Chess Addict

MAYOR ARSENIO LATASA MIXED-MASTERS 2009

2009-09-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

MAYOR ARSENIO LATASA MIXED-MASTERS
(Davao del Sur Open Chess Championship 2009)
September 7-8, 2009
Dagohoy Hall, Lim St., Digos City

OPEN DIVISION
(7 rounds)

1. Retanal, Elwin - 6.5 pts.

2. Dano, Jimmy - 6.5 pts.

3-8. Lofranco, Venanie - 5 pts.
Melendes, Charles
Babayson, Abelardo
Laput, Lito
Lanticse, nelson
Castro, Bernard

9-10. Velarde, Carlos - 4.5 pts.
Abayon, Neill

Total of 43 players.

Brilliancy Prize Award - Lito Laput

Prizes are the following:

Champion - P 6,000 w/trophy
2nd - P 4,000 w/trophy
3rd - P 3,000 w/trophy
4th - P 2,000 w/trophy
5th - P 1,000 w/trophy
Brilliancy Prize Award - P 500 w/trophy

KIDDIES DIVISION - 12 yrs old & below
(4 rounds)

1. Vistal, John Raymund - 4pts. (P 1,000 w/trophy)

2. Dulay, Arnel - 3.5pts. (P 500 w/trophy)

3. Lakina, Angelo - 3.5pts. ( P 300 w/trophy)

Total of 22 players.

Chess legends to play again 25 years after famous battle

2009-07-10T04:51:00.001-07:00

AFP 7-09-09

MOSCOW (AFP) — Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov are to relive their epic 1984 world championship duel 25 years on by contesting a new match this September in the Spanish city of Valencia.

"It will be 25 years since the start of the matches (against Karpov), there is nostalgia about this unique event," Kasparov, now a Russian opposition politician and Kremlin critic, told AFP. "This is where modern chess began."

The September 21-24 match is not expected to reflect the suspense of their first encounter and will be more of "a ceremonial tournament", Kasparov said, explaining there would be a time-limit on moves.

The five-month 1984 match marked the first battle between the famous chess rivals. At the time the world champion Karpov was 33 years old and the challenger Kasparov just 21.

The match was ended without result by World Chess Federation chief Florencio Campomanes on alleged health grounds, a decision that was controversial, as both players said they wanted to continue.

Kasparov later defeated Karpov narrowly. He won the world championship in late 1985 and defended his title the following year. The last time he played Karpov was in 1990 when he narrowly won.

Kasparov has been active in the political opposition to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since announcing in 2005 he was withdrawing from competitive chess and creating his own political party.

Karpov was undisputed world chess champion from 1975 to 1985 and FIDE world chess champion from 1993 to 1999. Both Karpov and Kasparov are considered among the greatest chess players ever.

Source: AFP News

Nakamura lead at Donostia

2009-07-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

Round 3 results:

Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	½-½
Svidler, Peter	- Nakamura, Hikaru	½-½
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	- Karpov, Anatoly	1-0
Ponomariov, Ruslan	- Granda Zuniga, Julio	1-0
San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo	- Movsesian, Sergei	½-½

Standings after 3 rounds:

1.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2710	2½
2-4.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2693	2
2-4.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2727	2
5-6.	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2739	1½
5-6.	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	2716	1½
2-4.	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2703	2
7-10.	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2672	1
7-10.	Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2644	1
4-10.	San Segundo Carrillo, Pablo	g	ESP	2570	1
4-10.	Granda Zuniga, Julio	g	PER	2647	1

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

Magnus carlsen leads Dortmund

2009-07-10T04:46:00.001-07:00

Round 7

Carlsen, Magnus	- Leko, Peter
Bacrot, Etienne	- Kramnik, Vladimir
Naiditsch, Arkadij	- Jakovenko, Dmitry

Standings after 6

1.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	4
2-3.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2756	3½
2-3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	3½
4.	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2760	3
5.	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2721	2½
6.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2697	1½

Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/

2009-07-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Rank	Name	Rating	Change	# games
01	Topalov	2813,0	0	0
02	Anand	2788,0	0	0
03	Carlsen	2779,5	+7,5	6
04	Aronian	2768,0	0	0
05	Gelfand	2764,4	+9,4	10
06	Kramnik	2762,8	+3,8	6
07	Jakovenko	2761,2	+1,2	7
08	Leko	2760,0	+4	6
09	Radjabov	2756,6	+0,6	10
10	Morozevich	2751,0	0	0
11	Gashimov	2740,0	0	0
12	Svidler	2737,8	-1,2	2
13	Shirov	2734,4	+2,4	10
14	Wang Yue	2733,1	-2,9	3
15	Grischuk	2733,0	0	0
16	Ivanchuk	2726,8	+23,8	18
17	Ponomariov	2723,8	-3,2	2
18	Nakamura	2722,8	+12,8	4
19	Dominguez	2720,6	+4,6	10
20	Bacrot	2717,6	-3,4	6
21	Karjakin	2717,0	0	0
21	Mamedyarov	2717,0	0	0
23	Movsesian	2716,0	0	2
23	Eljanov	2716,0	0	0
25	Alekseev	2714,0	0	0
26	Akopian	2712,0	0	0
27	Motylev	2710,2	+0,2	3
28	Malakhov	2707,0	0	0
29	Rublevsky	2703,0	0	0
30	Vachier-Lagrave	2702,6	-0,4	3

Source: http://chess.liverating.org/

Norwegian Championship 2009

2009-07-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

Bergen, Norway
Swiss System / 9 rounds

Standings after Round 5:

1. IM Frode Elsness 2445 4.5 points
2-3 GM Berge Ostenstad 2482, GM Kjetil A. Lie 2527 3.5
4-6 GM Simen Agdestein 2572, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2583, IM Espen Lie 2457 3.0

Official website: http://sjakknm2009.no/nettsted/

Magnus Carlsen is not playing because he is playing in Dortmund.

Carlsen leads in Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

Round 5 results:

Carlsen, Magnus	1-0 Naiditsch, Arkadij
Leko, Peter	1-0 Bacrot, Etienne
Kramnik, Vladimir	1/2 Jakovenko, Dmitry

Standings after 5 rounds:

1.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2772	3½
2.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2756	3
3.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2759	3
4.	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2760	2½
5.	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2721	2
6.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2697	1

Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/

Round 5 games from Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

Carlsen, M (2772) - Naiditsch, A (2697) [C67]
Sparkassen Dortmund, GER (5), 06.07.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.h3 Ne7 11.Bf4 Ng6 12.Bg3 Ke8 13.Rad1 Bb4 14.Ne2 h5 15.Ned4 h4 16.Bh2 Nf8 17.Bf4 Bd7 18.Bg5 Be7 19.Rfe1 c5 20.e6 fxe6 21.Bxe7 Kxe7 22.Nf5+ Kf6 23.Ne3 Be8 24.Ng4+ Ke7 25.Nge5 Bg6 26.Rd5 b6 27.Rd2 Bf5 28.Ng5 Kf6 29.f4 Ng6 30.Nd7+ Ke7 31.Nxe6 Bxe6 32.f5 Nf4 33.fxe6 Rhd8 34.Rf2 g5 35.Kh2 a5 36.a4 Rg8 37.Ne5 Rae8 38.Nf3 Nxe6 39.Re5 Kd6 40.Rd2+ Kc6 41.Rde2 Kd6 42.Nxg5 Ng7 43.Rxe8 Rxe8 44.Rxe8 Nxe8 45.Nf3 c4 46.Nxh4 c3 47.b3 Kc5 48.Nf5 Kb4 49.g4 Ka3 50.Kg3 Kb2 51.Ne3 Kc1 52.Kf3 Kd2 53.h4 Ng7 54.h5 Ne6 55.h6 c6 56.Ke4 b5 57.Ke5 Ng5 58.Kf5 Nf7 59.h7 Kxe3 60.g5 1–0

Click here to replay the game.

Leko, P (2756) - Bacrot, E (2721) [E15]
Sparkassen Dortmund, GER (5), 06.07.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0–0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qa4 Nf6 12.Nh4 Qc8 13.Nf5 Nd4 14.Bxb7 Qxb7 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Rxd4 Bc5 17.Rd3 b5 18.Qf4 0–0 19.b4 Bb6 20.Bb2 Rfe8 21.e3 Rac8 22.Nd2 Bd8 23.Rd1 Rc2 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.a3 Ra2 26.Nf3 Qa6 27.g4 h6 28.h4 Rxa3 29.Rd6 Qa4 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5 Ra1 32.Rxa1 Bxa1 33.Rxd7 Rf8 34.Qd6 g6 35.Nh2 Bc3 36.Ng4 Bg7 37.Nf6+ Bxf6 38.gxf6 Rc8 39.Rxf7 1–0

Click here to replay the game.

