THE WEEK IN CHESS 778 5th October 2009 by Mark Crowther

1) Introduction

My thanks to Gary Suffield, Zenon Franco Ocampos, Dennis Monokroussos, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Adolivio Capece, Miklos Orso, Shaun Press, Dragan Babic, Jan Mazuch, Alfonso Romero Holmes, Igor Glek and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Another tremendously busy week. The star has to be Magnus Carlsen who right now has a two point lead with 3 rounds to go in the Pearl Spring tournament. It has been a real pleasure to follow his games and with two games with the white pieces to come he could make the result even more special. Much of the rest of the world's best are playing in Ohrid in the European Club Cup. Just a couple of rounds so far but again a feast of chess. I've had to hold over a number of stories until next week, I simply ran out of time, sorry to those who sent them, I will take care of them this week.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring

The 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament takes place 27th Sept - 9th October 2009 in Nanjing, China.

The event is a 6-player in a double round robin. The total prize fund is 250,000 Euros.

Magnus Carlsen made best use of the two whites he had at the start by going to 2/2. He comprehensively defeated world number one Veselin Topalov in a King's Indian where he was winning from the early middle game. So far all the other games have been drawn so Carlsen already has a one point lead. Round 3 Magnus Carlsen missed various opportunities to win with black against Wang Yue. Magnus Carlsen's roll continued with another win in round 4. This time he won with black in a complex Sicilian. Carlsen faced a conservative approach from Jakovenko but he allowed an apparently dangerous d-pawn to run assessing in fact that he was still at least level and perhaps better. Post first time control he made the win look really quite easy. Everyone else in the tournament is struggling to make chances and apart from Carlsen's three wins all the other games have been drawn. See Malcolm Pein's notes below.

Round 5. Magnus Carlsen takes his score to 4.5/5 going into the rest day. He beat Teimour Radjabov when the latter couldn't thread his way through complications in a Sicilian. Radjabov was the first to diverge from their game at Linares earlier in the year with 8.d5. Carlsen allow Radjabov's knight's to become active but at the expense of complications. 23....0-0 dropped the house in an already difficult position. The other games were drawn and still Carlsen is the only player to win a game.

Round 6 After the first rest day. Magnus Carlsen drew with Peter Leko with black to go to 5/6. Veselin Topalov seemed to take huge risks in defeating Dmitry Jakovenko.

Round 7. Topalov drew with Carlsen in 100 minutes. They were already deep into the game after an hour, reaching a simplified ending which always looked drawish. Although Topalov was a pawn up he couldn't make any progress and the draw was agreed on move 43. Carlsen has two whites and one black in the remaining rounds, it seems the only open question is "how many points he can score now?" It wasn't much more than an hour after this that the remaining games were also drawn leaving Carlsen with a 2 point lead.

News Gujuan Tzu blog http://blog.sina.com.cn/chessnews

Official site (In English): http://www.chess-pearlspring.com/www/chess_pk/2009/en/

2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing (CHN), 28 ix-12 x 2009										cat. XXI (2764)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	*	*	½	.	1	½	1	½	1	.	1	.	5½	2999
2.	Wang Yue	g	CHN	2736	½	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	½	½	½	3½	2763
3.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2813	0	½	½	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	1	3½	2754
4.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2762	0	½	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	½	½	.	3	2714
5.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2757	0	.	½	½	½	.	½	½	*	*	½	.	3	2710
6.	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2742	0	.	½	½	½	0	½	.	½	.	*	*	2½	2667

Round 2 (September 29, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Topalov, Veselin	1-0	41	E90	King's Indian Classical
Leko, Peter	- Radjabov, Teimour	½-½	32	B76	Sicilian Modern Dragon
Jakovenko, Dmitry	- Wang Yue	½-½	35	C43	Petroff's Defence
Round 3 (September 30, 2009)
Wang Yue	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	58	D83	Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Topalov, Veselin	- Leko, Peter	½-½	55	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Radjabov, Teimour	- Jakovenko, Dmitry	½-½	32	C45	Scotch Game
Round 4 (October 1, 2009)
Wang Yue	- Leko, Peter	½-½	29	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Radjabov, Teimour	- Topalov, Veselin	½-½	64	C45	Scotch Game
Jakovenko, Dmitry	- Carlsen, Magnus	0-1	63	B92	Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Round 5 (October 2, 2009)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	25	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Topalov, Veselin	- Wang Yue	½-½	46	D10	Slav Defence
Leko, Peter	- Jakovenko, Dmitry	½-½	51	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Round 6 (October 4, 2009)
Leko, Peter	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	64	D72	Gruenfeld 3.g3
Radjabov, Teimour	- Wang Yue	½-½	30	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Jakovenko, Dmitry	- Topalov, Veselin	0-1	29	D90	Gruenfeld Flohr
Round 7 (October 5, 2009)
Wang Yue	- Jakovenko, Dmitry	½-½	42	D84	Gruenfeld 4.Bf4
Topalov, Veselin	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	43	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Radjabov, Teimour	- Leko, Peter	½-½	34	A05	Various

3) European Club Cup

The European Club Cup takes place 3rd-10th October 2009 in Ohrid MKD. Star players include: Aronian, Ivanchuk, Svidler, Gashimov, Nakamura, Grischuk, Karjakin, Shirov, Mamedyarov, Eljanov, Gelfand etc

Official site: http://www.ecc2009.com/

4) VII Marx Gyorgy Memorial

The VII Marx Gyorgy Memorial took place 24th September-5th October 2009 Paks, Hungary.

Zoltan Almasi took clear first place in the GM section with 7/10.

The women's section, the I Teller Ede Memorial saw Szidonia Vajda take clear first place with 7.5/10.

Official site: http://www.ase.hu/marxgy/2009

VII Marx Gyorgy Mem Paks (HUN), 25 ix-5 x 2009										cat. XVI (2631)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Almasi, Zoltan	g	HUN	2685	*	*	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	7	2768
2.	Berkes, Ferenc	g	HUN	2663	½	½	*	*	½	1	0	1	½	½	1	½	6	2696
3.	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	g	IND	2634	0	½	½	0	*	*	1	½	½	1	1	½	5½	2665
4.	Meier, Georg	g	GER	2664	½	0	1	0	0	½	*	*	½	½	1	½	4½	2587
5.	Safarli, Eltaj	g	AZE	2587	0	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	*	½	1	4½	2603
6.	Acs, Peter	g	HUN	2550	0	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	0	*	*	2½	2453

Round 5 (September 29, 2009)
Berkes, Ferenc	- Almasi, Zoltan	½-½	18	E36	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	- Meier, Georg	1-0	38	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Safarli, Eltaj	- Acs, Peter	½-½	42	C92	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Round 6 (October 1, 2009)
Almasi, Zoltan	- Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	½-½	16	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Berkes, Ferenc	- Safarli, Eltaj	½-½	47	D97	Gruenfeld Russian
Acs, Peter	- Meier, Georg	½-½	28	C10	French Rubinstein
Round 7 (October 2, 2009)
Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	- Safarli, Eltaj	1-0	35	D70	Gruenfeld Defence
Meier, Georg	- Almasi, Zoltan	0-1	49	E08	Catalan
Acs, Peter	- Berkes, Ferenc	½-½	100	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Round 8 (October 3, 2009)
Almasi, Zoltan	- Acs, Peter	½-½	31	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Berkes, Ferenc	- Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	1-0	39	D02	Queen's Pawn Game
Safarli, Eltaj	- Meier, Georg	½-½	28	C13	French Classical
Round 9 (October 4, 2009)
Almasi, Zoltan	- Berkes, Ferenc	½-½	29	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Meier, Georg	- Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	½-½	35	D27	QGA
Acs, Peter	- Safarli, Eltaj	0-1	53	B50	Sicilian Defence
Round 10 (October 5, 2009)
Berkes, Ferenc	- Meier, Georg	1-0	42	E04	Catalan
Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	- Acs, Peter	½-½	40	C45	Scotch Game
Safarli, Eltaj	- Almasi, Zoltan	½-½	14	C67	Ruy Lopez Berlin

