THE WEEK IN CHESS 743 2nd February 2009 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Axel Fritz, Brian Gaines, Christopher Rohrer, Georgios Souleidis, Mikhail Golubev, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Michael Atkins, Lazlo Nagy, Sean Hewitt, Varlam Vepkhvishvili and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Corus Chess tournament ended in a photo finish with 6 players tied going into the final round. In the end Sergey Karjakin won the event after fending off and then beating Leinier Dominguez Perez who clearly had blood on his mind. The results was something of a surprise with Elo favourites Ivanchuk and Morozevich tieing for last place and Magnus Carlsen struggling to win and then losing a little too easily in the final round after his own winning chances and tournament winning chances disappeared. The A-Group didn't tell us a whole lot as to where we are at the moment but I guess Anand and Topalov won't be losing any sleep. The B-Group and C-Groups have got stronger over the years as invitations dry up worldwide it becomes more attractive to stronger players to play in these events. The B-Group was a big fight which should have been won by Nigel Short until he threw away at first a win and then a pretty easy draw against the eventual winner Fabiano Caruana. The C-Group was some kind of blood bath. All very enjoyable. There is plenty of chess elsewhere including the Gibtelecom Chess Festival.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) 71st Corus Chess tournament

The 71st Corus Chess tournament took place Friday, January 16th to Sunday, February 1st, 2009 in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands. Sergey Karjakin took first place in the tournament after winning with black against Leinier Dominguez Perez in the final round. There were 6 tied for the lead going into the final round, Magnus Carlsen lost and he rest of the leaders drew. Nigel Short had the group-B in his grasp but somehow missed perpetual and handed the game and tournament victory to Fabiano Caruana. Wesley So confirmed his victory in the C-Group after a quick draw.

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	½	1	0	½	½	½	0	1	1	1	8	2803
2.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2750	½	*	½	1	½	0	1	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	7½	2770
3.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2761	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	0	1	½	1	½	½	½	7½	2769
4.	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	2751	0	0	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	1	1	7½	2770
5.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2776	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	½	0	1	½	½	½	½	7	2740
6.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2717	0	1	½	½	0	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	7	2745
7.	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2725	1	0	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	6½	2715
8.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2625	½	½	1	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	0	6	2694
9.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2739	½	½	0	½	1	½	½	½	*	½	0	½	0	1	6	2685
10.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2601	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	½	0	6	2695
11.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2779	1	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	1	0	*	½	½	0	5½	2654
12.	Stellwagen, Daniël	g	NED	2612	0	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	5½	2667
13.	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2712	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	*	½	5½	2659
14.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2771	0	½	½	0	½	0	0	1	0	1	1	½	½	*	5½	2654

Round 9 (January 27, 2009)
Karjakin, Sergey	- Movsesian, Sergei	1-0	68	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Stellwagen, Daniël	1-0	51	C19	French Winawer
Kamsky, Gata	- Aronian, Levon	0-1	80	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Van Wely, Loek	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	36	A29	English Four Knights
Smeets, Jan	- Wang Yue	½-½	28	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Adams, Michael	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	28	B70	Sicilian Dragon
Morozevich, Alexander	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	24	E60	King's Indian without Nc3
Round 10 (January 28, 2009)
Karjakin, Sergey	- Van Wely, Loek	½-½	42	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Aronian, Levon	- Adams, Michael	1-0	45	E04	Catalan
Radjabov, Teimour	- Smeets, Jan	½-½	39	A07	Barcza System
Movsesian, Sergei	- Wang Yue	½-½	22	C42	Petroff's Defence
Carlsen, Magnus	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	1-0	39	D81	Gruenfeld Botvinnik
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Kamsky, Gata	½-½	57	D94	Gruenfeld Closed
Stellwagen, Daniël	- Morozevich, Alexander	½-½	31	C92	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Round 11 (January 30, 2009)
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Aronian, Levon	1-0	36	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Kamsky, Gata	- Karjakin, Sergey	1-0	41	D02	Queen's Pawn Game
Van Wely, Loek	- Movsesian, Sergei	0-1	44	A27	English Dutch System
Wang Yue	- Radjabov, Teimour	0-1	64	E92	King's Indian Classical
Smeets, Jan	- Stellwagen, Daniël	½-½	35	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Adams, Michael	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	37	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Morozevich, Alexander	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	41	E37	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Round 12 (January 31, 2009)
Karjakin, Sergey	- Adams, Michael	1-0	35	C92	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Aronian, Levon	- Morozevich, Alexander	½-½	44	D98	Gruenfeld Smyslov
Movsesian, Sergei	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	27	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Carlsen, Magnus	- Smeets, Jan	1-0	29	B10	Caro Kann
Van Wely, Loek	- Kamsky, Gata	½-½	17	D15	Slav Defence
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	½-½	22	B54	Sicilian Rauzer
Stellwagen, Daniël	- Wang Yue	½-½	32	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Round 13 (February 1, 2009)
Radjabov, Teimour	- Stellwagen, Daniël	½-½	24	B83	Sicilian Scheveningen
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Karjakin, Sergey	0-1	41	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Kamsky, Gata	- Movsesian, Sergei	½-½	47	B83	Sicilian Scheveningen
Wang Yue	- Carlsen, Magnus	1-0	67	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Smeets, Jan	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	22	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Adams, Michael	- Van Wely, Loek	½-½	35	B84	Sicilian Scheveningen
Morozevich, Alexander	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0	45	D10	Slav Defence

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.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2646	*	1	½	½	½	0	0	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	8½	2751
2.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2663	0	*	½	1	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	0	8	2726
3.	Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	2676	½	½	*	1	½	½	½	0	½	1	1	½	1	½	8	2725
4.	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2687	½	0	0	*	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	8	2724
5.	Volokitin, Andrei	g	UKR	2671	½	½	½	½	*	½	0	1	1	1	½	½	½	½	7½	2696
6.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2702	1	0	½	0	½	*	½	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	7½	2693
7.	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2688	1	½	½	½	1	½	*	0	0	½	0	1	½	1	7	2666
8.	Navara, David	g	CZE	2638	0	0	1	½	0	1	1	*	½	½	0	½	½	1	6½	2641
9.	Reinderman, Dimitri	g	NED	2549	½	0	½	½	0	0	1	½	*	1	½	½	½	½	6	2619
10.	Hou Yifan	wg	CHN	2571	½	½	0	0	0	1	½	½	0	*	½	1	½	1	6	2617
11.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2603	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	1	½	½	*	½	1	½	5½	2587
12.	Mecking, Henrique	g	BRA	2567	0	½	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	*	½	1	4½	2537
13.	Werle, Jan	g	NED	2607	0	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0	½	*	0	4	2503
14.	Sasikiran, Krishnan	g	IND	2711	0	1	½	0	½	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	1	*	4	2495

