THE WEEK IN CHESS 684 17th December 2007 by Mark Crowther

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Contents

1) Introduction
2) Gata Kamsky wins the World Chess Cup
3) Russian Championship Superfinals
4) XX Carlos Torre Memorial
5) Bundesliga
6) Dutch Team Championship
7) 7th Amplico AIG Life
8) Ukrainian Championships
9) 17th Magistral de Elgoibar
10) 15th Salona
11) VI Bali International Chess Festival
12) First Saturday December
13) Eupen IM Norm Tournament
14) Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana
15) Greek Championships
16) Ascona Open
17) UTD Dallas
18) 74th Brazilian Championship
19) Slovenian Women's Tour
20) Granda Chess Festival
21) El Sauzal Rapid
22) Villa de Navalmoral
23) Ivan Nemet 1943-2007
24) My 61 Memorable Games
25) Forthcoming Events and Links

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Games Section
World Chess Cup 6 games
Bundesliga 40 games
Dutch Team Championship 100 games
7th Amplico AIG Life 656 games
Ukrainian Championships 126 games
17th Magistral de Elgoibar 45 games
15th Salona 45 games
VI Bali Festival 18 games
First Saturday December 22 games
Eupen IM Norm Tournament 30 games
Americana 11 games
Greek Championships 45 games
Ascona Open 91 games
UTD Dallas 66 games
74th Brazilian Championship 24 games
Slovenian Women's Tour 115 games
Granda Chess Festival 138 games
El Sauzal Rapid 182 games
Villa de Navalmoral 88 games
Total 1843 games

1) Introduction

My thanks to Edward Labate, Rodolfo Arias, Agustin Manrique, Diego De La Vega, Sinisa Joksic, Luiz Roberto Da Costa Jr, Miklos Orso, Palo Velija, Bruce Towell, Evgeny Klavir, Lennarth Eriksson, Misha Savinov, Goran Urosevic, Adolivio Capece and everyone else who helped with the issue.

Gata Kamsky completed his return to the top of chess by winning the World Chess Cup and a match against Veselin Topalov which in itself could be quite a battle. Kamsky took time out to earn a law degree and his return saw him as tough as ever but all at sea with the new level of opening preparation required to compete. In that regard he is still behind many and he reminds me a lot of Sammy Reshevsky in may ways who also had trouble in that area when he competed as an amateur in a professional world. Kamsky was undefeated in Khanty-Mansiysk and overcame an Alexei Shirov who was also in top form in a wild struggle in game two. Its good to have both of them back playing chess at a high level.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Mark

2) Gata Kamsky wins the World Chess Cup

The World Chess Cup took place in Khanty-Mansiysk.22nd November-18th December 2007. Gata Kamsky was undefeated on the way to taking the title. He beat Alexei Shirov 2.5-1.5 and inflicted that player's only loss. If things go to plan, which in the modern chess world they seldom do, then Kamsky will play Topalov for the right to meet the winner of Anand against Kramnik.

Time control. Standard 90m+30s/move to move 40 then 30m+30s/move to the end of the game. Rapids 25m+10s/move, Blitz 5m+10s/move. Final sudden death game White 6 mins, Black 5 mins, without any addition. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared as winner. [FIDE regulations]

Official site: http://www.ugra-chess.ru/eng/main_e.htm [and link to the handy pairings tree is at: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1520] Further coverage: http://www.chessdom.com/world-chess-cup-2007/ and http://www.chessvibes.com/

World Chess Cup Round 7 Final 13th-17th December 2007
Player NAT Elo G1 G2 G3 G4 R1 R2 B1 B2 SD Score
Shirov, Alexei ESP 2739 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1½
Kamsky, Gata USA 2714 ½ 1 ½ ½ 2½
World Chess Cup Round 6 9th-11th December 2007
Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2694 1.5-2.5 Shirov, Alexei ESP 2739
Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2714 0.5-1.5 Kamsky, Gata USA 2714

3) Russian Championship Superfinals

The Russian Championship Superfinals take place 17th-30th December 2007 (Round 1 18th Dec) .

Players: Men: Alekseev, Amonatov, Vitjugov, Grischuk, Dreev, Inarkiev, Morozevich, Rychagov, Svidler, Timofeev, Tomashevsky, Jakovenko. Women: Galliamova, Gunina, Matveeva, Kovalevskaya, Korbut, N.Kosintseva, T.Kosintseva, Kosteniuk, Ovod, Stepovaya, Tairova, Shadrina.

4) XX Carlos Torre Memorial

The XX Carlos Torre Memorial takes place in Mérida, Yucatán, México 15th-23rd December 2007. The early rounds are under way. Usually they have stars arriving later in the event but I couldn't find a list of names.

Details: http://www.idey.gob.mx/ct2008.htm

5) Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga for 2007-8 takes place 19th October 2007 - 20th April 2008. The first games were on Friday 19th October as part of the special round 7 - fixtures from this round are played before various weekend programs. Most of Rounds 3 and 4 took place 24th-25th November 2007 but the fixtures at Baden Baden take place on 15th-16th December. Rounds 5 and 6 took place 8th-9th December 2007 but there was also an extensive round 7 program on the Friday. The next games take place 8th-10th February 2008.

