THE WEEK IN CHESS 711 23rd June 2008 by Mark Crowther

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Mark Crowther
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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Aerosvit Tournament
3) European U18 Team championships
4) Pula Open
5) Paraguayan Championship
6) Turkish Chess League
7) Copa Benito Roggio
8) XXX Nezhmetdinov Memorial
9) First Saturday June
10) V Mukhamedzhianov Memorial
11) Voronezh Chess Festival
12) Marshall Chess Club International
13) 12th North American FIDE International
14) Merlo Tournament
15) Lodi Tournament
16) Lebanese Championship
17) Georgian Blitz
18) Upcoming Events
19) Chess Classic Mainz
20) Forthcoming Events and Links

Games Section
Aerosvit Tournament 18 games
European U18 Team championships 160 games
Pula Open 52 games
Copa Benito Roggio 18 games
First Saturday June 56 games
V Mukhamedzhianov Memorial 18 games
Marshall Chess Club International 30 games
12th North American FIDE International 20 games
Merlo Tournament 15 games
Lodi Tournament 90 games
Lebanese Championship 188 games
665 games

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1) Introduction

My thanks to Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Zenon Franco Ocampos, Harry Schaack, Robert Fontaine, Miklos Orso, Bela Lengyel, Marcelo Pagano, Adolivio Capece, Elie Houlishian, Vlad Rekhson, Varlam Vepkhvishvili and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Magnus Carlsen duly won the Aerosvit tournament in Foros and, if the event is rated in the July list, he will move to second in the new FIDE rating list. This looks about right as Carlsen is playing some of the toughest chess around at the moment. The subject of rating elite events after the official deadline is raised yet again. In my view it should be possible to include such elite events right up until the 1st of July but all this really should be agreed in advance and to be fair FIDE are moving towards this. To publish a list which is already out of date is really not good common sense.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Aerosvit Tournament

The Aerosvit-2008 tournament took place in Foros, Crimea 7th-20th June 2008. Magnus Carlsen won the event with a fantastic 8/11 which will take him to number 2 in the world if the event is rated in the July list. Its not quite clear if it will or not.

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

Aerosvit Foros (UKR), 8-19 vi 2008 cat. XIX (2712)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2765 * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 8 2881
2. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2740 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 7 2811
3. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2732 ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 6 2745
4. Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2687 0 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 2750
5. Volokitin, Andrei g UKR 2684 ½ ½ 1 0 * 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 5½ 2714
6. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2711 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 5½ 2711
7. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2740 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 * ½ 1 0 1 1 5½ 2709
8. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2711 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 0 ½ 5 2675
9. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2746 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 5 2672
10. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROU 2684 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ * 1 ½ 5 2678
11. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2677 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 0 * ½ 4 2612
12. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2664 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 3½ 2583

Round 9 (June 17, 2008)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 19 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Karjakin, Sergey - Van Wely, Loek ½-½ 20 D94 Gruenfeld Closed
Volokitin, Andrei - Eljanov, Pavel 0-1 48 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 16 A30 English Symmetrical
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter - Shirov, Alexei 1-0 36 B33 Sicilian Sveshnikov
Onischuk, Alexander - Alekseev, Evgeny ½-½ 17 E17 Queens Indian
Round 10 (June 18, 2008)
Carlsen, Magnus - Volokitin, Andrei ½-½ 79 D56 Queens Gambit Lasker's Defence
Eljanov, Pavel - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ 32 D11 Slav Defence
Shirov, Alexei - Svidler, Peter 1-0 43 D16 Slav Lasker/Smyslov
Alekseev, Evgeny - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 45 E28 Nimzo Indian Saemisch
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter - Onischuk, Alexander ½-½ 19 C69 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Van Wely, Loek - Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1 21 A04 Dutch System
Round 11 (June 19, 2008)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Eljanov, Pavel 1-0 60 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Karjakin, Sergey - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 29 D86 Gruenfeld Simagin
Volokitin, Andrei - Alekseev, Evgeny 1-0 45 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ½-½ 18 E11 Bogo Indian Defence
Svidler, Peter - Van Wely, Loek ½-½ 37 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Onischuk, Alexander - Shirov, Alexei 0-1 29 D27 QGA

3) European U18 Team championships

The European U18 Team championships took place 13th-22nd June 2008 in Szeged, Hungary. Szeged is a major town on the South of Hungary on the river Tisza. Both events were won by Poland.

Official site: http://www.chess.hu/u18etc

8th TCh-Euro U18 Szeged (HUN), 14-21 vi 2008
Rk.SNoTeamGames + = - TB1 TB2 TB3
13Poland752019,5116,012
21Hungary A734018,5115,510
34Hungary B750218,0105,510
45Romania741217,092,59
56Croatia740317,090,58
62Spain731316,0113,57
77Slovakia732216,092,08
89Slovenia730413,586,06
910Germany A730412,091,06
108Germany B721411,588,55
1111Scotland71159,089,03
1212Turkish Galatasaray HS CT70070,096,00
8th TCh-Euro U18 Girls Szeged (HUN), 14-21 vi 2008
Rk.Team12345678 TB1 TB2 TB3
1Poland * 1211½21½211,036,5012
2Montenegro1 * ½11½21½29,528,7510
3Hungary A01½ * 1½211½18,532,7510
4Romania11½ * 20127,521,007
5Germany½½00 * 1½226,513,006
6Croatia0012½ * 11½6,016,006
7Hungary B½½½101 * 25,58,254
8Slovenia00100½0 * 1,54,251

4) Pula Open

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia.

