THE WEEK IN CHESS 481 26th January 2004 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Corus Wijk aan Zee
3) Bermuda GM
4) Testa GM
5) Chennai International
6) 88th New York Masters
7) Itau Cup
8) Kurent Tournaments in Ptuj
9) 4NCL
10) Austrian Team Championships
11) Auckland International Open
12) Praha and Marianske Lazne
13) ITAG Masters Correction
14) Brazilian Open Minoxel
15) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Red Letters by Harding & Grodzensky – Unknown classics of Soviet correspondence chess, the games and stories. CD-ROM included!

Play 1.d4! by Palliser – A practical guide to the main lines after 1.d4 2.c4. The Indian Defenses, Benoni/Benko, QGD and QGA.

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Games section

Corus Wijk aan Zee            105 games
Bermuda GM                     18 games
Testa GM                       30 games
88th New York Masters           4 games
Itau Cup                       91 games
Kurent Tournaments in Ptuj     71 games
4NCL                           96 games
Austrian Team Championships   144 games
Auckland International Open   116 games
Praha and Marianske Lazne      91 games
ITAG Masters Correction         1 game
Brazilian Open Minoxel         42 games
CXSP Correction                 1 game
811 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to John Henderson, Frank-Juergen Greger, Thomas Henrich, Harald Grafenhofer, John Fernandez, Nanda Kumar, Sinisa Joksic, Gary Bekker, Robert Spörri, Herman Van Riemsdijk, Arthur F Brameld, Michiel Abeln, Geurt Gijssen, Peter Sowray, Primoz Kokalj, Gunnar Björnsson, Antonio Bento and everyone else who helped with the issue.

There are two players of the week. Viswanathan Anand is set to take over from Vladimir Kramnik in the April rating list unless the Russian can improve his rating at Linares. Anand won the Wijk aan Zee tournament for the 4th time and only had one reverse against Vesselin Topalov towards the end. The other is 13 year old Magnus Carlsen who performed to 2700 standard in winning the Wijk aan Zee C tournament. Although he has enjoyed a small profile before this he hasn't produced anything anywhere near this good before. Will this be like Fischer's breakthrough? When he reached 13 Fischer in his own words "just got good".

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Corus Wijk aan Zee

The Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee took place 9th-25th January 2004. Viswanathan Anand dominated the event and even survived a penultimate round loss to with with 8.5/13. He has become the fourth player after Euwe, Portisch and Korchnoi to win the event four times. His performance could take him past Vladimir Kramnik in the next rating list although Kramnik has a chance to add points at the Linares tournament next month. Just behind Anand were Peter Leko (the only undefeated player) and Michael Adams on 8/13. The result is Adams best for some time.

A further half point behind were Vesselin Topalov and Victor Bologan. For Bologan its a great start to the year after a very memorable 2003 where he won the Aeroflot Open which entitled him to play in the Category 18 Dortmund tournament which he then proceeded to win. He's since had a mixed set of results but this confirms his ability to compete at this level.

Vladimir Kramnik lost three games and only finished on 50%, he's still trying to find the form that helped him beat Kasparov over three years ago. Evgeny Bareev lost four games but nevertheless more or less saved his tournament by getting back to 50%. Peter Svidler disappointed, the new number 4 seemed to have a crisis of confidence towards the end of the event which ruined his tournament.

13 year old Magnus Carlsen's 2700 result was perhaps the result of the entire event. He won the tournament and over-achieved a GM norm by 1.5 points. It always hard to predict the future for such child prodigies but this was great on any level and certainly promises much, he will play in the B event next year. Lazaro Bruzon qualified for the A tournament.

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

Round 9 (January 20, 2004)

Bologan, Viktor     -  Akopian, Vladimir   1-0   59  D48  Queens Gambit Meran
Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Anand, Viswanathan  1/2   25  B92  Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Van Wely, Loek      -  Adams, Michael      1-0   96  E34  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Bareev, Evgeny      -  Timman, Jan H       0-1   40  E33  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Svidler, Peter      -  Leko, Peter         1/2   14  B31  Sicilian Rossolimo
Shirov, Alexei      -  Sokolov, Ivan       1-0   26  C72  Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz
Zhang Zhong         -  Topalov, Veselin    1/2   29  B51  Sicilian Rossolimo

Round 10 (January 22, 2004)

Leko, Peter         -  Shirov, Alexei      1/2   25  C42  Petroff's Defence
Adams, Michael      -  Anand, Viswanathan  1/2   18  B85  Sicilian Scheveningen
Topalov, Veselin    -  Bareev, Evgeny      0-1   49  C19  French Winawer
Van Wely, Loek      -  Bologan, Viktor     0-1   25  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
Akopian, Vladimir   -  Svidler, Peter      1-0   48  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Sokolov, Ivan       -  Zhang Zhong         1/2   44  E21  Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3
Timman, Jan H       -  Kramnik, Vladimir   1/2   32  E15  Queens Indian

Round 11 (January 23, 2004)

Anand, Viswanathan  -  Timman, Jan H       1-0   29  B67  Sicilian Rauzer
Bologan, Viktor     -  Adams, Michael      1/2   40  E15  Queens Indian
Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Topalov, Veselin    1/2   23  B92  Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Bareev, Evgeny      -  Sokolov, Ivan       1-0   40  D17  Slav Defence
Svidler, Peter      -  Van Wely, Loek      1/2   46  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Shirov, Alexei      -  Akopian, Vladimir   1/2   53  C99  Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Zhang Zhong         -  Leko, Peter         0-1   56  B23  Sicilian Closed

Round 12 (January 24, 2004)

Leko, Peter         -  Bareev, Evgeny      1/2   19  C10  French Rubinstein
Adams, Michael      -  Timman, Jan H       1-0   48  B69  Sicilian Rauzer
Topalov, Veselin    -  Anand, Viswanathan  1-0   44  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Bologan, Viktor     -  Svidler, Peter      1-0   39  D76  Gruenfeld 3.g3
Van Wely, Loek      -  Shirov, Alexei      1/2   50  D19  Slav Defence
Akopian, Vladimir   -  Zhang Zhong         1/2   61  C92  Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Sokolov, Ivan       -  Kramnik, Vladimir   1-0   41  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian

Round 13 (January 25, 2004)

Anand, Viswanathan  -  Sokolov, Ivan       1/2   14  C96  Ruy Lopez
Kramnik, Vladimir   -  Leko, Peter         1/2   65  E15  Queens Indian
Bareev, Evgeny      -  Akopian, Vladimir   1-0   55  E38  Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Svidler, Peter      -  Adams, Michael      1/2   26  C96  Ruy Lopez
Shirov, Alexei      -  Bologan, Viktor     0-1   40  C42  Petroff's Defence
Zhang Zhong         -  Van Wely, Loek      1/2   49  B31  Sicilian Rossolimo
Timman, Jan H       -  Topalov, Veselin    0-1   57  A40  Unusual Replies to 1.d4


GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 10-25 i 2004                 cat. XIX (2702)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Anand, Viswanathan  g IND 2766 * = = 0 = = = 1 = 1 1 = 1 1  8.5  2807
 2 Leko, Peter         g HUN 2722 = * = = 1 = = = = = = = 1 1  8.0  2787
 3 Adams, Michael      g ENG 2720 = = * = = 1 0 1 = = = = 1 1  8.0  2787
 4 Topalov, Veselin    g BUL 2735 1 = = * 1 = = 0 0 1 = = = 1  7.5  2756
 5 Bologan, Viktor     g MDA 2679 = 0 = 0 * = 1 = 1 1 1 1 = 0  7.5  2760
 6 Kramnik, Vladimir   g RUS 2777 = = 0 = = * 1 = 1 0 = 0 1 =  6.5  2696
 7 Van Wely, Loek      g NED 2617 = = 1 = 0 0 * = = = = = = 1  6.5  2708
 8 Bareev, Evgeny      g RUS 2714 0 = 0 1 = = = * 0 1 1 1 = 0  6.5  2701
 9 Svidler, Peter      g RUS 2747 = = = 1 0 0 = 1 * 0 = = = =  6.0  2669
10 Akopian, Vladimir   g ARM 2693 0 = = 0 0 1 = 0 1 * = 1 = =  6.0  2673
11 Shirov, Alexei      g ESP 2736 0 = = = 0 = = 0 = = * 1 = 1  6.0  2670
12 Sokolov, Ivan       g NED 2706 = = = = 0 1 = 0 = 0 0 * = =  5.0  2614
13 Zhang Zhong         g CHN 2639 0 0 0 = = 0 = = = = = = * 1  5.0  2619
14 Timman, Jan H       g NED 2578 0 0 0 0 1 = 0 1 = = 0 = 0 *  4.0  2570
------------------------------------------------------------------------

GMB Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 10-25 i 2004                    cat. XIII (2561)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Bruzon, Lazaro          g CUB 2603 * = = 0 = 1 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 1  9.0  2698
 2 Dominguez, Lenier       g CUB 2605 = * = = 1 = = = = = 1 1 = 1  8.5  2667
 3 Fressinet, Laurent      g FRA 2636 = = * 0 1 0 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 =  8.0  2641
 4 Nakamura, Hikaru        g USA 2571 1 = 1 * 0 = 0 1 = = = 1 1 0  7.5  2616
 5 Granda Zuniga, Julio E  g PER 2581 = 0 0 1 * = 1 1 1 0 = 0 1 1  7.5  2615
 6 Stellwagen, Daniel      m NED 2489 0 = 1 = = * = 1 0 1 = 0 = =  6.5  2566
 7 Naiditsch, Arkadij      g GER 2576 0 = 1 1 0 = * = 1 0 0 1 0 1  6.5  2559
 8 Tiviakov, Sergei        g NED 2600 = = 0 0 0 0 = * 1 = 1 1 = 1  6.5  2557
 9 Stefanova, Antoaneta    g BUL 2478 1 = = = 0 1 0 0 * = = 0 = 1  6.0  2537
10 Zhu Chen                g CHN 2495 0 = 0 = 1 0 1 = = * 0 0 1 =  5.5  2508
11 Hamdouchi, Hichem       g MAR 2588 0 0 0 = = = 1 0 = 1 * = 0 =  5.0  2471
12 Nijboer, Friso          g NED 2586 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 = * = 0  5.0  2471
13 Lobron, Eric            g GER 2497 0 = 0 0 0 = 1 = = 0 1 = * =  5.0  2478
14 Van der Wiel, John      g NED 2542 0 0 = 1 0 = 0 0 0 = = 1 = *  4.5  2451
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 10-25 i 2004                      cat. IX (2454)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Carlsen, Magnus        m NOR 2484 * 1 = 1 1 1 1 0 = = 1 1 1 1  10.5  2702
 2 Ernst, Sipke           m NED 2474 0 * 1 1 = = 1 = = 1 1 1 1 1  10.0  2663
 3 Smeets, Jan            m NED 2505 = 0 * = 1 = 0 1 1 1 = 1 1 1   9.0  2590
 4 Pavlovic, Milos        g SCG 2548 0 0 = * = = 1 0 = 1 1 1 1 1   8.0  2533
 5 Werle, Jan             m NED 2407 0 = 0 = * 0 = = 1 1 1 1 1 1   8.0  2544
 6 Gagunashvili, Merab    g GEO 2583 0 = = = 1 * = 1 = 0 1 0 1 1   7.5  2500
 7 Bosboom-Lanchava, Tea wg NED 2323 0 0 1 0 = = * 1 = 1 0 1 1 1   7.5  2520
 8 Pavasovic, Dusko       g SLO 2615 1 = 0 1 = 0 0 * 0 = = 1 1 1   7.0  2470
 9 Lahno, Kateryna        m UKR 2493 = = 0 = 0 = = 1 * = = 0 1 1   6.5  2450
10 Janssen, Ruud          m NED 2489 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 = = * = 1 1 1   6.0  2421
11 Popov, Valerij         g RUS 2580 0 0 = 0 0 0 1 = = = * 1 1 1   6.0  2414
12 Peng Zhaoqin           m NED 2419 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 * = 1   3.5  2281
13 Etmans, Maarten D      f NED 2225 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = * =   1.0  2070
14 Barendse, Ted            NED 2206 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = *   0.5  1971
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Bermuda GM

A six player double round GM Tournament took place in the Fourways Inn in Bermuda, 15th-25th January 2004. For the second year running Giovanni Vescovi took first place. This time it was with a 2800 performance! News Nigel Freeman.

Website likely to be: http://www.bermuda.bm/chess/

Round 5 (January 19, 2004)

Vescovi, Giovanni    -  Iordachescu, Viorel  1/2   32  B19  Caro Kann
Movsesian, Sergei    -  Shabalov, Alexander  1-0   42  B70  Sicilian Dragon
Macieja, Bartlomiej  -  Gelfand, Boris       0-1   33  B23  Sicilian Closed

Round 6 (January 21, 2004)

Gelfand, Boris       -  Movsesian, Sergei    1/2   38  E92  King's Indian Classical
Iordachescu, Viorel  -  Shabalov, Alexander  0-1   61  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Macieja, Bartlomiej  -  Vescovi, Giovanni    0-1   28  C54  Giuoco Piano

Round 7 (January 22, 2004)

Movsesian, Sergei    -  Vescovi, Giovanni    1/2   44  C91  Ruy Lopez
Iordachescu, Viorel  -  Macieja, Bartlomiej  1/2   51  B48  Sicilian Paulsen
Shabalov, Alexander  -  Gelfand, Boris       0-1   47  B96  Sicilian Najdorf

Round 8 (January 23, 2004)

Vescovi, Giovanni    -  Shabalov, Alexander  1-0   41  C00  French Defence
Gelfand, Boris       -  Iordachescu, Viorel  1/2   41  C42  Petroff's Defence
Macieja, Bartlomiej  -  Movsesian, Sergei    0-1   59  B81  Sicilian Keres Attack

Round 9 (January 24, 2004)

Gelfand, Boris       -  Macieja, Bartlomiej  1/2   41  A33  English Symmetrical
Iordachescu, Viorel  -  Vescovi, Giovanni    1/2   21  C54  Giuoco Piano
Shabalov, Alexander  -  Movsesian, Sergei    1/2   55  E94  King's Indian Classical

Round 10 (January 25, 2004)

Vescovi, Giovanni    -  Gelfand, Boris       1-0   93  D17  Slav Defence
Movsesian, Sergei    -  Iordachescu, Viorel  1/2   20  C42  Petroff's Defence
Macieja, Bartlomiej  -  Shabalov, Alexander  1-0   26  B75  Sicilian Modern Dragon

It Bermuda BER (BER), 15-25 i 2004             cat. XVI (2649)
--------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1  2  3  4  5  6 
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Vescovi, Giovanni    g BRA 2633 ** =1 == == 11 =1  7.0  2800
2 Gelfand, Boris       g ISR 2709 =0 ** == 1= 11 1=  6.5  2746
3 Movsesian, Sergei    g SVK 2639 == == ** == 1= =1  6.0  2722
4 Iordachescu, Viorel  g MDA 2634 == 0= == ** 00 1=  4.0  2579
5 Shabalov, Alexander  g USA 2623 00 00 0= 11 ** 10  3.5  2543
6 Macieja, Bartlomiej  g POL 2653 =0 0= =0 0= 01 **  3.0  2498
--------------------------------------------------------------

4) Testa GM

The TESTA-GM-Tournament takes place 20th-28th January 2004 in Griesheim (near Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany). 9 Round Robin with maximum playing time of 7 hours. After six rounds GM Dimitrij Bunzmann leads the Category X event with 4,5 points. My thanks to Frank-Juergen Greger.

