This headline says it all, from First Post:
Man abducted by aliens beats Karpov in chess vote
Controversy in Siberia as eccentric Kirsan Ilyumzhinov wins battle to head governing body of chess [The election was held in conjunction with the Chess Olympiad being held in Mansky Kamsky, Siberia, not exactly a "must see" tourist destination]
By Jonathan Harwood
LAST UPDATED 3:36 PM, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
The world of chess has been thrown into chaos after former Soviet world champion Anatoly Karpov failed in his bid to become head of the sport's governing body, losing out to a multi-millionaire Russian businessman and politician who claims to have been abducted by aliens.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is the reigning head of Fide, the sport's governing body, retained the role he has held since 1995 after winning a poll of national federations 95-65. But the result was greeted with chaotic scenes as delegates shouted abuse at each other at their meeting in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk.
Ilyumzhinov has been accused of refusing to let Karpov's supporters address the meeting - even turning their microphones off - and using "bully-boy" tactics in the run-up to the vote. The result has infuriated many who are concerned about the future of chess under the leadership of the eccentric Russian, who was stripped of the leadership of Kalmykia, a small, oil-rich Buddhist region near the Caspian Sea earlier this year after claiming to have met aliens.
He has also introduced several controversial tournament rule changes and Malcolm Pein, the International Master who writes on chess for the Telegraph, said this month that Ilyumzhinov "has been the ruin of chess".
Karpov had the support of the English, French, German, Swiss, and US chess federations, but their influence was unable to sway the smaller nations who backed the incumbent. However, as many as 56 countries voted by proxy at the meeting. The Guardian claims that Zambia voted on behalf of Kenya, China for Burma and the UAE for Kuwait.
CJ de Mooi, the president of the English Chess Federation told the newspaper: "It was unbelievable. This was a farce of a vote. You wouldn't believe the blatant breaking of rules and Fide's written statutes. It's amazing. There wasn't even a pretence of fairness and free speech."
Ilyumzhinov hit the headlines earlier this year after he told Russian TV how aliens wearing yellow spacesuits had appeared on his balcony in 1997, taken him aboard their ship and flown him into space.
Shortly after that admission he lost his job as leader of Kalmykia after MPs raised concerns with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that he might pass state secrets on to the aliens that he claims to have met.
Despite his controversial views about extraterrestrials he retained the support of the Kremlin in his capacity as the head of Fide and was the official Russian candidate for the role. But that may have been down to the complex workings of Russian political favouritism. Karpov was backed in the campaign by his arch-rival from the 1980s Garry Kasparov, who is an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.
Since winning the vote, Ilyumzhinov has offered Karpov the vice-presidency of the federation, but after accusing his rival of incompetence and corruption during the campaign and questioning his sanity, it seems unlikely Karpov will accept the offer.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
2010 Chess Olympiad - Women Round 8
Brief summary tonight only. Here are the top 10 Women's Teams after R8 - USA Women are out of it, in 15th place with 3 rounds to go. Are Russian Women 1 the real winners? Not yet convinced, sorry ladies. Too many matches skated through by the skin of your teeth.
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 8 8 0 0 16 241,0 25,0 80,00
2 17 Serbia SRB 8 6 1 1 13 185,0 23,0 71,00
3 5 Russia 2 RUS2 8 5 3 0 13 182,5 20,5 72,00
4 2 China CHN 8 6 0 2 12 204,5 22,5 80,00
5 4 Georgia GEO 8 6 0 2 12 202,5 22,5 81,00
6 3 Ukraine UKR 8 6 0 2 12 199,5 22,0 81,00
7 18 Cuba CUB 8 6 0 2 12 196,5 23,5 72,00
8 9 Hungary HUN 8 5 2 1 12 178,5 20,0 81,00
9 8 India IND 8 6 0 2 12 173,5 21,0 75,00
10 12 Bulgaria BUL 8 5 2 1 12 171,0 18,5 79,00
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 8 8 0 0 16 241,0 25,0 80,00
2 17 Serbia SRB 8 6 1 1 13 185,0 23,0 71,00
3 5 Russia 2 RUS2 8 5 3 0 13 182,5 20,5 72,00
4 2 China CHN 8 6 0 2 12 204,5 22,5 80,00
5 4 Georgia GEO 8 6 0 2 12 202,5 22,5 81,00
6 3 Ukraine UKR 8 6 0 2 12 199,5 22,0 81,00
7 18 Cuba CUB 8 6 0 2 12 196,5 23,5 72,00
8 9 Hungary HUN 8 5 2 1 12 178,5 20,0 81,00
9 8 India IND 8 6 0 2 12 173,5 21,0 75,00
10 12 Bulgaria BUL 8 5 2 1 12 171,0 18,5 79,00
Under the Road Again...
Archaeological sites discovered during road work:
Amazon Road Workers Find Ancient Earth Carvings
by Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil on 09.28.10
Road workers in Brazil were preparing to pave a highway through the Amazon rainforest recently, when they made an important archeological discovery -- a series of enormous earth carvings, barely perceptible from the ground. Known as geoglyphs by researchers, these complex geometric designs are thought to have been crafted by ancient civilizations centuries earlier, though their purpose, to this day, remains a mystery.
From BBC News
27 September 2010 Last updated at 08:58 ET
Work unearths previously unknown Roman road in Kent
A previously unknown Roman road and evidence of a medieval manor house have been uncovered during excavations in Kent.
Amazon Road Workers Find Ancient Earth Carvings
by Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil on 09.28.10
Road workers in Brazil were preparing to pave a highway through the Amazon rainforest recently, when they made an important archeological discovery -- a series of enormous earth carvings, barely perceptible from the ground. Known as geoglyphs by researchers, these complex geometric designs are thought to have been crafted by ancient civilizations centuries earlier, though their purpose, to this day, remains a mystery.
From BBC News
27 September 2010 Last updated at 08:58 ET
Work unearths previously unknown Roman road in Kent
A previously unknown Roman road and evidence of a medieval manor house have been uncovered during excavations in Kent.
2010 U.S. Class Championships - Still Time to Register to Play!
Cajun Chess Presents:
2010 U.S. Class Championships
Oct 1-3, 2010 - Houston, TX
5SS, G/120
(2-day or 3-day Schedule Available)
$10,750 based on 200 full-paid entries!
70% Guaranteed !!
The 2010 U.S. Class Chess Championships will be held at the Hilton Houston Hobby Airport Hotel during the weekend of October 1-3. So far, the Masters Division includes: GM Timur Gareyev, GM Axel Bachmann, GM Maurizio Flores, GM Ioan Chirila, IM Marko Zivanic, IM Puchen Wang, IM Salvijus Bercys, IM Julio Sadorra, and IM Max Cornejo. Of course, this event is open to all, including previously Unrated players. Just a few days remain before the cut-off of the early entry fee, so SIGN UP TODAY!
National Championship Title awarded to each Class Winner !!!
Hilton Hobby Airport Hotel
8181 Airport Blvd.
Houston, TX 77061
Hotel Rate: $89
(Use Group Code USCC)
Hotel Phone:
1-713-645-3000
FREE PARKING !!
8 Sections:
(Rated players may play up one class only;
October 2010 Rating Supplement will be used)
Master (2200/up), FIDE Rated $1,200+Plaque-550-300 (U2400: $400-200-100)
Expert (2000-2199) $800+Plaque-400-200
Class A (1800-1999) $800+Plaque-400-200
Class B (1600-1799) $800+Plaque-400-200
Class C (1400-1599) $800+Plaque-400-200
Class D (1200-1399) $800+Plaque-400-200
Class E (U1200) $300+Plaque-200-100
Unrated $300+Plaque-100
Tiebreaks: MSCO
Entry Fees:
Regular Entry Fee - $85
Special Entry Fee (each one counts as 2/3 of a paid entry) - $55 by 9/24 for all Class E, Unrated Section, and Juniors (U18) in Class C or D.
Free entry for GMs.
Free entry for IMs - EF deducted from winnings.
Pre-Registration:
Info and On-line Registration at:
On-Site Registration:
Friday (Oct. 1), 5-7 p.m.
Saturday (Oct. 2 - for 2 day schedule), 8-9 a.m.
Schedules:
3-Day Schedule: Fri 8pm;
Sat 1pm & 6:30pm;
Sun 9:30am & 2:30pm.
2-Day Schedule: Sat 10am (G/60), 1pm & 6:30pm
Sun 9:30am & 2:30pm.
Note: Both schedules merge at Round 2.
Byes available for all rounds - must commit
before the end of Round 2.
Questions: Contact Franc Guadalupe
(713) 530-7820
Email: flguadalupe@aol.com
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THE WEEKEND OF OCT. 1-3 AT THE
2010 U.S. CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS ! ! !
(Sponsored by the U.S. Chess Federation)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
1,000-year-old tomb found at Anhui construction site
There is something about this story that is not quite right - perhaps it is the photograph. Why is the dude inside the tomb with a pick-ax when partial walls have already been uncovered? If this is a staged re-enactment of discovery of the tomb for the photographer, they didn't do a very good job. Hmmm... I can't help but wonder how much time elapsed between the actual uncovering of this tomb by the construction workers and when the phone call "to the authorities" was finally made. For the tomb of a family of some wealth (else they could not have built such a tomb), there seems a lack of artifacts, particularly intact artifacts. I'm suspicious. I wonder how many artifacts have already been smuggled out of the country and are now up for clandestine bidding by uber-rich private collectors. Or perhaps some of the artifacts are at this moment resting in climate-controlled locked cabinets owned by high-ranking "People's Republic" officials.
From People's Daily in English:
11:00, September 28, 2010
Six cultural relics, including a pottery jar and pot as well as damaged pottery spindle whorl and an iron sword, were recently unearthed out of a 1,000-year-old tomb from the Southern Dynasties period found at a construction site on Huangguan Road in a chemical industry park in Anqing, Anhui Province.
The relics were handed over to the Anqing Museum on Sept. 25.
The Anqing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage received a call on Sept. 15 saying that an ancient tomb was discovered at a construction site in the Anqing Chemical Industry Park and archeologists were expected to investigate.
The administration immediately dispatched a group of archeologists to the tomb who later identified that it was indeed an ancient tomb. Therefore, the administration immediately put the tomb under protection and submitted an application to the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology for more experts to jointly carry out archaeological excavations. The institute soon approved the application and sent out their experts.
With careful preparations, Anqing Cultural Relics Bureau decided to start excavations on Sept. 18. After experts made on-site investigations, the general framework of the tomb with three coffins was formulated. The masonry tomb is in the shape of the Chinese character tu (凸) and the coffins are arranged side by side.
The tomb is not large but given the structure of the tomb and other factors, experts believe that the tomb is quite likely to be a family tomb and the owner was wealthy. Further excavations have shown that the bodies in the coffins are already decayed and there are a few funeral objects within the tomb. As the tomb has no epitaphs or tombstone, the identity of the tomb owner cannot be revealed.
Through five days of continual work, archaeologists unearthed six items, including a pot with a dish-shaped mouth and two handles as well as some pottery jars. Half of the items are intact and the other half are not. The pot with a dish-shaped mouth and two handles is mainly intact and is believed to meet the standards of at least a third-grade national cultural relic.
According to cultural relic experts in Anhui Province, the tomb has existed for more than 1,000 years since the Southern Dynasties and is one of the earliest tombs found in the province. The excavation of the tomb will provide research into Anqing's funeral customs in the Southern Dynasties period as well as its historical and cultural development with more material evidence.
By People's Daily Online
From People's Daily in English:
11:00, September 28, 2010
 |
| Photo by Xu Jixiang, People's Daily Online |
The relics were handed over to the Anqing Museum on Sept. 25.
The Anqing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage received a call on Sept. 15 saying that an ancient tomb was discovered at a construction site in the Anqing Chemical Industry Park and archeologists were expected to investigate.
The administration immediately dispatched a group of archeologists to the tomb who later identified that it was indeed an ancient tomb. Therefore, the administration immediately put the tomb under protection and submitted an application to the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology for more experts to jointly carry out archaeological excavations. The institute soon approved the application and sent out their experts.
With careful preparations, Anqing Cultural Relics Bureau decided to start excavations on Sept. 18. After experts made on-site investigations, the general framework of the tomb with three coffins was formulated. The masonry tomb is in the shape of the Chinese character tu (凸) and the coffins are arranged side by side.
The tomb is not large but given the structure of the tomb and other factors, experts believe that the tomb is quite likely to be a family tomb and the owner was wealthy. Further excavations have shown that the bodies in the coffins are already decayed and there are a few funeral objects within the tomb. As the tomb has no epitaphs or tombstone, the identity of the tomb owner cannot be revealed.
Through five days of continual work, archaeologists unearthed six items, including a pot with a dish-shaped mouth and two handles as well as some pottery jars. Half of the items are intact and the other half are not. The pot with a dish-shaped mouth and two handles is mainly intact and is believed to meet the standards of at least a third-grade national cultural relic.
According to cultural relic experts in Anhui Province, the tomb has existed for more than 1,000 years since the Southern Dynasties and is one of the earliest tombs found in the province. The excavation of the tomb will provide research into Anqing's funeral customs in the Southern Dynasties period as well as its historical and cultural development with more material evidence.
By People's Daily Online
Spectacular Find in Crete: Unlooted 7th Century BCE Tomb
From The Canadian Press as reported at Google:
Archaeologists on Crete find skeleton covered with gold foil in 2,700-year-old grave
By Nicholas Paphitis (CP) – 8 hours ago
ATHENS, Greece — Greek archaeologists have found an ancient skeleton covered with gold foil in a grave on the island of Crete, officials said Tuesday.
Excavator Nicholas Stampolidis said his team discovered more than 3,000 pieces of gold foil in the 7th-century B.C. twin grave near the ancient town of Eleutherna.
Cemeteries there have produced a wealth of outstanding artifacts in recent years.
The tiny gold ornaments, from 1 to 4 centimetres (0.4 to 1.5 inches) long, had been sewn onto a lavish robe or shroud that initially wrapped the body of a woman and has almost completely rotted away but for a few off-white threads.
"The whole length of the (grave) was covered with small pieces of gold foil — square, circular and lozenge-shaped," Stampolidis told The Associated Press. "We were literally digging up gold interspersed with earth, not earth with some gold in it."
The woman, who presumably had a high social or religious status, was buried with a second skeleton in a large jar sealed with a stone slab weighing more than half a ton. It was hidden behind a false wall, to confuse grave robbers.
Experts are trying to determine the other skeleton's sex.
The grave also contained a copper bowl; pottery; perfume bottles imported from Egypt or Syria and Palestine; hundreds of amber, rock crystal and faience beads; as well as a gold pendant in the form of a bee goddess that probably was part of a rock crystal and gold necklace.
"If you look at it one way up, it's shaped like a lily," said Stampolidis, a professor of archaeology at the University of Crete who has worked at Eleutherna for the 25 years. "Turned upside down, you see a female figure holding her breasts, whose lower body is shaped as a bee with wings. The workmanship is exquisite."
