The Week in Chess 689 (original) (raw)

THE WEEK IN CHESS 689 21st January 2008 by Mark Crowther

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1017 games 26 problems

1) Introduction

My thanks to Pascal Villalba, Leonid Galperin, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Sinisa Joksic, Jan Mazuch, Nigel Freeman, Steffen Wirths, Kristianus Liem, Yochanan Afek, Frits Agterdenbos, Michiel Abeln and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The death of Bobby Fischer brings to an end an epic story of glory and disgrace. Fischer was responsible for the boom in chess that brought many people of around my age and older into the game. I give an obituary below which was compiled on the road in Wijk aan Zee so is perhaps not as comprohensive as I would have liked. I've spent many, many hours of my life with his games and that's what he should be remember for, not the sad decline where he gave into mental illness that was probably always with him and that concentrating on his chess helped him cope with.

Wijk aan Zee is a terrific place to be at this time of year. The A-Group is being led by Magnus Carlsen and it would be great for him to break through and win here but there is, of course some way to go and he has Kramnik, Aronian, Radjabov and Anand all within striking distance. I'm writing more detailed reports daily on the front page.

Finally apologies to those who sent material that didn't make it this week. I simply ran out of time in the end, just too much to do in Wijk aan Zee, I will publish the stories when I get home in TWIC 690.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Robert James Fischer 1943-2008

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was born in Chicago, Illinois USA 9th March 1943 died in Reykjavic, Iceland 17th January 2008 at the age of 64 of kidney problems. He achieved international fame and notoriety at the height of cold war on the way to becoming World Chess Champion in 1972.

Bobby Fischer learned his chess in Brooklyn New York at the age of 6. His progress at first was not spectacular but by the age of 13 he, in his own words "got good". He became US Junior Champion in 1956 and defended it the following year. Increasingly good results allowed him entry to the 1958 Championships. In a shock result he won the first of his eight US Championship titles (every time he entered) with 10.5/13, becoming in January 1958, at the age of 14, the youngest US champion and with it he became an International Master (the youngest at the time).

Its only possible to go through some of the key moments of Fischer's career, especially as its so well known.

Fischer qualified for the 1958 World Championship Interzonal in Portorož, Slovenia, his first international tournament. Just as in his first US Championships Fischer was not expected to do very well in the Interzonal but his idea of targetting the weaker players and drawing with the stronger came off and Fischer edged out David Bronstein amongst others to qualify for the Candidates and become the youngest Grandmaster in history to that time at the age of 15.

Portoroz Interzonal, viii-ix 1958
1 Tal,M 13.5
2 Gligoric,S 13
3 Petrosian,T 12.5 117.25
4 Benko,P 12.5 115.25
5 Olafsson,F 12 115.75
6 Fischer,R 12 106
7 Bronstein,D 11.5 112.75
8 Averbakh,Y 11.5 105.5
9 Matanovic,A 11.5 105.5
10 Szabo,L 11.5 100.75
11 Pachman,L 11.5 99.75
12 Panno,O 11 104.25
13 Filip,M 11 98
14 Sanguineti,R 10
15 Neikirkh,O 9.5
16 Larsen,B 8.5
17 Sherwin,J 7.5
18 Rossetto,H 7
19 Cardoso,Ro 6
20 De Greiff,B 4.5
21 Fuster,G 2

Fischer warmed up for the Candidates tournament in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade 1959 with respectable finishes in some international tournaments. He fought extremely hard and became the top western finisher in a creditable 5th from 8.

Candidates Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade Yugoslavia, ix-x 1959
1 Tal M 20
2 Keres P 18.5
3 Petrosian T 15.5
4 Smyslov V 15
5 Fischer R 12.5 156.5
6 Gligoric S 12.5 162
7 Olafsson F 10
8 Benko P 8

The Soviet players had revealed some of his weaknesses but its clear they already feared him. Already Fischer was a true star in the chess world and his play rapidly continued to improve.

Fischer tied with Boris Spassky in Mar-del-Plata 1960 losing their individual game. In Buenos Aires 1960 he had his only true failure as a professional finishing 13th from 20 with 8.5/19. In a harbinger of things to come the 1961 match between Fischer and Sammy Reshevsky was abandoned when Fischer walked out in a dispute over the playing schedule. Fischer finished in 2nd place in Bled in an international tournament but had the satisfaction of beating Mikhail Tal for the first time.

Fischer qualified for the Interzonal in 1962 in Stockholm and at 19 he won the event by a two and a half point margin and clearly thought he was on his way to taking the world title.

Interzonal Stockholm, i-iii 1962
1 Fischer,R 17.5
2 Geller,E 15 161.25
3 Petrosian,T 15 152.5
4 Korchnoi,V 14 144.25
5 Filip,M 14 139.5
6 Gligoric,S 13.5 135.75
7 Benko,P 13.5 134.5
8 Stein,L 13.5 131.75
9 Uhlmann,W 12.5 134.75
10 Portisch,L 12.5 126.75
11 Pomar,A 12 116.75
12 Olafsson,F 12 111
13 Bolbochan,Ju 11.5
14 Barcza,G 11 112.25
15 Bilek,I 11 96.75
16 Bisguier,A 9.5
17 Yanofsky,D 7.5 76.25
18 Bertok,M 7.5 73.5
19 German,E 7 66
20 Schweber,S 7 62.5
21 Teschner,R 6.5
22 Cuellar,M 5.5
23 Aaron,M 4

The Candidates tournament in Curacao 1962 was to be the biggest disappointment of Fischer's career. He never really settled to the task, had fights with Benko over the use of the one US second there and there are even more strange stories in Brad Darrasch's "Bobby Fischer vs the Rest of the World" a book which annoyed Fischer greatly but in retrospect seemed to get closer to what it was like to be around him than Frank Brady's "Bobby Fischer Profile of a Prodigy" which generally presents a picture of Fischer that I would like to be true but probably never was.

Candidates Curacao v-vi 1962
1 Petrosian T 17.5
2 Keres P 17
3 Geller E 17
4 Fischer R 14
5 Korchnoi V 13.5
6 Benko P 12
7 Tal M 7
8 Filip M 7

Even though the result of 4th from 8 was in some ways an improvement Fischer didn't see things that way. He accused the Soviet players of throwing games against each other and playing hard against him. All this may have had some truth to it but he wasn't playing nearly well enough to be affected. However his upset led to him not playing an international event for three years outside of the Olympiad of the same year. It was around this time he joined the "Worldwide Church of God" a cult pretending to be a religion founded by Herbert Armstrong. It can't be said to have had a positive effect on Fischer.

He played very little in 1963 including missing out on the 1st Piatigorsky Cup in Santa Monica. In December 1963 over into January 1964 Fischer made a huge impact in the US with his 11/11 perfect score in the US Championships.

In 1965 Fischer returned to international chess by accepting an invitation to play in the Capablanca Memorial in Havana. Because of the Cuban Missile Crisis US - Cuban relations were at an all time low. He didn't receive permission to travel to Cuba. Instead he played by telegraph from the Frank Marshall Chess Club in New York. His games lasted much longer than everyone elses and his 3rd place finish was extremely creditable. It also paved the way for US participation in the Olympiad there in 1966. 1966 also saw Fischer finish 2nd half a point behind Spassky in the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup but only after a bad start where he was trying to find the perfect hotel room. It was only on the intervention of Spassky that he calmed down and just got on with playing.

1967 saw wins in Skopje and Monte Carlo before he went to the Sousse Interzonal where he started with 7/9 playing his most impressive chess of his career so far. However he had a backlog of games due to his religious observances and withdrew when they couldn't be resolved. He played a couple of events in 1968 winning in Netanya and Vinkovci. 1969 was a blank year, he also missed the US Championships which were also a Zonal for the World Championships. It seemed like he wouldn't be able to win the World Title until 1975 at the earliest.

However the US Chess Federation and executive director Edmund Edmondson decided to step in and try and get him into the 1970-2 cycle. He had an immediate effect in that Fischer returned to chess with a vengeance in 1970 starting with a 3-1 win in his mini-match against Tigran Petrosian in the USSR vs the Rest of the World in Belgrade. He followed this with a win in the Herceg Novi blitz a type of chess the Soviets didn't rate him at. Then he won the Rovinj Zagreb tournament ahead of Hort, Smyslov and Korchnoi. He then won a tournament in Buenos Aires with 15/17 before attending the Siegen Olympiad where a decision as to whether Fischer could play in the Interzonal was to be taken. Fischer lost a famous game to Spassky but won the decision. He was in to the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal where with an 18.5/23 score three and a half points clear of the field.

Interzonal Palma de Mallorca xi-xii 1970
1 Fischer,R 18.5
2 Larsen,B 15 167.5
3 Geller,E 15 167
4 Huebner,R 15 155.25
5 Taimanov,M 14 146.5
6 Uhlmann,W 14 141.5
7 Portisch,L 13.5 149.75
8 Smyslov,V 13.5 141
9 Polugaevsky,L 13 146.75
10 Gligoric,S 13 135.5
11 Panno,O 12.5 130.75
12 Mecking,H 12.5 130
13 Hort,V 11.5
14 Ivkov,B 10.5
15 Suttles,D 10 105.75
16 Minic,D 10 96
17 Reshevsky,S 9.5
18 Matulovic,M 9 98.5
19 Addison,W 9 95.25
20 Filip,M 8.5 91.5
21 Naranja,R 8.5 88.75
22 Ujtumen,T 8.5 85.25
23 Rubinetti,J 6
24 Jimenez,E 5.5

Thus Fischer was in the Candidates Matches series which attracted worldwide headlines as he beat Mark Taimanov 6-0, Bent Larsen 6-0 and then went 1-0 up against Tigran Petrosian in the final to make it 21 wins in a row a run starting with wins at the end of the Interzonal. Petrosian won the next game but after three draws lost four in a row and the match.

The match against Boris Spassky was at the height of the cold war and actually dominated the news. Fischer it seemed got cold feet and made demands over the venue and the prize fund. The venue was finally decided as Reykjavic and all seemed set. Then at the last minute Fischer refused to travel unless the prize fund was increased London financier Jim Slater added 125,000totakethefundtoarecord125,000 to take the fund to a record 125,000totakethefundtoarecord250,000. Fischer was still late, was defaulted game one, the default was reversed and then Fischer lost when grabbing a pawn he shouldn't have. Game two he did default when he claimed he could hear the cameras and that the audience was too close. Just when people thought the match was over there was a compromise, game three was in a table tennis room off the main venue with a close circuit camera. 2-0 down Fischer played the Modern Benoni as black and won a smashing game. Fischer was up and running and with wins in games 5,6, 8 and 10 had virtually secured the title. Spassky's only win came in game 11 but a win for Fischer in game 13 restored a lead that was never to be narrowed and the final score was 12.5 - 8.5. He had become the 11th World Chess Champion at the age of 29 and the possibilities seemed limitless.

An interesting postscript is that some of the games were filmed, maybe all of them, but certainly footage of games one and three (a video feed) exist and due to legal problems they've never seen the light of day. Perhaps it will be possible for them to be shown now.

In the aftermath he was a big celebrity promising to defend the title every year but the longer he spent not playing chess the harder it would be for him to live up to his achievements of the previous two years. He issued a series of demands including asking for the title to be defended with first to 10 wins. Negotiations for a 1975 match against Anatoly Karpov fell through and having not played for 3 years his chances would, in my view, have not been good. FIDE came to the opinion that Fischer wasn't going to play (and in retrospect they were almost certainly right on this point`) and so defaulted him and made his challenger Anatoly Karpov World Champion. Fischer disappeared apparently living on the streets or in reduced circumstances occasionally being seen distributing dubious pamphlets. He published a book in 1982 "I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse!" about a 1981 arrest but otherwise had a low profile living with people in the US, Germany and elsewhere.

Fischer was just about broke in 1992 and it was classically for him in a Yugoslavia that was tearing itself apart in civil war with many new countries appearing that he returned. There was sponsorship from a bank (Yugoskandic) that subsequently went bankrupt (Fischer earned and got paid at least $3m) and the match took place on the island of Sveti Stefan and then in Belgrade in Yugoslavia. His opponent was, as 20 years before, Boris Spassky. Fischer was warned by a fax from the US state department against playing the match because of US sanctions against Yugoslavia. The US government didn't seriously follow this up until much later. Fischer publically spat on the fax in a press conference and the match was on. The match was played first to 10 wins as he had always wanted and played with an electronic clock he had patented in 1988 which allowed increments to be added every time a move was made. As this kind of time limit became standard it was name after him even though others including David Bronstein had similar ideas. The first game was a logical Ruy Lopez which reminded people of his better days, game 9 was a win in an Exchange Ruy Lopez straight out of old preparation and Game 11 was a highly entertaining sacrificial win but neither Spassky nor Fischer were what they had been and some modern players were very critical of the over all quality. Fischer took the match +10 -5 =15. This match was covered on the fledgling internet and it was the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing. Its highly likely that I'd be doing something else without this match and its coverage.

Fischer then stayed in Hungary for a time both on his own, and with modern players such as Judit Polgar and Peter Leko. In 1996 he pitched up in Buenos Aires with the idea of Fischer Random Chess. Apparently he was a bit disturbed how much chess theory had come along since 1972 and realised he couldn't catch up.

Then for a while he disappeared again but in 1999 he started ringing radio stations, spouting all kind of anti-Jewish, anti-American and anti-modern chess thoughts most famously he was being interviewed live when the September 11th 2001 twin towers attack occurred he said "This is all wonderful news. What goes around comes around even for the United States". All his broadcasts are a stressful listen but if you're up for it they're online at:http://www.fischer.jp/

In 2003 Fischer's passport was revoked silently by the US for the breaking of the trade sanctions with Yugoslavia in 1992 (and most probably his 9/11 comments), in 2004 he was arrested at at Narita International Airport and detained until March 2005 when Iceland granted him a passport. The US were serious about getting him back to the states and tried everything in its power to get it done but in the end Japan decided to allow him to travel to Iceland.

See a late interview with Fischer at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/video/2008/jan/18/bobby.fischer

With so many problems worldwide the US spending so much time and trouble to get him back did seem a little pathetic on their part and any trial wouldn't have reflected well on anyone. Fischer travelled to and lived in Iceland until his death on 17th January 2007. Four months ago he went into hospital for treatment of long standing kidney problems but after a couple of months he was sent home to die as there was nothing more the doctors could do.

Fischer's greatness was the clarity, precision and beauty of his chess games, the battling uncompromising nature he took to every tournament and match he ever played and the sheer drama of his chess career. His personal demands and the way he raised the profile of chess led to improved conditions for a whole generation that followed him. He took on the Soviet Chess Machine virtually alone and won, at least over the board. It probably cost him everything else in his life. When I was younger he was my absolute hero.

His contributions to chess included his deep opening preparation (he completely changed the standard), certain endgames and in general his clear style popularised the game.

But you cannot ignore the dark side of Fischer. His obsession with Jewish conspiracies in spite of both his parents being Jewish (his real father was recently revealed as being physicist Paul Nemenyi rather than Hans Gerhardt Fischer who was his sister's father), his hatred of the United States, in spite of being a proud representative of them for many years, his contempt for modern chess (Kasparov - Karpov matches being fixed move by move), his contempt for chess (lets change the rules) and finally his contempt for his own play by not competing since winning the title apart from the brief 1992 comeback are all black marks against his name. He couldn't organise his own life and his list of hates so close to home perhaps signify a deep self loathing. Many of the petty things he railed against are met day by day by people who work in the real world. He doesn't pay to keep things in storage they get sold off. The Swiss don't want his bank account anymore but he refuses to have the money transferred. Its hard not to see the problems with the US as being at least in part self inflicted. He was charasmatic and some of the press conferences in Yugoslavia were quite funny but he drove most of his friends away and most of all damaged himself and his own interests all the time. His life since 1972 was very sad and long endgame almost certainly due to untreated mental illness.

Above all Fischer left us with his games and in particular the book (composed with the help of Larry Evans) "My 60 Memorable Games". This is perhaps his greatest gift to the game and for which he should really be remembered and I will certainly try and hold on to that.

You can't pick a small number of Fischer games but I have to so I choose two I have a fondness for. The first is against a Mongolian player who is famous for losing this game. Its just a really nice example of how he beat weaker players, with simplicity and directness.

Fischer,Robert James - Myagmarsuren,Lhamsuren [C00]
Sousse Interzonal+ Sousse (3), 1967

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Ngf3 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.e5 Nd7 9.Re1 b5 10.Nf1 b4 11.h4 a5 12.Bf4 a4 13.a3 bxa3 14.bxa3 Na5 15.Ne3 Ba6 16.Bh3 d4 17.Nf1 Nb6 18.Ng5 Nd5 19.Bd2 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Qd7 21.Qh5 Rfc8 22.Nd2 Nc3 23.Bf6 Qe8 24.Ne4 g6 25.Qg5 Nxe4 26.Rxe4 c4 27.h5 cxd3 28.Rh4 Ra7 29.Bg2 dxc2 30.Qh6 Qf8 31.Qxh7+ 1–0

The second is from his triumph over Boris Spassky. An almost exclusively 1.e4 player for most of his career with just the occasional 1.c4 and b3 Fischer varied his openings with both black and white. Here he takes on Spassky, by transposition in one of his favourite defences to 1.d4 and blows him away, Fischer had never played the white side of a Queen's Gambit in his professional career before.

Fischer,Robert James (2785) - Spassky,Boris V (2660) [D59]
World Championship 28th Reykjavik (6), 23.07.1972

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 0–0 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Rc1 Be6 12.Qa4 c5 13.Qa3 Rc8 14.Bb5 a6 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.0–0 Ra7 17.Be2 Nd7 18.Nd4 Qf8 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.e4 d4 21.f4 Qe7 22.e5 Rb8 23.Bc4 Kh8 24.Qh3 Nf8 25.b3 a5 26.f5 exf5 27.Rxf5 Nh7 28.Rcf1 Qd8 29.Qg3 Re7 30.h4 Rbb7

And now Fischer finishes things off with brutal efficiency.