Internet coverage: http://www.schachverein-griesheim.de/2004gm/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Testa GM Griesheim GER (GER), 20-28 i 2004              cat. X (2476)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Bunzmann, Dimitrij     g GER 2542  * = = = 1 1 . . 1 .  4.5  2681 
 2. Kunin, Vitaly          m GER 2425  = * . = = = 1 . = .  3.5  2562 
 3. Milov, Leonid          m UKR 2452  = . * . = 1 0 1 . =  3.5  2529 
 4. Savchenko, Stanislav   g UKR 2543  = = . * . . 1 = = =  3.5  2516 
 5. Ginsburg, Gennadij     m GER 2486  0 = = . * . 1 = . =  3.0  2450 
 6. Prusikin, Michael      m GER 2519  0 = 0 . . * . 1 = 1  3.0  2462 
 7. Drabke, Lorenz         m GER 2439  . 0 1 0 0 . * . 1 =  2.5  2419 
 8. Grabarczyk, Bogdan     m POL 2402  . . 0 = = 0 . * = 1  2.5  2434 
 9. Galdunts, Sergey       g ARM 2506  0 = . = . = 0 = * .  2.0  2353 
10. Murdzia, Piotr         m POL 2445  . . = = = 0 = 0 . *  2.0  2348 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

5) Chennai International

1st International Open Chess Tournament organised by the Saranya Chess Centre and WIN TV, takes place in Chennai (Madras), India, January 21st to February 1st, 2004.

Alexandre Fominyh and Mahmood Lodhi lead on 6/7. I will round up the results and games next week.

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

Leading Round 8 Pairings:
1 Lodhi, Mahmood     PAK 2395 [6]   : Fominyh, Alexandre    RUS 2559 [6] 
2 Preetham Sharma    IND 2279 [5.5] : Smirnov, Pavel        RUS 2609 [5.5]
3 Timoshenko, Georgy UKR 2564 [5.5] : Iskusnyh, Sergei      RUS 2482 [5.5]
4 Iuldachev, Saidali UZB 2559 [5.5] : Kidambi, Sundararajan IND 2437 [5.5]
5 Dzhumaev, Marat    UZB 2498 [5.5] : Shetty, Rahul         IND 2382 [5.5]
6 Humpy, Koneru      IND 2498 [5.5] : Venkatesh, M.R        IND 2392 [5.5]
7 Ziaur Rahman       BAN 2492 [5.5] : Vishal Sareen         IND 2371 [5.5]

6) 88th New York Masters

Jaan Ehlvest won the 88th New York Masters on 20th January 2004 with 4/4. A record 7 GMs played. News John Fernandez.

Links: http://www.newyorkmasters.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------
88th New York Masters Action USA (USA), 20 i 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1   2   3   4   Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   1. Ehlvest, Jaan          g EST 2599 + 8 + 5 + 2 + 3   4.0  ($310)
   2. Becerra, Julio         g USA 2569 +11 + 4 - 1 + 9   3.0  ($ 70)
   3. Blatny, Pavel          g CZE 2452 +16 + 9 + 7 - 1   3.0  ($ 70)
   4. Wojtkiewicz, Aleks     g USA 2564 +12 - 2 +10 = 7   2.5
   5. Stripunsky, Alex       g USA 2553 +15 - 1 = 9 +11   2.5
   6. Fierro, Martha        wg ECU 2310 --- =   +14 +10   2.5  ($ 90)
   7. Izoria, Zviad          g GEO 2553 =10 + 8 - 3 = 4   2.0
   8. Vovsha, Eli            m ISR 2441 - 1 - 7 +12 +13   2.0
   9. Kacheishvili, Giorgi   g GEO 2598 +13 - 3 = 5 - 2   1.5
  10. Bonin, Jay             m USA 2330 = 7 +12 - 4 - 6   1.5
  11. Privman, Boris         f USA 2241 - 2 +15 =13 - 5   1.5
  12. Sarkar, Justin         m USA 2375 - 4 -10 - 8 +14   1.0
  13. Shevelev, Danny        f ISR 2310 - 9 =14 =11 - 8   1.0
  14. Daftani, Marajudin       USA 2156 --- =13 - 6 -12   0.5
  15. Furdzik, Rafal           USA 2251 - 5 -11 --- ---   0.0
  16. Widmaier, Marc           USA 2062 - 3 --- --- ---   0.0

PRIZES
1ST   - $310
2ND   - $100
3RD   - $ 40
U2400 - $ 90

7) Itau Cup

The Copa Itaú takes place in São Paulo Chess Club. The open has 164 competitors with 4 GMs and 10IMs. After three rounds, 10 players still have a perfect score. The tournament marks the 450th Anniversary of the foundation of São Paulo, which will happen on January 25th 2004. Gilberto Milos took first place on tie-break from Everaldo Matsuura both made 7.5/9. I give the first two rounds again as this isn't the 17th Itau Cup as I mistakenly said last week. News from Herman Van Riemsdijk.

There is also one corrected game from the CXSP Sao Paulo tournament last year.

Standings: http://200.246.90.112/HiperChess/torneios/2004/Itau2004_SP450.htm

Leading Final Round 9 Standings
----------------------------------------------------------------
Itau Cup 450th Ann Sao Paulo BRA (BRA), 17-24 i 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Milos, Gilberto                g  BRA 2594 7.5  19046 39.5
 2. Matsuura, Everaldo             m  BRA 2460 7.5  18453 39.0
 3. Rodriguez, Andres              g  URU 2485 7    18729 39.0
 4. Leitao, Rafael                 g  BRA 2566 7    18628 38.0
 5. Panno, Oscar                   g  ARG 2485 7    18414 38.0
 6. Vera, I Jorge                     PAR 2338 6.5      0 36.5
 7. Valiente, Cristobal            m  PAR 2332 6.5      0 36.0
 8. Van Riemsdijk, Herman C        m  BRA 2409 6.5      0 36.0
 9. Madeira, Wagner Martins           BRA 2215 6.5      0 35.5
10. Giaccio, Alfredo               m  ARG 2470 6.5      0 35.5
11. Santos, M.V.M                     BRA 2311 6.5      0 35.0
12. Maia, Luciano                     BRA 2273 6.5      0 34.5
13. Pereira, Silvio C                 BRA 2237 6.5      0 34.0
14. Coelho, Luis                   m  BRA 2401 6.5      0 34.0
15. D'Israel, Davy                    ARG 2291 6.5      0 33.5
16. Toth, Christian Endre          m  BRA 2344 6.5      0 33.5
17. Marques, Vinicius              m  BRA 2403 6.5      0 33.5
18. Soppe, Guillermo               m  ARG 2435 6.5      0 33.0
19. Nogueira, Ivan K                  BRA 2251 6.5      0 32.0
20. Pelikian, Jefferson            m  BRA 2414 6        0 34.5
21. Bachmann, Axel                    PAR 2225 6        0 31.5
22. Burgos, Marcelo Alves             BRA 2154 6        0 31.0
23. Souza Neves, Andrey M             BRA 2175 6        0 30.0
24. Chiaramitara, Pedro jr            BRA 2089 6        0 29.5
25. De Lima, Diogo Nakasawa           BRA 2073 6        0 29.0
26. Santos, Alexandre de Oliveira     BRA ---- 6        0 27.5
27. De Haro, Martim                   BRA 2132 6        0 27.5
28. Limberg, Estácio Vermelho         BRA ---- 6        0 26.0
167 players

8) Kurent Tournaments in Ptuj

The Kurent men's and women's tournament took place in Ptuj 2003, Slovenia 30th November - 6th December 2003. Vitali Koziak won the men's event with 7.5/10 and Jana Krivec won the women's event with 7.5/9. My thanks to Primoz Kokalj.

