11/11/2025 – Matthias Wuellenweber presents ChessBase 26’s major innovations, beginning with the Enhanced Opening Report, which automatically generates deep statistical and thematic analyses — including pioneer players, popularity graphs, and tactical training positions — all tailored by Elo level to show how openings perform from club players to grandmasters. He introduces new analytical tools, such as Monte Carlo Analysis (engine-vs-engine simulations revealing true practical chances), AI plan descriptions that explain positions in natural language, and piece-manoeuvre visualizations that display typical movement patterns on the board. Finally, he showcases improved usability and design updates, including faster ray-traced 3D boards, streamlined engine management, upgraded duplicate-game detection, and modernized database icons for a smoother, more visually appealing experience.
new: ChessBase 18 - Mega package
Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
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.
In this two-volume course GM Ganguly turns calculation into a trainable skill with a structured path for any level.
€39.90
Matthias Wuellenweber on all new functions for ChessBase 26
0:00 – Enhanced Opening ReportAutomatic generation of a full report with key continuations, pioneers, popularity graphs, performance by Elo level, tactical motifs, and instructive games.
7:08 – Reference Search Improvements Faster player preparation filters — filter by player, colour, time control (classical only), and exclude blitz/rapid games with one click.
9:39 – Piece Manoeuvre Visualization New hover feature showing typical piece routes and exchanges on the board, colour-coded by success (green = good, red = bad).
11:03 – Monte Carlo Analysis Simulated engine-vs-engine games providing realistic win/draw/loss probabilities and statistical insight beyond static evaluation.
14:30 – AI Plan Description AI-generated natural-language explanations of a position’s strategic ideas, including move annotations and plan summaries.
17:00 – Real-Time Ray Tracing Board Drastically faster 3D visualization with lighting, reflections, and camera control for high-quality screenshots and presentation images.
18:59 – Engine Management Overhaul New three-column dialogue to easily delete, organize, and set default engines, plus instant engine toggling with Alt + F2.
20:11 – Duplicate Game Detection Completely rebuilt “Find Double Games” tool — faster, more reliable, and easier to handle for large databases.
21:03 – Database Icons & Style Themes Customizable icons, new colourful and modern database symbol sets, and visual style options matching the ribbon interface.
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.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
Slav and Semi-Slav Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains a total of 11 766 games from Mega 2026 or the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 1136 are annotated.
For the Slav and Semi-Slav Powerbook 2026 the ratings average was set again at 2400. 2.24 million games from the engine room of playchess.com met this threshold, to which were added over 130 000 games played by humans.
In this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital.
Videos: Nico Zwirs examines two Petroffs from the 2026 Candidates. Robert Ris has a tip against the Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 3…c5. Fiona Sieber reveals a surprise weapon against the Najdorf. ‘Lucky Bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, L'Ami et al.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
€19.90
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