When an IM and WGM tie the knot

8/31/2003 – They met twelve years ago, over the chessboard. She was a 10-year-old schoolgirl, he a budding chess master. But Aarti showed little respect and beat the five year older Ramesh. Now the two, both well-known players on the international circuit, have joined forces in permanent wedlock. The ceremony was conducted in typical South Indian style.

Arpad Emre Elo – 100th anniversary

8/30/2003 – Many people think that the letters ELO are some kind of acronym, like FIDE or NASA. But they come from Arpad Emre Elo, born on August 25, 1903. Prof. Elo was a strong chess player (two draws against Rueben Fine!) and a physicist. He achieved fame by devising a new rating system that has gained universal acceptance. Here's a commemorative portrait.

Wireless chess with Sasha Kosteniuk

8/29/2003 – On Sept. 6th world vice champion Alexandra Kosteniuk will play a simultaneous exhibition at the Theatre De Balie in Amsterdam. But her six opponents will not be in the hall, but making a journey to it, starting from famous locartions. During the trip they will play against the simul master via mobile phone.

FIDE cancels world championship match

8/29/2003 – In a press conference in Moscow FIDE president Ilyumzhinov today cancelled the Yalta world chess championship match, effectively disqualifying its world champion Ruslan Ponomariov. A new cycle will be staged as a classical 128-player knockout tournament in December. The unification process remains in place. Here are all the details.

Kasparov: no laughing matter!

8/28/2003 – On Tuesday we reported that FIDE had given its world champions Ponomariov 48 hours to sign and fax an agreement for his title match against Garry Kasparov. Yesterday we heard that Ponomariov had agreed to sign the document. Today we learn that FIDE has not received anything. Apparently the young Ukrainan has allowed the deadline to pass.

Chess in the steely heart of Siberia

8/28/2003 – What kind of associations do you have when you hear the word "Siberia". Most people from different parts of the world think it is an exotically cold region. Mikhail Emeliano shows us Siberia from different side – the steel city of Novokuznetsk, where Dostoyevsky lived and where today there is an active chess community.

How to exchange your pieces

8/27/2003 – In today's online lecture GM Dorian Rogozenko continues to discuss one an important component in finding the right plan in a chess game – the problem of exchanging pieces. Using didactic examples he shows us when, how and which pieces must be traded, and under which conditions. More...

Grandmasters threatened by Mars opposition

8/27/2003 – If you switch on your television set you will know: today the planet Mars approached Earth closer than it has done during the last 60,000 years. This beautiful red jewel in the night sky is full of mystery. On the one hand, as John Nunn explains, a Martian invasion may be imminent. On the other we have startling new pictures of the famed "Face on Mars". More

Everything you wanted to know about Vladimir Kramnik

8/27/2003 – He has been accused of being aloof and secretive. Recently Vladimir Kramnik spoke out in a very frank interview with the Ukrainian newspaper "Facti". In a remarkably personal conversation he talks about food, money, sex, Swiss watches and English hoodlums. This is Vlady Kramnik as you have never seen him before.

Priyanka Bhakta, the 8-year-old who loved chess

8/27/2003 – It's a heartwrenching picture. An eight-year-old battling leukemia, determinedly playing chess when her stamina and doctors allow. In April Priyanka Bhakta won five of seven games at the Minnesota State Chess Tournament, collecting computer hardware for her skill as well as her courage. On Monday Priyanka succumbed to her illness. More...

Sam Sloan, world-class chess gadfly

8/26/2003 – USCF candidate, taxi-driver, polygamist, gadfly – all these epitaphs fit one of the most colorful personalities in world chess. Sam Sloan has been jailed in Afthanistan, fought Pakistani kidnappers, had lunch with terrorist mastermind bin Laden, fled US courts who want access to his father's alleged $50 million fortune. And you thought that chess players led dull lives?

FIDE give Ponomariov 48-hour deadline

8/26/2003 – The world chess federation has given its world champion Ruslan Ponomariov 48 hours to sign and fax an agreement to the conditions for his title match against Garry Kasparov, scheduled for September 18th in the Ukrainian city of Yalta. New: We have the FIDE release plus many links and translations of interviews with Ponomariov and Ilyumzhinov. Here..

