Looted Statue of Goddess Demeter Recovered by Turkish Police

From greekreporter.com

Greek Goddess Statue Found At Illegal Excavation in Turkey
by Iro-Anna Mamakouka - Apr 17, 2014

A statue, believed to be the ancient Greek goddess Demeter, has been unearthed at an illegal excavation in Simav, western Turkey. The statue, weighing in at 610kg and standing 2.8 meters tall, was discovered by two Turks, Ramazan C. And Ismail G, 26 and 62 years old respectively, who are alleged to have been conducting illegal excavations in the wider area where the statue was found. The two men were taken into custody by the Turkish police and sent to court.

The head of the statue and the altar, missing during the raid, were later found in a house in the city centre.

In Greek mythology, Demeter, one of Zeus’ sisters, so the story goes, was the goddess of agriculture, nature, abundance and seasons, and mother of Persephone, wife of Hades.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIX

Thank you to Tom Fogec, who sent me the following, highlighting all of the chess femmes and how they did!  This year there was a new playing venue, the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, April 12, 2014.  Four rounds in one day.  Too stressful for me, alas.

Chess Femmes in RED

Hales Corners Challenge XIX - OpenCross Table, Page 1

No. Name St Rate Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Score

1. Santarius, Erik (1)........... WI 2429 D15 W10 W28 W12 3.5
2. Velikanov, Alexander (2)...... WI 2343 W22 W40 D14 W13 3.5
3. Betaneli, Alex (3)............ WI 2316 W8 W7 D6 W14 3.5
4. Brown, Christopher (33)....... WI 1758 W46 W52 D5 W21 3.5
5. Smail, Benedict A (5)......... WI 2220 W16 W21 D4 D6 3.0
6. Becker, Allen J (9)........... WI 2119 W24 W23 D3 D5 3.0
7. Ulrich, Rachel J (13)......... WI 2070 W27 L3 W26 W23 3.0
8. Aranovich, Gary (17).......... WI 1971 L3 W41 W30 -X- 3.0
9. Shi, Tinglin (18)............. WI 1944 W11 L12 W41 W28 3.0
10. Joachim, Peter Jam (28)....... WI 1802 W36 L1 W40 W22 3.0
11. Cooper, Jeff (4).............. WI 2238 L9 D19 W36 W31 2.5
12. Parker, Anthony L (7)......... WI 2190 -H- W9 W34 L1 2.5
13. Harder, Brady R (8)........... WI 2120 D25 W35 W33 L2 2.5
14. Martin III, Richard (10)...... WI 2096 W17 W18 D2 L3 2.5
15. McNeil, David (15)............ MN 2028 D1 L28 W45 W34 2.5
16. Krause, Aaron P (19).......... WI 1943 L5 W42 W44 D19 2.5
17. Parmet, Daniel Edw (23)....... WI 1903 L14 D27 W47 W37 2.5
18. Desmoulin, Stephan (24)....... WI 1895 W52 L14 D37 W33 2.5
19. Wainscott, Chris (29)......... WI 1801 W43 D11 D31 D16 2.5
20. Williams, William (6)......... WI 2205 L23 D33 W48 D27 2.0
21. Mhaskar, Rohan (14)........... WI 2041 W32 L5 W29 L4 2.0
22. Cardenas, David R (16)........ WI 2002 L2 W30 W35 L10 2.0
23. Khadem, Masoud (20)........... IL 1938 W20 L6 W42 L7 2.0
24. Fricano, Paul (21)............ WI 1915 L6 W48 W43 -F- 2.0
25. Geder, John (22).............. WI 1912 D13 L26 D46 W39 2.0
26. Tan, Jonathan (25)............ IL 1871 L40 W25 L7 W44 2.0
27. Coons, James Jay (26)......... WI 1858 L7 D17 W51 D20 2.0
28. Chua, Zachary Z (34)......... WI 1755 W47 W15 L1 L9 2.0
29. Zhang, Edward (35)............ IL 1737 L48 W39 L21 W43 2.0
30. Bevans, Paul (36)............. WI 1729 W38 L22 L8 W46 2.0
31. Sagunsky, David L (37)........ WI 1725 D51 W45 D19 L11 2.0
32. Christensen, Wade (27)........ WI 1852 L21 D47 L39 W48 1.5
33. Grochowski, Andrew (30)....... WI 1790 W44 D20 L13 L18 1.5
34. Pokorski, Jeffrey (31)........ WI 1785 D45 W51 L12 L15 1.5
35. Franek, Martin Joh (32)....... IL 1759 W37 L13 L22 D38 1.5
36. Moore, Micheal A (40)......... WI 1705 L10 D46 L11 W51 1.5
37. MacLeish, Brian (44).......... WI 1655 L35 W53 D18 L17 1.5
38. Mohammed, Sarfaraz (49)....... WI 1538 L30 L43 W50 D35 1.5
39. Shefsky, Michael W (52)....... WI 1493 -H- L29 W32 L25 1.5
40. Rajendra, Avinash (12)........ WI 2070 W26 L2 L10 -F- 1.0
41. Wang, Ricky (39).............. IL 1711 W50 L8 L9 -F- 1.0
42. Dreuth, Adam W (38)........... WI 1711 W53 L16 L23 -U- 1.0
43. Hegelmeyer, John (41)......... WI 1684 L19 W38 L24 L29 1.0
44. Jensen, Alex D (42)........... WI 1676 L33 W50 L16 L26 1.0
45. Ulrich, Anne E (43)........... WI 1668 D34 L31 L15 D47 1.0
46. Huang, Alena (45)............. WI 1620 L4 D36 D25 L30 1.0
47. Lynk Sr, Rodney B (46)........ WI 1600 L28 D32 L17 D45 1.0
48. Bakalinsky, Jacob (47)........ WI 1584 W29 L24 L20 L32 1.0
49. Corcoran, Benjamin (48)....... WI 1562 -N- -N- W53 -U- 1.0
50. Murtaugh, William (51)........ WI 1510 L41 L44 L38 W53 1.0
51. Hegelmeyer, John W (50)....... WI 1526 D31 L34 L27 L36 0.5
52. McKinney, Christop (11)....... WI 2090 L18 L4 -U- -U- 0.0
53. Rasmussen, Kenneth (53)....... WI 1392 L42 L37 L49 L50 0.0

