Corus Chess Tournament 2007 -- B-Group Profiles
 Average rating 2600, Category 14
 




Name: Dmitry Jakovenko (GM)
Country: Russia
Date of Birth: 28.06.1983
Rating: 2691
World Ranking: 23
Group Seeding: 1

Dmitry Jakovenko learned chess at 3 years of age, from his Father who is a strong player in his own right. However, the young Russian has also been coached by Kasparov's old mentor, Alexander Nikitin. Dmitry is former World under-18 Champion, and top seed for the B-Group. Most recently he shared first place at the Russian Chess Championship Super-final (December 2006) though he lost the rapid play-off.


Name: Pavel Eljanov (GM)
Country: Ukraine
Date of Birth: 10-05-1983
Rating: 2675
World Ranking: 33
Group Seeding: 2

Pavel comes from a nice background, his Father being a well known IM and chess coach, who also founded a printing house so that his son and other interested parties could enjoy Russian versions of Chess books. Pavel attended the Kharkov chess school, quickly making a name for himself in strong opens. In 2006, he enjoyed a good score at the Aeroflot Open, just a half point behind first place. He went one better at the category 15 GM event in Montreal, winning it convincingly. A fair performance of 5.5/9 at the Turin Olympiad and various leagues around the world have kept him busy as of late. Can he take Corus by storm?


Name: Viorel Bologan (GM)
Country: Moldova
Date of Birth: 14.12.1971
Rating: 2658
World Ranking: 46
Group Seeding: 3

Viorel Bologan is a late addition to the Corus B-Group line-up, replacing Alexandra Kosteniuk who withdrew just before Christmas due to illness. A former A-group competitor (2004, 7.5/13, shared 4th place) he is a winner of Dortmund (2003), the Aeroflot Open, and recently finished third in the 2006 Aerosvit. He has also served as a second to top players, Shirov and Ponomariov among them.


Name: Gabriel Sargissian (GM)
Country: Armenia
Date of Birth: 03.02.1983
Rating: 2658
World Ranking: 46
Group Seeding: 4

Taught chess by his Grandfather, Gabriel was IM at 15 and Grandmaster at 19. He is twice the National Champion for his Country. He was Levon Aronian's second for Corus 2006, home-cooking a nice win for him against Ivan Sokolov in the final round. This year, he returns as a competitor in his own right, after a good 12 months which saw him score 10/13 at the Turin Olympiad, defeating Morozevich in Armenia's match versus Russia. He also shared first place at the Reykjavik Open with 7/9, and in Dubia, also with 7/9.


Name: Bu Xiangzhi (GM)
Country: China
Date of Birth: 10.12.1985
Rating: 2644
World Ranking: 63
Group Seeding: 5

Bu Xiangzhi was once the World's youngest chess Grandmaster, achieving his title at 13 years 10 months 10 days. Of course, since then both Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin have shaved some off of that feat -- so no one will be puzzled if they see some scowls towards the A-Group.

Bu is China's number 1 player, and former under 14 World Chess Champion. His rating is at an all-time-high, thanks in part to a great showing at the Turin Olympiad with 8/12. Certainly expect him to give everyone a tough battle in the B-Group this year.


Name: Friso Nijboer (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 26.05.1965
Rating: 2638
World Ranking: 74
Group Seeding: 6

A bereavement sadly meant that Friso withdrew from Corus 2006, to be replaced by Arkadij Naiditsch. However, his return to competition saw him notch up 100 rating points, thanks to a tie for third at the Dutch championships, first at the Dutch Open, defeating Tiviakov in wild circumstances, and a tie for first at Amsterdam's Open tournament. Away from home, Nijboer has also been effective, taking strong opens in Spain, and Vandouvre, France. A little down the seedings, he could well be the dark horse of Corus 2007!


Name: Erwin l'Ami (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 04.05.1985
Rating: 2594
World Ranking: 157
Group Seeding: 7

I have a few people that I apply my 'one of the nicest people in chess' label to, and one of them is Erwin l'Ami. Living in Woerden, the 21-year-old, is an extremely friendly person, whether in person or online at a chess server. Don't be fooled by this, however, for he is also a ferocious competitor, over-the-board and online, and able to go up against anyone on his day. 2006 saw him take part in the Olympiad, scoring 3.5 from 5 games, and excellent results in European chess leagues. Returning to Corus B after a respectable +1 debut last year, he could just pull off some nice results.


