THE WEEK IN CHESS 706 19th May 2008 by Mark Crowther

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Mark Crowther
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Contents

1) Introduction
2) MTel Masters
3) Cez Chess Trophy
4) Capablanca Memorial
5) Hamburg International
6) Moscow Championship
7) Frank K Berry US Championships
8) Kaupthing Open
9) Augustowska Forest Cup
10) Gyumri International
11) 11th North American FIDE Invitational
12) 6th Solingen Chess Weeks
13) 2nd Thun Open
14) First Saturday May
15) Mayors Cup Mumbai
16) X Salou Open
17) Panamericano Women's Championship
18) XXVI Festival Lacona Isola d'Elba
19) Festival Santista de Xadrez
20) World Championship Match Anand vs Kramnik in Bonn
21) Forthcoming Events and Links

Games Section
MTel Masters 18 games
Cez Chess Trophy 8 games
Hamburg International 144 games
Moscow Championship 29 games
Frank K Berry US Championships 102 games
Kaupthing Open 35 games
Augustowska Forest Cup 99 games
Gyumri International 12 games
11th North American FIDE Invitational 20 games
2nd Thun Open 66 games
First Saturday May 86 games
Mayors Cup Mumbai 980 games
X Salou Open 72 games
Panamericano Women's Championship 126 games
1796 games

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1) Introduction

My thanks to Miklos Orso, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Rolf Sander, Doug Bake, Laszlo Nagy, Gerard Demuydt, Robert Fontaine, Etienne Cornil, Adolivio Capece, Aggelos Tzermiadianos, Eduard Piacun, Luis Scalise, Eldar Mukhametov, Rolf Behovits and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Vassily Ivanchuk duly secured victory in the MTel Masters in Sofia and in doing so ruined Veselin Topalov's 100% record in winning the event. To be fair to Topalov he scored a fine 6.5/10 which might have been enough to secure victory in other years. Topalov was undone by a loss to Bu Xiangzhi and a very good performance by Ivanchuk, in fact if Topalov had won and Ivanchuk lost in the final round he would have won again. Ivanchuk started with a fantastic 5/5 defeating each of his opponents once in the first half. He then admitted he protected this lead a bit and only came out punching in the final round when he was certain he had the best of it against Cheparinov. Ivanchuk's calmness in securing the victory was perhaps as much of a surprise as his actual victory, we've always known what a good player he is. Its yet another example of players around their 40s (Anand is world champion, Gelfand had an exceptional World Championship in Mexico) performing at a high level recently. It may in part be due to the time it takes to produce a really tough opening repertoire in these days of exceptional standards in that area. Certainly Topalov is an expert in almost every system with both white and black which makes him incredibly dangerous and he has in patches been the equal of anyone in the world although questions remain both about his temprement and his abilities in super events it will be interesting to see how he does in Bilbao, the culmination of the Grand Slam series later in the year.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) MTel Masters

M-Tel Masters took place 7th-18th May 2008 in the Central Military Club in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The event was a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control.

Ivanchuk secured first place with a massive 8/10 score. He started with 5/5 in the first half. He slowed down with four draws in the second half before destroying Cheparinov with the black pieces in the final round. Topalov also scored a fine 6.5/10 to finish a point and a half behind. Teimour Radjabov was a further point behind. World number 6 Levon Aronian had a catastrophic 3/10 score in finishing joint last with Bu Xiangzhi. Cheparinov only lost a few points in finishing with 4/10.

In the event of a tie for first a tie break will be employed. As in the previous three editions of the M-Tel Masters the Sofia rules concerning draws will apply. Players cannot offer draws and a game can only be declared drawn by the Chief Arbiter.

Official site: http://www.mtelmasters.com
Other coverage: http://www.europe-echecs.com - http://www.chessclub.com/ with on the spot videos and photo reports - http://en.chessfish.com/ and http://www.chessdom.com

4th M-Tel Masters Sofia (BUL), 8-18 v 2008 cat. XX (2738)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2740 * * 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 8 2977
2. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2767 0 ½ * * ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 6½ 2841
3. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2751 0 ½ ½ ½ * * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 5½ 2770
4. Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2696 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ * * 1 1 ½ ½ 4 2673
5. Bu Xiangzhi g CHN 2708 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 * * ½ ½ 3 2594
6. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2763 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * * 3 2583

Round 5 (May 12, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin - Bu Xiangzhi 1-0 31 D19 Slav Defence
Cheparinov, Ivan - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 46 E97 King's Indian Classical
Aronian, Levon - Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1 44 D12 Slav Defence
Round 6 (May 14, 2008)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 41 B33 Sicilian Sveshnikov
Topalov, Veselin - Aronian, Levon 1-0 70 D47 Queens Gambit Meran
Bu Xiangzhi - Cheparinov, Ivan 0-1 44 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Round 7 (May 15, 2008)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Topalov, Veselin ½-½ 49 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Radjabov, Teimour - Bu Xiangzhi 1-0 41 D15 Slav Defence
Cheparinov, Ivan - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 45 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Round 8 (May 16, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin - Cheparinov, Ivan 1-0 32 D90 Gruenfeld Flohr
Bu Xiangzhi - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 61 A30 English Symmetrical
Aronian, Levon - Radjabov, Teimour 0-1 44 E97 King's Indian Classical
Round 9 (May 17, 2008)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 26 D11 Slav Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Cheparinov, Ivan ½-½ 32 D46 Semi-Slav Defence
Bu Xiangzhi - Topalov, Veselin 1-0 47 D23 QGA
Round 10 (May 18, 2008)
Topalov, Veselin - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 34 B32 Sicilian Labourdonnais
Cheparinov, Ivan - Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1 33 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Aronian, Levon - Bu Xiangzhi ½-½ 45 D94 Gruenfeld Closed

3) Cez Chess Trophy

Vladimir Kramnik beat David Navara 5.5-2.5 to win the Cez Chess Trophy. The match of 8 games in rapid chess was the main event of the festival CEZ CHESS TROPHY 2008 and will take place in the Czech Republic in Prague 14th-18th May 2008.

Day 1 14th May 2008
Gm1 Kramnik, Vladimir - Navara, David 1-0 33 E04 Catalan
Gm2 Navara, David - Kramnik, Vladimir 0-1 62 C43 Petroff's Defence
Day 2 15th May 2008
Gm3 Kramnik, Vladimir - Navara, David 1-0 64 A37 English Symmetrical
Gm4 Navara, David - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 68 E46 Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Day 3 17th May 2008
Gm5 Kramnik, Vladimir - Navara, David 1/2 36 B70 Sicilian Dragon
Gm6 Navara, David - Kramnik, Vladimir 0-1 36 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Day 4 18th May 2008
Gm7 Kramnik, Vladimir - Navara, David 1/2 44 A34 English Symmetrical
Gm8 Navara, David - Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 41 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit

Official site: http://www.praguechess.cz

III President's Cup

The III President's Cup takes place 11th-21st May 2008 in Baku, Azerbaijan dedicated to the memory of Haydar Aliyev has a prize fund of $85000.

Official site: http://www.chessclub.az/kubok3/regulations.htm

III President's Cup Baku (AZE), 11-21 v 2008
Leading Round 7 Standings
1 9 GM Najer Evgeniy 2627 RUS 6,5 31,0 28,0 24,5 6
2 28 GM Abbasov Farid 2528 AZE 6,0 31,0 28,0 24,0 5
3 32 GM Guliev Sarhan 2487 AZE 6,0 27,0 24,5 21,5 5
4 1 GM Milov Vadim 2690 SUI 5,5 33,5 30,0 26,0 5
5 10 GM Guseinov Gadir 2625 AZE 5,5 33,5 29,5 25,5 5
6 19 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej 2582 BLR 5,5 33,0 29,0 24,5 4
7 12 GM Gelashvili Tamaz 2622 GEO 5,5 32,5 29,5 25,5 4
8 5 GM Jobava Baadur 2658 GEO 5,5 32,5 28,5 24,5 4
9 13 GM Lastin Alexander 2622 RUS 5,5 31,5 28,5 25,5 4
10 18 GM Korchnoi Viktor 2598 SUI 5,5 30,5 27,5 24,0 5
11 16 GM Mamedov Rauf 2617 AZE 5,5 30,5 27,0 23,5 4
12 21 GM Timman Jan H 2565 NED 5,5 30,0 27,0 23,5 4
13 14 GM Malakhatko Vadim 2621 BEL 5,5 29,5 27,5 24,0 4
14 7 GM Fridman Daniel 2640 GER 5,0 33,5 30,0 26,0 4
15 29 GM Safarli Eltaj 2524 AZE 5,0 32,5 29,5 25,5 4
16 11 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2624 GER 5,0 32,0 28,5 24,0 5
17 8 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2635 GEO 5,0 32,0 28,0 24,0 3
18 15 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2617 KAZ 5,0 31,5 28,5 24,5 3
19 23 GM Dzhumaev Marat 2557 UZB 5,0 31,0 28,5 25,0 5
20 2 GM Sokolov Ivan 2690 NED 5,0 31,0 27,0 23,0 4
21 4 GM Short Nigel D 2660 ENG 5,0 30,5 27,5 23,5 3
22 41 IM Dovliatov Sanan 2438 AZE 5,0 30,0 27,5 24,5 4
23 25 GM Ibrahimov Rasul 2535 AZE 5,0 28,5 26,0 22,5 4
24 24 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 5,0 28,0 26,0 22,5 5
25 31 IM Sulashvili Malkhaz 2491 GEO 5,0 28,0 25,5 23,0 3
26 35 IM Sanikidze Tornike 2458 GEO 5,0 28,0 25,5 22,0 4
27 77 Gasanov Ali 2209 AZE 5,0 26,5 25,5 22,5 5
28 22 GM Savchenko Stanislav 2560 UKR 5,0 26,5 24,0 21,0 3
29 47 IM Durarbeyli Vasif 2384 AZE 4,5 31,5 28,5 25,5 4
30 6 GM Beliavsky Alexander G 2641 SLO 4,5 31,0 28,5 24,5 4
31 30 GM Shanava Konstantine 2519 GEO 4,5 31,0 28,0 24,5 3
32 20 GM Mamedov Nidjat 2577 AZE 4,5 30,0 27,0 23,5 4
33 27 GM Gasanov Eldar 2531 UKR 4,5 30,0 26,5 23,0 3
34 36 Nigalidze Gaioz 2455 GEO 4,5 29,0 26,5 23,5 4
35 37 IM Esen Baris 2451 TUR 4,5 28,5 26,5 24,0 4
36 42 IM Guliev Logman 2434 AZE 4,5 28,5 25,5 22,0 4
37 40 GM Manik Mikulas 2439 SVK 4,5 28,0 25,5 22,5 3
38 43 IM Morchiashvili Bachana 2421 GEO 4,5 28,0 25,5 22,0 4
39 38 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER 4,5 28,0 25,0 21,5 4
40 17 GM Fedorov Alexei 2603 BLR 4,5 28,0 24,5 21,0 4
41 3 GM Van Wely Loek 2677 NED 4,5 27,5 24,5 21,0 4
42 49 Abasov Nijat Azad 2375 AZE 4,5 27,0 25,5 22,0 4
43 46 FM Rasulov Vugar 2387 AZE 4,5 27,0 25,0 21,5 4
44 61 Zeynalov Farid 2304 AZE 4,5 26,5 24,0 21,0 4
45 70 Akhmedov Fariz 2235 AZE 4,5 25,5 24,5 21,5 4
46 111 Kazimova Narmin 2072 AZE 4,5 25,5 24,0 20,5 4
47 66 Hasanov Shakhriyar 2255 AZE 4,5 25,0 23,0 20,0 4
48 45 IM Wohl Aleksandar H 2412 AUS 4,5 25,0 22,5 19,5 4
49 62 Agayev Nidjat 2291 AZE 4,5 25,0 22,0 19,0 4
50 51 FM Agaragimov Djakhangir 2343 AZE 4,5 24,5 23,0 20,0 3
51 85 Orujov Elshad 2161 AZE 4,5 22,5 21,5 19,5 4
52 33 GM Babaev Rashad 2482 AZE 4,0 31,5 28,0 24,5 3
179 players

