Chess in the News

This page covers the period January 01 - June 30, 2006. To read news items commencing July 01, 2006 CLICK HERE.

Mosnews, June 21 – "Crazy Chess Player" Serial Killer Confesses:
A serial killer detained in Moscow has confessed to killing 61 people of the 64 he was planning to kill — one murder for each of the chessboard checks.
Alexander Pichushkin, 32, a shop assistant, has claimed to be the notorious Bitsa Park serial killer, who Moscow police have been tracking down for more than half a year, Kommersant daily reports.
Pichushkin, who has already been nicknamed “Crazy Chess Player”, said he had initially planned to commit 64 murders, one for each of the chessboard checks. He also said there were three checks vacant, thus admitting to have killed 61.
However the police have found only 14 bodies in the Bitsa Park in the suburbs of Moscow, and the investigators doubt the detainee’s testimony, since he cannot remember where he had hid the rest 47 corpses.
Pichushkin was detained on June 18, on suspicions of killing his co-worker whose body was found in a spring in the park. He admitted his guilt and gave to the police the hammer he had killed the woman with.

Washington Post, June 19; CHESS—Lubomir Kavalek:
The world champion Vladimir Kramnik stormed the 37th chess olympiad in Turin, Italy, achieving a performance rating of 2847, the best of all players. The Russian grandmaster is still under treatment for a rare form of arthritis, but returning to the chess board in such good form after a six-month hiatus must be encouraging for him. Kramnik will face the FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in a unifying world championship match in September in Elista, Russia.
Kramnik's great result did not prevent the Russian team from slipping to sixth place, the worst result of any Soviet or Russian team since 1952, when they began participating in the chess olympiads. For the first time Russia failed to win an olympic medal.

Peace Arch (British Columbia) News, June 13 – Prodigy last left standing against nation’s best :
Jacob Jensen lives in the body of a boy, but at a chess table, the seven-year-old possesses the mind of a master.
After taking up the game a year ago, the Grade 2 Laronde elementary student has catapulted into the top 20 players in the province.
Saturday at UBC, the prodigy had chance to measure against one of the best in the world. He was among 32 of B.C.’s best chess players invited to take on Canadian champion Pascal Charbonneau.
It’s a challenge the youngster lived up to, hanging in longer than any other player there.
“I wasn’t nervous,” the confident redhead said Monday.
“I knew everyone was going to lose. But it was surprising to me to be the last one playing.”
Charbonneau, Canada’s top-ranked chess master, recently returned from the Chess Olympics, where he defeated Indian champ Viswanathan Anand, ranked second in the world.

PR Inside, June 07 – Lennox Lewis Beaten by Chess Challengers
Boxing champion-turned-actor LENNOX LEWIS was 'knocked out' by four chess masters last week as part of a boardgame bonanza in New York's Washington Square Park. Lewis, who famously played chess to calm his nerves before a big fight, played eighteen matches in a speed chess tournament and lost only four times. The players who beat the champ each won $1,000 (£555) and a certificate boasting 'I KO'd Lennox Lewis'.

Armenia Diaspora, June 06 – Victory Of Armenia In Chess Olympiad:
Turin: The Armenian men and the Ukrainian women made history by taking their maiden gold in the Chess Olympiad, the game's premier team competition. China emerged as the team of the Olympiad by winning medals in both sections. In the Open section, China took the silver, its first-ever medal while as defending champion in the ladies category, the team followed Ukraine and Russia into the medal bracket.
Armenia, winner of the bronze medal in 1992, 2002 and 2004, was worthy of the gold after being the only undefeated team in the field of 148 teams.
Favorite Russia was knocked out of the medal bracket after losing to Israel 1-3 in the final round. This result, coupled with China's victory over Netherlands and USA's whipping of Norway pushed Russia to the sixth place, its worst in decades.

Arianne Caoili

London Times, June 06 – How dare you take my queen?
Battle of the chess grandmasters as leading England player 'attacks' rival over dancefloor move
FOR one British grandmaster, his rival had made a move too far. Danny Gormally, one of Britain’s leading chess players, allegedly attacked the world No 3 at an international tournament for dancing with a beautiful Australian player.
Levon Aronian, leading light of the Armenian chess scene, was apparently punched and shoved, and ended up on the floor during a party at the recent Chess Olympiad in Turin.
He had been spotted jiving with Arianne Caoili, 19, an Australian grandmaster known as the Anna Kournikova of the chess world. Mr Gormally was known by team-mates to be fond of her.
Denis Jessop, president of the Australian Chess Federation, said that he may launch his own inquiry. “I have heard that an incident took place and that Aronian was thumped and that it was over Arianne.
“I am not surprised at anything that chess players do. It is not the first time that there’s been an argument at a chess tournament and people have hit each other,” he said.
Read the rest of this article on line: CLICK HERE.

