Behind the scenes in Samarkand: Inside the Expo

by ChessBase
9/30/2026 – Arne Kähler sets off by golf cart from the entrance gate to the exhibition area at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. He shows the stands of WR Chess, DGT and ChessBase, while also passing the ChessBase India workspace, the food court and the souvenir shop. Arne then visits the press area and the game zone before meeting a special guest at the ChessBase stand - elite grandmaster Levon Aronian! | Photo: ChessBase
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Behind the scenes at the Olympiad with ChessBase

The ChessBase team had a great time in Samarkand! Arne Kähler begins another tour of the Olympiad venue at the entrance gate together with ChessBase News editor-in-chief Johannes Fischer. This time, he shows the inside of the Expo.

Arne Kähler continues the tour on foot inside the hall, passing the stands of WR Chess, DGT and ChessBase. The fan shop even has fan shirts featuring the faces of the Uzbek players!

In the gaming zone, there are areas for playing computer and PlayStation games, as well as areas for table tennis and table football.

Back at the ChessBase stand, Arne Kähler meets Levon Aronian. At the end of the vlog, there are also a few behind-the-scenes moments from the "Off the Board" nterviews conducted with players during the Olympiad.

Inside the Expo in Samarkand

Behind the scenes with ChessBase

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60m English New ideas in the Najdorf_E

‘New ideas in the Najdorf – a Power Play 18 Update’ aims to complement Daniel King’s popular DVD from last year ‘The Sicilian Najdorf - a repertoire for Black’. Such a dynamic and popular opening as the Najdorf is developing the whole time. On this download, Daniel King updates lines that were included on his DVD but also responds to viewers’ requests, considering lines that he omitted from his original repertoire. The lines examined on this update are: • 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 • 5….a6 6 Bc4 in combination with the English Attack (Be3, f3 etc) • 5…a6 6 Be3 and the …a5 variation • 5…a6 6 Be2 and 9 Re1 • 5 f3 (instead of 5 Nc3) It isn’t necessary to have seen the original Najdorf DVD to understand the lines examined here – but it would help as they form part of a complete repertoire.