JANUARY, 2004

1-31-2004

ANAND vs. TOPALOV BLITZ EXHIBITION

On Feb. 1, Anand and Topapov will play a two game exhibition in Sofia, Bulgaria. The time control is 10 minutes each with no increments.

KRAMNIK vs. LEKO MATCH

The on again off again World championship match between title holder Kramnik and his official challenger Peter Leko has been scheduled for September 25 - October 18 in Brissago, Switzerland. The sponsor of the fourteen game match is Dannemann.

HENDERSON ON AMERICA'S FOUNDATION FOR CHESS

Not just the U.S. Championships!

America's Foundation for Chess (AF4C) is committed to the education of our children. By making chess a larger part of America's cultural fabric - accessible in schools and in popular culture - AF4C hopes to elevate the profile of chess in America so that it will soon become a regular part of every child's classroom experience.

You can now access their fabulous AF4C video on the Web!

Go to www.af4c.org  and click on "watch the video" in the left column.

CHESS COACH NEEDED!

TOPS school, a K-8 public school, is seeking an enthusiastic chess coach comfortable teaching younger ages to teach 8-10 intermediate level students (from first through fourth grades) on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:45 at 2500 Franklin Ave. East. If interested, please call Laura Henry (206)-706-3054. TOPS has a medium-sized program funded by two yearly tournaments with accompanying summer and spring break chess camps.

THE LEGEND IS BACK: JUDE ACERS ON THE ROAD

He's on the road again. Rusty Miller writes that Jude Acers is back in action! You can find out about his nationwide tour at http://hometown.aol.com/rmille9601/myhomepage/index.html

KRAMNIK BEATS GERMAN TEAM

A simultaneous exhibit vs. a strong German team made up of Christopher Lutz, Rustem Dautov, Vladimir Bischoff, and Robert Huebner was won by the World Champion when he beat Huebner and drew his other three games.

Huebner - Kramnik [A46]
GER vs Kramnik simultaneous, Brissago, 2004
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 d5 5.0-0 Bb7 6.b3 Nbd7 7.c4 bxc4 8.bxc4 dxc4 9.Na3 c3 10.Nb5 Bb4 11.Qb3 a5 12.Nxc3 c5 13.a3 c4 14.Qb2 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Qc8 16.Bf4 0-0 17.Rfc1 Nb6 18.Rab1 Ra6 19.Rb5 Be4 20.Rxa5 Nbd5 21.Qe1 c3 22.Rc5 Qa8 23.Nh4 Bxg2 24.Nxg2 Ne4 25.Rb5 Rxa3 26.Ne3 Qa6 27.Rbb1 Nxe3 28.Bxe3 Ra2 29.Ra1 Qxe2 30.Rxa2 Qxa2 31.Bf4 Qd5 32.f3 Nd2 33.Bxd2 cxd2 34.Qxd2 Qxf3 35.Qf4 Qxf4 36.gxf4 Rd8 37.Kf2 h6 38.Ke3 Rd5 39.Rc2 Rh5 40.Kf3 Rh3+ 41.Ke4 f5+ 42.Ke5 Re3+ 43.Kd6 Kf7 44.Rf2 g5 45.Kc5 Re4 46.fxg5 hxg5 47.Kc4 Kf6 48.Kd3 g4 49.Rf1 Kg5 50.Ra1 e5 51.dxe5 Rxe5 52.Ra8 Kf4, 0-1.

FIRST CHENNAI INTERNATIONAL OPEN: FOMINYK IN CLEAR FIRST

This tournament, held in Madras, India and organized by the Saranya Chess Center, takes place from Jan. 21 to Feb. 1.

Leaders after 11 rounds: 1^st (9 points): Fominyk; 2^nd through 4^th (8.5 points): Safin, Humpy Koneru, Tahir, Iskusnyh; 5^th through 8^th (8 points): Iuldachev, Ziaur, Dzhumaev, Smirnov.

GIB TELECOM CHESS FESTIVAL

This event, held at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar, boasts a strong field that includes Nigel Short, Alexei Dreev, Vladimir Epishin, Vasilios Kotronias, Lenier Dominguez, Lazaro Bruzon, Jon Speelman, Joe Gallagher, Murray Chandler, Surya Ganguly, and many other well-known grandmasters.

Leaders after three rounds: 1^st & 2^nd (2 points): Ganguly, Sandipan; 3^rd through 24^th (1.5 points): Lalic, Short, Dreev, Kunte, Inarkiev, Vuckovic, Sulskis, Chandler, Emms, Speelman, Kuzmin, Del Rio Angelis, Stefanova, Barua, Hebden, Davies, Al Sayed, Motwani, Bellon Lopez, Gallagher, Ward, Seel .

BERMUDA GM EVENT: VESCOVI REPEATS

This six player, all grandmaster double-round event, was won by Vescovi (who beat powerhouse Gelfand in the final round!) with a final 7-2 tally. Other results: 2^nd Gelfand (6.5-2.5), 3^rd Movsesian (6-4), 4^th Iordachescu (4-6), 5^th Shabalov (3.5-6.5), 6^th Macieja (3-7).

Gelfand - Shabalov [D45]
Bermuda, 2004
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.g4 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.e5 c5 11.exf6 Bxf3 12.fxg7 Rg8 13.Qxh7 Nf6 14.Bb5+ Ke7 15.Bg5 Bf4 16.Qh3 Bxh1 17.Bxf4 Qxd4 18.Qg3 Ne4 19.Qh4+ Qf6 20.g5 Qf5 21.0-0-0 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Kxd8 23.Bd3 Rxg7 24.Nxe4 Rh7 25.Bc7+, 1-0.

Macieja - Vescovi [C54]
Bermuda, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Be3 f5 12.exf6 Qxf6 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Nd2 Ba6 15.Nxe4 Ba5+ 16.Nc3 Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 Qg6 18.Rb1 Bd3 19.Rb7 Bc2 20.Qe2 Rab8 21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.Ke2 Rb2 24.Qc5 Bb3+ 25.Kf3 Bd5+ 26.Kf4 Qe4+ 27.Kg3 Qxg2+ 28.Kh4 Qxh1, 0-1.

