THE WEEK IN CHESS 684 17th December 2007 by Mark Crowther

TWIC Home | The London Chess Center | | Shop

Sponsored by the London Chess Center

Contact The Week in Chess
Mark Crowther
E-Mail mdcrowth@btinternet.com
Mobile 07971 920016
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html

Contents

1) Introduction
2) Gata Kamsky wins the World Chess Cup
3) Russian Championship Superfinals
4) XX Carlos Torre Memorial
5) Bundesliga
6) Dutch Team Championship
7) 7th Amplico AIG Life
8) Ukrainian Championships
9) 17th Magistral de Elgoibar
10) 15th Salona
11) VI Bali International Chess Festival
12) First Saturday December
13) Eupen IM Norm Tournament
14) Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana
15) Greek Championships
16) Ascona Open
17) UTD Dallas
18) 74th Brazilian Championship
19) Slovenian Women's Tour
20) Granda Chess Festival
21) El Sauzal Rapid
22) Villa de Navalmoral
23) Ivan Nemet 1943-2007
24) My 61 Memorable Games
25) Forthcoming Events and Links

Contact the London Chess Center

Contact the London Chess Center email: info@chess.co.uk Call 1-561-714-0828 in the USA or Canada Call +44 (0) 207 388 2404 or Fax +44 (0) 207 388 2407 in the UK and ROW

Join Chess Express and receive all the latest chess news straight into your inbox. Simply click here to start receiving chess express

Links:

New Shop: http://www.chess.co.uk/shop


Alternatively download PDF version here



Order Fritz 11


Games Section
World Chess Cup 6 games
Bundesliga 40 games
Dutch Team Championship 100 games
7th Amplico AIG Life 656 games
Ukrainian Championships 126 games
17th Magistral de Elgoibar 45 games
15th Salona 45 games
VI Bali Festival 18 games
First Saturday December 22 games
Eupen IM Norm Tournament 30 games
Americana 11 games
Greek Championships 45 games
Ascona Open 91 games
UTD Dallas 66 games
74th Brazilian Championship 24 games
Slovenian Women's Tour 115 games
Granda Chess Festival 138 games
El Sauzal Rapid 182 games
Villa de Navalmoral 88 games
Total 1843 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Edward Labate, Rodolfo Arias, Agustin Manrique, Diego De La Vega, Sinisa Joksic, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Miklos Orso, Palo Velija, Bruce Towell, Evgeny Klavir, Lennarth Eriksson, Misha Savinov, Goran Urosevic, Adolivio Capece and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Gata Kamsky completed his return to the top of chess by winning the World Chess Cup and a match against Veselin Topalov which in itself could be quite a battle. Kamsky took time out to earn a law degree and his return saw him as tough as ever but all at sea with the new level of opening preparation required to compete. In that regard he is still behind many and he reminds me a lot of Sammy Reshevsky in may ways who also had trouble in that area when he competed as an amateur in a professional world. Kamsky was undefeated in Khanty-Mansiysk and overcame an Alexei Shirov who was also in top form in a wild struggle in game two. Its good to have both of them back playing chess at a high level.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Gata Kamsky wins the World Chess Cup

The World Chess Cup took place in Khanty-Mansiysk.22nd November-18th December 2007. Gata Kamsky was undefeated on the way to taking the title. He beat Alexei Shirov 2.5-1.5 and inflicted that player's only loss. If things go to plan, which in the modern chess world they seldom do, then Kamsky will play Topalov for the right to meet the winner of Anand against Kramnik.

Time control. Standard 90m+30s/move to move 40 then 30m+30s/move to the end of the game. Rapids 25m+10s/move, Blitz 5m+10s/move. Final sudden death game White 6 mins, Black 5 mins, without any addition. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared as winner. [FIDE regulations]

Official site: http://www.ugra-chess.ru/eng/main_e.htm [and link to the handy pairings tree is at: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1520] Further coverage: http://www.chessdom.com/world-chess-cup-2007/ and http://www.chessvibes.com/

World Chess Cup Round 7 Final 13th-17th December 2007
Player NAT Elo G1 G2 G3 G4 R1 R2 B1 B2 SD Score
Shirov, Alexei ESP 2739 ½ 0 ½ ½
Kamsky, Gata USA 2714 ½ 1 ½ ½
World Chess Cup Round 6 9th-11th December 2007
Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2694 1.5-2.5 Shirov, Alexei ESP 2739
Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2714 0.5-1.5 Kamsky, Gata USA 2714

3) Russian Championship Superfinals

The Russian Championship Superfinals take place 17th-30th December 2007 (Round 1 18th Dec) .

Players: Men: Alekseev, Amonatov, Vitjugov, Grischuk, Dreev, Inarkiev, Morozevich, Rychagov, Svidler, Timofeev, Tomashevsky, Jakovenko. Women: Galliamova, Gunina, Matveeva, Kovalevskaya, Korbut, N.Kosintseva, T.Kosintseva, Kosteniuk, Ovod, Stepovaya, Tairova, Shadrina.

4) XX Carlos Torre Memorial

The XX Carlos Torre Memorial takes place in Mérida, Yucatán, México 15th-23rd December 2007. The early rounds are under way. Usually they have stars arriving later in the event but I couldn't find a list of names.

Details: http://www.idey.gob.mx/ct2008.htm

5) Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. The first games were on Friday 19th October as part of the special round 7 - fixtures from this round are played before various weekend programs. Most of Rounds 3 and 4 took place 24th-25th November 2007 but the fixtures at Baden Baden take place on 15th-16th December. Rounds 5 and 6 took place 8th-9th December 2007 but there was also an extensive round 7 program on the Friday. The next games take place 8th-10th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at: http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.php and statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/. Games from Baden Baden at: http://www.rochade.de/live.htm

Bundesliga Baden Baden 15th-16th December 2007
Round 7 14th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
OSC Baden-Baden SG Turm Trier 5,0:3,0
1. GM Peter Svidler (2732) - GM Piotr Bobras (2564) ½:½
2. GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) - IM Andras Flumbort (2499) ½:½
3. GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) - GM Mircea Parligras (2553) 0:1
4. GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) - IM Ruediger Seger (2395) 1:0
5. GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) - IM Dietmar Kolbus (2386) 1:0
6. GM Rustem Dautov (2590) - IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) 1:0
7. GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) - IM Doru Alexandru Ionescu (2377) ½:½
8. GM Fabian Döttling (2541) - Christian Jeitz (2183) ½:½
Round 3 15th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
  OSC Baden-Baden SC 1950 Remagen 7,0:1,0
1. GM Peter Svidler (2732) - GM Boris Avrukh (2641) 1:0
2. GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) - GM Sergey Fedorchuk (2645) 1:0
3. GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) - GM Alexander Goloshchapov (2563) ½:½
4. GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) - GM Jean-Marc Degraeve (2546) 1:0
5. GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) - GM Petar Popovic (2474) ½:½
6. GM Rustem Dautov (2590) - GM Romouald Mainka (2496) 1:0
7. GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) - IM Yuri Boidman (2450) 1:0
8. GM Fabian Döttling (2541) - IM Klaus-Jürgen Schulz (2401) 1:0
SG Turm Trier   Godesberger SK 4,0:4,0
1. GM Vasilios Kotronias (2614) - GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2690) 0:1
2. GM Lukasz Cyborowski (2549) - GM Christopher Lutz (2588) ½:½
3. GM Piotr Bobras (2564) - IM Jan-Michael Sprenger (2536) 1:0
4. IM Andras Flumbort (2499) - GM Aloyzas Kveinys (2517) 0:1
5. GM Pawel Jaracz (2518) - GM Tomas Likavsky (2496) 0:1
6. GM Mircea Parligras (2553) - IM Thomas Jackelen (2437) 1:0
7. IM Dietmar Kolbus (2386) - IM Georg Seul (2450) ½:½
8. IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) - Alexander Dranov (2439) 1:0
Round 4 16th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
Godesberger SK OSC Baden-Baden 2,0:6,0
1. GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2690) - GM Peter Svidler (2732) ½:½
2. GM Christopher Lutz (2588) - GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) 0:1
3. IM Jan-Michael Sprenger (2536) - GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) 0:1
4. GM Aloyzas Kveinys (2517) - GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) 0:1
5. GM Tomas Likavsky (2496) - GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) ½:½
6. IM Thomas Jackelen (2437) - GM Rustem Dautov (2590) ½:½
7. IM Georg Seul (2450) - GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) 0:1
8. Alexander Dranov (2439) - GM Fabian Döttling (2541) ½:½
SC 1950 Remagen   SG Turm Trier 3,5:4,5
1. GM Boris Avrukh (2641) - GM Vasilios Kotronias (2614) 0:1
2. GM Sergey Fedorchuk (2645) - GM Lukasz Cyborowski (2549) ½:½
3. GM Alexander Goloshchapov (2563) - IM Andras Flumbort (2499) ½:½
4. GM Jean-Marc Degraeve (2546) - GM Pawel Jaracz (2518) ½:½
5. GM Petar Popovic (2474) - GM Mircea Parligras (2553) 0:1
6. GM Romouald Mainka (2496) - IM Ruediger Seger (2395) 1:0
7. IM Yuri Boidman (2450) - IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) 0:1
8. IM Klaus-Jürgen Schulz (2401) - IM Doru Alexandru Ionescu (2377) 0:1
Round 7 Standings:
1. OSC Baden-Baden 7 14 39,5
2. SV Mülheim-Nord 7 11 33,5
3. Werder Bremen 7 10 33,5
4. TV Tegernsee 7 9 29,5
5. SG Aljechin Solingen 7 8 31,5
6. SV Wattenscheid 7 8 28,5
7. Hamburger SK 7 7 28,5
8. TSV Bindlach-Aktionär 7 7 28,0
9. SF Katernberg 7 7 26,5
10. SG Turm Trier 7 6 26,0
11. SC Kreuzberg 7 5 26,5
12. Erfurter SK 7 5 24,5
13. SK Zehlendorf 7 5 23,0
14. SC Eppingen 7 4 24,5
15. SC Remagen 6 2 18,5
16. Godesberger SK 6 2 18,0

6) Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/

Dutch Team Championships 15 ix 2007 - 17th v 2008
Round 4 24 Nov 2007    
HSG Schrijvers Rotterdam 6 4
ESGOO LSG 1
HWP Sas van Gent LSG 2 7 3
Utrecht HMC Calder
Homburg Apeldoorn Hotels.nl 4 6
Round 5 15 Dec 2007    
Schrijvers Rotterdam Hotels.nl 5 5
HMC Calder Homburg Apeldoorn
LSG 2 Utrecht 2 8
LSG 1 HWP Sas van Gent
HSG ESGOO

7) 7th Amplico AIG Life

The 7th Amplico AIG Life European Rapid Championships (XXVI Stanislawa Gawlikowskiego Memorial ) took place in Warsaw, Poland 15th-16th December 2007. The event consisted of a 13 round Swiss where 16 players qualified after 8 rounds (with the rest continuing on in the swiss) for a group stage of four all-play-alls with four players, there were then semi-finals and finals or another group stage to establish the final standings. Time rates: G-15'+10''. The rate of play in tie-breaks is 5 minutes for white and 4 minutes for black for a game with black getting draw odds. Aleksej Aleksandrov beat Tomasz Markowski in the final.

7th Amplico AIG Life
Top 16 Final Standings
15th-16th December 2007
Place NAME
1 Aleksandrow Aleksiej
2 Markowski Tomasz
3 Peralta Fernando
4 Moranda Wojciech
5 Malaniuk Vladimir
6 Banikas Hristos
7 Tukhaev Adam
8 Bartel Mateusz
9 Mastrovasilis Dimitris
10 Jakubiec Artur
11 Balogh Csaba
12 Przybylski Wojciech
13 Mista Aleksander
14 Gurevich Mikhail
15 Moiseenko Aleksander
16 Guliyev Namig
7th Amplico AIG Life Matches for main prizes
Final 1 2 S T1 Place
Markowski Tomasz 0 0.5 0.5   2
Aleksandrow Aleksiej 1 0.5 1.5   1
3rd-4th 1 2 S T1 Place
Moranda Wojciech 0.5 0.5 1 0 4
Peralta Fernando 0.5 0.5 1 1 3
SemiFinal 1 2 S T1  
Peralta Fernando 0 0 0    
Aleksandrow Aleksiej 1 1 2   final
SemiFinal 1 2 S T1  
Moranda Wojciech 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.5  
Markowski Tomasz 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.5 final
7th Amplico AIG Life Placings
- Places 5th-8th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Tukhaev Adam X 0.5 0.5 0 1 7
2 Bartel Mateusz 0.5 X 0 0.5 1 8
3 Malaniuk Vladimir 0.5 1 X 0.5 2 5
4 Banikas Hristos 1 0.5 0.5 x 2 6
- Places 9th-12th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Mastrovasilis Dimitris X 1 1 0 2 9
2 Przybylski Wojciech 0 X 0 1 1 12
3 Balogh Csaba 0 1 X 0.5 1.5 11
4 Jakubiec Artur 1 0 0.5 x 1.5 10
- Places 13th-16th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Mi?ta Aleksander X 1 0.5 0.5 2 13
2 Guliyev Namig 0 X 1 0 1 16
3 Gurevich Mikhail 0.5 0 X 1 1.5 14
4 Moiseenko Aleksander 0.5 1 0 x 1.5 15
7th Amplico AIG Life Group Stages
- Group 1 (1,8,9,16) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Tukhaev, Adam X 1 0 1 2   II
2 Mista Aleksander 0 X 0 0 0   IV
3 Peralta Fernando 1 1 X 0.5 2.5   I
4 Mastrovasilis Dimitros 0 1 0.5 x 1.5   III
- Group 2 (2,7,10,15) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Moranda Wojciech X 0.5 1 0.5 2   I
2 Malaniuk Vladimir 0.5 X 0 1 1.5 2.5 II
3 Moiseenko Aleksander 0 1 X 0 1   IV
4 Jakubiec Artur 0.5 0 1 x 1.5 2 III
- Group 3 (3,6,11,14) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Guliyev Namig X 0 1 0 1   IV
2 Markowski Tomasz 1 X 0.5 0.5 2 2.5 I
3 Przybylski Wojciech 0 0.5 X 0.5 1   III
4 Banikas Hristos 1 0.5 0.5 x 2 2.5 II
- Group 4 (4,5,12,13) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Bartel Mateusz X 1 0.5 0.5 2 2.25 II
2 Gurevich Mikhail 0 X 0 0.5 0.5   IV
3 Aleksandrov Aleksej 0.5 1 X 0.5 2 2.25 I
4 Balogh Csaba 0.5 0.5 0.5 x 1.5   III
7th Amplico AIG Life Tie-Break Qualifiers
Tie-Break 1
1 Moiseenko, Alexander - Skalski, Michal 1-0
2 Kravtsiv, Martyn - Jedryczka, Krystian 1-0
3 Felgaer, Ruben - Sumets, Andrey 0-1
4 Jussupow, Artur - Olszewski, Michal 1-0
5 Mista, Aleksander - Gajewski, Grzegorz 1-0
Tie-Break 2
1 Balogh Csaba - Sumets Andrey 1-0
2 Zawadzki Stanislaw - Mista Aleksander 0-1
3 Bartel Mateusz - Jussupow Artur 1-0
4 Banikas Hristos - Kravtsiv, Martyn 1-0
5 Drozdovskij Yuri - Moiseenko Aleksander 0-1
7th Amplico AIG Life Swiss Open Final Round 13 Standings
Place Name Fed. FIDE Local Total MBch. Bch. Wins Prog.
1 Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2606 2606 11.0 91.00 107.50 11 73.0
2 Rozentalis, Eduardas LTU 2581 2581 10.0 98.50 113.50 8 72.5
3 Drozdovskij, Yuri UKR 2567 2567 10.0 96.50 113.50 8 76.5
4 Vysochin, Spartak UKR 2524 2524 10.0 96.00 113.00 9 74.5
5 Jussupow, Artur GER 2583 2583 10.0 95.50 112.50 8 75.0
6 Sumets, Andrey UKR 2529 2529 10.0 93.00 111.00 9 72.5
7 Ganguly, Surya Shekhar IND 2585 2585 10.0 93.00 109.50 9 75.0
8 Bindrich, Falko GER 2512 2512 10.0 90.50 105.50 9 71.5
9 Urban, Klaudiusz POL 2489 2489 10.0 88.50 104.50 9 67.5
10 Kogan, Artur ISR 2590 2590 10.0 87.00 102.50 9 68.5
11 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw POL 2635 2635 9.5 97.50 114.50 9 72.5
12 Felgaer, Ruben ARG 2539 2539 9.5 93.00 107.00 9 69.0
13 Warakomski, Tomasz POL 2498 2498 9.5 91.50 107.50 9 70.5
14 Pileckis, Emilis LTU 2349 2349 9.5 91.50 107.00 9 67.0
15 Ajrapetjan, Yuriy UKR 2420 2420 9.5 89.50 105.50 9 66.0
16 Akesson, Ralf SWE 2468 2468 9.5 89.50 105.00 9 66.0
17 Lafuente, Pablo ARG 2489 2489 9.5 89.00 104.50 9 68.5
18 Pakleza, Zbigniew POL 2483 2483 9.5 86.00 102.00 9 67.5
19 Kojro, Adam POL 0 2000 9.5 84.00 98.00 8 58.0
20 Kanarek, Marcel POL 2324 2324 9.5 81.00 96.50 9 61.0

8) Ukrainian Championships

The final of the 76th Championships of the Ukraine took place in Kharkiv 17th-25th November 2007. Veleriy Aveskulov won the event with 6.5/9.

