3/20/2023 – Rainer Knaak was born on 16 March 1953 in Pasewalk, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In 1974, at the age of 21, Knaak became the then youngest grandmaster in the world. The mathematician is a 5-time champion of the German Democratic Republic, and always caused a stir with his optimistic and elegant attacking style. Knaak was also successful as an author. He published numerous books and began working for ChessBase in 1994. He was editor-in-chief of ChessBase Magazine and published a number of popular ChessBase DVDs.

3/20/2023 – Day 3 of the American Cup saw four players eliminated from the tournament, as the first matches of the Elimination Bracket took place. Levon Aronian knocked out Sam Sevian, while Sam Shankland won a hotly contested playoff against Ray Robson. Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Tatev Abrahamyan took down Katerina Nemcova, while newcomer WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan sent Anna Zatonskih home with a 1½-½ victory. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/19/2023 – When choosing a move during a game of chess, there will be a compromise between instinct and calculation. In reasonably clear positions, you may be able to rely on the former with just a few checks for blunders, but there are situations which require you to go deeper into the position. At times, if nothing is satisfactory after exploring the alternatives, it may be advisable to bluff and go for a line which you believe to be worse if they find a difficult resource but better if they fail to find this (near) refutation.

3/19/2023 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 117th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman shows a game of Dutch author Willy Hendriks and continues to explain why it is good to study and to play the Sicilian. | Photo: Pascal Simon

3/19/2023 – Day 2 of the American Cup saw the end of the first stage of the Champions Bracket, with several matches (Caruana-Robson, So-Shankland, Aronian-Dominguez) all decided in a rapid playoff. Meanwhile Nakamura was able to draw the second classical game after winning yesterday, relegating Sevian to the Elimination Bracket. In the Women’s Section, favorites Krush, Lee, and Tokhirjonova all managed to win their second games despite only needing a draw, while Paikidze defeated Zatonskih in convincing fashion to win their match 1½-½. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/18/2023 – Irina Bulmaga is the 30th highest-rated woman player in the world. Last month, she bravely decided to play in the open section of the Romanian Championship, when only a final-round loss prevented her from reaching the podium. Here she tells us the story of her time in Sebes, focusing on her inner thoughts, presented as a candid dialogue with her own brain. She concludes: “Brain and I are thankful. GM or not, we have a purpose. Our life is about chess and making girls and women believe”. | Photo: Romanian Chess Federation

3/16/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #559, Merijn van Delft looks at the game Alexey Sarana vs Anton Korobov, played at the European Championship in Vrnacka Banja. The game was instructive and tense and turned out to be crucial for the tournament. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/15/2023 – Close to 250 games were played daily for 11 rounds at the European Championship that came to an end on Monday. The players were fighting for an entrance to the World Championship cycle via the World Cup, which made for very competitive struggles. Karsten Müller kept an eye on the games, and sent us many notable endgames with instructive analyses. Replay here ten of his finds! | Pictured: Ellen Fredericia Nilssen | Photo: European Chess Union

3/15/2023 – Sagar Shah has been a chess player, coach, journalist, YouTuber, entrepreneur and more. In his journey through different countries and tournaments, he has collected plenty of valuable experience to share. In his new series ‘From the CEO’s Desk’, he shares his musings and thoughts about various things — sometimes related to chess, and sometimes just life. Today, Sagar takes a closer look at the deep-rooted emotions and fears of a chess player, drawing parallels with his own life.

3/15/2023 – The internationally successful Japanese chess manga "Blitz" stems from the imagination of Cédric Biscay, was inked by mangaka Daitaro Nishihara and put into the grids by co-scenarist Tsukasa Mori. "Blitz" impresses with its accurate and detailed artwork and with its precise depiction of the chess game. A review by Tatiana Flores. | Photo: IWA/Shibuya Productions

3/14/2023 – The 11th edition of the Norway Chess Tournament is scheduled to take place from May 29 to June 9 in Stavanger. A rejuvenated lineup will see Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Dommaraju Gukesh making their debuts at the Norwegian super-tournament. Magnus Carlsen, who remarkably won the event five times, will also be present, alongside the likes of Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So.

3/14/2023 – Today: Jeroen Van den Belt shows us the best positional search option, ChessBase has ever had. In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.