THE WEEK IN CHESS 584 16th January 2006 by Mark Crowther

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Mark Crowther
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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Corus Wijk aan Zee
3) Australian Championships
4) Verona Open
5) Bad Zwesten Open
6) 13th I Stepichev Mem
7) 4th I Platonov Memorial
8) Keres Memorial Rapid
9) 19th Fulprint York Congress
10) 12th Canadian Women's Championship
11) Hong Kong National Championship
12) Moscow Superblitz tournament
13) Forthcoming Events and Links

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Games section

Corus Wijk aan Zee              63 games
Australian Championships        15 games
Verona Open                    186 games
Bad Zwesten Open               660 games
13th I Stepichev Mem            54 games
4th I Platonov Memorial         45 games
Keres Memorial Rapid            20 games
19th Fulprint York Congress      4 games
1047 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Marcus Perryman, Richard Palliser, Andy McFarland, Thomas Henrich, Miklos Orso, Eugeny Atarov, Nigel Freeman, Michiel Abeln, Ian Rogers, David Cohen, Harold Corke, Adolivio Capece, Ian Murray, Vretenar Denis, Jeroen van den Berg and everyone else who helped with the issue.

I love the Wijk aan Zee tournaments. Sure the organisers probably have the biggest budget, but they really know what to do with it. Almost all the available top 10 players are competing along with a nice mixture of others. This kind of event is why I started doing this job.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Corus Wijk aan Zee

The Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee takes place January 14th-29th 2006.

The early rounds of the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee suggest it could turn out to be a classic. At the top of the standings are pre-event favourites Viswanathan Anand on 2.5/3, Veselin Topalov and the mercurial talent of Vassily Ivanchuk. The organisers have assembled a field with a variety of styles and openings so I expect the early action to continue throughout the event.

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 14-29 i 2006                    cat. XIX (2716)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2792  * . 1 . . . . . . 1 = . . .  2.5  2986 
 2. Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2801  . * . 0 . . . 1 . . . . . 1  2.0  2828 
 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2729  0 . * . . . . . . . 1 1 . .  2.0  2869 
 4. Adams, Michael           g ENG 2707  . 1 . * 0 . . . . . . . = .  1.5  2731 
 5. Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2723  . . . 1 * . = . . . . . . 0  1.5  2711 
 6. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar   g AZE 2709  . . . . . * . = = . . = . .  1.5  2684 
 7. Leko, Peter              g HUN 2740  . . . . = . * . . = = . . .  1.5  2711 
 8. Bacrot, Etienne          g FRA 2717  . 0 . . . = . * . . . . 1 .  1.5  2726 
 9. Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2647  . . . . . = . . * . . = = .  1.5  2689 
10. Karjakin, Sergey         g UKR 2660  0 . . . . . = . . * . . . 1  1.5  2739 
11. Aronian, Levon           g ARM 2752  = . 0 . . . = . . . * . . .  1.0  2628 
12. Sokolov, Ivan            g NED 2689  . . 0 . . = . . = . . * . .  1.0  2570 
13. Tiviakov, Sergei         g NED 2669  . . . = . . . 0 = . . . * .  1.0  2565 
14. Kamsky, Gata             g USA 2686  . 0 . . 1 . . . . 0 . . . *  1.0  2603 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (January 14, 2006)

Topalov, Veselin        -  Kamsky, Gata            1-0   25  B01  Centre Counter
Gelfand, Boris          -  Leko, Peter             1/2   37  E06  Catalan
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  -  Bacrot, Etienne         1/2   24  D20  QGA
Van Wely, Loek          -  Sokolov, Ivan           1/2   41  D18  Slav Defence
Karjakin, Sergey        -  Anand, Viswanathan      0-1   37  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Aronian, Levon          -  Ivanchuk, Vassily       0-1   45  E60  King's Indian without Nc3
Tiviakov, Sergei        -  Adams, Michael          1/2   72  C77  Ruy Lopez Anderssen

Round 2 (January 15, 2006)

Anand, Viswanathan      -  Aronian, Levon          1/2   66  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Adams, Michael          -  Topalov, Veselin        1-0   42  B85  Sicilian Scheveningen
Leko, Peter             -  Karjakin, Sergey        1/2   29  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Bacrot, Etienne         -  Tiviakov, Sergei        1-0   41  B37  Sicilian Maroczy Bind
Van Wely, Loek          -  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  1/2   49  E91  King's Indian Classical
Sokolov, Ivan           -  Ivanchuk, Vassily       0-1   73  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
Kamsky, Gata            -  Gelfand, Boris          1-0   41  D17  Slav Defence

Round 3 (January 16, 2006)

