THE WEEK IN CHESS 265 6th December 1999 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) European Team Championships
3) 8th Sonnevanck Tournament
4) Argentine Championships (Najdorf mem)
5) Mar del Plata City Championships
6) Norkom Invitational Masters
7) 7th Loures Young Masters
8) Dutch Championships 2000
9) 4NCL
10) National Chess Congress
11) First Saturday December
12) Forthcoming Events and Links


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Games section

European Team Championships          471 games
European Team Championships Women    220 games 
8th Sonnevanck Tournament             12 games
Argentine Championships (Najdorf mem) 35 games
Mar del Plata City Championships      36 games
Norkom Invitational Masters           98 games
7th Loures Young Masters              66 games
Dutch Championships 2000              40 games
4NCL                                  96 games
National Chess Congress               55 games
FSGM Dec                              13 games
FSIMA Dec                             12 games
FSIMB Dec                             10 games
1164 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Rubén Casafús and Adrián Roldán, José Mariano Acosta, Maurice Buckley, Luís Santos, Peter Kemner, Michael Atkins, Laszlo Nagy, FIDE Website and Ales Drinovec and all those who helped with this issue.

The European Team Championships are coming to a conclusion. It very much looks like Armenia will take the title. They almost have their full team out and it has always performed well in team competitions. Judit Polgar hasn't always done well in team events but her performance in Batumi has been excellent and with 6.5/8 is likely to be the best of the event. FIDE's new www site is welcome, as is the publishing of interim rating reports before the next list is released in time for January so that the results can be queried. Burmese players Htun Htun Than (2595 up 99 points the maximum increase allowed) and Zaw Win Lay (2591.50 up 26.50) appear in the December list, to a number of observers, this does not look at all right.

Hope you enjoy this issue

Mark

2) European Team Championships

The European Team Championships take place in Batumi, Georgia November 27th-December 8th 1999. The teams consist of 5 men (4 players and 1 reserve) for the men's competition and 3 women (2 players and 1 reserve) for the women's competition. With one round to go Armenia are a point clear and look odds on to take Gold having led throughout the competition. In second are Hungary who were the pre-event favourites. Judit Polgar has scored 6.5/8 undefeated for a performance of around 2850 on board 2 for Hungary, by far the best of the event.

In the games section the games Markowski-Nevednichy, Izeta-Ponomariov and Movsesian-Sokolov go haywire at the end. As a general point the electronic board is a marvelous thing but it is not sufficient, a good bulletin editor (and team) is also required, I wonder how many games are lost due to belief that they are always correct. The scoresheet is the record of the game and should be checked against all gamescores, many, many games probably have extraneous moves at the end, this does not just apply to recent FIDE coverage.

Round 1

Armenia already set out their intentions with a 4-0 win against Belgium.

Round 1 29-11-1999

     Austria   1.5 - 2.5   Croatia    
  Azerbaijan     1 - 3     Russia     
     Belgium     0 - 4     Armenia    
 Bosnia&Herz   2.5 - 1.5   Georgia-2  
    Bulgaria   3.5 - 0.5   Lithuania  
     England     3 - 1     FYROM      
      France     1 - 3     Hungary    
     Georgia     3 - 1     Turkey     
     Germany   2.5 - 1.5   Slovakia   
      Israel     2 - 2     Slovenia   
       Italy     2 - 2     Spain      
      Latvia   1.5 - 2.5   Czech Republic. 
      Poland     4 - 0     Portugal   
     Romania     4 - 0     Ireland    
    Scotland   0.5 - 3.5   Belarus    
      Sweden   1.5 - 2.5   Netherlands
 Switzerland   3.5 - 0.5   Finland    
  Yugoslavia     2 - 2     Ukraine    

Women's Teams

      Bulgaria     1 - 1     Spain      
       Croatia     0 - 2     Georgia    
Czech Republic   1.5 - 0.5   Portugal   
       Finland     1 - 1     Russia     
        France     0 - 2     Ukraine    
     Georgia-2     2 - 0     Lithuania  
     Georgia-3     1 - 1     Estonia    
        Greece   1.5 - 0.5   Austria    
        Israel   0.5 - 1.5   FYROM      
         Italy     0 - 2     Bosnia&Herzegov    
        Latvia     0 - 2     Hungary    
        Poland     2 - 0     Azerbaijan 
       Romania   1.5 - 0.5   Netherlands
      Scotland   0.5 - 1.5   England    
      Slovenia   0.5 - 1.5   Germany    
        Sweden   0.5 - 1.5   Armenia    
        Turkey   0.5 - 1.5   Switzerland
    Yugoslavia     2 - 0     Slovakia   

Round 2

Armenia narrowly beat Poland who turned out to be a little stronger than their seeding. England lost to Russia 3-1 and Bulgarian were held by Switzerland.

Men's Teams 

Round 2 30 Nov 1999

    Armenia   2.5 - 1.5    Poland        
    Belarus   1.5 - 2.5    Romania       
    Croatia   1.5 - 2.5    Israel        
 Czech Rep.     2 - 2      Germany       
    Finland     2 - 2      Belgium       
      Fyrom     1 - 3      Azerbaijan    
  Georgia-2     1 - 3      Latvia        
    Hungary     3 - 1      Georgia       
  Lithuania     4 - 0      Scotland      
Netherlands   2.5 - 1.5    Bosnia&Herz.  
   Portugal     3 - 1      Ireland       
     Russia     3 - 1      England       
   Slovakia   2.5 - 1.5    Austria       
   Slovenia   3.5 - 0.5    Sweden        
      Spain   3.5 - 0.5    Yugoslavia    
Switzerland     2 - 2      Bulgaria      
     Turkey   0.5 - 3.5    France        
    Ukraine   2.5 - 1.5    Italy         


Women's Teams 30-11-1999

    Armenia   1.5 - 0.5    Switzerland   
    Austria   1.5 - 0.5    Scotland      
 Azerbaijan     1 - 1      Croatia       
        BIH   0.5 - 1.5    Romania       
    England     1 - 1      Greece        
    Estonia   0.5 - 1.5    Israel        
      Fyrom   0.5 - 1.5    Bulgaria      
    Georgia   0.5 - 1.5    Poland        
    Germany   1.5 - 0.5    Czech Republic
    Hungary   0.5 - 1.5    Georgia-2     
      Italy     0 - 2      France        
  Lithuania     0 - 2      Latvia        
Netherlands     1 - 1      Sweden        
   Portugal     1 - 1      Slovenia      
     Russia   0.5 - 1.5    Georgia-3     
   Slovakia     2 - 0      Turkey        
      Spain   1.5 - 0.5    Finland       
    Ukraine     1 - 1      Yugoslavia    

Round 3

Top seeds Hungary beat Russia 2.5-1.5 after three games were drawn and Judit Polgar beat Sergei Volkov on the white side of a French Defence. Second seeds Israel were defeated 2.5-1.5. There were three decisive games in the match, all black wins on boards one, two and three, Gelfand lost with white on one for the Israelis. Armenia beat Romania 3-1 to take a clear lead in this early stage of the event. On the individual front Lautier beat Ivanchuk in their game. Standings: 1. Armenia 9.5, 2. Hungary 8.5, 3. Bulgaria 8.0 4. Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine 7.5 13. England, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland 7.0 are the top standings in the Men's event. In the women's event: Yugoslavia 5.0, Bulgaria, Georgia, Georgia II and Poland 4.5.

