THE WEEK IN CHESS 482 2nd February 2004 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Kramnik vs Leko Match
3) Kramnik vs German Team Simultaneous
4) Anand vs Topalov TV Blitz
5) GibTelecom Chess Festival
6) 75th German Championships
7) French National 1 Top 16
8) Testa GM
9) Chennai International
10) 89th New York Masters
11) Belgian Teams
12) Lilie Litomysl Open
13) Praha and Marianske Lazne
14) 10th Montecatini Terme
15) 9th HIT Open
16) ChessBrain Match vs Peter Heine Nielsen
17) Kiev Championships
18) OSS January International
19) Kurent Tournaments in Ptuj
20) Western Class Championships
21) NorthEast Chess Winter Getaway
22) Auckland International Open
23) More Itau Cup
24) Professional World Chess Ranking
25) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

Kramnik vs Germany Simultaneous        4 games
Anand vs Topalov TV Blitz              2 games
GibTelecom Chess Festival            251 games
75th German Championships             68 games
French National 1 Top 16             153 games
Testa GM                              16 games
89th New York Masters                  4 games
Belgian Teams                         96 games
Lilie Litomysl Open                  177 games
Praha Open                            13 games
Marianske Lazne                      188 games
10th Montecatini Terme                66 games
ChessBrain Match                       1 game
Kiev Championships                   251 games
OSS January International             45 games
Kurent Addition                        4 games
Western Class Championships           50 games
Auckland International Open            1 game
More Itau Cup                         76 games
1486 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Frank-Juergen Greger, Thomas Henrich, John Fernandez, Gary Bekker, Herman Van Riemsdijk, Sinisa Drazic, Benny Asman, Dimitur Kostakiev, David Llada, Laszlo Nagy, Eric Schiller, John Hillery, Steve Laios, Stephane Mouchel, Vladimir Dvorkovich, Helgi Ólafsson, Jakub Fuksik, Guy West, Jan Mazuch, George Mirijanian, Primoz Kokalj, Axel Fritz, Roberto Lampertico, Rosanna Pierantognetti, Jürgen Daniel, Eirik T. Gullaksen and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The big news of the week is the announcement finally of sponsorship for a match between Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko. Kramnik defeated Kasparov in the Braingames match in 2000. Braingames were always in financial trouble and finally collapsed last year. Peter Leko won the Dortmund tournament of 2002 which qualified him to challenge Kramnik but there appeared no appetite for sponsoring the match at least at the level that would satisfy the participants. Now the Swiss tobacco company Dannemann has stepped in and there will be a 14 game match, the level of prize money hasn't been announced but I guess the players decided the match had to get played. FIDE meanwhile need to get their World Championships on the road, there should be an announcement this month for the venues for their qualifiers and the road to a match against Kasparov at the end of this year. It remains to be seen if this will come to pass. Until a reunification match is played I don't believe chess can even start to move forward. This week's news will hopefully give some kind of forward momentum to the process.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Kramnik vs Leko Match

The Leko - Kramnik match will take place in Brissago Switzerland 25th September - 18th October 2004. The 14 game match will be for the World Championship title that Kramnik claimed from Kasparov in their match in 2000. The sponsors are Dannemann. This will additionally put pressure on FIDE to finalise the organisation of their championship series. The winners of both series are projected to meet in a reunification match.

News in German: http://www.chessgate.de/news/januar2004/wm_ankuendigung.html

Sponsors: http://www.dannemann.com

3) Kramnik vs German Team Simultaneous

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

Kramnik won the event 2.5-1.5. He beat Robert Huebner and drew the rest.

Official coverage: http://www.dannemann.com.

Brissago Thursday 29th January 2004

Lutz, Christopher  -  Kramnik, Vladimir  1/2   37  C90  Ruy Lopez
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Dautov, Rustem     1/2   30  C42  Petroff's Defence
Huebner, Robert    -  Kramnik, Vladimir  0-1   52  A46  Queen's Pawn Opening
Kramnik, Vladimir  -  Bischoff, Klaus    1/2   26  C11  French Defence

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

4) Anand vs Topalov TV Blitz

Viswanathan Anand and Vesselin Topalov played a TV blitz exhibition match in Sofia Bulgaria, 1st February 2004. Two 15 minute games without increment started 16-00 hours local time. Game 1 16:20, game 2 16:45. No tiebreak required and Anand won 1.5-0.5. This was a live 'BTV' broadcast. The Sponsor was the mobile telephone comunications company "M-tel". My thanks to David Llada and Dimitur Kostakiev for the news and games.

Official site: http://www.mtel.bg - Regulations

Gm1 Topalov, Veselin    -  Anand, Viswanathan  0-1   42  B48  Sicilian Paulsen
Gm2 Anand, Viswanathan  -  Topalov, Veselin    1/2   31  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov

TV Blitz Sofia BUL (BUL), 1-1 i 2004
---------------------------------------------------
                                 1   2 
---------------------------------------------------
Anand, Viswanathan g  IND 2766    1   =   1.5  2928
Topalov, Veselin   g  BUL 2735    0   =   0.5  2573
---------------------------------------------------

5) GibTelecom Chess Festival

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

Indian players Pentala Harikrishna, Chanda Sandipan and top seed Nigel Short lead on 5/6. The event is a 10 round Swiss Open.

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

---------------------------------------------------------
Gibraltar Masters Catalan Bay ENG (ENG), 27 i-4 ii 2004
---------------------------------------------------------
 1. Harikrishna, P               g  IND 2582  5.0  2649 
 2. Sandipan, Chanda             g  IND 2522  5.0  2802 
 3. Short, Nigel D               g  ENG 2702  5.0  2748 
 4. Dreev, Alexey                g  RUS 2682  4.5  2702 
 5. Ganguly, Surya Shekhar       g  IND 2541  4.5  2706 
 6. Kunte, Abhijit               g  IND 2512  4.5  2617 
 7. Speelman, Jonathan S         g  ENG 2578  4.5  2581 
 8. Bakre, Tejas                 m  IND 2446  4.0  2561 
 9. Beshukov, Sergei             g  RUS 2499  4.0  2358 
10. Davies, Nigel R              g  ENG 2502  4.0  2491 
11. Emms, John M                 g  ENG 2501  4.0  2516 
12. Epishin, Vladimir            g  RUS 2633  4.0  2494 
13. Gallagher, Joseph G          g  SUI 2524  4.0  2624 
14. Hebden, Mark                 g  ENG 2549  4.0  2567 
15. Inarkiev, Ernesto            g  RUS 2606  4.0  2633 
16. Lalic, Bogdan                g  ENG 2518  4.0  2585 
17. Stefanova, Antoaneta         g  BUL 2478  4.0  2666 
18. Vasilevich, Tatjana          m  UKR 2393  4.0  2325 
19. Wells, Peter K               g  ENG 2493  4.0  2574 
20. Womacka, Mathias             m  GER 2447  4.0  2367 
94 players

6) 75th German Championships

The 75th German Championships takes place in Höckendorf 29th January - 7th February 2004. 46 players compete in this 9 round Swiss.