[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Jakovenko, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2759"]
[BlackElo "2760"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Be2 dxc4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 b5 11. a4 c6 12. Ne5 Qe7 13. f4 a6 14. Bf3 Bb7 15. Qb1 Qc7 16. f5 Nd7 17. Ng4 Rae8 18. fxe6 Rxe6 19. Qf5 1/2-1/2

Laylo grabs solo lead in Victory National Open chess

2009-07-07T01:51:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Former World Chess Cup campaigner GM Darwin Laylo outclassed fellow GM Jayson Gonzales in a battle of heavyweights to assume the solo lead in the sixth round of the Victory Central Mall National Open chess championship.

Laylo, presently ranked seventh overall in the country with an ELO of 2497, played superbly with the white pieces to clinch the win over his Dreden Olympiad teammate Gonzales in this tough, nine-round tournament.

The win – Laylo’s fifth against one draw – enabled the pride of Lipa City to grab the solo lead with 5.5 points after Sunday's hostilities at the Victory Central Mall in Caloocan City.

Laylo is now half a point ahead of topseed GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. and GM John Paul Gomez, who hammered out similar morale-boosting victories over NM Efren Bagamasbad and IM Barlo Nadera, respectively.

In the seventh round, Laylo will test the mettle of Gomez while Antonio will take on Gonzales.

GM Mark Paragua and NM Emmanuel Senador agreed to a draw to stay within striking distance of the P100,000 top purse.

Paragua, a member of the Philippine team to the World Mind Games in Beijing, China last year, is tied for fourth to ninth places with 4.5 points.

Also with the same score of 4.5 points are IM Richard Bitoon, who outclassed NM Alex Milagrosa; IM Chito Garma, who outwitted younger brother Edgardo Garma; and Christian Arroyo, who humbled David Elorta.

No. 12 seed FM Leonardo Carlos outplayed Melvin Salutan, Deniel Causo downed Alvin Divinagracia, Ali Branzuela bested Robert Cacho , Efren Arguelles repulsed Rolando Andador and Alcon John Datu crushed Quirino Sagario to keep their slim hopes alive with four points. – GMANews.TV

Round 3 games from Dortmund

2009-07-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

Naiditsch, A (2697) - Kramnik, V (2759) [C42]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (4), 05.07.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.c5 Bc7 11.Nc3 Nd7 12.Qc2 Re8 13.Be3 h6 14.b4 Ndf6 15.h3 Qd7 16.Ne2 Bxh3 17.Ne5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 Rxe5 19.f3 Rae8 20.Bf4 Rh5 21.fxe4 dxe4 22.Bc4 Bxg2 23.Ng3 Bf3 24.Qb3 Rh4 25.Bd6 Qh3 26.Bxf7+ Kh7 27.Qb2 Ng4 0–1

Click here to replay the game.

[White "Jakovenko, D."]
[Black "Leko, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E49"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2756"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. Nf3 Qc7 10. Ba2 b6 11. O-O Bb7 12. Bb2 Nbd7 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. cxd4 Bd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Ne5 Rac8 17. Rac1 Qb7 18. Qb5 Nb8 19. f3 a6 20. Qd3 b5 21. Bc3 Nc6 22. Bb4 1/2-1/2

[White "Bacrot, E."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2721"]
[BlackElo "2772"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 b5 8. e5 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. exf6 c5 14. d5 O-O-O 15. O-O b4 16. Na4 Qb5 17. a3 exd5 18. axb4 cxb4 19. Be3 Nc5 20. Qg4+ Rd7 21. Qg7 Bxg7 22. fxg7 Rg8 23. Nxc5 Rxg7 24. Bd4 Rc7 25. Nxb7 Rg6 26. Ra5 Qxb7 27. Bxd5 Qb8 28. Be5 Qb6 29. Bxc7 Qxc7 30. Rfa1 a6 31. Rxa6 Rxa6 32. Rxa6 c3 33. bxc3 bxc3 34. Be4 Qc4 35. Bf5+ Kd8 36. Ra1 Qe2 37. Kg2 Qe5 38. Rd1+ Ke7 39. Bb1 f5 40. h3 Kf6 41. Rd3 Qe4+ 42. Kh2 Qe1 43. Rf3 Qxb1 44. Rxc3 Qf1 45. Rf3 Ke5 46. Rf4 1/2-1/2

Sweden Chess Championship

2009-07-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

Emanuel Berg in firm lead after six rounds
Report by Chessdom.com

The Sweden Chess Championship is taking place from 28th June to 11th July in Kungsors. The round robin tournament consists of 13 rounds and the entire festival includes numerous additional events for masters, juniors and veterans.

