ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
‘A forum for aficionados to discuss all matters relating to the Royal Pastime’ was the description of Chess Notes in its first issue (January-February 1982), and until 1989 the series ran as a bimonthly periodical (C.N. items 1-1933). It resumed publication in 1993 as a syndicated column in many languages around the world (C.N.s 1934-2187). From 1998 to 2001 it was published exclusively in New in Chess (C.N.s 2188-2486) and subsequently appeared at the Chess Café (C.N.s 2487-3414).
Since September 2004 Chess Notes has been located at the Chess History Center. The main page is updated regularly and archived at the end of each month. The archives page also lists the many feature articles which, in most cases, are off-shoots of C.N. items. All of them are in English and one, The Saburovs, is also available in Russian. (С большим удовольствием мы предлагаем вниманию российских любителей шахмат перевод одной из наших статей.)
A Google search-box covers the contents of the entire run of Chess Notes on-line, and material can also be traced by means of the Factfinder, as well as the List of Items (which goes back to May 2002).
A selection of early C.N. items is available on-line in Chess Jottings.
Four anthologies of Chess Notes have been published: Chess Explorations, Kings, Commoners and Knaves, A Chess Omnibus and Chess Facts and Fables. In addition, bound volumes are still available for most of the years during which the series appeared in magazine form.
For the past five years selected material from Chess Notes has frequently been presented at ChessBase, in the series Unsolved Chess Mysteries and Chess Explorations.
Below is a combined index with direct links to the individual articles.
Advice (faulty) in old chess books Chess
Explorations 32
Ahues, Carl (game ending) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Alapin, Simon (advice by) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Alcohol (masters with dependency on) Chess
Explorations 37
Alekhine, Alexander (attempted suicide) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 11
Alekhine, Alexander (challenged by C.A.S. Damant) Chess
Explorations 30
Alekhine, Alexander (death) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Alekhine, Alexander (discrepancies in six game-scores) Chess
Explorations 27, 29
Alekhine, Alexander (interviews) Chess
Explorations 69
Alekhine, Alexander (remark about having to beat him three times) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Alekhine, Alexander (switched envelopes story) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Alekhine, Alexander (vanity quote) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Alekhine v Bogoljubow photograph Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Alekhine v Mikėnas (two moves in succession) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Alekhine v Najdorf Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Alekhine v Nenarokov (hoax game) Chess
Explorations 44
Alekhine v Rubinstein (opening) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Alekhine’s Defence (old magazine articles on) Chess
Explorations 51
Alexander v Marshall Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Anderssen v Lange Chess
Explorations 61
Anti-Turton theme (Lucarelli v Carra and Ed. Lasker v Marshall) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Back-rank ending (Alapin or Stauffer) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Barcza v Fischer Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Barden, Leonard (predictions about Kasparov and Short) Chess
Explorations 30
Belik-Igonin (V. Pachmann study) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Benko Gambit (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Bernstein, Ossip (ending) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Bertok v Fischer Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Best chess books Chess
Explorations 7 and 7
Best games (masters’ choices) Chess
Explorations 3 and 3
Bismark family Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Blackburne v N.N. (missed mate) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Blackmar, Armand Edward (Gone with the Wind music) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 11
Blake v Hooke Chess
Explorations 30
Blind swine Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Blunders/missed mates Chess
Explorations 25, 26
Boden’s Mate Chess
Explorations 72
Bogoljubow, Efim (relations with Nazis) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Book/magician/machine quote Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
‘Brake triangle’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Breyer Defence in the Ruy López (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Breya, Gyula (last throes quote) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Bronstein v Goldenov Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 1
Brooke, Rupert Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Burn, Amos (miniature game) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Burn, Amos (never defeated a healthy opponent) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Camouflage books (Tarnschriften) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Capablanca-Botvinnik photograph Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca, José Raúl (alleged ‘boner’ in Chess Fundamentals) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 2
Capablanca, José Raúl (meeting with Soviet prodigy) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Capablanca, José Raúl (meeting with Stalin) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Capablanca, José Raúl (misidentification in Chess Amateur photograph)
Unsolved Chess
Mysteries 11
Capablanca, José Raúl (nicknamed ‘The Chess Machine’) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca, José Raúl (on the Sicilian Defence) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca, José Raúl (reference to a beautiful game at St Petersburg, 1914)
Unsolved Chess
Mysteries 8
Capablanca, José Raúl (reminiscences of Olga Capablanca) Chess
Explorations 19
Capablanca, José Raúl (studied 1,000 rook and pawn endings) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca (shortest losses, v Bain and Kramer) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Capablanca and tennis (Yates) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca v Fine Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Capablanca v Hagenlocher/Hagenlacher (hoax) Chess
Explorations 44
Capablanca v Kalantarov Chess
Explorations 49
Capablanca v N.N. Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Capablanca v N.N. brilliancy in 1916 Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca v Réti (simultaneous game) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca v Teichmann (missing moves) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Capablanca-Alekhine 5-5 affair Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 4
Capablanca-Alekhine fake photograph Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 4
Cartoons and comic strips Chess
Explorations 68
‘Checkers is for tramps’ (remark attributed to Morphy) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Check Mate and Word Games by Carlos Tortoza (garbled quotations) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Chess & Draughts Made Easy by J. Bishop Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
ChessBase Simul Hunt Chess
Explorations 5
‘Chess Features’ (Capablanca) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
‘Chess is 99% tactics’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
‘Chess, like love, is infectious at any age’ (Flohr quote) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
‘Chessy’ words Chess
Explorations 12
Chigorin v Tarrasch Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Christmas cards Chess
Explorations 75
Coles Publishing (plagiarism and unauthorized editions) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 17
Colle v Grünfeld (resignation in drawn position?) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Combe v Hasenfuss Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Combination (definition) Chess
Explorations 21
Combinations (longest) Chess
Explorations 9
Copying Chess
Explorations 42
Cunning, gamesmanship, skulduggery, bluff, trickery, foxiness, dishonesty and
cheating Chess
Explorations 52
Derrickson, George H. Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Discrepancies in game-scores Chess
Explorations 27, 28,
29
Dragon Variation in the Sicilian Defence (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Dzindzichashvili and Zacharov (backward moves) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Einstein v Oppenheimer Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7
Emanuel Lasker: Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister ed. by Forster,
Hansen and Negele Chess
Explorations 31
Euwe v Alekhine (re-match conditions) Chess
Explorations 1
Excuses for losing Chess
Explorations 16
Eyeglasses/conferred sight quote Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Fahrni, Hans (pawn ending) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Fahrni, Hans (pawn ending trick) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Feuerstein v Bennett and Oakley v Nash Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 11
FIDE anthem and motto Chess
Explorations 47
FIDE (foundation) Chess
Explorations 65
FIDE medals Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
FIDE (pre-history) Chess
Explorations 66
Film/cinema (earliest appearances by masters) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Fine, Reuben (1948 world championship) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Fischer, Robert James (and Barbra Streisand) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (book of games planned) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (52 Memorable Games book) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (libel suit against Brad Darrach) Chess
Explorations 52
Fischer, Robert James (Kriegspiel) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (match v Matulović) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (photographs) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer, Robert James (quotes) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23, 26
Fischer, Robert James (‘Right, Mr Thomas’ annotation) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 23
Fischer v Collins match Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Five grandmasters at St Petersburg, 1914 (title allegedly awarded by Tsar Nicholas
II) Unsolved Chess
Mysteries 10
Flohr, Salo (merchandising) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Flynn, Errol Chess
Explorations 15
Fox v Santasiere (capture of own piece) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Fox, Albert Whiting Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Frank, Hans Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Gaige, Jeremy (self-obituary) Chess
Explorations 60
Game/science quote attributed to Mendelssohn and Leibniz Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Games (full game-scores not found) Chess
Explorations 36
Gibaud, Amédée (death) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Golombek, Harry (errors in Capablanca’s Hundred Best Games of Chess)
Chess Explorations
59
‘Good players are always lucky’ (quote attributed to Capablanca) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Grandmaster draw (origin of term) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Graves of chess masters Chess
Explorations 8
Greco and Ruy López (illustrations) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
‘Gymnasium of the mind’ quote Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Hallucinations (alleged Blackburne games v Alapin and Steinitz) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Harrwitz v N.N. (seesaw/windmill manoeuvre) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Hitler and Lenin (alleged photograph) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 1
Hoax games Chess
Explorations 44
Hodges, Albert Beauregard (actor) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7
Homes/addresses of chess masters Chess
