World Chess Network and Chess Live

The Internet Chess Club (“ICC”), the world’s premier online subscription chess service, has today announced the acquisition of two competitive online chess services, World Chess Network, from Master Games International, and Chess Live, from GamesParlor. The two services will be merged together to form a new service, separate from ICC, to be called World Chess Live.
Founded in 1997 and with the long time support of one of the world’s most respected patrons of chess, Dato’ Tan Chin Nam, the World Chess Network has developed a friendly, loyal community of chess players from around the world who enjoy playing and talking together as well as participating in a variety of fun and educational chess activities. Chess Live, positioned as the family-friendly online chess community, was created in 2000 as the online chess service of the U.S. Chess Federation, but has since expanded to welcome chess players of all countries.
In contrast to these other online chess services, ICC has traditionally been the first choice of chess professionals and those who strive for the top ranks, including among its members more than half of the world’s chess Grandmasters. “We recognize,” says Joel Berez, President and CEO of ICC, “that both the World Chess Network and Chess Live communities have cultures and traditions that are much more similar to each other than they are to the ICC community. Therefore keeping them together in a new service with an atmosphere similar to what they already enjoy makes more sense than forcing them to move to ICC and will hopefully be better appreciated.” In keeping with the spirit of moving both communities with minimal disruption to the members, the new World Chess Live administrative staff will be headed by Julie Trottier, long time Chief Administrator of the World Chess Network, assisted by Chris Fitzgerald, who held a similar position on Chess Live, as well as other administrators drawn from both services. According to Martin Grund, ICC’s Vice President of Online Operations, “Julie and Chris have both done a remarkable job of maintaining happy and healthy communities with limited resources and I’m honored to welcome them into the ICC family.” World Chess Live, while separate from ICC, will enjoy the benefit of much shared content and chess activities, such as:
The most feature-rich online chess software platform on the Internet. ICC Chess.FM audio and video regular shows, plus live coverage of major chess events around the world. An extensive library of chess educational material and special interest programs. Online events hosted by the world’s top players, such as a recent charity chess simul conducted by #1 rated GM Vishy Anand. Founded in 1995 as one of the first premium gaming sites on the Internet, today ICC is firmly established as the premier online chess service, with more members, more Grandmasters, more volunteers, and more loyalty from its members than any other classical game service on the Internet. More than 35,000 paying members from all over the world regularly enjoy playing casual or tournament chess games against each other; watching others play, including hundreds of titled chess masters; attending online lectures, classes, and special events; or simply socializing with fellow chess enthusiasts in a club house that’s always open.

The Origins of Chess
Chess as we know it today emerged in southern Europe near the end of the 15th century. The earliest recorded games and analyses of modern chess come from Italy and Spain. The exploits and writings of Ruy Lopez and Greco in the 16th and 17th centuries influenced generations. The roots of the game go back much further, to 7th century India and the game chaturanga. Soon variations appeared in the Islamic world and it is believed that the game entered Europe via the Moorish conquests of Spain and Sicily. The great French player Philidor, also a renown composer, was by far the most important figure of 18th century chess. His understanding of the game was so far ahead of its time that his concepts were not fully understood by others until 100 years after his death. The modern competitive age of chess began in London in 1851 when the first international tournament was organized by the great English player Howard Staunton. Much to his surprise he was defeated by the eventual winner of the tournament, Adolf Anderssen of Germany, whose attacking brilliance made him the dominant player of the period with one brief, spectacular, exception. Modern Methods The American Paul Morphy appeared on the chess scene suddenly and disappeared just as quickly. But from 1857 to 1859 he shook the chess world with a new style. Instead of the wild attacks of the Romantic school, Morphy developed his pieces and only went on the offensive when success was all but guaranteed. He swept aside all opposition during a tour of Europe and was hailed as the first great international champion. With no one to challenge him, Morphy returned to the US and soon gave up chess for an unsuccessful law career. The lessons of Philidor and Morphy were forgotten until Wilhelm Steinitz began to formulate his precepts for correct play toward the end of the 19th century. Steinitz went beyond Morphy and documented his system of play in decades of prolific literary output. In 1886 he defeated the other leading player of the day, Zukertort, and declared himself World Champion. Today he is considered the first official world champion and so began a long history of title succession. The first half of the 20th century saw a chess title that was owned by the champion. Title matches were arranged, or not arranged, privately. Steinitz' successor, Emanuel Lasker - and his successors Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, and Max Euwe - spent much of their time and energy arranging (or avoiding) title matches.