Vescovi - Gelfand [D17]
Bermuda, 2004
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 Bb4 8.e4 Bxe4 9.fxe4 Nxe4 10.Bd2 Qxd4 11.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 12.Qe2 Bxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Qd5+ 14.Kc2 Na6 15.Nxc4 0-0 16.Qe5 Rab8 17.a5 f6 18.Qxd5 cxd5 19.Nd2 Rfc8+ 20.Kb1 Nb4 21.Ra4 Nc6 22.Nb3 Kf7 23.Be2 Ke7 24.Rg4 g5 25.Rg3 Kd6 26.Rf1 Rf8 27.Rh3 f5 28.Rxh7 Rh8 29.Rg7 Rhg8 30.Rxg8 Rxg8 31.a6 bxa6 32.Bxa6 Rh8 33.h3 f4 34.Rd1 e5 35.Bd3 Nb4 36.Be4 Ke6 37.Nc5+ Kd6 38.Nb3 Ke6 39.Bf3 e4 40.Nc5+ Ke5 41.Re1 Kd6 42.Nxe4+ dxe4 43.Rxe4 Rb8 44.h4 gxh4 45.Rxf4 Kc5 46.b3 a5 47.Rxh4 Rd8 48.Rh5+ Kb6 49.Kb2 Rc8 50.Rh6+ Kc5 51.Ka3 Nc2+ 52.Ka4 Nd4 53.Ra6 Rf8 54.Rxa5+ Kb6 55.Ra8 Rf5 56.Be4 Re5 57.Bd3 Nc6 58.b4 Re1 59.Rg8 Ne5 60.Bf5 Rf1 61.Rg5 Rf4 62.g3 Rd4 63.Rh5 Nc6 64.Rh4 Rd8 65.Be4 Nd4 66.Rh6+ Kc7 67.b5 Rb8 68.Bd3 Re8 69.Rh4 Rd8 70.Kb4 Rd6 71.Rh7+ Kb6 72.Be4 Nxb5 73.Rb7+ Ka6 74.Rxb5 Rd4+ 75.Kc5 Rxe4 76.Rb3 Rg4 77.Kd5 Ka5 78.Ke5 Rg8 79.Kf6 Ka6 80.Kf7 Rg4 81.Ke6 Rg8 82.Kf6 Ka5 83.Kf7 Rg4 84.Rf3 Kb5 85.Kf6 Kc6 86.Kf5 Rg8 87.g4 Kd7 88.Rd3+ Ke7 89.g5 Ra8 90.Kg6 Kf8 91.Kh7 Ra7+ 92.Kh8 Kf7 93.Rd6, 1-0.

WIJK AAN ZEE:  ANAND WINS TITLE FOR FOURTH TIME

The highly anticipated Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, taking place Jan. 9th to the 25^th, has the following participants:

1.Kramnik (2777) 2.Anand (2766) 3.Svidler (2747) 4.Shirov (2736) 5.Topalov (2735) 6.Leko (2722) 7.Adams (2720) 8.Bareev (2714) 9.Sokolov (2706) 10.Akopian (2693) 11.Bologan (2679) 12.Zhong (2644) 13.Van Wely (2617) 14.Timman (2578)

With so many strong players present, anything can happen. And indeed, round one saw a major upset when 10^th ranked Akopian beat tournament number one Kramnik!

Akopian - Kramnik [B90]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Ne5 11.f3 Nbc6 12.Bf2 Be6 13.Qd2 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Qa5 15.a3 0-0 16.h4 Ng6 17.hxg5 hxg5 18.b4 Qc7 19.Ne2 f6 20.Bb2 Bf7 21.Nd4 d5 22.exd5 Qe5+ 23.Be2 Qxd5 24.0-0-0 Rfc8 25.Bd3 Ne5 26.Be4 Qa2 27.Nf5 Nc4 28.Qc3 Rc7 29.Rh7 Qxb2+ 30.Qxb2 Nxb2 31.Rxg7+ Kf8 32.Rh1, 1-0.

Leko - Anand [B48]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.0-0-0 Bb4 9.f3 Na5 10.Nb3 d5 11.Kb1 Bxc3 12.bxc3 h6 13.Bf4 e5 14.Bxe5 Qxe5 15.Nxa5 Be6 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.e5 Nd7 18.Nb3 Qxe5 19.c4 Qxd4 20.Nxd4 Nb6 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.cxd5 Nxd5 23.Rd2 Rc8, 1/2-1/2.

In round two Anand took the lead by beating Kramnik's conqueror.

V. Anand - V. Akopian [B80]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 e6 8.g4 Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.g5 Nd7 13.h4 Qc7 14.Kb1 b4 15.Na4 Bb7 16.Qxb4 Bc6 17.Nc3 Rfb8 18.Qc4 Ne5 19.Qe2 Qa5 20.f4 Ng6 21.Qf3 e5 22.Bf2 Qb4 23.b3 Nxf4 24.Be1 Qc5 25.Bg3 a5 26.Bxf4 exf4 27.Nd5 Bd8 28.Qxf4 a4 29.Rh2 Bxd5 30.exd5 Ba5 31.Qd4 Qa3 32.h5 Bb6 33.Qc3 Ba5 34.Qd4 Bb6 35.Qd3 Re8 36.g6 fxg6 37.hxg6 h6 38.Bh3 Bd8 39.Be6+ Rxe6 40.dxe6 Bf6 41.c3 axb3 42.Qc4 Qa5 43.e7+ Kh8 44.Re1 Be5 45.Qc6, 1-0.

Timman - Leko [A30]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.Nf3 c5 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 e6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.c4 Be7 7.0-0 d6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.e3 Nbd7 10.Qe2 a6 11.Rfd1 Qc7 12.Rac1 Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.d3 Bc6 15.d4 Be4 16.Ne1 Bxg2 17.Nxg2 Rad8 18.d5 e5 19.e4 Rde8 20.Rf1 Qd8 21.Rce1 Bf6 22.Ne3 g6 23.Qc2 h5 24.Kh1 Qe7 25.Bc3 Bg7 26.Ng2 b5 27.f4 exf4 28.gxf4 bxc4 29.Bxg7 Kxg7 30.bxc4 Nf6 31.e5 Ng4 32.e6 Nh6 33.Rg1 Qf6 34.Qe4 Kh7 35.Ne3 fxe6 36.dxe6 Qxe6 37.Qb7+ Rf7 38.Qg2 Qe4 39.Nd5 Qxg2+ 40.Kxg2 Rb8 41.Re2 Nf5 42.Kh3 Nd4 43.Reg2 Nf3 44.Rf1 g5 45.Rgf2 g4+ 46.Kg3 Re8 47.h3 h4+ 48.Kg2 Ne1+ 49.Kg1 g3 50.Rd2 Rf5 51.Nc7 Re3 52.Rxd6 Nf3+ 53.Kh1 Nd4 54.Rd7+ Kg6 55.Nd5 Re2 56.Kg1 Rh2 57.Nc3 Rc2 58.Nd5 Rh2 59.Nc3 Rf7 60.f5+ Rxf5, 0-1.

In the third round Bareev went down in flames against Svidler. An expert in the French Defense, this strong grandmaster has an odd "habit" of losing in rapid fashion from time to time (loss against Shirov in 15 moves in 1994; loss to Grischuk in 2001 in 17 moves; lost to Khalifman in 19 moves in 2002) in this opening, and he continued that trend with the following 17 move defeat.

Svidler - Bareev [C10]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 c5 7.0-0 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Nf6 9.Bg5 cxd4 10.Nxd4 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qd3 a6 13.Rad1 Be7 14.Nc6 e5 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.f4 exf4 17.Bxb7, 1-0.

The blunders continued in round four, showing that Bareev's madness in the previous round wasn't completely abnormal for grandmasters. First Anand missed a forced win against Bologan and had to settle for a draw.

Okay, that's simply a case of an oversight. No big deal. But the next example of grandmaster insanity, occurring in Kramnik versus Svidler, is something special. Here's Svidler defended a slightly inferior position quite well and, just as the position became clearly drawn, resigned! Kramnik's comment: "Of course, it gives me no joy winning in such a manner. I was totally confused when he held his hand out. For a very brief moment I thought he was agreeing to a draw - then suddenly I realized I hadn't offered him one and he was actually resigning! There was nothing I could do under such circumstances."

