9/2/2023 – The French Defence is one of the most popular openings – for club players to grandmasters. It’s a very solid opening against 1.e4, but leaves room for counterplay and initiative. In this two-volume video course former world-champion and startrainer Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows you the ins and outs of the hugely complex opening. This week you can save 20 Euros – the Summer Special price is just €39.90 (instead of list €59.80). Don't miss the chance of improving your chess understanding!

12/16/2022 – Viktor Korchnoi ( 1931 - 2016 ) was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating personalities in the chess world. The two-time World Championship finalist played successful and attractive chess, even into old age. We have a great Korchnoi bundle for you in our ChessBase Shop. The Fritztrainer - My life for chess, and the Masterclass Vol. 15 - Viktor Korchnoi. The complete package is available for only €49.90 and is now also available as a streaming version.

10/25/2021 – On 26 November Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi will play the first game of their World Championship match in Dubai. A good opportunity to ask Daniel King about his work for the updated ChessBase Master Class about Carlsen, about Carlsen as a person, King's favourite Carlsen game, and of course, King's predictions for the match. As part of the interview King shows two games of the current World Champion - one against Sergey Karjakin, and one against Anish Giri, which is one of King's favourite endgames by Carlsen.

12/11/2019 – December 11th, 2019, is the 50th birthday of Viswanathan Anand, the subject of ChessBase's most recent Masterclass Vol.12. TANMAY SRINATH critically examines ChessBase's latest offering in this series, a foray into the mind of a chess genius who has influenced the game in countless ways. | Pictured: Anand and his wife Aruna in Kolkata. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/28/2019 – This latest addition to the FritzTrainer Master Class series allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess as well as from the explanations of experienced presenters (Yannick Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh). You'll discover how to successfully organize your games strategically and, consequently, how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure, bringing your games to a successful conclusion with accurate technical endgame play.

7/14/2018 – Mikhail Botvinnik is the patriarch of the Soviet School of Chess. Knowing Botvinnik's games is fundamental for the development of every player, argues reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO, who takes you on a tour of the lasted addition to the Fritztrainer Master Class series. Try your skills at some study positions as you learn about Botvinnik and his games in this review. Whether or not one likes Botvinnik's style or personality, he is clearly a piece of chess history worth knowing and studying.

2/19/2018 – 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. Recently it was GM Karsten Müller who was sitting in the studio for an (off-camera) impromptu interview. | Photo: Pascal Simon

10/25/2017 – Even at the age of 12, Paul Morphy (1837-1884) was regarded as an extraordinary chess player in the USA. But on his European tour of 1858-59 he showed himself to be also superior to players across the continent. We've taken several opportunities to celebrate Morphy of late, and now here's one more. The new masterclass DVD — the ninth in the series — we attempt to decipher the "Mythos Morphy".

6/8/2017 – The San Francisco-based company is an online education platform that provides online classes taught by world-renowned instructors: Christina Aguilera (singing), Kevin Spacey, (acting), Gordon Ramsay (cooking), Serena Williams (tennis), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriting), Steve Martin (comedy). Now the teachers are joined by Garry 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov. For $90 you get 20+ lessons, a workbook and Q&A sessions. Pre-enrolment begins today.

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.

3/10/2017 – Watching Garry Kasparov playing chess is a treat. A rare treat since the arguably best player of all times stopped playing tournament chess in 2005. On the ChessBase Master Class DVD about Garry Kasparov grandmasters such as Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin and Karsten Müller take a look at the career of the 13th World Champion and analyse what made him play so well. Our reviewer Christian Höthe is happy to say: "Kasparov is back!"

12/23/2016 – Concluding the suggested 2016 Christmas Buyer’s Guide, here are fine selections of great games collections by top players with names such as Anand and Kramnik, as well as Master Classes on world champions that now extend to Karpov and Kasparov, two names who dominated chess for 40 years, and of course the flagship programs that have helped make ChessBase what it is, as well as new ones that open a world of possibilities.

12/17/2016 – José Raúl Capablanca was called the human chess machine. His games were filled with simplicity and beauty that can be understood quite easily, but are extremely difficult to emulate in practice. In the fourth volume of the Master Class series Niclas Huschenbeth, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Karsten Müller delve deeply into the various facets of the Cuban's play. After watching the DVD Aditya Pai, the author of this article, writes: "Since it covers all aspects of Capablanca's play, it helps the viewers comprehensively improve their chess understanding. A 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.

5/23/2016 – When Anatoly Karpov was 11 years old, he was invited to Botvinnik’s chess school. But the “Patriarch” passed a harsh verdict: “The boy has no clue about chess and therefore absolutely no future as a chess player.” Rarely was a judgement about chess talent more wrong — Karpov went on to become the 12th World Chess Champion. Here is a look at his career and lots of games.

7/28/2015 – It is interesting that the World Champion of 27 years, Emanuel Lasker, is also one of the hardest to define. In the fifth volume of the Master Class series, the topic is not only the breakdown of all the individual features of his play, from openings to endgames, with all the videos and games you could hope for, but a remarkably deep investigation of the secret of his success.

4/2/2015 – How does one dissect a player such as José Raúl Capablanca, considered one of the greatest talents to ever live, and described as a "chess machine". Three grandmasters do exactly that, unveiling surprises about the champion's play. Add to that tons of training questions, plus hundreds of his games analyzed by Lasker, Alekhine and Capablanca himself, and you have a DVD you must not miss!

2/11/2015 – Is studying chess like eating chocolates? Well, sometimes. At least, that's what Moshe Rachmuth thought when he had a look at the Fritztrainer Master Class DVD about Alexander Alekhine. Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh, and Karsten Müller present Alekhine's chess. So much good chess that it is difficult to decide what to enjoy first. A true delicacy.

2/2/2015 – "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess", a beginners book, is a bestseller. However, it is not clear how much Fischer is in this book. But the former World Champion still teaches chess. Through his games. The first volume of the ChessBase Master Class series shows how much you can learn from them. Diana Mihajlova had a look at the DVD which entertains and instructs.

12/21/2014 – Alexander Alekhine, World Champion from 1927 to 1935 and from 1937 to his death in 1946, is widely admired for his attacking games. Garry Kasparov, for instance, often said how much he gained from studying Alekhine's games and writings. The Master Class Series now offers a chance to take a new or first look at one of the classics of the game. Inspiring.

7/26/2014 – Following up on the popular new Master Class series, after covering Bobby Fischer in volume one, and Mikhail Tal in volume two, here is the next with one of the most creative attackers of all time: Alexander Alekhine. Each phase of his play is scrutinized by a grandmaster, providing thorough and often insightful analysis, with numerous games and excerpts to enjoy. Here is a review.

7/11/2014 – "I have always been an admirer of Bobby Fischer the chess player," writes Chris Wainscott, "and also of the ChessBase FritzTrainer DVDs. So it was with some delight that I sat down with Volume One of the Master Class series, the subject of which is none other than Robert James Fischer." He gives this product the maximum six stars ("Everyone should own") in his Chess Cafe review.

6/9/2014 – The first volume in the Master Class was based on Bobby Fischer, one of the most popular and revered players in history. What better player to follow up than Mikhail Tal, the Magician of Riga, whose imaginative play inspired and enthralled generations of players? Here his openings, middlegame, and endgame are scrutinized and analyzed by grandmasters. An in-depth review.