Category: News

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 26 2004

INTERNATIONAL HEADMASTERS’ SESSION IN MOSCOW

MOSCOW, March 26, 2004. (RIA Novosti) – The backing of compatriots
abroad is a priority trend of the Moscow government’s work, deputy
head of the Moscow education department Yuri Goryachev said on Friday
summing up the results of the international session of headmasters of
Russian-language schools.

The Moscow government closely cooperates with compatriots’
organizations abroad, he noted. “We have been annually sending
textbooks to Russian schools abroad for 10 years already and helping
to upgrade teachers’ qualification,” Mr. Goryachev added.

Over 60 delegates from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria,
Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and
Estonia took part in the session. They discussed information exchange
and mutual professional support for the Russian language learning and
teaching with the use of new information and educational
technologies. They also considered the complex target medium-term
program of support for compatriots abroad for 2004-2005.

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Friday, March 26, 2004

SENIOR U.S. OFFICIAL VISITS ARMENIA
President Robert Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage this Friday to discuss bilateral
relations and regional concerns. Armitage was in Armenia as part of a
regional tour that also included Ukraine and Azerbaijan. At a press
conference following the meetings, Armitage stressed the continued
importance the U.S. puts on relations with Armenia and the region, which he
said were in recent years impacted by U.S. preoccupation with Afghanistan
and Iraq.

Armitage noted a “very high degree of cooperation” that already exists
between Armenia and the United States, specifically noting Armenia’s
readiness to contribute to the stabilization of post-war Iraq. The Armenian
President’s press service quoted Kocharian as also expressing satisfaction
with bilateral relations and readiness to expand areas of cooperation.

The U.S. provided significant economic assistance to Armenia, helping the
country overcome the energy and humanitarian crises in the early 1990s and
playing an important role in the ongoing economic recovery. Next month, the
two governments are expected to sign an agreement to boost security at
Armenia’s nuclear power plant in view of international terrorist threats.

Turning to regional issues, Armitage said that some progress on opening of
the Armenian-Turkish border might be made after Turkish concerns regarding
northern Iraq and Cyprus are “ameliorated.” Armitage said that “I think, to
be fair, Turkish friends have had their hands full recently.”

Ignoring U.S. and European Union calls, Turkey has refused to establish
diplomatic relations with Armenia and closed the border in 1993 to support
Azerbaijan’s effort to blockade Armenia. Following meetings between Armenian
and Turkish officials last year, it appeared that some progress could be
made. But last January, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul denied any
plans to change Turkish policies. Pressure from Azerbaijan and its allies in
the Turkish military and political elite reportedly account for the
continuation of the blockade.

This week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed that a peaceful
resolution to the Karabakh conflict would become impossible, should Turkey
open the border. Armitage, while refusing to directly qualify Aliyev’s
comments, in effect disagreed, maintaining the U.S. line that the opening
would be mutually beneficial.

Armitage did not sound too optimistic about progress in the Karabakh peace
process, saying only that “there is a possibility eventually of a
resolution.” He noted that the sides were close to an agreement in 2001, but
the late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev in the end had “great
difficulty with the proposal at home.” His son and successor Ilham Aliyev
has since indicated that he was not in a hurry to settle the problem. This
week, Aliyev cancelled a meeting between Oskanian and the Azeri Foreign
Minister planned by French, Russian and U.S. mediators for next Monday,
saying that the meeting’s agenda was not “precise enough.” (Sources: Armenia
This Week 1-16, 2-13; AP 3-22; Arminfo 3-26; RFE/RL Armenia Report 3-26)

U.S.-ARMENIA TRADE TIES CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN
Trade links between Armenia and the United States, while still modest in
overall terms, continued to expand last year, the U.S. Census Bureau
reported. The bilateral turnover stood at over $140 million, slightly less
than $143 million in 2002, but more than twice as high as in 1998. Purchase
and leasing of civilian aircraft by Armenia’s private carriers from U.S.
companies amounted to $108 million in 2002-2003.

Jewelry, meanwhile, accounted for fully one-half of Armenia’s export to the
U.S., which stood at $68 million in 2002-2003. Other major Armenian exports
for the same period included textile and apparel ($20 million) and
agribusiness products ($3.4 million).

By contrast, Georgia’s exports to the U.S. were at $17 million in 2002 and
$56 million in 2003, with most of the difference accounted for by a re-sale
of $30 million worth of petroleum products. Azerbaijan’s exports were at $26
million in 2002 and under $10 million in 2003, with petroleum products
accounting for most of the value. (Source: )

“BEST” ANTI-ARMENIAN WORKS AWARDED
The Azerbaijani Ministry of National Security (MNS), a successor to the
Soviet-era KGB, this week issued awards of up to $2,000 for the “best”
propaganda works targeting Armenians. The first prize in the books category
went to the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences’ Human Rights Institute
for an “encyclopedia” entitled “Crimes against humanity perpetrated by
Armenian terrorist and bandit formations (19th-20th centuries).”
Incidentally, the hard-line National Security Minister Namik Abbasov was
also honored for personally funding the publication of the same book.

