Monday, February 28, 2011

Khamrakuloc wins Rapid event in Brunei


IM Khamrakuloc Rapid ChampionWritten by Khairil Hassan
Monday, 28 February 2011 08:06

Bandar Seri Begawan - International Master (IM) Khamrakulov Djurabek of Uzbekistan emerged champion of the Rapid Chess Tournament held in conjunction with the Brunei Darussalam 27th National Day 2011 yesterday.

The meet from Feb 25-27 organised by the Brunei Darussalam Chess Federation (BCF) was held at the Brunei Darussalam Chess Federation Centre at the Brunei Darussalarn Tennis Centre Building.

Grandmaster (GM) Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam came in second, IM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam was third followed by FIDE Master (FM) Yee Soon Wei of Brunei and Vakhidov Jalchongir of Uzbekistan.

Valchidov Jahongir took the champion's title in the Blitz Chess Tournament where the players played chessyvith a given time of five minutes.

IM Khamrakulov Djurabek was second followed by GM Nguyen Anh Dung, IM Yap Kim Steven and Brunei's Md Aliuddin.

Dr Abang Drauf gave away prizes to the Blitz Chess Tournament winners while Hj Zainal Abidin bin Hj Mohd Ali, Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd Deputy Managing Director and President of BCF presented the prizes to the winners of the Rapid Chess Tournament.

The International Chess IM Tournament kicked off last night and will be completed on March 9.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Source:
http://www.brudirect.com

Percawi organizes Labour Day Team

Percawi with the assistance of MSSWP, is attempting to revive the Labour Day Team Tournament by organizing the Percawi Labour Day Team Chess Tournament 2011 on the 24th of April 2011.

It is a one-day team rapid chess event with each team having only 4 players. The six round team event is open to Companies, Government Department, School and Institution of Higher Learning. No open team are allowed to participate in this event.

Organizer: Percawi and assisted by MSSWP
Date         : 24th April 2011 (Sunday)
Time        : 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
Venue      : DATCC , 4th Floor, Car Park, Wilayah Kompleks, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, 
                   Kuala Lumpur
Event       : Team tournament of 4 players each team with no reserves
Format    : 6 Rounds Swiss Rapid play (½ hour each)
Entry fee per team: ~RM 160 for Companies & Government Departments
                                    ~RM   80 for schools and institutions of higher learning 
                                       (colleges, universities)
Closing date: 22nd April 2011 (Friday)
Contacts      : Collin 016-2123578 & Bob Yap 012-2878378

Prizes

Open Section

Champion: Percawi Challenge Trophy + 4 Gold Medals + RM 400
Second     : 4 Silver Medals + RM 300
Third        : 4 Bronze Medals + RM 200
Fourth     : RM 200
Fifth         : RM 200

Special 

Best primary school    : 4 Gold Medals + RM 160
Best secondary school : 4 Gold Medals + RM 160
Best Girls team            : 4 Gold Medals + RM 160

Eligibility for participation

¤    For Companies & Government Departments, players must be bona fide employees/staff.
¤    For schools and institutions of higher learning, only students, lecturers and office staff are    allowed to represent them.
¤    Chess companies and Chess Academies are not allowed to participate. Guest players, temporary and part-time staff, are not allowed to participate.

So remains undefeated


GM So remains undefeated in Charter Day Chess C’ship
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 09:43:00 02/28/2011



TOP-seeded grandmaster (GM) Wesley So remained unbeaten after four rounds in the Cebu City Charter Day Open Chess Championships at the Elizabeth Mall activity center.

So defeated National Master (NM) Rodrigo Atotubo in the fourth round yesterday to secure his fourth straight win in the scheduled nine-round Swiss format.

So’s first the victims were Jeremy Bajo, Joel Pacuribot and NM Fernandito Pialan, respectively.

Meanwhile, second-seed GM Rogelio Antonio suffered a shocker after bowing to 89th-seed Jimson Bitoon in the fourth round. Antonio was also defeated by 47th-seed NM Roger Sarip in the third round.

Third-seed GM John Paul Gomez, on the other hand, also logged his fourth straight win after beating 20th seed NM Jayson salubre in the fourth round.