I Teller Ede Mem WGM Paks (HUN), 25 ix-5 x 2009										cat. III (2320)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Vajda, Szidonia	m	HUN	2375	*	*	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	7½	2501
2.	Kochetkova, Julia	wg	RUS	2305	0	½	*	*	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	5	2322
3.	Majdan, Joanna	wg	POL	2361	½	½	½	½	*	*	1	1	0	½	0	0	4½	2275
4.	Doluhanova, Evgeniya	wg	UKR	2341	0	½	½	½	0	0	*	*	½	½	1	1	4½	2279
5.	Toth, Lili	wm	HUN	2171	0	0	½	1	1	½	½	½	*	*	½	0	4½	2313
6.	Gara, Ticia	wg	HUN	2364	½	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	½	1	*	*	4	2238

Round 5 (September 29, 2009)
Kochetkova, Julia	- Majdan, Joanna	½-½	41	B81	Sicilian Keres Attack
Doluhanova, Evgeniya	- Vajda, Szidonia	0-1	51	C45	Scotch Game
Gara, Ticia	- Toth, Lili	½-½	97	C06	French Tarrasch
Round 6 (October 1, 2009)
Vajda, Szidonia	- Kochetkova, Julia	½-½	55	B22	Sicilian Alapin
Doluhanova, Evgeniya	- Gara, Ticia	1-0	53	B20	Sicilian Wing Gambit
Toth, Lili	- Majdan, Joanna	½-½	38	E61	King's Indian Defence
Round 7 (October 2, 2009)
Kochetkova, Julia	- Gara, Ticia	1-0	39	B81	Sicilian Keres Attack
Majdan, Joanna	- Vajda, Szidonia	½-½	60	C50	Giuoco Piano
Toth, Lili	- Doluhanova, Evgeniya	½-½	53	D35	QGD Exchange
Round 8 (October 3, 2009)
Vajda, Szidonia	- Toth, Lili	1-0	37	C03	French Tarrasch
Doluhanova, Evgeniya	- Kochetkova, Julia	½-½	25	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Gara, Ticia	- Majdan, Joanna	1-0	56	B56	Sicilian Defence
Round 9 (October 4, 2009)
Vajda, Szidonia	- Doluhanova, Evgeniya	½-½	41	B22	Sicilian Alapin
Majdan, Joanna	- Kochetkova, Julia	½-½	28	B23	Sicilian Closed
Toth, Lili	- Gara, Ticia	0-1	66	A62	Benoni
Round 10 (October 5, 2009)
Kochetkova, Julia	- Toth, Lili	0-1	27	A30	English Symmetrical
Doluhanova, Evgeniya	- Majdan, Joanna	0-1	40	B20	Sicilian Wing Gambit
Gara, Ticia	- Vajda, Szidonia	0-1	53	C66	Ruy Lopez Berlin

5) FIDE Women's Grand Prix Nanjing China

The FIDE Women's Grand Prix has a tournament in Nanjing, China, alongside the main 2nd Pearl Spring tournament 27th Sept - 9th October 2009.

Official site (In English): http://www.chess-pearlspring.com/www/chess_pk/2009/en/ and also http://nanjing2009.fide.com/schedule.html

FIDE GP w Nanjing (CHN), 28 ix-9 x 2009													cat. VIII (2447)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Dzagnidze, Nana	g	GEO	2535	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	1
2.	Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	wg	MGL	2418	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1
3.	Shen Yang	wg	CHN	2453	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1
4.	Fierro Baquero, Martha L	m	ECU	2386	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	2488
5.	Kovanova, Baira	wg	RUS	2408	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2468
6.	Mkrtchian, Lilit	m	ARM	2468	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	2408
7.	Xu Yuhua	g	CHN	2485	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	½	2542
8.	Zhao Xue	g	CHN	2542	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	½	2485
9.	Zhu Chen	g	QAT	2488	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	2386
10.	Ju Wenjun		CHN	2443	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	0
11.	Sebag, Marie	g	FRA	2519	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	0
12.	Yildiz, Betul Cemre	wm	TUR	2224	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	0

Round 1 (September 28, 2009)
Dzagnidze, Nana	- Ju Wenjun	1-0	88	E74	King's Indian Averbakh
Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	- Yildiz, Betul Cemre	1-0	36	D20	QGA
Shen Yang	- Sebag, Marie	1-0	38	D43	Anti-Meran Gambit
Fierro Baquero, Martha L	- Zhu Chen	½-½	105	C90	Ruy Lopez
Mkrtchian, Lilit	- Kovanova, Baira	½-½	39	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Xu Yuhua	- Zhao Xue	½-½	48	B83	Sicilian Scheveningen

6) Baku Open

The Baku Open took place September 20th-30th 2009 in Baku in conjunction with the Independence Day of the Azerbaijan Republic, Prize fund $60,000 and a first prize of $10,000 dollars. Total - 30 prizes. Boris Savchenko edged out Gata Kamsky on tie-break, both finished on 7.5/9. It doesn't appear there will be anymore games published. Round 9 games now available.

Official site: http://www.azerichess.az/ - http://www.chess.az/DefaultEn.html and live games: http://livegames.chess.az/tfd.htm and also results at: http://chess-results.com/tnr25499.aspx

Open Baku (AZE), 21-29 ix 2009 Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Rk.	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	Savchenko Boris	GM	RUS	2638	7.5	2490	7
2	Kamsky Gata	GM	USA	2692	7.5	2419	6
3	Smirin Ilia	GM	ISR	2648	7	2462	5
4	Sanikidze Tornike	GM	GEO	2600	7	2437	6
5	Erdogdu Mert	IM	TUR	2467	7	2340	6
6	Guliev Logman	IM	AZE	2426	7	2217	6
7	Mamedyarov Shakhriyar	GM	AZE	2721	6.5	2454	5
8	Gelashvili Tamaz	GM	GEO	2615	6.5	2430	4
9	Benidze Davit	IM	GEO	2422	6.5	2419	4
10	Mamedov Nidjat	GM	AZE	2620	6.5	2383	5
11	Shanava Konstantine	GM	GEO	2525	6.5	2381	6
12	Ibrahimov Rasul	GM	AZE	2553	6.5	2370	4
13	Durarbeyli Vasif	IM	AZE	2443	6.5	2360	5
14	Maghalashvili Davit	IM	GEO	2481	6.5	2301	5
15	Can Emre	IM	TUR	2455	6.5	2194	5
16	Guliyev Namig	GM	AZE	2525	6.5	2158	6
17	Sulashvili Malkhaz	IM	GEO	2476	6	2407	5
18	Azaladze Shota	IM	GEO	2423	6	2371	4
19	Jojua Davit	GM	GEO	2531	6	2360	4
20	Mikhalevski Victor	GM	ISR	2625	6	2326	5
21	Guseinov Gadir	GM	AZE	2667	6	2237	5
22	Khotenashvili Bela	IM	GEO	2438	6	2232	6
23	Morchiashvili Bachana	IM	GEO	2414	6	2183	4
24	Yilmaz Mustafa	FM	TUR	2475	6	2127	5
25	Abbasov Farid	GM	AZE	2552	6	2114	6
26	Mamedjarova Zeinab	WGM	AZE	2285	6	2061	5
27	Rahmanov Shakhiyar		AZE	2235	6	2000	6
28	Agaragimov Djakhangir	FM	AZE	2313	6	1909	5
29	Kazimova Narmin Nizami Qizi	WIM	AZE	2228	6	1813	6
30	Khurtsidze Nino	IM	GEO	2420	5.5	2432	4
153 players

7) SPICE Cup

The SPICE Cup took place 19th-29th September 2009 at Texas Tech University, Lubbock USA. Yuriy Kuzubov, Dmitry Andreikin and Rauf Mamedov finished on 5½/10, the rest of the field on 4½/10.

Susan Polgar site: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com

LIVE Coverage: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/spice/SPICE_CUP_2009_LIVE_COVERAGE.php - Official website: http://www.chessdailynews.com/

SPICE Cup A Lubbuck (USA), 19-29 ix 2009											cat. XVI (2631)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Kuzubov, Yuriy	g	UKR	2635	*	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	5½	2665
2.	Andreikin, Dmitry	g	RUS	2648	½	½	*	*	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	5½	2663
3.	Mamedov, Rauf	g	AZE	2645	½	½	½	½	*	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	5½	2663
4.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2646	½	½	½	½	½	½	*	*	½	½	0	½	4½	2591
5.	Akobian, Varuzhan	g	USA	2626	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	*	*	0	1	4½	2595
6.	Hammer, Jon Ludvig	g	NOR	2583	0	½	½	½	½	0	1	½	1	0	*	*	4½	2604

Round 9 (September 28, 2009)
Andreikin, Dmitry	- Kuzubov, Yuriy	½-½	20	A45	Trompowsky
Mamedov, Rauf	- So, Wesley	½-½	17	B22	Sicilian Alapin
Akobian, Varuzhan	- Hammer, Jon Ludvig	1-0	37	D80	Gruenfeld 4.Bg5
Round 10 (September 29, 2009)
Kuzubov, Yuriy	- Akobian, Varuzhan	½-½	12	C01	French Exchange
So, Wesley	- Andreikin, Dmitry	½-½	18	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Hammer, Jon Ludvig	- Mamedov, Rauf	0-1	41	A42	Modern Defence

SPICE Cup B Lubbuck (USA), 19-29 ix 2009												cat. X (2496)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Perelshteyn, Eugene	g	USA	2534	*	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	6	2617
2.	Bhat, Vinay S	g	USA	2473	½	*	½	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	6	2623
3.	Finegold, Benjamin	m	USA	2513	0	½	*	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	6	2619
4.	Robson, Ray	m	USA	2491	½	0	½	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	5½	2576
5.	Papp, Gabor	m	HUN	2558	½	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	1	1	5	2532
6.	Rensch, Daniel	f	USA	2392	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	0	½	½	4	2464
7.	Kuljasevic, Davorin	m	CRO	2547	½	½	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	4	2447
8.	Antal, Gergely	m	HUN	2479	0	0	0	½	0	1	½	*	1	1	4	2455
9.	Diamant, Andre	m	BRA	2520	0	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	*	½	2½	2327
10.	Ippolito, Dean	m	USA	2455	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	*	2	2280

Round 3 (September 21, 2009)
Finegold, Benjamin	- Kuljasevic, Davorin	1-0	15	D15	Slav Defence
Robson, Ray	- Bhat, Vinay S	0-1	52	C96	Ruy Lopez
Papp, Gabor	- Ippolito, Dean	1-0	47	C24	Bishop's Opening
Antal, Gergely	- Perelshteyn, Eugene	0-1	49	B02	Alekhine's Defence
Diamant, Andre	- Rensch, Daniel	½-½	23	C48	Four Knights Rubinstein
Round 4 (September 22, 2009)
Perelshteyn, Eugene	- Diamant, Andre	1-0	22	B23	Sicilian Closed
Bhat, Vinay S	- Papp, Gabor	½-½	33	E15	Queens Indian
Finegold, Benjamin	- Robson, Ray	½-½	20	D46	Semi-Slav Defence
Kuljasevic, Davorin	- Rensch, Daniel	½-½	32	E17	Queens Indian
Ippolito, Dean	- Antal, Gergely	0-1	55	D78	Gruenfeld 3.g3
Round 5 (September 23, 2009)
Robson, Ray	- Kuljasevic, Davorin	½-½	78	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Papp, Gabor	- Finegold, Benjamin	0-1	67	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Rensch, Daniel	- Perelshteyn, Eugene	½-½	47	B13	Caro Kann Exchange
Antal, Gergely	- Bhat, Vinay S	0-1	27	C45	Scotch Game
Diamant, Andre	- Ippolito, Dean	½-½	49	D48	Queens Gambit Meran
Round 6 (September 24, 2009)
Bhat, Vinay S	- Diamant, Andre	½-½	28	D20	QGA
Finegold, Benjamin	- Antal, Gergely	1-0	53	D03	Queen's Pawn Game
Robson, Ray	- Papp, Gabor	1-0	35	B78	Sicilian Modern Dragon
Kuljasevic, Davorin	- Perelshteyn, Eugene	½-½	38	E94	King's Indian Classical
Ippolito, Dean	- Rensch, Daniel	½-½	51	E20	Nimzo Indian
Round 7 (September 26, 2009)
Perelshteyn, Eugene	- Ippolito, Dean	½-½	27	E47	Nimzo Indian
Papp, Gabor	- Kuljasevic, Davorin	½-½	45	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Rensch, Daniel	- Bhat, Vinay S	½-½	21	C45	Scotch Game
Antal, Gergely	- Robson, Ray	½-½	63	C04	French Tarrasch
Diamant, Andre	- Finegold, Benjamin	½-½	8	C48	Four Knights Rubinstein
Round 8 (September 27, 2009)
Bhat, Vinay S	- Perelshteyn, Eugene	½-½	16	D38	QGD Ragozin
Finegold, Benjamin	- Rensch, Daniel	½-½	26	E39	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Robson, Ray	- Diamant, Andre	1-0	24	B46	Sicilian Paulsen
Papp, Gabor	- Antal, Gergely	1-0	42	B80	Sicilian Scheveningen
Kuljasevic, Davorin	- Ippolito, Dean	½-½	29	D31	Semi-Slav Defence
Round 9 (September 28, 2009)
Perelshteyn, Eugene	- Finegold, Benjamin	1-0	61	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Rensch, Daniel	- Robson, Ray	½-½	43	B61	Sicilian Rauzer
Antal, Gergely	- Kuljasevic, Davorin	½-½	14	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Diamant, Andre	- Papp, Gabor	0-1	75	B42	Sicilian Paulsen
Ippolito, Dean	- Bhat, Vinay S	0-1	37	D45	Anti-Meran Variations

8) US Women's Championship

The US Women's Championship takes place in Saint Louis 4th-13th October 2009.

Official site: http://www.saintlouischessclub.org/US-Womens-Championship-2009http://www.saintlouischessclub.org/US-Womens-Championship-2009"

ch-USA w Saint Louis (USA), 4-13 x 2009												cat. II (2292)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Baginskaite, Camilla	wg	USA	2317	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	1
2.	Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	wg	USA	2320	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1
3.	Goletiani, Rusudan	wg	USA	2391	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1
4.	Zatonskih, Anna	m	USA	2462	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	1
5.	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2458	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	½	2220
6.	Melekhina, Alisa	wm	USA	2220	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	½	2458
7.	Fan Yun		USA	1935	.	0	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	0
8.	Abrahamyan, Tatev	wf	USA	2275	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	0
9.	Zenyuk, Iryna	wf	USA	2285	.	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	*	.	0
10.	Battsetseg, Tsagaan	wm	USA	2258	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	0

Round 1 (October 4, 2009)
Baginskaite, Camilla	- Abrahamyan, Tatev	1-0	29	A57	Volga Gambit
Krush, Irina	- Melekhina, Alisa	½-½	23	E97	King's Indian Classical
Fan Yun	- Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	0-1	74	B35	Sicilian Defence
Zenyuk, Iryna	- Zatonskih, Anna	0-1	39	A91	Dutch Classical
Battsetseg, Tsagaan	- Goletiani, Rusudan	0-1	41	B42	Sicilian Paulsen

9) 9th Winterthur Chess Week

The 9th Master Open takes place in Winterthur 3rd-10th October 2009.

