The Bilbao Grand Slam of chess began September 1, 2008, and features world champion Viswanathan Anand facing off with number four seeded Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk in the first round. This match will be a test for the world champion Anand as the World Championship match next month will be against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia some time in October.
Ivanchuk is at the top of his game as he recently won the Tal memorial tournament, beating Kramnik. According to the live unofficial chess rankings, Ivanchuk is actually second in points behind Anand who has 2798 points to Ivanchuk’s 2787. Ivanchuk went on to also win a blitz tournament that was observed and enjoyed by guests that included well known celebrities.
Ivanchuk is tied with Magnus Carlesen of Norway, both men standing with 2787 points in the live rankings. Both men are looking to overthrow Anand and take the number position before the grand slam event is over with. Chess aficionados are expecting the Bilbao Grand Slam to be filled with interesting matched with these three men involved. Ivanchuk is considered a Grandmaster of the game, but has yet to win the World Chess Championship, the premier match of the chess playing world.
Record label Seasons of Mist, who tend to sign up and coming bands in Europe, has just announced that they have picked up Slavonic heathen metal band Drudkh. The band is best known for incorporating content about nature mysticism, philosophy, season, Ukrainian mythology, legends, and history into their lyrics. They are a folk-influenced and cinematic sounding band and some of their song lyrics are actually derived from the work of 19th and 20th century poets from Ukraine.
The band usually does not allow interviews or use the Internet as a promotional platform. The label has graciously accepted the bands policy of ‘no photos, no interviews, no website, no gigs’ policy and the only reason the information about Season of Mist picking up the band on its label was to silence false rumors going around that the band members have extreme political views. Anyone who has heard the band’s music is aware that these rumors are completely off base and do not represent the band, or their unique music. The band praises people’s individualism, self-improvement and estrangement from modern values but their political views are far from extreme.
Drudkh’s new album is due to be release early 2009. The title has not yet been decided. You can catch more about Drudkh’s at blackmetalowesyou.blogspot.com
If you are planning on spending some time in Ukraine, you may want to consider forgoing the use of a car and hiring a bicycle instead. Cycling has become a major recreational activity in the country, especially in the rural areas, and now mountain biking has taken off as a fun and enjoyable pastime. Additionally, fancy performance bicycles have popped up in the cities as more and more people are veering away from public transportation and owning their own vehicle. In Ukraine, you will find and can purchase for yourself bicycles from Giant, Specialized, Scott, Kona, and even Univega.
Be forewarned that if you are going to cycle in the city, there is little to no equipments or biking lanes designed for you. Some cities are beginning to accommodate cyclists more, but it is a slow moving effort so biking in the big cities and dealing with heavy traffic, car exhausts and just somewhat rude conditions, should be done at your own risk.
There are many parks and wild areas in Kiev that is bicycle friendly is you are looking for a way to get out and exercise and the rural areas of the country are perfect for a day trip with your bikes. Most bicycle rental firms will rent out bicycles for multiple days at a time.
You can find more information on cycling in Ukraine and other great activities at TryUkraine.com
If you only travel to one place in Ukraine, travel to Kiev, and take a look through the multitudes of different buildings and architectural marvels there. One of the simply most breathtaking places is Saint Sophia Cathedral, which, for nothing else, simply hums with spirituality and beauty. Regardless of how your religious beliefs lie, this place is a truly amazing – if a little pricy – architectural marvel.
Much of the original artwork is still exposed and available for the public to view, and what isn’t is being carefully restored and preserved by different restorers. At the risk of making some of these areas seem a little spotty, the ability to see truly original pieces is incredibly moving. You need to make sure that you hire an English guide beforehand, but the actual trip is incredibly moving, making this a must-see spot in Kiev, as well as the rest of Ukraine.
The Pidkamin ethno festival is happening this coming weekend July 25-27 in the Pidkamin village in the Lviv region. This great festival is just another weekend that will bring about a fun filled dose of Ukrainian fun. You will see live folk music set into the breath taking hills of the Lviv region.
The organizers of this festival are also behind several other festivals that have happened or will happen this summer. These organizers promise that the Pidkamin ethno festival will not only offer the beautiful Ukrainian music but will also hold true to the Ukrainian spirit which will be felt emanating from the stage.
Don’t have a babysitter to watch the children while you attend the festival? No problem! Bring the little 
ones with you and drop them off at the OpenBabyGarden which will provide child care along with offering the children music and fairy tales that will be told by the well known Ukrainian story teller, Sashko Limyk.