Topalov, Veselin        -  Bacrot, Etienne         1-0   44  C42  Petroff's Defence
Ivanchuk, Vassily       -  Anand, Viswanathan      0-1   28  A34  English Symmetrical
Gelfand, Boris          -  Adams, Michael          1-0   39  E09  Catalan
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  -  Sokolov, Ivan           1/2   26  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Karjakin, Sergey        -  Kamsky, Gata            1-0   32  B42  Sicilian Paulsen
Aronian, Levon          -  Leko, Peter             1/2   31  E15  Queens Indian
Tiviakov, Sergei        -  Van Wely, Loek          1/2   25  B22  Sicilian Alapin


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus B Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 14-29 i 2006                     cat. XV (2602)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Naiditsch, Arkadij       g GER 2657  * . . . . . 1 . . 1 . . . 1  3.0       
 2. Carlsen, Magnus          g NOR 2625  . * . . . . . = 1 . . . 1 .  2.5  2844 
 3. Vescovi, Giovanni        g BRA 2633  . . * . . . . 1 . = . . . 1  2.5  2877 
 4. Almasi, Zoltan           g HUN 2646  . . . * . . . . = . . 1 1 .  2.5  2806 
 5. Navara, David            g CZE 2660  . . . . * . . = . . . . 1 1  2.5  2852 
 6. Motylev, Alexander       g RUS 2638  . . . . . * . . = . 1 = . .  2.0  2683 
 7. Koneru, Humpy            g IND 2537  0 . . . . . * . . = 1 . . .  1.5  2636 
 8. Jobava, Baadur           g GEO 2614  . = 0 . = . . * . . . . . .  1.0  2514 
 9. L'Ami, Erwin             m NED 2550  . 0 . = . = . . * . . . . .  1.0  2511 
10. Beliavsky, Alexander G   g SLO 2626  0 . = . . . = . . * . . . .  1.0  2484 
11. Cheparinov, Ivan         g BUL 2625  . . . . . 0 0 . . . * 1 . .  1.0  2433 
12. Lahno, Kateryna          m UKR 2500  . . . 0 . = . . . . 0 * . .  0.5  2363 
13. Smeets, Jan              g NED 2550  . 0 . 0 0 . . . . . . . * .  0.0       
14. Stellwagen, Daniel       g NED 2573  0 . 0 . 0 . . . . . . . . *  0.0       
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (January 14, 2006)

Naiditsch, Arkadij      -  Stellwagen, Daniel      1-0   35  C12  French MacCutcheon
Carlsen, Magnus         -  L'Ami, Erwin            1-0   37  C91  Ruy Lopez
Vescovi, Giovanni       -  Jobava, Baadur          1-0   49  A70  Benoni
Almasi, Zoltan          -  Lahno, Kateryna         1-0   37  E63  King's Indian 6...Nc6
Navara, David           -  Smeets, Jan             1-0   43  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Motylev, Alexander      -  Cheparinov, Ivan        1-0   42  B80  Sicilian Scheveningen
Beliavsky, Alexander G  -  Koneru, Humpy           1/2   60  D36  QGD Exchange

Round 2 (January 15, 2006)

Koneru, Humpy           -  Cheparinov, Ivan        1-0   47  D30  Queen's Gambit (without Nc3)
Jobava, Baadur          -  Navara, David           1/2   54  E12  Queens Indian Petrosian
L'Ami, Erwin            -  Almasi, Zoltan          1/2   61  E20  Nimzo Indian
Beliavsky, Alexander G  -  Naiditsch, Arkadij      0-1   39  E15  Queens Indian
Lahno, Kateryna         -  Motylev, Alexander      1/2   31  B63  Sicilian Rauzer
Smeets, Jan             -  Carlsen, Magnus         0-1   43  B33  Sicilian Sveshnikov
Stellwagen, Daniel      -  Vescovi, Giovanni       0-1   45  C89  Ruy Lopez Marshall

Round 3 (January 16, 2006)

