Being a database programmer, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised when I recently dreamt I had to develop a chess database. But it wasn’t an ordinary chess database.

Carceri XIV – Giovanni Battista Piranesi

I was told by a faceless person to make a chess database of all chess games ever played. If that doesn’t sound like much, it’s because that was not all. The man told me it must also contain all chess analyses ever made, as well as every comment, opinion or text ever written about any move. It would be a database of all existing chess knowledge -an endless chess library. It was like making the chess version of Jorge Luis Borges’ Total Library. The ultimate Mega Database – an entire chess universe.

I started by collecting all existing chess books ever written – both ancient manuscripts and newly printed books. I visited all chess libraries in the world and went through all privately owned chess book collections. But this clearly wasn’t enough. I had to visit every chess player in person to ask for any scoresheets of games that they had in their possession. Then, I went through all local club magazines and internet blogs to find games I missed. This reminded me that I had to get all chess magazines as well. And, of course, I downloaded all digital books, DVD’s, game analyses and instruction guides on chess.

When I had rubricized all material and put it in a more or less logical order, I started thinking about how to put everything in a database. It didn’t take me long to realize I wouldn’t be able to use existing chess database software. It would just be too impractical. For 1.e4 alone, hundreds if not thousands of comments somehow had to be entered in the database, and this can’t be done with a regular database program. While it is possible to add comments in different languages in some software, you can’t add comments by different sources – at least not dynamically.

So I started thinking about how to develop this chess database myself. Basically it had to contain many more dimensions than the current ones – in fact, it had to have an infinite amount of possible entries for comments and analyses. All published praise of 47…Bh3!! and 23…Qg3!! had to be entered into the database somehow. Actually, it should also be possible to add multiple annotation symbols, because perhaps some commentators had awarded these moves not with two, but only with one exclamation mark (a grave sin, I must say). The database design must take this into account as well.

With the help of data warehouse design techniques, I was able to establish which dimensions my database should have. Obviously there should be dimensions with information about the sources (the books themselves), and information related to the games, or game fragments. This could be players’ names, the year in which it was played, where it was played, and so on. The moves and sub variations (including move number, to keep track of things) should be stored in a different dimension (or, in its technical term, a ‘fact table’). Any game, including its sub-lines, could develop like a garden of forking paths, leading to an infinite amount of moves.

'Datavault' model of a data warehouse

The same was obviously true of comments. But there was an additional problem: comments could not only be related to moves, but also to people who had written them. in his books, Kasparov often refers to older authors, for example. At this point in my dream, my faceless principal interrupted my musings. He ordered me to also store all information about the people who had written the annotations: what use would the project otherwise be? This implied I had to include all biographies of chess commentators in my database. And of course, the commentators could also be chess players themselves, so they should also be linked back to the players and games dimensions.

When I had finished my design – or at least thought I had – a long-feared question arose in my head: where to start? Which data should be put into the database first? Would it be wise to work ‘backwards’ in time, starting with the most recent chess books and adding entries in the database for every name, move or comment that returned a blank? Wouldn’t it be wiser to start with the first chess manuscripts – the recent reconstruction of Francesch Vicent’s mysterious treatise, the surviving games of Ruy Lopez, or perhaps even the first ancient Arab chess problems?

In the end, I decided it wouldn’t really matter – it was a Sisyphus job in any case – and so I started with a game collection from 2010. It happened to be a new book on Capablanca. Slowly but steadily I worked my way back. Then I realized I had forgotten something crucial. Within comments, there could also be references to other works – references to database entries that didn’t exist in my digital library yet! I was suddenly faced with what is sometimes called ‘orphans’ – database references that can’t be traced back (anymore) to their primary dimension. In order to proceed, I had to put all titles in the system first. And so I started again.

My success didn’t last long. I soon found out that many chess authors use references to non-chess related literature all the time. Kasparov quotes Ilf & Petrov, Donner quotes Nietzsche. Once you start paying attention to it, chess and literature are completely intertwined. To be complete, the entire world literature should be included in the list as well. And that’s only the beginning of a myriad of problems. For instance, how to deal with references to literature that has been lost over the centuries?

I now realized the entire Total Chess Library idea would be quite pointless without having access to each and every chess book ever written; every game or analysis – including those that have been destroyed, mutilated, lost for good. I was trapped in a labyrinth I had created myself.

Then I woke up, of course. While I cycled to work, I thought about what use such a megalomanic project could be. Nobody would ever be able to use this monstrous database. The information would be sitting there in some kind of super computer without anyone ever touching it. At first I felt anger, then sadness. Then I felt like nothing had really changed. It was just like work.

As I switched on my laptop at work and opened the data warehouse environment I was currently working on, I remembered the words from another Borges story, The Library of Babel:

At that time it was also hoped that a clarification of humanity’s basic mysteries — the origin of the Library and of time — might be found. It is verisimilar that these grave mysteries could be explained in words: if the language of philosophers is not sufficient, the multiform Library will have produced the unprecedented language required, with its vocabularies and grammars.

For four centuries now men have exhausted the hexagons … There are official searchers, inquisitors. I have seen them in the performance of their function: they always arrive extremely tired from their journeys; they speak of a broken stairway which almost killed them; they talk with the librarian of galleries and stairs; sometimes they pick up the nearest volume and leaf through it, looking for infamous words.

Obviously, no one expects to discover anything.

Garry Kasparov es probablemente el mejor jugador de todos los tiempos, que me perdonen los seguidores del Bobby Fischer. En la cabeza de muchos aún sigue vivo el recuerdo del match que jugó contra Deep Blue, un ordenador fabricado por IBM, en el año 1997.

No obstante antes de ese match se enfrentó a otras “máquinas”, en el año 1989 venció a Deep Thought y siete años más tarde se enfrentó a la primera versión de Deep Blue, en el año 1996.

En ese primer duelo contra Deep Blue, Kasparov perdió una partida contra la “máquina” dándole a esta el honor de ser la primera “máquina” que lograba vencer a un campeón del Mundo jugando bajo condiciones de torneo. Kasparov apretó después y de las cinco partidas que vinieron a continuación ganó tres e hizo tablas en dos. Al final el resultado contra la primera versión de Deep Blue fue de 4-2 favorable a Kasparov.

