Kramnik-Naiditsch

This game was definitely a sign of big comeback. Kramnik has best performance in the Russian team at the moment with 4.5/6.


Vladimir Kramnik 2729 - Arkadij Naiditsch 2664
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 d5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Bg2 e6 6. O-O dxc4 7. Nxd4 Nd5 8. Qa4+ Nd7 9. Qxc4 N7b6 10. Qb3 Bd7 11. Nc3 Bc5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5?
(12... exd5 13. Be3 O-O 14. Rac1 +/=)

13. Nf5!
(13. Bxd5! Bxd4 14. Bxb7 Rb8 15. Rd1 e5 16. Rxd4 exd4 17. Bf4 +/-)

13... O-O 14. Nxg7!




14... Nf6
(14... Kxg7 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Qc3+ Qf6 17. Qxc5 +/-)


15. Bh6 Qe7 16. Qf3
(16. Qxb7 Ng4 17. Nh5 Nxh6 18. Qxd7! +-)

16... Bc6 17. Qf4 Kh8
(17... Bxg2 18. Nf5+-)

18. Bxc6 +- bxc6 19. Rac1 Bd6 20. Qh4 Ng8 21. Qxe7 Bxe7 22. Nxe6 Nxh6 23. Nxf8 Bxf8 24. Rxc6 Rd8 25. Rfc1 Kg7 26. R1c2 Nf5 27. e3 a5 28. Ra6 Rd5 29. e4 Rd1+ 30. Kg2 Nd4 31. Rc7 Nb5 32. Rb7 Nd6 33. Rd7 1-0

Audience

Kirsan, Bessel and Campo enjoying Kalmykian ethno dance. Photo by Vladimir Sakotic.

Afghanistan

Incredible mess about Afghanistan team in Turin. National Chess Federation announced full support for Bessel Kok in the forthcoming Presidency elections. Then sharp response from the other side - via National Olympic committee, the entire executive board of Afghani Chess Federation has been changed as well as all members of the men's team. Players who came first where kicked from the Olympic village to make space for the new team. Guess who will new Afghanistan vote for...

(Ne) pravi Avganistan (in serbian)

4th Round of Chess Olympiad

Men's section:
Russia outplayed "future superpower" China 3-1, thanks to Svidler and Grischuk. Uzbekistan surprised Ukraine with strong reistance, all games decided for 2-2. Armenia crushed Norway 4-0 (Carlsen and Agdestein should join the team for 6th round), India catches after beating Hungary 2.5-1.5 and USA won against Poland 3-1.

Serbia & Montenegro lost something that looked like winning match against Czech Republic. Dragan Kosic increased pressure through the game to win after nice combination but Robert Markus couldn't hold after bad played opening. Dusan Popovic struggled but couldn't achieve more then draw with black pieces. And then Nikola Sedlak, being exchange up after well played game, blundered Knight fork in calculation and suddenly his position fell apart.


Serbia & Montenegro - Czech Republic 1.5-2.5
GM Markus Robert 2585 - GM Navara David 2658 0-1
GM Sedlak Nikola 2564 - GM Laznicka Viktor 2551 0-1
GM Kosic Dragan 2482 - GM Kalod Radek 2495 1-0
IM Popovic Dusan 2496 - IM Cvek Robert 2503 ½-½


Women's section:
Even without Kostenyk, Russia beat Lithuania 3-0. Ukraine beat China 2-1 and USA won against Romania 2-1 with WGM Baginskaite Camilla to score decicive point.

Another dissapointing result for SCG ladies after Australia won 2-1. Congrats TCG


Australia - Serbia & Montenegro 2-1
IM Berezina Irina 2281 - IM Maric Alisa 2415 ½-½
WIM Caoili Arianne 2169 - WGM Chelushkina Irina 2320 1-0
WIM Phan-Koshnitsky Ngan 2181 - WGM Benderac Ana 2293 ½-½

Chucked

Calvia 2004 winner Ukraine beat Serbia & Montenegro 3-1. Andrei Volokytin and Zahar Efimenko achieved draws with black pieces while Pavel Elyanov outplayed Dragan Kosic. The last game to end was Vassily Ivanchuk-Robert Markus when Ukrainian found a winning plan in Knight endgame. SCG women's team crushed Austria 3-0.


Ukraine - Serbia & Montenegro 3-1
GM Ivanchuk Vasyl 2731 - GM Markus Robert 2585 1-0
GM Volokytin Andrei 2660 - GM Sedlak Nikola 2564 ½-½
GM Elyanov Pavel 2665 - GM Kosic Dragan 2482 1-0
GM Efimenko Zahar 2648 - GM Popovic Dusan 2496 ½-½

Serbia & Montenegro - Austria 3-0
IM Maric Alisa 2415 - WIM Mira Helene 2140 1-0
WGM Chelushkina Irina 2320 - Sommer Sonja 2047 1-0
WGM Benderac Ana 2293 - WFM Horvath Maria 2057 1-0


Round 4 SCG - Czech Republic
GM Markus Robert 2585 - GM Navara David 2658
GM Sedlak Nikola 2564 - GM Laznicka Viktor 2551
GM Kosic Dragan 2482 - GM Kalod Radek 2495
GM Popovic Dusan 2496 - IM Cvek Robert 2503


Round 3 photos

Savic is coming!

Finally Italians issued visa for GM Miodrag R. Savic and he will join Serbia & Montenegro team in 5th Round. Wish we had him for Ukrainians today.

2nd Round of Chess Olympiad

SCG men's team scored clean 4-0 win against Costa Rica, while women's team beat Macedonia 2-1. GM Dragan Kosic won a pawn after the opening and used it to win endgame with queens and rooks. GM Robert Markus accepted opponent's piece sacrifice to decline the attack and win on move 29. GM Nikola Sedlak and GM Dusan Popovic simply crushed their opponents with white pieces. GM Miodrag Savic is still waiting for Italian visa.


Costa Rica - Serbia & Montenegro 0-4
IM Gonzalez Bernal 2418 - GM Markus Robert 2585 0-1
IM Valdes Leonardo 2374 - GM Sedlak Nikola 2564 0-1
IM Hernandez Francisco 2302 - GM Kosic Dragan 2482 0-1
IM Murillo Alexis 2355 - GM Popovic Dusan 2496 0-1

Macedonia - Serbia & Montenegro 1-2
WIM Koskoska Gabriela 2220 - WGM Chelushkina Irina 2320 0 - 1
WFM Sekulovska Vesna 2139 - WGM Maksimovic Suzana 2295 1 - 0
Kizova Aleksandra 2011 - WGM Benderac Ana 2293 0 - 1


IM Gonzalez Bernal 2418 - GM Markus Robert 2585
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 d4 5. Nb1 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. O-O Bd6 8. d3 Nge7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e5 Bc7 11. Ng5 Nxe5 12. fxe5 Bxb5 13. Qh5 h6 14. Ne4 Bc6 15. Nf6+ gxf6 16. Rxf6 Nf5 17. Qg4+ Kh7 18. Qh5 Bxe5 19. Rxf5 exf5 20. Qxf5+ Kg8 21. Qxe5 Qh4 22. Qf4 Qxf4 23. Bxf4 Rfe8 24. Kf1 Re6 25. Nd2 Rae8 26. Rc1 Kg7 27. a3 Bd5 28. b3 h5 29. Bg5 Rg6 0-1


Round 3 will see GM Vladimir Kramnik's return after medical treatment. He will play on board one against GM Arkadij Naiditsch from Germany. GM Viswanathan Anand also joins his team for a match against Mongolia. On 3rd board Serbia & Montenegro men's team will face powerhouse Ukraine. We will follow live broadcast of this match on WorldChessNetwork with audio comments by FM Dragan Drasko. 2-2 would be nice :-)


GM Ivanchuk Vasyl UKR 2731 - GM Markus Robert SCG 2585
GM Volokytin Andrei UKR 2660 - GM Sedlak Nikola SCG 2564
GM Elyanov Pavel UKR 2665 - GM Kosic Dragan SCG 2482
GM Efimenko Zahar UKR 2648 - GM Popovic Dusan SCG 2496


The Week In Chess website gives results, lineups and games.

