Bansko Grand Chess Open 2010

Official Website.
December 12 - 19, 2010, Bansko, Bulgaria (116 players).
Information from official website and Susan Polgar's chess blog.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds (Top finishers)

Rk.		Name	FED	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	GM	Grigoryan Avetik	ARM	2580	8,0	40,0	52,0	7
2	IM	Nabaty Tamir	ISR	2529	7,5	41,5	53,5	6
3	IM	Grigorov Grigor	BUL	2479	7,0	38,5	48,5	6
4	GM	Cheparinov Ivan	BUL	2668	6,5	41,5	54,0	4
5	GM	Mastrovasilis Athanasios	GRE	2556	6,5	41,0	51,5	6
6	IM	Dobrev Nanko	BUL	2376	6,5	41,0	50,5	6
7		Korobkov Piotr	UKR	2484	6,5	40,0	52,0	6
8	IM	Arnaudov G Petar	BUL	2468	6,5	39,5	51,0	5
9	GM	Danielsen Henrik	ISL	2516	6,5	39,0	49,0	5
10	IM	Zaslavsky Mikhail	ISR	2424	6,5	37,5	47,0	5
11	GM	Savchenko Boris	RUS	2632	6,0	44,5	57,0	4
12	GM	Georgiev Vladimir	MKD	2582	6,0	43,0	55,0	5
13	GM	Petrov Marijan	BUL	2534	6,0	42,5	53,0	4
14	GM	Nikolaidis Ioannis	GRE	2552	6,0	40,0	52,0	4
15		Strelnikov Sergey	UKR	2419	6,0	38,5	48,0	5
16	IM	Berbatov Kiprian	BUL	2461	6,0	37,5	47,0	4
17	FM	Kukov Velislav	BUL	2355	6,0	37,0	47,0	5
18	IM	Collas Silvia	FRA	2300	6,0	36,0	44,5	5
19	IM	Ashwin Jayaram	IND	2420	6,0	35,0	45,0	5
20	IM	Dimitrov Radoslav	BUL	2410	6,0	35,0	44,0	4
21	FM	Velchev Hristo	BUL	2322	6,0	34,0	43,0	5

31

WIM

Videnova Iva

BUL

2269

5,5

34,0

45,5

5

38

WIM

Pavlidou Ekaterini

GRE

2188

5,0

36,0

44,0

4

42

WIM

Nikolova Adriana

BUL

2328

5,0

34,0

44,5

4

44 IM Gvetadze Sopio GEO 2350 5,0 34,0 44,0 5
55 Grapsa Georgia GRE 2060 4,5 34,0 43,5 3
62 Bozilov Novica SRB 2030 4,5 29,0 36,5 2
72 Shivacheva Donika BUL 1690 4,0 28,5 38,0 3
75 Tabakova Elena BUL 0 4,0 26,5 34,5 3
78 Charpidou Anna GRE 1686 4,0 24,0 32,0 4
81 Atanasova Elitsa BUL 1748 3,5 30,5 39,5 3
84 Hatzipanteli Theodora GRE 1579 3,5 28,0 36,0 3
89 Antova Gabriela BUL 0 3,5 25,5 34,0 3
96 Najdenova Jana BUL 1466 3,0 26,0 34,0 3
106 Petkova Nadezhda BUL 0 2,0 26,0 32,5 2
109 Petkova Lilia BUL 0 2,0 17,5 24,0 2

2010 European Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships

Sponsored by insurance giant MetLife Amplico, in Warsaw, Poland.  There was great local support for the Championships.

The Blitz Championship was held December 17, 2010.  There were 348 (!) registered players.  Here are the final standings for the top finishers (partial table from The Week in Chess coverage):

European Blitz Warsaw POL Fri 17th Dec 2010 - Fri 17th Dec 2010 Leading Final Round 13 Standings:
Rk	SNo	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts	MBch	Bch	TB1	TB2
1	7	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	GM	FRA	2703	22.0	192.50	226.50	10	156.5
2	1	Ivanchuk, Vassily	GM	UKR	2764	20.0	179.00	213.00	10	140.5
3	2	Ponomariov, Ruslan	GM	UKR	2744	19.5	192.50	226.00	8	147.5
4	5	Movsesian, Sergei	GM	SVK	2721	18.5	186.50	220.50	7	133.5
5	3	Gashimov, Vugar	GM	AZE	2733	18.5	184.50	210.00	8	138.0
6	19	Edouard, Romain	GM	FRA	2636	18.5	177.50	213.50	8	132.0
7	17	Fridman, Daniel	GM	GER	2645	18.0	185.50	222.00	9	141.5
8	13	Rublevsky, Sergei	GM	RUS	2678	18.0	183.00	217.00	6	138.0
9	15	Inarkiev, Ernesto	GM	RUS	2667	18.0	179.00	214.50	7	139.0
10	18	Mchedlishvili, Mikheil	GM	GEO	2637	18.0	173.50	207.50	7	129.0
11	10	Polgar, Judit	GM	HUN	2686	18.0	170.00	196.00	7	134.0
12	22	Lysyj, Igor	GM	RUS	2627	18.0	166.50	196.50	8	127.5
13	14	Moiseenko, Alexander	GM	UKR	2670	18.0	163.50	190.00	9	124.0

Judit Polgar has always been an excellent blitz player - I recall reading in several books written about and by them that the Polgar sisters practically cut their eye-teeth playing casual blitz games against top players invited to the Polgar home in Hungary.

