Peter Leko vs Michael Adams rapid chess match

An exciting eight-game rapid chess match between the world's No. 3 Peter Lékó (Hungary) and No. 6 Michael Adams (England) is being held between June 2nd and 5th 2005 in the Kossuth Cinema of Miskolc, Hungary.

Péter Lékó was born on 8th September in 1979 in Subotica, he has been living in Szeged since 1980. At 2763 Elo he is ranked fourth in the FIDE rank list published 1st April 2005, i.e. number three if one removes the retired Garry Kasparov.

Michael Adams was born on 17 November 1971 in Truro, Cornwall. He was ranked number seven at 2737, i.e. number six without Garry Kasparov.

Peter Leko and Michael Adams have played 36 games against each other so far (excluding the eight-games Fischer Random match played in Mainz, 2001, which was won by Lékó 5-3). Adams is in the lead by 7-6, with 23 draws between the two. The last time Adams was able to beat his younger Hungarian colleague was in the Linares tournament of 1999. In this year's Linares Super GM both of their games were draw.

The event takes place in Miskolc, the third city in Hungary. The people there are great lovers of sport and culture, it is a city of music festivals and has a long tradition of chess activity. Miskolc has produced multiple-winning teams in national championships, as well as a number of noted players on the international scene.

One of the aims of Miskolc is to have Peter Lékó come there every year to play against a challenger drawn from amongst the elite of the chess world. Visitors of the chess event can get to know the main tourist attraction of the region, the Miskolctapolca Cave and Thermal baths, which is a unique natural geological formation in Europe.

The official web site has a lot of cool graphics and a full English language section. There are bios of both players, download files of their games, descriptions of the Miskolc region and a live coverage section where we assume you will be able to watch the games on the Internet.