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
75th ch-GER Hoeckendorf GER (GER), 30 i-7 ii 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Mueller, Karsten         g  GER 2517  +24 +14 = 7  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2663 
 2. Graf, Alexander          g  GER 2629  +33 +15 =19  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2725 
 3. Heinemann, Thies         m  GER 2426  +44 +13 = 9  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2695 
 4. Kalinitschew, Sergey     g  GER 2519  +32 = 8 +20  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2671 
 5. Gustafsson, Jan          g  GER 2572  =25 +38 +21  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2667 
 6. Rabiega, Robert          g  GER 2527  =21 +31 +22  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2619 
 7. Espig, Lutz              g  GER 2429  +45 +23 = 1  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.5  2706 
 8. Enders, Peter            g  GER 2478  +40 = 4 =12  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2556 
 9. Bischoff, Klaus          g  GER 2561  =31 +25 = 3  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2529 
10. Mainka, Romuald          g  GER 2456  =22 =30 +18  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2426 
11. Luther, Thomas           g  GER 2572  =20 =29 +32  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2500 
12. Schebler, Gerhard        m  GER 2480  =28 +43 = 8  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2479 
13. Stern, Rene              m  GER 2489  +37 - 3 +39  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2474 
14. Braun, Arik              m  GER 2429  +35 - 1 +28  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2480 
15. Meins, Gerlef            m  GER 2460  +34 - 2 +30  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2534 
16. Kritz, Leonid            g  GER 2534  +41 -19 +29  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2550 
17. Muse, Mladen             g  GER 2452  =43 =28 +37  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2422 
18. Heck, Norbert            f  GER 2308  +19 +46 -10  .   .   .   .   .   .   2.0  2500 
19. Meister, Yakov           m  RUS 2488  -18 +16 = 2  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2490 
20. Thinius, Marco           f  GER 2387  =11 +26 - 4  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2555 
21. Schurade, Matthias       f  GER 2370  = 6 +36 - 5  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2532 
22. Scherer, Max                GER 2285  =10 +41 - 6  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2454 
23. Tischbierek, Raj         g  GER 2507  +39 - 7 =24  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2351 
24. Ott, Frank                  GER 2313  - 1 +35 =23  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2423 
25. Wegener, Olaf            f  GER 2404  = 5 - 9 +43  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2471 
26. Naiditsch, Arkadij       g  GER 2576  =29 -20 +27  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.5  2347 
27. Schulz, Michael1            GER 2246   .  +42 -26  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2442 
28. Preiss, Martin              GER 2304  =12 =17 -14  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2328 
29. Reich, Thomas            m  GER 2408  =26 =11 -16  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2435 
30. Dresen, Ulrich           f  GER 2312  =36 =10 -15  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2346 
31. Bastian, Herbert         f  GER 2384  = 9 - 6 =36  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2403 
32. Dausch, Rene             f  GER 2331  - 4 +40 -11  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2337 
33. Wisnewski, Christoph     f  GER 2409  - 2 +34 -35  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2262 
34. Giessmann, Stephan          GER 2287  -15 -33 +38  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2301 
35. Latzke, Boris Alexander     GER 2246  -14 -24 +33  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2258 
36. Gutman, Lev              g  GER 2497  =30 -21 =31  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2230 
37. Bindrich, Falko          f  GER 2308  -13 +44 -17  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2261 
38. Breutigam, Martin        m  GER 2409  +46 - 5 -34  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2222 
39. Stanke, Juergen             GER 2313  -23 +45 -13  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2299 
40. Roeschlau, Bernd         f  GER 2295  - 8 -32 +46  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2205 
41. Voigt, Roland            f  GER 2381  -16 -22 +45  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2240 
42. Budde, Vladimir          f  GER 2309   .  -27 =44  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5  2038 
43. Degtiarev, Evgeny           GER 2281  =17 -12 -25  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5  2172 
44. Pohl, Walter                GER 2217  - 3 -37 =42  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5  2074 
45. Bauer, Eckart               GER 2276  - 7 -39 -41  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0       
46. Bischoff, Dieter            GER 2182  -38 -18 -40  .   .   .   .   .   .   0.0       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) French National 1 Top 16

There were four venues for the start of the French National 1 Top 16 stage of their team championships. There are two groups. Group A saw matches in Evry and Nancy (no games available from there) and Group B matches in Clichy and Cannes. There were three rounds January 30th - February 1st 2004.

Paris NAO (Alexander Grischuk, Peter Svidler, Joel Lautier and Michael Adams etc) and Mulhouse (Lev Aronian, Andrei Sokolov etc) lead group A on 100% after three games. Clichy (Ivan Sokolov, JM Degraeve, Pavel Tregubov etc) and Monaco (Igor Efimov, Joseph Dorfman etc) have 9/9 in group B ahead of Cannes (Luke McShane, Alexei Shirov etc) who dropped points to Monaco in round 1.

Group A. All games from Evry seem to be available. (3 rounds, 2 matches per round, 9 games per match). Games from Nancy missing.

Group B. All games from Cannes and all games from Clichy except the match Drancy-Lille from round 3 seem to be available. My thanks to Stephane Mouchel.

Details: http://www.europe-echecs.com, http://www.notzai.info and http://www.echecs.asso.fr/

Venues: Evry : http://www.evry-grandroque.com/ Nancy : http://echiquier.nanceien.free.fr/ Clichy : http://www.clichy-echecs.org/ Cannes : http://www.cannes-echecs.org/

Group A
Pl. Teams          Pts   d. p. c. 
 1  Paris NAO        9  14 15  1 
 2  Mulhouse         9  13 13  0 
 3  Bischwiller      7   0  6  6 
 4  Nice             6  -3  7 10 
 5  Gonfreville      6  -5  6 11 
 6  Nancy            5  -5  4  9 
 7  Evry             3  -6  4 10 
 8  Strasbourg CE    3  -8  3 11 

Group B
Pl. Teams          Pts   d. p. c. 
 1 Clichy            9  15 16  1 
 2 Monaco            9   9 13  4 
 3 Cannes            7   6  9  3 
 4 Lille EDN         6  -2  9 11 
 5 Montpellier       5  -2  7  9 
 6 Drancy            5  -4  6 10 
 7 Vandoeuvre        4  -9  5 14 
 8 Orange            3 -13  1 14 

8) Testa GM

The Testa GM tournament was a nine round robin event of cat. X and took part in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany, from 20th - 28th January 2004. Arbiter: IA Vsewolod Kazakevich. GM Dimitrij Bunzman was leading from the first round and won the Testa-GM-Tournament with 6,5 points. At the 4th GM tournament in Griesheim IM Vitaly Kunin achieved with 6 points his first GM norm and finished as 2nd. There is a correction to the round 1 game Ginsburg - Milov which was won by white on time. 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 = = 1  6.5  2634 
 2. Kunin, Vitaly          m GER 2425  = * = = = 1 = 1 1 =  6.0  2606 
 3. Savchenko, Stanislav   g UKR 2543  = = * = = = = = 1 =  5.0  2511 
 4. Ginsburg, Gennadij     m GER 2486  0 = = * = 1 = = 1 =  5.0  2517 
 5. Prusikin, Michael      m GER 2519  0 = = = * 0 = 1 1 1  5.0  2514 
 6. Milov, Leonid          m UKR 2452  = 0 = 0 1 * = 1 0 =  4.0  2435 
 7. Galdunts, Sergey       g ARM 2506  0 = = = = = * = 0 =  3.5  2392 
 8. Grabarczyk, Bogdan     m POL 2402  = 0 = = 0 0 = * = 1  3.5  2404 
 9. Drabke, Lorenz         m GER 2439  = 0 0 0 0 1 1 = * =  3.5  2400 
10. Murdzia, Piotr         m POL 2445  0 = = = 0 = = 0 = *  3.0  2354 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

9) Chennai International

The 1st International Open Chess Tournament organised by the Saranya Chess Centre and WIN TV, took place in Chennai (Madras), India, January 21st to February 1st, 2004. Tahir Vakhidov and Humpy Koneru finished with 10/13. I have games from the early rounds but would prefer to wait to see if I can get a full file for the event before publishing the games.

