Kasparov going with the Times

1/21/2003 – Paul Hoffman is a regular writer for the New York Times. He is also a chess enthusiast who manages to get stories on computers and grandmasters it the pages of the broadsheet. Once again Paul has struck and produced a long and very readable article on the upcoming Kasparov vs Deep Junior match in the science section. You will need to register (free) to read it. For those who can't here is a short synopsis.

Snooze aan Zee

1/21/2003 – What is better than a rest day coming up in a really tough tournament? Two rest days. If you can afford to take the quick draw, or your name doesn't begin with Topalov, this is no big problem. The only decisive game came when Grischuk collapsed against Bareev's Caro-Kann. Take a look at what Evgeny did with his queen in Mig's round nine report.

A new face: Anna Hahn, US Champion

1/20/2003 – Three players were tied for first in the 2003 US Women's Champion. Underdog Anna Hahn, 26, born in Latvia and currently a resident of Jersey City, caused a major chess upset in the playoff by beating former champions Jennifer Shahade and Irina Krush. The win brought her a record first prize of $12,500. Besides chess Anna is fond of music, dancing, tennis and, would you believe it, kickboxing. Here is John Henderson's report.

Anand all alone at the top

1/20/2003 – After three wins in a row Loek van Wely went down fighting against veteran Anatoly Karpov, Alexei Shirov found himself a piece down after tactical complications against Alexander Grischuk. Ruslan Ponomariov had an even more traumatic encounter with the youngest player, 15-year-old Teimour Radjabov. Which left Anand to tenaciously hold a draw against the other world champion Vladimir Kramnik and take the sole lead in Wijk. Full report.

Shaba takes Seattle

1/19/2003 – Some have problems with a good night's sleep there, but Alexander Shabalov, 35, came, saw and took the $25,000 prize fund as US Champion 2003. The 1992 émigré from Riga, Latvia, was tied with seven other players for a Showdown in Seattle. In a nerve-wracking final the "street fighter" overcame a bad position to win and take the title. Here is John Henderson's final report.

Anand and Van Wely on winning streak

1/19/2003 – After the Dutch player Loek van Wely stormed his way into the joint lead with Anand and Polgar, he continued his incredible winning streak by beating compatriot Jan Timman today. Only Vishy Anand was able to keep up with a fine victory over FIDE champion Ruslan Ponomariov. Meanwhile Shirov continued his roller coaster ride with a win over Bareev, while Judit Polgar squeaked out a draw against Vladimir Kramnik. Read our full report.

Saving the reunification championship

1/18/2003 – Negotiations between FIDE and Ruslan Ponomariov seem to have reached an impasse. In this dire situation GM Mikhail Golubev, editor of Ukrainian Chess Online, has come up with a proposal to save the reunification process. Essentially he wants the Ponomariov-Kasparov match to be clearly definied as a semi-final match for the reunification process and for its result to lose valitidy if the process is not completed. More.

Showdown in Seattle

1/18/2003 – The US Championship in Seattle, Washington, is getting set for either stunning breakaway or one of the most even, boring tournaments ever. The ninth and final round is on Saturday the 18th. There is a lot of money (prize fund $253,000, first prize $25,000) at stake, and eight players are tied in first place: Kaidanov, Shabalov, Akobian, Stripunsky, Gulko, Ivanov, Benjamin and Fedorowicz, all at 5.5/8. Prepare for the showdown tonight.

Mayor Bloomberg invites us to New York

1/18/2003 – The Kasparov-Deep Junior match is just a week away. Today we received an official announcement from New York Mayor Michael R Bloomberg, who writes: "It is my pleasure to welcome the 'Man vs. Machine' tournament to New York City. People from around the world will enjoy the fierce competition between one of the world's most strategic and intuitive minds and the latest advances in artificial intelligence." Here is the full message from Mayor Bloomberg.

Loek who's leading in Wijk!

1/18/2003 – The Dutch players traditionally occupy the back ranks in the Super-GM tournament in Wijk aan Zee. They are normally outclassed by the -ovs, -chucks and the odd -and. But this time one player came to the Corus tournament ferociously well prepared and raring for a fight. Today Loek van Wely ground down Evgeny Bareev, after beating Topalov yesterday, both times with the black pieces. Here's Mig Greengard's round six report.

Einstein: the players have all been paid!

1/17/2003 – "We are disappointed that ChessBase neglected to check with us before posting the artícle," wrote Steve Timmins, CEO of the Einstein Group. He was referring to the press release of Jan. 15 in which Madame Nahed Ojjeh announced she was breaking ties with Einstein for non-payment of some participants at the Dortmund Chess Tournament, which she had sponsored. Timmins tells us that all participants have now been paid. More

Fritz comes second, just behind Deep Fritz

1/17/2003 – The Swedish Svenska schackdatorföreningen (SSDF, Chess Computer Association) has released its latest computer ranking list, based on over 90,000 games played by 250 computers. As usual (for about four years now) Fritz is at the top, with the multiprocessor version Deep Fritz 7 outstripping its single-processor sibling – on identical hardware. The level of play of the leader, by the way, is 2755.