Kramnik - Svidler [B97]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Qxd4 10.Qxd4 Nxd4 11.Rxd4 Be7 12.Na4 Bd7 13.Nb6 Rd8 14.Nxd7 Rxd7 15.Be2 h6 16.Bh4 Nh5 17.Bxh5 Bxh4 18.Rhd1 Bf2 19.R4d3 Ke7 20.Kb1 Rc8 21.Bg4 Rc4 22.Bf3 g6 23.b3 Rcc7 24.Be2 Rd8 25.g4 Bc5 26.Rh3 Rh8 27.Kb2 Rcc8 28.a3 Rcd8 29.b4 Bf2 30.a4 d5 31.Rf3 Bb6 32.exd5 Rxd5 33.Rxd5 exd5 34.Rd3 Bc7 35.Bf3 Bxf4 36.h3 b6 37.Kb3 Kf6 38.Bxd5 Re8 39.c3 a5 40.bxa5 bxa5 41.Rf3 g5 42.Kc4 Re3 43.Rxe3 Bxe3 44.Kb5 Ke5 45.Bxf7 Kd6 46.c4 Bf2 47.Be8 Ke7 48.Bc6 Kd6 49.Bb7, 1-0.

BLACK RESIGNS A DRAWN POSITION

Round five was fairly quiet, the only two decisive games being Bologan vs. Timman and Akopian vs. Sokolov.

Bologan - Timman [C00]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 b6 5.c3 Be7 6.Be2 Bb7 7.Qa4+ Nfd7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 c5 10.Nf1 c4 11.Be3 cxd3 12.Bxd3 Qc7 13.e5 Nc5 14.Bxc5 bxc5 15.Qg4 Nd7 16.Ng3 d4 17.Ng5 Bxg5 18.Qxg5 h6 19.Qh5 c4 20.Bf1 d3 21.Rad1 Rad8 22.Re3 Bd5 23.b3 cxb3 24.axb3 Bxb3 25.Rdxd3 Bc2 26.Rd4 Bg6 27.Qh4 Nb6 28.c4 a5 29.Ra3 a4 30.c5 Qxc5 31.Raxa4 Rxd4 32.Rxd4 Qxe5 33.Rd8 Qc7 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Qb4+ Kg8 36.h4 Nd5 37.Qa3 Qe5 38.Be2 Nc3 39.Qa8+ Kh7 40.Qf3 f5 41.Bc4 f4 42.Ne2 Nxe2+ 43.Qxe2 Qxe2 44.Bxe2 Be4 45.g3 Kg6 46.Bg4 e5 47.gxf4 exf4 48.Kh2 Kf6 49.Bc8 Ke5 50.Bg4 Kd4 51.Bc8 Bf3 52.Bd7 Kd3 53.Bb5+ Kd2 54.Kg1 Ke1 55.Be8 g5 56.hxg5 hxg5 57.Bf7 Be4 58.Be6 f3 59.Bd7 Bg6, 0-1.

Akopian - Sokolov [C95]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 c5 13.b3 cxd4 14.cxd4 exd4 15.Nxd4 Re8 16.a4 bxa4 17.bxa4 Rc8 18.Nf5 Qc7 19.Bb3 Bf8 20.Bb2 d5 21.Rc1 Qf4 22.Rxc8 Bxc8 23.g3 Qg5 24.h4 Qg6 25.h5 Nxh5 26.Nh4 Qg5 27.Ndf3 Qe7 28.exd5 Qd8 29.Rxe8 Qxe8 30.Ng5 Nxg3 31.d6 Qe2 32.Bxf7+ Kh8 33.Qb1 Ne4 34.Qxe4 Qd1+ 35.Kh2 Bxd6+ 36.f4 Qd2+ 37.Kg3, 1-0.

Shirov - Kramnik [B31]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 b6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Bf4 Ne8 10.Qd2 f6 11.e5 fxe5 12.Bxe5 Bxh3 13.Bxg7 Nxg7 14.Rfe1 Be6 15.Ng5 Bd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Ne6 Nxe6 18.Rxe6 Rf6 19.Qe2 Kf8 20.Re1 Rxe6 21.Qxe6 Qd6 22.Qh3 Kg8 23.Re6 Qf4 24.Rxe7 Qc1+ 25.Kh2 Qf4+, 1/2-1/2.

Round six was a bloodbath, with the leaders scoring several wins. First Adams beat an obviously off-form Bareev (another French Defense defeat for the Russian). Anand also kept the pace by beating the ever-dangerous Shirov in a tough battle. Both Topalov and Kramnik also scored victories (vs. Bologan and Zhang Zhong respectively) to stay in the race for first. In fact, the only leader who failed to put a notch on his belt was Leko, who drew Akopian. After six rounds we have a four way tie for first: Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, and Adams.

Topalov - Bologan [C88]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Bd2 Nd7 11.Nc3 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Ne2 Bf6 14.Ng3 g6 15.Bh6 Re8 16.f4 Nc5 17.Qf3 Nxb3 18.cxb3 Qd7 19.Rf1 c5 20.Rf2 Bh8 21.f5 d5 22.Qg4 Bc6 23.Raf1 dxe4 24.Nxe4 c4 25.Nc5 Qc8 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.Qg3 Bd5 28.b4 Qc6 29.Bg5 cxd3 30.Bf6 d2 31.Bxh8 Kxh8 32.Rxd2 Bc4 33.Rc1 Qf6 34.Qf2 Qxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Re3 36.a5 Rae8 37.Rcd1 Re2+ 38.Kg1 Bd5 39.Nxa6 Bxg2 40.Nc7 R8e5 41.Rxe2 Rxe2 42.Nxb5 Rxb2 43.Rxd4 Kg7 44.a6 Bf3 45.Nc3 Rg2+ 46.Kf1 Rxh2 47.b5 Rb2 48.a7 Bb7 49.Rd7 Ba8 50.Rd8 Bb7 51.Rb8 Bf3 52.b6, 1-0.

Adams - Bareev  [C07]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Bb3 Qc7 12.Qf3 Bd6 13.Kh1 Bd7 14.Bg5 Be5 15.Rad1 h6 16.Bh4 0-0 17.Rfe1 Rfd8 18.c3 Rac8 19.h3 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 Bc6 21.Qe3 Rxd4 22.Qxd4 Qd8 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Qxf6 gxf6 25.Rxe6, 1-0.

Anand - Shirov [C42]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 Bf5 9.c4 c6 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nd7 14.Qf5 Nb6 15.Ng5 g6 16.Qh3 h5 17.g4 Qd7 18.gxh5 Qxh3 19.Nxh3 Rfe8 20.Bf4 Bxf4 21.Nxf4 g5 22.Nh3 Na4 23.Rac1 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Nxc3 25.Re7 Kg7 26.Rc7 Ne2+ 27.Kf1 Nxd4 28.Nxg5 Kh6 29.Nxf7+ Kxh5 30.Rxb7 Nf3 31.Rb5 Kg6 32.Rxd5 Nxh2+ 33.Kg2 Kxf7 34.Kxh2 Ke6 35.Ra5 Kd6 36.f4 Rg8 37.f5 Ke7 38.Rxa7+ Kf6 39.Ra5 Rg4 40.a4 Rb4 41.Kg3 Rc4 42.Kf3 Rh4 43.Ke3 Rg4 44.Kd3 Rf4 45.Ra8 Kg7 46.Ra7+ Kf6 47.Ra5 Rh4 48.Kc3 Rf4 49.Kd3 Rh4 50.Ra8 Kxf5 51.a5 Kg6 52.a6 Kg7 53.Ra7+ Kf6 54.Kc3 Re4 55.Rh7 Ra4 56.a7, 1-0.