Men's results 1st December 1999

        Austria     1 - 3      Georgia-2    
        Belgium     2 - 2      Turkey       
   Bosnia&Herz.   1.5 - 2.5    Croatia      
       Bulgaria   2.5 - 1.5    Slovenia     
        England     3 - 1      Slovakia     
         France     1 - 3      Ukraine      
        Georgia     2 - 2      Azerbaijan   
        Germany     3 - 1      Latvia       
        Ireland     1 - 3      Scotland     
         Israel   1.5 - 2.5    Belarus      
          Italy   3.5 - 0.5    Portugal     
      Lithuania     1 - 3      Czech Rep.   
    Netherlands   2.5 - 1.5    Switzerland  
         Poland     2 - 2      Spain        
        Romania     1 - 3      Armenia      
         Russia   1.5 - 2.5    Hungary      
         Sweden     3 - 1      Fyrom        
     Yugoslavia   2.5 - 1.5    Finland      

Women's Results

Bosnia&Herzegov     1 - 1      England      
       Bulgaria     2 - 0      Armenia      
        Croatia     1 - 1      Scotland     
 Czech Republic   1.5 - 0.5    Fyrom        
        Finland   0.5 - 1.5    Netherlands  
         France     0 - 2      Slovakia     
      Georgia-2     1 - 1      Poland       
      Georgia-3     0 - 2      Georgia      
         Greece     1 - 1      Hungary      
         Israel   1.5 - 0.5    Spain        
         Latvia     0 - 2      Russia       
      Lithuania     2 - 0      Italy        
        Romania     1 - 1      Ukraine      
       Slovenia     1 - 1      Estonia      
         Sweden   0.5 - 1.5    Portugal     
    Switzerland     2 - 0      Austria      
         Turkey     1 - 1      Azerbaijan   
     Yugoslavia     2 - 0      Germany       

Round 4

Round 4 saw clear leaders Armenia draw against Hungary, so the one point difference remains (results were: Lputian 1/2 Leko, Polgar 1-0 Minasian, Anastasian 1/2 Almasi and Chernin 0-1 Aronian). Bulgaria just edged out Belarus 2.1-1.5 ( Federov-Topalov and Kiril Georgiev-Aleksandrov were drawn) and they join Hungary on 10.5. Germany beat Spain (the board one clash Shirov-Jussupow was drawn, Dautov won on board 3 against Luis Comas). England made up some ground by beating Slovenia 3-1 (Beliavsky 1/2 Short, Speelman 1/2 Mikhalchishin, Pavasovic 0-1 Conquest, Chandler 1-0 Grosar. Switzerland were 3-1 winners against Italy and Poland beat Romania.

Leading Standings: 1 Armenia 11.5 2 Hungary 10.5
3 Bulgaria 10.5; 4 Russia 10.0; 5 Poland 10.0; 6 Switzerland 10.0; 7 Germany 10.0; 8 England 10.0; 9 Netherlands 9.5; 10 Czech Republic 9.5

In the women's event: 1 Yugoslavia 6.0; 2 Georgia 2 5.5; 3 Georgia 5.5; 4 Bulgaria 5.5; 5 Romania 5.5; 6 Slovakia 5.5; 7 Russia 5.5; 8 Switzerland 5.5;

Men's Results

   Armenia      2 - 2      Hungary        
Azerbaijan      1 - 3      Israel         
   Belarus    1.5 - 2.5    Bulgaria       
   Croatia      2 - 2      Georgia        
Czech Rep.      2 - 2      Netherlands    
   Finland    1.5 - 2.5    Austria        
     Fyrom      3 - 1      Ireland        
 Georgia-2    2.5 - 1.5    France         
    Latvia    1.5 - 2.5    Bosnia&Herz.   
  Portugal      3 - 1      Belgium        
   Romania    1.5 - 2.5    Poland         
  Scotland      0 - 4      Turkey         
  Slovakia      2 - 2      Lithuania      
  Slovenia      1 - 3      England        
     Spain    1.5 - 2.5    Germany        
    Sweden      2 - 2      Yugoslavia     
Switzerland     3 - 1      Italy          
   Ukraine    1.5 - 2.5    Russia         

Women's Results

   Armenia     2 - 0      Netherlands    
   Austria     0 - 2      Croatia        
Azerbaijan     1 - 1      France         
  Bulgaria     1 - 1      Georgia-2      
   England     1 - 1      Israel         
   Estonia     0 - 2      Latvia         
     Fyrom   0.5 - 1.5    Slovenia       
   Georgia     1 - 1      Yugoslavia     
   Germany     1 - 1      Spain          
   Hungary   1.5 - 0.5    Czech Republic 
     Italy     0 - 2      Turkey         
    Poland   0.5 - 1.5    Romania        
  Portugal     0 - 2      Georgia-3      
    Russia     2 - 0      Greece         
  Scotland     0 - 2      Lithuania      
  Slovakia   1.5 - 0.5    Bosnia&Herzegov;    
    Sweden   0.5 - 1.5    Finland        
   Ukraine   0.5 - 1.5    Switzerland    

Round 5

Round 5 saw leaders Armenia beat Bulgaria 2.5-1.5 (results: Topalov 1-0 Lputian, Art Minasian 1/2 Kir Georgiev, Delchev 0-1 Anastasian, Aronian 1-0 Vl Georgiev). Second placed Hungary play England, Judit Polgar started with 4/4 on board 2 but was held by Speelman this afternoon. (pairings: Leko 1/2 Short, Speelman 1/2 Polgar, Almasi 1/2 Emms, Conquest 1/2 Pinter). Despite a weakened squad Russia are still in touch and they play Germany (Huebner 1/2 Fillipov, Volkov 1/2 Dautov, Lutz 1/2 Galkin, Grischuk 1/2 Gabriel). Poland beat Switzerland (Krasenkow 1/2 Korchnoi and Milov 1/2 Macieja wins for Socko over Gallagher and Kempinski over Pelletier), and Ukraine meet Spain (Ivanchuk 1/2 Shirov; Illescas 1/2 Onischuk, Romanishin 1-0 Magem, Izeta 1/2 Ponomariov).

Leading Standings: 1 Armenia 14.0 2 Poland 13.0 3 Hungary 12.5 4 Russia 12.0 5 Bulgaria 12.0 6 Netherlands 12.0 7 Germany 12.0 8 England 12.0 9 Israel 11.5 10 Ukraine 11.5 11 Switzerland 11.0 12 Czech Republic 11.0 13 Romania 11.0

Round 5 Results 3rd Dec 1999

Men's results

       Austria   1.5 - 2.5   Latvia            
      Bulgaria   1.5 - 2.5   Armenia           
       Croatia     2 - 2     Romania           
        France   1.5 - 2.5   Sweden            
         Fyrom     2 - 2     Portugal          
       Georgia   1.5 - 2.5   Bosnia&Herz.      
     Georgia-2   1.5 - 2.5   Slovenia          
       Germany     2 - 2     Russia            
       Hungary     2 - 2     England           
       Ireland   0.5 - 3.5   Belgium           
        Israel   2.5 - 1.5   Czech Rep.        
         Italy     2 - 2     Lithuania         
   Netherlands   2.5 - 1.5   Belarus           
        Poland     3 - 1     Switzerland       
      Scotland     0 - 4     Finland           
        Turkey   1.5 - 2.5   Azerbaijan        
       Ukraine   2.5 - 1.5   Spain             
    Yugoslavia   2.5 - 1.5   Slovakia          


Women's results

       Austria   1.5 - 0.5   Italy             
    Azerbaijan   1.5 - 0.5   Sweden            
Czech Republic     1 - 1     Bosnia&Herzegov   
       England     1 - 1     Ukraine           
        France     2 - 0     Fyrom             
     Georgia-2     0 - 2     Slovakia          
     Georgia-3     2 - 0     Croatia           
        Greece     2 - 0     Turkey            
        Israel     1 - 1     Hungary           
        Latvia     1 - 1     Finland           
     Lithuania     1 - 1     Germany           
   Netherlands     1 - 1     Portugal          
        Poland   0.5 - 1.5   Armenia           
       Romania   0.5 - 1.5   Bulgaria          
        Russia   0.5 - 1.5   Georgia           
      Scotland     1 - 1     Estonia           
         Spain     2 - 0     Slovenia          
   Switzerland     0 - 2     Yugoslavia     

Round 6

The leaders Armenia met England in round 6 (Short 1/2 Lputian, Minasian 1/2 Speelman, Emms 1/2 Anastasian, Aronian 0-1 Chandler) and lost 1.5-2.5. Two big results had lifted Poland into clear second above Hungary but they lost here thanks in part to yet another win from Judit Polgar (now +5=1). (Leko 1/2 Krasenkow, Macieja 0-1 Polgar, Almasi 1-0 Socko, Kempinski 1-0 Pinter). Other matches: Bulgaria-Germany (Jussupow 1/2 Topalov, Kir Georgiev 1-0 Huebner, Dautov 1-0 V Georgiev, Genov 1/2 Lutz), Russia-Netherlands (Filippov 0-1 Piket, Van Wely 1/2 Kobalija, Galkin 1/2 Tiviakov, Van der Wiel 1/2 Grischuk), Israel-Ukraine (Gelfand 0-1 Ivanchuk , Onischuk 1/2 Smirin, Avrukh 0-1 Ponomariov, Malaniuk 1/2 Psakhis). Other games today included: Korchnoi 1-0 Istratescu, Shirov 1/2 Fedorov, Ivan Sokolov 1/2 Beliavsky, Lanka 1/2 Atalik, Fernandes 1/2 Lautier.

