exd5!

12.03.2010
– A week ago we published a picture of a very young chess player who was destined to become a world class grandmaster. Most of our readers guessed intantly who this player was – especially the lips gave him away. But going through the clues we unhelpfully provided many a doubt was created in their minds. Read about it in our selection of feedback and find out what Nigel Short was doing in Hamburg.

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Nigel Davies:
French Defence Strategy
The French Defence is one of the best choices a player can make for his opening repertoire, especially older players with limited study time. The solid construction of Black’s game puts the onus on positional understanding and makes it immune to sharp and tricky variations. The longer you play the French the better you’ll play it. On this DVD Nigel Davies explains the strategy behind the French Defence by examining typical pawn structures and explaining the plans and ideas for both sides.
More information...

Who is this grandmaster?

We asked you to guess who the cute young child in the photo is.

Once again we provided you with some more or less helpful clues:

• He started playing chess at an early age – in fact the photo above
  is probably the first of him with a chessboard. It is. The earliest
  one we could find in his family album.

• He became an IM at fourteen and a grandmaster at the sensationally young
  age of nineteen. Until very recently he was the top player in his country.
  Actually he had been eclipsed for a decaded by Michael Adams, but at
  the end of last year he overtook his younger rival. In the March 2010 FIDE
  list Mickey is back on first in the UK.

• He is from Europe, and in spite of the fact that his compatriots speak
  a different language he is perfectly fluent in English. He live in Greece,
  although he still has his English citizenship. People around him, whom we
  somewhat carelessly called his "compatriots" (many thanks for
  the precise definitionthat some readers sent us) do not speak English as
  fluently as he does.

• He has travelled extensively as a chess grandmaster, visiting a total of
  89 countries. He counted them. Really: eighty-nine in all! Only surpassed
  by Florencio Campomanes.

• He has played against and beaten twelve world champions: Smyslov, Tal,
  Spassky, Petrosian, Karpov, Kasparov, Khalifman, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov,
  Anand, Kramnik and Topalov. He beat Viktor Korchnoi in 1976, Tigran
  Petrosian in 1978 and drew Sammy Reshevsky in 1986. He beat Korchnoi at
  the age of ten in a simultaneous exhibition, and Petrosian at the age of
  twelve, also in a simul. All the others were in classical one-on-one over-the-board
  play.

• He has received training from Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. Boris
  is an old friend who has occasionally trained him. Garry gave him the lesson
  of a lifetime in 1993. Their training session was generally billed as a
  World Championship match. Sorry for that one, Nigel, but it threw Garry
  Kimovich off. He recognised the rest in milli-seconds, but stumbled over
  this fake clue.

• Last summer he retired to a plantation where he grows fruit for commercial
  produce. Actually he has a summer house near a beautiful beach in Greece.
  There are olive trees in the garden, and the fruit is harvested every year
  to produce olive oil. He retires to the summer house for a holiday from
  chess a couple of times a year.

  

Well, almost all readers guessed who the future grandmaster was. Nigel Short
of England. We must confess that this was not
the first time we used him to puzzle our readers. And probably not the last.

Nigel Short – Greatest Hits

Nigel spent a week in Hamburg, recording two DVDs for ChessBase, and getting
up-to-speed in Playchess lectures. Yes, you can expect to see him regularly
on our chess server, commenting on the events in the chess world.

One of the first duties of a prominent visitor of ChessBase in Hamburg...

... signing one of the posters that decorate the walls of the offices

Before the DVD recordings: a little preparation on his new HP notebook

Nigel just before the start of a recording in the ChessBase studio in Hamburg

On Friday evenings we have TV ChessBase – with André Schulz
and IM Oliver Reeh

Nigel was one of the most popular guests in the TV show

Certainly one of the funniest and most animated

The ChessBase DVDs "Nigel Short – Greatest Hits" will appear
in the near future.

---

Reader feedback

Once again we can only bring you a selection of the hundreds of letters we
received in reaction to our "who is this future GM" puzzle. The selection
is done semi-automatically, so if you do not find your letter amongst those
given below it does not reflect on our opinion of the quality. Unless your letter
was gratuitously rude, marred by adventurous orthography or – always an
immediate deal-breaker – written entirely in CAPS.

