ChessBase Magazine Online

From Moscow with love
11.09.2002 – The Russians are playing against the Rest of the World – and although they fielded a "dream team" they are not doing well at all. Elsewhere we have reported on the abysmal performance, after eight rounds, of the four Ks. Now our very special correspondent Anna Dergatscheva, who is in Moscow, has sent us a special illustrated report with her impressions of the tournament. Find out why Peter Svidler was hobbling around on crutches or what exactly Judit Polgar is preparing for (psst – motherhood?). You will find Anna's personal report here.
 

Children, chess and the Internet
11.09.2002 – At the end of the last month 2162 students from 110 schools in Singapore set a new record for Internet chess (the previous record was 1460 players). The tournament was held on our Playchess server, and ChessBase provided many prizes. There is an interesting illustrated report by Junior Tay on the Singapore Schools Internet Chess Carnival, including a section on where all the prizes went.
 

What is wrong with the great Ks?
10.09.2002 – They have all been world champions, they are all playing for Russia against the Rest of the World. But their performance are all well under par. Karpov and Khalifman have played 40 and 92 points below their expected scores, Kramnik is struggling at minus 161 and Garry Kasparov lost to Ivanchuk, Judit Polgar and Vladimir Akopian (in 25 moves!) to chalk up an incredible minus 242. Results and games are available here.
 

3.5:0.5 wipe-out by the Swiss
10.09.2002 – Viktor Kortschnoj easily outplayed Arkadi Naiditsch, 56 years his junior, while Yannick Pelletier turned a very precarious position into a stunning victory with his opponent's rook hopelessly trapped on a8. So after the first leg of the match the Germans return from Switzerland with a meagre 0.5 points and have their work cut out for them next weekend in Berlin. You will find an illustrated report here.
 

The Swiss are in the lead
09.09.2002 – If Viktor Kortschnoj had had his stubborn way it would in fact have been 2-0. The maximalist dominated in his game against Lutz, had a tremendous passed pawn on e6, but had to conceed a draw because of opposite coloured bishops. On the other board Yannick Pelletier of Switzerland defeated Germany's Arkadi Naiditsch in a very exciting encounter. More
 

Listen to Anand and Kramnik
05.09.2002 – ChessBase Magazine 89 is out, with 1354 games, 435 with expert analysis. There is a multimedia report with over one hour of video footage, including interviews with Vishy Anand (19 minutes) and Vladimir Kramnik (49 minutes). You will also find sections on theory – English, Center Game, Jaenish Gambit –, strategy, tactics, endgame, telechess and history. All of this for just € 19.95. Full details are available here.
 

'Mankind has waited five long years for revenge'
05.09.2002 – In just one month from today Vladimir Kramnik will make the first move (1.d4 probably) against Deep Fritz. Venue: the Persian Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain. Prize fund: $1 million. The winner: ah, we will know that on October 19. For now the organisers have published the details of the event: schedule, hotel, press facilities. We have also put together a list of links to related articles (don't miss Kramnik's press launch quotes).
 

Chess with a difference
05.09.2002 – Astraware, a mobile game company, has just released Rook's Revenge, a Palm OS program which has all the same pieces as traditional chess. The difference is that both players may move any piece at any time without waiting for the other player, and they can rebuild units to create a large army of rooks, queens or knights. As Botvinnik would have said: "Yes, but is it chess?"
 

Like watching pitch drip?
05.09.2002 – The uninitiated have often compared chess to watching paint dry. We would like to suggest a change of metaphor. How about this: in 1927 a professor of physics set up an experiment to test the viscosity of pitch. He put a sample into a funnel and, after giving it three years to settle, sealed everything in a glass jar. From that date on the pitch has slowly dripped out of the funnel. Today you can watch the process in a live web-cam coverage. After 72 years the eighth drop fell last November. So watch out for drop nine...
 

Switzerland vs Germany in the Savoy
05.09.2002 – This weekend we will see an interesting match between the top Swiss and German GMs Kortschnoj and Lutz, and the brightest young stars of both countries Pelletier and Naiditsch. The games are being held in the world-famous Savoy hotel (admittance free). You can also watch the action on the Fritz7 Playchess server. You will find further details here
 

Play chess, you go to jail
05.09.2002 – Imagine you are playing a game of online chess. The police drags you away, you face a jail sentence and fines of $5,000 to $75,000. The same applies to Tetris on a Gameboy. Where could such a situation arise? Wrong, they are no longer in power in Afghanistan. The correct answer is Greece! Incredibly the government there has banned all electronic games across the country. Read all about it here and here.
 

Video greetings from Elista
04.09.2002 – A year ago Garry Kasparov was saying extremely hostile things about the world chess federation. But now the world's number one ranked player has made his peace with President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. On the FIDE site we are treated to a picture of Kasparov sitting amicably with the FIDE staff and dignitaries. There is even a four-second video of him waving and saying "Greetings to FIDEonline. You are doing a good job".