5/2/2023 – The new ChessBase Magazine #213 once again delivers a big swing of ideas for your repertoire in eleven opening articles - from Caro-Kann to the King's Indian! Sergey Grigoriants examines a new idea on move four that has become the latest fashion thanks to Magnus Carlsen, among others: 4...h6 in the French Defence! Black offers a pawn sacrifice – after the exchange on f6 the pawn on d5 is simply hanging. Can this be any good? The new engines and Sergey Griogoriants show that Black gets "compensation and great piece activity in all lines". Take a look!

5/1/2023 – In endgames, it is usually a good idea to activate the king. However, the king also needs to be safe. In the diagram position it is Black to move. What should he do to make his king safe and to win the game?

4/29/2023 – By playing the powerful 22.Rxe4! dxe4 23.Nxe4 in the diagram position, White gained a decisive attack, with magnificent checkmate patterns on the horizon. You can really let off steam here - enjoy!

4/28/2023 – WR Masters 2023: The tournament winner, Levon Aronian, comments on two of his games. Plus analyses by Keymer, Duda and others. Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa each present one of their games in video! - European Individual Championship 2023: The winner Sarana comments on his groundbreaking game against Korobov, plus analyses by Shevchenko, Esipenko, Ponomariov and many others - "Special" on Vishy Anand: exclusive collection of 26 annotated games + contributions on strategy and endgame - French Gambit á la Carlsen: Sergey Grigoriants examines 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6!? – 0-0-0 against Bogo-Indian: Spyridon Kapnisis shows how White gets good play after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.a3, long castling not excluded! – “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge” Part 3: King and Pawn against King and much more!

4/25/2023 – This is an important technique in rook endings and can be used by attacker and defender. How does White win in the diagram position?

4/22/2023 – In the diagram position Black must decide what to do with the attacked knight d5: 16...Nf4! is okay, the game move, however, was 16...Nb4??. The refutation - entirely up to you!

4/18/2023 – In the diagram position Black is two pawns down and in trouble. But Black has an active king and an active rook - enough to save the game. What should Black do to hold the draw?

4/15/2023 – In the diagram position, White's opening move may be obvious with the black king in the centre, but after that ... Enjoy heavy piece handling à la Fritz Sämisch!

4/11/2023 – In endings with opposite-coloured bishops the defending side can often draw, sometimes even when the defender is one, two or three pawns down. However, these endgames are still tricky and the defender has to be careful. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw but in the acutal game White lost. Can you do better?

4/8/2023 – In the diagram position White mates Black's king in a maximum of 11 moves after 28.Rg7+!. Of course you don't need to work out the whole variation in your head, as Jan-Krzysztof Duda had to in this rapid game - but you're welcome to try!

4/4/2023 – In the endgame - and in the middlegame - far advanced passed pawns can be very powerful. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What would you do?

4/1/2023 – In the diagram position White seems to have his back to the wall in the face of Black's threats ...Bxf2 and ...Rg1 . You have to keep a cool head and skilfully go on the counterattack - you're good at that, aren't you?

3/28/2023 – In the diagram position, it is White to move and draw. White is an exchange up but he still is in trouble because his pawns are weak and his rook has trouble defending them. In the game White did not find a way to draw the game and lost. Can you do better?

3/25/2023 – From the diagram position Black's knight landed by force... on the square f1! In the end it was only enough for half a point, but she had a fat chance of winning on the way. Have fun!

3/24/2023 – The "Special" of the current ChessBase Magazine is dedicated to Anthony Miles. In addition to a collection of 21 extensively analysed brilliant games of the first English grandmaster, you will also find a multifaceted contribution by Mihail Marin on Miles' chess understanding and playing style. Marin's database of 12 games from the years 1978 to 2000 is peppered with many training exercises. For the first time for ChessBase Magazine, our author also offers two interactive videos in which you can put your strategic understanding to the test. And of course Marin again introduces the "hero" of this issue in the introductory video to his contribution - you can watch the 20-minute video here.

3/21/2023 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #212 you will find new repertoire ideas for eleven different openings - from the English Opening to the King's Indian. In his search for a suitable weapon against the Scotch, Lars Schandorff has come across a fresh idea with which Black immediately seeks active play: After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 (Schandorff's favourite) 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 7.Qe2 he recommends 7...a5!?. In his analysis, this idea has proved so successful that he even sees White facing the task of looking for new ideas in the alternative variations with 5.Nxc6 or 5.Be3. Take a look!

3/21/2023 – Rooks are powerful and two rooks are even more powerful, and given the chance, they can quickly mate the enemy king. In the diagram position the white rooks are passive and seem to be doomed to defend the b-pawn. But it is White to move and win. How?

3/18/2023 – In the diagram position Black threatens both ...Qxa1 and ...dxc2, but his king ...Can you find White's elegant winning way?

3/17/2023 – What should you do if your opponent offers a draw at an early stage of the game? What aspects should you take into account when making your own decision? GM Jan Markos gives you a series of rules of thumb in the fifth part of his series "Practical Tips for the Tournament Player" to help you go for the full point more often - or accept the offer if it is advisable. You can watch an excerpt from his video here!

3/14/2023 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #212 you'll find new repertoire ideas for eleven different openings - from the English Opening to the Scotch to the King's Indian. In his article, Roven Vogel examines a trendyline against the Reti Opening: more and more often Black played the "somewhat strange" move 2...b6!? after 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3. White can of course build up in the most varied ways here, and the position types that Vogel analyses are correspondingly diverse. His conclusion: "So far I don't see in which direction Black should really have problems and can therefore warmly recommend this little side variation, at least as a secondary idea for one's own repertoire against 1.Nf3." Take a look!

3/14/2023 – Positions with queen and piece against queen and piece have aspects that are typical for middlegames and aspects that are typical for the endgame. In the diagram position the white king is safe - a typical middlegame aspect - while the dangerous passed pawns - typical for endgames, are good for Black. In the diagram position it is Black to move and draw. How?

3/12/2023 – Karsten Mueller continues his training series for ambitious amateurs in ChessBase Magazine #212. This time it's about basic techniques in the endgame with rook and pawn against rook. You've probably heard about the "Lucena win", "Vancura's draw" - but do you still know how the whole thing works and which details you have to pay attention to? Karsten Mueller's contribution consists of an introductory video in which the techniques and motifs are presented and five interactive training videos in which it is your task to enter the solution on the board. You can watch the introductory video here. The interactive part with video feedback is only available in CBM#212!

3/11/2023 – In the diagram position, the pinned white Nb6 seems to be doomed. But mate comes first, and White has a clever way out - or should we say way in? Have fun!

3/10/2023 – This time ChessBase Magazine's "Special" is dedicated to the first Englishman who succeeded in winning the title of International Grandmaster: Anthony Miles (1955-2001). Our authors (David Navara, Yannick Pelletier, Spyridon Kapnisis, Julio Sadorra and many others) comment on their favourite games of the creative Englishman - thus an exclusive collection of 21 duels from the period 1978 to 2001 has come together. You can watch Robert Ris' analysis of the game Miles - Spassky (1978) here. Enjoy! | Photo: Dutch National Archive