5/17/2018 – Nigel Short once said, "Modern chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it, checkmate ends the game!" The art of checkmating our opponent is something that we learn when we are young. But once we know what checkmate is all about, we hardly go back to that subject. In order to ensure that you polish your art of pattern recognition related to mating attacks, Daniel King has come out with his latest Powerplay DVD — Powerplay 26. It's named as checkmate challenge — essential knowledge. In order to tell you what this DVD is all about, IM Sagar Shah takes you on a journey of three tales. Three tales of mating attacks by players of three different generations!

5/2/2018 – CHESS Magazine reviewer SEAN MARSH finds Andrew Martin's "surprising Sicilian" quite persuasive, and "rife with dangers for both sides". Find out why, along with a sample game and video from Martin's latest DVD video series.

5/1/2018 – As we are privileged with so many interesting visitors and authors coming to the ChessBase office in Hamburg and frequenting our studio, we often try to grab them for a few quick questions to see how they are and what's new. This time it was GM Simon Williams who visited us in Hamburg in order to prepare two new FritzTrainer video series. Of course, he also took time out for an impromptu interview. | Photo: ChessBase

4/23/2018 – Essential knowledge! Checkmate. That’s the aim of the game. There are numerous ways to checkmate the enemy king, but there are common patterns that recur over and over again, and having these at our mental fingertips is essential for when we want to finish the game. From Beginner to Brain-buster, this DVD presents 100 puzzles, divided into 10 groups of 10 positions. Naturally, Level 1 is the easiest, and the puzzles increase in difficulty right through to Level 10. You can jump in at whatever level you wish, but try to solve all ten positions on each level before you move on to the next.

3/31/2018 – Nowadays, people tend to prefer working on their chess by studying opening variations with engines, neglecting the practical side of our game. This DVD emphasizes the importance of training your calculation skills. Dutch IM Robert Ris made a selection of training material which he uses in lessons with students ranging from 1400 to 2400. But Ris believes that this material is suitable for players of various strengths because anyone can benefit from practicing calculation in a structured way.

3/8/2018 – The Pirc is an opening which can give White the false confidence of having the initiative. Black lets White build a huge central pawn structure, and then, like in a guerrilla warfare attacks those pawns, and the weak squares behind. Don't miss the chance to learn an opening which will deepen your understanding of many pawn structures! Davide Nastasio has the review.

3/7/2018 – In the modern game, a player has to be ready to play almost any opening variation at short notice. The plan is to interrupt the preparation of the opponent at every turn. A knowledge of dynamic and slightly unusual lines could well score many,many points for the resourceful player. The Kveinys Variation : 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6! is surprisingly little-played, yet gives Black excellent chances and on this new ChessBase DVD, Andrew Martin explains how the system works.

1/22/2018 – It is one of the most fascinating and at the same time difficult variations of all, and anyone playing it needs to put in hours of thorough preparation before using it in tournament games. The simplest way: sit back and listen to Erwin l'Ami, whose enthusiasm is clear throughout this ChessBase DVD. The Dutch GM offers a full repertoire against 5.Bg5, promising only the sharpest responses for Black and paying particular attention to the range of manoeuvres and sacrifices available to both sides. Review in Chess Magazine by Sean Marsh.

9/29/2017 – When you finally bought a new computer you probably would love to immediately install ChessBase and Fritz to test the new machine. But you should take care to deactivate your ChessBase programs and Fritztrainers on your old computer. This helps to let the programs run smoothly on the new system. Here's how to go about it.

7/31/2017 – In the McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4) Black sharpens the play very early and indicates his wish to win. Opening expert Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows how best to do so. Our reviewer Christian Höthe was impressed.

7/5/2017 – In the recent issue of New in Chess magazine GM Matthew Sadler, having switched jobs and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, watched some ChessBase DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov and progressed to Adrian Mikhalchishin, whom he calls "an entertaining and lively host ... who kept me thoroughly entertained all through the many hours of content. He does however make tactical mistakes, caused by the author's unbridled enthusiasm. Still: definitely a series worth consideration.

6/23/2017 – Being swamped with work in a new job and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, GM Matthew Sadler watched DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov’s The Art of Defence and The Art of the Positional Exchange Sacrifice. He calls the first "masterly – a good DVD, with a slightly weaker start and a very strong finish! Recommended!" The second is "another fantastic effort from Sergei – I think we’ll stretch this one to five stars!

4/27/2017 – Magnus Carlsen was born in 1990, in 2010 he became the youngest number one in the history of chess, in 2013 he was World Champion, and in May 2014 he reached an Elo-rating of 2882, the highest Elo-rating of all time. The new Fritztrainer Master Class DVD invites you to study and to enjoy Carlsen's chess. It contains all games of the World Champions and on videos with a total running time of 7 hours and 39 minutes experts explain the characteristics of Carlsen's play.

