18-28th January at the Open University in Otočac

The Croatian Chess Championship is taking place on 18-28th January at the Open University in Otočac. Twelve players, all but one with Grandmaster rank, are competing in the round robin tournament. The Championship is officially valid for the year 2009, and top four finishers will qualify for the 2010 event. The prize fund is 10.000 EUR.

The last round has just started and is set to determinate the winner after an exciting race between GM Ivan Šarić, the 2007 U18 European Chess Champion and the 2008 U18 World Youth Chess Champion, and GM Alojzije Janković, who are both entering the final round with 7.5 points each. Distant third is GM Nenad Šulava on 6.0 points. Replay the selected games bellow.

Update: The two leaders were paired against each other in the last round, but the game finished with a disappointing 13-moves draw. The tiebreak scores depend on the outcome in other games and we will wait for the official announcement on who is the new champion.

Standings after round 10:

1. GM Šarić Ivan 2586 and GM Janković Alojzije 2541 – 7,5

3. GM Šulava Nenad 2539 – 6,0

4. GM Stević Hrvoje 2614 – 5,5

5-6. IM Martinović Saša 2499 and GM Jovanić Ognjen 2533 – 5,0

7-8. GM Kožul Zdenko 2617 and GM Palac Mladen 2563 – 4,5

9-10. GM Cvitan Ognjen 2554 and GM Zelčić Robert 2557 – 4,0

11. GM Jovanović Zoran 2537 – 3,5

12. GM Brkić Ante 2564 – 3,0

photos, results, standings

The 2010 Gibtelecom International Chess Festival got underway today at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. At precisely 2.45pm (Gibraltar time) Charles Isola from Anglo Hispano Ltd, representing all sponsors, made the first move with Etienne Bacrot from France who is the highest rated player in the Gibtelecom Chess Masters. Play began at 3pm.

Famous Grandmaster Boris Spassky, following last years successful visit has made a return to the Gibtelecom International Chess Festival, and today made the first move with Alexandra Kosteniuk, the Women’s World Champion, in Gibraltar for the first time.

The top three seeds: Etienne Bacrot (2713 France), Sergei Movsesian (2708 Slovakia) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (2705 Spain), are all participating in the tournament for the first time. The masters list of participants is available at the preview article. The live games could be viewed at the Gibraltar Chess live coverage on Chessdom CB platform, with interesting results on the top boards. The top seeded GM Bacrot was held to a draw by FM Camus (replay game), while Chessdom.com commentator WIM Iva Videova was a step away from taking down GM Eduard Romain, but the time trouble did not allow her to continue the good game (replay here).

The draw for the pairings was held on Monday night at which the Minister for Sport, Heritage and Culture, Edwin Reyes was also present. The draw was carried out by Maxine de la Rosa, Miss Gibraltar 1st Princess. Master of Ceremonies was GM Stuart Conquest.

Chessdom.com commentator GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and Boris Spassky made the first move

The First Princess wished everyone the best of luck, and Minister Edwin Reyes welcomed everyone to the Rock. “Gibraltar is very proud to hold this tournament and we thank you for travelling such long distances to be here. Good luck to you all,” he said.

This year there are 35 Grandmasters playing in the Open Masters with over 228 players, a record for this type of event and open tournament of this nature. The tournament itself is a 10 day festival which boasts an impressive field. The other competitions running simultaneously are the Challengers with 84 players and the Amateurs with 40.

The Honourable Edwin Joseph Reyes – Minister for Culture, with Maxine de la Rosa

Official site

Round 1 results

1 FM Camus de Solliers, Guillau FRA - 2356 GM Bacrot, Etienne FRA 2713 ½-½

2 GM Movsesian, Sergei SVK - 2708 IM Peek, Marcel NED 2342 1-0

3 FM Lovik, Lasse Ostebo NOR - 2343 GM Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2705 0-1

4 GM Adams, Michael ENG - 2694 WGM Reizniece, Dana LAT 2341 1-0

5 FM Dittmar, Peter GER - 2341 GM Kamsky, Gata USA 2693 0-1

6 GM Fressinet, Laurent FRA - 2670 IM Zozulia, Anna BEL 2321 1-0

7 FM Wantiez, Fabrice BEL - 2315 GM Fridman, Daniel GER 2654 0-1

8 GM Gustafsson, Jan GER - 2627 Andre, Gordon GER 2308 1-0

9 FM Forsaa, Espen NOR - 2301 GM Sandipan, Chanda IND 2622 0-1

10 WIM Schoene, Maria GER - 2251 GM Koneru, Humpy IND 2614 0-1

11 GM Edouard, Romain FRA - 2608 WFM Videnova, Iva BUL 2301 1-0

12 FM Perez Pardo, Juan Carlos ESP - 2297 GM Istratescu, Andrei ROU 2607 0-1

13 GM Lopez Martinez, Josep Manu ESP - 2593 Stebbings, Anthony J ENG 2290 ½-½

14 Getz, Nicolai NOR - 2280 GM Geetha Narayanan Gopal IND 2584 0-1

15 GM Felgaer, Ruben ARG - 2573 IM Kozlov, Oleg RUS 2279 ½-½

16 Royset, Paal NOR - 2279 GM Halkias, Stelios GRE 2566 0-1

17 IM Lenderman, Alex USA - 2560 Schuetze, Norman GER 2269 1-0

18 FM Nikolaidis, Konstantinos GRE - 2266 GM Lemos, Damian ARG 2556 ½-½

19 GM Malakhatko, Vadim BEL - 2549 Stephan, Axel GER 2252 1-0

20 GM Stefanova, Antoaneta BUL - 2545 FM Overeem, Marc NED 2245 1-0

21 Montero Melendez, Rafael ESP - 2248 GM Bhat, Vinay S. USA 2540 0-1

22 FM Hartvig, Ove Weiss DEN - 2245 GM Cramling, Pia SWE 2528 ½-½

23 GM Naumann, Alexander GER - 2525 FM Avalos Parra, Joao CHI 2245 ½-½

24 FM Marchand, Francois FRA - 2244 GM Speelman, Jon S ENG 2525 ½-½

25 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra RUS - 2523 Duhayon, Yves BEL 2241 1-0

