Saturday, August 11, 2012

2012 Canadian Closed Chess Championship (Zonal)

While the Canadian ladies were leaving their national championship (a zonal) like a Plague of Locusts had descended upon the playing venue  (FOUR players left before the final round - yep, FOUR!), the chess dudes were battling in the National Closed (also a zonal) for a spot in the 2013 World Cup and the money it promises, even if you get knocked out in the first round.  It's the same thing with the Canadian's women's representative who will be making an appearing at the 2012 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship in Siberia Russia (I'm NOT kidding - it's going to be in SIBERIA!)  Even if a player does not advance very far in the rounds because of the knock-out format utilized, there is a generous prize structure so players at these events do not come home empty-handed.

You can read all of the details about the Women's Championship/Zonal at the special pages I put up for the 2012 Goddesschess Canadian Women's Chess Championship -- you can find the links near the top of the home page in the left hand column. 

Here are the final standings for the Canadian Chess Championship (Zonal):

Grille américaine finale après la ronde 9 .

Rg.NameELOFED1.Rd2.Rd3.Rd4.Rd5.Rd6.Rd7.Rd8.Rd9.RdPts.
1GMSAMBUEV Bator2523CAN20w116b112w13b12w110b115w111b14w½8.5
2GMKOVALYOV Anton2605CAN14b½33w113b14w11b011w112b13w15b½7.0
3IMNORITSYN Nikolay2472CAN27b117w111b11w015b014w18b12b010w16.0
4IMGERZHOY Leonid2448CAN6w126b18w½2b012w½16b½17w115b11b½6.0
5FMWANG Richard2338CAN21b022w114b17w½18b115w½10w½16b12w½6.0
6CMGUSEV Nikita2117CAN4b025w117b½30w126b½8w024b114w112b16.0
7FMHAMILTON Robert2305CAN28w130b½10w½5b½13w020b19b118w½8b½5.5
8QIN Zi Yi (joey)2198CAN31b115w14b½11w½10w06b13w017b17w½5.5
9HUMPHREYS Michael2179CAN36w111w028b020b½23w119b17w026w118b15.5
10IMHEBERT Jean2410CAN35b113w½7b½26w18b11w05b½12w½3b05.0
11FMJIANG Louie2337CAN19w19b13w08b½28w12b026b11w013b½5.0
12FMPECHENKIN Vladimir2334CAN22b121w11b027w14b½13w12w010b½6w05.0
13KRAIOUCHKINE Nikita2204CAN29w110b½2w032w17b112b016w028b111w½5.0
14SONG Michael2154CAN2w½18b½5w024b119w13b027w16b021w15.0
15IMPANJWANI Raja2394CAN32w18b030w119b13w15b½1b04w0-04.5
16FMMILICEVIC Goran2287CAN23b11w027b021w122b14w½13b15w0-04.5
17FMKHASSANOV Marat2273CAN24w13b06w½28b½27w½33b14b08w029b14.5
18MASSE Hugues2232CAN33b½14w½32b½23w15w027b½20w17b½9w04.5
19DERRAUGH Geordie2097CAN11b036w135b115w014b09w025b130w122b½4.5
20CARRIER Claude2154CAN1b023w½33b½9w½30b17w018b031w½32b14.0
21ROBICHAUD Louis2100CAN5w112b026w016b025w½23b½33w124w114b04.0
22FILIPOVICH David2091CAN12w05b031w134b116w029b½30w½27b½19w½4.0
23ANASTASOVSKI Nikola2070CAN16w020b½29w118b09b021w½32w0-133b14.0
24ITKIN David2058CAN17b027w036b114w034w132b16w021b028w14.0
25ZHU Hong Rui2029CAN26b06b034w035w121b½31b½19w033w130b14.0
26CHABOT Roland2231CAN25w14w021b110b06w½28b111w09b0-03.5
27LAROCHELLE Martial2153CAN3w024b116w112b017b½18w½14b022w½-03.5
28PREOTU Razvan2080CAN7b034b19w117w½11b026w029b113w024b03.5
29LUO Zhao Yang1991CAN13b035w½23b033w½36b122w½28w032b117w03.5
30OUSSEDIK Elias2005CAN34w17w½15b06b020w035w122b½19b025w03.0
31LEUTSCHAFT Martin2143CAN8w032b022b036w½35b½25w½-120b½-03.0
32CHIKU-RATTE Olivier Kenta2107CAN15b031w118w½13b033b024w023b129w020w02.5
33UPPER John2036CAN18w½2b020w½29b½32w117w021b025b023w02.5
34BOLDUC Steve2229CAN30b028w025b122w024b0-0-0-0-01.0
35BER Yves2114CAN10w029b½19w025b031w½30b0-0-0-01.0

I believe there are some people who are saying I am being too harsh, that players leave tournaments all the time.  Yeah, right.  They walk out on national championships all the time?  Not that I've read about.  Of course, I have not read every single thing ever printed or written about every single national championship that has been held since the world began until this very instant, so I must qualify my indignation with that caveat.  Dudes - if you can't handle not making a "reputable" score, why did you sign up to begin with, knowing what the level of competition was going to be?  I know that things happen, but walking out on a national championship just because you don't like your score -- well, that's just bogus.

Same question for the ladies. 

I know of only one instance where there are what I consider extenuating circumstances that justified a player leaving before the Women's Championship was completed.  Perhaps there are others.  But - really - come on, people.  Show a little respect for the institutions - for the titles you were allegedly playing for!
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Special Travelling Exhibition Upcoming at China Institute

Looks fabulous!  List of Travelling Exhibitions. 

Dunhuang:
Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road

China Institute Gallery February 7—June 9, 2013
Seated Buddha
Tang dynasty (618–907)
Clay
25 ⅕ x 11 ⅖ x 7 ⅞ inches (64 × 29 × 20 cm)
Dunhuang Academy
Situated at a major crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, Dunhuang is one of the world’s most esteemed cultural heritage sites. Dunhuang: Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road brings into vivid focus the customs and practices of local Buddhists and illuminates the significance of the city as a crucial point of cultural exchange between East and West. Featuring sculpture, painted clay reliefs, calligraphy, Buddhist scriptures, and modeled bricks from the caves, this exhibition introduces the art and ritual practices from the golden eras of the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties. The diverse cultural history at Dunhuang is reflected in the evolution of the motifs and styles at work in these paintings and sculptures, and the crucial intersections of secular and religious, national and international, and East and West are revealed in these exceptional artifacts.
This exhibition is organized by China Institute Gallery and the Dunhuang Academy. It is curated by Fan Jinshi, Director of the Dunhuang Academy.
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Friday, August 10, 2012

4500 Year Old Ivory Statuettes Excavated in Portugal

Archaeologists find 4,500-year-old ivory statuettes

by TPN/ Lusa, in General · 09-08-2012 15:35:00 ·
 
About 20 ivory statuettes estimated to be around 4,500 years old have been discovered in an archaeological dig in eastern Portugal, a first in the country, archaeologist António Valério said this week.
"This is the first time pieces with such characteristics have appeared in Portugal", Valério told Lusa News Agency, adding that similar finds had been made earlier in southern Spain. He said the statuettes appeared to be funeral objects as they were discovered in an area of the Perdigões archaeological complex which had been used for cremations between the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.

He dated the pieces to the middle of the third millennium BC, making them some 4,500 years old.
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2012 FIDE World Junior Championships (Girls)

Rank after Round 8

Rk. NameFEDRtgPts. TB1
1
WGMZiaziulkina NastassiaBLR23426.516264
2
WIMBulmaga IrinaROU23806.016263
3
WGMGuo QiCHN23586.016190
4
WGMCori T DeysiPER24136.015920
5
WIMArabidze MeriGEO23796.015787
6
WGMGoryachkina AleksandraRUS23616.015484
7
IMBodnaruk AnastasiaRUS24145.516212
8
WGMVojinovic JovanaMNE23375.516060
9
WIMKulkarni BhaktiIND21595.515337
10
WFMMedina Warda AuliaINA22185.514996
11
WGMKashlinskaya AlinaRUS23915.016075
12
WGMMona KhaledEGY21215.015528
13
Wang JueCHN23555.015526
14
WIMVarga KlaraHUN21815.015392
15
WIMSihite Chelsie MonicaINA21625.015196
16
WFMPetrova IrinaUKR21735.015150
17
WIMSchut LisaNED23055.015001
18
WFMDe Seroux CamilleSUI21015.014771
19
Iordanidou ZoiGRE21665.014637
20
WIMSemenova ElenaRUS21345.014388
21
WIMAbdulla KhayalaAZE22175.014322
22
WFMKulon KlaudiaPOL22594.515958
23
WCMCemhan KardelenTUR19384.515543
24
Ivekovic AnaCRO19594.515443
25
WIMRodriguez Rueda Paula AndreaCOL21964.515306
26
Manelidou MariaGRE20564.514914
27
WIMAbdumalik ZhansayaKAZ21934.514100
28
Anusca Madalina-MariaROU20794.514099
29
Klek Hanna-MarieGER22484.015246
30
Batkovskyte DominykaLTU20964.015121
31
Nonkovic BogdanaSRB19504.015084
32
Serefidou DespinaGRE18654.015081
33
WFMLiao SimoneUSA19334.015047
34
WCMOrozco Lina YomayraCOL21504.014976
35
Nevioselaya MariaBLR20574.014739
36
WFMOsmak IulijaUKR21714.014602
37
Sargsyan ShushannaARM20474.014529
38
WIMPon NkrithikaIND21194.014397
39
WIMPavlidou EkateriniGRE22374.014133
40
Ibrahimova SabinaAZE20913.515354
41
Imeeva AisaRUS20953.514844
42
Galunova TsvetaBUL20913.514645
43
Owens Megan RWLS18163.514568
44
WFMIvana Maria FurtadoIND21023.514447
45
Kalaydina Regina VeronickaCAN19283.514403
46
Vatkali DimitraGRE19363.514369
47
Messam-Sparks LateefahENG19473.014788
48
Chiarion ElisaITA19783.014752
49
WCMNarva TriinEST20283.014686
50
Unapkoshvili NaniGEO20113.014614
51
Dominguez GisellaARG18313.014461
52
Lefevre MargauxFRA20433.014396
53
WFMFrey AlisaGER20353.014253
54
Forsa EliseNOR18363.014047
55
Medeiros Thauane FerreiraBRA18553.013917
56
York-Andersen AnnaENG18283.013797
57
Terzidaki AlexandraGRE19583.013480
58
WFMKolaric SpelaSLO20712.514242
59
Edes ZsofiaSVK20812.514131
60
Sena Moura DanielleBRA18762.514063
61
Tuzi BrunaALB15462.513558
62
Bucar NatasaSLO20222.513448
63
Lolici Iselin-AmandaROU19672.014575
64
Koutsogiannopoulou TheodoraGRE18972.014373
65
Psofimi MiliaGRE14371.013451
66
Kurbonboyeva Sarvinoz21430.00.0
Annotation:
Tie Break1: Rtg Sum (without lowest rtg) or Progressive Score (Youth WCC)
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2012 Russian Women's Chess Championship

Information from The Week in Chess.  Results for last 2 rounds:
Round 6 (August 9, 2012)
Pogonina, Natalija- Galliamova, Alisa½-½44B43Sicilian Paulsen
Kosintseva, Tatiana- Kovanova, Baira1-044C96Ruy Lopez
Gunina, Valentina- Ubiennykh, Ekaterina0-145E69King's Indian Fianchetto
Charochkina, Daria- Kosintseva, Nadezhda½-½76C45Scotch Game
Ovod, Evgenija- Girya, Olga0-175D31Semi-Slav Defence
Round 7 (August 10, 2012)
Girya, Olga- Pogonina, Natalija0-148D58Queens Gambit Tartakover
Galliamova, Alisa- Gunina, Valentina0-132E70King's Indian Fianchetto
Kosintseva, Nadezhda- Ovod, Evgenija1-071C65Ruy Lopez Berlin
Kovanova, Baira- Charochkina, Daria0-162D15Slav Defence
Ubiennykh, Ekaterina- Kosintseva, Tatiana0-146A07Barcza System

Pogonina, Round 10.  From official website (in Russian Cyrillic). 