The MNS granted other top money prizes to films entitled “Bloody terror” and
“Plague” (in apparent references to Armenians). And a Diploma was granted to
Tomris Azeri, a New Jersey-based President of the Azerbaijani Society of
America.

Meanwhile, the campaign in support of an Azeri accused of brutally murdering
an Armenian officer during NATO-sponsored English-language courses in
Hungary, continued with fundraising, public meetings, a web site and stipend
granted to Safarov’s family for the duration of his imprisonment. (Sources:
Arm. This Week 1-30, 2-20, 27; Zerkalo 3-19, 24; Azertag.com 3-26)

A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
122 C Street, N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 393-3434 FAX
(202) 638-4904
E-Mail [email protected] WEB

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 26 2004

ARMENIAN AND AZERI FOREIGN MINISTERS NOT MEET IN PRAGUE

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, 2004. (RIA NOVOSTI). The meeting between the
Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Prague was postponed because
Azerbaijan was not prepared for it, said the European Union special
representative for the South Caucasus, ambassador Heikki Talvitie.

“I do not exactly know all the reasons for which the authorities of
Azerbaijan decided to postpone the meeting. But I believe that they
were simply not ready to hold it,” Talvitie said.

At the same time, the ambassador stressed that the point at issue was
the postponement of only one meeting, and this fact should not be
assessed as the termination of the negotiating process on the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Talvitie also said that during his meetings in Baku he became
convinced that the Azeri leaders understood there was no alternative
to the negotiating process.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 26 2004

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS MEETS RUSSIAN VNESHTORGBANK PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, March 26, 2004. (RIA Novosti) – Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II met with President and chairman of the board of the
Russian Vneshtorgbank (Foreign Trade Bank) Andrei Kostin.

The establishment of a united bank will help to solve Armenian
economic problems, Andrei Kostin said.

Garegin II expressed satisfaction with the development of
Russian-Armenian economic relations, the Catholicos’ chancellery
said. “It will have a positive influence on Russian-Armenian
friendship,” Garegin II added.

Vneshtorgbank signed a contract on the purchase of 70 percent of
Armsberbank shares in Yerevan on March 24, 2004.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
March 26, 2004, Friday

SERGEI IVANOV’S RECIPROCITY

SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 26, 2004, p. 6

by Vladimir Mukhin

The “Rossia v Globalnoi Politike” (Russia in Global Politics) journal
quoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying that NATO expansion
might cause Russia to revise its military strategy – specifically,
its plans for nuclear forces development. This sharply-worded
statement was made in response to NATO intentions to deploy four
F-16S in Lithuania for protection of Baltic aircraft (the Baltic
states are to become NATO members on April 2).

Inspecting the 32nd Air Defense Corps in Tver this Wednesday, Ivanov
announced that Russia is waiting for explanations of the potential
appearance of NATO facilities and forces near its state borders,
especially in the Baltic states. “If deployment of the NATO military
infrastructure in the Baltic states is interpreted as posing a
threat, Russia will take adequate countermeasures,” Ivanov said.

The minister did not explain what kind of measures these would be. At
the same time, it is hard to lend much credit to promises to
reorganize the Russian nuclear forces after the recent statements of
Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov that the Pyotr Veliky
(Peter the Great) cruiser could blow up at any moment, and that ICBMs
carries by strategic nuclear submarines are technically obsolete
(only one launch out of five tried last month was successful).

An active phase of military exercises has taken place in some Russian
regions and CIS countries. It involved several Air Force regiments,
air defense units, flotillas, almost 20,000 troops, and units from
the national armies of CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization
members.

In fact, military activity was noticed across all post-Soviet
territory where the Russian military is stationed: off the Crimean
coast, in Akhalkalaki (Georgia), Gyumri (Armenia), and Tajikistan.

Estonia has already complained that a Russian aircraft had had the
temerity to trespass. Ukraine also responded to activeness of the
Russian Air Force above the Black Sea. It ran an exercise in the
Crimea, right near the area where aircraft of the Russian Black Sea
Fleet and its own aircraft were based. Ukrainian commandos practiced
dealing with illegal armed formations at airfields. Russian units
were not invited to participate in the exercise.

Estonia made its airspace open for NATO aircraft yesterday. A week
earlier, Ukraine made its territory available to NATO contingents for
emergencies.

