THE WEEK IN CHESS 759 25th May 2009 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Adolivio Capece, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Jozsef Horvath, Rohan Waithe, Peter Svidler, Marcelo Pagano, Yin Hao, Luis Scalise, Mikhail Golubev, Igor Glek and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Alexei Shirov was the surprise but deserved winner of the 5th M-Tel Masters. He had white against Magnus Carlse in the final round knowing that a win still might not be enough. Shirov got the upper hand in a double edged position and Carlsen blundered under the pressure. Veselin Topalov couldn't win against Wang Yue as black, and Shirov won the event alone. I don't remember Shirov having a tournament result close to being as good as this and it takes him to the tournament in Bilbao later in the year. I am pleased for him and I think this success is more than over due. Even in this era of databases we see time after time that maturity does count with years of study being required to produce a fully rounded opening repertoire. I particularly think of Boris Gelfand in this, and with a bit of luck on his side Gelfand took first place in the 3rd ACP World Rapid Cup defeating Peter Svidler in the final of this knockout tournament. So plenty of chess to get stuck into this week.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) 5th M-Tel Masters

The 5th M-Tel Masters took place in Sofia 12th-23rd May 2009 (rest day 18th May). In the best result of his career Alexei Shirov took clear first place after defeating Magnus Carlsen in the final round. Carlsen took 2nd place on tie-break from Veselin Topalov, both won three games but Carlsen beat Topalov in one of their individual games.

The Category XXI event saw Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk, Wang Yue, Leinier Dominguez Perez and Alexei Shirov play in a double round robin format. The games were played in a glass pavilion on the square in front of the National Theatre Ivan Vazov.

The time control was 90 minutes for 40 moves per player and 60 minutes per player till the end of the game. The maximum period for a single game is 5 hours. "Sofia rules" were used. They are that: Opponents cannot communicate during the games and cannot offer a draw. Proposals for a draw can be made only through the Chief Arbiter in three cases: triple repetition, eternal chess and theoretical draw position. When making the decisions the Chief Arbiter will be consulted by Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Vice President of FIDE.

Official site: http://www.mtelmasters.com - including live coverage.

5th Mtel Masters Sofia (BUL), 13-23 v 2009											cat. XXI (2755)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2745	*	*	½	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	6½	2866
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2770	½	0	*	*	1	½	½	1	½	1	½	½	6	2823
3.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2812	½	½	0	½	*	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	6	2815
4.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2738	½	½	½	0	0	½	*	*	½	½	1	½	4½	2722
5.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2717	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	*	*	½	0	4	2690
6.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2746	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	½	½	1	*	*	3	2607

Round 6 (May 19, 2009)
Shirov, Alexei	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0	49	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Topalov, Veselin	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	45	D56	Queens Gambit Lasker's Defence
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Wang Yue	½-½	40	C42	Petroff's Defence
Round 7 (May 20, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	1-0	43	D97	Gruenfeld Russian
Topalov, Veselin	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½	30	D44	Anti-Meran Gambit
Wang Yue	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	34	A62	Benoni
Round 8 (May 21, 2009)
Shirov, Alexei	- Wang Yue	½-½	44	E04	Catalan
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	43	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	41	B35	Sicilian Defence
Round 9 (May 22, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Wang Yue	1-0	33	D15	Slav Defence
Topalov, Veselin	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0	81	C97	Ruy Lopez
Dominguez Perez, Leinier	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½	50	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Round 10 (May 23, 2009)
Shirov, Alexei	- Carlsen, Magnus	1-0	30	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Wang Yue	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	33	D82	Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	1-0	56	D74	Gruenfeld 3.g3

3) 3rd ACP World Rapid Cup

The 3rd ACP World Rapid Cup organised by the Pivdenny Bank in Odessa, Ukraine took place 22nd-24th May 2009. Boris Gelfand took clear first place with a 3-1 victory over Peter Svidler in the final. Svidler however blew two winning positions in the final two games, losing both instead.

The venue was the Odessa National Academy of Law. AKO tournament with 16 participants. There were two-game matches at all stages, prior to the final. In the final there were four games. The time control is 20 minutes per game with an increment of 5 seconds per move. Tiebreak time rate: 3 min + 2 sec per move. If tiebreak ends 1-1, then Armageddon will be played: 5 min White, 4 min Black, White must win.

The prize fund is USD $57,000. The winner receives USD $10,000. There will be a special prize, named after the Odessa IM Mikhail Podgaets who passed away on 14 May 2009.

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

3rd ACP World Rapid Cup (UKR), 22-24 v 2009. Cat XVIII (2693)
1/8 22 v 2009		1/4 23 v 2009		1/2 23 v 2009		Final 24 v 2009		Winner
A.Grischuk (W)	2
19:30		A.Grischuk	1.5
P.Eljanov (B)	0
				A.Grischuk	0.5
A.Moiseenko (W)	1.5
19:30		A.Moiseenko	0.5
E. Bacrot (B)	0,5
						P.Svidler	1
S.Movsesian (W)	1.5
12:00		S.Movsesian	1.5
P.Tregubov (B)	0.5
				P.Svidler	1.5
A.Karpov (W)	1.5
12:00		P.Svidler	2.5
P.Svidler (B)	2.5
								B.Gelfand
M.Gurevich (W)	0.5
17:00		D.Jakovenko	3
D.Jakovenko (B)	1.5
				D.Jakovenko	2
Y.Drozdovskij (W)	1
17:00		A.Naiditsch	2
A.Naiditsch (B)	3
						B.Gelfand	3
E.Najer (W)	0.5
14:30		B.Gelfand	2
B.Gelfand (B)	1.5
				B.Gelfand	3
V.Gashimov (W)	1.5
14:30		V.Gashimov	0
Z.Efimenko (B)	0.5

3rd ACP World Rapid Cup (UKR), 22-24 v 2009. Cat XVIII (2693)
Schedule of rounds:
Date	Round	Time
22 May	1/8 final matches	from 12:00; 14:30; 17:00; 19:30
23 May	1/4 final matches	from 12:00; 14:30
23 May	1/2 final matches	from 18:00
24 May	Final	from 12:00
The local time is GMT +3.

3rd ACP World Rapid Cup (UKR), 22-24 v 2009. Cat XVIII (2693) Players list
GM	Dmitry Jakovenko	RUS	2753
GM	Alexander Grischuk	RUS	2748
GM	Sergei Movsesian	SVK	2747
GM	Boris Gelfand	ISR	2733
GM	Vugar Gashimov	AZE	2730
GM	Etienne Bacrot	FRA	2728
GM	Peter Svidler	RUS	2726
GM	Arkadij Naiditsch	GER	2700
GM	Pavel Eljanov	UKR	2693
GM	Alexander Moiseenko	UKR	2690
GM	Zahar Efimenko	UKR	2682
GM	Evgeniy Najer	RUS	2669
GM	Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2644
GM	Pavel Tregubov	RUS	2628
GM	Mikhail Gurevich	TUR	2613
GM	Yuri Drozdovskij	UKR	2603

4) Young Stars of the World

The Young Stars of the World, Vanya Somov Memorial took place 8th-21st May 2009 in Kirishi city (Leningrad region) in the Culture Palace. Twelve of the strongest young chess players in the world competed. Daniil Dubov took first place on tie-break from Aleksandr Shimanov after both finished on 7½/11.

Official site: http://www.somovs-memorial.ru/

Further information: http://www.bs-chess.com/russian.html (RUS) and http://www.bs-chess.com/latin/english.html

Young Stars of the World Kirishi (RUS), 9-20 v 2009													cat. V (2368)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Dubov, Daniil	f	RUS	2372	*	½	1	1	1	½	½	0	½	1	½	1	7½	2500
2.	Shimanov, Aleksandr	m	RUS	2519	½	*	1	0	0	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	7½	2487
3.	Fedoseev, Vladimir3	f	RUS	2318	0	0	*	½	1	0	1	1	½	1	1	½	6½	2437
4.	Stukopin, Andrey	f	RUS	2380	0	1	½	*	½	0	1	1	½	0	1	1	6½	2432
5.	Belous, Vladimir		RUS	2414	0	1	0	½	*	½	0	1	1	1	½	1	6½	2429
6.	Bukavshin, Ivan	f	RUS	2365	½	½	1	1	½	*	0	0	½	½	½	1	6	2404
7.	Naroditsky, Daniel	f	USA	2335	½	½	0	0	1	1	*	0	½	½	1	1	6	2407
8.	Narayanan, Srinath	m	IND	2381	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	*	½	1	½	1	6	2403
9.	Ipatov, Alexander ESP	m	ESP	2486	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	½	*	0	½	1	4½	2292
10.	Chan Yi-Ren, Daniel	f	SIN	2375	0	0	0	1	0	½	½	0	1	*	½	½	4	2265
11.	Kovalev, Vladislav	f	BLR	2320	½	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	½	*	1	4	2270
12.	Ganichev, Alexander		RUS	2154	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	*	1	2004

5) 84th Argentine Championships

The 84th Championships of Argentina 2009 took place in April and May. Semifinals: 30th April - 6th May, 2009 in the Club Espanol in La Plata. Diego Flores took clear first place with 7½/11.

