Elina Danielian wins bronze

Elina Danielian wins bronze

Elina Danielian drew with Antoinette Stefanova in the last, 11th round at European Individual Women Chess Championship hosted by Tbilisi. Danielian finished third with 8 points.

Antoinette Stefanova finished in second place. Victoria Cmilyte won the title of champion.

TODAY, 18:23
Aysor.am

A. Muzychuk wins International Chess Tournament Cotroceni

Final crosstable

Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pts.	TB1
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	SLO	*	½	1	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	6.5	4
2	WGM	Gunina Valentina	2472	RUS	½	*	0	1	1	1	½	0	1	1	6.0	5
3	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	USA	0	1	*	1	½	½	1	½	½	½	5.5	3
4	GM	Socko Monika	2495	POL	0	0	0	*	½	½	1	1	1	1	5.0	4
5	IM	Turova Irina	2428	RUS	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	5.0	2
	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	UKR	½	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	1	5.0	2
7	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	UKR	½	½	0	0	½	½	*	½	1	1	4.5	2
8	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	ROU	½	1	½	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	4.5	1
9	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	SVK	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	*	½	1.5	0
	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	ROU	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	*	1.5	0

Official website: http://www.clubulregilor.ro

Continuing to checkmate

Chess star continues with checkmates
VICTOR MUYAKWABO
Staff Writer

Chess' Women's Fide Master, Boikhutso Mudongo continues to flourish both at home and abroad. She has enjoyed success since she started playing chess in 1995, culminating in her being crowned the Sports Women of the Year 2003.

Mudongo's passion for chess grew when she was at Lethabile Junior Secondary School in Tonota when she was in Form One in 1995.

She had before then tried her hand at softball but because of the limited chances, Mudongo abandoned the sport.When she started, Mudongo says chess was a new game to her and it took quite a while before she could master the moves. She took three weeks to know the names of the pieces and learn the proper moves. Mudongo said it was not very hard to learn the game as she had an interest.

Mudongo played chess for two years and was selected to the national team. After finishing her Form Five, Mudongo joined Northern King Grazen, a military club based in Francistown where she played until the time she moved to Gaborone.

But after settling in the capital, Mudongo had to move as she says it was not easy for her to continue playing for the Francistown club.

"One reason was that my former club at that time was collapsing and it needed someone who was working in the army with direct contact with army management in order to revive it," Mudongo said. The talented Mudongo attributes her success to hard work, determination and passion for the sport.

She says her preparations differ depending on the type of tournament she would be competing in but does not practise everyday.

Mudongo singles out Tuduetso Sabure as her toughest opponent as she has got a different style and most of the times she introduces new moves. Mudongo says in most instances, Sabure beats her to time as it takes her (Mudongo) a long time to study her moves.

Mudongo says she will not quit the sport anytime soon and will participate in local tournaments to encourage young players who want to progress in chess.

Mudongo believes that the notion that old players have to step down to create space for youngsters does not help much as upcoming players need motivation and competition in order to improve. Mudongo says besides chess, she is a football fan and supports Manchester United of England and Extension Gunners locally.

Fact File
Full Names: Boikhutso Mudongo
Age : 31 years old
Previous Club: Northern Kings Grazen
Current Club: Bonyonyo Chess Club
Title: Women's Fide Master
Home Village: Tonota

Muzychuk leads all-women's tourney in Romania

Crosstable after 8 rounds

Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pts.
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	SLO	*		1	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	6.0
2	WGM	Gunina Valentina	2472	RUS		*	0	1	1	1	½	0	1	1	5.5
3	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	USA	0	1	*	1	½	½	1	½	½		5.0
4	GM	Socko Monika	2495	POL	0	0	0	*	½		1	1	1	1	4.5
5	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	UKR	½	0	½	½	*	½		½	1	1	4.5
6	IM	Turova Irina	2428	RUS	½	0	½		½	*	½	½	1	1	4.5
7	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	UKR	½	½	0	0		½	*	½	1	1	4.0
8	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	ROU	½	1	½	0	½	½	½	*		½	4.0
9	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	SVK	0	0	½	0	0	0	0		*	½	1.0
10	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	ROU	0	0		0	0	0	0	½	½	*	1.0

http://chess-results.com/tnr45339.aspx

Women Chess Players Tests Their Intelligence

Women Chess Players Tests Their Intelligence
Written by Kh.Ganchimeg
Friday, March 11, 2011

The Double Master Chess Club hosted a chess competition to commemorate the International Women’s Day among female chess players, in Ulaanbaatar City on March 7-8, 2011.

