THE WEEK IN CHESS 580 19th December 2005 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) FIDE World Chess Cup
3) Russian Championship Superfinal
4) XVIII Memorial Carlos Torre
5) 12th Zadar Open
6) 13th Salona Tournament
7) 72nd Brazilian Championship
8) Lugano International Open
9) First Saturday December
10) Belgian Interteams
11) ACP News
12) 5th Amplico AIG Life
13) Grand Prix d’échecs d’Aix en Provence
14) Argentine Chess Club Centenary
15) Penang International Open
16) East Bay Chess Club FIDE Swiss
17) Marshall Chess Club Championship
18) FIDE Elections
19) Enrico Paoli 1908-2005
20) Forthcoming Events and Links

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Games section

FIDE World Chess Cup                  55 games
Russian Championship Superfinal        6 games
XVIII Memorial Carlos Torre           24 games
12th Zadar Open                      261 games
13th Salona Tournament                66 games 
72nd Brazilian Championship           49 games
Lugano International Open            144 games
First Saturday December               72 games
Belgian Interteams                    32 games
709 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Oscar Ruiz, Mirjana Medic, Helen Milligan, Ruben Casafus, Geoffrey Borg, Miklos Orso, Adolivio Capece, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr., Valery Maes and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Happy Christmas to everyone for next week. This time of year produces a lot of chess with traditional events world wide. This week saw the end of the FIDE World Cup which saw Levon Aronian continue his progress up the world rankings by taking first place ahead of former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov. 15 year old Magnus Carlsen qualified for the FIDE Candidates next year by finishing 10th. Just as this event finished the Russian Chess Superfinal started. Top seed Peter Svidler defeated second seed Vladimir Kramnik in the first round. Kramnik's rating has been in freefall since he beat Leko in Brissago, Switzerland.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) FIDE World Chess Cup

The FIDE World Chess Cup took place 26th November - 18th December 2005 in Khanty Mansyisk, Russia. The event was a knockout until round 4. The 16 players in round 4 continude until the end playing matches to establish their exact finishing positions 1-16. The top 10 players were guaranteed qualification for the next stage of the FIDE World Championship, after that reserves were established (qualified players such as Kasparov and Kramnik are not expected to play). Projected calendar for the remaining events in the 2005-2007 World Chess Championship cycle. Candidate Matches: Sept - Oct 2006. World Championship Tournament: Sept - Oct 2007. World Cup 2007: to begin last week of Nov 2007 (cycle 2007-2009).

23 year old Levon Aronian won the event after defeating former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov in the final. Aronian has added 50 rating points in the year and is sure to add more with this performance. The top 10 players all automatically qualified for the next FIDE World Championship cycle. The 11th place is almost certain also to gain entry too.

Final Standings (top 16)

1st Levon Aronian
2nd Ruslan Ponomariov
3rd Etienne Bacrot
4th Alexander Grischuk
5th Evgeny Bareev
6th Boris Gelfand
7th Sergei Rublevsky
8th Mikhail Gurevich
9th Gata Kamsky
10th Magnus Carlsen
11th Vladimir Malakhov
12th Francisco Vallejo Pons
13th Alexey Dreev
14th Loek Van Wely
15th Joel Lautier
16th Konstantin Sakaev

Official site: http://www.worldchesscup2005.com/

Round 6 12th-14th December 2005 Results:

Name                          Rtng G1 G2 Rp1 Rp2 Bz1 Bz2 SD Total
For 1-4 places
Round 6 Match 01
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS)     2720 ½  ½   0   0               1
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)      2704 ½  ½   1   1               3
Round 6 Match 02
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA)         2725 ½  0                      0,5
Aronian, Levon (ARM)          2724 ½  1                      1,5
For 5-8 places
Round 6 Match 03
Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS)       2652 ½  ½   0   ½              1,5
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS)          2675 ½  ½   1   ½              2,5
Round 6 Match 04
Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL)       2652 0  0                       0
Gelfand, Boris (ISR)          2717 1  1                       2
For 9-12 places
Round 6 Match 05
Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS)      2670 ½  ½   1   0   0   ½      2,5 
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)         2570 ½  ½   0   1   1   ½      3,5 
Round 6 Match 06
Kamsky, Gata (USA)            2690 ½  ½   0   1   ½   1      3,5
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) 2674 ½  ½   1   0   ½   0      2,5
For 13-16 places
Round 6 Match 07                                                 
Lautier, Joel (FRA)           2679 ½  ½   ½   ½   0   ½      2,5
Van Wely, Loek (NED)          2648 ½  ½   ½   ½   1   ½      3,5
Round 6 Match 08
Dreev, Alexey (RUS)           2694 1  ½                      1,5
Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS)      2668 0  ½                      0,5

Round 7 15th-17th December 2005 Results:

Name                          Rtng G1 G2 Rp1 Rp2 Bz1 Bz2 SD Total
For 1-2 places
Round 7 Match 01
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)      2704 ½  ½   0   0               1
Aronian, Levon (ARM)          2724 ½  ½   1   1               3
For 3-4 places
Round 7 Match 02
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA)         2725 ½  ½   1   ½              2,5
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS)     2720 ½  ½   0   ½              1,5
For 5-6 places
Round 7 Match 03
Gelfand, Boris (ISR)          2717 ½  ½   0   ½              1,5
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS)          2675 ½  ½   1   ½              2,5
For 7-8 places
Round 7 Match 04
Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS)       2652 1  ½                      1,5
Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL)       2652 0  ½                      0,5
For 9-10 places                                                  
Round 7 Match 05                                                 
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)         2570 1  0   0   0               1
Kamsky, Gata (USA)            2690 0  1   1   1               3
For 11-12 places
Round 7 Match 06
Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS)      2670 1  ½                      1,5 
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) 2674 0  ½                      0,5
For 13-14 places
Round 7 Match 07
Van Wely, Loek (NED)          2648 1  0   ½   0              1,5
Dreev, Alexey (RUS)           2694 0  1   ½   1              2,5
For 15-16 places
Round 7 Match 08
Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS)      2668 ½  ½   1   0   ½   ½  ½   3,5
Lautier, Joel (FRA)           2679 ½  ½   0   1   ½   ½  ½   3,5

3) Russian Championship Superfinal

The Russian Championship Superfinal takes place in Moscow 18th-30th December 2005. Arrival and drawing of lots 18th December 2005, 1st round 19th December 2005, last round 30th December. One rest day. Sadly Alexander Grischuk (disagreement with the prize structure) and Evgeniy Najer (illness) were last minute withdrawals.

Official site: http://www.russiachess.ru/mods.php?name=section&oid=1118&bid=31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (RUS), 19-30 xii 2005        cat. XVII (2664)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Rublevsky, Sergei       g RUS 2652  * . . . . . . . . . 1 .  1.0       
 2. Svidler, Peter          g RUS 2740  . * . . . . . . . . . 1  1.0       
 3. Dreev, Alexey           g RUS 2694  . . * . . . = . . . . .  0.5  2632 
 4. Jakovenko, Dmitry       g RUS 2644  . . . * . . . . . = . .  0.5  2659 
 5. Khalifman, Alexander    g RUS 2653  . . . . * . . . = . . .  0.5  2614 
 6. Morozevich, Alexander   g RUS 2707  . . . . . * . = . . . .  0.5  2564 
 7. Motylev, Alexander      g RUS 2632  . . = . . . * . . . . .  0.5  2694 
 8. Tomashevsky, Evgeny     g RUS 2564  . . . . . = . * . . . .  0.5  2707 
 9. Volkov, Sergey1         g RUS 2614  . . . . = . . . * . . .  0.5  2653 
10. Zvjaginsev, Vadim       g RUS 2659  . . . = . . . . . * . .  0.5  2644 
11. Bareev, Evgeny          g RUS 2675  0 . . . . . . . . . * .  0.0       
12. Kramnik, Vladimir       g RUS 2739  . 0 . . . . . . . . . *  0.0       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (December 19, 2005)

Rublevsky, Sergei      -  Bareev, Evgeny         1-0   35  C08  French Tarrasch
Svidler, Peter         -  Kramnik, Vladimir      1-0   48  C42  Petroff's Defence
Jakovenko, Dmitry      -  Zvjaginsev, Vadim      1/2   62  C11  French Defence
Khalifman, Alexander   -  Volkov, Sergey1        1/2   42  D15  Slav Defence
Motylev, Alexander     -  Dreev, Alexey          1/2   21  B19  Caro Kann
Tomashevsky, Evgeny    -  Morozevich, Alexander  1/2   42  A31  English Symmetrical

4) XVIII Memorial Carlos Torre

The XVIII Memorial Carlos Torre Repetto takes place in Mérida, Yucatán, México 15th-23rd December 2005. Top Players: Vassily Ivanchuk, Lázaro Bruzón, Michal Krasenkow and Bartlomiej Macieja. A Swiss system qualifer produced players for the knock out phase where they were joined by the strongest players.

