3/11/2024 – This week we are once again offering you a free sample from the current ChessBase Magazine #218 in ChessBase book format: strategy expert Mihail Marin looks back on the 1992 Linares tournament - one of the strongest tournaments in chess history, which also marked an important historical moment: the end of the dominance of the two "Ks" - Kasparov and Karpov. In his article, Mihail Marin analyses games by Kasparov, Karpov, Ivanchuk, Short, Anand, Timman and others. Including many training exercises and two interactive training videos. Have fun!

1/27/2024 – The FIDE Trainers Commission is pleased to announce the winners of the 15th FIDE Trainer Awards 2023 and the Yuri Averbakh / Isaac Boleslavsky Award for the best book published in 2022. Ramesh R B, Abhijit Kunte and Djakhangir Agaragimov were chosen as the top trainers of the year. In the book category, a work co-authored by Sergei Tiviakov and Yulia Gokbulut received the top accolade, while Vassilios Kotronias and Mihail Marin were the runners-up. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

7/14/2023 – Usually regarded as a separate phase of the game, the endgame bears a tight connection with the middlegame (and in some extreme cases, with the opening). The process of simplifying to an endgame implies a series of subtleties and principles, highlighted on this video course. Ignoring them, could result into losing the middlegame advantage or getting the worst of it. How, when and which piece to exchange are the main questions requiring an accurate answer.

3/24/2023 – The "Special" of the current ChessBase Magazine is dedicated to Anthony Miles. In addition to a collection of 21 extensively analysed brilliant games of the first English grandmaster, you will also find a multifaceted contribution by Mihail Marin on Miles' chess understanding and playing style. Marin's database of 12 games from the years 1978 to 2000 is peppered with many training exercises. For the first time for ChessBase Magazine, our author also offers two interactive videos in which you can put your strategic understanding to the test. And of course Marin again introduces the "hero" of this issue in the introductory video to his contribution - you can watch the 20-minute video here.

9/29/2022 – Over an hour of video training: Mihail Marin explains how Caruana achieved a clear advantage with a novelty in the Rossolimo Variation against Gukesh - and then missed the right continuation. Alexei Shirov shows with one of his games against Jorden van Foreest why you have to reckon with the Moscow Variation against him in the Semi-Slav again! "The brilliancy" comes from Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou, who led his team to the championship title in the 2022 Final Four of College Chess in the USA. The "Lucky bag" with 29 annotated games - among others Romain Edouard, Mihal Krasenkow and Spyridon Kapnisis analyse 17 games from the German Bundesliga - is again full of surprises and suggestions. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as download or on DVD.

4/1/2022 – Opening videos: Robert Ris shows the latest trends in the Hennig-Schara Gambit. Mihail Marin presents a Fianchetto setup against the Gruenfeld and King's Indian. Total playing time of the videos: just under one hour. "Lucky bag" with over 80 analyses by Anish Giri, Nijat Abasov, Romain Edouard, Marie Sebag and many others. In "The brilliancy" between the new rapid chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and world champion Magnus Carlsen - commented by Anish Giri! - with 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 a trendy variation of the English Opening appeared on the board. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as download or on DVD.

1/29/2022 – Videos: Mihail Marin examines the Berlin Defence with 4.d3 d6 and finds some practical advantages for Black over the standard move 4...Bc5. Christian Bauer presents a new knight sacrifice in the Voronezh Variation of the Alekhine Defence. In this issue's "Brilliancy" Imre Hera took the initiative against Zoltan Almasi in the London System after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 b6 4.e3 Be7 5.h3 c5 6.Nc3! "The lucky bag" is particularly well stocked with 72 (!) extensively annotated games! Among them are analyses by Vladimir Belous, Spyridon Kapnisis, Michal Krasenkow, Krishnan Sasikiran and many others. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect supplement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as a download.

9/3/2021 – ChessBase Magazine # 203 with the "Special: Ian Nepmniachtchi" makes you want to follow the upcoming World Championship match in November. In the current issue, for example, our authors analyse their favorite game played by the 31-year-old Russian. The result is an exclusive collection of 21 annotated games. Karsten Müller puts the challenger's technique to the test in his contribution "Nepomniachtchi's Endgames". And Mihail Marin explores the question of what distinguishes Nepo's playing style. In addition to many training tasks, his strategy contribution includes an introductory video in which the GM from Romania outlines his findings. Take a look!

7/7/2021 – A multiple Romanian champion, Mihail Marin’s first major international success was achieved in 1987, when he qualified to the Interzonal Tournament played in Szirák. A famed author, he was described by Jeremy Silman as “one of the world’s finest chess writers”. Marin shares with us his most memorable game, a fantastic win with the white pieces played at the 1996 Chess Olympiad in Yerevan.

