Premier Tournament: 28 December 2002 - 5 January 2003

Average Rating 2549, Category 12, GM Norm  5

ROUND 1 - 28 Dec
Barsov    ½-½  Tseshkovsky
Nielsen   1-0  Karjakin
Flear     ½-½  Arkell
McShane   ½-½  Harikrishna
Sasikiran ½-½  Kosteniuk

ROUND 4 - 31 Dec
Barsov       1-0  McShane
Nielsen      1-0  Flear
Arkell       ½-½  Kosteniuk
Karjakin     ½-½  Sasikiran
Tseshkovsky  ½-½  Harikrishna

ROUND 7 - 3 Jan

Kosteniuk     0-1  Nielsen
Harikrishna   1-0  Barsov
Arkell        ½-½  Karjakin
McShane       ½-½  Tseshkovsky
Sasikiran     ½-½  Flear

ROUND 2 - 29 Dec
Barsov        ½-½  Nielsen
Karjakin      1-0  Flear
Arkell        1-0  McShane
Harikrishna   ½-½  Sasikiran
Tseshkovsky   0-1  Kosteniuk

ROUND 5 - 1 Jan
Kosteniuk    0-1  Karjakin
Harikrishna  ½-½  Arkell
Flear        1-0  Tseshkovsky
McShane      1-0  Nielsen
Sasikiran    ½-½  Barsov

ROUND 8 - 4 Jan

Barsov       ½-½  Arkell
Nielsen      1-0  Harikrishna
Flear        1-0  Kosteniuk
McShane      1-0  Sasikiran
Tseshkovsky  0-1  Karjakin

ROUND 3  - 30 Dec
Kosteniuk    0-1  Harikrishna
Nielsen      1-0  Tseshkovsky
Flear        ½-½  Barsov
McShane      1-0  Karjakin
Sasikiran    ½-½  Arkell

ROUND 6 - 2 Jan
Barsov       1-0  Kosteniuk
Nielsen      0-1  Sasikiran
Flear        ½-½  McShane
Karjakin     ½-½  Harikrishna
Tseshkovsky  0-1  Arkell

ROUND 9 - 5 Jan

Kosteniuk     1-0  McShane
Harikrishna   1-0  Flear
Arkell        ½-½  Nielsen
Karjakin      ½-½  Barsov
Sasikiran     ½-½  Tseshkovsky

Click on Round Number to see the games from that round.

Final Table

NOTES ON THE PREMIER PLAYERS

Keith Arkell gm

England, date of birth 8. 1. 1961

FIDE Rating 2521, BCF 239

Ranked 15 in England

1= Hastings Challengers 2001-2

Keith seemed happy to coast along as a player until recently. Now he seems to have become more ambitious and has been playing with the objective of improving his play and thus his rating. Look for a large number of endgames where he seeks to translate an imperceptible advantage into the full point.

Alexei Barsov gm

Uzbekistan, date of birth 3. 4. 1966

FIDE Rating 2525, BCF 247

Ranked 4= Uzbekistan

1= Hastings Premier 2001-2

Alex is clearly an Anglophile and has had several good results here. As with most middle of the road professionals, much of his chess is played in Swisses. His play is typically hard and pragmatic.

Glenn Flear gm

England, now resident in France, date of birth 12. 2. 1959

FIDE Rating 2527, BCF 245

Ranked 9 in England

1= Hastings Challengers 2001-2

It is hard to realise that, although he is our second oldest player here, Glenn was a relatively late developer at the higher levels of chess. He did well in the Smith & Williamson British Championship, but dismissed his result as being just one game, which he won in the last round.

Pentala Harikrishna gm

India, date of birth 10. 5. 1986

FIDE Rating 2551, BCF equivalent 244

Ranked 3 in India

1= Hastings Premier 2001-2

Pentala is a hero in his province in India. He was given a house in which his family now lives. That must have an unusual effect for a teenager on his relationship with his parents. Like many of his age he juggles academic studies with his chess, but the chess ball is the one that most often remains in the air.

Sergey Karjakin gm

Ukraine, date of birth 12. 1. 1990

FIDE Rating 2527, BCF equivalent 241

Ranked 27 in Ukraine

The youngest ever grandmaster

This is the first time a pre-teenager has played in the Hastings Premier. This is no flash in the pan or some hyped achievement. Too many people have made it clear his tactical insight and technical knowledge are breathtaking. His plan is to become World Champion by the age of 16. But will he find time to see the pantomime in Hastings this year?

Alexandra Kosteniuk im/wgm

Russia, date of birth 23. 4. 1984

FIDE Rating 2455, BCF equivalent 232

World Ranking 17= among female players

Runner-up in the Women’s World Championship 2001

Alexandra has attracted a great deal of attention as a teenager who is both attractive and a strong player. We do not believe she will be over-matched at this event. There is absolutely no doubt she is a future grandmaster. Women’s chess has made great progress in recent years and Hastings has always been in the forefront in encouraging this trend.

Luke McShane gm

England, date of birth 7. 1. 1984

FIDE Rating 2546, BCF 246

Ranked 8 in England

Board 4 for England in the Olympiad 2002

Luke was busy with his A Levels until June, but has concentrated on chess since then in his gap year. He has never been driven by an unquenchable desire to be the youngest or first of his age group in a list. It is hard to accept we do not now need to seek out cushions to seat him at a comfortable height at the board.

Peter Heine Nielsen gm

Denmark, date of birth 24. 5. 1973

FIDE Rating 2620, BCF equivalent 253

World Ranking 71=

Ranked 1 in Denmark

Peter last played here as a youngster in a weekend event. He was anxious to return to play in the Premier. No doubt it is the influence of the great Bent Larsen, who has played here many times, that has resulted in chess being taken so seriously in Denmark.

Krishnan Sasikiran, gm

India, date of birth 7. 1. 1981

FIDE Rating 2670, BCF 252

World Ranking 26=.

Ranked 2 in India

1= Hastings Premier 2001-2

This is Krishnan’s third consecutive appearance in the Premier. He was never in serious trouble in either of the last two events. If he continues his smooth progress, we should expect to see him challenging Vishy for the number 1 Indian spot eventually.

Vitaly Tseshkovsky, gm

Russia, date of birth 25. 9. 1944

FIDE Rating 2545, BCF equivalent 243

Ranked 64= in Russia

1= Hastings Challengers 2001-2

We are quite used to seeing a wide age range in Hastings. This year the gap spreads from 1944 to 1990, but it used to be the English who were the youngsters. Vitaly is extremely experienced and led last year’s Challengers from start to finish. Nowadays opportunities to play in round robins of this stature are few and far between.