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

Leading Final Round 13 Standings: 
 1 Vakhidov, Tahir       UZB 2515 10   69 
 2 Humpy, Koneru         IND 2498 10   68.5 
 3 Fominyh, Alexandre    RUS 2559  9.5 77 
 4 Iskusnyh, Sergei      RUS 2482  9.5 72.5 
 5 Smirnov, Pavel        RUS 2609  9.5 71 
 6 Ziaur Rahman          BAN 2492  9.5 70.5 
 7 Safin, Shukhrat       UZB 2528  9.5 65.5 
 8 Iuldachev, Saidali    UZB 2559  9   70 
 9 Lodhi, Mahmood        PAK 2395  9   67.5 
10 Timoshenko, Georgy    UKR 2564  9   65.5 
11 Vishal Sareen         IND 2371  9   65 
12 Koshy, Varugeese      IND 2374  9   64.5 56
13 Neelotpal Das         IND 2461  9   64.5 55.5
14 Venkatesh, M.R.       IND 2392  8.5 68.5 
15 Dzhumaev, Marat       UZB 2498  8.5 68 
16 Ramesh.R.B            IND 2506  8.5 67 
17 Konguvel.P            IND 2366  8.5 65 60
18 Girinath, P.D.S.      IND 2368  8.5 65 59.5
19 Kidambi, Sundararajan IND 2437  8.5 64 
20 Prasad, D.V.          IND 2395  8.5 63.5 

10) 89th New York Masters

Leonid Yudasin and Jaan Ehlvest shared first in the 89th New York Masters on 27th January 2004 with 3.5/4. News John Fernandez.

Links: http://www.newyorkmasters.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------
89th New York Masters Action USA (USA), 27 i 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1   2   3   4   Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   1. Yudasin, Leonid        g ISR 2568 +12 + 3 = 7 + 4   3.5  ($275)
   2. Ehlvest, Jaan          g EST 2599 +13 + 8 = 6 + 7   3.5  ($275)
   3. Stripunsky, Alex       g USA 2553 +18 - 1 +13 + 6   3.0  ($ 25)
   4. Krush, Irina           m USA 2465 +20 +10 +15 - 1   3.0  ($ 25)
   5. Bonin, Jay             m USA 2330 +23 - 7 +17 +11   3.0  ($120)
   6. Wojtkiewicz, Aleks     g USA 2564 +22 +11 = 2 - 3   2.5
   7. Kacheishvili, Giorgi   g GEO 2598 +16 + 5 = 1 - 2   2.5
   8. Vovsha, Eli            m ISR 2441 +14 - 2 +12 = 9   2.5
   9. Klein, Erez            f USA 2292 +24 -15 +10 = 8   2.5
  10. Izoria, Zviad          g GEO 2553 +17 - 4 - 9 +15   2.0
  11. Maier, Christian       f GER 2362 +21 - 6 +16 - 5   2.0
  12. Shevelev, Danny        f ISR 2310 - 1 +18 - 8 +17   2.0
  13. Privman, Boris         f USA 2241 - 2 +14 - 3 +18   2.0
  14. Ross, Laura           wf USA 2105 - 8 -13 +20 +16   2.0
  15. Hoffmann, Asa          f USA 2290 =   + 9 - 4 -10   1.5
  16. Moll, Arne               NED 2167 - 7 +23 -11 -14   1.0
  17. Sena, Juan               DOM 2178 -10 +20 - 5 -12   1.0
  18. Maltese, Adam            USA ---- - 3 -12 +23 -13   1.0
  19. Ross, Philip             USA 2099 --- +22 --- ---   1.0
  20. Uminer, Moshe            USA ---- - 4 -17 -14 +23   1.0
  21. Shahade, Greg          m USA 2441 -11 --- --- ---   0.0
  22. Esserman, Marc           USA 2279 - 6 -19 --- ---   0.0
  23. Khrapatin, Fedor         USA ---- - 5 -16 -18 -20   0.0
  24. Delgado, Omar            USA ---- - 9 --- --- ---   0.0


PRIZES
1ST   - $400
2ND   - $150
3RD   - $ 50
U2400 - $120

11) Belgian Teams

Steve Laios sends news and games from rounds 6 and 7 of the Belgian Teams as well as some round 2 games which were postponed.

Round 06 : 11.01.2004
1.Charleroi - Borgerhout  : 4.0-4.0
2.Boitsfort - Liège       : 2.0-6.0   (no games)
3.Brugge  - Leuven        : 5.0-3.0   (no games)
4.SK47.Eynatten 2 - Gent  : 4.5-3.5
5.SK47.Eynatten 1 - Temse : 4.5-3.5
6.Rochade - Hoboken       : 7.0-1.0

Round 07 : 18.01.2004
1.Temse - Rochade          : 4.5-3.5
2.Borgerhout - Boitsfort   : 5.5-2.5
3.Liège -Brugge            : 3.0-5.0
4.Leuven - SK47.Eynatten 2 : 1.5-6.5
5.Gent - SK47.Eynatten 1   : 2.0-6.0
6.Hoboken - Charleroi      : 3.0-5.0

Round 02 : 25.01.2004 (postponed matches)
1.Liège - Gent             : 5.0-3.0
2.Boitsfort - Hoboken      : 3.0-5.0
(96 games)

Standings after round 7.
                       Pts   M/P  Pl
 1.KSK47-Eynatten 1    39    7.0  7
 2.Temse 1             37.5  5.0  7
 3.SK Rochade 1        34.5  5.0  7
 4.K Brugge SK 1       28    4.0  7
 5.Charleroi 1         27.5  3.5  7 
 5.Borgerhout 1        27.5  3.5  7
 7.KSK47-Eynatten 2    25.5  2.5  7
 8.K Gent SRL 1        22.5  2.5  7
 9.LV Leuven Fortis 1  22.5  1.5  7
10.CRE Liège EL 1      21.5  2.5  7
11.Hoboken 1           18.5  2.5  7
12.Boitsfort 1         15.5  0,5  7 

12) Lilie Litomysl Open

The Lilie Litomysl Christmas Open took place 26th December 2003 - 1st January 2004. Michal Konopka won the event with 7/9. My thanks to Jakub Fuksik.

