NEWSLETTER 118 (May 27, 2013)

MR. SERZH SARGSYAN RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE ARMENIAN CHESS FEDERATION The President of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan was re-elected as President of the Armenian Chess Federation.

The elections of the federation’s governing bodies were held on 18th May, 2013 at the Chess House Tigran Petrosian in Yerevan during Conference of the Armenian Chess Federation.

The conference summarized the work of the federation within the previous two years.

The ECU President Silvio Danailov congratulated Mr. Sargsyan on his re-election. 20th May, 2013

To: His Excellency Mr. Serzh Sargsyan President of Armenian Chess Federation

Dear Mr. Sargsyan,

Allow me to extend my warmest and heartfelt congratulations on your re-election as President of the Armenian Chess Federation.

I believe that your re-election comes as a recognition of the outstanding achievements you have made in popularising and promoting chess in your country, making Armenia one of the chess-leading countries in the world, and a reward for your earnest efforts to assist in numerous ways the development and improvement of the game of chess.

It is my hope that your new term will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the cordial and friendly relations between the Armenian Chess Federation and the European Chess Union while continuing to work positively and cooperatively towards the common goals of chess promotion and development in Europe and worldwide.

The European Chess Union and myself once more send you our best wishes for continued great success in your duties.

Yours respectfully,

Silvio Danailov ECU President Official website: www.chessfed.am

WEBSITE OF THE OFFICIAL ECU TOURIST AGENCY AVAsa STARTS WORKING WWW.ECUTRAVEL.NET It is our pleasure to inform you that the website of the official tourist agency of the European Chess Union AVAsa has started working.

The website www.ECUtravel.net offers plane tickets at excellent price.

In addition, the agency provides chess players all over the world with all the other offers related to tourism services.

Official website: www.ecuonline.net

OFFICIAL CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE FIRST SCHOOL CHESS YEAR IN SLIVNITSA The first school chess year in Slivnitsa, Bulgaria officially finished. The official closing ceremony was held on 22nd May, 2013 at the school “St.st. Cyril and Methodius”.

Official guests of the event were: the world class grandmaster Kiril Georgiev, the mayor of Slivnitsa municipality Vasko Stoilkov and Boyko Hristov, Press Director of the European Chess Union.

On the occasion of their successful graduation the young students received diplomas and chess sets, suitable for playing chess during the summer holidays.

GM Kiril Georgiev encouraged the young students by telling them some successful moments from his career and told them about the benefits of learning chess as a school subject.

The President of the European Chess Union Silvio Danailov greeted students with an official letter on the occasion of the completion of the first school chess year in Slivnitsa.

As you have been already informed, the ECU President Silvio Danailov officially opened the first school chess year in the town of Slivnitsa, Bulgaria. The official ceremony was held on 26th October, 2012 at the school “St.st. Cyril and Methodius”. Slivnitsa became the first municipality in the European Union to introduce chess as a subject in its schools according to the ECU program - "Chess in Schools".

Eighty children out of 240 students of the school "St.st. Cyril and Methodius" chose to study chess as a subject during the school year 2012-2013.

The news about the joint initiative of the European Chess Union and the municipality of Slivnitsa received wide international response and was reported by many media, even by European political newspapers like the Brussels based edition New Europe (www.neurope.eu/article/first-eu-municipality-introduces-chess-school-subject) and others.

The Famous German TV Channel ZDF made a big report about the ECU’s Chess in School program in the town of Slivnitsa, Bulgaria. Official website: www.ecuonline.net

GM MIKHAIL PANARIN WINS THE RUSSIAN RAPID CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 GM Mikhail Panarin won the Russian Rapid Chess Championship with the final result of 6.5 points out of maximum 9 and better tie- break than the second and the third in the final ranking – GM Aleksey Dreev and GM Vladimir Fedoseev. The Championship was held on May 21-22, 2013 in Saint Petersburg.

Fourty-three chess players took part in the competition. Chief Arbiter of the tournament was IA Viatcheslav Ivanov. Final ranking after 9 rounds – first 10 positions – MEN Rk. Title Name Rtg Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 GM Panarin Mikhail 2577 6.5 51 33 5 2 GM Dreev Aleksey 2726 6.5 49 34 5 3 GM Fedoseev Vladimir 2614 6.5 43 32 6 4 GM Shomoev Anton 2557 6.5 40 28 6 5 GM Sjugirov Sanan 2668 6 54 34 5 6 GM Lysyj Igor 2658 6 47 34 3 7 GM Khairullin Ildar 2661 6 47 33 3 8 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 2722 6 45 28 4 9 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2688 5.5 53 35 4 10 GM Matlakov Maxim 2669 5.5 43 28 4

In the women section, the winner was GM Valentina Gunina with the final result of 7.5 points out of maximum 9. FM Daria Pustovoitova finished second on a half point distance from the winner. IM Anastasia Bodnaruk finished in the third place with 6 points.

