CBM 224: Pragg pips Gukesh at the post

by Nagesh Havanur
4/16/2025 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur takes a look at our current issue, CBM 224. 209 games from the Tata Steel Tournament, 15 annotated, 11 opening surveys, 4 opening videos, 7 demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Anish Giri, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa and Karsten Müller, among others. The icing on the cake is a special feature on Viktor Korchnoi, with 24 annotated games. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
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Practice makes perfect

Even as I write these lines, the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tournament has come to an end. It was a star-studded field with Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura, Abdusattorov and Keymer, among others. The Indian contingent was led by Dommaraju Gukesh. The young FIDE World Champion had the baptism of fire in Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam Tournament. Success eluded him there, with too many draws and losses to Carlsen and Firouzja. Sadly, history repeated itself, with both him and Praggnanandhaa finishing at the bottom of the score table.

However, it would be wrong to write off the sporting success of the pair as a fluke.

In the recent Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa shared first and second place with a score of 8½/13 (+5, -1, =7). Then they played a blitz match to resolve the tie. After both had drawn level with 1-1 score, Praggnanandhaa won the final game to claim first prize in this prestigious tournament.

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1.e41,177,40254%2421---
1.d4954,68955%2434---
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1.Na34762%2476---
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 Reti is now famously one of Gukesh's favorite openings, so it hardly came as a surprise. d5 3.Bg2 c5 4.0-0 Nc6 This ambitious looking system has Black attempt to fight for all the space in the center. White can prevent this, but that allows a transposition into one of the most forcing Catalan systems. 5.d4 e6 6.c4 dxc4 A big tabia of the Catalan. I was curious to see which direction Gukesh's preparation would take, since there are plenty. 7.Qa4 Bd7 8.dxc5 The old main-move is 8.Qxc4, but by now 8.dxc5 has grown with theory as well. Bxc5 The simpler of the options. There is also 8...Na5 , leading to more complex positions. 9.Qxc4 Be7 Firouzja has tried 9... Bb6 against Pragg in Norway Chess, but I stuck to the main move. 10.Nc3 0-0 11.e4 A small deviation from the very main-stream. The usual order is 11.Rd1 Rc8 12.e4 11...Rc8 12.Qe2 Tucking the queen away before going Rd1. I was familiar with this idea- there are some notable games, Gelfand-Lu, World Cup 2019 and the more recent Esipenko-Duda, WR Masters 2023. Bc5!? The computers liked this interesting idea, to upgrade the bishop. I personally felt it is somewhat shaky leaving the g5 square unattended this way, but the variations seemed to be working, so I let myself get convinced. 