Radjabov wins ACP World Rapid Cup in Odessa

Without doubt the knockout rapid chess format in this ACP tournament brought some heart-stopping action. In the end it was GM Teimour Radjabov, 20 years old and from Baku, Azerbaijan, who took the cup, beating Alexander Grischuk in the final. Meanwhile the Chairman of the sponsoring Pivdenny Bank was elected new President of the ACP. Big illustrated report by Misha Savinov.

Quarterfinals

Before the quarterfinal day we had a brief discussion at the press center on who could be considered the favorite. This is obviously a matter of opinion, as all the remaining players had the skill and had experienced the luck required to succeed. Most local observers were inclined towards Ivanchuk, whi

le I voted for the winner of Grischuk-Svidler match. This is how narrow our thinking is – I guess people from Baku would elect Radjabov, and Israelis prefer Gelfand.

Anyway, after the quarterfinals the hopes of Ukrainians were pinned on the youngest participant of this World Cup, Sergey Karjakin. The promising 17-year-old eliminated Gelfand, the oldest player of those survived the first couple of days. In blitz, naturally – for longer games the Petroff is really tough to beat.

Ivanchuk, the best-loved player of the Odessa public (okay, maybe the second – after Karpov) was knocked out by Radjabov. Teimour is as anxious as ever; he looks very motivated, and it must be really uncomfortable to sit in front of his drilling eyes. He is definitely a tough cookie, and Ivanchuk, dressed in Real Madrid uniform, could sense it today. The public saw everything: long-range fights in the first two games; blunder exchange in the blitz tie-break; wild server-style piece-dropping in the Armageddon, which ended in Ivanchuk losing on time after regaining 57 seconds of the initial minute handicap...

Semifinals and final

Please excurse briefness of my notes: it is about one a.m. in Odessa, and it feels weird to be working when players and colleagues around me are celebrating.

The first semifinal, Radjabov-Jakovenko, ended with a perfect score. It is kind of strange, because before the match such respectable people as Ivanchuk predicted even chances (presuming the encounter would go on until the Armageddon). However, Jakovenko was not in a playing mood and did not put up enough resistance. Highly motivated Radjabov advanced to the final, and at the press-conference bombarded general media journalists with lengthy chess lines. He is definitely more at home discussing chess than anything else.

Someone spilled gasoline on board before the second semifinal. Don’t give matches to these kids! Karjakin and Grischuk could have caused many heart attacks tonight – hopefully their true supporters were not watching the games live. Grischuk came back twice from behind and won the Armageddon in nice attacking style.

DGT presents: new clocks, technology – and Vladimir Kramnik

World première at opening of new office DGT

On Wednesday 9 January we celebrate the opening of the new multifunctional facility of DGT on the Hengelosestraat 66 in Enschede. DGT stands for Digital Game Technology; the company is producer of digital chess clocks and electronic chess boards which are sold all over the world. At the opening the municipal authorities of Enschede are represented by Mr Roelof Bleker, alderman of urban development and culture.

World première
The biggest surprise during the opening will be the world première of Foidos; a new system to follow chess games, developed by Chess Dimension, a joint venture of DGT and Share Dimension. With Foidos chess lovers can watch live chess game coverage on the internet from multiple angles. One can simultaneously follow the game on the board, walk through the moves, and access video streams of the players from several angles at the same time. Concurrently he can hear the comment of a Grand master on the game.

World champion Kramnik
Special guest of honour at the opening is Mr Vladimir Kramnik. He is the 14th world champion in chess and is available for the press. Kramnik became world champion in a match against Kasparov in the year 2000. He defended his title several times but had to give it up during the World Championship tournament in Mexico in 2007. Kramnik is number 1 on the latest rating list of the Fide (World chess federation) with 2799 rating points, as many as Anand against whom he will play a match for the title in October 2008.

New developments
At the upcoming International Toy Fair in Nürnberg DGT will present a new chess box under the motto : “The new way to play” this box holds a brilliant foldable chess clock.

Multipurpose building
In the new building the Chess Lab is situated on the ground floor. Several test set-ups have been placed here. You can also find a vast international chess library and a permanent exhibition of chess clocks that have been categorised. In a few months a chess training and education centre will be started. The warehouse and forwarding are also located on the ground floor. The offices are positioned on the first floor as is the multifunctional room where in the near future top chess players can play their games closely followed by the public without being bothered.

