Translated material
Morozevich leads in Pamplona
Chronicle of sporting events
Russian grandmaster Alexander Morozevich led the participants at the traditional, already 16th international tournament in the Spanish city of Pamplona. Morozevich, who has the highest rating among the eight contenders for the main prize, has 2.5 points to his name after three rounds. He achieved victories over a student of the Soviet chess school, Alexei Shirov, who competes under the Spanish flag, and over the Czech Viktor Laznicka, and drew another game. The little-known Frenchman Christian Bauer and our Dmitry Yakovenko also lost half a point each, but they are inferior to Morozevich in additional indicators. The tournament has the 17th category according to the ranking of the International Chess Federation and will last until December 29.Wade scored 40 points for Miami
All NBA clubs, with the exception of the Lakers and Miami, received at least two days of proper rest after Christmas night. And only the “residents of the lake district” and “Hit” had to sort things out among themselves. The current league champion Miami prevailed on their court - 101:85. The winners' highest scorer was Dwyane Wade - 40 points. He also had 11 assists and only missed one in 16 attempts from the free throw line. By the way, this season is only the second time Wade has reached the milestone of four dozen points scored per game. Ilya TRISVIATSKY
Gayich's contract will not be renewed
Yesterday's reporting conference of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation agreed with the conclusions of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation presidium, which took place the day before, recognizing the work of Serb Zoran Gajić as head coach of our men's team as unsatisfactory. These two collegial bodies could not have had a different assessment of the team's disastrous performance at the World Championships in Japan (seventh place - a repeat of the worst result in post-Soviet history). It was decided not to renew the contract with Gayich, signed at the beginning of 2005 under the “2+2” scheme.
Thus, at the home European Championship 2007 the team will perform under the leadership of a different coach. Formally, Gayich retains his powers until February 7, and until February 15, candidates for the vacancy can present their programs to the federation, after which a new coach of the national team will be determined. Theoretically, Gayich could also participate in the announced competition with his program, but even if this happens, his chances of remaining at the helm of the national team are close to zero.
At the first stage of activity, the new coach of our national team will have to work on a difficult and very responsible task - to successfully perform in September 2007 at the home European Championships in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The continental championship is also the first stage of selection for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The two best teams of the Old World receive a ticket to the World Cup in Japan. Three winners of the competition in the Land of the Rising Sun automatically qualify for China, the rest will have to go through the sieve of continental and world qualifying tournaments. Ilya TRISVIATSKY
Formula Japan returns to Fuji
The Japanese Grand Prix, scheduled for September 2007, will take place this season not at the Suzuka Circuit, owned by Honda, but at the Fuji Circuit, owned by rival Toyota. She intends to fight for the return of her circuit to the Formula 1 calendar, approved by the International Motor Sports Federation.
Only the first two Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 and 1977 were held at Fuji, then this race resumed in the 1987 season, but at Suzuka, and now, exactly thirty years later, Formula returns to its former place in Japan. Vladimir ILYIN
The semi-final stage of the Russian Cup begins
Today, matches of the semi-final stage of the Russian Volleyball Cup among men's and women's teams will start in six cities of the country, based on the results of which all participants in the February “Final Four” will be determined. The composition of the groups is as follows. Men: Moscow - Dynamo M, ZSK-Gazprom, Neftyanik (Yaroslavl), SGIFK-Phoenix (Smolensk); Ekaterinburg - “Loko-Izumrud”, “Loko-Belogorye”, “Prikamye”, TNK (Orenburg); Kazan - "Dynamo-TTG", "Iskra", "Lokomotiv" NS, MSTU; Nizhnevartovsk - "Ugra-Samotlor", "Fakel", "Neftyanik Bashkortostan", "Energetik" (Ufa). Women: Kazan - “Kazanochka”, “Dynamo” M, “Avtodor-Metar”, “Stinol”; Odintsovo - "Zarechye", "Nugget", "Balakovo NPP", "Spartak" (Omsk); Lobnya - Dynamo-Yantar (Kaliningrad), CSKA, Leningradka, Uralochka-NTMK.
According to the regulations for Russian competitions in the 2006/07 season, the cup holder receives the right to participate in the Champions League, but according to the new rules of the European Volleyball Confederation (ECV), this decision must be additionally confirmed by Russia before the start of registration of teams for the 2007/08 European tournaments. Not long ago, the CEB removed the clause on the mandatory participation of the cup winner (if it is not also the best team in the country) in the Champions League and left this issue to the national federations. Ilya TRISVIATSKY
The championship will begin with the match "Dynamo" - "Spartak"
Yesterday the draw for the calendar of the Russian Football Championship in the Premier League 2007 took place, which previously existed only in the form of a digital series. The exact composition of the pairs of each round has become more known, and the final dates of the game will become clear only in January. According to the draft calendar, the first round will take place on March 11, and it will include Dynamo - Spartak M, Zenit - Saturn, Luch - Moscow, Tom - Spartak Nch , “Wings of the Soviets” - “Khimki”, “Kuban” - “Lokomotiv”, “Rubin” - CSKA. Vladimir ILYIN