Chess Olympiad - Last Event for SCG?

Serbia & Montenegro men's team scored nice 3.5-0.5 win against Botswana in the 1st round of Chess Olympiad. GM Dragan Kosic had to settle for a draw on board two after bad played opening. Women's team suffered shocking defeat against Venezuela. IM Alisa Maric lost with white pieces against much lower rated WIM Sarai Sanchez while other two players had to fight for draws. Official website is awful, games impossible to be found.

Reason for the title is that "Montenegro people voted in favor of independence on Sunday in a referendum on ending its state union with Serbia, according to an unofficial projection of the result". The team with Montenegrins Dragan Kosic and Marko Krivokapic will, of course, complete the tournament. Montenegro, most likely member of FIDE soon, will have 4 GMs: Bozidar Ivanovic, Dragisa Blagojevic, Dragan Kosic and Nikola Djukic.


Serbia & Montenegro - Botswana 3.5-0.5
GM Nikola Sedlak 2564 - Barileng Gaealafshwe 2125 1-0
GM Dragan Kosic 2482 - Ignatious Njobvu 2236 draw
GM Dusan Popovic 2496 - Tebogo Pitlagano 2161 1-0
Marko Krivokapic 2352 - Ofentse Molale 2211 1-0


Serbia & Montenegro - Venezuela 1-2
IM Alisa Maric 2415 - WIM Sarai Sanchez 2176 0-1
WGM Irina Chelushkina 2320 - WIM Irene Han draw
WGM Suzana Maksimovic 2295 - Zaida Hernandez 2046 draw


Results and stats

Not Again?

Serbia and Montenegro men's squad sent only five players to Turin because Italian embassy refused to issue visa for GM Miodrag R.Savic.

Read Italian Shame

Dragan took IM norm

FM Dragan Stamenkovic earned his 2nd IM norm on a tour in Brasil. 1st Magistral Internacional do Espirito Santo was held on May 15th-21st and Dragan scored necessary 6 points out of 9 games.


Final standings:
1. GM Andrés Rodriguez (ARG 2502) 6.5/9
2. FM Dragan Stamenkovic (SCG 2334) 6.0
3-4. FM Jorge Bittencourt (BRA 2395) and IM Robert Hungaski (USA 2400) 5.0
5. IM Martin Crosa (ARG 2449) 4.5
6. Diego di Berardino (BRA 2342) 4.0
7. FM André Diamant (BRA 2244) 3.5
8. FM Roberto Molina (BRA 2307) 3.0
9. Andrey Neves (BRA 2207) 2.0
10. Fernando Viana (BRA 2226) 0.5

Dragan Stamenkovic, first board on the right

Official website

Dortmund 2006

34th Dortmunder Sparkassen Chess Meeting will take place on 29th July - 6th August 2006 in Dortmund, Germany. Main tournament with 8 top Grandmasters will feature 19th category.

Participants: Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, Arkadij Naiditsch, Peter Leko, Boris Gelfand, Michael Adams and Aeroflot winner Baadur Jobava.

Round one pairings:
Adams – Aronian
Jobava – Svidler
Leko – Naiditsch
Gelfand – Kramnik


6-games match between 21-years old Elisabeth Pähtz (Germany) and 22-years old Irina Krush (USA) will start on July 29th.

Copyright Issue

Organizers of Mtel Masters have accused some of the playing websites for piracy.

(Sofia, May 13, 2006) Pirates broadcast the super chess tournament M-Tel Masters in internet. The biggest game server in the world ICC (www.chessclub.com) announces the live broadcast of the moves from the games in the tournament. The transmission is being done by using signal from the official web site of M-Tel Masters 2006 – www.mtelmasters06.com, which is violation of the copyrights of the organizes of the competition.

According to the copyright laws the access to the games on the tournament web site is free only after the end of each game when the files with the moves can be downloaded by any internet user.

WorldChessNetwork was doing the same transmission and I guess PlayChess used the official website as well. Are they trying to copyright chess moves? If you review the "regulations" and "press" sections, there is no statement of copyright.


These are the words of an experienced lawyer: "If the moves are broadcast, and if the moves are then taken by a third party independently of the written material or commentary, there is no copyright violation. Chess moves, are by their nature, incapable of being copyrighted."


Opinions?

Last Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Round 10 saw three draws to save Carlsen, Malakhov and Nisipeanu on a first place tie with +1. Bosnian GM Borki Predojevic, after dropping decisive advantage against Carlsen in last round, finished 4th with solid 50%.


Final standings:
1-3. Magnus Carlsen (NOR 2646), Vladimir Malakhov (RUS 2691) and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROM 2695) with 5.5/10
4. Borki Predojevic (BIH 2566) 5.0
5. Krishnan Sasikiran (IND 2692) 4.5
6. Arkadij Naiditsch (GER 2664) 4.0


Magnus Carlsen - Borki Predojevic

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Be7 10. c3 O-O 11. Qe2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Na5 13. Bc2 c5 14. b3 Nc6 15. Qd3 g6 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Qd2 b4 18. cxb4 Nxb4 19. Bd1 Nc6 20. Qf4 Rb8 21. a3 Qd7 22. Rc1 Na5 23. Nd2 Rec8 24. h4 Nc6 25. Nf3 Na5 26. Nd2 Nc6 27. Nf3 Na5 28. Rb1 c4 29. b4 c3 30. Be2 Nc4 31. Ra1 a5 32. Rfc1 Nxa3 33. Rxa3 Rxb4 34. Qe3 d4 35. Qd3 Bf5 36. Qa6 d3 37. Raxc3 Rxc3 38. Rxc3 dxe2 39. Qxe2 Rb8 40. Ng5 Qd4 41. Rc4 Qd5 42. Rc7 Bd8 43. Rc1 a4 44. Rd1 Qxd1+ 45. Qxd1 Rb1 46. Qxb1 Bxb1 47. Nf3 Be4 48. Nd4 a3 49. Bc1 a2 50. Bb2 Bxh4 51. g3 Be7 52. f4 h5 53. Kf2 Bd5 54. Ke3 h4 55. gxh4 Ba3 56. Ba1 Bc1+ 57. Kf2 Bxf4 58. Ne2 Bd2 59. Nc3 Be6 60. Ne4 Bc1 61. Nf6+ Kg7 62. Ne4 Kh6 63. Nf6 Ba3 64. Kg3 Bb4 65. Kf2 Ba5 66. Bb2 g5 67. hxg5+ Kxg5 68. Ke3 Kf5 69. Ne8 Bb6+ 70. Kd2 Ke4 71. Nd6+ Kd5 72. Kc2 Bc5 73. Bc3 Bb4 74. Ba1 f5 75. Nxf5 Bxf5+ 76. Kb3 Bc5 77. Kxa2 Be6 78. Kb3 Ke4+ 79. Kc2 Ke3 80. Bc3 Bf5+ 81. Kb2 Be6 82. Kc2 Bb6 83. Bd2+ Ke2 84. Bc3 Bf5+ 85. Kb2 Kd3 86. e6 Bxe6 87. Bh8 Bd4+ 88. Bxd4 draw


Official website

FIDE Presidency

The campaign is heating up and will culminate in two weeks during the Turin Olympiad.