Further details: http://www.proclient.cz/a64/tournaments/litomysl2003/default.asp

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open Lilie Litomysl CZE (CZE), 26 xii 2003 - 1 i 2004
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Konopka, Michal        m  CZE 2451  +26 +10 = 3 +21 = 6 = 4 = 2 + 5 +12  7.0  2561 
 2. Polak, Tomas           g  CZE 2482  +25 +14 = 5 = 3 +10 = 6 = 1 + 4 = 9  6.5  2486 
 3. Kulhanek, Tomas        f  CZE 2362  +31 +19 = 1 = 2 =14 +13 =12 + 6 = 8  6.5  2462 
 4. Priehoda, Vitezslav    m  SVK 2372  +18 + 8 +17 =12 +13 = 1 = 6 - 2 =10  6.0  2426 
 5. Bernasek, Jan          m  CZE 2365  +23 + 9 = 2 - 6 +20 =14 +15 - 1 +16  6.0  2431 
 6. Cernousek, Lukas          CZE 2302  +36 +32 = 7 + 5 = 1 = 2 = 4 - 3 +21  6.0  2431 
 7. Mudrak, Josef          f  CZE 2387  +38 +16 = 6 -13 +17 =15 - 9 +22 +14  6.0  2371 
 8. Zeleny, Tomas             CZE 2262  +41 - 4 +28 -15 +31 +16 =14 +17 = 3  6.0  2352 
 9. Luch, Michal           f  POL 2268  +37 - 5 +27 -14 +34 +28 + 7 =12 = 2  6.0  2356 
10. Karlik, Vladimir       f  CZE 2296  +42 - 1 +31 +19 - 2 =22 +20 +21 = 4  6.0  2371 
11. Gross, Stefan          m  CZE 2310  +27 =29 -21 =34 =18 +37 +22 =14 +15  6.0  2275 
12. Plachetka, Jan         g  SVK 2455  =13 +35 +20 = 4 =15 +21 = 3 = 9 - 1  5.5  2350 
13. Herbold, Manfred          GER 2129  =12 +43 +29 + 7 - 4 - 3 -21 +32 +27  5.5  2295 
14. Sabol, Marian             CZE 2302  +24 - 2 +25 + 9 = 3 = 5 = 8 =11 - 7  5.0  2333 
15. Groetz, Harald         f  AUT 2359  +34 -17 +22 + 8 =12 = 7 - 5 +18 -11  5.0  2310 
16. Kanovsky, David           CZE 2298  +30 - 7 +18 =17 =22 - 8 +34 +29 - 5  5.0  2225 
17. Krupa, Monika          wm POL 2221  +40 +15 - 4 =16 - 7 =18 +28 - 8 +29  5.0  2246 
18. Schirmbeck, Hannes        AUT 2117  - 4 +42 -16 +33 =11 =17 +23 -15 +28  5.0  2224 
19. Srba, Milan               CZE 2186  +39 - 3 +30 -10 -28 =23 +24 +31 =20  5.0  2165 
20. Valenta, Vit              CZE 2184  +44 =21 -12 +37 - 5 +32 -10 +26 =19  5.0  2227 
21. Stehno, Pavel             CZE 2310  +28 =20 +11 - 1 +23 -12 +13 -10 - 6  4.5  2253 
22. Vales, Vaclav             CZE 2213  =35 +33 -15 +24 =16 =10 -11 - 7 +36  4.5  2187 
23. Mejzlik, Vojtech          CZE 2114  - 5 =37 +32 +29 -21 =19 -18 =36 +34  4.5  2111 
24. Prachar, Josef            CZE 2009  -14 =26 +40 -22 -29 +41 -19 +37 +39  4.5  2083 
25. Batyte, Daiva             LTU 2170  - 2 +36 -14 -32 +26 +30 -29 -27 +38  4.0  2081 
26. Fiser, Jiri               CZE 2128  - 1 =24 -33 +30 -25 +40 +38 -20 =32  4.0  2061 
27. Nemec, Otakar             CZE 2056  -11 +39 - 9 -28 =40 +33 =36 +25 -13  4.0  2061 
28. Benda, Robert             GER 2038  -21 +44 - 8 +27 +19 - 9 -17 +38 -18  4.0  2128 
29. Tuvshinbayar,Dorjkhuu     MGL ----  +   =11 -13 -23 +24 =38 +25 -16 -17  4.0  2110 
30. Stodolova, Kristyna       CZE 2000  -16 +38 -19 -26 +39 -25 +42 =34 =31  4.0  2068 
31. Snyta, Zdenek             CZE 2097  - 3 +41 -10 +44 - 8 =36 +37 -19 =30  4.0  2074 
32. Stolc,Martin              CZE ----  +   - 6 -23 +25 =38 -20 +35 -13 =26  4.0  2085 
33. Csefalvay,Stefan          SVK ----  =43 -22 +26 -18 -37 -27 +44 =39 +41  4.0  2005 
34. Adamkova, Stepanka        CZE 2079  -15 =40 +43 =11 - 9 +35 -16 =30 -23  3.5  2069 
35. Pekar,Vaclav              CZE ----  =22 -12 -37 =40 +41 -34 -32 =42 +43  3.5  1985 
36. Mejzlik, Ondrej           CZE 2029  - 6 -25 -39 +43 +44 =31 =27 =23 -22  3.5  2025 
37. Kastner, Vojtech          CZE 1919  - 9 =23 +35 -20 +33 -11 -31 -24 =42  3.0  1975 
38. Kastner, Kamil            CZE 2127  - 7 -30 +41 +39 =32 =29 -26 -28 -25  3.0  1955 
39. Konicek,Josef             CZE ----  -19 -27 +36 -38 -30 =42 +40 =33 -24  3.0  1911 
40. Kunes,Jan                 CZE ----  -17 =34 -24 =35 =27 -26 -39 =43 +44  3.0  1929 
41. Nisztuk, Michal           POL ----  - 8 -31 -38 +42 -35 -24 +43 +44 -33  3.0  1921 
42. Badacova, Irena           CZE 1919  -10 -18 -44 -41 +43 =39 -30 =35 =37  2.5  1870 
43. Bartosova,Lucie           CZE ----  =33 -13 -34 -36 -42 =44 -41 =40 -35  1.5  1744 
44. Dolezal, Jiri             CZE ----  -20 -28 +42 -31 -36 =43 -33 -41 -40  1.5  1756 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13) Praha and Marianske Lazne

The Praha Open 2004 took place 16th-23rd January 2004. Ramil Hasangatin and Michael Hennigan finished on 7.5/9. Games from the final round now available.

