The Mozart of Chess

1/27/2004 – That is the title conferred by GM Lubomir Kavalek of the Washington Post on Magnus Carlsen, a 13-year-old Norwegian who made his first grandmaster norm and won the Corus C-group in Wijk aan Zee. We bring you a portrait and the games of this remarkable young lad whom you will definitely want to watch carefully in the future.

Corus Round 13: Anand Anand! Wins 2nd straight Wijk aan Zee

1/26/2004 – Vishy Anand played a short draw to get the half point he needed to guarantee at least a share of first place. That was enough for clear victory when Adams and Leko also drew. They shared 2-3 a half-point back. Topalov and Bologan both won and shared 4-5. Bruzon won the B group and 13-year-old Carlsen the C. We've got lots of photos and a video clip of Anand-Sokolov! Report and games

Workshop: Powerbook 2004 and Endgame Turbo 2

1/26/2004 – In order to play a better game, chessplaying engines have access to opening books and endgame tablebases. In this week's ChessBase Workshop, we look at these "Openings and Endings" as we examine the new DVDs Powerbook 2004 and Endgame Turbo 2. ChessBase Workshop

Kasparov for the Oscar?

1/25/2004 – No, we’re not talking about the chess prize awarded by the venerated Russian publication, 64, but the Oscars given out in Hollywood each year. With a full-length feature film on Garry Kasparov's infamous match against Deep Blue in 1997 starting in movie theatres in Britain we bring you a spectacular trailer and an interview with the director here...

Last day impressions of Wijk

1/25/2004 – What do you do on a Sunday when you feel like driving your new car? You find an excuse for your family to spend a day away from home. Useful that on this very Sunday is the final round of the Wijk aan Zee chess tournament. ChessBase programmer and sometimes roving journalist Jeroen van den Belt sent us this illustrated report.

All World Championships review by Steve Lopez

1/24/2004 – A "coffee table" chess book that contained a couple of hundred pictures, scores of annotated games, and a videotape collection of film clips would it cost a mint, and you'd need a coffee table the size of a battleship to hold it. But with DVD technology you can fit it easily in the palm of your hand. Check out the new DVD from ChessBase in this week's ChessBase Workshop.

Corus Round 12: Tough day for top seeds

1/24/2004 – No need to peek into Anand's ear to look for gears and wires, he's human. He suffered his first loss of the event, to Topalov. Leko drew and Adams won, so they are both a half-point behind Anand. Sokolov beat Kramnik. Anand has white in the final round; his pursuers have black. (Bareev (right) actually drew, but we liked the picture!) Full report and analysis

Corus Round 11: Read all about it! Anand wins, Leko gives chase

1/23/2004 – We should thank Peter Leko for at least making it look close. Unstoppable Vishy Anand beat Jan Timman to move to +5. Leko defeated Zhang to stay a full point back. Sokolov seems intent on taking his turn as "Dutch player to finish last in WaZ," a role played by Timman or van Wely for the past four years. Soko lost to Bareev and now faces Kramnik and Anand! Report with photos and analysis here now.

Nigel Short, Commonwealth Champion

1/22/2004 – Last week Nigel Short won the Commonwealth Championship in Mumbai, India. The former World Championship challenger scored 7.5 points in nine rounds. After his return we had an opportunity to talk with him. As always Nigel was interesting and entertaining in his description of the tournament and the players. Here's the must-read interview.

The positional exchange sacrifice

1/22/2004 – After a break to play some chess our online GM trainer Dorian Rogozenko is back with a lecture on the modern positional exchange sacrifice. You can listen in on Thursday night on the Playchess server.

Corus Round 10: Adams doesn't test Anand, no change at the top

1/22/2004 – Mickey Adams decided not to challenge Vishy Anand's tremendous form and offered a draw with all the pieces on the board after 18 moves. That left the Englishman and Peter Leko a point behind Anand with three rounds to play. Bologan won his second in a row, his sixth decisive game running after starting with four draws! Full report and analysis.

Kasparov vs. the Kremlin

1/21/2004 – In the last election the party backed by President Vladimir Putin won more than 300 seats in the 450-seat Duma. Now a group of leading Russian liberals, including world chess number one Garry Kasparov, have set up a committee with the stated purpose of working for fair elections – in 2008.