Official site:http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/ukr07mf/index.html

76th ch-UKR Final Kharkiv UKR (UKR), 17-25 xi 2007
1 Aveskulov, Valeriy g UKR 2545 6.5 44.5 30.25 35.0 2687 +1.70
2 Miroshnichenko, Evgenij g UKR 2651 6.0 47.0 30.75 30.5 2647 -0.05
3 Kuzubov, Yuriy g UKR 2582 6.0 44.0 30.25 29.0 2665 +1.00
4 Gasanov, Eldar g UKR 2504 6.0 42.0 26.75 26.5 2670 +2.00
5 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy g UKR 2598 5.5 46.5 26.75 28.0 2596 +0.00
6 Kovchan, Alexander g UKR 2507 5.5 46.0 27.25 28.0 2639 +1.63
7 Drozdovskij, Yuri g UKR 2567 5.0 45.5 22.75 26.0 2568 -0.02
8 Tukhaev, Adam m UKR 2517 5.0 44.0 22.75 27.5 2579 +0.73
9 Kovalenko, Igor UKR 2429 5.0 42.5 20.25 24.5 2595 +1.97
10 Onischuk, Vladimir m UKR 2469 5.0 40.5 20.00 27.0 2586 +1.40
11 Vysochin, Spartak g UKR 2524 5.0 40.5 21.00 24.0 2553 +0.32
12 Oleksienko, Mikhailo g UKR 2587 5.0 38.0 19.00 21.5 2531 -0.69
13 Zubov, Alexander m UKR 2556 4.5 44.0 20.50 27.0 2528 -0.34
14 Romanishin, Oleg M g UKR 2547 4.5 41.0 19.25 24.5 2504 -0.54
15 Malaniuk, Vladimir P g UKR 2496 4.5 40.5 19.75 22.5 2519 +0.29
16 Kononenko, Dmitry1 g UKR 2513 4.5 34.5 16.25 19.5 2501 -0.15
17 Solodovnichenko, Yuri g UKR 2564 4.5 33.5 15.75 18.0 2478 -1.06
18 Brodsky, Michail g UKR 2597 4.0 42.0 17.75 21.5 2442 -1.87
19 Nosenko, Alexander m UKR 2504 4.0 40.0 16.50 20.5 2471 -0.38
20 Zinchenko, Yaroslav g UKR 2505 4.0 40.0 17.25 20.0 2495 -0.09
21 Maximov, Dmitry m UKR 2488 4.0 32.5 13.25 15.5 2465 -0.27
22 Truskavetsky, Alexandr m UKR 2398 3.5 41.0 12.50 19.5 2449 +0.59
23 Jakimov, Vladimir UKR 2434 3.5 41.0 15.50 19.0 2455 +0.24
24 Arzumanian, Georgy m ARM 2493 3.5 40.5 14.75 21.5 2489 -0.06
25 Tarlev, Konstantin m UKR 2490 3.5 34.0 11.50 17.0 2441 -0.62
26 Rogovski, Vladimir g UKR 2485 3.0 38.0 10.50 13.5 2390 -1.12
27 Zubarev, Alexander1 g UKR 2500 3.0 35.5 11.50 15.0 2381 -1.42
28 Shishkin, Vadim UKR g UKR 2530 2.0 35.0 6.75 8.0 2254 -3.19

9) 17th Magistral de Elgoibar

17th Magistral de Elgoibar.took place 10th-16th December 2007. Kamil Miton was the clear winner with 7/9.

Official site: http://www.xake.net/1%20Inicio.htm

XVII Magistral Elgoibar ESP (ESP), 10-16 xii 2007 cat. X (2492)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Miton, Kamil g POL 2628 * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 7 2696
2. Paunovic, Dragan g SRB 2535 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 2652
3. Korneev, Oleg g RUS 2587 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 2646
4. Mirzoev, Azer g AZE 2545 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6 2610
5. Gomez Esteban, Juan Mario g ESP 2490 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 1 ½ 1 2571
6. Pri('e), Eric g FRA 2532 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 4 2444
7. Huerga Leache, Mikel f ESP 2440 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 * 0 1 1 4 2454
8. Larino Nieto, David m ESP 2428 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 * ½ 1 3 2373
9. Gonzalez de la Torre, Santiago f ESP 2399 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 2 2281
10. Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina wg ESP 2331 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ * ½ 2065

10) 15th Salona

The 15th Salona took place in Solin CRO 7th-15th December 2007. Antoaneta Stefanova won the event with 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/turniri/solin/07/index.shtm

15th Salona Solin CRO (CRO), 7-15 xii 2007 cat. XI (2511)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2463 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 2682
2. Saric, Ante g CRO 2441 ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 2598
3. Georgiev, Vladimir g MKD 2576 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 2583
4. Brkic, Ante g CRO 2577 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2546
5. Dizdarevic, Emir g CRO 2504 ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 2511
6. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2462 0 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 2516
7. Dembo, Yelena m GRE 2448 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 2437
8. Romanishin, Oleg M g UKR 2547 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 2426
9. Godena, Michele g ITA 2535 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 2428
10. Kurajica, Bojan g CRO 2554 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 * 3 2380

11) VI Bali International Chess Festival

The VI Bali International Chess Festival took place 30th November 9th December 2007. The main tournament of stars rapid was won by Vladimir Malaniuk. The final days games are now available. Also unfortunately there were duplicate round 5 games given last week.

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

Bali Torneo de las Estrellas Benidorm ESP (ESP), 7-9 xii 2007
cat. XIII (2566)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Malakhov, Vladimir RUS 2690 g ## 01 1= 11 11 11 8.5 31.8
2 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2644 g 10 ## == 11 11 11 8.0 29.0
3 Tkachiev, Vladislav FRA 2661 g 0= == ## 1= =1 11 6.5 23.5
4 Fedorchuk, Sergey A UKR 2645 g 00 00 0= ## 10 11 3.5 8.3
5 Recuero Guerra, David ESP 2407 f 00 00 =0 01 ## =0 2.0 7.5
6 Nebolsina, Vera RUS 2349 wm 00 00 00 00 =1 ## 1.5 3.0

12) First Saturday December

The First Saturday tournaments for December took place 1st-11th December 2007. Zhao Zong-Yuan and Zlatko Ilincic finished on 7/9 in the GM group. Evarth Kahn won the IM group but I'm unsure of the final table, especially the score of Eric Cooke.

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

FSGM December Budapest (HUN), 1-9 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2432)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Zhao Zong-Yuan m AUS 2491 * 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 7 2645
2. Ilincic, Zlatko g SRB 2545 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 7 2639
3. Kosic, Dragan g MNE 2482 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 2592
4. Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2411 ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 2559
5. Bui Vinh m VIE 2461 0 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 2428
6. Kosanovic, Goran A g SRB 2400 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 ½ ½ 2355
7. Payen, Arnaud m FRA 2398 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 3 2310
8. Paschall, William M m USA 2352 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 ½ * 0 ½ 2274
9. Pesotsky, Vitaly m UKR 2384 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 2271
10. Kaufman, Raymond f USA 2393 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 2270


FSIM December Budapest (HUN), 1-11 xii 2007 cat. I (2264)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
1. Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2314 * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 2451
2. Vegh, Endre m HUN 2303 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 7 2408
3. Boguszlavszkij, Jevgenyij m HUN 2304 ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 6 2331
4. Rapport, Richard HUN 2197 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 2306
5. Cooke, Eric USA 2253 0 0 0 1 * 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 2300
6. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2263 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2263
7. Szabo, Bence HUN 2160 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 5 2273
8. Werner, Dimo m GER 2346 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ 1 2219
9. Horvath, Andras f HUN 2312 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 2148
10. Lenz, Alarich AUT 2227 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 3 2118
11. Adams, Nick A USA 2220 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 2074

13) Eupen IM Norm Tournament

The Eupen IM Norm Tournament took place 7th-15th December 2007 and was organised by the Chess Federation of German-speaking Belgium, with the support of Belgian Federal chess. The time rate was 40 move in 100 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. For the rest of the game 50 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. Aleksandar Berelovich and Christian Braun finished on 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.chess-international.de/ticker/0belgien_normenturnier/index.html

SVDB IM Norm Eupen BEL (BEL), 7-15 xii 2007 cat. VI (2376)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Berelovich, Aleksandar g UKR 2595 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 2517
2. Braun, Christian GER 2296 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 2550
3. Gulbas, Cemil f BEL 2365 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 6 2502
4. Roeder, Mathias m GER 2452 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 2410
5. Ahn, Martin f BEL 2309 ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 2383
6. Hautot, Stephane f BEL 2333 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 4 2337
7. Litwak, Aleksej f GER 2298 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 1 1 4 2341
8. Petkov, Vladimir g BUL 2508 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 0 2281
9. Meessen, Rudolf f BEL 2303 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 * 1 3 2258
10. Philipowski, Robert f GER 2299 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 2 2164

14) Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana

The Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana (Brasil) took place 4th-11th December, 2007. Rafael Leitao won with 7/9.