Official site: http://www.skpula.hr

22th Open Pula (CRO), 21-28 vi 2008
Round 3 of 9 Standings:
Rk.NameFEDPts.Rp
1GMTratar MarkoSLO3,02845
2GMBistric FarukBIH3,02756
3GMJankovic AlojzijeCRO3,02875
4GMBrkic AnteCRO3,02886
5GMDrazic SinisaSRB3,02858
6IMVavrak PeterSVK3,02835
7IMSakelsek TadejSLO3,02812
8FMKopylov Alexander ARUS3,02779
9FMStokke KjetilNOR3,02753
10FMAscic PeroCRO3,02750
11IMPetran PeterSVK3,02742
12FMKarner ChristophAUT3,02741
13IMBorsos BogdanUKR3,02735
14GMRogic DavorCRO3,02835
15IMRukavina JosipCRO3,02807
16GMFercec NenadCRO3,02856
17Sutkovic DamirBIH3,02870
18Kokol PeterSLO3,02707
19GMSaric IbroBIH2,52485
20IMSebenik MatejSLO2,52461
21GMPetrik TomasSVK2,52443
22IMAntal GergelyHUN2,52426
23IMObodchuk AndreiRUS2,52422
24FMSomborski NebojsaSRB2,52496
25IMMacak StefanSVK2,52471
26FMForsaa EspenNOR2,52457
27Szamoskozi GaborHUN2,52445
28Perhinig RobertAUT2,52318
29GMJovanic OgnjenCRO2,52471
30WGMMedic MirjanaCRO2,52422
31FMPapp TamasHUN2,52364
32IMPapp GaborHUN2,52416
33IMFranic MilanCRO2,52371
34Harakis Alexis MENG2,52399
35FMHirneise TobiasGER2,52308
36Plenca JulijanCRO2,52307
37FMSasvari ZelimirCRO2,52307
38Bajramovic HalidBIH2,52130
39Waldmann GeraldAUT2,52293
268 players

5) Paraguayan Championship

The Paraguayan Championship takes place in Asuncion 31st May - 26th June 2008. Luis Patriarca leads with 5/6.

Official site : http://www.winner.com.py/feparaj/

ch-PAR Asuncion (PAR), 31 v-26 vi 2008
1. Patriarca, Luis f PAR 2333 5.019.5 14.00
2. Peralta, Eduardo f PAR 2245 4.523.0 15.50
3. Hernandez, Angel C f PAR 2210 4.520.0 14.50
4. Ferreira, Oscar f PAR 2290 4.021.0 14.50
5. Butti, Enrique PAR 2093 4.021.0 13.50
6. Jodorcovsky, Paulo PAR 2207 3.522.0 14.50
7. Del Puerto, Rodrigo PAR 1995 3.521.0 14.00
8. Almiron, Antonio PAR 2115 3.519.5 13.00
9. Kropff, Ricardo f PAR 2282 3.519.0 12.50
10. Piris Tillner, Eduardo PAR 1909 3.019.0 12.00
11. Forte, Fernando PAR 1966 3.017.5 12.50
12. Sartori, Spartaco ITA 2182 3.016.5 10.00
13. Recalde, Augusto PAR 2005 3.016.0 10.50
14. Galeano, Mario PAR 2026 2.518.5 12.00
15. Barrientos, Edgar PAR 2080 2.516.5 12.00
16. Perez Ferloni, Jose W PAR 1996 2.516.5 11.50
17. Recalde, Ariel PAR 2010 2.015.5 11.00
18. Gutierrez,Santiago PAR ---- 2.014.0 10.00
19. Gamarra, Ramon PAR 2035 2.014.0 10.00
20. Zarza, Ronald PAR 2075 2.0 4.5 1.50
21. Lipiniks, Leonardo PAR 2012 1.015.0 9.50
22. Ibanez, Juan PAR 1999 1.0 7.5 3.00
23. Britez, G Jorge A PAR 1904 0.510.0 7.00

6) Turkish Chess League

The Turkish Chess League first division takes place 23rd June - 3rd July 2008. Leading players include GM Vugar Gashimov(2679), GM Mikhail Roiz(2659), GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili(2635), Dragan Solak(2630), GM Gadir Guseinov(2625), Suat Atalik(2592), Ioannis Papaiannous(2566), Hristos Banikas(2600) and the top women players who can play on the separete women's board include IM/WGM Anna Muzychuk(2486),IM/WGM Anna Ushenina (2474), IM/WGM Lela Javakhishvili(2466), IM/WGM Nana Dzagnidze(2443), IM/WGM Nino Khurtsizde(2413) IM/WGM Ekaterina Atalik(2409)

Official site: http://www.tsf.org.tr/. Some additional reports at: http://previews.chessdom.com/turkish-chess-league

7) Copa Benito Roggio

The Magistral Ciudad de Asuncion "Copa Benito Roggio" takes place 17th-26th June 2008 in ABC, Asuncion, Paraguay.

Official site : http://www.winner.com.py/feparaj/

Copa Benito Roggio Asuncion (PAR), 17-26 vi 2008 cat. VI (2392)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Bachmann, Axel g PAR 2519 * * ½ . 1 . 1 . 1 . 1 1 5½ 2763
2. Diaz Hollemaert, Nahuel m ARG 2429 ½ . * * ½ . 1 . 1 1 1 . 5 2640
3. Cubas, Jose Fernando m PAR 2430 0 . ½ . * * ½ 0 1 . 1 . 3 2379
4. Brito, Luismar f BRA 2352 0 . 0 . ½ 1 * * ½ . ½ . 2½ 2348
5. Kropff, Ricardo f PAR 2282 0 . 0 0 0 . ½ . * * ½ . 1 2143
6. Larrea, Manuel f URU 2342 0 0 0 . 0 . ½ . ½ . * * 1 2148

8) XXX Nezhmetdinov Memorial

The Nezhmetdinov Memorial took place in Kazan 1st-9th June 2008. Dmitry Bocharov and Andrei Kharlov finished on 7/9 (there is a corrected table below from last week), no games available.

