Chess World Cup 2007

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The Chess World Cup 2007 served as a qualification tournament for the World Chess Championship 2009. It was held as a 128-player single-elimination tournament, between 24 November and 16 December 2007, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.^[1]

In an event attended by most leading players of the world, American Gata Kamsky emerged as the winner. He was unbeaten in the tournament, going into tie-break only once and defeating Spaniard Alexei Shirov, 2.5–1.5, in the four-game final. Two 17-year-old players, Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen, reached the semifinals.

The final four also received direct entry into the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009, a qualifying stage for the World Chess Championship 2011.

Contents 1 Background 2 Prominent non-participants 3 Qualification 4 Participants 5 Playing conditions 6 Results, rounds 1-4 6.1 Summary 6.1.1 Round 1 6.1.2 Round 2 6.1.3 Round 3 6.1.4 Round 4 6.2 Section 1 6.3 Section 2 6.4 Section 3 6.5 Section 4 6.6 Section 5 6.7 Section 6 6.8 Section 7 6.9 Section 8 7 Results, rounds 5-7 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Background

The 2007 World Cup is part of the cycle for the World Chess Championship 2009. Gata Kamsky, as the winner of this tournament, will play an eight game match against Veselin Topalov in 2008, for the right to be the challenger for the World Chess Championship in 2009. This will be a match against the winner of the World Chess Championship 2008 (between current World Champion Viswanathan Anand, and former champion Vladimir Kramnik).

[edit] Prominent non-participants

Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov were ineligible to participate, due to special privileges they already have in the 2008-2009 World Championship cycle.

All other leading players, including world champion Viswanathan Anand, were eligible to participate. However Anand, who is already seeded into the 2008-2009 cycle, elected not to play.

Three other players who had recently competed in the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico - Péter Lékó, Aleksandr Morozevich and Boris Gelfand - elected not to play. Lékó and Morozevich refused to take part as a form of protest against the special privileges given for the inclusion of Kramnik and Topalov in the World Chess Championship Cycle.^[2][3]

The only other player from the Top 30 who did not participate was Judit Polgár.

[edit] Qualification

The final list of 128 qualifiers for the World Cup was as follows:^[4]

• Three of the eight participants of the World Chess Championship 2007 (Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk). The other five qualifiers in this category were replaced by five players from the average rating list.
• Women's World Champion 2006 (Xu Yuhua).
• Junior World Champion 2006 (Zaven Andriasian).
• Twenty-five players with the highest Elo rating (including five replacements). The average ratings from July 2006 and January 2007 were used.
• 89 players qualified from the continental and zonal championships:
  • 45 players from Europe (16 from the 2006 European Individual Chess Championship and 29 from 2007)
  • 19 players from the Americas (7 from the 4th American Continental Championship, 12 from the 2.1 through 2.5 Zonals),
  • 19 players from Asia and Oceania (10 from the 6th Asian Championship, 9 from the 3.1 through 3.6 Zonals),
  • 6 players from Africa (2007 African Championship).
• 5 nominees of the FIDE President (Sergei Rublevsky, Evgeny Bareev, Sergei Zhigalko, Ziaur Rahman, and Boris Savchenko).
• 4 nominees of the local Organising Committee (Evgeny Alekseev, Nikolai Kabanov, Aleksei Pridorozhni, and Vladimir Genba).

