ChessBase Reviews

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CDs, DVDs, Software Part 29

My Best Games in the Nimzo-Indian Defence / King's Indian By Alexei Shirov

Following on from "My Best Games in the Philidor" Alexei Shirov produces another two fascinating DVDs. Shirov has a very relaxed style when presenting over 4 hours of video on the Nimzo-Indian Defence and over 5 hours of video on the King's Indian. Both DVDs offer a great opportunity to gain great insights their respective openings from a top player who is not afraid to share his secrets. The author covers the King's Indian using 11 of his best games and uses 8 games to cover the Nimzo-Indian.

In the Nimzo-Indian, Shirov concentrates on the Classical Nimzo-Indian with 4.Qc2, but also covers games where White plays 3.Nf3, which then leads to games with 3.b6 (Queen's Indian) or 3.d5 4.g3 (Catalan). The opponents that Shirov faced on this DVD include Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov. His opponents in the King’s Indian DVD include Vladimir Kramnik and one of my favourite players and authors John Nunn.

Both DVDs are well worth buying and watching several times. Both DVDs are in the now standard Chessbase format with video tutorials using the Fritz8-Chess Media System. All of the lectures are presented in their entirety with video pictures and synchronised chess graphics.

The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian & The Botvinnik and Moscow Variation By Loek Van Wely

The Botvinnik and Moscow Variation DVD covers two of the sharpest lines of the Queen’s Gambit. The Botvinnik is (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5) and the Moscow is the (5... h6) variation of the Semi-Slav. The DVD runs for about five and a half hours.

This DVD is highly instructive not only in the variations but in the insights the author gives to other aspects of the game of chess including match fixing. If you're into games with dynamic positions then the Botvinnik and Moscow Variation DVD is definitely for you.

In The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian DVD nearly all games are from the period 2003-2006. As one would expect in the Sveshnikov, the games abound with combinatorial ideas and sacrifices; a feast for all fans of tactics. Van Wely focuses on the main variations 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4. This DVD runs for about three and three quarter hours.

Fritz Powerbook 2007 By Chessbase

The current openings theory with 1 million games. The Fritz Powerbook 2007 contains 18 million opening positions, derived from 1 million highclass tournament games. Together with each position all relevant information is stored: all moves that were played in the position, by players of what average rating, with what success and performance results. The games from which the Fritz Powerbook 2007 were derived are also included on the DVD. This means that in any position of the openings tree you can load and replay the games in which the position occurred. The Fritz Powerbook 2007 represents the state of the art of current openings theory. Discover exciting and tricky new lines and practice them against Fritz. In addition the DVD has a small but very exclusive book with the strongest GM games from the past 100 years (900,000 positions).

Chess Endgames 3: Major Piece Endgames By Karsten Mueller

Since 1988, grandmaster Dr. Karsten Mueller from Hamburg has played for the Hamburger Schachklub in the Bundesliga and in 1996 and 1997 he finished third in the German Championship. As an internationally renowned endgame expert he is the author of the endgame column in the ChessBase magazine and the author of the Endgame Corner column on ChessCafe.com. His book "Fundamental Chess Endings", which he co-authored with Frank Lamprecht and which was published in 2001 by Gambit, is already considered to be a modern classic.

The third part of the endgame series tackles queen endings, rook against minor pieces, queen against rook and queen against two rooks. Queen endings are not nearly as mysterious as they appear at first sight. Knowing a few rules of thumb and principles will make things very much easier for you. In the case of rook versus knight or bishop, you should not only know how to draw a pawnless endgame, but also when a fortress can be set up and when not. Something similar is the case for queen against rook, except of course that when there are no pawns the queen wins against the rook. In the duel against two rooks, further aspects come into play such as the co-ordination of the rooks. Those who have always found studying endgames with chess textbooks too dry and tedious will enjoy this DVD with its comfortable training system and will benefit enormously from brilliant endgames at the actual board. Complete video running time: 7 hours.

The Path to Tactical Strength By Rustam Kasimdzhanov

Rustam Kasimdzhanov was born in 1979. The grandmaster from Uzbekistan has for many years been known as a very strong and imaginative player. However, in 2004 Rustam Kasimdzhanov (pronounced "Kah-zeem-jha-nov") shocked the chess world by winning the FIDE world chess championship title, beating a string of world-class players like Ivanchuk, Grischuk, Topalov and Adams in the process. Kasimdzhanov is a very deep player, who is able to explain chess ideas in an eloquent, lucid style, with a fine touch of humour. His lessons are both entertaining and instructive – perfect for students who seek to avoid "dry" theory.

Despite the fact that many books have been written on tactics in chess, many players still find it extremely difficult to recognize tactical patterns and calculate ensuing lines. With this disk the author not only gives a large number of examples of the most different kind, trying to cover as many ideas as possible, but also suggests a method which will greatly help you to see various tactical motives and systemize your calculation. Video running time: 4 h15 min.

How to Play the Queen's Indian By Dmitri Oleinikov

With his previous publications (ChessBase-CDs: Budapest Gambit, Bird's Opening, Colle System) the author has already demonstrated that he is particularly interested in passing on ideas, typical structures and plans. His new work is no exception. But how can that work with such an enormous opening as the Queen's Indian? This is how he goes about things:

The work is supplied with a large database of over 78,000 games.