The JR Chess Report (December 14): Nadya Kosintseva wins Russian ladies' title; Pearl Spring Begins [View All]

[Jack Rabbit]

Nadya Kosintseva wins Russian women's championship



Nadezhda Kosinseva, fresh off a medal-winning performance at the 38th chess Olympiad in Dresden, won the Russian women's championship with 6½ points out of nine in a tournament completed earlier today in Moscow.

Nadezhda Alexeyevna finished a full point ahead of her younger sister, the top seeded Tatiana Kosintseva, and 16-year-old Anastasia Bodnaruk, the Russian champion for girls under 20.

Nadezhda Alexeyevna won the gold medal for best performance on board three in Dresden last month. In Moscow, she won 5, lost one and drew three. The tournament was close until the final round, with Nadezhda Alexeyevna leading by only a half-point at the start of today's play. At the end of the seventh round, there was a four-way tie for first among the Kosintseva sisters, Mlle. Bodnaruk and Marina Romanko.

Tatiana Alexeyevna got off to a poor start in Moscow, losing two of her first three games, but came roaring back to finish in a second place tie with 4 wins, 2 kosses and three draws.

Nasta, as Mlle. Bodnaruk is known to her friends and fans, won two games in the first three rounds and drew all of her remaining games. Until now, Nasta would lose almost as many games as she would win in a given tournament with few draws. Her performance in this event marks a significant maturing for the young lady.


Pearl Spring Tournament begins in Nanjing



Top Seed Veselin Topalov Draws Slot Number 6 at the Opening Ceremonies in Nanjing
Photo: ChessBase.com


The first of what is hoped to be a major annual tournament started Wednesday in Nanjing among six grandmasters rating over 2700.

The Pearl Spring Chess Tournament is a double round robin event rated a category 21. The six participants are Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria); Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine); Levon Aronian (Armenia); Sergei Movsesian (Slovakia); Peter Svidler (Russia) and Bu Xiangzhi (China).

After four rounds, Aronian and Bu lead with 2½ points each, Movsevian and Topalov are tied for third with 2 point each, and Svidler and Ivanchuk each have a point and a half.


Banden Baden leads Bundesliga after nine rounds



The team from Baden Baden has opened up a three-point lead in the 2008-09 Budesliga race after the competion of the eighth and ninth rounds this weekend.

The team played in Eppingen this weekend with Magnus Carlsen on board one and Alexei Shirov on board 2. Baden Baden crushed Dresden on Saturday, 7½-½. Today, they had a tougher time against Kreuzberg, winning by the relatievely mosdest score of 5-3, with Liviu-Dieter Nisioeanu, Arkadij Naiditsch and Peter Heinz Nielsen providing the necessary vicotries on the lower boards.

In team competition, two points are awarded for each match won and a sigle point for a tied match. Baden Baden has a perfect score for 18 points. Mulheim is in second place with 15 points and Eppingen is third with 14.

The 15-rounds season concludes March 29.


Four-way tie in Israeli Championship

The Israeli national championsip ended in a four-way tie in Haifa Friday.

The four co-champions are Boris Avrukh, Ilia Smirin, Viktor Mikhalevski and Max Rodshtein. Each scored 6½ points in nine rounds.

Avrukh was awarded the overall title with a superior tie break score.


Ivanchuk takes IT in Benidorm

In the wake of controversy over his refusal to provide a urine sample for drug testing after the Dresden Olympiad, Ukrainian grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk scored a first place finish in Benidorm, Valencia (Spain) in an international tournament completed Monday.

Ivanchuk scored 8 points in 10 reounds. He entered the final round assured of first place and lost to Alexei Shirov, who finished second with 7½ points.


Third leg of FIDE Grand Prix begins in Elista

The third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix, originally scheduled to be played in the Qatar capital of Doha on the Persian Gulf, began instead in Elista, the capital of the Russian autonomous state of Kalmykia, yesterday.

Fourteen players are participating. The event concludes December 29.

The site of the event was moved to Elista after the Doha sponsered pulled out in September. Kalmyia's president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is also the president of FIDE, the world governing body of chess.

The Grand Prix series was downgraded from a preliminary event for the world championship to a qualifier for the preliminary tournament for the world championship during a meeting of FIDE's governing assembly in November. As a result, Magnus Carlsen and Mickey Adams have withdrawn from the series and others are believed to be reconsidering their participation.



Calendar

Asian Club Cup, Al Ain (UAE) 24-31 December.

Hasting Chess Tournament 28 December 2008-5 January 2009.

Rilton Cup, Stockholm 28 December 2008-5 January 2009.

Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 16 January-1 February.

Gibraltar Chess Festival 27 January-5 February.

FIDE Grand Prix, Moscow 30 January-8 February.

Aeroflot Open, Moscow 16-27 February.

Topalov-Kamsky World Championship Semifinal Match, Sofia 16-28 February. Eight Rounds. Winner will challenge Anand for the world championship.

Linares Grandmaaster Tournament 18 February-8 March.

European Individual Championships, Budva (Montenegro) 5-19 March.