WFM\Shrook Wafa (1873 Elo) Deservedly Wins Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

WFM\Shrook wafa (1873 Elo) deservedly wins Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women with 6 points after drawing her match with the white pieces against Zeinab Gamal Eldin who came fourth with 5.5 points . WFM\Shahenda Wafa (1756 Elo) -Shrook's sister- came second with 6 points while Hala Hassan (1856 Elo) came third with 5.5 points ,while Myada Elgohary (1783 Elo) came fifth with 5 points .Yara Allam came first (U-8) followed by Mariem Nabil and Sara Adel in second and third places respectively.Fatma Gamal Eldin came first (U-10) followed by Rabab Gamal Eldin and Nada Abbas in second and third places respectively .Heba Elwazzan came first (U-12) -as Zeinab Gamal Eldin-came fourth in the Open tournament- followed by Khloud Abdel Monaem and Kyreya Arsany in second and third places respectively while Nada Tamer came fourth .Perihan Asem took first prize (U-14) -as Shrook and Shahenda took the first and second prizes in the Open tournament- and then followed by Laila Rashed .Reem Saad came first (U-16) followed by Yomna Yasser while Doha Shaaban took first prize (U-18) .Verina Medhat -6 years- took the prize of the youngest player in the tournament; Hana Elwazzan took the prize of The Best Combination ;while Sara Nabil took the prize of The Best Defense and Kyreya Arsany took the prize of The Best Attack and Marwa Gazal took the the prize of the Best Game in the tournament .
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=2&rd=7&lan=1&turdet=YES
For more Photos : https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113

Round 6 :WFM\Shrouk Wafa (1873 Elo) Leads Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

WFM\Shrook Wafa (1873 Elo) Leads Smouha First Chess Open 2011 for women with 5.5 points followed by her sister WFM\Shahenda Wafa (1756 Elo)with 5 points and then in third place Zeinab Gamal Eldin with 5 points while Hala Hassan comes in fourth place with 4.5 points .
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=2&rd=6&lan=1&turdet=YES
For more photos : https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113

Round 5 : Photos And Impressions From Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=2&rd=5&lan=1&turdet=YES
For more photos : https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113

Round 4 : Photos And Impressions From Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

For more information :http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=2&rd=4&lan=1&turdet=YES
For more photos : https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113

Round 3 : Photos And Impressions From Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

For more photos : https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?704178113art=2&rd=3&lan=1&turdet=YES

Round 2 : Photos And Impressions From Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

For more photos :https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=2&rd=2&lan=1&turdet=YES

Round 1 : Photos And Impressions From Smouha First Chess Open 2011 For Women

For more photos :  https://plus.google.com/photos/111994441731961338602/albums/5690543894704178113

A Magnificent Opening Ceremony For Smouha First Open Chess Tournament 2011 For Women

The opening ceremony for Smouha First Open chess tournament 2011 for women was simple and elegant The event that attracted 26 players is considered the first open chess tournament for women in Egypt .The tournament is under the auspice of Engineer\ Farag Amer -chairman of Smouha Club- and the Egyptian Chess Federation .Smouha club hosts the event in the Chess Academy VIP hall from 25-29th of December 2011 .
6 rated female players - and among them players from the women Egyptian national team participated in the tournament .The tournament Technical Committee members are : IM\Aly Yasseen and Eng.Medhat Moheb while the tournament director is Mr.Moustafa Ibrahim and the tournament administrative is Mr.Eslam Elmesery.The arbiters are : I.A\Mousa Gomaa as the chief arbiter and also Mr.Mohamed Saad and Mr.Naser Seddik .I.A\Hassan Khaled is responsible for the pairing .
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?art=0&lan=1&turdet=YES

A Tribute To The "Fantastic Mathematician " IM\Rashid Nezhmetdinov (born Dec-15-1912, died Jun-03-1974) - Part 3

IM\Rashid Nezhmetdinov assisted world chess champion Tal in preparation for the latter's 1960 World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik . While he beat many of the world's top players, he was never awarded the GM title even though he won 5 Russian Championships. Nezhmetdinov published an autobiography including his 100 best games entitled Nezhmetdinov's Best Games of Chess (republished by Caissa Editions in 2000). Alex Pishkin published a similar tome entitled Super Nezh, Chess Assassin in 2000.Nezhmetdinov passed away in Kazan in 1974 (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=37199)

Famous quotes about Nezhmetdinov :