Dolida en su orgullo, la todopoderosa IBM decidió ponerse manos a la obra con la “máquina” y para el año 1997 sacó una versión mejorada llamada “Deeper Blue” (nombre extraoficial). En mayo de ese año se disputó la revancha pero antes veamos las mejoras que tenía el nuevo Deep Blue.

Además de una considerable mejora en aspectos técnicos de hardware también se le dio un buen “tuneo” de conocimientos ajedrecísticos. Por ejemplo, el libro de aperturas pasó a tener unas 4.000 posiciones y 700.000 partidas de grandes maestros. La base de finales contenía los finales con 6 piezas o menos. Entre los grandes maestros que ayudaron al “tuneo” se encontraban Joel Benjamin, Miguel Illescas, John Fedorowicz y Nick de Firmian.

En vista de la situación, Kasparov, antes de empezar el match, solicitó a IBM algunas partidas jugadas por Deep Blue, de cara a comprender mejor el juego de la “máquina”. Su petición fue rechazada así que Kasparov se tuvo que conformar con estudiar partidas de otras máquinas para comprender mejor el juego de estas.

La nueva Deep Blue logró derrotar a Kasparov por 3,5 a 2,5 en un duelo a seis partidas, con error grave incluido en la apertura de Kasparov en la sexta partida . La noticia corrió como la polvora por los medios de comunicación de todo el planta ¿era este el comienzo de la supremacía de las máquinas sobre el hombre?

Como en toda buena historia, no tardaron en llegar las teorías conspiranóicas sobre la sucedido en el match. Las teorías “del bolsillo” afirmaban que Kasparov se había dejado ganar buscando un tercer encuentro que engrosara un poco más su bolsillo. También que Kasparov había comprado acciones de IBM meses atrás y que después de la victoria de Deep Blue están se habían disparado.

El documental Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine habla de toda esta historia relacionada con el segundo enfrentamiento con Deep Blue desde el punto de vista de Kasparov. Ahonda en la parte psicológica del juego y toda la paranoia y sospechas surgidas entorno a IBM y los intereses de la compañía por ganar a toda costa.

A destacar las entrevistas que recogen las opiniones del manager de Kasparov, expertos ajedrecístas y miembros del equipo de IBM que fabricó y programó a Deep Blue.

Los interesados en ver el documental no tendrán problema alguno porque es relativamente reciente, se estrenó en el año 2003. Es cuanto al idioma está en inglés aunque se pueden conseguir los subtítulos en español.

Para aquellos que están preguntándose si es posible encontrarlo en internet, la respuesta es sí, sólo tienen que buscar, no es difícil créanme. Los más puristas pueden también comprarlo en cualquiera de las típicas tiendas de dvd que hay en internet.

Como regalo aquí tienen un link a un trailer del documental en youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9UMt-8gfW8

Ficha técnica del documental

Nombre: Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
Año: 2003
Género: Documental.
Director: Vikram Javanti.
Distribuida por: THINKFilm.
Duración: 90 minutos.
País: Canada y  Reino Unido.
Idioma: Inglés.

— How to Win Miniatures in Chess to learn how to mate in 2, 3 and 4 moves in opening
— Elementary Chess Combinations to learn simple tactical methods
— Chess Combinations for Club Players to learn advanced tactical methods

— Chess: Simple Defense to learn how to defend your pieces from capturing
— Chess: Easy Ways of Taking Pawns and Pieces to learn how to capture the pieces
— Attack on the King I to learn how to attack the king in middlegame and mate in 2
— Attack on the King II to learn how to attack the king in middlegame and mate in 3 & 4

All courses cost €25.60 / $32.

Due to the notable delay in Mr. Vasik Rajlich’s Rybka 4 development plan, we inform you that expected release dates for (Deep) Rybka 4 Aquarium, Rybka 4 Aquarium Opening Book and Chess Assistant 11 are moved to May, 26th for download versions and May, 28th for DVD versions.

We deeply apologize for the caused inconvenience.

More info about (Deep) Rybka 4 Aquarium, Rybka 4 Aquarium Opening Book and Chess Assistant 11.

ChessOK presents 7 new chess courses dedicated to improve various skills:
— Elementary Chess Combinations to learn simple tactical methods
— Chess Combinations for Club Players to learn advanced tactical methods
— How to Win Miniatures in Chess to learn how to mate in 2, 3 and 4 moves in opening
— Attack on the King I to learn how to attack the king in middlegame and mate in 2
— Attack on the King II to learn how to attack the king in middlegame and mate in 3 & 4
— Chess: Easy Ways of Taking Pawns and Pieces to learn how to capture the pieces
— Chess: Simple Defense to learn how to defend your pieces from capturing

All courses cost €20 / $25. All courses are for download. The CD version will be available in a few days.

Oenings Encyclopedia 2010 has been recently released ans is available at our online shop. It includes theoretical material on every opening, a user-friendly and detailed classification of variations, a quick search option and an option for analyzing games and positions.

Openings material is based upon 500,000 of expert evaluations, 8,000 annotations to key moves , 40 million of evaluations by Rybka engine, and database of 4,200,000 games as of April 1, 2010.

For download — €25.60 / $32
On DVD — €31.96 / $39.95

MARTHA FIERRO OFRECE SIMULTANEA DE AJEDREZ EN GUAYNABO

Por Francisco J. Cruz Arce

El pasado jueves, 11 de marzo de 2010, la Maestra Internacional de ajedrez Martha Fierro visitó el Club de Ajedrez de Guaynabo como parte la Comisión Femenina de la FIDE para impulsar el ajedrez femenino en Puerto Rico. En su visita Martha disfrutó del exquisito buffet del restaurantes Giovanna’s, mientras dialogaba con líderes del club y de la Federación de Ajedrez de Puerto Rico sobre asuntos del ajedrez a nivel isla y mundialmente. Luego la actividad comenzó formalmente, esta estaba dirigida específicamente para niñas de 6 a 18 años. Se componía de una sección de autógrafos con fotos, una simultánea y una entrega de libros y material ajedrecístico.

En la firma de autógrafo y fotos las niñas ya mostraban su emoción, por tener frente a ellas una maestra de calibre mundial, quien había sacado de su ajetreada agenda un tiempo para venir y compartir con ellas. Cabe señalar que no solo las niñas disfrutaron de esta parte de la actividad, pues fuimos muchos los que nos colamos para una foto y un autógrafo.

