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Games section
Hoogovens: Wijk aan Zee 14 games 14th European Club Championships 72 games VI Open Hotel Anibal -Linares 99 (Spain) 140 games Bad Zwesten Open 632 games Trinec open 261 games 2nd South Wales Masters 45 games Tapolca Open Tournament 104 games Gausdal Troll Masters 1999 126 games 1999 Australian Chess Open 425 games Bundesliga 98-99 2 games 1999 Caribbean Open International Tournament 115 games XXVII Rilton Cup 1998-1999 24 games
My thanks to Stewart Reuben, Lost Boys, Sinisa Joksic, Susan Polgar, Maximiliano Alvarez, Lubomir Ftacnik, John Saunders, Laszlo Nagy, Bjarke Kristensen, Theos Rippis, Carlyle Singh, Gerhard Hund, Dadi Jonsson of Chess in Iceland and all those who helped with this issue.
The first SuperGM event of the year got off to an exciting start with all the best players being at the top after 2 rounds. It should be an exciting race.
Corrections to the FIDE list make the top list worth looking at. This list will no doubt form the basis for invitations to the superGM events later in the year. However with events getting underway the full list needs to be made available very quickly as operating on the July list is not ideal. In this issue the Newport (apart from one player) and Wijk aan Zee events are the only one with the ratings from the new January 1999 list, there are a number of other events that should have been rated using this list also.
Hope you enjoy this issue
Mark
The Hoogovens tournament in Wijk aan Zee started on Saturday 16th. After two rounds the favourites already lead the field. Anand started with 2/2. Kasparov, Shirov, Kramnik and Topalov are just behind on 1.5. The event runs January 15-31st 1999.
In round one there were two decisive games. Topalov won after Timman became very short of time trying to exploit a good position. Anand outclassed Dimitri Reindermann after an interesting opening.
There were far more decisive games in round 2. Kasparov gradually squeezed Van Wely until the Dutchman blundered just after time control. Shirov defused a bomb in the opening from Ivan Sokolov and gradually made his extra exchange count. Anand seemed well in control in taking apart Jeroen Piket. Timman ground down Reindermann and Kramnik beat Yermolinsky after pressure brought him the exchange. Round 10 will see Anand play Kasparov in what might be the decisive game of the event.
Official coverage by Lost Boys: http://chess.lostcity.nl/hoogovens/ and full daily coverage on TWIC's pages also.
Round 1 (1999.01.16)
Topalov, Veselin - Timman, Jan H 1-0 36 A20 English; 1.c4 e5
Kasparov, Gary - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1/2 22 D36 Queen's gambit
Shirov, Alexei - Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 1/2 24 B49 Sicilian
Van Wely, Loek - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 26 D17 Slav defence
Yermolinsky, Alex - Svidler, Peter 1/2 23 D85 Gruenfeld indian
Piket, Jeroen - Sokolov, Ivan 1/2 20 D97 Gruenfeld indian
Reinderman, Dimitri - Anand, Viswanathan 0-1 37 B87 Sicilian
Round 2 (1999.01.17)
Anand, Viswanathan - Piket, Jeroen 1-0 41 C96 Ruy Lopez
Kasparov, Gary - Van Wely, Loek 1-0 44 B33 Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Kramnik, Vladimir - Yermolinsky, Alex 1-0 40 E32 Nimzo indian
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 1/2 28 B80 Sicilian
Svidler, Peter - Topalov, Veselin 1/2 37 B35 Sicilian
Timman, Jan H - Reinderman, Dimitri 1-0 70 B31 Sicilian
Sokolov, Ivan - Shirov, Alexei 0-1 52 D93 Gruenfeld indian
Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), I 1999 cat. XVII (2674)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2784 * . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 1 2.0
2 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2700 . * . . . . . = 1 . . . . . 1.5 2874
3 Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2812 . . * . . = . . . 1 . . . . 1.5 2868
4 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2726 . . . * . . = . . . . . 1 . 1.5 2795
5 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2751 . . . . * . . . . = 1 . . . 1.5 2809
6 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2714 . . = . . * = . . . . . . . 1.0 2703
7 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2595 . . . = . = * . . . . . . . 1.0 2720
8 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2713 . = . . . . . * . . = . . . 1.0 2648
9 Timman, Jan H g NED 2649 . 0 . . . . . . * . . . . 1 1.0 2621
10 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2636 . . 0 . = . . . . * . . . . 0.5 2588
11 Yermolinsky, Alex g USA 2597 . . . . 0 . . = . . * . . . 0.5 2539
12 Piket, Jeroen g NED 2609 0 . . . . . . . . . . * = . 0.5 2504
13 Sokolov, Ivan g BIH 2610 . . . 0 . . . . . . . = * . 0.5 2474
14 Reinderman, Dimitri g NED 2542 0 . . . . . . . 0 . . . . * 0.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A third version of the Top 100 of the January 1999 rating list has now been released. The ratings at the top now look correct. Kasparov still has a little gap from Anand who dropped a few points. Another gap before Kramnik who lost 30 points in the list. Shirov rose 6 points which just keeps him clear of Morozevich who has propelled himself into the top 10 after gaining 100 points. Michael Adams, Vassily Ivanchuk and Peter Svidler form a very close group at 6-8. Karpov's slide continues after he lost 15 points on one poor performance this half year, its very difficult to see him ever getting back into the top 5 and is obviously in danger of dropping out of the top 10 now. Topalov holds at 2700 with a bad Tilburg being compensated by a good Olympiad. Nigel Short, Peter Leko and Boris Gelfand all gained points and stand on the verge of the top 10.
The errors reported last week introduced by the rating of the Tilburg Fontys tournament have been generally eliminated and it seems likely that the top ten is now correct. Some notes on the changes. Svidler's rating has changed without a reduction in the number of games, I guess it should be that he has played 59 not 70 games. Similarly with Topalov, the number of games played should be 22 (not 33 as given). Further down the list Van Wely's rating has changed only slightly from previous versions of the list but the number of games rated has reduced from 86 to 47, Mikhail Gurevich has also gone from 50 to 22 games rated [new version appeared on the ChessPlanet site]. Michael Rahal reported that the first version of the list the Benasque Festival (6-14 July), a very strong Open (+300 players, 30 GM etc...) was also evaluated twice, it is hoped this event was removed in the version below.
