The defending champion takes sole lead

In the women section, defending champion Poland takes over the sole
lead after soundly beating France 3-1. Executors were IM Monika Socko
and WIM Marta Przezdziecka. Russia was held to 2-2 tie (four draws) by
the marvelous Hungary. Tomorrow we’ll see the derby Poland-Russia.

Russia and Hungary played an egalitarian match with all four games

finishinga draw, thus leaving the pole position to Poland

France could not resist to Polands’ powerful attack, IM Skripchenko

lost to IM Socko, WGM Leconte lost to the lower-rated WIM Przezdziecka and the other two

games finished a draw. Poland:France – 1:3

Georgia brought out their best play and crushed Serbia with three wins

and a draw. Serbia owes the 0.5 point to WGM Bojkovic on board one

Georgia is coming back on track, beating solid
Serbia by 3.5-0.5, while Ukraine was stopped by motivated Netherlands
where all four games were drawn. Slovenia’s lower boards brought the
tight 2.5-1.5 win against Romania and drew them Hungary for the 5th
round.

The match between Ukrain and the Netherlands mimics Russia vs. Hungary

- all draws, scoring 2:2

Slovenia accomplished a 2.5:1.5 victory over Romania.

Without GM Stefanova, Bulgaria could not overcome the challenge ot the

strong team of Greece 1. WIM Fakhiridou rather quickly won on board three against WIM

Chilingirova, the rest finished equal but this is enough for Greece 1:Bulgaria 2.5:1.5

Lithuania and Spain tried to outplay each other with IM Cmilyte and

WIM Daulyte bringing points for Lithuania on boards one and two and WIM Hernandez and WIM

Trujillo Delgado did the same for Spain on board three and four

Germany secured a win against the Czech Republic with the strong game

of IM Paehtz on board one, Czech Republic:Germany – 1.5:2.5

Armenia and Montenegro also did not give us a winner, with a variated

game, one loss, one win and two draws each, they produce and equal 2:2 score

With strong play of WIM Lauterbach on board three for England and

three draws the final score became Israel:England – 1.5:2.5

Azerbaidjan came back with a distinguished win against Turkey – two

wins by WGM Mamedjarova and WGM Kadimova and two draws bringing us a final

Turkey:Azerbaidjan 1:3

Croatia did not hesitate much and swept Greece 2 with 4:0

Estonia and Switzerland also made a draw exchanging a win and a loss and drawing two games

The Scandinavian derby was one of the longest matches of round 4 and victory came to Finland with WGM Sammalvuo and WIM Rantanen winning on board one and two

Women section 4th round results:

Russia-Hungary 2-2

Poland-France 3-1

Serbia-Georgia 0.5-3.5

Ukraine-Netherlands 2-2

Slovenia-Romania 2.5-1.5

Greece 1-Bulgaria 2.5-1.5

Lithuania-Spain 2-2

Czech-Germany 1.5-2.5

Many games finished a 2-2 tie

Slovenia was finally stopped as Russian power-machine proved to be
too strong. Full points by Alexander Morozevich and Dmitry Jakovenko
were good enough for comfortable 3-1. Sergei Tiviakov and Teimour
Radjabov quickly drew their game, then Gadir Guseinov beat Erik Van
Den Doel and after Vugar Gashimov held Daniel Stellwagen to a draw,
Azerbaijan celebrated 2.5-1.5 against Netherlands. Fifth round will
see big derby Azerbaijan-Russia.

The strong Russian team, lead by GM Morozevich took a glorious victory

against Slovenia with

two wins and two draws

In Netherlands vs. Azerbaidjan GM Tiviakov and GM Radjabov got to a very fast draw and quickly made a post-mortem of their game atthe analysis hall. Azerbaidjan won with one point difference.

Israel gained early advantage against Hungary
on the third table thanks to, who else than Michael Roiz.
Zoltan Almasi, however, beat Boris Avrukh in a marathon to set the
final 2-2 tie. FYROM was very close to upsetting Ukraine after Nedev’s
blitzkrieg on Moiseenko. Ivanchuk and Volokitin remained concentrated
to turn the tables and secure narrow 2.5-1.5.