When Ali Nihat Yazici and I, announced the launch of The Right Move back in November 2005, the FIDE incumbents reacted with a typical cocktail of arrogance, apathy and ignorance. Deputy President Makropoulos, kindly rang up his Turkish counterpart to inform him “We will f*** you.” That delicate expression neatly encapsulated their “strategy” over the following months. They had no programs, no principles and no website and the situation is hardly different today, six months later.

...wrote Bessel Kok in an article for ChessBase. In addition, few days ago GM Yasser Seirawan, Advisor to the Right Move campaign, sent another open letter to all chess federations.


Much of the controversy arose from the Statement of Support to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov signed by ECU President Boris Kutin. Kutin later "stated that he was not conscious of the contents of the paper he had been requested to sign by the current incumbents running FIDE during the Presidential Board in Al Ain". If you look at the document posted on the Chess Fidelity website, Boris Kutin must be having very poor eyesight to blunder the huge document title. Consequence: "Taking all this into consideration, TRM has decided to give its full support to Mr Javier Ochoa de Echaguen, the President of the Spanish Chess Federation, who is running for Continental President in Torino 2006."


Another scandal is connected with FIDE Rating Administrator and Webmaster Casto Abundo. He had announced the Philippines Federation's support for the Kirsan Ilyumzhinov ticket before the actual NCFP board meeting. Read more about this issue on The Closet Grandmaster weblog.


Whom SCG chess federation will support? Latest executive board meeting was dealing with captain and team for the Olympiad only. At least, that's what was officially announced. Offering no transparency in work, I'm afraid our officials might be subjects of making deal behind the curtains. This is an interesting reading, but is it indicative enough?

8th Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Round 7 leader Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu lost with White against Arkadij Naiditsch which allowed Vladimir Malakhov to break on first place by beating Bosnian GM Borki Predojevic. Wild game Sasikiran-Carlsen ended with a draw.


Round 8 Standings:
1. Vladimir Malakhov (RUS 2691) 5.0/8
2-3. Magnus Carlsen (NOR 2646) and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROM 2695) 4.5
4. Borki Predojevic (BIH 2566) 4.0
5-6. Arkadij Naiditsch (GER 2664) and Krishnan Sasikiran (IND 2692) 3.0



Vladimir Malakhov - Borki Predojevic
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Kh8 8. h3 Ng8 9. d4 f5 10. dxe5 fxe4 11. Rxe4 Rxf3 12. gxf3 Bxh3 13. f4 Bf5 14. Nc3 Qe8 15. Re3 dxe5 16. fxe5 Rd8 17. Qf1 Nb4 18. Bb3 Bxc2 19. Bxg8 Qxg8 20. Rg3 Qe6 21. Bg5 Bxg5 22. Rxg5 h6 23. Rg3 Qxe5 24. Re1 Qf6 25. Qb5 Rf8 26. Re2 Qd4 27. Qxb7 Bd3 28. Ree3 Nc2 29. Ref3 Rxf3 30. Qxf3 Nb4 31. Rg4 Qd6 32. Rxb4 Qxb4 33. Qxd3 1-0


Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu - Arkadij Naiditsch
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8. Bg5 Qa5 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. O-O Nd7 11. f4 Nc5 12. f5 Bd7 13. Kh1 O-O-O 14. a3 Nxb3 15. cxb3 Be7 16. b4 Qe5 17. a4 Kb8 18. fxe6 Bxe6 19. Nf3 Qh5 20. Nd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Rc8 22. b5 a5 23. Qd2 Bd8 24. Rad1 Rc4 25. b3 Re4 26. Qf2 Rhe8 27. Nd2 Re2 28. Qg3 R2e3 29. Qf4 Qxd5 30. Nf3 Rd3 31. Rxd3 Qxd3 32. Rc1 Bf6 33. h3 Ka7 34. Nd2 Qd4 35. Qxd4+ Bxd4 36. Nc4 d5 37. Nxa5 Bb6 38. b4 Re4 39. Rb1 Bxa5 40. bxa5 Rxa4 41. Rd1 d4 42. g4 Rxa5 43. Rxd4 Rxb5 44. Rd7 h5 45. Rxf7 hxg4 46. hxg4 Rg5 47. Rf4 b5 48. Kg2 Kb6 49. Kf3 Ka5 50. Rf7 Rg6 51. Ra7+ Kb6 52. Re7 Rf6+ 53. Ke3 g6 54. Kd3 Ka5 55. Re4 Rc6 56. Re5 Ka4 57. Ke4 Rc4+ 58. Kf3 b4 0-1


Official website

6th Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu beat Krishnan Sasikiran to take the lead while Borki Predojevic catches Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Malakhov on the 2nd place tie. Arkadij Naiditsch is knocked at the bottom of the crosstable.

I've been doing live audio commentary of both Bosna 2006 and Sofia Mtel Masters on WorldChessNetwork today. Little bit of chat, little bit of music, it was great fun!


Standings after round 6:
1. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693 4.0/6
2-4. Vladimir Malakhov 2694, Magnus Carlsen 2646 and Borki Predojevic 2566 3.5
5. Krishnan Sasikiran 2670 2.0
6. Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 1.5


Borki Predojevic 2566 - Arkadij Naiditsch 2657
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 Bg4 7. f3 e5 8. fxg4 exd4 9. Qxd4 Nxg4 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. Qd2 Nge5 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Qd5 Qb6 14. Qb3 Qxb3 15. axb3 O-O-O 16. Nd5 h5 17. Kb1 Re8 18. b4 Ng4 19. Rd2 Rxe4 20. Bg2 Re8 21. c4 Nce5 22. c5 Kb8 23. h3 Nh6 24. cxd6 Bxd6 25. Nb6 Nf5 26. Rxd6 Nxd6 27. Bxe5 Ka7 28. Bd4 Nf5 29. Bc5 Nxg3 30. Nd5+ Ka8 31. Rd1 Rd8 32. Bb6 Rdf8 33. Bf2 1-0