4) Capablanca Memorial

The 43rd Torneo Capablanca In Memoriam took place in La Habana (Cuba) 8th - 17th May 2008, category 15 average 2602. Top seed Lenier Dominguez Perez took clear first with 6/9. Sadly no games have emerged from the event, last year they were published in one of the Cuban newspapers. Its to be hoped they emerge soon as its been incredibly disappointing that they haven't been published.

Coverage has thus far only been in the Cuban newspapers (eg Granma - the official communist newspaper).

Capablanca Memorial - Open Group IMs Aryam Abreu and Aramís Álvarez won the Open Group with 7,5 points from 10 rounds.

Official site: http://www.inder.cu/capablanca/

43rd Capablanca Memorial Havana CUB (CUB), 8-17 v 2008 cat. XV (2605)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Dominguez Perez, Lenier g CUB 2695 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 6 2719
2. Amonatov, Farrukh g TJK 2649 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 5½ 2680
3. Khenkin, Igor g GER 2609 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 5½ 2684
4. Hernandez Carmenates, Holden g CUB 2568 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 5 2652
5. Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2635 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 2601
6. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw g POL 2625 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 4½ 2602
7. Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus g CUB 2559 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 4 2567
8. Quezada Perez, Yuniesky g CUB 2567 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 3½ 2529
9. Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter g CUB 2534 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 3½ 2532
10. Bruzon Batista, Lazaro g CUB 2608 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * 3 2479

Round 1 (May 8, 2008)
Dominguez Perez, Lenier - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 1-0
Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus - Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter ½-½
Hernandez Carmenates, Holden - Khenkin, Igor ½-½
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro - Tiviakov, Sergei ½-½
Quezada Perez, Yuniesky - Amonatov, Farrukh ½-½
Round 2 (May 9, 2008)
Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½
Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus - Hernandez Carmenates, Holden ½-½
Khenkin, Igor - Quezada Perez, Yuniesky 1-0
Tiviakov, Sergei - Dominguez Perez, Lenier ½-½
Amonatov, Farrukh - Bruzon Batista, Lazaro ½-½
Round 3 (May 10, 2008)
Dominguez Perez, Lenier - Amonatov, Farrukh ½-½
Hernandez Carmenates, Holden - Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter 0-1
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro - Khenkin, Igor ½-½
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Tiviakov, Sergei ½-½
Quezada Perez, Yuniesky - Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus ½-½
Round 4 (May 12, 2008)
Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter - Tiviakov, Sergei ½-½
Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus - Bruzon Batista, Lazaro 1-0
Khenkin, Igor - Dominguez Perez, Lenier ½-½
Hernandez Carmenates, Holden - Quezada Perez, Yuniesky 1-0
Amonatov, Farrukh - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½
Round 5 (May 13, 2008)
Dominguez Perez, Lenier - Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus 1-0
Tiviakov, Sergei - Amonatov, Farrukh ½-½
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Khenkin, Igor ½-½
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro - Hernandez Carmenates, Holden 0-1
Quezada Perez, Yuniesky - Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter ½-½
Round 6 (May 14, 2008)
Khenkin, Igor - Tiviakov, Sergei ½-½
Hernandez Carmenates, Holden - Dominguez Perez, Lenier ½-½
Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter - Amonatov, Farrukh 0-1
Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½
Quezada Perez, Yuniesky - Bruzon Batista, Lazaro ½-½
Round 7 (May 15, 2008)
Dominguez Perez, Lenier - Quezada Perez, Yuniesky ½-½
Amonatov, Farrukh - Khenkin, Igor ½-½
Tiviakov, Sergei - Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus ½-½
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Hernandez Carmenates, Holden ½-½
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro - Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter ½-½
Round 8 (May 16, 2008)
Hernandez Carmenates, Holden - Tiviakov, Sergei ½-½
Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter - Khenkin, Igor 0-1
Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus - Amonatov, Farrukh 0-1
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro - Dominguez Perez, Lenier ½-½
Quezada Perez, Yuniesky - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½
Round 9 (May 17, 2008)
Dominguez Perez, Lenier - Arencibia Rodriguez, Walter 1-0
Amonatov, Farrukh - Hernandez Carmenates, Holden ½-½
Khenkin, Igor - Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus ½-½
Tiviakov, Sergei - Quezada Perez, Yuniesky ½-½
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Bruzon Batista, Lazaro 1-0

The Guillermo Garcia Memorial takes place in Santa Clara  (Cuba) 19th-27th May, 2008. ELO (2513) - Cat. XI Players: GMs Holden Hernández, Yuniesky Quesada, Jesús Nogueiras, Walter Arencibia and Neuris Delgado IMs Emilio Córdova,  Everaldo Matsuura,  Jacob Glub and Dragan Starmenkovic. FM Lelys Martínez

The Torneo Moncada takes place in Santiago de Cuba 29th May - 6th June 2008 is a Swiss Open - 9 rounds 

Official site: http://www.inder.cu/capablanca/

5) Hamburg International

The 11th Hamburg International took place 10th-17th May 2008. Dorian Rogozenco took first place on tie-break from Ahmed Adly and Zigurds Lanka after all finished on 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.hamburger-schachverband.de

11th IHEM Hamburg (GER), 10-17 v 2008
Pl Players ELO Pts Buchh SoBerg
1 Rogozenco,Dorian 2523 6.5 45 32.25
2 Adly, Ahmed 2578 6.5 44.5 30.75
3 Lanka,Zigurds 2473 6.5 44.5 29.5
4 Parligras,Mircea Emilian 2561 6 44.5 30
5 Beikert,Günther,Dr. 2449 5.5 43.5 26.5
6 Saltaev,Mihail 2500 5.5 42 25.25
7 Bogner,Sebastian 2423 5.5 41.5 24.75
8 Bach,Matthias 2263 5.5 39 25.75
9 Ftacnik,Lubomir 2542 5 45 26.25
10 Putzbach,Gerd 2273 5 43 23
11 Iotov,Valentin 2531 5 41.5 23.5
12 Pajeken,Wolfgang 2345 5 41 20.75
13 Hebbinghaus,Holger 2297 5 37 20.25
14 Reddmann,Hauke,Dr. 2351 5 36.5 22
15 Nedic,Dusan 2260 4.5 39.5 17.75
16 Zierke,Oliver 2313 4.5 38 19
17 Bracker,Frank 2253 4.5 37 18
18 Foerster,Andreas 2232 4.5 36.5 14.75
19 Borges,Guilherme Deola 2166 4.5 36 17.5
20 Strobel,Holger 2241 4.5 35 16
21 Bente,Björn 2252 4.5 33.5 17.25
22 Kröncke,Manfred 2174 4.5 33 13.25
23 Colpe,Malte 2089 4 36 14.25
24 Huschenbeth,Niclas 2453 3.5 39.5 15.5
25 Dalakian,Haroutioun 2043 3.5 35 11.5
26 Maahs,Erich 2163 3.5 33.5 10.25
27 Weiss,Siegfried 2048 3.5 31 10
28 Sander,Rolf 2058 3 30 9
29 Mueller,Joerg 2116 2.5 34 9.75
30 Schulz,Hans-Juergen 2003 2.5 33 9.25
31 Jacoby,Gisbert 2225 2.5 32 7.5
32 Schmidt-Brauns,Rainer 2062 2 29 5

6) Moscow Championship

The Final tournament of the Moscow Chess Championship took place 12th-18th May 2008. Boris Savchenko took clear first with 5/7.

