- Group 17:
-
On the first view everything
looks as expected so far: three of the top rated teams ("Slovan
Bratislava", "Imperium Szachów - Polinia" and the "Chess Crystals"
lead while the chessfriends from "Supernovae" have some problems
to get into the race. Also no big surprises so far at the abaft
end of the group where the lower rated "Chess Today Bishops" and
"...e5xd4" can be found. They should have maybe named something
like "exQf8" or "NxRf7#".
IM Sabaev the nominal
favoruite already is on top of board 1 with a +2 score and no
lost game. The most important victory he scored against his russian
rival IM Aleksei Voll who also is rated +2500. Krabbe, Sjol, Marczell
and Smith also have a positive performance so far SIM Calzolari
and IM Novikovas both scored 4 draws and no clear result so far.
With 2/2 another SIM,
Marek Kolcak, leads at board 2 being accompanied by quite a number
of other players with also a +2 score: IM Poleshuk, Efendiyev
and Michele Rinesi, the man behind the webtables of the Open Email
Jubilee tournament where he does a remarkable work. Even better
is Robert Jankowicz with the fabulous score of 5/7.
With also +3 James
Monacell is the man to beat at board 3 and being new to ICCF you
could not expected that from him. Kopelevich and IM Malác follow
with a +2. Two ICCF Tournament Directors still fight for the point
at this board and I´m not sure if IM Guido Bresadola can also
find an amici sumus solution in this battle and Roberto Davide
probably searches for other ways also. As both are italian they
should also have the possibility to exchange some interesting
cases of TD decisions besides the game.
With K.V.Liushnin and
D.Povchanic two new ICCF players are on top of board 4. E.Andreassen
also finished the tournament with 4 wins, 2 losses and the rest
draws. The german Hartmann might be the thrid player with chances
to overtake him in the end as he completes the cycle of players
with positive scores so far. IM Sakadin has to fear for his 2461
rating points and he already accepted 3 draws.
So who's gonna make
it? Maybe these 3:
- Slovan Bratislava
- Imperium Szachów
- Polinia
- Chess Crystals
Group 18:-
The "ChessBaseUserClub"
is maybe the non-plus-ultra in the whole Champions League for
the time being: 23.5 - 3.5 = 87%. Unbelievable. Who are these
4 heroes? SIM Hofstetter, Nyberg, Wallinger, Dr.Pauli - remember
these names. There is no other group with so much distance bewteen
the top team and the rest of the group. On 2nd place are currently
the "Wicked Bishops" who even have a better average team rating,
but anyway their 67% are not bad at all. "Gaia", the "Chess Allies"
and "Zugzwang Bocholt IV" also play a good role at the moment
and can hope for a good league qualification. The indian "Syopes"
hopefully still have fun playing the tournament; together with
"CXEB-I" and the "Knight Fighters" they adorn the end of the table,
but this can of course change faster than imaginable.
Board 1: Hofstetter
= 5.5/6. No comment. Stephen Kerr = 8/10. Comment: superb! Finally
a FIDE rating that makes a difference. Except of Sakai all other
players at this board already gave away at least one game. It
really is a very interesting and wild board with 39 finished games,
but only 14 of these were draws. Willy Mueller is the last player
with a more than acceptable performance so far and he still fights
with Hofstetter.
Board 2: Nyberg = 6/7.
No comment. What a heavy game it must be for him against IM Mousessian
who does what is necessary with 5/6. Also Nigel Burne (2116 elo)
seems to be a tough nut for the leading player and his 5/8 indicate
his strength. Tom Mirbach, one of the few CL Tournament Directors
works concentrated and has a +2 score at this board which is also
a remarkable result for him at the moment.
Board 3 is the only
on where the CB Users currently not lead. Not yet. Wallinger has
only completed 4 games so far and 3 points out of these is still
a top performance in general. However Jacopo Negri (+5!) and Dibley
Shane (+4!) are currently dominating the group and their game
against Wallinger might be decisive for the group while they agreed
to a draw in their own game already. Garcia Gallego must not be
forgotten as he has gained 4/6 or his team "El Peón Travieso".
Board 4: Dr.Pauli =
9/10. Absolutely no comment. And what about Jason Bokar (7/9)
and Michael Rohde (6/7)? They would be board 1 players as well
on many other teams. This board was effected with so many replacements
already that it is only fair to see some players gaining elo points
a good ranking and surely a lot of fun from this group. I dare
a bet and say that no player of this group will have more than
4 draws on his account in the end. The risky play of players like
Brayman, Martinez- Cabanas Espanol, Pecis or Rose will surely
attract many visitors to their games when they finally are available
in our online database. It has never been easier to bet on the
first place and also the second is not hard to guess. I really
hope for the "Chess Allies" to continue their strong play as they
have to live with a 1/10 performance on one of their boards, but
with 56% they are doing brilliant. However I would congratulate
any team making it to the bronze medal place:
- ChessBaseUserClub
- Wicked Bishops
- Chess Allies
Group 19:-
"Penelopa" is in clear
front with 77% and "Cebichess" and the "Vesuvian Chess Team" follow
ight behind. The group's favourites "Petrochess" will come up
more sooner or later probably. "Flanco Sur" and Chess Mail's self-appointed
fun team "Muzio" fight from the other side of the table.