5/21/2021 – Practice what you preach: in a theme blitz tournament on playchess.com the well-known and popular ChessBase authors Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Mihail Marin, Robert Ris and Merijn van Delft showed why they like and what they know about the openings they present in their courses. If you missed the live transmission of the entertaining event on twitch.tv, here's a summary with highlights from the games.

5/17/2021 – The Fritztrainer thematic tournament starts today at 19:00 CEST (13:00 ET, 17:00 UTC) and will be hosted live on Twitch.tv by Daniel King and Arne Kaehler. The discount day, which starts Monday, 17 May, 18:00 CEST (12:00 ET, 16:00 UTC) offers a great opportunity to support your favourite Fritztrainer. But first and foremost, this tournament should be fun and it should offer us fine games with interesting openings to watch. We are looking forward to seeing the players in action: Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Mihail Marin, Merijn van Delft and Robert Ris.

5/14/2021 – On 17 May, 19:00 CEST (13:00 ET, 17:00 UTC) our Fritztrainers will compete against each other in a theme tournament with randomly picked Fritztrainer openings. Daniel King and Arne Kaehler will accompany them LIVE on Twitch.tv through the evening. Will the two Dutch IMs be able to hold their own against the Grandmasters from Uzbekistan and Romania? Which of the chosen Fritztrainer openings will perform best? Six different openings will be played, from the Benoni to the Traxler Counterattack.

2/3/2021 – In CBM Extra 199 we have detailed analyses, tactics and more from e.g. Jan Werle, Surya Ganguly, Mihail Marin and Adhiban Baskaran. The whole package is complemented by over 44000 newly played games in our update service. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as a download.

10/22/2020 – The English Opening (1.c4) might not be as popular as 1.e4 or 1.d4, but if White knows what he is doing the opening is powerful and dangerous. This DVD is a good way to refresh your repertoire or to start with the English and get an idea of how to play this fascinating opening without learning tons of theory.

8/28/2020 – The newest Master Class has arrived with Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian. The former world champion has left a huge legacy with his positional and strategical play. No wonder his nickname was “Iron Tigran” — he could defend positions better than almost anybody else! Dr. Karsten Müller, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Yannick Pelletier present high quality analysis and tactics training in the 13th instalment of the series. A must-have for your collection!

3/29/2020 – Each issue of the ChessBase Magazine offers a wealth of training material: lines to sharpen and o enlarge your opening repertoire, games from current top tournaments, analysis by top players, and training courses to improve your positional and tactical skills. Filiz Osmanodja, one of Germany's best women players, explains why she enjoys the ChessBase Magazine and why it is helpful for her.

1/21/2020 – First the work then the fun, Karsten welcomes back repeat Endgame Magic guest GM Mihail Marin. Live at 14:00 UTC (15:00 CET; 9:00 AM EST) and on-demand for ChessBase account holders. Don't have an account yet? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

12/24/2019 – Mihail Marin is considered as one of the best opening theoreticians and chess authors. Two years ago he married the painter and chess player Maria Yugina. Conrad Schormann had a chat with the couple that travels around the world, following their passions, painting and playing chess.

8/7/2019 – Alexei Shirov showed he can still play, at the 5th CellaVison Cup in Lund, Sweden. He won the tournament with 7 of 8 thanks to better tiebreak score ahead of Kryakvin and Külaots. Pia Cramling took the women's prize with 6 points. The tournament also featured paintings by Mariya Yugina, wife of GM Mihail Marin. | Photos: Lars OA Hedlund

7/17/2019 – Renowned trainer and author Grandmaster Mihail Marin is Karsten's guest today. Live at 13:00 UTC (15:00 CEST; 9:00 AM EDT) and on-demand for ChessBase account holders. Don't have an account yet? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

4/24/2019 – For a player who wants to learn a wide range of different middlegame positions, the English should definitely be high on the list. Flexibility in move orders can mean the difference between quiet or aggressive play. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO takes a deep dive into the new FritzTrainer by GM Mihal Marin, who previously authored one of the biggest literary works on the English opening and has now brought his experience to the video format in a new, updated repertoire. Glimpse his deep knowledge, acquired through years of practice, in order to gain confidence in this new opening weapon suitable in every type of setting, from long time control tournaments to online blitz.

10/29/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is English GM Daniel King. This week's show was recorded on October 9th, 2018 and is FREE to watch on-demand (for ChessBase Basic account members)!

10/9/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is Romanian GM Mihail Marin. This week's show is live at 15:00 CEST (13:00 UT; 9:00 AM EDT) and FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)!

7/17/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is GM Mihail Marin, who is in Hamburg again to record a DVD. Mihail also does the strategy column of the ChessBase Magazine. Watch live at 15:00 CEST (9:00 AM EDT) or later on-demand!