Menashe is no longer in Gambit

1/15/2005 – The New Year started sadly for the chess community in the Netherlands. Within a short period it lost four prominent and colourful figures. FM Micha Leuw, 36, died in a diving accidend in Thailand; chess talent Roy Dieks and trainer Rob Brunia passed away, as did Menashe Goldberg (picture) of the famous Gambit Café. Yochanan Afek reports.

Corus 05: Wijk aan Zee Super-GM begins

1/14/2005 – This Saturday, at 13:30 hours European time, the 2005 edition of the Corus Chess Tournament begins. The Super GM Group A has players ranked 2-9 in the world and an Elo average over 14 players of 2721. Group B averages 2564 and 23 years of age. Here's your ChessBase guide to Wijk.

Why Judit Polgar was not on the ratings list

1/14/2005 – Our report on the FIDE rankings of January 1st 2005 brought consternation and distress to a large number of readers. Where was Judit Polgar, the strongest female player in the history of the game? Should she not have been in the top ten of all players? We did a bit of research and can, with great pleasure, tell you the full reason.

Kasparov IV opens in London

1/13/2005 – Volume four of Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors, which concentrates on Bobby Fischer, has sold 9000 copies in its first three weeks – and that's just the English edition. Last weekend the author visited the London Chess Centre to lecture and sign copies for his fans. We bring you a report, pictures and videos.

Chess in the Times

1/13/2005 – When chess makes it to an extended article in the venerable New York Times, that is news. Dylan Loeb McClain summarizes the state of chess in an age of computers, making Garry Kasparov "responsible for the widespread adoption of electronic aids by chess players". Excerpts...

Anand: 'Chess is alive and kicking'

1/12/2005 – Just before the tournament in Wijk aan Zee (14-30 January 2005) the world's number two player Vishy Anand spent a week in his native India. As a national superstar he was naturally hounded by the news media, to whom he spoke quite candidly. Amongst the many articles and interviews is a remarkable public flirt with wife Aruna.

From Glasgow Chess Radio: the Rilton Cup

1/11/2005 – On their Wednesday evening lecture live on Playchess.com our Glasgow Chess Radio commentators will discuss the Rilton Cup in Stockholm, won by Gleizerov, Volkov and Berg. Tune in and enjoy.

Men get hammered by machines

1/11/2005 – It was billed as "one of the more spectacular chess events in 2005, a first ever Man vs Machine chess shoot-out". Two GMs and two FMs against the strongest programs available: Fritz, Shredder, Junior and Chessmaster. The result was a disastrous 14.5-1.5 defeat for the humans.

A recipe for facing Fort Knox

1/11/2005 – The late Tony Miles was one of the world's strongest and most creative players, a soul able to win both sharp Dragon Sicilians and endgame grinds with equal facility. In his Playchess.com lecture Monday night Dennis Monkroussos a Miles Slav encounter with German great Robert Huebner. Note: due to a missed flight the lecture has been postponed to Tuesday night!

Blood-curdling, X-rated, kinky

1/10/2005 – Over the Christmas season Nigel Short's sometimes outrageous but always entertaining Sunday Telegraph column included stories involving blood-curdling, X-rated games and kinky self and reflex-mates. Even the Turkish government saw it fit to react to his provocations. Here for the curious are excerpts from his recent articles. Children, avert your gaze...

Chess on the Strip

1/10/2005 – Normally you go to Las Vegas for other things than to play chess. But at the end of December about 500 people congregated there, 20 of them GMs, to do just that. Our reporter Ilya Krasik started off with a $500 blackjack debacle and ended his stay at the receiving end of a thoroughly indecent proposal.

Highlights of Cracovia 2004

1/9/2005 – From December 27 to January 4 there was an interesting Chess Festival in the historical Polish city of Cracow, with a total of 400 participants in four groups. We were contacted by one Karol Olko, who sent us pictures and information and, with great journalistic instincts, pointed out the highlight of the event. You are going to want to remember the name Kamil Tomsia.