A total of 31 female chess players competed in two different groups of “A” and “B” at the event.

IM Enkhtuul won “A” group’s gold medal and followed by GM T.Batchimeg and IM D.Bayarmaa who were secured second and third places in the competition, respectively.

In group B, a teacher of “Ireedui complex” Secondary School N.Serjmyadag grabbed gold medal. Silver and bronze medals went to N.Khishigbayar and N.Battsengel.

http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn

Socko leads International Chess Tournament Cotroceni

Turneul International de Sah Controceni editia a II-a, 1-11 martie 2011

10 players - Average rating 2455 - Category 12

Crosstable after 6 rounds

Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	GM	Socko Monika	2495	POL	*	0				1	½	1	1	1	4.5	4	0.0	9.00
2	WGM	Gunina Valentina	2472	RUS	1	*		0	1	0	1		1		4.0	4	0.0	12.00
3	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	SLO			*	1	½	½	½	½	1		4.0	2	0.0	10.50
4	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	USA		1	0	*	½		½	1	½		3.5	2	0.5	10.25
5	IM	Turova Irina	2428	RUS		0	½	½	*			½	1	1	3.5	2	0.5	7.00
6	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	ROU	0	1	½			*	½	½		½	3.0	1	0.5	9.25
7	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	UKR	½	0	½	½		½	*			1	3.0	1	0.5	8.50
8	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	UKR	0		½	0	½	½		*		1	2.5	1	0.0	6.25
9	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	SVK	0	0	0	½	0				*	½	1.0	0	0.5	2.25
10	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	ROU	0				0	½	0	0	½	*	1.0	0	0.5	2.00

http://chess-results.com/tnr45339.aspx

Socko leads International Women's Chess Tournament Cotroceni

International Women's Chess Tournament Cotroceni
2nd to 11th March in Bucharest, Romania

International Women's Chess Tournament Cotroceni is being played from 2nd to 11th March in Bucharest, Romania. The 10-player round robin event is sporting a high average elo of 2456.

GM Monika Socko is topping the crosstable after six rounds, despite the today's defeat against WGM Valentina Gunina, but the leading margin has narrowed down to half a point. On Tuesday the players are taking a rest, in order to celebrate 8th March - International Women's Day.

Round 6 standings:

1. GM Socko Monika POL 2495 - 4.5
2. WGM Gunina Valentina RUS 2472 - 4
3. IM Muzychuk Anna SLO 2528 - 4
4. IM Zatonskih Anna USA 2499 - 3.5
5. IM Turova Irina RUS 2428 - 3.5
6. IM Peptan Corina-Isabela ROU 2415 - 3
7. IM Ushenina Anna UKR 2454 - 3
8. IM Muzychuk Mariya UKR 2476 - 2.5
9. IM Repkova Eva SVK 2446 - 1
10. WGM Cosma Elena-Luminita ROU 2343 - 1

International Women Chess Tournament in Belgrade

43rd International Women Chess Tournament
6th to 14th March in Hotel Slavija, Belgrade
Chessdom.com

The 43rd International Women's Grandmaster chess tournament is organized by the Belgrade Chess Association, from 6th to 14th March in Hotel Slavija. One of the longest running chess tournaments in the world, established back in 1963, is celebrating 8th March - International Women's Day.

Participants:

WGM Chelushkina Irina SRB 2314
WGM Voiska Margarita BUL 2313
WGM Benderac Ana SRB 2305
WGM Vojinovic Jovana MNE 2278
WGM Olarasu Gabriela ROU 2273
WIM Eric Jovana SRB 2230
WGM Maksimovic Suzana SRB 2203
WIM Petrovic Marija SRB 2197
WIM Dragomirescu Angela ROU 2169
Miladinovic Lena SRB 2086

Official website

Women's Chess in Romania

Turneul International de Sah Controceni editia a II-a, 1-11 martie 2011

10 players - Average rating 2455 - Category 12

Round 1 results

1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	1/2	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	10
2	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	1-0	WGM	Gunina Valentina	2472	9
3	IM	Turova Irina	2428	1-0	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	8
4	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	0-1	GM	Socko Monika	2495	7
5	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	1/2	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	6

Round 2 results

10	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	1/2	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	6
7	GM	Socko Monika	2495	1/2	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	5
8	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	1/2	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	4
9	WGM	Gunina Valentina	2472	1-0	IM	Turova Irina	2428	3
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	1-0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	2

Round 3 results

2	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2499	1-0	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2476	10
3	IM	Turova Irina	2428	1/2	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2528	1
4	IM	Repkova Eva	2446	0-1	GM	Gunina Valentina	2472	9
5	IM	Ushenina Anna	2454	1-0	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2343	8
6	IM	Peptan Corina-Isabela	2415	0-1	GM	Socko Monika	2495	7

More information here: http://www.clubulregilor.ro/competitii/turneul-international-cotroceni-1-11-martie-2011/

Vasilevich wins Mediterranean Flower 2011 by a full point

Mediterranean Flower 2011
IM Irina Vasilevich wins the tournament convincingly

The 11th WGM tournament "Mediterranean Flower 2011" was held in Rijeka from 26th February to 5th March 2011. Ten players competed in the round robin event. The playing hall was in the beautiful "House of Chess Rijeka".

The top-seeded IM Irina Vasilevich routinely won the tournament by collecting 7.5 points and keeping the full point margin ahead of the most pleasant surprise in Rijeka - WIM Inna Agrest from Sweden.

Final standings:1. IM Vasilevich Irina 2327 RUS - 7,5
2. WIM Agrest Inna 2170 SWE - 6,5
3. WIM Olsarova Tereza 2216 CZE - 6
4. WGM Medic Mirjana 2279 CRO - 5,5
5. WGM Ionica Iulia-Ionela 2248 ROU - 5
6. WIM Olsarova Karolina 2195 CZE - 4,5
7. WFM Berke Ana 2163 CRO - 3,5
8. WIM Bollengier Andreea 2251 FRA - 3,5
9. Kolaric Spela 2049 SLO - 2,5
10. Kukic Lora 1764 CRO - 0,5

Official website

Turneul International de Sah Controceni women's tournament

Turneul International de Sah Controceni editia a II-a, 1-11 martie 2011

10 players - Average rating 2455 - Category 12

Desfasuarata sub Inaltul Patronaj al Excelentei Sale Domnul Traian Basescu, Presedintele Romaniei cu sprijinul CSM Bucuresti, ACS Apa Nova, cu sprijinul Directiei pentru Sport si Tineret Bucuresti si Asociatiei Municipala de Sah Bucuresti evenimentul va avea loc la Palatul Cotroceni.

Competitia se adreseaza elitei sahului feminin mondial, participantele fiind printre cele mai bune sahiste in tarile lor, conform coeficientilor ELO.

Organizatorii estimeaza ca actuala editie va fi a III-a competitie de gen pe plan mondial.Toate partidele acestei competitii vor fi transmise in direct pe Internet.

Official website: http://www.clubulregilor.ro/competitii/turneul-international-cotroceni-1-11-martie-2011/

Big decisive day to start WGP

Round 1 results

	Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg
GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	0-1	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2550
IM	Fierro Baquero Martha L	2363	1-0	GM	Zhu Chen	2495
GM	Cramling Pia	2516	1/2	IM	Mkrtchian Lilit	2475
GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2546	0-1	GM	Xu Yuhua	2484
GM	Sebag Marie	2489	0-1	GM	Danielian Elina	2454
GM	Chiburdanidze Maia	2502	0-1	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	2410

Official website: http://qatar2011.fide.com/index.php

The 61st Russian Women's Chess Championship

The 61st Russian Women's Chess Championship
Tuesday, 22 February 2011 09:34

Yesterday in Ivanovo, Russia the Opening Ceremony of the 61st Russian Women’s Chess Championship (1st League) was held.

The venue of the tournament is the Municipal Palace of Children’s and Youth Creativity. 89 chess players are taking part in the Championship. Rating-favorite is the Woman Grandmaster Stepovaya Tatyana.

The Mayor of Ivanovo Mr. Vladislav Sverchkov greeted all the participants and guests. He announced the opening of the Championship! Afterwards the military students brought in the flag of the Russian Federation and the national anthem was played.

The International Organizer Mr. Sergei Solonets read the congratulatory letter from the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

FIDE.com

Women's Grand Prix in Qatar

Women's Grand Prix in Qatar
Wednesday, 02 February 2011

The FIDE Women Grand Prix is a new series of elite tournaments which will be organised by FIDE and Global Chess. There will be 6 legs over two years in various countries around the world with three tournaments every year.

The winner of each tournament will win 6,500 euros out of a prize fund of 40,000 euros and the overall winner of the series will win a further 15,000 euros at the end of the series.

This is the first time that such a series is being organised and is a significant development for the chess world.

The introduction of the Grand Prix series means that there will be a World Championship contest annually now from 2010. In that year, the Champion will be determined from the World Championship Knockout which will also be held in Turkey and the following year, 2011, the World Champions will face the Winner of the Grand Prix series 2009/2010 in a match for the title.

This will be one of the strongest women tournaments of all times and it is important to point out that there are three ex-world Champions taking part as well as the highest ranked women players in the world.

Koneru, Humpy GM IND
Stefanova, Antoaneta GM BUL
Cramling, Pia GM SVE
Dzagnidze, Nana GM GEO
Sebag Marie GM FRA
Chiburdanidze, Maia GM GEO
Chen, Zhu GM QTR
Danielian, Elina GM ARM
Yuhua, Xu GM CHN
Batkhuyag, Munguntuul WG MGL
Fierro, Martha IM ECU
Mrktchian, Lilit IM ARM

Official website: http://qatar2011.fide.com/index.php

Mediterranean Flower 2011

Mediterranean Flower 2011
Sunday, 20 February 2011 17:38

The 11th WGM tournament "Mediterranean flower 2011" will be held in Rijeka from 26th February to 5th March 2011. As usual, it will be closed round robin tournament with 10-12 players.

Accommodation is in hotel "Adriatic" in the famous tourist resort of Opatija. The organizer has provided free transportation from hotel to the playing hall and back.

The playing hall is in the beautiful "House of Chess Rijeka" in the town Rijeka.

Players:

IM Vasilevich Irina 2327 RUS
WGM Medić Mirjana 2279 CRO
WIM Bollengier Andreea 2251 FRA
WGM Ionica Iulia-Ionela 2248 ROU
WIM Olsarova Tereza 2216 CZE
WIM Olsarova Karolina 2195 CZE
WIM Agrest Inna 2170 SWE
WFM Berke Ana 2163 CRO
Kolaric Spela 2049 SLO
Kukić Lora 1764 CRO

Official website

The new Cuban Chess Queen

Yaniet Marrero is now the Queen of Cuban Chess
http://www.cubaheadlines.com

Granma Daily. The Grand Master (GM) from Las Tunas, Yaniet Marrero, won the national women's chess championship title, here on Wednesday, beating Oleiny Linares from Santiago.

In a marathon day, lasting over seven hours, the new monarch dethroned her rival, who held the crown won in 2010 in Holguin.

Marrero, with an ELO of 2,315, resurfaced on Wednesday to the surprise of many,as in the first of two classic games, held the day before, she had lost to Linares (2304), who just needed a half point on Wednesday.

The perseverance and fighting spirit of the Olympic gold medalist paid off, to overtake Oleiny with the white pieces in the second conventional game, in 53 moves off a Pirc Defense.

The tie then forced the development of 25 minutes duels. Yaniet, who put together a formidable performance also won both, rewarded with sustained applause from the meeting in the Holguin Sports Museum Celso Enriquez.

It was very tense and combative, in the end I think what influenced was my psychological preparation and luck accompanied me, Marrero told AIN at the end of the last match.

She thanked the special preparation of her native province of Las Tunas days before starting the tournament with her coach and Grand Master, Vivian Ramon,one of the main architects of her success.

Vivian expressed satisfaction about the outcome of hours devoted to the analysis of plays and games with her disciple, whom she considers the best she has had in her long career in the world of game science.

Osorio Fausto, international referee said it was this one of the most hotly contested national events in recent years, in which the combativeness and competitiveness of all athletes prevailed.

In the match for third place, IM Lisandra Ordaz, from Pinar del Rio, who has the highest ELO of the Cuban players with 2,343, beat Havana's Ramon.Granma Daily

Source: http://www.cubaheadlines.com

The gender gap

There are four women in the A group at Aeroflot this year. Even though they fought valiantly, the results have been disappointing so far.

