RedHotPawn.com Chess Online

Red Hot Pawn boasts an online chess server that doesn't need any software and it doesn't need any downloads to run it, Red Hot Pawn is all online chess and all the files are stored on their server. RedHotPawn.com is a correspondence chess site, they have an extremely casual type of play.

Here is how it works, when you start a game online you make your move. After your first move your opponant will get an email telling him/her that you have made your move, they have as much time as they like to make their move. After they make their move the ball is in your court, you will be notified via email that your opponant has moved and the game will continue.

One of the great beautys of this online chess server is that you can have multiple games going consecutively. And you can use chat or email without actually disclosing your email address to your battle buddy.

And the very best part, Red Hot Pawn is completely and totally free!

Take a tour of Red Hot Pawn

Drueke Chess Stuff 15% Off!

Now for just a limited time all Drueke Chess Products are 15% off! Drueke offeres real quality wood chess products, everything made by Drueke is manufactured in the US. Drueke uses only the finest walnut and other woods, not junky veneer wood. Drueke chess boards are all made with solid wood inserts and are smoother than butter. They make a large selection of chess boards, ranging from 26" to 15" all of their board sizes are patterned after the same design, so it's an easy choice buying them.

They also make the best Wood Chess Sets I have ever seen! All their wooden chess sets are very finely detailed, with amazing wood grain quality.

And all these Drueke products are on sale for the holidays! This deal wont last long so get right on it, buy those Christmas presents while you can still order them UPS Ground! cause Next Day Air costs you an arm and a leg practically! And if your order is over $50 free shipping is offered through ground services.

Daily Chess Puzzles

This website has a new updated Chess Problem every day. It features a 2d algebraic chess board, every piece on the chess board is movable. If you mess up the chess board or get cant get the problem there is a back button and a reset button that puts the chess puzzle back into position. And if you need a little help there is a hint button you can hit, and if you just can't work it out you can hit the solution button. After you hit the solution button the pieces start moving slowly on their own one by one to complete the position. On the right side of the chess problem is a notation pad and after each move is made on the board the algebraic code is written into the scoresheet. You can also view the previous chess puzzle back to seven days.

This website has several other puzzles that mess with your mind, i'll just list a few of them. A very confusing puzzle called Fiver. I beat the Fiver game up to the 5x5 board. Peg Solitaire is another one the goal on this game is to get all the pegs removed off the board by hopping over them and taking out the one you hopped over until all the pegs are removed.

There are several more but I will leave you to investigate them yourself, enjoy!

http://www.mazeworks.com/home.htm

Chess Exchange Chess Forum

The Chess Exchange Chess Forum is the biggest chess game, talk zone online. Whatever is going on in chess, whether it's what Garry Kasparov eats for breakfast, or how to improve at chess, it all gets talked about on chess forum sites like this one. There are hundreds of topics to join in on. It is absolutely free to join! all you will be required to do is make an accout with password, provide an email address, then you will need to open your email and activate your account and you are in! No credit information required.

Whats great is that you can choose your category and then just write a post on whatever you have a question on and you will get answers, a lot of them, and they never agree but it gives you an more of an idea than you had before. Most of the time it's a god clean community and this chess forum has moderators that read through the lists.

FREE Tasc Chess CD 2!

The Tasc Chess CD 2 is now offered free on the ChessHouse website with any order over 75 dollers, free shipping is is already offered for a purchase over 50 dollers so you would be getting a Free Tasc Chess CD 2 and free shipping over and above your order
I'll just to tell you a little about the Tasc Chess CD 2; it has advanced training systems that teaches you chess from the ground up, it doesn't assume that you know anything about chess. It takes you back to the beginning and you learn how to play with each individual chess piece. It has 5 levels of play, step is all about 1 rules and basic skills, step 2 is on combinations and opening strategy, phase 3 graduates you to defense and planning, part 4 is on how to use your king to attack and advanced combo's, and the final phase is all about tactics, strategey, and endgames.
To claim your Tasc CD on your order just use the coupon code TASC on your order.

