Liem finishes second at Dortmund Chess Meeting

Liem finishes second at Dortmund Chess Meeting

HA NOI – International Grand Master Le Quang Liem ranked second after a draw with Netherlands's Anish Giri at the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Germany yesterday.

It's the 20-year-old's second time finishing runner-up at the two-leg top-six masters tournament.

Liem gained 5.5 points with nine draws and one win, behind Russian Vladimir Kramnik, who won the championship.

Dutch Anish placed third with 5 points.

The HCM City native had the only win at the event after stunning Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov.

Last year, Liem won a silver medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He was conferred the International Grand Master title following the Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.

The annual tournament, which ends on Sunday, is only open to six International Grand Masters, including Russian Vladimir Kramnik, Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov, American-Japanese Hikaru Nakamura, Dutch Anish Giri, Vietnamese Liem and host Georg Meier. – VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Liem finishes second at Dortmund Chess Meeting

Liem finishes second at Dortmund Chess Meeting

HA NOI – International Grand Master Le Quang Liem ranked second after a draw with Netherlands's Anish Giri at the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Germany yesterday.

It's the 20-year-old's second time finishing runner-up at the two-leg top-six masters tournament.

Liem gained 5.5 points with nine draws and one win, behind Russian Vladimir Kramnik, who won the championship.

Dutch Anish placed third with 5 points.

The HCM City native had the only win at the event after stunning Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov.

Last year, Liem won a silver medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He was conferred the International Grand Master title following the Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.

The annual tournament, which ends on Sunday, is only open to six International Grand Masters, including Russian Vladimir Kramnik, Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov, American-Japanese Hikaru Nakamura, Dutch Anish Giri, Vietnamese Liem and host Georg Meier. – VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

How to shoe shop like a Grandmaster

How to shoe shop like a Grandmaster

Sunday chess tactic

White to move. How should white proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

Sunday chess tactic

White to move. How should white proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

Kryvoruchko wins 4th Paleochora Open

4th Paleochora Open

The 4th Paleochora Open was held from 20th to 27th July 2011 in Paleohora, a small city belonging to the Municipality of Kandanos - Selino, located 60 km southwwest of the city of Chania, in Greece. the tournament was organized by the Municipality of Kandanos - Selino in cooperation with Chess Academy of Chania.

Ukrainian Grandmaster Yuriy Kryvoruchko won the tournament by edging GM Alberto David on better tiebreak. Both players have collected 7.5 points from nine rounds. Moreover, Kryvoruchko continued the string of successes, as he also won the 3rd Rethymno Open which ended few days before Paleochora, and was also the winner of the 3rd Paleochora Open last year. Crete must be his dream island.

Tigran Simonian from Armenia claimed an IM norm. Top placed woman is WGM Sopiko Guramishvili and best placed junior is GM Alexander Ipatov.

The Chania prefecture is the western of the four prefectures of the island of Crete and one of the most popular touristic destinations in Greece, during the summer. Accessing Chania is easy, due its popularity and can be done either by boat or by airplane, since the city has an airport (visit transition). Especially in the summer there are directs flights departing from the most European cities.

The southern part of Chania prefecture is exceptionally beautiful and thousands of tourists are visiting during the summer. The traveler can visit the astonishing Samaria Gorge and the blue-flagged beaches following the southern coastline of the prefecture. The municipality of Kandanos - Selino is famous for its beaches, especially the magic Elafonisi beach, as well as the city of Paleohora, a graphical city with rich nightlife.

Final standings:

1-2. GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy UKR 2652 and GM David Alberto LUX 2609 - 7.5

3-12. GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2593, GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2576, IM Yilmaz Mustafa TUR 2519, GM Sandipan Chanda IND 2656, GM Zubarev Alexander UKR 2597, GM Maiorov Nikita BLR 2535, GM Zinchenko Yaroslav UKR 2543, GM Kharitonov Alexandr RUS 2539, GM Prohaszka Peter HUN 2547 and WGM Guramishvili Sopiko GEO 2329 - 7.0

13-22. GM Ipatov Alexander ESP 2562, Simonian Tigran ARM 2294, GM Nikolov Momchil BUL 2589, IM Sivuk Vitaly UKR 2422, FM Danilenko Dmitriy UKR 2360, FM Chatzidakis Mihail GRE 2311, FM Khabarov Sergey RUS 2305, IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2449, IM Bae Torstein NOR 2414 and IM Burg Twan NED 2450 - 6.5 etc.