The second-seeded GM Emanuel Berg is dominating the Championship and holds 5.5 points after six rounds. Famous columnist GM Stellan Brynell is distant second with 4.0 points. The highest rated GM Tiger Hillarp Persson is on modest 50% score, sharing the same number of points with national hope IM Nils Grandelius, who shined at the recent Sigeman chess tournament.

Round 6 results:

Hanninger Simon - GM Brynell Stellan ½ - ½
GM Ernst Thomas - FM Nithander Victor 1 - 0
GM Akesson Ralf - IM Blomqvist Erik 1 - 0
GM Berg Emanuel - GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 1 - 0
Glimbrandt Torbjorn - FM Semsecen Daniel ½ - ½
IM Tikkanen Hans - GM Cramling Pia 0 - 1
IM Johansson Jan - IM Grandelius Nils ½ - ½

Round 6 standings:

1. GM Berg Emanuel 2610 - 5.5
2. GM Brynell Stellan 2463 - 4.0
3. GM Cramling Pia 2528 - 3.5
4. GM Ernst Thomas 2414 - 3.5
5. GM Akesson Ralf 2493 - 3.5
6. IM Tikkanen Hans 2425 - 3.5
7. FM Semsecen Daniel 2387 - 3.0
8. GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 2618 - 3.0
9. IM Grandelius Nils 2491 - 3.0
10. FM Nithander Victor 2422 - 2.5
11. Hanninger Simon 2167 - 2.0
12. IM Johansson Jan 2440 - 2.0
13. Glimbrandt Torbjorn 2244 - 1.5
14. IM Blomqvist Erik 2436 - 1.5

Wang Yue confirmed as a participant for Nanjing 2009

2009-06-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

Wang Yue has been confirmed as the sixth and final participant for the Nanjing Perl Spring chess tournament, that will take place in China in September.

Earlier this month the organizers released a participants list with five names - Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen, Vishwanathan Anand, Dmitry Jakovenko, and Teimour Radjabov, stating that "a Chinese player is to be announced." After several speculations around the names of Xingzhi Bu, Wang Hao, and Ni Hua, the player confirmed is Wang Yue.

Source:Chessdom.com

Eduardo Iturrizaga and Lazaro Bruzon qualify for the World Cup

2009-06-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

18-26th June, 14 players, 9 rounds

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, was the stage of the Zonal 2.3 Chess Championships, a qualifying event for the World Chess Cup 2009. The tournament with 14 players from five countries in the region took place on 18-26th June.

Lazaro Bruzon from Cuba and Eduardo Iturrizaga from Venezuela shared the first place with 7.0 points each to book the tickets for Khanty Mansiysk. The third Grandmaster, Neuris Delgado, was left with 6.5 points and behind the line, in spite of winning against Iturrizaga.

"I am very happy that I managed to qualify for the next level in the World Championship, but I am also sad that Neuris Delgado won't be traveling with me. Next, I will make sure to be well prepared for the competition in Russia." - Lazaro Bruzon shared after the tournament.

Round 9 results:

IM Prasca Raphael VEN 2415 - GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro CUB 2617 ½-½
GM Iturrizaga Eduardo VEN 2528 - IM Valdes Leonardo CRC 2403 1-0
IM Gonzalez Bernal CRC 2440 - GM Delgado Ramirez Neuris CUB 2572 0-1
IM Arias Lemmys A. ESA 2406 - Ossa Orlando COL 2301 0-1
FM Echavarria Johann COL 2379 - FM Soto Paez Oliver VEN 2388 0-1
FM Sanchez Enriquez Oscar Ge MEX 2282 - IM Murillo Alexis CRC 2317 ½-½
IM Gongora Montes Benjamin MEX 2251 - IM Hernandez Basante Francis CRC 2278 0-1

Final standings:

1. GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro CUB 2617 - 7.0
2. GM Iturrizaga Eduardo VEN 2528 - 7.0
3. GM Delgado Ramirez Neuris CUB 2572 - 6.5
4. IM Arias Lemmys A. ESA 2406 - 5.0
5. IM Prasca Raphael VEN 2415 - 5.0
6. FM Soto Paez Oliver VEN 2388 - 5.0
7. IM Gonzalez Bernal CRC 2440 - 4.5
8. FM Echavarria Johann COL 2379 - 4.5
9. IM Valdes Leonardo CRC 2403 - 4.0
10. IM Murillo Alexis CRC 2317 - 3.5
11. FM Sanchez Enriquez Oscar MEX 2282 - 3.5
12. IM Gongora Montes Benjamin MEX 2251 - 3.0
13. IM Hernandez Basante Francis CRC 2278 - 3.0
14. Ossa Orlando COL 2301 - 1.5

GM Kiril Georgiev wins Memorial Vicente Sebastian

2009-06-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

The rapid tournament Memorial Vicente Sebastian took place 27-28 June, 2009, in Fornells, Menorca (Spain). It was a 8 round swiss tournament with the participation of many top grandmasters, including GM Vallejo, GM Georgiev, GM Ramon, GM Agrest, etc.

The competition started well for all the top seeded players and up to round 4 they were moving in a pack with perfect score at the top of the table. Movements started afterwards, with the direct matches at the top boards. GM Vallejo Pons made three draws in a row, and with a last round loss against GM Ramon, he could not make it to the top positions. The first position was taken by GM Georgiev (holder of a Guiness Chess World Record), who managed to allow only 2 draws and defeated the surprising untitled leader Cubas Pons in the last round. The second place was shared by GM Evgenij Agrest, GM Borko Lajthajm, and GM Mateo Ramon, who had a very stable performance in the second part of the competition.

The tournament attracted many participants as it hadno entrance fee and featured a nice prize fund of over 6000 eur.

Here are the final standings.

1 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2637 7
2 GM Agrest Evgenij SWE 2588 6.5
3 GM Lajthajm Borko SRB 2482 6.5
4 GM Mateo Ramon DOM 2473 6.5
5 IM Pap Misa SRB 2475 6
6 GM Cabrera Pino Alexis ESP 2518 6
7 Cubas Pons Juan Miguel ESP 2236 6
8 FM Mascaro March Pedro ESP 2367 6
9 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco ESP 2688 5.5
10 GM Khamrakulov Ibragim S. ESP 2552 5.5
11 WIM Collazo Hidalgo-Gato Niala ESP 2253 5.5
12 Gelabert Mari Llorenc ESP 2101 5.5
13 WIM Agrest Svetlana SWE 2260 5.5
14 IM Estremera Paños Sergio ESP 2393 5
15 Simo Bordoy Guillermo ESP 1994 5
16 Martinez Peñalver Jose ESP 2264 5
17 Cardona Capo Llorenc ESP 0 5
18 Triay Moll Liberto ESP 1923 5
19 Agrest Inna U18 SWE 2120 5
20 WGM Calzetta Ruiz Monica ESP 2338 5
21 FM Pons Sastre Santiago ESP 2395 5
22 Castellanos Bogalo Antonio ESP 2096 5
23 Pol Guiscafre David ESP 1987 5

Total: 78 players

Source:Chessdom.com

GRISCHUK WINS MAINZ CHESS960 ONLINE TITLE ON ICC

2009-06-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

Top seed GM Alexander Grischuk (depressnyak) of Russia was in majestic form on Sunday as he easily won the Mainz Chess Classic Chess960 online title hosted on ICC.

En route to the main event of the 16-player final, the Muscovite beat with ease IM Anatoly Bykhovsky of Israel (3-1) and GM Dmitry Koneonenlo of Ukraine (3-1) to face fellow Russian IM Artur Gabrielian (Dinamit) - who caused an upset by beating second seed and last year's champion GM Hikaru Nakamura (Smallville) in the quarter-finals - in a Moscow showdown for the title.

But again Grischuk proved unstoppable as he eased to victory by a resounding score of 3.5-0.5 to take the 750 Euro first prize, invitation and hotel to the upcoming Mainz Chess Classic later next month in Germany.

Four open qualifiers were held on ICC earlier last week to determine the 16-player final that saw a record number of 973 ICC members playing Chess960 (FischerRandom). The full list of finalists, results and game downloads can be found at our dedicated Mainz Chess960 page by clicking here.