31.e6! Rbc7 32.Qe5 Qe8 33.a4 Qd8 34.R1f2 Qe8 35.R2f3 Qd8 36.Bd3 Qe8 37.Qe4 Nf6 38.Rxf6 gxf6 39.Rxf6 Kg8 40.Bc4 Kh8 41.Qf4 1–0

Tributes and Obituaries

ChessVibes -Has tributes to Fischer

http://www.chessclub.com/ including a special John Watson Book Show on the subject

Canadian CBC Report, Windows Media file

Leonard Barden in the Guardian
Stephen Moss in the Guardian
Daily Telegraph

3) Corus Wijk aan Zee

The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 takes place 11th-27th January 2008 in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre.

Dates Rd1-4 12th-15th, Rd5-8 17th-20th, Rd9-10 22nd-23rd, Rd11-13 25th-27th Jan 2008.

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

Fred Lucas takes many photos at the event:http://www.fredlucas.eu. Frits Agterdenbos has daily photo reports: http://www.chessvista.com/. Commentary:http://www.chessdom.com/. Chess Videos:http://www.chessvibes.com/.http://www.chessclub.com/ has daily live coverage and also John Watson interviews Wijk tournament director Jeroen van den Berg on his Book show.Direct link - Etienne Bacrot annotates his own games:http://www.chess22.fr/ - Ian Rogers blogging from Wijk: http://main.uschess.org/ - John Lee Shaw on the spot: http://www.chessgateway.com/ - Europe Echecs has videos: http://www.europe-echecs.com/

