http://gameknot.com/ World chess news digest by GameKnot.com, where you can play chess online! en-us A deep exchange sacrifice secured the seventeen year old Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen a share of first prize at the first Fide Grand Prix chess tournament just concluded in Baku. Carlsen overcame Etienne Bacrot with skilful play to reach 8/13, level with two more improving chess players from the younger generation, Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan and Wang Yue of China. At world number five, Carlsen is already an established chess player but the leading trio finished ahead of seven of the world’s top twenty players. Carlsen vs. Bacrot; Position after 28.Bf2 28…Rxd3! 29.Qxd3 Nd5 30.Re1 Qa4 (The point, c4 falls and the bishop on a6 becomes very powerful. All the play is on the queenside where the knights dominate and White's rooks are not doing very much) ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9402;ext=1 Thu, 08 May 2008 07:52:02 GMT Battle intensified in the penultimate round of the Fide Chess Grand Prix in Baku with five decisive game and two very hard fought draws. There was another defeat for Michael Adams at the hands of the 17 year old Magnus Carlsen ranked world number 5. It was a most impressive game by Carlsen who calmly gave up rook for bishop in a queenless middlegame, won back the chess material and then exploited the advantage of the bishop pair in the endgame. Going into the final round the relatively unknown Azerbaijani Vugar Gashimov shares the lead with Wang Yue of China. Gashimov defeated Alexander Grischuk, nicknamed ‘The Gambler’ for his prowess at Poker and his risky style of chess play. Choosing this dangerous line against the Ruy Lopez was one risk too many. V Gashimov – A Grischuk FIDE GP (12) Baku ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9398;ext=1 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:52:01 GMT There were two terrible blunders in the twelth round of the Fide Grand Prix in Baku as Etienne Bacrot hung his queen and Shakriyar Mamedyarov and Michael Adams had a moment of mutual chess blindness. Mamedyarov vs. Adams; Position after 34.Rh8; The game had been meandering to a draw even if it was Adams who had to be more accurate when Mamedyarov, in the position above blundered. 34…f4?? (34...h3 35.gxh3 gxh3 36.Rxh3 Ke4 37.Rh7 f4 and with his king supporting the passed pawn Black is fine) 35.Rh5+?? (I am sure readers must be wondering why not 34.Rxh4 and if 34…f3 36.gxf3 gxf3 37.Rh5+ Ke4 38.Rxd5 Kxd5 it seems both chess players overlooked Kd3 wins for White) 35...Ke4 (No everything is back on track) 36.Rxh4 Rg5 37.Kd2 g3 38.Ke2 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9396;ext=1 Tue, 06 May 2008 15:52:01 GMT Sergey Tiviakov emerged from the pack with a last round victory and took the title of European Individual Chess Champion at the expense of former chess champion Emil Sutovsky in Plovdiv Bulgaria. Sutovsky had played out five peaceful draws in succession but came up against an opponent who was in supreme form with the white pieces. Tiviakov employed his favourite 2.c3 against the Sicilian Defence, won a pawn and steadily converted his advantage to finish ahead of the field on 8.5/11. The winner scored 5.5/6 with white and took the 15,000 Euro (£12,000) first prize. The final day at Plovdiv sees speed chess tie breakers for the players on 7.5 to decide who gains entry to next year’s World Cup knockout. Peter Wells and Gawain Jones finished on 5.5 and 6 respectively. Here ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9392;ext=1 Mon, 05 May 2008 15:52:02 GMT The lure of qualifying places in the lucrative 2009 World Cup only served to encourage the leaders to protect their scores at the European Individual Chess Championship taking place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Emil Sutovsky of Israel and Pavel Tregubov of Russia who are both former winners of the chess event drew with each other in round 8 and share the lead on 7/9 with five other chess players. Peter Wells and Gawain Jones both have 5/9 and excellent rating performances as they have faced strong opposition. Wells defeated GM Alexander Huzman of Israel in the game below but then spoilt a good position against Tomas Markowski of Poland in the ninth round and lost. A Huzman – P Wells; IX EICC (8) Plovdiv; Queen’s Gambit; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 (The sharp Vienna Variation, a Wells speciality) ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9383;ext=1 Sun, 04 May 2008 15:52:02 GMT Fide's Grand Prix circuit, six chess tournaments spread over 19 months, is a new project to encourage more host nations. Russia's Alex Grischuk led after nine rounds of the launch event at Baku, which is live on the internet today. Shak Mamedyarov is a top ten chess grandmaster and playing in his home city. The Azeri came up with a home-brewed plan (7 Re1! then 12 Nd3! with ideas of Nf4-h5 in some lines) so Black was always on the defensive. The pressure told with 28...Qb6? (Be7 is only slightly worse) and then Magnus Carlsen missed the tactic 31 Bxa5! At the end White wins nicely after Kh7 38 Qxa8 Rxa8 39 Rf7 Rd8 40 Rxd7 Rxd7 41 Nxf8+. S Mamedyarov v M Carlsen 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 g3 Bb7 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9376;ext=1 Sat, 03 May 2008 15:52:02 GMT Former chess champion Emil Sutovsky of Israel leads the European Individual Chess Championship on tie break after seven rounds. Sutovsky has 6/7 level with Pavel Tregubov of Russia and Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia the winner of the Wijk aan Zee B Group. Gawain Jones has 4/7 and five of his opponents have been rated around 2600. Peter Wells also has 4/7. The chess players have the same high rating but Black’s eccentric interpretation of the Queen’s Indian lands him trouble very quickly. 