THE WEEK IN CHESS 741 19th January 2009 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Varlam Vepkhvishvili, Jakub Fuksik, Mikel Larreategi, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Harun Taner, Efstratios Grivas, Dimitris Skyrianoglou, George Mirijanian, Jan Mazuch, Pavel Matocha, Arvind Aaron, Massimo Casa, Michiel Abeln, Peter Doggers and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The 71st Corus Chess tournament is underway. Its very early days with a big group on 2/3 and the top seeds not yet getting going. There are actually three exicting fields this year with the B and C Groups having some interesting names. The Corus event is one of the absolute major tournaments of the year, it takes place against the background of economic crisis which seems to have totally brought down the FIDE Grand Prix after one of its scheduled two years. It may be the sign of this to come for other tournaments aswell as major companies look at their sponsorship deals. Hopefully this won't affect the Corus tournament itself.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) 71st Corus Chess tournament

The 71st Corus Chess tournament takes place Friday, January 16th to Sunday, February 1st, 2009 in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands.

As from January 2009, the rate of play in Grandmaster groups A, B and C will change. The rate of play will be: 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour, followed by 15 minutes with 30 seconds per move increment to finish the game.

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

Daily video reports: http://www.chessvibes.com/

Library of photos: http://www.fredlucas.eu/gallery/agroup/ - Photos and reports: http://www.chessvista.com/ - http://www.chessdom.com has some new features with a forum and commentators.

Corus A Wijk aan Zee (NED), 17 i-1 ii 2009														cat. XIX (2716)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2706	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	1	2	2828
2.	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	2751	.	*	.	.	.	½	½	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	2	2825
3.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2761	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	½	.	.	.	.	1	.	2	2893
4.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2601	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	1	.	2	2828
5.	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2725	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	½	.	.	.	1	2	2858
6.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2776	.	½	½	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2708
7.	Stellwagen, Daniël	g	NED	2612	.	½	.	.	.	½	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2759
8.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2750	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	1½	2704
9.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2717	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	½	½	.	.	.	1½	2687
10.	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2712	.	0	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	1	2606
11.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2625	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	0	1	2571
12.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2739	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	0	.	1	2620
13.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	.	.	0	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	*	.	1	2575
14.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2771	0	.	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	*	1	2560

Round 1 (January 17, 2009)
Karjakin, Sergey	- Morozevich, Alexander	1-0	26	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Kamsky, Gata	- Adams, Michael	½-½	23	C64	Ruy Lopez Classical
Carlsen, Magnus	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	60	B40	Sicilian Classical
Stellwagen, Daniël	- Movsesian, Sergei	½-½	33	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Aronian, Levon	- Wang Yue	½-½	43	D17	Slav Defence
Van Wely, Loek	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	½-½	80	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Smeets, Jan	0-1	39	D44	Anti-Meran Gambit
Round 2 (January 18, 2009)
Movsesian, Sergei	- Adams, Michael	1-0	38	C50	Giuoco Piano
Radjabov, Teimour	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	15	C45	Scotch Game
Smeets, Jan	- Karjakin, Sergey	½-½	36	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Stellwagen, Daniël	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	36	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Kamsky, Gata	½-½	26	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Wang Yue	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	0-1	25	D30	Queen's Gambit (without Nc3)
Morozevich, Alexander	- Van Wely, Loek	1-0	43	D97	Gruenfeld Russian
Round 3 (January 19, 2009)
Karjakin, Sergey	- Wang Yue	½-½	75	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Kamsky, Gata	- Morozevich, Alexander	1-0	34	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Carlsen, Magnus	- Movsesian, Sergei	½-½	39	D11	Slav Defence
Aronian, Levon	- Stellwagen, Daniël	½-½	22	B13	Caro Kann Exchange
Adams, Michael	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	½-½	43	B87	Sicilian Sozin Attack
Van Wely, Loek	- Smeets, Jan	½-½	30	D44	Anti-Meran Gambit
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Radjabov, Teimour	0-1	41	E97	King's Indian Classical

Corus B Wijk aan Zee (NED), 17 i-1 ii 2009														cat. XVI (2641)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Navara, David	g	CZE	2638	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	.	.	.	.	2½	2956
2.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2663	.	*	.	.	.	½	1	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	2½	2910
3.	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2687	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1	2½	2913
4.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2646	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	.	2	2763
5.	Volokitin, Andrei	g	UKR	2671	.	.	.	½	*	½	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2651
6.	Werle, Jan	g	NED	2607	.	½	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	1½	2633
7.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2702	.	0	.	.	½	.	*	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2627
8.	Reinderman, Dimitri	g	NED	2549	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	*	.	.	½	1	.	.	1½	2625
9.	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2688	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	1	.	1½	2627
10.	Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	2676	0	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	1	2532
11.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2603	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	½	1	2516
12.	Hou Yifan	wg	CHN	2571	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	.	*	.	1	1	2524
13.	Mecking, Henrique	g	BRA	2567	.	.	.	0	.	½	.	.	0	.	.	.	*	.	½	2374
14.	Sasikiran, Krishnan	g	IND	2711	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	0	.	*	½	2347

Round 1 (January 17, 2009)
Short, Nigel D	- Werle, Jan	½-½	44	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Volokitin, Andrei	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	42	C69	Ruy Lopez Exchange
Reinderman, Dimitri	- Vallejo Pons, Francisco	0-1	59	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Motylev, Alexander	- Navara, David	0-1	30	C41	Philidor's Defence
Hou Yifan	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	0-1	77	C92	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Mecking, Henrique	- Efimenko, Zahar	0-1	58	D38	QGD Ragozin
Sasikiran, Krishnan	- L'Ami, Erwin	½-½	28	D11	Slav Defence
Round 2 (January 18, 2009)
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	- Navara, David	½-½	26	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Caruana, Fabiano	- Mecking, Henrique	1-0	49	C99	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Werle, Jan	- Volokitin, Andrei	½-½	43	D16	Slav Lasker/Smyslov
Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Short, Nigel D	0-1	62	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Efimenko, Zahar	- Motylev, Alexander	½-½	26	C43	Petroff's Defence
L'Ami, Erwin	- Reinderman, Dimitri	½-½	52	A88	Dutch Leningrad
Hou Yifan	- Sasikiran, Krishnan	1-0	68	B17	Caro Kann
Round 3 (January 19, 2009)
Navara, David	- Efimenko, Zahar	1-0	69	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Short, Nigel D	- L'Ami, Erwin	1-0	19	C48	Four Knights Rubinstein
Volokitin, Andrei	- Vallejo Pons, Francisco	½-½	26	C12	French MacCutcheon
Reinderman, Dimitri	- Hou Yifan	1-0	56	A20	English Opening
Motylev, Alexander	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	45	C82	Ruy Lopez Open Italian Variation
Mecking, Henrique	- Werle, Jan	½-½	46	E15	Queens Indian
Sasikiran, Krishnan	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	0-1	35	D11	Slav Defence

Corus C Wijk aan Zee (NED), 17 i-1 ii 2009														cat. XI (2521)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Bosboom, Manuel	m	NED	2418	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1	.	2½	2844
2.	Iturrizaga, Eduardo	g	VEN	2528	.	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1	2½	2786
3.	Romanishin, Oleg M	g	UKR	2533	½	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	2	2606
4.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2627	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	1	.	2	2645
5.	Hillarp Persson, Tiger	g	SWE	2586	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	1	.	½	.	2	2667
6.	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2473	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	0	.	1	.	.	1½	2546
7.	Pruijssers, Roeland	m	NED	2444	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	1	0	.	.	.	1½	2583
8.	Giri, Anish	f	RUS	2469	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	½	1½	2517
9.	Bitalzadeh, Ali	m	NED	2400	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	1	.	.	1½	2523
10.	Leon Hoyos, Manuel	g	MEX	2542	.	0	.	.	.	1	0	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	2356
11.	Howell, David W L	g	ENG	2622	0	.	.	.	0	.	1	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	2357
12.	Gupta, Abhijeet	g	IND	2569	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	0	.	.	*	.	1	1	2340
13.	Nijboer, Friso	g	NED	2560	0	.	.	0	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	2270
14.	Holzke, Frank	g	GER	2524	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	0	.	*	½	2249