The ruins of Eleutherna stand on the northern foothills of Mount Ida — the mythical birthplace of Zeus, chief of the ancient Greek gods. Past excavations have discovered a citadel, homes and an important cemetery with lavish female burials.
The town flourished from the 9th century B.C. — the dark ages of Greek archaeology that followed the fall of Crete's great Minoan palatial culture — and endured until the Middle Ages.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Archaeologists on Crete find skeleton covered with gold foil in 2,700-year-old grave
By Nicholas Paphitis (CP) – 8 hours ago
ATHENS, Greece — Greek archaeologists have found an ancient skeleton covered with gold foil in a grave on the island of Crete, officials said Tuesday.
Excavator Nicholas Stampolidis said his team discovered more than 3,000 pieces of gold foil in the 7th-century B.C. twin grave near the ancient town of Eleutherna.
Cemeteries there have produced a wealth of outstanding artifacts in recent years.
The tiny gold ornaments, from 1 to 4 centimetres (0.4 to 1.5 inches) long, had been sewn onto a lavish robe or shroud that initially wrapped the body of a woman and has almost completely rotted away but for a few off-white threads.
"The whole length of the (grave) was covered with small pieces of gold foil — square, circular and lozenge-shaped," Stampolidis told The Associated Press. "We were literally digging up gold interspersed with earth, not earth with some gold in it."
The woman, who presumably had a high social or religious status, was buried with a second skeleton in a large jar sealed with a stone slab weighing more than half a ton. It was hidden behind a false wall, to confuse grave robbers.
Experts are trying to determine the other skeleton's sex.
The grave also contained a copper bowl; pottery; perfume bottles imported from Egypt or Syria and Palestine; hundreds of amber, rock crystal and faience beads; as well as a gold pendant in the form of a bee goddess that probably was part of a rock crystal and gold necklace.
"If you look at it one way up, it's shaped like a lily," said Stampolidis, a professor of archaeology at the University of Crete who has worked at Eleutherna for the 25 years. "Turned upside down, you see a female figure holding her breasts, whose lower body is shaped as a bee with wings. The workmanship is exquisite."
The ruins of Eleutherna stand on the northern foothills of Mount Ida — the mythical birthplace of Zeus, chief of the ancient Greek gods. Past excavations have discovered a citadel, homes and an important cemetery with lavish female burials.
The town flourished from the 9th century B.C. — the dark ages of Greek archaeology that followed the fall of Crete's great Minoan palatial culture — and endured until the Middle Ages.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
2010 Chess Olympiad - Women Round 7
It's been a long rough day so this is going to be short.
Anna Zatonskih was the difference on USA Women's team today by coming through with a victory - good for Anna. She has, I hope, shaken off whatever was ailing her the first games in the Olympiad, and has won two in a row.
Round 7 on 2010/09/28 at 15:00
Bo. 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg - 7 Armenia (ARM) Rtg 2½:1½
5.1 IM Krush Irina 2490 - IM Danielian Elina 2466 ½ - ½
5.2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 - IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2484 1 - 0
5.3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 - IM Galojan Lilit 2373 ½ - ½
5.4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 - WGM Aginian Nelly 2282 ½ - ½
Here are the top 10 Women's Teams after R7:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 7 7 0 0 14 176,5 21,5 60,00
2 4 Georgia GEO 7 6 0 1 12 157,5 21,0 59,00
3 8 India IND 7 6 0 1 12 148,0 20,5 53,00
4 17 Serbia SRB 7 5 1 1 11 147,5 20,5 55,00
5 9 Hungary HUN 7 5 1 1 11 143,5 18,0 61,00
6 6 United States of America USA 7 5 1 1 11 134,0 19,0 56,00 7 5 Russia 2 RUS2 7 4 3 0 11 131,5 17,5 54,00
8 12 Bulgaria BUL 7 5 1 1 11 131,0 16,5 59,00
9 2 China CHN 7 5 0 2 10 155,5 19,0 64,00
10 3 Ukraine UKR 7 5 0 2 10 152,5 19,0 64,00
Top match-ups tomorrow:
No. SNo Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team SNo
1 8 IND India 20½ 12 : 14 21½ Russia 1 RUS1 1
2 17 SRB Serbia 20½ 11 : 12 21 Georgia GEO 4
3 5 RUS2 Russia 2 17½ 11 : 11 19 United States of America USA 6
4 9 HUN Hungary 18 11 : 11 16½ Bulgaria BUL 12
5 36 RUS3 Russia 3 19 10 : 10 20 Cuba CUB 18
How did Canadian Women do? They split the match points:
Round 7 on 2010/09/28 at 15:00
Bo. 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 64 Singapore (SIN) Rtg 2 : 2
32.1 WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 - WFM Tay Li Jin Jeslin 2119 1 - 0
32.2 Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 - WFM Liu Yang 2083 0 - 1
32.3 Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 - Neo Xiuwen Christabel 1846 1 - 0
32.4 Kagramanov Dalia 1866 - Lo Yin Ling Melissa 1814 0 - 1
Canadian Women moved up one spot, to 53rd.
There are four more games to go. Can the American Women advance further? They're back where they started - in 6th place. People are already crowning Russian Women 1 the Gold Medalists, and perhaps they are right. But, as the saying goes, it ain't over until the fat lady sings :)
The women playing on Open teams:
GM Judit Polgar, Hungary, Board 3: Bounced back from her loss yesterday, with a win against GM Alexandr Fier of Brazil. Judit's score is 5.0/7 with a current performance rating of 2782. Very nice :)
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3: She did her part by holding a draw against a higher rated player - "The Hammer" - GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2633 of Norway - GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 ½ - ½. However, very few players can overcome GM Magnus Carlsen on Board 1 and neither could Lithuania's first board. Lithuania lost to Norway by 2.5/1.5. Cmilyte's score, 3.0/6; her current performance rating is below her ELO (not good).
GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3: Zhu Chen drew her game
31.2 GM Zhu Chen 2480 - Erdene Ganzorig 2330 ½ - ½
Zhu Chen's score is 4.0/7 and her performance rating is below her ELO (not good).
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2:
29.2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 - GM Drasko Milan 2486 ½ - ½
Ketevan was the only draw, her teammates all lost their games to Montenegro. Keti's score is 4.0/6 and is the best performance on her team, but her performance rating is below her ELO.
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - Shiomi Ryo 2105 1 - 0
Luxembourg took the match against Japan 3.5/0.5
Fiona has not lost a game and has a score of 4.5/6. Her performance rating is a little above her ELO, which is good.
Anna Zatonskih was the difference on USA Women's team today by coming through with a victory - good for Anna. She has, I hope, shaken off whatever was ailing her the first games in the Olympiad, and has won two in a row.
Round 7 on 2010/09/28 at 15:00
Bo. 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg - 7 Armenia (ARM) Rtg 2½:1½
5.1 IM Krush Irina 2490 - IM Danielian Elina 2466 ½ - ½
5.2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 - IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2484 1 - 0
5.3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 - IM Galojan Lilit 2373 ½ - ½
5.4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 - WGM Aginian Nelly 2282 ½ - ½
Here are the top 10 Women's Teams after R7:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 7 7 0 0 14 176,5 21,5 60,00
2 4 Georgia GEO 7 6 0 1 12 157,5 21,0 59,00
3 8 India IND 7 6 0 1 12 148,0 20,5 53,00
4 17 Serbia SRB 7 5 1 1 11 147,5 20,5 55,00
5 9 Hungary HUN 7 5 1 1 11 143,5 18,0 61,00
6 6 United States of America USA 7 5 1 1 11 134,0 19,0 56,00 7 5 Russia 2 RUS2 7 4 3 0 11 131,5 17,5 54,00
8 12 Bulgaria BUL 7 5 1 1 11 131,0 16,5 59,00
9 2 China CHN 7 5 0 2 10 155,5 19,0 64,00
10 3 Ukraine UKR 7 5 0 2 10 152,5 19,0 64,00
Top match-ups tomorrow:
No. SNo Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team SNo
1 8 IND India 20½ 12 : 14 21½ Russia 1 RUS1 1
2 17 SRB Serbia 20½ 11 : 12 21 Georgia GEO 4
3 5 RUS2 Russia 2 17½ 11 : 11 19 United States of America USA 6
4 9 HUN Hungary 18 11 : 11 16½ Bulgaria BUL 12
5 36 RUS3 Russia 3 19 10 : 10 20 Cuba CUB 18
How did Canadian Women do? They split the match points:
Round 7 on 2010/09/28 at 15:00
Bo. 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 64 Singapore (SIN) Rtg 2 : 2
32.1 WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 - WFM Tay Li Jin Jeslin 2119 1 - 0
32.2 Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 - WFM Liu Yang 2083 0 - 1
32.3 Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 - Neo Xiuwen Christabel 1846 1 - 0
32.4 Kagramanov Dalia 1866 - Lo Yin Ling Melissa 1814 0 - 1
Canadian Women moved up one spot, to 53rd.
There are four more games to go. Can the American Women advance further? They're back where they started - in 6th place. People are already crowning Russian Women 1 the Gold Medalists, and perhaps they are right. But, as the saying goes, it ain't over until the fat lady sings :)
The women playing on Open teams:
GM Judit Polgar, Hungary, Board 3: Bounced back from her loss yesterday, with a win against GM Alexandr Fier of Brazil. Judit's score is 5.0/7 with a current performance rating of 2782. Very nice :)
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3: She did her part by holding a draw against a higher rated player - "The Hammer" - GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2633 of Norway - GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 ½ - ½. However, very few players can overcome GM Magnus Carlsen on Board 1 and neither could Lithuania's first board. Lithuania lost to Norway by 2.5/1.5. Cmilyte's score, 3.0/6; her current performance rating is below her ELO (not good).
GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3: Zhu Chen drew her game
31.2 GM Zhu Chen 2480 - Erdene Ganzorig 2330 ½ - ½
Zhu Chen's score is 4.0/7 and her performance rating is below her ELO (not good).
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2:
29.2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 - GM Drasko Milan 2486 ½ - ½
Ketevan was the only draw, her teammates all lost their games to Montenegro. Keti's score is 4.0/6 and is the best performance on her team, but her performance rating is below her ELO.
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - Shiomi Ryo 2105 1 - 0
Luxembourg took the match against Japan 3.5/0.5
Fiona has not lost a game and has a score of 4.5/6. Her performance rating is a little above her ELO, which is good.
Monday, September 27, 2010
2010 Scotiabank Nuite Blanche
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche
2010 Event
October 2, 2010
6:57 p.m. to sunrise!!!
Toronto's annual sunset to sunrise celebration of contemporary art returns to mark a five-year milestone.
I received an email about this event with the following information:
Reunion 2010 is part of the annual all-night long arts festival, Nuit Blanche starting at 6:57pm on Oct. 4 (www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca).
The event revisits the chess games between composer John Cage and famous artist Marcel Duchamp and his wife Teeny Duchamp held at Ryerson in 1968.
In order to explore the artistic lineage of both Cage and Duchamp, several artists who have knowledge of these two figures have been asked to either perform as chess players or to present related works.
As in the original performance, it is a musical event that relies on chance, "purposeless play". The basic configuration is an electronic chess board on stage and each square has a light sensor on it. The moves of the
players will trigger a number of live electronic performances by several electronic musicians and artists. The chess position will be shot by an overhead camera and projected onto a large screen.
Beyond the artists who will be playing the board, there will be a game between IM Lawrence Day, Toronto Star and CFC columnist, and IM Allan Savage, chess journalist and Duchamp scholar, and between two-time American Women's Chess Champion, WGM Jennifer Shahade (she has written game analyses for Duchamp's matches) and GM Pascal Charbonneau (2002 and 2004 Canadian Champion).
Between 2:30 and 5 am audience members will be invited up to make a move on stage, assisted by chessplayers from the Chess Institute of Canada.
This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to use this board and to contribute to a musical event by making a chess move. Depending on the number of interested players, there may be speed games. You may get a
chance to play one of the masters.
2010 Chess Olympiad - Women Round 6
 |
| USA - Tatev Abrahamyan, R6 |
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg - 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg 2½:1½
2.1 GM Dzagnidze Nana 2534 - IM Krush Irina 2490 1 - 0
2.2 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2451 - IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 0 - 1
2.3 IM Melia Salome 2439 - WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 1 - 0
2.4 IM Khotenashvili Bela 2464 - WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2293 ½ - ½
As a result of its match loss today, USA Women fall from 3rd place to 8th, and Georgia moves into 3rd. That really sucks. One good thing - Anna Zatonskih won her game today!
Not a good result for Canada, either:
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 34 Belarus (BLR) Rtg - 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg 3½: ½
17.1 WGM Sharevich Anna 2283 - WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 1 - 0
17.2 WIM Ziaziulkina Nastassia 2284 - WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 1 - 0
17.3 WFM Homiakova Elena 2156 - Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 1 - 0
17.4 FM Stetsko Lanita 2148 - Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 ½ - ½
Canada falls from 29th to 54th place, drastic!
Here are the top 10 Women's Teams after R6:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 6 6 0 0 12 123,0 17,5 43,00
2 9 Hungary HUN 6 5 1 0 11 120,5 18,0 42,00
3 4 Georgia GEO 6 5 0 1 10 121,0 18,5 44,00
4 3 Ukraine UKR 6 5 0 1 10 120,5 17,5 46,00
5 2 China CHN 6 5 0 1 10 117,0 17,5 43,00
6 8 India IND 6 5 0 1 10 113,5 18,0 39,00
7 14 Romania ROU 6 4 1 1 9 104,5 17,0 42,00
8 6 United States of America USA 6 4 1 1 9 104,5 16,5 43,00
9 7 Armenia ARM 6 4 1 1 9 99,5 17,0 38,00
10 17 Serbia SRB 6 4 1 1 9 96,0 17,0 39,00
GM Judit Polgar, Hungary, Board 3:
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 2 Ukraine (UKR) Rtg - 5 Hungary (HUN) Rtg 3 : 1
2.1 GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2754 - GM Leko Peter 2724 1 - 0
2.2 GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2749 - GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 ½ - ½
2.3 GM Eljanov Pavel 2761 - GM Polgar Judit 2682 1 - 0
2.4 GM Efimenko Zahar 2683 - GM Berkes Ferenc 2678 ½ - ½
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3:
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 69 Turkmenistan (TKM) Rtg - 39 Lithuania (LTU) Rtg 2½:1½
19.1 GM Amanov Mesgen 2493 - GM Rozentalis Eduardas 2611 1 - 0
19.2 IM Annaberdiev Meylis 2465 - GM Sulskis Sarunas 2544 0 - 1
19.3 FM Atabayev Maksat 2318 - GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 1 - 0
19.4 GM Odeev Handszar 2397 - GM Malisauskas Vidmantas 2510 ½ - ½
Not a good match for Lithuania today.
GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3:
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 55 Qatar (QAT) Rtg - 95 Monaco (MNC) Rtg 3½: ½
39.1 GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2495 - GM Efimov Igor 2433 1 - 0
39.2 GM Zhu Chen 2480 - Nelis Jean-Francois 2238 1 - 0
39.3 IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2394 - Gentilleau Jean-Philippe 2182 1 - 0
39.4 Al-Tamimi Hamad 2250 - Ribbegren Karl Johan 2153 ½ - ½
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2: did not play today.
