1/30/2026 – GM Chris Ward opens the Monthly Dragon with a sharp refresher on a classic Classical Dragon position, showing how certain White sidelines can be punished, especially with the key idea …Qb6 and the tactical “Zollner gambit” packed with pins, forks, and long-diagonal themes. He then moves to a second highlight: Arne’s very first Classical Dragon, played as a delayed Vietnamese Dragon to surprise a Dragon expert, with a practical discussion of move orders of h5 vs. e5. The game itself is a model attacking performance: Black builds dark-square pressure, opens lines, and finishes with a direct king hunt and checkmate. | Photo: John Upham

1/30/2026 – Matthias Blübaum is currently stunning the chess world with his performance at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. After ten rounds, he shares second to fourth place and is half a point behind leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. In the last two rounds, Blübaum defeated Gukesh and Anish Giri, which helped him break the 2700 rating barrier for the first time in his career. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/30/2026 – With the final weekend of the Tata Steel Chess tournament still ahead of us, the tournament leader is Abdusattorov, followed by Sindarov, Van Foreest and Bluebaum. The latter has crossed the 2700 barrier for the first time and Van Foreest also set a new rating record. Our Game of the Week between Jorden van Foreest and Vincent Keymer is one of the most spectacular games of the tournament. Some opening inaccuracies by Black were punished in the most instructive manner.| Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/30/2026 – You are playing in a tournament, and have just seen who your opponent in the next round is. Do you go to your database and simply scan through to spot his strengths and weaknesses, to decide which opening to play? With ChessBase´26 you get a full dossier with recommendations in less than one minute. And you can immediately start with the actual preparation. Let GM Iniyan Pa tell you how this all works.

1/30/2026 – In the latest episode of his Power Play Show, GM Daniel King looks at tactics from the Tata Steel Masters, starting gently and moving up to more complex calculation. | Watch Power Play on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

1/30/2026 – In the diagram position, 30...Qd1+! leads to victory for Black, that much can be revealed. But the rest will be up to you - okay?

1/30/2026 – Deboushnik De describes his rating rise from 1927 to 2430, which gained him two IM norms within a single year. He highlights the importance of mindset, planning and trusting the process during difficult phases. Deboushnik comes from North East India, where access to top-level tournaments and training resources is limited. That is why his journey is especially significant for players from the region. This could be a good reflection on setbacks, breakthroughs and the realities of chasing norms.

1/29/2026 – Last week, the news broke out that Daniel Naroditsky's toxicology report had been seen exclusively by NBC News, and the verdict was that a variety of drugs had been found in his system at the time of death: amphetamines, kratum, and more. The news went rampant that a 'drug cocktail' was coursing through his veins. The truth is out and it is a lot less dramatic, though no less tragic. | Photo: Kelly Centrelli / Charlotte Chess Center

1/29/2026 – In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.

1/29/2026 – This lesson shows how to customize the look of your notation in ChessBase to make it clearer and more comfortable for everyday use. It covers changing notation styles, piece symbols, fonts, colours, and using quick zoom for better readability.

1/29/2026 – 14-year-old German IM Christian Gloeckler remains perfect in the Qualifiers Tournament in Wijk aan Zee: six rounds have been played, and he has won all six. This gives him a performance rating of 3228, and with three rounds to go he leads Henry Edward Tudor by 1.5 points; Tudor is in sole second place with 4.5 out of 6. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/29/2026 – Today is a rest day in Wijk aan Zee. A good opportunity to revisit some of the finest games played in the tournament’s long history. Robert Ris helps. The popular Dutch IM, author, and trainer has selected and annotated seven outstanding games from Wijk aan Zee. As a gift, for free!