26 WGM Nadig, Kruttika IND - 2240 GM Guliyev, Namig AZE 2516 1-0

27 GM Bindrich, Falko GER - 2512 Al-Tamimi, Hamad QAT 2238 1-0

28 Nuri, Kambez SUI - 2235 IM Kapnisis, Spyridon GRE 2510 0-1

29 GM Hoffmann, Michael GER - 2508 Rioseco Pinochet, Fernan CHI 2226 1-0

30 Chapman, Terry P D ENG - 2221 GM Dzagnidze, Nana GEO 2506 0-1

31 IM Javakhishvili, Lela GEO - 2493 FM Lacrosse, Marc BEL 2220 1-0

32 Arvola, Benjamin NOR - 2218 IM Cmilyte, Viktorija LTU 2489 0-1

33 GM Carlsson, Pontus SWE - 2476 Kandic, Milan SRB 2216 1-0

34 WFM Tjolsen, Katrine NOR - 2212 IM Harika, Dronavalli IND 2471 0-1

35 GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan SCO - 2470 Tscharotschkin, Michael GER 2211 1-0

36 Tate, Alan SCO - 2211 GM Siebrecht, Sebastian GER 2468 0-1

37 IM Zatonskih, Anna USA - 2466 Henriksson, Johan SWE 2204 1-0

38 FM Weeramantry, Sunil SRI - 2201 WGM Zhukova, Natalia UKR 2462 0-1

39 IM Krush, Irina USA - 2455 Ivanov, Stojan Emilov BUL 2198 1-0

40 Urbina Perez, Juan Antonio ESP - 2197 IM Boskovic, Drasko SRB 2454 0-1

41 IM Vernay, Clovis FRA - 2442 Byron, Alan M ENG 2196 1-0

42 FM Kawuma, Steven Male UGA - 2187 GM Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel ESP 2440 0-1

43 IM Hirneise, Tobias GER - 2421 WIM Martsynovskaya, Marina w FRA 2184 1-0

44 FM Jaime Montalvan, Luis Feli ESP - 2183 Battaglini, Gabriel FRA 2411 0-1

45 IM Nezad, Husein Aziz QAT - 2408 CM Ashby, Anthony C ENG 2178 1-0

46 Bindrich, Oswald GER - 2173 WGM Karavade, Eesha IND 2405 ½-½

47 IM Houska, Jovanka w ENG - 2401 Byrn, Carsten DEN 2171 1-0

48 Kvisla, Johannes Luangtep NOR - 2161 IM Tania, Sachdev IND 2398 0-1

49 IM Benitah, Yohan FRA - 2390 Gandrud, Vegar Koi NOR 2158 0-1

50 Haarr, Jon Kristian NOR - 2157 IM Sarkar, Justin USA 2378 1-0

51 IM Dworakowska, Joanna w POL - 2374 Arnott, Jonathan W ENG 2154 ½-½

52 Nilsen, Joachim Birger NOR - 2152 FM Degtiarev, Evgeny GER 2374 0-1

53 IM Solomon, Kenny RSA - 2368 Groffen, Hans NED 2150 1-0

54 Goodger, Martyn ENG - 2147 FM Zaremba, Andrie USA 2360 0-1

55 WGM Calzetta Ruiz, Monica ESP - 2359 Lipecki, Alexander SUI 2146 1-0

56 Hughes, Roy ENG - 1976 IM Saravanan, V. IND 2356 0-1

57 Thingstad, Even NOR - 2141 Green, Per SWE 1970 1-0

58 Helin, Mikael SWE - 1972 Aerni, Andi SUI 2137 0-1

59 Popa-Matei, Viorel-Ovidiu ROU - 2137 Young, Mel J ENG 1971 1-0

60 Mikalsen, Erlend NOR - 1973 Andersson, Lars SWE 2132 1-0

61 CM Osuna Vega, Enrique ESP - 2128 Andersen, Niels Erik DEN 1965 1-0

62 Webster, Richard J ENG - 1961 De Andres Gonalons, Fernan ESP 2124 1-0

63 Vinas Guerrero, Carlos A. ESP - 2120 Jacobsen, Fredrik Beer NOR 1952 1-0

64 Boesch, Heinz GER - 1948 Tozer, Philip ENG 2119 1-0

65 Collier, David O ENG - 2118 Mancini, Giustino ITA 1946 1-0

66 Skage, Oystein Aagedal NOR - 1935 Valgmae, Toomas EST 2117 0-1

67 Doubleday, William G. CAN - 2115 De Lillo, Michele ITA 1934 0-1

68 Tari, Aryan NOR - 1932 Fox, Anthony IRL 2113 ½-½

69 Fokin, Sergey RUS - 2109 Winkler, Stefan GER 1916 1-0

70 Grant, David SCO - 1913 Flermoen, Peter NOR 2108 1-0

71 Hagen, Anders Gjerdrum NOR - 2108 Frey, Matthias SUI 1907 1-0

72 Johnson, Paul A ENG - 1904 Demac, Elias NOR 2104 ½-½

73 Ogada-Osir, Ibrahim AUS - 2104 Sommerhalder, Eric SUI 1899 1-0

74 Pereira, Johnharry SIN - 1892 Allor, Chukwuka NGR 2100 1-0

75 Fegan, Chris ENG - 2093 Steinskog, Asbjorn Ottesen NOR 1884 0-1

76 Bishop, Geoffrey L ENG - 1851 Havik, Victor NOR 2093 0-1

77 Lumsdon, Andrew SUI - 2090 Chidi, Lovinia Sylvia GER 1832 ½-½

78 Yarur Elsaca, Daniel CHI - 1815 Freuler, Roman SUI 2082 0-1

79 Pienabarca, Nicola ITA - 2071 Rough, Robert E SCO 1811 1-0

80 Gonzalez Amaya, Millan ESP - 1805 Dasaolu, Adeoye ENG 2068 0-1

81 Compton, Alistair NZL - 2066 Fox, Pierre BEL 1788 ½-½

82 Valhondo Morales, Ruben ESP - 1762 Brown, Thomas WLS 2064 ½-½

83 Jameson, David WLS - 2053 Kuenitz, Klaus GER 1755 1-0

84 Hirneise, Lothar GER - 1707 Flores Chico, Jorge ESP 2052 0-1

85 Haraldsson, Leif SWE - 2050 Gates, David ENG 1702 1-0

86 Hegelund, Ole Jakob NOR - 1702 Obiamiwe, Paul NGR 2046 0-1

87 Cafolla, Peter IRL - 2042 Hansen, Erle Andrea Marki NOR 1699 1-0

88 Carlsen, Ingrid Oen NOR - 1508 Hamer, Martyn ENG 2039 0-1

89 Bryn, Askild NOR - 2036 Malia Ramirez, Jose ESP 1925 1-0

90 Agdestein, Fredrik NOR - 0 Spanton, Tim R ENG 2035 0-1

91 Lochte, Szilvia HUN - 2032 Agdestein, Sjur NOR 0 1-0

92 Homer, Neil S ENG - 0 Pettersen, Joar Gullestad NOR 2020 0-1

93 Hawkins, James N H ENG - 2019 Oumalek, Achraf MAR 0 1-0

94 Dunlop, Anthony SCO - 0 Seitz, Benjamin SUI 2017 0-1

95 Odeh, Kenneth NGR - 2012 Grodas, Margrethe Bjerkem NOR 0 1-0

96 Grodas, Ole Jakob NOR - 0 Stanek, Stanislav CZE 2007 0-1

97 Campbell, Ian ENG - 2002 Agdestein, Victoria NOR 0 1-0

98 Horrocks, Stephen J ENG - 0 Perez Reisler, Jose PUR 2001 0-1

99 Lombart, Philippe BEL - 1996 Indrebo, Kyrre NOR 0 0-1

100 Jacobsen, Caroline Beer NOR - 0 Marder, Simon SWE 1993 0-1

101 Zanetti, Bruno SUI - 1978 Lundback, Karl SWE 0 1-0

102 Reci, Nadja SUI - 0 Carame Gonzalez, Francisco ESP 1977 0-1

103 GM Cheparinov, Ivan BUL - 2660 FM Lyell, Mark ENG 2224 1-0

104 Sigamoney, Cyril S USA - 0 IM Shankland, Samuel L USA 2491 0-1