See more information on the Tasc Chess CD 2

Large 22x12 Chess Bag on sale 60% off!

This is an expensive chess bag selling for very cheap! The large carryall chess bag is the biggest chess bag on the market with the most room. You can carry quite a bit in this chess bag, you can fit most 4" sets but 4" chess sets with extra queens sometimes don't fit in the pouches made to carry the chess pieces.
60% off is quite a deal and one that can't be beat! there is so much room in this bag you can store any size chess clock, any type of scorebook, you could even carry around all your chess gear with your travel chess computer inside!

Christmas is on it's way!

Soon it will be Christmas! We just had a fair bit of snow here and i'm getting excited about the coming season. For some Christmas and the christmas season means different things, to the extraverts it means sports like ice skating, snowboarding, sledding, snowball fights... ehmmm... To the introverts it means cooking, reading, sleeping? and playing chess!




It's all coming back, the egg nog and Martinelli's sparkling apple cider! Yep make this Christmas a memorable one for your family, even those snowball fighters and sledders need to come back to something! A good hot cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace and a chess board on the coffee table all set up for a relaxing, laid back game of chess; thats just a few of the many ways to enjoy this holiday season.

Chess.net Online Chess Server

Chess.net is an internet play chess online server. Their motto is "play with friends, train with grandmasters". You can download a free 14 day trial account t test out their online chess playing server, a great obligation free way to explore the online chess world. After the trial time is up, if you wish to subscribe to their online chess server, their membership is very reasonable. For a minor (under 18) the fee is $10 students or seniors a yearly membership is only $15 and the normal price is $30.
Playing chess online is the real way to test your limits in chess, it gives you the oppertunity to play with chess players all over the world. For me personally I like to learn more by experiance and visualy. I read books to but I really need a chess board in front of me with the position set up on it for me to get what the book is really trying to tell me. So playing online with all different people with all different stratigeys and tactics is really a great experiance.

Here is a quote directly off the Chess.net Website.

"Meet your match. Whether you're looking for a social game or a competitive rated game, there are always hundreds of players to choose from. From World Champion Anatoly Karpov to International Grandmasters, world class chess games are here for you to view. "

"The BEST place to play Chess on the web and to chat and meet new friends from around the world. Chess.net members enjoy the benefits of the BEST chess client on the internet, planned tournaments, and all levels of play from beginners to Grandmasters. No annoying banner ads! The Chess Net graphical interface enables you to play, watch and examine games online. Order now to join a great online community."

playing chess online is a great experiance and if you haven't tried it yet you are missing out in a big way.

960 Chess

Also known as Fischer Random Chess after its inventer Bobby Fischer and after the fact that the pieces on the back file are with few rules randomly scattered. The reason it is called 960 chess is because you are able to make exactly 960 differant starting positions on the board.
Bobby Fischer invented 960 chess because he believed chess was becoming a formula, in other words he believed the chess stratigy was being melted down to where whichever player had memorized the most games or chess theory would ultimately win any standerd chess match. His 960 chess completely demolishes all opening and middlegame theory! each starting position requires far more thought than the original chess and between the chess clock and the brain wracking this chess varient is super exciting! There is no pre-concieved ideas on how you should move that first piece, there is no security from the first move, most of the play is pure inspiration!

DGT Chess Set Storage Bag

DGT products has Designed a carrying case specially designed to carry the entire DGT Chess Set! It has the space to carry special equipment and was designed to carry the DGT signature products like the DGT XL Clock, the DGT chess board, DGT chess pieces and all the cables required to connect you to the world wide web or just to your computer for analysis.
Manufactured to carry the DGT chess set, this DGT carry case is the only bag that fits the DGT chess board perfectly. Face it, you spent lets say maybe a little more than $700 for your electronic DGT equipment and you decide you want to go for a vacation to iceland and want to take along your DGT chess set, securing the right accomadations for your DGT chess set for such a trip might be hard, look at it this way, you sign into you 5 star hotel and in you walk with a DGT chess board wrapped in sheets or maybe your super soft bathrobe.
Not a comfortable situation, not very professional, very eccentric! This DGT travel chess bag solves all your traveling problems easily, it has great padding, comes in 2 colors, all the pockets, hidy holes, zippers, buttons, everything! Except protien bars, you will have to get those somewhere else.

