Susan Polgar responds to Xie Jun's open letter to her.
After Kasparov's victory at Corus, speculation is rampant among the
commentators about how long he can stay at the top. Anand feels his
time has come. A school chess coach in New York City
tries various ways to interest girls in the game. Mig writes a new
column for KasparovChess.
- Stephen Leary
Seirawan on Chess Sponsorship Crisis
The Hindu newspaper interviews Yasser Seirawan, who believes
the lack of sponsorship in chess is the result of chess's war with itself.
Kasparov is alienated from FIDE, and FIDE has its own internal problems
as well.
"I am singularly unimpressed with the way FIDE conducts its business," Seirawan said. "I am not impressed by the calibre of people involved."
El Pais
Anand gives some pre-Linares comments. "I believe that already my
moment has arrived," he said, believing he can supplant Kasparov as
the best player in the world. He deflected criticism of his fighting
spirit at Corus by responding that he played several rounds with the
flu. Things will be different at Linares, Anand said. Leontxo Garcia
reports on the KasparovChess Grand Prix. Deep Junior dismissed
Illescas easily, despite the GM's attempts to steer the games away
from book openings. In another article, Miguel Illescas feels that
Deep Junior will be tough to beat at the time controls used for this
tournament.
[In Spanish.]
Susan Polgar Answers Xie Jun
Polgar responds to Xie's
open letter to her. Polgar says she was
prevented from defending her title by inappropriate measures.
"FIDE has prevented me from playing with you for the defense of my title when they refused to postpone the match for another month or so, because of the birth of my child." Polgar finished by saying she prefers to
express herself on the chessboard. "Hopefully one day we'll get to do
that." The lawsuit, Polgar vs. FIDE, "is in progress."
Inside Chess
Seirawan annotates games from his match with Michael Adams in
Bermuda. Zoran Ilic writes a theoretical article on the English Attack
in the Sicilian Najdorf.
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Young Girls Looking Like Chess Queens
The Queen Bees is an all-girl chess team at Public School 29 in New
York City. Coach Marlene Hochman once tried to get girls interested in chess by placing Barbie doll heads on chess pieces. "As a means to hold the first- and second-graders' interest in the game, Hochman introduced a small stuffed bear with glasses named Chester Smart, who "plays," with Hochman's assistance, against the girls seated in front of a miniature chessboard and serves as their team mascot."
Terra Ajedrez
GM Amador Rodriguez writes that Kasparov is feeling the pressure from
young rivals, such as Leko, Anand, Shirov, & Kramnik. He criticizes
the comments Kasparov made last week that they "lacked fighting spirit"
and only think about a "comfortable life." This assessment is "far from
reality." Leko, for one, lives a modest life, Rodriguez said. Kasparov
says things "that hurt much." Leko will answer on the chessboard, and
is Kasparov's "natural successor."
[In Spanish.]
Lubomir Kavalek
In his weekly column, Kavalek laments the death of George Koltanowski.
"I saw him for the first time in 1968 at the Chess Olympiad in Lugano,
Switzerland. He talked about chess as if it were the best profession in the
United States. His enthusiasm brought many people to the game."
Robert Byrne
In his weekly New York Times column, Byrne notes that after 15 years as
world champion, Kasparov has suffered only one major loss--to Deep
Blue in 1996. "Humans he just clobbers." Kasparov's victory over
van Wely at Corus is annotated.
Shelby Lyman
In his weekly column, Shelby assesses Kasparov: "Enormously talented and experienced, he comes to the board armed to the teeth with innovative opening ideas. Winning is all for Kasparov, who expends enormous energy in each game he plays." Kasparov's intensity could keep him on top for
another 5 years.
KasparovChess.com
Mig reports on the KasparovChess grand prix. Interview with Bent
Larsen.
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