Posted in FIDE on Jan 1st, 2009 No Comments »
GM Veselin Topalov enroute to winning Pearl Spring. Photo by Sina Sport. Veselin Topalov (2796, +5) remains atop the FIDE rating list at 2796. Many project that he will vault back over 2800 in the next list. At the FIDE General Assembly, it was voted that these lists be produced every two months instead of [...]
Posted in Africa, Ethiopia, Tournaments on Dec 24th, 2008 4 Comments »
Ethiopia had a very difficult time getting to Dresden for the 2008 Chess Olympiad. Having to navigate through the challenges of the visa process, they were able to travel and make a good showing. Of particular note was Desalegn Fekadu’s draw with a GM Alexander Baburin of Ireland. Kebadu Belachew (right) thanks ChessBase for this [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Opinion/Editorials on Dec 18th, 2008 11 Comments »
Approximately one month ago, teams trekked across the globe to attend the premier team event in chess… the biennial Chess Olympiad. Many federations make plans to attend well in advance and the nationalistic fervor heightens as the date approaches. However, the Dresden Olympiad had a number of rule changes. Some were mentioned in GM Bartlomiej [...]
Posted in Africa, Olympiad on Dec 7th, 2008 No Comments »
I’m compiling a photo montage of photos from the 2008 Chess Olympiad. It will contain images of players of African descent around the world. While covering the Olympiad at home from rounds 1-7, I noticed very few photos showing a diversity of federations. In fact, you would have thought only 10-20 teams were playing since [...]
Posted in Africa, Germany, Olympiad, Rwanda, Tournaments on Dec 6th, 2008 No Comments »
Rwanda, only fielding three players, also had visa problems and were not permitted to stay until the end of the Olympiad. It’s ironic that they mentioned the success of Uganda, a team fielding two players due to visa problems. Several other African nations reported visa problems. Other affected African nations were Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, [...]
Posted in Germany, Olympiad, Tournaments on Dec 2nd, 2008 21 Comments »
The 2008 Dresden Olympiad was one of memories… some good, some bad. Overall the Chess Olympiad is like a dreamland for chess players. A place were thousands of people assemble from all corners of the earth for one thing… chess. Imagine that. People traveling for thousands of miles for chess… playing it, speaking about it, [...]
Posted in Africa, Drum Majors, Olympiad, Uganda on Dec 1st, 2008 31 Comments »
Moses Kawuma (near right) playing against British Virgin Island’s Christopher Art. Kawuma scored 9/10 for the highest winning percentage in the open section. Steven Kawuma plays the legendary Bill Hook. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. Kawuma performance sparkles, but not golden Moses Kawuma and brother Steven came to the Olympiad with high hopes. Those hopes were [...]
Posted in Interviews, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Nov 28th, 2008 4 Comments »
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) Photo by Daaim Shabazz. GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) – Carlsson was Sweden’s 16th GM and the second Black player to earn the coveted GM title. In this interview, he gives a candid interview about the Olympiad, rule changes, his career and his future. Carlsson always speaks candidly on issues and if [...]