Shanghai Daily June 05 – Ancient chess:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found two ancient engraved chessboards probably used by soldiers on the Great Wall more than 700 years ago at Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei Province.
The two boards, one for Chinese chess and the other for the ancient game "Tiger Eats Sheep," were engraved on a stone in front of a Great Wall beacon tower possibly in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), said officials with the provincial department of cultural relics.

International Herald Tribune, May 24 – Bobby and Boris:
Anthony McCarten, one of New Zealand's most exciting literary exports, is finalizing several screenplays and casting is also under way in Los Angeles on "Bobby and Boris," McCarten's script on the 1972 chess standoff between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.

Xinhua News Agency, China, May 21 – Veselin Topalov defends honor in M-Tel Masters' final:
SOFIA, May 21(Xinhua) -- World chess king Veselin Topalov grabbed the M-Tel Masters title for the second time in a row on Sunday, with a win over France's Etienne Bacrot, reported Sofia News Agency.
The Bulgarian hero reached the tournament title in the 42th turn when Bacrot surrendered. With his fourth victory in the M-Tel Masters Topalov banked 6.5 points - the same result that brought him the title in 2005 as well.
American Gata Kamsky, who had evened his points with Topalov in the previous round, tied with Russia's Peter Svidler, thus clearing the Bulgarian for the title.
The Ukrainian genius Ruslan Ponomariov drew on the 53rd move with the Indian veteran Viswanathan Anand as well.
The final standings after the tenth (last) round are: 1. Veselin Topalov 6.5, 2. Gata Kamsky 6, 3. Viswanathan Anand 5.5, 4. Peter Svidler 5, 5. Ruslan Ponomariov 3.5, Etienne Bacrot - 3.5
Topalov will receive his trophy from Bulgaria's president Georgi Parvanov later in the evening.
The M-Tel Masters tournament, ranked 20th category of FIDE, was held in Bulgaria for the first time in 2005. Vesselin Topalov is the only person who has dominated the tournament so far.
Editor: Lin Li

Penrith RSL Razzle, May 22 – New Chess Club Forming:
Frank Rosser of Penrith, a retired journalist, is trying to start a chess club at Penrith RSL club. No room has been allocated but chess players have been promised a few tables in the restaurant area near the top of the escalator from 7.00 pm on Wednesday nights. Frank has had almost no response yet and would appreciate it if anybody living in the area could drop in for an hour or so this Wednesday to help him get it started. His phone number is 4731 3548.

The Manila Bulletin Online, May 15 – Torre to break a chess record in Turin Olympiad:
WHEN GRANDMASTER Eugene Torre makes his 19th appearance in the 37th World Chess Olympiad this week, he will set a record for consecutive participation in the event and will move just one short of tying the all-time record for most appearances held by the legendary Lajos Portisch of Hungary.
Portisch achieved the feat between 1956 and 2000, while Torre has been to every Olympiad since 1970. On the other hand, when Torre makes his opening move, he will surpass the record of Paul Westerinen of Finland for most number of consecutive Olympiads played.
The 53-year-old Torre spearheads the Philippine team that leaves tonight for Turin, Italy, site of the three-week long Olympiad. The chess Olympiad is held every two years.
Torre first saw action in the Olympiad at the age of 17 in 1970 in Siegen, Germany, playing board two behind the now-retired International Master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso.
Two years later, Torre assumed the top board in the Skopje Olympiad, a position he held until two years ago in Mallorca, Spain.
In an Olympic career spanning nearly four decades, Torre has compiled a record of 85 wins, 104 draws and 34 losses.
To read the rest of this most interesting article about one of the game's great players, CLICK HERE.