Kajetan Wandowicz, Wroclaw, Poland
I would think it's Short, if not for a small detail. He was a prodigy, GM at
19, is now English No. 2, has played in many countries, beat Korchnoi as a child
in a simultaneous exhibition... Even the boy in the photo looks Short-ish. Since
I heard Short had an olives plantation, I could even make sense from "Last
summer he retired to a plantation where he grows fruit for commercial produce.",
which, given Frederic Friedel's gift for riddles, could simply mean that he
spent holidays at his plantation. However, unlike the verb "retire",
the noun "compatriot" is not known to me to have a second meaning
and that's where I must admit defeat: Short's compatriots speak very fluent
English, and his living in Greece doesn't change that. Still, I'll assume my
far-from-perfect English is to blame and the sentence actually can mean the
Greeks, so I'll go for Short, but I won't bet a penny on it. Waiting for the
answer next week!

Gerardo Vázquez, Mexico City, Mexico
It's Nigel Short! He became IM at 14, GM at 19 and beat Petrosian as a 12-year-old!
(Apparently, Petrosian got pretty angry)

Jan Olderdissen, Simi Valley, USA
Bah – too easy. The lips are a dead give-away. Also the reference to being
a top player in an English speaking country until recently. Just a simple matter
to check Wikipedia to confirm that Nigel Short did indeed make GM at the ripe
old age of 19. And everybody knows his Greek countrymen don't speak English
as well as he does.

Susan, US Virgin Islands
At first glance the picture was a young image of Nigel Short. What threw me
for a few moments was your sentence: He has received training from Boris Spassky
and Garry Kasparov. But, I suddenly realized that even I have received such
training through analysis of their games. Nigel, you were such an adorable child.

Vernon Walker, Canada
Sneaky clues indeed! I'm pretty sure that's Nigel Short. The slightly misleading
hints: Until very recently he was the top player in his country – Mickey
Adams had surpassed him in rating a while back, but Short's rating briefly rose
past Adams' last year. I take it from the clue that Adams has recently regained
the lead. He is from Europe, and in spite of the fact that his compatriots speak
a different language he is perfectly fluent in English - Well, being English
of course he has a perfect command of the English language! The tricky thing
is that he has been living in Greece (if I'm not mistaken) for some time, so
his "compatriots" are his fellow Greeks. He has received training
from Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov - Had no idea about training from Boris
Spassky, and I don't believe him and Kasparov ever collaborated. I'm guessing
the "training" received from Kasparov refers to their World Championship
match!

Vinod Vishwanath, Bangalore, India
The answer, I think, is GM Nigel Short. It is no surprise he speaks fluent English,
despite living in Greece, since he is an Englishman! The clue was a clever one,
though.

Kevin Cotreau, Merrimack, NH USA
I know who it is, but when I first looked at the question and picture, I immediately
thought "Judit Polgar". Nigel, you made such a cute little girl.

Fred Lucas, Netherlands
Hi Frederic, is it this guy?

Photo by Fred Lucas

Osvaldo Téllez Almirall, Edomex, Mexico
I have no doubts, the future grandmaster appeared on photo is Nigel Short, english
born and currently living in Greece. btw, a nice man and a gentleman. I respect
him as a great player and is always instructive to study his matches.

Stein Kulseth
Surely it is Nigel Short. The misleading fact about his compatriots not speaking
flawless English is explained by the fact that Short is currently residing in
Greece. (Although, come to think of it, as we are comparing with Short's mastery
of the English language, it might apply if he still lived in the UK.)

Bhalchandra Thatte, Oxford, U.K.
Nigel Short? But I must admit that a few of your clues puzzle me. Trained by
Kasparov – did Short work with Kasparov for a match with someone? Retired
to a plantation, win over Smyslov in 1976 – perhaps in a simul? Short
must have been about ten in 1976. But this kid does seem to have the style of
Nigel Short.

Brian Hayden,Ireland
Easy peasy (should I say "easy olivesy" instead?) - step forward (what's
the Greek word for Mr?) Nigel Short.

Rajesh V, Seattle, USA
compatriot: – noun 1.a native or inhabitant of one's own country; fellow
countryman or countrywoman. – adjective 2.of the same country. "As
you probably know by now we are a bit sneaky with our hints. Naturally they
are all true, but sometimes a little bit misleading." Well, in this case,
it is NOT true. Interesting hints, nevertheless. Isn't the picture itself a
big give-away? Nigel Short. And "Last summer he retired to a plantation
where he grows fruit for commercial produce". Is that retire-retire or
a vacation/break at the plantation? And thanks for the great puzzles! Very enjoyable.