Hungary and Izrael gave us a great game, switched a loss on first and second board and with drawing the other two games finished 2:2

FYROM gave in to very strong Ukraine, score – 1.5:2.5

Armenia and Denmark showed a smooth and equal game all the way – four

tie games, total score 2:2

In the last game of ex world champion GM Topalov, Bulgaria scored an outstanding victory against Croatia with wins ot the first three boards and a draw on the forth, which amounts to Croatia:Bulgaria – 0.5:3.5

Powerful France triumphed against Norway with GM Bacrot getting a draw from GM Carlsen on board one

The Czech team outplayed Serbia with a minor advantage because of a mishap in the game on board one where GM Damljanovic was winning against his younger opponet GM Navara but made a critical mistake leading to 2.5:1.5

England and Sweden finished at 2 points each in a very interesting and

variated match

Spain reached the desired win against Germany with a minor 1pt

advantage thanks to GM Vallejo Pons who won his game against GM Naiditsch, while the other

three games were tie

Turkey cleary outperformed Romania with two wins and two ties

Finland and Geogia also joined the club of 2:2 draws, where GM Nyback

from Finland won on board one and GM Pantsulaia from Georgia triumphed on board two while

the other finished a tie

Austria really showed what they’re made of against Poland today with

IM Ragger, IM Atlas and IM Weiss drawing against the much stronger GM Socko, GM Socko and GM

Gajewski respectively. Nevertheless GM Bartel gained victory on board four and produced the

final 1.5:2.5

The Baltic battle between Lithuania and Estonia ended favorably for

Estonia with GM Kulaots and FM Lauk victorius on board one and three respectively producing

the final 1:3

Iceland and Switzerland played a long mixed match and could not

produce a winner, result on board – 2:2

Italy vs. Montenegro also did not give us a winner, they showed a

balanced game and deservingly finished 2:2

Greece prevailed in their match against the firstcommers Monaco with

three wins, however, GM Efimov surprisingly took the victory on board one against the much

higher rated GM Kotronias

Belgium chased Cyprus all over the boards and took their three points,

nevertheless FM Klerides on board three for Cyprus surprisingly won against the higher

rated IM Laurent

Scotland scored a win against Luxembourg after a five hour match with

2.5:1.5

Men section 4th round results:

Russia-Slovenia 3-1

Netherlands-Azerbaijan 1.5-2.5

Hungary-Israel 2-2

FYROM-Ukraine 1.5-2.5

Armenia-Denmark 2-2

Croatia-Bulgaria 0.5-3.5

Norway-France 1-3

Czech Republic-Serbia 2.5-1.5

England-Sweden 2:2

Spain-Germany 2.5:1.5

Austria-Poland 1.5:2.5

Finland-Georgia 2:2

Lithuania-Estonia 1:3

Iceland-Switzerland 2:2

Italy-Montenegro 2:2

Monaco-Greece 1:3

Belgium-Cyprus 3:1

Scotland-Luxembourg 2.5:1.5

The derby matches in the women section carried huge tension through the day, but the Russians came on the top with a stunning 3.5-0.5 victory against Bulgaria. Hungary on the second board demolished strong France with the same result. Zhaoqin Peng beated Monika Socko on the first board in Netherlands-Poland but Iweta Rajlich and Marta Przezdziecka turned the tables in Poland’s favor. Slovenia-Serbia and Romania-Lithuania ended in a 2-2 tie.

Russia defeated Bulgaria 3.5:0.5 after a five hour epic battle between GM Kosteniuk and GM Stefanova on board one

GM Kosteniuk and GM Stefanova

Women section results:

Russia-Bulgaria 3.5-0.5

Hungary-France 3.5-0.5

Netherlands-Poland 1.5-2.5

Slovenia-Serbia 2-2

Romania-Lithuania 2-2

Israel-Ukraine 0.5-3.5

Germany-Armenia 2-2

Spain-Turkey 3.5-0.5

Azerbaijan-Greece 1-3

Hungary and France also showed us great games, however France could not keep its position and the match finished with the striking difference 3.5:0.5

