Minoans Were European According to DNA Analysis

This is an awesome discovery. For how many years were people thinking the Minoans were a Semitic or African population...

Mysterious Minoans Were European, DNA Finds

Tia Ghose, LiveScience Staff Writer

Date: 14 May 2013 Time: 11:00 AM ET

The Minoans, the builders of Europe's first advanced civilization, really were European, new research suggests.

The conclusion, published today (May 14) in the journal Nature Communications, was drawn by comparing DNA from 4,000-year-old Minoan skeletons with genetic material from people living throughout Europe and Africa in the past and today.

"We now know that the founders of the first advanced European civilization were European," said study co-author George Stamatoyannopoulos, a human geneticist at the University of Washington.

"They were very similar to Neolithic Europeans and very similar to present day-Cretans," residents of the Mediterranean island of Crete.

While that may sound intuitive, the findings challenge a long-held theory that the ancient Minoans came from Egypt.

First European Civilization

The Minoan culture emerged on Crete, which is now part of Greece, and flourished from about 2,700 B.C. to 1,420 B.C. Some believe that a massive eruption from the Volcano Thera on the island of Santorini doomed the Bronze Age civilization, while others argue that invading Mycenaeans toppled the once-great power.

Nowadays, the Minoans may be most famous for the myth of the minotaur, a half-man, half-bull that was fabled to lived within a labyrinth in Crete.

When British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans discovered the Minoan palace of Knossos more than 100 years ago, he was dumbstruck by its beauty. He also noticed an eerie similarity between Minoan and Egyptian art, and didn't believe that the culture was homegrown.

"That's why Evans postulated the civilization was imported from Egypt or Libya," Stamatoyannopoulos told LiveScience.

Genetic clues

To test that idea, the research team analyzed DNA from ancient Minoan skeletons that were sealed in a cave in Crete's Lassithi Plateau between 3,700 and 4,400 years ago. They then compared the skeletal mitochondrial DNA, which is stored in the energy powerhouses of cells and passed on through the maternal line, with that found in a sample of 135 modern and ancient populations from around Europe and Africa.

The researchers found that the Minoan skeletons were genetically very similar to modern-day Europeans — and especially close to modern-day Cretans, particularly those from the Lassithi Plateau. They were also genetically similar to Neolithic Europeans, but distinct from Egyptian or Libyan populations.

The findings argue against Evan's hypothesis and suggest that locals, not African expats, developed the Minoan culture.

"It was a period of excitement around the Mediterranean," so although the Minoans definitely had contact with their African neighbors across the Mediterranean, any similarities in art were probably the result of cultural exchange, Stamatoyannopoulos said.

Ancient language?

The findings suggest that the ancient Minoans were likely descended from a branch of agriculturalists in Anatolia (what is now modern-day Turkey and Iraq) that fanned out into Europe about 9,000 years ago. If so, the Minoans may have spoken a proto-Indo-European language derived from the one possibly spoken by those Anatolian farmers, the researchers speculate.

Knowing that the Minoan language has Indo-European roots could help archaeologists decipher a mysterious Minoan writing system, known as Linear A, Stamatoyannopoulos said. [Precisely!  The Phaistos Disk...]

The prevailing theories hold that Minoan was a separate language family.

The analysis of DNA from the Lassithi cave is a "valuable contribution," said Colin Renfrew, an archaeologist from the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the study.

However, to make a clearer connection to the Anatolian migration, the researchers should have compared the Minoan DNA with more DNA samples from modern and ancient Anatolia, he said. [Well, Colin, don't get your shorts in an uproar.  No doubt someone - maybe even you - will get funding for such a study to be done sooner or later.]

Europe is One Big Family...

Genetics Reveal Europe Is One Big Family

By HARVEY MORRIS

May 8, 2013

 

LONDON — From Ireland to Turkey, Europeans are all related, sharing a link with ancestors who were alive just 1,000 years ago, according to a new genetic study.

Research by scientists in California is further evidence that neat distinctions between various European peoples are largely artificial and that they are all one big family — although not necessarily a happy one.

“Even pairs of people as far apart as the U.K. and Turkey share a chunk of genomic material 20 percent of the time,” according to the authors of a paper published on Tuesday.

Peter Ralph and Graham Coop of the University of California used genomic data for 2,257 Europeans to conduct the first such study of an entire continent.

In recent years, the science of genetics has been combined with archaeology and linguistic studies to help answer the eternal question of where we come from.