4/18/2017 – Are you looking for a tricky opening with Black? Something that offers dynamic play based on a strong strategic foundation? Let Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, currently rated 2673, show you the lines he personally prefers and has employed successfully in practice (recently against Vachier Lagrave, Radjabov, Jobava and Anand). Total running time 4½ + 3¾ hours of invaluable instructions.

2/11/2017 – "Studies prove: the more patterns you know, the better you play," says Ukrainian GM Adrian Mikhalchishin. He is one of the best trainers in the world: he coached the USSR team, the national teams of Slovenia, Poland and the Netherlands, and was the trainer of Anatoly Karpov (1980-1986) and other famous players. Now he turns his attentions on you: in a new Fritztrainer DVD he reveals the pattern recognition secrets of the World Champions. Don't miss it.

2/1/2017 – Moldovan GM and trainer Victor Bologan has played the Modern Pirc all his life. It brought him a lot of success – like winning the New York Open 1997, the strongest open of that time, with four wins with Black in the Modern Pirc. "This opening is actually a mixture of the Caro-Kann and the Pirc – very flexible and rich," Bologan says. "By studying it you will definitely refresh your chess brain and get a lot of new ideas." Improve your results with his instructions.

1/17/2017 – The Berlin Defence gives White a hard nut to crack – after 5.d4 White has trouble proving any advantage. Top Latvian GM Alexei Shirov proposes a different approach: play 5.Re1 and you will get a symmetrical position that is not boring at all. With a whole range of grandmaster games Shirov shows that White can indeed develop pressure and seize the initiative, and that the position is full of subtleties. His latest DVD gives you a first-class weapon against the Berlin and helps you to be at least one step ahead of your opponent.

11/4/2016 – Are you frustrated by the regular games that come after 1.e4 e5? Are you, like Magnus Carlsen, looking for a way to generate playable but unbalanced postions? Well the moves 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 lead to exactly that. A leading expert, Sam Collins, explains the key ideas of 3…g6 and provides a complete repertoire for Black, suitable for regular use. Over four hours of video, 800 key games, and interactive training with video feedback.

10/21/2016 – He calls it "one of the most romantic of all openings", one you can play with white when you go 1.e4. Savielly Tartakower said that this attacking opening was invented to make men understand that chess is a gift from the gods. You cannot get higher praise than that. Or a better teacher than GM Simon Williams, whose aggressive style has brought down a number of top-class opponents (like Carlsen and Gelfand). His latest DVD has 4½ hours of gripping video.

10/17/2016 – The ChessBase Online Shop is constantly increasing the number of products in its repertoire. We have DVDs on practically every opening, with hours of video lessons provided by world-class experts. Today we bring you a list of hot items – absolute essentials – guiding you through the opening after playing 1.e4 or reacting to that move. Each product has a short description and a video sample. Our October shopping guide contains a useful 1.e4 overview in PGN.

10/3/2016 – Evgeny Tomashevsky was playing the Modern Scotch with black in the first round of the 2012 Tal Memorial. He lost the game to Teimour Radjabov. Fast forward to 2016 – Tomashevsky playing the Modern Scotch with black, once again, this time against Nepomniachtchi. He loses again! We investigate both the games in this article, with analysis by Teimour Radjabov and Alejandro Ramirez. And we show you a DVD that presents the white strategies in detail and also outlines a dynamic way for Black to counter the latest trends.

9/16/2016 – A solid mix of solid play and aggression - that is what Black wants with the Queen's Gambit Declined. And that is what Daniel King wants to give you on his DVD "Powerplay 23" - a "Repertoire For Black With the Queen's Gambit Declined". German amateur Sebastian Vigl, who now seems to be an ardent fan of the QGD, had a look at the DVD and shares his impressions in a personal review.

9/11/2016 – The Master Class series by ChessBase is an excellent way to acquaint yourself with the World Champions. Last week Master Class Vol. 07 dealing with the life and games of Garry Kasparov was released. With runtime of almost nine hours and experienced grandmasters like Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin and Karsten Mueller explaining you the details, this is the ideal way to learn what made Garry Kasparov absolutely invincible! A must-have for every ambitious player.

9/6/2016 – There have been many chess geniuses, but Kasparov is one of the greatest. And one of the most remarkable. He was World Champion for fifteen years and won countless tournaments. He did it with his wonderfully dynamic style of play, his scientifically perfect openings preparation and his tactical brilliance. Not to mention the overwhelming will to win. In the ChessBase Master Class series four experts examine all aspects of his genius. Nine hours of video lessons.