3/5/2018 – Nodes, and lots of them! When you analyse with an engine do you understand all the data in the engine window? Fritz calculates with 2317 kN/sec and a cloud engine with 121 MN/sec? Sure, this has to do with the speed and the performance of the engine but what exactly are nodes? | Photo: Nadja Wittmann (ChessBase)

3/2/2018 – Practicing openings is best done by playing openings. And with a Powerbook, Fritz 16 turns into an ideal sparring partner to play, test and practice openings. He plays the openings you want to practice again and again. When you are ready you can test your knowledge against human opponents!

2/23/2018 – Openings sometimes have curious names. The King's Indian is called King's Indian because Black fianchettoes his king's bishop, the Queen's Indian is called Queen's Indian because Black fianchettoes the queen's bishop, and Nimzowitsch-Indian is called Nimzowitsch-Indian because...Nimzowitsch played it. But there's another move that Nimzowitsch hardly ever played which nevertheless also bears his name: 1.b3, the so-called Nimzowitsch-Larsen opening. | Pictured: (left) Aron Nimzowitsch (right) Bent Larsen | Photo: Hans Peter

2/15/2018 – What's the best way to study and train openings? It's a common question. Whether you use ChessBase 14, Fritz 16, the Web Apps or the Fritztrainer video series, you have tools at your disposal to make your opening work easier and more effective. Here's a short tutorial how to study and practice an opening with the help of ChessBase!

11/22/2017 – Who wouldn't want to learn a universal repertoire against White's most common first moves? In this review of FM Charlie Story's first DVD for ChessBase, Davide Nastasio is doing just that, learning all about a highly flexible opening, which can help you win many games in weekend tournaments. From the videos we learn about Story's extensive experience with the Sniper, see his teaching skills, which will improve our opening repertoire, and also our game generally. If you want to step up your results, while saving time, there is only one choice: become Snipers!

11/7/2017 – The name says it all: Powerbook. This DVD contains over 21 million opening positions, the current opening knowledge. For study and training — your own opening repertoire gains a power boost.

10/24/2017 – The Reti retains its seemingly inexorable grip on the top of our chart, while that club player favourite, the King’s Indian, makes a welcome return to the second spot. Elsewhere those non-c4 options after 1 d4 Nf6 continue to do well and the Kan has made gains under the patronage of Caruana, Andreikin and Artemiev. The statistics and a key game is given in this month's edition of the English chess magazine.

10/17/2017 – Among the top active players, few if any can claim to have made as many powerful contributions to opening theory as Vladimir Kramnnik. One need only recall that Kramnik is the only player on record to 'out-prepare' Garry Kasparov, and for the World title no less. In recent times, one of his latest pet openings has been the Reti, and guiding the reader through some of the changes along the way is GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

9/20/2017 – In an attempt to sidestep mainline opening theory, a lot of today’s 1.d4 players have switched to systems like the Trompowsky or the London. Therefore players — whether amateur or professional GMs — can no longer rely on their Nimzo-Indians or Queens Gambits and have had to look for antidotes to these systems. One such club player, Davide Nastasio, got his hands on Daniel King's Powerplay 25. Going through the contents of the DVD, he found that King's work not only provides an easy-to-learn remedy against these systems but also helps amateurs get a better understanding of themes like pawn breaks, destroying opponent's centre, opening and closing lines, etc.

5/24/2017 – Continuing his look at how champions began to include new openings later in their careers, the tireless student of the game, GM Alex Yermolinsky, looks at Mikhail Botvinnik, 'The Patriarch', and his employment of the Pirc-Modern defense. He also shares his first encounter with the great player as a junior, speculates on what a Botvinnik-Fischer match would have looked like, and even mentions his secret match with Gata Kamsky when he was 14. Enjoy this great article!

5/16/2017 – English Grandmaster Simon Williams is a popular commentator and author who recently published a DVD about the London System with 2.Bf4. In an interview with ChessBase he explains why this seemingly quiet line is dangerous and also talks about effective opening study and reveals why it is sometimes a good idea to break rules.

12/19/2016 – With Christmas just around the corner, you might be tempted to give someone a cool ChessBase DVD from the extensive catalogue, but with hundreds of items, and new ones coming out all the time, it can be daunting to know which item has their name written on it. With this in mind, we have put together a few Buyer’s Guides to help you choose. In this Buyer's Guide you will find suggestions for all styles and strengths on Openings, whether it be a full repertoire or openings taught by World Champions.

4/7/2016 – The best moments from Wijk aan Zee, Gibraltar and Zurich with high-class analysis, e.g. from Carlsen and Caruana. Plus 13 opening surveys with various ideas to enhance and improve your repertoire, e.g. Bronznik: Enormous potential of the Chigorin Defence (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Nc3 e6). Have a look at Karsten Müller's intro video of the new issue! More...

4/1/2015 – Can an opening be solved, can a line be thoroughly refuted and unplayable? How about the Anglo Scandinavian (1.c4 d5) being used to bust the English Opening? Timo Immonen has done some remarkable work towards this end, and the announcement of it comes in the unusual form of a chapter in a trilogy of fictional thrillers, presenting the main anti-English line.

4/29/2013 – Continuing the “ChessBase Openings Tutorials”, the fifth volume has been released covering the 'Flank Openings’. In 24 videos in German and English, by masters and grandmasters, each covering a separate opening or variation, casual or club players have all they need to surprise their opponents.  Read the review.