THE WEEK IN CHESS 271 17th January 2000 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Corus Wijk aan Zee
3) Hastings Premier
4) Pulvermuele International
5) World Blitz Cup
6) Linares "Anibal" Open
7) More on Deep Blue
8) Kasparov Cadet Grand Prix
9) Tapolca Open
10) Gausdal Troll Masters
11) Croatian Events
12) Cadaqués computer tournament
13) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Corus Wijk aan Zee              14 games
Hastings Premier                15 games      
Pulvermuele International       15 games
World Blitz Cup                  2 games
Linares "Anibal" Open          186 games
Kasparov Cadet Grand Prix       14 games
Gausdal Troll Masters          113 games
Croatian Championships          70 games
6th Bosnjaci Open               45 games
583 games        

1) Introduction

My thanks to Pam Thomas, Feng-hsiung Hsu, Stewart Reuben and Rod McShane, Lost Boys, Anand, John Henderson, Maximiliano Alvarez, Allan Bennett, Owen Williams, Feng-hsiung Hsu, Mig, Laszlo Nagy, Enrique Irazoqui and all those who helped with this issue.

The first great chess tournament of the year is underway in Wijk aan Zee. A Category 18 field with a great mix of players including Kasparov, Anand and Kramnik. TWIC has coverage from the venue every day including some great pictures. If you picked up TWIC last week without the games from the Hastings Premier it would be worth downloading TWIC 170 again, there were a number of alterations to the games file.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Corus Wijk aan Zee

The first major tournament of 2000 has started in Wijk aan Zee. The Corus Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee runs 14th-30th January 2000 in the De Moriaan Community Centre. The event sees the top three players in the World Kasparov, Anand and Kramnik and altogether six of the top ten (Morozevich, Leko and Adams also) in this very strong 14 player field which is just shy of Category 19. After two rounds Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Piket and Timman all have 1.5/3.

At the pre-event press conference Kasparov said that there were still plans for a match against Anand "The second half of the year had been deliberately left open for such an encounter". Although there is no sponsor at the moment. Kasparov talked about the Deep Blue controversy (he added nothing to Owen Williams statement below) but did say he would not play in the Frankfurt Chess Classic if Fritz 6 participated. You can read John Henderson's coverage of the Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament daily on TWIC's pages.

In the first round Kasparov ground down Korchnoi, although not without a few inaccuracies. Kramnik gradually outplayed Adams and Piket played the spectators game of the round against Lputian, the other games were drawn.

In round 2 Kasparov had an advantage with black after a move 10 novelty against Piket. Later he blew it after miscalculating with his 27. ...a6 idea. Kasparov was lost for a couple of moves before Piket's dire time trouble allowed him to draw. Anand walked over Nikolic's Stonewall in the game of the round, Van Wely paid the price for overpressing against Korchnoi and Lputian survived time trouble only to blunder on move 46 against Timman.

Its been an interesting start and the question as to whether Kasparov is rusty or ready to take up where he left off at the start of 1999 will no doubt be answered this week.

Round 1 (January 15, 2000)

Kramnik, Vladimir      -  Adams, Michael         1-0   49  E11  Bogo indian
Timman, Jan H          -  Anand, Viswanathan     1/2   42  E42  Nimzo indian
Leko, Peter            -  Morozevich, Alexander  1/2   31  B33  Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Polgar, Judit          -  Van Wely, Loek         1/2   42  B92  Sicilian; Najdorf
Korchnoi, Viktor       -  Kasparov, Gary         0-1   54  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Nikolic, Predrag       -  Short, Nigel D         1/2   35  D58  QGD;
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Piket, Jeroen          0-1   46  E97  Kings indian; Main line

Round 2 (January 16, 2000)

Anand, Viswanathan     -  Nikolic, Predrag       1-0   40  A90  Dutch defence
Piket, Jeroen          -  Kasparov, Gary         1/2   41  D97  Gruenfeld indian
Morozevich, Alexander  -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1/2   16  C42  Petroff defence
Short, Nigel D         -  Leko, Peter            1/2   41  B26  Sicilian; Closed
Van Wely, Loek         -  Korchnoi, Viktor       0-1   55  D20  QGA;
Adams, Michael         -  Polgar, Judit          1/2   27  B47  Sicilian
Lputian, Smbat G       -  Timman, Jan H          0-1   61  A34  English; 1.c4 c5


Corus Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 15-30 i 2000                cat. XVIII (2697)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Kasparov, Gary         g RUS 2851 * . . = . . . . . 1 . . . .  1.5  2839
 2 Anand, Viswanathan     g IND 2769 . * . . = . . . . . . 1 . .  1.5  2850
 3 Kramnik, Vladimir      g RUS 2758 . . * . . = . . . . . . 1 .  1.5  2924
 4 Piket, Jeroen          g NED 2633 = . . * . . . . . . . . . 1  1.5  2921
 5 Timman, Jan H          g NED 2655 . = . . * . . . . . . . . 1  1.5  2880
 6 Morozevich, Alexander  g RUS 2748 . . = . . * = . . . . . . .  1.0  2741
 7 Leko, Peter            g HUN 2725 . . . . . = * = . . . . . .  1.0  2715
 8 Short, Nigel D         g ENG 2683 . . . . . . = * . . . = . .  1.0  2692
 9 Polgar, Judit          g HUN 2658 . . . . . . . . * . = . = .  1.0  2680
10 Korchnoi, Viktor       g SUI 2659 0 . . . . . . . . * 1 . . .  1.0  2748
11 Van Wely, Loek         g NED 2646 . . . . . . . . = 0 * . . .  0.5  2465
12 Nikolic, Predrag       g BIH 2659 . 0 . . . . . = . . . * . .  0.5  2533
13 Adams, Michael         g ENG 2715 . . 0 . . . . . = . . . * .  0.5  2515
14 Lputian, Smbat G       g ARM 2605 . . . 0 0 . . . . . . . . *  0.0      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Hastings Premier

The Hastings Premier took place 4th-12th January 2000. Emil Sutovsky took clear first place with 6.5/9 after a last round win against Murray Chandler. At the start of the round he shared the lead with Jon Speelman and Alexei Dreev both of whom drew. My thanks to Stewart Reuben and Rod McShane for the games.