The Netherlands stepped back to Poland with 1.5:2.5. Nevertheless, GM Peng’s lucky charme (an orange lion-like stuffed animal) did work and she won her game with the stronger IM Socko

In the ex-Yugoslavian battle, Slovenia and Serbia reached a draw

Germany’s 3rd and 4rth board WGM Michna and WFM Ohme could not beat their Armenian opponents and in spite of IM Paehtz and IM Kachiani’s wins, both teams split the points

Ukraine crushed Israel with three wins and a draw

Austria vs. England was one of the longest matches in the playing hall. IM Moser and IM Houska did an early draw. However…

…it took almost four hours for WIM Lauterbach to win over the unranked Katharina Newrkla

Montenegro showed no mercy towards Switzerland winning three of the games and drawing one.

Spain took a distinguished victory over the team of Turkey with 3 points lead

Azerbaidjan gave in to the slightly stronger first team of Greece with

1:3. IM Dembo and WIM Papadopoulou won their games with WGM Mamedjarova and WIM Umudova on

board one and four respectively, while the other two finished equal

More on the ETCC

Official website

General ETCC section

Ruschess.com coverage

European Team Chess Championship 2007

Third round of the European Team Chess Championship was marked with narrow 2.5-1.5 wins on the top four tables in men section. Peter Svidler beat David Navara with the Anti-Marshall and with other games drawn, Russia took most of against Czech Republic. Each day, Azerbaijan has different hero, this time it was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov’s turn to shine and blast Peter Heine Nielsen off the board with a beautiful rook sacrifice.

Russia wining with one point advantage over the Czech Republic, paired with Slovenia in round 4

Azerbaidjan gained one point victory over Denmark and meeting the Netherlands next round

Defending champion Netherlands and Serbia played a highly interesting match when Damljanovic’s blunder in the time trouble decided a winner. Slovenia continues upsetting big guns, this time they beat Hungary and Beliavsky-Almasi is a must see game. As Beliavsky told us, he followed attacking idea developed by GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu.

Netherlands vs. Serbia at table two also finishing 2.5:1.5, where Serbia is going to play with the Czech Republic tomorrow

Slovenia accomplished a 2.5:1.5 win over Hungary

Another man to praise is modest GM Michael Roiz. He beat Sergey Karjakin with black pieces to save the day for Israel. During the dinner we had with Michael, he explained what happened in the game: “I think I have surprised Sergey with Breyer variation of Ruy Lopez as I haven’t used it for several years. We`reached an equal position, but Sergey found a nice piece sacrifice with allowed him to create some pressure. In one moment, he missed a better move that would have kept things unbalanced, and I gained the initiative which won me the game”. Valjevo Gorenje 2007 winner and one of the most promising young players in the world has for long time been underestimated by tournament organizers. As he admitted, his schedule is empty after the Khanty-Mansysk World Cup.

Michael Roiz, playing with the rest of Israel’s team against Hungary in round four

Men section results:

Russia-Czech Republic 2.5-1.5

Azerbaijan-Denmark 2.5-1.5

Netherlands-Serbia 2.5-1.5

Slovenia-Hungary 2.5-1.5

Israel-Ukraine 2-2

Spain-Croatia 1-3

Austria-Armenia 1-3

Montenegro-Bulgaria 0.5-3.5

Greece-Sweden 1-3

Poland-Scotland 3.5-0.5

Spain vs. Croatia, Croatia winning by 1:3, waiting for Bulgaria next round

Austria vs. Armenia going on 1:3 as well, Armenia meeting Denmark tomorrow

Montenegro and Bulgaria finished 0.5:3.5, next team on Bulgaria’s way is Croatia

Greece suffered defeat by Sweden with 1:3, Sweden to take on England in round four

Poland defeated Scotland with 3.5:0.5, waiting for Austria in the next round

More on the ETCC

Official website

General ETCC section

Ruschess.com coverage

top matches and photos

ARMENIA – RUSSIA 1,5:2,5

A copy of the match in the men’s section, Armenia and Russia engaged in an interesting battle. Alexandra Kosteniuk, playing on board 1 for Russia, brought the first point against Elina Danielian. However, last board WIM Andriasian surprised the 200 ELO higher rated IM Korbut to get Armenia back in the match. Things got even more complicated when IM Nadezhda Kosintseva drew with IM Mkrtchian. It was IM Kovalevskaya who brought the final victory for Russia with a win on board 3.