The fifth round was still being played as of press time yesterday night. The tournament resumes today starting at 9:30 am.

The tournament is sponsored by the Cebu City government and Rose Pharmacy. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL



Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net

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Women's GP round 6


After a day off, the ladies will resume round 6 of the Doha Women's Grand Prix tomorrow. Danielian will begin the first game after the break with Black against a fellow Armenian, IM Lilit Mkrtchian.



NameRtgRes.
NameRtg
GMDzagnidze Nana2550-GMXu Yuhua2484
IMMkrtchian Lilit2475-GMDanielian Elina2454
GMZhu Chen2495-IMMunguntuul Batkhuyag2410
GMKoneru Humpy2607-GMChiburdanidze Maia2502
IMFierro Baquero Martha L2363-GMSebag Marie2489
GMCramling Pia2516-GMStefanova Antoaneta2546

Official website: http://qatar2011.fide.com/index.php

Women's GP round 5 report


Women's Grand PrixRound 5 report
Saturday, 26 February 2011

Elina Danielian remains in the lead after five rounds. Playing with white pieces against Xu Yuhua , she scored her fifth victory in a row. Pia Crampling gained her first full point in the game against Nana Dzagnidze. Four other games were finished with a draw result: two of them ended relatively quickly possibly in anticipation of the coming free day.

Munguntuul Batkhuyag – Lilit Mkrtchian 1/2 :1/2Black didn’t have big problems and equalized the position after the opening which was French Defence. The game was transferred into the drawish ending with opposite colour bishops.

Munguntuul Batkhuyag: There was not much fight in our game today. From the opening the position was about equal. We changed queens, Lilit played 20…h5 (diagram) but still there was nothing special for me. After she played Nd8-Nf7 and changed my strong knight on g5, the position became totally equal.

Lilit Mkrtchian: I believe that the most critical position was before 20…h5. I had some doubts to play or not to play this move. If I don’t play h5, White and also Black can not increase their positions. If White play h5 I can put my bishop on e8 and just hold the position.

Antoaneta Stefanova – Martha Fierro 1/2 : 1/2

Kings Indian Defence happened in the game Stefanova-Fierro.White got a small advantage after the opening but afterwards Bulgarian player gave the initiative to Black. After the mistake on move 29.Bg5 white got into troubles. Under the time pressure Fierro didn’t play accurately and could even lose the game.

Antoaneta Stefanova: The game was complicated. Martha managed to get some contra play at the right moment. So I`m not sure if I could have played better or not. But then we came to the time trouble. I had more time because somehow Martha was doing the thinking today (smiles). After 35.Rh5 I thought I was winning but I missed 37…Nf6 after 36.Qg4 (diagram). Probably I just had to take on f2 but I don’t know if it’s could win because she has a strong knight and maybe some compensation. I had a feeling that I should be better but I’m not sure. Maybe I did something wrong with my pawns on the king’s side and probably I had to think about trying to stop her initiative. The rook endgame was drawish of course.

Martha Fierro: I don’t know why I get to this crazy time troubles all the time! In one moment I understood that my opponent would play on the queen’s side, pushing her pawns, so I decided that I had to attack! Otherwise I would be just suffering. My first plan was to play Qe8 and push f5 but I could never play that because of Nb5. I was also thinking that 33…Rf6 was a very bad move. Instead I could have played Kg7 and put my knight on f6. Yes, maybe it was better to play 34…Kf8, instead of 34…Kg7 but I didn’t consider that move. In one moment I wanted to play Rf4. I was thinking: I can lose the game after but at least I would sacrifice an exchange!

Antoaneta Stefanova: Yes, I also saw Rf4 but I think the way Martha played was much better. Rf4 is just a nice move but I’m not obliged to take an exchange…

Elina Danielian – Xu Yuhua 1:0 
In Ragozin Variaton Elina Danieian, playing with White against Xu Yuhua, got a little edge after the opening. Later on White got more space for her pieces and, after some mistakes from the opponent, transferred the advantage to the winning endgame.