105 IM Cabrera Trujillo, Jorge ESP - 2384 FM Lasinskas, Povilas LTU 2174 ½-½

106 IM Sedina, Elena ITA - 2335 Weber, Francois ESP 2149 1-0

107 FM Molina, Antonio PHI - 2148 Kantans, Toms LAT 2303 1-0

108 Meskovs, Nikita LAT - 2264 Daoudi, Kamal MAR 2142 0-1

109 Mortensen, Henrik DEN - 2015 Ortega Valle, Jose Ramon ESP 2054 1-0

Pairings round 2

1 IM Cmilyte, Viktorija LTU - 2489 GM Movsesian, Sergei SVK 2708

2 GM Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP - 2705 GM Carlsson, Pontus SWE 2476

3 IM Harika, Dronavalli IND - 2471 GM Adams, Michael ENG 2694

4 GM Kamsky, Gata USA - 2693 GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan SCO 2470

5 GM Siebrecht, Sebastian GER - 2468 GM Fressinet, Laurent FRA 2670

6 WGM Zhukova, Natalia UKR - 2462 GM Cheparinov, Ivan BUL 2660

7 GM Fridman, Daniel GER - 2654 IM Zatonskih, Anna USA 2466

8 IM Boskovic, Drasko SRB - 2454 GM Gustafsson, Jan GER 2627

9 GM Sandipan, Chanda IND - 2622 IM Krush, Irina USA 2455

10 GM Koneru, Humpy IND - 2614 IM Vernay, Clovis FRA 2442

11 GM Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel ESP - 2440 GM Edouard, Romain FRA 2608

12 GM Istratescu, Andrei ROU - 2607 IM Hirneise, Tobias GER 2421

13 GM Geetha Narayanan Gopal IND - 2584 IM Nezad, Husein Aziz QAT 2408

14 GM Halkias, Stelios GRE - 2566 IM Houska, Jovanka w ENG 2401

15 Battaglini, Gabriel FRA - 2411 IM Lenderman, Alex USA 2560

16 IM Tania, Sachdev IND - 2398 GM Malakhatko, Vadim BEL 2549

17 FM Degtiarev, Evgeny GER - 2374 GM Stefanova, Antoaneta BUL 2545

18 GM Bhat, Vinay S. USA - 2540 IM Solomon, Kenny RSA 2368

19 FM Zaremba, Andrie USA - 2360 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra RUS 2523

20 IM Saravanan, V. IND - 2356 GM Bindrich, Falko GER 2512

21 IM Kapnisis, Spyridon GRE - 2510 WGM Calzetta Ruiz, Monica ESP 2359

22 IM Sedina, Elena ITA - 2335 GM Hoffmann, Michael GER 2508

23 GM Dzagnidze, Nana GEO - 2506 WGM Nadig, Kruttika IND 2240

24 Gandrud, Vegar Koi NOR - 2158 IM Javakhishvili, Lela GEO 2493

25 IM Shankland, Samuel L USA - 2491 Haarr, Jon Kristian NOR 2157

26 GM Bacrot, Etienne FRA - 2713 FM Molina, Antonio PHI 2148

27 Daoudi, Kamal MAR - 2142 GM Lopez Martinez, Josep Manu ESP 2593

28 GM Lemos, Damian ARG - 2556 Thingstad, Even NOR 2141

29 Aerni, Andi SUI - 2137 GM Felgaer, Ruben ARG 2573

30 GM Cramling, Pia SWE - 2528 Popa-Matei, Viorel-Ovidiu ROU 2137

31 GM Speelman, Jon S ENG - 2525 CM Osuna Vega, Enrique ESP 2128

32 WGM Karavade, Eesha IND - 2405 Collier, David O ENG 2118

33 Valgmae, Toomas EST - 2117 GM Naumann, Alexander GER 2525

34 IM Cabrera Trujillo, Jorge ESP - 2384 Hagen, Anders Gjerdrum NOR 2108

35 Havik, Victor NOR - 2093 IM Dworakowska, Joanna w POL 2374

36 Freuler, Roman SUI - 2082 FM Camus de Solliers, Guillau FRA 2356

37 Stebbings, Anthony J ENG - 2290 Lochte, Szilvia HUN 2032

38 IM Kozlov, Oleg RUS - 2279 Mortensen, Henrik DEN 2015

39 Stanek, Stanislav CZE - 2007 FM Nikolaidis, Konstantinos GRE 2266

40 FM Avalos Parra, Joao CHI - 2245 Zanetti, Bruno SUI 1978

41 Carame Gonzalez, Francisco ESP - 1977 FM Hartvig, Ove Weiss DEN 2245

42 De Lillo, Michele ITA - 1934 FM Marchand, Francois FRA 2244

43 GM Guliyev, Namig AZE - 2516 Vinas Guerrero, Carlos A. ESP 2120

44 IM Benitah, Yohan FRA - 2390 Fokin, Sergey RUS 2109

45 IM Sarkar, Justin USA - 2378 Ogada-Osir, Ibrahim AUS 2104

46 IM Peek, Marcel NED - 2342 Pienabarca, Nicola ITA 2071

47 Dasaolu, Adeoye ENG - 2068 FM Lovik, Lasse Ostebo NOR 2343

48 WGM Reizniece, Dana LAT - 2341 Jameson, David WLS 2053

49 Flores Chico, Jorge ESP - 2052 FM Dittmar, Peter GER 2341

50 IM Zozulia, Anna BEL - 2321 Haraldsson, Leif SWE 2050

51 Obiamiwe, Paul NGR - 2046 FM Wantiez, Fabrice BEL 2315

52 Andre, Gordon GER - 2308 Cafolla, Peter IRL 2042

53 Hamer, Martyn ENG - 2039 FM Forsaa, Espen NOR 2301

54 Kantans, Toms LAT - 2303 Bryn, Askild NOR 2036

55 Spanton, Tim R ENG - 2035 Getz, Nicolai NOR 2280

56 Pettersen, Joar Gullestad NOR - 2020 FM Perez Pardo, Juan Carlos ESP 2297

57 WFM Videnova, Iva BUL - 2301 Hawkins, James N H ENG 2019

58 Seitz, Benjamin SUI - 2017 Royset, Paal NOR 2279

59 Schuetze, Norman GER - 2269 Odeh, Kenneth NGR 2012

60 Stephan, Axel GER - 2252 Campbell, Ian ENG 2002

61 Perez Reisler, Jose PUR - 2001 Meskovs, Nikita LAT 2264

62 Marder, Simon SWE - 1993 WIM Schoene, Maria GER 2251

63 FM Overeem, Marc NED - 2245 Mikalsen, Erlend NOR 1973

64 Duhayon, Yves BEL - 2241 Webster, Richard J ENG 1961

65 Al-Tamimi, Hamad QAT - 2238 Boesch, Heinz GER 1948

66 Rioseco Pinochet, Fernan CHI - 2226 Grant, David SCO 1913

67 FM Lyell, Mark ENG - 2224 Pereira, Johnharry SIN 1892

68 Steinskog, Asbjorn Ottesen NOR - 1884 Nuri, Kambez SUI 2235

69 Indrebo, Kyrre NOR - 0 Chapman, Terry P D ENG 2221

70 FM Lasinskas, Povilas LTU - 2174 IM Cori, Jorge PER 2483

71 WIM Cori T., Deysi PER - 2412 Bindrich, Oswald GER 2173

72 Arnott, Jonathan W ENG - 2154 Arvola, Benjamin NOR 2218

73 Fox, Anthony IRL - 2113 WFM Tjolsen, Katrine NOR 2212

74 Demac, Elias NOR - 2104 Tate, Alan SCO 2211

75 FM Lacrosse, Marc BEL - 2220 Lumsdon, Andrew SUI 2090

76 Kandic, Milan SRB - 2216 Compton, Alistair NZL 2066

77 Brown, Thomas WLS - 2064 FM Weeramantry, Sunil SRI 2201

