The usual suspects

7/2/2003 – The July 1st FIDE rating list has the usual three players at the top: Kasparov (by 45 points!), Kramnik and Anand (eleven points apart). Judit Polgar is number 11. In the women's list we have a 13-year-old who has climbed to number 28 in the world. Here are the top ratings in the FIDE list.

Local boy leads World Junior in Azerbaijan

6/30/2003 – Azerbaijan just keeps churning them out. Kasparov, Sutovsky, Radjabov you know. How about Mamedyarov, Guseinov, and Gashimov? You'll know them soon enough. The first on that list is currently leading the World Junior in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. He and his compatriots are getting strong competition from the powerful Indian contingent as well as the usual suspects from Russia and Ukraine. Standings and games here.

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and – Fritz?

6/30/2003 – Summer is here, and people are flocking to exotic places with sandy beaches and luscious palms. Europe's largest computer magazine has dedicated its cover story to preparation for the trip. What must you take along? A notebook, obviously, navigation software, music, and a little brain exercise in the form of Fritz 8. More...

Kramnik and Anand to clash in Dortmund

6/30/2003 – The Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund is traditionally the strongest tournament in the country. This year six players will battle it out from July 31 to August 10 in a double round robin. At the top of the list are classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik and world number three Vishy Anand. We bring you all the necessary details.

Ponomariov: 'I can beat Kasparov'

6/29/2003 – FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov has given another interview, this time to the Russian sports magazine Sport Express. In it he repeats his dissatisfaction with the way FIDE has handled the organisation of his September match against Garry Kasparov and sets his demands for reimbursement for financial losses at $150,000. Here's an English transcription of the interview.

Who are your favourite players?

6/29/2003 – This is going to be a bit of work. During the European Championships in Turkey we published games, results, tactical positions, and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures, of the players at work and at play. Now we want you to review them and pick your favourite players. In return for your participation you can win autographed pictures of the most popular players in Europe. Here are all the links and some interesting new pictures.

Will the real Fritz programmer stand up?

6/29/2003 – Mathias Feist is one of the authors of our flagship program Fritz. Recently he was on a German "What's my line?" type TV show. The three candidates pretended to be experts on (gulp) bird-eating spiders. One of the contestants thought Mathias was the real thing. The following story is not for arachnophobes...

Yes, but is it chess?

6/28/2003 – On June 28 London's Gilbert Collection opens a special exhibition entitled The Art of Chess. It begins with a match between chess prodigy David Howell (12) and thw world's youngest GM Sergey Karjakin, 13. However, if you visit the exhibtion it will be the unusual chess sets that will catch your breath.

World Junior Chess Championships in Nakhchivan

6/27/2003 – Where?? Nakhchivan is one of the oldest towns of Azerbaijan. Today it is an exclave and extremely difficult to reach. That is where the U20 championships are being held. Dorian Rogozenko made the adventurous trip without a digital camera. So you we will have to make do with something quite unusual: a vivid verbal description.

Sargon – a chess program from the past

6/27/2003 – Today's top programs run at gigahertz speeds, looking at millions of positions per second while playing against world champions. Twenty years ago the programs had to make do with one megahertz and five KB of memory. James DuBois takes a trip back to the pioneer days of the VIC-20 and the Sargon chess program. Read more about his tale of woe…

Evgeny Bareev wins clear first in Enghien-les-bains

6/26/2003 – It may have lacked drama but it didn't lack authority. Russia's Bareev has returned to the top ten and it looks like he wants to stick around for a while. He ran out to the lead with 5/6 and then drew his final three games to take the title a half-point ahead of Adams and a full point in front of Gelfand and Polgar. Guess who had the most decisive games! Report, games, and analysis here.

The latest from Yalta, Prague and FIDE

6/26/2003 – It looks like the FIDE world championship will be held in early September in Yalta, Ukraine. Unfortunately it clashes with the annual Eurotel Trophy in Prague, which this year will be a six-game Man-vs-Woman extravaganza. Meanwhile FIDE president Ilyumzhinov has "local difficulties", as reported on the pages of The Scotsmanby John Henderson.

Brilliant, hilarious, unpatriotic

6/25/2003 – When you try to be funny in chess and go out on a political limb you are bound to get reactions. Like the hundreds of letters we received to Mig Greengard's "Weapons of Match Distruction" column (one came from the head of a psychiatric clinic). 80% were positive, 19% took offence at the unpatriotic contents of his satire. Here are excerpts.

Electronic Chess Alchemy

6/25/2003 – "I find ideas?" said GM Evgeny Bareev in CBM 82 video interview. "No, Fritz finds the ideas. I don't. Because I simply don't have the time." That may have been a bit tongue-in-cheek, but Tim McGrew explains how to actually prepare openings novelties systematically using Fritz, in this important Chess Cafe article. Here is the memorable Bareev interview.

Taking chess to Number 10 Downing Street

6/24/2003 – Last week the Scottish Youth Squad paid a visit to 10 Downing Street. They were received by Cherie Blair, wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair. The No.10 reception was held to commemorate the Chess Scotland's inauguration of a trophy for "Scottish Girl Chess Player of the Year". Read all about it in John Henderson's report.

Chess across the globe

6/24/2003 – For the third time the technology and media city of Dresden payed host to a interesting chess event. More than 350 participants turned up at the Sachsen Forum last weekend to try out the different possibilities that modern chess has to offer. One of the most spectacular was playing a blitz games over a distance of 18,000 kms. The nicest: a simul by a 13-year-old girl. More...

How to build your own super-computer

6/22/2003 – Just in case you decide to do this, here are instructions from a well-known grandmaster. John Nunn says that it is time to get a new computer when you get twice the performance of your current system. But it may not be advisable to simply order an off-the-shelf product. Instead he shows you how he went about building his own state-of-the-art machine.

Jet fighters and chess moves in Holland

6/22/2003 – The Dutch Team Championship is in its play-off stage. We sent our trusty photo reporter Jeroen van den Belt to get some pictures of the action. Trusty? Jeroen spent most of his time at an air show that was, fatally, being held on the route to the playing site – a casino.

A chess tournament in Kabul

6/22/2003 – As we reported chess has returned to Afghanistan. For a decade the infamous Taliban had stricly forbidden the game, but now, thanks mainly to the efforts of Dutch Embassy employees, there are lessons and even tournaments in Kabul. They are attended by male and female players, the first such intergender activity in a long time. Boy Frank reports...

Chess players slug it out in Los Angeles

6/21/2003 – Tonight two chess players are playing a World Championship match in Los Angeles. Not with knights and pawns but boxing gloves. The contenders are Dr. Viatly Klitschko, chess fan from the Ukraine, and Britain's Lennox Lewis, the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, who is possibly the stronger chess player. Tip: you can watch this match free (in Europe)! Links and details are here...

The Golden Cleopatra Open

6/18/2003 – Egypt is the country that springs to mind when you think chess. But a giant open in Cairo, just three miles from the pyramids, is something that catches your attention. When we asked the organisers for a report we expeced a dry chessboard (chess-bored?) affair. Instead we received a truly spectacular illustrated article. Take some time to read this unique tournament report.

Bareev leads Enghien-les-bains

6/17/2003 – A lot has been said about the French lately, but one thing is for sure: They put on an exciting chess tournament. Every two years the organizers of Enghien-les-bains put together a field full of locals, juniors, and fighters of all ages. They are consistently rewarded with many fascinating battles. Top seeds Bareev, Adams, and Polgar lead undefeated after five rounds. All the games, many with notes and analysis here.

Anand speaks to one billion fans

6/16/2003 – What is it like if you are a sporting hero in your country and are spending a few weeks doing the newspaper circuit? Vishy Anand, the world's number three player, is one of India's brightest media stars. Which has special implications when you consider the demographics and circulation numbers. Anand is quite possibly the most popular chess player of all times. On Tuesday you too can chat online with "the Vish". Here are the links...

And the winners are...

6/15/2003 – There were still some loose ends at the European Championships, like who would get gold in the women's section, or bronze in the men's. The questions have been solved in the tie-break games, which we bring you together with a lot of new pictures from the closing ceremony, including Ivanchuk dancing!