Geir Sune Tallaksen Østmoe, Kongsberg, Norway
Recognized primarily by his mouth in the picture: Nigel Short. Knowing he was
a prodigy strengthened my suspicion, and I became 100% certain when googling
and learning about the exact ages he became IM and GM, and learning that he
defeated Korchnoi at the age of ten – in a simultaneous. Sneaky misleading
hint about his Greek compatriots!

Ramón Jiménez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Nigel Short, of course Great set of clues there – someone who hasn't
fully enjoyed your reports on this colorful GM may forget that he actually lives
in Greece these days, growing olives and stunning the world with his penchant
for unusual English words, uncompromising comment on the chess world and its
inhabitants, and of course, quite enjoyable chess. Everything else failing,
the very particular curvature of his upper lip has not changed a bit in all
this time (I'm saying this quite literally - no reference to any kind of English
saying about upper lips here).

Jonathan Paxman, Perth, Australia
All the obscure clues in the world won't help you when Nigel Short has such
distinctive lips! I assumed it was him even before looking at the clues! IM
at 14, GM at 19, he defeated Korchnoi in a simul aged 10. I can only assume
that the comment about his being "perfectly fluent in English" is
a remark about his command of some of the more obscure corners of the English
language, and perhaps his impeccable accent.

Casper Dahl Rasmussen, Copenhagen
My guess is Nigel Short. The picture clearly says "Nigel" to me, but
the "helpfull clues" were rather disturbing... Beating Korchnoi in
'76 was simul I guess, and "training" with Kasparov was the match
in '93???

Seena Daneshvar, Tehran, Iran
You guys really think you are clever, huh?! He's Nigel Short! And I don't think
the fact that he lives in Greece makes the Greeks his compatriots. He plays
with the British flag in tournaments and on the Internet...

Duncan Vella, Swieqi, Malta
Well, it's pretty obvious that it's Nigel Short. The pic was enough of a clue.
Although I didn't know that he retired to concentrate on plantation. I hope
he is not quitting chess as he is quite a character for the chess scene.

Derek Jones, Aylesbury, England
Too easy. Nigel Short is one of those people whose appearance changed remarkably
little between childhood and manhood. You should have produced a photo of Nigel
as a baby to make it more difficult. I remembered Korchnoi's 1976 simultaneous
exhibition but had forgotten Petrosian's in London in 1978. The comment about
Nigel speaking English would have fooled only those who do not know he lives
in Greece.

Navin Sawalani, Madison, WI, USA
It's Nigel Short!

Lionel Laffranchise, Bray en Val, France
I guess it is Nigel Short. Thanks for the puzzle.

M Jagadish, Pune, India
Nigel Short, of course! You could add a couple more hints

Wade Caughlin, Grande Prairie, Canada
I think it might be Nigel Short??

Shiv Mathur, Mumbai, India
Surely Nigel Short? After all, he DOES speak fluent English !!

Steve Goodman, Falls Church, VA, United States
This has to be Nigel Short.

Peter Ballard, Australia
Nigel Short?

Ramesh Vakharia, India
sorry sir very sorry but I think it is of Ivanchuk that cheater and drug addict
Chucky the cheater.

Elvin Solomon, Australia
Surely, None other than Nigel Short.

Ralvin, Manikam, Selangor, Malaysia
Haha, its unmistakable, Nigel Short, surely!!

John Moncada, Pto cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of Nigel Short

John Moncada, Pto cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of Bent Larsen.

Royce Campbell, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Well, this is obviously a "short" note.

Lu Tahmazyan, Los Angeles
My guess would be Nigel David Short.

Mark Vogan, Houston, TX, USA
This kid so clearly looks like Nigel Short that I will not even research the
clues. It must be Short.

Ted Teodoro, River Ege, USA
Nigel Short, kinda obvious...

Alok Nagdev, Los Angeles
He was the top grandmaster in his country for the last but one FIDe list...
did I say that was for a very short period of time? He is eloquent in Queens
English and contrary to his name has had a long lasting impression on the chess
world.

Danny Ramos, Paranaque, Philippines
I would like to guess whose picture it was. It was GM Nigel Short when he was
still a kid. Do I get a prize if I got it right? Just asking.

Bobby Bower, Nassau, Bahamas
It's obviously Nigel Short. Our champ!

Zhigen Lin, Melbourne, Australia
The player in "Can you guess who this (future) grandmaster is?" is
Nigel Short! I could see the resemblance in facial features.