A special class of chess in Baden

8/26/2003 – The German city of Baden-Baden is famous for its spas, its theraputic waters and its casino. It has also played host to some great chess tournaments, starting in 1925 (Alekhine won). This year there was a number of classy opens and a 92-board open-air simultaneous exhibition with world-class players. GM Suat Atalik reports.

CORRECTIONS!

8/26/2003 – In this week's ChessBase Workshop, Steve Lopez eats a very large and bony crow, correcting the unfortunate mathematical errors he made in last week's column with the kind help of some of our readers. Let's not waste any more time and we'll get right to the public humiliation portion of our programme! Pass the ketchup?

Does Kasparov play 2800 Elo against a computer?

8/26/2003 – On August 24 the well-known statistician Jeff Sonas presented an article entitled "How strong are the top chess programs?" In it he looked at the performance of top programs against humans, and attempted to estimate an Elo rating on the basis of these games. One of the programs, Brutus, is the work of another statistician, Dr Chrilly Donninger, who replies to Jeff Sonas.

ESPN Embraces Chess and Kasparov-X3D Fritz

8/25/2003 – If repeat business is the sincerest form of flattery, the sports cable giant ESPN has very good things to say about chess. In January they showed hours of live coverage of the final game between Kasparov and Junior. The ratings and reaction were so good that ESPN will cover all four of the X3D Kasparov-Fritz games in November. More..

Computers vs computers and humans

8/24/2003 – The SSDF list ranks chess playing programs on the basis of 90,000 games. But these are games the computers played against each other. How does that correlate to playing strength against human beings? Statistician Jeff Sonas uses a number of recent tournaments to evaluate the true strength of the programs.

Time is precious for the Ambassador of Blancpain

8/23/2003 – We spotted it on the back of Newsweek. Vladimir Kramnik has printed out in Russian the profundity "Time is precious when you don't have enough of it." He joins the club, which includes Garry Kasparov and Alexandra Kosteniuk, of chess champions promoting Swiss watches.

Records to shatter in sunny Singapore

8/22/2003 – The world domino topple record (303,621 men) was set this week in Singapore, and currently some 2800 students are busy clicking on their computer mouses after school hours, preparing for the biggest Internet Chess Tournament of all time! You too can be part of the record attempt and maybe even become Singapore Internet Champion!

The perfect cuppa – secrets of a triumph

8/22/2003 – Was it all a matter of judiciously ingested beverages? A cup of tea at the right moment? Probably not, but it is fascinating to learn how Viorel Bologan, the underdog Moldavian GM, managed to win the category XVIII super-GM in Dortmund. In case you are still in a daze over this unexpected victory you may want find out from this Europe Echecs article.

Visual wordplay with Anand and Fritz

8/22/2003 – "Ambigrams" are words which can be read in more than one way. They remain the same after rotation or reflection. This form of wordplay is the speciality of Punya Mishra, Assistant Professor at the Michigan State University. Prof. Mishra has done some interesting work on Anand and Fritz.

Young Kateryna wins GM tournament

8/21/2003 – It could be the picture of the year: a bunch of hefty GMs and IMs, posing at the end of a tournament, together with a diminutive 13-year-old girl. But wait, she is holding the trophy! That is because Kateryna Lahno actually won the tournament, a full point ahead of the rest. She also made a GM norm in the process and advanced to number nine in the world women's rankings. We bring you pictures and annotated games.

Sensational computer victory at GM tournament

8/19/2003 – Our experimental hardware chess program "Brutus" scored a remarkable (some would say depressing) first place in the Lippstadt GM tournament, two full points ahead of its nearest rivals. In the process the computer easily fulfilled a GM norm. The performance was 2765. We bring you a round-by-round report with pictures and all games.

Anand pulls off hat-trick win at Mainz Chess Classic

8/18/2003 – After two previous wins in the Mainz Chess Classic Anand today clinched a third title with two straight victories over Judit Polgar. The Indian rapid chess champ started the day with a break of tradition: unlike on the first three days he won the first game. After that he took the final game without giving his plucky opponent much of a chance. Meanwhile Peter Svidler defeated Peter Leko to become the first "WNCA" champion. Report, pictures and games...