April Fide Rating List Out!

FIDE has released it's April rating list, GM Veselin Topalov has went over 2800 again to be the number one rated player in the world, but right behind him is World Champion GM Viswanathan Anand. I will post all players who achieved the rating of 2700, as rating lists are only updated quarterly, I would keep an eye on the much updated on liverating.org, which keeps track of all 2700 rated players and above throughout the course of the current rating period until the next rating list comes out. I will make a bigger link to this cool site for chess fans.

April 2009 FIDE Rating List, Players with 2700 and above rating listed. Link to official list can be found in the FIDE.COM newsfeed.

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2812 17 1975
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2783 14 1969
3 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2770 27 1990
4 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2759 0 1975
5 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2756 27 1987
6 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2754 37 1982
7 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2753 5 1983
8 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2751 13 1977
9 Leko, Peter g HUN 2751 0 1979
10 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2748 14 1983
11 Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2747 23 1978
12 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2746 37 1969
13 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2745 0 1972
14 Wang, Yue g CHN 2738 38 1987
15 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 0 1968
16 Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2730 10 1986
17 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2728 9 1983
18 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2726 25 1976
19 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2726 0 1983
20 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2725 6 1985
21 Ni, Hua g CHN 2724 16 1983
22 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2721 27 1983
23 Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2721 19 1990
24 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2720 20 1974
25 Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2716 5 1985
26 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2709 26 1980
27 Bu, Xiangzhi g CHN 2704 18 1985
28 Adams, Michael g ENG 2703 13 1971
29 Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2702 0 1974
30 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2701 10 1987
31 Naiditsch, Arkadij g GER 2700 21 1985

Where will the next 3 months take these players and those scratching at the door to 2700 and pretty much the accepted title of Super-GM, after all, with over 1,100 GM's in the world, what else could we call these 31 players? It will be interesting to watch, that's for sure, as well as I'm sure GM Nakamura is glad to be back above 2700, but can he keep the rating? At the moment his live rating might have dipped below 2700 due to results at the Austrian Bundesliga, but that's all unofficial at this point, all that matters is the OFFICIAL rating list. Plenty of time to worry about improvement.

More on Battle of GM's and GM Wesley So

While checking the International Chess Results database, I found that there isn't a result for the Wesley So - Darwin Laylo game posted, however, without hearing about a game taking place, it seems that the GM Antonio Jr - GM Wesley So results have been resinstated. Perhapes because GM Antonio Jr and GM Eugenio Torre drew, I don't know. With the Draw by GM Antonio, Jr it would have left him with 6.5 points to So's 7.5 after round 10. But I found on another page that GM So has 8 points, so he must have drawn vs GM Laylo. With no reason to play the game, I imagine they just let the previous results stand, as I haven't found a replayed game. But found these results posted interesting, note that GM So hadn't finished his game with GM Laylo, but the round 6 controversial game is a draw as before. Strange days indeed...

But it does appear the final results are in, it appears that GM So and Laylo drew, even not posted, I will post final standings as well, even though the final round pairings and results haven't been updated yet.


Round 6 on 2009/03/27 at 1630
Bo. No. Name Result Name No.
1 12 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr ½ - ½ GM SO Wesley 9
2 10 IM DABLEO Ronald ½ - ½ GM GONZALES Jayson 8
3 11 GM PARAGUA Mark ½ - ½ IM NOLTE Rolando 7
4 1 IM SADORRA Julio Catalino ½ - ½ GM TORRE Eugenio 6
5 2 IM BITOON Richard ½ - ½ GM GOMEZ John Paul 5
6 3 GM LAYLO Darwin ½ - ½ GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura 4


Round 11 on 2009/03/31 at 1400
Bo. No. Name Result Name No.
1 6 GM TORRE Eugenio ½ - ½ GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr 12
2 7 IM NOLTE Rolando GM GOMEZ John Paul 5
3 8 GM GONZALES Jayson ½ - ½ GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura 4
4 9 GM SO Wesley GM LAYLO Darwin 3
5 10 IM DABLEO Ronald ½ - ½ IM BITOON Richard 2
6 11 GM PARAGUA Mark IM SADORRA Julio Catalino 1

Phoenix Petroleum & Dapitan City Battle Of Grandmasters Standings (Final)

Rank after Round 11
Rk. Name FED Rtg Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3

1 GM SO Wesley PHI 2627 8,0 0,0 3,5 38,00
2 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr PHI 2519 7,0 0,0 4,0 35,75
3 GM TORRE Eugenio PHI 2560 6,5 0,0 3,0 30,25
4 GM GOMEZ John Paul PHI 2539 5,5 2,0 2,0 24,00
5 IM BITOON Richard PHI 2473 5,5 1,5 3,0 29,50
6 GM LAYLO Darwin PHI 2504 5,5 1,5 2,5 26,75
7 IM SADORRA Julio Catalino PHI 2445 5,5 1,0 2,0 25,75
8 GM PARAGUA Mark PHI 2537 5,0 0,0 2,5 24,75
9 GM GONZALES Jayson PHI 2468 4,0 0,5 1,5 19,00
10 IM NOLTE Rolando PHI 2488 4,0 0,5 1,5 18,75
11 GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura PHI 2471 3,5 0,0 1,5 15,25
12 IM DABLEO Ronald PHI 2432 3,0 0,0 2,5 17,25

Tie Break1: The results of the players in the same point group#results against
Tie Break2: Koya Tie-Break
Tie Break3: Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break (with real points)

(source: http://chess-results.com/)

Phenom GM Wesley So Leading Battle of GM's Tournament despite controversy

Grandmaster Wesley So, the new Philippine Phenom, is leading the Phoenix Petroleum & Dapitan City Battle Of Grandmasters by 1.5 pts going into the final? round. Going into Round 11 GM So has 7.5 pts with 2 players behind him with 6 pts. All GM So has to do in the final round is get a draw and he will have 8/11 pts, why is this important? One of the players with 6.0 pts, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr and GM Wesley So had a short (22 moves) draw in Round 6, as I understand it, there were NO rules in the tournament banning short draws, nor were the players informed that short draws would be frowned upon. Yet, this short draw was nullified by an organizer and the players ordered to play again, this game has yet to happen.

Now, if GM Antonio Jr wins his last round game, he will have 7 pts. The final round is tomorrow, 31 March, 2009 and GM So draws his last game, he will have 8 points, obviously if he wins his last round game, with 8.5 points, there would be no way GM Antonio Jr could tie or win the tournament, so would this game even be played? The point would be moot really, I mean, they would probably play a well-known drawish game and agree to a draw after 30 moves..to what point? Aggravate the players? But there is always the possibility that GM So would lose his final round game, despite dominating the whole field pretty much, his opponent being GM Darwin Laylo (FIDE 2504) compared to GM So's rating of 2627 (With an expected change of +13.9 on April 1, 2009), GM So should have good chances at winning this game. But if GM Laylo pulls off the upset, and GM Antonio Jr wins his last round game (vs GM Eugenio Torre! FIDE 2560 to Antonio Jr's 2519) which looks to be quite a battle, then by no choice of the players, a replay will be needed, even though GM So would still have a .5 lead, due to the chance of a loss by So. If you think this is all messed up, think how the players feel!

So when would this final game be played (if really necessary), the same day? With a days rest for the players? Did the organizer who negated the round 6 game realize the implications that would come of this? Did he even have the authority to negate a game? I don't know...I would think if short draws were NOT against the rules of the tournament, I would say no. What a mess... At any rate, here's the standings after Round 10 (Today) and the pairings for tomorrow's final? round.