Official site: http://www.schachbundesliga.de/ further coverage: http://www.schach.com and also at the national Federation site at: http://www.schachbund.de/SchachBL/index.php and statistics also at: http://www.godesbergersk.de/bundesliga-statistik/. Games from Baden Baden at: http://www.rochade.de/live.htm

Bundesliga Baden Baden 15th-16th December 2007
Round 7 14th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
OSC Baden-Baden SG Turm Trier 5,0:3,0
1. GM Peter Svidler (2732) - GM Piotr Bobras (2564) ½:½
2. GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) - IM Andras Flumbort (2499) ½:½
3. GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) - GM Mircea Parligras (2553) 0:1
4. GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) - IM Ruediger Seger (2395) 1:0
5. GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) - IM Dietmar Kolbus (2386) 1:0
6. GM Rustem Dautov (2590) - IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) 1:0
7. GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) - IM Doru Alexandru Ionescu (2377) ½:½
8. GM Fabian Döttling (2541) - Christian Jeitz (2183) ½:½
Round 3 15th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
  OSC Baden-Baden SC 1950 Remagen 7,0:1,0
1. GM Peter Svidler (2732) - GM Boris Avrukh (2641) 1:0
2. GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) - GM Sergey Fedorchuk (2645) 1:0
3. GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) - GM Alexander Goloshchapov (2563) ½:½
4. GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) - GM Jean-Marc Degraeve (2546) 1:0
5. GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) - GM Petar Popovic (2474) ½:½
6. GM Rustem Dautov (2590) - GM Romouald Mainka (2496) 1:0
7. GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) - IM Yuri Boidman (2450) 1:0
8. GM Fabian Döttling (2541) - IM Klaus-Jürgen Schulz (2401) 1:0
SG Turm Trier   Godesberger SK 4,0:4,0
1. GM Vasilios Kotronias (2614) - GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2690) 0:1
2. GM Lukasz Cyborowski (2549) - GM Christopher Lutz (2588) ½:½
3. GM Piotr Bobras (2564) - IM Jan-Michael Sprenger (2536) 1:0
4. IM Andras Flumbort (2499) - GM Aloyzas Kveinys (2517) 0:1
5. GM Pawel Jaracz (2518) - GM Tomas Likavsky (2496) 0:1
6. GM Mircea Parligras (2553) - IM Thomas Jackelen (2437) 1:0
7. IM Dietmar Kolbus (2386) - IM Georg Seul (2450) ½:½
8. IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) - Alexander Dranov (2439) 1:0
Round 4 16th Dec 2007 Baden Baden
Godesberger SK OSC Baden-Baden 2,0:6,0
1. GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2690) - GM Peter Svidler (2732) ½:½
2. GM Christopher Lutz (2588) - GM Etienne Bacrot (2695) 0:1
3. IM Jan-Michael Sprenger (2536) - GM Francisco Vallejo (2660) 0:1
4. GM Aloyzas Kveinys (2517) - GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2639) 0:1
5. GM Tomas Likavsky (2496) - GM Peter Heine Nielsen (2626) ½:½
6. IM Thomas Jackelen (2437) - GM Rustem Dautov (2590) ½:½
7. IM Georg Seul (2450) - GM Phlipp Schlosser (2579) 0:1
8. Alexander Dranov (2439) - GM Fabian Döttling (2541) ½:½
SC 1950 Remagen   SG Turm Trier 3,5:4,5
1. GM Boris Avrukh (2641) - GM Vasilios Kotronias (2614) 0:1
2. GM Sergey Fedorchuk (2645) - GM Lukasz Cyborowski (2549) ½:½
3. GM Alexander Goloshchapov (2563) - IM Andras Flumbort (2499) ½:½
4. GM Jean-Marc Degraeve (2546) - GM Pawel Jaracz (2518) ½:½
5. GM Petar Popovic (2474) - GM Mircea Parligras (2553) 0:1
6. GM Romouald Mainka (2496) - IM Ruediger Seger (2395) 1:0
7. IM Yuri Boidman (2450) - IM Andrei Nestor Cioara (2428) 0:1
8. IM Klaus-Jürgen Schulz (2401) - IM Doru Alexandru Ionescu (2377) 0:1
Round 7 Standings:
1. OSC Baden-Baden 7 14 39,5
2. SV Mülheim-Nord 7 11 33,5
3. Werder Bremen 7 10 33,5
4. TV Tegernsee 7 9 29,5
5. SG Aljechin Solingen 7 8 31,5
6. SV Wattenscheid 7 8 28,5
7. Hamburger SK 7 7 28,5
8. TSV Bindlach-Aktionär 7 7 28,0
9. SF Katernberg 7 7 26,5
10. SG Turm Trier 7 6 26,0
11. SC Kreuzberg 7 5 26,5
12. Erfurter SK 7 5 24,5
13. SK Zehlendorf 7 5 23,0
14. SC Eppingen 7 4 24,5
15. SC Remagen 6 2 18,5
16. Godesberger SK 6 2 18,0

6) Dutch Team Championship

The Dutch Team Championships take place 15th September 2007 - 17th May 2008.

