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TWIC Magazine
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Year in Review
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | (former front page stories)
 

Last update: 19:15 GMT 14:15 EST, Thursday 7th August 2008.
Send news feedback to Mark Crowther at mdcrowth@btinternet.com

 

MAIN NEWS STORIES


 
Promotions
2nd FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi. Round 7.
British Championship. Round 10.
Najdorf Memorial
Staunton Memorial
XXIII Villarrobledo International Rapid Open
Magnus Carlsen charity simul on ICC to raise money for Dusan Popovic. Bidding on ebay for places and also qualifiers on ICC.
Some current tournaments. World Juniors, Argentine Championship, HZ Open, Arctic Chess Challenge
July 2008 FIDE Rating List

New John Watson chess book and software reviews.

John Watson has a program called Chess Talk on ICC Chess.fm.
Most recent review: 4th January 2008. John Watson Book Review #86: The Big Three and Then Some

John Watson Book Review #85: A Convenient Truth

Recent reviews:
#84 - John Watson Book #83: - Reply # 83 -#82 - #81 - #80 - #79 - #78 - #77 - #76 - #75 - #74

Past Reviews

John Watson's ambitious works"Mastering the Openings, Volume 1" and "Mastering the Openings, Volume 2" are now available, with Volume 3 planned. The books aim to explain openings on an instructional and conceptual basis. His "Dangerous Weapons: The French" is also available at the London Chess Center, along with his recent, co-authored, book "How to Succeed in the Queen Pawn Openings". Other of Watson's award-winning books include "Chess Strategy in Action", "Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy", and "Play the French, 3rd Edition". John reports that TWIC is a constant Web companion.

 
 
 
TWIC Theory and Promotions

New Rybka.


TWIC Theory

TWIC Theory is an electronic monthly magazine with high quality articles delivered in PGN and PDF format on the 25th of every month. You can still get the back issues.

TWIC Theory Diagram September 2007 Benko Gambit by Alex Finkel
Number 35 September 2007. Benko Gambit - Main Line/ The Latest Trends in the post-Topalov period By GM Alex Finkel

Details: http://www.chesscenter.com/twictheory/

 
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2nd FIDE Grand Prix Tournament in Sochi


Ivanchuk-Gashimov Round 7. Photo © http://www.europe-echecs.com/

The 2nd FIDE Grand Prix Tournament takes place in Sochi 31st July - 14th August 2008. (these are the dates of the first and last rounds, rest days 5th and 10th August).

Games in PGN

Official site: http://sochi2008.fide.com/. The official videos will be compiled by http://www.europe-echecs.com/ and on the spot reports from http://www.chessvibes.com/

Europe-Echecs Viewer

Europe-echecs have on the spot video reports each day. Watch the latest stories from Sochi

Silverlight Chessboard application
by Martin Bennedik
(http://www.bennedik.de/Silverboard.html).

2nd FIDE GP Sochi (RUS), 31 vii-14 viii 2008 cat. XIX (2708)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2687 * 0 ½ . 1 ½ 1 . 1 . . ½ . . 2826
2. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2744 1 * ½ . ½ . 0 ½ . . . 1 1 . 2794
3. Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2717 ½ ½ * . . ½ . . ½ ½ . ½ . 1 4 2765
4. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2737 . . . * ½ ½ . ½ . 0 ½ . 1 1 4 2742
5. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2723 0 ½ . ½ * . ½ . . 1 ½ ½ . . 2733
6. Wang Yue g CHN 2704 ½ . ½ ½ . * ½ ½ . . ½ . ½ . 2695
7. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2738 0 1 . . ½ ½ * . ½ . . ½ . ½ 2707
8. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2709 . ½ . ½ . ½ . * ½ ½ . ½ . ½ 2722
9. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2728 0 . ½ . . . ½ ½ * . 1 ½ ½ . 2693
10. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2781 . . ½ 1 0 . . ½ . * ½ . ½ ½ 2687
11. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2727 . . . ½ ½ ½ . . 0 ½ * . 1 ½ 2696
12. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2720 ½ 0 ½ . ½ . ½ ½ ½ . . * . . 3 2670
13. Al-Modiahki, Mohamad g QAT 2556 . 0 . 0 . ½ . . ½ ½ 0 . * 1 2621
14. Navara, David g CZE 2646 . . 0 0 . . ½ ½ . ½ ½ . 0 * 2 2551