Report by John Henderson

Topalov top the Live Chess Rating

2009-06-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

Rank	Name	Rating	# games	Born
01	Topalov	2812,8	10	1975
02	Anand	2788,3	2	1969
03	Carlsen	2772,4	12	1990
04	Aronian	2768,4	13	1982
05	Gelfand	2764,6	37	1968
06	Jakovenko	2759,5	15	1983
07	Kramnik	2759,0	0	1975
08	Radjabov	2756,6	10	1987
09	Leko	2755,9	13	1979
10	Morozevich	2751,0	0	1977
11	Gashimov	2740,0	9	1986
12	Svidler	2738,6	36	1976
13	Shirov	2734,3	48	1972
13	Wang Yue	2734,3	12	1987
15	Grischuk	2733,0	20	1983
16	Ponomariov	2726,6	3	1983
17	Bacrot	2721,0	32	1983
17	Dominguez	2721,0	20	1983
19	Ivanchuk	2719,9	40	1969
20	Karjakin	2716,9	13	1990
21	Mamedyarov	2716,5	17	1985
22	Movsesian	2716,3	31	1978
23	Eljanov	2715,7	44	1983
24	Alekseev	2713,6	20	1985
25	Akopian	2711,6	13	1971
26	Nakamura	2709,7	35	1987
27	Motylev	2709,6	16	1979
28	Malakhov	2706,7	7	1980
29	Ni	2702,6	20	1983
30	Vachier-Lagrave	2702,8	31	1990
31	Rublevsky	2702,5	16	1974

Source: http://chess.liverating.org/

GfK Open 2009

2009-06-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

organized by Hilversum Chess Club HSG, Dutch Champion in 2008 and 2009
Report by Chessdom.com

The GfK Open 2009, organized by Hilversum Chess Club HSG, Dutch Champion in 2008 and 2009, has started. It will take place 27th of June until the 5th of July 2009 in Hilversum, The Netherlands. 14 grandmasters and many more titled players will participate, including GM Erwin L'Ami, GM Daniel Fridman, GM Krasenkow, GM Predrag Nikolic, GM Friso Nijboer, GM Dimitri Reinderman, GM Haslinger, GM Anish Giri, GM Woulter Spoelman, IM Anna Zatonskih, IM Hendriks, IM Pruijssers, IM Bitalzadeh, IM Slingerland, WGM Alina Motoc, FM Van Eijk etc.

As it often happens in open events, the local players managed to take several scalps in round 1. GM Krasenkow could not make more than a draw against Ewoud De Groote, while GM L'Ami drew with Lennart Dek. The youngest grandmaster Anish Giri had a difficult game against Hans Gajle. "I made a blunder on move 40, otherwise I had chances," commented Gajle. Giri was far from covinced, "Even without the blunder I was won, maybe he could have had chances for a draw."

Expect all replayable games later today on Chessdom.com.

Results round 1

1 GM Fridman, Daniel - FM Heemskerk, Wim 1-0
2 De Groote, Ewoud - GM Krasenkow, Michal ½-½
3 GM Nikolic, Predrag - De Graaf, Dick 1-0
4 Dek, Lennart - GM L'Ami, Erwin ½-½
5 GM Nijboer, Friso - Meurs, Tom 1-0
6 In't Veld, Daan - GM Reinderman, Dimitri 0-1
7 GM Haslinger, Stewart G - Van Engen, Herman 1-0
8 Galje, Hans - GM Giri, Anish 0-1
9 GM Spoelman, Wouter - CM Theulings, Paul-Peter 1-0
10 Schroer, Marcel - GM Pavlovic, Milos 0-1
11 IM Zatonskih, Anna - Goes, Sten 1-0
12 Oosterom, Erik - IM Hendriks, Willy 0-1
13 IM Pruijssers, Roeland - Wismeijer, Jeroen 1-0
14 Mellema, Andries - IM Bitalzadeh, Ali 0-1
15 IM Slingerland, Fred - Kabos, Tobias 1-0
16 Goudriaan, Etienne - FM Miedema, Roi 0-1
17 FM Strating, Sybolt - Henseler, Jorgen 1-0

Official site: www.hsgopen.nl

10th International Festival d'échecs de Montréal

2009-06-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

Étienne Bacrot, Arkadij Naiditsch and Alexander Onischuk are among invited

The 10th International Festival d'échecs de Montréal is taking place from 27th August to 7th September in Montréal, Canada. The 12-players round robin tournament will be of at least 15th FIDE category.

So far, seven participants are known. Top rated is Étienne Bacrot from France, who earlier this year won massive Aeroflot Open to earn himself invitation to Dortmund Sparkassen. 2008 European Champion Sergei Tiviakov from Netherlands and Aleksandr Moiseenko from Ukraine will be back for another tournament in Canada.