[edit] Participants

All players are Grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2787  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE), 2752  Teimour Radjabov (AZE), 2742  Levon Aronian (ARM), 2741  Alexei Shirov (ESP), 2739  Peter Svidler (RUS), 2732  Michael Adams (ENG), 2729  Evgeny Alekseev (RUS), 2716  Alexander Grischuk (RUS), 2715  Magnus Carlsen (NOR), 2714  Gata Kamsky (USA), 2714  Vladimir Akopian (ARM), 2713  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS), 2710  Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR), 2705  Wang Yue (CHN), 2703  Etienne Bacrot (FRA), 2695  Sergey Karjakin (UKR), 2694  Bu Xiangzhi (CHN), 2692  Pavel Eljanov (UKR), 2691  Zoltan Almasi (HUN), 2691  Vladimir Malakhov (RUS), 2690  Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB), 2690  Lenier Dominguez Perez (CUB), 2683  Loek van Wely (NED), 2679  Konstantin Landa (RUS), 2678  Andrei Volokitin (UKR), 2678  Sergei Rublevsky (RUS), 2676  Alexander Onischuk (USA), 2674  Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS), 2674  Vadim Zvjaginsev (RUS), 2674  Ivan Cheparinov (BUL), 2670  Pentala Harikrishna (IND), 2668  Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU), 2668  Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA), 2661  Krishnan Sasikiran (IND), 2661  Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP), 2660  Predrag Nikolic (BIH), 2657  David Navara (CZE), 2656  Emil Sutovsky (ISR), 2655  Laurent Fressinet (FRA), 2654  Evgeny Bareev (RUS), 2653  Nigel D. Short (ENG), 2649  Kiril Georgiev (BUL), 2649  Sergey Volkov (RUS), 2648  Bartosz Socko (POL), 2646  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS), 2646  Alexander Motylev (RUS), 2645  Zhang Pengxiang (CHN), 2644  Michael Roiz (ISR), 2643  Sergei Tiviakov (NED), 2643  Wang Hao (CHN), 2643  Alexander Khalifman (RUS), 2643  Zviad Izoria1 (GEO), 2643  Boris Avrukh (ISR), 2641  Arkadij Naiditsch (GER), 2639  Evgeniy Najer (RUS), 2635  Konstantin Sakaev (RUS), 2634  Mikhail Gurevich (TUR), 2627  Alexander Shabalov (USA), 2626  Yuri Shulman (USA), 2616  Maxim Rodshtein (ISR), 2615  Viktor Laznicka (CZE), 2610  Zdenko Kozul (CRO), 2609  Mateusz Bartel (POL), 2608

Alexander Galkin (RUS), 2608  Lazaro Bruzon Batista (CUB), 2607  Bartlomiej Macieja (POL), 2606  Jan Gustafsson (GER), 2606  Rafael Leitao (BRA), 2601  Dusko Pavasovic (SLO), 2597  Gregory S. Kaidanov (USA), 2597  Nikita Vitiugov (RUS), 2594  Emanuel Berg (SWE), 2593  Julio E. Granda Zuniga (PER), 2592  Gilberto Milos (BRA), 2592  Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (IRI), 2591  Vladimir Belov (RUS), 2587  Robert Markus (SRB), 2586  Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND), 2585  Varuzhan Akobian (USA), 2584  Merab Gagunashvili (GEO), 2584  Boris Savchenko (RUS), 2583  Rauf Mamedov (AZE), 2582  Vladimir Georgiev (MKD), 2576  Grzegorz Gajewski (POL), 2573  Susanto Megaranto (INA), 2569  David Baramidze (GER), 2569  Julio Becerra Rivero (USA), 2568  Diego Flores (ARG), 2566, IM  Zhou Jianchao (CHN), 2565  Alexander Ivanov (USA), 2565  Artem Iljin (RUS), 2565  Sergey Kudrin (USA), 2563  Sergei Zhigalko (BLR), 2562  Csaba Balogh (HUN), 2561  Bassem Amin (EGY), 2561  Zhao Jun (CHN), 2552  Juan Carlos Gonzalez Zamora1 (MEX), 2552  Abhijit Kunte (IND), 2547  Fernando Peralta (ARG), 2546  Zaven Andriasian (ARM), 2546  Imre Hera, Jr. (HUN), 2544  Le Quang Liem (VIE), 2534  Vladislav Nevednichy (ROU), 2531  Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (VIE), 2530  Alexei Iljushin (RUS), 2528  G.N. Gopal (IND), 2520, IM  Xu Yuhua (CHN), 2517  Wen Yang (CHN), 2515, IM  Enamul Hossain (BAN), 2514, IM  Nikolai Kabanov (RUS), 2512, IM  Everaldo Matsuura (BRA), 2511, IM  Darwin Laylo (PHI), 2508, IM  Aleksei Pridorozhni (RUS), 2506, IM  Essam El Gindy (EGY), 2503, IM  Ziaur Rahman (BAN), 2497  Anton Filippov (UZB), 2496, IM  Ahmed Adly (EGY), 2494  Zhao Zong-Yuan (AUS), 2491, IM  Darcy Lima (BRA), 2484  Anuar Ismagambetov (KAZ), 2480, IM  Igor Zugic (CAN), 2477, IM  Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN), 2435, IM  Robert Gwaze (ZIM), 2429, IM  Juan Pablo Hobaica (ARG), 2427, IM  Vladimir Genba (RUS), 2413, IM  Khaled Abdel Razik (EGY), 2389, FM  Pedro Aderito (ANG), 2352, IM

