Pictures from Amsterdam

8/5/2002 – The weather outside was frightful, but the chess action at the Lost Boys tournament was delightful. Especially for Loek van Wely, who won it with 8.5/9! Unfortunately the tenth edition of this famous tournament will probably be the last. Reason enough for Anna Dergatscheva to pack up her digital camera and set out on the 250 km journey in her old car. From Amsterdam Anna send us this illustrated report.

Kramnik on Advanced Chess and Fritz

8/4/2002 – He tried it for the first time – and managed to beat three-time Advanced Chess champion Vishy Anand. "This form of chess is easier to play," says Vladimir Kramnik, "because you have to just find the right direction and the computer does the entire tactical work for you,"  The classical chess world champion also talks about his upcoming match against Fritz in this exclusive audio interview.

Old URLs never die

8/4/2002 – ...they become porn sites. The The Seattle Chess Foundation was originally to be reached under, logically, www.seattlechessfoundation.com or .org. Then they changed the name to America's Foundation for Chess and the URL to www.af4c.org, allowing the original to expire. The original URL was snapped up by an aggressive adult site which now greets chess hungry surfers. Before you go investigating this snafu you should read a little more about it here.

Forget chess – go for Go

8/3/2002 – Programming games like chess has been a "relative snap" and has "succumbed to the power of the processor", says this New York Times article. "Go is different. To date, no computer has been able to achieve a skill level beyond that of the casual player." You will need to register (free of charge) to read the original piece. We have also prepared a summary of the NYT article with some points of discussion. You can join the debate here...

Human triumphs over Hiarcs 8 – just

8/1/2002 – In the end it was a flesh-and-blood player, Bernardo Roselli of Uruguay, who won first place in the Republica Chess Master in Argentina by the narrowest of margins – ahead of Hiarcs 8.0, which wrapped up second place with one of the best games of the tournament. "It played like a grandmaster", writes our reporter Roberto Alvarez in his final report from Argentina.

Ancient European chess piece discovered

8/1/2002 – Chess was probably invented in the fifth century in northern India and came to Europe in the 12th century. At least that is what scientists have assumed. Now a team of British archaeologists has unearthed evidence in the ancient city of Butrint suggesting that Europeans were playing chess as early as the sixth century. More

Fritz tops the computer lists – again!

7/31/2002 – The Swedish Chess Computer Association, an independent organisation, has published its July 30 rating list, based on a total of 87,452 games (!) played by 242 computers. Fritz leads the field. In the last 24 lists it has been on top 17 times. Of the 20 leading programs 16 (including the top seven) are distributed by ChessBase and can be bought in our online shop. Here's the latest SSDF list.

Hiarcs blitzes them all

7/30/2002 – One round before finish the Republica Chess Master in Argentina has three participants vying for first place. One is our computer program Hiarcs 8.0, which also entertained the Argentinian crowd with a remarkable blitz session. Playing with black in 70 games, and with only one minute for all moves (vs 6m + 3s for the human opponents) Hiarcs won all the games, with not a single defeat or draw. Report on rounds nine and ten.

Shredder digs into the Swiss National team

7/28/2002 – Our program Shredder has scored 1.5 points out of two games so far against the Swiss national team. The second encounter against Jannik Pelletier was a close call for the computer. The games start at 20:15 European time and are carried live on the Playchess server. Read all about this match and on the Biel Chess Festival in our illustrated report.

Computer poised for victory

7/27/2002 – Our program Hiarcs 8.0 has warmed up very nicely. After a slow start the program is working its way through GMs and IMs, scoring convincing victories and working its way to the top. In the penultimate round it beat IM Enrique Scarella in just 27 moves, and now has a chance to catch the leading Oscar Panno. You will find a report, pictures and all the games here...

Shredder vs the Swiss National Team

7/26/2002 – Starting from Friday, July 26, our programm Shredder is playing an interesting match as part of the Chess Festival in Biel. Shredder, operated by its author Stefan Meyer-Kahlen, is taking on the Swiss national team. The games will start at 20:15 European time and be carried live on the Playchess server, with live analysis after the games are over. More

Hiarcs learns a lesson

7/25/2002 – IM Jefferson Pelikian was cruising through the Republica Argentina tournament without a single loss. Then, in round seven, he met Hiarcs 8.0. Pelikian tried to repeat the computer's loss to Roselli in round five, but Hiarcs had apparently learnt its lesson. It played a startling novelty and won the game in convincing fashion. Read all about it in the illustrated report by Roberto Alvarez.