Official site: http://tatchess.ucoz.ru/news/2008-05-31-8

XXX Nezhmetdinov Memorial Kazan (RUS), 1-9 vi 2008.
Leading Final Round 9 Standings
1. 5 Bocharov, Dmitry 7.0 52.0 39.50 39.0 2569 2703 +1.53
15 Kharlov, Andrei 7.0 49.5 38.00 33.5 2499 2607 +1.25
3. 3 Aleksandrov, Aleksej 6.5 52.5 36.50 37.0 2583 2633 +0.68
7 Iljin, Artem 6.5 51.5 36.25 34.5 2556 2605 +0.69
1 Fedorov, Alexei 6.5 51.5 35.50 34.0 2603 2617 +0.28
8 Shaposhnikov, Evgeny 6.5 50.0 35.00 34.5 2553 2616 +0.83
6 Rychagov, Andrey 6.5 48.5 34.50 33.0 2565 2564 +0.18
14 Vokarev, Sergey 6.5 48.0 32.75 33.5 2502 2607 +1.34
20 Looshnikov, Nikolai 6.5 47.0 31.25 33.0 2462 2560 +1.27
13 Zablotsky, Sergei 6.5 46.0 31.75 32.0 2508 2522 +0.26
11. 4 Kokarev, Dmitry 6.0 51.5 32.75 34.5 2579 2582 +0.09
23 Kuporosov, Viktor 6.0 50.0 31.75 32.0 2448 2493 +0.69
30 Akhmadeev, Vadim 6.0 50.0 29.50 32.5 2397 2538 +1.75
25 Alavkin, Arseny 6.0 49.5 30.75 33.5 2439 2541 +1.37
11 Voitsekhovsky, Stanislav 6.0 48.5 31.00 32.5 2511 2539 +0.39
16 Ponkratov, Pavel 6.0 48.5 29.00 32.5 2499 2540 +0.61
12 Kalegin, Evgenij 6.0 47.5 29.75 32.5 2510 2522 +0.20
19 Yandemirov, Valeri 6.0 45.5 29.00 31.0 2463 2469 +0.23
27 Borisenko, Andrei 6.0 44.5 28.25 28.5 2429 2432 +0.12
9 Solodovnichenko, Yuri 6.0 43.5 28.00 28.0 2537 2428 -1.08
24 Isajevsky, Anton 6.0 41.5 28.00 29.5 2440 2417 -0.15
22. 2 Azarov, Sergei 5.5 54.0 31.50 33.0 2585 2542 -0.40
26 Ponfilenok, Vladimir 5.5 51.0 28.50 32.0 2435 2460 +0.49
17 Zabotin, Alexander 5.5 48.5 26.75 31.5 2496 2454 -0.33
33 Skomorokhin, Roman 5.5 48.0 25.25 29.0 2378 2434 +0.82
28 Kupreichik, Viktor D 5.5 46.5 25.75 29.0 2414 2457 +0.69
35 Ozolin, Maxim 5.5 46.0 27.50 27.5 2367 2369 +0.13
21 Andreev, Eduard 5.5 45.5 26.25 29.0 2459 2415 -0.44
57 Mikheev, Stanislav 5.5 44.5 26.00 28.5 2244 2499 +2.32
22 Gubajdullin, Alexei 5.5 44.5 25.00 30.0 2456 2393 -0.54
43 Demianjuk, Alexander 5.5 44.5 23.25 27.5 2317 2393 +0.96
64 Bronnikov, Konstantin 5.5 43.5 24.00 26.0 2210 2431 +2.59
34 Ogloblin, Nikolay 5.5 42.0 24.50 27.0 2369 2374 +0.20
38 Efanov, Nikolai 5.5 40.0 24.50 26.0 2348 2319 -0.19
46 Dimukhametov, Artur 5.5 40.0 23.00 24.0 2295 2267 -0.21
49 Amirkhanov, Roustem 5.5 38.0 20.50 25.5 2278 2288 +0.14
114 players

9) First Saturday June

The First Saturday GM closed tournament took place in Budapest 7th-19th June 2008. Mark Bluvshtein took clear first place in the GM event with 10/13 a point and a half clear of the field. Gao Rui took the IM event.

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

The official photographer of the event is Miklos Szabo and has over the last 3 years produced 100-200 pictures per event. You can see them on his website at: http://kep.tar.hu/nicolachess/

FSGM June Budapest HUN (HUN), 7-19 vi 2008 cat. VII (2425)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Bluvshtein, Mark g CAN 2544 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 10.0 2626
2. Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy f VIE 2482 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 9.0 2561
3. Wang Puchen m NZL 2397 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 8.5 2537
4. Bui Vinh m VIE 2448 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 8.0 2510
5. Sethuraman, S.P m IND 2425 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 7.5 2482
6. Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas m CAN 2489 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 7.0 2449
7. Czebe, Attila g HUN 2513 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 6.5 2418
8. Fogarasi, Tibor g HUN 2426 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 6.0 2395
9. Liu Qingnan CHN 2344 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 1 1 6.0 2402
10. Duong The Anh f VIE 2403 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 5.5 2369
11. Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2411 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 * 0 0 1 5.5 2369
12. Paschall, William M m USA 2330 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 * 0 1 4.5 2322
13. Kobese, Watu m RSA 2396 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 * 0 4.0 2286
14. Macak, Stefan SVK 2342 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 * 3.0 2220

FSIM June Budapest HUN (HUN), 7-19 vi 2008 cat. II (2287)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Gao Rui CHN 2139 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 + 1 9½ 2472
2. Galyas, Miklos m HUN 2455 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 8 2360
3. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2267 1 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ + ½ 8 2375
4. Szeberenyi, Adam m HUN 2325 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ + 1 7½ 2340
5. Sisatto, Olli FIN 2273 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ + 1 7½ 2344
6. Werner, Dimo m GER 2300 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 2314
7. Lyell, Mark f ENG 2237 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 7 2319
8. Parkanyi, Attila m HUN 2392 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 6½ 2278
9. Chapman, Terry P D ENG 2263 ½ 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 * 0 1 1 ½ 1 6 2259
10. Vas, Peter SWE SWE 2196 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 * 1 ½ ½ 1 6 2264
11. Rabeyrin, Jean-Jacques f FRA 2303 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 * 1 + 0 5½ 2228
12. Farago, Sandor m HUN 2240 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 * + 1 5 2203
13. Schmidt, Raul ROU 2343 - ½ - - - ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ - - * 1 4 2141
14. Sondermann, Johannes GER 2279 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 0 * 3½ 2112

10) V Mukhamedzhianov Memorial

V Mukhamedzhianov Memorial and the X Belyaev Memorial took place in Naberezhnye Chelny, 11th-18th June 2008. Yuri Solodovnichenko won with 7.5/10. Tables derived from the games.

