CHESSBASE NEWSLETTER February 2017 N.4

[#4 February/2017](#) ChessBase Newsletter // Dear Chess Friends! Currently chess history is written at the [Fide Grand Prix in Sharjah]( in the United Arab Emirates. The [tournament in Sharjah]( in which 18 of the world's best players start, is part of the new Fide Grand Prix Series. 24 players start in the series that consists of four Swiss tournaments. The two best players of the series qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2018. Premium users can follow the games of the tournament [live on playchess.com.](. [Go premium...]( [New: Your best game for the Mega!]( The [Mega Database]( is the gold standard for chess databases. The world's best players have annotated their games for the Mega: Kasparov, Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, So, Nakamura, Caruana and many other top grandmasters and titleholders. Now it's your turn! Make sure that your best game is not forgotten: [upload your game of choice to our Mega-server]( - it just takes a couple of mouseclicks. The ChessBase 14 progam makes it easy to upload your game. Load your best game, then go to "File" in the menu. Now select "Send"-"Upload Best Game": Now your browser loads a form and automatically prepares your game for uploading. Fill in the form and check the game data carefully. Then use the "Submit" button to upload the game. If you do not yet have ChessBase 14 you can go another way: first save your best game in a pgn-file on your computer Then go to [( and log on with your CB Account (or your playchess.com username). Now click the symbol and select the pgn-file from your harddrive. Now select the game you want to upload from the list of games, check and, if necessary, complete the game data and upload the game with the "Submit" button. // Mega Database 2017 [Mega Database 2017]( If you play chess you basically need the Mega. To study openings, to prepare for opponents or to look at and analyze brilliant games from present and past. The Mega 2017 contains more than 6.8 million games from 1560 to 2016, more than 70,000 annotated. The historical part of the new MegaBase 2017 (1500 to 1939) has been extensively edited, enlarged and improved: more than 60 new texts about historical tournaments and more than 10,000 games were added, many of them annotated. Focus: Alekhine: 402 annotated/ 1919 altogether; Rubinstein 195/885; Botvinnik 130/331; Steinitz 124/768 games; Nimzowitsch 108/735 games. With ChessBase 14, 13 or 12 you can download games for Mega 2017 for the whole year, a total of approximately 250,000! That means your Mega 2017 will remain up to date from January to December. [Order "Mega Database 2017" from the shop...]( [read more]( // Chess Classics To study classical games is fun and improves your chess. Sagar Shah and Sergey Tiviakov tell and show you why. [Sagar Shah: Learn from the Classics]( On his DVD "Learn from the Classics" Sagar Shah shows you classical games of great players such as Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Korchnoi and Kasparov, looking at typical patterns and ideas from the middlegame. Then he goes on to explain how you can use these ideas in your own battles – by showing you examples of applied classical knowledge from his own games! As well as looking at the middlegame, Sagar Shah also focuses on the opening. The information explosion has ensured that opening theory continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The author shows that playing through the classics can help us establish a strong and stable feel for the initial phase of the game, and analyzes the opening duel between Botvinnik and Petrosian from their World Championship match in 1963. Going over these games will give you an excellent idea of how the classics can be used to prepare your own openings. [Order "Learn from the Classics" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Sergey Tiviakov: Learning from the World Champions]( Grandmaster and renowned coach Sergey Tivakov also studied the classics. He knows how difficult it is for players of all levels to learn chess strategy and how much time and effort it takes to improve middlegame play. But he has a solution - suggesting and demonstrating what he believes to be the easiest and most affordable method - learning from the World Champions! With famous classical examples from the works of the giants, the author talks in detail about principles of chess and methods of play that we can use during every stage of the game. Each example of World Champion play is followed by a similar example from the practice of the author, proving that his method works! [Order "Learning from the World Champions" from the shop...]( [read more]( // Becoming a FIDE Trainer... ...with the offficial FIDE trainer course on Playchess.com. ChessBase and FIDE have joined forces to provide FIDE training courses via Playchess. Anyone who wishes to become a FIDE Trainer, can register for a series of lectures and participate online without geographical restrictions, and no costs for travel or accommodation. You can just concentrate on the trainer-course. Even better: all participants will receive a full copy of ChessBase 14 after registration. Please note that the course is limited to 30 participants! It will run from 3rd to 5th March. Don't miss this opportunity! For detailed information, see the announcement: [Click here.]( Or contact our staff-member Martin.Fischer@chessbase.com. // Learning directly from the World Champions... If you want to study the games of indiviudal World Champions you should have a look at the Fritztrainer Master Class Series. Seven volumes have been published so far, the first one was about Fischer, the latest about Kasparov. [Master Class Vol. 01: Bobby Fischer]( No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Robert James Fischer. But what were the secrets to his sensational ability, and what enabled him to take on the Soviet school of chess alone – and win? On this DVD, a team of experts presents you every facet of the chess legend, and shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion. Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur. His congenial video analysis of Fischer’s legendary endgames can only be found on this DVD! To top it off - you too can unleash tactical combinations like Fischer! German Bundesliga player Oliver Reeh has compiled the World Champion’s best combinations – and now it’s your move. You too can try to find Fischer’s stunning brilliancies by entering your solution on the board and receive video feedback in the new ChessBase media format! [Order "Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.2: Mihail Tal]( No World Champion has enchanted the chess world as much as Mihail Tal did. His reign as World Champion was short but in his time Tal’s star burned with unknown intensity. With his combinations and his intuitive sacrifices the young Tal ran over his opponents, and thrilled the chess world with his risky uncompromising attacking play, which inspired many players to emulate him. In 1960 he beat the reigning World Champion Botvinnik but one year later he lost the title of World Champion again in a return match of doubtful competitive value. But even though Tal was no longer World Champion, he still remained one of the best players in the world. At eight chess Olympiads he won gold with the Soviet team. Six times he became USSR-Champion. In 1973/74 he managed to remain unbeaten in 93 consecutive games, a still unmatched record. In 1988 he won the Blitz World Championship. Despite his frail health Tal enjoyed life to the fullest and was a funny and brilliant man, who loved nothing more than chess. Through the games of Mihail Tal this DVD provides a unique access to the realm of chess tactics. Tal’s colleagues dubbed their tactical guru „Magician“, because in his games seemingly incomprehensible moves in the end blended into a successful whole, as if by magic.But Tal was also a master of strategy and endgame play. On this DVD Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Karsten Müller present the 8. World Chess Champion in video lessons: his openings, his understanding of chess strategy, his artful endgame play, and finally his immortal combinations. In an interactive test they invite you to try to find combinations like Tal did. The DVD also contains all games by Tal, many of them annotated, plus comments and tournament tables. [Order "Master Class Vol.2: Mihail Tal" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Aljechin]( Alexander Alekhine, the fourth World Champion, played many fantastic attacking games and to this day enjoys the reputation of being an attacking genius. But ever since Alekhine won the World Championship match against Capablanca in Buenos Aires 1927 the chess world could see that the Russian-born Alekhine – who immigrated to France in 1921 – also handled technical positions excellently. But his success against Capablanca was still a surprise because the Cuban was considered to be virtually unbeatable. After winning the World Championship Alekhine reached the peak of his career in the early 1930s winning famous tournaments such as San Remo 1930 and Bled 1931 by a huge margin. Moreover, the World Champion was also a prolific author and in annotating his games gave deep insights to the thinking of a World Champion. Alekhine was one of the best players in the history of chess and treated all phases of the game – opening, middlegame and endgame – in textbook fashion. No wonder a lot of later top class players, not least Garry Kasparov, claimed Alekhine as their role model in chess. On this DVD Grandmasters Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller, and International Oliver Reeh present outstanding games, stunning combinations and exemplary endgames by Alexander Alekhine. And they invite you to improve your chess knowledge with the help of video lectures, annotated games and interactive tests. The DVD also contains all known games by Alekhine, most of them annotated. Tables of important tournaments and various articles with background information complete the DVD. [Order "Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Aljechin" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.4: José Raúl Capablanca]( He was a child prodigy and he is surrounded by legends. In his best times he was considered to be unbeatable and by many he was reckoned to be the greatest chess talent of all time: Jose Raul Capablanca, born 1888 in Havana. At the age of 13 he became Cuban champion; in 1909 he sensationally defeated Marshall by 8:1 and was thus catapulted into the world elite. It was only after some time, since only sparse amounts of information made it across the pond, that in 1911 Capablanca achieved well-deserved recognition by leaving the elite of world chess trailing in his wake in San Sebastian. It would however take another 10 years before the Cuban defeated the reigning world champion Emanuel Lasker in their match and wore the crown himself. On this ChessBase-DVD a team of experts gets to the bottom of Capablanca’s game. Niklas Huschenbeth presents the openings of the third world champion. Oliver Reeh has assembled a select choice of little combinations (Capablanca’s famous “petite combinaison”) and prepared them in interactive format. Mihail Marin looks into Capablanca’s strategic performances and finds astonishing parallels in the games of Bobby Fischer. Our end game expert Karsten Müller had a multiplicity of examples from which to choose, since Capablanca liked to liquidate into an endgame, being well aware of his particular strength and creating numerous masterpieces of the art of the endgame. The DVD also contains all of Capablanca’s