The 38th annual Sarajevo Chess Tournament is being held from May 23rd to June 2 The participants are grouped into two sections, A and B. In the elite A tournament, the following players are participating:: GM Alexander Morozevich,of the Republic of Russia,(elo 2774),GM Lenier Dominguez Perez of Cuba,(elo 2695), Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia,( elo 2695),GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands (elo 2690),GM Artyom Timofeev of the Republic of Russia (elo 2664), and GM Borki Predojevic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (elo 2641).
Among those playing in the B tournament is WGM Ana Benderac, of Bosnia and Herzegovina (elo 2334). The official tournament website for these events is http://www.skbosna.ba/
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Friday, May 23, 2008
Zatonskih and Shulman win the US Chess Championship
WGM/IM Anna Zatonskih, and GM Yuri Shulman won the titles in this year's United States Chess Championship. Zatonskih had to enter a playoff with WGM/IM Irina Krush, before the crown was decided. Armageddon playoff game (they'd already drawn a rapid playoff 2-2).
1.Anna and Irina first played 2 -15 minute (+3 second increment) games. Each player one of these games, Anna won the first game in 33 moves playing white, Irina won the second game in 34 moves playing white. Since they were still tied,they had to continue their playoff, this time using blitz chess (where each player had 5 minutes and was given 3 seconds for each move she made). In the first blitz game, Irina won, after Anna blundered. This result meant that Irina only had to draw the second game to be US Woman's Chess Champion. However, instead of drawing, she lost the second blitz game to Anna, which meant that once again the two Chess divas were tied.This required that the Tournament Director use a special type of chess to decide the winner. Known as Armageddon, the player of the white pieces gets 6 minutes to win the game, the player of the black pieces gets a whole minute less on her clock (5 minutes) to complete all of her moves in the game. However, if the player of the black pieces can draw the game, this is viewed as being the same as winning the game, ie the player of the white pieces can win in the following ways:
(a)win by checkmating her opponent (b)win if her opponent resigns the game or (c)wins the game if her opponent runs out of time. The player of the black pieces can win in these ways: (a)win by checkmating her opponent (b)win if her opponent resigns the game (c)wins the game if her opponent runs out of time, and (d)wins the game if she can draw the game with the black pieces. This idea is due to the fact that White has been viewed as having an advantage in a game of chess, because White gets to move first in a game of chess. So, Anna won the 2008 US Women's Chess Championship, because she was able to win, what amounts to the decisive and last game of the championship. One player had to win using this format, which did not make it necessary for both players to continue playing 30 minute or blitz games all night long (until one player had a agreed upon advantage in the number of games she won). I hope this explanation is clear enough for you Janet and for all the other readers of this message. Those who want to play through the games which Anna and Irina played, you can do so by going to http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8462/456,
GM Shulman won the Men's US Chess Championship by scoring 7 points in the competition (half a point ahead of GM Alexander Onischuk, and a point ahead of GM Sergey Kudrin.) Shulman only had to draw his last game against Josh Friedel to win the Men's crown.