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 A-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Round 4 (January 15, 2008)
Carlsen, Magnus - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 36 C84 Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Kramnik, Vladimir - Eljanov, Pavel 1-0 68 A16 English Opening
Radjabov, Teimour - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 28 D97 Gruenfeld Russian
Anand, Viswanathan - Adams, Michael ½-½ 56 E15 Queens Indian
Van Wely, Loek - Topalov, Veselin 1-0 81 A43 Old Benoni
Lékó, Peter - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 42 B17 Caro Kann
Gelfand, Boris - Polgar, Judit 0-1 40 E01 Catalan
Round 5 (January 17, 2008)
Aronian, Levon - Anand, Viswanathan ½-½ 20 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Van Wely, Loek 1-0 41 B20 Sicilian Wing Gambit
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 20 C69 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Adams, Michael - Kramnik, Vladimir ½-½ 25 C42 Petroff's Defence
Topalov, Veselin - Gelfand, Boris 1-0 28 C42 Petroff's Defence
Polgar, Judit - Lékó, Peter ½-½ 35 C89 Ruy Lopez Marshall
Eljanov, Pavel - Radjabov, Teimour 0-1 33 E70 King's Indian Fianchetto
Round 6 (January 18, 2008)
Carlsen, Magnus - Polgar, Judit 1-0 52 E37 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Kramnik, Vladimir - Aronian, Levon 1-0 110 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Radjabov, Teimour - Adams, Michael ½-½ 25 C69 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Anand, Viswanathan - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 18 B18 Caro Kann
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Eljanov, Pavel ½-½ 66 C53 Giuoco Piano
Van Wely, Loek - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 16 E15 Queens Indian
Lékó, Peter - Topalov, Veselin 0-1 66 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Round 7 (January 19, 2008)
Aronian, Levon - Radjabov, Teimour 1-0 48 E61 King's Indian Defence
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Kramnik, Vladimir ½-½ 37 C42 Petroff's Defence
Adams, Michael - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ 62 C76 Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz
Topalov, Veselin - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 56 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Polgar, Judit - Anand, Viswanathan 0-1 53 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Gelfand, Boris - Lékó, Peter ½-½ 49 E01 Catalan
Eljanov, Pavel - Van Wely, Loek ½-½ 72 D11 Slav Defence
Round 8 (January 20, 2008)
Carlsen, Magnus - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 67 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Kramnik, Vladimir - Polgar, Judit ½-½ 49 A15 English counter King's Fianchetto
Radjabov, Teimour - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 28 B19 Caro Kann
Anand, Viswanathan - Topalov, Veselin 1-0 40 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 27 D47 Queens Gambit Meran
Van Wely, Loek - Lékó, Peter ½-½ 27 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Eljanov, Pavel - Adams, Michael ½-½ 20 E04 Catalan
Corus A Wijk aan Zee (NED), 12-27 i 2008 cat. XX (2742)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2733 * . ½ . . 1 ½ ½ . . ½ 1 ½ 1 5½ 2877
2. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2799 . * 1 ½ . ½ ½ ½ ½ . . ½ . 1 5 2818
3. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2739 ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ . . . ½ 1 . 1 . 5 2857
4. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2735 . ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ . . . . 1 4½ 2786
5. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2799 . . ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ . . 1 1 . ½ 4½ 2779
6. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2760 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * . ½ 1 . . . . ½ 4 2738
7. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2751 ½ ½ . ½ ½ . * . . ½ ½ ½ ½ . 4 2755
8. Adams, Michael g ENG 2726 ½ ½ . ½ ½ ½ . * . ½ . . ½ ½ 4 2751
9. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2681 . ½ . ½ . 0 . . * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 4 2745
10. Lékó, Peter g HUN 2753 . . ½ . . . ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 3½ 2683
11. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2780 ½ . 0 . 0 . ½ . 0 1 * ½ 1 . 3½ 2694
12. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2707 0 ½ . . 0 . ½ . ½ ½ ½ * 1 . 3½ 2711
13. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2737 ½ . 0 . . . ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * . 2½ 2592
14. Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2692 0 0 . 0 ½ ½ . ½ ½ ½ . . . * 2½ 2607
Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 B-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Round 4 (January 15, 2008)
Bacrot, Etienne - Movsesian, Sergei ½-½ 61 D38 QGD Ragozin
Short, Nigel D - Koneru, Humpy ½-½ 40 C43 Petroff's Defence
Harikrishna, P - Spoelman, Wouter 1-0 80 A46 Queen's Pawn Opening
Krasenkow, Michal - Smeets, Jan ½-½ 34 D11 Slav Defence
Hou Yifan - Stellwagen, Daniël ½-½ 48 B85 Sicilian Scheveningen
Cheparinov, Ivan - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1-0 29 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Sargissian, Gabriel - L'Ami, Erwin ½-½ 48 A29 English Four Knights
Round 5 (January 17, 2008)
Movsesian, Sergei - Harikrishna, P ½-½ 48 C50 Giuoco Piano
Smeets, Jan - Bacrot, Etienne 0-1 38 C89 Ruy Lopez Marshall
Stellwagen, Daniël - Short, Nigel D ½-½ 36 C72 Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz
L'Ami, Erwin - Cheparinov, Ivan 1-0 29 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Krasenkow, Michal ½-½ 61 C65 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Koneru, Humpy - Sargissian, Gabriel ½-½ 59 D47 Queens Gambit Meran
Spoelman, Wouter - Hou Yifan ½-½ 33 C18 French Winawer
Round 6 (January 18, 2008)
Bacrot, Etienne - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 16 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Short, Nigel D - Sargissian, Gabriel 1-0 34 C52 Evans Gambit
Stellwagen, Daniël - Spoelman, Wouter 1-0 34 C96 Ruy Lopez
Harikrishna, P - Smeets, Jan 0-1 65 A07 Barcza System
Krasenkow, Michal - L'Ami, Erwin 1-0 54 D02 Queen's Pawn Game
Hou Yifan - Movsesian, Sergei 0-1 66 B28 Sicilian Early a7-a6
Cheparinov, Ivan - Koneru, Humpy ½-½ 57 C96 Ruy Lopez
Round 7 (January 19, 2008)
Movsesian, Sergei - Stellwagen, Daniël 1-0 58 B47 Sicilian Paulsen
Smeets, Jan - Hou Yifan 0-1 58 C13 French Classical
L'Ami, Erwin - Bacrot, Etienne ½-½ 22 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Harikrishna, P ½-½ 122 C72 Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz
Koneru, Humpy - Krasenkow, Michal 1-0 94 A41 Modern Defence
Sargissian, Gabriel - Cheparinov, Ivan ½-½ 43 D77 Gruenfeld 3.g3
Spoelman, Wouter - Short, Nigel D ½-½ 20 C91 Ruy Lopez
Round 8 (January 20, 2008)
Bacrot, Etienne - Koneru, Humpy ½-½ 123 D38 QGD Ragozin
Short, Nigel D - Cheparinov, Ivan 1-0 72 B92 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Stellwagen, Daniël - Smeets, Jan ½-½ 33 B23 Sicilian Closed
Harikrishna, P - L'Ami, Erwin ½-½ 66 C46 Four Knights
Krasenkow, Michal - Sargissian, Gabriel 1-0 45 D47 Queens Gambit Meran
Hou Yifan - Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ 69 C11 French Defence
Spoelman, Wouter - Movsesian, Sergei 0-1 29 B46 Sicilian Paulsen
Corus B Wijk aan Zee (NED), 12-27 i 2008 cat. XV (2618)
1. Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2677 * ½ . . 1 ½ . . 1 . 1 ½ ½ 1 6 2813
2. Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2700 ½ * . 1 ½ . ½ ½ . ½ 1 . . 1 5½ 2718
3. Short, Nigel D g ENG 2645 . . * . ½ ½ 1 . . ½ 0 1 1 ½ 5 2697
4. Smeets, Jan g NED 2573 . 0 . * ½ 1 . . ½ 1 0 1 ½ . 4½ 2687
5. Stellwagen, Daniël g NED 2625 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ . . 1 . ½ . . 1 4½ 2648
6. Harikrishna, P g IND 2664 ½ . ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ . . 1 . . 1 4½ 2624
7. L'Ami, Erwin g NED 2581 . ½ 0 . . ½ * ½ 0 1 . 1 ½ . 4 2655
8. Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2600 . ½ . . . ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 . 4 2638
9. Krasenkow, Michal g POL 2636 0 . . ½ 0 . 1 ½ * 0 . . 1 1 4 2596
10. Koneru, Humpy g IND 2612 . ½ ½ 0 . . 0 ½ 1 * . ½ ½ . 3½ 2597
11. Hou Yifan wg CHN 2527 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 . ½ . . * . . ½ 3½ 2570
12. Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2713 ½ . 0 0 . . 0 1 . ½ . * ½ 1 3½ 2555
13. Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2676 ½ . 0 ½ . . ½ 0 0 ½ . ½ * . 2½ 2488
14. Spoelman, Wouter m NED 2424 0 0 ½ . 0 0 . . 0 . ½ 0 . * 1 2326
Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 C-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Round 4 (January 15, 2008)
Caruana, Fabiano - Reinderman, Dimitri ½-½ 39 B28 Sicilian Early a7-a6
Braun, Arik - Van der Werf, Mark 1-0 22 D31 Semi-Slav Defence
Van der Wiel, John - Peng Zhaoqin ½-½ 15 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Carlsson, Pontus - Ruijgrok, Dennis 1-0 28 C95 Ruy Lopez Breyer
Ushenina, Anna - Nijboer, Friso 0-1 63 B22 Sicilian Alapin
Krush, Irina - Grivas, Efstratios 0-1 70 A83 Dutch Staunton Gambit
Li Shilong - Negi, Parimarjan 0-1 48 D53 Queens Gambit
Round 5 (January 17, 2008)
Reinderman, Dimitri - Carlsson, Pontus 1-0 67 B70 Sicilian Dragon
Negi, Parimarjan - Ushenina, Anna 1-0 28 D21 QGA
Grivas, Efstratios - Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ 36 D11 Slav Defence
Nijboer, Friso - Krush, Irina 1-0 29 B63 Sicilian Rauzer
Van der Werf, Mark - Van der Wiel, John ½-½ 20 A15 English counter King's Fianchetto
Peng Zhaoqin - Li Shilong ½-½ 37 E97 King's Indian Classical
Ruijgrok, Dennis - Braun, Arik ½-½ 58 B19 Caro Kann
Round 6 (January 18, 2008)
Braun, Arik - Reinderman, Dimitri ½-½ 60 E81 King's Indian Saemisch
Van der Wiel, John - Ruijgrok, Dennis ½-½ 47 C45 Scotch Game
Nijboer, Friso - Negi, Parimarjan 1-0 52 C89 Ruy Lopez Marshall
Carlsson, Pontus - Grivas, Efstratios ½-½ 22 C80 Ruy Lopez Open
Ushenina, Anna - Peng Zhaoqin 1-0 69 D22 QGA
Krush, Irina - Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 57 D19 Slav Defence
Li Shilong - Van der Werf, Mark 0-1 55 D30 Queen's Gambit (without Nc3)
Round 7 (January 19, 2008)
Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsson, Pontus 1-0 36 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Reinderman, Dimitri - Van der Wiel, John ½-½ 16 B56 Sicilian Defence
Negi, Parimarjan - Krush, Irina 1-0 39 B66 Sicilian Rauzer
Grivas, Efstratios - Braun, Arik 1-0 24 D11 Slav Defence
Van der Werf, Mark - Ushenina, Anna 0-1 77 D39 QGD Ragozin
Peng Zhaoqin - Nijboer, Friso ½-½ 29 A88 Dutch Leningrad
Ruijgrok, Dennis - Li Shilong ½-½ 49 B56 Sicilian Defence
Round 8 (January 20, 2008)
Braun, Arik - Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 52 D19 Slav Defence
Van der Wiel, John - Grivas, Efstratios 1-0 29 B32 Sicilian Labourdonnais
Negi, Parimarjan - Peng Zhaoqin 1-0 63 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Nijboer, Friso - Van der Werf, Mark 0-1 60 C92 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Ushenina, Anna - Ruijgrok, Dennis 1-0 38 D83 Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Krush, Irina - Carlsson, Pontus 1-0 33 E55 Nimzo Indian
Li Shilong - Reinderman, Dimitri 0-1 48 A87 Dutch Leningrad
Corus C Wijk aan Zee (NED), 12-27 i 2008 cat. X (2494)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Caruana, Fabiano g ITA 2598 * ½ 1 . . ½ . 1 1 . 0 . 1 1 6 2659
2. Reinderman, Dimitri g NED 2533 ½ * ½ ½ . ½ . . 1 . ½ 1 . 1 5½ 2633
3. Braun, Arik m GER 2536 0 ½ * . 1 0 1 1 . . . . 1 ½ 5 2585
4. Van der Wiel, John g NED 2490 . ½ . * 0 1 1 ½ . 1 . . ½ ½ 5 2571
5. Negi, Parimarjan g IND 2526 . . 0 1 * . 0 . 0 1 1 1 1 . 5 2598
6. Grivas, Efstratios g GRE 2509 ½ ½ 1 0 . * . 0 ½ . 1 . . 1 4½ 2524
7. Nijboer, Friso g NED 2578 . . 0 0 1 . * 0 . 1 1 1 ½ . 4½ 2525
8. Van der Werf, Mark m NED 2389 0 . 0 ½ . 1 1 * ½ 0 . 1 . . 4 2524
9. Carlsson, Pontus m SWE 2501 0 0 . . 1 ½ . ½ * . 0 . ½ 1 3½ 2434
10. Ushenina, Anna m UKR 2484 . . . 0 0 . 0 1 . * ½ 0 1 1 3½ 2425
11. Krush, Irina m USA 2473 1 ½ . . 0 0 0 . 1 ½ * 0 . . 3 2441
12. Li Shilong g CHN 2502 . 0 . . 0 . 0 0 . 1 1 * ½ ½ 3 2384
13. Peng Zhaoqin g NED 2461 0 . 0 ½ 0 . ½ . ½ 0 . ½ * . 2 2333
14. Ruijgrok, Dennis NED 2329 0 0 ½ ½ . 0 . . 0 0 . ½ . * 1½ 2268
Corus Honorary Wijk aan Zee (NED), 19-26 i 2008 cat. XIII (2560)
Round 1 (January 19, 2008)
Korchnoi, Viktor - Portisch, Lajos 1-0 66 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Ljubojevic, Ljubomir - Timman, Jan H 0-1 45 E00 Catalan
Round 2 (January 20, 2008)
Korchnoi, Viktor - Timman, Jan H ½-½ 53 E34 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Portisch, Lajos - Ljubojevic, Ljubomir ½-½ 14 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Corus Honorary Wijk aan Zee (NED), 19-26 i 2008 cat. XIII (2560)
1 2 3 4
1. Timman, Jan H g NED 2561 * * ½ . . . 1 . 1½ 2767
2. Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2605 ½ . * * 1 . . . 1½ 2738
3. Portisch, Lajos g HUN 2530 . . 0 . * * ½ . ½ 2381
4. Ljubojevic, Ljubomir g SRB 2543 0 . . . ½ . * * ½ 2352

4) Maalot-Tarshiha

There was an international tournament in Maalot-Tarshiha, Israel 7th-15th January 2008.Ilia Smirin and Evgeny Postny finished on 6/9.

Official site: http://www.chess.org.il/sitefiles/1/30/3667.asp

It Maalot-Tarshiha (ISR), 7-15 i 2008 cat. XV (2620)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2616 * 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 6 2745
2. Postny, Evgeny g ISR 2627 0 * 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 6 2744
3. Khenkin, Igor g GER 2602 ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 5 2665
4. Roiz, Michael g ISR 2659 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 5 2658
5. Avrukh, Boris g ISR 2628 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 5 2662
6. Gyimesi, Zoltan g HUN 2605 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 2621
7. Rodshtein, Maxim m ISR 2614 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 4½ 2620
8. Moiseenko, Alexander g UKR 2643 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 0 4 2574
9. Macieja, Bartlomiej g POL 2617 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 3 2495
10. Kogan, Artur g ISR 2591 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 2 2403

5) 68th Armenian Championship

The 68th Armenian Championship takes place 7th-21st January 2008 in Yerevan. There is a three way tie between Karen Asrian, Artashes Minasian and Tigran L Petrosian on 7.5 points going into the final round. Ashot Anastasian withdrew after 8 rounds. . The women's championship has also got under way. I'm hopeful I've identified the players correctly but there isn't a definitive list on the website.

