1/11/2024 – It's an experiment. We wanted to know how a number of different personalities reacted to some unusual problems we presented in our Christmas Puzzle week. So we gave them two positions and let them wrestle with them online. For starters, we bring you video of a super-talent, Leon Luke Mendonca, and his first-time encounter with anything like this. Did you react in similar fashion to the problems?
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Why memorising endless theory might not be the best path - and how an idea-based repertoire can change your game.
€39.90
This is the first instalment of the experiment in which we will be giving two unusual puzzles, the ones from our December 31st puzzle article, to (1) a young super-talent in chess; (2) a very strong grandmaster who is a former world champion of chess solving; and (3) a chess amateur who happens to be an advanced quantum physicist.
We begin with the 17-year-old super-talent.
Who is Leon?
Leon Luke Mendonca gained his title of grandmaster in January 2021, at the age of 14. He has triumphed in several international competitions, a notable example being the 2023 HIT GM Open in Slovenia, which he won with a flawless score of 9/9 and an Elo performance of 3196! On a non-chess side, Leon is also a violinist: when he was stranded in Budapest, he gave a concert in the Budapest cathedral.
I would like to thank Leon for joining our problem-solving experiment – solving unorthodox chess puzzles with all to see. Without further ado, here is the video of him doing it:
Puzzle composition competition
Perhaps our Christmas Puzzles will encourage you to venture into the fascinating world of chess composition. We have already received a couple of dozen entries by readers over Christmas, and I am in touch with some of the submitters. The competition will close on January 21, so you still have some time to construct your chess puzzles – mates, helpmates or anything else.
There will be four prizes: three copies of the latest ChessBase Magazine – in the completely new design and interactive format. And a copy of the first ChessBase eBook "Frederic's Chess Tales". Here are descriptions of the prizes.
After solving all these puzzles, are you also interested in trying to compose some yourself? If so, send us your progress and process to us and get a chance to win prizes!
Anirudh DagaAnirudh was born in Delhi, India, and now lives in Singapore. He is one of the world's most promising young problem composers, specializing in positions that are fascinating and unconventional. He became interested in chess composition after winning the Christmastide Solving Contest, at the age of twelve. Anirudh grew from strength to strength, competed at the World Chess Solving Championships, and composed numerous problems that have all found their due place in reputable problem magazines. It is his goal to spread the joy of chess composition and solving!
London System PowerBase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