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/

Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana BRA (BRA), 4-9 xii 2007 cat. VII (2413)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Leitao, Rafael g BRA 2601 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7 2611
2. Stamenkovic, Dragan m SRB 2417 ½ * 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2537
3. Rodriguez Vila, Andres g URU 2541 ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2523
4. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag m BRA 2428 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 2535
5. Fier, Alexandr g BRA 2516 ½ 1 0 0 * ½ 1 0 1 1 5 2444
6. Perdomo, Leandro m ARG 2391 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 0 4 2372
7. Tsuboi, Edson Kenji f BRA 2334 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 0 1 2341
8. Cubas, Jose Fernando m PAR 2448 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ * ½ 1 2328
9. Oliveira, Silvio Eduardo BRA 2286 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ * 1 3 2301
10. Da Silva, Alessandro Rodrigues BRA 2164 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 2089

15) Greek Championships

The Greek Championships took place in Igoumenitsa December 1st-9th 2007. I Papadopoulos took clear first with 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.chessfed.gr

ch-GRE Igoumenitsa (GRE), 1-9 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2448)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Papadopoulos, I GRE 2445 * 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 0 2721
2. Banikas, Hristos g GRE 2591 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 2512
3. Kotronias, Vasilios g GRE 2614 0 ½ * 0 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 5 2472
4. Georgiadis, Ioannis GRE 2377 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 5 2499
5. Mastrovasilis, Athanasios g GRE 2529 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 5 2482
6. Nikolaidis, Ioannis g GRE 2525 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 2439
7. Galopoulos, N GRE 2172 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 4 2435
8. Gavrilakis, Nikolaos m GRE 2437 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 2369
9. Skembris, Spyridon g GRE 2463 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 * 0 2280
10. Hadzimanolis, Antonios f GRE 2329 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 * 2295

16) Ascona Open

The Ascona (Switzerland) Chess Festival took place 3rd-8th December 2007. Boris Chatalbalshev, Leonid Kritz and Vadim Malakhatko all finished on 7/9. My thanks to Sinisa Joksic for the games.

Sinisa Joksic reports: "After Lugano Olympiad 1968 chess became very popular in Ticino. Started with round robin tournament 1970, continued with the most respected open tournaments till 1990. Ascona start similar after world champion match Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko in Brisago 2004, Hotel Ascona, where both players stay, decide to begin with open tournaments. Another coincident both Lugano and Ascona are on the lakes, Lugano on the lake with the same name and Ascona at the Lake Maggiore. Will be nice to repeat also chess success. There were 38 players, 10 national, 6GM, 3WGM, 6 IM, 2 WIM, 1 FM, 1WFM. Swiss system, 9 rounds; two hours for 40 moves and one hour till the end. Young master ran for separate prizes. (Special prize fond gave “Lugano Si”) GM Boris Chatalbashev won tournament on tie-break, second was Kritz and third Malakhatko. Chatalbashev was lieder and rivals catch him in the last round. Last day was rapid tournament won convinced by Leonid Kritz. Organization was nice, with sunny weather very rare for this time of the year. Next, 2nd Ascona International Chess Festival will be from 3 to 6 January 2009. "

Official site: http://www.luganoscacchi.ch/

Open Ascona SUI (SUI), 3-8 xii 2007
1 GM Chatalbalshev Boris 2453 BUL 7 39 2688
2 GM Kritz Leonid 2596 GER 7 36 2681
3 GM Malakhatko Vadim 2596 BEL 7 35.5 2676
4 GM Stojanovic Mihajlo 2582 SRB 6.5 35 2571
5 GM Maze Sebastien 2576 FRA 6 31 2496
6 IM Abergel Thal 2528 FRA 6 31 2550
7 IM Zozulia Anna 2343 BEL 6 30.5 2445
8 IM Cornette Matthieu 2494 FRA 5.5 31.5 2507
9 IM Belezky Alexander 2436 UKR 5.5 30 2430
10 GM Gallagher Joseph G 2497 SUI 5.5 27 2386
11 IM Foisor Ovidiu Doru 2397 ROU 5 29 2437
12 FM Aranovitch Emiliano 2402 ITA 5 28 2323
13 WIM Stojanovic Andjelija 2274 SRB 5 27.5 2388
14 IM Libiszewski Fabien 2486 FRA 5 26.5 2323
15 WGM Foisor Cristina Adela 2388 ROU 5 26.5 2370
16 WGM Foisor Sabina-Franc 2359 ROU 5 25.5 2339
17 Sabirov Farkhad 2362 UZB 5 25 2320
18 WIM Sabirova Olga   2256 UZB 5 25
19 IM Joksic Sinisa 2314 SRB 4.5 26 2239
20 Colmenares Aurelio 2237 SUI 4.5 25 2246
21 Goodger Martyn 2067 ENG 4.5 21 2153
22 Foisor Mihaela-Vero 2029 ROU 4.5 18.5 2105
38 players

17) UTD Dallas

The UTD Dallas tournament took place in Rischarson 6rh-14th December 2007. Davorin Kuljasevic and Alejandro Ramirez finished on 7.5/11.

Official site: http://chess.utdallas.edu/grandmasterinv2007.html

UTD GM Invitational Richardson USA (USA), 6-14 xii 2007 cat. IX (2468)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Kuljasevic, Davorin m CRO 2464 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 2601
2. Ramirez, Alejandro g CRC 2505 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 2597
3. Izoria, Zviad g GEO 2643 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7 2554
4. Robson, Ray f USA 2368 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 6 2513
5. Bartholomew, John m USA 2435 ½ 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 2471
6. Stopa, Jacek m POL 2410 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 2473
7. Schneider, Dmitry m USA 2502 ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 5 2428
8. Zhao Jun g CHN 2552 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 1 0 ½ 5 2424
9. Boskovic, Drasko m SRB 2465 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 2403
10. Bercys, Salvijus m USA 2418 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 2407
11. Panchanathan, Magesh Chandran g IND 2500 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * 0 4 2363
12. Ning Chunhong wg CHN 2354 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 * 4 2376

18) 74th Brazilian Championship

The 74th Brazilian Championship takes place in Rio de Janeiro 14th-22nd December, 2007. 12 players Prize Fund US$ 6.000,00.

Players: GM Giovanni Vescovi, GM Rafael Leitão, GM Gilberto Milos, IM Herman Claudius, IM Krikor Mekhitarian, IM André Diamant, IM Everaldo Matsuura, IM Diego Di Berardino, FM Roberto Molina, FM Jorge Bittencourt (new IM), Roberto Calheiros and Yago Santiago

Official site: http://www.fexerj.com.br/brasileiro2007/

ch-BRA Rio de Janeiro BRA (BRA), 14-22 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2428)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Leitao, Rafael g BRA 2601 * ½ . . . 1 1 . . . 1 . 2670
2. Vescovi, Giovanni g BRA 2617 ½ * . . ½ . . 1 . 1 . . 3 2687
3. Di Berardino, Diego Rafael m BRA 2430 . . * ½ . . . . 1 . ½ 1 3 2586
4. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag m BRA 2428 . . ½ * ½ . . . . . 1 1 3 2606
5. Milos, Gilberto g BRA 2592 . ½ . ½ * . . . 1 . . ½ 2596
6. Molina, Roberto Junio Brito f BRA 2322 0 . . . . * ½ ½ . . 1 . 2 2347
7. Miranda, Roberto Calheiros de BRA 2213 0 . . . . ½ * ½ . ½ . . 2340
8. Van Riemsdijk, Herman C m BRA 2391 . 0 . . . ½ ½ * ½ . . . 2328
9. Matsuura, Everaldo m BRA 2511 . . 0 . 0 . . ½ * 1 . . 2365
10. Diamant, Andre m BRA 2395 . 0 . . . . ½ . 0 * . 1 2360
11. Santiago, Yago de Moura BRA 2185 0 . ½ 0 . 0 . . . . * . 2123
12. Bittencourt, Jorge f BRA 2448 . . 0 0 ½ . . . . 0 . * 2139

19) Slovenian Women's Tour

The Slovenian Women's Tour took place 29th November - 8th December 2007. Games from round 7 are missing.

Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0711/si07lgdw/

20) Granda Chess Festival

The Granada Chess Festival took place 5th-9th December 2007. Branko Damljanovic took clear first in the open with 7.5/9. Time control 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move

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

Open Granada ESP (ESP), 5-9 xii 2007
Rank SNo. Name Rtg FED Pts BH. ratP Fide  
1 1 GM DAMLJANOVIC Branko 2608 SCG 44½ 2709 41
2 5 GM PAUNOVIC Dragan 2535 SCG 7 45 2637 36½
3 3 GM STRIKOVIC Aleksa 2551 SCG 7 43½ 2623 37
4 6 GM MOVSZISZIAN Karen 2531 ARM 7 42 2614 36
5 2 GM KORNEEV Oleg 2587 RUS 45½ 2559 36
6 10 IM IOTOV Valentin 2509 BUL 43½ 2564 36½
7 8 GM MATAMOROS FRANCO Carlos S. 2525 ECU 42½ 2466 35½
8 21 FM DEL REY Diego 2397 ARG 41 2459 33
9 12 IM IBARRA JEREZ Jose Carlos 2484 ESP 41 2452 33
10 18 IM KOVACEVIC Slobodan 2414 SCG 37½ 2371 32
11 15 FM CUENCA JIMENEZ Jose Fernando 2451 ESP 6 45½ 2468 34½
12 11 GM SUBA Mihai 2502 ROM 6 44½ 2443 37
13 23 IM PILAJ Herwig 2383 AUT 6 43½ 2407 33
14 14 IM SALDAÑO DAYER Horacio 2452 ESP 6 42 2424 33½
15 16 LORENZINI Martin 2448 ARG 6 42 2422 33
16 17 FM PEREZ MITJANS Orelvis 2421 CUB 6 40½ 2428 33
17 13 GM DJURIC Stefan 2463 SCG 6 40½ 2365 31
18 20 IM TERAN ALVAREZ Ismael 2402 ESP 6 40 2365 31
19 9 GM ZAMBRANA Osvaldo 2511 BOL 6 39 2352 31
20 19 IM ROJAS Luis 2414 CHI 6 37 2228 28
21 28 FERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Rafael 2269 ESP 6 35½ 2226 28
22 47 VELA IGNACIO Jose Manuel*** 2081 ESP 6 34½ 2186 28
23 7 GM BARSOV Alexei 2526 UZB 43 2417 33
24 26 FM FERNANDEZ SILES Luis 2310 ESP 43 2321 29½
25 24 QUILLAN Gary 2359 ENG 40½ 2354 29
26 42 CUENCA JIMENEZ Francisco Javie 2107 ESP 37½ 2232 28½
27 48 GARCIA RODRIGUEZ Victor 2069 ESP 37½ 2216 28½
28 29 ORTEGA RUIZ Jose Miguel 2267 ESP 35 2287 27
29 43 WFM PASCUAL PALOMO Lucia 2104 ESP 34½ 2158 26½
106 players

21) El Sauzal Rapid

The VIII Torneo Int Villa de El Sauzal (Tenerife) rapid (25 mins) was a 9 round Swiss held 3rd-4th November 2007. Sinia Drazic edged out Mikheil Mchedlishvili on tie-break after both finished on 8/9. News from the organiser Agustin Manrique.

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

VIII Int Rapid El Sauzal ESP (ESP), 3-4 xi 2007
Rank SNo. Name Rtg FED Club Pts BH. BH. Fide
1 12 GM Drazic Sinisa 2493 SRB 8 48 57 42½
2 1 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2631 GEO 8 45 54½ 39
3 6 GM Kurajica Bojan 2554 CRO GC 45 53½ 38½
4 14 GM Komljenovic Davorin 2471 CRO 44 54 38½
5 9 GM Movsziszian Karen 2531 ARM 43½ 51 39½
6 8 GM Gonzalez Garcia Jose 2541 MEX 7 47½ 56½ 39½
7 4 GM Moskalenko Viktor 2575 UKR 7 46½ 56 38
8 7 GM Strikovic Aleksa 2551 SRB 7 46 55½ 38
9 3 GM Epishin Vladimir 2578 RUS 7 45½ 55 37
20 IM Granados Gomez Manuel 2413 ESP 7 45½ 55 37
11 10 GM Dgebuadze Alexandre 2505 BEL 7 45½ 54 39
12 2 GM Khenkin Igor 2600 GER 7 44½ 53 36½
13 11 GM Lalic Bogdan 2500 CRO 7 44½ 52½ 39½
14 13 GM Rodriguez Cespedes Amador 2481 CUB 7 41 50 35½
15 15 GM Barlov Dragan 2469 SRB 7 37½ 44 34
16 5 GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel 2563 ESP 47 56½ 38
17 18 IM Garcia Padron Jose 2420 ESP GC 45 53½ 38
18 64 Lopez Pereyra Antonio 2102 ESP TF 45 53 35½
19 40 Leon Varela Luis 2200 ESP GC 43½ 52 34½
20 23 IM Hernando Rodrigo Jose Maria 2359 ESP 43½ 51½ 36
21 19 IM Vidarte Morales Arturo 2417 PER 43 51½ 35½
22 25 IM Granero Roca Antonio 2354 ESP 42 50 35½
23 32 Mendivil Anton Daniel 2271 ESP TF 41½ 50 35
24 60 Gutierrez Olivares Daniel 2115 ESP GC 40½ 47 32
25 34 Morales Camacho Julian 2239 ESP LZ 39 46 31½
26 22 IM Novoselski Zoran 2375 SRB 39 45½ 34
27 61 Machin Arbelo Pedro Alexis 2113 ESP GO 38 44 32½
28 17 GM Todorcevic Miodrag 2448 ESP 35½ 44 30
262 players

22) Villa de Navalmoral

GM Julio Granda won the 'Villa de Navalmoral 2007' (Extremadura, Spain) - 5th-9th December, 2007 with 7/9 on tie-break from Salvador Del Rio Angelis and Hichem Hamdouchi.

http://www.ajedrezenextremadura.com

Open Villa de Navalmoral ESP (ESP), 5-9 xi 2007
1 GM GRANDA ZUNIGA JULIO E PER 2592 7,0 42,0 54,0 37,5
2 GM DEL RIO ANGELIS SALVADOR G ESP 2512 7,0 40,5 52,0 37,5
3 GM HAMDOUCHI HICHEM MAR 2571 7,0 40,0 51,5 36,5
4 FM ALSINA LEAL DANIEL ESP 2435 6,5 42,0 53,0 36,0
5 GM KHAMRAKULOV IBRAGIM S ESP 2604 6,5 40,5 52,0 36,5
6 GM KOLEV ATANAS BUL 2567 6,5 40,5 51,5 34,5
7 IM RUSEV KRASIMIR BUL 2479 6,5 39,0 48,5 35,0
8 GM BURMAKIN VLADIMIR RUS 2593 6,5 38,0 49,0 34,0
9 GM EPISHIN VLADIMIR RUS 2578 6,5 38,0 49,0 33,5
10 GM UBILAVA ELIZBAR ESP 2551 6,0 43,5 55,5 36,0
11 IM MOHAMED TISSIR MRC 2460 6,0 40,0 50,0 35,0
12 IM GLADYSZEV OLEG RUS 2472 6,0 39,0 50,0 34,5
13 FM ALOMA VIDAL ROBERT ESP 2398 6,0 38,0 49,0 31,0
14 GUERRA TULCAN LENIN ECU 2231 6,0 38,0 48,5 31,5
15 ESPINOSA ARANDA ANGEL ESP 2246 6,0 37,0 48,0 31,0
16 IM CARRASCO MARTINEZ JUAN M ESP 2423 6,0 37,0 47,5 31,5
17 GM CARLSSON PONTUS SWE 2481 6,0 37,0 47,0 32,5
18 FM CABEZAS AYALA IVAN ESP 2313 6,0 36,5 47,0 31,5
19 FM DIAS PAULO POR 2442 6,0 35,5 45,5 31,0
20 LORENZO GRANDE JORGE ESP 1985 6,0 35,0 44,5 26,5
110 players

