How to fool Fritz

Well, what to say about the book we just got in: How to Fool Fritz? It is certainly unlike ANY other chess book you have seen.

Someone said it looks like it is written by a nutty professor, someone else said it was probably conceived in an Amsterdam cafe, and again someone else said it resembles a book by an intellectual kamikaze pilot.

It certainly is an amusing, provocative, strange, romantic, funny and utterly engaging book about, well, chess and computers.

If you want to fool Fritz, you don’t want to miss this book!

Rybka: $100,000 challenge to FIDE

During the “tour”, I’m hardly able to keep up with the chess news myself, let alone write about it. But I can make some exceptions of course, for instance when I receive an open letter from Vasik Rajlich, the programmer of the strongest computer program in the world, Rybka. He’s offering a $100,000 challenge from Rybka to FIDE, who will be represented by the winner of the Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge 2007. “The challenge consists of a 24 game match, at classical time controls, on unlimited hardware and with unlimited opening books, held at 2 games per day over twelve days, with Rybka giving a handicap of one point plus draw.” To put it mildly, Rajlich is surprised about many aspects of the “Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge” between the programs Deep Junior and Deep Fritz, being held in Elista during the final phase of the current Candidates Matches. And he’s right of course; Fritz is not in the top 3 of computer programs anymore and Junior is to be found somewhere deep down in the top 10. Rybka is leading the computer rating lists by a huge margin for about 1,5 years now. It seems to me that with the challenge the Rybka team is (rightfully) trying to prove that the “The Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge”, between two Chessbase programs, is nothing more than a commercial spectacle and most importantly a farce. full story »

Losing against Lajos Portisch – interview + lecture GM Mihail Marin

Today the third and last interview from Porto Mannu, this time with GM Mihail Marin. This time a bit less interview and a bit more lecture. The lecure had the surprising subject of three losses against the same player, the legendary Lajos Portisch who just like Spassky turned 70 this year. Marin’s story is the perfect example of how you can learn from your own games. Have fun! full story »

Chess improvement according to GM Jonathan Rowson

Today I present the second interview I did on Saturday, May 26th which was with GM Jonathan Rowson. He had finished his last round game against Hedinn Steimgrimsson about an hour before but despite his draw which probably should have been a win, I caught him in a good mood. The interview is about which of his three books he liked writing most, about future plans in writing, about chess improvement in general, about the secret behind his own successes (three times British champion), about practicing decision making, and about his last book Chess for Zebras. At the end you see a few small fragments of his lecture he did in Porto Mannu. Enjoy! full story »

Weekly Endgame Study (21)

Every Saturday (this time we didn’t really manage that, due to circumstances) an endgame study is published at ChessVibes, selected by Yochanan Afek: player, trainer, endgame study composer and writer. A week later the solution is published. full story »

Comparing lines and desperados – an interview with IM Jacob Aagaard

As already announced, I’m pleased to present you the first of three interviews I did in Porto Mannu last week. This one is with IM Jacob Aagaard, about him living in Scotland (and why not in Denmark), about his chess career (and why he isn’t a GM yet), about his publishing company (and why it wasn’t called Viking Chess), about doing lectures (while being a writer), about being a trainer (which seems to be his second nature) and about what Mikhail Tal is doing on the cover of the Italian version of his latest book… full story »

Chess Opening Essentials

Most opening books are either too detailed or too shallow. Chess Opening Essentials, fresh in from the printers, has exactly the right balance.

GM’s Djuric & Komarov and IM Pantaleoni have created a prize-winning book which is an accessible primer and a reference work at the same time. This 360-page book:

• helps beginners to develop a solid understanding of fundamental opening ideas
• gives casual players the ability to choose the opening that suits their style and taste
• is a tool for club players to test and review their opening repertoire
• is a reference book to which advanced players keep returning.

Many opening reference books are little more than quickly outdating data base dumps, but this thorough, understandable and very readable manual is about the basics, not about the latest fashions!

Steingrimsson wins! (Big pictorial report Porto Mannu)

Many were of the opinion that during the last week I was situated in some sort of paradise, where sun, sea, beach and fine food were enjoyed in between some nice games of chess. Nothing could be further from the truth.The Porto Mannu Resort was sheer torture. Especially the monotony was truely unbearable. Never a decent cloud in the sky, never a less than perfect salad, it made me sick. And I haven’t even started mentioning the missing internet connection. Never before the ChessVibes audience had to do without articles for several days, while they were worrying about their editor-in-chief who’s hands started trembling a little without a keyboard and a mouse. full story »

A hi from Porto Mannu

Suddenly the reports from Sofia ended. And for me the Mtel tournament already feels a bit far away and long ago. What was the case? Friday afternoon I managed to post the last material right in time and then I had to hurry to the airport. Via Rome I flew to Sardinia on Saturday morning where my next tournament started in the afternoon. full story »

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