Other chess femmes also participated in the blitz championship:

67 67 WGM Kochetkova, Julia SVK 2311 15.5
71 71 WGM Rogule, Laura LAT 2362 15.5
113 113 IM Dworakowska, Joanna POL 2334 14.5
121 121 GM Socko, Monika POL 2495 14.0
134 134 WGM Doluhanova, Evgeniya UKR 2266 13.5
136 136 WGM Sudakova, Irina RUS 2350 13.5
140 140 WGM Cherednichenko, Svetlana UKR 2260 13.5
142 142 WGM Daulyte, Deimante LTU 2283 13.5
145 145 WGM Berzina, Ilze LAT 2318 13.5
146 146 m Cagara, Paulina POL 2045 13.5
149 149 WIM Butuc, Maria RUS 2180 13.5
154 154 WIM Krasenkova, Ilena RUS 2121 13.5
159 159 WIM Kalinina, Olga UKR 2222 13.0
163 163 WIM Bronnikova, Elizaveta RUS 2270 13.0
171 171 WIM Sirotkina, Nina RUS 2224 13.0
172 172 WFM Warakomska, Anna POL 2189 13.0
179 179 Kalinina, Marianna UKR 2031 13.0
190 190 WGM Jaracz, Barbara POL 2274 12.5
191 191 Minina, Veronika RUS 2147 12.5
192 192 I++ Ostrowska, Dominika POL 1926 12.5
195 195 k+ Skrzypczak, Anna POL 2015 12.5
198 198 WFM Iwanow, Anna POL 2111 12.0
199 199 WGM Szczepkowska-Horowska, Karina POL 2241 12.0
203 203 WFM Korchagina, Viktoria RUS 2139 12.0
205 205 Bulakh, Oleksandra UKR 2045 12.0
220 220 WFM Stangl, Anita, Dr. GER 2126 11.5
224 224 I Harazińska, Ewa POL 1767 11.5
226 226 Ivanova-Skripova, Tatiana RUS 2173 11.5
234 234 Ni, Polina LAT 1874 11.5
237 237 Cernavina, Ksenija LTU 1755 11.5
242 242 WGM Partac, Elena MDA 2101 11.0
243 243 k Chrząszcz, Malvina POL 2054 11.0
259 259 I Furman, Justyna POL 1790 11.0
274 274 I Murawko, Katarzyna POL 1751 10.5
277 277 Gravite, Julija LAT 1791 10.5
279 279 I Jaskiewicz, Kamila POL 1584 10.5
281 281 II Śliwicka, Alicja POL 0 1600 10.5
285 285 II Kucharska, Honorata POL 0 1600 10.5
293 293 I Kiołbasa, Oliwia POL 1660 9.5
294 294 I Woźniak, Mariola POL 1772 9.5
295 295 Dadello, Aleksandra POL 1734 9.5
297 297 Stetsyuk, Olga UKR 1917 9.5
301 301 II+ Kaniewska, Emilia POL 1692 9.0
306 306 IV Michalska, Aleksandra POL 0 1250 9.0
323 323 III Skowron, Agata POL 0 1400 8.0
326 326 I++ Staniszewska, Adrianna POL 1871 7.0
333 333 III Mucha, Marta POL 0 1400 3.0

My apologies to any chess femmes I missed while scrolling down the standings table.  Here is a separate table listing the female players (someone, see how accurate I was - or not, thanks.)  Judit Polgar topped that list.

GM Judit Polgar and other female players also played in the Rapid Chess Championship that took place December 18-19, 2010 (partial table from The Week in Chess):

European Rapid Warsaw POL Sat 18th Dec 2010 - Sun 19th Dec 2010 Leading Final Round 13 Standings:
Rk	SNo	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg	Pts	MBch	Bch	TB1	TB2
1	7	Almasi, Zoltan	GM	HUN	2721	10.5	100.50	119.00	8	78.5
2	1	Ivanchuk, Vassily	GM	UKR	2764	10.5	99.00	116.50	8	78.0
3	4	Gashimov, Vugar	GM	AZE	2733	10.5	98.50	115.50	9	77.5
4	14	Korobov, Anton	GM	UKR	2684	10.5	97.00	112.00	9	80.5
5	3	Shirov, Alexei	GM	ESP	2735	10.5	96.00	112.00	9	76.0
6	13	Naiditsch, Arkadij	GM	GER	2685	10.5	95.00	109.50	10	74.5
7	27	Bartel, Mateusz	GM	POL	2617	10.0	96.50	113.50	8	75.0
8	20	Mchedlishvili, Mikheil	GM	GEO	2637	10.0	96.00	112.50	9	74.5
9	15	Rublevsky, Sergei	GM	RUS	2678	10.0	96.00	112.50	8	74.0
10	24	Lysyj, Igor	GM	RUS	2627	10.0	94.00	110.00	8	74.0
11	31	Jussupow, Artur	GM	GER	2589	10.0	93.50	111.00	9	72.0
12	6	Movsesian, Sergei	GM	SVK	2721	10.0	92.50	108.00	8	71.5
13	28	Romanov, Evgeny	GM	RUS	2605	10.0	90.00	106.50	8	71.5
14	8	Jobava, Baadur	GM	GEO	2707	10.0	87.00	103.00	9	68.0
15	35	Halkias, Stelios	GM	GRE	2578	9.5	99.50	116.00	7	75.0
16	32	Andriasian, Zaven	GM	ARM	2585	9.5	99.50	114.50	8	75.5
17	19	Fridman, Daniel	GM	GER	2645	9.5	95.00	112.00	7	76.0
18	10	Riazantsev, Alexander	GM	RUS	2689	9.5	94.50	110.50	9	70.0
19	12	Polgar, Judit	GM	HUN	2686	9.5	94.00	111.00	7	70.0
20	2	Ponomariov, Ruslan	GM	UKR	2744	9.5	94.00	111.00	6	70.0
21	5	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	GM	POL	2726	9.5	93.50	109.50	9	70.5
22	39	Gajewski, Grzegorz	GM	POL	2555	9.5	93.00	110.00	9	71.0
23	11	Bologan, Viktor	GM	MDA	2686	9.5	93.00	108.50	8	70.5
24	47	Nyzhnyk, Illya	IM	UKR	2535	9.5	92.50	109.00	8	70.0
25	38	Popov, Valerij	GM	RUS	2559	9.5	92.50	107.00	7	70.0
26	37	Zhigalko, Andrey	GM	BLR	2570	9.5	91.00	108.00	9	69.5
27	17	Inarkiev, Ernesto	GM	RUS	2667	9.5	91.00	106.00	8	71.0
28	51	Stupak, Kirill	IM	BLR	2530	9.5	90.50	108.00	9	68.5
29	23	Tkachiev, Vladislav	GM	FRA	2636	9.5	90.00	106.50	8	72.0
30	9	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	GM	FRA	2703	9.5	89.50	105.00	8	69.0
31	26	Krasenkow, Michal	GM	POL	2621	9.5	89.00	104.00	8	70.0
32	175	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof	FM	POL	2247	9.5	89.00	104.00	7	67.0
33	34	Moranda, Wojciech	GM	POL	2578	9.5	88.50	105.00	8	68.5
34	74	Malakhov, Igor	FM	RUS	2425	9.5	87.50	103.50	9	64.0
35	71	Okhotnik, Vladimir	IM	FRA	2428	9.5	85.50	101.50	8	65.0
36	41	Maiorov, Nikita	GM	BLR	2546	9.5	85.00	101.50	9	69.0
37	18	Socko, Bartosz	GM	POL	2660	9.5	85.00	100.00	9	63.5
38	139	Maevsky, Nikolay		RUS	2309	9.5	85.00	100.00	8	62.5
39	70	Boricsev, Oleg	IM	HUN	2429	9.5	77.00	90.50	9	55.5

