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Ukrainian Championship 2002As we mentioned earlier, the men's championship caused much less positive sensations. It was attended by 83 chess-players, including 21 International Masters and 4 FIDE Masters, who represented the Crimea, 21 regions and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
If we consider that the Ukrainian federation comprises 39 GMs and more than 100 International Masters in accordance with the last FIDE rating list, it is hard to say that such composition of the main chess tournament of the country that had become the world team champion last year is satisfactory. As compared with the last year Ukrainian Championship (when in Ordzhonikidze played more than twenty holders of the highest title) , only five players out of the starry string chose to participate in Championship-2002. They were: Sergey Fedorchuk (Vinnytsia) , Anton Korobov and Alexander Areshchenko (new Kramatorsk dwellers) , Vladimir Rogovski (Zaporozhye) — all international masters, and Dmitriy Maximov, national master from Dnepropetrovsk. All they plus, probably, Alexander Zubov, International Master from Nikolaev might have been considered the favourites of the competition.
The referee team headed by Vladimir P. Gergel, an International Arbiter and the Chairman of Referee Board of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, did the job in their usual style — confidently, and without a single protest.
In conclusion, find some speculations about the causes of the men's championship baffle. Regrettably, there are not so many cities in Ukraine that are capable of accommodating a tournament of such caliber. Donetsk company DANKO made plenty of effort to prepare the current world champion Ruslan Ponomariov and it is far too much for it to support the internal activities. A small town of Ordzhonikidze in Dnepropetrovsk Region accommodated twice the strongest chess-players of the country and did it at a very high level, so this year the local organizers took a time-out. And that's about all. Crimean towns of Alushta, Sevastopol and Evpatoria are unable to offer anything except the sun, air and sea. This year the Alushta Health Improvement Centre «Chaika» was announced as the general sponsor of the championship. However, the sponsorship was reduced to a free playing hall and a compulsory accommodation of all the participants within the Centre campus which caused rightful complaints of many players — they might have found rooms in the private sector at mush cheaper price. Hence, the absence of the country leading chess-players who, being professionals, do not wish, quite naturally, to endanger their ratings «for free».
Concerted efforts of all regional chess federations and all chess lovers are required to improve the existing situation, the more so because the interest to chess has increased recently due to the latest successes of Ukrainian chess-players. Well, what about the situation with the men's team? The same above mentioned decision of the Presidential Council has ruled that the team would include the world champion Ruslan Ponomariov and the world vice-champion Vasyl Ivanchuk. The other places will be filled after the results of the 2002 Zonal Tournament are known. As far as now no information about the place and time of this tournament is available. It is possible that the extraordinary congress of the Ukrainian Chess Federation to be held on 7 June in Kyiv will clarify something. We'll be waiting for its results…
1. Anton Korobov 7,5/9; 2-4. Andrey Sumets, Sergey Fedorchuk and Alexander Areshchenko 7; 5-6. Nikolai Kushch and Alexander Zubov 6,5; 7-14. Sergey Anapolsky, Vladimir Rogovski, Anatoliy Polivanov, Andrei Rakhmangulov, Sergiy Zavgorodniy, Igor Kobyliansky, Mikhail Simantsev and Dmitry Kononenko 6 (83 participants).
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