Play Chess.com Server

www.playchess.com is where you use your Fritz 10 software to play online. PlayChess.com is the worlds fastest growing online chess server it has Grandmasters and Master chess players play all the time. Buying Fritz 10 gives you 1 years unlimited access to PlayChess.com, PlayChess.com also boasts over 100,000 games played per day with 4000 players logged in every night. They also offer a trial download for you to test out their online chess. If you choose to download their trial program it will give you 30 days unlimited access to their server, at the end of that time you will be prompted (with no obligations) to buy the currant fritz software for a whole years unlimeted access

DGT Chess Set

The DGT Chess Set is the all time best chess set on the face of the earth! I'll just fill you in a little on the amazing features of the DGT chess set. First of all each individual DGT chess piece is electronically equipped to communicate with the DGT chess board, also each square on the DGT chess board is equipped to communicate with each DGT chess piece.

The DGT chess set allows you to connect from the chess board to a computer through a USB port. It allows you to broadcast games online. This is just another of the great features of the DGT chess set! It is compatible with ICC (a play chess online domain) and has many other online chess functions.

The DGT chess set is made from real, solid wood! so it isn't just great features it has, it looks spectacular! And you can get the DGT chess set with several different styles of DGT chess pieces to choose from. You can even get it in many different board colors. The most popular DGT board color is rosewood though

You can have the computer analyze games while playing a human opponent. The DGT chess board can automatically store chess games in it's memory system that is integrated inside the board; while you are playing it stores the information and you can transfer the games as PGN later.

There is also a DGT Chess Clock specially designed to operate with the DGT chess board, it connects to the chess board and provides you with a hands off chess clock that switches the time from side to side as you move pieces.

And lastly of all, a good DGT Chess Bag has been made for the safe transport of the DGT chess set, it has all the room you would need to carry a DGT board, DGT chess pieces, DGT chess clock and all the cords/cables required to operate the DGT chess set.

But don't just take my word for it that the DGT chess set is the finest chess set on the face of the earth, just read these testimonies of very satisfied people.


Quotes about the DGT e-board

Mit meinem DGT-Brett / seriell, HP iPAQ Pocket PC H5550 mit Grandmaster bin ichsehr zufrieden.(With my DGT Board (Serial), HP iPAC Pocket PC H5550 running Grandmaster, I am very satisfied.)> F.W. Februari 2004

"I got my DGT board last weekend and I am very glad to report that it definitely meets all the high expectations I had. The board and the pieces are really nice and more importantly it works like a charm!"> G. Februari. 2004

"The inclusion of FTP load adjusting is really fantastic! By reducing FTP transfers when errors occur, and making FTP more active when there is capacity, TOMA is now much more reliable with its file transfers and is even more efficient in its use of available network bandwidth.Together with the ability to automatically upload PGN files, to facilitate ICC relays, you have really come up with something special.Fantastic work!"> G.B. Januari 2003

"Ik heb een DGT schaakbod gekocht, en dat was allesbehalve een miskoop."(I bought a DGT chess board and it was all but a bad bargain.")> J.H. Januari 2003

"I must again give you my blessings and my deepest appreciation for all you have done. Your creation of the dgt board has given legally blind people, like myself, the ability to play chess against a computer, or against anyone else on the internet.My deepest regards,"> A.G. februari 2003

"In general I can only say the DGT board gives you the most realistic feeling of playing chess, I don't want to play on screen anymore."> M.C. October 2003

"The greatest christmas-gift i got this year, was the DGT-Board. Whow!"> M.G. December 2002

Quotes from: http://www.dgtprojects.com/eboard_love.htm

Nigel Short On Chess Titles

MUMBAI, NOV 18: Former world no two Nigel Short today called for the abolition of the titles in chess like Grand Masters and International Masters which he said served no purpose except leading to corrupt practices by several players who were not averse to buying these titles.
“My personal opinion is to do away with these titles in chess. I know several instances of tournaments being fixed in order to help players attain the required norms and then get the GM titles. There have been instances of players throwing away matches for money to enable their opponents get these titles,” GM Short said.

Short, who is here to play in the November 20-29 Commonwealth Chess Championship as well as in his capacity as the president of the Commonwealth Chess Association, minced no words in saying the world body FIDE did little to stamp out these malpractices and, on the contrary, even encouraging them.

“To me rankings are sufficient to guage a player's worth. There are over 1000 players -- both past and present -- who are holding GM titles. The titles are not the same as they were twenty years ago,” said Short who explained how the lowering of the qualifing standards deliberately by FIDE has devalued the titles.

“In olden days if a person had to get a norm after a 13-round tournament, he or she had to play extremely well throughout, but currently they can play well for nine rounds and play like fools in the last four but still get the norms,” Short elaborated.

Short, however, said that despite these corrupt practices that have lowered the game's image, the standards have remained high thanks to the advent of laptop computers.

“The standards have remained high due to the ubiquitous laptops which help the players maintain their high levels,” said Short who is to travel to Doha for the December 1-15 Asian Games as the coach of the Iranian team.

Short, has been coaching Indian prodigy Parimarjan Negi, predicted a bright future for the 13-year-old, but said he had a long way to go and cannot be compared to Viswanathan Anand.
“Negi is a very diligent and hard-working player. He's very talented, but still has a long way to go. He cannot be compared to Vishy Anand. The very fact that he's in the top 300 players in the world at 13 years of age show how good he is,” the British GM said.

—PTI

Read Original Article At: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=146821

Heavy Chess Set

This heavy chess set has a great, detailed Staunton design. There are a lot of heavy chess sets that sell for a lot less than this one that are cheaper quality yet have a higher price. The king in this heavy plastic chess set stands 3 7/8" tall! These heavy chess pieces are great for blitz chess, the heavy weights inserted into the bottom of the chess pieces keep the bottom of the chess set firmly planted on the board, not like those feather-light chess pieces that fall over if you breath near them.
A standard 20" chess board works great for these heavy chess pieces. This set of heavy chess pieces also comes with 2 extra queens. While playing chess in public I am often asked why I have 2 queens per side, they say "why do you need an extra queen when it isn't even on the board?" I politely inform them that if I advance a pawn to the last rank on the chess board I can upgrade it to a queen. So its really handy to have that extra queen. These heavy chess pieces have gained the rank of triple weighted chess set. Definitely a fine looking heavy chess set that would look good anywhere.

Executive Staunton Chess Set

This exact heavy chess set has also been put into a Combination Chess Set that includes a chess bag, chess board, and of course the weighted pieces.

Hand Held Chess Computer

The Chess Station Chess Computer is a great hand held chess computer it has awesome features that can't be ignored if you are interested in purchasing the ultimate travel handheld chess computer. It is a small palm sized Hand held chess computer with an LCD screen. It's really cool, the handheld unit can be played like other handheld chess computers, in you hand! But then it plugs into a chess board and plays old school chess with real pieces!
One of the features is a teaching mode and a hint mode, designed to improve your game of chess. The only thing this hand held chess computer lacks is a stylus, you controll the pieces with buttons on the computer. Its just one less piece you have to worry about losing. The Chess Station has a processor chess rating of about 1750.

If you prefer a hand held unit that has a stylus or higher playing strength the Maestro Travel Chess Computer or the Deluxe Talking Chess Computer are the best of their kind.

Excalibur AC Power Adapter

Excalibur has made a 6v 100mah power adapter specifally designed to fit and power Excalibur Chess Computers. This Excalibur AC Power Adapter works well with the Excalibur Grandmaster, Electronic Glass Chess, Invan II, & Kingmaster III.

