Jacob Aagaard x2

3/23/2005 – In this week's ChessBase Workshop, we somehow manage to link together the Nimzoindian Defense, South Park, How to Beat Bobby Fischer, cool videos, perfume on a shirt collar, opening ideas, and IM Jacob Aagaard. Even James Burke would have a hard time making these connections...

The tiger is slain – Simon Webb, 1949–2005

3/22/2005 – International Master Simon Webb, successful junior and correspondence player, was killed by his son in his Stockholm apartment last week. The tragedy occurred when Webb returned from a tournament late at night. After the attack the son tried to commit suicide. Simon Webb is best known for his book Chess for Tigers.

Amber shocker: Anand draws a game

3/22/2005 – Chess fans all over the world were stunned. Vishy Anand, who had won seven straight games in the Amber Tournament in Monaco drew the eighth against Vladimir Kramnik. Accompanied, we believe, by a sigh of disappointment by the Guinness people. Still there was a lot of excitement and not a few amusing and tragic scenes in Monaco.

Monokroussos: the forgotten Kasparov game

3/21/2005 – When announcing his retirement Garry Kasparov included among his greatest games an effort far less well-known than many of his brilliant victories – a game most of us aren’t even aware of. In his Monday night lecture on Playchess.com Dennis Monokroussos shows us this key 1985 positional victory against Anatoly Karpov. Enjoy!

Amber: Anand leads with 4:0

3/21/2005 – The Amber Tournament began with a dry score for favourite Vishy Anand. The Indian GM won all four games – with a bit of help from some of his opponents. Due to the unusual format – blindfold and rapid mini matches – we see top GMs blundering badly in their chess games. Read our extensive illustrated report.

Bobby Fischer: ich bin ein Icelander!

3/21/2005 – At 5:06 p.m. today the Icelandic Althingi, has granted former world chess champion Bobby Fischer full Icelandic citizenship. Despite stern U.S. diplomatic warnings, the world's oldest existing democratic parliament voted 40 in favour and two abstentions to make Fischer a full citizen. The readings took just 12 minutes.

Fischer to receive Icelandic citizenship

3/19/2005 – "Iceland has just got its tenth grandmaster – Robert James Fischer," rejoiced the RJF Committee. The country's parliament decided unanimously a few hours ago to grant Fischer Icelandic citizenship. Japanese authorities have confirmed that in such a case they would release the detained former world champion. Long read.

ABC Person of the Week: Garry Kasparov

3/19/2005 – During a visit to New York explained the reasons for his sudden retirement from the game last week. You can watch the report on ABC's "on demand" service ($4.95) or read about it on their news site. Or you can see what it looked like behind the cameras in our behind the scenes report!

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...