ChessBase tips for beginners - Variations from Reference & Engines

by ChessBase
1/14/2026 – Anastasia Corotcova explains how to insert variations into your notation using both reference games and engine suggestions. It shows how the Reference tab lists common moves and past games for the current position, allowing you to click or copy them directly into your analysis. Finally, it demonstrates how to add an engine (Kibitzer) and insert its suggested lines to build clear, structured game analysis.
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ChessBase tips for beginners - Enter and save your games

by Anastasia Corotcova

ChessBase tips for beginners introduces a wide range of ChessBase features and demonstrates how to use the program efficiently.

Viewers learn everything from entering their first moves to applying powerful analytical tools that improve understanding.

Anastasia Corotcova guides us through each step, explaining the functions with clarity and practical examples, and shows how to unlock the full potential of ChessBase and build confidence from the very start.

  • 0:00 – Intro
  • 0:25 – Opening the Reference tab next to the notation
  • 0:44 – Move list from the reference database (sorted by frequency)
  • 0:56 – Viewing recent games that reached the current position
  • 1:05 – Clicking a reference move to go to a position and insert a variation
  • 1:33 – Copying a full game into your notation via Right-click → Copy to notation
  • 1:51 – Going to Home → Engine → Add Kibitzer / Default Kibitzer
  • 2:13 – Engine analysis window appears
  • 2:18 – Hovering over an engine line to preview positions on the board
  • 2:28 – Left-clicking an engine move to insert it into your notation

Anastasia Corotcova is a chess player from Moldova who actively played and trained until starting university, around which time she also obtained her first FIDE Arbiter licence. Meanwhile, she is an international arbiter.

She has a background in computer science and has been working professionally in IT for the past seven years, which is her main occupation today.

Alongside this, Anastasia contributes educational chess content for ChessBase and previously hosted an educational TV program for children.

EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS
Data, plans, practice – the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase ’26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.

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Topics: anastasia corotcova, chessbase, ChessBase 26, Tutorial, Tutorials
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