CFN April, 2008 3

April, 2008 (scroll down for most current news)

News April 1 - 5, 2008
News April 7 - 11, 2008
News starting April 20, 2008

April 13, 2008:

2008 Dutch Women's Championships
April 2 - 13, 2008

Final standings after Round 9, congratulations to GM Pen Zhaqin:

Nr	Naam	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Peng, Zhaoqin	2455	x	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	8.0
2	FM Schuurman, Petra	2295	0	x	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	6.5
3	IM Lanchava, Tea	2365	½	½	x	1	1	½	0	0	1	1	5.5
4	WIM Bensdorp, Marlies	2268	0	1	0	x	1	½	0	1	½	1	5.0
5	WGM Muhren, Bianca	2297	0	0	0	0	x	1	1	1	1	1	5.0
6	Van Nies, Pauline	2184	0	0	½	½	0	x	1	1	1	½	4.5
7	Haast, Anne	2020	0	0	1	1	0	0	x	0	½	1	3.5
8	Middelveld, Martine	2040	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	x	1	½	3.5
9	Munnik, Talitha	2002	0	0	0	½	0	0	½	0	x	1	2.0
10	WFM Bensdorp, Laura	2085	½	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	x	1.5

10th Dubai Open
April 6 - 15, 2008
(Photo: WGM Mohota Nisha IND 2400, 2006 Commonwealth Championship, from Chessbase)

Standings after Round 7:
25 IM Sachdev Tania 2423 IND 4.5
52 WGM Sergeeva Maria 2317 KAZ 4.0
58 WIM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2268 IRI 4.0
61 WGM Smokina Karolina 2234 MDA 3.5
63 WGM Ramaswamy Aarthie 2298 IND 3.5
73 WGM Mohota Nisha 2400 IND 3.5
75 WGM Partac Elena 2125 MDA 3.0
79 WFM Swati Mohota 2114 IND 3.0
84 WGM Zhang Jilin 2361 CHN 3.0
85 WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh 2177 IRI 3.0
102 Anuprita Patil 2062 IND 2.5
103 WFM Hakimifard Ghazal 2055 IRI 2.5
106 WIM Meera Sai 2227 IND 2.5
109 WFM Abdulaziz Amal 1639 UAE 2.5
116 WFM Bukhashem Fayeqa S 1733 UAE 2.0
121 WFM Abdulaziz Eman 0 UAE 1.5

5th de Balagne International Open
April 6 - 12, 2008

Final standings (64 players, 9 rounds):
The event was won by Stefan Macak (SVK 2342), with 8.0/9. Here are the ladies' final standings:
28 GADARINIAN Caroline FRA 1910 4.5
43 STUBBE Alicia 1570 FRA 4.0
44 COSTA Elodie 1480 FRA 4.0
49 GRAZIANI Virginie 1607 FRA 3.5
61 SUSINI Lisa 1520 FRA 2.5
64 CESARI Cathy 1240 FRA 1.0

Gausdal Classic
April 8 - 16, 2008

Standings after Round 5 (GM Group A):
1 Kaidanov, Gregory USA 2596 gm 4.0
2-3 Lie, Kjetil A NOR 2558 gm 3.5
     Sandipan, Chanda IND 2585 gm 3.5
4-7 Gopal, Geetha Naraynan IND 2562 gm 2.5
     Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2599 gm 2.5
     Kotronias, Vasilios GRE 2611 gm 2.5
     Krush, Irina USA 2479 im 2.5
8   Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav RUS 2578 gm 2.0
9-10 Moskow, Eric USA 2229 1.0
     Hole, Øystein NOR 2387 im 1.0

In the News:

From the JarkataPost.com (April 13, 2008): After a narrow failure in Ukraine, Indonesia's leading women's chess player Irene Kharisma Sukandar will be given another chance to win her first grandmaster (GM) norm at the upcoming JAPFA Chess Festival in Jakarta next week.