1 Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2815 2812 6 2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2795 2784 20 3 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2780 2751 29 4 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2720 2726 52 5 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2625 2723 60 6 Adams, Michael g ENG 2715 2716 27 7 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2730 2714 29 8 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2710 2713 70 [59?] 9 Karpov, Anatoly g RUS 2725 2710 9 10 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2700 2700 33 [22?] 11 Short, Nigel D g ENG 2670 2697 48 12 Leko, Peter g HUN 2665 2694 29 13 Gelfand, Boris g BLR 2675 2691 9 14 Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2685 2684 38 15 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2690 2679 28 16 Polgar, Judit (f) g HUN 2665 2677 6 17 Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2625 2673 64 18 Azmaiparashvili, Zurab g GEO 2655 2673 10 19 Salov, Valery g RUS 2670 2670 0 20 Sadler, Matthew g ENG 2660 2668 34 21 Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2650 2665 42 22 Shipov, Sergei g RUS 2635 2662 24 23 Georgiev, Kiril g BUL 2660 2659 41 24 Zvjaginsev, Vadim g RUS 2650 2658 41 25 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2615 2652 33 26 Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2645 2650 56 27 Movsesian, Sergei g CZE 2640 2650 50 28 Timman, Jan H g NED 2655 2649 33 29 Sakaev, Konstantin g RUS 2635 2649 30 30 Fedorov, Alexei g BLR 2600 2648 51 31 Onischuk, Alexander g UKR 2630 2646 43 32 Krasenkow, Michal g POL 2655 2643 49 33 Seirawan, Yasser g USA 2630 2643 17 34 Khenkin, Igor g RUS 2600 2641 55 35 Jussupow, Artur g GER 2640 2641 39 36 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2655 2640 11 37 Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2645 2639 50 38 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2635 2636 47 [Previously 86 rated!] 39 Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2645 2634 12 40 Milov, Vadim g SUI 2640 2633 20 41 Oll, Lembit g EST 2650 2630 29 42 Hjartarson, Johann g ISL 2630 2630 0 43 Gurevich, Mikhail g BEL 2610 2629 22 [last version 50] 44 Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2640 2629 22 45 Tiviakov, Sergei g RUS 2655 2627 65 46 Andersson, Ulf g SWE 2645 2623 36 47 Shabalov, Alexander g USA 2645 2620 54 48 Gulko, Boris F g USA 2585 2620 39 49 Rogers, Ian g AUS 2605 2618 21 50 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2645 2616 59 51 Giorgadze, Giorgi g GEO 2610 2616 57 52 Nenashev, Alexander g UZB 2625 2616 29 53 Alterman, Boris g ISR 2600 2616 19 54 Hracek, Zbynek g CZE 2615 2615 34 55 Lputian, Smbat G g ARM 2615 2614 41 56 Lautier, Joel g FRA 2625 2613 66 57 Morovic Fernandez, Ivan g CHI 2605 2613 18 58 Sutovsky, Emil g ISR 2575 2612 35 59 DeFirmian, Nick E g USA 2605 2610 41 60 Sokolov, Ivan g BIH 2620 2610 33 61 Lutz, Christopher g GER 2600 2610 25 62 Miles, Anthony J g ENG 2590 2609 55 63 Piket, Jeroen g NED 2605 2609 43 64 Aleksandrov, Aleksej g BLR 2595 2609 34 65 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2585 2609 32 66 Wahls, Matthias g GER 2605 2609 9 67 Bologan, Viktor g MDA 2585 2608 57 68 Hansen, Curt g DEN 2610 2608 20 69 Adianto, Utut g INA 2610 2607 39 70 Granda Zuniga, Julio E g PER 2605 2607 29 71 Kaidanov, Gregory S g USA 2625 2606 34 72 Sturua, Zurab g GEO 2600 2605 46 73 Vaganian, Rafael A g ARM 2630 2605 26 74 Magomedov, Magaram g TJK 2540 2604 51 75 Chernin, Alexander g HUN 2610 2604 10 76 Avrukh, Boris g ISR 2565 2603 34 77 Ibragimov, Ildar g RUS 2610 2602 47 78 Pigusov, Evgeny g RUS 2605 2602 21 79 Speelman, Jonathan S g ENG 2600 2601 46 80 Novikov, Igor A g UKR 2545 2601 39 81 Kharlov, Andrei g RUS 2575 2600 20 82 Annakov, Babakuli g TKM 2600 2600 0 83 Nunn, John D.M g ENG 2600 2600 0 84 Dautov, Rustem g GER 2625 2598 32 85 Yermolinsky, Alex g USA 2625 2597 51 86 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2570 2595 22 87 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROM 2575 2594 53 88 Minasian, Artashes g ARM 2620 2594 28 89 Atalik, Suat g TUR 2585 2593 87 90 Ehlvest, Jaan g EST 2620 2593 71 91 Benjamin, Joel g USA 2595 2593 42 92 Eingorn, Vereslav S g UKR 2610 2592 42 93 Timoshenko, Georgy g UKR 2595 2592 31 94 Dorfman, Josif D g FRA 2585 2590 25 95 Palac, Mladen g CRO 2560 2589 49 96 Dolmatov, Sergey g RUS 2575 2589 11 97 Komarov, Dimitri g UKR 2570 2588 57 98 Markovic, Miroslav m YUG 2575 2587 47 99 Volkov, Sergey g RUS 2605 2587 42 100 Spasov, Vasil g BUL 2595 2587 18
Sinisa Joksic reports from the European Club Cup finals in Belgrade. The venue was the Hotel Jugoslavija on the river Danube and took place January 11-13th 1999. Panfox from Breda in the Netherlands won the event.
ROUND 1 11 January 1999
Teams
1. "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG 2670
1. Kramnik, Vladimir G 2780 RUS
2. Anand Vizvanathan G 2795 IND
3. Beliavsky, Alexander G 2645 SLO
4. Gelfand, Boris G 2675 BLR
5. Damljanovic, Branko G 2555 YUG
6. Ilincic, Zlatko G 2570 YUG
7. Drasko, Milan G 2515 YUG
8. Mikhalchishin, Adrian G 2530 SLO
2. SV "PANFOX" Breda NED 2670
1. Van Wely, Loek G 2635 NED
2. Timman, Jan G 2655 NED
3. Adams, Michael G 2715 ENG
4. Lautier, Joel G 2625 FRA
5. Gurevich, Mikhail G 2610 BEL
6. Vaganian, Rafael G 2630 ARM
7. Van der Wiel, John G 2525 NED
8. Kuijf, Marinus G 2445 NED
SC "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS 2613
1. Svidler Peter G 2710 RUS
2. Khalifman, Alexander G 2645 RUS
3. Sakaev, Konstanti G 2635 RUS
4. Epishin, Vladimir G 2585 RUS
5. Ivanov, Sergey G 2570 RUS
6. Solozhenkin, Evgeniy G 2535 RUS
7. Popov, Valerij G 2520 RUS
CC "BOSNA" Sarajevo BIH 2585
1. Sokolov, Ivan G 2620 BIH
2. Lputian, Smbat G 2615 ARM
3. Kozul, Zdenko G 2570 CRO
4. Kurajica, Bojan G 2570 BIH
5. Piket, Jeroen G 2606 HED
6. Dizdarevic, Emir G 2530 BIH
7. Galic, Zeljko F 2365 BIH
5. KSz "STILON" Gorzow POL 2545
1. Krasenkow, Michal G 2655 POL
2. Shipov, Sergei G 2635 RUS
3. Khenkin,Igor G 2600 RUS
4. Markowski, Tomasz G 2525 POL
5. Jaracz, Pavel IM 2465 POL
6. Czerwonski,Aleksander IM 2390 POL
6. "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva ISR 2572
1. Yermolinsky, Alex G 2625 USA
2. Smirin, Ilia G 2615 ISR
3. Alterman, Boris G 2600 ISR
4. Yudasin, Leonid G 2550 ISR
5. Sutovskiy, Emil G 2575 ISR
6. Oratovsky, Michael IM 2465 ISR
7. Finkel Alexander G 2455 ISR
8. Tyomkin Dimitri IM 2465 ISR
7. "POLONIA" Warszawa POL 2573
1. Shirov, Alexei G 2720 ESP
2. Oll, Lembit G 2650 EST
3. Rozentalis, Eduardas G 2575 LTU
4. Gdanski, Jacek G 2540 POL
5. Macieja, Bartlomiej IM 2480 POL
6. Socko, Bartosz IM 2475 POL
7. Kuczynski, Robert G 2470 POL
8. "BEER SHEVA" ISR 2542
1. Huzman Alexander G 2575 ISR
2. Golod, Vitali G 2555 ISR
3. Avrukh, Boris G 2565 ISR
4. Greenfeld, Alon G 2535 ISR
5. Mikhalevski Victor G 2540 ISR
6. Tseitlin Mark G 2480 ISR
The prize fund is 15.000 SF divided into quarters; 1. 7.500 SF 2. 3.750 SF 3. 2.250 SF and 4. 1.500 SF.
