2008 in chess
Encyclopedia
January
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2799 | +14 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2799 | –2 | |
| 3 | 4 | 2780 | +11 | |
| 4 | 6 | 2765 | +10 | |
| 5 | 12 | 2763 | +31 | |
| 6 | 7 | 2760 | +8 | |
| 7 | 10 | 2755 | +16 | |
| 8 | 5 | 2753 | −2 | |
| 9 | 2 | 2753 | −36 | |
| 10 | 9 | 2739 | −2 |
- January 1 – Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
(Russia) gains 14 rating pointsElo rating systemThe Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
to move from number three to head the FIDE top 100 players lists at 2799. Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
(India) also at 2799 drops from first to second as he played fewer rated games in the previous reporting period. Veselin TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
(Bulgaria) is third at 2780. Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) loses 36 points to drop from number two to number nine. As on the previous list, a rating of 2627 is required to place in the top 100. - January 6 – 83rd Hastings International CongressHastings International Chess CongressThe Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
ends in three-way tie between GM Vadim MalakhatkoVadim MalakhatkoVadim Malakhatko is a Ukrainian–Belgian chess grandmaster. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Ukrainian team at the 2001 World Team Chess Championship...
(Belgium), GM Nidjat MamedovNidjat MamedovNidjat Mamedov is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster . In 2011 he won the Azerbaijani Chess Championship.In 2007/08 he tied for first with Vadim Malakhatko and Valeriy Neverov in the Hastings International Chess Congress...
(Azerbaijan), and GM Valeriy Neverov (Ukraine). Earlier in the tournament IM Simon Williams (England) achieved a performance that should qualify him for the Grandmaster title (ratingElo rating systemThe Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
temporarily over 2500, he already had the required normsGrandmaster normA norm in chess is one of the requirements to receive a title such as Grandmaster from FIDE.- Grandmaster norm :In order to qualify for the title of Grandmaster of chess, a title awarded by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, a player must achieve three or more grandmaster norms in events covering a...
). - January 6 – 50th Reggio EmiliaReggio Emilia chess tournamentThe Reggio Emilia chess tournament is a chess tournament played in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italian the tournament is called Torneo di Capodanno , as it starts just after Christmas and ends on the day of Epiphany...
won by GM Zoltán AlmásiZoltan AlmasiZoltán Almási is a Grandmaster of chess from Hungary. He is a seven-time Hungarian Chess Champion, winning in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008...
(Hungary). - January 7 – 2nd ACPAssociation of Chess ProfessionalsThe Association of Chess Professionals is a not-for-profit organisation, the closest thing in existence to a trade union for professional chess players. According to Article 2 of its terms:-History:...
World Rapid Cup in OdessaOdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
won by GM Teimour RadjabovTeimour RadjabovRadjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the...
(Azerbaijan) over GM Alexander GrischukAlexander GrischukAlexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
(Russia) in a blitz playoff. - January 9 – Asian Team Championships in VisakhapatnamVisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
men's and women's gold medal won by China, with India winning silver and VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
bronze in both events. - January 11 – 2007/8 Australian ChampionshipAustralian Chess ChampionshipThe Australian Chess Championship is a tournament organised by the Australian Chess Federation and held every two years. The tournament is usually restricted to Australian chess players, although exceptions have been made on occasion. The winner of the tournament holds the title of Australian Chess...
in Parramatta won by IM Stephen Solomon placing second (top finisher among Australians). GM Dejan AnticDejan AnticDejan Antić is a Serbian grandmaster, who began in 1988 professionally.-External links:*...
(Serbia) won the tournament. - January 12 – 33rd Ciudad de Sevilla won by GM Karen Movsziszian (Armenia).
- January 13 – 5th Estonia–Finland match on 100 boards in TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
won by Estonia 60.5–28.5. (Finland was short of players, and only 89 games were played.) - January 19 – Venezuelan ChampionshipVenezuelan Chess ChampionshipThe first Venezuelan Chess Championship took place in February 1891 when Dr. Rafael Ruíz defeated Rafael Pittaluga in a match for the title . In the second match, Rafael Ruíz drew with Carlos Perret Gentil in 1894....
in San FelipeSan Felipe, YaracuySan Felipe is the capital of the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy. Former Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera was born there. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Felipe. San Felipe is situated in a rich agricultural region of Western Venezuela...
won by IM Eduardo IturrizagaEduardo IturrizagaEduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli is a Venezuelan chess player. He achieved the title of grandmaster in 2008, making him the first and only Venezuelan chess grandmaster.-Chess career:...
10/11. This is IM Eduardo Iturrizaga's third consecutive championship title. WIM Maria Ubaldo won the women's championship for the second year in a row, 6.5/9. - January 21 – 68th Armenian ChampionshipArmenian Chess ChampionshipThis is a list of all the winners of the Armenian Chess Championship. The first championship was played in 1934, when Armenia was a part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. Championships were held sporadically in the Armenian SSR until 1945, when they became contested every year; this has continued today...
in YerevanYerevanYerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
won for the third time and the second consecutive year by GM Karen AsrianKaren AsrianKaren Asrian was an Armenian chess Grandmaster.As of the October 2006 FIDE rating list, his Elo rating was 2634, tied for the fourth highest rank in Armenia....
on tie-break over six-time champion GM Artashes MinasianArtashes MinasianArtashes Minasian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster.-Chess career:He participated in eight Chess Olympiads with a record of +23,=28,-12. In 2006 the Armenian team took the first place at the 37th Chess Olympiad...
