Lucrative Positions

It is good to be a chess politician or at least close to the high echelons. The "Regulations for the World Chess Cup 2009", which I downloaded earlier form the FIDE website but can't find the link again, list the obligations of organizers and players.

The article 3. 21. 2. Stipends says:

The following stipends are to be paid to the Principals of the World Cup

a) Chairman of the Appeals Committee USD 10,000
b) Three members of the Appeals Committee USD 21,000
c) Chief Arbiter USD 8,000
d) Deputy Chief Arbiter USD 6,000
e) Three Deputy Arbiters USD 9,000
f) Four Arbiters (Rounds 1 to 2) USD 8,000
g) Press Officer USD 5,000
h) Representative of FIDE Medical Commission USD 3,000

Communist Invasion

I've seen many people in ICC channels wondering why are Wang Yue and Leinier Dominguez now constantly being invited to all top tournaments. Corus, Linares and next is Mtel Masters. And the common answer, joking or not, is "communist invasion". But they are simply strong and fresh faces. Other top players have had their turns, let's see some new guys in action.

Adding Chinese players, both Wang Yue and Bu Xiangzhi, certainly encouraged establishment of Nanjing Pearl Spring, another Grand Slam tournament. Leinier Dominguez is playing crazy chess, his Gruenfelds and Naidorfs are great to watch. Further, Karjakin and Grischuk have won their first big tournaments, earning tickets for the Bilbao Masters. Now it would be nice if Shirov wins Mtel Masters!

European Chess Championships

European Women’s Chess Championship is currently ongoing in St. Petersburg, Russia. After four rounds, GM Hoang Thanh Trang and GM Monika Socko are leading the race with clean record of four wins each. The championship is in collision with FIDE's Women Grand Prix. Belgrade's 41st International Women Chess Tournament, this year known only by mention in Boris Kutin's letter, finished yesterday with WGM Ana Benderac and WGM Irina Chelushkina sharing the honours.

Men's European Individual Chess Championship with 306 participants is being held in Budva, Montenegro. GM Ernesto Inarkiev is first with 5,5 points after winning the Kalmykian derby against 15-years old GM Sanan Sjugirov in round six.


Inarkiev - Sjugirov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2 Be7 9. f3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O b5 11. g4 b4 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Na5 Nbxd5 15. Nc6 Qc7 16. Nxb4 Nxb4 17. Qxb4 O-O 18. Qb6 Qc8 19. g5 Nd7 20. Qa5 Nc5 21. Bc4 Qf5 22. Qd2 Rfc8 23. h4 Rab8 24. Qd5 Rb4 25. b3 a5 26. Rhf1 a4 27. f4 Rxc4 28. bxc4 Qh3 29. Rf3 Qg2 30. fxe5 Ne6 31. exd6 Bxd6 32. c5 Bf8 33. Rdf1 Rc7 34. Rf5 Qe2 35. Qf3 Qc4 36. Rxf7 Rc8 37. Qb7 Re8 38. R7f3 Nd8 39. Qd7 Qe4 40. Rxf8+ 1-0

"Losing Our Credibility"

Saturday, a Grand Prix tournament for women starts in Istanbul, Turkey. The participants include Koneru Humpy of India, the No. 2 ranked woman in the world; Hou Yifan of China, No. 3; Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, a former women’s world champion, who is No. 4; Pia Cramling of Sweden, No. 5; Marie Sebag of France, No. 7; and Maia Chiburdanidze of Georgia, another former champion, who is No. 9.
......
But there is another problem with the Istanbul Grand Prix: It conflicts with another major women’s event, the European Women’s Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. It also starts Saturday.

Full article on the New York Times Chess Blog

It is amazing how poor is the communication between the two biggest chess associations. Moreover, Kirsan Ilymzhinov and Boris Kutin are sharing the table in the FIDE Presidential Board for the last ten years, and they have probably seen each other at the opening of the Kamsky-Topalov match. Letter by Boris Kutin.

Linares to lend a half of the tournament to UAE

One of the most-renowned tournaments in world chess - is surrendering to the power of an Arab businessman, who is set to bring the best players to the desert in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2010.

"We pay the expenses of players and the prizes, I think around 2 million euros (some 2.5 million dollars)," Sulaiman Al Fahim told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an interview in Dubai.

"From 2010, the tournament will be held in Spain and the UAE," he said.

Full story

Gata Kamsky Interview

Chess.fm blog has a video of the final moments in 7th game Kamsky-Topalov and also a 12-minute interview with Gata Kamsky.