After the first round two of the top four seeded teams are out! Agrouniverzal with Kramnik, Anand, Beliavsky and Gelfand lost deservedly to the persistent Warszawa team. Simply they had the greater desire to win. Anand won a tremendous game with Oll. Shirov beat Kramnik in a long ending with pawn up and Gdanski took advantage of poor Gelfand's play. Rozentalis-Beliavsky was a fighting draw. Even more of a surprise was the disasterous result of Sankt Petersburg. All was finished by the first time-control. The three Beer Sheva players with the white pieces, Huzman, Avrukh and Mikhalevsky brought about a 3:0 lead, and reserved a place in the final four. Without doubt the most experienced team (and with the highest average rating, too) Netherland's champions Panfox carried out a strange tactic. They made five draws in a few hours, and left Jan Timman with a hopeful position. It was the correct decision and Timman played convincingly and won. Neither Bosnian player had to work hard for the second team from Poland. Armenian Smbat Lputian is famous as very successful team player, with Kozul's help he took Sarajevo into the second round. IM Pavel Jaracz only alleviated the pain with a nice win against Piket. In the 2nd round the pairings are: "PANFOX" - "BOSNA" and "POLONIA" - "BEER SHEVA" for 1-4 place. "SANKT PETERSBUR" - "AGROUNIVERZAL" and "STILON" - "ELITZUR" for 5-8.
1st Round "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva, ISR - "PANFOX" Breda, NED 2,5:3,5 Smirin, Ilia G 2615 ISR - Van Wely, Loek G 2635 NED 1/2 Alterman, Boris G 2600 ISR - Timman, Jan G 2655 NED 0:1 Yudasin, Leonid G 2550 ISR - Adams, Michael G 2715 ENG 1/2 Oratovsky, Michael IM 2465 ISR - Lautier, Joel G 2625 FRA 1/2 Finkel Alexander G 2455 ISR - Gurevich, Mikhail G 2610 BEL 1/2 Tyomkin Dimitri IM 2465 ISR - Vaganian, Rafael G 2630 ARM 1/2 "BEER SHEVA" ISR - "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS 4,5:1,5 Huzman Alexander G 2575 ISR - Svidler Peter G 2710 RUS 1:0 Golod, Vitali G 2555 ISR - Khalifman, Alexander G 2645 RUS 1/2 Avrukh, Boris G 2565 ISR - Sakaev, Konstanti G 2635 RUS 1:0 Greenfeld, Alon G 2535 ISR - Ivanov, Sergey G 2570 RUS 1/2 Mikhalevski Victor G 2540 ISR - Solozhenkin, Evgeniy G 2535 RUS 1:0 Tseitlin Mark G 2480 ISR - Popov, Valerij G 2520 RUS 1/2 "POLONIA" Warszawa POL - "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG 3,5:2,5 Shirov, Alexei G 2720 ESP - Kramnik, Vladimir G 2780 RUS 1:0 Oll, Lembit G 2650 EST - Anand, Viswanathan G 2795 IND 0:1 Rozentalis, Eduardas G 2575 LTU - Beliavsky Alexander G 2645 SLO 1/2 Gdanski, Jacek G 2540 POL - Gelfand, Boris G 2675 BLR 1:0 Macieja, Bartlomiej IM 2480 POL - Damljanovic, Branko G 2555 YUG 1/2 Socko, Bartosz IM 2475 POL - Ilincic, Zlatko G 2570 YUG 1/2 "STILON" Gorzow POL - "BOSNA" Sarajevo BIH 2,5:3,5 Krasenkow, Michal G 2655 POL - Sokolov, Ivan G 2620 BIH 1/2 Shipov, Sergei G 2635 RUS - Lputian, Smbat G 2615 ARM 0:1 Khenkin,Igor G 2600 RUS - Kozul, Zdenko G 2570 CRO 0:1 Markowski, Tomasz G 2525 POL - Kurajica, Bojan G 2570 BIH 1/2 Jaracz, Pavel IM 2465 POL - Piket, Jeroen G 2606 HED 1:0 Czerwonski,Aleksander IM 2390 POL - Dizdarevic, Emir G 2530 BIH 1/2
The Dutch champions "Panfox" from Breda and "Polonia" from Warszawa (Poland) will play in the final of the European Club Cup to decide the best chess club in Europe. Pairings for the third and last day:
"PANFOX" Breda, NED - "POLONIA" Warszawa POL for the champion, "POLONIA" Warszawa POL - "BEER SHEVA" ISR for the 3th place, "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG - "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva, ISR for the 5th place and "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS - "STILON" Gorzow POL for the 7th place. The last round starts on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
DAY TWO RESULTS "PANFOX" Breda, NED - "BOSNA" Sarajevo BIH 5:1 Van Wely, Loek G 2635 NED - Sokolov, Ivan G 2620 BIH 1:0 Timman, Jan G 2655 NED - Lputian, Smbat G 2615 ARM 1:0 Adams, Michael G 2715 ENG - Kozul, Zdenko G 2570 CRO 1:0 Lautier, Joel G 2625 FRA - Kurajica, Bojan G 2570 BIH 1/2 Gurevich, Mikhail G 2610 BEL - Piket, Jeroen G 2606 HED 1/2 Vaganian, Rafael G 2630 ARM - Dizdarevic, Emir G 2530 BIH 1:0 "POLONIA" Warszawa POL - "BEER SHEVA" ISR 4:2 Shirov, Alexei G 2720 ESP - Huzman Alexander G 2575 ISR 1:0 Oll, Lembit G 2650 EST - Golod, Vitali G 2555 ISR 1/2 Rozentalis, Eduardas G 2575 LTU - Avrukh, Boris G 2565 ISR 1/2 Gdanski, Jacek G 2540 POL - Greenfeld, Alon G 2535 ISR 1/2 Macieja, Bartlomiej IM 2480 POL - Mikhalevski Victor G 2540 ISR 1/2 Socko, Bartosz IM 2475 POL - Tseitlin Mark G 2480 ISR 1:0 "STILON" Gorzow POL - "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva, ISR 2,5:3,5 Krasenkow, Michal G 2655 POL - Smirin, Ilia G 2615 ISR 1:0 Shipov, Sergei G 2635 RUS - Alterman, Boris G 2600 ISR 1/2 Khenkin,Igor G 2600 RUS - Yudasin, Leonid G 2550 ISR 1/2 Markowski, Tomasz G 2525 POL - Oratovsky, Michael IM 2465 ISR 1/2 Jaracz, Pavel IM 2465 POL - Finkel Alexander G 2455 ISR 0:1 Czerwonski,Aleksander IM 2390 POL - Tyomkin Dimitri IM 2465 ISR 0:1 "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS - "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG 2:4 Svidler Peter G 2710 RUS - Kramnik, Vladimir G 2780 RUS 1/2 Khalifman, Alexander G 2645 RUS - Anand Visvanathan G 2795 IND 1/2 Sakaev, Konstanti G 2635 RUS - Beliavsky, Alexander G 2645 SLO 1/2 Epishin, Vladimir G 2585 RUS - Gelfand, Boris G 2675 BLR 0:1 Ivanov, Sergey G 2570 RUS - Damljanovic, Branko G 2555 YUG 0:1 Popov, Valerij G 2520 RUS - Ilincic, Zlatko G 2570 YUG 1/2
No-one expected such an easy match for Panfox against the experienced team from Bosnia. After three hours all was clear. Vaganian won and immediately after, in a row, Van Wely, Mickey Adams and Timman. The Hastings winner, Ivan Sokolov blundered in a position which he should have held. Adams and Jan Timman played wonderful games, leaving the spectators divided as to which was better.
Alexei Shirov carried all of the Polish team's hopes. When Polonia led with 3:2 (on six board Socko (21) beat Mark Tceitlin (56)) and, when a draw was enough for final, Alexei, who is official challenger Gary's PCA, continued for win. Like in the first round, Shirov demonstrated the highest ending technich, to outplay Huzman, Svidler's conquerer in the first round, in fine the rook ending.
Agrouniverzal's dream team after a "Titanic" performance in the first round, changed to that of "Terminator" in the second. Disregarding the fact that St Petersburg was on paper a stronger team than they lost to in the first round, they made light of the job. They dominated throughout, as in football, when one team plays all the time in their opponent's half. Gelfand played a pretty game against Epishin, who didn't play in the first round and, Damljanovic assisted him to confirm the win. An interesting fact, St Petersburg played half of the Russian team that won the last Olympiad, yet they will fight only for the 7th place!
