THE WEEK IN CHESS 283 10th April 2000 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Kasparov-Kramnik Match
3) Bordeaux Grand Prix
4) Karpov-Xie Jun Match
5) 73rd St. Petersburg Championships
6) 19th Reykjavik International Open
7) SG Köln Porz win the Bundesliga
8) Dutch Team Championships
9) Category 10 in India
10) Dos Hermanas Open
11) Mechanics Institute Events
12) Dutch Chess Championships
13) US Masters
14) First Saturday, April
15) Ciocaltea Memorial
16) Bad Wildbad
17) Lithuanian Championships
18) Open Letter from Alexei Shirov
19) Professional Chess Rankings
20) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Bordeaux Grand Prix                 8 games
Karpov-Xie Jun Match                2 games
73rd St Petersburg Ch              42 games
19th Reykjavik Int Open           190 games
Dutch Team Championships          100 games
Category 10 in India               42 games
Dos Hermanas Open                  60 games
Frisco Masters                     99 games
US Masters                         26 games
First Saturday April GM            48 games
First Saturday April IMA           56 games
First Saturday April IMB           48 games
Ciocaltea Memorial                 91 games
Lithuanian Championships          243 games
1055 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Sinisa Joksic, John Henderson, Pascal Villalba, GZdaily, Grandmaster Chess School, Peter Svidler, Gunnar Bjornsson, GMSchach, Anjo Anjewierden, Visweswaran, Terra Sport, John Donaldson, Alex Yermolinsky, Gabriel Smit, Oscar Lemmers, Alexander Baburin, Tim Just and Alan Watson, Laszlo Nagy, Mircea Pavlov, Bert Hollmann, Alexei Shirov and all those who helped with this issue.

It seems at last that Kasparov is to play another match, its now five years and a number of failed deals since Kasparov played Viswanathan Anand in New York. A World title match? Shirov doesn't agree. Whilst Kasparov's opponent, Kramnik, is almost certainly going to be World number two at the time of the match and both Kasparov and Kramnik may be undefeated in around 20 months at the time of the match. Questions remain about how Kramnik will hold up in a high tension match. He has six months and that's plenty of time to be ready. We'll see.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) Kasparov-Kramnik Match

Vladimir Kramnik accepted a match offer from Braingames Network PLC to play Garry Kasparov for the Brain Games World Chess Championship. There was a press conference in London on Wednesday 5th April 2000.

TWIC coverage of the press conference in full by John Henderson can be read at: http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/press.html

Braingames Network PLC (BGN), has raised the $2 million prize fund for the 16-game match through the offices of the London stockbrokers, Williams de Broe.

In 2001, the Braingames Network World Chess Championship qualifier will be open through the Internet to anyone in the world - regardless of playing strength! The qualifier will then join 24 of the world's top players in a tournament, the winner of which will play the defending champion in 2002 (although its not clear whether they intend an all-play-all or knockout system).

The match is projected to take place October 9th until November 9th 2000. The winner of the match will receive 1,333,000 dollars and the loser half that much.

Kasparov said: "I believe I'm the favourite! Of all the potential challengers for my title, Kramnik is the only one with a reasonable score. In fact, he has an excellent personal score: 3-3 in classical chess and a plus one score of 4-3 in rapidplay with many, many draws [In fact, if the latest MegaBase2000 from ChessBase is to be believed, the true overall score including blitz comes out at 16-15 to Kasparov with 44 draws - JBH]. If you look at my two other potential opponents, I have a 9-0 score against Alexei Shirov and 14-3 with Anand. However, due to my superior match-play experience, I think I can lay claims to being the favourite for this match - but it'll be a close-call."

Kasparov said he believed that Shirov's qualification to play him in 1998 had lapsed (read Shirov's open letter later in this issue for his response to this).

Braingames is a new organisation founded by members of MSO (Mind Sports Olympiad) Ltd Raymond Keene and Donald Morris (it also has former British Cabinet Minister Sir Jeremy Hanley on board). Its formation has led to a bitter falling out between long time friends Raymond Keene and David Levy. David Levy published a letter on the internet where he said he was betrayed by the way Keene set up this new company and how he regarded it as a direct competitor to the MindSports Olympiad Ltd of which they are both shareholders. Keene himself believes his actions were " legal - ethical - covered by board mandate and for the good of MSO." that view seems to have been shared by the MSO board too.

3) Bordeaux Grand Prix

Michael Adams won the "Grand Prix de Bordeaux 2000" a two day knockout event featuring Tkachiev, Lautier and Fressinet also. The event took place 6th-7th April 2000. In the semi-finals Adams beat Fressinet 1.5-0.5 and Lautier beat Tkachiev 2-0. In the 3rd-4th placed playoff Tkachiev beat Fressinet 1.5-0.5 and the final Adams beat Lautier 2-0 including a 28 move win in the final game.

There was live video coverage from Bordeaux at: CanalWeb TV. My thanks also to Pascal Villalba of Notzai Chess news at: http://www.notzai.com

Round 1 (April 6, 2000)

Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  Lautier, Joel        0-1   34  A29  English; 1.c4 e5
Lautier, Joel        -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1-0   34  B06  Modern defence

Lautier 2-0 winner.

Fressinet, Laurent   -  Adams, Michael       1/2   44  C68  Ruy Lopez; Exchange
Adams, Michael       -  Fressinet, Laurent   1-0   47  B90  Sicilian; Najdorf

Adams 1.5-0.5 winner

Round 2 (April 7, 2000)

3rd-4th placed playoff

Tkachiev, Vladislav  -  Fressinet, Laurent   1-0   51  B52  Sicilian
Fressinet, Laurent   -  Tkachiev, Vladislav  1/2   44  B06  Modern defence

Final

Adams, Michael       -  Lautier, Joel        1-0   28  B45  Sicilian
Lautier, Joel        -  Adams, Michael       0-1   36  C42  Petroff defence

4) Karpov-Xie Jun Match

Anatoly Karpov is in Guangzhou China to play FIDE Women's Chess Champion Xie Jun in a "female vs. male chess contest". There will be four games at regular timerates (April 9-12) and another two at rapid timerates (April 14th). The event is sponsored by the Chess Association of China and www.gzdaily.com. Game one was drawn with Xie Jun defending with black against a Saemisch Kings Indian for 46 moves. Game two was a 55 move draw in a Caro-Kann.

Internet coverage at: http://www.gzdaily.com/chess/echess_index.htm

Karpov, Anatoly  -  Xie Jun          1/2   46  E84  Kings indian; Saemisch
Xie Jun          -  Karpov, Anatoly  1/2   55  B12  Caro-Kann


Female vs Male Match Guanzhou CHN (CHN), 9-12 iv 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------
                              1   2   3   4   5   6 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Karpov, Anatoly  g RUS 2696    =   =   .   .   .   .   1.0  2542
Xie Jun          g CHN 2542    =   =   .   .   .   .   1.0  2696
----------------------------------------------------------------

5) 73rd St. Petersburg Championships

The 73rd St. Petersburg Championships take place April 3rd-13th 2000. It is a 12 player all-play-all event. There have been seven rounds so far and Valery Loginov is in excellent form with a score of +5=2 two points clear of the field with 6/7. He hasn't played any of the players in joint second on four points however.

Official Site is that of the Grandmaster Chess School: http://www.gmchess.spb.ru/

73rd St Petersburg Championships RUS (RUS), 3-13 iv 2000cat. XI (2505)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Loginov, Valery A     g RUS 2512 * . . . . = 1 1 = 1 1 1  6.0  2799
 2 Lugovoi, Aleksei      g RUS 2515 . * = = = . 1 . = = = .  4.0  2552
 3 Aseev, Konstantin N   g RUS 2517 . = * . = = 1 . 0 1 = .  4.0  2551
 4 Popov, Valerij        g RUS 2534 . = . * . = = = = = . 1  4.0  2534
 5 Yemelin, Vasily       g RUS 2540 . = = . * = 0 . 1 = . 1  4.0  2531
 6 Solozhenkin, Evgeniy  g RUS 2528 = . = = = * . 0 . . = 1  3.5  2520
 7 Chepukaitis, Genrikh    RUS 2393 0 0 0 = 1 . * 1 . . . 1  3.5  2513
 8 Ivanov, Sergey        g RUS 2543 0 . . = . 1 0 * . = 1 =  3.5  2494
 9 Alekseev, Evgeny        RUS 2475 = = 1 = 0 . . . * 0 = .  3.0  2475
10 Shaposhnikov, Evgeny  f RUS 2503 0 = 0 = = . . = 1 * . .  3.0  2469
11 Ionov, Sergey         g RUS 2558 0 = = . . = . 0 = . * =  2.5  2401
12 Sivokho, Sergey         RUS 2436 0 . . 0 0 0 0 = . . = *  1.0  2206
----------------------------------------------------------------------

6) 19th Reykjavik International Open

The 19th Reykjavik International Chess Tournament takes place in the Reykjavík City Hall 5th-13th April 2000. The event is a 9 round, Swiss System event. There are 76 players competing and after 5 rounds Viktor Korchnoi leads with 4.5/5 ahead of a group of seven half a point behind on 4 points they are: Nigel Short, Luke McShane, Jan Timman, Nick DeFirmian, Alexander Grischuk, Hannes Stefansson and Larry Christiansen. Reykjavík is the European City of Culture for the Year 2000 and the tournament is part of this event. My thanks to Gunnar Bjornsson.

