Front Page

National News:
2005 US Open Update

Chess Merchandise Clearance Sale

World News:
Retired Kasparov Still Leads FIDE Rating List

Dortmund Set to Start Friday

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

Index to Newsletters

Chess Around the World

Retired Kasparov Still Leads FIDE Rating List

Despite his retirement, Garry Kasparov still commands a dominating lead at the head of the July FIDE rating list. Kasparov, who has a rating of 2812, will drop off of the list only after a year of inactivity.

With Kasparov retired, the second spot has become the measure of who can claim the top active player in the world. For the first time since Vladmiir Kramnik fell behind Viswanathan Anand in early 2004, there is a new contender - Veselin Topalov, who is now tied with Anand for the second spot. Each player has a rating of 2788. For now, Anand keeps the #2 spot based on having played more games in the last rating period.

Several Americans are featured on the list. At number 19 is Gata Kamsky, who has recently become active again after a long layoff. Kamsky currently holds a rating of 2700, highest of any American. Next on the list is Hikaru Nakamura. With a rating of 2660, Nakamura is ranked 45th in the world. Also appearing on the list are Yasser Seirawan (67th), Alexander Onischuk (75th), and Alexander Goldin (99th).

Here is the complete top 10:

1. Kasparov, Garry (2812)
t2. Anand, Viswanathan (2788)
t2. Topalov, Veselin (2788)
4. Leko, Peter (2763)
5. Ivanchuk, Vassily (2752)
6. Kramnik, Vladimir (2744)
7. Svidler, Peter (2738)
8. Polgar, Judit (2735)
9. Bacrot, Etienne (2729)
t10. Aronian, Levon (2724)
t10. Gelfand, Boris (2724)

Dortmund Set to Start Friday

The Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is set to begin Friday in Dortmund, Germany. Featuring ten of the world's top players, Dortmund is once against one of the major tournaments to watch on the chess calendar.

The strong field is clearly led by three favorites: World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, his former challenger Peter Leko, and Veselin Topalov, currently tied for second on the world rating list. Rounding out the field of ten are Peter Svidler, Michael Adams, Etienne Bacrot, Loek van Wely, Peter Heine Nielsen, Emil Sutovsky, and Arkadij Naiditsch.

We will be providing complete coverage of the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting over the next few weeks. For now, here are the first round pairings:

Leko, P vs. Van Wely, L
Adams, M vs. Topalov, V
Naiditsch, A vs, Sutovsky, E
Kramnik, V vs. Svidler, P
Nielsen, P vs. Bacrot, E