July 22, 2003

GLORNEY CUP: NETHERLANDS WINS AGAIN

THE Glorney Cup was first contested back in 1948, and was instigated by the Dublin businessman Mr. C Parker Glorney. Originally it was conceived as a Boys’ tournament between the four home nations, but twenty-years later, in 1968, it was joined by the Faber Cup (sponsored by Faber Books), a similar-styled event for Girls.

Both competitions -- often regarded as the pinnacle in the career of juniors aged 18 and below -- have since expanded over the years to include other European nations to make it a much stronger and truly international affair. Eight countries now compete: Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Slovakia and Wales.

The latest edition of the Glorney and Faber Cups, which ran 14-17 July, took place in Rosice in the Czech Republic. The Scottish team for the Glorney was Joe Redpath, Daniel McGowan, Colin Hall, and Christopher Macdonald, and, as there was no Scottish team in the Faber, Louise Macnab. 

Scotland battled their way through the group section to win a place in the 'A' Finals. In the Finals, perennial winners the Netherlands yet again won the Glorney Cup (and the Faber Cup too!) with a score of 11/15 with the Czech Republic second on 8.5; Scotland - who host next year's competition - third on 5.5; and Ireland, fourth on 5.

Scottish performances: 1 J Redpath 2.5/5; 2 D McGowan 1.5/5; 3 C Hall 2/5; 4 C Macdonald 3.5/5; 5 L Macnab 2.5/5.

J Redpath - T Maenhout
Glorney Cup, (3)
Queen's Pawn
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Bg5 Qb6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.c3 d6 7.e4 a6 8.a4 bxa4 9.Qxa4+ Nd7 10.Nbd2 g5 11.Nc4 g4 12.Nfd2 Bh6 13.Be2 0-0 14.Bxg4 Ne5 15.Be2 Rb8 16.Qc2 Nxc4 17.Nxc4 Qg6 18.0-0 f5 19.e5 Bf4 20.e6 Bb7 21.Bf3 Rf6 22.Rfe1 Kh8 23.Ra3 Qg5 24.Rb3 Bxh2+ 25.Kxh2 Qh4+ 26.Kg1 Rh6 27.g3 Qxc4 28.Rb6 Rg8 29.Rxb7 Qh4 30.Kf1 Qh2 31.c4, 1-0.

S & W YOUNG MASTERS: PROKOPCHUCK and HANLEY TIE FOR FIRST

THE 13th edition of the Smith & Williamson Young Masters held at Millfield School in Somerset ended in a tie for first place, as Russian GM Evgeny Prokopchuk and England's Craig Hanley both finished on an unbeaten score of 6.5/9.

Top seed Prokopchuk was the tournaments only grandmaster, and the experienced Russian GM led from start to finish. For Hanley, one of England's brightest prospects, managed to accumulated yet another IM norm, and amazingly now has a total of five to his name! 

The standard requirement for the title is three, but, with a rating of 2387 and rising rapidly, Hanley should easily gain the necessary Elo points needed to take his rating above the 2400 threshold to finally be awarded the title by FIDE.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end at some time or other, and after twelve years and thirteen tournaments that have successfully raised the profile of many of the UK's young masters, Smith & Williamson have chosen to end their sponsorship of the tournament.

Leading scores: 1-2 GM E Prokopchuk (Russia), C Hanley (England) 6.5/9; 3-4 IM K Mah, G Jones (both England), 5.5; 5-10 L Trent (England), IM G Antal (Hungary), E Dearing (Scotland), T Dvorak (Czech Rep.) P Sinkevich (Russia), M Broomfield (England) 5.

E Prokopchuk - G Jones
S&W Young Masters, (7)
Sicilian Defense
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 a6 5.c4 Nc6 6.Qd2 Nf6 7.Nc3 g6 8.b3 Bg7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Be2 Qa5 11.Nd5 Qxd2+ 12.Nxd2 Nxd5 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.exd5 Nd4 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Bxf5 gxf5 17.0-0-0 e5 18.dxe6 fxe6 19.Rhe1 e5 20.f4 Kf6 21.Nf3 Nxf3 22.gxf3 Rad8 23.Rxd6+ Rxd6 24.fxe5+ Ke6 25.exd6+ Kxd6 26.Kd2 Rg8 27.Re2 h5 28.Ke3 h4 29.Kf4 h3 30.Kxf5 Rg2 31.Re6+ Kc5 32.Rh6 Rxh2 33.f4 a5 34.Kg4 Rxa2 35.Rxh3 a4 36.bxa4 Kxc4 37.Rh7 Rxa4 38.Rxb7 Kd5 39.Kg5 Kd6 40.f5 Ra1 41.Kf6, 1-0.