Official site: http://www.armchess.am/

68th ch-ARM Yerevan (ARM), 8-21 i 2008 cat. XII (2531)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
1. Asrian, Karen g ARM 2621 * ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ + 1 . 7½ 2658
2. Minasian, Artashes g ARM 2578 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ . 1 + 1 1 7½ 2657
3. Petrosian, Tigran L g ARM 2606 0 ½ * 0 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 7½ 2620
4. Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel f ARM 2369 1 1 1 * 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ . 1 ½ 6½ 2608
5. Minasian, Ara g ARM 2466 ½ ½ 0 1 * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 + . 1 6½ 2610
6. Kotanjian, Tigran g ARM 2545 0 0 0 1 1 * 1 . ½ 0 1 1 1 6½ 2587
7. Andriasian, Zaven g ARM 2532 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ . + 0 1 6 2569
8. Lputian, Smbat G g ARM 2616 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ . ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 0 6 2558
9. Pashikian, Arman g ARM 2556 0 . ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 1 0 ½ 1 5½ 2524
10. Yegiazarian, Arsen g ARM 2512 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 . ½ 0 * 0 ½ ½ 3½ 2400
11. Anastasian, Ashot g ARM 2562 0 - - . - 0 - 0 1 1 * 1 ½ 3½ 2410
12. Babujian, Levon m ARM 2439 0 0 0 0 . 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 3 2370
13. Nalbandian, Tigran g ARM 2505 . 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 * 2½ 2314
62nd ch-ARM w Yerevan (ARM), 13-21 i 2008
1. Galojan, Lilit wm ARM 2307 * 1 0 1 1 . 1 ½ 0 1 5½ 2295
2. Andriasian, Siranush wm ARM 2228 0 * ½ ½ . 1 1 1 ½ 1 5½ 2299
3. Gasparian, Narine wm ARM 2172 1 ½ * . 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 5 2236
4. Aginian, Nelly wg ARM 2308 0 ½ . * 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 4½ 2184
5. Kharatyan, Anahit ARM 2115 0 . 1 0 * 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 4 2158
6. Gasparian, Mariana ARM 2070 . 0 1 0 0 * 1 1 1 0 4 2154
7. Movsisian, Naira wg ARM 2152 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 * 1 ½ . 3½ 2115
8. Karapetyan, Lusine ARM 1957 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 * . 1 3 2105
9. Martirosyan, Lia ARM 2111 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ . * ½ 2½ 2051
10. Aghabekian, Liana ARM 2191 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 . 0 ½ * 2½ 2017

6) ASEAN Masters Tarakan City

The 1st Leg ASEAN Chess Circuit Closed Tournaments took place in Tarakan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia 8th-19th January 2008. The event was organised by the Indonesian Chess Federation (Percasi) together with ASEAN Chess Confederation (http://www.aseanchess.com/). There were GMA, GMB and WIM groups. Zhang Zhong won the GM group. News: Kristianus Liem.

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

ASEAN Masters Circuit GMA Tarakan (INA), 8-19 i 2008 cat. VIII (2450)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Zhang Zhong g SIN 2617 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 9 2696
2. Tirto m INA 2413 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8 2628
3. Megaranto, Susanto g INA 2563 ½ ½ * 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 7½ 2572
4. So, Wesley m PHI 2526 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 7 2545
5. Torre, Eugenio g PHI 2519 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 6½ 2508
6. Purnama, Tirta Chandra INA 2383 0 0 1 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 1 0 1 6 2492
7. Mas, Hafizulhelmi m MAS 2382 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 4½ 2391
8. Ginting, Nasib m INA 2393 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 4½ 2390
9. Nouri, Hamed PHI 2404 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 * 1 1 ½ 4 2352
10. Kosasih, Cecep f INA 2408 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 * 1 1 3½ 2320
11. Situru, Nathanael m INA 2375 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 * 1 3½ 2323
12. Nadera, Barlo A m PHI 2417 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * 2 2191
ASEAN Masters Circuit GMB Tarakan (INA), 8-19 i 2008 cat. VI (2400)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Paragua, Mark g PHI 2521 * 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 9 2651
2. Nadanian, Ashot m ARM 2436 0 * 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 7½ 2529
3. Gonzales, Jayson m PHI 2455 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 7½ 2528
4. Nolte, Rolando PHI 2412 ½ 0 ½ * 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 7 2500
5. Mahmud, Syarif f INA 2344 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 6½ 2470
6. Prayitno, Sugeng INA 2312 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 1 1 1 1 1 6½ 2473
7. Barbosa, Oliver PHI PHI 2410 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 5 2363
8. Sitanggang, Salor m INA 2410 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 1 5 2363
9. Barus, Cerdas g INA 2479 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 * ½ ½ 1 4½ 2327
10. Ardiansyah, Haji g INA 2409 0 1 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 4 2297
11. Mok Tze-Meng f MAS 2346 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 3 2229
12. Sukandar, Irine Kharisma wm INA 2266 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0½ 1942
ASEAN Masters Circuit WIM Tarakan (INA), 8-19 i 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Irwanto, Sadikin m INA 2456 * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.0 2435
2. Handoko, Edhi g INA 2437 ½ * ½ 1 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 8.5 2264
3. Chua Xing-Jian, Graham f SIN 2075 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 7.5 2219
4. Lindiawati, Evi INA 2114 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7.0 2185
5. Nguyen Thi Mai Hung wf VIE 2062 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 6.5 2152
6. Tay Li-Jin Jeslin SIN 2050 0 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 1 1 1 6.5 2153
7. Mendoza, Beverly wm PHI 2099 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 1 ½ 0 1 5.0 2048
8. Bernales, Christy Lamiel PHI 1933 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1 ½ 1 4.5 2034
9. Chan Wei-Yi, Victoria wf SIN 1876 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 0 * 0 ½ 1 3.0 1929
10. Handayani, Tri INA 2036 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 3.0 1915
11. Verdiana, Norasa INA 1890 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 3.0 1928
12. Dewi,Aa Citra INA ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ * 1.5 1784

7) Keres Memorial

The Keres Memorial took place in Tallinn, Estonia 6th-12th January 2008. Time control 90 min for 40 moves + 15 min for the rest of the game + 30 sec increment for every move played starting from the first move. Vasily Yemelin won the GMA group with 6/9.

Official site: http://www.maleliit.ee/

Paul Keres Mem GMA Tallinn (EST), 6-12 i 2008 cat. X (2490)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Yemelin, Vasily g RUS 2562 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6 2607
2. Rausis, Igors g CZE 2520 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2566
3. Sulskis, Sarunas g LTU 2553 1 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2563
4. Kulaots, Kaido g EST 2533 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 5½ 2565
5. Onischuk, Vladimir m UKR 2474 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 1 1 1 5 2535
6. Kanep, Meelis g EST 2523 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 4½ 2486
7. Volodin, Aleksandr EST 2379 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ * 1 ½ 0 3½ 2422
8. Gavrilov, Alexei1 m RUS 2491 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 * ½ 1 3½ 2410
9. Klovans, Janis g LAT 2447 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 3½ 2415
10. Seeman, Tarvo m EST 2420 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 * 2½ 2332
Paul Keres Mem GMB Tallinn (EST), 6-12 i 2008 cat. I (2256)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Khukhashvili, Sopiko m GEO 2387 * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 7 2461
2. Shumiakina, Tatiana wg RUS 2352 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 6½ 2411
3. Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2422 1 ½ * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 6½ 2403
4. Daulyte, Deimante wm LTU 2251 0 ½ 1 * 1 0 ½ 1 1 0 5 2299
5. Skinke, Katrina LAT 2180 ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 5 2307
6. Fomina, Tatyana wm EST 2254 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 4½ 2256
7. Piarnpuu, Leili wm EST 2137 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 3½ 2189
8. Tsiganova, Monika wm EST 2221 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 * ½ ½ 2½ 2093
9. Bashkite, Viktoria wm EST 2174 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 2½ 2099
10. Korchagina, Viktoria wf RUS 2182 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * 2 2044

8) Belarus Championship

The Championships of Belarus takes place 10th-22nd January 2008.

