David Bronstein dies at 82

12/7/2006 – He came within one draw of becoming world champion, and was one of the strongest players in history to not win the title. David Ionovich Bronstein was a remarkable creative genius and a master of scintillating tactics that enthralled the chess world for many decades. He died on Tuesday in Minsk, in the arms of his wife Tatiana. Looking back, with a video tribute by Yasser Seirawan.

Meanwhile in Florence: Radjabov vs Deep Junior

12/5/2006 – With the eyes of the world trained on the national Art Gallery in Bonn and the match Kramnik vs Deep Fritz, the Festival della Creativita in Florence, Italy, staged a rapid chess game between GM Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and the Israeli program Deep Junior, which you can buy in the ChessBase Shop. The former annotated the game for us. Guess who won.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Computer wins match by 4:2

12/5/2006 – World champion Vladimir Kramnik played a very spirited final game in his match against Deep Fritz in Bonn, Germany. It was a very double-edged encounter, with the computer playing some highly unusual and deep ideas to gain the upper hand and win the game on move 47. The final score was 4:2. Annotated game and big photo report.

Ludwig – a synthesis of chess and music

12/4/2006 – Do chess and music have anything in common? Can Fritz compose musical arrangements? The surprising answer to these questions is "yes!" This was driven home by Matthias Wüllenweber of ChessBase in a remarkable lecture held in the National Art Gallery in Bonn, where he introduced our latest software development: Ludwig. Da-da-da-daaa!

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game five ends in a fighting draw

12/3/2006 – World champion Vladimir Kramnik had the white pieces for the last time in this match, and needed a win in order to have chances for an overall victory. He played a sharp game, very exciting for the world-wide audience, but one in which Fritz was able fight back. The game ended in a 35-move draw. Full report with pictures and video.

Endgame mysteries suddenly unravelled

12/3/2006 – Only a few of us know how to play Queen endings correctly. For the power of the queens generates an ocean of possibilities that no human could ever calculate over the board. That is why knowledge of endgame rules is simply indispensable here. Endgame expert Mueller shows you the sense of what you may have thought as random moves by now. Review by Steve Giddens.

Fritz & Chesster Part 3

12/2/2006 – Forget Fritz and co. The really big seller is Fritz and Chesster, a remarkable piece of children's software that can teach toddlers and grownups how to play chess using entertaining subgames. Now the long awaited part three is out, with new games and adventures. All young beginners (and their parents!) should have a copy for Christmas. Order it now!

Chess Cheating conference in New York

12/2/2006 – On Monday a “Chess Cheating Town Meeting” at the historic Marshall Chess Club in New York will bring together some of America’s leading chess authorities in a panel discussion about ways to head off computer-assisted cheating in organized chess competitions. The subject has turned hot in recent years and the conference is well worth visiting.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz – a mega media event

12/2/2006 – Rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated – the "Man vs Machine" contest still draws the attention of a wide audience, world-wide. And in Germany, where it is all happening, it is simply a mega-event. The press and television coverage is unprecedented, with reports in all channels. We bring you links and a video report.

Back to the King's Indian Defense

12/1/2006 – It has been a while since our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos delt with this most entertaining of openings. He will rectify the omission over the next few weeks, starting on Saturday (to make up for Monday’s postponed show) and on this upcoming Monday. Details.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game four a tough draw

12/1/2006 – Facing his computer opponent and 1.e4 with the black pieces world champion Vladimir Kramnik chose the solid Petroff Defence, but Deep Fritz (which you can buy) played very well to get a clear advantage. But then Kramnik showed his defensive skills by setting up a fortress the computer could not penetrate. The game ended in a 54-move draw.

Blunders in chess – Kramnik wasn't the first

12/1/2006 – Still mystified by Vladimir Kramnik's blunder in game two of his match against Deep Fritz? After our attempts at an explanation of this extraordinary blackout we return to the subject (with apologies to Vladimir) with opinions by our readers and with a collection of drastic blunders by other world champions and top players. Take comfort.

