NEWSLETTER 62 (February 06, 2012)

Home , Huang Qian, Igor Lysyj, Ivan Cheparinov, Nigel Short

ECU PRESIDENT SILVIO DANAILOV ASSISTED IN THE 1ST FIDE PRESIDENTIAL BOARD IN AL-AIN, UAE

ECU President Silvio Danailov assisted in the 1st FIDE Presidential Board, which was held on February 3rd-6th, 2012 in Al- Ain, United Arab Emirates. During the meeting Mr. Danailov informed FIDE Board members about the ECU activities for the last 6 months and the

development of the Chess in School project in the European Parliament.

Together with the FIDE President, Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the Continental President for Asia Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al-Nehyan, Silvio Danailov attended the closing ceremony and price giving of the open tournament in Al-Ain Mall.

During the Presidential Board were presented the three candidatures of Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and United Kingdom for hosting of the 2012 FIDE Candidates Tournament. The Board decided that the winner will be announced on 28th of February.

Official web site: www.europechess.net

GM DRAGAN SOLAK AND WGM KUBRA OZTURK ARE THE TURKISH CHESS CHAMPIONS

GM Dragan Solak is the new Turkish Chess Champion. He won the Championship with final result of 8.5 points from possible 10. Silver is for IM Mert Erdogdu, bronze – for IM Burak Firat – both finished on a half point distance from the winner.

In the women’s section – winner is WGM Kubra Ozturk, who finished with 8 points from possible 9. Second

GM Dragan Solak finished – WIM Cemre Yildiz Betul with the same result, third is Busra Arig with 6.5 points.

The Turkish Chess Championship was held from 28th of January to 5th of February, 2012 in Kemer, Antalya. 309 chess players in the men’s section and 69 chess players in the women’s section competed for the title of the Turkish Chess Champion.

WGM Kubra Ozturk

Final Ranking after 10 Rounds-MEN-first 10 positions

Rk. Name Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 GM SOLAK DRAGAN 9 62 58 54,8 2 IM ERDOĞDU MERT 8 64 59 53,8 3 IM FIRAT BURAK 8 62 57 50 4 GM ESEN BARIŞ 8 62 56 50,8 5 FM YILMAZYERLİ MERT 8 59 54 49,3 6 IM KANMAZALP OĞULCAN 8 59 53 51,8 7 CM DAŞTAN MUHAMMED BATUHAN 8 58 53 47,3 8 ARAT UFUK SEZEN 8 57 52 48,8 9 ŞENGÜL CENGİZ 8 57 51 48,3 10 EMINOV ORKHAN 8 55 50 45,3

Final ranking after 9 Rounds-WOMEN-first 10 positions

Rk. Name Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 WGM ÖZTÜRK KÜBRA 8 49 43½ 47,00 2 WIM YILDIZ BETUL CEMRE 8 46½ 42½ 42,00 3 ARIĞ BÜŞRA 6½ 50½ 45½ 36,75 4 WCM CEMHAN KARDELEN 6½ 47½ 42½ 35,75 5 MENZİ NEZİHE EZGİ 6½ 46½ 41½ 33,25 6 AKSOY AYCA 6½ 43½ 39½ 31,75 7 ULUSOY NİSAN 6½ 39½ 36 28,75 8 PATEL YEŞİM 6 48 43½ 32,75 9 ÖZTÜRK HİLAL 6 43½ 38½ 30,00 10 FIRAT DENİZ 6 42 38 27,50

Official web site: www.tsf.org.tr

HRUND HAUKSDOTTIR AND SVANDIS ROS RIKHARDSDOTTIR WON THE ICELANDIC CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP’2012 FOR GIRLS

Hrund Hauksdottir and Svandis Ros Rikhardsdottir won the Icelandic Chess Championship’2012 for girls. Hrund Hauksdottir won the senior class, Svandis Ros Rikhardsdottir is the winner in junior category.

The Championship, organized by the Reykjavik Chess Academy, was held on 5th of February in Sjóminjasafnið. In the tournament participated 26 girls. Tournament director was Stefan Thordarson, Chief-Arbiter - IA Gunnar Björnsson.

Official web site: http://skak.blog.is/

THE TEAM OF OSG BADEN-BADEN LEADS IN THE GERMAN CHESS BUNDESLIGA

The team of OSG Baden-Baden leads in the German Chess Bundesliga with 16 points. Second is the team of Werder Bremen with 15 points, third is SC Epping with 15 match points. The 8th and 9th round of the Chess Bundesliga was

held on February 4th and 5th.

The team composition was: GMs Svidler Peter (RUS), Vallejo Pons Francisco (ESP), Adams Michael (ENG), Shirov Alexei (ESP), Bacrot Etienne (FRA), Naiditsch Arkadij (GER), Movsesian Sergei (ARM), Nielsen Peter Heine (DEN), Kasimdzhanov Rustam (UZB), Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter (ROU), Gustafsson Jan (GER), Dautov Rustem (GER), Schlosser Philipp (GER).