ChessBase Workshop Q & A

1/20/2004 – Even the most expert user cannot discover all the hundreds of features that are built into our program. And beginners usually have a lot of simple things to learn. In this week's ChessBase Workshop, Steve Lopez fields a variety of questions regarding ChessBase 8 and the Fritz family of playing programs. Questions and answers...

Wijk in the Winter

1/20/2004 – A trip to the Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament is something you don't want to miss – even if it is winter and you have to brave rain and gale-force winds. You are rewarded for your enterprising spirit by meeting a lot of interesting people and seeing a lot of interesting games. Here is our first picture report from the Super-GM in Wijk.

Corus Round 9: Heavyweight battle drawn short and sweet

1/20/2004 – Right after rook sacrifices shook the board in Kramnik-Anand, the players shook hands. Did someone resign? What was going on? It turns out a perpetual check was unavoidable. Adams lost to van Wely to join Leko a full point behind Anand. Full report and analysis.

Guess when he last lost a white game!

1/19/2004 – Tunc Hamarat has become the 16th International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) World Champion. In the finals he scored a remarkable 11/15, but more astonishing is a different record: in correspondence chess Hamarat has not lost a single white game in the last – 40 years! Here's a full report and games.

Corus Round 8: Anand sprints, Adams follows

1/19/2004 – It was a good day from A to Z in Wijk aan Zee. Or maybe just for A and Z. Players with names starting with A scored 2.5/3 led by wins from Anand over Bareev and Adams over Kramnik. Z, represented by Zhang, got its first full point. B was a disaster, going 0-2. Anand keeps the clear lead and will have black against Kramnik tomorrow. Full report and analysis.

Bobby Fischer goes to print

1/18/2004 – Robert James Fischer exerts a powerful pull even though his great achievements are 30 years gone. The new book "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" revisits the life and times of the 1972 world championship. The authors recently penned a book on philosophers Wittgenstein and Popper. Can they add anything new to Fischer-Spassky? Read on.

Saved by the flu – literally

1/18/2004 – Normally influenza viruses bring pain and exhaustion to the afflicted, with no mitigating circumstances. Except in this one case, where they saved the life Jamshid Begmatov, the moderator of our chess game against Uzbek GM Yuldashev, who was prevented from taking an ill-fated plane trip by a flu. Here's the harrowing story.

Corus Round 7: Anand leads alone at last

1/18/2004 – As inevitable as tears at a wedding, Vishy Anand has taken the lead in Wijk aan Zee. The Indian won the all-Asia game against Zhang Zhong with black while his co-leaders could only draw (or lose, in Topalov's case). Is Anand's second consecutive title also inevitable? Svidler, Bologan, and Shirov also won. Full report with analysis and photos here now.

Trouble finding good moves? Find bad ones!

1/17/2004 – If you play too many blunders maybe you just need practice looking for them. You have to admit that makes sense in a twisted way and here is your chance. We have an even dozen tactical positions in which you have to find the worst move, not the best. You'll hone your defensive skills and your ability to calculate. Think it's easy to find bad moves? Think again.

Corus Round 6: White is Okay

1/17/2004 – Chessplayers often explain the advantage of the first move by comparing it to having the serve in tennis. Today the aces were serving aces and all four wins came with the white pieces. All four were also scored by the leaders: Adams, Kramnik, Anand, and Topalov moved to +2. Report with photos and analysis here.

Corus Round 5: Jan Can!

1/16/2004 – Things quieted down on the scoreboard but not on the chess board. Marathon games of 80, 101, and 182 moves gave endgame fans more than their money's worth in round five. The only wins in the A group were by Akopian and Dutch legend Jan Timman, who got his first WAZ win in two years. The leading pack of five remained unchanged. Report, photos, and analysis here.

Fourways International brings elite to Bermuda

1/16/2004 – If you want to see top-level chess outside of Europe, this is your chance. The Fourways International is underway in beautiful Bermuda. The impressive field includes US champ Alexander Shabalov, perennial star Boris Gelfand, and last year's winner Giovanni Vescovi. Shabba won in the first round to take the early lead. Games and report.