E Prokopchuk - E Dearing
S&W Young Masters, (5)
Caro-Kann Defense
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bd2 Nc6 9.Bd3 Be7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rc1 Ndb4 12.Bf4 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 b6 14.Rfd1 Bb7 15.a3 Bf6 16.d5 Ne7 17.d6 Nd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.b4 Qd7 20.Rc7 Qa4 21.Ng5 Bxg5 22.Bxg5 f6 23.Bf4 Rac8 24.Rdc1 Rxc7 25.dxc7 Rc8 26.h3 Qd7 27.Bg3 Qa4 28.Kh2 Kf7 29.Rc3 h6 30.Bf4 Qd7 31.Qh7 Bb7 32.Rg3 Rg8 33.Bxh6 Qxc7 34.Qg6+ Ke7 35.Bxg7, 1-0.

POLITIKEN CUP: ENGLISH INVADE COPENHAGEN

IN the past, many observers (this columnist included) have warned the British Chess Federation about the dangers of their open-door policy at the British Championship, which starts next week in Edinburgh.

The first indication of trouble at t'mill came during the 1999 championship, when GMs John Emms and Chris Ward received widespread support with a petition calling for reform that would have prevented a 'foreign invasion', which was summarily rejected; as was a similar appeal before the 2003 congress.

While some may argue that the addition of the Commonwealth entry rule makes for a more interesting and cosmopolitan event, it is becoming very clear to everyone -- save for the BCF -- that this rule is being flagrantly abused and the championship should be restricted to players whose international affiliation is with the four home countries.

With just one English GM in Peter Wells in the line up as of last Monday, the other 30 GMs have instead opted for a silent boycott by not playing, or indeed have found an alternative tournament elsewhere on the international circuit -- and one that unlike the British, provides “conditions” for the titled players; reckoned to be one of the main gripes of the stay-away GMs.

Due to a potential clash with the Edinburgh Festival, the British moved to an earlier date this year. The change of date proved convenient for some, who instead opted for the Politiken Cup that has just started in Copenhagen -- the leading British trio being GMs Luke McShane, Jon Speelman and Chris Ward.

B Byklum - L McShane
Politiken Cup, (2)
Sicilian Defense
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Qc7 5.0-0 Nd4 6.Re1 a6 7.Bc4 d6 8.h3 e6 9.d3 b5 10.Bb3 Nxb3 11.axb3 Bb7 12.Bf4 Nd7 13.Bg3 Be7 14.d4 0-0 15.d5 Nb6 16.dxe6 fxe6 17.Nd2 Qc6 18.Qg4 Rf6 19.Rad1 Raf8 20.Nf1 b4 21.Nb1 Rg6 22.Qe2 d5 23.Nbd2 Bf6 24.e5 Be7 25.Nf3 d4 26.N1d2 Nd5 27.Kh2 Bg5 28.Ne4 Bf4 29.Nd6 Ba8 30.Ra1 Ne3 31.Rxa6 Qd5 32.Nh4 Rxg3 33.fxg3 Bxg3+ 34.Kg1, 0-1.

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS: AN OPEN DOOR

HAVE you heard the one about the Indians, the Swiss, and the Greek who became a Cypriot? Far from being a joke, the continued open-door policy of the British Chess Federation looks set to tarnish the image of the British Championships, which starts next week in Edinburgh.

With a prize fund of £25,000 provided by sponsors Smith & Williamson, the “British” is the richest prize in the UK. Last year the title was won by little know player RB Ramesh from Chennai, and all but £2,000 of the total prize fund went to non-UK residents. 

A repeat performance of is on the cards for this year, with 13 Indians -- sponsored by generous government grants given to the Indian chess federation or private companies -- arriving en masse in Edinburgh intent on keeping the title. Also joining the “foreign invasion” is top seed Vassilios Kotronias, the former Greek No.1 who now plays for Cyprus, and not forgetting the 2001 champion Joe Gallagher, who plays for Switzerland, where he now resides with his family.

Now, in a backlash aimed at the organizers who persist with the silly entry rule that allows for Commonwealth subjects to play, only one of England's 31 GMs is in the starting line up, with many showing their displeasure in the outdated policy by taking part in a silent boycott.

