Chess Addict

MAYOR ARSENIO LATASA MIXED-MASTERS 2009

2009-09-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

MAYOR ARSENIO LATASA MIXED-MASTERS
(Davao del Sur Open Chess Championship 2009)
September 7-8, 2009
Dagohoy Hall, Lim St., Digos City

OPEN DIVISION
(7 rounds)

1. Retanal, Elwin - 6.5 pts.

2. Dano, Jimmy - 6.5 pts.

3-8. Lofranco, Venanie - 5 pts.
Melendes, Charles
Babayson, Abelardo
Laput, Lito
Lanticse, nelson
Castro, Bernard

9-10. Velarde, Carlos - 4.5 pts.
Abayon, Neill

Total of 43 players.

Brilliancy Prize Award - Lito Laput

Prizes are the following:

Champion - P 6,000 w/trophy
2nd - P 4,000 w/trophy
3rd - P 3,000 w/trophy
4th - P 2,000 w/trophy
5th - P 1,000 w/trophy
Brilliancy Prize Award - P 500 w/trophy

KIDDIES DIVISION - 12 yrs old & below
(4 rounds)

1. Vistal, John Raymund - 4pts. (P 1,000 w/trophy)

2. Dulay, Arnel - 3.5pts. (P 500 w/trophy)

3. Lakina, Angelo - 3.5pts. ( P 300 w/trophy)

Total of 22 players.

Chess legends to play again 25 years after famous battle

2009-07-10T04:51:00.001-07:00

AFP 7-09-09

MOSCOW (AFP) — Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov are to relive their epic 1984 world championship duel 25 years on by contesting a new match this September in the Spanish city of Valencia.

"It will be 25 years since the start of the matches (against Karpov), there is nostalgia about this unique event," Kasparov, now a Russian opposition politician and Kremlin critic, told AFP. "This is where modern chess began."

The September 21-24 match is not expected to reflect the suspense of their first encounter and will be more of "a ceremonial tournament", Kasparov said, explaining there would be a time-limit on moves.

The five-month 1984 match marked the first battle between the famous chess rivals. At the time the world champion Karpov was 33 years old and the challenger Kasparov just 21.

The match was ended without result by World Chess Federation chief Florencio Campomanes on alleged health grounds, a decision that was controversial, as both players said they wanted to continue.

Kasparov later defeated Karpov narrowly. He won the world championship in late 1985 and defended his title the following year. The last time he played Karpov was in 1990 when he narrowly won.

Kasparov has been active in the political opposition to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since announcing in 2005 he was withdrawing from competitive chess and creating his own political party.

Karpov was undisputed world chess champion from 1975 to 1985 and FIDE world chess champion from 1993 to 1999. Both Karpov and Kasparov are considered among the greatest chess players ever.

Source: AFP News

Nakamura lead at Donostia

2009-07-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

Round 3 results:

Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	½-½
Svidler, Peter	- Nakamura, Hikaru	½-½
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	- Karpov, Anatoly	1-0
Ponomariov, Ruslan	- Granda Zuniga, Julio	1-0
San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo	- Movsesian, Sergei	½-½

Standings after 3 rounds:

1.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2710	2½
2-4.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2693	2
2-4.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2727	2
5-6.	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2739	1½
5-6.	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	2716	1½
2-4.	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2703	2
7-10.	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2672	1
7-10.	Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2644	1
4-10.	San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo	g	ESP	2570	1
4-10.	Granda Zuniga, Julio	g	PER	2647	1

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

Magnus carlsen leads Dortmund

2009-07-10T04:46:00.001-07:00

Round 7

Carlsen, Magnus	- Leko, Peter
Bacrot, Etienne	- Kramnik, Vladimir
Naiditsch, Arkadij	- Jakovenko, Dmitry

Standings after 6

1.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	4
2-3.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2756	3½
2-3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	3½
4.	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2760	3
5.	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2721	2½
6.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2697	1½

Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/

2009-07-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Rank	Name	Rating	Change	# games
01	Topalov	2813,0	0	0
02	Anand	2788,0	0	0
03	Carlsen	2779,5	+7,5	6
04	Aronian	2768,0	0	0
05	Gelfand	2764,4	+9,4	10
06	Kramnik	2762,8	+3,8	6
07	Jakovenko	2761,2	+1,2	7
08	Leko	2760,0	+4	6
09	Radjabov	2756,6	+0,6	10
10	Morozevich	2751,0	0	0
11	Gashimov	2740,0	0	0
12	Svidler	2737,8	-1,2	2
13	Shirov	2734,4	+2,4	10
14	Wang Yue	2733,1	-2,9	3
15	Grischuk	2733,0	0	0
16	Ivanchuk	2726,8	+23,8	18
17	Ponomariov	2723,8	-3,2	2
18	Nakamura	2722,8	+12,8	4
19	Dominguez	2720,6	+4,6	10
20	Bacrot	2717,6	-3,4	6
21	Karjakin	2717,0	0	0
21	Mamedyarov	2717,0	0	0
23	Movsesian	2716,0	0	2
23	Eljanov	2716,0	0	0
25	Alekseev	2714,0	0	0
26	Akopian	2712,0	0	0
27	Motylev	2710,2	+0,2	3
28	Malakhov	2707,0	0	0
29	Rublevsky	2703,0	0	0
30	Vachier-Lagrave	2702,6	-0,4	3

Source: http://chess.liverating.org/

Norwegian Championship 2009

2009-07-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

Bergen, Norway
Swiss System / 9 rounds

Standings after Round 5:

1. IM Frode Elsness 2445 4.5 points
2-3 GM Berge Ostenstad 2482, GM Kjetil A. Lie 2527 3.5
4-6 GM Simen Agdestein 2572, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2583, IM Espen Lie 2457 3.0

Official website: http://sjakknm2009.no/nettsted/

Magnus Carlsen is not playing because he is playing in Dortmund.

Carlsen leads in Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

Round 5 results:

Carlsen, Magnus	1-0 Naiditsch, Arkadij
Leko, Peter	1-0 Bacrot, Etienne
Kramnik, Vladimir	1/2 Jakovenko, Dmitry

Standings after 5 rounds:

1.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	3½
2.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2756	3
3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	3
4.	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2760	2½
5.	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2721	2
6.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2697	1

Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/

Round 5 games from Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

Carlsen, M (2772) - Naiditsch, A (2697) [C67]
Sparkassen Dortmund, GER (5), 06.07.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.h3 Ne7 11.Bf4 Ng6 12.Bg3 Ke8 13.Rad1 Bb4 14.Ne2 h5 15.Ned4 h4 16.Bh2 Nf8 17.Bf4 Bd7 18.Bg5 Be7 19.Rfe1 c5 20.e6 fxe6 21.Bxe7 Kxe7 22.Nf5+ Kf6 23.Ne3 Be8 24.Ng4+ Ke7 25.Nge5 Bg6 26.Rd5 b6 27.Rd2 Bf5 28.Ng5 Kf6 29.f4 Ng6 30.Nd7+ Ke7 31.Nxe6 Bxe6 32.f5 Nf4 33.fxe6 Rhd8 34.Rf2 g5 35.Kh2 a5 36.a4 Rg8 37.Ne5 Rae8 38.Nf3 Nxe6 39.Re5 Kd6 40.Rd2+ Kc6 41.Rde2 Kd6 42.Nxg5 Ng7 43.Rxe8 Rxe8 44.Rxe8 Nxe8 45.Nf3 c4 46.Nxh4 c3 47.b3 Kc5 48.Nf5 Kb4 49.g4 Ka3 50.Kg3 Kb2 51.Ne3 Kc1 52.Kf3 Kd2 53.h4 Ng7 54.h5 Ne6 55.h6 c6 56.Ke4 b5 57.Ke5 Ng5 58.Kf5 Nf7 59.h7 Kxe3 60.g5 1–0

Click here to replay the game.

Leko, P (2756) - Bacrot, E (2721) [E15]
Sparkassen Dortmund, GER (5), 06.07.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0–0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qa4 Nf6 12.Nh4 Qc8 13.Nf5 Nd4 14.Bxb7 Qxb7 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Rxd4 Bc5 17.Rd3 b5 18.Qf4 0–0 19.b4 Bb6 20.Bb2 Rfe8 21.e3 Rac8 22.Nd2 Bd8 23.Rd1 Rc2 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.a3 Ra2 26.Nf3 Qa6 27.g4 h6 28.h4 Rxa3 29.Rd6 Qa4 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5 Ra1 32.Rxa1 Bxa1 33.Rxd7 Rf8 34.Qd6 g6 35.Nh2 Bc3 36.Ng4 Bg7 37.Nf6+ Bxf6 38.gxf6 Rc8 39.Rxf7 1–0

Click here to replay the game.

[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Jakovenko, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2759"]
[BlackElo "2760"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Be2 dxc4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 b5 11. a4 c6 12. Ne5 Qe7 13. f4 a6 14. Bf3 Bb7 15. Qb1 Qc7 16. f5 Nd7 17. Ng4 Rae8 18. fxe6 Rxe6 19. Qf5 1/2-1/2

Laylo grabs solo lead in Victory National Open chess

2009-07-07T01:51:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Former World Chess Cup campaigner GM Darwin Laylo outclassed fellow GM Jayson Gonzales in a battle of heavyweights to assume the solo lead in the sixth round of the Victory Central Mall National Open chess championship.

Laylo, presently ranked seventh overall in the country with an ELO of 2497, played superbly with the white pieces to clinch the win over his Dreden Olympiad teammate Gonzales in this tough, nine-round tournament.

The win – Laylo’s fifth against one draw – enabled the pride of Lipa City to grab the solo lead with 5.5 points after Sunday's hostilities at the Victory Central Mall in Caloocan City.

Laylo is now half a point ahead of topseed GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. and GM John Paul Gomez, who hammered out similar morale-boosting victories over NM Efren Bagamasbad and IM Barlo Nadera, respectively.

In the seventh round, Laylo will test the mettle of Gomez while Antonio will take on Gonzales.

GM Mark Paragua and NM Emmanuel Senador agreed to a draw to stay within striking distance of the P100,000 top purse.

Paragua, a member of the Philippine team to the World Mind Games in Beijing, China last year, is tied for fourth to ninth places with 4.5 points.

Also with the same score of 4.5 points are IM Richard Bitoon, who outclassed NM Alex Milagrosa; IM Chito Garma, who outwitted younger brother Edgardo Garma; and Christian Arroyo, who humbled David Elorta.

No. 12 seed FM Leonardo Carlos outplayed Melvin Salutan, Deniel Causo downed Alvin Divinagracia, Ali Branzuela bested Robert Cacho , Efren Arguelles repulsed Rolando Andador and Alcon John Datu crushed Quirino Sagario to keep their slim hopes alive with four points. – GMANews.TV

Round 3 games from Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

Naiditsch, A (2697) - Kramnik, V (2759) [C42]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (4), 05.07.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.c5 Bc7 11.Nc3 Nd7 12.Qc2 Re8 13.Be3 h6 14.b4 Ndf6 15.h3 Qd7 16.Ne2 Bxh3 17.Ne5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 Rxe5 19.f3 Rae8 20.Bf4 Rh5 21.fxe4 dxe4 22.Bc4 Bxg2 23.Ng3 Bf3 24.Qb3 Rh4 25.Bd6 Qh3 26.Bxf7+ Kh7 27.Qb2 Ng4 0–1

Click here to replay the game.

[White "Jakovenko, D."]
[Black "Leko, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E49"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2756"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. Nf3 Qc7 10. Ba2 b6 11. O-O Bb7 12. Bb2 Nbd7 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. cxd4 Bd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Ne5 Rac8 17. Rac1 Qb7 18. Qb5 Nb8 19. f3 a6 20. Qd3 b5 21. Bc3 Nc6 22. Bb4 1/2-1/2

[White "Bacrot, E."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2721"]
[BlackElo "2772"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 b5 8. e5 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. exf6 c5 14. d5 O-O-O 15. O-O b4 16. Na4 Qb5 17. a3 exd5 18. axb4 cxb4 19. Be3 Nc5 20. Qg4+ Rd7 21. Qg7 Bxg7 22. fxg7 Rg8 23. Nxc5 Rxg7 24. Bd4 Rc7 25. Nxb7 Rg6 26. Ra5 Qxb7 27. Bxd5 Qb8 28. Be5 Qb6 29. Bxc7 Qxc7 30. Rfa1 a6 31. Rxa6 Rxa6 32. Rxa6 c3 33. bxc3 bxc3 34. Be4 Qc4 35. Bf5+ Kd8 36. Ra1 Qe2 37. Kg2 Qe5 38. Rd1+ Ke7 39. Bb1 f5 40. h3 Kf6 41. Rd3 Qe4+ 42. Kh2 Qe1 43. Rf3 Qxb1 44. Rxc3 Qf1 45. Rf3 Ke5 46. Rf4 1/2-1/2

Sweden Chess Championship

2009-07-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

Emanuel Berg in firm lead after six rounds
Report by Chessdom.com

The Sweden Chess Championship is taking place from 28th June to 11th July in Kungsors. The round robin tournament consists of 13 rounds and the entire festival includes numerous additional events for masters, juniors and veterans.