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
Round 6 on 2010/09/27 at 15:00
Bo. 115 Korea (KOR) Rtg - 90 Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg 1½:2½
54.1 CM Lee Sanghoon 2146 - IM Wiedenkeller Michael 2431 0 - 1
54.2 Lee Kiyul 1971 - Linster Philippe 2264 0 - 1
54.3 Chogdov Munkhbat 2236 - Jeitz Christian 2235 1 - 0
54.4 Jung Young Hoon 1923 - WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 ½ - ½
Top pairings for R7 tomorrow:
No. SNo Team Team Pts. MP Res. : Res. MP Pts. Team Team SNo
1 1 RUS1 Russia 1 17½ 12 : 11 18 Hungary HUN 9
2 2 CHN China 17½ 10 : 10 18½ Georgia GEO 4
3 3 UKR Ukraine 17½ 10 : 10 18 India IND 8
4 5 RUS2 Russia 2 15 9 : 9 17 Romania ROU 14
5 6 USA United States of America 16½ 9 : 9 17 Armenia ARM 7
6 17 SRB Serbia 17 9 : 9 14½ Switzerland SUI 46
Learning Chess Assists At-Risk Students
From The Wall Street Journal:
Monday, September 27, 2010
Chess, as a Survival Skill
School Uses Chess to Teach Self-Control, Critical Thinking to Troubled Students
By STEPHANIE BANCHERO
ST. LOUIS—At a school for troubled kids on this city's tough North Side, life's lessons are learned on a chessboard. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon for The Wall Street Journal. Brandi, right, playing chess Thursday at a St. Louis school for students with behavioral problems that requires them to take classes in the game.)
In Room 103, Marqwon, 16 years old, kicked out of his regular school for bringing in a nail-studded piece of wood, tapped his forefinger in the air as he mapped out his next six moves.
Across the board, 15-year-old Joann, sent here after throwing a punch at a classmate, was losing the match and wasn't happy about it.
"You're just embarrassing me," she said, toppling her king with a smack. "You know it's over."
Her action coaxed chess instructor Bill Thompson to the table. "Let's not give up," he said. "Let's think of a way to get out of this."
Chess has been a part of after-school programs for at least 40 years, but mainly in the suburbs. In the last decade, it has exploded in popularity in urban areas as research showed that students who play chess do better on achievement exams, especially math.
But few schools offer chess as an academic subject—and fewer still require it, especially for students already labeled as troublemakers, like the ones here.
Innovative Concept Academy was opened last year by a St. Louis Juvenile Court Judge Jimmie Edwards. Tired of watching teenagers get kicked out of school, land in his courtroom and then drop out, Mr. Edwards created his own school to nurture students back to academic, emotional and mental health. The city's school district pays for the building and teachers, while money from not-for-profit groups provides the rest of the funding.
The Academy, housed in a three-story former middle school, caters to sixth through 12th graders who have either been suspended or expelled for fighting, bringing weapons to class, getting caught with drugs or other illegal or disruptive behavior.
The top floor of the three-story school is occupied by teenagers who have been criminally charged and gone through the juvenile court system.
Students attend class from 9 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. and have access to counselors, psychologists and mentors. Aside from the academics, the school offers courses in ballroom dance, creative writing and golf.
The twice weekly chess classes are mandatory for most of the school's 97 students and are an integral part of Mr. Edwards's strategy to curb bad behavior and teach alternatives to violence. He knows that chess won't solve all the behavior problems, but says it offers lessons about self-control and critical thinking.
"Most of my kids are impulsive, reactionary and they lash out without thinking through the consequences," said Mr. Edwards, who walks the school's halls almost daily. "Chess teaches them patience and teaches them that there are consequences to bad decisions."
"In chess, you can lose your queen," he added. "In life, you can lose your life."
The chess program at the Academy is paid for by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, which opened in 2008 and already has 700 members.
The club wants to make St. Louis the chess capital of the U.S. and has hosted the national chess, national women's chess and junior chess championships.
About a million students play chess in local clubs and after-school programs, officials of the United States Chess Federation estimate. Chuck Lovingood, who oversees scholastic chess programs for the non-profit group, said chess teaches students problem-solving, focus and how to build—then execute–a plan.
"Chess is not a game of instant gratification, and that is an important life skill for all children to learn," he said.
In one 90-minute chess class earlier this week, many life lessons were on display.
When the instructor suggested Joann find a way out of her predicament—Marqwon had her Queen trapped in one corner of the board—she plotted a strategy to escape, then knock off his knight.
Joann, who had never played chess until this school year, eventually lost. But she captured seven of Marqwon's pieces and made him chase her around the board.
Chess, said Joann, "messes with your brain and makes you think about something before you do it. And it makes you think there's a way out of something if you think about it hard enough."
Jesus, an 18-year-old junior, learned the hard way that impulsiveness is a bad trait in chess. When an opponent tried to capture Jesus' pawn with a knight, Jesus reached for his rook, hoping to take the opponent's knight.
But the boy had not yet lifted his hand to complete his initial move and he quickly pulled back his knight.
"Bro, you're cheating," Jesus screamed out.
But the opponent pointed out that, until he lifted his hand off the piece, the move was not complete. Jesus leaned back in his chair, covered his face with his hands and groaned. "You're right," he said.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Chess, as a Survival Skill
School Uses Chess to Teach Self-Control, Critical Thinking to Troubled Students
By STEPHANIE BANCHERO
ST. LOUIS—At a school for troubled kids on this city's tough North Side, life's lessons are learned on a chessboard. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon for The Wall Street Journal. Brandi, right, playing chess Thursday at a St. Louis school for students with behavioral problems that requires them to take classes in the game.)
Across the board, 15-year-old Joann, sent here after throwing a punch at a classmate, was losing the match and wasn't happy about it.
"You're just embarrassing me," she said, toppling her king with a smack. "You know it's over."
Her action coaxed chess instructor Bill Thompson to the table. "Let's not give up," he said. "Let's think of a way to get out of this."
Chess has been a part of after-school programs for at least 40 years, but mainly in the suburbs. In the last decade, it has exploded in popularity in urban areas as research showed that students who play chess do better on achievement exams, especially math.
But few schools offer chess as an academic subject—and fewer still require it, especially for students already labeled as troublemakers, like the ones here.
Innovative Concept Academy was opened last year by a St. Louis Juvenile Court Judge Jimmie Edwards. Tired of watching teenagers get kicked out of school, land in his courtroom and then drop out, Mr. Edwards created his own school to nurture students back to academic, emotional and mental health. The city's school district pays for the building and teachers, while money from not-for-profit groups provides the rest of the funding.
The Academy, housed in a three-story former middle school, caters to sixth through 12th graders who have either been suspended or expelled for fighting, bringing weapons to class, getting caught with drugs or other illegal or disruptive behavior.
The top floor of the three-story school is occupied by teenagers who have been criminally charged and gone through the juvenile court system.
Students attend class from 9 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. and have access to counselors, psychologists and mentors. Aside from the academics, the school offers courses in ballroom dance, creative writing and golf.
The twice weekly chess classes are mandatory for most of the school's 97 students and are an integral part of Mr. Edwards's strategy to curb bad behavior and teach alternatives to violence. He knows that chess won't solve all the behavior problems, but says it offers lessons about self-control and critical thinking.
"Most of my kids are impulsive, reactionary and they lash out without thinking through the consequences," said Mr. Edwards, who walks the school's halls almost daily. "Chess teaches them patience and teaches them that there are consequences to bad decisions."
"In chess, you can lose your queen," he added. "In life, you can lose your life."
The chess program at the Academy is paid for by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, which opened in 2008 and already has 700 members.
The club wants to make St. Louis the chess capital of the U.S. and has hosted the national chess, national women's chess and junior chess championships.
About a million students play chess in local clubs and after-school programs, officials of the United States Chess Federation estimate. Chuck Lovingood, who oversees scholastic chess programs for the non-profit group, said chess teaches students problem-solving, focus and how to build—then execute–a plan.
"Chess is not a game of instant gratification, and that is an important life skill for all children to learn," he said.
In one 90-minute chess class earlier this week, many life lessons were on display.
When the instructor suggested Joann find a way out of her predicament—Marqwon had her Queen trapped in one corner of the board—she plotted a strategy to escape, then knock off his knight.
Joann, who had never played chess until this school year, eventually lost. But she captured seven of Marqwon's pieces and made him chase her around the board.
Chess, said Joann, "messes with your brain and makes you think about something before you do it. And it makes you think there's a way out of something if you think about it hard enough."
Jesus, an 18-year-old junior, learned the hard way that impulsiveness is a bad trait in chess. When an opponent tried to capture Jesus' pawn with a knight, Jesus reached for his rook, hoping to take the opponent's knight.
But the boy had not yet lifted his hand to complete his initial move and he quickly pulled back his knight.
"Bro, you're cheating," Jesus screamed out.
But the opponent pointed out that, until he lifted his hand off the piece, the move was not complete. Jesus leaned back in his chair, covered his face with his hands and groaned. "You're right," he said.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Break An Ankle for Charity Run
Er, whose idea was this? Bad, bad, bad! A 150 yard DASH in minimum 3 inch high-heels? Yeah, way to go, "Heart Truth Campaign." Hope you had liability insurance in place...
 |
| Kristin Chenoweth, Kelly Ripa, and AnnaLynne McCord took part in the "Live With Regis and Kelly" High Heel-a-thon in New York's Central Park on Wednesday. Participants in the 150-yard dash had to wear at least 3-inch heels, which, for Ripa, was "like wearing flats because I usually wear 6-inch heels," she cracked. Proceeds from the event went to the Heart Truth campaign, which raises awareness about heart disease and women's health. |
7,000 Year Old Village Uncovered in Bulgaria
We (me included) have got to get it out of our heads that the cradle of civilization was in the Middle East - it wasn't! This is one more example of ruins uncovered of an extensive series of settlements in southern Europe to the west of (and around) the Black Sea coast -- "Old Europe."
From Novinite.com
Bulgarian Archaeologists Unearth 7000-Year-Old Village
Archaeology | September 25, 2010, Saturday
A prehistoric home dated back 7000 years has been uncovered by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists at Telish in the central northern District of Pleven.
The team led by archaeologist Ventsislav Gergov is convinced that the home found in a place known as "Laga" is part of a village with at least 30 houses.
"Our ancient predecessor constructed amazingly robust homes, much more robust than many of the contemporary apartment buildings," Gergov believes.
"The walls of the homes were made of stamped clay mixed with cow manure and straw, and were additionally supported with wooden poles. This is how the home becomes monolithic and acquires amazing heating isolation," [insulation?] he explained.
Gergov has found parts of over 40 highly-ornate ceramic vessels inside the home as well as two clay ovens built one over the other.
The excavations of the site will continue for one more week because of lack of funding. All finds will be turned in to the Pleven Regional History Museum.
This is not Gergov's first prehistoric discovery at Telish; a place which has turned out to harbor some of the oldest remains of civilized settlements in the world.
The archaeologist is also the author of a local project exhibiting two reconstructed rammed earth homes modeled after the findings in the prehistoric excavations as part of an open air museum.
From Novinite.com
Bulgarian Archaeologists Unearth 7000-Year-Old Village
Archaeology | September 25, 2010, Saturday
A prehistoric home dated back 7000 years has been uncovered by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists at Telish in the central northern District of Pleven.
The team led by archaeologist Ventsislav Gergov is convinced that the home found in a place known as "Laga" is part of a village with at least 30 houses.
"Our ancient predecessor constructed amazingly robust homes, much more robust than many of the contemporary apartment buildings," Gergov believes.
"The walls of the homes were made of stamped clay mixed with cow manure and straw, and were additionally supported with wooden poles. This is how the home becomes monolithic and acquires amazing heating isolation," [insulation?] he explained.
Gergov has found parts of over 40 highly-ornate ceramic vessels inside the home as well as two clay ovens built one over the other.
The excavations of the site will continue for one more week because of lack of funding. All finds will be turned in to the Pleven Regional History Museum.
This is not Gergov's first prehistoric discovery at Telish; a place which has turned out to harbor some of the oldest remains of civilized settlements in the world.
The archaeologist is also the author of a local project exhibiting two reconstructed rammed earth homes modeled after the findings in the prehistoric excavations as part of an open air museum.
A Dog (and Her Boy) Uncover 2,000 Year Old Roman Pot in England
The heroine of this story is actually the doggy, Meg, who starting digging and uncovered the pot but, alas, no photo of Meg, the springer spaniel, in the article and nor is she credited with the discovery! Bad, bad newspaper!
From the timesandstar.co.uk
Seaton boy finds priceless Roman pot in Maryport
Last updated at 23:12, Thursday, 23 September 2010
TEN-year-old Nathan Poland stumbled upon something special when his dog dug up a 2,000-year-old pot as they walked around Maryport.
Nathan and dad Lee, of Hunter’s Drive, Seaton, often walk their Springer Spaniel Meg in the town, and when she began doing what she loves best by digging a hole, Nathan spotted what looked like an orange brick.
“When I pulled it out it was a pot with decorations all around it and I knew straight away it was Roman,” said Nathan, who has found several other pieces of pottery and Roman nails in the past.
Jane Laskey, curator at Maryport’s Senhouse Roman Museum, said the pot was a piece of Samianware from the late second century or early third.
It was a “remarkable find” because, although the Romans brought a lot of Samianware to Britain, this piece was in very good condition and had a lot of decoration.
“There are images of hunting scenes,” she said. “There’s a deer, lions, hunting dogs. It is not as gaudy as some of this pottery can be. It looks as though the artist has really thought it out.”
She said it had been recycled as a cremation bowl, and tests were being carried out on its contents to see if bones found within it are human, animal or a mixture of both.
Mrs Laskey said: “We will be able to tell if there was one or more people in the pot. If there are animals’ bones it could give us an insight of what might have been eaten at the funeral feast.”
The pot also contained nails which may have been hob nails from shoes, nails left in scrap wood used for the funeral pyre or even nails from a stretcher on which a dead person or people lay.
“I do not know the commercial value of this pot but it is priceless because it can tell us so much,” said Mrs Laskey.
Nathan, who is now the owner of the pot, has given it to the museum to keep for him and it is on display there. Details of where and when it was found are being kept secret to preserve any other artifacts at the site. The museum did not make the find public until it had been checked by experts.
First published at 19:34, Thursday, 23 September 2010
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
From the timesandstar.co.uk
Seaton boy finds priceless Roman pot in Maryport
Last updated at 23:12, Thursday, 23 September 2010
TEN-year-old Nathan Poland stumbled upon something special when his dog dug up a 2,000-year-old pot as they walked around Maryport.
 |
| Nathan Poland and the 2,000 year old pot his doggy, Meg, uncovered. |
“When I pulled it out it was a pot with decorations all around it and I knew straight away it was Roman,” said Nathan, who has found several other pieces of pottery and Roman nails in the past.
Jane Laskey, curator at Maryport’s Senhouse Roman Museum, said the pot was a piece of Samianware from the late second century or early third.