Naiditsch, Arkadij      -  Koneru, Humpy           1-0   33  B42  Sicilian Paulsen
Carlsen, Magnus         -  Jobava, Baadur          1/2   50  E04  Catalan
Vescovi, Giovanni       -  Beliavsky, Alexander G  1/2   41  C88  Ruy Lopez Closed
Almasi, Zoltan          -  Smeets, Jan             1-0   41  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Navara, David           -  Stellwagen, Daniel      1-0   59  C06  French Tarrasch
Motylev, Alexander      -  L'Ami, Erwin            1/2   13  C48  Four Knights Rubinstein
Cheparinov, Ivan        -  Lahno, Kateryna         1-0   39  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus C Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 14-29 i 2006                    cat. IX (2458)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Atalik, Suat           g TUR 2618  * . . . . . 1 . . . 1 . . 1  3.0       
 2. Werle, Jan             m NED 2514  . * . . = . = . . . . . . 1  2.0  2521 
 3. Hopman, Pieter           NED 2332  . . * . . . . . . 1 0 . 1 .  2.0  2587 
 4. Van der Wiel, John     g NED 2505  . . . * . = . . . . . = 1 .  2.0  2565 
 5. Bischoff, Klaus        g GER 2560  . = . . * . . 0 1 . . . . .  1.5  2475 
 6. Visser, Yge            m NED 2485  . . . = . * . 1 0 . . . . .  1.5  2472 
 7. Bensdorp, Marlies     wm NED 2230  0 = . . . . * . . . 1 . . .  1.5  2558 
 8. Marcelin, Cyril        g FRA 2441  . . . . 1 0 . * . . . = . .  1.5  2503 
 9. Jonkman, Harmen        g NED 2470  . . . . 0 1 . . * . . . . =  1.5  2481 
10. Adly, Ahmed            g EGY 2473  . . 0 . . . . . . * . 1 = .  1.5  2389 
11. Li Shilong             g CHN 2543  0 . 1 . . . 0 . . . * . . .  1.0  2268 
12. Van der Weide, Karel   g NED 2466  . . . = . . . = . 0 . * . .  1.0  2348 
13. Afek, Yochanan         m ISR 2370  . . 0 0 . . . . . = . . * .  0.5  2163 
14. Atalik, Ekaterina     wg TUR 2399  0 0 . . . . . . = . . . . *  0.5  2261 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 1 (January 14, 2006)

Atalik, Suat          -  Atalik, Ekaterina     1-0   31  D45  Anti-Meran Variations
Werle, Jan            -  Bischoff, Klaus       1/2   48  D26  QGA
Van der Wiel, John    -  Afek, Yochanan        1-0   47  B29  Sicilian Defence
Bensdorp, Marlies     -  Li Shilong            1-0   96  A44  Old Benoni
Marcelin, Cyril       -  Van der Weide, Karel  1/2   16  D03  Queen's Pawn Game
Jonkman, Harmen       -  Visser, Yge           1-0   34  C02  French Advance
Adly, Ahmed           -  Hopman, Pieter        0-1   45  A41  Modern Defence

Round 2 (January 15, 2006)

Bischoff, Klaus       -  Jonkman, Harmen       1-0   64  D35  QGD Exchange
Visser, Yge           -  Marcelin, Cyril       1-0   37  B25  Sicilian Closed
Bensdorp, Marlies     -  Atalik, Suat          0-1   39  E11  Bogo Indian Defence
Li Shilong            -  Hopman, Pieter        1-0   33  C41  Philidor's Defence
Van der Weide, Karel  -  Van der Wiel, John    1/2   15  C45  Scotch Game
Afek, Yochanan        -  Adly, Ahmed           1/2   50  B22  Sicilian Alapin
Atalik, Ekaterina     -  Werle, Jan            0-1   36  E05  Catalan

Round 3 (January 16, 2006)

Atalik, Suat          -  Li Shilong            1-0   41  D38  QGD Ragozin
Werle, Jan            -  Bensdorp, Marlies     1/2   60  D19  Slav Defence
Hopman, Pieter        -  Afek, Yochanan        1-0   27  E70  King's Indian Fianchetto
Van der Wiel, John    -  Visser, Yge           1/2   24  C07  French Tarrasch
Marcelin, Cyril       -  Bischoff, Klaus       1-0   49  D36  QGD Exchange
Jonkman, Harmen       -  Atalik, Ekaterina     1/2   20  C42  Petroff's Defence
Adly, Ahmed           -  Van der Weide, Karel  1-0   64  D76  Gruenfeld 3.g3

3) Australian Championships

The Xstrata Australian Championships and Australian Junior Championships took place in Brisbane 28th December 2005 - 9th January 2006. Ian Rogers took the main title with 9/11 a point clear of Smerdon and Chandler. Final round game not yet available.

News, results and games at: http://www.ozchess2006.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xstrata ch-AUS 2006 Brisbane AUS (AUS), 5 xii 2005 - 9 i 2006
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Rogers, Ian          g  AUS 2556  +30 +15 = 6 = 5 + 8 = 2 + 3 + 4 =16 + 9 +10  9.0  2677 
 2. Smerdon, David       m  AUS 2421  +23 = 5 + 4 + 9 = 3 = 1 + 6 +13 = 8 +16 - 7  8.0  2614 
 3. Chandler, Murray G   g  ENG 2537  +28 +17 +26 = 6 = 2 + 5 - 1 +11 = 4 +20 = 8  8.0  2567 
 4. Schmaltz, Roland     g  GER 2544  +14 = 8 - 2 +21 +11 + 6 =13 - 1 = 3 + 5 +16  7.5  2550 
 5. Ftacnik, Lubomir     g  SVK 2612  +18 = 2 +11 = 1 +16 - 3 = 9 +15 = 6 - 4 +13  7.0  2543 
 6. Lane, Gary W         m  AUS 2445  +24 +19 = 1 = 3 +15 - 4 - 2 +20 = 5 =13 +14  7.0  2491 
 7. Goldenberg, Igor     f  AUS 2335  -26 +24 +25 -15 - 9 =12 +23 +17 =13 = 8 + 2  6.5  2340 
 8. Solomon, Stephen J   m  AUS 2415  +21 = 4 = 9 +12 - 1 -13 =14 +18 = 2 = 7 = 3  6.0  2397 
 9. Johansen, Darryl K   g  AUS 2462  =27 +10 = 8 - 2 + 7 =15 = 5 =14 =11 - 1 +20  6.0  2403 
10. Song, Raymond           AUS 2051  =13 - 9 -20 +23 =17 +25 +19 -16 +22 +12 - 1  6.0  2322 
11. Zhao Zong-Yuan       m  AUS 2461  +25 +12 - 5 =19 - 4 +26 =20 - 3 = 9 =14 +21  6.0  2345 
12. Ly, Moulthun            AUS 2162  +16 -11 +18 - 8 -20 = 7 +27 +26 =14 -10 +24  6.0  2307 
13. Xie, George Wendi    f  AUS 2340  =10 -16 =14 +28 +19 + 8 = 4 - 2 = 7 = 6 - 5  5.5  2347 
14. Smirnov, Vladimir       RUS 2235  - 4 =21 =13 =17 +25 +19 = 8 = 9 =12 =11 - 6  5.5  2320 
15. Bjelobrk, Igor          NZL 2399  +22 - 1 +28 + 7 - 6 = 9 =16 - 5 -20 +27 =17  5.5  2362 
16. Wohl, Aleksandar H   m  AUS 2439  -12 +13 +30 +26 - 5 =20 =15 +10 = 1 - 2 - 4  5.5  2338 
17. Humphrey, Jonathan   f  AUS 2254  +29 - 3 -19 =14 =10 +27 =18 - 7 +24 =21 =15  5.5  2221 
18. Guthrie, Aaron       f  AUS 2257  - 5 +23 -12 =25 =26 +28 =17 - 8 -21 +29 +27  5.5  2217 
19. Moylan, Laura        wm AUS 2112  +20 - 6 +17 =11 -13 -14 -10 =24 =27 +31 +29  5.5  2229 
20. Canfell, Gregory     f  AUS 2354  -19 -25 +10 +30 +12 =16 =11 - 6 +15 - 3 - 9  5.0  2283 
21. Pyke, Malcolm           AUS 2126  - 8 =14 +27 - 4 -28 =24 =26 +23 +18 =17 -11  5.0  2232 
22. Wallis, Christopher     AUS 2114  -15 -30 =24 -27 +29 -23 +31 +25 -10 =28 +26  5.0  2117 
23. Bird, Andrew            AUS 2146  - 2 -18 =29 -10 +30 +22 - 7 -21 +31 +26 =28  5.0  2128 
24. Booth, Stewart          AUS 2179  - 6 - 7 =22 +29 -27 =21 +28 =19 -17 +25 -12  4.5  2132 
25. Lakner, Jay             AUS 2207  -11 +20 - 7 =18 -14 -10 +29 -22 +28 -24 +31  4.5  2134 
26. Obst, James             AUS 2048  + 7 +27 - 3 -16 =18 -11 =21 -12 +29 -23 -22  4.0  2151 
27. Caoili, Arianne      wm AUS 2207  = 9 -26 -21 +22 +24 -17 -12 +29 =19 -15 -18  4.0  2090 
28. Dougherty, Michael   f  CAN 2212  - 3 +29 -15 -13 +21 -18 -24 +31 -25 =22 =23  4.0  2107 
29. Frame,Nigel             TAS ----  -17 -28 =23 -24 -22 +31 -25 -27 -26 -18 -19  1.5  1848 
30. Levi, Eddy           f  AUS 2241  - 1 +22 -16 -20 -23  .   .   .   .   .   .   1.0  2081 
31. BYE                         ----   .   .   .   .   .  -29 -22 -28 -23 -19 -25  0.0       
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Verona Open

The Verona Open took place January 2nd-9th 2005. IM Milan Mrdja won with 7/9 and also got a GM norm at the age of 51 years old. The young Italian Sabino Brunello (in the 'B' Italian team at Olympiads in Turin) got his last IM norm.