The second-seeded GM Emanuel Berg is dominating the Championship and holds 5.5 points after six rounds. Famous columnist GM Stellan Brynell is distant second with 4.0 points. The highest rated GM Tiger Hillarp Persson is on modest 50% score, sharing the same number of points with national hope IM Nils Grandelius, who shined at the recent Sigeman chess tournament.

Round 6 results:

Hanninger Simon - GM Brynell Stellan ½ - ½
GM Ernst Thomas - FM Nithander Victor 1 - 0
GM Akesson Ralf - IM Blomqvist Erik 1 - 0
GM Berg Emanuel - GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 1 - 0
Glimbrandt Torbjorn - FM Semsecen Daniel ½ - ½
IM Tikkanen Hans - GM Cramling Pia 0 - 1
IM Johansson Jan - IM Grandelius Nils ½ - ½

Round 6 standings:

1. GM Berg Emanuel 2610 - 5.5
2. GM Brynell Stellan 2463 - 4.0
3. GM Cramling Pia 2528 - 3.5
4. GM Ernst Thomas 2414 - 3.5
5. GM Akesson Ralf 2493 - 3.5
6. IM Tikkanen Hans 2425 - 3.5
7. FM Semsecen Daniel 2387 - 3.0
8. GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 2618 - 3.0
9. IM Grandelius Nils 2491 - 3.0
10. FM Nithander Victor 2422 - 2.5
11. Hanninger Simon 2167 - 2.0
12. IM Johansson Jan 2440 - 2.0
13. Glimbrandt Torbjorn 2244 - 1.5
14. IM Blomqvist Erik 2436 - 1.5

Wang Yue confirmed as a participant for Nanjing 2009

2009-06-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

Wang Yue has been confirmed as the sixth and final participant for the Nanjing Perl Spring chess tournament, that will take place in China in September.

Earlier this month the organizers released a participants list with five names - Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen, Vishwanathan Anand, Dmitry Jakovenko, and Teimour Radjabov, stating that "a Chinese player is to be announced." After several speculations around the names of Xingzhi Bu, Wang Hao, and Ni Hua, the player confirmed is Wang Yue.

Source:Chessdom.com

Eduardo Iturrizaga and Lazaro Bruzon qualify for the World Cup

2009-06-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

18-26th June, 14 players, 9 rounds

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, was the stage of the Zonal 2.3 Chess Championships, a qualifying event for the World Chess Cup 2009. The tournament with 14 players from five countries in the region took place on 18-26th June.

Lazaro Bruzon from Cuba and Eduardo Iturrizaga from Venezuela shared the first place with 7.0 points each to book the tickets for Khanty Mansiysk. The third Grandmaster, Neuris Delgado, was left with 6.5 points and behind the line, in spite of winning against Iturrizaga.

"I am very happy that I managed to qualify for the next level in the World Championship, but I am also sad that Neuris Delgado won't be traveling with me. Next, I will make sure to be well prepared for the competition in Russia." - Lazaro Bruzon shared after the tournament.

Round 9 results:

IM Prasca Raphael VEN 2415 - GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro CUB 2617 ½-½
GM Iturrizaga Eduardo VEN 2528 - IM Valdes Leonardo CRC 2403 1-0
IM Gonzalez Bernal CRC 2440 - GM Delgado Ramirez Neuris CUB 2572 0-1
IM Arias Lemmys A. ESA 2406 - Ossa Orlando COL 2301 0-1
FM Echavarria Johann COL 2379 - FM Soto Paez Oliver VEN 2388 0-1
FM Sanchez Enriquez Oscar Ge MEX 2282 - IM Murillo Alexis CRC 2317 ½-½
IM Gongora Montes Benjamin MEX 2251 - IM Hernandez Basante Francis CRC 2278 0-1

Final standings:

1. GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro CUB 2617 - 7.0
2. GM Iturrizaga Eduardo VEN 2528 - 7.0
3. GM Delgado Ramirez Neuris CUB 2572 - 6.5
4. IM Arias Lemmys A. ESA 2406 - 5.0
5. IM Prasca Raphael VEN 2415 - 5.0
6. FM Soto Paez Oliver VEN 2388 - 5.0
7. IM Gonzalez Bernal CRC 2440 - 4.5
8. FM Echavarria Johann COL 2379 - 4.5
9. IM Valdes Leonardo CRC 2403 - 4.0
10. IM Murillo Alexis CRC 2317 - 3.5
11. FM Sanchez Enriquez Oscar MEX 2282 - 3.5
12. IM Gongora Montes Benjamin MEX 2251 - 3.0
13. IM Hernandez Basante Francis CRC 2278 - 3.0
14. Ossa Orlando COL 2301 - 1.5

GM Kiril Georgiev wins Memorial Vicente Sebastian

2009-06-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

The rapid tournament Memorial Vicente Sebastian took place 27-28 June, 2009, in Fornells, Menorca (Spain). It was a 8 round swiss tournament with the participation of many top grandmasters, including GM Vallejo, GM Georgiev, GM Ramon, GM Agrest, etc.

The competition started well for all the top seeded players and up to round 4 they were moving in a pack with perfect score at the top of the table. Movements started afterwards, with the direct matches at the top boards. GM Vallejo Pons made three draws in a row, and with a last round loss against GM Ramon, he could not make it to the top positions. The first position was taken by GM Georgiev (holder of a Guiness Chess World Record), who managed to allow only 2 draws and defeated the surprising untitled leader Cubas Pons in the last round. The second place was shared by GM Evgenij Agrest, GM Borko Lajthajm, and GM Mateo Ramon, who had a very stable performance in the second part of the competition.

The tournament attracted many participants as it hadno entrance fee and featured a nice prize fund of over 6000 eur.

Here are the final standings.

1 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2637 7
2 GM Agrest Evgenij SWE 2588 6.5
3 GM Lajthajm Borko SRB 2482 6.5
4 GM Mateo Ramon DOM 2473 6.5
5 IM Pap Misa SRB 2475 6
6 GM Cabrera Pino Alexis ESP 2518 6
7 Cubas Pons Juan Miguel ESP 2236 6
8 FM Mascaro March Pedro ESP 2367 6
9 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco ESP 2688 5.5
10 GM Khamrakulov Ibragim S. ESP 2552 5.5
11 WIM Collazo Hidalgo-Gato Niala ESP 2253 5.5
12 Gelabert Mari Llorenc ESP 2101 5.5
13 WIM Agrest Svetlana SWE 2260 5.5
14 IM Estremera Paños Sergio ESP 2393 5
15 Simo Bordoy Guillermo ESP 1994 5
16 Martinez Peñalver Jose ESP 2264 5
17 Cardona Capo Llorenc ESP 0 5
18 Triay Moll Liberto ESP 1923 5
19 Agrest Inna U18 SWE 2120 5
20 WGM Calzetta Ruiz Monica ESP 2338 5
21 FM Pons Sastre Santiago ESP 2395 5
22 Castellanos Bogalo Antonio ESP 2096 5
23 Pol Guiscafre David ESP 1987 5

Total: 78 players

Source:Chessdom.com

GRISCHUK WINS MAINZ CHESS960 ONLINE TITLE ON ICC

2009-06-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

Top seed GM Alexander Grischuk (depressnyak) of Russia was in majestic form on Sunday as he easily won the Mainz Chess Classic Chess960 online title hosted on ICC.

En route to the main event of the 16-player final, the Muscovite beat with ease IM Anatoly Bykhovsky of Israel (3-1) and GM Dmitry Koneonenlo of Ukraine (3-1) to face fellow Russian IM Artur Gabrielian (Dinamit) - who caused an upset by beating second seed and last year's champion GM Hikaru Nakamura (Smallville) in the quarter-finals - in a Moscow showdown for the title.

But again Grischuk proved unstoppable as he eased to victory by a resounding score of 3.5-0.5 to take the 750 Euro first prize, invitation and hotel to the upcoming Mainz Chess Classic later next month in Germany.

Four open qualifiers were held on ICC earlier last week to determine the 16-player final that saw a record number of 973 ICC members playing Chess960 (FischerRandom). The full list of finalists, results and game downloads can be found at our dedicated Mainz Chess960 page by clicking here.

Report by John Henderson

Topalov top the Live Chess Rating

2009-06-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

Rank	Name	Rating	# games	Born
01	Topalov	2812,8	10	1975
02	Anand	2788,3	2	1969
03	Carlsen	2772,4	12	1990
04	Aronian	2768,4	13	1982
05	Gelfand	2764,6	37	1968
06	Jakovenko	2759,5	15	1983
07	Kramnik	2759,0	0	1975
08	Radjabov	2756,6	10	1987
09	Leko	2755,9	13	1979
10	Morozevich	2751,0	0	1977
11	Gashimov	2740,0	9	1986
12	Svidler	2738,6	36	1976
13	Shirov	2734,3	48	1972
13	Wang Yue	2734,3	12	1987
15	Grischuk	2733,0	20	1983
16	Ponomariov	2726,6	3	1983
17	Bacrot	2721,0	32	1983
17	Dominguez	2721,0	20	1983
19	Ivanchuk	2719,9	40	1969
20	Karjakin	2716,9	13	1990
21	Mamedyarov	2716,5	17	1985
22	Movsesian	2716,3	31	1978
23	Eljanov	2715,7	44	1983
24	Alekseev	2713,6	20	1985
25	Akopian	2711,6	13	1971
26	Nakamura	2709,7	35	1987
27	Motylev	2709,6	16	1979
28	Malakhov	2706,7	7	1980
29	Ni	2702,6	20	1983
30	Vachier-Lagrave	2702,8	31	1990
31	Rublevsky	2702,5	16	1974

Source: http://chess.liverating.org/

GfK Open 2009

2009-06-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

organized by Hilversum Chess Club HSG, Dutch Champion in 2008 and 2009
Report by Chessdom.com

The GfK Open 2009, organized by Hilversum Chess Club HSG, Dutch Champion in 2008 and 2009, has started. It will take place 27th of June until the 5th of July 2009 in Hilversum, The Netherlands. 14 grandmasters and many more titled players will participate, including GM Erwin L'Ami, GM Daniel Fridman, GM Krasenkow, GM Predrag Nikolic, GM Friso Nijboer, GM Dimitri Reinderman, GM Haslinger, GM Anish Giri, GM Woulter Spoelman, IM Anna Zatonskih, IM Hendriks, IM Pruijssers, IM Bitalzadeh, IM Slingerland, WGM Alina Motoc, FM Van Eijk etc.

As it often happens in open events, the local players managed to take several scalps in round 1. GM Krasenkow could not make more than a draw against Ewoud De Groote, while GM L'Ami drew with Lennart Dek. The youngest grandmaster Anish Giri had a difficult game against Hans Gajle. "I made a blunder on move 40, otherwise I had chances," commented Gajle. Giri was far from covinced, "Even without the blunder I was won, maybe he could have had chances for a draw."

Expect all replayable games later today on Chessdom.com.

Results round 1

1 GM Fridman, Daniel - FM Heemskerk, Wim 1-0
2 De Groote, Ewoud - GM Krasenkow, Michal ½-½
3 GM Nikolic, Predrag - De Graaf, Dick 1-0
4 Dek, Lennart - GM L'Ami, Erwin ½-½
5 GM Nijboer, Friso - Meurs, Tom 1-0
6 In't Veld, Daan - GM Reinderman, Dimitri 0-1
7 GM Haslinger, Stewart G - Van Engen, Herman 1-0
8 Galje, Hans - GM Giri, Anish 0-1
9 GM Spoelman, Wouter - CM Theulings, Paul-Peter 1-0
10 Schroer, Marcel - GM Pavlovic, Milos 0-1
11 IM Zatonskih, Anna - Goes, Sten 1-0
12 Oosterom, Erik - IM Hendriks, Willy 0-1
13 IM Pruijssers, Roeland - Wismeijer, Jeroen 1-0
14 Mellema, Andries - IM Bitalzadeh, Ali 0-1
15 IM Slingerland, Fred - Kabos, Tobias 1-0
16 Goudriaan, Etienne - FM Miedema, Roi 0-1
17 FM Strating, Sybolt - Henseler, Jorgen 1-0

Official site: www.hsgopen.nl

10th International Festival d'échecs de Montréal

2009-06-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

Étienne Bacrot, Arkadij Naiditsch and Alexander Onischuk are among invited

The 10th International Festival d'échecs de Montréal is taking place from 27th August to 7th September in Montréal, Canada. The 12-players round robin tournament will be of at least 15th FIDE category.

So far, seven participants are known. Top rated is Étienne Bacrot from France, who earlier this year won massive Aeroflot Open to earn himself invitation to Dortmund Sparkassen. 2008 European Champion Sergei Tiviakov from Netherlands and Aleksandr Moiseenko from Ukraine will be back for another tournament in Canada.

Read the full article here.

Lazaro Bruzon leading the Zonal 2.3

2009-06-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Neuris Delgado and Eduardo Iturrizaga on shared second

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, is hosting the Zonal 2.3 Chess Championships, which is a qualifying event for the World Chess Cup 2009. The event takes place on 18-26th June and 14 players from five countries in the region will compete. Fernando Osorio from Venezuela was forced to withdraw application because his flights were canceled. Top seeded are Cuban Grandmasters Lazaro Bruzon and Neuris Delgado, who were also active in performing lectures and simultaneous exhibitions in San Jose.