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

84th ch-ARG La Plata (ARG), 11-12 v 2009													cat. IX (2467)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Flores, Diego	g	ARG	2579	*	½	1	1	1	½	0	½	½	1	½	1	7½	2590
2.	Felgaer, Ruben	g	ARG	2561	½	*	0	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	7	2560
3.	Mareco, Sandro	m	ARG	2503	0	1	*	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	1	6½	2529
4.	Peralta, Fernando	g	ARG	2545	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	6½	2525
5.	Lafuente, Pablo	g	ARG	2524	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	6½	2527
6.	Alonso, Salvador	m	ARG	2441	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	0	1	½	½	1	6	2505
7.	Slipak, Sergio	g	ARG	2452	1	½	½	½	½	½	*	0	½	½	½	½	5½	2468
8.	Valerga, Diego	m	ARG	2523	½	0	½	0	½	1	1	*	½	0	½	½	5	2426
9.	Claverie, Raul		ARG	2374	½	0	1	½	0	0	½	½	*	0	½	1	4½	2410
10.	Orsini, Antonio		ARG	2352	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	1	1	*	0	½	4½	2412
11.	Perez Ponsa, Federico	f	ARG	2390	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	1	*	1	4½	2409
12.	Lujan, Carolina	m	ARG	2364	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	*	2	2214

Round 7 (May 18, 2009)
Flores, Diego	- Alonso, Salvador	½-½	86	A16	English Opening
Felgaer, Ruben	- Valerga, Diego	1-0	53	B81	Sicilian Keres Attack
Mareco, Sandro	- Claverie, Raul	0-1	31	A91	Dutch Classical
Peralta, Fernando	- Orsini, Antonio	½-½	64	E94	King's Indian Classical
Lafuente, Pablo	- Perez Ponsa, Federico	1-0	47	E60	King's Indian without Nc3
Slipak, Sergio	- Lujan, Carolina	½-½	12	D05	Colle System
Round 8 (May 19, 2009)
Flores, Diego	- Felgaer, Ruben	½-½	26	A36	English Botvinnik
Alonso, Salvador	- Claverie, Raul	1-0	35	C16	French Winawer
Valerga, Diego	- Slipak, Sergio	1-0	46	C31	Falkbeer Counter Gambit
Orsini, Antonio	- Mareco, Sandro	0-1	71	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Perez Ponsa, Federico	- Peralta, Fernando	0-1	69	B07	Pirc Defence
Lujan, Carolina	- Lafuente, Pablo	0-1	26	C50	Giuoco Piano
Round 9 (May 20, 2009)
Felgaer, Ruben	- Alonso, Salvador	½-½	62	B59	Sicilian Boleslavsky
Mareco, Sandro	- Perez Ponsa, Federico	1-0	52	E94	King's Indian Classical
Peralta, Fernando	- Lujan, Carolina	1-0	33	D87	Gruenfeld Botvinnik
Lafuente, Pablo	- Valerga, Diego	½-½	40	A16	English Opening
Slipak, Sergio	- Flores, Diego	1-0	37	A40	Unusual Replies to 1.d4
Claverie, Raul	- Orsini, Antonio	0-1	37	C06	French Tarrasch
Round 10 (May 21, 2009)
Flores, Diego	- Lafuente, Pablo	1-0	38	E68	King's Indian Fianchetto
Felgaer, Ruben	- Slipak, Sergio	½-½	55	C50	Giuoco Piano
Alonso, Salvador	- Orsini, Antonio	½-½	40	C11	French Defence
Valerga, Diego	- Peralta, Fernando	0-1	44	D38	QGD Ragozin
Perez Ponsa, Federico	- Claverie, Raul	½-½	19	C10	French Rubinstein
Lujan, Carolina	- Mareco, Sandro	0-1	61	C54	Giuoco Piano
Round 11 (May 22, 2009)
Mareco, Sandro	- Valerga, Diego	½-½	27	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Peralta, Fernando	- Flores, Diego	0-1	46	A67	Benoni Three Pawns System
Lafuente, Pablo	- Felgaer, Ruben	½-½	49	D17	Slav Defence
Slipak, Sergio	- Alonso, Salvador	½-½	12	D93	Gruenfeld 5.Bf4
Claverie, Raul	- Lujan, Carolina	1-0	50	B22	Sicilian Alapin
Orsini, Antonio	- Perez Ponsa, Federico	0-1	45	B86	Sicilian Sozin Attack

6) 8th Asian Continental

The 8th Asian Continental / Individual Open and Women's Championships take place in Subic, Philippines 12th - 24th May 2009.

The Asian Open and Women's Championships took place 13th-23rd May 2009 in Subic Freeport, Philippines. Qualification for the World Cup scheduled 20th November - 15th December 2009 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia and to the Women's World Championship next year. Surya Shekhar Ganguly won the men's event on tie-break from Zhou Weiqi after both finished on 8/11. Zhang Xiaowen won the women's event with 9/11.

86 Players from 15 Coutries include 40 GM's, 15 IM's and 8 FM's compete in Open Section and 45 Players from 11 countries include 1GM, 13 WGM's, 1 IM, 8 WIM and 10 WFM compete in Women Section .

Official site; http://asia-chess.com/main/

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21903.aspx and http://chess-results.com/tnr21902.aspx

8th Asian Continental Open Subic Bay (PHI), 13-23 v 2009 Final Round 11 Standings:
Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	GM	Ganguly Surya Shekhar	IND	2625	8,0	2546	2554
2	GM	Zhou Weiqi	CHN	2563	8,0	2505	2515
3		Yu Yangyi	CHN	2433	7,5	2575	2582
4	GM	Yu Shaoteng	CHN	2504	7,5	2570	2585
5	GM	Le Quang Liem	VIE	2591	7,5	2545	2551
6	GM	Antonio Rogelio Jr	PHI	2518	7,5	2529	2544
7	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2590	7,5	2525	2535
8	GM	Zhou Jianchao	CHN	2635	7,5	2499	2506
9	GM	Sandipan Chanda	IND	2558	7,0	2577	2587
10	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	IND	2682	7,0	2528	2536
11	GM	Kunte Abhijit	IND	2513	7,0	2510	2526
12	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	IND	2570	7,0	2508	2514
13	GM	Negi Parimarjan	IND	2592	7,0	2494	2502
14	GM	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	VIE	2588	7,0	2490	2497
15	GM	Li Shilong	CHN	2557	7,0	2489	2498
16	GM	Kazhgaleyev Murtas	KAZ	2626	7,0	2474	2481
17	GM	Filippov Anton	UZB	2584	7,0	2471	2479
18	GM	Dao Thien Hai	VIE	2546	6,5	2553	2569
19		Wan Yunguo	CHN	2434	6,5	2536	2556
20	IM	Al Sayed Moh Mad N	QAT	2496	6,5	2535	2551
21	GM	So Wesley	PHI	2641	6,5	2520	2527
22	GM	Torre Eugenio	PHI	2561	6,5	2501	2511
23		Ding Liren	CHN	2458	6,0	2596	2604
24	GM	Rahman Ziaur	BAN	2523	6,0	2549	2558
25	GM	Iuldachev Saidali	UZB	2497	6,0	2548	2569
26	GM	Murshed Niaz	BAN	2407	6,0	2548	2554
27	IM	Toufighi Homayoon	IRI	2478	6,0	2547	2567
28	GM	Moradiabadi Elshan	IRI	2526	6,0	2543	2559
29	GM	Tu Hoang Thong	VIE	2506	6,0	2525	2543
30		Gao Rui	CHN	2500	6,0	2518	2532
31		Pak Evgeniy	KAZ	2328	6,0	2512	2524
32		Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan	MGL	2461	6,0	2504	2523
33	GM	Deepan Chakkravarthy J	IND	2482	6,0	2480	2497
34	GM	Laylo Darwin	PHI	2509	6,0	2477	2488
35	GM	Al-Modiahki Mohamad	QAT	2585	6,0	2464	2472
36	CM	Nguyen Van Huy	VIE	2423	6,0	2463	2483
37	GM	Ghaem Maghami Ehsan	IRI	2593	6,0	2458	2463
38	GM	Wang Rui	CHN	2434	6,0	2436	2446
39	GM	Megaranto Susanto	INA	2553	6,0	2434	2440
40		Xiu Deshun	CHN	2422	5,5	2554	2560
41	IM	Bitoon Richard	PHI	2479	5,5	2532	2549
42	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2474	5,5	2521	2550
43	FM	Batchuluun Tsegmed	MGL	2391	5,5	2515	2521
44	FM	Vidit Santosh Gujrathi	IND	2441	5,5	2513	2530
45	GM	Mahjoob Morteza	IRI	2498	5,5	2495	2514
46	GM	Bui Vinh	VIE	2522	5,5	2474	2481
47	IM	Nolte Rolando	PHI	2479	5,5	2468	2486
48	GM	Nguyen Anh Dung	VIE	2518	5,5	2450	2462
49	GM	Hossain Enamul	BAN	2531	5,5	2447	2453
50	GM	Villamayor Buenaventura	PHI	2474	5,5	2396	2405
51	IM	Irwanto Sadikin	INA	2447	5,0	2544	2551
86 players

8th Asian Continental Women Subic Bay (PHI), 13-23 v 2009 Final Round 11 Standings:
Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	WIM	Zhang Xiaowen	CHN	2340	9,0	2349	2363
2	WGM	Huang Qian	CHN	2410	8,0	2313	2332
3	WFM	Ding Yixin	CHN	2281	7,5	2382	2389
4	WGM	Meenakshi Subbaraman	IND	2303	7,5	2285	2309
5	WGM	Zhang Jilin	CHN	2335	7,0	2347	2361
6		Ju Wenjun	CHN	2454	7,0	2347	2355
7	WGM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	MGL	2440	7,0	2337	2350
8	WGM	Karavade Eesha	IND	2359	7,0	2316	2329
9	WGM	Hoang Thi Bao Tram	VIE	2239	6,5	2362	2372
10	IM	Tania Sachdev	IND	2423	6,5	2345	2351
11	WGM	Sukandar Irine Kharisma	INA	2300	6,5	2324	2347
12	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2491	6,5	2319	2330
13	WGM	Nguyen Thi Thanh An	VIE	2324	6,5	2298	2314
14	WIM	Xu Tong	CHN	2231	6,5	2288	2305
15	WIM	Pourkashiyan Atousa	IRI	2273	6,5	2285	2310
16	WGM	Gu Xiaobing	CHN	2336	6,0	2309	2327
17	WGM	Le Thanh Tu	VIE	2326	6,0	2293	2312
18	WIM	Muminova Nafisa	UZB	2212	6,0	2270	2292
19	WFM	Dang Bich Ngoc	VIE	2185	6,0	2232	2255
20	WFM	Le Thi Phuong Lien	VIE	2216	6,0	2188	2205
21	WGM	Swathi Ghate	IND	2330	5,5	2374	2386
22	WFM	Camacho Chardine Cheradee	PHI	2166	5,5	2313	2333
23		Xu Huahua	CHN	2093	5,5	2260	2272
24		Lkhamsuren Uuganbayar	MGL	2038	5,5	2229	2240
25	WIM	Le Kieu Thien Kim	VIE	2277	5,5	2203	2217
26		Wang Xiaohui	CHN	2265	5,5	2169	2185
27	WGM	Mohota Nisha	IND	2304	5,0	2295	2314
45 players

7) XXVIII Zalakaros Open

The XXVIII Zalakaros Open took place 8th-16th May 2009. Cao Sang took first place on tie-break from Gyula Pap and Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy after all made 6.5/9. My thanks to Jozsef Horvath for the games.

