Workshop: Stretching your evaluation profile

2/22/2004 – Software in general, and chess programs in particular, have many undocumented features which are up to the users to find. Take for instance the evaluation profile of Fritz, a very useful training instrument to locate errors at a glance. Trouble is you cannot stretch the profile enough for some people's liking. Or can you? Roger Vermeir tells us how...

Linares 4: All games drawn, one with a fight

2/22/2004 – In the good old days Luis Rentero used to prowl the halls of Hotel Anibal, hurling invectives at players who agreed to a quick draw. Rentero has relinquished control over the event, and today he was sadly missed. At least Topalov put up an effort to overcome Taimour Radjabov. We bring you analysis, report and pictures.

Lautier on Man vs Machine

2/21/2004 – New horizons or a dead-end? France's top player Joel Lautier, who attended the much-publicised match between Garry Kasparov and X3D Fritz in New York last November, takes a look at the current situation in the battle between humans and computers. He identifies the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, using two key games to illustrate his points.

Linares 3: Kasparov and Shirov (and Topalov!) on the ropes

2/21/2004 – Garry Kasparov ran into a well-prepared novelty by Peter Leko. Alexei Shirov missed his own winning chances to get into difficulties against Veselin Topalov. Radjabov vs Kramnik was uneventful. All three games were drawn. ChessBase Radio listeners got a live report from Linares during the round! We bring you games, pictures and a full report.

Linares picture gallery with – The Handshake!

2/20/2004 – You were asking for them, now you get your fill: first pictures from round one of the Super-Tournament in Linares. They were sent to us by Jesús J. Boyero Gabarre and include a close-up action replay of the first handshake between Garry Kasparov and Alexei Shirov in years. Here are the historic pictures.

Linares 2: All games drawn

2/20/2004 – Round two of the supertournament in Linares saw all games drawn. Mig Greengard again did live audio commentary on the Playchess.com server, this time with four-time women's world champion Susan Polgar as a phone-in guest. We bring you results, annotated games and pictures...

Linares 1: Leko takes early lead

2/19/2004 – The action on the scoreboard was in Radjabov-Leko. The Hungarian refuted the teen's aggressive play and converted an endgame. Shirov-Kasparov was a fantastic duel that will give analysts headaches. Vallejo-Kramnik was a non-game draw. Hundreds at Playchess.com listened to live commentary from Mig Greengard and special guest Nigel Short. Full report and analysis.

Aeroflot Festival – without the games

2/18/2004 – The 3rd Aeroflot Festival has started in Moscow, lasting from February 17 to 26. Well over 500 participants, amongst them 120 grandmasters have collected for this massive tournament in the Hotel Rossija. The prize fund is $150,000. Here is a first report with a list of all registered participants...

Looking forward to Linares

2/17/2004 – In two days the “Wimbledon of chess”, begins in Linares (Spain). Starring in it are seven of the strongest GMs in the world, including Kasparov, Kramnik, Shirov, Topalov and Leko. Ram Prasad gets us in the mood by looking back at previous tournaments.

Kramnik vs Leko – on Radio ChessBase!

2/16/2004 – In tonight's audio lecture by Dennis Monokroussos on ChessBase Radio the subject will be the upcoming world championship match between Kramnik and Leko. The lecture starts at 9 p.m. EST (3 a.m. for Europeans) on the Playchess.com server. Here are the details...

Five-time World Computer Chess Champion

2/16/2004 – It's the five-time World Computer Chess Champion. It comes with a huge database and opening book. It comes with dazzling new 3D boards. And it's the subject of this week's ChessBase Workshop. It's Shredder 8 and you can read all about it in Steve Lopez' latest column.

Ruy Lopez on Ebay

2/15/2004 – No, not the opening with 3.Bb5, but a book by the famed Spanish priest who lived in the middle of the 16th century. A first edition Italian version of his lesser-known Il Giuoco De Gli Scacchi is up for sale, with "insect damage to the spine and minute marginal worming". The starting bid is €500 ($640) in this Ebay auction.