Official site: http://www.nabchess.narod.ru

V Muhamedzjanov Memorial Naberezhnye Chelny (RUS), 11-18 vi 2008 cat. IX (2452)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Solodovnichenko, Yuri g UKR 2538 * * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 7½ 2628
2. Ponkratov, Pavel m RUS 2499 0 ½ * * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6½ 2552
3. Potapov, Pavel m RUS 2436 0 ½ ½ ½ * * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 2491
4. Komliakov, Viktor g MDA 2444 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * * ½ ½ ½ ½ 4 2381
5. Markosian, David S g ARM 2501 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * * ½ ½ 4 2370
6. Dimukhametov, Artur f RUS 2295 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * * 2½ 2290

X Belyaev Memorial Naberezhnye Chelny (RUS), 11-18 vi 2008 cat. V (2370)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Andreev, Eduard UKR g UKR 2459 * * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 7 2500
2. Balashov, Yuri S g RUS 2409 ½ ½ * * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 6 2433
3. Vorontsov, Nickolay m KAZ 2314 0 ½ ½ ½ * * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6 2452
4. Kupreichik, Viktor D g BLR 2414 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * * 1 1 ½ 1 5½ 2396
5. Aleksandrov, Vladimir A f RUS 2347 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * * ½ ½ 3 2225
6. Salov, Sergej m GER 2274 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * * 2½ 2195

11) Voronezh Chess Festival

12th Voronezh traditional chess festival took place 10th-21st June 2008. Aleksej Aleksandrov took first place on tie-break from Sergei Zablotsky after both finished on 7/9. Games not yet available.

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

12th Voronezh Chess Festival (RUS), 10-21 vi 2008
PlNameTiNATEloPtsKBKPTPP-Po
1Aleksandrov, Aleksej GM BLR 25837503727111.33
2Zablotsky, Sergei IM RUS 2508749.536.527232.41
3Fedorov, Alexei GM BLR 26036.55234.526500.56
4Azarov, Sergei GM BLR 25856.551.537.526691.01
5Savchenko, Boris GM RUS 25696.55035.526621.1
6Vysochin, Spartak GM UKR 25216.5503526681.73
7Malakhatko, Vadim GM BEL 26216.549.532.526510.38
8Romanov, Evgeny GM RUS 25476.547.532.526200.83
9Chuprov, Dmitry GM RUS 25756.54733.526420.74
10Lastin, Alexander GM RUS 2622651.53226270.06
11Zinchenko, Yaroslav GM UKR 251664935.526271.32
12Khismatullin, Denis GM RUS 2584648.530.525890.06
13-14 Bryzgalin, Kirill GM RUS 2529646.53126010.87
13-14 Tunik, Gennady GM RUS 2486646.53126141.5
15Gasanov, Eldar GM UKR 253164630.525630.33
16Khruschiov, Alexey GM MDA 251464528.52512-0.03
17Ulko, Jaroslav IM RUS 2469643.529.525440.87
18Korotylev, Alexey GM RUS 2606642282566-0.48
19Golovin, Leonid RUS 2463641.52725170.6
20Zakhartsov, Viacheslav V. GM RUS 2580636252494-0.93
21Zherebukh, Yaroslav IM UKR 24465.549.53126011.9
22Zubarev, Alexander GM UKR 25105.54529.525490.46
23Zubov, Alexander IM UKR 25685.544.530.52529-0.44
24Kokarev, Dmitry GM RUS 25795.544.5302516-0.71
25Gabrielian, Artur IM RUS 24945.543.53024940.01
26Ovetchkin, Roman GM RUS 25565.54329.52533-0.26
27Yakovich, Yuri GM RUS 25665.542.5282480-0.98
28Papin, Vasily IM RUS 24835.54127.52463-0.26
29Okrugin, Sergey RUS 23545.5412624911.72
30Gubajdullin, Alexei FM RUS 24565.539.524.52405-0.62
31Geller, Jakov IM RUS 25075.53923.52393-1.25
32Yandemirov, Valeri GM RUS 24635.538.52624600.01
33Kharlov, Andrei GM RUS 24995.538242386-1.25
34Smirnov, Pavel GM RUS 2589549.529.52500-1.12
35Zhumabayev, Rinat IM KAZ 24425493025431.22
36Frolyanov, Dmitry GM RUS 2553546.5292480-0.94
37Smirnov, Alexey RUS 23975462824510.68
38Provotorov, Ivan FM RUS 239854525.524630.77
39Sergienko, Sergey IM RUS 2446544.526.524920.5
40Kiselev, Gennady IM RUS 2453543.527.52425-0.4
124 players

12) Marshall Chess Club International

The Marshall Chess Club New York International takes place 21th-25th June 2008. 9 round swiss.