From Gulfnews.com (April 12, 2008): Mozah Al Mansouri, a chess champion. Eight year old Mozah has what it takes to win: Nobody can create a chess champion by coaching only. It is important that the player has the talent. Mozah has it in plenty and I predict a glorious future for her if she continues to take part in tournaments and gains more experience from higher rated players.

April 14, 2008:

10th Dubai Open
April 6 - 15, 2008

(Photo: WGM Elena Partac MDA 2125, 2007 Predeal International Chess Festival, from Chessbase)
After Round 8, the ladies' standings were:
(40) IM Sachdev, Tania 2423 IND 5.0
(44) WGM Sergeeva Maria 2317 KAZ 5.0
(46) WIM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2268 IRI 5.0
(52) WGM Mohota Nisha 2400 IND 5.0
(65) WGM Smokina Karolina 2234 MDA 4.0
(70) WFM Swati Mohota 2114 IND 4.0
(72) WGM Zhang Jilin 2361 CHN 4.0
(81) WGM Partac Elena 2125 MDA 3.5
(85) WGM Ramaswamy Aarthie 2298 IND 3.5
(91) WIM Meera Sai 2227 IND 3.5
(94) Anuprita Patil 2062 IND 3.5
(102) WFM Hakimifard Ghazal 2055 IRI 3.0
(103) WIM Ghader Pour Shayesteh 2177 IRI 3.0
(115) WFM Bukhashem Fayeqa S 1733 UAE 2.5
(116) WFM Abdulaziz Amal 1639 UAE 2.5
(122) WFM Abdulaziz Eman 0 UAE 2.0

The event was won by the young GM Wesley So (2540) of the Phillipines (I can hear them cheering in Manila, and for good reason), with 7.0/9. Here are the ladies' final standings and prize money won (after Round 9; 130 players finished the event):
18 35 IM Sachdev, Tania 2423 IND 6 (won $520)
45 51 WGM Sergeeva, Maria 2317 KAZ 5 (won $500)
48 64 WIM Pourkashiyan, Atousa 2268 IRI 5 (won $500)
56 38 WGM Mohota, Nisha 2400 IND 5 (won $500)
65 54 WGM Ramaswamy, Aarthie 2298 IND 4½
66 44 WGM Zhang, Jilin 2361 CHN 4½
72 69 WIM Meera, Sai 2227 IND 4½
73 98 Anuprita, Patil 2062 IND 4½
75 67 WGM Smokina, Karolina 2234 MDA 4
76 88 WGM Partac, Elena 2125 MDA 4
80 91 WFM Swati, Mohota 2114 IND 4
87 78 WIM Ghader Pour, Shayesteh 2177 IRI 4
108 101 WFM Hakimifard, Ghazal 2055 IRI 3
112 122 WFM Abdulaziz, Eman 0 UAE 3 (won $240)
116 121 WFM Abdulaziz, Amal 1639 UAE 3 (won $240)
120 119 WFM Bukhashem, Fayeqa S 1733 UAE 2½

Congratulations to Tania Sachdev, who is continuing her hot streak of good results in 2008.

Gausdal Classic
April 8 - 16, 2008

Standings after Round 7 (GM Group "A"):
1 Kaidanov, Gregory USA 2596 gm 5.5
2-4 Gopal, Geetha Naraynan IND 2562 gm 4.5
       Lie, Kjetil A NOR 2558 gm 4.5
       Sandipan, Chanda IND 2585 gm 4.5
5-6 Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2599 gm 4.0
       Kotronias, Vasilios GRE 2611 gm 4.0
7 Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav RUS 2578 gm 3.0
8 Krush, Irina USA 2479 wgm 2.5
9 Hole, Øystein NOR 2387 im 1.5
10 Moskow, Eric USA 2229 1.0

Serbian Women's Championship
March 28 - April 9, 2008

(Photo: Maria Manakova from Chesspics.com)

