6/7/2022 – The bodycheck is the most important motif in the endgame rook against pawn, which will sooner or later arise from the position shown in the diagram. In the actual game White did not find the correct defense and lost. Can you do better? White to move and draw!

6/4/2022 – At the Tata Steel Masters 2022 Jorden van Foreest got the opportunity to conduct a long-planned opening experiment: In the Sicilian with 2.Nc6 he surprised his opponent Praggnanandhaa with 3.Bc4?! "Finally, here it was. There aren't all that many good reasons for why I like the move, the main probably being the fact that it looks so stupid :-)", writes the young Dutchman at the beginning of his analysis in the new CBM Extra #207. And the game continued no less exceptionally: after 3...e6 4.0-0 d5 5.Bb5! dxe4 6.Ne5 Qc7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bc4! White hast lost a pawn and moved his bishop three times in the opening! In the end, with a bit of luck, Van Foreest still won the game. It's "The brillancy" in CBM Extra #207. On top of that, the new edition offers no less than 56 annotated games and over an hour of video training with Elisabeth Pähtz and Ivan Sokolov.

6/4/2022 – It is said that "Vishy" Anand only needed seconds to find White's winning continuation in the diagram position - whereas you have all the time in the world!

5/31/2022 – The new Extra #207 offers, among other things, over an hour of video training with Elisabeth Pähtz and Ivan Sokolov. Germany's best female chess player presents one of her favourite weapons against the Gruenfeld Defence in a short video series. And Sokolov's contribution deals with a topic that should be interesting for many 1.d4 players, especially at club level: The GM from the Netherlands shows a method with which a nice advantage can be comfortably achieved against the Budapest Gambit. This issue's "Brilliancy" comes from Jorden van Foreest, who takes a critical look at his Sicilian experiment (3.Bc4) from the Tata Steel Masters 2022 against Praggnanandhaa. In addition, the "Lucky bag" with 56 annotated games offers a great mix of analyses and surprising ideas. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as a download or on DVD.

5/31/2022 – Pawn endings require precise calculation. In the diagrammed position it is Black to move and win. But how?

5/28/2022 – In the diagrammed position Black wins with 22...Nxf4!, this much is revealed - all the rest will be up to you. Enjoy!

5/24/2022 – Stalemate motifs often play a role in endgames. In the diagrammed position it is White to move. What would you do?

5/21/2022 – By hindsight, it's easy to say that in the diagram position White must play 29.Rxd3! - but is it just as easy to refute the game continuation 29.f3?? Your call!

5/17/2022 – Passed pawns can be very powerful and they are even more dangerous if they have help from their king. In the diagrammed position it is White to move, and what did he do with his king to support his passed pawns to win the game?

5/14/2022 – In the diagram position White just played 12.Rd1 to attack Black's knight on d5 and to force Black to make a difficult choice: should Black play 12...Qa5 or 12...Be6 - which move gets your okay?

5/13/2022 – The column "All in one" was introduced in ChessBase Magazine almost three years ago. The idea behind it: on the basis of a single extensively annotated game, you learn everything you need to know about a concrete opening line. In the new ChessBase Magazine #207, Igor Stohl and Tanmay Srinath introduce you to two concepts for White. One explores the pawn advance 3.h4 against Black's Fianchetto in the Gruenfeld and King's Indian; the other delves into a London System setup against the King's Indian. Take a look!

5/10/2022 – When White wants to tackle the Sicilian Najdorf Variation — 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 — very directly, 6.Bg5 is a popular choice. After 6...e6 7.f4 the rare 7...b5, the Polugaevsky Variation, leads to sharp and difficult positions. Petra Papp brings the theory of this variation up to date in her article for ChessBase Magazine #207, explaining typical strategies and motifs for both sides.

5/10/2022 – On first sight, things look grim for White in the diagrammed position as it is hard to see what he can do against the advance of Black's f-pawn. However, White remembered the rule that pawn endings should be calculated carefully and found a way to get a draw. What did he do?