DNA (Daily News & Analysis), May 09 – Chess world unity could depend on poll results:
MUMBAI: Will Fide be third time lucky in bringing about a unification in the chess world? It’s difficult to say, although the World Chess Federation officials are confident that the proposed 12-game unification match between Fide champion Veselin Topalov and Brain Games champion Vladimir Kramnik will begin as scheduled on September 21.
But players like Garry Kasparov – the man, many believe, responsible for the split in the world chess — dismissed it as a wasted exercise. “There is no point of such a match because the result is a foregone conclusion.
Topalov is clearly the better player. I’m not sure if the result would be the same if it was between Vishy Anand and Topalov,” Kasparov said. For the record, Topalov is the highest rated player at 2804, while Kramnik is No 9 at 2729 in the Fide list. Anand is No 2 at 2803.
This is the third attempt by Fide to bring about ‘unification’ after Kasparov organised the championship as Professional Chess Championship against Nigel Short in 1993. It was under this umbrella that Anand had played the final against Kasparov on the 101st floor of the famous World Trade Centre in 1995 in New York.
But it was Kasparov who wanted a unification match after he lost the ‘Braingames’ championship to Kramnik in 2000. The world chess was set for unification after Fide agreed to the proposal. Kasparov was to take on then Fide champion Ruslan Ponomariov and the winner would meet Kramnik to complete the unification. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to inaugurate the match on September 19, 2003 in Yalta, Ukraine. But the match ran into problems after Ponomariov pulled out, crying foul.
FIDE tried the unification with the next champion Rustan Kasimdzhanov and it was to be held in Dubai in January 2005. The winner of the match would have taken on the winner of a match between Kramnik and Peter Leko.
But Fide cancelled it stating the royal family of Dubai, the sponsors for the match, did not honour their commitment.
Even in the 70s, the Fide had attempted a unification matches between Anatoly Karpov and Bobby Fischer but it did not happen as Fischer was believed to have put too many conditions. It is not sure whether the latest unity attempt will succeed. If Kok were to defeat Ilyumzhinov in the Fide elections later this month, the match, who knows, may not happen at all.

Toronto Star, May 6 – In New York City parks, "real men" don't castle:
. . . This is where some serious chess hustling happens. Players are mostly men, and bets are often discreetly – and not so discreetly – placed. It's the sort of place where you can hear someone say: "Real men don't castle."
Read the rest of this entertaining article by freelance Canadian writer, Cleo Paskal, at THIS ADDRESS.

Chessbase News April 28 – Magnus Carlsen vs Loek van Wely: 1:1:
The town of town of Schagen in northern Holland is paying host to a four-game match between top Dutch GM Loek van Wely and the Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen, 15. Time controls are classical chess. The event, which includes rapid, youth and school events, is sponsored by the DSB Bank. To read the full report CLICK HERE.

Veselin Topalov Today the Oscar in September, Kramnik!

Sophia News April 28 – BULGARIA'S TOPALOV WINS ANNUAL CHESS AWARD:
International chess champion Vesselin Topalov won the Chess Oscar award for 2005.
Topalov collected 4376 points, ranking first in the survey of Russian magazine 64-Shahmatnoe Obozrenie (64 Chess Review).
Indian competitor Viswanathan Anand ranked second. Armenian Levon Aronyan remained third,Darik radio reported.
The magazine’s ranking takes into account the votes of 361 journalists from 68 countries.Topalov received the support of 293 journalists, guaranteeing him the first place and the annual award.
Last year Topalov won the international title during the San Luis championship in Argentina. He also ranked first in the MTel Masters tournament in Sofia.
The magazine awards are presented each year. Russian Garry Kasparov is the competitor with most Chess Oscars, a total of 11. Anatoly Karpov won nine awards.

ICC News, April 21 – Kozul and Ekaterina Win European Titles:
GM Zdenko Kozul of Croatia proved to be the top player in the men's section at this year's 2006 European Individual Championships in Kusadasi, Turkey. Kozul finished the tournament with a score of 8.5/11 a half point ahead of GM Vassily Ivanchuk.
Kozul entered the tournament seeded number 27th, out of 197 players, with a rating of 2600. Kozul had an outstanding performance with six wins, five draws, and not a single lost.
In the women's section the top player this year proved to be WGM Atalik Ekaterina of Turkey who entered the tournament seeded number 20th, out of 107 players, with a rating of 2399. Ekaterina also finished the tournament with 8.5/11 having six wins, five draws, and not a single loss.