. Both scored 8/12 in a field of 13 with 11 GMs. WIM Lilit Galojan is the 62nd women's champion on tie-break over WIM Siranush Andriasian. - January 22 – Belarus ChampionshipBelarusian Chess ChampionshipThe 65th Belarusian Chess Championship was held 18–28 February 1999.GM Viacheslav Dydyshko won the 12-player, single round-robin tournament , earning his tenth championship in 26 attempts.-References:**...
in MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
won by GM Alexei FedorovAlexei FedorovAlexei Fedorov is a chess grandmaster. Until 1992 he played for the Soviet Union, then briefly for Russia and from 1993 for the Belarus chess association....
with 9.5/13. - January 24 – Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
named CNN-IBN's Indian Sportsperson of 2007 in recognition of his 20 year career and 2007 World Championship title. - January 25 – 115th New Zealand ChampionshipNew Zealand Chess ChampionshipThe New Zealand Chess Championship was first conducted in 1879.Note: Up until 1934 foreign players were eligible for the title. The eligibility rules were changed in 1935 to preclude this; John Angus Erskine was born in Invercargill and was therefore eligible although he was domiciled in...
in AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
won by GM Murray ChandlerMurray ChandlerMurray Graham Chandler is a New Zealand chess grandmaster who has played internationally for that nation and for England, after gaining citizenship there in the early 1980s...
with 9/11. - January 27 – CorusCorus chess tournamentThe Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
2008 (Wijk aan Zee) A-group (category 20) won by GM Levon AronianLevon AronianLevon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
(Armenia) and GM Magnus CarlsenMagnus CarlsenSven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
(Norway), tied at 8/13. This is the second time that the 25-year-old Aronian shared first place at this tournament. Carlsen is only 17 years old. - January 28 – Azerbaijan Championship in BakuBakuBaku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
won by GM Rauf MammadovRauf MammadovRauf Mamedov is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster.- Career :Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mamedov started playing chess at the age of seven. In 2004, he became a Grandmaster , following his victory during international tournament in Dubai....
with 7/9. - January 29 – Croatian ChampionshipCroatian Chess ChampionshipThe Croatian Chess Championship is the annual individual national chess championship of Croatia.-Winners :-References:* *...
in SplitSplit (city)Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
won by GM Hrvoje Stevic with 8/12. - January 31 – 6th Gibraltar Gibtelecom Chess Festival won by GM Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
(USA) in a 2–0 playoff against GM Bu XiangzhiBu XiangzhiBu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. In 1999, he became China's 10th Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 10 months, 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
(China) after both finished with 8/10. IM Zhao Zong-YuanZhao Zong-YuanZhao Zong-Yuan is an Australian chess Grandmaster. He is the current Australian Chess Champion and number one ranked chess player in Australia.-Early life:...
became Australia's youngest ever GM at age 21 by scoring 6 in the first 9 rounds on the way to 6.5/10. - Cuban Chess ChampionshipCuban Chess ChampionshipIn the second part of the 19th century, Celso Golmayo Zúpide had been generally accepted as Cuban champion since his 1862 match defeat of Félix Sicre. In 1912–1937 Cuban Championship as Copa Dewar occurred...
won by Yuniesky Quesada.
February
- February 2 – "To Gligorić with Love", a rapid chess tournament in PančevoPancevoPančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
honors Svetozar GligorićSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
(Serbia) on his 85th birthday. The 85 player field includes 23 GMs, 21 IMs, 12 FMs, 4 WGMs, and 1 WIM. Five players tie for first place, with GM Ivan IvaniševićIvan IvaniševicIvan Ivanišević is a Serbian chess player and International Grandmaster of Chess. He won the Serbian Chess Championship in 2008 and 2009. Played for Yugoslavia in the Chess Olympiads of 1998, 2000, 2002 and for Serbia in the Olympiad of 2008...
(Serbia) winning the trophy. - February 10 – 4th International Chess Festival Moscow Open held at the Russian State Social UniversityRussian State Social UniversityRussian State Social University is a public university located in Moscow, Russian Federation.-History:...
won by GM Artyom TimofeevArtyom TimofeevArtyom Timofeev is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won the European Youth Chess Championship for U18 in 2000. He tied for 1st-6th with Evgeniy Najer, Kaido Külaots, Zoltan Gyimesi, Sergey Grigoriants and Oleg Korneev at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open 2004...
7.5/9, overtaking the tournament leader GM Ernesto InarkievErnesto InarkievErnesto Inarkiev is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He was named after Ernesto "Che" Guevara. In 2006 he came third in the 59th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal....
(7/9) by beating him in the final round in a 117-move game. IM Anna MuzychukAnna MuzychukAnna Olegivna Muzychuk is a chess player with a FIDE rating of 2528 . She earned the title of Woman Grandmaster in 2004 and the title of International Master in 2007. In 2004 she became a member of the Slovenian chess federation, where she is the strongest female chess player...
wins the women's section with 8/9. The tournament has a 5 million rubleRussian rubleThe ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
prize fund (about US$205,760). - February 15 – 45th Indian ChampionshipIndian Chess ChampionshipThe Indian Chess Championship is a yearly national chess championship of India. It was established in 1955 by the Andhra State Chess Association as a two-yearly event, but since 1971 it has been played yearly. The first edition was held in Eluru from May 15-May 28 and was jointly won by Ramchandra...
in ChennaiChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
won by GM Surya Shekhar GangulySurya Shekhar GangulySurya Shekhar Ganguly is an Indian chess Grandmaster and a chess prodigy from Kolkata. He started playing chess at the age of 5 and achieved great successes at National Junior and World Junior Championships since the age of 8. He also set a record of being the youngest player to beat a Grandmaster...
on tie-break over IM K Rathnakaran after both scored 9/11. - February 16 – British Chess Solving Championship has a field of 33, including all title British solvers and two overseas guests. Former world solving champion Piotr MurdziaPiotr MurdziaPiotr Murdzia is a chess International Master from Poland.He was awarded the IM title in 1994. He won tournaments in Świdnica and Legnica making two grandmaster's norms....
scores 59/65 to lead the field by 7½ points. Dolf Wissmann (Netherlands) and Jonathan MestelJonathan MestelAndrew Jonathan Mestel is Professor of applied mathematics at Imperial College London who works on magnetohydrodynamics and biological fluid dynamics...
share second place with 51½, a half-point ahead of John NunnJohn NunnJohn Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
, alone in fourth. Mestel wins his 15th championship as the highest British scorer. - February 17 – Four Nations Chess Challenge in OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
won by Sweden. England finishes second, followed by Latvia and Norway. - February 19 – European Senior Team Championship in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
won by the Czech Republic team headed by Vlastimil JansaVlastimil JansaVlastimil Jansa is a Chess Grandmaster from the Czech Republic .He learned chess while in hospital at the age of eight and at fourteen, became the youth champion of Prague. In 1959, he finished second in the Czechoslovak national junior championship...
. - February 22 – AeroflotAeroflotOJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
Open in Moscow won by 17-year-old GM Ian NepomniachtchiIan NepomniachtchiIan Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi is a Russian chess grandmaster and the chess champion of Russia in 2010. , he was listed by FIDE as having an Elo rating of 2730....
(Russia) with the score 7/9. Regarded as the strongest open tournament in the world, the prize fund is US$200,000 with $30,000 for the winner. - February 23 – 79th German ChampionshipGerman Chess ChampionshipThe German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion.Prior to 1880 three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the Westdeutscher Schachbund , the Norddeutscher Schachbund and the Mitteldeutscher Schachbund . Each one organized its...
in Bad Woerishofen won by GM Daniel FridmanDaniel FridmanDaniel Fridman is a German chess master who originates from Latvia. He was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008.-Early chess career:...
. - February 24 – 60th Polish Women's ChampionshipPolish Chess ChampionshipIndividual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament , the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequently the olympiad team.The first men's championship took...
in KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
won by IM Monika SoćkoMonika SockoMonika Soćko is a Polish chess player. She won the Polish women's chess championship four times . She is married to Polish GM Bartosz Soćko....
.
March
- March 1 – Icelandic Team Championship won by Taflfélag Reykjavikur over Hellir A. Taflfélag Reykjavikur included six GMs and 3 IMs. The World Junior ChampionWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
Ahmed AdlyAhmed AdlyAhmed Adly is a chess Grandmaster from Cairo, Egypt. In 2005, he won the African Chess Championship, and in 2007 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. He tied for 1st-5th with Gabriel Sargissian, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Igor-Alexandre Nataf and Pendyala Harikrishna in the Reykjavik Open 2006...
(Egypt) achieved the top board one performance, playing for Hellir A and scoring 3/3 (100%) with a performance rating of 3017. - March 7 – Morelia/LinaresLinares chess tournamentThe Linares International Chess Tournament , is an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held...
won by Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
(India) scoring 8½/14, a half-point ahead of Magnus CarlsenMagnus CarlsenSven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
(Norway). - March 2 – Romanian ChampionshipRomanian Chess ChampionshipThe Romanian Chess Championship became a yearly even in 1946, and was held irregularly earlier. A series of national eliminating contests are played to select a 20-player field for the men's final...
in Cluj-NapocaCluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
won by GM Vladislav NevednichyVladislav NevednichyVladislav Nevednichy is a Romanian chess Grandmaster and Romanian champion in 2008. He took part in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, but was knocked out in the second round by Jeroen Piket....
on tie-break with five players at 7/9. - March 8 – 126th Varsity Match between the Cambridge University Chess Club and the Oxford University Chess ClubOxford University Chess ClubThe Oxford University Chess Club was founded at the University of Oxford in 1869 and is the oldest university chess club in the United Kingdom. The Club meets each Tuesday evening during University term time, from 7.30pm at St John's College...
held in London. The match is drawn 4–4, leaving Cambridge in the all-time series lead with 56 wins to Oxford's 49, with 14 drawn matches. - March 9 – 65th Polish Chess ChampionshipPolish Chess ChampionshipIndividual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament , the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequently the olympiad team.The first men's championship took...
in LublinLublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
won by GM Bartosz SoćkoBartosz SockoBartosz Soćko is a Polish chess Grandmaster. In 2008 Soćko became Polish champion. He played for Poland at six Chess Olympiads and at six European Team Chess Championships...
with 9/13. - March 9 – Finnish Team Championship won by Matinkylä for the first time since 1993, after placing second four consecutive times.