Hales Corners Challenge XIX - Reserve Cross Table

No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score
1. Najeeb, Hadi (4).............. WI 1492 W37 W8 W14 W7 4.0
2. Kulkarni, Pranav (2).......... WI 1552 W33 D6 W26 W15 3.5
3. Carerros, Charles (1)......... WI 1599 W19 L7 W36 W21 3.0
4. Monosov, Natanel A (6)........ WI 1478 W22 W21 D15 D6 3.0
5. Ulrich, Susanna G (7)......... WI 1461 L14 W38 W41 W24 3.0
6. Seghers, Reid Nath (9)........ WI 1426 W23 D2 W35 D4 3.0
7. Lawrence, Michael (10)........ WI 1402 W10 W3 W13 L1 3.0
8. Xu, Arthur Zihan (11)......... IL 1366 W24 L1 W40 W28 3.0
9. Wright, Gary M (12)........... WI 1328 W25 L13 W45 W26 3.0
10. Huiras, Nathan (23)........... WI 1199 L7 W32 W30 W18 3.0
11. Jace, Adam A (35)............. WI 917 L32 W31 W23 W20 3.0
12. Khassenov, Magzhan (40)....... WI 656 L38 W49 W34 W33 3.0
13. Johnson, Jay Richa (3)........ MN 1525 W20 W9 L7 D14 2.5
14. Molkentin, TJ (19)............ WI 1246 W5 W18 L1 D13 2.5
15. Gaddipati, Harsha (26)........ WI 1110 W30 W17 D4 L2 2.5
16. Gopal, Aditya (27)............ WI 1046 L43 W44 D33 W35 2.5
17. Karimikonda, Teja (5)......... WI 1487 L21 L15 W48 W36 2.0
18. Huang, Sabrina (8)............ WI 1435 W34 L14 W38 L10 2.0
19. Holmes, Russ (13)............. WI 1316 L3 L26 W49 W41 2.0
20. Michaels, James (15).......... WI 1300 L13 W41 W29 L11 2.0
21. Shi, Stephen (17)............. WI 1272 W17 L4 W27 L3 2.0
22. Schatz, Noah F (18)........... WI 1259 L4 W28 W42 -N- 2.0
23. DeLair, Ethan (21)............ WI 1221 L6 W29 L11 W45 2.0
24. Gomoll, Rachel (24)........... WI 1196 L8 W45 W43 L5 2.0
25. Yang, Steven Xob (25)......... WI 1157 L9 W46 L32 W42 2.0
26. White, Gavin Otto (31)........ WI 997 W46 W19 L2 L9 2.0
27. Gomoll, Jacob (32)............ WI 989 W48 L37 L21 W43 2.0
28. Stewart, Zachary W (34)....... WI 977 W47 L22 W37 L8 2.0
29. Iyer, Pranav (37)............. WI 850 W49 L23 L20 W40 2.0
30. Hogg, Neil (38)............... WI 830 L15 W47 L10 W38 2.0
31. Gaddipati, Haasa (44)......... WI 595 L41 L11 W44 W47 2.0
32. Klapper, Bret Alle (47)....... WI nnnn W11 L10 W25 -U- 2.0
33. Hogg, Alexander (14).......... WI 1307 L2 W40 D16 L12 1.5
34. Srivastava, Vivek (20)........ WI 1238 L18 D36 L12 W49 1.5
35. Neumann, Curt E (22).......... WI 1212 -H- W43 L6 L16 1.5
36. Bundy, David (45)............. WI 369 -B- D34 L3 L17 1.5
37. Seeber, Kody (16)............. WI 1277 L1 W27 L28 -U- 1.0
38. Jain, Kyle Deepak (28)........ WI 1016 W12 L5 L18 L30 1.0
39. Seghers, Mark Staf (29)....... WI 1007 -U- -U- -U- W48 1.0
40. Wanek, Ellen Ann (30)......... WI 1004 W44 L33 L8 L29 1.0
41. Anand, Devesh Kuma (33)....... WI 982 W31 L20 L5 L19 1.0
42. Hegelmeyer, Jason (36)........ WI 905 L45 W48 L22 L25 1.0
43. Rockley, James D (39)......... WI 813 W16 L35 L24 L27 1.0
44. Nielsen, Craig (41)........... WI 634 L40 L16 L31 W46 1.0
45. Ball, Salli (46).............. WI nnnn W42 L24 L9 L23 1.0
46. Przedwiecki, Alyssa (43)...... WI 608 L26 L25 D47 L44 0.5
47. Prasad, Anoushka (49)......... WI nnnn L28 L30 D46 L31 0.5
48. Anand, Divyesh Kum (42)....... WI 608 L27 L42 L17 L39 0.0
49. Nielsen, Tina (48)............ WI nnnn L29 L12 L19 L34 0.0