The Marianske Lazne Open 2004 took place 24th-31st January 2004 and alongside was 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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
IM Marianske Lazne CZE (CZE), 24 i-1 ii 2004            cat. III (2324)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Holemar, David       f CZE 2335  * = 1 = = = = = 1 = 1 1  7.5  2456 
 2. Hasangatin, Ramil    g RUS 2515  = * = = = = = 1 = = 1 1  7.0  2408 
 3. Walek, Milan         f CZE 2339  0 = * 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1  6.5  2387 
 4. Slaby, Jerzy           POL 2405  = = 0 * = = = 1 = 1 = 1  6.5  2381 
 5. Luch, Michal         f POL 2294  = = 0 = * 0 = 1 1 = 1 1  6.5  2391 
 6. Stolz, Mike          f GER 2412  = = 0 = 1 * = = 0 1 1 1  6.5  2381 
 7. Pribyl, Josef        m CZE 2371  = = 1 = = = * = = 0 = 1  6.0  2355 
 8. Vyskocil, Neklan       CZE 2335  = 0 1 0 0 = = * = 1 1 1  6.0  2359 
 9. Pisk, Petr           m CZE 2322  0 = 0 = 0 1 = = * 1 1 1  6.0  2360 
10. Cernousek, Lukas       CZE 2375  = = 1 0 = 0 1 0 0 * 0 1  4.5  2254 
11. Zavadil, Michal        CZE 2157  0 0 0 = 0 0 = 0 0 1 * 1  3.0  2164 
12. Stojkovic, Andreja     CRO 2029  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.0       
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------
Open Marianske Lazne CZE (CZE), 24-31 i 2004
-----------------------------------------------------
  1. Szoen, Dariusz              POL 2284  7.5  2468 
  2. Skjoldborg, Jesper DEN      DEN 2253  7.0  2452 
  3. Bernasek, Jan            m  CZE 2381  7.0  2437 
  4. Zemerov, Vladimir        m  RUS 2323  7.0  2381 
  5. Bielczyk, Jacek          m  POL 2340  6.5  2340 
  6. Safyanovsky, Mark        m  GER 2378  6.5  2346 
  7. Skytte, Rasmus           m  DEN 2401  6.5  2367 
  8. Stehno, Pavel               CZE 2301  6.5  2382 
  9. Turner, Jan                 CZE 2344  6.5  2304 
 10. Vavra, Pavel                CZE 2185  6.5  2200 
 11. Gumula, Daniel              POL 2243  6.0  2333 
 12. Volodin, Viktor          m  RUS 2251  6.0  2271 
 13. Blodig, Reinhard            GER 2211  6.0  2242 
 14. Baeuml, Ulrich              GER 2130  6.0  2291 
 15. Meier, Thomas               GER 2318  6.0  2193 
 16. Kurbangulov,Viktor          GER ----  6.0  2143 
112 players

14) 10th Montecatini Terme

The 10th Montecatini Terme tournament took place 24th January - 1st February 2004. Paolo Vezzosi and Massimo Sciortino finished on 8/11.

Internet coverage: http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/_XOOM/bombelli/montecatini.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
X It Chiuso Montecatini Terme ITA HUN (ITA), 24 i-1 ii 2004    cat. I (2262)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Vezzosi, Paolo           m ITA 2355  * 1 = = = 1 = 1 = = 1 1  8.0  2428 
 2. Sciortino, Massimo         ITA 2187  0 * = 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 = 1  8.0  2443 
 3. Skembris, Spyridon       g GRE 2442  = = * = = = = 1 = 1 1 1  7.5  2378 
 4. Naumkin, Igor            g RUS 2416  = 0 = * = = = 1 1 1 1 1  7.5  2381 
 5. Di Caro, Calogero          ITA 2297  = 0 = = * = = = 1 = 1 1  6.5  2323 
 6. Trabert, Bettina        wg GER 2247  0 1 = = = * = 0 = = 1 1  6.0  2299 
 7. Mrdja, Milan             m CRO 2413  = 0 = = = = * = 1 = = 1  6.0  2284 
 8. Tocchioni, Doriano         ITA 2249  0 0 0 0 = 1 = * 1 = 1 1  5.5  2263 
 9. Sabia, Corrado             ITA 2148  = 0 = 0 0 = 0 0 * = 1 1  4.0  2170 
10. Aldrovandi, Costantino   m ITA 2375  = 0 0 0 = = = = = * = 0  3.5  2118 
11. Scuderi,David              ITA ----  0 = 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 = * 1  2.5  2074 
12. Squarci, Franco            ITA 2016  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 *  1.0  1901 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

15) 9th HIT Open

The 9th HIT Open takes place 30th January - 5th February 2004. Aleksandar Kovacevic leads on 4.5/5.

Internet coverage: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0401/ng04a/

Leading Round 5 (of 9) Standings: 
 1 Kovacevic,Aleksandar       GM SCG 2541  4.5
 2 Kozul,Zdenko               GM CRO 2605  4  
 3 Kveinys,Aloyzas            GM LTU 2511  4  
 4 Bartel,Mateusz             IM POL 2482  4  
 5 Kengis,Edvins              GM LAT 2555  4  
 6 Nevednichy,Vladislav       GM ROM 2548  3.5
 7 Gyimesi,Zoltan             GM HUN 2553  3.5
 8 Borisek,Jure               IM SLO 2442  3.5
 9 Delchev,Aleksander         GM BUL 2624  3.5
10 Jaracz,Pawel               GM POL 2540  3.5
11 Cvitan,Ognjen              GM CRO 2520  3.5
12 Parligras,Mircea           GM ROM 2539  3.5
13 Brkic,Ante                 IM CRO 2420  3.5
14 Korneev,Oleg               GM RUS 2566  3  
15 Sveshnikov,Evgeny          GM LAT 2563  3  
16 Djuric,Stefan              GM SCG 2487  3  
17 Cebalo,Miso                GM CRO 2475  3  
18 Stocek,Jiri                GM CZE 2552  3  
19 Balogh,Csaba               IM HUN 2456  3  
20 Gagarin,Vasilij            IM RUS 2439  3  
21 Dobrov,Vladimir            IM RUS 2481  3  
22 Nikolov,Sasho              IM BUL 2407  3  
23 Stamenkov,Vanco            FM MKD 2400  2.5
24 Solak,Dragan               GM SCG 2546  2.5
25 Srebrnic,Ana              WFM SLO 2206  2.5
26 Zelcic,Robert              GM CRO 2524  2.5
27 Saric,Ante                 IM CRO 2379  2.5
28 Zakharchenko,Arnold        IM UKR 2356  2.5
29 Grobelsek,Ana              FM SLO 2122  2.5
30 Barle,Janez                IM SLO 2394  2.5
31 Olarasu,Gabriela           GM ROM 2311  2.5
32 Zorko,Jure                 FM SLO 2310  2.5
33 Jeric,Simon                IM SLO 2291  2.5
34 Szeberenyi,Adam            IM HUN 2450  2.5
35 Bogza,Adina-Maria          GM ROM 2309  2.5
36 Srebrnic,Vojko             MK SLO 2254  2.5
55 players

16) ChessBrain Match vs Peter Heine Nielsen

The distributed computing foundation and the ChessBrain project took part in an official Guinness world record attempts on Friday January 30th, 2004. Computers from all over the world joined forces to take on Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen in an online chess game which ended in a draw. In spite of serious technical difficulties early in the game ChessBrain's set a new official record of 2070 machines from over 50 different countries. The game finished in a draw.

All details at: http://www.chessbrain.net

30th January 2003

Nielsen, Peter Heine  -  ChessBrain 1/2   34  E94  King's Indian Classical

17) Kiev Championships

The Kiev Championships took place 16th-30th January 2004. Vadim Malakhatko won the event with 8.5/11. My thanks to Thomas Henrich.