The Zone 2.3 comprises of 22 nations, including all the Caribbean and Central America, plus Mexico, Venezuela, Suriname, Ecuador and Colombia.

View the full article here.

Armenia vs. France

2009-06-24T03:51:00.000-07:00

When: June 24th-25th 2009

Where: Paris

Format: 4 round

Time control: 15 mins + 10 seconds

France:

g	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	2684
g	Laurent Fressinet	2664
g	Joel Lautier	2658
g	Christian Bauer	2605

Armenia:

g	Levon Aronian	2754
g	Vladimir Akopian	2696
g	Gabriel Sargissian	2660
g	Tigran Petrossian	2600

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

Chess queen Arianne Caoili dogged by controversy

2009-06-24T03:50:00.001-07:00

Samantha Turnbull
June 24th, 2009

ARIANNE Caoili is no stranger to controversy and it has plagued her again -- this time in chess.

The 22-year-old Gold Coaster who attends university in Canberra and Germany is back on the Coast for the Oceania Chess Championship at Twin Towns.

Caoili is now famous for her appearance on Channel 7's Dancing With The Stars in 2006 in which she was accused by a judge of having professional dance training. She was also labelled a temptress after reports she was at the centre of a love triangle that ended in a dance floor punch-up in Italy.

Caoili said she had put those incidents behind her.

"I don't like to talk about it," she said.

"With every adventure there's good and bad. I choose to ignore the bad.

"I learned a lot of things, but I'm young and there are lots more adventures ahead."

What she didn't mind talking about was the controversy surrounding her chess game this week against Australia's number one woman player, Irina Berezina of Sydney.

The three-hour game was a draw and Caoili was not impressed.

"I'm not very happy," she said.

"I was much better. Irina played passively.

"She offered me the draw and I thought I'd take it. I wish I didn't take it."

Berezina was also unhappy with the result.

"What can you do?

" Everyone wants to win," she said.

"It's tough playing such long games and playing them every day."

The winner of the Oceania Championship will qualify for the World Cup to be held in November in Russia and Berezina and Caoili are both still in with a chance.

Tuesday was a rest day and play resumed yesterday and continues until tomorrow.

Chess fans can watch the action with live commentary on www.gardinerchess.com.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

5 tie for 1st at NY International

2009-06-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

GMs Hracek, Stripunsky, Kacheishvili and IMs Shankland and Barbosa (?) are tied for 1st with 6.5 points. According to various sources, only 4 are tied for 1st. However, according to my personal calculation, IM Barbosa also tied for 1st with 6.5 points. That makes it 5.

Needing a draw with the White pieces against GM Kacheishvili for a GM norm, IM Shankland lost.

IM Milman needed a win with the White pieces against GM Yudasin and he got it.

Molner needed a win against IM Ippolito to get his IM norm and he did not succeed. FM Harper needed a win against Ravichandran for an IM norm and he lost as well.

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

Eleven players sharing lead at the Tbilisi Open

2009-06-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

15-23th June at the Nona Gaprindashvili Chess Palace
Report by Chessdom.com

Tbilisi International Open Chess Tournament takes place on 15-23th June at the Nona Gaprindashvili Chess Palace. This is arguably the strongest open tournament ever to take place in Georgia. The rich prize fund of 64000 Gel. has attracted 18 men and 13 women grandmasters from the entire Caucasus region, Ukraine and Russia. There are 208 participants in total.

Eleven players with 5.0 points each are sharing the first place after six rounds. Selected games from round five can be replayed bellow.

Round 6 standings:

1-11. GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2655, GM Shanava Konstantine GEO 2506, GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2645, GM Gagunashvili Merab GEO 2591, GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil GEO 2586, GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2687, IM Benidze Davit GEO 2442, IM Javakhishvili Lela GEO 2463, GM Pantsulaia Levan GEO 2581, GM Arutinian David GEO 2548 and IM Petrosian Davit G ARM 2490 - 5.0

12-30. GM Sanikidze Tornike GEO 2559, IM Margvelashvili Giorgi GEO 2491, IM Nigalidze Gaioz GEO 2466, GM Dzagnidze Nana GEO 2541, GM Harutjunyan Gevorg ARM 2504, FM Paichadze Luka GEO 2410, WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab AZE 2316, GM Neverov Valeriy UKR 2552, GM Jojua Davit GEO 2520, IM Sulashvili Malkhaz GEO 2442, IM Melia Salome GEO 2440, IM Shalamberidze Akaki GEO 2381, WGM Charkhalashvili Inga GEO 2363, Jamagidze Mikheil GEO 2263, IM Supatashvili Khvicha GEO 2464, IM Purtseladze Maka GEO 2327, IM Azaladze Shota GEO 2434, IM Babujian Levon ARM 2506 and FM Zeynalov Farid AZE 2299 - 4.5 etc.

View the full article here.

Cuban GM Leinier Domínguez Wins Capablanca Chess Memorial

2009-06-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

www.cubaheadlines.com
Fri, 2009-06-19 12:06.

Boosted by a crowd of supporters, Cuban Grand Master (GM) Leinier Domínguez (ELO 2721) won over German GM Geor Meier (2641) on Wednesday to take the title in the Elite Group at the Capablanca Memorial Chess Tournament ongoing in Havana.

Domínguez had to win the game, his last of the tournament, to assure first place, as his rival still has one game left to play.

With the win, Leinier finished the tournament with 6.5 of a possible 10 points and will gain slightly in his ELO rating.

Leinier Domínguez will not take a much-deserved vacation and may not see action again until the Pan-American Team Championships to be held August 8 to 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rounding out the Cuban team in Rio will be GMs Lázaro Bruzón (2617), Yuniesky Quesada (2596), Fidel Corrales (2574), Holden Hernández (2573) and Neuris Delgado (2572). The Capablanca tournament finishes on Thursday with matches that will determine the group leader in the Open category.

Elite Grup (9th Round)

Leinier-Meier (1-0) Bruzón-Timofeev (draw) Khenkin-Savchenko (draw)

Elite Standings (after 9 rounds):

1.- Leinier Domínguez (6.5 of 10) 2.- Georg Meier (4.5) 3.- Boris Savchenko (4.5) 4.- Lázaro Bruzón (4.5 de 10) 5.- Artyom Timofeev (4) 6.- Igor Khenkin (4)

Premier Grup (9th Round)

Neuris-Yuniesky (draw) Fidelito-Córdova (draw) Holden-Potkin (1-0)

Premier Standings (alter 8 rounds):

1.- Neuris Delgado (6.5 of 10) 2.- Vladimir Potkin (5.5) 3.- Emilio Córdova (5.5) 4.- Yuniesky Quesada (4) 5.- Holden Hernández (3.5) 6.- Fidel Corrales (3)

(Juventud Rebelde)

Liem takes berth at world champs

2009-06-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

HA NOI — International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem has claimed a spot in the World Chess Championship (World Cup) to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia late this year.

Liem ranked fifth in the Asian Chess Championship in Subic, the Philippines last month which, according to World Chess Federation (FIDE) regulations, qualifies him automatically for the finals of the World Championship taking place from November 20-December 15.

Liem’s teammate IGM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, who did not finish in the top 10 at the Asian competition, must continue to battle for a berth in the 2009 World Championship; he would have to rank in the top two at the World Chess Championship qualifiers taking place in HCM City on July 22-30.

The 18-year-old, HCM City-born Liem, has joined in the world top 20, with an elo rate of 2,591 in April’s FIDE rankings, and is the only Vietnamese player to make the leading list of male chess masters.

He was conferred the IGM title after the Chess Olympiad 2006 finished in Turin in 2006.

At the championship this year, Liem will test his skills against such formidable opponents as Viswanathan Anan from India, G Kamsky of the US, A Shirov of Spain, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Ivanchuk from the Ukraine.

In 2007, Liem, Son and Le Thanh Tu claimed three regional spots at the World Cup in Mexico after stellar competition in the World Chess Championships qualifiers on Phu Quoc Island, in Kien Giang Province. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.v

Barbosa on a roll, wins 14th US chess title

2009-06-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

abs-cbnNEWS.com 06/17/2009 8:57 PM

MANILA – International Master (IM) Oliver Barbosa of the Philippines continued his winning streak in the United States as he emerged the overall champion in the 6th Annual George Washington Open International Chess Championships.

Barbosa settled for a draw over IM Adu Oladapo in the fifth and final round of the tournament held last June 13 to 14 in Sterling, Virginia.

The Rizal native IM now has 14 US chess titles which he won in a span of three months, from April to June.

In the George Washington Open International Chess Championships, Barbosa and Oladapo finished with 4.5 points, the same output of IM Lawrence Charles Kaufman, FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat and Darwin Li.

But after the tiebreak points were applied, Barbosa claimed the coveted chess plum in the event organized by Virginia Chess Federation and supervised by Chief Tournament Director Michael Atkins.

Other Filipino entrants were Deodato Noel Obregon (4.0 points), William Marcelino (3.5 points), Allan Salgado (3.0 points), and Hercules “Herky” del Mundo (2.0 points).

In his three-month campaign in the US, Barbosa already beat the likes of Israeli GM Leonid Yudasin and American GM Michael Rohde, among others.

While his 14th US chess title was won in Virginia, Barbosa’s 13 other triumphs were all clinched in New York.

He won at the Original 4 rated Games Tonight (April 9), Marshall CC Saturday Game 60 (April 11), Marshall CC Sunday Game 60 (April 12), 10 Grand Prix Points Tonight (April 16), Original 4 rated Games Tonight (April 23), and 10th Bowyer Memorial GP (April 25).

Barbosa went on to succeed at the 10 Points Older Tonight (May 7), PCC 05109 Swiss in Forest Hills (May 10), Original 4 rated Games Tonight (May 21), NY May Open (May 24), Polgar Chess May 2009 G90 (May 26), Original 4 rated Games Tonight (May 28) and Original 4 rated Games Tonight (June 11). Marlon Bernardino

as of 06/17/2009 8:57 PM

GM Torre eyes World Chess Cup

2009-06-18T06:47:00.001-07:00

Cebu Daily News
First Posted 10:05:00 06/18/2009

EUGENE Torre, Asia's first Grandmaster has only one thing in his mind right now, and that is to join close buddy GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., in this year's World Chess Cup (World Chess Championships) in Khantiy, Mansiyk, Russia.

Antonio, who hails from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro made it to the top five in the Asia Continental Individual Chess Championships in Subic, Zambales last month to advance to the FIDE knock-out stage.

“Sabi ni Eugene (Torre) lalaro siya sa Asian Zonal sa Vietnam sa susunod na buwan,” said Antonio.

Torre is the 1982 Inter-Zonal champion and the only Filipino who made it to the Candidates matches in the World Chess Championship but lost to Hungrarian GM Zoltan Ribli.

Aside from Torre, other Filipino bets gunning for slots in the World Chess Cup are GMs Wesley So, Mark Paragua, Bong Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, John Paul Gomez, Jayson Gonzales and Darwin Laylo.

The Asian Zonals 3.3 Chess Championships will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from July 22 to 30. / Correspondent MARLON BERNARDINO

Meanwhile, Cebuano GM Joseph Sanchez will not be competing as he is busy in the European chess circuit while the Chandler, Arizona-based GM Banjo Barcenilla is joining in the US circuit to improve his 2503 Elo rating points.

Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net

Cheparinov maintains lead at Ruy Lopez

2009-06-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Round 5 results:

Cheparinov, Ivan	- Cramling, Pia	1-0
Granda Zuniga, Julio E	- Koneru, Humpy	1-0
Perez Candelario, Manuel	- Adams, Michael	½-½
Caruana, Fabiano	- Larino Nieto, David	0-1

Standings after 5 rounds:

1.	Cheparinov, Ivan	g	BUL	2678	4
2.	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2703	3
3.	Larino Nieto, David	m	ESP	2464	2½
4.	Granda Zuniga, Julio E	g	PER	2610	2½
5.	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2528	2½
6.	Perez Candelario, Manuel	m	ESP	2513	2
7.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2649	2
8.	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2612	1½

Official website: http://ruylopez.juntaextremadura.net/modules/new

Viswanathan Anand rates Topalov as a "dangerous opponent"

2009-06-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

From ANI
July 17, 2009

New Delhi, June 17: Reigning chess champion Viswanathan Anand, who would be playing former world champion Veseline Topalov in the next World Championships, has rated the Bulgarian as a "dangerous opponent".

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event here on Tuesday, Anand described the Bulgarian grandmaster as a player who has a "decent amount of match experience" and does not get "disheartened"."

After several setbacks he is able to come back. He almost seems to grow a new limb. You cut something off and he grows something new. He is able to block the previous game and continue and I think that will make him a very dangerous opponent," he said.

Reacting to former world chess champion Garry Kasparov's comment that Anand's reign as the World Champion at the age of 40 could end soon, he said "he still wants to play on".

"The real danger is the lack of desire, not your age. If it comes because of age, then it is related but age itself is not the point. I think when you stop enjoying the tension of a sporting event, then may be it is time to move on but certainly I don't feel that way," Anand said.