1.Anna and Irina first played 2 -15 minute (+3 second increment) games. Each player one of these games, Anna won the first game in 33 moves playing white, Irina won the second game in 34 moves playing white. Since they were still tied,they had to continue their playoff, this time using blitz chess (where each player had 5 minutes and was given 3 seconds for each move she made). In the first blitz game, Irina won, after Anna blundered. This result meant that Irina only had to draw the second game to be US Woman's Chess Champion. However, instead of drawing, she lost the second blitz game to Anna, which meant that once again the two Chess divas were tied.This required that the Tournament Director use a special type of chess to decide the winner. Known as Armageddon, the player of the white pieces gets 6 minutes to win the game, the player of the black pieces gets a whole minute less on her clock (5 minutes) to complete all of her moves in the game. However, if the player of the black pieces can draw the game, this is viewed as being the same as winning the game, ie the player of the white pieces can win in the following ways:
(a)win by checkmating her opponent (b)win if her opponent resigns the game or (c)wins the game if her opponent runs out of time. The player of the black pieces can win in these ways: (a)win by checkmating her opponent (b)win if her opponent resigns the game (c)wins the game if her opponent runs out of time, and (d)wins the game if she can draw the game with the black pieces. This idea is due to the fact that White has been viewed as having an advantage in a game of chess, because White gets to move first in a game of chess. So, Anna won the 2008 US Women's Chess Championship, because she was able to win, what amounts to the decisive and last game of the championship. One player had to win using this format, which did not make it necessary for both players to continue playing 30 minute or blitz games all night long (until one player had a agreed upon advantage in the number of games she won). I hope this explanation is clear enough for you Janet and for all the other readers of this message. Those who want to play through the games which Anna and Irina played, you can do so by going to http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8462/456,
GM Shulman won the Men's US Chess Championship by scoring 7 points in the competition (half a point ahead of GM Alexander Onischuk, and a point ahead of GM Sergey Kudrin.) Shulman only had to draw his last game against Josh Friedel to win the Men's crown.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
US Men's Chess Championship:Round 5 update
GM's Sergey Kudrin and GM Yuri Shulman lead the Men's United States Chess Championship after 5 rounds of play, both have scored 3 wins and two draws in their five games for identical scores of 4/5. Shulman's performance rating is 2781 for 5 rounds, and Kudrin's is 2772. Here is a crosstable after 5 rounds of play:
Frank K Berry ch-USA 2008
----------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5
1 Shulman,Y 2606 -½ +1 -1 +½ -1 4.0/5
14 16 17 3 5
2 Kudrin,S 2549 -1 +1 -½ +1 -½ 4.0/5
24 12 5 13 3
3 Onischuk,Al 2664 +½ -1 +1 -½ +½ 3.5/5
15 22 9 1 2
4 Becerra Rivero,J 2575 -½ +1 +1 +½ -½ 3.5/5
16 14 6 5 7
5 Kaidanov,G 2596 +1 -1 +½ -½ +0 3.0/5
7 18 2 4 1