Sofia Echo, April 19 – CHESS AWARDS VOTE GIVES BULGARIA'S TOPALOV LEAD POSITION:
According to the vote for the chess 'Oscar' awards for 2005 Bulgarian chess master Vesselin Topalov takes the lead position for the time being. Russian magazine 64-Shahmatnoe Obozrenie (64 Chess Review) organises the award each year, Focus Sport agency reoprted. The vote gives second position to Indian Vishwanathan Anand and third place to Armenian Levon Aronyan.
Such surveys occur since 1968. The first winner of the annual award is Russian chess master Boris Spassky. Garry Kasparov is the holder of most awards, a total number of 11. Anatoly Karpov follows with nine awards.
The award will be given to the winner in Bulgaria's Grand Hotel Sofia in May. The editor-in-chief of 64-Shahmatnoe Obozrenie Aleksander Roshal will travel to Bulgaria for the occassion.

Sofia News Agency, April 15. – World Chess King Topalov Faces Rival Kramnik in Sept:
The much-awaited match between FIDE World champion Bulgarian Vaselin Topalov and former champion Vladimir Kramnik will take place in September. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Elista, the capital of Kalmykia will host the 12-game match which is considered a unification match. The prize money guaranteed for the match is USD 1 M.
According to the latest Fide ratings, the 36-year-old Topalov is the highest rated player at 2804 with Kramnik, also 36, rated ninth with at 2729.

Chessbase News – God invented chess, but the Devil invented the Caro Kann:
"In the beginning, there was the board. And the board was empty and monochromatic. And God divided the board into black and white, and he called the white “light squares” and the black “dark squares” and he placed the light and dark squares in alternating order. And he ruled that the light square should always go to the right, even though people did not always heed this decree. And he saw that it was good."
Inevitably God and the Satan played a game: CLICK HERE to see who won this fascinating contest—from the pen of Alex Shternshain.

The Daily Pennsylvanian April 11—Hey ma, I'm a sex symbol!   Mastering the Art of "Garying":
"Australian guys have much better luck with girls because of the 'gary' – getting to know a girl without intentions." IM (soon to be GM?) David Smerdon obviously has talents in other areas than the chess board as this insightful story from the Pennsylvanian reveals. CLICK HERE to read the whole article.

Iceland Review Online, March 17 – 15 Year Old Prodigy Wins Rapid Tournament:
Yesterday, Magnus Carlsen, a 15 year old Norwegian chess prodigy, unexpectedly won the Glitnir Rapid Chess Tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland, beating two-time rapid chess world champion Vishy Anand. The accomplished female chess player, Judith Polgar, also participated in the tournament which is said to have been one of the word's most challenging this year.
Magnus beat Hannes Hlífar Stefánsson in a thrilling final match.
"This is an incredibly good feeling," Magnus told Morgunbladid, saying the win was unexpected. "Especially after the rapid chess on Wednesday when I felt that I didn't play so well. I also believed that it would be very difficult to beat Anand," said Magnus.
Magnus' performance generated much interest especially his win over the Israeli grandmaster Sergey Erenburg in the semi-finals. When playing Erenburg, Magnus was able to win a position which looked like a tie to the delight of the hundreds of spectators who gave him a standing ovation.

Newsday, March 12 – A Chess Queen—Susan Polgar:
The largest chess school in Queens – by all accounts, the only chess school in Queens – is on the ground floor of an apartment building off a gridlocked stretch of asphalt in Forest Hills, next to a Middle Eastern bodega and a video store. It is called the Polgar Chess Center, and, according to the sign outside, it is the Home of the Four-Time Women's World Champion . . .
To read this interesting article about Susan Polgar CLICK HERE

San Diego Business Wire, March 13 – New US Chess Champions Crowned:
The 2006 U.S. Chess Championship raced to an exciting finish as the best players in two fields faced off and the final champions were crowned. In the two-game rapid-chess final match, Alexander Onischuk, of Baltimore, Md., defeated Yury Shulman, of Barrington, Ill., to claim the title of 2006 U.S. Chess Champion and the $25,000 first prize. Both players are 30 years old and came originally from the Ukraine.
In the women's title match, Anna Zatonskih, of Holtsville, N.Y., bested defending champion Rusudan Goletiani, of Hartsdale, N.Y., to claim the $12,500 Women's Championship prize. Nearly five thousand chess fans watched the matches in person over the nine-day tournament, and more than 50,000 viewed the games live over the internet.