Official site: http://www.chessmoscow.ru/index.php?topicID=442/ and http://www.chessmoscow.ru/index.php?topicID=442&offPage=10

ch-Moscow Moscow RUS (RUS), 12-18 v 2008 cat. XI (2516)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Savchenko, Boris g RUS 2569 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 5 2665
2. Vorobiov, Evgeny E g RUS 2536 ½ * 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 4½ 2614
3. Gabrielian, Artur m RUS 2494 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 4 2568
4. Rustemov, Alexander g RUS 2552 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 4 2560
5. Deviatkin, Andrei m RUS 2568 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 4 2558
6. Rychagov, Andrey g RUS 2565 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 3½ 2508
7. Konovalov, Nikolay m RUS 2426 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 3 2478
8. Gorbatov, Alexej m RUS 2414 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0

7) Frank K Berry US Championships

The 2008 Frank K Berry US Chess Championship takes place in Tulsa, OK, May 13th-21st 2008.

Official site: http://monroi.com/the-2008-fkb-us-chess-championship-home.html

Frank K Berry ch-USA Tulsa (USA), 13-21 v 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Shulman, Yuri g USA 2606 =13 +17 +18 =2 +5 +4 . . . 5 2815
2. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2664 =16 +22 +10 =1 =4 =3 . . . 4 2661
3. Becerra Rivero, Julio g USA 2575 =17 +13 +6 =5 =8 =2 . . . 4 2649
4. Kudrin, Sergey g USA 2549 +24 +14 =5 +7 =2 -1 . . . 4 2668
5. Kaidanov, Gregory S g USA 2596 +8 +15 =4 =3 -1 =6 . . . 3½ 2597
6. Yermolinsky, Alex g USA 2518 +9 =18 -3 +14 =7 =5 . . . 3½ 2644
7. Akobian, Varuzhan g USA 2601 =22 =16 +15 -4 =6 +12 . . . 3½ 2535
8. Friedel, Joshua E m USA 2484 -5 +23 =14 +18 =3 =10 . . . 3½ 2580
9. Shabalov, Alexander g USA 2633 -6 +20 =12 =16 +13 =11 . . . 3½ 2514
10. Perelshteyn, Eugene g USA 2552 =12 +19 -2 =13 +17 =8 . . . 3½ 2497
11. Finegold, Benjamin m USA 2539 =19 =12 =16 =17 +23 =9 . . . 3½ 2469
12. Ludwig, Daniel USA 2357 =10 =11 =9 =21 +16 -7 . . . 3 2539
13. Fedorowicz, John P g USA 2459 =1 -3 +21 =10 -9 +23 . . . 3 2511
14. Ivanov, Alexander g USA 2560 +21 -4 =8 -6 +20 =18 . . . 3 2480
15. Gurevich, Dmitry g USA 2513 +23 -5 -7 =20 =19 +21 . . . 3 2419
16. Kraai, Jesse g USA 2509 =2 =7 =11 =9 -12 =17 . . . 2½ 2479
17. Pruess, David m USA 2425 =3 -1 +22 =11 -10 =16 . . . 2½ 2477
18. Gulko, Boris F g USA 2559 +20 =6 -1 -8 =21 =14 . . . 2½ 2432
19. Langer, Michael f USA 2254 =11 -10 -20 =24 =15 =22 . . . 2 2313
20. Kaufman, Larry C m USA 2365 -18 -9 +19 =15 -14 =24 . . . 2 2334
21. Vigorito, David m USA 2405 -14 +24 -13 =12 =18 -15 . . . 2 2322
22. Ippolito, Dean m USA 2425 =7 -2 -17 -23 +24 =19 . . . 2 2287
23. Shankland, Samuel L USA 2296 -15 -8 +24 +22 -11 -13 . . . 2 2317
24. Galant, Sergey USA 2235 -4 -21 -23 =19 -22 =20 . . . 1 2109

Frank K Berry ch-USA w Tulsa (USA), 13-21 v 2008 cat. I (2251)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2458 * . 1 1 . . 1 1 1 1 6
2. Krush, Irina m USA 2479 . * 1 . 1 1 ½ 1 . 1 5½ 2595
3. Abrahamyan, Tatev wf USA 2239 0 0 * 1 . 1 1 . 1 . 4 2429
4. Rohonyan, Katerina wg USA 2309 0 . 0 * . ½ 1 . 1 1 3½ 2266
5. Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg wm USA 2278 . 0 . . * 0 ½ 1 1 1 3½ 2260
6. Battsetseg, Tsagaan wm USA 2254 . 0 0 ½ 1 * . ½ . 1 3 2244
7. Zenyuk, Iryna wf USA 2233 0 ½ 0 0 ½ . * 1 . . 2 2199
8. Epstein, Esther wm USA 2184 0 0 . . 0 ½ 0 * 1 . 1½ 2106
9. Airapetian, Chouchanik wf USA 2092 0 . 0 0 0 . . 0 * 1 1 1968
10. Jamison, Courtney USA 1979 0 0 . 0 0 0 . . 0 * 0

8) Kaupthing Open

The Kaupthing Open took place 10th-17th May 2008 in the the Woiwer Sports Center, Differdange, Luxembourg. Andrei Istratescu edged out Parimarjan Negi and Dmitry Frolyanov after all finished on 7/9.

Official site: http://www.lecavalier.lu/Kaupthing-Open-2008.htm

Kaupthing Open Differdange (LUX), 10-17 v 2008
Pl Player Ti TWZ Land Punkte PktSu Buchh
1 Istratescu,Andrei GM 2628 ROU 7 36.5 52
2 Negi,Parimarjan GM 2514 IND 7 36 48
3 Frolyanov,Dmitry GM 2553 RUS 7 34 48.5
4 Kritz,Leonid GM 2609 GER 6.5 33 48.5
5 Schlosser,Philipp GM 2563 GER 6.5 32.5 46.5
6 Socko,Monika IM 2505 POL 6.5 31 47
7 Gupta,Abhijeet GM 2521 IND 6 34.5 49.5
8 Stefansson,Hannes GM 2583 ISL 6 32.5 48.5
9 Gharamian,Tigran IM 2554 FRA 6 32.5 48.5
10 Socko,Bartosz GM 2644 POL 6 30 47
11 Thorhallsson,Thro GM 2437 ISL 6 29.5 44.5
12 Delorme,Axel FM 2377 FRA 6 28.5 41.5
13 Macak,Stefan   2342 SVK 6 26 40.5
14 Velicka,Petr GM 2496 CZE 5.5 33 51
15 Drozdovskij,Yuri GM 2581 UKR 5.5 33 49.5
16 Danielsen,Henrik GM 2510 ISL 5.5 32.5 47.5
17 Feller,Sebastien GM 2540 FRA 5.5 30 48
18 Dzagnidze,Nana IM 2443 GEO 5.5 29.5 47
19 Bauer,Christian GM 2619 FRA 5.5 28.5 46
20 Marzolo,Cyril IM 2476 FRA 5.5 28.5 45.5
21 D`Costa,Lorin A R FM 2410 ENG 5.5 28.5 41.5
22 Faibisovich,Vadim IM 2421 RUS 5.5 28 45.5
23 Nebolsina,Vera WGM 2345 RUS 5.5 27.5 41.5
24 Gunnarsson,Jon Vi IM 2431 ISL 5.5 27 46
25 Henrichs,Thomas IM 2497 GER 5.5 25 40
26 Edouard,Romain IM 2509 FRA 5 32.5 50.5
27 Kristjansson,Stef IM 2485 ISL 5 29.5 41
28 Degtiarev,Evgeny FM 2350 GER 5 28 45.5
29 Papadopoulos,Ioan IM 2471 GRE 5 28 45
30 Ajrapetjan,Yuriy GM 2504 UKR 5 27.5 44.5
31 Nezar,Mustapha FM 2397 FRA 5 26.5 42.5
32 Tania,Sachdev IM 2423 IND 5 26 47.5
33 Leniart,Arkadiusz FM 2324 POL 5 24 43.5
34 Wirig,Anthony IM 2477 FRA 5 23.5 39
35 Raykhman,Alexande   2242 GER 5 23 40
36 Jansa,Vlastimil GM 2489 CZE 5 23 37.5
37 Thorfinnsson,Bjor FM 2417 ISL 4.5 27.5 47.5
38 Zdebskaja,Natalia WGM 2368 UKR 4.5 27 47.5
39 Johannesson,Ingva FM 2344 ISL 4.5 25.5 43.5
40 Siebrecht,Sebasti IM 2490 GER 4.5 25 43
41 Dembo,Yelena IM 2429 GRE 4.5 25 41
42 Bakalarz,Mietek IM 2361 LUX 4.5 24.5 44.5
43 Thorfinnsson,Brag IM 2408 ISL 4.5 23.5 43
44 Haub,Thorsten Mic IM 2467 GER 4.5 23.5 42.5
45 Vatter,Hans-Joach FM 2325 GER 4.5 21.5 39.5
46 Wagener,Claude FM 2275 LUX 4.5 21 41
47 Rudolf,Anna WGM 2302 HUN 4.5 21 39.5
48 Berend,Elvira WGM 2303 LUX 4.5 20.5 39
49 Linster,Philippe   2104 LUX 4.5 20 42.5
50 Prizker,Boris   2214 GER 4.5 19.5 36
51 Andersen,Alf R.   2203 NOR 4.5 19.5 32.5
52 Schweitzer,Viktor WIM 2218 FRA 4.5 19 35
53 Wagener,Anna WGM 2266 LUX 4.5 18 36.5
85 players

9) Augustowska Forest Cup

The I International Chess Festival Augustowska Forest Cup took place in Augustów (Poland), 10th-18th May 2008.