6 Yermolinsky,A 2518 +1 +½ -0 +1 -½ 3.0/5
10 17 4 12 13
7 Friedel,J 2484 -0 +1 -½ +1 +½ 3.0/5
5 20 12 17 4
8 Ludwig,Dan 2357 +½ -½ +½ -½ +1 3.0/5
9 11 10 19 15
9 Perelshteyn,E 2552 -½ +1 -0 +½ -1 3.0/5
8 23 3 14 16
10 Shabalov,A 2633 -0 +1 -½ +½ -1 3.0/5
6 21 8 15 14
11 Finegold,B 2539 -½ +½ -½ +½ +1 3.0/5
23 8 15 16 20
12 Ivanov,AV USA 2560 +1 -0 +½ -0 +1 2.5/5
19 2 7 6 21
13 Akobian,V 2601 +½ -½ +1 -0 +½ 2.5/5
22 15 18 2 6
14 Fedorowicz,J 2459 +½ -0 +1 -½ +0 2.0/5
1 4 19 9 10
15 Kraai,J 2509 -½ +½ +½ -½ -0 2.0/5
3 13 11 10 8
16 Pruess,D 2425 +½ -0 +1 -½ +0 2.0/5
4 1 22 11 9
17 Gulko,B 2559 +1 -½ +0 -0 +½ 2.0/5
21 6 1 7 19
18 Gurevich,D 2513 +1 +0 -0 -½ +½ 2.0/5
20 5 13 21 23
19 Vigorito,D 2405 -0 +1 -0 +½ -½ 2.0/5
12 24 14 8 17
20 Shankland,S 2296 -0 -0 +1 +1 -0 2.0/5
18 7 24 22 11
21 Kaufman,La 2365 -0 -0 +1 +½ -0 1.5/5
17 10 23 18 12
22 Ippolito,D 2425 -½ +0 -0 -0 -1 1.5/5
13 3 16 20 24
23 Langer,M USA 2254 +½ -0 -0 +½ -½ 1.5/5
11 9 21 24 18
24 Galant,S 2235 +0 -0 -0 -½ +0 0.5/5
2 19 20 23 22
Frank K Berry ch-USA 2008
----------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5
1 Shulman,Y 2606 -½ +1 -1 +½ -1 4.0/5
14 16 17 3 5
2 Kudrin,S 2549 -1 +1 -½ +1 -½ 4.0/5
24 12 5 13 3
3 Onischuk,Al 2664 +½ -1 +1 -½ +½ 3.5/5
15 22 9 1 2
4 Becerra Rivero,J 2575 -½ +1 +1 +½ -½ 3.5/5
16 14 6 5 7
5 Kaidanov,G 2596 +1 -1 +½ -½ +0 3.0/5
7 18 2 4 1
6 Yermolinsky,A 2518 +1 +½ -0 +1 -½ 3.0/5
10 17 4 12 13
7 Friedel,J 2484 -0 +1 -½ +1 +½ 3.0/5
5 20 12 17 4
8 Ludwig,Dan 2357 +½ -½ +½ -½ +1 3.0/5
9 11 10 19 15
9 Perelshteyn,E 2552 -½ +1 -0 +½ -1 3.0/5
8 23 3 14 16
10 Shabalov,A 2633 -0 +1 -½ +½ -1 3.0/5
6 21 8 15 14
11 Finegold,B 2539 -½ +½ -½ +½ +1 3.0/5
23 8 15 16 20
12 Ivanov,AV USA 2560 +1 -0 +½ -0 +1 2.5/5
19 2 7 6 21
13 Akobian,V 2601 +½ -½ +1 -0 +½ 2.5/5
22 15 18 2 6
14 Fedorowicz,J 2459 +½ -0 +1 -½ +0 2.0/5
1 4 19 9 10
15 Kraai,J 2509 -½ +½ +½ -½ -0 2.0/5
3 13 11 10 8
16 Pruess,D 2425 +½ -0 +1 -½ +0 2.0/5
4 1 22 11 9
17 Gulko,B 2559 +1 -½ +0 -0 +½ 2.0/5
21 6 1 7 19
18 Gurevich,D 2513 +1 +0 -0 -½ +½ 2.0/5
20 5 13 21 23
19 Vigorito,D 2405 -0 +1 -0 +½ -½ 2.0/5
12 24 14 8 17
20 Shankland,S 2296 -0 -0 +1 +1 -0 2.0/5
18 7 24 22 11
21 Kaufman,La 2365 -0 -0 +1 +½ -0 1.5/5
17 10 23 18 12
22 Ippolito,D 2425 -½ +0 -0 -0 -1 1.5/5
13 3 16 20 24
23 Langer,M USA 2254 +½ -0 -0 +½ -½ 1.5/5
11 9 21 24 18
24 Galant,S 2235 +0 -0 -0 -½ +0 0.5/5
2 19 20 23 22
US Women's Chess Championships:Round 5 update
In the 2008 US Chess Championships, after 5 rounds of play in the Women's event, 2 players are tied for first with perfect scores of 5/5: WGM/IM Irina Krush and WGM/IM Anna Zatonskih.
Here is a crosstable after 5 rounds of play with Zatonskih's performance rating being 2970!! and Krush's 2986!!
Frank K Berry ch-USA w 2008
1 2 3 4 5
1 Zatonskih,A 2458 +1 -1 +1 +1 -1 5.0/5
7 9 10 3 4
2 Krush,I 2479 -1 +1 -1 -1 +1 5.0/5
4 8 5 10 6
3 Rohonyan,K 2309 +½ -1 +1 -0 +1 3.5/5
6 7 9 1 10
4 Abrahamyan,T 2239 +0 -1 +1 -1 +0 3.0/5
2 6 7 9 1
5 Tuvshintugs,B 2278 -1 -1 +0 -0 +½ 2.5/5
8 10 2 6 7
6 Battsetseg,T 2254 -½ +0 -½ +1 -0 2.0/5
3 4 8 5 2
7 Zenyuk,I 2233 -0 +0 -0 +1 -½ 1.5/5
1 3 4 8 5
8 Epstein,E 2184 +0 -0 +½ -0 +1 1.5/5
5 2 6 7 9
9 Airapetian,C 2092 +1 +0 -0 +0 -0 1.0/5
10 1 3 4 8
10 Jamison,C 1979 -0 +0 -0 +0 -0 0.0/5
9 5 1 2 3
Here is a crosstable after 5 rounds of play with Zatonskih's performance rating being 2970!! and Krush's 2986!!
