THE WEEK IN CHESS 692 11th February 2008 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Miklos Orso, Frits Agterdenbos, Oliver Kniest, Larry Harris, Gaguik Oganessian, Jose Luis Guilarte, John Saunders, Soumen Majumder, Pavlos Katzourakis and everyone else who helped with the issue.

The Moscow Open has gradually increased its strength and it had an exciting finish with Artyom Timofeev taking place after winning a marathon game against the leader Ernesto Inarkiev. This event gains from its proximity to the Aeroflot Open which can probably claim to be the strongest one in the world. That starts this week as does the second major tournament of the year, the Morelia - Linares tournament. Most of the leaders at Wijk aan Zee get to do it again and it will be interesting to see if Aronian and Carlsen can do as well in this event as they did in Wijk. I've had a slight reworking of the TWIC format and will continue to try and improve it including removing tables for structure at some point soon.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Morelia - Linares Tournament

The Morelia - Linares tournament takes place 15th-23rd February (Mexican half) and then 28th February - 7th March 2008 (Spanish half). Only Alexei Shirov was not playing at Wijk aan Zee and this event is a category stronger than that event but with far fewer players. Also missing Vladimir Kramnik is world number one level on rating with world champion Viswanathan Anand.

Official site: http://www.ajedrezmorelialinares.com.mx/

Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 15-23 ii + 28 ii - 7 iii 2008
Name	Year of birth	Rating	W rnk
GM Viswanathan Anand	1969	2801	1
GM Vassily Ivanchuk	1969	2787	2
GM Veselin Topalov	1975	2769	4
GM Peter Leko	1979	2755	5
GM Teymour Radjabov	1987	2742	8
GM Levon Aronian	1982	2741	9
GM Alexei Shirov	1972	2739	10
GM Magnus Carlsen	1990	2714	17
Category: 21

3) Moscow Open

The 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2008 takes place 2nd-10th February 2008. Artyom Timofeev took first alone place after winning a marathon game against the leader Ernesto Inarkiev (who had just won 7 in a row). Plenty of games from round 1-7, only live games so far from rounds 8-9.

Official site: http://moscowchessopen.ru/eng/index.shtml

4th Open A Moscow (RUS), 2-10 ii 2008 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rank	Ti	Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	T/B
1	GM	Timofeev Artyom	RUS	2664	7,5	38,0
2	GM	Riazantsev Alexander	RUS	2628	7,0	37,5
3	GM	Volkov Sergey	RUS	2623	7,0	37,5
4	GM	Efimenko Zahar	UKR	2638	7,0	37,0
5	GM	Lastin Alexander	RUS	2604	7,0	37,0
6	GM	Jobava Baadur	GEO	2643	7,0	36,5
7	GM	Inarkiev Ernesto	RUS	2681	7,0	35,0
8	GM	Kazhgaleyev Murtas	KAZ	2594	7,0	34,5
9	GM	Moiseenko Alexander	UKR	2643	7,0	34,5
10	GM	Kurnosov Igor	RUS	2577	7,0	32,5
11	GM	Motylev Alexander	RUS	2644	6,5	34,5
12	GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	2638	6,5	34,0
13	GM	Kobalia Mikhail	RUS	2623	6,5	33,5
14	GM	Korobov Anton	UKR	2573	6,5	33,5
15	GM	Potkin Vladimir	RUS	2609	6,5	33,5
16	GM	Khairullin Ildar	RUS	2544	6,5	32,0
17	FM	Zabotin Alexander	RUS	2495	6,5	32,0
18	GM	Malakhov Vladimir	RUS	2689	6,5	31,5
19	GM	Areshchenko Alexander	UKR	2645	6,5	31,0
20	GM	Aleksandrov Aleksej	BLR	2618	6,5	30,5
21	GM	Rodshtein Maxim	ISR	2614	6,5	27,5
22	GM	Popov Ivan	RUS	2595	6,0	34,5
23	GM	Kuzubov Yuriy	UKR	2606	6,0	34,5
24	GM	Glek Igor V	GER	2546	6,0	34,0
25	GM	Smirnov Pavel	RUS	2599	6,0	34,0
26	GM	Novikov Stanislav	RUS	2545	6,0	33,0
27	GM	Lysyj Igor	RUS	2593	6,0	33,0
28	GM	Naumkin Igor	RUS	2475	6,0	32,5
29	GM	Tregubov Pavel V	RUS	2636	6,0	32,5
30	GM	Asrian Karen	ARM	2621	6,0	32,5
31	GM	Zvjaginsev Vadim	RUS	2677	6,0	32,0
32	GM	Khismatullin Denis	RUS	2564	6,0	31,0
33	GM	Andreikin Dmitry	RUS	2573	6,0	31,0
34	GM	Yemelin Vasily	RUS	2562	6,0	30,5
35	GM	Iordachescu Viorel	MDA	2586	6,0	30,0
36	GM	Evdokimov Alexander A	RUS	2569	6,0	30,0
37	GM	Yandemirov Valeri	RUS	2461	6,0	30,0
38	GM	Burmakin Vladimir	RUS	2611	6,0	30,0
39	IM	Demchenko Anton	RUS	2491	6,0	29,5
40	IM	Vovk Yuri	UKR	2561	6,0	29,0
41	GM	Korotylev Alexey	RUS	2607	6,0	29,0
42	IM	Deviatkin Andrei	RUS	2543	6,0	28,5
43		Pileckis Emilis	LTU	2364	6,0	27,0
44	GM	Zakhartsov Viacheslav V	RUS	2585	6,0	26,5
303 players

