Chess Femme News!

Just a few items this evening - I must get to work on m friend's family tree, must have it finished for presentation on November 17.  I'm getting there, but I keep finding new family members and it's hard to resist following the new clues.  So far, I haven't been able to resist, but I must, I must!

News regarding the upcoming Women's World Chess Championship which is supposed to be held in Turkey December 2 - 25, 2010.  That is really crappy, actually, making any competitors who may be Christians play over the Christmas holiday - and in a Muslim country, no less.  Geez, dudes, great planning.  But then, FIDE doesn't give a hoot about the welfare and preferences of the chessplayers who actually feed it's existence.  It's all about what country or federation coughs up the most money to line the pockets of the corrupt chess politicians.  Where have we heard this tune before?  It's disgusting.  Mind you - I won't believe that this Championship is actually going to be held until it starts - we shall see...

From Panarmenian.net
Women's World Chess Championship in Hatay to host Elina Danielyan and Lilit Mkrtchyan
October 28, 2010 - 18:43 AMT 13:43 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - On December 2-25, Turkish province of Hatay will host Women's World Chess Championship.

Elina Danielyan and Lilit Mkrtchyan, European Chess Club Cup 2010 bronze winners, will represent Armenia at the tournament.

[Note: Mkrtchian had a very good showing in the 2008 Women's World Chess Championship, making it to the quarter-finals, but she lost 1.5/0.5 to GM Hou Yifan of China.]

Also from Panarmenian.net
Ashot Vardapetyan pleased with Mika’s results at European Chess Club Cup
October 28, 2010 - 16:00 AMT 11:00 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Members of Mika women’s club, who won bronze medals at the European Chess Club Cup, and club head Ashot Vardapetyan met with journalists on October 28 to comment on the results of the tournament.

Vardapetyan said he is pleased with the results. “Other teams prepare scrupulously for each match against Mika,” he noted.

Mika women’s chess club was formed in 2004 to win champion’s title two years later. In 2007, they won bronze. Men’s club won silver medals in 2009.

At the World Youth Chess Championships, my girl Narmin Kazimova is playing excellently, and I am so very pleased for her!  This is a news report on her progress and how some of the other Azeri chess femmes are doing after Round 8:

From news.az
Azerbaijani chess player leading in world championship in Greece
Thu 28 October 2010 11:52 GMT | 6:52 Local Time
The world chess championship among youth continues in Halkidiki (Greece).
Eight rounds have already been played. Azerbaijan is represented by 20 chess players. Eight of our representatives are currently among top ten. Narmin Kazimov[a] leading in U-18 contest with 7.5 points should be singled out.

Abdulla Gadimbeyli (U-8), Kenan Izzet (U-14), Sabina Ibrahimova (U-16) and Aydan Khojatova (U-12) taking second, third and fourth places also continue the struggle.

Khanim Balajayeva (U-10), Ulviya Fataliyeva (U-14), Sabina Ibrahimova (U-16) and Aydan Khojatova (U-12) are also among top ten.

2009 European Club Club (Women's)

Performance by points (all players on the women's teams): Final Ranking after 7 Rounds No. Name Rtg Team Pts. Games % Bo. Rp 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2483 Spartak Vidnoe 5,5 6 91,7 3 2772 2 GM Koneru Humpy 2595 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 5,0 6 83,3 1 2714 3 IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2493 Spartak Vidnoe 5,0 7 71,4 2 2563 4 IM Skripchenko Almira 2448 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 4,5 5 90,0 4 2586 5 IM Kosintseva Tatiana 2536 Spartak Vidnoe 4,5 6 75,0 1 2663 6 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2527 Spartak Vidnoe 4,5 6 75,0 1 2638 7 IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2387 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 4,5 6 75,0 2 2562 8 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2436 T-com Podgorica 4,5 6 75,0 3 2514 9 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2472 Samaia Tbilisi 4,5 7 64,3 1 2534 10 IM Danielian Elina 2489 Mika Yerevan 4,0 6 66,7 1 2636 11 IM Dembo Yelena 2482 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 4,0 6 66,7 1 2567 12 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2516 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 4,0 6 66,7 1 2514 13 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2477 T-com Podgorica 4,0 6 66,7 2 2519 14 IM Muzychuk Anna 2533 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 4,0 7 57,1 1 2533 15 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 4,0 7 57,1 3 2430 16 GM Chiburdanidze Maia 2506 Samaia Tbilisi 3,5 6 58,3 1 2567 17 WGM Zawadzka Jolanta 2414 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 3,5 6 58,3 2 2514 18 IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2451 Samaia Tbilisi 3,5 6 58,3 3 2437 19 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2482 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 3,5 6 58,3 4 2452 20 WGM Benderac Ana 2276 Radnicki Rudovci 3,5 6 58,3 4 2384 21 WGM Motoc Alina 2316 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 3,0 5 60,0 3 2388 22 IM Rajlich Iweta 2465 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 3,0 6 50,0 1 2501 23 IM Gaponenko Inna 2438 BAS Beograd 3,0 6 50,0 1 2460 24 GM Cramling Pia 2535 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 3,0 6 50,0 2 2407 25 WGM Stojanovic Andjelija 2323 BAS Beograd 3,0 6 50,0 3 2282 26 WGM Iljushina Olga 2364 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 3,0 7 42,9 2 2383 27 IM Harika Dronavalli 2474 Mika Yerevan 2,5 6 41,7 2 2397 28 IM Vasilevich Tatjana 2423 BAS Beograd 2,5 6 41,7 2 2288 29 WIM Szczepkowska-Horowska Karina 2321 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 2,5 6 41,7 3 2375 30 IM Khurtsidze Nino 2420 Mika Yerevan 2,5 6 41,7 3 2365 31 IM Melia Salome 2432 Samaia Tbilisi 2,0 4 50,0 4 2379 32 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2378 Samaia Tbilisi 2,0 5 40,0 2 2367 33 GM Socko Monika 2476 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 2,0 5 40,0 3 2283 34 WGM Chelushkina Irina 2333 Radnicki Rudovci 2,0 6 33,3 1 2357 35 GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2501 T-com Podgorica 2,0 6 33,3 1 2318 36 IM Foisor Cristina-Adela 2433 Radnicki Rudovci 2,0 6 33,3 2 2297 37 WGM Krupa Monika 2219 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 2,0 6 33,3 4 2292 38 IM Ovod Evgenija 2447 Spartak Vidnoe 1,5 3 50,0 4 2348 39 IM Maric Alisa 2405 T-com Podgorica 1,5 5 30,0 3 2251 40 WFM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 Vandoeuvre Echecs 1,5 6 25,0 2 2241 41 IM Petrenko Svetlana 2260 Radnicki Rudovci 1,5 6 25,0 3 2191 42 WGM Galojan Lilit 2326 Mika Yerevan 1,5 6 25,0 4 2166 43 WGM Kursova Maria 2295 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 1,0 1 100,0 4 0 44 WGM Vojinovic Jovana 2359 T-com Podgorica 1,0 1 100,0 4 0 45 WGM Paulet Iozefina 2342 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 1,0 2 50,0 4 0 46 IM Bojkovic Natasa 2429 BAS Beograd 1,0 5 20,0 2 2171 47 WGM Rudolf Anna 2286 Vandoeuvre Echecs 1,0 6 16,7 1 2207 48 Henrichs Wenke 2034 Vandoeuvre Echecs 1,0 6 16,7 3 2125 49 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2499 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 0,5 5 10,0 1 2112 50 WIM Drljevic Ljilja 2207 BAS Beograd 0,0 1 0,0 4 0 51 Weigel Marie 1857 Vandoeuvre Echecs 0,0 6 0,0 4 1541

2009 European Club Club (Women's)

A WGM Salome Melia update! WGM Melia stole the hearts of many a chessplayer in Montreal when she arrived to play in the 89th Montreal Open Chess Championship, and won the title of Female Champion of Montreal for her 4.0/5 performance! Melia was part of the Georgian women's team Samaia Tbilisi (RtgAvg:2465) that participated in the 14th European Club Cup for Women 2009. Complete information about the performance of the Georgian women's team is available at chess-results.com. Here are Melia's results -- 1 win, 2 draws, 1 loss: Melia Salome IM 2432 GEO Rp:2379 Rd. SNo Name Rtg FED Rp Pts. Res. Bo. 1 35 WGM Stojanovic Andjelija 2323 SRB 2282 3,0 w 1 4 2 4 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2436 RUS 2514 4,5 w ½ 4 4 26 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2482 GER 2452 3,5 s ½ 4 6 49 WGM Benderac Ana 2276 SRB 2384 3,5 s 0 4 The Georgian women's team won the Bronze medal for their performance (photo above from official website. Melia is second player from the right). The uber-powerful teams Spartak Vidnoe took gold and Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo took silver. Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo won the European Women's Club Cup in 2007 and 2008.

2009 European Club Cup: Kosteniuk v. Gaponenko

I am behind the times in reporting on this event, in which several women's teams composed of the brightest star female chessplayers from around the world competed. I will post more this weekend. For the past two years the club sponsored by Monte Carlo won the gold medal, and with the line-up of players the 2009 version of Monte Carlo fronted, I expect many spectators, myself included, assumed they would once again take home the gold. That was not to be -- Monte Carlo took home silver this year. But in case the link embedded in the image doesn't work (I've had the devil of a time trying to get it right) check out this annotated video of current Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, who played for Monte Carlo, win against IM Inna Gaponenko.