Luego pasamos a la simultánea. Con un total de 13 niñas y 4 niños, Martha comenzó sus partidas. Como era de esperarse fue nuestra pequeña promesa, WCM Danitza Vázquez Maccarini, quien dio la lucha más larga. Danitza demostró muy bien su conocimiento en la apertura contra 1.d4. Luego en el medio juego la fuerza de la maestra se impuso ganándole un peón, para así pasar a un final de torres con las blancas un peón arriba. Para este momento la IM Martha Fierro ya había finalizado con todas sus partidas de manera invicta, colocó un asiento frente a su más dura rival y emprendió la batalla por el punto completo. En el final la Maestra siguió presionando y luego del cambio de torres, el camino fue más fácil para las blancas, y completaron la victoria. Definitivamente una experiencia significativa para todas las niñas.

Luego, nuestra invitada tomo unos minutos para charlar con las ajedrecistas. Les dio consejos para mejorar su ajedrez, de lo importante que es tomarlo como diversión, practicarlo y estudiar para mejorarlo. En esta parte de la actividad nuestra invitada principal aprovechó la oportunidad de obsequiarles libros y material ajedrecístico a todas nuestras pequeñas invitadas, autografiados nada más y nada menos que por la campeona del mundo, Alexandra Kosteniuk. DVD’s de sus mejores partidas, así como también sus anécdotas de cómo llego a ser Gran Maestra y Campeona del Mundo; eran los temas principales.

Una noche que fue todo un éxito. La comunidad ajedrecística de Guaynabo, Puerto Rico y sus pueblos cercanos disfrutó de una actividad diferente. Una colaboración entre Martha, la Comisión Femenina de la FIDE, la Federación de Ajedrez de Puerto Rico y nuestro club que esperemos sea la primera de muchas.

Agradecemos a CHOICE CABLE TV y GIOVANNA’S LATIN BUFFET quienes fueron nuestros auspiciadores principales y también a nuestros siempre presentes auspiciadores, y los diferentes clubes del área que asisten y auspician este tipo de actividades que el Club de Guaynabo planifica con tanto esfuerzo para toda la comunidad ajedrecística de Puerto Rico. Pero, nuestro gran agradecimiento es para la MI Martha Fierro quien se robo el corazón de cada uno de nuestras niñas y jóvenes participantes que aún continúan comentando de su maravillosa experiencia.

Five countries, 2000 kilometres, about a million potholes, an unexpected ferry and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. A member of the Anand team wrote a report of a crazy roadtrip through Europe.

The following report describes the travelling of the Anand team from Frankfurt to Sofia, from Sunday to Tuesday. It was written by a member of the team, and was also published at Chessbase and the All India Chess Federation. The author allowed us to reproduce the following, remarkable story.

Months of careful planning for the chess world championship in Sofia by the Anand team were disrupted by a volcano in Iceland, located under Eyjafjallajökull, one of the smaller glaciers of the North Atlantic island. Tens of thousands of people were stranded on airports in Europe. One of them was Viswanathan Anand, who had travelled with his wife and manager Aruna from Madrid to Frankfurt on Thursday April 15th. They planned to continue their journey to Sofia on Friday April 16, together with three other travellers. Two more seconds were to fly from other airports in Europe to the Bulgarian capital on Friday to join the team there.

On Thursday April 15, Hans-Walter Schmitt and another helper of the Anand team flew to Sofia to prepare the arrival of the team Friday. The plan was good and well thought through. But then, on Friday, the bad news was that the ash cloud from Iceland had reached Frankfurt Airport and the airport had to be closed at 09.00 a.m. This meant that the planned flight to Sofia, LH3484, which was scheduled to depart at 10.05 a.m., was cancelled, just like hundreds of other flights. It was quite unclear how long the airport would remain closed, therefore Aruna Anand and the team decided to rebook for the evening flight, LH3488, which was scheduled for 19.45 p.m.

Anand’s baggage was checked through to Sofia. Since it was not clear, however, if the evening flight would depart on time, or depart at all, Aruna thought that it wise to collect the checked-through baggage from Madrid, just to have everything under control in case of another cancellation. She was in close contact with Lufthansa, who were very cooperative, and picked up the baggage herself on Friday afternoon. You should know that finding four pieces of luggage in a major airport like Frankfurt is not an easy task, especially when there are heavy disruptions. Only in case of an emergency, e.g. if somebody has life-saving medicine in his suitcase, an airline is willing to make baggage available for the passenger.

After solving this problem, it soon became clear that the evening flight to Sofia would not depart as well, since Frankfurt airport would be closed until Saturday morning at 02:00 a.m. Once again the tickets were rebooked, and despite a long waiting list, Anand and his team were accepted and even got boarding passes for the first flight on Saturday, April 17, LH3484, at 10.05 a.m. However, on Friday, when it became clear that the situation at all major airport was becoming more and more critical, Aruna Anand and her team had already started searching for alternatives. Plans were made to travel to Vienna, which had one of the airports that was still open at that time, to get a flight from there. However, Vienna also closed down on Friday evening.

Aruna began to study other train schedules in detail, but it soon became clear that everything was booked out and it was absolutely impossible to get a ticket. Team Anand also had to bear in mind, that travelling to Sofia by a land route was also problematic, since not every country on the way would accept transit travellers from India without a valid visa! The shortest route is via Serbia, for that Anand and his wife would need a visa, which was impossible to at such a short notice.

There were some very generous offers from Anand supporters, who wanted to help get the world champion and his team to Sofia as quickly as possible. Wolfgang Grenke, one of the main sponsors of the Chess Classic, and sponsor of the Bundesliga team Baden Baden, in which Anand plays, offered Anand the use of his private jet. However, German authorities could not give him permission to fly, since the airspace in Germany was now completely blocked. Even German chancellor Angela Merkel had to take an overland route when she arrived from San Francisco on Friday and was not allowed to enter German airspace.

On Saturday, after another cancellation of all flights from Frankfurt and other airports in Germany, including all flights to Sofia, it became obvious that there was only one final possibility to reach Sofia: by car. However, most car rentals, taxi companies and other VIP services simply had no cars and staff available, while companies that did simply refused to drive all the way to Bulgaria. Finally, after many hours of trying, team Anand managed to find a VIP service by Taxi Lagerberg, located in Amstelveen, The Netherlands. They contacted two of their best drivers, Paul Oostheim and Peer Reintjes, on Saturday, and asked them to stop their shift immediately, in order to be able to drive to Bad Soden on Sunday. This is 500 kilometres from Amstelveen, a five hour drive.