Round 1 (January 17, 2009)
Iturrizaga, Eduardo	- Leon Hoyos, Manuel	1-0	37	E17	Queens Indian
Romanishin, Oleg M	- Bitalzadeh, Ali	1-0	32	A05	Various
Hillarp Persson, Tiger	- Pruijssers, Roeland	½-½	79	C50	Giuoco Piano
Giri, Anish	- Holzke, Frank	½-½	34	D10	Slav Defence
Howell, David W L	- Bosboom, Manuel	0-1	35	B01	Centre Counter
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Harika, Dronavalli	0-1	38	D10	Slav Defence
Nijboer, Friso	- So, Wesley	0-1	67	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Round 2 (January 18, 2009)
Bosboom, Manuel	- Nijboer, Friso	1-0	54	A48	King's Indian Defence /c2-c4
So, Wesley	- Romanishin, Oleg M	½-½	48	C96	Ruy Lopez
Hillarp Persson, Tiger	- Howell, David W L	1-0	59	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Harika, Dronavalli	- Iturrizaga, Eduardo	½-½	49	A63	Benoni
Pruijssers, Roeland	- Leon Hoyos, Manuel	1-0	60	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Bitalzadeh, Ali	- Giri, Anish	½-½	46	D11	Slav Defence
Holzke, Frank	- Gupta, Abhijeet	0-1	68	D47	Queens Gambit Meran
Round 3 (January 19, 2009)
Iturrizaga, Eduardo	- Holzke, Frank	1-0	67	A33	English Symmetrical
Romanishin, Oleg M	- Bosboom, Manuel	½-½	34	A04	Dutch System
Giri, Anish	- So, Wesley	½-½	38	D11	Slav Defence
Leon Hoyos, Manuel	- Harika, Dronavalli	1-0	38	B13	Caro Kann Exchange
Howell, David W L	- Pruijssers, Roeland	1-0	66	C53	Giuoco Piano
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Bitalzadeh, Ali	0-1	41	E12	Queens Indian Petrosian
Nijboer, Friso	- Hillarp Persson, Tiger	½-½	59	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation

3) 2nd Queenstown Chess Classic 2009

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

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

Queenstown Chess Classic (NZL), 15-24 i 2009 Round 5 standings:
1	Jones, Gawain	gm	ENG	2540	4.5
2	Rozentalis, Eduardas	gm	LTU	2590	4.5
3	Mikhalevski, Victor	gm	ISR	2608	4.5
4	Smerdon, David C	im	AUS	2463	4
5	Bischoff, Klaus	gm	GER	2545	4
6	Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios	gm	GRE	2580	4
7	Hecht, Hans-Joachim	gm	GER	2394	4
8	Brown, Andrew		AUS	1987	4
9	West, Guy	im	AUS	2346	4
10	Garbett, Paul	im	NZL	2329	4
11	Chow, Samuel		AUS	2267	4
12	Lukey, Stephen G	fm	NZL	2247	4
13	Motoc, Alina	wgm	ROU	2358	4
14	Dragicevic, Domagoj		AUS	2205	4
15	Saw, Geoffrey	fm	AUS	2257	4
16	Johansen, Darryl K	gm	AUS	2455	4
17	Goldenberg, Igor	fm	AUS	2398	3.5
18	Johannessen, Leif Erlend	gm	NOR	2539	3.5
19	Wells, Peter	gm	ENG	2513	3.5
20	Krivec, Jana	wgm	SLO	2343	3.5
21	Ker, Anthony	im	NZL	2321	3.5
22	Smith, Robert W	fm	NZL	2281	3.5
23	Wohl, Aleksander H	im	AUS	2342	3.5
24	Lyell, Mark	fm	ENG	2287	3.5
25	Reilly, Tim	fm	AUS	2256	3.5
26	Duneas, John		NZL	2075	3.5
27	Stuart, Peter		NZL	2076	3.5
28	Guo, Emma		AUS	1778	3.5
29	Solomon, Stephen J	im	AUS	2460	3
30	van Delft, Merijn	im	NED	2397	3
31	Croad, Nicolas	fm	NZL	2305	3
32	Van Riemsdijk, Herman	im	BRA	2392	3
33	Steadman, Michael		NZL	2273	3
34	Zawadzka, Jolanta	wgm	POL	2385	3
35	van der Elburg, Freddie		NED	2277	3
36	Ikeda, Junta		AUS	2247	3
37	Drummond, Matthew		AUS	2236	3
38	Shen, Daniel		NZL	2098	3
39	Bakker, Sven		NED	2233	3
40	Illingworth, Max		AUS	2250	3
41	Schon, Eugene		AUS	2115	3
42	Armstrong, Malcolm J		ENG	2060	3
43	Zickelbein, Eva-Maria	wfm	GER	2070	3
44	Stojic, Dusan		AUS	2219	3
45	Hohler, Peter	fm	SUI	2214	3
46	Zulfic, Fedja		AUS	1956	3
47	Lauterbach, Ingrid	wim	ENG	2154	3
48	Bennett, Hilton		NZL	2032	3
49	Baider, Daniel		NZL	2125	3
50	Grigoryan-Lyell, Meri	wfm	ENG	2092	3
51	Fitzpatrick, Andrew		AUS	2008	3
52	Forster, William		NZL	1955	3
53	Cooper, Lawrence	im	ENG	2313	2.5
54	Corke, Anya	wgm	HKG	2260	2.5
55	Pyke, Malcolm L		AUS	2182	2.5
120 players

4) 7th Parsvnath Open

The winner SS Ganguly. Photo © Arvind Aaron

The 7th Parsvnath Open took place 10th-20th January 2009. Surya Shekhar Ganguly edged out Mikhail Ulibin on tie-break after both finished on 8½/10. I would plea with the bulletin editors to put together the material they have created in one database, look at it, and ask themselves whether the mess they created was really intended. What they did was reasonably well documented but the incompatibility of the live material from Monroi and that which the bulletin editors created produces a horror show. In general I think it was the Monroi naming that is all messed up. I was up until 2am on Sunday night trying to make sense of it all, no guarantees I did.

Arvind Aaron reports: Ganguly Wins Parsvnath Open At Delhi

Six-time Indian champion Grand Master Surya Shekhar Ganguly of Kolkata won the 7th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament at Modern School in Barakhamba in Delhi on January 19. Ganguly had the higher tie-break score than Mikhail Ulibin of Russia after both players tied for the first place on 8.5/10 each. "From the tournament point of view my win over Kostenko was an important game," said Ganguly. Ganguly took home over Rs.200,000 (USD 4500) Indian Rupees. The total prize fund was Rs.11,50,000. Organiser and FIDE Zone President of the Indian Sub-Continent Bharat Singh Chauhan said there will be an eighth edition in 2010 and the prize fund will be Rs.12,50,000. This year 426 players from 17 countries took part. GM Norms were completed by three Indians: S.P. Sethuraman, P. Karthikeyan (both Chennai) and Prathamesh Mokal (Pune). Twenty GMs took part.

