Highlights
From the 2024 World Chess Championship to Oliver Reeh's ‘Olympic Combinations’ and Dorian Rogzenco's ‘The Fortress’ to ‘Fundamental Endgame Knowledge’ with Dr Karsten Mueller:
Over 6 hours of video playing time with Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Daniel King, Jan Markos, Karsten Müller, Oliver Reeh, Robert Ris and Dorian Rogozenco - World Chess Championship 2024: All games with analyses by Giri, Shankland, So and others - ‘World Championship Special’: Dorian Rogozenco sheds light on the decisive moments of the match in his video analysis - ‘All in One’: A wing gambit against Sicilian and French! - ‘Show your inner Gukesh!’: Replay the victory of the new world champion against Fedoseev from the 2024 Chess Olympiad move by move with Robert Ris!- ‘Olympic Combinations’: Oliver Reeh's tactics column with 40 games and four interactive videos - ‘Black's Leverage on the Kingside’: In the French Steinitz Variation Christian Braun plays 7...h6!? and 8...g5 and much more.
Top games and master analyses
World Chess Championship 2024: Gukesh beats Ding 7.5 : 6.5 to become the youngest chess world champion in history! Analyses of all games by Martin Breutigam, Anish Giri, David Howell, Jan Markos, Luke McShane, Yannick Pelletier, Sam Shankland and Wesley So.
World Championship Special: Key moments of the match
Dorian Rogozenco sheds light on the decisive moments of the fascinating match in his almost half-hour video analysis.
Opening videos
Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Daniel King present two, at first glance, very intriguing opening moves. Both - 2.a4 against the Sicilian and 3...Nxe4 in the Petroff - were recently used by well-known players, in the first case by our author himself in his game against Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei, in the second case by Wesley So against Hans Moke Niemann. Take a look! Robert Ris contributes the third opening video: Spanish Delayed Exchange Variation with 7.Re1 - since the 2023 World Championship match, this variation has been seen several times at top level.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: Sicilian
1.e4 c5 2.a4
Robert Ris: Spanish
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Re1
Daniel King: Petroff
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4
Special: Vincent Keymer
Our authors have annotated their favourite game of “Vinnie K”, 21 wins from the period from 2018 to 2024 against top opposition (six 2700s alone!). Accompany him on his rise to the absolute top of the world!
“The fortress”
Under what circumstances can you build a fortress with rook + pawn against queen? What techniques do you need to know and what tricks are there to prevent the fortress from being built? Continuation of the interactive training series with GM Dorian Rogozenco.
New ideas for your repertoire
From the English Opening to the King's Indian - ChessBase Magazine #223 offers 10 opening articles with new ideas for every repertoire!
Petra Papp: English 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5!?
Krisztian Szabo: Sicilian O'Kelly Var. 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4
Christian Braun: French Steinitz Variation 7...h6
Alexey Kuzmin: Spanish 4...Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.0–0
Evgeny Postny: Trompowsky 2...d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.dxc5
Sergey Grigoriants: QG Vienna Variation 5.e4 b5!?
Imre Hera: Semi-Tarrasch 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1!?
Martin Lorenzini: QG 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7
Yago Santiago: Nimzo-Indian 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3
Patrick Zelbel: King's Indian main line 7...h6
Current opening traps
“Qb6 in the Dragon good”, ‘Who actually sets the trap?’ etc. Rainer Knaak presents nine traps – this time with examples from the Benkö Gambit, London System and a lot of Sicilians.
“Move by Move”
Gukesh led his team to gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. Robert Ris has turned the Indian's brilliant game against Vladimir Fedoseev from Budapest into an interactive training session with you. Your task: “Show your inner Gukesh!”
“Modern Classics”
In the match between Anatoly Karpov and Wolfgang Unzicker at the 1974 Chess Olympiad, the world champion demonstrated in exemplary fashion how to bring your opponent to his knees by playing on both wings.
“All in One”
Everything you need to know about a variation in a single, deeply annotated game! Spyridon Kapnisis presents a wing gambit 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.b4!? cxb4 4.d4 d5 5.e5 that can be used against the Sicilian and the French!
Practical Tips for the Tournament Player: “Coordination of the pieces“
The coordination of the pieces is often neglected in the literature. Jan Markos gives you the opportunity to improve your understanding of this enormously important topic with the help of three sample games. Video + collection of exercises.
Tune your tactics: “Olympic combinations”
40 games peppered with lots of training questions await you in Oliver Reeh's tactics article! You can solve his four favourite combinations - recorded in interactive video format - move by move together with the IM from Hamburg!
“Fundamental endgame knowledge”: Same coloured bishop endgames
In the introductory video, our expert presents the most important techniques. Then it's your turn in two interactive training videos! In addition, Dr. Karsten Mueller presents a selection of the most beautiful endgames by Vincent Keymer (video introduction + analysis).