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

Marshall NY Int New York (USA), 21-25 vi 2008
Leading Round 4 Standings:
1 Ramirez, Alejandro g CRC 2527 3½
2 Becerra Rivero, Julio g USA 2575 3
3 Kudrin, Sergey g USA 2549 3
4 Paragua, Mark g PHI 2538 3
5 Garcia Palermo, Carlos g ITA 2465 3
6 Ehlvest, Jaan g USA 2603 2½
7 Gonzalez, Renier m USA 2507 2½
8 Ippolito, Dean m USA 2425 2½
9 Vovsha, Eli m ISR 2452 2½
10Almeida Saenz, Alfonso m MEX 2424 2½
11Scekic, Milos m SRB 2371 2½
12Sarkar, Justin m USA 2412 2½
13Burnett, Ronald m USA 2373 2½
14Ginsburg, Mark m USA 2365 2½
15Sorkin, Igor ISR 2346 2½
16Critelli, James M f USA 2343 2½
17Molner, Mackenzie USA 2338 2½
18Erenburg, Sergey g ISR 2568 2
19Lapshun, Yury m USA 2455 2
20Rohde, Michael A g USA 2460 2
21Bonin, Jay R m USA 2368 2
22Zlotnikov, Mikhail m USA 2353 2
23Mac Intyre, Paul f USA 2291 2
24Zenyuk, Iryna wf USA 2233 2
25Getz, Alec USA 2142 2
26Liu, Elliot f USA 2252 1½
40 players

13) 12th North American FIDE International

The 12th North American FIDE International takes place in Chicago 21st-27th June 2008,

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

12th North American FIDE Inv Chicago (USA), 21-27 vi 2008 cat. III (2303)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Felecan, Florin f USA 2377 * . . ½ 1 1 . 1 . . 3½ 2618
2. Arnold, Marc T USA 2276 . * ½ . . . 1 . 1 1 3½ 2647
3. Young, Angelo m PHI 2381 . ½ * ½ . ½ 1 . . . 2½ 2406
4. Chow, Albert f USA 2198 ½ . ½ * . . . . ½ 1 2½ 2406
5. Kuderinov, Kirill m KAZ 2422 0 . . . * ½ . 1 1 . 2½ 2379
6. Pasalic, Mehmed f GER 2392 0 . ½ . ½ * ½ . . . 1½ 2302
7. Tate, Emory m USA 2378 . 0 0 . . ½ * . . 1 1½ 2235
8. Yuan Yuanling wf CAN 2119 0 . . . 0 . . * ½ 1 1½ 2234
9. Dean, Jim H f USA 2248 . 0 . ½ 0 . . ½ * . 1 2060
10. Stamnov, Aleksander f MKD 2239 . 0 . 0 . . 0 0 . * 0

14) Merlo Tournament

The Italian Society of Merlo Chessclub takes place 13th June - 12th July 2008 in Buenos Aires.

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

4th IRT Soc. Italiana Merlo (ARG), 13 vi-12 vii 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Lalanne, Pablo ARG 2193 * 1 1 . . . . . . 1 3
2. Tomeo, Ivan ARG 2076 0 * . 1 . . 1 . . . 2 2266
3. De Picciotto, Marcelo ARG 2035 0 . * . . 1 . . 1 . 2 2283
4. Pagano, Marcelo ARG 2056 . 0 . * 1 . . ½ . . 1½ 2057
5. Medina, Sergio ARG 2099 . . . 0 * . . 1 ½ . 1½ 2055
6. Sapienza, Julian ARG 2169 . . 0 . . * . . 1 ½ 1½ 2062
7. Menon, Daniel ARG 2174 . 0 . . . . * ? . 1 1 2057
8. Lugo, Sergio ARG 1997 . . . ½ 0 . ? * . . ½ 1884
9. Herrera, Pablo ARG 2114 . . 0 . ½ 0 . . * . ½ 1828
10. Koch, Juan ARG 2039 0 . . . . ½ 0 . . * ½ 1905

15) Lodi Tournament

The 4th Lodi Chess Festival took place June 13th-15th 2008. Oleg Korneev took first place on tie-break after five players tied on 4/5.

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

4th Open A Lodi (ITA), 13-15 vi 2008
1Korneev, Oleg gRUS26514.014.5
2Lenic, Luka gSLO25844.014.0
3Leon Hoyos, Manuel mMEX24904.013.0
4Fedorchuk, Sergey A gUKR26714.012.5
5Vezzosi, Paolo mITA23514.011.0
6Hera, Imre jr gHUN25243.514.02.5
7Tiviakov, Sergei gNED26353.514.02.0
8Corvi, Marco fITA23473.513.0
9Kovalyov, Anton mARG25253.512.5
10Izsak, Gyula mHUN24273.511.0
11Bove, Alessandro ITA22153.014.0
12Borgo, Giulio mITA24533.013.0
13Farago, Ivan gHUN24703.012.5
14Lazic, Miroljub gSRB25393.012.02.0
15Pomaro, Alberto ITA22093.012.0
16Sbarra, Marco fITA22433.010.5
17Sciortino, Massimo fITA22173.010.01.5
18Bertani, Gianfranco ITA21333.010.0
19Stips, Felix ITA21023.0 9.0
20Bonade, Massimo ITA21352.513.0
21Schneider-Zinner, Harald fAUT23502.512.0
52 players

16) Lebanese Championship

The Lebanese Championship took place 4th-14th June 2008. FM Faisal Khairallah grasped his 4th title. My thanks to Elie Houlishian for the news and games.