A separate study, based on DNA recovered from ancient skeletons, revealed last month that the genetic makeup of modern Europe was established by a wave of newcomers to the continent 6,500 years ago, more recently than previously thought.

Recent research has focused on the shared legacy of Europeans in contrast to earlier theories that focused on differences. But persistent ideas about racial differences continue to be a source of prejudice and violent crime. (Witness the trial that began this week of German neo-Nazis accused of being connected to a wave of killings of Turks and Greeks from 2000 to 2007.)

As recently as the 1950s, British schoolchildren were still studying pre-World War II textbooks that divided Europeans into Germanic, Alpine and Latin “types” according to the shape of their noses.
The Conversation, an Australian academic Web site, quoted Maciej Henneberg, a University of Adelaide anthropologist, as saying scientists had been arguing for 50 years that all humans were too closely related to be divided into races.

“The few externally visible differences like skin color or nose shape are not enough to justify divisions,” he said.

Neither should the latest research provide any comfort to racially motivated ultra-nationalists who would seek to oppose non-European immigration to a mythically homogenous Europe.  The Californian scientists said other research suggests everyone alive in the world today shares a common ancestor from sometime in the past 3,500 years.

The Californian study yielded some surprising conclusions, including that Britons share more recent common ancestors with people in Ireland than with others in Britain. And a German has more distant cousins in Poland than in Germany.

The ancestry is not equally shared. Modern Italians and Spaniards have relatively few common ancestors compared with other European populations, which may be explained by their geography and history.

It is tempting to think that further proof of shared ancestry might contribute to a new era of brotherly — or at least cousinly — love among the peoples of Europe in the face of the challenges that confront them.

Some are skeptical.

“There have been many studies that we’ve been involved in showing that groups which are fighting each other furiously all the time are actually extremely closely genetically related,” Mark A. Jobling, a geneticist at England’s Leicester University, told The Associated Press.

“So for example Jewish and non-Jewish populations in the Middle East are extremely similar genetically, but to tell them they are genetic close relatives isn’t going to change their ways.”

Milwaukee Summer Challenge II

Hola darlings!

I so happy my adopted chess club decided to bring back this two-day summer tournament.  Last July the first Milwaukee Summer Challenge hosted by Southwest Chess Club and the turnout was 76 players, including Anupama Rajendra, winner of the 2012 National All Girls Championship.

The flyer for the Milwaukee Summer Challenge II, which will be held June 15 - 16, 2013 in Milwaukee, is available at Southwest Chess Club's website.  Here's some information:

5-Round Swiss; G/120 with 5 second delay;
4 Sections: Master/Expert (closed), U2000, U1500, and U1000;
Goddesschess and Best Game prizes will be awarded (see below)!
Chess Magnet School Junior Grand Prix!

Goddess Chess Prizes for this event:
(1) in Master/Expert, $100 to top scoring female finisher provided at least 2 females play;
(2) in U2000, $75, to top scoring female finisher provided at least 2 females play;
(3) in U1500, $50, to top scoring female finisher provided at least 3 females play;
(4) in U1000, $25, to top scoring female finisher provided at least 3 females play;
There are no tie-breaks; if tie score the prize money is split; and
Must score a draw or win in any section to qualify for prize.

Best Games Prizes:
Master/Expert: $50
U2000: $25
U1500: $25
U1000: $25

I  hope you all will come out and support the Milwaukee Summer Challenge II and those great folks at Southwest Chess Club :)

2013 FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Geneva

Results and standings:

Round 9 on 2013/05/13 at 14:00
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	2522	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte	½ - ½	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk	2491	12
2	6	2585	GM	Anna Muzychuk	1 - 0	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2298	4
3	7	2463	WGM	Olga Girya	0 - 1	IM	Bela Khotenashvili	2505	3
4	8	2548	GM	Kateryna Lagno	0 - 1	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva	2517	2
5	9	2491	GM	Anna Ushenina	½ - ½	GM	Nana Dzagnidze	2545	1
6	10	2544	WGM	Wenjun Ju	½ - ½	GM	Yifan HOU	2617	11