ESBJERG: McSHANE, DREEV, and SASIKIRAN SHARE FIRST

THE 18th North Sea Cup taking place in the Danish port of Esbjerg (A popular seaport in the west of Denmark within the peninsula of Jutland.) ended in a three-way tie for first, as top trio Luke McShane, Alexey Dreev and Kirshnan Sasikiran finished on 6.5/9 -- a full two points ahead of their nearest rival.

At 19, McShane is the UK's youngest grandmaster; and in his gap year before entering Oxford University this October, is playing the best chess of his career. In 1992, when he won the World under-10 title at the age of eight, he was seen as a natural successor to world-class grandmasters Michael Adams and Nigel Short.

However, being pushed down the road of becoming a professional chess master from an early age was never the chosen path for someone as levelheaded and likable as McShane, who always concentrated on his academic work in preference to chess. Now, in his gap year, he's able to play in tournaments he missed out as a junior due to them clashing with his school term.

He played the North Sea Cup after his striking first place victory at the Greenland Open where he obliterated the field to win with 8.5/9, and the European Championships where he qualified for the FIDE World Championships.

Not only are his recent performances earning him valuable world ranking points, but with the accumulated prize money they are also ensuring he never needs to rely on a student loan -- well, for the first year anyway! The latest FIDE rating list shows McShane in the top 100 for the first time at No.74, and fourth in England behind Michael Adams, Nigel Short and Matthew Sadler. 

Final standings: 1-3 L McShane (England), A Dreev (Russia), K Sasikiran (India) 6.5/9; 4 C Hansen (Denmark) 4.5; 5-7 P Heine Nielsen (Denmark), L Dominguez (Cuba), M Krasenkow (Poland) 4; 8-9 L Schandroff (Denmark), L Bruzon (Cuba) 3.5; 10 H Koneru (India) 2.

L McShane - L Bruzon
18th North Sea Cup, (5)
Ruy Lopez
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 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Bd7 17.Rc1 Qb7 18.Nf1 Rfe8 19.Ng3 h6 20.Qd2 Bf8 21.d5 Na5 22.Bd3 Reb8 23.Rc2 Nc4 24.Bxc4 bxc4 25.Qc1 Qa6 26.Nd2 Bb5 27.Nxc4 Bxc4 28.Rxc4 Rxb2 29.Qxb2 Qxc4 30.Rc1 Qd3 31.Qb7 Rd8 32.Qb4 Ra8 33.Rc7 Ne8 34.Rc3 Qa6 35.Rc6 Qd3 36.Qb7 Rd8 37.Rc8 Rxc8 38.Qxc8 Qb5 39.Qc6, 1-0.

L Bruzon - K Sasikiran
18th North Sea Cup, (4)
English Opening
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b4 Bg7 4.Bb2 d6 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2 e5 7.0-0 Re8 8.d3 Nh5 9.Nc3 f5 10.Nd2 Kh8 11.e3 Nd7 12.Qc2 Ndf6 13.b5 a6 14.a4 Rb8 15.Ba3 a5 16.Nd5 b6 17.Rae1 g5 18.Bb2 Be6 19.Nxf6 Bxf6 20.d4 Ng7 21.dxe5 dxe5 22.Rd1 Qe7 23.Bc6 Red8 24.Qc3 Nh5 25.e4 f4 26.Nf3 Bh3 27.Rfe1 Kg7 28.Rd5 Rxd5 29.cxd5 Rd8 30.Nd2 Kh6 31.Nc4 Qg7 32.Qf3 fxg3 33.fxg3 Rf8 34.Qe2 Be7 35.Nxe5 Bc5+ 36.Kh1 Qe7 37.Nd3 Bf1 38.Qd2 Bxd3 39.Qxd3 Rf2 40.Bc1 Qf7 41.e5 Ra2, 0-1.