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

ch-LIB Beirut LIB (LIB), 4-14 vi 2008
RankSNo.NameRtgFEDPtsFide
11FMKhairallah Faisal2350LIB8½43
28Atwi Ali2138LIB732
32FMNajjar Ahmad2334LIB6½35
6WIMMouradian Knarik2161LIB6½35
53Kassis Antoine2219LIB6½34½
610Sakr Nassim2121LIB632
79Nassar Marwan2137LIB631½
816Sharbel Marwan1831LIB630
913Chahine Abdallah2053LIB628
107Maasarani Mahmoud2143LIB5½33½
114Shamieh Mahmoud2196LIB5½32½
12Eljawish Ali2063LIB5½32½
1314Mrad Charif2028LIB5½27½
145Shamieh Jamal2186LIB5½27
1545Oknayan Razmig0LIB531
1615Terzian Kevork1839LIB527
1741Mikati Hani0LIB525
42Nassar Ziad0LIB525
1946Ramadan Wissam0LIB522
2044Oknayan Krikor0LIB518
2120Tarraf Tarraf1751LIB4½25
2227Bohlok Houssam0LIB4½24½
47Shahrour Ibrahim0LIB4½24½
2433Hidari Walid0LIB4½21½
2538Koueik Firas0LIB4½20½
2617Moudallal Tarek1825LIB425
2723AbouDahr EzzEddine0LIB422
2832Hanna Adib0LIB421
2930ElAyyash Rawad0LIB419
3040Matta Dany0LIB417
3137Khoury Charles0LIB416
3248Shahrour Mohamad0LIB3½17½
3335Jabr Bernard0LIB3½13½
3434Issa Khalil0LIB317
3526Berberi Imad0LIB316
3631Fakih Mohamad0LIB312
3728Bou Abdo Sleiman0LIB2½14½
49Sharara Georges0LIB2½14½
3911Dagher Walid2103LIB216
4025Asmar Elie0LIB214
4139Makdessi Assaad0LIB24
4224Akil Mohamad0LIB18
4318Manhal Najib1820LIB00
19Shokr Mohamad1793LIB00
21Fares Eid1745LIB00
22Abou Salman Naji0LIB00
29Dahdah Georges0LIB00
36Kaskas Farah0LIB00
43Obeid Ahmad Mohamad0LIB00

17) Georgian Blitz

A Blitz tournament memory of the first Georgian International Grandmaster Bukhuti Gurgenidze took place on 17th June 2008 in Tbilisi. This was a Swiss system event with 9 rounds. Among the 71 participants were 59 FIDE Rated, 31 IMs, 51 men, 20 women) was only one foreigner, a 21 year old junior from state of California Galen Pyle who scored 2.5 points out of 9. Its interesting to note that his opponents were 7 girls out of 9 (1 wg, 3 wm, 1 wf and 2 FIDE Rated) . News: Varlam Vepkhvishvili.

Bukhuti Gurgenidze Mem Blitz (GEO), 17 vi 2008
Rank N Fed Tit Rating Name Total T/B
1 17 GEO 2371 Azaladze, Shota 8 40
2 2 GEO g 2617 Pantsulaia, Levan 7 39.5
3 4 GEO g 2553 Gagunashvili, Merab 7 37.5
4 1 GEO g 2635 Mchedlishvili, Mikheil 7 35.5
5 3 GEO g 2556 Kacheishvili, Giorgi 6.5 40
6 9 GEO m 2463 Jojua, Davit 6.5 34.5
7 12 GEO m 2455 Margvelashvili, Giorgi 6.5 34.5
8 25 GEO wf 2261 Tsatsalashvili, Keti 6.5 33
9 37 GEO 2157 Javakhadze, Zurab 6.5 32.5
10 20 GEO wg 2333 Khotenashvili, Bela 6.5 29
11 13 GEO g 2452 Gaprindashvili, Valeriane 6 33
12 11 GEO m 2458 Sanikidze, Tornike 6 33
13 7 GEO g 2473 Bagaturov, Giorgi 6 32
14 14 GEO m 2421 Morchiashvili, Bachana 6 29
15 24 GEO m 2264 Purtseladze, Maka 6 28
16 40 GEO f 2139 Gamzardia, Giorgi 6 27
17 6 GEO m 2491 Sulashvili, Malkhaz 5.5 31
18 15 GEO m 2384 Chigladze, Iveri 5.5 29.5
19 18 GEO 2354 Gelazonia, Parmen 5.5 27.5
20 35 GEO 2161 Vakhania, Alexandra 5.5 27
21 64 GEO Khantadze, Teimuraz 5.5 26
22 39 GEO 2150 Beradze, Irakli 5.5 24.5
23 5 GEO g 2518 Shanava, Konstantine 5 31
24 21 GEO wm 2318 Guramishvili, Sopiko 5 28
25 26 GEO wm 2249 Nikoladze, Sopio 5 27
26 31 GEO wm 2191 Gavasheli, Ana 5 26
27 10 GEO g 2461 Kekelidze, Mikheil 5 26
28 28 GEO 2222 Davarashvili, Nodar 5 25
29 32 GEO 2177 Nikolashvili, Giorgi 5 25
30 19 GEO wg 2348 Tsereteli, Tamar 5 24.5
31 33 GEO wm 2167 Datuashvili, Nona 5 23
32 36 GEO 2160 Janiashvili, Irakli 5 22
33 8 GEO m 2466 Supatashvili, Khvicha 4.5 29
34 16 GEO m 2371 Khukhashvili, Sopiko 4.5 26.5
35 63 GEO Khaburzania, Shalva 4.5 21.5
36 23 GEO wm 2298 Khurtsilava, Inga 4.5 21
37 43 GEO wf 2128 Bokuchava, Madona 4.5 16.5
38 54 GEO 1858 Macharashvili, Tekla 4.5 15.5
39 22 GEO 2305 Mgeladze, Tamaz 4 25
40 27 GEO wm 2249 Tereladze, Sopiko 4 23.5
41 30 GEO 2209i Chitadze, Romeo 4 23.5
42 42 GEO wf 2129 Danelia, Mariam 4 22
43 41 GEO wf 2133 Zhorzholiani, Meri 4 20
44 47 GEO 2100 Melashvili, Nino 4 20
45 69 GEO Salukvadze, Hamlet 4 19
46 71 GEO Sichinava, Ramaz 4 19
47 59 GEO 1553 Burduli, Guga 4 17
48 57 GEO 1801 Imnadze, Nato 4 16
49 55 GEO 1835 Kacharava, Lasha 4 16
50 49 GEO 2055i Tandashvili, Margalita 4 16
51 53 GEO 1868 Gogishvili, Dea 4 15
52 50 GEO 2011 Beruashvili, Archil 4 12
53 58 GEO 1777 Kobeshavidze, Lika 4 12
54 46 GEO 2105i Kekenadze, Alexandre 3.5 21.5
55 56 GEO 1815 Samniashvili, Tamar 3.5 19
56 44 GEO 2116i Bakhtadze, Levan 3.5 18.5
57 48 GEO 2085 Meskhi, Teona 3.5 17
58 62 GEO Imnadze, Nino 3.5 13.5
59 34 GEO 2163i Sulashvili, Giorgi 3 19
60 29 GEO wg 2216 Khmiadashvili, Tamar 3 18
61 38 GEO 2153 Khazhomia, Salome 3 18
62 52 GEO 1921 Khazhomia, Anuki 3 15
63 60 GEO Antadze, Revaz 3 11
64 45 GEO 2106i Gergaia, Lasha 2.5 16
65 68 USA Pyle, Galen 2.5 15
66 70 GEO Shatirishvili, Zviad 2 8
67 61 GEO Bosikashvili, Giorgi 2 5
68 65 GEO Poniava, Irakli 1.5 6.5
69 51 GEO 1989 Zarkua, Elisabed 1 8
70 67 GEO Pridonashvili, Teimuraz 1 8
71 66 GEO Poniava, Maia 1 6