On his dominance in rapid chess, Anand said he tried not to be in very deep thoughts and he thought of reasonably good positions instead of one perfect move.

Source: http://www.dailyindia.com

Dominguez lead by 1 with a round to go

2009-06-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

Round 9 results:

Meier, Georg	- Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	½-½
Savchenko, Boris	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	½-½
Timofeev, Artyom	- Khenkin, Igor	1-0

Standings with 1 to go:

1.	Dominguez , Leinier	g	CUB	2721	5½
2.	Meier, Georg	g	GER	2641	4½
3-4.	Savchenko, Boris	g	RUS	2655	4
3-4.	Bruzon, Lazaro	g	CUB	2617	4
5-6.	Khenkin, Igor	g	GER	2630	3½
5-6.	Timofeev, Artyom	g	RUS	2677	3½

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

‘I am still learning’

2009-06-17T04:31:00.000-07:00

Posted: Wednesday, Jun 17, 2009 at 0119 hrs IST
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

He became India’s first Grandmaster way back in 1988 at the age of 18. Now, at 39, he is perhaps India’s one genuine world champion no one can criticise. He has won the World Championships in every format, defeated every player he’s played against in world chess, been the world number one for almost two years and stubbornly remained among the top three in the world for an amazing 12 years — from 1996 to September 2008.

He’s also won every possible award— the Arjuna, the Padma Shri, the Padma Vibhushan, the Khel Ratna, the chess Oscars (five times).

Viswanathan Anand, though, considers himself still a work in progress. “I am trying several new things this year, I am still working on them, learning new things — it’s all still a work in progress,” he said on the sidelines of a function in the Capital where he simultaneously played against eight kids across six cities, shortlisted from over 7000.

Playing eight games at the same time may be kid’s play for Anand, who once played against more than 30 people simultaneously, but the soft-spoken champion is all grit when it comes to his passion. And he admits it with nonchalance.

“I am absolutely paranoid of the fact that my mind may go wandering and that affects concentration and your game. I am fanatical about it and that’s why I usually isolate myself with my chess before a major tournament, like I did before the world championship in Bonn (in 2008). It’s absolutely essential to be completely focused,” he said.

Asian Junior Boys and Girls Chess Championship 2009

2009-06-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Junior chess championships 2009 in Sri Lanka

The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, under the auspicies of the Asian Chess Federation, will conduct the Asian Junior Boys and Girls Chess Championship 2009. This is the most prestigious Chess Event for the Junior players of Under 20 years in Asia and it will take place 1st to 8th July 2009 at Ceylon Continental Hotel, Colombo.

This 33rd Asian Junior Chess Championship will be conducted according to the Swiss System in 9 rounds. There will be games on 2nd evening, 4th and 7th Mornings and 3rd, 5th and 6th hole day. The morning Games will start at 9.00 a.m. and Evening Games will start at 3.00 p.m. The Opening Ceremony will be held on 2nd of July 2009 at 9.00 a.m. while Prize Distribution function will be on 7th July 2009 at 6.00 p.m.

Read the full article here.

Dominguez leads at Capablanca Memorial

2009-06-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

Round 8 results:

Dominguez, Leinier	- Timofeev, Artyom	½-½
Meier, Georg	- Savchenko, Boris	½-½
Bruzon, Lazaro	- Khenkin, Igor	½-½

Standings after 8 rounds:

1.	Dominguez, Leinier	g	CUB	2721	5
2.	Meier, Georg	g	GER	2641	4
3.	Khenkin, Igor	g	GER	2630	3½
4.	Savchenko, Boris	g	RUS	2655	3½
5.	Bruzon, Lazaro	g	CUB	2617	3½
6.	Timofeev, Artyom	g	RUS	2677	2½

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

Festival Internazionale Brescia

2009-06-17T04:23:00.001-07:00

GM Miroslaw Grabarczyk takes first with a football scoring system

The Festival Internazionale Brescia took place on 6-14th June in Brescia, Italy. 64 players from 16 countries took participation, among them were 17 Grandmasters. The scoring system was adopted from football leagues, namely 3 points for win and 1 for draw. Polish GM Miroslaw Grabarczyk took a clear first place with 18 points (5 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss) from 9 rounds.

Last round top results:
Grigore George-Gabriel - Grabarczyk Miroslaw ½ - ½
Romanishin Oleg - Drazic Sinisa ½ - ½
Rasmussen Allan Stig - Sulava Nenad 1 - 0
Khairullin Ildar - Sveshnikov Evgeny ½ - ½
Abasov Nijat Azad Oglu - Korneev Oleg 1 - 0
Dvirnyy Daniyyl - Yakovich Yuri ½ - ½
Genocchio Daniele - Frolyanov Dmitry 1 - 0
Malaniuk Vladimir - Rombaldoni Axel 1 - 0
Lenic Luka - Valsecchi Alessio 1 - 0
Brodsky Michail - Bruno Fabio 0 - 1

Final standings:
1. GM Grabarczyk Miroslaw (2469 POL) - 18.0
2-6. GM Grigore George-Gabriel (2542 ROU), IM Rasmussen Allan Stig (2501 DEN), GM Malaniuk Vladimir (2523 UKR), IM Abasov Nijat Azad (2486 AZE) and FM Genocchio Daniele (2445 ITA) - 17.0
7-11. GM Lenic Luka (2574 SLO), GM Romanishin Oleg (2501 UKR), GM Drazic Sinisa (2533 SRB), IM Bruno Fabio (2441 ITA) and GM Naumkin Igor (2488 RUS) - 16.0 etc

Chessdom.com

Cuban chess players will compete against world-renowned players in Central America

2009-06-17T04:12:00.000-07:00

www.cubaheadlines.com
June 17, 2009

Cuban chess players will compete against world-renowned players in Central America in the next few weeks.

Grand Masters Lázaro Bruzón and Neuris Delgado will participate in the men's tournament of the 2.3 American zone.

The competition was postponed last month, when Ecuador gave up its condition as a host, so it will be held in Costa Rica from June 19 to 26.

The first two players at the tournament will qualify for the World Cup in 2010.

At the same time, Grand Master Maritza Arribas and FIDE Master Yanira Vigoa will compete in the women's contest of the regional tournament in El Salvador.

Fourteen female players are expected to participate in the tournament, but only one player will qualify for the World Championship.

Source: Cuba Headlines

Cheparinov sole leader at the Ruy Lopez chess tournament

2009-06-17T04:10:00.000-07:00

The round 3 of the Ruy Lopez tournament was marked by decisive scores on all boards. GM Ivan Cheparinov defeated GM Humpy Koneru to take the lead with 2,5/3. GM Michael Adams recovered fully after the slip in round 1 and defeated GM Pia Cramling with black. GM Fabiano Caruana scored his first point by winning against GM Julio Granada, and Manuel Perez Candelario won the local derby against David Larino.

David Lariño had problems in his game from the very beginning after Candelario chose a rare line in the Ruy Lopez. Lariño, who is the current Spanish chess champion, had the opportunity to equalize the position, but preffered to chase his opponent's queen. Despite the time trouble, Candelario made very precise moves and with a few tactical blows managed to get the full point.

Julio Granada chose the Scandinavian defence against Fabiano Caruana. Granada achieved an inferior, yet defendable position. Caruana pressed the black king on the queenside, but that was not enough. It was the time trouble that made Granada commit a blunder, that led to a brach in his defence.

View the full article here.

Qualifiers for World Cup

2009-06-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

FIDE announces the first 28 original qualifiers for the World Cup to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, 20 November to 15 December 2009. In a few days the list with qualifiers from the Continental and Zonal Championships 2008-09 will also be published. The regulations of the World Cup can be downloaded here.

QUALIFIERS for the WORLD CUP 2009

a) From World Championship Match 2008:
1. V. Anand (IND - World Champion)

b) From World Cup 2007:
2. G. Kamsky (USA)
3. A. Shirov (ESP)
4. M. Carlsen (NOR)
5. S. Karjakin (UKR)

c) Women's World Champion 2008:
6. A. Kosteniuk (RUS)

d) Junior World Champions 2007 & 2008:
7. A. Adly (EGY)
8. A. Gupta (IND)

d) From FIDE Rating List, 20 players, average 7/2008 & 1/2009:
09. V. Topalov (BUL) 2786,50
10. V. Ivanchuk (UKR) 2780,00
11. A. Morozevich (RUS) 2779,50
12. V. Kramnik (RUS) 2773,50
13. T. Radjabov (AZE) 2752,50
14. P. Leko (HUN) 2746,00
15. L. Aronian (ARM) 2743,50
16. S. Movsesian (SVK) 2737,00
17. D. Jakovenko (RUS) 2734,50
18. S. Mamedyarov (AZE) 2733,00
19. P. Svidler (RUS) 2730,50
20. A. Grischuk (RUS) 2730,50
21. B. Gelfand (ISR) 2726,50
22. M. Adams (ENG) 2723,50
23. R. Ponomariov (UKR) 2722,00
24. Wang Yue (CHN) 2721,50
25. V. Gashimov (AZE) 2720,00
26. E. Alekseev (RUS) 2713,00
27. L. Dominguez Perez (CUB) 2712,50
28. Ni Hua (CHN) 2707,00

e) 90 players from the Continental & Zonal Championships 2008 & 2009:
(to be published soon)…

Reserve players who may qualify by rating, average 7/2008 & 1/2009:
1. E. Bacrot (FRA) 2706,50
2. Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) 2706,00
3. P. Eljanov (UKR) 2704,50
4. J. Polgar (HUN) 2702,00
5. S. Rublevsky (RUS) 2700,50
6. H. Nakamura (USA) 2698,00
7. K. Sasikiran (IND) 2697,50
8. Wang Hao (CHN) 2691,00
9. V. Malakhov (RUS) 2690,50
10. M. Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2688,50
11. V. Milov (SUI) 2687,00
12. V. Bologan (MDA) 2686,50
13. V. Akopian (ARM) 2686,50
14. L. Nisipeanu (ROU) 2683,50
15. R. Kasimdzhanov (UZB) 2683,00
16. I. Cheparinov (BUL) 2683,00
17. Z. Efimenko (UKR) 2679,00
18. A. Naiditsch (GER) 2679,00
19. F. Vallejo Pons (ESP) 2676,00
20. A. Motylev (RUS) 2675,00

Source: FIDE.com

2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring

2009-06-17T04:05:00.001-07:00

Nanjing 2009 will be super strong
Report by Chessdom.com

The 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament will takes place 27th Sept - 9th October 2009 in Nanjing, China. Most of the field is already known - Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Teimour Radjabov, Dmitry Jakovenko, a Chinese player to be announced.

That makes the Nanjing Pearl Spring one of the top tournaments of the year with temporary rating average of 2775. In case the rating average maintains and the Chinese player is Bu Xiangzhi or Wang Yue, the tournament will be at least category 21.

Top seeded at the moment is last year's winner GM Veselin Topalov. He will come directly from the Final Masters in Bilbao where he participates until the 15th of September. This will also be the last direct clash between Anand and Topalov before their World Championship match.

The Chess Pearl Springs tournament will be a double round robin with a prize fund of 250,000 euros.

Participants

1 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2812
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2783
3 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2770
4 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2756
5 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2753
6 A Chinese Player To be announced

Official website: www.chess-pearlspring.com

Nigel Short wins Sigeman

2009-06-17T04:02:00.000-07:00

Leonard Barden
The Guardian

Two successive columns reporting an English first prize winner! Following Stuart Conquest's victory in Sardinia, Nigel Short scored in impressive style last weekend at the annual Sigeman contest in Malmo. He conceded only one draw in five games, clocking a performance rating above 2900 and finishing 1.5 points clear of Sweden's Nils Grandelius.

Short declared at the opening ceremony that if he halved any games without a fight he would refund his appearance fee. This novel act of self-motivation seemed to do the trick.

In the opening, Short dodged main line Najdorf Sicilians with the rare 6 Qf3, and was rewarded at move 15 when Black made the strategic mistake of castling into White's advance. Instead 15...Rb8 keeps the game in the balance. Later 20...White's 18 Nf5! launched a powerful assault, though 20 e5 was a more precise follow-up since as played 20...Nh7 is a tougher defence.

UK chess fans will hope Short can maintain his form streak into the two big 2009 events in London, the Staunton Memorial at Simpsons in the Strand from 7-17 August and then the London Chess Classic, which runs from 7-15 December.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jun/13/chess

The magic of Shirov

2009-06-17T03:56:00.000-07:00

MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Business World Online

"I am quite confident in my end game ability, even against the world’s leading end game experts, such as Karpov and Salov. I more often gain than lose points at that stage of the game (taking into account the positions that have arisen at the start of the ending, of course!). In fact I believe that the end game is my strongest area, perhaps because I am a player with a very concrete style."

Who wrote that? Would you believe Alexei Shirov, the fireman who likes to light up the board with tactics?

Boris Gelfand wrote that Shirov is, in his opinion, perhaps the best defender in the chess world. Could he be talking of the same Alexei Shirov that we know, the attacking genius from Latvia?