Chennai Online News, March 10 – Women's chess: Humpy is top favourite:
Koneru Humpy starts as the top favourite for the crown in the World Women's chess championship which kicks off at Ekaterinburg in Russia later today. The world's highest-rated girl will launch her campaign against Tuduetso Sabure of Botswana in the first round mini match of two games.
Humpy has been given second seeding in the world's most important women event after defending champion and top seed Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the US $ 450,000 event with US $ 60,000 reserved for the winner. Humpy, the highest-rated player in the event and in the world in the absence of world's top woman player Judit Polgar of Hungary, who never plays in any women's events, will certainly be the cynosure of all eyes in the championship.
Former World Junior Girls champion and last WWCC semi-finalist Humpy is not likely to get tough resistance from Sabure, who despite being a Woman Grandmaster, is rated only 2072 compared to Humpy's 2539 ELO. The Indian is likely to cruise to the second round easily.

All Africa News March 9 – Nigel Short:  How to Improve Your Chess:
Nigel Short may have had a fallout with the Botswana Chess Federation this week but, following a simul against 21 of the country's top players (17 wins, 4 draws) he talked about how to improve our chess. CLICK HERE.

Chess Base News Feb 25 – Topalov vs Los Monarcas Football Club:
Veselin Topalov is not having a good tournament. But as FIDE world champion he has duties, which include attending functions organised by the hosts. On a free day Topalov paid a visit to the Morelia soccer club, played an exhibition game against the goalkeeper, and fired three penalty shots at him. Guess who was good at what. CLICK HERE.

Chess Base News Feb 18 – The Age of Love—Mark Taimanov at 80
On February 7th Mark Taimanov turned 80. For decades he was one of Russia's leading grandmaster, internationally best known for his unfortunate match against Fischer. But he led a very full life, as a child actor, concert pianist and, in his latter years, as a proud father. For his birthday Mark Evgenievich give us a unique insight into his personal photo album.
To read this intimate article about one of the great chess players of the twentieth century visit Chess Base News HERE.

Iceland Review Online Feb 15 – Stalking Bobby Fischer:
Sometime in modern history, the Icelandic language and the game of chess came together to confound all but a few thousand souls on our planet.
I sat amongst them on Saturday, when Icelandic chess fans met in the lobby of a downtown bank to watch Friðrik Ólafsson, Iceland’s first grandmaster, and Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, play a couple of short matches.
I was there hoping Iceland’s elusive new national Bobby Fischer might make an appearance, as was the Icelandic media who started speculating that he might over a week ago. I asked a man sitting next to me what he thought the chances were. He shrugged – who knew? – but personally believed that Fischer “will never play again.”
Fischer didn’t come, so I couldn’t ask him whether this was true, but I did get to watch the whole event unfold from 3 to 5 on a Saturday afternoon.
In the end, I had to ask a man standing next to me who won. Looking at me sideways, he patiently answered it was a draw.

Rocky Mountain News, Feb 06 – Match your chess/movie knowledge:
I emailed the Rocky Mountain News for permission to reproduce this article in which Todd Bardwick tests your knowledge of chess in the movies. Since there has been no reply I can't set it as a permanent feature but you can test yourself on their own website (it's in Denver, Colorado) by clicking HERE. Enjoy.

Chessbase News, Feb 07 – Australian Championship:
Chessbase have an interesting, if belated, story about the Australian Championship. CLICK HERE to read it.

ChessBase News, Feb 03 – The Jackal vs Veselin Topalov:
The setup is cute: a beautiful young lady, former MTV host, challenges world champion Veselin Topalov to a game. Although she hardly seems to be able to move the pieces, and even makes small talk, she is playing good solid chess against him. In fact the game ends in a draw. Here's the trick Dutch TV played on Topalov . . .
[It's a funny article and you can read it at ChessBase News by clicking on THIS LINK.]