Round 7 (January 10, 2000)

Sutovsky, Emil        -  McShane, Luke J       1/2   71  B54  Sicilian
Dreev, Alexey         -  Chandler, Murray G    1-0   49  D37  Queen's gambit
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Krush, Irina          1-0   62  D38  Queen's gambit
Emms, John M          -  Sokolov, Ivan         1-0   61  C24  1.e4 e5
Lalic, Bogdan         -  Speelman, Jonathan S  0-1   29  C11  French; Classical

Round 8 (January 11, 2000)

Speelman, Jonathan S  -  McShane, Luke J       1-0   30  A48  Queen's pawn
Lalic, Bogdan         -  Bischoff, Klaus       1/2   26  B32  Sicilian
Chandler, Murray G    -  Emms, John M          1/2   61  B44  Sicilian
Sokolov, Ivan         -  Sutovsky, Emil        0-1   38  D85  Gruenfeld indian
Krush, Irina          -  Dreev, Alexey         1/2   51  D45  Semi-Slav

Round 9 (January 12, 2000)

Sutovsky, Emil        -  Chandler, Murray G    1-0   42  B31  Sicilian
Dreev, Alexey         -  Lalic, Bogdan         1-0   31  E81  Kings indian; Saemisch
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Speelman, Jonathan S  1/2   12  A46  Queen's pawn
Emms, John M          -  Krush, Irina          1-0   33  B86  Sicilian
McShane, Luke J       -  Sokolov, Ivan         1/2    7  C65  Ruy Lopez


Hastings Premier ENG (ENG), 4-12 i 2000           cat. XIII (2552)
------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Sutovsky, Emil        g ISR 2597 * = = 1 1 = = 1 1 =  6.5  2713
 2 Dreev, Alexey         g RUS 2680 = * = = 1 0 1 1 1 =  6.0  2662
 3 Speelman, Jonathan S  g ENG 2604 = = * = = 1 1 = = 1  6.0  2671
 4 Bischoff, Klaus       g GER 2544 0 = = * 1 0 = 1 = 1  5.0  2595
 5 Emms, John M          g ENG 2546 0 0 = 0 * 1 = = 1 1  4.5  2552
 6 McShane, Luke J       m ENG 2438 = 1 0 1 0 * = = = 0  4.0  2521
 7 Lalic, Bogdan         g ENG 2548 = 0 0 = = = * 0 = 1  3.5  2472
 8 Chandler, Murray G    g ENG 2527 0 0 = 0 = = 1 * = =  3.5  2474
 9 Sokolov, Ivan         g BIH 2637 0 0 = = 0 = = = * 1  3.5  2462
10 Krush, Irina         wm USA 2399 = = 0 0 0 1 0 = 0 *  2.5  2403
------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Pulvermuele International

The Pulvermuele International takes place January 3rd - February 10th 2000. After four rounds of this Category 11 event the standings were: 1. Hamdouchi, Hichem g MAR 2520 3.0; 2. Bezold, Michael g GER 2508 2.5; 3. Ibragimov, Ildar g RUS 2554 2.5; 4. Blatny, Pavel g CZE 2476 2.5; 5. Stefanova, Antoaneta m BUL 2444 2.0; 6. Zhu Chen wg CHN 2503 2.0; 7. Bischoff, Klaus g GER 2509 1.5; 8. Naiditsch, Arkadij f GER 2417 1.5; 9. Wells, Peter K g ENG 2476 1.5; 10. Gabriel, Christian g GER 2578 1.0;

Internet coverage at: http://www.pulvermuehle.de/schach.html

Round 1 (January 12, 2000)

Ibragimov, Ildar      -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1-0   47  C00  French
Blatny, Pavel         -  Bischoff, Klaus       1/2   59  B52  Sicilian
Zhu Chen              -  Bezold, Michael       0-1   54  A30  English; 1.c4 c5
Naiditsch, Arkadij    -  Hamdouchi, Hichem     0-1   41  B33  Sicilian; Sveshnikov
Gabriel, Christian    -  Wells, Peter K        1/2   22  E32  Nimzo indian

Round 2 (January 13, 2000)

Hamdouchi, Hichem     -  Ibragimov, Ildar      1-0   79  C45  Scottish
Bezold, Michael       -  Naiditsch, Arkadij    1/2   46  A03  Bird (1.f4)
Blatny, Pavel         -  Gabriel, Christian    1-0   30  B06  Modern defence
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  0-1   40  A11  English; 1.c4
Wells, Peter K        -  Zhu Chen              1-0   31  D94  Gruenfeld indian

Round 3 (January 14, 2000)

Ibragimov, Ildar      -  Bezold, Michael       1/2   43  B09  Pirc; Austrian
Stefanova, Antoaneta  -  Hamdouchi, Hichem     1/2   15  C12  French; Macutcheon
Zhu Chen              -  Blatny, Pavel         1-0   46  D30  Queen's gambit
Naiditsch, Arkadij    -  Wells, Peter K        1-0   42  B66  Sicilian
Gabriel, Christian    -  Bischoff, Klaus       1/2   57  E38  Nimzo indian

Round 4 (January 16, 2000)

Bezold, Michael       -  Stefanova, Antoaneta  1/2   22  D02  Queen's pawn
Blatny, Pavel         -  Naiditsch, Arkadij    1-0   48  B50  Sicilian
Bischoff, Klaus       -  Hamdouchi, Hichem     1/2   32  A11  English; 1.c4
Wells, Peter K        -  Ibragimov, Ildar      0-1   38  C45  Scottish
Gabriel, Christian    -  Zhu Chen              0-1   25  D16  Slav defence


1st Fraenkische GM Pulvermuele GER (GER), 12-22 i 2000cat. X (2499)
------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Hamdouchi, Hichem     g MAR 2520 * . 1 . = . = 1 . .  3.0  2674
 2 Bezold, Michael       g GER 2508 . * = . = 1 . = . .  2.5  2574
 3 Ibragimov, Ildar      g RUS 2554 0 = * . 1 . . . 1 .  2.5  2582
 4 Blatny, Pavel         g CZE 2476 . . . * . 0 = 1 . 1  2.5  2596
 5 Stefanova, Antoaneta  m BUL 2444 = = 0 . * . 1 . . .  2.0  2522
 6 Zhu Chen             wg CHN 2503 . 0 . 1 . * . . 0 1  2.0  2509
 7 Bischoff, Klaus       g GER 2509 = . . = 0 . * . . =  1.5  2417
 8 Naiditsch, Arkadij    f GER 2417 0 = . 0 . . . * 1 .  1.5  2408
 9 Wells, Peter K        g ENG 2476 . . 0 . . 1 . 0 * =  1.5  2426
10 Gabriel, Christian    g GER 2578 . . . 0 . 0 = . = *  1.0  2298
------------------------------------------------------------------

5) World Blitz Cup

As reported last week the Plus GSM World Blitz Cup took place in the Warsaw Polonia Chess Club on Sunday 9th January. Many of the World's best players are competed. Anand took first prize ($10.000 + Plus GSM Cup) above Gelfand in second place (5.000 + Nokia Communicator) and Karpov in third. Viswanathan Anand is the source of a couple of games from the event they are now in the pgn file.

More information at: https://www.polkomtel.com.pl/turniej/english/index.asp

6) Linares "Anibal" Open

The VII Anibal Open took place in Linares 7th - 16th Jan 2000. The Russian Grandmaster Sergey Dolmatov (2615) finished unbeaten in winning the VII Open International Anibal in Linares.(Spain). Dolmatov scored 8/10 points (+6=4) and took the title on tie-break. Lajos Portisch also scored 8 points (+7=2 -1) and he finished second. The event was a tough one further down the field was GM Oleg Korneev (2619) who finished 25th and GM Artashes Minasian (2598) 26th.

Coverage at: http://www.ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez

 1   Dolmatov, Sergey                  RUS   2615 8        58.0   44.0 50.00
 2   Portisch, Lajos                   HUN   2564 8        56.5   43.5 49.25
 3   Sulskis, Sarunas                  LTU   2499 7.5      55.5   42.5 43.75
 4   Dzhumaev, Marat                   UZB   2483 7.5      53.5   40.0 43.50
 5   Iordachescu, Viorel               MDA   2560 7        63.0   47.0 44.50
 6   Zvjaginsev, Vadim                 RUS   2641 7        61.0   44.0 44.25
 7   Sorokin, Maxim                    ARG   2572 7        56.5   40.0 41.25
 8   Yandemirov, Valeri                RUS   2472 7        56.0   39.5 40.00
 9   Svetushkin, Dmitry                MDA   2486 7        55.5   39.0 38.25
10   Sargissian, Gabriel               ARM   2442 7        55.0   41.5 39.25 
11   Yagupov, Igor                     RUS   2482 7        55.0   41.0 39.50 
12   Jonkman, Harmen                   NED   2446 7        55.0   40.0 38.75 
13   Kalantarian, Norik                ARM   2474 7        52.0   37.0 38.50 
14   Mirzoev, Azer                     AZE   2438 7        51.5   36.5 37.25 
15   Motylev, Alexander                RUS   2552 6.5      61.5   41.0 41.75 
16   Campos Moreno, Javier B           CHI   2512 6.5      57.0   40.5 37.75 
17   Shabalov, Alexander               USA   2592 6.5      55.0   40.0 35.75 
18   Delchev, Aleksander               BUL   2560 6.5      54.0   37.5 37.75 
19   Anastasian, Ashot                 ARM   2606 6.5      53.5   36.0 35.00 
20   Hauchard, Arnaud                  FRA   2513 6.5      53.0   40.5 35.25 
21   Paragua, Mark                     PHI   2368 6.5      52.5   35.0 30.75 
22   Wohl, Aleksandar H                AUS   2438 6.5      51.0   36.5 29.75 
23   Aronian, Levon                    ARM   2587 6.5      49.5   32.5 31.75 
24   Reinaldo Castineira, Roi          ESP   2345 6.5      49.5   32.5 27.50 
25   Korneev, Oleg                     RUS   2619 6        59.5   39.0 36.25
26   Minasian, Artashes                ARM   2598 6        58.5   40.5 36.25 
27   Vokarev, Sergey                   RUS   2452 6        56.5   39.0 32.75 
28   Rashkovsky, Nukhim N              RUS   2523 6        54.5   38.0 32.75 
29   Estremera Panos, Sergio           ESP   2353 6        54.5   34.5 33.00 
30   Karatorossian, David              ARM   2345 6        51.5   34.0 27.00 
31   Ravi, Lanka                       IND   2391 6        48.0   30.5 29.25 
32   Holmsten, Aleksei                 FIN   2364 6        47.5   31.5 27.50 
33   Skembris, Spyridon                GRE   2481 6        45.5   30.5 28.50 
34   Ippolito, Dean                    USA   2373 5.5      57.5   35.5 29.00 
35   Sharma, Dinesh K                  IND   2337 5.5      55.5   33.5 30.75 
36   Turov, Maxim                      RUS   2526 5.5      53.0   37.5 29.25 
37   Halkias, Stelios                  GRE   2482 5.5      52.5   35.5 28.75 
38   Maherramzade, Javad               AZE   2423 5.5      52.5   34.5 30.00 
39   Zakharov, Alexander               RUS   2426 5.5      52.5   34.5 27.75 
40   Vasilev, Milen                    BUL   2312 5.5      52.5   32.5 27.75
41   Piankov, Evgenij                  UKR   2375 5.5      52.0   34.5 24.50 
42   Estrada Nieto, Julian             MEX   2368 5.5      52.0   34.0 27.00 
43   Fernandez Barrera, Francisco J    ESP   2344 5.5      52.0   32.0 27.75 
44   Manolov, Ivan                     BUL   2327 5.5      50.5   32.0 26.25 
45   Touzane, Olivier                  FRA   2384 5.5      50.0   31.5 26.00 
46   Hovhanisian, Mher                 ARM   2361 5.5      49.5   30.0 25.25 
47   Baron Rodriguez, Jesus            ESP   2392 5.5      48.5   32.5 24.00 
48   Perez Candelario, Manuel          ESP   2264 5.5      48.5   29.5 23.25 
49   Kobese, Watu                      RSA   2392 5.5      46.5   31.0 25.00 
50   Bick, John D                      USA   2266 5.5      46.5   29.5 21.00 
51   Salmensuu, Olli                   FIN   2418 5.5      46.0   30.5 20.25 
52   Kovacevic, Slobodan               YUG   2415 5.5      45.5   30.0 23.75 
53   Kristensen, Leif                  FAI   2375 5.5      44.5   26.5 21.75
54   Pinheiro, Jose                    POR   2272 5.5      44.0   27.0 18.25 
55   Galego, Luis                      POR   2451 5.5      43.0   26.5 22.75 
56   Trabert, Bettina                  GER   2273 5.5      42.5   27.0 21.50 
57   Bjerring, Kai                     DEN   2276 5.5      40.5   25.5 22.00 
123 players