Internet coverage: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0311/kurent/

Kurent Men Ptuj SLO (SLO), 30 xi-6 xii 2003     cat. V (2357)
-------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1  2  3  4  5  6 
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 Koziak, Vitali      m UKR 2460 ** == 1= 11 == 11  7.5  2528
2 Kozakov, Mikhail    g UKR 2457 == ** =0 11 1= ==  6.0  2408
3 Podkriznik, Gregor  f SLO 2341 0= =1 ** == == ==  5.0  2359
4 Illijin, Neboisa    m ROM 2271 00 00 == ** =1 11  4.5  2337
5 Bratovic, Blaz      f SLO 2366 == 0= == =0 ** ==  4.0  2282
6 Roskar, Robert        SLO 2244 00 == == 00 == **  3.0  2230
-------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Kurent Women Ptuj SLO (SLO), 30 xi-6 xii 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Krivec, Jana        wm SLO 2313  * = = 1 1 1 1 1 = 1  7.5  2492 
 2. Lakos, Nikoletta    wg HUN 2370  = * = = = 1 1 1 1 1  7.0  2433 
 3. Medic, Mirjana      wg CRO 2271  = = * = = = 1 1 = 1  6.0  2349 
 4. Olarasu, Gabriela   wg ROM 2318  0 = = * = 1 = 1 1 =  5.5  2299 
 5. Rozic, Vesna        wf SLO 2188  0 = = = * 1 = = = 0  4.0  2190 
 6. Srebrnic, Ana       wf SLO 2241  0 0 = 0 0 * 1 . 1 1  3.5  2188 
 7. Mihevc, Narcisa     wf SLO 2145  0 0 0 = = 0 * 1 0 1  3.0  2113 
 8. Kaps, Darja         wm SLO 2202  0 0 0 0 = . 0 * 1 1  2.5  2090 
 9. Novak, Ksenija      wf SLO 2119  = 0 = 0 = 0 1 0 * 0  2.5  2075 
10. Todorovic, Violeta     SCG 2125  0 0 0 = 1 0 0 0 1 *  2.5  2074 
--------------------------------------------------------------------

9) 4NCL

Round 3 and 4 of the 4NCL took place 17th-18th January 2004. Wood Green and Betsson.com shared a 4-4 draw in round 3 and also the lead in the event. However in the next round Wood Green were also held by Slough whilst Betsson beat MICRO MARK. NWE. Games now available. My thanks to Arthur Brameld and Peter Sowray.

Official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk

RD 4   WOOD GREEN 1      2526 4 - 4 SLOUGH 1               2366 
1 w Speelman, Jonathan S 2578 ½ - ½ Wells, Peter K         2493 
2 b McShane, Luke        2651 1 - 0 Shaw, John *           2465 
3 w Baburin, Alexander   2541 ½ - ½ McNab, Colin A         2388 
4 b Lalic, Bogdan        2518 ½ - ½ Houska, Jovanka (F)    2370 
5 w Turner, Matthew J    2506 1 - 0 Howell, David W L      2304 
6 b Ward, Christopher    2522 ½ - ½ Dearing, Eddie         2376 
7 w Emms, John M         2501 0 - 1 Devereaux, Maxim       2331 
8 b Hunt, Harriet (F)    2392 0 - 1 Smith, Andrew P        2198 

RD 4   BARBICAN 4NCL 2   2322 6½-1½ WARWICKS. SELECT       2158 
1 w Collinson, Adam      2391 ½ - ½ Hynes, Anthony         2289 
2 b Trent, Lawrence      2377 ½ - ½ Thomas, Nicholas       2263 
3 w Taylor, Martin R     2332 1 - 0 James, Russell A       2209 
4 b Woodward, Timothy    2344 ½ - ½ Wu, Li                 2167 
5 w Rogers, Jonathan W   2338 1 - 0 Pitcher, John          2185 
6 b Berry, Neil          2285 1 - 0 Hunt, Malcolm A (Res)  1992 
7 w Cox, John J          2310 1 - 0 Baruch, Andrew J D     2106 
8 b Regan, Natasha (F)   2202 1 - 0 Chevannes, Sabrina (F) 2052 

RD 4   WOOD GREEN 2      2343 2 - 6 BARBICAN 4NCL 1        2388 
1 w Littlewood, Paul E   2390 0 - 1 Parker, Jonathan       2541 
2 b Sowray, Peter J      2360 0 - 1 Kelly, Brian           2499 
3 w Martin, Andrew D     2429 ½ - ½ Knott, Simon           2370 
4 b Rechel, Bernd        2420 0 - 1 Palliser, Richard      2399 
5 w Tiller, Bjorn        2382 ½ - ½ Collins, Sam           2392 
6 b Tan, Desmond         2332 ½ - ½ D'Costa, Lorin A R     2351 
7 w Law, Andrew P        2310 ½ - ½ Ferguson, Mark         2381 
8 b Gilbert,Jessie (F)   2122 0 - 1 Lauterbach, Ingrid (F) 2171 

RD 4   RICHMOND          2281 1½-6½ GUILDFORD-ADC 1        2442 
1 w Wall, Gavin          2413 ½ - ½ Rowson, Jonathan       2547 
2 b Van de Griendt, Jan  2373 0 - 1 Flear, Glenn C         2489 
3 w Bates, Richard A     2376 1 - 0 Kosten, Anthony C      2507 
4 b Hinks-Edwards,Thomas 2357 0 - 1 Cherniaev, Alexander   2496 
5 w Franklin, Michael J  2224 0 - 1 Gormally, Daniel W     2471 
6 b Nixon, Thomas C M    2209 0 - 1 King, Daniel J         2497 
7 w Wilson,Alexandra (F) 2014 0 - 1 Prie, Eric             2429 
8 b default                   0 - 1 Yurenok, Maria S (F)   2100 

RD 4   MICRO MARK. NWE 1 2309 3 - 5 BETSSON.COM            2373 
1 w Sebag, Marie (F) *   2404 1 - 0 Pert, Nicholas         2504 
2 b Ghasi, Ameet K       2344 0 - 1 Williams, Simon K      2396 
3 w Hanley, Craig A      2322 1 - 0 Hunt, Adam C           2411 
4 b Crouch, Colin S      2365 0 - 1 Dworakowska,Joanna (F) 2370 
5 w Kennaugh, Charles W  2290 0 - 1 Ansell, Simon          2371 
6 b van der Linden,Lukas 2275 ½ - ½ Pert, Richard G        2424 
7 w Lund, D Brett        2231 0 - 1 Eames, Robert G        2295 
8 b Charleshouse, Glenn  2238 ½ - ½ Ledger, Stephen C      2211 

RD 4   THE ADS 1         2300 4 - 4 NUMERICA 3CS 1         2290 
1 w Chandler, Murray G   2508 ½ - ½ Davies, Nigel R        2502 
2 b Mestel, A Jonathan   2496 1 - 0 Arkell, Keith C        2531 
3 w Snape, Ian           2251 ½ - ½ Gordon, Stephen J      2284 
4 b Lyell, Mark          2272 0 - 1 Clarke, Stuart W       2310 
5 w Wheeler, Darren P    2243 ½ - ½ Bentley, John L        2218 
6 b Anderton, David W    2256 0 - 1 Ashton, Adam G         2235 
7 w Wallace, Paul        2166 ½ - ½ Walton, Alan J         2126 
8 b Bellin, Jana (F)     2209 1 - 0 Kosteniuk, Oxana (F)   2113 

Division 1 tables

Team  Won  Drawn  Lost  Points
BETSSON.COM        3  1  0  7  
GUILDFORD-ADC 1    3  0  1  6  
BARBICAN 4NCL 1    2  2  0  6  
WOOD GREEN 1       2  2  0  6  
BARBICAN 4NCL 2    2  1  1  5  
THE ADS 1          1  2  1  4  
NUMERICA 3CS 1     0  3  1  3  
WOOD GREEN 2       1  1  2  3  
MICRO MARK. NWE 1  1  1  2  3  
RICHMOND           1  1  2  3  
SLOUGH 1           0  2  2  1 *
WARWICKS. SELECT   0  0  4  0

10) Austrian Team Championships

Rounds 4-7 of the Austrian Team Championships took place in Velden 22th-25th January 2004 in Austria.

