May, 2009
May
1 - 25, 2009 Tournaments and Upcoming
In the News:
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May 25, 2009: Agnes
Winarti, The
Jakarta Post, Jakarta|Mon, 05/25/2009 2:39 PM|Sports
Indonesian chess prodigy  Irene Kharisma Sukandar fell short of
securing a place for the women's chess championship as the Asian
Continental Chess Championship turned into a stumbling hurdle for
Indonesian competitors. Irene ended up only in 11th place among
45 players at the Asian Chess Championship in Subic, Philippines,
which also served as a qualifying field for the world championship in
2010. Irene had been expected to finish in the top three, and
win a place in the world championship but her hopes were dashed as
Irene failed to maintain her winning form, which had given a surprise
win over Grand Master Zhu Chen, the Chinese born with Qatar
nationality, in the earlier stage of the 11-round competition.
But the 17-year old returns home with US$500 in prize money. The
top three spots for women were taken by Chinese players. (Full
article also at Susan Polgar's blog).
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May 23, 2009:
By
Roy Luarca, Philippine
Daily Inquirer, First Posted
02:44:00 05/23/2009, Filed Under: Chess
SUBIC -  Filipino teen sensation GM Wesley So found fellow
prodigy Hou Yifan a worthy adversary Friday night, settling for a draw
in the 10th and penultimate round of the Asian Individual chess
championship at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center here.
So, at 15 the youngest player in the world’s top 100 at No. 89, and Hou, also 15 and the world’s No. 3 female player competing in the
Open division, halved the point after 50 moves of a French defense.
The draw, however, could prove costly for So, seeded second here with
his Elo rating of 2641. With 6.5 points he needs to win his
final round match Saturday to land in the top 10, all of whom will
advance to the World Cup 2009 slated in Siberia in October. Hou,
who totes an Elo of 2590, was a shade better with 7.0 points.
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May 23, 2009:
Jamaicanobserver.com, Saturday, May 23, 2009, WFM Richards Takes
Wheeler Chess Open After a one-year hiatus  to
complete her university studies, seven-time national women's champion Woman
FIDE Master (WFM) Deborah Richards marked her return to the
Jamaican chess scene by winning the seventh staging of the Robert
Wheeler Chess Open which took place at Jamaica College over the past
weekend. [Reported at Chess,
Goddess and Everything blog]
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May 21, 2009:
The
Hindu, Thursday, May 21, 2009, Swati
Ghate surprises Zhu Chen NEW
DELHI: Swati Ghate  stunned
top seeded Grandmaster and former women’s World champion Zhu Chen
in the ladies’ eighth round of the Asian chess championship at Subic,
Olongapo City, in the Philippines on Wednesday. The Pune-based
Woman Grandmaster now has 5.5 points and shares the fourth spot with
two others. China’s Zhang Xiaowen leads with 6.5 points,
half-a-point ahead of her two compatriots. Three more rounds remain.
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May
19, 2009: bnd.com
(Belleview, IL) Tuesday, May. 19, 2009, Belleville
West student's drawing wins top awards at Art on the Square, by
Jacqueline Lee - News-Democrat Sixteen-year-old Chelsey
Sprengeler said her colored-pencil drawing "Check Your
Mate," started as a class project, but it earned her three awards
at Art on the Square's student competitions this weekend. Her
piece won the Art on the Square high school exhibit Artists' Choice
and St. Clair County awards, and the 2009 Congressional District High
School Art Competition grand prize. "The idea was to bring
our favorite childhood game to life," said Sprengeler, who called
herself a "chess-team nerd" and said her drawing reflects
the complexities of chess.
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 May
18, 2009: Mehrnews.com Tehran, Iranian
woman becomes chess GM. TEHRAN, MAY 18 (MNA) -- ranian
chess woman international master Atousa Pourkashiyan became
Grandmaster on Monday. Pourkashiyan
earned the title in the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden after gaining
eight points in 11 games. She competed with four Grandmasters and five
International Masters in the event. [Note: Pourkashiyan earned a WGM
title]
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 May
14, 2009: Youtube.com video, IM
Irina Krush talks about the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship underway
at the Scholastic and Chess Club of St. Louis.