Ranking after 9 rounds

Rk. Team TB1 TB2 1 Baden 16 48 2 Bremen 15 46 3 Eppingen 15 42 4 Solingen 13 43 5 Wattenscheid 11 38 6 Katernberg 11 34 7 Berlin 10 36 8 Trier 9 38 9 Muelheim 9 37 10 Hockenheim 8 36 Sixteen teams participate in the German Chess Bundesliga. Six more rounds remains to the end of the Championship.

Official web site: www.schachbundesliga.de

GM NIGEL SHORT WON THE 10TH TRADEWISE CHESS FESTIVAL IN GIBRALTAR

GM Nigel Short won the 10th edition of the Tradewise Chess Festival in Gibraltar. He beat Hou Yifan from China in a blitz playoff. After 10 rounds the both chess players finished with final result of 8 points. They played two games with time control of 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move. The tournament was held from 24th of

January to 2nd of February, 2012 in Gibraltar,

United Kingdom. The system and rate of play was: 10 rounds according to the Swiss system; 100 minutes for 50 moves + 15 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one.

Final Ranking – first 15 positions - MASTERS

Rk. Name FED Rtg Pts. TB1 1 GM Short Nigel D ENG 2677 8 2838 2 GM Hou Yifan CHN 2605 8 2872 3 GM Adams Michael ENG 2724 7,5 2807 4 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2747 7,5 2783 5 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2680 7,5 2734 6 GM Sutovsky Emil ISR 2703 7,5 2669 7 GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2714 7 2733 8 GM Almasi Zoltan HUN 2717 7 2730 9 GM Howell David W L ENG 2603 7 2725 10 GM Sasikiran Krishnan IND 2700 7 2717 11 GM Movsesian Sergei ARM 2700 7 2711 12 GM Svidler Peter RUS 2749 7 2700 13 GM Negi Parimarjan IND 2641 7 2694 14 GM Polgar Judit HUN 2710 7 2693 15 GM Laznicka Viktor CZE 2704 7 2681 Official web site: www.gibraltarchesscongress.com

GM IVAN CHEPARINOV WON THE 34TH BULGARIAN OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP–GM GEORGI TRINGOV MEMORIAL

GM Ivan Cheparinov (BUL) won the 34th Bulgarian Open Chess Championship-GM Georgi Tringov Memorial with final result of 8 points. Second finished IM Davit Benidze (GEO), third is GM Kiril Georgiev – both with the same score like the winner.

th The Championship was held from 29 of January to 5th of February, 2012 in Plovdiv, Photo by Boyko Hristov Bulgaria.

The total prize fund of the Championship, organized by the Bulgarian Chess Federation and Chess Club Lokomotiv Plovdiv, was 10 000 EURO. Chief-Arbiter was IA Rumen Angelov. One hundred and fifty chess players from different federations competed for the title.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk. Name Rtg. FED Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 GM Cheparinov Ivan 2659 BUL 8 45 57 7 2 IM Benidze Davit 2516 GEO 8 45 55 6 3 GM Georgiev Kiril 2658 BUL 8 44 56 6 4 GM Tadic Branko 2487 SRB 8 44 56 6 5 GM Antic Dejan 2504 SRB 7 44 56 6 6 GM Stanojoski Zvonko 2455 MKD 7 42 54 6 7 FM Lilov Valeri 2411 BUL 7 41 52 6 8 GM Petrov Marijan 2521 BUL 7 40 51 5 9 Vlashki Nino 2235 BUL 7 34 44 6 10 GM Spasov Vasil 2570 BUL 7 44 56 5 Official web site: www.chessbg.com

GM IGOR LYSYJ AND IM MARINA ROMANKO WON THE RSSU INTERNATIONAL CHESS CUP MOSCOW OPEN 2012

GM Igor Lysyj and IM Marina Romanko won Group A and Group B of the RSSU International Chess Cup Moscow Open 2012 with final result for both 7.5 points. Second in Group A finished GM Ernesto Inarkiev with 7 points, third is GM Dmitry Kokarev with the same score. Second in Group B is

WGM Qian Huang, third is Daria Charochkina – both finished with 7 points. The tournament was held from 28th of January to 5th of February in Moscow, Russia. The system and rate of play was: 9 rounds according to the Swiss system; 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game+30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. More than 1400 chess players from 26 countries competed for the title and the prize fund of approximately 80 000 EURO.

