Illyumzhinov has other things on his mind

6/21/2002 – The president of the French Chess Federation, Jean-Claude Loubatière (right) has proposed an alternative direction to the present leadership of FIDE. "The President [Kirsan Ilyumzhinov] visibly has his mind on other things than Chess," writes Loubatière in the following press release...

Grandmasters

6/19/2002 – On the first days of June there was a special meeting of Grandmasters to discuss issues that impact the lives of professional chess players – mainly subjects that are of concern to the top 100 players in the world. American GM Yasser Seirawan, who attended all the sessions, sent us a detailed report.

Chess night in Hamburg

6/15/2002 – It was a spectacular event, pitting the very successful German national team against visitors of the Playchess server. Sixteen had qualified in tournaments, and took on the GMs in six rounds at 7 minutes per side per game. The result was 24:6 for the national team – quite victory, since the entire presidential board of the German Chess Federation had turned up to watch. More

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz starts October 2nd 2002

6/14/2002 – Originally scheduled for October 2001 the match between the Classical Chess World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the the world's top-rated chess programm Deep Fritz had to be postponed due to the events of September 11. The match will now start on October 2nd 2002 in the Gulf state of Bahrain. This was announced by the Einstein Group in London today. You will find full details in this press release.

Server night: German national team + chess training

6/13/2002 – Two attractive events on the Playchess server today. Starting from 20:30 hours European time, the Playchess community take on the German national team, which won the silver medal at the last Olympiad. At 21:00 h openings theoretician GM Dorian Rogozenko conducts his weekly lecture in the "Training" room. Attendence for both events is free of charge. More

It's them vs the rest of us – again

6/12/2002 – Twice before Russia faced off against the rest of the world (in chess): the first time in 1970 in Belgrade and then in 1984 in London. Now FIDE and a Russian news agency have announced a third big match, to be held in Moscow at the beginning of September. More

CNN: The Chess Automaton rediscovered

6/12/2002 – It was the Deep Blue of its time, a turban-wearing automaton that defeated all comers. Now a new book about Baron von Kempelen's famous "Turk" has appeared. As CNN reports the author also discovered a reconstruction of the automaton in a magician and prop-maker's workshop in Los Angeles. Read all about the first chess machine here.

Are they going to include Vishy Anand after all?

6/11/2002 – Under the title "FIDE may invite Anand" the Indian chess web site Chathurangam is reporting that former FIDE world champion Vishy Anand, who was left out of the reunification treaty signed at Prague last month, "is likely to be" included in the world championship cycle. FIDE President Krisan Ilyumzhinov has promised to put the matter in the upcoming Presidential Board meeting. More

Etti wins European Women's Championship in Varna

6/9/2002 – 23-year-old Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria has won the 3rd international European Women's Championship in Varna. "Etti", as she is known to her friends, scored 9 points in 11 games with a performance of 2671! We bring you the final standings, pictures of Etti and others – and a link to Almira Skripchenko's multimedia report "Girls, girls, girls". More

Tournaments on the Playchess server

6/7/2002 – From Monday June 10 we will be holding regular tournaments on the Playchess server. Mondays is blitz (5+0), Tuesdays bullet (1+0), Thursdays three minute blitz and Fridays five minute blitz. Registry is usually fifteen minutes before the tournament begins. You will find all times and conditions listed here.

Ruslan Ponomariov breaks his silence

6/6/2002 – Everbody has had his say about the Prague unification agreement. Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Karpov – even Junior, would you believe it? And driving force Yasser Seirawan described in great detail exactly how it came about. Only one person was not present, did not sign anything and hasn't been heard. Until now. Ruslan Ponomariov, the freshly-crowned FIDE champion, gives us his take of current chess affairs. You will find the interview here.

Braunfels is the place you want to be

6/4/2002 – "Where else can you find 150 female chess players all together in a single place?" asks our correspondent Anna Dergatscheva, who led the NRW team to second place in the German Women's Team Championship in Braunfels. "But it is not just about chess, it is also an opportunity to meet friends, play countless blitz games and sit in the sun with a glas of beer." More

Unbeatable Fritz wins international computer tournament

6/3/2002 – The amateurs are becoming stronger, their chess engines will give any program in the world a run for its money. But in the end the professionals win out. At the Dutch CSVN tournament Fritz, running on a Transtec dual system, took clear first place, a full point ahead of its nearest rival. The program was undefeated in nine rounds – that's the game Shredder vs Fritz (0-1) on the left. Read all about it in Eric van Reem's final report.