Well, yes, all of the above describe the same person. As GM Jonathan Speelman points out, Shirov makes it clear that he considers himself to be, above all, a calculator. This skill is particularly useful in the end game in which the simplified material often gives rise to long forced lines. In the opening and in the middle game you can rely on your intuition when you decide to plunge into complications or not, but in the end game intuition won’t work — you need direct, long calculation.

Alexei Shirov was born on 4 July 1972 in Riga, the capital of Latvia. He made his first foray into the international chess circuit by competing in the 1988 World Cadet (16-under) Championship held in Timisoara, Romania. He had the extreme good fortune of being trained by the legendary Mihail Tal himself, who was at the same time preparing for the Soviet Championship.

Shirov has had his share of successes and failures. I believe that among his major achievements would be defeating Vladimir Kramnik in a candidates’ match in 1998 Cazorla with a score of 5.5-3.5, thereby qualifying to play Garry Kasparov in a world title match (which never pushed through).

Another one would be defeating GMs Alexander Onischuk, Mikhail Gurevich, Boris Gelfand, Evgeny Bareev and Alexander Grischuk to line himself for a world title shot vs Viswanathan Anand in 2000 (Shirov lost to Anand).

View the full article here.

Motylev wins 10th Karpov Poikovsky

2009-06-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

The event was a category 18 with an average rating of 2694. It was won by Alexander Motylev, who was a full point ahead of Vugar Gashimov, with Emil Sutovsky and Ernesto Inarkiev following a point behind. Motylev scored 7.0/9 and his performance rating was 2914.

Final standings
1 Motylev - 7.0
2 Gashimov - 6.0
3 Sutovsky - 5.0
4 Inarkiev - 5.0
5 Rublevsky - 4.5
6 Bologan - 4.5
7 Onischuk - 4.5
8 Naiditsch - 3.5
9 Efimenko - 3.0
10 Shirov - 2.0

7th Mediterranean Chess Championships

2009-06-12T07:16:00.001-07:00

10-18th September in Rijeka, Croatia

1. The Tournament

The 7th Mediterranean Men and Women Chess Championships will be held in Rijeka, Croatia, in the premises of Chess club “Rijeka”, Blaža Polića 2/2, from Thursday, September 10th 2009 (arrival), to Friday September 18th 2009 (departure).

2. Participants

2.1 One player each for the Men and Women Championships nominated by each Mediterranean Federation as listed in the MCA statute. If a Federation wishes to have additional players participating, besides those qualified through the normal way and by right, it should apply to the Organizing Committee (see also para.5). A player can participate in the competition only after getting an official consent from the Organizing Federation.

2.2 All GM’s who are from a MCA Member Federation, can participate in the competition after getting an official consent from their Federation. The number of such registered participants has been limited to 5 GM’s from 5 different federations and to 5 women from five different federations. The chosen participants will be registered according to the principle of whose registration has been received first, all in accordance with the item 4.

The accommodation with full board in single rooms will be managed by the organizers free of charge.

View the full article at chessdom.com

Sinquefields Purchase Bobby Fischer's Chess Collection

2009-06-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

St. Louis, June 11 - Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield have purchased the chess library of the legendary Bobby Fischer, including notebooks he prepared for his 1972 World Championship match with Boris Spassky. The Sinquefields acquired the collection through San Francisco-based auction house, Bonhams and Butterfields.

"I am thrilled to have this collection from arguably the greatest chess player in history," said Rex Sinquefield, founder and board president of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. "I have been a lifelong fan of Bobby Fischer."

The reclusive Fischer died in January 2008 at age 64. The collection purchased by the Sinquefields includes 320 books on chess; about 400 issues of chess-related periodicals; three sets of proofs for Fischer's 1969 book, "My 60 Memorable Games"; and a number of bound volumes detailing the match histories of several chess masters, including Spassky.

The Spassky-related works centers on Fischer's preparation for his historic 1972 match, won by Fischer. The victory ended 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship.

The collection also includes a copy of "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess," with a note indicating that Fischer planned on suing the publishers.

Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, who are retired investment company executives, said they weren't sure of their plans with the Fischer collection. "I am thinking right now about how to display it and to make it available to scholars," Rex said.

Read the full article at Chessdom.com

Alexander Motylev leads full point at Poikovsky

2009-06-12T03:41:00.000-07:00

Round 8 results:

Motylev, Alexander	- Gashimov, Vugar	1-0
Sutovsky, Emil	- Onischuk, Alexander	½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto	- Rublevsky, Sergei	0-1
Naiditsch, Arkadij	- Bologan, Viktor	0-1
Efimenko, Zahar	- Shirov, Alexei	½-½

Standings after 8 rounds:

1.	Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	2677	6½
2.	Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	2730	5½
3.	Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	2660	4½
4.	Inarkiev, Ernesto	g	RUS	2676	4½
5.	Onischuk, Alexander	g	USA	2684	4
6.	Bologan, Viktor	g	MDA	2690	4
7.	Rublevsky, Sergei	g	RUS	2702	3½
8.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2700	3½
9.	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2682	2½
10.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2745	1½

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

Magnus Carlsen Conquers Leon!

2009-06-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

The XXII Magistral Ciudad de Leon final match between Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen has started at 16:30 CET. Ivanchuk qualified by eliminating Alexander Morozevich, while Carlsen edged Wang Yue in additional blitz games in the second semifinal.

Update: Magnus Carlsen dethroned the last year's Magistral Ciudad de Leon champion Vassily Ivanchuk after the breathtaking finale that was concluded only after the Armageddon game! The match opened with two draws before Ivanchuk scored in the third game. This put Magnus under pressure for the last game, but he succeeded to win and invite a blitz tiebreak.

Both blitz games were drawn and the match outcome was to be decided in a sudden death game where white (Carlsen) had 4 minutes and black draw odds and 5 minutes for the entire game. Carlsen found a cute combination that netted him a piece in the endgame and Ivanchuk immediately resigned.

View the full article here.

Viswanathan Anand beats Peter Leko 5-3 in a rapid match

2009-06-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

World Champion Viswanathan Anand won the rapid match against Hungarian top player Peter Leko with the final score 5-3. The match of eight games with 25 min + 10 sec time control took place on 3-7th June in Miskolc.

After four games and going into the rest day Vishy Anand held a minimal 2.5-1.5 lead. He opened the second match half with another win, in the fifth game, in Gruenfeld Indian defence, only this time with Black pieces. The remaining three games were hard-fought draws. The match was almost thematic, with Gruenfeld Indian and Meran Slav appearing regularly, and only in the final game Leko switched to 1.e4 allowing us to see a Caro-Kann.

Source:Chessdom.com

Ding Liren wins the Chinese Chess Championship

2009-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ding Liren (2458) won the Chinese Chess Championship 2009 that took place in the city of Xinghua Jiangsu. It was a very interesting event, with many surprising results and unexpected photo finish.

The top seeded GM Ni Hua started unconvincingly with 2,5/6. Similar was the story of the second seeded GM Bu Xiangzhi, who got a series of draw to achieve only 3,5/6. Both were surprised by the strong opposition lower rated players gave during the first rounds. Among them, was the future champion, who managed to get away with 1,5 points from the two matches against the favorites.

This distraction was wisely used by GM Wang Hao. Despite the first round draw against GM Zhang Pengxiang, Wang Hao achieved 7 consecutive victories. At that point, the chasing pack was two points behind him, with the final victory at sight. An 8th round draw against GM Bu Xiangzhi and a protocol victory against the lowest rated Ji Dan, left Wang Hao 1,5 points ahead and with a very good tiebreak, just 2 rounds before the end.

Right at that point the unthinkable happened. Ding Liren, who had a very stable tournament until that point and was one of the chasing pack players, managed to defeat Wang Hao in their direct match. It was quite strange to see a player only half a point away from Wang Hao, who has comfortably led the whole tournament, but odds seemed to be on the side of the stronger player - Ding Liren had a game with black against the higher rated GM Zhou Jianchao, while Wang Hao had white against one of the lower rated grandmasters, GM Liang Chong.

The final day was a fairy tale to Ding Liren. He got a direct win due to the zero tolerance policy applied by the organizers (his opponent was late for the game). And to complete the total turn of events, Wang Hao lost to Liang Chong to make Ding Liren Chinese Chess Champion.

Final Standings:

1 Ding Liren 2458 8.5
2 GM Wang Hao 2696 8
3 GM Bu Xiangzhi 2704 7
4 GM Zhou Weiqi 2563 6.5
5 GM Li Chao B 2643 6
6 GM Ni Hua 2724 6
7 Ji Dan 2342 4.5
8 GM Zhou Jianchao 2635 4.5
9 GM Zhang Pengxiang 2638 4
10 GM Liang Chong 2511 4
11 GM Hou Yifan 2590 3.5
12 GM Li Shilong 2557 3.5

Source: Chessdom.com

-year-old Pinoy wins big in Vegas chess tilt

2009-06-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

abs-cbnNEWS.com 06/09/2009 5:40 PM

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Another Wesley So is in the making as a young Filipino chess player emerged as the overall champion in his division in the recently concluded Las Vegas International Chess Festival.

A age six, Stephen Rome Pangilinan of Milo Checkmate Philippines, bested other competitors in the Susan Polgar under eight-year-old division. He won first place after garnering a total of 5 points.

Pangilinan was among the 36 other players from around the globe who participated in the June 4 to 7 competition held at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa.

When asked why he became triumphant, he said: “Kasi po ginamit ko yung pamatay kong opening.”

The young chess player added that he dreams of playing against “People’s Champ” Manny Pacquiao when he gets back to the country.

The youngster is expected to return home on June 13. He will then prepare for his next tournament in Melbourne, Australia this November.

Pangilinan’s coach Milagros Emparado said that while the prize money his ward won was not that much, the honor given by the young chess player to the Philippines is enough.

With hard work and determination, Pangilinan may turn out to become the next Wesley So, who reached grandmaster status at the age of 14 and became the seventh youngest person to achieve the GM title in the history of chess.

Meanwhile, aside from Pangilinan, another Filipino triumphed in the Las Vegas chess festival.

International Master Enrico “Ikong” Sevillano tied for first place with Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian at the 2009 National Open Chess Championship.

Sevillano and Akobian finished with five points. With a report from Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN News North America Bureau
as of 06/09/2009 5:40 PM

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sevillano ties for first in Las Vegas chess open

2009-06-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

abs-cbnNEWS.com 06/09/2009 10:59 AM

International Master (IM) Enrico "Ikong" Sevillano shared first place honors with Grandmaster (GM) Varuzhan Akobian at the 2009 National Open Chess Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Akobian and Sevillano both finished with five points after six games of play.

Sevillano defeated GM Evgeny Bareev in the last round of the event, which was part of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival held over the weekend. Akobian, on the other hand, won over Laurent Fressinet.

Sevillano, a Cebu native, is a former US Open Champion. Meanwhile, trailing Akobian and Sevillano in the results list are thirteen players who tied for third place with 4.5 points. Another Filipino entrant, IM Ricky de Guzman, beat Kyle Morrison to join Fressinet and six others at 16th place. They all got 4.0 pointers. FM (FIDE Master) Hugo Villanueva, meanwhile, scored 3.0 points to land in the bracket of the 35th to 53rd placers.

GM Boris Grachev wins Lublin

2009-06-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

Final standings:

1.	Grachev, Boris	g	RUS	2652	*	½	½	0	½	½	1	1	1	1	6
2.	Roiz, Michael	g	ISR	2635	½	*	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	½	5½
3.	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	g	POL	2630	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	5½
4.	Socko, Bartosz	g	POL	2637	1	0	½	*	½	1	½	½	½	½	5
5.	Zhigalko, Sergei	g	BLR	2622	½	½	½	½	*	½	0	1	½	½	4½
6.	Khenkin, Igor	g	GER	2630	½	½	½	0	½	*	1	½	0	½	4
7.	Dziuba, Marcin	g	POL	2535	0	½	½	½	1	0	*	0	½	1	4
8.	Gajewski, Grzegorz	g	POL	2571	0	½	0	½	0	½	1	*	½	1	4
9.	Bartel, Mateusz	g	POL	2601	0	0	0	½	½	1	½	½	*	1	4
10.	Malakhatko, Vadim	g	BEL	2610	0	½	½	½	½	½	0	0	0	*	2½

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

GM Eduardo Iturrizaga shines at rapid chess event

2009-05-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

GM Eduardo Iturrizaga had a fantastic weekend in Portugal, scoring 8,5/9 and finishing a point ahead of competition at very strong rapid 22nd Open Internacional Damiano. A total of 31 titled players participated at the event, with top seeded being GM Aleksander Delchev, GM Evgenij Agrest, and GM Dragan Paunovic.

Iturrizaga played fantastic chess, defeating eight players, among which GM Strikovic, GM Fernandes, GM Teske, and achieving only one draw against GM Agrest.

The 22nd Open Internacional Damiano featured a nice prize fund of 45 000 eur, shared in over 75 categories. The winner Eduardo Iturrizaga received 1250 eur for his first place.

