Chess News

Chess News

The Grand Prix Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan Final standings are: After Round 13

I Borrowed the final standings from the FIDE site, I hope they don't mind, The link to the official standings and news about the event as well as
games are at the official site linked below. I was really bummed that I missed the final games after round 9, it sounded like it was really exciting
as GM Magnus Carlsen got a vital win in the last round to join the leaders and share the top prize money. GM Vugar Gashimov had a tournament
of his life with this showing, having the second to last rating at 2679, with only GM David Navara being slightly below at 2672. I'm sure that the
24,167 Euros will come in handy as well, for all 3 sharing first. Below, also find a link to download all the games from the Baku Grand Prix 2008
in pgn format.

Baku Grand Prix 2008 Games (all) pgn

Baku 2008 FIDE Official Website-News, Games, Videos

Meanwhile, earlier in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, The Individual European Chess Championship finished on May 02, 2008. There was a Men's and
Women's section in the 11 round swiss tournament.

The Men's Final Standings were:

With GM Sergei Tiviakov of the Netherlands clearly winning with 8.5 points

1 GM Tiviakov Sergei 2634 NED 8.5
2 GM Volkov Sergey 2633 RUS 8.0
3 GM Tregubov Pavel V 2629 RUS 8.0
4 GM Movsesian Sergei 2695 SVK 8.0
5 GM L'Ami Erwin 2600 NED 8.0
6 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2632 FRA 8.0
7 GM Grachev Boris 2610 RUS 8.0
8 GM Baklan Vladimir 2647 UKR 8.0
9 GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy 2612 UKR 8.0
10 GM Nyback Tomi 2587 FIN 8.0
11 GM Sutovsky Emil 2630 ISR 7.5
12 GM Laznicka Viktor 2578 CZE 7.5
13 GM Pavasovic Dusko 2595 SLO 7.5
14 GM Efimenko Zahar 2660 UKR 7.5
15 GM Papaioannou Ioannis 2566 GRE 7.5
16 GM Khalifman Alexander 2628 RUS 7.5
17 GM Najer Evgeniy 2627 RUS 7.5
18 GM Mamedov Rauf 2617 AZE 7.5
19 GM Akopian Vladimir 2673 ARM 7.5
20 GM Areshchenko Alexander 2650 UKR 7.5
21 GM Fressinet Laurent 2656 FRA 7.5
22 GM Smirin Ilia 2630 ISR 7.5
23 GM Lupulescu Constantin 2558 ROU 7.5
24 GM Bologan Viktor 2665 MDA 7.5
25 GM Khismatullin Denis 2584 RUS 7.5
26 GM Galkin Alexander 2606 RUS 7.5
27 GM Gustafsson Jan 2603 GER 7.5
28 GM Sargissian Gabriel 2643 ARM 7.5
29 GM Andreikin Dmitry 2580 RUS 7.5
30 GM Hracek Zbynek 2613 CZE 7.5
31 GM Roiz Michael 2659 ISR 7.5
32 GM Vajda Levente 2582 ROU 7.5
33 GM Markowski Tomasz 2598 POL 7.5
34 GM Gurevich Mikhail 2611 TUR 7.5

All Games from the Men's Division zipped pgn file

In the Women's Division, GM Kateryna Lahno of Ukraine went undefeated giving up some draws but no losses to take the title outright. A lot of
the strongest Women's players were at this tournament with only the strong Chinese players missing due to the fact they are in Asia, this
would have been a wild tournament had they been included..but then it wouldn't be the European championship, would it? All games from the
women's division will be available for download in a zipped pgn file as well.