Official site: http://www.svwinterthur.ch/schachwoche/indexEngl.html

9th Master Open Winterthur (SUI), 3-10 x 2009 Leading Round 3 of 9 Standings:
Rank	Name		Elo	NatRating	Attr	Town/Club	FED	Pts	Buchh	+	=	-
1.	Sipos,Istvan	FM	2487			Tatabanya	HUN	3.0	4.5	3	0	0
2.	Ulybin,Mikhail	GM	2533			Ekaterinburg	RUS	2.5	6.5	2	1	0
3.	Prohaszka,Peter	IM	2510			Vac	HUN	2.5	5.5	2	1	0
3.	Lund,Silas	IM	2392			Kopenhagen	DEN	2.5	5.5	2	1	0
5.	Haimovich,Tal	IM	2422			Ramat-Hasharon	ISR	2.5	5.0	2	1	0
6.	Bindrich,Falko	GM	2516			Zittau	GER	2.5	4.5	2	1	0
7.	Toth,Ervin	IM	2392			Kiskunhalas	HUN	2.5	4.5	2	1	0
8.	Ballmann,Martin	IM	2386	2374		Winterthur	SUI	2.5	4.5	2	1	0
8.	Ansell,Simon	IM	2380			Harrow	ENG	2.5	4.5	2	1	0
10.	Berczes,David	GM	2521			Budapest	HUN	2.5	4.0	2	1	0
11.	Hajnal,Zoltan	IM	2409			Fuezesabony	HUN	2.0	5.0	1	2	0
12.	Blasko,Istvan	FM	2316			Vamosgyoerk	HUN	2.0	5.0	2	0	1
13.	Kamber,Bruno	FM	2325	2335		Olten	SUI	2.0	5.0	2	0	1
14.	Mede,Istvan		2267			Paszto	HUN	2.0	4.5	1	2	0
15.	Bogner,Sebastian	GM	2502		J	Neuhausen	GER	2.0	4.5	1	2	0
16.	Nabavi,Parwis		2176	2169		Freiburg i. Br.	GER	2.0	4.5	1	2	0
17.	Battaglini,Gabrie		2360			Paris	FRA	2.0	4.5	2	0	1
17.	Schleicher,Guido		2269	2349			GER	2.0	4.5	2	0	1
17.	Meyer,Bernhard		2166	2116		Thun	SUI	2.0	4.5	2	0	1
20.	Feuerstack,Aljosc		2395			Eckernfoerde	GER	2.0	3.0	2	0	1
21.	Nuri,Kambez		2173	2174	J	Richterswil	SUI	2.0	3.0	2	0	1
22.	Moripen,Markus		1901		J	Oslo	NOR	1.5	5.5	1	1	1
58 players

10) Spanish Championship

The 74th Spanish Championship took place in Cala Major - Palma de Mallorca, 26th September - 4th October 2009. 9 Round Swiss. Francisco Vallejo Pons won easily with 8/9. Games from the final three rounds missing although I have managed to get some round 9.

Official site: http://www.escacs.org/ce2009/index.php - Results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr25795.aspx - Details

74th ch-ESP Cala Major (ESP), 26 ix - 4 x 2009 Leading Round 2 of 9 Standings:
Rk.	Name	Ti	FED	Elo	Pts.	Des 1	Des 2	Des 3
1	Vallejo Pons Francisco	GM	ESP	2696	8	49	42	41.5
2	Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel	GM	ESP	2570	7	50	42	37
3	Del Rio De Angelis Salvador G	GM	ESP	2559	7	48.5	41.5	36
4	Cacho Reigadas Sergio	IM	ESP	2484	7	48.5	40.5	37
5	De La Villa Garcia Jesus Maria	GM	ESP	2481	6.5	49.5	42.5	36
6	Illescas Cordoba Miguel	GM	ESP	2591	6.5	49.5	41.5	36
7	Arizmendi Martinez Julen Luis	GM	ESP	2532	6.5	47	40	35
8	Alonso Rosell Alvar	IM	ESP	2487	6.5	44.5	38	34.5
9	Camacho Collados Marcos		ESP	2231	6.5	44	37	32.5
10	Fernandez Siles Luis	FM	ESP	2334	6.5	43.5	37	33
11	Oms Pallisse Josep	GM	ESP	2498	6.5	39.5	34	29
12	Vassallo Barroche Mauricio	IM	ESP	2411	6	47	40	32.5
13	Cabrera Alexis	GM	ESP	2529	6	47	39	34.5
14	Recuero Guerra David	IM	ESP	2492	6	46.5	39.5	32
15	Teran Alvarez Ismael	IM	ESP	2432	6	46.5	38.5	32.5
16	Cuenca Jimenez Jose Fernando	IM	ESP	2460	6	45	38	31
17	Valmana Canto Jaime	FM	ESP	2332	6	44.5	36.5	30.5
18	Camacho Collados Jose	FM	ESP	2401	6	44	37.5	31
19	Alvarez Fernandez Enrique	FM	ESP	2340	6	44	37.5	31
20	Mascaro March Pedro	FM	ESP	2369	6	43.5	36.5	32
21	Aloma Vidal Robert	IM	ESP	2462	6	40.5	34.5	32.5
22	Gaya Llodra Juan		ESP	2218	6	40	33.5	28
23	Vega Gutierrez Sabrina	WGM	ESP	2357	6	39	32	30
24	Menvielle Laccourreye Augusto	FM	ESP	2254	5.5	47	40	30.5
25	Bellon Lopez Juan Manuel	GM	ESP	2430	5.5	46.5	40	33
26	Vehi Bach Victor Manuel	IM	ESP	2381	5.5	44.5	36.5	31
27	Del Rey Diego	FM	ESP	2419	5.5	43	36.5	29.5
28	Gutierrez Castillo Paloma	WIM	ESP	2151	5.5	43	36.5	27.5
29	Fenollar Jorda Manuel	FM	ESP	2311	5.5	42.5	35.5	28.5
30	Garcia-Ortega Mendez Jose M		ESP	2277	5.5	42	36	29.5
31	Narciso Dublan Marc	GM	ESP	2533	5.5	38.5	32.5	26
32	Estremera Panos Sergio	IM	ESP	2402	5.5	38	31.5	27.5
33	Barcelo Pujadas Pedro Jose		ESP	2249	5.5	37	31	25
34	Garza Marco Sergio	IM	ESP	2447	5	48	40	33
35	Astasio Lopez David		ESP	2315	5	45.5	38.5	29.5
119 players

11) 18th Croatian Team Championship

The 18th Croatian Team Championship took place 21st-29th September 2009.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr25640.aspx - Official site: http://www.crochess.com/

18th TCh-CRO Sibenik (CRO), 21-29 ix 2009 Round 8 of 9 Standings:
Rk.	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	ETF-OSIJEK, Osijek	*	2½	3½	3½	3	4½	4	3½	5	4	15	33,5	191,00
2	MLADOST, Zagreb	3½	*	2½	2½	4½	3	4	4½	4	3½	13	32,0	161,75
3	ZAGREB, Zagreb	2½	3½	*	3	4½	3	3	3½	4½	4	13	31,5	163,00
4	DJURO DJAKOVIC-HOLDING,Sl. Brod	2½	3½	3	*	2½	4	3	4½	4	4½	12	31,5	149,25
5	LIBURNIJA, Rijeka	3	1½	1½	3½	*	2½	4	3½	4	3½	11	27,0	136,25
6	RIJEKA, Rijeka	1½	3	3	2	3½	*	4	3½	4	2	10	26,5	126,25
7	MRAVINCE DC, Mravince	2	2	3	3	2	2	*	3	4½	4½	7	26,0	82,00
8	GRGIN DOL, Pozega	2½	1½	2½	1½	2½	2½	3	*	3	4	4	23,0	42,75
9	PULA, Pula	1	2	1½	2	2	2	1½	3	*	3½	3	18,5	32,00
10	A1 SPLIT, Split	2	2½	2	1½	2½	4	1½	2	2½	*	2	20,5	26,50

12) XIX Open de Gros

The XIX Open de Gros Memorial Javier Luengo Vazquez took place in Donostia, San Sebastian 25th September - 2nd October 2009. Games from rounds 3 and 6 not yet available.