• "Nobody sees combinations like Rashid Nezhmetdinov." Mikhail Botvinnik
• "Nezhmetdinov is the greatest master of the initiative." Lev Polugaevsky
• "His games reveal the beauty of chess and make you love in chess not so much the points and high placings, but the wonderful harmony and elegance of this particular world." Mikhail Tal
• "Rashid Nezhmetdinov is a virtuoso of combinational chess." David Bronstein
•  Bronstein also wrote that Nezhmetdinov was "a fantastic mathematician."
• Source of the photo :http://www.onlinechesslessons.net/2011/11/11/rashid-nezhmetdinov-mikhail-tal-baku-1961/

Written by Jessica Fischer and narrated by Richard Dewoskin and researched by Jessica Fischer, Annie Kappel, Larry Crawford, 

A Tribute To The "Greatest Master Of The Initiative" IM\Rashid Nezhmetdinov (born Dec-15-1912, died Jun-03-1974) - Part 2

Rashid Nezhmetdinov won the Russian Championship four more times: in 1951 ahead of Nikolai V Krogius, in 1953 ahead of Lev Polugaevsky, in 1957 ahead of Boris T Vladimirov, and in 1958 in Sochi ahead of Viktor Korchnoi. In Sochi Nezhmetdinov played his immortal game against Lev Polugaevsky . Other excellent results in the RSFSR Championships included 2nd in 1954 behind Leonid Alexandrovich Shamkovich, =2nd in 1956 behind Shamkovich and alongside Krogius and Polugaevsky, and clear 2nd in 1961 behind Polugaevsky after a playoff mini-match against Vladimir Antoshin, Anatoly Lein, and Lev A Belov to earn a spot in the finals of the 1961 USSR Championship. He also finished =3rd in 1963 behind Lein and Georgy Ilivitsky.

Nezhmetdinov was also a regular participant in the USSR Championship cycles in their various incarnations, consistently participating in the quarter and semi finals eliminations for the USSR Championship between 1947 and 1969. His best results were =1st with Isaac Boleslavsky and Vitaly Georgievich Tarasov at the 1956 semi-final, and =1st with Boris Spassky at the 1958 semi-final. He made it to the finals of five USSR Championships, with his best result coming in Kiev 1954 where he finished =7th with victories over Efim Geller, Salomon Flohr, and Andre Lilienthal. He also did well against Grandmaster competition in the Moscow 1957 edition, scoring 2.5/3 against three future world champions, drawing with Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian and beating Spassky and Mikhail Tal.Nezhmetdinov was renowned for his imaginative attacking style. His famous and widely published game at Sochi 1958 against Polugaevsky is considered to be one of the best attacking games of the 20th century .

Source of the photo : skakistiko-kafeneio.blogspot.com

Written by Jessica Fischer and narrated by Richard Dewoskin and researched by Jessica Fischer, Annie Kappel, Larry Crawford, Chancho, and Thanh Phan.

A Tribute To The "Virtuoso Of Combinational Chess" IM\Rashid Nezhmetdinov (born Dec-15-1912, died Jun-03-1974) - Part 1

Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov was born in Aktubinsk, then part of the Russian Empire and now known as Aqt�be, in Kazakhstan, into a poor peasant family of Tatar ethnicity. Orphaned when very young, he moved to Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan at a young age under the care of his brother, and it was there that he learned chess by watching local games despite living for some time in great hardship.He also became a renowned checkers (draughts) player, but it was chess that he turned to after leaving military service after the end of World War II. Notwithstanding this, when the 1949 Russian Checkers Semifinals were held in Kazan, Nezhmetdinov agreed to substitute for a player who didn't show up even though he hadn't played checkers for 15 years. He finished 12/16 without losing a game, earning the title of Soviet Master of Checkers. This also qualified him for the finals, where he finished 2nd.Nezhmetdinov's participation in chess tournaments before World War II was intermittent. In 1927 at the age of 15, he played in Kazan's Tournament of Pioneers (an 18 and under event), winning all 15 games. In 1929 he won the junior section of the Kazan city championship, and the next year he finished first in the overall Kazan championship and earned a Category I rating. Nezhmetdinov earned the Candidate Master title by winning the All-Union Tournament at Rostov-on-Don in 1939, finishing undefeated with a 9/10 score. In 1941 Rashid was called to military service and stationed in Baikal, where he won the district chess tournament over some strong opposition, including Victor Davidovich Baturinsky and Konstantin Klaman.After the War, when he dedicated himself to chess, he came 1st in a tournament organised within the Soviet Military Administration in Berlin, 1946, triumphing over future Master and Ukrainian champion Isaac Lipnitsky. After he demobilised in 1947, he began a long and distinguished career, starting with 2nd place in the final of the Russian Federation (RSFSR) Championship behind Nikolay Novotelnov . Later that year Nezhmetdinov finished =2nd in an All-Union Candidate Master tournament, earning him the right to play a classification match in 1948 against Vladas Ivanovich Mikenas for the title of Soviet Master. He drew the match 7-7 (+4-4=6), but did not gain the coveted Master title, because the examiner got draw odds. Two years later, in 1950, he won the Russian Federation Chess Championship against a very strong field and finally earned the Master title...(http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=37199)