It was a “remarkable find” because, although the Romans brought a lot of Samianware to Britain, this piece was in very good condition and had a lot of decoration.
“There are images of hunting scenes,” she said. “There’s a deer, lions, hunting dogs. It is not as gaudy as some of this pottery can be. It looks as though the artist has really thought it out.”
She said it had been recycled as a cremation bowl, and tests were being carried out on its contents to see if bones found within it are human, animal or a mixture of both.
Mrs Laskey said: “We will be able to tell if there was one or more people in the pot. If there are animals’ bones it could give us an insight of what might have been eaten at the funeral feast.”
The pot also contained nails which may have been hob nails from shoes, nails left in scrap wood used for the funeral pyre or even nails from a stretcher on which a dead person or people lay.
“I do not know the commercial value of this pot but it is priceless because it can tell us so much,” said Mrs Laskey.
Nathan, who is now the owner of the pot, has given it to the museum to keep for him and it is on display there. Details of where and when it was found are being kept secret to preserve any other artifacts at the site. The museum did not make the find public until it had been checked by experts.
First published at 19:34, Thursday, 23 September 2010
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut gets nearly as much press as Cleopatra VII! Glad to see it. This extraordinary female ruler of ancient Egypt, whom history bad-mouthed for so long, deserves her place in the eternal spotlight.
From Al-Ahram Weekly Online
23 - 29 September 2010
Issue No. 1016
Queen Hatshepsut King of Upper and Lower Egypt
Framed by steep cliffs and poised in elegant relief is the mortuary temple of Deir Al-Bahri, known in ancient times as the "Most Holy of Holies". We now know more than ever before about the plans and ideas of the remarkable woman who built it, says Jill Kamil
Hatshepsut, as the offspring of the Great Royal Wife Ahmose, was the only lawful heir to the throne of Tuthmosis I [after her two brothers by this wife died]. Custom, however, prevented her as a member of the female sex from succeeding as Pharaoh. So she took the only step open to her: she married her half-brother Tuthmosis II.
"She came to the throne at a crucial time in Egyptian history," said Zbigniew Szafranski, director of the Polish Institute in Cairo at an illustrated talk at the institute last month. "The 18th-Dynasty (1567-1320 BC) emerged from a long-awaited liberation from Hyksos rule; Nubia had become the core of an independent African kingdom; and innovative ideas came from Persia, Palestine, northern Mesopotamia and the Minoan kingdom."
For several years Hatshepsut acted as a typical co- regent, allowing the young Tuthmosis to take precedence in all activities, already there were signs that Hatshepsut was not afraid of flouting tradition. She adopted a new title, "Mistress of the Two Lands", in clear reference to a king's time-honoured title "Lord of the Two Lands"; she commissioned a pair of obelisks to stand in front of the gateway to the Karnak temple complex; and, by the time her obelisks were cut and transported from the quarries at Aswan, she had become a king. She assumed the throne name Makere, "one of many", and she was depicted in relief and statues wearing a royal skirt and ceremonial beard.
The Polish - Egyptian mission has been excavating and restoring the temple of Deir Al-Bahri for 30 years and has recently come upon remarkable evidence on which to hypothesise more about Hatshepsut's life and times. Back in 1969, the team unearthed a small temple built by Tuthmosis III to the south-east of the upper terrace of Hatshepsut's stepped structure, and a year later they found another terrace. Scattered around were hundreds of blocks and fragments of statues from the temple of Hatshepsut, along with plaster casts of blocks from the temple that were taken to the Metropolitan Museum between the years 1911-1931. This enabled enthusiasts to set about reconstructing 26 colossal Osirid statues, many bearing traces of the bright colours with which they were originally painted.
Also discovered -- or should one say excavated from beneath the rubble -- was a temple that Hatshepsut herself appears to have built to the south of the upper terrace. It includes what Szafranski called "a family chapel" dedicated to her parents, their mothers and their grandmothers. "Reading between the lines, this complex subtly reveals a cult of parents," he added.
It was in the seventh year of her reign that Hatshepsut decided to present herself as "King of Upper and Lower Egypt". Indication of this appears in her image, carved in relief, honouring Amun at the entrance to the main sanctuary on the upper terrace, which was first painted pink (the usual skin tone of women), and then over-painted in red, denoting that the god was being honoured by his son. "Her images are beautifully sculpted, even those carved on such high registers on the wall that they could not possibly be seen from the ground. "Evidently she employed the most talented artists in her workshop," Szafranski said.
Indeed, it was her most talented architect, Senmut, who designed the terraced temple for Hatshepsut. "[It] was dramatically different from New Kingdom temples because it was meant to function as a memorial monument, sharing such components as gates, pillars, columns, Osirid statues and sphinxes," Szafranski said. In fact, when approaching the temple from the east one becomes aware that, far from belittling the temple, the stark purity of the cliffs to its rear -- water-worn for thousands of years by hot winds and flash floods forming deep cracks and crevices -- forms a dramatic backcloth.
The structure appears to have been inspired by the adjacent 11th-Dynasty temple built by Hatshepsut's distant predecessor Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (whose temple has also been restored), but it was carried out on a very much larger scale. Senmut adopted the idea of the terrace and added an extra tier, so that the whole temple comprised courts, one above the other, with connecting, inclined planes at the centre. The Polish mission has recently been hard at work on the upper terrace, a festival courtyard and two chambers which were added later -- one in honour of Hathor and devoted to the cult of the queen and her parents, and the other devoted to Anubis. These will soon be open to the public.
"Examining the innovative architecture, especially the large statue of Hatshepsut herself in the form of Osiris in what is known as the Coronation Portico, and also the reliefs on each side of a doorway showing her wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt (to the left), and the Double Crown (to the right), one gets the impression that Hatshepsut herself influenced the project, and may indeed have personally designed her chapel towards the end of her reign," Szafranski said.
The sanctuary of Hatshepsut has a vaulted ceiling and some of the wall paintings bear a marked resemblance to those to be found in Old Kingdom tombs at Saqqara. Here are such scenes as Hatshepsut in front of an offering table, and registers of offering bearers. One cannot help but feel, along with Szafranski, that a little of Hatshepsut's whim and fancy went into the elaboration of this most magnificent of mortuary temples.
Hatshepsut had two tombs. The first she had dug in the Valley of the Kings, where all members of the royal family were laid to rest in the 18th Dynasty. The second was in Taket Zeid Valley, to the south of Deir Al-Bahri overlooking the royal valley. Hatshepsut's mummy was found in neither. It has been suggested that her body may be one of the couple of "unknown woman" found in the shaft at Deir Al-Bahri, but this is by no means certain.
Deir Al-Bahri is best viewed early in the morning when the sun is low in the sky and the air is cool. Later in the day it tends to be very hot and the reliefs are all but invisible. You'll want to see details of the famous colonnades of the voyage to Punt and the Birth Colonnade in their best light. The former commemorates an expedition ordered by Hatshepsut to the East African/Somali coast to bring back myrrh and frankincense trees to be planted on the terraces of her temple, where, at the centre of a long wall, is a scene of the queen (defaced) offering the fruits of her expedition to Amun: frankincense trees, wild game, cattle, electrum and bows. The Birth Colonnade includes a scene of the ram-headed Khnum shaping Hatshepsut and her ka on a potter's wheel. Among the particularly fine representations is one of the queen mother, Ahmose, full with child and radiating joy as she stands dignified in her pregnancy, being led to the birth room.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
With her training and field work experience, Judith brings a learned but never stuffy/pedantic point of view to archaeology, with an emphasis on the females that history so often has left behind, buried under eons of dust and muck. She has posted about Hatshepsut, Pharaoh/Queen of Egypt, many times. Here is one of her posts regarding Hatshepsut.
From Al-Ahram Weekly Online
23 - 29 September 2010
Issue No. 1016
Queen Hatshepsut King of Upper and Lower Egypt
Framed by steep cliffs and poised in elegant relief is the mortuary temple of Deir Al-Bahri, known in ancient times as the "Most Holy of Holies". We now know more than ever before about the plans and ideas of the remarkable woman who built it, says Jill Kamil
 |
| Hatshepsut, with royal beard. I believe this is from the Brooklyn Museum. |
"She came to the throne at a crucial time in Egyptian history," said Zbigniew Szafranski, director of the Polish Institute in Cairo at an illustrated talk at the institute last month. "The 18th-Dynasty (1567-1320 BC) emerged from a long-awaited liberation from Hyksos rule; Nubia had become the core of an independent African kingdom; and innovative ideas came from Persia, Palestine, northern Mesopotamia and the Minoan kingdom."
For several years Hatshepsut acted as a typical co- regent, allowing the young Tuthmosis to take precedence in all activities, already there were signs that Hatshepsut was not afraid of flouting tradition. She adopted a new title, "Mistress of the Two Lands", in clear reference to a king's time-honoured title "Lord of the Two Lands"; she commissioned a pair of obelisks to stand in front of the gateway to the Karnak temple complex; and, by the time her obelisks were cut and transported from the quarries at Aswan, she had become a king. She assumed the throne name Makere, "one of many", and she was depicted in relief and statues wearing a royal skirt and ceremonial beard.
The Polish - Egyptian mission has been excavating and restoring the temple of Deir Al-Bahri for 30 years and has recently come upon remarkable evidence on which to hypothesise more about Hatshepsut's life and times. Back in 1969, the team unearthed a small temple built by Tuthmosis III to the south-east of the upper terrace of Hatshepsut's stepped structure, and a year later they found another terrace. Scattered around were hundreds of blocks and fragments of statues from the temple of Hatshepsut, along with plaster casts of blocks from the temple that were taken to the Metropolitan Museum between the years 1911-1931. This enabled enthusiasts to set about reconstructing 26 colossal Osirid statues, many bearing traces of the bright colours with which they were originally painted.
Also discovered -- or should one say excavated from beneath the rubble -- was a temple that Hatshepsut herself appears to have built to the south of the upper terrace. It includes what Szafranski called "a family chapel" dedicated to her parents, their mothers and their grandmothers. "Reading between the lines, this complex subtly reveals a cult of parents," he added.
It was in the seventh year of her reign that Hatshepsut decided to present herself as "King of Upper and Lower Egypt". Indication of this appears in her image, carved in relief, honouring Amun at the entrance to the main sanctuary on the upper terrace, which was first painted pink (the usual skin tone of women), and then over-painted in red, denoting that the god was being honoured by his son. "Her images are beautifully sculpted, even those carved on such high registers on the wall that they could not possibly be seen from the ground. "Evidently she employed the most talented artists in her workshop," Szafranski said.
Indeed, it was her most talented architect, Senmut, who designed the terraced temple for Hatshepsut. "[It] was dramatically different from New Kingdom temples because it was meant to function as a memorial monument, sharing such components as gates, pillars, columns, Osirid statues and sphinxes," Szafranski said. In fact, when approaching the temple from the east one becomes aware that, far from belittling the temple, the stark purity of the cliffs to its rear -- water-worn for thousands of years by hot winds and flash floods forming deep cracks and crevices -- forms a dramatic backcloth.
The structure appears to have been inspired by the adjacent 11th-Dynasty temple built by Hatshepsut's distant predecessor Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (whose temple has also been restored), but it was carried out on a very much larger scale. Senmut adopted the idea of the terrace and added an extra tier, so that the whole temple comprised courts, one above the other, with connecting, inclined planes at the centre. The Polish mission has recently been hard at work on the upper terrace, a festival courtyard and two chambers which were added later -- one in honour of Hathor and devoted to the cult of the queen and her parents, and the other devoted to Anubis. These will soon be open to the public.
"Examining the innovative architecture, especially the large statue of Hatshepsut herself in the form of Osiris in what is known as the Coronation Portico, and also the reliefs on each side of a doorway showing her wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt (to the left), and the Double Crown (to the right), one gets the impression that Hatshepsut herself influenced the project, and may indeed have personally designed her chapel towards the end of her reign," Szafranski said.
The sanctuary of Hatshepsut has a vaulted ceiling and some of the wall paintings bear a marked resemblance to those to be found in Old Kingdom tombs at Saqqara. Here are such scenes as Hatshepsut in front of an offering table, and registers of offering bearers. One cannot help but feel, along with Szafranski, that a little of Hatshepsut's whim and fancy went into the elaboration of this most magnificent of mortuary temples.
Hatshepsut had two tombs. The first she had dug in the Valley of the Kings, where all members of the royal family were laid to rest in the 18th Dynasty. The second was in Taket Zeid Valley, to the south of Deir Al-Bahri overlooking the royal valley. Hatshepsut's mummy was found in neither. It has been suggested that her body may be one of the couple of "unknown woman" found in the shaft at Deir Al-Bahri, but this is by no means certain.
Deir Al-Bahri is best viewed early in the morning when the sun is low in the sky and the air is cool. Later in the day it tends to be very hot and the reliefs are all but invisible. You'll want to see details of the famous colonnades of the voyage to Punt and the Birth Colonnade in their best light. The former commemorates an expedition ordered by Hatshepsut to the East African/Somali coast to bring back myrrh and frankincense trees to be planted on the terraces of her temple, where, at the centre of a long wall, is a scene of the queen (defaced) offering the fruits of her expedition to Amun: frankincense trees, wild game, cattle, electrum and bows. The Birth Colonnade includes a scene of the ram-headed Khnum shaping Hatshepsut and her ka on a potter's wheel. Among the particularly fine representations is one of the queen mother, Ahmose, full with child and radiating joy as she stands dignified in her pregnancy, being led to the birth room.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
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Check out archaeologist Judith Weingarten's fab blog Zenobia: Empress of the East. With her training and field work experience, Judith brings a learned but never stuffy/pedantic point of view to archaeology, with an emphasis on the females that history so often has left behind, buried under eons of dust and muck. She has posted about Hatshepsut, Pharaoh/Queen of Egypt, many times. Here is one of her posts regarding Hatshepsut.
New Sumerian Temple Discovered in Southern Iraq
From Azzaman in English:
French scientists discover new Sumerian temple in southern Iraq
By Khayoun Saleh
Azzaman, September 24, 2010
The Antiquities Department says French archaeologists have recently unearthed a new Sumerian temple in the southern Province of Dhiqar.
The department’s information officer, Abdulzahra al-Talaqani, said a team of French excavators did a short season of digging at al-Rafaai, the district where the Sumerian temple was found.
The French were expected to resume digging to provide a good picture of the new discovery, he said.
Details are sketchy but Talaqani said the department would provide by December “the engineering details that will elucidate (the temple’s) archaeological significance and its contents.”
Excavations normally start in Iraq in autumn when temperatures start dropping. Excavation teams normally suspend digging in the summer, due to scorching heat.
Dhiqar, of which the city of Nasiriyah is the provincial capital, is Iraq’s richest in archaeology. It is the birthplace of the Sumerian civilization, the first to invent writing and civilized government some 5,000 years ago.
Sumerian ruins such as Eridu, Ur and Lagash top Iraq’s archaeological attractions.
Despite decades of excavations, only a fraction of the province’s ancient marvels has come to light.
There are more than 1,000 archaeologically significant sites awaiting excavation.