Coverage at:http://www.simnet.is/hellir/Reykopen00.htm including live games.

19th Reykjavic International ISL (ISL), 5-13 iv 2000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                1   2   3   4   5   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Korchnoi, Viktor                g SUI 2659  +48 =21 +31 + 9 +10  4.5  2839
 2 Short, Nigel D                  g ENG 2683  +46 +12 = 9 + 3 = 7  4.0  2711
 3 McShane, Luke J                 m ENG 2438  +37 + 8 +15 - 2 +22  4.0  2739
 4 Timman, Jan H                   g NED 2655  +29 =34 +16 +36 = 6  4.0  2577
 5 DeFirmian, Nick E               g USA 2570  +43 +40 +22 = 7 =14  4.0  2699
 6 Grischuk, Alexander             m RUS 2581  +52 +27 =32 +13 = 4  4.0  2723
 7 Stefansson, Hannes              g ISL 2566  +45 +53 +35 = 5 = 2  4.0  2702
 8 Christiansen, Larry M           g USA 2596  +33 - 3 +45 +30 +27  4.0  2593
 9 Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander         g POL 2563  +41 +25 = 2 - 1 +30  3.5  2609
10 Sokolov, Ivan                   g BIH 2637  +44 =30 +24 +32 - 1  3.5  2623
11 Hillarp Persson, Tiger          g SWE 2548  +57 =26 =23 +31 =12  3.5  2492
12 Markowski, Tomasz               g POL 2531  +66 - 2 +43 +28 =11  3.5  2543
13 Gretarsson, Helgi Ass           g ISL 2544  +63 =17 +26 - 6 +36  3.5  2428
14 Miles, Anthony J                g ENG 2579  +38 -31 +58 +53 = 5  3.5  2480
15 Bu Xiangzhi                     m CHN 2565  +71 +28 - 3 +40 =17  3.5  2483
16 Bjarnason, Saevar               m ISL 2305  =64 +47 - 4 +41 +32  3.5  2430
17 Sarbok, Torsten                   GER 2285  +75 =13 =34 +35 =15  3.5  2557
18 Ehlvest, Jaan                   g EST 2622  +55 -35 =38 +62 +39  3.5  2438
19 Gunnarsson, Arnar                 ISL 2227  -20 +72 +56 =42 +34  3.5  2464
20 Agrest, Evgenij                 g SWE 2604  +19 =24 -30 +44 =25  3.0  2408
21 Olafsson, Helgi                 g ISL 2491  +49 = 1 -36 =33 +55  3.0  2338
22 Oral, Tomas                     g CZE 2540  +54 +56 - 5 +23 - 3  3.0  2365
23 Jonasson, Benedikt              f ISL 2285  =61 +39 =11 -22 +50  3.0  2403
24 Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis  m ESP 2445  +72 =20 -10 +38 =35  3.0  2450
25 Lampen, Timo                      FIN 2307  +59 - 9 +60 =34 =20  3.0  2420
26 Wiley, Tom E                      ENG 2294  +67 =11 -13 =50 +54  3.0  2356
27 Johannessen, Leif Erlend        m NOR 2431  +60 - 6 +57 +46 - 8  3.0  2414
28 Drei, Andrea                    f ITA 2351  +73 -15 +49 -12 +58  3.0  2362
29 Kristjansson, Stefan              ISL 2254  - 4 -69 +76 +63 +56  3.0  2272
30 Bricard, Emmanuel               m FRA 2461  +50 =10 +20 - 8 - 9  2.5  2511
31 Salmensuu, Olli                 m FIN 2418  +51 +14 - 1 -11 =33  2.5  2415
32 Conquest, Stuart                g ENG 2563  +58 +42 = 6 -10 -16  2.5  2414
33 Bjornsson, Tomas                f ISL 2224  - 8 +37 =47 =21 =31  2.5  2323
34 Thorhallsson, Throstur          g ISL 2489  +69 = 4 =17 =25 -19  2.5  2326
35 Jonkman, Harmen                 f NED 2446  +70 +18 - 7 -17 =24  2.5  2410
36 Steindorsson, Sigurdur P          ISL 2056  =39 +64 +21 - 4 -13  2.5  2419
37 Einarsson, Einar Kristinn         ISL 2111  - 3 -33 +59 +57 =46  2.5  2222
38 Schulz, Michael2                  GER 2076  -14 +51 =18 -24 +61  2.5  2342
39 Bykhovsky, Anatoly A            m RUS 2409  =36 -23 +70 +47 -18  2.5  2219
40 Westerinen, Heikki M.J          g FIN 2392  +68 - 5 +54 -15 =45  2.5  2304
41 Fridjonsson, Julius               ISL 2191  - 9 +59 =42 -16 +62  2.5  2301
42 Hardarson, Robert               f ISL 2356  +76 -32 =41 =19 =43  2.5  2240
43 Bjarnason, Oskar                  ISL 2218  - 5 +68 -12 +60 =42  2.5  2308
44 Halldorsson, Bragi                ISL 2243  -10 =50 +64 -20 +65  2.5  2285
45 Sigfusson, Sigurdur             f ISL 2215  - 7 +65 - 8 +69 =40  2.5  2348
46 Thorfinnsson, Bragi               ISL 2260  - 2 +66 +69 -27 =37  2.5  2310
47 Kjartansson, Gudmundur            ISL ----  +62 -16 =33 -39 +71  2.5  2285
48 Naes, Flovin Tor                  FAI 2257  - 1 -49 =65 +64 +63  2.5  2205
49 Thorsteinsson, Erlingur           ISL 2160  -21 +48 -28 +52 -51  2.0  2205
50 Schmied, Andreas                  GER 2158  -30 =44 +61 =26 -23  2.0  2184
51 Soupizon, Remi                    FRA 2066  -31 -38 +67 -54 +49  2.0  2093
52 Nyysti, Sampsa                    FIN 2224  - 6 -60 +68 -49 +53  2.0  2173
53 Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor          m ISL 2400  +65 - 7 +71 -14 -52  2.0  2248
54 Halldorsson, Jon Arni             ISL 2173  -22 +75 -40 +51 -26  2.0  2186
55 Schnabel, Ralf                    GER 2233  -18 -70 +74 +66 -21  2.0  2211
56 Knutsson,L                            ----  +74 -22 -19 +71 -29  2.0  2173
57 Kleinert, Juergen                 GER 2188  -11 +74 -27 -37 +70  2.0  2172
58 Thorfinnsson, Bjorn               ISL 2195  -32 +76 -14 +70 -28  2.0  2254
59 Arngrimmsson, Dagur                   ----  -25 -41 -37 +76 +69  2.0  2082
60 Marks, H                          NED 2085  -27 +52 -25 -43 =66  1.5  2121
61 Bergsson, Stefan                      ----  =23 -62 -50 +72 -38  1.5  2037
62 Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn             ISL 2282  -47 +61 =63 -18 -41  1.5  2050
63 Palsson, Halldor                  ISL 2182  -13 +67 =62 -29 -48  1.5  2118
64 Hannesson,O                           ----  =16 -36 -44 -48 +74  1.5  2023
65 De Blecourt, Sandra               NED 2027  -53 -45 =48 +75 -44  1.5  2074
66 Edvardsson, Kristjan              ISL 2170  -12 -46 +73 -55 =60  1.5  2072
67 Halldorsson,Halldor                   ----  -26 -63 -51 +73 =72  1.5  1985
68 Valgardsson, Gudjon                   ----  -40 -43 -52 =74 +75  1.5  2017
69 Schmitz, Andreas Arnold           GER 2159  -34 +29 -46 -45 -59  1.0  2003
70 Schmitz, Manuela               wf GER 2134  -35 +55 -39 -58 -57  1.0  2054
71 Jackson, Adrian                   ENG 2207  -15 +73 -53 -56 -47  1.0  1953
72 Ragnarsson, Johann                ISL 2129  -24 -19 =75 -61 =67  1.0  1894
73 Arnalds,S                             ----  -28 -71 -66 -67 +76  1.0  1906
74 Johannesson,I                         ----  -56 -57 -55 =68 -64  0.5  1718
75 Kjartansson, Olafur               ISL ----  -17 -54 =72 -65 -68  0.5  1756
76 Schubert, Hans-Joach              AUT 2005  -42 -58 -29 -59 -73  0.0      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) SG Köln Porz win the Bundesliga

