Forging friendship, renewing ties

12/30/2004 – Chess players have no winter breaks. While the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying tournaments in Norway, Pamplona, Hastings and Groningen, there was a tradition-filled event taking place on Christmas and Boxing Days over in Kuala Lumpur. Here is an extensive illustrated report on the Malaysia-Singapore Chess Challenge.

Caro-Kann Panov Attack

12/29/2004 – Steve Lopez doesn't just hate the Panov Attack; he loathes it. Steve would rather undergo oral surgery without anesthetic than face 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 as the player of the Black pieces. But a recent Air Post package saved him a call to the dentist. Here are his impressions of IM Zoran Petronijevic's new ChessBase Training CD in the latest installment of ChessBase Workshop.

The talented Miss Golubenko

12/28/2004 – She is 14 years old and 16-time champion of Estonia in various age categories. Valentina's trainers are her parents, both strong players. But the three Golubenkos, who live in Kohtla-Jarve, Estonia, are Russian citizens, and so Valentina cannot play in Youth World Championships. We bring you the story and a picture album of Valentina's chess career.

Smartfish starts with a bang

12/28/2004 – The Smartfish Chess Masters, part of the Drammen Chess Festival in Norway, is billed as a meeting between generations (age difference between the youngest and oldest GM: 60 years) and sexes (men and women's world champions playing). Here's a report with some marvellous pictures by Rune Elven.

Power, Intelligence, Spirit, Glamour

12/28/2004 – As you know, the Chinese women's team won Gold at the 36th Chess Olympiad in Calvià. It was their fourth consecutive Olympic victory, and the dream team was afforded a hero's welcome when they returned to Beijing. Posters and stamps commemorate their successes. Pictorial report...

The American Chess Gladiator II

12/26/2004 – In this week's Playchess.com lecture Dennis Monkroussos concludes his series on American prodigy Hikaru Nakamura, taking a closer look at his last-round war with Ildar Ibragimov in the U.S. Championship and at the concluding game of his match with Sergei Karjakin. Enjoy!

Looking for some chess?

12/26/2004 – Most people spend the Christmas holidays in the circle of their families. Not so chess players, who roam the globe in search of chess tournaments. We bring you the most exciting of these end-of-the-year events. In one Viktor Korchnoi will face a grandmaster who is 101 years younger than a previous opponent. Here are the details...

China wins Petrosian Memorial

12/25/2004 – They entered the nominally weakest team (average rating 2590), but China managed to beat Russia (2688), France (2627) and Armenia (2626) in this double round robin Internet tournament. The Chinese did not concede a single match, with the weakest player Wang winning the final game to clinch it for his side. Results and games.

Vladislav Tkachiev: the blitz revolution

12/23/2004 – What must we do to pull chess out of the doldrums? To make it a mainstream sport like golf and tennis. A reunification of the world championship title would be good, a rapid chess grand prix may also help. But there is one solution, one magic wand to solve all the problems, to really popularize chess. Read all about it in this remarkable interview...

Most and least aggressive world champions

12/23/2004 – Which world champion played the largest number of quick draws? Petrosian, Spassky, Kramnik? Who was the champion with the greatest fighting spirit? Fischer? Alekhine? Kasparov? And finally who showed the least willingness to fight in his younger years? There are some surprising answers in this statistical analysis by Johannes Fischer.

Who is Ali Nihat Yazici?

12/22/2004 – He is the president of the Turkish Chess Federation and known for staging numerous international chess tournaments – for instance the European individual, team and youth championships in the last two years. Now he is undertaking to do the big one: the Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov reunification match. We introduce you to a tireless chess organizer.

US threatens Iceland, Fischer Committee appeals

12/22/2004 – Iceland is under US pressure to drop plans to offer a home to fugitive former chess champion Bobby Fischer, the Reuters news agency tells us. But the Icelandic government has stated that its offer "will not be withdrawn despite pressure from the United States." How do we know that? Among other things we read it in Aljazeera, would you believe? Here's the latest on this international confrontation.

