The FIDE World Chess Cup took place in Khanty-Mansiysk from November 20th to December 15th 2009. It was a seven-round knockout event with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round, with the winners progressing to the next round. The final seventh round consisted of four games. The time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. The World Chess Cup is an integral part of the World Championship Cycle 2009-2011.
Final, tiebreak
The three weeks marathon of the 2009 World Cup finished with 41-year-old Boris Gelfand of Israel beating Ruslan Ponomariov in the tiebreak on Monday. The organiser, FIDE, feel vindicated that the top seed won the event. "Who would dare to call the knock out format a lottery?" the official bulletin says. “Boris is the only participant of the World Cup who could avoid the obvious failures, the only one to play with quality and stability. Bravo, Boris!"
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5987
CONGRATULATIONS GELFAND!
Final Blitz Games : GELFAND WINS!
GAME 1: GELFAND 1-0 PONOMARIOV
GAME 2: PONOMARIOV 1-0 GELFAND
GAME 3: GELFAND 1-0 PONOMARIOV
GAME 4: PONOMARIOV 0-1 GELFAND
Final Rapid Games: 2-2
GAME 1: PONOMARIOV ½-½ GELFAND
GAME 2: GELFAND 1-0 PONOMARIOV
GAME 3: PONOMARIOV ½-½ GELFAND
GAME 4: GELFAND 0-1 PONOMARIOV
CARLSEN in round 4 and 5 of The London Chess Classic
ROUND 4
[Event "Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2009.12.12"] [Round "4"]
[White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2715"]
ROUND 5
[Event "Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2009.12.13"] [Round "5"]
[White "Ni Hua"] [Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2665"] [BlackElo "2801"]
THE WORLD CUP HOLDER WILL BE DEFINED AFTER THE TIE BREAKS
The main games of the World Cup 2009 in Khanty Mansiysk are over. Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov did not decide who is the strongest in the tournament within the classical time control games.
The game Gelfand-Anand, which was played in the Tal Memorial in November this year in Moscow, was repeated in the fourth game of the final match. The Grandmaster Boris Gelfand of Israel played a novelty on move 20. His opponent was not confident in reacting to this idea. The Ukrainian Grandmaster weakened his position in the king flank after move 27. Gelfand received good chances to attack an opponent's king. However the Israeli Grandmaster chose a slow plan and let his opponent move his Rook to “h” line and therefore to strengthen his king. On move 35 they agreed for a draw.
At the press conference after the game both finalists agreed that they had equal chances in the endgame. Gelfand expressed an opinion that he had an advantage and he should not let his opponent to move his rook on “h” line. Ruslan mentioned that he saw several possibilities for the white pieces to attack, but at the same time he had enough resources to defend his position.
Therefore, the winner of the World Cup will be defined tomorrow, 14 December in the tie breaks of the final match. Together with the Cup a winner will receive a cheque of 120 thousand US dollars and a qualification to the Candidates matches.
[Event "World Cup 2009"]
[Date "2009.12.13"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[WhiteCountry "ISR"]
[BlackCountry "UKR"]
source: http://ugra-chess.ru/eng/news_26.htm
Final Round 3 : DRAW DRAW DRAW
I think the final match is getting boring, don't you guys think so? But you know what, in the press conference after the round 2 final, Ponomariov said that he also felt the same about the match. It seems everything must be decided by tiebreak games. We'll see...
[Event "World Cup 2009"]
[Site "0:02.11-0:06.22"]
[Date "2009.12.12"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2739"]
[WhiteCountry "UKR"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[BlackCountry "ISR"]
Self-Test
Are You Professional?
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be "professional". Scroll down for each answer. The questions are not that difficult.
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator. This tests your memory. OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four year old.
http://www.ourfunnylists.com/test_pro.html
The London Chess Classic 2009
The London Chess Classic 2009 is the highest level tournament in London for 25 years. England's four leading Grandmasters; Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Luke McShane and David Howell are now pitching against a world class field that includes a former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and 18 year old Magnus Carlsen ranked world number two and widely seen a future holder of the world crown. One of China's finest players; Ni Hua and the US Champion Hikaru Nakamura, complete the field.