14…Bf8 was necessary. M Roiz (2659) – B Savchenko (2569); IX EICC (7) Plovdiv; Queen’s Indian ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9368;ext=1 Thu, 01 May 2008 15:52:01 GMT There was only one decisive game in the fifth round of the FIDE/Global Chess Grand Prix at Baku as Wang Yue outplayed the former chess prodigy Sergei Karjakin from a completely level endgame. I suspect the game would have ended much earlier in a draw were it not for the rule forbidding draw offers that is in force. Wang shares the lead with Alexander Grischuk who drew with Michael Adams. Adams held the draw with black quite comfortably and after many exchanges there was no play left and the chess players were allowed to conclude. In the Queen's Indian the battle often revolves around the e4 square. Black seeks to prevent White from advancing a third pawn in the centre before playing either c7-c5, d7-d5 or Nf6-e4 and f7-f5. Mamedyarov avoids the normal move ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9358;ext=1 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:52:01 GMT Emil Sutovsky, a former winner of the chess event was one of only three chess players on maximum points after four rounds of the 2008 European Individual Chess Championship being contested at Plovdiv. Sutovsky won a fine game in round one which we saw on Friday where his opponent had the temerity to grab four pawns in the opening. Here is his round three effort where Black is similarly punished for his greed. E Sutovsky (2630) – I Miladinovic (2579); IX EICC Plovdiv (3); Caro Kann Advance. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c4 (Black's first three moves get him no nearer to castling kingside so Sutovsky opens up the game) 5...Bg4 (If 5...cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxe5 7.cxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.Bf4 and with Ndb5 or Bb5+ and 0–0 to follow White has a dangerous lead in development) ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9353;ext=1 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:52:02 GMT Michael Adams scored his second win at the Grand Prix chess tournament in Baku, defeating the Czech GM David Navara to reach 2.5/4. The opening went wrong for Adams but a far sighted pawn sacrifice enabled the England number one to create decisive threats with two rooks and a knight against two rooks and a bishop. M Adams – D Navara; FIDE GP Baku (4); French Tarrasch. [...] Peter Wells has drawn with three highly rated chess GMs rated around 2600 after winning his first round game the European Individual Chess Championship at Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Gawain Jones is on 50%. Francisco Vallejo scored a fine match victory over Alexey Shirov at Dos Hermanas, defeating him in two tactical battles. White’s strategy in this line of the Advance Caro Kann is a swift pawn advance on ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9348;ext=1 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:52:02 GMT Long technical endgames were the order of the day in the third round of the Grand Prix chess tournament at Baku as three players successfully exploited the advantage of an extra pawn. When all the remaining pawns are on the same side of the board the game will often be drawn but it was not the case this time. Michael Adams lost a queen and pawn endgame against Sergey Karjakin. Alexander Grischuk took the lead, reaching 2.5/3 by overcoming David Navara with rook, knight and three pawns against rook, bishop and two pawns. English GMs Gawain Jones and Peter Wells both won their first round games and then drew with highly rated opponents in the second round of the European Individual Chess Championship underway at Plovdiv in Bulgaria. The 322 chess player field includes ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9347;ext=1 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT Michael Adams has made a great start to the Grand Prix chess tournament at Baku. In round one Adams drew solidly as Black against Teimour Radjabov whose Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation achieved no advantage. Adams even got the edge but had to accede to perpetual check in a queen and pawn endgame. In round two Adams defeated Ivan Cheparinov, the Grandmaster whose disgraceful behaviour led him to be defaulted in his game at Wijk aan Zee against Nigel Short when he refused to shake hands. The game was replayed and Short won, Adams made it an English double over the Bulgarian. Adams shares the lead with Gata Kamsky who finished this round one game nicely. Kamsky vs. Inarkiev. Position after 42...Kh6 43.Rb6? (A blunder, presumably White missed Black’s lovely ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9346;ext=1 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT The new FIDE/Global Chess Grad Prix is underway with England number one Michael Adams participating at the first event, a 14 player all play all in Baku. The Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen is the top seed. The full line up is 1. Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2765; 2. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Azerbaijan, 2752; 3. Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijan, 2751; 4. Peter Svidler, Russia, 2746; 5. Sergey Karjakin, Ukraine, 2732; 6. Michael Adams, England, 2729; 7. Gata Kamsky, USA, 2726; 8. Alexander Grischu, Russia, 2716; 9. Etienne Bacrot, France, 2705; 10. Ivan Cheparinov, Bulgaria, 2696; 11. Wang Yue, China, 2689; 12. Ernesto Inarkiev, Russia, 2684; 13. Vugar Gashimov, Azerbaijan, 2679; 14. David Navara, Czech Republic, 2672. Grand Prix chess tournaments run to the end of 2009 and ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9335;ext=1 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT More kids are coming. Last week there were three notable successes for young chess players around the world. In Dubai, 14-year-old Wesley So of the Philippines won a very strong Open chess tournament. So is one of the youngest chess players ever to be a GM and scored 7/9 to finish level with GMs Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran and Li Chao of China but the youngster had the superior tie break and was awarded the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup. Salem Abdulrahman Saleh of the UAE, the Asian under-14 champion who has yet to qualify for the IM title looks like he may not need to as he secured his first GM norm with a round to spare. Twenty nine GMs and twenty one IMs competed. In Ukraine 11 year old Ilya Nyzhnyk, won ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9329;ext=1 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT The field for the 2008 Staunton Memorial has been announced and will be the strongest yet with eleven of the twelve chess players being holders of the Grandmaster title. The twelfth player, IM Bob Wade may well be setting a world record. At the age of 87 he is thought to be the oldest chess player ever to be pitted against an all Grandmaster field. Wade has recently competed with success in both senior and Open chess events. He was for many years a researcher for Bobby Fischer and assisted the American in his preparation for the ‘Match of the Century’ against Boris Spassky in 1972. Wade is hugely out-rated but will take heart from the performance of Glenn Flear at the GLC tournament in 1986 when as the lowest rated chess player in a world class field Flear pulled off ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9322;ext=1 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT I reported last week on the Russian team chess championship in Dagomys near Sochi where the top seeds Ural Ekaterinburg were in the driving seat. Ural, the only chess team which averaged over 2700(!), duly confirmed their victory last weekend, guaranteeing the win with a round to spare with the help of that blast from the past, the chess match in which all six games end in draws early on. These 'package deals' used to be very common in the latter stages of Olympiads and other international team events and certainly kept the team captains happy and busy. I'm not entirely sure of their formal status nowadays but nobody was going to object and indeed, following the three-all draw with Vassily Ivanchuk's team TPS Saransk on Saturday, they repeated this against ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9308;ext=1 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:52:01 GMT Chess was popular in Italy by the 16th century, and Italian chess players were regarded as the best in the world. But Ruy Lopez, a Spanish priest, defeated them on his visit to Rome on ecclesiastical business connected with the election of Pope Pius IV in 1560. A year later, his book, Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez, consisted of 95 instructive chapters. He made the first great contribution to chess ethics by advising us to place the board with the sun shining in our opponent's eyes. The opening, named after Ruy Lopez, (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5) is today a dreaded weapon in White's arsenal. Last year, a long-lost manuscript with chess diagrams possibly drawn by Leonardo da Vinci was discovered among thousands of volumes in a private ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9299;ext=1 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:52:01 GMT The former world chess champion Piotr Murdzia of Poland outperformed the finest line up of British solvers ever assembled at the Final of the 2007-2008 Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship held at Oakham School on 16th February. Murdzia led throughout and won by a big margin. Thirty three solvers took part, including for the first time, all six titled British solvers. The British title was expected to be a duel between the defending champion and reigning World Champion John Nunn and Jonathan Mestel, himself a former World Chess Champion. Nunn had a disastrous second round, dropping 6 of the 10 points on the mates in 3, which left him in 7th place overall, 6 points behind Mestel. A determined fight back fell just short and Mestel took the title by half ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9298;ext=1 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:52:02 