Links: Dutch Chess Federation: http://www.schaakbond.nl/ - Meesterklasse Games side bar at: http://www.schakers.info/

Dutch Team Championships 15 ix 2007 - 17th v 2008
Round 4 24 Nov 2007    
HSG Schrijvers Rotterdam 6 4
ESGOO LSG 1 5½ 4½
HWP Sas van Gent LSG 2 7 3
Utrecht HMC Calder 3½ 6½
Homburg Apeldoorn Hotels.nl 4 6
Round 5 15 Dec 2007    
Schrijvers Rotterdam Hotels.nl 5 5
HMC Calder Homburg Apeldoorn 5½ 4½
LSG 2 Utrecht 2 8
LSG 1 HWP Sas van Gent 6½ 3½
HSG ESGOO 7½ 2½

7) 7th Amplico AIG Life

The 7th Amplico AIG Life European Rapid Championships (XXVI Stanislawa Gawlikowskiego Memorial ) took place in Warsaw, Poland 15th-16th December 2007. The event consisted of a 13 round Swiss where 16 players qualified after 8 rounds (with the rest continuing on in the swiss) for a group stage of four all-play-alls with four players, there were then semi-finals and finals or another group stage to establish the final standings. Time rates: G-15'+10''. The rate of play in tie-breaks is 5 minutes for white and 4 minutes for black for a game with black getting draw odds. Aleksej Aleksandrov beat Tomasz Markowski in the final.

7th Amplico AIG Life
Top 16 Final Standings
15th-16th December 2007
Place NAME
1 Aleksandrow Aleksiej
2 Markowski Tomasz
3 Peralta Fernando
4 Moranda Wojciech
5 Malaniuk Vladimir
6 Banikas Hristos
7 Tukhaev Adam
8 Bartel Mateusz
9 Mastrovasilis Dimitris
10 Jakubiec Artur
11 Balogh Csaba
12 Przybylski Wojciech
13 Mista Aleksander
14 Gurevich Mikhail
15 Moiseenko Aleksander
16 Guliyev Namig
7th Amplico AIG Life Matches for main prizes
Final 1 2 S T1 Place
Markowski Tomasz 0 0.5 0.5   2
Aleksandrow Aleksiej 1 0.5 1.5   1
3rd-4th 1 2 S T1 Place
Moranda Wojciech 0.5 0.5 1 0 4
Peralta Fernando 0.5 0.5 1 1 3
SemiFinal 1 2 S T1  
Peralta Fernando 0 0 0    
Aleksandrow Aleksiej 1 1 2   final
SemiFinal 1 2 S T1  
Moranda Wojciech 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.5  
Markowski Tomasz 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.5 final
7th Amplico AIG Life Placings
- Places 5th-8th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Tukhaev Adam X 0.5 0.5 0 1 7
2 Bartel Mateusz 0.5 X 0 0.5 1 8
3 Malaniuk Vladimir 0.5 1 X 0.5 2 5
4 Banikas Hristos 1 0.5 0.5 x 2 6
- Places 9th-12th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Mastrovasilis Dimitris X 1 1 0 2 9
2 Przybylski Wojciech 0 X 0 1 1 12
3 Balogh Csaba 0 1 X 0.5 1.5 11
4 Jakubiec Artur 1 0 0.5 x 1.5 10
- Places 13th-16th 1 2 3 4 Score Place
1 Mi?ta Aleksander X 1 0.5 0.5 2 13
2 Guliyev Namig 0 X 1 0 1 16
3 Gurevich Mikhail 0.5 0 X 1 1.5 14
4 Moiseenko Aleksander 0.5 1 0 x 1.5 15
7th Amplico AIG Life Group Stages
- Group 1 (1,8,9,16) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Tukhaev, Adam X 1 0 1 2   II
2 Mista Aleksander 0 X 0 0 0   IV
3 Peralta Fernando 1 1 X 0.5 2.5   I
4 Mastrovasilis Dimitros 0 1 0.5 x 1.5   III
- Group 2 (2,7,10,15) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Moranda Wojciech X 0.5 1 0.5 2   I
2 Malaniuk Vladimir 0.5 X 0 1 1.5 2.5 II
3 Moiseenko Aleksander 0 1 X 0 1   IV
4 Jakubiec Artur 0.5 0 1 x 1.5 2 III
- Group 3 (3,6,11,14) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Guliyev Namig X 0 1 0 1   IV
2 Markowski Tomasz 1 X 0.5 0.5 2 2.5 I
3 Przybylski Wojciech 0 0.5 X 0.5 1   III
4 Banikas Hristos 1 0.5 0.5 x 2 2.5 II
- Group 4 (4,5,12,13) 1 2 3 4 Score Berger Place
1 Bartel Mateusz X 1 0.5 0.5 2 2.25 II
2 Gurevich Mikhail 0 X 0 0.5 0.5   IV
3 Aleksandrov Aleksej 0.5 1 X 0.5 2 2.25 I
4 Balogh Csaba 0.5 0.5 0.5 x 1.5   III
7th Amplico AIG Life Tie-Break Qualifiers
Tie-Break 1
1 Moiseenko, Alexander - Skalski, Michal 1-0
2 Kravtsiv, Martyn - Jedryczka, Krystian 1-0
3 Felgaer, Ruben - Sumets, Andrey 0-1
4 Jussupow, Artur - Olszewski, Michal 1-0
5 Mista, Aleksander - Gajewski, Grzegorz 1-0
Tie-Break 2
1 Balogh Csaba - Sumets Andrey 1-0
2 Zawadzki Stanislaw - Mista Aleksander 0-1
3 Bartel Mateusz - Jussupow Artur 1-0
4 Banikas Hristos - Kravtsiv, Martyn 1-0
5 Drozdovskij Yuri - Moiseenko Aleksander 0-1
7th Amplico AIG Life Swiss Open Final Round 13 Standings
Place Name Fed. FIDE Local Total MBch. Bch. Wins Prog.
1 Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2606 2606 11.0 91.00 107.50 11 73.0
2 Rozentalis, Eduardas LTU 2581 2581 10.0 98.50 113.50 8 72.5
3 Drozdovskij, Yuri UKR 2567 2567 10.0 96.50 113.50 8 76.5
4 Vysochin, Spartak UKR 2524 2524 10.0 96.00 113.00 9 74.5
5 Jussupow, Artur GER 2583 2583 10.0 95.50 112.50 8 75.0
6 Sumets, Andrey UKR 2529 2529 10.0 93.00 111.00 9 72.5
7 Ganguly, Surya Shekhar IND 2585 2585 10.0 93.00 109.50 9 75.0
8 Bindrich, Falko GER 2512 2512 10.0 90.50 105.50 9 71.5
9 Urban, Klaudiusz POL 2489 2489 10.0 88.50 104.50 9 67.5
10 Kogan, Artur ISR 2590 2590 10.0 87.00 102.50 9 68.5
11 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw POL 2635 2635 9.5 97.50 114.50 9 72.5
12 Felgaer, Ruben ARG 2539 2539 9.5 93.00 107.00 9 69.0
13 Warakomski, Tomasz POL 2498 2498 9.5 91.50 107.50 9 70.5
14 Pileckis, Emilis LTU 2349 2349 9.5 91.50 107.00 9 67.0
15 Ajrapetjan, Yuriy UKR 2420 2420 9.5 89.50 105.50 9 66.0
16 Akesson, Ralf SWE 2468 2468 9.5 89.50 105.00 9 66.0
17 Lafuente, Pablo ARG 2489 2489 9.5 89.00 104.50 9 68.5
18 Pakleza, Zbigniew POL 2483 2483 9.5 86.00 102.00 9 67.5
19 Kojro, Adam POL 0 2000 9.5 84.00 98.00 8 58.0
20 Kanarek, Marcel POL 2324 2324 9.5 81.00 96.50 9 61.0