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr25366.aspx

XIX Open de Gros Donostia (ESP), 25 ix-2 x 2009
Rk.	Name	Ti	FED	RtgI	Pts.	Rp
1	Mirzoev Azer	GM	AZE	2584	7.5	2658
2	Ninov Nikolai	IM	BUL	2532	7	2550
3	Inkiov Ventzislav	GM	BUL	2465	6.5	2379
4	Marholev Dimitar	IM	BUL	2413	6.5	2365
5	Georgiev Krum	GM	BUL	2466	6.5	2365
6	Meijers Viesturs	GM	LAT	2471	6.5	2399
7	Argandona Riveiro Inigo	IM	ESP	2375	6.5	2321
8	Paunovic Dragan	GM	SRB	2556	6	2409
9	Gaponenko Inna	IM	UKR	2438	6	2320
10	Hernandez Elvis	FM	DOM	2284	6	2096
11	Zaballa Zarzosa Jon		ESP	1831	6	2098
12	Alvarado Fernandez Mikel		ESP	2016	6	1983
13	Huerga Leache Mikel	IM	ESP	2445	5.5	2332
14	Martin Alvarez Inigo		ESP	2227	5.5	2126
15	Nogues Fernandez Ramon		ESP	1862	5.5	2050
16	Guijarro Galan Jose Luis		ESP	2085	5.5	2078
17	Sanchez Garcia Jose Miguel		ESP	1858	5.5	1941
18	Tholey Jean-Paul		FRA	2002	5.5	1979
19	Darrigues Alain		FRA	1999	5.5	1938
20	Fernandez Zubitur Jokin		ESP	1869	5.5	2040
21	Maruejols Claude		FRA	2052	5	2004
22	Segovia Sanchez Antonio		ESP	2019	5	1836
23	Zubia Aramburu Mikel		ESP	1863	5	1862
24	Bello Castano Diego		ESP	1928	5	1910
25	Tung Siu Hung		ESP	1873	5	1772
26	Estevez Pegenaute Eduardo		ESP	1503	5	1751
27	Espin Laborde Jesus Maria		ESP	1804	5	1749
28	Elduayen Etxabe Inaki		ESP	1781	5	1877
29	Lazkano Gaite Tomas		ESP	1731	5	1850
30	Olabe Odriozola Eduardo		ESP	1830	5	1858
31	Tung Kai Ming		ESP	1966	4.5	1927
	Rodriguez Cabrera Fco Javier		ESP	1965	4.5	1873
	Diez Viera Oscar		ESP	1831	4.5	2017
	Markina Amutxastegi Fernando		ESP	1807	4.5	1690
	Burgana Lardizabal Jose Angel		ESP	1790	4.5	1605
	Izquierdo Arruferia Joseba		ESP	1790	4.5	1931
	Ezkerro Hernandez Pablo		ESP	1704	4.5	1787
38	Izagirre Alsua Aritz		ESP	1837	4	1917
	Carazo Paul Jose Maria		ESP	1778	4	1707
	Moreau David		ESP	0	4	1796
	Cotta Esnaola Andoni		ESP	1724	4	1634
	Etxeberria Urteaga Jon		ESP	0	4	1646
	Moreiro Sanchez Silvestre		ESP	1663	4	1679
	Lopez Zorzano Joseba		ESP	0	4	1685
	Burgos Arratibel Javier		ESP	1631	4	1613
	Sanchez Merino Christian		ESP	1618	4	1630
	Portugal Sarasola Martin		ESP	1613	4	1741
	Vallverdu Verge Carme		ESP	1600	4	1668
	Garcia Nestar Daniel		ESP	1562	4	1697
	Mohseni Neik		AFG	0	4	1803
51	Urruticoechea Sarriegui Jose A		ESP	0	3.5	1558
	Santos Etxepare Agustin		ESP	1624	3.5	1502
	Jauregi Barandiaran Jon		ESP	0	3.5	1532
	Bremont Antoine		FRA	1536	3.5	1643
	Juaristi Izaga Jose Ignacio		ESP	1491	3.5	1429
	Hernandez Sanchez Inaki		ESP	1480	3.5	1653
69 players

13) 1st Francophone Chess Festival

The International Championship of French-speaking countries took place in Arvier (Aosta Valley). Jean Hebert won on tie-break. 28 players from 14 countries. Games from round 6 are missing.

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

1st Francophone Chess Festival Arvier (ITA), 27 ix-3 x 2009
1	4	IM	Hebert Jean	2416	CAN	6.5 45.50
2	2	GM	Sanchez Joseph	2463	PHI	6.5 44.00
3	1	IM	Wirig Anthony	2491	FRA	6.5 43.00
4	7	IM	Berend Fred	2371	LUX	6.0 45.00
5	5	IM	Arnaudov G. Petar	2408	BUL	6.0 44.00
6	6	IM	Landenbergue Claude	2403	SUI	5.5 42.50
7	3	FM	Hautot Stephan	2420	BEL	5.0 45.50
8	14	--	Chiarotto Filippo	2053	ITA	5.0 42.00
9	10	FM	Baciu Stefan	2177	ROU	5.0 41.00
10	9	--	Jarraya Zied	2192	TUN	5.0 41.00
11	12	--	Saint-Amand Paul	2131	CAN	5.0 40.00
12	8	FM	Van Hoolandt Patrick	2229	MNC	4.5 41.50
13	13	--	Fernandez Lopez Joan	2080	AND	4.5 38.00
14	25	--	Bouzgarrou Houdhaifa	1440	TUN	4.5 35.00
15	22	--	Dubois Claude	1857	SUI	4.5 29.50
16	15	--	Durandeau Jean-Marie	2015	FRA	4.0 36.00
17	19	--	Labarthe Arnaud	1871	FRA	4.0 35.00
18	17	--	Frank Albert	1932	BEL	4.0 34.50
19	21	--	De Leeuw Johannes	1858	FRA	4.0 33.00
20	24	--	Marzouk Amira	1703	TUN	4.0 31.50
21	11	--	Bazil Joslin	2152	HAI	4.0 28.50
22	16	--	Guillaumat Jean-Pier	1953	FRA	3.5 32.00
23	23	--	Vandervorst Pascal	1818	BEL	3.5 30.50
24	18	--	Belabbas Abdellah	1915	ITA	3.0 34.50
25	20	--	Coqueraut Lodevik	1861	ITA	2.5 33.00

14) Semifinal of the Italian Championship

The Semifinal of the Italian Championship. 30 players. Among the players GM Lexy Ortega, IM Luca Shitaj, (IM) Daniele Genocchio, IM Danil Dvirny, IM Denis and IM Axel Rombaldoni, IM Pierluigi Piscopo, IM Daniel Contin, IM Paolo Vezzosi, IM Spartaco Sarno. The top 5 play in the final of the Italian Championship starting on November 20th again in Aosta Valley, in the town of Sarre. GM Fabiano Caruana (winner of the last 2 editions) this year will not play the Italian Championship, because he got a "wild card" by Fide to play World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk: the two events are running in the same days. I didn't really understand the format and will try and sort it out for next week.

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

15) 6th Highlands Open International Chess Festival

6th Highlands Open International Chess Festival 2009, took place in the town of Zdar nad Sazavou 26th September - 4th October 2009. IM tournament, FIDE open, active chess and blitz tournament are part of the festival. I will round up the results next week.

Official site: http://www.czechtour.net/highlands-open/

16) US Chess League

The US Chess League got under way on August 31st 2009. Week four took place on the 21st and 23rd of September 2009.

http://www.uschessleague.com/

US Chess League ICC (INT), 31 viii - 5 xii 2009
EASTERN DIVISION	W	L	Game Points	Opps Avg Rating	Opps Record
New Jersey	5.0	0.0	13.0/20 (65%)	2409	7.5-10.5 (42%)
Boston	4.0	1.0	12.5/20 (63%)	2410	6.5-13.5 (33%)
New York	2.5	2.5	11.5/20 (58%)	2427	15.0-3.0 (83%)
Baltimore	2.5	2.5	10.5/20 (53%)	2400	7.0-13.0 (35%)
Queens	2.0	3.0	8.0/20 (40%)	2417	7.5-12.5 (38%)
Philadelphia	1.5	3.5	8.0/20 (40%)	2414	12.0-8.0 (60%)
Carolina	0.0	5.0	5.5/20 (34%)	2430	12.0-8.0 (60%)
WESTERN DIVISION	W	L	Game Points	Opps Avg Rating	Opps Record
Seattle	4.0	1.0	12.0/20 (60%)	2420	10.5-9.5 (53%)
San Francisco	3.5	1.5	11.5/20 (58%)	2423	11.0-9.0 (55%)
Miami	3.5	1.5	11.5/20 (58%)	2389	6.5-13.5 (33%)
Arizona	2.0	3.0	10.5/20 (53%)	2401	8.0-12.0 (40%)
Tennessee	2.0	3.0	9.5/20 (50%)	2408	9.0-11.0 (45%)
Dallas	1.5	3.5	9.0/20 (48%)	2437	13.5-6.5 (68%)
Chicago	1.0	4.0	7.0/20 (35%)	2419	12.0-8.0 (60%)

