10/18/2022 – Following on from ‘Part 1: Understanding The Dragon’ where important themes and concepts were explained, now it’s time to delve into the theory that has shaped this exciting opening over the years. From reasons why once popular variations are no more (but with revival suggestions!) to coverage of the more modern systems currently deployed by the World’s elite, this two-parter has it all!

10/10/2022 – Do you have a fantastic memory and a liking for sharp positions, the evaluations of which can change with a few taps of a computer button? If so, then the main lines of the Open Sicilian are for you. But if you are one of the 99% of chess players who do NOT fall into this category, and open 1 e4, then the Closed Sicilian is a worthwhile option. The Closed Sicilian offers White a set of easy-to-understand plans, the chance of a kingside attack and little danger of being outgunned by tactics in the opening.

9/6/2022 – In almost every chess game there comes a moment when you just can't go on without tactics. You must strike, because nothing is more annoying than missing a winning combination in the decisive situation, and thus giving away the advantage you have worked for the whole game. So it is vital to train tactics properly - and Master Class Tactics offers you the perfect tool for this! On this Fritztrainer, IM Oliver Reeh has compiled his favorites from the CBM column " Tune your Tactics" issues 186 to 208.

9/6/2022 – Until now, Fabiano Caruana's popular Fritztrainer series "Navigating the Ruy Lopez" was only available as download or on DVD and ran only on Windows or Mac OS. But since a few days the video series is also available as stream on the ChessBase video page and can also be accessed on mobile devices. Now, after ordering a download you can start the videos immediately in your browser. And customers who bought DVDs months ago can also enjoy the new streaming function!

8/29/2022 – Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King’s Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. These DVDs contain all you need to know to play the King's Gambit. This week on offer: Power Play 27 & 28 - Instead of €54.90 now only €39.90!

8/23/2022 – The video course presents a fine selection of 33 classic chess games, played between the 18th century and the beginning of the second world war. Starting with François-André Danican Philidor through to Mikhail Botvinnik, these significant games, played by the greatest players of their times, are treasures of chess history. They are also a part of chess culture, and every aspiring chess player or simply lover of the game of chess, should know them.

8/9/2022 – For some time now, we’ve known that the strongest chess engines like to push their flank pawns up the board. This has led to an interesting system, with which we can meet the Grunfeld and the King’s Indian. Studying the mainlines is time consuming, and it is possible that our opponents may know the typical plans in those openings better than us, right? Therefore, it is a great idea to take Grunfeld and King’s Indian players out of their comfort-zone right from the start!

8/2/2022 – Do you find the Sicilian difficult to cope with? Are you afraid to play the Sicilian with White because you do not want to learn a huge amount of variations by heart? Well, Roeland Pruijssers and Nico Zwirs can help. The two Dutchmen have created a complete repertoire against the Sicilian, based on the Open Sicilian. A repertoire that is easy to learn. Only this week: €69.90 instead of €99.90!

7/28/2022 – The best way to improve at chess is to carefully study master games, stop at certain positions and think about candidate moves. Doing this on your own can be difficult and tiresome, but on this video course, you will be guided by world renowned trainers!

7/13/2022 – In his new video course, the French top grandmaster Romain Edouard shows you how to win games by seizing the initiative with sacrifices. The course consists of two volumes: In the first volume, Edouard demonstrates patterns, and in the second course you are invited to test your knowledge. All new courses can now also be watched via stream, e.g. on mobile devices!

6/29/2022 – For well over 20 years, ChessBase has provided video courses on just about every chess topic under the sun, but they were also only available to Windows users. Now that is not only no longer true, but you can watch them on just about any system with a modern browser, from Macintosh to Linux... to smartphones even! Here is a guide on how, as well as some special tips!

6/27/2022 – These video courses feature a black repertoire against 1.d4, 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended variations are easy to learn and not difficult to remember, but also pose White serious challenges.

