Tournaments
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2009 World Cup: Finals
The final match of the 2009 World Cup will begin tomorrow. The tournament has had its plots and subplots, but it all boils down to who has the will in a short four-game match where there is a low thresh hold for mistakes. Boris Gelfand is a phenomenon. Not in…
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2009 London Chess Classic
Tomorrow will kick off the highly anticipated London Chess Classic with a marquee lineup including former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the world’s #1 rated player in Magnus Carlsen. The field will also include current U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura and one of China’s top guns in Ni Hua. The British…
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2009 World Cup: Semi-Finals
Will Ruslan Ponomariov win another knockout tournament? Photo by Galina Popova courtesy of FIDE. Gallery link, ugra-chess.ru. Only four players remaining. The top-seed is still playing, two Ukrainians stars and one unsung Russian will fight for the crown. Boris Gelfand has played solidly and has lost only one game thus…
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2009 World Cup: Quarterfinals
Dmitri Jakovenko vs. Boris Gelfand… will the veteran hold off the young lion? The 2009 FIDE World Cup gets serious. Eight 2700-rated players will vie for a chance at qualifying for the World Championship cycle. The balance of power lies in the former Soviet-bloc players with Boris Gelfand, originally of…
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2009 World Cup: Round #4
Round #4 will feature a healthy dose of 2700 battles. We can expect shorter draws and perhaps longer matches. A few marquee matches are on tap including Svidler-Shirov, but Ruslan Ponomariov may be lurking in the wings hoping the field has forgotten that he has won this tournament back in…
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2009 World Cup: Round #3
Photo by Galina Popova courtesy of FIDE. Gallery link, ugra-chess.ru. Pivotal Round today in Siberia. Boris Gelfand will try to hold onto the board #1 position against Judit Polgar in what may be the marquee matchup of round #3. A deep field means that Polgar is the #32 ranked player…
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2009 World Cup: Round #2
Key matchups are on tap for the FIDE World Cup. While most of the top seeds moved on, they will face stiffer tests in round two. Judit Polgar will start her first match today against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania. This tournament may see the rise by a number of young…
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2009 World Cup: Round #1
Eshan Ghaem Maghami (Iran) chats with fellow-GM Darwin Laylo (Philippines) before action starts. Photo by Galina Popova courtesy of FIDE. Gallery link, ugra-chess.ru. The opening round of the 2009 World Cup had few surprises, but it is clear that the balance of power is shifting. Certainly the Russians still have…
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Nigeria to host Olympiad trials
Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF) last week, departed from its traditional selection trial process following the directive that all state chess associations must organize a tournament to select three male and female chess players that will converge on Lagos for the national trial to select the team that will represent the…
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2009 FIDE World Cup
On November 20th, the 2009 World Cup will begin with the Opening Ceremonies. A field of 128 players will assemble is Khanty-Mansiysk to vie for a spot in the 2010 World Championship cycle. The top delegation is home favorite Russia with a total of 34 players. The top seed is…
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