Ranking crosstable after Round 9

Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	IM	Bela Khotenashvili	2505	GEO	*	½	0	1			0	1	1	1	1	1	6.5	0.5	6	23.75
2	GM	Anna Muzychuk	2585	SLO	½	*	1	½	½	½	1	½			1	1	6.5	0.5	4	27.50
3	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva	2517	RUS	1	0	*		1		½	½	½	1	½	1	6.0	0.0	4	23.75
4	WGM	Wenjun Ju	2544	CHN	0	½		*	½	1	½		0	½	1	1	5.0	1.5	3	18.50
5	GM	Kateryna Lagno	2548	UKR		½	0	½	*	½	0	1	1	½		1	5.0	1.0	3	19.75
6	GM	Anna Ushenina	2491	UKR		½		0	½	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	5.0	0.5	2	20.00
7	GM	Yifan HOU	2617	CHN	1	0	½	½	1	0	*			1	0	½	4.5	0.0	3	20.75
8	GM	Nana Dzagnidze	2545	GEO	0	½	½		0	½		*	½	½	1	1	4.5	0.0	2	16.25
9	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk	2491	RUS	0		½	1	0	0		½	*	½	1	½	4.0	0.0	2	15.00
10	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte	2522	LTU	0		0	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	½		3.0	0.0	0	13.00
11	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2298	MGL	0	0	½	0		½	1	0	0	½	*		2.5	0.0	1	11.50
12	WGM	Olga Girya	2463	RUS	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½			*	1.5	0.0	0	6.75

Pairings for Round 10 tomorrow:

Round 10 on 2013/05/14 at 14:00
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2491	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk		GM	Yifan HOU	2617	11
2	1	2545	GM	Nana Dzagnidze		WGM	Wenjun Ju	2544	10
3	2	2517	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva		GM	Anna Ushenina	2491	9
4	3	2505	IM	Bela Khotenashvili		GM	Kateryna Lagno	2548	8
5	4	2298	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg		WGM	Olga Girya	2463	7
6	5	2522	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte		GM	Anna Muzychuk	2585	6

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Winner of the Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award

And the winner is...

ANNA ZATONSKIH! 

Anna put together a superb record of points after her early R3 loss to Irina Krush, the repeat U.S. Women's Champion.  She bounced back from that defeat and fought hard for every point thereafter to put herself into a solid position.  In doing so, she demonstrated that fighting spirit and resolve to win that our award is all about. 

As you know, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, the Chess Queen (TM), agreed to be our judge for this year's Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award.  Right now she is participating in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Geneva. You can follow the action. Thanks to GM and 12 World Women's Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk for her invaluable assistance!

For more perspective on how the decision on the winner was reached and more information on Anna Zatonskih, please see Alexandra's chess blog. 

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Round 9

Prior post.

I'll be updating this post periodically.

Live coverage has resumed.  Finally, some commentary on the Krush - Baginskaite game at - 2:50 p.m.  Let's see - coverage started at 1:00 p.m.  Hmmm...  Right now commentators are indicating the game looks drawish, and that Baginskaite will be satisfied with a draw to finish at 50%, and a draw is all Krush needs to secure a repeat of her title.

IM Anna Zatonskih, currently on 6.5, and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, currently on 5.5, appear to thus be battling for second place. 

Zatonskih has the white pieces against Sabina Foisor.  Abrahamyan has the black pieces against Viktorija Ni, whose ELO indicates she is the most evenly matched player against Abrahamyan vis a vis the other players in this round. 

In the meantime, if Baginskaite is content to end her tournament on 4.5, that score may not be good enough to hold fourth place, depending on what some of the players below her do!  Here's a look at the ladies in the middle of the standings at the end of Round 8:

4	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	4.0	F	2278	2257	-0.24	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	1
5	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	4.0	F	2243	2287	+0.45	1	0	1	0	½	½	1	0
6	WGM Foisor, Sabina	3.5	F	2300	2212	-0.99	0	0	0	1	1	½	0	1
7	WFM Kats, Alena	3.0	F	2144	2233	+0.77	0	½	½	½	0	½	0	1

And who is playing who:

Belakovskaia (2.5) v. Zenyuk (4.0)
Chiang (1.5) v. Kats (3.0)

Update 4:27 p.m.:

Two times previously the live website coverage indicated that Krush - Baginskaite was drawn:  the first time, on move 14; the secont time, on move 23!  BOTH WRONG!  I checked for an update after coming in from trimming the front lawn and Krush - Baginskaite has gone through move 40.  Okay, now indicating 0 -1 in favor of Baginskaite!  WHAT????

Stay tuned.

