ChessBase Magazine Online

GM Edmar Mednis, 1937 – 2002
15.02.2002 – We have learned that the well-known American GM Edmar Mednis died on February 13, 2002, at the age of 64. Mednis was born in Riga, Latvia in 1937 but lived in the United States since 1950, where he worked as a professional chess player and author. His most famous deed: to beat Bobby Fischer with the black pieces in the 1962-63 US Championship. More
 

Chess comes back to Afghanistan
14.02.2002 – For five years chess, like kite flying, was strictly forbidden by the puritanical Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Now 138 players gathered to take part in the first post-Taliban tournament, as Patrick Cockburn of The Independent reports. Cockburn describes how difficult it still is to find chess sets in the Afghani capital and how some player had to use the floor for their games. More
 

A brand new board for Fritz
14.02.2002 – The new Fritz7 program has a special function that many users are not well acquainted with – the analysis board. But what is is good for? Well, it is basically like opening a pocket chess set when watching a GM game. It is especially useful when you are logged into the Fritz7 server and following a game. And in "advanced chess". Maybe this article by Peter Schreiner will convince you.
 

Bernie Fishfinger vs Wicked Wanda
12.02.2002 – This is chess like you've never seen it before. Bernie Fishfinger, "arguably the greatest chess player in the world", is challenged by "some crazy broad named Tanya Ivanovna" to a one-game win-or-lose for a million dollars. You should definitely be over 18 (or 16 in Europe) if you actually want to check it out. Be warned: this 1973 Penthouse comic book parody of chess, full of T&A, is not fettered by such inhibiting factors as taste. Proceed at your own risk – the link is here.
 

CBM 85 Extra with BGN press conference
11.02.2002 – The latest issue of ChessBase Magazine Extra contains over 100 tournaments with a total of 7837 games. It also contains well over 500 MB of video sequences in two multimedia reports – one on a Bundesliga weekend and one on the Brain Games press conference in Dortmund. There Raymond Keene (picture) reveals full details about the upcoming qualifier in Dortmund for the BGN world championship. Vladimir Kramnik also tells us how he was intrumental in bringing the plan to fruition. You will find the multimedia report here.
 

Five players tie for first in Moscow
10.02.2002 – With three lossen in the last three roundsour hero Vasily Yemelin dropped to place 33 in the Aeroflot Open 200. The joint winners with 6.5 points in nine rounds are Grischuk, Aleksandrov, Kaidanov, Shabalov and Milov. New pictures are available at Eugene Atarov's Joe Black site, and all games are to be found on our special Aeroflot Open report page.
 

Linares 2002 – Pono is back in
10.02.2002 – "I want to be treated like a world champion!", he had demanded (see below). Apparently it worked. After a week of negotiatons, threats, accusations and counter-charges the organisers and Ruslan Ponomariov have reached an agreement: the FIDE world champion will play in Linares 2002 after all! This is reported by Spanish journalist Leonxto Garcia in his El Pais chess column.
 

New pictures from Moscow – Yemelin still in the lead
09.02.2002 – A draw in round six against Alexander Grischuk kept dark horse Vasily Yemelin in the lead at the Aeroflot Open 2002. Standings in Group A: Yemelin,V. 5,0; Grischuk, A., Tkachiev, V., Kaidanov, G., Sargissian, G., Fedorov, A., Moiseenko, A., Tregubov, P., Shabalov, A. 4,5. We have received new pictures from Eugeny Atarov, which can be viewed at our German site and on his Joe Black pages. Earlier pictures and games are available on our special Aeroflot Open report page.
 

And the winners are...
08.02.2002 – Did you take part in our ChessBase Christmas puzzle competition? The prize was a copy of the latest Fritz program, personalised and signed by a world champion. Due to the very large number of entries we increased the number to three copies. Vishy Anand, FIDE world champ from December 2000 to January 2002, drew the winners and signed the program boxes for the lucky three. You better check to see if you were one of them here.
 

2500-rated Vasily Yemelin in the lead
07.02.2002 – After five rounds of the Aeroflot Open it is not a 2600+ GM who is in the lead, but surprisingly the 26-year-old Vasily Yemelin (picture), who is rated just a mite over 2500. Playing the chess of his life – and with the $25,000 first prize firmly imprinted in his mind – he has scored 4.5 points so far, defeating the previous leader Alexandrov in the fifth round. You will find new pictures from Moscow on our German site, as well as all the games played so far on our special Aeroflot Open report page.
 

Come and get them – solutions to our Christmas puzzles
07.02.2002 – Between Christmas and New Year we gave you eight chess puzzles. Now the solutions are up, each as a link at the bottom of the puzzles. The winners of the special prize – three copies of our chess program Fritz 7, personalised and signed by a world chess champion – will be announced on Feb. 8, 2002. In the meantime check out the solutions here...
 

Moscow centre of the chess world
06.02.2002 – The giant Aeroflot open chess tournament is being played in Moscow, in a spectacular venue and with a really princely prize sum. As the action starts we present you with a picture gallery and all the games played so far. Visit our special Aeroflot Open report page for continued coverage.