Kramnik - Zhang Zhong [A17]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 b6 7.e3 Bb7 8.Be2 d6 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.b4 c5 11.Bb2 Re8 12.d4 Ne4 13.Qb3 Rb8 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.Nd2 Nef6 16.Rc1 a5 17.Rfd1 e5 18.Bf1 axb4 19.axb4 h6 20.Ba1 Rec8 21.Bb2 Re8 22.dxc5 dxc5 23.Nb1 cxb4 24.Qxb4 Nc5 25.Nc3 Rbd8 26.Rb1 Bc6 27.Ba1 Rxd1 28.Rxd1 Rd8 29.Nb5 Bxb5 30.Bxe5 Qxe5 31.Rxd8+ Be8 32.Qxb6 Qe7 33.Rc8 Nfd7 34.Qc7 Kf8 35.g3 Ne6 36.Qc6 g6 37.Bh3 f5 38.Bg2 Kg7 39.Bd5 Nec5 40.Qa8 Bf7 41.Qa1+ Qf6 42.Qa7 Qa6 43.Qxa6 Nxa6 44.f3 Nac5 45.Kf2 Kf6 46.Rc6+ Be6 47.Ke2 Ke5 48.f4+ Kf6 49.Kd2 Ke7 50.Bf3 Nb3+ 51.Kc3 Na5 52.Ra6 Nxc4 53.Rxe6+ Kxe6 54.Kxc4 g5 55.Bd5+ Kf6 56.Bc6 Nf8 57.Kd5 Ng6 58.Kd6 Ne7 59.Bb7 Ng6 60.Bf3 Nf8 61.Bd5 Ng6 62.Bc6 Nf8 63.Bd7 Ng6 64.h3 h5 65.fxg5+ Kxg5 66.h4+ Kg4 67.e4 Kxg3 68.exf5 Nh8 69.Ke7 Kxh4 70.Kf6 Kg4 71.Kg7 Kg5 72.f6 h4 73.Bc8 Kh5 74.Bf5 Kg5 75.Be6 Ng6 76.f7 Nf4 77.Bc8 Nh5+ 78.Kh7, 1-0.

Round seven saw a shift in power as Kramnik and Adams both drew, while Topalov lost to Svidler in a wild game. That left only one player in the leading four with a chance to win, and Anand didn't disappoint. His victory over Zhang Zhong propelled him into clear first.

Zhang Zhong - Anand [A05]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 b5 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.Ng5 h6 8.Nh3 Nc6 9.f4 Be7 10.Be3 h5 11.Nf2 d5 12.e5 Nd7 13.c4 bxc4 14.dxc4 Nb6 15.Na3 Rb8 16.Nd3 d4 17.Bd2 g6 18.b3 Kf8 19.Nc2 Nd7 20.Qe2 Qc7 21.h3 Nd8 22.Nce1 Bxg2 23.Nxg2 Ke8 24.g4 hxg4 25.hxg4 Qc6 26.Rf3 Qa6 27.Qd1 Nc6 28.Qc2 Kd8 29.Re1 Kc7 30.f5 gxf5 31.gxf5 Rbg8 32.fxe6 fxe6 33.Rf7 Kc8 34.Bf4 Bf8 35.Qf2 Nd8 36.Rxd7 Kxd7 37.b4 Ke8! 38.bxc5 Rh3 39.Qc2 Qc6 40.Re2, 0-1.

Bareev - Kramnik [E32]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Nf4 16.Be3 Ng6 17.Ne2 f5 18.exf5 exf5 19.0-0-0 Rae8 20.Bf2 Ba6 21.Nc3 Bxf1 22.Rhxf1 Nf4 23.dxc5 Nxc5 24.Bxc5 bxc5 25.g3, 1/2-1/2.

In round eight the Indian super-grandmaster continued to put pressure on the rest of the field by beating a depressed Bareev (yes, yet another loss in the French Defense). Leko won to draw closer to Anand but the game that everyone was transfixed by was the battle between Adams (who had White) and Kramnik. Though the World Champion came out of the opening with a perfectly playable position, a bad mistake cost him a pawn and eventually the game. This left Anand alone in first, Adams half a point back, and Leko in third.

Adams - Kramnik [B85]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.Be2 Be7 8.a4 Nc6 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Qe1 e5 14.Nde2 exf4 15.Nxf4 Be6 16.Bh5 Nxh5 17.Nxh5 Qa5 18.Nf4 Bc4 19.Nd3 Qd8 20.b3 Bxd3 21.cxd3 Bf6 22.Rc1 Nb4 23.Qd2 d5 24.Bc5 Bg5 25.Qf2 Nxd3 26.Qxf7+ Kh8 27.Bd4 Bh6 28.Rcd1 dxe4 29.Ba7 Re7 30.Qf5 Ra8 31.Nxe4 Rd7 32.Bb6 Qe8 33.a5 Kg8 34.Qg4 Kh8 35.Rf8+ Qxf8 36.Qxd7 Ne5 37.Qxb7 g6 38.h3 Bg7 39.Nd6 h5 40.b4 Qg8 41.Bc5 Qb8 42.Qe4 Kh7 43.Rd5, 1-0.

Anand - Bareev [C11]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0-0-0 Be7 10.Bd3 b6 11.h4 Bb7 12.Neg5 Nf6 13.c3 Bxf3 14.gxf3 c5 15.dxc5 Qc7 16.Kb1 bxc5 17.Rdg1 Rfd8 18.Qc2 h6 19.Bh7+ Kf8 20.Nxf7 Kxf7 21.Qg6+ Kf8 22.Qxg7+ Ke8 23.Re1Rd6 24.Qh8+ Bf8 25.Bg6+ Ke7 26.Rhg1 Rb6 27.Bf5 Kf7 28.Bg6+ Ke7 29.Bc2! Kf7 30.Rg6 Qf4 31.Reg1 e5 32.Rg7+ Ke6 33.R1g6 Rab8 34.Qg8+ Kd6 35.Rxf6+ Qxf6 36.Rg6 Kc7 37.Rxf6 Rxf6 38.Qh7+ Kb6 39.Be4 Rd6 40.h5 a6 41.Qf7 Rd2 42.a3 Rd1+ 43.Kc2 Rd6 44.b4 cxb4 45.axb4 Rdd8 46.Qe6+ Rd6 47.Qc4 Rf6 48.Qd5, 1-0.

Kramnik and Anand played in round nine, and with Kramnik behind Anand by a point and a half, this game was a must win for the Russian. However, Anand refused to go along with the "script" and, with Black, held on to the draw in a brilliant and exciting battle.

With Anand making a successful "block," he was able to sit back and watch Adams, his main competitor, battle it out with Van Wely. Unfortunately for the Brit, things didn't go as planned and he was stunned by a badly timed defeat. This left the Indian dynamo a clear point ahead of the field.

Kramnik - Anand
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qd3 Nc6 11.0-0-0 Be7 12.Kb1 0-0 13.Nd5 Bg5 14.h4 Bxh4 15.g3 Bf6 16.Qf3 Bg5 17.Qh5 h6 18.f4 Bf6 19.Nd2 Nd4 20.Bc4 Rc8 21.c3 Nb5 22.f5 Bxd5 23.Bxd5 Rxc3 24.Qg6 Qb6! 25.Rxh6, 1/2-1/2.

