World Championship Game 9: Six hours and 82 moves

4/21/2023 – Going for a mainstream system in elite-GM practice, Ding Liren managed to hold a draw with the black pieces in game 9 of the World Championship match. Ian Nepomniachtchi did get an edge, but could not break through Ding’s defences. The Russian GM thus kept his 1-point lead, as five games remain to be played in Astana. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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Opening Trends in 2023

4/21/2023 – Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco, is a renowned chess trainer and expert on opening theory. In this interview, GM Rogozenco shares his thoughts on the latest opening trends in ChessBase's Opening Encyclopaedia 2023. Prepare to improve your opening repertoire and stay ahead of your competition with the valuable insights.
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Ruslan Ponomariov: Typical opening mistakes

4/21/2023 – In Chess, making a mistake in the opening can instantly cost you the game or lead to a long-term disadvantage. Learning from mistakes and avoiding common pitfalls is crucial to improving your game. In his first Fritztrainer, former FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov shares basic patterns and universal themes to help beginners, amateurs, coaches, and professionals navigate the complexities of Chess openings and strengthen their skills.
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Erigaisi has the best start at the Satty Zhuldyz Festival

4/21/2023 – The Satty Zhuldyz Chess Festival is one of the many side events of the World Championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren in Astana. Twelve players, among them former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, were invited to play a rapid and blitz tournament. With a score of 3.5/4 Arjun Erigaisi had the best start in the strong and attractive field. | Photo: Vincent Keymer during the drawing of lots | Photos: Maria Emelianova and Damir Kuzhumov for Satty Shuldyz
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Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Ding vs Nepomniachtchi: Attacking the Nimzo!

4/21/2023 – In his Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris had an in-depth look at the "incredible" 8th game of the World Championship match. Ding opted for the Saemisch Variation (4.e3 & 5.a3) against the Nimzo-Indian and came well-prepared with the amazing concept of 9.Ra2!?, which only had been seen a few times before. This led to an exciting game, in which Ding, however, missed several chances to win. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

New: CBM Extra #212

4/20/2023 – The new ChessBase Magazine Extra #212 was just published! And offers a lot: e.g. opening videos with ideas for your repertoire, the "Brilliancy", the "Lucky Bag", and an update service to keep your database up-to-date. A lot of chess, beautiful chess and instructive chess!

World Championship Game 8: More drama, Ding misses big chance

4/20/2023 – Drama continues to unfold at the World Championship match in Astana. Following four decisive games, Ding Liren played enterprisingly with the white pieces and gained a decisive advantage. Amid a tactical middlegame, Ian Nepomniachtchi was resourceful in defence, as he also garnered a big lead on the clock. Nepo managed to escape with a draw and continues to have a 1-point lead on the scoreboard. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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"The World" wins against Kazakhstan in Astana

4/20/2023 – In Astana, in parallel to the World Championship match, a team of the best Kazakh women players played a blitz and rapid match against a team from "The World". "The World" team won both events, the rapid and the blitz match. "The World" team was led by former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan, who is still the world's number on the women's ranking list. In an interview she revealed her thoughts about the development of women's chess. | Photos: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

Kramnik on life after chess, young talents and Magnus Carlsen

4/20/2023 – Vladimir Kramnik recently participated at the Armageddon Series organized by World Chess in Berlin. In a 35-minute interview conducted in the German capital, the former world champion talked about his new projects, his work with Indian talents and Alireza Firouzja, and his assessment of Magnus Carlsen’s place in the history of the sport. His conclusion: “He just changed chess. Chess is Magnus Carlsen.” | Photo: World Chess
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Game of the Week #564: Ding Liren vs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 6

4/19/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #564, Merijn van Delft continues to follow the World Championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren. Merijn takes a close look at game 6, which Ding won. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.
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Remembering Włodzimierz Schmidt (10 April 1943 – 1 April 2023)

4/19/2023 – Włodzimierz Schmidt was the first Polish grandmaster to acquire the title not on an honorary basis, but by fulfilling the norms. For a long time, the native of Poznan was the best Polish player, later a sought-after coach. He died on 1 April, shortly before his 80th birthday. An obituary by Paul Werner Wagner. | Photo: www.piit.org.pl/
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Explained by the engineers! - Who is Buddy?