7) More on Deep Blue

Feng-hsiung Hsu one of the three major programmers of Deep Blue released an open letter (in TWIC last week). Owen Williams replied later in the week and there is a quick response from Feng-hsiung Hsu.

Here is Owen William's response to Mr. Hsu: [Date 13 January 2000]

Feng Hsiung Hsu's open letter is extraordinarily misleading and he demonstrates a troubling ability to ignore certain responses and to take items out of context or make them up and put them in his letter as facts. In his Open Letter he says:

"...Owen never said a straight yes or no to my question of whether Kasparov was interested in a match. "

If you read the next paragraph, you will see his inability to read plain English. On Nov. 30th, I had responded as follows:

"With regard to a match against a computer, Garry would be happy to consider a Challenge under the right circumstances with the rules carefully laid out."

I went on to explain to Mr. Hsu that for Garry to consider a match, the prizemoney would have to be substantial, that putting his World Title on the line with an untried and untested opponent did not make any sense at all and suggested politely but firmly that Mr. Hsu would have to get his program up and running on his own or with a backer and then play many games including other computer programs and to establish himself as THE CONTENDER.

Obviously, Mr. Hsu did not like my answers very much, became belligerent and made threats and even grandly imposed deadlines.

On Dec. 3rd, amongst other things, I repeated to him:

"Your tone is quite hostile and with angry people, I like to keep my responses simple. Garry remains ready, willing and able to play a serious match against a computer - under the right conditions."

So persistent did Mr. Hsu become that on Dec. 21s I wrote to him:

"He (Kasparov) will not be associated with an open letter like this. It is not the way he does business and it would run counter to discussions he is having with others."

The next day Mr. Hsu sent a draft letter intended to go out openly soliciting sponsors on his and Garry's behalf!

On Dec. 23rd, I replied as follows:

"I think that maybe I am not expressing myself very clearly. Mr. Kasparov does not authorize you to say anything at all. I hope this is very clear."

Incredibly, Mr. Hsu wrote once again, wanting Garry's authorization for another letter.

My last e-mail (in exasperation) was:

"You continue making statements which are your words and not Garry's. Please read what I have sent you very carefully."

Effectively, Mr. Hsu had many strikes against him:

He behaved as if he was Deep Blue and we know he is not.

Ironically, Mr. Hsu waited until two and a half years after the match to set up a flurry of e-mails which almost from the beginning were threatening in nature. On reflection, I firmly believe that he knew his offer had no credibility and he was looking for a little publicity and some notoriety.

For any of you who still think Mr. Hsu was above-board, just put yourself in his position. Would you not have called up and said,

"Hsu here. Let's put our heads together and see if we can make this thing work."

That's not a good idea if all you want out of this is to have a go at THE WORLD CHAMPION!

Owen Williams

Feng-hsiung Hsu's reply to Owen Williams

This will be my last message on the subject and I will keep it short.

I found the initial conditions listed by Owen reasonable, but there were some details that needed to be worked out. One issue was whether the match would be a title match or not. Personally, I prefer a non-title match, but the potential sponsors I knew seemed to be only interested in a title match. My subsequent mails were mainly trying to resolve this issue. At one point, I decided to write an open letter and see whether there were sponsors who would settle for a non-title match. Owen might have misunderstood my intent. Eventually, Owen said what appeared to be a definitive no to my simple question of whether Mr. Kasparov was still interested in a new match.

I did state a deadline in a message to Owen. The deadline was my self-imposed time limit of when I should move on if I could not reach a mutual understanding with Mr. Kasparov. It was given as an FYI. However, in retrospect, it was a mistake that I mentioned the deadline as it could easily be misinterpreted.

I will not defend whether I was serious about the match proposal. I will just state the following facts. I spent over a year and some of my own money to get the right to the chess chip, and I was prepared to spend another year and half of my life working furiously to make the match happen. Finally, I would like to point out that I have all the resources to build a machine without further funding if need be. It was the necessary condition before IBM management would even consider granting me the chess chip license.