The final weekend of the German Bundesliga 1999-2000 took place April 8th-9th 2000. SG Köln Porz were two points clear having drawn just one match all season. After their 6½-1½ win over Hamburger SK in round 14 they probably didn't need to win their final game to win the title but they did win 5-3 in the final match against Lübecker SV. Solinger SG were clear second and duly won both their matches but with little hope of catching Porz. The bottom four teams were Dresdner SC, SK König Plauen , SV Tegernsee and PSV Duisburg who I believe were all relegated. Games follow next week.

The GMSchach www site will publish the games later in the week and also have a detailed breakdown of all the results: http://www.gmschach.de/

Venue Solingen

Round 14 8th April 2000

Solingen     Dresden          6:2
Wattenscheid Plauen           4,5:3,5

Round 15 9th April 2000

Dresden      Wattenscheid     3,5:4,5
Plauen       Solingen         3,5:4,5

Venue Delmenhorst

Round 14 8th April 2000

Delmenhorst  Passau           4:4
Bremen       Tegernsee        5:3

Round 15 9th April 2000

Passau       Bremen           4:4
Tergernsee   Delmenhorst      2,5:5,5

Venue Neukölln

Round 14 8th April 2000

Neukölln       Godesberg      3,5:4,5
Magdeburg      Castrop-Rauxel 5,5:2,5

Round 15 9th April 2000

Godesberg      Magdeburg      4:4
Castrop-Rauxel Neukölln       2,5:5,5

Venue Porz

Round 14 8th April 2000

Porz         Hamburg          6,5:1,5
Duisburg     Lübeck           5,5:2,5

Round 15 9th April 2000

Hamburg      Duisburg         5,5:2,5
Lübeck       Porz             3:5

Final Standings

 1. SG Köln Porz      15 82 :38   29- 1
 2. Solinger SG       15 76½:43½  27- 3
 3. SK Delmenhorst    15 64½:55½  20-10
 4. Godesberger SK    15 62 :58   19-11
 5. SK Passau         15 63 :57   16-14
 6. SV Werder Bremen  15 59½:60½  16-14
 7. Castrop Rauxel    15 58½:61½  16-14
 8. Hamburger SK      15 61 :59   15-15
 9. SFR Neukölln      15 60½:59½  14-16
10. USC Magdeburg     15 60 :60   13-17
11. Lübecker SV       15 59 :61   13-17
12. SV Wattenscheid   15 49½:70½  12-18
13. Dresdner SC       15 54 :66   10-20
14. SK König Plauen   15 52 :68    9-21
15. SV Tegernsee      15 52 :68    6-24
16. PSV Duisburg      15 46 :74    5-25

8) Dutch Team Championships

Anjo Anjewierden reports: The third weekend of the Dutch team competition was played in Leeuwarden on March 18-19. The strongest teams made no mistakes and with still three rounds to go before the play-offs Panfox, HSG and BSG are certain to reach the top four, while ESGOO is nearly assured of a play-off place. The battle to keep away from the last two places is in full swing. The remaining six teams all have to score points in the last three rounds to avoid relegation.

Personal top scorers after six rounds are: Frank Erwich (LSG), Ivan Sokolov (Panfox) and Friso Nijboer (HSG) with 5.5 points. Further details: http://www.schaakbond.nl/

Round 5 (Leeuwarden, 2000.03.18):

Magnus BSG (Bussum) - Utrecht             8.5-1.5
Amstelveen          - HSG (Hilversum)     3.0-7.0
LSG (Leiden)        - Groningen           5.5-4.5
Panfox (Breda)      - SMB (Nijmegen)      8.0-2.0
ESGOO (Enschede)    - Rotterdam           6.0-4.0

Round 6 (Leeuwarden, 2000.03.19):

Utrecht             - Rotterdam           4.5-5.5
SMB (Nijmegen)      - ESGOO (Enschede)    4.5-5.5
Groningen           - Panfox (Breda)      2.0-8.0
HSG (Hilversum)     - LSG (Leiden)        7.0-3.0
Magnus BSG (Bussum) - Amstelveen          6.0-4.0

Standings:

 1. Panfox (Breda)       12  47.0
 2. HSG (Hilversum)      10  41.5
 3. Magnus BSG (Bussum)  10  38.0
 4. ESGOO (Enschede)      8  30.0
 5. LSG (Leiden)          4  26.5
 6. Amstelveen            4  26.5
 7. SMB (Nijmegen)        4  23.5
 8. Groningen             3  24.0
 9. Rotterdam             3  23.0
10. Utrecht               2  20.0

9) Category 10 in India

There is a category 10 GM tournament takes place in the coastal town of Guntur Am in Andrapradesh, India. the event runs April 2nd-16th 2000. The event is led by Andrey Shariyazdanov after six rounds. The game Prasad-Yurteav from round one was postponed until April 10th 2000. My thanks to Visweswaran.

Official coverage at: http://www.chennaionline.com/chess

Round 6 standings:

Chalapathi GM Guntur, AP IND (IND), 3-13 iv 2000                  cat. X (2482)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Shariyazdanov, Andrey  g RUS 2612 * = . = 1 . . 1 . . = . . 1  4.5 / 6  2691
 2 Fominyh, Alexander     g RUS 2551 = * . . = = . . . = . 1 1 .  4.0 / 6  2584
 3 Barua, Dibyendu        g IND 2555 . . * 1 . . 0 . = 1 . = 1 .  4.0 / 6  2587
 4 Ibragimov, Ildar       g RUS 2611 = . 0 * . 1 . . . 1 . = = .  3.5 / 6  2523
 5 Sasikiran, Krishnan    m IND 2514 0 = . . * . = 1 . . = . . 1  3.5 / 6  2558
 6 Sandipan, Chanda         IND 2424 . = . 0 . * . 1 = . = . . 1  3.5 / 6  2539
 7 Yurtaev, Leonid        g KGZ 2536 . . 1 . = . * . . 0 1 . . =  3.0 / 5  2563
 8 Saravanan, V           m IND 2412 0 . . . 0 0 . * . . . 1 1 1  3.0 / 6  2455
 9 Prasad, Devaki V       m IND 2421 . . = . . = . . * = . = = .  2.5 / 5  2437
10 Kunte, Abhijit         m IND 2487 . = 0 0 . . 1 . = * . . = .  2.5 / 6  2429
11 Prakash, G B           m IND 2435 = . . . = = 0 . . . * = . 0  2.0 / 6  2379
12 Thipsay, Praveen M     g IND 2475 . 0 = = . . . 0 = . = * . .  2.0 / 6  2372
13 Koneru, Humpy            IND 2244 . 0 0 = . . . 0 = = . . * .  1.5 / 6  2313
14 Rahman, Ziaur          m BAN 2465 0 . . . 0 0 = 0 . . 1 . . *  1.5 / 6  2295
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) Dos Hermanas Open

Dos Hermanas Open tournament takes place 7th-15th April 2000. 151 players compete and after three rounds there are 6 players on 3/3 and another 23 on 2.5/3 in a field of 151 players.