1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 8.5
2 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 8.0
3 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 8.0
4 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 8.0
5 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 8.0
6 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 8.0
7 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 8.0
8 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 7.5
9 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 7.5
10 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 7.5
11 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 7.5
12 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 7.5
13 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 7.5
14 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2400 GEO 7.5
15 WGM Demina Julia 2337 RUS 7.5
16 IM Socko Monika 2505 POL 7.5

All games from the Women's Division in zipped pgn file

The M-Tel Masters was in Sofia, Bulgaria. There were 6 participants in this double-round robin tournament.    MTel Masters 2008 Official Site

Participants are:
                                                                    I saw these on the official site: Cartoons of participants, will only link to them.
1. GM Veselin Topalov, Bulgaria ELO 2767                Veselin Topalov Cartoon
2. GM Levon Aronian, Armenia ELO 2763                  Levon Aronian Cartoon
3. GM Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijan ELO 2751       Teimour Radjabov Cartoon
4. GM Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukraine ELO 2740               Vassily Ivanchuk Cartoon
5. GM Bu Xiangzhi, China ELO 2708                            Bu Xiangzhi Cartoon
6. GM Ivan Cheparinov, Bulgaria ELO 2695               Ivan Cheparinov Cartoon

Round 1

L. Aronian 0:1 V. Topalov
I. Cheparinov 1:0 Xiangzhi, Bu
T. Radjabov 0:1 V. Ivanchuk

Round 2

V. Topalov 0:1 V. Ivanchuk
Xiangzhi, Bu 1/2-1/2 T. Radjabov
L. Aronian 1/2-1/2 I. Cheparinov

Round 3

I. Cheparinov 0:1 V. Topalov
T. Radjabov 1/2-1/2 I. Cheparinov
V. Ivanchuk 1:0 Xiangzhi, Bu

Round 4 May 11, 2008

T. Radjabov 1/2-1/2 V. Topalov
V. Ivanchuk 1:0 I. Cheparinov
Xiangzhi, Bu 1/2-1/2 L. Aronian

Round 5 May 12, 2008

V. Topalov 1:0 Xiangzhi, Bu
L. Aronian 0:1 V. Ivanchuk
I. Cheparinov 1/2-1/2 T. Radjabov

Round 6 May 14, 2008

V. Topalov 1:0   L. Aronian
Xiangzhi, Bu 0:1   I. Cheparinov
V. Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2 T. Radjabov

Round 7 May 15, 2008

V. Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2   V. Topalov
T. Radjabov 1-0    Xiangzhi, Bu
I. Cheparinov 1/2-1/2   L. Aronian

Round 8 May 16, 2008

V. Topalov 1-0   I. Cheparinov
Xiangzhi, Bu 1/2-1/2 V. Ivanchuk
L. Aronian 0-1 T. Radjabov

Round 9 May 17, 2008

Xiangzhi, Bu 1-0   V. Topalov
V. Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2 L. Aronian
T. Radjabov 1/2-1/2 I. Cheparinov

Round 10 May 18, 2008

V. Topalov   1/2-1/2 T. Radjabov
I. Cheparinov 0-1   V. Ivanchuk
L. Aronian 1/2-1/2 Xiangzhi, Bu

Final standings after Round 10:
Pts
1 8.0 GM Ivanchuk UKR (2740)
2 6.5 GM Topalov BUL (2780)
3 5.5 GM Radjabov AZE (2751)
4 4.0 GM Cheparinov BUL (2695)
5-6 3.0 GM Aronian ARM (2763)
GM Bu Xiangzhi CHN (2708)

All Games after Round 1 0 pgn file

May 14-18th, 2008 In Prague, Czech Republic, GM Vladimir Kramnik (2nd in the World Ratings at 2788, behind only GM Viswanathan Anand (2803) the
current World Champion, is playing GM David Navara #50 in the world at 2672. GM Kramnik is from Russia, while GM Navara hails from The Czech
Republic. It is an 8 round rapid match, with 25 minutes for each player for the whole game. There will be 2 rounds each day during the match.

