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May, 2008 (scroll down for most current news)

 News starting May 1, 2008 
News starting May 17, 2008 
News starting May 27, 2008

May 24, 2008:

 

The Panamericano Women's Championship
May 6 - 12, 2008
Official Website
 The event was won by Zirka Frometa Castillo.  Here is the final cross-table from The Week in Chess:

 

Panamericano w San Salvador (ESA), 6-12 v 2008
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Frometa Castillo, Zirka wm CUB 2149 +22 +11 +9 +2 -3 =5 +4 +13 =6 7 2294
2. Yuan Yuanling wf CAN 2119 +23 +21 +6 -1 -4 +9 +7 =3 +5 6½ 2273
3. Arribas Robaina, Maritza wg CUB 2348 =10 +18 +15 =5 +1 -4 +6 =2 =9 6 2205
4. Moncayo Romero, Evelyn wm ECU 2182 -14 +24 +11 +9 +2 +3 -1 -5 +17 6 2229
5. Zepeda, Lorena wm ESA 2145 =19 +16 +25 =3 =6 =1 =13 +4 -2 5½ 2161
6. Zepeda, Sonia wm ESA 2048 +24 +14 -2 =7 =5 +17 -3 +11 =1 5½ 2205
7. Sanchez Castillo, Sarai wg VEN 2274 -11 +23 +8 =6 +14 =13 -2 =10 +20 5½ 2056
8. Trejos,Shirley CRC ---- =18 +10 -7 =15 +16 =20 -12 +21 +13 5½ 2118
9. Chang, Suzana BRA 2080 +26 +13 -1 -4 +21 -2 +14 +16 =3 5½ 2162
10. Avelar, Gabriela wf ESA 1966 =3 -8 +18 =13 =15 +22 =21 =7 =12 5 2097
11. Castro, Azalea wf ESA 1960 +7 -1 -4 =16 +19 =15 +20 -6 +22 5 2096
12. Heredia Serrano, Carla ECU 2016 =16 =19 -13 -24 +28 +23 +8 =17 =10 5 2016
13. Pastor, Tania wf ESA 1972 +17 -9 +12 =10 +20 =7 =5 -1 -8 4½ 2097
14. Orozco, Luz Elena COL 1946 +4 -6 =20 +19 -7 =21 -9 =23 +27 4½ 2033
15. Munoz, Carolina CRC 2034 +28 =25 -3 =8 =10 =11 -17 +19 =16 4½ 2041
16. Romero Echeverria, Abigail ECU 2000 =12 -5 +26 =11 -8 +24 +18 -9 =15 4½ 2026
17. Mateus, Martha COL 2189 -13 =26 =19 +23 +24 -6 +15 =12 -4 4½ 1986
18. Mencos, Claudia GUA 2001 =8 -3 -10 +26 -22 +25 -16 +28 +23 4½ 1983
19. Melendez, Gabriela wf ESA 1912 =5 =12 =17 -14 -11 +27 +22 -15 =21 4 1971
20. Castaneda, Ada wf ESA 2059 -25 +27 =14 +22 -13 =8 -11 +24 -7 4 1953
21. Sanchez, Ingrid ESA 2024 +27 -2 =22 +25 -9 =14 =10 -8 =19 4 1939
22. Hernandez, Bera ESA 1819 -1 +28 =21 -20 +18 -10 -19 +26 -11 3½ 1927
23. Alarcon, Pamela NCA 1718 -2 -7 +28 -17 +25 -12 +27 =14 -18 3½ 1980
24. Aguilar,Marcela ESA ---- -6 -4 +27 +12 -17 -16 =26 -20 -28 2½ 1888
25. Lopez,Erika ESA ---- +20 =15 -5 -21 -23 -18 =28 -27 =26 2½ 1831
26. Duron, Sari ESA ---- -9 =17 -16 -18 -27 +28 =24 -22 =25 2½ 1843
27. Morales,Karla ESA ---- -21 -20 -24 =28 +26 -19 -23 +25 -14 2½ 1796
28. Morales,Fatima ESA ---- -15 -22 -23 =27 -12 -26 =25 -18 +24 2 1734

 

2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship

May 13 - 21, 2008

Here is the final cross-table from The Week in Chess:

 

Frank K Berry ch-USA w Tulsa (USA), 13-21 v 2008 cat. I (2251)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Krush, Irina m USA 2479 * ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 7½ 2498
2. Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2458 ½ * 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 7½ 2500
3. Rohonyan, Katerina wg USA 2309 ½ 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 6 2369
4. Abrahamyan, Tatev wf USA 2239 0 0 1 * 0 1 1 1 1 1 6 2376
5. Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg wm USA 2278 0 1 0 1 * 0 ½ 1 1 1 5½ 2327
6. Battsetseg, Tsagaan wm USA 2254 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ ½ 1 1 4½ 2250
7. Zenyuk, Iryna wf USA 2233 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ * 1 0 1 3½ 2172
8. Epstein, Esther wm USA 2184 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 * 1 ½ 2 2037
9. Airapetian, Chouchanik wf USA 2092 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 2 2048
10. Jamison, Courtney USA 1979 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1836

 

XXVI Festival Lacona Isola d'Elba
May 10 - 18, 2008 
GM Lexy Ortega (ITA 2459) took first place with 7.0/9. 14 year old Marina Brunello (ITA 2035) made her first WGM norm and only the second in Italy's history (Barbara Pernici Lucerne 1982) (information from The Week in Chess) with 5.0/9 (?) - not sure how many rounds were held, it's not reported and there is no website other than the information at TWIC.  Marina was the only chess femme out of 38 players.