Grandmaster Krasenkov could do nothing alone. He won a very nice game against Smirin but Beer Sheva were strong on the bottom two boards. The executioners were Finkel and Tyomkin.
A characteristic of the second round was that after four hours all the games except Shirov-Huzman and Sakaev-Beliavsky were over but without any short games! More than two thousand spectators passed through the playing hall in the Hotel "Jugoslavija" on the second day.
The new European Champions are "Panfox" from Breda, who have also been Dutch Champions several times. In the last five years Panfox have been champions four times.
Against Polonia, in the final, they were great favorites by the reputation of their players and their ratings and experience.
At the start all was in their favour. Shirov fell into a prepared variation from Van Wely. Following the famous Gruenfeld Defence, from the Karpov-Kasparov match with a bishop sacrifice on f7. On the 23rd move Shirov thought more than an hour. (Shirov had spent 1.15 and Van Wely only 5 minutes!) In the other games Dutch players also had good positions. Shirov's long think bore fruit however, a nice pawn sacrifice which made the position unclear. This was the start of an astonishing turnaround in fortune in the games. Vaganian made a mistake, losing a rook and the game. Timman got into a difficult position, lost a pawn and suddenly everybody saw "Polonia" as favourites. Half an hour later it looked even worse, Tinmman was in a lost position and in the other games Poland's players were all right. The ten minutes before the first time control a new change in fortunes. Adams sacrificed a bishop for two pawns and an attack. Rozentalis was shocked and in time trouble lost. Lautier drew and Oll allowed Timman some hope to save the game. Coaches start to calculate what might happen with a tied match score. As a rule, you first take off the last board, and as the Dutch side's player (Vaganian) lost, 3:3 would be enough. Nevertheless a tied result didn't happen.
Timman saved a draw with his opponent's help and when peace was agreed on the top board the match was all was over. A draw was enough for the Dutch, but Gurevich was a pawn up and the winning position. He won, and so the Dutch also won the match. "Bosnia" wanted so much to take third place and the final medal. Sokolov won nicely but then Avrukh, Tseitlin and Mikhalevski were turned over. Grandmaster Piket tried to reduce the deficit, fighting nearly seven hours, and more than 100 moves, in a rook ending a pawn up.
Fifth were "Agrouniverzal" with it's "dream" team. Their fans expected much more. The chess elite of Kramnik, Anand, Beliavsky and Gelfand made just plus one from 12 games! "Agrouniverzal" entered in the final because they were hosts, in the last round they got the chance to have revenge against "Elitzur", who eliminated them in semi-final. They did so, with wins from Gelfand and Damljanovic, just like the day before. Kramnik, a pawn up, pressed for a win against Smirin for 75 moves.
The "Sankt Petersburg" team didn't win a single game in the first two rounds. In the last match Sakaev, Solozhenkin and Popov won.
The championship was very interesting with the lot of nice, fighting games. The players like this type of tournament, just because it is not so long. Even the best players can find three free days. A new idea of making the event longer with 10 teams, who have to play each other is surely wrong.
"Agrouniverzal" organized championships at three weeks notice. It wasn't bad but with the more time it could have been much better. (The Press-center and Bulletin office were not as good as they should have been).
The few thousand chess fans who visited tournament were satisfied although there were only seven demonstration boards.
FINAL "PANFOX" Breda, NED - "POLONIA" Warszawa POL 3,5:2,5 Van Wely, Loek G 2635 NED - Shirov, Alexei G 2720 ESP 1/2 Timman, Jan G 2655 NED - Oll, Lembit G 2650 EST 1/2 Adams, Michael G 2715 ENG - Rozentalis, Eduardas G 2575 LTU 1:0 Lautier, Joel G 2625 FRA - Gdanski, Jacek G 2540 POL 1/2 Gurevich, Mikhail G 2610 BEL - Macieja, Bartlomiej IM 2480 POL 1:0 Vaganian, Rafael G 2630 ARM - Socko, Bartosz IM 2475 POL 1/2 "BOSNA" Sarajevo BIH - "BEER SHEVA" ISR 2:4 Sokolov, Ivan G 2620 BIH - Huzman, Alexander G 2575 ISR 1:0 Lputian, Smbat G 2615 ARM - Golod, Vitali G 2555 ISR 1/2 Kozul, Zdenko G 2570 CRO - Avrukh, Boris G 2565 ISR 0:1 Kurajica, Bojan G 2570 BIH - Greenfeld, Alon G 2535 ISR 0:1 Piket, Jeroen G 2606 HED - Mikhalevski, Victor G 2540 ISR 1/2 Dizdarevic, Emir G 2530 BIH - Tseitlin, Mark G 2480 ISR 0:1 "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG - "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva, ISR 4:2 Kramnik, Vladimir G 2780 RUS - Smirin, Ilia G 2615 ISR 1/2 Anand Vizvanathan G 2795 IND - Alterman, Boris G 2600 ISR 1/2 Beliavsky, Alexander G 2645 SLO - Yudasin, Leonid G 2550 ISR 1/2 Gelfand, Boris G 2675 BLR - Oratovsky, Michael IM 2465 ISR 1:0 Damljanovic, Branko G 2555 YUG - Finkel, Alexander G 2455 ISR 1:0 Ilincic, Zlatko G 2570 YUG - Tyomkin, Dimitri IM 2465 ISR 1/2 "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS - "STILON" Gorzow POL 4,5:1,5 Svidler, Peter G 2710 RUS - Krasenkow, Michal G 2655 POL 1/2 Khalifman, Alexander G 2645 RUS - Shipov, Sergei G 2635 RUS 1/2 Sakaev, Konstanti G 2635 RUS - Khenkin, Igor G 2600 RUS 1:0 Epishin, Vladimir G 2585 RUS - Markowski, Tomasz G 2525 POL 1/2 Solozhenkin, Evgeniy G 2535 RUS - Jaracz, Pavel IM 2465 POL 1:0 Popov, Valerij G 2520 RUS - Czerwonski,Aleksander IM 2390 POL 1:0
FINAL STANDINGS 1. SV "PANFOX" Breda NED 2670 Van Wely, Loek G 2635 NED 2.0 out of 3 Timman, Jan G 2655 NED 2.5 Adams, Michael G 2715 ENG 2.5 Lautier, Joel G 2625 FRA 1.5 Gurevich, Mikhail G 2610 BEL 2.0 Vaganian, Rafael G 2630 ARM 1.5 2. "POLONIA" Warszawa POL 2573 Shirov, Alexei G 2720 ESP 2.5/3 Oll, Lembit G 2650 EST 1.0 Rozentalis, Eduardas G 2575 LTU 1.0 Gdanski, Jacek G 2540 POL 2.0 Macieja, Bartlomiej IM 2480 POL 1.0 Socko, Bartosz IM 2475 POL 2.5 3. "BEER SHEVA" ISR 2542 Huzman Alexander G 2575 ISR 1.0/3 Golod, Vitali G 2555 ISR 1.5 Avrukh, Boris G 2565 ISR 2.5 Greenfeld, Alon G 2535 ISR 2.0 Mikhalevski Victor G 2540 ISR 2.0 Tseitlin Mark G 2480 ISR 1.5 4. CC "BOSNA" Sarajevo BIH 2585 Sokolov, Ivan G 2620 BIH 1.5/3 Lputian, Smbat G 2615 ARM 1.5 Kozul, Zdenko G 2570 CRO 1.0 Kurajica, Bojan G 2570 BIH 1.0 Piket, Jeroen G 2606 HED 1.0 Dizdarevic, Emir G 2530 BIH 0.5 5. "AGROUNIVERZAL" Zemun YUG 2670 Kramnik, Vladimir G 2780 RUS 1.0/3 Anand Vizvanathan G 2795 IND 2.0 Beliavsky, Alexander G 2645 SLO 1.5 Gelfand, Boris G 2675 BLR 2.0 Damljanovic, Branko G 2555 YUG 2.5 Ilincic, Zlatko G 2570 YUG 1.5 6. "ELITZUR" Petah Tikva ISR 2572 Smirin, Ilia G 2615 ISR 1.0/3 Alterman, Boris G 2600 ISR 1.0 Yudasin, Leonid G 2550 ISR 1.5 Oratovsky, Michael IM 2465 ISR 1.0 Finkel Alexander G 2455 ISR 1.5 Tyomkin Dimitri IM 2465 ISR 2.0 7. "SANKT PETERSBURG" RUS 2613 Svidler Peter G 2710 RUS 1.0/3 Khalifman, Alexander G 2645 RUS 1.5/3 Sakaev, Konstanti G 2635 RUS 1.5/3 Epishin, Vladimir G 2585 RUS 0.5/2 Ivanov, Sergey G 2570 RUS 0.5/2 Solozhenkin, Evgeniy G 2535 RUS 1.0/2 Popov, Valerij G 2520 RUS 2.0/3 8. KSz "STILON" Gorzow POL 2545 Krasenkow, Michal G 2655 POL 2.0/3 Shipov, Sergei G 2635 RUS 1.0 Khenkin,Igor G 2600 RUS 0.5 Markowski, Tomasz G 2525 POL 1.5 Jaracz, Pavel IM 2465 POL 1.0 Czerwonski,Aleksander IM 2390 POL 0.5
The top three teams, "PANFOX", "POLONIA" and "BEER SHEVA" got nice cups and medals. The prize fund was 15.000 swiss francs, 1st 7.500 SF, 2nd 3.750 SF, 3rd 2.250 SF and 4th 1.500 SF. 49 players played in the event including 43 grandmasters and 6 IMs. There were 4 grandmasters present as reserves and the more than 30 who just visit the event. Only "Sankt Petersburg used 7 players. 48 players was from Europe and only one from Asia - Anand. Even Anand now lives in Spain. Of 72 games 33 were decisive or 46% there were 49 draws. Non of the matches finished tied!