Krishnan Sasikiran 2670 - Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b5 7. cxb5 c6 8. Bg5 cxb5 9. e3 h6 10. Bh4 Bb7 11. f3 Nc6 12. Nh3 Rc8 13. Qd2 g5 14. Bg3 Na5 15. Rd1 Nb3 16. Qb4 Bd5 17. e4 Bc4 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. Bd6 Re8 20. O-O Rc6 21. Bg3 Qb6 22. Be5 Nh5 23. Qxb6 Rxb6 24. d5 d6 25. Bc3 Nf4 26. Nxf4 gxf4 27. e5 dxe5 28. Bxe5 Rb5 29. a4 Rxd5 30. Bxf4 h5 31. Be3 Red8 32. Rde1 Ra5 33. g4 Rdd5 34. Rf2 Rxa4 35. gxh5 Rxh5 36. Rg2+ Kf8 37. Rg4 a5 38. h4 f5 39. Rg2 Rxh4 40. Bg5 Rh3 41. Rxe6 Nd4 42. Rf6+ Ke8 43. Rd2 c3 44. Rxd4 Rxd4 45. bxc3 Rd5 46. Kg2 Rh7 47. Be3 Rc7 48. Bd4 Kd7 49. Kf2 Rc6 50. Rf7+ Ke8 51. Ra7 Re6 52. Kg3 Kd8 53. Kf4 Kc8 54. Rf7 Ra6 55. Rf8+ Kb7 56. Rf7+ Kc8 57. Rf8+ Kd7 58. Bg7 a4 59. Rf7+ Ke8 60. Rf8+ Ke7 61. Rb8 a3 62. c4 Rd1 63. c5 a2 64. c6 Rc1 65. Rb7+ Ke6 66. c7 a1=Q 67. Bxa1 Raxa1 0-1

5th Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Borki Predojevic 2566 - Magnus Carlsen 2646
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. O-O-O Bd7 11. Kb1 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Be7 13. Be2 h5 14. Rhf1 Qc5 15. Qd2 b5 16. Bf3 Rc8 17. Ne2 h4 18. Nd4 b4 19. Rfe1 a5 20. e5 fxe5 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Nb3 Qc7 23. Nxa5 Ba4 24. Nb3 f5 25. Qe2 Kf7 26. Bh5+ Kg7 27. g4 hxg3 28. Rg1 Kf8 29. hxg3 Bf6 30. g4 e4 31. Qd2 Qb6 32. Qg2 Qb8 33. gxf5 Qe5 34. Rd4 Bxb3 35. Qg6 Rxh5 36. axb3 Ke7 37. c3 bxc3 38. Qxh5 c2+ 39. Kc1 Qf4+ 40. Rd2 Bxb2+ 0-1


Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 - Krishnan Sasikiran 2670
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. d4 Bg4 10. a4 Qc8 11. Be3 Na5 12. Ba2 c5 13. Nbd2 Qc7 14. axb5 axb5 15. h3 Bd7 16. Bg5 c4 17. Nf1 exd4 18. Nxd4 Nb7 19. Ne3 Nc5 20. Nef5 Bxf5 21. exf5 d5 22. Nxb5 Qb7 23. Nd4 Nce4 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Re2 h6 26. Qb1 Rfb8 27. Nf3 Nc5 28. Ne1 Na4 29. Nc2 Qxb2 30. Qxb2 Rxb2 31. Bb1 Rbb8 0-1


Vladimir Malakhov 2694 - Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693
1. e4 c5 2. Na3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Nc6 10. d5 Nb4 11. Nc2 Nxc2 12. Qxc2 Re8 13. Nc3 a6 14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 Ng4 16. Bd2 b5 17. axb6 Qxb6 18. Nd1 Bb5 19. Re1 Bd4 20. Bc3 Ra7 21. h3 Nf6 22. Ne3 h5 23. Kh2 Rae7 24. f3 Nd7 25. g4 hxg4 26. Nxg4 Kg7 27. Rad1 Ne5 28. Rxd4 Nxg4+ 29. hxg4 cxd4 30. Qf2 f6 31. Bxd4 Qc7 32. g5 Kg8 33. gxf6 Rh7+ 34. Kg1 g5 35. Be3 Bd7 36. Qg3 Kf7 37. Bxg5 Reh8 38. f4 Qb6+ 39. Qe3 Qxb2 40. Re2 Qb1+ 41. Re1 Qc2 42. Qe2 Qc5+ 43. Qe3 Qc2 44. Qe2 draw


Round 5 standings:
1-3. Vladimir Malakhov 2694, Magnus Carlsen 2646 and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693 with 3.0/5
4. Borki Predojevic 2566 2.5
5. Krishnan Sasikiran 2670 2.0
6. Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 1.5


Official website

Bh4!

Dimitrij Bunzmann 2530 - Igor Miladinovic 2593
French League Top 16, Drancy - Antibes

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. e4 a6 8. a4 Nf8 9. Nge2 Ng6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qd3 Ne8 12. Bd2 f5 13. h4



13...Bxh4 14. gxh4 f4 15. f3 Nxh4 16. Bh1 Bh3 17. Kf2 Ng6 18. Kg1 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 Qh4 20. Bg2 Nf6 21. Be1 Qh2 22. Bf2 Nh4 23. Bxh4 Qxh4 24. Nd1 g5 25. Nf2 h5 26. Qb3 g4 27. Qxb7 gxf3 28. Bxf3 Ng4 29. Bxg4 hxg4 30. Qd7 f3 31. Nxg4 Qh1+ 32. Ng1 Qg2+ 33. Ke1 f2+ 34. Nxf2 Qxg1+ 0-1

GM Baadur Jobava to join Topalov's team

As Baadur's friend Phil Harris just told me, Veselin Topalov invited Aeroflot winner to join his team during the Mtel Sofia Masters tournament.

39th Biel International Chess Festival

The festival with 9 events will take place on July 22nd-August 4th in Biel, Switzerland. Lists of participants for the Grandmaster tournament and ACCENTUS-Ladies Tournament have been concluded.


Grandmaster tournament:
Alexander Morozevich RUS 2730
Teimour Radjabov AZE 2717
Andrei Volokitin UKR 2660
Lazaro Bruzon CUB 2652
Magnus Carlsen NOR 2646
Yannick Pelletier SWI 2570


ACCENTUS-Ladies Tournament:
Pia Cramling SWE 2520
Monica Socko POL 2465
Yelena Dembo GRE 2464
Almira Skripchenko FRA 2423
Anna Muzychuk UKR/SLO 2419
Ekaterina Atalik TUR 2393


For the complete list of events visit official website

3rd Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Round 3 results:

Magnus Carlsen 2625 - Krishnan Sasikiran 2670 draw
Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 - Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693 draw
Borki Predojevic 2553 - Vladimir Malakhov 2694 draw


Magnus Carlsen - Krishnan Sasikiran
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Be7 7. e3 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Bg3 d6 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. O-O Nd7 12. e4 O-O 13. Qe2 Bf6 14. Rad1 e5 15. d5 a5 16. b3 Re8 17. a3 Nf8 18. b4 axb4 19. axb4 c5 20. bxc5 bxc5 21. Nd2 Ng6 22. Nb1 Bc8 23. Nc3 Nf4 24. Qc2 Bd7 25. Ra1 Ra5 26. Rfb1 Qa8 27. Rxa5 Qxa5 28. Bf1 Nh5 29. Qb2 Ra8 30. Qb7 Qd8 31. Nb5 Rb8 32. Qa6 Be7 33. Ra1 g6 34. Be2 Nf4 35. Bf1 Nh5 36. Be2 Nf4 37. Bf1 Nh5 draw