78 Tscharotschkin, Michael GER - 2211 Tari, Aryan NOR 1932

79 Henriksson, Johan SWE - 2204 Johnson, Paul A ENG 1904

80 Chidi, Lovinia Sylvia GER - 1832 Urbina Perez, Juan Antonio ESP 2197

81 Fox, Pierre BEL - 1788 FM Kawuma, Steven Male UGA 2187

82 Ivanov, Stojan Emilov BUL - 2198 Valhondo Morales, Ruben ESP 1762

83 Byron, Alan M ENG - 2196 Matto, Gerard i ENG 1563

84 WIM Martsynovskaya, Marina w FRA - 2184 Malia Ramirez, Jose ESP 1925

85 Winkler, Stefan GER - 1916 FM Jaime Montalvan, Luis Feli ESP 2183

86 CM Ashby, Anthony C ENG - 2178 Frey, Matthias SUI 1907

87 Byrn, Carsten DEN - 2171 Sommerhalder, Eric SUI 1899

88 Rough, Robert E SCO - 1811 Kvisla, Johannes Luangtep NOR 2161

89 Gates, David ENG - 1702 Nilsen, Joachim Birger NOR 2152

90 Groffen, Hans NED - 2150 Bishop, Geoffrey L ENG 1851

91 Weber, Francois ESP - 2149 Yarur Elsaca, Daniel CHI 1815

92 Kuenitz, Klaus GER - 1755 Goodger, Martyn ENG 2147

93 Lipecki, Alexander SUI - 2146 Gonzalez Amaya, Millan ESP 1805

94 Andersson, Lars SWE - 2132 Hegelund, Ole Jakob NOR 1702

95 De Andres Gonalons, Fernan ESP - 2124 Carlsen, Ingrid Oen NOR 1508

96 Tozer, Philip ENG - 2119 Agdestein, Fredrik NOR 0

97 Hansen, Erle Andrea Marki NOR - 1699 Doubleday, William G. CAN 2115

98 Flermoen, Peter NOR - 2108 Hirneise, Lothar GER 1707

99 Allor, Chukwuka NGR - 2100 Dunlop, Anthony SCO 0

100 Agdestein, Sjur NOR - 0 Fegan, Chris ENG 2093

101 Ortega Valle, Jose Ramon ESP - 2054 Grodas, Ole Jakob NOR 0

102 Agdestein, Victoria NOR - 0 Lombart, Philippe BEL 1996

103 Lundback, Karl SWE - 0 Hughes, Roy ENG 1976

104 Grodas, Margrethe Bjerkem NOR - 0 Helin, Mikael SWE 1972

105 Young, Mel J ENG - 1971 Jacobsen, Caroline Beer NOR 0

106 Green, Per SWE - 1970 Homer, Neil S ENG 0

107 Andersen, Niels Erik DEN - 1965 Horrocks, Stephen J ENG 0

108 Jacobsen, Fredrik Beer NOR - 1952 Reci, Nadja SUI 0

109 Mancini, Giustino ITA - 1946 Sigamoney, Cyril S USA 0

110 Oumalek, Achraf MAR - 0 Skage, Oystein Aagedal NOR 1935

Results round 1 challengers

1 2141 Thingstad, Even NOR - 2238 Mascarenhas, Alberto Pinhe BRA 1-0

2 2218 Arvola, Benjamin NOR - 2137 Aerni, Andi SUI 1-0

3 2108 Flermoen, Peter NOR - 2218 Mlynek, Petr CZE 1-0

4 2212 Tjolsen, Katrine NOR - 2116 Straub, Peter GER 1-0

5 2108 Hagen, Anders Gjerdrum NOR - 2211 Tscharotschkin, Michael GER 1/2-1/2

6 2201 Weeramantry, Sunil SRI - 2104 Demac, Elias NOR 0-1

7 2100 Allor, Chukwuka NGR - 2198 Ivanov, Stojan Emilov BUL 1-0

8 2196 Byron, Alan M ENG - 2100 Wallgren, Ulf SWE 1/2-1/2

9 2100 Ungureanu, Sandu ROU - 2187 Kawuma, Steven Male UGA 1/2-1/2

10 2184 Martsynovskaya, Marina FRA - 2093 Fegan, Chris ENG 0-1

11 2093 Havik, Victor NOR - 2171 Byrn, Carsten DEN 1-0

12 2161 Kvisla, Johannes Luangtep NOR - 2090 Lumsdon, Andrew SUI 1/2-1/2

13 2068 Dasaolu, Adeoye ENG - 2158 Gandrud, Vegar Koi NOR 1/2-1/2

14 2157 Haarr, Jon Kristian NOR - 2064 Brown, Thomas WLS 0-1

15 2053 Jameson, David WLS - 2152 Nilsen, Joachim Birger NOR 1/2-1/2

16 2052 Flores Chico, Jorge ESP - 1932 Tari, Aryan NOR 1/2-1/2

17 1926 Gravett, Alan D GBZ - 2042 Cafolla, Peter IRL 0-1

18 2039 Hamer, Martyn ENG - 1916 Winkler, Stefan GER 1/2-1/2

19 1913 Grant, David SCO - 2036 Bryn, Askild NOR 1/2-1/2



21 1905 Ortega Gonzalez, Jose Luis ESP - 2017 Isherwood, Paul ENG 0-1

22 2017 Seitz, Benjamin SUI - 1904 * Plater, Ronald ENG 0-1

23 1899 Sommerhalder, Eric SUI - 2011 McBeth, Michael J SCO 1/2-1/2

24 2007 Stanek, Stanislav CZE - 1892 Pereira, Johnharry SIN 1-0

25 1884 Steinskog, Asbjorn Ottesen NOR - 1992 * Horrocks, Stephen J 1/2-1/2

26 1981 Loerke, Reinhard GER - 1851 Bishop, Geoffrey L ENG 1-0

27 1848 * Annetts, Ivor S ENG - 1978 Zanetti, Bruno SUI 0-1

28 1973 Mikalsen, Erlend NOR - 1811 Rough, Robert E SCO 1-0

29 1699 Hansen, Erle Andrea Marki NOR - 1971 Young, Mel J ENG 0-1

30 1952 Jacobsen, Fredrik Beer NOR - 1808 * Wright, Jonathan ENG 1-0

31 1787 Flanagan, Samuel NIR - 1944 Bauer, Peter HUN 0-1

32 1935 Skage, Oystein Aagedal NOR - 2224 Lyell, Mark ENG 0-1

33 1929 Moreno Cervera, Jose Luis ESP - 1755 * Savage, Neil RSA 1-0

34 2104 Mulligan, Stephen ENG - 2191 Eden, Tomer ISR 0-1

35 2142 * Daoudi, Kamal MAR - 2226 Rioseco Pinochet, Fernan CHI 1-0

36 2120 Vinas Guerrero, Carlos A. ESP - 2216 Kandic, Milan SRB 1-0

37 2197 Urbina Perez, Juan Antonio ESP - 2109 Fokin, Sergey RUS 0-1

38 2090 Jayakumar, Adarsh USA - 2148 Molina, Antonio PHI 1-0

39 1832 Chidi, Lovinia Sylvia GER - 2012 Odeh, Kenneth NGR 0-1

40 2245 Avalos Parra, Joao CHI - 2128 Osuna Vega, Enrique ESP 1-0

41 1730 * Indrebo, Kyrre NOR - 1896 * Staples, Daniel J ENG 1/2-1/2

information and standings

Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran is the top seeded in the Chennai Open International Grandmaster chess tournament which was inaugurated at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The tournament is 11-round Swiss basis carrying a total prize money of Rs 10,14,500. The winner will earn a purse of Rs 200,000.

In a press conference on Friday, D.V. Sundar, Honorary Secretary of the AICF, said 386 entries were received till date and by the time the first move is made on Monday the number crossed 400.