Round 1 (July 31, 2008)
Cheparinov, Ivan - Gashimov, Vugar ½-½ 45 C42 Petroff's Defence
Radjabov, Teimour - Al-Modiahki, Mohamad 1-0 48 A07 Barcza System
Wang Yue - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 32 D11 Slav Defence
Svidler, Peter - Kamsky, Gata ½-½ 35 B12 Caro Kann Advanced
Grischuk, Alexander - Karjakin, Sergey 1-0 41 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Gelfand, Boris - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 42 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Navara, David - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 39 E15 Queens Indian
Round 2 (August 1, 2008)
Gashimov, Vugar - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 39 C43 Petroff's Defence
Aronian, Levon - Navara, David 1-0 46 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Kamsky, Gata - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0 47 B33 Sicilian Sveshnikov
Svidler, Peter - Cheparinov, Ivan 0-1 39 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ 57 E97 King's Indian Classical
Karjakin, Sergey - Wang Yue ½-½ 41 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Al-Modiahki, Mohamad - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ 34 C19 French Winawer
Round 3 (August 2, 2008)
Cheparinov, Ivan - Kamsky, Gata 1-0 41 D86 Gruenfeld Simagin
Radjabov, Teimour - Gashimov, Vugar ½-½ 24 C42 Petroff's Defence
Wang Yue - Al-Modiahki, Mohamad ½-½ 43 D11 Slav Defence
Grischuk, Alexander - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 87 E06 Catalan
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Aronian, Levon 1-0 44 D11 Slav Defence
Gelfand, Boris - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 53 A15 English counter King's Fianchetto
Navara, David - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ 44 A29 English Four Knights
Round 4 (August 3, 2008)
Cheparinov, Ivan - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 41 C42 Petroff's Defence
Gashimov, Vugar - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ 23 B43 Sicilian Paulsen
Kamsky, Gata - Aronian, Levon ½-½ 37 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Svidler, Peter - Radjabov, Teimour 1-0 41 B76 Sicilian Modern Dragon
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Wang Yue ½-½ 74 D17 Slav Defence
Karjakin, Sergey - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 25 C42 Petroff's Defence
Al-Modiahki, Mohamad - Navara, David 1-0 48 B40 Sicilian Classical
Round 5 (August 4, 2008)
Radjabov, Teimour - Cheparinov, Ivan 1-0 38 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Aronian, Levon - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ 34 A17 English Opening
Wang Yue - Gashimov, Vugar ½-½ 42 E35 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Grischuk, Alexander - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 24 B96 Sicilian Najdorf
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Al-Modiahki, Mohamad ½-½ 31 B19 Caro Kann
Gelfand, Boris - Kamsky, Gata ½-½ 37 A13 Reti Opening
Navara, David - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 29 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Round 6 (August 6, 2008)
Cheparinov, Ivan - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 55 D12 Slav Defence
Gashimov, Vugar - Navara, David 1-0 70 C99 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Kamsky, Gata - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ 47 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Svidler, Peter - Wang Yue ½-½ 36 C53 Giuoco Piano
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½ 32 B84 Sicilian Scheveningen
Gelfand, Boris - Radjabov, Teimour 0-1 49 E97 King's Indian Classical
Al-Modiahki, Mohamad - Aronian, Levon 0-1 64 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Round 7 (August 7, 2008)
Radjabov, Teimour - Kamsky, Gata ½-½ 50 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Aronian, Levon - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½ 30 D56 Queens Gambit Lasker's Defence
Wang Yue - Cheparinov, Ivan ½-½ 56 D30 Queen's Gambit (without Nc3)
Grischuk, Alexander - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 46 E04 Catalan
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Gashimov, Vugar ½-½ 34 C49 Four Knights Metger
Karjakin, Sergey - Al-Modiahki, Mohamad 1-0 89 C24 Bishop's Opening
Navara, David - Svidler, Peter ½-½ 49 B87 Sicilian Sozin Attack
 
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British Championship

The 95th Championships of The British Isles organised by the English Chess Federation takes place Sunday 27th July - Saturday 9th August 2008 in St. George's Hall, Liverpool.

