[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Time for another update: Aagaard British Champ, Carlsen closing, Caruana, Korchnoi leading

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Time for another update: Aagaard British Champ, Carlsen closing, Caruana, Korchnoi leading
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1186808031.shtml


   The headline just about says it all, but we'll fill in the details.
   First, the [1]British Championship. As mentioned in the last [2]update
   post, IM Jacob Aagaard started with 6.5/7 before losing with White to
   Haslinger, who thereby caught him in first, and then winning with
   Black against Howell, restoring his half-point lead. In the last two
   rounds he repeated the drama: he lost with White to Gordon, who
   thereby caught him in first, but in the end he defeated Flear with the
   black pieces, while Gordon could only draw with Kosten.
   So Danish export Aagaard is the British champion, but not yet a GM. He
   has long had enough norms for the title, but the 2500 rating
   requirement has long eluded him. Still, this event was a big step in
   the right direction, as he will add 25-26 points to his 2467 rating.
   In case, congratulations are in order!
   Leading Final Standings:
   1. Aagaard 8.5 (of 11)
   2-3. Gordon, Rowson 8
   4-7. Haslinger, Hebden, Howell, Kosten 7.5
   Etc. (69 players)
   In the [3]Arctic Chess Challenge, Kjetil Lie continues to lead, now
   with an impressive 6.5/7, but Magnus Carlsen is gradually playing
   himself back into contention. Moiseenko is also ahead of him, with 6
   points, but Carlsen is in a group of six strong players with 5.5. Best
   of all, he plays Lie next round, and if both he and Moiseenko win
   he'll get a shot at him in the last round, too. In short, Carlsen's
   fate is in his own hands - he can still guarantee himself at least a
   tie for first.
   At the [4]HZ Open in Vlissingen, Fabiano Caruana's coronation was
   cancelled by Sergei Tiviakov in round 7, but Tiviakov drew in round 8
   while Caruana won and regained clear first. Eight hungry chess sharks
   are half a point behind, and unfortunately for Caruana one of them is
   former FIDE champ - and his last round opponent (with White, no less)
   - Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Caruana already has much to be proud of in his
   short career to date, but if he manages to finish this tournament on
   top he'll really break into the western chess world's consciousness.
   Finally, there's the [5]5th Gyorgy Marx Memorial. Viktor Korchnoi,
   like Aagaard and Caruana, started with the lead, lost a game, and then
   regained his composure and first place. We're only halfway through
   this event, and Friday was a rest day, but Korchnoi did win on
   Thursday (against Berkes) and is in clear first with 3.5/5.

References

   1. http://www.bcfservices.org.uk/livechess/british/2007/
   2. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1186639072.shtml
   3. http://www.arcticchess.org/engindex.htm
   4. http://www.hztoernooi.nl/index_en.html
   5. http://www.ase.hu/marxgy/2007/index_eng.html