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 May
10, 2009: 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. After Round 3
current U.S. Women's Championship IM Anna Zatonskih was forced to
withdraw from the U.S. Chess Championship taking place in St. Louis,
Missouri, due to an undisclosed illness. FM Doug Eckert
took her place. [Reported at several sources]
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 May
10, 2009: Natalia Pogonina, one of the top female players in
the world, has launched her own website.
With an ELO of 2501, Pogonina is #14 in the world among women and #3
in Russia (behind Kosintseva, Tatiana 2522 and Kosteniuk, Alexandra
2516).
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 May
10, 2009: Girls
square off on chess board at tournament, By Jessica
Goodman, Times-News Staff Writer, Published: Sunday, May 10, 2009 at
4:30 a.m., Last Modified: Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 8:45 p.m.
Report on the Fifth Annual Girls Just Want to Play Chess Tournament (I
believe, in Hendersonville, North Carolina). (Photo: Intense
concentration shows on the face of Nicole Welbourn, 4th grader at
Hendersonville Elementary, by MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS)
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 May
6, 2009: GM Susan Polgar analyzed
a game between Zhao
Xue (2508)
– Marie
Sebag (2529)
from the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, Istanbul (March 18, 2009),
formerly known as the Isbanc Women Masters Tournament.
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 May
5, 2009: dnaindia.com, Chasing
the men, Rajesh Pansare, Tuesday, May 5, 2009
3:00 IST
IM Harika Dronavalli: Aiming for a GM title within one year.
[Reported at Susan Polgar chess blog]
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May
5, 2009: Susan
Polgar Chess Blog: USCF has published its list of qualifiers
for the 2009 World Youth Chess Championships. Here are the Girl
qualifiers: |
GIRLS UNDER 18
ALISA MELEKHINA PA 2322
ABBY MARSHALL VA 2161
COURTNEY JAMISON TX 2081
KARSTEN MCVAY NJ 2050
GIRLS UNDER 16
YANG DAI VA 2070
JENNIE LIU NJ 2013
DARRIAN ROBINSON NY 1996
GIRLS UNDER 14
ALENA KATS NY 2030
ANNA MATLIN NJ 2009
SYLVIA YANG TX 1986
CAROLINE ZHU TX 1936 |
GIRLS UNDER 12
SARAH CHIANG TX 1981
ELLEN XIANG TX 1883
MICHELLE CHEN MA 1854
GIRLS UNDER 10
SIMONE LIAO CA 1855
EVAN XIANG TX 1696
KIMBERLY DING NJ 1585
HANNAH LIU TX 1544
GIRLS UNDER 8
ANNIE WANG CA 1440
SAMRITHA PALAKOLLU NJ 1310
ALISHA CHAWLA CA 1249
LIZA VIGNA NY 1228 |
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May
4, 2009: Chess
Pearl From Arabian Peninsula, Bronze medalist in World
School Chess,  Championship
- Girls U9, Report by Chessdom.com Nadya Ahmed Salah,
a 9-years old girl from Yemen, was the only representative from
Arabian nations present at the World
School Chess Championship, which just finished in Thessaloniki.
Without any support from the national chess federation or Ministry of
Sports, and without ever having a coach, Nadya shined in Thessaloniki
and won a bronze medal in the section Girls U9! (More photos of
Nadya at Chessdom.com) |
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May
1, 2009: Interview
with one of the winners of the special prizes funded by Goddesschess
for the  Hales
Corners Challenge IX, Elizabeth
Emery (WI 877) (during
action at the HCC IX), who had a tie score with Sandra
Pahl in the Reserve Section and were the
highest-finishing chess femmes in that section. Elizabeth finished in
9th place in the Reserve section (out of 51 players), with 3.0/4.
Sandra finished in 5th place, with 3.0/4. Congratulations, once again,
to Sandra and Elizabeth! [Reported at Chess, Goddess and Everything
blog]
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