Reply #1: News for the week ending May 20

[Jack Rabbit]

Topalov wins MTel Masters' in Sofia



Former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria won the third annual MTel Masters' tournament by defeating Indian grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran in the final round today in Sofia.

The win gave Topalov 5½ points out of a possible 10. He started the tournament badly, losing two of his first three games and never going over 50% until today.

Topalov has won the MTel championship in all three years of its history. He also won last year's MTel after an unpromising start.

Unofficial Cross Table
MTel Masters' Tournament
Sofia

------------------------- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- T- (W)
3 Veselin Topalov. . . . .-- 11 0½ 01 ½½ ½½ 5½ (3)
1 Krishnan Sasikiran . . .00 -- ½1 ½½ 10 ½1 5. (3)
2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. .1½ ½0 -- ½½ 10 ½½ 5. (2)
4 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu .10 ½½ ½½ -- ½½ 01 5. (2)
5 Gata Kamsky. . . . . . .½½ 01 01 ½½ -- ½½ 5. (2)
6 Mickey Adams . . . . . .½½ ½0 ½½ 10 ½½ -- 4½ (1)

The Jack Rabbit Unofficial Cross Table uses games won as first tie break

Today's other games were drawn.

The tourament entered the final day with Sasikiran at 5 points leading Topalov and three other players by half a point. Only English grandmaster Mickey Adams, at the foot of the table with 4 points, had no chance of gaining at least a share of first prize.


US Championship in Stillwater: Shabalov perfect after five rounds



Latvian-born US grandmaster Alex Shabalov leads the US Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma after five rounds with five points.

Shabalov is already a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival with only four rounds remaining in the Swiss system tournament with 36 competitors.

Shabalov broke open the lead in the last two days with successive victories over Hikaru Nakamura and fellow Soviet expatriot Gregory Kaidanov. Today he will play defending champion Alex Onischuk.

Alexander Shabalov was born in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1967. While a youth, he studied at the Mikhail Tal Chess Academy in Riga under the maestro himself. Shabalov, like Tal, is risk-taking attacking player. He is regarded as one of the purest of all mondern chess romantics, a true swashbuckler over the board.


Bosna 2007 begins in Sarajevo



Sarajevo
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo">Wikipedia

The Bosna 2007 Tournament began Saturday in Sarajevo.

The tournament is in two parts. The "A" tournament is a double round robin featuring six of the world's leading grandmasters: Alexander Morozevich (Russia), Nigel Short (England), Artyom Timofeev (Russia), Ivan Sokolov (Holland), Sergei Movsesian (Slovakia) and Borki Predojevic (Bosnia).

The "B" tournament is a sigle round robin with three grandmasters and five international masters and two Federation Masters seeking to score a norm for a higher title. The grandmasters are Saut Atalik (Turkey), Milan Drasko (Montenegro) and Milan Vukic (Bosnia); the IMs are Vlado Jakovljevic (Bosnia), Filip Ljubicic (Croatia), Zoran Runic (Bosnia), Dalibor Stojanovic (Bosnia) and the reigning Canadian champion, Igor Zugic; the FMs are Bosnia's Bosko Tomic and Goran Trkulja.

In the first round action yesterday in the main tournament, the two top rated contenders, Morozevich and Short, faced each other in a game that was won by Morozevich. The other two games ended in draws. In the "B" Tournament, Atalik defeated Runic, Tomic was victorius over Jakovljeciv and all other games were drawn.

The tournament ends a week from tomorrow.


Social Page: Polgar-Truong nuptuals announced


Photos: ChessVille.com

Grandmaster Susan Polgar, former women's world champion and the senior member of the famous Polgar sisters, announced on her blog last week that she recently married Paul Truong, her longtime friend and business manager.

It is the second marriage for both. Ms. Polgar has two sons from her previous marriage.

Ms. Polgar and her sisters, Sofia and Judit, were born in Hungary. Susan came to the United Stated several years ago and is an American citizen. She resides in New York.

Mr. Truong is a native of Vietnam who left that country in a boat when in his teens.

The newlyweds are currently running as two members on a slate of four candidates for seats on the US Chess Federation Board of Directors.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Truong.


Calendar



May 26-June 14: Candidates' Matches for the 2007 World Championship Tournament, Elista, Kalmykia (Russia). Pairings are:

• Levon Aronian (Armenia)-Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
• Alexei Shirov (Spain)-Mickey Adams (England)
• Boris Gelfand (Israel)-Rustam Kasidzhanov (Uzbekistan)
• Etienne Bacrot (France)-Gata Kamsky (United States)
• Alexander Grischuk (Russia)-Vladimir Malakhov (Russia)
• Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine)-Sergey Rublevsky (Russia)
• Judit Polgar (Hungary)-Evgeny Bareev (Russia)
• Peter Leko (Hungary)-Mikhail Gurevich (Turkey)