Xu Yuhua: The opening was OK for Black. But I think Bb4 was not a good move (diagram). After my opponent played b3, the move I didn't calculate, my position became worse: my knight was very bad and white squares also…So it was not easy to defend such position.

Elina Danielian: The opening was quite normal – Ragozin variation in Queen’s Gambit. I think I was just slightly better everywhere. I also agree that after Bb4 the position became quite difficult for Black. I had a big advantage after that. But my opponent defended very well and she was creating some problems for me all the time. I spent a lot of time trying to understand how to win this position and it was not so easy.

Zhu Chen – Maia Chiburdanidze 1/2 : 1/2 
Grunfeld Defence was played in the game Chiburdanidze-Zhu Chen. After 18 moves the game was finished by repetition.

Zhu Chen: Maia played very solid today and it’s very difficult to break such an opening. I was trying to play active but 8…Qa5 was probably wrong move (diagram). And later on my queen was a little bit misplaced. Maybe I should have played castle, Bd7, Nc6 but anyway White is slightly better. My opponent preferred to make a repetition and I was happy to make a draw in such position...

Maia Chiburdanidze: I was surprised with the opening because I think she never played grunfeld before. That’s why I decided to play just solid. My opponent made 2 mistakes: Qa5 and Bd7. I got a better position and could continue playing but probably I was too tired after long previous games…And I was sure I had to work hard today again, I didn’t see the easy way to get an advantage. I think I'm better in the final position but I just decided to give a rest for myself.

Marie Sebag – Humpy Koneru 1/2 : 1/2Breyer Variation in Spanish opening was played in the game Sebag-Koneru. Black didn’t get any serious problems after the opening and equalized the game. White was forced to sacrifice an exchange on 34th move but Black could not use the advantage due to the absence of space for rooks.

Humpy Koneru: After the opening it became very complicated. I think 28.Rd2 was a wrong move because I`ve got a possibility to play Nb6 and Nc4. When my knight came to d3, White was forced to give an exchange because of the bad bishop (diagram). So I had an exchange up but my rooks could not get the file. Her bishop was blocked on b4 but, after she finally played c4, there is a plan to play Bb4-Bc3 and f4. After that she gets a1-h8 diagonal, so that’s why I just decided to give a perpetual check.

Marie Sebag: I think I could have played better in the opening: instead of 20.de I should play 20.ab and force my opponent to take 20…ab because 20…cb is impossible due to the answer 21. d5. But after I took on e5 the move d5 was impossible…

Pia Cramling – Nana Dzagnidze 1:0
From the beginning both opponents were trying to avoid the well-known theoretical lines. But after exchanging the dark-colour bishops, White`s position became strategically better.

Pia Cramling: I prepared for the opening: I had some ideas what I wanted to play and just tried to play my normal chess. I’ve got a very pleasant edge today. Still I think I could have played a little bit better. But the way my opponent played was not successful: she tried to do something on the king’s side but I had 2 bishops and one of them was dominating on e5 (diagram). So maybe she had to play on the queen’s side. After I got a very good position she decided to give and exchange. In the end she should have tried not to push but keep the position and not to play 35…h5 because I always met her with h4.

Nona Gaprindashvili: Pia Cramling showed her class in the game against Nana Dzagnidze. She got a little advantage from the beginning and step by step implemented it into a point.


http://qatar2011.fide.com/round-5-report.html

12th European Individual Chess Championship


12th European Individual Chess ChampionshipMarch 21st to April 3rd in Aix‐les‐Bains, France

The French Chess Federation (FFE), BP 10054, 78185 Saint Quentin en Yvelines Cedex, FRANCE, under the auspices of the city of Aix‐les‐Bains and the European Chess Union (ECU), is organizing the 12th European Championship which will be held in Aix‐les‐Bains, France, from March 21st (day of arrival) to April 3rd (day of departure) 2011.

Opening and closing ceremonies will take place at the Congress Center's Auditorium, Rue Jean Monard, 73100 Aix‐les‐Bains. The playing venues will be at the Congress Center, Rue Jean Monard, 73100 Aix‐les‐Bains, and Casino Grand Cercle, 200 Rue du Casino, 73100 Aix‐les‐Bains.

