Chess, Chess and More Chess!

Notwithstanding that the brilliant strategy I thought I'd devised in my current came at redhotpawn.com with Shira Evans blew up and I just resigned, being a pawn down with two more soon to follow and no way to defend or mount a counter-threat (boo hoo and I am really, really pissed off and ready to throw all my chess sets in the garbage),  the world is abuzz with chess this weekend.  There are the usual super-tournaments with the same chess dudes that I don't pay much attention to because, actually, I find them boring.  It's like watching a whizzing match - I can pee farther than you can.  No you can't.  Yes I can.  No you can't.  Yes I can.  Watch that target on that elm over there at 50 yards - boing!  Okay, so maybe you can - this time.  Yawn. 

The European Club Cup Championships are going on and I follow some of the action because of the women's teams.  I find their chess exciting and more relatable on an esoteric level.  Yeah yeah, I'm sure some will read that and laugh,  more fools they because they don't get what is magical about chess.  Oh well, you remember the old ditty about the kitty's titty :)  Here are the current standings for the women's teams:

Look at all those Russian-sponsored teams clustered up there in the top five.  The Georgian team has run into some buzz saws!  The formidable Cercle d'Echecs de Monte Carlo has won the Club Cup before and has put itself in a position to do so again.  Here are the members and where they stand after R6:



Irina Krush, from the 2009 U.S. Women's
Chess Championship, copied from Goddesschess
copycat website Chessalee. Cheers, darlings.

 The SPICE Cup at Texas Tech will be revving up next week and I usually follow the action because I admire GM Susan Polgar and I like the mix of players she puts together for the SPICE Cup, not to mention that the SPICE Cup is the top rated invitation in the USA.  Not the same old, same old, you know?  This season's SPICE Cup B Group features a chess femme - IM Irina Krush, who is aiming for a GM norm.  I hope she gets it.  She's been close many times.  It is not an easy task.  I believe her next chance for a GM norm will be at Gibraltar in January.  May the Chess Goddess be with her and grant her both norms (she has one, she needs two more).  Schedule.  Round pairings for both A and B Groups. 

Several top level female players, including former Women's World Chess Champion GM Zhu Chen, and GM Judit Polgar, the highest-rated female chessplayer in the world for - almost since she was born, are also playing in the Cap d'Agde (October 22 - 31, 2010).  Check out this line-up (information from The Week in Chess):

Vasily Ivanchuk (2754) UKR ; Hikaru Nakamura (2733) USA ; Xiangzhi Bu (2695) CHN ; Liem Le Quang (2694) VIE ; Judith Polgar (2682) HUN ; Sebastien Feller (2649) FRA ; Romain Edouard (2636) FRA ; Jon Ludvig Hammer (2633) NOR ; Truong Nguyen Ngoc (2633) VIE ; Anatoly Karpov (2619) RUS ; Yannick Pelletier (2592) SUI ; Tatiana Kosintseva (2573) RUS ; Nadezhda Kosintseva (2565) RUS ; Kateryna Lahno (2539) UKR ; Zhu Chen (2480) QAT ; Sophie Milliet (2388) FRA. Time control: 25 minutes + 10".

Here's the official website - in French.  There is a google translation button to English.  Here is the set-up for the Trophy (Invitational) portion of the tournament:

2 groups of 8 players meet in a first step in a round robin tournament.


The presentation of the players and the matches (draw) of each group were held Friday, October 22.


Saturday 23 October to Tuesday, October 26, 2010 tournament takes place all round, Wednesday 27 is devoted to possible tie.


The first 4 in each group qualifying for the knockout stages.


The knockout stage is played in a game of two successive parts of Thursday, October 28 to Sunday, October 31, 2010.


Round 1 live games from Chessdom.com/Chessbomb - I do not know how long this link will stay active before being replaced with R2.  PGN for the R1 women's games (remember, this is rapid chess):