New York Post, January 29, 2006 – POLITICS-GAME LINK IS UP FOR DEBATE by Andy Soltis
Chess master Leo Williams, a former champion of Montreal, traded the chessboard for the ballot box this week when he ran for parliament in the Canadian elections — and got crushed. Williams, 55, holds the record for most blindfold simultaneous games in Canada. This didn't help him much as candidate of the Green Party.
The record of chess-playing pols is decidedly mixed:
Garry Kasparov, who left chess for politics, hasn't been faring well. But his old rival Anatoly Karpov got to the Kremlin this week, as a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

ACF Newsletter Jan 26, 2006 – Free Newsletter
The ACF email newsletter has recently signed up its 1300th subscriber, and there seems to be a constant trickle of new subscriptions. If you are already a subscriber, please forward the newsletter to any chess playing friends who don't receive it, or direct them to the ACF website where they can subscribe. If you're not a subscriber but would like to get this excellent Newsletter with the latest information on Australian and overseas chess, click on this link and fill in your email address:   SUBSCRIBE HERE

Bucharest Daily News Jan 25, 2006 – Basescu to Open Nisipeanu - Topalov Match—by Adela Marchis
(Romanian) President Traian Basescu will make the first move in the test game between European Chess Champion Dieter Nisipeanu and World Champion Bulgarian Veselin Topalov.
The match, formed of four games disputed in classical system, is the most important ever disputed in Romania. Even if the match is considered a test game, the result will count for the calculation of the ELO coefficient, that helps establishing the chess players world standings. The game will take place April 6th to 9th.
Topalov and Nisipeanu have played against each other before in 1991 at the European juniors' championship. The match finished with a draw. "I remember that at the end of the match, a spectator came to me and showed me how I could have beaten him. It was a difficult solution I had never seen before," Nisipeanu said.
Topalov has held the World title since October while Nisipeanu became European champion in July 2005.

Daily Telegraph (UK) Jan 23, 2006 – Wade back in action:
INTERNATIONAL Master Bob Wade, one of the most influential figures in British chess, is back in New Zealand, his place of birth, for the Queenstown Classic. Wade has not been back for 56 years, having left in 1948 after winning the New Zealand Championship. Two years later, he became New Zealand's first IM. He was the driving force behind the explosion in British chess publishing that started in the 1970s and he is the author of more than 30 chess books.
Wade was also the trainer of the England team for many years. He was the custodian of the BT Batsford chess library and had access to more chess information than anyone outside of the Soviet Union. Even the great Bobby Fischer sought his advice as he prepared his assault on the World Chess Championship.

Moulthun Ly & David Smerdon

Courier Mail Jan 06, 2006 (Received Jan 22) – Smerdon & Ly
BRISBANE'S David Smerdon is on the verge of becoming Australia's first new chess grandmaster in a decade.
And another Brisbane chess expert, 14-year-old Moulthun Ly, may one day follow in Mr Smerdon's footsteps.
Both are playing at the Xstrata Australian Championships at Brisbane's Carlton Crest Hotel and both are in the running to take out major prizes.
Mr Smerdon, 21, can be a grandmaster by tonight depending on results at the championships, which run until Monday.
"I've been playing for 16 years. I like the fact that you sit down on an even plane, whether it's against a seven-year-old or a male or a female," he said.
"You get the same equipment and it's a battle of minds.
"I used to get coaching. These days I do a lot of study myself through books and computer programs."
Chess Federation rules stipulate that three grandmasters must attend an event to validate a new grandmaster.
But tournament official Cathy Rodgers said there were only two grandmasters in Australia and the chess federation had invited three foreign grand-masters to participate (from Slovakia, the UK and Germany).
Mr Smerdon's fellow player, Moulthun, apart from being the country's rapid champion chess player, is also the country's youngest ever player to take out the Australian junior championships.
He is competing in both the open and junior championships and is doing his best to keep his head in the game.
"Sometimes (kids at school) they call me a nerd. They're not nasty, they just like to tease you," he said.
"I started competing after I started playing 3½ years ago.
"I practise whenever I can, probably about five hours a week."
Moulthun, who attends Sheldon College at Capalaba, admitted he was nervous about his games and tried not to think about the pressure. "I play heaps, it's fun.When I'm nervous I try to think about what my next move is," he said.