On board 1 Mrs Ricarda
Fluegel ("Caissa and Friends") achieved a lady IM norm and she
also gained a positive overall score so far with a win against
Fister ("Les Chevaliers") who himself managed to get the full
point against IM N.A.Muzyka (2527). IM Sosa Patino and Ernst Rosche
(Chessfriends of "Huelzweiler") like the draws best at the moment
and on the other hand Gronkowski won two games already against
relatively lower rated players.
Board 2 seesBauer and
Wiacek both with a 100% score so far, but they finished not more
than one games. So Maksimov (4.5/7) and Matisson (3.5/5) should
be regarded as the group's leaders at the moment. Ortiz from Peru
will surely not leave these alone in the discussion about the
first place and so won't Benti, the man from th volcano.
His companion Carlo
Costanzo spits fire on board 3: 4.5/5! Enviable. IM Buczinski
also does well with 3.5/4 and he still has to finishe his game
against Costanzo and also against the group's highest rated player
Yury A. Muzyka. Stefan Korosec showed up with a +2 on this board
while Peru's Solari has not revealed any secrets yet and we still
wait for his first results.
IM Figlio is ahead
of the group at board 4 with 3.5/4. Pohlig, Onatsevich and Montella
have not yet lost much of ground and follow more or less closely.
Schumacher from the "Rochade 5171 - Wizards" equalled two losses
with wins against Jurado Pérez from "Flanco Sur" and Chess Mail's
Bernard Hanison.
Currently I would put
my money on the teams:
- Penelopa
- Cebichess
- Petrochess
Group 20:-
Nearly equal are "Forster
SC 95" and the "Lithunania Chess Club "Baltijos Lyga" - both with
the enviable score of about 82%. Per direct entry "The Beatles"
entered the Champions League and it was a good decision to take
part for the team which consists of 4 FIDE players plus one unknown
player (at board 1!) follow with 70% and a clear 3rd place at
the moment. Next places go to "SV Saxonia Bernsbach", the "Eridano
Chess Team" and the "BR Knights" who have the most total points
right now. I suppose the "Hamar Optimists" knew why to chose that
name and so there´s no doubt they will increase there current
32%.
Board 1 is currently
lead by IM Cipolli, but next to 4 wins that are the basis of his
current 5 points he also had to accept a defeat against Djordje
Petrovic, the only player of "The Beatles" who has no FIDE rating.
Petrovic (4,5/7) himself however lost to Salvatore Giannetto who
himself again lost to Cipolli. SIM F.Atakisi won his only finished
game while ICCF newcomer Kenneth Frey Beckman did not come to
a win yet, but has 3 draws against Mrs Saviano ("Partenope Scacchi
Italia" and again Cipolli and Petrovic. Arnold Horst should be
mentioned as the only left player with a positive result and no
loss so far.
Thomas Steeger deserves
first places at board 2 with 5/7. IM Alves and IM Skorna follow
with a +2 performance while Carrettoni lost to Kulvietis (next
to 2 wins). The almost 2400 FIDE rating points of Dusan Jesic
were only good enough for 5 draws so far.
His team mate Micic
does much better on board 4 with perfect 3/3. You cannot do better?
Well, I wouldn´t care about a 4 wins, 5 wins,...but how shall
someone comment on the 7/7 of Dr.Risard Kurylo? The only players
that might destroy the dream of a 10/10 are SIM Krueger (remarkable
5/6 and therewith also chances on the group´s win), Zimolzak ("Szachowa
Vistual Chess Monthly") and the mentioned Micic. Only 5 draws
at 36 finished game mean that there must also be some victims
in the group: Jan Misdom and Costa had to suffer while Oldrati
and Wesely did equal their losses already by some full points.
Dirceu Cleto Jr. couldn´t
do much better than 6/8 on board 4 particularly if you consider
that he started with only 1995 rating points. Sakalauskas brings
in 2424 FIDE elo points and gets 2,5/3 so far. Adamovic received
the same present although he brought 200 less points to the party.
Kaminski, Perina and de Lucia have ups and downs while Birk ("SV
Saxonia Bernsbach") and Heite ("NBC Northern Pride") travel on
the middle way all time with only draws.
Finally a bet that
seems not too difficult:
- Lithuania Chess
Club "Baltijos Lyga"
- Forster SC 95
- The Beatles
Group 21:-
Lithuania has many
strong teams in he Champions League and among these is "Margiris"
that has 75% in the qualification group 21. Italy challenges them
with the "Titanic Team" that has only titleholders AN BORD. Between
these two "64for4" has settled with a 64% score. The "Schachfreunde
St.Wendel" have a good debut with nearly 60% and are followed
by "CSM CLUJ - Romania". The teams of this groups are still relatively
close together and why should any of the teams on the places in
the behind give up hope for a good league? "Blue Danube Rookies",
"Imperium Szachów - Rzeszów", "Odenwaelder Bauern" and "Rochade
5171 Squirrels" could not realize their dreams so far.
Joerg Weber of "Capea
II" finished already with a fabulous 7,5/10 on board 1. Amazing
score for the only 2244 rated player. Four players occupy the
2nd place at the moment and these are IM Stuart, Talos, Gueth
and Mikrut while the polish player might have the best basic position
as he has not lost a game so far. We can also expect a good performance
of A.Butnorius (2457 FIDE elo) in the end who has a +2 score so
far like SIM Maurizio Sampieri.
Petraitis on board
2 defends his 2500 rating points with 5,5/8 and his biggest chaser
is Albert Bost with 4/5. Vosselmann and IM Petrillo can be satisfied
and again a mixed performance can be seen at the players Wornath,
Sferle and Dr.Patocka. Galvez from the "Inka Chess Club" has unlucky
results so far.
Albano Rivares (5,5)
and Luksik have finished all their games on board 3 so far and
there is even a closer connection between these two as Luksik
took home his only half a point against the player of "Capea II".
Hans van Unen must only survive against Lakatos somehow and then
he can lean back after successful work (6,5/9). Michael Bach beat
5 opponents in his first ICCF tournament but he also lost two
games while two others being still unfinished for him. I suppose
Rauduve will even improve his current +2 at 3/4 and italians IM
Cimmino should also do better soon. Matheis and Fernandez Ballon
surprise the group with solid play.
I hope that not the
workload is responsible for the poorer result of Email Tournament
Office Controller Robert Felber on board 4. IM Mauro benefits
at most of this with currently 5,5/8. Rupsys has less total points
but a better percentage score with 5/6 and he should be regarded
as top favourite on the group win at the moment (beating SIM Burgath
for example, who himself might be a little bit disappointed).
Daatselaar, Newrly, Diaz Vega and Lubas all have a +1 score.
My unofficial bet for
the first 3 places:
- Margiris
- Titanic Team
- 64for4
Group 22:-
The last qualification
group of the ICCF Champions League is lead by "HSG Uni Rostock"
which is a very big surprise at his moment as their average rating
would put them in 8th position. Their 20-10 result is followed
by the "Chess Composers" of the Rochade 5171 family with 63%.
"Novokuznetsk" from Russia is in third position with a total +5
performance while "Zugzwang Bocholt I" has to wake up now in order
to show why they have the highest average rating of the group.
The "Brazilian Chessfriends" and team "Svitosi" are on the look-out.
Mikhail Emelyanov dominated
board 1, but no-one knows what is happening in his last game against
Scheuermann (2512 elo) who himself has 5,5/9. He lost to Hase
before who has the same rating strength and who lost against Blauhut.
The circle is not closed because Blauhut - Scheuermann finished
in a draw and so the inner-german battle on the chessboard is
over. Ferreira has reported only draws so far, 6 to be exact.
With +3 and no defeats
three players are in front at board 2: Toivo from the "Chessclub
Norma", SIM Bellmann ("Zugzwang Bocholt") and new ICCF player
Schwenck for the university of Rostock (located at the north east
of Germany more or less close to the east sea. IM Degerhammar
concentrated on an invitational tournament before and players
should be warned because he recently won the Heidenfeld Memorial.
I expect him to do well in his remaining five games (currently
+1). Patrick Mary sees bad times but at least he won against Peru´s
Yepez ("Los Chalanes") who himself beat Bianchin. Povilas Pakenas
might be able to jump into the discussion about the group win
but we need more results of the 2419 rated player.
Schwetlick has taken
advantage of his underdog image on board 3 -> 7/9 ! I am nevertheless
sure that his last game against Volodarsky is his toughest nut.
The Russian himself has 2,5/3 winning against Laffranchise and
Martins. The name of U.Joppich also belongs to the groups of strong
players on this board (+2 and no defeat so far) while Kloepping
(2458) had a worse start. Raidaru from the Norma Chessclub and
Ciucurel (team "C.S. Universitatea Craiova") play a solid tournament.
Mikhaylov being the
first to finish all his games on board 4 and whether or not his
score of 50% helps his team is unclear. Graziani surely did so
already with 6,5/9 and his last game against Cinca might mean
another step. The game between the two "(ex-)students" (Cinca
and Roehl) from the two university teams ended in a draw already.
Sanchez is in second position with 6/9 right ahead of Lohmann
(5 points) who has one game more to play. Guenter Henrich was
not so lucky with this board and he might lose some of his 2395
elo points. Nevertheless his current performance of 4/8 is not
bad of course.
So who is it gonna
be in the end? Maybe these 3:
- Rochade 5171 - Chess
Composers
- USG Uni Rostock
- Brazilian Chessfriends