Games in PGN Rd1-9

Official site: http://www.britishchess08.com includes live coverage of the top boards

Leading games in PGN from Rd10

Leading Results from Round 10

Round 10 (August 7, 2008)
Flear, Glenn C - Surtees, Mike J 1-0 35 A40 Unusual Replies to 1.d4
Ynojosa, Felix Jose - Pert, Nicholas 0-1 66 C01 French Exchange
Eggleston, David J - Hawkins, Jonathan 0-1 36 E70 King's Indian Fianchetto
Rendle, Thomas E - Pert, Richard G ½-½ 13 B23 Sicilian Closed
Venkataramanan, T.S - Davies, Nigel R 0-1 34 B40 Sicilian Classical
Kolbus, Dietmar - Rudd, Jack 1-0 22 A20 English Opening
Ledger, Andrew J - Arkell, Keith C 0-1 35 B17 Caro Kann
Gormally, Daniel W - Hebden, Mark L ½-½ 52 C55 Two Knights Defence
Conquest, Stuart C - Haslinger, Stewart G 1-0 29 A50 Queen's Indian (without e7-e6)
Gordon, Stephen J - Williams, Simon K ½-½ 44 E81 King's Indian Saemisch
Jones, Gawain C B - Lalic, Bogdan ½-½ 12 C42 Petroff's Defence

95th ch-GBR Liverpool (ENG), 28 vii - 9 viii 2008
Leading Round 9 Standings:
Pos Player NAT ti Elo Pts
1 Conquest, Stuart ENG g 2536
2 Gordon, Stephen ENG m 2508
3 Jones, Gawain C ENG g 2549
4 Lalic, Bogdan CRO g 2533
5 Williams, Simon K ENG g 2496
6 Arkell, Keith C ENG g 2506 6
7 Gormally, Daniel ENG g 2504 6
8 Haslinger, Stewart G ENG g 2511 6
9 Hebden, Mark ENG g 2520 6
10 Kolbus, Dietmar GER m 2393 6
11 Ledger, Andrew ENG m 2423 6
12 Rudd, Jack ENG f 2345 6
13 Davies, Nigel R ENG g 2478
14 Eggleston, David J ENG f 2372
15 Hawkins, Jonathan ENG 2232
16 Pert, Richard ENG m 2468
17 Rendle, Thomas ENG m 2363
18 Tiruchirapalli, Venkatara IND 2247
19 Addison, Bret C ENG 2244 5
20 Buckley, Graeme ENG m 2401 5
21 Flear, Glenn C ENG g 2493 5
22 Greet, Andrew N ENG m 2453 5
23 Grigoryan-Lyell, Meri ENG wf 2053 5
24 Hanley, James L ENG 2243 5
25 Kett, Tim WLS 2247 5
26 Knott, Simon J B ENG m 2365 5
27 Lalic, Susan ENG m 2344 5
28 Ledger, Dave ENG f 2260 5
29 Pert, Nicholas ENG g 2547 5
30 Surtees, Mike ENG 2182 5
31 Trent, Lawrence ENG m 2470 5
32 Ynojosa, Felix Jose ENG 2101 5
33 Zhou, Yang-Fan ENG 2259 5
68 players
 
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Najdorf Memorial

The Najdorf Memorial takes place 2nd-10th August 2008. There is an all-play-all and a couple of opens.

Games in PGN and Open Games in PGN

Official site: http://www.poloniachess.pl/najdorf2008/index.php?lang=en

Najdorf Memorial A Warsaw POL (POL), 2-10 viii 2008 cat. XV (2608)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2684 * ½ . . ½ 1 . . 1 1 4 2820
2. Socko, Bartosz g POL 2627 ½ * ½ . . . 1 . ½ 1 2746
3. Krasenkow, Michal g POL 2639 . ½ * . 1 ½ . ½ ½ . 3 2683
4. Nyback, Tomi g FIN 2639 . . . * 0 ½ 1 ½ . 1 3 2650
5. Balogh, Csaba g HUN 2624 ½ . 0 1 * . 0 1 . . 2636
6. Berg, Emanuel g SWE 2592 0 . ½ ½ . * ½ . 1 . 2633
7. Macieja, Bartlomiej g POL 2606 . 0 . 0 1 ½ * ½ . . 2 2547
8. Kempinski, Robert g POL 2613 . . ½ ½ 0 . ½ * . ½ 2 2521
9. Rozentalis, Eduardas g LTU 2599 0 ½ ½ . . 0 . . * ½ 2451
10. Olszewski, Michal m POL 2458 0 0 . 0 . . . ½ ½ * 1 2392

