1/5/2022 – The new ChessBase Magazine #205 offers a wealth of ideas and recommendations for your repertoire. The topics of the eleven opening articles in the new issue range from the Benko Gambit (4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 e6), the French Tarrasch (8.0-0 g5!), the Ruy Lopez (5.Qe2) to recipes against the King's Indian (after 6.Be2). Sergey Grigoriants looks at a topic that will interest many chess fans: He presents an active repertoire against the London System! However, you have to be ready to sacrifice a pawn with 6...e5! and to continue playing "precisely and powerfully" afterwards. But that shouldn't be difficult for you after reading Grigoriant's article!

1/4/2022 – This "Weekly Show" is all about the World Rapid and Blitz Championships and a look ahead to 2022. Lawrence takes a close look at the battle Gukesh-Abdusattorov from the World Rapid, "a great display of resilience from the young Uzbek who went on to shock the field and win the entire tournament". | Lawrence’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here

1/4/2022 – In 1967 the city of Sousse (Tunisia) organised one of the most talked about Interzonal Tournaments in the history of chess. After 10 rounds Bobby Fischer led with 8½/10 but after quarrels with the organisers, the eccentric American decided to withdraw from the tournament and to wait for three more years before making his final attempt to become World Champion. The first Bicapawn International Chess Tournament that was played in Sousse at the end of 2021 went much more smoothly and was won by GM Misratdin Iskandarov from Azerbaijan.

1/4/2022 – On the last day of 2021, one of the most distinguished personalities in the world of chess passed away. On 31 December 2021 the Hungarian Grandmaster Gábor Kállai died at the age of 62. Diana Mihajlova knew Kallai well and looks back to the achievements of the Hungarian Grandmaster who also worked as a trainer, author, organizer, arbiter, captain, journalist, radio and TV commentator. | Photo: Facebook page of the Hungarian Chess Federation

1/4/2022 – A bishop usually has trouble when defending against a rook in the endgame - a lot of trouble. In the diagram position it is White to move and win but in the game White allowed Black to build a fortress and to secure a crucial draw. But do you see how White can win?

1/4/2022 – On Christmas Day, the James Webb Telescope began its long journey into space, as it is expected to provide new insights into the early history of the universe. The infinite expanses have inspired many artists. Music, the stars and chess are magically connected — says Jason Kouchak. | Photo: “Starlight” by Julian Paix

1/3/2022 – We know that our latest version of Fritz has a special mode that allows you to actually win games – which no 3500+ program would ever do. A lot of amateurs are having loads of fun, learning to spot combinations and by brilliancies in the process. We are also experimenting with strong GMs: will they too enjoy using Fritz 18 as a training partner? Here's someone who has tried.

1/3/2022 – At the beginning of the new year FIDE published its new World Ranking List. Magnus Carlsen gained nine rating points in the World Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi, and with a rating of 2865 he is now 35 points away from 2900 but 61 points ahead of Alireza Firouzja, the youngest world's number two of all time, who also leads the junior's list. Hou Yifan (2658) is the women's world number one, followed by Aleksandra Goryachkina with 2610. Zhu Jiner (2478) from China leads the "Girls" list.

1/2/2022 – Jon Speelman looks forwards and backwards as we enter the new year, looking at a game between Magnus Carlsen and World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov after recapping what went on in 2021. He also analyses three games from previous editions of the traditional Hastings Tournament, incluidng one of his, in which he played his “most outrageous move ever”! | Photo: Nigel Short, Lev Psakhis and Jon Speelman in Hastings (c. 1987) / Nigel Short’s Facebook page

1/2/2022 – The Ukrainian Championships took place in Kharkiv on 8-17 December 2021. The tournaments were nicely organized in the library of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. Andrei Volokitin clinched first place in the open section by winning both his games in the two final rounds, while Kateryna Dolzhykova surprisingly got the gold in the women’s tournament. | Photos: Ukrainian Chess Federation

1/2/2022 – In his ChessBase Magazine column "Topical opening traps", GM Rainer Knaak regularly examines examples from current tournament practice. He also presents three of them in the video analysis in each CBM. Especially for club players, his contributions offer exciting suggestions. Thanks to the range of topics, you should be able to find something for your own repertoire in every issue! In addition, the trap expert often shows variations that are rarely seen in top-level chess but must be on one's mind as a club chess player. We offer you an excerpt from Rainer Knaak's collection from ChessBase #205 here, including a video on the Budapest Gambit.

1/2/2022 – 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 60th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman shows how to convert the advantages of having the pair of bishops. | Photo: Tommy Grooten