8) Kasparov Cadet Grand Prix

The Kasparovchess Cadet Grand Prix took place over the internet January 11th, 13th and 14th. The event was held over the internet on Kasparov's new site. The players were: Radjabov, Teimour (f AZE 2459 born 1987) Bu Xiangzhi (CHN 2565 born 1985) Belov, Vladimir (RUS 2389 born 1984) Efimenko, Zahar (UKR 2332 born 1985) Thiruchelvam, Thirumurugan (ENG 2235 born 1988) Rodshtein,Maxim (ISR unrated) Nakamura, Hikaru (USA 2261) Alcazar Jimenez, Jesus (ESP 2143 born 1984) and they played in a KO format. The winner was the young Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov who is one of the World's best junior talents. In the final he beat Bu Xiangzhi the Chinese player who may have broken the record for the youngest ever GM (subject to confirmation). Radjabov claimed a draw and was granted one, in the first game of the final that progress was not possible by normal means and this was granted after his flag fell. In the second game he played a nice game to take the competition. The games were 60 minutes per player per game, no blitz tie-breakers were required.

Further coverage at: http://www.kasparovchess.com/

Round 1 (January 11, 2000)

Alcazar Jimenez, Jesus      -  Belov, Vladimir             0-1  0-1 Belov
Bu Xiangzhi                 -  Rodshtein,Maxim             1-0  1/2 Bu
Efimenko, Zahar             -  Nakamura, Hikaru            1-0  1/2 Efimenko
Thiruchelvam, Thirumurugan  -  Radjabov, Teimour           0-1  1/2 Radjabov

Round 2 (January 13, 2000)

Efimenko, Zahar             -  Bu Xiangzhi                 0-1  0-1 Bu
Radjabov, Teimour           -  Belov, Vladimir             1-0  1/2 Radjabov

Round 3 (January 14, 2000)

Bu Xiangzhi                 -  Radjabov, Teimour           1/2  0-1 Radjabov

9) Tapolca Open

The Tapolca Open took place in Budapest 7th - 15th of January 2000. There were 95 participants, 10 title holders (4 IMs + 6 FMs) from 7 countries.

TAPOLCA Open
Budapest, 7th-15th of January 2000
Leading final results:
1. IM Wang, Rui     (CHN) 2496   8,5 points
2. FM Ni, Hua       (CHN) 2390   8,5 points
3. Szilagyi Zsolt   (HUN) 2177   7
4. IM Galyas Miklos (HUN) 2440   6,5
5. Antal Gergely    (HUN) 2339   6,5
6. Pinter Gabor     (HUN) 2378   6
7. Wukits Rene      (AUT) 2320   6
8  Molnar Laszlo    (HUN) 2254   6
9. Papp Gellert     (HUN) 2234   6
10. Bencze Laszlo   (HUN) 2305   6

10) Gausdal Troll Masters

The Gausdal Troll Masters took place 10-16th January 2000. The event was won by 21 year old Maris Krakops from Latvia. with 7.5/9 Krakops beat IM Steffen Pedersen in just 18 moves in the final round. In second place was Igors Rausis who also scored 7.5 but lost out on tie-break.

