Kübra for Sports Person of the Year

12/12/2006 – She has just turned fifteen and is the reigning European under 16 champion. Kübra Öztürk has just been nominated for the "Sportsman of the Year" award in her native Turkey, competing with weightlifters, boxers and volleyball players. If you think it would be nice for a chess player to win the award you can go to the newspaper site and cast a vote for Kübra.

The passing of David Bronstein

12/11/2006 – He was one of the greatest players of the middle third of the 20th century, who consistently produced beautiful games for many decades, contributed mightily to the theory of ancient, classical and trendy new openings alike. This week and the next our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos commemorates the life and works of David Bronstein.

Bilbao blindfold: Topalov beats Polgar 3½:2½

12/11/2006 – The six game blindfold rapid chess match between Veselin Topalov and Judit Polgar ended in victory for the former FIDE world champion, who won two games to Polgar's one. The rate of play was 25' + 10", the venue a theatre in the famous Guggenheim Museum in the Spanish city of Bilbao. Final report.

Nigel Short wins Commonwealth Championship

12/10/2006 – For the second time. With an incredible 9/10 score in a strong field of 170 players, consisting of 12 GMs, 8 WGMs and more than 25 IMs/IWMs. So we must admit there is still a lot of milage left in British GM Nigel Short, who is also the President of the Commonwealth Chess Association. From the Championship in Mumbai, India, we bring you a giant pictorial report.

Russian Super Final under way

12/9/2006 – The Russian Championship Super Final is taking place from December 3rd to 15th 2006 in Moscow. After five rounds Dmitrij Jakovenko is in the lead, with 3.5 points. He is followed by six players with 3.0 points each, amongst them top seed Peter Svidler and 16-year-old Ian Nepomniachtchi. Games, results and pictures.

FIDE's new world championship format

12/9/2006 – Since 1998 the FIDE world championship has been a 128-player knockout event, which never really found acceptance amongst chess players and fans. In 2005 the format was changed to an eight-player double round robin, with the knockout transforming into a "World Cup". Now FIDE has tabled a plan to merge the two. Interesting proposal.

Bilbao blindfold: Topalov vs Polgar 1½:½

12/8/2006 – The six game blindfold rapid chess match between former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov and the world's top female player Judit Polgar. The games are played at a speed of 25' + 10", with the rounds starting at 5:30 p.m. local time. The location is the Guggenheim Museum in the Spanish city of Bilbao. First round report.

Ivancuk wins Capablanca Memorial

12/8/2006 – The XLI Capablanca Memorial took place as a six-player double round robin category 17 tournament in the hotel Habana Riviera, Cuba. Top seeds were Vassily Ivanchuk and Evgeny Bareev, who dutifully finished first and second. The three Cuban participants landed at the bottom of the table. Games and results.

David Bronstein dies at 82

12/7/2006 – He came within one draw of becoming world champion, and was one of the strongest players in history to not win the title. David Ionovich Bronstein was a remarkable creative genius and a master of scintillating tactics that enthralled the chess world for many decades. He died on Tuesday in Minsk, in the arms of his wife Tatiana. Looking back, with a video tribute by Yasser Seirawan.

Meanwhile in Florence: Radjabov vs Deep Junior

12/5/2006 – With the eyes of the world trained on the national Art Gallery in Bonn and the match Kramnik vs Deep Fritz, the Festival della Creativita in Florence, Italy, staged a rapid chess game between GM Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and the Israeli program Deep Junior, which you can buy in the ChessBase Shop. The former annotated the game for us. Guess who won.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Computer wins match by 4:2

12/5/2006 – World champion Vladimir Kramnik played a very spirited final game in his match against Deep Fritz in Bonn, Germany. It was a very double-edged encounter, with the computer playing some highly unusual and deep ideas to gain the upper hand and win the game on move 47. The final score was 4:2. Annotated game and big photo report.