Nine-headed monster wins Paderborn

2/15/2004 – Hydra, described by its authors as a program that will "corner in a bloody confrontation whoever crosses its path", justified this frightening image by winning the computer tournament in Paderborn outright. Second on the table was Fritz and third Shredder. Here are the results and games, and further information on a blood-curdling program.

Chess spectacle in Cannes

2/14/2004 – You don't see very much of this anymore: a chess master giving a blindfold simultaneous exhibition. It's supposed to be bad for your (mental) health. This week a young grandmaster played blindfold chess against twelve opponents, in the festival city of Cannes (France). The spectators and media loved it.

Daniël Stellwagen wins Complete Chess match

2/13/2004 – He has been called the “Dutch incarnation of Boris Spasski”. 16-year-old Daniël Stellwagen defeated his 15-year-old counterpart from Germany, David Baramidze, in the computer-assisted match in Maastricht. The final score in the four-game match was 2.5-1.5. Here's a report, pictures and annotated games...

Watch Yannick and Almira online

2/13/2004 – Remember our last Radio ChessBase broadcast, with stunning video images of Elisabeth Pähtz? Well, tonight (16:00h GMT) we have another visual feast: Swiss GM Yannick Pelletier will appear live on the show! Oh, yes, he will be joined by Almira Skripchenko, France's top female grandmaster. Here are full instructions on how to tune in.

Computer assisted chess in Maastricht

2/12/2004 – Two of Europe's brightest young talents, Daniël Stellwagen (16, Holland, Elo 2487) and David Baramidze (15, Germany, 2456) are playing a four-game match in Holland – with a twist. Both opponents are allowed to use computer assistance during the game. Here is a half-time report, pictures and annotated games...

A weapon against Caro-Kann

2/12/2004 – The Caro-Kann Defence is one of the most solid weapons against 1.e4. Tonight our GM trainer Dorian Rogozenko will talk about a very good way to fight it – with the Panov Attack. Learn more on our Thursday Playchess lecture.

Annotation and language tabs

2/12/2004 – In this week's ChessBase Workshop, we show how to add color to the annotations in your Notation pane and offer an important tip to annotators who are writing for worldwide electronic distribution. You will find it all explained in plain English in Steve Lopez's weekly ChessBase Workshop...

Watching the stars at the Dutch Blitz Championship

2/12/2004 – Last weekend there was an interesting blitz championship. It was held for the 19th year in succession in the Dutch town of Dordrecht (near Rotterdam). What makes it interesting is that there were many international stars present – Sokolov, Short, Dreev –, but also our reporter Jeroen van den Belt, who sent in a pictorial report.

Open Letter from the ACP to the ECU

2/12/2004 – The Association of Chess Professionals, which has been holding board meetings in Wijk aan Zee and Paris, has just released an open letter to the European Chess Union, a branch of FIDE. In it they criticise past practices and demand specific and substantial changes. We bring you a summary and the original letter.

Bad girls go to Laguna Beach

2/10/2004 – What are these chess players doing? They are playing a game against an Uzbek grandmaster. While Saidali Yuldashev sits in freezing Tashkent, some of his opponents are enjoying a beach-side think in sunny California. For our TV match Jamshid Begmatov has received a beautiful photo report from the opposite side of the globe.

MegaDataBase 2004 - review

2/9/2004 – In the last of a series of previews of the new ChessBase DVDs, we rip the shrinkwrap off of Mega Database 2004 and look at not just the database but the other goodies included on this DVD. Steve Lopez supplies the details in the latest edition of his ChessBase Workshop...

Live from the US of A – it's Radio ChessBase!

2/9/2004 – Tonight is the second lesson by Dennis Monokroussos on ChessBase Radio. The subject is Paul Keres, one of the greatest players never to become world chess champion. The free audio lecture starts at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (3 a.m. for European insomniacs) on the Playchess.com server. Here are the details...