Armenia vs. Russia

FRANCE – SPAIN 2,5:1,5

The higher rated team of France was surprised by tough Spanish opposition. WIM Hernandez got a full point against WGM Leconte on the last board, puting Spain on the lead. Board 3 WGM Milliet – WIM Llaneza did not the temporary score and finished draw. However, the super strong boards 1 and 2 for France, IM Skripchenko and IM Collas, gave no chance to the Spanish team and nailed the victory for France.

IM Skripchenko against WGM Vega Gutierrez on board 1

POLAND – AZERBAIDJAN 3,5:0,5

In one of the derby matches of the day, Poland achieved a convincing victory against the strong team of Azerbaidjan. IM Rajlich and WGM Zawadzka achieved quick victories against WGM Kadimova and WGM Turkan Mamedjarova, thus almost deciding the final outcome of the match. The final blow came from IM Socko who defeated Zeinab Mamedjarova.

Poland were superior against Azerbaidjan

BULGARIA – GERMANY 2,5:1,5

Bulgaria, led by the ex world champion Antoaneta Stefanova, had a difficult day against Germany. Stefanova opened the score with a draw against IM Paethz. Boards 2 and 3, WGM Voiska – IM Kachiani and WGM Velcheva – WGM Michna, followed suit and divided the point. The last board for Bulgaria, WFM Elitsa Raeva, was again the lucky charm and brought the full point for her country

An exciting match, Bulgaria vs. Germany
(Antoaneta Stefanova with her Coca Cola as usual)

derby matches in the men section

ARMENIA – RUSSIA 1,5:2,5

Russia and Armenia created a real show on table 1. After a quick draw between GM Asrian and GM Jakovenko, all
attention was directed to the WCC Mexico 2007 flashback
- Aronian against Svidler. In an equal game, Svidler got half a point away with black. It was another WCC participant who brought a decisive point for Russia. GM Morozevich won against GM Akopian. GM Alekseev secured the win for Russia with a draw on board 3.

participant who decided the outcome. GM Morozevich won his game against GM Akopian, and Russia stays on the lead

with full match points.

Exciting match, in which GM Morozevich brought the full match points for Russia

UKRAINE – SPAIN 2:2

Ukraine got a kick start against Spain, with NH tournament winner Sergei Karjakin winning his game against Alexei Shirov. However, the Spanish team did not give up and equalized the score with GM Illescas scoring scoring an important victory against GM Moiseenko. Vallejo held Volotkin to a draw and as it happened in many matches today, the last board was decisive for the final outcome. It was the longest game of the day, but GM Areshchenko and GM Khamrakulov split the point. Thus, Ukraine – Spain was one of the few equal matches of the day.

Ukraine up and ready for challenge before the game

BULGARIA – AZERBAIDJAN 1,5:2,5

The Dream Team of Bulgaria faced the higher rated team of Azerbaijan. The ex world champion Veselin Topalov had a

constant slight advantage against the Essent 2007 winner, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. However, the Azeri player found the

precise moves and could hold the draw. On board 2, the magic of Linex, Ivan Cheparinov, drew with Radjabov in the battle of the youngsters. The same result

was produced on the last board between Delchev and Guseinov. The match was decided on board 3, where Kiril Georgiev

fell into extreme time trouble against GM Gashimov. Thus Azerbaijan continue with full match points and show their

serious intentions.

Team Azerbaijan shows serious intentions for the ETCC title

HUNGARY – GREECE 2,5:1,5

The hosts Greece enganged in an interesting battle with Hungary. Balogh – Banikas and Berkes – Mastrovasilis quickly reached draws, leaving the final outcome to the top

boards. GM Almasi and GM Kotronias could not find the way to a decisive score after close to four hours of play.

It was GM Gyimesi who brought the full match points to Hungary with a win over GM Halkias

Hungary vs. Greece on table 8

NORWAY – WALES 4:0

Norway, who yesterday lost 2,5:1,5 to Spain, ran over the team of Wales. With a 4:0 score Norway got back in the

competition and for sure will aim at the first places.