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

7th Parsvnath Open (IND), 10-20 i 2009 Leading Final 10 Standings:
Rank	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts	BH.
1	Ganguly Surya Shekhar	GM	IND	2614	8½	69
2	Ulibin Mikhail	GM	RUS	2511	8½	68½
3	Kostenko Petr	GM	KAZ	2501	8	70½
4	Karthikeyan P	IM	IND	2450	8	70½
5	Sethuraman S P	IM	IND	2415	8	69½
6	Kuzubov Yuriy	GM	UKR	2626	8	66
7	Neelotpal Das	GM	IND	2490	8	64
8	Laxman R R	IM	IND	2478	8	63½
9	Ismagambetov Anuar	GM	KAZ	2523	8	62½
10	Kunte Abhijit	GM	IND	2527	7½	67
11	Prathamesh Sunil Mokal	IM	IND	2389	7½	67
12	Sriram Jha	IM	IND	2442	7½	66½
13	Praveen Kumar C		IND	2360	7½	66
14	Negi Parimarjan	GM	IND	2600	7½	65½
15	Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi	IM	IND	2444	7½	65
16	Thejkumar M S		IND	2424	7½	63½
17	Thipsay Praveen M	GM	IND	2453	7½	63
18	Gleizerov Evgeny	GM	RUS	2544	7½	63
19	Solodovnichenko Yuri	GM	UKR	2571	7½	62½
20	Arindam Mukherjee		IND	2259	7½	62
21	Areshchenko Alexander	GM	UKR	2673	7½	59½
22	Premnath R		IND	2303	7½	59
23	Ibrayev Nurlan	GM	KAZ	2407	7½	57
24	Safin Shukhrat	GM	UZB	2518	7	67½
25	Roy Prantik		IND	2071	7	67
26	Iuldachev Saidali	GM	UZB	2520	7	66½
27	Katalymov Boris N	IM	KAZ	2367	7	66
28	Das Arghyadip	IM	IND	2404	7	64½
29	Prakash G B	IM	IND	2397	7	64
30	Shashikant Kutwal		IND	2285	7	64
31	Sengupta Deep	IM	IND	2445	7	64
32	Roktim Bandyopadhyay	IM	IND	2372	7	63
33	Suvrajit Saha	IM	IND	2368	7	62
34	Shyam Sundar M	IM	IND	2426	7	62
35	Lalith Babu M R		IND	2477	7	62
36	Dutta Joydeep		IND	2300	7	61½
	Koshy Varugeese	IM	IND	2248	7	61½
38	Maheswaran P		IND	2297	7	61½
39	Rathnakaran K	IM	IND	2431	7	60½
40	Anwesh Upadhyaya		IND	2269	7	59½
41	Swapnil S Dhopade		IND	2361	7	59
42	Djuraev Sokhib	FM	TJK	2353	7	59
43	Deshmukh Anup	IM	IND	2311	7	58½
44	Nitin S	FM	IND	2365	7	58½
45	Shivananda B S		IND	2347	7	58½
46	Girinath P D S	IM	IND	2404	7	58
47	Ramakrishna J	FM	IND	2298	7	57
48	Amanov Zhanibek	IM	KAZ	2413	7	56½
49	Barua Dibyendu	GM	IND	2490	6½	65½
50	Lahiri Atanu	IM	IND	2310	6½	65½
51	Sarkar Justin	IM	USA	2455	6½	64½
425 players

5) 6th Mediterranean Championship

The 6th Mediterranean Championship took place 11th-17th January 2009. Ioannis Georgiadis edged out Anthony Wirig on tie-break after both finished on 6.5/9.

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

6th ch-Mediterranean Antalya (TUR), 11-17 i 2009
Rank	Name	Title	FED	IRtg	Pts	BH.	BH.	SB.	Fide
1	GEORGIADIS IOANNIS	IM	GRE	2383	6½	39½	50½	37	34½
2	WIRIG ANTHONY	IM	FRA	2464	6½	39	50	34.5	33½
3	GUREVICH MIKHAIL	GM	TUR	2624	6	40½	52	33.25	34
4	VOCATURO DANIELE	IM	ITA	2445	6	40½	50½	31.75	35
5	PARLIGRAS MIRCEA	GM	ROU	2605	6	36½	47½	31	31½
6	MOHR GEORG	GM	SLO	2488	6	36	47	29.75	31
7	AROSHIDZE LEVAN	GM	GEO	2526	6	36	45½	29.25	31
8	ERDOGDU MERT	IM	TUR	2460	6	36	45½	27.25	29½
9	HAZNEDAROGLU KIVANC	IM	TUR	2451	6	33½	42½	26.5	28
10	ATAKISI UMUT	IM	TUR	2393	5	36½	45	21.5	26
11	HAKKI IMAD	IM	SYR	2417	5	35½	44½	21.5	27
12	VOJINOVIC JOVANA	WIM	MNE	2331	5	35	44	22	25½
13	DORIC DARKO	IM	CRO	2477	5	34	44	23	27½
14	TODOROVIC JOVAN	IM	SRB	2384	5	34	43½	22.25	27½
15	PLESEC DAMJAN	FM	SLO	2317	5	33	41	19	24½
16	SANAL VAHAP	CM	TUR	1873	5	32½	41½	20.5	24
17	ABDEL RAZIK KHALED	FM	EGY	2429	5	32	40½	18.75	24½
18	ERSAHIN BULENT		TUR	2127	5	31½	40	20.75	22
19	SEDINA ELENA	IM	ITA	2380	5	31½	40	19.75	25
20	GELASHVILI TAMAZ	GM	GEO	2622	4½	37½	48	23.25	27½
21	ODEEV HANDSZAR	GM	TKM	2408	4½	36½	45½	19.25	26
22	EL GINDY ESSAM	GM	EGY	2526	4½	30½	38½	18.25	23
23	APAYDIN FETHI		TUR	2200	4½	30½	38½	16	19½
24	MAKROPOULOU MARINA	WGM	GRE	2262	4½	30	38	16.5	19½
25	BERKE ANA	WFM	CRO	2081	4½	29	37½	15	18
26	MIJOVIC STEFAN		MNE	2300	4	34	44	18.75	23½
27	KOSE SERKAN		TUR	2201	4	32	40½	16.75	20½
28	YEKE SERKAN	FM	TUR	2319	4	31½	40½	15.5	22½
29	MALOKAS NERMINA		BIH	1890	4	26	33½	13	15½
30	ALGILDAH KHALID	FM	SYR	2027	4	22	28½	10.5	12½
31	DRLJEVIC LJILJA	WIM	MNE	2244	3½	30½	39	11.5	16½
32	EMIROGLU CANKUT		TUR	2079	3½	27½	36	10.75	18
33	YANIK EMINE	WFM	TUR	2046	3½	27	35	8.5	15½
34	RICHARD EMMA		FRA	2073	3	28	36	7.5	18
35	SITNIC ADNAN		BIH	1932	3	24	31½	7.5	14
36	AL-JELDA FATMA		SYR	1835	2½	25½	32½	7.75	15
37	RECHI MONTES XAVIER		AND	1905	2½	23½	30½	8	10½
38	SAMMUT RON		MLT	1826	2½	21½	28½	6.75	6½
39	LEBEL-ARIAS JULIA	WIM	MNC	1997	2	24½	31½	5.75	6½
40	DURMAZ AYCA FATMA		TUR	1897	2	24½	31½	4.5	10

6) Prague Open

The 8th Prague International Chess Festival took place 9th-16th January 2009 in the capital of the Czech Republic. Milko Popchev edged out Stepan Zilka on tie-break after both finished on 7/9. Games currently only available in a viewer not for download.

Official site: http://www.czechtour.net/prague-open/.