Further details: http://www.carlostorre.org.mx

Knockout Pairings:
 1   Bruzon Lazaro        GM 2677 CUB 
16   Rohl Juan            IM 2405 VEN 

 8   Akobian Varuzhan     GM 2600 USA 
 9   Leon H Manuel        IM 2428 MEX 

 4   Reynaldo Vera        GM 2481 CUB 
13   Escobedo T Alberto   IM 2403 MEX 

 5   Mitkov Nikola        GM 2520 MKD 
12   Huerta Dayron        FM 2263 CUB 

 2   Krasenkow Michal     GM 2655 POL 
15   Fierro B Martha      IM 2269 ECU 

 7   Jesús Nogueiras      GM 2547 CUB 
10   Quezada Yuniesky     GM 2505 CUB 

 3   Macieja Bartlomiej   GM 2591 POL 
14   De la Paz Frank      GM 2456 CUB 

 6   Gonzalez Juan C      GM 2515 MEX 
11   Hernandez Holden     IM 2483 CUB 

Final Standings swiss system qualifier
 1.  8    Vera, Reynaldo                 5.0  24.0              2481 2575 +0.30
 2.  4    Mitkov, Nikola                 5.0  23.0 16.5         2520 2555 +0.10
 3.  5    Gonzalez, Zamora Juan Carl     5.0  23.0 15.5         2515 2608 +0.56
 4.  3    Nogueiras, Jesus               5.0  22.5              2547 2653 +0.68
 5.  2    Akobian, Varuzhan              4.5  23.5 16.5  17.25  2600 2509 -0.54
 6.  11   Leon Hoyos, Manuel             4.5  23.5 16.5  14.25  2428 2440 +0.10
 7.  6    Quezada, Yuniesky              4.5  23.5 16.0  17.5   2505 2442 -0.36
 8.  7    Hernandez, Holden              4.5  23.5 16.0  16.25  2483 2489 +0.06
 9.  24   Huerta, Dayron                 4.5  23.0              2263 2383 +0.90
10.  13   Escobedo Tinajero, Alberto     4.5  21.0              2403 2424 +0.12
11.  10   De La Paz, Frank               4.5  20.5              2456 2413 -0.30
12.  22   Fierro Baquero, Martha L.      4.5  20.0 14.5         2269 2306 +0.24
13.  12   Rohl, Juan                     4.5  20.0 14.0         2405 2443 +0.24
14.  1    Milov, Vadim                   4.5  20.0 13.0         2652 2449 -1.02
15.  18   Garcia Martinez, Silvino       4.5  20.0 12.5         2337 2378 +0.30
16.  20   Huerta, Soris Ramon            4.0  22.0              2322 2341 +0.16
     16   Blanco Fernandez, Alvaro       4.0  21.5              2354 2456 +0.82
     14   Garmendez, Florentino          4.0  20.5              2369 2335 -0.26
     21   Ocampo, Raul                   4.0  20.0              2287 2268 -0.14
     29   Mata Gonzalez, Jose Fernan     4.0  20.0              2213 2388 +1.42
     17   Estrada Nieto, Julian          4.0  19.0              2351 2211 -0.92
     39   Sanchez Enr., Oscar G.         4.0  19.0              2173 2183 +0.04
     15   Watanabe, Akira                4.0  18.5              2365 2320 -0.32
     48   Albarran, Alejandro            4.0  18.0              2136 2172 +0.25
     76   Tapie, Pablo Adib              4.0  15.5              1982 2183 +1.60
     67   Martinez Sasso Alvaro Anto     4.0  14.5              2018 2108 +0.65
101 players

5) 12th Zadar Open

The 12th Zadar Open took place 12th-18th December 2005. Vladimir Petkov win the event with 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/turniri/zadar/05/index.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12th Open Zadar CRO (CRO), 12-18 xii 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Petkov, Vladimir       m  BUL 2529  -33 +22 +30 +23 =16 =17 +24 = 2 + 5  6.5  2595 
 2. Tratar, Marko          m  SLO 2440  +48 + 5 +12 = 8 =11 = 6 =17 = 1 = 3  6.0  2649 
 3. Nevednichy, Vladislav  g  ROM 2594  +27 =10 = 7 =24 =15 +19 =14 +16 = 2  6.0  2570 
 4. Blagojevic, Dragisa    g  SCG 2541  +40 =15 =24 = 7 +27 =16 =11 = 9 +17  6.0  2585 
 5. Kozul, Zdenko          g  CRO 2576  +45 - 2 +37 +29 =14 + 9 + 8 = 6 - 1  6.0  2609 
 6. Gleizerov, Evgeny      g  RUS 2564  -37 +38 +44 =18 +25 = 2 +32 = 5 =11  6.0  2526 
 7. Saric, Ibro            m  BIH 2441  +34 = 8 = 3 = 4 -19 +47 =18 +32 +14  6.0  2550 
 8. Palac, Mladen          g  CRO 2571  +20 = 7 +10 = 2 = 9 =11 - 5 =15 +24  5.5  2546 
 9. Rogic, Davor           m  CRO 2520  =31 +35 +33 =17 = 8 - 5 +22 = 4 =12  5.5  2528 
10. Neubauer, Martin       m  AUT 2442  +22 = 3 - 8 +33 =21 =42 =26 =20 +27  5.5  2505 
11. Cvitan, Ognjen         g  CRO 2527  +39 =18 =25 +47 = 2 = 8 = 4 =14 = 6  5.5  2527 
12. Zelcic, Robert         g  CRO 2533  +44 =29 - 2 =37 =35 +34 =16 +26 = 9  5.5  2487 
13. Fercec, Nenad          m  CRO 2512  =35 =31 =48 =27 +36 =15 +42 =17 =21  5.5  2459 
14. Drasko, Milan          g  SCG 2528  +30 =33 +15 =16 = 5 =24 = 3 =11 - 7  5.0  2507 
15. Nikolov, Momchil          BUL 2435  +36 = 4 -14 +31 = 3 =13 =19 = 8 =23  5.0  2507 
16. Brkic, Ante            m  CRO 2500  +43 =37 +19 =14 = 1 = 4 =12 - 3 =18  5.0  2512 
17. Pavasovic, Dusko       g  SLO 2527  +46 =25 =29 = 9 +18 = 1 = 2 =13 - 4  5.0  2503 
18. Sebenik, Matej         m  SLO 2407  +49 =11 =21 = 6 -17 +27 = 7 =22 =16  5.0  2488 
19. Doric, Darko           f  CRO 2402  +28 =21 -16 +48 + 7 - 3 =15 =24 =20  5.0  2463 
20. Feletar, Darko         m  CRO 2394  - 8 =34 =38 =22 =28 +41 +29 =10 =19  5.0  2391 
21. Stevic, Hrvoje         g  CRO 2514  +50 =19 =18 =25 =10 -32 =23 +35 =13  5.0  2430 
22. Skoberne, Jure         f  SLO 2308  -10 - 1 +45 =20 +33 +37 - 9 =18 +32  5.0  2449 
23. Sakelsek, Tadej        m  SLO 2404  -47 +50 +32 - 1 =34 =25 =21 +36 =15  5.0  2410 
24. Gagarin, Vasilij       m  RUS 2422  =32 +47 = 4 = 3 +29 =14 - 1 =19 - 8  4.5  2454 
25. Rezan, Sasa            m  CRO 2421  +41 =17 =11 =21 - 6 =23 =36 -27 +42  4.5  2419 
26. Lukin, Andrei M        m  RUS 2417  =38 =32 =31 =34 =47 +35 =10 -12 =30  4.5  2333 
27. Ljubicic, Filip        m  CRO 2400  - 3 +43 +49 =13 - 4 -18 +34 +25 -10  4.5  2418 
28. Martinovic, Sasa          CRO 2182  -19 =39 -34 +43 =20 =40 =31 =33 +45  4.5  2352 
29. Rusev, Krasimir           BUL 2434  +42 =12 =17 - 5 -24 +48 -20 =31 +43  4.5  2410 
30. Krstic, Uros           m  CRO 2350  -14 +41 - 1 +38 -32 -36 +48 +42 =26  4.5  2347 
31. Kutuzovic, Branko      m  CRO 2327  = 9 =13 =26 -15 =41 =38 =28 =29 =34  4.0  2323 
32. Dabo-Peranic, Robert      CRO 2262  =24 =26 -23 +40 +30 +21 - 6 - 7 -22  4.0  2378 
33. Jakic, Ivan            f  CRO 2336  + 1 =14 - 9 -10 -22 =39 +47 =28 =35  4.0  2332 
34. Sutkovic, Damir           BIH 2301  - 7 =20 +28 =26 =23 -12 -27 +48 =31  4.0  2334 
35. Babic, Drasko          f  SCG 2316  =13 - 9 =39 +49 =12 -26 +38 -21 =33  4.0  2361 
36. Martic, Zlatko         f  CRO 2298  -15 -40 +46 +44 -13 +30 =25 -23 =37  4.0  2354 
37. Kosanski, Stanko       m  CRO 2376  + 6 =16 - 5 =12 -42 -22 =43 =40 =36  3.5  2338 
38. Brulic, Denis             CRO 2247  =26 - 6 =20 -30 +46 =31 -35 =39 =40  3.5  2299 
39. Levacic, Patrick       m  CRO 2331  -11 =28 =35 -42 =40 =33 =46 =38 =41  3.5  2238 
40. Mestrovic, Zvonimir    m  SLO 2373  - 4 +36 -47 -32 =39 =28 =49 =37 =38  3.5  2219 
41. Zelic, Mladen          f  CRO 2249  -25 -30 =43 +45 =31 -20 -50 +46 =39  3.5  2275 
42. Malysheva, Polina      wm RUS 2295  -29 -44 +50 +39 +37 =10 -13 -30 -25  3.5  2314 
43. Biliskov, Vjekoslav    f  CRO 2316  -16 -27 =41 -28 +49 =44 =37 +47 -29  3.5  2248 
44. Biti, Ozren            f  CRO 2359  -12 +42 - 6 -36 =48 =43 -45 =50 +49  3.5  2281 
45. Franic, Milan          m  CRO 2395  - 5 -48 -22 -41 +50 =46 +44 +49 -28  3.5  2238 
46. Armanda, Ivica         m  CRO 2343  -17 -49 -36 +50 -38 =45 =39 -41 +47  3.0  2188 
47. Ramesa, Davor             CRO 2226  +23 -24 +40 -11 =26 - 7 -33 -43 -46  2.5  2231 
48. Fucak, Emilijo         f  CRO 2300  - 2 +45 =13 -19 =44 -29 -30 -34 =50  2.5  2224 
49. Novak, Ratko              CRO 2229  -18 +46 -27 -35 -43 +50 =40 -45 -44  2.5  2192 
50. Plenkovic, Zdenko      f  CRO 2321  -21 -23 -42 -46 -45 -49 +41 =44 =48  2.0  2123 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------
12th Women Zadar CRO (CRO), 12-18 xii 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Voiska, Margarita     wg BUL 2309  * = 1 = = 1 1 = 1  6.0  2385 
2. Sargac, Rajna         wm CRO 2243  = * = 1 1 0 1 1 1  6.0  2393 
3. Medic, Mirjana        wg CRO 2250  0 = * 1 1 = = 1 =  5.0  2294 
4. Olarasu, Gabriela     wg ROM 2323  = 0 0 * = 1 1 1 1  5.0  2285 
5. Djingarova, Emilia    wg BUL 2358  = 0 0 = * 1 1 = 1  4.5  2229 
6. Solic, Kristina       wm CRO 2162  0 1 = 0 0 * = 1 1  4.0  2210 
7. Grobelsek, Ana        wf SLO 2079  0 0 = 0 0 = * 1 =  2.5  2080 
8. Randjelovic, Dragana  wf SCG 2076  = 0 0 0 = 0 0 * =  1.5  1970 
9. Svaljek, Radmila      wf CRO 2047  0 0 = 0 0 0 = = *  1.5  1974 
-------------------------------------------------------------------