Round 9 (January 27, 2009)
Caruana, Fabiano	- L'Ami, Erwin	1-0	56	D11	Slav Defence
Motylev, Alexander	- Reinderman, Dimitri	½-½	38	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Volokitin, Andrei	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	½-½	31	C92	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Efimenko, Zahar	- Hou Yifan	½-½	55	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Navara, David	- Sasikiran, Krishnan	1-0	25	B25	Sicilian Closed
Mecking, Henrique	- Short, Nigel D	½-½	94	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Werle, Jan	- Vallejo Pons, Francisco	0-1	31	E97	King's Indian Classical
Round 10 (January 28, 2009)
Short, Nigel D	- Motylev, Alexander	½-½	48	B73	Sicilian Dragon
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	- Vallejo Pons, Francisco	1-0	46	D80	Gruenfeld 4.Bg5
Volokitin, Andrei	- Mecking, Henrique	½-½	25	C96	Ruy Lopez
Reinderman, Dimitri	- Navara, David	½-½	29	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Hou Yifan	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	56	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
L'Ami, Erwin	- Werle, Jan	1-0	28	E12	Queens Indian Petrosian
Sasikiran, Krishnan	- Efimenko, Zahar	0-1	41	E59	Nimzo Indian
Round 11 (January 30, 2009)
Caruana, Fabiano	- Sasikiran, Krishnan	1-0	44	B84	Sicilian Scheveningen
Motylev, Alexander	- Volokitin, Andrei	½-½	26	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- L'Ami, Erwin	1-0	61	A15	English counter King's Fianchetto
Efimenko, Zahar	- Reinderman, Dimitri	0-1	36	E60	King's Indian without Nc3
Navara, David	- Short, Nigel D	0-1	27	B04	Alekhine's Defence
Mecking, Henrique	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	0-1	90	A70	Benoni
Werle, Jan	- Hou Yifan	½-½	35	E15	Queens Indian
Round 12 (January 31, 2009)
Short, Nigel D	- Efimenko, Zahar	½-½	59	B92	Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	- L'Ami, Erwin	1-0	41	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Volokitin, Andrei	- Navara, David	1-0	37	E04	Catalan
Reinderman, Dimitri	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	11	A25	English Sicilian Attack
Hou Yifan	- Vallejo Pons, Francisco	1-0	31	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Mecking, Henrique	- Motylev, Alexander	½-½	13	A41	Modern Defence
Sasikiran, Krishnan	- Werle, Jan	1-0	23	E21	Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3
Round 13 (February 1, 2009)
Caruana, Fabiano	- Short, Nigel D	1-0	67	E06	Catalan
Motylev, Alexander	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	1-0	75	B07	Pirc Defence
Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Sasikiran, Krishnan	1-0	52	C69	Ruy Lopez Exchange
Efimenko, Zahar	- Volokitin, Andrei	1-0	40	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Navara, David	- Mecking, Henrique	½-½	33	C96	Ruy Lopez
L'Ami, Erwin	- Hou Yifan	½-½	53	E12	Queens Indian Petrosian
Werle, Jan	- Reinderman, Dimitri	½-½	21	E94	King's Indian Classical

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.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2627	*	1	½	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	9½	2687
2.	Hillarp Persson, Tiger	g	SWE	2586	0	*	1	0	1	1	½	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	8½	2626
3.	Giri, Anish	f	RUS	2469	½	0	*	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	8½	2635
4.	Gupta, Abhijeet	g	IND	2569	½	1	0	*	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	7½	2574
5.	Howell, David W L	g	ENG	2622	½	0	½	0	*	½	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	7½	2570
6.	Holzke, Frank	g	GER	2524	1	0	½	0	½	*	½	½	0	1	1	0	1	½	6½	2520
7.	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2473	½	½	½	1	1	½	*	½	0	½	½	½	0	0	6	2495
8.	Bitalzadeh, Ali	m	NED	2400	0	1	½	1	0	½	½	*	1	0	0	1	0	0	5½	2473
9.	Nijboer, Friso	g	NED	2560	0	½	½	1	0	1	1	0	*	0	1	0	0	½	5½	2461
10.	Bosboom, Manuel	m	NED	2418	0	0	½	0	1	0	½	1	1	*	0	1	0	½	5½	2472
11.	Pruijssers, Roeland	m	NED	2444	0	½	0	1	0	0	½	1	0	1	*	0	1	½	5½	2470
12.	Iturrizaga, Eduardo	g	VEN	2528	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	0	1	0	1	*	1	1	5½	2463
13.	Leon Hoyos, Manuel	g	MEX	2542	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	*	1	5	2432
14.	Romanishin, Oleg M	g	UKR	2533	½	0	0	0	0	½	1	1	½	½	½	0	0	*	4½	2410

Round 9 (January 27, 2009)
Giri, Anish	- Pruijssers, Roeland	1-0	23	E94	King's Indian Classical
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Romanishin, Oleg M	1-0	48	E38	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Holzke, Frank	- Bosboom, Manuel	1-0	41	E96	King's Indian Classical
Harika, Dronavalli	- Hillarp Persson, Tiger	½-½	43	D12	Slav Defence
Bitalzadeh, Ali	- So, Wesley	0-1	36	A37	English Symmetrical
Iturrizaga, Eduardo	- Nijboer, Friso	1-0	42	A21	English Opening
Leon Hoyos, Manuel	- Howell, David W L	0-1	49	A16	English Opening
Round 10 (January 28, 2009)
Hillarp Persson, Tiger	- Holzke, Frank	1-0	49	C54	Giuoco Piano
Giri, Anish	- Gupta, Abhijeet	1-0	33	D90	Gruenfeld Flohr
Howell, David W L	- Harika, Dronavalli	0-1	48	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Nijboer, Friso	- Leon Hoyos, Manuel	0-1	62	B35	Sicilian Defence
Bosboom, Manuel	- Bitalzadeh, Ali	1-0	31	B57	Sicilian Sozin Attack
Pruijssers, Roeland	- So, Wesley	0-1	47	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Romanishin, Oleg M	- Iturrizaga, Eduardo	0-1	31	A40	Unusual Replies to 1.d4
Round 11 (January 30, 2009)
So, Wesley	- Bosboom, Manuel	1-0	33	B01	Centre Counter
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Pruijssers, Roeland	0-1	30	E81	King's Indian Saemisch
Holzke, Frank	- Howell, David W L	½-½	39	E60	King's Indian without Nc3
Harika, Dronavalli	- Nijboer, Friso	0-1	40	A41	Modern Defence
Bitalzadeh, Ali	- Hillarp Persson, Tiger	1-0	46	B43	Sicilian Paulsen
Iturrizaga, Eduardo	- Giri, Anish	0-1	57	D12	Slav Defence
Leon Hoyos, Manuel	- Romanishin, Oleg M	1-0	45	A45	Trompowsky
Round 12 (January 31, 2009)
Hillarp Persson, Tiger	- So, Wesley	0-1	39	D11	Slav Defence
Giri, Anish	- Leon Hoyos, Manuel	1-0	33	A41	Modern Defence
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Iturrizaga, Eduardo	1-0	43	E10	Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Howell, David W L	- Bitalzadeh, Ali	1-0	18	B40	Sicilian Classical
Nijboer, Friso	- Holzke, Frank	1-0	40	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Pruijssers, Roeland	- Bosboom, Manuel	1-0	42	B15	Caro Kann
Romanishin, Oleg M	- Harika, Dronavalli	1-0	78	D11	Slav Defence
Round 13 (February 1, 2009)
So, Wesley	- Howell, David W L	½-½	19	C96	Ruy Lopez
Holzke, Frank	- Romanishin, Oleg M	½-½	11	E16	Queens Indian
Harika, Dronavalli	- Giri, Anish	½-½	59	D12	Slav Defence
Bitalzadeh, Ali	- Nijboer, Friso	1-0	39	A85	Dutch
Bosboom, Manuel	- Hillarp Persson, Tiger	0-1	29	A04	Dutch System
Iturrizaga, Eduardo	- Pruijssers, Roeland	1-0	33	E94	King's Indian Classical
Leon Hoyos, Manuel	- Gupta, Abhijeet	0-1	40	A15	English counter King's Fianchetto

3) Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival

The 7th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival takes place from Tuesday 27 January to Thursday 5 February 2009 at the Caleta Hotel. Vugar Gashimov leads after beating Alexander Beliavsky in round 7.

