The Azmaiparashvili Saga – your views

11/10/2004 – The events at the end of the closing ceremony of the 36th Chess Olympiad stunned chess players all over the world. A FIDE vice president beaten and arrested? We returned from Calvià to find a barrage of letters from concerned readers – most in support of "Azmai", but some critical of his conduct in the affair. Take some time for a long but interesting read.

From the mailbag

11/10/2004 – While columnist Steve Lopez doesn't answer every e-mail he receives, he does read and consider them. Steve dips into the mailbag and comes up with some interesting messages that lead us from chess into the world of linguistics and the importance of context and subtext. Boring? Not when Steve sharpens his pen and gets going. Read all about it in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Breaking news: Kramnik to skip Super Final

11/9/2004 – The "Super Final" of the 57th Russian Championship begins next week, with Kasparov, Kramnik, Morozevich, Svidler, Bareev, Grischuk, Karpov and six qualifiers from the championships in St. Petersburg and Tomsk. Well, strike Kramnik. We hear that the classical chess world champions won't participate.

The Taming of the Giuoco

11/8/2004 – The Moeller Attack in the Giuoco Piano is a complex line filled with traps Black must avoid. But before you give up 1…e5 altogether drop in at Playchess.com for Dennis Monkroussos's Monday night lecture. You might just end up considering the Moeller a free win with the black pieces.

Peter Heine Nielsen wins European Internet Championship

11/8/2004 – The Second European Internet Championship on Playchess.com ended in a triumph for Peter Heine Nielsen, who knocked out the likes of Kharlov, Short and Gelfand to take on England's Michael Adams in the final. The Danish GM won this encounter 0.5-2.5 to pocket the €2,400 first prize. Report and games...

Ali Nihat Yazici on the Azmaiparashvili scandal

11/7/2004 – Immediately after the FIDE VP was dragged off to the police station, the president of the Turkish chess federation burst into action. Here he gives a blow-by-blow account of his conversations with the Spanish organizers and federation officials. When he requested a lawyer for his friend Zurab he was told to look in the yellow pages!

Brain builders

11/7/2004 – If you find yourself jumping from diagram to diagram in your antiquated printed chess books and magazines, these exercises are definitely for you. Even if you have joined the 21st century with ChessBase 9 and our training videos, your skills will definitely benefit from this workout.

Kasimdzhanov-Kasparov is a go

11/6/2004 – According to an interview with FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in the Russian paper Sport Express, the sponsorship of the K-K unification match in Dubai has been confirmed. The bank guarantees are in place and the match is scheduled for Jan. 14-Feb. 1. We now have a translation of the interview and a comment from Garry Kasparov.

The chess continues – for a thousand years

11/5/2004 – The 36th Chess Olympiad ended on the 31st of October, and hundreds of players left Mallorca. But 122 players from 34 different countries remained to take part in the International Open of Calvià – the first, we are told, of a thousand. Here's another look at the ruggedly beautiful Mediterranean island, including fledgling pictures by a world champion

Vishy Anand repeats in Corsica

11/5/2004 – You didn't need to be Nostradamus to see this one coming. Indian star Viswanathan Anand demolished Sergei Rublevsky in the final match of the Corsica Masters. That makes five Corsica titles in five years for Anand. One more and they should just rename the event the "Anand Masters" and get it over with. Is Anand unstoppable?

George Renko's new ChessBase training CD

11/5/2004 – ChessBase's accomplished tactics trainer George Renko has done it again! In the latest ChessBase Workshop, get a first glimpse of his newest tactics training CD Intensive Course Tactics 2. Workshop...

Zurab Azmaiparashvili's two days in prison

11/4/2004 – FIDE vice president Zurab Azmaiparashvili was attacked by security guards. Two days later he was released by a Spanish judge and was able to return to his native Georgia. We spoke to the battered GM immediately after his release. Let us know your opinion or express your support. Here is Zurab's harrowing story.