“Chennai has joined the elite club of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata in organising international open tournaments and we hope to do it each year,” said Sundar.

The sponsors are Government of Tamil Nadu, Life Insurance Corporation of India and ONGC. “The Tamil Nadu Government has come forward to support this event,” said S. Ganesan, Chairman, Organising Committee.

A total of 14 nations from Asia and Europe will be represented. The entrants include 19 GMs, 27 IMs, three WGMs and three WIMs.

After round 3 and multiple surprise results, here is how the top 100 looks.

GM Rahman Ziaur BAN 2548 3

Kulkarni Chinmay IND 2339 3

IM Deshmukh Anup IND 2271 3

GM Turov Maxim RUS 2584 3

Swayams Mishra IND 2340 3

Ankit R Rajpara IND 2298 3

Bartakke Amardeep S IND 2206 3

GM Dzhumaev Marat UZB 2515 3

IM Bitoon Richard PHI 2458 3

IM Lalith Babu M R IND 2457 3

GM Manik Mikulas SVK 2435 3

IM Dimakiling Oliver PHI 2435 3

IM Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi IND 2413 3

Anwesh Upadhyaya IND 2400 3

FM Shyam Nikil P IND 2386 3

IM Babu N Sudhakar IND 2330 3

IM Thejkumar M S IND 2435 3

Siddharth R IND 2424 3

IM Murali Krishnan B T IND 2385 3

WGM Meenakshi Subbaraman IND 2353 3

IM Suvrajit Saha IND 2343 3

IM Saptarshi Roy IND 2407 3

IM Kamble Vikramaditya IND 2364 3

WGM Mohota Nisha IND 2330 3

GM Kotsur Pavel KAZ 2568 2,5

GM Kravtsiv Martyn UKR 2545 2,5

GM Jumabayev Rinat KAZ 2536 2,5

FM Singh Rishpal S IND 2226 2,5

GM Zubarev Alexander UKR 2544 2,5

IM Satyapragyan Swayangsu IND 2480 2,5

IM Venkatesh M R IND 2432 2,5

Vaibhav Suri IND 2326 2,5

IM Lim Yee-Weng MAS 2289 2,5

GM Sundararajan Kidambi IND 2526 2,5

Shivananda B S IND 2396 2,5

IM Girinath P D S IND 2370 2,5

Bitan Banerjee IND 2316 2,5

Matta Vinay Kumar IND 2283 2,5

Abhishek Kelkar IND 2246 2,5

Palit Somak IND 2386 2,5

Rao J Malleswara IND 2172 2,5

GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J IND 2492 2,5

IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2434 2,5

Anilkumar O T IND 2255 2,5

Hariharan Venkatachalam IND 2114 2,5

GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan IRI 2589 2,5

GM Kryakvin Dmitry RUS 2575 2,5

Stany G A IND 2349 2,5

FM Rajesh V A V IND 2321 2,5

WIM Kiran Manisha Mohanty IND 2234 2,5

Swapnil S Dhopade IND 2429 2,5

Phoobalan P IND 2312 2,5

IM Shetty Rahul IND 2259 2,5

FM Sai Krishna G V IND 2238 2,5

Saravana Krishnan P IND 2323 2,5

Premnath R IND 2304 2,5

GM Gutov Andrey RUS 2444 2,5

IM Prakash G B IND 2389 2,5

Arun Karthik R IND 2345 2,5

Thakur Akash IND 2331 2,5

Narayanan K IND 2220 2,5

IM Priyadharshan K IND 2362 2,5

GM Iuldachev Saidali UZB 2519 2

Joshi G B IND 2272 2

FM Visweswaran K IND 2297 2

FM Ramakrishna J IND 2242 2

IM Konguvel Ponnuswamy IND 2420 2

GM Ramesh R B IND 2482 2

IM Shyam Sundar M IND 2377 2

IM Koshy Varugeese IND 2281 2

Ram S Krishnan IND 2273 2

IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam IND 2272 2

Jaiswal Puneet IND 2259 2

Anurag Mhamal IND 2236 2

Nimmy A G IND 2224 2

WGM Ramaswamy Aarthie IND 2211 2

Gautam J K IND 1966 2

Syed Anwar Shazuli IND 2321 2

Venkata Ramana J IND 2187 2

Natarajan C IND 2184 2

Debashish Dutta IND 2142 2

Hetul Shah IND 1920 2

Udeshi Aditya IND 2327 2

Mehar Chinna Reddy C H IND 2258 2

Singh S Vikramjit IND 2214 2

FM Das Sayantan IND 2204 2

G Akash IND 2131 2

Hariketan G Chitale IND 1952 2

IM Karthikeyan P IND 2408 2

IM Singh D P IND 2303 2

Kaushik S IND 2134 2

Karthikeyan Murali IND 1953 2

CM Bhagwat Vinod IND 2170 2

Anand Raj S IND 2044 2

Pratyusha Bodda IND 1995 2

IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman IND 2464 2

FM Vinoth Kumar M IND 2245 2

Fenil Shah IND 2201 2

Krishna C R G IND 2193 2

Deepthamsh Reddy M IND 2182 2

pairings and live games

The Gibraltar Chess tournament 2010 starts today at Hotel Caleta. Besides many top grandmasters as GM Bacrot, GM Movsesian, GM Vallejo, GM Adams, GM Kamsky, in the competition will participate Chessdom.com commentators GM Kosteniuk and WIM Videnova.

Live games start at the Chessdom Chessbomb live arena at 16:00 CET.

Here are the full pairings of round 1

1 FM Camus de Solliers, Guillau FRA 2356 GM Bacrot, Etienne FRA 2713

2 GM Movsesian, Sergei SVK 2708 IM Peek, Marcel NED 2342

3 FM Lovik, Lasse Ostebo NOR 2343 GM Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2705

4 GM Adams, Michael ENG 2694 WGM Reizniece, Dana LAT 2341

5 FM Dittmar, Peter GER 2341 GM Kamsky, Gata USA 2693

6 GM Fressinet, Laurent FRA 2670 IM Zozulia, Anna BEL 2321

7 FM Wantiez, Fabrice BEL 2315 GM Fridman, Daniel GER 2654

8 GM Gustafsson, Jan GER 2627 Andre, Gordon GER 2308

9 FM Forsaa, Espen NOR 2301 GM Sandipan, Chanda IND 2622

10 WIM Schoene, Maria GER 2251 GM Koneru, Humpy IND 2614

11 GM Edouard, Romain FRA 2608 WFM Videnova, Iva BUL 2301

12 FM Perez Pardo, Juan Carlos ESP 2297 GM Istratescu, Andrei ROU 2607

13 GM Lopez Martinez, Josep Manu ESP 2593 Stebbings, Anthony J ENG 2290

14 Getz, Nicolai NOR 2280 GM Geetha Narayanan Gopal IND 2584

15 GM Felgaer, Ruben ARG 2573 IM Kozlov, Oleg RUS 2279

16 Royset, Paal NOR 2279 GM Halkias, Stelios GRE 2566

17 IM Lenderman, Alex USA 2560 Schuetze, Norman GER 2269

18 FM Nikolaidis, Konstantinos GRE 2266 GM Lemos, Damian ARG 2556

19 GM Malakhatko, Vadim BEL 2549 Stephan, Axel GER 2252

20 GM Stefanova, Antoaneta BUL 2545 FM Overeem, Marc NED 2245

21 Montero Melendez, Rafael ESP 2248 GM Bhat, Vinay S. USA 2540

22 FM Hartvig, Ove Weiss DEN 2245 GM Cramling, Pia SWE 2528

23 GM Naumann, Alexander GER 2525 FM Avalos Parra, Joao CHI 2245

24 FM Marchand, Francois FRA 2244 GM Speelman, Jon S ENG 2525

25 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra RUS 2523 Duhayon, Yves BEL 2241