In the meantime, two more seconds of Anand arrived, very late on Saturday, in Bad Soden to join the team. They had originally intended to fly to Sofia on Friday, but after the closure of the airspace, they had redirected to Bad Soden. To do so they had to travel more than twelve hours by train on Saturday, coming from different countries. But they made it somehow – what other choice did they have?

On Sunday morning, at 11:00 a.m., the Mercedes Sprinter, equipped with all kinds of amenities like a fridge, two TV screens and a DVD player, arrived in Bad Soden and after picking up the team in the hotel, the journey started at 11.28h. The drivers had prepared the route for Sunday: we would cross the Germany border in Passau, drive through Austria and continue to Budapest, to spend the night there. That was a 1000 kilometre trip, and after a smooth drive with a lot of sunshine the team arrived in Budapest at 22.30 p.m. Bear in mind that the drivers had started their trip in Amstelveen at 06.00 a.m.

On Monday, the journey continued at 08.00 a.m. with a morning traffic jam in Budapest. But the drivers managed to get the team out of the city pretty fast, and the drive to Szeged was easy, despite the heavy rain. The Rumanian border was reached at 13.30 p.m. The team had to transfer to Bulgaria via Rumania, because this country will accept Indian passports without a visa. The border was crossed near Arad, the federal border police recognised Anand. After crossing the border we started to watch the first film of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the extended version to be precise.

We had to drive 480 km through Rumania to the city of Vidin at the Bulgarian border. If you use Google Maps you may find it a bit strange that we had to reckon with 9-10 hours for this fairly short distance. But when you actually have to drive this route you understand why it takes so long: there are numerous construction zones, about every ten kilometres, dead dogs and cats on the road have to be avoided, and there are about a million potholes. To make the situation even more difficult for the drivers it was raining continuously – a miracle that the car survived these extremely bad road conditions. Even the two very experienced drivers had never seen such bad roads.

In the car however, the atmosphere was very good, there was food and drink, and the second “Lord of the Rings” film, “The Two Towers”, helped us pass the time. After more than twelve hours driving through Romania, at 22.35h, we finally reached Calafat in Romania to cross the border to Bulgaria. That was when we saw a long queue and a ferry, and it dawned upon the passengers that there is no bridge across the river “Romania” and we would have to use the ferry. That meant waiting until enough cars had arrived for the ferry to cross the river. After over an hour, just before midnight, the ferry started, and twenty minutes later, on 20 April at 12:05 a.m., Anand finally reached Bulgarian territory. One of the Bulgarian border officers checked the passports in the bus. When he read “Anand” aloud he realized that he was checking the passport of the chess world champion and started laughing: “Ah, Anand!“ Without any further checks we were allowed to pass.

Only 250 km left to Sofia, with about four more hours to go, but the story is not completely over. In the meantime, the last part of the Ring-trilogy, “The Return of the King”, was running in our Sprinter DVD, and we were confident that we would reach Sofia at about 04.00 a.m. that night. And, dear readers, when the streets are empty, when you have driven 36 hours and your destination is within reach, you want to get there as quickly as possible. With only 100 km to go, at 02.15 a.m. on Tuesday morning, April 20, the Bulgarian police noticed a dark Mercedes Sprinter with a Dutch license plate, driving a just a little too fast. You guessed right: we had to stop and the driver had to explain why he was speeding (74 km instead of the allowed 50) – and what he was doing in Bulgaria. However, when the driver told the very friendly police officer that Vishy Anand and his team were on board, the officer smiled and said: “Ok, take him to Sofia, but not too fast, ok?!“

Without a fine we continued the last leg of the journey to Sofia, although we were stopped again by the police, this time just for a routine traffic check. Finally, at 05.30 a.m. after travelling for more than 40 hours, we arrived at our destination – just in time to have an early breakfast. There was only one problem: we arrived at the Hilton Sofia still a little too early and had missed the last hour of “The Return of the King“. We will have to watch that on our way home…

We are glad to inform you, that Rybka 4 Aquarium and Deep Rybka 4 Aquarium with new Rybka 4 engine are available for preorder in our shop. Both items are planned to be released in the first part of May. The actual release date is yet to be determined, please follow our announcements on this page.

— Rybka 4 Aquarium Download - €47.20 / $59.00 | DVD - €49.99 / $62.49
— Deep Rybka 4 Aquarium Download - €95.20 / $119.00 | DVD - €99.92 / $124.90
^{Click on the links to view descriptions and additional information}

With every Deep Rybka 4 Aquarium / Rybka 4 Aquairum package you will also get a bonus of Openings Encylopedia 2010, which includes rich theoretical material on all the openings, more than 8000 annotations from GM Kalinin and 500 000 expert evaluations to key opening positions as well as powerful search system.

If you’re Deep Rybka Aquarium 2010 / Rybka 4 Aquairum 2010 customer you will also get a free Opening Lab training course.

Both packages of course include the new powerful Rybka 4 engine. Read more what’s new in the upcoming Rybka 4 Aquarium.

Expect announcement on preorders of Rybka 4 Opening Book and Chess Assistant 11 soon.

A voir absolument en DVD, Qui perd gagne, un film bluffant réalisé en 2004 par Laurent Bénégui. Le couple Zylberstein-Lhermitte fonctionne plutôt bien devant l’objectif. Ils brillent, ils font classieux tous les deux, tout comme l’ambiance générale du film (casinos feutrés, belles bagnoles, ambiances hi-tech chez les RG, tout le monde en costume, jeu d'échecs et de black jack). Le tout fonctionne aussi très bien grâce au physique : Elsa est rayonnante, Thierry charmeur sans le sous.

L'histoire : Qu'un petit professeur de mathématiques de banlieue gagne au Loto, soit ! Mais qu'il annonce qu'il va gagner une deuxième fois grâce à ses équations, et qu'il tienne parole, là, il y a de quoi éveiller les soupçons de la Brigade des Jeux. Que la Brigade des Jeux soit dirigée par une jeune femme, pourquoi pas ? Mais qu'elle couche avec un jouer professionnel, qui grâce à sa mémoire prodigieuse a fini par exaspérer les casinos en gagnant systématiquement au black-jack, ça fait beaucoup.

Qu'un joueur professionnel hypermnésique soit engagé par la police pour sauver la Française des Jeux, mise en péril par les équations d'un illuminé qui est devenu, grâce à un publicitaire sans scrupules, l'idole des français, ça semble presque normal à côté du reste. Qu'on veuille faire un film sur cette histoire, c'est la moindre des choses.