The province’s massive richness in archaeology is said to have turned it into a haven for smugglers and illegal diggers – there are only 100 guards for the 1,000 sites.
French scientists discover new Sumerian temple in southern Iraq
By Khayoun Saleh
Azzaman, September 24, 2010
The Antiquities Department says French archaeologists have recently unearthed a new Sumerian temple in the southern Province of Dhiqar.
The department’s information officer, Abdulzahra al-Talaqani, said a team of French excavators did a short season of digging at al-Rafaai, the district where the Sumerian temple was found.
The French were expected to resume digging to provide a good picture of the new discovery, he said.
Details are sketchy but Talaqani said the department would provide by December “the engineering details that will elucidate (the temple’s) archaeological significance and its contents.”
Excavations normally start in Iraq in autumn when temperatures start dropping. Excavation teams normally suspend digging in the summer, due to scorching heat.
Dhiqar, of which the city of Nasiriyah is the provincial capital, is Iraq’s richest in archaeology. It is the birthplace of the Sumerian civilization, the first to invent writing and civilized government some 5,000 years ago.
Sumerian ruins such as Eridu, Ur and Lagash top Iraq’s archaeological attractions.
Despite decades of excavations, only a fraction of the province’s ancient marvels has come to light.
There are more than 1,000 archaeologically significant sites awaiting excavation.
The province’s massive richness in archaeology is said to have turned it into a haven for smugglers and illegal diggers – there are only 100 guards for the 1,000 sites.
Hales Corners Challenge XII!
It's getting to be that time of year again - the Hales Corners Chess Challenge will be here in mid-October to welcome Wisconsin Autumn.
For Challenge VII Goddesschess is trying out a new prize structure. Our goal is to encourage more girls and women to come out and play in this one day, four-round tournament and for the ladies who regularly participate in the HCCC, to aim for the higher prizes.
if you draw - you win $; if you win - you win more $. If you draw or win against a player rated 100 or more points than you, you win yet more $; if you draw or win against a player rated 150 or more points than you, you win even more $$. Prizes in the Reserve Section are one-half the prizes for chess femmes in the Open:
W 150 ELO or higher = $30
D ditto = $15
W 100 ELO or higher = $20
D ditto = $10
W = $10
D = $5
Goddesschess prizes are in addition to any other prize a female player may win. The top female finisher in the Open and Reserve sections will have her entry fee for Challenge XIII paid for by Goddesschess, should she choose to play.
Come on out and go for it, ladies. Anything can - and does - happen in chess. The Mighty Magnus Carlsen lost his R4 Olympiad game to a player rated more than 100 points lower. Just saying...
Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day
Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player)
$35 – Open; $25 – Reserve
Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player)
$35 – Open; $25 – Reserve
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.: 10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm
The playing venue is the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel—6401 S. 13th Street—414-764-5300, I94 to College Avenue East exit, College to 13th (one block), turn right on 13th to hotel (two blocks on right).
The Challenge is worth 10 Grand Prix Points.
The Challenge is worth 10 Grand Prix Points.
For Challenge VII Goddesschess is trying out a new prize structure. Our goal is to encourage more girls and women to come out and play in this one day, four-round tournament and for the ladies who regularly participate in the HCCC, to aim for the higher prizes.
if you draw - you win $; if you win - you win more $. If you draw or win against a player rated 100 or more points than you, you win yet more $; if you draw or win against a player rated 150 or more points than you, you win even more $$. Prizes in the Reserve Section are one-half the prizes for chess femmes in the Open:
W 150 ELO or higher = $30
D ditto = $15
W 100 ELO or higher = $20
D ditto = $10
W = $10
D = $5
Goddesschess prizes are in addition to any other prize a female player may win. The top female finisher in the Open and Reserve sections will have her entry fee for Challenge XIII paid for by Goddesschess, should she choose to play.
Come on out and go for it, ladies. Anything can - and does - happen in chess. The Mighty Magnus Carlsen lost his R4 Olympiad game to a player rated more than 100 points lower. Just saying...
2010 Chess Olympiad - This and That
Hola! Darlings, I lied to you - TWICE!
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I thought this Olympiad goes only 9 rounds, but actually I learned by visiting Susan Polgar's chess blog earlier today that it goes 11 rounds. I also had previously reported that Mansky Kamsky did NOT have an airport - but it does! However, the airport is too small or something - maybe not enough guards to keep out hoards of invaders from third world countries? - anyway, not big enough to land jumbo jets or whatever. I don't know - anyway, it's too fricking small to do what it should have been able to do in order to get all of the people to Mansky Kamsky with a minimum of fuss and bother, so it ranks with Podunk City as far as necessary amenities, plus it's in Siberia, darlings. Geez!
I thought it would be nice to bring you some more photographs of some of the lovely chess femmes at the Olympiad. A look at some of these women will convince you that chess is not a "game for geeks" :) All photos are from the official website, unless otherwise stated.
I saw this photo yesterday at The Week in Chess as I was reviewing news coverage after R5. I don't know who the fellow is but whatever he said must have been very funny. Susan Polgar is, of course, the founder and one of the authors of the popular chess blog Chess Daily News and Information. Her chess career is extensive - she's been there and done just about all of it, including being Women's World Chess Champion 1996-1999 representing Hungary at the time. She was the first female to earn a GM title the traditional way, by earning norms in qualifying events and meeting the ELO requirement. In 2004 she helped the United States' Women's Chess Olympiad team win it's first ever medal at a Chess Olympiad - Silver - and also won an individual Gold Medal for her performance on Board 1 - one of many individual gold medals she has won through the years for her Olympiad performances. SP has won many other championship titles, awards and accolades. These days she makes her home in Lubbock, Texas where she runs SPICE - the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence - at Texas Tech University and coaches the surging Texas Knight Raiders chess team. SPICE has also instituted a series of elite invitational tournaments with highly-rated international GMs as well as tournaments designed to provide opportunity for American players to earn coveted IM and GM norms. It seems she has retired from tournament chess but I hope that someday someone will be able to lure her out of this retirement :)
Susan Polgar's youngest sister, GM Judit Polgar is, quite simply, the best female player in the world - ever, and prior to her marriage and motherhood's duties filling her days, was routinely in the top 10 and then the 20 players of the world with an ELO above 2700. JPolgar has not lost her competitive fire and, with a supportive husband and famiily, has announced her intention to put more time into competitive chess endeavors. She never left the chess scene, exactly, but appeared in what I call "fluff" events which were, nevertheless, enormously popular. JPolgar continues to be a huge chess star and a giant draw for any event in which she plays, and organizers of events are well aware of her star power. But, JPolgar is far from "fluff" on the board, as her record thus far anchoring Board 3 for Team Hungary in the Open at the 2010 Chess Olympiad well attests.
This is one of the photos from the official website which, I must say, is putting up a lot of great photos. It caught my eye not only because of the dramatic match it depicted but because of all those black leather jackets! I had no idea black leather jackets are de rigeur this season but, evidently, they are. If you noticed, Susan Polgar was wearing a black leather jacket in the top photo - with a ruffle no less! Geez, guess I'm really out of the loop fashion wise, spend too much time with my nose in history books and at this blog...
I called Bulgaria-Ukraine a show-down and that's no lie, it was. If Bulgaria hoped to stay in contention for a shot at a medal, it had to - ideally - defeat the powerful Ukraine Women's team - or at least split the match for a point each. Bulgaria's team is anchored by former Women's World Chess Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova, who has been one of the best female players in the world for many years. However, Bulgaria's women's team drops off sharply on the bottom two boards compared to Ukraine, and that was the difference in results in R5:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 3 Ukraine (UKR) Rtg - 12 Bulgaria (BUL) Rtg 3 : 1
1.1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2539 - GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2551 ½ - ½
1.2 GM Zhukova Natalia 2499 - WGM Voiska Margarita 2314 ½ - ½
1.3 IM Ushenina Anna 2466 - WIM Nikolova Adriana 2295 1 - 0
1.4 IM Gaponenko Inna 2469 - WIM Videnova Iva 2283 1 - 0
It was astonishing to me, frankly, that Margarita Voiska held a draw against the powerful Zhukova; Nikolova and Videnova lost their respective games to Ushenina and Gaponenko, two more established chess stars who have played in elite Women's events around the globe, with their much higher ELO ratings.
Now darlings, you should know if you've been following this blog, that Ukraine Women sit in FIRST place after R5; RUSSIA 1 is in SECOND; and those fighting-chess-chicks from the USA are in THIRD place, yippee! Bulgaria is in THIRTEENTH place at the moment.
USA Women have to face tough as nails Georgia in R6. Georgia is currently in SIXTH place and is gunning to get back into the top 3. I have some favorite players on the Georgian Team, but in this case nation takes trumps, and I'll be rooting for USA all the way. While Irina Krush has been burning up Board 1 and at this point is in line for an individual Gold Medal for her Board 1 play, it is critical to USA Women's performance in the second half that Anna Zatonskih MUST get her game in gear. Is Zatonskih ill (she has had health issues in the past)? Is she missing her husband/best friend/chess advisor GM Daniel Fridman, who is not playing on the German Open Team because of a horrible controversy that erupted between the best German players and the German Chess Federation? It may be neither of these things, or something else, or a case of the chess "yips" (similar to not being able to putt in the crunch in money games of golf). The thing is, great players find a way, somehow, to rise above "yips" and illness and everything else that distracts us ordinary mortals, and they play their asses off when it counts. Anna, I love you, but you are not playing your ass off. Get going, girl friend!
More later - right now I've got to get outside and cut the front lawn...
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I thought this Olympiad goes only 9 rounds, but actually I learned by visiting Susan Polgar's chess blog earlier today that it goes 11 rounds. I also had previously reported that Mansky Kamsky did NOT have an airport - but it does! However, the airport is too small or something - maybe not enough guards to keep out hoards of invaders from third world countries? - anyway, not big enough to land jumbo jets or whatever. I don't know - anyway, it's too fricking small to do what it should have been able to do in order to get all of the people to Mansky Kamsky with a minimum of fuss and bother, so it ranks with Podunk City as far as necessary amenities, plus it's in Siberia, darlings. Geez!
I thought it would be nice to bring you some more photographs of some of the lovely chess femmes at the Olympiad. A look at some of these women will convince you that chess is not a "game for geeks" :) All photos are from the official website, unless otherwise stated.
 |
| GM Susan Polgar (left) and GM Judit Polgar (right). Photo (c)2010 Albran. |
Susan Polgar's youngest sister, GM Judit Polgar is, quite simply, the best female player in the world - ever, and prior to her marriage and motherhood's duties filling her days, was routinely in the top 10 and then the 20 players of the world with an ELO above 2700. JPolgar has not lost her competitive fire and, with a supportive husband and famiily, has announced her intention to put more time into competitive chess endeavors. She never left the chess scene, exactly, but appeared in what I call "fluff" events which were, nevertheless, enormously popular. JPolgar continues to be a huge chess star and a giant draw for any event in which she plays, and organizers of events are well aware of her star power. But, JPolgar is far from "fluff" on the board, as her record thus far anchoring Board 3 for Team Hungary in the Open at the 2010 Chess Olympiad well attests.
 |
| Photo from R5: Bulgaria versus Ukraine. Board 1 saw a show-down between GM Antoaneta Stefanova (fur-collared jacket slung over the back of her chair, far left) a former Women's World Chess Champion, and GM Kateryna Lahno, the newly-crowned Women's World Blitz Chess Champion, on Board 1, sitting across from Stevanova, hand under chin) |
I called Bulgaria-Ukraine a show-down and that's no lie, it was. If Bulgaria hoped to stay in contention for a shot at a medal, it had to - ideally - defeat the powerful Ukraine Women's team - or at least split the match for a point each. Bulgaria's team is anchored by former Women's World Chess Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova, who has been one of the best female players in the world for many years. However, Bulgaria's women's team drops off sharply on the bottom two boards compared to Ukraine, and that was the difference in results in R5:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 3 Ukraine (UKR) Rtg - 12 Bulgaria (BUL) Rtg 3 : 1
1.1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2539 - GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2551 ½ - ½
1.2 GM Zhukova Natalia 2499 - WGM Voiska Margarita 2314 ½ - ½
1.3 IM Ushenina Anna 2466 - WIM Nikolova Adriana 2295 1 - 0
1.4 IM Gaponenko Inna 2469 - WIM Videnova Iva 2283 1 - 0
It was astonishing to me, frankly, that Margarita Voiska held a draw against the powerful Zhukova; Nikolova and Videnova lost their respective games to Ushenina and Gaponenko, two more established chess stars who have played in elite Women's events around the globe, with their much higher ELO ratings.
Now darlings, you should know if you've been following this blog, that Ukraine Women sit in FIRST place after R5; RUSSIA 1 is in SECOND; and those fighting-chess-chicks from the USA are in THIRD place, yippee! Bulgaria is in THIRTEENTH place at the moment.
 |
| Anna Zatonskih, date unknown |
 |
| R1, I do not know who she is, or what team she is on. |
 |
| Round 3, I do not know who she is or what team she is on. |
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Curse of the Egyptian Magician...
Cue spooky music......wooooooowwoooooooowwoooooooo.....
Pediamenopet's Curse
25/09/2010
By Dr. Zahi Hawass
Published by Asharq Al-awsat
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Pediamenopet was an Ancient Egyptian priest who built a tomb for himself in the region known as al-Asasif, west of Luxor. The tomb is known as Tomb 33 [TT33], and many myths and stories have emerged surrounding this tomb to the point that some archeologists even fear entering it. It is generally believed that Pediamenopet was one of the most important magicians in ancient Egypt, where witchcraft and magic was part of the ancient Egyptian priesthood. In fact, the skills and powers of ancient Egyptian priest's in witchcraft and magic have even been referred to in the holy Quran. Researchers and archeologists have had numerous accidents in this tomb, especially in the vertical shaft that must be traversed in order to reach Pediamenopet's burial chamber. This vertical shaft descends for approximately 7 meters in depth, and there have been a number of accidents here, with people falling down this vertical shaft and harming themselves, resulting in archeologists speculating that this vertical shaft is cursed.
The first recorded story of an accident taking place in this tomb was in 1798, when French scholars attached to the French Campaign in Egypt were recording and studying the antiquities of Upper Egypt. These French scholars worked day and night to document ancient Egyptian artifacts and antiquities, and in fact they were even able to publish an important encyclopedia called the "Description de l'Egypte" about Egypt. The story goes that one French scholar entered Pediamenopet's tomb, carrying only a candle in order to observe the engravings and hieroglyphics on the tomb's walls, however he fell down this vertical shaft to his death. Approximately two centuries later, a German archeologist was cataloguing the tomb in 1874, as part of research into a book he was writing on the importance of the engravings and hieroglyphics on the walls of the tomb, when he also fell down this vertical shaft.