Moscow Open was played in 8 groups – A,B,C,D,E,F,G and H.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds-GROUP A-first 10 positions

Rk. Name Rtg FED Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 GM Lysyj Igor 2633 RUS 7,5 51 6 39 2 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2689 RUS 7 52 5 37 3 GM Kokarev Dmitry 2618 RUS 7 49 6 40 4 Eliseev Urii 2435 RUS 7 49 5 36 5 GM Maletin Pavel 2575 RUS 6,5 50 5 34 6 GM Lastin Alexander 2538 RUS 6,5 49 4 34 7 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej 2612 BLR 6,5 48 5 34 8 GM Socko Bartosz 2636 POL 6,5 48 4 34 9 GM Svetushkin Dmitry 2598 MDA 6,5 47 5 33 10 GM Dubov Daniil 2498 RUS 6,5 47 4 35 Final Ranking after 9 Rounds-GROUP B-first 10 positions

Rk. Name Rtg FED Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 IM Romanko Marina 2389 RUS 7,5 52 6 39 2 WGM Huang Qian 2389 CHN 7 58 5 39 3 WGM Charochkina Daria 2358 RUS 7 54 6 38 4 WGM Kovanova Baira 2383 RUS 7 54 5 37 5 WGM Mirzoeva Elmira 2214 RUS 7 53 6 37 6 IM Atalik Ekaterina 2481 TUR 7 52 5 38 7 WGM Paikidze Nazi 2411 GEO 7 51 6 38 8 WIM Fominykh Maria 2253 RUS 6,5 52 6 37 9 IM Galojan Lilit 2366 ARM 6,5 52 5 33 10 IM Bodnaruk Anastasia 2419 RUS 6,5 49 6 32 Official web site: http://open.moschess.ru/

THE INAUGURAL CHESS DAY IN ICELAND-A MODEL FOR OTHER COUNTIRES?

Iceland celebrated its first „Chess Day“ on January 26th, the country´s first GM and ex- FIDE president Fridrik Olafsson´s birthday. GM Olafsson, who turned 77 that day, was honored at a reception at Bessastadir, the Presidential Residence. The day featured many events across all of Iceland, including simuls and blitzes in schools, shopping malls, swimming pools and at Althingi (the Parliament House).

GM Fridrik Olafsson (b. 1935) joined the world´s chess elite from the mid 1950s onwards. His illustrious career included victories at Hastings, Wijk aan Zee and the Reykjavik Open (three times), beating four world champions on the way, Tal, Fischer, Petrosian (twice) and Karpov.

GM Olafsson played significant part in the programs offered on Chess Day 2012. At Bessastadir, he played Iceland´s newly crowned Under-14 national champion (10- year old Nansy Davidsdottir, one of the many promising young players emerging in Iceland currently) and simuls at the headquarters of the Icelandic Broadcasting Company, including its director general.

Iceland now counts 13 GMS, despite a population of only 300,000.

GM Johann Hjartarson, who 20 years ago played in the semi-finals of the candidates matches, played simuls against MPs. Althingi has many notable chess players, including WIM Gretarsdottir, former president of the Icelandic Chess Federation. Another former president of the Icelandic Chess Federation is the chief political advisor to the Icelandic PM. So the words chess and politics are really intertwined in Iceland!

But the Chess Day wasn´t only celebrated by the Icelandic president and MPs; 18- year old IM Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson, who had a breakthrough performance at last year´s European Championship (including a famous win against Shirov), where he captured two GM norms, played a game against the people of Iceland on the Internet. ICC hosted the Icelandic Championship in 2-minute blitz.

Iceland´s latest GM, Stefan Kristjansson and IM Bragi Thorfinnsson, played a marathon blitz match in a shopping mall in Reykjavik; another simul was played by Bragi´s older brother, IM Bjorn Thorfinnsson, in a swimming pool, where he swam between floating chess boards.

Playing chess in swimming pools is gaining popularity in Iceland (which is known for its geothermal energy and naturally heated swimming pools) – remember that famous Evans-Fischer photo?

The Chess Day was also celebrated on the Artic Circle, in Grimsey, which counts only 60 inhabitants. Grimsey is famous as being the beneficiary of a major chess gift from American scholar and chess enthusiast Willard Fisk, who helped organize the first American Chess Congress in 1857. Grimsey´s own national holiday is in fact November 11, Fiske´s birthday. The Icelandic Chess Federation, together with the Reykjavik Chess Academy, and the Icelandic Chess School, organized the Chess Day.

The Chess Day will be celebrated annually in the future.

The Icelandic Chess Federation is now in the midst of preparations for the famous Reykjavik Open tournament, which will take place in perhaps the most spectacular playing venue any chess tournament in the world has ever enjoyed. Among registered players are 25 GMs, including Italian GM Fabiano Caruana, who finished in 2-4th place in the recent Wijk aan Zee event.

There are very attractive travel packages offered with Icelandair. For more information about the Reykjavik Open, please visit á www.chess.is.