A massive match in the Baltics

4/27/2005 – A match on one hundred boards between Estonia and Latvia was held on the 24th of April in the Estonian city of Pärnu. This event has a history of almost 30 years; the first such a match was held back in 1976. Since then nine more matches were fought out, but which nation is the strongest is yet to be determined.

It filleth and troubleth men's heads?

4/27/2005 – The recent Time Magazine essay by Charles Krauthammer, which searched for the connection between chess and madness, has brought a lot of feedback from our readers. Most disagree with the Pulitzer Prize winner's conclusions, while one authority, a 16th century monarch, seems to support him. Olimpiu Urcan reports.

Krauthammer on chess: just how dangerous is it?

4/26/2005 – Charles Krauthammer is an award-winning syndicated journalist of conservative ilk. He is also a dedicated chess player. In an essay in the latest issue of Time Magazine he searches for the reasons behind Bobby Fischer's "mad chess genius" behaviour, citing a number of real and present dangers that emanate from a monomaniacal dedication to the game.

Radio ChessBase: the good, the bad and the funny

4/26/2005 – Glasgow 3rd Floor Chess Radio, presented by IMs Jacob Aagaard and John Shaw on Wednesday night on Playchess.com, will peruse all that is interesting in the week's chess: strong tournaments in Russia, fake tournaments in Ukraine, Scholar's Mate in Sweden. Details.

Double-checking your opening -- part two

4/26/2005 – In Part Two of our latest ChessBase Workshop series on creating and maintaining your own "opening playbook" in ChessBase 9, we show you how to add analysis to your preferred lines with just a few mouse clicks. It's not exactly magic, but it's pretty close...

Mir Sultan Khan vs José Raul Capablanca

4/25/2005 – One of the great enigmatic phenomena during the mid-1920s was the Indian menial Mir Sultan Khan, a virtual illiterate who came to England and demolished some of the strongest chess players in the world, amongst them the great Capablanca, who called him "a genius". In his Monday night lecture on Playchess.com Dennis Monokroussos will show us this incredible game.

The Birthday Blitz – John at Fifty

4/25/2005 – Today John Nunn turned fifty. To commemorate this there was a weekend blitz in London's beautiful Home House, with most of the top British players. Afterwards, at a sumptuous dinner, the veteran captain of the English team summed up John's career in a memorable speech. We bring you pictures and a transcription.

Should business managers learn chess?

4/25/2005 – Can chess provide special abilities that would be useful to our business leaders? A senior business editor of the prestigious Harvard Business Review discussed this question with Garry Kasparov, and the two produced a very thoughtful article on the subject.

The Greatest Chess Player of All Time – Part I

4/24/2005 – Last month Garry Kasparov retired from professional chess. Was he the greatest, most dominant chess player of all time? That is a question that can be interpreted in many different ways, and most answers will be extremely subjective. Jeff Sonas has conducted extensive historical research and applied ruthlesss statistics to seek a solution to an age-old debate.

A fond farewell to Jinan

4/23/2005 – The tournament is over, the participants have returned to their homes, all with a feeling of nostalgia after a wonderful time in the Chinese metropolis. Our roving reporter Ali Nihat Yazici sends us a final report, with pictures of the last round, the prize giving and the closing ceremony. He also introduces us to a future world champion.

Making your own playbook

4/22/2005 – A recent column by Mig Greengard on Garry Kasparov's "opening playbook" has our readers clamouring for information on how to build such a database of their own. We're happy to oblige with a three part ChessBase Workshop series; you'll find Part One here.

Tournaments – Cuba, Gausdal, Sigeman, Sochi

4/22/2005 – Currently there are a lot of great tournaments going on, such as the Cuban championship, the Russian team championship or Sigeman & Co in Copenhagen (where Nakamura has just played 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 against Sasikiran). Playchess.com is broadcasting many of the games live. Here are short reports, games and links.