US Chess League ICC (INT), 31 viii - 5 xii 2009
Week1: Monday, August 31st 2009
1	Queens Pioneers	vs	Boston Blitz	Boston	3-1
2	Miami Sharks	vs	Dallas Destiny	Miami	3-1
3	San Francisco Mechanics	vs	Seattle Sluggers	Tie	2-2
Week1: Wednesday, September 2nd 2009
4	New York Knights	vs	New Jersey Knockouts	New Jersey	2.5-1.5
5	Carolina Cobras	vs	Baltimore Kingfishers	Carolina	3-1
6	Philadelphia Inventors	vs	Tennessee Tempo	Tennessee	2.5-1.5
7	Arizona Scorpions	vs	Chicago Blaze	Arizona	3.5-0.5
Week2: Tuesday, September 8th 2009
1	New Jersey Knockouts	vs	Philadelphia Inventors	New Jersey	2.5-1.5
2	Queens Pioneers	vs	Baltimore Kingfishers	Tie	2-2
3	Seattle Sluggers	vs	New York Knights	Tie	2-2
Week2: Wednesday, September 9th 2009
4	Boston Blitz	vs	Carolina Cobras	Boston	3-1
5	Chicago Blaze	vs	Miami Sharks	Miami	3-1
6	San Francisco Mechanics	vs	Dallas Destiny	San Francisco	3-1
7	Tennessee Tempo	vs	Arizona Scorpions	Tie	2-2
Week3: Monday, September 14th 2009
1	Carolina Cobras	vs	New Jersey Knockouts	New Jersey	3-1
2	Queens Pioneers	vs	New York Knights	New York	3.5-0.5
3	Baltimore Kingfishers	vs	Philadelphia Inventors	Philadelphia	2.5-1.5
4	Dallas Destiny	vs	Boston Blitz	Dallas	4-0
Week3: Wednesday, September 16th 2009
5	Tennessee Tempo	vs	Chicago Blaze	Chicago	2.5-1.5
6	Miami Sharks	vs	San Francisco Mechanics	San Francisco	3-1
7	Arizona Scorpions	vs	Seattle Sluggers	Seattle	2.5-1.5
Week4: Monday, September 21st 2009
1	Miami Sharks	vs	Tennessee Tempo	Tie	2-2
2	Chicago Blaze	vs	San Francisco Mechanics	San Francisco	2.5-1.5
3	Baltimore Kingfishers	vs	Arizona Scorpions	Baltimore	2.5-1.5
Week4: Wednesday, September 23rd 2009
4	New Jersey Knockouts	vs	New York Knights	New Jersey	2.5-1.5
5	Carolina Cobras	vs	Queens Pioneers	Queens	2.5-1.5
6	Boston Blitz	vs	Philadelphia Inventors	Boston	3.5-0.5
7	Dallas Destiny	vs	Seattle Sluggers	Seattle	3-1
Week5: Monday, September 28th 2009
1	Baltimore Kingfishers	vs	Boston Blitz	Boston	2.5-1.5
2	Miami Sharks	vs	Carolina Cobras	Miami	2.5-1.5
Week5: Wednesday, September 30th 2009
3	Philadelphia Inventors	vs	Queens Pioneers	Tie	2-2
4	New Jersey Knockouts	vs	Chicago Blaze	New Jersey	2.5-1.5
5	New York Knights	vs	SF Mechanics	New York	3-1
6	Arizona Scorpions	vs	Dallas Destiny	Tie	2-2
7	Seattle Sluggers	vs	Tennessee Tempo	Seattle	2.5-1.5
Week6: Monday, October 5th 2009
1	New York Knights	vs	Baltimore Kingfishers	7:15 PM ET
2	Chicago Blaze	vs	Philadelphia Inventors	8:00 PM ET
3	Arizona Scorpions	vs	New Jersey Knockouts	9:00 PM ET
Week6: Wednesday, October 7th 2009
4	Carolina Cobras	vs	Boston Blitz	7:00 PM ET
5	Tennessee Tempo	vs	Dallas Destiny	8:00 PM ET
6	San Francisco Mechanics	vs	Miami Sharks	8:30 PM ET
7	Queens Pioneers	vs	Seattle Sluggers	9:00 PM ET
Week7: Monday, October 12th 2009
1	New York Knights	vs	Philadelphia Inventors	7:00 PM ET
2	Carolina Cobras	vs	Dallas Destiny	8:00 PM ET
3	Seattle Sluggers	vs	Miami Sharks	9:00 PM ET
Week7: Wednesday, October 14th 2009
4	Boston Blitz	vs	Queens Pioneers	7:00 PM ET
5	Baltimore Kingfishers	vs	NJ Knockouts	7:15 PM ET
6	Chicago Blaze	vs	Tennessee Tempo	8:00 PM ET
7	Arizona Scorpions	vs	SF Mechanics	9:00 PM ET
Week8: Monday, October 19th 2009
1	New Jersey Knockouts	vs	Boston Blitz	7:00 PM ET
2	Dallas Destiny	vs	Miami Sharks	8:00 PM ET
3	Chicago Blaze	vs	Arizona Scorpions	9:00 PM ET
Week8: Wednesday, October 21st 2009
4	New York Knights	vs	Carolina Cobras	7:00 PM ET
5	Philadelphia Inventors	vs	Baltimore Kingfishers	7:15 PM ET
6	San Francisco Mechanics	vs	Queens Pioneers	8:30 PM ET
7	Tennessee Tempo	vs	Seattle Sluggers	9:00 PM ET
Week9: Monday, October 26th 2009
1	Queens Pioneers	vs	Carolina Cobras	7:00 PM ET
2	Dallas Destiny	vs	Chicago Blaze	8:00 PM ET
3	San Francisco Mechanics	vs	Tennessee Tempo	9:00 PM ET
Week9: Wednesday, October 28th 2009
4	Philadelphia Inventors	vs	NJ Knockouts	7:00 PM ET
5	Baltimore Kingfishers	vs	New York Knights	7:15 PM ET
6	Boston Blitz	vs	Miami Sharks	7:30 PM ET
7	Seattle Sluggers	vs	Arizona Scorpions	9:00 PM ET
Week10: Wednesday, November 4th 2009
1	Boston Blitz	vs	New York Knights	7:00 PM ET
2	New Jersey Knockouts	vs	Queens Pioneers	7:15 PM ET
3	Philadelphia Inventors	vs	Carolina Cobras	7:30 PM ET
4	Tennessee Tempo	vs	Baltimore Kingfishers	8:00 PM ET
5	Dallas Destiny	vs	San Francisco Mechanics	8:45 PM ET
6	Seattle Sluggers	vs	Chicago Blaze	9:00 PM ET
7	Miami Sharks	vs	Arizona Scorpions	9:15 PM ET

US Chess League ICC (INT), 31 viii - 5 xii 2009
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, November 11th 2009
1	1st Place East	vs	4th Place East	1st Place East gets draw odds and chooses colors
2	2nd Place East	vs	3rd Place East	2nd Place East gets draw odds, 3rd Place East chooses colors
3	1st Place West	vs	4th Place West	1st Place West gets draw odds and chooses colors
4	2nd Place West	vs	3rd Place West	2nd Place West gets draw odds, 3rd Place West chooses colors
Semifinals: Wednesday, November 18th 2009
1	Eastern QF Winner 1	vs	Eastern QF Winner 2	Higher seed gets draw odds, color choice based on seeding
2	Western QF Winner 1	vs	Western QF Winner 2	Higher seed gets draw odds, color choice based on seeding
Championship: Saturday, December 5th 2009
1	Winner of Eastern Semifinals	vs	Winner of Western Semifinals	No draw odds, better regular season record chooses colors Tie results in playoff

17) Forthcoming Events and Links

CECLUB Spanish Teams

The Spanish Teams CECLUB Division de Honor - Grupo I took place 20th-24th September 2009 in Lugo. Escuela Internacional Kasparov Marcote (Gashimov, Vallejo) took first place ahead of Kutxa-Gros (Gelfand, Kasimdzhanov etc) Grupo 2 took place in Montcada 16th-20th September 2009 and saw Linex Magic, Ponomariov, Shirov, Adams etc win.

The final will be in Linares 7th-8th November 2009.