The best results on the boards were:
Board 1 - Alexei Shirov ("Polonia") 2,5/3
Board 2 - Jan Timman ("Panfox") 2,5/3
Board 3 - Michael Adams ("Panfox") 2,5/3
Board 4 - Bolris Avrukh ("Beer Sheva") 2,5/3
Board 5 - Branko Damljanovic ("Agrouniverzal") 2,5/3
and Bartosz Socko ("Polonia") 2,5 /3
The best player was Alexei Shirov, the best game was Anand-Oll from Round 1, won by Anand. Eight players flew from Belgrade to Wijk ann Zee: Anand, Kramnik, Shirov, Svidler, Timman, Van Wely, Sokolov and Piket.
The longest game was Piket-Mikhalevski (draw in 105 moves). The shortest Alterman-Shipov and Shipov-Khalifman both 14 moves. There were only 9 short draws, under 20 moves. The shortest decisive game was Huzman-Svidler 1:0 in 22 moves and the longest Gurevich-Macieja 1:0 in 72 moves. If you count game points the result was: Panfox 12 out of 18, Beer Sheva and Agrouniverzal 10,5 , Polonia 10, Elitzur and Sankt Petersburg 8, and Bosnia and Stilon 6,5 points.
The Champions "Panfox" were the best organized and led team. Near the bar most frequently were the players from "Panfox", "Bosnia" and "Agrouniverzal". - Interesting is where the players were born. Former Soviet Union 30, ex-Yugoslavia 6, Poland 6, Netherlands 3, England, France, Israel and India 1 player.
The organization was good except that there were only 7 demonstration boards,a very bad Press-center and Bulletin.
There were several thousand spectators who visited championship. Every night (unfortunately very late) there was a TV broadcast of about 40 minutes. - The Championships were held in the Hotel "Jugoslavija" on the river Danube. - The 14th European Club Championship was a great chess event, with the great chess players. Only with the best chess players can a chess event be great. Even the Olympiad without the best players loses sense. The players like these short strong events. Three rounds it is not so hard, and everybody can find time to participate. The only things that is important is for it to be in some nice place or in big town in the center of Europe.
Susan Polgar is in discussions with FIDE over the defence of her Women's World Chess Championship title. Both the timing and venue are being discussed. She is at the start of the eighth month of pregnancy so she has requested a postponement until July at least (in order to recover from giving birth and to prepare) but was granted a postponement only until the end of May by the FIDE general assembly. In addition to this the deadline for submitting bids for hosting the match is January 31st, 1999. The Chinese chess federation are reported to be preparing a bid, however according to FIDE's regulations Polgar can decline to play in her opponent's homeland (which wasn't the case for the semi-final with Galliamova). If the Chinese is the only bid (which may be the case), Polgar may indeed exercise her right and refuse to play in China and FIDE would have to come up with an alternative venue. She has also made efforts to find sponsors in Hungary and/or in the United States, so far without success. As a permanent resident of the US she has also written to the USCF (a letter dated December 16th 1998 for the attention of Michael Cavallo) but has received no response from the USCF. She is still quite hopeful that the match will take place outside China, later in the year however.
Report from Maximiliano Alvarez. The International Open "Hotel Anibal" took place in Linares, Spain 8-17 January 1999. The event was won by Alexey Dreev with 8/10 ( + 6 = 4 ) ahead on tie-break from Artashes Minasian ( + 7 = 2 - 1). Russian born (now Argentina) Maxim Sorokin scored (+5=5) to finish 3rd drawing with Dreev and Minasian. The Open was very strong, further down the field for example were 23rd Andrei Sokolov 24th Romanishin and 26th Tiviakov !! all on 6/10. Games from the first 9 rounds are available.
Official coverage: http://ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez Also 20-29 of January sees the Open "Hotel Ciudad de Ubeda".