Tension between Russia and NATO is mounting with each passing day.
Well-informed and reliable sources say that US Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld’s visit to Uzbekistan last month resulted in an
agreement with official Tashkent on the use of military facilites in
Uzbekistan by American mobile forces. Russia promised to bolster its
Air Force unit in Kant, Kyrgyzstan, in response.

The Russian 92nd Military Base in Georgia is active these days.
Georgian special forces responded to this activeness with an exercise
of their own in Vaziani. Abkhazia is mobilizing its troops. The
situation is anything but tranquil. Neither is the situation any more
tranquil in South Ossetia and Trans-Dniester, the latter vehemently
objecting to withdrawal of Russian military hardware from the region.

All post-Soviet territory is a zone of conflicts, exercises, and
maneuvers. All this could even lead to a shooting war.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
March 26, 2004, Friday

EUROPEAN UNION TAKES THE CAUCASUS UNDER ITS WING

SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 26, 2004, p. 5

by Rauf Mirkadyrov

Hejki Talvitije, special envoy of the European Union in the southern
Caucasus, has been touring the region for almost a week. The visit
was scheduled to begin with Azerbaijan, but Talvitije changed his
plans and visited Georgia first, where he himself said he contributed
to the Adzharian crisis management. In fact, the envoy did not come
to the region in the first place to settle conflicts between Tbilisi
and Batumi.

Talvitije informed regional leaders that the European Union has
agreed to include them in its New Neighbors Program. The final
decision will be made before June, he said; the European Union is
currently working on new recommendations for countries of the
southern Caucasus.

Some analysts believe that renewed activity by the European Union in
the southern Caucasus means it is aiming to challenge the United
States in the region, rather than Russia. On his recent visit to
Azerbaijan, Lynn Pascoe of the US State Department said that
Washington is closely monitoring the activities of the European Union
in the region, and would not surrender the initiative.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan will visit Brussels, official
capital of the European Union, in late May or early June. This was
announced during Talvitije’s visit by Antonius de Vries, economic
representative of the European Union in Azerbaijan. According to de
Vries, Aliyev is going to Brussels to discuss bilateral relations and
transportation of the Caspian oil to Europe. Aliyev will meet with
Romano Prodi of the European Commission and commissars Lajola di
Palassio (transportation and energy) and Chris Paten (foreign
affairs).

Integration of countries of the southern Caucasus into European and
European-Atlantic structures may squeeze Russia from the region
altogether. Russia’s only strategic ally in the region, Armenia, will
face a difficult choice – succumbing to Moscow and stay away from
European structures or turn its back on the Kremlin. Anti-Russian
slogans could be heard in Yerevan on the eve of Talvitije’s visit.
Said Yerdjanik Abgarjan, a spokesman for Organization Armat and Party
of National Movement, “Continuation of economic and political
cooperation with Russia will cost Armenia its future.” Adbarjan is
convinced that the phrase “Armenia is a strategic ally of Russia”
should be used sparingly and cautiously, that Armenia should join
powerful international structures like the European Union or NATO, be
more pragmatic and try to have as little to do with Russia as
possible.

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia fear that the European Union and
United States, intent on military-political expansion into the
region, will facilitate resolution of local conflicts in the manner
of the Adzharian crisis management. The latter persuaded everyone
that stability based on simply mothballing conflicts is extremely
fragile.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 26, 2004, Friday

TWO SIDES OF THE 102ND BASE

SOURCE: Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No 10, March 19 – 25, 2004, p.8

by Igor Plugatarev

Several hundred meters divide checkpoints of two military units in
Yerevan outskirts.Closer to the city is the Russian regiment, and the
other one is a communication regiment of the Armenian Armed Forces.
According to the military, both units are elements of the Russian
102nd military base in Armenia. It means that they comprise a single
military structure. And yet, differences are undeniable. Entrance to
the Russian checkpoint is barred by slabs of concrete making entry
more difficult. The Armenian unit does not have this fortification
against terrorists. The Armenians are surprised as well, that Russian
soldiers manning checkpoints always wear heavy bulletproof vests.
“Why bother?” the locals shrug.

Armenia does care for the military. Lieutenant Colonel Vartan
Stepanjan, 43, communication regiment commander (he became an officer
by chance, it happened during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh) claims
that officers of the Armenian army have no reasons to complain.
“Status of our officers is higher than that of an average citizen,”
he explained. “Average salary in Armenia amounts to 15,000 drams
while officers are paid three or four times that. Sometimes, they are
even paid six or seven times that, depending on the position.” The
sum is an equivalent of between $150 and $250, while average teachers
for example are paid $30-50. “Moreover, salaries in the army are
always paid on time,” Stepanjan added.

The two cantonments are divided by a concrete wall topped with barbed
wire. There is a metal door painted green with an inspection hole in
the wall.

