Suchergebnisse

The modern form of the Philidor Defence arises via the move order 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5. Then after 4.Nf3 Nbd7, Shirov has introduced the pawn sacrifice 5.g4!? into practice - and achieved excellent results with it. Accepting the sacrifice leads to a very sharp position full of tactical possibilities. Shirov is one of the best connoisseurs of this system, and although he has been very successful with the white pieces in this line, he is always striving for objectivity and shows the possibilities for Black’s counterplay as well. Who finds the gambit 5.g4!? too double-edged, can find an alternative in the tried and tested, solid strategic approach 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 c6 8.a4. Also on this system Shirov presents many of his own games, discussing among other things the difficult, but extremely important question whether and when White can advantageously proceed in the centre with d4-d5. The third system presented by Shirov arises after the traditional Philidor move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4. Black tries to solve his problems by the radical 3... exd4 now, a move which was already played by Horwitz versus Staunton in 1846 and which recently has come into fashion again. Analysing his game against Nisipeanu, apart from Bacrot one of the experts of Black’s way of playing, Shirov shows how White can fight for the advantage here. Video running time: 5 h 52 m. 

If you want to play successful chess you must pay great attention to the endgame. Because it is only if you handle the endgame correctly that you can turn an advantageous position into a full point or save half a point from an inferior position. On this DVD, Rustam Kasimdzhanov analyses the type of practical endgames which tournament players encounter on a daily basis. We are talking here about endgames which are still full of life, endgames which in the final analysis must be played out over the board. Using selected games of his own, he shows the importance of understanding positional factors such as an advantage in space, piece activity, pawn weaknesses, strong and weak squares, pawn majorities, passed pawns, etc. He explains what has to be known in order to make the correct strategic decisions and to find the correct plan in such endings. Studying the examples in this 3.5 hour long video course will certainly pay off for you in your own games. Kasimdzhanov’s outstanding and easily understandable explanations will certainly help you to substantially improve your own performance in the endgame.

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 Colle System, with 1.d4 followed by 2.Nf3 and 3.e3 is an unpretentious set-up for White but one which contains considerable venom. White’s pieces can suddenly be unleashed to create devastating attacks, as can be seen in the games of Artur Yusupov, Evgeny Bareev, Vlatko Kovacevic and others. The Colle also has many practical advantages in that it doesn’t require much theoretical knowledge and can throw people on their own resources. For all these reasons it is an excellent choice for players at club level and beyond. On this DVD Davies explains the various plans and ideas at White’s disposal. Whilst his main recommendation is to play 3.e3 after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 and 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6, he also shows how it can be made into a viable system against the King’s Indian, Benoni and Dutch Defences.

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.

The variation 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 a6!? does not have an especially good reputation in the theory books. Competitive players can use this unjustified assessment to their advantage because the variation is entirely playable, as International Master Andrew Martin shows on this new Chessbase DVD. With careful selection of variations, Black players can make the O’Kelly work and work well. In fact the O’Kelly was first played by Savielly Tartakower, but it was the repeated adoption of 2...a6 by O’Kelly de Galway after World War Two that gave the variation its name. Club players will enjoy adding the O’Kelly to their repertoire and many opponents will be unfamiliar with the unusual problems that Black is posing. Video running time: 4 hours.

On this DVD Alexei Shirov shows that also in the endgame, it is possible to keep struggling for the full point to the very last - if you are creative and ambitious. Because even in objectively quite balanced positions, you can frequently find ways to sharpen up or complicate the fight. For the tournament player, often all that matters is to be able to pose practical problems which his or her opponent might finally fail to solve. Thus Shirov sees himself rather as an endgame practicioner, putting down his successes in this phase of the game less to concrete knowledge about theoretical positions than to the understanding of general principles, good intuition and exact calculation of variations. One main emphasis of the DVD is the endgame with rooks and different coloured bishops which Shirov finds particularly interesting, analysing five examples. Another important feature is the very complex and difficult setting with four rooks (three examples), where he works out most helpful general principles. All in all, Shirov examines 17 examples out of his own practice, among them his famous different coloured bishop ending versus Topalov which went around the whole world. Running time: 4,5 hours.