Shirov - Sokolov [C72]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.d4 Qf6 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Nb3 Qg6 11.Ng5 Bd7 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.f4 exf4 14.Bxf4 Be7 15.Qd2 Rd8 16.Nxf7 Qxf7 17.Bxc7 Qe6 18.Bxd8 Bxd8 19.Kh1 Nf6 20.Nc5 Qe7 21.Rad1 Bc8 22.e5 Nd5 23.Ne4 Qxe5 24.Rde1 Be7 25.c4 Bb4 26.Nc3, 1-0.

Another key game occurred in round ten, with Adams getting White against Anand. The first move didn't lead to anything and Vishy drew easily. With all the other top players also drawing, Anand maintained his full point lead.

The following game shows that the gods of the French Defense haven't totally abandoned Bareev.

Topalov - Bareev [C19]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.a4 Qc7 8.Nf3 h6 9.Bd3 b6 10.a5 bxa5 11.0-0 c4 12.Be2 0-0 13.Re1 Nbc6 14.Bf1 f6 15.Ba3 fxe5 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Rxe5 Qc7 19.g3 Bd7 20.Bh3 Rf6 21.Qc1 a4! 22.Qa3 Rb8 23.f4 Rb6 24.Kf2 Qb8 25.Rae1 Qf8 26.Qxf8+ Kxf8 27.Ke3 g5 28.Bg4 gxf4+ 29.gxf4 Rb2 30.f5 exf5 31.Bf3 Rxc2 32.Kf4 Rxc3 33.Bh5 Rh3 34.Rxd5 Rh4+ 35.Kg3 Rxh5 36.Rxd7 f4+ 37.Kg4 Rg5+ 38.Kf3 Rf7 39.Rd8+ Kg7 40.Rc8 Rb5 41.Rxc4 Rb3+ 42.Kf2 a3 43.Ra4 f3 44.Ra1 Rb2+ 45.Kg1 Rg2+ 46.Kh1 a2 47.Rg1 Kf8 48.Rxg2 f2 49.Rg1 f1=Q, 0-1.

Round eleven was yet another victory for Anand, this time against Timman. However, there's still some doubt about the final tournament winner since Leko also won (against tough to beat Zhang Zhong), remaining in striking distance one point behind the Indian ace.

Anand - Timman [B67]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f3 Be7 10.Be3 Rc8 11.g4 Na5 12.Kb1 b5 13.Bd3 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nce2 0-0 16.g5 Ne8 17.h4 Qc8 18.b3 Rc7 19.Nf4 Rc3 20.Rdg1 b4 21.h5 Nc7 22.g6 Bf6 23.h6 fxg6 24.hxg7 Rf7 25.Rxh7 Kxh7 26.Qh2+ Kxg7 27.Nxg6 Rxe3 28.Ne7+ Kf8 29.Nxc8, 1-0.

Zhang Zhong - Leko [B23]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Bc4 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.Qf3 Nh6 8.Ne2 0-0 9.c3 dxc3 10.bxc3 d6 11.d4 Ng4 12.0-0 Qc7 13.Bb3 Nf6 14.Qd3 b6 15.f4 a5 16.Re1 a4 17.Bd1 Ba6 18.Qe3 Rfc8 19.Bd2 d5 20.Ng3 dxe4 21.Nxe4 Nd5 22.Qf2 Bd3 23.Ng5 h6 24.Nf3 Nxc3 25.Ne5 Nxd1 26.Raxd1 Bc2 27.Rc1 Qd6 28.Qe3 Bf5 29.a3 Qd5 30.Bb4 Bf6 31.h3 h5 32.Kh2 Rxc1 33.Rxc1 Rc8 34.Rxc8+ Bxc8 35.Nf3 Qd7 36.Ne5 Qd5 37.Nf3 Be6 38.Ne5 Qa2 39.Qd2 Qxd2 40.Bxd2 h4 41.Bb4 Kg7 42.Kg1 Bd5 43.Kf2 g5 44.fxg5 Bxg5 45.Nd7 b5 46.Nb6 Bb7 47.Nd7 Bc6 48.Nb8 Bd5 49.Na6 e6 50.g3 hxg3+ 51.Kxg3 Be3 52.Bc5 Kg6 53.Nc7 Bc6 54.h4 Kh5 55.Na6 f5 56.Kh3 f4, 0-1.

After Anand finished his game against Timman, a journalist asked him what he thought about Kasparov's latest comments about Putin and Russian politics (for more on this, check out our chess news wires - the news wires link is at the top of the page). Anand's response: "Kasparov is not playing a lot of chess lately, so he must keep himself busy with something. Perhaps he should focus on American politics and become the next governor of California."

Here are the standings after eleven rounds: 1^st: (with 8 points) Anand; 2^nd: (with 7 points) Leko; 3^rd: (with 6.5 points) Adams; 4^th: (with 6 points) Kramnik; 5^th through 10^th: (with 5.5 points) Van Wely, Svidler, Akopian,Shirov, Bologan; 11^th: (with 5 points) Bareev; 12^th through 13^th: (with 4 points) Zhang Zhong, Timman; 14h: (with 3.5 points) Sokolov.

Round twelve featured a double shock when Anand went down in defeat (his first of the tournament) against Topalov and Kramnik lost yet again to Sokolov. The blood continued to flow when Bologan downed Svidler and poor Timman lost to Adams.

Topalov - Anand [B80]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.g4 Nfd7 9.Qd2 Nb6 10.a4 bxa4 11.Nxa4 Nxa4 12.Rxa4 Be7 13.g5 0-0 14.h4 Bd7 15.Ra1 Nc6 16.Rxa6 Qc7 17.Kf2 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 e5 19.Be3 Rxa6 20.Bxa6 f5 21.gxf6 Bxf6 22.Qd5+ Kh8 23.Bc4 Be8 24.Be2 Bf7 25.Qd2 Bh5 26.b3 Qe7 27.Kg2 Qf7 28.Rh3 Be7 29.b4 h6 30.b5 Qg6+ 31.Kh2 Qe6 32.Qd3 Be8 33.Qb3 Qc8 34.b6 Bf7 35.Qb1 Qc3 36.Bd3 Rb8 37.Qg1 Bc4 38.Qg6 Bxd3 39.Rg3 Bf6 40.cxd3 Rxb6 41.Bxb6 Qb2+ 42.Rg2 Qxb6 43.Rc2 Bd8 44.h5, 1-0.

Sokolov - Kramnik [E12]
Wijk aan Zee, 2004
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qc2 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.e4 Nc6 10.Be3 Be7 11.d5 exd5 12.Rd1 d4 13.cxd4 0-0 14.d5 Nd4 15.Qb2 Re8 16.Bxd4 cxd4 17.Bb5 Bxa3 18.Qxd4 Bc5 19.Qd3 Bb4+ 20.Kf1 Rf8 21.Nd4 Qc8 22.h4 Bc5 23.h5 Qg4 24.Nf3 Rad8 25.Rh4 Qc8 26.Bc4 b5 27.Bxb5 Bb6 28.h6 g6 29.Qb3 Qc5 30.Qb2 f6 31.Rf4 Bc7 32.Rc1 Qb6 33.Rxc7 Qxc7 34.Rxf6 Rxf6 35.Qxf6 Rf8 36.Qb2 Rc8 37.d6 Qc1+ 38.Qxc1 Rxc1+ 39.Ke2 Rc8 40.Ng5 a6 41.Ba4, 1-0.