May 16, 2008 (rest day)    Final Standings: Kramnik 5.5-2.5 Navara                          Official Site (English) http://www.praguechess.cz/en/index.php

game 1: Kramnik 1-0 Navara     game 3: Kramnik 1-0 Navara        game 5: Kramnik 1/2-1/2 Navara    game 7: Kramnik 1/2-1/2 Navara
game 2: Navara 0-1 Kramnik     game 4: Navara 1/2-1/2 Kramnik game 6: Navara 0-1 Kramnik          game 8: Navara 1-0 Kramnik A Win for Navara!

Games in pgn file-CEZ Chess Trophy

                                                                                            The Frank K Berry US Championships 2008

On the Men's side, The participants are:

1 GM Alexander SHABALOV 2697 Current Champion
2 GM Alexander ONISCHUK 2728 Rating
3 GM Gregory KAIDANOV 2697 Rating
4 GM Dmitry GUREVICH 2594 *
5 GM Varuzhan AKOBIAN 2666 Rating
6 GM Yury SHULMAN 2664 Rating
7 GM Boris GULKO 2623 U.S. Open Champion
8 GM Julio BECERRA 2637 Rating
9 GM Alexander IVANOV 2622 Rating
10 GM Eugene PERELSHTEYN 2615 Rating
11 GM Sergey KUDRIN 2610 Rating
12 IM Benjamin FINEGOLD 2607 Rating
13 GM Alex YERMOLINSKY 2587 Qualifier
14 GM John FEDOROWICZ 2531 Qualifier
15 GM Jesse KRAAI 2569 Qualifier
16 IM Dean IPPOLITO 2499 Qualifier
17 IM David PRUESS 2497 Qualifier
18 FM Daniel LUDWIG 2429 Qualifier
19 NM Sam SHANKLAND 2296 Qualifier
20 IM Josh FRIEDEL 2511 Wild Card
21 FM Michael LANGER 2322 Wild Card
22 Sergey GALANT 2176 Wild Card
23 IM David VIGORITO 2471 WCL Qualifier
24 IM Larry KAUFMAN 2398 U.S. Senior Champ Qualifier
*Dmitry Gurevich is replacing GM Jaan Ehlvest,
who had to withdraw before the tournament start.

Men's Games-All Rounds

The Women's participant's are:

1 IM Irina KRUSH 2515 Current Champion
2 IM Anna ZATONSKIH 2490 Rating
3 WGM Katerine ROHONYAN 2318 Rating
4 WIM Batchimeg TUVSHINTUGS 2289 Rating
5 WFM Tatev ABRAHAMYAN 2280 Rating
6 WIM Tsagaan BATTSETSEG 2251 Rating
7 WFM Iryna ZENYUK 2205 Qualifier
8 WFM Chouchanik AIRAPETIAN 2143 Wild Card
9 Courtney JAMISON 2064 Wild Card
10 WM Esther EPSTEIN* 2194
(replacement for Rusa Goletiani)

Women's Games-All Rounds

Zatonskih-Krush Playoff Games

Round 9 Results:

1 Friedel, Josh 1/2-1/2   Shulman, Yury
2 Kudrin, Sergey 1/2-1/2   Perelshteyn, Eugene
3 Onischuk, Alexander 1-0   Fedorowicz, John
4 Becerra, Julio 1/2-1/2   Akobian, Varuzhan
5 Kaidanov, Gregory 1/2-1/2   Finegold, Benjamin
6 Gurevich, Dmitry 1/2-1/2   Shabalov, Alexander
7 Ivanov, Alexander 1-0   Kraai, Jesse
8 Ippolito, Dean 0-1   Gulko, Boris
9 Pruess, David 1/2-1/2   Kaufman, Larry
10 Vigorito, David 1/2-1/2   Yermolinsky, Alex
11 Langer, Michael 1-0   Shankland, Sam
12 Ludwig, Daniel 1/2-1/2   Galant, Sergey

Round 9 Results:

1 Epstein, Esther 1/2-1/2   Jamison, Courtney
2 Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg 1-0   Abrahamyan, Tatev
3 Krush, Irina 1/2-1/2   Rohonyan, Katerine
4 Battsetseg, Tsagaan 0-1   Zatonskih, Anna
5 Zenyuk, Iryna 0-1   Airapetian, Chouchanik

Women's playoffs
1. Zatonskih 1-0 Krush
2. Krush 1-0 Zatonskih
3. Zatonskih 0-1 Krush
4. Krush 0-1 Zatonskih
5. Krush 0-1 Zatonskih (Armageddon Game)
Anna Zatonskih wins Women's Title!