Jan 18 The Scotsman – Chess Computers Soon Almost Unbeatable says Topalov
CHESS computers will be almost unbeatable in ten years' time and may bring about radical new rules for the ancient game, the world champion, Veselin Topalov, predicts.
"At the present moment I don't fear humans. Computers I think are very strong," the Bulgarian grandmaster said in an interview.
"Probably they will be better than 99.9 per cent of human beings" in a decade from now, he said.
Mr Topalov, 30, also raised the possibility that today's version of chess could give way to "Fischer Random Chess" - invented by the eccentric former champion Bobby Fischer - which sets back-row pieces randomly to narrow the importance of rehearsed openings.
Random chess will take off, Mr Topalov said, "when the chess we play now is exhausted from computers and [knowledge of] openings and everything will be [fore]seen. It will not happen next year."
Although Mr Topalov has never tried Fischer's version of chess, he said that it "makes sense" and he would happily play the US grandmaster at his own game.
It's not clear how computers, deprived of vast memory banks of opening moves, would fare at random chess.
Super-grandmasters of chess - the top 0.1 per cent - may still fancy beating computers the traditional way.
"Of course, when it comes to pure calculation you can never be better [than computers], but in long-term plans they're not very good at positioning their pieces," Mr Topalov said.
"The problem against computers is you cannot scare them. This is a big problem, you cannot bluff, [there's] no psychological fight ... The good thing is I don't care if the computer calculates 100 million moves per second, or 200 million, for me it's about the same. I don't see any difference."

Jan 15 New York Post – Remember this name: Parimarjan Negi.
He achieved his first qualifying norm for the grandmaster title — at age 12 years, 10 months and 29 days. That's nearly three years less than it took Bobby Fischer.
Negi of India is typical of the super-prodigies of the 21st century. He learned the moves at age 4 and began getting lessons from a grandmaster at 9.

Jan 13 Chess Base – Look what we found: a four-page pictorial interview with world chess champion Veselin Topalov - in Playboy Bulgaria. The December issue features the national sports hero answering twenty questions on the burdens of the title, the Bulgarian phenomenon, superstition, and the future of the game. We told you we bought it for the interviews.

Jan 13 Web India – Hyderabad – "I am aiming for top ranking in the world": Humpy
Grand Master Koneru Humpy today left for Corus-B Grand Masters Chess tournament, Wijk aan-Zee, beginning on January 14.
Talking to UNI Humpy said ''I am happy to attain the world number-two rank in the 'FIDE' rating, with the successfull campaign in 2005, where I won North-Urals tournament in Russia and was placed fifth in the Neckar tournament in Germany and fifth again in the Open Chess tournament in Singapore.'' She said she is aiming for top position, but reaching the spot is not easy as top woman Judit Polgar of Hungary has attained the rating of 2711.

Jan 02 Dallas Morning News – TV Guide: "Anything to Win"
The network of grand-prize game shows tries a new tack with a 13-part documentary series on both cheaters and fair-playing champs. Subjects range from Boston Marathon rule-breaker Rosie Ruiz to oddball chess champ Bobby Fischer.
(There have been a few items about this show. Keep an eye on the local TV guide. It may be shown in Australia later in the year.)

Jan 02 Philippine Daily Inquirer – GM Mark Paragua yesterday became the first Filipino to breach the 2600 Elo barrier, based on the January 2006 ratings released by the World Chess Federation (Fide).
The 21-year-old Paragua, who hails from Marilao, Bulacan, obtained an Elo rating of 2618-22 up on his rating last month-and barged into the world's top 100, sharing the 99th spot with fellow GMs Suat Atalik of Turkey and Andrei Istratescu of Romania.
The youngest Filipino to earn a GM title at 21, Paragua also ranked ninth in Asia. India's world No. 3 Viswanathan Anand tops the list with an Elo rating of 2792.
In chess circles, a rating of 2600 or better merits an informal "super GM" prefix.
Eugene Torre, Asia's first GM who rose to the apex of his career in 1983, during his world candidates showdown with Hungary's Zoltan Ribli, said he expects Paragua's achievement to inspire more Filipinos to do well on the international scene.

Dec 22 Sofia News Agency – Chess King Crowned Bulgaria's Top Athlete of 2005
Chess King Vesselin Topalov received yet another crown after being elected Bulgaria's Athlete of 2005.
In an emotional address to President Georgi Parvanov, athletes, sports journalists and guests attending the solemn ceremony on Wednesday, Vesselin Topalov announced he will donate his prize to the fund-raising initiative Bulgarian Christmas.
Closely followed in sports successes were Bulgaria's top wrestlers Nikolay Gergov and Armen Nazaryan, whose national coach Bratan Tsenov earned the recognition of Coach of 2005.
A place at Top 10 of Bulgarian sports in 2005 have been granted to sumo champion Kotooshu, sprinter Ivet Lalova, swimmer Peter Stoytchev, boxer Alexey Shaidulin, tennis player Sesil Karatantcheva, rowing duo Rumiana Neykova and Miglena Markova, and wrestler Serafim Burzakov.