11/27/2014 – Highlights: Grand Prix tournaments in Baku and Tashkent, Grand Slam final and European Cup in Bilbao. Analyses by Anand, Adams, Andreikin and many more top grandmasters. Lots of training, for instance with Karsten Müller: „French Endgames“ including training questions and five videos. Plus 13 articles fon current openings from the Reti to the King's Indian Defence. Impressive!
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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From the 2026 Candidates Tournament, featuring a video review by Dorian Rogozenco, to Jan Werle’s opening video on the French Tarrasch Defence, and Oliver Reeh’s tactical column ‘Top Grandmasters at Work’. Analyses by Giri, So, Wei Yi and many others.
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Evgeny Postny: "Black has the choice" (Anti-Grünfeld with 5.Ld2 and 8.Qd2)
"The side variation 5.Bd2 has been enjoying a certain popularity among strong players, there is a whole series of 2700s who in recent years have tested out this setup with White. White would like to recapture on c3 with the bishop and then the fashionable move is 8.Qd2 (instead of 8.Nf3) and that is the subject of Evgeny Postny's article."
That is how Rainer Knaak describes the situation in the booklet of CBM 163. The article was written before the World Championship in Sochi. And what happened? In the very first Vishy Anand attacked World Champion Magnus Carlsen with this variation!
Postny presents two candidates - 8...c5 and 8...Nc6 (Carlsen's choice), explains the strategic ideas behind these moves, and concludes that both offer Black good chances to equalize.
1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 g6 5.b3 Bg7 6.Bb2 0-0 7.0-0 This flexible setup allows one to decide at a later point whether to follow it up with d3 or with d4. Max Illingworth has studded his article with numerous rules of thumb so that it is to a great extent possible to avoid having to learn long theoretical variations.
As Alexey Kuzmin explains, what we have here is a totally new approach to playing the Volga. Black does not want to take on a6 quickly in order to prevent White from castling with Ba6xf1. Instead of that he is even prepared to rapidly exchange his queen.
Stohl: Benoni A60
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 cxd5 5.exd5 b5
The Fianchetto Variation may not be reckoned the strongest way to fight the Modern Benoni, but nevertheless White does have chances of getting an advantage. So, with 5...b5!? Black is trying to go his own way at an early point; Igor Stohl investigates how dangerous that is for him.
Till now in this variation of the Staunton Gambit 7.Bxf6 was played – however it led to good results for Black. But as Tibor Karolyi demonstrates in his article, after 7.h4! Black has to face much greater problems. That represents a considerable upward revaluation of the move 2.e4.
At first White develops naturally with Bd3 and Be3. But as Gergö Havasi demonstrates in his analyses, you would require good knowledge of the theory specific to this variation in order to really get an advantage in the long run.
Krasenkow: Sicilian B22
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 e6
At the level of club players, the Alapin Variation 2.c3 is very popular. So Michal Krasenkow makes you acquainted with his own repertoire against it. Early on 4...e6 is a subtle move, since White can hardly reply 5.dxc5 (5...Qxd1+).
After the strongest continuation 10.Bd2 c4 11.b4 there are two quite distinct lines: 11...Qa6 and 11...Nxb4. Andrey Sumets’ investigations prove that the knight sacrifice has a greater tendency to give Black satisfactory play.
6.Bh4 provokes 6...g5, and White hopes to be able to go on and exploit the weakness. Dejan Antic deals with 8...h5 and 8...f5, before turning to the main move 8...c5. It appears that White cannot lay claim to any objective advantage.
From the position in the diagram Black has several moves: 4...g4?!, 4...Bg7, the subtle 4...d6 and 4...Nc6, which leads to a position which is frequently arrived at via a transposition of moves. Karsten Müller introduces you to the subtleties and goes far beyond present theory.
This is one of the sharpest variations of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. By playing 7...e6 Black returns the pawn immediately. Daniel Gormally acquaints you with both continuations: 8...Bb4 and Miles’ 8...Nb6.
Nowadays 5.Bd2 is no longer a surprise way to meet the Grünfeld Defence. Evgeny Postny has worked intensively on the position in the diagram and come to the conclusion that there are several continuations for Black which give him a level game.
The so-called Hübner Variation (Mihail Marin mentions earlier games by Portisch in the 1950s) is not an easy one to defuse. Our Romanian author tries to do so with 10.Nd2 and in his extensive article he is able to show a slight plus for White.
Krisztian Szabo is a specialist in this sharp variation, which can be characterised in brief as follows: White is better, but Black wins. So the risk factor is extremely high for both sides.
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.
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.
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!
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.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
In this 60-minute video course you’ll learn how to use the Austrian Defence as a practical weapon for Black!
€9.90
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"The side variation 5.Bd2 has been enjoying a certain popularity among strong players, there is a whole series of 2700s who in recent years have tested out this setup with White. White would like to recapture on c3 with the bishop and then the fashionable move is 8.Qd2 (instead of 8.Nf3) and that is the subject of Evgeny Postny's article."