Indian Ocean Tsunami, Brunei Open

1/8/2005 – On December 26 a very strong earthquake occurred, 100 miles west of Sumatra. It spawned a Tsunami, a tidal wave, which hit the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, taking the lives of at least 175,000 people. Here's a letter from the organisers of the Brunei Open and our special Tsunami report.

Prasad and Tram win Asian Junior

1/6/2005 – The 27th Asian Junior Chess Championship 2004 was held in Bikaner, India. Victory in the boys' section went to 16-year-old S. Arun Prasad of India, and in the girls' section to Hoang Thi Bao Tram, the Vietnamese Sub Junior Girls Champion. The host nation clinched a total of five medals. Here's an illustrated report by Manmohan Harsh.

Fritz & Chesster 2 gets five-star review

1/6/2005 – Our children's chess teaching program is out there, generating thousands of new chess players. Like no other chess software "Fritz & Chesster" has scaled the mail-order lists, landing on the top of the Amazon top-sellers. Now version two is out and getting rave reviews.

GM Arnold Denker, 1914–2005

1/5/2005 – In his heyday he was a prize boxer and one of the most aggressive chess players. Arnold Denker used his tempestuous style and slashing assaults on the world's top players, drawing five world champions in his career. Now the former US Champion (1944) and great chess promoter has died at the age of 90. Here's a portrait.

Radjabov: Kasparov is obstructing my career

1/5/2005 – We've heard this before: players who are not receiving the attention they feel they deserve, or who have been left out of a tournament (Linares?) it is traditional to blame it on Kasparov. Which is what Garry's "clone", the ex wonder boy from Baku, Azerbaijan, is now doing, in an interview on the web site Day.Az. We bring you a translation.

Shirov, Nielsen win Drammen

1/5/2005 – Alexei Shirov outplayed Bartlomiej Macieja in a Classical Sicilian to clinch first place on tiebreak in the Smartfish Chess Masters in Drammen, Norway. Peter Heine Nielsen, who had been leading most of the way, conceded a quick draw to share points and prize with Shirov. Here's an extraordinary illustrated report.

Smartfish sensation: Carlsen defeats Shirov

1/4/2005 – Here's the situation: a 14-year-old boy has to play a tournament game against one of the most dangerous players in the world, one of the top ten no less. But it is firebrand Alexei Shirov who succumbs to the ferocious attack and relentless pressure of his youthful opponent. Illustrated report.

Topalov overtakes Kramnik in FIDE rankings

1/3/2005 – For almost a decade we have grown used to three players topping the world chess rankings: Kasparov, Anand and Kramnik. Now Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria has taken over place three. Kasparov barely managed to keep above the 2800 mark, with Anand is just 18 points behind. Details...

Slugfest in Amsterdam

1/3/2005 – In this year's first Playchess.com lecture Dennis Monkroussos shows us his favorite sort of game: a tactical slugfest between two exceptionally creative players: David Bronstein and Bent Larsen. It happened at the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal and was key to both players' path to the world championship. See you Monday night!

International Chess Tournament Vienna 1882

1/3/2005 – 122 years ago a great tournament ended. In round three Wilhelm Steinitz drew after 36 moves, the first time he had conceded a draw in nine years. The first world champion ended the 18-player double round robin with 24/30, equal first with Szymon Winawer. Read all about it in this article from ChessBase Magazine 103.

Gelfand wins in Pamplona, Kuzubov in Groningen

12/31/2004 – That veteran GM Boris Gelfand should win a category 16 tournament a full point ahead of the field is impressive, but hardly surprising. That a 14-year-old should triumph in the Harmonie Chess tournament in Groningen, to climb to 2573 on the rating scale, is nothing short of mind-boggling. Read all about it in our end-of-the-year tournament wrap-up.

ChessBase Database tricks - part one

12/30/2004 – There are a lot of new features in ChessBase 9 and many aren't readily apparent unless you do a little digging first. ChessBase Workshop columnist Steve Lopez broke out the pick and shovel over the holidays to excavate some useful new items available in the database list. Read all about them in the latest column.