Read the full article here.

Lazaro Bruzon leading the Zonal 2.3

2009-06-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Neuris Delgado and Eduardo Iturrizaga on shared second

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, is hosting the Zonal 2.3 Chess Championships, which is a qualifying event for the World Chess Cup 2009. The event takes place on 18-26th June and 14 players from five countries in the region will compete. Fernando Osorio from Venezuela was forced to withdraw application because his flights were canceled. Top seeded are Cuban Grandmasters Lazaro Bruzon and Neuris Delgado, who were also active in performing lectures and simultaneous exhibitions in San Jose.

The Zone 2.3 comprises of 22 nations, including all the Caribbean and Central America, plus Mexico, Venezuela, Suriname, Ecuador and Colombia.

View the full article here.

Armenia vs. France

2009-06-24T03:51:00.000-07:00

When: June 24th-25th 2009

Where: Paris

Format: 4 round

Time control: 15 mins + 10 seconds

France:

g	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	2684
g	Laurent Fressinet	2664
g	Joel Lautier	2658
g	Christian Bauer	2605

Armenia:

g	Levon Aronian	2754
g	Vladimir Akopian	2696
g	Gabriel Sargissian	2660
g	Tigran Petrossian	2600

Official website: http://www.echecs.asso.fr/

Chess queen Arianne Caoili dogged by controversy

2009-06-24T03:50:00.001-07:00

Samantha Turnbull
June 24th, 2009

ARIANNE Caoili is no stranger to controversy and it has plagued her again -- this time in chess.

The 22-year-old Gold Coaster who attends university in Canberra and Germany is back on the Coast for the Oceania Chess Championship at Twin Towns.

Caoili is now famous for her appearance on Channel 7's Dancing With The Stars in 2006 in which she was accused by a judge of having professional dance training. She was also labelled a temptress after reports she was at the centre of a love triangle that ended in a dance floor punch-up in Italy.

Caoili said she had put those incidents behind her.

"I don't like to talk about it," she said.

"With every adventure there's good and bad. I choose to ignore the bad.

"I learned a lot of things, but I'm young and there are lots more adventures ahead."

What she didn't mind talking about was the controversy surrounding her chess game this week against Australia's number one woman player, Irina Berezina of Sydney.

The three-hour game was a draw and Caoili was not impressed.

"I'm not very happy," she said.

"I was much better. Irina played passively.

"She offered me the draw and I thought I'd take it. I wish I didn't take it."

Berezina was also unhappy with the result.

"What can you do?

" Everyone wants to win," she said.

"It's tough playing such long games and playing them every day."

The winner of the Oceania Championship will qualify for the World Cup to be held in November in Russia and Berezina and Caoili are both still in with a chance.

Tuesday was a rest day and play resumed yesterday and continues until tomorrow.

Chess fans can watch the action with live commentary on www.gardinerchess.com.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

5 tie for 1st at NY International

2009-06-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

GMs Hracek, Stripunsky, Kacheishvili and IMs Shankland and Barbosa (?) are tied for 1st with 6.5 points. According to various sources, only 4 are tied for 1st. However, according to my personal calculation, IM Barbosa also tied for 1st with 6.5 points. That makes it 5.

Needing a draw with the White pieces against GM Kacheishvili for a GM norm, IM Shankland lost.

IM Milman needed a win with the White pieces against GM Yudasin and he got it.

Molner needed a win against IM Ippolito to get his IM norm and he did not succeed. FM Harper needed a win against Ravichandran for an IM norm and he lost as well.

Official website: http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Eleven players sharing lead at the Tbilisi Open

2009-06-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

15-23th June at the Nona Gaprindashvili Chess Palace
Report by Chessdom.com

Tbilisi International Open Chess Tournament takes place on 15-23th June at the Nona Gaprindashvili Chess Palace. This is arguably the strongest open tournament ever to take place in Georgia. The rich prize fund of 64000 Gel. has attracted 18 men and 13 women grandmasters from the entire Caucasus region, Ukraine and Russia. There are 208 participants in total.

Eleven players with 5.0 points each are sharing the first place after six rounds. Selected games from round five can be replayed bellow.