6) 13th Salona Tournament

The 13th Salona took place in Solin, Croatia 9th-18th December 2005. Bojan Kurajica won the event with 7.5/11.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/turniri/solin/05/index.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
13th Salona Solin CRO (CRO), 9-18 xii 2005                     cat. X (2481)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Kurajica, Bojan           g BIH 2533  * = = = 1 1 0 1 1 = = 1  7.5  2609 
 2. Kovacevic, Blazimir       m CRO 2493  = * 0 = 1 = 1 = = = 1 1  7.0  2582 
 3. Jankovic, Alojzije        m CRO 2446  = 1 * = = = = = 0 1 0 1  6.0  2520 
 4. Lugovoi, Aleksei          g RUS 2547  = = = * = = = = 1 = 1 0  6.0  2511 
 5. Godena, Michele           g ITA 2502  0 0 = = * = = 1 1 = = 1  6.0  2515 
 6. Matveeva, Svetlana        m RUS 2422  0 = = = = * = = 1 = = =  5.5  2486 
 7. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina   m RUS 2457  1 0 = = = = * = = = = 0  5.0  2447 
 8. Saric, Ante               m CRO 2437  0 = = = 0 = = * 1 = = =  5.0  2449 
 9. Jovanic, Ognjen           m CRO 2469  0 = 1 0 0 0 = 0 * 1 1 1  5.0  2446 
10. Dizdarevic, Emir          g BIH 2509  = = 0 = = = = = 0 * 1 0  4.5  2413 
11. Kovacevic, Vlatko         g CRO 2512  = 0 1 0 = = = = 0 0 * 1  4.5  2413 
12. Cvorovic, Drazen          m CRO 2446  0 0 0 1 0 = 1 = 0 1 0 *  4.0  2382 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) 72nd Brazilian Championship

The 72nd Brazilian Championship takes place in Guarulhos 12th-20th December 2005. With two rounds to go Alexander Fier leads by a point and a half but he only has one game to complete his schedule due to the withdrawal after losing his first four rounds of Roberto Assumpcao.

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/2005/Bra2005/tab.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
72nd ch-BRA Guarulhos BRA (BRA), 12-20 xii 2005                    cat. VI (2396)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Fier, Alexander Hilario Takeda   m BRA 2443  * 1 = . 1 = = 1 1 = 1  7.0  2604 
 2. Milos, Gilberto                  g BRA 2620  0 * = . = 1 . 1 = 1 1  5.5  2507 
 3. Lima, Darcy                      g BRA 2529  = = * = . 0 1 = 1 . 1  5.0  2488 
 4. Matsuura, Everaldo               m BRA 2453  . . = * 1 = = = 1 1 0  5.0  2449 
 5. Coelho, Luis                     m BRA 2412  0 = . 0 * 1 = . 1 1 1  5.0  2482 
 6. Disconzi da Silva, Rodrigo       f BRA 2389  = 0 1 = 0 * = 0 . 1 =  4.0  2365 
 7. Santos, M.V.M                    f BRA 2353  = . 0 = = = * 1 0 = .  3.5  2344 
 8. Di Berardino, Diego Rafael         BRA 2312  0 0 = = . 1 0 * . 0 1  3.0  2330 
 9. Chemin, Vitorio                  f BRA 2294  0 = 0 0 0 . 1 . * = 1  3.0  2333 
10. Cavalcanti, Francisco            f BRA 2270  = 0 . 0 0 0 = 1 = * .  2.5  2268 
11. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag          BRA 2280  0 0 0 1 0 = . 0 0 . *  1.5  2180 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roberto Assumpcao BRA 2364 withdrew after losing his first four rounds
and his game results were cancelled.

8) Lugano International Open

The Lugano International Open took place 18th-20th November 2005. Swiss System 36 moves in 90 Mins + 30 Mins for the rest of the game. Vladimir Lazarev edged out Sasha Belezky and Alfred Weindl on tie-break after all finished on 5/6.

Official site: http://luganoscacchi.ch/

------------------------------------------------------
Open Lugano SUI (SUI), 18-20 xi 2005
------------------------------------------------------
 1. Lazarev, Vladimir     g  RUS 2513  5    22.5 18.5
 2. Belezky, Sasha        m  UKR 2364  5    20.5 16.5
 3. Weindl, Alfred        m  GER 2352  5    19.5 17.5
 4. Starostits, Ilmars    m  LAT 2480  4.5  22   16
 5. Rosin, Federico          ITA 2143  4.5  17   13.5
 6. Piazza, Carlo            ITA 2104  4.5  16.5 14.5
 7. Trumpf, Walter           SUI 2058  4.5  15   11.75
 8. Paleologu, Vladimir      SUI 2158  4    20   14.75
 9. Van de Plassche,Erik     NED ----  4    20   13
14. Agushi, Agim             SUI 2123  4    18    9.5
12. Bossi, Alessandro        ITA 2063  4    17   10.5
11. Habibi, Ali           m  GER 2292  4    15.5 11.5
13. Cucchiani, Claudio       SUI 2061  4    14.5  9
47 players

9) First Saturday December

The December First Saturday GM, IM and FM closed tournaments took place 3rd-15th December 2005 in Budapest. Viktor Erdos won the GMA event with 6.5/10. Zlatko Ilincic won the GMB group with 7/10.

