ChessBase Magazine Online

Anand bags his fifth León title
13.06.2005 – Former FIDE world champion Vishy Anand defeated the current FIDE champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the finals of the traditional Ciudad de León rapid chess event with an exciting 2½:1½ victory. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, since Kasimdzhanov threw a spanner in the works with a first-game win. Full illustrated report.
 

Svetozar Gligoric and the Botvinnik Plan
12.06.2005 – In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos talks about the Yugoslav Grandmaster, many-time world championship candidate, theoretician and all-around good guy, who was a very important figure in world chess from the early 1950s through the 1980s. Come, listen and learn.
 

Kasimdzhanov and Anand win 3:1, 3:1
11.06.2005 – FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov made his mark at the traditional Ciudad de León rapid chess event by winning both his black games and knocking out Alexei Shirov with a 3:1 score. Former FIDE champ Vishy Anand defeated Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen by the same score. The final is on Sunday.
 

Hydra misses the quarter-finals of Freestyle tournament
11.06.2005 – It was the shocker of the event: the massive Hydra machines, running on 16 and 32 processors and special FPGA chess hardware were both knocked out in the main section of the Freestyle chess tournament. On the other hand a dark horse named ZackS qualified with consummate ease. Today there will be tie-breaks, tomorrow the quarter-finals. Come and watch...
 

Fire on Board Trophy – you can win an invitation!
10.06.2005 – On June 25-26 two of the most aggressive players of our time, Alexei Shirov and Viktor Kortchnoi, will cross swords in four 90-minute games in Eschweiler, Germany. You can buy special attendance packages for €450 – or you can win them (including travel expenses) in this weekend's special Playchess Warm-up Blitz.
 

Kasparov and kids take Manhattan
09.06.2005 – The best junior players in the United States came together in New York last weekend for a master class with Garry Kasparov. He went over their games, gave out plenty of advice, and surprised at least a few of the kids and parents by not living up to his "Ogre of Baku" reputation. We sat in and bring you a great pictorial report.
 

A chess holiday in Thailand
09.06.2005 – From the dark and sometimes cramped conditions of Europe to a five-star resort on the East Coast of Thailand, – chess buffs took the opportunity live it up and do what they love to do: win a game or a tournament. This year the Bangkok Chess club is holding its 5th annual competition at the Regent Beach Resort Cha-am. Illustrated report.
 

Live from Curaçao – Timman vs Bruzon
09.06.2005 – In 1962 a great Candidates tournament was held on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. It was won by Petrosian, ahead of Geller, Keres, Fischer and Korchnoi. Now, 43 years later, Dutch GM Jan Timman has written a book about it. As part of a promotional he will play a match against Cuban champion Lazaro Bruzon from June 11-17. You can watch it on Playchess.com.
 

A chess adventure in Colombia
08.06.2005 – Sergey Tiviakov went, saw and conquered. The Dutch GM took the Magistral Huila 100 Años in Neiva, Colombia with 8/9 and a performance of 2823. But Sergey is also a bit of an adventurer with an avid interest in exotic countries and mysterious phenomenon. He sent us this extraordinary pictorial report.
 

The Nunn Plan for the World Chess Championship
08.06.2005 – Chess is a game that is currently booming – but this trend has not been reflected in top-level chess due to organisational problems. Attempts are being made by FIDE to reorganise the World Championship, but are they getting it right? Not quite, thinks Dr John Nunn, and presents a comprehensive plan of his own.
 

Alexandra Kosteniuk takes Frascati
07.06.2005 – Remember when simultaneous masters were portly, balding and heavily bespectacled? That has changed. The grandmaster taking on twenty correspondence chess players in Frascati, Italy, arrived in a purple blouse and stylishly patched jeans. And she beat them 17.5 to 2.5. Illustrated report.
 

Esben Lund vs two minor pieces
07.06.2005 – In their Glasgow 3rd Floor Wednesday night Radio ChessBase lecture IM Jacob Aagaard and IM John Shaw will talk to FM Esben Lund about his recent publication Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces. This will include a clear explanation of what "the domination of the missing bishop" actually means.