18) Upcoming Events

Mikhail Golubev reported from Foros in Chess Today 22nd June 2008 that there are some upcoming events that haven't been announced.

The Tal Memorial in Moscow should take place in August; Magnus Carlsen will take part only in the blitz competition (August 29th-30th, according to http://Magnuschess.com).

The Poikovsky tournament will take place 8th-17th July 2008. Participants: Alexei Shirov, Dmitry Jakovenko, Sergey Rublevsky, Wang Hao, Ernesto Inarkiev, Andrei Volokitin, Vugar Gashimov, Victor Bologan, Alexander Onischuk and Emil Sutovsky.

Finally, there will be a ten game rapid chess match between Sergey Karjakin and Nigel Short in Kiev (Kyiv) starting 2nd July 2008.

19) Chess Classic Mainz

The Chess Classic Mainz takes place 28th July - 3rd August 2008. In the main event the players are Viswanathan Anand, Alexander Morozevich, Magnus Carlsen and Judit Polgar. The event will be a combine rapid and chess960 chess.

Official site: http://www.chesstigers.de/ccm8.php

ICC held an online chess960 event which was won by Hikaru Nakamura and he has free entry into the FiNet and Ordix opens, hotel room and breakfast at the Hilton Mainz Hotel along with Dmitry Andreikin who he beat 4-2 in the final.

Details of the ICC event: http://www.chessclub.com/activities/chess960_2008/

20) Forthcoming Events and Links

1st Circuit des Espoirs Europe Echecs

The 1st Circuit des Espoirs Europe Echecs takes place 26th-29th June 2008. 6 rapid games (15 minutes + 5 secs/move and 6 blitz games 5 minutes + 2 secs/move. This is part of the 50th Anniversary of Europe Echecs.

Players: Sophie Milliet, Tania Sachdev, Romain Edouard et Sébastien Feller.

Coverage including videos and interviews: http://www.europe-echecs.com

Grand Slam in Bilbao

The Chess Grand Slam Final takes place in Bilbao 1st-13th September 2008. There are 6 players. The first three are the winners of Corus 2008, Morelia - Linares 2008, and Mtel Masters 2008 - GM Levon Aronian, GM Viswanathan Anand, and GM Vassily Ivanchuk. Invitations have been sent also to the second place players - GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Veselin Topalov. The sixth player will be known after the next meeting of the board of the Chess Grand Slam. This news

Source: http://grandslam.chessdom.com/chess-grand-slam-bilbao

3rd Edmonton International

The 3rd Edmonton International takes place July 31st-August 4th, 2008 and is the main event of the 3rd Edmonton chess festival which will also include many events for all levels of players.

It is a masters only Swiss with GM/IM norm opportunities. The top participants so far are: GMs: Alexander Moiseenko, Alexander Shabalov, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Jesse Kraai. IMs: Josh Friedel (GM elect), Edward Porper, John Donaldson.

Official site: http://www.ecf2008.com

Buenos Aires Open

The Buenos Aires Open takes place June 23rd - 3rd July 2008. (23rd, 25th, 26th, 30th June, 2nd-3rd July 2008)

Official site http://www.argentinodeajedrez.com.ar/torneo_despedida2008.htm

Ideal Max Euwe

The Ideal Max Euwe International Tournament takes place 22nd-31st August 2008. The 10 player round robin, time control 2 hours/40 moves + 1 hour/20 moves + 30 minutes KO (+ 30 seconds/move) features 3 players from BRAZIL + 7 players from another countries Cat. VII, VIII or IX. at the Clube de Xadrez Sao Paulo

Details: http://www.cxsp.com.br/

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. Contact e-mail: office@englishchess.org.uk.

Leading entries for the British championship so far include: Nicholas Pert, Gawain Jones, Mark Hebden, Bogdan Lalic, Glenn Flear, Daniel Gormally, Stewart Haslinger, Keith Arkell, Simon Williams, Nigel Davies, Richard Pert, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Andrew Ledger, Graeme Buckley and Jovanka Houska.

Further details http://www.englishchessorg.uk/

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

115th Scottish Chess Championships

115th Scottish Chess Championships INTERNATIONAL OPEN (including Scottish Championships). First prize 2,000 British pounds. Saturday 5th - Sunday 13th July 2008. Plus Senior and Under 1500 Championships Saturday 5th - Sunday 11th July and Scottish Lightning Championship Saturday12th. - Sunday 13th July. At the Glasgow Academy, Colebrooke Street, Glasgow. G12 8HE.

Entry Form, further information and current entries etc.: http://www.chessscotland.com/

Live games: http://www.bcfservices.org.uk/livechess/scottish/2008/

Staunton Memorial

The Staunton Memorial takes place Simpsons in the Strand August 7th-18th 2008 (one rest day August 13th).

Players: Ivan Sokolov, Jan Timman, Jan Smeets , Jan Werle, Erwin L'Ami ,Loek Van Wely, Jonathan Speelman, Peter Wells, Michael Adams, Bob Wade, Alex Cherniaev and Nigel Short.

Details: http://www.bcf.org.uk/national/2008/staunton-mem_apr08.htm

Hastings Chess Congress

The Hastings Chess Congress takes place 28th December 2008 - 5th January 2009. Contact: Con Power at: conpowr@ol.com

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

European Club Cup

The European Club Cup 2008 (24th European Club Cup for Men, 13th European Club Cup for Women) takes place in Kallithea, Greece 16th-24th October 2008.

Official site: http://ecc2008.chessdom.com/

Arad Open (Romania)

The Arad International Chess Open (Romania) takes place 25th-31st July 2008 9 rounds swiss open, prize fund 3600 euro, 1st prize - 1000 euro Contact: Alin Campeanu sahclubvados@yahoo.com. Arad City is in the western Romania - 270 km from Budapest, 510 km from Vienna, 530 km from Bucharest

More details http://www.vados.ro/next_turneu_en.php

Villa Martelli

There are tournaments in Villa Martelli 8th July - 19th August 2008.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezmartelli.org.ar/

Amizade International

The Amizade International at the Clube de Xadrez Sso Paulo takes place 23rd-31st August

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

European Senior Championship

The European Senior Championship takes place 9th-17th August 2008 in the Parkhotel Sunstar in Davos, Switzerland (the is also a normal open alongside 10th-16th August 2008). Contact e-mail beochess@bluewin.ch

Details: http://www.beochess.ch

IV Alajuela International

The IV Alajuela International Chess Tournament (Costa Rica) takes place 8th-13th July 2008. Currently 8 GMs are in the entry list.

Details: http://www.internationaldealajuela.com

Chess Study

Do you have an FIDE rating?

Dr. Robert Howard of the University of New South Wales in Australia is carrying out a study of chess skill in internationally rated players. The study looks at effects of amount of practice, coaching and age of starting chess on chess skill and at chess players' views about chess skill. The study involves a short online survey. The survey is for anyone who has, or who ever has had, an FIDE rating.

The survey takes only about 5-10 minutes to complete. All responses are completely confidential. The survey is available in English, Spanish, Russian, and German.

To take part, you must know your exact FIDE ID number, which will be something like "14200887". ID numbers are posted on the FIDE website at http://www.fide.com

A summary and analysis of the study findings will be posted here when it is complete and will be emailed to any participant who requests it.

If you would like to participate, please go to this website: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/

For any queries, please contact Dr Robert Howard, University of New South Wales, on rwh@unsw.edu.au

41st Biel International Chess Festival

The 41st Biel International Chess Festival takes place 19th July - 1st August 2008.

Details of all events including the open and other tournaments: http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/

GM Biel (SUI), 19 vii - 1 viii 2008. cat. XIII (2691)
NameNATEloWRnk
Magnus CarlsenNOR2765Nr. 5
Evgeny AlekseevRUS2711Nr. 20
Etienne BacrotFRA2705Nr. 23
Leinier DominguezCUB2695Nr 26
Alexander OnischukUSA2664Nr. 56
Yannick PelletierSUI2607

Sparkassen Chess-Meeting Dortmund

The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting takes place in Dortmund 28th June - 6th July 2008. 8 player all-play-all.

Details of all events including the open and other tournaments: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de

Sparkassen Chess-Meeting Dortmund (GER), 28 vii - 6 viii 2008.
NameNATEloWRnk
Kramnik, VladimirRUS2788Nr. 2
Mamedyarov, ShakhriyarAZE2752Nr. 7
Leko, PeterHUN2741Nr. 10
Ivanchuk, VassilyUKR2740Nr 11
Van Wely, LoekNED2676Nr 45
Nepomniachtchi, IanRUS2634Nr 86
Naiditsch, ArkadijGER2623
Gustafsson, JanGER2603

Latvian Chess Tour - Riga Open

The VIII World chess championship Mikhail Tal Cup (Riga OPEN 2008) takes place 19th-24th August 2008.

Contact details: Riga Chess Federation, Braslas street 7, Riga, LV-1035. Ph.(+371) 28804664 Alberts Cimins or +371 25939234 Vadims Daskevics Fax +371 67718960, e-mail: acimins@yahoo.com or vadik.dashkevich@gmail.com

Details of this and other events on the Latvian Chess Tour: http://www.chess.lv/lv/vesture/

17th Martigny Open

The 17th Martigny Open takes placed 1st-4th August 2008 in the à l'Hôtel du Parc. 7 round swiss - 36 moves /1h30 + 30 minutes ko. 1st Prize: 1500 francs, 5650 francs total prize fund.

Details: http://www.uve-wsb.ch/openmartigny

19th Panamerican Youth Chess Festival

The 19th Panamerican Youth Chess Festival takes place in Argentina 29th June - 6th July, 2008.

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

Lipetsk

"There will be an international chess festival called "King's Gambit" in Lipetsk, Russia, between July 8 (arrival day) and July 19, 2008. The festival consists of two round-robin tournaments (one with GM norm and one with IM norm) and an open for FIDE rating. Opening ceremony: 2.30 p.m. on July 9, 1st round at 3 p.m. Festival director: Zimmerman, Yuri . Tel.: +7-4742-720064, or +7-919-255-9764. E-mail: zimmerman@lipetsk.ru."

Olomouc Chess Summer

The 11th International Chess Festival Olomouc Chess Summer 2008 takes place 30th July - 7th August 2008. Closed GM and IM tournaments, FIDE open, seniors tournament, active chess and blitz tournament are part of the festival.

Details: http://www.czechtour.net/olomouc-chess-summer/regulations/

5th Highlands Open

The 5th International Chess Festival Highlands Open 2008, takes place in the town of Zdar nad Sazavou 20th-28th September 2008.

Details: http://www.czechtour.net/highlands-open/regulations/

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 29 Grandmasters have entered including Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Alexander Beliavsky, 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.

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

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

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

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