4th Open C (Women's) Moscow (RUS), 2-10 ii 2008 Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	SLO	2460	8,0	41,0
2	IM	Ushenina Anna	UKR	2484	7,5	39,5
3	WGM	Zhukova Natalia	UKR	2443	7,0	36,0
4	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2455	7,0	35,5
5	GM	Lahno Kateryna	UKR	2475	7,0	34,5
6	IM	Tairova Elena	RUS	2386	6,5	37,5
7	WFM	Girya Olga	RUS	2342	6,5	35,5
8	WGM	Melia Salome	GEO	2362	6,5	33,5
9	IM	Turova Irina	RUS	2377	6,5	33,5
10	IM	Danielian Elina	ARM	2480	6,5	33,0
11	WFM	Ambartsumova Karina	RUS	2228	6,5	27,5
12	WFM	Bodnaruk Anastasia	RUS	2317	6,0	36,0
13	IM	Krush Irina	USA	2473	6,0	34,0
14	WFM	Severiukhina Zoja	RUS	2199	6,0	33,0
15	IM	Gvetadze Sopio	GEO	2352	6,0	33,0
16	WGM	Mongontuul Bathuyag	MGL	2389	6,0	32,0
17	WFM	Fominykh Maria	RUS	2305	6,0	31,5
18	IM	Matveeva Svetlana	RUS	2433	6,0	31,5
19	IM	Vasilevich Irina	RUS	2378	6,0	31,0
20	WGM	Pogonina Natalija	RUS	2476	6,0	31,0
21	IM	Javakhishvili Lela	GEO	2470	6,0	29,5
22	WFM	Paikidze Nazi	GEO	2311	6,0	29,0
23	WGM	Shaidullina Sandugach	RUS	2306	6,0	29,0
24	WIM	Burtasova Anna	RUS	2345	6,0	27,5
25	WIM	Dolgova Olga	RUS	2217	6,0	27,0
136 players

4) Aeroflot Open

The Aeroflot Open takes place 14th-22nd February 2008. This is usually regarded as the strongest open of the year with $30,000 US first place and $100,000 US total prizes in the top group (and good prizes in the lower groups).

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

5) Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. Some Round 7 and Rounds 8 and 9 took place 8th-10th February 2008.

