7/9/2025 – Svitlana presents an unconventional yet effective way to combat the English Opening by responding with 1...e5 and then an early ...h5, aiming to unsettle White's typical kingside fianchetto plans. The line offers dynamic attacking potential with ideas like ...h4, or even ...g5, depending on how White responds, and even top blitz players have experimented with it. While engines consider some White responses (like Nf3 followed by h4) slightly better, the surprise value and aggressive intent behind this line make it a strong practical weapon, especially in blitz and rapid games.

7/7/2025 – Robert Ris faces off against the legendary Mikhail Tal in Fritz 20's grandmaster-level mode. With playful banter and strategic reflections, he navigates a tense middlegame filled with attacking chances, tactical bluffs and surprising defences. Despite some miscalculations and a critical blunder that nearly costs him the game, Robert defends resiliently, showcasing both fighting spirit and self-deprecating humour. Finally, after a flurry of complications and a tense queen endgame, the game concludes in a threefold repetition - a well-earned draw against one of history's most fearsome attackers.

6/30/2025 – GM Chris Ward dissects a high-level Dragon game between Hikaru Nakamura and Frederik Svane, showcasing a sharp variation known as the h5 Dragadorf. Alongside detailed tactical motifs - like knight sacrifices, queen traps and pawn breaks - Chris emphasizes how even small imprecisions can lead to brutal consequences in this complex opening. He also revisits viewer questions from the previous episode. The episode is highlighting the Dragadorf's growing strength and teasing the potential for a full ChessBase course on this potent setup. | Photo: John Upham

6/28/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana offers a comprehensive guide on how to play against the King's Gambit, an aggressive and historic opening that begins with 1.e4 e5 2.f4. While it's less common in high-level chess today, it still appears in club-level play and can lead to sharp tactical battles. Svitlana walks through multiple lines, including sideline traps and the main variations with 3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4, emphasising key defensive setups for Black, such as the flexible ...Nf6 line and the importance of early counterplay. She highlights thematic tactics, development priorities, and typical traps, ultimately showing how to neutralize White's initiative and even seize the advantage with correct preparation.

6/27/2025 – In this episode of The Underdog with Robert Ris, we witness 13-year-old IM Kagan Ahmad from Azerbaijan defeating world blitz legend Hikaru Nakamura in a dramatic 112-move battle during the World Blitz Team Championship. Despite Hikaru’s deep experience and early initiative in a quiet Anti-Sicilian, he blunders with 21.h4, falling into a tactical shot Nxe5, allowing Ahmad to seize material and survive. Ahmad defends tenaciously, even under extreme time pressure, finding key tactical resources like Qa2 and Qf6 with only seconds on the clock. The endgame sees Hikaru applying relentless pressure, but Ahmad methodically converts his advantage and finishes with a brilliant checkmate sequence—proving that even the greatest can be toppled, and that this young prodigy might soon be making waves in the global chess scene.

6/26/2025 – In this entertaining and instructive video, WIM Svitlana Demchenko faced the "Bobby Fischer" engine from Fritz 20 in a dynamic training match. She played the Scotch Gambit and managed to gain a clear advantage through sharp tactical play, sacrificing material for initiative and space. Despite a midgame slip that dropped her evaluation and confidence, she regrouped and navigated a complex endgame with precision, ultimately securing the win. The game showcased both instructive mistakes and brilliant ideas, making it a realistic and valuable learning experience rather than a flawless engine battle.

6/14/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana gives an in-depth introduction to the Evans Gambit, a sharp and aggressive opening in the Italian Game that sacrifices a pawn to gain rapid development and attacking chances. She explains the main ideas for both sides, key traps, and various defensive setups for Black, emphasizing how crucial preparation and understanding of typical tactical patterns are. The lesson concludes with historical context, including a look at the famous "Evergreen Game" by Anderssen, and encourages viewers to explore this opening for its practical surprise value and rich attacking potential.

6/6/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana's Smart Moves, WGM Svitlana Demchenko dives into some of the most exciting tactical moments from Norway Chess 2025. She challenges viewers to sharpen their calculation skills by solving real-game puzzles featuring top grandmasters. Get ready to put your tactics to the test!

5/30/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana's Smart Moves, Svitlana and Arne analyse a historic World Championship game from the 1985 match between Karpov and Kasparov. The focus is on Kasparov's bold pawn sacrifice, 9...d5, in the Sicilian, which showcases deep home preparation and leads to him getting a powerful "octopus knight" on d3. The analysis reveals how Kasparov's strategic mastery and piece coordination slowly restricted Karpov's position until it collapsed under pressure. The episode highlights how classical games still offer valuable lessons, especially in regard to positional dominance and long-term planning.