Current standings:

62nd ch-RUS w Moscow (RUS), 3-13 viii 2012cat. VIII (2445)
1234567890
1.Pogonina, NatalijawgRUS2448*111½.½.½15½2669
2.Kosintseva, TatianagRUS25300*1.½½.11152595
3.Girya, OlgawgRUS243300*..½11114½2537
4.Gunina, ValentinamRUS25070..*11½½0142476
5.Galliamova, AlisamRUS2465½½.0*.1½½142483
6.Kosintseva, NadezhdagRUS2524.½½0.*½½1142481
7.Charochkina, DariawgRUS2353½.0½0½*1.02½2355
8.Kovanova, BairawgRUS2408.00½½½0*1.2½2352
9.Ubiennykh, EkaterinawmRUS2367½001½0.0*.22315
10.Ovod, EvgenijamRUS24190000001..*12156
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Eight Times More Powerful Than Krakatoa...

I can't even begin to imagine the POWER of a volcanic eruption that was EIGHT TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN KRAKATOA!  The results to London's population at the time were catastrophic.  Imagine losing a quarter or more of the people who used to live all around you...

And this was probably occuring all around the world.  But in the late 1200's record-keeping may have been hit or miss, some populations may have lost their literate compatriots (priests and monks, for instance).  Who knows?  Perhaps if historians begin to dig through what records are available, they will find written evidence for this climate-changing eruption. 

Mass grave in London reveals how volcano caused global catastrophe

Scientists search for the explosive source of a disaster that wiped out almost a third of Londoners in 1258
Dalya Alberge
  • The Observer,

    • When archaeologists discovered thousands of medieval skeletons in a mass burial pit in east London in the 1990s, they assumed they were 14th-century victims of the Black Death or the Great Famine of 1315-17. Now they have been astonished by a more explosive explanation – a cataclysmic volcano that had erupted a century earlier, thousands of miles away in the tropics, and wrought havoc on medieval Britons.

    Scientific evidence – including radiocarbon dating of the bones and geological data from across the globe – shows for the first time that mass fatalities in the 13th century were caused by one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 10,000 years.

    Such was the size of the eruption that its sulphurous gases would have released a stratospheric aerosol veil or dry fog that blocked out sunlight, altered atmospheric circulation patterns and cooled the Earth's surface. It caused crops to wither, bringing famine, pestilence and death.

    deaths required capacious burial pits, as recorded in contemporary accounts. In 1258, a monk reported: "The north wind prevailed for several months… scarcely a small rare flower or shooting germ appeared, whence the hope of harvest was uncertain... Innumerable multitudes of poor people died, and their bodies were found lying all about swollen from want… Nor did those who had homes dare to harbour the sick and dying, for fear of infection… The pestilence was immense – insufferable; it attacked the poor particularly. In London alone 15,000 of the poor perished; in England and elsewhere thousands died."

    There does not seem to have been any explanation at the time; it was probably assumed to be a punishment from God. London's population at the time was around 50,000, so the loss of 15,000 would have radically changed the city.

    Surprisingly, perhaps, the volcano's exact location has yet to be established. Mexico, Ecuador and Indonesia are the most likely areas, according to vulcanologists, who found evidence in ice cores from the northern hemisphere and Antarctic and within a thick layer of ash from Lake Malawi sediments. The ice core sulphate concentration shows that it was up to eight times higher than Indonesia's Krakatoa eruption of 1883, one of the most catastrophic in history.

    Some 10,500 medieval skeletons were found at Spitalfields market, the site of the Augustinian priory and hospital of St Mary Spital, and the remains suggest there may have been as many as 18,000. The excavation between 1991 and 2007 by the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) was the largest ever archaeological investigation in the capital. It was a member of that team, osteologist Don Walker, who discovered the link with a volcano. The findings will be revealed in Mola's report, to be published on Monday.

    Vulcanologist Bill McGuire said: "This was the biggest eruption in historic times. It may have brought the temperatures down by 4C, a huge amount."

    The Comments section is equally interesting and informative.
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    2012 FIDE World Juniors Chess Championship (Girls)

    Please visit Chessdom's coverage of this FIDE Championship - they are doing a great job!