So far The London Chess Clasic has played 3 rounds of 7 rounds planned and now Magnus Carlsen, a chess prodigy from Norway, is conducting himself with half-point difference from Vladimir Kramnik, whom he had beaten in the first round. Calrsen now trained by the chess legend, Gary Kasparov (current rating: 2812)
GM Magnus Carlsen
ROUND 1
[Event "Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2009.12.08"]
[White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2772"]
ROUND 2
[Event "Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2009.12.09"]
[White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "McShane, L."]
[Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2615"]
ROUND 3
[Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "London"] [Date "2009.12.10"]
[White "Howell, David"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2597"] [BlackElo "2801"]
Final Round 2 : DRAW AGAIN!
It was inexplicable that the finalists agreed to draw in 20 moves only. But they will have 2 more games to be played and if the result is still draw, there will be tiebreak games to prove who is the winner of the World Cup this time. Who do you think, people?
[Event "World Cup 2009"]
[Date "2009.12.11"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[WhiteCountry "Israel"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[BlackCountry "Ukraine"]
Vishy Anand turns 40. Wish him!
Viswanathan Anand turns 40 today. On the occasion, the chess ace has just one wish -- that the sport be included in the Olympics. "It would be nice to have chess in the Olympics," says the first player to become World champion in all three formats of the game.
After all, having won World titles in the Knock-out, Tournament and Match formats, a medal from the Olympics is the only accolade missing from his showcase.
The World Championship match against Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov that comes up in April-May is Anand's big event for 2010, and he has already started preparing for it in earnest. As he puts it, the Bulgarian is a "very versatile and dangerous player". Sure, he'll need all the luck and backing from his legion of fans to come out tops.
Join us in wishing the king of the 64 squares board a very happy birthday and all the best for the coming year.
Post your wishes (do it!)
Final Round 1: DRAW
[Event "World Cup 2009"]
[Date "2009.12.10"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2739"]
[WhiteCountry "UKR"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[BlackCountry "ISR"]
2009 World Cup Final
The Israeli Boris Gelfand and the Ukranian Ruslan Ponomariov advanced to the finals after beating Sergey Karjakin and Vladimir Malakhov in the semi-finals. This time the final will be very exciting when viewed from the background of each finalist. Boris Gelfand at age 41 is a very experienced player and Ponomariov is a former FIDE World Champion 2002-2004. Gelfand is the top seed of this tournament with ELO 2758 while Ponomariov is 7th with 2739. Photos and games will follow.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed You,
You would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed You most,
You have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."
Mary Stevenson (1984)
We are going to India soon!
In order to follow the Asian Team and Women's Team Chess Championship in India on December 20 until December 29, 2009, Indonesian men and women teams train together for 6 days a week for about 5 hours a day. The training center conducts in Utut Adianto Chess School, Bekasi, West Java. This time Indonesia will send its young players for both men and women teams. The members are :
Men Team:
1. GM Susanto Megaranto (2522)
2. IM Tirta Chandra Purnama (2417)
3. FM Anjas Novita (2340)
4. Kaisar Jenius Hakiki (2227)
5. CM Farid Firmansyah (2249)
Women Team:
1. WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar (2304)
2. Baiq Vina Lestari (2170)
3. WFM Dewi AA Citra (1938)
4. WCM Chelsie Monica Sihite (1971)
5. WCM Medina Warda Aulia (1959)
News From Vietnam
The 2nd Dragon Capital was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from December 2nd-8th 2009. Le Quang Liem had won the tournament again as last year and got USD 4000 as the main prize. No representative from Indonesia.