5/7/2022 – Bent Larsen is the "hero" of the new issue of ChessBase Magazine. In CBM #207 our authors — among others Emanuel Berg, Jan Markos and Yannick Pelletier — comment on their favourite game of the great Dane. CBM readers can expect a collection of 19 special encounters from the period 1956 to 1998. In addition, Mihail Marin presents Larsen as a "universal player" in his strategy column and Karsten Mueller analyses a selection of Larsen's best endgames. You can watch the Larsen-Andersson game (1982) with Jan Markos' analysis here. Enjoy!

5/7/2022 – In the diagram position, White found a stunning way to strengthen his attack decisively. Your call!

5/4/2022 – The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) is a very solid system for White. Logically, you have no chance to avoid it with Black, if you play the Sicilian. So you should be well-prepared when answering 1.e4 with ...c5. In the new ChessBase Magazine #207, Markus Ragger presents a complete repertoire against the Alapin: after 2...d5 3.exd5 he recommends the side line 3...Nf6, which leads to sharp play and completely different structures than one would expect in a normal c3-Sicilian. In CBM #207 you will also find two more opening videos: Rustam Kasimdzhanov puts the highly topical English Four Kinights Game with 4.e4 (Bc5) to the test and Mihail Marin presents a good old idea by Bent Larsen in the Sicilian Dragon Variation. You can watch an excerpt from Ragger's video analysis here!

5/3/2022 – Passed pawns are often strong and connected passed pawns are even stronger. In the diagrammed position it is White to move - how can he use the power of his passed pawns to win the game?

5/1/2022 – ChessBase Magazine #207 provides, among many other things, all the games from the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 series, which was played in Berlin and Belgrade from February to April. Andrey Esipenko, Anish Giri, Grigoriy Oparin, Alexandr Predke, Sam Shankland, Wesley So, Vidit Gujrathi and Nikita Vitiugov are some of the Grand Prix participants who commented on their best games. Wesley So, who won the third tournament but missed out on qualifying to the Candidates Tournament, examines his victory over Leinier Dominguez with the black pieces. It's "The Analysis" of the issue, and it begins with the words "Back in beautiful Berlin". Take a look!

4/30/2022 – Getting active when you are underdeveloped is rarely a good idea - in the diagram position Black has just played 9...Qc7? intending to capture on c4. Can you punish this move with White?

4/29/2022 – The complete FIDE Grand Prix 2022 (Berlin I - Belgrade - Berlin II) with analyses by Esipenko, Giri, Oparin, Predke, Shankland, So, Vidit and Vitiugov. In addition, Rogozenco presents two selected games of the winners, Nakamura and Rapport, in the video - "Trend line put to the test": Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows new ideas in the English Four Knights Variation with 4.e4 Bc5!? (video) – "Magnetic square h7!": How to take apart Black’s castling position, tactics training with Oliver Reeh – "Bent Larsen, the highly creative Dane": CBM authors analyse their favourite games - "All in one": Igor Stohl examines 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4!? – "Complete repertoire against ´the Alapin": Markus Ragger introduces the enterprising 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Nf6!? (video) - "Bent Larsen - a universal player": Mihail Marin sheds light on the strategic skills of the great Dane (incl. video) and much more!

4/26/2022 – In the diagrammed position White is a piece up but Black's queenside pawns look dangerous. However, the white bishop has everything under control. How does White stop the black pawns and win the game?

4/23/2022 – The diagram shows a theoretical Sicilian position in which White has just opened the g-file. Recapturing with 16...Nxf6? now is a well-known mistake - do you see why?

4/19/2022 – In knight endgames activity, dominance and zugzwang often play a major role. The diagrammed position is from a game between Vladislav Artemiev and Magnus Carlsen from the Airthings Masters Tournament 2022. How did the World Champion force the win?

4/16/2022 – In the diagrammed position, White has just answered the typical KI advance 8...e5 with the space-gaining 9.d5. Black's Nc6 is attacked - where would you put it?