8/16/2025 – Whether it’s strategy, technique, or opening knowledge – the July releases from ChessBase leave nothing to be desired! Renowned authors such as David Navara, Robert Ris, and Andrew Martin open their toolkits and share a wealth of professional tips. For those who want it all in one package, ChessBase Magazine issue 226 is the perfect choice, packed once again with training material straight from the pros’ lab. Opening enthusiasts take note: there’s a whole range of new Powerbases and Powerbooks! Take a look at all the products from the past month!

8/15/2025 – After the summer break, Svitlana shares one of her favourite tournament games, where she tried the O’Kelly Sicilian for the first time against a 2357-rated FM, using it to steer her opponent out of theory. She explains the strategic ideas behind the variation, demonstrates her pawn-storm attack on the kingside, and navigates through complex middlegame tactics while maintaining the initiative. The game concludes with a precise tactical finish, combining long-term piece coordination and threats to secure victory in a well-prepared and creatively played encounter.

8/5/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko’s Smart Moves show began in 2021 and has produced over 120 nearly weekly episodes on topics ranging from openings and endgames to tactics and all things chess. Now, she is speaking at the World Schools Summit in Washington, DC—fittingly named the Smart Moves Summit 2025! | Photo: ChessBase India Interview

8/1/2025 – The best way to play a good (and successful) game is to start with a strong opening. Svitlana Dimchenko demonstrates how to succeed with the versatile King’s Indian Attack—a dangerous weapon that’s easy to learn. For those who want more, there’s ChessBase Magazine—the best and most comprehensive digital chess magazine, featuring analyses by top players. Get it at a special price during this week’s Summer Special (July 28 to August 3)!

7/28/2025 – This practical course offers a clean and effective response to the Sicilian Defense. By playing 2.c3, you sidestep heavy theory and gain early central control, logical development, and aggressive yet manageable positions. The course includes structured explanations, model games, and interactive training tools to help you confidently master the Alapin and outplay your opponents.

7/9/2025 – Svitlana presents an unconventional yet effective way to combat the English Opening by responding with 1...e5 and then an early ...h5, aiming to unsettle White's typical kingside fianchetto plans. The line offers dynamic attacking potential with ideas like ...h4, or even ...g5, depending on how White responds, and even top blitz players have experimented with it. While engines consider some White responses (like Nf3 followed by h4) slightly better, the surprise value and aggressive intent behind this line make it a strong practical weapon, especially in blitz and rapid games.

7/7/2025 – Robert Ris faces off against the legendary Mikhail Tal in Fritz 20's grandmaster-level mode. With playful banter and strategic reflections, he navigates a tense middlegame filled with attacking chances, tactical bluffs and surprising defences. Despite some miscalculations and a critical blunder that nearly costs him the game, Robert defends resiliently, showcasing both fighting spirit and self-deprecating humour. Finally, after a flurry of complications and a tense queen endgame, the game concludes in a threefold repetition - a well-earned draw against one of history's most fearsome attackers.

6/28/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana offers a comprehensive guide on how to play against the King's Gambit, an aggressive and historic opening that begins with 1.e4 e5 2.f4. While it's less common in high-level chess today, it still appears in club-level play and can lead to sharp tactical battles. Svitlana walks through multiple lines, including sideline traps and the main variations with 3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4, emphasising key defensive setups for Black, such as the flexible ...Nf6 line and the importance of early counterplay. She highlights thematic tactics, development priorities, and typical traps, ultimately showing how to neutralize White's initiative and even seize the advantage with correct preparation.

6/26/2025 – In this entertaining and instructive video, WIM Svitlana Demchenko faced the "Bobby Fischer" engine from Fritz 20 in a dynamic training match. She played the Scotch Gambit and managed to gain a clear advantage through sharp tactical play, sacrificing material for initiative and space. Despite a midgame slip that dropped her evaluation and confidence, she regrouped and navigated a complex endgame with precision, ultimately securing the win. The game showcased both instructive mistakes and brilliant ideas, making it a realistic and valuable learning experience rather than a flawless engine battle.

6/14/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana gives an in-depth introduction to the Evans Gambit, a sharp and aggressive opening in the Italian Game that sacrifices a pawn to gain rapid development and attacking chances. She explains the main ideas for both sides, key traps, and various defensive setups for Black, emphasizing how crucial preparation and understanding of typical tactical patterns are. The lesson concludes with historical context, including a look at the famous "Evergreen Game" by Anderssen, and encourages viewers to explore this opening for its practical surprise value and rich attacking potential.

6/6/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana's Smart Moves, WGM Svitlana Demchenko dives into some of the most exciting tactical moments from Norway Chess 2025. She challenges viewers to sharpen their calculation skills by solving real-game puzzles featuring top grandmasters. Get ready to put your tactics to the test!