Internet coverage: http://home.sol.no/~skak/Troll2000/

Gausdal Troll Masters NOR (NOR), 10-16 i 2000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Krakops, Maris            g LAT 2530  +13 = 5 = 7 +45 +16 + 8 = 2 = 3 + 9  7.0  2563
 2 Rausis, Igors             g LAT 2496  +24 =11 +29 +16 +30 = 3 = 1 = 4 +10  7.0  2505
 3 Miezis, Normunds          g LAT 2524  +35 +12 =30 = 9 +28 = 2 + 5 = 1 = 4  6.5  2521
 4 Rytshagov, Mikhail        g EST 2539  =25 +44 =28 +21 = 5 + 9 +10 = 2 = 3  6.5  2514
 5 Westerinen, Heikki M.J    g FIN 2382  +43 = 1 +10 = 7 = 4 +30 - 3 +23 +19  6.5  2484
 6 Kulaots, Kaido            m EST 2478  +19 =10 =12 +26 - 8 =20 +27 =16 +15  6.0  2381
 7 Lobzhanidze, Davit        m GEO 2444  +44 +25 = 1 = 5 = 9 -10 +20 =12 +16  6.0  2449
 8 Gabrielsen, Stig            NOR 2295  +18 =29 =22 +24 + 6 - 1 - 9 +31 +20  6.0  2389
 9 Pedersen, Steffen         m DEN 2427  =15 +23 +11 = 3 = 7 - 4 + 8 +24 - 1  5.5  2441
10 Johannessen, Leif Erlend  f NOR 2356  +33 = 6 - 5 +18 +22 + 7 - 4 +11 - 2  5.5  2414
11 Leskiewicz, Maksymilian     AUS 2206  +27 = 2 - 9 +36 =20 +17 =14 -10 +21  5.5  2351
12 Bellin, Robert            m ENG 2351  +20 - 3 = 6 =29 +41 =24 =22 = 7 +23  5.5  2338
13 Leer-Salvesen, Bjarte       NOR 2261  - 1 +43 +39 -28 =21 +35 =17 =26 +24  5.5  2292
14 Skytte, Rasmus            f DEN 2338  -23 =31 +37 -20 +42 =18 =11 =22 +26  5.0  2189
15 Royset, Paal                NOR 2249  = 9 =36 -21 =32 +38 +25 =30 +27 - 6  5.0  2236
16 Bellin, Jana             wg ENG 2163  +42 +48 +17 - 2 - 1 +19 =23 = 6 - 7  5.0  2331
17 Hersvik, Daniel             NOR 2165  +37 +40 -16 -22 +31 -11 =13 =25 +29  5.0  2170
18 Tonning, Erik               NOR 2217  - 8 +35 =38 -10 +32 =14 -19 +40 +30  5.0  2225
19 Royset, Jon K               NOR 2258  - 6 -20 +33 +47 +45 -16 +18 +30 - 5  5.0  2241
20 Lie, Kjetil A               NOR 2206  -12 +19 =36 +14 =11 = 6 - 7 +34 - 8  4.5  2263
21 Anderton, David W           ENG 2228  =31 =38 +15 - 4 =13 +34 -24 +28 -11  4.5  2230
22 Tallaksen, Geir                 ----  =28 +47 = 8 +17 -10 -27 =12 =14 =25  4.5  2244
23 Bae, Torstein               NOR 2218  +14 - 9 +32 -30 +39 +28 =16 - 5 -12  4.5  2224
24 Putka, Verner               LAT 2250  - 2 +27 +48 - 8 +26 =12 +21 - 9 -13  4.5  2276
25 Hole, Oystein               NOR 2242  = 4 - 7 =41 =42 +37 -15 +45 =17 =22  4.5  2189
26 Romsdal, Trond              NOR 2204  -29 +33 +31 - 6 -24 +45 +41 =13 -14  4.5  2238
27 Snarheim, Dagfinn           NOR 2227  -11 -24 +44 +48 +29 +22 - 6 -15 =31  4.5  2190
28 Christenson, Flemming       NOR 2223  =22 +41 = 4 +13 - 3 -23 =31 -21 =33  4.0  2234
29 Borchgrevink, Harald            ----  +26 = 8 - 2 =12 -27 +41 -34 +38 -17  4.0  2181
30 Berg Jensen,Joachim             ----  +45 +32 = 3 +23 - 2 - 5 =15 -19 -18  4.0  2236
31 Hagesaether, Paal Vegard    NOR 2271  =21 =14 -26 +38 -17 +39 =28 - 8 =27  4.0  2159
32 Ferkingstad, Sjur           NOR 2068  +34 -30 -23 =15 -18 =42 -40 +47 +39  4.0  2040
33 Rasmussen, Peter            DEN 2245  -10 -26 -19 =43 +40 =38 =39 +44 =28  4.0  2117
34 Sterk, Karoly               HUN ----  -32 =37 +47 -39 +36 -21 +29 -20 =35  4.0  2047
35 Rause, Olita             wg LAT 2249  - 3 -18 +46 -37 +48 -13 =36 +42 =34  4.0  2068
36 Hammerstad,Asmund               ----  =41 =15 =20 -11 -34 =43 =35 =37 =38  3.5  2052
37 Svendsen, Bertil                ----  -17 =34 -14 +35 -25 =44 =43 =36 =40  3.5  2059
38 Bekker-Jensen, Anne         DEN 2074  =47 =21 =18 -31 -15 =33 +46 -29 =36  3.5  2054
39 Fant, Goran                 SWE 2066  -40 +46 -13 +34 -23 -31 =33 +43 -32  3.5  2038
40 Hansen, Victor                  ----  +39 -17 -45 -41 -33 +48 +32 -18 =37  3.5  2039
41 Mellem, Nicolas A           NOR 2208  =36 -28 =25 +40 -12 -29 -26 =48 +46  3.5  2033
42 Flaata, Alexander               ----  -16 -45 +43 =25 -14 =32 =44 -35 +48  3.5  2077
43 Ornstein, Petra             SWE ----  - 5 -13 -42 =33 +46 =36 =37 -39 =44  3.0  2009
44 Hansen, Torbjorn R          NOR 2259  - 7 - 4 -27 =46 +47 =37 =42 -33 =43  3.0  2036
45 Johansson, Per              SWE 2099  -30 +42 +40 - 1 -19 -26 -25 -46 =47  2.5  1971
46 Svensen,Tarjei                  ----  -48 -39 -35 =44 -43 +47 -38 +45 -41  2.5  1940
47 Bru,Stein Kristian              ----  =38 -22 -34 -19 -44 -46 +48 -32 =45  2.0  1864
48 Horn, Emilia                SWE 2003  +46 -16 -24 -27 -35 -40 -47 =41 -42  1.5  1848
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11) Croatian Events

The 8th Croatian closed championships are taking place in Pula 07th - 19th January 2000. Palac, Zelcic, Rogic, Hulak, Kutuzovic, Zaja, Fercec, Feletar, Novak, Stevic, Golubovic, Krstic, Kovacevic B, Rezan compete.

Coverage at: http://sah.posluh.hr and http://www.crochess.com/turniri/pula/prvhrzat/prvhrzat.html

ch-CRO Pula (CRO), 7-19 i 2000                           cat. VIII (2448)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Hulak, Krunoslav     g CRO 2493 * 0 1 = . . = 1 1 1 = 1 . 1  7.5  2603
 2 Kutuzovic, Branko    m CRO 2480 1 * . . 0 = = . 1 = = 1 1 1  7.0  2597
 3 Zaja, Ivan           m CRO 2446 0 . * = = 1 = . 0 1 1 . 1 1  6.5  2579
 4 Golubovic, Boris     m CRO 2457 = . = * = = . 1 = = 1 0 1 .  6.0  2527
 5 Palac, Mladen        g CRO 2610 . 1 = = * = 1 0 0 . . 1 = 1  6.0  2505
 6 Rogic, Davor         m CRO 2505 . = 0 = = * = = 1 = . . = 1  5.5  2502
 7 Fercec, Nenad        m CRO 2476 = = = . 0 = * = 0 . = 1 1 .  5.0  2456
 8 Feletar, Darko         CRO 2411 0 . . 0 1 = = * . 1 1 = = 0  5.0  2449
 9 Kovacevic, Blazimir  f CRO 2447 0 0 1 = 1 0 1 . * 0 . . = =  4.5  2444
10 Stevic, Hrvoje       m CRO 2470 0 = 0 = . = . 0 1 * 0 1 . =  4.0  2344
11 Novak, Danijel         CRO 2365 = = 0 0 . . = 0 . 1 * 0 = 1  4.0  2363
12 Rezan, Sasa            CRO 2248 0 0 . 1 0 . 0 = . 0 1 * = =  3.5  2353
13 Zelcic, Robert       g CRO 2561 . 0 0 0 = = 0 = = . = = * .  3.0  2295
14 Krstic, Uros           CRO 2308 0 0 0 . 0 0 . 1 = = 0 = . *  2.5  2254
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 6th Open Bosnjaci took place January 3rd-9th 2000. The event was won by Esad Goric with 8/9.