games, many of them annotated and is rounded off by a biographical section, tables and both a tactics and an endgame database. [Order "Master Class Vol.4: José Raúl Capablanca" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.5: Emanuel Lasker]( The name Emanuel Lasker will always be linked with his incredible 27 years reign on the throne of world chess. In 1894, at the age of 25, he had already won the world title from Wilhelm Steinitz and his record number of years on the throne did not end till 1921 when Lasker had to accept the superiority of Jose Raul Capablanca. But not only had the only German world champion so far seen off all challengers for many years, he had also won the greatest tournaments of his age, sometimes with an enormous lead. The fascinating question is, how did he manage that? Previously the answer frequently given was – psychology and luck. But this thesis has been refuted by authors who have to be taken seriously. Lasker’s secrets are obviously to be sought elsewhere. On the ChessBase DVD a team of experts delves deeply into Lasker’s play. In more than 6 hours of video (both in English and in German) the authors cast light on four important aspects of Lasker’s artistry. Niclas Huschenbeth has looked into Lasker’s openings. Our tactics expert Oliver Reeh challenges you in our interactive format: can you too find Lasker’s brilliant moves? Mihail Marin describes the second world champion as an original strategic player who took his decisions based on the specific features of the position. For Karsten Müller, Lasker was a great pragmatist and a superb defensive player, which is reflected in the selection of endgames he has chosen to discuss. [Order "Master Class Vol.5: Emanuel Lasker" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.6: Anatoly Karpov]( 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 a chess talent more wrong, for Karpov soon became the best player in the Soviet Union, growing to be considered a serious challenger to the reigning World Champion, Bobby Fischer. But in the World Championship match in 1975, Fischer refused to play and Karpov won by default, becoming the 12th World Champion. He nevertheless proved himself worthy of his title, playing in countless tournaments with exceptional results. Particularly impressive was his style. Thanks to Karpov’s brilliant feel for positional chess, which reminded many experts of Capablanca, he outplayed his opponents again and again with seemingly effortless ease. If you want to improve your grasp of chess strategy, then there is hardly a better teacher than Anatoly Karpov! It took the arrival of Garry Kasparov for Karpov to have an opponent who could challenge him on an equal footing. On this DVD, a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov’s games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov’s superb play. Niclas Huschenbeth takes a look at Karpov’s openings. Our tactics expert Oliver Reeh tests your skills with interactive exercises, challenging you to find Karpov’s brilliant moves. Mihail Marin sees in Karpov’s play great similarities to Magnus Carlsen: by the time the opponent understands what is happening, it is already too late. For endgame expert Dr. Karsten Müller, Anatoly Karpov is “a living legend”. For him, Karpov has “an incredible feeling for the coordination and harmony of his pieces”, something which also shows in his endgames. [Order "Master Class Vol.6: Anatoly Karpov" from the shop...]( [read more]( // [Master Class Vol.7: Garry Kasparov]( Garry Kasparov’s talent was recognised at an early age, but it was at the latest at the age of only 15 when he qualified for the renowned USSR national championship that he was also considered by the chess world as a whole as a possible future champion. But on the way to the throne of world champion Kasparov had to overcome numerous obstacles. Kasparov felt that he was being held back by the Karpov-friendly Soviet federation and by FIDE. He finally broke through and at the age of 22 became the youngest ever world champion. He also conducted his struggle at the board above all and enriched chess with his incredibly dynamic playing style as well as his scientific preparation for games. Kasparov was far ahead of his time in his employment of the new electronic aids: computers and database programs such as ChessBase. His numerous encounters with the pragmatic Karpov saw the collision of two quite different playing styles, styles in which these two players were far and away the best in the world. In addition to these matches, Kasparov also contested many tournaments and always appeared with the same mind-set: win games and tournaments! On this DVD a team of experts gets to the bottom of Kasparov’s play. In over 8 hours of video running time (8 hours both in English and German) the authors Dorian Rogozenko, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Karsten Müller cast light on four important aspects of Kasparov’s play: the opening, strategy, tactics and the endgame. As a bonus there is video analysis of Kasparov’s computer games (Karsten Müller). In the major database with training questions (162 games with 575 training questions) you can hone your own tactical understanding with the help of Kasparov’s strokes of genius. [Order "Master Class Vol.7: Garry Kasparov" from the shop...]( [read more]( // You're a subscriber to the ChessBase newsletter. If you no longer want to receive the chessbase newsletter, [click here.]( © 2016 ChessBase Schachprogramme Schachdatenbank Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Registered: Osterbekstr. 90a, 22083 Hamburg Telephone: 040-63 90 60 0 - Fax: 040 630 12 82 Directors: Matthias Wüllenweber and Rainer Woisin HR Amtsgericht Hamburg HRB 40336 Value added tax identification number DE 118644875 Local tax office tax number 49/711/00031ChessBase, All rights reserved