Chess Boxing ChessBase News Update

Original article from: www.chessbase.com

Chess boxing? Putting players in a boxing ring for chess and boxing? The crowd screaming for blood and piece sacrifices? Our recent report described the setup, now the organisers have sent us a report and pictures to prove that they are really serious about this new discipline.

This is the real thing, no holds barred. Iepe the Joker Vs Luis the Lawyer, Germany versus Holland. The two WCBO-title candidates are supermotivated to sweep their opponent from the board and the ring. Iepe 'The Joker' (29) in everyday life is a well known artist in Berlin. His opponent Luis 'The Lawyer' (30) is a lawyer in Amsterdam. The two Chessboxers each weigh 75 kilogramm, have been doing hard work training for months, and can't await fighting for the title of World Champion at the Amsterdam pop-temple 'Paradiso'. Iepe (1,80m) is coached by the two Germans Jan Schulz (chess) and Johnny Camara (boxing); Luis (1,85m) has support from the Netherlands by the Vice World Champion in Kickboxing Richard van Altena and chesstrainer Herre Trujillo.

The course of the world championship match

Iepe the Joker won in the 11th and last round of the match, which is a chess round (the match starts with four minutes of chess, followed by two minutes of boxing, then chess again, and boxing, etc; max 6 rounds chess, 5 rounds boxing). Luis the Lawyer ran out of time and his flag fell.

The match had two faces: Iepe was much better in boxing than Luis who seemed somewhat paralysed by the tension – overconcentration probably. But Luis was better than Iepe in chess: Luis with the white pieces allegedly punished Iepe for his opportunistic play, and had the advantage of one piece and two pawns. His problem: time. It took him too much time to win his chess game. This added to the drama. People knew Luis could win his chess game with a few more moves, but he didn't make it (chess commentators informed the audience about the game, the moves, right ones, bad ones, whose position was better etc., the audience could see the time of a big screen as well as the digital chessboard).

Same thing for the boxing: the drama lay in the fact that Luis 'just' needed to survive the boxing. But he got quite a few hits. The referee gave him two counts to eight to make sure he was okay (a third eight counts would have mean technical knock-out and the end of the match). But Luis survived the boxing and had one more round of chess left to win the world title – but alas, mind and body refused to make the right moves in time...

About the crowd: the Paradiso in Amsterdam was packed with around 800 people. The atmosphere was great, people were curious and willing to see the unexpected. It was in the air that something new was happening. During the evening the cheering of the crowds grew, and there was lots of excitement. During the main program, the match between Iepe and Luis, you could feel the tension that came along with the match. Who would win, chances in the hands of both players. The crowd was diverse: people from both chess and boxing world were present (officials, players, chess- and boxlovers), as well as young and nightlife people and people from the artworld. A nice blend of people which was exactly the idea: to bring together certain worlds and cultures that are seemingly different, but then again have more in common than one would think.

About the future: A chess-boxclub will be established in Berlin this spring – the first one. Training programs will be developed for this new sport. New chess-boxers need to be recruited soon. In Berlin, but also in the rest of Europe and the world. Who will challenge the world champion? New chess-boxing galas are planned to be organised in Tokio and Berlin – and who knows: in Athens during the Olympic Games?

What more to know? Perhaps I should stress that this event was organised with support of the Royal Dutch Chess Association (KNSB) and the Dutch Boxing Organisation (NBB). They have been part of the process in its early stages and, for example, took part when the rules of this new sport were developed. Perhaps it's interesting to mention the old Latin saying 'mens sana in corpore sanem' (healthy in mind and body) which intentionally goes with this new sport. And also the WCBO's credo: fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board!

To conclude: until January 12th there will be an exhibition about the WCBO and the 1st world championship in Showroom Mama in Rotterdam. Some people tend to forget: Iepe is an artist to begin with!