13.Bg5?! Played after a very long thought. I didn't know whether Gukesh managed to recollect his preparation or if it is an improvement. In any case, he spent way too much time for me to be too concerned. h6 14.Bh4 Sacrificing a piece like that, without being sure you are in your preparation is quite insane, but I guess it is very much on brand, for our newly crowned fearless World Champion! g5 15.Nxg5 hxg5 16.Bxg5 e5 The complications don't seem to quite work for White. Gukesh has mixed up his preparation, the piece sacrifice Bxg5 was a thing in some of the lines, but it was not here. 17.Qd2 I was somewhat concerned still by 17.Nd5 Be7 18.Nxe7+ position (though there was also 17.Nd5 Nd4 and Rc6 defense), but this move looked way too soft. It was now clear that something has gone wrong with White's opening. Objectively, 17.Qd2 is the best chance, as the entire 13.Bg5/14.Bh4 idea is not engine approved at all. 17.Nd5 Be7 17...Nd4 18.Nxe7+ 17...Be7! Forcing White to collect back some of the material, while defusing any of their active play. 18.Bh6 White ends up with rook and 2 pawns for a knight and a bishop, in a position where the rooks clearly don't have much scope yet and the pawns are nowhere near becoming realistic passers. Kh7 19.Bxf8 Bxf8 Even stronger would have been to send the queen to h6. I had underestimated that idea in the game. 19...Qxf8! 20.f4 Qh6 Black has a huge advantage here, with the attack on the White king coming, with ideas like Bc5+ and Nh5. 20.f4 Be6 I felt that my position should be good here, but I still had to make some variations work. 21.Nd5 Nb4! Introducing some Rc2-Rxg2 ideas, besides just putting more pressure on the d5 knight. 22.fxe5 Ng4! Originally I was going for some Rc2 endgame, but I realized that this is much stronger. 23.Rad1 Actually I had underestimated this move, but luckily I had a very strong response in the position, waiting to be discovered. Kh8! I found this move out of some sort of desperation, but I quickly realized that it may just be close to winning as well. White has now no Nf6+ and with it, no big tricks left. 24.Kh1 Rc2! For a moment I thought that this was the clincher, since I saw the pretty queen sacrifice finale with Nxd5 exd5 Bxd5 Rxd5 Qxd5! followed by Rxh2 and Bc5+. 25.Qf4 I already noticed that there is still 25.Qf4 and 26.Qf3! defense, but of course it felt like it shouldn't help White either. Nxd5! 26.Qf3! 26.exd5 Bxd5 27.Rxd5 Qxd5! 28.Bxd5 Rxh2+ 29.Kg1 Bc5+ 26...Qb6?! I did decent calculations here, concluding that this move should vaguely win, but in fact it was here that I really let the game slip out of control. 26...Rxg2! The most direct line wins by force. It wasn't so hard, but I think with all the options on the way, I had missed something in the end here. 27.Qxg2 Nge3 28.Qf3 Nxf1 I also spent time thinking about capturing the other rook. 29.exd5 Ne3! I honestly can't recollect whether I missed this move during the game, or if I misevaluated the arising position. I might have just missed this resource, focusing mostly on 28...Nxd1 29.Rxd1 Qg5/Qd7 lines. 30.Qxe3 Bxd5+ 31.Kg1 The position still didn't look clear to me here, but once you see 31.. .Qa5! it all becomes obvious. Qa5! White is just lost here. This was findable, given that I still had enough time on the clock. 27.exd5 Rf2 28.Qc3! I had originally missed this particular retreat, hoping for 28. Qb3 Rxf1 29.Rxf1 Nf2+! 30.Rxf2 Qxf2 31.dxe6 Qe1+! which wins and also 28.Qe4? Bf5. The move Gukesh made is the only move to stay alive, because now it covers the e1 square and the Rxf1/Nf2+ operation is no longer winning due to Rxf2 and there is no Qe1+ in the end. 28.Qb3 Rxf1+ 29.Rxf1 Nf2+ 30.Rxf2 Qxf2 31.dxe6 Qe1+! 28.Qe4? Bf5 28...Bb4? This looked strong, getting the queen away from the diagonal facing my king, but the engines point this out as a big miss. 28...Bf5! In fact the check is not deadly. 