Official website

Kryvoruchko wins 4th Paleochora Open

4th Paleochora Open

The 4th Paleochora Open was held from 20th to 27th July 2011 in Paleohora, a small city belonging to the Municipality of Kandanos - Selino, located 60 km southwwest of the city of Chania, in Greece. the tournament was organized by the Municipality of Kandanos - Selino in cooperation with Chess Academy of Chania.

Ukrainian Grandmaster Yuriy Kryvoruchko won the tournament by edging GM Alberto David on better tiebreak. Both players have collected 7.5 points from nine rounds. Moreover, Kryvoruchko continued the string of successes, as he also won the 3rd Rethymno Open which ended few days before Paleochora, and was also the winner of the 3rd Paleochora Open last year. Crete must be his dream island.

Tigran Simonian from Armenia claimed an IM norm. Top placed woman is WGM Sopiko Guramishvili and best placed junior is GM Alexander Ipatov.

The Chania prefecture is the western of the four prefectures of the island of Crete and one of the most popular touristic destinations in Greece, during the summer. Accessing Chania is easy, due its popularity and can be done either by boat or by airplane, since the city has an airport (visit transition). Especially in the summer there are directs flights departing from the most European cities.

The southern part of Chania prefecture is exceptionally beautiful and thousands of tourists are visiting during the summer. The traveler can visit the astonishing Samaria Gorge and the blue-flagged beaches following the southern coastline of the prefecture. The municipality of Kandanos - Selino is famous for its beaches, especially the magic Elafonisi beach, as well as the city of Paleohora, a graphical city with rich nightlife.

Final standings:

1-2. GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy UKR 2652 and GM David Alberto LUX 2609 - 7.5

3-12. GM Banikas Hristos GRE 2593, GM Svetushkin Dmitry MDA 2576, IM Yilmaz Mustafa TUR 2519, GM Sandipan Chanda IND 2656, GM Zubarev Alexander UKR 2597, GM Maiorov Nikita BLR 2535, GM Zinchenko Yaroslav UKR 2543, GM Kharitonov Alexandr RUS 2539, GM Prohaszka Peter HUN 2547 and WGM Guramishvili Sopiko GEO 2329 - 7.0

13-22. GM Ipatov Alexander ESP 2562, Simonian Tigran ARM 2294, GM Nikolov Momchil BUL 2589, IM Sivuk Vitaly UKR 2422, FM Danilenko Dmitriy UKR 2360, FM Chatzidakis Mihail GRE 2311, FM Khabarov Sergey RUS 2305, IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2449, IM Bae Torstein NOR 2414 and IM Burg Twan NED 2450 - 6.5 etc.

Official website

SP Girls' Invitational: Behind the boards

SP Girls' Invitational: Behind the boards

People in FOLK COSTUMES, on colorful stamps from ROMANIA (including 1 from then-SSR MOLDOVA, 1961). Also, my "Spirit of Observation TESTS" for y'all MENSA member wannabes: name the region from which the costumes depicted in these 4 postcards are! All the stamps are inscribed with the folkloric region, but not all costumes in the postcards are also depicted on stamps (or are they?) - [don't sweat it] :)

The following are "tests" of Spirit of Observation - not of folkloric knowledge!

Only a few Romanians, and the Japanese guy are experts on Romanian folk costumes.

All I'm asking you is to match a costume on a postcard, with a costume on a stamp (which also has the name of the folkloric region). If possible.

Again, don't sweat it. :)

Test 1: from what folkloric region of ROMANIA are these costumes?

Test 2: from what folkloric region of ROMANIA are these costumes?

Test 3: from what folkloric region of ROMANIA are these costumes?

I have recently sold this vintage postcard from 1910, for $12.

Sent by J. Montagne (?) [no, not Michel de Montaigne, the famous essayist] on 28 June 1910 (or 27 June, according to the postmark - one of them is wrong) from Sinaia, ROMANIA, to Jean Henry, in France.

Can you decipher the handwriting?