“What about the division of functions from the point of view of
combat tasks?” this correspondent inquired. “There is no definite
division,” Stepanjan replied. “Russian servicemen and we accomplish
whatever missions are given us.” “Any problems with the language?” –
“No. All negotiations are restricted to the upper level of command.
Everybody speaks good Russian there. At the same time, almost all our
soldiers speak Russia too because it is taught at schools.” Almost
all soldiers in the regiment are Armenians.

According to Stepanjan, the regiment is a unit of permanent combat
readiness. It provides communications for Supreme Commander-in-Chief
Robert Kocharjan, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisjan, and chief of the
General Staff. Military hardware here is of Soviet vintage or Russian
(that is so throughout the Armenian army). The regiment is between
15% and 20% men under complement which enables it to deal with the
tasks dished out by the command. The regiment was in charge of
communications of the united command post of the Russian army group
in Armenia in the past. These days, this is the task of the Russian
communication battalion withdrawn from Georgia to Gyumri (former
Leninakan).

The Armenian national army is a carbon copy of the Soviet Army. All
four battle codes are verbatim copies of codes of the Soviet Army.

Everything in old brick barracks is the way it as in the Soviet Army
too.

All soldiers come from the provinces. Under the national legislation,
a conscript cannot be assigned to an unit closer than 50 kilometers
from his home. Soldiers are drafted for two years. They are paid
1,560 drams (approximately $3 or 100 Russian rubles). According to
commanders, their subordinates do not have anything to complain
about. They do not look hungry or frightened indeed.

Neither do soldiers of the Armenian national army complain of cruelty
in the barracks. “I cannot say that we do not have it in the army at
all,” Stepanjan said. “I served in a lot of places and units and I
can tell you that we do not have cruelty in the barracks by 98%.
There is no such thing in my regiment here.” The officer ascribes it
to “commanders’ efforts, our mentality, attitude of the people toward
the army, and our traditions.” There are other problems – AWOLs and
drinking – but Stepanjan is philosophical about that. “Soldiers will
remain soldiers,” he said.

In 2003, Stepanjan’s regiment participated in the exercise of eleven
CIS and eight NATO countries. Said Stepanjan, “Watching our guys
handle the military hardware, the Americans wanted to know how they
were and how long they had already served. We informed them that some
servicemen had spent six months in service, others twelve months. The
Americans were impressed by our professionalism.”

The Armenian military does not think too much of the Americans. “They
are poor shooters. Their vaunted assault rifles misfired all too
frequently at shooting ranges. Not so our guys who hit all targets
with their AKMs and K-3s” (an Armenian automatic rifle resembling the
Israeli Uzi – Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie).

As a matter of fact, the Armenians are convinced that NATO servicemen
participating in that exercise were “mostly CIA and army
intelligence. They came to find out the state of affairs here, to
gauge our fighting spirit, and see what military hardware we
operated.”

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 26, 2004, Friday

TWO SIDES OF THE 102ND BASE

SOURCE: Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No 10, March 19 – 25, 2004, p.8
Translated from Russian
by Igor Plugatarev

Several hundred meters divide checkpoints of two military units in
Yerevan outskirts.Closer to the city is the Russian regiment, and the
other one is a communication regiment of the Armenian Armed Forces.
According to the military, both units are elements of the Russian
102nd military base in Armenia. It means that they comprise a single
military structure. And yet, differences are undeniable. Entrance to
the Russian checkpoint is barred by slabs of concrete making entry
more difficult. The Armenian unit does not have this fortification
against terrorists. The Armenians are surprised as well, that Russian
soldiers manning checkpoints always wear heavy bulletproof vests. “Why
bother?” the locals shrug.

Armenia does care for the military. Lieutenant Colonel Vartan
Stepanjan, 43, communication regiment commander (he became an officer
by chance, it happened during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh) claims that
officers of the Armenian army have no reasons to complain. “Status of
our officers is higher than that of an average citizen,” he explained.
“Average salary in Armenia amounts to 15,000 drams while officers are
paid three or four times that. Sometimes, they are even paid six or
seven times that, depending on the position.” The sum is an equivalent
of between $150 and $250, while average teachers for example are paid
$30-50. “Moreover, salaries in the army are always paid on time,”
Stepanjan added.

The two cantonments are divided by a concrete wall topped with barbed
wire. There is a metal door painted green with an inspection hole in
the wall.

“What about the division of functions from the point of view of combat
tasks?” this correspondent inquired. “There is no definite division,”
Stepanjan replied. “Russian servicemen and we accomplish whatever
missions are given us.” “Any problems with the language?” – “No. All
negotiations are restricted to the upper level of command. Everybody
speaks good Russian there. At the same time, almost all our soldiers
speak Russia too because it is taught at schools.” Almost all soldiers
in the regiment are Armenians.

