Melody Amber: Fast and Blind

3/18/2005 – The Fourteenth Amber Tournament is scheduled to begin tomorrow at the Monte Carlo Grand Hôtel in Monaco. It pits many of the world's top grandmasters – Anand, Topalov, Kramnik, Leko, Morozevich, Svidler, Shirov, Ivanchuk – in an unusual format. Each day the players have one rapid and one blindfold game. Sponsor is the Dutch billionaire J.J. van Oosterom. Preview.

Kings and Queens

3/18/2005 – Kings and Queens – it's too bad columnist Steve Lopez isn't playing poker. Have a look at his previews of Garry Kasparov's How to Play the Queen's Gambit and Andrew Martin's ABC of the King's Indian in the latest installment of ChessBase Workshop.

How to talk to aliens

3/17/2005 – John Nunn is not just a strong grandmaster. He is also a mathematician, chess publisher, and world class problem solver. And superbly competent on any scientific subject. Periodically John comes up with speculations of a very general nature. For instance: how can we humans speak to alien civilisations. One of John's startling recommendations: send them a copy of Fritz.

Anand on Kasparov: A breath of fresh air

3/17/2005 – Vishy Anand, heir apparent to Garry Kasparov's number one spot in the chess world, has spoken about the latter's retirement from professional chess. In one of India's largest newspapers Anand says when Kasparov appeared on the chess scene it was like a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile you may want to catch the chess report on ABC tonight.

Radio ChessBase: The man Kasparov

3/16/2005 – Garry Kasparov – a one-hour introduction to the man, the music and the glory. Don't miss this live rewriting and distortion of history on Playchess.com, brought to you directly from Glasgow on Wednesday evening, by two lecturers who call themselves Scotland's stupidest IMs.

Kasparov's Great Game

3/15/2005 – Word of his retirement and political ambitions has flooded the news. Now we bring you Kasparov's own article, which he wrote for the Wall Street Journal. There is more looking forward than back. We call your attention to the position on the map of Russia chessboard, Kasparov's new field of battle.

Playing the Al Capone Gambit against Fischer

3/15/2005 – It's a strategy that worked well on leading mob figures: if you can't get them, let the IRS do the job. Former world champions Fischer was initially detained in Japan because of invalid travel document, then we were told it was for breaking sanctions in 1992. Now it looks like the US government will use tax evasion and money laundering to bring him down. Reports and video.

'Don't leave us out in the cold'

3/14/2005 – Three days ago Garry Kasparov announced that he is retiring from professional chess. Since then we have received a large number of letters addressing the subject, while the newspapers and Internet news sites have been full of the subject. We bring you excerpts and, for readers who want to write to the great player, a special feedback form.

Monokroussos: Searching for the new superstars

3/13/2005 – After you-know-who has left the game it's time to look to the younger generation for the new superstars to emerge. In Monday night's Playchess.com lecture Dennis Monkroussos takes a look at a highly creative young player, the Indian grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran.

Programs and essentials

3/13/2005 – ChessBase Workshop columnist Steve Lopez has again turned his attention to previews of ChessBase products. In his latest column, he previews four products that he terms "essentials": software that he can't live without. Find out what makes them so vital in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Live commentary by Polgar and Nakamura

3/12/2005 – An extraordinary chess match between 17-year-old US champion Hikaru Nakamura and former women's world champion Susan Polgar was held in Virginia Beach recently. Both players executed their moves in separate rooms on demo boards, explaining to the audience their thoughts and their plans – during the game. Illustrated report...

Linares R14: Topalov beats Kasparov, shares first

3/11/2005 – Actually Kasparov seems to have beaten himself, having missed clear drawing chances; and although both he and Topalov now have eight out of twelve, Kasparov wins Linares on tiebreak. Another shock: Vishy Anand lost to Adams with the white pieces. We bring you an updated report and video clip.

Garry Kasparov retires from professional chess

3/10/2005 – The winner of Linares and the world's strongest chess player, Garry Kasparov, has just announced his retirement from professional chess. His games in this tournament were the last in a career that has spanned thirty years, twenty of which were spent on the top of the world ratings list. Here are details and a video clip.

Chess played for laughs, with skill

3/10/2005 – Chess tends to be serious, silent and slow. In general the game of kings doesn't have a rep for lightheartedness and laughs. But, according to the Houston Chronicle, Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster 2 could change that perception. Here's the review...

Linares R13: Topalov within striking distance

3/9/2005 – Where did he come from? While everybody was watching Garry Kasparov's storm at the top in Linares, another player was steadily creeping up on him. Today Kasparov and Anand played a 22-move draw, but Veselin Topalov beat Vallejo to narrow the gap to a single point. If he beats Kasparov tomorrow he may even win the tournament. Illustrated report

Two classic CDs

3/9/2005 – While the Chess Media System DVDs are all the rage, the "classic format" ChessBase training CDs are certainly still valid training tools. You can read previews of two of the latest "classics" in the new ChessBase Workshop. More Information...

Fischer's passport – to freedom?

3/8/2005 – March 9th is Bobby Fischer's 62nd birthday. By chance a very special gift has arrived in Japan for the former world champion: an Icelandic passport with which he may be able to travel to freedom after more than six months in a Japanese detention facility. We have exclusive pictures of the new passport.

Video Kasparov

3/8/2005 – Kasparov is making news with his moves in Linares; we take a moment to listen to his words. We recently made a video interview with the world #1 for an upcoming ChessBase Magazine. In these sample clips he talks about his Russian Championship win and what we might have seen in the 1975 Fischer-Karpov match.

Bobby Fischer: five days in solitary confinement

3/8/2005 – We had just reported about Fischer's new passport, which an Icelandic delegation had carried to Japan. A minor mystery was why it had not been handed over to him last Wednesday, as planned. Now we learn that Japanese authorities had put the former world champion into solitary confinement. For five days. Over a hard-boiled egg. We are not joking.

Linares R12: Kasparov, Topalov win

3/8/2005 – Garry Kasparov continued his rampage, winning a very dangerous game with black against Michael Adams today to practically decide the winner of Linares 2005. His current performance is an incredible 2915. Topalov demolished Kasimdzhanov and Anand had a narrow escape against Vallejo. We bring you a full updated illustrated report.

Viktor Kortchnoi: My Life for Chess

3/7/2005 – At 73 the former double world championship challenger is still going strong, playing active and attractive chess in top tournaments. Now he has spoken about a career that spans more than five decades and six generations of opponents, in his own electrifying style. Two fascinating DVDs on a life devoted to chess – we bring you the story and sample videos.

Linares R11: Anand in hot pursuit

3/6/2005 – Today Vishy Anand proved that he is not taking Kasparov's victory in Linares for granted. With a convincing black victory over FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov the world's number two player came within striking distance. Tomorrow we travel to Linares, from Tuesday on we bring you live reports from Spain.

The Art of Chess

3/6/2005 – From February 19 to June 5 the Fuller Craft Museum is exhibiting chess pieces made by 90 metalsmiths. It includes pelican bishops, two-faced queens, oil can kings and bean bag knights, with a total of over two hundred individual pieces. If you live within a hundred miles you will want to catch it. Sample photos.

The Prime Minister vs the World Champion

3/6/2005 – The German state of Nordrhein-Westphalia has a political leader who is also an avid chess player. On March 5 he played an exhibition match against classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik. To everybody's amazement the game lasted 37 moves.