Official site: http://www.arroccoclub.it

-------------------------------------------------------------
Open Verona ITA (ITA), 2-9 i 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------
1  Mrdja, Milan               IM  CRO 2332  7      2653  2433
2  Stojanovic, Mihajlo        IM  SCG 2532  6,5    2575  2409
3  Rowson, Jonathan           GM  SCO 2599  6      2528  2403
4  Godena, Michele            GM  ITA 2505  6      2520  2395
5  Shytaj, Luca               FM  ITA 2425  6      2492  2367
6  Skembris, Spyridon         GM  GRE 2451  6      2472  2347
7  Lazic, Miroljub            GM  SCG 2466  6      2469  2344
8  Brunello, Sabino           FM  ITA 2301  5,5    2462  2382
9  Ivanov, Mikhail M          GM  RUS 2447  5,5    2448  2368
10 Arlandi, Ennio             IM  ITA 2458  5,5    2415  2335
11 Guido, Flavio              FM  ITA 2305  5,5    2401  2321
12 Rotstein, Arkadij          GM  GER 2520  5,5    2356  2276
13 Lettieri, Giuseppe             ITA 2260  5      2401  2358
14 Rombaldoni, Denis          FM  ITA 2292  5      2400  2357
15 Caruso, Augusto                ITA 2232  5      2389  2346
16 Borgo, Giulio              IM  ITA 2418  5      2379  2336
17 Calzetta, Monica           WGM ESP 2314  5      2339  2296
18 Scharrer, Patrick              ITA 2179  5      2330  2287
19 Dvirnyy, Daniyyl               ITA 2265  5      2327  2284
20 Estremera Panos, Sergio    IM  ESP 2361  4,5    2328  2328
21 Trabert, Bettina           WGM GER 2276  4,5    2267  2267
22 Rombaldoni, Axel               ITA 2123  4,5    2260  2260
23 Gourlay, Iain              FM  SCO 2363  4,5    2238  2238
24 Popa, Florin                   ITA 2206  4,5    2231  2231
25 Luciani, Valerio               ITA 2249  4,5    2229  2229
26 Naumkin, Igor              GM  RUS 2456  4      2205  2248
27 De Santis, Alessio         FM  ITA 2373  4      2179  2222
28 Bertani, Gianfranco            ITA 2116  4      2161  2204
29 Facchetti, Gianni              ITA 2131  4      2156  2199
30 Frigieri, Fabrizio             ITA 2096  4      2099  2142
31 Astengo, Corrado               ITA 2121  3,5    2176  2256
32 Barberi, Alessandro            ITA 2113  3,5    2170  2250
33 Kafka, Graeme                  SCO 2135  3,5    2112  2192
34 Capitelli, Paolo               ITA 2158  3,5    2110  2190
35 Miatello, Alberto              ITA 2077  3,5    2104  2184
36 Vianello, Enrico               ITA 2087  3      2086  2173
37 Opacic, Aleksandar             ITA 2104  3      2051  2176
38 Fuggetta, Leonardo             ITA 2069  3      2008  2133
39 Danieli, Enrico                ITA 2164  2,5    2006  2147
40 Sciortino, Massimo             ITA 2260  2,5    1914  2165
41 Gallo, Enrico                  ITA 2103  2      1954  2147
42 Chierici, Marianna             ITA 1934  1,5    1878  2151

5) Bad Zwesten Open

The Bad Zwesten Open took place 2nd-8th January 2006. Christian Bauer and Eric Van den Doel leads with 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.schach-in-nordhessen.de/ and games http://www.chessmix.com

Leading Final Round 9 Standings
-------------------------------------------
10th Open Bad Zwesten GER (GER), 2-8 i 2006
-------------------------------------------
Nr. Players          ELO  Pts PktS Buch 
  1. Bauer,Christian  2627 7.5 39.5 55.5 
  2. van den Doel,Eri 2571 7.5 38.0 53.0 
  3. Bischoff,Klaus   2560 7.0 36.0 50.5 
  4. Luther,Thomas    2569 7.0 35.0 48.5 
  5. Mainka,Romuald   2457 6.5 37.5 56.0 
  6. Shneider,Aleksan 2529 6.5 37.5 55.5 
  7. Graf,Alexander   2604 6.5 37.5 55.0 
  8. Gutman,Lev       2465 6.5 36.5 53.0 
  9. Braun,Arik       2491 6.5 36.5 51.5 
 10. Thinius,Marco    2343 6.5 33.5 51.0 
 11. Andersson,Ulf    2562 6.5 32.5 47.0 
 12. Donchenko,Anatol 2446 6.0 35.0 51.5 
 13. Philippe,Christo 2380 6.0 35.0 51.5 
 14. Baramidze,David  2554 6.0 34.5 52.0 
 15. Reschke,Stefan   2358 6.0 34.5 52.0 
 16. Sobolevski,Leoni 2344 6.0 33.0 50.0 
 17. Koscielski,Janus 2339 6.0 33.0 45.0 
 18. Kersten,Uwe      2316 6.0 32.0 50.5 
 19. Hetey,Laszlo     2322 6.0 32.0 50.0 
 20. Grooten,Herman   2365 6.0 32.0 47.5 
 21. Helstroffer,Arna 2296 6.0 30.0 46.5 
 22. Mensch,Etienne   2336 6.0 30.0 42.5 
 23. Siebrecht,Sebast 2429 6.0 29.5 41.0 
 24. Kummerow,Heiko   2282 6.0 29.0 47.5 
 25. Bäumler,Ilja     2225 6.0 27.5 44.0 
 147 players

6) 13th I Stepichev Mem

The 13th I Stepichev Memorial takes place 8th-17th January 2006.

