Move to remember the chess great

2/4/2006 – He took the chess world by storm at 22, coming out of nowhere to win one of the top tournaments in the world. Chess specialists rank him as one of the top three Americans ever to play the game, alongside the great Bobby Fischer, and they still obsess over what he might have accomplished if not for his premature death, at 33, from syphilis. Boston Globe article.

Three cds from ChessBase

2/4/2006 – New Chessbase CDs and DVDs have been coming out at a fast and furious rate. You can read previews of three of them (Vienna Game, Dutch A80-A85, and 1000 Opening Traps) in the new Chessbase Workshop.

The Jackal vs Veselin Topalov

2/3/2006 – The setup is cute: a beautiful young lady, former MTV host, challenges world champion Veselin Topalov to a game. Although she hardly seems to be able to move the pieces, and even makes small talk, she is playing good solid chess against him. In fact the game ends in a draw. Here's the trick Dutch TV played on Topalov.

Peter Svidler on the chess world

2/2/2006 – Peter (or Pyotr) Svidler, 29 years old, from Leningrad, Russia, is currently the world's number four ranking player. He won four Russian championship titles, the first time at the age of 18. In 2001, he reached the semi-finals of the FIDE World Championship, in 2005 he shared second with Anand in the FIDE World Chess Championship. We bring you an indepth interview from the Chess Chronicle.

Twelve-year-old Negi gets his second GM norm

2/1/2006 – Three weeks ago we reported on the GM norm that was completed at the Hastings tournament by the Indian chess prodigy Parimarjan Negi. Now the lad has made a second norm, at the Parsvnath International Open in his hometown of Delhi. We bring you a report by Parimarjan's coach Vishal Sareen and two short interviews by N.S.K. Kamesh. It's all about a GM in the making.

Fritz and Chesster is the one to buy

1/30/2006 – The prestigious Computer Times has selected Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster and Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster 2 as an Editor's Choice Software in the January 2006 issue of the magazine. The program is also number 47 amongst all software sold by Amazon.com. Check it out!

Corus R13: Anand and Topalov win Wijk

1/30/2006 – A fine victory by Vishy Anand over Boris Gelfand in the last round left the Indian chess star sharing first with Veselin Topalov, who drew his game against Peter Leko. Anand, like Topalov, has now crossed the 2800 mark. In Group B Motylev and Carlsen shared first. Both have been invited to play in next year's A Group. Big report.

No more freebies!

1/30/2006 – For this Wednesday night's Playchess lecture Andrew Martin presents the problem for his Radio Show Competition in advance. He will discuss the solution during the broadcast, and also touch on the world of "normal" chess, looking at the King's Indian and the Alekhine. Don't miss it!

Eco & distributed computing - reader responses

1/30/2006 – A prior ChessBase Workshop column on distributed computing was written merely to illustrate a point: that the number of chess positions is vast and the idea of somehow "solving" the game is consequently rather remote. But, as usual, our columnist has inadvertantly taken up a stick to stir up another hornet's nest. Read some reader responses in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Corus R12: Lead unchanged, Kamsky wins again

1/29/2006 – The summit meeting between Veselin Topalov and Vishy Anand, which had drawn a packed hall of spectators in Wijk aan Zee, fizzled out to a 23-move draw, after Anand offered a piece on move 13 of an Archangelsk, one which Topalov did not dare to take. Kamsky beat Mamedyarov to relinquish last place. Full illustrated report

Shaun Alexander tackles chess

1/28/2006 – The MVP of the NFL is headed to the Super Bowl next week. But before the Seattle Seahawks running back goes to Detroit and the most-watched television spectacle in the world, Alexander stopped off to play some chess. Even the New York Times is covering his moves. This fleet fan of the 64 squares recently hosted this special event.