Live coverage: http://www.members.aon.at/schach1/live/start8.htm

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

Round 7 Standings:
  1 SK Hohenems                     27.5    19
  2 SC Admiral Sparkasse Fürstenfe  24.5    13
  3 SV NÖ Melk-Wachau               23.5    10
  4 Union Ansfelden                 23.0    12
  5 SV United Chocolates Tschatura  21.5    14
  6 SV Frohnleiten                  21.5    10
  7 SC Die Klagenfurter             21.0     9
  8 Sparkasse Schwarzach            20.0    11
  9 ESV Austria Graz                18.0     7
 10 SK Sparkasse Gleisdorf          18.0     6
 11 SK Sparkasse Jenbach            18.0     2
 12 1. Wr. Neustädter SV            15.5     4

11) Auckland International Open

The Howick & Pakuranga Times Auckland International Open took place 19th-23rd January 2004. Australians Darryl Johansen and Guy West finished on 7/9. Johansen taking first on tie-break. My thanks to Gary Bekker.

Internet coverage: http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/auckland/

---------------------------------------------------------
Open Auckland NZL (NZL), 19-23 i 2004
---------------------------------------------------------
 1. Johansen, Darryl K   g  AUS 2519  7.0 38.0 34.0 2421 
 2. West, Guy            m  AUS 2352  7.0 38.0 34.0 2445 
 3. Wang, Puchen            NZL 2181  6.0 39.0 32.5 2373 
 4. Reilly, Tim          f  AUS 2297  6.0 39.0 31.5 2293 
 5. Koeller, Oliver      f  GER 2224  6.0 35.5 32.0 2281 
 6. Watson, Bruce R      f  NZL 2276  5.5 37.0 30.0 2270 
 7. Compton, Alistair       NZL 2052  5.5 35.0 26.0 2254 
 8. Smith, Robert W      f  NZL 2294  5.0 38.0 30.0 2209 
 9. Mc Laren, Leonard       NZL 2275  5.0 34.5 25.5 2149 
10. Thornton, Gino          NZL 1957  5.0 34.0 23.5 2195 
11. Goodhue, Nathan         NZL 2127  5.0 32.0 24.5 2104 
12. Bennett, Hilton         NZL 2064  5.0 32.0 24.0 2141 
13. Reedy, Brendan          NZL 2094  5.0 28.0 22.5 2089 
14. Xu,David                NZL ----  5.0 27.0 21.0 2087 
15. Van der Hoorn, Mark     NZL 2143  4.5 36.5 26.0 2135 
16. Gibbons, Robert         NZL 2088  4.5 29.5 22.0 2083 
17. Bekker, Gary            AUS 1863  4.5 29.5 19.0 2090 
18. Otene, Edith            NZL 1963  4.5 28.0 19.0 2083 
19. Mararoa,Sue             NZL ----  4.0 30.0 18.0 2031 
20. Vital,Henry             NZL ----  3.5 35.0 22.5 2035 
21. Booth,Tony              NZL ----  3.5 27.5 17.0 2008 
22. Zhang,Michael           NZL ----  3.5 26.5 15.5 1919 
23. Smith, Vivian           NZL ----  3.0 26.5 15.5 1920 
24. Gloistein,Bruce         NZL ----  2.5 25.5 13.5 1850 
25. Mararoa,Andrew          NZL ----  1.0 25.5  6.0 1643 
26. Chen,Eachen             NZL ----  0.0 26.0  0.0      
---------------------------------------------------------

12) Praha and Marianske Lazne

The Praha Open 2004 took place 16th-23rd January 2004. Ramil Hasangatin and Michael Hennigan finished on 7.5/9. A selection of games from the first 8 rounds only is available.

Underway at the moment is the Marianske Lazne Open 2004 24th-31st January 2004 and alongside is the 2nd round robin master tournament.

Links: http://www.avekont.cz/praha/ and http://www.avekont.cz/marianky/

-------------------------------------------------------
Open Praha CZE (CZE), 16-23 i 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
 1. Hasangatin, Ramil        g  RUS 2515 7½ 40  56 
 2. Hennigan, Michael        m  ENG 2434 7½ 39  55 
 3. Cernousek, Lukas            CZE 2375 7  39  52 
 4. Vokac, Marek             g  CZE 2460 7  38½ 54½
 5. Neumeier, Klaus          f  AUT 2280 7  38½ 53 
 6. Kislov, Mikhail          m  RUS 2360 7  38  54 
 7. Zemerov, Vladimir        m  RUS 2323 7  36½ 52½
 8. Trichkov, Vasil          m  CZE 2325 6½ 36½ 54 
 9. Karhanek, Pavel             CZE 2159 6½ 34½ 53 
10. Meduna, Eduard           g  CZE 2432 6½ 34  50½
11. Zavadsky, Peter             SVK 2256 6½ 34  46 
12. Studnicka, Tomas            CZE 2334 6½ 33  45½
13. Stoeckmann, Helmut          GER 2178 6½ 29½ 43½
14. Tscharotschkin, Michael     GER 2220 6½ 28  38½
147 players

13) ITAG Masters Correction

The ITAG masters featured Vlastimil Hort, Andei Sokolov, Yannik Pelletier and Florian Jenni. The Venue was the Hilton’s amphitheater. The first two round were very peaceful, all fighting draws, long games with an unpopular end. Finally in the last round both games were decisive.

There is an important correction to the game and results. Yannick Pelletier beate Vlastimil Hort in the final round. Games and results below have been corrected.

Round 3 (January 4, 2004)

Hort, Vlastimil     -  Pelletier, Yannick  0-1   75  B67  Sicilian Rauzer

------------------------------------------------------
ITAG Basel SUI (SUI), 1-4 i 2004      cat. XIII (2558)
------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 
------------------------------------------------------
1. Sokolov, Andrei1     g FRA 2585  * = = 1  2.0  2674 
2. Pelletier, Yannick   g SUI 2587  = * 1 =  2.0  2673 
3. Hort, Vlastimil      g GER 2543  = 0 * =  1.0  2438 
4. Jenni, Florian       g SUI 2518  0 = = *  1.0  2446 
------------------------------------------------------

14) Brazilian Open Minoxel

Antonio Bento reports: Brazilian Open Minoxel took place January 8th-11th 2004 (87 players included 2 MI, 1MF amongst 30 FIDE rated players) played usually at the Torre Palace Hotel, Brasília DF, Brazil. MI Luís Henrique Coelho (performance over 2585) and Felipe El Debs (performance over 2532) shared first place . MI Coelho had best Buchholz score. MI Everaldo Matsuura took 3rd place with MF Marco Asfora and Juliano Resende The event was the first qualifier tournament open (2 places) for the Brazilian 2004 Final Chess Championships.