Written by: Jessica Fischer and narrated by: Richard Dewoskin and researched by:Jessica Fischer, Annie Kappel, Larry Crawford, Chancho, and Thanh Phan.

Smouha First Open Chess Tournament For Women Takes Place From 25-29 December 2011

For the first time and under the auspice of Eng.Farag Amer -Chairman of Smouha Club- and the Egyptian Chess federation Smouha First Open Chess Tournament for Women will take place from 25-29 December 2011 at Smouha Club Chess Academy (SCCA) VIP hall in Alexandria ,Egypt.The tournament is open for all female players of all ages and from all over the country to participate .The registration fees is 100 L.E for any participant and 50 L.E for any rated participant .The highest 8 rated participants will be exempted from paying the registration fees and will be granted free accommodation and free transportation to and from Smouha Club .The tournament Technical Committee members are : IM\Aly Yasseen and Eng.Medhat Moheb while the tournament director is Mr.Moustafa Ibrahim and the tournament administrative is Mr.Eslam Elmesery . The total prize fund about 2000 L.E .The tournament's regulation could be found here and here .For more information: http://chess-results.com/tnr62562.aspx?lan=1

Super GM\Magnus Carlsen Won The 6th Tal Memorial On Tiebreaks

Super GM\Magnus Carlsen won the 6th Tal memorial, a category 22 and with an average rating of 2776 Elo thus to be considered one of the strongest tournaments in chess history with a total fund of 100000 € -the first prize is 30000 € .The tournament was a 10 player round robin event, and took place in Moscow, Russia from 16th-25th of November .The time control is 40 moves in 100 minutes, followed by 20 moves in 50 minutes, then 15 minutes to finish, with a 30 second increment from the start of the game.The general sponsor of the tournament was OAO (Gasprom) .GM\Levon Aronian came in the second place while GM\Ivanchuk came third , while GM\Krajakin and GM\ Nepomniachtchi came in the 4th and 5th places respectively .
















For more information : http://www.russiachess.org/news/all/magnus_carlsen_won_the_tal_memorial/
Source of the photos : http://annexchessclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-tal-memorial.jpg
and http://www.russiachess.org/news/all/magnus_carlsen_won_the_tal_memorial/ by Mary Fominykh

Sameh Sadek (2372 Elo) Won Egypt's National Open Chess Championship.. GM\Ahmed Adly (2601 Elo) Won The National Blitz Chess Championship 2011

The 2 National Champions Sameh Sadek x GM.Ahmed Adly before the start of their blitz game (5th round)

Under the auspice of the Egyptian Chess Federation and the General Authority Of The Cultural Palaces ,Egypt's National Chess Championship took place from 19 November to 1 December 2011 at El Gizah Cultural Palace ,the event attracted 261 players from all over the country ,among them : 7 IMs ,5 FMs ,1 WGM ,2WFMs and 1WCM .The tournament directors were : Mr.Reda Gameel and Mr.Ahmed Kamal Moustafa and the Chief Arbiter was I.A\Ahmed Yehya;I.A\Hassan Khaled was responsible for the pairing.
 Sameh Sadek (2372 Elo) won the tournament with 10 points out of 12 games ,Malak Rageb (2338 Elo) came second with 9.5 points while IM\Ibrahim Labib (2408 Elo) came third with 9.5 points ,IM\Abdul El Hameed El Arousy (2301 Elo) came fourth with 9.5 points and IM\Mohsen El Gabry (2334 Elo) came fifth with 9.5 points .
GM\Ahmed Adly (2601 Elo) deservedly won Egypt's National Blitz Chess Championship that took place on Friday the second of December and lasted for about 5 hours and attracted 64 players .The no.1 Egptian Player scored 7.5 points out of 9 games ,Sameh Sadek (2372 Elo) came second with 7 points while IM\Mohamed Ezzat (2439 Elo) came third with 7 points.
The closing ceremony took place directly after the blitz had finished and was attended by the poet Mr.Saad Abd El Rahman -chairman of the General Authority of the Cultural Palaces- and  Mr.Adel Saad -Chairman Of the Egyptian Chess Federation -and madame\Gihan El Sahar ,Mr.Ahmed Kamal and Eng.Medhat Moheb -members of board of the Egyptian Chess Federation- and Mr.Saeed Husanein -the Executive Director of the Egyptian Chess Federation and Mr.Mohamed Abd Elhaleem -head of the Arbiters Committee- Special prizes were awaded to Mr.Anwar Abd Elganey -former Chairman of the Egyptian Chess Federation- and the great Egyptian Women chess champions Nagwa Michel and Soheir Basta and the Egyptian chess veteran Mr.Maher Saleh and the legendary International lecturer and arbiter Eng.Hassan Khaled -the technical advisor of the Egyptian chess federation .
Congratulation to all Winners !
For more information : http://chess-results.com/tnr60131.aspx?lan=1 and  http://chess-results.com/tnr61113.aspx?lan=1 
Source of the photo : the official page of the Egyptian chess federation on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/103155229794974/)

