11/11/2026 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Nagesh Havanur takes a look at the recent issue, CBM 233. A total of 2911 games from the Biel and Norway tournaments (18 annotated), 10 opening surveys, 3 opening videos, demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Lubomir Ftacnik. Aydin Suleymanli and Le Quang Liem, among others. The icing on the cake is Anish Giri's analysis of two decisive games from the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters Tournament. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
new: ChessBase Magazine 225
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
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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.
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Deep and detailed annotations
There are tournaments and tournaments, and the annual Biel chess competition is more than a tournament. It's a festival open to one and all, be it a chess professional or an amateur. The event has an edition for every level of player, suitable for his or her standard.
The triathlon, though, is for stronger players, and this year it was won Levon Aronian (featured on the cover of this issue).
Tournament reports often focus on the success of the winner, so the performance of others close behind him is overlooked. In this issue, however, they receive a lot of recognition. Young Aydin Suleymanli came second and here he analyses his game with Le Quang Liem.
Le Quang Liem had won this Biel Chess Festival Tournament for three consecutive years before. This time he shared the third place with Yagiz Erdogmus. He did not do too badly. Here is a game analysed by the winner himself.
That still leaves open the question, "How did Aronian win this tournament?" At the Prize Distribution Ceremony he admitted laughingly, "I did not dream of winning against these young monsters". The genial grandmaster, now in mid-forties has a sunny temperament and, unlike more ambitious players, does not try to win every tournament. This sober, pragmatic approach earned him dividends in the Biel Competition. He was relaxed, and he took his chances when he saw them over the board. On occasion, he took crazy risks and managed to win even from lost positions. The following game is a fine example:
As in the game with Suleymanli that we saw, Aronian experimented in the opening so that his opponent would be on his own. A case in point is a rare line in the French Defence that he tried against Bluebaum. I think Black could try a principled continuation against this line:
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Download plus ChessBase Book for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
Video: Biel Chess Festival
The battle of Norway
The brief report on Norway 2026 focuses on Magnus Carlsen's poor form rather than the incredible performance of Praggnanandhaa Rameshbaby who scored win after win after six rounds and two consecutive losses. Magnus lost to three opponents: Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So and Praggnanandhaa. Here is one of them analysed by Anish Giri:
In fairness to Magnus he did not do as badly as shown in the tournament table. Here is his win over the same opponent:
However, it was Pragg's performance that proved decisive in the end. Magnus himself was generous in his opinion of the young player:
I am a fan. I love watching him. He plays in a very aggressive way. He manages to put pressure on basically everybody, including myself.
Chess is a concrete game. There is no way around training your calculation skills. Improve your visualization, pattern recognition and learn calculation techniques such as reciprocal thinking with this course. Calculation is at the heart of practical chess. Every chess concept builds on proper calculation technique. Therefore, all chess players should continuosly train the fundamental techniques, concepts and patterns this course will present. The goal isn't only to teach you to calculate, but to give you the tools and insights to keep improving long after the final lesson.
Free sample video: Introduction
There are as many as ten articles on the openings ranging from the Sicilian to the Slav. Among others, two deserve special attention. The first is the analysis of the Alekhine-Chatard Attack (C13-C14) by Sergey Grigoriants. At first sight it appears that there is no easy way to meet White's offensive. However, Black can try a sideline that may solve his problems:
The second is a deep analysis of the Marshall Gambit against the Semi-Slav (D31) by Bàlazs Csonka. Here we have only room for an important encounter from the Candidates Tournament early this year:
Opening videos
There are three opening videos in this issue. The first of them is on the Saemisch Variation of the Nimzo-Indian (E24) by Ivan Sokolov. The second is on the English Defence (A40) by Danny King. The third is on the Exchange Variation of the Grünfeld (D85) by Mihail Marin.
Take your pick.
Besides opening surveys, this issue has standard features on tactics, strategy and the endgame.
Endgame play
In the regular column "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge", Karsten Müller offers a video lecture on the queen versus two minor pieces setup.
In his series on the fortress theme, Dorian Rogozenco offers a video lecture on opposite-coloured bishops with one side having two pawns.
This section also offers a column, "Readers write", in which we find contributions on the endgame by Zoran Petronijevic, Chris Edwards, Ingo Althoefer and Markus Hochgraefe.
Summing up
The main database of the issue has 2911 games, of which 18 are deeply annotated. There is much else in this DVD that deserves to be explored. Among the commentators I would like to make a special mention of Alvar Alonso Rosell. His annotations are deep and detailed, full of insight. It may be noted that there are more annotated games in the opening and training sections of this issue. Well, practice makes perfect.
“Attack with Qh5!!” – Tactical training with Oliver Reeh, “6…g5 – nothing ventured, nothing …” – Le Quang Liem comments on one of his victories in Biel, “Grischuk’s stroke of genius” – Petra Papp reveals a surprise in the Sicilian Kan Variation, and much ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their finest games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master coaches in tactics, strategy and endgames show you exactly the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Included in the package: CBM #233 as a ‘ChessBase Book’ for iPad, tablet, Mac, etc.! Available at books.chessbase.com
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.
9/3/2026 – The Opening Encyclopaedia 2026 presents you with a wealth of new ideas for your opening repertoire. From May 2025 to March 2026, 62 new repertoire suggestions and 46 new videos have been added to the Opening Encyclopaedia! In total, you have access to 1586 opening articles, 100 videos and 8274 surveys covering a period of over 26 years!
8/22/2026 – ChessBase’s new releases for July offer plenty of variety for your chess training: from strategic motifs such and dynamic openings such as the Dragon to established repertoires for Black in the Petroff and the Benko Gambit. The selection is rounded off by the new ChessBase Magazine 232, featuring analyses, opening articles and training material, as well as the accompanying Extra. | All photos: ChessBase
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.
2026 Chess Olympiad with analyses by Abdusattorov, Donchenko, Duda, So and many more – ‘Rooks love open files’: Tactics training with Oliver Reeh – ‘Don’t underestimate it’: Caruana’s blitz weapon 1.e4 e5 2.d3 – Total Video playing time: over 6 hours!
Keep it simple. Stay objective. Watch the clock. Sometimes take the risk. GM Loek van Wely explains the ten principles that decide real games. They aren’t about theory. They’re about what you do at the board when it counts.
Most players don’t lack the urge to attack, they just strike at the wrong moment, and GM Sipke Ernst shows you which signals tell you to go for the king and which tell you to choose another plan.
How grandmasters win without fireworks: GM Jan Markos shows you 11 very practical tips from "How to play in a lost position" to "Be patient like Carlsen" that will improve your tournament chess.
The Nimzo-Indian has stood the test of time for over a century: Still a top choice for elite players today, from Magnus Carlsen to Praggnanandhaa, it remains one of Black's most reliable ways to fight for real chances against 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nc3.
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