According to Stepanjan, the regiment is a unit of permanent combat
readiness. It provides communications for Supreme Commander-in-Chief
Robert Kocharjan, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisjan, and chief of the
General Staff. Military hardware here is of Soviet vintage or Russian
(that is so throughout the Armenian army). The regiment is between 15%
and 20% men under complement which enables it to deal with the tasks
dished out by the command. The regiment was in charge of
communications of the united command post of the Russian army group in
Armenia in the past. These days, this is the task of the Russian
communication battalion withdrawn from Georgia to Gyumri (former
Leninakan).

The Armenian national army is a carbon copy of the Soviet Army. All
four battle codes are verbatim copies of codes of the Soviet Army.

Everything in old brick barracks is the way it as in the Soviet Army
too.

All soldiers come from the provinces. Under the national legislation,
a conscript cannot be assigned to an unit closer than 50 kilometers
from his home. Soldiers are drafted for two years. They are paid 1,560
drams (approximately $3 or 100 Russian rubles). According to
commanders, their subordinates do not have anything to complain about.
They do not look hungry or frightened indeed.

Neither do soldiers of the Armenian national army complain of cruelty
in the barracks. “I cannot say that we do not have it in the army at
all,” Stepanjan said. “I served in a lot of places and units and I can
tell you that we do not have cruelty in the barracks by 98%. There is
no such thing in my regiment here.” The officer ascribes it to
“commanders’ efforts, our mentality, attitude of the people toward the
army, and our traditions.” There are other problems – AWOLs and drinki
ng – but Stepanjan is philosophical about that. “Soldiers will remain
soldiers,” he said.

In 2003, Stepanjan’s regiment participated in the exercise of eleven
CIS and eight NATO countries. Said Stepanjan, “Watching our guys
handle the military hardware, the Americans wanted to know how they
were and how long they had already served. We informed them that some
servicemen had spent six months in service, others twelve months. The
Americans were impressed by our professionalism.”

The Armenian military does not think too much of the Americans. “They
are poor shooters. Their vaunted assault rifles misfired all too
frequently at shooting ranges. Not so our guys who hit all targets
with their AKMs and K-3s” (an Armenian automatic rifle resembling the
Israeli Uzi – Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie).

As a matter of fact, the Armenians are convinced that NATO servicemen
participating in that exercise were “mostly CIA and army intelligence.
They came to find out the state of affairs here, to gauge our fighting
spirit, and see what military hardware we operated.”

BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, The Phillippines
March 26, 2004, Friday

Chess Piece; Who’s the youngest now?

by Bobby Ang

We all know that Bobby Fischer became the youngest-ever
international grandmaster when he finished among the top in the 1958
Portoroz Interzonal, thus qualifying for the Candidates’ Tournament
which brings with it an automatic grandmaster title. At that time he
was 15 years, six months and one day old. His record was to stand for
33 years until broken by Judit Polgar during the 1991 Hungarian
Championship. But who was the youngest-ever GM before Fischer? And,
with the tidal wave of ever-younger talents, who holds the record
now?

1. When the International Chess Federation (FIDE) created the title
in 1950 they also created the first batch of international
grandmasters, the youngest of whom was 26-year-old David Bronstein
(bet you didn’t know that).

2. This record lasted for two years, in 1952 the Armenian legend
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian qualified for the Candidates’ Tournament
(as mentioned above all candidates are automatically awarded the
title) at the age of 23.

3. Boris Spassky set a new record at age 18 when he became a GM in
1955, also by qualifying for a Candidates Tournament.

4. The next record was set by Bobby Fischer via the same route of
qualifying for the Candidates’. Lest you think that qualifying for a
Candidates’ Tournament or match is easy, none of the other ones in
the list is to get the title in this manner.

So there you have it, the sequence leading up to Bobby Fischer. Now
we give you the all-time list of youngest-ever GMs:

1. Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine), 12 years, 7 months.

2. Bu Xiangzhi (China), 13 years, 10 months, 13 days

3. Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), 14 years, 14 days

4. Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine), 14 years, 17 days

5. Etienne Bacrot (France), 14 years, 2 months

6. Peter Leko (Hungary), 14 years 4 months, 22 days

7. Koneru Humpy (India), 15 years, 1 month, 27 days

8. Hikaru Nakamura (USA), 15 years, 1 month, 28 days

9. Judit Polgar (Hungary), 15 years, 4 months, 28 days

10. Alejandro Ramirez (Costa Rica), 15 years, 5 months, 14 days

11. Bobby Fischer (USA), 15 years, 6 months, 1 day

12. Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain), 16 years, 9 months

13. Garry Kasparov (Russia), 16 years, 11 months, 29 days

A few comments on the above list.