GMT Last week I wondered how Tomsk 400, a chess team composed almost exclusively of world class players could be performing so badly at the Russian Team Chess Championships recently concluded at Dagomys in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The chess tournament was won by Ural of Ekaterinburg. It has emerged that Tomsk, who are former European Team champions were fined 1000 roubles by the chess tournament organisers for what was described as a “breach of sporting discipline”. In Soviet times there were coded phrases for a variety of transgressions and this particular one often referred to drunkenness which is a rather compelling explanation as the fine was levied the morning after the rest day. What’s more, as reported last week, Tomsk 400 scored just a half point out ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9295;ext=1 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT Garry Kasparov turned 45 on Sunday. At the end of March the 13th world chess champion returned to the board to give two simultaneous displays, one at Pasching in Austria and another simul at Hluboka, Czech Republic. The chess games have not come to light bar a couple of fragments. Here Kasparov finishes handily after the opponent errs in a difficult, but possibly not lost position. In the position below Kasparov’s bishop is far superior to his opponent’s and he has a space advantage, a better king and there is a weakness on b5. However, the blocked nature of the position makes it hard for the white king to penetrate and Black always has a protected passed pawn on g6 to rely on if play should reach a king and pawn endgame. 1…Be8? (Black had to sit tight with 1...Kh8 2.Kf4 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9281;ext=1 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:52:02 GMT A novelty in the chess opening was sufficient to secure the draw Michael Adams needed to ensure outright first place at the Ruy Lopez Masters chess tournament held at Mirida in Spain. Adams held last year’s tournament winner Gabriel Sargissian to a draw by improving on a previous game played by Sargissian’s fellow Armenian Levon Aronian in the Queen’s Indian Defence. The last round draw with black took Adams to 5.5/7 and a winning margin of a full point. The England number one was the highest rated chess player in the field but his victory was particularly special as he scored 3/3 in games with the Ruy Lopez. 1. Adams 2726; 2. Zhang Peng. 2640; 3. Sargissian 2676; 4. Koneru 2612; 5. Caruana 2598; 6. Granda Zuniga 2588; 7. Hou Yifan 2527; 8. Perez Cand. 2537; Here is ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9269;ext=1 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT A victory over the teenage chess prodigy and Italian champion Fabiano Caruana enabled Michael Adams to secure at least a share of first place with a round to spare at the 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters chess tournament at Mirida in Spain. The England number one reached the impressive score of 5/6, a point clear of last year’s winner Gabriel Sargissian. Another case of pin and win for Adams who put the teenage Hou Yifan in a deadly pin in a game given on Friday. Adams uses the Classical Defence to the Ruy Lopez and gradually equalises even though it looks like White’s pin on the e file is going to win material at any moment. M Perez Candelario – M Adams; 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters (5) Mirida; Ruy Lopez ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9262;ext=1 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT The travails of former European Club champions Tomsk 400 continued in the seventh round of the Russian Team Chess Championships taking place at Dagomys in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. A calamitous chess tournament for the Siberian club reached its nadir in the seventh round when they subsided 0.5-5.5 to TLC Saransk. I cannot recall such a highly rated group of chess players, five of the six are in the world’s top 100, garnering just half a point between them in one match. Of course Saransk are a very strong team, but this was still quite an upset. Ural of Yekaterinburg remain in the lead but their advantage was reduced to one match point when they were held to a draw by Shatar-Metropole, a much lower-rated team. V Yemelin – V Popov; Russian Team Ch (4) Dagomys; Petroff ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9255;ext=1 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT Fide's new list of the top 100 English chess players shows some significant changes behind the world ranked pair Michael Adams and Nigel Short. The England No 3, Luke McShane, now plays little but retains his strength, drawing with the world No1, Vishy Anand, in this season's Bundesliga. The big mover is our youngest chess grandmaster David Howell, 17, who has advanced to fifth place, the same spot as his Norwegian contemporary Magnus Carlsen has reached on the world list. Howell has regained the edge in his race with England's other young hope, GM Gawain Jones, who has dropped to ninth. It is an ageing list, with only seven of the top 100 born after 1985. Translated, this means that the Fischer babes of a quarter of a century ago, who took England to No 2 behind ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9249;ext=1 