Arkadij Naiditsch - Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Bb4+ 12. c3 Be7 13. Ne4 Ngf6 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Bxd6 Qa5 16. Bb4 Qb5 17. O-O-O Qxd3 18. Rxd3 a5 19. Ba3 Nd5 20. c4 Nb4 21. Bxb4 axb4 22. Kb1 Nf6 23. Ne5 O-O 24. f3 Ra5 25. b3 Rd8 26. Rdd1 Rda8 draw


Borki Predojevic - Vladimir Malakhov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. Bxc6+ bxc6 5. e5 dxe5 6. Nxe5 Qd5 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. d3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxf3 10. gxf3 Nf6 11. Be3 e6 12. Nd2 Nd7 13. O-O-O Bd6 14. Nb3 Ke7 15. d4 cxd4 16. Rxd4 Nb6 17. Rhd1 Bxh2 18. f4 Nd5 19. c4 Nxe3 20. Rd7+ Kf6 21. fxe3 h5 22. Nd2 h4 23. Ne4+ Kg6 24. Rh1 Bg3 25. Rg1 draw


Official website
Live game
Round 2

SCG Olympiad Team

Men's team captain Dragoljub Joksimovic was released of duty on May 2nd because he failed to provide funds as promised. The deadline was April 1st, though. New captain is IM Zoran Novoselski and consequences of the time trouble are cancellations of some of our top players: GM Branko Damljanovic, GM Igor Miladinovic, GM Ivan Ivanisevic, GM Dragan Solak, GM Milos Perunovic, GM Aleksandar Kovacevic, GM Dejan Pikula, GM Nikola Djukic, GM Milos Pavlovic and GM Dragisa Blagojevic.


SCG will be represented by:
GM Robert Markus 2585
GM Nikola Sedlak 2564
GM Miodrag R.Savic 2524
IM Dusan Popovic 2496
GM Dragan Kosic 2482
Marko Krivokapic 2352 (last year's junior champion)


List of the top SCG players can be seen here


Women's team captain GM Nenad Ristic announced his lineup:
WGM Alisa Maric 2415
WGM Irina Coljuskina
WGM Ana Benderac 2293
WGM Suzana Maksimovic 2295

WGM Natasa Bojkovic and WGM Svetlana Prudnikova had to cancel participation due to family reasons.


Good luck team!!

BIH Olympiad Team

Bosnia & Herzegovina captain IM Kemal Osmanovic has announced the lineup for the forthcoming Chess Olympiad:
GM Borki Predojevic 2566
GM Bojan Kurajica 2548
GM Emir Dizdarevic 2492
IM Dalibor Stojanovic 2492
IM Ibro Saric 2476
FM Zeljko Bogut 2443


Best Bosnian players GM Ivan Sokolov and GM Predrag Nikolic are playing for Netherlands and Turkey.


Women's team (captain Jovo Janjic):
WIM Elena Titova-Boric 2284
WFM Dijana Dengler 2144
Sanja Dedijer 2068
Mira Dedijer 1987

2nd Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Young Bosnian GM Borki Predojevic is hero of the day. He won with Black pieces against Krishnan Sasikiran, which leaves the strong Indian at the bottom of the crosstable with zero points. Vladimir Malakhov outplayed Dortmund winner Arkadij Naiditsch in a nice tactical game after exchange sacrifice. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Magnus Carlsen drew after 20 moves.


Vladimir Malakhov 2691 - Arkadij Naiditsch 2664
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. h3 Bd6 7. Nbd2 c5 8. b3 Nd7 9. Nc4 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Bb2 f6 12. Nfd2 Nf8 13. f4 exf4 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. Rxf4 Be6 16. Rf2 Ng6 17. Qh5 b5 18. Nf1 d5 19. Ng3 Qd6 20. exd5 Qxg3 21. dxe6 Nf4 22. Rxf4 Qxf4 23. Qf7+ Kh8 24. Re1 Qd2 25. Re4 Rf8 26. Qb7 h6 27. e7 Rfe8 28. Qc6 Qg5 29. Qxb5 f5 30. h4 Qd2 31. Re6 Qxc2 32. Rxh6+ Kg8 33. Qc6 1-0


Krishnan Sasikiran 2692 - Borki Predojevic 2566
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. d5 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qd2 e6 13. f4 Bg7 14. c4 b6 15. Bb2 Bxb2 16. Rxb2 Re8 17. Bf3 e5 18. f5 Qd6 19. Qg5 Kg7 20. Rf2 f6 21. Qg3 Rh8 22. h4 Ba6 23. Be2 Raf8 24. O-O Rhg8 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. h5 Kh6 27. Qe3+ g5 28. Qa3 Bc8 29. Qxa7 Bd7 30. Rb1 Rb8 31. Rxf6+ Qxf6 32. Qxd7 Rgd8 33. Qg4 Rf8 34. Rf1 Qd6 35. Rf5 Rxf5 36. Qxf5 Rf8 37. Qg4 Rf4 38. Qc8 Rf8 39. Qg4 Rf4 0-1


Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2695 - Magnus Carlsen 2646
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 Qa5 9. O-O d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Qe1 Rfe8 12. Rd1 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Bc6 14. f4 Nd7 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Kh2 Rac8 17. Qh4 h6 18. Nd5 e6 19. Nc3 Nf6 20. Qe1 draw


Official website
Live games
Round 1

Games from the SCG National Cup

The last round of the team event is currently running in Vrnjacka Banja. Partizan (Belgrade) will most likely take the trophy. Take a look at few nice games (diagram taken from Sah-Mat lista).


GM Vasilios Kotronias 2598 - GM Nikola Sedlak 2564
"Partizan"-"Spartak", Round 6
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qd2 c6 8. O-O-O b5 9. f3 b4 10. Na4 Bd7 11. b3 d5 12. g4 dxe4 13. fxe4 c5 14. Nf5 Bxa4 15. Qxd8 Bxd8 16. bxa4 Nc6 17. e5 Nxg4 18. Bg2 Ngxe5 19. Rhg1 Rc8 20. Bxc6 Nxc6 21. Rxg7+ Kh8 22. Rd6 Bc7


23. Be5! 1-0 (23...Bd6 24. Rg8! Kg8 25.Nh6 mate)


IM Goran N.Todorovic 2436 - Sinisa Dujkovic 2393
"Planum Turs"-"Mimoza", Round 6
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. h3 Na6 7. Be3 e5 8. d5 Nh5 9. Nd2 Qe8 10. a3 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. Be2 Nf6 13. g3 f4 14. gxf4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Ne4 16. Be3 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Bf5 18. Rg1 Nc5 19. Nf3 Bg6 20. Nd4 Qe5 21. Rg2 Rae8 22. Rc1 Qe4 23. Nf3 Qf5 24. Rg4 Qd7 25. Nd4 Qf7 26. Rg2 Rxe3 27. fxe3 Qe7 28. Rxg6 hxg6 29. Ne6 Ne4 30. Qc2 Bxc3+ 31. Qxc3 Qh4+ 32. Kd1 Nxc3+ 33. Rxc3 Rf2 34. Nxc7 Qf6 35. Nb5 Rh2 36. Nd4 Rxh3 37. Kd2 Qf2 38. a4 b6 39. a5 g5 40. axb6 axb6 41. Ra3 g4 42. Ne6 Rh2 43. Ra8+ Kh7 44. Nf4 g3 45. Kc3 Qe1+ 46. Kd4 Rxe2 0-1