Final Standings

1 GM Iturrizaga Eduardo VEN 2470 8.5
2 GM Agrest Evgenij SWE 2588 7.5
3 GM Rizouk Aimen ALG 2505 7.5
4 GM Hoffman Alejandro ARG 2444 7.5
5 GM Teske Henrik GER 2523 7.5
6 GM Delchev Aleksander BUL 2648 7.5
7 GM Campora Daniel H ARG 2535 7
8 GM Strikovic Aleksa SRB 2536 7
9 IM Fernando Diogo Brigido POR 2488 7
10 NM Ferents Andrey UKR 2243 7
11 FM Pereira Ruben Miguel Nunes POR 2422 7
12 GM Djuric Stefan SRB 2447 7
13 WIM Maisuradze Nino FRA 2261 7
14 FM Dias Paulo Jorge Guimaraes POR 2406 7
15 IM Frois Antonio Jose POR 2397 7
16 Ferreira Jorge Joao Viterbo POR 2186 7
17 GM Fernandes Antonio Manuel De A POR 2415 6.5
18 FM Leonardo Joao POR 2233 6.5
19 FM Cabezas Ayala Ivan ESP 2406 6.5
20 GM Komljenovic Davorin CRO 2431 6.5
21 IM Rivera Daniel URU 2318 6.5
22 FM Ribeiro Fernando Alberto Rocha POR 2273 6.5
23 NM Santos Antonio Pereira Dos POR 2248 6.5
24 Oliveira Carlos Andre Ramalho POR 2165 6.5
25 Silverio Luis Filipe Dos Reis POR 2094 6.5
26 Ferreira Alberto Paulo De Melo POR 2053 6.5
27 NM Rodrigues Afonso Teotonio R POR 2160 6.5
28 GM Paunovic Dragan SRB 2537 6
29 NM Padeiro Jose Joao Tato POR 2230 6
30 NM Carneiro Carlos Alberto C POR 2205 6
31 WGM Djingarova Emilia BUL 2334 6
32 NM Santos Jose Alves POR 2222 6
33 Felizes Paulo Alberto Barbosa POR 2081 6
34 NM Blalock Rex Eugene USA 2226 6
35 IM Rocha Sergio Manuel Colaco POR 2427 6
36 WIM Leite Catarina Dos Anjos POR 2187 6
37 Guerreiro Nuno Ricardo POR 2095 6
38 Peixoto Antonio Pedro Balsa G POR 2091 6
39 Morais Vitor Mestre POR 2030 6
40 Kovtun Igor UKR 2054 6
41 Poppe Dietmar GER 0 6
42 Araujo Jose Verissimo POR 1955 6
43 Quintino Luis Filipe Pires De POR 1991 6
44 Quinta Daniel Fernando G POR 2063 6
45 IM Damaso Rui POR 2413 6
46 Teixeira Rafael Goltsman POR 2168 6
47 Machado Luis Manuel Tavares POR 2078 6
48 Matias Luis Miguel Rodrigues POR 0 6
49 Catarina Goncalo Filipe Santos POR 1833 6
50 Sousa Emanuel Luis Alves C POR 1922 6
51 Silva Tiago Miguel Gomes Da POR 1981 6
52 FM Schacht Holger GER 2224 6
53 FM Diogo Vasco Andre Marcalo POR 2290 6
54 NM Santos Julio Fernandes POR 2061 6
55 Felicio Fernando Miguel Galvao POR 1933 6
56 Margarido Ricardo Emanuel T POR 2010 6
57 CM Viela Marco Antonio Folha POR 2193 5.5
58 Sousa Ricardo Miguel Morais De POR 2111 5.5
59 NM Fernandes Alberto Manuel De A POR 2199 5.5
60 Casanova Fernando Ricardo POR 2042 5.5
61 FM Ulyanovskyy Viktor UKR 2305 5.5
62 IM Santos Luis Manuel Coutinho P POR 2396 5.5
63 Galvao Henrique Mario Chaves POR 2207 5.5
64 NM Lavrador Rodolfo M Mascarenhas POR 2042 5.5
65 Figueiredo Helder Emanuel R POR 2002 5.5
66 Santos Olavo Miguel Florencio POR 1958 5.5
67 Fanha Paulo Alexandre POR 2035 5.5
68 Marques Eduardo Manuel C POR 1790 5.5
69 Bravo Antonio Jose Vieira POR 1965 5.5
70 Ulyanovskyy Vladimir V UKR 1772 5.5
71 Sousa Marcio Adelino Dos Santo POR 1982 5.5
72 Povoa Mario Monteiro Martins POR 1845 5.5
73 Farinha Joao Carlos Da Cruz POR 2105 5.5
74 Santos Manuel Afonso Martins D POR 1710 5.5
75 Silva Goncalo Nunes Pires Da POR 0 5.5
76 Costa Altino Da Conceicao POR 1940 5
77 FM Cordovil Joao Maria Da Camara POR 2237 5
78 Figueiras Carlos Manuel De A POR 1979 5
79 Fatia Valter Miguel Antunes POR 2076 5
80 Carvalho Emanuel Jose POR 1885 5
81 Gallardo Retortillo Enrique ESP 2173 5
82 Bastos Luis Daniel Moura POR 1932 5
83 Bicho Daniel Pesca Rodrigues POR 1895 5
84 Albano Jeremias Bianca POR 1971 5
85 Pereira Ricardo Joao Correia POR 1994 5
86 Pires Rogerio Marcial Maximino POR 1939 5
87 Figueiredo Mario Jose Rocha POR 2015 5
88 Botelho Luis Miguel Rodrigues POR 1961 5
89 Rodrigues Luis Eugenio POR 1729 5
90 Rodrigues Luis Miguel Amaral POR 1861 5
91 Van Den Berg Imme NED 1982 5
92 Silva Jose Antonio De Almeida POR 1671 5
93 Caeiro Vitor Cristiano POR 0 5
94 Meira Joao Pedro Pires POR 1712 5
95 Martins Marta Sofia Cardoso POR 1497 5
96 Nanques Helder Manuel Pereira POR 1926 5
97 Carapeto Ricardo Filipe Alvito POR 1920 5
98 Damas Edi Wilson POR 0 5
99 Burghardt Michael POR 0 5
100 Martins Daniel Carvalho POR 1784 5
101 Parreira Andre Filipe Roxo POR 1780 5
102 Mendes Alberto Correa POR 1859 5
103 Monteiro Sara Cristina Da S POR 1803 5
104 Dionizio Andre Filipe N POR 0 5
105 Silva Artur Francisco Lopes POR 0 5
106 Dionizio Jose Marco Guerreiro POR 0 5
107 Totoi Ilya POR 0 5
108 Aderneira Ricardo Andre C POR 0 5
109 Catarino Marcio Lopes POR 1861 5
110 Quadros Alberto Mendes POR 1752 5
111 Ferreira Nuno Messeder POR 0 5
112 Proenca Ruben Alexandre E POR 1848 5
113 Correia Jorge Paulo Cardoso V POR 0 5
114 Joaquim Carlos Alberto Moes POR 0 5
115 Martins Harry Peter Coentro POR 1641 5
116 Santos Tomas Afonso Martins Do POR 0 5
117 Cesar Aryton Josefa POR 0 5
118 Correia Sandra Ventura POR 0 5
119 Rodrigues Pedro Sousa Rocha POR 1930 4.5
120 NM Ribeiro Bruno Alexandre Romao POR 2172 4.5
121 Vasques Antonio Pedro Freixial POR 1999 4.5
122 Martins Andre Goncalo Gomes B POR 0 4.5
123 Vicente Joao Vasco Reis POR 1739 4.5
124 Almeida Manuel Da Silva POR 2043 4.5
125 Martins Carlos Batista Nobrega POR 0 4.5
126 Silva Miguel Antonio Neto POR 1760 4.5
127 Tapisso Gabriel Palmelao POR 1515 4.5
128 Leskiv Miroslav POR 0 4.5
129 Fernandes Mario Bernardo POR 1537 4.5
130 Boto Ricardo Jorge Louzeiro Do POR 0 4.5
131 David Tiago Goncalo Felix POR 1679 4.5
132 Ferreira Hugo Miguel Da Costa POR 0 4.5
133 Gordo Bernardo Calado Mendes POR 1704 4.5
134 Santos Isabel Pereira Dos POR 0 4.5
135 Dionizio Cristiano Miguel N POR 0 4.5
136 Pereira Edgar Teixeira De L POR 2159 4.5
137 Mira Vitor Carlos POR 1662 4.5
138 Vasconcelos Lourenco Malheiro POR 0 4.5
139 Maninha Luis Manuel De C POR 1610 4.5
140 Garcia Loro Marcos J ESP 2069 4
141 Andre Nuno Alexandre Lopes POR 0 4
142 Emidio Sergio Roberto Costa POR 1813 4
143 Pena Helio Adelino Silva POR 1926 4
144 Elias Ruben Joel Monteiro POR 1816 4
145 Palet Armando Manuel Silva POR 0 4
146 Cardina Joao Gamboa POR 1595 4
147 Fernandes Luis Miguel Ribeiro POR 1923 4
148 Gomes Nuno Miguel Marques POR 0 4
149 Figueiras Jose Salvador POR 1835 4
150 Hips Valentyn POR 0 4
151 Marvao Joaquim Manuel Pinto POR 0 4
152 Pereira Joao Lopes POR 0 4
153 Silva Jose F M Azevedo POR 0 4
154 Francisco Angelo Rodrigues POR 1556 4
155 Deus Pedro Miguel Duro De POR 1869 4
156 Guerreiro Helder Campos POR 1533 4
Stephan Falk GER 0 4
158 Matos Antonio Manuel POR 1640 4
159 Agapito Luis Filipe Dinis POR 0 4
160 Costa Jaime Manuel POR 0 4
161 Placido Maria Armanda POR 1750 4
162 Carvalho Jose Henrique Anjos POR 0 4
163 Nunes Sergio Alberto POR 0 4
164 Marques Nuno Miguel Nunes POR 0 4
165 Meira Joao Alexandre POR 0 4
166 Vieira Vitor Mendes POR 1646 4
167 Stelian Turta POR 1541 4
168 Agapito Pedro Miguel Dinis POR 1412 4
169 Monteiro Joana Filipa Da Silva POR 1475 4
Pereira Marco POR 0 4
171 Feijoeiro Antonio Santos POR 1757 4
172 David Sara Cristiana Felix POR 1665 4
173 Duarte Afonso Manuel Ferreira POR 1462 4
174 Dias Fabio Miguel Pimenta POR 0 4
175 Ferreira Vasco Domingos POR 0 4
176 Favinha Joao Pedro Henriques POR 0 4
177 Silva Ana Rita Gomes POR 0 4
178 Machado Manuel Domingos Joia POR 0 4
179 Santos Ana M C Pereira Dos POR 0 4
180 Barreto Paulo Alexandre Da C POR 0 4
181 Ferreira Carlos Manuel Matos POR 0 4
182 Castro Diogo Ferreira POR 0 4
183 Pinto Vitor Rafael Mesquita C POR 0 4
184 Lima Remi Vanhull POR 0 4
185 Sousa Daniel Ribeiro E POR 0 4
186 Nunes Patricia Joao Heleno G POR 1440 3.5
187 Faustino Tomas Alves POR 0 3.5
188 Sousa Carlos Fantasia POR 1816 3.5
189 Ferreira Ruben Alexandre B POR 0 3.5
190 Simoes Andre Pires POR 0 3.5
191 Sirgado Carlos Manuel Ferreira POR 1711 3.5
192 Fonseca Joao Ricardo Ferreira POR 0 3.5
193 Joaquim Leonardo POR 0 3.5
194 Cefa Jorge Marques POR 0 3.5
195 Nunes Ricardo Miguel S POR 0 3.5
196 Marcelino Jose De Jesus F POR 0 3
197 Frade Pedro Manuel Almeida POR 0 3
198 Webb David POR 0 3
199 Hug Nora Alexandra POR 0 3
200 Carapinha Francisco Manuel R POR 0 3
201 Duarte Bruno Dos Santos POR 0 3
202 Ferreira Rita Gama Henriques POR 0 3
203 Relvas Tiago Pereira POR 0 3
204 Campos Ruben Fernando G POR 0 3
205 Ferreira Tiago Andre Bastos POR 0 3
206 Mateus Bernardo POR 0 3
207 Gomes Marcos Luis Cerqueira POR 0 3
208 Sofronov Vlas POR 0 3
209 Marques Diogo Vieira POR 0 3
210 Carmona Andre Spencer POR 0 3
211 Costa Miguel Alexandre De Matos POR 0 3
212 Marreiros Cristina POR 0 3
213 Igorivitch Valdislave POR 0 3
214 Antunes Joao Pedro Candeias POR 0 3
215 Rijo Rui POR 0 3
216 Guo Haojun POR 0 3
217 Sobral Kevin POR 0 3
218 Rodrigues Daniel POR 0 3
219 Ye Susana POR 0 3
220 Carapinha Mariana Marques POR 0 3
221 Klosterhalfen Niklas POR 0 3
222 Soares Julio POR 0 3
223 Gabriel Luis POR 0 3
224 Silva Jorge POR 0 3
225 Justino Tiago POR 0 3
226 Carvalho Xavier POR 0 3
227 Pronk Thomas POR 0 3
228 Cidoncha Goncalo POR 0 2.5
229 Dias Ruben Bernardo Pimenta POR 0 2.5
230 Lopes Andre Miguel Carvalho POR 0 2.5
231 Beirao Ivan POR 0 2
232 Honeywill Chistropher POR 0 2
233 Guerreiro Luis POR 0 2
234 Carmona Silva Joao Carlos S C POR 0 2
235 Rosa Pedro POR 0 2
236 Wang Ye David POR 0 2
237 Webber Jack POR 0 2
238 Silva David POR 0 2
239 Caldeira Carolina POR 0 2
240 Inacio Goncalo POR 0 2
241 Margarido Simao Pedro POR 0 2
242 Martins Ricardo POR 0 2
243 Bras Sara POR 0 2
244 Duarte Ana Do Carmo Santos POR 0 2
245 Arroja Jose POR 0 2
246 Loucao Rodrigo POR 0 1
247 Pessanha Tiago POR 0 1
248 Schworer Andre POR 0 1
249 Barreira Iris POR 0 1
250 Ferreira Ana Margarida A POR 1200 1
251 Raposo Tiago POR 0 1
252 Bernardo Manuel Pedro POR 0 0
253 Pereira Susana Martins POR 1486 0
254 Mendes Neuza Graxinha POR 0 0
255 Berghoff Michael GER 0 0
256 Matias Francisco POR 0 0
257 Carvalho Tiago POR 0 0
258 Anacleto Eurico Jose Araujo POR 0 0
259 Barradas Diogo POR 0 0
260 Coelho Miguel POR 0 0
261 Silva Renato POR 0 0

Chessdom.com

Navara vs. Ivanchuk

2009-05-19T04:54:00.001-07:00

From the press release by Pavel Matocha:

"Grandmasters David Navara and Vassily Ivanchuk will compete against each other on 27th - 31st May 2009 in Prague. The eight-game match is to take place between 27th to 31st May 2009 at Best Western Kampa hotel in Prague.