Merci à notre ami photographe Eric Keller pour cette info exclusive Chess & Strategy

We have just received: Sicilian Najdorf 6.Bg5.

On this DVD Alexei Shirov explains all the ideas which underlie the variations.
His explanations are all the more valuable because they are delivered by a player who himself has been responsible for developing the theory of the Najdorf.
Video running time: 5 hours +

More Alexei Shirov products here!

We have just received: Me & Bobby Fischer.

A documentary featuring Sæmi Rock Palsson, Bobby´s friend and bodyguard.
His struggle to liberate Bobby from prison in Japan and how he managed to provide Icelandic citizenship. Contains interviews with Bobby Fischer after he settled in Iceland.

Please have a look at this unique DVD here!

This is a major mainstream award and recognition for this best-selling DVD!

Panel of Parents comments

Q1 Was this DVD enjoyable for you and your child to watch?

I used this DVD to teach my class of 13 year old students about Chess. Out of my 8 students I would say 6 of them really enjoyed the DVD and were very interested as they all wanted to learn how to play Chess.

Yes, it was enjoyable to watch. We especially liked the cartoon King and horse.

It was more enjoyable for me, I know nothing about chess and I wanted to learn. My daughter has played chess before so she did lose some interest in the DVD. I played the DVD for my niece and nephew and they were very interested as was I.

Q2 Did this DVD teach you the beginner basic chess knowledge?

Yes, yes, yes, we learned a lot

I feel that it was really helpful in teaching them the basic skills of Chess. We set up our Chess set and set up teams to play and it was a ton of fun.

Yes. Both my 8 year old son and myself only knew a VERY little about chess before. Now we at least know how all the pieces move, how to set up a chess board, etc.

I do feel that we learned about the chess board and a lot about the chess pieces (I knew nothing about chess so It did really help).

Q3 Is this DVD priced fairly?

Yes great price and you actually learn how to play Chess!

I do think that the price if a fair price. For the knowledge that you get it is definitely worth it!

Q4 The quality of the DVD met your requirements?

Yes - it is high quality and well presented as well.

I think that the quality was very good. Very professionally done

Q5 Do you feel this DVD taught the basics of Chess in a fun and entertaining way? Did it keep your child's interest?

We had a tough crowd to test this on, 13 year olds can lose interest quickly. We had discussed a segment on learning Chess and I was happy to see how quickly most caught on. After we set up our chess board we referred to the DVD and have now set up a weekly Friday chess game instead of watching a movie.

My girls enjoyed the animation, we all enjoyed the information shared in the DVD.

Yes, it was fun and entertaining. The quizzes at the end of each chapter is a great idea. This DVD taught us the basics very easily. The cartoon characters were fun and even some of the possible answers

I do feel that the DVD did teach us the basics of chess and I found it fun and entertaining. My kids did not stay interested in the entire DVD but my niece and nephew were more interested as they had no idea how to play chess.

Q6 Would you recommend this product to friends or family?

Yes - for anyone who expresses interest in learning Chess

Yes, I would recommend this to family and friends. It is a great beginning to learn Chess. It is great to learn all the pieces and the moves by seeing the pieces on the board and seeing the highlighted areas that they can move.

Q7 The product met your expectations.

Ya bet you. It kept the students attention and taught them the skills they need to play chess. (helped to refresh my chess skills as well, cheers to that)

Yes we all learned most of the basics. Me and my husband the most! My girls are well on their way. The beauty of having the DVD is we can keep referring to it as we learn as a family.

Yes. My son and I have been very eager to learn how to play chess. Using this DVD, we learned the names of all the pieces, how to set up a chess board, some special moves, etc.

It did meet my expectations, it was very informative and was taught on a great beginner level, which I am.

Q8 What did you like best about this product?

The format was well done, very thorough without being boring. Having the chess board which shows each piece movement is key especially when teaching kids who have never played.

The amount of time it took to learn, and the animation quality. I was not expecting the girls and I to learn so much in such a short time.

The cartoonish characters of the King and Champion (horse). They were cute and funny and fun to watch and listen to.

I loved the quizzes at the end of the chapters. I also love how in the beginning it shows the chess board and highlights the moves that the chess pieces can move. I love the visuals. I also liked the chess piece characters helping out.

I run an aftercare program in our school for grade 5 through 8 graders. I am going to take this DVD for the kids that want to learn chess. I think that they will enjoy it. Thanks

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Wie Sergej Prokofjew spielt sie Klavier, wie Vladimir Nabokov schreibt sie Gedichte auf Russisch und Englisch, wie beide ist sie am 23. April geboren. Mag das auch jeweils etwas holpriger sein, im Schach übertrifft die 25-jährige Weltmeisterin Alexandra Kostenjuk ihre beiden ebenfalls vorzüglich schachspielenden Landsleute ohne Zweifel. »Sie bringt Glamour in die Welt der karierten Bretter«, schreibt die Weltwoche, und das nicht nur, weil sie auch als Model arbeitet und Luxusgüter bewirbt.

Über tausend Artikel in mehr als 20 Sprachen sind über sie erschienen. Ihre Homepage kosteniuk.com wird täglich einige Tausend Male angeklickt, schon 2001 – da war sie immerhin schon Vizeweltmeisterin und seit drei Jahren weibliche Großmeisterin – wurde sie vom Weltschachbund zum »Gesicht des Schachs« erklärt. In ihren eigenen Worten: »Ich bin clever, also kann ich Schach spielen; ich bin nicht ganz hässlich, also kann ich als Model arbeiten.«

Mögen auch beide angeblichen Kausalzusammenhänge nicht per se zwingend sein, bei ihr treffen sie jedenfalls zu. Bei der Blitz-WM in Moskau wagte sich die Mutter einer kleinen Tochter neben Judit Polgar mit gutem Erfolg unter die Meute der besten Männer – es siegte schließlich Carlsen vor Anand, Karjakin und Kramnik. Gegen den amtierenden indischen Weltmeister Viswanathan Anand gelang ihr dabei ein schöner Sieg.

Hier gewann sie als Schwarze mit der indirekten Verteidigung des Läufers e4 durch 1...Tad8, weil 2.Tdxe4 Dxe4 3.Txe4 an 3...Td1+ nebst Matt scheitert. Allerdings hätte sie in der Diagrammstellung überraschend auch ein Matt erzwingen können. Wie?