Official site: http://www.augustow.caissa.com.pl/

I Open Augustow (POL), 10-17 v 2008
Pl. Ti. Name NAT. Elo Rank Pt. MBch. Bch.
1 GM Kovalev, Andrei (1) BLR 2560 2560 7.5 37.00 48.00
2 IM Koziak, Vitali (4) UKR 2484 2484 7.0 39.00 50.50
3 GM Malaniuk, Vladimir P (3) UKR 2505 2505 7.0 38.50 50.00
4 GM Cyborowski, Lukasz (2) POL 2541 2541 7.0 38.00 49.50
5 FM Marszalek, Maciej (5) POL 2355 2355 5.5 39.00 50.50
6 I+ Sabuk, Piotr (7) POL 2044 2044 5.0 39.00 49.50
7 I+ Ostrowska, Dominika (10) POL 1829 1829 5.0 33.50 44.00
8 I Sowul, Bartosz (8) POL 2028 2028 5.0 32.50 40.00
9 I Grabowski, Adam (13) POL 1771 1771 5.0 30.50 40.50
10 I Bartoszewicz, Marcin (9) POL 1992 1992 4.5 36.50 47.50
11 I Urbanski, Piotr (11) POL 1786 1786 4.5 26.50 32.00
12 I+ Bukowski, Wojciech (6) POL 2091 2091 4.0 37.00 48.00
13 II Kiolbasa, Damian (14) POL 1470 1470 4.0 34.00 42.00
14 II Sobolewski, Dawid (16) POL 0 1800 4.0 33.50 44.00
15 I Poswiatowski, Michal (12) POL 1778 1778 4.0 29.00 39.50
16 II Krzyzopolski, Patryk (15) POL 0 1800 4.0 28.50 37.00
17 II Truszkowska, Joanna (20) POL 0 1600 4.0 28.50 36.50
18 II Kiolbasa, Oliwia (21) POL 0 1600 4.0 27.50 33.00
19 II Mazurek, Jerzy (18) POL 0 1800 4.0 26.00 31.50
20 III Ostrowski, Michal (22) POL 0 1600 3.5 26.00 31.00
21 II Bukowski, Adrian (17) POL 0 1800 3.0 27.00 32.50
22 III Roszkowski, Piotr (23) POL 0 1600 2.5 14.50 19.00
23 II Przybylak, Gabriela (19) POL 0 1600 1.0 26.50 34.50

10) Gyumri International

The Gyumri International took place in Armenia 25th April - 6th May 2008. Arman Pashikian won the event with 9/11. Games from the final two rounds now available.

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

It Gyumri ARM (ARM), 25 iv-6 v 2008 cat. X (2487)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Pashikian, Arman g ARM 2537 * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 9 2744
2. Bagaturov, Giorgi g GEO 2473 ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 7 2590
3. Gelashvili, Tamaz g GEO 2622 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 7 2576
4. Vorobiov, Evgeny E g RUS 2536 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6½ 2547
5. Zubarev, Alexander1 g UKR 2510 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 6½ 2549
6. Chibukhchian, Artur m ARM 2428 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 2492
7. Simonian, Hrair m ARM 2443 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 5 2454
8. Babujian, Levon m ARM 2413 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 ½ 0 1 4½ 2428
9. Melkumyan, Hrant m ARM 2534 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 1 4½ 2417
10. Kalashian, David ARM 2439 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 4 2389
11. Hayrapetian, Arman m ARM 2414 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 * 0 3½ 2360
12. Gabrielian, Artur m RUS 2494 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 * 3 2311

11) 11th North American FIDE Invitational

The 11th North American FIDE Invitational takes place 17th-23rd May 2008.

Official site: http://www.nachess.org/fide/

11th North American FIDE Inv Chicago USA (USA), 17-23 v 2008 cat. II (2288)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Tate, Emory m USA 2378 * . . . . ½ 1 . 1 1 3½ 2501
2. Pasalic, Mehmed f GER 2392 . * ½ ½ . 1 . . 1 . 3 2461
3. Bartell, Thomas f USA 2365 . ½ * ½ 1 . . ½ . . 2½ 2463
4. Young, Angelo m PHI 2381 . ½ ½ * . . . 1 ½ . 2½ 2368
5. Ginsburg, Mark m USA 2365 . . 0 . * 1 ½ . ½ . 2 2232
6. Monokroussos, Dennis f USA 2327 ½ 0 . . 0 * . . . 1 1½ 2220
7. Stamnov, Aleksander f MKD 2239 0 . . . ½ . * 1 . 0 1½ 2206
8. Gauri, Shankar f IND 2335 . . ½ 0 . . 0 * . 1 1½ 2183
9. Inumerable,Florentino USA ---- 0 0 . ½ ½ . . . * . 1 2186
10. Loncarevic, Robert USA 2095 0 . . . . 0 1 0 . * 1 2126

12) 6th Solingen Chess Weeks

The 6th Solingen Chess Weeks took place in Solingen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) 9th-17th May 2008. Dmitrij Saulin took first place on tie-break from Georgi Souleidis, Svetlin Mladenov and Joerg Wegerle after all scored 5.5/7. No games available.

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

Solinger Schachwochen A (GER), 9-12 v 2008
Final Round 7 Standings
1 Saulin, Dmitrij IM 2404 RUS 5.5 31.5 202.5
2 Souleidis, Georgi IM 2412 GRE 5.5 31.5 201.5
3 Mladenov, Svetlin   2328 BUL 5.5 31.5 198.5
4 Wegerle, Jörg FM 2415 GER 5.5 29.5 201.5
5 Livner, Anders FM 2306 SWE 5 23 187
6 Krieg, Nikolaj   2299 GER 4.5 31.5 196.5
7 Rotstein, Jefim FM 2390 GER 4.5 31.5 191.5
8 Mainka, Romuald GM 2480 GER 4.5 31 196.5
9 Rudolph, Anna WIM 2286 GER 4.5 30 188.5
10 Werthebach, Felix   2148 GER 4.5 28.5 191.5
11 Klundt, Klaus IM 2378 GER 4.5 28 191.5
12 Krug, Kevin   2183 GER 4.5 27 193.5
13 Schumacher, Gottf   2132 GER 4.5 27 186
14 Eulering, Georg   2049   4.5 23.5 166
15 Wigger, Jochen   2287 GER 4 29 175
16 Rezasade, Amir   2268 GER 4 28 181.5
17 Volkov, Mykyta   2084 GER 4 27 180
18 Patscha, Elias   2223 GER 4 24.5 170.5
19 Friedrich, Wiede   1979 GER 4 24 172.5
20 Balduan, Markus FM 2324 GER 4 23.5 186
21 van Ackeren, Fran   2075 GER 4 22.5 173
52 players

13) 2nd Thun Open

The 2nd Thun Open (part of the Swiss Chess Tour) took place May 9th-12th 2008. Three players finished on 5.5/7. After a tie-break (Buholz -1), favorites, GM Mihajlo Stojanovic and IN Petar Benkovic took the first two place. Stojanovic was winner and Benkovic second. In 3rd places was WIM Monika Seps, what was nice surprise. Monika won in last round against IM Richard Gerber and stopped him winning the tournament. Best Lady was Monika Seps, best senior Rene Finger, best junior and shool-boy was Jan Rindlisbacher, best player from Thun FM Bernhard Meyer. The tournament was very nice, beautiful playing room and the arbiter, your reporter, enjoyed. Unfortunately the Hotel "Rathaus" has raised its price and the tournament will be cancelled. News: Sinisa Joksic.

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

Thun Open (SUI), 9-12 v 2008
Pl Player Ti TWZ Land Punkte Buchh BuSumm
1 Stojanovic,Mihajl GM 2587 SRB 5.5 29 166.5
2 Benkovic,Petar IM 2463 SRB 5.5 28.5 163
3 Seps,Monika WIM 2242 SUI 5.5 27 160
4 Gerber,Richard IM 2383 SUI 5 30.5 161
5 Meyer,Bernhard 2239 SUI 5 28 152
6 Horvath,Tamas IM 2430 HUN 5 27 158.5
7 Engelberts,Martijn 2206 SUI 5 27 151
8 Rindlisbacher,Jan 1936 SUI 5 23.5 154
9 Erdelyi,Tamas IM 2167 HUN 4.5 26.5 152
10 Finger,Rene 2057 SUI 4.5 24 141
11 Nuri,Kambez 2206 SUI 4 26 156
12 Karrer,Damian 2058 SUI 4 25 145
13 Pleininger,Rudolf 2024 SUI 4 23.5 148
14 Wirz,Heinz 2179 SUI 4 23.5 137.5
15 Jud,Marc 2012 SUI 4 23 142
16 Frey,Matthias 1846 SUI 4 21.5 141
17 Rindlisbacher,Lars 1999 SUI 3.5 25.5 147
18 Hubschmid,Stefan 2084 SUI 3.5 24.5 138.5
19 Fabre,Mathias 2139 SUI 3.5 23 141
20 Joller,Hans 1988 SUI 3.5 22.5 137.5
21 Freuler,Roman 2082 SUI 3.5 22.5 135
22 Stucki,Kaspar 1896 SUI 3.5 20.5 139.5
23 Schuepbach,Hanspeter 1873 SUI 3.5 20 140.5
24 Bien,Thomas 1815 SUI 3.5 20 136.5
25 Montanari,Josef 1801 SUI 3.5 19.5 133
39 players

14) First Saturday May

The First Saturday tournaments took place 3rd-15th May 2008. Sanan Sjugirov took clear first in the GM group with 9.5/13.

Official site: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

FSGM May Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 v 2008 cat. VIII (2429)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Sjugirov, Sanan m RUS 2492 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 9½ 2598
2. Prohaszka, Peter2 m HUN 2506 ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 9 2563
3. Boros, Denes m HUN 2457 0 1 * ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 7½ 2483
4. Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy f VIE 2482 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 1 1 7½ 2481
5. Bui Vinh m VIE 2448 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7½ 2484
6. Varga, Zoltan g HUN 2496 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 7 2452
7. (oA)kesson, Ralf g SWE 2466 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 6½ 2425
8. Duong The Anh f VIE 2403 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 6½ 2430
9. Ilincic, Zlatko g SRB 2548 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 6½ 2419
10. Solomon, Kenny m RSA 2317 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ 1 0 6 2408
11. Hendriks, Willy m NED 2411 ½ 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 6 2401
12. Wittmann, Walter m AUT 2279 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 5 2353
13. Pesotsky, Vitaly m UKR 2371 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 0 3½ 2258
14. Taylor, Timothy m USA 2326 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 * 3 2225

FSIM May Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 v 2008 cat. I (2254)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Gao Rui CHN 2139 * 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 11.5 2599
2. Liu Qingnan CHN 2344 0 * 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.5 2498
3. Petr('a)n, P('a)l m HUN 2347 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 10.0 2458
4. Werner, Dimo m GER 2300 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 8.0 2337
5. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2267 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 7.0 2282
6. Horvath, Andras f HUN 2272 0 0 0 0 0 * ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 7.0 2282
7. Zimmerman, Yuri m RUS 2332 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 6.5 2248
8. Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2358 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 6.5 2246
9. Farago, Sandor m HUN 2240 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 1 1 5.5 2198
10. Zalkind, Konstantin f ISR 2164 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 4.5 2151
11. Sankalp, Modwal IND 2138 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 4.5 2153
12. Sondermann, Johannes GER 2279 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 * 1 ½ 4.0 2111
13. Pasalic, Harun BIH 2215 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 3.5 2082
14. Tate, Alan SCO 2167 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 * 2.0 1965

15) Mayors Cup Mumbai

The Mayors Cup took place in Mumbai, India 11th-19th May 2008. Michal Krasenkow took first place on tie-break from 5 others who also finished on 9/11.