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

Bundesliga 8th-10th February 2008 Rounds 7-9
Round 7 8th February 2008
	Godesberger SK	2½-5½	SC Remagen
1	Kasimdzhanov,	½-½	Ivanchuk,Vass	1
2	Lutz,Christop	½-½	Avrukh,Boris	4
3	Sprenger,Jan-	0-1	Fedorchuk,Ser	5
5	Kveinys,Aloyz	0-1	Goloshchapov,	6
6	Jenni,Florian	0-1	Degraeve,Jean	7
7	Likavsky,Toma	½-½	Popovic,Petar	8
11	Dranov,Alexan	1-0	Mainka,Romual	9
12	Schmidt,Bodo	0-1	Belkhodja,Sli	10
Round 8 9th February 2008
	SK Zehlendorf	4 - 4	TV Tegernsee
1	Predojevic,Bo	0-1	Volokitin,And	1
2	Ruck,Robert	½-½	Khenkin,Igor	4
3	Maksimenko,An	½-½	Sokolov,Andre	5
6	Berczes,David	0-1	Ribli,Zoltan	6
9	Meister,Jakov	½-½	Teske,Henrik	8
10	Berger,Steve	1-0	Bromberger,St	9
11	Werner,Dimo	1-0	Boensch,Uwe	10
12	Orzech,Domini	½-½	Kindermann,St	11
	SC Kreuzberg	3½-4½	SC Eppingen
2	Sargissian,Ga	½-½	Berkes,Ferenc	2
3	Socko,Bartosz	0-1	Braun,Arik	3
5	Luther,Thomas	½-½	Gyimesi,Zolta	4
6	Tischbierek,R	½-½	Balogh,Csaba	5
7	Kalinitschew,	½-½	Acs,Peter	6
8	Volke,Karsten	½-½	Guliyev,Namig	7
9	Paehtz,Elisab	0-1	Medvegy,Zolta	8
11	Loeffler,Stef	1-0	Vogt,Lothar	9
	Erfurter SK	2 - 6	SV Mülheim Nord
1	Kraemer,Marti	0-1	Landa,Konstan	2
2	Votava,Jan	1-0	Fridman,Danie	3
3	Haba,Petr	0-1	Vachier-Lagra	4
4	Kuczynski,Rob	½-½	Berelovich,Al	8
5	Machelett,Hei	0-1	Malakhatko,Va	9
6	Mueller,Matth	0-1	Levin,Felix	10
7	Enders,Peter	½-½	Saltaev,Mihai	11
10	Voekler,Bernd	0-1	Hausrath,Dani	12
	Bindlach-Aktionä	5 - 3	SF Katernberg
1	Navara,David	½-½	Postny,Evgeny	4
2	Baklan,Vladim	½-½	Halkias,Steli	5
3	Laznicka,Vikt	0-1	Firman,Nazar	7
4	Baramidze,Dav	½-½	Senff,Martin	9
5	Bindrich,Falk	½-½	Siebrecht,Seb	10
7	Slobodjan,Rom	1-0	Souleidis,Geo	12
9	Markos,Jan	1-0	Scholz,Christ	13
10	Stohl,Igor Dr	1-0	Thesing,Matth	14
	Godesberger SK	4½-3½	Hamburger SK
1	Kasimdzhanov,	1-0	Wojtaszek,Rad	1
2	Lutz,Christop	1-0	Ftacnik,Lubom	3
3	Sprenger,Jan-	½-½	Kempinski,Rob	4
5	Kveinys,Aloyz	0-1	Hansen,Sune B	5
6	Jenni,Florian	½-½	Mueller,Karst	7
7	Likavsky,Toma	0-1	Heinemann,Thi	8
9	Jackelen,Thom	½-½	Beikert,Guent	9
10	Seul,Georg	1-0	Huschenbeth,N	15
	SC Remagen	5½-2½	Werder Bremen
1	Ivanchuk,Vass	1-0	McShane,Luke	1
4	Avrukh,Boris	½-½	Fressinet,Lau	4
5	Fedorchuk,Ser	½-½	Meier,Georg	5
6	Goloshchapov,	½-½	Kritz,Leonid	6
7	Degraeve,Jean	½-½	Hracek,Zbynek	7
8	Popovic,Petar	½-½	Nyback,Tomi	8
9	Mainka,Romual	1-0	Babula,Vlasti	9
12	Swinkels,Robi	1-0	Fish,Gennadij	11
	SG Aljechin Soli	3½-4½	OSC Baden Baden
1	Stellwagen,Da	1-0	Svidler,Peter	2
2	Nikolic,Predr	½-½	Shirov,Alexei	3
3	Jussupow,Artu	½-½	Carlsen,Magnu	4
5	Naumann,Alexa	½-½	Bacrot,Etienn	5
7	Hoffmann,Mich	½-½	Nisipeanu,Liv	6
8	Ragger,Markus	½-½	Harikrishna,P	9
10	Ernst,Sipke	0-1	Nielsen,Peter	11
12	Wegerle,Joerg	0-1	Schlosser,Phi	13
	SV Wattenscheid	3½-4½	SC Trier
1	Eljanov,Pavel	½-½	Kotronias,Vas	1
4	Rustemov,Alex	0-1	Cyborowski,Lu	2
6	Bartel,Mateus	1-0	Bobras,Piotr	3
8	Appel,Ralf	1-0	Flumbort,Andr	4
9	Holzke,Frank	½-½	Jaracz,Pawel	5
10	Handke,Floria	0-1	Gonda,Laszlo	7
11	Dinstuhl,Volk	0-1	Kolbus,Dietma	10
13	Straeter,Timo	½-½	Cioara,Andrei	11
Round 9 10th February 2008
	TV Tegernsee	4½-3½	SC Kreuzberg
1	Volokitin,And	½-½	Sargissian,Ga	2
4	Khenkin,Igor	1-0	Socko,Bartosz	3
5	Sokolov,Andre	½-½	Luther,Thomas	5
6	Ribli,Zoltan	½-½	Tischbierek,R	6
8	Teske,Henrik	½-½	Kalinitschew,	7
9	Bromberger,St	½-½	Volke,Karsten	8
10	Boensch,Uwe	½-½	Paehtz,Elisab	9
11	Kindermann,St	½-½	Loeffler,Stef	11
	SC Eppingen	4½-3½	SK Zehlendorf
2	Berkes,Ferenc	½-½	Predojevic,Bo	1
3	Braun,Arik	½-½	Ruck,Robert	2
4	Gyimesi,Zolta	½-½	Maksimenko,An	3
5	Balogh,Csaba	½-½	Berczes,David	6
6	Acs,Peter	½-½	Meister,Jakov	9
7	Guliyev,Namig	1-0	Berger,Steve	10
8	Medvegy,Zolta	½-½	Werner,Dimo	11
9	Vogt,Lothar	½-½	Orzech,Domini	12
	SV Mülheim Nord	3 - 5	Bindlach-Aktionä
2	Landa,Konstan	0-1	Navara,David	1
3	Fridman,Danie	½-½	Baklan,Vladim	2
4	Vachier-Lagra	½-½	Laznicka,Vikt	3
8	Berelovich,Al	½-½	Baramidze,Dav	4
9	Malakhatko,Va	½-½	Bindrich,Falk	5
10	Levin,Felix	½-½	Slobodjan,Rom	7
11	Saltaev,Mihai	0-1	Markos,Jan	9
12	Hausrath,Dani	½-½	Stohl,Igor Dr	10
	SF Katernberg	5 - 3	Erfurter SK
4	Postny,Evgeny	1-0	Kraemer,Marti	1
5	Halkias,Steli	½-½	Votava,Jan	2
7	Firman,Nazar	1-0	Haba,Petr	3
9	Senff,Martin	½-½	Kuczynski,Rob	4
10	Siebrecht,Seb	½-½	Machelett,Hei	5
12	Souleidis,Geo	½-½	Mueller,Matth	6
13	Scholz,Christ	0-1	Enders,Peter	7
14	Thesing,Matth	1-0	Voekler,Bernd	10
	OSC Baden Baden	7 - 1	SV Wattenscheid
2	Svidler,Peter	½-½	Eljanov,Pavel	1
3	Shirov,Alexei	1-0	Rustemov,Alex	4
4	Carlsen,Magnu	1-0	Bartel,Mateus	6
5	Bacrot,Etienn	1-0	Appel,Ralf	8
6	Nisipeanu,Liv	½-½	Holzke,Frank	9
9	Harikrishna,P	1-0	Dinstuhl,Volk	11
11	Nielsen,Peter	1-0	Straeter,Timo	13
13	Schlosser,Phi	1-0	Thiel,Thomas	14
	SC Trier	4 - 4	SG Aljechin Soli
1	Kotronias,Vas	½-½	Stellwagen,Da	1
2	Cyborowski,Lu	½-½	Nikolic,Predr	2
3	Bobras,Piotr	½-½	Jussupow,Artu	3
4	Flumbort,Andr	½-½	Naumann,Alexa	5
5	Jaracz,Pawel	½-½	Hoffmann,Mich	7
7	Gonda,Laszlo	½-½	Ragger,Markus	8
10	Kolbus,Dietma	0-1	Ernst,Sipke	10
11	Cioara,Andrei	1-0	Wegerle,Joerg	12
	Hamburger SK	4½-3½	SC Remagen
1	Wojtaszek,Rad	½-½	Ivanchuk,Vass	1
3	Ftacnik,Lubom	0-1	Avrukh,Boris	4
4	Kempinski,Rob	1-0	Fedorchuk,Ser	5
5	Hansen,Sune B	½-½	Goloshchapov,	6
7	Mueller,Karst	1-0	Degraeve,Jean	7
8	Heinemann,Thi	½-½	Popovic,Petar	8
9	Beikert,Guent	½-½	Mainka,Romual	9
15	Huschenbeth,N	½-½	Swinkels,Robi	12
	Werder Bremen	5 - 3	Godesberger SK
1	McShane,Luke	1-0	Kasimdzhanov,	1
4	Fressinet,Lau	1-0	Lutz,Christop	2
5	Meier,Georg	½-½	Sprenger,Jan-	3
6	Kritz,Leonid	½-½	Kveinys,Aloyz	5
7	Hracek,Zbynek	0-1	Jenni,Florian	6
8	Nyback,Tomi	1-0	Likavsky,Toma	7
9	Babula,Vlasti	½-½	Breder,Dennis	8
11	Fish,Gennadij	½-½	Jackelen,Thom	9

