Opening Encyclopedia 2026 - Chess Game Database Software

EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY

1,586 special theoretical databases – analyses with annotated games & ideas by Grandmasters
Over 40,000 illustrative games
8,200 opening surveys, 300 new or updated
100 opening videos. Total duration: over 35 hours

Be well prepared with the new Opening Encyclopedia 2026! Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopedia covers the entire opening theory on one product and is the ideal start for your opening training. Many new articles enrich the current theory with new or revisited ideas. The Encyclopedia can help you learn openings quickly and give you a head start on your next opponent. Each article contains explanations and annotated games illustrating typical plans to deepen your understanding.

The Opening Encyclopedia offers quick access to all openings. The openings are sorted by name and ECO code via the menu for quick and easy access to your favorite openings. Opening Tutorials give a quick yet comprehensive overview of all established openings to help every chess player find the most suitable opening according to their personal preferences. 100 high-class opening videos are included in the Encyclopedia 2026, from our popular ChessBase Authors. Daniel King, Dorian Rogozenco, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Mihail Marin, Ivan Sokolov, Adrian Mikhalchishin, Leon Mendonca, Jan Werle, Luis Engel, Rainer Knaak, Robert Ris, Felix Blohberger and many other grandmasters present new opening ideas clearly and vividly. The number of articles in the Opening Encyclopedia is growing – it now contains 1,586 and the included database contains all games from all opening articles.

One more highlight: Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco presents opening trends in world-class chess. You can look forward to a total of 9 videos on the French, Sicilian, Najdorf, Ruy Lopez, Italian, Petroff, English, Queen’s Gambit Declined, from the entire year 2025 to spring 2026.

All this makes the new Opening Encyclopedia 2026 an indispensable reference work for every tournament player.

GM Dorian Rogozenco: “The Opening Encyclopedia is the best product around in the field of opening theory”

“The Opening Encyclopedia offers an ample and unique overview about the opening theory. In multiple videos and theoretical articles highly qualified trainers analyze and explain different opening variations and present them in a compact and easy-to-learn formats. Literary everyone, from beginners to Grandmasters, can find many ideas to expand their opening repertoire. Whether you want to surprise your opponents with unexpected moves right from the beginning of the game, learn a complex theoretical variation, or understand the newest developments of the modern chess theory – the Opening Encyclopedia provides you with everything you need for that. It is my deepest conviction that the Opening Encyclopedia is the best product around in the field of opening theory, improving your knowledge about the openings and helping you to become considerably stronger in practice.”

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Desktop-PC or Notebook with 8 GB RAM, Windows 11 or 10, Internet access, ChessBase’26, 18 or 17 or Fritz 20.