Update 4:33 p.m.:

That was NOT correct.  Krush has made her 41st move Nd4.  So now the official live coverage has been wrong THREE TIMES.  Are you guys trying to give us all heart attacks????

Meanwhile, NONE of the other women's games have finished - whoops.  What the hell is this?  Even as I was typing this all of a sudden Belakovskaia - Zenyuk goes up as 1/2 - 1/2.  Now I had predicted a draw for this pair, but is is actually TRUE?  OY!  And now Krush v. Baginskaite is indicating 1 - 0.

How can I trust ANY of these results?

Stay tuned.

Update 4:51 p.m.:

Live coverage computer is still reporting Krush  Baginskaite 1 -0.  Also, now Ni - Abrahamyan 0 - 1.

Commentary a few moments ago was that the Zatonskih Foisor game looks to be a win for Zatonskih in just a few more moves or so.

Updated 4:57 p.m.:

Live coverage showing Krush v. Baginskaite game just concluded - DRAW! 

Updated 5:19 p.m.:

Computer at live coverage now inicating Zatonskih v. Foisor 1 - 0.

If I'm doing my math correctly, Krush finishes in clear first with 8.0/9; Zatonskih finishes in clear second place with a7.5/9; and Abrahamyan finishes in clear third place with 6.5/9.

Announcement for the winner of the Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award, judged by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, coming up!

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: Round 9

Hola everyone!

I've got the live coverage of the U.S. Chess Championships on my other laptop.  Right now GM Susan Polgar, who runs the chess program at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri USA, is being interviewed by GM Maurice Ashley.  GM Ray Robson, a current student at Webster, is playing Gata Kamsky today for a share of the lead in the final regulation game, played a move that a young (15 year old) Judit Polgar played back in the day during the Hungarian National Championship.  In that game, Judit drew with GM Portisch and went on to WIN the championship, the first female ever to do so, and she also incidentally, scored her third and final GM norm and thus broke the record set by GM Bobby Fischer as being the youngest player at the time to earn the GM title.  As chess fans know, GM Susan Polgar herself was one of the female pioneers to break the gender barrier in chess and was the first female player to qualify for the world chess championship cycle -- but she was not allowed to play - simply because of her gender!  This wasn't that long ago either, in the early to mid-1980's!!!!!  Absolutely shocking and disgusting treatment of one of the premier chessplayers in the world at the time.

So, I guess you could say we've come a long way, baby.  On the other hand, there are still people out there who say that females cannot play chess as well as male players, who point to the lack of high-rated female players to support their house-of-cards nonsensical assertions.  In fact, many studies have blasted this chauvenistic-based belief out of the water, but it continues to poison said water.  One of the most concise recent studies (2008) I've read on the subject is Checkmate? The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport, by Anne Maass, Claudio D'Ettole and Mara Cadinu, Universit of Padova, Italy. 

 

Abstract

Women are surprisingly underrepresented in the chess world, representing less that 5% of registered

tournament players worldwide and only 1% of the world’s grand masters. In this paper it is argued that gender stereotypes are mainly responsible for the underperformance of women in chess. Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were
unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males.

When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic

performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent.

When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male

opponents. In addition, our findings suggest that women show lower chess-specific self-esteem and a

weaker promotion focus, which are predictive of poorer chess performance.

So, the first break in the live commentary has already come, and they haven't looked at a SINGLE GAME IN THE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP!  Are you fricking kidding me?  Talk about GENDER BIAS.

14th European Individual Chess Championship

May 5 - 16, 2013 in Legnica, Poland

280 players (male players predominate)
A separate European Individual Women's CC will be held in Belgrade, Serbia July 22 - August 4, 2013

I have tried to pick out the standings of the female players after Round 7, with leaders (male or female) shown for comparison purposes:

Rank after Round 7

Rk.			Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	Rp	K	rtg+/-
1		GM	MOISEENKO Alexander	UKR	2698	6.0	2624	27.0	27.5	5	2772	10	14.8