L McShane - H Koneru
18th North Sea Cup, (3)
King's Gambit Declined
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.f4 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.d3 a6 7.Rf1 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nd4 10.Qg3 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Qxg7 Rf8 13.fxe5 dxe5 14.Bg5 c6 15.Rxf6 Qd7 16.Rf5 f6 17.Bxf6 Qxg7 18.Bxg7 Rxf5 19.exf5 b5 20.Be6 Rd8 21.f6 Rxd3+ 22.Ke2 e4 23.Bh6 Rd4 24.f7+ Kd8 25.Bf5 Rb4 26.b3 Nxb3 27.Nxe4 Rxe4+ 28.Bxe4 Nd4+ 29.Kd3 Ne6 30.Bxc6 Ke7 31.Be4 Nf8 32.Bd5 Kf6 33.Bd2 Ne6 34.Be4 Nf8 35.Bb7 Kxf7 36.Bxa6 b4 37.Kc4 Ba7 38.Kxb4 Nd7 39.Bc4+ Ke7 40.Bd3, 1-0.

REMEMBERING LEONID STEIN

"CHESS, like literature, music and the arts, often suffers a premature loss." once wrote Harry Golombek. 

Thirty years ago this week, "Caissa" was perhaps deprived of one of her greatest attacking geniuses of all time, when Leonid Stein died suddenly of a heart attack on the eve of the European Team Championships, aged just 38.

One of the foremost Soviet players of the post-war era and the most consistently successful player in the world in the 1960s, Stein's brilliant chess career was cut tragically short by his untimely death in 1973 when his career was still close to its peak.  Yet, remarkably, he was a late bloomer to the game and came to prominence at age 26, but within a year was in the top 10. 

Scoring overwhelming victories against the world's leading grandmasters (and including a big plus score against the world champions), Stein not only stormed to an incredible total of 3 first prizes (out of 4 attempts) in the ultra-strong USSR Championships between 1963 and 1966, but also won what were arguably the two strongest tournaments of all time: Moscow 1967 and the Alekhine Memorial 1971.

Yet, through a quirk of the rules, fate decreed that he would never become a Candidate for the world championship, though he twice finished high enough in Interzonal tournaments to merit qualification. Each time he was excluded by a ruling limiting the number of Candidates from any one country.

L Stein - P Keres
Parnu, 1971
English Opening
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.e4 Bg7 9.d4 Rf8 10.h3 b6 11.g4 h5 12.g5 Ne8 13.Bf4 Nd7 14.0-0-0 Bb7 15.h4 Nc7 16.Bh3 Ne6 17.Be3 Ke8 18.Rhe1 Rd8 19.d5 cxd5 20.exd5 Nc7 21.Bf4 Rc8 22.Rxe7+ Kxe7 23.d6+ Ke8 24.dxc7 f5 25.gxf6 Nxf6 26.Bxc8 Bxc8 27.Rd8+ Kf7 28.Ng5+ Kg8 29.Bd6 Re8 30.Nd5, 1-0.

GREENLAND OPEN: LUKE MCSHANE TAKES FIRST

ALTHOUGH Icelanders have played chess ever since the Viking settlement in the 9th Century, the game didn't evolve much until some one thousand years later, when the American scholar and philanthropist, Daniel Willard Fiske, introduced modern chess to Iceland.

Fiske, dubbed the patron saint of Icelandic chess, was recently honored at the first Greenland Open, played in the exotically named southern town of Qaqortoq from 28 June to 1 July, which had the alternate title of the Willard Fiske Memorial.

With a prize fund of $10,000 and a field of 50 players, the new rapidplay event inside the Artic Circle featured an impressive line up of foreign stars that included top seeds Ivan Sokolov, Predrag Nikolic, Jóhann Hjartarson and Britain's youngest GM Luke McShane -- many of whom no doubt making their first journey to Greenland.

Yet another powerhouse performance from McShane gave the young Brit the inaugural title, as he dominated the tournament with an outstanding performance of 8.5/9; taking first place a full point ahead of nearest rival Hjartartson.

Leading final scores: 1 GM L McShane (England) 8.5/9; 2 GM J Hjartarson (Iceland) 7.5; 3 GM P Nikolic (Bosnia) 7; 4-11 GM N de Firmian (USA), GM I Sokolov (Netherlands), FM F Þór Næs (Faeroe Isles), GM T Oral (Czech Rep.), WGM R Pokorna (Slovakia), FM R Harðarson (Iceland), FM F Wuts (Netherlands), IM S Bjarnason (Iceland) 6.

