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The English Opening with 1.c4 is one of the most subtle yet combative means of starting a chess game which has found favour with many of the great players in history. White takes space on the Queenside whilst keeping his options open about where he should place his pieces. This gives White the kind of flexibility that is missing from regular 1.d4 openings and puts the onus on planning and ideas rather than a knowledge of variations. On this DVD Davies tells you everything you need to know to start playing the English in tournament games, showing how White should react to Black’s different set-ups using 40 illustrative games. The main focus is on lines with 2.g3, making it easier for White to get aboard this Rolls Royce of chess openings. Video running time: 8 hours.

There seems very little room to create new opening ideas in 2010 and the creative competitor must work hard to find new approaches which help to win games. Enter 1.f4, Bird’s Opening! 1.f4 has hardly been given comprehensive coverage in the textbooks and on this new ChessBase DVD, International Master and Senior FIDE Trainer Andrew Martin examines this ‘last frontier’ of sound and original opening play. A repertoire is suggested for White, a little off the beaten track, where the emphasis is on setting new problems for the opponent and putting Black under pressure to find original solutions, right from move one! There can be no doubt that 1.f4 always provides entertainment and interesting positions. If the opening is mastered it will produce excellent results over the board. Back in the late seventies and eighties it was the Trompowsky Opening (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) which was giving Black a serious headache. Will 1.f4 continue in the same tradition in 2010 and beyond? Video running time: 3 hours.

“The pawns are the soul of chess!” And he put his money where his mouth was! The famous chessplayer and composer André Danican Philidor not only focused the attention of coming generations on the importance of pawns in the game of chess, he also worked out the basis of a new opening in which Black from the very first moves is trying to construct a solid pawn setup in the centre. It is an opening underpinned by his deep philosophy.

Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.

Opening a game with 1.g3 appears rather quiet and unpretentious yet many of the greatest players in history have chosen to play this way. Bent Larsen, Victor Korchnoi, Leonid Stein and Pal Benko have all wielded this move with considerable success whilst in more recent times Mikhail Gurevich has been using it highly effectively. The idea behind this opening is to leave White with the greatest possible flexibility for his pieces and pawns and indeed the game can transpose into openings as diverse as the Closed Sicilian, the King’s Indian Defence and the Catalan Opening. Yet White can also choose to tread new ground by adopting formations such as a reversed Leningrad Dutch, reversed Alekhine’s Defence or even a reversed Pirc or Modern Defence. All of these formations contain far more poison with White’s extra tempo. On this DVD Davies explains key concepts and ideas behind these unique approaches, whilst also showing how White can transpose into more regular openings if he show chooses. This can provide many opportunities for throwing the opponent on his own resources as well as wrong footing him into something he does not know. Video runnig time: 4 hours

The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation is one of the most important opening systems, having been played by most of the great players in history and from both sides of the board. The most outstanding specialists in this method of play include Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Botvinnik and Samuel Reshevsky whilst the Black side has been championed by such notables as Anatoly Karpov, Boris Spassky and Paul Keres. It is truly an opening of champions.

Tricks and traps, especially in the opening, are a dangerous reality of competitive chess. All sorts of surprises await the unwary player, from devastating sacrifices to cunning move order ploys. A knowledge of such ideas is essential if a player wants to be the hunter rather than the victim.