1-2 Dreev, Alexey RUS 2645 8 62.5
Minasian, Artashes ARM 2620 8 59.0
3-6 Sorokin, Maxim ARG 2570 7.5 60.0
Kharlov, Andrei RUS 2575 7.5 59.0
Burmakin, Vladimir RUS 2560 7.5 59.0
Giorgadze, Giorgi GEO 2610 7.5 54.5
7-12 Kazhgaleyev, Murtas KAZ 2550 7 58.0
Bologan, Viktor MDA 2580 7 55.5
Sashikiran, Krishnan IND 2470 7 54.0
Landa, Konstantin RUS 2520 7 53.0
Genba, Vladimir RUS 2450 7 49.5
Kalantarian, Norik ARM 2415 7 49.5
13-21 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2490 6.5 60.0
Minasian, Ara ARM 2450 6.5 55.0
Ramesh, R. B. IND 2365 6.5 54.5
Borges Mateos, Juan CUB 2480 6.5 54.5
Bagaturov, Giorgi GEO 2540 6.5 53.0
Rashkovsky, Nukhim RUS 2535 6.5 52.5
Asrian, Karen ARM 2600 6.5 52.0
Salmensuu, Olli FIN 2420 6.5 52.0
Pierrot, Facundo ARG 2420 6.5 50.5
22-43 Yandemirov, Valeri RUS 2470 6 58.5
Sokolov, Andrei RUS 2565 6 58.0
Romanishin, Oleg UKR 2600 6 57.5
Nogueiras, Jesus CUB 2510 6 56.5
Tiviakov, Sergei RUS 2655 6 56.5
Kovacevic, Slobodan YUG 2420 6 54.0
Sulypa, Alexandre UKR 2415 6 53.5
Prasad, Devaki V IND 2405 6 52.5
Delchev, Aleksander BUL 2575 6 52.0
Gaprindashvili, Valerian GEO 2405 6 52.0
Herrera, Irisberto CUB 2425 6 51.5
Maherramzade, Javad AZE 2440 6 51.0
Pedzich, Dominik POL 2435 6 50.5
Kunte, Abhijit IND 2505 6 50.0
Holmsten, Aleksei FIN 2400 6 50.0
Olafsson, Helgi ISL 2505 6 49.5
Arencibia, Walter CUB 2550 6 49.0
Becerra Rivero, Julio CUB 2485 6 48.5
Grigore, George ROM 2475 6 47.5
Summerscale, Aaron ENG 2455 6 47.5
Garcia, Silvino CUB 2420 6 45.5
Gonzalez Garcia, Jose MEX 2445 6 43.0
44-56 Svetushkin, Dmitry MDA 2460 5.5 58.5
Georgiev, Vladimir BUL 2540 5.5 55.0
Yegiazarian, Arsen ARM 2500 5.5 55.0
Estrada Nieto, Julian MEX 2375 5.5 52.0
Watson, John L USA 2365 5.5 51.0
Candela Perez, Jose ESP 2380 2355 5.5 51.0
Konguvel, Ponnuswamy IND 2410 5.5 49.5
Van Der Weide, Karel NED 2490 5.5 49.0
Saravanan, V IND 2390 5.5 49.0
Nouro, Mikael FIN 2335 5.5 48.0
Shirazi, Kamran USA 2410 5.5 47.0
Verduga, Denis MEX 2315 5.5 46.5
Dumitrescu, Dragos ROM 2405 5.5 45.0
57-74 Narciso Dublan, Marc ESP 2460 2465 5 57.0
Kotanjian, Trigan ARM 2215 5 53.5
Russek, Guil MEX 2395 5 50.0
Piankov, Evgenij UKR 2375 5 49.5
Quinn, Mark IRL 2350 5 49.0
Gokhale, C. S. IND 2335 5 46.5
Subbaraman, Vijayalakshmi IND 2335 5 46.0
Betaneli, Aleksandr USA 2340 5 46.0
Khassanov, Marat CAN 2320 5 46.0
Kunte, Mrunalini IND 2150 5 46.0
Bjerring, Kai DEN 2335 5 45.5
Fierro Baquero, Marta Lorena ECU 2240 5 45.5
Zakarian, David ARM 2290 5 45.5
Fernandez Romero, Ernesto ESP 2195 2245 5 45.0
Bykhovsky, Anatoly RUS 2415 5 43.5
Peric, Slavisa YUG 2200 5 42.0
Spaan, Nathanel NED 2265 5 42.0
Appleberry, Martin USA 2310 5 40.0
130 players
Lubomir Ftacnik reports: The Bad Zwesten open took place in a small spa town near Kassel in Hessen, in the heart of Germany. The efforts of a professional advertising comapany dealing with sport events G4 promotion and a chess organizer and publisher Juergen Daniel resulted in a successful 3rd annual open with 190 players, 11 GMs. The event was a 9 round swiss system event. The first two editions of the event were 7 round affairs but the organisers of the event decided to heed the complaints of the players and move to 9 rounds. So January 2nd-6th saw 9 rounds in 5 days (each running a maximum of 6 hours), quite a heavy load for european players not used to the lovely stress of opens in the US. One of the advantages is the compression of the event into minimum number of days so local players only have to give up 2-3 working days. One special feature was the virtual absence of the middle field, the top stars had to fight out for the prize fond in direct encounters. The main star of the event, Joel Lautier, managed to fullfil his seeding and took first prize by virtue of a superior "Hort system" tie-break ahead of Shchekachev and Baklan. The open in Zwesten seems to have been the strongest event at the start of the year beating even the Schwaebisch Gmuend which has a much longer tradition.
Leading final standings Bad Zwesten GER (GER), I 1999 --------------------------------------------------------- 1 Lautier, Joel g FRA 2625 7.5 /9 2683 2 Shchekachev, Andrei g RUS 2560 7.5 /9 2588 3 Baklan, Vladimir m UKR 2585 7.5 /9 2735 4 Ftacnik, Lubomir g SVK 2585 7.0 /9 2645 5 Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander g POL 2595 7.0 /9 2608 6 Luther, Thomas g GER 2560 7.0 /9 2534 7 Heck, Norbert f GER 2320 7.0 /9 2526 8 Enders, Peter g GER 2485 7.0 /9 2388 9 Epishin, Vladimir g RUS 2585 6.5 /9 2522 10 Sandner, Gunter GER 2345 6.5 /9 2469 11 Glek, Igor V g RUS 2580 6.5 /9 2462 12 Seul, Georg m GER 2445 6.5 /9 2472 13 Mossakowski, Florian GER 2215 6.5 /9 2484 14 Ackermann, Hans-Werner GER 2270 6.5 /9 2372 15 Gutman, Lev g GER 2480 6.0 /9 2427 16 Sokolov, Ewgeni GER 2360 6.0 /9 2431 17 Haub, Thorsten-Michael m GER 2410 6.0 /9 2373 18 Langheinrich, Ferenc GER 2245 6.0 /9 2423 19 Kiese, Matthias GER 2175 6.0 /9 2392 20 Schaller, Sven f GER 2345 6.0 /9 2258 21 Koeller, Oliver GER 2290 6.0 /9 2290 22 Wippermann, Till GER 2180 6.0 /9 2384 23 Mainka, Romuald g GER 2480 6.0 /9 2451 24 Zumsande, Martin GER 2250 6.0 /9 2310 25 Majer, Damir GER 2295 6.0 /9 2191 26 Kountz, Jochen f GER 2290 6.0 /9 2254 27 Nill, Jessica wf GER 2200 6.0 /9 2287 28 Gjokaj,Gjon GER ---- 6.0 /9 2240 29 Schumacher, Gottfried GER 2165 6.0 /9 2255 30 Goessling, Guido GER 2120 6.0 /9 2260 31 Chandler, Patrick GER 2195 6.0 /9 2195 32 Kleinschroth, Roland GER 2170 6.0 /9 2249 190 players
Lubomir Ftacnik reports: The open in Trinec was the second in the modern chess history of this industrial town in the north of Moravia close to the Polish border. The event is closely connected with the rise of the local team to the Czech extra league and the mild interest of some of the managers in Trinec steel works for chess. The town itself has a rich chess tradition from the times of Czechoslovakia, Karpov accidently played in Trince (and won) his first tournament abroad there in 1967 (the Soviets supposedly thought it a junior event MC). The event ran from 26th December 1998 3rd Jan 1999 with Czech stars competing for the first prize. The winner Vokac is well known for his lifelong devotion to chess, activity in the Czech chess federation, chess writing but he also has a GM norm and the ambition to enter the club of the best. A well run and locally popular event should become annual as a good chance to gain international experience for many lesser players.
Leading final standings 1 Vokac, Marek m CZE 2525 7.0 2577 2 Pisk, Petr CZE 2315 6.5 2525 3 Orsag, Milan m CZE 2405 6.5 2516 4 Kozakov, Mikhail m UKR 2400 6.5 2470 5 Mirumian, Vigen m ARM 2470 6.5 2409 6 Starostits, Ilmars LAT 2330 6.0 2453 7 Sergienko, Sergey m RUS 2405 6.0 2417 8 Michenka, Jozef m CZE 2315 6.0 2407 9 Babula, Milan m CZE 2325 6.0 2403 10 Splosnov, Sergei BLR 2350 6.0 2397 11 Voloshin, Leonid m CZE 2440 5.5 2405 12 Hagara, Eduard SVK 2250 5.5 2424 13 Berzinsh, Roland m LAT 2445 5.5 2347 14 Hagarova, Zuzana wg SVK 2335 5.5 2346 15 Kupka, Slavoj f CZE 2325 5.5 2281 16 Frolik, Martin CZE 2255 5.0 2351 17 Sikora-Lerch, Jan m CZE 2380 5.0 2348 18 Buchnicek, Petr CZE 2240 5.0 2332 19 Gross, Stefan m CZE 2330 5.0 2321 20 Walek, Milan CZE 2295 5.0 2335 21 Jakubowski, Krzysztof f POL 2235 5.0 2334 22 Jirka, Jiri CZE 2195 5.0 2265 23 Zabystrzan, Pavel CZE 2325 5.0 2286 24 Chernyshov, Konstantin m RUS 2485 5.0 2285 25 Kislov, Mikhail m RUS 2385 5.0 2283 26 Blazkova, Petra CZE 2240 5.0 2330 58 players
The 2nd South Wales Masters IM tournament was played from January 11th-15th at the Newport Leisure Centre. Because of the lateness of the ELO ratings it is uncertain as to the category of the event (the missing rating Panczyk, I have given his July 98 rating) the rest of the ratings are the new ones. Ruth Sheldon scored a women's GM norm which seems to be the only one possible from the event. Colin Crouch won with 6.5/9. Source John Saunders and the 4NCL pages (Jon Gilbert supplied him the gamescores and results).