Twenty-eight chess players took part in the competition. Final Ranking after 9 rounds – first 10 positions - WOMEN Rk. Title Name Rtg Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 GM Gunina Valentina 2531 7.5 48 37 6 2 FM Pustovoitova Daria 2398 7 49 36 6 3 IM Bodnaruk Anastasia 2443 6 48 33 5 4 WGM Sudakova Irina 2264 6 45 29 5 5 WGM Girya Olga 2365 5.5 50 33 4 6 WIM Ubiennykh Ekaterina 2325 5.5 50 32 5 7 WGM Charochkina Daria 2384 5.5 46 30 5 8 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2420 5.5 45 29 5 9 IM Ovod Evgenija 2323 5.5 42 26 4 10 WGM Kashlinskaya Alina 2383 5 46 29 4 Official website: http://russiachess.org

CLUBUL DE SAH AL MUNICIPIULUI BAIA MARE WINS THE CUP OF ROMANIA FOR TEAMS – RAPID Clubul de Sah al Municipiului Baia Mare won the Cup of Romania for teams – rapid with the final result of 16 matchpoints. CS Politehnica Iasi finished second with 15 matchpoints, while CS AEM Luxten Timisoara was third with

the same result. The Cup of Romania was held on May 25-26, 2013 in Snagov. Chief Arbiter of the tournament was IA Dinu-Ioan Nicula. Twenty-two male teams and six female teams took part in the competition.

In the women section, the winner was the team of CS Politehnica Iasi with the final result of 17 matchpoints. The silver medal was taken by ACS Sah Apa Nova Bucuresti with 15 matchpoints, whereas the bronze went to CSM Bucuresti – 14 pts.

Final Ranking after 9 rounds – first 5 positions – MEN Rk. Team TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 Clubul de Sah al Municipiului Baia Mare 16 0 28 554 2 CS Politehnica Iasi 15 2 26 531 3 CS AEM Luxten Timisoara 15 0 26 527 4 Clubul Central de Sah Bucuresti 11 0 22 386 5 CSM Lugoj 10 0 24 438 Team composition of Clubul de Sah al Municipiului Baia Mare was: GMs Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu (ELO 2625), Levente Vajda (ELO 2550), Gergely-Andras-Gyula Szabo (ELO 2555), George-Gabriel Grigore (ELO 2491) and FMs Robert Hajbok (ELO 2365), Attila Szabo (ELO 2290).

Final Ranking after 10 rounds - Women Rk. Team TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 CS Politehnica Iasi 17 0 25 299 2 ACS Sah Apa Nova Bucuresti 15 0 22 234 3 CSM Bucuresti 14 0 20 212 4 Clubul Central de Sah Bucuresti 8 0 13 114 5 CS Otopeni 6 0 12 91.3 6 CS Snagov 0 0 0 0 Team composition of CS Politehnica Iasi was: WGMs Irina Bulmaga (ELO 2363), Alina L'ami (ELO 2405), WIM Ioana-Smaranda Padurariu (ELO 2208) and WCM Ioana Gelip (ELO 2047). Official website: www.frsah.ro

IM GABRIEL MIULESCU WINS ROMANIAN NATIONAL SENIOR BLITZ CHAMPIONSHIP IM Gabriel Miulescu won the Romanian National Senior Blitz Championship with the final result of 6.5 points out of maximum 7. FM Adrian-Florian Sasu-Ducsoara finished second with 6 points, while CM Stefan Leustian was third with 4.5 points. The Championship was held on 18th May, 2013. Chief Arbiter was FA Radu Sofran. Twenty-four chess players took part in the competition.

Final Ranking after 7 rounds – first 5 positions Rk. Title Name Rtg Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 1 IM Miulescu Gabriel 2102 6.5 30 21 27.3 2 FM Sasu-Ducsoara Adrian-Florian 2144 6 31 21 24.5 3 CM Leustian Stefan 2055 4.5 32 23 18.3 4 NM Tacu Victor-Mihail-Gabriel 2090 4.5 29 20 15.3 5 CM Cernea Radu-Gheorghe 1973 4.5 28 19 15.3 Official website: www.frsah.ro

SERGEY KARJAKIN WINS THE NORWAY CHESS TOURNAMENT Sergey Karjakin won the Norway Chess Tournament with the final result of 6 points out of maximum 9. Magnus Carlsen finished second on a half point distance from the winner. He had a better tie-break than the third in the ranking Hikaru Nakamura.

The Norway Chess Tournament was held from 07-18 May, 2013 in different locations in Stavanger region.

Final Ranking after 9 rounds Rk. Name Rtg Pts SB 1 Sergey Karjakin 2767 6 24 2 Magnus Carlsen 2868 5.5 22.75 3 Hikaru Nakamura 2775 5.5 21.25 4 Peter Svidler 2769 5 21.5 5 Levon Aronian 2813 5 20.5 6 Viswanathan Anand 2783 5 19.25 7 Wang Hao 2743 4.5 21.5 8 Veselin Topalov 2793 4 18 9 Teimour Radjabov 2745 3 10.75 10 Jon Ludvig Hammer 2608 1.5 6.5 Official website: http://norwaychess.com

THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE APPLICATIONS OF CHESS AND EDUCATION

THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE APPLICATIONS OF CHESS AND EDUCATION WILL BEGIN WITH ADDRESSES BY SUSAN POLGAR, JOSÉ ANTONIO MARINA, AND LEONTXO GARCÍA.