Bundesliga Round 9 Standings
1	OSC Baden Baden	9	18	51
2	SV Mülheim Nord	9	13	42½
3	Werder Bremen	9	12	41
4	TV Tegernsee	9	12	38
5	Bindlach-Aktionä	9	11	38
6	SG Aljechin Soli	9	9	39
7	Hamburger SK	9	9	36½
8	SC Trier	9	9	34½
9	SF Katernberg	9	9	34½
10	SC Eppingen	9	8	33½
11	SV Wattenscheid	9	8	33
12	SC Remagen	9	6	33
13	SK Zehlendorf	9	6	30½
14	SC Kreuzberg	9	5	33½
15	Erfurter SK	9	5	29½
16	Godesberger SK	9	4	28

6) Dutch Team Championship

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

The 6th round was on February 9th with the results ESGOO-Schrijvers Rotterdam 4-6; HWP Sas van Gent-HSG 3-7; Utrecht-LSG 5-5; Homburg Apeldoorn-LSG 2 7-3; Hotels.nl-HMC Calder 4½-5½. Full report at http://www.schakers.info/ and also at chessvista.com. I will round up the games next week.

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

7) First Saturday

The First Saturday February GM-IM-FM closed tournaments take place in Budapest 2nd-14th February 2008.

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

FSGM February Budapest (HUN), 2-14 ii 2008 cat. VIII (2435)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3
1.	Prohaszka, Peter	m	HUN	2495	*	.	1	.	1	½	.	.	1	.	½	1	½	5½	2656
2.	Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas	m	CAN	2442	.	*	½	.	½	½	½	1	½	.	1	½	.	5	2517
3.	Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy	f	VIE	2398	0	½	*	½	.	.	1	0	.	1	1	.	1	5	2522
4.	Kosic, Dragan	g	MNE	2511	.	.	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	.	½	.	4½	2475
5.	Rajlich, Iweta	m	POL	2437	0	½	.	½	*	1	.	.	.	½	½	.	1	4	2511
6.	Ilincic, Zlatko	g	SRB	2561	½	½	.	½	0	*	.	.	.	.	½	1	1	4	2477
7.	Kristjansson, Stefan	m	ISL	2476	.	½	0	½	.	.	*	½	½	1	.	½	.	3½	2419
8.	Porat, Ido	f	ISR	2272	.	0	1	0	.	.	½	*	1	½	.	.	½	3½	2447
9.	Bui Vinh	m	VIE	2482	0	½	.	½	.	.	½	0	*	½	.	.	1	3	2381
10.	Farago, Ivan	g	HUN	2475	.	.	0	½	½	.	0	½	½	*	.	1	.	3	2369
11.	Leviczki, Tibor	f	HUN	2396	½	0	0	.	½	½	.	.	.	.	*	½	½	2½	2332
12.	Arngrimsson, Dagur	f	ISL	2359	0	½	.	½	.	0	½	.	.	0	½	*	½	2½	2322
13.	Mihok, Oliver	f	HUN	2351	½	.	0	.	0	0	.	½	0	.	½	½	*	2	2232

FSIMA February Budapest (HUN), 2-12 ii 2008 cat. II (2278)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1
1.	Duong The Anh	f	VIE	2381	*	.	1	½	½	.	1	1	1	.	1	6	2583
2.	Gara, Anita	wg	HUN	2325	.	*	0	½	½	½	1	½	1	.	1	5	2365
3.	Eperjesi, Laszlo	m	HUN	2285	0	1	*	½	.	.	.	½	1	1	½	4½	2379
4.	Werner, Dimo	m	GER	2293	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	.	.	1	½	4½	2317
5.	Kahn, Evarth	m	HUN	2326	½	½	.	½	*	½	½	½	.	1	.	4	2337
6.	Steel, Henry Robert		RSA	2241	.	½	.	½	½	*	½	1	½	½	.	4	2330
7.	Lengyel, Bela	m	HUN	2261	0	0	.	½	½	½	*	.	.	1	1	3½	2277
8.	Gara, Ticia	wg	HUN	2319	0	½	½	.	½	0	.	*	½	0	1	3	2185
9.	Schneider, Veronika	wm	HUN	2250	0	0	0	.	.	½	.	½	*	½	1	2½	2173
10.	Porat, Maya		ISR	2190	.	.	0	0	0	½	0	1	½	*	.	2	2124
11.	Burghardt, Jozsef		HUN	2185	0	0	½	½	.	.	0	0	0	.	*	1	1993

FSIMB February Budapest (HUN), 2-11 ii 2008 cat. I (2266)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Galyas, Miklos	m	HUN	2432	*	*	1	1	½	.	½	1	1	1	½	1	7½	2499
2.	Perez Aleman, Pedro Tomas		ESP	2141	0	0	*	*	1	1	1	½	1	.	1	1	6½	2461
3.	Vegh, Endre	m	HUN	2285	½	.	0	0	*	*	½	½	½	1	1	1	5	2285
4.	Farago, Sandor	m	HUN	2247	½	0	0	½	½	½	*	*	0	1	1	.	4	2229
5.	Adams, Nick A		USA	2245	0	0	0	.	½	0	1	0	*	*	1	½	3	2158
6.	Barbalat, Alex		USA	2243	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	.	0	½	*	*	1	1921

8) FISS 2008

The FISS International Tournament 2008 took place in the Convention Centre of Sambil Mall in San Cristobal, Tachira State, Venezuela 29th January - 3rd February 2008. The Elite Tournament was a nine rounds IRT with ten participants from three countries Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela. The IM Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN) won on the tie break system over IM Johann Alvarez (VEN), after both scored 7.5 points. Iturrizaga lost by default on the first round because he couldn´t travel to San Cristobal and the tournament regulations didn´t any games to take place on another date. This traditionally event on the occasion of San Sebastian's celebration had this year held an elite tournament, a Swiss system open won by Harlem Otero (VEN) and an under 14 section won by Christian Mora(VEN). The technical direction was at the expense of the National Arbiter Alexander Garcia, president of Tachira State Association and the arbitration for the international arbiters Jose Luis Guilarte (VEN), Lazaro Darroman (CUB) and Jose Gauna (VEN). News: Jose Luis Guilarte.