Norway crushes Wales and is aiming at the top

LUXEMBOURG – ROMANIA 1,5:2,5

The team of Luxembourg almost brought the big surprise of day 2. Pierre Gengler (ELO 2195) won the game on board 4

against GM Andrei Murariu (ELO 2503). However, Romania recovered quickly by winning two full points. Luxembourg fought to the end, but Romania secured a draw in the game IM Bakalarz – GM Lupulescu, thus winning the match 2,5:1,5

Luxembourg had a strong day against Romania

More on the ETCC

Official website

General ETCC section

The second round of the European Team Chess Championship has started with Russia-Armenia matches on top tables in both men and women section. Levon Aronian steps in for the first time to face Peter Svidler and Karen Asrian and Dmitry Jakovenko are entertaining everyone around with the way they blitz through their opening. Evgeny Alexeev seems to be easy on bursting in laugh.

Ukraine is playing their first real match today against Spain and probably the most interesting encounter is Bulgaria against galloping Azerbaijan as Topalov and Cheparinov are to play with Mamedyarov and Radjabov on the top boards.

In the female section Russia will have to work against ultra-solid Armenian squad. Strong France is playing Spain on the second table and first-round-heroes Azerbaijan are trying to take down another high rated team – Poland.

Topalov and Cheparinov preparing for the derby with Azerbaijan

Russian female team confident before the games

Ukraine up and ready for challenge

France greeting Slovenia

Bulgaria vs. Germany

Sweden against Switzerland

England lead by Michael Adams vs. the Czech Republic

Denmark vs. Georgia

Team Azerbaijan

Bulgaria vs. Azerbajan – Topalov vs. Mamedyarov

Will Veselin take revenge on what happened on the Mtel Masters 2007?

Hungary vs. Greece on table 8

For Poland vs. Azerbaijan we see Monika Socko vs. Zeinab Mamedyarova

Poland Vs. Iceland

Estonia vs. Finland

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on board three for France

GM Magnus Carlsen on board one for Norway

WIM Monika Seps for Switzerland

WGM Antoaneta Stefanova going for a second win

Full point ahead of competition

The 4th Calvia Chess Festival took place on 15th-23rd October at Polideportivo Municipal de Magaluf. Chess globtrotter GM Victor Mikhalevski of Israel had a fantastic start with seven straight wins, including those against Francisco Vallejo and Rauf Mamedov. Two quick draws in the final rounds were enough to keep him on the first place full point ahead of 2nd GM Kevin Spraggett. There were 30 Grandmasters among 144 participants fighting for the share of 17.000 Euros prize fund.

GM Victor Mikhalevski in Tromso

Final standings:

1. GM Victor Mikhalevski (ISR 2584) 8,0 (+28 fide points)
2. GM Kevin Spraggett (CAN 2580) 7,0

3-11. GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili (GEO 2631), GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR 2582), GM Emanuel Berg (SWE 2593), GM Michele Godena (ITA 2535), GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL 2635), GM Walter Arencibia (CUB 2562), IM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (GEO 2432), GM Bartlomiej Heberla (POL 2502) and GM Aleksa Strikovic (SRB 2551) 6.5 etc

Official website

The magic is again with Ivan Cheparinov

MERIDA - LINEX – MAGIC 2,5:3,5

GM Dimitry Jakovenko (Merida) - GM Alexei Shirov (Linex) 1/2-1/2

GM Michael Adams (Linex) – GM Evgeny Alekseev (Merida) 1/2-1/2

GM Artyom Timofeev (Merida) - GM Sergei Rublevsky (Linex) 1/2-1/2

GM Gabriel Sargissian (Linex) - GM Viktor Bologan (Merida) 1/2-1/2

GM Ibragim Khamrakulov (Merida) - GM Ivan Cheparinov (Linex) 0-1

IM Manuel Perez Candelario (Linex) - IM Miguel Llanes Hurtado (Merida) 1/2-1/2

After winning the Club Cup in Turkey earlier this month, Linex Magic won the Spanish Team Championship. Linex won the semi final against UPI (the team of Ivanchuk) and today they defeated Merida to clinch the title.

