The NY Sports Commissioner announces...

9/6/2003 – ...that New York City will host a world-class chess match between Garry Kasparov X3D Fritz. Commissioner Kenneth Podziba, a deputy of NY Mayor Bloomberg, has become quite interested in the Man vs Machine struggle. Just like the rest of the world: a Google search reveals over 6000 articles! Here are the details...

Bacrot and Milliet new French champions

9/5/2003 – France is a leading chess nations – when you consider that 944 players took part in the 78th national championship. The men's and women's sections were won by two young stars, Etienne Bacrot and Sophie Milliet. The event was held in Aix-les-Bains, where great French literature was created. Jean-Michel Péchiné of Europe Echecs tells it all in a beautiful illustrated report.

Mumbai clarification, Anand's

9/5/2003 – There has been a lot of discussion in the international chess community about the Super-tournament announced for Mumbai in December this year. Many players were sceptical about its prospects, as we reported in a subsequent article. Now the organisers have sent us some clarifications, and the Times of India has added some new information to the pool. The same newpaper also reports on Anand's dissatisfaction with the new FIDE knockout cycle. Here are all the details...

Megastars to meet in Mumbai

9/3/2003 – A top chess event has just been announced for December in Mumbai. 13 GMs will participate in the category 20 round robin tournament, including (are you holding on?) Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Leko, Grischuk, Shirov, Svidler, Polgar, Bareev, Adams, Short. Maybe even Ponomariov and Ivanchuk. What a lovely Christmas present...

Top columnists at the Telegraph

9/3/2003 – If you want news and gossip, on a weekly basis, the British Telegraph newspaper is a good address. It has three correspondents, GMs Nigel Short and David Norwood, as well as IM-journalist Malcolm Pein. In the past weeks the latter told us about the Staunten Memorial (won by Speelman), while the GMs handled more general subjects. Details...

Dima takes on the tennis stars

9/3/2003 – The 2003 U.S. Open is being plagued by rain, which forces the players to pass the time with other activities. Capriati naps and pedicures. Myskina and Likhovtseva play cards, Agassi gets a rubdown. But many players and celebrities are taking up the challenge to play Dmitry Schneider at simultaneous chess. It all there in the world sports press.

Pie in the sky?

9/3/2003 – Yesterday we reported on a Supertournament in Mumbai. After all it was splashed all over the biggest Indian newspapers. Now most of the top players say they know nothing about this event. Even more embarrassing: it turns out our August 27th report on the "Face on Mars" was also flawed. Here is the whole shocking truth.

Postion search shortcuts in ChessBase 8

9/2/2003 – Have you ever been playing through a game in ChessBase 8, seen an interesting position, and wondered whether or not it appears in any other games in your database? That information is just a right- click away -- we'll show you how to do it in this week's ChessBase Workshop.

Chess in the sunshine of Greek mythology

9/2/2003 – The traditional Acropolis tournament was held for the 18th time in Athens, this time in three groups: GMs, Men's and Women's Opens. We asked one of the participants to write a report and send us pictures, which she dutifully did – mainly from the women's section. Here is Natalia Kiseleva's richly illustrated report.

Engine management in Fritz

9/1/2003 – Do you have dozens or even scores of engines available in your Fritz engine selection dialogue? Do you get tired of scrolling through long lists of available engines? Do you ever wish the task could be easier? We address the issue in this week's ChessBase Workshop, in which we examine the "Engine management" feature in Fritz8. More...

When an IM and WGM tie the knot

8/31/2003 – They met twelve years ago, over the chessboard. She was a 10-year-old schoolgirl, he a budding chess master. But Aarti showed little respect and beat the five year older Ramesh. Now the two, both well-known players on the international circuit, have joined forces in permanent wedlock. The ceremony was conducted in typical South Indian style.

Arpad Emre Elo – 100th anniversary

8/30/2003 – Many people think that the letters ELO are some kind of acronym, like FIDE or NASA. But they come from Arpad Emre Elo, born on August 25, 1903. Prof. Elo was a strong chess player (two draws against Rueben Fine!) and a physicist. He achieved fame by devising a new rating system that has gained universal acceptance. Here's a commemorative portrait.

