Le Temps
8 juin 2006
David Nalbandian, le métronome;
TENNIS. Depuis l’ge junior, l’Argentin taciturne, bête de somme, est
le cauchemar de Roger Federer. Demain, il tentera de le frustrer
d’une première finale à Roland-Garros.
Ça doit être son short. Ou alors son nez. Ou peut-être ce faciès
atone, ce front haut, qui transpirent une rigueur crasse. Rien n’y
change. David Nalbandian a beau devenir un joueur de haut rang,
déployer un tennis d’une propreté impeccable, à Roland-Garros, ses
conférences de presse continuent d’attirer une cohorte hagarde et la
direction, commerçante, de lui refuser les faveurs du Central. «David
n’a eu droit qu’aux courts annexes. Jamais un tournoi n’a manifesté
aussi peu d’égard pour un numéro trois mondial», s’offusque Mats
Wilander.
L’intérêt est poli, au mieux, mais David Nalbandian ne se pique pas
de le susciter. Rien n’y change. Rien n’y changera, d’ailleurs, pas
même la perspective d’une énième empoignade avec Roger Federer,
demain, en demi-finale, comme au temps des culottes courtes. «Ce sera
encore un bon match», confie l’Argentin, leader par six victoires à
cinq. «Comment vous sentez-vous?», expédie un journaliste. «Bien.»
Convié à élargir la réflexion à son état moral, Nalbandian étaye:
«Très bien.» La tactique employée pour battre Davydenko: «Simplement
gagner.» De guerre lasse, un novice tente imprudemment: «Pourquoi
as-tu jeté ta raquette au quatrième set? Tu étais fché?» Prise d’un
fol espoir, la cantonade guette fébrilement une rebuffade de type «Et
ta soeur?» puis, contrite, s’accommode sans mal d’un inexorable:
«Parce que j’en avais envie.»
David Nalbandian joue au tennis et, quand bien même il lui serait
demandé d’en rendre compte, il ne s’est jamais senti la verve
dialectique. C’est un homme de peu de mots, gravement pénétré de son
importance, chiche en minauderies et désespoir des échotiers. C’est
une bête de somme. C’est un métronome, un distributeur automatique de
revers-croisés, une machine à frapper, dans un enchaînement mécanique
de gauches-droites qui, à l’usure, poussent l’adversaire dans les
cordes, ou à la faute. Cette sobriété inlassable fit perdre beaucoup
de matches à Roger Federer et, aussi, ses nerfs de surdoué impétueux.
Propre, lisse, systématique. Pas de faiblesses, ou si peu: le revers
est imperturbable, le coup droit à peine plus vulnérable, le physique
infaillible – à un poignet près – et la lecture du jeu prodigieuse,
extrêmement vive et intelligente.
Dans sa vie de grande solitude, les gazetiers lui savent également
peu d’incongruités, ou peut-être une seule: les rallyes automobiles.
David Nalbandian a délesté son compte en banque pour monter une
écurie, «Tango». L’an dernier, il a profité de ses relations
parisiennes pour négocier des pistons de courses chez Peugeot France.
«Je prépare déjà ma reconversion. J’ai 24 ans et, bientôt, je
changerai de voie.»
Dans le même temps, David Nalbandian a accueilli sans joie de figurer
parmi les cinquante mles les plus beaux de la planète, recensés par
le magazine People. Il a accueilli avec la même équanimité «le prix
citron» que lui ont décerné les journalistes de Roland-Garros, au
titre de «joueur le plus antipathique du circuit». En tout état de
cause, le sapeur de bonnes volontés avoue peu d’amis dans les
vestiaires. Il aime le football, la plongée sous-marine, le rallye,
et il y a tissé quelques connivences «plus vraies», comme si lui-même
dépareillait avec les aménités damnées et les ego obèses du circuit
ATP.
David Nalbandian, dit son entourage, a toujours vécu en équilibre
précaire entre deux cultures, entre deux inclinations. Blond à
bouclettes en Argentine, il est surnommé «le gringo». Joueur de fond
de court, il a cueilli ses victoires sur le ciment, alors que ses
racines tennistiques sont profondément ancrées dans la terre battue.
Argentin d’origine arménienne, multimillionnaire jailli des masses
laborieuses, il dédie sa réussite au grand-père qui, tout juste
émigré, avait construit un court de ses propres mains, à sa
naissance, dans un préau désaffecté. Jamais David Nalbandian n’a
voulu quitter la province de Cordoba, malgré les menaces d’enlèvement
sur sa famille.
Le gringo suit sa route, indifférent aux inanités qui l’entourent. Il
ne cause pas, ne boit pas, ne fume pas, ne drague pas. Il bosse.
Comme tous ses compatriotes, il brandit un physique irréprochable,
façonné dans un entraînement de GI. «Les clivages Nord-Sud sont un
peu clichés mais, quand les espoirs français hantent les boîtes
parisiennes, les Argentins court les tournois, loin de chez eux, avec
les économies de leurs parents. Ils ont les crocs», expose un ancien
joueur… français.
