ChessBase: Tutorial

How to use ChessBase 18 effectively in training — that is the subject of this three-part series in our tutorial line. Using it effectively also means being able to send your files to your training group, since the material you created in the earlier parts should, after all, be made available to your students in a useful way. ChessBase 18 offers several practical methods for doing this, which we explain in this part.

Use ChessBase 18 for training purposes: with smart use of the database functions and the training tool, you can quickly put together excellent training material. There’s no need anymore to pore over books, copy diagrams, or scan pages. In this second part of the tutorial, you’ll learn how easy it is to prepare your material in a didactic way and turn it into exercises. This saves you valuable time that you can use for your own training or for your students.

Chess trainers love ChessBase 18 — and for good reason! With just a few clicks, you can create outstanding training material and even enrich it with interactive exercises. In this first part, we’ll show you how to set up a thematic database in no time — perfect for your own practice or for your students. In the upcoming parts, you’ll discover powerful ways to use it to boost training results quickly and effectively.

It’s often the small tricks that make training clearer and more effective. One such feature in ChessBase 18 is the ability to insert null moves. This can be especially helpful in chess training or analysis. In this short and concise tutorial, you'll learn how to use null moves effectively.

ChessBase 18 offers a wide range of technical features and training tools. To get the most out of them, it helps to know where to look. In this tutorial, we show you how just a few clicks can enhance your ChessBase experience. Explore the "View" menu across different sections of the program to design your own personalized ChessBase environment. Take a look and try it out — because in the end, it’s all a matter of personal preference ...

The Mega Database 2025 contains over eleven million games — an impressive archive of chess knowledge. And it keeps growing. Thanks to the weekly Mega Update service, you receive about 5,000 new games each week, directly from tournaments around the world. As with ChessBase 18, keeping the Mega Database up to date requires just a few clicks. In this tutorial episode, we’ll show you how.

Working with ChessBase 18 is so enjoyable because it builds on the experience of the developers from 17 previous versions. But you don’t have to wait for the next release — you’ll receive ongoing improvements directly to your computer through the free update service. And don’t worry: staying up to date with the latest updates takes just a few clicks. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how.

Let's continue with ChessBase 18's powerful training tool "Replay Training": Replay Training! We already introduced you to this super feature in the last article, and in this tutorial, we'll show you some additional features that will help you noticeably improve your playing strength in a fun way. Let's continue ...!

Do you know the powerful training tool in ChessBase 18? It's called "Replay Training"! This great feature lets you actively go through games move by move—sharpening your strategic and tactical understanding in a targeted way. Whether under time pressure or not, the choice is yours. Train in a realistic setting, get instant feedback, and systematically improve your play—whether you're a beginner or an ambitious tournament player. In this tutorial, we'll guide you step by step through how Replay Training works. Let's get started!

Discover a powerful tool in ChessBase 18: Medals! With just a few clicks, you can highlight tactical brilliancies, strategic masterpieces, or typical mistakes—and find them again at any time. Medals help you analyze your games more effectively, organize them, and build up valuable training material. This turns your database into a personal success coach. Learn how to make the most of this powerful feature!

You can find the perfect games for your training in no time: using the shortcut CTRL+F, you can search your databases specifically for players, game phases, or strategic and tactical themes. These search results let you focus your training exactly where you or your students want to improve.

What the mouse can do! Following on from the aesthetic aspects covered in the last ChessBase 18 tutorial for beginners, this time we show you how you can use the mouse in different ways. The scroll wheel and mouse buttons can be used in a variety of ways. Here, too, it is a matter of personal preference which settings you choose.

After all the analysis tips from the past few weeks, this time it’s simply about aesthetics! But that’s not unimportant — after all, you spend a lot of time with ChessBase 18, so the look should be appealing and match your personal taste. Discover how to customize “your board” exactly the way you like it.

We've compiled some additional tips for our latest tutorial. These allow you, for example, to quickly open endgame positions from Karsten Müller's articles in ChessBase, and compare structures you're interested in with positions from the Mega Database. Check out the example and use these practical features for your training!

You want to analyse a position without having to enter all the moves first? No problem: with ChessBase 18, the position is quickly displayed on the board and you can analyse it with or without an engine, or import other game positions using FEN code. Learn how to use the “Position Setup” menu to start immediately at the point that interests you, and find out what FEN is all about ...

When you are on the move, it is particularly important that your computer does not consume too much power when analysing. With ChessBase 18, you can conserve your battery and connect to top-quality hardware via a remote engine whenever you need it. This means that the engine installed on your computer can remain off and the computing power is provided by an Internet server. But there are advantages at home too: the wide selection is sure to include engines that are more powerful than the one on your own computer, and the fan stays quiet. In this tutorial series, you will learn how convenient and resource-efficient you can analyse with your engine of choice.

Would you like to make the most of ChessBase 18, especially in the opening, to improve your repertoire? With the Powerbooks and Powerbases, you will always be one step ahead of your opponents. Learn how to use these comprehensive and up-to-date databases with ChessBase and how to train your favourite openings with Fritz.

Have you admired how beautifully the authors colour fields and insert arrows in the ChessBase videos? Would you like to be able to do the same? In this tutorial series, we show you how you can improve your own analyses in ChessBase 18 with clear graphical elements.