¹ Izoria did not appear at the Cup due to visa problems. Gonzalez Zamora did not appear at the Cup due to illness.^[5]

[edit] Playing conditions

The tournament is in the style of the FIDE World Chess Championships 1998-2004: each round consists of a two game match (except for the final round, which will be a four game match), followed by tie breaks at faster time controls if required.^[6][7]

The time control for regular games is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added after each move. Tie breaks consist of two rapid chess games (25 minutes each + 10 seconds per move); followed by two blitz games if required (5 minutes + 10 seconds per move); followed by a single Armageddon chess game if required (white has 6 minutes and must win, black has 5 minutes and only needs to draw).

The prize money ranged from $6,000 for players eliminated in the first round to $80,000 for the losing finalist and $120,000 for the winner.

[edit] Results, rounds 1-4

[edit] Summary

[edit] Round 1

Most of the top seeds progressed. From the top 32, the only higher seeded players eliminated were Pavel Eljanov (19th seed), Konstantin Landa (25) and Pentala Harikrishna (32).^[5]

[edit] Round 2

Players in the top 32 eliminated in regular games were Teimour Radjabov (seeded 3), Loek van Wely (24).^[8][9] Top 32 players eliminated in tie breaks were Rustam Kasimdzhanov (22), Andrei Volokitin (26) and Vadim Zvjaginsev (30). This left 24 of the top 32 seeds in the final 32.

High seeds needing tie breaks to progress included Vassily Ivanchuk (1), Magnus Carlsen (10), Ruslan Ponomariov (14) and Wang Yue (15).^[10]

[edit] Round 3

After the two regular games, 10 of the 16 matches had decisive results. Players going through on the regular games are: Alexei Shirov (seeded 5), Michael Adams (7), Evgeny Alekseev (8), Magnus Carlsen (10), Gata Kamsky (11), Vladimir Akopian (12), Dmitry Jakovenko (13), Ruslan Ponomariov (14), Wang Yue (15) and Ivan Cheparinov (31).^[11][12] Cheparinov eliminated the number 2 seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The other six matches were decided in the tie breaks. Winners were Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (33) (eliminating top seed Vassily Ivanchuk), Krishnan Sasikiran (35), Evgeny Bareev (41), Levon Aronian (4), Peter Svidler (6), Sergey Karjakin (17).^[13]

[edit] Round 4

In the regular time control games, Shirov, Ponomariov, Carlsen, Karjakin and Cheparinov won their respective matches against Akopian, Sasikiran, Adams, Nisipeanu and Wang Yue. The other three matches (Jakovenko-Aronian, Svidler-Kamsky and Bareev-Alekseev) proceed to tie breaks,^[14][15] with wins to Jakovenko, Kamsky and Alekseev.