Official site: http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t078.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
13th I.Stepichev Mem Kyiv UKR (UKR), 8-17 i 2006           cat. II (2284)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Nikolaev, Leonid         UKR 2314  * = = = 1 = . = 1 1 . =  6.0  2397 
 2. Semenov, Dmitri          UKR 2342  = * 1 = . . = = 0 1 1 1  6.0  2386 
 3. Golichenko, Ilija        UKR 2277  = 0 * = 0 1 1 = 1 . 1 .  5.5  2400 
 4. Kruglyakov, Pavlo        UKR 2238  = = = * 1 . = = 0 . 1 1  5.5  2379 
 5. Kernazhitsky, Leonid   m UKR 2355  0 . 1 0 * = = 1 1 = . 1  5.5  2357 
 6. Perun, Sergey          m UKR 2355  = . 0 . = * = = 1 1 1 =  5.5  2354 
 7. Kosikov, Alexey I        UKR 2427  . = 0 = = = * = . = 1 1  5.0  2297 
 8. Grinev, Valeriy          UKR 2258  = = = = 0 = = * . = = .  4.0  2250 
 9. Gordenko, Dmitry         UKR 2375  0 1 0 1 0 0 . . * 0 = 1  3.5  2181 
10. Melnichuk, Mikhail       UKR 2118  0 0 . . = 0 = = 1 * 0 =  3.0  2183 
11. Baryshpolets, Andrey     UKR 2218  . 0 0 0 . 0 0 = = 1 * =  2.5  2114 
12. Kosikov, Andrey          UKR 2132  = 0 . 0 0 = 0 . 0 = = *  2.0  2084 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) 4th I Platonov Memorial

The 4th I Platonov Memorial took place in Kyiv Ukraine, 8th-15th January 2006. Vladimir Sergeev won the event with 6.5/9.

Time limit: 90 minutes till the end of the game for each player with the addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.

Official site: http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/t077e.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------
4th I.Platonov Mem Kyiv UKR (UKR), 8-15 i 2006      cat. VIII (2440)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Sergeev, Vladimir     m UKR 2434  * = = 1 1 1 = 0 1 1  6.5  2606 
 2. Vysochin, Spartak     g UKR 2551  = * 1 = = 0 = 1 1 =  5.5  2507 
 3. Kruppa, Yuri          g UKR 2541  = 0 * = = = 1 1 = 1  5.5  2508 
 4. Shishkin, Vadim UKR   m UKR 2545  0 = = * = 1 0 1 1 1  5.5  2508 
 5. Pavlov, Sergey          UKR 2453  0 = = = * = = 1 1 0  4.5  2438 
 6. Vedmediuc, Serghei    f MDA 2348  0 1 = 0 = * = = 0 1  4.0  2407 
 7. Galinsky, Timofey     m UKR 2426  = = 0 1 = = * 0 0 =  3.5  2361 
 8. Lutsko, Igor          g BLR 2487  1 0 0 0 0 = 1 * 1 0  3.5  2354 
 9. Moliboga, V             RUS 2322  0 0 = 0 0 1 1 0 * 1  3.5  2373 
10. Matorin, Evgeny       m RUS 2294  0 = 0 0 1 0 = 1 0 *  3.0  2331 
--------------------------------------------------------------------

8) Keres Memorial Rapid

The Keres Memorial Rapid took place in Tallinn, Estonia 6th-9th January 2006. Vassily Ivanchuk, Anatoly Karpov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov finished on 7/9. Alexei Shirov had a disaster finishing on 0.5/9. Games from round 6 not complete. I've added the games from the women's event, rounds 4 and 5 are missing.