Kramnik: "I did not give up the title!"

6/3/2002 – After the confusing press conference held in Moscow last Thursday (see Mig's report below) Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik has felt a need to speak out. He reaffirms his commitment to the Prague agreement, describes Einsteins involvement and denies that the qualifier tournament in Dortmund has run into financial problems. You will find Kramnik's statement here.

Reunification, Tempests, and Teapots

6/1/2002 – What happens when a press conference is held in Russian and you run a web translation program over it? This is what can come out: "It(he) added, competition (match) against the winner of Dortmund had no any place of a meeting of fund of a prize for the present..." Unfortunately it can lead to quick press releases, controversy and debate. Mig Greengard clears it all up in his latest chess column.

A black day for France

6/1/2002 – May 31st. With 500 million people watching France lost to Senegal in the soccer World Cup 2002. At the same time 22 players were gathered in Leiden, Holland, to play in the second CSVN computer chess tournament. There the very strong French program Chess Tiger seemed to be influenced by it football counterpart and displayed miserable form at the start. Read all about day one and two in Eric van Reem's reports.

Humpy beats Judit Polgar by three months

5/31/2002 – Koneru Humpy, whom we introduced in our India Chess Diary recently, has become the youngest female player in the history of chess to achieve a male grandmaster title. Humpy (that's her first name) achieved her final norm at the Elekes Memorial GM tournament at the age of 15 years, one month and 27 days, breaking Judit Polgar's previous record by three months. More

GMs demand professional committee

5/28/2002 – Expressing their concern that the Prague reunification plan could violate sports principles, a number of top players have called for a "Grandmasters' Committee" to represent their interests. The open letter to FIDE was signed by the likes of Anand, Morozevich, Bareev, Shirov, Svidler, Leko, Girschuk, Lautier and fourteen others. More

Not so many stars over Moscow

5/28/2002 – With the FIDE Grand Prix starting on June 1st the highest-ranking participants are Kasparov and Ponomariov. Conspicuously missing are top GMs like Kramnik, Anand, Topalov and Leko. 21 of the 30 participants are from the former Russian Republics, two are from France, one from India and one from Iran. More

Room for rent on our chess server

5/28/2002 – Want a separate room for your federation or chess club on the Playchess (Fritz) server? You can have one, free of charge, a place to meet your friends and club mates, play tournaments or simply hang out. Information and contact...

War and Peace – a history of chess unity

5/27/2002 – Yasser Seirawan has delivered the final installment of his trilogy on the Prague reunification agreement. It is almost as long as Tolstoi's book – and just as gripping. Take half an hour off to read this momentous description of the chess world in turmoil. And if you want to know even more (for a doctoral thesis, maybe?), there is an extensive list of links to be found at the top of Yasser's article From a Fresh Start to a New Dawn part 3.

A History of Chess Unity – Part deux

5/25/2002 – The momentous Prague reunification is currently the central theme of discussion in the chess world. The spiritus rector of the agreement was American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, who proposed the plan in February this year, and has devoted his life to its implementation ever since. Yasser has sent us part two of his gripping blow-by-blow narrative of how it all came together.

Fritz still on top of the computer world

5/25/2002 – For years it has been the same. With a few brief breaks our flagship program Fritz has topped the international computer lists. Of the top ten eight are – Ahem! – distributed by ChessBase (including the top five). You will find a list of the first 50 programs here.

Ten reasons to accept the peace plan

5/24/2002 – The signing of the unity plan in Prague on May 6th has led to a great deal of hope and discussion in the chess world. Criticised by some it is staunchly defended by one of the central players: Garry Kasparov. We asked Garry, who split with FIDE nine years ago, about his peace treaty with the world chess federation. He sent us a list ways it would impact the world of chess. More