Phoenix Petroleum & Dapitan City Battle Of Grandmasters Standings (Round 10)

Rk. Name FED Rtg Pts.
1 GM SO Wesley PHI 2627 7,5
2 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr PHI 2519 6,0
3 GM TORRE Eugenio PHI 2560 6,0
4 GM GOMEZ John Paul PHI 2539 5,5
5 GM LAYLO Darwin PHI 2504 5,5
6 IM SADORRA Julio Catalino PHI 2445 5,5
7 IM BITOON Richard PHI 2473 5,0
8 GM PARAGUA Mark PHI 2537 5,0
9 IM NOLTE Rolando PHI 2488 4,0
10 GM GONZALES Jayson PHI 2468 3,5
11 GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura PHI 2471 3,0
12 IM DABLEO Ronald PHI 2432 2,5


Round 11 on 2009/03/31 at 1400

Bo. No. Name Result Name No.

1 6 GM TORRE Eugenio - GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr 12
2 7 IM NOLTE Rolando - GM GOMEZ John Paul 5
3 8 GM GONZALES Jayson - GM VILLAMAYOR Buenaventura 4
4 9 GM SO Wesley - GM LAYLO Darwin 3
5 10 IM DABLEO Ronald - IM BITOON Richard 2
6 11 GM PARAGUA Mark - IM SADORRA Julio Catalino 1

GM Tigran L. Petrosian (TIGRANO) plays a marathon!

TIGRANO paid a viit to TransWarp yesterday playing a whopping 20 games! He also used his time very wisely in one game and flagged TW, this is when the operator (me) misses the old option in Rybka 2.3.2a where you could have Rybka save time for the endgame. But it was a 3 0 game and anything can happen and it's part of the game at that time control. So no complaints here, just some wistful thinking about an option in the old version...but as for play, Deep Rybka 3 rules, even with the occasional losses due to time or my bad book choices. :)

Here is TIGRANO's win, it's a little long, but you will see why I wished for that option I mentioned.

TIGRANO (GM Tigran L. Petrosian) vs TransWarp





Also a high rated blitz plsyer tried 2 gsmes this morning, Nazari, which is an anonymous sccount, it was registered in Dos Hermanas but I couldn't find the real name in the list. TransWarp won both games, despite Nazari's attempts at seeing if TW would accept an easy draw after the opening or even when it was well ahead.

GM Varuzhan Akobian Draws and wins!

SCORPION83, also the ICC handle of GM Varuzhan Akobian (Not to be confused with Akopian!), one of the top players in the United States, drew and beat TransWarp yesterday. This was early in the morning, so I didn't get to see the games live, but he actually was winning the drawn game as well, but Deep Rybka got him to accept a 3 fold repetition draw as he was in time trouble. It seems GM Akobian is getting much better, having only drawn Rybka 2.3.2a mp x64 8 times without a win in about 100 games. But he played very well in these two games, that's for sure, TransWarp was just 9 pts from it's goal of ICC elo of 4000, GM Akobian sure slapped her down a lot, now much time and luck to achieve the goal. But it's all in good fun, I congratulated GM Akobian, no response though. Some GM's just don't like to chat. (Even though it was a message), oh well.

Here are the two games, first the draw, then the win.

SCORPION83 vs TransWarp



And now the win, Deep Rybka could have made some better moves after evaluation, but you cannot control and automatic program, you have to live with her mistakes.

SCORPION83 vs TransWarp



A nice game by GM Akobian

GM Varuzhan Akobian plays two!

Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian played two blitz games early this morning, to my great surprise. I pretty much thought that no one would let TransWarp get closer to a rating of 4000, it shows that there are still players out there who don't care about the points but the game and challenge. GM Hikaru Nakamura showed that there are GM's on ICC who will risk more than 1 point, knowing he's strong enough to gain them back playing other GM's.

One question I wish GM Nakamura would answer is: Does he think he could have placed near if not at the top of the Blitz Championship in Moscow recently, would the lack of being able to use a mouse and a two dimensional board make a difference? I know the difference between 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional chess is almost like night and day, except for moving very fast. There are advantages to both styles, you don't make mouse slips, you can change your move if you haven't let go of the piece in Internet play, smart move, etc. But at the same time, you have maybe better vision, working out problems better spacially, both sides have the risk of a touch move error...I guess it just depends on the person.

I guess I forgot to keep up on Dos Hermanas X due to my health, but I did post all the games, the qualifiers in pgn format, zipped, and the final 32 in just a pgn file on www.transwarpchess.com/games.html as well.

Melody Amber Finishes, Final Standings

The final standings of Melody Amber 2009 in Monte Carlo has finished with GM Levon Aronian taking the win, despite the presence of GM's Veselin Topalov, World Champion GM Viswanathan Anand and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik among the players.

Here are the final standings: The PGN file will be uploaded on www.transwarpchess.com

score after Round 11 (Final)

Blindfold

1. Aronian 7
Carlsen 7
Kramnik 7
4. Anand 6½
Morozevich 6½
6. Leko 5½
Topalov 5½
8. Ivanchuk 5
Radjabov 5
10. Karjakin 4½
11. Wang Yue 3½
12. Kamsky 3

Rapid

1. Anand 7
Aronian 7
Kamsky 7
4. Kramnik 6½
5. Carlsen 6
Karjakin 6
7. Topalov 5
8. Ivanchuk 4½
Leko 4½
Morozevich 4½
11. Radjabov 4
Wang Yue 4

Combined

1. Aronian 14
2. Anand 13½
Kramnik 13½
4. Carlsen 13
5. Morozevich 11
6. Karjakin 10½
Topalov 10½
8. Kamsky 10
Leko 10
10. Ivanchuk 9½
11. Radjabov 9
12. Wang Yue 7½

New PGN Files uploaded to TransWarp Website

I've uploaded the pgn files of the European Men's and Women's Individual Chess Championships, Dos Hermanas X 2009 All Qualifiers plus the Final 32 and the Women's Grand Prix event in Istanbul, Turkey. Again, I haven't been feeling well, been a little woozy from fluid behind my eardrum, got an mri done on my left knee today...will find out about that next Monday. So I've been slacking here a bit. Also, when TW sits idle, it kind of takes the energy out of me too.. During a session of watching Smallville (GM Hikaru Nakamura) play some 5 0 games on ICC, I commented on how it sucks to be just 12 pts away from my goal. Then I got this response which I found humorous, but probably true...

TransWarp(C) whispers: lol, just wish I would get those 12 little pts...
(whispered to 106 observers)
KAPAMA3OB(IM) whispers: never ;)
KAPAMA3OB(IM) whispers: humanity wont survive that

KAPAMA3OB was joking, he's a cool guy, I can take his teasing :) But there's probably a grain of truth in that...I don't think anyone wants to be known as the guy who put TW over 4000, and I would bet in the GM Group...there's talk of not playing it...lol. At least Smallville had the guts to put her close to the goal. Another person started a game, then aborted it..all the action TW has gotten except for a Standard Game from TRADE. An IM on icc, who I remember from the good old days at the bettingbot channel before he was titled. These kids grow up fast!

Anyway, all for now...

EICC 2009 Final Standings and Playoff Results GM Tomashevsky wins

With 11 players finishing with 8.0/11.0, there were tiebreak games played to determine Champion, Medals and Prize money. Here are those results. First round got the field down to an even 8 with seeds 6-11 playing to get to round 2, GM Guseinov pulling off the only upset in this round.