Anand rolls on in Corsica

11/3/2004 – Vishy Anand rolled over Etienne Bacrot to reach the final of the Corsica Masters. He will face Sergei Rublevsky, who beat his countryman Motylev with the aid of a little luck. Rublevsky is eager to change the course of history by denying Anand yet another Corsica title. Semifinal report and games.

ChessBase 9.0 – a matter of history (3)

11/3/2004 – A really useful feature of ChessBase 9 is "History". When you look for something you recently saw you don't need to search in a million game database. Just check the games you loaded in the last days or months. You will also find the new threat animation and 3D graphics of ChessBase 9 fascinating. Part three.

Exclusive! Bush vs Kerry on the chessboard

11/2/2004 – You've seen them debate, you've seen the commercials, you've heard all the exhortations, fabrications, and exaggerations. Now we can bring you what really counts, George W. Bush versus John Kerry on the 64 squares. From preemptive attacks to flip-flopping knights, this game has it all.

Corsican rules

11/2/2004 – India's Viswanathan Anand has won yet anoth.. oh, wait, the event's not over yet, sorry. The 8th Corsica Masters rapid tournament has reached the semifinals and Anand is positioned to renew his title yet again. He'll face Bacrot in the semis while Rublevsky and Motylev duel for the other finals spot. Report, games, and analysis.

Boo! Terrifying blunders at Playchess.com

11/1/2004 – Tonight's Playchess lecture by Dennis Monokroussos covers some scary blunders. You can learn from their mistakes or just feel comforted that they make them too. The lecture begins at 9pm EST. Read on for how you can watch the lecture and the starting time in your area. Don't be afraid!

Azmaiparashvili in the news; released from jail

11/1/2004 – The bizarre scuffle during the closing ceremony of the Calvià Olympiad made various mainstream reports. We have press releases from the organizers and FIDE. Azmai has been released and an interview is forthcoming. For now we have some alarming pictures.

Scandal in Calvià, FIDE vice president arrested

10/31/2004 – The 36th Chess Olympiad ended with a bang. But not the fireworks we displayed in our previous report, but with the arrest of FIDE vice president Zurab Azmaiparashvili, who tried to get the attention of the organisers on the stage and was wrestled to the floor and dragged to jail by a group of security agents. Hard to believe, but unfortunately true.

Ukraine and China (and Professor Elo) win in Calvià

10/30/2004 – The underdogs will have to wait for another day. The exact order wasn't perfect, but the favorites followed through. Ukraine and China took gold. In a thrilling final round scramble the Russian men finished ahead of Armenia by a single tiebreak point. The American women nipped Russia for the silver by a half point. Flash report with results and standings.

The Turkish Federation wants the match

10/30/2004 – Yesterday we published an open letter by Garry Kasparov, demanding that the FIDE leadership show guarantees for his reunification match against Kasimdzhanov, announced for January in Dubai, or to ask the General Assembly for authority to quickly seek a new bidder. Now the alternate is on the table, presented for the Turkish Chess Federation by its president Ali Nihat Yazici.

The Olympiad ends with a bang

10/30/2004 – The 36th Chess Olympiad is over, the players are departing, some with medals, all with interesting memories and many exciting games. Before the players all leave Calvià, the beautiful island of Mallorca and the gigantic tournament staged there, we bring you pictorial impressions of the participants at work and at play.

Going for the silver in Calvià

10/29/2004 – Heading into the final round on Friday Ukraine has locked up the men's gold and China has done the same in the women's event. But the battle for the less precious medals is at fever pitch. Russia, USA, Armenia, and Israel are in the hunt and nothing is certain. A big win in the final round will mean glory. Who can pull it off?

Kasparov's letter to FIDE

10/29/2004 – The reunification match between Garry Kasparov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov is scheduled for January 7 – 24 in Dubai. However at the FIDE Congress in Calvià nothing concrete was announced. The funding of the match and many other details appear to be in doubt. In an open letter to the FIDE General Assembly Garry Kasparov delivers firm ultimatums.