http://www.cableinet.co.uk/users/jsaunders/nclindex.htm
Newport WLS 1999
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 Crouch,C 2430 +23 * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 6.5/9
2 Cobb,J 2287 +134 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 6.0/9 26.25
3 Sheldon,R 2265 +158 ½ 0 * 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 6.0/9 22.75
4 Cobb,C 2275 +62 1 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 5.0/9 22.50
5 Baker,CW 2390 -65 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 1 0 1 ½ 5.0/9 21.00
6 Devereaux,M 2220 +42 0 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 1 4.0/9
7 Varley,P 2273 -58 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ 3.5/9
8 Buckley,S 2144 +41 0 1 0 0 1 ½ 0 * ½ 0 3.0/9 14.50
9 Panczyk,K 2365 -203 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ * ½ 3.0/9 12.00
10 Beaumont,C 2298 -129 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ * 3.0/9 11.25
Laszlo Nagy reports: The traditional Talopca Open chess tournament ran from 8th to 16th of January in Budapest, in the tournament halls of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The organizer was Parej, Jozsef. There were 90 players from 6 countries: HUN, VIE, RUS, ARM, SLO, CAN. 74 of the players had FIDE ratings, with 7 IM-s, and 4 FM-s.
The event was won by Russian IM Konstantin Chernyshov who scored 8/9 ahead of Nguyen Anh Dung on 7.5 and Levente Majzik on 7.0.
Budapest HUN (HUN), I 1999 ---------------------------------------------------- 1 Chernyshov, Konstantin m RUS 2485 8.0 /9 2620 2 Nguyen Anh Dung m VIE 2495 7.5 /9 2579 3 Majzik, Levente HUN 2280 7.0 4 Antal, Gergely HUN 2195 6.5 5 Papp, Gellert HUN 2205 6.5 6 Pasztor, Ferenc HUN 2265 6.5 7 Francsics, Endre HUN 2285 6.5 8 Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2325 6.0 9 Kun, Gabor HUN 2260 6.0 10 Galyas, Miklos f HUN 2440 6.0 /9 2435 ...90 players
The next First Saturday Chess tournaments in Budapest start in Budapest from 6th of February. There are 4 events: 1. GM closed tournament cat.VII-VIII. for the GM-norms,/10-14 participants/, 2. IM-closed tmt cat.I-III. for the IM-norms,/10-14 players/, 3. ELO-closed tmt for the ratings,/minimally 9 games/ 4. Scheveningen system tmt for the nonrated players who wants to make ELO- ratings /9 games/. Contact: Nagy, Laszlo, the organizer Tel-fax: (361)-2632859 E-mail: 100263.1700@compuserve.com Webpage: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/chess_first_saturday_hu/
Bjarke Kristensen reports: The danish GM Sune Berg Hansen became the sole winner of this years tournament at Gausdal Høifjellshotel in Norway. Pre-tournament favorite and reign US-champ Nick de Firmian as expected held the lead from round one but when he stumbled against latvian GM Miezis in round 7 (and lost) the young dane immediately grabbed the lead and went on to win the event with another two wins in the final rounds. The Gausdal Troll Masters tournament used to be one of the strongest Opens in Scandinavia in the early nineties, but when the famous tournament organizer Arnold J. Eikrem passed away the event looked destined to go in. But with strong support from the venue younger people (most of all Hans Olav Lahlum) the event was revived this year. In other words - Gausdal Høifjellshotel may maintain it's former status as the chess mecca of the north. Next years event is scheduled to take place from the 10th to 16th of January year 2000!
Gausdal NOR (NOR), I 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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1 Hansen, Sune Berg g DEN 2520 +17 +11 = 6 = 2 = 3 = 4 + 9 + 5 + 7 7.0 2591
2 Miezis, Normunds g LAT 2515 + 8 +20 = 9 = 1 - 5 + 6 + 3 = 4 +10 6.5 2521
3 DeFirmian, Nick E g USA 2605 + 7 +16 = 4 + 9 = 1 = 5 - 2 + 6 +13 6.5 2535
4 Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2515 +13 +15 = 3 = 6 +19 = 1 = 5 = 2 +17 6.5 2534
5 Ornstein, Axel m SWE 2425 +18 - 6 +24 +10 + 2 = 3 = 4 - 1 +11 6.0 2469
6 Borge, Nikolaj m DEN 2455 =10 + 5 = 1 = 4 +11 - 2 +16 - 3 +15 5.5 2406
7 Fyllingen, Roy Harald m NOR 2405 - 3 =10 +13 =11 =17 +21 +15 + 9 - 1 5.5 2282
8 Trygstad, Kristian NOR 2255 - 2 =18 =12 =26 =20 =11 +24 =10 +16 5.0 2126
9 Hersvik, Daniel NOR 2080 +19 +21 = 2 - 3 -24 +15 - 1 - 7 +12 4.5 2189
10 Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn ISL 2190 = 6 = 7 +27 - 5 +13 =19 =17 = 8 - 2 4.5 2316
11 Ferkingstad, Sjur NOR 2075 +25 - 1 +20 = 7 - 6 = 8 +19 =17 - 5 4.5 2195
12 Lie,Espen ---- =14 -27 = 8 =18 +26 -16 +22 +23 - 9 4.5 2132
13 Lie, Kjetil A NOR 2240 - 4 +17 - 7 +23 -10 +26 +20 =16 - 3 4.5 2220
14 Johansson, Per SWE 2115 =12 -24 =18 =17 -16 =23 +28 +21 =22 4.5 2195
15 Borchgrevink,Harald ---- +28 - 4 +23 =16 +21 - 9 - 7 +19 - 6 4.5
16 Hreinsson,Hlidar ---- +22 - 3 -19 =15 +14 +12 - 6 =13 - 8 4.0 2185
17 Johansen, Terje NOR 2270 - 1 -13 +25 =14 = 7 +24 =10 =11 - 4 4.0 2136
18 Johansen, Arild NOR 2120 - 5 = 8 =14 =12 =27 =22 =21 =20 =19 4.0 2140
19 Svendsen,Bertil ---- - 9 +25 +16 +27 - 4 =10 -11 -15 =18 4.0 1956
20 Bjerke,Silje ---- +26 - 2 -11 =21 = 8 +27 -13 =18 =25 4.0 2090
21 Tallaksen,Geir ---- +23 - 9 +28 =20 -15 - 7 =18 -14 +24 4.0 1858
22 Hansen,Victor ---- -16 -23 -26 +25 +28 =18 -12 +24 =14 4.0 1983
23 Valgardsson,Gudjon ---- -21 +22 -15 -13 =25 =14 +26 -12 +28 4.0 2148
24 Arngrimmsson,Dagur ---- =27 +14 - 5 +28 + 9 -17 - 8 -22 -21 3.5 2157
25 Bergsson,Stefan ---- -11 -19 -17 -22 =23 +28 +27 =26 =20 3.5 1872
26 Fant, Goran SWE 2090 -20 -28 +22 = 8 -12 -13 -23 =25 +27 3.0 2054
27 Egilsson,Helgi ---- =24 +12 -10 -19 =18 -20 -25 =28 -26 2.5 1860
28 Angeltveit,Vigleik ---- -15 +26 -21 -24 -22 -25 -14 =27 -23 1.5 2102
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The 1999 Australian Chess Open was held at the University of the Sunshine Coast 2nd - 14th of January 1999. The event was won by GM Vadim Milov (2640) on 10/11 with GM Darryl Johansen (2490) 2nd on 9.5/11 and GM Ian Rogers (2605) finished third on 8.5/11. IM's Gary Lane, Alex Wohl and Stephen Solomon also participated.