...affair...amitié...?

I have read about a Japanese expert in ETHNOGRAPHY and FOLKLORE, who traveled around the world 3 times, in search of regions where the folkloric traditions are rich, and not-so-spoiled by modern civilization.

He declared that THIS region from Romania (starts with M), represented in the postcard/maximum card above, is categorically his favorite, the best-preserved and the most complex folkloric region in the world.

Hand-sewn folk costumes, wood carvings such as the traditional home gate above, songs, many cultural traditions, the whole way of life - they all impressed deeply our Japanese researcher.

Arigato, and welcome to the club - many other people have discovered and appreciated all that, before and after you. :)

Now, the stamps, scanned in 300dpi, so click and click them:

I have purchased all these stamps one series at a time, many years ago, as a young boy in Romania.

So what if they are CTOs? (canceled-to-order)

They served my purpose of affordable collecting.

It would have been almost impossible to gather all these as really circulated thru the mail.

And 4+ times more expensive to get them mint, not postmarked.

Now, decades after, I share them with the World.

Which "World" is actually only a few individuals, here and there in the cyberspace, most of whom will be marginally interested, at best.

But hey!...Japanese ethnography expert, if you're still alive: konnichi-wa! :)

Romania România
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Deşteaptă-te, române! Awaken thee, Romanian!
Location of  Romania  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Bucharest 44°25′N 26°06′E
Official language(s)		Romanian
Ethnic groups (2002)		89.5% Romanians, 6.6% Hungarians, 2.5%Roma, 2% others[1]
Demonym		Romanian

"Romania (ⁱ/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-may-nee-ə; also spelled: Rumania,^[6] dated: Roumania;^[7]Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea.^[8] Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.

At 238,391 square kilometers (92,043 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of theEuropean Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with 21.5 million people.^[9]

 Its capital and largest city is Bucharest (Romanian: București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] ( listen)), the sixth largest city in the EU with about two million people.

The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. 

Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on May 9, 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. 

At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. 

Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. 

By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.

With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the 1989 Revolution, Romania began to transition towards democracy and a capitalist market economy. 

After a decade of post-revolution economic problems, extensive reforms fostered economic recovery and the country joined the European Union on 1 January 2007. 

Romania is now an upper middle-income country with high human development^[10] and relatively high standards of living.^[11]

Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004, and is also a member of the Latin Union, of the Francophonie, of the OSCE and of the United Nations, as well as an associate member of theCPLP. 

Today, Romania is a unitary semi-presidential republic, in which the executive branch consists of the President and the Government.^[12]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania

============

Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

Adams, Short, and Jones lead British Championship

Round 6 top boards results

1	GM Howell, David W L		4.5	ENG	2625	GM Adams, Michael		4.0	ENG	2715	0-1
2	IM Hawkins, Jonathan		4.0	ENG	2457	GM Short, Nigel D		4.0	ENG	2687	0-1
3	GM Jones, Gawain C B		4.0	ENG	2606	IM Bates, Richard A		4.0	ENG	2373	1-0
4	IM Pert, Richard G		3.5	ENG	2459	GM Pert, Nicholas		3.5	ENG	2555	½-½
5	IM Houska, Jovanka	w	3.5	ENG	2418	GM Gordon, Stephen J		3.5	ENG	2533	1-0
6	IM Hunt, Adam C		3.5	ENG	2436	GM Hebden, Mark L		3.5	ENG	2533	½-½
7	GM Williams, Simon K		3.5	ENG	2528	FM Griffiths, Ryan Rhys		3.5	IRL	2301	1-0
8	FM Constantinou, Peter		3.5	ENG	2292	GM Conquest, Stuart C		3.5	ENG	2519	0-1
9	Brown, Martin		3.5	ENG	2130	GM Wells, Peter K		3.5	ENG	2489	0-1
10	Chapman, Terry P D		3.0	ENG	2242	GM Summerscale, Aaron P		3.5	ENG	2415	½-½

