ChessBase Magazine Extra 230

Opening videos

Sipke Ernst: Open Spanish

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3

The Dutch GM's analysis focuses on the Dillworth Variation (9...Bc5 10.Nbd2 0-0 11.Bc2 Nxf2). After 11...Nxf2, a sharp position with unbalanced material arises on the board. In the video, Sipke Ernst explains in particular the critical variations after Vachier-Lagraves 12.Rxf2 f6 13.Nf1! – the new main continuation, which has now been tested by Carlsen, Caruana and many other top grandmasters. For those who are uncomfortable with 11...Nxf2 due to the often wild complications, Sipke Ernst provides a theory update for the more moderate alternative 11...Bc5.

Nico Zwirs: Classical Sicilian

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 Bd7 8.Qe2 a6 9.0-0-0 b5 10. Bb3 Na5 11.f3 Be7 12.g4 0-0 13.h4

Eline Roebers had a tough time in the Challengers tournament in Wijk aan Zee at the beginning of this year. After the first four rounds, she was at the bottom of the standings with zero points. But then she managed to win an attacking victory in her typical style against one of the Elo favourites in her group, Daniil Yuffa. In the Classical Sicilian, the young Dutch IM relied on the increasingly popular 6.Bc4 and then initiated the English Attack with 0-0-0, f3, g4 and h4. In the decisive phase, she used a strong tactical motif with 24.h6 gxh6 25.g6 Rxe7 26.g7+, which not only won her an exchange, but also decisively weakened her opponent's king.

Endgame Special: ‘Short or long side’

Where does the defending king belong in rook endgames? Igor Stohl explains the basic rules using a simple example with rook and pawn vs. rook, and then moves on to trickier cases with rook + two pawns vs. rook + two pawns.

‘Simplified doesn't necessarily mean simple! This is what I find the most attractive about endgames and chess in general - attempts to confine the game to any set of rules and guidlines almost always have their limits. The stronger the player, the better he realizes this and thrives on actively seeking out exceptions from the given norms.’

‘Lucky bag’: Analyses by Lubomir Ftacnik, Surya Ganguly, Spyridon Kapnisis, Michal Krasenkow and many more.

Extra #230 delivers 35 annotated games from various tournaments in the ‘Lucky bag’.

And the Update Service provides over 50,000 new games for your database! The package includes games from almost all of the world's top players.

The games in the Update Service are also included in the Mega Update Service 2026, which can be used with a current ChessBase program (and a corresponding subscription).