Round 1: Tiebreaks for the title of European Champion and medals (two games at 15 min+5 sec, followed by 5/4 armaggedon

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
11 GM Nyback Tomi 0 ½ ½
6 GM Malakhov Vladimir 1 ½ 1½

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
7 GM Grachev Boris 0 1 0 1
10 GM Guseinov Gadir 1 0 1 2

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
9 GM Kobalia Mikhail 1 0 0 1
8 GM Jobava Baadur 0 1 1 2

Round 2

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
8 GM Jobava Baadur 1 1 2
1 GM Sokolov Ivan 0 0 0

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto ½ ½ 1 2
10 GM Guseinov Gadir ½ ½ 0 1

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
6 GM Malakhov Vladimir ½ ½ ½ 1½ (Black Draw odds in 5/4)
3 GM Naiditsch Arkadij ½ ½ ½ 1½

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
4 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny ½ 1 1½
5 GM Navara David ½ 0 ½

Round 3 of Elimination Tie Breaks:

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
H 8 GM Jobava Baadur 1 0 0 1
4 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 0 1 1 2

15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
I 6 GM Malakhov Vladimir 1 ½ 1½
2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 0 ½ ½

Championship Round


Final Match 15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
6 GM Malakhov Vladimir 0 1 0 1
4 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 1 0 1 2



3rd Place 15 min + 5 sec 5/4 min Final Result
8 GM Jobava Baadur 1 ½ 1½
2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 0 ½ ½





Final Standings from 7.5 points out of 11 possible upwards:


1 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 8,0
2 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 8,0
3 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 8,0
4 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 8,0
5 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 8,0
6 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 8,0
7 GM Navara David CZE 2638 8,0
8 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 8,0
9 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 8,0
10 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 8,0
11 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 8,0
12 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 7,5
13 GM Nijboer Friso NED 2559 7,5
14 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 7,5
15 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 7,5
16 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 7,5
17 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 7,5
18 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 7,5
19 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 7,5
20 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 7,5
21 GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687 7,5
22 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 7,5
23 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 7,5
24 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 7,5
25 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608 7,5
26 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 7,5
27 GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608 7,5
28 GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676 7,5
29 GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2621 7,5
30 GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter ROU 2675 7,5
31 GM Petrosian Tigran L ARM 2623 7,5
32 GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2593 7,5 0
33 GM Sakaev Konstantin RUS 2619 7,5 0
34 GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2654 7,5

EICC Round 11 (Final) Pairings Round 10 Results (Top Boards)

Today is the last round of the European Individual Chess Championships, I have posted here the Round 10 Results and pairings for Round 11, each player's score is on either side of the result, so I will skip putting up standings until the final round is done, of course the pgn files will be available on Transwarpchess.com. Round 11 starts with 9 players tied with 7.5 out of 11 points! For sure this will have to go to tiebreaks to award the trophy, as I believe the top prizes (say 4 tie for first, then prizes 1-4 would be divided equally between the players, but only one gets the trophy!).

Round 11 *Final Round* Pairings: Top Boards

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 7½ ½ - ½ 7½ GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693
2 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 7½ ½ - ½ 7½ GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
3 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 7½ ½ - ½ 7½ GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661
4 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 7½ ½ - ½ 7½ GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644
5 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 7 1 - 0 7½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
6 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 7 ½ - ½ 7 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687
7 GM Navara David CZE 2638 7 1 - 0 7 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679
8 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 7 ½ - ½ 7 GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676
9 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 7 ½ - ½ 7 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
10 GM Sakaev Konstantin RUS 2619 7 ½ - ½ 7 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
11 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 7 1 - 0 7 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634
12 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700 6½ ½ - ½ 7 GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2621
13 GM Berg Emanuel SWE 2606 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688
14 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687
15 GM L'Ami Erwin NED 2603 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter ROU 2675
16 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671
17 GM Iordachescu Viorel MDA 2584 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2654
18 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2593
19 GM Perunovic M. SRB 2568 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Beliavsky Alexander G SLO 2646
20 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636
21 GM Nijboer Friso NED 2559 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Nepomniachtchi Ian RUS 2628
22 GM Lenic Luka SLO 2547 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Petrosian Tigran L ARM 2623
23 GM Khalifman A. RUS 2622 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2587
24 GM Lysyj Igor RUS 2620 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586
25 GM Papaioannou I. GRE 2609 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Gagunashvili M. GEO 2585



Round 10 Results (Top Boards)

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 7 ½ - ½ 7 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
2 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 6½ 1 - 0 7 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669
3 GM Navara David CZE 2638 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692
4 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638
5 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634
6 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562
7 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Savic Miodrag R SRB 2525
8 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636 6½ 0 - 1 6½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655
9 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 6½ 1 - 0 6½ GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
10 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6½ 1 - 0 6½ FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391
11 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700
12 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608
13 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 6 1 - 0 6 GM Huzman Alexander ISR 2602
14 GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602
15 GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676 6 1 - 0 6 GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599
16 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 6 1 - 0 6 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594
17 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 6 1 - 0 6 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582
18 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666 6 0 - 1 6 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592
19 GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650 6 0 - 1 6 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594
20 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634 6 1 - 0 6 GM Erdos Viktor HUN 2583
21 GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2621 6 1 - 0 6 GM Timman Jan H NED 2582
22 GM Mastrovasilis Dimitrios GRE 2580 6 0 - 1 6 GM Sakaev Konstantin RUS 2619
23 GM Andriasian Zaven ARM 2564 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
24 GM Milanovic Danilo SRB 2552 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608
25 GM Berkes Ferenc HUN 2651 5½ ½ - ½ 6 GM Nijboer Friso NED 2559

Dos Hermanas X Internet Tournament

So far the Dos Hermanas X Internet tournament, has finished 6 rounds, I believe, with 6 confirmed qualifiers for the knock out section of the tournament. Here are the winners of the 6 qualifiers so far, there are two more qualifiers today at 3:00 pm server time and 8:00 pm server time.

Qualifier 1:

Winner: Iturrizaga (GM Eduardo Iturrizaga)

Qualifier 2:

Winner: Pchyolka (GM Hrant Melkumyan)

Qualifier 3:

Winner: ARM-AKIBA (GM Gabriel Sargissian)

Qualifier 4:

Winner: RLH2 (IM Robert Hess)

Qualifier 5:

Winner: Ehsan21 (GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami)

Qualifier 6:

Winner: ZavenGrozny (GM Zaven Andriasyan)


There are six more qualifiers before the knock-outs start after a rest day, There will be the 12 qualifiers, plus the top 8 non-winning scores throughout the tournament. So, you don't have to win, but placing really high with high tiebreaks might sneak you into the finals.