Officials site: http://www.feda.org/ - Results: http://chess-results.com/Tnr25154.aspx

The London Chess Classic in December

The London Chess Classic takes place in the Olympia Conference Centre 7th-15th December 2009

A star studded field comprising England's four leading Grandmasters; Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Luke McShane and David Howell, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, 18 year old Magnus Carlsen widely seen as a future champion, one of China's finest players; Ni Hua and the US Champion Hikaru Nakamura completes the field.

The London Chess Classic 2009 will offer free admission to children for the duration of the event which runs from December 8th to 15th.

Adult tickets are just £10 per day or just £50 for all seven rounds. Adult and junior ticket holders receive admission to the tournament, which is being staged at London's prestigious Olympia Conference Centre, plus a guaranteed seat in the auditorium and access to the Commentary Room where some of the UK's leading Grandmasters will give insights into the play and answer questions.

Full details at: http://www.londonchessclassic.com or call the London Chess Center on 0207 388 2404.

Press Release Malcolm Pein 26th September 2009

A week long chess festival including a FIDE Rated Open with a guaranteed £8000 prize fund will run alongside the London Chess Classic 2009 which takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre from December 8-15 2009. The tournament has been scheduled to allow players to watch the opening moves of the Classic before their games in the Open begin. A minimum of six Grandmasters will be invited to the Open Classic and title norm opportunities will be available.

There will also be a weekend tournament, a one day Rapidplay and every evening, Blitz in the foyer. Anyone entering the Open, Rapidplay or Weekend Classic will receive free entry to the auditorium to watch the main event and they will also be able to access the Grandmaster Commentary Room. In addition the games will be relayed on screens throughout the Olympia Conference Centre.

Details on how to enter and the tournament regulations are at www.Londonchessclassic.com I am delighted to announce that there will be no entry fees to any Classic tournament for children under the age of 16.

For those who would rather just watch, tickets are now on sale and again, admission for children under 16 will be free throughout the event.

Adult tickets are just £10 per day or just £50 for all seven rounds. Adult and junior ticket holders receive admission to the tournament plus a guaranteed seat in the auditorium and access to the Commentary Room where some of the UK's leading Grandmasters will give insights into the play and answer questions. Tickets can be purchased from the London Chess Centre on 0207 388 2404 or online at www.Londonchessclassic.com

The London Chess Classic is the strongest all play all tournament to be held in Britain for 25 years with four of the world's finest players and England's leading quartet of Grandmasters. Heading the field is the fourteenth world champion Vladimir Kramnik and 18 year old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen already hailed as a future champion by Garry Kasparov who has recently agreed to train the chess genius.

Malcolm Pein (IM)

London Chess Centre

Official website: http://www.londonchessclassic.com

1st London Chess Classic (ENG), 8-16 xii 2009. Cat XIX (2699.75) Players list (September ratings)
No	Name	Ti	NAT	Sept Elo	DoB
1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	1990
2	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2772	1975
3	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2735	1987
4	Ni, Hua	g	CHN	2692	1983
5	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2682	1971
6	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2706	1965
7	McShane, Luke J	g	ENG	2615	1984
8	Howell, David W L	g	ENG	2624	1990

Dates of the London Chess Classic. 7th-16th December 2009
Monday	7th December 2009	Press Conference and drawing of lots
Tuesday	8th December 2009	Round 1
Wednesday	9th December 2009	Round 2
Thursday	10th December 2009	Round 3
Friday	11th December 2009	Rest day
Saturday	12th December 2009	Round 4
Sunday	13th December 2009	Round 5
Monday	14th December 2009	Round 6
Tuesday	15th December 2009	Round 7 + Closing ceremony, charity simultaneous

Cappelle-la-Grande 2010

The 26th International Open of Cappelle-la-Grande will take place 13th-20th February 2010.

For every players wishing to be invited, please contact Mr GOUVART at the following address: stephanegouvart@gmail.com phone: +33671624629

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

IV Open Internacional Ciutat de Palma

The IV International Open Chess City of Palma, Iberostar Trophy takes place 21st-28th November 2009.

Official site: http://www.chesspalma.com/index.php?le=en

Czech Chess Christmas 2009-10

Czech Chess Christmas 2009 Litomysl (CZE) 26th December - 2nd January 2010

11th 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 = 800 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, web: http://www.a64.cz/tournaments/litomysl2009/

Hungarian Tournaments October 2009 - April 2010

First Saturday chess tournaments, GM-IM-FM sections, 50-60-70 players usually out of 10-15 countries, for 9...14 days here.

Upcoming tournaments:

1. 3rd-15th of October, GM-IM-FM First Saturday Budapest, org: Nagy Laszlo, firstsat@hu.inter.net,

2. 23rd-31st of October, GM tmt, Pecs, 250 km West from Budapest,

3. 7th-19th of November, GM-IM-FM, First Saturday, Budapest, 4. 26th of Nov-3rd of Dec, Harkany Open, 250 km South-West from Budapest, org: Mr.Fulop, e-mail to: fulopcsa@invitel.hu

5. 5th-17th of December, GM-IM-FM, First Saturday, Budapest,

6. 8th-16th of January 2010 Perenyi memorial Open, 9 rounds Swiss, Budapest, info: Nagy Laszlo,

7. 6th-18th of February 2010 FS GM-IM-FM, Budapest,

8. 6th-18th of March 2010, FS GM-IM-FM Budapest,

9. 19th-28th of March 2010 26th Budapest Spring Festival, 9 rounds Swiss Open, org: Nagy Laszlo

10.3rd-16th of April 2010 FS GM-IM-FM Budapest

Contact: Nagy, Laszlo International chess organizer, member of the FIDE organizers' committee, "GENS UNA SUMUS" ET "PACTA SUND SERVANDA" http://www.firstsaturday.hu

Possible in the website online chat also... Mobile: +36-30-230-19-14 Phone-fax: +36-1-263-28-59 E-mail: firstsat@hu.inter.net ICC, SKYPE, YAHOO, MSN, www.chess.com nickname: mrfirstsaturday

Tal Memorial 2009

The Tal Memorial takes place something like 4th-19th November 2009. Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, Boris Gelfand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler and Ruslan Ponomariov seem to be in the field. The main event will be followed by a blitz tournament.

2nd Haye Kramer Invitation tournament

The 2nd Haye Kramer Invitation tournament and 27th Waling Dijkstra tournament Friday 13th - Sunday 15th November 2009 in Provincial Library ‘Tresoar’, Leeuwarden, Holland.

Haye Kramer Invitation tournament This 5-round tournament features GMs Yge Visser, Sipke Ernst, Jan Werle, IMs Daan Brandenburg and Mark van der Werf, and FM Migchiel de Jong.

Waling Dijkstra Open tournament. This 6-round Open has 2 level groups. Starting fees for International (Woman) Grandmasters and free entry for (Woman) International Masters as well as youth players under 18. For the latter, cheap boarding can also be arranged (10 euros for 2 nights). Students pay an entry fee of 20 euros. Participants in the Waling Dijkstra Open will include grandmasters Malakhatko, Zherebukh, Y. Vovk, Swinkels, Peng, Kravtsiv, Zozulia, Kunin, Rusev, V. Georgiev and M. Ivanov.

For more information: mail info@philidor1847.nl, or see website http://www.philidor162.nl.

Kasparov and Karpov in Paris 2009

In addition to their match in Valencia, Kasparov and Karpov will play again in December 11th-13th 2009 as part of fund raising for medical research and UNICEF. There will be a whole host of activities. Full details in French and now a nice video in English.

Czech Coal Match 2009

Jan Timman, Viktor Korchnoi, Robert Huebner and Vlastimil Hort play against a team of ladies in the Czech Coal Match event which takes place 28th November - 5th December 2009 in the hotel Crystal Palace in Marianske Lazne. The final lineup is waiting for the women players and a potential clash with the FIDE Women's Grand Prix.

Details - Likely official site: http://www.praguechess.cz/

Milano

Milano (Italy), December 5th-13th 2009 - International tournament "Memorial Crespi" - edition number 30 details: http://www.scacchisticamilanese.it

48th World Junior Championships

The 48th World Junior Championships (27th for Girls) take place in Mar del Plata, Argentina 21st October - November 4th 2009. No website yet.