* * *

SERGEY KARJAKIN is currently the youngest on the list, but some
quarters have voiced their doubts on the legitimacy of his title, in
as much as all his GM results were obtained in obscure Ukrainian
tournaments with no publicity at all until after he got the three
norms. As to whether or not his norms will stand up to intense
international scrutiny I have no opinion on this, since Ponomariov
also obtained his GM norms in obscure Ukrainian events, but look at
him now – he is FIDE world chess champion! However, it is true that
Karjakin’s games have a certain quality in them which are not very
convincing – he went to Malaysia to represent his country in the
world Under-16 Olympiad, and was rather a big failure, losing to an
Indian player who was not even the top in his age group.

The same can be said about BU XIANGZHI, whose last two norms were
obtained in local Chinese events and his wins were against his
compatriots. But I don’t buy the vicious innuendos about Bu’s title
norm, since the 1999 Qingdao Cup where he obtained his final norm had
Mr. Ignatius Leong as Arbiter, and this guy, who ran for FIDE
President two years ago, is a stickler for propriety and would have
exposed any shenanigans had there been some.

Anyway, both Karjakin and Bu have subsequently showed that they are
of GM-class, not yet superstars but strong enough to belong. The same
is not true for GM TEIMOUR RADJABOV of Baku (same hometown as Garry
Kasparov). He is now 17 but his ELO rating had gone up to the high
2600s. Not only that but the quality of his games promise a bright
future for this teenager. Even Garry Kasparov has fallen for one of
his sacrificial attacks!

Kasparov,G (2847) – Radjabov,T (2624) [C11]

Linares 20th (2), 23.02.2003

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2
b5 9.a3 Qb6 10.Ne2 c4 11.g4 h5 12.gxh5 Rxh5 13.Ng3 Rh8 14.f5!?

Naturally Kasparov plays for a win against the upstart from Baku.

14…exf5 15.Nxf5 Nf6! 16.Ng3

[16.exf6 Bxf5 17.fxg7 Bxg7 18.Rg1 Bf6 is OK for Black]

16…Ng4 17.Bf4 Be6 18.c3 Be7 19.Ng5 0-0-0 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Be2
Ngxe5!?

Brave fellow, this Radjabov.

22.Qe3

It was wise not to accept the sacrifice. A sample line is 22.dxe5 d4
23.cxd4 Rxd4 24.Qc1 Na5 25.Be3 Nb3 26.Bxd4 Qxd4 27.Qd1 Qe3 and wins.

22…Nd7 23.Qxe6 Bh4 24.Qg4 g5! 25.Bd2 Rde8 26.0-0-0 Na5 27.Rdf1?

A serious oversight. Simply 27.Kb1 is OK.

27…Nb3+ 28.Kd1 Bxg3! 29.Rf7

[29.hxg3 Qg6! 30.Bc1 Qb1 31.Qxg5 Nxc1 32.Qxc1 Qe4 wins]

29…Rd8 30.Bxg5 Qg6 31.Qf5 Qxf5 32.Rxf5 Rdf8

Now to cash in on Black’s extra piece.

33.Rxf8+ Nxf8 34.Bf3 Bh4 35.Be3 Nd7 36.Bxd5 Re8 37.Bh6 Ndc5! 38.Bf7
Re7 39.Bh5 Nd3 0-1

* * *

In Dortmund 2003 we were witness to a most fantastic display of
tactical fireworks with Viswanathan Anand (!) as the victim.

GM Viswanathan Anand,V (2774) – Radjabov,T (2648) [B32]

Dortmund Dortmund (2), 01.08.2003

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5

This is known as the Kalashnikov Variation, a departure from the more
popular Sveshnikov (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5).
You might think the two are more-or-less similar, but the plans of
attack are different. Here in the Kalashnikov Black’s idea is to
play…Bf8-e7-g5 to exchange bishops, a plan which, for obvious
reasons, is not available in the Sveshnikov.

5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Be7 7.b3!?

Apparently Anand got the idea of attacking Black’s d6 with Ba3.

7…f5 8.exf5 Bxf5 9.Bd3 e4!? 10.Be2 a6 11.N5c3 Bf6!

Black changes his original plan and, in view of White’s self-imposed
weakness on the long diagonal, positions itself on f6.

12.0-0 Nge7 13.a3!

Prevents…Nb4 as well as getting ready to move his rook to d2.

13…0-0 14.Ra2 Qa5 15.b4 Qe5 16.Re1 b5! 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Bxb5 Nd4!?
19.Bf1?

[19.Bc4+! was stronger. After 19…Kh8 20.f4! Black’s queen would be
in deep trouble. There only remains 19…d5 20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.Bb2 and
the threat of exchanging on d4 and winning back the piece by Rd2
would ensure a big advantage for White]

19…d5 20.Rd2 Be6 21.f4 Qxf4 22.Rf2! <D>

[ 22.Rxd4?? Qf2+!]