8) Ukrainian Championships

The final of the 76th Championships of the Ukraine took place in Kharkiv 17th-25th November 2007. Veleriy Aveskulov won the event with 6.5/9.

Official site:http://ukrchess.org.ua/turnir/ukr07mf/index.html

76th ch-UKR Final Kharkiv UKR (UKR), 17-25 xi 2007
1 Aveskulov, Valeriy g UKR 2545 6.5 44.5 30.25 35.0 2687 +1.70
2 Miroshnichenko, Evgenij g UKR 2651 6.0 47.0 30.75 30.5 2647 -0.05
3 Kuzubov, Yuriy g UKR 2582 6.0 44.0 30.25 29.0 2665 +1.00
4 Gasanov, Eldar g UKR 2504 6.0 42.0 26.75 26.5 2670 +2.00
5 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy g UKR 2598 5.5 46.5 26.75 28.0 2596 +0.00
6 Kovchan, Alexander g UKR 2507 5.5 46.0 27.25 28.0 2639 +1.63
7 Drozdovskij, Yuri g UKR 2567 5.0 45.5 22.75 26.0 2568 -0.02
8 Tukhaev, Adam m UKR 2517 5.0 44.0 22.75 27.5 2579 +0.73
9 Kovalenko, Igor UKR 2429 5.0 42.5 20.25 24.5 2595 +1.97
10 Onischuk, Vladimir m UKR 2469 5.0 40.5 20.00 27.0 2586 +1.40
11 Vysochin, Spartak g UKR 2524 5.0 40.5 21.00 24.0 2553 +0.32
12 Oleksienko, Mikhailo g UKR 2587 5.0 38.0 19.00 21.5 2531 -0.69
13 Zubov, Alexander m UKR 2556 4.5 44.0 20.50 27.0 2528 -0.34
14 Romanishin, Oleg M g UKR 2547 4.5 41.0 19.25 24.5 2504 -0.54
15 Malaniuk, Vladimir P g UKR 2496 4.5 40.5 19.75 22.5 2519 +0.29
16 Kononenko, Dmitry1 g UKR 2513 4.5 34.5 16.25 19.5 2501 -0.15
17 Solodovnichenko, Yuri g UKR 2564 4.5 33.5 15.75 18.0 2478 -1.06
18 Brodsky, Michail g UKR 2597 4.0 42.0 17.75 21.5 2442 -1.87
19 Nosenko, Alexander m UKR 2504 4.0 40.0 16.50 20.5 2471 -0.38
20 Zinchenko, Yaroslav g UKR 2505 4.0 40.0 17.25 20.0 2495 -0.09
21 Maximov, Dmitry m UKR 2488 4.0 32.5 13.25 15.5 2465 -0.27
22 Truskavetsky, Alexandr m UKR 2398 3.5 41.0 12.50 19.5 2449 +0.59
23 Jakimov, Vladimir UKR 2434 3.5 41.0 15.50 19.0 2455 +0.24
24 Arzumanian, Georgy m ARM 2493 3.5 40.5 14.75 21.5 2489 -0.06
25 Tarlev, Konstantin m UKR 2490 3.5 34.0 11.50 17.0 2441 -0.62
26 Rogovski, Vladimir g UKR 2485 3.0 38.0 10.50 13.5 2390 -1.12
27 Zubarev, Alexander1 g UKR 2500 3.0 35.5 11.50 15.0 2381 -1.42
28 Shishkin, Vadim UKR g UKR 2530 2.0 35.0 6.75 8.0 2254 -3.19

9) 17th Magistral de Elgoibar

17th Magistral de Elgoibar.took place 10th-16th December 2007. Kamil Miton was the clear winner with 7/9.

Official site: http://www.xake.net/1%20Inicio.htm

XVII Magistral Elgoibar ESP (ESP), 10-16 xii 2007 cat. X (2492)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Miton, Kamil g POL 2628 * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 7 2696
2. Paunovic, Dragan g SRB 2535 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6½ 2652
3. Korneev, Oleg g RUS 2587 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 6½ 2646
4. Mirzoev, Azer g AZE 2545 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6 2610
5. Gomez Esteban, Juan Mario g ESP 2490 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 1 ½ 1 5½ 2571
6. Pri('e), Eric g FRA 2532 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 4 2444
7. Huerga Leache, Mikel f ESP 2440 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 * 0 1 1 4 2454
8. Larino Nieto, David m ESP 2428 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 * ½ 1 3 2373
9. Gonzalez de la Torre, Santiago f ESP 2399 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 2 2281
10. Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina wg ESP 2331 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ * ½ 2065

10) 15th Salona

The 15th Salona took place in Solin CRO 7th-15th December 2007. Antoaneta Stefanova won the event with 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.crochess.com/turniri/solin/07/index.shtm

15th Salona Solin CRO (CRO), 7-15 xii 2007 cat. XI (2511)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2463 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 6½ 2682
2. Saric, Ante g CRO 2441 ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 5½ 2598
3. Georgiev, Vladimir g MKD 2576 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 5½ 2583
4. Brkic, Ante g CRO 2577 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2546
5. Dizdarevic, Emir g CRO 2504 ½ 1 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 2511
6. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2462 0 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 4½ 2516
7. Dembo, Yelena m GRE 2448 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ 3½ 2437
8. Romanishin, Oleg M g UKR 2547 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 3½ 2426
9. Godena, Michele g ITA 2535 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 3½ 2428
10. Kurajica, Bojan g CRO 2554 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 * 3 2380

11) VI Bali International Chess Festival

The VI Bali International Chess Festival took place 30th November 9th December 2007. The main tournament of stars rapid was won by Vladimir Malaniuk. The final days games are now available. Also unfortunately there were duplicate round 5 games given last week.

Further details: http://www.ajedrezbali.com/

Bali Torneo de las Estrellas Benidorm ESP (ESP), 7-9 xii 2007
cat. XIII (2566)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Malakhov, Vladimir RUS 2690 g ## 01 1= 11 11 11 8.5 31.8
2 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2644 g 10 ## == 11 11 11 8.0 29.0
3 Tkachiev, Vladislav FRA 2661 g 0= == ## 1= =1 11 6.5 23.5
4 Fedorchuk, Sergey A UKR 2645 g 00 00 0= ## 10 11 3.5 8.3
5 Recuero Guerra, David ESP 2407 f 00 00 =0 01 ## =0 2.0 7.5
6 Nebolsina, Vera RUS 2349 wm 00 00 00 00 =1 ## 1.5 3.0

12) First Saturday December

The First Saturday tournaments for December took place 1st-11th December 2007. Zhao Zong-Yuan and Zlatko Ilincic finished on 7/9 in the GM group. Evarth Kahn won the IM group but I'm unsure of the final table, especially the score of Eric Cooke.