Dear Judit, I hope you win this tournament!

1/16/2003 – A fantastic black win against Anatoly Karpov put Judit Polgar into the sole lead in the Wijk aan Zee tournament. With clever tactics and continues hammer blows the world's strongest woman trounced the former world champion in 33 moves. We would like to join a fan from France in fervently wishing Judit full victory in this tournament. Read his letter and Mig Greengard's round four report here.

Chess and the twisted radio show

1/16/2003 – What do chess players do on a rest day? Well rest they don't. Some give simuls for children, others take part in costume chess battles. Jennifer Shahade appeared on a classical rock radio station ("Bob Rivers and Twisted Radio") and humourously answered questions about whether she undid a few buttons on her blouse before playing against men. Read all about it in our latest report on the US championship in Seattle.

Anand wins, Kramnik loses, Shirov in the lead

1/16/2003 – They have played at least 82 games against each other, Vishy Anand has scored 58% against the legendary world champion Anatoly Karpov. Today Anand chalked up one more with a fine win in Wijk. Meanwhile the bitter anthagonists Shirov and Kramnik fought it out in a complicated game, which the former won to take the lead in the tournament. Young Radjabov and Loek van Wely also scored their first wins. Read all about it in Mig Greengard's round five report.

Applying Morphy's law in Seattle

1/15/2003 – Was a time chess players became US Champions by "popular acclaim" – they were hailed as such by virtue of their playing strength in matches and tournaments of that particular era. Today they have to fight it out against top GMs, in nine rounds and with 58 players. At least the have a world record prize fund for a national title: $253,000. Read about it in John Henderson's round five report.

Deep Shredder cuts 2642 Super-GM to strips

1/15/2003 – "It isn't easy to play with the black pieces against a computer", sighed Sergey Volkov, Russian champion in 2000. He had just lost to Deep Shredder 7 on the Playchess server in 33 moves. "Shredder played like a strong grandmaster!" It was the first of two games, the second being scheduled for tonight. Do not miss the dramatic action.

Madame Ojjeh say NAO to Einstein

1/15/2003 – She came with high hopes of reunifying the chess world. Nahed Ojjeh, Syrian-born multi-millionaire, created the NAO chess club and joined forces with the British Einstein Group and even put up the prize fund of the 2002 Einstein "Candidates Tournament" in Dortmund. Apparently some of the monies did not go to the players, and Einstein stopped answering enquiries. Now Madame Ojjeh has broken all relations with the Einstein Group. More.

In the shoes of the Fischerman

1/14/2003 – 45 years ago to the day a young lad from Brooklyn made his debut at the US Championship. The fourteen-year-old rank outsider was the shock winner that year and became (and still is) the youngest title holder. To this day Bobby Fischer continues to cast a giant shadow over the US Championships, as John Henderson tells it in his round four report from the US Championship in Seattle.

Anand to win Wijk aan Zee!

1/14/2003 – That, in any case, is what most of our readers seem to believe. In reply to our Wijk aan Zee quiz we received many hundreds of emails from all corners of the world. Fortuna favet fortibus said one, which supplied Latin phrases for each of the participants. Prepare for a long and interesting read.

Judit Polgar in the lead in Wijk

1/14/2003 – Okay, she's sharing it with Karpov, Anand and Bareev, but the world's strongest female player did play a very nice game against Holland's Jan Timman in round three of the Wijk aan Zee tournament. Judit successfully navigated a very complicated middlegame, and then Timman's misplaced pieces were easy pickings for Polgar's tactical eye. Here are the games, results, tables and a report by Mig Greengard.

Russian Championship in the United States?

1/13/2003 – With many émigrés now living in America, many joke that the U.S. Championships could easily be mistaken for the USSR Championships. Read all about the great American players like Boris Gulko, Gregory Kaidanov, Alexander Shabalov, Eugene Perelshteyn, Varuzhan Akobian, Yury Lapshun and this year's second seed Alexander Goldin (picture) in John Henderson's latest report from Seattle.

The Jeroen van den Belt Wijk aan Zee picture gallery

1/13/2003 – That's quite a mouthful, but definitely worth checking out. Jeroen van den Belt is one of the ChessBase team, responsible for the spectacular Fritz 8 3D graphics and a lot of the Playchess server functions. Jeroen spent a weekend at the top Dutch tournament and sent us a batch of candid photos of players and situations. Heck, it's almost like being there yourself. You will find Jeroen's extensive picture report here.

FIDE vs Ponomariov – the battle rages on

1/13/2003 – FIDE is putting the screws on their world champion Ruslan Ponomariov. They want him to sign an agreement to play against Garry Kasparov as part of the reunification plan. But the young champion is balking. We bring you some new documents on the "negotiations", including full regulations of the World Championship Match 2003.