GM Bozidar Ivanovic 2444 - GM Robert Markus 2585
"Buducnost"-"Novosadski SK", Round 5
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nxc6 Bxc6 9. Qe2 Qb8 10. Be3 Nf6 11. a3 Bd6 12. h3 Bh2+ 13. Kh1 Bf4 14. Rae1 h5 15. Qd2 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 b4 17. axb4 Qxb4 18. Rg3 Qd4 19. Re1 h4 20. Rg5 Kf8 21. e5 Nh5 22. Rg4 Qc5 23. b4 Qe7 24. Ne4 f5 25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Nxf6 gxf6 27. f3 Rh5 28. Bg6 Rg5 29. Rxg5 fxg5 30. Re5 Rb8 31. Rxg5 Rxb4 32. Rh5 Rb1+ 33. Kh2 Qf6 34. Qd6+ Kg7 35. Bd3 Rb7 36. Bxa6 Ra7 37. Bd3 Ra8 38. Be4 Bxe4 39. fxe4 Rf8 40. Qxd7+ Rf7 41. Qd2 Qf4+ 42. Qxf4 Rxf4 43. Rg5+ Kf6 44. Rg4 Ke5 45. Rxf4 Kxf4 46. g4 hxg3+ 47. Kg2 e5 48. h4 Kxe4 49. h5 Kf5 50. c4 1-0


GM Bojan Vuckovic 2506 - FM Vladan Stevanovic 2345
"Partizan"-"PTT", Round 5
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Bxe4 7. Bxe4 c6 8. c3 Nf6 9. Bc2 Nbd7 10. Bf4 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Qe2 a5 13. a4 Qb6 14. Rad1 Rfe8 15. Rfe1 g6 16. Bd3 Nd5 17. Bc1 Qc7 18. g3 Rad8 19. Ng5 N7f6 20. Qf3 Rf8 21. h4 Nd7 22. h5 e5 23. Nxh7 Kxh7 24. hxg6+ Kg7 25. gxf7 Rh8 26. Qg4+ Kf8 27. Bh6+ 1-0

First Round of Bosna 2006 Tournament

Live games can be seen here.


Group "A" results:

Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 - Borki Predojevic 2553 draw
Magnus Carlsen 2625 - Vladimir Malakhov 2694 draw
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693 - Krishnan Sasikiran 2670 1-0


Group "B" results:

Bojan Kurajica 2548 - Alojzije Jankovic 2516 draw
Ibro Saric 2476 - Milan Drasko 2504 draw
Vitomir Arapovic 2411 - Dejan Stojanovski 2389 draw
Ognjen Jovanic 2473 - Adrian Mihalcisin 2534 0-1
Emir Dizdarevic 2492 - Danilo Milanovic 2513 draw



Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 2693 - Krishnan Sasikiran 2670
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. b3 Be6 11. Bb2 c5 12. Rad1+ Kc8 13. Nd5 g5 14. c4 b6 15. Nf6 Bg7 16. Nh5 Rg8 17. h3 Kb7 18. g4 Ne7 19. Ne1 Nc6 20. Nd3 Bh8 21. f4 gxf4 22. Ndxf4 Bc8 23. Nf6 Rg5 24. Rde1 a5 25. a4 Nd4 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Re4 Bf5 28. Rxd4 Bc2 29. Nd3 Bxb3 30. Ne4 Rxe5 31. Nxe5 Bxe5 32. Rd5 Re8 33. Re1 Kc6 34. Nd2 Bd4+ 35. Rxd4 Rxe1+ 36. Kf2 Ra1 37. Nxb3 Rxa4 38. Ke3 Ra2 39. Rd2 Rxd2 40. Kxd2 Kd6 41. Nd4 Ke5 42. Kc3 f6 43. Nb5 c6 44. Nd4 c5 45. Nf5 h5 46. Ne3 hxg4 47. Nxg4+ Ke6 48. Ne3 Ke5 49. h4 f5 50. h5 f4 51. h6 1-0


Magnus Carlsen 2625 - Vladimir Malakhov 2694
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 e6 9. f4 d6 10. Qf3 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. fxe5 Ng4 13. exd6 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Qxd6 15. Rd1 Qf6 16. Qf2 Qe7 17. O-O Ba6 18. Rfe1 Rad8 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. e5 Bc8 21. h3 Bf5 22. Ne2 Qxe5 23. Ng3 Qxb2 24. Nxf5 gxf5 25. Qxf5 Qf6 26. Qa5 Rd7 27. Qa6 Qd6 28. Qc8+ Bf8 29. Rf1 Qc7 30. Qxc7 Rxc7 31. Rf5 Kg7 32. Kf2 Bd6 33. Kf3 f6 34. Ra5 Be5 35. Ra6 Kg6 36. Ke4 Kg5 37. Kf3 c5 38. Bc4 Rd7 39. g3 h5 40. Rc6 Rc7 41. h4+ Kh6 42. Rxc7 Bxc7 43. Bd3 f5 44. Bxf5 c4 45. Be6 c3 46. Bf7 Be5 47. a4 Bc7 48. Be8 Be5 49. g4 draw


Arkadij Naiditsch 2657 - Borki Predojevic 2553
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5 axb5 9. Nc3 d6 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Nd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. O-O O-O 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Ra7 Ra8 16. Qa1 Qb8 17. Rxa8 Qxa8 18. Qa5 Qxa5 19. Bxa5 Rc8 20. f4 g6 21. Kf2 h5 22. h3 h4 23. Kf3 Kf8 24. Ke2 Bf5 25. Ra1 Ra8 26. Ra3 Ra7 27. Be1 Rxa3 28. bxa3 Bd7 29. Ba5 Bd8 30. c4 dxc3 31. Bxc3 Ke8 32. Bd4 c5 33. dxc6 Bxc6 34. Kf2 f5 35. g4 hxg3+ 36. Kxg3 Ba5 37. Kh4 Bd8+ 38. Kg3 Ba5 39. Kh4 Bd8+ draw


Official website
Previous post

Canadian Open 2006

Both Canadian Open 2006 and Canadian Youth Chess Championship 2006 will be part of the Kitchener Chess Festival which will take place on July 10th-23rd.

List of players registered so far includes GM Evgeny Bareev (RUS 2701), GM Mark Paragua (PHI 2617), GM Alex Huzman (ISR 2593), GM Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2538), GM Walter Arencibia (CUB 2526) and GM Hans Joachim Hecht (GER 2398).


Official website

Canadian Olympiad Team

Back in March, Olympiad manager IM Brian Hartman has announced team lineups.