Standings: 1 Armenia 15.5 2 Hungary 15.0 3 Netherlands 14.5 4 England 14.5 5 Poland 14.5 6 Ukraine 14.5 7 Bulgaria 14.0 8 Germany 14.0 9 Czech Repubic 14.0 10 Russia 13.5 11 Switzerland 13.5 12 Belarus 13.5 13 BIH 13.0

Men 4th December 1999

        Belgium     1 - 3      Slovakia        
   Bosnia&Herz.   2.5 - 1.5    Slovenia        
     Czech Rep.     3 - 1      Croatia         
        England   2.5 - 1.5    Armenia         
        Finland   1.5 - 2.5    Georgia         
        Germany     2 - 2      Bulgaria        
        Hungary   2.5 - 1.5    Poland          
        Ireland   1.5 - 2.5    Austria         
         Israel     1 - 3      Ukraine         
         Latvia     3 - 1      Turkey          
      Lithuania   2.5 - 1.5    Azerbaijan      
       Portugal     1 - 3      France          
         Russia   1.5 - 2.5    Netherlands     
       Scotland   0.5 - 3.5    Fyrom           
          Spain     1 - 3      Belarus         
         Sweden     3 - 1      Italy           
    Switzerland   2.5 - 1.5    Romania         
     Yugoslavia     2 - 2      Georgia-2       

Women

        Armenia   1.5 - 0.5    Georgia-3       
Bosnia&Herzegov   1.5 - 0.5    Latvia          
        Croatia   0.5 - 1.5    Czech Republic  
        Estonia     1 - 1      Austria         
        Finland   1.5 - 0.5    Azerbaijan      
          Fyrom   1.5 - 0.5    Italy           
        Germany   0.5 - 1.5    France          
        Hungary     1 - 1      Romania         
         Israel   1.5 - 0.5    Georgia-2       
      Lithuania   0.5 - 1.5    England         
       Slovakia   1.5 - 0.5    Georgia         
       Slovenia   1.5 - 0.5    Netherlands     
          Spain   1.5 - 0.5    Russia          
         Sweden     1 - 1      Scotland        
    Switzerland     1 - 1      Poland          
         Turkey   0.5 - 1.5    Portugal        
        Ukraine   1.5 - 0.5    Greece          
     Yugoslavia     1 - 1      Bulgaria        

Round 7

The leaders Armenia beat 3rd placed Netherlands 3-1 in round 7 (Lputian 1/2 Piket, Van Wely 0-1 Art Minasian, Anastasian 1-0 Tiviakov, Reinderman 1/2 Aronian) to extend their lead with only two rounds to go. Second placed Hungary drew quickly with the Ukraine 2-2, all games being drawn (Ivanchuk 1/2 Leko, Polgar 1/2 Onischuk, Romanishin 1/2 Almasi, Pinter 1/2 Ponomariov (14 move draw). Fourth placed England played Poland (Krasenkow 1-0 Speelman, Emms 1/2 Macieja, Socko 0-1 Conquest, Chandler 0-1 Kempinski) and in spite of Conquest being the first winner Poland won 2.5-1.5 with Krasenkow beating Speelman and Kempinski winning with black against Chandler. Other pairings: Bulgaria beat the Czech Rep 3-1. (Topalov 1-0 Movsesian, Hracek 0-1 Kir Georgiev, Delchev 1-0 Babula, Oral 1-0 Genev), Belarus - Germany was a 2-2 draw. (Federov 1-0 Jussupow, Huebner 1/2 Aleksandrov, Dydyshko 1/2 Dautov, Gabriel 1-0 Kupreichik) and Russia beat Switzerland 2.5-1.5 (Volkov 1/2 Korchnoi, Milov 0-1 Kobalija, Galkin 1/2 Gallagher, Pelletier 1/2 Grischuk)

Leading Standings: 1 Armenia 18.5 2 Hungary 17.0 3 Bulgaria 17.0 4 Poland 17.0 5 Ukraine 16.5 6 England 16.0 7 Russia 16.0 8 Germany 16.0 9 Slovenia 16.0 10 Israel 16.0 11 Netherlands 15.5 12 Belarus 15.5 13 Switzerland 15.0 14 Czech Republic 15.0 15 BIH 15.0 16 Italy 15.0

Men's Results

Armenia      3.0-1.0   Netherlands 
Ukraine      2.0-2.0   Hungary 
Poland       2.5-1.5   England 
Bulgaria     3.0-1.0   Czech Rep. 
Belarus      2.0-2.0   Germany 
Russia       2.5-1.5   Switzerland 
Bosnia&Herz  2.0-2.0   Sweden 
Latvia       0.5-3.5   Israel 
Romania      2.0-2.0   Georgia 
Slovenia     4.0-0.0   Lithuania 
Fyrom        2.0-2.0   Spain 
Azerbaijan   2.5-1.5   Croatia 
France       2.0-2.0   Yugoslavia 
Slovakia     2.5-1.5   Georgia-2 
Italy        4.0-0.0   Finland 
Turkey       3.5-0.5   Ireland 
Portugal     3.5-0.5   Scotland 
Austria      1.0-3.0   Belgium 

Women's Results
Yugoslavia   1.0-1.0   Armenia
Bulgaria     1.0-1.0   Slovakia
Georgia      1.0-1.0   Spain
Georgia 3    1.0-1.0   Ukraine
Romania      2.0-0.0   Israel
England      1.0-1.0   Hungary
France       1.0-1.0   Poland
Czech Rep.   0.0-2.0   Russia
BIH          1.0-1.0   Switzerland
Georgia-2    1.5-0.5   Finland
Greece       2.0-0.0   Latvia
Portugal     0.0-2.0   Germany
Slovenia     1.0-1.0   Lithuania
Azerbaijan   2.0-0.0   FYRO Macedonia
Croatia      2.0-0.0   Estonia
Netherlands  2.0-0.0   Austria
Scontaldn    2.0-0.0   Turkey
Italy        1.0-1.0   Sweden

Round 8

The leaders Armenia drew quickly against 5th placed Ukraine in round 8 (Lputian 1/2 Ivanchuk, Onischuk 1/2 Minasian, Anastasian 1/2 Ponomariov, Malaniuk 1/2 Aronian) and now take a full point lead into the final round which makes them very strong favourites to take gold. Second placed Hungary beat 3rd placed Bulgaria 2.5-1.5 (Leko 1-0 Topalov, Kir Georgiev 1/2 Polgar, Almasi 1/2 Delchev, Vl Georgiev 1/2 Chernin) to close by just a half point on Armenia. 4th placed Poland lost to 8th placed Germany 1-3. This moved Germany up into third place on 19 points ahead of a group of five on 18.5 (Jussupow 1/2 Krasenkow, Macieja 1/2 Dautov, Lutz 1-0 Socko, Kempinski 0-1 Gabriel). 6th placed England lost to 10th placed Israel 1.5-2.5 (Short 1/2 Gelfand, Smirin1 -0 Emms, Conquest 0-1 Avrukh, Huzman 0-1 Chandler). Other pairings: Slovenia - Russia (Beliavsky 1-0 Filippov, Volkov 1/2 Mikhalchishin, Pavasovic 1/2 Kobalija, Grischuk 1/2 Grosar), Netherlands - Italy 2-2 (Piket 1/2 Godena, Efimov 0-1 Van Wely, Tiviakov 0-1 Arlandi, Borgo 1/2 Reinderman) , Belarus - Switzerland 3-1 (Federov 1-0 Korchnoi, Milov 1/2 Aleksandrov, Kovalov 1-0 Gallagher, Pelletier 1/2 Dydyshko) , Czech Rep. - Bosnia&Herz. drew 2-2 (Movsesian 1-0 Sokolov, Nikolic 1-0 Hracek, Babula 1/2 Kurajica, Dizdarevic 1/2 Oral)