5/30/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana's Smart Moves, Svitlana and Arne analyse a historic World Championship game from the 1985 match between Karpov and Kasparov. The focus is on Kasparov's bold pawn sacrifice, 9...d5, in the Sicilian, which showcases deep home preparation and leads to him getting a powerful "octopus knight" on d3. The analysis reveals how Kasparov's strategic mastery and piece coordination slowly restricted Karpov's position until it collapsed under pressure. The episode highlights how classical games still offer valuable lessons, especially in regard to positional dominance and long-term planning.

5/23/2025 – In this Svitlana Demchenko and Arne Kaehler reflect on the Biel Chess Festival, which they describe as one of the most joyful and diverse chess events in Europe. They highlight a legendary 2009 game between Alexander Morozevich and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL), showcasing chaotic Sicilian Najdorf tactics, razor-sharp sacrifices, and an astonishing defensive resource by MVL — a rook that remained untaken for 24 moves! The game is celebrated as one of the wildest and most creative ever played, pushing the boundaries of classical chess patterns.

5/14/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana’s Smart Moves, Svitlana Demchenko introduces the Hedgehog pawn structure, a strategic setup common in the Sicilian Defense, featuring black pawns on a6, b6, d6, and e6. She emphasizes the educational value of understanding pawn structures for overall middle-game improvement, using a Kasparov–Kramnik game as a case study. Svitlana explains typical plans for both sides: white often uses space advantage and looks for a queenside breakthrough with moves like b4 and c5, while black prepares central or queenside pawn breaks like d5 or b5, and, much to Arne's delight, may even launch a kingside attack with …g5. But it might be better to stick to the queenside pawn advancing!

5/4/2025 – The 2025 Canadian Chess Championships took place in Toronto on 17-22 April, bringing together 90 players from across nine provinces. IM Nikolay Noritsyn (pictured) claimed his third national title in the open section, while WIM Li Yunshan secured her first women’s title on tiebreak. The championships featured strong performances from both established and emerging players in two parallel 9-round Swiss tournaments. Close contests in both events led to final-round deciders. | Photo: John Upper

4/18/2025 – There was a lot of news at ChessBase in March: whether it was a mobile app, video course, ChessBase Magazine Extra, or databases – there was sure to be something to suit every chess taste. Take a look at last month's products:

4/11/2025 – Svitlana presents to us an insightful analysis of the first two decisive games in the Women's World Chess Championship match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi, focusing particularly on their endgames. Both games, though seemingly equal in rook endgames, were decided by subtle inaccuracies and the strategic importance of king activity and piece placement. Svitlana emphasizes how small endgame advantages—such as a more active king or minor positional tweaks—can determine the outcome even in positions that look like simple draws.

3/18/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko introduces her new ChessBase training course, focusing on one of her favourite openings, the King's Indian Attack (KIA). She explains its universal nature, emphasizing that players only need to learn a basic setup (1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.O-O, 5.d3), making it ideal for both creative and lazy players. She showcases how the KIA can be reached via e4 against various defences, including the French, Sicilian and Caro-Kann, offering flexibility in transpositions. A model game by Tigran Petrosian is analysed, demonstrating the strategic manoeuvring and attacking potential of the opening, particularly the h4-h5 push to weaken Black's kingside.

3/13/2025 – The King's Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities. By simply knowing the setup and some key ideas, it can become a lifelong addition to your repertoire - without the need for constant memorization. Played by fierce attackers like Bobby Fischer and great positional players like Tigran Petrosian, this opening is suitable for players of all styles.

2/25/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko is sharing a game from the Canadian University Chess Championships, where she faced International Master Nicholas Vettese from the University of Toronto. Despite a strong start and some exciting tactical moments, the game ended in a loss. Svitlana walks through key moments, including her opening choices, the decision to play aggressively or defensively, and the importance of managing time and evaluating critical moments. Reflecting on the game, she highlights areas for improvement and emphasizes the valuable lessons learned from this loss.

1/25/2025 – The prestigeous Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee is on again, and just in the first couple of days we have been blessed with some instructive tactics! Svitlana has some nice examples prepared for us, either for your watching entertainment, or to actively try to solve them!

1/9/2025 – At the start of the World Championship in Singapore, on November 25th 2024, a new chess puzzle game, inspired by the incredibly popular 'Wordle', was launched. It was developed by a young lad from Singapore, a problem expert, together with a member of the ChessBase family. We have been experimenting with the World Championship game, to see how people who are confronted with it, react. We recorded a strong chess player's first interaction with the game. It was instructive and entertaining.

1/8/2025 – One of our viewers’ favourite themes in Svitlana’s Smart Moves is the openings. This is probably due to the way Svitlana can splendidly explain the ideas, patterns, basics, and key points to consider in an opening. In this episode, the Canadian WIM tackles the Benko Gambit, an opening that Magnus Carlsen enjoyed for several years.

1/5/2025 – Svitlana's Smart Moves first episode of 2025 is all about juicy tactics, and tragical blunders of the Rapid & Blitz World Chess Championship. Some chess tactics were especially significant. A couple of games by top players like Carlsen, Nepo, and Pragg were already won, and one more correct move would have sealed the deal. Instead, some blunders occurred, mostly in time trouble of course, and the tables turned.