5/28/2025 – Chris Ward and Arne dive into recent developments in the Dragon and Dragadorf variations of the Sicilian Defence, analysing three instructive games. They focus particularly on hybrid lines like the Dragadorf, where Black mixes ideas from both the Dragon and Najdorf, experimenting with early ...a6 and ...h5 setups. A major highlight is the analysis of a game by a 14-year-old Vietnamese IM, who has become the most prominent adopter of a unique variation still lacking a formal name. The episode is filled with tactical lessons, strategic insights, and humorous commentary, all while inviting viewers to help name the emerging system. | Photo: John Upham

5/23/2025 – In this Svitlana Demchenko and Arne Kaehler reflect on the Biel Chess Festival, which they describe as one of the most joyful and diverse chess events in Europe. They highlight a legendary 2009 game between Alexander Morozevich and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL), showcasing chaotic Sicilian Najdorf tactics, razor-sharp sacrifices, and an astonishing defensive resource by MVL — a rook that remained untaken for 24 moves! The game is celebrated as one of the wildest and most creative ever played, pushing the boundaries of classical chess patterns.

5/20/2025 – During the Grenke Chess Open in Karlsruhe, nearly 3,000 players gathered to compete in either classical chess or the freestyle variant. It was an ideal opportunity to find out how accurately the participants could assess their own chess expertise. Arne Kaehler interviewed more than 50 players listed in the MegaDatabase, asking them to rate themselves in opening theory, playing style (aggressive or positional), and how often they reach endgames in their careers.

5/17/2025 – The Gotham Chess European Tour made a stop in Berlin on 15 May 2024, where over 400 guests experienced a unique chess event with Levy Rozman, Georgios Souleidis and Judit Polgar. In addition to show formats such as "Guess the Elo", blitz games and interviews, technical perfection and plenty of humour provided the best entertainment. The event ended with a standing ovation and the prospect of a new European tour in the coming years. | All photos: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

5/14/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana’s Smart Moves, Svitlana Demchenko introduces the Hedgehog pawn structure, a strategic setup common in the Sicilian Defense, featuring black pawns on a6, b6, d6, and e6. She emphasizes the educational value of understanding pawn structures for overall middle-game improvement, using a Kasparov–Kramnik game as a case study. Svitlana explains typical plans for both sides: white often uses space advantage and looks for a queenside breakthrough with moves like b4 and c5, while black prepares central or queenside pawn breaks like d5 or b5, and, much to Arne's delight, may even launch a kingside attack with …g5. But it might be better to stick to the queenside pawn advancing!

4/29/2025 – GM Chris Ward introduces a fresh and evolving variation in the Sicilian Dragon, humorously dubbed the "Accelerated Dragadorf", which merges dragon setups with thematic ideas from the Najdorf. He analyzes a complex game featuring this system, highlighting tactical motifs, a strong bishop on e5, and a dominant performance by young Vietnamese IM Dau Khuong Duy. The second part covers a clean positional win in a more traditional Dragon, culminating in a delightful rook endgame puzzle, followed by Chris sharing personal insights on his early use of chess engines like Fritz. | Photo: John Upham

4/19/2025 – In this insightful discussion, Dr. Karsten Müller reflects on his evolution as a chess player, particularly his transformation from an aggressive "Hyperactivist" to a more universal and pragmatic style. Through a comparison of his early years and later career, Müller's playing style is analysed using the ChessBase Style Report. His experiences highlight how his strengths developed over time and how this shift mirrors broader patterns in chess players' evolution.

4/11/2025 – Svitlana presents to us an insightful analysis of the first two decisive games in the Women's World Chess Championship match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi, focusing particularly on their endgames. Both games, though seemingly equal in rook endgames, were decided by subtle inaccuracies and the strategic importance of king activity and piece placement. Svitlana emphasizes how small endgame advantages—such as a more active king or minor positional tweaks—can determine the outcome even in positions that look like simple draws.

3/27/2025 – In this special March edition of the Monthly Dragon, GM Chris Ward takes us on a nostalgic yet deeply instructive journey through two of his own classic games. Rather than focusing solely on cutting-edge theory, Chris highlights the enduring value of tactical motifs, pattern recognition, and sharp attacking ideas — all with the fiery flair of the Dragon! | Photo: John Upham