Round 1 (August 2, 2008)
Sasikiran, Krishnan - Olszewski, Michal 1-0 92 E44 Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Socko, Bartosz - Macieja, Bartlomiej 1-0 36 E20 Nimzo Indian
Balogh, Csaba - Kempinski, Robert 1-0 78 B90 Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Berg, Emanuel - Nyback, Tomi ½-½ 94 C92 Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Rozentalis, Eduardas - Krasenkow, Michal ½-½ 35 B40 Sicilian Classical
Round 2 (August 3, 2008)
Sasikiran, Krishnan - Rozentalis, Eduardas 1-0 52 B04 Alekhine's Defence
Krasenkow, Michal - Socko, Bartosz ½-½ 17 E33 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Nyback, Tomi - Balogh, Csaba 0-1 38 D12 Slav Defence
Macieja, Bartlomiej - Berg, Emanuel ½-½ 73 A57 Volga Gambit
Olszewski, Michal - Kempinski, Robert ½-½ 90 B91 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.g3
Round 3 (August 4, 2008)
Socko, Bartosz - Sasikiran, Krishnan ½-½ 38 C68 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Balogh, Csaba - Macieja, Bartlomiej 0-1 38 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Berg, Emanuel - Krasenkow, Michal ½-½ 56 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Kempinski, Robert - Nyback, Tomi ½-½ 84 D48 Queens Gambit Meran
Rozentalis, Eduardas - Olszewski, Michal ½-½ 62 C68 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Round 4 (August 5, 2008)
Sasikiran, Krishnan - Berg, Emanuel 1-0 36 A67 Benoni Three Pawns System
Krasenkow, Michal - Balogh, Csaba 1-0 49 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Macieja, Bartlomiej - Kempinski, Robert ½-½ 50 D51 Queens Gambit Cambridge Springs
Rozentalis, Eduardas - Socko, Bartosz ½-½ 14 C68 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Olszewski, Michal - Nyback, Tomi 0-1 62 C90 Ruy Lopez
Round 5 (August 6, 2008)
Socko, Bartosz - Olszewski, Michal 1-0 29 C68 Ruy Lopez Exchange
Nyback, Tomi - Macieja, Bartlomiej 1-0 56 D39 QGD Ragozin
Balogh, Csaba - Sasikiran, Krishnan ½-½ 56 B81 Sicilian Keres Attack
Berg, Emanuel - Rozentalis, Eduardas 1-0 38 C42 Petroff's Defence
Kempinski, Robert - Krasenkow, Michal ½-½ 63 A21 English Opening
 
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Staunton Memorial

The Staunton Memorial takes place in Simpsons in the Strand in London August 7th-18th 2008 (one rest day August 13th).

Players: Ivan Sokolov, Jan Timman, Jan Smeets , Jan Werle, Erwin L'Ami ,Loek Van Wely, Jonathan Speelman, Peter Wells, Michael Adams, Bob Wade, Alex Cherniaev and Nigel Short.

Official site: http://www.howardstaunton.com/hsmt2008/index.shtml

 
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XXIII Villarrobledo International Rapid Open

The XXIII Villarrobledo International Rapid Open took place over the weekend of 2nd-3rd August 2008. There was a strong entry at the top headed by Veselin Topalov who took clear first place with 8/9 half a point clear of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov was a further half point behind and Alexei Shirov a further half point behind that.

Games in PGN

Official site: http://www.ajedrezenvillarrobledo.es/

XXIII Rapid Open Villarrobledo (ESP), 2-3 viii 2008
Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
Pl.NameTiFEDEloPts. BH 1 BH 2 FIDE
1Topalov VeselinGMBUL27778,053,058,041,0
2Mamedyarov ShakhriyarGMAZE27427,552,056,541,0
3Ponomariov RuslanGMUKR27187,052,057,037,0
4Palac MladenGMCRO25877,050,053,536,0
5Malakhov VladimirGMRUS26897,049,554,038,0
6Ljubojevic LjubomirGMSRB25557,047,551,036,5
7Arizmendi Martinez Julen LuisGMESP25247,047,050,035,0
8Shirov AlexeiGMESP27416,552,056,537,0
9Paunovic DraganGMSRB25396,548,553,536,5
10Sokolov IvanGMNED26586,548,052,534,0
11Van Wely LoekGMNED26446,548,052,036,0
12Abreu Delgado AryamIMCUB25026,546,549,034,5
13Perez Candelario ManuelIMESP25376,543,547,534,0
14Dreev AlexeyGMRUS26576,543,547,532,5
15Guliyev NamigGMAZE25106,542,546,034,5
16Lafuente PabloIMARG25056,542,046,032,5
17Minzer Claudio JavierIMARG24576,542,045,031,0
18Milov VadimGMSUI27056,048,553,535,0
19Fedorchuk Sergey AGMUKR26246,047,551,535,5
20Kolev AtanasGMBUL25656,046,050,534,5
163 players
 
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Magnus Carlsen Simul on ICC in aid of Dusan Popovic

Magnus Carlsen will play a simultaneous exhibition in aid of Dusan Popovic who has chronic kidney failure. The exhibition will take place on ICC on August 11th 2008.