See Original Article And Some Pictures From: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1348

Travel Chess Computer

So what's the best Travel Chess Computer you ask? well first of all lets narrow down the category. What are you really looking for and expecting out of a travel chess computer. I will run down a list of the most popular chess computers, i'll give you all the facts on the advantages and disadvantages of the leading travel chess computers.

Maestro Travel Chess Computer: More Statistics.
The maestro travel chess computer is designed to use in all lighting conditions, whether you lighting is good or whether its bad, I can still be able to play a game of chess with a friend or against the computer itself. I'm able to do this because the maestro travel chess computer has the coolest backlight feature, it wont matter if its pitch dark you can still manage to play chess with it. Just a warning to parents, if you buy this travel chess computer for a child, you might want to peep in on him/her at night, just so they get some sleep! It isn't shockproof, and it sure isn't waterproof! It also comes with a leather carry-case. Maestro travel chess computer can play a tough game of chess, and you can tone down the level if its to hard.

Deluxe Talking Travel Chess Computer: More Statistics.
supposedly the worlds best chess computer, the Deluxe Talking travel chess computer has a great estimated chess rating of 2000! I don't think its quite as user friendly as the Maestro but it whups it at a tough game of chess, it doesn't have the backlight feature though. But there isn't called Deluxe Talking chess trainer for nothing! Yep this travel chess computer really does talk, it's great for people who cant see as well. Another great feature is the LCD screen on this travel chess computer has more detailed chess pieces than any other LCD screen chess computer so once again its great for people that cant see as well. This travel chess computer comes with a leather carry-case as well.

Mephisto Expert Travel Chess Computer: More Statistics.
With this travel chess computer I never have to puzzle over which piece is which. it comes with 3D peg style pieces, The only disadvantage with this is the pieces can get lost. I lost some but phoned Saitek and got the replacements so that worked out fine. The 3D chess pieces fit snugly into place on the holey chess board if it gets a little bumped around, say in the car or plane, they will stay in place and only if it is jarred pretty badly will they ever come out. Another great feature of the Expert travel chess computer is the great lid design; the lid is designed to be placed over a game of chess while the pieces are still in place! So a game is easily stored and saved. The designers of this chess computer knew people would be worried about losing their chess pieces, but they wanted a travel chess computer with real in-your-hand chess pieces, so they conveniently made 30 little holes off the actual chess board. So whenever I capture an opponents piece, i place it in one of the little holes off the board. You might be thinking why 30? there are 32 pieces! well, the kings never come off the board!

There are several other styles of travel chess computers but the ones I have chosen to post on are in my opinion the best travel chess computers made. I have had the opportunity to play and operate each individual chess computer, and have been using them for years. The travel chess computers I have posted on have excellent feedback not by just me but by many other satisfied people. But thats not to say those are your only options there are several other travel chess computers.

Leather Chess Board

It looks like leather, smells like leather, Wow its leather! believe it or not this Leather Chess Board is the real deal! It's soft and supple and feels great its about as thick as a vinyl chessboard and a little more floppy. The leather chess board comes in 2 colors, Brown & leather squares and Green & leather Squares. Standard tournament size 20" leather chessboard with algebraic notation. This product is NOT made in china, it came from a real american made cow! Yup its true, if you buy one of these leather chess boards you could be playing chess on your neighbors long dead jersy.

The leather chess board proved to be so popular that they decided they would sell it as part of a Chess Gear Combo. Without any of the optional modifications, this combo comes with the Hastings Black & Natural and the leather chess board. The Options include a scorebook, chess clock and a chess bag. all of these are easily added to the order if desired. And personally I think that hastings chess set gives you the most bang for your buck! it's made of high quality plastic with a really life-like and tough design.

Fritz 10

Fritz 10 is out on the market as of today! As of 11/15/06 Fritz 10 can be found in stores and online. The new Fritz 10 software gives you a whole new year of playing chess on the ChessBase online game server and tons of new features. Frtz 10 has a massive Database with thousands of recorded GM games for you to analyze. Also the Kramnik Vs Fritz 10 Super Computer match will be veiwable online through the fritz 10 software.
Fritz 10 also has great coaching modes for all levels of chess play, Fritz 10 is the most recomended chess software by coaches and teachers and Fritz 10 is the most user friendly. And its out now! Order Fritz 10 NOW!