Official site: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGMA December Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 xii 2005           cat. X (2482)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Erdos, Viktor           m HUN 2522  * = = = = 1 = = 1 = 1  6.5  2587 
 2. Turov, Maxim            g RUS 2546  = * 1 = = 0 1 = = = 1  6.0  2547 
 3. Boros, Denes            m HUN 2460  = 0 * = 1 = = = 1 = 1  6.0  2555 
 4. Farago, Ivan            g HUN 2512  = = = * = = = = = 1 =  5.5  2514 
 5. Hoang Thanh Trang       m VIE 2471  = = 0 = * = = = = 1 1  5.5  2518 
 6. Banusz, Tamas           m HUN 2460  0 1 = = = * 0 = = 1 =  5.0  2483 
 7. Gonda, Laszlo           f HUN 2448  = 0 = = = 1 * = = 0 1  5.0  2485 
 8. Steingrimsson, Hedinn   m ISL 2435  = = = = = = = * = 0 =  4.5  2450 
 9. Varga, Zoltan           g HUN 2525  0 = 0 = = = = = * 1 =  4.5  2441 
10. Porat, Shi              m ISR 2444  = = = 0 0 0 1 1 0 * 1  4.5  2449 
11. Berczes, David          m HUN 2475  0 0 0 = 0 = 0 = = 0 *  2.0  2242 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSGMB December Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 xii 2005          cat. VII (2422)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Ilincic, Zlatko          g SCG 2540  * = 1 0 1 = = 1 1 = 1  7.0  2559 
 2. Zlatic, Mihajlo          m SCG 2417  = * = = = = 1 0 = 1 1  6.0  2495 
 3. Nemeth, Miklos1          f HUN 2378  0 = * = = = 1 = 1 1 =  6.0  2498 
 4. Brinck-Claussen, Bjorn   m DEN 2342  1 = = * = 1 0 = = 0 1  5.5  2466 
 5. Vajda, Levente           g ROM 2547  0 = = = * = = = = 1 1  5.5  2446 
 6. Kosic, Dragan            g SCG 2489  = = = 0 = * = 1 = = =  5.0  2415 
 7. Porat, Ido               f ISR 2328  = 0 0 1 = = * = 1 1 0  5.0  2431 
 8. Schroll, Gerhard         m AUT 2362  0 1 = = = 0 = * = = =  4.5  2392 
 9. Kargin, Arseny           m RUS 2406  0 = 0 = = = 0 = * 1 =  4.0  2352 
10. Radziewicz, Iweta        m POL 2453  = 0 0 1 0 = 0 = 0 * 1  3.5  2309 
11. Slavina, Irina           m RUS 2385  0 0 = 0 0 = 1 = = 0 *  3.0  2277 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FSIM December Budapest HUN (HUN), 3-15 xii 2005                  cat. II (2282)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Caruana, Fabiano             f USA 2373  * 1 = 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1  8.5  2485 
 2. Lengyel, Bela                m HUN 2276  0 * = = = 1 1 1 = 1 1 1  8.0  2457 
 3. Fodor, Tamas jr              f HUN 2252  = = * = 1 0 = 1 = 1 1 1  7.5  2418 
 4. Galyas, Miklos               m HUN 2424  1 = = * = 1 = = = = = 1  7.0  2371 
 5. Werner, Dimo                 m GER 2376  0 = 0 = * 0 1 1 1 = 1 1  6.5  2338 
 6. Muratet Casadevall, Albert     ESP 2175  0 0 1 0 1 * 0 1 = = 1 1  6.0  2328 
 7. Varga, Csaba2                f HUN 2279  0 0 = = 0 1 * 1 1 0 = 1  5.5  2282 
 8. Bachler, Reinhardt             AUT 2235  1 0 0 = 0 0 0 * 1 1 1 1  5.5  2286 
 9. Radnai, Adam                   HUN 2198  0 = = = 0 = 0 0 * = 1 1  4.5  2225 
10. Hoang Tri                      HUN 2214  0 0 0 = = = 1 0 = * = 1  4.5  2223 
11. Adams, Nick A                  USA 2208  0 0 0 = 0 0 = 0 0 = * 1  2.5  2078 
12. Bakhmatov, Eduard            f GER 2378  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *  0.0       
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10) Belgian Interteams

The 5th round of the Belgian Teams took place 4th December 2005. CRELEL - KGSRL games are missing. News: Valery Maes.

 Nationale Interclubs 2005-6

  Round 1: 09.10.2006                   
  1. CE Namur - Borgerhout        5 - 3 
  2. KGSRL - SK Rochade          3½ - 4½
  3. CREC - Boey Temse            7 - 1 
  4. CRELEL - SK Deurne           6 - 2 
  6. Eynatten 1 - Eynatten 2      6 - 2   
   
  Round 2: 23.10.2006
  1. Borgerhout - Eynatten 2      6 - 2
  2. Jean Jaurès - Eynatten 1    3½ - 4½
  3. SK Deurne - KBSK             2 - 6
  4. Boey Temse - CRELEL          5 - 3
  5. SK Rochade - CREC            3 - 5
  6. CE Namur - KGSRL             4 - 4

  Round 3: 06.11.05
  1. KGSRL - Borgerhout          4½ - 3½
  2. CREC -  CE Namur             4 - 4
  3.CRELEL - SK Rochade           3 - 5 
  4. KBSK - Boey Temse            5 - 3
  5. Eynatten 1 - SK Deurne      7½ - ½
  6. Eynatten 2 - Jean Jaurès    4½ - 3½

  Round 4: 20.11.05
  1. Borgerhout - Jean Jaurès    4½ - 3½
  2. CE Namur - CRELEL            4 - 4
  3. SK Rochade - KBSK            7 -  1
  4. KGSRL - CREC                4½ - 3½
  5. SK Deurne - Eynatten 2      1½ - 6½
  6. Boey Temse - Eynatten 1     2½ - 5½

  Round 5: 04.12.05
  1. CREC - Borgerhout           5½ - 2½
  2. CRELEL - KGSRL              1½ - 6½
  3. KBSK - CE Namur              5 - 3
  4. Eynatten 1 - SK Rochade      5 - 3
  5. Eynatten 2    Boey Temse    3½ - 4½
  6. J.Jaurès - SK Deurne         5 - 3

 Round 5 Standings
  1. Eynatten 1          28½
  2. CREC                25
  3. KGSRL               23
  4. KBSK                22½
     SK Rochade          22½
  6. CE Namur            20 
  7. Borgerhout          19½
  8. Eynatten 2          18½
  9. J.Jaurès            18
 10.CRELEL               17½
 11.Boey Temse           16
 12.SK Deurne             9

11) ACP News

The elections to the ACP board have concluded. Preliminary resulst.

Name                      Votes Popularity
Macieja Bartlomiej (POL)  141   643       
Tregubov Pavel (RUS)      135   622       
Bologan Viorel (MDA)      132   532       
Pelletier Yannick (SUI)   131   586       
Glek Igor (GER)           121   480       
Shirov Alexei (ESP)       116   502       
Chuchelov Vladimir (BEL)  78    268       
Agrest Evgeny (SWE)       74    246       
Dreev Alexei (RUS)        73    261       
Kobalia Mikhail (RUS)     59    198       
Romanishin Oleg (UKR)     53    181       
Laborde Stephane (FRA)    44    142       
Raetsky Alexander (RUS)   43    162       
Tsorbatzoglou Viron (GRE) 32    105       
*Women*

Name                       Votes Popularity 
Skripchenko Almira (FRA)   141   239        
Sedina Elena (ITA)         92    131        
Kadimova Ilaha (AZE)       67    89         
Fierro Martha (ECU)        32    44         
Lujan Maria Carolina (ARG) 20    25         
*The valid votes have been received from:*

ACP site: http://www.chess-players.org

They also have produced a review of the November ACP Tour: http://www.chess-players.org/eng/news/viewarticle.html?id=478

12) 5th Amplico AIG Life

The 24th Chess Memorial of Stanislaw Gawlikowski took place in Warsaw, 16th-18th December 2005 in the Olympic Centre Wybrzeze Gdynskie street 4. I couldn't find any results or games.

Further details: http://www.pzszach.org.pl/

13) Grand Prix d’échecs d’Aix en Provence

The Grand Prix d’échecs d’Aix en Provence took place 15th-18th December 2005. Games have yet to emerge.

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

14) Argentine Chess Club Centenary

An International Open Chess Tournament took place in the Argentine Chess Club Centenary Buenos Aires City Cup November 30th - December 11th 2005. 2 hours to finish for player / Swiss System to 11 Rounds. Gilberto Hernandez and Bernardo Roselli Maihe finished on 9.5/11. No games available.

