Top 10 in FIDE world chess championships survive to round two
MAHMOUD KASSEM

AP Online
Jun 21, 2004

The top 10 seeded players in the World Chess Federation championships
easily survived the first round of play, which stretched past midnight
to wrap up early Monday, in a competition where many of the most
famous names in chess were absent.

English players Michael Adams and Nigel D. Short made a particularly
strong showing in the final results among the top 10, striding into
their second round after beating Libyan and Yemeni players with two
straight wins Saturday and Sunday.

Adams, world No. 8 and seeded second in the tournament, trounced
his Libyan opponent, Hussein Asabri, ranked 127th in the tournament,
in the second game in 36 moves. Short, world No. 15 and No. 5 in the
tournament, showed similar ease, defeating Yemeni Hameed Mansour Ali
Kadhi, ranked 123rd in the tournament, in 37 moves after a French
Defense opening.

Iran’s Ehsan Ghaem Maghami again displayed stunning skill against
Armenia’s Rafael Vaganian in the second game of round one. The Iranian
underdog beat the well-respected grandmaster in an Alekhine Defense
named after the late Russian champion Alexander Alekhine.

“Maghami clearly came well prepared,” said Geoffrey D. Borg, general
secretary of the Mediterranean Chess Association.

Other players who drew with their opponents after two long games
faced more grueling contests with rapid and blitz games that lasted
well into the early hours of Monday morning.

Those nerve-racking rapid chess sessions dashed the hopes of the
youngest player and grandmaster in the tournament, 13-year-old Magnus
Carlsen of Norway, who fell to Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second
rapid game they played.

Carlsen played his favorite opening, the Trompowski, but Aronian
chose an equalizing line, a variation with e6. After some minor
complications, the Armenian gained advantages which lead him to a
solid victory.

Most players from the Arab teams didn’t make it to the second
round. Essam El Gindy, Egypt and Africa’s No. 1, and his compatriot
Ahmed Adly, were sent packing as were all the Libyans except Abobker
Elarabi who passed into the second round when his opponent, Alexander
Morozevich of Russia, failed to turn up to the match.

Hichem Hamdouchi of Morocco clinched a surprise victory over Alexander
Motylev of Russia in the second match of round one. Their first game
ended in a draw.

Sixty-four players remain for round two, which was kicking off
later Monday.

The World Chess Federation, known by its French initials FIDE, began
its Tripoli championship Saturday despite Libya’s refusal to allow
players from Israel and the absence of many top players. Only two of
FIDE’s top 10 were participating, apparently because many players
were angry that Garry Kasparov of Russia was to be allowed to play
the winner without having to go through qualifying rounds.

Libya, which is putting up the US$1.5 million in prize money for
the tournament, has been struggling to shake off its reputation as
a rogue state that sponsors terrorism and foments trouble around the
world. Welcoming the chess tournament and making a failed bid to host
the 2010 soccer World Cup were seen as part of a campaign to clean
up its international image.