Separate table of the final standings of the chess femmes who played in the Rapid Championship:

Lp.	M-ce	Nr	Tyt.	Nazwisko Imię	Fed.	Elo	Rank.	Płeć	Data ur.	Pkt.	Tie Break	MBch.	Bch.	L.Z.
1	19	12	GM	Polgar, Judit	HUN	2686	2686	K	1976- -	9.5	0.00	94.00	111.00	7
2	50	59	GM	Socko, Monika	POL	2495	2495	K	1978-03-24	9.0	0.00	90.00	106.00	8
3	62	137	WGM	Kochetkova, Julia	SVK	2311	2311	K	1981- -	9.0	0.00	76.50	89.50	8
4	87	192	WIM	Kalinina, Olga	UKR	2222	2222	K	1989- -	8.5	0.00	85.50	100.50	7
5	89	112	WGM	Majdan-Gajewska, Joanna	POL	2359	2359	K	1988-06-09	8.5	0.00	84.00	100.00	8
6	102	153	WGM	Daulyte, Deimante	LTU	2283	2283	K	1989- -	8.5	0.00	81.50	96.50	8
7	105	179	WGM	Szczepkowska-Horowska, Karina	POL	2241	2241	K	1987-10-28	8.5	0.00	81.00	94.50	7
8	107	157	WGM	Jaracz, Barbara	POL	2274	2274	K	1977-04-08	8.5	0.00	79.00	93.00	7
9	111	186		Kudzma, Laimonas	LTU	2232	2232	K	1968- -	8.5	0.00	76.50	90.00	8
10	116	171	WGM	Safranska, Anda	FRA	2250	2250	K	1960- -	8.0	0.00	88.50	104.50	6
11	130	161	WGM	Doluhanova, Evgeniya	UKR	2266	2266	K	1984- -	8.0	0.00	84.50	99.50	7
12	150	184	WIM	Toma, Katarzyna	POL	2234	2234	K	1985-09-16	8.0	0.00	78.50	92.00	7
13	151	195		Lind, Jan-Olof	SWE	2215	2215	K	1951- -	8.0	0.00	78.00	93.50	8
14	152	209		Alvarado, Carlos	PER	2190	2190	K	1975- -	8.0	0.00	77.50	92.50	7
15	156	110	WGM	Rogule, Laura	LAT	2362	2362	K	1988- -	8.0	0.00	76.00	91.50	7
16	158	172	WGM	Przezdziecka, Marta	POL	2249	2249	K	1988-05-20	8.0	0.00	74.50	88.00	7
17	161	193	WIM	Szymanska, Maria	POL	2220	2220	K	1984-08-04	8.0	0.00	73.00	85.50	8
18	163	231	WFM	Adamowicz, Katarzyna	POL	2139	2139	K	1993-01-07	8.0	0.00	70.50	84.00	6
19	183	241	WFM	Gosciniak, Maria	POL	2121	2121	K	1990-08-14	7.5	0.00	82.50	96.50	6
20	185	242	WIM	Krasenkova, Ilena	RUS	2121	2121	K	1961- -	7.5	0.00	82.00	97.00	6
21	188	201	WFM	Kulon, Klaudia	POL	2208	2208	K	1992-03-13	7.5	0.00	81.00	96.50	7
22	190	232	WFM	Korchagina, Viktoria	RUS	2139	2139	K	1992- -	7.5	0.00	81.00	94.00	7
23	191	282	k	Chrząszcz, Malvina	POL	2054	2054	K	1994-02-09	7.5	0.00	81.00	94.00	6
24	200	216	WFM	Zakościelna, Kinga	POL	2176	2176	K	1993-06-10	7.5	0.00	79.50	92.50	7
25	209	166	WGM	Cherednichenko, Svetlana	UKR	2260	2260	K	1984- -	7.5	0.00	78.50	91.50	7
26	211	214	WIM	Butuc, Maria	RUS	2180	2180	K	1993- -	7.5	0.00	77.50	92.50	7
27	216	266	k++	Nowak, Małgorzata	POL	2084	2084	K	1990-08-20	7.5	0.00	76.50	90.00	7
28	220	255	WGM	Partac, Elena	MDA	2101	2101	K	1984- -	7.5	0.00	76.00	89.50	7
29	228	225	WIM	Sarakauskiene, Zivile	LTU	2164	2164	K	1978- -	7.5	0.00	74.00	87.50	6
30	233	286	m	Cagara, Paulina	POL	2045	2045	K	1984-05-15	7.5	0.00	72.50	85.00	7
31	242	174	WIM	Mrvova, Alena	SVK	2248	2248	K	1978- -	7.0	0.00	87.00	101.00	7
32	245	118	WGM	Sudakova, Irina	RUS	2350	2350	K	1982- -	7.0	0.00	83.50	99.50	6
33	252	229		Minina, Veronika	RUS	2147	2147	K	1988- -	7.0	0.00	81.00	95.50	6
34	253	205	WIM	Gasik, Anna	POL	2196	2196	K	1988-08-11	7.0	0.00	80.50	96.50	6
35	264	160	WIM	Bronnikova, Elizaveta	RUS	2270	2270	K	1985- -	7.0	0.00	77.50	92.00	7
36	282	308	k+	Skrzypczak, Anna	POL	2015	2015	K	1992-12-17	7.0	0.00	74.50	87.00	5
37	286	439		Dadello, Aleksandra	POL	1734	1734	K	1998- -	7.0	0.00	73.00	86.00	6
38	288	321	I++	Tomaszewska, Luiza	POL	1997	1997	K	1995-07-04	7.0	0.00	73.00	84.50	7
39	291	300	I++	Głuszko, Monika	POL	2020	2020	K	1993-01-18	7.0	0.00	72.50	86.00	7
40	292	345		Voronov, Vadim	LTU	1936	1936	K	1965- -	7.0	0.00	72.50	86.00	6
41	300	421	I++	Pastuszko, Kinga	POL	1785	1785	K	1997-07-30	7.0	0.00	71.50	84.00	7
42	301	305	WCM	Leks, Maria	POL	2017	2017	K	1995-10-21	7.0	0.00	71.50	83.50	6
43	303	352	I++	Ostrowska, Dominika	POL	1926	1926	K	1993-03-22	7.0	0.00	70.50	83.00	7