More information: http://www.ajedrezsiglo21.com and http://club-argentino.tripod.com

Leading final Standings
  1-2   Hernandez, Gilberto               gm  2534    9.5     60.0    72.0  81.5
        Roselli Maihe, Bernardo           im  2401    9.5     56.5    63.0  72.5
  3-5   Fiorito, Fabian                   im  2417    9       58.0    72.5  82.0
        Labollita, Martin                 im  2408    9       55.5    71.5  80.5
        Ehlvest, Jaan                     gm  2618    9       52.0    68.5  78.0
 6-13   Giardelli, Sergio                 im  2418    8.5     54.5    69.0  77.0
        Fernandez, Daniel                 im  2423    8.5     54.0    69.5  78.5
        Alonso, Salvador                  im  2459    8.5     54.0    68.5  78.0
        Slipak, Sergio                    gm  2465    8.5     54.0    68.0  77.5
        Valerga, Diego                    im  2477    8.5     50.5    68.5  76.0
        Mahia, Gustavo                    fm  2426    8.5     50.0    62.0  69.5
        Izquierdo, Daniel                 fm  2297    8.5     49.5    64.0  71.5
        Garcia Palermo, Carlos            gm  2476    8.5     47.5    62.5  70.0
 14-31  Dolezal, Cristian                 fm  2400    8       55.0    67.5  76.5
        Bielicki, Carlos                  im  2300    8       54.0    73.5  82.5
        Liascovich, Lucas                 im  2424    8       53.5    68.5  78.0
        Sorin, Ariel                      gm  2496    8       52.5    72.5  81.5
        Lafuente, Pablo - 20              im  2421    8       52.5    67.0  75.0
        Mareco, Sandro - 20                   2290    8       52.5    64.5  73.5
        Orsini, Antonio - 20                  2257    8       51.5    66.5  75.0
        Lemos, Damian - 20                    2320    8       51.5    64.0  72.5
        Giaccio, Alfredo Gustavo          im  2468    8       50.5    64.0  73.5
        Rosito, Jorge                     im  2416    8       49.5    68.5  76.5
        Reides, Marcelo                   fm  2346    8       49.0    66.5  75.5
        Prates, Fabiano                       2221    8       49.0    66.5  75.5
        Garbarino, Rodolfo                im  2381    8       49.0    64.5  72.0
        Schweber, Samuel                  im  2355    8       49.0    61.5  70.5
        Cordova, Emilio - 20              im  2434    8       48.0    62.5  70.0
        Cativelli, Gerardo                    2230    8       48.0    60.5  69.0
        Perez Cascella, Julio                 2255    8       46.0    57.0  64.5
        Rios Escobar, Adrian                  2259    8       45.5    60.0  68.5
517 players

15) Penang International Open

Penang International Open Chess Tournament 2005 took place in Penang, Malaysia 7th-11th December 2005. Stefan Loeffler won by a point and a half with 8.5/9. No games available.

Official site: http://www.pca.bayanbaru.com/PgOpen/

Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
 1.  Stefan Loeffler         IM 8.5
 2.  Yohannes Simbolon          7.0
 3.  Bong Villamayor         GM 7.0
 4.  Drazen Sermek           GM 7.0
 5.  Hasian Panggabean          7.0
 6.  Chuah Jin Hai, Jonathan    6.5
 7.  Sukarnedi                  6.5
 8.  Mok Tze Meng            FM 6.5
 9.  Yosafat K.P.               6.5
10.  Mohd Fairin Zakaria        6.5
11.  Bakre Tejas             GM 6.0
12.  Liong Ing Kiat, Anthony    6.0
13.  Kamaluddin Yusof           6.0
14.  Pitra Andika               6.0
15.  Mohd Fadli Zakaria         6.0
16.  Tan Khai Boon              6.0
17.  Loo Swee Leong             6.0
18.  Kannapon Srivachirawat     6.0
19.  Lim Cheng Teik             6.0
20.  Setiawan Gagarin           6.0
21.  Foo Loong Chu, Holmes      6.0
22.  Abdullah Che Hassan        5.5
23.  Yap Jinwei, Abel           5.5
24.  Lim Chin Teng              5.5
25.  Chan Tze Wei               5.5
26.  Chan Tze Chen              5.5
27.  Looi Xin Hao               5.5
28.  Achyu Iswana               5.5
29.  Yeap Eng Chiam             5.5
30.  Tan Chin Hoe               5.5
31.  Ng Yong Quan               5.5
32.  Hong Wee Liam, Victor      5.5
110 players

16) East Bay Chess Club FIDE Swiss

The East Bay Chess Club hosts a FIDE Swiss December 17th-23rd, 2005.

Official site: http://www.eastbaychess.com/tourney/05/fideswiss.html

Players:
Name                 FIDE   Ti   Fed
Jaan Ehlvest         2618   GM   EST
Alex Yermolinsky     2549   GM   USA
John Fedorowicz      2502   GM   USA
Josh Friedel         2453   IM   USA
Vinay Bhat           2429   IM   USA
Jesse Kraai          2428   IM   USA
Alan Stein           2422   FM   USA
Vladimir Mezentsev   2409   IM   RUS
David Pruess         2400   FM   USA
Ricardo de Guzman    2383   IM   PHI
Sandor Kustar        2375   IM   HUN
Tigran Ishkanov      2350        USA
Justin Sarkar        2315   IM   USA
Shivkumar Shivaji    2299        USA
Peter Zavadsky       2268        SVK
Richard Lobo         2263   FM   ENG
Andy Lee             2256        USA
Eric Moskow          2238        USA
Roger Poehlmann      2230        USA
Raja Panjwani        2209        CAN
Michael Pearson      2173        USA
Edward Perepelitsky  2123        USA
Philipp Perepelitsky 2116        USA

17) Marshall Chess Club Championship

Marshall Chess Club Championship takes place December 9th-11th, 17th-18th in New York City, USA.

Official site: http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Leading Round 5 Standings:
1  GM Nick E De Firmian USA 2552  4½
2  GM Leonid G Yudasin  ISR 2554  4
3  GM Ildar Ibragimov   USA 2617  3½
4  GM Joel Benjamin     USA 2576  3½
5  FM Salvijus Bercys   USA 2359  3½
6  FM Igor Schneider    USA 2350  3½
7  IM Milos Scekic      SGC 2395  3
8  IM Alfonso A Almeida MEX 2362  3
9  Adam Maltese         USA 2200  3
10 FM Boris Privman     USA 2243  3
11 WFM Laura R Ross     USA 2141  3
12 GM Michael A Rohde   USA 2512  2½
13 Igor Sorkin          ISR 2356  2½
14 IM Jay R Bonin       USA 2315  2½
15 Robert L Hess        USA 2328  2½
16 Mackenzie Molner     USA 2253  2½
17 FM Ilye Figler       USA 2375  2½
18 IM Renato C Naranja  PHI 2356  2½
19 Alex Averbukh        USA ----  2½
20 Lawrence Tamarkin    USA 2186  2½
21 Alec S Getz          USA ----  2½
37 players

18) FIDE Elections

The FIDE Presidential elections take place alongside the FIDE Olympiad in Turin in 2006. Potential candidates to challenge FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov include Anatoly Karpov, Leo Battesti and Bessel Kok (along with Ali Nihat Yazici as deputy).

Leo Battesti has an open letter in French http://echecs.asso.fr/(cfse1l45arlx1d55xq5gx2j3)/Ag/lettre_ouverte_leoBattesti.pdf objecting to Iljumzhinov's proposal of a $1 million bond to stand in the election.

Bessel Kok gave an interview with the World Chess Network: http://www.rightmove06.org/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=articleview&set_z_articles=14 explaining his credentials for the post. I think he'd be a great president but he doesn't explain how he's going to get the FIDE delegates to vote for him. 1982 was the last time a sitting president was deposed and that by Campomanes who knew the intimate workings of FIDE at the time and who still as far as I can see can still control enough votes to get Iljumzhinov re-elected.

19) Enrico Paoli 1908-2005

Enrico Paoli 13th January 1908 - 15th December 2005

Adolivio Capece writes: Enrico Paoli was born in Trieste on January 13, 1908. He learned chess when he was 9 years old. When 18 he got the licence of sea captain and he was at sea for seven years. He studied at University and he got a degree in business administration. He started to play chess tournaments only when about 26; he became Italian master in Milano 1938. He was Italian Champion in 1951, 1957 and in 1968. In 1950 he played the international tournament in Venice and he won a famous game against GM Kotov (brilliancy prize). In 1951 he won the international tournament in Vienna, one and half points clear of Beni and Grunfeld. In 1958 he started with the organization of the international great tournament "Torneo di Capodanno" in Reggio Emilia, played every year since then. The next edition will be number 48 and will run from December 29 to January 6. Paoli became an International Master in 1951 and an International Arbiter in 1964. In 1969 in Vrsac he missed the Grandmaster title for by half a point; Fide gave him the title "honoris causa" in 1996. He wrote many books and was a contributor of the magazine "L'Italia Scacchistica" since 1950. Paoli died serenely, on the night of December 15th, 2005, with his daughter Livia by his side.

20) Forthcoming Events and Links

US Championship Dates Change

The U.S. Chess Championship returns to San Diego from March 2nd-12th, 2006 and will be held at its new permanent home at NTC Promenade. The event has been pushed back a day so that players can compete in the Morelia Chess Festival. Further details: http://www.moreliachess.com/eng/

The tournament will feature a 64-player field, composed of 19 seeded players (as determined by the October 2005 U.S.C.F Rating List), 43 tournament qualifiers (two of which being online) and 2 wild cards selected by the AF4C. The top seeded players are: 1 Gregory Kaidanov; 2 Gata Kamsky; 3 Alexander Onischuk; 4 Boris Gulko 5 Ildar Ibraigimov; 6 Alexander Shabalov; 7 Varuzhan Akobian; and 8 Igor Novikov. In the women's: 1 Susan Polgar; 2 Anna Zatonskih; 3 Irina Krush; 4 Camilla Baginskaite; 5 Tatev Abrahamyan; and 6 Jennifer Shahade.

Full details:http://www.uschesschampionship.com

Asian Youth Championships

The Asian Youth Championships took place in New Delhi December 7th-14th 2005.

Games, Results, photos are available at http://www.delhichess.com.

Morelia Chess Festival and Linares 2006

Morelia in Mexico is hosting the first half of the traditional Linares super tournament. Their half will take place February 18th-26th, 2006. The Linares half will probably finish around 12th March 2006.

Players: Veselin Topalov, Peter Leko , Vassily Ivanchuk , Peter Svidler , Ettienne Bacrot , Levon Aronian , Francisco Vallejo and one other player yet to be announced.

In addition there is the Morelia International Chess Festival February 16th-28th, 2006. Prize Fund - US$158,000.

Further details: http://www.moreliachess.com/eng/

Free ICCF Server Offer

ICCF has announced an end-of-year gift to everyone around the World: a free 2-game match on their dedicated ICCF WebChess server.

The offer is open to anyone Just fill a form with your personal information (name and surname, nationality, e-mail address), and they will pair you in a free 2-game match with someone else from around the World.

You can find the form on the ICCF WebChess server. Just go to http://www.iccf-webchess.com/ . In the main page, you click on "New Events". Then click on "Enter" in the line with the offer to participate in a Friendly 2-game match. Fill with your personal information and click "OK" when you're done.

The time rate will be 10 moves in 40 days, and the games will be unrated, so your ELO (if you have one) will not change with the result.

The deadline for entries is December 31, 2005. We will be starting matches throughout December and the last batch will be online in early January.

Davos Festival 2006

Swiss Chess Tour Davos Festival 2006 with Viktor Korchnoi playing the first time in individual senior championship

The "Swiss Chess Tour 2006" will continue in Davos with Chess Summer Festival from August 5-13, 2006. Main event will be the 6th European Individual Senior Championship. The second tournament will be 5. Davos Open. The first time Davos host an official event. Just to remind, Davos is one of the most popular tourist places in Europe (summer and winter), with specific micro clime, unique in the world.

6th European Individual Senior Championship, August 7th to 13th 2006. "Sunstar Park Hotel" (4 stars) will be host festival in the new, comfortable Congress Center. Swiss system, 9 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Valid for FIDE titles and rating: FIDE, Swiss (SSB) and German (DWZ). Seniors: men born 1945 and earlier; women born 1955 and earlier. Prize (men): 2.500/1.700/1.000/700/600/500/2x400/2x300 SF. 3 group rating prize (200/150/100 SF). Women: 400/300/3x200 SF; Entry fee 70 SF; at the door 10 SF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 5th; Round 2/8 9.30-15.30 August 6th-12th; Round 9 9.30-15.30 August 13th.

5th Davos Open, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 6 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 60 minutes till the end). Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 900, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200 and 150 SF. Natural prizes for 4 and more points. Special prizes for best Lady, best local player. Entry fee 140 SF, FMs and juniors 70 SF, GMs and IMs free; juniors lodging at Sunstar Park Hotel free; at the door 10 SF more. Time table: Rounds 1 15.00-21.00 August 6th; Round 2/7 16.00-22.00 August 7th-12th. Venue: "Sunstar Park Hotel" Congress Center. Closing ceremony August 13th, 4 p.m. Unbelievable chess-rates. Info Beochess: +41+62+9654-650 (Robert Spoerri) beochess@bluewin.ch or http://www.beochess.ch or http://yubc.net/~yuchess

ISCU Grand Prix

ISCU Grand Prix International tournaments for school chess champions in categories U9, U11, U13, U15

The International School Chess Union and The Russian Chess Federation have the honour of inviting National Chess Federations, School Sports Associations and school chess champions to participate in the ISCU Grand Prix organised in Moscow, Russia from 25th of January (Arrival) to 7th of February (Departure) 2006.

Further details: E-mail: scca@online.ru, iscu@mail.ru

Swiss Chess Tour 2006

The Swiss Chess Tour 2006 starts in Basle in the New Year (1.-7.1.2005.). Venue of Chess Festival for 8th time is Hotel Hilton in Basle.

Hilton Open (1-7.1.2006.) 7 Rounds, 6 hours (2 hours for 40 moves + 60 minutes for complete the game.) Prizes: 2000/1500/1200/800/600/500/2x400/2x300/5x200 CHF. Special prizes 200 CHF for best Lady, Senior (1946), junior (1986-89), schoolboy (1990). Enter fee: 140 CHF (FM and juniors 70 CHF) GM & IM free. At the door 20 CHF. Basle amateur (1-7.1.2006.) 7 Rounds, 4 hours (90 minutes 30 moves + 30 minutes to complete the game). Players under 1900 rating (FIDE or national). Enter fee: 120 CHF (juniors 60 CHF). At the door 20 CHF. Prizes: 500/400/2x300/2x200/4x150 CHF. Basle juniors (2.1.2006.) 7 Rounds, 15 minutes for the game. Juniors 1986 and younger. Enter fee 5 CHF. Natural prizes for all players.

NSV Senior Open (1-7.1.2006.) 7 Rounds, 4 hours (90 minutes for 30 moves + 30 minutes for complete the game) Seniors 1945. Prizes: 400/300/200 CHF + natural prizes. Enter fee: 70 CHF. At the door 20 CHF. Basel Lighting Chess (1.1.2006. from 14.00 to 16.00) 9 Rounds, 5 minutes. Enter fee: 20 CHF (juniors 5 CHF). Prizes 300/200/150/2x100/2x50 CHF natural prizes for everybody 50% and more points.

More information and registration: Robert Spoerri tel. +41+62+9654-650, fax +41+62+9654-651 E-mail info@beochess.ch Further information: http://www.beochess.ch or http://yubc.net/~yuchess

Harmonie Chess Tournament

The Harmonie Chess Tournament takes place in Groningen, 23rd-30th December 2005. No players listed yet.

Official site: http://www.so-on.org/kerst2005/2005eng.html

Gibraltar Congress 2006

The Gibraltar Congress takes place 24th January - 2nd February 2006. Contact Stewart Reuben for more details: Stewartreuben@aol.com

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

58th Quebec Open Championship

IM Jean Hébert was the joint winner of the 58th Quebec Open Championship with 6.5/9, with Antoine Berube, Simon Gravel, and FM Vahagn Voskanyan. The tournament is usually Canada's largest open event, although this year its 195 players ranked it just behind the Canadian Open for attendance. Hopefully I can round up all the games at some point.

Games and results: http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/

Wellington College International

FIDE rated, qualifying event for British Champs and part of the BCF Grand Prix. The event takes place over 2 weekends

Friday 27th January to Sunday 29th January 2006 and Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th February 2006

£1,000+ prize fund including a paid place in 2006 British Championships

Venue: Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 7PU (35 miles south west of London)

Tournament Director: IM Andrew Martin. Chief Controller: Neville Belinfante (BCF Arbiter)

Entries, requests for accommodation lists, travel details, detailed map and other enquiries should be addressed to :

Ray Clark High Cedars, 17 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 or rclark@thehackettgroup.com

Hungarian Events November 2005 - August 2006

1. 5th-18th of November 2005 FIRST SATURDAY /FS/ GM-IM-FM round robins, 9-13 games, norm possibilities, in Budapest, Hungarian Chess Federation, Falk Miksa Str.10. 2nd floor. Organisation: Nagy Laszlo, FIDE International Chess Organizer /NL/, E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net

Website: http://www.firstsaturday.hu Other website: http://home.hu.inter.net/~firstsat Phone-fax: (361)-2632859, cellphone: (36)-30-230-1914 From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time - GMT+1 hour/

2. 17th-25th of November, Harkány Tenkes cup Open, 250 km South West from Budapest, org:Fulop Csaba, mobile: +(36)-30-9276900

3. 19th-29th of November, IM-FM, KECSKEMET,

4. 3rd-16th of December, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, (Two GM groups - a cat.VI.-VII and a cat.IX - X.!!!) Org: NL.

5. 27th of December 2005 - 4th of January 2006 IM-FM, Kecskemet,

6. 6th-14th of January 2006, Budapest, TAPOLCA Open, Org. Paréj József, info: Nagy László, firstsat@hu.inter.net

7 4th-17th of February, FIRST SATURDAY GM (cat.VII and cat.IX/) -IM-FM Budapest

8. 4th-17th of March FS GM-IM-FM, Org.NL.

9. 23rd- 31st of March SPRING FESTIVAL 9 rounds Swiss Open Budapest, org.: NL.

10. 1st-14rth of April, FS cat.VII, IX, XII GM events, IM and FM closed tournaments, Budapest, org.NL.

11. 14th-22nd of April, BUDAPEST Open, 9 rounds Swiss, organizer: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

12. 6th-18th of May, Budapest, FS GM-IM-FM, org.NL.

13. 20th-30th of May, Budapest, ELEKES memorial GM-IM closed tmt, org.IM Zsinka, e-mail: zsinkala@axelero.hu

14. 3rd-16th of June, FIRST SATURDAY GM /cat.VII and cat IX together/ - IM-FM closed tournaments, Budapest, Org.NL.

15. 17th-25th of June, BALATONLELLE Open, GM-IM closed, org. IM RIGO, e-mail: me-ri@t-online-hu

16. 1st-13th of July, FIRST SATURDAY GM-IM closed, Bp. Org.NL,

17. 15th-23rd of July, AGRIA Open 9 rounds Swiss, Eger, 100 km North from Budapest, Org. RAUCH Ferenc, e-mail: rauch@freemail.hu

18. 24th-30th of July, SZOMBATHELY SUMMER Open 9 rounds Swiss, 300 km West from Budapest, Org: FM KORPICS, Zsolt, e-mail: korpicschess@axelero.hu

19. 5th-17th of August, FIRST SATURDAY, Bp, GM /cat.XII-IX-VII/ - IM-FM closed, Org: NL.

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006

The field for the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee has been finalised. The event takes place January 13th-29th 2006.

Players: 1 (2) Viswanathan Anand IND 2788 2 (3) Veselin Topalov BUL 2782 3 (4) Peter Leko HUN 2751 4 (5) Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2748 5 (7) Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2739 6 (9) Etienne Bacrot FRA 2725 7 (10) Levon Aronian ARM 2724 8 (12) Michael Adams ENG 2718 9 (13) Boris Gelfand ISR 2717 10 (20) Sergey Tiviakov NED 2700 11 (21) Ivan Sokolov NED 2696 12 (23) Gata Kamsky USA 2690 13 (44) Sergey Karjakin UKR 2658 14 (55) Loek van Wely NED 2648. October world ranking in brackets.

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

Iranian Super League

The second Season of the Iranian Super League starts from 3rd October 2005. News: Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh.

Further details: http://schach.wienerzeitung.at/asp/turniere.asp?tnr=2350&lan=1 and http://www.iranchess.com/indexen.htm

Czech Chess Christmas 2005

Czech Chess Christmas 2005 Litomysl (CZE) 26.12.2005-1.1.2006 7th christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h + 30s/move, prize fund 75.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 680 EUR), special conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme. Contact: Agentura 64, Jaroslav Fuksik, 783 73 Grygov 337, mobil: 608 364 664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz, web: http://www.a64.cz

Seagaard ChessReviews

Soren Sogaard has announced that his site Seagaard ChessReviews will be updated after receiving a lot of positive e-mails, "I decided to try to keep running the site. I also got two new reviewers, and the well known danish IM Steffen Pedersen reviews his first book." He'll see if he can keep it going another 6 months.

Website: http://seagaard.dk/review

Hastings Chess Congress 2005-6

The Hastings Chess Congress takes place 28th December 2005 to 6th January 2006, with a weekend tournament on 7th-8th January 2006.

Further details from Con Power conpowr@aol.com and http://www.hastingschess.org.uk/

Singapore News

Singapore Masters & Challengers International Open Tournaments

The Singapore Masters & Challengers International Open Tournaments takes place 25th-31st December 2005. Swiss System; FIDE-rated and titled; Rate of play will be 90 minutes for the whole game with 30 seconds increment for every move starting from the first move. 4. Prize Fund : US$ 18,000 Singapore Masters International Open (US$16,000): For players rated 1801 and above 1st 4000; 2nd 3000; 3rd 2000; 4th 1200; 5th 1000; 6th 800; 7th 600; 8th 400; 9th to 12th 350; 13th to 20th 200 each

Further details: singchess@pacific.net.sg and ignatiusleong@pacific.net.sg

Seminars for Arbiters and Trainers in Singapore

Seminars for Arbiters and Trainers will be held in Singapore in conjunction with the Singapore I nternational Chess Convention from 18th-24th December 2005.

Downloads:

http://www.fide.com/news/download/ArbSem05_SIN.doc

http://www.fide.com/news/download/TrainSem05_SIN.doc

The registration forms should be sent back not later than 15 November 2005 to: Singapore Chess Federation, 51 Bishan Street 13, #02-01A, Singapore, International Games Centre, Singapore 579799. or by fax to: (65) 6352 9691, (65) 6358 1483 or by e-mail to singchess@pacific.net.sg, ignatiusleong@pacific.net.sg

Asian Schools Chess Festival 2005

Asian Schools Chess Festival 2005 in Singapore, Singapore International Chess Convention The Singapore Chess Federation has the honour of inviting all Asian National Chess Federations affiliated to FIDE to participate in the 2005 Asian Schools Chess Festival (under-9, under-11, under -13, under -15) in Singapore from 17th December (arrival) to 25th December (departure).

Official Site: http://www.singaporechess.org.sg

World Amateur Open Championship Cancelled

Due to the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita that recently hit the Gulf Coast area, the World Amateur Open Chess Tournament that was to be held Oct. 7-9, 2005, in Kissimmee, Florida, has been cancelled.

Cajun Chess Web Site will be back soon: http://www.cajunchess.com/

26th International Bethune Open

The 26th International Bethune Open takes place in the room Olof Palme, Commercial centre La Rotonde, Bethune, France (Pas-de-Calais) December 26th-30th 2005. This year the tournament will have 9 rounds instead of 7. The tournament is divided in 2 tournaments: - Tournament A for players whose Elo rating is above or equal to 1600, 1st price : 1500 euros - Tournament B for players strictly below 1800 and not FIDE, 1st price : 300 euros, Fischer pace 1h30+30s KO for each game in both tournaments. At least 5500 euros of prices (7300 euros given in 2004), prices for Elo categories in both tournaments. Entry fee : 40 euros (adults), 20 euros (youngsters under 20), free for IM, GM and FIDE Masters. Special conditions for IM and GM. Contact info: E-mail: open@bethunechess.com

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

Mezezers International Open 2006

The Mezezers International Open 2006 (110 km from Riga Latvia) takes place 1st-6th July 2005.

Details; http://www.mezezers.viss.lv

Jovan Petronic Website

Jovan Petronic has a new website with some news on it.

http://www.jovanpetronic.com/chessnews.htm

GM against the World - Olympiads of Chess, Turin 2006

Sergio Mariotti is the first Grand Master to take on the world from the official Turin Olympiad website starting on 29th September 2005. Just Register on the Olympiad website and wait to receive your password by email. Then Enter the game in PlayArea/play on line

Further details: http://www.chessolympiad-torino2006.org

World Inter-Varsity Chess Championship

The Rakan Muda Gacc World Inter-Varsity Chess Championship takes place at the Second Residential College University Of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. i. All teams are expected to arrive in Malaysia not later than 6 Dec 2005 and expected to depart earliest on 14 Dec 2005.Participation in GACC World Inter-Varsity Chess Championship is open to all BONA FIDE representatives from universities and colleges. GACC will be conducted as an individual Swiss event. The accumulated results of the best 4(four) individuals from the same university (which is inclusive of at least one female player) will be accumulated for the team results. This format is to encourage more female players to participate. Each University or Institute can send two teams if they wish to.

Contact details: TEL: 03-7957 1706 . FAX: 03-7957 1608 E-MAIL: gacc_10@yahoo.com

Official site: http://tcn.sourceforge.net

New RSS Chess Website

Chess Samizdat is a new portal which offers free syndicated chess content to the world via JS and RSS feed.

http://www.correspondencechess.com/samizdat/

Moscow Open 2006

The International Chess Festival "Moscow Open 2006" takes place in Moscow, Russia, 29.01 (31.01, 01.02) - 06.02. 2006. A stage of the Moscow Grand Prix 2006 (http://www.chessmoscow.ru), Russia Cup 2006 (http://www.russiachess.ru) and the ACP Tour 2005-2006 (http://www.chess-players.org)

Contacts: e-mail: mcf06@bk.ru Mr. Igor Glek (IGM, ACP Board Member): igorglek@hotmail.com, phone/fax: +49-2013162843, +7-0953883328. Mr. Alexander Zlochevsky (IGM, Coach of the Moscow Chess Team): zloch@rambler.ru, phone/fax: +7-095-3650757

Further details: http://www.chessmoscow.ru

European Team Championship

In addition to Olympiad history there is now European Team Championship history (1957-2005) available at: http://www.olimpbase.org

Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship

Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship, 2005-2006 The starter round of this competition has now finished and the solution to the starter problem, and other details, is available at the website: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/0506/bcsc.html

Peter Leko Official Site

Peter Leko now has a web site. http://www.lekochess.com/

CC-Calendar

CC-Calendar. Now 8.092 official computer chess tournaments since 1990. 726 games from older official computer chess tournaments up to 1990. Arena Chess GUI http://www.playwitharena.com Selection: CC-Calendar New are two computer chess tournaments. CIPS (Italy), chess program Delfi won 5th International CSVN tournament (Netherland), chess program Shredder won. AnMon won the 7th French programmers tourney in Massy.