8th Prague Open (CZE), 9-16 i 2009
Rk.	Name		FED	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	Popchev Milko	GM	BUL	2444	7	51.5	40
2	Zilka Stepan	IM	CZE	2471	7	47.5	38
3	Grabarczyk Miroslaw	GM	POL	2477	6.5	55	43.5
4	Clery Nicolas	FM	FRA	2373	6.5	52.5	41.5
5	Vokac Marek	GM	CZE	2454	6.5	51.5	40.5
6	Kulhanek Tomas	IM	CZE	2409	6.5	50	39
7	Simutowe Amon	IM	ZAM	2485	6.5	49	39
8	Colin Vincent	IM	FRA	2415	6.5	48.5	37.5
9	Rasik Vitezslav	IM	CZE	2445	6.5	48	37
10	Meduna Eduard	GM	CZE	2461	6.5	48	37
11	Kjartansson Gudmundur	FM	ISL	2365	6.5	47.5	37
12	Plischki Sebastian	IM	GER	2418	6.5	46	35.5
13	Dolezal Radoslav	IM	CZE	2436	6.5	42	32.5
14	Trichkov Vasil	IM	CZE	2336	6	52	41
15	Vavra Pavel	IM	CZE	2319	6	51.5	40.5
16	Petr Jan		CZE	2199	6	44.5	34.5
17	Marholev Dimitar	IM	BUL	2449	6	43.5	34
18	Liuba Volodymyr		UKR	0	6	41	32.5
19	Gorin Alexandr		RUS	2004	6	37	30
20	Andonov Bogomil	IM	BUL	2316	5.5	50.5	39
116 players

7) Marienbad Open

8th International Chess Festival MARIENBAD OPEN 2009 takes place 17th-25th January 2009 in Marienbad (the second biggest spa town in the Czech Republic). Within the frame of the festival there will be 1 closed GM tournament, 2 closed IM tournaments, FIDE open, active chess and blitz tournament. Games only available in a viewer so far. Bartlomiej Heberla is top seed in the 12 player all-play-all GM group

Official site: http://www.czechtour.net/marienbad-open/).

The Czech tour: http://www.czechtour.net/news/

8) Jose Marca Memorial

The III Open Internacional ITT Jose Marca Memorial takes place in 10th-18th Lima January 2009. Grandmasters Sergey Tiviakov, Julio Granda, Bartolomiej Macieja and Emilo Cordova compete. I couldn't find any games or results.

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

9) Czech Chess Christmas

The Czech Chess Christmas took place in Litomysl 26th December 2008 - 2nd January 2009. Pavel Vavra won the event with 7.5/9. My thanks to Jakub Fuksik.

Official site: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2008/

Czech Chess Christmas Litomysl (CZE), 26 x 2008 - 2 i 2009
1	IM	Vavra Pavel	CZE	2299	7,5	52,0	41,5	2336
2	GM	Heberla Bartlomiej	POL	2485	7,0	51,5	39,5	2312
3	IM	Petr Martin	CZE	2452	7,0	49,0	38,0	2295
4	IM	Kanovsky David	CZE	2431	6,5	54,0	42,0	2315
5	IM	Simacek Pavel	CZE	2477	6,5	53,5	41,5	2318
6	FM	Chojnacki Krzysztof	POL	2426	6,5	50,5	39,0	2319
7	FM	Plat Vojtech	CZE	2411	6,5	49,5	39,0	2335
8	IM	Cernousek Lukas	CZE	2435	6,5	49,5	37,5	2253
9	GM	Popcev Milko Jordanov	BUL	2426	6,5	48,0	37,5	2264
10	FM	Cerveny Martin	CZE	2320	6,0	53,5	41,5	2335
11	IM	Luch Michal	POL	2411	6,0	49,5	39,0	2282
12	IM	Zeberski Jakub	POL	2398	6,0	49,0	38,5	2311
13		Stachowiak Kamil	POL	2351	6,0	48,0	37,0	2235
14	FM	Jedlicka Ales	CZE	2287	6,0	47,5	37,5	2245
15	IM	Kulhanek Tomas	CZE	2409	6,0	45,5	35,0	2244
16	FM	Sabol Marian	CZE	2354	5,5	52,0	41,0	2298
17	GM	Sergeev Vladimir	UKR	2519	5,5	51,5	40,0	2295
18		Swicarz Maciej	POL	2303	5,5	51,0	39,5	2288
19	GM	Manik Mikulas	SVK	2448	5,5	48,5	38,0	2193
20	FM	Bronowicki Mateusz	POL	2366	5,5	47,5	36,5	2311
103 players

10) 4NCL

The 4NCL takes place 4th October 2008 - 4th May 2009. Rounds 3-4 took place 6th-7th December 2008 in the Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island. Next round 17th-18th January 2009.