The match of grandmasters Navara and Ivanchuk will be the main attraction of the chess festival IEZ CHESS TROPHY 2009, which is held by a civic association Prague Chess Society.

All games will be commented on for the audience by Czech-American grandmaster, Lubomír Kaválek. All games will be shown online at www.praguechess.cz.

The match will be complemented by a chess simul of Grandmaster Kaválek playing against 25 opponents as well as by lectures by grandmasters. The chess festival is held in a partnership with the capital city Prague and the general sponsor is "EZ group".

Source: ChessToday.net

Eljanov wins Bosna

2009-05-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

9th round (17.05.2009., 13:30h)

Eljanov - Predojević 1/2 : 1/2
Movsesian - Harikrishna 1/2 : 1/2
Sokolov - Wang 0 : 1

10th round (18.05.2009., 13:30h)

Predojević - Sokolov 1/2 : 1/2
Harikrishna - Eljanov 1/2 : 1/2
Wang - Movsesian 1 : 0

Final standings:

1. Eljanov (7)
2. Predojević (5,5)
3. Wang (5,5)
4. Movsesian (5)
5. Harikrishna (4)
6. Sokolov (3)

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

21-year-old NY man crowned US Chess champion

2009-05-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

Source: AP News

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man who won the U.S. Chess Championship when he was just 16 has reclaimed the title at the age of 21.

Hikaru Nakamura (pronounced Heh-CAR-uh NAH'-kuh-muh-rah) won the United States Chess Federation competition Sunday by beating Josh Friedel in the final round of the competition in St. Louis.

He takes home a $40,000 prize.

The chess ace from White Plains, N.Y., first won the title as a junior, breaking every age group record set by famed chess player Bobby Fischer, except that of youngest U.S. champion.

The competition was held over 10 days at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

Iranian woman becomes chess Grandmaster

2009-05-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

Payvand - 05/18/09

TEHRAN, May 18 (Mehr News Agency) -- Iranian chess player Atousa Pourkashiyan became Chess Grandmaster on Monday. Pourkashiyan earned the title in the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden after gaining eight points in 11 games. She competed with four Grandmasters and five International Masters in the event.

The title Grandmaster is awarded to excellent chess masters by the World Chess Federation FIDE. Apart from "World Champion", Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can achieve.

Pourkashiyan has played for Iran in the Women's Asian Teams Chess Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

Source: http://www.payvand.com

So, Antonio boost Asian continental chess bids

2009-05-19T04:14:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - GM Wesley So bounced back from back-to-back draws to whip upset-conscious Rui Gao of China in the sixth round and boost his chances in the 2009 Asian Continental Individual chess championship on Monday in Subic.

Ever so eager to redeem himself following consecutive draws against lower-rated foreign opponents, the 15-year-old So made short work of his Chinese rival in only 32 moves of the Sicilian Najdorf.

When the end came, So was threatening to mate his Chinese opponent in two moves with his rook and two powerful bishops.

“I had a good opportunity, so I went for the win," said So, who is hoping to clinch one of 10 berths to the World Cup scheduled Nov. 20-Dec. 15 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

The win – the third against two draws and one loss - enabled So to improve his total to four points with still five rounds left in this 11-round qualifier to the World Cup.

Antonio's continued rise

GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. also continued his remarkable rise, beating GM Abhijit Gupta of India in 42 moves of the Queen’s Indian.

A day after his scintillating triumph over FM Jasem Alhuwar of the United Arab Emirates in the fifth round, the 28th-seeded Antonio kept Filipino pride alive with his third win against three draws.

The Philippine Army mainstay, who returned to the country after a successful campaign in the United States last year, has won three of his last four matches. His only draw during the stretch was against compatriot GM Jayson Gonzales in the fourth round.

Two other Filipino campaigners – GM Mark Paragua and Eugene Torre - also hurlded their sixth-round assignments to stay in contention.

Paragua outclassed Alhuwar in 42 moves of the English, while Torre demolished FM Awam Wahono of Indonesia in 40 moves of the Reti.

GM Chanda Sandipan of India toppled compatriot and top seed Krishnan Sasikiran in 33 moves of the Slav for his fifth point, gaining a share of the provisional lead with GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, who humbled GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 37 moves of the Queen’s Gambit.

Erstwhile co-leaders GMs Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India and Elshan Moradiabadi of Iran battled to a draw in 30 moves of the King’s Indian to join Antonio with 4.5 points. –GMANews.TV

At chess board, opponents are pawns for River Ridge player

2009-04-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Smart moves
By Valerie Rowell Staff Writer
Columbia County News Times - Evans, GA, USA

Noah Quesnel has all the right moves.

The River Ridge Elementary School fourth-grader won his second state chess title at a Georgia Chess Association tournament held March 28 on Jekyll Island, Ga.

The 10-year-old outplayed the 10 other players in the elementary section in five rounds during the 2009 Georgia Open Individual Scholastic Chess Championship.

"There were a couple of tough matches," Noah said, especially his third-round matchup with Eric Lu, the only player to outrank him in the section. "It turned out the final game for the championship wasn't that hard. ... Actually it was the third-place round that was the hard one."

Noah, of Evans, started playing chess at age 5. He was curious about the game and asked his mother, Jane Quesnel, to show him how to play.

"I showed him and he just loved it," Quesnel said. "He just took off. We started going to tournaments. He really enjoys it."

Read the full article here.

Young Peru chess player gains WGM norm

2009-04-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

LivingInPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Deysi Cori, young Peruvian chess player of only 15 years old, is the first Peruvian girl to win the Woman Grandmaster, during a tournament in Albacete (Spain).

She’s the first Peruvian WGM and also the youngest one in South America.

“I feel thrilled, but I still have another goals to reach. I must do my best, play the best I can and carry on” she said.

This is a big milestone for her, since it’s been a difficult road up to here for this working class family who lives in Villa El Salvador, one of the biggest poor neighborhoods in Lima.

Daysi’s father, Jorge Cori, travelled with her to Spain, with the help of Cementos Lima and Saco Oliveros school, who have supported Deysi and her brother. “All her dedication and sacrifice is finally paying back” he said.

Deysi will play in another internacional tournament in Benidorm (Spain) in a few days, in order to keep on accumulating points for her chess career. Her most immediate goal is to win the first place in Sub-20 Chess World Championship to be held next October in Argentina.

Source: http://www.livinginperu.com

Azerbaijan vs. the World

2009-04-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

President Cup - Match Azerbaijan vs World
Published by Chessdom.com

Anand, Kramnik, Shirov and Karjakin to represent the World

The central event during the President Cup, scheduled to take place on 7-9 May in Baku, will be a chess match between Azerbaijan and the World.

The World will be represented by some of the strongest players of the present day - current world champion Viswanathan Anand (India), former world champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), winner of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine) and Alexei Shirov (Spain).

Azerbaijan is lining the team composed of all top rated national players - Teimour Radjabov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Vugar Gashimov, Gadir Guseinov, with possible participation of Rauf Mamedov.

The match will be played in Sheveningen format, where each member of one team meets all players from the opposing camp. The President Cup is celebration of the birthday of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.

News by Teimour Tushiev

Beauty in Chess V: Planet Nisipeanu

2009-04-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

By Michael Schwerteck
Published by Chessvibes.com

In his fifth column about beauty in chess, Michael Schwerteck was inspired by the attractive style of Romanian GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu.

In an interview with the German magazine Schach, the manager of the Bundesliga team Tegernsee, Horst Leckner, recently made an interesting comment about chess media. He regrets that most of the time only approximately the world’s top 20 are in the focus of attention, while many grandmasters below this level do not get the attention and, even more importantly for them, the invitations they deserve. Mr. Leckner observed that it’s always more or less the same people who play each other in the top tournaments, which he doesn’t find particularly interesting.

I had tried to make a similar point in one of my previous columns. If you, as a chess fan, are mainly interested in high quality, even if it consists of bloodless draws by Kramnik in the Petroff or by Wang Yue in the Slav, fine, concentrate on the 2700 guys. If you want to be entertained, however, don’t neglect games played by lesser mortals. Let me quote Mig Greengard’s advice from one of his Amber reports: „Those who think the blindfold games are exciting should watch more games between IMs and the under-2600 crowd in general. They aren’t as worried about Elo, are more speculative, and also make more mistakes, therefore leading to more tactical action.“

I do not want to be disrespectful at all towards the world’s best players. Of course, they can play the most wonderful games. I would just like to recall that there are plenty of guys (and girls) out there who play immensely creative and entertaining chess, although they lack the consistency to belong to the elite, and it would be a pity not to take notice of it. Now you might say you just don’t have the time to look at everything – well, in this case, fortunately enough, there is someone who is ready to do some work for you and dig out some really cool games from time to time.

Read the full article here.

5-way tie for 1st at Eikrem Memorial

2009-04-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

2009 Arnold J. Eikrem Memorial Tournament
April 4th - 12th
Oslo, Norway

Final Standings:

1-5 6.0 GM Bartlomiej Macieja POL 2601
GM Aloyzas Kveinys LTU 2534
GM Emanuel Berg SWE 2610
GM Leif E. Johannessen NOR 2540
GM Jon Ludvig Hammer NOR 2566

6 4.5 GM Florian Handke GER 2496
7 4.0 IM Frode Elsness NOR 2441
8 3.5 GM Leif Øgaard NOR 2403
9 2.0 FM Kristian Trygstad NOR 2314
10 1.0 FM Andreas Moen NOR 2353

Official website: http://sjakkselskapet.no/jubileum/gm-turnering

Robert Hess: America's newest GM

2009-04-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

After winning the SPICE Spring Invitational a few weeks ago, IM Robert Hess has scored his third and final GM norm in Connecticut.

He scored wins over GMs Ehlvest and Nakamura while drawing GMs Akobian, Shulman and Van Wely! He is now the newest American Grandmaster! Congratulations to GM-elect Hess!

After the SPICE Cup, Hess went 7-0 in the top section of the Supernationals to win the individual honor while leading his high school team to the national title! He clearly shows that he can tackle a physically demanding sport like football along with a vigorous academic curriculum at Stuyvesant high school while achieving excellent results on the chess board.

A truly impressive accomplishment by this down to earth young man! Here is my column in today's Avalanche Journal about Robert Hess.

GM Yury Shulman 2697 and GM Darmen Sadvakasov 2611 tied for first. Sadvakasov won the blitz playoff.

Source:Susanpolgar.blogspot.com

Youngest expert ever -- age 8

2009-04-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

By Jack Peters, International Master
April 12, 2009

The U.S. Chess Federation's April rating list includes Samuel Sevian, rated 2001. Samuel, born Dec. 26, 2000, in New York, is a second-grader who lives in Santa Clara. He is believed to be the youngest player to attain an expert's rating. He accomplished the feat in February, at 8 years, 2 months.

Samuel learned to play chess at age 5 and earned a modest rating of 315 from his first tournament in August 2006, when he lived in Florida. By the time his family moved to California a year ago, his rating had risen to 1614, higher than most adults.

Much credit goes to Samuel's father, Armen, a physicist with a Class A rating of 1908. Armen grew up in Armenia, where he was taught by master Henrikh Kasparyan, a world-famous composer of endgames. Father and son solve endgame studies every day. The benefits are indisputable.

Samuel's teacher, former state champion IM Andranik Matikozyan, calls Samuel "exceptionally good" at blindfold play. Matikozyan has never heard of a youngster in Armenia or the Soviet Union who reached Samuel's level at such a young age.

