Arkadij Naiditsch – Zahar Efimenko chess match
Mukachevo, Ukraine, 12-18.08.2010

Arkadij Naiditsch and Zahar Efimenko will play a chess match 12-18.08.2010 in Mukachevo, Ukraine. The match will consist of six classical games. This is the same format that was used for the previous match of Efimenko against Short.

The opening will take place on the 11th of August in the Transcarpathian Regional State Russian Drama Theatre. The match will be accompanied by Open, Rapid, Blitz, children’s Open, a session of simultaneous games tournaments. One of the main events will be the Transkarpathian Cup 2010 (10-18 August 2010), more details at the official site.

Arkadij Naiditsch

Arkadij Naiditsch (born 25 October 1985 in Latvia) was awarded his GM title in April 2001. In 2002, he drew an eight-game match with former Candidates’ finalist Jan Timman in Dortmund.Naiditsch was clear winner of the Dortmund Sparkassen 2005 Tournament, ahead of higher-rated and well-known players such as Loek Van Wely, Veselin Topalov, Peter Svidler, Vladimir Kramnik, Michael Adams, and Peter Leko. In 2007, he also won the German national championship based in Ghert. The same year he became champion with Beograd Beopublikum in Serbia. In 2009 he won Montreal International Chess Tournament. In 2010 he finished among the first positions of the Corus B chess tournament.

Zahar Efimenko

Zahar Efimenko, born July 3, 1985, is grandmaster since 2002. In 1999 Efimenko won in the U-14 World Youth Chess Championship in Oropesa del Mar, Spain. In the same year he was a member of the Ukrainian national youth team, which won the U-16 Chess Olympiad in Artek, Ukraine. Efimenko has won several chess tournaments since then, among them the 2001 Stork Young Masters in Hengelo, Netherlands. He became champion of Ukraine in 2006. In 2007, he tied for 1st-6th with Vitali Golod, Mateusz Bartel, Yuri Yakovich, Michael Roiz and Mikhail Kobalia in the 16th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International tournament. In May 2010, he tied for 1st-2nd with Victor Bologan in the 40th Bosna International tournament in Sarajevo.

Official site: http://www.chess32x64.org/

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

WINDHOEK – The 3rd Bank Windhoek Namibia National Junior Chess Championship, hosted under the auspices of the Namibia Chess Federation, was held from 23 to 25 July 2010, at David Bezuidenhout High School in Windhoek.

Eleven-year-old Nicola Tjaronda and 15-year-old Julian Isaak took top honours in the respective male and female categories.

“The turnout for the Junior Chess Championship is an indication that the sport, which engages and sharpens cognitive skills, is becoming popular in schools and that youth are developing an interest in it.

“Bank Windhoek is proud to support this sport that develops the improvement of scholars and their cognitive skills, at the same time giving them an activity that keeps them entertained and busy,” said Riaan van Rooyen, Head of Corporate Communication and Social Investment at Bank Windhoek.

“Chess interest is growing at an exciting rate. We are seeing more and more scholars taking it as a sport and they are so serious that they sacrifice whole weekends to partake in the tournaments.

“This is of course with the support of their parents that we are thankful to. We are also grateful for Bank Windhoek that really is helping the National Chess Federation to make this a reality. Without them we would not have made it this far,” added Max Nitzborn, president of the Namibia Chess Federation.

The annual Bank Windhoek Namibia National Junior Chess Championship saw invited players under the age of 20 competing.

Nicola Tjaronda, who beat a university student along the way, began playing chess two years ago and is described by Nitzborn as a natural talent, while Isaak has been playing for the past four years.

The rest of the results of the Bank Windhoek Namibia National Junior Chess Championship reads as follows:

Females:

Second was Lischen Mentile, followed by Dolly Tuaandi in third place.

Males: Hange Tjingaete was second and Dantago Boois third.