Final Standings After Round 9:
1
Shulman, Yury GM 2664 USA 7.0
2
Onischuk, Alexander GM 2728 USA 6.5
3
Kudrin, Sergey GM 2610 USA 6.0
4-6
Friedel, Josh IM 2511 USA 5.5
Perelshteyn, Eugene GM 2615 USA 5.5
Akobian, Varuzhan GM 2666 USA 5.5
7-10
Finegold, Benjamin IM 2607 USA 5.0
Ivanov, Alexander GM 2622 USA 5.0
Becerra, Julio GM 2637 USA 5.0
Gulko, Boris GM 2623 USA 5.0
11-14
Fedorowicz, John GM 2531 USA 4.5
Gurevich, Dmitry GM 2594 USA 4.5
Kaidanov, Gregory GM 2697 USA 4.5
Shabalov, Alexander GM 2697 USA 4.5
15-18
Ludwig, Daniel FM 2429 USA 4.0
Pruess, David IM 2497 USA 4.0
Kraai, Jesse GM 2569 USA 4.0
Yermolinsky, Alex GM 2587 USA 4.0
19-22
Kaufman, Larry IM 2398 USA 3.5
Vigorito, David IM 2471 USA 3.5
Langer, Michael FM 2322 USA 3.5
Ippolito, Dean IM 2499 USA 3.5
23
Shankland, Sam NM 2296 USA 2.5
24
Galant, Sergey 2176 USA 1.5

Final Standings after Round 9:
1
Zatonskih, Anna IM 2490 USA 7.5
2
Krush, Irina IM 2515 USA 7.5
3-4
Abrahamyan, Tatev WFM 2280 USA 6.0
Rohonyan, Katerine WGM 2318 USA 6.0
5
Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg WIM 2289 USA 5.5
6
Battsetseg, Tsagaan WIM 2251 USA 4.5
7
Zenyuk, Iryna WFM 2205 USA 3.5
8-9
Epstein, Esther WM 2194 USA 2.0
Airapetian, Chouchanik WFM 2143 USA 2.0
10
Jamison, Courtney 2064 USA 0.5

Official Website

Moscow Championship 2008 Final Standings.
                  Games in pgn format

1. Savchenko, Boris          g RUS 2569     5
2. Vorobiov, Evgeny E       g RUS 2536    4½
3. Gabrielian, Artur            m RUS 2494    4
4. Rustemov, Alexander   g RUS 2552     4
5. Deviatkin, Andrei          m RUS 2568     4
6. Rychagov, Andrey         g RUS 2565     3½
7. Konovalov, Nikolay       m RUS 2426    3
8. Gorbatov, Alexej           m RUS 2414    0

Final Standings: GM Peter Leko - GM Magnus Carlsen Rapid Match, May 28-June 1, 2008. Official Site:
http://www.lekocarlsen.hu 8 Rounds. 2 games per day. Will post both games on blog
http://transwarpchess.blogspot.com when each are done. I will keep standings and pgn downloads here.
My prediction, Carlsen will win. (Hey, I got one right!)

Final Standings:
Carlsen 5 - Leko 3

All Games In Pgn format

Final Standings of the III President's cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, May 11-21,
2008
Official Site: http://www.chessclub.az/kubok3/regulations.htm

1 GM Najer Evgeniy 2627 RUS 7.5
2 GM Abbasov Farid 2528 AZE 7.0
3 GM Guseinov Gadir 2625 AZE 7.0
4 GM Lastin Alexander 2622 RUS 7.0
5 GM Milov Vadim 2690 SUI 7.0
6 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej 2582 BLR 7.0
7 GM Gelashvili Tamaz 2622 GEO 7.0
8 GM Jobava Baadur 2658 GEO 7.0
9 GM Short Nigel D 2660 ENG 7.0
10 GM Dzhumaev Marat 2557 UZB 6.5
11 GM Fridman Daniel 2640 GER 6.5
12 GM Sokolov Ivan 2690 NED 6.5
13 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2624 GER 6.5
14 GM Timman Jan H 2565 NED 6.5
15 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2617 KAZ 6.5
16 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 6.5
17 FM Agaragimov Djakhangir 2343 AZE 6.5
18 GM Korchnoi Viktor 2598 SUI 6.0
19 GM Malakhatko Vadim 2621 BEL 6.0
20 GM Safarli Eltaj 2524 AZE 6.0
21 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2635 GEO 6.0
22 IM Durarbeyli Vasif 2384 AZE 6.0
23 GM Mamedov Rauf 2617 AZE 6.0
24 GM Beliavsky Alexander G 2641 SLO 6.0
25 GM Guliev Sarhan 2487 AZE 6.0
26 IM Sulashvili Malkhaz 2491 GEO 6.0
27 IM Sanikidze Tornike 2458 GEO 6.0
28 IM Esen Baris 2451 TUR 6.0
29 Nigalidze Gaioz 2455 GEO 6.0
30 GM Babaev Rashad 2482 AZE 6.0
31 GM Ibrahimov Rasul 2535 AZE 6.0
32 Rzayev Bahruz 2225 AZE 6.0
33 GM Savchenko Stanislav 2560 UKR 6.0
34   Bayramov Vugar 2306 AZE 6.0
35 GM Van Wely Loek 2677 NED 6.0
36 Mammadov Ayaz 2333 AZE 6.0
179 players                                                                         All Games in PGN Format

Bosnia 2008-Tournament "A"

Just Finished, with Final Standings, we have the Bosnia Tournament "A" going on from May 23-June 2, 2008. Leaving on June 3, only going to
make a quick standings and games download link. Double Round Robin Format.

Participants of the A tournament are:
GM Alexander Morozevich ELO 2774
GM Sergei Movsesian ELO 2695
GM Leinier Dominguez Perez ELO 2695 (ICC handle: ledope)
GM Ivan Sokolov ELO 2690
GM Artyom Timofeev ELO 2664
GM Borki Predojevic ELO 2651

Official Website-Bosnia 2008

Games through round 10 in pgn format

FinaL Standings after Round 10:

1 Morozevich, Alexander       GM      2774 RUS 7½
2 Dominguez Perez, Lenier   GM      2695 CUB 6
3 Movsesian, Sergei               GM      2695 SVK 5
4 Timofeev Artyom                  GM      2664 RUS 4½
5 Predojevic, Borki                  GM      2651 BIH   4
6 Sokolov, Ivan                         GM      2690 NED 3½

Round 10 results:

GM Dominguez 1/2-1/2 GM Movsesian
GM Predojevic 1-0 GM Sokolov
GM Timofeev 1/2-1/2 GM Morozevich

                                          82nd Argentine Championship, Mendoza, Argentina. May 20-31, 2008

Final Standings after round 11 GM Ruben Felgaer wins via playoff games!