Official Site: http://www.terra.es/espdep/ajedrez/portada.htm

Open Dos Hermanas ESP (ESP), 7-15 iv 2000
--------------------------------------------------
 1 Veingold, Aleksandr            m EST 2448  3.0
 2 Korneev, Oleg                  g RUS 2619  3.0
 3 Banikas, Hristos               m GRE 2535  3.0
 4 Komljenovic, Davor             g CRO 2506  3.0
 5 Reinaldo Castineira, Roi       f ESP 2345  3.0
 6 Frois, Antonio                 m POR 2350  3.0
 7 Hamdouchi, Hichem              g MAR 2513  2.5
 8 Campora, Daniel H              g ARG 2534  2.5
 9 Garcia Luque, Agustin          f ESP 2333  2.5
10 Suba, Mihai                    g ROM 2510  2.5
11 Mellado Trivino, Juan          m ESP 2493  2.5
12 Braga, Fernando                m ITA 2449  2.5
13 Pinheiro, Jose                 f POR 2272  2.5
14 Gamundi Salamanca, Antonio     m ESP 2450  2.5
15 Illescas Cordoba, Miguel       g ESP 2581  2.5
16 Matamoros Franco, Carlos S     m ECU 2492  2.5
17 Cifuentes Parada, Roberto      g NED 2483  2.5
18 Miladinovic, Igor              g GRE 2538  2.5
19 Okhotnik, Vladimir             m UKR 2499  2.5
20 Fernandez Garcia, Jose Luis    g ESP 2443  2.5
21 Colovic, Aleksandar            m FRM 2414  2.5
22 Magem Badals, Jordi            g ESP 2529  2.5
23 Franco Ocampos, Zenon          g ESP 2511  2.5
24 Vassallo, Mauricio               ARG 2404  2.5
25 Estremera Panos, Sergio        m ESP 2353  2.5
26 Eslon, Jaan                    m SWE 2350  2.5
27 Lalic, Bogdan                  g ENG 2548  2.5
28 Barrero Garcia, Carlos           ESP 2300  2.5
29 Gomez Feria,J                    ESP ----  2.5
151 players

11) Mechanics Institute Events

John Donaldson and Alex Yermolinsky report: The Mechanics Institute in San Francisco is hosting a series of events from March 29 to April 14. A G/45 exhbition game between (Alex Yermolinsky who won with black) and Jaan Ehlvest on March 29 started things off. The Frisco Masters took place March 31st-April 3rd and saw Jaan Ehlvest, Alex Yermolinsky and Alexander Shabalov score 5.5/7.

The Val Zemitis International will be held April 5-14. The IM norm event, with IM Cela (2527) as top seed, will be Category 4 (2340).

Further details: http://www.milibrary.org

Frisco Masters Leading Final standings: 
 1. Ehlvest, Jaan         g EST 2622 5.5/7
 2. Yermolinsky, Alex     g USA 2601 5.5/7
 3. Shabalov, Alexander   g USA 2592 5.5/7 
 4. Fedorowicz, John P    g USA 2540 5.0/7
 5. Ziatdinov, Raset      m USA 2473 5.0/7
 6. Longren, William B    f USA 2296 5.0/7 
 7. Browne, Walter S      g USA 2472 4.5/7
 8. Barcenilla, Rogelio   m PHI 2495 4.5/7
 9. Small,  Greg            USA 2267 4.5/7 
10. Evans, Bela             CAN      4.5/7 
11. Acosta, Mariano         USA 2066 4.5/7  
12. Blatny, Pavel         g CZE 2512 4.0/7 
13. Ivanov, Igor V        m USA 2489 4.0/7 
14. Rey, Guillermo        m USA 2359 4.0/7 
42 players

12) Dutch Chess Championships

The Broekhuis Dutch Chess Championships take place in Rotterdam 7th-19th May 2000. The field is: 1. Loek van Wely 2646 2. Jeroen Piket 2643 3. Dimitri Reinderman 2561 4. John van der Wiel 2558 5. Erik van den Doel 2522 6. Friso Nijboer 2540 7. Dennis de Vreugt 2498 8. Manuel Bosboom 2461 9. Herman Grooten 2393 10. Paul van der Sterren 2526 11. Sergei Tiviakov 2567 12. Fritz SSS* There is an element of controversy in that the computer program Fritz SSS is to play. Already I understand Paul van der Sterren (now he has a full time job away from chess) has said he will refuse to play the machine and Fritz will be awarded a win. It certainly use to be the case that computer-vs-human rules stated that the human has the right to decline to play a program. My thanks to Gabriel Smit for the information. Oscar Lemmers further reports that Fritz will be Dutch Champion if it wins and that a protest campaign has already been started.

Further info: http://www.schaakbond.nl/actueel.htm#NK2000 and http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess2/diary.htm

13) US Masters

The US Masters took place in Oak Brook, Illinois March 9th-12th 2000. There was a seven way tie for first place. My thanks to Alexander Baburin, Tim Just and Alan Watson for info, results and games.

Futher details: http://www.uschess.org/clife/current/index.html

Leading final Standings:
 1 GM Jaan Ehlvest          2709 5.5
 2 GM Alek Wojtkiewicz      2677 5.5
 3 GM Nick E. DeFirmian     2676 5.5
 4 GM Alexander Baburin     2656 5.5
 5 GM Alexander Shabalov    2623 5.5
 6 GM Pavel Blatny          2614 5.5
 7 IM Rashid Ziatdinov      2536 5.5
 8 GM Igor A. Novikov       2701 5.0
 9 GM Gregory Kaidanov      2677 5.0
10 GM Gregory Serper        2652 5.0
11 GM Dmitry Gurevich       2638 5.0
12 GM Alexander Ivanov      2635 5.0
13 IM Altin Cela                 5.0
14 GM Maurice A. Ashley     2542 5.0
15 GM Darmen Sadvakasov          5.0
16 GM Alexander Goldin      2670 4.5
17 GM John P. Fedorowicz    2616 4.5
18 GM Sergey Kudrin         2602 4.5
19 IM Angelo Young          2486 4.5
20 IM Dominik Pedzich            4.5
21 FM Alex Balandin         2469 4.5
22 FM Peter Pelts           2410 4.5
23 IM Vladimir Zakhvatov         4.5
24 NM Kevin L. Bachler      2314 4.5
25 NM George O. Umezinwa    2302 4.5
26 Marc Esserman            2109 4.5
27 GM Alex Yermolinsky      2693 4.0
28 GM Alexander Stripunsky  2594 4.0
105 players

14) First Saturday, April

There are two IM groups and one GM group for the FS April events which run April 1st-14th 2000. The event has reached round 8. GM Zoltan Varga and IM Hoang Thanh Trang share the lead with 5.5/8 in the GM group.

In May there will be two IM events which take place 6th-18th of May. Entries so far include: IMs Janos Dudas (HUN), Laszlo Eperjesi (HUN), Peter Hardicsay (HUN), Sandor Farago (HUN), Miklos Ors (HUN) and Miklos Kaposztas (HUN). Other players Kim Pilgaard (DEN), Mads Boe (DEN), Rasmus Skytte (DEN), Xue Zhao (CHN) Xu Yibing (CHN) male, Yu Mingyuan (CHN), Leonid Kritz (RUS), Marc Geenen (BEL), Wolter Kai (GER), Thomas Kamaryt (AUT), Adam Szeberenyi (HUN), Vasik Rajlich (USA), Natan Resika (USA). Eric Cooke (USA) and Peter Froehlich (GER). If you are interested in playing contact Laszlo Nagy.

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.