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

Mayors Cup Open Mumbai (IND), 11-19 v 2008
Leading Final Round 11 Standings
Rank Name Ti IRtg FED Pts BH. BH.
1 Krasenkow Michal GM 2624 POL 9 72 83
2 Koneru Humpy GM 2603 IND 9 70½ 82
3 Rahman Ziaur GM 2511 BAN 9 70 81
4 Kunte Abhijit GM 2547 IND 9 69 81
5 Filippov Anton GM 2509 UZB 9 68 79
6 Iuldachev Saidali GM 2501 UZB 9 63 73½
7 Abdulla Al-Rakib GM 2514 BAN 8½ 69½ 82
8 Macieja Bartlomiej GM 2599 POL 8½ 69 79½
9 Palit Somak   2368 IND 8½ 61 72½
10 Thejkumar M S   2414 IND 8 73 83½
11 Bakre Tejas GM 2455 IND 8 70½ 82
12 Laxman R R IM 2488 IND 8 69 80
13 Sengupta Deep IM 2446 IND 8 68½ 80
14 Arun Prasad S IM 2465 IND 8 68 78½
  Ram S Krishnan   2299 IND 8 68 78½
16 Murali Krishnan B T   2361 IND 8 67 78
17 Swapnil S Dhopade   2354 IND 8 66 78
18 Singh D P IM 2308 IND 8 65½ 75½
19 Debashis Das   2294 IND 8 65 74½
20 Rathnakaran K IM 2488 IND 8 64½ 75
21 Satyapragyan Swayangsu IM 2410 IND 8 64 74½
22 Lahiri Atanu IM 2309 IND 8 63½ 74
23 Deshmukh Anup IM 2248 IND 8 63 73
24 Vishnu Prasanna   2353 IND 8 62 72
25 Swathi Ghate WGM 2350 IND 8 61½ 72½
26 Himanshu Sharma IM 2412 IND 8 61½ 72
27 Shyam Sundar M IM 2307 IND 8 59 69
28 Reefat Bin-Sattar GM 2487 BAN 7½ 73 82½
29 Venkatesh M R IM 2450 IND 7½ 71½ 81½
30 Safin Shukhrat GM 2481 UZB 7½ 69½ 81
31 Gagunashvili Merab GM 2553 GEO 7½ 68 79
32 Konguvel Ponnuswamy IM 2373 IND 7½ 67½ 78½
33 Ramesh R B GM 2472 IND 7½ 67 77
  Lalith Babu M R   2305 IND 7½ 67 77
35 Adhiban B IM 2421 IND 7½ 66 77½
36 Vidit Santosh Gujrathi FM 2337 IND 7½ 65½ 76
37 Saptarshi Roy IM 2387 IND 7½ 64½ 77
38 Bartakke Amardeep S   2194 IND 7½ 64½ 76
39 Nitin S FM 2296 IND 7½ 64½ 75
40 Das Arghyadip   2393 IND 7½ 64 74½
41 Sharma R Preetham   2299 IND 7½ 64 74
  Joshi Pankaj   2284 IND 7½ 64 74
43 Singh Gurpreet Pal   2232 IND 7½ 64 73½
44 Pranav Shetty   2100 IND 7½ 64 72½
45 Arun Karthik R   2281 IND 7½ 63 73
46 Akshat Khamparia FM 2287 IND 7½ 63 71½
47 Tiwari Arjun   2320 IND 7½ 62½ 73½
48 Shetty Rahul IM 2313 IND 7½ 61½ 72½
49 Gokhale Chandrashekhar IM 2321 IND 7½ 61½ 72
50 Shyam Nikil P   2310 IND 7½ 61 71½
51 Vaidya C N   2129 IND 7½ 60½ 70
52 Nadig Kruttika WIM 2213 IND 7½ 60 69½
53 Babu N Sudhakar IM 2356 IND 7½ 59½ 69½
54 Anwesh Upadhyaya   2178 IND 7½ 58 67
55 Prasenjit Datta FM 2317 IND 7½ 57½ 67
56 Kiran Manisha Mohanty WIM 2316 IND 7½ 56½ 66
57 Bitan Banerjee   2258 IND 7½ 56 62½
447 players

16) X Salou Open

The X Salou International Open took place 8th-16th May 2008. Azer Mirzoev took clear first with 7/9. Games now available..

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

X Open Salou (ESP), 8-16 v 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings
Rank SNo. Name   Rtg FED Pts BH. BH. Fide
1 5 Mirzoev, Azer GM 2543 AZE 7 51½ 47 37½
2 7 Movsziszian, Karen GM 2536 ARM 6½ 50½ 46½ 36½
3 11 Krivoshey, Sergei GM 2488 UKR 6½ 49½ 46½ 34½
4 14 Karlsson, Lars GM 2475 SWE 6½ 45 41½ 31
5 8 Kovalyov, Anton IM 2525 ARG 6 53 48 32½
6 1 Burmakin, Vladimir GM 2615 RUS 6 51½ 47 32½
7 10 Leon Hoyos, Manuel IM 2490 MEX 6 48½ 44 33
8 12 Lafuente, Pablo IM 2483 ARG 6 46 43½ 31
9 13 Ivanov, Mikhail M GM 2476 RUS 6 45½ 43 27½
10 15 Cruz, Cristhian FM 2473 PER 6 44 41 30
11 4 Maze, Sebastien GM 2565 FRA 5½ 55 50 33½
12 18 Langrock, Hannes FM 2395 GER 5½ 47 43½ 28
13 27 Cori T, Deysi WFM 2208 PER 5½ 42 39 26½
14 9 Cuartas, Jaime Alexander IM 2496 COL 5½ 41½ 40 27
15 3 Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel GM 2576 ESP 5 47½ 43 29
16 20 Cori, Jorge FM 2377 PER 5 47½ 43 28
17 23 Hernando Rodrigo, Jose Maria IM 2338 ESP 5 44½ 41½ 27
18 17 Pogorelov, Ruslan GM 2423 UKR 5 43½ 39½ 26½
19 19 Hernando Rodrigo, Julio A CM 2389 ESP 5 42 39 26½
20 32 Mila Tejera, Jordi   2061 ESP 5 41 38 21
21 25 Martinez Lopez, Ivan CM 2254 ESP 5 39½ 37 25½
22 31 Regue Farran, Enric   2064 ESP 5 39½ 36½ 22
23 16 Libiszewski, Fabien IM 2465 FRA 4½ 47 43½ 27
24 22 Adel Lahchaichi, Oussama FM 2340 ESP 4½ 45 42 25
25 30 Valiente Roy, Jose Javier   2109 ESP 4½ 42½ 39½ 22½
26 34 Goettin, Gerhard   2016 SUI 4½ 42½ 39½ 20½
27 28 Moro Adame, Antonio CM 2151 ESP 4½ 41½ 39½ 24½
28 26 Tscharotschkin, Michael   2217 GER 4½ 39½ 38 24½
29 29 Ridameya Tatche, Jose Miguel NM 2136 ESP 4½ 39½ 37 20½
30 37 Suuronen, Petri   1931 FIN 4½ 36½ 34½ 20½
31 43 Febrero Perez, Lluis   1659 ESP 4½ 35½ 33½ 16½
56 players

17) Panamericano Women's Championship

The Panamericano Women's Championship took place 6th-12th May 2008. The event was won by Zirka Frometa Castillo.