142

IM

MUZYCHUK Mariya

UKR

2483

3.5

2564

23.0

25.0

3

2521

10

3.4

156

WGM

BULMAGA Irina

ROU

2393

3.5

2505

23.5

25.0

3

2435

15

7.1

171

WGM

CHEREDNICHENKO Svetlana

UKR

2274

3.0

2588

22.5

25.0

1

2522

15

28.8

175

WGM

ZAWADZKA Jolanta

POL

2383

3.0

2560

24.0

27.0

1

2500

10

10.2

178

WIM

WOREK Joanna

POL

2299

3.0

2535

21.5

23.5

2

2467

15

20.9

191

GM

DANIELIAN Elina

ARM

2478

3.0

2471

23.5

25.5

2

2390

10

-8.3

218

WGM

PRZEZDZIECKA Marta

POL

2302

2.5

2518

22.5

25.0

2

2403

15

11.9

240

WGM

YILDIZ Betul Cemre

TUR

2325

2.5

2284

20.0

22.0

1

2120

15

-26.7

243		WFM	CHEREDNICHENKO Elena	UKR	2168	2.0	2445	18.0	20.0	0	2273	15	10.2
244		WIM	PAVLIDOU Ekaterini	GRE	2209	2.0	2432	16.5	17.0	1	2141	15	-4.1

247

WIM

IWANOW Anna

POL

2195

2.0

2423

18.5

20.5

2

2250

15

5.4

Fifth International Alexander the Great Open Tournament

The Alexander the Great International Open is part of the Games Festival and takes place May 7 -12, 2013 (website):

Standings after Round 6 -- check this out -- four chess femmes in the top 10:

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	WGM	Sukandar Irine Kharisma	INA	2370	5.5	0.0	22.0	20.00
2	IM	Erdogdu Mert	TUR	2422	5.0	0.0	20.0	16.00
3	IM	Sapar Emelbek	KGZ	2339	4.5	0.5	23.0	15.25
4	IM	Miljkovic Miroslav D	SRB	2471	4.5	0.5	20.0	14.50
5	IM	Klinova Masha	ISR	2316	4.0	0.0	24.5	15.00
6	IM	Itkis Boris	ROU	2395	4.0	0.0	22.0	13.25
7	GM	Tadic Branko	SRB	2517	4.0	0.0	20.5	12.00
8	IM	Arsovic Zoran	SRB	2434	4.0	0.0	20.5	11.50
9	WGM	Stojanovic Andjelija	SRB	2282	4.0	0.0	18.5	11.25
10	WIM	Djukic Sandra	SRB	2199	4.0	0.0	18.5	11.00
11	GM	Antic Dejan	SRB	2473	4.0	0.0	18.0	11.75
12		Asgarov Mushfig	AZE	2226	3.5	0.0	20.5	9.75
13		Husseinov Shahin	AZE	2193	3.5	0.0	20.0	8.75
14	FM	Nina Miguel Angel	PER	2284	3.5	0.0	19.5	9.00
15	WIM	Drljevic Ljilja	SRB	2174	3.5	0.0	17.5	8.25
16		Tsarouhas Vasilios	GRE	2173	3.5	0.0	17.0	7.75
17		Katapodis Gerasimos	GRE	1849	3.5	0.0	17.0	6.00
18		Lekatis Ioannis	GRE	1687	3.5	0.0	15.5	7.75
19		Dorfanis Ilarion	GRE	2184	3.0	0.0	22.5	9.00
20		Avagianos Simeon	GRE	2027	3.0	0.0	21.5	10.25
21		Ladopoulos Dimitrios	GRE	2100	3.0	0.0	17.0	6.00
22		Yepez Duran Julio Abrahan	VEN	1762	3.0	0.0	16.0	6.50
23		Altaher Tarek Ali	UAE	1883	3.0	0.0	16.0	6.00
24		Tuzhba Konstantin	RUS	1932	3.0	0.0	15.5	4.00
25		Mitrou Vasiliki	GRE	1707	2.5	0.0	19.0	6.25
26		Tserendorj Batsaikhan	USA	2074	2.5	0.0	17.5	5.25
27		Grapsa Georgia	GRE	1997	2.5	0.0	17.5	5.25
28		Kakushadze Ilia	GRE	2046	2.5	0.0	17.0	4.50
29		Shadykul Darkhan	KAZ	0	2.5	0.0	14.5	5.00
30	WGM	Strutinskaya Galina N	RUS	2316	2.0	0.0	18.5	5.50
31		Davaademberel Purevdorj	MGL	0	2.0	0.0	17.0	4.50
32		David Dorian-Ciprian	ROU	1721	2.0	0.0	16.5	3.50
		Kourtesis Dimos	GRE	1569	2.0	0.0	16.5	3.50
34		Stavropoulos Aris	GRE	0	2.0	0.0	15.5	4.00
35		Zygourakis Themistoklis	GRE	1616	2.0	0.0	15.0	3.00
36		Tepelidis Savvas	GRE	0	2.0	0.0	14.5	2.50
37		Tsakouridis Georgios	GRE	1425	1.0	0.0	16.5	1.50
38		Mohammadi Matin Neda	IRI	0	1.0	0.0	14.5	1.50
39		Mendez-Gasarjian Jacquelin	VEN	0	1.0	0.0	14.5	0.50
40		Mohammadi Matin Hossein	IRI	0	0.5	0.0	12.0	1.00
41		Hernandez Bermudez Ulises	VEN	2038	0.0	0.0	14.0	0.00
42	FM	Rios Parra Mauricio	COL	2297	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.00
	WCM	Al-Maghbali Shama	UAE	1599	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.00
		Al Dhaffari Salma	UAE	1573	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.00
		Al- Meghbali Ahmed	UAE	0	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.00
		Mahalati Rayeni Nahid	IRI	0	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.00