Andrew Martin – Catastrophe in Bonn

11/29/2006 – When was the last time the reigning world champion overlooked mate in one? In his Wednesday night Playchess lecture Andrew Martin checks out game two from the Big Match and talk a little about the unique pressure exerted on the human in a man vs machine duel. Come watch it on the server.

Deep Fritz 10: it is a question of speed

11/29/2006 – Fritz 10 is already a beast, one of the most powerful chess playing entities on the planet. In its multi-processor version, Deep Fritz 10 runs almost twice as fast on the modern dual core computers, giving you not just additional playing strength, but also the critical seconds you need when analysing with the computer. You can order it now or read more details here.

How could Kramnik overlook the mate?

11/29/2006 – On Tuesday Vladimir Kramnik played a great game against Deep Fritz (order it now!), coming very close to victory with the black pieces. However, in this situation the world champion overlooked a simple mate in one. How is that possible, is there a reasonable explanation? To attempt one we have to delve into cognitive psychology. Report and video.

Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Game three drawn

11/29/2006 – The third game in the National Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany, saw Deep Fritz playing some surprisingly strategic moves. These included a pawn sacrifice for initiative in an inbalanced position on the black side of an Open Catalan. In the end the computer was pressing for a win, but Vladimir Kramnik defended well and the game ended after 44 moves in a draw. Full report.

Seirawan on Kramnik vs Deep Fritz game one

11/27/2006 – Did the computer miss a sure-fire draw early in the game? Did Vladimir Kramnik miss a clever win in the ending? Twenty-four hours after the first encounter in the Man vs Machine duel ended in a draw match commentator GM Yasser Seirawan provides us with his thoughts and analyses the course of the game. Interesting and original analysis.

Man vs machine shocker: Kramnik allows mate in one

11/27/2006 – Vladimir Kramnik played another wonderfully profound game, piling the pressure on Deep Fritz on the black side of a Queen's Gambit Accepted, and taking the computer to the edge of defeat. As usual the computer defended tenaciously and by move 34 Fritz had equalised and the game was clearly drawn. And then Kramnik overlooked mate in one!

Presenting – Kramnik vs Deep Fritz in Bonn

11/25/2006 – The much-awaited match between the human world champion and the nine million position machine begins on Saturday. On the day before the event tradition dictates a presentation ceremony, press conference and the drawing of colours. And a gala dinner with the FIDE President. Photo report with tumultuous scenes and interesting news.

Kramnik-Deep Fritz: First game ends in a draw

11/25/2006 – Game one finished in a draw after Deep Fritz defused the opening danger to reach a roughly equal endgame. Kramnik paid Fritz the compliment of using the same Catalan opening he played against Topalov in their recent world championship match, but although White was in control it was never quite enough to tip the balance. Express report.

Coming soon: Bonn, Wijk aan Zee and Morelia/Linares

11/23/2006 – Suffering withdrawal symptoms after the Elista World Championship and the Tal Memorial? The next big events with all the superstars you can take are already looming. This weekend we are going to see a Man vs Machine spectacular in Bonn, Germany. And in the first two months of 2007 there will be two Super-GM events. Preview.

'Blind Chess World Duel' Topalov-Polgar

11/23/2006 – From December 7–9 the Basque city of Bilbao, on the northern coast of Spain, will pay host to a blindfold match between former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov and the greatest female player the game has know, Judit Polgar. Earlier this week the event was introduced with a blindfold simul by Topalov. Picture and video impressions.

First ND Women’s Tournament in Berlin

11/23/2006 – Last week the German broadsheet Neues Deutschland revitalized the old tradition of "Newspaper Chess Tournaments" and, in cooperation with the chess magazine Schach, the Lasker Society, and ChessBase they organized a chess tournament with four talented young ladies. It was well visited and provided the spectators with gripping chess.

The last man vs machine match?

11/23/2006 – Three chess grandmasters have done battle with the program “Deep Fritz”: Robert Hübner, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov. All three could only draw their matches. On Saturday world champion Vladimir Kramnik once again faces the machine – perhaps the last chance for humans to withstand the calculating power of the machine? Big article in Spiegel Online.