Frank K Berry ch-USA w 2008
1 2 3 4 5
1 Zatonskih,A 2458 +1 -1 +1 +1 -1 5.0/5
7 9 10 3 4
2 Krush,I 2479 -1 +1 -1 -1 +1 5.0/5
4 8 5 10 6
3 Rohonyan,K 2309 +½ -1 +1 -0 +1 3.5/5
6 7 9 1 10
4 Abrahamyan,T 2239 +0 -1 +1 -1 +0 3.0/5
2 6 7 9 1
5 Tuvshintugs,B 2278 -1 -1 +0 -0 +½ 2.5/5
8 10 2 6 7
6 Battsetseg,T 2254 -½ +0 -½ +1 -0 2.0/5
3 4 8 5 2
7 Zenyuk,I 2233 -0 +0 -0 +1 -½ 1.5/5
1 3 4 8 5
8 Epstein,E 2184 +0 -0 +½ -0 +1 1.5/5
5 2 6 7 9
9 Airapetian,C 2092 +1 +0 -0 +0 -0 1.0/5
10 1 3 4 8
10 Jamison,C 1979 -0 +0 -0 +0 -0 0.0/5
9 5 1 2 3
Vassily Ivanchuk wins the MTel Masters
GM Vassily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine won the MTel Masters Chess Tournament with an amazing score of 8/10. This score works out to a performance elo of almost 3000 for the event (2977).This appears to be a new record for a tournament performance rating, the old record was held by GM Anatoly Karpov at the 1994 Linares Tournament, when Karpov had a performance rating of 2976 (11/14 84.6%). Congratulations Vassily! I really enjoyed watching Vassily playing in Edmonton at the 2005 Canadian Open Chess Tournament,where he finished with a score of 8/10. Here is the final crosstable,which I created using Chessbase 9:
4th M-Tel Masters 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Ivanchuk,V 2740 +237 ** 1½ 1½ 11 1½ 1½ 8.0/10
2 Topalov,V 2767 +72 0½ ** ½½ 11 10 11 6.5/10
3 Radjabov,T 2751 +18 0½ ½½ ** ½½ ½1 ½1 5.5/10
4 Cheparinov,I 2696 -20 00 00 ½½ ** 11 ½½ 4.0/10
5 Bu Xiangzhi 2708 -111 0½ 01 ½0 00 ** ½½ 3.0/10 16.25
6 Aronian,L 2763 -177 0½ 00 ½0 ½½ ½½ ** 3.0/10 13.75
Average elo: 2737 <=> Category: 20
gm = 3.30 m = 1.30
4th M-Tel Masters 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Ivanchuk,V 2740 +237 ** 1½ 1½ 11 1½ 1½ 8.0/10
2 Topalov,V 2767 +72 0½ ** ½½ 11 10 11 6.5/10
3 Radjabov,T 2751 +18 0½ ½½ ** ½½ ½1 ½1 5.5/10
4 Cheparinov,I 2696 -20 00 00 ½½ ** 11 ½½ 4.0/10
5 Bu Xiangzhi 2708 -111 0½ 01 ½0 00 ** ½½ 3.0/10 16.25
6 Aronian,L 2763 -177 0½ 00 ½0 ½½ ½½ ** 3.0/10 13.75
Average elo: 2737 <=> Category: 20
gm = 3.30 m = 1.30
Friday, May 16, 2008
US Chess Championship:Rd 3 standings
Frank Berry U.S. Championship
-----------------------------
Here are the standings after 3 rounds in the Men's Competition:
1-5. Sergey Kudrin, Julio Becerra, Yury Shulman, Gregory Kaidanov and Alexander Onischuk-2.5
6. Varuzhan Akobian-2
7-17. Josh Friedel, Daniel Ludwig, David Pruess, Jesse Kraai, John Fedorowicz, Alex Yermolinsky, Benjamin Finegold, Eugene Perelshteyn, Alexander Ivanov, Boris Gulko and Alexander Shabalov-1.5
18-21. Larry Kaufman, David Vigorito, Sam Shankland and Dmitry Gurevich-1
22-23. Michael Langer and Dean Ippolito-0.5
24. Sergey Galant -0