T Oral - L McShane
Greenland Open, (9)
Sicilian Rossolimo
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 8.Be3 e5 9.Qd2 h6 10.Nh2 Qe7 11.0-0 Nf8 12.f4 exf4 13.Rxf4 Be6 14.Rff1 Nd7 15.Qf2 b6 16.a4 a5 17.Nf3 0-0 18.Qg3 g5 19.Rae1 Rae8 20.Kh1 Qd8 21.d4 Bc4 22.Rf2 f5 23.exf5 cxd4 24.f6 Bxf6 25.Nxd4 Bxd4 26.Qd6 Rxf2 27.Bxf2 Rxe1+ 28.Bxe1 Qf6 29.Qxd7 Qf1+ 30.Kh2 Bg1+, 0-1.

WORLD OPEN: TEN TIE FOR FIRST

THE world's biggest open tournament ended in a multiple tie for first place on Sunday, as ten titled players shared the spoils at the World Open being held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia.

The logjam at the top is a common occurrence in such a strong tournament, and each shared the financial reward of $2,250 for their efforts. Under new rules implemented by organizer Bill Goichberg, the top two on tiebreak had to contest a one-game play-off match at 6 minutes to 5 minutes with the player of black having draw odds.

Estonia's Jaan Ehlvest and Israeli Ilya Smirin were the top two on tiebreak; Ehlvest having the better score so got to choose which colour and opted for black, as just about everyone does in such circumstances. Ehlvest duly won to take the winner's additional pot of $500 and the bragging rights of the title of World Open Champion.

With a total entry of 1462 spread over eight different tournaments, organizer Bill Goichberg came within just 144 of breaking the world-record set during the 1986 event.  The big attraction is the overall guaranteed prize fund of $180,000, and even the sole winner of the under-1400 section bettered the battling GMs payday when he took home $10,000!

The World Open also acts as a main qualifying event for the 2004 US Championship, and the top two places on tiebreak ahead of five others who finished on 6/9 went to IM Yury Lapshun and FM Matthew Hoekstra. 

The tournament also has an automatic woman's spot for the US Championship, which had a fairytale ending for 19-year-old Iryna Zenyuk from New York who took the spot.  Originally entered into a tournament two levels below the Open, Zenyuk, rated just 1939, was persuaded at the last minute to instead try for the qualifying place by opting to play in the Open.

Final standings: 1-10 GM I Smirin (Israel), GM A Onischuk (USA), GM L Yudasin (Israel), GM J Ehlvest (Estonia), GM A Goldin (USA), GM A Shabalov (USA), GM A Wojtkiewicz (USA), GM G Zaitshik (USA), IM N Firman (Ukraine), GM B Annakov (USA) 7/9.

A new event this year to kick off the proceedings was a Masters and Future Masters event, pitting the wits of six titled players against four aspiring junior wannabes. 

The ten-player Swiss tournament was won by IM Rashid Ziatdinov from New Jersey, who successful held off a challenge from four top GMs for outright first. This was a tournament specifically designed for a shockerooney or two, and the Ukrainian IM Nazar Firman duly obliged with a stunning loss to the 1750-rated Matthew Fouts.

Final Standings: 1 IM R Ziatdinov (USA) 4/5; 2-3 GM J Ehlvest (Estonia), GM D Sadvakasov (Kazakhstan) 3.5; 4-5 GM A Wojtkiewicz (USA), M Fouts (USA) 3; 6-7 GM P Blatny (Czech Rep), IM N Firman (Ukraine) 2.5; 8-9 G Geyler (USA), B Gershenov (USA) 1; 10 F Caruana (USA) 0.

M Ginsburg - L Yudasin
31st World Open, (7)
English Hedgehog
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 b6 4.e4 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bb7 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.0-0 e6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.b3 0-0 11.Bb2 a6 12.f4 Re8 13.Rad1 Qc7 14.Kh1 Bf8 15.Nf3 g6 16.Bb1 Rad8 17.Ng5 Bg7 18.e5 dxe5 19.fxe5 Nxe5 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Nb5 axb5 22.Bxe5 Qe7 23.cxb5 h6 24.Nf3 Qc5 25.Qc4 Qxc4 26.bxc4 Rc8 27.Bd3 Nd7 28.Bd6 Nc5 29.Bxc5 Rxc5 30.Nd2 Rc8 31.Nb3 Rd8 32.Rd1 Bf8 33.Be2 Ra8 34.Rd2 Bb4 35.Rb2 Be4 36.Bf3 Rd8 37.Kg1 Bd3 38.c5 bxc5 39.b6 Bc3 40.Rf2 c4 41.Nc5 Bd4 42.Nxd3 Bxb6 43.Kf1 Bxf2 44.Nxf2 c3 45.Be4 Rd2 46.Ke1 f5 47.Bd3 Rxa2 48.Bc4 Rxf2, 0-1.s