6/9/2022 – Are you an 'Activist', a 'Theorist', a 'Reflector' or a 'Pragmatist’, the four types of players identified by Karsten Müller and Luis Engel in their ChessBase course about player types? It might help to know, and in a review in the "New in Chess Magazine" English Grandmaster Matthew Sadler talks about the pros and cons of such a model and argues that it is useful to identify your strengths and weaknesses if you want to improve your game.

5/4/2022 – The French Defence is one of the most popular openings — from club player to grandmaster. It’s a very solid opening against 1.e4, but it leaves room for counterplay and initiative. In this two-volume video course, former world champion and star trainer Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows you the ins and outs of this hugely complex opening.

3/7/2022 – For those who haven’t recently done any calculation training, there is the Calculation Training Booster. After all, every chess brain needs regular stimulation, as you don’t want to become a lazy player - avoiding calculating critical variations or simply failing to calculate properly.

2/28/2022 – The Grandmasters Dr. Karsten Mueller and Luis Engel have set a ball rolling in Germany with their latest Fritztrainer. GM Lars Bo Hansen designed the four-player model in 2005, and was perhaps ahead of his time. In the 5-part interview with Dr. Karsten Mueller, all four player types are discussed in detail. Today - The Summary, and questions about all four types.

2/22/2022 – Are you looking for a simple, easy-to-learn repertoire against 1.e4? Then the Scandinavian with 3…Qd8 is yours! After 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 the retreat 3…Qd8 leads to a very solid type position for Black. At the expense of two tempi, the pawn structure has been defined, and hence a clear developing plan can be made for our minor pieces.

2/20/2022 – The Grandmasters Dr. Karsten Mueller and Luis Engel have set a ball rolling in Germany with their latest Fritztrainer. GM Lars Bo Hansen designed the four-player model in 2005, and was perhaps ahead of his time. In the 5-part interview with Dr. Karsten Mueller, all four player types are discussed in detail. Today - The Theorist.

2/13/2022 – The Grandmasters Dr. Karsten Mueller and Luis Engel have set a ball rolling in Germany with their latest Fritztrainer. GM Lars Bo Hansen designed the four-player model in 2005, and was perhaps ahead of his time. In the 5-part interview with Dr. Karsten Mueller, all four player types are discussed in detail. Today - The Pragmatic.

2/7/2022 – What is the Hippopotamus system of defence? The idea is that, at the beginning of the game, Black develops within his own first three ranks. He constructs a solid, flexible and hopefully stable position, awaiting events. At the right moment, he will strike back! The Hippopotamus was given the name by an eccentric English amateur player JC Thompson, back in the 1950’s. It seems as good a name as any. Given the right conditions, Black will emerge from the chessboard swamp and crush all before them.

2/6/2022 – The Grandmasters Dr. Karsten Mueller and Luis Engel have set a ball rolling in Germany with their latest Fritztrainer. GM Lars Bo Hansen designed the four-player model in 2005, and was perhaps ahead of his time. In the 5-part interview with Dr. Karsten Mueller, all four player types are discussed in detail. Today - The Reflector.

1/30/2022 – The Grandmasters Dr. Karsten Mueller and Luis Engel have set a ball rolling in Germany with their latest Fritztrainer. GM Lars Bo Hansen designed the four-player model in 2005, and was perhaps ahead of his time. In the 5-part interview with Dr. Karsten Mueller, all four player types are discussed in detail. Today - The Activist.

1/12/2022 – The Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4) is a great repertoire addition for any player looking for a solid yet active opening, which relies more on understanding rather than pure memorization. The popularity of the Scotch rose exponentially after Garry Kasparov employed it in the World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov in 1990, and the opening has stayed in style ever since.

12/21/2021 – Playing styles in chess are an important and thus often discussed topic. GM Dr. Karsten Müller and GM Luis Engel take up a model by GM Lars Bo Hansen based on 4 player types - namely ‘activists’, ‘pragmatics’, ‘theoreticians’ and so-called ‘reflectors’. Their respective strengths and weaknesses are explained with the help of many examples, enabling the reader to try and assign himself or herself to one or the other player type.