Explorations 20
Hunt, Joseph William (1 b4 named the Hunt Opening) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 11
Hype in chess books Chess
Explorations 23
Internees during World War I Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
Jaque Mate (Cuban magazine in the 1930s) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Karpov-Fischer photograph (claim by Karpov) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 1
Kaspartov (Spanish book by ‘Garry Kaspartov’) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 1
Kevitz v Capablanca Chess
Explorations 43
Kirkham game Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Koltanowski, George (discrepancies over game-scores) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
König v Weiss Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
Kräuchi, Gottfried Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Krejcik, Josef (brilliancy) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Kreymborg, Alfred (anachronistic reference to Lilienthal) Chess
Explorations 30
Lansing v Hart Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Lanza, Anton Mario (encyclopaedia) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Lasker (Edward) v Capablanca Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Lasker v Capablanca (claim of 15th game in 1921 match) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Lasker v Janowsky (Paris, 1909 match not for the world championship) Chess
Explorations 1
Lasker v Thomas Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Lasker, Emanuel (1 e4 played with a view to the endgame) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Lasker, Emanuel (book by Reinfeld/Fine) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
Lasker, Emanuel (deepest game, v van Vliet) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Lasker, Emanuel (invention of tank) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Lasker, Emanuel (photograph examining a problem) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 2
Lasker, Emanuel (prediction about Capablanca in 1909) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Lasker, Emanuel (rare photographs) Chess
Explorations 31
Lengthy thought on moves Chess
Explorations 74
Leoni, Angeligi Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Levitzky v Marshall (shower of gold coins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7
‘Life’s too short for chess’ Chess
Explorations 11
Lightning/fast chess Chess
Explorations 67
Lindfors, Viveca Chess
Explorations 15
Lipschütz, S. (forename) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Lund v Nimzowitsch Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Macdonald v Burn Chess
Explorations 58
Mackenzie, George Henry (single bishop mate) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Marshall Counter-Gambit (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 2
Marshall v Capablanca (living chess) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Marx, Harpo (in Moscow) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
Masefield/Mansfield/Mayfield v Trinka/Trinks/Trent miniature Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Maurian, Charles (miniature victory) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Mendacity in chess books Chess
Explorations 23
Mieses v Bogoljubow dispute Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Miester Meises/Meister Mieses Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Migoya v N.N. (same opening as in Alekhine v Euwe) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7
Miles, Tony (on Keene and on blindfold chess) Chess
Explorations 73
Miniature played by Buckle or Buckley? Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Mistakes on chess book covers Chess
Explorations 18
Montaigne, Michel (quote) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Monteiro, Joaquim Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Moreau, Colonel Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Morgan, David James (Morganisms) Chess
Explorations 24
Morphy, Paul Charles (family origins and Murphy beer-mat) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Morphy, Paul Charles (suicide claim) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Morphy, Paul Charles (unexplained French words) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Morphy v Harrwitz Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
Morphy v the Duke and Count Chess
Explorations 46
Morrison v Capablanca Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Most famous chess quotations Chess
Explorations 11
Movement (game by Bogoljubow) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Murderers Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 24 + Chess
Explorations 35
N.N. v Bruening Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
N.N. v Nimzowitsch Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Nadzhmetdinov, K. Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Napoleon Bonaparte Chess
Explorations 44
‘Never miss a check’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Nimzowitsch v Alapin Chess
Explorations 50
Noah’s Ark Trap Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
‘No-one ever won by resigning’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Ogle, Christopher (patron at London, 1922) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Oldest occurrences of chess terms Chess
Explorations 12
Painting depicting a problem Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Pen-portraits Chess
Explorations 71
Pet moves of masters Chess
Explorations 38
Philidor, André Danican (alleged picture) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 13
Pillsbury v Wendell Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 2
Pillsbury, Harry Nelson (examination of brain) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Pillsbury, Harry Nelson (single bishop mate) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Plagiarism Chess
Explorations 42
Poverty of chess masters Chess
Explorations 39
Practical suggestions for authors and columnists Chess
Explorations 70
Pretentious/wordy chess books Chess