Site: http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/ Pairing, results, cross table, at http://www.persocom.com.br/bcx/aberto2004fim.htm games now available.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Brazilian Open Minoxel BRA (BRA), 8-11 i 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Coelho, Luis                     m  BRA 2401 5.5    24.0
 2. El Debs, Felipe de Cresce           BRA 2289 5.5    22.5
 3. Matsuura, Everaldo               m  BRA 2460 5      26.0
 4. Asfora, Marco                    f  BRA 2271 5      22.5
 5. Resende, Juliano                 f  BRA 2248 5      21.0
 6. Valle, Adriano                      BRA 2262 4.5    22.5
 7. Damasceno, Marlos A                 BRA 2204 4.5    22.0
 8. Molina, Roberto Junio Brito         BRA 2227 4.5    21.0
 9. Lucena, Lincoln                     BRA 2187 4.5    20.0
10. Navarro, Luis                       BRA 2025 4.5    18.5
11. Roland, Marcos                      USA 2151 4.5    18.0
87 players

15) Forthcoming Events and Links

3rd Aeroflot Chess Festival

The 3rd Aeroflot Festival takes place in Hotel Rossija in Moscow, 16th-26th February 2004.

There are 3 tournaments: Tournament A for players rated 2450 and more Tournament B for players rated 2200 and more but lower than 2450 Tournament C for players rated under 2200 and unrated players. The tournaments are 9 rounds Swiss tournaments. The total prize fund is $ 150.000.

The organising committee offers packages for Aeroflot tickets, hotel and entry fee. It is also possible to fly with Air France to Moscow from airports, that are destinations of Air France (Latin America, South America, Far East, Australia), but not Aeroflot. The Aeroflot packages prices are mentioned on the website of the tournament.

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

For the Air France packages contact the Association of Chess Federations in Moscow: Tel/fax: +7095-2918578 or +7095-4186584 or E-mail: chess@sovintel.ru.

GibTelecom Chess Festival

The GibTelecom Chess Festival takes place January 27th to February 5th, 2004 at the 4 star Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar.

Leading players: Nigel Short England GM 2702 Alexei Dreev Russia GM 2682 Vladimir Epishin Russia GM 2633 Ernesto Inarkiev Russia GM 2606 Lenier Dominguez Cuba GM 2605 Lazaro Bruzon Cuba GM 2603 Vasilios Kotronias Cyprus GM 2598

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

Cogas Energy Timman vs Van Wely Match

The Cogas Energy Match will take place 8th-10th April 2004. The 4 game match will be between Jan Timman and Loek Van Wely. Alongside the match will be a 6 round Swiss Grandmaster tournament with a prizefund of several 1000 Euro.

More information Albert Vasse +31 (0)6 53871200 or e-mail schaken@cogas.nl

The event will be broadcast live at http://www.cogas.nl

CFC Cup

Correspondence Chess server of Chessfriend.com has a new free competition. The CFC Cup 2004 allows interested players to test the server without entry fees by playing a real tournament where ELO and titles are available.

More details: http://www.chessfriend.com

Serpukhov Chess Festival

Serpukhov Chess Festival (near Moscow) takes place 22nd January - 3rd February 2004. Only results available at the moment in Russian, no games.

Official site: http://www.volgachess.ru/f/TEKSTA.htm

75th German Championships

The 75th German Championships take place in Höckendorf 29th January - 7th February 2004. 46 players compete in this 9 round Swiss. Top 10 players: 1. Graf,Alexander GM 2629 2. Naiditsch,Arkadij GM 2576 3. Gustafsson,Jan GM 2572 4. Luther,Thomas GM 2572 5. Bischoff,Klaus GM 2561 6. Kritz,Leonid GM 2534 7. Rabiega,Robert GM 2527 8. Kalinitschew,Serg GM 2519 9. Müller,Karsten GM 2517 10. Tischbierek,Raj GM 2507

Internet coverage: http://www.dem2004.schach.com/

Jón Þorsteinsson Memorial Tournament

The Jón Þorsteinsson Memorial Chess Tournament takes place in Reykjavík, Iceland 28th-29th February 2004, in honour of his 80th birthday. Jón Þorsteinsson was a Member of Parliament, a lawyer and a widely respected chess player in Iceland. The weekend tournament features prizes totalling ISK600,000 (US $8,600).

The Memorial Tournament is organized by The Reykjavík Chess Club (Taflfélag Reykjavíkur) and Hellir Chess Club (Taflfélagið Hellir), together with Jón Þorsteinsson's family. The tournament, which will be staged one week prior to the bi-annual 2004 Reykjavík Open is expected to attract Iceland's strongest players as well as several international players.

The format of the tournament is highly innovative. The participants will begin each game from a position selected by a special tournament committee and disclosed at the beginning of each round.

There will be nine (9) rounds, Swiss System, in the tournament, each comprising of two 15-minute games where participants play each consisting of position with both white and black.

The positions will be selected to test the versatility and positional skills of the players rather than their knowledge of opening theory.

Leading players Helgi Ólafsson 2530 Þröstur Þórhallsson 2470 Jón Viktor Gunnarsson 2425 Stefán Kristjánsson 2410 Bragi Þorfinnsson 2410 Arnar Gunnarsson 2355 Sigurður Daði Sigfússon 2335

Website: http://www.chess.is/memorial/index_e.html

IM Silman vs The Rest of the World

IM Silman vs The Rest of the World ChessWorld.net hosting a "Rest of the World" match against IM Jeremy Silman. This is a voting game where the "Rest of the World" (ROW) votes for the moves against Silman, and the highest voted move played after five days. Kasparov played a ROW game a few years back. IM Jeremy Silman is the author of the one chess book that everyone raves about, How to ReAssess Your Chess.

The match has inspired the largest ROW team ever at ChessWorld, well over 300 players at last count. IM Silman opened the game with 1. d4 and the voting is underway. You can get in on the game at http://www.chessworld.net - head for Play!..World team games after logging in.

The up to date position is also available on the TWIC front page.

17th Ciudad de Leon 2004

The 17th Ciudad de Leon 2004 will again be a knockout event taking place June 3rd-7th 2004 in Leon, Spain.

Players: Alexei Shirov (Spain), Peter Svidler (Russia), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbajan) and Francisco Vallejo (Spain).

Official site: http://www.advancedchessleon.com and http://www.elajedrezdelfuturo.com

Lenk Chess Festival

Lenk International Chess Festival is a Swiss Chess Tour event 2004. The 16th "Kreuz-Open" takes place April 8th-12th 2004.

The Hosts will be the Hotel "Kreuz", "Grande" Open, Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end).

Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 900, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. From 11.- 20. places natural prizes. Special prizes for best Lady, senior (1944), junior(1984-87), schoolboy (1988) and best local player. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GMs and IMs free.

Time table: Round 1st 18.30-22.30 April 8,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 April 9,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 April 10,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 April 11,; Round 7 10.00-15.00 April 12. Closing ceremony April 12 at 16.00.

Info: Beochess +41+34+424-01-06 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.ch for more details.

ChessBrain Match vs Peter Heine Nielsen

The distributed computing foundation and the ChessBrain project invite all members of the chess community to take part in an official Guinness world record attempts on Friday January 30th, 2004. Computers from all over the world will join forces to take on Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen in an online chess game. With over 1000 computers expected to participate, this will set a new world record. Chess fans throughout the world can participate in this official world record by setting up their own computer to join the team.

All details and instructions are at http://www.chessbrain.net. Internet coverage of the events will include chess discussion and discussion of distributed computing technology.

5th Montenegro International Open

5th Open International Chess Championship of Montenegro "Sozina 2004" Hotel "Topolica" Bar, February 18-26th, 2004

Further details: http://www.sozina2004.com/

13th Aurec Open

The 13th Aurec Open takes place 13th-14th February 2004.

Further details: http://loirechecs.chez.tiscali.fr/20032004/Tournois/Aurec/Aurec.htm

5th Annual MILLENNIUM CHESS FESTIVAL

APRIL 2 - 4, 2004 (the weekend before Foxwoods!) is the date for the next Millennium Chess Festival. Come play chess on the beach!...

PRIZES: $18,000 in 5 sections. Open Section prizes are guaranteed -- $2500-1200-800-600-400-300-200 U2400/Unr: $500-200 U2200: $500-200 Upset Prize: $150. Class Sections have large prize funds based on 55 per section.

HOTEL: Ramada Plaza Beach Oceanfront Hotel, Virginia Beach, USA. COMPS: GM, WGM, and IM Comps are available.

Our popular GM "Dinner/Exhbition" Match again scheduled for Saturday Night. (Details soon.)

WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival/
QUESTIONS: eschlich@aol.com

Shirov's New Website

Alexei Shirov has a new webpage which includes an online school project (together with GM Alfonso Romero and IM Javier Sanz both from Spain) and a personal page within. The address is http://www.shirovonline.com, at the moment everything is in Spanish although the English version should follow soon.

IX Cesenatico International Open

The IX Cesenatico International Chess Open takes place in Cesenatico (Italy) 4th-12th September 2004.Open A 9 rounds. Open B 8 rounds.

Organiser Jean Christophe Pirini email info@antiquascom.it Fax +39547681217 # mobile phone +39335.6615956.

Further details: http://www.antiquascom.it/scacchi.htm

IV Savaria Summer Open

IV Savaria Summer International Chess Open takes place in Szombathely, Hungary 19th-26th July 2004. 9 round Swiss 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move.

Further Information:

KORPICS Zsolt H-9700 Szombathely, Rohonci 13. +(36)-30/951-0063 korpicschess@axelero.hu

PERGEL László H-9700 Szombathely, Tátra 2. +(36)-30/530-4904 a_mester@freemail.hu

Hungarian chess tournaments Jan-August 2004

1. TAPOLCA Open 9 rounds Swiss, 9th-17th of January, Budapest, org. Parej Jozsef, Mobile: +(36)-70-227-30-77; More info: firstsat@hu.inter.net

2. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM closed for norms, Budapest, 7th-19th of February, Organizer: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net Webpage: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Internet Chess Club nickname: MrFirstSaturday ICQ#: 44805877 Cell phone: +(36)-30-2301914 Tel-fax: +(36-1)-2632859

3. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 6th-18th of March, org. NL.

4. SAVARIA-IM-1 closed tournament, Szombathely /250 km West from Budapest/, 22nd March-1st of April, organizer: FM Korpics,Zsolt, e-mail: korpicschess@axelero.hu

5. 20th BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL, 9 rounds Swiss Open, 18th-27th of March, Org.Nagy Laszlo

6. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 3rd-16th of April, org.NL.

7. SAVARIA-IM-2 closed, Szombathely, 19th-29th of April, org: Korpics Zsolt;

8. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 1st-13th of May,

10. ELEKES memorial, Budapest GM-IM round robin, 15th-25th of May, organizer: IM Zsinka, Laszlo, +(36)-20-9219197 e-mail: zsinkala@axelero.hu or: zsinka@budapest.hu

11. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 5th-17th of June, Budapest, org.Nagy L.

12. BALATON OPEN and GM-IM closed about 20th-30th of June, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@axelero.hu /150 km West from Budapest/,

13. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 3rd-16th of July, Org: Nagy Laszlo,

14. Open EGER 9 rounds Swiss, 17th-25th of July /100 km North-East from Budapest/ and GM-IM closed tmt, organizer: Rauch Ferenc, cell phone: +(36)-30-326-3692, e-mail: rauch@freemail.hu, other organizer: Vajda, Albert Sr. e-mail: avajda@udv.topnet.ro More info: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

15. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 7th-19th of August 2004, org: NL.

16. Cat.XI. GM-closed, 10 participants, Budapest, 18th-27th of Aug. Org: PALI, Gabor, e-mail: gaborpali@freemail.hu Mobile: +/36/-20-470-50-37

17. TALENTUM CUP Open 19th-27th of Aug. BALATONZAMARDI /200 km West from Budapest/, organizer: MR VALIS, Janos e-mail: husi-sc@hu.inter.net

18. FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM-FM, 4th-16th of September, Org: NL.

AS04 Centenary 2004

The AS04 Centenary 2004 9 round Open International Swiss Tournament takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark February 7th-15th 2004. The event celebrates the centenary of the Chess Club "Arbejdernes Skakforening af 1904".

Further information: http://www.as04.dk or contact Bo Garner Christensen by e-mail: press@as04.dk or by telephone +45 20 29 66 91 or sign up for our free electronic mailing-list for forthcoming press releases.

2nd Annual Western Pacific Open

2nd Annual Western Pacific Open. Burbank, CA, April 2-4, 2004. 5-SS. $10,000 based on 200 players, $6000 guaranteed. Top section FIDE rated.

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

Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic

The Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic 2004. Glendale, CA, May 29-31, 2004. 6-SS. $20,000 based on 300 players, $10,000 guaranteed. Top section FIDE rated.

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

Calcutta International Open

The Alekhine Chess Club will be holding the CALCUTTA INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT, 2004, from 27th Feb to 7th March, 2004. Previously the event was known as the GOODRICKE INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT, CALCUTTA.

The total prize fund will be $12000. Boarding & lodging will be provided to all GMs, WGMs, IMs, WIMs. For details contact: Mr. Soumen Majumder, Gorky Sadan, 3, Gorky Terrace, Calcutta - 700 017, Telephone: 091 033 2280 3858, Fax: 091 033 2247 9559 / 2283 2746 E-mail: gnca@vsnl.com

65th Square Website

There is a new Turkish website: http://www.65thsquare.org (note the change of address). I have given an interview to the webmaster Alper Efe Ataman.

2nd Nancy International

16-22 February 2004 in Nancy (France) 2nd international Chess Festival, 9 rounds closed tournaments 10 players. For any player between 1000 and 2300, to obtain or to improve FIDE and National Elo + an IM-tournament (completed). Prices : At least 200ˆ-120ˆ-80ˆ in each group. Info: philippechr@wanadoo.fr and http://echiquier.nanceien.free.fr

Swiss Chess Tour 2004

The Swiss Chess Tour starts in Basle in the New Year (1.-4.1.2004.). The 6th Hilton Open features with Vlastimil Hort, Yannick Pelletier, Andrei Sokolov and Florian Jenni. They will play each other, one game on classic time control and the other in rapid. Timetable of the 6th Hilton Open: 1.1.2004. registration 10.00-12.00; 1.01.2004. Blitz open 21.00-23.00; 9 rounds, 5 minutes. 1.-4.1.2004. Fujitcu Siemens – Junior’s Open; 7 rounds, 4 hours. 1.-4.1.2004. Hilton Open; 7 rounds, 5 hours (40 moves-120 minutes, 30 minutes till the end.) 1.-4.1.2004. Baloise Open; 7 rounds, 4 hours (30 moves-90 minutes, 30 minutes till the and.) 1.-4.1.2004. Senior Open; same as Baloise Open. 1.-2.1.2004. ITAG Tele-Rapid; with Hort, Pelletier, Sokolov, Jenni; 15 minutes per game. 1.-4.1.2004. ITAG Masters (Hort, Pelletier, Sokolov, Jenni); classic time control, 6 hours. 2.1.2004. Fujitsu Siemens PC-Challenge (men&computer) 20.00-22.00. 4.1.2004. Closing ceremony 16.30-17.00.

