1/22/2024 – In the second segment of our problem-solving experiment, we invited a former world champion of chess solving (!) to answer the unorthodox chess puzzles, featured in our Dec. 31st article. This strong grandmaster breezed past the first two problems, and so we gave a final composition which proved to be slightly more challenging for the mathematician!
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.
The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) offers a simple yet highly effective solution to all major Sicilian lines, by sidestepping them with 2.c3.
€39.90
Who is John Nunn?
Dr. John Nunn went to Oxford University at the tender age of 15 years old, and holds a doctorate degree (thesis in algebraic topology). He was among the world’s leading chess grandmasters for almost twenty years, winning four gold medals in chess Olympiads and countless other tournaments. He is also a much-acclaimed writer, whose works have won ‘Book of the Year’ awards. In several countries! In 2004, he was crowned the world champion for chess solving, a title he received two more times. Oh yes, and he is a very strong grandmaster, one of the world's best at the height of his career!
John Nunn composing a chess problem, in the mid 1980s with an Apple ][
Watch the logical process of how he solves the puzzles and compare them!
Puzzle composition competition
Perhaps our Christmas Puzzles (or John’s logical yet fascinating solving) 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!
In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
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.
You will learn how Black's dynamic piece activity and structural counterplay more than compensate for White's extra tempo in the colour-reversed setups.
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
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.
€59.90
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