    Rank after Round 6

    Rk.NameFEDRtgPts.TB1
    1
    		WIMBulmaga IrinaROU23805.011459
    2
    		WGMZiaziulkina NastassiaBLR23424.511654
    3
    		IMBodnaruk AnastasiaRUS24144.511611
    4
    		WGMVojinovic JovanaMNE23374.511451
    5
    		WGMGuo QiCHN23584.511438
    6
    		WFMKulon KlaudiaPOL22594.511385
    7
    		WGMKashlinskaya AlinaRUS23914.511337
    8
    		WGMCori T DeysiPER24134.511203
    9
    		WGMGoryachkina AleksandraRUS23614.510945
    10
    		WIMRodriguez Rueda Paula AndreaCOL21964.510627
    11
    		WIMArabidze MeriGEO23794.011270
    12
    		Wang JueCHN23554.011026
    13
    		WCMCemhan KardelenTUR19384.011020
    14
    		Klek Hanna-MarieGER22484.010944
    15
    		WGMMona KhaledEGY21214.010925
    16
    		WIMKulkarni BhaktiIND21594.010912
    17
    		WIMSchut LisaNED23054.010800
    18
    		WIMVarga KlaraHUN21814.010783
    19
    		WIMSihite Chelsie MonicaINA21624.010760
    20
    		Ivekovic AnaCRO19593.511174
    21
    		WFMMedina Warda AuliaINA22183.510951
    22
    		Ibrahimova SabinaAZE20913.510944
    23
    		WFMPetrova IrinaUKR21733.510886
    24
    		Batkovskyte DominykaLTU20963.510821
    25
    		Imeeva AisaRUS20953.510570
    26
    		Iordanidou ZoiGRE21663.510382
    27
    		WIMSemenova ElenaRUS21343.510342
    28
    		WCMOrozco Lina YomayraCOL21503.011079
    29
    		WFMLiao SimoneUSA19333.010881
    30
    		Nonkovic BogdanaSRB19503.010800
    31
    		Manelidou MariaGRE20563.010740
    32
    		Nevioselaya MariaBLR20573.010722
    33
    		WFMDe Seroux CamilleSUI21013.010653
    34
    		Messam-Sparks LateefahENG19473.010537
    35
    		WFMOsmak IulijaUKR21713.010473
    36
    		Dominguez GisellaARG18313.010357
    37
    		WCMNarva TriinEST20283.010278
    38
    		WIMPon NkrithikaIND21193.010247
    39
    		WIMAbdulla KhayalaAZE22173.010112
    40
    		Anusca Madalina-MariaROU20793.09941
    41
    		Serefidou DespinaGRE18652.510787
    42
    		Chiarion ElisaITA19782.510785
    43
    		Galunova TsvetaBUL20912.510708
    44
    		WFMIvana Maria FurtadoIND21022.510297
    45
    		WIMPavlidou EkateriniGRE22372.510167
    46
    		Vatkali DimitraGRE19362.510154
    47
    		WIMAbdumalik ZhansayaKAZ21932.510073
    48
    		Unapkoshvili NaniGEO20112.010850
    49
    		Sargsyan ShushannaARM20472.010707
    50
    		Lolici Iselin-AmandaROU19672.010692
    51
    		Lefevre MargauxFRA20432.010505
    52
    		WFMFrey AlisaGER20352.010491
    53
    		Owens Megan RWLS18162.010465
    54
    		Koutsogiannopoulou TheodoraGRE18972.010380
    55
    		Edes ZsofiaSVK20812.010372
    56
    		Kalaydina Regina VeronickaCAN19282.010311
    57
    		WFMKolaric SpelaSLO20712.010275
    58
    		Forsa EliseNOR18362.010181
    59
    		Terzidaki AlexandraGRE19582.09540
    60
    		Sena Moura DanielleBRA18761.510277
    61
    		Medeiros Thauane FerreiraBRA18551.510253
    62
    		York-Andersen AnnaENG18281.59943
    63
    		Bucar NatasaSLO20221.59696
    64
    		Psofimi MiliaGRE14371.010050
    65
    		Tuzi BrunaALB15461.010050
    66
    		Kurbonboyeva Sarvinoz21430.00.0
    Annotation:
    Tie Break1: Rtg Sum (without lowest rtg) or Progressive Score (Youth WCC)
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