India's Viswanathan Anand will play his next tournament in Monaco .The "Eighth Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament" will get underway on the 16th of March and will continue till the 28th.This tournament has preserved it's uniqueness by showcasing two different kinds of chess in the same tournament. The participants in this year's edition are Anand, Kramnik, Karpov, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Shirov, Lautier, Van Wely, Piket, Nicolic, Ljubojevic, and the new 12th man, Gelfand. The event will be held in the luxurious Metropole Hotel in Monte Carlo. The sponsors of this event are Mrs. & Mr. Joop Van Oosterom, great patrons of chess. The Association Max Euwe is organising the event.The opening ceremony will be held on the 15th of March . The rest days are 20th and 25th of March. The closing ceremony will be held on the 28th of March.The rest days are always very interesting, as trips to nearby villages or the top event of the season are included.

The tournament as always will be a round robin with three prize categories, rapid chess, blind chess & combined scores. The most interesting duel is in the blind chess. Each player starts with twenty-five minutes on the clock with ten seconds added for each move just as in the rapid format. The chessboards are simulated on computers and only the last move of the opponent is visible on the monitor. The players have to remember all the moves, as they cannot write it down as in normal games. Illegal moves can be taken back. It is both a test on memory and rapid play.

Four players from Linares will be playing in Monaco within four days of the last tournament. Some of them , including Anand will be flying together. Anand has always been a keen contender for the title here in Monaco being the only player to win the tournament twice . He was also the only player in the tournament history to win the two categories and the overall section in 1997.He finished fourth overall and second in the blindfold section last year.

There will be live internet coverage at www.tasc.nl .

Anand's schedule and contact persons for information and special stay packages for journalists:

5-18th April Dos Hermanes, Spain
Person to contact: Mr. Joaquin Espejo
Tel: 34-957-123515

10-14th June Advanced Computer Chess Match in Leon, Spain .
Person to contact: Marcelino Sion
C/Cardenal Cisneros , 9-3B, 24009, Leon Spain
Tel & Fax: 34 987 249106
E-mail: msion@net 64.es

Since Kasparov has refused to play due to a last minute dispute with the organisers , the probable competitors may be Shirov or Karpov. (The two players will be using their chess programs and databases to analyse while they play)

28th June-July 4th Rapid Chess in Frankfurt and an exhibition match by Anand against the chess program , "Fritz".
Person to contact: Hans Walter Schmitt
E-mail Address(es): Hans-walter.Schmitt@rm.sni.de
                               hans-walter.schmitt@ffm2.siemens.de
Tel: 49 6196 22726

10-17th July Dortmund, Germany
Person to contact: Carsten Hensel
Phone: 49 231 5022135
Fax: 49 231 5022167