Further details: http://www.maleliit.ee/turniirid/arhiiv/2006/kalev/index.php?act=10⟨=eng, http://www.moldesjakk.net and Live Coverage: http://www.kabeliit.ee/HTML/1/tfd.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Keres Mem Rapid Tallinn EST (EST), 7-8 i 2006         cat. XIV (2592)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Ivanchuk, Vassily      g UKR 2748  * = = = 1 1 1 1 = 1  7.0  2794 
 2. Karpov, Anatoly        g RUS 2672  = * = 1 = = 1 1 1 1  7.0  2803 
 3. Kasimdzhanov, Rustam   g UZB 2670  = = * = = 1 1 1 1 1  7.0  2803 
 4. Berg, Emanuel          g SWE 2540  = 0 = * = = 1 = 1 1  5.5  2677 
 5. Kosyrev, Vladimir      g RUS 2530  0 = = = * = = = = 1  4.5  2598 
 6. Vitiugov, Nikita         RUS 2538  0 = 0 = = * = = 1 1  4.5  2597 
 7. Yemelin, Vasily        g RUS 2529  0 0 0 0 = = * 1 1 1  4.0  2555 
 8. Liiva, Riho            m EST 2411  0 0 0 = = = 0 * 1 1  3.5  2532 
 9. Agrest, Evgenij        g SWE 2571  = 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 * =  1.5  2321 
10. Shirov, Alexei         g ESP 2710  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = *  0.5  2134 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Keres Mem Rapid Women Tallinn EST (EST), 7-8 i 2006cat. III (2322)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Berzina, Ilze         wm LAT 2280  * = = 1 1 1 = 1  5.5  2557 
2. Cramling, Pia          g SWE 2492  = * = = 1 0 1 1  4.5  2399 
3. Golubenko, Valentina  wf EST 2148  = = * 0 = 1 1 1  4.5  2448 
4. Cmilyte, Viktorija     m LTU 2480  0 = 1 * = 1 0 1  4.0  2349 
5. Grabuzova, Tatiana    wg RUS 2332  0 0 = = * = 1 =  3.0  2270 
6. Ciuksyte, Dagne       wg LTU 2370  0 1 0 0 = * 1 0  2.5  2213 
7. Tsiganova, Monika     wm EST 2282  = 0 0 1 0 0 * =  2.0  2169 
8. Fomina, Tatyana       wm EST 2191  0 0 0 0 = 1 = *  2.0  2182 
-----------------------------------------------------------------

9) 19th Fulprint York Congress

19th Fulprint York Congress 6th-8th January 2006.

The new-year York congress remains an established and popular fixture in the northern chess calendar. This year's event, generously sponsored by Fulprint, attacted 234 players to the pleasant surroundings of the University of York. The Open section was led by the top seed, local IM Richard Palliser, who scored 4½ points from five rounds, ahead of Peter Shaw, Jonathan Hawkins, Martin Mitchell and David Adams. The qualifying place at the next British Championships was won by Peter Shaw of Wakefield.

The York congress uniquely offers prizes based on game points scored. This year no-one claimed the £250 offered for scoring five wins. The next prizes of £150 for scoring 4½ were claimed by Richard Palliser, Antonio Moneva-Jordan (major section), Stephen Crow and Richard Desmedt (intermediate) and by Gerry Whitehead in the minor section. Twenty-one players earned £50 for scores of 4/5 and sixteen further grading and junior awards brought the prize fund to £2,290. News: Jon Griffith.

Prizewinners:
 
Open Section 42 players, 5 rounds
4½   Richard Palliser      York        £150
4    Peter Shaw            Wakefield    £50
4    Jonathan Hawkins      Durham       £50
4    Martin Mitchell       Berwick      £50
4    David Adams           York         £50
3½   Martin Carpenter      York         £35
3    John Garnett          Teeside      £35
2½   Andrew Wainwright     Bradford     £30
 
Major Section, 52 players graded 160 and under:
4½   Antonio Moneva-Jordan Tynemouth   £150
4    Michael Round         Leeds        £50
4    Joseph Melia          Leeds        £50
4    John Milnes           Bradford     £50
4    James Carpenter       York         £50
3½   Robert Dean           Pudsey       £50
3    Leslie Wells          Harrogate    £50
2½   Kyle Kinnie           Darlington   £50
 
Inter Section, 65 players graded 130 and under
4½   Stephen Crow          Beverley    £150
4½   Richard Desmedt       Barnsley    £150
4    Carl Gartside         Derby        £50
4    Stephen Ormerod       Darlington   £50
4    Philip Bentley        Hull         £50
4    Jim Wiseman           Liverpool    £50
3½   Toby Thurgood         Nottingham   £30
3    Anjali Lakhani        Long Eaton   £30
2½   Dierrick Davies       Harrogate    £30
 
Minor Section, 75 players graded 100 and under,
4½   Gerry Whitehead       Salford     £150
4    I D Strickland        Leeds        £50
4    Richard Gavin         Oldham       £50
4    Ranyl Hughes          Harrogate    £50
4    Colin Cartlidge       Leeds        £50
4    Dave Colledge         Halifax      £50
4    Carl Stevens          Leeds        £50
4    Eric McKenna          Sheffield    £50
4    Peter Young           Salford      £50
4    John Wynne            York         £50
3½   Kennet Parkin         Nelson       £30
3    Vince Skillcorn       Teeside      £30
2½   Pierre Weller         York         £30
2½   Paul May              Leeds        £30
3    Jade Stirrup          Oldham  
Total 4 sections, 5 rounds standardplay,
234 players, 42 prizewinners, £2,290 prizes

10) 12th Canadian Women's Championship

WIM Natalia Khoudgarian won the 12th Canadian Women's Championship on a playoff tiebreaker over WFM Dina Kagramanov. After 10 years as Canada's top ranked female chess player, this is her first Championship win. (She will be the FIDE zone representative at the 2006 FIDE Women's World Championship) News: David Cohen.