44	304	358	I++	Kaniak, Monika	POL	1911	1911	K	1989-09-27	7.0	0.00	70.50	81.50	5
45	309	432	I	Harazińska, Ewa	POL	1767	1767	K	1998-04-11	7.0	0.00	69.00	82.50	6
46	314	332		De Lillo, Michele	ITA	1964	1964	K	1960- -	7.0	0.00	64.00	74.50	7
47	315	438	II+	Rogala, Lucyna	POL	1736	1736	K	1984-11-08	7.0	0.00	62.50	74.50	7
48	320	279	m	Korościel, Aneta	POL	2056	2056	K	1987-08-26	6.5	0.00	77.50	91.50	5
49	332	210	WFM	Warakomska, Anna	POL	2189	2189	K	1992-09-03	6.5	0.00	75.00	88.50	6
50	335	236	m	Przeździecka, Ewa	POL	2127	2127	K	1988-05-20	6.5	0.00	74.50	88.50	6
51	336	310	k	Wiśniowska, Klaudia	POL	2011	2011	K	1995-05-08	6.5	0.00	74.50	87.00	6
52	349	434	I	Murawko, Katarzyna	POL	1751	1751	K	1997-01-24	6.5	0.00	72.50	86.50	6
53	357	200	WIM	Szmacinska, Grazyna	POL	2209	2209	K	1953-01-29	6.5	0.00	71.50	87.50	6
54	360	324	k	Andrzejewska, Anna	POL	1987	1987	K	1988-06-28	6.5	0.00	71.50	82.50	6
55	362	273	k	Chmielińska, Alicja	POL	2065	2065	K	1984-06-11	6.5	0.00	71.00	84.50	6
56	363	457	I	Łukiewicz, Kaja	POL	1700	1700	K	1994-05-07	6.5	0.00	71.00	82.50	6
57	368	387	I+	Dzionk, Agata	POL	1857	1857	K	1992-03-26	6.5	0.00	69.50	83.50	6
58	369	415	I	Furman, Justyna	POL	1790	1790	K	1991-09-26	6.5	0.00	69.50	82.50	6
59	371	268		Paulauskiene, Vilma	LTU	2078	2078	K	1966- -	6.5	0.00	69.00	83.00	5
60	372	494	II+	Góra, Antonina	POL	1590	1590	K	1997-11-14	6.5	0.00	69.00	81.00	6
61	375	423	II+	Rykała, Monika	POL	1782	1782	K	1996-11-29	6.5	0.00	68.50	82.00	4
62	388	463	WCM	Dmochowska, Agnieszka	POL	1693	1693	K	1999-01-18	6.5	0.00	66.50	78.50	6
63	390	346	I++	Kaniak, Justyna	POL	1935	1935	K	1989-09-27	6.5	0.00	66.00	78.00	6
64	393	353	WFM	Kowalska, Elzbieta	POL	1925	1925	K	1944-06-01	6.5	0.00	65.00	78.00	6
65	395	511	III	Posuniak, Weronika	POL	1511	1511	K	1999-05-27	6.5	0.00	65.00	73.50	4
66	400	288		Bulakh, Oleksandra	UKR	2045	2045	K	1992- -	6.0	0.00	79.50	92.00	6
67	402	249	WFM	Iwanow, Anna	POL	2111	2111	K	1995-04-07	6.0	0.00	77.00	91.00	6
68	407	311		Batkovskyte, Dominyka	LTU	2011	2011	K	1993- -	6.0	0.00	75.00	88.00	6
69	415	295		Kalinina, Marianna	UKR	2031	2031	K	1991- -	6.0	0.00	72.00	86.50	6
70	419	407	I+	Stodolnik, Alicja	POL	1809	1809	K	1994-04-22	6.0	0.00	70.50	84.50	6
71	423	473	I	Kiołbasa, Oliwia	POL	1660	1660	K	2000-04-26	6.0	0.00	69.50	82.00	6
72	425	388	I++	Kowalska, Sara	POL	1854	1854	K	1994-01-20	6.0	0.00	69.00	83.50	4
73	426	413	I	Judek, Magdalena	POL	1797	1797	K	1986-12-27	6.0	0.00	69.00	81.50	5
74	427	428	I	Woźniak, Mariola	POL	1772	1772	K	1998-03-17	6.0	0.00	69.00	81.00	6
75	431	458	I	Skiba, Marta	POL	1699	1699	K	1993-03-17	6.0	0.00	68.50	80.50	6
76	433	498	I	Jaskiewicz, Kamila	POL	1584	1584	K	1997-10-19	6.0	0.00	68.00	78.00	5
77	436	544		Sudmale, Galina	LAT	0	1971	K	1952- -	6.0	0.00	67.50	79.50	6
78	446	414		Gravite, Julija	LAT	1791	1791	K	1993- -	6.0	0.00	65.00	78.00	5
79	454	478	II+	Kotłowska, Anna	POL	1645	1645	K	1996-10-18	6.0	0.00	64.00	75.00	6
80	463	433		Cernavina, Ksenija	LTU	1755	1755	K	1993- -	6.0	0.00	61.00	72.50	6
81	466	454	I	Herman, Monika	POL	1704	1704	K	1991-11-14	6.0	0.00	60.50	73.00	6
82	484	480	I	Kustal, Emilia	POL	1636	1636	K	1996-01-12	5.5	0.00	71.50	84.00	5
83	511	517	II	Antolak, Julia	POL	1456	1456	K	2000-02-22	5.5	0.00	63.50	76.00	5
84	516	508	II	Stężycka, Paulina	POL	1537	1537	K	1993-03-16	5.5	0.00	62.00	74.00	4
85	518	629		Iljucyk, Jana	BLR	0	1600	K	1999-11-02	5.5	0.00	62.00	73.00	5
86	534	640	III	Dixa, Joanna	POL	0	1400	K	2001-08-14	5.5	0.00	53.00	62.50	5
87	541	466	I	Delekta, Anna	POL	1690	1690	K	1996-10-16	5.0	0.00	69.00	82.00	5
88	553	587	II	Śliwicka, Alicja	POL	0	1600	K	2001-09-01	5.0	0.00	63.50	76.50	4