FISS Int San Cristobal (VEN), 30 i-3 ii 2008
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	Pts.	Wins	S/B
1	Iturrizaga, Eduardo	m	VEN	2470	*	½	1	1	1	-	1	1	1	1	7½	7	30,2
2	Alvarez, Johan	m	VEN	2385	½	*	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7½	7	27,7
3	Sequera, Jose	m	VEN	2427	0	0	*	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	6	18,0
4	Castro, Oscar H	m	COL	2389	0	1	1	*	½	1	0	½	1	1	6	5	24,7
5	Marichal, Ariel		CUB	2214	0	0	0	½	*	1	1	½	1	½	4½	3	14,0
6	Mendez, Gerson		VEN	----	+	0	0	0	0	*	1	½	0	1	3½	3	14,0
7	Gallegos, Carlos	m	VEN	2430	0	0	0	1	0	0	*	½	½	1	3	2	10,5
8	Moreno, Jose Urbano		VEN	----	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	3	0	10,5
9	Diaz Carias,Salvador		VEN	----	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	½	*	0	2	1	6,50
10	Sequeda, Pablo		VEN	2119	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	2	1	5,75

9) Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Memorial

The Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Memorial took place in Santa Cruz 31st January - 4th February 2008. Oswaldo Zambrana was the clear winner with 7/9 and no draws a point and a half clear of the field. Games are available for viewing but not for download even though they started in PGN.

Details: http://www.ajedrezbolivia.com/- http://chess-results.com/tnr10075.aspx?tnr=10075&art=4&lan=1&turdet=YES&datatyp=2&mm=-1&m=-1

Raul Humberto Monroy Viscarra Mem Santa Cruz BOL 31 i - 4 ii 2008
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	Pts.	S/B	Wins
1	Zambrana Oswaldo	2492	BOL	*	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	7,0	29,50	7
2	Campero Ronald	2262	BOL	1	*	1	1	0	0	½	0	1	1	5,5	24,50	5
3	Quiñonez Cesar	2240	Per	0	0	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	5,5	20,25	4
4	Pacheco Daniel	2318	Arg	0	0	0	*	1	1	1	½	1	1	5,5	19,75	5
5	Monroy Carrizo Javier	2242	BOL	0	1	½	0	*	0	1	½	1	1	5,0	18,50	4
6	Vera Kelver	2271	Per	0	1	½	0	1	*	½	0	½	1	4,5	18,25	3
7	Lopez Mario Iver	2279	BOL	0	½	½	0	0	½	*	1	1	½	4,0	15,00	2
8	Condori Edwin	2200	Per	0	1	0	½	½	1	0	*	0	½	3,5	16,00	2
9	Ferrufino Boris	2199	BOL	1	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	*	½	3,0	13,50	2
10	Andrade Marco	2196	BOL	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	*	1,5	5,25	0

10) 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf

The 13th Euro Chessweek in Leutersdorf (Germany) took place 3rd-7th February 2008. Ilmars Starostits won the event on tie-break from Lev Gutman after both finished with 5.5/7. No games appear to be available.

Official site: http://www.scoberland.de/

13th Euro Chessweek Leutersdorf GER 3-7 ii 2008 Final Round 7 Standings:
Place	Player	ELO	Pts	Buchh	SoBerg
1	Starostits,Ilmars	2500	5.5	32	24.25
2	Gutman,Lev	2470	5.5	31	23.5
3	Spirin,Oleg	2404	5	32.5	21.75
4	Ivanov,Michail	2483	5	30.5	20.5
5	Pähtz,Thomas	2444	5	30	20.75
6	Bogdanovich,Grigori	2356	5	28	18.5
7	Meißner,Felix	2047	5	25	15.75
8	Ksieski,Zbigniew	2407	4.5	31.5	18.75
9	Natsidis,Christoph	2284	4.5	27.5	15.5
10	Doberitz,Paul	2077	4.5	26.5	15
11	Hoffmann,Hendrik	2283	4	29	14
12	Mahn,Franko	2133	4	27.5	12.75
13	Rößler,Frank-Peter	2104	4	26.5	13.25
14	Häusler,Felix	1984	4	24.5	12.5
15	Bach,Ulf-Gunter	1998	4	24.5	10
16	Wendling,Hannes	2125	3.5	28.5	11.5
17	Müller,Andre		3.5	24.5	9.25
18	Skrzypczak,Anna	2032	3.5	23.5	10.25
19	Rührmund, Daniel	1807	3.5	23	9.25
20	Braunstein,Fabian	1947	3.5	23	9
21	Kompe,Jörg	1852	3.5	22	10.25
22	Fuchs,Oliver	2010	3.5	22	8.5

11) Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival

The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival took place 22nd-31st January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels. Hikaru Nakamura beat Bu Xiangzhi in a playoff 2-0 to win the event after both players finished on 8/10. Zhao Zong Yuan became Australia's youngest ever GM at the age of 21 with a 6.5/10 finish (actually achieved with 6/9 to achieve his final norm). My thanks to John Saunders for all his help. He adds one corrected result (Campbell-Erdelyi (10) was in fact a draw and three more games).

