4/24/2023 – Playing white, Ian Nepomniachtchi simplified the position on move 19 in game 11 of the World Championship match — a decision which led to a quick draw. Nepo still has a 1-point lead over Ding Liren, who will get three more chances to even the score. Tuesday is a rest day in Astana. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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.!
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
This isn’t just another chess tutorial—it’s your all-access pass to the strategies, insights, and techniques that define modern grandmaster play.
€39.90
It would have been a “freeroll”
Find expert commentary — video and game annotations — by well-known coach and author IM Robert Ris at the end of the article.
Now that Magnus Carlsen has gone into poker, it makes sense that official commentator Daniil Dubov, in his daily recap for FIDE, used the term “freeroll” while analysing game 11 of the World Championship match.
Dubov was referring to Ian Nepomniachtchi’s decision to capture on c4 on move 19, which led to a liquidation of the position and a quick draw. According to Dubov (and Robert Ris, among other commentators), 19.Qe2 would have allowed Nepo to play freely (as in a poker event in which there is no entry fee), since only White can be better in the ensuing positions.
Nepomniachtchi vs. Ding
The draw means Nepo still has a 1-point lead on the scoreboard. Despite the match situation, Nepo mentioned that he was “not completely satisfied” with the draw, although he did describe the result as “acceptable”.
Avoiding mistakes in the opening and even learning from mistakes is a valuable tool to improve your chess. Ruslan Ponomariov, former FIDE World Champion, demonstrates basic patterns that will help you navigate through the game more easily.
From Ding Liren’s point of view, time is running out, as only three games are left to go in Astana. Luckily for him, he will get the white pieces twice in the final encounters, and both times he will have a rest day prior to those games (i.e. he will get extra time to prepare). When asked about the match situation, Ding noted that he is no stranger to winning on demand in high-profile events:
I think it’s too early to play something like the Sicilian. Still, there are three games ahead. In the Candidates, I won in the last game, so anything can happen in the last three rounds.
Although Nepo’s status as favourite only solidifies with each draw, he still feels that the toughest challenge is yet to come. The Russian noted:
There are three games ahead. I should give it all to do the job. Of course, it’s not over yet.
...to which GM Alex Colovic replied: “Just like Leko”. Colovic was referring to the 2004 match for the world title, when Peter Leko had a 1-point advantage going into the final game against defending champion Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik won the game and, as per the rules of the match, kept the title.
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
Of course, nowadays, a tie in the match leads to playoffs, as was seen in 2016 and 2018, when Magnus Carlsen defeated Sergey Karjakin and Fabiano Caruana in rapid tiebreakers to keep the title he is now about to give up voluntarily.
Ding Liren and Richard Rapport will get a few more chances to show what they are capable of mustering up opening-wise | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris - Video and annotated game
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
Videos by Mihail Marin: Najdorf Variation with 6.f4 and Nico Zwirs: Italian ‘giucco pianissimo’. ‘Lucky bag’ with 45 analyses by Edouard, Ftacnik, Gupta, Pelletier and others. Update service with over 50,000 new games for your database!
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
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.
€21.90
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.