29.e6+ Bg7 30.exf7 Kh7! Extremely cold-blooded. Black is winning here. 28...Rxg2 I considered a bail out as well, but the desire to win and belief in my position was still high. 29.Kxg2 Ne3+ 30.Kh1 Nxd5 This would lead to a draw, likely. 28...Rxf1+ 29.Rxf1 Nf2+ 30.Rxf2 Qxf2 31.dxe6 29.Qc1! White's every reply came as an unpleasanty as Gukesh kept making the moves that avoided losing on the spot. Bf5 30.Qg5! Another unpleasant surprise, though of course at this point I already saw it coming. Now the queen starts bothering my king a little too, but also starts guarding its own. One key idea I was relying on was Be4 Bxe4 Rxh2, but with the queen coming to h4 and protecting h2 pawn, this no longer wins. Bf8!? Bringing the bishop back into the defense. Black has long lost control over the victory, but the position still remains promising for Black and white has to deal with some tactical threats. 31.Qh4+ Check on h5 was the way, apparently, because here 31...Kg8! is strong. Schach auf h5 war anscheinend der Weg, denn hier ist 31...Kg8! stark. 31.Qh5+! Bh6 32.Rde1 This is a dynamic equality apparently. 31...Bh6 I had already planned to guard from the check with a bishop, but apparently 31. ..Kg8! is a lot stronger. 31...Kg8! 32.Rde1!? Actually it is quite important to guard the e4 square, but initially I thought this move was way too slow. I was expecting some e6/d6 pushes and was far from sure of what's going on. Qxb2 Snacking with the pawn looked good, creating pressure along the 2nd rank. I felt I must be in control again. 33.h3?? This move totally confused me at first, as I assumed White would have to address Rxg2 threat. In fact this does this, as hxg4 would have the h4 queen guard the h2 square. I then noticed the 33...Be4! shot and while I was verifying that it wins, I noticed that 34.Rxf2! is an issue. I considered taking on f1 first 33.. .Rxf1+ 34.Rxf1 Be4, but then 35.Qd8+ Kg7 36.Rxf7+! was a mess. Looking at the clock I suddenly saw that it was the time to push the button, so I went with 33...Be4, not seeing what I am intending next. 33.Rxf2! was the way to maintain the balance apparently. Nxf2+ 34.Kg1 Ng4 I guess here, I was seeing the retreat. 35.Rf1 And apparently White keeps it together. Black has many ways to continue, but there is no win anymore and it is just dynamically equal. 33...Be4! 33...Rxg2 34.hxg4 33...Rxf1+ 34.Rxf1 Be4 35.Qd8+ Kg7 36.Rxf7+! 34.Rxf2 Played instantly, of course. Nxf2+ 35.Kg1 I had considered this position to be lost for myself and looking at my options further verified my conclusion. 35... Qd2? seemed losing, for a second I got hopeful about 35... Qb6 but then saw 36. Qf6+! leading to a winning endgame. Looking for some other desperate attempts, I ran out of time and finally made the losing 35... Qb6 not to lose on time. Qb6?? 35...Ng4! This is an easy move to find, knowing it is a "Black to play and win", but unfortunately it had just eluded me at this moment. The lines are easy to spot. 36.Rxe4 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Rxe4 Be3+ 38.Rxe3 Qc1+ and once again, Black wins everything with checks. 36...Qb6+! and everything falls with checks. 36.Qf6+! White now wins. In the endgame, the black pieces are not well enough coordinated to stop the passed d-pawn. Qxf6 37.exf6 Bxg2 38.Kxg2 Nd3 39.Re8+ Kh7 40.d6 Nc5 41.Re5 Nd7 42.Re7 A remarkable turnaround in the end! 1–0
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Gukesh,D2777Giri,A27311–02025Tata Steel-A 87th1