Here are the Standings after 3 rounds in the Women's Championship:
1-2- Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush-3
3- Katerina Rohonyan-2.5
4-5. Tatev Abrahamyan and Batchimeg Tuvshintugs-2
6-7. Tsagaan Battsetseg and Chouchanik Airapetian-1
8. Esther Epstein-.5
9-10. Courtney Jamison and Iryna Zenyuk-0
-----------------------------
Here are the standings after 3 rounds in the Men's Competition:
1-5. Sergey Kudrin, Julio Becerra, Yury Shulman, Gregory Kaidanov and Alexander Onischuk-2.5
6. Varuzhan Akobian-2
7-17. Josh Friedel, Daniel Ludwig, David Pruess, Jesse Kraai, John Fedorowicz, Alex Yermolinsky, Benjamin Finegold, Eugene Perelshteyn, Alexander Ivanov, Boris Gulko and Alexander Shabalov-1.5
18-21. Larry Kaufman, David Vigorito, Sam Shankland and Dmitry Gurevich-1
22-23. Michael Langer and Dean Ippolito-0.5
24. Sergey Galant -0
Here are the Standings after 3 rounds in the Women's Championship:
1-2- Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush-3
3- Katerina Rohonyan-2.5
4-5. Tatev Abrahamyan and Batchimeg Tuvshintugs-2
6-7. Tsagaan Battsetseg and Chouchanik Airapetian-1
8. Esther Epstein-.5
9-10. Courtney Jamison and Iryna Zenyuk-0
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Chess Tournaments being played this week
A few chess tournaments are being played around the world this week. Firstly, the MTel Masters Chess tournament continues in Sofia, Bulgaria. After 5 rounds of play, GM Vasily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine leads an elite field with an amazing score of 5/5. Today, (May 13th) is a rest day for the players at this tournament.
The 43rd annual Capablanca Memorial chess tournament is being held in La Habana Cuba from May 8-17th. This year's event is a category 15 tournament, and the average elo of the participants is 2602. Here is a list of the participants: GM Walter Arencibia, Cuba (2534), GM Dominguez Perez, Lenier, Cuba 2695, GM Jesus Nogueiras, Cuba (2559), GM Igor Khenkin, Germany (2609), GM Sergei Tiviakov, Netherlands (2635), GM Holden Hernandez Carmenates, Cuba (2568), GM Farrukh Amonatov, Turkey (2649), GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista,Cuba (2608), GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Poland (2625), and GM Yuniesky Quezada Perez, Cuba (2567). The official website for this event is: http://www.inder.cu/capablanca/
The 2008 United States Chess Championship is being held in Tulsa, Oklahoma from May 13th-21. The official tournament website for this event is http://www.monroi.com/the-2008-fkb-us-chess-championship-home.html . WGM/IM Irina Krush is the defending Women's champion, and the defending Men's champion is Alex Shabalov.