Explorations 33
Problems/compositions Chess
Explorations 45
Prodigies Chess
Explorations 22
Proverb about gnat and elephant Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 11
Purdy, Cecil John Seddon (year of birth) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Puzzles (Hubert Phillips) Chess
Explorations 48
Queen sacrifice on g6/g3 Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Quizzes Chess
Explorations 2 (positions),
2 (positions),
2 (positions),
2 (positions), 10
(photographs), 14
(positions), 53
(photographs with animals), 54
(photographs with animals), 63
(faces concealed), 64
(faces concealed)
Quotes about knight on e5 and e6 Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16, 26
Quotes (authenticity) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Reeve, Birdie Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Repetition of position (al-‘Adli position and Jørgensen v Sørensen) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
Reshevsky v Chaplin Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28 + Chess
Explorations 44
Retirement announcements Chess
Explorations 40
Robar, Philip (plagiarism) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 17
Rogard, Folke Chess
Explorations 15
Rosebault, Frederick D. Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 12
Rossolimo v Livingstone Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Rubinstein, Akiba (rook and pawn ending) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Rubinstein v Rosengren Chess
Explorations 15
Sabadell, 1945 (mysteries involving Alekhine v Muñoz and Terrazas) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 3
San Sébastian, 1911 group photographs Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
Schnitzler v Alexandre Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Schuster v Carls Chess
Explorations 13
Signed memorabilia Chess
Explorations 62
Simultaneous display (1,000 games by ‘Basker’) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 8
Smothered mate Chess
Explorations 6
Smyth v Helms Chess
Explorations 57
Sound recordings of masters Chess
Explorations 41
Soviet photograph line-up Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Stalemate combination (Lazdies v Zenitas or Lazdiņš and Zemītis) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Stalin, Josef (alleged game) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 5
Staunton, Howard (‘devilish bad games’ according to Morphy) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Staunton, Howard (oil painting) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Staunton, Howard (pictures) Chess
Explorations 17
Steiner v Prins (missed mate in one) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Steinitz, K.G. Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Steinitz, Wilhelm (daughter, Flora) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Steinitz v God Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Steinitz v von Bardeleben Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Swiderski, Rudolf (suicide) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 6
Swiss system (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 18
Tableau (alleged position) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Tarrasch v Lasker (discrepancy over game-score) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 22
Tartakower, Savielly (claims about de Gaulle and parachutes) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 9
Teichmann v Marbl Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 15
Termination of the 1984-85 Karpov v Kasparov match Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7, 22
The best move (quote attributed to Jaffe) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
‘The father of modern chess’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 28
‘The Pride and Sorrow of Chess’ (origins of the description of Morphy) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 27
‘The threat is stronger than the execution’ Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 26
Tom Thumb Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 16
Trompowsky Opening (origins) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 7
Tuffli v Rimathé Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 14
Unusual chess vocabulary Chess
Explorations 12
Verho v Krogius Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 19
Wallace murder case Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 24
Whose game? (from B.H. Wood column) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 21
Worst chess books Chess
Explorations 4
Yates, Frederick Dewhurst (circumstances of death) Chess
Explorations 1
Young, Edward Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 20
Young, Franklin Knowles (unintelligible books) Chess
Explorations 34
Znosko-Borovsky, Eugene (literary work) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 25
Zukertort, Johannes Hermann (quiet move) Unsolved
Chess Mysteries 10
There have also been two ChessBase articles hors série:
Winter on ZugzwangSubmit information or suggestions on chess explorations
All ChessBase articles by Edward Winter
Edward Winter is the editor of Chess Notes, which was founded in January 1982 as "a forum for aficionados to discuss all matters relating to the Royal Pastime". Since then, about 7,430 items have been published, and the series has resulted in four books by Winter: Chess Explorations (1996), Kings, Commoners and Knaves (1999), A Chess Omnibus (2003) and Chess Facts and Fables (2006). He is also the author of a monograph on Capablanca (1989). In 2011 a paperback edition was issued.
Chess Notes is well known for its historical research, and anyone browsing in its archives will find a wealth of unknown games, accounts of historical mysteries, quotes and quips, and other material of every kind imaginable. Correspondents from around the world contribute items, and they include not only "ordinary readers" but also some eminent historians – and, indeed, some eminent masters. Chess Notes is located at the Chess History Center. Signed copies of Edward Winter's publications are currently available.