Men:
1. GM Pascal Charbonneau 2510
2. GM Mark Bluvshtein 2531
3. IM Yan Teplitsky 2446
4. IM Igor Zugic 2466
5. GM Dima Tyomkin 2490
6. IM Tomas Krnan 2409

Women:
1. WIM Natalia Khoudgarian 2123
2. WIM Nava Starr 2169
3. WIM Dinara Khaziyeva 2103
4. WFM Hazel Smith 2035


One thing changed since then, IM Thomas Roussel-Roozmon (2419) will replace GM Dima Tyomkin. Team Chess Inc. has successfully raised the funds and hired world-famous trainer GM Lev Psakhis to coach both teams. WorldChessNetwork is supporting the project with $10.000 USD.

How do you call this?

Unfortunately, there is no good translation from Serbian. I'm not reading Mig or Susan Polgar as I have better things to do. Other links drove me here and then here. Two huge egos in a clash.

MCF calls for a joint Ilyumzhinov-Kok presidency!

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) believes that the current election in which two tickets – Ilyumzhinov vs. Kok – are competing on a winner-take-all basis to be counterproductive for chess development. Instead, the MCF supports an alternative solution to that offered by this election.

The chess world has reached an impasse – a period marked by stagnation, declining sponsorship, reduced news service coverage in the world press, serious talk about establishing a new world chess organization, deep and damaging uncertainty about the very nature of chess because of changing time limits, and widespread demoralization. The way out of the impasse must begin with a joint presidency of the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), shared by incumbent president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and his challenger, Bessel Kok, the noted Belgian businessman.

President Ilyumzhinov possesses the passion to spread the royal game to chess-developing countries, and Bessel Kok complements this passion by offering strengths in business and sponsorship. Mr. Kok can remove part of the enormous financial burden borne single-handedly by the FIDE president. Unity is strength in their case.

Read the entire open letter by Dato' Tan Chin Nam

36th super-tournament "Bosna 2006"

As written in the previous post, list of participants for the main double round robin tournament has been announced few months ago:
GM Vladimir Malakhov (RUS 2694)
GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROM 2693)
GM Krishnan Sasikiran (IND 2670)
GM Arkadij Naiditsch (GER 2657)
GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR 2625)
GM Borki Predojevic (BIH 2553)


List for the "B" tournament is now official:
GM Bojan Kurajica (BIH 2548)
GM Adrian Mihalcisin (SLO 2534)
GM Milan Drasko (SCG 2504)
GM Emir Dizdarevic (BIH 2492)
IM Alojzije Jankovic (CRO 2516)
IM Danilo Milanovic (SCG 2513)
IM Ibro Saric (BIH 2476)
IM Ognjen Jovanic (CRO 2473)
IM Vitomir Arapovic (BIH 2411)
IM Dejan Stojanovski (MKD 2389)


IM Danilo Milanovic, popular "Dacha" had good performance at the recent Aeroflot tournament so SCG chess fans are hoping for the GM norm. GMs Drasko and Dizdarevic are well known drawers, so don't expect too much fire in their games.


Official website is now posted, you can search more info there.

Grand Prix Galati 2006

This 9 round tournament was held on April 26th-May 3rd in Galati, Romania. There were 100 participants.


Final standings:
1-3. GM Viorel Iordachescu (MDA 2601), GM Vasile Sanduleac (MDA 2492) and GM Mihail Marin (ROM 2538) with 7 points
4-11. GM Vladislav Nevednichy (ROM 2582), IM Andrei Murariu (ROM 2474), GM Constantin Lupulescu (GM 2534), GM Levante Vajda (ROM 2511), IM Albert Vajda (ROM 2472), GM George-Gabriel Grigore (ROM 2463), GM Yuri Kruppa (UKR 2538) and GM Georgy Timoshenko (UKR 2547) 6.5/9 etc


Vasile Sanduleac 2492 - Gabriela Olarasu 2241
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. a3 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. Be3 Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Qe7 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Qd3 Nd7 14. Qa6 c5 15. Qc6 O-O 16. Qxc7 Rac8 17. Qa5 Nb6 18. Qa6 d5 19. Nd1 Nc4 20. O-O Kh7 21. Rb1 Rb8 22. b3 Rb6 23. Qa4 Qd6 24. Rc1 Nxe3 25. Nxe3 Rf4 26. Rce1 Ra6 27. Qb5 Rxa3 28. exd5 exd5 29. Qb7 Rd4 30. Ng4 Rb4 31. Qe7 Qxe7 32. Rxe7 Kg8 33. Rfe1 Rb8 34. Rd7 h5 35. Ree7 Bd4 36. Nh6+ Kf8 37. Rf7+ Ke8 38. Rde7+ Kd8 39. Ng8 Ra1+ 40. Kh2 1-0

49th SCG Team Chess Festival

Competitions for the SCG National Cup will take place on May 1st-7th in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia. There are 19 teams in men's and 8 in women's group. Only few foreign players this time - GM Vasilios Kotronias and GM Julian Radulski (I remember watching Leko, Gelfand, Khalifman back in 1998). According to average rating, two main favorites are Novosadski Sah Klub and Partizan. Results and games in PGN can be found on the official website.

I have picked two interesting games for posting. GM Miodrag Savic delivered nice exchange sac to use light squares weakness for a deadly Nf3 check. FM Ivan Sredojevic sacrificed Bishop for attack but then got his Queen locked on g8 square.


GM Nikola Sedlak 2564 - GM Miodrag Savic 2524
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Be3 Bc5 6. c3 Nge7 7. g3 d5 8. Bg2 Bxd4 9. cxd4 dxe4 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Nxe4 Qg6 12. O-O Bf5 13. Nc3 Rad8 14. Qa4 a6 15. d5 b5 16. Qh4 b4 17. Ne2 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Rxd5 19. Nf4 Qd6 20. Nxd5 Qxd5 21. Rfd1 Bd3 22. Qg5 f5 23. Rxd3 Qxd3 24. Qf4 Qd5 25. Rc1 Ne5 26. Rc5 Nf3+ 27. Kh1 Qd1+ 28. Kg2 Ne1+ 29. Kh3 Qh5+ 30. Qh4 Qf3 31. Qc4+ Kh8 0-1


FM Ivan Sredojevic 2369 - IM Nikola Ostojic 2412
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 e6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Re1 Be7 10. Qe2 a5 11. a3 Ba6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Qxe6 Bb7 14. Ng5 Rf8 15. Nce4 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rf6 17. Qg8+ Nf8 18. Bg5 Rf7 19. Nc5 Bc8 20. Re3 Ra7 21. Nd3 Qd5 22. Re5 Qc4 23. Rae1 Qxc2 24. R5e3 Be6 25. Rc1 Qxd3 26. Rxd3 Bxg5 27. Rxc6 Rfe7 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. f4 Bxf4 30. Rf3 Rf7 31. Kf1 Ree7 32. d5 Bxh2 33. Rxf7 Rxf7+ 34. Ke2 Bd6 35. Kd3 h6 36. a4 bxa4 37. Kc4 Rb7 38. Kd4 Rb4+ 39. Ke3 Rg4 40. Kf2 Ke7 41. Kf3 Rg3+ 42. Kf2 Kf6 0-1

5th Memorial tournament "Hazbo Hadzic"

The tournament was held on April 29th-30th in Tutin, Serbia. There were 38 participants with 7 GMs and 4 IMs among them.