Ludwig – a synthesis of chess and music

12/4/2006 – Do chess and music have anything in common? Can Fritz compose musical arrangements? The surprising answer to these questions is "yes!" This was driven home by Matthias Wüllenweber of ChessBase in a remarkable lecture held in the National Art Gallery in Bonn, where he introduced our latest software development: Ludwig. Da-da-da-daaa!

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game five ends in a fighting draw

12/3/2006 – World champion Vladimir Kramnik had the white pieces for the last time in this match, and needed a win in order to have chances for an overall victory. He played a sharp game, very exciting for the world-wide audience, but one in which Fritz was able fight back. The game ended in a 35-move draw. Full report with pictures and video.

Endgame mysteries suddenly unravelled

12/3/2006 – Only a few of us know how to play Queen endings correctly. For the power of the queens generates an ocean of possibilities that no human could ever calculate over the board. That is why knowledge of endgame rules is simply indispensable here. Endgame expert Mueller shows you the sense of what you may have thought as random moves by now. Review by Steve Giddens.

Fritz & Chesster Part 3

12/2/2006 – Forget Fritz and co. The really big seller is Fritz and Chesster, a remarkable piece of children's software that can teach toddlers and grownups how to play chess using entertaining subgames. Now the long awaited part three is out, with new games and adventures. All young beginners (and their parents!) should have a copy for Christmas. Order it now!

Chess Cheating conference in New York

12/2/2006 – On Monday a “Chess Cheating Town Meeting” at the historic Marshall Chess Club in New York will bring together some of America’s leading chess authorities in a panel discussion about ways to head off computer-assisted cheating in organized chess competitions. The subject has turned hot in recent years and the conference is well worth visiting.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz – a mega media event

12/2/2006 – Rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated – the "Man vs Machine" contest still draws the attention of a wide audience, world-wide. And in Germany, where it is all happening, it is simply a mega-event. The press and television coverage is unprecedented, with reports in all channels. We bring you links and a video report.

Back to the King's Indian Defense

12/1/2006 – It has been a while since our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos delt with this most entertaining of openings. He will rectify the omission over the next few weeks, starting on Saturday (to make up for Monday’s postponed show) and on this upcoming Monday. Details.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game four a tough draw

12/1/2006 – Facing his computer opponent and 1.e4 with the black pieces world champion Vladimir Kramnik chose the solid Petroff Defence, but Deep Fritz (which you can buy) played very well to get a clear advantage. But then Kramnik showed his defensive skills by setting up a fortress the computer could not penetrate. The game ended in a 54-move draw.

Blunders in chess – Kramnik wasn't the first

12/1/2006 – Still mystified by Vladimir Kramnik's blunder in game two of his match against Deep Fritz? After our attempts at an explanation of this extraordinary blackout we return to the subject (with apologies to Vladimir) with opinions by our readers and with a collection of drastic blunders by other world champions and top players. Take comfort.

Andrew Martin – Catastrophe in Bonn

11/29/2006 – When was the last time the reigning world champion overlooked mate in one? In his Wednesday night Playchess lecture Andrew Martin checks out game two from the Big Match and talk a little about the unique pressure exerted on the human in a man vs machine duel. Come watch it on the server.

Deep Fritz 10: it is a question of speed

11/29/2006 – Fritz 10 is already a beast, one of the most powerful chess playing entities on the planet. In its multi-processor version, Deep Fritz 10 runs almost twice as fast on the modern dual core computers, giving you not just additional playing strength, but also the critical seconds you need when analysing with the computer. You can order it now or read more details here.

How could Kramnik overlook the mate?

11/29/2006 – On Tuesday Vladimir Kramnik played a great game against Deep Fritz (order it now!), coming very close to victory with the black pieces. However, in this situation the world champion overlooked a simple mate in one. How is that possible, is there a reasonable explanation? To attempt one we have to delve into cognitive psychology. Report and video.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game three drawn

11/29/2006 – The third game in the National Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany, saw Deep Fritz playing some surprisingly strategic moves. These included a pawn sacrifice for initiative in an inbalanced position on the black side of an Open Catalan. In the end the computer was pressing for a win, but Vladimir Kramnik defended well and the game ended after 44 moves in a draw. Full report.