After his debacle in the 12^th, Anand settled for a quick draw against Sokolov in the final round. This proved to be enough for clear first since his two competitors (Leko and Adams) only drew. Anand is the fourth person in history to win this event four times (the other three are Dr Max Euwe, Lajos Portisch and Viktor Korchnoi).

Here are the standings after eleven rounds: 1^st: (with 8.5 points) Anand; 2^nd and 3^rd: (with 8 points) Leko and Adams; 4^th and 5^th: (with 7.5 points) Topalov, Bologan; 6^th through 8^th: (with 6.5 points) Van Wely, Kramnik, Bareev; 9^th through 11^th: (with 6 points) Svidler, Akopian, Shirov; 12^th and 13^th: (with 5 points) Zhang Zhong, Sokolov; 14^th: (with 4 points) Timman.

WIJK AAN ZEE: GROUPS B & C

Cuba's Lazaro Bruzon won clear first in group "B" and thus qualified to play in next years premiere group "A" event.

Naiditsch - Bruzon [C91]
Wijk aan Zee "B", 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d4 Bg4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bc2 Qc8 12.Nbd2 c6 13.dxc6 Qxc6 14.h3 Be6 15.Nf1 Nc4 16.a4 h6 17.Ng3 Rfe8 18.Nh4 d5 19.Nhf5 Bxf5 20.Nxf5 dxe4 21.axb5 axb5 22.Rxa8 Qxa8 23.b3 Nb6 24.Bxe4 Nxe4 25.Qg4 Ng5 26.h4 Ne6 27.Rxe5 Bf6 28.Nxh6+ Kf8 29.Rf5 Qa1 30.Qb4+ Re7 31.Qa3 Qxc3 32.Bg5 Nxg5 33.hxg5 b4 34.Qa5 Be5 35.g3 Bd4, 0-1.

Van der Wiel - Bruzon [B85]
Wijk aan Zee "B", 2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 Nf6 7.0-0 a6 8.Kh1 Be7 9.f4 d6 10.a4 0-0 11.Be3 Re8 12.Bf3 Na5 13.g4 Nc4 14.Bc1 Bf8 15.g5 Nd7 16.Qe1 b6 17.b3 Na5 18.Bb2 Bb7 19.Qh4 Nc6 20.Nde2 Nb4 21.Bg2 Nxc2 22.Rf3 Nxa1 23.Rh3 f6 24.Qxh7+ Kf7 25.Rh6 e5 26.Bxa1 Ke7 27.gxf6+ Nxf6 28.Rxf6 Kxf6 29.Nd5+ Bxd5 30.exd5 Qc5 31.Qh4+ Kf7 32.fxe5 dxe5 33.Qh5+ g6 34.Qh7+ Bg7 35.Be4 Qd6 36.Nf4 Rh8 37.Bxg6+ Kf8 38.Ne6+ Qxe6 39.dxe6 Rxh7 40.Bxh7 Ke7 41.Kg2 Kxe6 42.Be4 Rd8 43.Bc3 Bh6 44.Be1 Rd1 45.Bf2 Rd2 46.Kf1 b5 47.Bb7 bxa4 48.bxa4 a5 49.Be1 Rb2 50.Bc8+ Kd6 51.Bxa5 Bd2 52.Bxd2 Rxd2 53.h3 Ra2 54.a5 Rxa5 55.Kf2 e4, 0-1.

Thirteen-year-old Magnus Carlsen dominated group "C" with a magnificent 10.5 - 2.5 result while also garnering his first grandmaster norm. Look for this kid to make major waves!

M Carlsen - Ernst
Wijk aan Zee "C", 2004
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Ngf6 12.0-0-0 Be7 13.Ne4 Qa5 14.Kb1 0-0 15.Nxf6+ Nxf6 16.Ne5 Rad8 17.Qe2 c5 18.Ng6 fxg6 19.Qxe6+ Kh8 20.hxg6 Ng8 21.Bxh6 gxh6 22.Rxh6+ Nxh6 23.Qxe7 Nf7 24.gxf7 Kg7 25.Rd3 Rd6 26.Rg3+ Rg6 27.Qe5+ Kxf7 28.Qf5+ Rf6 29.Qd7 mate!

Complete Final Standings (13 rounds):

Group B: 1.Bruzon, 9.0; 2.Dominguez, 8.5; 3.Fressinet, 8.0; 4.Nakamura, 7.5; 5.Granda Zuniga, 7.5; 6.Stellwagen, 6.5; 7.Naiditsch, 6.5; 8.Tiviakov, 6.5; 9.Stefanova, 6.0; 10.Zhu Chen g 5.5; 11.Hamdouchi, 5.0; 12.Nijboer, 5.0; 13.Lobron, 5.0; 14.Van der Wiel, 4.5.

Group C: 1.Carlsen, 10.5; 2.Ernst, 10.0; 3.Smeets, 9.0; 4.Pavlovic, 8.0; 5.Werle, 8.0; 6.Gagunashvili, 7.5; 7.Bosboom-Lanchava, 7.5; 8.Pavasovic, 7.0; 9.Lahno, 6.5; 10.Janssen, 6.0; 11.Popov, 6.0; 12.Peng Zhaoqin 3.5; 13.Etmans, 2225 1.0; 14.Barendse, 0.5.

COMMONWEALTH CHAMPIONSHIPS: SHORT TAKES THE TITLE

Pavel Smirnov and Nigel Short tied for first, but Short was given the title due to Smirnov (Who won on tiebreaks and was given the International Open Trophy!) not be eligible.

Smirnov - Singh [C18]
Commonwealth, 2004
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qg3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Ne7 10.Ne2 0-0 11.c3 b6 12.Nf4 Qd7 13.a4 Ba6 14.Bb5 Nec6 15.h4 Bxb5 16.axb5 Na5 17.h5 Nb3 18.h6 g6 19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.Qxg6+ Kh8 21.Bg5, 1-0.

GOICHBERG NAMED USCF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bill Goichberg, who has been involved in United States Chess Federation affairs for over forty years, was recently named Executive Director of the organization. Best known as the founder of the Continental Chess Association which runs tournaments from coast to coast, Goichberg brings a wide variety of chess experience to the job. Back in the 1960s he worked in the USCF office under the late Ed Edmondson, serving as Ratings Director. Soon after this he founded the CCA and started organizing some of the first scholastic tournaments in the United States. A strong master he served as Captain of the gold-medal winning US Olympiad team in Haifa, Israel, in 1976. Goichberg founded and ran the successful National Chess League in the late 1970s and has been instrumental in supporting both the Professional Chess Players Health and Benefit Program and the yearly Grand Prix. Each year he faithfully attends USCF annual meetings and serves on many committees. It's hard to think of anyone in US chess who had more involvement in such a wide variety of chess activities in the United States.

Nay sayers will point to the apparent conflict of interest in having the largest tournament organizer in the country running the day to day operations of the USCF ignoring that Goichberg has not bid on a USCF national event since the US Open in 1997. The fact that he is taking this position without pay speaks volumes about his motivations. We wish him well in his efforts to turn things around in New Windsor.