FIDE cancels world championship match

8/29/2003 – In a press conference in Moscow FIDE president Ilyumzhinov today cancelled the Yalta world chess championship match, effectively disqualifying its world champion Ruslan Ponomariov. A new cycle will be staged as a classical 128-player knockout tournament in December. The unification process remains in place. Here are all the details.

Wireless chess with Sasha Kosteniuk

8/29/2003 – On Sept. 6th world vice champion Alexandra Kosteniuk will play a simultaneous exhibition at the Theatre De Balie in Amsterdam. But her six opponents will not be in the hall, but making a journey to it, starting from famous locartions. During the trip they will play against the simul master via mobile phone.

Kasparov: no laughing matter!

8/28/2003 – On Tuesday we reported that FIDE had given its world champions Ponomariov 48 hours to sign and fax an agreement for his title match against Garry Kasparov. Yesterday we heard that Ponomariov had agreed to sign the document. Today we learn that FIDE has not received anything. Apparently the young Ukrainan has allowed the deadline to pass.

Chess in the steely heart of Siberia

8/28/2003 – What kind of associations do you have when you hear the word "Siberia". Most people from different parts of the world think it is an exotically cold region. Mikhail Emeliano shows us Siberia from different side – the steel city of Novokuznetsk, where Dostoyevsky lived and where today there is an active chess community.

How to exchange your pieces

8/27/2003 – In today's online lecture GM Dorian Rogozenko continues to discuss one an important component in finding the right plan in a chess game – the problem of exchanging pieces. Using didactic examples he shows us when, how and which pieces must be traded, and under which conditions. More...

Grandmasters threatened by Mars opposition

8/27/2003 – If you switch on your television set you will know: today the planet Mars approached Earth closer than it has done during the last 60,000 years. This beautiful red jewel in the night sky is full of mystery. On the one hand, as John Nunn explains, a Martian invasion may be imminent. On the other we have startling new pictures of the famed "Face on Mars". More

Everything you wanted to know about Vladimir Kramnik

8/27/2003 – He has been accused of being aloof and secretive. Recently Vladimir Kramnik spoke out in a very frank interview with the Ukrainian newspaper "Facti". In a remarkably personal conversation he talks about food, money, sex, Swiss watches and English hoodlums. This is Vlady Kramnik as you have never seen him before.

Priyanka Bhakta, the 8-year-old who loved chess

8/27/2003 – It's a heartwrenching picture. An eight-year-old battling leukemia, determinedly playing chess when her stamina and doctors allow. In April Priyanka Bhakta won five of seven games at the Minnesota State Chess Tournament, collecting computer hardware for her skill as well as her courage. On Monday Priyanka succumbed to her illness. More...

Sam Sloan, world-class chess gadfly

8/26/2003 – USCF candidate, taxi-driver, polygamist, gadfly – all these epitaphs fit one of the most colorful personalities in world chess. Sam Sloan has been jailed in Afthanistan, fought Pakistani kidnappers, had lunch with terrorist mastermind bin Laden, fled US courts who want access to his father's alleged $50 million fortune. And you thought that chess players led dull lives?

FIDE give Ponomariov 48-hour deadline

8/26/2003 – The world chess federation has given its world champion Ruslan Ponomariov 48 hours to sign and fax an agreement to the conditions for his title match against Garry Kasparov, scheduled for September 18th in the Ukrainian city of Yalta. New: We have the FIDE release plus many links and translations of interviews with Ponomariov and Ilyumzhinov. Here..

A special class of chess in Baden

8/26/2003 – The German city of Baden-Baden is famous for its spas, its theraputic waters and its casino. It has also played host to some great chess tournaments, starting in 1925 (Alekhine won). This year there was a number of classy opens and a 92-board open-air simultaneous exhibition with world-class players. GM Suat Atalik reports.

CORRECTIONS!

8/26/2003 – In this week's ChessBase Workshop, Steve Lopez eats a very large and bony crow, correcting the unfortunate mathematical errors he made in last week's column with the kind help of some of our readers. Let's not waste any more time and we'll get right to the public humiliation portion of our programme! Pass the ketchup?