St Petersburg wrap-up – part 1

6/2/2004 – The preliminaries for the Russian Championship in St Petersburg and Tomsk are completed. The former was won by Alexei Dreev, ahead of Tseshkovsky and Epishin. The quality of play was very high, and we return – by popular demand – to this exciting tournament with a new two-part pictorial report by Misha Savinov.

Nine GMs and three ladies

6/2/2004 – That's the lineup in today's second qualifier for the third ACP Internet blitz tournament, sponsored by ChinaCom. Three players are rated over 2600, all the ladies are WGM. Read about yesterday's action in our special report.

Lights, Camera, Kasparov

6/2/2004 – If you were a chess fan watching Fox News last Sunday you got a surprise. Garry Kasparov appeared on the cable news network to talk about his recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal about Iraq. Somehow Shrek 2 was also involved. We've got plenty of photos from both sides of the cameras.

Watch top GMs play blitz

6/1/2004 – Every evening this week you can watch about 50 GMs – more than a dozen over 2600 in strength – fight it out in the third ACP Internet blitz tournament, sponsored by ChinaCom. The final is on Saturday, the prize fund is $6,500. Fire up your Fritz 8 or get a free Playchess client for a front seat in this live blitz tournament.

Women's World Championship reaches semifinals

5/31/2004 – We're down to the Final Four in Elista. We already know who the best woman player in the world is, but she's off in Hungary. So we're waiting to see which of the ladies in Kalmykia will win the women's world championship. Well, if Kasparov, Anand, and Kramnik won't play in the FIDE WCh in Libya, why can't we have equal rights?! Report and games.

The Minority Attack Part II

5/31/2004 – In last week's lecture Dennis Monokroussos showed us how to execute the minority attack. Today we learn that the attacked side is not defenseless. In fact there is a rich source of counterplay, as revealed in a classic game Nikolic-Kramnik. Tune in to this Radio ChessBase lecture...

Shirov takes Sarajevo

5/31/2004 – With a magnificent plus six score and a 2890 performance Latvian-Spanish GM Alexei Shirov took the GM tournament in Bosnia, a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival. The tournament went badly for Super-GM Nigel Short, who played 187 points below his 2712 rating. Here are the games and a pictorial report...

White nights revisited, four hundred years of Tomsk

5/30/2004 – The preliminaries for the Russian Championship are under way in St Petersburg and Tomsk. We have all the results and games, but also some background on the bright nights in the former Russian capital and on the four-hundred-year old city of Tomsk. New pictorial report...

Alterman on the Max Lange Attack

5/30/2004 – Some openings are so unbalanced that one false move can cost you the game. A prime example is the Max Langer attack, one of the stormiest opening systems of the 19th century. You can learn all about it from GM Boris Alterman on Playchess.com. Visit his lecture and simultaneous exhibition.

Ivanchuk wins European Championship – in Turkish

5/30/2004 – He is one of the deepest chess players in the world, but Vassily Ivanchuk has many other talents. For instance he managed to pick up enough Turkish to thank his host at the closing ceremony in their native tongue! You don't believe it? We have videos, pictures, games and results.

White nights in St. Petersburg

5/29/2004 – The Russian Championship qualifiers are in full swing, with Alexey Dreev still in the lead. The games are exciting, with some spectacular accidents. Oh, yes, and it is advisable to have dark glasses at the end of the games, to protect your eyes from the 10 p.m. sun. Here's Misha Savinov's beautiful pictorial report.

ACP protest against FIDE world championship

5/29/2004 – The unclarity regarding the participation of Israeli players in the world chess championship in Tripoli (June 18 to July 13, 2004) has led the Association of Chess Professionals to protest vigorously against FIDE's strategy in staging this event in Libya. FIDE has replied by publishing the final participants' list – with no Israeli players.

