11/16/2021 – The diagram shows a position from a game between Teimour Radjabov and Hikaru Nakamura, played at the Meltwater Chess Champions Final 2021. It is White to move and he has to find the right square for his king to avoid getting into zugzwang. In the game, with limited time on the clock, Radjabov failed to find the right move. Can you do better?

11/13/2021 – In the diagram position White's pawn on c3 is attacked. Time for a world champion-like reaction - your call!

11/11/2021 – Judit Polgar is generally regarded as the best female chess player of all time. Playing almost exclusively in men's tournaments, she advanced inexorably to the top of the world. In 2004, at the age of 28, she climbed to 8th place in the world rankings. The following year she took part in the tournament for the Men's World Championship and reached an Elo high of 2735. In the new ChessBase Magazine #204 our authors comment on their personal favourite games of the great Hungarian. The result is an exclusive collection of 23 (mostly very spectacular!) victories from the period spanning from 1989 until 2014. Polgar's was well-known for her furious attacking style. A fine example is her win against Vadim Ruban from 1993, annotated by IM Robert Ris. We hope you enjoy it!

11/9/2021 – Exchanging the right pieces is a very important topic, for which you should develop a fine intuition. How should Black proceed in the diagram position?

11/7/2021 – In his first opening video for ChessBase Magazine Markus Ragger takes up an idea that the World Champion tried out at the FIDE World Cup this summer. In the Moscow Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4) White almost always recaptures the d4-pawn with the queen. Carlsen played 5.Nxd4 against Wojtaszek instead and answered 5...Nf6 with the remarkable 6.0-0. In the new ChessBase Magazine Markus Ragger explains the potential of the new concept in a half hour video. From simple stumbling blocks (why can't Black just win the pawn with 6...Sxe4?) to tricky double attacks and positional exchange sacrifices, everything is possible! Here's an excerpt from Ragger's analysis.

11/6/2021 – In the diagram position, Black's has just played 16...Qg4, threatening 17...Nxg2+ while preventing 0-0-0. So, White's king is in a fix, and in the game it ended up getting checkmated on ... a5! Enjoy!

11/4/2021 – The Rubinstein Variation of the French Defence (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4) often proves difficult for White to crack. Sure, you have a lot of space, but Black's position is very solid. After the main moves 4...Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6, White has so far mostly tried 7.c3 or 7.Bd3. In the new ChessBase Magazine #204 Martin Lorenzini presents a new idea with 7.Be3!? which could prove to be a worthwhile alternative to the well-known theoretical variations. Curious? Here's an excerpt of his article.

11/2/2021 – One highlight of each issue of the ChessBase Magazine is "The Analysis", a deeply analysed, particularly interesting game, selected from the many annotated and interesting games in every issue. Not an easy task - just take a look at the list of authors who contributed analyses to CBM #204: Anton Demchenko, Romain Edouard, Viktor Erdos, Alireza Firouzja, Daniel Fridman, Anish Giri, Nils Grandelius, Niclas Huschenbeth, Maxime Lagarde, David Navara, Peter Heine Nielsen, Alexey Sarana, Ivan Saric, Hedinn Steingrimsson, Rasmus Svane and Vidit! This time, the game Mamedov-Lagarde from the European Individual Championship 2021, was chosen. Take a look at the diagram position after 14...Ke6, and you will know why! How could that position arise on the board? And how did the game continue? Curious?

11/2/2021 – Pawn endings are often tricky and must be calculated carefully. In the diagram position it is Black to move and he can win with precise play. How should he proceed?

10/30/2021 – In the diagram position, Black's king is only protected by pawns and - not a single minor piece supports its monarch. Which is kind of an invitation for White - or isn't it? Your move!

10/29/2021 – The new ChessBase Magazine #204 dedicates its "Special" to the strongest female chess player of all time: Judit Polgar! The CBM authors annotate their favourite games of the attacking artist, Mihail Marin shows her great strategic skills and Karsten Müller shows her virtuosity in the endgame. The issue also contains the best from the European Championship 2021 - with analyes by the new Champion Anton Demchenko, Viktor Erdos, Daniel Fridman, Nils Grandelius, Maxime Lagarde, Aleksei Sarana, Ivan Saric and others. In his first opening video for the magazine, Austrian GM Markus Ragger presents an idea of World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the 3.Bb5+ Sicilian. Plus 11 opening articles ("A clear attacking plan against the Rubinstein Variation: 7.Be3", "Modern and simple vs. the Najdorf: 7.Nf3/8.Bg5" etc.), as well as training columns on tactics, strategy and endgame. All in a new layout!