- March 12 – 65th Georgian Women's ChampionshipGeorgian Chess Championship-Winners:-References:*****...
in TbilisiTbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
won by IM Nana DzagnidzeNana DzagnidzeNana Dzagnidze is a chess player from Georgia, who achieved the title of International Grandmaster in 2008.-Youth success:As a junior player, she showed early promise by winning the World Girls Under-12 Championship in 1999...
over WGM Salome Melia in a rapid playoff after both finished with 9/12. - March 18 – Russian U-20 Championship in Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
- March 20 – Atatürk International Women's Masters in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
won by 14-year-old WGM Hou YifanHou YifanHou Yifan is a Chinese chess prodigy. She is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.At the age of 12, Hou became the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE Women's...
(China) scoring 7/9 to finish a full point ahead of GM Pia CramlingPia CramlingPia Cramling is a Swedish chess grandmaster. Since the early 1980s, she has been one of the strongest female players in the world....
(Sweden). - March 24 – 72nd Bulgarian Men's ChampionshipBulgarian Chess ChampionshipThe Bulgarian Chess Championship is an event inaugurated in 1933 to crown the best chess player in Bulgaria. The championship has been held on a nearly annual basis since, with only a few years missed...
in PlovdivPlovdivPlovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
won by GM Vasil SpasovVasil SpasovVasil Spasov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. Spasov won the 1989 World Junior Chess Championship. Spasov has been Bulgarian Champion several times: 1990, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2008....
scoring 9½/13. WFM Elitsa Raeva wins the 57th Women's Championship also in PlovdivPlovdivPlovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, scoring 9/11. - March 24 – Danish ChampionshipDanish Chess ChampionshipThe Danish Chess Championship was organised by the Danish Chess Union and first held in 1910. A masterclass was first introduced in 1915. But it is only from 1922 that the title of Danish chess champion was introduced, this was the first year also players from Copenhagen joined.-History:In 1949...
in SilkeborgSilkeborgSilkeborg is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,724 . The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844...
won by GM Peter Heine NielsenPeter Heine NielsenPeter Heine Nielsen is a Danish chess Grandmaster.-Chess career:Nielsen became an International Grandmaster in 1994. He won the Danish Chess Championship five times: in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2008. He played for Denmark in seven Chess Olympiads, three times on top board, with an overall...
who scored 7/9 in his first appearance in the championship in five years. - March 24 – Doeberl CupDoeberl CupThe Doeberl Cup is an annual chess tournament held in Canberra, Australia. It has been held every year since 1963 and is the longest running weekend chess event in Australia. Since its inception the event has grown both larger and stronger, and often attracts more players than the Australian Chess...
Premier in CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
won by GM Varuzhan AkobianVaruzhan AkobianVaruzhan Akobian is an Armenian-American Grandmaster of chess, originally from Armenia, who now resides in Los Angeles.He became an International Master at age 16...
(USA) scoring 7½/9. - March 24 – Welsh ChampionshipWelsh Chess ChampionshipThe modern Welsh Chess Championship was inaugurated in 1955.The champion earned a place in the British Championship.-External links:****...
in CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
won jointly by IM Leighton Williams and FM James Cobb scoring 6/7. - March 27 – Iranian ChampionshipIranian Chess ChampionshipThe Iranian Chess Championship is the yearly national chess championship of Iran. Below is the gallery of champions, notice the gap between 1980 and 1990 , when chess was forbidden in Iran...
won by GM Ehsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem-Maghami is a chess grandmaster from Iran. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2583.In 2009, he won a 20 games combined match against Anatoly Karpov, played with a special rule: play to mate or dead draw...
scoring 12/13. Although Iran has five GMs he was the only GM in the event as the others declined to play due to lack of a cash prize. WIM Atousa PourkashiyanAtousa PourkashiyanAtousa Pourkashiyan is an Iranian chess Woman Grandmaster. She played for Iran in the Women's Asian Team Chess Championships of 2003, 2005 and 2008. In April 2010 she won Women's Asian Chess Championship in Subic Bay....
wins the Women's Championship scoring 8½/11 to top a twelve-player field including one WGM, two WIMs, and four WFMs. - March 28 – Amber Rapid and BlindfoldMelody AmberThe Amber chess tournament was an annual invitation-only event for some of the world's best players, from 1992 to 2011. Since the second edition, the event uniquely combined blindfold chess and speed chess, and has been held in Monte Carlo...
in NiceNiceNice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
won by GM Levon AronianLevon AronianLevon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
. The blindfold section was a three-way tie, with Aronian, GM Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
, and GM Alexander MorozevichAlexander MorozevichAlexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
all scoring 6/11. Aronian won the rapid section with 7½/11, 2 points ahead of four players tied for second. The prize fund is €216,000 (approximately US$336,000). - March 28 – Serbian Championship in Mataruška won by GM Ivan IvaniševićIvan IvaniševicIvan Ivanišević is a Serbian chess player and International Grandmaster of Chess. He won the Serbian Chess Championship in 2008 and 2009. Played for Yugoslavia in the Chess Olympiads of 1998, 2000, 2002 and for Serbia in the Olympiad of 2008...
scoring 9/13. - March 30 – 67th Georgian ChampionshipGeorgian Chess Championship-Winners:-References:*****...
won by GM Levan Pantsulaia by beating IM Giorgi Margvelashvili in the final. The championship is a knockout event with rapid playoff tie-break. Marvelashvili earned a GM normGrandmaster normA norm in chess is one of the requirements to receive a title such as Grandmaster from FIDE.- Grandmaster norm :In order to qualify for the title of Grandmaster of chess, a title awarded by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, a player must achieve three or more grandmaster norms in events covering a...