Melody Amber 2009 Results Round 2

Going into round 3 of the Amber tournament, GM Kramnik is leading the blindfold section with 2 wins out of 2 games, but it's the combined score that counts. With GM's Aronian and Morozevich winning both of their rapid games and 1 blindfold game, they are in lead of the tournament with 3 total points, with GM's Anand and Kramnik hot on their tails with 2.5 points. I missed the games due to an interface problem where I couldn't see the moves made. But it seems to be working again, I don't know what the bug is, but it affects both ChessPartner 5.4 & 6. But at times, I restart the program, and it works fine again. Strange.



score after Round 2

Blindfold

1. Kramnik 2
2. Anand 1½
Carlsen 1½
Topalov 1½
5. Aronian 1
Leko 1
Morozevich 1
8. Ivanchuk ½
Kamsky ½
Karjakin ½
Radjabov ½
Wang Yue ½

Rapid

1. Aronian 2
Morozevich 2
3. Karjakin 1½
4. Anand 1
Kamsky 1
Leko 1
Radjabov 1
8. Carlsen ½
Ivanchuk ½
Kramnik ½
Topalov ½
Wang Yue ½

Combined

1. Aronian 3
Morozevich 3
3. Anand 2½
Kramnik 2½
5. Carlsen 2
Karjakin 2
Leko 2
Topalov 2
9. Kamsky 1½
Radjabov 1½
11. Ivanchuk 1
Wang Yue 1

EICC Round 9 results and standings plus round 10 pairings

I believe today is round 11 at the European Individual Chess Championships, with tomorrow being the final round, there is a 3-way tie for first at the moment, when I post the list of standings they are in order of tiebreaks (of course as usual, I will be posting the top boards and top standings

Standings after Round 9:

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 7,0
2 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 7,0
3 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 7,0
4 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 6,5
5 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 6,5
6 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6,5
7 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 6,5
8 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 6,5
9 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 6,5
10 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 6,5
11 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 6,5
12 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 6,5
13 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 6,5
14 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 6,5
15 GM Navara David CZE 2638 6,5
16 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 6,5
17 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 6,5
18 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6,5
19 GM Savic Miodrag R SRB 2525 6,5
20 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636 6,5




Round 9 results (Top Boards)

1 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656
2 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
3 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671
4 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
5 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661
6 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 6 1 - 0 6 GM Meier Georg GER 2608
7 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Navara David CZE 2638
8 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608
9 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688
10 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687
11 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM L'Ami Erwin NED 2603
12 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676
13 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
14 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
15 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666
16 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650
17 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 5½ 0 - 1 5½ GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636
18 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Andriasian Zaven ARM 2564
19 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Brkic Ante CRO 2550
20 GM Savic Miodrag R SRB 2525 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634
21 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2485 5½ 0 - 1 5½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
22 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625





Round 10 Pairings (Top Boards)

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 7 7 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
2 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 6½ 7 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669
3 GM Navara David CZE 2638 6½ 6½ GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692
4 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 6½ 6½ GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638
5 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6½ 6½ GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634
6 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 6½ 6½ GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562
7 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 6½ 6½ GM Savic Miodrag R SRB 2525
8 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636 6½ 6½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655
9 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 6½ 6½ GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
10 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6½ 6½ FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391
11 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 6 6 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700
12 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 6 6 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608
13 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 6 6 GM Huzman Alexander ISR 2602
14 GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687 6 6 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602
15 GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676 6 6 GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599
16 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 6 6 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594
17 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 6 6 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582
18 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666 6 6 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592
19 GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650 6 6 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594
20 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634 6 6 GM Erdos Viktor HUN 2583
21 GM Pashikian Arman ARM 2621 6 6 GM Timman Jan H NED 2582
22 GM Mastrovasilis Dimitrios GRE 2580 6 6 GM Sakaev Konstantin RUS 2619
23 GM Andriasian Zaven ARM 2564 6 6 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
24 GM Milanovic Danilo SRB 2552 6 6 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608
25 GM Berkes Ferenc HUN 2651 5½ 6 GM Nijboer Friso NED 2559

Melody Amber 2009 Results Round 1

Here are the results of Round 1 that took place yesterday, actually it's kind of 2 games per round, one blindfold and one rapid, then the scores are combined. It's always been a very interesting tournament to me, trying to keep up with all the action is pretty tough! I've been drinking my coffee and cola to try and keep up!

"source Amber2009 website"

score after Round 1

Blindfold

1. Anand 1
Aronian 1
Carlsen 1
Kramnik 1
5. Karjakin ½
Radjabov ½
Topalov ½
Wang Yue ½
9. Ivanchuk 0
Kamsky 0
Leko 0
Morozevich 0

Rapid

1. Aronian 1
Kamsky 1
Leko 1
Morozevich 1
5. Karjakin ½
Radjabov ½
Topalov ½
Wang Yue ½
9. Anand 0
Carlsen 0
Ivanchuk 0
Kramnik 0

Combined

1. Aronian 2
2. Anand 1
Carlsen 1
Kamsky 1
Karjakin 1
Kramnik 1
Leko 1
Morozevich 1
Radjabov 1
Topalov 1
Wang Yue 1
12. Ivanchuk 0

Round 2 is ongoing now, will try to keep updated.

EICC Round 9 Pairings- GM Inarkiev and GM Jobava meet with 6.5

Here are the pairings for Round 9 of the European Individual Chess Championship, it's getting down to crunch time! The two players with 6.5 points will meet, will one of them take first place going into round 10?


Round 9 Pairings: Top Boards to 5.5 pts

1 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 6½ 6½ GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656
2 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 6 6 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
3 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6 6 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671
4 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 6 6 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
5 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 6 6 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661
6 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 6 6 GM Meier Georg GER 2608
7 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 6 6 GM Navara David CZE 2638
8 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 5½ 5½ GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608
9 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 5½ 5½ GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688
10 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608 5½ 5½ GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687
11 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 5½ 5½ GM L'Ami Erwin NED 2603
12 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 5½ 5½ GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676
13 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 5½ 5½ GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
14 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 5½ 5½ GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
15 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 5½ 5½ GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666
16 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 5½ 5½ GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650
17 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 5½ 5½ GM Aleksandrov Aleksej BLR 2636
18 GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634 5½ 5½ GM Andriasian Zaven ARM 2564
19 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 5½ 5½ GM Brkic Ante CRO 2550
20 GM Savic Miodrag R SRB 2525 5½ 5½ GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634
21 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2485 5½ 5½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
22 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 5½ 5½ GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625

EICC Round 8 Results-Top Boards

With so much going on, Linares, Dos Hermanas and the European Individual Chess Championship, I'm getting behind as usual...

Round 8 Results (top boards)

1 14 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6 0 - 1 5½ GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 15
2 33 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 19
3 20 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 51
4 53 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 21
5 27 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 98
6 37 GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 3
7 4 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 5 1 - 0 5 GM Lysyj Igor RUS 2620 47
8 54 GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 9
9 12 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 55
10 13 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 64
11 16 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 75
12 17 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 5 1 - 0 5 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 91
13 18 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 5 1 - 0 5 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar SRB 2543 111
14 96 GM Iljushin Alexei RUS 2564 5 0 - 1 5 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 31
15 32 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 5 1 - 0 5 GM Popov Valerij RUS 2561 99
16 208 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 36
17 5 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 4½ 1 - 0 5 IM Chirila Ioan-Cristian ROU 2485 149
18 63 GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700 2
19 6 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2587 70
20 71 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687 7
21 8 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Iordachescu Viorel MDA 2584 73
22 10 GM Motylev Alexander RUS 2676 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2578 81
23 68 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter ROU 2675 11
24 82 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Postny Evgeny ISR 2652 23
25 24 GM Berkes Ferenc HUN 2651 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Vuckovic Bojan SRB 2576 83




Standings after Round 8: Top Boards to 25

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 6,5
2 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 6,5
3 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 6,0
4 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 6,0
5 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6,0
6 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 6,0
7 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 6,0
8 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 6,0
9 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 6,0
10 GM Navara David CZE 2638 6,0
11 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 6,0
12 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 6,0
13 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 6,0
14 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 6,0
15 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 5,5
16 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 5,5
17 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 5,5
18 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 5,5
19 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 5,5
20 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 5,5
21 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 5,5
22 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625 5,5
23 GM Brkic Ante CRO 2550 5,5
24 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 5,5
25 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 5,5
26 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 5,5

5.5 points goes down to 43rd place, looks like I added #26 too, but he's an occassional TW player :)






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European Individual Chess Championship Round 7 results and standings plus round 8 pairings (top boards)

Here are the results from round 7 and standings after round 7 as well as the pairing for round 8 tomorrow. Today is a rest day in the European Individual Chess Championships. GM Andrei Volokitin is in first place by himself with 6.0/7.0 Not too shabby! Can he keep the momentum he has to hold onto it and take the tournament title?