89	554	701		Limanovska, Elizabete	LAT	0	1000	K	2000-09-30	5.0	0.00	63.50	76.00	4
90	562	516	II+	Paterek, Diana	POL	1474	1474	K	1995-01-30	5.0	0.00	62.00	73.00	4
91	568	465	II+	Kaniewska, Emilia	POL	1692	1692	K	1999-06-26	5.0	0.00	60.50	72.50	4
92	570	523	II+	Lange, Aleksandra	POL	1401	1401	K	1994-07-25	5.0	0.00	60.50	70.00	5
93	572	520	II	Kaźmierczak, Ewa	POL	1422	1422	K	1976-12-03	5.0	0.00	60.00	70.50	4
94	575	503	II	Parol, Pola	POL	1562	1562	K	2000-09-28	5.0	0.00	59.50	71.50	5
95	578	589	II	Kucharska, Honorata	POL	0	1600	K	2002-07-18	5.0	0.00	59.00	69.00	5
96	586	590	II	Humin, Julia	POL	0	1600	K	2000-04-04	5.0	0.00	57.50	70.50	5
97	601	584	II	Kalinowska, Karolina	POL	0	1600	K	2000-04-09	4.5	0.00	63.00	73.00	3
98	601	630		Sapovalovaite, Eva	LTU	0	1600	K	1996-12-24	4.5	0.00	63.00	73.00	3
99	603	392	I	Litwiniec, Miroslawa	POL	1847	1847	K	1986-01-31	4.5	0.00	62.50	76.50	3
100	605	507	II	Wojna, Natalia	POL	1539	1539	K	1992-02-11	4.5	0.00	62.00	74.50	3
101	609	471	I	Gosławska, Cecylia	POL	1663	1663	K	1965-11-22	4.5	0.00	59.50	71.50	4
102	611	527	II	Hosiawa, Klara	POL	1355	1355	K	1999-07-02	4.5	0.00	59.00	70.00	4
103	616	586	II	Górska, Weronika	POL	0	1600	K	2000-06-16	4.5	0.00	57.00	66.00	4
104	617	698		Markeviciute, Paulina	LTU	0	1000	K	2000-04-11	4.5	0.00	56.50	68.00	4
105	619	668		Misiuk, Karolina	LTU	0	1400	K	2001-03-05	4.5	0.00	55.00	65.50	4
106	620	585	II	Kopacka, Natalia	POL	0	1600	K	1998-09-18	4.5	0.00	54.50	65.50	4
107	621	628		Suszinski, Geraldas	LTU	0	1600	K	1996-12-25	4.5	0.00	54.00	65.50	3
108	625	667		Szczerbacewicz, Nastia	BLR	0	1400	K	2002-08-12	4.5	0.00	53.00	63.00	4
109	630	672	IV	Giziewska, Marta	POL	0	1250	K	1999-07-20	4.5	0.00	51.00	61.50	4
110	636	685		Misiuk, Emilija	LTU	0	1200	K	2004-10-05	4.0	0.00	62.00	73.00	4
111	638	697		Jankauskaite, Kotryna	LTU	0	1000	K	2001-08-18	4.0	0.00	59.50	71.50	3
112	652	713		Delekta, Joanna	POL	0	1000	K	2001-04-24	4.0	0.00	54.50	64.00	4
113	653	637	III	Mucha, Marta	POL	0	1400	K	2004-02-17	4.0	0.00	54.00	64.00	4
114	657	669	IV	Michalska, Aleksandra	POL	0	1250	K	2002-03-05	4.0	0.00	50.50	60.00	4
115	663	625	III	Jankiewicz, Julia	POL	0	1600	K	2002-04-07	4.0	0.00	47.50	56.50	4
116	665	703		Zitinskaite, Goda	LTU	0	1000	K	2001-01-11	4.0	0.00	42.00	52.00	4
117	668	588	II	Soćko, Weronika	POL	0	1600	K	2000-03-21	3.5	0.00	54.00	65.00	3
118	673	708		Purtokaite, Domante	LTU	0	1000	K	2001-04-26	3.5	0.00	51.50	60.50	3
119	674	638	III	Skowron, Agata	POL	0	1400	K	1995-07-08	3.5	0.00	50.50	59.50	3
120	678	639	III	Gowin, Małgorzata	POL	0	1400	K	2001-02-05	3.5	0.00	47.50	57.00	3
121	682	670	IV	Bruns, Karolina	POL	0	1250	K	2002-11-14	3.5	0.00	43.00	51.00	3
122	686	676	IV	Powałka, Marta	POL	0	1250	K	1999-08-31	3.0	0.00	51.00	59.50	3
123	687	671	IV	Litwiniec, Julia	POL	0	1250	K	2001-10-19	3.0	0.00	49.50	57.00	3
124	688	678	IV	Szymańska, Emilia	POL	0	1250	K	2001-03-17	3.0	0.00	48.50	58.00	3
125	689	674	IV	Golecka, Jadwiga	POL	0	1250	K	2002-01-13	3.0	0.00	47.00	55.00	3
126	695	673	IV	Włoch, Dominika	POL	0	1250	K	2000-12-08	3.0	0.00	43.50	51.50	3
127	697	677	IV	Dobień, Kalina	POL	0	1250	K	2000-04-14	3.0	0.00	42.00	49.00	3
128	702	686	V	Błocińska, Magdalena	POL	0	1100	K	2002-11-21	2.5	0.00	41.50	49.50	2
129	706	675	IV	Gaus, Aleksandra	POL	0	1250	K	1984-10-31	2.0	0.00	39.50	48.00	1
130	709	710		Waszczuk, Patrycja	POL	0	1000	K	2003-06-17	1.5	0.00	39.00	46.50	0
131	711	219		Ivanova-Skripova, Tatiana	RUS	2173	2173	K	1958- -	0.0	0.00	71.50	84.50	0
132	711	251	WFM	Ivanova, Tatiana	RUS	2110	2110	K	1989- -	0.0	0.00	71.50	84.50	0
133	723	191	WIM	Sirotkina, Nina	RUS	2224	2224	K	1964- -	0.0	0.00	66.00	76.50	0