Coverage at: http://sah.posluh.hr/bosnjaci.htm

Final Standings: 1. Goric, Esad BIH 2354 8/9; 2. Jankovic, Alojzije CRO 2313 7.5; 3. Dabo-Peranic, Robert CRO 2282 7.5; 4. Jusic, Zdenko f CRO 2387 6.5; 5. Ascic, Pero CRO 2344 6.5; 6. Biti, Ozren CRO 2261 6.5; 7. Djukic, Zeljko CRO CRO 2246 6.5; 8. Tarakcija,Hazim CRO 6.5; 9. Leventic, Ivan m CRO 2390 6.0; 10. Oreskovic, Pero 6.0; 11. Medic, Mirjana wm CRO 6.0; 12. Martic, Zlatko f CRO 2302 6.0; 13. Licina, Zoran YUG 2339 6.0; 14. Filipovic, Marko CRO 2241 6.0; 15. Zivkovic, Vjekoslav CRO 2294 6.0; 16. Sentic, Pero CRO 2260 6.0; 17. Hodak, Stevo CRO 2241 6.0; 18. Ljikar, Zoran 6.0; 19. Ascic, Anto f CRO 2257 6.0; 20. Djermic, Ivan CRO 2177 6.0

12) Cadaqués computer tournament

The Cadaqués computer tournament is being held in Spain and is hosted by Prof. Enrique Irazoqui and CSS. Computers are runniing on two PIII-500 with 256 MB RAM. Time controls are 40 moves in 40 minutes, each participants play 20 game matches against all other participants, total 420 games. Competitors: Rebel Century (Ed Schröder Rebel B.v.), Fritz 6a (Frans Morsch ChessBase), Hiarcs 7.32 (Mark Uniacke ChessBase), Junior 6 (Amir Ban ChessBase), Nimzo 7.32 (Chrilly Donninger ChessBase), Rebel Tiger (Christophe Théron Rebel B.v.) and Shredder 4 (Stefan Meyer-Kahlen Millennium). Event runs January 3rd - February 10th 2000.

Internet coverage at: http://www.computerschach.de/tourn/

13) Forthcoming Events and Links

New York Open

Michael Atkins reports: The New York Open is back!! Long, the strongest Open tournament in the U.S., the NY Open is scheduled over the period of May 6-14, 2000. The Two Weekend schedule will start May 6-7, and the main Open section will play May 8-14. The class sections will play May 10-14. Playing at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, the same site as the last two NYO's, the Open section will feature $50,000 in prizes which is about $10,000 more than in the open section in 1998. All other details will be announced in late January. For more details contact tournament organizer Mr. Jose Cuchi later in the month Stay tuned for upcoming announcements and full details in late January on the New York Open website http://w-w-w.com/nyopen/

First Saturday February

The First Saturday GM, IM and FM closed tournaments for February take place in Budapest, 5th-17th February. Contact: Nagy Laszlo, firstsat@elender.hu if you wish to play as there are some vacancies.

The participants registered so far:

FIRST SATURDAY GM-tournament: IGM VOLZHIN, A. (RUS), IGM HORVATH, Csaba (HUN), IGM CSOM, Istvan (HUN), JAKAB, Attila (HUN), SZABO, Zsolt, Jozsef (HUN), IM FOGARASI, Tibor (HUN), RIBSHTEIN, Nati (ISR), IM NGUYEN, Anh Dung (VIE), WGM HOANG, Th, Trang (VIE), IM WANG Rui (CHN), FM NI, Hua (CHN), IM LI, Wenliang (CHN), IM YU, Shao Teng (CHN), ZHANG, Pengxiang (CHN). Reserves: IM GINSBURG, Mark (USA), IM VILLAMAYOR, Bong (PHI), IM BURNETT, Ronald (USA), IM VAJDA, Levente (ROM), IM VAJDA, Albert (ROM).

2000 FIRST SATURDAY IM-tournament: IM KAPOSZTAS, Miklos (HUN), IM ZIMMERMAN, Yuri (RUS), IM SINKOVICS, Peter (HUN), IM KAHN, Evarth (HUN), IM SERES, Lajos,(HUN), IM EPERJESI, Laszlo (HUN), JUNGER, Kai (GER), MARXEN, Peter (GER), WOOLRIDGE, Leon (ENG), FM BELOTELOV, Dmitri (RUS), RESIKA, Nathan, (USA), DEMBO, Yelena (ISR), WIM GARA, Anita (HUN), SZEBERENYI, Adam (HUN), WONG, Zi Ling (MAS), ANTAL, Gergely (HUN), IM NEMETH, Zoltan (HUN), GOCZO, Melinda (HUN), WGM VAJDA, Szidonia (ROM) FM PARKANYI, Attila (HUN), COOKE, Eric (USA), YU, Ming Yuan (CHN), FM MURZIN, Lenar (RUS), IM NEMETH. Zoltan (HUN). Reserves: BOGNAR, Csaba (HUN), BALOGH, Csaba (HUN). Planned 2 groups... (10-14 participants each...)