Official site: http://www.firstsaturday.hu/

FSGM December Budapest (HUN), 1-9 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2432)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Zhao Zong-Yuan m AUS 2491 * 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 7 2645
2. Ilincic, Zlatko g SRB 2545 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 7 2639
3. Kosic, Dragan g MNE 2482 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6½ 2592
4. Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2411 ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 2559
5. Bui Vinh m VIE 2461 0 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 4½ 2428
6. Kosanovic, Goran A g SRB 2400 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 ½ ½ 3½ 2355
7. Payen, Arnaud m FRA 2398 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 3 2310
8. Paschall, William M m USA 2352 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 ½ * 0 ½ 2½ 2274
9. Pesotsky, Vitaly m UKR 2384 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 2½ 2271
10. Kaufman, Raymond f USA 2393 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * 2½ 2270


FSIM December Budapest (HUN), 1-11 xii 2007 cat. I (2264)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
1. Kahn, Evarth m HUN 2314 * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 7½ 2451
2. Vegh, Endre m HUN 2303 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 7 2408
3. Boguszlavszkij, Jevgenyij m HUN 2304 ½ ½ * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 6 2331
4. Rapport, Richard HUN 2197 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 5½ 2306
5. Cooke, Eric USA 2253 0 0 0 1 * 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 5½ 2300
6. Lengyel, Bela m HUN 2263 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2263
7. Szabo, Bence HUN 2160 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 5 2273
8. Werner, Dimo m GER 2346 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ 1 4½ 2219
9. Horvath, Andras f HUN 2312 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 3½ 2148
10. Lenz, Alarich AUT 2227 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 3 2118
11. Adams, Nick A USA 2220 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 2½ 2074

13) Eupen IM Norm Tournament

The Eupen IM Norm Tournament took place 7th-15th December 2007 and was organised by the Chess Federation of German-speaking Belgium, with the support of Belgian Federal chess. The time rate was 40 move in 100 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. For the rest of the game 50 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. Aleksandar Berelovich and Christian Braun finished on 6.5/9.

Official site: http://www.chess-international.de/ticker/0belgien_normenturnier/index.html

SVDB IM Norm Eupen BEL (BEL), 7-15 xii 2007 cat. VI (2376)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Berelovich, Aleksandar g UKR 2595 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 6½ 2517
2. Braun, Christian GER 2296 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 6½ 2550
3. Gulbas, Cemil f BEL 2365 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 6 2502
4. Roeder, Mathias m GER 2452 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 2410
5. Ahn, Martin f BEL 2309 ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 4½ 2383
6. Hautot, Stephane f BEL 2333 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 ½ 4 2337
7. Litwak, Aleksej f GER 2298 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 1 1 4 2341
8. Petkov, Vladimir g BUL 2508 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 0 3½ 2281
9. Meessen, Rudolf f BEL 2303 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 * 1 3 2258
10. Philipowski, Robert f GER 2299 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 * 2 2164

14) Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana

The Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana (Brasil) took place 4th-11th December, 2007. Rafael Leitao won with 7/9.

Official site: http://www.fpx.com.br/

Festival Internacional de Xadrez Americana BRA (BRA), 4-9 xii 2007 cat. VII (2413)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Leitao, Rafael g BRA 2601 * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7 2611
2. Stamenkovic, Dragan m SRB 2417 ½ * 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2537
3. Rodriguez Vila, Andres g URU 2541 ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 2523
4. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag m BRA 2428 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 2535
5. Fier, Alexandr g BRA 2516 ½ 1 0 0 * ½ 1 0 1 1 5 2444
6. Perdomo, Leandro m ARG 2391 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 0 4 2372
7. Tsuboi, Edson Kenji f BRA 2334 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 0 1 3½ 2341
8. Cubas, Jose Fernando m PAR 2448 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ * ½ 1 3½ 2328
9. Oliveira, Silvio Eduardo BRA 2286 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ * 1 3 2301
10. Da Silva, Alessandro Rodrigues BRA 2164 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 * 1 2089

15) Greek Championships

The Greek Championships took place in Igoumenitsa December 1st-9th 2007. I Papadopoulos took clear first with 7.5/9.

Official site: http://www.chessfed.gr

ch-GRE Igoumenitsa (GRE), 1-9 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2448)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Papadopoulos, I GRE 2445 * 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 0 7½ 2721
2. Banikas, Hristos g GRE 2591 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 5½ 2512
3. Kotronias, Vasilios g GRE 2614 0 ½ * 0 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 5 2472
4. Georgiadis, Ioannis GRE 2377 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 5 2499
5. Mastrovasilis, Athanasios g GRE 2529 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 5 2482
6. Nikolaidis, Ioannis g GRE 2525 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 4½ 2439
7. Galopoulos, N GRE 2172 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 4 2435
8. Gavrilakis, Nikolaos m GRE 2437 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 3½ 2369
9. Skembris, Spyridon g GRE 2463 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 * 0 2½ 2280
10. Hadzimanolis, Antonios f GRE 2329 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 * 2½ 2295

16) Ascona Open

The Ascona (Switzerland) Chess Festival took place 3rd-8th December 2007. Boris Chatalbalshev, Leonid Kritz and Vadim Malakhatko all finished on 7/9. My thanks to Sinisa Joksic for the games.