FSGM April Budapest HUN (HUN), 1-13 iv 2000        cat. VIII (2434)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Varga, Zoltan      g HUN 2530 * = = 1 . . = 1 1 = . =  5.5  2567
 2 Hoang Thanh Trang  m VIE 2448 = * = . = 1 1 1 . 1 0 .  5.5  2591
 3 Horvath, Csaba     g HUN 2519 = = * = = . . = 1 = . 1  5.0  2533
 4 Nguyen Anh Dung    m VIE 2496 0 . = * = 1 = . = . 1 1  5.0  2519
 5 Tolnai, Tibor      g HUN 2514 . = = = * = = = . = 1 .  4.5  2480
 6 Berkvens, Joost      NED 2297 . 0 . 0 = * = 0 . 1 1 1  4.0  2444
 7 Fogarasi, Tibor    m HUN 2429 = 0 . = = = * . 0 = . 1  3.5  2379
 8 Almasi, Istvan     m HUN 2420 0 0 = . = 1 . * = . = =  3.5  2384
 9 Kahn, Evarth       m HUN 2301 0 . 0 = . . 1 = * = 1 0  3.5  2412
10 Galyas, Miklos     m HUN 2440 = 0 = . = 0 = . = * = .  3.0  2349
11 Kallio, Heikki     m FIN 2452 . 1 . 0 0 0 . = 0 = * =  2.5  2268
12 Balogh, Csaba        HUN 2356 = . 0 0 . 0 0 = 1 . = *  2.5  2289
-------------------------------------------------------------------

FSIMA April Budapest HUN (HUN), 1-13 iv 2000             cat. II (2291)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Froehlich, Peter   f GER 2375 * . = 1 = . = . . . 1 1 = 1  6.0  2457
 2 Sziebert, Adam     f HUN 2334 . * 0 = = . 1 1 . 1 . . 1 1  6.0  2475
 3 Lehtinen, Heikki     FIN 2246 = 1 * = . 0 . 1 1 = . . 1 .  5.5  2456
 4 Murzin, Lenar      f RUS 2231 0 = = * . . 1 = 1 1 . . 1 .  5.5  2458
 5 Maki-Uuro, Miikka  f FIN 2341 = = . . * 1 . = = = = = . .  4.5  2350
 6 Farago, Sandor     m HUN 2271 . . 1 . 0 * 0 = = . 1 = . 1  4.5  2325
 7 Dembo, Yelena        ISR 2269 = 0 . 0 . 1 * . = = . 1 = .  4.0  2298
 8 Eperjesi, Laszlo   m HUN 2365 . 0 0 = = = . * . . 1 = 1 .  4.0  2281
 9 Orso, Miklos       m HUN 2341 . . 0 0 = = = . * . = = . 1  3.5  2213
10 Atakisi, Umut        TUR 2274 . 0 = 0 = . = . . * 0 . 1 =  3.0  2190
11 Cooke, Eric          USA 2266 0 . . . = 0 . 0 = 1 * 1 . 0  3.0  2212
12 Driamin, D           RUS 2230 0 . . . = = 0 = = . 0 * . =  2.5  2162
13 Guedon, Stephanne    FRA 2332 = 0 0 0 . . = 0 . 0 . . * 1  2.0  2093
14 Alfred, Nathan       ENG 2200 0 0 . . . 0 . . 0 = 1 = 0 *  2.0  2109
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FSIMB April Budapest HUN (HUN), 1-13 iv 2000                cat. II (2289)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Van Blitterswijk, Stefan  f NED 2308 * 1 = 1 = 1 . 1 . . 1 1  7.0  2616
 2 Dudas, Janos              m HUN 2321 0 * . 1 = = 1 . 1 1 . 1  6.0  2461
 3 Karttunen, Mika             FIN 2313 = . * 0 1 = 1 1 0 1 . .  5.0  2378
 4 Szeberenyi, Adam            HUN 2257 0 0 1 * = = . . . = 1 1  4.5  2324
 5 Vadasz, Laszlo            g HUN 2285 = = 0 = * . = 1 0 1 . .  4.0  2302
 6 Barth, Norbert              GER 2192 0 = = = . * . = 1 . = =  4.0  2289
 7 Yu Mingyuan                 CHN 2419 . 0 0 . = . * = 1 = = 1  4.0  2286
 8 Rajlich, Vasik G            USA 2309 0 . 0 . 0 = = * . 1 1 1  4.0  2293
 9 Khechumyan, Gagik           ARM 2236 . 0 1 . 1 0 0 . * = 1 0  3.5  2251
10 Dolgener, Tobias            GER 2260 . 0 0 = 0 . = 0 = * 1 .  2.5  2173
11 Nemeth, Zoltan            m HUN 2379 0 . . 0 . = = 0 0 0 * 1  2.0  2078
12 Resika, Nathan A            USA 2190 0 0 . 0 . = 0 0 1 . 0 *  1.5  2051
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

15) Ciocaltea Memorial

The Victor Ciocaltea Memorial took place in Bucharest 13th-27th March 2000. The 13 round event was won by Viorel Iordachescu who won the event by 1.5 points from Alexander Motylev and Mihail Marin who scored 7.5. My thanks to Mircea Pavlov for the games and information.

Ciocaltea Mem Bucharest ROM (ROM), 13-27 iii 2000             cat. X (2483)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Iordachescu, Viorel    g MDA 2560 * 1 1 = = = = = = = = 1 1 1  9.0  2618
 2 Motylev, Alexander     m RUS 2552 0 * = = = = = 1 1 1 = 0 = 1  7.5  2535
 3 Marin, Mihail          g ROM 2555 0 = * = = = = = = 1 = 1 1 =  7.5  2534
 4 Vajda, Levente         m ROM 2459 = = = * = = = 1 1 = = = = 0  7.0  2514
 5 Apicella, Manuel       g FRA 2509 = = = = * = = 1 0 = 1 1 0 =  7.0  2510
 6 Rogozenko, Dorian      g ROM 2562 = = = = = * 1 0 = = = 0 1 1  7.0  2506
 7 Ionescu, Constantin    g ROM 2446 = = = = = 0 * = 1 = = = 1 =  7.0  2515
 8 Marjanovic, Slavoljub  g YUG 2524 = 0 = 0 0 1 = * 1 = = 1 = =  6.5  2480
 9 Svetushkin, Dmitry     m MDA 2486 = 0 = 0 1 = 0 0 * = 1 1 = 1  6.5  2483
10 Miljanic, Boro         m YUG 2429 = 0 0 = = = = = = * = = = 1  6.0  2458
11 Moldovan, Daniel       m ROM 2434 = = = = 0 = = = 0 = * = = =  5.5  2430
12 Szabo, Gergely ROM       ROM 2399 0 1 0 = 0 1 = 0 0 = = * = =  5.0  2402
13 Vukovic, Zdravko       m YUG 2475 0 = 0 = 1 0 0 = = = = = * =  5.0  2397
14 Sofronie, Iulian       m ROM 2378 0 0 = 1 = 0 = = 0 0 = = = *  4.5  2381
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

16) Bad Wildbad

The Bad Wildbad tournament took place April 1st-7th 2000. Vladimir outpaced the field to take first place with 7.5/9 half a point clear of Sergey Galdunts, Mikheil Kekelidse and Ulrich Schulze. Games may follow next week.

Further information at: http://www.schach.com/

 1. Epichin Vladimir     GM 2667 2383 7,5 2656 2669
 2. Galdunts Sergey      IM 2473 2314 7,0 2534 2487
 3. Kekelidse Mikheil    IM 2461 2409 7,0 2629 2500
 4. Schulze Ulrich       IM 2368 2188 7,0 2408 2380
 5. Nikolac Juraj        GM 2449 2291 6,5 2457 2455
 6. Martinovic Slobodan  GM 2448 2256 6,5 2422 2450
 7. Henrichs Thomas      IM 2428 2329 6,5 2495 2448
 8. Luther Thomas        GM 2505 2376 6,0 2501 2506
 9. Lanka Zigurds        GM 2503 2283 6,0 2408 2485
10. Polak Tomas          IM 2503 2284 6,0 2409 2485
11. Velicka Petr         IM 2458 2232 6,0 2357 2440
12. Kalod Radek          IM 2445 2367 6,0 2492 2458
13. Joachim Sven            2445 2302 6,0 2427 2445
14. Krivoshey Sergei     IM 2434 2335 6,0 2460 2443
15. Senff Martin            2349 2278 6,0 2403 2365
16. Koscielski Janusch      2330 2217 6,0 2342 2337
17. Kummerow Heiko       FM 2326 2142 6,0 2267 2317
18. Sprenger Jan            2256 2183 6,0 2308 2271
19. Saltaev Mihail       GM 2471 2284 5,5 2364 2450
20. Ristic Nenad         GM 2435 2311 5,5 2391 2429
21. Wehmeier Stefan      IM 2400 2218 5,5 2298 2381
22. Petrossian Suren        2366 2304 5,5 2384 2372
23. Vatter Hans-Joachim  FM 2362 2183 5,5 2263 2344
24. Brustkern Jürgen        2303 2086 5,5 2166 2276
25. Freitag Roland          2268 2272 5,5 2352 2289
26. Wippermann Till         2255 2236 5,5 2316 2273
27. Heimrath Reiner         2221 2238 5,5 2318 2248
28. Gabriel Josef           2202 2133 5,5 2213 2205
29. Römhild Marcus          2134 2116 5,5 2196 2167
112 players

17) Lithuanian Championships

Bert Hollmann reports: 16 year old Viktorija Cmilyte has won the Lithuanian Championships taking the title on tie-break. She was in a group of 6 players who scored 6.5/9.

