Braunfels is the place you want to be

6/4/2002 – "Where else can you find 150 female chess players all together in a single place?" asks our correspondent Anna Dergatscheva, who led the NRW team to second place in the German Women's Team Championship in Braunfels. "But it is not just about chess, it is also an opportunity to meet friends, play countless blitz games and sit in the sun with a glas of beer." More

Unbeatable Fritz wins international computer tournament

6/3/2002 – The amateurs are becoming stronger, their chess engines will give any program in the world a run for its money. But in the end the professionals win out. At the Dutch CSVN tournament Fritz, running on a Transtec dual system, took clear first place, a full point ahead of its nearest rival. The program was undefeated in nine rounds – that's the game Shredder vs Fritz (0-1) on the left. Read all about it in Eric van Reem's final report.

Kramnik: "I did not give up the title!"

6/3/2002 – After the confusing press conference held in Moscow last Thursday (see Mig's report below) Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik has felt a need to speak out. He reaffirms his commitment to the Prague agreement, describes Einsteins involvement and denies that the qualifier tournament in Dortmund has run into financial problems. You will find Kramnik's statement here.

Reunification, Tempests, and Teapots

6/1/2002 – What happens when a press conference is held in Russian and you run a web translation program over it? This is what can come out: "It(he) added, competition (match) against the winner of Dortmund had no any place of a meeting of fund of a prize for the present..." Unfortunately it can lead to quick press releases, controversy and debate. Mig Greengard clears it all up in his latest chess column.

A black day for France

6/1/2002 – May 31st. With 500 million people watching France lost to Senegal in the soccer World Cup 2002. At the same time 22 players were gathered in Leiden, Holland, to play in the second CSVN computer chess tournament. There the very strong French program Chess Tiger seemed to be influenced by it football counterpart and displayed miserable form at the start. Read all about day one and two in Eric van Reem's reports.

Humpy beats Judit Polgar by three months

5/31/2002 – Koneru Humpy, whom we introduced in our India Chess Diary recently, has become the youngest female player in the history of chess to achieve a male grandmaster title. Humpy (that's her first name) achieved her final norm at the Elekes Memorial GM tournament at the age of 15 years, one month and 27 days, breaking Judit Polgar's previous record by three months. More

GMs demand professional committee

5/28/2002 – Expressing their concern that the Prague reunification plan could violate sports principles, a number of top players have called for a "Grandmasters' Committee" to represent their interests. The open letter to FIDE was signed by the likes of Anand, Morozevich, Bareev, Shirov, Svidler, Leko, Girschuk, Lautier and fourteen others. More

Not so many stars over Moscow

5/28/2002 – With the FIDE Grand Prix starting on June 1st the highest-ranking participants are Kasparov and Ponomariov. Conspicuously missing are top GMs like Kramnik, Anand, Topalov and Leko. 21 of the 30 participants are from the former Russian Republics, two are from France, one from India and one from Iran. More

Room for rent on our chess server

5/28/2002 – Want a separate room for your federation or chess club on the Playchess (Fritz) server? You can have one, free of charge, a place to meet your friends and club mates, play tournaments or simply hang out. Information and contact...

War and Peace – a history of chess unity

5/27/2002 – Yasser Seirawan has delivered the final installment of his trilogy on the Prague reunification agreement. It is almost as long as Tolstoi's book – and just as gripping. Take half an hour off to read this momentous description of the chess world in turmoil. And if you want to know even more (for a doctoral thesis, maybe?), there is an extensive list of links to be found at the top of Yasser's article From a Fresh Start to a New Dawn part 3.

A History of Chess Unity – Part deux

5/25/2002 – The momentous Prague reunification is currently the central theme of discussion in the chess world. The spiritus rector of the agreement was American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, who proposed the plan in February this year, and has devoted his life to its implementation ever since. Yasser has sent us part two of his gripping blow-by-blow narrative of how it all came together.

Fritz still on top of the computer world

5/25/2002 – For years it has been the same. With a few brief breaks our flagship program Fritz has topped the international computer lists. Of the top ten eight are – Ahem! – distributed by ChessBase (including the top five). You will find a list of the first 50 programs here.

Ten reasons to accept the peace plan

5/24/2002 – The signing of the unity plan in Prague on May 6th has led to a great deal of hope and discussion in the chess world. Criticised by some it is staunchly defended by one of the central players: Garry Kasparov. We asked Garry, who split with FIDE nine years ago, about his peace treaty with the world chess federation. He sent us a list ways it would impact the world of chess. More

My life with chess and music

5/23/2002 – "It is not easy to describe in a few sentences careers than span over seventy years," says Mark Taimanov. But nonetheless he tries and gives us a unique insight into a life that took him from movie actor to concert pianist to world-class chess player. Taimanov is an exceptional storyteller, and you can read all about his life (and listen to his music) in this wonderful interview by Joel Lautier.

A psychiatrist matches wits with Fritz

5/18/2002 – When's the last time a "how to" book really solved your problems when it came to love, children or money? Not to mention how to get the better of your PC chess opponent. Psychiatrist Ernest F. Pecci has written a book that makes defeating Fritz seem effortless. Does the book deliver? James DuBois uncovers the truth.

Super-GM loses 0.5:3.5 against the computer

5/18/2002 – This is seriously depressing. Mikhail Gurevich, Elo 2641 and one of the great chess analysts of our time, finished his four-game match against the computer world champion Junior 7 with just one draw to show for his efforts. In today's final game Misha was tactically outplayed in the endgame. You can replay it on our javascript board.

Yasser Seirawan sets the record straight

5/18/2002 – On May 7 a momentous reunification contract was signed in Prague. "I've been following the post Prague reactions and had a few good chuckles," Yasser Seirawan told us. "Lots of folks have things very mixed up and thus the need to make a clear historical record of what took place." Yasser does so in a momentous three-part essay you will not want to miss. Part one and all necessary background information is available here.

When a Shogi champion turns to chess

5/17/2002 – Michael Jordan tried it with baseball – it, like, didn't work out. But what about a professional Shogi champion switching to chess? Yoshiharu Habu, one of the most gifted players in the history of the ancient Japanese game, has taken a casual interest in chess – and already reached IM strength. He is currently playing in a tournament in Paris, where Joel Lautier interviewed him.

Record-breaking mini-grandmaster?

5/16/2002 – Can you imagine that you may soon have to address the boy in this picture respectfully as "grandmaster"? 12-year-old Sergei Karjakin (learn to pronounce it now: car-yack-kin!) has just gained his second GM norm and looks poised to gain his title well before his 13th birth in January 2003. That would make him the only person in the world to become a grandmaster and second a world champion before reaching his teens! More

Getting the most out of Hiarcs 8

5/16/2002 – The openings book on the Hiarcs8 CD is a general book merged from a giant collection of historic and modern master games. It is great for training and fun. However the games contain many inferior lines which Hiarcs whould never play of its own accord. If you want to optimise the playing strength you should get the special tournament book created by Eric Hallsworth. More

And what does Karpov think?

5/14/2002 – Flushed with his success at the Eurotel World Chess Trophy, Anatoly Karpov was an honoured guest at the 125th anniversary celebrations of the German Chess Federation. At a breakfast meeting the 50-year-old gave us his views on the Chess Unity Plan that was signed in Prague exactly a week earlier. Anatoly was frank and thoughtful in his views, which you will find in a special interview here.

Chess sells!

5/13/2002 – Chess is in, chess – and not just sex – can help big corporations sell their products. On German TV there are currently two ad campaigns for cars which use chess to highlight the products. In one a chess player is shown but never named. You may just recognise the face, though. More

Batumi in the summer

5/13/2002 – The exotic, subtropical city south-west coast of Georgia is full of palms, cypresses, magnolias, oleanders, lemon and orange trees, for huge beds of flowers, sparkling fountains, tennis courts, lace-work buildings, holiday homes and lots of other attractive features. If you want to see it why not attend the 3rd European Individual Championship. More

Dortmund: no change to candidates' format

5/12/2002 – Why haven't Anand and Ivanchuk been included in the Prague Chess Unity Plan? This is a question may chess fans have been asking. One suggestion they put forward is to add the two players to the Einstein qualifier. "Nein", says the organiser in Dortmund, this is not a possible option. More