The Revenge of the Humans

7/24/2002 – Last year our program Chess Tiger won the Republica Argentina Chess Master 2002 with an amazing two point lead. This year the humans are poised to strike back. The news media is going wild over Hiarcs 8.0 participating in Buenos Aires. So far our new program has scored a win and two draws. You will find details, results, games and links here

Chess legend Oscar Panno leads

7/24/2002 – With excellent technique and good physical fitness 67-year-old Oscar Panno has held his lead in the Republica Argentina Chess Master 2002. The computer participant Hiarcs 8.0 has scored 50% so far. Read all about it in the illustrated report by Cuban FM Roberto Alvarez, who has included some interesting critical positions from round six. This report, the games, results and links are available here...

Who is Mig Greengard?

7/23/2002 – He has seldom been seen in public, hardly anyone has actually met this reclusive person. But now the Dutch chess magazine New in Chess, in a desperate search for new material, asked ChessBase columnist Mig to fill out their last page questionnaire. It contains the sordid details of Mig's life, his likes and dislikes, his development from a cute little kid to the character he is today. If you have the stomach for it you will find it here...

Kortchnoï frappe d'entrée

7/23/2002 – Korchnoi starts with a bang. The 71-year-old veteran is once again show his opponents that he is not yet finished with chess – not by a long shot. With a win and a draw he leads the field at the Biel Chess Festival, which is being covered live (from 14:00 MET) on the Playchess server. In the evening at 20:00 MET the best games of the day are discussed there by GM Miso Cebalo. More

Dresden girls vs the rest of the world

7/20/2002 – At the start of the ZMD Open in Dresden the organisers staged a spectacular event. From a beautiful castle a squad of young female players, using the Fritz server, took on players half a globe away. The event drew a lot of attention, not just in Germany but in the countries of the opponents. You will find a report with many pictures here

Come to play in the castle

7/17/2002 – On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. European time, there will be an interesting Internet event on the Playchess server. In the Albrechtsberg Castle four young German girls will take on players from other continents. Why don't you drop by and watch? Maybe there will be time for an informal blitz game or two against these charming young lasses.

"Today a GM title is worth very little"

7/15/2002 – The U.S. vs China Summit match is currently being held in Shanghai, China (overall the Chinese are currently in the lead). Chris Heringer sat down with GM Yasser Seirawan to talk about chess, the Summit match, politics at the top levels, and more. You will fine excerpts of the conversation here

"I have learnt a lot from Kramnik"

7/14/2002 – After his 2002 defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in London, Garry Kasparov has changed his style and redirected his chess preparations. The world's strongest player talks about Deep Blue, FIDE, upcoming players ("Ponomariov, Grischuk and Radjabov") and his chances of regaining his title in a Sunday interview in the German newspaper FAZ. More

Learn to play the Dragon

7/11/2002 – This Thursday our GM trainer, Dorian Rogozenko, is going to tackle the Sicilian Dragon – its historical background and how to play it. The lecture will be held on the Playchess server, starting from 19:00 GMT (= 21:00 hours Berlin/Paris time, 20:00 London or 3 p.m. NY). Attendence is free. More

Looking for a partner for Tina

7/9/2002 – Would you like to take up the challenge? Play in our international Internet match on the Fritz server against four young girls between 12 and 18, each a junior champion, playing from a beautiful castle in Germany. More

The winners and the losers

7/4/2002 – The new FIDE rating list shows Kasparov still leading the field, 29 points ahead of Kramnik and 83 ahead of Anand. There are big winners (Epishin +37) and losers (Kasimdzhanov -26). All the top 101 players are over 2600, there are 13 over 2700 and two over 2800. And still only one woman: Judit Polgar, number 19 at 2681. More

FIDE and the French

7/4/2002 – It started with an angry press release by the French Chess Federation, attacking the FIDE leadership and calling for change. During the Third European Championships in Batumi FIDE officials and participants issued a reply. Now the French have sent out a second press release to clarify their position. More