Official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk

4NCL 2008-9 (ENG), 4 x 2008 - 24 v 2009
Division 1A results
RD 5		GUILDFORD-A&DC 2	2418	6½-1½	SAMBUCA SHARKS	2167
1	w	Flear, Glenn C	2478	1 - 0	Rendle, Thomas E	2390
2	b	Shaw, John K	2464	1 - 0	Van Weersel, Arlette (F)	2214
3	w	Cherniaev, Alexander	2438	1 - 0	Williams, Samuel G	2206
4	b	Pert, Richard G	2456	1 - 0	Ruston, Mark R	2097
5	w	Tissir, Mohamed	2466	1 - 0	Edgell, Ben P	2101
6	b	Buckley, Graeme	2399	½ - ½	Purton, Ben J	2103
7	w	Muir, Andrew J	2354	½ - ½	Varnam, Liam D	2109
8	b	Sandu, Mihaela (F)	2285	½ - ½	Linford, Charles	2119
RD 5		CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 1	2267	2½-5½	BARBICAN 4NCL 1	2375
1	w	Mah, Karl C C	2404	½ - ½	Turner, Matthew J	2512
2	b	Pinter, Gabor	2355	0 - 1	D'Costa, Lorin A R	2445
3	w	Rajlich, Iweta (F)	2399	½ - ½	Devereaux, Maxim	2437
4	b	Moskovic, David M	2307	0 - 1	Collinson, Adam	2389
5	w	Pickard, Charles	2207	0 - 1	Cox, John J	2364
6	b	Quist, Sven Roy	2136	½ - ½	Knott, Simon	2349
7	w	Churm, Rohan M	2192	0 - 1	Berry, Neil	2317
8	b	Spencer, Carl	2134	1 - 0	Regan, Natasha (F)	2186
RD 5		WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 1	2447	8 - 0	SOUTH WALES DRAGONS 1	2210
1	w	Gordon, Stephen J	2524	1 - 0	Cobb, James E	2440
2	b	Greet, Andrew N	2446	1 - 0	Cooper, John G	2362
3	w	Trent, Lawrence	2487	1 - 0	Morris, Charles F	2189
4	b	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan (F)	2500	1 - 0	Zeidler, Sven P	2231
5	w	Hanley, Craig A	2439	1 - 0	O'Neill, Paul	2204
6	b	Karim, Ismail	2407	1 - 0	Smith, Jeffrey R	2209
7	w	McDonald, Neil	2401	1 - 0	Rayner, Francis	2151
8	b	Tiller, Bjorn	2370	1 - 0	Blackburn, Suzie (F)	1891
RD 5		WHITE ROSE 1	2259	6 - 2	RICHMOND	2255
1	w	McNab, Colin	2473	1 - 0	Bates, Richard A	2392
2	b	Palliser, Richard	2406	1 - 0	Wall, Gavin	2302
3	w	Van de Griendt, Jan W	2355	1 - 0	Bisby, Daniel L	2304
4	b	Gourlay, Iain	2362	½ - ½	Franklin, Michael J	2226
5	w	Barrett, Steve J	2234	0 - 1	Osborne, Marcus E	2192
6	b	Gayson, Peter M	2258	½ - ½	Muter, Donny	2207
7	w	Adams, David M	2191	1 - 0	Meyer, Gordon	2160
8	b	Hollingworth, Evie (F) *	1790	1 - 0	default
RD 6		BARBICAN 4NCL 1	2377	3 - 5	GUILDFORD-A&DC 2	2435
1	w	Turner, Matthew J	2512	½ - ½	Pert, Nicholas	2536
2	b	Parker, Jonathan	2528	0 - 1	Conquest, Stuart C	2531
3	w	Devereaux, Maxim	2437	½ - ½	Kosten, Anthony C	2514
4	b	D'Costa, Lorin A R	2445	½ - ½	Berzinsh, Roland	2420
5	w	Cox, John J	2364	½ - ½	Cherniaev, Alexander	2438
6	b	Knott, Simon	2349	½ - ½	Buckley, Graeme	2399
7	w	Berry, Neil	2317	½ - ½	Muir, Andrew J	2354
8	b	Bhatia, Kanwal K (F)	2067	0 - 1	Sandu, Mihaela (F)	2285
RD 6		RICHMOND	2232	3½-4½	WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 1	2447
1	w	Bates, Richard A	2392	0 - 1	Gordon, Stephen J	2524
2	b	Wall, Gavin	2302	1 - 0	Greet, Andrew N	2446
3	w	Bisby, Daniel L	2304	½ - ½	Trent, Lawrence	2487
4	b	Franklin, Michael J	2226	0 - 1	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan (F)	2500
5	w	Osborne, Marcus E	2192	1 - 0	Hanley, Craig A	2439
6	b	Muter, Donny	2207	1 - 0	Karim, Ismail	2407
7	w	Meyer, Gordon	2160	0 - 1	McDonald, Neil	2401
8	b	Chevannes, Sabrina (F)	2075	0 - 1	Tiller, Bjorn	2370
RD 6		SAMBUCA SHARKS	2167	3 - 5	CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 1	2267
1	w	Rendle, Thomas E	2390	0 - 1	Pinter, Gabor	2355
2	b	Van Weersel, Arlette (F)	2214	0 - 1	Rajlich, Iweta (F)	2399
3	w	Williams, Samuel G	2206	0 - 1	Mah, Karl C C	2404
4	b	Ruston, Mark R	2097	0 - 1	Moskovic, David M	2307
5	w	Linford, Charles	2119	1 - 0	Churm, Rohan M	2192
6	b	Edgell, Ben P	2101	½ - ½	Quist, Sven Roy	2136
7	w	Purton, Ben J	2103	½ - ½	Pickard, Charles	2207
8	b	Varnam, Liam D	2109	1 - 0	Spencer, Carl	2134
RD 6		SOUTH WALES DRAGONS 1	2210	3½-4½	WHITE ROSE 1	2259
1	w	Cobb, James E	2440	½ - ½	McNab, Colin	2473
2	b	Cooper, John G	2362	0 - 1	Palliser, Richard	2406
3	w	Morris, Charles F	2189	1 - 0	Van de Griendt, Jan W	2355
4	b	Zeidler, Sven P	2231	0 - 1	Gourlay, Iain	2362
5	w	O'Neill, Paul	2204	½ - ½	Barrett, Steve J	2234
6	b	Smith, Jeffrey R	2209	½ - ½	Gayson, Peter M	2258
7	w	Rayner, Francis	2151	½ - ½	Adams, David M	2191
8	b	Blackburn, Suzie (F)	1891	½ - ½	Hollingworth, Evie (F) *	1790
Division 1B results
RD 5		BETSSON.COM	2297	4 - 4	BARBICAN 4NCL 2	2233
1	w	Hunt, Adam C	2431	1 - 0	Taylor, Martin R	2339
2	b	Ledger, Andrew J	2431	0 - 1	Lewis, Andrew P	2274
3	w	Ansell, Simon	2405	½ - ½	Piper, Matthew S	2287
4	b	Eames, Robert G	2335	0 - 1	Rogers, Jonathan W	2330
5	w	Duncan, Christopher R	2323	1 - 0	Taylor, Peter	2252
6	b	Ledger, David J	2265	1 - 0	Franklin, Samuel	2142
7	w	Ledger, Stephen C	2150	0 - 1	Ynojosa, Felix J	2174
8	b	Yurenok, Maria S (F)	2035	½ - ½	Bhatia, Kanwal K (F)	2067
RD 5		NORTH WEST EAGLES	2152	½-7½	GUILDFORD-A&DC 1	2495
1	w	Morrison, Graham	2342	½ - ½	Rowson, Jonathan	2585
2	b	Coates, Kenneth G	2234	0 - 1	Pert, Nicholas	2536
3	w	Hulmes, David I	2219	0 - 1	Conquest, Stuart C	2531
4	b	Redmond, John	2207	0 - 1	King, Daniel J	2512
5	w	Burke, John	2085	0 - 1	Hebden, Mark L	2522
6	b	Duckers, Harvey L	2060	0 - 1	Kosten, Anthony C	2514
7	w	Morrison, Lynne (F)	1920	0 - 1	Berzinsh, Roland	2420
8	b	default		0 - 1	Lalic, Susan (F)	2340
RD 5		WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 2	2265	5½-2½	BRISTOL 1	2205
1	w	Houska, Jovanka (F)	2392	1 - 0	Rudd, Jack	2334
2	b	Broomfield, Matthew	2340	½ - ½	Cobb, Charles	2397
3	w	Sowray, Peter J	2303	0 - 1	Buckley, David E	2245
4	b	Farrand, Tom	2266	1 - 0	Beaumont, Chris	2308
5	w	Briscoe, Christopher	2268	1 - 0	Curtis, John	2125
6	b	Lindner, Daniel	2243	1 - 0	Dilleigh, Stephen P	2151
7	w	Hagasaether, Ellen (F)	2223	1 - 0	Collier, David O	2083
8	b	Hegarty, Sarah (F)	2088	0 - 1	Smith, Olivia (F)	1996
RD 5		PRIDE AND PREJUDICE	2302	3½-4½	THE GAMBIT ADS	2309
1	w	Emms, John M	2488	½ - ½	Speelman, Jonathan S	2536
2	b	Summerscale, Aaron	2470	0 - 1	Davies, Nigel R	2483
3	w	Hunt, Harriet (F)	2463	½ - ½	Mestel, A Jonathan	2475
4	b	Ward, Chris G	2426	1 - 0	Richardson, John R	2312
5	w	Zhou, Yang-Fan	2232	0 - 1	Snape, Ian	2210
6	b	Sahl, Sheila (F)	2219	½ - ½	Anderton, David	2225
7	w	Winkelmann, Elena (F)	2101	0 - 1	Bellin, Jana (F)	2184
8	b	Auckland, Elliott	2014	1 - 0	Wilman, Carey A (F)	2047
RD 6		GUILDFORD-A&DC 1	2478	7 - 1	BETSSON.COM	2297
1	w	Rowson, Jonathan	2585	1 - 0	Ansell, Simon	2405
2	b	King, Daniel J	2512	½ - ½	Ledger, Andrew J	2431
3	w	Hebden, Mark L	2522	½ - ½	Hunt, Adam C	2431
4	b	Flear, Glenn C	2478	1 - 0	Eames, Robert G	2335
5	w	Shaw, John K	2464	1 - 0	Duncan, Christopher R	2323
6	b	Tissir, Mohamed	2466	1 - 0	Ledger, David J	2265
7	w	Pert, Richard G	2456	1 - 0	Ledger, Stephen C	2150
8	b	Lalic, Susan (F)	2340	1 - 0	Yurenok, Maria S (F)	2035
RD 6		THE GAMBIT ADS	2309	4 - 4	WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 2	2285
1	w	Speelman, Jonathan S	2536	1 - 0	Houska, Jovanka (F)	2392
2	b	Davies, Nigel R	2483	½ - ½	Martin, Andrew D	2421
3	w	Mestel, A Jonathan	2475	½ - ½	Sowray, Peter J	2303
4	b	Richardson, John R	2312	½ - ½	Broomfield, Matthew	2340
5	w	Snape, Ian	2210	0 - 1	Briscoe, Christopher	2268
6	b	Anderton, David	2225	1 - 0	Lindner, Daniel	2243
7	w	Bellin, Jana (F)	2184	½ - ½	Hagasaether, Ellen (F)	2223
8	b	Wilman, Carey A (F)	2047	0 - 1	Hegarty, Sarah (F)	2088
RD 6		BARBICAN 4NCL 2	2208	6 - 2	NORTH WEST EAGLES	2159
1	w	Rogers, Jonathan W	2330	½ - ½	Morrison, Graham	2342
2	b	Lewis, Andrew P	2274	1 - 0	Coates, Kenneth G	2234
3	w	Taylor, Martin R	2339	½ - ½	Hulmes, David I	2219
4	b	Piper, Matthew S	2287	1 - 0	Redmond, John	2207
5	w	Taylor, Peter	2252	½ - ½	Hughes, Howard R *	2203
6	b	Franklin, Samuel	2142	1 - 0	Duckers, Harvey L	2060
7	w	Coleman, David	2208	1 - 0	Burke, John	2085
8	b	Smith, Lucy (F)	1830	½ - ½	Morrison, Lynne (F)	1920
RD 6		BRISTOL 1	2205	4½-3½	PRIDE AND PREJUDICE	2310
1	w	Cobb, Charles	2397	½ - ½	Summerscale, Aaron	2470
2	b	Rudd, Jack	2334	½ - ½	Emms, John M	2488
3	w	Beaumont, Chris	2308	½ - ½	Hunt, Harriet (F)	2463
4	b	Buckley, David E	2245	1 - 0	Ward, Chris G	2426
5	w	Dilleigh, Stephen P	2151	½ - ½	Allicock, Rawle A *	2300
6	b	Collier, David O	2083	½ - ½	Sahl, Sheila (F)	2219
7	w	Curtis, John	2125	0 - 1	Winkelmann, Elena (F)	2101
8	b	Smith, Olivia (F)	1996	1 - 0	Auckland, Elliott	2014