Round 6 standings:

1-11. GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2655, GM Shanava Konstantine GEO 2506, GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2645, GM Gagunashvili Merab GEO 2591, GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil GEO 2586, GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2687, IM Benidze Davit GEO 2442, IM Javakhishvili Lela GEO 2463, GM Pantsulaia Levan GEO 2581, GM Arutinian David GEO 2548 and IM Petrosian Davit G ARM 2490 - 5.0

12-30. GM Sanikidze Tornike GEO 2559, IM Margvelashvili Giorgi GEO 2491, IM Nigalidze Gaioz GEO 2466, GM Dzagnidze Nana GEO 2541, GM Harutjunyan Gevorg ARM 2504, FM Paichadze Luka GEO 2410, WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab AZE 2316, GM Neverov Valeriy UKR 2552, GM Jojua Davit GEO 2520, IM Sulashvili Malkhaz GEO 2442, IM Melia Salome GEO 2440, IM Shalamberidze Akaki GEO 2381, WGM Charkhalashvili Inga GEO 2363, Jamagidze Mikheil GEO 2263, IM Supatashvili Khvicha GEO 2464, IM Purtseladze Maka GEO 2327, IM Azaladze Shota GEO 2434, IM Babujian Levon ARM 2506 and FM Zeynalov Farid AZE 2299 - 4.5 etc.

View the full article here.

Cuban GM Leinier Domínguez Wins Capablanca Chess Memorial

2009-06-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

www.cubaheadlines.com
Fri, 2009-06-19 12:06.

Boosted by a crowd of supporters, Cuban Grand Master (GM) Leinier Domínguez (ELO 2721) won over German GM Geor Meier (2641) on Wednesday to take the title in the Elite Group at the Capablanca Memorial Chess Tournament ongoing in Havana.

Domínguez had to win the game, his last of the tournament, to assure first place, as his rival still has one game left to play.

With the win, Leinier finished the tournament with 6.5 of a possible 10 points and will gain slightly in his ELO rating.

Leinier Domínguez will not take a much-deserved vacation and may not see action again until the Pan-American Team Championships to be held August 8 to 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rounding out the Cuban team in Rio will be GMs Lázaro Bruzón (2617), Yuniesky Quesada (2596), Fidel Corrales (2574), Holden Hernández (2573) and Neuris Delgado (2572). The Capablanca tournament finishes on Thursday with matches that will determine the group leader in the Open category.

Elite Grup (9th Round)

Leinier-Meier (1-0) Bruzón-Timofeev (draw) Khenkin-Savchenko (draw)

Elite Standings (after 9 rounds):

1.- Leinier Domínguez (6.5 of 10) 2.- Georg Meier (4.5) 3.- Boris Savchenko (4.5) 4.- Lázaro Bruzón (4.5 de 10) 5.- Artyom Timofeev (4) 6.- Igor Khenkin (4)

Premier Grup (9th Round)

Neuris-Yuniesky (draw) Fidelito-Córdova (draw) Holden-Potkin (1-0)

Premier Standings (alter 8 rounds):

1.- Neuris Delgado (6.5 of 10) 2.- Vladimir Potkin (5.5) 3.- Emilio Córdova (5.5) 4.- Yuniesky Quesada (4) 5.- Holden Hernández (3.5) 6.- Fidel Corrales (3)

(Juventud Rebelde)

Liem takes berth at world champs

2009-06-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

HA NOI — International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem has claimed a spot in the World Chess Championship (World Cup) to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia late this year.

Liem ranked fifth in the Asian Chess Championship in Subic, the Philippines last month which, according to World Chess Federation (FIDE) regulations, qualifies him automatically for the finals of the World Championship taking place from November 20-December 15.

Liem’s teammate IGM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, who did not finish in the top 10 at the Asian competition, must continue to battle for a berth in the 2009 World Championship; he would have to rank in the top two at the World Chess Championship qualifiers taking place in HCM City on July 22-30.

The 18-year-old, HCM City-born Liem, has joined in the world top 20, with an elo rate of 2,591 in April’s FIDE rankings, and is the only Vietnamese player to make the leading list of male chess masters.

He was conferred the IGM title after the Chess Olympiad 2006 finished in Turin in 2006.

At the championship this year, Liem will test his skills against such formidable opponents as Viswanathan Anan from India, G Kamsky of the US, A Shirov of Spain, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Ivanchuk from the Ukraine.

In 2007, Liem, Son and Le Thanh Tu claimed three regional spots at the World Cup in Mexico after stellar competition in the World Chess Championships qualifiers on Phu Quoc Island, in Kien Giang Province. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.v