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A simple idea underpins the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Take all the pieces off and White wins the ending. Naturally, the execution of this plan is anything but simple because Black obtains the Bishop pair and free piece play to compensate him for his doubled pawns on c6. Nevertheless, it is useful to have something to aim for! Many World Champions have employed 4.Bxc6 and we will see some of their encounters on this DVD, along with a collection of very recent examples. Bobby Fischer was perhaps the most influential of those who played 4.Bxc6 ,as he showed the line could be played dynamically and that White was not restricted only to play for better endgames. The Exchange Variation is suitable for all levels of player, completely sound and a good tournament weapon. On this new ChessBase DVD, Andrew Martin makes a convincing case for White’s chances. In 2010, 4.Bxc6 is as dangerous as ever. Video running time: 4 hours.

For young and developing players a very important piece of advice is to study open positions and to understand the value of coordination of the pieces plus the role of the centre. These goals can be achieved just by answering 1.e4 with 1...e5. Some players claim that these positions are not sharp and interesting enough, and they believe that different Sicilians should be one’s choice, but that is not completely correct. The idea of this DVD is to show that 1.e4 e5 can be extremely entertaining and that Black can obtain interesting counterplay in every opening. There are two lines proposed in the Spanish systems plus the most active alternatives against other white choices. Video running time: 6 h 48 min.

The Open Ruy Lopez gives Black free piece play and chances for the initiative. This sharp and interesting variation has been used by many of the all-time greats, including Anand, Kortschnoi, Botvinnik, Keres, Euwe, Fine and Reshevsky and this is by no means an exhaustive list. White will argue that Black loosens his position in the Open Variation, but if Black takes the time and trouble to learn the ideas and tactical themes that underpin this line, he has every chance to win the game. This will be especially interesting to the club player as it doubtless has been to the grandmasters mentioned above. The Open Ruy Lopez remains popular in tournament and match play at all levels and in late 2010 this looks set to continue. It’s a rich opening variation which attracts players of every style. It’s also one of Black’s very best responses to the ‘Spanish torture’. Video running time: 3 hrs 40 min.

Given White‘s difficulty in proving an advantage in a series of Ruy Lopez systems, the Italian game (also known as Giuoco Piano), has become increasingly popular. In the systems based on an early d2-d3 (Giuoco Pianissimo), White aims at submitting their opponent to the same kind of positional pressure as “The Spanish torture”, a term used by Tartakower for describing the strategic fight in the Ruy Lopez.