3½ 27
49 41 Dorontic Zoran 2167 SRB 3½ 23½
50 52 Jovanovic Miroslav V 2052 SRB 3 31
51 45 Draskovic Dragan 2154 SRB 3 30½
52 56 Boskovic Maksimilijan 1850 SRB 3 23½
53 58 Matejic Dragoljub 0 SRB 3 22½
54 54 Filipovic Tomislav 2010 SRB 2½ 27½
55 55 Gagic Miroljub 1930 SRB 2 25
56 57 Lisanin Ivica 0 SRB 1 24
57 50 Lecic Predrag 2089 SRB 1 14
58 53 Grujicic Zoran 2044 SRB ½ 13
59 30 Misojcic Miroslav 2232 SRB ½ 2½

19) Forthcoming Events and Links

Anand - Kramnik World Championship Match

A Press release from UEP Promotions announces that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany October 11th–30th October, 2008. Main sponsor Evonik Industries AG and prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The match will be 12 games followed by playoffs if required. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Website: http://www.uep-worldchess.com/

2nd ACP World Rapid Cup

The PIVDENNY Bank carries out the 2nd ACP World Rapid Cup in Odessa, Ukraine in January 4-7, 2008. The prize fund of the tournament is 136,000$.

16 players are participating. Dmitry Jakovenko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Leko, Teimour Radjabov, Evgeny Najer, Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Alexander Shabalov, Pavel Eljanov, Ernesto Inarkiev, Boris Savchenko, Alexei Shirov, and Boris Gelfand have qualified via the ACP Tour, while Anatoly Karpov, Judit Polgar, and Yuri Drozdovskij received wild cards from the organizers. The standings for the ACP Tour 2006/07 are available at http://chess-players.org/eng/tour/tour_2006/standings.html.

The official site of the event: http://worldcup.pivdenny.com/ru/

Morelia Linares 2008

The field has been announced for the Morelia - Linares tournament, with only Alexei Shirov not playing at Wijk aan Zee the event is a category stronger than that event but with far fewer players and also missing Vladimir Kramnik who will probably be world number 2 when the event takes place. As usual the first half is in Morelia, Mexico and the second half in Linares, Spain.

Official site:http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 15-23 ii + 28 ii - 7 iii 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Alexei Shirov 1972 2739 10
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
Category: 21

10th Hotel Hilton Basle

10. Hotel Hilton Basle chess meeting The Swiss Chess Tour 2008 traditional start in the Hilton Basle. Next year is jubilee 10th edition – Memorial Werner Hafner, 1st and 2nd January 2008, a rapid tournament.. Memorial Werner Hafner (1-2.1.2008.) 9 rounds, one hour, 30 minutes each. Prizes: 1.000/700/600/500/400/300/250/200/150/100 CHF. Special prizes 4 rating groups: 200/150/100 CHF; best Lady, senior (1948); junior (1988-1991), schoolboy (1992). Enter fee: 60 CHF (FM and juniors 30 CHF) GM & IM free. At the door 10 CHF. Jubilee dinner 60 CHF. Time-table: 1st Day/Tuesday, 1st Jania 2008: 1200: registration; 1400-1500: Round 1; 1530-1630: Round 2; 1700-1800: Round 3; 1830-1930: Round 4; 2000-2100: Round 5. 2nd Day/Wednesday, 2nd January 2008: 1330-1430: Round 6; 1500-1600: Round 7; 1630-1730: Round 8; 1800-1900: Round 9. 1930-2000: Prize giving; 2000-2200: Jubilee dinner “10 Years Hilton Chess Festival”. Players so far for Hilton: GM Sokolov (FRA), GM Glek (GER), GM Lazarev (RUS), WGM Sedina (ITA), WGM Safranska (LAT), IM Starostits (LAT), IM Benkovic (SRB), IM Filipovic (CRO), IM Krivonosov (LAT), IM Maier (GER) etc.

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

Francesc Alsina Memorial

The Francesc Alsina Memorial takes place in Parets del Vallès 30th December 2007. 8 round Swiss 20 mins per game.