Samuel hopes to play in the 10-year-old category of the World Youth Championships in November in Turkey.

Local news

Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian, California's highest-rated player, will take on all comers at 7 p.m. Monday in St. Andrew's Church, 11555 National Blvd., Los Angeles. Call Pete Savino at (310) 827-2789 for details.

Read the full article here.

European Senior Team Championship

2009-04-18T07:07:00.001-07:00

Velden am Wörthersee

International flair, a pleasant ambience full of natural beauty and cultural sights make Velden one of the most attarctive Austrian destinations. Holiday makers seeking relaxation find exactly what they are looking for: countless footpaths and excursions in an unspoiled nature. Enjoy the wide range of athletic activities, cultural sights and adventures for the ambitious tourist.

Especially the springtime, when nature comes alive, you experience a bit early here on Lake Wörthersee. The influence of the mediterranean climate is not reflected by an extraordinary landscape but also by the unique hospitality of the Carinthian people.

Carinthia has a grat diversitiy of traditions and customs, some of which you can experience in the days before Easter. During the time of Lent the altar of many churches is covered with a cloth decorated with blilical scenes which is almost an artwork and worth a visit.

Official website: http://www.velden-schach.at/european-senior-championship

Tomsk400 wins Russian Club Cup

2009-04-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Russian Team Cup
Report by ChessToday.net

The tournament in the Premier League was won by the Tomsk-400 team. (GMs Jakovenko, Timofeev, Inarkiev, Tiviakov, Tkachiev, Amonatov and the reserve player Khismatullin).

Everything was decided in the final round 7:

Tomsk400 - Eurasia-Logistic: 3½-2½

Tomsk400 played without their leader Jakovenko, and achieved a victory against Eurasia only by a minimal margin. On the 5th board Amonatov (Tomsk) defeated Rychagov.

Moscow64 - St Petersburg Fed: 2½-3½

The St-Petersburg federation team, which already had lost chances for the highest places, prevented Moscow from taking the gold medals.

In the only decisive game of that match, Efimenko won against B.Savchenko on last board. The Moscow team for some reason played without their most successful player, Fabiano Caruana who scored 5/6 on 3rd board.

TPS – Ural: 1½-4½

A super team Ural won for the second time, and took the bronze medals, at least.

Chigorin CC - Economist1: 1-5

The Chigorin Club team lost all their matches.

Final Standings:

1. Tomsk400 - 11 (23½)
2. Moscow64 - 9 (24½)
3. Ural - 9 (24)
4. Economist1 - 9 (23½)
5. St Petersburg Fed - 8 (23)
6. TPS - 6 (20½)
7. Eurasia-Logistic - 4 (19½)
8. Chigorin CC - 0 (9½).

Teams, which finished 1-4, have qualified to the 2009 European Club Cup.

The Crosstable shows the secret of team Tomsk success. They made not as many individual points as some other teams, but four of their five team victories were achieved by a minimal margin! (And only against Chigorin CC they won with 4½-1½).

Best Performances:

Caruana (Moscow) 2896 (6/7)
Grachev (Moscow) 2821 (4/5)
Shirov (Ural) 2809 (5/7)

Anand and other GMs stand by Gopal

2009-04-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Anand, Barua, Thipsay stand by Gopal
Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Facing censure from the All India Chess Federation, young Grandmaster G.N. Gopal has received strong support from none other than World champion Viswanathan Anand.

Describing the proposed decision of the AICF Central Council to prevent Gopal from taking part in any official championship for one year as “much too harsh,” Anand said: “at any rate, this will hurt a young and extremely promising player in a crucial year for him.”

The AICF decision followed Gopal’s non-participation in the National championship in December in order to honour the commitment made to the organisers of the Carlos Tore Memorial tournament in Merida, Mexico.

Anand said: “I feel this is very harsh for something that doesn’t really hurt the sport. Ban should be for that. Skipping the Nationals isn’t usually met with a ban. If a player gets an attractive opportunity to play abroad, I guess the federation can be flexible. At his age, a year is pretty crucial.”

When asked for a possible solution, Anand said during an internet chat: “this time, I would suggest they let him off with a warning. I hope they feel they made their point and drop it now because it will really hurt his career. Chess players are really concerned and there is lot sympathy for him.”

Should be optional

Anand was also not in favour of the AICF making it mandatory for the players to participate in the National championship.

“In fact, in most countries, it is optional. As long as the people are allowed not to play if they don’t want to, it’s fine by me. Changing the criteria for playing in National ‘A’ is okay but if they (the players) don’t want to play, that should be their choice. Surely it is in the interest of the players to play the Nationals, why force them?”

Fellow Grandmasters Dibyendu Barua and Pravin Thipsay also joined Anand in standing by Gopal.

Barua, the country’s second GM, made a point by saying, “if our players are stopped from honouring their commitments to overseas organisers, it will seriously curtail the invitations that come to the Indian players.

“In Europe, organisers are very particular about the players keeping their word. It can have a cascading effect on all Indian players.”

The Kolkata GM said he was all for discipline among the players and said: “the players are duty bound to inform the AICF about their availability for the National championship. Since it is usually held in December, players can chalk out their schedule accordingly and be available for the National meet.”

Thipsay opposed the decision on Gopal and said, “Considering his age, he should have been counselled and not punished.”

The country’s oldest GM went further and said, “One feels, under the circumstances, only one case is being taken up by AICF. Even those who did not play in the National ‘B’ or those who did not participate for the country in the team events, all should be treated as matters of indiscipline.

And if any explanation is to be sought from the players, even these players could be asked to explain their non-participation.”

Appeal

Meanwhile, the Chess Players’ Association of India (CPAI) has sent an appeal to the AICF President N. Srinivasan to allow Gopal to take part in the Asian championship, where is he seeded, and the World junior championship.

The two-page letter is signed by five GMs, including National champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Abhijit Kunte, Sandipan Chanda and Neelotpal Das, besides several International Masters. It remains to be seen whether Anand’s suggestion and CPAI’s fresh plea make AICF review its decision.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

Happy 1st Year Anniversary

2009-04-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today is the first year anniversary of this blog. I want to thank all the visitors who visited this blog from the beginning until now.

I will try to update this blog as long as I can. Thanks!!

WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan wins the Iranian Women's Chess Championship

2009-04-12T06:39:00.001-07:00

by Mahdipour Reza

WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan won convincingly the Iranian Women Chess Championship 2009. She collected 11,0/13 points without a single loss - 9 wins and 4 draws.

WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh won her last round game with an attempt to take second. However, she took the bronze after WFM Sara Sadat Khademalsharieh, the youngest Iranian WFM and gold medalist from the Asian Youth Championship, conqured the silver medal with the same points and better tiebreak.

Standings

1 WGM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2272 11
2 WFM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat 1811 9.5
3 WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh 2137 9.5
4 WFM Hakimifard Ghazal 2071 8.5
5 WFM Bayat Shohreh 1976 8
6 WFM Mahini Salman Mona 2088 7
7 Tajik Sareh 2018 7
8 Rahimi Tara 1876 6
9 Vakilpour Azin 1817 6
10 Zavar Mousavi Mehenoush 1879 6
11 Hammatizadeh N 1880 5
12 Alavi Homa 1904 4.5
13 Mahboobi Shiva 1744 3
14 WGM Paridar Shadi 2250 0

Source: Chessdom.com

Caruana downs another 2700 player

2009-04-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

GM Rublevsky (2702) - GM Caruana (2649) [B40]
Russian Club Cup (2), 05.04.2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 d6 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 Nc6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Qe2 0–0 10.Rd1 Na5 11.Bd3 Nb4 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.Be4 f5 14.Bd3 Nxd3 15.Qxd3 b6 16.Nc3 Bb7 17.Ne5 f4 18.Ne4 Qd5 19.f3 Rad8 20.b3 Rf5 21.Nf2 Rxe5 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.Bxf4 Qxf4 24.Qe2 Bd5 25.Rac1 Bd6 26.h3 Rf8 27.Rc2 Nb7 28.Qa6 Nc5 29.Qxa7 Qb4 30.Ng4 Bb8 31.Qe7 Qf4 32.Rcd2 h5 33.Nf2 Be5 34.Kf1 Ra8 35.Nd3 Nxd3 36.Rxd3 Kh7 37.a4 Rf8 38.Qd7 Rf6 39.Qb5 Be4 40.R3d2 Bxf3 41.Rf2 Bxg2+ Black wins 0–1

GK's chess wisdom

2009-04-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

I have known Gary for more than 20 years (we first met at the 1988 Olympiad). When I told him that I was glad to see him at the Supernationals, he responded jokingly: "I am alive and free." Gary is in Nashville with his wife, Mig Greengard and Michael Khodarkovksy.

I attended Gary's lecture and Q&A session this afternoon. Here are some of the topics discussed:

He started with a joke that while it is only his first visit to TN, he felt right at home here as it neighbors Georgia just as his native Baku (in Azerbaijan).

On Bobby

Gary talked about Bobby Fischer’s popularity in Russia back in the 1970’s. He said actually Bobby “was the best representative of the Russian school of chess”. What he meant was that in the old Soviet Union, they immensely respect good chess and Bobby was the best at it in the beginning of the 1970’s.

The real secret is to work hard

He stressed a number of times during the lecture that there are no miracles in chess.The “real secret” is to work hard no matter what the training tools are. In his days it was books and notebooks and today it is computers. He said “The tools can be different but what is important remains the same.” Kasparov also said that “I don’t think champions are born, I think they are made, it’s all the result of very hard work.” However, he further added that “being able to work hard is unique talent.”

He also said that there is nothing more important than having a dedicated Mom, Dad or Coach to help support a young aspiring player.

First game against Karpov

Gary talked about his early days and his first memorable game (preceding their 180 official games later) against a future arch rival Anatoly Karpov. It was in November 1975 when Karpov gave a simul and Gary was just one of the talented juniors. He stills feels emotional about it today. He is sorry that he missed to opportunity to upset the then World Champion, and lost a good game.

Botvinnik

Kasparov also talked about how grateful he is and he owes a lot to the late chess legend and former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Botvinnik accepted him as a student in August 1973 to the famous “Botvinnik chess school.”

If you compare to today’s conditions, the Botvinnik chess school had very modest tools such as a magnetic demo board, a few chess books and notebooks. Gary said “But I’ll be forever grateful for Botvinnik giving us his passion, inspiration, and methods on how to study.”

The happiest day of his life

November 10, 1985. At the closing ceremony when he was crowned as the 13th World Chess Champion, the widow of former World Champion Tigran Petrosian (who was a great fan and supporter of Gary) told him: “I am sorry for you.” Gary was shocked and asked but why? Her response was: “The happiest day of your life now is just gone.” Gary’s thought was: “The bad news was she’s probably right. The good news was it gave him the motivation to prove her wrong”.

Computer chess

He recognized the enormous growth of computer chess. He gave a simul in 1985 against 32 top chess computers. He won all the games. The only game that he was in danger of losing was against the computer named after him. During the game, he felt terrified that if loses he will be accused of promoting his product – which he had no intention to do. But at the end, he managed to “trick” the computer and won.

However, even with all the computer inferences, chess still very much remains a human game. He said he recently saw a seven piece position which according the computer’s (perfect) analyses was winning for one side in 500-600 moves! Of course we already knew for years that there are some K+R+B versus K+2N positions which are only winnable after a series of 220 or so perfect moves in a row! He added with a smile “What should we think of the quality of our games which typically end in 40 moves?”

Generations

“Chess is for everyone.” He mentioned Magnus Carlsen, Hou Yifan and Sergey Karjakin, all just teenagers. Anand is still on top of his game and about to celebrate his 40th birthday while a veteran like the legendary Victor Korchnoi who not long ago was still a member of the “Top 100 Club”.

When Gary announced that he was retiring from competitive chess, Korchnoi was upset with him and told him “I haven’t even played my first World Championship match at your age.”

Gary added that his online blitz rating is still not bad as he called himself “the highest rated kibitzer”.

Politics

When asked about his future political ambitions, he said: “We (as part of the opposition party to Putin’s regime) are fighting not to win the election but to HAVE an election.”

As the last advice to all the parents in the room who would like their children to get ahead, Gary said: “Passion, dedication, love – that’s all you need to succeed!”

Source:Susanpolgar.blogspot.com

3-way tie for 1st at Ciocaltea Memorial

2009-04-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

The traditional GM Victor Ciocaltea memorial took place in the Romanian capital of Bucharest from 23 March - 2 April 2009.

Final standings:

1-3. IM G. Szabo (ROU, 2506), GM Lupulescu (ROU, 2608) and IM I.Chirila (ROU, 2485) - 7½
4. IM Miron (ROU, 2442) - 6½
5. GM Jianu (ROU, 2544) - 6
6-7. GM Shishkin (UKR, 2493) and N.Abasov (AZE, 2397) - 5½
8. IM Haznedaroglu (TUR, 2451) - 5
9-10. FM Roganovic (SRB, 2475) and IM Erdogdu (TUR, 2459) - 4
11-12. GM Murariu (ROU, 2490) and IM Burnoiu (ROU, 2453) - 3½

Report by ChessToday.net