Incredible!! Fantastic!! Sensational!!

9/6/2005 – All those words (on the tournament web site) cannot fully describe the stellar performance of China's young star Wang Hao in the 2nd IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open 2005. This kid, who only turned 16 in April this year, won this event two full points ahead of the GM field, with a performance of 2843. Read all about it in Edwin Lam's extensive report.

Areshchenko wins the Ukraine Championship

9/5/2005 – The 74th Ukrainian Championship was won by 19-year-old Alexander Areshchenko (2625) from Kramatorsk, who narrowly defeated his 20-year-old clubmate Zahar Efimenko (2643 – would you believe the ratings on these Ukrainian kids!). We bring you all the games and results, plus a big illustrated report by Olena Boytsun.

Radio ChessBase: Adams on the Attack

9/4/2005 – England's world championship candidate Michael Adams is generally regarded to be a positional player. But to reach 2700 one needs to possess a high degree of excellence in all aspects of the game. This is proven by Adams in an unusual game against Judit Polgar, which Dennis Monokroussos dissects on his Monday night Playchess lecture.

Raising money to help friends and colleagues

9/3/2005 – Much of the US Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama is obliterated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Millions of people are suffering from the devastation and desperately need water, food, shelter and medical care today, and for a massive long-term recovery effort. Former Women's World Champion Susan Polgar is raising money for the victims.

Dima’s Defence – you can help!

9/2/2005 – He is a bright young lad, a candidate chess master who turned 19 last week. But Dimitriy Zemlyanskiy has been struggling to simply stay alive since he was 14. At the beginning of this year the doctors gave up on him. As a final wish Dima got to play a game against Garry Kasparov. Now it looks as though he might recover. But he needs our help.

Test your chess

9/2/2005 – It's not "just another training CD". The new release Test Your Chess lets you do just that and in a wide variety of areas, too: threats, tactics, attacks, defenses, and even overall positional evaluation. Take a sneak peak at this unusual new offering in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Russian Individual Championship starts in Kazan

9/1/2005 – It doesn't have Kasparov or Kramnik, but there are 66 strong players, 20 over 2600. They are gathering together in the Tatar city of Kazan for the semi-final phase of the Russian Individual Championship and a prize fund of $100,000. The seven top players proceed to the Super-Final in December. You can watch the games on the official site and on Playchess.com.

Mark Dvoretsky – this time for real

8/31/2005 – He was unable to make last week's Radio ChessBase show, due to a problems of the British airspace authorities. But now the world's best chess trainer is safe and sound in Scotland and will be able to appear as a guest on tonight's lecture. Do not miss it.

74th Ukraine Chess Championship under way

8/31/2005 – The prestigious event in Rivne boasts 18 GMs, nine IMs and the European women's champion. However, our reporter Olena Boytsun prefers to go to the beautiful Schevchenko park, photograph butterflies and read the Da Vinci Code. On the other hand she did find time to send us a report, an interview with Kateryna Lahno and lots of lovely pictures.

Feedback and opinions on the Needleman case

8/30/2005 – As you probably know that Gastón Needleman, the chess prodigy from Argentina, who was eliminated in the tiebreaks of the Continental Championship, was given a special ticket to the World Cup by FIDE President Ilyumzhinov. Since publishing the story last week we have received a lot of critical feedback, arguing both sides of the issue.

Budapest Gambit - 2nd edition

8/30/2005 – Vienna's a long way from Austin and Luckenbach, but they have something in common: outlaws. Learn the connection and catch a preview of the new ChessBase training CD, the Budapest Gambit - 2nd Edition, in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Morozevich wins Moscow Blitz with 1.Nc3

8/29/2005 – It took place without some of the previous champions, but fine weather in Moscow meant it could be held outdoors, in the Muzeon park. With 20 participants in the finals, top seed Alexander Morozevich was victorious, even though he was forced to play "nonsense openings". We bring you an extensively illustrated report and even some games.

A lesson for budding Sicilian players

8/28/2005 – World championship participant Peter Svidler has superb credentials. He is #6 on the current FIDE list and won three Russian championships before his twenty-second birthday. In his Monday night Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows us a Svidler brilliancy in a Sicilian against firebrand Alexei Shirov. Very exciting, very instructive.

Chess for fun and (a college) education

8/28/2005 – Imagine a chess tournament where the first three players win full tuition to the University of Texas in Dallas, and a total of $155,000 is available in prizes, stipends and scholarships. Sound fair? Well, eat your hearts out, men, this one was only for girls under 19. Welcome to the Susan Polgar National Invitational.

Top Hat's Race

8/26/2005 – Do you have any idea what it feels like to be a pawn in a game of chess? Does he want to be there or does he wish he was back in the box? Does he enjoy the game, hate it, or is he indifferent? If you capture him, will he not hurt? If you promote him, will he not rejoice? Designer and playwright Alex Shternshain brings chess to life in this remarkable short story.

Luke McShane wins Igualada

8/26/2005 – One of England's great chess hopefuls, 21-year-old Luke McShane, scored an important victory in the Magistral Ciutat d'Igualada that ended last weekend. The young philosophy student scored two wins and four draws for a 2748 performance against Kortchnoi, Beliavsky and Volokitin. Final report.

Lautier and Skripchenko French Champions

8/26/2005 – They used to be a marital team, now both have won their gender sections of the French Championships, which were held in Chartres from August 15-26. Joel Lautier scored 7.5/11 with a 2682 performance, Almira Skripchenko 9/11 and a 2487 performance. Full report and games.

Material searches in ChessBase 9 – part four

8/26/2005 – In the final installment of a series of instructional columns regarding material searches, we examine toggles for pawn structures and other positional considerations. Read all about it in the newest ChessBase Workshop.

A Congress and an Olympiad in Dresden

8/25/2005 – Over the last week the 76th FIDE Congress was held in Dresden, Germany. Delegates from all over the world gathered to discuss pressing administrative affairs – and to see first-hand the venue of the 2008 Chess Olympiad. Here's a big picture report and video.

Chess in an Italian Paradise

8/25/2005 – Bratto is a beautiful mountain town, close to one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy. It is the venue of the 25th International Chess Tournament, with 383 players of all ages and nationalities. Currently GM Vladimir Epishin leads the main event with 5/5. We bring you a spectacular pictorial report.

Gastón Needleman gets his ticket to the World Cup

8/24/2005 – Last week we published a story on the plight of 15-year-old Gastón Needleman, who according to Argentinian journalist Carlos Ilardo was deprived of a chance to play in the 2006 World Cup when five GMs who ganged up against him in the tiebreak stage of the Continental Championship. Now FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has given the boy a free ticket.

Judit Polgar – preparing one by one with both colours

8/24/2005 – One of the most interesting personalities at the FIDE Classical Chess World Championship in Argentina will be Judit Polgar, easily the strongest female player in the history of the game. In the interviews conducted by the official web site Judit answers the ten standard questions put to each of the participants. Here's what she had to say.

International Chess Festival in Abu Dhabi

8/24/2005 – 34 GMs, 18 IMs, all playing in the beautiful seaside Khalidia Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. This is the 15th annual event and it attracts participants from all over the world. This time it was from 43 different countries. We bring you the games, results and a big picture report.

Long on talent but short on ambition

8/23/2005 – Isaac Boleslavsky was a Ukrainian grandmaster who came within a hair's breadth from challenging Botvinnik, losing narrowly in the Candidates Finals to his future son-in-law Bronstein. He lacked the ambition to make it to the pinnacle but remained a dangerous player and a fine analyst. In his Monday night Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows us an instructive game.