Simul
Some of the guests can play a chess game during the opening party. Grand master Tea Lanchava, one of the strongest lady chess players of our country, will play a simul against them in the Chess Lab. In this demonstration room the games are played on electronic chess boards so that they can be followed “live” via the internet site www.dgtprojects.com/opening/tfd.htm from 17.30 hours on.

Art
At the opening there is an exhibition of paintings from Bianca Leusink. She is a former employee of DGT and now a professional artist. She has developed her own style, as a result of which her colourful modern artwork and paintings are very recognizable.

History
DGT was founded by Ben Bulsink, Albert Vasse and Paul Arentz in 1992. They started with the production of digital chess clocks, which got official approval of the World Chess Federation FIDE. It proved to be a revolutionary step in the world of chess. Initially they worked from home. After several smaller locations the company moved to a 400m2 office at Hengelosestraat 298 in Enschede. The assortment rapidly extended with digital chess-boards, accessories and software. In 2007 the office became too small and DGT had to look for a new suitable location that was found at Hengelosestraat 66, at walking distance of the central bus and railway station.

Worldwide
DGT, based in Enschede The Netherlands has more than 300 agents worldwide. At nearly all chess tournaments in the world, from Mexico to Australia DGT clocks keep track of game time. Since 1994 the assortment has been considerably extended, and now consists of 4 digital clock models, complete chess boxes, digital chess boards, tournament software, chess sets and accessories.

DGT– Digital Game Technology
Hengelosestraat 66
7514 AJ Enschede, Holland
Phone: +31(0)53-4305195
E-mail: info@dgtprojects.com

Cheboygan hosts invitational chess tourney Saturday

CHEBOYGAN - Chess players will have the chance to put their skills to the test on Saturday in the Cheboygan Area High School cafeteria during the ninth annual Cheboygan Invitational Chess Tournament.

The invitational will run from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with each participant guaranteed to play in at least four games. There will be 16 prizes spread over four competition categories.

“This tournament is the primary fund-raiser for the Cheboygan High School chess team,” said Jess Miller, tournament organizer and CHS chess coach. “This raises the money that allows us to participate in the state tournament each year.”

The invitational tournament offers an opportunity to chess players of all ages by using age-based divisions including, adult, high school, middle school and upper elementary.

Miller said he expects another good turnout this year - as long and the weather cooperates.

“We usually have a good number of participants and I think that will be that case again this year,” he noted. “Our number of participants usually falls between 50 and 80, and I think that's pretty good considering the weather this time of year.”

To get the word out about the invitational, Miller said he put flyers up in several Northern Michigan towns and issued invites to many known chess players.

For the past 10 years the CHS chess team has been traveling downstate to participate in the state tourney and for six of those years they have returned with a trophy, said Miller.

Miller also emphasized the value of chess even when players are away from the chess board.

“This game really helps kids with their decision making and forces them to evaluate the consequences of their decisions,” he explained.

Registration is $12 until today, and will be $15 at the door, which includes their lunch.

For more information contact Jess Miller at 231-238-4492.

Mangalore student wins silver medal in Asian School Chess Championship

Mangalore Jan 9: Nihal Manjunath student of Derik's Chess School has won the Silver medal in the Under 13 category in the Asian School Chess Championship organised by The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka from 3rd to 9th January 2008 at Kandy. Nihal Manjunath scored 6.5 points in 9 rounds and was placed Runner Up.

Nihal Manjunath was accompanied by his traner Deric Pinto at Kandy.

Nihal Manjunath is studying in 8th standard in Lourdes Central School, Mangalore and is son of Dr. Manjunath Shetty and Dr.Veena Manjunath.

It can be recalled that DCS students Ankitha R and Adith Jagadish had taken part in the Asian School Chess Championship in 2006 at Singapore and won laurels for India.

Taking on chess champs in India

The shrewd moves and cool head of an eight-year-old Elstree boy have earned him a medal at an international chess championship in India.

Ravi Haria, of Deacons Hill Road, came home with a bronze medal after competing as part of the England squad sent by the English Chess Federation to compete in the Commonwealth Chess Championship in New Delhi.

The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School pupil started playing chess at the age of six when he was attending Lionsdale School in Barnet.

Ravi, who competed in December, said: "The other children were really good. We had to play chess every day and for two days we played two rounds, some of which were four hours long and we got really tired."

Ravi is a regular member of Barnet Knights Chess Club, at the Finchley and Borehamwood Chess Club.