.
April
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2803 | +4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2788 | −11 | |
| 3 | 4 | 2774 | +9 | |
| 4 | 3 | 2767 | −13 | |
| 5 | 13 | 2765 | +32 | |
| 6 | 10 | 2763 | +24 | |
| 7 | 6 | 2752 | −8 | |
| 8 | 12 | 2751 | +16 | |
| 9 | 5 | 2746 | −17 | |
| 10 | 8 | 2741 | −12 |
- April 1 – Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
(India) regains the top spot on the FIDE ratings list as Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
(Russia) falls to second place. Seventeen-year-old Magnus CarlsenMagnus CarlsenSven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
(Norway) enters the top ten for the first time, jumping eight spots to move to fifth, just 38 rating points below first. Sergey KarjakinSergey KarjakinSergey Alexandrovich Karjakin is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was a chess prodigy and holds the record for both the youngest International Master, eleven years and eleven months, and grandmaster in history, at the age of twelve years and seven months...
(Ukraine) is the next highest rated junior, 13th overall with a 2732 rating. Judit PolgárJudit PolgárJudit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
(Hungary) is the only woman in the top one hundred, with her 2709 rating earning 22nd place. Humpy Koneru (India) is the second ranked woman rated over a hundred points lower at 2603. Hou YifanHou YifanHou Yifan is a Chinese chess prodigy. She is the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.At the age of 12, Hou became the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE Women's...
(China) moves up one position to fourth on the women's list at age fourteen years and one month. Antoaneta StefanovaAntoaneta StefanovaAntoaneta Stefanova is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster, and a former Women's World Chess Champion. She became the twelfth holder of that title in 2004 in a 64-player knockout tournament held in Elista, Kalmykia under the auspices of FIDE....
(Bulgaria) makes the largest jump on the women's list, gaining 74 rating points to climb from 24th up to 6th. - April 1 – Chess InformantChess InformantChess Informant is a publishing company from Belgrade that periodically produces a book of the same name, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, Encyclopaedia of Chess Endings, Opening Monographs, other print publications, and software Chess Informant (Šahovski Informator) is a...
publishes its one-hundredth issue. - April 4 – Turkish ChampionshipTurkish Chess ChampionshipThe Turkish Chess Championship is a national chess tournament which determines the champion of Turkey.-Winners:-References:*...
in AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
won by GM Mikhail GurevichMikhail Gurevich (chess player)Mikhail Naumovich Gurevich is a Soviet chess player. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey....
scoring 11½/13, a half-point ahead of GM Suat AtalıkSuat AtalikSuat Atalık is a Grandmaster of chess. As of the July 2009 FIDE rating list, he is ranked number 165 in the world and number two in Turkey, behind Mikhail Gurevich....
. - April 5 – 9th Internet Tournament Ciudad de Dos Hermanas won by defending champion Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, scoring 15/17. Twenty-five-year-old Sammour-Hasbun (Zamora) is the former World Under-10 ChampionWorld Youth Chess ChampionshipThe World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
but has no FIDE title. Held on the Internet Chess ClubInternet Chess ClubThe Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
, this event is the largest and most important internet chess tournament. Total prize fund is €7700, with €2000 for the winner. - April 9 – Serbian Women's Championship in KaćKACKAC may refer to:*Knight's Armament Company*EC KAC, a professional ice hockey team*Kajonk-A-Con*King Armored Car, the USA's first armored vehicle....
won by WGM Andjelija Stojanovic scoring 8½/11. - April 13 – Dutch ChampionshipDutch Chess ChampionshipThe Dutch Chess Championship was officially established in 1909, although unofficial champions stretch back to the 1870s.-Early years:-Official championships:...
in HilversumHilversumis a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
is twelve-player round-robin tournamentRound-robin tournamentA round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
with an average rating of 2536 (Category XII). Twenty-one-year-old GM Daniël StellwagenDaniël StellwagenDaniël Stellwagen is a Dutch chess Grandmaster.In 1999 he won the Dutch Junior Championship and won silver both at the World Junior Championship and the European Junior Championship . In 2003 he won the endgame study solving contest at the De Feijter Festival in Deventer with an unprecedented 100%...
had a half-point lead with 7/10 going into the final round, but loses to 23-year-old GM Jan SmeetsJan SmeetsJan Smeets is a Dutch chess player with the title Grandmaster. He was the Netherlands' national champion in 2008. In 2009 he did not take part, but in 2010 he successfully reclaimed the championship.-Competitive beginnings:...