22…Qxf2+!!

Fantastic!

23.Kxf2 Nb5!!

An even more fantastic follow-up. 24.Nxb5 is refuted by 24…Bd4
double-check 25.Kg3 Bf2 checkmate.

24.Kg1

[24.Nxb5 Bd4+ 25.Kg3 Bf2#]

24…Nxc3 25.Nxc3 Bxc3 26.Bb5 Bxe1 27.Qxe1 Nf5 28.Bb2 Rac8!? 29.Ba4!

Preventing Black’s rook from coming to the second rank.

29…Rf7 30.h3 h5!

Preparing h5-h4 and Nf5-g3.

31.b5 h4 32.Be5 d4?

Throws away the win. There was no need to hurry. He could have played
32…Rb7! followed by…e3 and…d4.

33.b6?

It is Anand’s turn to slip. He should have played 33.Qxe4! Rc1+
34.Kh2 Ne3 35.Qxh4 Rff1 36.Qd8+ Rf8 37.Qxd4 forces the boy from Baku
to take the draw with 37…Nf1+ 38.Kg1 Ne3+ 39.Kh2 Nf1+ etc.

33…e3! 34.Kh2 d3 35.Qb4 e2 36.Bc3 Rxc3! 37.Qxc3 Ng3 38.b7 Rxb7
39.Qa5 Rb8! 0-1

* * *

HUMPY KONERU is now the youngest female in chess history to get the
male version of the international grandmaster title, beating out
Judit Polgar by around three months. I’ll try not to comment on this
too much, but there has been some skepticism as to what is Koneru’s
true age. Physically she looks much older than the 17 she is now.

Now, we go to the latest wunderkind to follow in Bobby Fischer’s
footsteps. Already controversial (he has been called the rudest GM in
the international circuit), HIKARU NAKAMURA started playing
tournament chess in 1995 at the age of seven. Whilst reading the
Guinness Book of World Records at nine, he made a chance discovery
that he had only three-months to beat a record by becoming America’s
youngest National Master – so he decided to do something about it.
History was achieved in the Marshall Chess Club a few months later
when he achieved an official USCF rating of 2203 at the age of l0
years and 2 months old. In the US the Master title is automatic when
you fit 2200.

Hikaru’s mother is Japanese while his stepfather is the famous Sri
Lankan (now US) chess coach Sunil Weeramantry, who has written a
best-selling book on Best Lessons from a Chess Coach.

Nakamura achieved his final GM norm by placing second in the 2003
Bermuda International Tournament, beating Bobby Fischer’s record by
four months. A creature of internet chess, he is one of the most
active GMs in the internet chess servers, playing blitz and bullet
(one-minute chess) from morning till night. This has affected his
tournament play somewhat, as in the opening and early middle game
Hikaru tends to play somewhat superficially. When the chips are down
though we see his enormous strength in tactics – he has squirmed out
of many bad or losing positions by toughing it out, finding hidden
resources and counterattacking hard.

This is my favorite Nakamura game:

GM Gennady Sagalchik (2491) – Nakamura,H (2568) [C15]

American Continental 2nd Buenos Aires (9), 27.08.2003

Played during the 2003 Pan-American Continental Championships, this
game was instrumental in qualifying Nakamura for the FIDE World
Championships.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 e6 4.e4 Bb4 5.Nge2 dxe4 6.a3 Be7 7.Bxf6 gxf6
8.Nxe4 f5 9.N4c3 c6 10.g3 b6 11.Bg2 Bb7 12.Qd3?!

Some people would call this an error. White’s e2-N is not doing
anything and he should transfer it to its optimum square on d3, which
White had just carelessly occupied with his queen.

12…Nd7 13.Nd1 Qc7 14.c4 0-0-0 15.Ne3 Kb8 16.Qc2 Bd6 17.f4 h5 18.h4
Nf6

Black is obviously standing quite well here.

19.0-0-0 c5 20.d5 Rhe8 21.Nc3 a6 22.Rhe1 Rg8 23.Nf1?

White, a well-known GM, has obviously underestimated his young
opponent and overlooked Black’s fine reply. It was imperative that he
play 23.dxe6 fxe6 24.Bxb7 Kxb7 25.Nf1 with an unclear position.

23…Rxg3! 24.Nxg3 Bxf4+ 25.Kb1 Bxg3 26.Re2 Bc8 27.Rd3 Be5 28.Na4 Ka7
29.Rb3 Nd7 30.Bf3 Rg8 31.Bxh5 exd5 32.cxd5 b5 33.Nc3 c4 34.Rxb5?

A blunder. White had to tough it out with 34.Rb4 Bd6 35.Rxb5 Rg1+
36.Ka2 Rg3 37.Bxf7 Rxc3 38.Qxc3 axb5 39.Be6 when he still had chances
to save the game.