                                                                               ELO          PTS
1. Felgaer, Ruben              g   ARG                     2574           7
2. Peralta, Fernando         g   ARG                     2546           7
3. Valerga, Diego               m ARG                    2482           7
4. Ricardi, Pablo                g    ARG                    2515           6½
5. Flores, Diego                  m ARG                     2548          6½
6. Lemos, Damian             m ARG                     2458          6
7. Real de Azua, Ernesto m ARG                     2417           5½
8. Alonso, Salvador          m   ARG                    2420           5
9. Liascovich, Lucas        m   ARG                    2419           5
10. Salguero, Francisco        ARG                    2320           4½
11. Mahia, Gustavo            f    ARG                    2432           4½
12. Luconi, Cristian                 ARG                    2306          1½

Games in PGN Format through round 11

Playoff Games Between GM Felgaer, GM Peralta & IM Valerga

Round 1                                                       Round 5
Leko 1/2-1/2 Carlsen                                Leko 1/2-1/2 Carlsen
Round 2                                                       Round 6
Carlsen 1/2-1/2 Leko                                Carlsen 1/2-1/2 Leko
Round 3                                                       Round 7
Leko 1/2-1/2 Carlsen                                Leko 0-1 Carlsen
Round 4                                                       Round 8
Carlsen 1-0 Leko                                    Carlsen 1/2-1/2 Leko

Playoff Final Standings

1. Felgaer, Ruben      g      ARG 2574    3
2. Peralta, Fernando g      ARG 2546   1½
3. Valerga, Diego      m      ARG 2482     ½

The 4th Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup
Odessa, Ukraine May 30- June 1, 2008
Rapid Chess

1. Tregubov, Pavel V           RUS   2629   9   (Wins On Tiebreaks)
2. Drozdovskij, Yuri             UKR   2581   9
3. Gelfand, Boris                  ISR     2723   9
4. Ponomariov, Ruslan       UKR   2719   9
5. Karpov, Anatoly               RUS   2655   8½
6. Korchnoi, Viktor              SUI     2598   4
7. Beim, Valery                     AUT   2523   4
8. Golubev, Mikhail              UKR   2474   3½

All Games in pgn format

21st Magistral Ciudad de Leon Advanced Chess Tournament
Leon, Spain May 29-June1 2008   GM Vassily Ivanchuk Wins over Anand in
Finals

Semi-Final 1
                           Anand 3.5-2.5 Vallejo

1 Vallejo Pons, Francisco 1/2-1/2 Anand, Viswanathan
2 Anand, Viswanathan 1-0 Vallejo Pons, Francisco
3 Vallejo Pons, Francisco 1-0 Anand, Viswanathan
4 Anand, Viswanathan 1/2-1/2 Vallejo Pons, Francisco
Tie-Break
5 Vallejo Pons, Francisco 0-1 Anand, Viswanathan
6 Anand, Viswanathan 1/2-1/2 Vallejo Pons, Francisco

Semi-Final 2                                                                                                    Finals

                    Ivanchuk 3-1 Shirov                                              Ivanchuk 2.5-1.5 Anand

1 Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Shirov, Alexei                  1 Anand, Viswanathan 0-1 Ivanchuk, Vassily
2 Shirov, Alexei 0-1 Ivanchuk, Vassily                  2 Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1 Anand, Viswanathan
3 Ivanchuk, Vassily 1/2-1/2 Shirov, Alexei           3 Anand, Viswanathan 1/2-1/2 Ivanchuk, Vassily
4 Shirov, Alexei 1/2-1/2 Ivanchuk, Vassily           4 Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Anand, Viswanathan

Anand-Vallejo games in pgn format

Ivanchuk-Shirov games in pgn format

Ivanchuk-Anand Final Games pgn format

I will try to update the tournaments that finish tomorrow, but I may not get to it. I will post the Carlsen-Leko games on the blog. It
will be kind of busy for me with my trip coming up on Tuesday. I won't be back until about the 20th of June. I hope you continue to
check out the site, I may get a chance to update it up in Alaska. At least there are more games to download and places to check
out. I know it's pretty crazy now, but I have to try to pay for this somehow. At least I have a whopping .09 cents so far! :D Have to
keep a sense of humor about these things. If no updates, look for them to happen when I get back to the plains of Kansas. I have
the final standings of the Bosnia "A" Tournament. Games are available for download in pgn format. Will try to do updates while
gone, but don't look for anything until at least the 5th...but feel free to browse around!