Ladies and Gentlemen in Biel

7/21/2004 – The 37th Biel Chess Festival is taking part in the beautiful Swiss town, with a category 18 Grandmaster tournament (including last year's winner Morozevich, and Ruslan Ponomariov) and a ladies section with six very strong participants. We bring you games, pictures and links.

Game of Life: Kasparov on Fischer - in full

7/20/2004 – The news of Fischer's arrest in Japan came as a shock to Garry Kasparov, who was in a holiday camp working intensely on the games of his greatest American predecessor. In today's issue of The Wall Street Journal Kasparov assesses Fischer's chess career – for a public that was being exposed to his current situation. We now bring you Kasparov's full article.

Torres y Quevedo's rook endgame automaton

7/20/2004 – The very first machine that could play chess, genuinely calculate and execute moves, was a digital electronic computer, right? Wrong! It was a mechanical contraption built at the beginning of the 20th century by a Spanish engineer, who also designed transatlantic airships and a funicular cable-car for the Niagara Falls. Ramón Jiménez tells us the story of Torres y Quevedo.

Short on Tripoli: a one-month blunderfest

7/19/2004 – Nigel Short, one of Britain's top GMs, was one of the 128 contestants of the FIDE world championship in Libya. After his return we spoke to him about the new world champion, the FIDE knockout format, his incredible blunder against Krasenkow and what must be done to reform the chess world. Here is part one of this interview.

Will Fischer be extradited?

7/19/2004 – Chess legend Bobby Fischer, the hero of millions, languishes in the detention facilities of Narita Airport in Tokyo, waiting for a decision by Japanese Immigration authorities on his deportation to the US. We have collected all the documents and reconstructed a timeline to his arrest. Fischer, who has no legal counsel, is appealing for international assistance.

We can learn from chess programs!

7/18/2004 – Recently the Israeli program Junior won the world computer chess title for the fourth time, playing some extraordinary chess in the process. GM Boris Alterman, who was the official live commentator at the event, takes a look at two key games and the fantastic positional sacrifices Junior is able to play. Details...

What is a chess piece worth?

7/18/2004 – How much material we can sacrifice for an attack, with no clear payoff. A pawn, a piece for a couple of pawns, the exchange – all quite common. But more? Dennis Monokroussos shows us a wild game where one side sacrificed even more to win. But was it sound? Find out in his Monday night lecture...

All about Kirsan

7/17/2004 – You only know him as the somewhat controversial figure that has been at the head of the world chess organisation for the last eight years. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is also the President of a Russian republic. How did this all happen to this 42-year-old Buddhist in his 69th lifetime on earth? Read all about it in this fascinating portrait.

Correspondence Database 2004

7/17/2004 – ChessBase Workshop columnist Steve Lopez is a self-confessed friend for correspondence chess. In this week's column, he sings the praises of the correspondence form of play while previewing ChessBase's latest database release: Correspondence Database 2004. Workshop...

Shredder leads in GM and IM tournaments

7/16/2004 – The "Republica Argentina" Chess Festival 2004 is under way, with strong GMs and IMs participating. But it is our program Shredder 8 that is dominating both groups. After six rounds the computer is in the sole lead in the GM "Magistral" section, in the IM group a human being is still hanging on. Read our extensive illustrated report.

Bobby Fischer detained in Japan (updated)

7/16/2004 – It's the latest twist in the sad tale of American former world champion Bobby Fischer. He has been detained in Japan and faces possible deportation to the US to face charges for playing in Yugoslavia in 1992. Fischer's website says he was "very nearly killed" in Japan. The story has been picked up by news services all over the world.

FIDE World Championship closing ceremony

7/15/2004 – After the tiebreak games at the FIDE world chess championship in Libya the new champion was crowned in a splendid closing ceremony, attended by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Libyan OC President Mohammed Al Gadhafi (son of Muammar). We bring you pictures and an interview with Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

Wells' Fritz Middlegame Trainer

7/15/2004 – In this week's ChessBase Workshop, we provide a sneak peek at a brand-new kind of ChessBase Training CD which uses the Fritz Media System multimedia features to provide a wholly different and compelling instructional environment. Take a first look at Peter Wells' Fritz Middlegame Trainer: Strategy and Tactics in the new ChessBase Workshop.