ESPN On Chess Boxing

Brett Forrest wrote the article on Chess Boxing and witnessed the fight night in Cologne, it is written in a very exciting kind of taste and yet is imformative at the same time, along with the article comes several pictures and a highly intresting video clip of the first Chess Boxing Championship in Cologne. Here is part of the article.

By Brett Forrest, Special to ESPN.com
Photos and Video Production by Nik Kleinberg


COLOGNE, Germany — How weird is too weird? How freaky too freaky? At what point does charm call out for ridicule? These are the questions that arise when considering the new "sport" of chessboxing.

It is Friday night, and doubtless there are better things to do than to pack into a refurbished theater of blue movies and focus the eyes on a couple of anonymous Europeans crouching over a chessboard. They marshal tiny pieces against one another in a battle of quiet strategy. Sound and movement are of the faintest quality. It is as though you have barged into a stranger's parlor. There may yet be time to sneak away.

But then a bell rings and the hall fills with loud music. There are hoots and yells from the darkened sections of seats, along with other signals of unshackled enthusiasm. When the bell rings once more and the eyes refocus, you notice the chess players have begun to punch each other in the nose and in the ribs. There is blood. This is a fight, and it's not bad at that, the theater having transformed into an arena of genuine athletic pursuit. This is no parlor game after all. It is chess and it is boxing, and doubt has begun to fade into curiosity. This may be strange, but it is strangely worth a look.

Iepe Rubingh is the creator of Chess Boxing, he devolped his ideas from a comic story he once read. This version of chessboxing conforms, more or less, to the comic book representation. There is no blinding of participants, but there is a fin de siecle feel to the whole affair, with Rubingh talking an awful lot about how the sport combines elements of the complete man, one who is prepared for any eventuality, not a pure brute, not a hopeless nerd. Rubingh foresees a day when his sport will gain Olympic status and even go on to resolve implacable global conflicts. "The future chessboxer will be a grandmaster and a professional boxer," Rubingh says. "Chessboxing could even solve the problem in the Middle East. I want to hold a chessboxing match between an Israeli and a Palestinian, and the winner will get to decide what happens to Israel."

Iepe Rubingh is not crazy; he just sounds like it. He's as crazy as one need be to pull off something like this, prevailing upon people to take chessboxing seriously.

Rubingh is as much showman and promoter as he is anything else. Testament to this is the fact that he was able to attract 800 people to the first World Championship of Chessboxing in November 2003 in Amsterdam. Rubingh himself fought in that match — after nine months of training, transforming the Joker into a chessboxer — against a boxer called Luis the Lawyer. Rubingh won the title, and then took his show on the road a year later, with a showcase in Tokyo, where he fought against a guy called Yoichiro the Wicked. Last September, Rubingh held the first European chessboxing championship, between a German and a Bulgarian, in Berlin. This match served to promote the opening, also in Berlin, of the first all-chessboxing gym, which now has 40 or so members, all of them sliding off the gloves at the end of each sparring round to wrap delicate fingers around tiny chess pieces.

Thats all of the article I want to insert but you can read the original article and watch the video clip on ESPN.com. Oh and about that part where Iepe Rubingh wants to solve the Israel\Palistine wars with Chess Boxing... I think he must be just a little crazy!

Chess Boxing Rules

Here are the basic rules of Chess Boxing:
Two contestant's duke it out with each other in 11 successive alternating rounds, six of them are chess matches, and five of them are boxing matches. The battle opens with a game of chess. The chess board is placed on a portable table directly in the center of the boxing ring, when the first chess match is over, the table is quickly carried out of the ring and the boxing match begins. Each round of chess lasts four minutes. Following every round of chess, the bell rings, and the chess board is then removed by designated people. The chess board is quickly removed and is followed up by a two-minute round of boxing. Contestants win by way of checkmate, knockout, referee's decision, or if his rival takes more time than the allotted total of 12 minutes for a complete game on the chess board. That's the basics of chess boxing, this is still a new sport but it is recieving more and more recognition, you could find yourself watching it on TV soon.