"Ya Ya El Medan " Song : A Tribute To The 25th Of January White Revolution By Cairokee Band And Aida El Ayouby أغنية "يا يا الميدان" إهداء لثورة 25 يناير البيضاء : أمير عيد و عايدة الأيوبي

"Ya Ya El Medan" By Amir Eid (Cairokee Band) and Aida El Ayoubi ; written by : Amir Eid and directed by : Mohamed Shaker
Lyrics :
 Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time? With you we sang. And with you we labored. We fought our fears. And we prayed. All as one hand. Day and night. And with you nothing is impossible. The voice of freedom brings us together. Finally our lives have a meaning. There is no going back. Our voices are heard. And the dream is not banned anymore.


Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time? You brought down the wall. You lit the light. You gathered around you a broken population. We were born again. And a persistent dream has been born. We’ve disagreed with good intentions. Sometimes things weren’t clear. We’ll protect our country and our children’s children. We’ll protect the rights of the lost lives of our youth


Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time? With you we felt and started After we had been far and had come to the end. We have to change ourselves with our hands. You gave us a lot and the rest is up to us. Sometime I worry that you’ll become a memory. That you’ll become distant from us and the idea will die. And we’ll go back and forget what happened. And tell stories about you in our tales.


 Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time? The Square is full. With all kinds. The reckless one. And the courageous. There is the passionate one. And the one who are on a ride. The loud one. The quiet one. We get together. Drink tea. We now know how to get our rights. You let the world hear us. And you let the neighbors get together.


Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time? Our idea is our strength. Our weapon is our unity. The square says the truth. It always says no the oppressor. The square is like a wave. There are people riding it. Others are pulled in by it. People outside of it calling it chaotic. And what has been done is now written. Hey. Hey Square. Where have you been all this time?


TRANSLATED BY : mesmeriser1@yahoo.com

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان
معاك غنينا و معاك شقينا و حاربنا خوفنا و دعينا ايد واحدة نهار و ليل و مفيش معاك شئ مستحيل
صوت الحرية بيجمعنا خلاص حياتنا بقي ليها معني مفيش رجوع صوتنا مسموع و الحلم خلاص بقي مش ممنوع

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان

هديت السور نورت النور لميت حوليك شعب مكسور اتولدنا من جديد و اتولد الحلم العنيد
بنختلف و النية صافي اوقات الصورة مكنتش واضحة حنصون بلادنا و ولاد ولادنا حق اللي راحوا من شبابنا

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان
معاك حسينا و ابتدينا بعد ما بعدنا و انتهينا لازم بايدينا نغير نفسينا اديتنا كتير و الباقي علينا

ساعات بخاف نبقي ذكري نبعد عنك تموت الفكرة و نرجع تاني ننسي اللي فات و نحكي عنك في الحكايات

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان
ميدان مليان انواع اللي بايع و الشجاع فيه اللي حابب و اللي راكب و اللي بيزعق و اللي ساكت

نتجمع معاك نشرب الشاي و الحق عرفنا نجيبه ازاي خليت العالم يسمعوا و الجيران يتجمعوا

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان

فكرتنا هي قوتنا و سلاحنا في وحدتنا ميدان بيقول الحق بيقول للظالم دايما لا

ميدان زي الموجة ناس راكبة و ناس مشدودة و ناس برة بيقولوا دي هوجة و الاعمال مكتوبة