The Magical boy for Linex this month has clearly been Ivan Cheparinov. After having the highest performance in Turkey, he brought the Spanish Team title after being the winner of the only decisive game of the day. He defeated with black GM Ibragim Khamrakulov to give Linex the 2,5:3,5 victory.

With this victory Ivan Cheparinov passes the 2700 ELO barrier for the first time in his life and joins the 2700+ club! A fantastic prize for the young player who had top performances this year.

Ivan Cheparinov brought the winning point for Linex

More on Linex Magic

Linex Magic wins against Alkaloid

Linex Magic on top at the club cup

Ivan Cheparinov

Interview with Ivan Cheparinov after winning Sigeman – exclusive for Chessdom

Ivan Cheparinov at the Villarrobledo Chess festival

Interview with Cheparinov before NH chess tournament – exclusive for Chessdom

Xiangzhi Bu wins

Xiangzhi Bu won the World Chess Blindfold Cup that took place from October 16th to 20th, 2007, in the Hotel Sheraton Bilbao. He won the matches against each of his opponents and left no question who the Chess Blindfold king is. Bu won a total of 21 points and left far behind him Sergei Karjakin 17, Magnus Carlsen 16, Judith Polgar 12, Veselin Topalov 9, and Pentala Harikrishna 6.

The World Blindfold Chess Cup was played according to a new pointing system. The players were awarded 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a lost game. According to the conventional system, Karjakin (+5 =2 -3) and Carlsen (+4 =4 -2) should be with the same points, but the new one puts Karjakin a point ahead.

World Blindfold Chess Cup Final Standings:

Xiangzhi Bu 21

Sergei Karjakin 17

Magnus Carlsen 16

Judith Polgar 12

Veselin Topalov 9

Pentala Harikrishna 6

Round 1: Tuesday, October 16th, 18:30h

Veselin Topalov 1-0 Judit Polgar

Pentala Harikrishna ½-½ Magnus Carlsen

Bu Xiangzhi 1-0 Sergey Karjakin

Round 2: Tuesday, October 16th, 19:30h

Judit Polgar 1-0 Veselin Topalov

Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Pentala Harikrishna

Sergey Karjakin ½-½ Bu Xiangzhi

Round 3: Wednesday, October 17th, 18:30h

Judit Polgar ½-½ Sergey Karjakin

Magnus Carlsen 0-1 Bu Xiangzhi

Veselin Topalov ½-½ Pentala Harikrishna

Round 4: Wednesday, October 17th, 19:30h

Sergey Karjakin 1-0 Judit Polgar

Bu Xiangzhi ½-½ Magnus Carlsen

Pentala Harikrishna 1-0 Veselin Topalov

Round 5: Thursday, October 18th, 18:30h

Pentala Harikrishna 0-1 Judit Polgar

Bu Xiangzhi 1-0 Veselin Topalov

Sergey Karjakin 0-1 Magnus Carlsen

Round 6: Thursday, October 18th, 19:30h

Judit Polgar ½-½ Pentala Harikrishna

Veselin Topalov ½-½ Bu Xiangzhi

Magnus Carlsen 0-1 Sergey Karjakin

Round 7: Friday, October 19th, 18:30h

Judit Polgar ½-½ Magnus Carlsen

Veselin Topalov 0-1 Sergey Karjakin

Pentala Harikrishna 0-1 Bu Xiangzhi

Round 8: Friday, October 19th, 19:30h

Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Judit Polgar

Sergey Karjakin 0-1 Veselin Topalov

Bu Xiangzhi 1-0 Pentala Harikrishna

Round 9: Saturday, October 20th, 18:30h

Bu Xiangzhi 1 – 0 Judit Polgar

Sergey Karjakin 1 – 0 Pentala Harikrishna

Magnus Carlsen 1 – 0 Veselin Topalov

Round 10: Saturday, October 20th, 19:30h

Judit Polgar 1 – 0 Bu Xiangzhi

Pentala Harikrishna 0-1 Sergey Karjakin

Veselin Topalov ½-½ Magnus Carlsen