2/25/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

2/5/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

1/7/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

11/27/2025 – Opening videos by Ernst Sipke (Ulvestad Variation) and Adrian Mikhalchishin (‘Miniatures’ Part II – Sicilian Najdorf and Spanish). ‘Special’: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video (including games by Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer and Matthias Bluebaum). ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth, Theodorou and many more. Update service with over 40,000 new games. CBM Extra #228 can also be used as a ChessBase Book in a web browser on an iPad, tablet or Mac, etc.!

10/17/2025 – The concept behind the "60 Minutes" courses is simple: one hour of video instruction for just under 10€. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on opening variations. In the first instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important "60 Minutes" courses for 1.e4 players against the Sicilian.

10/14/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

8/25/2025 – This week, from 25 to 31 August, there is another special offer in our Summer Special: ChessBase 18 and the Opening Encyclopedia 2025 for only 249.90€ – instead of 299.90€! Be well prepared for every tournament and the new season!

8/4/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

7/25/2025 – The opening is tricky. If you don't know what you are doing, you can quickly find yourself on the losing side, but if you know what you are doing, you can also quickly gain an advantage. ChessBase offers help! The Opening Encyclopaedia offers a complete overview of all openings, and with Fritz 20 you can try out and practise all of them. This week (21–27 July), the strong duo is available as a Summer Special at a special price!

6/25/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

6/5/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

5/19/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

5/19/2025 – In ChnessBase Magazine, our team of authors regularly explores new ideas and current trends in opening theory. CBM #225 once again offers ten opening articles – from a Dutch setup against the London System to 9...Bg4 in the Alapin Sicilian to the Queen's Indian with 8.Bd2. In his theory article, Robert Ris examines Gukesh's 7.a3!? in the Classical System of the French Defense – a "useful waiting move" that opens up various options for Black while simultaneously giving him the chance to make an early mistake. Ris' starting point is game 13 of the World Championship match between Gukesh and Ding Liren at the end of last year. The IM from the Netherlands also analyses two games by Magnus Carlsen, who adopted Gukesh's idea just a few days later against Nepomniachtchi. You can check out the article with all the analyses in this week's free CBM sample. Don't miss it!

5/12/2025 – For the "Special" of ChessBase Magazine #225, we invited our authors to comment on miniatures that evoke special memories. The result is a colorful mix of their own successes/failures, underdog victories, Olympia highlights, candidate classics, and modern high-flyers. A total of 27 blockbusters from the period from 1962 (Fischer!) to 2023 have been collected – the very best chess entertainment is guaranteed! You can check out the first seven miniatures from the collection this week in the free CBM readng sample. We hope you enjoy!

5/2/2025 – In his CBM column "Move by Move", Robert Ris regularly invites you to broaden your horizons and improve your own understanding of chess using the example of a current world-class game. For the current ChessBase Magazine #225, he has chosen a game by Aravindh Chithambaram, the winner of the Prague 2025 Chess Festival. In the first reading sample from CBM #225, we offer you the interactive video contributions today and in the coming days as free training session. Give it a try and have fun!

5/1/2025 – Prague Chess Festival 2025: Analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara, Nguyen, Shankland, Wei Yi and others - ‘My favourite miniature’: Entertaining, instructive, short - 27 games under 20 moves, annotated by CBM authors - Dutch vs. London: Yago Santiago counters with 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Nc6! - ‘Rooks in seventh heaven’: Oliver Reeh's tactical tests with over 30 current games + four interactive videos - ‘3.Bf4! – Something for the lazy?": Sam Shankland dissects his victory over Ediz Gurel from the Prague Masters with the London System – Opening videos by Daniel King, Jan Werle and Robert Ris and much more.

4/25/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

4/12/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

4/4/2025 – Fritz trainers can be very helpful: at the top tournament in St. Louis in mid-March, the two American chess superstars Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana followed the recommendations of Jan Werle. In his two-volume video course, Werle analyses the Catalan Opening. The players followed his recommendations and were well-prepared. | Fotos: ChessBase/Pascal Simon

3/19/2025 – Prepare for your next tournament with the new Opening Encyclopaedia 2025! 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 in one product and is the ideal start for your opening training. Many new articles enrich the current theory with new or revisited ideas. The Encyclopaedia can help you learn openings quickly and give you a head start on your next opponent. Each article contains explanations and annotated games illustrating typical plans to deepen your understanding.

2/17/2025 – The Catalan Opening is a very ambitious weapon against various Black defences. Depending on how Black reacts, different, usually very challenging structures emerge. Jan Werle has presented the opening in two Fritztrainer volumes, and Hannes Langrock took a close look at volume one.

12/24/2024 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur takes a look at our recent issue, CBM 222 (CBM 223 is just out!). A total of 7703 games from the FIDE Chess Olympiad, 28 annotated, 11 opening surveys, 3 opening videos, 5 demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Nordibek Abdusattorov, Levon Aronian, Anish Giri and Wesley So, among others. The icing on the cake is a special feature on Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi with 4 videos. | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

11/11/2024 – The line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7!? is very popular among the adherents of the Queen's Gambit Declined. The knight move has given Black solidity and flexibility. Our author, GM Yago Santiago, recently went in search of a more ‘hidden’ idea for White to surprise his opponents with lesser-known positions. The move 5.Qc2!? caught his attention and captivated him more and more during his analysis...You can check out his opening article from the latest CBM #222 in this week's free reading sample in the ChessBase Books format - right in your web browser on your iPad, tablet, Mac or Windows PC!

11/6/2024 – In his series ‘Practical Tips for the Tournament Player’, Jan Markos deals with one of his favourite topics in chess in the new ChessBase Magazine #222: domination. In its pure form, it promises total control over an impotent opponent. Your own risk is minimised and you have all the time in the world to improve your pieces and work out a winning plan. It is therefore often worth investing time or even material to achieve a dominant position. Jan Markos explains the most important techniques based on three top-class games. You can now view the complete article in the free reading sample in ChessBase books format - directly via the web browser on your iPad, tablet, Mac, smartphone or Windows PC! Have fun.