"I just enjoyed being silly on camera" - An interview with Danny Rensch

by ChessBase
2/18/2025 – The Freestyle Chess tournament at Weissenhaus attracted many prominent visitors from the chess world. Among them was the well-known and popular commentator Danny Rensch, chess.com's Chief Chess Officer. In an interview with Arne Kähler Rensch talked about Freestyle, fitness programmes, why he rarely plays chess anymore, the art of relaxation and revealed why he came to one round in his bathrobe.

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Mastering the unknown: Niclas Huschenbeth on Freestyle Chess

2/15/2025 – Freestyle Chess is shaking up the game, and GM Niclas Huschenbeth is at the forefront of the revolution. With no fixed openings and 960 possible starting positions, adaptability is key—yet Huschenbeth sees opportunity where others see chaos. His Freestyle Chess Masterclass equips players with the principles to navigate any position with confidence. From breaking symmetry to mastering piece coordination, the German GM unveils the secrets to success in this dynamic format. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
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Freestyle, FIDE, etc. - An interview with Jan Henric Buettner

2/11/2025 – At the beginning of the Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Tournament Jan Henric Buettner was inundated with interview requests. The dispute with FIDE had attracted a lot of media attention and everyone wanted to know exactly what it was all about and what the current situation was. At the start of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus Buettner invited the ChessBase team to his office for an interview.
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Video

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.