Prague Chess Festival 2026 and 27 Miniatures: ChessBase Magazine #225 Chooses Information Density Over Length

On March 7, 2026, at the Prague Chess Festival, a game ended after just 23 moves. Aravindh Chithambaram — the Indian grandmaster — never needed an endgame. He won with a middlegame blow that most spectators would never notice on a live board. When David Navara sat down for ChessBase to annotate it, he pointed to move 18 and said the game was decided right there. I watched that game via stream from Chengdu, six time zones away, and what stayed with me was not the result — it was how it was recorded.

ChessBase Magazine issue 225 takes the opposite path to most chess media today. Instead of chasing long games, complex technical endgames or glossy titles, it places 27 short games — known as miniatures — at the centre. This is a statement about method, not a random editorial choice.

Thirty-two years of watching this industry taught me one thing: a good chess game is not measured by its length, but by its information density per move. Data never lies, but it likes to test our patience. And the 27 short games inside issue 225 are living proof of that principle.

Context must be placed correctly. ChessBase Magazine is the world's leading chess training publication, released every two months, serving both club players and professionals. Issue 225, published in April 2026, revolves around the Prague Chess Festival 2026. It contains analyses by Aravindh Chithambaram, Anish Giri, Gurel, David Navara and others. It includes opening videos by Werle, King and Ris, plus 10 opening articles offering new repertoire ideas.

Format-wise, the issue is available as a direct download (including a booklet PDF), or as a printed booklet with a download key by post. Notably, ChessBase Magazine #225 is also delivered as a