Sinisa Joksic reports: "After Lugano Olympiad 1968 chess became very popular in Ticino. Started with round robin tournament 1970, continued with the most respected open tournaments till 1990. Ascona start similar after world champion match Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko in Brisago 2004, Hotel Ascona, where both players stay, decide to begin with open tournaments. Another coincident both Lugano and Ascona are on the lakes, Lugano on the lake with the same name and Ascona at the Lake Maggiore. Will be nice to repeat also chess success. There were 38 players, 10 national, 6GM, 3WGM, 6 IM, 2 WIM, 1 FM, 1WFM. Swiss system, 9 rounds; two hours for 40 moves and one hour till the end. Young master ran for separate prizes. (Special prize fond gave “Lugano Si”) GM Boris Chatalbashev won tournament on tie-break, second was Kritz and third Malakhatko. Chatalbashev was lieder and rivals catch him in the last round. Last day was rapid tournament won convinced by Leonid Kritz. Organization was nice, with sunny weather very rare for this time of the year. Next, 2nd Ascona International Chess Festival will be from 3 to 6 January 2009. "

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

Open Ascona SUI (SUI), 3-8 xii 2007
1 GM Chatalbalshev Boris 2453 BUL 7 39 2688
2 GM Kritz Leonid 2596 GER 7 36 2681
3 GM Malakhatko Vadim 2596 BEL 7 35.5 2676
4 GM Stojanovic Mihajlo 2582 SRB 6.5 35 2571
5 GM Maze Sebastien 2576 FRA 6 31 2496
6 IM Abergel Thal 2528 FRA 6 31 2550
7 IM Zozulia Anna 2343 BEL 6 30.5 2445
8 IM Cornette Matthieu 2494 FRA 5.5 31.5 2507
9 IM Belezky Alexander 2436 UKR 5.5 30 2430
10 GM Gallagher Joseph G 2497 SUI 5.5 27 2386
11 IM Foisor Ovidiu Doru 2397 ROU 5 29 2437
12 FM Aranovitch Emiliano 2402 ITA 5 28 2323
13 WIM Stojanovic Andjelija 2274 SRB 5 27.5 2388
14 IM Libiszewski Fabien 2486 FRA 5 26.5 2323
15 WGM Foisor Cristina Adela 2388 ROU 5 26.5 2370
16 WGM Foisor Sabina-Franc 2359 ROU 5 25.5 2339
17 Sabirov Farkhad 2362 UZB 5 25 2320
18 WIM Sabirova Olga   2256 UZB 5 25
19 IM Joksic Sinisa 2314 SRB 4.5 26 2239
20 Colmenares Aurelio 2237 SUI 4.5 25 2246
21 Goodger Martyn 2067 ENG 4.5 21 2153
22 Foisor Mihaela-Vero 2029 ROU 4.5 18.5 2105
38 players

17) UTD Dallas

The UTD Dallas tournament took place in Rischarson 6rh-14th December 2007. Davorin Kuljasevic and Alejandro Ramirez finished on 7.5/11.

Official site: http://chess.utdallas.edu/grandmasterinv2007.html

UTD GM Invitational Richardson USA (USA), 6-14 xii 2007 cat. IX (2468)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Kuljasevic, Davorin m CRO 2464 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 7½ 2601
2. Ramirez, Alejandro g CRC 2505 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 2597
3. Izoria, Zviad g GEO 2643 ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7 2554
4. Robson, Ray f USA 2368 0 ½ 0 * 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 6 2513
5. Bartholomew, John m USA 2435 ½ 0 ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2471
6. Stopa, Jacek m POL 2410 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 2473
7. Schneider, Dmitry m USA 2502 ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 5 2428
8. Zhao Jun g CHN 2552 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 * 1 1 0 ½ 5 2424
9. Boskovic, Drasko m SRB 2465 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 4½ 2403
10. Bercys, Salvijus m USA 2418 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 4½ 2407
11. Panchanathan, Magesh Chandran g IND 2500 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * 0 4 2363
12. Ning Chunhong wg CHN 2354 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 * 4 2376

18) 74th Brazilian Championship

The 74th Brazilian Championship takes place in Rio de Janeiro 14th-22nd December, 2007. 12 players Prize Fund US$ 6.000,00.

Players: GM Giovanni Vescovi, GM Rafael Leitão, GM Gilberto Milos, IM Herman Claudius, IM Krikor Mekhitarian, IM André Diamant, IM Everaldo Matsuura, IM Diego Di Berardino, FM Roberto Molina, FM Jorge Bittencourt (new IM), Roberto Calheiros and Yago Santiago

Official site: http://www.fexerj.com.br/brasileiro2007/

ch-BRA Rio de Janeiro BRA (BRA), 14-22 xii 2007 cat. VIII (2428)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
1. Leitao, Rafael g BRA 2601 * ½ . . . 1 1 . . . 1 . 3½ 2670
2. Vescovi, Giovanni g BRA 2617 ½ * . . ½ . . 1 . 1 . . 3 2687
3. Di Berardino, Diego Rafael m BRA 2430 . . * ½ . . . . 1 . ½ 1 3 2586
4. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag m BRA 2428 . . ½ * ½ . . . . . 1 1 3 2606
5. Milos, Gilberto g BRA 2592 . ½ . ½ * . . . 1 . . ½ 2½ 2596
6. Molina, Roberto Junio Brito f BRA 2322 0 . . . . * ½ ½ . . 1 . 2 2347
7. Miranda, Roberto Calheiros de BRA 2213 0 . . . . ½ * ½ . ½ . . 1½ 2340
8. Van Riemsdijk, Herman C m BRA 2391 . 0 . . . ½ ½ * ½ . . . 1½ 2328
9. Matsuura, Everaldo m BRA 2511 . . 0 . 0 . . ½ * 1 . . 1½ 2365
10. Diamant, Andre m BRA 2395 . 0 . . . . ½ . 0 * . 1 1½ 2360
11. Santiago, Yago de Moura BRA 2185 0 . ½ 0 . 0 . . . . * . 0½ 2123
12. Bittencourt, Jorge f BRA 2448 . . 0 0 ½ . . . . 0 . * 0½ 2139

19) Slovenian Women's Tour

The Slovenian Women's Tour took place 29th November - 8th December 2007. Games from round 7 are missing.