Leaders after 6 rounds

Rank	Name	Flags	Score	Fed.	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We
1	GM Adams, Michael		5.0	ENG	M	2715	2749	+0.33
2	GM Short, Nigel D		5.0	ENG	M	2687	2735	+0.36
3	GM Jones, Gawain C B		5.0	ENG	M	2606	2702	+0.73
4	GM Howell, David W L		4.5	ENG	M	2625	2708	+0.70
5	GM Williams, Simon K		4.5	ENG	M	2528	2414	-0.62
6	GM Conquest, Stuart C		4.5	ENG	M	2519	2573	+0.53
7	GM Wells, Peter K		4.5	ENG	M	2489	2452	-0.14
8	IM Houska, Jovanka	w	4.5	ENG	F	2418	2475	+0.53
9	GM Pert, Nicholas		4.0	ENG	M	2555	2392	-0.95
10	GM Hebden, Mark L		4.0	ENG	M	2533	2375	-0.95
11	IM Pert, Richard G		4.0	ENG	M	2459	2480	+0.24
12	IM Hawkins, Jonathan		4.0	ENG	M	2457	2519	+0.53
13	IM Hunt, Adam C		4.0	ENG	M	2436	2460	+0.26
14	GM Summerscale, Aaron P		4.0	ENG	M	2415	2378	-0.19
15	IM Bates, Richard A		4.0	ENG	M	2373	2430	+0.57
16	Adair, James R		4.0	ENG	M	2212	2446	+1.79

Full results here: http://www.britishchess2011.com/events_championship_2011.htm

Adams, Short, and Jones lead British Championship

Round 6 top boards results

1	GM Howell, David W L		4.5	ENG	2625	GM Adams, Michael		4.0	ENG	2715	0-1
2	IM Hawkins, Jonathan		4.0	ENG	2457	GM Short, Nigel D		4.0	ENG	2687	0-1
3	GM Jones, Gawain C B		4.0	ENG	2606	IM Bates, Richard A		4.0	ENG	2373	1-0
4	IM Pert, Richard G		3.5	ENG	2459	GM Pert, Nicholas		3.5	ENG	2555	½-½
5	IM Houska, Jovanka	w	3.5	ENG	2418	GM Gordon, Stephen J		3.5	ENG	2533	1-0
6	IM Hunt, Adam C		3.5	ENG	2436	GM Hebden, Mark L		3.5	ENG	2533	½-½
7	GM Williams, Simon K		3.5	ENG	2528	FM Griffiths, Ryan Rhys		3.5	IRL	2301	1-0
8	FM Constantinou, Peter		3.5	ENG	2292	GM Conquest, Stuart C		3.5	ENG	2519	0-1
9	Brown, Martin		3.5	ENG	2130	GM Wells, Peter K		3.5	ENG	2489	0-1
10	Chapman, Terry P D		3.0	ENG	2242	GM Summerscale, Aaron P		3.5	ENG	2415	½-½

Leaders after 6 rounds

Rank	Name	Flags	Score	Fed.	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We
1	GM Adams, Michael		5.0	ENG	M	2715	2749	+0.33
2	GM Short, Nigel D		5.0	ENG	M	2687	2735	+0.36
3	GM Jones, Gawain C B		5.0	ENG	M	2606	2702	+0.73
4	GM Howell, David W L		4.5	ENG	M	2625	2708	+0.70
5	GM Williams, Simon K		4.5	ENG	M	2528	2414	-0.62
6	GM Conquest, Stuart C		4.5	ENG	M	2519	2573	+0.53
7	GM Wells, Peter K		4.5	ENG	M	2489	2452	-0.14
8	IM Houska, Jovanka	w	4.5	ENG	F	2418	2475	+0.53
9	GM Pert, Nicholas		4.0	ENG	M	2555	2392	-0.95
10	GM Hebden, Mark L		4.0	ENG	M	2533	2375	-0.95
11	IM Pert, Richard G		4.0	ENG	M	2459	2480	+0.24
12	IM Hawkins, Jonathan		4.0	ENG	M	2457	2519	+0.53
13	IM Hunt, Adam C		4.0	ENG	M	2436	2460	+0.26
14	GM Summerscale, Aaron P		4.0	ENG	M	2415	2378	-0.19
15	IM Bates, Richard A		4.0	ENG	M	2373	2430	+0.57
16	Adair, James R		4.0	ENG	M	2212	2446	+1.79

Full results here: http://www.britishchess2011.com/events_championship_2011.htm