Chess · Worth knowing

Daniel King analyzes recent developments in the English Defence opening (1.c4 b6 2.d4 e6 3.e4 Bb4+), examining how the focus has shifted from the traditional 3...Bb7 line to 3...Bb4+. King explores White's three main responses—4.Nc3, 4.Bd2, and 4.Nd2—demonstrating how Black achieves comfortable positions in each variation, particularly through quick castling and central pawn chains on the black squares. ChessBase Magazine #233 also features opening analyses on the Slav Marshall Gambit and Barendregt Variation, along with in-depth studies by Le Quang Liem and Anish Giri.

Jon Speelman analyzes three recent competitive chess positions with computer assistance ("centaur" analysis). From the 1996 Yerevan Olympiad, he examines a Svidler-Lobron endgame where Black prematurely resigned from a position that was actually drawn, exploring why pawn placement dramatically changes the evaluation. He then presents two positions from the recent Grand Chess Tour rapid tournament in Zagreb: a Firouzja-Saric middlegame where 30.h3 won but 30.Qh6 offered interesting tactical complications involving zugzwang, and a Keymer-Deac endgame where removing a pawn changes the theoretical assessment from drawn to winning, demonstrating how computer analysis reveals non-obvious winning techniques in seemingly simplified positions.

15-year-old Ukrainian Anastasiia Hnatyshyn achieved an extraordinary upset victory at the 2026 European Women's Championship despite being ranked 76th among 165 participants. Starting from a rating of 2207, she won the tournament outright with 9 points, defeating multiple women grandmasters including Mai Narva (rated 2426) and posting an exceptional performance rating of 2580. Her victory gained her 215 rating points, climbing 216 places in the women's live world rankings to reach 17th place globally and first in the girls' under-20 ranking, displacing the previous champion Anna Shukhman. Hnatyshyn's success reflects a trajectory of consistent competitive development across multiple formats—she won the world championship in rapid and blitz for girls under 12 in 2022, claimed European Under-16 titles in rapid and blitz in 2025, and qualified for Ukraine's Chess Olympiad team. Her training combines work with multiple coaches including Adrian Mikhalchishin and five years of Kasparov Chess Academy courses, demonstrating how structured technical development in tactical hierarchy and endgame technique contributes to elite-level performance.