K. Lahno v. T. Kosintseva:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rc1 h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. dxc5 Qa5 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 Nxc3 13. Qb3 Qa4 14. Qxc3 O-O 15. e3 a5 16. b5 Nxc5 17. Qxc5 Be6 18. Qd4 Qxa3 19. Be2 Qc1+ 20. Qd1 Qb2 21. O-O a4 22. Bg3 f6 23. Nd4 Bf7 24. Bd3 a3 25. Nf5 a2 26. Qg4 g5 27. Nxh6+ Kg7 28. Qf5 Rh8 29. Nxf7 Kxf7 30. Qg6+ Ke7 31. Qg7+ Ke6 32. f4 gxf4 33. exf4 Qd4+ 34. Kh1 Qxd3 35. f5+ Qxf5 36. Re1+ Qe4 37. Rxe4+ dxe4 38. Qg4+ Kd5 39. Qf5+ Kc4 40. Qxe4+ Kxb5 41. Qd5+ Kb6 42. Qb3+ Kc6 43. Qc4+ Kd7 44. Qf7+ Kc6 45. Qxf6+ Kd5 46. Qe5+ Kc4 47. Qe4+ Kb3 48. Qxb7+ Kc2 49. Qe4+ Kb3 50. Qd3+ Kb4 51. Bd6+ Ka5 52. Qd5+ Kb6 53. Qc5+ Ka6 54. Qc6+ Ka5 55. Be5 Kb4 56. Qc3+ 1-0

S. Milliet v. T. Nguyen:1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Bd3 Bb5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4 Be7 9. O-O Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nd7 11. Na3 Qc7 12. Nb5 Qb8 13. c4 a6 14. Nc3 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. cxd5 Nf6 17. dxe6 O-O 18. exf7+ Rxf7 19. Bb2 Ng4 20. Qg3 Qxg3 21. hxg3 Bxb4 22. Ne4 Re8 23. f3 Ne5 24. Rad1 Nc4 25. Bd4 Rd7 26. Bf2 Red8 27. Rb1 Ba3 28. g4 b5 29. Bh4 Rc8 30. Rfd1 Rcc7 31. Bg3 Rb7 32. Bf2 Bf8 33. Rdc1 Nd2 34. Nxd2 Rxd2 35. a4 b4 36. Rc8 Kf7 37. Rc6 b3 38. Be3 Ra2 39. Rb6 Rxb6 40. Bxb6 b2 41. Bd4 Bc5 0-1

Zhu Chen v. T. Gharamian:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 Qb6 7. e3 Be7 8. Be2 a6 9. b3 Qc7 10. Bb2 d6 11. Rc1 b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. Rfd1 Nbd7 14. Ng5 Rc8 15. Qb1 Qb8 16. Bf3 Bxf3 17. Nxf3 O-O 18. Nd4 g6 19. h3 Qb7 20. a4 Rfd8 21. Nde2 Nc5 22. Ba1 Nce4 23. Qb2 Rc5 24. f3 Nxc3 25. Nxc3 e5 26. Rc2 Rdc8 27. Rcd2 Bf8 28. Rd3 Qd7 29. Qd2 Qe6 30. e4 Nh5 31. Nd5 b5 32. cxb5 axb5 33. axb5 Rxb5 34. Bb2 Nf6 35. Nxf6+ Qxf6 36. Ba3 Rc6 37. Rc1 Rxc1+ 38. Qxc1 Qe6 39. Qc3 Rb8 40. Kh1 Rc8 41. Qd2 Ra8 42. Qc1 h5 43. Qb2 Rb8 44. Qc2 Rc8 45. Qd1 Rb8 46. Rd5 Rb6 47. Qd3 h4 48. b4 Qc8 49. b5 Rb7 50. Kh2 Rc7 51. b6 Rc6 52. Bxd6 Bxd6 53. Rxd6 Kg7 54. Qd5 Rc2 55. Qxe5+ Kh7 56. Qf6 Qc4 57. Qxh4+ Kg7 58. Qf6+ Kh7 59. Rd8 Rxg2+ 60. Kxg2 Qe2+ 61. Kg3 Qe1+ 62. Kf4 Qc1+ 63. Ke5 Qc3+ 64. Rd4 Qc5+ 65. Kf4 Qc1+ 66. Kg3 Qg1+ 67. Kf4 Qc1+ 68. Kg3 Qg1+ 69. Kf4 Qc1+ ½-½

J. Polgar v. N. Kosintseva:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. d4 Bg4 10. Rd1 exd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Qd7 15. h3 Bf5 16. Nh2 Na5 17. Nf1 Nxb3 18. axb3 a5 19. Ne3 Bg6 20. Ba3 b4 21. Bb2 bxc3 22. Bxc3 Rfb8 23. Bxa5 Rxb3 24. Bxc7 Rxa1 25. Rxa1 h5 26. Ba5 Bg5 27. Bd2 Rb2 28. Qe1 Qb5 29. Nf1 Bxd2 30. Nxd2 Qb4 31. Nf3 Qxe1+ 32. Rxe1 Be4 33. Ng5 Bf5 34. Ra1 Rb1+ 35. Rxb1 Bxb1 36. h4 f6 37. exf6 gxf6 38. Ne6 1-0