Men's Results Round 8 

   Armenia     2 - 2      Ukraine            
Azerbaijan     2 - 2      Yugoslavia         
   Belarus     3 - 1      Switzerland        
   Belgium   0.5 - 3.5    Lithuania          
   Croatia     2 - 2      Latvia             
Czech Rep.     2 - 2      Bosnia&Herz.       
   England   1.5 - 2.5    Israel             
   Finland     4 - 0      Ireland            
    France   2.5 - 1.5    Fyrom              
   Georgia     2 - 2      Slovakia           
 Georgia-2     2 - 2      Portugal           
   Germany     3 - 1      Poland             
   Hungary   2.5 - 1.5    Bulgaria           
Netherlands    2 - 2      Italy              
  Scotland   0.5 - 3.5    Austria            
  Slovenia   2.5 - 1.5    Russia             
     Spain     3 - 1      Turkey             
    Sweden   2.5 - 1.5    Romania            

Women's Results

   Austria     1 - 1      Turkey             
Azerbaijan   1.5 - 0.5    Slovenia           
   Estonia   1.5 - 0.5    Italy              
   Finland   0.5 - 1.5    Scotland           
    France     1 - 1      Georgia-2          
     Fyrom   0.5 - 1.5    Sweden             
   Georgia   1.5 - 0.5    Bulgaria           
   Germany     1 - 1      Israel             
    Latvia   1.5 - 0.5    Portugal           
 Lithuania     1 - 1      Czech Republic     
Netherlands  0.5 - 1.5    Croatia            
    Poland   0.5 - 1.5    Bosnia&Herzegov    
   Romania   1.5 - 0.5    Yugoslavia         
    Russia     1 - 1      England            
  Slovakia     2 - 0      Armenia            
     Spain   1.5 - 0.5    Greece             
Switzerland  1.5 - 0.5    Georgia-3          
   Ukraine   1.5 - 0.5    Hungary    

Men's Standings:

  1 Armenia        20.5
  2 Hungary        19.5
  3 Germany        19.0
  4 Bulgaria       18.5
  5 Ukraine        18.5
  6 Slovenia       18.5
  7 Israel         18.5
  8 Belarus        18.5
  9 Poland         18.0
 10 England        17.5
 11 Russia         17.5
 12 Netherlands    17.5
 13 Czech Rep      17.0
 14 Sweden         17.0
 15 BIH            17.0
 16 Italy          17.0
 17 Spain          16.5
 18 Switzerland    16.0
 19 France         16.0
 20 Georgia        16.0
 21 Slovakia       16.0
 22 Romania        16.0
 23 Yugoslavia     15.5
 24 Azerbaijan     15.5
 25 Lithuania      15.5
 26 Latvia         15.0
 27 Croatia        15.0
 28 Georgia 2      15.0
 29 FYRO Macedonia 15.0
 30 Portugal       15.0
 31 Finland        15.0
 32 Austria        15.0
 33 Turkey         14.5
 34 Belgium        13.0
 35 Ireland         5.5
 36 Scotland        5.0

Women's Standings:

  1 Slovakia       12.0
  2 Yugoslavia     10.5
  3 Romania        10.5
  4 Georgia        10.0
  5 Spain          10.0
  6 Bulgaria        9.5
  7 Ukraine         9.5
  8 Russia          9.5
  9 Armenia         9.0
 10 England         9.0
 11 BIH             9.0
 12 Switzerland     9.0
 13 Georgia 2       8.5
 14 Hungary         8.5
 15 Georgia 3       8.5
 16 Germany         8.5
 17 Greece          8.5
 18 France          8.5
 19 Azerbaijan      8.5
 20 Poland          8.0
 21 Israel          8.0
 22 Croatia         8.0
 23 Czech           7.5
 24 Lithuania       7.5
 25 Scotland        7.5
 26 Finland         7.0
 27 Latvia          7.0
 28 Netherlands     7.0
 29 Slovenia        7.0
 30 Sweden          6.5
 31 Portugal        6.0
 32 Estonia         6.0
 33 Austria         5.5
 34 Turkey          5.0
 35 FYRO Macedonia  5.0
 36 Italy           2.5

Main internet coverage by FIDE at: http://www.worldfide.com/batumi/ and the detailed results service of the Chess Federation of Slovenia at: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/9911/eu99chtm/ (men's) and http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/9911/eu99chtw (women's) .

Other internet coverage: German related coverage is well served with GM-Schach site has german coverage with reports from Christopher Lutz and commented games by Stefan Kindermann at: http://www.gm-schach.de/news/news.html and Schach magazine's Raj Tischbierek (the coach of the German team) is reporting daily in German athttp://www.zeitschriftschach.de/batumi.htm. Spanish coverage by Terra Sports Web at: http://195.235.97.120/BATUMI99/HTML/index.html (with daily reports from Batumi (GM Izeta) and from Spain (Amador Rodríguez and IM Michael Rahal). Irish team coverage at: http://www.cns.ed.ac.uk/tica/teams/reports/batumi99.html.

3) 8th Sonnevanck Tournament

The 8th Sonnevanck Tournament runs November 30th-December 7th. The event sees a team of young dutch players Harmen Jonkman (24), Tom Middelburg (19) and Erwin L'Ami (14) take on the experienced players Kasimdzhanov (UZB), Manual Bosboom (NED) and Alexei Barsov (UZB) in three six game matches.

After Four games

Bosboom, Manuel 3.5-0.5 Middelburg, Tom
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 3.5-0.5 Jonkman, Harmen
Barsov, Alexei 3.0-1.0 L'Ami, Erwin

Internet site: http://chess.lostcity.nl/sonnevanck/

Round 1 (November 30, 1999)

Middelburg, Tom       -  Bosboom, Manuel       0-1   53  B43  Sicilian
L'Ami, Erwin          -  Barsov, Alexei        1/2   31  C17  French; Winawer
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  -  Jonkman, Harmen       1/2   26  D39  Queen's gambit

Round 2 (December 1, 1999)

Bosboom, Manuel       -  Middelburg, Tom       1-0   42  D15  Slav defence
Jonkman, Harmen       -  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  0-1   29  B19  Caro-Kann
Barsov, Alexei        -  L'Ami, Erwin          1-0   53  D27  QGA;

Round 3 (December 2, 1999)

Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  -  Jonkman, Harmen       1-0   44  D36  Queen's gambit
Middelburg, Tom       -  Bosboom, Manuel       0-1   27  A30  English; 1.c4 c5
L'Ami, Erwin          -  Barsov, Alexei        1/2   34  C11  French; Classical

Round 4 (December 3, 1999)

Jonkman, Harmen       -  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  0-1   49  C02  French; Advance
Barsov, Alexei        -  L'Ami, Erwin          1-0   63  C01  French; Exchange
Bosboom, Manuel       -  Middelburg, Tom       1/2   33  A07  Reti (1.Nf3)


8th Sonnevanck Tournament Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 6 xi-7 xii 1999
----------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1  2  3  4  5  6
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Bosboom, Manuel       m NED 2476   1  1  1  = .  .   3.5  2662
2 Middelburg, Tom         NED 2326   0  0  0  = .  .   0.5  2154
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  g UZB 2603   =  1  1  1 .  .   3.5  2757
2 Jonkman, Harmen       f NED 2421   =  0  0  0 .  .   0.5  2281
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 Barsov, Alexei        m UZB 2539   =  1  =  1 .  .   3.0  2193
2 L'Ami, Erwin            NED ----   =  0  =  0 .  .   1.0  2346
----------------------------------------------------------------

4) Argentine Championships (Najdorf mem)

The LXXIII Argentine Championships (also the Najdorf mem) runs November 19th - December 5th 1999. Pablo Ricardi took first place with 10/13 2.5 points clear of Alfredo Gioccio, Fabian Fiorito and Pablo Zarnicki.