4NCL 2008-9 (ENG), 4 x 2008 - 24 v 2009 Round 6 Standings:
Division 1 A
Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 1	6	0	0	12
WHITE ROSE 1	5	0	1	10
GUILDFORD-A&DC 2	4	0	2	8
BARBICAN 4NCL 1	3	1	2	7
SOUTH WALES DRAGONS 1	2	2	2	6
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 1	1	1	4	3
RICHMOND	1	0	5	1 *
SAMBUCA SHARKS	0	0	6	0
Division 1 B
Team	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
GUILDFORD-A&DC 1	6	0	0	12
WOOD GREEN HILSMARK KINGFISHER 2	3	2	1	8
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE	3	1	2	7
THE GAMBIT ADS	3	1	2	7
BARBICAN 4NCL 2	2	1	3	5
BRISTOL 1	2	0	4	4
BETSSON.COM	1	1	4	3
NORTH WEST EAGLES	1	0	5	0 *

Fixtures 2008-9

Rounds 1 and 2: 4th/5th October 2008 De Vere Venues, Sunningdale Divisions 1-2

Rounds 3-4: 6th/7th December 2008 Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island Divisions 1-3

Rounds 5-6: 17th/18th January 2009 De Vere Venues, Sunningdale Divisions 1-2

Rounds 7-8: 21st/22nd March 2009 Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island Divisions 1-3

Rounds 9-11: 2nd-4th May 2009 De Vere Venues, Staverton Park Divisions 1-2

11) Azerbaijan Championships

The Azerbaijan Championships takes place 13th-21st January 2009.

Some info at: http://ulvichess.az/

ch-AZE Baku (AZE), 13-21 i 2009												cat. XI (2507)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Babaev, Rashad	g	AZE	2491	*	1	½	½	.	1	½	.	½	1	5	2668
2.	Rasulov, Vugar	f	AZE	2391	0	*	1	1	.	.	0	1	1	½	4½	2626
3.	Mamedov, Nidjat	g	AZE	2607	½	0	*	1	0	½	1	1	.	.	4	2561
4.	Abbasov, Farid	g	AZE	2565	½	0	0	*	1	½	1	.	.	1	4	2545
5.	Durarbeyli, Vasif	m	AZE	2439	.	.	1	0	*	1	½	½	0	1	4	2585
6.	Safarli, Eltaj	g	AZE	2564	0	.	½	½	0	*	.	½	1	1	3½	2506
7.	Ibrahimov, Rasul	g	AZE	2568	½	1	0	0	½	.	*	½	½	.	3	2453
8.	Mirzoev, Azer	g	AZE	2564	.	0	0	.	½	½	½	*	½	1	3	2442
9.	Guliev, Logman	m	AZE	2470	½	0	.	.	1	0	½	½	*	0	2½	2387
10.	Gasimov, Ragim	m	AZE	2409	0	½	.	0	0	0	.	0	1	*	1½	2267

12) Georgian Championships

The Georgian Championships for men and women take place in Tbilisi 17th-30th January 2009. My thanks to Varlam Vepkhvishvili for the news and games.

68th ch-GEO Tbilisi (GEO), 17-30 i 2009														cat. X (2492)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Bagaturov, Giorgi	g	GEO	2492	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	.	2½	2657
2.	Sanikidze, Tornike	g	GEO	2522	.	*	.	½	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	2	2531
3.	Pantsulaia, Levan	g	GEO	2583	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	2	2653
4.	Azaladze, Shota		GEO	2402	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	1	2	2592
5.	Bregadze, Levan	f	GEO	2394	½	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2533
6.	Shanava, Konstantine	g	GEO	2508	.	.	½	.	.	*	½	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	1½	2551
7.	Arutinian, David	g	GEO	2586	.	.	.	.	.	½	*	½	.	.	½	.	.	.	1½	2539
8.	Magalashvili, Davit	m	GEO	2490	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	*	½	½	.	.	.	.	1½	2551
9.	Gagunashvili, Merab	g	GEO	2585	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	½	*	.	.	½	.	.	1½	2407
10.	Margvelashvili, Giorgi	m	GEO	2484	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	½	.	*	.	½	.	.	1½	2445
11.	Mchedlishvili, Mikheil	g	GEO	2619	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	1½	2542
12.	Charkhalashvili, Inga	wg	GEO	2337	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	½	.	*	.	.	1	2395
13.	Benidze, Davit	m	GEO	2423	0	0	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	2199
14.	Nigalidze, Gaioz		GEO	2458	.	.	0	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	½	2261

66th ch-GEO w Tbilisi GEO (GEO), 17-28 i 2009													cat. IV (2333)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Paikidze, Nazi	wf	GEO	2280	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	½	.	1	.	.	2½	2582
2.	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2421	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	2½	2617
3.	Lomineishvili, Maia	m	GEO	2437	.	.	*	.	1	.	.	½	.	½	.	.	2	2432
4.	Gvetadze, Sopio	m	GEO	2377	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	½	.	2	2436
5.	Khukhashvili, Sopiko	m	GEO	2416	.	.	0	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	2	2489
6.	Arabidze, Meri	wf	GEO	2246	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	1	0	.	.	.	1½	2313
7.	Melia, Salome	m	GEO	2422	0	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	1	.	.	.	1½	2252
8.	Mikadze, Miranda	wm	GEO	2287	½	.	½	.	.	0	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	2196
9.	Tsatsalashvili, Keti	wm	GEO	2231	.	.	.	0	.	1	0	.	*	.	.	.	1	2223
10.	Danelia, Mariam	wm	GEO	2219	0	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	1	2239
11.	Guramishvili, Sopiko	wm	GEO	2281	.	0	.	½	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	2131
12.	Gaprindashvili, Nona1	g	GEO	2376	.	0	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	½	2079

13) 18th Mid-Winter Classic

George Mirijanian reports: The 18th Mid-Winter Classic tournament took place 17th January 2009 at the Florence Congregational Church in Florence, Massachusetts, USA. GM Alexander Ivanov, 52, of Newton, Mass. captured first place with a perfect 3-0 score. Tying for 2nd-3rd place with 2.5-0.5 results were FM John Curdo, 77, of Auburn, Mass., and U.S. Chess Federation-rated expert Leonid Tkach, 69, of Amherst, Mass. The tournament drew 40 players in three sections and was directed by Frank Kolasinski of Springfield, Mass. for the sponsoring Western Massachusetts Chess Association (WMCA).

