Front Page

National News:
2005 International Chess Festival Begins June 9

World News:
World Chess Roundup: Upcoming Events

Chess In the Media: Chess Stories Across the USA and Around the World

Index to Newsletters

Chess Around the World

World Chess Roundup: Upcoming Events

This week may be a slow one in the chess world, but there are plenty of exciting events upcoming in the next month. Here are just some of the events to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Leko vs. Adams Rapid Match

Peter Leko will take on Michael Adams in a rapid match to take place in Miskolc, Hungary from June 2-5. The match will consist of eight games, each at the time control of 25 minutes plus five seconds per move.

Peter Leko is currently 4th on the FIDE rating list; Adams is ranked 7th.

Adams to take on Hydra in Man vs. Machine Championship

After his match with Leko, Michael Adams won't have long to rest before taking on his next opponent: the fearsome computer Hydra, widely regarded as the strongest computer program in the world. The match will take place in London from June 21-26, and will boast a prize fund of $150,000.

Hydra has an impressive record, never having lost a game over-the-board to a human opponent, and only rarely losing to computers. Last year, Hydra crushed the strong program Shredder 5.5-2.5 in match play, just months after winning a computer tournament in Paderborn with an impressive 6.5/7 score.

However, all is not hopeless for Adams. While Hydra has never been defeated over the board, Veselin Topalov came close in a humans vs. computers match last year. Also, the machine (albiet, a slightly earlier version) was soundly beaten by correspondence GM Arno Nickel in the first two games of an ongoing four-game correspondence chess match, 2-0. Here is Nickel's win with black:

White: Hydra (Chimera version)
Black: Nickel, Arno (2586)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Re1 Qc7 12. Qe2 Bc5 13. c3 h6 14. Bd3 Bd7 15. Be3 Bd6 16. g3 O-O 17. Qd2 Ng4 18. Rad1 Rfe8 19. Nb3 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Rad8 21. Qe4 g6 22. Bf1 Bc6 23. Qe3 Kh7 24. Bg2 e5 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. Qe4 Qxe4 27. Rxe4 Bc7 28. Ree1 b6 29. Na1 Kg7 30. Nc2 Rxd1 31. Rxd1 Rd8 32. Rxd8 Bxd8 33. Nb4 a5 34. Nd5 f5 35. c4 Kf7 36. a4 Ke6 37. b3 g5 38. h3 h5 39. Kf1 g4 40. h4 f4 41. Ke2 Kf5 42. Kf1 Ke4 43. Ke2 fxg3 44. fxg3 Kd4 45. Kd2 e4 46. Ke2 e3 47. Ke1 Kd3 48. Kd1 e2+ 49. Ke1 Kc2 50. Kxe2 Kxb3 51. Kd3 Kxa4 52. Kc2 Bxh4 53. gxh4 g3 54. Nf4 Kb4 0-1