Front Page

National News:
New Jersey State Chess Federation Breaks Record With 2005 U.S. Amateur Team East

Trophies Plus Sponsors 2005 All-America Chess Team

World News:
Kasparov Leads in Linares

Five Tie For First in Aeroflot Open

FIDE Makes Championship Unification Proposal

Chess In the Media: Chess Stories Across the USA and Around the World

Index to Newsletters

Chess Around the World

Kasparov Leads in Linares

Wins in rounds three and four of the Linares tournament have vaulted Garry Kasparov into the lead, with a score of 3.5/5, a half-point ahead of the field. After drawing his first two games, Kasparov defeated Francisco Vallejo Pons and Michael Adams to a clear lead in the early stages of the event.

Right behind Kasparov are the world's #2 and #3 rated players respectively: Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov. Each has 3 points in 5 rounds. FIDE Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov also has 3 points, but in 6 rounds; he has drawn each of his games so far. Peter Leko has 2.5/5, Adams 2/5, and Vallejo Pons is currently last with one point from five games.

Linares is typically one of the year's top tournaments, and this year's field may be one of the strongest ever. All seven participants are in the world's top 25, meaning there are no easy games for the favorites. The format is a double-round robin; with seven players, this means that one player has a bye each day, in addition to the rest days built into the tournament schedule.

Thusfar, the most anticipated game of the tournament has been round six's clash between Anand and Kasparov. Although the game ended in a draw, the players did not disappoint, fighting in a complicated position. Anand looked to have winning chances early, but Kasparov managed to find a draw - showing again why he is still the world's top-rated player.

White: Anand, V (2786)
Black: Kasparov, G (2804)
Linares, Round 6
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Ra2 Kh8 17. Nce3 g6 18. O-O f5 19. Qa4 Bd7 20. Bb5 Rxb5 21. Qxb5 Nb4 22. Qxa5 Nxa2 23. Qxa2 fxe4 24. b4 Be6 25. c4 Qc8 26. Qb3 Kg7 27. Rb1 Rf7 28. Rd1 h5 29. Qc2 Qa8 30. h3 Bh4 31. Rf1 Qf8 32. b5 Bc8 33. Nc3 Bb7 34. Ned5 Qc8 35. Qe2 Bxd5 36. Nxd5 Qc5 37. b6 Qd4 38. Qc2 Kh7 39. Kh2 Rxf2 40. Rxf2 Bxf2 41. Qc1 e3 42. b7 Qa7 43. Qb1 e2 44. Ne7 Bg3+ 1/2-1/2

We will be providing complete coverage of Linares 2005 in upcoming issues. For the official tournament site, click here.

Five Tie For First in Aeroflot Open

Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky took first place at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, scoring 6.5 points over 9 rounds. Sutovsky shared first with four other players, but managed to take first on tiebreaks.

Sutovsky and co-leaders Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Motylev and Vladimir Akopian had to come from behind in the final round to share first. Andrei Kharlov, who had the clear lead after eight rounds, could not find a way to score in the 9th and final round, allowing four other players to catch him from behind and share first with 6.5 points.

The Aeroflot Open, which this year featured 36 of the world's top players, is one of the world's most prestigous open swisses. Many of the most famous names in chess competed this year, including French GM Etienne Bacrot, former FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov, and many others.

Several Americans competed in the Open this year, including Alex Yermolinsky and Alexander Shabalov. Both tied for 29th, scoring a respectable 5 points.

The crucial game of the final round was on board one, where Vladimir Akopian had white against the leader, Andrei Kharlov. Akopian, a full point back going into the final round, needed a victory to give himself a chance for a share of first place. A win by Kharlov would secure a clear victory, while a draw would clinch at least a share of first. As it turned out, even a draw would have won the tournament outright for Kharlov.

White: Akopian, V (2693)
Black: Kharlov, A (2614)
Aeroflot Open, Round 9
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.0-0 b5 9.Bc2 Re8 10.d4 Bf8 11.h3 exd4 12.cxd4 h6 13.Re1 Bb7 14.b3 Nb4 15.Bb1 d5 16.e5 Ne4 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 c5 20.Qe2 Rc8 21.dxc5 Bxc5 22.Ba3 Qa5 23.Bxb4 Bxb4 24.Rd1 Bc3 25.g4 Qc7 26.e6 fxe6 27.Rxe6 Qf7 28.Rdd6 Rxe6 29.Rxe6 a5 30.Qe4 Bf6 31.Kg2 Qd7 32.h4 Rf8 33.g5 hxg5 34.hxg5 Bd8 35.g6 Bf6 36.a4 Bd8 37.Re5 Rf6 38.axb5 1-0

FIDE Makes Championship Unification Proposal

After a failed attempt to arrange a match between Rustam Kasimdzanov and Garry Kasparov, FIDE is again attempting to organize a world championship unification cycle.

The new format would be a double round-robin between eight players, the winner becoming the undisputed World Champion. Invited players include Kasimdzanov (as the FIDE Champion), Michael Adams (runner-up in the last FIDE Championship), Vladimir Kramnik (Classical World Champion), Peter Leko (most recent challenger for Kramnik's title), and the four highest-rated remaining players: Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov and Alexander Morozevich. If any player rejects their spot, the next player on the ratings list would be invited in their place.

Unfortunately, it seems likely that many of the key players would refuse such a proposal. For instance, Kramnik is not likely to find a double-round robin tournament as a sufficient test for someone to take away his claim as World Champion. Kasparov has also recently made it clear that he has lost faith in FIDE's ability to reunify the chess world.

For now, it is unclear how many - if any - of the players will agree to participate. We will keep you informed as the situation is updated and details - such as a venue and final prize fund - are settled on.