In the news around the world: Alexandra Kosteniuk

7/3/2005 – One of the strongest female players in the world today is also one of the most popular. There can hardly be another chess star who has been featured in more articles, magazine covers, TV reports and advertisements. Alexandra Kosteniuk is showing the world that in chess there is a place for glamour and beauty.

Two CDs on openings

7/3/2005 – In the new ChessBase Workshop we give you a sneak peek at what you can expect to find on two recent ChessBase opening training CDs: The Paulsen System and The Van Geet Opening. See the previews here...

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu new European Champion

7/2/2005 – You may be forgiven if you don't know the name – or maybe not. Nisipeanu was a surprise semi-finalist at the FIDE knock-out world championship in Las Vegas 1999, and he has a string of remarkable tournament wins since then. Because of his style he is known as a modern-day Tal. Liviu-Dieter won the European title. Report and games.

Topalov catches Anand in FIDE rankings

7/2/2005 – Indian superstar Vishy Anand has been the number two in the world for a long time now. In the July 2005 FIDE rating list he has been caught, just barely, by the top Bulgarian Veselin Topalov. Vladimir Kramnik has slipped to place six, Michael Adams to 13. We bring you all lists and some interesting statistics.

Reactions to the Nunn Plan

7/1/2005 – Three weeks ago we published a comprehensive plan, drawn up by mathematician, chess grandmaster and publisher Dr John Nunn, to provide the game with an attractive world championship cycle. The letters – some in the form of veritable articles – poured in. We bring you a selection of the most interesting reactions, and a reply to the main points by John Nunn.

The Internet long-distance chess spectacle

6/30/2005 – On Sunday, July 10th, 2005, there will be a long-distance chess match between Russia and the USA – the first since the end of WWII. Two teams of grandmasters will face each other using electronic chessboards connected via the Internet. On July 24th the event will be shown in a worldwide TV spectacular.

'Hydra is the Kasparov of computers'

6/30/2005 – A lot has been said about the Man vs Machine match between Michael Adams and the Hydra super-computer. With the 0.5:5.5 drubbing Britain's top GM got, most of the comments were quite negative. But what does the human player himself think about the match and the result. We spoke to Adams, who gave us the following in-depth interview.

Breaking news: Kasparov assaulted again

6/30/2005 – The first time it was a chessboard smashed over his head. This time Kasparov was pelted with eggs covered in ketchup. It happened during a political meeting with residents of the town of Beslan, where a terrible massacre of schoolchildren took place last September. Kasparov blames the Russian Secret Service for the Egg Attack.

What is the world of chess coming to?

6/29/2005 – The new European Women's Champion is 15-year-old Kateryna Lahno, 15-year-old Karjakin leads the men's European Championships in Warsaw, Michael Adams was annihilated by the Dubai-based Hydra Chess Program and John Shaw could not beat a young girl in the endgame. Shaw and Aagaard lament.

Volokitin defeats Timman in Leon

6/29/2005 – After his recent match against Bruzon in Curaçao, Dutch GM Jan Timman travelled to Leon, Spain, for a four-game rapid chess encounter with 19-year-old Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin. Timman, 35 years his senior, lost by 1.5:2.5. More...

Kasparov on the trail and in the news

6/29/2005 – After retiring from competitive chess in March this year Garry Kasparov, arguably the strongest player in the history of the game, has dedicated himself to political reform in his native Russia. This week he is spending in smaller towns and rural districts. MoscowNews did an interview and Dutch TV had a video report.

Adams vs Hydra: Man 0.5 – Machine 5.5

6/28/2005 – British GM Michael Adams lost the final game of his match against the super-computer Hydra. In six games the world's number seven managed just one draw, to take just US $10,000 of the $145,000 total prize sum. It was a humbling defeat for the human player. Full report with international reactions.

Workshop: Into the mailbag again

6/28/2005 – Maybe this guy thinks too much. In his latest ChessBase Workshop column, Steve Lopez reaches into the mailbag and somehow turns a simple technical question into a discussion of how chessplayers decide on their opening moves. Read all about it here...

Adams vs Hydra: the execution continues

6/27/2005 – Britain's top grandmaster and the world's number seven player Michael Adams is being devastated by Hydra. After playing for a draw and losing in game four, today Adams was slowly strangled by the 32-processor chess machine, located in Abu Dhabi. The score in the six-game match is now 4.5:0.5 for the computer.

Monokroussos on Lasker vs Schlechter

6/27/2005 – This ten-game world championship was short and scrappy, with challenger Carl Schlechter (picture) putting up an unexpected fight to give reigning champion Lasker the fright of his life. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at this masterpiece game seven draw.

Centennial chess on the 'strip'

6/27/2005 – The 2005 National Open Chess Championship, part of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival, started with a triplex simul by the Polgar sisters and ended with a victory for GM Dmitry Gurevich in a blitz playoff against De Firmian, Finegold and Sharavdorj. We bring you pictures and a selection of games.

European Championship: Karjakin in the lead

6/26/2005 – He became a grandmaster at 12 years and 7 months. Today, at a mature 15½ years, Sergey Karjakin of the Ukraine is marching from one success to the next. After seven rounds of the European Individual Chess Championship in Warsaw (June 17 to July 3, 2005), the lad is incredibly in the lead. Illustrated report.

Wolfgang Unzicker turns eighty

6/26/2005 – Born on June 26, 1925, young Wolfgang learned the game of chess at the age of ten and was captivated when he visited the Chess Olympiad at eleven. He studied law and became a judge, but played in top events with the likes of Euwe, Spassky, Petrosian and Fischer. Karpov called Unzicker the 'world champion of amateurs'.

Kateryna Lahno, 15, European Women's Champion

6/25/2005 – A total of 177 players were registered to play, amongst them the crème de la crème of European women's chess. After twelve gruelling rounds two players were tied for first, Kateryna Lahno and Nadezhda Kosintseva, with 9/12 each. Fifteen-year-old Kateryna took the title with two wins in the rapid chess tie-break. Congratulations, Katya! Giant photo report.

Tournaments from Poland to Paks

6/24/2005 – Summer just officially started but chess season is well underway. The European individual championships are both in progress and the strong Marx György tournament just finished in Paks, Hungary. You can check out all the standings and games here.

Michael Adams mauled by a machine

6/24/2005 – Currently the chess machine Hydra, consisting of 32 processors enhanced by special FPGA chess hardware and running at 200 million moves per second, is giving Britain's top GM Michael Adams a rough time. After half of their six-game match the score is 2.5:0.5 for the machine, which is located in Abu Dhabi. What has the future in store?

Kasim vs the Accoona Toolbar – draw in New York

6/23/2005 – On Tuesday FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov played an exciting game against the Accoona Toolbar, driven by a Fritz 9 prototype, in the ABC Times Square studios. With three hundred spectators and a dozen television cameras Kasim played a daring attacking game. Full analysis will follow, here's a pictorial report.

PAL / CSS report from the dark horse's mouth

6/22/2005 – Actually there were two of them, but "horses' mouths" is hard to say. Who were they? Where the heck is New Hampshire? A pair of amateurs from New England triumphed over the world's strongest computers and many Grandmasters using computer assistance. Impossible? Learn all about the players and their methods in their own words.

How to analyse your games

6/22/2005 – When you ask a grandmaster how to improve your play, there is probably a 50-50 chance that he will answer: Analyse your games. GM-elect Jacob Aagaard will try to give some advice, assisted by Ian Marks in the Wednesday night Glasgow Studios Playchess show.