Wendel Lopez, San Pedro Sula, Honduras C.A.
El nino es Nigel Short de Inglaterra. Espero no equivocarme esta vez... Saludos!!

Benjamin, Brandt, Saginaw, USA
It is Short, but didn't you already do him before? By the way, great site! I
check it almost every day.

Aben Rudy, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
That's Nigel Short. No doubt about it!

Colin Reed, Birmingham, England
You asked us to guess who the child is in the photo? I say it is Nigel Short.

Nick Beqo, Vancouver, Canada
Nigel Short?

Markus Bindig, Reinsdorf
Hello there! Your clues are pretty obviously pointing to Nigel Short. Will that
insight earn me an autograph?

Shanker Raman, Calgary, Canada
Nigel Short.

Pat Parimi, Boston, USA
No clues are necessary for this puzzle. The boy in the photo is Nigel Short.
He hasn't changed much since his childhood.

Jonathan Kenny, Virginia, USA
It's Nigel Short.

Ivan Smilianov, Peshtera, Bulgaria
This is the photo of Nigel Short. Now he is maybe 100 kg, but his mouth is the
same as on the photo.

Karlo Bala Jr., 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Looking at eyes and mouth, I think it is Nigel Short

Lawrence Henderson, Nevada USA
It is Nigel Short

Carsten Hansen, Hackensack, USA
From the text it seems like and from the picture it looks like, it can only
be Nigel Short.

Khondakar Dhaka, Bangladesh
He is GM Nigel Short

John Moncada, Pto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Is the picture of IVANCHUCK

Béla János, Putyinger
Short

Flemming Høgh, Frederiksberg Copenhagen
I guess its Nigel Short.

Andra Cimina, Athens, Greece
If it is not Nigel Short it should be his twin brother:)

Alexei Kulashko, Auckland, New Zealand
Alexandr Belyavskiy

Sundararajan Ganesan, Pudukkottai, India
The child in the photo is Nigel Short, former challenger to Kasparov. Nigel
now mostly lives in Greece with his family. Greece is after all in Europe and
Nigel, being an Englishman, speaks flawless English!

Ed Zator, Toronto, Canada
Nigel Short?

Brian Karen, Levittown, USA
That is GM Ivan Sokolov.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Buenos Aires
I think he is Yasser Seirawan...

Fenisevic Dragan, Croatia
Nigel Short

Bona Dilo, Botswana
It looks more like Nigel Short. In fact, it should be Nigel Short. He was top
rated Brit before he was surpassed by Adams. Has he retired? This is definitely
the misleading part.

Gerald Aycardo, Cebu City, Philippines
That cute short boy is Nigel Short!

Johan Geyser, Johannesburg, South Africa
The photo of the youngster who became a grandmaster and beat 12 world champions
must be Nigel Short. I guess he speaks flawless English in Greece!

Yigal Nochomovitz, Ph.D., New York, NY
Appears to be a young Nigel Short

Samuel Stolpe, Falls Church, VA, USA
Mr. Friedel, it is the same GM who you told me last week complained of losing
to "some Azeri punk" on Playchess, who later turned out to be Gashimov.
You can tell by the shape of his upper lip: it's Short.

Kieran Delamotte, France
Very nice quizz! The boy is in fact Nigel Short who is certainly as outstanding
in chess as in English! However, he's still at the top Please keep on providing
us with his comments!!

Dag Standnes, Bergen, Norway
I guess the boy on the picture is GM Nigel David Short from England.

William Taylor, Bridgwater, England
I think it must be Nigel Short – although I've never seen pictures of
him that young I recognised him. The "fact that his compatriots speak a
different language" puzzled me for a moment, before I remembered that he
lives in Greece. A quick google revealed that he became a GM at 19, so I'm confident
that I'm right without investigating the other clues.

Johan Hut, Baarn, Holland
The child in the photo is Nigel Short. He hasn't changed much, only his hair
is shorter now.

John Kunz, Watetown, NY USA
Nigel Short

Alfred Acaling III, Cadiz City
Its easy even if w/o hints, the first time I saw the pic (2sec) I knew that
it was Nigel Short, the lips is a giveaway.

Rico Moreno, Honolulu, HI, USA
Nigel Short ...

Gerry Smith, Dublin
Nigel Short, he has not changed a bit!

