8/24/2025 – Use ChessBase 18 for training purposes: with smart use of the database functions and the training tool, you can quickly put together excellent training material. There’s no need anymore to pore over books, copy diagrams, or scan pages. In this second part of the tutorial, you’ll learn how easy it is to prepare your material in a didactic way and turn it into exercises. This saves you valuable time that you can use for your own training or for your students.

8/23/2025 – For a long time in the seventh round, Matthias Bluebaum had real chances of scoring a win and getting closer to leader Nodirbek Yakubboev in the standings – but in the end, the two-time European champion remains a full point behind the Uzbek grandmaster. On Saturday, the two will play each other, and Bluebaum must win with black to catch him in the lead. Radoslaw Wojtaszek and David Navara will be keeping their fingers crossed for him, as both are also one point behind the leader. | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Chess Olympiad 2022)

8/22/2025 – Suspense in Vichy. The semifinals of the French Chess Championship offered thrilling duels between experience and youthful vigour. Marc'Andria Maurizzi (pictured) and Laurent Fressinet prevailed in the open competition, while Mitra Hejazipour and Yosha Iglesias will contest the women's final. Etienne Bacrot v. Sébastien Mazé and Deimanté Daulyte-Cornette v. Anastasia Savina will be the matches for third place. | Photos: Nathalie Daubry / French Chess Federation

8/22/2025 – For the first time in this year’s Rubinstein Memorial A-Group, three games ended decisively. However, the top encounter of round six between Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Matthias Blübaum was not among them: the two players, both in the leading trio after round five, agreed to a draw. Nodirbek Yakubboev did better, regaining sole lead with a win over Pawel Teclaf. The third winner of the round was David Navara, the 2003 Rubinstein Memorial champion, who defeated Jan Klimowski. | Photo: Petr Vrabec/Chess Festival Prague

8/21/2025 – After five rounds, the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój has three leaders at the top of the table: Nodirbek Yakubboev, Radosław Wojtaszek, and reigning European Champion Matthias Blübaum (pictured). In round five, Blübaum scored a notable win with the black pieces against Michael Adams, who now finds himself at the bottom of the standings. The biggest surprise of the day, however, came from Jan Klimkowski: the Polish player defeated top seed Aravindh Chithambaram with Black, delivering the upset of the tournament so far. Round six will feature the direct clash between Wojtaszek and Blübaum. | Photo: SZS / Luka Rifelj (Archive)

8/20/2025 – Things are heating up at the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój: after the former sole leader Nodirbek Yakkuboev was held to a draw and Radosław Wojtaszek (pictured) scored a win, both players now share the lead with 3 points from 4 rounds. Germany’s European Champion Matthias Blübaum also won and, together with Aravindh Chithambaram, trails the leaders by just half a point in third place. Ukraine’s Igor Kovalenko and the Czech grandmaster David Navara, both with four draws, occupy the middle of the table. | Photo: Polish Chess Federation

8/17/2025 – Chess trainers love ChessBase 18 — and for good reason! With just a few clicks, you can create outstanding training material and even enrich it with interactive exercises. In this first part, we’ll show you how to set up a thematic database in no time — perfect for your own practice or for your students. In the upcoming parts, you’ll discover powerful ways to use it to boost training results quickly and effectively.

8/16/2025 – Whether it’s strategy, technique, or opening knowledge – the July releases from ChessBase leave nothing to be desired! Renowned authors such as David Navara, Robert Ris, and Andrew Martin open their toolkits and share a wealth of professional tips. For those who want it all in one package, ChessBase Magazine issue 226 is the perfect choice, packed once again with training material straight from the pros’ lab. Opening enthusiasts take note: there’s a whole range of new Powerbases and Powerbooks! Take a look at all the products from the past month!

8/10/2025 – It’s often the small tricks that make training clearer and more effective. One such feature in ChessBase 18 is the ability to insert null moves. This can be especially helpful in chess training or analysis. In this short and concise tutorial, you'll learn how to use null moves effectively.

8/3/2025 – Frederic Friedel reveals what the Egyptian pyramids, an internship with Otto Borik and a frog game on the home computer have to do with his career in Germany's leading chess magazine SCHACH-MAGAZIN 64, where he was interviewed by Stefan Liebig. The four-page article is reproduced here in English with the kind permission of Schuenemann-Verlag. | Photos: Archiv Frederic Friedel

8/3/2025 – ChessBase 18 offers a wide range of technical features and training tools. To get the most out of them, it helps to know where to look. In this tutorial, we show you how just a few clicks can enhance your ChessBase experience. Explore the "View" menu across different sections of the program to design your own personalized ChessBase environment. Take a look and try it out — because in the end, it’s all a matter of personal preference...

7/27/2025 – The Mega Database 2025 contains over eleven million games — an impressive archive of chess knowledge. And it keeps growing. Thanks to the weekly Mega Update service, you receive about 5,000 new games each week, directly from tournaments around the world. As with ChessBase 18, keeping the Mega Database up to date requires just a few clicks. In this tutorial episode, we’ll show you how.

7/26/2025 – The Opening Encyclopedia offers a wide range of exciting repertoire suggestions. But how can you tell if a recommendation truly suits your playing style? The best way is to try it out in a practical match against Fritz 20. With the "Play Against Database Book" feature, you can load opening articles, game collections, or analyses directly from the encyclopedia as an opening book and immediately play against Fritz. This lets you test new lines under realistic conditions. Best of all: This week (until July 27, 2025), you can get the Fritz 20 and Opening Encyclopedia bundle at a special Summer Special price.

7/20/2025 – Working with ChessBase 18 is so enjoyable because it builds on the experience of the developers from 17 previous versions. But you don’t have to wait for the next release — you’ll receive ongoing improvements directly to your computer through the free update service. And don’t worry: staying up to date with the latest updates takes just a few clicks. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how.

7/13/2025 – Let's continue with ChessBase 18's powerful training tool "Replay Training": Replay Training! We already introduced you to this super feature in the last article, and in this tutorial, we'll show you some additional features that will help you noticeably improve your playing strength in a fun way. Let's continue ...!

7/12/2025 – Whether strategy, technique or opening knowledge – the June releases from ChessBase fulfil all your chess needs! Renowned authors such as David Navara, Robert Ris and Andrew Martin open their chess brains to you, and offer a host of professional tips. For those who want everything at once, ChessBase Magazine 226 is the perfect choice. It once again features lots of training material from the pro lab. Attention opening fans: There are many new Powerbases and Powerbooks! Just take a look at last month's products:

7/6/2025 – Do you know the powerful training tool in ChessBase 18? It's called "Replay Training"! This great feature lets you actively go through games move by move—sharpening your strategic and tactical understanding in a targeted way. Whether under time pressure or not, the choice is yours. Train in a realistic setting, get instant feedback, and systematically improve your play—whether you're a beginner or an ambitious tournament player. In this tutorial, we'll guide you step by step through how Replay Training works. Let's get started!

6/29/2025 – Discover a powerful tool in ChessBase 18: Medals! With just a few clicks, you can highlight tactical brilliancies, strategic masterpieces, or typical mistakes—and find them again at any time. Medals help you analyze your games more effectively, organize them, and build up valuable training material. This turns your database into a personal success coach. Learn how to make the most of this powerful feature!