Offical site: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/and http://www.monroi.com

Also the winner Hikaru Nakamura has a website: http://www.hikarunakamura.com

Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival 22nd-31st January 2008 Leading Final Round 10 standings:
Rank	Name	Ti	Fed.	Rating	Score	BH	SB	TPR
1	Bu, Xiangzhi	GM	CHN	2691	8.0	67.5	53.25	2834
2	Nakamura, Hikaru	GM	USA	2670	8.0	63.5	50.75	2747
3	Areshchenko, Alexander	GM	UKR	2645	7.5	61.5	45.5	2663
4	Bologan, Viktor	GM	MDA	2663	7.5	62.0	43.75	2680
5	Efimenko, Zahar	GM	UKR	2638	7.5	64.5	47.5	2687
6	Gopal, G.N.	GM	IND	2528	7.5	61.5	44.0	2703
7	Gurevich, Mikhail	GM	TUR	2607	7.5	58.0	42.75	2635
8	Ni, Hua	GM	CHN	2680	7.5	64.0	46.25	2742
9	Wang, Hao	GM	CHN	2665	7.5	60.5	43.75	2728
10	Akobian, Varuzhan	GM	USA	2599	7.0	58.5	38.0	2605
11	Banikas, Hristos	GM	GRE	2592	7.0	64.0	43.25	2691
12	Beliavsky, Alexander G	GM	SLO	2638	7.0	63.0	42.5	2636
13	Berg, Emanuel	GM	SWE	2583	7.0	63.5	42.5	2668
14	Georgiev, Kiril	GM	BUL	2662	7.0	64.5	44.0	2684
15	Kritz, Leonid	GM	GER	2592	7.0	60.5	40.25	2583
16	Petrosian, Tigran L.	GM	ARM	2606	7.0	60.5	41.0	2615
17	Sandipan, Chanda	GM	IND	2593	7.0	58.0	38.5	2565
18	Szabo, Krisztian	IM	HUN	2500	7.0	55.0	35.75	2505
19	Thomassen, Joachim	FM	NOR	2308	7.0	54.5	37.25	2517
20	Wang, Yue	GM	CHN	2698	7.0	60.0	41.75	2653
203 players

12) Bobby Fischer Interview

Dick Cavett interviewed Bobby Fischer after his win in Iceland in 1972. There is an interesting piece written by Cavett and the interview itself at: http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/was-it-only-a-game/#comment-10026

Elsewhere there have been claims against Fischer's estate from Marilyn Young, 29, mother of a 7-year old daughter, Jinky, claimed to be fathered by Fischer. Another claim against his estate is that of Miyoko Watai who is supposed to have been Fischer's wife and possibly another by Russel Tang his brother-in-law. You won't be reading much more, if anything, of this here. Fischer's life was quite chaotic and it's probably too much to hope that there is a will.

13) Forthcoming Events and Links

Yerevan Open Rapid Chess Tournament 2008

The Chess Federation of Armenia is organizing an International Open Rapid Chess Tournament which takes place June 12th-15th, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia. The event is organized simultaneously with the tournament "Chess Giants Yerevan 2008" with the participation of the world's top grandmasters.

The total prize fund of the open rapid tournament is 33000 USD with the following breakdown.

Breakdown of the Prize Fund
1st place	6 000 USD
2nd place	4 000 USD
3rd place	3 500 USD
4th place	2 500 USD
5th place	2 000 USD
6th place	1 800 USD
7th place	1 600 USD
8th place	1 500 USD
9th place	1 400 USD
10th place	1 300 USD
11th-20th	800 USD

For further information please contact: Mr. Gaguik Oganessian General Secretary, Armenian Chess Federation President, FIDE Zone 1,5
Tel.: (374)10-554923
Fax: (374)10-570758
E-Mail armchess@arminco.com

3rd Kolkata Open

The 3rd Kolkata Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament takes place 24th March - 2nd April 2008.

Venue: Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace, Kolkata 700017 (near Minto Park) Tournament Schedule Arrival 23rd March 2008. Inauguration 24th March 2008 at 1.00pm Players' meeting 23rd March 2008 at 7pm. Prize Distribution ceremony : 2nd April 08 at 17.00 hrs at Gorky Sadan. It is compulsory for all players to attend the Prize Distribution Ceremony. Prizes : Total Cash Prizes: Rs. 9,00,000/- ( 1 U.S.$ = Rs.41 approx.)

Contact: Alekhine Chess Club Gorky Sadan, 3 Gorky Terrace Kolkata 700017, West Bengal, India Tele fax:- 0091 33 22832746, Tel : 0091 33 22803957/3858 Email: alekhine_chess@rediffmail.com OR alekhinechessclub@hotmail.com

Web site: http://www.alekhinechessclub.com

FIDE Grand Prix Events

FIDE have announced their Grand Prix Circuit ( http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1588). The winner of the Grand Prix will play with the winner of the 2009 World Cup for the right to challenge the World Champion in 2010. Each Tournament will be a 14 player all play all. 14 players have the right to compete in the circuit and they have to play 4 of the 6 events (there will be local players too), these will be allocated to them.

FIDE Grand Prix 2008-9
Baku	AZE	April 20th - May 6th 2008
Krasnoyarsk *	RUS	July 30th - August 15th 2008
Doha	QAT	December 13th - 29th, 2008
Montreux	SUI	April 14th - 28th, 2009
Elista	RUS	August 1st - 17th, 2009
Karlovy Vary	CZE	December 7th - 23rd, 2009
* or other Russian city. Reserve cities are Istanbul and Teheran.

Grand Prix 2008-9 Qualified Players
No	Name	NAT	YroB	Ja08
1	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2799
2	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2799
3	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2780
4	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2765
5	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz	AZE	1985	2760
6	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	1972	2755
7	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2753
8	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2751
9	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2739
10	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2737
11	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	1987	2735
12	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2733
13	Karjakin, Sergey	UKR	1990	2732
14	Kamsky, Gata	USA	1974	2726
Reserves
1	Adams, Michael	ENG	1971	2726
2	Svidler, Peter	RUS	1976	2763
3	Polgar, Judit	HUN	1976	2707
4	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	1983	2711

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes Each Event
Place	EUR	Points
1	30,000	140 + 40 bonus
2	22,500	130 + 20
3	20,000	120 + 10
4	15,000	110
5	12,500	100
6	11,000	90
7	10,000	80
8	8,500	70
9	7,500	60
10	6,000	50
11	5,500	40
12	5,000	30
13	4,500	20
14	4,000	10

Grand Prix 2008-9 Prizes for Final Standings (Best three events)
Pl	Prize (Euros)
1st	75,000
2nd	50,000
3rd	40,000
4th	30,000
5th	25,000
6th	20,000
7th	18,000
8th	16,000
9th	14,000
10th	12,000

Bunratty Chess Festival

The Bunratty Chess Festival takes place 22nd-24th February 2008. Peter Svidler will be competing.