Pictures of the Moscow assault

4/22/2005 – A week ago Garry Kasparov was attacked in Moscow, by a young man posing as a chess fan who wanted his chess board signed. Now it turns out that the incident was captured, by two cameras from different angles. Apparently some people may have known it was coming. Here are the pictures and Kasparov's commentary.

FIDE 2005 World Championship in San Luis, Argentina

4/21/2005 – FIDE's plans for a classical chess world championship seem to have materialised, with the announcement that a sponsor has been found for a one million dollar prize fund. The event will be staged in San Luis, Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. Details.

Bidding for the FIDE World Championship

4/20/2005 – The World Chess Federation has published the conditions for its classical chess world championship in October 2005. Eight players, Kasimdzhanov, Adams, Kramnik, Leko, Kasparov, Anand, Topalov and Morozevich, are invited to take part in a double round robin. A prize fund of $500,000 is guaranteed, but FIDE is seeking bidders for more.

Confucius say: Ni hao and Xie Xie!

4/20/2005 – Last Sunday the participants of the World Ladies Tournament in Jinan visited the famous city of Jining. It is the seat of the Torch Group. This company is sponsoring the Chinese Chess League, for which the girls are doing a promotional. Ali Nihat Yazici has sent us another spectacular pictorial report.

Chess in the mainstream world today

4/19/2005 – Last Sunday ESPN aired a story about Bobby Fischer. Jeremy Schaap traveled to Iceland and reported on what he found. But he mainly went there to confront and provoke Bobby. Susan Polgar, who knows and admires Schaap, is distressed to see chess reduced to this theme on a national sports channel. Here are her thoughts on the subject.

Lubos Kavalek – distracted by a whale

4/19/2005 – We thought we had heard them all, but the following excuse for blundering in a game of chess tops the list: "I was distracted by a whale!" Well, it actually happened, during a game on Cooper Island, where a traditional chess picnic has been staged for many decades now. GM Lubos Kavalek describes his latest adventure.

Monokroussos on Pachman vs Fischer

4/17/2005 – The Czech/German GM Ludek Pachman was a very strong GM and a fine chess author as well. In 1959 he faced the young Bobby Fischer, and their game, which Dennis Monokroussos will show us in his Monday night lecture on Playchess.com is full of sacrifices, counter-sacrifices and special effects. Join us for a terrific show.

Our man in Jinan

4/17/2005 – The World Ladies Tournament is under way, with our intrepid reporter Ali Nihat Yazici on the scene to give us his pictorial impressions of the Chinese metropolis of Jinan. Ali tells us about the chess, the sponsors, the people, a simultaneous exhibition, lunches, dinners and a memorable foot massage. Don't you wish you were there with him?

Turmoil in the Indian chess community continues

4/17/2005 – India is one of the emerging chess superpowers (the other is China). With so many exciting talents in the country it is unfortunate that the national federation is in turmoil. The president and his team were recently restrained by an Indian court, rival officers received recognition by FIDE. Now the original federation is fighting back.

Kasparov assaulted in Moscow

4/16/2005 – Garry Kasparov was attacked after a meeting with youth activists in Moscow. He was approached by an autograph seeking participant. The young man circled Kasparov and delivered a sharp blow to the head with the chessboard. Russian news agencies place the blame on the pro-Putin organisations Nashi. We spoke to Kasparov

Saying 'Yes' to Chess in Nashville

4/16/2005 – It was the largest scholastic chess tournament in history and took place in Nashville, TN, USA. A total of 5230 players, from kindergarten through 12th grade, from over 1,300 schools and more than 600 cities in 48 states participated. The previous record was 4,606 entries recorded at the Super Nationals II in Kansas City. Illustrated report by Paul Truong.

Tournaments – past, present and future

4/15/2005 – A whole slew of high-class tournaments have just finished, are in progress, or have been announced. Dos Hermanas (won by Radjabov), the Cuban Championship, Gausdal, Sigeman & Co, the Russian Team Championship, Sofia and Dortmund – hardly any you will want to miss. We bring you games, results and links.