Annotation:
Tie Break1: Direct Encounter (The results of the players in the same point group)
Tie Break2: Buchholz Tie-Breaks (variabel with parameter)
Tie Break3: Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break variable

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championships: Round 8

5:10 p.m.

Been watching and listening to live coverage of R8.  The U.S. Championship is going to be fireworks tomorrow, for sure.  And for the chess femmes, are are results thus far:

Sabina Foisor - Viktorija Ni (...Rg8 41. Qxe6) 1 - 0
Iryna Zenyuk - Anna Zatonskih (39. Rxg2 Qxe1) 0 -1

As expected, Zatonskih took a full point from Zenyuk, and now must wait for the outcome of the Abrahamyan - Krush game to see where she stands going into Round 9!

Yet to be finished for the ladies:

Tatev Abrahamyan - Irina Krush (through move 49))
Camilla Baginskaite - Sarah Chiang (white through move 46)
Alena Kats - Anjelina Belakovskaia (white through move 43)

Stay tuned!  Something tells me my hair is going to go several shades of grey while I wait for the denoument of R8!

Updated 5:23 p.m.

Holy Hathor!  Update - Krush has defeated Abrahamyan.  Abrahamyan evidently resigned before making her 51st move.

Updated 6:11 p.m.

Camilla Baginskaite - Sarah Chiang (...Ka1 69. f6) 1 -0
Alena Kata 0 Anjelina Belakovskaia (...Kh8 68. f7) 1 -0

Updated 6:17 p.m.

Hola darlings!  Here are the official results for R8:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WGM Foisor, Sabina	2.5	2300	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	2262	1-0
2	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	5.5	2280	IM Krush, Irina	6.5	2470	0-1
3	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	3.0	2278	WFM Chiang, Sarah	1.5	2098	1-0
4	WFM Kats, Alena	2.0	2144	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.5	2263	1-0
5	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	4.0	2243	IM Zatonskih, Anna	5.5	2466	0-1

Here are the women's standings after R8:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	IM Krush, Irina	7.5	F	2470	2704	+1.43	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1
2	IM Zatonskih, Anna	6.5	F	2466	2508	+0.47	1	1	0	1	½	1	1	1
3	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	5.5	F	2280	2424	+1.53	1	1	½	1	½	1	½	0
4	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	4.0	F	2278	2257	-0.24	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	1
5	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	4.0	F	2243	2287	+0.45	1	0	1	0	½	½	1	0
6	WGM Foisor, Sabina	3.5	F	2300	2212	-0.99	0	0	0	1	1	½	0	1
7	WFM Kats, Alena	3.0	F	2144	2233	+0.77	0	½	½	½	0	½	0	1
8	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.5	F	2263	2146	-1.26	0	1	1	0	0	0	½	0
9	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	F	2262	2090	-1.81	½	½	0	0	1	0	0	0
10	WFM Chiang, Sarah	1.5	F	2098	2064	-0.35	0	0	0	0	0	1	½	0

And the pairings for the final round of regulation play tomorrow:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	6.5	2466	WGM Foisor, Sabina	3.5	2300
2	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.5	2263	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	4.0	2243
3	WFM Chiang, Sarah	1.5	2098	WFM Kats, Alena	3.0	2144
4	IM Krush, Irina	7.5	2470	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	4.0	2278
5	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	2262	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	5.5	2280

Krush needs only a draw against Baginskaite tomorrow to secure first place because she will have 8.0.  Baginskaite would have to defeat Krush  and Zatonskih would have to win her game against Sabine Foisor in order to force a play-off.  All of this gets too complicated for me!  I'm content to just wait and see what develops tomorrow. I will say this:  barring some unforeseen horrible collapse, I just do not see Krush losing her R9 game, and no offense intended against Camilla Baginskaite.

