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

3/18/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko introduces her new ChessBase training course, focusing on one of her favourite openings, the King's Indian Attack (KIA). She explains its universal nature, emphasizing that players only need to learn a basic setup (1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.O-O, 5.d3), making it ideal for both creative and lazy players. She showcases how the KIA can be reached via e4 against various defences, including the French, Sicilian and Caro-Kann, offering flexibility in transpositions. A model game by Tigran Petrosian is analysed, demonstrating the strategic manoeuvring and attacking potential of the opening, particularly the h4-h5 push to weaken Black's kingside.

3/10/2025 – What is the Ultimate Underdog chess game, ever played? This is obviously a very difficult question to answer, and moreover, very subjective. Nonetheless, one game would probably be set in the top 10 list - Adams vs. Torre from 1920. In this game, which is suspiciously beautiful, Adams tries really hard to sacrifice his queen several times, against the Mexican super talent Torre. Apparently, Adams was unknown, and not that strong of a chess player after all. Even if it was simply a brilliant analysis, it remains brilliant, and worthy to appear on this show.

2/28/2025 – In the main line of the Yugoslav Attack, the ninth move Bc4 is nearly as popular as castling long. While Bd7 remains the most common response, Chris has some excellent alternative suggestions that can give Black an edge. Interestingly, Bc4 recently proved to be a nightmare for co-host Arne Kaehler, as Chris thoroughly enjoyed predicting and countering Arne’s "amateur" plans. | Photo: John Upham

2/27/2025 – Recently, Marc Andria Maurizzi was performing like a super GM at the Djerba Open, with 7.5 points out of 9 games. His performance was close to 2900! It was also a meeting of the two youngest GM's in French history - the youngest is Maurizzi, against the second-youngest Etienne Bacrot. The higher rated Bacrot didn't stand a chance against the underdog. Robert Ris analysed this crazy game.

2/25/2025 – Did you know how you can change the style and icon colour with ChessBase 18? There is a ‘Style’ tab at the top right. Click on it and you can select the dark mode, for example. Just watch the video to see how it works!

2/25/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko is sharing a game from the Canadian University Chess Championships, where she faced International Master Nicholas Vettese from the University of Toronto. Despite a strong start and some exciting tactical moments, the game ended in a loss. Svitlana walks through key moments, including her opening choices, the decision to play aggressively or defensively, and the importance of managing time and evaluating critical moments. Reflecting on the game, she highlights areas for improvement and emphasizes the valuable lessons learned from this loss.