6/11/2025 – Among ChessBase products the Big DataBase stands in its own right. Unlike the MegaBase it has no annotations. This paves the way for independent study and preparation, and helps the player to hone skills on his own. The present edition offers 11 million games from 1475 to November 2024. In this vast collection there are games from world championships, famous tournaments, past and present, not to mention little-known events that deserve greater recognition. There are magnificent battles, brilliancies and unknown gems all waiting to be discovered. Our columnist here introduces a few rare gems.
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Why? Why not?
The Big DataBase is often seen as a poor cousin of MegaBase as it has neither analysis nor commentary. I, for one, do not share this perception. The Big DataBase allows you to follow a game independently. After each move, you ask yourself, "why" or "why not?" You enter your own variations and try to understand how the game was won, lost or drawn. Those lines that you see by yourself are your precious contribution to the game. But are they sound? So you ask wise old "Fritz" what he thinks. The old boy knows a thing or two.
The Big Database 2025 contains more than 11 million games from 1475 to 2024.
Big Database 2025 contains more than 11 million games from 1475 to 2024 in ChessBase's highest quality standard. From world-class tournaments to youth and senior world championships and open amateur tournaments, this database keeps every chess player fully informed.
On occasion, you are not happy with his answer. Sometimes his way of thinking is too impersonal, not the way we ordinary mortals think. Then you ask the players what they think. If they tell you, well and good, otherwise the commentators will fill in the gaps. But no matter who says what, do use your own grey cells in the end for judging a position. That is what the Big DataBase is about.
Big DataBase 2025 has over 11 million games from 1475 to the closing months of 2024. The first of these games was played in Valencia, Spain, way back in 1475. The last of them in my database is Vaganian-Mikhalchishin, (½ -½, 10 moves), Vaganian Cup Blitz, 9th November, 2024. On my current count I have 11352974 games. So when you view the Big DataBase on your screen, you have nearly six centuries of chess before you.
Now a single lifetime would not suffice to see one tenth of these games. Besides, not every game would be worthy of deep attention. So one has to pick and choose. If you value your time, it cannot be at random. It is here that chess biography and history show us the way. When you read them, you come across names that you have not heard before. But when you look at their games in the Big DataBase you are astonished to find a kind of magic about them all.
For starters, we are going to see a game that was played between two strong American amateurs, Joseph Palmer Morgan and Walter Penn Shipley, way back in 1891.
Walter Penn Shipley
Shipley needs no introduction to knowledgeable readers here. He was a major figure who played an important role in the development of chess in the USA in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. He was a friend of world champions Steinitz, Lasker and Capablanca. He was also a strong chess player.
His opponent, Joseph Palmer Morgan, was a talented player who regularly played in Franklin Chess Club Tournaments. He passed away early at a relatively young age of 32. Morgan and Shipley played a short match that the latter won. Here is the 8th game of the Match.
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1.e4e52.Nc3The Vienna was developed by Carl Hamppe, as an attempt to
play an improved version of the King's Gambit.2.Nf3Nc6leads to standard
lines like the Spanish or the Italian Game.2...Nc6Currently2...Nf63.g33.f4d5=3.Bc4Nxe44.Qh5Nd65.Bb3Nc66.Nb5!g67.Qf3f58.Qd5Qe7!9.Nxc7+Kd810.Nxa8b6leads to the Frankenstein-Dracula
Variation on which no clear verdict has been reached so far.3...d5
is in vogue.3.f4exf44.d4!?The Steinitz Gambit.4.Nf3g55.h4g46.Ng5d6is the Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit.4...Qh4+5.Ke2d55...d66.Nf3Bg4=5...b6is met by the clever line,6.Qd2Ba6+7.Kd1Bxf18.Nf3
The point.Qh59.Rxf16.exd5After6.e5??Bg4+7.Nf3g5the White
king is trapped in the centre. Black plays...0-0-0 and ..f6 opening up lines
and attacking the White monarch.6...Bg4+7.Nf30-0-0!?Sacrificing a
piece for a direct onslaught on the king. Quite a few games were played with
this line.But does it win?There is a clear draw with7...Nb4!8.a3Bxf3+9.gxf3Qe7+10.Kf2Not10.Kd2??Qe3#10...Qh4+=8.dxc6Bc5!Shipley's improvement over 8...Bxf3?! played a year before.8...Bxf3+?!9.gxf3Bc510.cxb7+Kb811.Nb5Nf612.c3c613.b4Bb614.Na3Rhe8+15.Kd3Bxd416.cxd4Rxd4+17.Kxd4Rd8+18.Kc3Rxd119.Bxf4+Qxf420.Rxd1Nd5+21.Rxd5!cxd522.Bd3+-(1-0, 38 moves) was seen in Morgan,Joseph
Palmer-Shipley,Walter Penn, Franklin Chess Club Championship, 1890.9.cxb7+The engine offers an extraordinary line and its outome is far from clear.9.Qe1Qh59...Bxf3+10.gxf3Re8+11.Ne4Qh512.Kd2f513.c3!fxe414.fxe4Bb615.Kc2g516.Bd3+-10.cxb7+Kb811.Kd1Nf612.Bd3Bxf3+13.gxf3Qxf3+14.Ne2Rxd415.Rf1Rxd3+16.cxd3Qxd3+17.Qd2Qa6Black is a
whole rook down and still calling the shots. He is now preparing to bring the
last piece into play with ...Re8.9...Kb8Not9...Kxb7?10.Qe1Qh511.Kd1!The king slips out and also frees his bishop.Rxd4+12.Bd3Bxf3+13.gxf3Qxf3+14.Ne2+-10.Nb5It's too late to seek exchange of queens.