Official site: http://ajedrezelsalvador.net/panamericano_femenino/

Panamericano w San Salvador (ESA), 6-12 v 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Frometa Castillo, Zirka wm CUB 2149 +22 +11 +9 +2 -3 =5 +4 +13 =6 7 2294
2. Yuan Yuanling wf CAN 2119 +23 +21 +6 -1 -4 +9 +7 =3 +5 6½ 2273
3. Arribas Robaina, Maritza wg CUB 2348 =10 +18 +15 =5 +1 -4 +6 =2 =9 6 2205
4. Moncayo Romero, Evelyn wm ECU 2182 -14 +24 +11 +9 +2 +3 -1 -5 +17 6 2229
5. Zepeda, Lorena wm ESA 2145 =19 +16 +25 =3 =6 =1 =13 +4 -2 5½ 2161
6. Zepeda, Sonia wm ESA 2048 +24 +14 -2 =7 =5 +17 -3 +11 =1 5½ 2205
7. Sanchez Castillo, Sarai wg VEN 2274 -11 +23 +8 =6 +14 =13 -2 =10 +20 5½ 2056
8. Trejos,Shirley CRC ---- =18 +10 -7 =15 +16 =20 -12 +21 +13 5½ 2118
9. Chang, Suzana BRA 2080 +26 +13 -1 -4 +21 -2 +14 +16 =3 5½ 2162
10. Avelar, Gabriela wf ESA 1966 =3 -8 +18 =13 =15 +22 =21 =7 =12 5 2097
11. Castro, Azalea wf ESA 1960 +7 -1 -4 =16 +19 =15 +20 -6 +22 5 2096
12. Heredia Serrano, Carla ECU 2016 =16 =19 -13 -24 +28 +23 +8 =17 =10 5 2016
13. Pastor, Tania wf ESA 1972 +17 -9 +12 =10 +20 =7 =5 -1 -8 4½ 2097
14. Orozco, Luz Elena COL 1946 +4 -6 =20 +19 -7 =21 -9 =23 +27 4½ 2033
15. Munoz, Carolina CRC 2034 +28 =25 -3 =8 =10 =11 -17 +19 =16 4½ 2041
16. Romero Echeverria, Abigail ECU 2000 =12 -5 +26 =11 -8 +24 +18 -9 =15 4½ 2026
17. Mateus, Martha COL 2189 -13 =26 =19 +23 +24 -6 +15 =12 -4 4½ 1986
18. Mencos, Claudia GUA 2001 =8 -3 -10 +26 -22 +25 -16 +28 +23 4½ 1983
19. Melendez, Gabriela wf ESA 1912 =5 =12 =17 -14 -11 +27 +22 -15 =21 4 1971
20. Castaneda, Ada wf ESA 2059 -25 +27 =14 +22 -13 =8 -11 +24 -7 4 1953
21. Sanchez, Ingrid ESA 2024 +27 -2 =22 +25 -9 =14 =10 -8 =19 4 1939
22. Hernandez, Bera ESA 1819 -1 +28 =21 -20 +18 -10 -19 +26 -11 3½ 1927
23. Alarcon, Pamela NCA 1718 -2 -7 +28 -17 +25 -12 +27 =14 -18 3½ 1980
24. Aguilar,Marcela ESA ---- -6 -4 +27 +12 -17 -16 =26 -20 -28 2½ 1888
25. Lopez,Erika ESA ---- +20 =15 -5 -21 -23 -18 =28 -27 =26 2½ 1831
26. Duron, Sari ESA ---- -9 =17 -16 -18 -27 +28 =24 -22 =25 2½ 1843
27. Morales,Karla ESA ---- -21 -20 -24 =28 +26 -19 -23 +25 -14 2½ 1796
28. Morales,Fatima ESA ---- -15 -22 -23 =27 -12 -26 =25 -18 +24 2 1734

18) XXVI Festival Lacona Isola d'Elba

The XXVI Festival Lacona Isola d'Elba took place 10th-18th May 2008. Lexy Ortega took first place. 14 year old Marina Brunello of Italy made her first WGM norm and only the second in Italy's history (Barbara Pernici Lucerne 1982). I will round up the games next week as at the moment there are only 7 rounds.

XXVI Festival Lacona Isola d'Elba (ITA), 10-18 v 2008
1 ORTEGA Lexy 2459 GM ITA 7.0
2 QENDRO Llambi 2389 IM ALB 6.0
3 GROMOVS Sergejs 2339 FM ITA 7.0
4 RIGO Janos 2298 IM HUN 6.5
5 VUELBAN Virgilio 2270 FM PHI 5.0
6 LUCIANI Carlo 2256 M ITA 5.0
7 CSALA Imre 2254 FM HUN 6.0
8 EVANGELISTI Claudio 2244 M ITA 6.0
9 OSCHETZKI Stefan 2175 M GER 5.0
10 PALEOLOGU Vladimir 2170 CM SUI 6.0
11 CASTIELLO Luigi 2141 CM ITA 4.5
12 PEPINO Enrico 2137 CM ITA 4.5
13 SCIPIONI Gaetano (W) 2124 CM ITA 3.0
14 LAZAR Andras 2111 FM HUN 5.0
15 HORTON-KITCHLEW Andr 2105 CM ENG 5.0
16 CECCARINI Marco 2077 CM ITA 5.5
17 CODENOTTI Marco 2063 CM ITA 4.0
18 GARDI Giuseppe 2061 CM ITA 4.0
19 DOLESCHAL Johannes 2037 CM GER 4.0
20 RICCI Alfredo 2036 CM ITA 5.5
21 BRUNELLO Marina 2035 CM ITA 5.0
22 GUERRINI Donato 2026 CM ITA 4.5
23 PROIA Gaetano 2026 CM ITA 3.0
24 GAMBARDELLA Piero(W) 2024 CM ITA 3.5
25 BINI Lorenzo 2023 CM ITA 3.5
26 BODENSCHATZ Josef 2023 CM GER 4.5
27 BINI Alessandro 2007 CM ITA 2.5
28 BOSSONI Mario 1977 CM ITA 4.0
29 KOPISCHKE Maik 1949 1N GER 2.5
30 NELLI Carlo 1948 CM ITA 3.0
31 JUHASZ Nagy Sandor 1938 1N HUN 4.5
32 GIACOMETTO Mario 1925 CM ITA 4.5
33 CAMMAROTA Vittorio 1914 CM ITA 3.5
34 MAZZETTA Renato 1908 CM ITA 4.0
35 PICONE Franco 1882 1N ITA 3.0
36 CALISI Elia 1874 CM ITA 3.5
37 PAPA Angelo 1874 CM ITA 3.5
38 BARTOLI Fabio 1869 1N ITA 3.0

19) Festival Santista de Xadrez

The Festival Santista de Xadrez  sees  2 GM Norm Tournaments and an open take place in Santos, Brazil 17th-25th May 2008.

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/

20) World Championship Match Anand vs Kramnik in Bonn

The World Championship match where Viswanathan Anand will defends his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany will now take place October 14th– 2nd November, 2008. The main reason for the slight change in dates is to fit in with the sponsors and politicians ability to attend the opening. The main sponsor is Evonik Industries AG and the prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Dates for the match: Gm1: Oct 14th, Gm2: Oct 15th, Gm3: Oct 17th, Gm4: Oct 18th, Gm5: Oct 20th, Gm6: Oct 21st, Gm7: Oct 23rd, Gm8: Oct 24th, Gm9: Oct 26th, Gm10: Oct 27th, Gm11: Oct 29th, Gm12: Oct 31st, Tiebreak Nov 2nd.

Advanced booking for the World Chess Championship 2008 between Viswanathan Anand (India) and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) has started. The tickets are available at the price of 35 Euro per day. The following benefits are included: - entrance to the playing hall - entrance to the commentary room with analysis by prominent grandmasters. The tickets are available at all ticket agencies in Germany. You can also buy tickets for the match in advance via BONNTICKET: http://www.bonnticket.de tickets@bonnticket.de. Tel. +49-(0)-180/5001812. Tickets for a possible tiebreak on November 02, 2008, will be available after the 12th game. Exclusive VIP tickets are also available. Details at the website below along with features on the leadup to the championships.

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

21) Forthcoming Events and Links

82nd Argentine Championship

The 82nd Argentine Championship takes place in Mendoza 19th-31st May 2008. Round 1 20th May 2008.

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

83rd Argentine Championships (ARG), 20-31 v 2008
No Name Ti
1 FLORES, Diego IM
2 VALERGA, Diego IM
3 MAHIA, Gustavo FM
4 PERALTA, Fernando GM
5 LUCONI, Cristian ..
6 FELGAER, Ruben GM
7 RICARDI, Pablo GM
8 ALONSO, salvador IM
9 LIASCOVICH, Lucas IM
10 SALGUERO, Francisco ..
11 REAL DE AZUA, Erne. IM
12 LEMOS, Damián IM

6th Brussels International

The 6th Brussels International rapid tournament takes place 24th-25th May 2008. Tiviakov and Nikolic are amongst the players.

Official site: http://www.creb.be with live coverage.

Porto Carras, Greece

3rd International Open Chess Tournament "Summer Cup 2008", takes place in Porto Carras, Greece 12th-19th July 2008

Further details: http://www.greekchess.com/cup2008

Panevezys Open

The 21st International Panevezys Open 2008 takes place in Panevezys, Lithuania 12th-18th August 2008. Two Open A and Open B and two closed norm tournaments second woman WGM and GM takes place in chess Festival program this year.

More details: http://www.chesslyga.lt/panevezys2008

For information e-mail: chessfanas@gmail.com

17th annual Chicago Open

The 17th annual Chicago Open takes place May 23-26 2008.

Official site: http://www.chesstour.com/chio08.htm

Open "Mediterranean 2017" Rijeka

The Open "Mediterranean 2017" Rijeka (CRO) takes place 29th November - 6th December 2008.

Details: http://www.mediteran2013.com/en/default.asp

4th Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup

The 4th Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup takes place in Odessa 30th May - 2nd June 2008. Participants: Boris Gelfand (2723, ISR) Ruslan Ponomariov (2719, UKR) Anatoly Karpov (2655, RUS) Pavel Tregubov (2629, RUS) Viktor Korchnoi (2598, SUI) Yuri Drozdovskij (2581, UKR) Valery Beim (2523, AUT) Mikhail Golubev (2474, UKR)

Official site: http://www.worldcup.pivdenny.com

Baltic Sea Cup 2008

The Baltic Sea Cup 2008 (Bornholm Summer Chess) takes place in Denmark 29th July - 6th August 2008. 10 round swiss. Top players already signed up include: GM Michael Roiz 2659, GM Sergei Tiviakov 2635, GM Igor Khenkin 2609, itali Golod 2606, GM Yuriy Kuzubov and GM Zoltan Gyimesi 2600.

Details: http://www.balticseacup.dk

Hungarian Chess Tournaments May - December 2008

1. 16th-21th of May 2008 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.

2. 7th-19th of June 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 Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time = GMT+1/

3. 22nd-30th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, 1st prize 500,000 Ft (brutto 2 thousand EURO), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, e-mail: mssz@zalaszam.hu Mobile: 36-20-9777003

4.13th-21st of June, Balatonlelle Open, GM-IM round robin, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

5.21st-30th of June IM tmt Kecskemet, org: Mr. Erdelyi

6.5th-17th of July, GM-IM-FM, First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy Laszlo

7.19th-28th of July IM Kecskemet, org Erdelyi,

8.23rd-27th of July, 32nd AGRIA chess festival, Open 9 rounds Swiss, EGER, 100 km North East from Budapest, org: rauch@freemail.hu www.eurochess.hu

9.2nd-14th of August GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy Laszlo

10.16th-25th of August, IM tmt, Kecskemet, org: Erdelyi

11.6th-18th of September GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy Laszlo,

12.20th -29th September IM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi

13.4th-16th of October, GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org.Nagy L.