Posted in Opinion/Editorials, Tournaments on Nov 27th, 2008 1 Comment »
ARMENIA, GEORGIA WIN GOLD! Armenia men rejoicing over 2nd consecutive Olympiad gold. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. The legendary Maia Chiburdanidze (center) was clearly the leader. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. The 38th Chess Olympiad ended with a rousing Closing Ceremony as traditional chess powers Armenia (open) and Georgia (women) won the gold. The presence of Armenian [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Photos on Nov 24th, 2008 1 Comment »
Men Final The Armenian men repeat, Israel second… the USA wins bronze! China 1½-2½ Armenia USA 3½-½ Ukraine Israel 2½-1½ Netherlands Russia 2-2 Spain France 1½-2½ Azerbaijan Women Final Georgian women edge Ukraine for the gold… USA women match men’s performance, power over France to bronze! Poland 1½-2½ Ukraine Georgia 3-1 Serbia USA 2½-1½ France [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Drum Majors, Jamaica on Nov 24th, 2008 25 Comments »
Jomo Pitterson (Jamaica) Photo by Daaim Shabazz. Jomo Pitterson of Jamaica clinched the FM title after drawing with IM Basheer Al-Qudaimi. He has earned the requisite six points and becomes the third Jamaica player to earn the title after Grantel Gibbs and Warren Elliott who both earned there titles at subzonals. Jamaica also won the [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Photos, Tournaments on Nov 23rd, 2008 5 Comments »
Top Boards Ukraine tops Israel… Poland wins, sits atop women’s field! Ukraine 2½-1½ Israel Serbia 1-3 Armenia England 1½- 2½ China Slovenia ½-3½ Russia Spain 3-1 Bulgaria Pregame Analysis: Israel is attempting to hold onto a slim lead going into the 10th round match with the Ukraine. Boris Gelfand is in form 6.5/8 and Maxim [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Photos, Tournaments on Nov 22nd, 2008 6 Comments »
Top Boards Armenia 1½-2½ Israel Poland 2-2 Germany 1 Russia 1½-2½ Ukraine Serbia2½-1½ Azerbaijan France 1-3 China Round #9 Analysis: Before the tournament, practically every chess pundit and journalist picked Russia to win the gold medal primarily because of the powerful individual players with an average rating of over 2750. Even others who did not [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Photos, Tournaments on Nov 21st, 2008 6 Comments »
Top Boards Armenia crushes France… USA women beats Russia! France ½-3½ Armenia Israel 2½-1½ Germany 1 USA 1½-2½ Russia China 2-2 Vietnam Ukraine 4-0 New Zealand Azerbaijan 2½-1½ Croatia Bulgaria 2-2 Belarus England 2½-1½ Georgia Slovakia 3-1 Greece Turkey 1½-2½ Poland Rround #8 Analysis: If Armenia did not make a statement by beating Russia in [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Nov 20th, 2008 2 Comments »
Top Boards Russia upset by Armenia… Chinese women held by USA, but retain lead Armenia 2½-1½ Russia Germany 2½-1½ Romania Ukraine 2-2 China India 1½-2½ France Israel 3-1 Spain USA 2½-1½ Hungary England 2-2 Azerbaijan Greece 2-2 Belarus Vietnam 2½-1½ Netherlands Bulgaria 4-0 Australia Round #7 Analysis: Armenia maintains the inside track on successfully defending [...]
Posted in Olympiad on Nov 19th, 2008 40 Comments »
Facts and Figures of the Chess Olympiad in Dresden The final turnout of the participants of the Chess Olympiad is now set. “Replacement or new nominations are not possible anymore”, says Werner Stubenvoll of the Technical Administration Panel (TAP). A total of 1270 chess players take part at the Olympiad in Dresden, 722 of them [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Nov 19th, 2008 1 Comment »
Top Boards Russia 3-1 England Ukraine 2-2 Germany 1 Azerbaijan 1½-2½ Armenia France 3-1 Poland Bosnia & Herzegovina 1½-2½ India Sweden 1½-2½ Israel Georgia 1½-2½ China Romania 2½-1½ Bulgaria Pregame Analysis: Near the midway point, the beat goes on as Russia is back on board #1 facing England. England has done well with the young [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Nov 17th, 2008 6 Comments »
Top Boards Germany 2-1 Russia Armenia 2½-1½ Netherlands Hungary 1½-2½ Ukraine Norway 1-3 Azerbaijan England 2½-1½ Italy Pregame Analysis: Host Germany is finally on board #1 after being riveted on board #2 as the host country. They will get a stiff test today when they face the powerful Russia squad. Russia barely escaped India after [...]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Nov 16th, 2008 14 Comments »
Top Boards Ukraine 2-2 Armenia Spain 1½-2½ Germany 1 Norway 2-2 England Russia 2½-1½ India Romania 1-3 Hungary Azerbaijan 3-1 USA Pregame Analysis: These top matches may allow someone to make a break from the pack. There will be a number of drawn matches here, but two interesting matchups are Russia-India and Azerbaijan-USA. If Russia [...]
Posted in Africa, Germany, Olympiad, Uganda on Nov 15th, 2008 7 Comments »
Wanyama Harold (Uganda) After months of desparately trying to raise funds and attend the Olympiad, players on the Ugandan side are without visas to travel. Only two players have been able to secure a visa, but the team forfeited for failing to field 50% of the team. They have missed the first three rounds and [...]
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