Internet site: http://mirror01.iptelecom.net.ua/~chessfed/t011r.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-Kiev Kiev UKR (UKR), 16-30 i 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Malakhatko, Vadim       g  UKR 2543  +29 +11 + 3 +26 =17 = 8 = 4 + 5 - 2 + 6 +13  8.5  2566 
 2. Taborov, Boris             UKR 2425  +25 +16 =15 = 4 = 5 +12 - 3 +23 + 1 =10 + 9  8.0  2461 
 3. Solomaha, Andrey           UKR 2361  +28 +22 - 1 +43 +16 +17 + 2 - 4 = 6 = 8 +12  8.0  2460 
 4. Galinsky, Timofey       m  UKR 2430  +33 +20 =17 = 2 = 8 +11 = 1 + 3 +12 = 9 - 5  7.5  2432 
 5. Pavlov, Sergey2            UKR 2306  =35 +24 =10 +30 = 2 = 6 +13 - 1 =15 +23 + 4  7.5  2429 
 6. Sergeev, Vladimir       m  UKR 2438  +21 =10 =12 =16 +18 = 5 =15 + 9 = 3 - 1 +23  7.0  2349 
 7. Dzupin, Dmitry             UKR 2297  =38 -12 +31 -35 +24 =27 =39 =22 +32 +16 + 8  7.0  2181 
 8. Shishkin, Vadim         m  UKR 2458  =45 +38 +19 =15 = 4 = 1 - 9 +18 +16 = 3 - 7  6.5  2325 
 9. Moliboga, V                RUS 2310  -44 -30 +24 +31 +32 +26 + 8 - 6 +17 = 4 - 2  6.5  2282 
10. Karnaukh, Anatolij         UKR 2264  +31 = 6 = 5 =19 -12 -28 +38 +29 +35 = 2 =11  6.5  2237 
11. Romanov, Vladimir          UKR 2307  +18 - 1 +25 =12 +23 - 4 =28 -16 +37 +19 =10  6.5  2255 
12. Moiseev,Igor               UKR ----  =46 + 7 = 6 =11 +10 - 2 +26 +35 - 4 +17 - 3  6.5  2370 
13. Kislinsky, Alexey       m  UKR 2441  +32 -26 +33 -17 +30 =22 - 5 +39 +28 +15 - 1  6.5  2246 
14. Katsman, Mikhail           UKR 2278   .  +37 =28 -18 +39 =16 +44 +19 -23 =21 =15  6.0  2192 
15. Perun, Sergey           m  UKR 2350  +30 +44 = 2 = 8 =26 =35 = 6 =17 = 5 -13 =14  6.0  2303 
16. Kalinkin, Boris            UKR 2213  +36 - 2 +32 = 6 - 3 =14 +20 +11 - 8 - 7 +27  6.0  2296 
17. Semenov, Dmitri            UKR 2329  +37 +43 = 4 +13 = 1 - 3 =35 =15 - 9 -12 +28  6.0  2271 
18. Kovalenko,Vladimir N       UKR ----  -11 +29 =20 +14 - 6 =42 +32 - 8 =26 +35 =21  6.0  2251 
19. Dziadyk, Pavel             UKR 2275  =24 +41 - 8 =10 -44 +30 +27 -14 +22 -11 +29  6.0  2195 
20. Evchin, Maxim              UKR 2256  +27 - 4 =18 -28 =45 +37 -16 +33 -21 +26 +30  6.0  2126 
21. Artemchuk,Taras            UKR ----  - 6 -31 =36 -29 +47 =24 +30 +27 +20 =14 =18  6.0  2138 
22. Spiridonov, Nikolai        UKR 2158  +40 - 3 -30 +27 +43 =13 -23 = 7 -19 =37 +36  5.5  2172 
23. Kernazhitsky, Leonid    m  UKR 2371  =41 +35 -26 +42 -11 +44 +22 - 2 +14 - 5 - 6  5.5  2225 
24. Melnichuk,Mikhail          UKR ----  =19 - 5 - 9 +40 - 7 =21 +45 =43 +36 =28 =26  5.5  2153 
25. Baryshpolets,Andrey        UKR ----  - 2 +36 -11 -44 =29 -41 +47 =31 =43 +34 +37  5.5  2120 
26. Semenova, Lidia K       wg UKR 2264  +39 +13 +23 - 1 =15 - 9 -12 =28 =18 -20 =24  5.0  2170 
27. Shcherbenko,Alexandr       UKR ----  -20 +34 =42 -22 +33 = 7 -19 -21 +33 +32 -16  5.0  2106 
28. Golichenko,Ilja            UKR ----  - 3 +47 =14 +20 -35 +10 =11 =26 -13 =24 -17  5.0  2191 
29. Kiselev, Vladimir          UKR 2151  - 1 -18 -40 +21 =25 +34 +43 -10 =39 +31 -19  5.0  2089 
30. Grebeniuk,Semen            UKR ----  -15 + 9 +22 - 5 -13 -19 -21 +40 +45 +39 -20  5.0  2162 
31. Melnik,Alexandr V          UKR ----  -10 +21 - 7 - 9 =34 -33 +40 =25 +42 -29 +41  5.0  2098 
32. Burakovsky, Marat          UKR 2049  -13 +39 -16 +37 - 9 +40 -18 +44 - 7 -27 +35  5.0  2078 
33. Babiy,Petro                UKR ----  - 4 +40 -13 =38 -27 +31 =42 -20 -27 +44 +39  5.0  2081 
34. Leshchenko, Vasilij        UKR 2152   .  -27 -39 +47 =31 -29 -36 +   +44 -25 +40  4.5  1979 
35. Livensky,Eugene            UKR ----  = 5 -23 +45 + 7 +28 =15 =17 -12 -10 -18 -32  4.5  2121 
36. Musienko,Olexiy            UKR ----  -16 -25 =21 -45 -37 +47 +34 +38 -24 +43 -22  4.5  2004 
37. Grinev,Valeriy             UKR ----  -17 -14 +47 -32 +36 -20 +41 +42 -11 =22 -25  4.5  2088 
38. Mazurkov,Anatolij          UKR ----  = 7 - 8 =41 =33 =42 =43 -10 -36 -40 +   +45  4.5  2077 
39. Melnichuk,Sergey           UKR ----  -26 -32 +34 +41 -14 +45 = 7 -13 =29 -30 -33  4.0  2067 
40. Rybchenko,Alexandr         UKR ----  -22 -33 +29 -24 +41 -32 -31 -30 +38 +45 -34  4.0  1965 
41. Brozhik, Vasilij           UKR 2140  =23 -19 =38 -39 -40 +25 -37 -45 +   +42 -31  4.0  1980 
42. Gorlovetsky, Stanislav     UKR 2168   .  +45 =27 -23 =38 =18 =33 -37 -31 -41 =44  3.5  1949 
43. Dolzhikova, Kateryna       UKR 2151  +47 -17 +44 - 3 -22 =38 -29 =24 =25 -36  .   3.5  1989 
44. Khliastikov,Georgy         UKR ----  + 9 -15 -43 +25 +19 -23 -14 -32 -34 -33 =42  3.5  2058 
45. Arutiunov, Viktor          UKR 2088  = 8 -42 -35 +36 =20 -39 -24 +41 -30 -40 -38  3.0  1917 
46. Ianovsky, Alexander        UKR 2248  =12  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   0.5  2000 
47. Schukin,Igor               UKR ----  -43 -28 -37 -34 -21 -36 -25  .   .   .   .   0.0       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18) OSS January International

The OSS January International took place in Oslo 26th January - 1st February 2004. FM Heini Olsen won the event and made an IM-norm. News: Eirik T. Gullaksen.