Drugs for Better Chess?

12/21/2004 – A new generation of "smart pills" are here. An article in the Los Angeles Times talks about new drugs that help with performing mental tasks. Researchers even use games to measure the improvement from these "cognitive enhancers." Are you a few pills away from being a Grandmaster?

Was Fischer afraid of Karpov?

12/21/2004 – Garry Kasparov's "Great Predecessors" series is out, with the long-awaited volume IV "On Fischer" hitting the bookstands. Kasparov devotes 200 pages to the lives and careers of Sam Reshevsky, Miguel Najdorf and Bent Larsen. But then he digs into Fischer, with stunning analytical intensity and startling conclusions. Review and interview with Hannon Russell.

Christmas Special: the best games of chess

12/21/2004 – On their Wednesday evening lecture live on Playchess.com our Glasgow Chess Radio commentators will include the best game of chess ever played – at least according to IM Jacob Aagaard. Do not miss this Christmas party drink driving edition of Glasgow 3rd floor Chess Radio.

Chess and fun in the African sun

12/20/2004 – The Abraka Turf Club is a beautiful sporting resort in the Delta State of Nigeria. Its owner, Albert Esiri, recently hosted and sponsored the First Ashton Wells Invitational tournament. We have received a beautiful photo report from Nigeria by the country's strongest player, Bunmi Olape.

The world's second-youngest grandmaster

12/19/2004 – Ngoc Truongson Nguyen is a name you're going to have to remember. The lad from Vietnam, blessed with a 2527 rating, has just completed his third GM norm at the First Saturday tournament in Budapest – just over two months shy of his 15th birthday. A number of IM norms were made by other players, none older than 17. We bring you games, results and pictures.

The American Chess Gladiator

12/19/2004 – 17-year-old Hikaru Nakamura may have missed breaking Fischer's record for the youngest US Champion, but he is well on the way to smashing every other one and becoming a true American sporting star. In this week's Playchess.com lecture Dennis Monkroussos takes a look at some very interesting and instructive games from this exemplar of fighting chess.

Clinton, Kasparov at the Accoona launch

12/18/2004 – Accoona is a new company that specializes in two things: creating and running an advanced Google-style search engine, and building business relations between China and the rest of the world. And they are interested in chess. Last week the company was launched, in a swanky restaurant in New York with a glittering array of special guests.

RJF Committee mobilizes pro-Fischer forces

12/18/2004 – While Bobby Fischer remains incarcerated in a Japanese prison a special committee in Iceland is moving to get him free and find him a home on the North-Atlantic island country. Iceland's foreign minister and a prominent political scientist have spoken out. Here's a report on Fischer's Iceland Connection...

Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournament

12/18/2004 – An international Internet chess tournament is taking place, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of the 9th world champion, Tigran Petrosian. Four teams, from Russia, China, France and Armenia, are participating, with none of the players leaving their places of residence. More...

US Championship Larsen prize

12/17/2004 – Few tournaments have a first prize of $5,000. Alex Fishbein won that much as a reward for his fighting chess! There was a five thousand dollar "Bent Larsen" prize for the player who most epitomized the uncompromising spirit of Danish legend. Draws were way down, and Fishbein had only one! Plus, a US Championship photo album.

Nakamura finishes off Karjakin in Mexico

12/17/2004 – It was V for victory for Hikaru Nakamura. There would be no GM draw to round out the match. The US champion won again to make the final score 4.5-1.5 over Ukraine's Sergey Karjakin. We talked to the winner after he returned home for the first time since winning the US Championship. Report, games, and photos.

Fischer to get refuge in Iceland?

12/16/2004 – The news today on Bobby Fischer, who is currently being held in a Japanese detention facilities pending extradition to the US, is that the Icelandic government has offered to grant him a residence permit. In a telephone interview Fischer speaks about his plight in Japan and reacts to statements by Garry Kasparov on Fischer Random Chess. Full details...