Final standings:
1-2. IM Danilo Milanovic (2513) and GM Miroslav Markovic (2445) with 7 points out of 9 rounds
3. GM Miroslav Tosic (2442) 6.5/9
4-8. GM Slobodan Martinovic (2445), GM Goran Cabrilo (2458), IM Nebojsa Ristic (2367), GM Dejan Pikula (2537) and GM Dusan Rajkovic (2509) 6.0/9 etc.

Halkidiki Chess Open 2006

This open tournament was held parallel with the 2nd World School Championship. There were 86 participants.


Final standings:
1-2. GM Ioannis Nikolaidis (GRE 2518) and IM Boris Itkis (ROM 2490) with 7 points out of 9 rounds
3-11. IM Nikoloz Shavtvaladze (GEO 2368), GM Krum Georgiev (BUL 2482), IM Michael Hoffmann (GER 2467), GM Efstratios Grivas (GRE 2500), IM Riho Liiva (EST 2411), Alexandros Grigoriadis (GRE), Konstantinos Markidis (GRE 2367), IM Matthias Thesing (GER 2413) and Rolando Renteria (COL 2165) 6.5/9 etc.


Iulian Sofronie 2419 - Ioannis Nikolaidis 2518
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 e6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. a3 Rc8 12. Be2 a6 13. Rc1 Qd6 14. Na4 Nd5 15. Nc5 Qc7 16. b4 Rfd8 17. Nd2 Bxc5 18. dxc5 Bf5 19. Qb3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 Nf4 21. Bf3 Rxd4 22. Nc4 Rd3 23. Rc3 Rcd8 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 Be4 26. Ne3 Qe5 27. g3 Nh3+ 28. Kf1 Rd2 29. f4 Nxf4 30. Ke1 Rxh2 0-1


Chess.gr

2nd World School Chess Championship 2006

The 2nd World School Championship took place on April 25th-May 1st in Kallithea of Halkidiki, Greece. There were 269 participants from 24 countries fighting in 5 categories.


Winners:
Under 07: Lim De Li Derek (SIN)
Under 09: Taminsyah Aston (INA)
Under 11: Emiroglu Cankut (TUR 2082)
Under 13: Rahimov Rahmatjon (UZB 2064)
Under 15: Chirila Ioan Cristian (FM, ROM 2297)


Group standings
Team standings
Official website

New Links

While searching for more info about Carlsen-Van Wely encounter, I run at Doggers Schaak Weblog. Now I don't understand a single word of Dutch language, but it's obvious that this is frequently updated blog with a very good content.

I wasn't aware of the About Chess website until Mark Weeks brought interesting Syndicate or Subscribe? issue :-) A well deserved place on the sidebar.

And I finally added Estavisti, an excellent non-chess related blog about politics, music, media and other life subjects in ex-Yugoslavia.

Magnus - Loek 2-2

4th game of the Magnus Carlsen - Loek Van Wely match also ended with draw for the final score of 2-2. Carlsen won the additional blitz match 3.5-0.5


Magnus Carlsen - Loek Van Wely
Game 4
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Bg5 12. Nc2 O-O 13. a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Ra2 Kh8 17. Nce3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Ne7 19. b3 f5 20. exf5 Nxf5 21. Nxf5 Bxf5 22. O-O Be4 23. Bd5 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 Qc7 25. Rxa5 Rxb3 26. c4 h6 27. Ra6 Rb6 28. Rfa1 Qb8 29. h3 Rxa6 30. Rxa6 Qb2 31. f3 Qc1+ 32. Kf2 Rb8 33. Ra8 Qc2+ 34. Kg3 Qg6+ 35. Kh2 Rxa8 36. Qxa8+ Kh7 37. Qd5 Qf6 38. Kg3 Qg6+ 39. Kf2 Qc2+ 40. Kg3 draw


Doggers Schaak Weblog

Walking Over

The Sigeman & Co Chess tournament is being held on April 28th-May 6th in Malmö, Sweden. So far the old guy Jan Timman is crushing everyone to take the lead with a clear point ahead.


Round 3 results:
Suat Atalik - Pontus Carlsson 1-0
Slavko Cicak - Alexei Fedorov 1-0
Tiger Hillarp Persson - Emanuel Berg draw
Igor Khenkin - Jan Timman 0-1
Jonny Hector - Daniel Stellwagen draw


Standings:
1. Jan Timman (NED 2616) 3.0
2-4. Daniel Stellwagen (NED 2543), Suat Atalik (TUR 2632) and Slavko Cicak (SWE 2506) 2.0
5. Emanuel Berg (SWE 2539) 1.5
6-9. Alexei Fedorov (BLR 2614), Tiger Hillarp Persson (SWE 2524), Igor Khenkin (GER 2602) and Pontus Carlsson (SWE 2433) 1.0
10. Jonny Hector (SWE 2514) 0.5


Jan Timman - Tiger Hillarp Persson
Round 2
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Kb1 Qb6 12. Nce2 h5 13. g3 Rc8 14. Bg2 b4 15. Rhf1 a5 16. Nxc6 Bxc6 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. e5 Be7 19. exd6 Qxd6 20. Rfe1 Qc7 21. Re3 Bc5 22. Rd3 O-O 23. f5 e5 24. Ne6 Bxe6 25. fxe6 Bd4 26. Bd5 Kg7 27. exf7 Qc5 28. Be6 Rc7 29. g4 Qc6 30. Bf5 h4 31. Rh3 Rh8 32. Qe1 Rxf7 33. Rxh4 Rxh4 34. Qxh4 a4 35. Qh7+ Kf8 36. Qh8+ Ke7 37. Qb8 Qc5 38. a3 bxa3 39. c3 Qb6 40. Qxb6 Bxb6 41. bxa3 Bc5 42. Ka2 Kf8 43. Rd8+ Kg7 44. Rd7 Rxd7 45. Bxd7 Kh6 46. Bxa4 Kg5 47. Bd1 Bg1 48. h3 Kh4 49. Kb3 Kxh3 50. Kb4 Kg3 51. c4 Kf4 52. c5 e4 53. c6 Bb6 54. a4 1-0


Igor Khenkin - Jan Timman
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Qd3 Ba6 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bh4 d5 13. Qc2 Bxc4 14. Bxc4 dxc4 15. Qa4 c5 16. Rd1 Qc8 17. O-O cxd4 18. Rxd4 a6 19. Rxc4 Qb7 20. Rd4 Rac8 21. Qd1 b5 22. Qe2 Rc4 23. Rfd1 Rfc8 24. h3 e5 25. Rxc4 Rxc4 26. Bxf6 Nxf6 27. Rd8+ Kh7 28. Qd3+ e4 29. Qd6 b4 30. axb4 Qxb4 31. Qxa6 Rc5 32. Qd6 Qc4 33. Qb8 Ra5 34. Rc8 Ra1+ 35. Kh2 Qf1 36. Rh8+ Kg6 37. Qg3+ Kf5 38. Qf4+ Kg6 39. Qg3+ Kf5 40. Qf4+ Ke6 41. Re8+ Nxe8 42. Qxe4+ Kd7 43. Qf5+ Ke7 44. Qc5+ Nd6 45. e4 Qc4 46. Qb6 Kd7 47. f3 f5 48. Qe3 fxe4 49. fxe4 Qf1 0-1


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