J Ehlvest - R Burnett
31st World Open, (6)
Nimzo-Indian Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Bb7 9.e3 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.Nf3 Qe7 12.Bd3 Nc6 13.0-0 d6 14.b4 Rfd8 15.bxc5 dxc5 16.Rab1 Rd7 17.h3 Rad8 18.Bc2 g5 19.Bg3 Nh5 20.Bh2 f6 21.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22.Bxd1 Ng7 23.Nd2 Ba8 24.Bf3 Nf5 25.Be2 Kg7 26.f4 gxf4 27.Bxf4 e5 28.Bh2 Nh4 29.Nf3 Ng6 30.Qc2 Qe6 31.Rf1 Nce7 32.Bg3 Qc6 33.Bd1 Rd7 34.h4 Qe4 35.Qf2 Nf5 36.Bc2 Qg4 37.Nxe5 Qxg3 38.Nxd7 Ngxh4, 1-0.

N Andrianov - S Sulskis
31st World Open, (2)
Queen's Pawn Opening
1.Nf3 c5 2.b3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bb2 e4 8.Nd4 d5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.c4 Bb4+ 11.Nc3 0-0 12.a3 Bd6 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Nb5 Ba6 15.Nxd6 Qxd6 16.Bxa6 Qxa6 17.Qe2 Qe6 18.0-0 Ng4 19.Rac1 Rac8 20.h3 Nh6 21.Bd4 a6 22.b4 Nf5 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Bc5 g6 25.Rd1 h5 26.Qa2 Rd8 27.a4 Qc6 28.a5 Rd7 29.Qa1 Qe6 30.b5 axb5 31.a6 Qc6 32.a7 Rd8 33.Qa5 Ra8 34.Qb6 Ne7 35.Qxc6 Nxc6 36.Ra1 Nd8 37.Rb1 Nc6 38.Rxb5 h4 39.Rb7 Kg7 40.Rc7 Nd8 41.Bd4+ Kh6 42.Bb6 f5 43.Kf1, 1-0.

M Fouts - N Firman
Masters and Future Masters, (4)
Pirc Defense
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be2 Bg7 5.f4 0-0 6.Be3 Na6 7.Qd2 Ng4 8.Bxg4 Bxg4 9.f5 gxf5 10.h3 Bh5 11.exf5 f6 12.g4 Bf7 13.0-0-0 c6 14.Nge2 Nc7 15.g5 fxg5 16.Bxg5 Kh8 17.Rhg1 Rg8 18.Qe3 Bf6 19.Bxf6+ exf6 20.Qh6 Qe7 21.Ne4 Nd5 22.Nf4 Nxf4 23.Nxf6 Bh5 24.Nxg8 Rxg8 25.Rxg8+ Kxg8 26.Rg1+ Ng6 27.Kb1, 1-0.

WORLD OPEN: BIG PRIZES, HEFTY ENTRY FEE

THE business of chess tournaments in the USA is big money, and none come bigger than the Continental Chess Association (CCA), the organization behind the running of the world's largest tournament, the World Open, which runs this week at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia.

The CCA was founded in 1964 by the legendary figure of Tournament Director Bill Goichberg. Together they have held over 2000 chess tournaments in 25 states coast to coast, and has awarded over $12,000,000 in prize money without ever reneging on a guaranteed prize.

For many years, more players have competed in CCA tournaments than those of any other chess organizer in the USA -- and their tournaments always generate a cosmopolitan field, as top grandmasters from around the world fly in at a moment’s notice on the lure of the big pots on offer.

With a guaranteed prize fund of $180,000 at the World Open, entry into the tournament however is not cheap as it covers the prize fund and running costs -- as Scotland's top junior Graeme Kafka discovered! On holiday nearby, he found out about the tournament by accident and, after his strong showing at the recent Scottish Championship, opted to play.

His entry fee came to $250, but before that, he first had to pay a fee of $32 to become a member of the United States Chess Federation (no one can play in a U.S. tournament without first being a USCF member!). And, as he sat down to play his opening round game against Israeli GM Victor Mikhalevski, his financial plight deepened on discovery a further fee of $40 needed when it was explained to him he also had to provide a set and clock to play the game. 

