Sergey Volkov grabs the lead in the 9th Khazar Open
15th to 22nd February in Rasht, Iran, for the total prize fund of 30.000 USD
Russian Grandmaster Sergey Volkov, winner of the recent 40th Rilton Cup, singled out on the top after beating GM Farid Abbasov in the fifth round. Volkov has 4.5 points, half a point ahead of the group of five players, and is paired to play Black against GM Elshan Moradiabadi in the next game.
The Chess Association of Khorasan-Razavi province on behalf of I.R.Iran Chess Federation has the honor to invite all chess players from national federations to participate in the 19th Fajr International Chess Open Tournament that will be held in Mashhad, northeastern of Iran, from 25 February – 7 March, 2011. The tournament is starting shortly after the 9th Khazar International Chess Cup, which concludes on 22nd February, also in Iran.
A number of strong Grandmasters are signed to play in the event: Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2681 UZB, Aleksandr Moiseenko 2670 UKR, Boris Grachev 2660 RUS, Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2641 GEO, Sergey Tiviakov 2623 NED, Anton Filippov 2620 UZB, Andrey Sumets 2619 UKR, Merab Gagunashvili 2619 GEO, Gadir Guseinov 2604 AZE, Sergey Volkov 2602 RUS, Aleksei Fedorov 2593 BLR, Aleksandr Rakhmanov 2590 RUS, Evgeny Gleyzerov 2581 RUS, Nidjat Mamedov 2580 AZE, Konstantine Shanava 2560 GEO.
The 27th edition of Cappelle La Grande will feature over 100 Grandmasters and 300 titled players. Top seeded is GM Krishnan Sasikiran (India), who will be aiming at the 2700 club once again. His main competition comes from 12 more players over 2600 ELO, among which GM Zhigalko, GM Kryvoruchko, GM Macieja, GM Delchev, GM Mareco, GM Gurevich, GM Vuckovic, GM Pantsulaia, GM Burmakin, and GM Iturrizaga.
The tournament is organized by “ L’Echiquier Cappellois ” chess club and takes place at the Palais des Arts in Cappelle-la-Grande, France. The tournament dates are Saturday 26th of February (round 1) to Saturday 5th of March (round 9). There is no zero default time, but players are expected to play minimum 20 moves before a draw is agreed.
The 19th Fajr International Chess Open Tournament was held from 25th February to 7th March in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, under management of the Chess Association of Khorasan-Razavi province and I.R.Iran Chess Federation.
246 players from 18 countries participated, among them 24 Grandmasters 16 International Masters. The total prize fund amounts to 40.000 USD.
After 11 rounds of tense struggle, eight players emerged as joint winners with 8.5 points each: Sergei Tiviakov, GM Evgeny Gleizerov, IM Davit Benidze, GM Gadir Guseinov, GM Mikhail Ulibin, GM Nidjat Mamedov, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov and GM Merab Gagunashvili. Tiviakov boasted the best tiebreak score and was declared winner.
Georgy Agzamov Memorial
17th to 27th March, 2011, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The 5th International Chess Tournament, dedicated to the memory of Georgy Agzamov, the first grandmaster of Uzbekistan, is scheduled to take place from 17th to 27th March in Tashkent. The playing venue will be in the Central House of Officers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Tournament is organized with the objectives of popularization and development of chess in Uzbekistan, preservation and multiplication of cultural and sports traditions. It is carried out by the Chess Federation of Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The Tournament is a 9-round Swiss, with the total prize fund of 20 000 US dollars. 1st place is 5 000 USD worth.
Levon Aronian is the winner of the twentieth and final Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament. Following his earlier wins in 2008 and 2009 this is the third time the Armenian grandmaster claimed first prize.
Aronian also won the blindfold competition. The rapid competition was won by Magnus Carlsen.
12th European Individual Chess Championship
Vladimir Potkin and Boris Savchenko leading with perfect score
The 12th European Individual Chess Championship resumed on Friday with round four games. Russian Grandmasters Vladimir Potkin and Boris Savchenko continued the winning row, both being successful with Black pieces, and moved into joint lead with perfect score.
Half a point behind is a cluster of 19 players, and among them French International Masters Anthony Wirig and Anthony Bellaiche, who defeated top Grandmasters Bojan Vuckovic and Erwin l'Ami respectively.
The Championship is taking place in Aix-les-Bains, France, from March 21st (day of arrival) to April 3rd (day of departure). 393 players from 41 countries, also including five under ECU flag, are taking participation. Among them is an impressive number of Grandmasters, 167, and 63 International Masters.
The 5th International Chess Tournament, dedicated to the memory of Georgy Agzamov, the first grandmaster of Uzbekistan, was played from 17th to 26th march at the Central House of Officers of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
The top three tables of the last round saw relatively quiet games which all concluded in draws around 30th move. Uzbek Grandmaster Marat Dzhumaev took advantage of such development, defeated GM Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan, and jumped ahead to the shared first place, together with Anton Filippov and Tigran Petrosian. Petrosian was declared winner on superior tiebreak score.
The chess activities continue tomorrow with a rapid match between the reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand and the 17th World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
Vishy Anand and Rustam Kasimdzhanov to play a rapid match
The event is set to take place in March in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Chessdom
The reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand will play a rapid match against the 17th World Champion, and currently his second, Rustam Kasimdzhanov. The event is set to take place in March in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, immediately after the traditional Georgi Agzamov memorial.
Update: The match will take place on 27th March. It will consist of four games with the time control of 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov won the knockout World Championship in 2004 and held the title until 2005. Later Kasimdzhanov joined Anand's team to help the Champion defend the crown in the matches against Kramnik in Bonn, 2008, and against Topalov in Sofia, 2010.
Most recently, Kasimdzhanov won the Rapid Championship of the 16th Asian Games which was held in November in Guangzhou, China.
The reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand and the 17th World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov played a four-game rapid match this Sunday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, immediately after the traditional Georgi Agzamov Memorial. The time control was 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per player.
In the first game Kasimdzhanov defended with the Petroff and easily achieved equality. A draw was signed soon.
The second game saw a tense struggle after the Catalan opening. It looked like Anand is under pressure, but then he found a magnificent positional sacrifice and completely turned the tables.
The third game was Petroff again, but this time Anand changes the variation and goes directly after the enemy King. A wonderful attacking effort left Black in the mating net.
In the fourth game the already demoralized Kasimdzhanov carelessly ran after the queenside pawn, allowing Anand to launch yet another deadly attack. The final score is 3.5-0.5 in Anand's favour. Replay the games bellow.
The final score is 3.5-0.5 in Anand's favour.
Как теперь мы начинаем понимать, разница между Чемпионами Мира и чемпионами ФИДЕ довольно существенна
A new International Open in Lido Adriano - Ravenna in Italy will take place from 2-10 April 2011. A €10,000 Prize Fund (first prize €2,500), 10 invited GMs and a highlight of the tournament: Judit Polgar will be present and will give a simultaneous on 9 April.
The Chess Queen is making a great come-back with recent notable victories over Ivanchuk and Topalov (Mexico, Nov, 2010).
1st of April will be celebrated with an interesting event in Russia. Ten Blondes will challenge ten Brunettes in a unique match of mind battle over the chess board.
The tournament will be a 10 rounds event, the time control is 5 minutes per player. More information by e3e5.com and russiachess.org