26 WGM Nadig, Kruttika IND 2240 GM Guliyev, Namig AZE 2516

27 GM Bindrich, Falko GER 2512 Al-Tamimi, Hamad QAT 2238

28 Nuri, Kambez SUI 2235 IM Kapnisis, Spyridon GRE 2510

29 GM Hoffmann, Michael GER 2508 Rioseco Pinochet, Fernan CHI 2226

30 Chapman, Terry P D ENG 2221 GM Dzagnidze, Nana GEO 2506

31 IM Javakhishvili, Lela GEO 2493 FM Lacrosse, Marc BEL 2220

32 Arvola, Benjamin NOR 2218 IM Cmilyte, Viktorija LTU 2489

33 GM Carlsson, Pontus SWE 2476 Kandic, Milan SRB 2216

34 WFM Tjolsen, Katrine NOR 2212 IM Harika, Dronavalli IND 2471

35 GM Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan SCO 2470 Tscharotschkin, Michael GER 2211

36 Tate, Alan SCO 2211 GM Siebrecht, Sebastian GER 2468

37 IM Zatonskih, Anna USA 2466 Henriksson, Johan SWE 2204

38 FM Weeramantry, Sunil SRI 2201 WGM Zhukova, Natalia UKR 2462

39 IM Krush, Irina USA 2455 Ivanov, Stojan Emilov BUL 2198

40 Urbina Perez, Juan Antonio ESP 2197 IM Boskovic, Drasko SRB 2454

41 IM Vernay, Clovis FRA 2442 Byron, Alan M ENG 2196

42 FM Kawuma, Steven Male UGA 2187 GM Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel ESP 2440

43 IM Hirneise, Tobias GER 2421 WIM Martsynovskaya, Marina FRA 2184

44 FM Jaime Montalvan, Luis Feli ESP 2183 Battaglini, Gabriel FRA 2411

45 IM Nezad, Husein Aziz QAT 2408 CM Ashby, Anthony C ENG 2178

46 Bindrich, Oswald GER 2173 WGM Karavade, Eesha IND 2405

47 IM Houska, Jovanka ENG 2401 Byrn, Carsten DEN 2171

48 Kvisla, Johannes Luangtep NOR 2161 IM Tania, Sachdev IND 2398

49 IM Benitah, Yohan FRA 2390 Gandrud, Vegar Koi NOR 2158

50 Haarr, Jon Kristian NOR 2157 IM Estremera Panos, Sergio ESP 2380

51 IM Dworakowska, Joanna POL 2374 Arnott, Jonathan W ENG 2154

52 Nilsen, Joachim Birger NOR 2152 FM Degtiarev, Evgeny GER 2374

53 IM Solomon, Kenny RSA 2368 Groffen, Hans NED 2150

54 Goodger, Martyn ENG 2147 FM Zaremba, Andrie USA 2360

55 WGM Calzetta Ruiz, Monica ESP 2359 Lipecki, Alexander SUI 2146

56 Hughes, Roy ENG 1976 IM Saravanan, V. IND 2356

57 Thingstad, Even NOR 2141 Green, Per SWE 1970

58 Helin, Mikael SWE 1972 Aerni, Andi SUI 2137

59 Popa-Matei, Viorel-Ovidiu ROU 2137 Young, Mel J ENG 1971

60 Mikalsen, Erlend NOR 1973 Andersson, Lars SWE 2132

61 CM Osuna Vega, Enrique ESP 2128 Andersen, Niels Erik DEN 1965

62 Webster, Richard J ENG 1961 De Andres Gonalons, Fernan ESP 2124

63 Vinas Guerrero, Carlos A. ESP 2120 Jacobsen, Fredrik Beer NOR 1952

64 Boesch, Heinz GER 1948 Tozer, Philip ENG 2119

65 Collier, David O ENG 2118 Mancini, Giustino ITA 1946

66 Skage, Oystein Aagedal NOR 1935 Valgmae, Toomas EST 2117

67 Doubleday, William G. CAN 2115 De Lillo, Michele ITA 1934

68 Tari, Aryan NOR 1932 Fox, Anthony IRL 2113

69 Fokin, Sergey RUS 2109 Winkler, Stefan GER 1916

70 Grant, David SCO 1913 Flermoen, Peter NOR 2108

71 Hagen, Anders Gjerdrum NOR 2108 Frey, Matthias SUI 1907

72 Johnson, Paul A ENG 1904 Demac, Elias NOR 2104

73 Ogada-Osir, Ibrahim AUS 2104 Sommerhalder, Eric SUI 1899

74 Pereira, Johnharry SIN 1892 Allor, Chukwuka NGR 2100

75 Fegan, Chris ENG 2093 Steinskog, Asbjorn Ottesen NOR 1884

76 Bishop, Geoffrey L ENG 1851 Havik, Victor NOR 2093

77 Lumsdon, Andrew SUI 2090 Chidi, Lovinia Sylvia GER 1832

78 Yarur Elsaca, Daniel CHI 1815 Freuler, Roman SUI 2082

79 Pienabarca, Nicola ITA 2071 Rough, Robert E SCO 1811

80 Gonzalez Amaya, Millan ESP 1805 Dasaolu, Adeoye ENG 2068

81 Compton, Alistair NZL 2066 Fox, Pierre BEL 1788

82 Valhondo Morales, Ruben ESP 1762 Brown, Thomas WLS 2064

83 Jameson, David WLS 2053 Kuenitz, Klaus GER 1755

84 Hirneise, Lothar GER 1707 Flores Chico, Jorge ESP 2052

85 Haraldsson, Leif SWE 2050 Gates, David ENG 1702

86 Hegelund, Ole Jakob NOR 1702 Obiamiwe, Paul NGR 2046

87 Cafolla, Peter IRL 2042 Hansen, Erle Andrea Marki NOR 1699

88 Carlsen, Ingrid Oen NOR 1508 Hamer, Martyn ENG 2039

89 Bryn, Askild NOR 2036 Abdurhman, Omar SOM 0

90 Agdestein, Fredrik NOR 0 Spanton, Tim R ENG 2035

91 Lochte, Szilvia HUN 2032 Agdestein, Sjur NOR 0

92 Homer, Neil S ENG 0 Pettersen, Joar Gullestad NOR 2020

93 Hawkins, James N H ENG 2019 Cramling Bellon, Ana ESP 0

94 Dunlop, Anthony SCO 0 Seitz, Benjamin SUI 2017

95 Odeh, Kenneth NGR 2012 Grodas, Margrethe Bjerkem NOR 0

96 Grodas, Ole Jakob NOR 0 Stanek, Stanislav CZE 2007

97 Campbell, Ian ENG 2002 Agdestein, Victoria NOR 0

98 Horrocks, Stephen J ENG 0 Perez Reisler, Jose PUR 2001

99 Lombart, Philippe BEL 1996 Indrebo, Kyrre NOR 0

100 Jacobsen, Caroline Beer NOR 0 Marder, Simon SWE 1993

101 Zanetti, Bruno SUI 1978 Lundback, Anders SWE 0

102 Reci, Nadja SUI 0 Carame Gonzalez, Francisco ESP 1977

IM Melia Salome wins the women title, tie in the men section

The 69th Georgian Men’s Chess Championship was held on 11-24th January in Tbilisi. After the exhausting struggle in all-play-all 13 rounds tournament, Grandmasters Merab Gagunashvili and Tamaz Gelashvili shared the first place with 9.0 points each. More information at FIDE.com

