8/24/2026 – GM Dominik Horvath successfully defended his title at the 2026 Austrian National Championship. With 6½ points, he edged out IM Laurenz Borrmann on tiebreaks, who also scored 6½ points and achieved a grandmaster norm. In the Oberbank Challenger Open, young German IM Ruben Gideon Köllner triumphed with 7½ points. Olga Badelka was the top performer in the Open and thus claimed the women's national title. | Pictured (from left): Laurenz Borrmann, Dominik Horvath and Valentin Baidetskyi | Photo: Peter Kranzl
new: 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.
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. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! 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.
This is a full repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 focussing on the Evans Gambit as the main weapon.
€59.90
An intense week of chess at Oberbank's Donauforum in Linz has come to an end. Alongside the closed 2026 Austrian Championship, the strong Oberbank Challenger Open was also held. In both tournaments, the battle for the top places remained open until the final round.
Austrian Championship: Horvath retains his title
Ten qualified players competed over nine rounds in the Austrian Championship. In the end, GM Dominik Horvath prevailed with 6½ points, successfully defending his Austrian national title. He edged out IM Laurenz Borrmann on tiebreaks, with Borrmann also scoring 6½ points. Borrmann capped a strong performance by earning a grandmaster norm. The bronze medal went to IM Valentin Baidetskyi, who scored 6 points.
In this course, Grandmaster Felix Blohberger delivers a complete opening repertoire for White, centred around the flexible move 1.Nf3.
Looking for a versatile and strategic opening repertoire that doesn’t rely on memorising endless variations? In this course, Grandmaster Felix Blohberger delivers a complete opening repertoire for White, centred around the flexible move 1.Nf3. Whether you’re a club player or a seasoned competitor, this course offers a solid yet dynamic approach that adapts to various playing styles and opponents.
Video sample: Introduction
Video sample: Grunfeld - Sidelines
Although he narrowly missed out on the title, Laurenz Borrmann had reason to celebrate: he remained unbeaten and earned a GM norm | Photo: Peter Kranzl
Before the penultimate round, Borrmann stood half a point ahead of Horvath. Two rook endgames in that round were to decide the championship. Borrmann turned a winning position into a drawn setup - and then agreed to a draw when the position became winning again. Meanwhile, Horvath's game was a rollercoaster: he repeatedly let a winning position slip, only to win in the end.
Valentin Baidetskyi finished outright third | Photo: Peter Kranzl
In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities! Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career.
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section
Borrmann could therefore quite easily have gone into the final round with a full-point lead. Instead, the two players entered round nine level on points. Borrmann secured the GM norm and second place with a draw. Horvath retained his title thanks to his superior tiebreak score. Baidetskyi missed the chance to join the pair on the same score - he drew with Peter Balint and finished outright third.
The round-four encounter between the two top seeds, Dominik Horvath (left) and Felix Blohberger, ended in a draw. | Photo: Peter Kranzl
Felix Blohberger remained unbeaten in the tournament. However, as he drew every game before his final-round victory, he finished fourth, 1½ points behind the leaders. Here is his analysis of his final-round win over Lukas Leisch:
Final standings
All games
Challenger Open: Favourite Köllner takes first place
Become a master of chess strategy – get Robert Ris’s complete bundle now at a special price! Become a master of chess strategy – get Robert Ris’s complete bundle now at a special price!
Ruben Gideon Köllner won the Oberbank Open unbeaten | Photo: Peter Kranzl
A total of 117 players competed in the Oberbank Challenger Open. Here too, the outcome was not decided until the final round. IM Ruben Gideon Köllner defended his lead with a draw against 15-year-old Florentin Stickler and won the tournament with 7½ points. A trio followed on 7 points. Jakob Postlmayer finished second on tiebreaks and at the same time secured the Upper Austrian state title. The 15-year-old Florentin Stickler took an impressive third place, while David Schernthaner finished fourth.
They were followed by a group of five players on 6½ points, including the two highest-placed women: Olga Badelka in sixth and Swaminathan Soumya in ninth. Badelka thus became Austrian Women's Champion, ahead of Veronika Exler and Alina Donets.
The top three from the round-robin and the Women's Championship, which was incorporated into the Open (from left): Veronika Exler, Laurenz Borrmann, Dominik Horvath, Valentin Baidetskyi, Olga Badelka and Alina Donets | Photo: Peter Kranzl
As in the national championship, the time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move. The 2026 Austrian Women's Championship was also held as part of the Challenger Open. The three highest-placed players with an Austrian FIDE ID also earn places in next year's Austrian Championship. Foreign participants can win the tournament and the Open prize money, but they are not eligible for this particular qualification.
Stefan LiebigStefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
8/20/2026 – The two-part FritzTrainer series "King’s Indian – A Complete Repertoire for Black" by Grandmaster Felix Blohberger is devoted to one of the most dynamic and at the same time complex openings in modern chess: the King’s Indian Defence. Lukas Köpl examines the series with regard to its structure, content, didactic quality and practical relevance.
8/17/2026 – Dear chess friends! We’ve got another great offer for you: this week (until August 23rd, 2026), you can get up to 30% off all Fritz Trainer courses by Robert Ris and Felix Blohberger!
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.
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.
While tactics decide the game in concrete moments, strategy guides the entire battle. Understanding how to improve your pieces, create weaknesses, execute maneuvers, and steer the game toward favorable structures is what defines strong players.
The Italian Four Knights is the ideal choice. It combines the solid foundation of classical openings like the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game with an active, initiative-driven style of play.
IM Andrew Martin shows why this 19th-century opening weapon still is a fantastic choice for club players. The Evans produces exciting chess and teaches the art of attack.
The major part of the material on which the Petroff Defence Powerbook 2026 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 357 000 games. This imposing number is supplemented by another 17 000 from Mega and from correspondence chess.
€9.90
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