3/1/2021 – As you surely know, in chess, as in other fields, it is important to study the past. But why is this the case? Our ChessBase Author tells us how he was told by his trainer to sit down at home with a book of the classics and think about what he found in them. Mattis discovered that – apart from the historical dimension – the process greatly enhanced his enjoyment and understanding of chess. He has a unique way of visualising the process.

2/28/2021 – Two strong grandmasters from different generations, currently living in countries far apart from each other, gave an online masterclass about a week ago. Levon Aronian and Oscar Panno discussed two impressive wins obtained by Aronian with the help of Robert Hungaski, who served as translator.

2/28/2021 – 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 16th part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman looks at ways to restrain the activity of your opponent. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

2/28/2021 – Hovhannes Gabuzyan goes into the last round of the 2021 Armenian Championship as the sole leader, a whole point ahead of Arman Pashikian and Samvel Ser-Tahakyan. The leader faces Tigran Petrosian with the black pieces. The games start at noon CET (11:00 UTC, 7:00 ET). Follow the action live.

2/28/2021 – The ChessBase Magazine celebrates its anniversary! The new issue, number 200(!), offers various extras, for example an exclusive collection of "My favorite game of the young Magnus Carlsen", a selection of 100 exquisite games with analyses by top players such as Carlsen, Kramnik, and many others, a review of the history of CBM by Rainer Knaak, and much more. The issue also includes "Pearls from Wijk": Jorden Van Foreest and Anish Giri, the winners of Tata Steel 2021, annotate their best games, as do Nils Grandelius, Pentala Harikrishna, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Plus training material and videos on openings, tactics, strategy and the endgame. Take a look!

2/27/2021 – Burkard Starke was first an enthusiastic chess player and later a committed trainer in Leipzig. He wrote instructive material and (chess) history books. He died a few days ago at the age of 79. An obituary by Rainer Knaak.

2/27/2021 – Hundreds of different Fritztrainers have been teaching us chess on ChessBase for more than a decade. Maybe you sometimes wonder what else the authors of these Fritztrainers do? "Meet the Fritztrainer" takes a look behind the scenes, telling us more about the private life of your favourite chess trainer. We already had the pleasure to talk to GM Chris Ward, and IM Merijn van Delft. One of our most active "Fritztrainers" is surely GM Nicholas Pert. The British Grandmaster tells us the stories of how he achieved his IM and GM titles, including a game analysis! | Photos: Nicholas Pert & Battersea chess club

2/27/2021 – Although many other endgame study composers created pawn endgames, two were outstanding — Nikolay Grigoriev and Mikhail Zinar. Columnist Siegfred Hornecker shares the story of the latter, an aviation technician turned teacher who was deeply passionate about chess. | Photo: arves.org

2/27/2021 – In the diagram position, White started to expose the central enemy king with 43.c5! dxc5 44.Rxc5 a3 - can you take things to victory from there?

2/26/2021 – A 10-player closed GM tournament was organized in Barcelona on February 16-24. Former French national champion Matthieu Cornette finished in clear first place on 7/9. His countryman, 13-year-old Marc Andria Maurizzi, got sole second place and obtained his second GM norm — Maurizzi is still in time to become France’s youngest-ever grandmaster. | Photo: Echiquier Bordelais

2/26/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King shows how White can try to bash the Gruenfeld with the seemingly modest 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2. But there is hidden menace.... | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

2/26/2021 – On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian, currently number five in the world, informed the Armenian Chess Federation about his decision to move to St. Louis and to play for the US. With Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez and Hikaru Nakamura, the USA has now five players among the top 20. A press release by the St. Louis Chess Club has details. | Photo: Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes