6/7/2020 – ChessBase offers a window to the world of professional chess. The current issue offers a bird’s eye view of three major events, the Candidates 2020, the FIDE Women's Grand Prix and Moscow Aeroflot, 918 games, 11 opening surveys, demo lectures and exercises for training. It also includes games annotated by Boris Gelfand, Anish Giri and Romain Edouard, just to mention a few. Columnist Nagesh Havanur takes a look. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

6/5/2020 – In the diagram position White played 36.Kh3 and after 36...Qd3 37.Kh4 Qc2 37.Kh3 the game ended in a draw. Trying to continue the fight with 36.h3? (instead of 36.Kh3) is not a good idea - do you see why?

6/2/2020 – Rook and knight can be a powerful team. If well-placed this duo has saved countless bad or even lost positions with a typical perpetual that every chess player should know.

5/29/2020 – In the diagram position Black is totally winning but it is hard to see that White is soon caught in a mating net. What is Black's quickest way to victory?

5/26/2020 – "All rook endings are drawn," is a well-known witticism that is obviously wrong but indicates that it is often difficult to win rook endings that seem to be winning. However, it is also difficult to defend rook endings - unless you know what you are doing.

5/21/2020 – In the diagram position White's bishop a2 fires against the knight e6. The intermediate exchange 31...Rxd1 32.Rxd1 is still okay for Black, however, offering a second rook trade with 32...Rd8?? leads to disaster. Can you see why?

5/19/2020 – Knights can fork king and queen but in endgames they are often helpless against king and pawn. Knights often seem to be slow but then they suddenly catch pawns that are close to queening. No wonder knight endings are tricky - and often fun.

5/15/2020 – This is a pleasantly tricky position! After 19...Bxe4 20.fxe5 Black needs to calculate precisely: two key lines win for Black, two key lines win for White. Can you find these lines and do you see how Black can win?

5/12/2020 – Endgames with bishops of opposite colours are often drawish but with passed pawns on both sides things are rarely easy. And as always: precision is required!

5/8/2020 – In the diagram position White played 15.d6!, a powerful move that opens the diagonal for the light-squared bishop and allowed White to score a brilliant victory after 15...Bxd6 16.Bc4+ Kg7. How did White win? Join and enjoy!

5/5/2020 – Usually in endgames rooks are much better than knights - a rook is as mobile as a bishop and unlike the bishop it can go to squares of both colours. But believe it or not, sometimes the defending side can build a fortress.

4/30/2020 – The white king in the diagram position is weak and vulnerable, particularly on the dark squares. Black only needs to activate his queen to get a decisive attack. But how about scoring a point with an elegant flourish?

4/30/2020 – The ChessBase Magazine provides comprehensive and up-to-date information about everything that happens in chess. Experts and top players show how to play chess successfully and constantly provide new insights. Now the May issue (# 195) has been published, including reports and analyses of the first half of the Candidates Tournament.

4/28/2020 – "All rook endings are drawn" is a well-known witticism that highlights the fact that rook endings indeed have high drawish tendencies. In fact, even being one or two pawns up does not guarantee a win. However, the diagram position is definitely not a draw. How can Black win?

4/26/2020 – A popular way for White to avoid the Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez is the Anti-Marshall (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 and now 8.a4!?). However, at the European Team Championship 2019 Daniil Dubov shocked his opponent Jonas Bjerre by playing 8...d5!? anyway. Dubov won convincingly and the "Anti-Anti-Marshall" was born. But how strong is 8...d5 really? In the ChessBase Magazine #194 Krisztian Szabo takes a close look and draws first conclusions.

4/24/2020 – In the diagram position White played 25.f6 (opening the diagonal g4-d7) and after 25...Rxf6 26.Nxe5 an interesting position appeared on the board. But who do you favour here (White or Black) and why?

4/21/2020 – Pawn endgames might seem relatively simple – after all there are no pieces on the board – but they can be very tricky. And they require precise calculation.

4/19/2020 – In the past few years, the Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 has become increasingly popular. And White may well be more ambitious than it might seem! But in ChessBase Magazine #194 Roven Vogel offers Black an exciting antidote to White's set-up: after 6... g6 Black wants to develop his bishop to f5 and castle queenside!

4/17/2020 – In the diagram position, White's knight jump 13.Nc6! was answered by 13....Qc5 and now the trade of queens was inevitable. But how would you trade the queens?

4/14/2020 – Usually, the endgame queen and knight vs queen is a draw. However, if the defending king is at the rim of the board things might get tricky.

4/13/2020 – ChessBase offers a window to the world of professional chess. The current issue offers a bird’s eye view of three major events, Jerusalem Grand Prix, London Grand Chess Tour and Wijk aan Zee 2020, including 1249 games, 11 opening surveys, demo lectures and exercises for training. Games annotated by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Romain Edouard, David Navara, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Igor Stohl, Jorden van Foreest and Peter Heine Nielsen, to mention a few. PROF. NAGESH HAVANUR takes a look. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

4/11/2020 – In the diagram, White has just played 31.Qc2, threatening both Qc8+ and Qxh7. Your choice for Black: resign ... or get the advantage!

4/7/2020 – Bishop endings have drawish tendencies, even if the bishops move on squares of the same colour. Therefore, precision is required to win a better position.

4/3/2020 – In the diagram position it's Black to play and win - but before you start thinking, please don't forget to take your watch off...