Round 7 Results (Top Boards)

1 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 5 1 - 0 5½ GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656
2 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Meier Georg GER 2608
3 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638
4 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692
5 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685
6 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679
7 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
8 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608
9 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
10 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Kotronias Vasilios GRE 2603
11 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 4½ 0 - 1 4½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655
12 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650
13 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602
14 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582
15 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700 4 ½ - ½ 4½ GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567




Top Board Pairings for Round 8:

1 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6 5½ GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669
2 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5½ 5½ GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
3 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 5½ 5½ GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
4 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 5½ 5½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655
5 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 5½ 5½ GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562
6 GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634 5 5 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693
7 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 5 5 GM Lysyj Igor RUS 2620
8 GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608 5 5 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679
9 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 5 5 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608
10 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 5 5 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594
11 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666 5 5 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582
12 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 5 5 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567
13 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 5 5 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar SRB 2543
14 GM Iljushin Alexei RUS 2564 5 5 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644
15 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 5 5 GM Popov Valerij RUS 2561
16 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 5 5 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634
17 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688 4½ 5 IM Chirila Ioan-Cristian ROU 2485



Standings After Round 8 (top players)

1 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 6,0
2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 5,5
3 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 5,5
4 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 5,5
5 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 5,5
6 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 5,5
7 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5,5
8 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 5,5
9 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 5,5
10 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 5,5
11 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 5,0
12 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 5,0
13 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 5,0
14 FM Rasulov Vugar AZE 2391 5,0
15 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 5,0
16 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 5,0
17 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 5,0
18 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 5,0
19 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 5,0
20 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 5,0
21 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 5,0
22 GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608 5,0
23 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 5,0
24 GM Iljushin Alexei RUS 2564 5,0
25 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar SRB 2543 5,0
26 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 5,0
27 GM Popov Valerij RUS 2561 5,0
28 GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634 5,0
29 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2666 5,0
30 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 5,0
31 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 5,0
32 IM Chirila Ioan-Cristian ROU 2485 5,0
33 GM Lysyj Igor RUS 2620 5,0

Rest Day at EICC, however Dos Hermanas X starts at ICC!

Today is a rest day at the European Individual Chess Championships, However, Dos Hermanas X starts today at the Internet Chess Club! This is by far the best chance for the average player to play a titled player in a real tournament! To sign up for the tournament visit: www.doshermanas.net/ajedrez/OpenInternet/Internet2009 With the first round starting today at 3:00pm ICC Server Time. There will be another round at 8:00pm server time as well (New York Time, Eastern Daylight Time) For rules and regulations on how to join, please check the above site as well. The time controls are 3 0, 3 minutes per side, no increment. I remember the earlier Dos Hermanas tournaments being 8 2, or 8 minutes with 2 second increment, but I believe that the tournaments ended up being 6 hours long...too long. But 3 0 chess is tough for me. I might try a round, get smeared and chalk it up to good fun. Hopefully, some players might try TW and get her over the 4000 mark, been 3 days now without a game, sitting at 3988.

I will post the standings and pairings for the next round of EICC 09 in the next post.

EICC Round 7 pairings and standings after round 6

Here are the Round 7 pairings for the European Individual Chess Championships 2009, followed by the standings after Round 6, of course as usual, I will only post the top pairings and standings.

Top Board pairings: Round 7

1 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 5 1 - 0 5½ GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656
2 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5 ½ - ½ 5 GM Meier Georg GER 2608
3 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638
4 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692
5 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685
6 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679
7 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
8 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608
9 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
10 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Kotronias Vasilios GRE 2603
11 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 4½ 0 - 1 4½ GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655
12 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650
13 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602
14 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 4½ ½ - ½ 4½ GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582
15 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2700 4 ½ - ½ 4½ GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567



Standings after round 6

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 5,5
2 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 5,0
3 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 5,0
4 GM Navara David CZE 2638 5,0
5 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 4,5
6 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 4,5
7 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 4,5
8 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 4,5
9 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 4,5
10 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 4,5
11 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 4,5
12 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 4,5
13 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 4,5
14 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 4,5
15 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 4,5
16 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685 4,5
17 GM Mikhalevski Victor ISR 2608 4,5
18 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 4,5
19 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 4,5
20 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 4,5
21 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 4,5
22 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 4,5
23 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 4,5
24 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 4,5
25 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw POL 2608 4,5
26 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 4,5

European Individual Chess Championship Round 6 results

Round 6 results: Top Boards.... Just trying to catch up..yet again.


1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 4½ 1 - 0 4½ GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562
2 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 4 ½ - ½ 4½ GM Meier Georg GER 2608
3 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693
4 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
5 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
6 GM Petrosian Tigran L ARM 2623 4 0 - 1 4 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671
7 GM Kotronias Vasilios GRE 2603 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669
8 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
9 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594
10 GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586
11 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
12 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 4 ½ - ½ 4 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644
13 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica ROU 2506 4 0 - 1 4 GM Navara David CZE 2638
14 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692 3½ 1 - 0 3½ GM Huzman Alexander ISR 2602
15 GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2688
16 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687
17 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685 3½ 1 - 0 3½ GM Damljanovic Branko SRB 2587
18 GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
19 GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Iordachescu Viorel MDA 2584
20 GM Berkes Ferenc HUN 2651 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Halkias Stelios GRE 2578
21 GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2578 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Predojevic Borki BIH 2650
22 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638 3½ 1 - 0 3½ GM Perunovic Milos SRB 2568
23 GM Khairullin Ildar RUS 2574 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Georgiev Kiril BUL 2634
24 GM Nijboer Friso NED 2559 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Riazantsev Alexander RUS 2634
25 GM Iljushin Alexei RUS 2564 3½ ½ - ½ 3½ GM Ivanisevic Ivan SRB 2628




Standings after Round 5

1 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 4.5
2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 4.5
3 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 4.5
4 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 4
5 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 4
6 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 4
7 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 4
8 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 4
9 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica ROU 2506 4
10 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 4
11 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 4
12 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 4
13 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 4
14 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679 4
15 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 4
16 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 4
17 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673 4
18 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 4
19 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 4
20 GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609 4
21 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 4
22 GM Navara David CZE 2638 4
23 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 4
24 GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650 4
25 GM Petrosian Tigran L ARM 2623 4
26 GM Kotronias Vasilios GRE 2603 4


Round 5 results (Top Boards)