Official site: http://www.chess.by

ch-BLR Minsk (BLR), 10-22 i 2008 cat. IX (2473)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Tihonov, Jurij g BLR 2497 * ½ . ½ 1 ½ . ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 8 2644
2. Fedorov, Alexei g BLR 2607 ½ * ½ . . 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8 2630
3. Zhigalko, Sergei g BLR 2558 . ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ . 1 1 1 1 1 7½ 2597
4. Stupak, Kirill m BLR 2412 ½ . 1 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 . ½ 7 2572
5. Azarov, Sergei g BLR 2594 0 . ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 . 6 2493
6. Teterev, Vitaly g BLR 2507 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 * 1 1 . ½ ½ . 1 1 6 2525
7. Lomako, Pavel BLR 2413 . ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * . 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 5½ 2478
8. Romanenko, Vladimir BLR 2460 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 . * 1 ½ . 1 ½ ½ 5½ 2480
9. Podolchenko, Evgeniy BLR 2467 0 ½ . ½ 1 . 0 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 1 5½ 2463
10. Zhigalko, Andrey g BLR 2556 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * . ½ 1 . 5 2437
11. Mihajlovskij, Sergei BLR 2466 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 . 0 . * 0 1 1 5 2431
12. Borsuk, Yuriy BLR 2268 0 ½ 0 0 ½ . 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * . 0 3 2318
13. Lutsko, Igor g BLR 2429 ½ 0 0 . 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 . * 1 2½ 2290
14. Smirnov, Valerij m BLR 2394 0 0 0 ½ . 0 ½ ½ 0 . 0 1 0 * 2½ 2251

9) Croatian Chess Championship

The Croatian chess championship takes place in Split, 16th-29th January 2008. 13 participants, round robin. - 11 grandmasters - including European U18 champion Ivan Saric - Ex European champion (2006) Zdenko Kozul and 3 ex-World junior champins (Kurajica, Cvitan, Stevic)

Official site: http://www.a1split.hr/prvenstvo/prvenstvo.html

ch-CRO Split (CRO), 16-29 i 2008 cat. XII (2538)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Zelcic, Robert g CRO 2587 * . . . 1 ½ . . . . 1 ½ . 3 2730
2. Kurajica, Bojan g CRO 2556 . * . ½ ½ . ½ . ½ . . . 1 3 2570
3. Stevic, Hrvoje g CRO 2531 . . * . 0 ½ 1 . . . ½ 1 . 3 2612
4. Jankovic, Alojzije g CRO 2541 . ½ . * . . ½ . ½ . . . 1 2½ 2600
5. Saric, Ivan m CRO 2482 0 ½ 1 . * . . ½ . ½ . . . 2½ 2567
6. Palac, Mladen g CRO 2575 ½ . ½ . . * . ½ . ½ ½ . . 2½ 2563
7. Hulak, Krunoslav g CRO 2552 . ½ 0 ½ . . * ½ . 1 . . . 2½ 2558
8. Kozul, Zdenko g CRO 2600 . . . . ½ ½ ½ * . . . ½ ½ 2½ 2511
9. Jovanovic, Zoran CRO g CRO 2525 . ½ . ½ . . . . * ½ . . ½ 2 2512
10. Dizdar, Goran g CRO 2564 . . . . ½ ½ 0 . ½ * . . ½ 2 2432
11. Cvitan, Ognjen g CRO 2535 0 . ½ . . ½ . . . . * ½ . 1½ 2475
12. Brkic, Ante g CRO 2558 ½ . 0 . . . . ½ . . ½ * . 1½ 2476
13. Rezan, Sasa m CRO 2390 . 0 . 0 . . . ½ ½ ½ . . * 1½ 2408

10) Prague Open

The Prague Open took place 11th-18th January 2008. Viesturs Meijers won on tie-break from Evgeny Sveshnikov and Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury after all finished on 7/9. Final round 9 games are as yet unavailable.

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

Prague Open takes place 11-18 i 2008. Final Round 9 Standings
Rk. Name FED Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 Rp
1 Meijers Viesturs GM LAT 7,0 53,0 41,5 2300 2520
2 Sveshnikov Evgeny GM LAT 7,0 50,5 40,0 2280 2500
3 Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi IM IND 7,0 50,0 40,0 2285 2505
4 Vokac Marek GM CZE 6,5 52,5 41,0 2320 2486
5 Zvara Petr FM CZE 6,5 51,5 41,0 2301 2467
6 Macak Stefan SVK 6,5 50,5 39,0 2309 2475
7 Spirin Oleg FM RUS 6,5 50,0 39,5 2331 2497
8 Meduna Eduard GM CZE 6,5 49,5 39,5 2331 2497
9 Plischki Sebastian IM GER 6,5 49,5 39,0 2303 2469
10 Lehtinen Heikki IM FIN 6,5 48,5 38,0 2278 2444
11 Vavrak Peter IM SVK 6,5 47,5 37,0 2251 2417
12 Ivanov Mikhail M GM RUS 6,0 55,5 43,5 2330 2455
13 Khantuev Alexander FM RUS 6,0 51,0 40,0 2313 2438
14 Dolezal Radoslav IM CZE 6,0 49,5 39,0 2260 2385
15 Mertanen Janne FM FIN 6,0 49,5 38,5 2265 2390
16 Jackova Jana IM CZE 6,0 49,0 37,5 2266 2366
17 Schula Michal CZE 6,0 47,5 36,0 2223 2348
18 Gross Georg FM GER 6,0 46,5 36,0 2186 2311
19 Pribyl Josef IM CZE 6,0 45,5 36,0 2163 2288
20 Bures Jaroslav CZE 6,0 45,5 35,0 2250 2375
21 Rzoska Kamil POL 6,0 44,0 33,5 2166 2291
22 Lagerman Robert FM ISL 5,5 51,5 41,0 2288 2368
23 Sengupta Deep IM IND 5,5 50,5 40,0 2276 2356
24 Marholev Dimitar IM BUL 5,5 50,0 39,0 2258 2338
25 Kulicov Oleg IM RUS 5,5 47,5 37,0 2240 2320
26 Juptner Jan FM CZE 5,5 47,0 37,5 2222 2302
27 Trichkov Vasil IM CZE 5,5 45,0 40,0 2273 2414
28 Ganaus Hannes IM AUT 5,5 45,0 35,0 2160 2240
29 Soural Jan CZE 5,5 44,0 35,5 2181 2261
30 Filinkov Alexander RUS 5,5 43,5 34,5 2226 2306
31 Redo Giorgio ITA 5,5 43,5 33,5 2125 2157
32 Vanka Miloslav CZE 5,5 42,0 32,0 2118 2198
33 Kulik David GER 5,5 41,5 32,5 2100 2180
34 Rosko Lubos CZE 5,5 41,0 32,5 2140 2220
35 Soucek Milan CZE 5,5 40,5 31,0 2105 2185
36 Drabek Vojtech CZE 5,5 39,0 31,0 2070 2150
37 Johansson Thomas SWE 5,5 39,0 30,0 2050 2130
38 Forthoffer Patrick FRA 5,5 37,0 29,0 2080 2160
39 Bores Roman CZE 5,5 36,5 28,5 2027 2107
127 players

11) 6th Parsvnath International Open

The 6th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament took place in New Delhi 12th-20th January 2008. Abhijeet Gupta took clear first with 9/10.

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

6th Parsvnath Open New Delhi (IND), 13-20 i 2008Leading Final Round 10 Standings:
Rank SNo. Name Rtg FED Pts BH.
1 12 IM Gupta Abhijeet 2495 IND 9 65½
2 2 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2579 IND 8½ 70
3 39 IM Prakash G B 2341 IND 8 70½
4 7 GM Dzhumaev Marat 2527 UZB 8 69½
5 3 GM Kurnosov Igor 2577 RUS 8 69
6 6 GM Solodovnichenko Yuri 2541 UKR 8 67½
7 14 GM Rahman Ziaur 2492 BAN 8 67
8 24 IM Rathnakaran K 2437 IND 8 65½
9 75 Praveen Kumar C 2255 IND 8 59
10 4 GM Kunte Abhijit 2550 IND 7½ 68½
11 1 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2589 IRI 7½ 67½
12 8 GM Iuldachev Saidali 2526 UZB 7½ 66½
13 9 GM Nguyen Anh Dung 2525 VIE 7½ 66
14 35 IM Saravanan V 2379 IND 7½ 66
15 13 GM Safin Shukhrat 2493 UZB 7½ 65½
16 22 IM Sundararajan Kidambi 2442 IND 7½ 65½
17 68 Debashis Das 2279 IND 7½ 65
18 49 Tiwari Arjun 2322 IND 7½ 64½
19 11 GM Mahjoob Morteza 2504 IRI 7½ 64½
20 34 Thejkumar M S 2382 IND 7½ 63½
21 37 Amanov Zhanibek 2366 KAZ 7½ 63½
22 98 FM Rajesh V A V 2188 IND 7½ 62½
23 19 IM Sriram Jha 2457 IND 7½ 61½
24 23 IM Laxman R R 2439 IND 7½ 61½
25 29 IM Darban Morteza 2400 IRI 7½ 60
26 46 Karthikeyan P 2327 IND 7½ 58½
27 5 GM Ubilava Elizbar 2544 ESP 7 67
28 26 IM Arun Prasad S 2423 IND 7 66½
29 20 IM Venkatesh M R 2444 IND 7 66½
30 36 IM Roktim Bandyopadhyay 2373 IND 7 62½
31 15 IM Ashwin Jayaram 2478 IND 7 62½
32 47 IM Singh D P 2326 IND 7 62
33 87 Swayams Mishra 2214 IND 7 61½
34 41 WGM Swathi Ghate 2337 IND 7 59½
35 61 Prasenjit Datta 2296 IND 7 58½
36 31 IM Himanshu Sharma 2398 IND 7 58½
37 51 Thakur Akash 2315 IND 7 58
38 48 FM Rahman Md Taibur 2325 BAN 7 57½
39 81 Joshi G B 2246 IND 7 57
40 10 IM Hossain Enamul 2522 BAN 6½ 65
41 50 Shashikant Kutwal 2316 IND 6½ 63
42 74 Mishra Soumyaranjan 2255 IND 6½ 62
43 67 Prakash Ram 2281 IND 6½ 62
44 101 Bitan Banerjee 2181 IND 6½ 61½
45 72 Praveen Prasad P 2260 IND 6½ 61½
46 40 Vishnu Prasanna 2340 IND 6½ 61
47 21 IM Ghane Shojaat 2442 IRI 6½ 60½
48 86 Natarajan C 2226 IND 6½ 60
49 27 WGM Tania Sachdev 2417 IND 6½ 60
50 55 Swapnil S Dhopade 2307 IND 6½ 60
51 30 IM Akshayraj Kore 2399 IND 6½ 59½
52 70 WIM Kiran Manisha Mohanty 2270 IND 6½ 59½
53 53 Akshat Khamparia 2307 IND 6½ 59½
54 94 Mehar Chinna Reddy C H 2199 IND 6½ 59
55 17 GM Thipsay Praveen M 2473 IND 6½ 59
56 57 Shyam Nikil P 2301 IND 6½ 59
57 25 IM Girinath P D S 2430 IND 6½ 59
58 59 FM Priyadharshan K 2297 IND 6½ 58½
59 43 IM Babu N Sudhakar 2333 IND 6½ 58
60 73 WIM Gomes Mary Ann 2255 IND 6½ 57½
391 players