Coverage at The Week in Chess.
Official website.

Shin-Mu

Also called Shing-Mu, various spellings - Queen of Heaven.  Hislop (The Two Babylons) equated her with Ma-Tsoopo, a sea goddess worshipped in "Fuh-kien" China.  People have all kinds of opinions about Hislop, but I won't say he's wrong for tracing out similarities in word-sounds to ancient meanings from long before writing was invented.  He wrote: 

The name of Shing Moo, applied by the Chinese to their "Holy Mother," compared with another name of the same goddess in another province of China, strongly favours the conclusion that Shing Moo is just a synonym for one of the well-known names of the goddess-mother of Babylon. Gillespie (in his Land of Sinim, p. 64) states that the Chinese goddess-mother, or "Queen of Heaven," in the province of Fuh-kien, is worshipped by seafaring people under the name of Ma Tsoopo. Now, "Ama Tzupah" signifies the "Gazing Mother;" and there is much reason to believe that Shing Moo signifies the same; for Mu was one of the forms in which Mut or Maut, the name of the great mother, appeared in Egypt (BUNSEN'S Vocabulary, vol. i. p. 471); and Shngh, in Chaldee, signifies "to look" or "gaze." The Egyptian Mu or Maut was symbolised either by a vulture, or an eye surrounded by a vulture's wings (WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 203.) The symbolic meaning of the vulture may be learned from the Scriptural expression: "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen" (Job xxviii.7). The vulture was noted for its sharp sight, and hence, the eye surrounded by the vulture's wings showed that, for some reason or other, the great mother of the gods in Egypt had been known as "The gazer." But the idea contained in the Egyptian symbol had evidently been borrowed from Chaldea; for Rheia, one of the most noted names of the Babylonian mother of the gods, is just the Chaldee form of the Hebrew Rhaah, which signifies at once "a gazing woman" and a "vulture." The Hebrew Rhaah itself is also, according to a dialectical variation, legitimately pronounced Rheah; and hence the name of the great goddess-mother of Assyria was sometimes Rhea, and sometimes Rheia. In Greece, the same idea was evidently attached to the Mother of the children of the sun (see ante, p. 20, Note), For one of her distinguishing titles was Ophthalmitis (SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, "Athena," p. 101), thereby pointing her out as the goddess of "the eye." It was no doubt to indicate the same thing that, as the Egyptian Maut wore a vulture on her head, so the Athenian Minerva was represented as wearing a helmet with two eyes, or eye-holes, in the front of the helmet.--(VAUX'S Antiquities, p. 186.)

I was looking in Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets to see if she had an entry under sisters (she doesn't) when I came across her entry on Shin-Mu:

"Mother of Perfect Intelligence," China's Holy Virgin, who miraculously conceived her firstborn son, a Savior and spirit of the grain.  Her infant "came like a lamb, with no bursting or rending, with no hurt or harm," and was tenderly adored by sheep and oxen.(1)  [Sound familiar?]

After producing this child, Shin-Mu resumed her archaic Great Mother character and gave birth to 33,333 creatures.  Patriarchal myths deprived her of a vagina, and so insisted all these creatures were born from her arms or breast.  A Christian traveller in China explained Shin-Mu's miraculous motherhood: she had "no place on her body whence to bring Them forth as other women of the world, whom for sin God hath subjected to filthiness of corruption, to show how filthy sin is."(2)

After she was virginized and even deprived of a vagina, Shin-Mu's only remaining connection with sexuality was similar to the virgin Mary's: she continued to be the divine patroness of whores.(3)

Persians diabolized her and called her Shimnu, the "Great Devil," so called in a Manichean Confession-Prayer found at Turfan and in the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, at Tun-huang.(4) [Tocharians???]

Notes:

(1) Hays, 241.
(2) Briffault 3, 171.
(3) Briffault 3, 177.
(4) Legge 2, 334-35.

This and That -- From the Archaeologists Themselves

Cynical Boardgame About Archaeology
From Dr. Martin Rundkvist's blog.  He's intelligent, cogent, and succinct, and has a great sense of irony.  He's an archaeologist, too!  This post has a few choice things to say - you've got to read it for yourself :)


From archaeologist Judith Weingarten's always excellent blog Zenobia: Empress of the East, a two-part post on the extraordinary tomb portraits of Palmyra and the intriguing array of finger-pointings (no pun intended) in which the deceased held their hands and fingers in a variety of ways.  Was it a secret language?
The Secret Language of Palmyra (Part 1) November 14, 2010
The Secret Language of Palmyra (Part 2) December 15, 2010
The brief discussion about the nephesh and where it may have "resided" is also fascinating.  Despite the "accepted" orthodoxy of various religions today about what happens to one's soul when one dies, this is something I expect is very much on the minds of people under particular circumstances, because no one has yet come back from the dead to let us know what really is beyond "the veil"...  It is still very much a matter of faith, and faith these days in particular, seems in scarce supply.