Results after 7 rounds

Rank	Name	Score	Fed.	Rating	TPR	Rat-HiLo	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
68	WGM Ju, Wenjun	2.5	CHN	2514	2504	2611.5	½	½	0	0	½	0	1
81	GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra	2.0	RUS	2498	2438	2590.8	0	½	½	0	1	0	0
82	WGM Pogonina, Natalija	2.0	RUS	2472	2405	2582.2	0	0	0	1	½	0	½
85	WGM Paikidze, Nazi	2.0	GEO	2455	2422	2580.2	½	0	0	0	½	1	0

http://www.aeroflotchess.org/tournaments/A/

FIDE Caissa Award Voting Starting NOW

Women players (rated > 2300) can nominate themselves by sending an application, or any women chess players rated above 2400 on January 1, 2011 can send their top 3 nominations for best women chess players of the year 2010. The complete regulations can be found below.

I ask all the players who are eligible to send their votes to take active part in this voting, as well as the players who think they deserve this award for the 2009 year do not hesitate to send their applications.

I would like to have as many applications as possible, I am sure there is a very deserving lady out there deserving this nomination and prize!

FIDE CAISSA AWARD

The CAISSA AWARD will be awarded annually, every year in the Spring to the best female player of the preceding year.

The voting will consist of 2 stages.

The first phase:

Any women chess player, rated above 2300 ELO, who played more than 10 rated games in the previous year (for example 2009), can apply to get this award, by sending her application to susanpolgar@aol.com with cc to: " fierromartha@yahoo.com .She should indicate her best results of the previous year (for example 2009) and number of rated games and exact results of each tournament played.

Alternatively, any woman chess player rated above 2400 ELO on January 1, 2011, can nominate up to 3 candidates for this award, sending an application that will include the best results of the year for the nominated players to susanpolgar@aol.com with cc to: " fierromartha@yahoo.com
The second phase:

Out of the valid received applications, candidates shall be proposed by the members of the FIDE commission for women's chess (WOM) and the Commission for World Championships and Olympiads (WCO) based on a voting system (each member of the WOM and WCO can suggest up to three candidates, with the 1st place getting 5 points, 2nd place getting 3 points and the third place getting 1 point, by email to susanpolgar@aol.com and cc: fierromartha@yahoo.com.

The winner will be the player who gets the greatest number of points. The WOM will count the number of points for each candidate and will propose the winner to the PB before the 2nd quarter Presidential Board of each year. The PB shall review the results, decide in case of a tie, and after the result is known, the winner of the Caissa award is to be notified and announced officially by FIDE. The decision of the PB will be final.

The winner will be awarded with the FIDE CAISSA AWARD (2011) and thus named the best female player of the year (2010).

Prizes: Grand Prize: 1,000 euros and a statuette. (The prize comes out of the FIDE Commission on Women's Chess).

Winners may receive additional prizes if sponsors come forward.

Winners must sign an affidavit and license and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on the prize.

http://womenchess.fide.com/index.php

New Champ crowned in Cuba

Yaniet Marrero, New Cuban Chess Champion
by PL — last modified Feb 10, 2011 03:17 PM

Cuban Grandmaster Yaniet Marrero, from Las Tunas province, won the National Chess Tournament by defeating her rival, Oleiny Linares, from Santiago de Cuba.

The new champion unseated her rival, winner of the title in 2010, during a marathon competition on Wednesday that lasted more than seven hours, according to the National Information Agency (AIN).

The perseverance and fighting spirit of the Olympic gold medallist allowed her gain an advantage over Oleiny in the second conventional game, with 53 moves of a Pirc Defense.

It was a very tense game, but in the end psychological training and luck were decisive, Marrero told AIN.

The athlete said she was grateful for the special training she received in her hometown shortly before the tournament, along with her coach GM Vivian Ramon, one of the main people responsible for her win.

Source: http://www.escambray.cu

FIDE Committee for Women's Chess New Website

WELCOME TO THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN'S CHESS (WOM) WEBSITE!

The WOM is happy to welcome all of you to our webpage!! Our goal is to inform you all about women history, present players, future events and much more ! Our commission is working hard to improve the situation for women in the chess world in all areas such as players, trainers, arbiters and organisers. We will really appreciate all your comments and ideas to help us improve!

Best Wishes
WOM

http://womenchess.fide.com/index.php