Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1 & 2 and The Hedgehog

Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1

In this series it’s all about strategy for club players, explained in a simple way with clear examples! The idea is to focus on certain themes using specific pawn structures. The central question is: how can the pieces be manoeuvred into good positions and what should we then consider? IM Herman Grooten will offer rules-of-thumb and concepts to give clubchess players the necessary guidance to try and find the right paths in their own games.

In this two-part course the emphasis will be on typical pawn-structures, ones that appear quite often in games and that will be very recognisable to club-chess players. Hence, the topics “Open and half-open files” and “the pawn chain” will be covered extensively on this video course.

• Video running time: 6 hours 30 Minutes (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Model Games and Training with ChessBase apps - Play key pawn structures

Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.2

A new production in the “Key Concepts of Chess” series. The idea is to focus on certain themes by means of specific pawn structures. The central question is: how can the pieces be manoeuvred into good positions and what should we then consider? IM Herman Grooten offers rules-of-thumb and concepts to give club-chess players the necessary guidance so that they can try to find the right paths in their own games.

In this second part the emphasis will be on typical pawn structures that appear quite often in games, and that will be very recognizable for clubchess players. For example, on this video course the topics “the isolated queen pawn (IQP)” and “the passed-pawn in the middlegame” will be discussed in detail. Because the IQP can appear on the board in many opening variations, it is worthwhile to study. The fact that sometimes a passed-pawn can be invaluable and can cause an astonishing effect will be music to the ears of the club-chess player.

• Video running time: 4 hours (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Model Games and Training with ChessBase apps - Play key pawn structures against Fritz on various levels

Key Concepts of Chess - The Hedgehog

In order to understand openings properly, the middlegame should actually be studied first. Because all plans in the middlegame link directly to the ideas from the opening. Almost everything is hung up on pawn structures. Therefore, IM Herman Grooten takes the club chess player by the hand to take a closer look at common middlegame structures. 

On this video course Grooten discusses the basic ideas for both White and Black of a typical structure that can arise from various opening variants. This is the so-called “hedgehog system” which is characterised by at least four black pawns on the sixth rank which we call the “spikes” of the hedgehog. Another essential aspect is that the exchange of a black c-pawn for a white d-pawn (as in the Sicilian) creates a position in which, partly due to c2-c4, a large space advantage is obtained by White. But that the “hedgehog” is viable will become clear in all the examples shown, as the author likes to use this system himself!

• Video running time: 4 hours (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Model Games and Training with ChessBase apps - Play key pawn structures against Fritz on various levels