V Mikhaleviski - G Kafka
31st World Open, (1)
Slav Defense
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5 12.Ne3 gxf4 13.Nxf5 fxg3 14.hxg3 0-0-0 15.Qc2 Nf6 16.a5 a6 17.Kf1 Nc4 18.Rh4 Ne5 19.Rf4 h5 20.Rh4 Ng6 21.Rc4 Qd7 22.Rd4 Qc7 23.Nb5 axb5 24.a6 Rxd4 25.Nxd4 bxa6 26.Qf5+ Kd8 27.Nxc6+, 1-0.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: MAMEDYAROV EARNS THE TITLE

IN 1951, Yugoslavia's Borislav Ivkov hit the headlines when he became the first player to be crowned World Junior Champion after winning the title in a tournament held in Birmingham, comprising of just 18-players.

The novel tournament soon caught the imagination of the chess-playing public, and the event grew to become a showcase for a future generation of chess stars as they rose to prominence. In the past, previous winners such as Boris Spassky (Antwerp, 1955), Anatoly Karpov (Stockholm, 1969) and Garry Kasparov (Dortmund, 1980) first came to notoriety by winning the world junior crown on their long road to winning the ultimate accolade in the game by becoming "the" world champion.

However, the title has lost some of its luster of late and become a bit devalued as chess prodigies like Peter Leko, Ruslan Ponomariov and Sergei Karjakin decided to skip the now annual competition, preferring instead the rough and tumble of the GM circuit.

The latest edition of the world junior crown (running 21 June to 3 July) was held at the remote location of Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan. Not only is Nakhchivan one of the oldest towns in the region, but it is also extremely difficult to reach -- and this could explain the drop in numbers, with the boys section having only 50 participants (7 GMs and 13 IMs).

The event was won by Shakhrivaz Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan. The girl’s title was taken by Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia, who led the field by two full points.

Final Standings: 1. S Mamedyarov 10.0; 2. S Azarov 9.5; 3. A Zubov 8.5; 4. V Gashimov 8.5; 5. K Guseinov 8.5; 6. V Bachin 8.5; 7. S Erenburg, Sergey 8.5.

L Kritz - K Guseinov
World Junior Ch., (6)
Sicilian Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.f3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.exd5 a5 16.a3 b4 17.axb4 axb4 18.Qxb4 Kg8 19.Kd2 e5 20.Ke2 e4 21.Rd4 Qg5 22.g3 exf3+ 23.Kxf3 Rfe8 24.Rd2 Bf5 25.Rhd1 Qe3+ 26.Kg2 Be4+ 27.Kf1 Qf3+, 0-1.

S Mamedyarov - A Murariu
World Junior Ch., (1)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Ne5 b5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Nd5 8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bd6 10.Qg4 Kf8 11.0–0 Qc7 12.f4 h5 13.Qh3 Kg8 14.Be3 Nd7 15.Nxf7 Kxf7 16.e5 Nf6 17.exd6 Qxd6 18.f5 exf5 19.Bf4 Qd8 20.Bxc6 Be6 21.Rae1 Rc8 22.Bb7 g6 23.Bxc8 Qxc8 24.Be5 Re8 25.Bxf6 Kxf6 26.Qh4+ Kf7 27.Re5 Bd7 28.Rfe1 Rxe5 29.Rxe5 Qf8 30.Rc5 Qe8 31.Kf2 a5 32.Qf4 Kg8 33.Qd6 f4 34.gxf4 b4, 1–0.

K Guseinov - S Arun Prasad
World Junior Ch., (1)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.0–0–0 b5 10.f5 e5 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Nf6 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.g4 Bd7 15.Nc6 h5 16.gxh5 Bxf5 17.Bg2 Qd7 18.Kb1 Bg4 19.Bf3 Bh3 20.Rhg1 Bh6 21.Bg4 Bxg4 22.Rxg4 f5 23.Rg2 Kf8 24.Rdg1 f6 25.h4 Qh7 26.Rg6 Kf7 27.Qd3 e4 28.Qc3, 1–0.

