|
|
|
|---|
Last update: Tuesday April 18, 2006 14:08
Reports by Susan McFarland
These two eleven-round events finished on Easter Sunday. In the Women’s Championship, England was represented by two of her top women players, Jovanka Houska and Jessie Gilbert. In the Men’s (Open) Championship, England’s representatives were one of her most promising IMs, Simon Williams, and a very enthusiastic, untitled player, Richard Almond.
IM Jovanka Houska, rated 2378, won her last game to complete a very respectable tournament rating performance of 2395. Her score of 6.5 was not quite enough to qualify for the next Women’s World Championship, but her games in the early rounds augur very well for the future.
WFM Jessie Gilbert, rated 2144, secured her third and final WIM norm after nine rounds, and now only needs to raise her rating to 2200 for the title. Her score of 4.5 and rating performance of 2224 suggest that this will be sooner rather than later.
IM Simon Williams, rated 2478, will be disappointed with his score of 4.5 and a rating performance of 2387 which does not reflect recent successes or his future potential. This was a very tough event with many of the strongest grandmasters in Europe giving him valuable competitive experience.
Richard Almond, representing England for the first time, finished with a score of 4.0 and a rating performance of 2300, more than 200 points above his own rating of 2093. Ten of his opponents were rated over 2325, three of those over 2500, and he will be very encouraged by his result which more than exceeded expectations.
The European Champion, 2006, is GM Zdenka Kozul of Croatia, and the European Women’s Champion is WGM Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey, who each finished with a score of 8.5. British interest also extends to British Ladies’ Champion, Ketevan Arakhamia Grant, playing for Georgia, who scored 6.0 in the Women’s Championship.
Jovanka Houska and Jessie Gilbert will represent England in the Women’s
Team at the Olympiad, 20th May to 5th June, where they will be joined by WGM
Jana Bellin and WFM Sophie Tidman, and captain GM Mark Hebden.
After their successful start, the four English players have continued to do well in two very challenging championships.
In the Women’s Championship, Jovanka Houska is on a score of 5/8 with a rating performance so far of 2446. Currently lying in 13th place, she is nicely poised for a strong finish over the weekend. Today she plays Bela Khotenashvili of Georgia.
Jessie Gilbert’s rating performance so far is 2255, over 100 points more than her own rating, and her score of 3.5 includes a win against Claudia Eckhardt of Germany (2260) and a draw with Anna Zozulia of the Ukraine (2355). She plays Turkan Mamedjarova of Azerbaijan today.
In the Men’s (Open) Championship, Simon Williams’ score of 3.5 includes a draw with GM Ulf Andersson of Sweden, rated 2545. The toughness of this event is illustrated by the five of his opponents rated between 2545 and 2599. This afternoon he plays Serkan Yeke of Turkey.
Richard Almond has played three people rated well over 2500 and four rated over 2400. His score is 2.5 which gives him a rating performance so far of 2342 which is some 250 points above his own rating. Today he plays Faik Aleskerov of Azerbaijan, rated 2325.
Leading the Women’s Championship are IM Tea Bosboom Lanchava of the Netherlands and WGM Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey with 6.5/8. In the Men’s Championship, GM Zdenko Kozul of Croatia leads with 6.5 followed by GM Vassily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine with 6/8.
IM Jovanka Houska is leading the English players after three rounds at the European Team Championships in Kusadasi, Turkey. She and WFM Jessie Gilbert are in the Women’s Championship and IM Simon Williams and Richard Almond are in the Men’s (Open) Championship.
Her first round win was followed by a magnificent game against the seventh seed IM Marie Sebag of France, rated 2434, which put her on Board 1 for the third round, this time against WGM Anna Muzychuk of Slovakia which ended in a draw. Today, with a score of 2.5/3, she is playing on Board 3 against WGM Natalia Zhukova of the Ukraine. Such a good start augurs well for the remainder of the championship.
Jessie Gilbert is playing in this event for the first time and is the 79th seed in a field of 96 players from 27 countries. Her first round loss to IM Irina Turova of Russia was followed by two draws, with WGM Maria Velcheva of Bulgaria and WIM Ekaterini Fakhiridou of Greece, both rated well over 100 points above her. This is a good start in a challenging event.
In the Men’s Championship, IM Simon Williams started with a draw with the well-respected GM Vasilios Kotronias of Greece, rated 2598. However, a second near-2600 strength player, GM Vladimir Belov of Russia, won against him and Simon then drew with Sotirios Logothetis of Greece.
Richard Almond, rated 2093, is the 134th seed in a field of 138 players. His first round loss to GM Alexandre Dgebuadze was followed by a win against IM Blazimir Kovacevic of Croatia, rated 2468. In round three, he drew with GM Luc Winants of Belgium, rated 2530, achieving a tournament rating performance so far of 2511. Today he faces GM Yuriy Kuzubov of the Ukraine, rated 2548.
The four players have all started well and their progress can be followed on the official website or, for alternative comprehensive coverage, the Wiener Zeitung website. Both can be accessed through the FIDE website (www.fide.com).