Front Page

National News:
1500+ Chess Enthusiasts Expected in Milwaukee

2006 National High School Chess Championship Attracts Celebrity – “Chess Guy” from “Beauty and the Geek”

New - Online Tournament Life Announcement (TLA) Area

USCF Seeks Endorsements, Sponsorships and Strategic Partnerships

Americans Go For The Gold - Please Help!

World News:
Topalov and Kramnik Scheduled to Play Reunification Match

Kozul edges Ivanchuk for European Championship

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

Index to Newsletters

Chess Around the World

Topalov and Kramnik Scheduled to Play Reunification Match

After a long wait and many close calls, chess fans may finally be getting what they've been wanting for over a decade - a reunification match for the World Chess Championship.

FIDE has announced that the FIDE Champion, Veselin Topalov, will play a 12-game match against the Classical World Chess Champion Vladmir Kramnik, beginning September 21st of this year. The games are to be played under classical time controls - 40/120, 20/60, and G/15 with a 30 second increment. It is unclear as to what, if any, tiebreakers would occur in the case of a 6-6 tie.

With Kramnik slipping to 9th on the ratings list and 75 rating points seperating the two players, it might seem that Topalov (2804) would be a prohibative favorite in a match between the two. However, Kramnik (2729) has shown remarkable resiliency in match play, having defeated Garry Kasparov as a major underdog, and finding a way to salvage a draw in his latest match against Peter Leko to retain his title.

The prize fund for the match is guaranteed to be a minimum of $1 million, and is scheduled to be played in Elista, capital of Kalmykia. We will provide continuing coverage of this match as more details are released.

Kozul edges Ivanchuk for European Championship

Zdenko Kozul of Croatia scored 8.5/11 to take clear first at the 2006 European Individual Chess Championships. Kozul finished a half-point ahead of favorite Vassily Ivanchuk.

Eight players tied for 3rd place with 7.5 points, while another 14 finished with 7 points. The top 16 finishers - including some of the group with 7 points, decided by tiebreakers - qualified for the next World Cup cycle.

Meanwhile, Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey won the Women's Individual European Championship, also scoring 8.5 points in 11 rounds. Atalik finished ahead of notables such as Antoaneta Stefanova and Elisabth Paehtz on her way to the championship. The top 12 finishers from the Women's Championship have also qualified for the next World Cup cycle.

The tournament, which was held in Kusadasi, Turkey, had a prize fund of 48,000 Euros.

For more information on the event, the official site can be found by clicking here. Here is Kozul's 9th round win over Germany's rising star, Arkadij Naiditsch, who finished tied for 3rd.

White: Kozul, Z (2600)
Black: Naiditsch, A (2657)
European Championship, Round 9
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Bb5+ c6 9. Bd3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 c5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Bb2 Rc8 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Rad1 cxd4 15. exd4 Bf6 16. c4 Na5 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Qc7 19. Qh5 g6 20. Qh6 Nxc4 21. Bxc4 Qxc4 22. d5 f6 23. Rd4 Qb3 24. dxe6 Qxe6 25. Rfd1 Rfe8 26. h3 Qc6 27. f3 Re2 28. Rd8+ Rxd8 29. Rxd8+ Re8 30. Bxf6 Kf7 31. Qg7+ Ke6 32. Rd1 1-0