The 1st International Conference on the Applications of Chess and Education will take place in Buitrago de Lozoya from June 25th to June 29th at the GSD Buitrago Campus. It will be organized by the Gredos San Diego Cooperative and by the National Distance Education University (UNED). An International School Chess Tournament, subject to official ELO rankings, will take place simultaneously.

Gredos San Diego Cooperative and the National Distance Education University believe in the educational role of chess as a tool to teach thinking, and are proud to recognize Spain as a leader in socially applied chess. With this vision in mind, the conference will include international speakers at the forefront of the field. Gredos San Diego and the UNED are confident that the event will be a turning point for the recognition of chess as an educational tool.

The Conference will be led by Leontxo García, FIDE Master, journalist, and researcher, together with Maria José Albert, PhD in Educational Science with a degree in Psychology, Assistant Dean of Postgraduate Studies and psycho- pedagogical specialist at the UNED, and author of the book Educational Research (La Investigación Educativa).

The Conferences, workshops, and round tables will be guided by distinguished persons including José Antonio Marina, Susan Polgar, Juan Blanco, Juan Antonio Montero, Joaquín Fernández Amigó, Pep Suárez, Adriana Salazar, Ramón Aciego, Joaquín Pérez de Arriaga, Daniel Escobar, José Ángel López de Turiso, Juan Carlos Antón, and Anna Rudolf.

Participants may register at www.chesshelpsyouthink.com, where a complete schedule for the Conference and Tournament, information on fees, and contact details to request more information may be found.

The program is designed in such a way that all participants may provide their comments and ideas both during the Q&A sessions following morning conferences and in the workshops and round tables in the afternoons. All participants will receive two academic credits from the UNED.

International School Tournament, open to boys and girls and subject to official ELO rankings, will be held alongside the Conference. The tournament will include categories from SUB 8 to SUB 18 and will be arbitrated by Luis Blasco de la Cruz, a national senior chess coach and international arbiter.

Younger participants staying on the GSD Campus will enjoy a fun cultural program focused on getting to know the area, as well as Spanish cinema and cuisine. Accompanying adults will have the option of attending the round tables and the opening and closing speeches of the Conference.

GSD Buitrago is a comfortable, all-inclusive, and modern facility perfect for relaxing outside conference hours.

Gredos San Diego Cooperative

The Gredos San Diego Cooperative of Madrid is an educational enterprise owned and operated by the employees themselves based on a cooperative model, and dedicated to social responsibility and the provision of a public service while maintaining the efficiency of a private company. Gredos San Diego was founded in 1985 by a group of 19 employees who assumed ownership of the school in anticipation of the owner, D. Julio López Herrero's retirement.

The Gredos San Diego Cooperative currently employs over 1,300 individuals, both teaching faculty and staff, of whom 925 are cooperative members, making it the largest non-tertiary educational institution in the Community of Madrid with a 5% market share, and the largest Spanish enterprise dedicated to the model of social economics.

On May 2nd 2010, GSD was honored with the Medalla de Plata by the Community of Madrid for its "work in developing educational systems and in creating jobs".

The Gredos San Diego schools are secular with a vision of fostering tolerance and freedom of thought while instilling educational values based on respect for human dignity and promoting interest in research and discovery both in the sciences and the

humanities. The Cooperative currently operates seven schools in the Community of Madrid. The Gredos San Diego School of Alcalá is operated through a collaborative agreement with the Educación Activa Complutense cooperative, under the same GSD management model.

Gredos San Diego also has two Nature Classrooms: the Milky Way Nature Classroom in Casavieja (Ávila), and the Sendas del Riaza Nature Classroom in Valdevacas de Montejo (Segovia). These projects serve dual functions of providing education oriented toward respect for the environment, and promoting local development. Over the course of 28 years, the Gredos San Diego Cooperative has achieved the objectives for which it was created and has risen to new challenges with the creation of the GSD Cooperative Group, designed to generate initiatives within the framework of social responsibility. It is the largest cooperative in the Community of Madrid and one of the few currently operating in Spain.

BULGARIAN CHESS FEDERATION TEMPORARILY DISQUALIFIES FM BORISLAV IVANOV FOR AN INVESTIGATION The website of the Bulgarian Chess Federation announced that, at the reunion of the Board members, it was decided to disqualify FM Borislav Ivanov for a period of 4 months.

Ivanov has been suspected of cheating over the past months and faced numerous accusations after he has shown great play against high level players and achieved impressive results at

both national and international tournaments. At several occasions, Grandmasters claimed that Ivanov's play was based on first line by "Houdini" and "Rybka", and refused to show up at their games against the Bulgarian. The Bulgarian Chess Federation will start an investigation of his games and tournaments played in the period of the last 9 months.

Ivanov himself rejects all the charges, explaining his outstanding play as a result of hard work and trainings. He was searched at one of the tournaments, but no evidence of the accusations could be found. Thus, it can be stated that the decision regarding the temporary disqualification of Ivanov was merely taken on the basis of aroused suspicions. Source of the information: http://chess-news.ru