Corus R11: Karjakin, Leko, Kamsky win, Carlsen loses

1/27/2006 – After maneuvering through dangerous waters Vassily Ivanchuk scared tournament leader Veselin Topalov with a near win. After Anand's draw against Tiviakov the leaders remain in place. Karjakin moved into shared third with a win over Sokolov, while in Group B Carlsen suffered his first defeat to slip to second place behind winner Motylev. Full report

Karpov: 'Chess could disappear from the face of the earth'

1/26/2006 – During the Wijk aan Zee tournament Anatoly Karpov turned up on a brief visit. In an interview with the Russian chess magazine "64" the former world champion revealed that in view of the grave dangers that chess is currently facing he was considering running for FIDE president – or to join forces with or support the other candidate Bessel Kok. Interview...

Corus R10: Topalov back in the lead

1/26/2006 – FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov went back into the sole lead with 7.5/10 points with an amazing win over Levon Aronian in round ten of the Wijk aan Zee tournament. Anand is half a point behind. In Group B Magnus Carlsen leads, ahead of Alexander Motylev. The two face off after Thursday's rest day. Big illustrated report.

A Mega GM in Jamaica

1/26/2006 – The country is just 150 miles long, home to 2.7 million colorful, convivial islanders. It has brought forth music icons like Bob Marley, world class sprinters like Merlene Ottey and even a Carribbean bobsled team. But no chess grandmasters. So it was with great enthusiasm that the island received the reigning Commonwealth Champion Nigel Short. Big illustrated report.

Fritz 9 3D boards – part 3

1/25/2006 – Meet The Turk: von Kempelen's famous chessplaying automaton of the 1800's. A 3D virtual version of the first chessplaying "machine" is included with Fritz9 and now you can play against the legendary machine in your own home. Learn about the various tweaks and settings for this new Fritz9 character in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Corus R9: The leaders race on

1/24/2006 – Anand and Topalov have changed Wijk aan Zee into a two-man race. Both won again, on different sides of the Sveshnikov, and continue to lead the field by a full point. Adams and Gelfand also won. Carlsen's lead in the B Group narrowed to a half point ahead of the surging Motylev. Photo report and analysis.

Topalov-Kramnik on the horizon?

1/24/2006 – FIDE president Ilyumzhinov is back in provocative form with comments supporting a Topalov-Kramnik world championship match. He mentions September as a date and the Kalmykian capital of Elista as the site. Raising the money has been outsourced. Read the article here and decide if it's hope or hype.

Ratmir Kholmov, 'the central defender'

1/23/2006 – This strong Russian GM is famous for repulsing enemy aggression, but he has displayed brilliant attacks as well. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us an example: Kholmov's 1964 USSR championship game against David Bronstein. Deep, creative, explicable!

Alternative method for selecting world championship candidates

1/23/2006 – Can you imagine Mark Paragua playing in the FIDE candidates matches? Or Fischer coming out and losing four games to qualify. These are some of the quirks of the current system. While the world championship format of FIDE is probably the best under the circumstances, the selection process could be reformed. Chess statistician Jeff Sonas has a proposal.

Charity tournament: chess against drugs

1/23/2006 – We all know that chess is good for the development of young minds, training logical thinking and concentration. But the game can also be used for other positive purposes. In Tblisi, Georgia, a 51-player charity tournament was dedicated to combating drug addiction.

Corus R8: Anand catches Topalov

1/22/2006 – While there are still a few other players in range, Corus is shaping up to be the predicted battle between the top two unretired players in the world, FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov and Viswanathan Anand. The Indian star mistreated Bacrot's misguided winning attempt to rejoin the Bulgarian in the lead at +3. Big photo report.

Corus R7: Topalov takes the lead

1/21/2006 – It took seven rounds for FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov to move into clear first place. He beat Sokolov while Anand was held to a draw rather easily by Adams. Karjakin moved up to tie Anand by beating Mamedyarov. With Carlsen well ahead in the B Group, has the next generation already arrived? See all the games and analysis.

Corus R6: Shock defeat of Anand by Kamsky

1/21/2006 – They have an antagonistic past, having played a pair of brutal world championship candidates matches against each other over a decade ago. In Wijk aan Zee, Kamsky, who had paused for many years, was at the bottom of the table. Yet when he played the leader, his erstwhile nemesis, he suddenly found his form and won. Full illustrated report.