It is now time to announce the winners of our Christmas Competition. We thank the more than 100 people who took part and sent us their answers, among which Alexandra selected 10 winners! The first prize, donated by Chessqueen, is a "Gold Chess Package" which includes Deep Rybka 2.3.2a, with Chess Openings 2007 and the excellent Chess Assistant Professional Software Program 9.1, goes to David W. from the USA. Next we have winners of various chess DVD’s and chess books: Fernando R. (Brazil), Leonardo S. (Brazil), Glenn M. (USA), Hernan V. (France), Keith J. (Malaysia), Helen K. (Canada), Enzo R. (Italy), and Ivan I. (Russia). Congratulations! You can watch the solutions on chesskillertips in video, for positions ONE (flash, mp4), TWO (flash, mp4), THREE (flash, mp4).

The chess world is in sorrow following the death on Thursday January 17, 2008, of the 11th World Champion Bobby Fischer, at the age of 64. There is no question that Fischer was a pioneer in professional chess and that he was far in advance of his time. Through his rise to the top leading to his win in 1972 over Soviet World Champion Boris Spassky, he has attracted millions of people to the game of chess. In addition, he invented the chess variant "Fischer-Random chess" (also called Shuffle Chess or Chess960), which well may be the future of chess. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk has taken up this chess variant with enthusiasm and is the current World Champion in that speciality. Watch a 1972 Quicktime movie about Bobby Fischer.

Thanks to our friend Arif (in photo third from left), who organized the day of his birthday a chess competition in the
CSSEPG Group of the well-known University of Melbourne, Australia. The tournament was won by Abdun Mahmood (second from left), in second place Sami Ur Rahman (far right), and third place Md Mustafizur Rahman (far left). Alexandra was glad to support the event by sending a few chess gifts for the winners. More photos: winners, finals, third prize, second prize, grand winner. Congratulations to all! We are grateful to Arif for the organization and for the players for showing their love of the game.

Happy New Year 2008 to all my dear chess friends (that’s my daughter Francesca in the picture). I wish you to have a wonderful year, filled with love, good health and success in all you do. Thanks for visiting my site the last year, I will do my best to prepare interesting chess material for you all year long, on this site, as well as on the sites chessmovies, tubechess and chesskillertips.

I’ve had some email problems, so if you have not been able to send in your solutions to my Christmas Competition, you can do so now, in 5 days I will select the winners and announce them as well as the solutions. There are hundreds of dollars in prizes and everyone will be a winner! Good luck!