4/19/2023 – Today: Matthias Wuellenweber shows us who Buddy is, and how he can improve your chess analysis. 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.
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Kazakhstan vs "The World": "The World" keeps its lead

4/19/2023 – The second day of the match between the Kazakh women's team and the World Women's Team, which is taking place in Astana in parallel with the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi, ended in a 16-16 draw. The World Team is still in the lead: after two days of rapid chess, the score is 34.5 to 29.5 for the World Team. But the best player so far has been 16-year-old Kazakh Alua Nurmanova (pictured) with 7.0/8. | Photo: Alua Nurmanova at the FIDE World and Rapid Blitz Championships 2023 | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Chess player disqualified for...

4/19/2023 – impersonating a woman! At the Kenya Open, something unique happened when a man was caught playing in the women’s section. Registered as an unrated player, he was wearing a hijab (head and shoulder covering) typical of a Muslim woman, with a niqaab (face covering).

World Championship Game 7: Ding crashes and burns in time trouble

4/18/2023 – A dramatic seventh game saw Ian Nepomniachtchi taking the lead for a third time at the World Championship match in Astana. Ding Liren shocked Nepo and the audience by playing the French Defence, which led to a double-edged position. While Ding managed to solve his problems and gain the initiative, he also got in deep time trouble. With only seconds on his clock and no increment, he blundered the game away. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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Menorca Open: Ten players share first place

4/18/2023 – Nearly 300 chess enthusiasts visited the island of Menorca last week to take part in the 2nd International Chess Festival, including several grandmasters. After nine rounds ten players with 7.0/9 each shared the lead in the strong open tournament. But the young Indian Gukesh had the best tiebreak and was declared tournament winner.
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"Kazakhstan vs The World": "The World" takes the lead

4/18/2023 – A women's match between a Kazakh selection and a world selection began yesterday in Kazakhstan. The match will be played over two days of rapid chess and one day of blitz. On the first day, the World Team (photo), led by Hou Yifan, took a clear lead. | Photos: David Llada /FIDE
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When the king is cut off

4/18/2023 – In the diagram position Black is two pawns down and in trouble. But Black has an active king and an active rook - enough to save the game. What should Black do to hold the draw?

The new Opening Encyclopaedia 2023 - More content. More ideas.

4/18/2023 – Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,396 (!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas and high-quality analyses! In the 2023 edition, 66 new major articles and 384 new or updated opening overviews have been added. In addition: 70 top-class videos with 29 hours of playing time! For beginners, there is a tutorial for each opening area in which the most important ideas and goals are presented. The icing on the cake: Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco presents the current opening trends in world-class chess. Secure the decisive advantage for yourself with this unique opening library!
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Robert Ris: Top 10 blunders in World Championship matches

4/18/2023 – When tension is at its highest, even the very best players in the world can blunder games in one move. Now that four out of six games have finished decisively at the World Championship match in Astana — with no lack of strategic and tactical errors — let us take a look at the top 10 blunders from World Championship history.
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My notes on Nepo-Ding

4/17/2023 – Today is a free day at the Astana World Championship. Nothing to see, no move coming over in real time. But: we have a special treat for you! Grandmaster Efstratios Grivas, trainer and FIDE international organizer, has sent us some deeply annotated games, actually the last three decisive encounters. Go through them on our replay app, learn and enjoy.
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Sebastian Siebrecht: Really? 50 already?

4/17/2023 – Hard to believe - Sebastian Siebrecht from Germany, the world's tallest Grandmaster, who always seems to be so dynamic and youthful, just turned 50. Yesterday, the Grandmaster from Essen, who is also a successful organiser and chess ambassador, celebrated his jubilee. Congratulations!
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On Chess, Spirituality, and Philosophy

4/17/2023 – This is a deep conversation with GM Jonathan Rowson. The Scottish GM is not only a strong players (peak rating of 2599), but also a deep thinker, a spiritual person, a philosopher and much more. In this conversation with IM Sagar Shah, Jonathan speaks about how he wrote books like Seven Deadly Chess Sins and Chess for Zebras as well as his latest book - Moves that Matter. Jonathan is currently in India and he speaks about his affiliation to the country and how it has grown on him.

Sixty years on

4/16/2023 – Amid the riveting World Championship match in Astana, Jon Speelman looks back on the 1963 match for the world title between Mikhail Botvinnik and Tigran Petrosian. “The reason I’m returning to it is not just nostalgia, but because of the parallels between how the World Championship debutants Tigran Petrosian and Ding Liren performed at the start. Both were rather terrified”. | Photo: TASS Agency (1963)
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