Official site: http://www.paretana.com/htm/m_alsina.htm

Mindsports

The World Mindsports games takes place in Beijing, China after the Olympics 3rd –18th October 2008.

Details: http://www.worldbridge.org/competitions/Calendar/files/WorldMindSportsGames2007.pdf.

Gibtelecom Chess Festival 2008

The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival will be held from 22nd-31st January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels. In previous years players of the quality of Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams and Nigel Short have played in the Masters section. Usually the Masters field includes at least 30 grandmasters. In 2008 the first prize in the Masters has gone up to £12,000 and the tournament is so strong at the top that it even offers a £2,000 prize for the best score by a player rated under 2600 (we think that might be unique worldwide) as well as the same amount for other rating categories down to sub-2200. There is also big money to be won in the Under 2250 (£1,500 first prize) and Under 1850 (£1,000 first prize) events. Even the relatively light-hearted evening events (which cost nothing to enter) have a combined prize fund of £1,200.

Full details and entry form: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/

6th Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival 22-31 i 2008
Grischuk Alexander RUS GM 2715
Wang Yue CHN GM 2703
Bu Xiang CHN GM 2692
Bologan Viktor MDA GM 2657
Georgiev Kiril BUL GM 2649
Nakamura Hikaru USA GM 2648
Beliavsky Alexander SLO GM 2646
Socko Bartosz POL GM 2646
Pengxiang Zhang CHN GM 2644
Hao Wang CHN GM 2643
Ni Hua CHN GM 2641
Areshchenko Alexander UKR GM 2638
Efimenko Zahar UKR GM 2624
Fridman Daniel GER GM 2621
Pelletier Yannick SUI GM 2609
Petrosian Tigran ARM GM 2604
Mikhalevski Victor ISR GM 2598
Malakhatko Vadim BEL GM 2596
Berg Emanuel SWE GM 2593
Sandipan Chanda IND GM 2593
Agdestein Simen SWE GM 2589
Akobian Varuzhan USA GM 2585
Ganguly SS IND GM 2585
Modiahki Mohamed QAT GM 2572
Jones Gawain ENG GM 2567
Persson Tiger SWE GM 2567
Felgaer Ruben ARG GM 2539
Chen Zhu QAT GM 2531
Cramling Pia SWE GM 2531
Zhao Xue CHN IMe 2530
Sulskis Sarunas LTU GM 2527
Gopal GN IND GMe 2520
Cabrera Alexis COL GM 2499
Speelman Jon ENG GM 2492
Dronavalli Harika IND IM 2480
Socko Monika POL IM 2473
Mohamed Al Sayed QTR IM 2469
Muzychuk Anna SLO WGM 2469
Cmylite Victoria LTU IM 2464
Stefanova Antoaneta BUL GM 2463
Zatonskih Anna USA IM 2458
Paehtz Elisabeth GER IM 2452
Zhukova Natalia UKR WGM 2452
Shen Ying CHN WGM 2450
Greet Andrew ENG IM 2441
Bellon Juan ESP GM 2434
Dzagnidze Nana GEO IM 2416
Van Haastert Edwin NED IM 2414
Butnorius Algimentas LTU GM 2413
Sachdev Tania IND WGM 2413
Houska Jovanka ENG IM 2404
Hammer Jon Ludvig NOR FM 2402
Bellin Robert ENG IM 2400
Nisha Mohota IND WGM 2398
Rendle Thomas ENG IM 2397
Foisor Ovidiu ROU IM 2397
Milliet Sophie FRA IM 2395
Foisor Cristina ROU IM 2388

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008

The field for the 2008 Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee has been announced at http://www.coruschess.com Five of the top 6 in the world are playing including the new World Champion Anand and new World number 2 Ivanchuk. Also Kramnik and Gelfand who finished 2nd in Mexico City. The full field for all tournaments is now available.

The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 will be held from 11-27 January 2008 in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 A-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Vladimir Kramnik 1975 2785 3
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Shakhryar Mamedyarov 1985 2752 7
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Boris Gelfand 1968 2736 11
GM Michael Adams 1971 2729 13
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
GM Judit Polgar 1976 2708 20
GM Pavel Eljanov 1983 2681 30
GM Loek van Wely 1972 2680 32
Average rating: 2741 (based on October figures) Category: 20

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 B-Group 11th-27th January 2008
  Name Country Rating
GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2695
GM Gabriel Sargissian ARM 2673
GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2670
GM Sergey Movsesian SLK 2670
GM Pentala Harikrishna IND 2668
GM Michal Krasenkow POL 2668
GM Nigel Short ENG 2649
GM Daniel Stellwagen NED 2639
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2611
GM Koneru Humpy IND 2606
GM Erwin l'Ami NED 2577
GM Jan Smeets NED 2558
WGM Hou Yifan CHI 2502
IM Wouter Spoelman NED 2445
Average rating: 2617 (based on October figures) Category: 15

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 C-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Name (Country) Birth year Rating
GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko (Ukraine) 1978 2651
GM Fabiano Caruana (Italy) 1992 2594
GM Friso Nijboer (Netherlands) 1965 2559
IM Arik Braun (Germany) 1988 2541
GM Parimarjan Negi (India) 1993 2514
GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands) 1972 2510
GM Efstratios Grivas (Greece) 1966 2509
GM John van der Wiel (Netherlands) 1959 2496
WGM Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) 1985 2486
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) 1982 2481
WGM Irina Krush (USA) 1983 2475
GM Zhaoqin Peng (Netherlands) 1968 2419
IM Mark van der Werf (Netherlands) 1968 2389
Dennis Ruijgrok (Netherlands) 1985 2330
Average rating: 2497 (based on October figures) Category: 10

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 Honorary group 18th-27th January 2008 January 2008
  Name Country Rating
GM Viktor Kortchnoi SUI 2611
GM Jan Timman NED 2559
GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic SRB 2550
GM Lajos Portisch HUN 2530
Average rating: 2563 (based on October figures) Category: 13

Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. The first games were on Friday 19th October as part of the special round 7 - fixtures from this round are played before various weekend programs. Most of Rounds 3 and 4 took place 24th-25th November 2007 but the fixtures at Baden Baden take place on 15th-16th December. Rounds 5 and 6 took place 8th-9th December 2007 but there was also an extensive round 7 program on the Friday. The next games take place 8th-10th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at: http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.php and statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/. Games from Baden Baden at: http://www.rochade.de/live.htm

Stockholm Ladies Open

The Stockholm Ladies Open tournament takes place 20th-25th March 2008. The prize money is over 100 000 Skr

The Invitation are in english, Dutch and Russian http://www.scandinavian-chess.se/

25th Bled Chess Festival

The 25th Chess Festival BLED takes place 23rd February - 2nd March 2008 (the main event finishes 1st March which allows participation in other events around that time).

Details: http://www.sah-zveza.si/bled/2008/

13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf

The 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf (Germany) takes place 3rd-7th February 2008.

http://www.scoberland.de/

XXI Benidorm Open

The XXI Open Internacional de Ajedrez Villa de Benidorm 2008 Benidorm organised an international tournament 1977 till 1995 now it has returned second year. The event takes place 25nd April - 4st May 2008 (10 rounds). 35.000 Euros in prizes. Information: Mr. Alfonso Vilches Tel: +34 695 91 56 78. E-mail: open@chessbenidorm.com

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

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 21st-28th July 2008 in Mainz/Germany.

In addition there is a Chess Classic Calendar for the next year, which will be available in the first week of December. It is a big format (420 x 594 mm) and shows the stars and the biggest moments of the 14 years tournament history. The copies are limited to 200 (39,- Euro plus delivery) plus 64 with an autograph of World Champion Vishy Anand (48,- Euro plus delivery). Contact for order: juergen.wienecke@chesstigers.de

Further details: http://www.chesstigers.de

Icelandic Rapid Championships

The Icelandic Rapid Championships took place 18th-20th October 2007. Bragi and Björn Þorfinnsson will meet in the final in December which be on TV in Iceland.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5661&Itemid=387

Games Festival Halkidiki 2008

Games Festival is a mass event organized for the third year in Halkidiki, Greece 28th April - 6th May 2008. The festival includes series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, streetbasketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games, pc games etc.

