4/13/2022 – After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 Black usually chooses the classical Tarrasch Defence with 4...exd5. 4...cxd4, on the other hand, leads to the Schara von Hennig Gambit. Still quite popular in the 90s, this gambit went out of fashion in the meantime. But recently a series of online games at the highest level (above all thanks to Alexander Grischuk) generated new interest. Robert Ris presents the latest developments in his opening video for the ChessBase Magazine Extra #206. Watch an excerpt from his video analysis!

4/12/2022 – Having a pawn majority is usually a positional plus because pawn majorities allow you to create passed pawns. But creating these passed pawns usually requires tactical and technical precision. Which Black demonstrated in the diagrammed position. What did Black do to win the game?

4/9/2022 – In the diagrammed position, White had a spectacular way to attack Black's exposed king. Readers of this column may dare anything - just trust your intuition!

4/8/2022 – At the end of last year, the Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the World Rapid Championship in Warsaw at the age of 17, becoming the youngest World Rapid Champion of all time. In the course of the event he defeated Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi – and Magnus Carlsen! "What a fight!" writes Anish Giri about Abdusattorov's encounter with the World Champion in his analysis for ChessBase Magazine Extra #206. It's "The brilliancy" of the new issue. Take a look!

4/5/2022 – The diagrammed position is tricky: Black is two dangerous passed pawns up but it is White to move and the rook on h7 is hanging. Now, should White take the rook or look for something better to save the draw?

4/2/2022 – In the diagrammed position, Black has full control over the long diagonal and the e-file. Now it's time to turn these factors into something concrete. How would you proceed?

4/1/2022 – Opening videos: Robert Ris shows the latest trends in the Hennig-Schara Gambit. Mihail Marin presents a Fianchetto setup against the Gruenfeld and King's Indian. Total playing time of the videos: just under one hour. "Lucky bag" with over 80 analyses by Anish Giri, Nijat Abasov, Romain Edouard, Marie Sebag and many others. In "The brilliancy" between the new rapid chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and world champion Magnus Carlsen - commented by Anish Giri! - with 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 a trendy variation of the English Opening appeared on the board. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as download or on DVD.

3/29/2022 – Rook endings have a large drawish tendency and in this case I thought that White can hold with a study-like defense. But ChessBase reader Frits Fritschy proved me wrong.

3/26/2022 – In the diagrammed position Black found a fantastic way to make White's loose position collapse - please follow in the footsteps of Rustam Kasimdzhanov!

3/22/2022 – In the diagrammed position it is White to move and he has to think about the pawn endgame that will arise after the imminent exchange of rooks. What should White play to get a winning pawn endgame?

3/19/2022 – The task regarding the diagrammed position is plain and simple: "White to play and win". Your call!

3/15/2022 – In the diagrammed position Black is an exchange up but both sides have dangerous passed pawns. What should Black do to make his passed pawn on the g-file more dangerous than White's passed pawn on the b-file?

3/12/2022 – In the diagram position 35.Rxg6+! would have led to victory for White - if followed by the right checks after 35...Kh7. Can you find them all?

3/8/2022 – ChessBase Magazine #206 once again offers a wealth of ideas and recommendations for your repertoire. Besides the three opening videos by Jan Werle, Daniel King and Mihail Marin as well as Rainer Knaak's collection of "Topical opening traps", the new issue contains eleven opening articles covering a broad spectrum: Reti, Caro-Kann, Sicilian Nimzowitsch and Taimanov Variation, Petroff, Ruy Lopez, London System, Slav, Gruenfeld and King's Indian - everywhere there are exciting ideas to get to know. In his article Evgeny Postny examines the queen sortie 5...Qb6 in the London System. In the highly topical variation, White sacrifices a pawn after 6.dxc5 Qxb2 7.Rb1 Qc3 8.Bb5. So it's straight to the point! The variation is "absolutely okay" from Black's point of view, according to Postny, but you shouldn't get involved without prior knowledge! Otherwise the danger is too great that you will lose the queen already in the opening. Take a look!

3/8/2022 – The acronym "LPDO" was probably coined by the English player Mike Cook, who used it to explain the majority of his losses in a 100-game blitz match against John Nunn. But it was Nunn who made the term popular by talking about this blitz match in his book "Secrets of Practical Chess". Keeping "LPDO" in mind might help to reduce blundering pieces, even in the endgame. In the diagrammed position Black's rook and bishop are both "loose". How did White manage to let them "drop off"?