Official site: http://csutisk.extra.hu/documents/blog_5.php?title=a-csoport&entry_id=1242424980

XXVIII Open Zalakaros (HUN), 8-16 v 2009 Final Round 9 Standings:
1.	6	Cao, Sang	m	VIE 2512	6.5	52.0	36.50	36.5	2584	+0.92
	12	Pap, Gyula	m	HUN 2466	6.5	48.5	34.00	34.5	2549	+1.20
	9	Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy	m	VIE 2484	6.5	47.0	33.75	33.5	2545	+0.82
4.	1	Groszpeter, Attila	g	HUN 2553	6.0	53.0	34.75	32.5	2557	+0.08
	3	Gonda, Laszlo	m	HUN 2522	6.0	50.5	33.00	33.0	2538	+0.26
	10	Bokros, Albert	m	HUN 2483	6.0	48.0	30.75	32.0	2483	+0.16
	11	Czebe, Attila	g	HUN 2472	6.0	45.5	28.50	32.0	2521	+0.74
	13	Csiszar, Csaba	m	HUN 2450	6.0	45.0	28.25	30.5	2521	+0.90
	21	Konnyu, Janos	m	HUN 2367	6.0	45.0	28.00	29.5	2477	+1.35
	14	Horvath, Peter1	g	HUN 2445	6.0	43.0	27.75	28.5	2422	-0.10
11	15	Meszaros, Tamas	m	HUN 2434	5.5	47.5	27.00	30.0	2488	+0.78
	5	Szabo, Krisztian	m	HUN 2518	5.5	47.0	27.00	29.0	2446	-0.69
	7	Banusz, Tamas	m	HUN 2502	5.5	46.5	27.00	29.5	2411	-0.85
	16	Duong The Anh	m	VIE 2434	5.5	45.5	25.25	31.0	2469	+0.58
	8	Romanishin, Oleg M	g	UKR 2501	5.5	45.5	25.75	29.5	2449	-0.47
	18	Berczes, Csaba	m	HUN 2381	5.5	42.5	23.75	26.5	2355	-0.18
17.	2	Medvegy, Zoltan	g	HUN 2546	5.0	46.0	24.00	29.0	2415	-1.48
	19	Horvath, Gyula	m	HUN 2370	5.0	43.5	22.75	26.0	2337	-0.37
	22	Kernazhitsky, Leonid	m	UKR 2331	5.0	43.0	20.75	26.0	2322	-0.10
	38	Bereczki, Janos		HUN 2191	5.0	42.5	22.00	22.5	2369	+1.95
	20	Feher, Adam		HUN 2251	5.0	41.0	21.25	26.0	2313	-0.65
	25	Brustkern, Juergen	f	GER 2292	5.0	39.0	17.50	24.0	2272	-0.21
	39	Juhasz, Kristof		HUN 2189	5.0	35.0	15.00	23.0	2287	+1.10
24.	50	Kovacs, Lajos		HUN 2126	4.5	46.0	19.75	23.0	2304	+1.67
61 players

8) Chicago Open

The Chicago Open takes place May 22nd-25th 2009 in Wheeling, IL.

Official site: http://chesstournamentservices.com/cca/

9) Calgary International

Calgary, Alberta (Canada) staged a small 9 round swiss international norm event May 14th-18th, 2009. Anton Kovalyov and Edward Porper scored 6½/9.

Official site:http://www.albertachess.org/Calgary_International.html

CICC Open Calgary (CAN), 14-18 v 2009
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1.	Kovalyov, Anton	g	ARG	2557	+16	=5	+4	+2	=3	=9	=6	+10	=7	6½	2491
2.	Porper, Edward	m	CAN	2435	+9	+6	=3	-1	+5	+7	-4	+12	+14	6½	2500
3.	Castellanos Rodriguez, Renier	m	ESP	2446	+18	+17	=2	=5	=1	=4	+9	=6	=8	6	2495
4.	Hansen, Eric	f	CAN	2398	+14	+7	-1	=8	=6	=3	+2	=5	=19	5½	2456
5.	Kustar, Sandor	m	HUN	2335	+12	=1	+11	=3	-2	=6	=8	=4	+13	5½	2431
6.	O'Donnell, Tom	m	CAN	2370	+20	-2	=10	+18	=4	=5	=1	=3	+12	5½	2401
7.	Pechenkin, Vladimir		CAN	2312	+10	-4	=18	=11	+12	-2	+15	+19	=1	5½	2388
8.	Fedorowicz, John P	g	USA	2485	=19	=15	=9	=4	=10	=11	=5	+16	=3	5	2340
9.	Kaminski, Victor		CAN	2244	-2	+20	=8	+15	+19	=1	-3	+13	-11	5	2387
10.	Kazmaier, Daniel		CAN	2135	-7	+14	=6	=19	=8	+17	=13	-1	=16	4½	2311
11.	Moloney, Nicholas R		ENG	2210	=15	+19	-5	=7	=17	=8	-12	-14	+9	4	2250
12.	Gardner, Robert		CAN	2143	-5	=16	+14	=17	-7	+18	+11	-2	-6	4	2248
13.	Me, Kevin		CAN	2116	-17	-18	+20	+16	=15	+19	=10	-9	-5	4	2215
14.	Haessel, Dale R	f	CAN	2203	-4	-10	-12	+20	=18	=16	+19	+11	-2	4	2208
15.	Donaldson, John W	m	USA	2409	=11	=8	=17	-9	=13	+20	-7	.	.	3	2211
16.	Ristovic, Nenad	f	CAN	2252	-1	=12	-19	-13	=20	=14	+17	-8	=10	3	2135
17.	Peter, Steven		CAN	2264	+13	-3	=15	=12	=11	-10	-16	.	.	2½	2142
18.	Huber, Gregory	f	CAN	2245	-3	+13	=7	-6	=14	-12	=20	.	.	2½	2153
19.	Peng, David		CAN	2245	=8	-11	+16	=10	-9	-13	-14	-7	=4	2½	2095
20.	Neven, Knut		CAN	2199	-6	-9	-13	-14	=16	-15	=18	.	.	1	1953

10) 27th Liechtenstein Open

The 27th Liechtenstein International Chess Open took place 15th-23rd May 2009 in the Gemeindesaal in Triesen. Imre Hera jr edged out Sebastian Bogner on tie-break after both scored 7/9.

Official site: http://www.schach.li/

27th Liechtenstein International Chess Open Triesen LIE 15-23 v 2009 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rg.	Name		FED	Elo	Pkt.	Wtg1
1	Hera Imre Jr	GM	HUN	2533	7	56.5
2	Bogner Sebastian	IM	GER	2511	7	52
3	Farago Ivan	GM	HUN	2491	6.5	54.5
4	Dgebuadze Alexandre	GM	BEL	2539	6.5	53.5
5	Siebrecht Sebastian	GM	GER	2433	6.5	53
6	Hommeles Theo	FM	NED	2415	6.5	51.5
7	Pribyl Josef	IM	CZE	2346	6.5	51
8	Foisor Cristina-Adela	IM	ROU	2423	6.5	47
9	Hirneise Tobias	FM	GER	2407	6.5	46
10	Kohlweyer Bernd	IM	GER	2435	6	53.5
11	Van Der Weide Karel	GM	NED	2497	6	52
12	Foisor Ovidiu-Doru	IM	ROU	2408	6	50.5
13	Bezler Rainer		AUT	2281	6	47
14	Brestian Egon	IM	AUT	2392	6	46
15	Tiemann Christoph		GER	2083	6	45
16	Habibi Ali	IM	GER	2290	6	44.5
17	Keller Manfred	CM	GER	2202	6	44.5
18	Hug Marcel		SUI	2300	5.5	50
19	Bruehl Andreas	FM	GER	2365	5.5	49.5
20	Mannhart Marcel		LIE	2140	5.5	48.5
21	Peredy Ferenc	IM	HUN	2234	5.5	48
22	Klings Peter		GER	2152	5.5	47.5
23	Raykhman Alexander		GER	2297	5.5	46.5
24	Kuhn Thomas		SUI	2169	5.5	45.5
25	Popa Claudio	CM	ITA	2218	5.5	45
26	Ballon Guenther	FM	NED	2166	5.5	44.5
27	Vilerte Tamara	WGM	LAT	2238	5.5	44.5
28	Csiba Dominik		SVK	2377	5.5	44.5
29	Neuberger Guido		GER	2165	5.5	43
30	Kessler Michaela		AUT	1865	5.5	40.5
31	Van Heirzeele Daniel		BEL	2177	5.5	37
107 players

11) 3rd Porto Mannu Open

The 3rd Porto Mannu Open took place 16th-23rd May 2009. Stuart Conquest took first place with 7/9 half a point clear of the field. Daniele Vocaturo made his 3rd and final GM norm.