Serbian GM  Dusan Popovic tragically took ill earlier this year and  diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and now is in urgent need of a transplant.  You can read more about;Dusan's plight here

The exhibtion takes place Monday, August 11th 2008, with matches beginning at 2pm U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (7pm GMT)

Internet Chess Club is offering on eBay 18 seats to play in the simultaneous exhibition with Super-Grandmaster Carlsen. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play whom many believe will soon become the world #1 and world champion - and at the same time help towards a good cause.  Twelve seats will be sold in a Dutch Auction (here), and six seats are offered in this listing at a fixed price. To view the auctions, go to: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZinternetchessclub

The six people who donate $500 each for these special fixed-price seats will receive a two-year subscription (or two-year renewal) to ICC; a downloadable copy of the latest version of Junior, the three-time world champion chess engine; and a one-year subscription to the world's leading chess magazine,  New In Chess for a total value of about $250!

The winning bid will earn a seat to play Super Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen on ICC. The time control will be 90 minutes with a 5 second increment. Seats will only be available to players under the rating of 2200 and they will play with the black pieces.

Notes:  All payments must be made by PayPal or credit card within 24 hours of the close of the auction in order to allow time to properly prepare for this event.  You need not be an ICC member in order to participate; you will receive instructions via email upon payment.

ICC members can also pay a modest sum of 5 chekels (or donate more) to play in two large online qualifiers (Saturday, 9 August, 5pm ET and Sunday, 10 August, 4pm ET) with the two winners - and the player with the highest accumulated score from both qualifiers  - winning through to play in the Magnus Carlsen simultaneous.

Please remember that ALL 100% of the proceeds raised will go directly to GM Dusan Popovic's medical fund for his kidney transplant - please give generously to his cause.

Source ICC Press Release August 7th 2008.

Details at: http://www.chessclub.com/

 
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Some current tournaments.

The World Junior Championships takes place 3rd-15th August 2008 (rest day 9th August) in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Official site: http://wjcc2008.tsf.org.tr/

The 83rd Argentine Championship followed on from the semi-finals and takes place 30th July - 11th August 2008.

Official site: http://201.216.215.172/torneos/FINAL-83-ARG-08/

The 12th Hogeschool Zeeland Chess Tournament takes place in Vlissingen, August 2nd-9th, 2008.

The 12th Hogeschool Zeeland Chess Tournament in Vlissingen will be the strongest Dutch Summer Open of 2008. 250 players, among them more than 30 titleholders, will compete in the Hogeschool Zeeland, Edisonweg 4 in Vlissingen, in a 9 rounds Swiss. Three months before the first move will be made all places available for amateurs were sold out. Players include: GM Farrukh Amonatov (Tadzjikistan, 2650), GM Konstantin Landa (Russia, 2615), GM Lazaro Bruzon (Cuba, 2592), GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov (Russia, 2592), GM Chanda Sandipan (India, 2588), GM Sipke Ernst (Holland, 2581), GM Friso Nijboer (Holland, 2564), GM Alexandr Fier (Brazil, 2558), IM Krikor Mekhitarian (Brazil, 2504) and GM Ralf Akesson (Sweden, 2480).

Official site: http://www.hztoernooi.nl

The Arctic Chess Challenge 2008 takes place 2nd-10th August 2008 in Tromso, Norway.

Official site: http://www.arcticchess.org

 
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FIDE Rating List for July 2008

The FIDE Rating List for July has been released. Anand holds on to top spot. Morozevich catches Kramnik in 2nd but Aerosvit isn't rated so Carlsen doesn't move to that spot.

July 2008 FIDE Rating List

 
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COMPLETED EVENTS

 
Mainz
VI Gyorgy Marx
41st Biel International Chess Festival
North Urals Cup
 
 
Chess Classic Mainz

The Chess Classic Mainz took place 28th July - 3rd August 2008. The 13th GRENKELEASING Rapid World Championship takes place 1st-3rd August 2008. The time rate will be 20min + 5 seconds a move and 5min + 5 seconds a move if playoffs are required (play starts at 17:30pm each day). There is a double round robin amongst the players Viswanathan Anand, Alexander Morozevich, Magnus Carlsen and Judit Polgar.

Anand beat Carlsen in the final 3-1 with a game to spare after winning the first two games of the four game final. Alexander Morozevich won the final game of his match against Judit Polgar to take 3rd.

