11/2/2021 – Pawn endings are often tricky and must be calculated carefully. In the diagram position it is Black to move and he can win with precise play. How should he proceed?

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 – The new ChessBase Magazine #204 dedicates its "Special" to the strongest female chess player of all time: Judit Polgar! The CBM authors annotate their favourite games of the attacking artist, Mihail Marin shows her great strategic skills and Karsten Müller shows her virtuosity in the endgame. The issue also contains the best from the European Championship 2021 - with analyes by the new Champion Anton Demchenko, Viktor Erdos, Daniel Fridman, Nils Grandelius, Maxime Lagarde, Aleksei Sarana, Ivan Saric and others. In his first opening video for the magazine, Austrian GM Markus Ragger presents an idea of World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the 3.Bb5+ Sicilian. Plus 11 opening articles ("A clear attacking plan against the Rubinstein Variation: 7.Be3", "Modern and simple vs. the Najdorf: 7.Nf3/8.Bg5" etc.), as well as training columns on tactics, strategy and endgame. All in a new layout!

10/26/2021 – Zugzwang is a powerful endgame weapon, particularly against a passive knight. In the diagram position, White's knight is passive but how can Black bring White into zugzwang and win the game?

10/25/2021 – The advance g2-g4 is a well-known motif in various lines of the Sicilian. In the Taimanov Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7) with 6.Be3 a6, however, the move 7.g4 was established in top chess by Anish Giri just over half a year ago. In the current ChessBase Magazine Extra #203 Robert Ris explains the ideas of this very concrete concept in his opening video. Total playing time: 38 minutes. You can watch an excerpt of his analysis here. Take a look!

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?

10/19/2021 – Rook endings often have drawish tendencies, but pawn races usually spice things up. In the diagram position it is Black to move. Should he protect his pawn on g6 or should he attack White's pawn on b3?

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!

10/12/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game when both sides have queened. The main guideline in these positions is that the side with the safer king wins. In the diagram position Black might be able to queen his pawn but White will definitely queen first - and then will hunt Black's king. However, Black can still draw. How?

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?

10/5/2021 – Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and draw. 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?

10/1/2021 – The new ChessBase Magazine Extra #203 is out - with two instructive and interesting videos: Jan Werle examines what Carlsen's 4.c4 in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation is all about and Robert Ris presents a highly topical weapon against the Sicilian Taimanov. Total playing time of the two videos: over an hour. The issue also offers lots of opening recommendations and analyses by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Sagar Shah, Spyridon Kapnisis and Tanmay Srinath. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine and is available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as download. Don't miss it.

9/28/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game, when both sides have queened. In this phase it is important to start checking the enemy king first. In the diagram position Black just gave a check. But where should the white king go? And how should White prepare a transition to the fourth phase of the game?

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?

9/21/2021 – Even in endgames one should not forget that mate ends the game. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What did he do?

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!

9/14/2021 – Sometimes, the trio king, bishop and pawn cannot win against a lone king: if the pawn is a rook pawn, the enemy king makes it to the corner and the bishop does not control the queening sqare of the pawn. Knowing this might help you to save positions that seem to be entire lost. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How?

9/11/2021 – In the diagram position Black's attacked rook should definitely not leave the back rank - after 35...Rc2?? White has a forced checkmate. Enjoy!

9/10/2021 – In April 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates Tournament in Ekaterinenburg and thus gained the right to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen in a match to be staged later this year. A perfect occasion to present the challenger's skills in the "Special" of ChessBase Magazine #203. Our authors (including Adhiban, Berg, Edouard, Krasenkow and others) annotated their favourite game by the 31-year-old Russian. This has resulted in an exclusive collection of 21 high-class encounters played between 2002 and 2021. One of them — Nepomniachtchi-Carlsen from the Legends of Chess Final in 2020 — is presented in this article, annotated by IM Robert Ris. "A wonderful prelude to their upcoming World Championship match". Enjoy!

9/7/2021 – When only very few pawns are left on the board the attacker has to be careful that s/he keeps at least one pawn that can queen. In the diagram position White has three pawns left, two more than Black. But there is only one way to win. How should White proceed?

9/6/2021 – Fighting against the Grünfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5), quite a number of players try to make things easier for themselves by going for the sideline 4.Bg5. After all, it threatens Bxf6, followed by picking Black's d-pawn. So, what should Black do about it? "Nothing" is the answer by GM Lars Schandorff. In his article from ChessBase Magazine #203, he recommends to simply reply with 4…Bg7 — a pawn sacrifice employed by Peter Svidler already thirty years ago.

9/4/2021 – The diagram position arose from an Open Spanish, an opening that apparently was unfamiliar to Beth Harmon, the main character of the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit", who was playing with Black. Her last move 9...Na5 is an inaccuracy that allowed World Champion Borgov to seize the initiative. What did he play?

9/3/2021 – ChessBase Magazine # 203 with the "Special: Ian Nepmniachtchi" makes you want to follow the upcoming World Championship match in November. In the current issue, for example, our authors analyse their favorite game played by the 31-year-old Russian. The result is an exclusive collection of 21 annotated games. Karsten Müller puts the challenger's technique to the test in his contribution "Nepomniachtchi's Endgames". And Mihail Marin explores the question of what distinguishes Nepo's playing style. In addition to many training tasks, his strategy contribution includes an introductory video in which the GM from Romania outlines his findings. Take a look!