Women's World Championship reaches Elite Eight

5/28/2004 – 56 players have been eliminated in just six days. Former women's world champ Maya Chiburdanidze (right) is in the quarterfinals along with a pair of teenagers and five other survivors. China has held the title since the 20th century but they are down to just one contender. Maybe next time around the USA will be in the finals? Report, results and games.

Kalashnikovs, Souqs and Qat

5/28/2004 – The Arab Countries Chess League was held in Ta'izz, which is an adventurous six-hour drive from San'a, one of the oldest cities in the world. GM Sergey Tiviakov undertook the trip to Yemen and has returned with stories of colorful market places, armed guards and chewing the local intoxicating weed. Here is Sergey's pictorial travelogue..

A Czech mates in Turkey

5/27/2004 – A young Czech champion is leading the 2004 European Individual Championship in beautiful Antalya, Turkey. With three rounds to go nineteen-year-old David Navara is ahead of big names like Ivanchuk and Radjabov. Can he hold on? What does Kasparov think? Test your tactical prowess. We have games and analysis.

From Tomsk to Omsk to Pinsk to Minsk

5/27/2004 – When the best players in Russia get together to find their champion, it is a global event. The St Petersburg qualifier is being covered fairly well, but unfortunately getting news from the other section is more daunting. One of our visitors helped us and we bring you all the necessary links and, most importantly, the Tomsk games.

Shirov dominating big chess in Sarajevo

5/26/2004 – With two rounds to play and his arch-nemesis safely behind him, Alexei Shirov is ready to finally win the Bosna tournament after many near-misses. Twice in the past late losses to Movsesian cost him the title, but now he has a full point lead and no Sergei in sight. We have pictures, games and analysis here.

Anti-Defamation League, Seirawan, Levy, Keene

5/25/2004 – Last week the ADL wrote a letter to FIDE regarding the restrictions on Israeli and Jewish players in the world championship in Libya. Meanwhile Yasser Seirawan has replied to Ruslan Ponomariov's proposals, and ICGA president David Levy gives his takes on the situation in chess today. Here are the documents and summaries.

Women's World Championship

5/25/2004 – With the controversy around venue and security in the past, the games finally began in Elista, Kalmykia. The top seeds started strong, all moving into the second round. The second round concludes tomorrow. The savvy veterans are going to have their hands full with the teenagers soon enough.

Alexey Dreev leads in Russian Championship

5/25/2004 – The qualifiers for the 57th Russian Championship have started, in St Petersburg and Tomsk. GM Alexei Dreev is in the lead with a perfect 4/4 score. The winners go on to play in a super-final in September with Kasparov, Kramnik, Karpov and Svidler. There the prize is $300,000. Details...

Kasparov blood-curdling testimony

5/25/2004 – We know him as an fear-inspiring player on the chess board, but in the political arena Garry Kasparov also remains true to his nature. Brave, outspoken, even incautious, he'll express his view without fear of consequences. You can see this in his article in the Wall Street Journal and his powerful statement to the Human Rights commission in Washington. Here are excerpts and links.

The Mysterious Minority Attack

5/24/2004 – Cross your heart, do you know what the Minority Attack really is? How it works and what role the "Karlsbad formation" plays? Let our online trainer Dennis Monokroussos unravel its mysteries so you can use it with ruthless efficiency in your games. Today Dennis starts his two-part lecture.

Alterman on the Morphy Attack

5/23/2004 – He never lost a tempo, the center was focal point of his strategy. When he had a development advantage he would smash open the position for a crushing attack. "His mastery of open positions was so vast that little new has been learned about such positions after him," wrote Botvinnik. On Sunday GM Boris Alterman lectures on the 'Morphy Attack', on Monday you can play in a simul against him. Details...

Bikini chess championship in Ukraine

5/23/2004 – The Ukraine Women's Championship 2004 was held in the beautiful Black Sea resort of Alushta. It brought us dazzling chess – and dazzling pictures of young women grandmasters and IMs in beachside circumstances. We remain eternally indebted to the tournament winner and new Ukraine women's champion Olga Alexandrova for sending us this pictorial report.