34…Bxc3 35.d6 Qxd6 36.Rxf5

And now we come to a sensational finish.

36…Rg1+ 37.Ka2 Qxa3+!!

Beautiful.

38.bxa3 Ra1# 0-1

* * *

The first time we heard of the name ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ was at the Bled
2002 Olympiad. In the first round a 14-year-old kid from Costa Rica,
not exactly a renowned chess nation, held Russia’s Alexander
Morozevich to a draw. At the age of four he had asked his father to
teach him how to play chess after he had seen the moving “Searching
for Bobby Fischer” and this was what that sample request had led to.
Delighted with the fantastic result in his first-ever game against a
grandmaster, Ramirez told the press that his ambition was to be a
grandmaster himself before his 18th birthday. The GM norms soon
followed and, at the Los Immortales Tournament in Santo Domingo,
Ramirez achieved his third GM norm at the age of 15 years, five
months and 14 days to become the first Central American grandmaster
ever and, currently, the second youngest grandmaster in the world.

The avalanche of young chess geniuses has not yet stopped. Whereas
before a grandmaster expects to reach his peak at 35 years of age
nowadays that is the retiring age. It is no longer a rarity to have
grandmasters who are still in their teens. Among our top players now
I can immediately name Radjabov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan
19), Evgeny Alekseev (Russia 18), Ernesto Inarkiev (Russia 18), David
Navara (Czech 19), and Ferenc Berkes (Hungary 18), and I have limited
the choice down to those GMs whose ratings are in the super-GM level
(ELO 2600).

And the advances are not confined to the youngsters winning chess
tournaments – they have also made it imperative for all professional
players to inspect the youth tournaments for opening and theoretical
novelties.

The following game was played in the Russian Under-14 Championship,
won by the player of the White pieces below. He refutes the opening
setup of Black quite convincingly.

FM Nikolay Pokazaniev – Yakov Khosroev [B49]

RUS U14-Ch Dagomys, 2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.0-0 Nf6
8.Be3 Bb4

The principal continuations here are either 8…d6 or 8…Be7, going
into the Scheveningen. However, this move, transposing into the
Taimanov, also has a lot of followers here among Filipino National
Masters.

9.Na4 Bd6 10.g3!

Stopping the threat to his h2 and dangling the e4-pawn to the Black
knight.

10…Nxe4?!

Judit Polgar got the same position after White’s 10th move against
Garry Kasparov in 1997 Linares, and played more prudently with
10…Be7 but then Garry proved that after 11.c4! d6 (11…Nxe4 12.Bf3
Nf6 13.c5) 12.f3 Bd7 13.Rc1 0-0 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Nb6 Rad8 16.b4!
Black’s problems are not so easy to solve. Kasparov,G-Polgar,J/
Linares 1997 1-0 (41).

11.Bf3 f5

Now GM Ftacnik recommends that White play 12.Nb6 Qxb6 13.Nxf5! with
an attack. Czech great Jan Smejkal had met this position against
Luben Spassov in Oerebro 1966, and obtained a winning attack after
12.Bxe4 fxe4 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Nb6 Rb8 15.Qh5+ g6 16.Qh6 Be5 17.Bf4
Bxf4 18.Qxf4 d6 19.Nxc8 Rxc8 20.Qf6, but Pokazaniev’s method is even
more forceful.

12.Nxf5! exf5 13.Bxe4 fxe4 14.Nb6 Rb8

[14…Ra7 15.Nxc8 Qxc8 16.Qxd6 Ra8 17.f3 does not give grounds for
optimism either]

15.Nc4 1-0

If the bishop moves away then Bb6 will win the queen. 10…Nxe4 seems
to have been refuted.

Younger and younger they get. There was a time when the only youth
championship we had was the Under-20. Nowadays we have Under-18,
Under-16, Under-14, Under-12 and even Under-10. In Southeast Asia
Ignatius Leong is experimenting with Under-8!

Pretty soon we will have kindergarten championships. Believe me.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. E-mail address is
[email protected]

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 26, 2004 Friday 12:26 PM Eastern Time

No problems in Turkey-Armenia air traffic – ambassador

By Yelena Volkova, Yelena Starkova

MOSCOW

There are no problems in air traffic between Turkey and Armenia, but
there are some in the definition of the land frontier, Turkish
Ambassador to Russia Kurtulus Taskent told Itar-Tass on Friday.

Armenian airlines make flights to Turkey, and some private Turkish
airlines make flights to Armenia, the ambassador said. There are no
diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia, but representatives
of the two foreign ministries meet from time to time, he remarked.

He hopes that Armenia will respect territorial integrity of
neighbors, and all problems will be solved.