10/11/2022 – Learning openings means playing openings! But who wants to play the same systems again and again against you? We recommend the world champion as your sparring partner: PowerFritz 18! With the included Powerbook, PowerFritz plays "your" openings. All variations! As often as you want! Until you have mastered everything perfectly. You can choose whether you want to receive tips or whether you want to play serious games under tournament conditions. The use of the PowerBooks ensures that you can train openings according to your preferences and that you have access to the entire opening theory. Let the ChessBase experts Martin Fischer and Steffen Giehring show you how it's done! To help you be prepared when things get serious at the board!

10/5/2022 – That's how chess can be: You cheerfully let the knights rush forward and threaten everything that's standing there. The dear pawns lash out so much that it's a real joy - and suddenly the cerebrum announces: T-R-A-P. Unfortunately too late. That doesn't have to be. With the tactics app in your ChessBase account, you can work on your tactics at any time: Solve tasks at your level without time pressure, measure yourself against others in the tactics fight or compete against the clock in the tactics sprint. In the second episode of his account tutorial, Martin Fischer explains how best to use the tactics app. So that you don't fall into a trap again...

8/1/2022 – As a chess site, it is not an exaggeration to say that the first and foremost obligation is to have the means to teach the game. ChessBase has programs such as the Fritz & Chesster series, but another way is through the Learn Chess app in the ChessBase Account, a beginner courses, which teaches the moves and then the core fundamentals. Here is a small tour.

7/26/2022 – With opening theory reaching insane depth and draws on the rise, there has been an increasing interest in chess variants such as Chess960 aka Fischer Random Chess, and the recent 'No-Castling' chess. Here is another variant that bears similarities to Chess960, but completely asymmetrical and no castling. One added plus is that you can even play it against Fritz Online!

7/5/2022 – Finding games played with a specific opening is useful for chess tournament preparation. National Master Jeffrey Ashton shows how coaches and students can create their own model game database.

6/29/2022 – For well over 20 years, ChessBase has provided video courses on just about every chess topic under the sun, but they were also only available to Windows users. Now that is not only no longer true, but you can watch them on just about any system with a modern browser, from Macintosh to Linux... to smartphones even! Here is a guide on how, as well as some special tips!

6/21/2022 – Watching and following live events from one's phone is nothing new, and there are a myriad of ways to do so, including of course the ChessBase News page. Recently however, a great deal of effort has been invested into making the ChessBase experience that extra bit better and more enjoyable, and you now have much more than just the games and moves at your fingertips.

5/23/2022 – The ChessBase video portal contains a wealth of videos on various topics (opening, middlegame and endgame). A helpful function for owners of the newer FritzTrainer courses is the possibility to view the contents of the purchased courses directly with the browser in the video portal. This makes it easier to access the courses as it is not necessary to view the contents of the courses with the ChessBase Reader, ChessBase or one of the chess programmes on the desktop.

5/19/2022 – Users of ChessBase are undoubtedly familiar with the Player Encyclopedia that comes with Mega Database, a massive archive of players and photos that allow you to view games with a picture of that player instead of just their name. There is an online version with ChessBase Account, but offers much more. Read the tutorial or watch the video to find out why.

3/17/2022 – Studying "Black to play and defend positions" teaches chess students how to recognize and stop threats. For example, coaches may ask beginners to find ways to stop a back rank mate or the Scholar’s Mate. Flipping the board may also help with high-level analysis. National Master Jeffrey Ashton explains how to create positions where the Black chessmen are on the bottom of the diagram, which gives Black’s perspective.

2/17/2022 – The Enter Null Move feature in ChessBase helps chess coaches demonstrate opening tabiyas, middlegame attacking ideas, and endgame plans. It’s also perfect for figuring out missing moves on students’ scoresheets or for Knight’s Tours. National Master Jeffrey Ashton explains.

11/29/2021 – The new AI-based training method "Easy Game" helps you to play brilliancies against Fritz18! After mating Fritz18 you can publish your game with one click or you can send it per email to ChessBase to take part in the great Fritz 18 lottery. Join the action!

11/24/2021 – After 30 years, chess programs are now gradually reaching a level at which one can reasonably play against them. With Fritz 18 you have an unprecedented opportunity to train and learn sharp openings, helping you master the tactical motifs that are otherwise invisible in the 'perfect play' of normal computer games. Fritz 18 will even help you set up tactical tricks and sacrifices for you to deliver!

11/19/2021 – Fritz 18 has been released, bringing a fantastic opponent so that now you have an engine that will adapt to your play, try to make it a fun and engaging opponent, and even set you up with a brilliancy or more if the situation allows. This is not merely hype, but the result of feedback from players who have tried it, from weak amateurs to grandmasters themselves.

11/1/2021 – You've seen the program create training positions automatically, but what if you wanted to create your own? This could be to show a student, show some friends, post online, and more. The tools are all there to generate your own hand-crafted test positions for tactics, strategy, and endgames, and it is useful tool to know. Read on to learn how!

10/4/2021 – Chess improvement at any level requires chess instruction, study, and practice. Thanks to technology, chess instruction of the highest quality is readily available, even in the pages of this news page. However, no matter how many lectures you watch, they do not dispense with actual study, which is often a lonely affair. This is what this new video series hopes to change.

9/26/2021 – When mentioning the name Mega Database, many players automatically think of either the millions of games contained in it, or the equally impressive number of annotated games – well over 80 thousand. However, the price tag also includes a full year of weekly updates, which can then be renewed every year. Learn all here.

9/23/2021 – While the Solve Tactics mode is undoubtedly the meat of the of the Tactics web app, there are two other modes that provide a very different sort of training, excellent to stay sharp. Both are based on trying to solve as quickly as possible, but each with a slightly different angle. They are also the perfect trainer for bullet chess. You will also find part one demonstrated in a video!

9/20/2021 – Among the myriad apps and services offered with a subscription to ChessBase Account is the Tactics web app. This concept is hardly new, and readers undoubtedly are aware of a plethora of rival sites and apps offering this same service, so what makes this one so special? What makes it deserving of the headline "best by test"? Read on to find out!

9/15/2021 – Even if it is from before your time, any chess player will know there was a time when standalone machines were the dominant computer opponents, ranging from compact plastic jobs to large wooden boards to fill any player with envy. That time is gone, and many of the machines are disappearing, but you can play any one of them, free, thanks to the amazing chess emulators.

9/13/2021 – The Live Database is the full database by ChessBase, stored online, that can be searched from both the ChessBase program, as well as the browser. With it you can search for any position, player, tournament, or game, and see all the statistics such as the win/loss percentage, the Live Book data, and even search with an engine, all straight from the browser. Read on to learn more!

9/6/2021 – With so many cloud-based tools and services with 'cloud' in their name, it would be easy to overlook this incredibly useful tool inside ChessBase 16, which allows you to seamlessly work across multiple devices and even share with others in real time. Even professional players can miss this tool, and what is more it integrates directly with the web apps from ChessBase Account. Read on to learn more!

8/31/2021 – Have a fearful opponent next round? Have ChessBase 16 but no database (having one is a bonus)? No worries, here is a tutorial to help you get sorted and prepared so you can approach your next game with confidence. Don't miss this valuable lesson, which comes with a summary of the main points in a convenient video at the end!

1/12/2021 – Playing chess with a friend in these weird times is not as easy as it used to be, and nothing compares to a "real" played game over the board. But Playchess still has a beautiful alternative, which every premium member can use in less than a couple of minutes. I wanted to play a friend, and surprised him on Facebook by inviting him to play a game on Playchess to try out the video and audio options.