Official site: http://asd.caissa.it/portomannu2009/

Porto Mannu Open Palau (ITA), 16-23 v 2009
Pos	NAME	Fed	T	Rtg	Pts	Buc1	BucT
1	Conquest Stuart C	ENG	GM	2549	7	50.5	55
2	Tiviakov Sergei	NED	GM	2697	6.5	50.5	55.5
3	Marin Mihail	ROU	GM	2564	6.5	48.5	53.5
4	Lemos Damian	ARG	GM	2512	6.5	49	54
5	Korneev Oleg	RUS	GM	2587	6.5	47.5	53
6	Jussupow Artur	GER	GM	2576	6.5	47	52.5
7	Pelletier Yannick	SUI	GM	2559	6.5	48	51.5
8	Skembris Spyridon	GRE	GM	2434	6.5	47.5	53
9	Naumkin Igor	RUS	GM	2488	6.5	44	48.5
10	Cmilyte Viktorija	LTU	IM	2498	6.5	45	50
11	Schaefer Michael	GER	--	2172	6.5	41	44.5
12	Vocaturo Daniele	ITA	IM	2480	6	49.5	54.5
13	Hillarp Persson Tige	SWE	GM	2618	6	48	53
14	D'Amore Carlo	ITA	IM	2483	6	48.5	53
15	Bitalzadeh Ali	NED	IM	2417	6	45.5	49.5
16	Grandelius Nils	SWE	IM	2491	6	47	52
17	Malakhatko Vadim	BEL	GM	2618	6	45.5	50.5
18	Miedema Roi	NED	FM	2370	6	46.5	51
19	Cori Jorge	PER	FM	2418	6	45	49.5
20	Loeffler Stefan	GER	IM	2412	6	47	51.5
21	Thorfinnsson Bjorn	ISL	FM	2422	6	43.5	48
22	Shytaj Carlo	ITA	--	2212	6	43.5	47.5
23	Pospisil Evzen	CZE	--	2145	6	39.5	43
24	Piscopo Pierluigi	ITA	IM	2405	5.5	44.5	49
25	Cori T. Deysi	PER	WIM	2262	5.5	45.5	49.5
26	Van Eijk Sander	NED	FM	2319	5.5	45.5	50
27	Collutiis Duilio	ITA	IM	2451	5.5	47.5	52.5
28	Stromboli Carlo	ITA	--	2283	5.5	46	50
29	Friedrich Norbert	GER	FM	2350	5.5	43.5	48
30	Paglietti Nicola	ITA	FM	2269	5.5	42	46
178 players

12) China's 2009 World Cup Qualification

China's 2010 World Cup Qualification events for Men and Women took place 17th - 28th April 2009 in Beijing. 12 men competed for 2 places and Zhou Jianchao and Wang Hao finished level on 7/11. 12 women played for 4 places Ruan Lufei and Shen Yang made 7.5/11, Huang Qian and Ju Wenjun made 7. Wang Yue, Ni Hua, Bu Xiangzhi, Hou Yifan, Zhao Xue and Xu Yuhua are already qualified by rating. (Info: China Chess Association). My thanks to Yin Hao for a full games file for both tournaments.

News: http://blog.sina.com.cn/chessnews

Official site: http://chess.sport.org.cn/

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21467.aspx - http://chess-results.com/tnr21468.aspx

FIDE results http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=43340 but still no games.

Qualifier Beijing (CHN), 17-28 iv 2009															cat. XII (2541)
Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	GM	Zhou Jianchao	2635	CHN	*	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	7,0	0,5	3	36,75
2	GM	Wang Hao	2696	CHN	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	7,0	0,5	3	36,00
3	GM	Li Chao B	2643	CHN	½	½	*	½	½	1	1	1	½	½	½	0	6,5	0,0	3	35,75
4	GM	Zhou Weiqi	2563	CHN	½	½	½	*	½	0	1	0	½	1	1	½	6,0	0,5	3	32,00
5	GM	Wen Yang	2532	CHN	0	½	½	½	*	1	½	1	½	0	½	1	6,0	0,5	3	31,00
6		Gao Rui	2500	CHN	½	½	0	1	0	*	0	1	1	0	½	1	5,5	0,0	4	28,75
7		Yu Yangyi	2433	CHN	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	1	1	½	0	5,0	2,5	3	26,75
8		Ding Liren	2458	CHN	½	0	0	1	0	0	½	*	½	1	½	1	5,0	2,0	3	25,25
9	GM	Zhao Jun	2560	CHN	½	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	*	1	0	1	5,0	1,5	2	27,25
10		Xiu Deshun	2422	CHN	½	½	½	0	1	1	0	0	0	*	1	½	5,0	0,0	3	28,00
11	GM	Li Shilong	2557	CHN	½	0	½	0	½	½	½	½	1	0	*	½	4,5	0,0	1	24,25
12	GM	Xu Jun	2498	CHN	0	0	1	½	0	0	1	0	0	½	½	*	3,5	0,0	2	19,25

Qualifier w Beijing (CHN), 17-28 iv 2009															cat. V (2353)
Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	WGM	Ruan Lufei	2486	CHN	*	½	0	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	1	7,5	0,5	5	36,50
2	WGM	Shen Yang	2420	CHN	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	7,5	0,5	4	37,00
3	WGM	Huang Qian	2410	CHN	1	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	0	1	7,0	0,5	4	38,00
4		Ju Wenjun	2454	CHN	½	½	½	*	0	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	7,0	0,5	4	34,00
5	IM	Wang Yu	2364	CHN	½	½	½	1	*	0	½	½	1	½	1	½	6,5	0,0	3	34,50
6		Tan Zhongyi	2436	CHN	½	½	½	½	1	*	½	0	0	0	1	1	5,5	0,0	3	30,50
7	WGM	Gu Xiaobing	2336	CHN	0	½	0	½	½	½	*	1	0	1	1	0	5,0	0,0	3	25,25
8		Wang Xiaohui	2265	CHN	0	0	0	0	½	1	0	*	1	1	½	½	4,5	1,0	3	20,75
9	WFM	Ding Yixin	2281	CHN	0	½	½	½	0	1	1	0	*	0	1	0	4,5	0,0	3	24,75
10	WIM	Zhang Xiaowen	2340	CHN	0	0	½	0	½	1	0	0	1	*	0	1	4,0	0,0	3	20,25
11		Wang Jue	2162	CHN	½	0	1	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	*	½	3,5	0,5	2	18,75
12	WGM	Zhang Jilin	2335	CHN	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	½	1	0	½	*	3,5	0,5	2	16,75

13) 14th International Stuttgart Championship

The 14th "International Stuttgart Championship" in Germany took place 21th-24th May 2009. Sergei Ovsejevitsch edged out Maxim Chetverik and Dmitry Svetushkin on tie-break after all finished on 6/7.

For further information on the event: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

Stuttgarter State Champs A Ditzingen (GER), 21-24 v 2009
Pl	Player	Ti	NAT	Rating	+	=	-	Pts	Buchh
1	Ovsejevitsch,Sergei	GM	UKR	2580	5	2	0	6	34
2	Chetverik,Maxim	IM	RUS	2323	5	2	0	6	31
3	Svetushkin,Dmitry	GM	MDA	2615	6	0	1	6	28
4	Schuh,Dirk	FM	GER	2313	4	3	0	5.5	31.5
5	Luther,Thomas	GM	GER	2551	4	3	0	5.5	31
6	Strunski,Andreas		GER	2340	5	1	1	5.5	31
7	Eisenbeiser,Amadeus	IM	GER	2406	4	3	0	5.5	28
8	Vuckovic,Aleksandar	FM	GER	2326	4	3	0	5.5	26
9	Gutman,Lev	GM	GER	2494	5	0	2	5	31.5
10	Gschnitzer,Oswald,Dr.	IM	GER	2429	4	2	1	5	31
11	Reinhardt,Bernd		GER	2344	4	2	1	5	30.5
12	Wettengel,Alexander		GER	2074	4	2	1	5	30
13	Wagner,Florian	FM	GER	2302	5	0	2	5	27
14	Kabisch,Thilo		GER	2297	5	0	2	5	27
15	Nabavi,Parwis		SUI	2126	4	2	1	5	25.5
16	Fiderer,Lukas		GER	2153	4	2	1	5	25
17	Dudek,Richard		GER	2254	5	0	2	5	24
18	Hirneise,Jens	FM	GER	2308	4	1	2	4.5	31
130 players

14) De Caguas Categoria Internacional

The Casa del Ajedrez en Caguas took place in Puerto Rico 14th-17th May 2009. Carlso Matamoros Franco won on tie-break from Jacek Stopa and Alonso Zapata Ramirez after all scored 6/8. No games available.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21847.aspx?lan=2

Casa del Ajedrez en Caguas PUR 14-17 v 2009
Rk.	Name	Ti	FED	FIDE	Pts.	Des 1
1	Matamoros Franco Carlos S.	GM	ECU	2535	6	1.5
2	Stopa Jacek	IM	POL	2471	6	1
3	Zapata Ramirez Alonso	GM	COL	2514	6	0.5
4	Montalvo Rosario Alejandro	IM	PUR	2251	5	0
5	Almedina Ortiz Edgardo J		PUR	2087	4.5	0
6	Santana Alvarado Miguel		PUR	2168	4.5	0
7	Montanez Nazario Roberto		PUR	2055	4.5	0
8	Santa Torres Juan	IM	PUR	2245	4	0
9	Fierro Baquero Martha L.	IM	ECU	2411	4	0
10	Campiz Jimenez Leonardo		PUR	2082	4	0
11	Diaz Montes Edwin		PUR	0	4	0
12	Freyre Forest Jorge		PUR	2100	4	0
13	Segarra Choe Tammy		PUR	1825	3.5	0.5
14	Sosa Trani Luis	FM	PUR	2133	3.5	0.5
15	Rabin Evan Z.		USA	2033	3	0
16	Camacho Fabre Rafael		PUR	0	3	0
17	Perez Borrero George		PUR	0	3	0
18	Pressman Leif		USA	2057	2.5	0
19	Molina Millan Alberto		PUR	0	2.5	0
20	Yagiz Bora		USA	1910	2.5	0
21	Ortiz Vives Carlos R.		PUR	0	2	0
22	Aldama Degurnay Dionisio	IM	MEX	2458	0	0

15) 27th Elba Island Festival

The 27th International Chess Festival of Elba Island "Luigi Amalfi", took place at the Hotel Lacona 10th-17th May 2009. Top seed Lexy Ortega took clear first with 8/9. Marco Codenotti (12 years old) also had a good result. Games are promised but not yet available.

