3/6/2023 – The current ChessBase Magazine #212 offers three opening videos: Rustam Kasimdzhanov examines the Ruy Lopez with 8.a4 b4 9.a5, which was played twice in the Tata Steel Masters 2023 (So-Keymer and Caruana-Carlsen). Nico Zwirs checks Magnus Carlsen's idea 7...Bg4 in the Queen's Gambit Exchange Variation. And Mihail Marin puts the Evans Gambit from the game Beerdsen-Pechac from the Challengers to the test. You can watch an excerpt from Kasimdzhanov's video analysis here. Have fun!
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Tata Steel 2023: Analyses by Giri, Van Foreest, Praggnanandhaa, Donchenko and many more. "Special" on Anthony Miles. Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs show new opening ideas from Wijk in the video. 11 opening articles with repertoire ideas and much more!
In this video course experts examine the games of Steinitz. Let them show you which openings Steinitz chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Rustam Kasimdzhanov takes a closer look at a popular variation in the Ruy Lopez (8.a4 b4 9.a5), which was played twice in the Tata Steel Masters 2023. In So-Keymer the German no. 1 continued with the rarely played 9...Rb8. Kasimdzhanov shows that Black probably cannot fully equalise in this variation. His main game however is Caruana-Carlsen, which continued with the main moves 9...d6 10.c3 Rb8 11 h3 h6. In his analysis the former FIDE World Champion summarises the current state of theory and also presents ideas on how things could go in the future.
Excerpt from Rustam Kasimdzhanov's video analysis in CBM #212
Full video playing time in CBM #212: 23:11 minutes
In the tenth round of the Masters Magnus Carlsen surprised his opponent, Parham Maghsoodloo, in the Queen's Gambit Exchange Variation with 7...Bg4! - this has never been played at GM level, and there are only six games in the Mega Database 2023 so far! In his analysis Zwirs examines the white options: 8.f3, 8.Be2, 8.Qb3. 8.Qc2 and 8.Qa4+ (which came on the board in the game). With 8.Be2, White can keep the position very quiet, but 8.Qb3, for example, often gives Black the chance to quickly open the game with the advance c7-c5. "Definitely a big move", Zwirs sums up and looks forward to more games with this new 7…Bg4 variation!
In the Challengers tournament in Wijk aan Zee the Evans Gambit came onto the board in the game Beerdsen-Pechac – admittedly a rare guest at this level. Mihail Marin, who also deals with this opening on his Fritztrainer "A Black Repertoire against Italian", takes a closer look at this encounter, which White should in fact have won. In his analysis, Marin makes clear why Pechac's move 10...f6 – "some sort of Steinitz move, intending to keep everything" - plays into White's hands, because after 11.a4! Black can no longer afford to exchange the white bishop on c4. Marin's conclusion: "If White reaches a position with optimal coordination and all the pieces attacking - no matter whether he is one or two pawns down - then the position is very dangerous for Black!" But with knowledge of the theory Black should know how to prevent that!
All three video analyses with a total playing time of over an hour can be found in the current ChessBase Magazine #212.
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Save twice with ChessBase Magazine: For the annual subscription to ChessBase Magazine you’ll pay only €99.70 per year (compared to €119.70 for the 6 individual issues).
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Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #212
These are the editors' recommendations – from first-class analyses from the Tata Steel Masters and Challengers 2023 to the endgame series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" by Dr Karsten Mueller:
Top chess and master analyses
Tata Steel 2023: Anish Giri comments on three of his games, plus analyses by Praggnanandhaa, Jorden van Foreest, Peter Heine Nielsen, the winner of the Challenger, Alexander Donchenko and many others. Dorian Rogozenco presents two games in the video that were decisive for the outcome of the Masters!
Rapid Highlights: Anish Giri, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Peter Heine Nielsen analyse selected games from the Rapid Chess World Championship and the Meltwater Champions Chess Final 2022.
Special: Anthony Miles
CBM authors analyse their favourite game of the Englishman (1955-2001). Exclusive collection of 21 annotated games from the years 1978 to 2001.
Practical tips for the tournament player
When should you accept a draw offer and when not? Which emotional aspects can influence our decision, and how can we block them out as best we can? Don’t miss part 5 of the training series “Practical Tips for the Tournament Player” with GM Jan Markos. Video + small collection of exercises.
Move by Move
Robert Ris shows Magnus Carlsen's fantastic game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov from the 2022 Rapid World Championship. Can you find the moves of the triple world champion?
All in one
Spyridon Kapnisis presents the Scotch Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5!? After 5...Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ White wins back the piece on c5 and has in any case already achieved a partial success.
Opening videos
All three opening videos pick up current ideas from the top tournament in Wijk aan Zee! Rustam Kasimdzhanov examines the Ruy Lopez with 8.a4 b4 9.a5, which came on the board twice at the "Masters". Nico Zwirs examines Magnus Carlsen's idea of 7...Bg4 in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit. And Mihail Marin puts the Evans Gambit from Beerdsen-Pechac from the "Challengers" to the test.
From the Reti Opening to the King's Indian - ChessBase Magazine #212 offers 11 opening articles with new ideas for your repertoire!
Vogel: Reti Opening 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 b6 Kuzmin: English 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 c6 Sumets: Caro-Kann Exchange 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 Papp: Najdorf 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Santiago: French 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 a6!? Schandorff: Scotch with 4...Bc5 and 7...a5!? Ris: Italian Ulvestad Variation 5...b5!? Srinath: Open Ruy Lopez Part II Postny: Nimzo-Indian 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bg5 c5 6.Rc1 Grigoriants: Catalan 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 Szabo: King's Indian 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 e5 7.d5
Topical opening traps
“From the English Opening to the Queen’s Gambit” – Rainer Knaak takes a close look at eight traps from current tournament practice (incl. three FritzTrainer videos)
Strategy: "Positional Milestones"
Mihail Marin presents the legend from England, Anthony Miles, as a universal player and explains how strategy and tactics worked together harmoniously in his best games. Including a detailed video introduction and – for the first time in CBM – two interactive training videos!
Modern Classics
Dorian Rogozenco shows one of the most spectacular games from the match "Soviet Union vs. the Rest of the World" in 1970: Bent Larsen came to blows on the first board of the world selection in only 17 moves. against world champion Boris Spassky! Part 3 of the new video series.
Tactics: "Queenless and happy"
Sometimes it is simply necessary to part with one's queen. Oliver Reeh's article contains 32 games, peppered with plenty of training exercises. Plus three interactive videos with our author’s favourite combinations.
Fundamental Endgame Knowledge II
The endgame expert Dr Karsten Mueller continues his training series with the topic "Rook + Pawn vs. Rook". Also: Endgame highlights of Anthony Miles.
ChessBase Magazine trial subscription with 33% savings advantage and thank you bonus!*
Try out ChessBase Magazine now! Order the ChessBase Magazine taster package! Read ChessBase Magazine for 6 months (= 3 issues) for thespecial price of only 39.90 €(instead of 59,85 € for buying them individually). As a thank you, you will also receive 3 months ChessBase Premium Membership free of charge.
*Bonus for new subscribers only, i.e. there was no CBM subscription for 12 months!
ChessBase Magazine one year subscription - plus original ChessBase USB stick with 128 GB *
Save twice with ChessBase Magazine: For the annual subscription to ChessBase Magazine you’ll pay only €99.70 per year (compared to €119.70 for the 6 individual issues).
* Bonus only for new subscribers, i.e. there was no CBM subscription for 12 months! As a new subscriber you will receive the original ChessBase USB stick with 128 GB
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
London System Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
€9.90
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