Official site: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/gib2009/index.html

7th Gibtelecom Masters Caleta (ENG), 27 i-5 ii 2009 Leading Round 7 Standings:
Rank	Name		Fed.	Rating	Score	Perf
1	Gashimov, Vugar	GM	AZE	2723	6	2826
2	Svidler, Peter	GM	RUS	2723	5.5	2780
3	Harikrishna, Pentala	GM	IND	2673	5.5	2740
4	Milov, Vadim	GM	SUI	2669	5.5	2703
5	Beliavsky, Alexander G	GM	SLO	2646	5.5	2747
6	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	GM	IND	2614	5.5	2734
7	Kotronias, Vasilios	GM	GRE	2603	5.5	2812
8	Lopez Martinez, Josep Manu	GM	ESP	2540	5.5	2646
9	Nakamura, Hikaru	GM	USA	2699	5	2606
10	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	GM	FRA	2696	5	2602
11	Roiz, Michael	GM	ISR	2647	5	2648
12	Avrukh, Boris	GM	ISR	2645	5	2686
13	Socko, Bartosz	GM	POL	2631	5	2715
14	Gurevich, Mikhail	GM	TUR	2624	5	2656
15	Akobian, Varuzhan	GM	USA	2619	5	2616
16	Golod, Vitali	GM	ISR	2575	5	2728
17	Hammer, Jon Ludvig	IM	NOR	2532	5	2544
18	Pavlovic, Milos	GM	SRB	2520	5	2430
19	Dzagnidze, Nana	GM	GEO	2518	5	2644
20	Papp, Gabor	IM	HUN	2517	5	2534
21	Szabo, Krisztian	IM	HUN	2508	5	2484
22	Hauchard, Arnaud	GM	FRA	2497	5	2718
23	Al Sayed, Mohamad N.	IM	QAT	2488	5	2538
24	Sokolov, Ivan	GM	NED	2657	4.5	2578
25	Berkes, Ferenc	GM	HUN	2651	4.5	2585
26	Berg, Emanuel	GM	SWE	2606	4.5	2540
27	Stefanova, Antoaneta	GM	BUL	2557	4.5	2552
28	Cramling, Pia	GM	SWE	2548	4.5	2430
29	Speelman, Jon S	GM	ENG	2536	4.5	2405
30	Del Rio De Angelis, Salvad	GM	ESP	2532	4.5	2482
31	Gordon, Stephen J	IM	ENG	2524	4.5	2502
32	Berczes, David	GM	HUN	2513	4.5	2500
33	Carlsson, Pontus	GM	SWE	2509	4.5	2436
34	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan	IM	SCO	2500	4.5	2476
35	Kiik, Kalle	IM	EST	2466	4.5	2498
36	Krush, Irina	IM	USA	2457	4.5	2530
37	Socko, Monika	GM	POL	2449	4.5	2345
38	D`Costa, Lorin A R	IM	ENG	2445	4.5	2395
39	Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel	GM	ESP	2440	4.5	2465
40	Karim, Ismael	IM	March	2407	4.5	2388
41	Nezad, Husein Aziz	IM	QAT	2403	4.5	2274
42	Dittmar, Peter	FM	GER	2382	4.5	2346
43	Nithander, Victor	FM	SWE	2369	4.5	2528
44	Quillan, Gary		ENG	2357	4.5	2512
45	Vernay, Clovis	IM	FRA	2338	4.5	2434
46	Natalicchio Escalante, Nic		ESP	2238	4.5	2406
47	Kozlov, Oleg	IM	RUS	2187	4.5	2413
48	Lovik, Lasse Ostebo		NOR	2184	4.5	2369
49	Heinis, Vincent		FRA	2170	4.5	2346
50	Sandipan, Chanda	GM	IND	2568	4	2482
51	Cmilyte, Viktorija	IM	LTU	2497	4	2412
52	Trent, Lawrence	IM	ENG	2487	4	2399
53	Nemeth, Miklos	IM	HUN	2472	4	2464
54	Zatonskih, Anna	IM	USA	2462	4	2446
55	Bruno, Fabio	IM	ITA	2460	4	2313
56	Devereaux, Maxim L	IM	ENG	2437	4	2292
57	Sachdev, Tania	IM	IND	2435	4	2294
58	Hommeles, Theo	FM	NED	2410	4	2410
59	Kharous, Ernest	IM	RUS	2400	4	2244
60	Houska, Jovanka	IM	ENG	2392	4	2446
194 players

4) Moscow International Open

The Moscow Open takes place January 31st - 8th February 2009 in the Russian State Social University, Moscow, Russia.

Official site: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru

Open Moscow (RUS), 31 i-19 ii 2009 Top 10 players
SNo.		Name	IRtg	FED
1	GM	Dreev Alexey	2688	RUS
2	GM	Tiviakov Sergei	2685	NED
3	GM	Sargissian Gabriel	2677	ARM
4	GM	Areshchenko Alexander	2673	UKR
5	GM	Timofeev Artyom	2671	RUS
6	GM	Guseinov Gadir	2661	AZE
7	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2659	USA
8	GM	Inarkiev Ernesto	2656	RUS
9	GM	Zhang Zhong	2656	SIN
10	GM	Grachev Boris	2655	RUS
317 players

5) Mate of the King in Tehran

To mark the 30th Anniversary of the Islamic revolution there is a match between Anatoly Karpov and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami the event takes place in Tehran 26th January - 3rd February 2009. 4 Classical Games, 4 rapid games and 12 blitz games with many appearing on national tv. Organiser Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh. After three games the score is 1.5-1.5 in the classical section. The main thing is that every game is played to a total finish, mate, stalemate etc, no resignation or agreed draws.

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

Karpov, Anatoly	- Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	1-0	42	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	- Karpov, Anatoly	1-0	91	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Karpov, Anatoly	- Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	½-½	44	E36	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	- Karpov, Anatoly	½-½	32	B14	Caro Kann Panov

Mate of the King Classical Tehran (IRI), 27-31 i 2009
				1	2	3	4
Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	g	IRI	2604	0	1	½	½	2	2644
Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2644	1	0	½	½	2	2604

Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	- Karpov, Anatoly	0-1	29	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Karpov, Anatoly	- Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	0-1	48	E36	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	- Karpov, Anatoly	1-0	38	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Karpov, Anatoly	- Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	1-0	43	E36	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2

Mate of the King Rapid Tehran (IRI), 1 ii 2009
				1	2	3	4
Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan	g	IRI	2604	0	1	1	0	2	2644
Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2644	1	0	0	1	2	2604

6) Bundesliga

After the winter break the 10th and 11th round of the German Schachbundesliga took place over the weekend of 31st January - 1st February 2009. Most of these games were in Berlin, where the host-teams SC Kreuzberg and SF Berlin played their games at the same place. The top-match of the weekend took place in Muelheim. League-leaders Baden-Baden drew against Muelheim-Nord to drop their first points but they still lead by three points.