Dur au mal, David Nalbandian gravit des marches d’escalier au pas de
course, simule les gestes de la raquette avec des disques de 10 kilos
dans les mains, en soulève 110 au développé-couché, et aligne des
traversées de piscine tout habillé, pour augmenter la résistance à
l’eau. Seul le mental, chez lui, est suspect. Le gringo n’envisage
jamais le tennis en terme de plaisir, de sensations, mais uniquement
sous le sceau du combat. Or, il a perdu les plus grands, sauf un. Et
que vaut ce Masters braconné l’an dernier, honnêtement, contre un
Federer apathique?
Junior, à Wimbledon, David Nalbandian était arrivé en retard pour
disputer une demi-finale, et avait subi l’opprobre d’une
disqualification. Il a juré de venger le gosse humilié qu’il fut ce
jour-là. En 2002, il s’est hissé en finale et, goguenard, a demandé
la permission de dormir au stade. Il a perdu sèchement, moins vaincu
par la férocité de Lleyton Hewitt que par sa propre fébrilité. Parce
qu’au fond, tout au fond, il n’est pas une machine.
Encadré: «Je vais harceler Nadal»
Du haut de son mètre nonante-trois, Ivan Ljubicic voit loin.
Par Christian Despont
Avec sa tonsure, ses raideurs et ses vêtements anachroniques, Ivan
Ljubicic, 26 ans, en paraît facilement dix de plus. «C’est peut-être
dû à mon vécu, rit-il. J’ai appris le tennis dans un camp de réfugié,
pendant la guerre d’ex-Yougoslavie. Je ne comprenais pas la langue,
je n’avais pas d’amis, pas d’argent. Je ne pouvais que passer mes
journées à jouer au tennis.»
Plus rien n’effraie Ivan Ljubicic. En tout cas, pas le chauvinisme de
première nécessité délivré hier par la foule à Julien Benneteau,
ultime espoir français, beauté de l’éphémère, promptement battu 6-2
6-2 6-3. «Je n’ai pas eu le temps de savourer», dira le malheureux.
Ivan Ljubicic (ATP 4) ne sera pas davantage intimidé par Rafael
Nadal, vendredi, auquel il infligera une offensive incessante. Du
haut de son mètre nonante-trois, le Croate voit loin. Et même
jusqu’en finale. «Qu’ai-je à perdre? Personne ne doute que Rafael est
le grand favori du tournoi. Je vais l’agresser, le harceler. Déjà
parce qu’il n’existe pas de tactique «prêt-à-porter» pour le battre,
ensuite parce que, en dehors d’une élimination que tout le monde
attendait beaucoup plus tôt, je ne risque rien.»
Rafael Nadal n’a pas davantage perdu son temps, hier, face au jeune
Serbe Novak Djokovic, talentueux, roublard, mais épuisé (6-4 6-4
abandon). L’Espagnol persiste: «Roger reste la référence absolue.
Situer ma valeur par rapport à lui n’a aucun sens. Par exemple, James
Blake m’a souvent battu. Ça ne fait pas de lui le numéro deux
mondial!»

The Pakistan Newswire
June 8, 2006 Thursday
Pakistan supports rightful position of Azerbaijan: Ambassador Hafiz
Pakistan’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohammad Hafiz during his visit
Thursday to Tovuz region bordering Armenia has said that the
government of Pakistan supports the rightful position of Azerbaijan
both individually and in the frames of international organizations.
Pakistan will continue to support Azerbaijan until peace is
established in the region, he added.
The objective of my visit to the villages of Tovuz region on border
with Armenia is to familiarize with the living conditions of people
here, Mohammad Hafiz said adding that population living near the
border demonstrate great courage. They are standing bravely and
courageously face to face with Armenians in a very difficult
situation and have not betrayed their motherland,” Hafiz said
according to Azerbaijan’s official news agency.
Pakistani Ambassador said Tovuz is not situated on the conflict zone
but on border with Armenia, adding that the cease-fire is often
violated here even in peaceful period, the ambassador called this
situation horrible. “This is terrible situation, the international
community should influence on the opposite side to guarantee freedom
and quiet living of these people. The government of Pakistan supports
the rightful position of Azerbaijan both individually and in the
frames of international organizations. Pakistan will continue to
support Azerbaijan until peace is established in the region.
As a representative of Pakistan, I will try to visit other regions on
border as much as possible. It is very important for me to get to
know the situations in the regions,” he said.
Mr. Hafiz also said Pakistan has no cooperation relations with
Armenia, “We are not cooperating with Armenia. We have not
established any economical, political and diplomatic relations with
Armenia for its having occupied Azerbaijan’s territories. Pakistan
has not established its embassy in Armenia as we back Azerbaijan in
this matter. Pakistan has always been together with Azerbaijan and
will further being,” the Ambassador underlined.
APA, the official news agency reported that the ambassador first
visited the Martyr’s Alley in the centre of the region. Tovuz
governor Hamid Baghirov received the Pakistani ambassador and
parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva. Baghirov and Ms. Pashayeva informed
the ambassador about the strategic location of Tovuz and the problems
of the region bordering on Armenia. The region’s governor said though
Tovuz is not in Nagorno Garabagh which is subject to Armenians’
territorial claim, Armenians often fire on peaceful residents and
their houses in the villages of the region bordering on Armenia.
Mr. Qadir presented Governor Hamid Baghirov with a silver sword.
Baghirov thanked to the ambassador for accepting the invitation to
visit Tovuz and presented him with Azerbaijani folk musical
instrument saz.
