12/11/2021 – The razor-sharp diagram position saw Black losing after 26...Kxh6?, while after 26...Kg7! things easily might have gone the other way round. Stunners galore - enjoy!

12/4/2021 – In the diagram position, White has a strong passed pawn on c7 that should help him to win the game. But first White has to take care that Black's rook on b1 does not run havoc. How would you continue with White?

12/3/2021 – Sometimes you discover a familiar tactic, proceed with the correct move order, and cannot find the winning path. Clear tactical patterns don't always win by default, as Lawrence demonstrates in just two hefty examples. Additionally, we try to break through to a 2300 rating. But the theme thread continues, and what should be a manageable task, turns out to get far more brutal than expected. This XL episode has tons of nice tactics for you to look at, and solve.

11/27/2021 – In the diagram position, 26.Rxb7! paves the way for ... Well, that's for you to find out. Checkmate on the horizon - enjoy!

11/26/2021 – What do Tal, Euwe, Botvinnik, Petrosian and Alekhine have in common? They all appear on today's episode! Lawrence Trent shows us a couple of World Chess Championship games, of the earlier mentioned Grandmasters. We also advance to a 2250 rating, of the ChessBase training app, but fail to solve a 2497 points high rating. Can you guess it correctly?

11/20/2021 – In the diagram position, 14...bxc3! looks dangerous - after 15.Rxc3 White threatens 16.Rxc8+, winning the queen on a5. But Black, World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, had a cool surprise in store! Can you find it?

11/19/2021 – The internet tries to sabotage the show, but we pull through and succeed! Lawrence found some very juicy tactics today, and it doesn't get easier, once we move over to our ChessBase training app. But finding the right solution after all those calculations is truly satisfying. The question is, are you good enough to find the correct moves?

11/13/2021 – In the diagram position White's pawn on c3 is attacked. Time for a world champion-like reaction - your call!

11/12/2021 – During this episode of Trent's Tactics, we talk about the new coronavirus situation getting wilder again, and what it might mean for the European Team Championship, which is starting today. Lawrence also mentions the World Rapid and Blitz Championship, falling on Christmas, and him not being able to participate once again. What can lighten up these darker themes? Some of Trent's Tactics!

11/6/2021 – In the diagram position, Black's has just played 16...Qg4, threatening 17...Nxg2+ while preventing 0-0-0. So, White's king is in a fix, and in the game it ended up getting checkmated on ... a5! Enjoy!

11/5/2021 – Lawrence takes us on a ride to discover how creativity can be used for tactical patterns. The more often we repeat the exercises, the better we understand the tactics. Furthermore, Lawrence and Arne try to achieve over 2100 rating points in the ChessBase training section.

10/30/2021 – In the diagram position, Black's king is only protected by pawns and - not a single minor piece supports its monarch. Which is kind of an invitation for White - or isn't it? Your move!

10/29/2021 – Today's tactical focus: how to harness the power of devastating queens. Trent uses examples from 1880 and 100 years later. The Playchess training playground is getting more and more difficult, and some problems took us a few minutes to solve. But we were able to reach a rating of over 2050 meanwhile.

10/23/2021 – In the diagram position White's knight is about to occupy the blockade square in front of the pawn d5. How would you react with Black?

10/16/2021 – Once you worked out why Black should refrain from opening the diagonal of White's bishop on a2 with 20....cxd3??, you should also know how to refute the move played in the game: 20...Qd7??. Enjoy!

10/15/2021 – Our beloved IM from London returns, but not with the "News Review" show. Lawrence's "Trent's Tactics" is teaching us about the world of tactics. In this episode, Lawrence will show us different tactics about the back-rank mate. And even though we know the motif now, some of the examples which Lawrence picked are still very challenging! In the last ten minutes, we start from basically "zero" and raise the rating to over 2000, in the ChessBase training section.

10/11/2021 – What if you could get an estimate of your Elo rating just by doing a single test, as opposed to playing a couple of dozen games at long time controls? It isn’t an exaggeration to say this sounds like one of those inane personality ‘quizzes’ you see in supermarket magazines. But this proposal was the subject of a university study to do just that. Try it yourself!

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?

10/7/2021 – Solving tactical puzzles can be fun, but what if you could automatically create your own, even from your own games? Nothing could be easier thanks to the analysis tools in both the Fritz interface or ChessBase. In fact, it can be a fun way to review your online games and be tested on the moves where you or your opponent missed a shot. Read on to learn 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?

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?

9/23/2021 – While the Solve Tactics mode is undoubtedly the meat of the of the Tactics web app, there are two other modes that provide a very different sort of training, excellent to stay sharp. Both are based on trying to solve as quickly as possible, but each with a slightly different angle. They are also the perfect trainer for bullet chess. You will also find part one demonstrated in a video!

9/20/2021 – Among the myriad apps and services offered with a subscription to ChessBase Account is the Tactics web app. This concept is hardly new, and readers undoubtedly are aware of a plethora of rival sites and apps offering this same service, so what makes this one so special? What makes it deserving of the headline "best by test"? Read on to find out!

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!