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

Bundesliga 2008-9 (GER), 2 x 2008 - iii 2009
Round 10
SC Kreuzberg		4 - 4	TV Tegernsee
3	Maksimenko,An	½-½	Khenkin,Igor	4
4	Luther,Thomas	1-0	Sokolov,Andre	5
5	Shengelia,Dav	½-½	Ribli,Zoltan	7
7	Schilow,Vladi	½-½	Bischoff,Klau	8
8	Richter,Micha	½-½	Boensch,Uwe	9
10	Kalinitschew,	½-½	Teske,Henrik	10
11	Tischbierek,R	½-½	Hertneck,Gera	13
12	Berger,Steve	--+	Gross,David	16
USV TU Dresden		3½-4½	FC Bayern Muenche
1	Maiwald,Jens-	½-½	Marcelin,Cyri	1
4	Gauglitz,Gern	½-½	Bezold,Michae	2
5	Seifert,Volke	0-1	Belezky,Alexa	3
6	Hoffmann,Paul	½-½	Jorczik,Julia	4
7	Eichner,Sebas	0-1	Renner,Christ	6
9	Wegener,Dirk	1-0	Heinzel,Olaf	8
10	Graf,Felix	½-½	Reich,Thomas	9
15	Salzmann,Pete	½-½	Unzicker,Ferd	14
SV Muelheim Nord		4 - 4	OSG Baden Baden
5	Landa,Konstan	0-1	Shirov,Alexei	3
6	Fridman,Danie	½-½	Nisipeanu,Liv	7
7	Potkin,Vladim	1-0	Bacrot,Etienn	8
11	Levin,Felix	½-½	Naiditsch,Ark	10
12	Berelovich,Al	0-1	Nielsen,Peter	11
13	Hausrath,Dani	½-½	Dautov,Rustem	14
14	Saltaev,Mihai	½-½	Schlosser,Phi	15
15	Schebler,Gerh	1-0	Doettling,Fab	16
SF Katernberg		3½-4½	SC Eppingen
6	Chuchelov,Vla	½-½	Braun,Arik	2
8	Firman,Nazar	1-0	Balogh,Csaba	4
9	Glek,Igor V	0-1	Gyimesi,Zolta	5
10	Seel,Christia	½-½	Bindrich,Falk	6
12	Siebrecht,Seb	0-1	Ruck,Robert	7
14	Souleidis,Geo	1-0	Acs,Peter	8
15	Thesing,Matth	0-1	Medvegy,Zolta	9
16	Scholz,Christ	½-½	Guliyev,Namig	10
Schachfreunde Be		2 - 6	SG Aljechin Soli
2	Markos,Jan	0-1	Nikolic,Predr	2
3	Miezis,Normun	0-1	Jussupow,Artu	5
4	Polzin,Rainer	0-1	Buhmann,Raine	7
6	Lauber,Arnd	1-0	Naumann,Alexa	8
7	Schneider,Ilj	0-1	Ragger,Markus	9
9	Berndt,Stepha	½-½	Ernst,Sipke	10
10	Degtiarev,Evg	0-1	Hoffmann,Mich	11
11	Thiede,Lars	½-½	Edouard,Romai	12
Hamburger SK		5 - 3	SV Wattenscheid
2	Baramidze,Dav	½-½	Najer,Evgeniy	1
3	Kempinski,Rob	½-½	Rustemov,Alex	5
6	Ftacnik,Lubom	0-1	Appel,Ralf	8
8	Mueller,Karst	½-½	Handke,Floria	10
10	Heinemann,Thi	1-0	Dinstuhl,Volk	11
13	Reeh,Oliver	½-½	Tereick,Benja	12
14	Huschenbeth,N	1-0	Straeter,Timo	13
15	Sebastian,Dir	1-0	Thiel,Thomas	15
SK Turm Emsdette		2 - 6	SC Remagen
2	Hector,Jonny	0-1	Goloshchapov,	4
3	Feygin,Michae	0-1	Gharamian,Tig	5
5	Janssen,Ruud	½-½	Huebner,Rober	7
6	Spoelman,Wout	1-0	Dgebuadze,Ale	8
8	Brandenburg,D	0-1	Degraeve,Jean	9
11	De Vreugt,Den	0-1	Mainka,Romual	10
13	Kabatianski,A	0-1	Popovic,Petar	11
14	Richter,Chris	½-½	Swinkels,Robi	12
Werder Bremen		4½-3½	SC Trier
2	McShane,Luke	--+	Parligras,Mir	1
6	Fressinet,Lau	½-½	Bobras,Piotr	2
7	Meier,Georg	½-½	Cyborowski,Lu	3
10	Hracek,Zbynek	½-½	Jaracz,Pawel	6
11	Nyback,Tomi	½-½	Flumbort,Andr	8
12	Babula,Vlasti	1-0	Gonda,Laszlo	9
13	Fish,Gennadij	1-0	Galyas,Miklos	10
14	Skripchenko,A	½-½	Cioara,Andrei	13
Round 11
TV Tegernsee		7 - 1	USV TU Dresden
4	Khenkin,Igor	1-0	Maiwald,Jens-	1
5	Sokolov,Andre	1-0	Gauglitz,Gern	4
7	Ribli,Zoltan	½-½	Seifert,Volke	5
8	Bischoff,Klau	1-0	Hoffmann,Paul	6
9	Boensch,Uwe	1-0	Eichner,Sebas	7
10	Teske,Henrik	1-0	Wegener,Dirk	9
13	Hertneck,Gera	½-½	Graf,Felix	10
16	Gross,David	1-0	Salzmann,Pete	15
FC Bayern Muenche		3 - 5	SC Kreuzberg
1	Marcelin,Cyri	½-½	Maksimenko,An	3
2	Bezold,Michae	½-½	Luther,Thomas	4
3	Belezky,Alexa	0-1	Shengelia,Dav	5
4	Jorczik,Julia	0-1	Figura,Atila	6
6	Renner,Christ	1-0	Schilow,Vladi	7
7	Meissner,Bern	0-1	Richter,Micha	8
9	Reich,Thomas	0-1	Kalinitschew,	10
14	Unzicker,Ferd	1-0	Tischbierek,R	11
OSG Baden Baden		6½-1½	SF Katernberg
3	Shirov,Alexei	1-0	Chuchelov,Vla	6
7	Nisipeanu,Liv	½-½	Firman,Nazar	8
8	Bacrot,Etienn	1-0	Glek,Igor V	9
10	Naiditsch,Ark	1-0	Seel,Christia	10
11	Nielsen,Peter	½-½	Siebrecht,Seb	12
14	Dautov,Rustem	1-0	Souleidis,Geo	14
15	Schlosser,Phi	½-½	Thesing,Matth	15
16	Doettling,Fab	1-0	Scholz,Christ	16
SC Eppingen		5 - 3	SV Muelheim Nord
2	Braun,Arik	½-½	Landa,Konstan	5
4	Balogh,Csaba	½-½	Fridman,Danie	6
5	Gyimesi,Zolta	½-½	Potkin,Vladim	7
6	Bindrich,Falk	½-½	Levin,Felix	11
7	Ruck,Robert	1-0	Berelovich,Al	12
8	Acs,Peter	½-½	Hausrath,Dani	13
9	Medvegy,Zolta	½-½	Saltaev,Mihai	14
10	Guliyev,Namig	1-0	Schebler,Gerh	15
SG Aljechin Soli		4½-3½	Hamburger SK
2	Nikolic,Predr	½-½	Baramidze,Dav	2
5	Jussupow,Artu	½-½	Kempinski,Rob	3
7	Buhmann,Raine	1-0	Ftacnik,Lubom	6
8	Naumann,Alexa	½-½	Mueller,Karst	8
9	Ragger,Markus	½-½	Heinemann,Thi	10
10	Ernst,Sipke	1-0	Reeh,Oliver	13
11	Hoffmann,Mich	0-1	Huschenbeth,N	14
12	Edouard,Romai	½-½	Sebastian,Dir	15
SV Wattenscheid		3½-4½	Schachfreunde Be
1	Najer,Evgeniy	½-½	Markos,Jan	2
5	Rustemov,Alex	½-½	Miezis,Normun	3
8	Appel,Ralf	½-½	Polzin,Rainer	4
10	Handke,Floria	½-½	Lauber,Arnd	6
11	Dinstuhl,Volk	0-1	Schneider,Ilj	7
12	Tereick,Benja	1-0	Berndt,Stepha	9
13	Straeter,Timo	½-½	Degtiarev,Evg	10
15	Thiel,Thomas	0-1	Thiede,Lars	11
SC Remagen		2½-5½	Werder Bremen
4	Goloshchapov,	0-1	McShane,Luke	2
5	Gharamian,Tig	½-½	Fressinet,Lau	6
7	Huebner,Rober	½-½	Meier,Georg	7
8	Dgebuadze,Ale	0-1	Kritz,Leonid	8
9	Degraeve,Jean	0-1	Nyback,Tomi	11
10	Mainka,Romual	0-1	Babula,Vlasti	12
11	Popovic,Petar	½-½	Fish,Gennadij	13
12	Swinkels,Robi	1-0	Skripchenko,A	14
SC Trier		3½-4½	SK Turm Emsdette
1	Parligras,Mir	0-1	Hector,Jonny	2
2	Bobras,Piotr	½-½	Feygin,Michae	3
3	Cyborowski,Lu	½-½	Janssen,Ruud	5
6	Jaracz,Pawel	1-0	Spoelman,Wout	6
8	Flumbort,Andr	1-0	Brandenburg,D	8
9	Gonda,Laszlo	0-1	De Vreugt,Den	11
10	Galyas,Miklos	½-½	Kabatianski,A	13
13	Cioara,Andrei	0-1	Richter,Chris	14

