News archive
June 2026
Our favourite pastime: "Chasing the Rabbits ..." - but some were even caught!
James "Jimmy" Bernard Adams (February 7th 1947 - June 6th, 2026) a British FIDE Master, chess author, and long-time editor of CHESS magazine, passed away on June 6, 2026, at the age of 79 following a long illness.
For me, following our first in-person meeting in June 2007, Jimmy became a humorous friend who always showed great respect for the achievements of fellow enthusiasts, despite his own prominent standing in the field. So I remember with warm feelings his comment to my talk in Norwich (KWA-meeting 2012): "Amazingly, Michael, you are making jokes, even in English language." And our "Chasing the rabbits ..." at the dinner.
The following compilation — which makes no claim to being exhaustive — bears witness to Jimmy's incredible contribution to the chess world.
Read more … Our favourite pastime: "Chasing the Rabbits ..." - but some were even caught!
Biography of GM Dr. Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner: A Biography in Texts, Images, and Documents. With a focus on his estate at the Löberitz Chess Museum. Part I (1948–1991) and Part II (1992–2025)
[Robert Hübner. Eine Biographie in Texten, Bildern und Dokumenten. Mit Blick auf seinen Nachlass im Schachmuseum Löberitz. Teil I (1948-1991) und Teil II (1992-2025)]
Edited by Konrad Reiß in collaboration with Siegfried Schönle, Löberitz/Leipzig 2026, limited edition of 100 copies, Part 1, 396 pages + 10 pages of title pages and endpapers; Part 2, 420 pages + 12 pages of title pages and endpapers.
Blue paperback volumes [245x165], thread-bound.
The Löberitz Chess Museum, its director Konrad Reiß, and his staff were unexpectedly entrusted with a major task pursuant to the will of GM Dr. Robert Hübner (November 6, 1948 – January 4, 2025), as the deceased stipulated the following:
"I bequeath my chess legacy to the Löberitz Chess Museum, directed by Mr. Konrad Reiß."
[„Meine schachliche Hinterlassenschaft vermache ich dem Schachmuseum Löberitz, geführt von Herrn Konrad Reiß.“]
This led to the creation of the two-volume biography shown here, based on a very extensive collection of source material.
The tables of contents for the two volumes certainly provide a good impression of this:
Reiss - Robert Huebner - Buch 1 - Inhaltsverzeichnis.pdf (413,2 KiB)
Reiss - Robert Huebner - Buch 2 - Inhaltsverzeichnis.pdf (709,5 KiB)
Please direct questions and orders to:
Konrad Reiß
konradreiss@web.de
Karel Mokrý has passed away
by Frantisek Stross
The article was originally published on 1 June 2026 on the website of the Czech Chess Federation.
[Translation from Czech by ChatGPT.]
On 27 May 2026, Czech chess grandmaster and former national team player Karel Mokrý died at the age of 67. Czech chess has lost an important figure who left an indelible mark not only through his achievements over the board, but also through his lifelong dedication to the chess community as a chess bibliographer and the owner of a well-known chess bookshop.
Karel Mokrý was born on 7 February 1959 in Prostějov. In 1977, he won the Czechoslovak junior championship, and in the same year he finished fifth at the European Junior Championship in Groningen. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster in 1984. Among his many tournament successes, his victory at Reggio Emilia in Italy at the turn of 1983 and 1984 stands out in particular. In a strong field, he finished ahead of, among others, former world champion Boris Spassky, John Nunn, and Ian Rogers.