One of the Lewis chess queens,
British Museum.

 Many years ago Ricardo Calvo wrote an article about the pointing finger portraits of the Knights Templar and other figures depicted in King Alphonso XII's "Book of Games" - I've got it stashed somewhere on the hard-drive of my old desktop - and how there was a "code" in the various hand/finger positions.  I never did work my way through the article or, if I did, I don't remember it.  I was trying to render it into comprehensible English from a bad Google Spanish-to-English translation for eventual publication at Goddesschess.  It was after that, in the early 2000's, that it seemed everywhere I looked I saw a portrait of someone or other pointing!  Kings and Queens most particularly, because they were the ones who were most-often painted in the earliest days whose portraits still survive, but also in such interesting pieces as the Lewis chessmen.  I have an entire gallery of various queens and goddesses from various civilizations and from all ages, all with pointing hands/fingers, saved in my images archive on that computer, intending to do something with them - someday.  I continue to add to the collection!

Could there possibly be a connection, or is it coincidence?  It seems astounding that there could be any connection between the ancient Palmyran hand/finger gestures and -- well, stranger things have happened.


From Heritage Key - don't know how I missed this interview, but I did:
archaeologist Sarah Milledge Nelson
The Shaman Queens of Ancient Korea
Submitted by owenjarus on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 11:19

...if you look at the genealogy, through the time period, the kings are all married to the daughter of queens, which sounds like female succession if you think of it the other way around.   ...The queen is queen and the daughter become queen and her daughter becomes queen, and they all have husbands from different places. It’s not going father to son, its going mother to daughter. ...
 
 
She's not an archaeologist, she's an historian:
The great-grandmother of Jesus was a woman named Ismeria, according to Florentine medieval manuscripts analyzed by a historian
(From Discovery Online, December 9, 2010)

Article published in Journal of Medieval History, by Catherine Lawless, a lecturer in history at the University of Limerick.

2010 Women's World Chess Championship - R5 Play-offs

From official website:

The second semi-final match was decided on tie-break today. Ruan Lufei joined Hou Yifan, who has promoted from the classical games, in the final. The first rapid game was drawn again but in the second one Ruan Lufei, playing with black pieces, defeated her compatriot Zhao Xue. "The result that I have now is just unbelievable! I had a back ticket on December, 13 because I thought I would be eliminated by Kosteniuk and go home”, said the second winner of the semi-final match. She also explained that she was not afraid to play tie-breaks, but it was not a strategy or intention to make draws in the main games on purpose.

After the rest day on 19 th of December the finalists Hou Yifan and Ruan Lufei will play four classical games from 20th till 23rd of December.

News coverage on the WWCC:

From The Times of India
Humpy leaves, paving way for a Chinese queen
Hari Hara Nandanan, TNN, Dec 19, 2010, 01.03am IST

CHENNAI: There will be a Chinese queen in the women's World Chess Championship at Hatay. As Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy left the stage in the semi, losing to 16-year-old Hou Yifan 0.5-1.5, the final will now be a Chinese affair.

Yifan, who is a step away from creating a record for becoming the youngest women's (or open) world champion, will meet either Zhao Xue or Lufei Ruan, in the four-game final from Monday.

For Humpy, it was a second successive defeat in the semifinals of the World Championship and what must hurt her is the fact that both of them were inflicted by Yifan. Humpy has a good record against all the women GMs but against Yifan, she seems to have problems.

From the Hindustan Times.com
Humpy out of World Championship
Press Trust Of India
Hatay, Turkey, December 18, 2010

Koneru Humpy crashed out of the World Women's chess championship after drawing the second game of the semifinal match against nemesis Yifan Hao of China. Having lost the first game of the semis, Humpy needed a victory in the return game to stay afloat in the championship but, missing out on her chances, the Indian could only manage a draw translating in to a 0.5-1.5 defeat for her.

In the last World Championship at Nalchik in Russia too, Humpy had suffered a similar defeat in the semis at the hands of the same opponent.

The ouster of Humpy means end of the road for the Indians in the Championship and it will now be an all Chinese affair for the first time in the history of World Championships.

The other semifinal between Chinese duo of Zhao Xue and Ruan Lufei, meanwhile, was stretched to the tiebreaker following another quick draw between the two.

Humpy had troubles negotiating the first phase of the match against Yifan who certainly appeared to be better prepared than Humpy. It was Berling defense by Humpy that cost her the full point in the first game and in the second, it was a Sicilian through transposition that the Indian has not quite been facing lately.

Yifan had to pause for quite sometime when Humpy went for the Torre attack with white pieces after opening with the queen pawn and in fact it worked out fine when the Chinese was able to transpose to a Sicilian defense in a few moves time. The set up chosen by Humpy was a mixture of Najdorf and Classical variation and Yifan felt the heat after she decided to part with a couple of pawns to initiate an attack against the king.

Humpy, and the chess pundits, believed that she had real chances with her extra material but as things unfolded, Yifan was able to muster just the right kind of counter-play to liquidate to a rook and pawns endgame where only white could be worse. Humpy made the right decision to take the draw in 45 moves.

Full article.

U.S. Chess Federation Website
All-Chinese Final at the Women's World Championships
December 17, 2010
(Includes Game 1 that can be played through)

In Thailand, An Ancient Tradition of Tribute to the Rice Goddess Endangered by Lack of Interest

Story from the Bangkok Post
Published: 18/12/2010 at 12:00 AM
(second story, scroll down)
By RATTANAWAN POTHISOMBAT
Farmers' rites pay homage to guardian of paddy fields
Keeping the natural resources around the Nan River fertile means keeping alive the age-old tradition of worshipping the Goddess of Rice.

Officials who inspected progress in the Pid Thong Lang Phra projects in Nan recently were treated to a cultural feast with the performance of the ceremony paying homage to Phra Mae Phosop (Rice Goddess).

The locals believe a development initiative that is conducive to bountiful rice output will give Phra Mae Phosop something to continue guarding.