14.18th-27th of October IM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi.

15.1st-13th of November GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

16.14th-22nd of November Tenkes Kupa Open, Harkany, 300 km South-West from Budapst, 9 round Swiss, org: Ambrus Lajos, mobile: 36-30-851-4224 e-mail: info@baranyasakk.hu www.baranyasakk.hu

17.6th-18th of December GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

18.27th of Dec 5th of January IM-FM tmt Kesckemet, org: Erdelyi.

Blackstone Chess Festival

Blackstone Chess Festival incorporating the New England Masters - 11th-17th August 2008.

The New England Masters will take place at the Blackstone Chess Academy, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA, from August 11-15, 2008. The event will be a 9 round Swiss with GM/IM norm opportunities and a prize fund of $3,300. The Masters is open to a maximum of 50 players rated FIDE 2100 or higher. Please visit http://www.NewEnglandMasters.com for more info.

The Masters event will be followed by the Blackstone Open on August 16-17, 2008, at the same location. This event will be a 4 round Swiss, split into two sections, an Open (minimum rating USCF 1600) and an Under 1900 Section. The total prize fund is $4,000. Please visit http://www.blackstonechess.com/event88g.htm for more info.

I Masters of Olalachess Academy Training Camp

The I Masters of Olalachess Academy Training Camp takes place in Salou, Spain 1st-7th September 2008.

Details: http://www.masters.olalachess.com

King's Tournament Bazna

The King's Tournament takes place in Bazna, Romania 23rd May - 4th June 2008.

No official site announced yet. Details http://www.ligadexadrez.com.br/conteudo/ver.asp?id=19&conteudoId=356

King's Tournament, Bazna (ROM), 23 v - 4 vi 2008
Andersson, Ulf SWE GM 2537
Beliavsky, Alexander G SLO GM 2641
Chiburdanidze, Maia GEO GM 2489
Khalifman, Alexander RUS GM 2628
Mecking, Henrique BRA GM 2565
Murariu, Andrei ROM GM 2483
Portisch, Lajos HUN GM 2523
Ribli, Zoltan HUN GM 2581
Sokolov, Andrei FRA GM 2596
Suba, Mihai ROM GM 2487
Short, Nigel ENG GM 2660
Vaganian, Rafael A ARM GM 2617

Aerosvit Tournament

The Aerosvit-2008 tournament takes place in Foros, Crimea 7th-20th June 2008.

Official site: http://www.ukrchess.org.ua/aerosvit2008/index_e.htm

Aerosvit - Foros (UKR), 7-20 vi 2008
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2765
2 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2746
3 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2740
4 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2740
5 Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2732
6 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2711
7 Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2711
8 Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2687
9 Volokitin, Andrei g UKR 2684
10 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROU 2684
11 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2676
12 Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2664

European U18 Team championships

The European U18 Team championships take place 13th-22nd June 2008 in Szeged, Hungary. Szeged is a major town on the South of Hungary on the river Tisza.

Invitation, registration form, bank account number, list of entries and other important information can be found at: http://www.chess.hu/u18etc

13th Pannonia Cup

The 13th Pannonia Cup takes place in Balatonalmádi (Hungary) 30th July - 3rd August 2008 International Open for FIDE ratings (without age limit)

Contact details: Fáncsy Imre: 8222. Balatonalmádi, Gábor Áron u. 15.; HUNGARY E-mail: almadikupa@freemail.hu

Details: http://fancsyimi.fw.hu

VI Gyorgy Marx Memorial

The VI.Gyorgy Marx Memorial takes place in Paks, Hungary 24th July - 4th August, 2008.

Players: Acs Peter, Aleksander Beliavsky, Berkes Ferenc, Gabriel Sargissian, Daniel Stellwagen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave average:2617 cat XV.

Alongside is the XII.Paks Open 30th Julybv- 3rd August, 2008, 7 rounds, rapid, blitz and children tournaments Apply and information:Vidéki Sándor videkis2001@yahoo.com

Official site: http://www.ase.hu/marxgy

2nd Queenstown Chess Classic 2009

Queenstown Chess Classic takes place in Queenstown, South Island of New Zealand 15th-24th January 2009.

This will be the second such event, the first was held in Jan 2006.

The Tournament promoter is GM Murray Chandler. Over $50,000 (NZ) is being offered in prizes with additional prizes in the Rapid and Blitz events being held on January 25th-26th 2009.

Full details: http://www.queenstownchess.com

Mitropa Cup

The 2008 Mitropa Cup takes place May 24th - June 4th 2008 on the island of Sardinia in the city of Olbia at the Archaeological Museum. It will be a 9 round competition amongst teams from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland in two separate sections, the men's section and the women's section. Each team will be comprised of four men plus one reserve (for the men´s section), two women plus one reserve (for the women´s section), and one team captain. Officials from both the Italian Chess Federation (FSI) and the European Chess Union (ECU) will be present. Live coverage of the games commencing on Sunday May 25th at 15:00 (GMT + 02:00).

Official web site: http://www.federscacchi.it/mitropa_cup_2008.php

GM Boris Alterman's Chess Lessons

GM Boris Alterman has a blog with free chess lessons on it.

Website: http://chesslessons.wordpress.com/

19th Czech Open

The 19th Czech Open takes place 10th-27th July 2008 (Pardubice, CEZ Arena and Ideon)

THE BIGGEST INTERNATIONAL CHESS AND GAMES FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD (5908 starts of players from 50 countries in CZECH OPEN 2007!). Open grand master tournament (ELO FIDE >= 2200), Open European Amateurs Championships ( 1800,  2000,  2200), hundreds of other tournaments in chess and also in other games

Contacts: AVE-KONTAKT s.r.o., Sukova 1556, 530 02 Pardubice, Czech Republic, tel./fax +420 - 466 535 200, mobile phone + 420 - 608 203 007, e-mail: j.mazuch@avekont.cz,

Further information: http://www.czechopen.net

8th Savaria Summer

The 8th Savaria Summer International Chess Tournament takes place 14th-22nd August 2008, Szombathely, Hungary

Details: http://sakk.savaria.hu/main.php?Lang=EN

French League Top 16

The final three rounds of the French League Top 16 Group Stage took place 10th-13th April 2008. There will be the final pool stages (Haute and Basse) 29th May - 1st June 2008.

Official site: http://www.echecs.asso.fr

8th PAL/CSS Freestyle Tournament

8th PAL/CSS Freestyle Tournament with $16,000 prize fund 24.03.2008 - A "Freestyle tournament" is one in which computer assistance - or help in any conceivable form - during the game is allowed and encouraged. The Eighth PAL/CSS Freestyle tournament will take place on the Playchess server on two weekends, April 11th-13th which has been just completed and April 25th-27th. The main sponsor, the PAL Group in Abu Dhabi (UAE), has provided a $16,000 dollar prize fund. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4528

Details of the preliminaries at: http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4528, http://www.computerschach.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=643&Itemid=1 and the Final standings of the preliminary: http://80.237.188.74/rooms/freestyle_B.htm

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 27th July - 3rd August 2008 in Mainz/Germany. Anand , Morozevich, Carlsen and Polgar play.

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

Voronezh Chess Festival

12th Voronezh traditional chess festival takes place 10th-21st June 2008.

Details: http://www.relex.ru/~xuser/voronezh_open

Arctic Chess Challenge

The Arctic Chess Challenge 2008 takes place August 2nd - 10th in Tromsø, Norway. Contact address: simsim64@gmail.com

Details: http://www.arcticchess.org

Last year's event had 99 participants and was won by Alexander Moiseenko ahead of Kjetil Lie, Vugar Gashimov and Magnus Carlsen.

Ikaros Chess Festival

The main event of the Ikaros Chess Festival, the International Aegean Open Championship takes place from 12th-20th July 2008. It is a 9 round swiss event with prize fund 3000 Euros in total (1st prize 800 Euros, special money prizes for ladies and veterans). Special conditions for GMs/IMs and WGMs/WIMs are provided. The URL of Ikaros Chess Festival is: http://www.chess.gr/ikaros . Our e-mail is: ikaros@chess.gr while to contact us on the phone one can try: +30 6932 478386 or +30 210 5010871 (Mr. Savas Kyriakou). For general information about the island of Ikaria one can also check at: http://www.island-ikaria.com

Leko - Carlsen Match

There is an 8 game rapid match between Peter Leko and Magnus Carlsen 28th May - 1st June 2008.

Official site: http://www.lekokarpov.hu

European Union Championships, Liverpool 2008

This years European Union Championships takes place in Liverpool, England 9th - 18th September 2008. The prize fund is 30,000 pounds with 6000 pounds first prize. Already 16 Grandmasters have entered including Nigel Short, Sergei Tiviakov and Maxim Vachier-Lagrave.

Details:  http://www.liverpoolchessinternational.co.uk            

8th Brno Chess Festival

The 8th Brno Chess Festival 2008 takes place 27th or 29th June - 6th July 2008) in the luxury hotel BOBYCENTRUM****. Two open tournaments (FIDE and national) and closed tournaments (one grandmaster and 2-3 masters) are proposed. More details at: http://www.skduras.cz/en

VII Benidorm International Chess Festival 2008

The VII Benidorm International Chess Festival takes place 28th November - 8th December 2008. For information contact: E-Mail: eventosdeajedrez@yahoo.es festivaldebenidorm@gmail.com News: Patricia Claros Aguilar.

Brussels International Chess Festival

The Brussels International Chess Festival rapid chess tournament (11 rounds - 25 minutes) Open to all rated and unrated players takes place Saturday 24th May - Sunday 25th May 2008

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

Magistral Ciudad de León

The 21st edition of the "Magistral Ciudad de León" takes place May 29th - June 2nd in León, Spain.

The players will be World Champion Viswanathan Anand, Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk, and the 2 best Spanish Players, Alexei Shirov and Francisco Vallejo Pons.

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

The players will be World Champion Viswanathan Anand, Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk, ant the 2 best Spanish Players, Top-10 Alexei Shirov and Francisco Vallejo Pons.