Manny Balidio, Waipahu, Hawaii (USA)
I would like to guess the name of the grandmaster prodigy pictured as a child
in your article. I believe that child is Nigel Short as a child!

Thiamhee, Lai, Penang, Malaysia
The lips, at least, looks like Nigel Short, though the hints of him getting
trained by Kasparov is very dubious to say the least.

Pedro Silva, Coimbra, Portugal
It's definetely Nigel Short. The clue that gives it away is the one about his
compatriots' language. And after a few reaearch, you can find the simul where
he beat Korchnoi and so on. Nice puzzle.

Bolivar Gonzalez, Brazil
GM Nigel Short (ENG)

Cosmin Cretu, Romania
Nigel Short

Jon Crumiller, Princeton New Jersey USA
Nigel Short.

Jamshid Begmatov, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The photo is enough to identify Nigel, don't you think?

Jacob, Portukalian, Los Angeles, CA
It is clearly Nigel Short. I identified him immediately from the photo. His
compatriots are now Greeks, even though he was born in England. All the other
facts line up with his wikipedia page.

Natan, Estivallet, Porto Alegre, Brazil
I think he is Nigel Short. The picture very much looks like one that can be
found in the book "Play better chess", Leonard Barden, 1980.

Woody Jackson, Kent, UK
Nigel Short

John Rose, Media, USA
Either Nigel short has dual citizenship or his witty vocabulary enables him
to fit your description. Such a British face.

Ilya Krasik, Boston, USA
Undeniably the boy on the picture is Nigel Short. The "speaks perfect english"
clue sealed the deal there, but anyhow he looks like Short 100%.

Andre, Cardon, S. Paulo, Brazil
Nigel Short is the child grandmaster!

Juan, Beserra, Brazil
He looks a lot like Artur Yusupov! Am I right about my guess?

Read Full Post »

11.03.2010
– It is frequently anything but easy to make the material superiority of a rook over a bishop tell when all the pawns are on one side of the board. Last month we showed you a game with reduced material in which zugzwang brought about the decision. Today we follow that with an example with more pawns, in which White has to find access to a black fortress that is hard one to storm. The siege had already lasted for over twenty moves before White turned to radical measures with 55.f5!? GM Karsten Müller demonstrates how the game was decided and what additional defensive resources Black had. CBMagazine Online.

Advertisement

Nigel Davies:
French Defence Strategy
The French Defence is one of the best choices a player can make for his opening repertoire, especially older players with limited study time. The solid construction of Black’s game puts the onus on positional understanding and makes it immune to sharp and tricky variations. The longer you play the French the better you’ll play it. On this DVD Nigel Davies explains the strategy behind the French Defence by examining typical pawn structures and explaining the plans and ideas for both sides.
More information...

Tactics,
Openings, Endgames - Visit ChessBase Magazine Online

White turned to radical measures with 55.f5!? Karsten Müller demonstrates
how the game was decided and what defensive resources Black could still have availed himself of.

Analysis
McShane-Danin.

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »

11.03.2010
– ChessBase Light is a program you can download on the right of this newspage.
It is completely free and you have most of the functions of a full database
program. In the latest ChessBase Workshop installment Steve Lopez shows
you how you can analyse games with the standard unregistered version of CB Light, which
comes with an older but very efficient chess engine. Streaming
video.

Advertisement

Nigel Davies:
French Defence Strategy
The French Defence is one of the best choices a player can make for his opening repertoire, especially older players with limited study time. The solid construction of Black’s game puts the onus on positional understanding and makes it immune to sharp and tricky variations. The longer you play the French the better you’ll play it. On this DVD Nigel Davies explains the strategy behind the French Defence by examining typical pawn structures and explaining the plans and ideas for both sides.
More information...

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »

10.03.2010
– Currently the FIDE rules require that players must be seated at the board no later than zero seconds past the scheduled start of a game. This has led to some unpleasant situations in the past. At the 11th European Individual Championships 110 participants signed a petition to change the grace period to 30 minutes. In the tournament Baadur Jobava and Zaher Efimenko lead. Round four report.

Advertisement

Nigel Davies:
French Defence Strategy
The French Defence is one of the best choices a player can make for his opening repertoire, especially older players with limited study time. The solid construction of Black’s game puts the onus on positional understanding and makes it immune to sharp and tricky variations. The longer you play the French the better you’ll play it. On this DVD Nigel Davies explains the strategy behind the French Defence by examining typical pawn structures and explaining the plans and ideas for both sides.
More information...