2009 European Club Cup - Women's

14th European Club Cup for Women 2009 Organizer(s): European Chess Union Tournament Director: Petar Gicarovski Chief or supervising arbiter: IA Dirk De Ridder Town: Ohrid Date: 2009/10/04 To 2009/10/10 Round 2 on 2009/10/05 at 15:00 2.1 4 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 2 - 2 2 Spartak Vidnoe 1 IM Muzychuk Anna 2533 1 : 0 IM Kosintseva Tatiana 2536 2 WGM Iljushina Olga 2364 ½ : ½ GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2527 3 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 ½ : ½ IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2493 4 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2482 0 : 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2483 2.2 5 T-com Podgorica 1 - 3 3 Samaia Tbilisi 1 GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2501 ½ : ½ GM Chiburdanidze Maia 2506 2 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2477 0 : 1 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2472 3 IM Maric Alisa 2405 0 : 1 IM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2451 4 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2436 ½ : ½ IM Melia Salome 2432 2.3 1 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 4 - 0 11 Vandoeuvre Echecs 1 GM Koneru Humpy 2595 1 : 0 WGM Rudolf Anna 2286 2 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2516 1 : 0 WFM Steil-Antoni Fiona 2152 3 GM Socko Monika 2476 1 : 0 Henrichs Wenke 2034 4 IM Skripchenko Almira 2448 1 : 0 Weigel Marie 1857 2.4 7 Mika Yerevan 2 - 2 6 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 1 IM Danielian Elina 2489 1 : 0 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2499 2 IM Harika Dronavalli 2474 ½ : ½ IM Dembo Yelena 2482 3 IM Khurtsidze Nino 2420 ½ : ½ IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2387 4 WGM Galojan Lilit 2326 0 : 1 WGM Motoc Alina 2316 2.5 9 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 2½ - 1½ 8 BAS Beograd 1 IM Rajlich Iweta 2465 ½ : ½ IM Gaponenko Inna 2438 2 WGM Zawadzka Jolanta 2414 1 : 0 IM Bojkovic Natasa 2429 3 WIM Szczepkowska-Horowska Karina 2321 1 : 0 IM Vasilevich Tatjana 2423 4 WGM Krupa Monika 2219 0 : 1 WGM Stojanovic Andjelija 2323 Rank after round 2 Rank Team Gam. + = - MP Pts 1 Samaia Tbilisi 2 2 0 0 4 5½ 2 Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 2 1 1 0 3 6 Spartak Vidnoe 2 1 1 0 3 6 4 Economist-SGSEU Saratov 2 1 1 0 3 4½ 5 T-com Podgorica 2 1 0 1 2 4 CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 2 0 2 0 2 4 Polonia Votum Wroclaw 2 1 0 1 2 4 8 Radnicki Rudovci 2 1 0 1 2 3 9 Vandoeuvre Echecs 2 1 0 1 2 2 10 Mika Yerevan 2 0 1 1 1 2 11 BAS Beograd 2 0 0 2 0 3

2009 European Club Club (Women's)

Standings after R1: Rk. SNo FED Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 1 2 RUS Spartak Vidnoe 1 1 0 0 2 4,0 0,0 2 5 MNE T-com Podgorica 1 1 0 0 2 3,0 1,0 3 3 GEO Samaia Tbilisi 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 1,5 4 4 RUS Economist-SGSEU Saratov 1 1 0 0 2 2,5 1,5 5 11 FRA Vandoeuvre Echecs 1 1 0 0 2 2,0 0,0 6 1 MNC Cercle d'Echecs Monte Carlo 1 0 1 0 1 2,0 2,0 7 6 ROU CS Cotnari-Politehnica Iasi 1 0 1 0 1 2,0 2,0 8 8 SRB BAS Beograd 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 2,5 9 9 POL Polonia Votum Wroclaw 1 0 0 1 0 1,5 2,5 10 10 SRB Radnicki Rudovci 1 0 0 1 0 1,0 3,0 11 7 ARM Mika Yerevan 1 0 0 1 0 0,0 4,0 Annotation: Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses) Tie Break2: points (game-points) Tie Break3: Buchholz Tie-Breaks (variabel with parameter)

Chess Femme News

Just a brief update tonight - I've got a casserole calling my name that hasn't even been started yet and it's 8:45 .m. and I'm taking the rest of the night off! From GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog, the following: One year ago today, she became the 12th and currently ruling Women's World Chess Champion after defeating GM Hou Yifan 2.5/1.5. Sorry - I missed this earlier (adding it now as I'm munching on my casserole at 10:28 p.m.) GM Kosteniuk is also playing on a team in the 14th Women's European Club Cup, October 3 - 11, 2009 in Ohrid, Macedonia. She is part of the Monte Carlo (Monaco) team, winner of the last two Women's title,s that boasts the following players: GM Kosteniuk (2516); GM Humpy Koneru (2595); GM Pia Cramling (2535); GM Monika Socko (2476); IM Almira Skripchenko (2448). Also, GM Kosteniuk announced yesterday, September 16, 2009, that she would be taking part in the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow November 16 - 18, 2009, with a stellar cast of players (19 others, 20 in all). She's going to have her work cut out for her, despite her great record at playing blitz. She is a qualified player/invitee to the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, 20 November to 15 December 2009. Since no announcement has been made by GM Kosteniuk (yet?), does this mean she will not be playing in the World Cup? I posted at her blog tonight and asked her.