[edit] Section 1

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2
	128	Pedro Aderito	0
						1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2.5
						65	Alexander Galkin	1.5
	64	Mateusz Bartel	1
	65	Alexander Galkin	3
											1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2.5
										33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	3.5
	32	Pentala Harikrishna	1.5
	97	Zhao Jun	2.5
						97	Zhao Jun	1.5
						33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	2.5
	33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	1.5
	96	Bassem Amin	0.5
																33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	0.5
															17	Sergey Karjakin	1.5
	16	Etienne Bacrot	1.5
	113	Darwin Laylo	0.5
						16	Etienne Bacrot	1.5
						49	Michael Roiz	0.5
	49	Michael Roiz	4
	80	Varuzhan Akobian	3
											16	Etienne Bacrot	1
										17	Sergey Karjakin	3
	17	Sergey Karjakin	2
	112	Everaldo Matsuura	0
						17	Sergey Karjakin	1.5
						48	Zhang Pengxiang	0.5
	48	Zhang Pengxiang	2.5
	81	Merab Gagunashvili	1.5

[edit] Section 2

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	8	Evgeny Alekseev	2.5
	121	Anuar Ismagambetov	1.5
						8	Evgeny Alekseev	1.5
						57	Konstantin Sakaev	0.5
	57	Konstantin Sakaev	4
	72	Nikita Vitiugov	3
											8	Evgeny Alekseev	1.5
										40	Laurent Fressinet	0.5
	25	Konstantin Landa	0.5
	104	Vladislav Nevednichy	1.5
						104	Vladislav Nevednichy	0.5
						40	Laurent Fressinet	1.5
	40	Laurent Fressinet	2
	89	Diego Flores	0
																8	Evgeny Alekseev	3
															41	Evgeny Bareev	1
	9	Alexander Grischuk	1.5
	120	Darcy Lima	0.5
						9	Alexander Grischuk	1.5
						56	Evgeniy Najer	0.5
	56	Evgeniy Najer	1.5
	73	Emanuel Berg	0.5
											9	Alexander Grischuk	1.5
										41	Evgeny Bareev	2.5
	24	Loek van Wely	3.5
	105	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	2.5
						24	Loek van Wely	0.5
						41	Evgeny Bareev	1.5
	41	Evgeny Bareev	2
	88	Julio Becerra Rivero	0

[edit] Section 3

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	4	Levon Aronian	2
	125	Juan Pablo Hobaica	0
						4	Levon Aronian	1.5
						68	Jan Gustafsson	0.5
	61	Maxim Rodshtein	0.5
	68	Jan Gustafsson	1.5
											4	Levon Aronian	3
										29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1
	29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1.5
	100	Fernando Peralta	0.5
						29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1.5
						36	Francisco Vallejo Pons	0.5
	36	Francisco Vallejo Pons	1.5
	93	Sergey Kudrin	0.5
																4	Levon Aronian	1.5
															13	Dmitry Jakovenko	2.5
	13	Dmitry Jakovenko	2
	116	Ziaur Rahman	0
						13	Dmitry Jakovenko	1.5
						77	Vladimir Belov	0.5
	52	Alexander Khalifman	1.5
	77	Vladimir Belov	2.5
											13	Dmitry Jakovenko	1.5
										20	Zoltan Almasi	0.5
	20	Zoltan Almasi	1.5
	109	Wen Yang	0.5
						20	Zoltan Almasi	2
						45	Bartosz Socko	0
	45	Bartosz Socko	2
	84	Vladimir Georgiev	0

[edit] Section 4

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	5	Alexei Shirov	2
	124	Robert Gwaze	0
						5	Alexei Shirov	1.5
						60	Yuri Shulman	0.5
	60	Yuri Shulman	3
	69	Rafael Leitao	1
											5	Alexei Shirov	1.5
										28	Alexander Onischuk	0.5
	28	Alexander Onischuk	2.5
	101	Zaven Andriasian	1.5
						28	Alexander Onischuk	1.5
						37	Predrag Nikolic	0.5
	37	Predrag Nikolic	2
	92	Artem Iljin	0
																5	Alexei Shirov	1.5
															12	Vladimir Akopian	0.5
	12	Vladimir Akopian	2.5
	117	Anton Filippov	1.5
						12	Vladimir Akopian	1.5
						76	Ehsan Ghaem Maghami	0.5
	53	Zviad Izoria
	76	Ehsan Ghaem Maghami	w/o
											12	Vladimir Akopian	1.5
										21	Vladimir Malakhov	0.5
	21	Vladimir Malakhov	2
	108	Xu Yuhua	0
						21	Vladimir Malakhov	2.5
						44	Sergey Volkov	1.5
	44	Sergey Volkov	1.5
	85	Grzegorz Gajewski	0.5