Further information at: http://www.schach.com/

ch-LTU Vilnius LTU (LTU), 25 iii-17 iv 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Cmilyte, Viktorija     wg LTU 2329  6.5  51.5  35.25  37.5 2587 +2.78
 2 Ruzele, Darius          g LTU 2525  6.5  51.5  35.50  36.5 2576 +0.56
 3 Gavrikov, Viktor        g LTU 2563  6.5  51.5  36.50  34.5 2538 -0.25
 4 Kveinys, Aloyzas        g LTU 2496  6.5  51.0  36.50  32.5 2494 +0.02
 5 Sakalauskas, Vaidas     m LTU 2403  6.5  48.0  33.25  35.0 2548 +1.73
 6 Slapikas, Vytautas      m LTU 2423  6.5  46.5  31.25  32.5 2495 +0.83
 7 Labuckas, Aidas         m LTU 2307  6.0  48.0  30.25  30.5 2465 +1.72
 7 Butnorius, Algimantas   m LTU 2434  6.0  47.5  31.00  29.5 2432 -0.03
 9 Bandza, Algirdas        m LTU 2391  6.0  47.5  30.00  31.0 2435 +0.44
10 Malisauskas, Vidmantas  g LTU 2525  6.0  44.5  27.00  31.0 2455 -0.75
11 Sulskis, Sarunas        g LTU 2499  5.5  46.5  26.75  26.0 2317 -1.74
12 Sarakauskas, Gediminas    LTU 2352  5.5  45.5  25.00  29.5 2407 +0.66
13 Godlauskas, Kazys         LTU 2225  5.5  44.0  22.00  26.0 2357 +1.00
14 Piesina, Gintautas      m LTU 2398  5.5  43.5  23.50  28.0 2314 -0.86
15 Rositsan, Boris           LTU 2212  5.5  43.5  24.00  25.5 2415 +1.90
16 Samulevicius, Tomas       LTU 2290  5.5  42.5  22.25  25.0 2259 -0.28
17 Rastenis, Gediminas       LTU 2328  5.0  48.0  22.00  29.0 2365 +0.34
18 Zagorskis, Darius       m LTU 2483  5.0  47.0  24.75  28.5 2355 -1.57
19 Tokarevas, Tomas          LTU 2175  5.0  44.0  20.50  25.5 2323 +1.32
20 Zapolskis, Antanas      m LTU 2410  5.0  43.0  21.25  27.0 2296 -1.39
21 Survila, Rimvydas         LTU 2240  5.0  42.5  18.75  25.0 2214 -0.16
22 Bilinskas, Raimundas      LTU 2311  5.0  42.0  20.50  23.5 2239 -0.71
22 Petuchovskis, Edgaras     LTU 2118  5.0  41.0  19.75  23.0 2310 +1.60
24 Linauskas, Dainius        LTU 2323  5.0  38.0  18.00  24.5 2254 -0.80
54 players

18) Open Letter from Alexei Shirov

TWIC always welcomes letters. No publication is guaranteed but the magazine can act as a forum for chess issues of the moment. The views expressed in these letters are those of the authors not of TWIC or Chess & Bridge Ltd.

Open Letter from Alexei Shirov

This is just a short note to remind the chess World that Kasparov's statement that I turned down the offer from California untrue. I never got any serious offer on paper and while I was negotiating the offer disappeared by itself. This was back in October 1998. It was already in 1999 that I was informed ny reliable sources that the California offer was in fact turned down by Kasparov himself since he found the prize fund too low and tried to negotiate a better deal with the California organizers. This still may be the wrong information but it's completely clear to me that Kasparov just made me a scapegoat in order to avoid the match. And once again: I did not have any serious offer at all, so there was nothing to turn down.

I do believe that the Kasparov-Kramnik match can not have anything to do with any kind of World Championship, be it official, historical, brain or whatsoever. I am legitimate candidate for it since 1998 and the speculations about the California offer can not change it.

Sincerely Alexei Shirov

19) Professional Chess Rankings

The Professional Chess Rankings produced by Ken Thomson and calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich with results up to April 1, 2000

 1.  Kasparov,Garry        RUS  2826  129
 2.  Kramnik,Vladimir      RUS  2750  105
 3.  Leko,Peter            HUN  2716  125
 4.  Anand,Viswanathan     IND  2715  113
 5.  Shirov,Alexei         ESP  2708  179
 6.  Morozevich,Alexander  RUS  2707  174
 7.  Kamsky,Gata           USA  2696  184
 8.  Adams,Michael         ENG  2676  167
 9.  Short,Nigel D         ENG  2670  152
10.  Bareev,Evgeny         RUS  2669  164
11.  Topalov,Veselin       BUL  2668  168
12.  Ivanchuk,Vassily      UKR  2663  154
13.  Gelfand,Boris         ISR  2656  154
14.  Azmaiparashvili,Zurab GEO  2651  131
15.  Dreev,Alexey          RUS  2648  170
16.  Georgiev,Kiril        BUL  2643  156
17.  Almasi,Zoltan         HUN  2642  157
18.  Karpov,Anatoli        RUS  2641  131
19.  Akopian,Vladimir      ARM  2638  168
20.  Krasenkov,Mikhail     POL  2629  191
21.  Svidler,Peter         RUS  2628  160
22.  Movsesian,Sergei      CZE  2626  172
23.  Gurevich,Mikhail      BEL  2626  147
24.  Fedorov,Alexey        BLR  2625  187
25.  Korchnoi,Viktor       SUI  2624  159
26.  Piket,Jeroen          NED  2620  161
27.  Beliavsky,Alexander G SLO  2617  166
28.  Rublevsky,Sergei      RUS  2616  141
29.  Khalifman,Alexander   RUS  2615  159
30.  Timman,Jan H          NED  2614  198
31.  Seirawan,Yasser       USA  2613  160
32.  Salov,Valery          RUS  2612  199
33.  Vladimirov,Evgeny     KAZ  2611  163
34.  Hansen,Curt           DEN  2611  151
35.  Gulko,Boris F         USA  2610  163
36.  Lautier,Joel          FRA  2610  155
37.  Nikolic,Predrag       BIH  2609  148
38.  Kobalija,Mikhael      RUS  2608  166
39.  Hjartarson,Johann     ISD  2604  175
40.  Granda Zuniga,Julio E PER  2602  202
41.  Wolff,Patrick G       USA  2602  186
42.  Bologan,Viorel        MDA  2601  201
43.  Sadler,Matthew        ENG  2601  193
44.  Tkachev,Vladislav     FRA  2600  145
45.  Smirin,Ilia           ISR  2599  182
46.  Kharlov,Andrei        RUS  2596  170
47.  Aleksandrov,Aleksej   BLR  2595  184
48.  Magerramov,Elmar      AZE  2595  187
49  Kasimdzhanov,Rustam    UZB  2593  160
50.  Psakhis,Lev           ISR  2591  134
51  Polgar,Judit (GM)      HUN  2591  173

20) Forthcoming Events and Links

Czech Open

The 11th International Chess Festival Pardubice takes place 13th - 30th July 2000.

Events: A - open grand master tournament with rating for FIDE (participation of players with ELO FIDE 2200 min.) B - open rating tournament with rating for FIDE (players with ELO FIDE or ELO national 1950 min.) C - open performance tournament (players without ELO FIDE with ELO national 1700 min.) D - open amateur tournament (players without any ELO or with ELO national lower than 1950) E - open 4-member team tournament with rating for FIDE (players without age and performance limitation) F - open 4-member team tournament of young players up to the age of 16 (players born in 1984 and younger regardless ELO) G - open active chess tournament (players without age and performance limitation) H - blitz marathon (players without age and performance limitation) I - blitz tournament (players without age and performance limitation)

Applications together with accommodation orders should be sent by 15th June 2000 to the following address: AVE-KONTAKT Sukova 1556 530 02 Pardubice CZECH REPUBLIC tel./fax +420-40-65 35 200 e-mail: j.mazuch@avekont.cz

Full details: http://www.proclient.cz/czechopen

Swiss Chess Tour, Lenk and Crans Montana

LENK The 12th International Chess Tournament runs April 20th-24th 2000.