Results: http://www.scacchielba.it/Lacona%202009/Open%20A/wwwOpen%20A/index.html

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

27th Elba Island Festival ITA 10-17 v 2009
Pos	NAME	T	Fed	Rtg	Pts	Buc1
1	ORTEGA Lexy	GM	ITA	2442	8	44.5
2	MOLINA Fabrizio	FM	ITA	2240	6	46
3	LJUBISAVLJEVIC Zivoj	IM	SRB	2278	6	45.5
4	PULITO Alberto	M	ITA	2256	5.5	45.5
5	CODENOTTI Marco	CM	ITA	2035	5.5	45
6	PALEOLOGU Vladimir	CM	SUI	2191	5.5	44
7	CORDARA Michele	FM	ITA	2093	5.5	43.5
8	EVANGELISTI Claudio	M	ITA	2260	5.5	40
9	CACINSCHI Alexandru	1N	ITA	1949	5.5	39.5
10	PEPINO Enrico	CM	ITA	2148	5	41.5
11	PAOLINELLI Giacomo	CM	ITA	2171	5	39
12	COLOMBO Paolo	M	ITA	2138	5	38
13	PETROLO Mauro	CM	ITA	1946	5	35
27 players

16) III La Laguna Open

The III La Laguna Open took place 4th-10th May 2009. Julio Granda Zuniga won the event with 8/11. The games section has now been repaired and I give all the games again.

Official site; http://www.lalagunainternacionalajedrez.com and Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21480.aspx

17) 82nd St Petersburg Championship

The 82nd St Petersburg Championship (closed as opposed to the open a few months ago) took place 8th-18th May 2009. Maxim Matlakov edged out Pavel Anisimov and Vasily Yemelin all of whom finished on 6½/10.

Official site: http://www.totalchess.spb.ru/kalend/2009/spb09men.html

82nd ch-St Petersburg St Petersburg RUS (RUS), 8-18 v 2009												cat. XI (2501)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1
1.	Matlakov, Maxim	m	RUS	2533	*	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	0	1	6½	2608
2.	Anisimov, Pavel	m	RUS	2503	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	6½	2611
3.	Yemelin, Vasily	g	RUS	2582	0	½	*	½	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	6½	2603
4.	Popov, Valerij	g	RUS	2570	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	1	0	1	½	6	2566
5.	Goganov, Aleksey	f	RUS	2462	½	½	1	½	*	½	0	½	½	½	1	5½	2541
6.	Yevseev, Denis	g	RUS	2529	0	½	½	½	½	*	1	0	1	1	½	5½	2534
7.	Klimov, Sergey	g	RUS	2521	½	0	0	0	1	0	*	1	1	1	0	4½	2463
8.	Ivanov, Sergey1	g	RUS	2551	½	0	0	0	½	1	0	*	½	½	1	4	2424
9.	Gorovykh, Eduard	m	RUS	2404	0	½	0	1	½	0	0	½	*	0	1	3½	2400
10.	Smirnov, Artem	m	RUS	2454	1	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	3½	2395
11.	Solovjov, Sergey I	m	RUS	2404	0	½	0	½	0	½	1	0	0	½	*	3	2361

18) Buenos Aires Champions League

The Argentine Chess Club in Buenos Aires has a team event (Champions League) that started on May 2nd 2009. Take part several International Masters, FIDE Masters and strong players not titled yet... compete. News: Marcelo Pagano.

Players include: IM Ginzburg M. 2455, IM Diaz N. 2443, IM Dos Santos R. 2441, IM Liascovich L. 2439, IM Bronstein LM 2401, IM Della Morte G 2382, IM Mela B 2373, FM Goldwaser C 2361, IM Filgueira H 2354, IM Schweber 2349, IM Garcia R 2342, FM Barrionuevo P 2320, IM Quiroga F 2329, FM Varela G 2323, FM Villanueva M 2311, Gibson T 2272, Airando M 2250 and FM Cuevas A 2244 Nine teams played every Saturday, Round Robin.

Official site: http://www.cargentinodeajedrez.com.ar/2009/torneos/ChampionsLeague/Champions_League.htm

19) 39th Bosna Open

The 39th Bosna tournament in Sarajevo took place May 8th-18th 2009. The 6 player double round robin was won by Pavel Eljanov with 7/10 who dominated throughout and finished a point and a half clear of the field. Nikola Sedlak edged out Bojan Vuckovic and Milan Drasko on tie-break after all finished on 7/9 in the open. Only a really small game file for the B-tournament is available. I've collected these games together.

Official site: http://www.skbosna.ba/?jezik=bos&x=47

39th Bosna Open Sarajevo (BIH), 12-18 v 2009
Pl	SBr.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	BK.
1	2	GM	Sedlak Nikola	2572	SRB	7	42½
2	3	GM	Vuckovic Bojan	2572	SRB	7	39
3	7	GM	Drasko Milan	2527	MNE	7	37
4	11	IM	Szabo Gergely-Andras-Gyula	2510	ROU	6½	43
5	1	GM	Iotov Valentin	2581	BUL	6½	41½
6	10	GM	Pavlovic Milos	2511	SRB	6½	39
7	5	GM	Blagojevic Dragisa	2548	MNE	6½	34½
8	13	GM	Cabrilo Goran	2504	SRB	6½	34
9	18	IM	Miron Lucian-Costin	2444	ROU	6	41
10	9	GM	Antic Dejan	2513	SRB	6	40½
11	19	IM	Runic Zoran	2443	BIH	6	39
12	16	IM	Bogut Zeljko	2467	BIH	6	39
13	15	IM	Sebenik Matej	2482	SLO	6	37
14	8	GM	Dizdarevic Emir	2519	BIH	6	34
15	32		Dautovic Smail	2265	BIH	6	33
16	21	IM	Dimitrov Pavel	2396	BUL	6	32½
17	6	GM	Savic Miodrag R	2539	SRB	5½	38½
18	17	IM	Stojanovic Dalibor	2464	BIH	5½	38
19	4	GM	Chatalbashev Boris	2571	BUL	5½	38
20	30		Batricevic Sasa	2275	MNE	5½	36½
21	36		Konjicanin Muris	2245	BIH	5½	36
22	22	IM	Dimitrov Radoslav	2388	BUL	5½	35½
23	26		Muratovic Efim	2328	BIH	5½	34
24	27	FM	Rasidovic Sead	2324	BIH	5½	34
25	20	IM	Jakovljevic Vlado	2416	BIH	5½	33
26	29	FM	Mujic Hamza	2292	BIH	5½	33
27	40	FM	Kamberovic Senad	2216	BIH	5½	32½
28	23	IM	Lekic Dusan	2386	MNE	5½	32
29	28	FM	Trkulja Goran	2312	BIH	5½	31½
30	31	FM	Terzic Ilijas	2270	BIH	5½	31
31	33	FM	Stavnjak Lazar	2263	BIH	5½	29½
96 players

20) III Wunsiedel International Chess Festival

The III Wunsiedel International Chess Festival took place 22nd-24th May 2009. Jacek Stopa edged out Aleksanda Berelovich and Michael Prusikin in the Master tournament after all finished on 5.5/7. No games seem to be available.

Official site: http://www.schach-info.de/wunsiedel/ergebnisse.html

III Wunsiedel International Chess Festival (GER), 22-24 v 2009 Final Leading Round 7 Standings:
Pl	Player	Ti	ELO	NAT	Pts	Buchh
1	Stopa,Jacek	IM	2471	POL	5.5	28
2	Berelovich,Aleksanda	GM	2581	GER	5.5	27.5
3	Prusikin,Michael	GM	2538	GER	5.5	27
4	Gasthofer,Alexander	IM	2441	GER	5	29.5
5	Schulz,Karsten	FM	2288	GER	5	28
6	Pachow,Joerg	FM	2267	GER	5	26.5
7	Welke,Klaus		2137	GER	5	26
8	Salzberg,Gregor		2164	GER	5	25.5
9	Schatz,Christian	CM	2138	GER	5	25.5
10	Singer,Christoph	FM	2364	GER	5	25.5
11	Roehl,Rainer		2160	GER	5	20
12	Roesemann,Rainer		2241	GER	4.5	27.5
13	Kersten,Uwe	FM	2280	GER	4.5	26.5
14	Loew,Gerald	FM	2308	GER	4.5	25.5
15	Neubauer,Bernd		2203	GER	4.5	24.5
16	Krauss,Josef		2091	GER	4.5	24.5
17	Westphal,Wolfgang		2236	GER	4.5	20
18	Noettling,Dominik		1781	GER	4	26
76 players

21) The London Chess Classic in December

The dates for the London Chess Classic at the end of the year are now confirmed with the tournament taking place 7th-16th December 2009. The field is close to being finalised and it can be announced that Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Nigel Short, Ni Hua and Luke McShane and now Hikaru Nakamura will be competing. There will be 8 players in a 7 round all-play-all.

1st London Chess Classic (ENG), 8-16 xii 2009. Cat IXX (2704) Players list
No	Name	Ti	NAT	April Elo	DoB
1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2770	1990
2	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	1975
3	Ni, Hua	g	CHN	2724	1983
4	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2703	1971
5	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2701	1987
6	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2674	1965
7	McShane, Luke J	g	ENG	2596	1984
8	To be announced

Dates of the London Chess Classic. 7th-16th December 2009
Monday	7th December 2009	Press Conference and drawing of lots
Tuesday	8th December 2009	Round 1
Wednesday	9th December 2009	Round 2
Thursday	10th December 2009	Round 3
Friday	11th December 2009	Rest day
Saturday	12th December 2009	Round 4
Sunday	13th December 2009	Round 5
Monday	14th December 2009	Round 6
Tuesday	15th December 2009	Round 7 + Closing ceremony, charity simultaneous

Cream of world chess to play in new London tournament. [Press release 9th March 2009]

London Chess Centre is proud to announce a world-class chess tournament to be held in London in December, 2009. The event will be an elite eight-player all-play-all in the most prestigious tournament in the capital since former world champion Anatoly Karpov won the Phillips and Drew Masters in 1984.