For about 800 years, Thai farmers have held the belief that Phra Mae Phosop is the guardian of their paddy fields and rice crops.

Various rites are performed to pay respect to the goddess and the rite itself is called Su Khwan Khao (Rice Blessing).

Farmers believe that the Buddhist faith will bring them prosperity and wealth in their cultivation. This belief has continued for generations.

The centre of the blessing rite, taking place sometime between January and April, is in Nam Pak village of Nan's Tha Wang Pha district.

Before rice cultivation, farmers choose an auspicious date for the Su Khwan Khao rite. Farmers believe the goddess will manifest herself through the medium Narn who is the senior spiritual leader of the village.

"Not everyone can be Narn," one of the villagers said.

Villagers place offerings for the guardian of the rice fields. RATTANAWAN POTHISOMBAT
"First Fruits" ceremonies from around the world look remarkably similar, don't they, whether ancient or modern.

 Narn chants and asks for the goddess's permission to plant paddy rice and to start the cultivating season. Then farmers place food offerings for Phra Mae Phosop which include alcoholic drinks, food, and fruits.

The rite takes place three times a year to ensure ample divine protection all year round, Narn Parn or Worapon Chaisalee, the master of ceremonies said.

"The folk believe Phra Mae Posop will only bring rain if she is in the right mood. The farmers must worship her or suffer the consequences such as hunger, sickness and poverty," he said.

"We also put up woven bamboo sticks to designate the boundaries of the paddy fields and invite local guardian spirits to come in and protect us."

Also, farmers have to ask for forgiveness from Phra Mae Phosop before reaping the rice. Rice is then threshed on the ground and transported to granaries. That is the last step in the production process.

To worship the rice goddess, farmers also perform dances for her throughout their ceremonies, but ceremonies to worship Phra Mae Phosop vary in different regions.

The ceremonies in Nan are different from those elsewhere but rice farmers share the same purpose, which is fostering the kindness of Phra Mae Phosop.

Thanakorn Ruchtanon, the office manager of the Pid Thong Lang Phra (Unsung Hero) project in Nan, said the sacredness of the rite is waning as the younger generation does not appreciate its importance.

"The ceremony unites people and family members," he said.

"We are supposed to promote this rite for children and youths so that they recognise its spiritual-fostering value."

*********************************************************************

Fascinating.  How is the Narn chosen?  Is the role restricted to males only, or can a female be a Narn, too?  Does the Narn have other duties within a village?  Does this tradition have its roots in shamanism and is it akin to any traditions in North or South America? 

2011 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival

January 24 - February 3, 2010
Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar
10-Round Swiss, FIDE Rated
Official Website

When this event started some years ago, the organizers went out of their way to invite strong female players in an open format in the Masters Tournament where they could butt heads with higher and lower-rated male players.  A separate and generous prize structure for the women guaranteed that in short order this would prove to be a popular event with the best female players in the world. 

The 2011 version has a very strong line-up of female players in addition to (at present) top-level male GMs from all over the world.  Here are the women (confirmed as of December 4, 2010):

GM Koneru Humpy (IND 2600)
GM Hou Yifan (CHN 2591)
GM Tatiana Kosintseva (RUS 2581)
IM Nadezhda Kosintseva (RUS 2576)
GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO 2551)
GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL 2548)
GM Pia Cramling (SWE 2526)
IM Harika Dronavalli (IND 2525)
GM Viktorija Cmilyte (LTH 2514)
IM Irina Krush (USA 2495)
IM Anna Zatonskih (USA 2478)
GM Zhu Chen (QAT 2477)
WGM Natalia Pogonina (RUS 2472)
IM Inna Gaponenko (UKR 2469)
WGM Shen Yang (CHN 2461)
GM Natalia Zhukova (UKR 2447)
IM Jovanka Houska (ENG 2421)
IM Eesha Karavade (IND 2369)
WGM Tatiana Fatianova (RUS 2289)
WGM Monica Calzetta Ruiz (ESP 2284)
WIM Fiona Sgteil-Antoni (LUX 2142)
WFM Alexandra Wilson (SUI 2042)

I wasn't able to scroll down any lower on the enrollment list to see if there were any chess femmes listed below Alexandra Wilson.  The "frames" used to construct this website just did not view correctly on my browser.

This is Hou Yifan's first appearance at Gibraltar.  Former Women's World Chess Champions Antoaneta Stefanova and Zhu Chen are playing.  USA's dueling chess femmes Krush and Zatonskih are playing.  India has a strong contingent of players this year.  Who will take the women's top prize in 2011? 

In 2010 GM Michael Adams won first place and is back again in 2011 to defend his title.  Natalia Zhukova earned a GM norm in 2010 and won the women's top prize.  She's back again in 2011 and will be fighting for a repeat.  In 2010, Zhukova finished in 10th place overall, an excellent result, with 7.0/10.  Adams took the title after a play-off and finished with 7.5/10.  The competition was fierce. Koneru Humpy finished in 12th place overall with 7.0/10. The Masters field in 2010 was 224 players strong.  Here are the 2010 Masters Tournament final standings. 

Here is the prize structure, of interest to all for its generous prizes in addition to excellent class ("Ratings Band") prizes.

These are the separate prizes offered for female players in addition to one prize they may qualify for from the prize structure noted above:
 

1st Prize	£10,000
2nd Prize	£5,000
3rd Prize	£3,000
4th Prize	£2,500
5th Prize	£2,000
6th Prize	£1,500
7th Prize	£1,000
8th Prize	£500
9th Prize	£400
10th Prize	£350

• If there is a tie for the top women’s prize, the tie is resolved in favour of the woman with the highest performance rating, who will receive the prize of £10,000.
• All other prizes will not be subject to a tie-break and prize money other than the first prize will be divided equally amongst the players.

---

   This is going to be a great event -- and Aeroflot and Moscow are coming too - and Tata Steel (formerly known as Corus) - oh my.  My head is spinning!  I will be well occupied during the long, dark, bone-chilling below-zero days of winter in Milwaukee following all the action, and dreaming I could play as well...