12) Corus-70 composing tourney 2007-8

Amongst the special events celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Corus Chess Tournament, stands out the International composing tourney for endgame studies. This event has proved a great success in quantity and quality alike. A turnout of 151 entries submitted by 90 composers from 29 countries, makes it one of the biggest composing events ever. The level of the 22 awarded entries has been also exceptionally high. The organizing committee therefore decided to increase the prize fund, and in addition to the place prizes, also added five extra special prizes. The tourney was dominated by the Russian composers who won the first three prizes as well as the first two special prizes and other distinctions. Especially successful was Yuri Bazlov from Vladivostok who shared the top honours and won the third prize too. Previously he also won the "Study of the Year" award for the years 2005 and 2006. As appreciation to his outstanding achievements the organizing committee has decided to invite Mr. Bazlov as a special guest of the Corus tournament next year.

Studies available in the PGN section.

Full report in PDF format:http://www.coruschess.com/article/endgame70.pdf

Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament 2008

The 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament takes place March 14th-28th, 2008 at the Hotel Palais de la Mediterranée on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Twelve grandmasters from ten different countries will take part and the total prize-fund is 216,000 Euro.

Amber Rapid and Blindfold 14-28 iii 2008
No Name NAT YroB ja08 Gms Wrnk
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 1975 2799 9 1
2 Anand, Viswanathan IND 1969 2799 3 2
3 Topalov, Veselin BUL 1975 2780 14 3
4 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 1977 2765 12 4
5 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz AZE 1985 2760 35 6
6 Leko, Peter HUN 1979 2753 9 8
7 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 1969 2751 30 9
8 Aronian, Levon ARM 1982 2739 16 10
9 Gelfand, Boris ISR 1968 2737 9 11
10 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 1990 2733 37 13
11 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 1990 2732 36 14
12 Van Wely, Loek NED 1972 2681 16 35

XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra

The XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra takes place 19th-27th July 2008. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com FEVA - Tel/Fax: 00.376.824465

Further details: http://www.escacsandorra.com

Bermuda Open

The Bermuda Open takes place 7th-11th February, 2008. Details can be got from Nick Faulks at armadillo@northrock.bm or Nigel Freeman at cadilly@northrock.bm

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open will take place 16th-23rd February 2008 at the Palais des Arts et des Loisirs. Every player play the same open, with 600 players. Like every years more of 70 im and more of 90 igm but this year : more of 70 countries ! The entry form, the list of invited players and the list of the registered players are online and it will be published and updated until Thursday 14 February 2008 20 first boards online.

Details : http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008, 1.5. - 4.5.2008, in Ditzingen, South-Germany. 7 Rounds, Swiss System, A/B/C-tournament, over 7000 € prizes.

Further Details: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

Alushta Diary 2008

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 – 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 – 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 – 27.06, Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 3.06 – 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 – 9.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 – 27.06 Individual and group studying. phone +38 (06560)5-05-32,

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua

20th Lenk International Chess Festival

The great jubilee, 20th Lenk International Chess Festival part of the "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" continues in Lenk March 20th-24th 2008. The venue is the Hotel "Kreuz", Grande Open, Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). The Main Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600 and 400 SF. Special prizes: Ladies senior (1947), junior(1988-91), schoolboy (1992) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200/150/100 CHF. Golden prizes for the players who play more then 10 times: 300/200/150 CHF. Silver prizes for the players who play MORE THEN 5 TIMES 200/150/100 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. The teams competition, with 4 members; 3 prizes: 4x100/4x75/4x50 SF; entry fee 10 SF. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 March 20,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 21,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 March 22,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 23,; Round 7 9.30-14.30 March 24. Closing ceremony March 24 at 16.00. Gala jubilee dinner March 22 from 19-22 at Hotel “Kreuz”. Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or sitehttp://www.beochess.ch for more details.

Nancy Chess Festival

There is a Category XII tournament (average 2528) in Nancy from 18th-24th February 2008.

It Nancy 18-24 ii 2008
Landa, Konstantin g 2641 RUS
Bauer, Christian g 2614 FRA
Miladinovic, Igor g 2604 SRB
Guliyev, Namig g 2570 AZE
Sikula, V m 2550 UKR
Gozzoli, Yannick m 2510 FRA
Riff, Jean-Noël m 2474 FRA
Marzolo, Cyril m 2474 FRA
Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas m 2442 CAN
Nezar, Mustafa m 2404 FRA
Category XII (Average 2528)

Also the 6th international Festival in Nancy will see about 150 players : 15 groups of 10 players each. Also group B for IM-norms, group C for women, group D, E, F ...

Official site: http://echecs54.free.fr/

M-Tel Masters

M-Tel Masters takes place 7th-18th May 2008 in the Central Military Club in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner. Like in the previous three editions of M-Tel Masters the rule for the draws introduced in Sofia will be valid. According to it the players do not have the right to agree a draw. This can be decided only by the chef arbiter of the tournament.

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

M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL 7-18 v 2008
Veselin Topalov BUL 2780
Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2751
Levon Aronian ARM 2739
Teimour Radjabov AZE 2735
Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2713
Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2691
Average rating: 2735 Category: 20

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 28th July - 3rd August 2008 in Mainz/Germany (a week later than originally advertised).

In addition there is a Chess Classic Calendar for the next year, which will be available in the first week of December. It is a big format (420 x 594 mm) and shows the stars and the biggest moments of the 14 years tournament history. The copies are limited to 200 (39,- Euro plus delivery) plus 64 with an autograph of World Champion Vishy Anand (48,- Euro plus delivery). Contact for order: juergen.wienecke@chesstigers.de

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

4NCL

The 3rd weekend of the 4NCL took place 12th-13th January 2008. Next rounds 1st-2nd April 2008. My thanks to Malcolm Armstrong for the games.

Note that I have just noticed I got the dates for the first two rounds of the 4NCL wrong in the games section at that time. They took place 15th-16th September 2007 not in November as stated.

Austrian Bundesliga

The second round of games from the Austrian Bundesliga took place in Jenbach 10th-13th January 2008.

Official site: http://www.chess.at/

Moscow Open 2008

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. Venue - the Russian State Social University. Minimal gartanted prize fund of full festival is RUR 5 000 000 (nearly EUR 150 000 or USD 200 000, two times more than in 2007!) There are Open “A” (for all, 1st prize RUR 500 000 - also possible to play 6- or 7 days like last two years), Open “B” (<2300, 1st RUR 150 000), Women Open (new! 1st prize RUR 150 000), open tournaments for school chidrens (qualify for World School Ch). Conditions for GMs 2600+ and best rated women GMs will be given probably, for GMs 2550+ it’s still unclear. More details in the middle of September. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start. As preparation to the World Mind Games in China – 2008 there are probably "Moscow Open Mind Games 2008" - Chess 960, Bridge, Go, Shogi, Damen tournaments etc. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start.

Contact: wlct06@gmail.com

Further details: http://moscowchessopen.ru/eng/index.shtml

IX European Individual Chess Championship 2008

The IX European Individual Chess Championship takes place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 20th April (day of arrival) - 4th May (day of departure) 2008.

Official site: http://www.eicc2008.com

Pula Open 2008

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia. Contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr

Further details: http://www.skpula.hr

Évadnyitó Open

The Traditional Season's Opening (Évadnyitó) Open chess tournament in Budapest takes place 11th-19th January 2008.