Bundesliga 2008-9 (GER), 2 x 2008 - iii 2009
Venue: Berlin
Home Team: SC Kreuzberg
Round 10 Saturday, 31st January 2009, 2 pm
SC Kreuzberg	4-4	TV Tegernsee
USV TU Dresden	3½-4½	Bayern Muenchen
Round 11 Sunday, 1st February 2009, 10 am
TV Tegernsee	7-1	USV TU Dresden
Bayern Muenchen	3-5	SC Kreuzberg
Home Team: SF Berlin
Round 10 Saturday, 31st January 2009, 2 pm
SF Berlin	2-6	Aljechin Solingen
Hamburger SK	5-3	SV Wattenscheid
Round 11 Sunday, 1st February 2009, 10 am
Aljechin Solingen	4½-3½	Hamburger SK
SV Wattenscheid	3½-4½	SF Berlin
Home Team: Emsdetten
Round 10 Saturday, 31st January 2009, 2 pm
SK Turm Emsdetten	2-6	SC Remagen
Werder Bremen	4½-3½	SG Trier
Round 11 Sunday, 1st February 2009, 10 am
SC Remagen	2½-5½	Werder Bremen
SG Trier	3½-4½	SK Turm Emsdetten
Home Team: Muelheim
Round 10 Saturday, 31st January 2009, 2 pm
SV Muelheim-Nord	4-4	OSG Baden-Baden
SF Katernberg	3½-4½	SC Eppingen
Round 11 Sunday, 1st February 2009, 10 am
OSG Baden-Baden	6½-1½	SF Katernberg
SC Eppingen	5-3	SV Muelheim-Nord

Bundesliga 2008-9 (GER), 2 x 2008 - iii 2009 Round 11 Standings:
1.	OSG Baden Baden	11	21	65
2.	SC Eppingen	11	18	51
3.	Werder Bremen	11	17	51
4.	SG Aljechin Soli	11	17	51
5.	SV Mülheim Nord	11	16	53½
6.	TV Tegernsee	11	16	52
7.	SC Kreuzberg	11	14	48½
8.	SV Wattenscheid	11	12	47
9.	Hamburger SK	11	11	43½
10.	SK Turm Emsdette	11	8	39½
11.	SC Remagen	11	7	42
12.	SF Katernberg	11	7	40½
13.	Schachfreunde Be	11	7	32½
14.	FC Bayern Münche	11	3	30½
15.	SC Trier	11	2	34½
16.	USV TU Dresden	11	0	22

7) Gurgon International Open

The Gurgon International Open took place 21st-29th January 2009. Yuriy Kuzubov took first place on tie-break from Alexander Areshchenko, RR Laxman, Anuar Ismagambetow and Neelotpal Das after all scored 8/10.

Official site: http://www.delhichess.com/ and results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr18973.aspx