Since then, despite London hosting three world title contests, there has not been a tournament in which England's leading players could lock horns with the world's best on home soil. The December 09 tournament will be the first in a series of events designed to reinvigorate UK chess and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities.

The tournament will be FIDE Category 19 with an average FIDE rating of 2700 and a minimum prize fund of €100,000. The eight players will comprise of three English and five world-class Grandmasters from abroad. Included in the prize fund will be a €10,000 Brilliant Game award along with separate prizes for each victory with the White and Black pieces. Matches will be covered live online where fans will be able to vote for Game of the Day.

The tournament has applied for membership of the prestigious annual Grand Slam of Chess which culminates in Bilbao and boasts a €400,000 prize fund.

The games will be under Classical Chess time control; 40 moves in two hours, 20 in the subsequent hour then an additional 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds a move until the end of the game. The tournament will further benefit from the use of Sofia Rules which disallow early draws. Players will receive three points for a win and one for a draw.

Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre

Notes for editors: All communications to Malcolm Pein IM at London Chess Centre: 020 7388 2404. E-Mail: info@chess.co.uk. Website: www.chess.co.uk

22) Catalan Championships

The Catalan Championships took place 16th-23rd May 2009. The knockout event was won by Josep Lopez Martinez who beat Jordi Magem Badals in the final.

Official site: http://www.escacs.cat/

23) Forthcoming Events and Links

18th Maccabiah Games

The 18th Maccabiah Games take place July 12th-23td 2009.

The Maccabiah Games have included chess tournaments for more than 30 years. Now, especially for the 18th Maccabiah Games, we have organized for the first time a super-tournament, with the participation of elite chessplayers from all over the world.

The Festival will include four main events:

International Super-Torunament, featuring top players from all over the world such as Boris Gelfand (Israel), Judit Polgar (Hungary), Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), Evgeniy Najer (Russia), Alexander Beliavsky (Slovenia) etc.
International Invitational Chess Tournaments, Norm opportunity for top players.
International Open Tournament.
International Youth Tournament, for players who were born between 1991 and 1994.
Simultaneous Chess Exhibitions , GM's will play against many opponents at the same time.

Official site: http://mchess.co.il/

Regular Round Robins in Moscow

There is a new series of round-robin tournaments in Moscow. Starting in June in Moscow there will be a monthly series of the round-robin tournaments. The events are supported by FIDE, International Chess Academy 'Chess School 2000', 'World Chess Tour' company: GM, IM, rating events.

Venue - International Chess Education Center of the Russian State Social University (RGSU), Moscow, Begovaya Str., 14, building 1, 2 floor (close to Metro & Railway Station 'Begovaya').

Contact: GM Igor Glek. Phone mobile: (7)903-5593052, (49)179-7030605

Phone / Fax: (7)495-4336634 E-mail: wlct06@gmail.com, acpsecretary@gmail.com

Official site: http://www.chess-events.org

7th Mediterranean Chess Championship

The 7th Mediterranean Chess Championship takes place 11th-19th September 2009. Open to everyone.

Official site: http://www.medchess.com/ although I can't see details of the new tournament.

42nd Biel International Chess Festival

The 42nd Biel International Chess Festival takes place 18th-31st July 2009. There will be around 10 different Tournaments (Open, Rapid, Blitz, Youth and for the first time Chess 960). The main Category IXX tournament sees Morozevich, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Alekseev, Vachier-Lagrave and Caruana compete.

Official site: http://www.bielchessfestival.ch

Biel Grandmaster Tournament (SUI), 18-31 vii 2009 cat. IXX (2713)
Name	NAT	Elo points	W Rank	Age	Past results
Alexander Morozevich	RUS	2751	No 8	32	Winner in Biel in 2003, 2004, 2006
Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2746	No 12	40	Winner in Biel in 1989
Boris Gelfand	ISR	2733	No 15	41	Winner in Biel in 1993 (Interzonal Tournament), 2005
Evgeny Alekseev	RUS	2716	No 25	23	Winner in Biel in 2008
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	2684	No 47	18	1st time in Biel
Fabiano Caruana	ITA	2649	No 78	16	1st time in Biel

Navara vs Ivanchuk Rapid

GM David Navara and GM Vassily Ivanchuk play a rapid match of 8 games in Prague 27th-31st May 2009.

Details: http://www.praguechess.cz/en/poradane_akce.php?nazev_akce=15&akce=uvod

I Vitoria-Gasteiz Open

I Open Internacional De Ajedrez Vitoria-Gasteiz Nazioarteko I. Xake Opena. 26th July - 3rd August 2009.

Official site: http://sites.google.com/site/openvitoria/

Amersham Congress

The Amersham Congress takes place 22nd - 25th May 2009. Details: http://www.e2e4.org.uk/amersham/

European Chess Festival Lubin

The European Chess Festival in Lubin, Poland takes place 28th May - 6th June 2009.

Official site: http://www.lzszach.lublin.pl/arc2009/info.html

24th Hasslocher Schachtage

The 24th Hasslocher Schachtage takes place 29th May - 1st June 2009.

Official site: http://schachclub-1926-hassloch.de/

Continental Absolute Chess Championship of Americas

The Continental Absolute Chess Championship of Americas takes place in Sao Paolo 25th July - 2nd August 2009.

Details: http://www.continental2009.com/cont09eng.htm

Zonal 2.3

Zonal 2.3 will now take place in San Jose 18th-25th June 2009 not in Guayaquil Ecuador as initially indicated.

Details: http://fcacrc.blogspot.com/

Zone 2.3 San Jose (CRC), 18-25 vi 2009 Leading players:
GM	Lazaro Bruzon	CUB	2617
GM	Eduardo Iturrizaga	VEN	2528
GM	Gilberto Hernandez	MEX	2543
IM	Bernal Gonzalez	CRC	2440
FM	Lelys Martinez	CUB	2520
IM	Jorge Baules	PAN	2346
IM	Raphael Prasca	VEN	2415
IM	Rafael Espinosa	MEX	2410
FM	Oliver Soto	VEN	2321
	Fernando Osorio	VEN	2300

Zonal 2.5

Zonal 2.5 takes place in Asuncion, Paraguay 10th-18th June 2009.

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

Leko vs Anand in Miskolc

Peter Leko plays World Champion Viswanathan Anand in his traditional rapid match in Miskolc, Hungary 3rd-7th June 2009.

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

Bazna Tournament

The Turneul Regilor takes place in Bazna Romania 14th-25th June 2009. 10 rounds 6 player double round robin. Category XX (ave 2729).

Official site: http://www.turneulregilor.ro/en/index.php

Turneul Regilor Bazna (ROM), 14-25 vi 2009. Cat XX (2729) Players list
Name	Ti	NAT	April Elo	DoB
Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2756	1987
Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2746	1969
Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2745	1972
Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2733	1968
Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2720	1974
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	g	ROU	2675	1976

Poikovsky Tournament

The 10th Karpov tournament takes place in Poikovsky Russia 3rd-12th June 2009. There is a free day on 8th June.

Official site: http://www.admoil.ru/chess2009/index_chess_2009.htm

10th Karpov Poikovsky (RUS), 3-12 vi 2009. Cat XVIII (2695) Players list
Name	Ti	NAT	April Elo	DoB
Bologan, Viktor	g	MDA	2690	1971
Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2682	1985
Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	2730	1986
Inarkiev, Ernesto	g	RUS	2676	1985
Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	2677	1979
Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2700	1985
Onischuk, Alexander	g	USA	2684	1975
Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2745	1972
Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	2660	1977
Rublevsky, Sergei	g	RUS	2702	1974

116th Scottish Chess Championships (International Open) and other Edinburgh Events

Jonathan Grant sends news of events in Scotland including the Scottish Championships which will be strong as outside entries will play in the tournament as an international open.

The strongest ever Scottish Championship is International Open 116th Scottish Chess Championships ( International Open) - 11th to 19th July 2009 Prestigious central venue, Edinburgh City Chambers, hosts the strongest ever Scottish Chess Championships 2009 from 11th to 19th July. One of the oldest continually running chess events in the world, this international open event will welcome strong players from countries as diverse as India and Slovakia. In the Year of Homecoming Scotland, Belgium-based GM Paul Motwani and London-based GM Jonathan Rowson will be among the favourites. Play takes place from 14:00 to 20:00 BST every day and games will be transmitted live to the web. With over £5000 in prizes, excellent IM and GM norm opportunities, and a sparkling new venue, the 2009 Scottish Chess Championship is set to become the strongest open in the UK this year.

116th Scottish Chess Championships (International Open) Edinburgh (SCO), 11-19 vii 2009. Top ten entrants so far are:
1	GM	Jonathan Rowson	Scotland	2589
2	GM	Jan Markos	Slovakia	2571
3	GM	S. Arun Prasad	India	2552
4	GM	Jacob Aagaard	Scotland	2535
5	GM	Mark Hebden	England	2510
6	GM	Paul Motwani	Scotland	2501
7	GM	Keti Arakhamia-Grant	Scotland	2492
8	GM	Colin McNab	Scotland	2472
9	GM	John Shaw	Scotland	2469
10	GM	Magesh Chandran Panchanathan	India	2462

The Scottish Championship is the highpoint of the year as Chess Scotland continues to strengthen its international level chess activity.

1st Chess Scotland International Open Chess Challenge - 23/24 May and 6/7 June 2009 IM Andrew Greet heads the field for an 8 round FIDE rated Swiss, supported by the Scottish Junior Chess Association Educational Trust (SJCAET), in the Edinburgh Chess Club.

http://www.chessscotland.com/international/CS_FIDE_ECC.htm

Simul by GM Keti Arakhamia-Grant - 13 June 2009

A 12 board rolling simultaneous display by GM Keti Arakhamia-Grant from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday 13 June in the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh (home of the Lewis chessmen in Scotland).

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

VIII Benidorm International Chess Festival

VIII Benidorm International Chess Festival 2009 takes place 27th November - 8th December 2009.