in the decisive game, giving Smeets the final score 7½/11 for the half-point win and €10,000. Peng ZhaoqinPeng ZhaoqinPeng Zhaoqin is a female Chinese chess player, who has resided in the Netherlands since 1996...
scores 8½/9 to win the Dutch Women's ChampionshipDutch Chess ChampionshipThe Dutch Chess Championship was officially established in 1909, although unofficial champions stretch back to the 1870s.-Early years:-Official championships:...
in Hilversum by 1½ points. This is Zhaoqin's ninth consecutive women's championship and her tenth overall. - April 13 – 2nd Ruy Lopez Masters in MéridaMérida, SpainMérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
won by GM Michael Adams (England) scoring 5½/7 to finish a half-point ahead of Zhang PengxiangZhang PengxiangZhang Pengxiang is a Chinese chess Grandmaster, and was the 2007 Asian Chess Champion. In 2001, he became China's 12th Grandmaster. He has stated his desire to teach and give training to youngsters in China via an . He lives in Beijing.-Career:...
. The tournament was an eight player round-robin with an average rating of 2616 (FIDE category 15). - April 14 – Russian Team Championships in SochiSochiSochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
won by Ural Yekaterinburg. Composed of GMs Teimour RadjabovTeimour RadjabovRadjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the...
(2751), Alexei ShirovAlexei ShirovAlexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
(2755), Gata KamskyGata KamskyGata Kamsky is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and the current World Rapid Chess Champion. He is also the current United States Chess Champion. As of September 2011, he is rated No. 1 in the United States and No...
(2732), Alexander GrischukAlexander GrischukAlexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
(2711), Vladimir Malakhov (2689), Vladimir Akopian (2700), Alexey DreevAlexey DreevAlexey Dreev is a chess grandmaster from Russia. His career peak Elo rating was 2705, attained in October 2003 and again in April 2005.He qualified for the Candidates Tournament in 1991, but lost his Quarter Final match to Viswanathan Anand in Madras .Then in the FIDE World Championship...
(2633), and Alexander MotylevAlexander MotylevAlexander Anatolyevich Motylev is an International Grandmaster of chess and a former champion of Russia.He learnt how to play at the age of four and a half years and at age six took part in group instruction sessions. This is not uncommon in Russia where chess is very much part of the school...
(2644), it is the only team with an average rating over 2700. The Women's Team Championship is won by Finec Saint Petersburg, composed of Ekaterina Korbut, Viktorija ČmilytėViktorija CmilyteViktorija Čmilytė is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster . She won the gold medal at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship in 2011...
, Natalia ZhukovaNatalia ZhukovaNatalia Zhukova is a Ukrainian Grandmaster of chess. She won several age-group titles as a teenager, both at the European and World levels. She has also triumphed in several international women's tournaments...
, Julia Demina, and Irina Turova. - April 14 – 10th Dubai Open won by 14-year-old GM Wesley SoWesley SoWesley So is a Filipino chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the 8th youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess. Before becoming a Grandmaster, So had become the youngest Filipino...
(Philippines), the world's youngest GM, on tie-break over GMs Merab GagunashviliMerab GagunashviliMerab Gagunashvili is a Georgian chess grandmaster and Georgian Champion in 2004.In 2001, he won the silver medal in the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2009 he tied for 3rd-8th with Anton Filippov, Elshan Moradiabadi, Vadim Malakhatko, Alexander Shabalov and Niaz Murshed in the Ravana...
(Georgia), Ehsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem-Maghami is a chess grandmaster from Iran. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2583.In 2009, he won a 20 games combined match against Anatoly Karpov, played with a special rule: play to mate or dead draw...
(Iran) and Li ChaoLi Chao (chess player)Li Chao is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2007, he became China's 23rd Grandmaster at the age of 18. As of April 2009, he is the sixth highest rated junior player and is China's fifth highest rated player...
(China), all with 7/9. A player from Iran is expelled from the tournament over accusations of cheatingCheating in chessCheating in chess refers to a deliberate violation of the rules of chess or other unethical behaviour that is intended to give an unfair advantage to a player or team. Cheating can occur in many forms and can take place before, during, or possibly even after a game...
by receiving moves on a mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
sent by an accomplice using a chess computer. - April 20 – 2007/8 Chess BundesligaChess BundesligaThe term Chess Bundesliga , normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany. It is arguably the strongest and longest running league of its kind, attracting many top grandmasters from Europe and beyond....
- April 20 – 14th Ciudad de Dos Hermanas Rapid won by GM Veselin TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
(Bulgaria), defeating GM Francisco Vallejo PonsFrancisco Vallejo PonsFrancisco Vallejo Pons is a chess Grandmaster from Spain. He was a chess prodigy, achieving the grandmaster title at the age of 16 years and 9 months, which makes him the 20th youngest player to ever become a grandmaster...
(Spain) 2½–1½ in the final match by winning the first game and drawing the rest. The first round matches of the four-player knockout rapid chess tournament were won by Topalov over GM Judit PolgárJudit PolgárJudit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
(Hungary) 2½–1½ and Vallejo over GM Alexei ShirovAlexei ShirovAlexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
(Spain) 3–1.
