5/15/2026 – I have a look at the game Caruana-Firouzja from Superbet Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw. White chose quite an aggressive line against the Sicilian Kan by sacrificing a pawn for a dangerous initiative. Due to its lack in development and weakened dark-squares, Black is having a hard time neutralizing White's attacking aspiration. Caruana eventually transformed his attack into a winning endgame with an extra exchange but failed to convert his naterial plus. In this episode, I'll give you an update on the current theoretical state of this variation and share some illustrative examples.

4/29/2026 – This time a very spectacular attack for Black in the Sicilian Rossolimo with 3...e6. In the game Ljepic-Anton Guijarro from the European Individual Championships in Katowice the players were following the opening theory for quite some time. White's plan of expanding on the queenside was nicely met by a powerful bishop sacrifice on h2, offering Black two pawns for the piece. Although objectively speaking White's position was still OK, from a practical perspective it seemed pretty difficult for him to navigate these complications, as Black's pawncentre dominated the board and prevented White from activating its forces. A true modelgame how to play against the Rossolimo and an inspiring performance for all of us seeing the uselessness of White's extra rook.

4/20/2026 – In this episode, we'll have a look at one of his three spectacular victories which was played in the second game of match. Erdogmus didn't show any fear by entering the sharp Anti-Moscow Variation of the Slav. The Bulgarian superstar is an absolute top specialist in this field and contributed massively to the development of this line 20 years ago. It seemed like White got the upper hand out of the opening, but one mistake enabled Black to come back into the game. After the exchange of queens a razorsharp position ensued in which both sides tried to promote a passed pawn. By chosing the wrong square for his king, the Bulgarian committed the decisive blunder and soon lost. An absolutely incredible fight!

4/13/2026 – Sindarov's play at the Candidates Tournament is absolutely impressive and we have a look at his 10th round game against Praggnanandhaa. Did he take a lot of risks opting for a theoretical piece sacrifice in a sharp line of the Queen's Gambit Declined? Or was it actually a very clever practical decision, offering risk-free attacking chances against the opponent's king? In this episode I'll give you my take on his approach and discuss the current theoretical state of this opening variation.

4/7/2026 – An exciting piece of home preparation was seen in the game Caruana-Bluebaum. Fabi introduced a new concept in the Petroff with 4.Nc4, followed by placing the knight on e3 and pushing the pawn to f5. Bluebaum was clearly caught by surprise and failed to come up with an adequate answer. In a position with opposite-castled kings White's attack was really fast and it was checkmate on move 28!

3/27/2026 – Viktor Korchnoi's favorite opening used to be the French Defense, featuring some positionally risky lines with a lot of fighting spirit. That's what Viktor Lvovich loved to play and so we are going to have a look at some spectacular games he played in this opening.

3/23/2026 – I will discuss in this week's episode the latest ideas in the Marshall Gambit of the Slav. Recently some very important games have been played in this sharp opening, which once again proves that it's an excellent opening to play for a win from the very start. A few weeks ago, I played a pretty cool game against Croatian GM Ivan Zaja and managed to win with Black in only 23 moves.

3/6/2026 – This week's show features two top grandmaster games in which Black quickly collapsed against the Italian Opening. In the first game, Yakubboev came up with a spectacular theoretical innovation in his game with Anton. The Uzbek GM surprised his opponent with a nicely prepared exchange sacrifice which enabled him to develop a powerful attack. Some days later at the American Cup, Sevian repeated the same variation against Dominguez, who deviated on move 11. There followed a position with major pieces and opposite-coloured bishops in which should be doing fine. However, it turned out that Black's problems were difficult to solve OTB and White again managed to win in spectacular style.

3/2/2026 – Two weeks ago we looked at a spectacular victory by Mamedyarov at the National championship of Azerbaijan. The pre-tournament favorite eventually managed to reach the final but was surprisingly defeated by GM Muradli. It seemed as if both players surprised each other with the Open Catalan (5...Bd7) and in a well-known theoretical position Mamedyarov committed the decisive blunder already on move 12. This variation used to be quite popular 10-15 years ago, but isn't seen often any longer. In this episode I'll offer an overview of the theoretical possibilities for both sides.