À l'occasion de la projection du film « Joueuse » la réalisatrice Caroline Bottaro et Sandrine Bonnaire (en photo) étaient vendredi soir à Guéret dans la Creuse. Elles reviennent sur cinq années de travail.

Ni l'une ni l'autre ne savent jouer aux échecs. Pourtant, c'est autour de ce thème que Sandrine Bonnaire et Caroline Bottaro se sont retrouvées, dans le film Joueuse, adapté du roman La joueuse d'échecs, qui raconte l'histoire de cette femme de ménage, qui sort de sa vie monotone et bien rangée, en apprenant à jouer aux échecs.

Caroline Bottaro, la réalisatrice, n'a pas hésité une seconde, à la lecture du roman de Bertina Heinrichs. « J'ai eu la chance de lire le livre en avant-première, avant l'envoi à la maison d'édition, puisque Bertina était ma voisine. Dès la première lecture, j'ai su que ce livre ferait un très bon film ». Et l'évidence est telle que le personnage d'Eleni, transformé en Hélène, ne peut être joué que par Sandrine Bonnaire, avec qui elle a déjà collaboré, dans le film C'est la vie, en 2001. C'est d'ailleurs de cette collaboration qu'était née leur amitié.

Le film, sorti depuis maintenant 6 mois, a reçu un accueil des plus chaleureux dans toute la France. C'est même un des films préférés de la mère de Sandrine Bonnaire, qui, comme elle le dit avec humour, « s'emmmerde en général en voyant ses films ! »

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

M. Uriel, sympathique lecteur de Chess & Strategy nous signale le passage à la télévision du film "Le joueur d'échecs".

La première diffusion de ce grand classique réalisé en 1938 par Jean Dréville, aura lieu ce vendredi 19 mars de 7h55 à 9h20 sur Cinécinéma classic.

En compagnie de sa fiancée, le prince Boleslas, un jeune patriote polonais, se réfugie chez le baron de Kempelen. Celui-ci est l'inventeur d'un fabuleux automate joueur d'échecs, dans lequel il décide de dissimuler Boleslas. Mais lorsque le robot bat l'impératrice Catherine II de Russie, celle-ci exige qu'il soit fusillé sur-le-champ...

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

Eric Warolus a écrit:
Ce que tu indiques correspond à la ligne du menu " Chess Media System ".
cette commande ouvre un fichier.WMF sur le dvd chessBase ou sur un autre support.

La ligne qui m'interpelle quelque part, c'est " Media Encoder ".

Chess is often represented in films. Sometimes merely as decoration, often with a deeper, symbolic meaning. In Hollywood the connotation of chess seems to be that of the lonely, disturbed man, seeking pastime and consolation in the royal game. One YouTube user has collected a great number of chess scenes in four videos.

The user FightLuX posted four “Chess Rhapsodies” on YouTube. The music might not be a treat to anyone’s ears, but the collection is impressive:

0:04 – “Shakhmatnaya goryachka” directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin
0:12 – “Monkey Business”, with Marx Brothers
0:18 – “The Black Cat” by Edgar G. Ulmer, with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
0:20 – “The Great Dictator” by Charlie Chaplin
0:21 – “The Thief of Baghdad” by Ludwig Berger
0:22 – “The Mark of Zorro” by Rouben Mamoulian with Tyrone Power
0:23 – “The Sea Hawk” by Michael Curtiz
0:25 – “Casablanca” by Michael Curtiz with Humphrey Bogart
0:27 – “Keeper of the Flame” by George Cukor with Spencer Tracy
0:28 – “To Be or Not to Be” by Ernst Lubitsch
0:29 – “Sherlock Holmes Faces Death” by Roy William Neill
0:33 – “Ivan Groznyj” by Sergej Michajlovic Ejsenštejn
0:35 – “La belle et la b?te” by Jean Cocteau
0:36 – “Knocking on Any Door” by Nicholas Ray with Humphrey Bogart
0:39 – “Quo Vadis” by Mervyn LeRoy with Robert Taylor
0:42 – “Angel Face” by Otto Preminger
0:45 – “Det Sjunde inseglet” by Ingmar Bergman with Max Von Sydow
0:52 – “Ascenseur pour léchafaud” by Louis Malle
0:53 – “The Diary of Anne Frank” by George Stevens
0:54 – “Exodus” by Otto Preminger
0:55 – “Lolita” by Stanley Kubrick with James Mason
0:56 – “From Russia with Love” by Terence Young
0:59 – “Becket” by Peter Glenville
1:03 – “Woman of Straw” by Basil Dearden with Sean Connery
1:07 – “Whats New Pussycat” by Clive Donner with Woody Allen
1:12 – “Zatoichi Jigoku tabi” by Kenji Misumi
1:16 – “Tony Rome” by Gordon Douglas with Frank Sinatra
1:20 – “Dance of the Vampires” by Roman Polanski
1:23 – “The Thomas Crown Affair” by Norman Jewison with Steve McQueen

0:03 – “Straw Dogs” directed by Sam Peckinpah with Dustin Hoffman
0:07 – “Vamos a matar, compa?eros” by Sergio Corbucci
0:08 – “Lassie: The Adventures of Neeka” by Jack B. Hively
0:09 – “The Omega Man” by Boris Sagal with Charlton Heston
0:11 – “Blazing Saddles” by Mel Brooks with Gene Wilder
0:13 – “La plus longue nuit du diable” by Jean Brismée
0:16 – “Night Moves” by Arthur Penn with Gene Hackman
0:23 – “Io sono un autarchico” by Nanni Moretti
0:29 – “The Wild Geese” by Andrew V. McLaglen
0:31 – “Il gatto” by Luigi Comencini
0:36 – “The Lady Vanishes” by Anthony Page with Elliott Gould
0:37 – “Fantozzi contro tutti” by Neri Parenti
0:40 – “History of the World: Part I” by Mel Brooks
0:52 – “Aus dem Leben der Marionetten” by Ingmar Bergman
0:55 – “Blade Runner” by Ridley Scott with Rutger Hauer
0:58 – “Fanny och Alexander” by Ingmar Bergman
0:59 – “The Thing” by John Carpenter with Kurt Russell
1:08 – “A Midsummer Nights Sex Comedy” by Woody Allen
1:11 – “Bingo Bongo” by Pasquale Festa Campanile with Adriano Celentano
1:19 – “The Jigsaw Man” by Terence Young
1:22 – “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by Michael Radofrd
1:24 – “Revenge of the Nerds” by Jeff Kanew
1:27 – “La diagonale du fou” by Richard Dembo with Michel Piccoli
1:42 – “Lattrazione” by Mario Gariazzo
1:49 – “Dekalog, jeden” by Krzysztof Kieslowski
1:54 – “Rambo III” by Peter MacDonald
1:56 – “M.A.R.K.-13 – Hardware” by Richard Stanley
1:57 – “Europa” by Lars von Trier
1:58 – “The Silence of the Lambs” by Jonathan Demme
1:59 – “The Addams Family” by Barry Sonnenfield with Raul Julia
2:04 – “Knight Moves” by Carl Schenkel with Christopher Lambert
2:11 – “Caino e Caino” by Alessandro Benvenuti
2:16 – “Searching for Bobby Fischer” by Steven Zaillian
2:26 – “Grumpy Old Men” by Donald Petrie with Jack Lemmon
2:28 – “Botte di Natale” by Terence Hill
2:40 – “Men of War” by Perry Lang with Dolph Lundgren
2:42 – “Sugar Hill” by Leon Ichaso
2:44 – “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” by Peter Segal with Leslie Nielsen
2:48 – “Assassins” by Richard Donner with Sylvester Stallone
2:54 – “Canadian Bacon” by Michael Moore
2:57 – “Othello” by Oliver Parker with Kenneth Branagh

0:04 – “Checkmate” [porno!] by Dyanna Lauren
0:15 – “Ridicule” by Patrice Leconte
0:20 – “Sabotage” by Tibor Takács with Mark Dacascos
0:24 – “Independence Day” by Roland Emmerich with Jeff Goldblum
0:30 – “Shine” by Scott Hicks
0:32 – “Summer of Fear” by Mike Robe
0:37 – “George of the Jungle” by Sam Weisman
0:39 – “Le comte de Monte Cristo” by J. Dayan with Gérard Depardieu
0:43 – “Train de vie” by Radu Mihaileanu
0:48 – “Bicentennial Man” by Chris Columbus with Robin Williams
0:54 – “The Spy Who Shagged Me” by Jay Roach with Mike Myers
1:11 – “Virus” by John Bruno
1:15 – “The Luzhin Defence” by Marleen Gorris with John Turturro
1:29 – “X-Men” by Bryan Singer
1:36 – “Black Hawk Down” by Ridley Scott
1:37 – “Black Knight” by Gil Junger with Martin Lawrence
1:40 – “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone” by Chris Columbus
1:48 – “The Last Castle” by Rod Lurie
1:50 – “La regina degli scacchi” by Claudia Florio
2:10 – “Scacco alla Regina” [porno!] by Riccardo Schicchi with Eva Henger
2:30 – “The Navigators” by Ken Loach
2:31 – “Zoolander” [extra bonus in DVD!]
2:32 – “Two Weeks Notice” by Marc Lawrence with Hugh Grant
2:33 – “Global Effect” by Terry Cunningham
2:35 – “Moscow Heat” by Jeff Celentano with Michael York
2:42 – “Il Paradiso allimprovviso” by Leonardo Pieraccioni with Alessandro Haber
2:56 – “Out of Reach” by Po-Chih Leong
3:00 – “The Chronicles of Riddick” by David Twohy
3:02 – “In Enemy Hands” by Tony Giglio
3:06 – “A Love Song for Bobby Long” by Shainee Gabel
3:11 – “Five Fingers” by Laurence Malkin
3:16 – “La terza stella” by Alberto Ferrari
3:19 – “Kingdom of Heaven” by Ridley Scott
3:21 – “Oliver Twist” by Roman Polanski
3:22 – “Revolver” by Guy Ritchie with Jason Statham

0:04 – Star Trek TOS (1×01)
0:11 – The Prisoner (1×09)
0:17 – Columbo (2×07)
0:19 – Happy Days (1×01)
0:21 – The Bionic Woman (2×07)
0:27 – Three’s Company (3×02)
0:32 – Hart to Hart (1×18)
0:36 – Family Ties (4×20)
0:46 – MacGyver (1×21)
0:57 – Murder, She Wrote (2×17)
1:02 – Cheers (5×15)
1:07 – Major Dad (1×08)
1:16 – Cheers (8×19)
1:21 – Twin Peaks (2×14)
1:29 – Hart to Hart (6×04)
1:34 – Frasier (3×18)
1:39 – OZ (1×03)
1:40 – Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1×18)
1:44 – OZ (2×05)
1:49 – The Pretender (3×19)
1:54 – Profiler (3×19)
1:56 – Stargate SG1 (3×18)
2:04 – Compagni di scuola (1×20)
2:09 – Friends (7×21)
2:20 – That 70s Show (4×01)
2:23 – Judging Amy (3×19)
2:27 – The West Wing (3×14)
2:30 – Joan of Arcadia (1×03)
2:32 – Malcolm in the Middle (4×19)
2:36 – Less Than Perfect (1×20)
2:38 – Coupling (4×03)
2:41 – My Wife and Kids (4×26)
2:43 – CSI: New York (2×04)
2:51 – Law & Order, Criminal Intent (4×11)
2:54 – Numb3rs (2×05)
2:58 – Star Trek Enterprise (4×11)
3:01 – In Justice (1×13)
3:03 – According to Jim (5×17)
3:04 – Smallville (5×19)
3:06 – House, M.D. (3×23)
3:10 – Hannah Montana (2×04)
3:12 – Lost (3×11)
3:17 – Tudors (1×01)
3:22 – Numb3rs (4×14)
3:26 – Don Matteo (6×22)
3:27 – Terminator: The Sarah Connors Chronicles (1×05)

Furthermore, the info of the YouTube user refers to a website (in Italian) with a large collection of chess in films, telefilms, videoclips, TV shows, commercials, animations and cartoons. Is there any other board game that’s represented so much in our culture?

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has released a DVD that choronicles the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. The video features video footage from the top players in the U.S. and their expressions on a variety of topics. The preview appears to capture the intensity of the event as well as the beauty of the venue. Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield have been the hosts of the championship since the USCF parted ways with the previous sponsor. This production appears to share a glimpse of the important role the Sinquefields are playing in what appeared to be a dying chess scene.