FIDE Trainers Committee

IM Jovan Petronic. Chairman, FIDE Computer & Internet Chess Committee has written about the FIDE Trainers Committee. Link to his article below. In 1998 FIDE formed a powerful Committee comprising of leading chess trainers around the chess globe. Accordingly, it was named the FIDE Trainers Committee, and below, I will try to summarize the immense useful information for the readers, current major chess training activities and appeals of the Committee, etc. The number of certified FIDE Trainers has grown and they are now (in alphabetical order) - none other than: Alburt Lev (USA), Asanov Bolat (Kazahstan), Azmaiparashvili Zurab (Georgia), Boensch Uwe (Germany), Beliavsky Alexandr (Slovenia), Chernin Alexandr (Hungary), Dorfman Iossif (France), Dvoretsky Mark (Russia), Gelfer Israel (Israel), Georgadze Tamaz (Georgia), Gulko Boris (USA), Illescas Miguel (Spain), Kuzmin Alexey (Katar), Khodarkovsky Michael (USA), Leong Ignatius (Singapore), Mikhalcishin Adrian (Slovenia), Marjanovic Slavoljub (Serbia & Montenegro), Mohr Georg (Slovenia), Nikitin Alexandr (Russia), Petrosjan Arshak (Armenia), Polgar Zsuzsa (USA), Postovsky Boris (USA), Psakhis Lev (Israel), Razuvaev Yuri (Russia), Seirawan Yasser (USA), Sosonko Genna (Netherlands), Schmidt Wlodzimerz (Poland), Tukmakov Vladimir (Ukraine), Ubilava Elizbar (Georgia), Vladimirov Evgeny (Kazahstan), Zapata Alonso (Columbia) and Xie Yun (China).

Read the article: http://www.jovanpetronic.com/fidetrainerscommittee.htm and an update: http://www.jovanpetronic.com/fidetrainerscommittee2.htm

Instructional Tactics

There is an instructional tactical site at: http://www.chesstactics.org compiled by Ward Farnsworth.

Queenstown Chess Classic 2006

The Queenstown Chess Classic 2006 takes place on the South Island of New Zealand January 15th-24th 2006 followed by the NZ Rapid and Blitz Championship on Jan 25th & 26th. This event is being sponsored by NZ GM Murray Chandler and promises to be NZ's largest ever Open International event. The total prize fund is in excess of NZD $35,000. It is endorsed by the NZ Chess Federation and will incorporate the NZ Championship. Entries so far include GM's Chandler, Rogers and Hecht.

Further information: http://www.queenstownchess.com

Kasparov on his retirement

Kasparov's website: http://www.chesschamps.com gives a diary entry on the reasons for his retirement: http://www.chesschamps.com/diary07.html

Correspondence Chess - Romanian Chess Federation - 80 Years

Therer will be a CC tournament "Romanian Chess Federation - 80 Years"? which will be one of the strongest CC events of the year 2005 with 4 ICCF-GMs and 4 ICCF-SIMs among the 13 participants.

Every 2-3 months there will be reports on the tournament wrote by GM Dorian Rogozenko, IM Mihai Ghinda, IM Mircea Pavlov, IM Constantin Lupulescu and FM Marius Ceteras including comments around the games in progress (this is something new in CC).

A promo pdf booklet of the event is available in Romanian chess pages www.romanianchess.org , in the section dedicated to this event http://www.romanianchess.org/rcf80 The booklet contains the introduction of the players, their best games and a short history of the Romanian correspondence chess. Short link for download the promo booklet (archived pdf file) http://www.romanianchess.org/rcf80/rcf80.zip

The tournament will be played at ICCF webserver ( http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventCrossTable.aspx?id=278 ) .

Computer Chess News

There have been recent computer events. See the Computer Chess Calendar at: http://www.playwitharena.com

Ratings Article

Jean-Claude Templeur on ratings manipulation: http://www.chessmile.com/articles.php?id=30

Final of the WCBCSC 2004-2005

Brian Stephenson of the British Chess Problem Society reports. The Final of the WCBCSC 2004-2005 took place at Oakham School on Saturday 19th February. It was a resounding success for solving GM and Ex-World Champion Jonathan Mestel, who came ahead of two other ex-world champions. The event was sponsored by Winton Capital Management: http://www.wintoncapital.com/

The full results can be found at my website. Follow this link for the final table: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/0405/finaltable.html and this for the problems used: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/0405/final_diag.html

British Chess Problem Society: http://www.bstephen.freeuk.com/

Alushta Diary 2005

Leonid Galperin sends a calendar of planned events in Alushta, Ukraine 2005.

GM Norm events: 6 17.06-27.06. 1.09-11.09 25.09-5.10 7.10-17.10 Rating tournament 5.06 - 13.06 Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200 $ 14.06 - 22.06 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 28.06 12.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 29 - 30.06 13-14.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize 1000 $ First prize (woman) 500$ 2.07-10.07 15.09-23.09 Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 5.06-14.06 25.09-4.10 Alushta Individual and group studying

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32 (for Russian speaking) + 38 050 669-26-04 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

Harald Malmgren 100 years Correspondence

31st Dec 2004 saw the start of the first Grandmaster tournament on the ICCF Webserver. The tournament is the "Harald Malmgren 100 years". The occasion is to commemorate the 100:d birthday of Harald Malmgren, Tierp in Sweden. Malmgren was runner up after Cecil Purdy in ICCF's first World Championship and earned his GM title in the event. Malmgren passed away in 1957. In his career he was also second in IFSB Championship 1939 and won the Swedish CC Championship in 1942. Malmgren was a true chess enthusiast and issued a book in 1953 "Mina bästa partier" (My best games) with only CC games he had played.

There are 13 participants and you will be able to follow the results on http://www.schack.se/SSKK/palview/res/malmgren.htm and as soon as about 10 moves are made in every game, SSKK will open a page for "live" games. That is games according to the ICCF CoC regulations for live games. The Category of the event is 10 which means that all norms are available.The tournament has two sponsors, Schackakademin and Svenska Schackbutiken AB.

The players are: IM Jan Bennborn, Sweden, IM Sture Olsson, Sweden, IM Rune Bergquist, Norway, IM Ervin Liebert, Estonia, IM Taisto Koskela, Finland, IM Leif Åhman, Sweden, SIM Jón A Pálsson, Iceland, SIM Josef Mrkvicka, Czech Rep, GM Matthias Rüfenacht; Switzerland, IM Gary S Benson, Australia, SIM John Pugh, England, Phillippe Chopin, France and Mads Smith Hansen, Denmark. The withdrawing ICCF President keeps playing CC and starts this event on his very last day in office.

Tomas Carnstam, Jonas Dahlgren, Robert Ericsson, Sebastian Nilsson and Per Söderberg wedish Correspondence Chess Federation (SSKK) Board members.

Hamarat Challenge Match

The ICCF World Champion Tunc Hamarat (AUT) who has never lost a single game with White, has challenged the "Rest of the World" to a friendly 2-game match. He will have White in both games. The games (one will start with 1.e4 and one with 1.d4) will be played on the ICCF Webserver and started on 10th February 2005 with the rule "10 moves/70 days".

The players on the "Rest of the World" team will vote on each move. The move receiving the most votes will be selected. Should 2 or more moves receive the same number of votes, the "Rest of the World" will be given 2 more voting days to decide between the tied moves. Participation in this event is open to all players who pay an entry fee of 5 EUR or $7.00 US dollars via their National CC Federation or the ICCF Direct Entry (DE) option. All fees collected will be transferred to the ICCF Development Fund. The money will be used primarily for development and system support of the ICCF WebChess Server. It will be possible to join the "Rest of the World" team at any stage of the game.

The games may be seen "live" by all players and other observers at http://www.iccf-webchess.com

Each player who voted for the selected move will receive 1 point per move. The player(s) with the most points at the end of the games will receive an ICCF Gold Book. The list of all entrants will be published on the ICCF webpage.

1st ICCF Webchess Open Tournament

The ICCF have announced the 1st WebChess Open Tournament and invites every player worldwide to participate in the event. The event is to be played on the ICCF dedicated Webserver http://www.iccf-webchess.com. This tournament is open to all correspondence chess players worldwide, also for those without any previous ICCF experience. Multiple entries are allowed. The tournament will be played in three stages - preliminaries, semifinal and final.

Details: http://www.iccf-webchess.com/Message.aspx?message=19

Russia vs ROW Correspondence

The Russian Chess Federation is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is using this occasion to challenge the rest of the world to a match over 64 boards with 2 games for each and the start is 15.02 2004. Players include Joop van Oosterom

http://www.mychessweb.com/Tables/Internationale/Play/russia-world.htm

TWIC Messageboard

You need to register to post and vote. Address: http://www.chesscenter.com/messageboard