10/12/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game when both sides have queened. The main guideline in these positions is that the side with the safer king wins. In the diagram position Black might be able to queen his pawn but White will definitely queen first - and then will hunt Black's king. However, Black can still draw. How?

10/9/2021 – In the diagram position White just played 14.Bd4 to neutralize the enemy Dragon bishop on the long diagonal. But this solid looking move actually allowed Black to get the advantage. How did he continue?

10/5/2021 – Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and draw. How?

10/2/2021 – Opposite-coloured bishops favour the attacker - this well-known chess wisdom was impressively proven in the diagram position. How did White start the action?

10/1/2021 – The new ChessBase Magazine Extra #203 is out - with two instructive and interesting videos: Jan Werle examines what Carlsen's 4.c4 in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation is all about and Robert Ris presents a highly topical weapon against the Sicilian Taimanov. Total playing time of the two videos: over an hour. The issue also offers lots of opening recommendations and analyses by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Sagar Shah, Spyridon Kapnisis and Tanmay Srinath. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine and is available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as download. Don't miss it.

9/28/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game, when both sides have queened. In this phase it is important to start checking the enemy king first. In the diagram position Black just gave a check. But where should the white king go? And how should White prepare a transition to the fourth phase of the game?

9/25/2021 – In the diagram position Black has enough material for the queen, so the key to victory for White must be the attack on the king. Which is protected by a lot of pieces - but how can White break through Black's defence?

9/21/2021 – Even in endgames one should not forget that mate ends the game. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What did he do?

9/18/2021 – In the diagram position, Black just burned his bridges by playing 7...Bg4 which forces White to win a piece with 8.f3. Putting aside "modern objectivity" - what I like about the following attack is the energy of Black's moves. He only has one goal in mind: to mate the enemy king. A full-speed nostalgia trip - enjoy!

9/14/2021 – Sometimes, the trio king, bishop and pawn cannot win against a lone king: if the pawn is a rook pawn, the enemy king makes it to the corner and the bishop does not control the queening sqare of the pawn. Knowing this might help you to save positions that seem to be entire lost. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How?

9/11/2021 – In the diagram position Black's attacked rook should definitely not leave the back rank - after 35...Rc2?? White has a forced checkmate. Enjoy!

9/10/2021 – In April 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament in Ekaterinenburg and thus gained the right to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen in a match to be staged later this year. A perfect occasion to present the challenger's skills in the "Special" of ChessBase Magazine #203. Our authors (including Adhiban, Berg, Edouard, Krasenkow and others) annotated their favourite game by the 31-year-old Russian. This has resulted in an exclusive collection of 21 high-class encounters played between 2002 and 2021. One of them — Nepomniachtchi-Carlsen from the Legends of Chess Final in 2020 — is presented in this article, annotated by IM Robert Ris. "A wonderful prelude to their upcoming World Championship match". Enjoy!