Internet coverage: http://home.no.net/selskap/

Please note the table below has been corrected from when it was first published on Monday night. The game Martinovic,S-Hole,O [9] has the wrong result in the games file. It should be 1-0 not 0-1 as given. I will correct that next week.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
OSS January It Oslo NOR (NOR), 26 i-1 ii 2004          cat. III (2302)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Olsen, Heini            f FAI 2255  * = = = = 1 1 1 1 =  6.5  2473 
 2. Kuljasevic, Davorin     m CRO 2413  = * = 1 = 1 0 1 = 1  6.0  2414 
 3. Hole, Oystein             NOR 2290  = = * = 1 = 0 0 1 1  5.0  2346 
 4. Dannevig, Oystein         NOR 2369  = 0 = * 1 1 1 0 0 1  5.0  2337 
 5. Johannessen, Svein      m NOR 2317  = = 0 0 * 0 1 1 1 =  4.5  2300 
 6. Christenson, Flemming     NOR 2303  0 0 = 0 1 * 1 1 = =  4.5  2302 
 7. Bosiocic, Marin           CRO 2232  0 1 1 0 0 0 * = = =  3.5  2229 
 8. Martinovic, Sasa          CRO 2156  0 0 1 1 0 0 = * 1 0  3.5  2238 
 9. Bukal, Vladimir         m CRO 2424  0 = 0 1 0 = = 0 * 1  3.5  2208 
10. Gabrielsen, Trond         NOR 2262  = 0 0 0 = = = 1 0 *  3.0  2181 
----------------------------------------------------------------------

19) 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. The missing round 9 men's games and a correction to one of the round 7 games now available. My thanks to Primoz Kokalj.

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

20) Western Class Championships

The Western Class Championships were held January 16th-19th 2004 in Agoura Hills, California. My thanks to John Hillery.

Crosstable may be found at http://www.chesstour.com/wcc04r.htm.

Leading Final Round 7 Standings: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Western Class Championships Agoura Hills USA (USA), 16-19 i 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Matikozian, Andranik   m  ARM 2466 6.0
 2. Sharavdorj, Dashzeveg  g  MGL 2421 5.5
 3. Yermolinsky, Alex      g  USA 2566 5.0
 4. Akobian, Varuzhan      m  USA 2502 5.0
 5. Ehlvest, Jaan          g  EST 2602 4.5
 6. Blatny, Pavel          g  CZE 2452 4.5
 7. Van Buskirk, Charles   f  USA 2292 4.5
 8. Khachiyan, Melikset    m  USA 2431 4.0
 9. Del Pilar, Reynaldo       USA 2272 4.0
10. Yanayt, Eugene            USA 2209 4.0
11. Moreno, William           PER 2113 4.0
12. Taylor, Timothy        m  USA 2322 3.5
13. Habu, Yoshiharu           JPN 2339 3.5
14. Abrahamyan, Tatev      wf USA 2254 3.5
15. Sterin, Ilya              USA 2260 3.5
29 players

21) NorthEast Chess Winter Getaway

George Mirijanian reports: The NorthEast Chess Winter Getaway Tournament took place 23rd-25th January 2004 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. GM Alexander Ivanov captured first place with a score of 4.5-0.5. Taking second place with a 4-1 tally was FM Steven Winer. Tied for 3rd-5th place with 3.5-1.5 results were GM Sergey Kudrin (who drew Ivanov in the final round), IM Igor Foygel and FM Boris Privman. Seven players tied for 6th place with 3-2 performances. They were FM William Kelleher, senior master Joshua Friedel, FM Ilye Figler, national master Jack Stolerman, FM John Curdo, national expert Leonid Tkach and Class A contestant Christopher Williams. A total of 121 players competed in four sections. The tournament was organized by New England's most active chess promoter, Severine Wamala, director of NorthEast Chess. Robert Messenger was the chief TD. Complete crosstables are available at http://masschess.org

22) 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. There is a correction from Guy West to his round 8 game which was given with extraneous moves after 26. ...g5 when the game was actually drawn. My thanks to Gary Bekker.

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

23) More Itau Cup

The Copa Itaú took place in São Paulo Chess Club. The open has 164 competitors with 4 GMs and 10IMs. Gilberto Milos took first place on tie-break from Everaldo Matsuura both made 7.5/9. More games from the event plus a couple of corrected round 9 games. My thanks to Herman Van Riemsdijk.

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

24) Professional World Chess Ranking

The Professional World Chess Ranking for players rated 2500 and higher for February 1st 2004 has been released. Produced by Ken Thomson, San Jose and calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow.

 1 Kasparov,Garry               13.04.1963  RUS  2786 147 
 2 Anand,Viswanathan            11.12.1969  IND  2728 157 
 3 Kramnik,Vladimir             25.06.1975  RUS  2701 141 
 4 Topalov,Veselin              15.03.1975  BUL  2698 171 
 5 Polgar,Judit                 23.07.1976  HUN  2689 162 
 6 Leko,Peter                   08.09.1979  HUN  2685 151 
 7 Svidler,Peter                17.06.1976  RUS  2680 135 
 8 Adams,Michael                17.11.1971  ENG  2677 137 
 9 Morozevich,Alexander         18.07.1977  RUS  2677 179 
10 Shirov,Alexei                04.07.1972  ESP  2669 163 
11 Ponomariov,Ruslan            11.10.1983  UKR  2669 171 
12 Grischuk,Alexander           31.10.1983  RUS  2665 152 
13 Malakhov,Vladimir            27.11.1980  RUS  2657 162 
14 Gelfand,Boris                24.06.1968  ISR  2655 140 
15 Ivanchuk,Vassily             18.03.1969  UKR  2655 146 
16 Azmaiparashvili,Zurab        16.03.1960  GEO  2655 151 
17 Bologan,Viorel               14.12.1971  MDA  2648 190 
18 Bareev,Evgeny                21.11.1966  RUS  2648 193 
19 Short,Nigel D                01.06.1965  ENG  2645 161 
20 McShane,Luke James           07.01.1984  ENG  2637 168 
21 Ye Jiangchuan                20.11.1960  CHN  2627 162 
22 Akopian,Vladimir             07.12.1971  ARM  2626 170 
23 Nisipeanu,Liviu-Dieter       01.08.1976  ROM  2620 147 
24 Vallejo Pons,Francisco       21.08.1982  ESP  2620 156 
25 Sutovsky,Emil                19.09.1977  ISR  2620 192 
26 Karpov,Anatoli               23.05.1951  RUS  2619 136 
27 Lautier,Joel                 12.04.1973  FRA  2619 152 
28 Radjabov,Teimour             12.03.1987  AZE  2616 161 
29 Beliavsky,Alexander G        17.12.1953  SLO  2614 163 
30 Sokolov,Ivan                 13.06.1968  NED  2612 142 
31 Gurevich,Mikhail             22.02.1959  BEL  2612 168 
32 Bacrot,Etienne               22.01.1983  FRA  2611 149 
33 Aronian,Levon                06.10.1982  ARM  2611 173 
34 Khalifman,Alexander          18.01.1966  RUS  2604 132 
35 Aleksandrov,Aleksej          11.05.1973  BLR  2603 141 
36 Sakaev,Konstantin            13.04.1974  RUS  2603 146 
37 Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar        12.04.1985  AZE  2603 157 
38 Dreev,Alexey                 30.01.1969  RUS  2602 167 
39 Graf-Nenashev,Alexander      25.08.1962  GER  2599 165 
40 Nielsen,Peter-Heine          24.05.1973  DEN  2597 168 
41 Georgiev,Kiril               28.11.1965  BUL  2596 160 
42 Macieja,Bartlomiej           04.10.1977  POL  2595 154 
43 Hansen,Curt                  18.09.1964  DEN  2589 161 
44 Fressinet,Laurent            01.11.1981  FRA  2589 171 
45 Moiseenko,Alexander          17.05.1980  UKR  2588 159 
46 Zvjaginsev,Vadim             18.08.1976  RUS  2587 142 
47 Rublevsky,Sergei             15.10.1974  RUS  2586 164 
48 Smirin,Ilia                  21.01.1968  ISR  2586 176 
49 Sasikiran,Krishnan           07.01.1981  IND  2585 173 
50 Onischuk,Alexander           03.09.1975  USA  2585 195 