[edit] Section 5

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	2	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	2
	127	Khaled Abdel Razik	0
						2	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	1.5
						63	Zdenko Kozul	0.5
	63	Zdenko Kozul	3.5
	66	Lazaro Bruzon Batista	2.5
											2	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	0.5
										31	Ivan Cheparinov	1.5
	31	Ivan Cheparinov	w/o
	98	Juan Carlos Gonzalez Zamora
						31	Ivan Cheparinov	3.5
						34	Vladislav Tkachiev	2.5
	34	Vladislav Tkachiev	1.5
	95	Csaba Balogh	0.5
																31	Ivan Cheparinov	1.5
															15	Wang Yue	0.5
	15	Wang Yue	1.5
	114	Aleksei Pridorozhni	0.5
						15	Wang Yue	2.5
						50	Sergei Tiviakov	1.5
	50	Sergei Tiviakov	1.5
	79	Surya Shekhar Ganguly	0.5
											15	Wang Yue	1.5
										18	Bu Xiangzhi	0.5
	18	Bu Xiangzhi	2
	111	Nikolai Kabanov	0
						18	Bu Xiangzhi	3.5
						47	Alexander Motylev	2.5
	47	Alexander Motylev	1.5
	82	Boris Savchenko	0.5

[edit] Section 6

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	7	Michael Adams	1.5
	122	Igor Zugic	0.5
						7	Michael Adams	1.5
						58	Mikhail Gurevich	0.5
	58	Mikhail Gurevich	2.5
	71	Gregory S. Kaidanov	1.5
											7	Michael Adams	1.5
										90	Zhou Jianchao	0.5
	26	Andrei Volokitin	1.5
	103	Le Quang Liem	0.5
						26	Andrei Volokitin	3
						90	Zhou Jianchao	4
	39	Emil Sutovsky	0.5
	90	Zhou Jianchao	1.5
																7	Michael Adams	0.5
															10	Magnus Carlsen	1.5
	10	Magnus Carlsen	2
	119	Zhao Zong-Yuan	0
						10	Magnus Carlsen	3
						55	Arkadij Naiditsch	1
	55	Arkadij Naiditsch	1.5
	74	Julio E. Granda Zuniga	0.5
											10	Magnus Carlsen	1.5
										23	Lenier Dominguez Perez	0.5
	23	Lenier Dominguez Perez	2
	106	Alexei Iljushin	0
						23	Lenier Dominguez Perez	1.5
						87	David Baramidze	0.5
	42	Nigel D. Short	1.5
	87	David Baramidze	2.5

[edit] Section 7

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	3	Teimour Radjabov	2
	126	Vladimir Genba	0
						3	Teimour Radjabov	0
						67	Bartlomiej Macieja	2
	62	Viktor Laznicka	0.5
	67	Bartlomiej Macieja	1.5
											67	Bartlomiej Macieja	2
										35	Krishnan Sasikiran	4
	30	Vadim Zvjaginsev	2.5
	99	Abhijit Kunte	1.5
						30	Vadim Zvjaginsev	2
						35	Krishnan Sasikiran	4
	35	Krishnan Sasikiran	3.5
	94	Sergei Zhigalko	2.5
																35	Krishnan Sasikiran	0.5
															14	Ruslan Ponomariov	1.5
	14	Ruslan Ponomariov	2.5
	115	Essam El Gindy	1.5
						14	Ruslan Ponomariov	2.5
						51	Wang Hao	1.5
	51	Wang Hao	1.5
	78	Robert Markus	0.5
											14	Ruslan Ponomariov	1.5
										46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	0.5
	19	Pavel Eljanov	0.5
	110	Enamul Hossain	1.5
						110	Enamul Hossain	0.5
						46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	1.5
	46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	3.5
	83	Rauf Mamedov	2.5

