Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Elisabeth Pähtz win World Juniors

11/23/2005 – He is (yet another) wonder boy from Azerbaijan, she a German talent who already picked up the under 18 title two years ago. Both finished clear first in the boys' and girls' sections of the World Junior Chess Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. We bring you results, games and a big pictorial report by Frits Agterdenbos.

Wham! 2½-½ for the machines in Bilbao

11/23/2005 – In round three of the People vs Computers match in the Basque city of Bilbao the computers all had white – and came close to giving the humans another 3-0 whitewash. Only Rustam Kasimdzhanov was able to save a grace draw for the three world champions in this event. Report and games.

Andrew Martin: attacking with the b-pawn

11/23/2005 – Are you interested in attacking chess? In his Wednesday night Playchess lecture Andrew Martin looks at a remarkable new pawn sacrifice in the Yugoslav Attack of the Dragon. He also whets our appetite with the easy-to-remember 1.b4! Tune in and learn.

'FIDE's invitation to all parties is still open'

11/22/2005 – The dispute between the Kramnik camp, which invited world champion Veselin Topalov to a million-dollar match, and the Topalov/FIDE side, which apparently turned it down, continues, but with conciliatory tones. Georgios Makropoulos, Deputy President of FIDE, is inviting all parties to a meeting to clarify the situation. Reunification in the air?

Bilbao – the humans strike back

11/22/2005 – Round two was quite the opposite of the first traumatic encounter between man and machine in Bilbao. This time the humans had good positions on all boards. Two were turned into sure draws, while in the third Ruslan Ponomariov blundered against Fritz, and then pulled a miracle comeback when the computer returned the favour.

3-0 shock start by computers in Bilbao

11/21/2005 – The human opponents are all world champions: Alexander Khalifman, who won the title in 1999, Ruslan Ponomariov, who became FIDE champion in 2002, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov, the 2004 winner. The opponents are the programs Hydra, Junior and Fritz. In the first round they scored in all three games.

William Ewart Napier – his greatest game

11/20/2005 – When someone calls a loss his best game ever there must be something special about it. Napier was playing against Emanuel Lasker in 1904, and his Sicilian Dragon was met with an aggressive attacking plan by the great world champion. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us this exciting and instructive game.

ChessBase Magazine 108

11/19/2005 – ChessBase Magazine Vol. 108 has 1923 recent games, about 500 with expert annotations, plus 1797 correspondence chess games. There are special sections on tactics, strategy, endgames, and extensive theory articles, all by great experts in the field. The multimedia section contains a full TV report on the Super-Tournament in Dortmund. Here is what you get...

'Kramnik agreed to reunification under FIDE'

11/18/2005 – In reply to the press releases from Veselin Topalov's camp and FIDE's Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, Vladimir Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel describes his view of the negotiations for a million dollar Topalov-Kramnik match and how it broke down. The debate rages on.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov leads with 2953 performance

11/18/2005 – In the first eight rounds this friendly and very professional chess player put every ounce of energy and determination into his games, dropping half a point so far in a stellar 2953 performance. In the girls' section Gu Xiaobing of China and 16-year-old Turkan Mamedjarova (sister of Shak) are in the lead with 6½ points each. Big illustrated report.

'Chess is so crazy, I could do a whole album on chess'

11/17/2005 – What happens when you take one of the greatest rappers, and put him in a recording studio with a producer and a chessboard? The album “Muggs Vs. GZA: Grandmasters”, that's what. It's a groundbreaking CD that blends Hip Hop and chess. Interview with GZA and a fascinating video.

What's new about Fritz 9 engine?

11/16/2005 – Users of the latest version of our flagship program have noticed a clear improvement of its playing strength, and a marked difference in its style of play. Indeed, the program has been completely rewritten and modified in a way that permits it to gorge itself with chess knowledge. Here are a few examples that show how it differs from its predecessor.