There are many junior titles but this is the only one of historic importance. Borislav Ivkov was the first champion, Oscar Panno, Boris Spassky, William Lombardy, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Beliavsky, Tony Miles, Artur Jussupow, Yasser Seirawan, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian are by no means the only well known players to have taken the title over the years. The event is for players under-20. (List: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Junior_Chess_Championship)

These are not to be confused with the World Youth Championships which take place in Kemer-Antalya, Turkey, November 11th 2009 (arrival) - November 23rd 2009 (departure). These are of less historic interest although the under-18 group is always pretty well fought, there are way too many sections (I'd cut off at under-16 or under-14 and have a more fun based festival for the younger players) the idea of a World under-8 Championship of anything is just not right.

Official site: http://wycc2009.tsf.org.tr/

17th European Team Championship

The 17th European Team Championship takes place in Novi Sad (Serbia) October 21st-31st 2009.

Adolivio Capece sends news of the Italian team: Men - GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Michele Godena, IM Carlo D'Amore, IM Luca Shitaj, IM Denis Rombaldoni. Women - WGM Elena Sedina, WGM Olga Zimina, wfm Marina Brunello, wfm Eleonora Ambrosi, wfm Marianna Chierici. GM Daniele Vocaturo and IM Sabino Brunello play in the World Juniors.

Official site: http://www.eurons2009.com/

Mundial Chess Internet Tournament

The organising Committee Mundial Chess invites all the players (from the amateurs to Grandmasters) to take part in the 1st Internet tournament with the prize fund of more than 130.000 EUR in cash and many special prizes. The 1st prize in the main tournament will be not less than 10.000 EUR.

Registration (and information in English) in the tournament is possible following the link - http://www.mundialchess.com/chess-online/en/zvfdxt6 Registration and information in Spanish - http://www.mundialchess.com/chess-online/es/zvfdxt6 Registration and information in Russian - http://www.mundialchess.com/chess-online/ru/zvfdxt6

Commonwealth Chess Championships

The Masterskill Commonwealth Chess Championships take place 9th-15th December 2009 in conjunction with the 6th Singapore International Chess Festival.

Details of the change: http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/4-tournaments/3991-commonwealth-chess-championship-2009

Unive Tournament Hoogeveen

The Unive Tournament in Hoogeveen takes place 16th-24th October 2009 with a new sponsor.

The main four player tournament has: Vassily Ivanchuk, Judit Polgar, Sergei Tiviakov and Anish Giri. There is an open alongside.

Details: http://www.univechess.nl/

Unive Tournament Hoogeveen (NED), 16-24 x 2009			cat. XVII (2663)
Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2746
Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2693
Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2697
Giri, Anish	f	NED	2517

Ajedrez 21 English site

Ajedrez 21 now has an English site: http://www.ajedrez21.com/en/

World Youth Championship

The World Youth Chess Championship 2009 (under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18 years old - open and girls) which will take place in Kemer-Antalya, Turkey, between November the 11th, 2009 (arrival) and November the 23th, 2009 (departure).

Official site: http://wycc2009.tsf.org.tr/

FIDE World Cup Nov-Dec 2009

FIDE have announced some of the qualifiers for the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, 20 November to 15 December 2009. In a few days the list with qualifiers from the Continental and Zonal Championships 2008-09 will also be published.

FIDE announcement: http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/4037-list-of-qualifiers-for-world-cup

Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS), 20 xi - 15 xii 2009 Qualifiers:
a) From World Championship Match 2008:
1.	V. Anand	IND	World Champion
b) From World Cup 2007:
2.	G. Kamsky	USA
3.	A. Shirov	ESP
4.	M. Carlsen	NOR
5.	S. Karjakin	UKR
c) Women's World Champion 2008:
6.	A. Kosteniuk	RUS
d) Junior World Champions 2007 & 2008:
7.	A. Adly	EGY
8.	A. Gupta	IND
d) From FIDE Rating List, 20 players, average 7/2008 & 1/2009:
09.	V. Topalov	BUL	2786,50
10.	V. Ivanchuk	UKR	2780,00
11.	A. Morozevich	RUS	2779,50
12.	V. Kramnik	RUS	2773,50
13.	T. Radjabov	AZE	2752,50
14.	P. Leko	HUN	2746,00
15.	L. Aronian	ARM	2743,50
16.	S. Movsesian	SVK	2737,00
17.	D. Jakovenko	RUS	2734,50
18.	S. Mamedyarov	AZE	2733,00
19.	P. Svidler	RUS	2730,50
20.	A. Grischuk	RUS	2730,50
21.	B. Gelfand	ISR	2726,50
22.	M. Adams	ENG	2723,50
23.	R. Ponomariov	UKR	2722,00
24.	Wang Yue	CHN	2721,50
25.	V. Gashimov	AZE	2720,00
26.	E. Alekseev	RUS	2713,00
27.	L. Dominguez Perez	CUB	2712,50
28.	Ni Hua	CHN	2707,00
e) 90 players from the Continental & Zonal Championships 2008 & 2009:
(to be published soon)...
Reserve players who may qualify by rating, average 7/2008 & 1/2009:
1.	E. Bacrot	FRA	2706,50
2.	Bu Xiangzhi	CHN	2706,00
3.	P. Eljanov	UKR	2704,50
4.	J. Polgar	HUN	2702,00
5.	S. Rublevsky	RUS	2700,50
6.	H. Nakamura	USA	2698,00
7.	K. Sasikiran	IND	2697,50
8.	Wang Hao	CHN	2691,00
9.	V. Malakhov	RUS	2690,50
10.	M. Vachier-Lagrave	FRA	2688,50
11.	V. Milov	SUI	2687,00
12.	V. Bologan	MDA	2686,50
13.	V. Akopian	ARM	2686,50
14.	L. Nisipeanu	ROU	2683,50
15.	R. Kasimdzhanov	UZB	2683,00
16.	I. Cheparinov	BUL	2683,00
17.	Z. Efimenko	UKR	2679,00
18.	A. Naiditsch	GER	2679,00
19.	F. Vallejo Pons	ESP	2676,00
20.	A. Motylev	RUS	2675,00

Kingpin Magazine

The humourous and satirical chess magazine Kingpin has a new website.

New website address: http://www.kingpinchess.net

VIII Benidorm International Chess Festival

VIII Benidorm International Chess Festival 2009 takes place 27th November - 8th December 2009.

Website: http://www.ajedrezbali.com

Torch Real Estate Cup

The Chinese team competition the Torch Real Estate Cup started in Chengdu China on 4th May 2009. I'm hoping for a full game file.

Live games: http://live.chinaqiyuan.com/chess/tfd.htm

Official site: http://chess.sport.org.cn/

Results: http://chess-results.com/tnr21650.aspx

Historical Elo Ratings

http://www.shakki.net/history/elotop.htm has a list of historical top ten FIDE lists. The text is in Finnish but is understandable anyhow.

Reno Far West Open

The Far West Open Chess Tournament took place April 10th-12th 2009 in Reno Nevada. Sergey Kudrin edged out Enrico Sevillano and Gergerly Antal who finished on 5/6. Games should follow.

Official site: http://www.renochess.org/fwo/index.html

European Union Website

The European Chess Union Website ECU website has changed address to http://www.europechess.org

Alushta Diary 2009

Alushta Diary 2009:

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, 5.09 - 13.09, Open tournament (under 16 years) 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, 10.07 - 18.07, 20.07 - 28.07, 22.08 - 30.08, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Blitz tournament 7.07, 19.07, 29.07, Alushta Swiss 9 rounds Open tournament (rapid chess) 8.07 - 9.07, 30.07 - 31.07, Alushta Session of school of Gennadi Kuzmin 21.06 - 27.06, 15.07 - 24.07. Individual and group studying Further information: http://www.kaissa.com.ua phone +38 (06560)5-05-32, +380505828911 (for Russian speaking), + 380506692604 (for English speaking) e-mail: info@kaissa.com.ua

Chess Study

Dr Robert Howard is making a study of rated chess players.

The full article: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/results

If you would like to participate, please go to this website: http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/fidestudy/

For any queries, please contact Dr Robert Howard, University of New South Wales, on rwh@unsw.edu.au