1 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 ½ - ½ GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656
2 GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647 ½ - ½ GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567
3 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586 ½ - ½ GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634
4 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 ½ - ½ GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633
5 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 1 - 0 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625
6 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica ROU 2506 ½ - ½ GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602
7 GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693 1 - 0 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2485
8 GM Kotronias Vasilios GRE 2603 1 - 0 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco ESP 2702
9 GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599 ½ - ½ GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2692
10 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 1 - 0 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687
11 GM Vitiugov Nikita RUS 2687 ½ - ½ GM Stevic Hrvoje CRO 2592
12 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594 ½ - ½ GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2685
13 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2587 0 - 1 GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2679
14 GM Bosiocic Marin CRO 2578 0 - 1 GM Areshchenko Alexander UKR 2673
15 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671 1 - 0 GM Gagunashvili Merab GEO 2585
16 GM Andersson Ulf SWE 2571 - - + GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671
17 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2669 1 - 0 GM Erdos Viktor HUN 2583
18 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664 ½ - ½ GM Khairullin Ildar RUS 2574
19 GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2578 ½ - ½ GM Guseinov Gadir AZE 2661
20 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657 1 - 0 GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2578
21 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2655 1 - 0 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576
22 GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel ESP 2540 0 - 1 GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2650
23 GM Nyback Tomi FIN 2644 1 - 0 GM Kotanjian Tigran ARM 2568
24 IM Prohaszka Peter HUN 2512 ½ - ½ GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2638
25 GM Navara David CZE 2638 1 - 0 GM Grigoriants Sergey RUS 2565

Smallville Plays again!

One thing I can say about GM Hikaru Nakamura (Smallville), is that he is NOT afraid to risk rating points! To be honest, I would look at the best list and think he wouldn't play while trying to beat the Depressnyak/AndrinoGiardino blitz record, btw, TW held AndrinoGiardino to 1 draw in 12 attempts, of course he quit after getting the draw, something many GM's do. But what does Smallville do? Proves me wrong! In his first game, Smallville gave up 5 points, which is far more than what the average GM was willing to give up even when TW was at 3100! He played 11 games, giving up from 5-3 points at the end. Still more points than the average GM would give up, a select few would, everyone else, it was 1 point or nothing.

It is my opinion that Hikaru is one of the best blitz players in the world. I wonder what he would have scored at the World Blitz Championship held right after Aeroflot 2009. The only thing I could see that would hold him back, is if he's more used to playing two dimensional chess with a mouse, rather than on a DGT board. You have to worry about tipping pieces over, touch-move, and depending on the size of the board he uses on his computer, the time it takes to move a piece, I would think faster to move with a mouse. After all, GM Nakamura is beating top players from around the world very easily.

He's on a roll, almost getting the record AFTER playing TransWarp, just missing it by 1 point, showing how he can still dominate after losing 40 pts, impressive. I don't know who depressnyak is, or AndrinoGiardino...but I DO know who Smallville is, which makes me want him to GET the record. Also because it seems GM Nakamura is not worried about giving a computer a new record, he KNOWS it's a computer, so what does it matter? That's my opinion as well, but some wouldn't want to be known as that person. This is why they don't get 400 people watching them play, while GM Nakamura does. IMHO

One of the more interesting games

Smallville vs TransWarp



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New World Chess Titles Issued by FIDE Congress

There are more GM's and IM's, WGM'S and WIM's out there, I will have to look for the new FM's. But here's a list of those newly titled players (I believe effective, April 1, no fooling!)

Grandmasters:


Simonian, Hrair ARM
Wang, Rui CHN
Cuartas, Jaime Alexander COL
Edouard, Romain FRA
Hammer, Jon Ludvig NOR
Sanchez, Joseph PHI
Jakubowski, Krzysztof POL
Lintchevski, Daniil RUS
Kryakvin, Dmitry RUS
Shimanov, Aleksandr RUS
Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan SCO
Salem, A.R. Saleh UAE
Eryomenko, Volodymyr UKR
Vovk, Andrey UKR

GM Title Conditional on rating: (2500)

Durarbeyli, Vasif AZE
Amanov, Mesgen TKM



International Master (IM)

Claverie, Raul ARG
Schneider-Zinner, Harald AUT
Kummer, Helmut AUT
El Debs, Felipe de Cresce BRA
Wu, Xibin CHN
Yang, Kaiqi CHN
Krejci, Jan CZE
Plat, Vojtech CZE
Milliet, Sophie FRA
Fargere, Francois FRA
Dourerassou, Jonathan FRA
Azaladze, Shota GEO
Nigalidze, Gaioz GEO
Strohhaeker, Raoul GER
Langrock, Hannes GER
Heimann, Andreas GER
Schneider, Ilja GER
Khanukov, Boris GER
Konnyu, Janos HUN
Strebkovs, Andrejs LAT
Martemianov, Iaroslav MDA
Gojkovic, Petar MNE
Vuelban, Virgilio PHI
Yap, Kim Steven PHI
Hnydiuk, Aleksander POL
Chojnacki, Krzystof POL
Zimin, Vladimir RUS
Looshnikov, Nikolai RUS
Chernobay, Artem RUS
Kotenko, Pavel RUS
Okrugin, Sergey RUS
Kornyukov, Alexey RUS
Kachko, Alexander RUS
Roganovic, Milos SRB
Marcetic, Nikola SRB
Almagro Llamas, Pablo ESP
Alonso Rosell, Alvar ESP
Antoli Royo, Joaquin Miguel ESP
Bagrationi, Alexander UKR
Baryshpolets, Andrey UKR
Bogdanovich, Stanislav UKR
Hatchatrian, Souren UKR
Artamonov, Andrey UKR
Cobb, James WLS

Title Conditional on Rating:

Abasov, Nijat Azad Oglu AZE
Tsuboi, Edson Kenij BRA
Malinovsky, Karel CZE
Priborsky, Jan CZE
Vyskocil, Neklan CZE
Koepke, Christian GER
Mihailovs, Jurijs LAT
Michielsen, Joost NED
Romanko, Marina RUS
Stukopin, Andrey RUS
Fernandez Aguado, Enrique ESP

For WGM, WIM, IA, FA, IO Please see this site: http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3850-titles-approved-at-the-1st-quarter-presidential-board-2009-

Melody Amber 2009 Preview

The 2009 Melody Amber Rapid and Blindfold tournament is starting on March 14, 2009. I have seen it just referred to as the Amber Tournament, but I've always seen it as Melody Amber, a memorial tournament in Monaco, the mix of Rapid and Blindfold chess is very interesting and something to look forward to watching each year as it always has top rated players.

Here are the 12 Participants:

World Champion Viswanathan Anand (India) 2791
Levon Aronian (Armenia) 2750
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 2776
Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) 2779
Gata Kamsky (United States) 2725
Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine) 2706
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 2759
Peter Leko (Hungary) 2751
Alexander Morozevich (Russia) 2771
Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) 2760
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 2796
Wang Yue (China) 2739

Every day four sessions will be played, two blindfold sessions and two rapid sessions. The first session starts at 14.30 hrs. The fourth session finishes around 20.00 hrs. (Note: the final round on March 26 starts at 12.30 hrs. March 18 and 23 are rest days.)

Kasparov says Anand's time at the top is about to end.