10.Qe1Bxf3+11.gxf3Re8+12.Ne4Qh513.Kd2Bxd414.Qd1f515.c3Bb616.Kc2fxe417.fxe4f3-+10...Nf611.c311.Kd3Bxd4Games between
Steinitz and his opponents followed11...Bf5+12.Kc3Ne4+13.Kb3Qf614.a4!with White missinga615.Qe1+-12.Nbxd4Rxd4+13.Kxd411...Rhe8+12.Kd3The king is a fighting piece as Steinitz would put it. Now White
threatens 13. Nxh4.Bf5+If12...Bxf3?13.Qxf3+-White frees
himself with Kc2 and activates his bishops and rooks. Black has no
compensation for the sacrificed piece.13.Kc4Be6+Black sacrifices a
second piece.14.Kxc5a5!This move first prevents the king's escape
route, Kb4 and threatens mate with ...Ne4.Not the immediate14...Qh5+15.Kb4Nd5+16.Ka3+-15.Nxc7If15.Nxh4??Ne4+16.Kc6Bd5#Or15.Bd3?Rd5+16.Kc4Rh5+17.d5Bxd5+18.Kd4Qf2+19.Be3Qxe3#15...Qh5+16.Ne5Nd7+A fascinating line offered by the engine is16...Kxc717.Qxh5Rd5+!A heroic try.18.Kc4Rxe5+19.Kd3Rxh520.Bxf4+Kxb721.Be2Rb522.b3+-17.Kb5Qxd118.Bxf4?!Sadly, this super- aggressive move does
not win.If18.Nxe8?Nxe5!19.Kb6f6!20.Nc7Rd6+-+The White
king would be in a mating net.18.Nxd7+!Kxb719.Nc5+Ka720.Kxa5Re721.Nb5+Ka822.b3Bd523.Kb418...Qxa119.Ka6Nxe520.Nxe8Rd5!-+
Robert Steel offered an amusing bit of analysis to the " International Chess
Magazine" edited by Steinitz. Not all of it is forced.20...f621.dxe5f522.Be3Rxe823.Bb5Qxh124.Ba7+Kc725.Bc5Rd8??He has a draw with25...Bc8!26.Bb6+Kb827.Ba7+Kc728.Bb6+White has no more than
perpetual check.26.Ka7+-21.Bc4Qxh122.Bxd5Qf1+!Of course not22...Bxd5??23.Bxe5#23.Kb6Qxf424.Bxe6fxe6Now it's all over.0–1
One player whose games should not be missed is Rashid Nezhmetdinov.
Rashid Nezhmetdinov congratulating Mikhail Tal on winning the 1957 USSR Championship
There are more than 500 games played by him here. Among others, a number of his victories over players like Tal, Spassky and Polugaevsky are included in the Big DataBase. They are all worth seeing. For starters, let us see a little-known miniature that he played way back in 1936. He was only 14 at the time.
Misha Tal admired Nezhmetdinov. During the Varna Chess Olympiad 1962 he was interviewed by Dimtrije Bjelica, chess journalist. Bjelica asked Misha what was his happiest moment in recent years. Said Misha, "I rarely felt so happy as when I lost a game with Nezhmetdinov. What a beautiful game!"
The Big DataBase also has a number of games played in training events. These competitions were a regular practice in the former USSR. Occasionally there would also be friendly contests. A case in point is the match that Misha Tal played with David Bronstein in 1966. Here is an entertaining game from the contest:
From Mating with a queen; a rook; two bishops; a knight and a bishop; to the basics of pawn endgames – here you will gain the necessary know-how to turn your endgame advantages into victories!
Years later Kenneth Rogoff, now a renowned economist, was to narrate what happened here.
Huebner had played a really important game against Karpov the round before and lost. Karpov was white and just squeezed him (it took 74 moves!-NSH). Huebner was just exhausted. He told his team captain, "I don't want to play". The team captain said, "Well, that's silly, you're white and play first board. If you're too tired, just make a draw".
