The Queen's Gambit new ChessBase training CD

10/26/2004 – When we think of central pawn captures in the Queen's Gambit, we typically think of Black's move ...dxc4. But White can play a "preemptive first strike" with cxd5, as Thomas Henrichs demonstrates in his new ChessBase Opening training CD Queen's Gambit Orthodox Defense. Get a first look at it in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Diagram trouble

10/26/2004 – If you spend a lot of time working on internet design, the sight of an overcompressed image or bad graphic can give you indigestion. If it's a chess diagram it can also give you a case of not being able to tell a pawn from a bishop. Mig got so frustrated that finally he had to write about it. Become an export expert. The diagrams you save could be your own.

Second European Internet Championship 2004

10/25/2004 – Today we will start the 2nd European Internet championship with the 1st preliminary. The tournament is divided into four preliminaries. The 1st will start today at 8.30 pm (registration: 8.00 pm) in room Tournaments Official B on playchess.com. Blitz (5+0) will be played in nine round swiss. You need a place among the top fifteen in order to make in the candidates on Saturday, 6th November. The prize fund is € 6,000.00. Full details...

Nostradamus on chess reunification

10/25/2004 – A few days ago we reported on Vladimir Kramnik's doubts about the reunification process. In the meantime we have received an open letter to Kramnik by Ray Keene, who was instrumental to setting up the current situation, and a message by David Levy, his ex business partner, who assures us that the reunification process is indeed well on track...

Calvià: Ukraine and China unassailable?

10/24/2004 – After nine rounds of the Chess Olympiad everything looks like a start-to-finish victory for Ukraine in the men's section and for the Chinese women, who are six points ahead of their nearest rivals. From Calvià on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca we bring you games, results and a spectacular pictorial report.

Playchess lectures with Alterman and Monokroussos

10/24/2004 – Weekend is lecture time on Playchess.com. On Sunday GM Boris Alterman discusses the Benko Gambit, which the Russians call the Volga. On Monday night Dennis Monokroussos takes a look at key games from the Dannemann world championship. Don't miss...

Superb performances by Vallejo and Ivanchuk

10/23/2004 – Seven rounds are over at the Olympiad in Calvià, Ukraine is in the lead in the men's section, China is rampaging in the women's. The best results so far are by local boy Paco Vallejo Pons, who scored 5.5 points in six games for a performance of rating, 2990, followed by Vassily Ivanchuk at 2947. We bring you games, results, statistics and an illustrated report by Vijay Kumar.

ChessBase 9.0 – the chess browser (1)

10/23/2004 – It has taken a while to finish, mainly because the program has been completely rewritten to modularise it and integrate it seamlessly into our software range. But now at last ChessBase Version 9.0 is out and available for purchase. For users of the previous versions we bring a list of all the new features and facilities the new program has to offer. Part one...

Kramnik backs off from reunification?

10/21/2004 – According to the Prague Unity Agreement the winners of Kramnik- Leko and Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov play for the unified world championship title. Now Vladimir Kramnik is expressing serious doubts whether this can happen. Instead he proposes a fourway tournament (Kasparov, Anand, Kasimdzhanov and Ponomariov) to find his opponent in the unification match.

Calvià Olympiad r6: Red-hot Ivanchuk; Russia on the move

10/21/2004 – The heavyweight bout of round six was a blowout. With Peter Svidler flying in to take over board two, Russia crushed Israel to move into second position. Ukraine kept the top spot thanks to yet another win by Ivanchuk. China kept their lead in the women's event while the United States moved up after a battle of world champions. Report, games, and pictures.

The Man vs Machine debate continues

10/20/2004 – A few days ago we published a resume by David Levy, president of the International Computer Games Association, on the recent man vs machine team championship in Bilbao, which ended in a bitter 3.5:8.5 loss to the humans. A number of letters were fired at us, some applauding and some vigorously contradicting David's conclusions.

Calvià Olympiad: Ukraine leads after round 5

10/20/2004 – When will Peter Svidler arrive? Without him Russia fell to Ukraine and is two points behind the leaders. Several other teams are awaiting late arrivals. The same rivals are battling in the women's event, but they are doing it well behind the as-yet-unstoppable Chinese. We have a report, analysis, and plenty of photos.

Second European Internet Championship 2004

10/20/2004 – The Second European Internet Championship (blitz) will be played from October 25, 2004 to November 7, 2004 on the Playchess.com server. The tournament has divided into four preliminaries. In the final the 16 best players of the qualifier meet 16 players nominated by the ECU and ChessBase. The prize fund is € 6,000.00. Full details...

Alexander Bangiev's new ChessBase training CD

10/20/2004 – Alexander Bangiev's new ChessBase training CD Squares Strategy is already stirring more than its share of controversy. Columnist Steve Lopez adds a few barrels of kerosene to the fire with his own somewhat controversial preview in this week's ChessBase Workshop. Read on and prepare to see red...

Breaking news: Kramnik wins to retain WCh title

10/19/2004 – In the final game of the Dannemann world chess championship Vladimir Kramnik ground down challenger Peter Leko to equalise 7:7 and, according to the rules, retain his title. A full report will follow later, for now we bring you analysis of the critical game.

Fischer to Bush and Koizumi: 'You are going to pay for this!'

10/18/2004 – Bobby Fischer, still in detention in Japan, has spoken out again in an interview, this time threatening the Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and US President Bush: "You are going to pay for this, and you are going to pay for your crimes in Iraq too." His new lawyer, Richard J. Vattuone, plans to release documents to prove US government involvement in a plot against Fischer.

People who play with glass pieces

10/18/2004 – ...shouldn't drop rooks. Nigel Short did, against Ivan Sokolov in this year's eighth Essent Chess Tournament, and dutifully lost. As did wunderkind Magnus Carlsen, 13, against his experienced opponent GM Daniël Stellwagen, 17. All this in the Dutch city of Hoogeveen, from where Jeroen van den Belt sent us pictures and a video report.

The Botvinnik-Smyslov battle

10/17/2004 – Tired of Kramnik-Leko and all the draws? Hardly a timely question on the day the drama in Brissago reaches a climax. But if you want to see one of the bloodiest matches in history you should drop in at Playchess.com for Dennis Monkroussos's Monday night lecture.

Bilbao Man vs Machine – a resume

10/16/2004 – Last week the man vs machine team championship in Bilbao ended in a 3.5:8.5 loss to the humans. It was a dramatic event, with every game fought out, often to a very bitter end. What were the causes of the disaster for the strong GMs? David Levy, a leading expert in computer chess, draws his conclusions. Do you agree?

Let the games begin in Calvià

10/16/2004 – Actually they have already begun. Round one brought with no big surprises, as the top seeded teams rampaged through the bottom ranks. But before that the 36th Chess Olympiad was opened with an evening ceremony and a giant marionette on the beachside of Santa Ponça. David Llada sent us some photographic impressions.

Dannemann: Leko survives Kramnik onslaught

10/16/2004 – Game 13, the penultimate in this match, saw classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik turn on the heat, with the black pieces. Challenger Peter Leko was clearly surprised and was soon hanging over the cliff. But using some incredible defensive moves he managed to hold on and is now just half a point from the title. Analysis now up!

NAO defends Euro Club Cup title

10/14/2004 – A giant among goliaths, NAO Chess Club of France went undefeated to win the 2004 European Club Cup in Cesme, Turkey. Even without Vladimir Kramnik, NAO lived up to its billing by not losing a single game. Report and photos.

Dannemann: Just one point to victory

10/14/2004 – Game 12 was a draw, but quite a hard-fought one in 34 moves. With the white pieces incumbent Vladimir Kramnik turned the pressure on, but Leko defended deftly and even gained the advantage in the end. After this draw he has to pick up one point in two games to win the title. We bring you a photographic impressions by Olena Boytsun.

Database basics - part 8

10/13/2004 – In the final installment of "Database Basics", columnist Steve Lopez discusses the finer points of speeding up your database searches and offers some closing thoughts on why using a database is important for your chess development. Read about it in the latest ChessBase Workshop.