Website: http://www.ajedrezbali.com

7th Howard Staunton Memorial 2009 fields announced

The 7th Howard Staunton Memorial takes place 7th (opening ceremony) - 17th August 2009. This year there will be a UK vs The Netherlands double round Scheveningen match and an interesting Category IX all-play-all. The UK has a small Elo rating advantage in the Scheveningen match but the teams are well matched. The tournament is taking place in its usual venue - Simpson's In The Strand. The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of Friday 7th August. The final rounds and the closing ceremony will take place on Monday 17th August.

The organisers are hoping that the tournament will be a big media event with the Chinese and the Dutch Ambassadors hoping to attend the opening ceremony and surprise guest visits from other chess loving celebrities throughout. They thank their generous benefactor.

There will be live coverage of the games this year.

Official site: http://howardstaunton.com/index.shtm.

7th Staunton Memorial Scheveningen London (ENG), 8-17 viii 2009
UK			NETHERLANDS
GM	Michael Adams	2703	GM	Ivan Sokolov	2669
GM	Nigel Short	2674	GM	Jan Smeets	2626
GM	David Howell	2613	GM	Loek Van Wely	2622
GM	Jonathan Rowson	2589	GM	Erwin L'ami	2598
GM	Gawain Jones	2550	GM	Jan Werle	2583
UK	Elo Ave.	2626	NED	Elo Ave.	2620

7th Staunton Memorial International Challenge London (ENG), 8-17 viii 2009 - cat. IX (2453)
GM	Jonathan Speelman	ENG	2534
GM	Jan Timman	NED	2566
GM	Peter Wells	ENG	2489
GM	Victor Korchnoi	SUI	2552
GM	Nigel Davies	ENG	2487
IM	Willy Hendriks	NED	2447
	Terence Chapman	ENG	2232
IM	Eelke Wiersma	NED	2406
IM	Malcolm Pein	ENG	2391
GM	Alex Cherniaev	RUS	2423

Torch Real Estate Cup

The Chinese team competition the Torch Real Estate Cup started in Chengdu China on 4th May 2009. I'm hoping for a full game file.

Live games: http://live.chinaqiyuan.com/chess/tfd.htm

Official site: http://chess.sport.org.cn/

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21650.aspx

Zonal 2.5 Asuncion

Zonal 2.5 with 2 qualification places for the Word Cup takes place in Asuncion, Paraguay, June 10th-18th 2009. Zone 2.5 includes Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.

Official web is http://www.winner.com.py/feparaj - Details

Acropolis Open

The Acropolis Open takes place 10th-18th August 2009 in Chalkida, Greece. Organizers: Greek Chess Federation (GCF), Ministry of Tourism in Attiki, Chalkida Chess Academy.

Regulations: Swiss System 9 rounds, invitational FIDE rated tournament, 70-80 players, minimum required FIDE rating 2200 (women 2000), GM & IM title norms possible, FIDE time-control (90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes until the end of the game plus increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1).

Contact info: Sotiris Logothetis (Tournament Coordinator) Tel: (+30) 6947324933, Email: middlewave74@gmail.com Greek Chess Federation (GCF) Tel.: (+30) 2109221465, Fax: (+30) 2109221620, Email: info@chessfed.gr

Official site: http://www.chessfed.gr/acropolis2009

III Ruy Lopez International Chess Festival

The main event of the Festival is the master Tournament (from 13th to 19th June 2009) with the participation of Adams, Cheparinov, Pía Cramling, Koneru, Granda, Larino, Caruana and Candelario. The games will be transmitted on Internet with commentaries by Leontxo García who will be present in the analysis room (open to all fans).

To complete the Children´s Tournament (13th and 14th June) and the III Open "Ruy López Opening" (20th and 21st June 2009) where all the games will start in the following order:- 1. e4 e5 2.Cf3 Cc6 3.Ab5 with more than 11,000 Euros as prizes.

Official site: http://ruylopez.juntaextremadura.net/modules/news/

Leiden Chess Tournament

The Leiden Chess Tournament takes place 9th-19th August 2009.

Official site: http://www.leidenchess.nl/

Brescia International

The Brescia International Tournament takes place June 6th-14th 2009.

Details: http://www.puntoesclamativo.org/

French League Top 16

The French Team Championship (TOP 16) took place in Mulhouse (group A) and Chalons-en-Champagne (group B) 30th April - 3rd May 2009. The Poule Haute and Basse take place 28th-31st May 2009. The top 4 teams in each group take forward the three results against each other and play off against the teams from the other group to produce a final winner.

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

French Team Championship Group A (FRA), 20 iii-3 v 2009
Pl.	Equipe	Pts	j.	d.	p.	c.
1	Evry Grand Roque	21	7	33	36	3
2	Clichy	19	7	20	29	9
3	Mulhouse Philidor	16	7	5	18	13
4	Noyon	15	7	-1	17	18
5	Marseille Echecs	14	7	1	14	13
6	Drancy	11	7	-10	14	24
7	Lutece Echecs	9	7	-23	11	34
8	Bois-Colombes	7	7	-25	5	30

French Team Championship Group B (FRA), 20 iii-3 v 2009
Pl.	Equipe	Pts	j.	d.	p.	c.
1	Montpellier	19	7	15	23	8
2	Cannes	18	7	14	22	8
3	Vandoeuvre	16	7	10	23	13
4	Chalons en Champagne	16	7	12	27	15
5	Metz Fischer	15	7	1	18	17
6	Strasbourg	11	7	-8	11	19
7	Antibes	10	7	-13	9	22
8	Grasse	7	7	-31	6	37

Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament

The Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2009 takes place 3rd - 7th June 2009.

For 17 years in a row the tournament has been played in Malmo, Sweden and this time will be no different. The tournament will be played at the classical Hipp Theater in central Malmo, for the twelfth time. This year, the tournament has a new format, with only six players playing five rounds.

Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament Malmo (SWE), 3-7 vi 2009
1.	GM	Nigel Short	ENG	2674
2.	GM	Ivan Sokolov	BIH	2669
3.	GM	Tomi Nyback	FIN	2655
4.	GM	Tiger Hillarp Persson	SWE	2618
5.	GM	Emanuel Berg	SWE	2610
6.	IM	Nils Grandelius	SWE	2491

Tournament Schedule Round 1 3 June 14.00-21.00 CET Round 2 4 June 14.00-21.00 CET Round 3 5 June 14.00-21.00 CET Round 4 6 June 14.00-21.00 CET Round 5 7 June 12.00-19.00 CET

Official site: http://www.sigeman-chess.com

Historical Elo Ratings

http://www.shakki.net/history/elotop.htm has a list of historical top ten FIDE lists. The text is in Finnish but is understandable anyhow.

Chess Classic Mainz

The Chess Classic Mainz takes place 27th July - 2nd August 2009 in the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz.

The world championships in rapid chess and Chess960 will be staged in a tried and trusted double round robin format with four players, after which the players battle it out in mini-matches to determine the top spot. The players for the main events have already been contracted.

The GRENKELEASING Rapid World Championship sees the World Chess Champion and Chess Classic serial winner Vishy Anand will try to defend his title for the 11th time in a row. He faces Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Arkadij Naiditsch.

Other events include the gigantic ORDIX rapid chess Open, the FiNet Ches960 Open, the open tournaments for U14 talents, the 40 board simultaneous exhibition with Levon Aronian, the Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship, etc., etc.

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

XXXV Sitges Open

The XXXV Open Internacional d'Escacs "Vila de Sitges" takes place 22nd-30th July 2009.

Official site: http://www.casinoprado.cat/open.html

Details: http://chess-results.com/tnr20620.aspx?lan=2

"King's Gambit" in Lipetsk

There will be an international chess festival called "King's Gambit" in Lipetsk, Russia, between June 22nd (arrival day) and July 3rd, 2009. The festival consists of two round-robin tournaments (one with GM norm and one with IM norm) and an open for FIDE rating. Opening ceremony: 2.30 p.m. on July 23, 1st round at 3 p.m. Festival director: Zimmerman, Yuri . Tel.: +7-4742-720064, or +7-919-255-9764. E-mail: zimmerman@lipetsk.ru."

Reno Far West Open

The Far West Open Chess Tournament took place April 10th-12th 2009 in Reno Nevada. Sergey Kudrin edged out Enrico Sevillano and Gergerly Antal who finished on 5/6. Games should follow.

Official site: http://www.renochess.org/fwo/index.html

32nd Taminco Gent Open

The 32nd Taminco Open International Chess Tournament Gent (Belgium) takes place 18th-22nd July 2009, 9 rounds Swiss, two hours KO chess, prize money 8400 euro for 400 participants. This traditional open tournament takes place near the center of the medieval town of Gent in the week of the famous annual Gent festivities. Email: open2009@kgsrl.be

Information and registration: http://www.kgsrl.be

Info Gent annual festivities: http://www.gentsefeesten.be/

Voronezh-2009

The 13th "Voronezh-2009" traditional chess festival takes place 10th-21st June 2009.

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

13th Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament 2009

The 13th Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament takes place August 1st-8th 2009 in Vlissingen, Netherlands.

Official site: http://www.hztoernooi.nl and contact e-mail: hgroffen@zeelandnet.nl.

Canadian Open

The Canadian Open takes place in Edmonton, Alberta Canada July 11th-19th 2009. Alexei Shirov adn Michael Adams are among the early entrants.

Details: http://monroi.com/2009-canadian-open-chess-championship-home.html

San Sebastian GM

There is a tournament in San Sebastian July 6th-16th 2009.

GMA San Sebastian (ESP), 6-16 vii 2009 cat. XVIII (average elo: 2687)
Sergei Movsesian	2747	SVK
Peter Svidler	2726	RUS
Rustam Ponomariov	2726	UKR
Hikaru Nakamura	2701	USA
Rustam Kasimzhanov	2695	UZB
Francisco Vallejo	2688	SPA
Maxime Vachier-Lagraeve	2684	FRA
Anatoly Karpov	2644	RUS
Julio Granda	2610	PER
Pablo San Segundo	2560	SPA

Prizes in Euros: 1.- 9.000 2.- 6.000 3.- 4.000 4.- 3.500 5.- 3.000 6.- 2.500 7.- 2.000 8.- 1.500 9.- 1.000 10.- 500

There will be also a B tournament (cat. XI), C tournament (cat. VIII), and D tournament (female players). The games will be played in the same hall that held the historic tournament in 1911 won by Capablanca and the organisers are hoping for a special event to commemorate the centenary. News David Llada. Website to be announced.