Following this, Mr. Hafiz accompanied by Ganira Pashayeva visited
Alibayli village of Tovuz bordering on Armenia.
600 of 800 houses in Alibayli village have been destroyed by
Armenians during the war and the cease-fire. 200 houses and 30%-40%
of the destroyed houses in the village are populated at present.
Meeting the villagers, the Pakistani ambassador was interested in
their conditions.
Mohammed Hafiz and Pashayeva met with soldiers of Azerbaijani Army
after that. The visitors arrived at the secondary school named after
National Hero Gasim Rzayev in Hajiili village. This village often
becomes subject to Armenian bullets. There are bullet holes on the
door and walls of the school.

ESPN
June 6 2006
Federer found a way to beat Nalbandian
By Whit Sheppard
Special to ESPN.com
PARIS — Pffffftttt.
That was the sound that seemed to linger in the air early Friday
afternoon as the French Open final everyone wants to see appeared to
be on the verge of dissolving.
With No. 3 David Nalbandian leading world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-3,
3-0 in the day’s first semifinal, prospects seemed shaky for a Sunday
matchup between top-seeded Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who will
stand in the way of Federer’s quest to make tennis history.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Nalbandian (l) pushed Federer before an abdominal injury forced the
Argentine to retire from the match.
If Federer wins Sunday, he will have won the tennis equivalent of the
Tiger Slam, capturing all four tennis majors consecutively, something
that hasn’t been accomplished since Rod Laver won all four Slams in
the same calendar year in 1969.
The Swiss will have a great chance to equal Laver’s achievement if he
triumphs Sunday because he’ll be heading to Wimbledon, where he has
won three straight titles, then the U.S. Open, which he has won the
previous two years.
But first, he had to find a way to pull his game together and get
past a hot-starting Nalbandian.
“I couldn’t explain why I had such a bad start,” Federer said. “All
of a sudden, he pulled away and I couldn’t keep the ball in play.
That’s definitely got something to do with the long history I’ve had
with him.”
Nalbandian, who until today was one of three active players with a
winning record (6-5) against Federer, had broken the vaunted Federer
serve three times and looked to be in control on a windswept Court
Philippe Chatrier. But control is the smooth Swiss’ domain on all but
the rarest of occasions, and he regained a measure of it shortly
thereafter.
Having fought his way back to 3-all in the second set, Federer hit a
you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it forehand winner off his shoetops with
his back turned to his disbelieving opponent, then raised a lone
digit into the blue Parisian sky as cheers rained down upon him. The
gesture was decidedly un-Federer-like, but it was appropriate — and
telling.
“I thought, ‘Somehow, I have to find a way to get into the match,'”
Federer said. “I knew that something had to happen. That it took a
shot like that, that’s quite interesting. I can’t pull those off on a
consistent basis.”
Nalbandian’s take on the shot: “Incredible, incredible.”
Less than an hour later, Nalbandian — who earlier in the third set
had been visited courtside by a trainer — abandoned the match at a
set apiece, with Federer up 5-2, because of a recurrence of a
strained abdominal muscle he incurred Wednesday in his quarterfinal
win over Nikolay Davydenko.
“In the beginning of today, I feel hundred percent, I feel perfect,”
he said. “And then in the middle of the second set, I feel it again
much worse than [against] Davydenko. So, that was tough.”
It was a strangely anticlimactic way to finish a Grand Slam
semifinal, reminiscent of Justine Henin-Hardenne’s injury pullout
earlier this year against Amélie Mauresmo in the Australian Open
women’s final.
“It’s true, it doesn’t usually happen that someone actually starts
playing a match and then gives up halfway through,” Federer said.
“It’s a bit unfortunate to win a match like this in a semifinal. But
I think I worked to put myself in that position.”
Federer heads to Sunday’s final as rested as one could hope to be
after six matches on the terre battue at Roland Garros and should be
the fresher player. To say he’ll have his work cut out for him,
though, is a gross understatement. Nadal leads their head-to-head
series 5-1 and has beaten Federer in Masters Series finals in Monte
Carlo and Rome this spring. He also is riding a 59-match winning
streak on clay, establishing a new men’s record.
Asked whether he had contemplated his date with history, Federer
paused for a moment, smiled shyly, and said, “Yes. I have.”
He added, “I have created a fabulous opportunity for myself, so we’ll
see if I can make it good. It would be something quite incredible
because I’ll be winning two things at the same time.”
Don’t bet against it.

News24, South Africa
June 6 2006
Muscle injury halts Nalbandian
09/06/2006 17:52 – (SA)

Paris – David Nalbandian will await medical tests before deciding
when to begin his grass-court season after injuring abdominal muscles
and quitting against Roger Federer in their French Open semi-final on
Friday.
The Swiss moved through 3-6 6-4 5-2 as Nalbandian retired after just
over 90 minutes of play.
“It’s impossible to know, I have to see a doctor and then we make a
decision what to do,” the Argentine said of his chances of fronting
for the Halle event in Germany which starts on Monday.
Nalbandian, third in the world, has had trouble with his abdominals
before.
He said this current injury occurred in his quarter-final against
Nikolay Davydenko. He went to the court feeling fine for the Federer
clash, but things soon deteriorated.
“I started well, much better than during the previous match,” said
the third seed. “I played a set and a half very well, and I didn’t
feel the pain at all.
“But all of a sudden, I felt a very sharp pain that was worse than
during the previous match.”
Nalbandian is well-acquainted with the problem. “This injury, I’ve
already had two or three times already.
“Normally it happens in very long tournaments with very tough matches
with many sets, where I spend a lot of time on court. You feel very
bitter about it, having to retire like that, with that type of
problem.”

Chessbase News, Germany
June 9 2006
Mig on Chess #210:
Precious Mettle
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline – it
helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear
weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.” – Frank Zappa
There have been quit a few significant events in the chess world in
past few days, several of them not having to do with the off the
board GM dust-up that will surely be reported here in detail.
We’ll start off with the chess instead. Armenia’s Olympiad team
didn’t let down their chess-mad nation and took the gold medal by an
impressive two-point margin. They were the only team that didn’t lose
a single match, drawing three and winning ten. This shouldn’t be
considered a real surprise, although it used to be generally
recognized that the gold is always Russia’s to lose. Armenia won the
bronze in 2004, the obvious difference this year being Levon
Aronian’s transformation into a world-class player and a force on
board one.
Having a new first board has a huge impact on a team’s potency.
Akopian was strong on board one for Armenia in 2004 but was
devastating on board two in 2006. The Armenians didn’t lose a single
game in the final eight rounds and held on to their big lead with
eight draws at the end. First reserve Gabriel Sargissian exemplified
the curious strategy employed by the winning team. They played the
same four players for the last nine rounds! Lputian and Minasian were
both on 2.5/3 but never played again. Sargissian’s final 10/13 isn’t
as impressive as the amazing 8/9 he had before drawing his last four
games. Going with their hot hands turned out to be more important
than giving them rest.
The vagaries of the scoring system and the swiss system of pairings
had a few side-effects. In the final round Armenia coasted home with
four brief, prearranged draws with Hungary. The Hungarians, without
Leko and Polgar, were never in contention but jumped up at the end by
bashing Iceland 4-0 in round 12. A 3-1 victory over Armenia would
have given Hungary a medal; a narrow win would have meant tie for
third. Instead they showed all the ambition of a bowl of goulash and
took the four guaranteed draws. Congratulations guys, you finished
fifth. That’s what, the aluminum medal? Cowardium?
>From a lack of mettle back to medals of precious metal, 12th seed
China took silver while 7th seed USA got the bronze. Israel tied the
US on 33 points and had the identical match score, but lost the
bronze on strength of opposition tiebreaks. China took silver despite
losing four matches, an achievement that must have required some
serious feng shui. They lost to just about every contender they
faced, in fact, falling to Russia, Armenia, USA, and France. (USA and
Israel lost one match each.) China compensated by whipping weaker
teams like love slaves on bondage night, scoring 3.5 four times and
stomping the not-weak Georgian team 4-nil. Former world’s youngest GM
Bu Xiangzhi, now 21, emerged as a solid top board, winning when he
was supposed to and not losing a single game. His startling 2790
performance was surpassed by the even younger Wang Yue, who fulfilled
his great promise with a 10/12 score and the second-highest
performance rating of the entire event, 2837. The other Chinese
players were only so-so, but they didn’t have to be better.
If you recall, last November China also took silver – and almost won
gold – at the World Team Championship despite failing to excel
against the other top teams. Such performances always lead to some
fans speaking out in favor of using match points instead of board
points for the primary Olympiad scoring system. Currently match
points are used as second tiebreak. This makes sense because, as
we’ll see, match points are practically meaningless when you are
pairing with board points. Using match points, Armenia still wins
easily, followed by USA and Israel. Teams as far down as 30th finish
higher than China. Russia also lost four matches and would have
finished around 20th on match points.
The obvious problem is that when a 2.5-1.5 squeaker is worth the same
as a 4-0 annihilation, the cumulative score doesn’t say as much about
the strength of the team. While the teams would doubtlessly play
differently were the scoring system different – and much more
conservatively, of course – we can see this effect by looking at the
Turin scores. On match points Georgia jumps up from =11-15 to clear
fourth place. Scotland had one fewer match point than China, 16, but
finished in a tie for 49th-54th and lost to China 3.5-0.5 in the
second round. Had the Scots eked out one more half point against
Argentina in the final round they would have tied China on match
points despite being a far weaker team that faced much weaker
competition throughout.
Of course this is somewhat beside the point because if you are
scoring by match points you are also pairing by match points and that
wouldn’t happen. With match point scoring teams do a lot of agreeing
to draws on certain boards to give unofficial rest days and to target
what they think are better match-ups. Despite the aberrations it’s
not as if a bunch of weak teams have snuck into the medals, either
historically or this year. Super-conservative play, many more short
agreed draws, and ignoring the value of a big match win is not the
way to go.
Speaking of big wins, how about the bronze medal for team USA? It
looked like the Americans were out of it after they lost a tough
match to Israel in the 12th round. But the pairings tossed them a
Viking funeral and they got Norway in the final round while rivals
Russia and Israel finally faced each other and France fell to the
tough Bulgarian squad. (Anyone know why there were only 13 rounds
this year instead of the usual 14?) USA scored 3.5 against Norway to
vault up and tie Israel. The Israelis must have thought they had a
medal in the bag when they beat Russia 3-1, but – oh the tsuris! –
they had underperformed for most of the event and their tiebreaks
were dreck.
The real American miracle had come earlier, against France in round
ten. The French were all set to administer a 3.5-0.5 blowout with one
game already drawn and winning positions on the three remaining
boards. Suddenly Bauer blundered into a mating net against Ibragimov
and Nakamura got a miracle endgame draw against Fressinet so the
American’s got a 2-2 split and a huge morale boost that carried them
through to the finish. (The comments made at Playchess and on the
message boards during course of these games are priceless. They’re
up! They’re down! They’re up!)
Hikaru Nakamura in particular seemed charged up and the 2005 US
champion put the team on his young shoulders the rest of the way,
winning three straight games, including the US team’s only wins in
its matches with Russia and Israel. The only decisive game of the
match with Russia was his win over Grischuk, in which Nakamura
characteristically avoided exchanges only to head into a losing
position. But as the saying goes, that was the penultimate blunder.
Computer analysis is often unkind to Nakamura’s risky, if not risqué,
play, but his opponents find it very hard to deal with and that’s
what counts. From his last four Turin games you could say he was
losing in two, perhaps three, with trouble in the fourth. His score
from these games: 3.5/4!
American top board Gata Kamsky staggered to the finish line after a
valiant marathon that started in Bulgaria. He’d already looked tired
when Topalov caught him at the finish of the MTel, but unlike Topalov
he came directly to Turin to take over Olympiad duties. (Four of the
six MTel players did this; Topalov and Ponomariov didn’t.) After a
strong 4/6 start in Turin Kamsky was exhausted, but he kept going out
there to make sure the US would be putting out its strongest team,
making things easier on the other boards. Current US champ Alexander
Onischuk surely benefited from Kamsky’s presence. He was a very solid
first board in Calvia in 2004 and here on board two he turned in four
wins without a defeat. Let’s not forget that the 2004 US team
finished fourth without Kamsky or Nakamura. USA captain John
Donaldson has a report here.
Dress for Success! Assaulting your opponents eyeballs is legal. Two
of these were worn by top players, one by a Kalmykian dancer. To be
fair, the orange on Kamsky (center) is one of the “Right Move”
t-shirts handed out by the Kok campaign. With matching baseball caps,
of course. Rublevsky (left) has no such excuse, unless he’s
representing the Hula Party.
Russia, wherefore art thou, Russia? The tip-top seed finished =6-10,
and this two years after their silver medal in Calvia was considered
a dramatic fall from grace. And the weak link? It certainly wasn’t
Vladimir Kramnik, back to the board after a half a year away to
recuperate from a difficult medical condition. All he did was face
the toughest opposition of any player in Turin and turn in the
highest performance rating, 2847. The only sour note was his curious
absence in the final round, when Russia fell to Israel 1-3 to fall
off the podium. Russian champion Rublevsky turned in the only the
second negative score in Russian team history. Dreev managed it in
back in 1992 when the Russian team first appeared.
It could be said that Russia deserved better. They faced the
strongest teams and had the second-highest performance rating as a
squad. (Some stats from the Wiener-Zeitung site, others from a few of
Jeff Sonas’s posts to the Daily Dirt.) That’s the system for you, and
you can’t lose ten games and expect a medal. Defending gold medal
winner Ukraine also fell from grace, finishing with the same 32
points as Russia. They had the absence of Ponomariov on board two to
deal with.
They could also feel better via schadenfreude by looking at what
happened to the #2 seed. India crashed and burned all the way to
=30-34th. Every player underperformed his rating substantially and
they went with essentially a five-man team, Singh playing only in the
first round (and losing). Anand won his first game after arriving
from Sofia and never won again. His long string of draws ended with a
sensational loss to Canadian champion Pascal Charbonneau.
Many of the top individual performances went to members of the junior
set. Wang Yue, Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, Bu Xiangzhi, and
David Navara all had results worthy of top-ten players. Will that be
the top ten in five years? The Czech team led by Navara had a great
event but couldn’t keep up the pace at the end. Uzbekistan also
deserves mention as a lowly seeded team that was up near the leaders
for most of the event. The young Azerbaijani team faired poorly
despite a strong showing by Radjabov. They certainly would have done
better with Mamedyarov on the team, but he was absent after several
disputes with his federation.
As usual, the women’s event was much truer to seeding than the open.
(Still called the “Men’s Olympiad” by some, despite at least five
women participating, two of them on board one.) Ukraine’s decision to
put young Katerina Lahno on board two paid off when Zhukova had a
great event on top board. Their reserve Ushenina played more games
than anyone else on the team and went undefeated. Then came Russia
and China and a huge gap down to a pack of teams that included USA,
Hungary, and traditional power Georgia. Chinese reserve Hou Yifan
scored 11/13. The Chinese medaled with most of their top women
players not participating, a remarkable display of depth.
The coverage of the celebrations in Armenia are good for any chess
fan’s soul. The photos of the crowds at the airport are great. They
were met by the Armenian prime minister as well as many cabinet
members and military officials. “The Olympic champions then headed to
the city’s Freedom Square where more than a thousand people waving
national red-blue-orange flags and chanting “Armenia! Armenia!”
gathered to cheer them. The celebration, featuring speeches by senior
officials and performances by Armenian pop singers, was broadcast
live on state television.”
Wow! And check out that gorgeous Soviet-era Chayka automobile. It
looks like a scene out of American Graffiti on the Hrazdan. Team
captain and Defense Minister Sarkisian was even nominated to head the
national football federation. I didn’t see Aronian in any of the
team-with-flag photos in Yerevan so he may have gone directly home to
Germany. Either that or the diminutive world #3 is hidden behind the
flags. No matter, he played very big in Turin. His shattering win
against Sokolov and his 11.Nf7!! against Navara in round eleven were
worth the price of admission.
Aronian-Navara before 11.Nf7! and Sokolov-Aronian, final position 0-1
Vote Early and Often
Speaking of prices, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov won reelection as FIDE
president. He’ll now be in charge until 2010 or until indicted,
whichever comes first. Like anyone who likes the game of chess as
traditionally played I was disappointed with the result. Living on
the whims of a dictator is no way to run a professional sport, so
chess will continue not to be one for now. I was also disappointed by
the estimable David Levy’s analysis of the election, which gave
entirely too much credit to considered thought in the result.
I’m sure it’s polite to dissect the choice between Ilyumzhinov and
Kok as if all the delegates had deeply pondered the future of global
chess before casting their votes. (That they were motivated by
geopolitics is even more risible.) The sad truth continues to be that
there are quite a few delegates who have nothing in mind but their
own enrichment and when one of the candidates also has that
enrichment in mind he’s going to be very tough to beat. With the many
federations that are essentially without players, the delegates are
beholden to no one. No responsibility, no accountability… hey, a
new watch!
The system of one vote per federation is nice and democratic but
preposterous if the long-term best interests of the sport are in
mind. Why should a federation delegate from a poor nation with few or
no international players care about potentially mythical corporate
sponsorship and TV deals for Grandmasters if he can get a box of
clocks instead? I’m not even saying he’s wrong to choose
self-interest, or the immediate interests of his tiny federation. The
problem is the system. How can FIDE tackle long-view issues requiring
investment and planning when short-term benefits are handed out
instead?
The United Nations – itself a dysfunctional organization not
necessarily to be held up as a model – has the Security Council to
cut down on such patronage, among myriad reasons. If Ilyumzhinov’s
FIDE continues to ignore the needs of the vast majority of players,
expect the major federations to increasingly go their own way. The
only cards FIDE holds are the rating list and the increasingly rare
burst of Kirsan cash. Both are replaceable. It’s useless to speak of
reform while Ilyumzhinov is still in charge. Despite the close
election (when it comes to chessplayers represented, Kok probably
won) it’s unlikely FIDE will acknowledge the tremendous amount of
opposition to Ilyumzhinov’s policies and methods. At the very least
they will continue to be as oblivious as before to their failures.
Where are those candidates matches? My guess is that the delegates
from Somalia and Belize don’t much care. And why should they?
Even the biggest feather in Ilyumzhinov’s cap, the Kramnik-Topalov
match, has been plucked from a turkey. I’m happy about the match
because I like matches and chess and don’t like loose ends; it’s the
follow-up that is depressing. Having a unification match that leads
to a world championship tournament is like having the Beatles reunite
and play only Ringo songs. The greatness of chess and its champions
was founded on titanic matches. Big players, big cities, big
sponsors. Adding a supertournament to the calendar is hardly a
substitute.
According to FIDE there will never be another legitimate world
championship match. Offering a shot to the highest bidder in the top
20 is not the same. Giving a fair shot to anyone with the ability to
fight through a cycle was why FIDE took over the championship. Now,
if Radjabov’s Azerbaijani backers can put up a million dollars he
gets a match, but Anand doesn’t. The only shot Anand gets is in a
tournament little different from Linares or Sofia, trivializing the
title the way the knock-outs did. Decreasing the status of the world
championship title – historically the only event big enough to
penetrate the mass media in many countries – decreases the status of
the game.
In other news, a shout-out to Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky, who proved
that an Israeli can win a world championship even if FIDE doesn’t let
the humans play. Their program Junior just won the world computer
chess championship in Turin. Their program also continues to play the
most risky, interesting chess.
28.Rd5! against Rajlich (the engine Rybka under its programmer’s
name) in the diagrammed position was a very pretty pin+clearance move
to save the draw. It doesn’t always work, but Junior continues its
tradition of offering material to enter visibly dubious positions
that it fights out of successfully. Perhaps a Nakamura sponsorship
deal should be arranged.
.asp?pid=189

ROBERT KOCHARIAN VISITS RF EMBASSY TO ARMENIA ON OCCASION OF NATIONAL
HOLIDAY OF RUSSIA

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA President Robert
Kocharian visited the RF Embassy to Armenia on June 8, on the occasion
of the national holiday of the Russian Federation, the Day of Adopting
Declaration on State Sovereignity.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the President’s Press Office, in his
congratulation speech Robert Kocharian attached importance to
strengthening of the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership and
widening of mutually benefitial cooperation.

BBC Sports
June 9 2006
Gamewatch: Federer v Nalbandian
French Open
Semi-final result:
R FEDERER Swi bt D NALBANDIAN Arg
3-6 6-4 5-2 (Nalbandian retired)
Game-by-game updates:
If Federer can carry the form of the last hour into the final he’ll
have a great chance.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Third set:
Federer 5-2 Nalbandian
Nalbandian’s serve is becoming weaker by the second and allowing
Federer to take control. He breaks again and Nalbandian goes to the
umpire to tells him he’s pulling out.
Federer 4-2 Nalbandian
Two aces signal Federer’s confidence at the moment and Nalbandian
looks distinctly unhappy out there.
The trainer is back on and attending to Nalbandian’s stomach – an
area he had an injury earlier in the year.
Federer 3-2 Nalbandian
Federer has a point for the double break but Nalbandian hangs on with
a smash.
Federer 3-1 Nalbandian
Federer clearly has little sympathy for Nalbandian and plays a solid
service game. He is hitting confidently on both the backhand and
forehand sides, winning the game to 15.
The trainer is on for David Nalbandian and the pair have a lengthy
discussion before the doctor joins them. Meanwhile, Leonardo di
Caprio causes a stir by arriving in the stands accompanied by several
bodyguards. Nalbandian is given a couple of pills and returns to the
action.
Federer 2-1 Nalbandian
Nalbandian stays in touch by holding to 15.
Federer 2-0 Nalbandian
Federer takes his eighth game in nine and leaves Nalbandian sprawled
in the clay with the forehand winner that gives him the game.
Federer 1-0 Nalbandian
The match has completely turned around in the space of 20 minutes –
Nalbandian is feeling the pressure and the mistakes start to flow as
he gives up another break of serve.
———————————————- ———————————-
Second set:
That was a privilege to watch – from 0-3 it was genius from Federer.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 6-4 Nalbandian
The game hangs on a lengthy rally with Federer 30-15 ahead, and after
numerous heavy forehands from both men it is Nalbandian who makes the
error.
Federer 5-4 Nalbandian
Nalbandian stops the rot but does have to watch as one more stunning
Federer forehand flies past him.
Federer 5-3 Nalbandian
Federer wraps up his fifth straight game and his forehand is now back
in the groove – one cross-court winner causing the Swiss to clench
his fist in delight.
Federer 4-3 Nalbandian
A stunning game sees winners from both players but it is Federer who
has really hit top form. He chases down one lob and hits the ball
around his legs for a winner down the line that even Nalbandian
appaluds. The next point ends with a blistering Federer backhand and
he breaks serve again when Nalbandian nets a smash.
Federer 3-3 Nalbandian
Federer gets back on level terms, producing a delicate half-volley
when he needs it at 30-30.
It’s as if Federer didn’t set his alarm clock at the right time and
he’s finally woken up.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 2-3 Nalbandian
The improvised shot of the previous game looks like it did inspire
Federer, who suddenly hits top form and races to two break points, at
which point Nalbandian double faults.
Federer 1-3 Nalbandian
Federer comes up with one improvised forehand cross-court slice that
puts him 3-0-15 up and might boost his confidence. He goes on to
hold.
Federer 0-3 Nalbandian
Federer is struggling to get the ball into court at the moment and
Nalbandian holds to love. Federer’s coach Tony Roche looks
unimpressed in the crowd.
Federer 0-2 Nalbandian
Federer makes two forehand errors before Nalbandian finds an
outrageous angle on a backhand return. Federer then puts a backhand
slice long and Nalbandian goes a break up. The Argentine supporters
celebrate, meanwhile Federer looks surprisingly low-key.
Federer 0-1 Nalbandian
A wild mishit from the Federer forehand signals another comfortable
hold for Nalbandian and the Argentine is in complete control at the
moment.
———————————————- ———————————-
Federer hasn’t had a break point yet, and that’s very unusual. It’s
not like he has to go to Plan B, he’s just got to get Plan A right.
I’d give him four out of 10 so far.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
First set:
Federer 3-6 Nalbandian
Nalbandian gets a set point when Federer nets a forehand but hits a
wild return. The Argentine soon has a second chance but Federer
finishes the point with an easy smash. Nalbandian does not waste the
third set point, however, with Federer firing a forehand long.
Federer 3-5 Nalbandian
Nalbandian has been to at least the semi-finals of all four Grand
Slams and that experience is already showing – he looks the more
confident player at the moment and closes in on the first set with
another love service game.
Federer 3-4 Nalbandian
Federer holds to love and has looked pretty good so far, apart his
previous service game. The Argentine fans are certainly happy enough
with Nalbandian and are treating the Parisians to the same chant on
every changeover.
Federer 2-4 Nalbandian
Nalbandian holds impressively, firing down one ace and dominating the
rallies again with his forehand.
Federer’s backhand has been superb during the tournament but if he
leaves it short, like then, Nalbandian will step up and hit the big
forehand.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
Federer 2-3 Nalbandian
A loose Federer volley and a forehand error give Nalbandian two break
points and the Argentine capitalises with a fierce return that
Federer cannot control.
Federer 2-2 Nalbandian
Nalbandian plays a risky second point by rallying to Federer’s
forehand, and the Swiss makes him pay with one unreturnable shot down
the line. Another double fault sees Federer go 15-30 up but
Nalbandian comes through.
Federer 2-1 Nalbandian
Both players have started confidently and look to be timing the ball
well. A fierce cross-court forehand gives Federer the game to 15.
Federer 1-1 Nalbandian
Nalbandian hits two double faults, which does not help his cause, but
a strong forehand gives him the game.
Federer 1-0 Nalbandian
Federer opens with a comfortable hold to 15. The wind is quite strong
today and could pose some problems.
I’m taking Federer to win this one and I don’t think it will take as
long as everyone thinks.
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd
The players are out on Phillipe Chatrier Court and Nalbandian’s
supporters are already in good voice.

FESTIVAL OF APRICOT TO OPEN ON JULY 9 IN MOSCOW HERMITAGE GARDEN WITHIN
FRAMEWORK OF YEAR OF ARMENIA IN RUSSIA
YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Apricot’s Festival
will open on July 9 in the Moscow Hermitage Garden within the
framework of the Year of Armenia in Russia. During the festival,
treating of Armenian apricot will be organized as well as a concert of
duduk (Armenian national pipe made of apricot-tree wood) will be
held. RA President’s Assistant Vigen Sargsian informed the Noyan Tapan
correspondent about it.
According to him, various events will be held in Russia till the end
of the year. An exhibition of children’s paintings on the themes of
the Bible and “Sasna Tsrer” epos will open at the Fine Arts Center of
the Moscow Pushkin Museum in July and August as well as an exhibition
of modern Armenian painters of Moscow will be presented.
Concerts of the “Hover” choir, RA People’s Artist Barsegh Tumanian
will take place in middle of June within the framework of the “White
Nights” festival in Saint Petersburg. Days of Armenian theater will be
organized in Moscow in September in which the Yerevan Hrachia
Ghaplanian Dramatic, Gabriel Sundukian National Academic and
Konstantin Stanislavski Russian Theaters will participate.
Besides cultural events, events of educational, economic and other
spheres will also be held within the framework of the Year of Armenia
in Russia.
According to V.Sargsian, the solemn closing ceremony of the Year of
Armenia in Russia will be held in November or December, which will
probably be held in one of palaces of Saint Petersburg.
“Those events are important to that extent that Russian
representatives of especially younger generation have possibility to
get acquainted with the Armenian culture and form an idea about the
Armenian people having history of milleniums,” Vigen Sargsian
mentioned.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEAR OF ARMENIA IN FRANCE TO OPEN ON SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENIA’S
INDEPENDENCE DAY

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Armenian and French
Foreign Ministers’ joint press-conference will be held in Paris on
September 12 in which the program of events envisaged within the
framework of the Year of Armenia in France will be presented. RA
President’s Assistant Vigen Sargsian informed the Noyan Tapan
correspondent about it.
According to him, the Year of Armenia in France will officially open
on September 21, the Independence Day of Armenia, and will last till
July 14, 2007, the day of the French Revolution. But the events will
continue till October-November of the next year.
According to V.Sargsian, a conference of sister cities will be
organized in Paris in October: Armenia and France have 27 sister
cities. A business forum will open in Paris in November, within the
framework of the Year in which Ministers coordinating branches of
Armenian economy and business delegations will participate.
According to V.Sargsian, main events of the Year of Armenia in France
will start in February, 2007, by the exhibition entitled “Surb
Hayastan” (Saint Armenia) to take place in the Louvre Palace, during
which about 40 Armenian khachkars (cross stones) will for the first
time be exhibited and treasures of Etchmiadzin as well as models
relating to Armenian Christian culture taken from Antelias, Jerusalem,
Venice San Lazzaro island will be presented. An exhibition of
paintings of Arshil Gorki, a great painter of Armenian origin of the
20th century as well as an exhibition entitled “Architecture of 12
Armenian Capitals” will open within the framework of the Year.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
June 9, 2006 Friday 10:23 AM MSK
Armenia’s Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Plant boosts earnings 23% in
2005
The Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Plant increased net profit by 22.9% to
12.956 billion dram ($28.7 million) in 2005, from 10.537 billion dram
($23.4 million) a year earlier, company general director Maxim
Akopian said.
Commercial production and sales grew to 87.48 billion dram in 2005,
from 65.529 billion dram in 2004.
He said the company mined and processed 8.854 million tonnes of ore
last year, compared to 8.563 million tonnes in 2004. The company’s
contributions to the state budget almost doubled to 29.226 billion
dram, from 15.211 billion dram.
Akopian said this year would be even better than last year.
Zangezur will mine and process 9.9 million tonnes of ore in 2006, he
forecasted.
In 2008-2029, the company plans to reach annual production of 16
million-18 million tonnes of ore, and intends to invest $90 million
in modernization to achieve this goal, he said.
Zangezur also has joint projects to produce pure molybdenum and
molybdenum products with Armenian Molybdenum Production and the
Yerevan Pure Iron works. The company plans to invest $15 million in
these projects, as well as $15 million in studying the possibility of
recovering other metals from ore and tailings and setting up the
corresponding production facilities, recovering copper, molybdenum,
silver, gold, rhenium and sulfur. There are also plans to study the
economic viability of producing refined copper, in which the company
plans to invest $5 million, Akopian said.
Germany’s Cronimet Mining 60% of the Zangezur mine. The Yerevan Pure
Iron works owns 15%, Armenian Molybdenum Production (AMP) 12.5% and
LLC Zangezur Mining owns 12.5% on behalf of the plant’s former
management.