1. Stojanovic, Andjelija wg SRB 2310 8½/11 2426
2. Benderac, Ana wg SRB 2324 8 2388
3. Manakova, Maria wg SRB 2331 8 2388
4. Maksimovic, Suzana wg SRB 2264 7½ 2352
5. Chelushkina, Irina wg SRB 2357 6 2246
6. Petrovic, Marija wm SRB 2168 5½ 2228
7. Rakic, Marija SRB 2218 5½ 2223
8. Mladenovic, Jelena wf SRB 2114 4½ 2168
9. Djukic, Sandra SRB 2204 0 3½ 2091
10. Eric, Jovana wf SRB 2104 3½ 2100
11. Jovanovic, Violeta SRB 2175 3½ 2094
12. Urosevic, Marija wf SRB 2108 2 1971

April 16, 2008:

Oh for goddess' sake! Hou Yifan has gone back to those funky looking hair clips, eek! Here's a photo from coverage of the Ruy Lopez Magistral from Chessbase. I thought she had finally given them up after she was photographed sporting a clip-free do at the recent Ataturk International Women Masters Tournament. (Pssst, she needs a personal shopper, too - horrid clothing choices!)

GM Koneru Humpy looks lovely and svelt in these Chessbase photos - excellent outfit (good color choices for her, form fitting but not too tight, and the cap sleeves show off her toned arms; it's a great modern taken on a traditional look) and I like her hair this way - sleek and straightened, pulled back off her face. Well done, Humpy - a classic and classy look. Photos by Jorge Armestar Marroquin for the official web site.

Gausdal Classic
April 8 - 16, 2008

The final standings (after Round 9):
1. Kaidanov, Gregory USA 2596 gm 7.0 2731
2. Gopal, Geetha Naraynan IND 2562 gm 6.0 2638
3. Kotronias, Vasilios GRE 2611 gm 5.5 2592
4. Sandipan, Chanda IND 2585 gm 5.0 2555
5. Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav RUS 2578 gm 5.0 2554
6. Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2599 gm 5.0 2554
7. Lie, Kjetil A NOR 2558 gm 4.5 2514
8. Krush, Irina USA 2479 im 3.5 2442
9. Hole, Øystein NOR 2387 im 2.5 2367
10. Moskow, Eric USA 2229 1.0 2190

Latestchess.com has an April 10, 2008 interview with GM Alexandria Kosteniuk, with lots of photos of the lovely chess master.

April 19, 2008:

10th NA FIDE Invitational
April 19 - 25, 2008
In Chicago, Chicago, it's my kind of town... Okay, I'm mixing up my Frank Sinatra songs :) I just love Chicago, and we'll be visiting there again later in the summer, I'm sure! Chicago is the site of the 10th NA FIDE Invitational and there are two chess femmes participating, hooray, WFM Melissa Melekhina and WFM WFM Yuanling Yuan. The other players: IM Mesgen Amanov, IM Angelo Young, IM Arjun Vishnuvardhan, FM Mehmed Pasalic, FM Dennis Monokroussos, FM Gauri Shankar, FM Aleksander Stamnov, FM Albert Chow. You have to pay for membership at the NA site (something I won't do) so my information will be catch as catch can. Monroi.com is broadcasting the games (you have to sign up for access, which is free, but again, I refuse to sign up for such services). Susan Polgar's blog reports that Melekhina won her first game - against FM Dennis Monokroussos! Way to go girl.

XIV Dos Hermanas Tournament
April 18 - 20, 2008
Information from The Week in Chess: The knockout featured four players Veselin Topalov, Alexei Shirov, Judit Polgar and Paco Vallejo. There were four game rapid matches of 20 minutes + 10 seconds a move. Francisco Vallejo Pons beat Alexei Shirov 3-1 on the first day. Today Veselin Topalov beat Judit Polgar 2.5-1.5 but had already made sure of qualifying before the fourth game, which Judit won.