Internet coverage at: http://roldan-casafus.com/ by Rubén Casafús and Adrián Roldán and at http://members.tripod.com/scalise.

ch-ARG Najdorf mem Buenos Aires ARG (ARG), 19 xi-5 xii 1999cat. IX (2470)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Ricardi, Pablo      g ARG 2474 * = = 1 = = 1 = 1 1 1 = 1 1  10.0  2680
 2 Giaccio, Alfredo    m ARG 2505 = * = = 1 1 = 0 0 1 = 0 1 1   7.5  2523
 3 Fiorito, Fabian     m ARG 2440 = = * 0 = 1 = = = = 1 1 = =   7.5  2528
 4 Zarnicki, Pablo     g ARG 2497 0 = 1 * = 1 = = = = = = 1 =   7.5  2524
 5 Panno, Oscar        g ARG 2454 = 0 = = * = = = = 1 1 0 = 1   7.0  2499
 6 Sorin, Ariel        g ARG 2501 = 0 0 0 = * 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 =   7.0  2496
 7 Campora, Daniel H   g ARG 2543 0 = = = = 0 * 1 = = = 1 = 1   7.0  2493
 8 Slipak, Sergio      m ARG 2521 = 1 = = = = 0 * = = = = = =   6.5  2465
 9 Spangenberg, Hugo   g ARG 2531 0 1 = = = 1 = = * 0 0 1 0 =   6.0  2435
10 Soppe, Guillermo    m ARG 2448 0 0 = = 0 0 = = 1 * 1 = = 1   6.0  2442
11 Hoffman, Alejandro  g ARG 2524 0 = 0 = 0 0 = = 1 0 * 1 1 1   6.0  2436
12 Dolezal, Cristian   f ARG 2282 = 1 0 = 1 0 0 = 0 = 0 * = 0   4.5  2374
13 Rubinetti, Jorge    m ARG 2432 0 0 = 0 = 0 = = 1 = 0 = * =   4.5  2362
14 Tempone, Marcelo    m ARG 2423 0 0 = = 0 = 0 = = 0 0 1 = *   4.0  2332
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

5) Mar del Plata City Championships

José Mariano Acosta reports: The Mar del Plata City Championships have reached their half way stage. It is an 8 player double round robin event that is scheduled over several weeks. Fernando Braga leads.

Further info: http://www.geocities.com/gonzalez_6620/

ch-Mar del Plata ARG (ARG), 18 xi-25 xii 1999           cat. II (2295)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Braga, Fernando        m ITA 2461 ** == =. =. 1. 1. =. 11  6.5  2440
2 Kanefsck, Gustavo      m ARG 2391 == ** =. =. =1 =. 1. 1.  6.0  2424
3 Rosito, Jorge          m ARG 2379 =. =. ** =1 =. =1 0. 1.  5.5  2361
4 Palermo, Vicente       f ARG 2220 =. =. =0 ** =. 1. 1. =1  5.5  2380
5 Cristobal, Ruben         ARG 2260 0. =0 =. =. ** =. 11 1.  5.0  2335
6 Corsi Ferrari, Nestor    ARG 2330 0. =. =0 0. =. ** 11 1.  4.5  2283
7 Quatrini, Alejandro      ARG 2140 =. 0. 1. 0. 00 00 ** 1.  2.5  2146
8 Fernandez, Jorge D       ARG 2180 00 0. 0. =0 0. 0. 0. **  0.5  1874
----------------------------------------------------------------------

6) Norkom Invitational Masters

The Norkom Invitational Masters tournament took place on the weekend of November 26th-28th at the Club House Hotel & Butler House, Kilkenny, Ireland. GMs Jan Timman, Michael Adams, Bogdan Lalic, Julian Hodgson, Mark Hebden, Alexander Baburin and IMs Matthew Turner and Luke McShane were amongst the participants.

The event was won by Bogdan Lalic and Julian Hodgson who both finished on 5/6. The pre-event favourite Michael Adams lost his final game to Lalic and was relegated to a share of 6th place. My thanks to Maurice Buckley and Ted Jennings for information events. A large selection of games is now available.

Standings
Place Name                     Feder Rtg  Loc Score M-Buch. Buch. Berg.

 1-2  Bogdan Lalic GM (5)            2550     5        15.0  21.0 17.25
      Julian Hodgson GM (3)          2605     5        13.5  20.5 16.50
 3-5  Mark Hebden GM (6)             2510     4.5      17.0  24.0 17.00
      Jan Timman GM (2)              2650     4.5      14.5  23.0 16.25
      Paul Delaney FM (15)           2305     4.5      12.0  18.5 12.50
 6-8  Michael Adams GM (1)           2708     4        15.5  23.5 14.50
      Alexander Baburin GM (4)       2593     4        14.0  21.0 12.75
      Uri Rochev (17)                2290     4        11.5  18.0 10.50
9-15  Luke McShane IM (8)            2467     3.5      14.5  21.0 10.25
      Mark Heidenfeld IM (11)        2368     3.5      14.5  19.0  8.75
      Matthew Turner IM (7)          2478     3.5      14.0  21.5 11.25
      Mark Fergusson IM (10)         2371     3.5      14.0  21.5 11.00
      Dharma Tjiam (13)              2344     3.5      13.0  19.5  9.25
      Mel O'Cinneide (19)            2252     3.5      13.0  19.0  8.75
      Tom Clarke (20)                2204     3.5      11.5  16.0  6.50
16-21 Paul Dempsey (24)              2168     3        13.0  19.0  9.25
      Robert Bellin IM (12)          2351     3        13.0  18.5  7.25
      Stephen Brady FM (14)          2310     3        12.0  19.0  7.50
      Bas Van Esch (25)              2166     3        12.0  17.5  7.50
      Mark Quinn FM (9)              2377     3        10.5  16.5  6.50
      Eric Dehaan (18)               2277     3         9.0  13.5  5.50
22-28 Jana Bellin WGM (26)           2163     2.5      13.5  20.5  6.25
      Michael Neville (35)           2028     2.5      11.5  17.5  6.75
      Daire McMahon (34)             2092     2.5      11.5  17.0  5.25
      Peter Cafolla (30)             2108     2.5      11.0  17.0  6.25
      Carl Wustefeld (21)            2202     2.5      10.5  17.0  5.50
      Martin Landenberger (27)       2143     2.5      10.0  15.0  5.25
      Philip Short FM (16)           2295     2.5      10.0  15.0  5.25
29-33 Ian Gooding (32)               2098     2        12.5  19.0  4.00
      Cormac Brady (36)              2050     2        10.0  16.5  2.75
      Richard O'Donovan (23)         2175     2         9.0  13.5  2.25
      John Anderson (22)             2200     2         8.5  12.5  2.25
      Anthony Fox (31)               2103     2         8.5  11.5  2.00
34-35 Sam Collins (33)               2097     1.5      11.0  17.0  4.00
      Frank Vang (29)                2123     1.5      10.0  13.5  1.00
 36   Jim McCarthy (28)              2135     0         9.5  14.5  0.00

7) 7th Loures Young Masters

Luís Santos reports: The 7th Loures Young Masters took place November 23rd-December 3rd 1999. Mauricio Vassallo from Argentina won the 7th Loures Young Masters tournament and made his second IM norm (his first was in the 6th tournament in 1998). But this is the first time that this has produced two norms as João Leonardo also made a norm in 2nd place. Due to illness the veteran João Mário Ribeiro only played in the first four rounds. João Leonardo played with him and scored a norm with 8/11. Vassallo made his with 7.5/10.

7th Young Masters Loures POR (POR), 23 xi-3 xii 1999     cat. II (2280)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Vassallo, Mauricio       ARG 2391 * = = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1  8.5  2480
 2 Leonardo, Joao         f POR 2299 = * = = = = = 1 1 1 1 1  8.0  2453
 3 Kovacevic, Slobodan    m YUG 2404 = = * = = = = = 1 1 1 =  7.0  2370
 4 Damaso, Rui            m POR 2399 = = = * = = 1 = = = = =  6.0  2305
 5 Dantas, Carlos           POR 2172 0 = = = * 1 = = = = = 1  6.0  2325
 6 Galego, Luis           m POR 2427 = = = = 0 * = = 0 1 1 1  6.0  2302
 7 Vitor, Antonio           POR 2310 0 = = 0 = = * 1 = = 1 1  6.0  2313
 8 Teran Alvarez, Ismael  f ESP 2419 = 0 = = = = 0 * = = 1 1  5.5  2267
 9 Blalock, Rex             USA 2150 0 0 0 = = 1 = = * 1 1 =  5.5  2291
10 Lima, Paulo              POR 2051 0 0 0 = = 0 = = 0 * 1 1  4.0  2198
11 Conceicoa, Paul          POR 2058 0 0 0 = = 0 0 0 0 0 * 1  2.0  2038
12 Ribeiro, Joao-Mario      POR 2280 0 0 = = 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 *  1.5  1971
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

8) Dutch Championships 2000

Peter Kemner reports: As a preliminary to the Broekhuis Dutch Championships 2000, a Knock-Out tournament is being played in Rotterdam over a period of two weekends: 4-5 December 1999 (1st round) and 12-15 February 2000 (2nd and 3rd rounds). On Saturday December 4th and Sunday December 5th, 32 contestants started their bid for a ticket to the main event, to be held in Rotterdam May 6-19 2000. Each round consisting of two games followed by a rapid-game play-off in case of a tie. At the end of the knockout the last 4 players will qualify. Amongst the starting line-up were Friso Nijboer (GM 2559), Roberto Cifuentes Parada (GM 2505), Manuel Bosboom (IM 2476), and former Dutch champion Rini Kuijf (IM 2455). Nijboer had a tough ride, beating Erik Hoeksema (IM 2404) 1,5-0,5 in sudden-death blitz playoff, after both the normal games and their two game rapid-play-off ended in 1-1. The only big surprise of the first weekend was the defeat Jeroen Bosch (IM 2433) suffered at the hands of Joost Hoogendoorn (FM 2281). Rini Kuijf played a spectacular first game against European Youth champion Dennis de Vreugt. The game ended in perpetual check. Kuijf failed to turn up for his second game though, putting the talented youngster in the second round.

The tournament also has a website at: http://www.schaakbond.nl/NK2000/

Round 1 results
                                                   1   2  Playoff
 1. Erik Hoeksema        - Friso Nijboer          1-0 0-1 1½-2½
 2. Jeroen Bosch         - Joost Hoogendoorn      ½-½ 0-1
 3. Ruud Janssen         - Yge Visser             1-0 ½-½
 4. Ad van den Berg      - Edwin van Haastert     0-1 0-1
 5. Jan van de Mortel    - Manuel Bosboom         0-1 ½-½
 6. Harmen Jonkman       - Nathanael Spaan        1-0 ½-½
 7. Karel van der Weide  - Vincent Deegens        1-0 ½-½
 8. Albert Blees         - Martijn Dambacher      ½-½ 0-1
 9. Maarten Solleveld    - Rob. Cifuentes Parada  0-1 ½-½
10. Joost Berkvens       - Mark van der Werf      ½-½ 0-1
11. Frank Kroeze         - Sipke Ernst            1-0 ½-½
12. Herman Grooten       - Horatio Vlam           1-0 0-1 2-0 
13. Dennis de Vreugt     - Rini Kuijf             ½-½ 1-0 (Default)
14. Bruno Carlier        - Peter Burlage          1-0 0-1 2-0
15. Henk van der Poel    - Johan van Mil          ½-½ ½-½ 1-2
16. Oscar Lemmers        - Peter Doggers          1-0 ½-½

Round 2 pairings:

1. Friso Nijboer         - Joost Hoogendoorn          
2. Ruud Janssen          - Edwin van Haastert         
3. Manuel Bosboom        - Harmen Jonkman             
4. Karel van der Weide   - Martijn Dambacher          
5. Mark van der Werf     - Roberto Cifuentes Parada   
6. Herman Grooten        - Frank Kroeze               
7. Bruno Carlier         - Dennis de Vreugt           
8. Oscar Lemmers         - Johan van Mil              

9) 4NCL

The 4NCL had its second weekend over November 21-22 1999. Only 1 Slough 1st has a 100% match record ahead of Wood Green 1st and IKHH who have drawn one match each. Games now available.

Further info: http://freespace.virgin.net/nigel.chess96/4ncl/4n-m-idx.htm

10) National Chess Congress

The National Chess Congress organised by the Continental Chess Association took place in Philadelphia November 22nd-28th 1999. The event ended in a 4 way tie for first place in the Open section. Joel Benjamin, Alexander Shabalov, Alexander Goldin and Alexander Ivanov all scored 5-1. My thanks to Michael Atkins.

621 players, in 11 sections, played 1,605 games over Thanksgiving weekend at the National Chess congress in Philadelphia. The tournament took place at the Adams Mark, home of the World Open, and was organized and run by Bill Goichberg's Continental Chess Association.

Nine Grandmasters were among the 84 players in the Open section. After six rounds, the winners at 5-1 were GMS Joel Benjamin, Alexander Goldin, Alexander Shabalov and Alexander Ivanov. The Alexanders were certainly great in this tournament!

The final standings could have been a little different as there were several protested pairings in the final round. The intial posted pairings by the computer, had the #1 man (Goldin) in the three person group at 4.5/5 dropping instead of #2 or #3, and paired against Benjamin. The former US Champ righfully complained and the pairings were fixed and the games began. GM Kaidanov, arriving a few minutes late, then rightfully complained about his pairing with GM Shabalov as it produced color allocation problems but since the round had started, no changes could be made. He refused to play and GM Shabalov, faced with the possibility of posting a forfeit win, chose to give Kaidanov a draw which produced the 4-way tie. Had they played to a decisive result, the standings would have been completely different: Kaidanov winning would have swapped him with Shabalov in the tie, and Shablov winning or winning on forfeit would have given him clear first at 5.5

Compete list of winners:
Open - Benjamin, Goldin, Shabalov, Ivanov - 5-1, Kaiddanov, Wojtkiewicz, Stripunsky, and Palos 4.5.
Under 2400- Justin Sarkar, Ilye Figler and Richard Bauer - 4.5
Under 2200- Carl Brandon Boor and Peter Bierkens at 5.5
Under 2000- Marcos Capistran Ocampo ,Harold Hohenberger and Brian Sherman at 5
Under 1800- Andrew Bridy (1597!) at 5.5
Under 1600- John Heiston and Peter Moss at 5.5
Under 1400- Lorenzo Pasetes and Narkeeran Narasimhan at 5.5
Under 1200- Matt Rubenstein at 5.5
Under 1000- Maurice Lake at 5.5
Under 800 - Alexander Listovnichy at 5
Under 600 - Chip Lebovitz and Andrei Ignat at 5
Unrated - Yakov Bershadskay at 5

Complete standings, performance ratings, photos and games are available at http://www.wizard.net/~matkins/ncc/ncc.htm

Leading final standings:

  1 Benjamin, Joel..............2681 5.0
  2 Goldin, Alexander...........2677 5.0
  3 Shabalov, Alexande..........2617 5.0
  4 Ivanov, Alexander...........2587 5.0
  5 Kaidanov, Gregory...........2693 4.5
  6 Wojtkiewicz, Alek...........2669 4.5
  7 Stripunsky, Alexan..........2579 4.5
  8 Palos, Osman................2440 4.5
  9 Sarkar, Justin J............2361 4.5
 10 Figler, Ilye................2300 4.5
 11 Bauer, Richard N............2231 4.5
 12 Sevillano, Enrico...........2569 4.0
 13 Kaufman, Lawrence...........2445 4.0
 14 Delaune, Richard K..........2412 4.0
 15 Fleischer, Peter............2405 4.0
 16 Rubenchik, Rodion...........2320 4.0
 17 Baczynskyj, Boris...........2262 4.0
 18 Smith, Bryan G..............2215 4.0
 19 Lapshun, Yurij..............2442 3.5
 20 Kriventsov, Stanislav.......2441 3.5
 21 Schneider, Dmitry...........2426 3.5
 22 Bonin, Jay R................2401 3.5
 23 Gershov, Yegeniy............2366 3.5
 24 Tate, Emory A...............2360 3.5
 25 Fayvinov, Zakhar............2351 3.5
 26 Karklins, Andrew............2338 3.5
 27 Fink, Stanley W.............2204 3.5
 28 Benen, Samson...............2166 3.5
 29 Schadler, Peter.............2054 3.5
 30 Ippolito, Dean..............2432 3.0
 31 Formanek, Edward W..........2401 3.0
 32 Shapiro, Daniel E...........2356 3.0
 33 Furdzik, Rafael.............2351 3.0
 34 Ritvin, Stan................2314 3.0
 35 Andrews, Todd D.............2311 3.0
 36 Privman, Boris..............2291 3.0
 37 Shahade Jennifer............2286 3.0
 38 Koenig, David E.............2258 3.0
 39 Zelner, Alexander...........2216 3.0
 40 Friedel, Joshua.............2104 3.0
 41 Rouleau, John S.............1842 3.0
84 players

11) First Saturday December

Laszlo Nagy reports: there is one GM and two IM events as part of the First Saturday December tournaments in Budapest. The GM event is category VII.

Contact: Nagy, Laszlo, chess organizer e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu http://www.elender.hu/~firstsat http://www.illawarra.net.au/chesscentral/ http://www.planet2000.com/firstsat/ Tel-fax: (361)-263-28-59 Mobile: (36)-30-230-1914 ICQ # 44805877

FSGM
FSGM December Budapest HUN (HUN), 4-16 xii 1999         cat. VII (2419)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Hoang Thanh Trang wg VIE 2453 * . . . . . = . 1 . . . . .  1.5  2596
 2 Horvath, Csaba     g HUN 2509 . * . . . . . 1 . = . . . .  1.5  2633
 3 Yu Shaoteng        m CHN 2435 . . * . . = . . . . 1 . . .  1.5  2562
 4 Csom, Istvan       g HUN 2472 . . . * . . . . . . = . 1 .  1.5  2537
 5 Ni Hua             f CHN 2369 . . . . * . . . . . . = . 1  1.5  2629
 6 Li Wenliang        m CHN 2381 . . = . . * = . . . . . . .  1.0  2455
 7 Lukacs, Peter      g HUN 2475 = . . . . = * . . . . . . .  1.0  2417
 8 Nguyen Anh Dung    m VIE 2484 . 0 . . . . . * . . . 1 . .  1.0  2485
 9 Lipinsky, Fabian   m GER 2331 0 . . . . . . . * 1 . . . .  1.0  2424
10 Wang Rui           m CHN 2396 . = . . . . . . 0 * . . . .  0.5  2227
11 Tatai, Stefano     m ITA 2357 . . 0 = . . . . . . * . . .  0.5  2260
12 Zhang Pengxiang    m CHN 2462 . . . . = . . 0 . . . * . .  0.5  2233
13 Khechumyan, Gagik    ARM 2332 . . . 0 . . . . . . . . * =  0.5  2248
14 Richter, Michael     GER 2410 . . . . 0 . . . . . . . = *  0.5  2157
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FSIMA

FSIMA December Budapest HUN (HUN), 4-16 xii 1999                   cat. IV (2332)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Struk, Jerzy                 POL 2270 * . . . . = . . . 1 . . .  1.5 / 2  2534
 2 Khamatgaleev, Alexej       f RUS 2435 . * . . . . . . . = 1 . .  1.5 / 2  2501
 3 Hu Yi                        CHN 2375 . . * . . . = . . . . . 1  1.5 / 2  2497
 4 Orso, Miklos               m HUN 2339 . . . * . . . = . . . 1 .  1.5 / 2  2522
 5 Keatinge-Clay, Adrian        USA 2278 . . . . * . . . = . . . 1  1.5 / 2  2518
 6 Galianina-Ryjanova, Julia wm RUS 2325 = . . . . * = . . . . . .  1.0 / 2  2320
 7 Petran, Pal                m HUN 2371 . . = . . = * . . . . . .  1.0 / 2  2350
 8 Yu Mingyuan                  CHN 2319 . . . = . . . * . . = . .  1.0 / 2  2299
 9 Czebe, Attila              m HUN 2414 . . . . = . . . * . . . .  0.5 / 1  2278
10 Szeberenyi, Adam             HUN 2357 0 = . . . . . . . * . . .  0.5 / 2  2159
11 Philippe, Christophe         FRA 2260 . 0 . . . . . = . . * . .  0.5 / 2  2184
12 Jurkovic, Ante               CRO 2339 . . . 0 . . . . . . . * .  0.0 / 1      
13 Bognar, Csaba                HUN 2237 . . 0 . 0 . . . . . . . *  0.0 / 2      
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FSIMB

FSIMB December Budapest HUN (HUN), 4-16 xii 1999          cat. II (2294)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 Gottschlich, Carsten    GER 2246 * . . . . . . . . 1 1  2.0 / 2      
 2 Eperjesi, Laszlo      m HUN 2381 . * . = 1 . . . . . .  1.5 / 2  2472
 3 Weglarz, Leszek       f POL 2400 . . * = . 1 . . . . .  1.5 / 2  2451
 4 Vadasz, Laszlo        g HUN 2275 . = = * . . . . . . .  1.0 / 2  2390
 5 Sedlak, Nikola        f YUG 2284 . 0 . . * . . 1 . . .  1.0 / 2  2315
 6 Spielmann, Alain        FRA 2241 . . 0 . . * 1 . . . .  1.0 / 2  2317
 7 Balogh, Csaba           HUN 2235 . . . . . 0 * . . . 1  1.0 / 2  2269
 8 Cooke, Eric             USA 2250 . . . . 0 . . * 1 . .  1.0 / 2  2289
 9 Farago, Sandor        m HUN 2295 . . . . . . . 0 * . .  0.0 / 1      
10 Jakab, Attila           HUN 2328 0 . . . . . . . . * .  0.0 / 1      
11 Rajlich, Vasik G        USA 2297 0 . . . . . 0 . . . *  0.0 / 2      
------------------------------------------------------------------------

12) Forthcoming Events and Links

YORK VIKING CHESS FESTIVAL

Note there is one place left for the IM all-play-all of 10 players in York from 13-22 Dec 1999, preferably an FM title holder.. Those interested should contact Adam Raoof at adam@circuit.demon.co.uk

This is probably the strongest all-play-all ever held in Yorkshire and I'll certainly be there for part of the time (Mark C).

Lady Anne Middleton's Hotel, York - 13th-22nd December 1999

Rooms only £17.50 a night at the hotel venue!

YORK VIKINGS

Julian Hodgson (2605 ENG) Jonny Hector (2505 SWE) Emil Sutovsky (2587 ISR) Tiger Hillarp-Persson (2507 SWE) Jonathan Rowson (2490 SCO) Alexei Barsov (2539 UZB)

CHALLENGERS

Keith Arkell (2462g ENG) Aaron Summerscale (2423g ENG) Colin McNab (2445g SCO) Danny Gormally (2476m ENG) Irina Krush (2432m USA) Odion Aikhoje (2341m NGR) Georg Seul (2445m GER) William Paschall (2332f USA) Peter Meister (2417m GER) Plus one other 2300+ to be announced.