1 GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2624 8,0 47,5 38,0 41,75 9 8 6,95 1,05 10 10,5
2 GM Dao Thien Hai VIE 2524 6,0 49,5 37,5 30,50 9 6 5,81 0,19 10 1,9
3 GM Tu Hoang Thong VIE 2509 6,0 47,0 36,0 29,50 9 6 5,82 0,18 10 1,8
4 WIM Pham Le Thao Nguyen VIE 2295 6,0 45,0 33,5 25,75 9 6 3,99 2,01 15 30,1
5 IM Nguyen Thanh Son VIE 2441 6,0 41,0 31,5 27,25 9 6 6,48 -0,48 10 -4,8
6 IM Tu Hoang Thai VIE 2380 5,5 48,5 37,0 27,50 9 5,5 4,47 1,03 10 10,3
7 IM Sharma Dinesh K IND 2329 5,5 46,0 39,0 25,75 9 5,5 3,80 1,70 0 0,0
8 IM Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy VIE 2475 5,5 46,0 35,5 27,50 9 5,5 5,89 -0,39 10 -3,9
9 GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2447 5,5 45,0 33,5 26,50 9 5,5 5,69 -0,19 10 -1,9
10 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi MAS 2419 5,5 44,0 35,0 25,50 9 5,5 5,42 0,08 10 0,8
11 IM Ashwin Jayaram IND 2448 5,0 49,5 37,5 24,25 9 5 5,12 -0,12 10 -1,2
12 IM Nguyen Van Huy VIE 2405 5,0 44,5 33,0 20,50 9 5 5,50 -0,50 10 -5,0
13 FM Pham Chuong VIE 2371 5,0 44,0 33,0 20,50 9 5 5,10 -0,10 15 -1,5
14 FM Ton That Nhu Tung VIE 2272 5,0 41,5 33,0 22,00 8 4,5 3,15 1,35 15 20,3
15 IM Lim Yee-Weng MAS 2336 5,0 39,5 31,0 21,75 9 5 5,63 -0,63 0 0,0
16 IM Duong The Anh VIE 2426 5,0 38,5 30,0 20,75 9 5 6,34 -1,34 10 -13,4
17 Le Quang Long VIE 2286 5,0 37,5 31,0 17,25 9 5 4,42 0,58 15 8,7
18 FM Lo Kin Mun Dominic SIN 2174 4,5 43,5 34,0 20,00 9 4,5 2,77 1,73 15 26,0
19 FM Otte Marijn NED 2300 4,5 42,0 32,5 20,50 8 3,5 3,41 0,09 15 1,4
20 CM Nguyen Hoang Nam VIE 2368 4,5 42,0 32,5 19,75 9 4,5 5,58 -1,08 15 -16,2
21 FM Fernandez Daniel Howard SIN 2230 4,5 41,0 32,0 20,00 8 3,5 2,74 0,76 15 11,4
22 FM Chan Wei Xuan Timothy SIN 2384 4,5 40,5 31,0 17,50 9 4,5 5,90 -1,40 15 -21,0
23 WIM Le Kieu Thien Kim VIE 2221 4,5 38,0 31,5 15,25 9 4,5 3,56 0,94 15 14,1
24 FM Nguyen Duc Hoa VIE 2357 4,5 35,0 27,0 16,25 8 3,5 5,69 -2,19 15 -32,8
25 CM Nguyen Van Hai VIE 2283 4,0 39,0 32,0 13,75 8 3 3,41 -0,41 15 -6,2
26 WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An VIE 2334 4,0 35,5 29,0 11,50 9 4 5,72 -1,72 15 -25,8
27 Vo Dai Hoai Duc VIE 2175 4,0 35,0 28,5 11,50 8 4 3,68 0,32 15 4,8
28 WIM Bui Kim Le VIE 2170 4,0 29,5 24,0 9,50 9 4 4,48 -0,48 15 -7,2
29 WIM Nguyen Quynh Anh VIE 2148 3,5 43,0 34,0 13,25 9 3,5 3,20 0,30 15 4,5
30 Bao Khoa VIE 2207 3,5 43,0 33,5 16,25 9 3,5 2,79 0,71 0 0,0
31 WIM Nguyen Thi Tuong Van VIE 2227 3,5 38,5 29,5 12,25 9 3,5 3,95 -0,45 15 -6,8
32 Dang Hoang Son VIE 2040 3,5 34,0 28,5 11,25 9 3,5 2,27 1,23 0 0,0
33 Tan Weiliang SIN 2168 3,5 33,5 27,0 8,25 9 3,5 4,29 -0,79 15 -11,9
34 Tong Thai Hung VIE 0 3,5 31,5 26,0 8,00 9 3,5
35 WFM Hoang Thi Nhu Y VIE 2150 3,5 31,5 25,0 6,75 8 2,5 3,66 -1,16 15 -17,4
36 Nguyen Minh Tuan VIE 2082 3,0 44,0 34,0 14,25 9 3 1,71 1,29 0 0,0
37 Wolfaardt Francois RSA 1802 1,0 32,0 26,0 2,25 8 1 0,91 0,09 25 2,3
38 Do Hoang Lam VIE 2017 0,5 32,5 26,5 0,50 8 0,5 2,70 -2,20 0 0,0
You can see the pairings and results on:
http://chess-results.com/tnr27690.aspx?art=1&rd=9&lan=1&flag=30&m=-1&wi=1000
Teach Yourself Chinese in 10 Minutes
English phrase - Chinese Interpretation
Are you harboring a fugitive? -------- Hu Yu Hai Ding?