In an article courtesy of Chessdom.Com, former World Champion Garry Kasparov said that Vishy Anand's time on top of the chess world may soon come to an end. Here's the article:

Interview with Garry Kasparov
Kasparov states Anand's reign is going to end soon

“Vishy is a brilliant player. But it is very difficult to compete at 40. He is up against people half his age. I will be surprised if he can go on any longer. He can fight against anyone but time,” Kasparov said for India Today Conclave. “About 50 years ago, the average age of a chess player was about 35 years. Nowadays, 14- year- olds are becoming Grandmasters. This is due to computers and sophisticated softwares,” Kasparov continues. "Nowadays, a 13- year- old would probably know more than Bobby Fischer knew when he retired. They analyse all the moves and prepare themselves on their computers. But that doesn’t mean they are special. Physics students nowadays know more than Einstein and Newton did. That doesn’t make them smarter, does it?” concluded Kasparov. Asked what is the thing that differentiates him, Anatoly Karpov or Anand from today's players, the ex world champion said, "We had a feel for the game. Whenever I saw a position, I relied on the power of evaluation and understanding as to what would be a good move. But the motto of today’s player is — show me the move. I can’t explain it to them but sometimes, it’s just your sense which says what is a good or a bad move."

The visit of Kasparov to India was purely political one and he did not have any chess events scheduled. Among others at the symposium, organised by a Delhi-based media house, were former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan. You can read the full story by Digital Today here.

"Courtesy of Chessdom.com"


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European Individual Chess Championship in Round 4

Here are some of the results of today's games at the European Individual Chess Championship, I only have those with 2.5 points and above, the field will get smaller as the rounds get further along. I will do the standings tomorrow (Top Boards again).

Round 4 Pairings Top Boards

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 3 1-0 3 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594
2 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 3 ½-½ 3 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586
3 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625 3 ½-½ 3 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 75
4 GM Gagunashvili Merab GEO 2585 3 0-1 3 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 53
5 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco ESP 2702 2½ ½-½ 3 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica ROU 2506
6 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2587 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693
7 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2578
8 GM Erdos Viktor HUN 2583 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
9 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Bosiocic Marin CRO 2578
10 GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2578 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
11 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
12 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 2½ 1-0 2½ GM Predojevic Borki BIH 2650
13 GM Deviatkin Andrei RUS 2566 2½ 0-1 2½ GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
14 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 2½ 1-0 2½ GM Kunin Vitaly GER 2546
15 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 2½ 1-0 2½ GM Nikolic Predrag BIH 2623
16 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar SRB 2543 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
17 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel ESP 2540
18 GM Parligras Mircea ROU 2605 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Djukic Nikola MNE 2500 138
19 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 2½ 0-1 2½ IM Anisimov Pavel RUS 2488 147
20 GM Drazic Sinisa SRB 2513 2½ ½-½ 2½ GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599 63
21 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 2½ ½-½ 2½ IM Spoelman Wouter NED 2493 143
22 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2485 2½ 1-0 2½ GM Damljanovic Branko SRB 2587

EICC Round 3 Results, Top Standings, Round 4 Pairings

As I had said before, I would have to keep the list of leaders short, as there are so many competing in this tournament. Posted will be Round 3 results of those that had 2 pts prior to the games, standings limited to the top results as of the day and round 4 pairings. My two favorites GM Dreev & GM Rauf Mamedov are at 2 pts at this moment.

1 GM Banikas Hristos 2582 2 1 - 0 2 GM Akopian Vladimir 2700
2 GM Bosiocic Marin 2578 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Bologan Viktor 2687
3 GM Yemelin Vasily 2578 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Volokitin Andrei 2671
4 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 2664 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Romanov Evgeny 2576
5 GM Sokolov Ivan 2657 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Deviatkin Andrei 2566
6 GM Vuckovic Bojan 2576 2 0 - 1 2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2656
7 GM Predojevic Borki 2650 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Sjugirov Sanan 2562
8 GM Shomoev Anton 2567 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Kobalia Mikhail 2634
9 GM Nijboer Friso 2559 2 0 - 1 2 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A 2633
10 GM Maletin Pavel 2557 2 0 - 1 2 GM Van Wely Loek 2625
11 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 2543 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Lupulescu Constantin 2608
12 GM Meier Georg 2608 2 1 - 0 2 GM Popov Ivan 2541
13 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica 2506 2 1 - 0 2 GM Mikhalevski Victor 2608
14 IM Spoelman Wouter 2493 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Kurnosov Igor 2602
15 IM Anisimov Pavel 2488 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Bartel Mateusz 2594
16 GM Kozul Zdenko 2594 2 1 - 0 2 GM Ragger Markus 2540
17 GM Damljanovic Branko 2587 2 ½ - ½ 2 GM Drazic Sinisa 2513
18 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 2586 2 1 - 0 2 IM Szabo Krisztian 2508
19 IM Rukavina Josip 2417 2 0 - 1 2 GM Gagunashvili Merab 2585





Top scores after round 3: 2.5 pts and above (in order of tiebreaks)

1 GM Van Wely Loek 2625 NED 3

2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2656 RUS 3
GM Meier Georg 2608 GER 3
GM Banikas Hristos 2582 GRE 3

5 GM Kozul Zdenko 2594 CRO 3
GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 2586 SWE 3

7 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A 2633 UKR 3

8 GM Gagunashvili Merab 2585 GEO 3

9 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica 2506 ROU 3

10 GM Volokitin Andrei 2671 UKR 2½
GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 2664 RUS 2½

12 GM Bologan Viktor 2687 MDA 2½
GM Predojevic Borki 2650 BIH 2½
GM Lupulescu Constantin 2608 ROU 2½
GM Kurnosov Igor 2602 RUS 2½
GM Bartel Mateusz 2594 POL 2½
GM Damljanovic Branko 2587 SRB 2½
GM Bosiocic Marin 2578 CRO 2½
GM Romanov Evgeny 2576 RUS 2½
GM Sjugirov Sanan 2562 RUS 2½
GM Drazic Sinisa 2513 SRB 2½
22 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2693 GER 2½

23 IM Spoelman Wouter 2493 NED 2½

24 GM Sokolov Ivan 2657 NED 2½
GM Kobalia Mikhail 2634 RUS 2½
GM Yemelin Vasily 2578 RUS 2½

27 GM Timofeev Artyom 2671 RUS 2½
GM Nikolic Predrag 2623 BIH 2½
GM Papaioannou Ioannis 2609 GRE 2½
GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel 2540 ESP 2½

31 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco 2702 ESP 2½
GM Bocharov Dmitry 2647 RUS 2½
GM Parligras Mircea 2605 ROU 2½
34 GM Maze Sebastien 2578 FRA 2½

35 GM Zhigalko Sergei 2587 BLR 2½

36 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios 2485 GRE 2½

37 GM Shomoev Anton 2567 RUS 2½
GM Deviatkin Andrei 2566 RUS 2½
GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 2543 SRB 2½