I will once again have both laptops going tomorrow: one tuned into the live coverage at USchesschamps.com and one where I can be doing other things.

Predictions:

Oh hell, I'm so lousy at this, but I'm going to do it anyway:

Zatonskih over Foisor
Belakovskaia draws with Zenyuk
Chiang draws with Kats
Krush over Baginskaite
Ni loses to Abrahamyan

2013 FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Geneva Rounds 7 and 8

Results of yesterday's matches:

Round 7 on 2013/05/10 at 14:00
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
4	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2298	0 - 1	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk	2491	12
5	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte	2522	0 - 1	IM	Bela Khotenashvili	2505	3
6	GM	Anna Muzychuk	2585	1 - 0	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva	2517	2
7	WGM	Olga Girya	2463	0 - 1	GM	Nana Dzagnidze	2545	1
8	GM	Kateryna Lagno	2548	0 - 1	GM	Yifan Hou	2617	11
9	GM	Anna Ushenina	2491	0 - 1	WGM	Wenjun Ju	2544	10

Results of today's matches:

Round 8 on 2013/05/11 at 14:00
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk	2491	1 - 0	WGM	Wenjun Ju	2544	10
11	GM	Yifan Hou	2617	0 - 1	GM	Anna Ushenina	2491	9
1	GM	Nana Dzagnidze	2545	0 - 1	GM	Kateryna Lagno	2548	8
2	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva	2517	1 - 0	WGM	Olga Girya	2463	7
3	IM	Bela Khotenashvili	2505	½ - ½	GM	Anna Muzychuk	2585	6
4	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2298	½ - ½	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte	2522	5

Holy Hathor!  Kosteniuk making a late move, winning her second game in a row!  Hou Yifan losing to Ushenina (?)!  Other than in events where primarily male players were participating, when has Hou ever lost 3 games in an event?  Lahno defeating Dzagnidze with the black pieces!  What's going on in Geneva?  More importantly, what's in the water - and can I get some of that here in Milwaukee?

Standings after Round 8:

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts	Res.	vict
1	3	IM	Bela Khotenashvili	2505	GEO	*	½		0	1		0	1	1	1	1		5½	½	5
2	6	GM	Anna Muzychuk	2585	SLO	½	*	½	1	½	½	1	½				1	5½	½	3
3	8	GM	Kateryna Lagno	2548	UKR		½	*		½	½	0	1	1		½	1	5	0	3
4	2	GM	Tatiana Kosintseva	2517	RUS	1	0		*			½	½	½	½	1	1	5	0	3
5	10	WGM	Wenjun Ju	2544	CHN	0	½	½		*	1			0	1	½	1	4½	1	3
6	9	GM	Anna Ushenina	2491	UKR		½	½		0	*	1		1	½	½	½	4½	0	2
7	11	GM	Yifan Hou	2617	CHN	1	0	1	½		0	*			0	1	½	4	0	3
8	1	GM	Nana Dzagnidze	2545	GEO	0	½	0	½				*	½	1	½	1	4	0	2
9	12	GM	Alexandra Kosteniuk	2491	RUS	0		0	½	1	0		½	*	1		½	3½	0	2
10	4	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2298	MGL	0			½	0	½	1	0	0	*	½		2½	½	1
11	5	GM	Viktorija Cmilyte	2522	LTU	0		½	0	½	½	0	½		½	*		2½	½	0
12	7	WGM	Olga Girya	2463	RUS		0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½			*	1½	0	0

2013 FIDE Women's Grand Prix Geneva: Round 8 Hou Yivan v. Anna Ushenina.

May 12th is a much needed rest day before the final two rounds. 

The only player left who has not suffered a loss thus far is Anna Muzychuk.  This is a gem of a tournament, to my way of thinking.  No one is running away with it (although, in the tradition of other fabulous Georgian chessplayers, Khotenashvili is looking more and more solid as the tournament goes on), and several "upsets."  Wish I could play a tenth as well, but darlings, I'm hopeless.  Last night I resigned a game before move 12 (with the black pieces) when I was checked with a knight on the back row and would lose a rook next move.  Hopeless.  I'm hopeless.