"A Karpovian move"

by ChessBase
3/16/2026 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #230, Nico Zwirs analyses the game between his compatriots Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri from the Tata Steel Masters 2026 in the video. The focus is on the opening, as Van Foreest had clearly prepared something special against the Najdorf Variation – known to be one of Giri's specialities. After 11...Qc7, he continued with 12.a3 – ‘A Karpovian move!’. White's idea is to move the b3 knight via c1 and a2 to b4 and from there to target the light squares d5 (and c6). Van Foreest thus invested four moves in improving his knight and securing his king's position. A new concept that paid off in full in this game! Take a look at this week's CBM reading sample!

Tata Steel 2026 with analyses by Bluebaum, Giri, L'Ami, Woodward and many more. Opening videos by Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs. 10 exciting 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 best games and explain the ideas behind their 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 exactly the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a download (including magazine as a PDF file) or as a magazine with download key by post.
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Nico Zwirs shows Jorden van Foreest - Anish Giri (Tata Steel 2026)

Free reading sample from ChessBase Magazine #230

Click on the following image to load the sample as a "ChessBase Book" in your web browser.

In Wijk aan Zee, Anish Giri chose the Najdorf Variation with 11...Qc7 against Jorden van Foreest – a move that our author himself had used three years ago in the same place in the Challengers tournament. In his analysis, Nico Zwirs explains the advantages and disadvantages of this move. Van Foreest's maneuver 12.a3, 13.Nc1 (“A Karpovian move”), 14.Na2, 15.Nb4 is exciting for opening theory – White invests four moves in improving his knight and his king's position. A new concept that paid off in full in this game!

Highlights of ChessBase Magazine #230

From Tata Steel 2026 to Rustam Kasimdzhanov's opening video on the Two Knights Game and Dorian Rogozenco's ‘The Fortress’ to Karsten Mueller's training series ‘Fundamental Endgame Knowledge’.

Over 6 hours of video training with Martin Breutigam, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Jan Markos, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris, Dorian Rogozenco and Nico Zwirs.

Top games and master analyses

Tata Steel 2026: At the ‘Wimbledon of chess’ in Wijk aan Zee, the Uzbek top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov was among the leaders in the Masters from the outset and ultimately prevailed with 9 out of 13, ahead of his compatriot Javokhir Sindarov (8.5 out of 13). In the Challengers, the decision was made in the final round, when Andy Woodward prevailed against Erwin L'Ami and Aydin Suleymanli, who had been level on points until then, lost to Velimir Ivic. From a German perspective, Christian Glöckler's triumph in the Qualifiers (8.5 out of 9 – see cover!) is particularly  leasing. In this issue, you will find game analyses by Blübaum, Giri, Nguyen, Suleymanli, Warmerdam and Woodward.

Opening videos

Mihail Marin and Nico Zwirs take two games from the Tata Steel tournament as the starting
point for their opening theory analyses. Aravindh-Blübaum featured the Catalan, while Van Foreest-Giri saw the Sicilian Najdorf Variation. And Rustam Kasimdzhanov reports on his experiment with the Two Knights Game against McShane in the German Bundesliga.

Mihail Marin: Catalan
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2
Nico Zwirs: Sicilian Najdorf
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0–0–0 h5 11.Kb1 Qc7
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: Two Knights Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7

... and much more!

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