Further details: http://www.chess.ca/xtable.asp?TNum=200601036 and http://www.chessontario.com/2006%20Canadian%20Women.htm

2006 Canadian Women Championship
#  Name                  Old   Perf   Tot
 1 Kagramanov, Dina      2056  2328   4.5
 2 Khoudgarian, Natalia  2265  2249   4.5
 3 Starr, Nava           2121  2062   3.5
 4 Benggawan, Amanda     2055  2047   3.5
 5 Barron, Irina         2133  2033   3.5
 6 Belc, Daniela         2041  2006   3.5
 7 Smith, Hazel          2178  2018   3.0
 8 Xia, Angel            1824  1963   3.0
 9 Dinca, Cornelia       1788  1735   1.0
10 Baylon, Glenda           0  1590   0.0

11) Hong Kong National Championship

The last game of the 2005 Hong Kong National Championship was played on January 5, 2006. The 2005 Hong Kong Champion is 15 year old WGM Anya Corke, who was also the 2004 champion. News: Harold Corke.

Further details: http://www.hkchess.org/_private/05Finals.htm

Finals A cross table
 1  Corke     Anya          10   
 2  Borigas   Edwin          9   
 3  Dew       Brian          9   
 4  Chong     Chor Yuen      9   
 5  Yu        Marco          6   
 6  Ho        Yin Ping       5.5 
 7  Yeung     Chun Keung     4   
 8  Lam       Mingo          3.5 
 9  Wu        Raymond        3.5 
10  Lu        David          2.5 
11  Poon      Adrian         2.5 
12  Leung     Kingsley       1.5 

12) Moscow Superblitz tournament

Moscow Superblitz tournament was held on the 6th January 2006 held in one of the best hotels in Moscow called Baltschug Kempinsky. The event was organised by the ChessPro.ru site. The results were a little garbled last week so I give them again.

Final Standings: 1-2. Grischuk and Morozevich - 15/22; 3. Svidler - 14; 4-5. Tkachev and Korotylev - 12.5; 6. Dreev - 11.5; 7-8. Shipov and Kobalia - 10; 9. Jakovenko - 9; 10-11. Grachev and Savchenko - 8.5; 12. Malakhov - 5.5. Tie-break for 1-2 place: Grischuk - Morozevich 1.5:0.5

Official site: http://www.chesspro.ru/blitz/blitz05.shtml

13) Forthcoming Events and Links

Bermuda International Open 2006

The Bermuda International Open takes place February 10th-12th 2006. Sadly the invitational has had to be cancelled due to venue problems.

Further details: http://www.bermuda.bm/chess/

20th Pula Open 2006

The 20th Pula Open (Croatia) takes place 18th-25th June 2006.

Further details and entry: http://www.skpula.hr/

4th Nancy Chess Festival

4th international chess festival in Nancy (east of France - 300 kms from Paris) from 20th-26th February 2006.

No open, but 10 different Round-Robin closed tournaments for 10 players each (9 rounds in 7 days : 2 hours + 30seconds per player). One master group for IM norms (completed : No more invitation for titled players), and several others groups arranged by Elo between 1000 and 2300, to obtain or to improve your FIDE Elo. Prizes : 200?-120?-80? in each group. + a simul against a master just before the prizegiving ceremony on sunday + a big blitz tournament on friday evening + one kids rapid tournament on wednesday afternoon ... Entry fee : 50? / under 20 : 25? / minus 10% for 4 players from the same club or just coming together. Please contact me before february 10th. Final payment possible for non-french players on the first day BEFORE 1pm. Please be on time, no entry at round 2 ! Contact by e-mail : philippe.chr@free.fr

All details in english here : http://philippechess.free.fr/4festivalEngGer.html All results from last year with photos here : http://philippechess.free.fr/3eFestival2005.htm

GM against the World - Olympiads of Chess, Turin 2006

The second GM against the World game on the Olympiad site will be GM Misho Cebalo (Croatia) and he it start on Monday, January 9th. 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

Lodi International Chess Festival

The 2nd Festival Scacchistico Internazionale "Città di Lodi" takes place in Lodi, Italy, 5th-11th June 2006. Prize fund Euros20.000,00.

Further details: http://www.lenuvole.org/ or scacchi@lenuvole.org

Fajr tournaments

The Iran Chess Federation will organize following Fajr tournaments in Iran Chess Palace in Tehran: - 4th Fajr Youth Open under 10, 12 & 14, 19-24 January 2006 with 3200$ Prize Money. - 14th Fajr Open, 24-30 January 2006 with 12000$ Prize Money.

You can find more information and regulation on http://www.iranchess.com/indexen.htm

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

14th Donau Open

The 14th Donau Open took place 26th-31st December 2005. I couldn't get the official site: http://www.aschach.info/schach/english.htm to work correctly.

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

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.

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

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/

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

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