Dvoretsky-Jussupow Chess School in Paris

The Dvoretsky-Jussupow Chess School will hold lessons in Paris in June.

The first stage will be held in the "Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris" 11th-15th June 2008. The training sessions (3 hours with Dvoretsky and 3 hours with Jussupow)are given in english (with possible translation into french), and the trainers will deliver written lessons (available both in English and French).

Groups : limited to 16 persons a day, groups of 8 persons maximum for each trainer.

Charges : 220 Euro per day.

Wednesday : under 1700 elo.

Thursday :1700-2100

Friday :1800-2199

Saturday :+2200

Sunday :+2200

Send your reservations to : L’Ecole Parisienne du jeu d’Échecs, 2 rue des Goncourt, 75011 Paris, France (cheque 220 Euro, order E.P.J.E.). The lessons will be delivered in la Cité Internationale Universitaire, Maison internationale, 19 Bd Jourdan, 75014 Paris. From 10h to 13h and from 14h to 17h. Further information: eneiman@free.fr or phone: +33 6 81 48 64 58

Official site (in French): http://epje.free.fr/

FIDE Grand Prix Events

The line ups for the FIDE Grand Prix events have been announced. The top four players in the world, along with players such as Morozevich and Shirov are missing. It seems that in the case of Kramnik and Topalov that they believe that the event doesn't have big enough prize money (according to quotes in Chess Today). All this was more or less known beforehand. However the players who have signed up make this a very attractive and interesting series of events. The grand prix is organised by Global Chess which is headed by Bessel Kok.

Details: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1607


FIDE Grand Prix 2008-9
Surname First Name NAT Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ck 08 Criteria WRk
Svidler Peter RUS 2763 2763 2763
2763
2763 4 2 Pres Nom 5
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2760 2760
2760 2760
2760 4 2 Rating 6
Leko Peter HUN 2753

2753 2753 2753 2753 4 1 Rating 8
Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2751
2751
2751 2751 2751 4 1 Rating 9
Aronian Levon ARM 2739
2739
2739 2739 2739 4 1 Rating 10
Gelfand Boris ISR 2737
2737
2737 2737 2737 4 1 Rating 11
Radjabov Teimour AZE 2735 2735 2735 2735 2735

4 3 Rating 12
Carlsen Magnus NOR 2733 2733
2733 2733
2733 4 2 Wcup 13
Karjakin Sergey UKR 2732 2732 2732
2732 2732
4 2 Wcup 14
Adams Michael ENG 2726 2726
2726
2726 2726 4 2 Reserve 16
Kamsky Gata USA 2726 2726 2726
2726 2726
4 2 Matches 15
Jakovenko Dmitry RUS 2720
2720 2720
2720 2720 4 2 Hcity 17
Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2713 2713 2713 2713

2713 4 3 Pres Nom 19
Grischuk Alexander RUS 2711 2711 2711 2711 2711

4 3 Reserve 21
Bacrot Etienne FRA 2700 2700
2700 2700 2700
4 2 Pres Nom 22
Wang Yue CHN 2698 2698 2698 2698
2698
4 3 Pres Nom 25
Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2681 2681
2681
2681 2681 4 2 Hcity 34
Navara David CZE 2680 2680 2680

2680 2680 4 2 Hcity 37
Gashimov Vugar AZE 2665 2665 2665 2665
2665
4 3 Hcity 48
Pelletier Yannick SWZ 2600

2600 2600 2600 2600 4 1 Hcity 165
Al Modiahki Mohamad QTR 2569
2569 2569 2569
2569 4 2 Hcity 274
AVERAGE RATING


2715.9 2709.9 2697.4 2714.9 2707.7 2708.9



Player Count 21
2709.1 14 14 14 14 14 14 84 42

Event 1 April 20th - May 6th 2008, Baku, Azerbaijan
Event 2 July 30th - August 15th 2008, Sochi, Russia
Event 3 December 13th - 29th, 2008, Doha, Qatar
Event 4 April 14th - 28th, 2009, Montreux, Switzerland
Event 5 August 8th - 24th, 2009, Elista, Russia
Event 6 December 7th - 23rd, 2009, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes Each Event
Place EUR Points
1 30,000 140 + 40 bonus
2 22,500 130 + 20
3 20,000 120 + 10
4 15,000 110
5 12,500 100
6 11,000 90
7 10,000 80
8 8,500 70
9 7,500 60
10 6,000 50
11 5,500 40
12 5,000 30
13 4,500 20
14 4,000 10


Grand Prix 2008-9
Prizes for Final Standings
(Best three events)
Pl Prize (Euros)
1st 75,000
2nd 50,000
3rd 40,000
4th 30,000
5th 25,000
6th 20,000
7th 18,000
8th 16,000
9th 14,000
10th 12,000

British Chess Championships 2008

The 95th Championships of The British Isles organised by the English Chess Federation takes place Sunday 27th July - Saturday 9th August 2008 in St. George's Hall, Liverpool.

Details: http://www.englishchess.org.uk/events/bc2008/index.html

Canadian Open

The Canadian Open takes place in Montreal July 19th-27th 2008.

Further details: Fédération québécoise des échecs

Cidade de Ferrol International

XXIII International Chess tournament Cidade de Ferrol Prizes : 14750 euros (different sections) Dates : 15th-20th July 2008 Time rate : 90’ + 30 Secunden Accomodation : 24,5 euros Full board in a Student house. There other posibilities. Entry: 30 euros . contact e-mail: xanrei@arrakis.es Other tournaments: Bernasque 3/7-12/7. Circuito Galego From 22/7 to 30/9

Further info: http://www.cfxadrez.org

X Sants Open

The X International Open of Sants, Hostafrancs and la Bordeta (Barcelona - Spain) takes place 22nd-31st August 2008. 10 round swiss system tournament with + 12.000 euros in prizes.

Other activities include a blitz tournament and rapid chess tournament with 1500 euros in prizes. Last year: 500 players from 40 countries including 70 titled players competed. There were 2 GM and 5 IM norms.

Details: http://http://www.cotxeres.org/open

Yerevan Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2008

The Chess Federation of Armenia is organizing an International Open Rapid Chess Tournament which takes place June 12th-15th, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia. The event is organized simultaneously with the tournament "Chess Giants Yerevan 2008" with the participation of the world's top grandmasters.

The total prize fund of the open rapid tournament is 33000 USD with the following breakdown.

Breakdown of the Prize Fund
1st place 6 000 USD
2nd place 4 000 USD
3rd place 3 500 USD
4th place 2 500 USD
5th place 2 000 USD
6th place 1 800 USD
7th place 1 600 USD
8th place 1 500 USD
9th place 1 400 USD
10th place 1 300 USD
11th-20th 800 USD

Grandmasters and chess players with an Elo above 2450 will pay no entry fee. For the other participants the following fees are fixed: International Masters with an Elo up to 2450 30 USD Chess players with an Elo from 2301 to 2450 50 USD Chess players with an Elo from 2151 to 2300 70 USD Chess players with an Elo up to 2150 and without an Elo 100 USD The board and lodging costs will be covered by the participants. The following accommodation options are offered: Ani Plaza Hotel Single room - 80 Euro Double room - 50 Euro Breakfast is included in the prices. Optionally lunch - 10 Euro, dinner - 10 Euro Erebuni Hotel Single room - 60 Euro Double room - 35 Euro Breakfast is included in the prices.

For further information please contact: Mr. Gaguik Oganessian General Secretary, Armenian Chess Federation President, FIDE Zone 1,5
Tel.: (374)10-554923
Fax: (374)10-570758
E-Mail armchess@arminco.com

The 8th European Senior Championship

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" will present the 7th Chess Summer Festival in Davos from August 9th to 17th, 2008. The main event will be the 8th European Individual Senior Championship. The second tournament will be traditional, 7th Davos Open.

8th European Individual Senior Championship, August 9th to 17th 2008. "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars) will be host festival in Congress Center. Swiss system, 9 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and rating: FIDE, Swiss (SSB) and German (DWZ). Seniors: men born 1947 and earlier; women born 1957 and earlier. Prize (men): 2.500/1.700/1.000/700/600/500/2x400/2x300 CHF. 3-4 group rating prize (200/150/100 CHF). Women: 400/300/3x200 CHF; Entry fee 80 CHF; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 9th; Round 2/8 9.30-15.30 August 10th-16th; Round 9 9.30-15.30 August 17th.

7th Davos Open, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). Prize are: 1.000 SF, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 2x150 CHF. Natural prizes for 4 and more points. Entry fee 130 CHF, FMs and juniors 60 CHF, GMs and IMs free; juniors lodging at Sunstar Park Hotel free; at the door 20 CHF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 10th; Round 2/7 16.00-22.00 August 10th-16th. Venue: "Sunstar Park Hotel" Congress Center. Closing ceremony August 17th, 4 p.m. Info Beochess: +41+62+9654-650 (Robert Spoerri) Email beochess@bluewin.ch or read the website: http://www.beochess.ch

Paleochora International Open 2008

The Paleochora (southern Crete) International Open takes place 21st-28th July 2008.

Further details: http://www.chaniachess.gr

The Battle of Senta 1697 Chess Festival 2008

12th International Chess Festival "The Battle of Senta 1697" will be held 18th-25th. July 2008. in Senta (the Vojvodina /Serbia).

Further details: http://www.chess-senta.org.yuand in English: http://www.chess-senta.org.yu/select.php?lang=3&xid=2

XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra

The XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra takes place 19th-27th July 2008. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com FEVA - Tel/Fax: 00.376.824465

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

Alushta Diary 2008

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 - 27.06, Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 3.06 - 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06 Individual and group studying. phone +38 (06560)5-05-32,

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua

Pula Open 2008

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia. Contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr

Further details: http://www.skpula.hr

echiquier-nicois Website

Thierry Foissez's echiquier-nicois website reports on news and events in French daily.

http://www.echiquier-nicois.org

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/

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.

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ with his analysis and news. Very worth while, especially when he's playing.

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