2/24/2026 – Dutch chess legend Jan Timman passed away earlier this week at the age of 74. In this week's show I'd like to pay tribute to his amazing chess career and share my personal experiences with Jan. I have a look at his spectacular victory in Hilversum, 1985 against the Garry Kasparov. It was Kasparov's first loss as a World Champion, and although it was perhaps not Jan's best game one could see the creative and adventurous attitude which were characteristic for him and brought him so many successes.

2/18/2026 – I have a look the game Mamedyarov-Ibrahimli from the second round of the Azerbaijan Championships. Interestingly, the two players followed for a very long time my game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from Reykjavik 2013! In a Flohr-Mikenas System, White voluntarily accepted to play with isolated doubled pawns on the c-file in order to develop a lot of play with its major pieces through the center. The similarities between both games is simply striking and are absolute modelgames from White's perspective. Still, a well-prepared Black player should be able to neutralize this concept, but when caught by surprise I can tell you from my own experience that these positions are highly unpleasant to play with Black!

2/10/2026 – One more miniature from the Tata Steel Masters. In round 10 the game between the two Candidates Matthias Bluebaum and Anish Giri featured a rather unusual opening line. After the moves 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 Black gives up its dark-squared bishop on c3 and locks up the centre and places its pawn on e5. This invention was made back in 1969 by the Dutch IM Johan Barendregt and has recently been seen in quite a number of games. The imbalances in the structures guarantee fire on the board and one mistake may decide one's fate. In this episode of the Fast & Furious show you'll learn more about the ins and outs of this trendy line!

1/26/2026 – In my next Fast & Furious show I am having a closer look at the spectacular 27-move victory of Javokhir Sindarov with the Black pieces against Matthias Bluebaum. Against the Krasenkow Variation of the King's Indian (6.h3) the young Uzbek quickly left well-known territory just to avoid a theoretical battle. An excellent practical decision, as Bluebaum clearly didn't feel comfortable in the complicated middlegame and quickly lost track. In this installment I'll explain both sides their thematical plans and explain why one shouldn't automatically trust the engine's evaluation.

1/11/2026 – In the game Wei Yi-So, White opted for the Zukertort System which is gaining more popularity lately. In my video course The Menacing Colle & Zukertort System for the Club Player I discussed the unusual concept with castling queenside for White and I am glad to see the Chinese top player followed by recommendation. Despite the disappointing result, White had all the reasons to be satisfied with the outcome of the opening and got a promising attack. In timetrouble some huge chances to convert were not taken and White even lost due to a cruel blunder.

1/8/2026 – First of all, I'd like to wish the viewers all the best for the New Year 2026 with a lot of exciting Fast & Furious episodes! In the last week of 2025 Magnus Carlsen managed to add two more World Championships to his CV by winning both the Rapid and Blitz section. I have a look at his black game against Artemiev from the Rapid event, in which he chose one of his favorite lines in the Anti-Meran which had served the Norwegian pretty well on previous occasions. In the current game, things were less fun for Black due to a grave error on move 15 after which White was completely winning. Come and watch if you are interested in learning more about this specific variation!

12/22/2025 – Twenty years after Topalov’s legendary knight sacrifice in San Luis, history echoed on the same stage. Ivan Cheparinov revisited the famous Najdorf line against Alexey Shirov — and after a 65-minute think on move 21, “Fire on the Board” struck back with a brilliant finish. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/16/2025 – This week we are having a look at a spectacular miniature played in the Greek Championships. The game Nikolaidis-Alexakis featured the Benko gambit in which Black opted for the modern treatment with 5...e6. Black even got the chance of sacrificing a knight on move 10, how often do you see that happening still in grandmaster play?? | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/9/2025 – This week an Indian top Grandmaster 2662-rated lost a game in only 16 moves! In this week's episode we will see what went wrong in a sharp line of the Queen's Indian Defence with 5.Qc2, which includes an early pawn sacrifice. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.