More detailed information at the website: http://www.squirrel.com.au/~sunchess/
My thanks to Theos Rippis 1999 Australian Open Chess Championship Bulletin Editor.
Australian Open Champion Vadim Milov 2nd Darryl Johansen 3rd Ian Rogers =4th Alex Wohl Gary Lane Mark Chapman Bob Smith Yumjav Taivanbaatar Australian Open Woman Champion Arianne Caoili Equal Best Australian Woman Cathy Rogers Veronica Klimenko Best under 18 & equal 1st under 2200 David Smerdon Equal best under 16 & under 14 Zong-Yuan Zhao Kuan-Kuan Tian Best under 12 Christopher Page Equal 1st under 2200 Manuel Weeks John Sutherland Morton Lonborg Suncoast AUS (AUS), I 1999 ------------------------------------------------------- 1 Milov, Vadim g SUI 2640 10.0 /11 2701 2 Johansen, Darryl K g AUS 2490 9.5 /11 2618 3 Rogers, Ian g AUS 2605 8.5 /11 2496 4 Wohl, Aleksandar H m AUS 2440 8.0 /11 5 Lane, Gary W m ENG 2405 8.0 /11 2509 6 Chapman, Mark SCO 2075 8.0 /11 2387 7 Smith, Robert W f NZL 2310 8.0 /11 2454 8 Taivanbaatar, Yumjav MGL 2080 8.0 /11 9 Haag, Martin GER 2290 7.5 /11 2322 10 Smerdon, David AUS 2105 7.5 /11 11 Sandler, Leonid f AUS 2385 7.5 /11 2269 12 Weeks, Manuel AUS ---- 7.5 /11 13 Allen, Andrew AUS 2255 7.5 /11 2296 14 Leskiewicz, Maksymilian AUS 2210 7.5 /11 15 Laird, Craig f AUS 2300 7.5 /11 2200 16 Stephson, David AUS 2200 7.5 /11 17 Szuveges,Grant ---- 7.5 /11 18 Sutherland, John NZL 2055 7.5 /11 19 Lonborg, Morten DEN 2130 7.5 /11 20 Canfell, Gregory AUS 2260 7.5 /11 21 Myers, John AUS 2060 7.0 /11 22 Zhao Zong Yuan ---- 7.0 /11 23 Sarfati, Jonathan D f NZL 2300 7.0 /11 2175 24 Depasquale, Chris f AUS 2305 7.0 /11 2166 25 Mehltreter,Otto ---- 7.0 /11 26 Tian,Kuan Kuan ---- 7.0 /11 27 Saw, Geoffrey AUS 2205 7.0 /11 28 Wright, Neil AUS ---- 7.0 /11 29 Ingram,Benny ---- 7.0 /11 30 Sheldrick,Kevin ---- 7.0 /11 31 Speck,Nicholas ---- 6.5 /11 2253 32 Reilly, Tim AUS 2270 6.5 /11 2120 33 Christensen, Thomas DEN 2290 6.5 /11 1944 34 Solomon, Stephen J m AUS 2435 6.5 /11 2261 155 players etc
"64 — Chess Review" magazine is aking for votes for the "Chess Oscar" a vote for the best 10 chess players of the year. Last year 300 chess journalists from 55 countries took part in these ballots. Chess journalists and other chess personalities are able to participate. Votes can be by to fax to: 7-095-2020961 or by e-mail to chess@online.ru Votes are needed soon. You should say which magazine you represent. Alexander Roshal Editor-in-Chief "64"
There has to be some frustration that least a selection of the most important games from the Bundesliga aren't made available. The results are available on the internet (see below) The Bundesliga in Germany has reached its seventh round and Solinger have a clear lead already which should take them to the title. In the games section are two games which are of interest from the event so far.
Results and some coverage at http://gerhard-hund.de/berichte/bundes-l.html and at http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.htm
Standings after 7 rounds 1. Solinger SG 7 41½:14½ 14- 0 2. SG Köln Porz 7 36 :20 14- 0 3. Dresdner SC 7 33 :23 11- 3 4. SK Delmenhorst 7 30½:25½ 9- 5 5. Hamburger SK 7 31 :25 8- 6 6. USC Magdeburg 7 28 :28 7- 7 7. SFR Neukölln 7 26½:29½ 7- 7 8. PSV Duisburg 7 26½:29½ 7- 7 9. SV Wattenscheid 7 26 :30 7- 710. SK Fr.Zähringen 7 26 :30 6- 8 11. SV Werder Bremen 7 25 :31 6- 812. Erfurter SK 7 25½:30½ 5- 9 13. SG Bochum 7 25½:30½ 4-1014. SK Passau 7 22½:33½ 3-11 15. Castrop Rauxel 7 25½:30½ 2-1216. SK Viernheim 7 19 :37 2-12
The 1999 Caribbean Open International Tournament is coming to a close. Gerald Hertneck, Alexander Stripunsky, Chris Ward, Stuart Conquest and Henry Urday are the 5 GMs in the field of 50 players. The event runs 12-18th January 1999. Henry Urday, Stuart Conquest and Alexander Stripunsky lead with 6.5/8 with one round to go. My thanks to Carlyle Singh for the games from the event.
Full coverage is at: http://www.caribchess.com including Stewart Reuben's account of the event.
Leading standings after 8/9 rounds.
1-3 URDAY, HENRY PER 2475 6.5 30.5 31.5 42.0 100.00
CONQUEST, STUART ENG 2490 6.5 30.5 30.0 39.0 50.00
STRIPUNSKY, ALEXANDER USA 2520 6.5 30.0 31.5 39.0 40.00
4-5 HERTNECK, GERALD GER 2555 6 30.5 30.5 39.5 39.15
WARD, CHRISTOPHER ENG 2505 6 29.5 31.0 41.0 38.30
6 DENNY, KEVIN BAR 2260 5.5 24.5 29.5 38.5 37.45
7-17 OSTOS, JULIO VEN 2330 5 25.5 29.0 37.5 36.60
ALVAREZ, JOHAN VEN 2200 5 24.0 30.0 40.5 35.74
ROHL, JUAN VEN 2330 5 24.0 25.5 34.5 34.89
NOGUEIRA, IVAN BRA 2285 5 23.5 27.0 35.5 34.04
GIBBS, GRANTEL JAM 5 23.0 30.5 41.0 33.19
RAMSINGH, YOGENDRANATH TRI 2235 5 23.0 25.0 33.5 32.34
NAKAMURA, HIKARU USA 5 22.0 27.5 37.0 31.49
CHONG, KURTIS TRI 5 21.0 25.5 35.0 30.64
REUBEN, STEWART ENG 2240 5 21.0 24.0 31.5 29.79
SANCHEZ, SARAI VEN 2075 5 20.0 25.5 35.0 28.94
HARPER, RYAN TRI 5 19.0 22.0 29.0 28.09
50 players
The Rilton Cup took place in Stockholm, Sweden. 28.12.98-6.1.99. Mikhail Ulibin won the 27th Rilton Cup , he scored 7.5 points and was a half point clear of Agrest, Nataf and Yakovich on 7. There were 7 players on 6.5 and 16 on 6 points. Final round games now available (thanks to Dadi Jonsson of Chess in Iceland).
Official coverage was on the Chess in Iceland pages at: http://www.vks.is/skak/indexe.html