[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Other events around the world

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Other events around the world
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1221793988.shtml


   Bilbao was the big deal for we the fans, but other events were going
   on, too, some of them pretty significant in their own right. Let's
   note three of them:
   First, Artyom Timofeev won the [1]Russian Championship Higher League
   in Novokuznetsk. Despite the grandiose and misleading title, it's
   (just) a qualifier for the Russian Championship "Superfinal"; in other
   words, for the Russian Championship. That starts in a couple of weeks.
   I'm not sure how many people qualify from the RCHL to the RCS - maybe
   one of the Russian-savvy readers can help out here - so I'll present
   the finishers of the top three score groups.
   1. Timofeev 8 (of 11)
   2-3. Vitiugov, Inarkiev 7.5
   4-11. Lastin, Sakaev, Kobalia, Riazantsev, Galkin, Maslak, Najer,
   Grachev 7
   Second, Jan Werle won the [2]European Union Championships (not to be
   confused with the stronger European Individual Championships) in
   Liverpool, England with an impressive 8/10; Viktor Laznicka, Michael
   Adams and Nigel Short (of [3]cell phone fame) finished half a point
   behind.
   Finally, an event strangely labeled the [4]Women's World Chess
   Championship just finished in Nalchik, Russia. Alexandra Kosteniuk won
   this knockout tournament, defeating 14-year-old Hou Yifan in the final
   match by a 2.5-1.5 margin. It's a fine achievement by Kosteniuk, but
   with none of the Georgian players participating and several other
   players boycotting out of solidarity, the field was considerably
   weakened. (The list of invited players declining their invitations is
   long: Maia Chiburdanidze, Lela Javakhishvili, Sopio Gvetadze, Maia
   Lomineishvili, Sopiko Khukhashvili, Nino Khurtsidze, Tea Bosboom
   Lanchava, Karen Zapata, Marie Sebag, Irina Krush and Ekaterina
   Korbut.) Judit Polgar never plays in these events, and former
   champions Susan Polgar, Xie Jun and Zhu Chen all sat out. With so many
   top players sitting it out, hers isn't a title that can even pretend
   to give her the title of the strongest female player in the world.
   (For those quick to take offense on Kosteniuk's behalf, I of course
   grant those absences aren't Kosteniuk's fault, and her win was a fine
   and impressive achievement.)

References

   1. http://www.rcc2008.org/eng/index.htm
   2. http://www.liverpoolchessinternational.co.uk/
   3. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1221171167.shtml
   4. http://nalchik2008.fide.com/