See me A.S.A.P. ---------------------- Kum Hia Nao
Stupid Man --------------------------- Dum Gai
Small Horse -------------------------- Tai Ni Po Ni
Your price is too high! -------------- No Bai Dam Ting!!
Did you go to the beach? ------------- Wai Yu So Tan?
I bumped into a coffee table --------- Ai Bang Mai Ni
I think you need a facelift ---------- Chin Tu Fat
It's very dark in here --------------- Wai So Dim?
Has your flight been delayed? -------- Hao Long Wei Ting?
That was an unauthorized execution --- Lin Ching
I thought you were on a diet --------- Wai Yu Mun Ching?
This is a tow away zone -------------- No Pah King
You know the lyrics to the Macarena? - Wai Yu Sing Dum Song?
You are not very bright -------------- Yu So Dum
I got this for free ------------------ Ai No Pei
I am not guilty ---------------------- Wai Hang Mi?
Please, stay a while longer ---------- Wai Go Nao?
Our meeting was scheduled for next week - Wai Yu Kum Nao
They have arrived --------------------- Hia Dei Kum
Stay out of sight --------------------- Lei Lo
He's cleaning his automobile ---------- Wa Shing Ka
Your body odor is offensive ----------- Hu Man Go!
Pew! does this bathroom stink! -------- Hu Flung Dung?
source: http://www.ourfunnylists.com/lang_chinese.html
I ADMIRE SO!
If in Wesley's interview he said that he admires Ivanchuk, but after his strikes facing the giants, Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky, I proudly can say I admire him! Alright, maybe he was just lucky enough for knocking Ivanchuk out at round 2, but his match with Kamsky was a nice go from a lower-level player. Here is the game which The Philippines can brag about!
[Event "World Cup 2009"]
[Date "2009.11.27"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[WhiteCountry "USA"]
[BlackCountry "PHI"]
How to defend against female Grandmasters as black?
GAME 1
GM Zhu Chen
The first example is me against Chinese-Qatar Grandmaster Zhu Chen (2491), former Women's World Champion. The game was on the 5th round in Asian Continental which held in Subic, Olongapo City, Philippines in May 2009. Fortunately I had a good preparation here, I was trained under GM Lasha Jangjava from Georgia. I finished 11th, tied from 8th-15 with 6,5 points from 11 rounds.
[Event "8th Asian Continental Women"]
[Site "Subic"]
[Date "2009.05.17"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Zhu Chen"]
[Black "Sukandar, Irene"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2491"]
[BlackElo "2300"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]
GAME 2
GM Dzagnidze Nana
The second example happened in China for 2009 Zhejiang-Lishui Open against Grandmaster Nana Dzagnidze (2535), rank#1 in Georgia. All moves came by my own. I was with no one, but luckily can manage a win. I scored 5,5 out of 9 with 5 draws ,3 wins, and 1 lost.