WESTERN CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP: MATIKOZIAN SURPRISE WINNER

Agoura Hills in Southern California was the scene of the first major tournament of the year on the West Coast and IM Andranik Matikozian of Glendale was the surprise winner finishing ahead of several GMs. Matikozian, former Armenian junior champion, had a strange first half of the tournament. Playing in a short schedule he found himself in such a small section that he was forced to play the same player, Tatev Abrahamiyan, twice!  Four players in a four-player group gave organizer Bill Goichberg no choice. Merging into the main schedule with a 4-0 score Matikozian escaped from difficult positions against GMs Jaan Ehlvest and Alex Yermolinsky to enter the last round with 5 1/2 points. He then drew with GM Dasheveg Sharavdorj to take first at 6-1. Sharavdorj, who had an excellent event, was second at 5 1/2 followed by MI Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky (undefeated) and GM-elect Varuzhan Akobian.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS WINS PAN AM CH.

The 2003 Pan Am Intercollegiate Team Championship held, December 27-30 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Miami, was won by the University of Texas at Dallas, headed by GM Marcin Kaminski, IM Dmitri Schneider, IM Magesh Chandran and IM Amon Simutowe. They defeated favored University of Maryland at Baltimore County (GM Alexander Onischuk, GM Pavel Blehm, IM Eugene Perelshteyn and  IM Pascal Charbonneau) 2.5-1.5 in the critical match). Berkeley and Stanford didn't send teams.

Top Teams:

1st:University of Texas, Dallas A-Team, 5.5 points

2nd:University of Maryland, Baltimore County A-Team, 5.0 points

3rd:University of Texas, Dallas B-Team, 5.0 points

4th:Miami-Dade College, 4.5 points

5th:Brooklyn College A-Team, 4.0 points

5th:(6th) University of Maryland, Baltimore County B-Team, 4.0 points

5th:(7th) University of Toronto A-Team, 4.0 points

5th:(8th) Pontifica Universidad Catolica, 4.0 points

5th:(9th) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 4.0 points

10th: Princeton University, 3.5 points.

Individual Award Winners:

1st Board 1: GM Leonil Yudasin-(Brooklyn College A-Team)

1st Board 2: Vladimir Pechenkin-(Toronto A-Team)

1st Board 3: Eugene Perelshtein-(UMBC A-Team)

1st Board 4: Jeff Hawel-(Western Ontario B-Team)

Top Alternate: Michal Kujovic-(UTD B-Team)

GAMES OF IM WILLIAM MARTZ

Duane Catania recently donated a number of books and magazines to the Mechanics' Institute. One of the items was a booklet produced by the late IM Bill Martz (1945-1983) for a class he taught in his hometown of Milwaukee in 1976. The following three games are not given in ChessBase Mega 2004. Does anyone know when and where they were played (Martz didn't give this information)?

W. Martz - W. Browne [E79]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Be3 Bg4 10.Nxc6 Bxe2 11.Nxd8 Bxd1 12.Rxd1 Rfxd8 13.Ke2 Rdc8 14.c5 dxc5 15.e5 Ng4 16.Rd7 b6 17.Rxe7 Re8 18.Rxe8+ Rxe8 19.Bc1 f6 (Black should have tried19...Nh6 and 20...Nf5 - Martz.) 20.Kf3 Nh6 21.exf6 Bxf6 22.g4 Nf7 23.Rd1 Nd8 24.Nd5 Bg7 25.Nc7 Rf8 26.Rd7 Nf7 27.Ke4 h5 28.gxh5 gxh5 29.Ne6 Ra8 30.Kf5 Bh8 31.Ng5 Nxg5 32.Kxg5 Re8 33.f5 Re1 34.Kg6 Rg1+ 35.Bg5 Rxg5+ 36.Kxg5 Bxb2 37.Kg6 Kf8 38.f6 Ke8 39.Rxa7, 1-0.

W. Martz - C. Van Buskirk [E79]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Be3 Bg4 10.Nxc6 Bxe2 11.Nxd8 Bxd1 12.Rxd1 Rfxd8 13.Ke2 Nd7 14.Rd3 Nc5 15.Bxc5 dxc5 16.Rhd1 Rxd3 17.Rxd3 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Kf8 (Black would do better to give up a pawn to activate his Rook: 18...Rc8 19.Rd7 Rc6 20.Rxb7 Ra6 with good chances to draw - Martz.) 18...Rc8 19.Rd7 Rc6 20.Rxb7 Ra6] 19.Rd7 b6 20.g4 f6 21.h4 h6 22.a4 Kf7 23.f5 g5 24.h5 Ke8 25.Rc7 Kf7 26.a5 bxa5 27.Rxc5 a4 28.Ra5 e6 29.c5 exf5 30.exf5 a3 31.Kd3 a2 32.Kc4 Ke7 33.Rxa2 a5 34.Kb5 Rb8+ 35.Kc6 Rc8+ 36.Kb6 Rb8+ 37.Kc7 Rb3 38.c6 Rxc3 39.Rxa5 Rc4 40.Ra7 Rxg4 41.Kb8+ Kd6 42.c7 Rc4 43.c8Q Rxc8+ 44.Kxc8 Ke5 45.Ra5+ Kf4 46.Kd7 g4 47.Ke6 Kg5 48.Ra3 Kxh5 49.Kxf6 Kh4 50.Kg6, 1-0.

J. Grefe - W. Martz [B80]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0-0 d6 9.Re1 Bd7 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Na4 Be7 12.c4 0-0 13.c5 dxc5 14.Qc2 c4 15.Qxc4 Qa5 16.Be3 Rab8 17.Bc5 Bxc5 18.Nxc5 e5 19.Nxd7 Nxd7 20.Red1 Nc5 21.b3 Ne6 22.Qxc6 Nd4 23.Qd5 Rb5 24.Qd7 Rc5 25.Bf1 Rc2 26.Bd3 Rxa2 27.Rac1 Qb6 28.Rf1 g6 29.Rc8 Rd2 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Qc8+ Kg7 32.Bc4 Nf3+ 33.Kg2 Qf6 34.Qxa6 Ne1+ 35.Kh3 Qf3 36.Rxe1 Rxf2 37.Be2 Qg2+, 0-1.

JANUARY 2004 FIDE RATING LIST

Here's the worlds top:

1.Kasparov (2831)

2.Kramnik (2777)

3.Anand (2766)

4.Svidler (2747)

5.Shirov (2736)

6.Topalov (2735)

7.Morozevich (2732)

8.Judit Polgar (2728)

9.Ponomariov (2722)

10.Leko (2722)

11.Adams (2720)

12.Grischuk (2719)

13.Ivanchuk (2716)

14.Bareev (2714)

15.Gelfand (2709)

The biggest gains were made by Svidler (up from #9 to #4), Morozevich (up from #16 to #7), and Polgar (up from #11 to #8).

HASTINGS: ROWSON & KOTRONIAS TIE FOR FIRST

Final Standings: 1.Rowson, 6.0; 2.Kotronias 6.0; 3.Epishin, 5.5; 4.Kunte, 5.0; 5.Nielsen, 4.5; 6.Hebden, 4.0; 7.Lahno, 4.0; 8.Conquest, 3.5; 9.Cherniaev, 3.5; 10.Gormally, 3.0.

While Kotronias (of Cyprus) made a final round draw and then waited to see how his competitors would do, Rowson and Epishin fought it out to the death, with Scotland's Rowson emerging as the victor. Here's that all or nothing battle:

Rowson - Epishin [E36]
Premier Hastings ENG (9), 2004
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Bf4 c6 8.e3 Nh5 9.Be5 0-0 10.h3 Nxe5 11.dxe5 g6 12.0-0-0 b5 13.cxb5 cxb5 14.Bxb5 Bb7 15.Nd4 Rc8 16.Qa4 Rc5 17.g4 Ng7 18.Kb1 a6 19.Be2 Qc7 20.f4 Rb8 21.Na2 Bc8 22.Rc1 Qb7 23.Nb4 a5 24.Rxc5 Bxc5 25.Qxa5 Bb6 26.Qa4 g5 27.Qd1 gxf4 28.exf4 Bd7 29.Qd2 Ba5 30.Rc1 h6 31.Rc5 Bxb4 32.axb4 Qxb4 33.Qc3 Qxc3 34.Rxc3 Rb4 35.Rd3 Bb5 36.Nxb5 Rxb5 37.Rd4 Rb8 38.b4 Ne8 39.Kb2 Kf8 40.b5 Ke7 41.Ra4 Nc7 42.h4 Rb7 43.g5 h5 44.Ra5 d4 45.Bc4 Ne8 46.Kb3 Ng7 47.Bd3 Nf5 48.Bxf5 exf5 49.Kc4 Rd7 50.Kd3 Rd5 51.Ra7+ Ke6 52.Kc4 Rd8 53.Ra6+ Ke7 54.Rd6 Rc8+ 55.Kb4 Rc1 56.Rxd4 Rh1 57.b6, 1-0.

REGGIO EMILIA: MILADINOVIC CLEAR FIRST

The 46th Reggio Emilia International Chess Tournament took place between December 27th, 2003 and January 4th, 2004.

Final Standings: 1.Miladinovic, 7.0; 2.Komarov, 6.0; 3.Bellini, 5.5; 4.Georgiev, 5.0; 5.Zimina, 5.0; 6.Tomescu, 4.5; 7.Piscopo, 4.5; 8.Collutiis, 3.5; 9.Vezzosi, 3.5; 10. Ronchetti, 0.5.

Miladinovic - Collutiis [B07]
Reggio Emilia, 2004
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Bg5 c6 7.0-0-0+ Nbd7 8.Bh4 Bc5 9.g4 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.g5 Nh7 12.Nf3 Nhf8 13.Bg3 Ng6 14.h4 Bb6 15.Bh3 Bc7 16.Bf5 Nf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.g6 fxg6 19.Bxg6+ Ke7 20.Bf5 Ne5 21.Rhg1 Rg8 22.Nxe5 Bxe5 23.Rg5 Bxf5 24.Rxf5 Ke6 25.Ne2 Raf8 26.Rg5 g6 27.f3 Rg7 28.c3 Kf6 29.Kc2 Re7 30.Rdg1 Rg7 31.Nc1 Re8 32.Nd3 Ree7 33.a4 Bc7 34.R1g2 Bd6 35.Re2 Be5 36.Rd2 Bd6 37.b4 Rgf7 38.Rdg2 Rg7 39.Kb3 Be5 40.Kc4 Bc7 41.b5 cxb5+ 42.axb5 Bd6 43.Kd4 Rd7 44.Rd5 Ke6 45.c4 Rdf7 46.e5 Be7 47.Ke4 g5 48.hxg5 Bxg5 49.Nc5+ Ke7 50.e6, 1-0.

33rd RILTON CUP: DEFIRMIAN TIES WITH NYBACK and AKESSON

[Report by John Donaldson]

Nick DeFirmian tied for first with fellow GMs Tomi Nyback and Ralf Akesson with scores of 7 from 9 in the 33rd Rilton Cup held in Stockholm over the New Years Holidays. Among the 143-player field, which included 23 GMs, were veterans Svetozar Gligoric (81 on February 2) and Mark Taimanov (78 on February 7) who played impressively finishing with 6 and 5 points respectively.

Final Standings: 1.Åkesson, 7.0; 2.de Firmian, 7.0; 3.Nybäck, 7.0; 4.Ringdal-Hansen, 6.5; 5.Schlosser, 6.5; 6.Aagard, 6.5; 7.Kortchnoi, 6.5; 8 Fontaine, 6.5; 9.Braun, 6.5; 10.Ernst, 6.5; 11.Külaots, 6.5; 12.Berkes, 6.5; 13.Lobron, 6.5.

The following victory over German GM Phillip Schlosser in round eight put Nick in the lead with a round to go.

DeFirmian - Schlosser
Rilton Cup 2003-2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 e6 7.a4 Nc6 8.Be2 Be7 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.g4 Bf8 14.g5 Nd7 15.Bg2 b6 16.Rf3 Bb7 17.Rh3 g6 18.Qg4 Bg7 19.Rd1 Nb4 20.Qh4 Nf8 21.Qf2 f6 22.f5 exf5 23.exf5 fxg5 24.f6 Bxg2+ 25.Kxg2 g4 26.Rg3 Bh8 27.Rxg4 Rxe3 28.Qxe3 Bxf6 29.Qf3 Be5 30.Nd5 Nxd5 31.Qxd5+ Kh8 32.Nc6 Re8 33.Nxe5 dxe5 34.Rc4 Qe7 35.Kh1 e4 36.Qd4+ Kg8 37.Qd5+ Kg7 38.Qd4+ Kg8 39.Qd5+ Kg7 40.Re1 e3 41.Rf4 Nd7 42.Rf3 Nf6 43.Qd4 e2 44.Kg1, 1-0.

NORTH AMERICAN OPEN: ANOTHER SUCCESS FOR SHABALOV

[Report by John Donaldson]

U.S. Champion Alexander Shabalov of Pittsburgh has done it again, winning the North American Open, held December 26-29 in Las Vegas. Shaba started with a draw against promising young Master Daniel Rensch and then reeled off five wins in a row over NM Gallegos, SM Friedel, IM Finegold, GM Izoria and GM Filippov to triumph over a field that included 28 GMs.

Shaba's victory in the NAO added to his haul of tournament wins in the U.S. in 2003, including the U.S. Championship, World Open, Levy Memorial, U.S. Open, and Chicago Open. Yes, there were a few minor blemishes on Shaba's U.S. record, like Foxwoods, the National Chess Congress, and the Vermont International, but, all in all, it was a phenomenal performance, especially if you consider the increasing number of strong GMs competing regularly in U.S. Swisses. Congratulations to the U.S. Champion on a job well done!

There was a five-way tie for second in Las Vegas at 5-1 with GMs Yury Shulman, Jaan Ehlvest, Vadim Milov, Georgy Kacheishvilli, and Evgeny Najer winning the remainder of the prize money in the open section.

This year's NAO was a U.S. Championship qualifier. Earning trips to San Diego (for the U.S. Championship) were GM Gregory Serper, IM Ben Finegold, SM Levon Altounian, and FM Robby Adamson. FM Jennifer Shahade earned the woman's seed.

The North American Open was a Continental Chess Association event organized and directed by Bill Goichberg. The turn out of around 600 made it the second largest open tournament in the Western U.S. in 2003, after the National Open.

2nd LINDSBORG OPEN: YERMOLINSKY, BABURIN, and MITKOV = FIRST

[Report by John Donaldson]

Mechanics' Institute Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky shared first prize in the 2nd Lindsborg Open, tying with fellow GMs Alexander Baburin and Nikola Mitkov at 6 1/2 from 9. The last round featured plenty of fighting