The 43rd annual Capablanca Memorial chess tournament is being held in La Habana Cuba from May 8-17th. This year's event is a category 15 tournament, and the average elo of the participants is 2602. Here is a list of the participants: GM Walter Arencibia, Cuba (2534), GM Dominguez Perez, Lenier, Cuba 2695, GM Jesus Nogueiras, Cuba (2559), GM Igor Khenkin, Germany (2609), GM Sergei Tiviakov, Netherlands (2635), GM Holden Hernandez Carmenates, Cuba (2568), GM Farrukh Amonatov, Turkey (2649), GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista,Cuba (2608), GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Poland (2625), and GM Yuniesky Quezada Perez, Cuba (2567). The official website for this event is: http://www.inder.cu/capablanca/
The 2008 United States Chess Championship is being held in Tulsa, Oklahoma from May 13th-21. The official tournament website for this event is http://www.monroi.com/the-2008-fkb-us-chess-championship-home.html . WGM/IM Irina Krush is the defending Women's champion, and the defending Men's champion is Alex Shabalov.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mtel Masters begins tommorrow
The MTel Masters Chess Tournament begins tommorrow in Sofia. Bulgaria. Here is the list of players who are participating in this event: Veselin Topalov (elo 2780), Vassily Ivanchuk (2751), Levon Aronian (2739), Teimour Radjabov (2735), Ivan Cheparinov (2713) and Bu Xiangzhi (2691)
The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner.Players cannot agree to a draw, instead a draw can only be given for a game by a chief arbitrator. The official tournament website for this event is: http://www.mtelmasters.com/. An interesting aspect of the official tournament website, which I applaud the website designer for, is the fact that the designer has included a section which indicates the career record of each player versus each of the other tournament participants.In addition, all the past games each player has played against every other player in their career, has been made available in a pgn file (and a viewable board). This should be a very interesting tournament to watch. Games can be viewed live at the official tournament website. I am pulling for Vassily Ivanchuk to win the event.
The event is a 10 round double round robin with a 5 hour time control. In case of a draw at the top there will be a tie break for determining the winner.Players cannot agree to a draw, instead a draw can only be given for a game by a chief arbitrator. The official tournament website for this event is: http://www.mtelmasters.com/. An interesting aspect of the official tournament website, which I applaud the website designer for, is the fact that the designer has included a section which indicates the career record of each player versus each of the other tournament participants.In addition, all the past games each player has played against every other player in their career, has been made available in a pgn file (and a viewable board). This should be a very interesting tournament to watch. Games can be viewed live at the official tournament website. I am pulling for Vassily Ivanchuk to win the event.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Why teach chess in school?
I have come upon an excellent website which deals with reasons chess is an wonderful activity
to involve children in during school.Dr. Robert C. Ferguson, at his website http://www.quadcitychess.com/benefits_of_chess.html,quotes Dr. Fred Loveland, superintendent of the Panama City schools,who voiced his opinion as : ``Chess has taught my students more than any other subject.'' Isn't that enough of a reason for including chess in the school curriculum of this World's schools? For some other articles which support Dr. Loveland's assertion see:
(1)http://www.uschess.org/news/press/MacEnultySouthAfricatrip.pdf This is in pdf format,however it can be read in html also.
(2)http://chess.about.com/od/scholastic/Scholastic_Chess_Schools_and_Kids.htm
(3)http://www.mathandchess.citymaker.com/articles/article/1302222/60343.htm
(4)http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DF103FF93AA25754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
(5)http://www.vivacityinc.com/chess/BenefitsOfChess.pdf
(6)
to involve children in during school.Dr. Robert C. Ferguson, at his website http://www.quadcitychess.com/benefits_of_chess.html,quotes Dr. Fred Loveland, superintendent of the Panama City schools,who voiced his opinion as : ``Chess has taught my students more than any other subject.'' Isn't that enough of a reason for including chess in the school curriculum of this World's schools? For some other articles which support Dr. Loveland's assertion see:
(1)http://www.uschess.org/news/press/MacEnultySouthAfricatrip.pdf This is in pdf format,however it can be read in html also.
(2)http://chess.about.com/od/scholastic/Scholastic_Chess_Schools_and_Kids.htm
(3)http://www.mathandchess.citymaker.com/articles/article/1302222/60343.htm
(4)http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DF103FF93AA25754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
(5)http://www.vivacityinc.com/chess/BenefitsOfChess.pdf
(6)
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