May
- May 4 – 9th European Chess Championship in PlovdivPlovdivPlovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
- May 6 – FIDE Grand Prix in BakuBakuBaku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, the first event in the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2009 - May 17 – Dutch Team Championship
- May 18 – M-Tel MastersM-tel MastersM-Tel Masters is an annual super-GM chess tournament held since 2005 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, sponsored and organized by the leading Bulgarian mobile network operator, M-Tel. According to the regulations, each of the six participants plays two games against every other, thus making it a...
in SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
August
- August 9 – 95th British ChampionshipBritish Chess ChampionshipThe British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...
in LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... - August 17 – 8th European Individual Senior ChampionshipEuropean Senior Chess ChampionshipThe European Senior Chess Championship is a chess tournament for senior chess players organised by the European Chess Union . Men can participate if they are 60 or over by January 1 of the year the tournament starts. For women the age requirement is 50 or over. The format of the tournament is 9...
in DavosDavosDavos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
. - August 28 Start of Women's World Chess Championship 2008Women's World Chess Championship 2008The Women's World Chess Championship 2008 consisted of a tournament for the Women's World Chess Championship which took place from August 28, 2008 to September 18 in Nalchik in Russia. It was won by Alexandra Kosteniuk, who beat Hou Yifan in the final by 2½ to 1½.-Participants:Players were seeded...
October
- October 3 to 18 - First World Mind Sports GamesWorld Mind Sports GamesThe first World Mind Sports Games were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of...
held in Beijing, China - October 14 – Start of AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
–KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
2008 World ChampionshipWorld Chess Championship 2008The World Chess Championship 2008 was a best-of-twelve-games match between the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, and the previous World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik...
match in BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999.... - October 29 – AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
draws the eleventh game of his matchWorld Chess Championship 2008The World Chess Championship 2008 was a best-of-twelve-games match between the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, and the previous World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik...
with KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
to retain the World Championship title by the score 6½–4½ (+3−1=7).
Grandmaster
In 2008 FIDE awarded the title Grandmaster to the following players:- Yuriy AjrapetjanYuriy AjrapetjanYuriy Ajrapetjan is a chess Grandmaster from Ukraine.He was awarded the FIDE International Master title in 2005 and the Grandmaster title in 2007....
(b. 1988) - Ralf Appel (b. 1971)
- Axel Bachmann (b. 1989)
- Vinay BhatVinay BhatVinay Bhat is an American chess Grandmaster. Bhat earned his third Grandmaster norm in July 2007 at the age of 23, though he did not obtain the Grandmaster title immediately due to rating requirements. Bhat ultimately earned the Grandmaster title in October 2008...
(b. 1984) - Dmitry Chuprov (b. 1978)
- Andrey Deviatkin (b. 1980)
- Anton FilippovAnton FilippovAnton Filippov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster .In 2007 he tied for 1st-3rd with Vladimir Egin and Timur Gareev in the Uzbekistani Chess Championship. In 2008 he won the 1st Kuala Lumpur Open Championship and tied for 4-8th with Tamaz Gelashvili, Constantin Lupulescu, Nidjat Mamedov and...
(b. 1986) - Avetik GrigoryanAvetik Grigoryan-Achievements:*2004, 2006, 2007: Won Armenian Youth Championship*2006: Won Yerevan Rapid Chess Cup*2006: Second at European Rapid Chess Championship*2007: Fourth at World Youth Chess Championship, under-18*2008: Second at Belgorod Open*2008: Second at Fajr Open...
(b. 1989) - Stewart HaslingerStewart HaslingerStewart Haslinger is an English chess Grandmaster and former British Junior champion.-Biography:Now a resident of nearby Formby, Haslinger comes from a strong chess-playing family...
(b. 1981) - Frank Holzke (b. 1971)
- Enamul HossainEnamul HossainEnamul Hossain Rajib is a Bangladeshi chess player. He won the Bangladeshi Chess Championship in 1997 and 2006....
(b. 1981) - Valentin Iotov (b. 1988)
- Eduardo IturrizagaEduardo IturrizagaEduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli is a Venezuelan chess player. He achieved the title of grandmaster in 2008, making him the first and only Venezuelan chess grandmaster.-Chess career:...
(b. 1989) - Miguel Llanes Hurtado (b. 1978)
- Konstantin Maslak (b. 1984)
- Jakob Meister (b. 1955)
- Oleg Nikolenko (b. 1959)
- Tomas Petrik (b. 1980)
- Markus RaggerMarkus RaggerMarkus Ragger is an Austrian chess grandmaster . He took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, but was eliminated in the first round by Evgeny Alekseev....
(b. 1988) - Eltaj SafarliEltaj SafarliEltaj Safarli is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster. He won the under 10 World Youth Chess Championship in Heraklion in 2002.-Team competitions:...
(b. 1992)
- Ivan Salgado Lopez (b. 1991)
- Vigen Mirumian (b. 1977)
- Marie SebagMarie SebagMarie Sebag is a French chess player, who won the French Chess Championship for women in 2000 and 2002.-Tournament results:...
(b. 1986) - Dmitriy Skorchenko (b. 1983)
- Sergey Vokarev (b. 1970)
- Yuri VovkYuri VovkYuri Vovk is a Ukrainian chess player. He was trained by Vladimir Grabinsky, coach of the Ukrainian youth team. He became a Grandmaster in 2008, at age 20....