يا يا الميدان كنت فين من زمان

For more information : http://www.cairokee.com/about.htm and http://www.aidaelayoubi.com/wp/?p=1
The video's author : http://www.youtube.com/user/Cairokee

A Tribute To The Legendary World Chess Champion GM\Max Euwe (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981)

Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced [ˈøːwə]) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess Grandmaster,mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion (1935–37). Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam. He studied mathematics at the University of Amsterdam, earning his doctorate in 1926, and taught mathematics, first in Rotterdam, and later at a girls' Lyceum in Amsterdam. He published a mathematical analysis of the game of chess from an intuitionistic point of view, in which he showed, using the Thue-Morse sequence, that the then-official rules did not exclude the possibility of infinite games.
On December 15, 1935 after 30 games played in 13 different cities around The Netherlands over a period of 80 days, Euwe defeated Alekhine by 15½–14½, becoming the fifth World Chess Champion. Alekhine quickly went two games ahead, but from game 13 onwards Euwe won twice as many games as Alekhine. His title gave a huge boost to chess in The Netherlands. This was also the first world championship match in which the players had seconds to help them with analysis during adjournments.Euwe won a total of 102 first prizes in tournaments during his career. While it is true that many of those were local and were not very strong, the total is very impressive, considering that Euwe was never a true professional player .From 1970 (at age 69) until 1978, he was president of the FIDE. As president, Euwe usually did what he considered morally right rather than what was politically expedient ...(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Euwe)

Author the video : GeschiedenisTV

IM\Vladimir Okhotnik (2427 Elo) And WIM\Galina Strutinskaya (2277 Elo) Are The New World Senior Champions

IM\Vladimir Okhotnik (2427 Elo) From France and WIM\Galina Strutinskaya (2277 Elo) From Russia deservedly won the 21st Individual World Senior Chess Championships that took place in Optija ;Croatia from 14-27 November .IM\Okhotnik scored 9 points out of 11 games with a performance of (2612 Elo) and was officially awarded the grandmaster title , GM\Davorin Komljenovic (2451 Elo) from Croatia came second with (8.5 points) while GM\Gennadij Timoscenko from Slovakia came third with (8.5 points) .
WIM\Galina Strutinskayan scored 8.5 points out of 11 games with a performance of (2375 Elo) ,WFM\Nino Melashvili (2106 Elo) from Geogia scored 8 points and came second while WGM\Ludmila Saunina (2274 Elo) from Russia came third with 8 points .
IM\Aly Yasseen (2342 Elo) represented Egypt and Africa in the tournament and scored 6.5 points and came in the 50th place among 201 players from 49 countries .
For more information : http://www.rijekachess.com/ and http://www.chess-results.com/tnr51860.aspx?art=0&lan=1&fedb=SVK&fed=SVK&flag=30

A Tribute To The Legendary US President John Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)

JFK, Jackie, and the Connallys in the presidential limousine seconds before the assassination

In just a few seconds America died .
For more information : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#Assassination
Source of the photo : http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MC5.jpg

Women's World Chess Champion GM\Hou Yifan Deservedly Retained Her Title

Women's World Chess Champion the Chinese GM\Hou Yifan (2578 Elo) deservedly retained her title after drawing the eight's game -with the black pieces- against her Indian rival GM\Humpy Koneru (2600 Elo) to reach the score (5.5:2.5) .The match took place in the Tirana International hotel (Albania) from (14-30) November .The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.The prize fund for the match was 200,000 Euros (120,000 Euros for the winner).The chief arbiter was I.A Panagiotis NIkolopoulos and I.A Carol Jarecki - Deputy Chief Arbiter ,the members of the Appeals Committee were : Mr.Yorgos Makropoulos - Chairman ,Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici  ,IM\Beatriz Marinello .WGM\Anastasiya Karlovich -press officer-.

For more information : http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com/ 

Women's World Chess Championship 2011 In Tirana :After Round (3) GM.Hou Yifan Takes The Lead

Women's World Chess Champion GM\Hou Yifan (2578 Elo) won an important game with the black pieces against her Indian rival GM\Humpy Koneru (2600 Elo) .The game was a Queen's Gambit Declined (Ragozin Variation -D38) where the game entered into a very tense and sharp struggle ;the Chinese GM took the a-pawn on move 18 but allowed the White rook to invade on the f6 square GM.Yifan played very precisely on the queen-side and the center although she overlooked a simple win on move 25 with Rd8 ! GM.Humpy was very short in time during the game ;for instance she had to play 12 moves in one minute ,and she was unable to stop black's 2 connected  central passe pawns which proved to be decisive .