Veselin Topalov: only under the auspices of FIDE

11/16/2005 – Two days ago negotiations between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik for a $1.4 million match were terminated. Today Topalov's manager gives reasons and states that his client is willing to take on any player above Elo 2700, but under strict FIDE rules. This must include a 20% charge to FIDE, which, it is implied, led to the collapse of the Topalov-Kramnik match.

'Kramnik might not want to return to the cycle'

11/16/2005 – The reasons for the collapse of a match between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik remain unclear. After an initial press release by the Kramnik side followed Topalov's response. Today we recieve a letter from FIDE's Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, giving his side of the controversy.

Work and play at the World Junior

11/15/2005 – Shak Mamedyarov is still in clear lead, with 5½/6 and a 2873 performance. Amongst the girls it is the surprise player Gu Xiaobing from China. In today's report, however, Nigel Short concentrates on the leisure activities of the players, how they meet, communicate and have fun – with and without their wireless notebooks. Big illustrated report.

Workshop: From the mailbag

11/15/2005 – Our Chessbase Workshop columnist does actually receive e-mails on topics other than chess engine algorithms. In the latest column he answers reader mail on engine analysis, maneuver searches, engine playing styles, and why he can't "retrofit" new columns to include older program versions. Workshop...

FIDE Elections – the rival bid

11/14/2005 – A new and serious bid for the Presidency of FIDE has emerged, jointly launched by Bessel Kok, representative of the Dutch Chess Federation; and Ali Nihat Yazici, President of the Turkish Chess Federation. The election take place in May 2006, with the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov running for a further term. Press release.

Topalov turns down $1.4 million from Kramnik

11/14/2005 – Negotiations on a reunification match between FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov and classical chess champion Vladimir Kramnik broke down today when Topalov's team rejected a 1.4 million dollar offer from the Kramnik side. Apparently FIDE put hurdles in the way – at least according to the promoters.

Celebrities and icons people help hurricane victims

11/13/2005 – French artist Bernard Vidal is hosting a reception at the United Nations in New York to benefit Hurricane Relief Effort. There he will introduce a series of portraits celebrating "Vidal's Positive People of the World Today". They will be auctioned on eBay to benefit the Red Cross. And why are we telling you this? Well, one of "positive people" is a well-known chess player.

92 boys and 68 girls in Istanbul

11/13/2005 – The World Junior Championship in Turkey is one of the biggest in recent years. Some people, like Hamidullah Sarwary from Afghanistan, had to overcome obstacles to attend. After four rounds top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is leading with 4/4. We bring you results, pictures and a report by Nigel Short.

The self-winding Vladimir Kramnik watch

11/13/2005 – For a number of years Vladimir Kramnik has done promotionals for the Swiss company Blancpain, manufacturer of high-quality mechanical watches. Now Blancpain has created a special watch with an engraved image of Kramnik on its winding rotor. It will be handed over to him on November 24, before a simultaneous exhibition against 30 watch collectors. We have pictures...

Veteran vs upstart chess genius

11/13/2005 – What happens when you match up a 67-year-old grandmaster against a 19-year-old chess genius? The result is a rout. But who is routing whom? In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us what happened when in 1988 Vassily Ivanchuk encountered ex-world champion Vasily Smyslov. Heartening.

The true secret of intuition in chess

11/12/2005 – Everybody knows and admires the creative, speculative brilliance of the two great Latvian geniuses Mikhail Tal and Alexei Shirov. Is this a faculty we can all learn and acquire? Driven by need Niels Lauritsen tried to fathom the secret of intuition in chess and came up with a remarkable discovery: it is all about the way knights move.

Caught! Russians win the World Team Championship

11/11/2005 – It could not have been closer. Going into the final with a 2.5 point lead the Chinese men needed just one point to win the championship. They got half of that after 21 moves on board one. But on boards 2-4 the Russians cleaned up, and the 3-0 there put them half a point ahead in the final score. Triumph and despair.