Further details: http://www.firstsaturday.hu/

echiquier-nicois Website

Thierry Foissez's echiquier-nicois website reports on news and events in French daily.

http://www.echiquier-nicois.org

Hungarian Chess Tournaments January - June 2008

1. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.huhttp://www.chess.hu/download/hirek/mssz_evadnyito_nk_nyilt_20070827_141136.doc More info: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

2. 19th-28th of January 2008 KECSKEMET, IM Berger tmt, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu Website:http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s in Kecskemet. 100 km South-East from Budapest.

3. 2nd-14th of February FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER), 9…13 games, GM-IM norm possibilities in Budapest, venue: Hungarian Chess Federation, Falk Miksa Str.10. 2nd floor. Organisation: Nagy Laszlo, FIDE International Chess Organizer /NL/, E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time = GMT+1/

4. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet, org. Erdelyi

5. 1st-14th of March - First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy L.

6. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival 9 rounds Swiss Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

7. 5th-18th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.NL,

8. 19th-28th of April, KECSKEMET, CAISSA IM tmt, org. Erdelyi

9. 3rd-15th of May First Saturday Budapest, org. NL,

11. 22nd-30th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, 1st prize 500,000 Ft (brutto 2 thousand EURO), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, e-mail: mssz@zalaszam.hu Mobile: 36-20-9777003

12. 7th-19th of June First Saturday, Budapest, org: NL.,

13. 13th-21st of June, Balatonlelle Open, GM-IM round robin, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

Anand - Kramnik World Championship Match

A Press release from UEP Promotions announces that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany October 11th–30th October, 2008. Main sponsor Evonik Industries AG and prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The match will be 12 games followed by playoffs if required. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Website: http://www.uep-worldchess.com/

Morelia Linares 2008

The field has been announced for the Morelia - Linares tournament, with only Alexei Shirov not playing at Wijk aan Zee the event is a category stronger than that event but with far fewer players and also missing Vladimir Kramnik who will probably be world number 2 when the event takes place. As usual the first half is in Morelia, Mexico and the second half in Linares, Spain.

Official site:http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 15-23 ii + 28 ii - 7 iii 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Alexei Shirov 1972 2739 10
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
Category: 21

Mindsports

The World Mindsports games takes place in Beijing, China after the Olympics 3rd –18th October 2008.

Details:http://www.worldbridge.org/competitions/Calendar/files/WorldMindSportsGames2007.pdf.

Gibtelecom Chess Festival 2008

The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival will be held from 22nd-31st January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels. In previous years players of the quality of Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams and Nigel Short have played in the Masters section. Usually the Masters field includes at least 30 grandmasters. In 2008 the first prize in the Masters has gone up to £12,000 and the tournament is so strong at the top that it even offers a £2,000 prize for the best score by a player rated under 2600 (we think that might be unique worldwide) as well as the same amount for other rating categories down to sub-2200. There is also big money to be won in the Under 2250 (£1,500 first prize) and Under 1850 (£1,000 first prize) events. Even the relatively light-hearted evening events (which cost nothing to enter) have a combined prize fund of £1,200.

Full details and entry form:http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/

6th Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival 22-31 i 2008
Grischuk Alexander RUS GM 2715
Wang Yue CHN GM 2703
Bu Xiang CHN GM 2692
Bologan Viktor MDA GM 2657
Georgiev Kiril BUL GM 2649
Nakamura Hikaru USA GM 2648
Beliavsky Alexander SLO GM 2646
Socko Bartosz POL GM 2646
Pengxiang Zhang CHN GM 2644
Hao Wang CHN GM 2643
Ni Hua CHN GM 2641
Areshchenko Alexander UKR GM 2638
Efimenko Zahar UKR GM 2624
Fridman Daniel GER GM 2621
Pelletier Yannick SUI GM 2609
Petrosian Tigran ARM GM 2604
Mikhalevski Victor ISR GM 2598
Malakhatko Vadim BEL GM 2596
Berg Emanuel SWE GM 2593
Sandipan Chanda IND GM 2593
Agdestein Simen SWE GM 2589
Akobian Varuzhan USA GM 2585
Ganguly SS IND GM 2585
Modiahki Mohamed QAT GM 2572
Jones Gawain ENG GM 2567
Persson Tiger SWE GM 2567
Felgaer Ruben ARG GM 2539
Chen Zhu QAT GM 2531
Cramling Pia SWE GM 2531
Zhao Xue CHN IMe 2530
Sulskis Sarunas LTU GM 2527
Gopal GN IND GMe 2520
Cabrera Alexis COL GM 2499
Speelman Jon ENG GM 2492
Dronavalli Harika IND IM 2480
Socko Monika POL IM 2473
Mohamed Al Sayed QTR IM 2469
Muzychuk Anna SLO WGM 2469
Cmylite Victoria LTU IM 2464
Stefanova Antoaneta BUL GM 2463
Zatonskih Anna USA IM 2458
Paehtz Elisabeth GER IM 2452
Zhukova Natalia UKR WGM 2452
Shen Ying CHN WGM 2450
Greet Andrew ENG IM 2441
Bellon Juan ESP GM 2434
Dzagnidze Nana GEO IM 2416
Van Haastert Edwin NED IM 2414
Butnorius Algimentas LTU GM 2413
Sachdev Tania IND WGM 2413
Houska Jovanka ENG IM 2404
Hammer Jon Ludvig NOR FM 2402
Bellin Robert ENG IM 2400
Nisha Mohota IND WGM 2398
Rendle Thomas ENG IM 2397
Foisor Ovidiu ROU IM 2397
Milliet Sophie FRA IM 2395
Foisor Cristina ROU IM 2388

Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/

Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. The first games were on Friday 19th October as part of the special round 7 - fixtures from this round are played before various weekend programs. Most of Rounds 3 and 4 took place 24th-25th November 2007 but the fixtures at Baden Baden take place on 15th-16th December. Rounds 5 and 6 took place 8th-9th December 2007 but there was also an extensive round 7 program on the Friday. The next games take place 8th-10th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at:http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.php and statistics also at:http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/. Games from Baden Baden at: http://www.rochade.de/live.htm

Stockholm Ladies Open

The Stockholm Ladies Open tournament takes place 20th-25th March 2008. The prize money is over 100 000 Skr

The Invitation are in english, Dutch and Russian http://www.scandinavian-chess.se/

25th Bled Chess Festival

The 25th Chess Festival BLED takes place 23rd February - 2nd March 2008 (the main event finishes 1st March which allows participation in other events around that time).

Details: http://www.sah-zveza.si/bled/2008/

13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf

The 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf (Germany) takes place 3rd-7th February 2008.

http://www.scoberland.de/

XXI Benidorm Open

The XXI Open Internacional de Ajedrez Villa de Benidorm 2008 Benidorm organised an international tournament 1977 till 1995 now it has returned second year. The event takes place 25nd April - 4st May 2008 (10 rounds). 35.000 Euros in prizes. Information: Mr. Alfonso Vilches Tel: +34 695 91 56 78. E-mail: open@chessbenidorm.com

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

Icelandic Rapid Championships

The Icelandic Rapid Championships took place 18th-20th October 2007. Bragi and Björn Þorfinnsson will meet in the final in December which be on TV in Iceland.

Official site:http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5661&Itemid=387

Games Festival Halkidiki 2008

Games Festival is a mass event organized for the third year in Halkidiki, Greece 28th April - 6th May 2008. The festival includes series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, streetbasketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games, pc games etc.

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

Halkidiki Chess Festival 2008

The Halkidiki Chess Festival takes place in Kallithea, 28th April - 5 May 2008.

The Organizing Committee of the Halkdiki Chess Festival 2008. Tel/fax: +30 2310 865778 - e-mail: teotsorb@otenet.gr V.Olgas 285, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ giving news about himself, some comments on recent events including the World Championships in Mexico City etc. Worth check out.

32nd Kings Head Rapidplay

The 32nd Kings Head Rapidplay takes place Saturday 5 April 2008 start time 11:00, details below: 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £700

The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2 5HS

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1849 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

Further details; http://www.khcc.org.uk

10th European Senior Team-Championship

10th European Senior Team-Championship take place 11th-19th February 2008 in RAMADA-Hotel in Dresden.

Further info contact: ZMD Schachfestival Dresden e.V., Oskar-Mai-Straße 6, D-01159 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 416 16 29, Fax: +49 (0)351 416 16 39 Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Hepkestraße 131, D-01277 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 251 34 20, E-Mail: gerhard.schmidt@schachfestival.de

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site allows predictions for current chess tournaments. http://e4e6.com/toto

Sydney International Open 2008

The 2008 Sydney International Open takes place at Parramatta Town Hall 25th-29th March 2008. Free accommodation and modest conditions are offered to GMs. All enquiries to the Tournament Organiser, FM Brian Jones, at info@chessaustralia.com.au

Details: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/

ICC and FICS client for mobile phones

Mats Luthman has written a program that connects to ICC and FICS, compatable with many modern mobile phones. I've been looking for something like this for a while for watching live tournaments if I'm out and about. Its a nice free solution, you can also play but I haven't tried that.

Website: http://www.luthman.nu/Mobi/Mobi.html