23) Ivan Nemet 1943-2007

Sinisa Joksic reports: GM Ivan Nemet (64) pass away 16th December 2007 in Basle. He will not participate in Hilton Basle January 1st nor the Biersek open January 3rd where he signed up to play. Nemet was born 14.04.1943 in Sombor (Serbia, previous Yugoslavia), and lived afterwards in Rijeka (Croatia) and 1978 transfer to Switzerland, first to Bern and then Basle. He became a Yugoslav master ub 1962, he was Yugoslav champion both junior and full, champion of Switzerland 1990, five years Bundesmaster. He played for the national teams of Yugoslavia and Switzerland. Nemet played also for strong chess clubs: Gosa (Smederevska Palanka), Kvarner (Rijeka), Zytglogge (Bern), Basle and at the end for Riehen. An excellent couch, Nemet took Cvitan from a talented candidate master to world junior champion for only six month. In Switzerland with Zytglogge very young boys, all his pupils twice won team championships. Ivan was so fond of chess and he really knew the game. He could play and talk about chess day and night. As a person he vwas ery, very good. During Steafa rapid tournament, December 1st, he had a heart attack and had to the leave tournament before the second round. That was his second attack and the friends thought that he would recuperate especially after they signed him up for January’s tournaments.

24) My 61 Memorable Games

Before being pulled Ebay had a new edition of My 60 Memorable games which is said to be sourced from Bobby Fischer. It is reported it may contained 12 pages of text from Fischer (which I'm sure will be just great if you like his radio broadcasts) and an additional annotation of game one from Fischer-Spassky II (bulking it up to 100 games with post-1967 games and especially the 1972 match might be worth buying). Its reported Fischer can't touch his fortune at the moment because his original swiss bank wanted to transfer the money to another bank to be rid of his custom. Fischer of course won't have it. Its impossible to feel sorry for a millionaire who would rather be short of money than do this. Also one additional game is hardly anything to write home about. Of course this could also be a scam or the subject of a dispute, its hard to know, or indeed care anymore. My advice don't touch this stuff with a long barge pole.

25) Forthcoming Events and Links

Groningen Chess Festival

The Groningen Chess Festival takes place 21st-30th December 2007.

Further details: http://www.so-on.org/kerst2007/2007eng.html

2nd ACP World Rapid Cup

The PIVDENNY Bank carries out the 2nd ACP World Rapid Cup in Odessa, Ukraine in January 4-7, 2008. The prize fund of the tournament is 136,000$. 16 players are participating. Dmitry Jakovenko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Leko, Teimour Radjabov, Evgeny Najer, Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Alexander Shabalov, Pavel Eljanov, Ernesto Inarkiev, Boris Savchenko, Alexei Shirov, and Boris Gelfand have qualified via the ACP Tour, while Anatoly Karpov, Judit Polgar, and Yuri Drozdovskij received wild cards from the organizers. The standings for the ACP Tour 2006/07 are available at http://chess-players.org/eng/tour/tour_2006/standings.html. The official site of the event: http://worldcup.pivdenny.com/ru/

Stockholm Ladies Open

The Stockholm Ladies Open tournament takes place 20th-25th March 2008. The prize money is over 100 000 Skr

The Invitation are in english, Dutch and Russian http://www.scandinavian-chess.se/

83rd Hastings International Congress

The Celebration 83rd Hastings International Congress takes place 28 December 2007 to 6 January 2008. This includes a 10 round Master Swiss, and an open FIDE Rated tournament 5-6 January. Celebrating what? The lives of the many people who have died within the past four years, who have so enriched the chess scene with their work.

Full details http://www.hastingschess.org.uk/ Contact: Con Power conpowr@aol.com

83rd Hastings International Congress 28 xii 2007 - 6 i 2008
MALAKHATKO Vadim BEL gm 2603
CHATALBASHEV Boris BUL gm 2581
GEORGIEV Vladimir MKD gm 2576
MAMEDOV Nidjat AZE gm 2575
JONES Gawain ENG gm 2567
NEVEROV Valeriy UKR gm 2558
HEBDEN Mark ENG gm 2542
CONQUEST Stuart ENG gm 2540
TAHIROV Farhad AZE gm 2540
PERT Nicholas ENG gm 2539
PAVLOVIC Milos SRB gm 2536
HOWELL David ENG gm 2527
HASLINGER Stewart ENG gm 2502
LALIC Bogdan CRO gm 2500
FLEAR Glenn ENG gm 2493
ELTAJ Safarli AZE im 2487
GORMALLY Daniel ENG gm 2484
WILLIAMS Simon ENG im 2475
SENGUPTA Deep IND im 2447
SIMUTOWE Amon ZAM gmc 2446
GREET Andrew ENG im 2441
ROY CHOWDHURY Saptarshi IND im 2418
CIUKSYTE Dagne ENG im/wgm 2411
HOUSKA Jovanka ENG im/wgm 2404
SATYAPRAGYAN Swayangsu IND im 2404
COLLINS SAM IRL im 2401

Gibtelecom Chess Festival 2008

The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival will be held from 22nd-31st January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels. In previous years players of the quality of Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams and Nigel Short have played in the Masters section. Usually the Masters field includes at least 30 grandmasters. In 2008 the first prize in the Masters has gone up to £12,000 and the tournament is so strong at the top that it even offers a £2,000 prize for the best score by a player rated under 2600 (we think that might be unique worldwide) as well as the same amount for other rating categories down to sub-2200. There is also big money to be won in the Under 2250 (£1,500 first prize) and Under 1850 (£1,000 first prize) events. Even the relatively light-hearted evening events (which cost nothing to enter) have a combined prize fund of £1,200.

Full details and entry form: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/

6th Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival 22-31 i 2008
Grischuk Alexander RUS GM 2715
Wang Yue CHN GM 2703
Bu Xiang CHN GM 2692
Bologan Viktor MDA GM 2657
Georgiev Kiril BUL GM 2649
Nakamura Hikaru USA GM 2648
Beliavsky Alexander SLO GM 2646
Socko Bartosz POL GM 2646
Pengxiang Zhang CHN GM 2644
Hao Wang CHN GM 2643
Ni Hua CHN GM 2641
Areshchenko Alexander UKR GM 2638
Efimenko Zahar UKR GM 2624
Fridman Daniel GER GM 2621
Pelletier Yannick SUI GM 2609
Petrosian Tigran ARM GM 2604
Mikhalevski Victor ISR GM 2598
Malakhatko Vadim BEL GM 2596
Berg Emanuel SWE GM 2593
Sandipan Chanda IND GM 2593
Agdestein Simen SWE GM 2589
Akobian Varuzhan USA GM 2585
Ganguly SS IND GM 2585
Modiahki Mohamed QAT GM 2572
Jones Gawain ENG GM 2567
Persson Tiger SWE GM 2567
Felgaer Ruben ARG GM 2539
Chen Zhu QAT GM 2531
Cramling Pia SWE GM 2531
Zhao Xue CHN IMe 2530
Sulskis Sarunas LTU GM 2527
Gopal GN IND GMe 2520
Cabrera Alexis COL GM 2499
Speelman Jon ENG GM 2492
Dronavalli Harika IND IM 2480
Socko Monika POL IM 2473
Mohamed Al Sayed QTR IM 2469
Muzychuk Anna SLO WGM 2469
Cmylite Victoria LTU IM 2464
Stefanova Antoaneta BUL GM 2463
Zatonskih Anna USA IM 2458
Paehtz Elisabeth GER IM 2452
Zhukova Natalia UKR WGM 2452
Shen Ying CHN WGM 2450
Greet Andrew ENG IM 2441
Bellon Juan ESP GM 2434
Dzagnidze Nana GEO IM 2416
Van Haastert Edwin NED IM 2414
Butnorius Algimentas LTU GM 2413
Sachdev Tania IND WGM 2413
Houska Jovanka ENG IM 2404
Hammer Jon Ludvig NOR FM 2402
Bellin Robert ENG IM 2400
Nisha Mohota IND WGM 2398
Rendle Thomas ENG IM 2397
Foisor Ovidiu ROU IM 2397
Milliet Sophie FRA IM 2395
Foisor Cristina ROU IM 2388

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008

The field for the 2008 Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee has been announced at http://www.coruschess.com Five of the top 6 in the world are playing including the new World Champion Anand and new World number 2 Ivanchuk. Also Kramnik and Gelfand who finished 2nd in Mexico City. The full field for all tournaments is now available.