[Event "China Open"]
[Site "Zhejiang Lishui"]
[Date "2009.09.21"]
[Round "6.7"]
[White "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Black "Sukandar, Irene"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2310"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
Mate in one: 46. Kg4 Rf4+ 0-1
KPK must be CRIMINALIZED
I agree with this statement. There was a criminalization in KPK which was involved our National Police institution and attorney general's office. But above those all, I want to concern about why our President had to make an institution like KPK? By all matters, it indicated that he didn't really trust our National Police and Attorney General, and it effected them to put KPK into trouble, because of a jealousy of why KPK has a great power as a new institution, comparing with the other two. In my opinion, 3 of them were fault. But what we have to justice more is, whether the mistake were normative or excessive. It was not a secret if our bureaucracy's rules are not doing their jobs well. It's good to erase "the corruption culture" in our country, which was the purpose of the President by making KPK. I think instead of it, why didn't he focus of cleaning up the 2 big institution that are National Police and Attorney General's office? I guess, it'll be more efficient. But those are happened already. What they have to do now is justice them as equal as their faults.
REVIEW
THE HISTORIAN
Dracula has been the focus of countless films and books. He's almost always the Transylvanian count who became one of the undead, a vampire who hunts his victims at night, draining the blood from their body via tooth punctures in their carotid arteries. It's become a genre unto itself, and a numbing one at that, with its repetition of the same unstoppable horror and violence. Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is a new approach to the Dracula story, telling the story from the perspective of historians in a race to find his grave in hopes of saving one of their friends.
The historical Dracula was Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler for his favorite way of murdering people, a ruler of Wallachia (not Transylvania) in the 15th century. Vlad's father was leader of the Order of the Dragon, Dracul in the local language, and his son, Dracula, was given to the Ottoman empire as a peace offering. It was while he was a prisoner of the Ottomans that Vlad learned many of his evil and torturous ways. When he fought his way to the throne of Wallachia years later, he became one of the Ottomans worst enemies. Their attempts to conquer Wallachia were constantly thwarted by Vlad, finding their armies impaled on stakes in defeat. Vlad's tyrannical rule also had thousands of his own subjects tortured and killed this way, often whole families at a time. Hated by his own people, facing constant threats to his reign from boyars in his own government, and under constant military action from the Ottomans, Vlad was killed in battle in 1477, decapitated, and his head was taken back to Istanbul as proof of the death of their nemesis.
This death of Vlad the Impaler somehow translated into him becoming a vampire, one of the undead who have lived for centuries, spreading his evil to new victims around the world who would also join the ranks of his undead minions to do his bidding.
That's the historical background for The Historian. Elizabeth Kostova's novel opens with an unnamed female voice informing the reader in the year 2008 that she's about to tell the story of what happened to her thirty years before. The story is mostly about her father, a historian turned diplomat, and his search for Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. This narrator, raised alone by her father after her mother's death, finds a book in her father's study when she was 16. The book has no text, but at its center, is a woodcut image of a dragon carrying a banner with the single word Drakulya. In addition, she finds letters dated from 1930, the first of which begins:
"My dear and unfortunate successor,Her father, Paul, was a graduate student at an American university in the 1950s, and the letters belonged to his beloved adviser, Professor Bartholomew Rossi. Rossi also possessed an identical book with just the dragon at the center. Paul finds the book in his carrel in the university library, and when he tries to get rid of it, it keeps reappearing, as if by magic. When he shows his book to Rossi, Rossi shows Paul his copy of the book, and the journey he undertook because of it back in 1930. The first part of The Historian is Paul telling his daughter Rossi's account of his actions after finding the book. As an expert in medieval European history, Rossi goes in search of the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. Searching in a library in Istanbul, he finds a map that suggests that Vlad's grave is not where conventional historical wisdom says it is, but he can't tell from the map where it might actually be. An encounter with an evil and mysterious stranger makes him decide that it's a research topic that he should drop. After Rossi tells Paul of some of his findings, Rossi mysteriously and violently disappears. Paul is convinced that he's taken by Dracula.
It is with regret that I imagine you, whoever you are, reading the account I must put down here. The regret is partly for myself - because I will surely be at least in trouble, maybe dead, or perhaps worse, if this is in your hands. But my regret is also for you, my yet unknown friend, because only by someone who needs such vile information, will this letter someday be read."