After this game, both spectators and commentators said that Gukesh was lucky. However, as Anish Giri shows, nothing was so simple and Gukesh's victory was no fluke.

One game that deserved to be annotated in this issue was the final game of the tiebreak blitz match. I have done it for readers:

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1.d4 d5 The position in the game can also arise via the Anti-Nimzo Move Order. 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 c5 5.Be2 Bd6 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.0-0 7.c4 0-0 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nh5 1/2 -1/2 (36 moves) was played in Ding, Liren-Gukesh,D, FIDE World Championship (10) 2024 7...0-0 8.c4 dxc4 8...Nc6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nh5 transposes to the game cited above. 9.Bxc4 a6 This move could have waited. 9...Nc6 developing a piece is preferable. 10.Qxd8 Returning the compliment. This tame move going for exchange of queens loses a tempo. With 10.Nc3 White in turn would have developed a piece. If Qxd1 11.Rfxd1 White occupies the d-file first. 10...Rxd8 11.Nbd2 Again the more natural 11.Nc3 made sense. 11...Bd7 A non-standard move. Gukesh avoids any improvement by Pragg on 10...b5, a move known to him. 11...b5 12.Be2 Bb7 13.Rac1 Nbd7 was seen in Praggnanandhaa-Wesley So, New York 2024 (0-1, 82 moves) 12.Rac1 Be7 13.Be2 This cautious move loses control of d5. I see nothing wrong with 13.Nd4 Nc6 14.N2f3 13.Bb3 Nc6 is not bad either for White. 13...Nd5 This could have waited. 13...Nc6 could have completed development. 14.Bg3 Bb5 He wanted to get rid of the bad bishop first. Otherwise 14...Nc6 is again possible. 15.Bxb5 axb5 16.a3 Nc6 Finally, all Black pieces are in play. 17.Rfd1 He wants to play Ne4. An immediate knight move would allow the Black rook more freedom to operate on the d-file. So White takes charge of the file before he moves the knight. If 17.Nb3 b4 18.axb4 Ndxb4 17...Rac8 18.Kf1! In an endgame the king has to remain active. Nb6! This is not a retreat, but a regrouping move. The knight is set to take control of light squares on the queenside. 19.Ne4 This move allows the Black rook to enter the d-file. 19.Ke2!? followed by Rc2 would have prevented any possible attack on the b-pawn. 19...Nc4 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8? Obvious and wrong. But then it was not easy to see 20...Nxd8! (with a little threat of 21..Nxe3) 21.Ke2 Nc6 22.Rc2 f6= 21.Rc2? Pragg in turn misses 21.a4! N6a5 22.axb5 Bb4 23.b3 Nb6 24.Nd4 Nd5 25.Ke2± 21...Rd1+ 22.Ke2 Rb1 23.Nc3? The wrong knight! He had to play 23.Nd4! Nxd4+ 24.exd4 Rxb2 25.Rxb2 Nxb2 26.Bd6 Kf8 27.Bxe7+ Kxe7= 23...Rxb2 24.Rxb2 Nxb2 25.Nxb5 Nc4 26.Kd3 In hunt for the Black pawn on b7. Nxa3 27.Nxa3 Bxa3 28.Kc4 Na7 29.Bb8 Nc8 30.Kb5 f6? Gukesh is trying to prevent Pragg from having an outpost on e5 with his knight. and he misses an opportunity to get rid of the active White bishop. 30...Bd6! 31.Bxd6 Nxd6+ 32.Kb6 Kf8 33.Kc7 Ke7 was preferable. 31.Nd2 Kf7? Again an inaccuracy. He still had 31...Bd6 32.Bxd6 Nxd6+ 33.Kc5 Nc8 32.Nc4 Bf8 33.Na5 Bd6 34.Bxd6 Nxd6+ 35.Kb6 Ne4 36.f3 Nc3 37.Kxb7 37.Nxb7? Nd5+ 38.Kc5 Nxe3 and Black has won a pawn. 37...e5 38.Kc6 Nd1 39.Nc4 Ke6 40.e4 g6 41.Kc5 f5 Black's counterplay has taken shape out of nowhere. 42.Kb4 fxe4 43.fxe4 Nf2 44.Nd2 Kd6 Gukesh makes a couple of harmless moves to gain time on the clock. 44...Kf6 was the way to make progress on the kingside. 45.Nc4+ Ke6 46.Nd2 Kf6! Now he is on the right track. 47.Kc4 Ng4 48.Nf1 Nf2 49.Kd5 Nd3 50.Ne3 Nf4+ 51.Kd6! Rightly targeting Black's most vunerable point, the pawn on e5. Nd3?? A terrible oversight. 51...h5! would have prevented White's next move and the position becomes level. 52.Nd5+ Kg5 53.h4+ Kxh4 54.Nxf4 exf4 55.e5 Kg3 56.e6 Kxg2 57.e7 f3 58.e8Q f2 59.Qe4+ Kg1 60.Qxg6+ Kf1 61.Qxh5 Kg2= with a theoretical draw. 52.Ng4++- Now it's all over. Kg5 53.Nxe5 Kf4! He would rather lose the knight to put an end to the march of the White pawn. 53...Nxe5?? 54.Kxe5+- made it too easy for White. 54.Nxd3+ Kxe4 55.Nf2+ Ke3 56.Ng4+ Kf4 57.Nf6 h5 58.Ke6 h4 59.Kf7 Kf5 60.Kg7 g5 61.h3 Kf4 62.Kg6 Putting an end to the heroic resistance of his adverasry. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa,R2741Gukesh,D27771–02025Tata Steel-A 87th playoff

Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Gukesh Dommaraju's frustration after misplaying a drawn knight endgame | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

An incredible game in which the loser deserves as much as the winner!

A Viktor Korchnoi special

This issue has a special feature on Viktor Korchnoi. There are 24 annotated games. His opponents include Fischer, Tal, Petrosian, Kasparov and Karpov, among others. I would have loved to see encounters with other great players like Spassky, Geller, Larsen and Portisch. In the MegaBase there are more than five thousand games played over a period of 70 years (1945-2015)!