YORK OPEN

A nine round FIDE rated tournament. Get a whole or part rating, complete your rating, improve your rating here! Play in this tournament is from 2pm to 9pm daily and 11am to 5pm on the 22nd December. There is a rest day and Blitz tournament (no rest day in the top event) on Saturday 18th December. Entry Fee - £25 for rated players (on the July 1999 list), £40 for unrated players. Juniors Under 16 at the beginning of the tournament may claim a £10 discount when entering in advance.

MASTERS

IM Valer Krutti (2357 HUN) IM Peter Marusenko (2406 UKR) IM Richard Bates (2376 ENG) Craig Hanley (2178 ENG) Thomas Bree (2272 GER) FM Lawrence Cooper (2350 ENG) Vinay Bhat (2388 USA) Places for IM norm seekers 2250+ still available.

MAJOR UNDER 150 CONGRESS

An U-150 only tournament graded by the BCF Six rounds over four days. Time limit 30 moves in 1hr 15 minutes, then 15 minutes added to the clock for a quickplay finish. Sunday 19th December - Round 1: 11am to 2pm, Round 2: 3pm to 6pm Monday 20th - Round 3: 3pm to 6pm Tuesday 21st - Round 4: 11am to 2pm, Round 5: 3pm to 6pm Wednesday 22nd - Round 6: 11am to 2pm PRIZES will be based on entries and will be announced before the start of Round 2. Entry Fee: £25.00.

ONE-DAY BLITZ

Amsterdam System (at least fifteen games - not a knock-out) Time limit 5 minutes per player per game (FIDE Blitz Rules). Saturday 18th December - 11am to 6pm PRIZES will be based on entries and will be announced before the start of Round 2. Entry Fee: £5.00.

INFORMATION AND ENTRIES

Adam Raoof 21 Golderton Prince of Wales Close Hendon London NW4 4QZ

Tel/Fax; (0181) 202 0982 E-Mail; adam@circuit.demon.co.uk Web; www.circuit.demon.co.uk ACCOMMODATION

Lady Anne Middleton's Hotel Skeldergate York YO1 1DS

Tel; (01904) 630 456 Fax; (01904) 613 043

Please quote the 'Viking Chess Festival' when booking your room!

Swiss Chess Tour 1999 and 2000

The "Swiss Chess Tour 99" will finish with the "Ambassador Open" in Bern, December 26.-30. 1999 and the new "Swiss Chess Tour 2000" will start two days later with the "Hilton Open" in Basel, January 1.-5. 2000. The "Ambassador open" is 6 years old, and is held in the Hotel Ambassador. The "Hilton Open" is the second such event in this venue, the first was last January, this new events shows that chess is very popular in Basel.

The both tournament are 7 rounds, Swiss system. The games will last a maximum of 5 hours (40 moves for 2 hours and 30 minutes till the end).

Prize are the same in Bern and Basel: 2.000 SF, 1.500, 1.000, 800, 600, 500, 400, 300, 250 and 200 SF. From 11.- 20. places natural prizes. The special prizes for best Lady, senior, junior, schoolboy and best local player.

Enter fee 130 SF, juniors 60 SF, at the door 10 SF more, GM and IM free.

Time table for "Ambassador Open":
December 26.: The last registration  11.00-12.15
              Open ceremony  12.15-12.30
              Round 1st  12.30-17.30
December 27.: Round 2nd  9.30-14.30
              Round 3rd  15.30-20.30
December 28.: Round 4th  12.30
December 29.: Round 5th  9.30-14.30
              Round 6th  15.30-20.30
December 30.: Round 7th  9.30-14.30
              Closing ceremony  15.30

Time table for "Hilton Open":
January 1.: The last registration  10.00-11.15
            Open ceremony  11.15-11.30
            Round 1st  11.30-16.30
            Round 2nd  17.30-22.30
January 2.: Round 3rd  10.30-15.30
            Round 4th  16.30-21.30
January 3.: Round 5th  17.30-22.30
            The first four play knock-out and the other continue
            tournament.
January 4.: Round 6th  17.30-22.30 (The semi-final 16.00-21.00)
January 5.: Round 7th  13.30-18.30 (The final 12.00-19.00)
            The closing ceremony 19.00-19.30

Last years winners were, surprising, IM Peter Velicka (CZE) in the "Ambassador Open" and GM Andrei Sokolov (RUS) in "Hilton Open".

More information and registration: Robert Spoerri
tel. +41+31+768-01-60
faf +41+31+768-01-61
E-mail beochess@swissonline.ch
http://www.beochess.ch

Carlos Torre Memorial in Yucatan, Mexico

The Carlos Torre Memorial in Yucatan, Mexico takes place 14th-21st December 1999. It is likely to be the strongest chess tournament ever held in Mexico. Christiansen, Gulko, Miles, Hickl, Komarov, Hernandez, are to play. The event is not an ordinary one. The players will travel to four different cities, some of them are archeological treasures and experience the culture and food of the Mayas. The media in Yucatan is very excited and many spectators are expected.

Interested players can still contact the president of the Yucatan Chess Association at hcamaron@pibil.finred.com.mx

Further information: http://fi.uady.mx/aay/ and there is a new website: http://www.torneotorre99.com.mx/

Groningen Chess Festival

The 38th International Chess Tournament takes place December 19th up to and including December 31st 1999. Further information on the event is to be found at: http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~johan-z/

XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open

The XVIth Cappelle la Grande Open takes place in the "Palais des Arts et des Loisir" 19th-26th February 2000.

Entries: by cheque or money order to "l’Echiquier Cappellois" to:

M. Michel GOUVART 2, Place de Flandre 59180 CAPPELLE LA GRANDE - FRANCE Tél./Fax : 33/ 03 28 64 94 98

Adults : 220 F Juniors and over 60s: 110 F

Dates: Opening ceremony and round 1 19th February 2000 Closing ceremony 26th Feb 2000.

Prizefund: 80 000 F minimum. 1st prize: 10 000 F / 2e: 5000 F / 3e: 4000F / 4e: 3000F / 5e: 2000F / 6e: 1500F / 7e à 10e : 1000F Other prize categories for Elo, Jeunes, Féminins, Vétérans

Hastings Premier and Challengers

The line-up for the Hastings Premier 4-12 January 2000 is: Dreev, I Sokolov, Sutovsky, Bischoff, Krush, Speelman, Emms, B Lalic, Chandler, McShane. The likely category is 13 with a gm norm of 5.

The Challengers and World Amateur Championship run 29 December 1999-6 January 2000. There are also many,many other shorter events until 12 January. Those wishing to play can get further details from Con Power. E-Mail: power@hicc.demon.co.uk

Perenyi Memorial

There will be a Cat.VII-VIII in Gyula (Hungary) in the Hotal Agro 24th Jan-3rd Feb 2000 which will finish just before the February edition of the First Saturday tournaments.

Those interested in playing should contact: Emil Anka Tel-fax:00-36-1-2212328 or Email:emilanka@freemail.hu

Tapolca Open

There will be a big Open 9 rounds Swiss in Budapest called TAPOLCA Open, from 7th until 15th of January. 80-100 participants, min.50 % ELO-rated. Prizes: 30-20-15-10-5-4- etc. thousand HUF. Organizer: Parej, Jozsef, phone: (36)-87-321-444 from 8:00 until 13:00, GMT+1 hour. More info: Nagy Laszlo, e-mail: firstsat@elender.hu

Zadar Open

Christmas chess tournament "Zadar'99" (Zadar open) will take place from 11.-19.12.1999. More info at http://sites.netscape.net/mladen18/zadar/index.htm

XXIX Rilton Cup

Those interested in playing in the Rilton Cup in Stockholm. The event takes place December 27th 1999- January 6th 2000.

Details: http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-21958/stock.html