Name: Suat Atalik (GM)
Country: Turkey
Date of Birth: 10.10.1964
Rating: 2586
World Ranking: 187
Group Seeding: 8

Suat Atalik is Turkey's only home-grown Grandmaster, but due to the re-patriation of Mikhail Gurevich, relegated to 2nd highest of his country. Last year, he totally commanded the Corus C Group, scoring 10.5/13 and finishing 1.5 points ahead of second place. Unfortunately, his rating has taken a bit of a battering in 2006, but considering that Suat plays at least 100 rated games a year, one can not expect to win them all. He is another player who I feel can prove a dark horse to the 'paper favourites'.


Name: Daniel Stellwagen (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 01.03.1987
Rating: 2585
World Ranking: 191
Group Seeding: 9

Daniel Stellwagen seemed out of sorts at last year's Corus, finishing on a fictionally bad 3/13, and second to last. Since then, Daniel has apparently worked very hard at recovering his form, and that is certainly backed up by his results. Thanks to excellent results in league play, his rating is at an all-time-high of 2585. 2006 also saw him finish nicely at the Dutch Championships with 6.5/11, and 8.5/11 in the World Junior Championships. In my opinion, Daniel is hampered by his studies a little in order to be able to work as he needs to in preparation for a tournament such as Corus, but he is never one to be taken lightly.


Name: Maxime Vachier-Lagrav (GM)
Country: France
Date of Birth: 21.10.1990
Rating: 2573
World Ranking: 234
Group Seeding: 10

The youngest player of the tournament, Maxime is France's under 20 champion, and a big name in youth chess. In 2002 he took 2nd place in the boys under 14 World Championships, and the under 16 category in 2005. His current rating has fallen a little since its peak of 2579, but with the experience that he is set to gain at this year's Corus tournament, one expects him to start his climb back up the chart very quickly.


Name: Jan Werle (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 15.01.1984
Rating: 2566
World Ranking: 255
Group Seeding: 11

Jan Werle will have nice thoughts about Wijk aan Zee, acheiving his 3rd and final Grandmaster norm while taking part in last year's C-Group, and finishing joint second. This being said, he declined the option of becomming a chess professional, enrolling in university to study law instead. Far from being a chess 'part timer', however, Jan regularly competes in European leagues, his fair share of open tournaments, and in 2006 put in a good showing at the Staunton Memorial in England. Again, I am not sure whether studies allow adequate preparation for a tournamet such as Corus, but Jan is certainly a very capable exponent of the game, and could be a spoiler for a few people's hopes!


Name: Jan Smeets (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 05.04.1985
Rating: 2538
World Ranking: 402
Group Seeding: 12

Jan Smeets is another pleasent Dutch Grandmaster, who decided that chess was too touch and go to be professional in, and enrolled in university, to study economics. His 2006 started badly, with a disappointing 4/13 in last year's Corus B-group, 7 games in the Bundesliga brought him only 2.5 points. However, the Dutch league saw more pleasing results, with 8.5/11. Let's hope his home fortune continues for a good Corus 2007, and the re-couping of some rating points.


Name: Vladimir Georgiev (GM)
Country: Macedonia
Date of Birth: 27.08.1975
Rating: 2525
World Ranking: 498
Group Seeding: 13

Interestingly, Vladimir finds himself in Corus B 2007 in reward for winning the C Group in 2005. Apparently, the Macedonian was awaiting his US green card, and was not allowed to leave the States. However, the ever understanding organisers of the Corus tournament, allowed him to defer and compete in 2007 instead. As well as playing, Vladimir is a former coach of former Women's World Champion Stefanova, and has spent some time teaching to school children. Recent results upon his return to full time competition, have been a 5/11 showing at the 2006 olympiad, and a much better 6.5/9 at the Acropolis tournament in Athens. His 2006 ended with a disappointing 4.0/9 finish in Croatia.


Name: Tatiana Kosintseva (IM)
Country: Russia
Date of Birth: 11.04.1986
Rating: 2474
World Ranking: 958
Group Seeding: 14

Tatiana Kosintseva is a WGM and IM, and twice the European youth Champion, and joint first in the world youth championships on 2 occasions. Russian Women's Champion, and member of the Olympic team, scoring 9.5 from 12 in Turin. In addition to chess, she is a law student, and the sole female in Corus B due to the withdrawral of Kosteniuk. The event will be tough for her, but it won't be a walk-over for any of her competitors either!