Here is a photo gallery with some pictures taken from the chess boxing event in Cologne: Chess Boxing Photos

Chess Boxing!

The World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) has taken the patronage of this new sport under its wing. It propagates the spread of chessboxing to all five continents. Upcoming stations planned for chessboxing events in 2006 are Cologne and New York. August 2005, the first chessboxing gym opened in the Berlin district of Mitte.
The task of the WCBO is to train people in the no. 1 thinking sport and the no. 1 fighting sport, and in the combination of both. In the future new training methods will be developed in cooperation with experts from both sport worlds, sport scientists and neurologists.
One of the goals of this new sport is the old ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body: mens sana in corpore sano. During a chessboxing fight the control of aggression plays a big role. That's why WCBO's motto is: "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board".
Original article taken from: http://site.wcbo.org/content/index_en.html

If you are interested in this new combination of sports, there is an Internet Magazine called ChessBoxing.com that comes out with all the latest news linked with Chess Boxing.

Strategy and Tactics

This CD by Peter Wells addresses advanced players. It contains an introduction and five lectures which deal with purely practical subjects: the calculation of variations and how errors arise. These are important themes where a grandmaster trainer is able to draw on his rich and varied experience and provide chess students with valuable tips. There are five more lectures on positional chess. The CD contains a total of over three hours of high-quality video lectures and training.

The following subjects are part of the CD:

1. Introduction 5:34 min
   
2. Calculation 29:23 min
   
3. Commitment and Defence 17:02 min
   
4. Zwischenzug 16:56 min
   
5. Anatomy of Blunders I 19:49 min
   
6. Anatomy of Blunders II 15:44 min
   
7. Positional Pawn Sacrifice I 8:35 min
   
8. Positional Pawn
   
9. Sacrifice II 20:08 min
   
10. Bad Pieces I 20:25 min
    
11. Bad Pieces II 22:14 min
    
12. Blockade 20:00 min
    

British grandmaster Peter Wells, 39, already has a name as the author of chess books. Inaddition he is an experienced trainer. Anyone who subscribes to ChessBase Magazine willknow the profound contributions on the subject of chess strategy by Peter Wells. They haveappeared in CBM since volume 77.

Origanil article taken from http://www.chessbase.com/shop/product.asp?pid=201

Siatek Challenger Chess Computer

Siatek has produced yet another computer, I have heard nothing but praises for the functionality of the Siatek Challenger chess computer. It works efficiently, well, and I personally know that the Saitek Challenger chess computer is designed for easy use, for all ages. It's easy to use, but don't think that it wont have the features you would expect out of a top dollar chess computer, just to name a few; Siatek Challenger comes with 64 playing levels, coach mode, and puzzle mode. The puzzle mode is great! you set up the pieces on the computer in the puzzles position and the computer plays the opposite side for you! makes figuring out chess puzzles a blast! This chess computer and 5334 Chess Problems, Combinations & Games are the perfect combination.
Siatek even includes an AC power adapter with the Challenger! The Challenger chess computer also has a very useful power down function, while using batteries the chess challenger will shut itself down if nothing is happening; in order to conserve on batteries. Siatek Challenger chess computer also comes with the auto sensory board, no matter what anyone says, the auto sensory chess board is the best technology available and this is the cheapest chess computer available with that function. It would take a long time to explain all the features of the Challenger comes with. So I'll take for granted you know somthing about chess computers "This computer has more modes, functions, and features than some electronic chess computers that are selling for more money at this very minute!" The only thing it lacks is a display screen; a screen that shows all 64 squares of the chess board, this screen shows you the computers move rather than using algebraic notation. And it does not include a talking mode. For these features see the Ivan II made by Excalibur.