[edit] Section 8

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	6	Peter Svidler	2
	123	Eduardo Iturrizaga	0
						6	Peter Svidler	2
						70	Dusko Pavasovic	0
	59	Alexander Shabalov	0.5
	70	Dusko Pavasovic	1.5
											6	Peter Svidler	2.5
										27	Sergei Rublevsky	1.5
	27	Sergei Rublevsky	1.5
	102	Imre Hera, Jr.	0.5
						27	Sergei Rublevsky	3.5
						38	David Navara	2.5
	38	David Navara	1.5
	91	Alexander Ivanov	0.5
																6	Peter Svidler	1.5
															11	Gata Kamsky	2.5
	11	Gata Kamsky	1.5
	118	Ahmed Adly	0.5
						11	Gata Kamsky	1.5
						54	Boris Avrukh	0.5
	54	Boris Avrukh	3
	75	Gilberto Milos	1
											11	Gata Kamsky	1.5
										43	Kiril Georgiev	0.5
	22	Rustam Kasimdzhanov	4
	107	G.N. Gopal	2
						22	Rustam Kasimdzhanov	3
						43	Kiril Georgiev	4
	43	Kiril Georgiev	2
	86	Susanto Megaranto	0

[edit] Results, rounds 5-7

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final (best of 4)
	17	Sergey Karjakin	2.5
	8	Evgeny Alekseev	1.5
						17	Sergey Karjakin	1.5
						5	Alexei Shirov	2.5
	13	Dmitry Jakovenko	0
	5	Alexei Shirov	2
											5	Alexei Shirov	1.5
											11	Gata Kamsky	2.5
	31	Ivan Cheparinov	0.5
	10	Magnus Carlsen	1.5
						10	Magnus Carlsen	0.5
						11	Gata Kamsky	1.5
	14	Ruslan Ponomariov	0.5
	11	Gata Kamsky	1.5

Chessbase reports: Round five Game one; Round five Game two; Round five tie breaks; Round six Game one.

Final, 13 December – 16 December

Seed	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	Total
5	Alexei Shirov (ESP)	2739	½	0	½	½	1.5
11	Gata Kamsky (USA)	2714	½	1	½	½	2.5

[edit] References

1. ^ Chess in Khanty-Mansiysk.
2. ^ Morozevich: "I cannot play without motivation". Chessbase (25 October 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
3. ^ Leko's manager Carsten Hensel: "the privilege that Topalov is getting, to play against the winner of the World Cup or to immediately challenge Kramnik in a world championship match, must be of concern to the other top players. I expect all top grandmasters, including Peter Leko, to protest against this special privilege.". Chessbase (11 July 2007).
4. ^ List of Qualifiers for the World Cup 2007 from fide.com, accessed 2008-04-10
5. ^ ^{a b} Round 1 Tiebreaks - Chessbase, November 26, 2007
6. ^ Regulations for the 2007 - 2009 World Chess Championship Cycle, section 3.2, FIDE online.
7. ^ Veselin Topalov and the new FIDE world championship cycle. Chessbase (24 June 2007).
8. ^ Round 2, Game 1 report at Chessbase
9. ^ Round 2, Game 2 report at Chessbase
10. ^ The Week in Chess.
11. ^ Round three Game one, Chessbase, 30 November 2007
12. ^ Round three Game two, Chessbase, 1 December 2007
13. ^ Round three tie breaks, Chessbase, 1 December 2007
14. ^ Round four Game one, Chessbase, 3 December 2007
15. ^ Round four Game two, Chessbase, 4 December 2007

[edit] External links

• Official site