There is no historical record of what happened in this tomb following the death of the French scholar and prior to the death of the German archeologist, however a similar such event – which we hope will be the last of its kind – also took place recently. Egyptian archeologist Professor Ali al-Asfar was recently accompanying some foreign archeologists on a tour of Tomb 33 when he also fell down this vertical shaft, however thanks to divine providence he was not killed in this incident, instead suffering multiple broken bones. Al-Asfar was sent to Germany for medical treatment, and we thank God that he has recovered, although this is not a full-recovery and he still suffers the after-affects of some of these fractures till this day. After Professor al-Asfar returned to Egypt, he resolved to transfer from his job at Luxor to any other position, and he is now the Director of the Giza Pyramid complex. The words "vertical shaft" now panic Dr. al-Asfar, and I don't think that he will ever resolve to descent a vertical shaft again, whether this is 7 centimeters underground or 7 meters!
After this incident, al-Asfar asked those responsible for Tomb 33 why this vertical shaft was not covered, as is the case with other shafts in other ancient Egyptian tombs. The answer was that a metal covering was made to cover this shaft on more than one occasion, but over time, as the shaft has had to be re-opened to allow archeologists and researchers to descend in order to reach Pediamenopet's burial chamber, this metal covering has been misplaced, and – for one reason or another – the shaft has remained uncovered.
As a result of this, there is much speculation surrounding the tomb's owner, the ancient Egyptian priest Pediamenopet, and the curse that he placed on the vertical shaft that leads to his burial chamber…and so Pediamenopet and this vertical shaft have become another ancient Egyptian myth!
Sale Information
Sale 5625
Antiquities
3 July 1996
London, King Street
Lot Description
Another upper part of a mottled stone shabti for Pediamenopet
Dynasty XXV/XXVI, circa 650 B.C.
With partial remains of four lines of hieroglyphic text from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, 6½in. (16.5cm.) high; another, with two and a half lines of text, surface flaking, mounted, 5¾in. (14.7cm.) high; a stone shabti head, mounted, 2 3/8in. (6cm.) high; a green-glazed stone shabti head, 2¼in. (5.6cm.) high; the lower legs of a shabti with six lines of inscription remaining, 4¾in. (12cm.) high; another, with seven lines, 5in. (12.7cm.) high; and a painted limestone lower legs of a shabti with two lines of text, 2¾in. (7cm.) high (7)
Provenance
From Tomb 33, Assassîf
Lot Notes
PUBLISHED:
Item seven: "A Letter from W. E. Rouse Boughton, Esq. F.R.S. to the Rev. Stephen Weston, B.D. respecting some Egyptian Antiquities" and read to the Society of Antiquaries on 19 May 1814, in Archaeologia, XVIII, 1815, pl. IV.
Ahem, hey Dr. Hawass, how about tracking down this ancient piece of Egypt and bringing it back where it belongs. Or perhaps you expect the curse of the Egyptian Magician to do its work for you and the partial Shabti will walk back to Cairo.
Pediamenopet's Curse
25/09/2010
By Dr. Zahi Hawass
Published by Asharq Al-awsat
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Pediamenopet was an Ancient Egyptian priest who built a tomb for himself in the region known as al-Asasif, west of Luxor. The tomb is known as Tomb 33 [TT33], and many myths and stories have emerged surrounding this tomb to the point that some archeologists even fear entering it. It is generally believed that Pediamenopet was one of the most important magicians in ancient Egypt, where witchcraft and magic was part of the ancient Egyptian priesthood. In fact, the skills and powers of ancient Egyptian priest's in witchcraft and magic have even been referred to in the holy Quran. Researchers and archeologists have had numerous accidents in this tomb, especially in the vertical shaft that must be traversed in order to reach Pediamenopet's burial chamber. This vertical shaft descends for approximately 7 meters in depth, and there have been a number of accidents here, with people falling down this vertical shaft and harming themselves, resulting in archeologists speculating that this vertical shaft is cursed.
The first recorded story of an accident taking place in this tomb was in 1798, when French scholars attached to the French Campaign in Egypt were recording and studying the antiquities of Upper Egypt. These French scholars worked day and night to document ancient Egyptian artifacts and antiquities, and in fact they were even able to publish an important encyclopedia called the "Description de l'Egypte" about Egypt. The story goes that one French scholar entered Pediamenopet's tomb, carrying only a candle in order to observe the engravings and hieroglyphics on the tomb's walls, however he fell down this vertical shaft to his death. Approximately two centuries later, a German archeologist was cataloguing the tomb in 1874, as part of research into a book he was writing on the importance of the engravings and hieroglyphics on the walls of the tomb, when he also fell down this vertical shaft.
There is no historical record of what happened in this tomb following the death of the French scholar and prior to the death of the German archeologist, however a similar such event – which we hope will be the last of its kind – also took place recently. Egyptian archeologist Professor Ali al-Asfar was recently accompanying some foreign archeologists on a tour of Tomb 33 when he also fell down this vertical shaft, however thanks to divine providence he was not killed in this incident, instead suffering multiple broken bones. Al-Asfar was sent to Germany for medical treatment, and we thank God that he has recovered, although this is not a full-recovery and he still suffers the after-affects of some of these fractures till this day. After Professor al-Asfar returned to Egypt, he resolved to transfer from his job at Luxor to any other position, and he is now the Director of the Giza Pyramid complex. The words "vertical shaft" now panic Dr. al-Asfar, and I don't think that he will ever resolve to descent a vertical shaft again, whether this is 7 centimeters underground or 7 meters!
After this incident, al-Asfar asked those responsible for Tomb 33 why this vertical shaft was not covered, as is the case with other shafts in other ancient Egyptian tombs. The answer was that a metal covering was made to cover this shaft on more than one occasion, but over time, as the shaft has had to be re-opened to allow archeologists and researchers to descend in order to reach Pediamenopet's burial chamber, this metal covering has been misplaced, and – for one reason or another – the shaft has remained uncovered.
As a result of this, there is much speculation surrounding the tomb's owner, the ancient Egyptian priest Pediamenopet, and the curse that he placed on the vertical shaft that leads to his burial chamber…and so Pediamenopet and this vertical shaft have become another ancient Egyptian myth!
******************************************************
Yeah, easy for the Egyptian government to blame a mummy's curse instead of owning up to gross negligence! It's a good story, I'll give Hawass that; of course, he doesn't talk at all about the dozens of people who have safely traveled up and down the shaft to do archaeological recovery, not to mention a looter or two :) After all, how else could this object have come up for sale at Christie's, heh? Unfortunately there is no photo, but a piece of one of the deceased's Shabti fetched the price of $8,963 USD at auction on 3 July, 1996 King Street, London:Sale Information
Sale 5625
Antiquities
3 July 1996
London, King Street
Lot Description
Another upper part of a mottled stone shabti for Pediamenopet
Dynasty XXV/XXVI, circa 650 B.C.
With partial remains of four lines of hieroglyphic text from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead, 6½in. (16.5cm.) high; another, with two and a half lines of text, surface flaking, mounted, 5¾in. (14.7cm.) high; a stone shabti head, mounted, 2 3/8in. (6cm.) high; a green-glazed stone shabti head, 2¼in. (5.6cm.) high; the lower legs of a shabti with six lines of inscription remaining, 4¾in. (12cm.) high; another, with seven lines, 5in. (12.7cm.) high; and a painted limestone lower legs of a shabti with two lines of text, 2¾in. (7cm.) high (7)
Provenance
From Tomb 33, Assassîf
Lot Notes
PUBLISHED:
Item seven: "A Letter from W. E. Rouse Boughton, Esq. F.R.S. to the Rev. Stephen Weston, B.D. respecting some Egyptian Antiquities" and read to the Society of Antiquaries on 19 May 1814, in Archaeologia, XVIII, 1815, pl. IV.
Ahem, hey Dr. Hawass, how about tracking down this ancient piece of Egypt and bringing it back where it belongs. Or perhaps you expect the curse of the Egyptian Magician to do its work for you and the partial Shabti will walk back to Cairo.
Chess Femme News!
I don't remember if I picked this up from Dylan Loeb McClain's chess blog at The New York Times so, just in case, here it is:
September 20, 2010, 12:27 pm
Lahno Wins Women’s World Blitz Championship
From Chessdom.com:
Interview with Anna Muzychuk during the Chess Olympiad
Her sister has birthday on September 21st
(I posted a photo of Anna Muzychuk below from R5 of the 2010 Chess Olympiad)
RI women’s chess team beats Sri Lanka
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/25/2010 12:09 PM | Sports
As you will see if you go to the end of the article and look at the "related links" below it, Woman Grand Master Irene Kharisma Sukandar (2372) is a big star in Indonesia. She is a fine chessplayer and from interviews I have read, a very kind, level-headed young lady. She is having a good Olympiad, with 4.0/5 (1 loss).
Comment from Chessvibes.com on results of R4 Chess Olympiad:
Olympiad R4: the King’s Indian is still alive
24 September 2010, 23.39 CET | Last modified: 9:47
The world’s best female player has been playing an important role thus far for her team in the Open section of the Olympiad. Today Judit Polgar’s win against Bu Xiangzhi was decisive in the Hungary-China match.
 |
| Kateryna Lahno, 2010 Women's World Blitz Champion |
Lahno Wins Women’s World Blitz Championship
From Chessdom.com:
Interview with Anna Muzychuk during the Chess Olympiad
Her sister has birthday on September 21st
(I posted a photo of Anna Muzychuk below from R5 of the 2010 Chess Olympiad)
RI women’s chess team beats Sri Lanka
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/25/2010 12:09 PM | Sports
As you will see if you go to the end of the article and look at the "related links" below it, Woman Grand Master Irene Kharisma Sukandar (2372) is a big star in Indonesia. She is a fine chessplayer and from interviews I have read, a very kind, level-headed young lady. She is having a good Olympiad, with 4.0/5 (1 loss).
Comment from Chessvibes.com on results of R4 Chess Olympiad:
Olympiad R4: the King’s Indian is still alive
24 September 2010, 23.39 CET | Last modified: 9:47
The world’s best female player has been playing an important role thus far for her team in the Open section of the Olympiad. Today Judit Polgar’s win against Bu Xiangzhi was decisive in the Hungary-China match.
2010 Chess Olympiad - Round 5 Women
Yes! Krush v. A. Muzychuk, both players fought hard for a win, but in the end, it was a draw. USA Women took the match:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg - 13 Slovenia (SLO) Rtg 2½:1½
4.1 IM Krush Irina 2490 - IM Muzychuk Anna 2535 ½ - ½
4.2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 - WGM Krivec Jana 2309 ½ - ½
4.3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 - WGM Kaps Darja 2300 1 - 0
4.4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 - WIM Rozic Vesna 2289 ½ - ½
The Canadian Women took care of business against a lower rated team and moves into 29th place (from start place 58th):
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 87 Syria (SYR) Rtg 4 : 0
26.1 WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 - Mir Mahmod Afamya 2014 1 - 0
26.2 WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 - Al-Gildah Nibal 1932 1 - 0
26.3 Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 - Al-Jelda Fatemah 1822 1 - 0
26.4 Kagramanov Dalia 1866 - Al-Mahmoud Rola 0 1 - 0
When play resumes Monday, Canada will have the black pieces against Belarus, currently in 44th place (start place 34th).
Top 10 Women's Standings after R5:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 3 Ukraine UKR 5 5 0 0 10 85,0 16,0 28,00
2 1 Russia 1 RUS1 5 5 0 0 10 81,0 15,0 27,00
3 6 United States of America USA 5 4 1 0 9 77,5 15,0 29,00
4 9 Hungary HUN 5 4 1 0 9 76,5 14,0 30,00
5 4 Georgia GEO 5 4 0 1 8 77,0 16,0 27,00
6 2 China CHN 5 4 0 1 8 76,0 14,5 30,00
7 10 Poland POL 5 4 0 1 8 75,0 16,0 25,00
8 8 India IND 5 4 0 1 8 75,0 15,0 26,00
9 36 Russia 3 RUS3 5 4 0 1 8 69,0 15,5 19,00
10 17 Serbia SRB 5 4 0 1 8 69,0 15,0 26,00
Georgia bounced back:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 26 Azerbaijan (AZE) Rtg - 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg 0 : 4
6.1 WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab 2234 - GM Dzagnidze Nana 2534 0 - 1
6.2 WGM Mamedjarova Turkan 2301 - IM Javakhishvili Lela 2451 0 - 1
6.3 WFM Mammadova Gulnar Marfat 2293 - IM Melia Salome 2439 0 - 1
6.4 WIM Umudova Nargiz 2251 - IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2422 0 - 1
Melia Salome is having a very good Olympiad, the best record of the Georgia Women's Team, with 4.5/5 on Board 3.
Russia Women 1 took a very important match against a strong China Women's, despite GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's loss:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 2 China (CHN) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 1½:2½
2.1 GM Hou Yifan 2578 - GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 ½ - ½
2.2 WGM Ju Wenjun 2516 - IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2565 0 - 1
2.3 GM Zhao Xue 2469 - GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2524 1 - 0
2.4 WGM Huang Qian 2436 - WGM Gunina Valentina 2465 0 - 1
Take a look at the Open top 10 standings after R5:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 20 Georgia GEO 5 5 0 0 10 87,5 17,5 26,00
2 5 Hungary HUN 5 5 0 0 10 78,5 13,5 29,00
3 6 Armenia ARM 5 5 0 0 10 76,0 15,0 27,00
4 2 Ukraine UKR 5 4 1 0 9 70,0 15,5 25,00
5 13 Netherlands NED 5 4 1 0 9 69,5 13,0 28,00
6 4 Russia 2 RUS2 5 4 0 1 8 84,0 15,5 30,00
7 17 Czech Republic CZE 5 4 0 1 8 81,5 15,5 29,00
8 1 Russia 1 RUS1 5 4 0 1 8 81,0 14,0 31,00
9 7 Azerbaijan AZE 5 4 0 1 8 74,5 15,0 27,00
10 9 United States of America USA 5 4 0 1 8 71,0 14,5 26,00
As noted earlier, GM Judit Polgar drew her game against Karjakin. It was Peter Leko's win over Svidler that gave the match to Hungary today, propelling them into 2nd place at the half-way point!
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 5 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 2½:1½ 3.1 GM Leko Peter 2724 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2760 1 - 0
3.2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 - GM Svidler Peter 2731 ½ - ½
3.3 GM Polgar Judit 2682 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2747 ½ - ½
3.4 GM Berkes Ferenc 2678 - GM Malakhov Vladimir 2725 ½ - ½
Judit has the best performance record on the Hungarian Open team, with 4.0 in 5 games and a performance rating of 2844! Go Judit, go Judit, go Judit!
USA Men is barely hanging on to the top 10 - come on dudes! The Russians want to give you a medal, start performing! Well, I shouldn't be so hard on them, perhaps, as today's match win did move them back up from 16th place to 10th. Perhaps some chess viagra is in order...