1st Open Gurgon (IND), 21-29 i 2009 Leading Final Round 10 Standings:
Rank	Name	Ti	Rtg	FED	Pts	BH.
1	Kuzubov Yuriy	GM	2626	UKR	8	69
2	Areshchenko Alexander	GM	2673	UKR	8	68½
3	Laxman R R	IM	2478	IND	8	65
4	Ismagambetov Anuar	GM	2523	KAZ	8	64
5	Neelotpal Das	GM	2490	IND	8	63½
6	Lalith Babu M R		2477	IND	7½	67½
7	Ulibin Mikhail	GM	2511	RUS	7½	66½
8	Gleizerov Evgeny	GM	2544	RUS	7½	66½
9	Sengupta Deep	IM	2445	IND	7½	65
10	Girinath P D S	IM	2404	IND	7½	65
11	Ibrayev Nurlan	GM	2407	KAZ	7½	61
12	Shivananda B S		2347	IND	7½	60
13	Anwesh Upadhyaya		2269	IND	7½	59½
14	Thakur Akash		2281	IND	7½	59
15	Himanshu Sharma	IM	2405	IND	7½	57½
16	Mehar Chinna Reddy C H		2246	IND	7½	57½
17	Sethuraman S P	IM	2415	IND	7	67½
18	Solodovnichenko Yuri	GM	2571	UKR	7	67
19	Das Arghyadip	IM	2404	IND	7	64
20	Saravana Krishnan P		2243	IND	7	63½
21	Shyam Sundar M	IM	2426	IND	7	63½
22	Thipsay Praveen M	GM	2453	IND	7	63
23	Narayanan Srinath	IM	2397	IND	7	63
24	Saptarshi Roy	IM	2410	IND	7	62
25	Adhiban B	IM	2504	IND	7	61½
26	Konguvel Ponnuswamy	IM	2462	IND	7	61½
27	Sangma Rahul		2322	IND	7	60
28	Suvrajit Saha	IM	2368	IND	7	60
29	Shashikant Kutwal		2285	IND	7	59½
30	Rathnakaran K	IM	2431	IND	7	59
31	Navin Kanna T U		2302	IND	7	59
32	Thejkumar M S		2424	IND	7	58½
33	Djuraev Sokhib	FM	2353	TJK	7	58½
34	Mohammad Javed	FM	2188	BAN	7	57
35	Anilkumar O T		2207	IND	7	54
36	Jain Shreyansh Daklia		2250	IND	7	53
37	Iuldachev Saidali	GM	2520	UZB	6½	66½
	Murali Krishnan B T	IM	2444	IND	6½	66½
39	Murshed Niaz	GM	2429	BAN	6½	66
40	Kunte Abhijit	GM	2527	IND	6½	65½
41	Safin Shukhrat	GM	2518	UZB	6½	62½
42	Panchanathan Magesh Chandran	GM	2490	IND	6½	61
43	Nitin S	FM	2365	IND	6½	61
44	Dusthageer Ibrahim M		2201	IND	6½	61
45	Palit Somak		2400	IND	6½	60½
46	Premnath R		2303	IND	6½	60
47	Roy Prantik		2071	IND	6½	59
48	Debashis Das		2365	IND	6½	59
49	Maheswaran P		2297	IND	6½	58½
50	Mohammad Ali		2232	BAN	6½	58½
51	Purushothaman T		2267	IND	6½	56½
52	Matta Vinay Kumar		2246	IND	6½	55
53	Vishnu Prasanna		2266	IND	6½	53½
54	Abhishek Das		2251	IND	6½	53½
55	Grover Sahaj	FM	2266	IND	6½	52½
56	Prathamesh Sunil Mokal	IM	2389	IND	6	65½
298 players

8) Arcapita International Bahrain

The Arcapita International Chess Championship took place 23rd January - 3rd February 2009 in Manama, Bahrain. Vadim Malakhatko finished in clear first place with 7½/9 and a first prize of £4,000 My thanks to Mikhail Golubev for the news and especially the games.

Official site: http://www.bahrainchessclub.com/ and daily results at: http://chess-results.com/tnr19072.aspx

Arcapita International Chess Championship Manama (BRN), 23 i - 3 ii 2009 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank	SNo.	Name	T	FED	Rtg	Pts	RtgSum
1	2	Malakhatko, Vadim	GM	BEL	2610	7½	19875
2	8	Iotov, Valentin	GM	BUL	2556	7	20005
3	11	Moradiabadi, Elshan	GM	IRI	2505	7	19517
4	5	Amin, Basem	GM	EGY	2562	6½	19818
5	16	Roy Chowdhury, Saptarshi	IM	IND	2444	6½	19588
6	7	Filippov, Anton	GM	UZB	2556	6½	19482
7	4	Ibrahimov, Rasul	GM	AZE	2568	6½	19396
8	15	Jojua, Davit	IM	GEO	2484	6½	19352
9	9	El Gindy, Essam	GM	EGY	2527	6½	19098
10	3	Adly Ahmed	GM	EGY	2568	6½	19040
11	10	Kveinys, Aloyzas	GM	LTU	2522	6	19279
12	12	Kasparov, Sergey	GM	BLR	2488	6	19137
13	1	Tregubov, Pavel V	GM	RUS	2647	6	19136
14	6	Pelletier, Yannick	GM	SUI	2560	6	19102
15	26	Adnani, Moklis	FM	MAR	2326	6	16730
16	19	Ezat Mohamed	IM	EGY	2421	6	16485
17	14	Bagheri, Amir	GM	IRI	2486	6	16197
18	18	Sriram, Jha	IM	IND	2441	6	16043
19	22	Sharma Dinesh, K	IM	IND	2394	6	15883
20	25	Zozulia, Anna	IM	BEL	2376	6	15841
21	28	Hassan, Abdullah	IM	UAE	2320	6	11769
22	13	Golubev, Mikhail	GM	UKR	2487	5½	19196
23	21	Shoker, Samy	IM	FRA	2399	5½	18689
24	17	Sulashvili, Malkhaz	IM	GEO	2444	5½	18397
25	20	Frhat, Ali	IM	EGY	2408	5½	16847
26	23	Kiss, Pal	IM	HUN	2389	5½	16255
27	27	Othman A, Moussa	FM	UAE	2324	5½	15969
28	24	Sarwat, Walaa	IM	EGY	2388	5½	15709
29	96	Roshan, Dsouza		IND	0	5½	12056
30	29	Shetty, Rahul	IM	IND	2310	5½	11905
31	31	Alhuwar, Jasem	FM	UAE	2270	5½	9931
104 players

9) Georgian Championships

The Georgian Championships for men and women took place in Tbilisi 17th-30th January 2009. Tornike Sanikidze won the men's event with 8½/13 and Maia Lomineishvili won the women's event with 7/11. My thanks to Varlam Vepkhvishvili for the news and games.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr18907.aspx and official site in Georgian http://www.chesspoti.ge/

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.	Sanikidze, Tornike	g	GEO	2522	*	0	½	1	½	½	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	½	8½	2599
2.	Gagunashvili, Merab	g	GEO	2585	1	*	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	8	2571
3.	Mchedlishvili, Mikheil	g	GEO	2619	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	8	2568
4.	Pantsulaia, Levan	g	GEO	2583	0	½	½	*	1	½	0	1	0	1	½	1	1	1	8	2571
5.	Margvelashvili, Giorgi	m	GEO	2484	½	1	½	0	*	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	7	2521
6.	Azaladze, Shota		GEO	2402	½	½	½	½	0	*	½	1	½	1	0	½	½	1	7	2527
7.	Bregadze, Levan	f	GEO	2394	½	½	0	1	½	½	*	0	1	0	0	1	½	½	6	2470
8.	Nigalidze, Gaioz		GEO	2458	1	½	½	0	½	0	1	*	0	0	1	0	½	1	6	2465
9.	Benidze, Davit	m	GEO	2423	0	½	0	1	½	½	0	1	*	0	1	½	½	½	6	2467
10.	Magalashvili, Davit	m	GEO	2490	0	½	½	0	½	0	1	1	1	*	½	½	½	0	6	2462
11.	Shanava, Konstantine	g	GEO	2508	0	0	0	½	½	1	1	0	0	½	*	½	1	1	6	2461
12.	Arutinian, David	g	GEO	2586	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	1	½	½	½	*	½	1	5½	2427
13.	Bagaturov, Giorgi	g	GEO	2492	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	*	1	5	2404
14.	Charkhalashvili, Inga	wg	GEO	2337	½	½	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	1	0	0	0	*	4	2362

66th ch-GEO w Tbilisi (GEO), 17-28 i 2009													cat. IV (2333)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Lomineishvili, Maia	m	GEO	2437	*	0	1	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	1	7	2425
2.	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2421	1	*	½	0	1	1	0	½	½	1	0	1	6½	2389
3.	Khukhashvili, Sopiko	m	GEO	2416	0	½	*	1	1	1	0	½	½	0	1	1	6½	2390
4.	Melia, Salome	m	GEO	2422	½	1	0	*	0	0	1	1	1	½	1	½	6½	2389
5.	Paikidze, Nazi	wf	GEO	2280	½	0	0	1	*	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	6½	2402
6.	Guramishvili, Sopiko	wm	GEO	2281	½	0	0	1	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	1	6½	2402
7.	Tsatsalashvili, Keti	wm	GEO	2231	0	1	1	0	½	½	*	0	½	1	1	0	5½	2342
8.	Gvetadze, Sopio	m	GEO	2377	½	½	½	0	0	½	1	*	0	1	½	1	5½	2328
9.	Mikadze, Miranda	wm	GEO	2287	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	1	*	0	½	½	5	2300
10.	Arabidze, Meri	wf	GEO	2246	0	0	1	½	½	0	0	0	1	*	½	0	3½	2207
11.	Danelia, Mariam	wm	GEO	2219	½	1	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	*	½	3½	2210
12.	Gaprindashvili, Nona1	g	GEO	2376	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	½	1	½	*	3½	2195

10) Cuban Championship

Cuban Championship - Final took place 20th - 28th January in Las Tunas, Cuba Lazaro Bruzon Batista won the event with the best tie-break after four players tied on 5,5/9. Sadly just the one game published in a newspaper is available.

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

ch-CUB Las Tunas (CUB), 20-28 i 2009												cat. XII (2530)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	g	CUB	2617	*	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	½	5½	2599
2.	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris	g	CUB	2550	½	*	0	1	½	1	1	½	0	1	5½	2607
3.	Martinez, Lelys	f	CUB	2485	½	1	*	0	½	½	½	1	½	1	5½	2614
4.	Bacallao, Yusnel	f	CUB	2438	0	0	1	*	½	1	½	½	1	1	5½	2619
5.	Quezada Perez, Yuniesky	g	CUB	2590	½	½	½	½	*	0	½	0	1	1	4½	2522
6.	Corrales Jimenez, Fidel	m	CUB	2586	½	0	½	0	1	*	½	½	½	1	4½	2523
7.	Hernandez Carmenates, Holden	g	CUB	2568	0	0	½	½	½	½	*	½	1	1	4½	2525
8.	Gonzalez Vidal, Yuri	m	CUB	2507	½	½	0	½	1	½	½	*	½	0	4	2489
9.	Almeida Quintana, Omar	g	CUB	2521	½	1	½	0	0	½	0	½	*	½	3½	2450
10.	Blanco, Humberto	f	CUB	2434	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	*	2	2320

11) LIX Verano Tournament

The LIX Verano Tournament takes place in Villa Ballester 19th-31st January 2009. Sandro Mareco finished on 8/9 a point clear of Jorge Cori Tello and Ernesto Real De Azua. Games from the first 6 rounds only available. No detailed standings available.

Official site: http://www.ballesterajedrez.org.ar/blog/index.php

12) Seville International Open

The XXXIV Open Internacional "Ciudad de Sevilla" took place 23rd-31st January 2009. Manuel Rivas Pastor won the event with 7.5/9.

Games from the final round missing.

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

XXXIV Open Seville (ESP), 23-31 i 2009 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts	BH.
1	RIVAS PASTOR Manuel	GM	ESP	2514	7½	45
2	SPRAGGETT Kevin	GM	CAN	2586	7	46
3	HUERGA LEACHE Mikel	IM	ESP	2418	7	45½
4	MATAMOROS FRANCO Carlos S	GM	ECU	2532	7	45½
5	SALGADO LOPEZ Ivan	GM	ESP	2554	7	45½
6	KURAJICA Bojan	GM	CRO	2552	7	45
7	POGORELOV Ruslan	GM	UKR	2451	7	41½
8	ROBLES GARCIA Claudia	WIM	ESP	2258	7	37½
9	STRIKOVIC Aleksa	GM	SRB	2533	6½	46
10	DE LA VILLA GARCIA Jesus Maria	GM	ESP	2469	6½	44
11	RAZMYSLOV Alexander	FM	UKR	2404	6½	44
12	FERNANDEZ ROMERO Ernesto	IM	ESP	2446	6½	43½
13	VAN HOOLANDT Patrick	FM	MNC	2235	6½	43
14	IBARRA JEREZ Jose Carlos	IM	ESP	2513	6½	42
15	RIZOUK Aimen	GM	ALG	2518	6½	42
16	IVANOV Jordan	IM	BUL	2436	6½	41½
17	PAUNOVIC Dragan	GM	SRB	2526	6½	41
18	BARRIA Daniel	IM	CHI	2419	6½	40
19	GUERRA Tulcan Lenin		ECU	2310	6½	40
20	TERAN ALVAREZ Ismael	IM	ESP	2436	6½	39½
21	RECUERO GUERRA David	IM	ESP	2435	6½	39
22	MADEIRA Wagner Martins		BRA	2212	6½	39
23	DIAZ CASTRO Sergio		ESP	2223	6½	38½
24	ALONSO GARCIA Rene	IM	CUB	2368	6½	38½
25	KOMLJENOVIC Davorin	GM	CRO	2418	6	45½
26	GRANDA ZUNIGA Julio E	GM	PER	2625	6	43½
27	GARCIA LUQUE Agustin	IM	ESP	2390	6	40½
28	JIMENEZ DE LA TORRE Jose A		ESP	2168	6	40½
29	HOFFMAN Alejandro	GM	ARG	2425	6	40½
30	SGNAOLIN Davide		ITA	2209	6	40
31	DELGADO LOZANO Jose Manuel		ESP	1937	6	40
32	MONTERO CAMPUZANO Rafael		ESP	2078	6	40
33	SANTOS IZQUIERDO Francisco J	FM	ESP	2280	6	39
34	CAMPORA Daniel H	GM	ARG	2522	6	39
35	PRADOS MONTANO Antonio	CM	ESP	2210	6	38½
36	ANAYA LOPEZ Victor Jose		ESP	2087	6	38
37	MOYA DE LA FLOR Daniel		ESP	1998	6	37½
38	FERNANDEZ RUIZ Manuel Alejandro		ESP	2083	6	37
39	ARANAZ MURILLO Amalia		ESP	1995	6	36½
40	RIOBOO DE LARRIVA Alvaro		ESP	1965	6	35
41	GOMEZ FERIA Jose Maria		ESP	1965	6	31½
42	BERBATOV Kiprian	FM	BUL	2392	5½	43
226 players

13) 35th Eastern Open

The 35th Eastern Open took place 27th-30th December 2008. Alex Yermolinsky took clear first with 6.5/8. There is a correction to one of the results and also the event was 8 rounds not 7 as I said last week.