Prizes won by the female players:

OPEN SECTION:

Rachel Ulrich won $120

Anne Ulrich won $40

Alena Huang won $40

Rachel Ulrich also won the gift bag and free entry to HCC XX ($40)

RESERVE SECTION:

Susanna Ulrich won $60

Teja Karimikonda won $40

Sabrina Huang won $40

Rachel Gomoll won $40

Haasa Gaddipati won $40

Ellen Wanek won $20

Salli Ball won $20

Alyssa Przedwiecki won $10

Anoushka Prasad won $10

Susanna Ulrich also won the gift bag and free entry to HCC XXI ($30)

 

Congratulations to all of the chess femmes who participated.  I hope you'll all come back for Challenge XX!

FIDE Women's Grand Prix Khanty-Mansiysk 2014

Hola darlings!

I am in the middle of selling my house and shopping for a new place and it's been crazy crazy crazy around here.  All of this has happened within the past 3 weeks or so, out of the blue.  I didn't have my house up for sale, I received a private offer!  Now I'm simultaneously trying to get everything marshalled together for a private sale (no broker and closing department involved) and look for a new home for myself.  I haven't had much energy to do posting!

But - the Women's Grand Prix is back.  This spin around, the tournament takes place in Kamsky-Mansky in Siberia. Is the frozen tundra starting to thaw there, by any chance?  It ain't happening much around my neck of the woods in Wisconsin, geez!  April 9 - 21, 2014.  Here are the results from R7 held today and the current standings:

Round 7 on 2014/04/16 at 15:00
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
4	WGM	Girya Olga	2450	1 – 0	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2527	12
5	GM	Muzychuk Anna	2560	1 – 0	GM	Zhao Xue	2552	3
6	GM	Hou Yifan	2618	1 – 0	GM	Ushenina Anna	2501	2
7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2496	½ - ½	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2489	1
8	WGM	Batchimeg Tuvshintugs	2340	0 – 1	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2321	11
9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2550	½ - ½	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2543	10

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	Res.
1	6	GM	Hou Yifan	2618	CHN	6	0
2	5	GM	Muzychuk Anna	2560	SLO	5	0
3	4	WGM	Girya Olga	2450	RUS	4½	0
4	1	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2489	BUL	3½	½
5	12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2527	RUS	3½	½
6	10	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2543	UKR	3½	-1
7	11	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2321	UZB	3½	-1
8	2	GM	Ushenina Anna	2501	UKR	3	½
9	3	GM	Zhao Xue	2552	CHN	3	½
10	9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2550	GEO	3	-1
11	7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2496	RUS	2½	0
12	8	WGM	Batchimeg Tuvshintugs	2340	MGL	1	0

Pairings for Round 8:

Round 8 on 2014/04/17 at 15:00
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2527	-	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2543	10
11	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2321	-	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2550	9
1	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2489	-	WGM	Batchimeg Tuvshintugs	2340	8
2	GM	Ushenina Anna	2501	-	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2496	7
3	GM	Zhao Xue	2552	-	GM	Hou Yifan	2618	6
4	WGM	Girya Olga	2450	-	GM	Muzychuk Anna	2560	5