The ultimate purpose of hosting this particular tournament is to determine the Namibian National Junior Chess Champion for 2010, to promote chess as an intellectual, educational and recreational sporting outlet for youth and the broader Namibian population, and above all, to improve the standard of junior chess in Namibia.

http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=12223

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

International Grand master (IGM) Le Quang Liem needs an annual fund of US$100,000 to train abroad, the Viet Nam Chess Federation said.

Liem, who finished second at the Sparkassen Chess Tournament in Dortmund, Germany, last week, usually plays just 10 international tournaments a year – an IGM typically plays three times that number.

The federation said it had an annual budget of just $70,000 to cover the expenses of national chess players training abroad.

The HCM City-born chess player, who is ranked 55th in the world, would be able to improve his Elo rating of 2681 by taking part in more international competitions, the federation said.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Welsh rock survivors Manic Street Preachers have recruited Michael Sheen to star in their new video.

After more than two decades together, Manic Street Preachers still have a desire to prove themselves. Confirming details of their new album ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ the band aim to reclaim the stadiums.

Following on from last year’s emotional ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’ the album is a return to their rock roots. Upcoming single ‘(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love’ is set to have an unusual video, starring Michael Sheen.

Best known for portraying Brian Clough in ‘The Damned United’ the actor has also taken on parts in ‘The Queen’ and new sitcom ’30 Rock’.

Now Michael Sheen is set to work with Manic Street Preachers. The actor is due to play Russian chess icon Gary Kasparov the upcoming video, inspired by a classic match between two Grandmasters.

“It looks like Michael Sheen is gonna be in the video, which we’re really thrilled about,” Nicky Wire told the NME. “We’ve tried to recreate the classic ’70s chess match between Kasparov and (Bobby) Fischer. That’s the kind of vibe behind it. It’s real ’70s Russia – just that idea of ‘it’s not war, just the end of love’, I think a chess game really fits that.”

Continuing, the bass player explained that the video would tackle Cold War politics. “It’s a really serious intellectual game but, you know, it’s not World War Three. Although the cold war chess games were kind of like wars played out on a chess board. Me and James (Dean Bradfield) have come up with the idea for it.”

Meanwhile, tickets are still up for grabs at a special one off London show. Manic Street Preachers are set to perform in London later this summer, with the audience comprising just 100 competition winners.

If you miss out, the Welsh trio have confirmed details of a lengthy British arena tour this winter.

Source: http://www.clashmusic.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Standings after 5 rounds:

Official website: http://ajedrezsanjuan.blogspot.es/
Results page: http://chess-results.com/tnr34216.aspx

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

30th of July 12 top-grandmasters will start the struggle in the Fifth FIDE Women Grand Prix series tournament in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The average rating of the competition is 2487 points.

All participants are very strong. The top-rated player of the tournament is the second-rated player in the World – Humpy Koneru from India. Among the participants – four former Women World Champions: Maia Chiburdanidze, Zhu Chen, Antoaneta Stefanova and Xu Yuhua.

Summarizing the results of the four previous stages, the leader of Women Grand Prix series is Nana Dzagnidze from Georgia. She scored 390 points and she has one more stage to play – in Santiago, Chile.

The second place is occupied by Chinese Hou Yifan (320 points), the third – by Russian Tatiana Kosintseva (290 points). They both have their last chance to gain the Grand Prix series victory in Ulaanbaatar.

The winner of the Grand Prix series will play in 2011 in the Candidate event of the World Championship Cycle.

The cumulative score is based on best three results for each player.

http://ulaanbaatar2010.fide.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

4-7. Zach Cancio 3 / 5
4-7. Paul Michel Truong 3 / 5
4-7. Angelito Abella 3 / 5
4-7. Danie Carson 3 / 5

8-10. Angie Abderhalden 2
8-10. Tim Carson 2
8-10. Kumari Nallakumar 2

11. Martha Underwood
12. David Whatley

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar