Web Watch 22 October 2001
I guess that most CT readers are pretty familiar with chess on the Web, but since it changes so rapidly, perhaps some updates will be in order.
I recently heard about a new web site called
MasterMove. It offers weekly chess quizzes and is run by IM Erik Hoeksema, composer Bert van der Marel, IM Yge Visser and IM Karel van der Weide. Worth visiting!
GM Square Shop was recently updated: we added many new items - such as backgammon sets, wooden chess sets and chess books. Check out the following newly-added books: 'The Chess Career of Richard Teichmann', 'The Collected Games of Em. Lasker', 'The Complete Games of Oldrich Duras', 'Leo Forgacs', 'Lajos Steiner', 'Ratmir Holmov', 'Vladimir Simagin' and many more! One interesting addition to the shop is a book by former USSR Champion and former Kasparov's second Iossif Dorfman - 'The Method in Chess', where he explains theory of critical positions. The latest YearBook (No. 60) from NiC is also in store. The site was recently re-designed, making shop's policies clearer. Shopping with GM Square is easy - come and see for yourself!
The Chess Café recently joined forces with Inside Chess, so such journalists as IMs John Donaldson and Nikolay Minev, as well as GM Yasser Seirawan, got aboard the already awesome panel of The Chess Café authors - do not miss that site! It also has a very good bulletin board too.
Another good site with a decent discussion board is About Chess, run by David Dunbar.
Taking about online forums, one our reader from Australia recently brought my attention to the on-going discussion at the site of the Australian Chess Federation, which is by the way a very decent site. There on the forum people are discussing results of a little-known the Australian player Jose Escribano (rated about 1600) who had some good results in the recent FIDE Net Qualifier. For example, he drew with GM Bauer, raising concerns that he might be using outside help or getting computer assistance.
Indeed, there are no clear rules concerning such tournaments and I am surprised that FIDE (and now also Brain Games) rushed into introducing them. After all, we no longer live in the dot-com craze, so why does everything have to be online? The pool of players, who could realistically try to be in the World Championship, is not that large and we hardly need Internet to define them. Personally, I refuse to play in such tournaments as long as there are no clear rules.
Some Grandmasters have their own web sites and one of them belongs to Jonathan Levitt. Recently he added a review of GM Rowson's book, 'The Seven Deadly Chess Sins' at http://www.jlevitt.dircon.co.uk/rowson7sins.htm
If you are interested in UK or German Club Championships, you can follow their progress at The Chess Oracle, which is ran by John Sharp.
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