And - the Georgian Men? Everyone pays attention to the Georgian Women, no one to the Georgian Men, but somehow they ended up in first place, after convincingly defeating a strong Vietnamese team:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 27 Vietnam (VIE) Rtg - 20 Georgia (GEO) Rtg ½ :3½
2.1 GM Le Quang Liem 2694 - GM Jobava Baadur 2710 0 - 1
2.2 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2633 - GM Gagunashvili Merab 2598 0 - 1
2.3 GM Nguyen Anh Dung 2500 - GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2628 ½ - ½
2.4 GM Dao Thien Hai 2520 - GM Pantsulaia Levan 2599 0 - 1
Back to the ladies:
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3, AND GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3, faced off against each other today:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 39 Lithuania (LTU) Rtg - 55 Qatar (QAT) Rtg 3 : 1
27.1 GM Rozentalis Eduardas 2611 - GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2495 1 - 0
27.2 GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 - GM Zhu Chen 2480 ½ - ½
27.3 GM Malisauskas Vidmantas 2510 - IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2394 1 - 0
27.4 IM Zagorskis Darius 2497 - Al-Tamimi Hamad 2250 ½ - ½
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 114 Sri Lanka (SRI) Rtg - 63 Scotland (SCO) Rtg 1 : 3
51.1 Koggala W S V K 2026 - GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 0 - 1
51.2 Weerawardane R 2165 - GM Shaw John 2446 ½ - ½
51.3 Anuruddha G C 2144 - IM Burns-Mannion Stephen R 2372 ½ - ½
51.4 Peiris T S S 2002 - FM Morrison Graham 2345 0 - 1
Ketevan is leading her team with 3.5/5 and a performance rating of 2360.
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 90 Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg - 110 Surinam (SUR) Rtg 3 : 1
59.1 IM Wiedenkeller Michael 2431 - CM Matoewi Roger 2151 1 - 0
59.2 Linster Philippe 2264 - CM Gajadin Dewperkash 2179 0 - 1
59.3 Jeitz Christian 2235 - Mungroo Franklin 2156 1 - 0
59.4 WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - Veer Willem 1957 1 - 0
Fiona is having a good Olympiad thus far, with 3.0/4 and no losses.
.jpg) |
| Anna Muzychuk |
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg - 13 Slovenia (SLO) Rtg 2½:1½
4.1 IM Krush Irina 2490 - IM Muzychuk Anna 2535 ½ - ½
4.2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 - WGM Krivec Jana 2309 ½ - ½
4.3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 - WGM Kaps Darja 2300 1 - 0
4.4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 - WIM Rozic Vesna 2289 ½ - ½
The Canadian Women took care of business against a lower rated team and moves into 29th place (from start place 58th):
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 87 Syria (SYR) Rtg 4 : 0
26.1 WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 - Mir Mahmod Afamya 2014 1 - 0
26.2 WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 - Al-Gildah Nibal 1932 1 - 0
26.3 Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 - Al-Jelda Fatemah 1822 1 - 0
26.4 Kagramanov Dalia 1866 - Al-Mahmoud Rola 0 1 - 0
When play resumes Monday, Canada will have the black pieces against Belarus, currently in 44th place (start place 34th).
Top 10 Women's Standings after R5:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 3 Ukraine UKR 5 5 0 0 10 85,0 16,0 28,00
2 1 Russia 1 RUS1 5 5 0 0 10 81,0 15,0 27,00
3 6 United States of America USA 5 4 1 0 9 77,5 15,0 29,00
4 9 Hungary HUN 5 4 1 0 9 76,5 14,0 30,00
5 4 Georgia GEO 5 4 0 1 8 77,0 16,0 27,00
6 2 China CHN 5 4 0 1 8 76,0 14,5 30,00
7 10 Poland POL 5 4 0 1 8 75,0 16,0 25,00
8 8 India IND 5 4 0 1 8 75,0 15,0 26,00
9 36 Russia 3 RUS3 5 4 0 1 8 69,0 15,5 19,00
10 17 Serbia SRB 5 4 0 1 8 69,0 15,0 26,00
Georgia bounced back:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 26 Azerbaijan (AZE) Rtg - 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg 0 : 4
6.1 WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab 2234 - GM Dzagnidze Nana 2534 0 - 1
6.2 WGM Mamedjarova Turkan 2301 - IM Javakhishvili Lela 2451 0 - 1
6.3 WFM Mammadova Gulnar Marfat 2293 - IM Melia Salome 2439 0 - 1
6.4 WIM Umudova Nargiz 2251 - IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2422 0 - 1
Melia Salome is having a very good Olympiad, the best record of the Georgia Women's Team, with 4.5/5 on Board 3.
Russia Women 1 took a very important match against a strong China Women's, despite GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's loss:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 2 China (CHN) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 1½:2½
2.1 GM Hou Yifan 2578 - GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 ½ - ½
2.2 WGM Ju Wenjun 2516 - IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2565 0 - 1
2.3 GM Zhao Xue 2469 - GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2524 1 - 0
2.4 WGM Huang Qian 2436 - WGM Gunina Valentina 2465 0 - 1
Take a look at the Open top 10 standings after R5:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 1 20 Georgia GEO 5 5 0 0 10 87,5 17,5 26,00
2 5 Hungary HUN 5 5 0 0 10 78,5 13,5 29,00
3 6 Armenia ARM 5 5 0 0 10 76,0 15,0 27,00
4 2 Ukraine UKR 5 4 1 0 9 70,0 15,5 25,00
5 13 Netherlands NED 5 4 1 0 9 69,5 13,0 28,00
6 4 Russia 2 RUS2 5 4 0 1 8 84,0 15,5 30,00
7 17 Czech Republic CZE 5 4 0 1 8 81,5 15,5 29,00
8 1 Russia 1 RUS1 5 4 0 1 8 81,0 14,0 31,00
9 7 Azerbaijan AZE 5 4 0 1 8 74,5 15,0 27,00
10 9 United States of America USA 5 4 0 1 8 71,0 14,5 26,00
As noted earlier, GM Judit Polgar drew her game against Karjakin. It was Peter Leko's win over Svidler that gave the match to Hungary today, propelling them into 2nd place at the half-way point!
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 5 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 2½:1½ 3.1 GM Leko Peter 2724 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2760 1 - 0
3.2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 - GM Svidler Peter 2731 ½ - ½
3.3 GM Polgar Judit 2682 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2747 ½ - ½
3.4 GM Berkes Ferenc 2678 - GM Malakhov Vladimir 2725 ½ - ½
Judit has the best performance record on the Hungarian Open team, with 4.0 in 5 games and a performance rating of 2844! Go Judit, go Judit, go Judit!
USA Men is barely hanging on to the top 10 - come on dudes! The Russians want to give you a medal, start performing! Well, I shouldn't be so hard on them, perhaps, as today's match win did move them back up from 16th place to 10th. Perhaps some chess viagra is in order...
And - the Georgian Men? Everyone pays attention to the Georgian Women, no one to the Georgian Men, but somehow they ended up in first place, after convincingly defeating a strong Vietnamese team:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 27 Vietnam (VIE) Rtg - 20 Georgia (GEO) Rtg ½ :3½
2.1 GM Le Quang Liem 2694 - GM Jobava Baadur 2710 0 - 1
2.2 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2633 - GM Gagunashvili Merab 2598 0 - 1
2.3 GM Nguyen Anh Dung 2500 - GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2628 ½ - ½
2.4 GM Dao Thien Hai 2520 - GM Pantsulaia Levan 2599 0 - 1
Back to the ladies:
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3, AND GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3, faced off against each other today:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 39 Lithuania (LTU) Rtg - 55 Qatar (QAT) Rtg 3 : 1
27.1 GM Rozentalis Eduardas 2611 - GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2495 1 - 0
27.2 GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 - GM Zhu Chen 2480 ½ - ½
27.3 GM Malisauskas Vidmantas 2510 - IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2394 1 - 0
27.4 IM Zagorskis Darius 2497 - Al-Tamimi Hamad 2250 ½ - ½
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 114 Sri Lanka (SRI) Rtg - 63 Scotland (SCO) Rtg 1 : 3
51.1 Koggala W S V K 2026 - GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 0 - 1
51.2 Weerawardane R 2165 - GM Shaw John 2446 ½ - ½
51.3 Anuruddha G C 2144 - IM Burns-Mannion Stephen R 2372 ½ - ½
51.4 Peiris T S S 2002 - FM Morrison Graham 2345 0 - 1
Ketevan is leading her team with 3.5/5 and a performance rating of 2360.
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
Round 5 on 2010/09/25 at 15:00
Bo. 90 Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg - 110 Surinam (SUR) Rtg 3 : 1
59.1 IM Wiedenkeller Michael 2431 - CM Matoewi Roger 2151 1 - 0
59.2 Linster Philippe 2264 - CM Gajadin Dewperkash 2179 0 - 1
59.3 Jeitz Christian 2235 - Mungroo Franklin 2156 1 - 0
59.4 WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - Veer Willem 1957 1 - 0
Fiona is having a good Olympiad thus far, with 3.0/4 and no losses.
2010 Chess Olympiad - Round 5 Women Photos
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| Russian 1 Women's v. China |
 |
| Indian Women v. Iranian Women |
2010 Chess Olympiad - Round 5 Women
Right now I'm watching Krush v. Anna Muzychuk live action at Chessbomb. It's a long game - over 55 moves thus far and material is even... Krush has about 11 1/2 minutes left on her clock, Muzychuk a little over 14.
Zhao Xue and Alexandra Kosteniuk are still playing too - lots of pieces on the board (about move 46) and looks like a tactical melee! If the clock at Chessbomb is right Kosteniuk is down to 2 minutes or so to Zhao Xue's 14.
Polgar drew her game with Karjakin - did it take more than 5 minutes for them to play this game:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. Ne2 Be6 15. Nf4 Bc8 ½-½
I hope she has a nice day of rest :)
Zhao Xue and Alexandra Kosteniuk are still playing too - lots of pieces on the board (about move 46) and looks like a tactical melee! If the clock at Chessbomb is right Kosteniuk is down to 2 minutes or so to Zhao Xue's 14.
Polgar drew her game with Karjakin - did it take more than 5 minutes for them to play this game:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. Ne2 Be6 15. Nf4 Bc8 ½-½
I hope she has a nice day of rest :)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tang Dynasty Sarcophogus Shows Ties to Silk Road Diversity
Big noses, hey?
How unfortunate and how absolutely abhorrent that the archaeological integrity of this artifact is lost forever due to looting - and it weren't no Americans over there doing it, either, although we are the country to blame for everything, aren't we. This was an inside job, probably from high up. The Chinese could teach the crooks in the Middle East and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran a thing or two, I'm sure, when it comes to official corruption and smuggling precious archaeological artifacts out of one's home country, sold to the highest bidder, screw the citizens, to whom it really belongs, and screw their rightful heritage. And you know, it's all so stupid because in the end, they end up full of worms in the ground, just like everyone else. No amount of money in the world can stop that from being the eventual fate of each and everyone of us. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle in your mouth...
From People's Daily Online, one of the propaganda pipes for the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, but they do publish good articles on archaeology if you ignore the occasional "rah, rah!" slant.
Big noses, curly hair on empress's coffin suggests deep cultural exchange on Silk Road
17:33, September 14, 2010
Chinese archeologists have found new evidence of international cultural exchange on the ancient Silk Road.
Four European-looking warriors and lion-like beasts are engraved on an empress's 1,200-year-old stone coffin that was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China.
The warriors on the four reliefs had deep-set eyes, curly hair and over-sized noses -- physical characteristics Chinese typically associate with Europeans.
The 27-tonne Tang Dynasty (618-907) sarcophagus contained empress Wu Huifei (699-737), Ge Chengyong, a noted expert on Silk Road studies, said Tuesday.
Ge said one of the warriors was very much like Zues [Zeus], the "father of gods and men" in Greek mythology.
The coffin was also engraved with deer, tigers and goats.
"It's noteworthy that goats signify tragedy in Greek mythology. The word 'tragedy' itself means 'song of the man-goat singer'," he said. [Um, is something missing in this translation?]
He said the tragic element coincides with the empress's unhappy life: several of her children died young and she herself lived constantly in fear.
Ge said the exotic sarcophagus is rare for China, where ancient coffins almost always had Buddhist-themed reliefs and murals depicting harmony, happiness and peace. [I know tigers are a Taoist favorite, not so sure about deer but I believe deer were a symbol for the Goddess in ancient Persia, which had extensive trading contact with the Tang Dynasty.]
The elements of Greek mythology on Empress Wu Huifei's coffin suggest cross-cultural exchange was common in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, located in today's Xi'an, he said. "There could have even been clergymen from Western countries serving in the Tang imperial court."
Wu Huifei was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine and was posthumously known as Empress Zhenshun, meaning "the virtuous and serene empress."
Her sarcophagus - 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high - was stolen from her tomb in the southern suburbs of Xi'an in 2006. Police said it was then smuggled out of China and sold to a businessman in the United States for 1 million U.S. dollars.
It returned to China in April and has been housed at the Shaanxi History Museum from June.
Source: Xinhua
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
Fri, Jun 18, 2010
China Daily/Asia News
The 27-ton stone coffin of Tang empress Wu Huifei (AD 699-737) arrived at the Shaanxi History Museum on Thursday, four years after it was smuggled out of the country.
27 tons. Yeah, something 10,000 smugglers walked out of the country with tucked under their clothes. LOL! Look at the size of the thing!
A fascinating review of the life (and times) of Consort Wu at Wikipedia - who,it is revealed, was a descendant of the infamous (and quite incredible) Empress Wu Zetian! Like - WOW! The Chinese absolute hate and revile Wu Zetian, but she was one ambitious and incredibly smart woman, who survived Imperial Chinese Court life to a ripe old age - she was over 80 when she finally was forced to kill herself. Oh my!
More information and photographs in this report:
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
2010-06-18 00:55:57 GMT2010-06-18 08:55:57 (Beijing Time)
How unfortunate and how absolutely abhorrent that the archaeological integrity of this artifact is lost forever due to looting - and it weren't no Americans over there doing it, either, although we are the country to blame for everything, aren't we. This was an inside job, probably from high up. The Chinese could teach the crooks in the Middle East and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran a thing or two, I'm sure, when it comes to official corruption and smuggling precious archaeological artifacts out of one's home country, sold to the highest bidder, screw the citizens, to whom it really belongs, and screw their rightful heritage. And you know, it's all so stupid because in the end, they end up full of worms in the ground, just like everyone else. No amount of money in the world can stop that from being the eventual fate of each and everyone of us. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle in your mouth...
From People's Daily Online, one of the propaganda pipes for the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, but they do publish good articles on archaeology if you ignore the occasional "rah, rah!" slant.
Big noses, curly hair on empress's coffin suggests deep cultural exchange on Silk Road
17:33, September 14, 2010
Chinese archeologists have found new evidence of international cultural exchange on the ancient Silk Road.
Four European-looking warriors and lion-like beasts are engraved on an empress's 1,200-year-old stone coffin that was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China.
The warriors on the four reliefs had deep-set eyes, curly hair and over-sized noses -- physical characteristics Chinese typically associate with Europeans.
The 27-tonne Tang Dynasty (618-907) sarcophagus contained empress Wu Huifei (699-737), Ge Chengyong, a noted expert on Silk Road studies, said Tuesday.
Ge said one of the warriors was very much like Zues [Zeus], the "father of gods and men" in Greek mythology.
The coffin was also engraved with deer, tigers and goats.