After World War II the international chess federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, took over the organization of the world championship. Tournaments, and later matches, were held to select the challenger of the reigning champion and a title match was held every three years. Chess surged in popularity worldwide, becoming a truly international game.
The Soviet Union had aggressively promoted chess among its citizens for decades and its players dominated, beginning with Mikhail Botvinnik in 1948. Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, and Tigran Petrosian all held the highest title during this "first among equals" period of Soviet hegemony. Botvinnik's rigorous training methods added a greater degree of science to the artistic and sporting elements of the game. The Professionals The title stayed in the Soviet family for 24 years. Then American Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky in Iceland in 1972 and changed the chess world on and off the board. The brilliant and eccentric Fischer continued the tradition of Alekhine and Botvinnik by working harder than his peers. His fanatical dedication raised the level of the game to new heights at the board while his uncompromising nature did the same in the realm of prize money. Unfortunately, the good Fischer did for the popularity of the game was not as good for him personally. After a conflict with FIDE over the rules for his title defense he banished himself from chess much as his countryman Morphy had done over 100 years earlier. His legacy was an improvement in conditions for all players and an international wave of interest in the game, another parallel with Morphy. Fischer's forfeit left the title to a new young representative of the Soviet school, Anatoly Karpov. The 12th champion quickly dispelled doubts about his legitimacy by winning every tournament in sight and defending his title twice against Viktor Korchnoi. Karpov's dominance ended only with the arrival of Garry Kasparov 10 years later and even then it wasn't immediately clear which of them would emerge triumphant. Garry Kasparov in one of his many famous matches against computer opponents. In 1996 he beat the IBM computer Deep Blue, but the machine got revenge the following year. Kasparov played matches against two top programs, Fritz and Junior, in 2003. The now-legendary Kasparov-Karpov duels brought the game to its highest level. The two greatest players clashed again and again in five consecutive world championship matches. Kasparov took the title in 1985 and held off Karpov until, at last, another challenger emerged for the 1993 match. That challenger was Nigel Short, the first westerner to challenge for the title since Fischer. It turned out that the action off the board before the match started would be more memorable than the games. Unhappy with FIDE's management of bid negotiations, Short made a fateful phone call to Kasparov to suggest they break away from the organization. Thus the Professional Chess Association was born and the world championship title was split. Computers and the Future of Chess Along the way the game itself had changed. The time controls - the amount of time the players get for their moves - has consistently speeded up. Blitz and rapid chess events, in which the players have minutes instead of hours, have become popular. In the 1990's computers began to have an impact and were competing with Grandmasters. Now every top player uses them to study and prepare and games are analyzed with software programs. The various financial and political crises in the chess world have not deterred a very strong new generation of chessplayers from appearing. With the help of computer training, younger and younger Grandmasters appear on a regular basis. The current record-holder, Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine, achieved the title at the tender age of 12! Computers are having ever more influence on the sport as players and as analytical tools. Human-machine events draw tremendous interest and only the top players can compete with current programs. The game has moved very successfully onto the internet and chess is reaching a new audience of millions each year. Fans who used to wait months to find out the results of tournaments can now follow the games live with expert commentary. The upcoming World Championship tournament in Mexico City will break new ground in this department, with full video coverage and commentary on-site and online.