The 67th Georgian Women’s Championship took place from 9th until 22nd January in Tbilisi. IM Melia Salome, formerly twice European U18 Champion, maintained the margin ahead of the storming IM Nino Khurtsidze and won the title of the Georgian champion. Read more…

Tamaz Gelashvili

Standings men

1-2. GM Gagunashvili Merab 2582 and GM Gelashvili Tamaz 2614 – 9,0

3. GM Arutinian David 2566 – 8,5

4-5. GM Shanava Konstantine 2551 and IM Nigalidze Gaioz 2462 – 8,0

6. FM Paichadze Luka 2424 – 7,5

7-8. GM Jojua Davit 2535 and GM Pantsulaia Levan 2598 – 7,0

9. IM Benidze Davit 2491 – 6,0

10-11. IM Sulashvili Malkhaz 2497 and IM Margvelashvili Giorgi 2527 – 5,5

12. IM Jobava Beglar 2444 – 4,5

13. GM Sanikidze Tornike 2615 – 3,5

14. Javakhadze Zurab 2363 – 2,0

Standings women

1. IM Melia Salome 2431 – 10,0

2. IM Khurtsidze Nino 2414 – 9,5

3. IM Lomineishvili Maia 2371 – 8,5

4-5. WIM Mikadze Miranda 2326 and WGM Tsereteli Tamar 2403 – 7,5

6-7. IM Khotenashvili Bela 2461 and WIM Arabidze Meri 2282 – 7,0

8-10. WGM Batsiashvili Nino 2309, IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2438 and WIM Tsatsalashvili Keti 2312 – 6,5

11. IM Purtseladze Maka 2306 – 5,0

12. GM Dzagnidze Nana 2506 – 4,0

13. WIM Gavasheli Ana 2204 – 3,5

14. WIM Khurtsilava Inga 2303 -1,0

Anand’s wife arrives 8th of February

Aruna Anand, the wife of Viswanathan Anand and manager of the World Champion, will visit Sofia on the 8th of February. The goal of Aruna’s visit is to inspect the proposed hotels and accommodation conditions for Vishy and his team for the World Chess Championship match with Topalov. Accompanying Aruna will be the FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos.

Aruna Anand has been the main negotiator for Anand on several occasions for the match of Topalov. She managed to defend well Anand’s desire to move the match to a later date in April during the last year’s meeting in Athens.

Currently Anand is participating at the Corus Wijk Aan Zee tournament in Holland, a Grand Slam 2010 event. The tournament finishes January 31st, but there is not information wether the World Champion will arrive in Sofia.

traditions form style of play

Peter Nicholas, LA Times

I love sports.
In years past I’ve been to Super Bowls, Sugar Bowls, Rose Bowls – even college football’s meaningless Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

I’ve gotten on a plane and flown to Indiana not once but twice to watch Notre Dame play football.
Basketball games, hockey games, golf — you get the gist.
But I can’t tell you I’ve ever been more excited about a game than one that lasted five-and-a-half hours Thursday and ended in a tie.
The sport was chess.

If in everyday conversation you throw around terms like “zugzwang” and “pawn island,” you would have found the 59-move contest riveting. But even if you don’t, the storyline was irresistable.
Playing the white pieces was Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning U.S. chess champion and at 22, perhaps America’s best hope for capturing the world title. On the other side of the board was Magnus Carlsen, the 19-year-old Norwegian phenom who is now the top rated chess player in the world.

Both are brilliant grandmasters on the rise. Each wants to be world champion some day. But the parallels end there. Magnus is rooted in a European tradition, where the best players compete at the civilized pace of one round a day.
Hikaru grew up in the more freewheeling American chess scene, where the competition is uneven. Top players may be paired against amateurs in large open tournaments where anyone can compete as long as they pay the entry fee. The pace is grueling; American grandmasters often must persevere through two or three rounds a day. Think back to final exams and you get a sense of what’s required.
I spoke to Magnus’s father, Henrik Carlsen, about the differences between U.S. and European chess circuit.

“Certainly from what I’ve heard, having tournaments where you have less days than the number of rounds is difficult,” he said. “At a certain level, you want to set conditions so that the best player wins. And it’s not obvious that the best player is the one who is doing best if the situation is not optimal.”
That argument made sense to me. I’ve interviewed U.S. grandmasters who say they prefer the playing conditions overseas.
But when I asked Hikaru to contrast the two, he stuck up for the American chess scene. He said it has honed his tactical skill and combative spirit, forcing him to press for a win whether he has the black or white pieces (in chess, black moves second and is thus at a disadvantage).

“In Europe, drawing with black and pressing with white is the standard,” Hikaru told me, after finishing a game earlier in the week at the Corus Chess tournament here. “Whereas in the American system, you pretty much have to play to win every single game. And so it creates a certain style. Overall, growing up with the American system you play more exciting chess and are much more aggressive. I prefer that style of play to the European style.”

Read the full article

12-players round robin, from 12th until 22nd January in Minsk

The 76th Belarusian Chess Championship was held in Minsk from 12th until 22nd January. Twelve players competed in an all-play-all tournament with 11 rounds, and among them were eight Grandmasters. But even in such a strong field, with five players being rated 2600 elo and higher, the untitled Evgeny Podolchenko (2450) exceeded all expectations and gained a full point advantage prior to the last round.

Needing only a draw to safely clinch the title, and having at hand huge probability that even a shared first place brings him the best tiebreak, Podolchenko took on the experienced GM Sergey Azarov (2622) in the last game. The final day attracted huge interest and spectators poured into the playing hall to follow the action…

Full article on FIDE.com

Tania Sachdev holds top seeded Le Quang Liem

Overnight sole leader Grandmaster Maghami Ehsan Ghaem of Iran maintained his slender half point lead in the ongoing 8th Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament after settling for quick draw against Russian Grandmaster Maxim Turov in the seventh round encounter at Modern School. Playing safely with white pieces, Maghami offered draw on the fourteenth move and his Russian rival gleefully accepted the offer for peace treaty. A pack of seven players including second seed Grandmaster Lenic Luka of Slovena and young Indian International Master M R Lalith Babu, who split the point with Richard Bitton of Philippines in the seventh round game, are in second spot with 6 points in this 12.5 lakh prize money tournament.

Playing white side of King’s Indian Defence, Lenic overcame his Indian rival Swapnil Dhopade in 46 moves. Meanwhile, local hope and former National Women Champion Tania Sachdev occupying the joint third spot after holding top seed Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in the seventh round match. In another surprising result, playing black side of Queens Indian opening, Tamilnadu youngster Arun Karthik held Russian Grandmaster Dmitry Kryakvin to creditable draw.