The 12th European Individual Chess Championship is open to all players representing the Chess Federations which comprise the European Chess Union (FIDE zones 1.1 to 1.10) regardless of their title or rating. There is no limit of participants per federation.

The Championship is qualification event for the next World Cup. According to the FIDE Regulations and the decision of the ECU Board, 23 players will qualify. General Prizes amount to 113 700 € and Special Prizes (performance minus rating) are worth 6 300 €.

Welcome message from Jean-Claude Moingt, President of the French Chess Federation

After having been organized in Eastern Europe for last 10 years, the 2011 European Chess Championships will be held in France (first time ever), in Aix-les-Bains, from March 21st to April 3rd. This is the result of many years of tight collaboration between the French Chess Federation and the European Chess Union. This prestigious tournament will be the most important event of the year for us and can be considered as a huge spotlight on our sport.

54 countries, more than 400 players, including the strongest Grandmasters of the world, will offer to chess fans a show never seen before in France! That is why the French Chess Federation sets a very ambitious goal: we would like everybody to keep unforgettable impressions of this event! We want it to be faultless in terms of welcoming and be a good example in terms of conviviality.

First of all, we made our choice, together with the Rhône-Alpes Region and the Savoie Departement, in favor of the worldwide known place, famous for its tradition of welcoming foreign visitors and its exceptional environment.

The other natural reason is that Aix-les-Bains has already been involved for a long while in organisation of huge chess events and it has also the dynamic image of an "all sports" city.And the last but not the least, is that the French Ministry of Sports and private partners have joined us to give an additional value to the event across France, to create parallel competitions, and to make this European Championship an amazing place for players and visitors!

Invitation / Official website

European Senior Chess Championship 2011


European Senior Chess Championship 20114-14 April 2011, in Courmayeur, Aosta Valley - Italy

The European Chess Union, Italian chess Federation and Comité Valdôtain d’Echecs organize the 11th European Senior Chess Championship on 6-14 April 2011, in Courmayeur, Aosta Valley - Italy. The European Senior Chess Rapid 2011 will take place a bit earlier, on 4-5 April 2011, in the same playing venue.

Participant can be any gentleman or lady who is registered by his ECU federation, and he reached his 60th birthday till 01.01.2011 or she reached her 50th birthday till 01.01. 2011. The Winners in their respective category are titled as European Senior Champions.

The Championship shall be played in 9 rounds following the Swiss System. Time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes and 30 minutes to the end of the game. The player will additionally receive 30 seconds for each move.

The Rapid championship shall be played in 9 rounds following the Swiss System as well. The time control shall be 25 minutes for the game, for each player, additional 10 seconds for each move.

Located at the meeting point of three countries, Italy, France and Switzerland, Courmayeur (1224 m.) is the essence of the Alps. With its international character and a deep-rooted alpine identity, Courmayeur is a place of encounters and contrasts. The spectacular views on the southern side of Mont Blanc are the backdrop for the intimate and welcoming landscapes, which are the product of centuries-old alpine culture committed to its environment and dedicated to offer the best to all those that love mountains.

Regulations (PDF) / Official website

A full two point lead for Danielian after only 5 rounds


Women's Grand Prix Standings after 5 rounds


Rk
NameRtgFED123456789101112Pts
1GMDanielian Elina2454ARM*

1
1
1
1
15
2IMFierro Baquero Martha L2363ECU
*½
0
1
½1

3

GMCramling Pia2516SWE
½*
½
½

1½
3
4GMSebag Marie2489FRA0

*½
11

½
3
5GMKoneru Humpy2607IND
1½½*


½0

6GMChiburdanidze Maia2502GEO0



*½1

10
7GMZhu Chen2495QAT
0½0
½*
1


2
8GMXu Yuhua2484CHN0

0
0
*1

12
9GMStefanova Antoaneta2546BUL
½

½
00*
1
2
10GMDzagnidze Nana2550GEO000
1



*
12
11IMMkrtchian Lilit2475ARM

½½
0

0
*½
12IMMunguntuul Batkhuyag2410MGL0



1
0
0½*

http://qatar2011.fide.com/index.php

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