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Elsewhere on the Web : New World Computer Chess Champion

Rybka won the 15th World Computer Chess Championship (WCCC) held in June at Amsterdam. The chess computer, developed by Vasik Rajlich, finished first (+9-0=2) in the 12-player round robin, one point ahead of runner-up Zappa. In the 14th WCCC, competing under the name Rajlich, the machine had finished tied for 2nd/3rd behind Junior.

Defending champion Junior did not participate in the WCCC this year. The three time World Computer Champion was missing because of a schedule conflict between the 15th WCCC and the President's Computer Challenge, an exhibition event held during the FIDE Candidate Matches in Elista. Junior beat Fritz in the six game match (+2-0=4) with a $100,000 prize fund, although the winner was already decided after the fifth game. Read more...

Sunday July 1, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Join the Discussion : MonRoi Women’s Grand Prix

In MonRoi International Women’s Grand Prix, we posted the text of a press release from MonRoi promoting their 2007 Grand Prix Finale. The event will be an 8-player round robin in Montreal, 21-29 July. As we noted in the forum post, 'The event hasn't received much publicity since it was announced in December 2006.' This is a pity since it includes stars of women's chess like WGM Irina Krush of the USA and GM Pia Cramling of Sweden. • We often post press releases to the forum folders for News and Events and Commercial Posts & Advertising.
Saturday June 30, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

FIDE - Topalov, Kramnik, World Cup, Grand Prix

The latest news from the World Chess Federation (FIDE) on the next World Championship cycle was good news for former World Champion Veselin Topalov and great news for chess fans around the globe: Presidential Board Maps New World Chess Championship Cycle (Fide.com). After being excluded from the current World Championship cycle (2005-7) because of his loss to Vladimir Kramnik in their Unification Match last year, Topalov was fated to enter the following cycle (2007-9) in the qualifying World Cup event, Khanty-Mansiysk 2007. Only if he won that World Cup would he be entitled to a new World Championship match in 2008 or 2009.

Fortunately for world no.2 Topalov, when the 13 year schism in the World Championship ended with Kramnik's victory over the Bulgarian, FIDE had not yet established how the fight for the unified title would be organized in the future. Reacting to widespread disappointment over the injustice of Topalov's situation, FIDE had the courage to alter plans for the 2007-9 cycle. In its latest announcement, the World Federation declared that the format of the 2007-9 cycle would depend on the results of the forthcoming World Championship tournament, scheduled for September in Mexico City. Read more...

Friday June 29, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Chess Top Tens

Just because chess is a serious game doesn't mean it always has to be taken seriously. Need some examples?
  • Top 10 Myths about Chess • People, especially chess players themselves, say the darnedest things about chess and about chess players. Here are some of our favorite myths about the royal game.

  • Top 10 Ways to Lose at Chess • No one likes to lose, but if you're going to lose you might as well do it in style. Here are a few of our favorites, many of which we learned from direct experience.

Bedtime reading, beach reading, hammock reading. Most chess books require a chess set and board to get the most out of them. Here are two lists of chess books that can be enjoyed without a board.

Our fourth edition of a year end look at what's hot in the world of chess product came up with the following. Follow the side bar links for Previous Years' Picks.

  • Top 10 Popular Chess Books (2006-2007) • We identified chess titles on two bestseller lists and weighted them according to their rank.

  • Top 10 Chess Gifts (2006-2007) • Looking for a gift idea for a chess player? Under the 'Compare Prices' links below you'll find chess sets, boards, and specialty items. These should give you lots of ideas plus a feel for prices.

Don't overlook the possibility to Post Your Feedback at the end of each top-10 list.

Monday June 25, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Elsewhere on the Web : Resources for Chess Organizations and Ratings

Chess organizations -- federations, associations, and clubs -- are stable and don't change very often. When we reviewed the links we maintain under the left column topic Organizations / Ratings, we found very little that required updating. Chess ratings are another matter. Rating systems are subject to ongoing study to improve their quality and to eliminate systematic defects that might appear over long periods of time.

Have you ever wondered how other sports rank players or whether they use the Elo Rating System? So have we. Special thanks to the English Amateur Billiards Association (EABA) for providing a survey of rating systems used in other sport organization. Read more...

Sunday June 24, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Join the Discussion : 6/5 with Draw Odds

In The New Odds Chess (the forum's 3000th thread!), oldrlyeh wonders, 'In the current Candidate Matches the final tie-breaker is a game played at a time control of 6 minutes for White and 5 minutes plus draw odds for Black. How fair are these odds?' • It's a good question and we don't know that it's been debated anywhere. What do you think?
Saturday June 23, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Video: Chess Simuls

Mixed in with all the chess videos on YouTube -- some entertaining, some instructional, and some downright silly -- are a handful showing top chess masters in action at simultaneous exhibitions.

The next two aren't real simuls, but they are certainly worth watching. Let's just call them entertaining.

Do you have another video worth noting? Let us know in a comment!

Friday June 22, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Every Move Explained : 1981 Tilburg, Kasparov vs. Andersson

Every move of the chess game played at the 1981 Tilburg tournament between Garry Kasparov and Ulf Andersson is explained move by move. Early in his career, Kasparov had already developed the aggressive, attacking style which was to become his trademark throughout his playing days. Tilburg was Kasparov's first GM tournament outside of the Soviet Union. He was 18 years old at the time. Read more...
Tuesday June 19, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Elsewhere on the Web : The Winners of the 2007 FIDE Candidate Matches Are...

The 2007 FIDE Candidate Matches ended with four players qualifying for the next step in the current World Chess Championship cycle. That event will be an eight player, double round robin tournament to start in September at Mexico City.

They started as 16: The 16 candidates were qualified by three different paths. The top ten finishers at the 2005 FIDE World Cup (Khanty-Mansiysk, December 2005) joined five players qualified by rating, plus the winner of the 2004 FIDE World Championship knockout matches. Read more...

Sunday June 17, 2007 | permalink | comments (0)

Join the Discussion : Chess 'Odd News'

Once again, chess finds its way to Yahoo's 'Odd News'. This time it's a story about the winner of a $35 million lottery: 'What the winner of a huge Canadian lottery jackpot really hankers for is a chess set.' • What's so odd about that?
Saturday June 16, 2007 | permalink | comments (1)

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