3/5/2022 – Black king on e7, unprotected queen a5 - White's threat in the diagrammed position is obvious, and not even 17...Bb6 could prevent him from making a good catch. Your call!

3/4/2022 – Levon Aronian, is the "hero" of ChessBase Magazine #206. In the new issue, our authors - David Navara, Adhiban Baskaran and Romain Edouard among others - comment on their favourite games of the top player. This has resulted in a collection of 19 special encounters from 1994 (U12 World Championship!) to 2021. In addition, Mihail Marin's contribution is entitled "Levon Aronian's strategic universe" and Karsten Mueller presents a selection of the Armenian's best endgames. You can watch the video from Mueller's endgame contribution as well as Adrien Demuth's analysis of the game Aronian-Ponomariov (Lausanne 2001) here - enjoy!

3/3/2022 – In the current ChessBase Magazine the Sicilian Taimanov Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6) is taken to task from two sides at once. The super-modern 7.g4 came onto the board at the Tata Steel 2022 in the game Grandelius-Carlsen, we have already presented the Swede's analysis to you recently. There is also a complete opening article by IM Christian Braun on precisely this variation in CBM #206. A "dangerous weapon for White", because Black has development problems, whereas White can quickly castle long... The concept, which Jan Werle looks at in his opening video on the basis of a game by Alireza Firouzja, is completely different: after 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Qd3 Nf6 9.Qg3 Qxg3 10.hxg3 White achieves a small but lasting positional advantage, which can be played comfortably. Take a look!

3/1/2022 – Tata Steel 2022 is the top tournament in ChessBase Magazine #206, with Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Arjun Erigaisi, Anish Giri, Nils Grandelius, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Sam Shankland and Roven Vogel commenting on their best games from Wijk aan Zee. In addition, Peter Heine Nielsen and Dorian Rogozenco (video) analyse two Catalan wins by the World Champion and clear tournament winner. "The Analysis" of the issue this time is contributed by Nils Grandelius, who got the chance to test his "own invention" against Magnus Carlsen. Take a look!

3/1/2022 – Sometimes it is difficult to convert an extra knight into a full point: Black to move and win.

2/27/2022 – The new ChessBase Magazine #206 once again offers a wealth of ideas and recommendations for your repertoire. Besides the three opening videos by Jan Werle, Daniel King and Mihail Marin as well as Rainer Knaak's trap collection, the new issue contains eleven opening articles covering a broad spectrum: from a sharp gambit in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation via "Ruy Lopez for structuralists" (Delayed Exchange Variation) to the new Gruenfeld trend 5.Bd2 c5!?. Imre Hera, meanwhile, takes up a radical idea against the Reti Opening with which David Navara shocked his opponent, GM Markowski, in 2011: after 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 the creative artist continued with the novelty 3...g5!? and then also let his h-pawn rush towards the opponent's castling. "One of the most interesting innovations in modern theory", our author thinks. You should take a look at it!

2/26/2022 – The diagram shows a seemingly normal position with an isolated pawn on d4. However, White has played the loosening move b2-b4, and this allows Black to get the advantage. What can Black do?

2/25/2022 – Tata Steel 2022: analysis from Duda, Giri, Grandelius, Mamedyarov, Praggnanandhaa, Shankland, Erigaisi and Vogel. Peter Heine Nielsen and Dorian Rogozenco (video) take a close look at two Catalan wins by the World Champion and tournament winner. With CBM experts you see more: videos by King, Knaak, Marin, Müller, Reeh, Ris, Rogozenco and Werle - total playing time over 5 hours! Plus eleven opening articles with recommendations for your repertoire, e.g. "Steamrolling the Reti" (1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 g5!?), "A versatile Ruy Lopez" (1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 Part I) or "London queen sortie" (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Qb6 6.dxc5 Qxb2). Last but not least: The "Special" on Levon Aronian with 19 annotated games as well as Marin's article "Aronian's strategic universe".

2/22/2022 – In rook endings, rooks usually belong behind passed pawns. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule but it is still a good guideline to find good moves in rook endings. In the diagrammed position it is White to move. How can she get her rook behind a passed pawn and win the endgame?