How does White do something with this passive position?

Howell-Werle, London 2009. White to play.

Concluding our brief survey of the Scotch (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4), we look at the kind of dynamic endgame struggle that can arise from this old but still important opening.

RB White's position after 1 exf5 Nxf5 2 Re1 (or 2 e4, or 2 Kd2) is so passive – and the e-pawn likely to be a long-term weakness – that White's best chance is to push with 1 e5. Assuming Black takes (1...d5 2 Na4 followed by Nc5 would give the white knight a great post ) with 1...dxe5, White has 2 Bc4, developing his bishop to another great square. If 2...exf4 3 exf4, OK White is a pawn down, but it hardly matters. With the white pieces all ready for action and Black's queenside pawns in a dreadful state, this has to be the best move.

DK 1 e5, as Howell played, is an excellent pawn sacrifice. To find it one needs to appreciate that the alternative, 1 exf5, leaves Black comfortably placed. Here's a typical scenario: 1...Nxf5 2 e4 Nh4. The f-pawn must advance to save itself, and then the knight hops via f3 into e5. Compare this knight with White's, unable to move to its outpost on d5. With the pawns blockaded, Black has stabilised the position and can begin to take control.

After 1 e5 dxe5, it would be wrong to recapture with 2 fxe5 as 2... Ng6 followed by Nxe5 gives Black more freedom than in the game. 2 Bc4 is correct, preventing Black's bishop from emerging on e6, and now 2...exf4 3 exf4 Ng6? would be met by 4 Rxg6! hxg6 5 Rd3, and there is no defence to the checkmate on h3.

If you'd like to investigate the Scotch, then Starting Out: The Scotch Game by John Emms (Everyman Chess, £13.99) will provide you with the basics, while The Scotch Game for White by Vladimir Barsky (Chess Stars, £17.99) – just published – will provide more up-to-date theory. If you prefer to study with a DVD, I recommend the The Scotch Game by Nigel Davies (ChessBase, €26.99).

chess@guardian.co.uk

Sorti en salles le 5 août 2009, le film Joueuse de Caroline Bottaro
avec Sandrine Bonnaire est désormais disponible en DVD

Synopsis : Hélène, femme de ménage discrète, mène une vie paisible dans un petit village en Corse avec son mari, Ange, et sa fille de quinze ans, Lisa. Alors qu'elle nettoie la chambre de deux touristes américains, elle les surprend en train de jouer aux échecs sur le balcon. La complicité entre les deux amants au travers du jeu la fascine. Intriguée, Hélène va se passionner pour les échecs et se rapprocher du mystérieux docteur Kröger...

2007-2009 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

• Against the Grunfeld, he recommends a delayed e4 advance that is parallel to a Black line that typically emerges from the Benoni -- compare Garnett - Littlewood, British Championship 2009 to Schlosser - Alburt, Arco di Trento 1981.
  
  
• Against the annoying Nb4 idea of the classical main line, he recommends exchanging in the center and playing a3! -- compare Bruzon - Anand, Ciudad de Leon 2006 to Commons - Reshevsky, US Championship 1975.
  
  
• As a way of reviving the traditional Colle, he recommends playing it like a reversed Semi-Slav -- compare Persson - Karlsson, Sweden 2006 to Jankovic - Kaplan, Dresden 2007.
  

L'année 2009 aura été une année riche d'événements, heureux ou malheureux, sur ce blog. Je passerai pudiquement sur une tragédie familiale qui n'a pas grand chose à voir avec les échecs mais que, sur le coup de l'émotion, je vous avais fait partager. Vos nombreux commentaires, tous chaleureux ont autant étonné que réchauffé et m'ont démontré qu'il y avait bien un lien humain à travers ces pages, quelque chose qui dépasse de très loin le simple univers tactique des échecs ! De l'humanité, encore, et de la chaleur à travers la petite histoire concernant Philippe Kesmaecker. Elle n'avait qu'une portée symbolique mais elle m'a donné la pêche... Philippe, en infatigable compilateur de génie a lui aussi été revigoré par son titre de "plus vieux maître FIDE de France" (sic) et s'est engagé dans un ouvrage d'envergure : la mise à jour et la mise en forme de sa base "tactiqueries", qui comporte maintenant un cours de tactique et plus de 4000 positions incluant les meilleures combinaisons des plus récents tournois ! Cette nouvelle version n'est pas encore diffusée sur ce blog car, il faut l'avouer, Philippe cherche légitimement à valoriser son travail et tentera sûrement de commercialiser l'ultime version... mais une mise à jour "intermédiaire" vous sera certainement livrée courant 2010. L'année 2009 m'aura permis de diffuser en libre téléchargement mon premier recueil de parties, d'ajouter plus de 60 exercices tactiques inédits issus de mes propres parties et 9 critiques de livres ou DVD mais le grand tournant aura été pour moi la découverte et la diffusion de vidéos d'échecs : 28 vidéos ont été diffusées sur youtube, dailymotion ou viméo, vues par plus de 12000 visiteurs et le plus souvent gentiment commentées sur ce blog par des spectateurs pourtant exigeants. Les vidéos les plus appréciées sont celles qui parlent d'ouverture (vous êtes incorrigibles !), comme en témoigne le succès de la vidéo sur le gambit Schilling-Kostic, qui est pourtant loin d'être une ouverture à la mode ! Les "cours de tactique" semblent aussi très appréciés : certains d'entre vous n'ont pas hésité à rester plus d'une heure devant le cours sur la déviation (une heure alors qu'on n'y voit aucune femme nue, incroyable !...)  Je vais bien sûr étoffer cette série... mais cela demande un temps considérable de préparation d'où la lenteru du processus... Ma plus belle satisfaction reste votre fidélité : le nombre de visites ne fléchit pas, même pendant les périodes d'inactivité du blog. Alors que j'espérais 30000 visiteurs à la fin de cette année, nous avons dépassé les 47000 avec plus de 37500 visiteurs rien que pour l'année 2009 et près de 100000 pages vues. C'est toujours moins que les sites pornographiques, mais que voulez-vous, malgré quelques tentatives timides de rapprochement, nos deux mondes sont trop éloignés ! Merci à vous tous pour votre fidélité. Je vous souhaite d'excellentes fêtes de fin d'année !

We are glad to inform you, that Chess Assistant 10 Mega package is now available for a price of Chess Assistant 10 Professional, which amounts to a $80 discount!

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