The 15th Ordix Open took place 2nd-3rd August and the time rate is also 20min + 5 seconds a move and was won by rising star Ian Nepomniachtchi on tie-break from Pavel Eljanov

Final Games in PGN

3rd-4th Place Games in PGN

Games in PGN

Ordix Open Games in PGN

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

13th GrenkeLeasing Rapid WCh Final Mainz (GER),3 viii 2008
Gm1 Anand, V - Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 50 B77 Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
Gm2 Carlsen, Magnus - Anand, V 0-1 50 E06 Catalan closed, 5.Nf3
Gm3 Anand, V - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 56 B52 Sicilian Canal-Sokolsky attack, 3...Bd7
Gm4 Carlsen, Magnus - Anand, V ½-½ 11 E06 Catalan closed, 5.Nf3

13th GrenkeLeasing Rapid WCh Final Mainz (GER),3 viii 2008
1234
Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2798 1 1 ½ ½ 3 2968
Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2775 0 0 ½ ½ 1 2605
13th GrenkeLeasing Rapid WCh 3rd-4th Mainz (GER),3 viii 2008
Gm1 Morozevich, A - Polgar, Judit ½-½ 49 A70 Benoni Classical with e4 and Nf3
Gm2 Polgar, Judit - Morozevich, A ½-½ 146 C92 Ruy Lopez Flohr-Zaitsev system
Gm3 Morozevich, A - Polgar, Judit ½-½ 67 A70 Benoni Classical with e4 and Nf3
Gm4 Polgar, Judit - Morozevich, A 1-0 71 C92 Ruy Lopez Flohr-Zaitsev system

13th GrenkeLeasing Rapid WCh 3rd-4th Mainz (GER),3 viii 2008
1234
Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 ½ ½ ½ 1 2806
Polgar, Judit g HUN 2711 ½ ½ ½ 0 2701
13th GrenkeLeasing Rapid WCh Mainz (GER), 1-2 viii 2008 cat. XXI (2768)
1 2 3 4
1. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2798 * * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 4 2883
2. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2775 ½ ½ * * ½ ½ 1 ½ 2822
3. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 0 0 ½ ½ * * 1 1 3 2761
4. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2711 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 * * 2594

15th Ordix Open Mainz (GER), 2-3 viii 2008
Final Round 11 Standings
PlPlayerTiNATTWZPunktePktSumMiBuch
1Nepomniachtchi,IanGMRUS26029,562,569,5
2Eljanov,PavelGMUKR27169,560,071,0
3Almasi,ZoltanGMHUN26759,058,569,0
4Najer,EvgeniyGMRUS26809,058,071,0
5Lahno,KaterynaWGMUKR25159,057,070,0
6Nakamura,HikaruGMUSA26979,056,567,5
7Motylev,AlexanderGMRUS26759,056,566,5
8Naiditsch,ArkadijGM26699,055,568,0
9Ivanisevic,IvanGMSRB26649,054,066,5
10Kazhgaleyev,MurtasGMKAZ26419,054,063,5
11Fressinet,LaurentGMFRA26739,054,063,5
12Kasimdzhanov,RustamGMUZB26798,556,570,5
13Vaganjan,Rafael AgredGMARM26108,556,069,5
14Bareev,EvgenyGMRUS26598,555,565,5
15Potkin,VladimirGMRUS26368,554,566,0
16Schneider,Ilja24688,554,561,5
17Mchedlishvili,MikhailGMGEO26048,554,066,0
18Tregubov,PavelGMRUS26688,553,064,0
19Bhat,Vinay S.IMUSA24838,553,062,0
20Bischoff,KlausGM25458,552,564,0
21Appel,RalfIM25438,552,562,5
22Barle,JanezIMSLO24148,550,057,5
23Siebrecht,SebastianIM24538,549,561,5
24Seel,ChristianIM24948,548,559,0
25Buhmann,RainerGM25618,054,567,0
26Jaracz,PawelGMPOL25018,054,069,0
27Arutinian,DavidGMGEO25868,054,066,0
28Movsesian,SergeiGMSVK27238,053,569,0
29Polzin,RainerGM25208,053,065,5
30Berelovich,AleksandarGMUKR25578,053,063,0
31Morawietz,Dieter24498,052,067,0
32Hracek,ZbynekGMCZE26308,051,564,5
33De Jong,Jan WillemIMNED24798,051,062,0
34Meier,GeorgGM25568,050,559,0
35Csiszar,CsabaIMHUN24368,050,062,5
36Gheng,JosefFM23158,048,059,5
37Zhukova,NataliaWGMUKR24898,047,560,0
38Bruehl,AndreasFM23788,047,556,5
39Gohil,HarryFM23448,046,059,5
40Voropaev,GlebFM22908,046,057,0
41Donchenko,AnatolyIM23998,045,056,0
42Handke,FlorianGM24988,044,054,0
43Kosteniuk,AlexandraGMRUS25107,555,571,0
44Horvath,AdamGMHUN25137,555,070,5
45Markowski,TomaszGMPOL26067,554,570,5
46Ruck,RobertGMHUN25747,554,066,5
47Andersson,UlfGMSWE25627,552,064,0
48Shanava,KonstantineGMGEO25227,552,063,5
49Glek,IgorGM25127,552,063,5
50Cmilyte,ViktorijaWGMLTU25367,551,064,5
693 players
 