"It's noteworthy that goats signify tragedy in Greek mythology. The word 'tragedy' itself means 'song of the man-goat singer'," he said. [Um, is something missing in this translation?]
He said the tragic element coincides with the empress's unhappy life: several of her children died young and she herself lived constantly in fear.
Ge said the exotic sarcophagus is rare for China, where ancient coffins almost always had Buddhist-themed reliefs and murals depicting harmony, happiness and peace. [I know tigers are a Taoist favorite, not so sure about deer but I believe deer were a symbol for the Goddess in ancient Persia, which had extensive trading contact with the Tang Dynasty.]
The elements of Greek mythology on Empress Wu Huifei's coffin suggest cross-cultural exchange was common in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, located in today's Xi'an, he said. "There could have even been clergymen from Western countries serving in the Tang imperial court."
Wu Huifei was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine and was posthumously known as Empress Zhenshun, meaning "the virtuous and serene empress."
Her sarcophagus - 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high - was stolen from her tomb in the southern suburbs of Xi'an in 2006. Police said it was then smuggled out of China and sold to a businessman in the United States for 1 million U.S. dollars.
It returned to China in April and has been housed at the Shaanxi History Museum from June.
Source: Xinhua
****************************************************************************
More information:Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
Fri, Jun 18, 2010
China Daily/Asia News
+2010.jpg) |
| This is what 27 tons of stone work looks like. Photo: China Daily. |
The 27-ton stone coffin of Tang empress Wu Huifei (AD 699-737) arrived at the Shaanxi History Museum on Thursday, four years after it was smuggled out of the country.
27 tons. Yeah, something 10,000 smugglers walked out of the country with tucked under their clothes. LOL! Look at the size of the thing!
A fascinating review of the life (and times) of Consort Wu at Wikipedia - who,it is revealed, was a descendant of the infamous (and quite incredible) Empress Wu Zetian! Like - WOW! The Chinese absolute hate and revile Wu Zetian, but she was one ambitious and incredibly smart woman, who survived Imperial Chinese Court life to a ripe old age - she was over 80 when she finally was forced to kill herself. Oh my!
More information and photographs in this report:
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
2010-06-18 00:55:57 GMT2010-06-18 08:55:57 (Beijing Time)
2010 Chess Olympiad - Round 4 Women
The USA did not do so good today, at least, I didn't think so - they split the match with Hungary -- I believe that means each team earns 1 point, but not sure.
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 9 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg 2 : 2
3.1 GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2482 - IM Krush Irina 2490 0 - 1
3.2 IM Madl Ildiko 2397 - IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 1 - 0
3.3 IM Vajda Szidonia 2342 - WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 1 - 0
3.4 WGM Rudolf Anna 2366 - WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2293 0 - 1
Perhaps I am expecting too much? I don't know - but it seems like Anna Zatonskih is off form. That can happen to a player at any time, of course, but I didn't want it to happen to a player on MY team right now! Maybe she has a bit of rust because she has not played in any events (that I'm aware of) since the US Women's Championship in July, where she seemed slightly off-form but still put up a 7.5/9 score! Irina Krush is on top of her game and, at present, also on top of the Women's leader board for Performance Rating with a scintillating 3037 (her ELO is 2490 for comparison) after 4 rounds. YOU GO, GIRL!
Tomorrow the American Women face off against Slovenia, and that won't be a stroll through the park. As in Dresden in 2008, this is a "shortened" format -- no longer 13 games, only 9 now - and tomorrow's round will put everyone over the half-way there mark. Wow.
How did the Canadian ladies do - Mr. Don wants to know! Hmmm, not so good. They were outranked each by about 200 points AND they were playing behind the black pieces. The 2010 City of Montreal Women's Chess Champion, however -- WIM Yuan Yuanling -- was able to hold her game for a draw.
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 22 Latvia (LAT) Rtg - 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg 3½: ½
16.1 WGM Reizniece Dana 2318 - WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 ½ - ½
16.2 WGM Berzina Ilze 2283 - WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 1 - 0
16.3 WIM Skinke Katrina 2217 - Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 1 - 0
16.4 WFM Ni Viktorija 2199 - Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 1 - 0
Women's Team Canada is currently in 46th place (start 58th). USA Women are in 6th, which is where they started at.
Women's Team Georgia had a tough match loss today against Russian Women 1, who were evidently quite pumped and primed for this match-up, but it took a victory from Gallimova -- which seemed to shock the hell out of everyone, they forget she is a very fine chessplayer and that sort of ticked me off and maybe it ticked her off too -- to put Russia Women 1 over the top to take the match by half a point.
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 1½:2½
2.1 GM Dzagnidze Nana 2534 - GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 ½ - ½
2.2 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2451 - IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2565 ½ - ½
2.3 IM Melia Salome 2439 - GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2524 ½ - ½
2.4 IM Khotenashvili Bela 2464 - IM Galliamova Alisa 2482 0 - 1
As a result of Gallimova's win, Russian Women 1 catapulted into 4th place but the Georgian Women aren't going to roll over and play dead, darlings.
Here are the top 10 women's teams after R4:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 3 Ukraine UKR 4 4 0 0 8 54,0 13,0 18,00
2 2 China CHN 4 4 0 0 8 50,5 13,0 17,00
3 12 Bulgaria BUL 4 4 0 0 8 42,0 11,0 16,00
4 1 Russia 1 RUS1 4 4 0 0 8 39,0 12,5 14,00
5 9 Hungary HUN 4 3 1 0 7 50,0 11,5 19,00
6 6 United States of America USA 4 3 1 0 7 49,5 12,5 18,00
7 14 Romania ROU 4 3 1 0 7 45,0 13,0 15,00
8 13 Slovenia SLO 4 3 1 0 7 34,0 10,0 14,00
9 8 India IND 4 3 0 1 6 49,0 12,0 18,00
10 4 Georgia GEO 4 3 0 1 6 46,0 12,0 18,00
How are the chess femmes doing who are playing on the Open teams?
GM Judit Polgar continues to impress and, judging from comments I've read around the internet the past couple of days, more than a few chess dudes have absolutely fallen in love all over again :) By single-handedly pulling Team Hungary to match victory today, the Lady continues to add to her legend; from what I understand, she did it in fine style, too:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 5 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 3 China (CHN) Rtg 2½:1½
2.1 GM Leko Peter 2724 - GM Wang Yue 2732 ½ - ½
2.2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 - GM Wang Hao 2724 ½ - ½
2.3 GM Polgar Judit 2682 - GM Bu Xiangzhi 2695 1 - 0
2.4 GM Berkes Ferenc 2678 - GM Li Chao B 2633 ½ - ½
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuana, Board 3, at 2.0/3 and doing her job:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 91 Algeria (ALG) Rtg - 39 Lithuania (LTU) Rtg ½ :3½
41.1 IM Haddouche Mohamed 2425 - GM Sulskis Sarunas 2544 ½ - ½
41.2 Oussedik Mahfoud 2222 - GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 0 - 1
41.3 Khelfallah Badreddine 2183 - GM Malisauskas Vidmantas 2510 0 - 1
41.4 Gueroui Nasreddine 2106 - IM Zagorskis Darius 2497 0 - 1
GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3 - ah p, she didn't have a good day individually but Team Qatar won the match:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 105 Malta (MLT) Rtg - 55 Qatar (QAT) Rtg 1 : 3
42.1 IM Sorensen Torben 2418 - GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2495 0 - 1
42.2 CM Pace Colin 2161 - GM Zhu Chen 2480 1 - 0
42.3 Gauci Joseph 2099 - IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2394 0 - 1
42.4 Sammut Briffa Peter 2005 - Al-Tamimi Hamad 2250 0 - 1
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2 - held her own - she did good:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 63 Scotland (SCO) Rtg - 41 Kazakhstan (KAZ) Rtg 1 : 3
37.1 GM McNab Colin A 2445 - GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2620 ½ - ½
37.2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 - GM Jumabayev Rinat 2547 ½ - ½
37.3 GM Shaw John 2446 - IM Kuderinov Kirill 2481 0 - 1
37.4 FM Morrison Graham 2345 - GM Ismagambetov Anuar 2492 0 - 1
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5 - she's hanging in and getting the job done:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 90 Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg - 78 IBCA (IBCA) Rtg 1½:2½
40.1 IM Wiedenkeller Michael 2431 - IM Meshkov Yuri A 2419 1 - 0
40.2 Jeitz Christian 2235 - IM Krylov Sergey 2359 0 - 1
40.3 FM Mossong Hubert 2184 - FM Mueller Oliver 2311 0 - 1
40.4 WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - FM Wassin Sergej 2295 ½ - ½
Sunday is a hard-earned free day for the players.
 |
| IM Irina Krush, R3 |
Bo. 9 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg 2 : 2
3.1 GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2482 - IM Krush Irina 2490 0 - 1
3.2 IM Madl Ildiko 2397 - IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 1 - 0
3.3 IM Vajda Szidonia 2342 - WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 1 - 0
3.4 WGM Rudolf Anna 2366 - WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2293 0 - 1
Perhaps I am expecting too much? I don't know - but it seems like Anna Zatonskih is off form. That can happen to a player at any time, of course, but I didn't want it to happen to a player on MY team right now! Maybe she has a bit of rust because she has not played in any events (that I'm aware of) since the US Women's Championship in July, where she seemed slightly off-form but still put up a 7.5/9 score! Irina Krush is on top of her game and, at present, also on top of the Women's leader board for Performance Rating with a scintillating 3037 (her ELO is 2490 for comparison) after 4 rounds. YOU GO, GIRL!
Tomorrow the American Women face off against Slovenia, and that won't be a stroll through the park. As in Dresden in 2008, this is a "shortened" format -- no longer 13 games, only 9 now - and tomorrow's round will put everyone over the half-way there mark. Wow.
How did the Canadian ladies do - Mr. Don wants to know! Hmmm, not so good. They were outranked each by about 200 points AND they were playing behind the black pieces. The 2010 City of Montreal Women's Chess Champion, however -- WIM Yuan Yuanling -- was able to hold her game for a draw.
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 22 Latvia (LAT) Rtg - 58 Canada (CAN) Rtg 3½: ½
16.1 WGM Reizniece Dana 2318 - WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 ½ - ½
16.2 WGM Berzina Ilze 2283 - WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 1 - 0
16.3 WIM Skinke Katrina 2217 - Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 1 - 0
16.4 WFM Ni Viktorija 2199 - Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 1 - 0
Women's Team Canada is currently in 46th place (start 58th). USA Women are in 6th, which is where they started at.
Women's Team Georgia had a tough match loss today against Russian Women 1, who were evidently quite pumped and primed for this match-up, but it took a victory from Gallimova -- which seemed to shock the hell out of everyone, they forget she is a very fine chessplayer and that sort of ticked me off and maybe it ticked her off too -- to put Russia Women 1 over the top to take the match by half a point.
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 4 Georgia (GEO) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 1½:2½
2.1 GM Dzagnidze Nana 2534 - GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 ½ - ½
2.2 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2451 - IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2565 ½ - ½
2.3 IM Melia Salome 2439 - GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2524 ½ - ½
2.4 IM Khotenashvili Bela 2464 - IM Galliamova Alisa 2482 0 - 1
As a result of Gallimova's win, Russian Women 1 catapulted into 4th place but the Georgian Women aren't going to roll over and play dead, darlings.
Here are the top 10 women's teams after R4:
Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 3 Ukraine UKR 4 4 0 0 8 54,0 13,0 18,00
2 2 China CHN 4 4 0 0 8 50,5 13,0 17,00
3 12 Bulgaria BUL 4 4 0 0 8 42,0 11,0 16,00
4 1 Russia 1 RUS1 4 4 0 0 8 39,0 12,5 14,00
5 9 Hungary HUN 4 3 1 0 7 50,0 11,5 19,00
6 6 United States of America USA 4 3 1 0 7 49,5 12,5 18,00
7 14 Romania ROU 4 3 1 0 7 45,0 13,0 15,00
8 13 Slovenia SLO 4 3 1 0 7 34,0 10,0 14,00
9 8 India IND 4 3 0 1 6 49,0 12,0 18,00
10 4 Georgia GEO 4 3 0 1 6 46,0 12,0 18,00
How are the chess femmes doing who are playing on the Open teams?
GM Judit Polgar continues to impress and, judging from comments I've read around the internet the past couple of days, more than a few chess dudes have absolutely fallen in love all over again :) By single-handedly pulling Team Hungary to match victory today, the Lady continues to add to her legend; from what I understand, she did it in fine style, too:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 5 Hungary (HUN) Rtg - 3 China (CHN) Rtg 2½:1½
2.1 GM Leko Peter 2724 - GM Wang Yue 2732 ½ - ½
2.2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 - GM Wang Hao 2724 ½ - ½
2.3 GM Polgar Judit 2682 - GM Bu Xiangzhi 2695 1 - 0
2.4 GM Berkes Ferenc 2678 - GM Li Chao B 2633 ½ - ½
GM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuana, Board 3, at 2.0/3 and doing her job:
 |
| GM Viktorija Cmilyte, R2 |
Bo. 91 Algeria (ALG) Rtg - 39 Lithuania (LTU) Rtg ½ :3½
41.1 IM Haddouche Mohamed 2425 - GM Sulskis Sarunas 2544 ½ - ½
41.2 Oussedik Mahfoud 2222 - GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2513 0 - 1
41.3 Khelfallah Badreddine 2183 - GM Malisauskas Vidmantas 2510 0 - 1
41.4 Gueroui Nasreddine 2106 - IM Zagorskis Darius 2497 0 - 1
GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3 - ah p, she didn't have a good day individually but Team Qatar won the match:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 105 Malta (MLT) Rtg - 55 Qatar (QAT) Rtg 1 : 3
42.1 IM Sorensen Torben 2418 - GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2495 0 - 1
42.2 CM Pace Colin 2161 - GM Zhu Chen 2480 1 - 0
42.3 Gauci Joseph 2099 - IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2394 0 - 1
42.4 Sammut Briffa Peter 2005 - Al-Tamimi Hamad 2250 0 - 1
GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2 - held her own - she did good:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 63 Scotland (SCO) Rtg - 41 Kazakhstan (KAZ) Rtg 1 : 3
37.1 GM McNab Colin A 2445 - GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2620 ½ - ½
37.2 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2451 - GM Jumabayev Rinat 2547 ½ - ½
37.3 GM Shaw John 2446 - IM Kuderinov Kirill 2481 0 - 1
37.4 FM Morrison Graham 2345 - GM Ismagambetov Anuar 2492 0 - 1
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5 - she's hanging in and getting the job done:
Round 4 on 2010/09/24 at 15:00
Bo. 90 Luxembourg (LUX) Rtg - 78 IBCA (IBCA) Rtg 1½:2½
40.1 IM Wiedenkeller Michael 2431 - IM Meshkov Yuri A 2419 1 - 0
40.2 Jeitz Christian 2235 - IM Krylov Sergey 2359 0 - 1
40.3 FM Mossong Hubert 2184 - FM Mueller Oliver 2311 0 - 1
40.4 WIM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 - FM Wassin Sergej 2295 ½ - ½
Sunday is a hard-earned free day for the players.
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