Paul's diplomatic career takes him all over Europe, and our unnamed narrator accompanies him whenever she can. He tells her Rossi's story, and his search for Rossi. Researching Vlad the Impaler in the university library, he encounters a young woman, Helen, doing much the same research, and she has her own reasons for wanting to find Rossi. Armed with Rossi's letters to his unfortunate successor, they try to retrace his steps, beginning in Istanbul. They hope that if they find Dracula's grave, they'll find Rossi there and be able to save him if they can arrive in time. Before Paul can tell our narrator all of the story, he disappears also, and his daughter finds more letters in his study, detailing his and Helen's search back in the 1950s. Now his daughter is in a race to find Paul before it is too late.
The evil at the center of The Historian is Dracula and his undead minions, who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets, including the location of Vlad the Impaler's grave. The Historian, though, is not to be approached as either a horror novel or a thriller. It is not filled with dripping horror that will raise goosebumps, and it's not filled with non-stop action that keeps the pages turning with cliffhanger action. It reads more like a travelogue, a paean to history, and a love story, with the horror of unspeakable evil and the race to save loved ones the glue that binds it all together. Each chapter, and they do move back and forth between the 1930s, the 1950s, and the 1970s, tells of each step in the search for Dracula, and the uncovering of each bit of information that leads them on to the next stop in their search. While it's not a thriller in the usual respect, these individual scenes serve the same purpose, driving the characters forward in their quest for knowledge and salvation.
Rossi's search and Paul and Helen's search decades later were the research of scholars. The mysteries they solved and the clues they unearthed were often found in ancient books, often kept in ancient libraries or remote monasteries. One of Elizabeth Kostova's strengths is her obvious love for books and scholarly research and how she can make this type of life enticing and exciting. Reading The Historian makes you want to find the nearest library and delve into their ancient books section. Paul and Helen find innocuous information in separate places that makes sense once they know the bigger picture. Dracula and other vampires are aware that they are on their path, and spread death and violence in an attempt to stop them. If Rossi is to be found and saved, they must press forward. Ms. Kostova also is smart enough to include more mundane evil that poses just as dangerous threats to their quest and lives, from Communist officials who have their own agenda, to references from Machiavelli to Hitler. In their frantic search to find Rossi, Paul and Helen find love with each other while dodging the horrors that are meant to stop them. It's a charming touch, even though it's a bit cliché, to have a love story at the center of a horror or thriller novel.
That's not to say that The Historian doesn't suffer from common problems with debut novels. Paul, in his letters that his daughter reads, tends to overdo superlatives. Experiences are often the oddest, most amazing, most delicious, most surprising of his life. All of the characters suffer from a certain lack of nuance. The good characters are all good to a fault, and many of the minor characters are easily interchangeable. There is a lack of surprise at any character's action or motivation. You know the good guys will help all they can and the bad guys will be as evil as they can. The ending is a bit weak, but not unsatisfying.
There is so much more that's done well in The Historian, though. Another of Ms. Kostova's strengths is her ability to create a sense of place and culture through her descriptions of the exotic locales and people throughout the novel. For example, here is the narrator's first experience of the Slovenian countryside:
"This is old country. Every autumn mellows it a little more, in aeternum, each beginning with the same three colors: a green landscape, two or three yellow leaves falling through a gray afternoon. I suppose the Romans - who left their walls here in their gargantuan arenas to the west, on the coast - saw the same autumn and gave the same shiver. When my father's car swung through the gates of the oldest of Julian cities, I hugged myself. For the first time, I had been struch by the excitement of the traveler who looks history in her subtle face."As one who enjoys both history and traveling, these aspects of The Historian drew me in and made their journey one I'd want to take myself. It moves from the larger European cities - London, Amsterdam, Istanbul - to deep into the Balkan countryside. This is a long book in a smaller-than-normal font, but it's never boring and never drags. It's being hailed as the summer blockbuster of 2005 and suffering comparisons to The Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four. While it obviously has some elements in common with those books, it's completely original and worth the hype. Read The Historian as a love of history, travel, and humanity, with the mystery and evil of Dracula lurking in the background to jump out at you. It's an enjoyable journey for those who dare to take it.
(W.R Greer)
