The ChessBase 18 Style Report

One of the most popular new features in ChessBase 18 is clearly the Style Report! When preparing for an opponent, it’s no longer just about the opening moves — understanding how a player prefers to play can make a huge difference.

• Does my opponent enjoy endgames? Not at all? Then trade everything off right away!
• Is my opponent aggressive and takes lots of risks? Time to swap the queens!
• Are they cautious, defensive, and positionally solid? Then maybe it's time for a tricky opening to throw them off balance!

Rate yourself from 1 (miserable) to 10 (brilliant)

In a series of short video clips, Arne Kaehler asked numerous chess players to rate themselves.

Their only point of reference? Their own Style Report.

The Style report of Robert Ris

The percentage scores were converted into single-digit ratings. In Robert Ris' case, his formidable opening knowledge of 83% translated to an 8.

If a player rated themselves within 2 points of their actual score, they were considered accurate.

So getting it right wasn’t all that easy — and yet, the majority of participants nailed it! Quite impressive, especially given that none of them knew how the numbers were calculated.

The Clips

Here are the 27 English-speaking participants and their self-assessments. (You can find the German-speaking players in a separate article.)

The correct matches

Above all, this whole project was meant to be fun and to draw attention to the ChessBase 18 Style Report, and it definitely delivered on both!

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Winning starts with what you know – ChessBase 18

Still, some of the results might not have seemed entirely plausible — and there are several reasons for that:

1. Number of games: With only 100–200 games, the calculations can fluctuate significantly. It’s not uncommon to see results exceeding 100%. Only once a player has logged more than 200 games does a more natural curve begin to emerge. That’s entirely understandable from a statistical standpoint.
2. Timeframe of games: For simplicity, the Style Report used in the videos was based on the player’s earliest recorded game. So when a YouTube viewer commented on Lara Schulze’s results, they had a point.

I wouldn’t fully agree with Lara’s rating. In my view, her positional play has a very distinct and strong character — I would rate it a 9 or even 10. Her sense for positional chess is well above average, even among players with a similar rating. From the games she has explained on social media, I’ve personally learned a great deal about positional concepts — and I’ve already been able to apply some of that knowledge successfully in my own tournament games.

The Style Report shows 36% (which translates to a 4) for Schulze, while Lara rated herself at 70% (a 7)

The Style Report of Lara Schulze shows 36% for Positional Play

However, if we look at the Style Report based on games from 2023 to 2025, it turns out Lara was absolutely right with her self-rating of 7!

Lara Schulze’s Style Report from the past 2–3 years shows a clear improvement in her positional play!

As GM Dr. Karsten Müller often explains in his Four Player Types model, many players start their chess journey with a bold, attacking, and risk-oriented style — but over the years, they gradually develop a more profound understanding of positional play.

The 4 Player Types standard model - Find your strengths and weaknesses and those of your opponent

Playing styles in chess are an important and thus often discussed topic. GM Dr. Karsten Müller and GM Luis Engel take up a model by GM Lars Bo Hansen based on 4 player types - namely ‘activists’, ‘pragmatics’, ‘theoreticians’ and so-called ‘reflectors’.

The future of the Style Report

The Style Report is making waves, and more and more chess enthusiasts are beginning to see the value of this tool. One of them is Frederik Svane, who told me recently how deeply impressed he was.

Frederik Svane is a big fan of the Style Report

With Fritz 20, there’s a new feature that allows you to manually set your opponent’s playing style.

Fritz 20

Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally.
FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before. 

If you already know from the Style Report how risky your next tournament opponent tends to play, you can run a few training games against Fritz 20 set to that style — a great way to prepare and gather valuable ideas to be ready on game day.

Links:

• The German Version - With Frederik Svane, The Big Greek, Matthias Bluebaum and many more
• Style Report in ChessBase 18 explained by Matthias Wuellenweber
• Brand new release: Fritz 20