V Gashimov - L Kozak
World Junior Ch., (2)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7 6.d4 Na5 7.Nxe5 Nxc4 8.Nxc4 d5 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Ne3 Qd8 11.0–0 Nf6 12.c4 0–0 13.Nc3 Re8 14.Bb2 c6 15.Re1 Bb4 16.Qd3 Bd7 17.a3 Bf8 18.Ne2 Ne4 19.Ng3 Nxg3 20.hxg3 Qa5 21.Bc3 Qh5 22.Bb4 Re6 23.Qd1 Qxd1 24.Rexd1 Ree8 25.Rab1 Rab8 26.Rdc1 b6 27.Bxf8 Kxf8 28.Rc3 c5 29.d5 Ke7 30.f3 Kd6 31.g4 h6 32.Kf2 Rb7 33.Re1 Re7 34.Rec1 Rb8 35.Nf1 f5 36.Ng3 Rf8 37.gxf5 Bxf5 38.a4 Bg6 39.a5 Rb8 40.axb6 axb6 41.Ra1 h5 42.Ra6 h4 43.Nf1 Bf5 44.Rb3 Reb7 45.g4 hxg3+ 46.Nxg3 g6 47.f4 Kd7 48.Nxf5 gxf5 49.Rh3 Re8 50.Rh5 b5 51.d6 Reb8 52.cxb5 Rxb5 53.Rh7+ Ke6 54.d7+ Kd5 55.Rhh6 Ke4 56.Rhe6+ Kxf4 57.Ra4+ Kg5 58.Re8 Rb2+ 59.Ke1 Rb1+ 60.Kd2, 1–0.

N Dzagnidze - Z Mamedjarova
World Junior Ch., (3)
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0–0 Be7 6.Nc3 0–0 7.d4 d5 8.Ne5 Qc8 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nd7 12.f4 Nf6 13.Re1 Rd8 14.Qb3 c5 15.Bb2 Nd7 16.Nc4 Qc7 17.Rad1 Nf6 18.Ne5 Bf8 19.Rd2 Rac8 20.Rf2 Nd7 21.Bh3 c4 22.Qc2 Nxe5 23.fxe5 Qc6 24.Qe2 Rc7 25.Rf4 b5 26.Ref1 g6 27.Qf3 Qe8 28.Rf6 b4 29.cxb4 Bxb4 30.d5 Bc5+ 31.Kh1 Rxd5 32.exd5 Bxd5 33.Qxd5 exd5 34.e6 d4 35.exf7+ Rxf7 36.Rxf7 c3 37.Bc1 d3 38.Rc7 Qe4+ 39.Bg2 Qe5 40.Bf4 Qf5 41.Bh6 d2 42.Rxf5 d1=Q+ 43.Rf1, 1–0.

CHESS AND ART: 12-YEAR OLD HOWELL’S OUTDOOR CHALLENGE

THE Gilbert Collection's 'Art of Chess' exhibition that charts artists' fascination with the game opened on Saturday in London's Somerset House, and will run to 28 September.

Artists taking part in the major exhibition includes Brit-art bad boy Damien Hirst, Turner  Prize nominees Jake and Dinos Chapman, Man Ray, Carl Fabergé, Yoko Ono and Marcel Duchamp, the most famous chess-playing artist of all-time, who for a period played at international level for France.

Their work demonstrates the interaction of chess and modern art, and each of the 19 sets on display will show a move from the apocryphal last game between Napoleon against General Bertrand on St. Helena in 1820.

In order to create a chess atmosphere for the grand opening, a special outdoor challenge match with giant chess pieces took place between Sergei Karjakin, the youngest Grandmaster in history who is now 13, and England's top junior David Howell, 12; that match ending in a draw. To prepare himself for Karjakin, a few days earlier Howell took part in a similar outdoor challenge with top GM Jon Speelman that was sponsored by British Land, and won.

D Howell - J Speelman
British Land Challenge
Caro-Kann Defense
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Nd7 9.Be2 N7f6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Nf4 13.Bc4 Ng6 14.Bg3 Nh5 15.a3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Bd7 17.Rfe1 Rc8 18.Ba2 Bc6 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Qxg6 Nxg3 21.Qxe6+ Kh7 22.hxg3 Bd5 23.Qe3 Qc7 24.Qd3+ Kg8 25.Re3 Qf7 26.Rae1 Rc7 27.Qd2 Bxf3 28.Rxf3 Qd5 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qf4+ Qf7 31.Qe5 Kg8 32.d5 Rc5 33.Rd1 b6 34.Qd4 Qd7 35.d6 Rf5 36.Qc4+ Rf7 37.Re1 Kh7 38.Qe4+ Kg8 39.Qd5 Kh7 40.c4 Rf6 41.Qe4+ Rg6 42.Rd1 h5 43.Rd5 Kh6 44.Rxh5+ Kxh5 45.Qh4 mate.