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:52:02 GMT Nigel Short experienced serious difficulties with the younger female chess players at Wijk aan Zee and he may well have won the B group had he not scored just 0.5/2 against the pair of Humpy Koneru from India and the Chinese chess prodigy Hou Yifan. However Michael Adams has defeated both of them and these victories have given him the lead of the Ruy Lopez chess tournament at Merida in Spain. Adams has 2.5/3 with last year’s runaway victor Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia in second place. H Koneru – J Granda Zuniga; 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters (3) Merida; Nimzo-Indian; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9244;ext=1 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT A defeat for Ural of Yekaterinburg in the sixth round did not deprive them of the leading position at the Russian Team Championships taking place at Dagomys in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Moscow 64 defeated the top seeds by the narrowest of margins thanks to an impressive victory for Boris Gelfand over Alexey Shirov on top board. On board five there was a replay of the 1999 FIDE Championship final at Las Vegas when Alexander Khalifman defeated Vladimir Akopian. On this occasion the game ended in a draw. Moscow 64 3.5-2.5 Ural: Gelfand 1-0 Shirov; Harikrishna draw Kamsky; Wang Hao 1-0 Grischuk; Bareev 0-1 Malakhov; Khalifman draw Akopian; Rodshtein draw Motylev. Gelfand was badly beaten in the main lines of the Gruenfeld Defence by Shirov last ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9228;ext=1 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:52:01 GMT The Russian Team Championships are being contested at what is now their traditional home of Dagomys in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. After five rounds, Ural of Yekaterinburg who boast a chess squad that would be a match for virtually any national chess team are the leaders with maximum points. Ural have the American world title contender Gata Kamsky on board three, their full squad is Teimour Radjabov, Alexey Shirov, Gata Kamsky, Alexander Grischuk, Alexander Malakhov, Vladimir Akopian, Alexey Dreev and Alexander Motylev. It is quite a luxury to have a former Russian chess champion on bottom board. Not for the first time, the old enemies Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi are playing on the same team. Other leading chess players include Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler and ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9217;ext=1 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:52:01 GMT Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik gave a clock simultaneous display at Enschede in Holland yesterday to showcase a new transmission system for chess tournaments that carries live video and commentary in tandem with a board display. Kramnik took on the French WGM Marie Sebag and the Dutch GM Jan Werle, defeating them both with the white pieces. This was quite a feat but hardly compares with Garry Kasparov’s tours de force when he defeated the national chess teams of Argentina, Germany, Czech Republic and most memorably Israel, over four boards. Black’s set up with Ra7 leaves him vulnerable if he cannot organise c7-c5 and Kramnik exploits the offside queen and rook. V Kramnik – J Werle; DGT Clock Simul Enschede 90' + 30"; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9200;ext=1 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:52:01 GMT Vishy Anand, the world chess champion, is the clear No1 in Fide's latest rankings but the big mover among the elite is Magnus Carlsen. The 17-year-old Norwegian is up to fifth place and will surely soon become the youngest to top the list. The leaders are Anand 2803, Vlad Kramnik 2788, Alex Morozevich 2774, Veselin Topalov 2767, Carlsen 2765 and Lev Aronian 2763. Aronian is not out of it. The Armenian has just won in Nice by a 2.5pt margin, ahead of the quintet above him in the rankings. His win against Topalov, a high-class chess game for a short time limit, showed sophisticated use of the bishop pair. The fashionable 7 g4 soon had the BK in trouble since 13...axb5 14 Bb4! Rg8 15 Bxb5 g6 16 Nxh6 Rh8 17 Rc1! favours White. If Black swaps queens by 18...Qxe5 19 dxe5 Nfd7 20 Bc3 Nc6 ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9177;ext=1 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:52:02 GMT Turkey is preparing to host the Women’s World Chess Championship after an approach by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to Turkish Minister of State Murat Basesgioglu. Following the collapse of the original event, due to be hosted by Argentina, Iran offered to host the chess tournament but only on condition that all the chess players wore a headscarf. The disturbing prospect of every chess player, irrespective of background being forced to cover their heads, had a lot of FIDE officials running for cover themselves. The Iranians even demanded that men not be allowed into the playing arena. The religious issues submerged the other consequences of a chess tournament in Iran which would have been the banning of the Israeli chess teams and the extreme unlikelihood of the USA and many ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=9170;ext=1 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:52:02 GMT