Dortmund

The Dortmund Chess Meeting takes place 2nd-12th July 2009. Players: Kramnik, Leko, Carlsen, Jakovenko, Bacrot, and Naiditsch play.

Details: http://www.chess-international.de/?p=429

Brno Chess Festival

The Duras Chess Club organises the Brno Chess Festival in the Czech Republic. The GM Brno, IM Tespo Engineering and IM Dopravni stavby tournaments take place 26th June - 5th July 2009. Open tournaments start on the 27th June 2009.

Applications and details contact Rudolf Moulis: e-mail: moulis@kroknet.cz , phone +420 548 522 186, mobile phone: +420 607 900 656

Further info at: http://www.skduras.cz/cz/propozice.html and http://www.skduras.cz/cz/brnensky-sachovy-festival-2009.html

World Open

The World Open Chess Tournament takes place June 29th - July 5th 2009 in Philadelphia.

Details: http://www.chesstour.com/wo09.htm and http://monroi.com/2009-world-open-chess-tournament-home.html

British Championships

The 96th British Chess Championships take place 26th July - 8th August 2009 in Torquay.

Official site: http://www.britishchess09.com/

14th Pannonia - Nitrokemia Cup

The 14th Pannonia - Nitrokemia Cup takes place in Balatonalmadi, 29th July - 2nd August, 2009.

Group A: International Open Tournament for FIDE ratings. Group B: International Open Tournament for FIDE ratings, for players under 2000 ELO System used: 7 Rounds Swiss without age limit for both Groups Venue: The air-conditioned Conference Hall of Pannonia Cultural Centre & Library Address: Balatonalmadi, Városház Square 6. Organiser: Recreation Association of Vorosbereny Time Limit: Group A: 90-90 minutes + 30sec after each move Group B: 120-120 minutes for all moves

Details: http://fancsyimi.fw.hu. Entries and further information IM Fancsy Imre E-mail: almadikupa@freemail.hu

20th International Chess and Games Festival Czech Open

The 20th International Chess and Games Festival Czech Open 2009 takes place 16th July - 2 August 2009 in Pardubice (the Czech Republic). There are more than 100 tournaments in chess and other games, eg. European Youth Chess Teams Championship, ISCU Children Clubs Chess Championship and European Amateurs Championship in Chess.

More detailed information: http://www.czechopen.net/news/index.php. the festival website will be ready at the end of April.

6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit

The 6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit takes place May - September every year as part of the Catalan Chess Circuit, which is composed of 28 International Tournaments, and held in Spain, extended beyond Catalonia.

In 2009 there will be 14 Opens with traditional time control to be played over 9-10 days, as well as 14 Opens in Rapid Chess, played over 1-2 days (see Tournament Calendar).

During 120 days of tournaments, around 22.000 chess games will be played with selected ones broadcast.

Approximately 3,000 players from more than 30 different countries. The prize fund will reach 175.000 euros.

Apart from the traditional tournament prizes, the Catalan Chess Federation establishes a special classification composed of player´s results in each Circuit tournament, based on which players will be able to claim such special Circuit Prizes as General Final Standings, Prizes by Categories, Specific Prizes for best Catalan Players.

Prizegiving Ceremony will be held at Fiesta Catalana (Catalan Chess Party), on September, 27th, 2009

For more information please contact the Catalonia Chess Federation on federacio@escacs.cat or visit the official website: http://escacs.cat/circuit2009/torneigs.html

6th Summer Catalan Chess Circuit (ESP), 5 v - 20 ix 2009
5-13 May	VILA DE SALOU	SALOU	9 Rd Swiss	B	C	Francesc Linan 616094289
17 May	VILA DE CANOVELLES	CANOVELLES	9 Rd Swiss	b	b	Daniel Flores 938493564
24 May	VILA DE L'AMPOLLA	L'AMPOLLA	9 Rd Swiss	a	b	Enric Gallimo 666187061
31 May	VILA DE STA COLOMA DE QUERALT	SANTA COLOMA DE QUERALT	8 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Salvador Barrot 654095338
20 June	CIUTAT DE REUS	REUS	9 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Joan Pinol 649341056
21 June	MOLLET DEL VALLES	MOLLET DEL VALLES	9 Rd Swiss	b	a	Francesc Fernandez 647625832
24 June-2 July	VILA DE SORT	SORT	9 Rd Swiss	B	C	Joan A. Conesa 609825066
25 June-3 July	VILA DE MONTCADA	MONTCADA	9 Rd Swiss	A	A	Reyes Cantero 938152902
4-12 July	BARBERÀ DEL VALLES	BARBERA DEL VALLES	9 Rd Swiss	A	A sup	Víctor Pont 629386528
4-12 July	TORREDEMBARRA	TORREDEMBARRA	9 Rd Swiss	C	B	Jordi Salvat 649061984
13-22 July	CIUTAT DE BALAGUER	BALAGUER	10 Rd Swiss	A sup	A	Antoni Montoliu 679082837
18-26 July	ANDORRA	LES ESCALDES	9 Rd Swiss	A sup	A sup	Oscar la Riva 00376-347085
22-30 July	VILA DE SITGES	SITGES	9 Rd Swiss	A	A	Francesc González 600923277
25 July	CERVELLO	CERVELLO	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Juan Mª Santiago 936840402
26 July	OLOT	OLOT	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Josep Ma Mir 606119678
1-8 August	FIGUERES "MIQUEL MAS"	FIGUERES	9 Rd Swiss	C	A	Jordi Serra 699848479
1-9 August	CIUTAT DE BADALONA	BADALONA	9 Rd Swiss	A	A sup	Manel Triquell 609683157
2-10 August	LA POBLA DE LILLET	LA POBLA DE LILLET	9 Rd Swiss	C	C	Josep Salvador 630625152
15-16 August	VILA DE POBLENOU	BARCELONA	10 Rd Swiss	a sup	a	Joan Lorda 659529581
21-30 August	SANTS	BARCELONA	10 Rd Swiss	A sup	A sup	Cotxeres 932918701
22-23 August	AJEDREZND	BARCELONA	9 Rd Swiss	a sup	a	Jordi Morcillo 620341266
1-10 September	FESTIVAL DE SABADELL	SABADELL	9 Rd Swiss	B	B	Ivan Aguilar 666346958
6 September	VILA DE SANTPEDOR	SANTPEDOR	9 Rd Swiss	b	b	Josep Mascaro 616477533
11 September	DIADA DE L'11 DE SETEMBRE	SABADELL	9 Rd Swiss	a	a sup	Ivan Aguilar 666346958
12 September	RIBERA D'EBRE	MORA D'EBRE	8 Rd Swiss	a	a	Josep Terrones 696204203
13 September	CIUTAT DE TORTOSA	TORTOSA	8 Rd Swiss	b	b	Abraham Pla 680532570
19-20 September	VALLFOGONA DE BALAGUER	VALLFOGONA DE BALAGUER	Suís 11 rondes	a sup	a	Jaume Parramon 649960831
Potential
13-21 July	SANT MARTI	BARCELONA	9 Rd Swiss			Ricard Llerins 933082425

XXVII Andorra International Chess Open

The XXVII Andorra International Chess Open takes place 18th-26th July 2009. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com

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

Masterskill Commonwealth Chess Championships

The Masterskill Commonwealth Chess Championships takes place 14th-21st July 2009 in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Details: http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/3827-commonwealth-chess-championship-2009-in-malaysia

Maia Chiburdanidze Cup

The "Maia Chiburdanidze Cup" (International Open Women's Chess Tournament) takes place in the Chess Palace, Tbilisi (Georgia) 4th-13th June 2009. The Tournament is open to all women players. Each player must herself (or her federation) cover all her expenses: entry fee, transportation, accommodation and board. 9 round Swiss. Rate of play: 90 min for all moves, increment 30 seconds per move. Details available from the addresses below.

Contact IA, FM Varlam Vepkhvishvili E-mail: chessgeorgia@hotmail.com or chessvarlam@hotmail.com.

Phone:
(995)32-997736 - Federation
(995)32-960199 - Home
(995)99-771974 - Mobile

Official site: http://www.gcf.org.ge

1st International Open Tbilisi

The 1st International Open Tbilisi Chess Tournament takes place 14th-24th June 2009.

Official site: http://www.chess.tbilisi.ge (not yet up and running)

9 round Swiss. Rate of play: 90 min for all moves, increment 30 seconds per move. Details available from the addresses below.

e-mail: chessvarlam@hotmail.com - Varlam Vepkhvishvili
e-mail: ggrs92@hotmail.com - Giorgi Khomeriki

Varna Chess Festival

The 1st International Chess Festival Varna, takes place at the Grand Hotel Varna 11th-20th June 2009. Contact: seahorse@abv.bg for more details.

Website: http://euroschoolchess.org/ (although I couldn't find the event myself)

European Youth Championships

The European Youth Championships (U10 - U18) takes place in Fermo/Italy 30th August - 10th September 2009.

Details: http://www.euroyouth2009.com

European Senior Championships

The European Individual Senior Championship takes place in Rogaska Slatina/Slovenia 22nd - 31st July 2009. For the first time just before the event a European Senior Rapid Championship will be organised. The dates are 19th - 21st July.

Further details are published under http://www.sahohlacnik.com/eu-sen/

European Union Website

The European Chess Union Website ECU website has changed address to http://www.europechess.org

Alushta Diary 2009

Alushta Diary 2009:

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 - 27.06, 5.09 - 13.09, Open tournament (under 16 years) 3.06 - 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, 10.07 - 18.07, 20.07 - 28.07, 22.08 - 30.08, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, 19.07, 29.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, 30.07 - 31.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06, 15.07 - 24.07. Individual and group studying Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32, +380505828911 (for Russian speaking), + 380506692604 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

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

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

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.

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, Tamas, 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.

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

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