For more information :  http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com/ 
Source of the photos : http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com/ftp_gallery/wwcc2011Round%201/#18

Germany Won The Gold Medal -Open Section- And Russia Won -The Women's Section- At The European Team Chess Championship 2011 In Greece

The German chess national team (with an average rating 2666 Elo) made a huge surprise by winning the European Team Chess Championship (ETCC) -Open Section- after beating the very strong Armeninan chess team in the last round (2.5-1.5) .The German champions are : GM.Arkadij Naiditsch (2712 Elo) ,GM.Georg Meier (2659 Elo) ,GM\Daniel Fridman (2661 Elo) ,GM.Jan Gustafasson (2633 Elo) and GM.Rainer Buhmann (2612 Elo) .

The Russian Women Chess team dominated the field from the start and desrvely won the gold medal .The Russian champions are : GM.Nadezhda Kosintseva (2546 Elo) ,GM.Tatiana Kosintseva (2526 Elo) ,IM.Valentina Guinena (2514 Elo) ,GM.Alexandra Kosteniuk (2439 Elo) and WGM.Natalija Pogonina (2451 Elo).
The tournament that took place from 3rd – 11th of November was a 9 round swiss event  with one open section and another section for the women’s teams. The time control was 90 min for 40 moves + 30 min for the rest of the game + 30 sec increment for every move played starting from the first move.The games were played in the Olympic Hall Congress Center  within the five-star Porto Carras Grand Resort, which is located in Halkidiki, Greece .
The organizers are : European Chess Union ,Porto Carras SA ;the Tournament Director : IA.Sotiris Logothetis and the Chief Arbiter is : IA.Panagiotis Nikolopoulos .
For more information : http://euro2011.chessdom.com/ and http://chess-results.com/tnr57856.aspx?art=0&lan=1&turdet=YES&flag=NO and http://chess-results.com/tnr57855.aspx?art=0&lan=1&turdet=YES&flag=NO

A Tribute To " The Father Of The Russian School Of Chess " The Legendary Mikhail Chigorin

Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also (Tchigorin; Russian: Михаил Чигорин) (12 November 1850 (31 October old style), Gatchina – 25 January 1908, Lublin) was a leading Russian chess player. The last great player of the Romantic chess style, he also served as a major source of inspiration for the "Soviet school of chess", which dominated the chess world in the middle and latter parts of the 20th century.Chigorin was born near St. Petersburg and moved to the city some time later. His father worked in the Okhtensk gunpowder works. Chigorin's parents died young and Chigorin entered the Gatchinsk Orphans' Institute at the age of 10. He became serious about chess uncommonly late in life; his schoolteacher taught him the moves at the age of 16, but he did not take to the game until around 1874, having first finished his studies before commencing a career as a government officer.

Once smitten with the game, he terminated his employment and started life as a chess professional. In 1876, he started a chess magazine,Chess Sheet, which he edited until 1881 (only 250 subscribers in all of Russia). He played a series of matches with established masters Emanuel Schiffers (1878–1880) and Semyon Alapin (1880) and notched up a large plus score against each. It was not long after that he was regarded as the best player in the city and possibly the whole of Russia.

His first international tournament was Berlin 1881, where he was equal third (+10-5=1) with Szymon Winawer, behind Johannes Zukertort and Joseph Henry Blackburne. There were 17 master competitors in this event.

At the great London tournament of 1883, he finished fourth (+16-10=0) behind Zukertort, Wilhelm Steinitz and Blackburne. There were 14 competitors in this double round robin event. The tournament included practically all the best chessplayers in the world.

At the very strong tournament of New York 1889 he was equal first with Max Weiss. Following this great success he challenged the world champion Steinitz for a match with the World Championship at stake.

The match was played at Havana in 1889, but he lost 10½–6½ (+6-10=1). A second match was played also at Havana in 1892, but he still lost 12½–10½ (+8-10=5). His overall record against Steinitz was very close (+24-27=8). He also played a much publicised 'telegraph match' against Steinitz in 1890, devised to settle a theoretical argument. Chigorin had the slight advantage of choosing the openings in advance from a list supplied by Steinitz and duly won both games...(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Chigorin)

Source of the photo : http://www.chessville.com/images/people/chigorin_pic.gif