Tania Sachdev

Round 7 top results

1 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2589 ½ – ½ GM Turov Maxim 2584

2 IM Bitoon Richard 2458 ½ – ½ IM Lalith Babu M R 2457

3 GM Lenic Luka 2595 1 – 0 Swapnil S Dhopade 2429

4 GM Iuldachev Saidali 2519 ½ – ½ IM Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi 2413

5 IM Girinath P D S 2370 0 – 1 GM Dzhumaev Marat 2515

6 IM Tolstikh Nikolay 2364 1 – 0 FM Grover Sahaj 2448

7 WIM Muminova Nafisa 2347 0 – 1 IM Dimakiling Oliver 2435

8 GM Le Quang Liem 2647 ½ – ½ IM Tania Sachdev 2398

9 GM Kryakvin Dmitry 2575 ½ – ½ Arun Karthik R 2345

10 IM Kamble Vikramaditya 2364 0 – 1 GM Kotsur Pavel 2568

11 GM Rahman Ziaur 2548 1 – 0 IM Priyadharshan K 2362

12 IM Suvrajit Saha 2343 0 – 1 GM Kravtsiv Martyn 2545

13 Swayams Mishra 2340 0 – 1 GM Jumabayev Rinat 2536

14 GM Laxman R R 2503 1 – 0 Thakur Akash 2331

15 IM Sengupta Deep 2480 1 – 0 Vaibhav Suri 2326

16 Saravana Krishnan P 2323 0 – 1 GM Thipsay Praveen M 2469

17 GM Gutov Andrey 2444 ½ – ½ Bitan Banerjee 2316

18 FM Rajesh V A V 2321 0 – 1 GM Manik Mikulas 2435

19 IM Arkhangelsky Boris 2291 ½ – ½ IM Thejkumar M S 2435

20 IM Ashwin Jayaram 2434 1 – 0 Shiven Khosla 2291

21 IM Koshy Varugeese 2281 ½ – ½ IM Konguvel Ponnuswamy 2420

22 IM Karthikeyan P 2408 ½ – ½ Deshpande Aniruddha 2256

23 Matta Vinay Kumar 2283 0 – 1 IM Saptarshi Roy 2407

Standings

1 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan IRI 2589 6,5

2 GM Turov Maxim RUS 2584 6

3 IM Bitoon Richard PHI 2458 6

4 IM Dimakiling Oliver PHI 2435 6

5 GM Dzhumaev Marat UZB 2515 6

6 IM Lalith Babu M R IND 2457 6

7 IM Tolstikh Nikolay RUS 2364 6

8 GM Lenic Luka SLO 2595 6

9 GM Iuldachev Saidali UZB 2519 5,5

10 IM Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi IND 2413 5,5

11 IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2434 5,5

12 GM Jumabayev Rinat KAZ 2536 5,5

13 IM Sengupta Deep IND 2480 5,5

14 GM Rahman Ziaur BAN 2548 5,5

15 IM Das Arghyadip IND 2396 5,5

16 GM Kravtsiv Martyn UKR 2545 5,5

GM Laxman R R IND 2503 5,5

18 GM Kotsur Pavel KAZ 2568 5,5

19 GM Manik Mikulas SVK 2435 5,5

20 IM Murali Krishnan B T IND 2385 5,5

21 IM Tania Sachdev IND 2398 5,5

22 IM Saptarshi Roy IND 2407 5,5

23 GM Thipsay Praveen M IND 2469 5,5

24 GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2647 5

25 GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J IND 2492 5

26 IM Konguvel Ponnuswamy IND 2420 5

27 GM Kryakvin Dmitry RUS 2575 5

28 IM Thejkumar M S IND 2435 5

29 IM Girinath P D S IND 2370 5

30 FM Grover Sahaj IND 2448 5

31 Swapnil S Dhopade IND 2429 5

32 Abhishek Das IND 2326 5

33 IM Karthikeyan P IND 2408 5

34 WIM Muminova Nafisa UZB 2347 5

35 Deshpande Aniruddha IND 2256 5

36 Venkat Sundaram IND 2216 5

37 Anilkumar O T IND 2255 5

38 Bitan Banerjee IND 2316 5

39 GM Gutov Andrey RUS 2444 5

40 IM Babu N Sudhakar IND 2330 5

41 WGM Mohota Nisha IND 2330 5

42 IM Koshy Varugeese IND 2281 5

43 IM Hegde Ravi Gopal IND 2208 5

44 Arun Karthik R IND 2345 5

WIM Kiran Manisha Mohanty IND 2234 5

46 IM Tilak Sharad S IND 2318 5

47 Premnath R IND 2304 5

48 FM Prasenjit Datta IND 2278 5

WFM Semenova Elena RUS 2208 5

50 Ankit R Rajpara IND 2298 5

51 Shivananda B S IND 2396 5

52 Savitskiy Sergey RUS 2273 5

53 IM Arkhangelsky Boris RUS 2291 5

54 Singh S Vikramjit IND 2214 5

55 Dave Kantilal IND 2172 5

Total: 360 players

Maghami takes sole lead, Lalith Babu shocks Ziaur Rahman

Press Release, New Delhi (17 Jan 2010): Third-seed Iranian Grandmaster Maghami Ehsan Ghaem defeated International Master Oliver Dimakiling of Philippines in the sixth round to emerge as the sole leader in the 8th Parsvnath International Chess Tournament at the Modern School here on Sunday. With his sixth victory on the trot, Maghami remains the only player in the field to have won all his matches in the tournament so far.

Intense battles on the top boards produced a series of exciting results on the day as overnight joint leader Uzbek Grandmaster Saidali Iuldachev suffered his first defeat in the event from the hands of his Russian counter part Maxim Turov. Turov along with Richard Bitoon of Philippines and Indian International Master M R Lalith Babu who defeated Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman in the sixth round encounter are now at second spot with a drift of half point.

Grandmaster Maghami Ehsan Ghaem

The upset galore in this edition continued for another day as four Grandmasters suffered shock defeats form lower rated opponents and another five satisfied with half point. Playing white side of Queen’s Gambit Accepted variation promising Indian youngster M R Lalith Babu overcame Grandmaster Ziaur Rahaman of Bangladesh in 38 moves while Indian Grandmasters Arun Prasad and Deepan Chakkravarthy suffered shock defeats from the hands of International Master PDS Girinath and Nikolay Tolstikh of Russia respectively. In another surprising result, seasoned Indian International Master Varugeese Koshy stunned Kazakh Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev.

Top seed Grandmaster Le Qunag Liem of Vietnam suffered another jolt to tournament campaign as he settled for another half point against B T Murali Krishnan. K Priyadharshan held Russian Grandmaster Dmitry Kryakvin to a creditable draw while young Swayams Mishra had the same result against Indian Grandmaster RR Laxman.

Local lads Sahaj Grover and Vaibhav Suri brought cheers to the home crowd as Sahaj beat dark horse of the tournament Abhishek Das while Vaibhav held Russian Grandmaster Andrey Gutov in the sixth round encounters.

Important Results (Indians otherwise stated)

Round 6: IM Oliver Dimakiling of Philippines (5) lost to GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan of Iran (6); GM Maxim Turov of Russia (5.5) beat Saidali Iuldachev of Uzbekistan (5); IM M R Lalith Babu (5.5) beat GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh (4.5); IM MS Thejkumar (4.5) lost to IM Richard Bitoon of Philippines (5.5); GM Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan (5) beat IM Ashwin Jayaram (4.5); IM BT Murali Krishnan (4.5) drew with GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam (4.5); IM Lanka Ravi (4) lost to GM Lenic Luka of Slovenia (5); IM K Priyadharshan (4.5) drew with GM Dmitry Kryakvin of Russia (4.5); GM S Arun Prasad (4) lost to IM PDS Girinath (5); Swayams Mishra (4.5) drew with GM RR Laxman (4.5); GM Deepan Chakkravarthy (4) lost to IM Nikolay Tolstikh of Russia (5); Akash Thakur (4.5) drew with IM Deep Sengupta (4.5); IM Himanshu Sharma (4) lost to WIM Nafisa Muminova (5); IM Sahaj Grover (5) beat Abhishek Das (4); Vaibhav Suri (4.5) drew with GM Andrey Gutov (4.5).

For full results, pairings and live games visit the official website