9th Aurec Rapid tournament

The 9th Aurec Rapid tournament takes place Feb 26th - 27th in Aurec, France. There are 2 tournaments 7 rounds/ 20mins per game. More than FF 45 000 in prizes Invitations for GMs and IMs. Further info: Olivier Deville - Côtevière - F-43110 Aurec Tél. : 0033 4 77 35 41 21 Fax : 0033 4 77 35 23 76 E-mail : odeville@netcourrier.com

12 Hour Brussels Blitz

The 12 Hour Brussels Blitz takes place Feb 26th 2000. Salle Sippelberg Avenue Sippelberg, 3 (Metro Osseghem) 70.000 frs in prizes, 1st prize 15.000 frs. Entry: Senior - 400frs, Junior<18 - 250frs Timerate: 5 minutes. Info: B Asman tel 512.48.43 e-mail: asmanbenny@skynet.be M. Grede tel 538.35.75 Chess Club Anderlecht Caïssa Woluwé C.R.E.B. Les Fous du Roy

Brazilian Events

The 66th Brazilian Chess Championship takes place in Brasilia-DF, Brasil, (Torre Palace Hotel) January 19th - 25th 2000. 26 players will compete in a 9 rounds swiss tournament

Coverage at: http://www.cbx.org.br

This is followed by the BCX 2000 Brazilian Chess Open which takes place in Brasilia-DF, Brasil (Naoum Plaza Hotel) January 27th - 30th 2000. The event is a 7 rounds swiss tournament

Further details: http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/abindice.htm

Players required for York

The York IM Closed tournament that takes place January 24th - Febuary 1st 2000 requires two players. The venue is the Lady Anne Middleton Hotel. The entry fee is £100. Contact Angus Dunnington angus@dunningtona.freeserve.co.uk or tel: ++44 (0)1977 554032

13th Ciudad de León Tournament

The 13th Ciudad de León Tournament will again use the "advanced chess" format (players will be allowed to use a computer for databases and a playing program). The competitors will be Anand, Shirov, Judith Polgar and Illescas. The event will run June 1st-5th 2000 (playing days: June 2nd Shirov-Illescas 2 game match, June 3rd Anand-Polgar 2 game match, June 3rd, final. The venue is the Junta de León” building, with the opening ceremony in the Conde Luna Hotel and the closing ceremony and Judit Polgar simul at the University.

19th Reykjavik International Open

The 19th Reykjavik International Chess Tournament takes place in the Reykjavík City Hall 5th-13th April 2000.

Minimum Prize fund: USD 15.000 1. prize USD 5.000 2. prize USD 3.000 3. prize USD 2.000 4. prize USD 1.500 5. prize USD 1.000 Under 2450 .USD 1.500 Under 2300 .USD 1.000.

9 rounds, Swiss System, Time Limit: 40 moves in 2 hours, 20 moves in 1 hour, and 30 minutes for the rest of the game.

Registration: Please contact the ICELANDIC CHESS FEDERATION, P.O. Box 8354, 128 Reykjavík, Iceland, before Feb. 1st 2000. Tel.: 354 568 9141 Fax: 354 568 9116 Email: siks@itn.is Conditions for titled players please contact ICF office. Eligible: All players rated 2000 or more (FIDE rating list). No entrance fee for foreign players.

V Ubeda Open

The V Ciudad de Ubeda takes place January 19th - 28th, 2000 (10 Rounds).

PRIZES 1º 500.000 pts. 16º-50º 50.000 pts. 2º 250.000 pts. 1st Woman Chessplayer 50.000 pts. 3º 150.000 pts. 1st Chessplayer under 2600 elo 50.000 pts. 4º 125.000 pts. 1st Chessplayer under 2475 elo 50.000 pts. 5º 100.000 pts. 1st Chessplayer under 2350 elo 50.000 pts. 6º-15º 75.000 pts.

Conditions for the events

Chessplayers with 2600 Elo: free full board in a single room and free fixed fee. G.M. and I.M. lodging free. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are $10 per person / day in a double room, (single supplement $20). For other players lodging in a three stars hotel is $24 per person / day in a double room, (single supplement $20). Breakfast, lunch and dinner are $10 per person / day. FIXED FEE PER TOURNAMENT Since January 1st, 2000 10.000 pts. Bank details: Banco de Andalucía, account nº 0004 3270 84 0601005803 Prizes will be subject to 25% tax. VII Open "Anibal" Tel. 34 953 650400, fax 34 953 652204 (Miss Flori). V Open "Ciudad de Ubeda" Tel. 34 953 791011, fax 34 953 791012 (Miss Tana).

Official details on the internet: http://www.ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez

Budapest Spring Festival

The 16th Budapest Spring Festival is a 9 round Swiss Open chess tournament, the event runs 17th-25th of March 2000, Budapest. The planned maximum is 100 participants, 1-3 GM-s, 6-8 IM-s, more, than 50 % ELO-rated, min. 20 % foreigners. Info: Nagy, Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu www.elender.hu/~firstsat Tel-fax: (361)-263-28-59 Mobile: (36)-30-230-1914 ICQ # 44805877.

XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open

The XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open takes place in the "Palais des Arts et des Loisir" 19th-26th February 2000.

Website: http://cappelle.free.fr/

Entries: by cheque or money order to "l’Echiquier Cappellois" to:

M. Michel GOUVART 2, Place de Flandre 59180 CAPPELLE LA GRANDE - FRANCE Tél./Fax : 33/ 03 28 64 94 98

Adults : 220 F Juniors and over 60s: 110 F

Dates: Opening ceremony and round 1 19th February 2000 Closing ceremony 26th Feb 2000.

Prizefund: 80 000 F minimum. 1st prize: 10 000 F / 2e: 5000 F / 3e: 4000F / 4e: 3000F / 5e: 2000F / 6e: 1500F / 7e à 10e : 1000F Other prize categories for Elo, Jeunes, Féminins, Vétérans

Perenyi Memorial

There will be a Cat.VII-VIII in Gyula (Hungary) in the Hotal Agro 24th Jan-3rd Feb 2000 which will finish just before the February edition of the First Saturday tournaments.

Those interested in playing should contact: Emil Anka Tel-fax:00-36-1-2212328 or Email:emilanka@freemail.hu