Three events: Lenkerhof Open - open to all, 7 rounds, Swiss system. After Round 5 the first four players will play a knock-out for the winner and the others continue in a Swiss system tournament. Time control 40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end. Venue Hotel "Lenkerhoh" (****). Round 1st starts April 20th at 6.30pm.

Residence-Holiday Open - players under 2000 only, 5 rounds, Swiss system. Round 1 starts April 20th at 2 p.m. Venue Hotel "Residence" (***). Junior Open - born 1980 and younger, more than 1800, 7 rounds, Swiss system. Round 1 starts on April 20th at 6.30 pm. Piano concert April 22nd at 8.30 p.m. Registered: GMs Florin Gheorghiu (ROM-winner 1990), Attila Groszpeter (HUN), Andrej Sokolov (RUS-winner 1996), Vladimir Tukmakov (UKR-winner 1992 and 1999), Zoltan Varga (HUN)and Lothar Vogt (GER), IMs Joszef Dobos (HUN) and Sandor Videki (HUN) and WGM Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska (GER).

CRANS MONTANA - The 2nd International Chess Tournament run from April 28th -May 1st

Etrier Open - open to all, 7 rounds, Swiss system. After round 5 the first four players will play a knock-out for the winner and the others continue in a Swiss system tournament. Time control: each players will have 2 hours to complete the game. Last 5 minutes without writing moves. Registered: GMs Florin Gheorghiu (ROM), Leonid Gofstein (ISR), Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska (GER), Milos Pavlovic (YUG), Vladimir Tukmakov (UKR) and IM Alexander Cherniaev Alexander (RUS).

More information: http://www.beochess.ch Robert Spoerri, Tiergarten 33, Ch-3400 Burgdorf, tel: 00/41/34/4240106; Fax: 00/41/34/4240107 E-mail: info@beochess.ch

Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2000

The Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2000 will be held 23rd-29th May 2000 in Malmö, Sweden. This year the event is a four player double round-robin event with: IGM Judit Polgar, IGM Jan Timman, IGM Ulf Andersson and IGM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

http://www.sigeman-chess.comhttp://www.sigeman-chess.com

Danish Chess Championships

Danish Chess Championships 2000 take place April 15th-24th 2000 in Aalborg, Denmark. The participants in the main group are:

GM Curt Hansen, former junior world champion
GM Lars Bo Hansen
GM Peter Heine Nielsen
GM Bent Larsen, 65 years old and a living legend in chess
GM Henrik Danielsen
GM Lars Schandorff
IM Steffen Pedersen
IM Jens-Ove Fries Nielsen
IM Klaus Berg
IM Erling Mortensen

The tournament will be broadcast live on the Internet.

Official site: http://www.dm2000.skak.stofanet.dk/index_uk.htm

Heart of Finland Tournament

10th International Heart of Finland Tournament, the biggest open tournament in Finland, will be played in Jyvaskyla, Finland 19-23.7.2000. More information: http://www.shakki.net/turnaukset/hof00/.

Tanta Open

The Tanta Open takes place 2nd-13th May 2000 in Tanta City about 90 km from Cairo-Egypt.

9 Round Swiss 40 Players ( 2 GMs ­ 10 IMs) ­ 25 Egyptian players - Time control 7 hours ­ Fischer system. Arrival 2nd May 2000 1st round 3 May, last round 12th May. Closing ceremony and departure 13th May. Play start at 4pm daily. Full Accommodation and 3 meals in a 3 star Hotel single room for GMs and double room for IMs. 1st Prize 750 U.S.$ - 2nd 650$ - 3rd 600 ­ 4th 550 ­ 5th 500 - 6th 450 ­ 7th 400 ­ 8th 350 ­ 9th 300 ­ 10th 250. 400 U.S.$ for every GM over 2500 and 250 U.S.$ for every IM over 2300 The organisers need only one player from each country and have vacancies for around 5 IMs. Free transportation inside Egypt, including to and from the Airport. 2 Free Touristic tours.

Email ecf@idsc.gov.eg and haskh@yahoo.com Contact: Hassan Khaled General Director Egyptian Chess Federation

Julian Borowski IGM event

The Julian Borowski IGM tournament in Essen takes place 26th April-5th May 2000. Group A (cat. XV) players: Alexei Dreev (2679), Vadim Milov (2653), Vadim Zvjaginsev (2641), Alexander Beliavsky (2640), Robert Huebner (2620), Curt Hansen (2618), Rustem Dautov (2602), Emil Sutovsky (2597), Igor Glek (2554) and Klaus Bischoff (2544). Group B (cat. X) has 10 players too.

Further details: http://home.t-online.de/home/jb_igm

Oakham GM

The Oakham GM takes place 11th-19th April 2000, Oakham School, Rutland, Leicestershire. Chris Ward, Danny Gormally, Neil McDonald, Colin McNab, Irina Krush, Jacob Aagaard, Nick Pert, Yochanan Afek, Patrick Hummel and Alan Norris play.

TWIC will have daily coverage from the event.

Redbus International

The Redbus group of companies, owned by Cliff Stanford, the founder of Demon Internet, have just announced that they will again be supporting an elite knockout tournament to run alongside the Southend Easter Congress. The time control will again be 100 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for the whole game with one round per day and two games per round. Matches tied at 1-1 will be decided by two ten minute games followed by sudden death blitz if necessary. The prize fund is £7,400. The full line-up for the Redbus Knockout is: Michael Adams 2715 Jon Speelman 2604 Tony Miles 2579 Bogdan Lalic 2548 John Emms 2546 Murray Chandler 2527 Glenn Flear 2519 Jim Plaskett 2515 Daniel King 2514 Chris Ward 2509 Jonathan Rowson 2499 Nigel Davies 2497 Peter Wells 2494 Mark Hebden 2493 Matthew Turner 2489 Luke McShane 2438 The Southend Easter Congress will have events for players of all strengths and is supported this year by Southend Council and The GFI group. The top section will be a seven round FIDE rated Open. Players wishing to participate at Southend should call Howard Grist On 01702 617976

Presov Chess Festival 2000

Presov Chess Festival 2000, 12th -20th August A) Grandmaster tournament (10 participants, round robin, 10th category FIDE) B) Women's grandmaster tournament (10 participants, round robin, 10th category FIDE) C) OPEN for players with Elo FIDE minim. 2100 D) National OPEN E) Accompanying programme (simultaneous game, blitz, football, ...)

Total prize fund 169 900 Sk (about $4000). There are still FREE places for players in A as well in B tournament (and of course in C and D tournaments).

Official web-pages of the Presov Chess Festival 2000 http://www.chess.vadium.sk/presov.htm

Last year: The results of the Presov Chess Festival 1999 are in TWIC250 http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic250.html#13

The organising committee of the Presov Chess Festival 2000 can be contacted at: chess@vadium.sk

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 5-11, 2000. 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.

New York Open website http://w-w-w.com/nyopen/

Send checks, money orders, or credit card information to New York Open, 21W. 46th St., Room 1004, New York, NY 10036. Tel. (212) 719-4204 Fax (212) 719-4369 e-mail: nyopen@w-w-w.com

Lausanne Young Masters

The second edition of the Olympic Capital Young Masters Tournament will take place in Lausanne between 31st May - 4th June 2000. 3 events will take place in the Casino de Montbenon. Young Masters: GMs Ponomariov, Bacrot and Grischuk take part. Masters Open for players above 2000 ELO 15 year old WGM A.Kostaniuk and other titled players compete. Also an Open for other amateur players. Information and registration on our home-page www.lausanneyoungmasters.com more information : +41.21.729.63.85 fax +41.21.729.63.31

World Seniors

The 10th World Senior Championships will be held September 10th-24th, 2000 in the small village of Rowy in Poland. The event is open to men born in 1939 or earlier and women in 1949 or earlier).

Further information: Polish and Russian language: Mr. Alfred Obszanski - Postomino, Poland, tel/fax: + 48 (59) 810-85-77 or German language: Mr. Jerzy Konikowski - Dortmund (Germany), tel/fax: +49 (231) 17-15-67 e-mail: konikowski@vobis.net

Official site: http://www.powiat.Slupsk.pl or http://www.powiat.Slupsk.pl/chess

Two Mexican Events

The Mexican National Championship and International Open, takes place 18th-23rd April in the City of Irapuato, State of Guanajuato.

