ChessBase´26 – Tips for beginners, part 26: Null moves: The art of doing nothing

by Stefan Liebig
8/9/2026 – It’s often the small tricks that make training clearer and more effective. One such feature in ChessBase´26 is the ability to insert null moves. This can be especially helpful in chess training or analysis. In this short and concise tutorial, you'll learn how to use null moves effectively.
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.

The Null Move

In this tutorial, we’ll show you where to find the null move option and how to use it effectively.

To get started, open a new game and go to the main menu item "Insert":

For example, if you want to demonstrate Black’s typical setup in the King’s Indian Defence during your next training session, you don’t have to build the position from scratch. Starting from the initial position, you can quickly reach the setup shown here as follows:

To reach this position and notation, simply start from the initial setup and click on "Null Move" (or use the shortcut ALT+CTRL+0), then enter 1...Nf6, click "Null Move" again, and enter 2...g6, and so on. On the board, you’ll see only the typical King’s Indian setup for Black, and the notation will display "--" for each null move.

If you like, you can now also add White’s moves by letting Black "pass" using null moves. However, in most cases, it makes more sense to start from the beginning. Here’s what the position might look like for a Four Pawns Attack structure:

Combining with Other Analysis Tools

Of course, the null move can also be used in combination with other analysis tools in ChessBase´26, and it’s useful in endgame training as well. Take, for example, the non-trivial checkmate with bishop and knight. One common challenge is finding the precise tempo move to avoid stalemate.

In the following position, the knight square is currently marked red, as the suggested knight move would lead to stalemate. Instead, you should follow the green marker. A null move (see the notation) would achieve the same effect—but while not legal in an actual game, it can be a useful teaching tool in this context.

Various markers have been added here. The main line follows the idea of playing 1...Bb5 as a tempo move. The alternative line begins with the null move 1...--.

Once again, trying it out beats overthinking. Enjoy exploring the surprisingly useful null moves in ChessBase´26 — the art of doing nothing!

------

ChessBase has developed over decades to become what it is now in its 2026 version. The program has countless options, which we will present here in small portions – so you can design your interface for pleasant daily use and keep learning about new options and how to use them to get the most out of ChessBase´26 and save time.

We hope that this tip will help you to have more fun and be more successful when using ChessBase´26. You can find more tips and hints on our support pages and FAQ pages.

All parts of the series and more links:

The free app from ChessBase! ChessBase Mobile has everything you need as a chess player on the go: access your chess data in cloud databases - and 13 million games.
ChessBase Mobile has everything you need as a chess player on the go:
  • Access the ChessBase online database - with more than 13 million games: search for players, positions, openings etc.
  • Save your own games and analyses in cloud databases
  • Synchronise your personal databases across all your devices
  • Analyse your games with the built-in engine
  • Live opening book: use the most comprehensive and up-to-date statistics for every opening position
  • Access your opening repertoire in the cloud: create and edit your personal opening repertoire
  • 300 opening overviews, with repertoire suggestions: get started with new systems!
  • Practise opening variations with three modes.
  • Advanced notation: add comments, symbols, variations, arrows and markings to your games
  • Advanced sharing options: share games and positions via link, image, GIF, FEN or QR code
  • PGN compatibility: upload and download games or databases as PGN files

<< Saint Louis and Ural State Mining reach finals in Almaty
Topics: ChessBase´26, Tutorial
Stefan 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.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors

See also

ChessBase´26 – Tips for beginners, part 25: Customizing your view – how to see what matters

8/2/2026 – ChessBase´26 offers a wide range of technical features and training tools. To get the most out of them, it helps to know where to look. In this tutorial, we show you how just a few clicks can enhance your ChessBase experience. Explore the "View" menu across different sections of the program to design your own personalized ChessBase environment. Take a look and try it out — because in the end, it’s all a matter of personal preference...
More...
 2

See also

ChessBase´26 – Tips for beginners, part 24: Always get the latest games via update

7/26/2026 – The Mega Database 2026 contains over eleven million games — an impressive archive of chess knowledge. And it keeps growing. Thanks to the weekly Mega Update service, you receive about 5,000 new games each week, directly from tournaments around the world. As with ChessBase´26, keeping the Mega Database up to date requires just a few clicks. In this tutorial episode, we’ll show you how.
More...
 1

Video

MiddleGame 08594EC Springing pawns

A pawn move can change the character of the whole position. Jussupow-Anand (Linares 1991) is all about such powerful pawn moves.