ChessBase 18 offers great possibilities for analysing with several menu windows at the same time. Having been introduced to the practical options in the last tutorial, today you will learn about options that will take your analysis to a new level.

ChessBase 18 also impresses with its clarity: Analysing with multiple menu windows without losing the overview is no problem. Are you familiar with the six standard layouts or do you prefer your own? Explore the options and try them all out. You will be amazed at how you can use this ChessBase feature to visually organise your analysis in a meaningful and effective way.

Tactical analysis is not just exciting, but it is very practical. With ChessBase 18, it is easy to use its findings. In this episode, learn how you can use this ChessBase function to complement your analysis and make it more effective.

ChessBase 18 offers many possibilities for organising databases so that they contain all the important information, while remaining clear and user-friendly. In this episode, learn how to use ChessBase features to improve your game.

Do you know the feeling? Over time, more and more databases accumulate in ChessBase: How do you keep track of them all? It's best to get organised right from the start – but how? In this tutorial, we'll show you how to organise and systematically save your own material so that you can always find everything quickly. It's not that complicated and it's actually fun!

A loud machine, an empty battery - that's the usual result when powerful chess engines perform deep analysis on a notebook. A tough test for the hardware. With the ChessBase Engine Cloud you avoid these problems and have access to powerful computers that do the calculations for you. We present two of our remote engine providers, where you can rent top performance for ducats.

Analyses with ChessBase 18 are flexible: insights gained can be added to or changed at any time. This often leads to a re-evaluation of variations. In this tutorial episode, we will therefore explain how you can upgrade variations and insert or change evaluations. We will show how practical this is with the quick access bars next to and below the notation.

With ChessBase 18, you can not only analyse your own games professionally – as we have already shown in the first four parts of the tutorial – you can also comment on them individually. There are several methods for doing this, and they can be linked together. The comments can be entered as text or using the commonly used chess symbols. In this fifth part of our new tutorial series, we will show you how easily you can integrate all types of comments into your notation.

When you work with a programme on a regular basis, you should make that work as pleasant as possible. ChessBase 18 offers endless possibilities - and that goes for the look too. Make your workspace individual and pleasant. In part 4 of our new series of tutorials we will show you how easy it is to design your individual notation so that analysing with it is a maximum pleasure.

If you've only been using ChessBase for a short time and want to benefit from as many of its unique functions as possible, our series offers you valuable, short and easy-to-digest tips for a successful start with ChessBase 18. In the third part of our new tutorial series, we show you how easily and conveniently you can insert variations from the engine analysis and the references into the notation (see the first two tutorial episodes) with ChessBase 18.

In part 2 of our tutorial we will show you how to add new variations to a game in ChessBase 18. These can be your own moves or those of an engine, which you might want to add.

Let's go: In part 1 of our new tutorial series, we will show you how to quickly enter and save your own games. Just follow the explanations and screenshots and gradually build up your own database of games.

"ChessBase have truly outdone themselves with the new CB18," say strong GM Iniyan Panneerselvam. "It makes life so much easier for players and coaches alike, thanks to its fantastic new features! We all know how precious time is; and CB18 is designed to save you a ton of time when you need it most." Today he describes how the software works with Mega Database 2025. and which additionsl bonus features it provides.

There are many clear advantages of using the latest ChessBase 18. It dramatically improves your level of chess study and preparation. Ask Indian grandmaster Pa.Iniyan, who sent us an in-depth three-part review of his experience with the program. You would do well to follow what he says carefully – and use our software to increase your performance and rating.

Are there any advantages of moving to the latest ChessBase 18? Are strong chess players doing it, and finding the software useful in their every-day tournament activity? A decided 'Yes!' is given by Indian grandmaster Pa. Iniyan, who sent us an in-depth three-part review. You would do well to read about his experience carefully, and learn how you too can dramatically improve your level of chess study and preparation.

A remote engine does not run on your computer but in a data center. Here you’ll learn why the new remote engine is a smart addition to our proven cloud engines. How to run a remote engine without spending ducats? Why did our Helsinki machines give us quite a scare before the autumn discount day? And how did Fritz wreck a server rack?

by Matthias Wüllenweber

Every complex piece of software has hidden gems that aren't immediately obvious. For example, the reference search in ChessBase 18 has a new superpower that’s easy to overlook. Do you know the best way to prepare your teammates for a match? What is the crucial innovation that Rasmus Svane brought to the program? And why does Malcolm Pein never walk alone?

by Matthias Wüllenweber

ChessBase 18 now provides insights into players that go beyond mere opening statistics. Evaluating players is a somewhat delicate matter, and mistakes could be embarrassing. However, the Style Report hits the mark surprisingly well. For historical stars whose styles are well-known, all the classic clichés are spot-on. Most importantly, you can learn something about your next opponent—or about the most important player of all: yourself.

by Matthias Wüllenweber

The latest version of the standard chess study program has received a major update. It now allows you to evaluate your opponents, study their repertoire, their strengths and weaknesses, all at a click of the mouse. It draws its conclusions by replaying all their games – it has access to many billions of online games. Head programmer Matthias Wuellenweber has written about the new program in the latest issue of ChessBase Magazine. Check out the details and decide whether you can afford not to have the program.