25) Forthcoming Events and Links

Reykjavik Rapid 2004

Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Nigel Short, Alexei Dreev, Emil Sutovsky and Peter Heine Nielsen will play in the Reykjavik Rapid 2004 which takes place 17th-21st March 2004. The 16 player knocokout event takes place at NASA by Austurvöllur, a popular spot in Reykjavik very close to the parliament building.

The first three spots at the Reykjavik open 2004 (Reykjavikopen.com) which takes place in the Reykjavik city hall 7th-16th March 2004 will earn a place in Reykjavik rapid 2004.

The format of the tournament is rather unusual the the 16 players will engage in a blitz tournament, 5 3 on the 17th of March. The result will determine the seeding. An idea taken from Formula 1. The first round will start on the 18th, The 1st seeded player will play nr. 16, nr. 2 avs. 15 etc. Time allotted is 25 5. In case of a tie there will be a sudden death game.

The main sponsor of the Reyjavik rapid 2004 is Atlantsal.

Brussels 12 Hours

Brussels 12 Hours a 5 minute blitz tournament takes place on 27 March 2004. 1st prize 300 Euros and prizes for all categories.

Entry fees: 10 Euros. GMs/IMs Free, Under 16 years old 5 Euros.

Venue: CREB, Palais du Midi Rue Roger Vander Weyden,3 1000 Brussels

Entry: 09.30 - 10.30 - Tournament start 11h00 Prize ceremony 23h30 Information: Benny Åsman 02/512.48.43 e-mail: bennyasman@skynet.be Joachim Demoulin 0475/33.22.87 jo.demoulin@wanadoo.be

Organised by Caïssa Woluwé, Chess Club Anderlecht, Fous du Roy et CREB

First Saturday February

The First Saturday February GM-IM-FM closed tournament for norms takes place in Budapest, 7th-20th of February 2004. There are list minute places for players available contact Laszlo Nagy. In particular there is a vacancy for a player of around 2350 for the GM event which has currently 13 players.

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

Registered Players so far:

FSGM February

IGM VAJDA, Levente (ROM,2482), IGM SERES, Lajos (HUN,2496), IGM FOGARASI, Tibor (HUN,2477), PAPP, Gábor (HUN,2420), IM WITTMANN, Walter (AUT,2326), FM NGUYEN, Ngoc Truongson (VIE,2436), IM ALMÁSI, Istvan (HUN, 2425), IM LIVSHITS, Gaby (ISR,2400), FM BÁNUSZ, Tamas (HUN, 2372), IM SZEBERÉNYI, Ádám (HUN, 2450), IM BELEZKY, Sasha (UKR, 2405), IM ANTAL, Gergely (HUN, 2498), FM PORAT, Shi (ISR, 2386), Reserves: IGM MEDVEGY, Zoltan (HUN), IM WERNER, Dimo (GER), IM VAJDA, Albert (ROM), WGM HOANG, Th. Trang (VIE), IM JAKAB, Attila (HUN), IM FERNANDO, Diogo (POR),

FSIM February

IM FARAGÓ, Sándor (HUN, 2299), IM EPERJESI, László (HUN, 2322), IM WERNER, Dimo (GER, 2349), FM DUB, Zeev (ISR, 2270), FM ISSA, Rafat (SYR. 2389), PAP, Gyula (HUN, 2226), SZABÓ, Krisztián (HUN, 2348), FM BRUSTKERN, Juergen (GER, 2246), RUDOLF, Anna (HUN, 2199), FM JUHÁSZ, Béla (HUN, 2263), FM VARGA, Csaba (HUN, 2303), FM FODOR, Tamás (HUN, 2130), STEINER, Bruno (AUT, 2254), VAJDA, Albert Sr. (ROM, 2201), Reserves: THEON, Pierre (FRA, 2203), IM GALYAS, Miklós (HUN), WGM-IM VAJDA, Szidónia (HUN), EVAN, Yeo Min-Yang (SIN), TSANAS, Thanasis (GRE), FM GONDA, László (HUN), FM BÉRCZES, Csaba (HUN), FM BÉRCZES, Dávid (HUN),

FSFM February

SIANEC, Attila (HUN, 1804), LANTOS, Attila (HUN, 2022), TO NHAT, Minh (HUN, 2030), CZIMER, József (HUN, 1884), MARÓDI, Mátyás (HUN, 2119), BOROS, Koppány (HUN, 2089), KÕHALMI, Endre jnr. (HUN,2073), GAZDA, Gergely (HUN, 1915), LANIN, Boris dr.(RUS, nonrated), DUDÁS, Eszter (HUN, 1872), KUBACSNY, Vilmos (GER, 2174), LAKAT, Gyula (HUN, 2011), BARÁZ, András (HUN, 1913), PÁLI, Gábor (HUN, 2074), HOANG, Tri (HUN, 2048), FM SZÉLL, Lajos (HUN, 2200), SCHNEIDER, Veronika (HUN, 2113), METAXASZ, Vaszilisz (HUN, 2160), KOVÁCS, Gábor (HUN, 2166), BÁRCZI, Tibor (HUN, nonrated), KELEMEN, Lajos dr. (ROM, nonrated), FRANK, József (HUN, 2028), IGNÁCZ, Mária (HUN, 2131), ZILAHI, Gábor (HUN, 2005), VÉGVÁRI, Ferenc (HUN, 2067), PAPP, József (HUN, 2041), NAGY, László (HUN, 2079), BACSI, András (HUN, 2077), SZABÓ, Leon (HUN, 2103), KERTÉSZ, Zsolt (HUN, 2104), KOCZÓ, Kristóf (HUN, 2173), BALÁZS, Gábor (HUN, nonrated), PROHÁSZKA, Péter (HUN, 2148), THEON, Pierre (FRA, 2203), ZOLTÁN, András (HUN, 2066), RUMMEL, Zsolt (HUN, 2068), ZENTAI, György (HUN, 2180), HOCEVAR, Nikola (SLO, 2112), IGNÁCZ, Rózsa (HUN, nonrated).

3rd Saturday Tournament

A 3rd Saturday Tournament will take place in Novi Sad, 20th-27th March 2004. Improved Elo ratings, IM and maybe GM norms (depending on interest), Semi Open. More info in few days on www.drazic.co.yu. Venue NSK, the oldest club in all of the former Yugoslavia, center of Novi Sad, Serbia, no visa needed now for European and USA citizens.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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/