Official site: http://members.aol.com/bunrattychess/

Paleochora International Open 2008

The Paleochora (southern Crete) International Open takes place 21st-28th July 2008.

Further details: http://www.chaniachess.gr

24th Cappelle la Grande Open

The 24th Cappelle la Grande Open takes place 16th-23rd February 2008.

Official site: http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

Four Nations Chess Challenge

The Four Nations Chess Challenge between Norway, Sweden, England and Latvia takes place in Oslo - Norway, 15th-17th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.bergensjakk.no/four_nations_2008/ additional coverage: http://previews.chessdom.com/four-nations-chess-challenge

Four Nations Chess Challenge Oslo NOR 15-17 ii 2008
		Norway	(2308)		Sweden	(2393)
1	GM	Kjetil A. Lie	2556	GM	Emanuel Berg	2593
2	GM	Leif Erlend Johannessen	2521	GM	Tiger Hillarp-Persson	2567
3	GM	Berge Østenstad	2482	GM	Evgenij Agrest	2541
4	GM	Rune Djurhuus	2452	GM	Jonny Hector	2520
5	IM	Espen Lie	2428	GM	Pontus Carlsson	2481
		Average	2488		Average	2540
6	WIM	Sheila B. Sahl	2227	GM	Pia Cramling	2531
7	WIM	Ellen Hagesæther	2234	WIM	Svetlana Agrest	2255
8	WFM	Silje Bjerke	2162	WIM	Christin Andersson	2209
9		Torill Skytte	1971		Inna Agrest	2121
10		Yerazik Khachatourian	2044		Ellinor Frisk	2109
		Average	2128		Average	2245
		England	(2316)		Latvia	(2360)
1	GM	Gawain Jones	2562	GM	Normunds Miezis	2553
2	GM	David Howell	2528	GM	Maris Krakops	2525
3	GM	Peter Wells	2520	GM	Evgeny Sveshnikov	2506
4	IM	Stephen Gordon	2501	IM	Arturs Neiksans	2470
5	GM	Stewart Haslinger	2495		Vitalijs Samolins	2444
		Average	2521		Average	2500
6	WGM	Harriet Hunt	2457	WGM	Dana Reizniece	2309
7	WFM	Sabrina Chevannes	2074	WIM	Ilze Berzina	2281
8		Kanwal Bhatia	2054	WIM	Tatjana Voronova	2242
9		Sarah Hegarty	1974	WFM	Viktorija Ni	2132
10		Amisha Parmar	1995	WFM	Renate Praude	2131
		Average	2111		Average	2219

Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament 2008

The 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament takes place March 14th-28th, 2008 at the Hotel Palais de la Mediterranée on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Twelve grandmasters from ten different countries will take part and the total prize-fund is 216,000 Euro.

Amber Rapid and Blindfold 14-28 iii 2008
No	Name	NAT	YroB	ja08	Gms	Wrnk
1	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2799	9	1
2	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2799	3	2
3	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2780	14	3
4	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2765	12	4
5	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz	AZE	1985	2760	35	6
6	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2753	9	8
7	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2751	30	9
8	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2739	16	10
9	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2737	9	11
10	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2733	37	13
11	Karjakin, Sergey	UKR	1990	2732	36	14
12	Van Wely, Loek	NED	1972	2681	16	35

Bermuda Open

The Bermuda Open takes place 7th-11th February, 2008. Details can be got from Nick Faulks at armadillo@northrock.bm or Nigel Freeman at cadilly@northrock.bm

31st San Sebastian City Open

The 31st San Sebastian City Open takes place 16th-23rd of March 2008.

Details: http://www.fgajedrez.org/open/open.htm

Hévíz GM, IM and Open Tournaments 2008

The Palace Hotel International Chess Tournament Hévíz (Hungary) 18th-28th March 2008. There are GM, IM and Open sections.

Further details: http://www.lellechess.tar.hu/

The Battle of Senta 1697 Chess Festival 2008

12th International Chess Festival "The Battle of Senta 1697" will be held 18th-25th. July 2008. in Senta (the Vojvodina /Serbia).

Further details: http://www.chess-senta.org.yuand in English: http://www.chess-senta.org.yu/select.php?lang=3&xid=2

XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra

The XXVI International Chess Open of Andorra takes place 19th-27th July 2008. Contact: open@escacsandorra.com FEVA - Tel/Fax: 00.376.824465

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

Austrian Bundesliga

The second round of games from the Austrian Bundesliga took place in Jenbach 10th-13th January 2008. The final round of games (rounds 8-11) take place13th-16th Match 2008 in Graz (Novapark).

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

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open

4th Cappelle la Grande International Chess Open will take place 16th-23rd February 2008 at the Palais des Arts et des Loisirs. Every player play the same open, with 600 players. Like every years more of 70 im and more of 90 igm but this year : more of 70 countries ! The entry form, the list of invited players and the list of the registered players are online and it will be published and updated until Thursday 14 February 2008 20 first boards online.

Details : http://www.cappelle-chess.com/

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008

Offene Internationale Stuttgarter Stadtmeisterschaft 2008, 1st-4th May 2008, in Ditzingen, South-Germany. 7 Rounds, Swiss System, A/B/C-tournament, over 7000 € prizes.

