Hungary and Slovenia lead in Mitropacup 2009

MITROPACUP 2009

The Chess Federation of Slovenia is the organiser of the MITROPACUP 2009, a team tournament which is being held from 9 May 2009 (arrival) until 17 May (last round, closing ceremony) in Hotel Sava, Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia. Each team is composed of four players plus one reserve (in the men's section) and two players plus one reserve (in the women's section). Time controls are 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds increment after each move starting from move one.

Results after six rounds – men

After four rounds Hungary is in the sole lead, by half a point. Italy has overtaken Croatia – but the three leaders are just half a point apart. Note that in this event the total score on all boards is critical, not the match points (teams winning individual matches). Note also who is chiefly responsible for Italy's ranking – 16-year-old Fabiano Caruana, who has scored 4.5/6 and with that the best result on board one. The best result on any board is by Jan Krejci of the Czech Republic on board four: 5.0/6 points = 83%.

Results after five rounds – women

In the women's section the two local Slovenian teams still lead, with Italy in hot pursuit. The best player is Ksenija Novak on board two for Slovenia 2, with 4.0/5 points. Note that in this section there are only seven rounds (in the men's it is nine), so that the final encounters will take place on Friday and Saturday (May 15 and 16).

Picture gallery by GM Uwe Bönsch

A map of "Slovenija" on the the wall of the hotel

Sash and mustache: remnants of Slovenia's Austria-Hungarian past

The Central Europen country that is now Slovenia was at various times part of the Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the principality Carantania, the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia); the Kingdom of Italy: occupied by Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945.

Slovenia gained independence in 1991 and today is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen area, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO. Not bad for a country with a population that is a bit more than Hamburg, Germany (two million) and a GDP that is a bit larger than Bill Gate's net worth ($59 billion vs. close to $50 billion for Gates).

The playing hall, with a round under way

Peter Prohaszka, Hungary, gets a glare from David Baramidze, Germany, after playing 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 in round four on their board four game.

The women's section match between... oh, just read the signs on the table, will you?

Our photographer GM Uwe Bönsch (right) at dinner with team members Judith Fuchs,
Michael Prusikin and Melanie Ohme

Jan Gustafsson, Germany, and Markus Ragger, Austria, catching a breath of fresh air

"Gusti" actually doing something for his health in the fitness room of the hotel

Melanie Ohme lasting longer on the treadmill than Jan on his exercise bicycle

The Germans (Judith Fuchs, Arik Braun) working up a sweat

Follow the games on Playchess

Most of the games of the Mitropa Cup are being broadcast live on Playchess, courtesy of the organisers. You can watch them there and discuss them with other chess fans. Note that you can sort the list of games being broadcast by clicking on any of the column headers, e.g. Tournament, Round, Result, etc.

Naturally the games are also being broadcast on the official web site, where two webcams are also installed to give you an impression of the action in Rogaska Slatina.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN: Men – Women The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and a selection on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access to the Mitropa games, free of charge. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games.