40 IM Anisimov Pavel 2488 RUS 2½

41 GM Azarov Sergei 2599 BLR 2½

42 GM Erdos Viktor 2583 HUN 2½
GM Djukic Nikola 2500 MNE 2½

44 GM Kunin Vitaly 2546 GER 2½



Round 4 Pairings Top Boards

1 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2656 3 3 GM Kozul Zdenko CRO 2594
2 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2633 3 3 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2586
3 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2625 3 3 GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2582 75
4 GM Gagunashvili Merab GEO 2585 3 3 GM Meier Georg GER 2608 53
5 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco ESP 2702 2½ 3 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica ROU 2506
6 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2587 2½ 2½ GM Naiditsch Arkadij GER 2693
7 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2687 2½ 2½ GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2578
8 GM Erdos Viktor HUN 2583 2½ 2½ GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2671
9 GM Volokitin Andrei UKR 2671 2½ 2½ GM Bosiocic Marin CRO 2578
10 GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2578 2½ 2½ GM Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2664
11 GM Romanov Evgeny RUS 2576 2½ 2½ GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2657
12 GM Shomoev Anton RUS 2567 2½ 2½ GM Predojevic Borki BIH 2650
13 GM Deviatkin Andrei RUS 2566 2½ 2½ GM Bocharov Dmitry RUS 2647
14 GM Kobalia Mikhail RUS 2634 2½ 2½ GM Kunin Vitaly GER 2546
15 GM Sjugirov Sanan RUS 2562 2½ 2½ GM Nikolic Predrag BIH 2623
16 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar SRB 2543 2½ 2½ GM Papaioannou Ioannis GRE 2609
17 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2608 2½ 2½ GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel ESP 2540
18 GM Parligras Mircea ROU 2605 2½ 2½ GM Djukic Nikola MNE 2500 138
19 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2602 2½ 2½ IM Anisimov Pavel RUS 2488 147
20 GM Drazic Sinisa SRB 2513 2½ 2½ GM Azarov Sergei BLR 2599 63
21 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2594 2½ 2½ IM Spoelman Wouter NED 2493 143
22 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios GRE 2485 2½ 2½ GM Damljanovic Branko SRB 2587

European Individual Chess Championship in Round 2

The European Individual Chess Championship has finished it's secnnd round with 38 players sitting with 2 points after 2 rounds. I will post those with 2 pts to reduce space. As the rounds continue, I will just try to keep those on top posted with so many competitors.

EICC Round 2 Standings: Those with 2 points

2 GM Akopian Vladimir 2700 ARM 2
19 GM Sokolov Ivan 2657 NED 2
20 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2656 RUS 2
25 GM Predojevic Borki 2650 BIH 2
36 GM Kobalia Mikhail 2634 RUS 2
38 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A 2633 UKR 2
42 GM Van Wely Loek 2625 NED 2
52 GM Lupulescu Constantin 2608 ROU 2
53 GM Meier Georg 2608 GER 2
62 GM Kurnosov Igor 2602 RUS 2
64 GM Bartel Mateusz 2594 POL 2
65 GM Kozul Zdenko 2594 CRO 2
69 GM Damljanovic Branko 2587 SRB 2
71 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger 2586 SWE 2
72 GM Gagunashvili Merab 2585 GEO 2
75 GM Banikas Hristos 2582 GRE 2
78 GM Bosiocic Marin 2578 CRO 2
187 IM Rukavina Josip 2417 CRO 2
6 GM Bologan Viktor 2687 MDA 2
14 GM Volokitin Andrei 2671 UKR 2
17 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 2664 RUS 2
104 GM Maletin Pavel 2557 RUS 2
114 GM Popov Ivan 2541 RUS 2
126 GM Drazic Sinisa 2513 SRB 2
54 GM Mikhalevski Victor 2608 ISR 2
81 GM Yemelin Vasily 2578 RUS 2
82 GM Romanov Evgeny 2576 RUS 2
83 GM Vuckovic Bojan 2576 SRB 2
91 GM Shomoev Anton 2567 RUS 2
92 GM Deviatkin Andrei 2566 RUS
98 GM Sjugirov Sanan 2562 RUS 2
101 GM Nijboer Friso 2559 NED 2
111 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 2543 SRB 2
116 GM Ragger Markus 2540 AUT 2
132 IM Szabo Krisztian 2508 HUN 2
133 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica 2506 ROU 2
143 IM Spoelman Wouter 2493 NED 2
147 IM Anisimov Pavel 2488 RUS 2

Linares 2009 Final Round Pairings and standings

Today I'm actually getting to watch one of the most dynamic openings (in my opinion) in the Grischuk-Anand game, the Poisoned Pawn Variation of the Sicilian Najdorf, I will post this game in the previous post. Or this one if I add standings after round 13 here, which I probably will. I'm almost sorry this tournament is coming to an end, but we still have Amber to look forward to watching on March 14, 2009. I love their concept of combining blindfold and rapid formats in one tournament with Super GM's!

Round 14 pairings:

T. Radjabov 1/2-1/2 Wang Yue
L. Dominguez 1/2-1/2 V. Ivanchuk
L. Aronian 1/2-1/2 A. Grischuk
V. Anand 1/2-1/2 M. Carlsen

Final Standings: Linares 2009 GM Alexander Grischuk wins on tiebreaks, GM Ivanchuk was undefeated, but GM Grischuk had more wins so took the title of Linares 2009 Champion. GM Anand finished 4th after winning the last two Linares Tournaments.

1 8.0 GM Alexander Grischuk RUS 2733

2 8.0 GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2779

3 7.5 GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2776

4 7.0 GM Viswanathan Anand IND 2791

5-7 6.5 GM Teimour Radjabov AZE 2761
GM Wang Yue CHN 2739
GM Levon Aronian ARM 2750

8 6.0 GM Leinier Dominguez CUB 2717




GM Grischuk vs GM Anand (Round 13)




Standings after Round 13

1-2 7.5 GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2779
GM Alexander Grischuk RUS 2733

3 7.0 GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2776

4 6.5 GM Viswanathan Anand IND 2791

5-7 6.0 GM Wang Yue CHN 2739
GM Teimour Radjabov AZE 2761
GM Levon Aronian ARM 2750

8 5.5 GM Leinier Dominguez CUB 2717

Linares 2009 Standings and Round 13 pairings

Here are the standings after round 12 of the tournament in Linares, Spain, the annual Super-GM event that a lot of chess fans look forward to watching each year.

GM Magnus Carlsen has made the event a bit more interesting by defeating GM Alexander Grischuk today. GM Grischuk had a full point lead until today.

M. Carlsen 1/2-1/2 T. Radjabov
A. Grischuk 1/2-1/2 V. Anand
V. Ivanchuk 1-0 L. Aronian
Wang Yue 1/2-1/2 L. Dominguez


Standings after Round 12:

1 7.0 GM Alexander Grischuk RUS 2733

2-3 6.5 GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2779
GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2776

4-5 6.0 GM Levon Aronian ARM 2750
GM Viswanathan Anand IND 2791

6-7 5.5 GM Wang Yue CHN 2739
GM Teimour Radjabov AZE 2761

8 5.0 GM Leinier Dominguez CUB 2717


Round 13 Pairings for tomorrow, only 2 round to go!

Linares Round 12 Resuls

Round 12 results from today's games at Linares 2009 Super GM tournament. GM Magnus Carlsen game GM Alexander Grischuk his first loss of the tournament, I will post that game after the round results.

Round 12 results:

GM Anand(2791) 1/2-1/2 GM Ivanchuk(2779)
GM Carlsen(2776) 1-0 GM Grischuk(2733)
GM Radjabov(2761) 1/2-1/2 GM Dominguez(2717)
GM Aronian(2750) 1/2-1/2 GM Wang-Yue(2739)

GM Magnus Carlsen vs GM Alexander Grischuk



A very nice game by GM Carlsen!

GM Bassem Amin gets two draws!

Today, GM Bassem Amin played a bunch of games again, setting TransWarp's new best at 3971, but then taking the points back with two draws, one a well played game in which neither side had any chances, except for a time trouble mistake. The second draw was a weird play by TW, giving a 3 fold repetition while still in book! Why this happened I don't know, but I'm working on it. So Kudo's to GM Amin for his draws and putting TransWarp back down to 3943, long way to go again! :) Then GM Amin played two standard 15 0 games, but this time no errors by TW to give up the draw or loss.

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