WCCC 08-11: Junior is computer world champion

7/13/2004 – Two programs went into the final round with equal scores: title defender Shredder and the home team of Junior. Interestingly it was another Israeli program that brought Junior the overall victory: Falcon held Shredder to a draw, while Junior demolished ParSOS. We congratulate the new computer world champion.

FIDE WCC R7-7: Rustam Kasimdzhanov is world champion

7/13/2004 – In a shock victory Uzbek GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov defeated Britain's Michael Adams in the tiebreak games today to win the FIDE world championship in Libya. Adams was clearly winning with white in the first game, then let it slip and in the end lost. In the second game "Kasim" held the draw quite easily. Here are the games and a full illustrated final report.

Looking back at the world championships

7/12/2004 – As another world championship winds down, let’s take a look at where we’ve come from. The first official world chess championship took place in 1886, and tonight Dennis Monokroussos talks about the history of the highest title.

Tatiana Kosintseva wins Russian Championship

7/12/2004 – She is just 18, the younger of the two famous Kosintseva sisters. This weekend she won the title of Russian Women's Championship, against top competition in an 11-round all-play-all with a $50,000 prize. We bring you games, results and an Illustrated report...

FIDE WCC R7-6: A tragedy of errors

7/12/2004 – The final game of the FIDE world championship in Libya did not bring the quick draw most people had expected, but saw an aggressive Rustam Kasimdzhanov pushing Michael Adams to the brink. You won't believe what followed. Read about the heartstopping action in our illustrated report...

WCCC 08-9: Shredder catches up with Junior

7/11/2004 – After the Sabbath rest day the World Computer Chess Championship in Ramat-Gan, Israel, had two rounds with no surprises. Junior and Fritz drew against each other, otherwise the favourites won all their games. All the games are being broadcast live on Playchess.com, with expert commentary by Boris Alterman. We bring you a report, results and games.

FIDE WCC R7-5: Adams catches up in FIDE slugfest

7/11/2004 – When is the last time you saw a world championship match produce four consecutive decided games? Top British GM Michael Adams today struck back against Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a classical Ruy Lopez to equalise in the FIDE world championship final. Here's our report on this electrifying final.

Chess and boxing champions

7/10/2004 – 77 days to go for the classical chess world championship between Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko (Sept. 25 to Oct 18 2004 in Brissago). The sponsors, the Swiss tobacco manufacturer Dannemann, have announced that the boxing champs Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko will be visiting the match. Press release.

FIDE WCC R7-4: Just call me Qosimjonov!

7/10/2004 – Everyone was expecting a draw, with Rustam Kasimdzhanov using the white pieces to calm things down after his loss to top seed Michael Adams in the previous round. But the 24-year-old Uzbek underdog came out fighting and won a fine game, which brings him within a heartbeat of the world championship title. High time we learnt how to pronounce his name.

WCCC 07: Junior leads ahead of Shredder and Fritz

7/9/2004 – Today, Friday, we see a rest day in the FIDE world championship in Libya, tomorrow is the free day (Sabbath) at the World Computer Chess Championship in Ramat-Gan, Israel. After seven rounds Junior is in the lead with 5.5 points, followed by Shredder (5.0) and Fritz (4.5 in a group of four programs). Illustrated report...

The Catalan Opening

7/9/2004 – The Catalan Opening, with its many transpositional possibilities, can be a real labyrinth to navigate through its myriad variations. Fortunately, Mihail Marin has provided us with the proverbial "ball of yarn" with his new Advanced training CD, Catalan E00-E09. We preview this valuable tool for players (and potential players) of the Catalan in this week's ChessBase Workshop.