There's more than a little chess going on this week. And while none of the events would be considered among the super-tournaments of 2010, there are a few interesting angles to take a look at in recent action around the world:
- The China-Russia chess match is once again showing that China is fast becoming one of the top chess nations in the world. Sure, some of the biggest Russian names aren't there (there's no Kramnik, Grischuk, etc.), the team is hardly made up of slouches either, with names such as Vladimir Malakhov, Nikita Vitiugov and Artyom Timofeev leading the roster. After four rounds, the Chinese men have had the best of the action, and are holding a decisive 12.5-7.5 advantage. Meanwhile, on the women's side of the event, Russia is faring better: they hold an 11.5-8.5 lead with one round (and five games) remaining to be played.
- Gata Kamsky won the Rapid World Championship at the Mainz Chess Classic in Germany, scoring nine straight wins before walking home with two draws to win by a half-point over Vugar Gashimov, Levon Aronian and Evgeni Bareev. Other notable names near the top included Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk and Alexei Shirov, all of whom finished a point back.
- Michael Adams had absolutely no trouble winning the British Chess Championship, but perhaps that shouldn't have been surprising. After all, he was rated nearly 150 points higher than his closest competition! Adams finished with a 9.5/11 score, a point and a half ahead of Nicholas Pert, who took clear second. Adams went undefeated in winning the tournament, conceding just three draws along the way. The win was Adams' 8th British Championship; he won for the first time at age 17, way back in 1989.
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