".....for what else exists in the world besides chess?"               Nabokov, The Defense



To get 1998 started on a lighter note, we have a hot game from Lew Hucks that takes a couple of funny twists. Lew has been putting his new scanner to use. Therefore, we will be featuring a series of Lew's CJA award winning chess cartoons. Coming soon! ECTool v. 4.0 is now in beta testing and will be offering a choice of Rebel Analysis Engines embedded. More will be coming on that hot issue. Also, expect some new links to some very impressive chess web sites as well as a review of the impressive Rebel9 chess playing software from the Netherlands. Stay tuned!

This Week's Featured Games | The Elephant Walk | Master Blitz With Birchbeer | The Blackmar Diemer Gambit | The Best Real Time Chess on the Net | Electronic Age Correspondence Chess | German/English Chess Phrases | Bullet: Quick and Deadly | Chess Literature | Notation Quick Guide | Special Links | More Links | Previous 'Hot Games' | Filemate Software Review | ECTool Software Review | Mac Software IECG Column II | Update History


What else indeed? The internet may not have been built for chess, but it certainly has adapted well. If you don't believe it, just check out Steve Pribut's page that answers almost any internet chess question you may have. But, hey, don't go yet! Check out this page first. Great chess sites abound on the net. Links to some of my favorites are listed at the bottom of the page. (Be sure to use your browser's back button to return to this page.) This site strives to be a bit more personal. Something of an amusement for me and my friends. I've tried to include enough links that the page will be generally useful, but my list is not conlusive.

Hot Games!

Our resident expert Lew Hucks hails in the first update of 1998 with a great effort from January's Baltimore Chess League Team Tourney. When this one popped up in the mail box last week the subject line read, "Somtimes ... chess is humorous! But only if you have White." I took Lew's lead and supplied some annotation to the score. But first, here's Lew's comments to set the stage:

Here is a live game! Placed face to face with a clock ticking. My opponent is a local expert, a teacher and sponsor of young players at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. The game has an element of humor, as you will see. I have been burned in this variation of the Saemisch in the past. Black gambits a pawn, betting that white will lock the center and allow him a Benoni style counterattack. This time I decide to take the pawn and see if I can hold it. A couple of passive moves and the counterattack never materializes... to say the least.

lew98b.gif - 9.1 K[Event "Baltimore Chess League Team Tourney"]
[Site "Univ of MD Baltimore Cty"]
[Date "1998.1..??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hucks, Lew -- Rosedale"]
[Black "McDuffy, David -- Booked-up-Fish"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. f3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Be3 Na6 8. Qa4 {May I have this dance? Or, would you rather trade?} 8...Qc7 {We'll dance, but I want to lead.} 9. Qb5 Qe5 10.

Nge2 Qh5 11. Nf4 {No, I must lead! My knight is quite adroit.} 11...Qe5 12. Nd3 {See!} 12...Qc7 13. Nd5 Qd8 {And, Black's first lady returns home to d8, safe once again, but at the cost of development.} 14. Be2 Ne8 {Black braces for the queenside onslaught.} 15. O-O e6 16. Nc3 Kh8 17. e5 f5 18. f4 {The center is locked.} 18...Rf7 19. Qa4 Bf8 20. Nb5 Rg7 21. Bf3 Be7 22. Nd6 lew98c.gif - 8.4 K {Lew prepares to rip the lid off the queenside. White is going to war!} 22...Nxd6 23.

cxd6 Bf8 24. b4 g5 25. b5 Nb8 {The knight runs home and black is left with a completely undeveloped queenside. (see first diagram)} 26. Kh1 h6 27. g3 Qe8 28. Nc5 a5 29. Nxb7 g4 30. Bg2 h5 31. Nc5 Ra7 32. Nd3 Rb7 33. Kg1 Qd8 34. Kf2 h4 35. c5 Rh7 {Black tries to move down the kingside, look at the pawn structure. There is no place to go.} 36. Rac1 h3 37. Bh1 Bh6 38. c6 {O.k. Here it comes. White is prepared to connect the dots.} 38...dxc6 39. bxc6 Rb4 40. Nxb4 axb4 41. c7 Qd7 42. cxb8=Q {"Go

ahead, take my queen. I have a spare."} 42...Qxa4 {A classic zugzwang! Black must capture the extra queen, but that leaves his most powerful and most mobile piece stuck on a4 far from the action. Look at all of that empty queenside real estate and check out the locked board from the d-file right!} 43. Rxc8+ Kg7 44. Rc7+ Kg6 45. Qg8+ Rg7 46. Qxe6+ Kh7 47. Qxf5+ Kg8 48. Rc8+ 1-0

Pretty good stuff, eh? You can find previously featured games and more on the games page

Digital Cannon Fodder


Of course if you are into chess and computers, you'll be wanting to pack that hard drive with software. The University of Pittsburgh Chess Club site is a repository for the latest in chess shareware as well as demos from the big boys such as ChessBase and Chess Assistant. Best of all, there are literally thousands of games in databases for almost every format that can be downloaded for free. Chess Mail recently called Pitt the hub of chess on the internet. Clear some hard drive space and click here.



Virginia ChessOne of my favorite "small" chess sites is maintained by the Virginia Chess Federation. Regularly maintained, the site is always timely and there are always several good games available.If you want up to the minute scores and results of any major tournament that may be going on anywhere in the world go to Mark Crowther's excellent The Week In Chess.TWIC zips each week's games for easy download in pgn or ChessBase format.

Chessl W-wideThe current month's historical prespective can be gleaned from the Chess Cafe's International Chess Calendar feature. And, if you want to stock up on chess quotes, good for sig lines, web page banners, etc., hop over to merry Olde England and the Exeter Chess Club's fine collection. My old ICC pal EvilDoc wanted his say on the links matter as well. Doc's pick of Chess on the Net is fairly diverse, but not conclusive. For that, you need to check out the best of the chess megalink sites, Chesslinks Worldwide.



Real Time Pixel Pushing


Nice graphic!You can play real time on several chess servers, including my favorite the Internet Chess Club. The advantages of member are many, including having your games emailed to you, building libraries of master games and receiving free online instruction on the hour. For sampling of ICC Events click here. If you sign up, be sure to tell them that my old buddy Evil Doc sent you. He'll appreciate it and I will too. And, while you're there leave a message for New Yorker. He just loves the attention. If you are still not convinced, click over to Chess Space's On-Line links. Those fine folks list dozens of places to play real time games on the net.



Correspondence Chess on the Net


The International Email Chess Group and a newer organization started by former IECG honchos, the International Email Chess Club, or IECC, offer free membership and good correspondence chess for anyone with a computer and a modem. My personal pick is IECG, though I play and enjoy games in both clubs.Of course, I'm biased since I write the Chess Utility column for the IECG mailing list. There is no better way to study chess and make friends on the net than email chess.If you love chess and you love the net, you've gotta give electronic cc a try.



Usenet: All the Chess All the Time


The chess news groups (rec.games.chess.*) offer analysis, the latest in the always controversial world of chess politics, what's new in the world chess computing as well as an effective means of keeping up with ever growing world of correspondence chess on the net.






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