Memorising openings should be a thing of the past. That was the message from Dorian Rogozenco, who is responsible for creating the videos on current opening trends in top-level chess, last year.
In an interview, Rogozenco explained how ChessBase products should be used to best effect for opening preparation. While Rogozenco is responsible for the latest videos in the English-language Opening Encyclopaedia, Thomas Stark (photo) is in charge of the many detailed tasks that need to be done. In this interview, the support expert shares practical tips and explains how the Opening Encyclopaedia, which has been continuously developed for many years, has become the comprehensive standard work that it is today.
Thank you for answering questions about the new Opening Encyclopaedia – but first of all, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek question: shouldn't your opponents be afraid of you when they know that you spend so much time studying openings?
(laughs) Unfortunately, I can't study everything I work on in detail. There's just too much. And everyone knows that you have to study an opening intensively and then you go into the game with a good feeling. But I manage to get things more or less right at least most of the time after seven moves...
Let's move on to the Opening Encyclopaedia and a practical question: how do you work effectively with this extensive product?
This, of course, depends very much on your knowledge and playing strength. If you are a beginner or have never played a new opening variation before, I recommend that you first look for the appropriate topic in the 'Opening Tutorials' section. Here you will find a brief historical overview and tips on basic lines. At the end of the tutorial there are links to 'Detailed variations' for more in-depth study.
This is where you can access the ‘Ideas for Your Repertoire’ section, which contains all the opening articles from the ChessBase Magazine (a total of 1524!).
A more experienced player, who is familiar with the opening codes of the informant, can also look up the line he wants to study directly via the ‘ECO list’. The opening code, year and month of the post, name of the opening and author are given in the link. Clicking on the link takes you to the opening post, which is in the ‘Ideas for your repertoire’ chapter. The selected line is discussed in detail there, with a link providing extensively annotated model games. The article concludes with a short summary. Another link can be used to go directly to other articles by the author if desired. In addition, you can find out about the range of video courses specifically for the selected opening via ‘Other opening products in the ChessBase Shop’.
I recommend that every user should start by watching the introductory videos by Dorian Rogozenco on the Opening Encyclopaedia's homepage: in the intro, he gives a general overview of the developments of the opening in the games of top players. He then looks at nine frequently played openings in detail (here is a free example; another example is available for free in the product presentation in the ChessBase Shop).
Below that, there are links to corresponding encyclopaedia articles and videos by other ChessBase Magazine authors.
The Opening Encyclopedia is one of the core ChessBase products. What makes it so special?
It is aimed at players of all levels and contains high-quality articles. This is guaranteed by the editorial team. The encyclopaedia can be used optimally in conjunction with the Mega Database or the online database – together they provide an inexhaustible source of data and optimal analysis and archiving options.
Where do the countless articles in the Encyclopaedia come from?
For 25 years, the opening articles from ChessBase Magazine (CBM) have been compiled and clearly presented in this volume.
That sounds like an immense amount of detailed work for which you are responsible?
Yes, indeed, this requires several weeks of intensive preparation every year – I have a very long Excel list for this, in which I log all CBM articles in a logically sorted way, so that I can then incorporate them into our encyclopaedia's editorial system.
Excerpt from the many pages of the work file for the Opening Encyclopaedia...
There are countless links to be made there to offer users the best possible convenience when searching and using the program. But the good support I receive from the ChessBase magazine editorial team, in the form of Oliver Reeh and Steffen Giehring, is also important in my work. And, of course, from the programmers, who ensure that the lexicon with all its videos and links also works in ChessBase and Fritz.
How can users find their way through this huge amount of data?
The encyclopaedia is divided into different categories, which makes it easy to use. In a video with Arne Kähler I give an overview:
Our programmers and editorial team always focus on functionality and user-friendliness. Despite the complexity and countless links, users must be able to find their way around quickly and find what they are looking for immediately.
25 years is a long time, especially in the area of opening theory. Does it make sense to list all these old posts?
Absolutely. On the one hand, it makes it easy to follow developments in the variations, and on the other hand, there are not groundbreaking innovations in every opening every year.
How can I find these ‘groundbreaking’ innovations?
We have recently started adding the year to the end of each article. In addition, in the 2025 edition, we have a new menu item called ‘Opening articles since January 2024’ – this lists only the articles from the last 15 months.
What else is new in the 2025 edition of the Opening Encyclopedia?
We provide 35 hours of videos – we have increased the offering from 75 videos last year to 100 this year. In addition, the authors' names are linked to a list of their other contributions. The links to the corresponding opening products in the shop have also been significantly improved.
Another new feature is for users who want to use the encyclopaedia on the go or watch the videos on their tablet PC.
Due to the huge amount of data, it is not possible to do this completely, but the videos can also be accessed on the go on ChessBase Books. It's a great service that will surely be expanded further.
What will change by next year?
One difference is that Rainer Knaak has handed over his column Opening Traps to his successor Michael Prusikin. We would like to thank Rainer for his decades of work. Otherwise, we can look forward to further innovations. The ideas for these always arise during the course of the year and while working on the current issue.
Tips from the pro:
- The Opening Encyclopedia can be conveniently opened in the ChessBase interface
- You can also combine the encyclopedia with Fritz. Then you can play against a selected opening in a targeted way (playing with White/Black against the database book)
- In the section ‘Ideas for your repertoire’, all opening articles are clearly sorted according to the common opening names
- The ‘Opening Overviews’ section contains an additional 8,000 overviews in a compact commentary style
- You can easily transfer model games into your own databases
- Opening overviews can be uploaded to MyMoves
- There is a separate chapter with opening traps in the opening videos chapter
- The videos can be accessed on mobile devices via ChessBase Books
- In the ‘All In One’ chapter, an author devotes himself to a variation in great detail, using a game
| Advertising |