Further Details: http://www.stuttgarter-stadtmeisterschaft.de

Alushta Diary 2008

GM Norm events: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, IM Norm: 23.05 - 1.06, 2.06 - 12.06, 15.06 - 25.06, 2.09 - 12.09, 14.09 - 24.09, 26.09 - 6.10, Rating tournament: 4.06 - 12.06, 22.06 - 27.06, Open tournament (under 16 years) First prize - 200$ 3.06 - 11.06, 13.06 - 21.06, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament First prize - 1000$ First prize (woman) - 500$ 28.06 - 6.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06 Individual and group studying. phone +38 (06560)5-05-32,

Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua

20th Lenk International Chess Festival

The great jubilee, 20th Lenk International Chess Festival part of the "Swiss Chess Tour 2008" continues in Lenk March 20th-24th 2008. The venue is the Hotel "Kreuz", Grande Open, Swiss system, 7 rounds and the games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end). The Main Prize are: 1.500 SF, 1.200, 800, 600 and 400 SF. Special prizes: Ladies senior (1947), junior(1988-91), schoolboy (1992) and amateur (under 2000) for all: 200/150/100 CHF. Golden prizes for the players who play more then 10 times: 300/200/150 CHF. Silver prizes for the players who play MORE THEN 5 TIMES 200/150/100 CHF. Entry fee 130 SF, FMs and juniors 60 SF, at the door 20 SF more, GMs and IMs free. The teams competition, with 4 members; 3 prizes: 4x100/4x75/4x50 SF; entry fee 10 SF. Venue: Hotel "Kreuz". Time table: Round 1st 18.00-23.00 March 20,; Rounds 2/3 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 21,; Round 4 13.30-18.30 March 22,; Rounds 5/6 09.30-14.30 and 15.30-20.30 March 23,; Round 7 9.30-14.30 March 24. Closing ceremony March 24 at 16.00. Gala jubilee dinner March 22 from 19-22 at Hotel "Kreuz". Info: Beochess +41+62+965-46-50 (Robert Spoerri) or info@beochess.ch or site http://www.beochess.chfor more details.

Nancy Chess Festival

There is a Category XII tournament (average 2528) in Nancy from 18th-24th February 2008.

It Nancy 18-24 ii 2008
Landa, Konstantin	g	2641	RUS
Bauer, Christian	g	2614	FRA
Miladinovic, Igor	g	2604	SRB
Guliyev, Namig	g	2570	AZE
Sikula, V	m	2550	UKR
Gozzoli, Yannick	m	2510	FRA
Riff, Jean-Noël	m	2474	FRA
Marzolo, Cyril	m	2474	FRA
Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas	m	2442	CAN
Nezar, Mustafa	m	2404	FRA
Category XII (Average 2528)

Also the 6th international Festival in Nancy will see about 150 players : 15 groups of 10 players each. Also group B for IM-norms, group C for women, group D, E, F ...

Official site: http://echecs54.free.fr/

M-Tel Masters

M-Tel Masters takes place 7th-18th May 2008 in the Central Military Club in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner. Like in the previous three editions of M-Tel Masters the rule for the draws introduced in Sofia will be valid. According to it the players do not have the right to agree a draw. This can be decided only by the chef arbiter of the tournament.

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

M-Tel Masters Sofia BUL 7-18 v 2008
Veselin Topalov	BUL	2780
Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2751
Levon Aronian	ARM	2739
Teimour Radjabov	AZE	2735
Ivan Cheparinov	BUL	2713
Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2691
Average rating: 2735 Category: 20

Chess Classic Mainz 2008

The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place 28th July - 3rd August 2008 in Mainz/Germany (a week later than originally advertised).

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

4NCL

The 3rd weekend of the 4NCL took place 12th-13th January 2008. Next rounds 1st-2nd April 2008. My thanks to Malcolm Armstrong for the games.

Note that I have just noticed I got the dates for the first two rounds of the 4NCL wrong in the games section at that time. They took place 15th-16th September 2007 not in November as stated.

IX European Individual Chess Championship 2008

The IX European Individual Chess Championship takes place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria 20th April (day of arrival) - 4th May (day of departure) 2008.

Official site: http://www.eicc2008.com

Pula Open 2008

The Pula Open 2008 takes place 21st-28th June 2008 in Pula, Croatia. Contact e-mail: pulaopen@globalnet.hr

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

echiquier-nicois Website

Thierry Foissez's echiquier-nicois website reports on news and events in French daily.

http://www.echiquier-nicois.org

Hungarian Chess Tournaments January - June 2008

1. 11th-19th of January 2008 Open in Budapest, Season opening, org: IA FAZEKAS, György, e-mail: srcolonel@freemail.hu. More info: http://www.firstsaturday.hu

2. 19th-28th of January 2008 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.

3. 2nd-14th of February 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. Phone-fax: +(361)-2632859, cellphone: +(36)-30-230-1914 /From 12:00 a.m. until midnight - Central European Time = GMT+1/

4. 16th-25th of February - IM tmt Kecskemet, org. Erdelyi

5. 1st-14th of March - First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy L.

6. 21st-29th of March - Budapest Spring Festival 9 rounds Swiss Open, org.: Nagy Laszlo

7. 5th-18th of April First Saturday Budapest, org.NL,

8. 19th-28th of April, KECSKEMET, CAISSA IM tmt, org. Erdelyi

9. 3rd-15th of May First Saturday Budapest, org. NL,

11. 22nd-30th of May, ZALAKAROS Open, 9 rounds Swiss, 1st prize 500,000 Ft (brutto 2 thousand EURO), org: IM Horvath, Tamas, e-mail: mssz@zalaszam.hu Mobile: 36-20-9777003

12. 7th-19th of June First Saturday, Budapest, org: NL.,

13. 13th-21st of June, Balatonlelle Open, GM-IM round robin, org: IM Rigo, e-mail: me-ri@t-online.hu

Anand - Kramnik World Championship Match

A Press release from UEP Promotions announces that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany October 11th-30th October, 2008. Main sponsor Evonik Industries AG and prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The match will be 12 games followed by playoffs if required. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Website: http://www.uep-worldchess.com/

Mindsports

The World Mindsports games takes place in Beijing, China after the Olympics 3rd -18th October 2008.

Details: http://www.worldbridge.org/competitions/Calendar/files/WorldMindSportsGames2007.pdf.

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/

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/

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 - 4th 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

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/

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/

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.

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

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