 
VI Gyorgy Marx

The VI.Gyorgy Marx Memorial took place in Paks, Hungary 24th July - 4th August, 2008. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won the event with 7/10.

Alongside was the XII.Paks Open 30th July - 3rd August, 2008, 7 rounds.

The time control was 100 minutes for 40 moves and then 50 minutes for 20 moves and finally 15 minutes. There is an increment of 30 seconds per move first move 1.

Games in PGN

Official site: http://www.ase.hu/marxgy/2008/index_eng.html

VI Gyorgy Marx Mem Paks (HUN), 25 vii-4 viii 2008 cat. XV (2625)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2681 * * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 7 2763
2. Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2606 ½ ½ * * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 6 2701
3. Berkes, Ferenc g HUN 2645 ½ ½ 0 ½ * * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 5 2621
4. Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2660 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * * ½ 1 ½ ½ 2582
5. Stellwagen, Daniël g NED 2616 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 * * 1 ½ 4 2555
6. Acs, Peter g HUN 2544 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * * 2531
 
 
41st Biel International Chess Festival


Alekseev, Dominguez and Carlsen receive their prizes. Photo © http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/

The 41st Biel International Chess Festival took place 19th July - 1st August 2008. Leinier Dominguez Perez and Evgeny Alekseev finished on 6.5/9 half a point clear of the pre-tournament favourite Magnus Carlsen. Alekseev won the title after a playoff 2.5-1.5 by winning game four and thus avoided taking the match into a sudden death (Armageddon) 5m-4m playoff.

Games in PGN and Playoff Games in PGN

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

Playoff format: Two rapid games (15 minutes) were both drawn, Alekseev won the second 5 minute + 2secs a move game to take the cup.

41st Festival GM Biel Playoff (SUI), 31 vii 2008
Gm1 Alekseev, Evgeny - Dominguez Perez, Leinier ½-½ 37 D27 QGA
Gm2 Dominguez Perez, Leinier - Alekseev, Evgeny ½-½ 65 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Gm3 Alekseev, Evgeny - Dominguez Perez, Leinier ½-½ 48 B92 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2
Gm4 Dominguez Perez, Leinier - Alekseev, Evgeny 0-1 44 C65 Ruy Lopez Berlin

41st Festival GM Biel Playoff (SUI), 31 vii 2008
1234
Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 ½ ½ ½ 1 2803
Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2708 ½ ½ ½ 0 2621
41st Festival GM Biel (SUI), 20-31 vii 2008 cat. XVIII (2687)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 * * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 2792
2. Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2708 ½ 1 * * ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 2792
3. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2775 ½ 0 ½ ½ * * 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6 2741
4. Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2691 0 1 0 1 0 ½ * * ½ 1 1 ½ 2722
5. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2670 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * * 1 ½ 4 2618
6. Pelletier, Yannick g SUI 2569 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * * 2414

Round 10 (July 31, 2008)
Alekseev, Evgeny - Pelletier, Yannick 1-0 43 D81 Gruenfeld Botvinnik
Carlsen, Magnus - Onischuk, Alexander ½-½ 36 C84 Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Bacrot, Etienne - Dominguez Perez, Leinier 1-0 36 D27 QGA
 
 
North Urals Cup

The North Urals Cup took place in Krasnoturinsk (Sverdlovsk region) July 26th - August 3rd 2008. Antoaneta Stefanova took clear first place with 4½/7 half a point clear of Anna Ushenina and Marie Sebag.