This is a festival you wont want to miss. For more information you can call (8067) 265-7630
All of James Bond’s women are long legged and sexy, powerhouses of their own, and usually just what the famous British detective likes. Unafraid to dive into adventures with the dashing 007, they tend to not have any 
weaknesses. Olga Kurylenko, the newest Bond Girl in the new movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ may appear tough as nails on the screen, but is in actuality scared to death of heights. The former Ukrainian model told the press that she was scared while filming some of the movie, but that this did it anyway and worked through her fear.
“You have to do it, you have to jump off the roof and there’s no choice. I was so proud of myself when I did it. It was a big thing for me and thereafter it was like ‘wow, I did it!’ You feel such a sense of achievement,” she told the press after filming a harrowing for the actress scene for the movie. She also likes her character, Camille, who she describes as ‘very strong and very determined’. Olga goes as far as comparing her to a female version or James Bond and enjoyed learning how to fight, shoot, fly, and strip a gun for her role.
You can get even more information about the happenings in Ukraine by visiting My Life in Ukraine
Even though Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is having some major issues with his government, his daughter seems to be doing well in her new career as a runway fashion model. It seems that Vitalina 
Yushchenko was spotted working the runway at a Milan show by someone from Russia’s Izvestia newspaper in a showing of some of the newest summer fashions to hit the streets. The collection of clothing was by Ukrainian designer Aina Gase.
This isn’t the first time the president’s daughter has showed up in popular fashion media either. Her modeling portfolio also includes photographs for Russian Vogue and she used to be a pop singer before turning hip fashionista.
Vitalina, 27, is the mother of two and she’s the eldest child of the president from a previous marriage. It seems that both she and her brother Andriy, 23, are, as the media puts it, ‘trying to cash in on their father’s position as president’. They both lead high profile lives and the society pages chronicle their lives including where they live and who they are friends with to the point that another paparazzi nightmare like Diana’s could possibly happen. Yushchenko, like any good father in the public eye has reacted to the media’s scrutiny of his kids and feels they are trying to simply sell newspapers.
You don’t have to be Indiana Jones to enjoy a good romp through the Odessa Archaeological Museum. Located in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, the entrance to the museum is marked by a significant statue of Laocoon, although this statue is not as large as the one of Mother Russia standing guard over the war museum in Kiev. That’s a big statue. Anyway, the museum is one of the oldest in Ukraine and any student of archaeology would want to visit it.
Founded in 1825, the museum was developed by the Odessa Society of antiquity and history. This group had been given the right to excavate in the Northern Black Sea Region and over the years they have collected over 160,000 exhibit worth of artifacts. It is one of the largest collections of Northern Black Sea ancient history and it contains relics from primitive and classical culture, relics from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and a large, valuable collection of coins and medals. The artifacts from Egypt, Greece, and Rome are a good indication of how far the leaders of these three nations took their ancient conquering of other countries to heart in their own bids for world domination.
There is so much to see and do in the Ukraine but one of the things that you must make time to do is to visit the National Philharmonic Hall. This is a beautiful theater that has several showings every week for you are viewing pleasure.
The National Philharmonic Society in the Ukraine is one of the oldest and best kept theaters in the country of the Ukraine. The roots of this remarkable theater can be traced all the way back to 1863. The National Philharmonic Society building was awarded the pristine statues of an architectural monument. This theater is of a very great importance not only to the musical life and history of the Ukraine but also to the world because of their amazing orchestras and fabulous performances.
One visit to The National Philharmonic of Ukraine will leave you breathless and in awe of not only the beauty of the building, the amazing interior but also from the fabulous performance. This is one site that you must see while you are visiting the Ukraine. You will take the memories with you always.
It’s hard to surrender your perfect team’s record during a major sporting event, especially when it’s one that will determine whether or not you will have to play the play-off games or simply be automatically in when the final tournaments come around. Luckily enough, Ukraine won’t be sweating too much about those play-off games as the women’s soccer team is still in the number position to reach the UEFA Women’s Euro 2009 after losing to Portugal, the bottom placed team in Group 5.
The Ukraine team was the favorites in Chernigov and they won all six of their qualifying games prior to the Portugal match. That included a game against top seeded Denmark. Portugal had managed to get a measly single point from a draw during their seven games, and that was given up by Scotland. Everything was looking good for our Ukraine team thanks to Nataliya Soukhorokova scoring the first point six minutes into the match. Unfortunately, they weren’t expecting Edite Fernandes from the Portugal team to level in at the end of the first half before overcoming the Ukraine team once and for all.
Ukraine’s women soccer team goes up against Denmark on Wednesday October 1, 2008, and they know that a draw or better against the other team will ensure the spot for next summer’s finals in Finland without having to deal with the play-offs in October.