Prizes: Hilton Open: 2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/2x200 Fr. Special prizes (200 Fr. each): Best Lady, Senior (1944), Basler, Junior (1984-87), Pupil (1988). Entry fee: 130 Fr. (FM & Juniors) GM & IM free. At the door 10 Fr. Baloise Open: 500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 Fr. Entry fee: 110 Fr. (Juniors 50 Fr.) At the door 10. Senior Open: 400/300/200 Fr. + natural prizes Entry fee: 60 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Fujitsu Siemens-Junior Open: 400/300/200 + natural prizes for all participants. Entry fee: 50 Fr. At the door 10 Fr. Blitz Open: 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 Fr. Entry fee: 20 Fr. (Junior 5 Fr.) Venue Hotel Hilton Basle. More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+34+424-01-06, fax +41+34+424-01-07 E-mail info@beochess.ch

Further information: http://www.beochess.ch

5th Wellington College International

The 9 Round Swiss Wellington International (formerly the Yateley Manor International but the venue has now changed to Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire. RG45 7PU).This is a qualifying event for the British Championships, part of the BCF Grand Prix and will be rated by FIDE and BCF. The prize fund is £1,000 (depends on entry) and includes a paid place in 2004 British Championships (highest placed player not already qualified).

The event takes place over 2 weekends Friday 30th January to Sunday 1st February 2004 and Saturday 7th to Sunday 8th February 2004 Venue: Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 7PU (35 miles south west of London) Tournament Director: IM Andrew Martin. Chief Controller: Neville Belinfante (BCF Arbiter) Rate of play is 40 moves in 2 hours followed by all remaining moves in 1 hour. No adjournments.

Tournament Secretary Entries, requests for accommodation lists, travel details, detailed map and other enquiries should be addressed to : Ray Clark High Cedars, Oak End Way, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8DA England Tel. (44) (0)7802 306210 (Mon.-Fri. daytime) or Tel. (44) (0)1753 883300 (other times) E-mail rayclark.mc@tiscali.co.uk

Entry Form: http://www.bcf.org.uk/calendar/wellington04_dec03.doc

Ken Whyld Association Founded

Calle Erlandsson reports: The Ken Whyld Association has been founded in Brunswick, Germany. The British chess historian Ken Whyld was one of the promotors of the chess historical association which was eventually founded after being in the planning for 20 years was founded in Amsterdam in 2002. Whyld died 77 years old on July 11, 2003, and regretfully he never saw the realisation of the society that come to wear his name. KWA was founded on November 21st in Brunswick (Braunschweig), Germany, and has so far 78 members from 22 nations. Jurgen Stigter, Amsterdam, was elected as KWA's first president and Peter Holmgren of Tyresö, Sweden, as deputy chairman. Hans Engberts of Utrecht, The Netherlands, Michael Negele of Wuppertal, Germany and Roger Klittich of Brunswick also were elected as members of the board. Correpondence chess GM Juan Morgado had travelled all the long way from Buenos Aires to participate. He will be the KWA contact person in Latin America.

The excursion to Bibliotheca Augusta - the Duke August library - in the adjacent town Wolfenbüttel gave possibility to watch the first German chess book as well as the manuscript, Gustavus Selenus: Das Schach- oder Köningspiel, printed in 1616. Germany's so-called Golden Book could also be seen with its illuminations from the 12th century. It can be seen at Wolfenbüttel six weeks a year and is the most valuable book in the country. It was bought some years ago for 37 million DM or about 14 million British Pounds.

On the KWAs homepage there are already a lot of information about the association, for example reports from the events in Brunswich and Wolfenbüttel. The annual membership fee for the KWA is EUR 50 and shall be paid from January 2004. If you are interested in joining the KWA you can do this through the homepage.

Website: http://www.kwabc.com/, http://www.kwabc.com/Homepage-UK/Foundation.htm and http://www.kwabc.com/Homepage-UK/Foundation2.htm

33rd International Rapid Chess Tournament Herford

Herford, 19th-20th June 2004 33rd International Rapid Chess Tournament 2004. Grand-Prix of Sparkasse Herford. Qualification tournament for the German Rapid Championships. 11 Rounds. Guaranteed Prize fund: € 1.500. 1st Prize € 500.-, Info: http://www.schach.com/herford/turnier/2004/herford2004ausschreibung.htm Homepage: http://www.schach.com/herford/

British Simul Record Attempt for Charity

Andrew Martin writes: We are planning to break Ulf Andersson's World Record for the most opponents played simultaneously at one sitting (currently 310). We have set up a website which will enable players to enter online and gives details of the event which will take place at Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire on Saturday 21st Feb 2004. The event forms an integral part of the BCF Centenary Celebrations.

Entry is free although players will be asked to try and raise money for charity and sponsorship forms will be issued. All sponsorship proceeds will go to youth charities and activities involving young people.

Website: http://www.chessworldrecord.co.uk

9th HIT Open

The 9th HIT Open takes place 30th January - 5th February 2004. Further details: tel.: ++386 5 3332174,fax: ++386 5 3025088, e-mail: krapse.stefan@siol.net. I couldn't get the website: http://skng.homeftp.net/ to work.

Linares 2004

The lineup for Linares 2004 looks like being Gary Kasparov 2830 Vladimir Kramnik 2770 Veselin Topalov Peter Leko 2722 Alexei Shirov 2737 Paco Vallejo 2662 Teimour Radjabov 2650.

Dates are as follows: February 18th (draw of lots) Rd1 Feb. 19th Round 14 (Final) March 5th - Rest days Feb. 24th and March 1st.

German National Team vs. Kramnik

Vladimir Kramnik will play the German National Team in a simultaneous exhibition. The match will take place 29th January 2004 at 4pm at the Centro Dannemann, in Brissago, on the shores of the Lago Maggiore.

The 2nd "Dannemann Chess Classico" will see Kramnik play against: Christopher Lutz, Rustem Dautov, Dr. Robert Hübner and Klaus Bischoff.

Vladimir Kramnik will have 4 hours for his moves on all four boards, while the German Grandmasters will have three hours each.

Germany’s public television network, Westdeutsche Fernsehen (WDR), plans a 60-minute special possibly to be aired on Sunday 1st February 2004.

Further information will be available at http://www.dannemann.com from December, this will be the official site for the event.

Western Canadian Open

The Western Canadian Open takes plce July 9th-18th, 2004. The FIDE rated event is organised by the British Columbia Chess Federation.

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

Narender Nath Memorial Chess Tournament

The 3rd Annual Narender Nath Memorial Chess Tournament commemorating a man who died in the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001 is underway. The event raises money for charity.

Details: http://www.nathchesstournament.com/

28th Kings Head Rapidplay

The 28th Kings Head Rapidplay will take place on Saturday 13 March 2004,

6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £650, entry fee £17

Further info: http://www.khcc.org.uk

Chess Exhibition in Cleveland Ohio

The Worlds of Chess Champions exhibition contains items including Egyptian chess pieces, commemorative stamps, autographed material, rare books and original manuscripts.

The event is in Cleveland OH. The Cleveland Public Library’s John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection is currently exhibiting an installation titled, Worlds of Chess Champions. This temporary exhibition is located in the third floor exhibition hall of the Main Building, 325 Superior Ave., N.E. The Library exhibition is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available on Rockwell, one block north of Superior Ave.

Worlds of Chess Champions puts chess into context through the lives of chess experts, authors, and champions. This exhibition sets the historical stage of chess champions from the 19th Century to the present. To illustrate the context of chess in the world, the earliest items displayed feature chess pieces from Egypt dating back to 1300 B.C. Other early items on display from the John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection include original manuscripts from the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Other rare and interesting items include a death mask photograph of an early 19th-century player, commemorative chess stamps, hand-written letters by and about world-famous chess champions, autographed material, and published books by chess champions.

Some of the materials in Worlds of Chess Champions have never before been exhibited. The John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection is the world’s largest and most comprehensive chess collection. The collection contains chess sets and pieces as well as material related to chess. Many stamps commemorating chess champions are in the exhibition. Newspaper and magazine clippings, chess championship programs, score sheets from games, and other rare items will be on display through June 12, 2004.

New York Masters

Regular competition for players in New York Rated 2200 and above.

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