Games in PGN

Official site: http://www.northuralscup.ru

5th North Urals Cup Krasnoturinsk (RUS), 27 vii-3 viii 2008 cat. XI (2522)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2550 * ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 2620
2. Ushenina, Anna m UKR 2476 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 4 2578
3. Sebag, Marie m FRA 2530 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 4 2571
4. Xu Yuhua g CHN 2483 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 2527
5. Koneru, Humpy g IND 2622 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 2508
6. Cramling, Pia g SWE 2544 1 1 0 0 0 * ½ ½ 3 2469
7. Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2504 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 3 2474
8. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2469 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 2427

Round 7 (August 3, 2008)
Stefanova, Antoaneta - Xu Yuhua ½-½ 10 E06 Catalan
Ushenina, Anna - Koneru, Humpy ½-½ 21 E37 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Sebag, Marie - Cramling, Pia 1-0 61 B48 Sicilian Paulsen
Pogonina, Natalija - Muzychuk, Anna ½-½ 36 B42 Sicilian Paulsen
 
 

FUTURE EVENTS

 
 
World Championship Bonn
Wijk aan Zee 2008
Bilbao
 
 
World Championship Match Anand against Kramnik in Bonn.

The World Championship match where Viswanathan Anand will defends his World title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany will now take place October 14th– 2nd November, 2008. The main reason for the slight change in dates is to fit in with the sponsors and politicians ability to attend the opening. The main sponsor is Evonik Industries AG and the prizemoney 1,5 Million Euro. The contract was signed by both players 18th December 2007.

Dates for the match: Gm1: Oct 14th, Gm2: Oct 15th, Gm3: Oct 17th, Gm4: Oct 18th, Gm5: Oct 20th, Gm6: Oct 21st, Gm7: Oct 23rd, Gm8: Oct 24th, Gm9: Oct 26th, Gm10: Oct 27th, Gm11: Oct 29th, Gm12: Oct 31st, Tiebreak Nov 2nd.

Advanced booking for the World Chess Championship 2008 between Viswanathan Anand (India) and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) has started. The tickets are available at the price of 35 Euro per day. The following benefits are included: - entrance to the playing hall - entrance to the commentary room with analysis by prominent grandmasters. The tickets are available at all ticket agencies in Germany. You can also buy tickets for the match in advance via BONNTICKET: http://www.bonnticket.de tickets@bonnticket.de. Tel. +49-(0)-180/5001812. Tickets for a possible tiebreak on November 02, 2008, will be available after the 12th game. Exclusive VIP tickets are also available. Details at the website below along with features on the leadup to the championships.

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

 
 
Wijk aan Zee 2009

The organizers of the 71st Corus Chess Tournament have invited the young Dutch Grandmasters Daniel Stellwagen (1987) and reigning Dutch Champion Jan Smeets (1985) for the Grandmaster group A in 2009. For both players it means a debut on the highest level. Together with Loek van Wely, they will represent the Netherlands in the traditional chess festival, that will be held from Friday January 16th to Sunday 1st of February 2009.

Besides the participation of the above mentioned three Dutch players, the following World Class players have confirmed their participation: Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Alexander Morozevich (Russia), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Gata Kamsky (United States) and Teymour Radjabov (Azerbaijan). Carlsen, Ivanchuk and Morozevich will be in the Top-5 of the new World Ranking list, that will be published on July 1st 2008.

The young Ukrainian Grandmaster Sergei Karjakin, as well as the winner of last year’s Grandmaster group B, Sergei Movsesian (Slovakia), have also confirmed their participation. The complete field with 14 participants will be presented in October 2008, as well as the names of the participants in the Grandmaster groups B and C.

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

 
 
Bilbao Grand Slam Final

The 1st Grand Slam Chess Final Masters takes place 2nd-13th September 2008 in Bilbao with 6 players in a double round robin format. They are: World Champion Viswanathan Anand, the in-form Vassily Ivanchuk, Veselin Topalov, the de-facto world number 2 Magnus Carlsen (his Foros result was too late for the July rating list), Teimour Radjabov and Levon Aronian.

Time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and another 60 minutes to finish the game.

The total prize money amounts to €400,000: €150,000 for 1st, €70,000 for 2nd, €60,000 for 3rd, €50,000 for 4th, €40,000 for 5th and €30,000 for 6th.

Other innovations include three points for a win and only a point for a draw (in events where this has been tried before its never really seemed to make much difference to the final result in my opinion) and that they will play outside in a huge soundproofed and air-conditioned glass case which is under construction. This will be placed in the Plaza Nueva in Bilbao under a marquee which will also accommodate The Agora for analysis and comments.

Grand Slam Final Bilbao (ESP), 2-13 ix 2008.
Category XXI (2769)
WRk Name Ti NATYofBElo Ju08
1 Anand, Viswanathan g IND19692798
4Ivanchuk, VassilygUKR19692781
5Topalov, VeselingBUL19752777
6Carlsen, MagnusgNOR19902775
7Radjabov, TeimourgAZE19872744
12Aronian, LevongARM19822737
 
 
All material © Mark Crowther

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