Chessbase Mega Database News Today

Round 7 of the Sharjah Masters saw former sole leader Aravindh Chithambaram losing his game with white against Iranian GM Bardiya Daneshvar, the 50th seed in the event. Daneshvar thus leapfrogged Aravindh in the standings, as he is now sharing the lead with Sam Shankland. Shankland defeated his compatriot Hans Niemann after the latter misplayed a king and pawn endgame. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Have all playable alternatives in the early opening been discovered? Despite the huge number of possibilities, there seem to be no surprises in the first moves of a chess game, right? Well, I think I might just have blown that theory out of the water. Yes, I believe that I have discovered a new opening! Let me present you with the Wirral-Squirrel Variation, which introduces an entirely new idea as early as on move 4.

It is quite difficult to find the right trainer for a chess player. More so when there are so many lucrative options available. While some prefer to work on their own, others need a chess coach to guide and help them improve their game. Peter Long shares his experiences and thoughts as a trainer. Instead of focusing on gaining more knowledge, attending camps and playing tournaments incessantly, creating a structure will help students to fix their gaps and become stronger players.

MegaBase 2024 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10.6 million games, many of them annotated. In the first part of his review he dealt with the treatment of chess in the 21st Century <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/megabase-2024-review-nagesh-havanur">in the MegaBase</a>. Here he offers a rare discovery from a world championship match that fell into oblivion.

MegaBase 2024 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10.6 million games, many of them annotated. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur offers a review with focus on chess in the 21st Century.

Boris Spassky, world champion from 1969 to 1972, celebrates his 87th birthday on 30 January. Spassky is regarded as a universal player and played numerous fantastic attacking games during his career. One of his favourite openings with White was the King's Gambit, which he used to beat players such as David Bronstein, Bobby Fischer, Yasser Seirawan and Anatoly Karpov. | Photo: Boris Spassky, Chess Olympiad Saloniki 1984 | Photo: Gerhard Hund

With over 10 million games the Mega Database 2024 is the indispensable chess database for every chess player, for preparation or chess training in all conceivable facets - now available in the updated 2024 edition, also as Big Database without annotated games and update service. Also new: the Corr Database 2024 Correspondence Chess Database with 80,000 tournaments and 2.3 million correspondence games - for players who want to know even more.

The new Mega Database now contains over 10 million games and over 700,000 new games. With 112,000 annotated games, the Mega Database is also the largest annotated game collection in the world. The Mega Player Encyclopaedia contains 60,000 player names with over 40,000 player photos. Wow! All this is constantly being edited and expanded, e.g. with the automatic Mega Update!

Albin's Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) has been, and still is, a rare guest at top level tournaments, and is hardly ever seen in the practice of the world champions. The variation is considered theoretically dubious and as an overly aggressive attempt to gain counterplay in the rather solid Queen's Gambit. However, the opening has found its way into literature - in the novel "Gambit" by American crime writer Rex Stout.

MegaBase 2023 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10 million games, many of them annotated. Our columnist offers a review with focus on modern master play. There is a lot more to discover in this treasure trove: grand battles, opening novelties and exemplary endgames.