This event is taking place from March 6th to 18th 2010 in Rijeka, Croatia.
Top players include Almasi, Bacrot, Movsesian, Navara, Vallejo, Motylev, Adams,
Tomashevsky, Alekseev, Baadur, Naiditsch, Akopian, Volokitin, Bologan and Caruana.

Zero tolerance protest in Rijeka

At the Dresden Olympiad in 2008 some players forfeited their games when they
appeared too late – sometimes by a few seconds – at their boards.
Last June the Chinese Championship was effectively
decided by a player not being present on his seat at the board when the
start gong was sounded. All this is the result of a new "zero tolerance"
rule introduced by FIDE to force players to be seated at their boards when the
games are scheduled to start. The traditional one hour grace period (with the
clock running) that was granted to players was reduced to zero seconds –
be there or forfeit the game.

The participants of the 11th European Individual Championships in Rijeka have
submitted a petition to the organisation committee and to the European Chess
Union president requesting a change: instead of the zero seconds the players
should be allowed a grace period of up to thirty minutes. A total of 110 participants
have signed this petition. The decision of FIDE, the ECU and the organisation
committee is pending.

• Here are the
  details and a full discussion of the zero tolerance rule

Round four leaders

Thirteen players went into round four with a perfect 3.0/3 score, and two came
out with an additional point: Baadur Jobava, who beat Michal Karsenkow with
the black pieces, and Zahar Efimenko, who beat Arkadij Naiditsch, also with
the black pieces.

The leader after four rounds: Georgian GM Baadur Jobava

Krasenkow,M (2652) - Jobava,Ba (2695) [B38]
11th EICC Men Rijeka CRO (4), 09.03.2010
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be2
b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.f3 Qb8 11.Qd2 Rd8 12.Rad1 e6 13.f4 Ne7 14.Bf3 Ne8 15.Qf2 Qc8
16.Qh4 Bf6 17.Qh3 Bg7 18.Rc1 f5 19.g4 Nd6 20.gxf5 Nxc4 21.Ncb5 exf5 22.Be2 d5
23.exd5 Bxd5 24.b3 a6 25.Bxc4 Qb7 26.Nc7 Bxc4 27.Rxc4 b5 28.Rcc1 Rxd4 29.Nxa8
Qxa8 30.Rc7 Re4 31.Rd1 Nd5 32.Rd7 Rxe3

White is doing well enough, and after Qh4 and Rxd5 he might be playing for
a win. But not after 33.Qg2?? Bd4! 34.Rxd4 Re1+ 35.Qf1 Ne3
and White is going to be mated. 0-1.

Sharing first with Jobava: Ukrainian GM Zahar Efimenko

In the women's section four players had perfect scores after three rounds,
but only one of them was able to win the fourth game in a row:

GM Monika Socko of Poland with 4.0/4 in sole first place

Top scorers in the men's section # Ti. Name FED RtgI Pts. 1 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2695 4.0 2 GM Efimenko Zahar UKR 2640 4.0 3 GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter ROU 2661 3.5 4 GM Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2667 3.5 5 GM Pelletier Yannick SUI 2611 3.5 6 GM Adams Michael ENG 2704 3.5 GM Lupulescu Constantin ROU 2598 3.5 8 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2655 3.5 GM Maiorov Nikita BLR 2510 3.5 10 GM Sokolov Ivan BIH 2638 3.5 GM Szabo Gyula ROU 2525 3.5 12 IM Skoberne Jure SLO 2509 3.5 13 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2639 3.5 14 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian RUS 2656 3.5 15 Nabaty Tamir ISR 2485 3.5 16 GM Vallejo Francisco ESP 2708 3.5 17 GM Iordachescu Viorel MDA 2621 3.5

Top scorers in the women's section # Ti. Name FED RtgI Pts. 1 GM Socko Monika POL 2465 4.0 2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ket. SCO 2447 3.5 3 IM Cmilyte Viktorija LTU 2485 3.5 4 IM Muzychuk Anna SLO 2533 3.5 IM Skripchenko Almira FRA 2456 3.5 6 GM Cramling Pia SWE 2523 3.5 7 GM Kosintseva Tatiana RUS 2524 3.5 8 WGM Galojan Lilit ARM 2380 3.5 All standings from the men's section All standings from the women's section

---

Links Official tournament site All games in zipped PGN: Men – Women A selection of the games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!

Chessbase.com

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