Opening videos

There are 4 opening videos in this issue.

Michael Prusikin introduces opening traps in the French Advance Variation (C02).

1. e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5

In the second video, Surya Ganguly offers an introduction to a rare line in the Sicilian (B40):

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 (6…d5 among others is an alternative).

In the third video, Felix Blohberger offers a discussion of an unorthodox idea that defies White's options in both the regular Queen's Gambit and also the Queen's Indian (E10):

1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6!?

This is a kind of waiting move. If White plays 4.Nc3, Black replies with 4…Bb4, transposing to the Nimzo-Indian. One line ruled out for White is the Leningrad, as Black's 3…h6 move does not allow Bg5.

In the fourth video, Daniel King offers a demo lecture on an offbeat line in the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation (D35):

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6.e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bb4!?

Take your pick.

Opening surveys

There are as many as 11 opening surveys ranging from the Italian to the King's Indian in this issue. I would first single out the survey on the 3…Nxe4 line in the Petroff Defence by Balász Csonka. His analysis is vindicated by a recent correspondence game:

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 The Petroff Defence. 3.Nxe5 Nxe4!? The Damiano Variation named after Pedro Damiano, the 16th Century Portuguese chess master who wrote a detailed treatise on chess. 3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 is the Main Line. 4.Qe2 Qe7 Not 4...d5?? 5.d3+- Nor 4...Nf6?? 5.Nc6++- 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5 White canot retain the pawn plus with an exchange of queens. 7.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 8.dxe5 Nc6 9.Bf4 If 9.f4 Bf5 10.c3 0-0-0= Black's superior development compensates for the pawn deficit. Or 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.Bxc6 Bxc6= Again Black has a well-developed position and the pawn minus does not count. 9...Bf5 10.c3 0-0-0 followed by...Re8. Black regains the pawn with a very good position. 7...Nc6 8.Nc3 In ChessPublishing.com Harry Grieve analyses 8.Bf4 g5 He also offers an engine suggestion, 8...f5!? 9.Qe3 Qb4+ 10.Nc3 Bc5 11.Qg3 Bd4 12.0-0-0 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qa3+ 14.Kb1 Be6 15.c4 Qc5 16.Bc1 16.Qxg7 Qb4+= 16...Rd8 9.Bd2 9.Bg3?? f5!-+ 9...f5 10.Qe2 Be6! 11.Qh5+ Bf7 12.Qxg5 Qxe5+ 13.Qe3 0-0-0 14.Qxe5 Nxe5 8...Qxe5 9.Qxe5+ Nxe5 10.Bf4 f6 11.0-0-0 Bd6 12.Bg3 h5! This counterattack on the bishop allows Black strengthen his position in the centre. 13.Rd4!? In the well-known line 13.Nb5 h4 14.Nxd6+ cxd6 15.Bf4 g5 16.Be3 16.Bd2 followed by Bb4 is an alternative. 16...Ke7= White's two bishops are counterbalanced by the Black knight on e5 and the latter can target c2 after... Bf5 and ...Rac8. file The Black pawns are aggressively placed on the kingside and his only weak point is the pawn on d6. Analysis by Balász Csonka. 13...a6 14.Ne4 Be7 15.Bxe5 fxe5 16.Rd5 Bf6 17.f4! c6 17...exf4? 18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.Bc4± Balász Csonka suggests the remarkable move, 17...Be6!? 18.Nxf6+ 18.Rc5 c6 19.fxe5 Be7 20.Nd6+ Kd7 21.Nxb7 Bxc5 22.Nxc5+ Ke7 23.Bxa6 Raf8! 18...gxf6 19.fxe5 f5! 18.Rd1 Bg4 19.Rd2 Ke7 20.Nxf6 gxf6 21.Bd3 exf4 The UltraCorr.Base 2025 now shows the result as 0-1. However, it is not clear why the player with Black pieces has had to resign here.
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Kappel,R1662Owens,J23282024WSTT/RD/60

Among others, the analysis of a trendy line with h4 against the Grünfeld by Sergey Grigoriants is of interest. Again, one can see how correspondence chess players pick up these ideas fast:

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 The Grünfeld Defence. 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h4!? A trendy offbeat line.White targets g6 and intends to play cxd5 followed by h4-h5 with a kingside attack. dxc4! The right response. White's kingside pawn advance is met with a counterstrike in the centre. 6.e4 6.h5 Nxh5 7.e4 c5 8.d5 Qa5 9.Bd2 b5 10.e5 0-0 Black s two pawns up. However, White's centre pawns threatem to advance. So Black needs to neutralise the same. 6...c5 7.d5 7.h5 Nxh5 8.d5 Qa5 9.Bd2 b5 10.e5 0-0 transposes to the line in the previous note. 7...0-0 8.Bxc4 Sergey Grigoriants analyses the well-known line, 8.h5 Nxh5! 9.Bxc4 Bg4 10.Rh4 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nd7! 12.Qh3 Bf6! 13.Rxh5 gxh5 14.Bb5 Nb6 15.Bf4 Bg7 16.Qxh5 f5 8...b5 9.Bxb5 Nxe4 10.Nxe4 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Qxb5 13.h5 Qc4 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Rh4 Qxc3+ 16.Bd2 Qd3 17.Bh6 Qxd1+ 18.Rxd1 Rf5 19.d6 He also annotates in depth, 19.Re4 Nd7 20.Rxe7 Rh5 21.Be3 Nf6 22.d6 Bg4 23.Rd3 Nd5 24.Re5 Nb4 25.Rd2 Bxf3 26.Rxh5 Bxh5 27.d7 Nc6 28.f3! g5 29.Bxg5 Bf7 30.a3 Nd8 31.Re2 Nc6 32.Rd2 Nd8 33.Re2 Nc6 34.Rd2 Nd8 1/2 -1/2, Fedoseev-Chigaev, 73rd Russian Championship, 2020. 19...e5! This move is also recommended by Sergey Grogoriants. 20.Ng5 Nd7 21.Rb1 Rb8 22.Rxb8 Nxb8 23.Rc4 Nd7 24.Ne4 Rh5 25.Be3 Kf7 26.Bxc5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Obukhov,G1905Manchenko,I1930½–½2024RB-00422

Besides opening surveys, this issue has standard features on tactics, strategy and the endgame.

In Practical Tips for the Tournament Player, Jan Markos offers a demo lecture on the slow manoeuvring play by Carlsen. A lesson on patience. Former World Champion Tigran Petrosian was a past master in "the art of doing nothing", as Harry Golombek used to call it. Carlsen has gone one step further.

A slow approach has a number of practical advantages: it exerts psychological pressure on the opponent who does not know when you are about to implement a concrete plan. In addition careful manoeuvring can help you to wait for the right moment to start activity. And last but not least, playing with patience can help you to gain an advantage on the clock!

Endgame play

In the regular column Fundamental Endgame Knowledge, Karsten Müller offers a demo lecture on knight versus bishop endings. He also analyses a number of rook endings in Korchnoi's games. The warlord was an authority on rook endgames, having authored a whole book on these endings, Practical Rook Endings.

One difficult theme in the endgame is the fortress. In the last issue, CBM 223, Dorian Rogozenco had dealt with queen versus rook and pawn endings. This time he offers a demo lecture on queen and pawn versus rook and pawn endings.

This section also offers a column, Readers Write, in which we find contributions on the endgame by experts like Zoran Petronijevic, Alex Fishbein, Wolfram Schoen and Rene Kalmes

Summing up

The main database of the issue has 209 games, of which 15 are deeply annotated. There is much else in this DVD that deserves to be explored. Apart from the players I have already mentioned, the commentators include Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa and Karsten Müller, among others. It may be noted that there are more annotated games in the opening and training sections of this issue. Well, practice makes perfect.

Note: The final moment of the Tata Steel tiebreaker blitz match may be seen in the official video at 1:06 - 1:13:

Tata Steel 2025 with game analyses by Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov, Giri and many others. Opening videos by Ganguly, Blohberger and King. 10 opening articles with new ideas for your repertoire. Special on Korttschnoj and much more!

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Topics: ChessBase Magazine
Prof. 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.
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Video

60m English The Elephant Gambit

The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.
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