35th Eastern Open Washington DC (USA), 27-30 xii 2008 Final Round 8 Standings:
#	Name		Ti	Rtng	Tot	Prize
1	Yermolinsky	Alex	GM	2572	6.5	1500
2	Kudrin	Sergey	GM	2605	6	783.33
3	Robson	Ray	IM	2531	6	783.33
4	Ludwig	Daniel		2455	6	783.33
5	Smith	Bryan G	IM	2483	5.5	210
6	Kleiman	Jake	FM	2365	5.5	210
7	Yeager	Daniel A	FM	2343	5.5	210
8	Figler	Ilye	FM	2341	5.5	210
9	Betaneli	Alex	FM	2318	5.5	210
10	Shen	Victor C		2254	5.5	725
11	Enkhbat	Tegshsure	FM	2427	5
12	Andrews	Todd D	FM	2379	5
13	Zhao	Parker		2328	5
14	Uesugi	Shinsaku		2315	5
15	Thaler	Michael		2283	5
16	Privman	Boris	FM	2231	5
17	Strenzwilk	Denis		2200	5
18	Camarga Moura	Pedro		2013	5
19	Ivanov	Alexander	GM	2611	4.5
20	Santarius	Erik F		2299	4.5
21	Getz	Alec	FM	2260	4.5
22	Samuelson	Andrew		2210	4.5
23	Sherman	David		2201	4.5
69 players

14) Forthcoming Events and Links

25th Bermuda Open

The 25th Bermuda Open took place 30th January - 1st February 2009 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.

Bunratty Chess Festival

The Bunratty Chess Festival takes place 20th-22nd February 2009. Peter Svidler will be returning to defend his title.

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

First Saturday February

The First Saturday tournaments take place 7th-20th February in Budapest. There are 1-2 vacancies for players who wish to come to play for GM or IM-norms. Contact: Nagy Laszlo firstsat@hu.inter.net .

Aivars Gipslis Memorial

The Aivars Gipslis Memorial takes place 12th-18th February 2009. Organised by the Riga Chess Federation. They are looking for 1 foreign GM and one player with high motivation to get GM norm. Contact: Vadik Daskevics vadik.dashkevich@gmail.com

Aivars Gipslis Memorial Riga (LAT), 12 - 18 ii 2009 Players so far:
Ilmars Starostits	IM	LAT	2500
Juzefs Petkevich	GM	LAT	2435
Samolins Vitalijs		LAT	2430
Janis Klovans	GM	LAT	2418
Mihailovs Jurijs		LAT	2398
Abasov Nijat Azad olgu		AZE	2397
Vladimir Sveshnikov	FM	LAT	2397
Valdis Saulespurens	FM	USA	2384

21st Lenk International Chess Festival

After a great jubilee with the 20th Lenk Chess Festival, last year has come the shock news that the, 21st Lenk International Tournament, April 9th-13th 2009 will be the last chess event in the Simmental region, a very attractive tourist area. "Beochess" with "Swiss Chess Tour" this year close all their chess activity. During 21 years Lenk became very popular in chess world and it will be pity if nobody keeps on the tremendous tradition.

So, last time, Hotel Kreuz will be venue, Lenk Open. Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). The prizes: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600, 400, 2x300 and 3x200 SF. Special prizes: Ladies, senior (1948), junior(1989-92), schoolboy (1993) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 April 9,; Rounds 2/3 10.00-15.00 and 16.00-21.00 April 10,; Round 4 14.00-19.00 April 11,; Rounds 5/6 10.00-15.00 and 16.00-21.00 April 12,; Round 7 10.00-15.00 April 13. Closing ceremony April 13 at 16.00.

Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.

Zuerich Chess Club 200th Anniversary

Dr. Christian Rohrer reports: The world's oldest chess club celebrates its 200th year with spectacular jubilee events, including World Champions Spassky, Kasparov and Anand.

The Schachgesellschaft Zuerich celebrates 200th anniversary with spectacular jubilee events

The Schachgesellschaft Zuerich, the world's oldest chess club, celebrates its 200th year in 2009 with spectacular jubilee events. To mark the anniversary, some of the greatest masters of the last five decades, including World Champions Spassky, Kasparov and Anand, will play at the event. Highlights will be a simultaneous exhibition and a rapid chess tournament on the 22nd and 23rd of August, held in Zurich Main Railway Station. With generous sponsor support from Credit Suisse the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich continues its long standing tradition of world class chess tournaments.

On Saturday the 22nd of August, in simultaneous games 200 amateurs will be honoured to face eight word-class chess players, who have made historical contributions to world chess over the last 50 years: Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viktor Korchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov. On Sunday the 23rd of August, these champions will compete against each other in an exciting rapid chess format. Judit Polgar, the strongest female chess player ever, and Werner Hug of Schachgesellschaft Zuerich, former world junior chess champion, will replace Kasparov and Spassky, who have retired from competitive chess.

A huge number of spectators, from enthusiasts to the generally curious, is expected for the events at Zurich Railway Main Station. And no one need miss it: All commemorative events will be streamed live via Internet.

The jubilee commences with an open tournament; certain to be one of the most exciting open chess tournaments of 2009. Players of every skill level, from beginners to the elite world class, are expected and will be welcomed at the Zurich Kongresshaus from August 9th to the 15th, 2009. They will compete in two tournaments, 9 rounds each, for CHF 100.000 guaranteed prize money and many attractive prizes.

To further honour the occasion, Richard Forster, reputable chess historian, will release his comprehensive book, researched in great detail, on the unique history of the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich. Entitled "Schachgesellschaft Zuerich: 1809 bis 2009", Forster's work will analyze the development of the Schachgesellschaft Zuerich from the times of Napoleon to the present day.

Details: http://www.sgzurich2009.ch

5th Thessaloniki Games Festival

The 5th Thessaloniki Games Festival takes place 26th April - 4th May 2009.

Official site: http://www.gamesfestival.com/ (wasn't working when I checked) and a full listing of the event.

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

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/

Hungarian Chess Tournaments March-October 2009

1. 7th-19th of February, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM Budapest FIRST SATURDAY Budapest, 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/

2.20th-28th of February IM-Rating Caissa, Kecskemet, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamás, cellphone: +36-30-271-33-38, Landline phone-fax: +36-76-481-685 e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM and rating tournaments in Kecskemet, a city 80 km South-East from Budapest.

3.7th-19th of March, First Saturday, Budapest, GM-IM-FM, org Nagy L.

4.20th-28th of March, 25th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL 9 rounds Swiss Open, org: Nagy L. - e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

5.4th-16th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.Nagy L.

6.18th-26th of April Caissa, IM + rating Kecskemet, Org.Erdelyi,

7.2nd-14th of May, First Saturday GM-IM-FM Budapest, org Nagy L.

Kecskemet Caissa IM + rating tournaments more: 16th-25th of May, 20th-28th of June, 18th-27th of July, 15th-24th of August, 19th-28th of September. FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM tournaments more: 6th-18th of June, 4th-16th of July, 1st-13th of August, 5th-17th of September.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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