 

Mitropa Cup

May 25 - June 4, 2008
This is a team event.  Men's and Women's teams are invited from the chess federations of Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.  The women's teams are two players plus a reserve.  This information is from the official website:  Time Control: 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds increment after each move starting from move 1.

Prizes: The first three teams will be awarded trophies and gold, silver and bronze medals.

Accommodation: For each team is provided full board accommodation in one triple room and three double rooms.

 

I read the Regulations - no prizes are offered and a 200 E fee has to be paid for each player entered by the Federation!  So - why would any Federation send players to this event???

 

Here are the women's teams:

 

Austria:

1  Anna Christina Kopinits   WFM   2192 
2  Helene Mira   WIM   2147 
Res.  Maria Horvath   WFM   2011 

 

Germany:

1  Sarah Hoolt   WFM   2220 
2  Maria Schoene      2207 
Res.

 

Hungary:

1  Maria Ignacz   WIM   2173 
2  Sarolta Toth   WFM   2163 
Res.

Italy:

1  Elena Sedina   WGM   2356 
2  Olga Zimina   WGM   2363 
Res.  Eleonora Ambrosi   WFM   2148

 

Slovakia:

1  Zuzana Borosova   WFM   2212 
2  Niki Varholakova   WFM   2221 
Res.

 

Switzerland:

1  Selina Fischer      1873 
2  Camille De Seroux      1867 
Res.

 

Upcoming Events:

 

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From TWIC: The schedule for Chess Classic Mainz 2008 is now available. The event takes place July 27 - August 3, 2008 in Mainz/Germany. Anand, Morozevich, Carlsen and Judit Polgar play.

 

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4th European Union Individual Chess Championships: 42 players confirmed as of May 14th.
September 9 - 18, 2008, 30,000 E total prizes.  Several chess femmes are confirmed:
GM Pia Cramling (SWE 2539); IM Victoria Cmilyte (LTU 2466); IM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (SCO 2452); IM Elena Dembo (GRE 2429); IM Eva Moser (AUT 2395); IM Jovanka Houska (ENG 2390); WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor (ROU 2375); WF Brigitte von Herman (GER 2103).

 

In the News:

 

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Dylan McClain at The New York Times,  May 4, 2008:  Frenchwoman Wins Attention at an Event Dominated by Men (about IM Marie Sebag scoring her third and final GM norm at the 2008 European Men's Chess Championship - the only woman playing in the field).

 

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The Kalinga Times, May 23, 2008:  An interview with India's newest and youngest (14) WIM, Padmini Rout, Orissa Chess Champion Padmini Rout Aims to Become a Grandmaster.

 

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Zulkafli, Nur Shazwani 2007 Malaysian W CC.jpg (41377 bytes)The Star Online (Malaysia), May 23, 2008 (photo: 2007 Malaysian Women's Champion Nur Shazwan Zulkafli):  The Chess Column by QUAH SENG SUN, Family Affair (on the upcoming Malaysian Closed National Women's Chess Championship and chessplaying sisters who have participated in the event in the past, including Zarul Shazwan Zulkafli and Nur Shazwani Zulkafli, Nurul Huda Ariffin and Khairunnisa Ariffin, and Eliza Hanim Ibrahim and Eliza Hanum Ibrahim).  

 

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The NavHind Times, May 23, 2008:  A feature article on young Indian chess whiz Ivana Maria Furtado (recent silver medalist at the National U-9 Indian Championships held in New Delhi, with a record of +8, =2, -1), Winning Medals is Ivana's Habit.  Ivana will play in the Indian Women National B Championship to be held in Calicut from June 6 to 14, as well as in the Asian Youth Chess Championship, to be held in Teheran in July and the World Youth Chess Championship to be held in Vietnam from October 17-29, by virtue of of her championship gold in both events last year.

 

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Susan Polgar Chess Blog, May 23, 2008:  The Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, is now one year old.  Accomplishments of SPICE during the past year were listed, and it's an impressive list.  A potentially important announcement was made by Susan Polgar regarding the 2009 U.S. Chess Championships: I informed the USCF EB during the last board meeting [held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the U.S. Championships] that SPICE and the SPF would be interested in hosting and sponsoring the US and US Women's Championship if no other sponsor is found. 

 

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Okay, I'm ticked off now.  One of the most exciting U.S. Women's Chess Championships in recent memory just concluded in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was given scant attention by the press.  We may as well be living back in the 19th century instead of the 21st.  Here's a classic example of what I'm talking about:  In an article written by David R. Sands and published at The Washington Post on May 24, 2008, all of two sentences were devoted to the Women's Championship while two full pages, including annotated games, were published regarding the "Men's" Championship.  This is what Mr. Sands wrote about the Women's Championship:

There was high drama on the women's side, as Anna Zatonskih caught front-runner IM Irina Krush with a last-round win over Tsagaan Battsetseg, and then prevailed in a winner-take-all blitz game after she and Krush split four previous rapid and blitz playoff matches. It's the second U.S. women's title for Ukrainian-born Zatonskih, who also won in 2006.


Say what?  Did you look at any of the games played by the women, Mr. Sands?  Did you see the video of the final Armageddon play-off game between IM Irina Krush and WGM Anna Zatonskih?  He didn't even bother to mention that Zatonskih is an WGM.  You know what, Mr. Sands, your coverage and comments on the Women's Championship really suck.  And so I wrote him and told him (although using somewhat more polite terminology).  Geez, Louise!  
 

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