14) Cuban Championship

Cuban Championship - Final begins on 20th January in Las Tunas, Cuba

5 seed players: Yuniesky Quesada Jesus Nogueiras Lazaro Bruzon Holden Hernandez and Neuris Delgado

I don't have games from the qualifier and I'm guessing the official site is the one below

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

15) 5th IRT Merlo

The 5th IRT Merlo took place 19th December 2008 - 7th January 2009. Julian Sapienza won a playoff 3-1 after a playoff against Pablo Barrionuevo.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezplus.com.ar/index.php

5th IRT Merlo (ARG), 19 xii 2008 - 7 i 2009
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Barrionuevo, Pablo	f	ARG	2341	*	1	1	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	7	2326
2.	Sapienza, Julian		ARG	2169	0	*	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	1	7	2346
3.	Tomeo, Nicolas		ARG	2043	0	0	*	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	6	2265
4.	Koch, Juan		ARG	2037	½	0	½	*	½	1	1	0	½	1	5	2183
5.	De Picciotto, Marcelo		ARG	2070	1	0	½	½	*	½	0	1	0	1	4½	2137
6.	Pagano, Marcelo		ARG	2049	½	0	0	0	½	*	1	½	1	1	4½	2139
7.	Menon, Daniel		ARG	2186	0	1	0	0	1	0	*	½	1	½	4	2081
8.	Preuss, Maximiliano		ARG	2114	0	0	0	1	0	½	½	*	½	1	3½	2052
9.	Godoy, Carlos ARG		ARG	2199	0	0	0	½	1	0	0	½	*	1	3	1997
10.	Tomeo, Ivan		ARG	2095	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	*	½	1690

5th IRT Playoff Merlo (ARG), 7 i 2009
				1	2	3	4
Sapienza, Julian	-	ARG	2169	1	0	1	1	3	2520
Barrionuevo, Pablo	f	ARG	2327	0	1	0	0	1	1976

16) Grand Prix Karlovy Vary Cancelled

In what seems to be the death knell of the whole series Bessel Kok announces the cancellation of what would have been the last event of the series. As far as I know there are no events left in the series now. Three reasons are given but I guess in fact that even if the first two weren't problems number three (the sponsors are feeling the global economic collapse) would have done for the event anyhow. Its going to be a very cold economic climate for a few years now. One FIDE official stated to me that the collapse of the Grand Prix shows that Bessel Kok wouldn't have been any good as FIDE President either. Bessel Kok has left Global Chess, the organisers, but the series was widely seen as his baby. I put that out there as a discussion point but it will be interesting to see if people do find explanations as to what went wrong. I've also deleted the schedule for the Grand Prix. If I'm wrong and there are events still left in this series then no doubt someone will let me know.

Bessel Kok and Pavel Matocha issue following statement

We have been informed that the NWR coal corporation which intended to support the Grand Prix in Karlovy Vary in December 2009 will not enter into sponsorship. This information and the reasons behind this decision were already communicated to Geoffrey Borg and FIDE and also to grandmaster David Navara, who was nominated by the Czech organisers to Grand Prix tournaments.

There are multiple reasons for this decision:

1. the withdrawal of top players from the GrandPrix tournaments (mainly withdrawal of Magnus Carlsen, the number one player of the GP and the most media atractive player is problem)

2. the confusion on the role of the winner of the Grand Prix (will be there the match between the winner of GP and the winner of World Cup for the right to play the worldchampionship match? or there will be a candidates tournament?), it is unacceptable to change the rules during the game

3. the current financial crisis, which wiped out 80% of market value of NWR and sponsoring has been their first cut in operating expenditure.

Prague 19th January 2009

17) Boris Yeshan 1949-2009

The founder of Shahcom (in 1990) and http://www.ruschess.com/ Boris Yeshan died on the 11th January 2009 in Saint-Petersburg at the age of 59.

18) Forthcoming Events and Links

32nd Ikaros Chess Festival 2009

?The traditional 32nd Ikaros Chess Festival 2009 takes place on Ikaria island.

The main event of the festival, the International Aegean Open Championship takes place 11th-19th July 2009. It is a 9 round swiss event with prize fund 3600 Euros in total (1st prize 1000 Euros, special money prizes for ladies and veterans). Special conditions for GMs/IMs and WGMs/WIMs are provided, special discounts for families and club teams are also offered (more information will be available in the official announcement of the festival that will be out soon on the official webpage.

Contact info: 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

Official site: http://www.chess.gr/ikaros

32nd San Sebastian Open

32nd San Sebastian International Open, takes place 5th-12th April 2009 in the Spanish northern city of San Sebastian (near french border).

Info: http://www.fgajedrez.org/open/open.htm

Tancats de la Societat Coral

The Tancats de la Societat Coral Colon Grup GM takes place 23rd January - 20th March 2009.

Official site: http://chess-results.com/tnr18677.aspx?datatyp=&art=14&lan=1

Pula Open 2009

The 23rd International Chess Tournament "Pula Open 2009" takes place 27th June - 4th July 2009 in Pula, Croatia. Official site: http://www.skpula.hr and contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr.

Aeroflot Open 2009

The mega Aeroflot Open takes place in Moscow 16th February (the day of arrival) to 27th February 2009 (the day of departure). There are five tournaments the main ones being: A1 higher than 2549 70000 Euros, A2 higher than 2399, but lower than 2550 36000 Euros, B higher than 2199, but lower than 2400 19500 Euros and C lower than 2200 and unrated 12000 Euros. Time control: Tournament A 1 and A 2: 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour, finally 15 minutes for the remaining moves with an increment of 30 seconds per move in the last period. Tournament B and C: 90 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1.

Blitz Tournament 26 Feb. 2009 a double nine-round Swiss Blitz Tournament will be held in the same venue. It is a Qualification Tournament for the World Blitz Championship 2009 (Final). The final tournament will take place in Moscow from 15 to 17 Nov.2009.

Information e-mail: aeroflotchess@gmail.com tel/fax: +7 (495) 691-8578 tel.: +7 (495) 690-6084

Details at the official site: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/

Novi Sad Open

1) Open turnir , 10-11 jan. 2009 , Srpska Nova g. u N. Sadu , 5 kola , rejtinguje se !!, fide tempo http://www.drazic.co.rs

2) IM , berger, 10-18.jan.2009. , 10 rounds, fide tempo, Novi SAd, for elo and norms fide, http://www.drazic.co.rs

3) Open turnir , 16-18 jan.2009, Novi Sad "Zima u Novom Sadu", 5 kola , rejtinguje se !!, fide tempo http://www.drazic.co.rs

4) cuger turnir , Olimpik, 12. jan.2009, Novi Sad, start 20 h , http://www.drazic.co.rs

5) program of chess edukation, every day from 12-15 jan. 2009 chess lessons with varius GM and Im (available in 3 languages),,,, some of teachers GM Kosanovic G. , GM SEdlak Nikola, GM Kovacevic A , GM DRazic Sinisa etc...

6) Open t. , "Dunav-Drava -Sava" , Banja Junakovic(87km from N.Sad), 9 rounds, fide tempo, possible norms fide and elo, date - 21-25.01.2009., special package , only 130 eur, 4 days full board with available swiming pool, and include also entry fee !! more http://www.drazic.co.rs Special discount for people who take part in more than one events.