Website: http://www.ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez/mexico/abiertonacional.htm (All the information is in Spanish)

In June there is an interesting quadrangular tournament between Shirov (Spain), Polgar (Hungary), Akopian (Armenia) and Gilberto Hernandez (Mexico). It will be a double round robin, running 13th-21st June 2000 in the City of Merida, State of Yucatan, with 260, 000 pesos in prizes.

There is an English Wesite for the event and at the same time there is an open tournament. Details in English on the Open here.

Veszprem Summer Tournament

VI.Veszprem Summer - HEMO Coup, International Chess Tournament from 22nd-30th July.2000. Venue: HEMO Building (Presidial Culture House) Zalka Mate square 1, Veszprem city, Hungary Organizer: HEMO Chess Society, Veszprém.

Events: "A" group - IM tournament , 10 players "B" group - Swiss type open tournament in 9 rounds according to the FIDE rules.

Entry fees: "A" group: 10.000 HUF (about 70 DM) "B" group: below FIDE 2200 3.500 HUF (25 DM) 2200 - 2299 3.000 HUF (20 DM) 2300 - 2399 2.000 HUF (13 DM) 2400 - ------ HUF Prizes: "B" group: 60.000 HUF; 40.000 HUF; 20.000 HUF; 15.000 HUF; 10.000 HUF; 5.000 HUF.

Information: Norbert Szelényi Phone number: 88-401-400 Place of work: 88-426-233 /358 (am. 8.00 - pm. 16.00) Fax number: 88-426-233 /364 (am. 8.00 - pm. 16.00) For more information E-mail to: vpinfo@veszpremtej.hu

Web pages: http://www.infornax.hu/hotelves and http://testver.sednet.hu/veszpm/e_alap.html

Frankfurt Chess Classic 2000

The Frankfurt Chess Classic 2000 takes place June 16th-25th 2000. There will be six events: The Fujitsu Siemens Giants (6 players, double round robin, 4 days, June 22nd -25th) Participants: Anand, Kasparov, Kramnik, Leko, Morozevich, Shirov. Masters (8 players, double round robin, 4 days, June 22nd to June 25th) Participants: Adams, Bareev, Ivanchuk, Rabiega (winner of the German championships), Topalov, Van Wely (winner of last years open), Yussupov and the winner of this years open tournament. Computer exhibition matches (5 players, 2 games per match, June 17th to June 18th) Participants: Anand, Kramnik, Leko, Morozevich, Shirov · Ordix Open (15 rounds swiss, 3 days, June 16th to June 18th) The winner qualifies for the Master tournament, which starts afterwards! · two simuls (June 19th, June 20th) one by Kasparov and one by Ivanchuk · two Fischer Random Chess exhibition games In all events each player has 25 minutes per game. The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of June 21st, all players are obliged to participate. The closing ceremony including price giving takes place on June 25th following the last round of the Giants. Further details: http://www.frankfurt-west.de/ChessClassic2000

soLett Chess Open 2000

soLett Chess Open 2000 will be played at Scandic Hotel, Skellefteå in the northern part of Sweden 16th-24th April 2000 . Grandmasters as Evgenij Agrest, Yuri Yakovic, Alexander Volzhin, Tiger Hillarp Persson, Vitali Golod, Nikola Mitkov, Alexei Lugovoi, Jonny Hector and Viktor Mikhalevski are registered. There will also be played a WIM-tournament: Skellefteå Kraft- Sweden Ladies International with 16 participants. Information at: http://tournament2000.tripod.com

Foxwoods Chess Open

The 2nd annual FOXWOODS CHESS OPEN April 20-23 or 21-23 7-round Swiss at the world's largest casino $100,000 prize fund. For details about entry fees etc see the website below.

Website: http://www.foxwoods.com/frm_chess.htm

Miguel Najdorf Blitz

The Club Argentino de Ajedrez in Buenos Aires is holding a blitz event on Saturday April 8th. $5.600 in prizes, starts at 18-00. 150 jugadores. Entry: $ 20 Club Members $10. 7 minutes per game. Further info: (011) 4811-9412. Arbiter, Adrián Roldán with Blas Pingas and Leandro Plotinsky. Contact: Adrian@Roldan.com. Website: http://Adrian.Roldan.com

Olomouc Opens

June 25-29, 2000 - Olomouc (CZE) "MLADI OPEN 2000" swiss system, 7 rounds 1) FIDE OPEN - for young players up to 20 years of age, 1st prize - FREE START in round-robin tournament 4th category FIDE in August in Olomouc 2) national open A - players born in 1984 and younger 3) national open B - players born in 1988 and younger Contact: Agentura 64, 783 73 Grygov 337, Czech Republic, tel./fax: ++420-68-5393327, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, WWW: http://www.proclient.cz/a64

August 2-10, 2000 - Olomouc (CZE) "OLOMOUC CHESS SUMMER 2000" 1) round-robin GM tournament 10th category FIDE (10-12 players) 2) 2 round-robin IM tournaments 4th category FIDE (10-12 players) 3) FIDE open - swiss, 9 rounds, 2/40+1, 1st prize 10000 CZK We are looking for players without title for both round robin tournaments! Contact: Agentura 64, 783 73 Grygov 337, Czech Republic, tel./fax: ++420-68-5393327, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, WWW: http://www.proclient.cz/a64

Garry Koshnitsky Memorial

The Garry Koshnitsky Memorial Australian Chess Festival is being held this year from 7 June to 13 August in memory of arguably the most important figure in Australian chess history who died last year at the age of 91. The festival commences with the Surfers Paradise Parkroyal International which is being held at a five star venue on Queensland's Gold Coast in order to give Australian players the opportunity to play top class overseas opposition. The nine round Swiss event features GMs Nikolic, Ftacnik, Rogers and Johansen and runs from 7-17 June. Whilst the Prize Fund is a modest $5,000 the playing conditions are superb and the hotel is situated in one of the world's great holiday destinations. Entry fees are IMs and GMs FOC, players rated 2300+ $150, 2200+ $250, 2100+ $350, 2000+ $450. Overseas players are half price and there are discounts for payment by 15/3/00 ($50) and 15/4/00 ($25). There are very special room rates at the Parkroyal only available to competitors ($75 single, $37.50 twin share).

The Garry Koshnitsky Festival features the following events: 7 to 17 June Parkroyal Surfers Paradise International 18 June Parkroyal Surfers Paradise Corporate challenge 19 to 23 June GM coaching in local schools 24 to 25 June Gold Coast Open 26 to 30 June GM coaching of elite Australian juniors 1 to 2 July Noosa Open 8 to 9 July Queen Victoria Building event, Sydney 15 to 16 July Australian National University Open, Canberra 24 July to 4 August Australian Masters, Reserve Bank Building, Melbourne 12 to 13 August Adelaide Weekender (Festival Finale)

Contact details: Graeme Gardiner, President Australian Chess Federation, C/O Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Queensland 4213 Phone: (+61 7 international) or (07) 5530 3777 (w); (07) 5530 5794 (h); (07) 5525 2676 (fax) Email: ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au

Bergen NOR

Tournament name : Bergen Chess International Site: Bergen, Norway. Date: 21-29th July 2000 Prize Fund : NOK 10000/6000/4000/2000/1000 + rating prizes The prize fund is garanteed. Entry fee : No entry fee for foreigners with FIDE-ELO Conditions : May be offered to a limited number of IMs/GMs. Number of rounds : 9 System : Modifed Swiss Rate of play : 2 hours/40 moves, 1 hour/20 moves, 0.5 hour/rest Side events : Rapid tournaments, GM-simuls, blitz etc

Home page : http://home.sol.no/~eirikgu/bi2000.htm

40-50 participants are expected of which there will be 5-6 GMs and 6-8 IMs. Only 6 unrated players will take part. Confirmed titled players: GM Yakovich (2580), GM Volzhin (2548), GM Gausel (2492), GM Djurhuus (2484), IM L. Johannessen (2431), IM Fyllingen (2408), IM Bern (2379) and IM Gullaksen (2353).

Politiken Cup 2000

The Politiken Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark takes place 17th-28th July 2000. There is a new venue at the Nørrebrohallen with room for 500-700 players.

Further information: http://www.kbhsu.dk

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.

The website is at: http://www.ajedrezdelfuturo.com and the English version will be up soon at: http://www.advancedchess.com

Interchess Club

The InterChess Club headed by GM Yuri Averbakh is a new server at: http://www.interchess.com It also has lectures by GMs and simuls on a regular basis.