Official site: http://www.sah-zveza.si/rez/0711/si07lgdw/

20) Granda Chess Festival

The Granada Chess Festival took place 5th-9th December 2007. Branko Damljanovic took clear first in the open with 7.5/9. Time control 90 minutes + 30 seconds/move

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

Open Granada ESP (ESP), 5-9 xii 2007
Rank SNo. Name Rtg FED Pts BH. ratP Fide  
1 1 GM DAMLJANOVIC Branko 2608 SCG 7½ 44½ 2709 41
2 5 GM PAUNOVIC Dragan 2535 SCG 7 45 2637 36½
3 3 GM STRIKOVIC Aleksa 2551 SCG 7 43½ 2623 37
4 6 GM MOVSZISZIAN Karen 2531 ARM 7 42 2614 36
5 2 GM KORNEEV Oleg 2587 RUS 6½ 45½ 2559 36
6 10 IM IOTOV Valentin 2509 BUL 6½ 43½ 2564 36½
7 8 GM MATAMOROS FRANCO Carlos S. 2525 ECU 6½ 42½ 2466 35½
8 21 FM DEL REY Diego 2397 ARG 6½ 41 2459 33
9 12 IM IBARRA JEREZ Jose Carlos 2484 ESP 6½ 41 2452 33
10 18 IM KOVACEVIC Slobodan 2414 SCG 6½ 37½ 2371 32
11 15 FM CUENCA JIMENEZ Jose Fernando 2451 ESP 6 45½ 2468 34½
12 11 GM SUBA Mihai 2502 ROM 6 44½ 2443 37
13 23 IM PILAJ Herwig 2383 AUT 6 43½ 2407 33
14 14 IM SALDAÑO DAYER Horacio 2452 ESP 6 42 2424 33½
15 16 LORENZINI Martin 2448 ARG 6 42 2422 33
16 17 FM PEREZ MITJANS Orelvis 2421 CUB 6 40½ 2428 33
17 13 GM DJURIC Stefan 2463 SCG 6 40½ 2365 31
18 20 IM TERAN ALVAREZ Ismael 2402 ESP 6 40 2365 31
19 9 GM ZAMBRANA Osvaldo 2511 BOL 6 39 2352 31
20 19 IM ROJAS Luis 2414 CHI 6 37 2228 28
21 28 FERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Rafael 2269 ESP 6 35½ 2226 28
22 47 VELA IGNACIO Jose Manuel*** 2081 ESP 6 34½ 2186 28
23 7 GM BARSOV Alexei 2526 UZB 5½ 43 2417 33
24 26 FM FERNANDEZ SILES Luis 2310 ESP 5½ 43 2321 29½
25 24 QUILLAN Gary 2359 ENG 5½ 40½ 2354 29
26 42 CUENCA JIMENEZ Francisco Javie 2107 ESP 5½ 37½ 2232 28½
27 48 GARCIA RODRIGUEZ Victor 2069 ESP 5½ 37½ 2216 28½
28 29 ORTEGA RUIZ Jose Miguel 2267 ESP 5½ 35 2287 27
29 43 WFM PASCUAL PALOMO Lucia 2104 ESP 5½ 34½ 2158 26½
106 players

21) El Sauzal Rapid

The VIII Torneo Int Villa de El Sauzal (Tenerife) rapid (25 mins) was a 9 round Swiss held 3rd-4th November 2007. Sinia Drazic edged out Mikheil Mchedlishvili on tie-break after both finished on 8/9. News from the organiser Agustin Manrique.

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

VIII Int Rapid El Sauzal ESP (ESP), 3-4 xi 2007
Rank SNo. Name Rtg FED Club Pts BH. BH. Fide
1 12 GM Drazic Sinisa 2493 SRB 8 48 57 42½
2 1 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2631 GEO 8 45 54½ 39
3 6 GM Kurajica Bojan 2554 CRO GC 7½ 45 53½ 38½
4 14 GM Komljenovic Davorin 2471 CRO 7½ 44 54 38½
5 9 GM Movsziszian Karen 2531 ARM 7½ 43½ 51 39½
6 8 GM Gonzalez Garcia Jose 2541 MEX 7 47½ 56½ 39½
7 4 GM Moskalenko Viktor 2575 UKR 7 46½ 56 38
8 7 GM Strikovic Aleksa 2551 SRB 7 46 55½ 38
9 3 GM Epishin Vladimir 2578 RUS 7 45½ 55 37
20 IM Granados Gomez Manuel 2413 ESP 7 45½ 55 37
11 10 GM Dgebuadze Alexandre 2505 BEL 7 45½ 54 39
12 2 GM Khenkin Igor 2600