Luis Scalise

Luis Scalise's chess pages have moved to: http://scalise.fortunecity.com/

7th Nancy Chess Festival

The 7th International Chess Festival takes place in Nancy (France) 16th-22nd February 2009. It will be a category 13 with average elo over 2550 (with january-elo). With the indian number 3 Pentala Harikrishna, the french number 5 Christian Bauer, the young hope of Germany Georg Meier, and the numbers 2 and 3 under-20 in France : Edouard and Feller (born in 1990 and 1991)...

Players: GM Harikrishna, P 2659 India GM Tregubov, Pavel 2646 Russia GM Krasenkow, Michal 2624 Poland GM Bauer, Christian 2592 France GM Meier, Georg 2558 Germany IM Edouard, Romain 2531 France GM Feller, Sebastien 2526 France IM Gozzoli, Yannick 2503 France IM Brunner, Nicolas 2415 France IM Nezar, Mustapha 2399 France

The all Festival includes 14 closed tournaments (10 players each) for all levels of players. Web (in french and english) : http://echecs54.free.fr/

Grand Slam Masters Final

The 2nd edition of the Grand Slam Masters Final will be played in Bilbao, September 2-15th 2009. The winners of Corus-Wijk aan Zee, Ciudad de Linares and Mtel Masters-Sofia tournaments will qualify directly for the Masters Final in Bilbao, where the first edition (played at a central square, inside a glass cube) was a very big success last September.

More details on the 2009 tournament (number of players, system of play, etc) will be announced at the end of the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee. The Grand Slam is in negotiations to include one more high level tournament in the 2009 circuit.

Grand Slam Chess Association (GSCA)

Dresden, 23 November 2008

The 7th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival takes place from Tuesday 27 January to Thursday 5 February 2009 at the Caleta Hotel. Details: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/gib2009/index.html

Austrian Team Championship

The Austrian team championship started in St Veit 7th-9th November 2008, the 11 round competition has further rounds 22nd-25th January and 19th-22nd March 2009. Players in the first three rounds included: Sergei Movsesian, Hikaru Nakamura, Emil Sutovsky, Jan Gustafsson and Alexander Beliavsky.

Official site: http://www.chess.at/ and results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr12353.aspx?art=2&lan=1&m=-1

Chess Study

Dr Robert Howard is making a study of rated chess players.

The full article: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/results

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

Bundesliga

The Schachbundesliga season 2008/09 runs 3rd-5th October and runs until March 2009. 16 Teams compete with team rosters of 16-18 players but only eight play each weekend. There will be live coverage of all the games.

Dates: 4th-5th October 2008 25th-26th October 2008 29th-30th November 2008 12th-14th December 2008 (Here the official seventh round will be played. Although some will be played at other times) 31st January 2008 - 1st February 2009. 28th February - 1st March 2009. 28th-29th March 2009.

Official site of the Schachbundesliga (http://www.schachbundesliga.de/index.aspx) Further information (in German) and the entrance site for the live coverage: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/index.aspx

European Youth U-16 winners Texas Scholarships

The University of Texas at Dallas (USA) has offered scholarships to the winners of the U-16 European Youth Chess Championships since 2007. The agreement with the European Chess Union has been extended for another three years. The total value of the scholarships during this five-year period will be approximately 1 million USD, said James A. Stallings, Director of the UTD chess program.

Interview on the ECU website: http://www.europechess.org/home518.aspx?art=ft

27th Elba Island Festival

The 27th International Chess Festival of Elba Island "Luigi Amalfi", takes place at the Hotel Lacona 10th-17th May 2009.

Details: http://www.tuscanhotels.it/en/cmsx.asp?IDPg=23

25th Bermuda Open

The 25th Bermuda Open takes place 30th January - 1st February 2008 at the luxurious Fairmont Southampton Resort on the South Shore with private tennis courts, golf course, beach, walking trails, ferry into Hamilton for duty-free shopping 5 round Swiss. Register & pay on site. For info contact Nigel Freeman at cadilly@northrock.bm or Carol Jarecki at carolj10280@yahoo.com

Icelandic Team Championship

Icelandic Team Champ 1st div first half took place 3rd-5th October 2008. The 2nd set of games are March 21st-22nd March 2009 if I understand the website correctly. A small number of games are available.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5982&Itemid=499# and results: http://chess-results.com/tnr16443.aspx?tnr=16443&art=16&lan=2&flag=30&m=-1

Doeberl Cup and Sydney International 2009

The 2009 Doeberl Cup is in Canberra 9th-13th April 2009. See http://www.doeberlcup.com.au/

The 2009 Sydney International Open takes place 15th-19th April 2009. See http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/index.cfm?site=open

Free entry to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs.

Free accommodation for selected GMs and WGMs.

For further information, please contact Brian Jones info@chessaustralia.com.au

Czech Litomysl Chess Christmas

Czech Chess Christmas 2008 Litomysl (CZE) 26.12.2008-2.1.2009

10th christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h + 30s/move, prize fund 64.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 750 EUR), 10 financial prizes redeemable by drawings, special conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme.

Contact: Proclient s.r.o., Jaroslav Fuksik, Svedska 3, 772 00 Olomouc, mobile: +420 608 364 664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, web: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2008/

So - Torre Match 2009

14-year-old Wesley So and 56-year-old Eugene Torre play a 12 game match starting February 10, 2009 at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. Two games each will be played in Quezon City, Davao and Iloilo, and if the match remains undecided, the protagonists will return to Quezon City and finish the match. A knockout game will be played if the duel ends up 6-6. The winner will take home P600,000 while the loser will earn P400,000.Another P100,000 goes to the winner of each provincial leg while the loser will get P50,000.

VI Transcarpathian Rapidtournament Chess Decyk

VI Transcarpathian Rapidtournament "Chess Decyk" Ukraine, Uzhgorod, 28-29.08.2008

Organizers of tournament: Chess Federation of Uzhgorod Organizational committee: B. Borshosh, A. Samoylenko, V. Prokopishin Place: Ukraine, Uzhgorod, Pub-museum "Deca u notaria", Gagarin street, 98 Also Traditional Beer blitz-tournament will take place in Pub-museum "Deca u notaria"! Phone: +380503723900, +380503179153, (+3803122) 2-25-87 E-mail: chessfeduzh@rambler.ru Details: http://www.chessfeduzh.narod.ru

Hungarian Chess Tournaments July 2008 - March 2009

1. 19th-28th of July 2008 KECSKEMET, IM-FM 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. 2nd-14th of August, 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.

3.16th-25th of August, IM-FM tmt, Kecskemet, org: Erdelyi

4.6th-18th of September GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L,

5.20th -29th September IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi

6.4th-16th of October, GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org.Nagy L.

7.18th-30th of October, SAKKAKADEMIA, GM-IM closed, org: WGM Csonkics, Tunde, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

8.18th-27th of October IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org Erdelyi.

9.1st-13th of November GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

10. 15th-23rd of November, Kecskemet, IM dr.Erdelyi.

11.14th-22nd of November Tenkes Kupa Open, Harkany, 300 km South-West from Budapest, 9 round Swiss, org: Ambrus Lajos, mobile: 36-30-851-4224 e-mail: info@baranyasakk.hu www.baranyasakk.hu

12.6th-18th of December GM-IM-FM tmt, First Saturday Budapest, org Nagy L.

13.27th of Dec - 5th of January IM-FM tmt Kecskemet, org: Erdelyi.

14.9th-17th of January, EVADNYITO Open 9 rounds Swiss, Budapest, org: IA FAZEKAS, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

15.23rd of January - 2nd of February, BALASSAGYARMAT WINTER, GM-IM closed, 100 km North from Budapest, Org: Nagy Laszlo, info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

16.7th-19th of February, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM Budapest - org: Nagy Laszlo, www.firstsaturday.hu - info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

17.7th-19th of March, First Saturday, Budapest, GM-IM-FM, org Nagy L.

18.20th-28th of March, 25th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL 9 rounds Swiss Open, org: Nagy L. - e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

GM Boris Alterman's Chess Lessons

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

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

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