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

Hungarian Chess Tournaments October 2007 - March 2008

1. 6th-19th of October 2007 FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER), 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/

2. 24th-31st of October, HÉVÍZ Open - 200 km West from Budapest, 9 rounds Swiss, org: IM Rigo, http://www.lellechess.tar.hu

3. 22nd-30th of October 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-East from Budapest.

4. 3rd-15th of November, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest, org.:NL

5. 15th-23rd of November, XXXI. TENKES CUP, 9 round Swiss Open, Harkany, 300 km South-West from Budapest, org: Mr.FULOP, Csaba, e-mail: fulopcsa@invitel.hu

Website:http://www.baranyasakk.hu/index.php?cat=naptar&id=3&age=0&vid=15⟨=hu&det=12

6. 1st-13th of December, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, org.NL

7. 15th-21st of Dec, Kecskemet, IM tmt

8. 27th Dec- 5th Jan Kecskemet IM tmt,

9. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.hu

10. 19th-28th of January - IM tmt, Kecskemet

11. 2nd-15th of February - First Saturday Budapest,

12. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet,

13. 1st-13rd of March - First Saturday Budapest,

14. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

Halkidiki Chess Festival 2008

The Halkidiki Chess Festival takes place in Kallithea, 28th April - 5 May 2008.

The Organizing Committee of the Halkdiki Chess Festival 2008. Tel/fax: +30 2310 865778 - e-mail: teotsorb@otenet.gr V.Olgas 285, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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

Moscow Open 2008

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. Venue - the Russian State Social University. Minimal gartanted prize fund of full festival is RUR 5 000 000 (nearly EUR 150 000 or USD 200 000, two times more than in 2007!) There are Open “A” (for all, 1st prize RUR 500 000 - also possible to play 6- or 7 days like last two years), Open “B” (<2300, 1st RUR 150 000), Women Open (new! 1st prize RUR 150 000), open tournaments for school chidrens (qualify for World School Ch). Conditions for GMs 2600+ and best rated women GMs will be given probably, for GMs 2550+ it’s still unclear. More details in the middle of September. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start. As preparation to the World Mind Games in China – 2008 there are probably "Moscow Open Mind Games 2008" - Chess 960, Bridge, Go, Shogi, Damen tournaments etc. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start.

Contact: wlct06@gmail.com

Further details: http://www.chess-events.org

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ giving news about himself, some comments on recent events including the World Championships in Mexico City etc. Worth check out.

1st South Bohemia Open

1st SOUTH BOHEMIA OPEN 2007 International Chess Festival which takes place in one of the most beautiful Czech towns – Cesky Krumlov on 13.-20.10. 2007. Open FIDE, active chess and blitz tournament are part of the festival.

Details: http://www.czechtour.net/south-bohemia-open/

32nd Kings Head Rapidplay

The 32nd Kings Head Rapidplay takes place Saturday 5 April 2008 start time 11:00, details below: 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £700

The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2 5HS

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1849 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

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

10th European Senior Team-Championship

10th European Senior Team-Championship take place 11th-19th February 2008 in RAMADA-Hotel in Dresden.

Further info contact: ZMD Schachfestival Dresden e.V., Oskar-Mai-Straße 6, D-01159 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 416 16 29, Fax: +49 (0)351 416 16 39 Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Hepkestraße 131, D-01277 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 251 34 20, E-Mail: gerhard.schmidt@schachfestival.de

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site allows predictions for current chess tournaments. http://e4e6.com/toto

Sydney International Open 2008

The 2008 Sydney International Open takes place at Parramatta Town Hall 25th-29th March 2008. Free accommodation and modest conditions are offered to GMs. All enquiries to the Tournament Organiser, FM Brian Jones, at info@chessaustralia.com.au

Details: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/

ICC and FICS client for mobile phones

Mats Luthman has written a program that connects to ICC and FICS, compatable with many modern mobile phones. I've been looking for something like this for a while for watching live tournaments if I'm out and about. Its a nice free solution, you can also play but I haven't tried that.

Website: http://www.luthman.nu/Mobi/Mobi.html