(b. 1988) - Wen YangWen Yang (chess player)Wen Yang is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In 2008, he became China's 25th Grandmaster at the age of 19.-World Cup:He qualified for and competed in the Chess World Cup 2007 where he reached Round One, where he was defeated 0.5-1.5 by Zoltán Almási...
(b. 1988) - Simon WilliamsSimon Williams (chess player)Simon Kim Williams is a chess grandmaster and author from England.He became an International Master in 1998 and a Grandmaster in 2008....
(b. 1979) - Zhao Zong-YuanZhao Zong-YuanZhao Zong-Yuan is an Australian chess Grandmaster. He is the current Australian Chess Champion and number one ranked chess player in Australia.-Early life:...
(b. 1986)
Woman Grandmaster
In 2008 FIDE awarded the title Woman Grandmaster to the following players:- Nino Batsiashvili (b. 1987)
- Elizaveta Borisova (b. 1984)
- Tatiana Fatianova (b. 1984)
- Mary Ann Gomes (b. 1989)
- Huang QianHuang QianHuang Qian is a Chinese WGM-titled chess player.She is currently the 47th ranked female chess player in the world. She had previously been in the FIDE Top 20 Girls List from 2003–2006, having reached a peak of 9th position on the April 2006 list....
(b. 1986) - Monika Krupa (b. 1977)
- Eva Kulovana (b. 1987)
- Thanh Tu Le (b. 1985)
- Kateřina NěmcováKaterina NemcováKateřina Němcová is a Czech chess Woman Grandmaster and Women's Czech chess champion. She came second in the World Youth Chess Championship of 2007 and won the European Youth Chess Championship of 2008.- External links :*...
(b. 1990) - Anna RudolfAnna RudolfAnna Rudolf is a Hungarian chess player. In 2008, 2010 and 2011 she won the Hungarian Women Chess Championship.-Lip balm controversy:...
(b. 1978)
Deaths
- January 17 – Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
, 64, the 11th World ChampionWorld Chess ChampionshipThe World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
, dies in IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. - May 24 – Bukhuti GurgenidzeBukhuti GurgenidzeBukhuti Ivanovich Gurgenidze was a Georgian chess Grandmaster, born in Surami.He was a multiple Georgian Champion, and played in eight USSR Chess Championships. He shared first place with Mikhail Tal at Tbilisi in 1969–70 and placed first at Olomouc in 1976. Gurgenidze was a trainer to several...
, 74, GeorgianGeorgian peopleThe Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
GM and many time Georgian ChampionGeorgian Chess Championship-Winners:-References:*****...
. - June 9 – Karen AsrianKaren AsrianKaren Asrian was an Armenian chess Grandmaster.As of the October 2006 FIDE rating list, his Elo rating was 2634, tied for the fourth highest rank in Armenia....
, 28, ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n GM, three times Armenian Chess ChampionArmenian Chess ChampionshipThis is a list of all the winners of the Armenian Chess Championship. The first championship was played in 1934, when Armenia was a part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. Championships were held sporadically in the Armenian SSR until 1945, when they became contested every year; this has continued today...
, dies of a suspected heart attack in YerevanYerevanYerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
. - August 10 – Igor ZakharevichIgor ZakharevichIgor Zakharevich was a Russian chess Grandmaster.-References:...
, 25, Russian GM. - August 20 – Mario BertokMario BertokMario Bertok was a Croatian chess master and sports journalist, writing for the Sportske novosti daily sports newspaper. He was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia....
, 78, CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n IM dies in a swimming accident in Jarun Lake, Zagreb. - August 21/21 – Vladimir Bukal, 68, Croatian IM dies overnight in Zagreb. Bukal won the 2002 European Senior ChampionshipEuropean Senior Chess ChampionshipThe European Senior Chess Championship is a chess tournament for senior chess players organised by the European Chess Union . Men can participate if they are 60 or over by January 1 of the year the tournament starts. For women the age requirement is 50 or over. The format of the tournament is 9...
. - November 29 – Robert WadeRobert Wade (chess player)Robert Graham Wade OBE , was a British chess player, writer, arbiter, coach, and promoter. He was New Zealand champion three times, British champion twice, and played in seven Chess Olympiads and one Interzonal tournament...
, 87, winner of multiple New Zealand and British chess championships, IM and International Arbiter, dies in London of pneumonia. - December 10 – Mark DiesenMark DiesenMark Carl Diesen was an American chess player. He earned the International Master title in 1976 by winning the World Junior Championship...
, 51, American IM and 1976 World Junior ChampionWorld Junior Chess ChampionshipThe World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
. - December 20 – Albin PlanincAlbin PlanincAlbin Planinc, also spelled Planinec was a Slovenian chess Grandmaster.He was born in a working-class family in Briše near Zagorje in the Central Sava Valley, in German-occupied Slovenia....
, 64, Yugloslav/Slovenian GM. - December 24 – Hugh MyersHugh MyersHugh Edward Myers was an American chess master and author. He won or tied for first in the state chess championships of Illinois , Wisconsin , Missouri , and Iowa , as well as the USCF Region VIII championship...
, 78, American master and writer on unorthodox openings, dies in Davenport, IowaDavenport, IowaDavenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
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