10/15/2001 – At the end of this week Garry Kasparov is scheduled to play two clock simuls – against the entire Czech national team! This consists of four very strong GMs with ratings of 2627, 2610, 2566 and 2540. It could well be the strongest simul in the history of the game. Well good luck Garry, you're going to need it. Details about the event are to be found more

10/13/2001 – We thought it was a game reserved exclusively for us geeks. But would you believe it, a lot of interesting personalities are playing the game. At lease in the film world. We present a number of examples in our puzzle section. You are supposed to identify the names of the players and the films. If you get 70% correct you can win a copy of our brand-new program Fritz 7. The first set of pictures is to be found more

10/10/2001 – We thought he had signed up to play in the 3K Botvinnik memorial, but now FIDE reports that former world champion Anatoly Karpov intends to try a comeback in the FIDE knockout world championship, which will be held at the same time in Moscow. . “I brought the title back to Russia from the West in 1975," said Karpov. "Now I feel it is my duty to wrest the crown from the East and take it back to Mother Russia.” more

10/6/2001 – Even though Vishy Anand's blackout performance in Dortmund lost him 24 points he remains in the three-player group at the top of the latest FIDE rating list. Vladimir Kramnik is now just 29 points behind the permanent leader, Garry Kasparov, who has built himself a nest at a dizzying hight of 2830. Alexander Morozevich and Peter Leko follow the three at a respectful distance, then come Veselin ("welcome back") Topalov, Michael Adams and Vassily Ivanchuk. For the first time in years Alexei Shirov ist not among the top ten. more

10/1/2001 – Is this boring or what? Once again Fritz tops the latest computer ratings list with a remarkable 2726 Elo score, on an Athlon 1200 MHz with 256 MB RAM. Interesting to note that nine of the top ten programs on the list run as engines under the Fritz interface. The full SSDF rating list is available more

9/22/2001 – At the end of October ChessBase will release the long-awaited Fritz 7. It will be considerably stronger than its predecessor. But it also gives you direct and uncomplicated access to Internet chess. With just two clicks you can log on to the ChessBase Playchess server and start playing against other people all over the world. more

9/19/2001 – Some weeks ago we showed you a bunch of people in front of a beautiful castle. You had to spot the great chess player in the crowd to win a special prize. Well, here's the solution, together with the story behind the picture: the taking of East Germany Part deux. more

9/18/2001 – On September 11, 1995 New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani played the move 1.c4 to start the World Chess Championship match between Anand and Kasparov on the observation deck of the world Trade Center. Once the TV cameras were switched off, Anand corrected the move to 1.e4. "Wish we could do the same, switch off the TV screens and reverse what the barbarians have done," writes V. Krishnaswamy, who spent five weeks in the WTC, looks back in sorrow at the 1995 match in his India Chess Diary.

9/18/2001 – The story is not going away, in fact it is gaining momentum. Many people believe that Bobby Fischer has returned and is performing miracles on the Internet. Nigel Short said he was "99 per cent sure" he has had played Fischer. Tim rabbé, who was initially skeptical, has now seen the light. We have taken another closer look at the evidence. Check it out more

9/17/2001 – Europe vs Asia encounter in a fairly remote location The rapid play encounter Europe vs Asia is currently under way (Sept. 16th-20th 2001) in the Batumi Opera House. Just getting to this remote location is quite an adventure, as the European team captain Alexander von Gleich reports. News, games and pictures from Batumi are available. More...

9/14/2001 – The organisers of the Man vs Machine event have replied to the ten questions posed on the Kasparov Chess web site. "The Bahrain rules were an attempt to level the playing field," write BGN Match Director Raymond Keene and Rules Commissioner Eric Schiller in a statement sent to a large number of journalists and media outlets. "We may not be perfect, and are still making adjustments, but these were our honest conclusions for a genuine test between man and machine."

9/12/2001 – Yesterday, in one of the most horrifying terrorist atrocities in history, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed. We extend our deepest sympathies to the people of America. Our thoughts and feelings are with the victims and their families. The World Trade Center had a special meaning for chess. In 1995 the World Championship was staged on the Observation Deck on the 107th floor. We look back at in a commemorative picture gallery.