In the following round, Huebner met Kenneth Rogoff, a lower-rated player. He played one move and offered his opponent a draw. Young Rogoff asked the team captain, Pal Benko, for advice. By then Huebner was a World Championship candidate, a highly rated player. Benko, of course, asked Rogoff to accept the offer. So did the young American. Unfortunately, the arbiters disallowed a one-move draw and made them play. Then Huebner started playing suicide moves. Rogoff followed suit, and he also played suicide moves in turn. By this time everyone on other tables was watching this game instead of playing their own games.
In the end, the players agreed to a draw. However, the arbiters did not take kindly to it all and declared, both payers had forfeited the game.
Fast-forward to the 21st century
So far, we have seen striking examples of play from the previous centuries. Now let us see some fine play from the present century. Young Daniil Dubov from Russia is one of the best talents in the world. Like other Russian players, his career also received setbacks on account of Covid-19 and the ongoing Ukraine war. However, he continues to play, and his style reminds one of young Tal. Here is a game played a few years ago:
Last but not least is the advance of the Indian juggernaut currently represented by D.Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. The form of Gukesh after winning the World Championship at 18 has been variable. Success has alternated with failure. His performance in the coming years remains to be seen. For the record, Big DataBase has more than 2100 games played by him over a decade (2014-2024). In my view currently the performance of the other two players, Pragg and Erigaisi, needs to be watched.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
And how have they fared against Carlsen? For Magnus represents the ultimate test for both his peers and younger rivals.
Praggnanandhaa-Carlsen at the FIDE World Cup 2023. The game ended in a draw.
First, we see a game in which Pragg beats off a dangerous attack by the world's No. 1 player.
In retrospect, I would consider the play here an unusual performance. In many games we find Erigaisi attacking and Carlsen defending in style. It’s just happened the other day in the Norway 2025 Tournament: https://en.chessbase.com/post/norway-chess-2025-10
To return to the database, I have not said a word about the galaxy of other chess stars who have lit up its horizons… from Labourdonnais and McDonnell to Carlsen. If you look across centuries, you will see how they have all worshipped at the same altar of Caissa. Find their thoughts, feel their agony and share their ecstasy. This database comes to life. Amen.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame. Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players. Euwe holds the record for the most Dutch national championships, with twelve. After winning the World Championship, Euwe was also the world's best player for a while. He lost the title again in 1937 in the rematch against Alexander Alekhine.
Free video sample: Openings
1) Valencia is commemorating the birth of modern chess this year:
2) Nezhmetdinov annotated the game with Tal and the annotations may be found in an excellent English translation by Douglas Griffin: https://rb.gy/wfvpxj
3) Daniil Dubov does not lack moral courage and in the following interview he condemns the Ukraine war and with youthful recklessness comments on politics:
On occasion his decisions are debatable. He chose to assist Magnus Carlsen rather than his compatriot Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Championship match 2021.
The Big Database 2025 contains more than 11 million games from 1475 to 2024.
Big Database 2025 contains more than 11 million games from 1475 to 2024 in ChessBase's highest quality standard. From world-class tournaments to youth and senior world championships and open amateur tournaments, this database keeps every chess player fully informed.
Nagesh HavanurProf. Nagesh Havanur (otherwise known as "chessbibliophile") is a senior academic and research scholar. He taught English in Mumbai for three decades and has now settled in Bangalore, India. His interests include chess history, biography and opening theory. He has been writing on the Royal Game for more than three decades. His articles and reviews have appeared on several web sites and magazines.
6/10/2025 – Blending culture, history and chess, the "Clash of Generations" match in Pietrasanta, Italy, formed the centrepiece of the Chess Roads Festival. Held at the historic La Versiliana venue and featuring a ceremonial opening with rare chessboards, traditional carriages and the presence of Andrea Bocelli (pictured, during the simultaneous exhibition), the event celebrated the game's artistic and cultural legacy. On the board, five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand defeated 11-year-old Faustino Oro 2–0 in a match marked by professionalism and mutual respect.
6/5/2025 – This year, Valencia is celebrating the 550th anniversary of the birth of modern chess. The date of birth is considered to be 15 May 1475, when the book by Francesch Vicent, who came from Segorbe, was printed in Valencia. For this reason, 15 May has now been declared Chess Day in Valencia. Viswanathan Anand was the guest of honour at the celebrations.
On this 60 mins video we are going to concentrate on a simple, very solid idea in the main line Scandinavian, which even Magnus Carlsen has used to win games. Black focusses on making his life easy in the opening and forces White to work very hard to get advantage – but it is doubtful if White can get an advantage. Club players are always on the lookout for effective, time-saving solutions and here we have just that. Accompany FIDE Senior Trainer and IM Andrew Martin on this 60 mins video. You can learn a new opening system in 60 mins and start to play it with confidence on the very same day!
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
In this dynamic and practical video course, IM Andrew Martin arms you with powerful antidotes to White’s most annoying sidelines.
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