The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 will be held from 11-27 January 2008 in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 A-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Vladimir Kramnik 1975 2785 3
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Shakhryar Mamedyarov 1985 2752 7
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Boris Gelfand 1968 2736 11
GM Michael Adams 1971 2729 13
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
GM Judit Polgar 1976 2708 20
GM Pavel Eljanov 1983 2681 30
GM Loek van Wely 1972 2680 32
Average rating: 2741 (based on October figures) Category: 20

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 B-Group 11th-27th January 2008
  Name Country Rating
GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2695
GM Gabriel Sargissian ARM 2673
GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2670
GM Sergey Movsesian SLK 2670
GM Pentala Harikrishna IND 2668
GM Michal Krasenkow POL 2668
GM Nigel Short ENG 2649
GM Daniel Stellwagen NED 2639
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2611
GM Koneru Humpy IND 2606
GM Erwin l'Ami NED 2577
GM Jan Smeets NED 2558
WGM Hou Yifan CHI 2502
IM Wouter Spoelman NED 2445
Average rating: 2617 (based on October figures) Category: 15

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 C-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Name (Country) Birth year Rating
GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko (Ukraine) 1978 2651
GM Fabiano Caruana (Italy) 1992 2594
GM Friso Nijboer (Netherlands) 1965 2559
IM Arik Braun (Germany) 1988 2541
GM Parimarjan Negi (India) 1993 2514
GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands) 1972 2510
GM Efstratios Grivas (Greece) 1966 2509
GM John van der Wiel (Netherlands) 1959 2496
WGM Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) 1985 2486
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) 1982 2481
WGM Irina Krush (USA) 1983 2475
GM Zhaoqin Peng (Netherlands) 1968 2419
IM Mark van der Werf (Netherlands) 1968 2389
Dennis Ruijgrok (Netherlands) 1985 2330
Average rating: 2497 (based on October figures) Category: 10

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 Honorary group 18th-27th January 2008 January 2008
  Name Country Rating
GM Viktor Kortchnoi SUI 2611
GM Jan Timman NED 2559
GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic SRB 2550
GM Lajos Portisch HUN 2530
Average rating: 2563 (based on October figures) Category: 13

Arnoldo Ellerman Memorial

The Arnoldo Ellerman Memorial takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina 10th-21st December 2007.

Official site: http://www.argentinodeajedrez.com.ar/ellerman07.htm

Russia vs ROW Correspondence

The Russian Chess Federation is celebrated 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 and ended 27.11.2006. Players included Joop van Oosterom. Final score Rest of the World Score 65½ .Russia 62½.

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

25th Bled Chess Festival

The 25th Chess Festival BLED takes place 23rd February - 2nd March 2008 (the main event finishes 1st March which allows participation in other events around that time).

Details: http://www.sah-zveza.si/bled/2008/

50th Reggio Emilia

The 50th "Torneo di Capodanno" in Reggio Emilia takes place December 29th 2007 - January 6th 2008. The tournament was created by Enrico Paoli, who organized it for many many years. The tournament will be played, as usual, in Hotel Astoria Mercure, with rounds starting at 2.30 pm (last round at 10.30 am). XVI FIDE cathegory, elo 2635 chief director Mrs Franca Dapiran. Main sponsors UNIPOL spa, STUDIO ALFA spa, VANETON srl, and ORLANDINI srl. Official commentator GM Croato Miso Cebalo.

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

50th "Torneo di Capodanno" Reggio Emilia
December 29th 2007 - January 6th 2008
1 GM ALMASI ZOLTAN 2691 HUN
2 GM LANDA KONSTANTIN 2678 RUS
3 GM HARIKRISHNA PENTALA 2668 IND
4 GM GASHIMOV VUGAR 2663 AZE
5 GM NAVARA DAVID 2656 CZE
6 GM TIVJAKOV SERGEJ 2643 NED
7 GM NI HUA 2641 CHI
8 GM KORCHNOI VIKTOR 2611 SWI
9 GM MARIN MIHAIL 2551 ROM
10 GM GODENA MICHELE 2535 ITA

13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf

The 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf (Germany) takes place 3rd-7th February 2008.

http://www.scoberland.de/

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008

The field for the 2008 Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee has been announced at http://www.coruschess.com Five of the top 6 in the world are playing including the new World Champion Anand and new World number 2 Ivanchuk. Also Kramnik and Gelfand who finished 2nd in Mexico City.

The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 will be held from 11-27 January 2008 in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 A-Group 11th-27th January 2008
Name Year of birth Rating W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand 1969 2801 1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk 1969 2787 2
GM Vladimir Kramnik 1975 2785 3
GM Veselin Topalov 1975 2769 4
GM Peter Leko 1979 2755 5
GM Shakhryar Mamedyarov 1985 2752 7
GM Teymour Radjabov 1987 2742 8
GM Levon Aronian 1982 2741 9
GM Boris Gelfand 1968 2736 11
GM Michael Adams 1971 2729 13
GM Magnus Carlsen 1990 2714 17
GM Judit Polgar 1976 2708 20
GM Pavel Eljanov 1983 2681 30
GM Loek van Wely 1972 2680 32
Average rating: 2741 (based on October figures) Category: 20

Corus Wijk aan Zee 2008 B-Group 11th-27th January 2008
GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2695
GM Gabriel Sargissian ARM 2673
GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2670
GM. Sergey Movsesian SLO 2670
GM Pentala Harikrishna IND 2668
GM Michal Krasenkow POL 2668
GM Nigel Short ENG 2649
GM Daniel Stellwagen NED 2639
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2611
GM Koneru Humpy IND 2606
GM Erwin l'Ami NED 2577
GM Jan Smeets NED 2558
WGM Hou Yifan CHI 2502
IM Wouter Spoelman NED 2445
Average rating : 2617 Category : 15

Corus Wijk aan Zee Participants honorary four-event match 2008
Name Year of birth Rating CCT victories
GM Viktor Kortchnoi 1931 2611 4
GM Lajos Portisch 1937 2530 4
GM Jan Timman 1951 2559 2
GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic 1950 2550 1

XXI Benidorm Open

The XXI Open Internacional de Ajedrez Villa de Benidorm 2008 Benidorm organised an international tournament 1977 till 1995 now it has returned second year. The event takes place 25nd April - 4st May 2008 (10 rounds). 35.000 Euros in prizes. Information: Mr. Alfonso Vilches Tel: +34 695 91 56 78. E-mail: open@chessbenidorm.com

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

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 21st-28th July 2008 in Mainz/Germany.

In addition there is a Chess Classic Calendar for the next year, which will be available in the first week of December. It is a big format (420 x 594 mm) and shows the stars and the biggest moments of the 14 years tournament history. The copies are limited to 200 (39,- Euro plus delivery) plus 64 with an autograph of World Champion Vishy Anand (48,- Euro plus delivery). Contact for order: juergen.wienecke@chesstigers.de

Further details: http://www.chesstigers.de

16th Donau Open

The 16th Donau Open takes place 26th-31st December 2007

Further details: http://www.aschach.at/schach/

Icelandic Rapid Championships

The Icelandic Rapid Championships took place 18th-20th October 2007. Bragi and Björn Þorfinnsson will meet in the final in December which be on TV in Iceland.

Official site: http://www.skaksamband.is/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5661&Itemid=387

Games Festival Halkidiki 2008

Games Festival is a mass event organized for the third year in Halkidiki, Greece 28th April - 6th May 2008. The festival includes series of tournaments & exhibitions in prestigious sports like, chess, billiards, bridge, darts, streetbasketball and popular table games like scrabble, strategic games, pc games etc.

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

28th Bethune Open

The Bethune chess club is preparing his 28th International Open, Hall Olof Palme, Commercial centre La Rotonde, Bethune, France (Pas-de-Calais) from December 26 to 30. 9 rounds 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 1900, 1st price : 400 euros, Fischer pace 1h30+30s KO for each game in both tournaments. At least 6000 euros of prices, prices for Elo categories in both tournaments. Inscription fee : 40 euros (adults), 20 euros (youngsters under 20), free for IM, GM and FIDE Masters. Conditions for IM and GM and special conditions for GM>2600, contact us at open@bethunechess.com

For more information visit: http://www.bethunechess.com

Harmonie Chess Tournament

The Harmonie Chess Tournament takes place 21st-30th December 2007.

Official site: http://www.so-on.org/kerst2007/2007eng.html

XVII Pampona International

The XVII Pampona International takes place 21st-29th December 2007.

Details: http://www.chesspamplona.com/

Pamplona Masters 21-29 xii 2007. Category XVII
1 GM WANG Yue 2703 CHN
2 GM SARGISSIAN Gabriel 2673 ARM
3 GM MOVSESIAN Sergei 2670 SVK
4 GM VALLEJO PONS Francisco 2660 ESP
5 GM BELIAVSKY Alexander G 2646 SLO
6 GM JOBAVA Baadur 2644 GEO
7 GM RODSHTEIN Maxim 2615 ISR
8 GM KHAMRAKULOV Ibragim S 2604 ESP

Czech Chess Christmas 2007

The Czech Chess Christmas 2007 tournament takes place in Litomysl (CZE) 26th December 2007 - 1st January 2008

9th christmas chess FIDE tournament, swiss system of 9 round, rate of game 2 x 1,5h + 30s/move, prize fund 64.000 CZK (1st prize 20.000 CZK = 700 EUR), special conditions for IM, WGM and GM, New Year’s Eve programme. Contact: Proclient s.r.o., Jaroslav Fuksik, Svedska 3, 772 00 Olomouc, mobile: +420 608 364 664, e-mail: a64@proclient.cz,

Further details: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2007/

Hungarian Chess Tournaments October 2007 - March 2008

1. 6th-19th of October 2007 FIRST SATURDAY Budapest GM-IM-FM, GM-IM-FM round robins (BERGER), 9 -13 games, GM-IM norm possibilities in Budapest, venue: 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/

2. 24th-31st of October, HÉVÍZ Open - 200 km West from Budapest, 9 rounds Swiss, org: IM Rigo, http://www.lellechess.tar.hu

3. 22nd-30th of October KECSKEMET, IM Berger tmt, org: Dr.Erdelyi, Tamas, e-mail: postmaster@caissa.t-online.hu

Website: http://www.caissachessbooks.hu Usually also in the second half of the month IM tmt-s in Kecskemet. 100 km South-East from Budapest.

4. 3rd-15th of November, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest, org.:NL

5. 15th-23rd of November, XXXI. TENKES CUP, 9 round Swiss Open, Harkany, 300 km South-West from Budapest, org: Mr.FULOP, Csaba, e-mail: fulopcsa@invitel.hu

Website:http://www.baranyasakk.hu/index.php?cat=naptar&id=3&age=0&vid=15⟨=hu&det=12

6. 1st-13th of December, FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest, org.NL

7. 15th-21st of Dec, Kecskemet, IM tmt

8. 27th Dec- 5th Jan Kecskemet IM tmt,

9. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.hu

10. 19th-28th of January - IM tmt, Kecskemet

11. 2nd-15th of February - First Saturday Budapest,

12. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet,

13. 1st-13rd of March - First Saturday Budapest,

14. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

Halkidiki Chess Festival 2008

The Halkidiki Chess Festival takes place in Kallithea, 28th April - 5 May 2008.

The Organizing Committee of the Halkdiki Chess Festival 2008. Tel/fax: +30 2310 865778 - e-mail: teotsorb@otenet.gr V.Olgas 285, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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

4th Singapore International Chess Convention

4th Singapore International Chess Convention, 16 - 22 December 2007: - Singapore Masters 2007 - Seminar for Coaches - Seminar for Arbiters The offical website of the organiser is the website of the Singapore Chess Federation:

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

Moscow Open 2008

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. Venue - the Russian State Social University. Minimal gartanted prize fund of full festival is RUR 5 000 000 (nearly EUR 150 000 or USD 200 000, two times more than in 2007!) There are Open “A” (for all, 1st prize RUR 500 000 - also possible to play 6- or 7 days like last two years), Open “B” (<2300, 1st RUR 150 000), Women Open (new! 1st prize RUR 150 000), open tournaments for school chidrens (qualify for World School Ch). Conditions for GMs 2600+ and best rated women GMs will be given probably, for GMs 2550+ it’s still unclear. More details in the middle of September. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start. As preparation to the World Mind Games in China – 2008 there are probably "Moscow Open Mind Games 2008" - Chess 960, Bridge, Go, Shogi, Damen tournaments etc. Some days later (13-22.2) “Aeroflot Open 2008” will start.

Contact: wlct06@gmail.com

Further details: http://www.chess-events.org

Etienne Bacrot's Website

Etienne Bacrot has a website at: http://www.chess22.fr/ giving news about himself, some comments on recent events including the World Championships in Mexico City etc. Worth check out.

1st South Bohemia Open

1st SOUTH BOHEMIA OPEN 2007 International Chess Festival which takes place in one of the most beautiful Czech towns – Cesky Krumlov on 13.-20.10. 2007. Open FIDE, active chess and blitz tournament are part of the festival.

Details: http://www.czechtour.net/south-bohemia-open/

32nd Kings Head Rapidplay

The 32nd Kings Head Rapidplay takes place Saturday 5 April 2008 start time 11:00, details below: 6-round Swiss rapidplay (30 minutes), prize fund £700

The Porchester Hall Porchester Road Bayswater London W2 5HS

Contact: Colin Mackenzie 9 Allan Way Acton London W3 0PW 020 8992 1849 colin.mackenzie@atosorigin.com

Further details; http://www.khcc.org.uk

10th European Senior Team-Championship

10th European Senior Team-Championship take place 11th-19th February 2008 in RAMADA-Hotel in Dresden.

Further info contact: ZMD Schachfestival Dresden e.V., Oskar-Mai-Straße 6, D-01159 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 416 16 29, Fax: +49 (0)351 416 16 39 Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Hepkestraße 131, D-01277 Dresden, Fon +49 (0)351 251 34 20, E-Mail: gerhard.schmidt@schachfestival.de

XXXVII Rilton Cup

XXXVII Rilton Cup takes place 27th December 2007 – 5th January 2008 in Mälarsalen. Münchenbryggeriet, Torkel Knutssonsgatan 2, Stockholm, SWEDEN Stockholm Chess Federation welcomes all chess players to the 37th Rilton Cup. This year’s tournament, with a prize fund of more than SEK 200 000 (about 22 000 euro) will be played in three groups: Rilton Cup, Rilton Elo and Rilton Open (Rilton Open is only open for Nordic players with a rating lower than national 1800). Rilton Cup and Rilton ELO is Elo registrated Rilton Cup and Rilton Elo plays 9 rounds Fide Swiss. The first round starts at 13:00 on the 27th of December and the following rounds start at 11:00 every day until the 5th of January. The 1st of January (New Year’s Day) is free. Send your entry by mail, fax or e-mail, not later than the 17th of December to Stockholm Chess Federation, attention “Rilton Cup”. Mobile telephones or computers are not allowed in the playing hall. Rilton Cup Open for players with an Elo rating or national rating >= 2200. Reflection time: 40 moves in two hours, 20 moves in one hour and 30 minutes for the rest of the game.

Entry fees: 800 SEK, 400 for FM, 300 for players born 1987 or later. IGM and IM free. Prizes (SEK): 1st 20 000 2nd 16 000 3rd 12 000 4th 10 000 5th 8 000 6th 6 000 7:th 5 000 8th 4 000 9th 3 000 10th 3 000 10th 3 000 Rating prizes: 3 000, 2 000 and 1000 (not for GMs and IMs). Prizemoney is not divided. Rilton Elo Open for all players with a n Elo rating or national rating up to 2199. Reflection time: 40 moves in two hours, then one hour for the rest of the game. Entry fees: 600 SEK, 400 for FM, 300 for players born 1987 or later. Prizes (SEK): 1st 8 000 2nd 5000 3rd 3 000 4th 2 000 5th 1 000 6th 500 Rating prizes: 3 000, 2 000 and 1000 Prizemoney is not divided.

Stockholms Schackförbund Hornsgatan 82 118 21 Stockholm Tel: 08-669 36 54 Mobil: 073-613 19 73 Fax: 08-669 64 44 Spellokal: 08-668 21 35 (under turneringen) E-mail:stockholms.schackfrbund@telia.com

Further details: http://www.stockholmschack.nu

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site

Alex Brunetti's TotoScacco Site allows predictions for current chess tournaments. http://e4e6.com/toto

Sydney International Open 2008

The 2008 Sydney International Open takes place at Parramatta Town Hall 25th-29th March 2008. Free accommodation and modest conditions are offered to GMs. All enquiries to the Tournament Organiser, FM Brian Jones, at info@chessaustralia.com.au

Details: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/

ICC and FICS client for mobile phones

Mats Luthman has written a program that connects to ICC and FICS, compatable with many modern mobile phones. I've been looking for something like this for a while for watching live tournaments if I'm out and about. Its a nice free solution, you can also play but I haven't tried that.

Website: http://www.luthman.nu/Mobi/Mobi.html