This
is the Chess DVD of the Year!
Review of Yasser Seirawan’s My Best Games
by Michael Jeffreys
If there is a better chess DVD on the market, I have yet to see it. GM Yasser
Seirawan is a very good chess player, but he is a great commentator. He masterfully
combines expert annotations, with fun stories, humor, a bit of ham, and a childlike
enthusiasm for the game of chess. And he does it all with a smooth voice, dapper
suit, and a winning smile.
Many of today’s younger players may not be familiar with GM Yasser Seirawan,
or if they are it’s from his role as commentator during the Kasparov versus
computer matches. Or, perhaps they remember him as a chess ambassador, as he
played a key role in putting together the so called, “Prague Agreement.” This
was an attempt in 2001 to unify the world chess championship, which at the time
was held by both Ponomariov (who won the FIDE title), and Kramnik (who lay claim
to the title with his victory over Kasparov).
Early pictures of Yasser Seirawan
Or, they may be familiar with him through his Microsoft Press “Winning Chess”
book series that he put out over the last decade with IM Jeremy Silman. And
his magazine, Inside Chess, which he published for many years, was where
many players, both amateurs and pros alike, got the latest annotated games before
the advent of the Internet!
However, Yasser is first and foremost a chess player. And during the late 1970s,
80s, and early 90s, he was in the upper echelon of the top players in the world.
Seirawan was born in Damascus, Syria, on March 24, 1960. After immigrating
to the UK for a few years, Yasser’s family moved to Seattle, WA, when he was
seven so his father could take a job with the Boeing Company. He was a product
of the Fischer boom in 1972, and went on to win the World Junior Chess Championship
in 1979, as well as four US Championships. And one gets the impression that
he can still give anyone a tough battle as his current FIDE rating is a not
too shabby 2634.
I attended a lecture by GM Seirawan at the National Open in Las Vegas about
ten years ago, and it was fantastic. Yasser exudes polish, charm and charisma.
And he is an excellent story teller. I remember he told us how he became GM
Viktor Korchnoi’s second after he beat the living legend (Victor fell into a
particular line in the English that Yasser happened to know very well). Despite
losing, Victor was so impressed with Yasser that he asked him to be his second
in his match against Karpov!
Seirawan’s Opponents
Some of the 22 games shown on the DVD include battles against: Bisguier, Weinstein,
Timman, Larsen, Miles, Gligoric, Korchnoi, Tal, Hort, and Karpov. If you are
from this generation, these names will mean something special to you. If you
are not, then all I can tell you is that a few decades ago, before Carlsen and
Nakamura, and even before Anand and Kramnik, these were some of the names that
filled chess magazines.
PROS
Yasser’s style is friendly, warm and very smooth. You can hear in his voice
his love for the game. This is especially evident when he talks about a particular
move he made that he is very proud of.
Yasser welcoming the viewer with his charismatic personality
Another thing Yasser is quite passionate about is something that no longer
exists: adjournments. In the second video (featuring his game against
Weinstein), Yasser shares that he feels the ability to adjourn the game and
spend a day analyzing a single position, was invaluable to his growth as a chess
player and greatly improved his endgame play. And that today, many positions
are poorly played simply because the players don’t have enough time to find
the best moves. He talks about waking up in the middle of the night and having
what he calls “a Eureka moment” when his mind came up with the winning idea
in a position that appeared to be a draw versus Weinstein.
Yasser giving away ChessBase goodies (here to Magnus Carlsen in 2006)
In the very next video clip, featuring his game against GM Jan Timman, Seirawan
plays the move 1.e4 on the board, and then shares his thoughts on how Black
should “handle” this move. Basically, he says that Black can either directly
challenge the pawn, by playing the Scandinavian or Alekhine’s Defense for example,
or he can “work around” the pawn and play on the wings, by choosing an opening
such as the Sicilian or the Pirc, the latter of which Yasser is quite fond of.
Hearing from a strong GM about how he approaches a chess opening is simply gold
in my book.
All the games on the DVD are fun to watch and hear Yasser tell you his thoughts
going into the game, as well as whether or not his preparation worked out or
not. The final game, which he calls “the big fish that got away,” is as exciting
affair when he played the French Winawer and had then World Champion Anatoly
Karpov on the ropes.
In fact, I literally laughed out loud when Yasser started enthusiastically
telling us just how busted he had Karpov: “And it was exactly here that I knew
White was lost. Not worse. Not much worse. Lost! Cold stone lost. Dead. Going
to meet his maker. Walking the green mile. This position is over!” Lol!
And if that isn’t funny enough, a few minutes later he confesses that once
he realized he was going to win the game, he started to think about how wonderful
it was going to be when he told all his friends how he beat the reigning world
champion! I love this because while we may not have been beating Karpov, we
have all been guilty of, at one time or another, thinking that the game was
in the bag how great it was going to feel when we showed the game to our friends.
And to top it off, he then shows us a series of wins that he missed, one after
the other, because he saw “better wins!” (His advice in retrospect: “You only
need one win! Take the first one that is clear, and forget about better, more
aesthetic looking wins!”) I swear he is almost turning red he is so embarrassed
about having to relive this game. If you would like to see a grown man torture
himself, this is your ticket. I am telling you this is one of the most entertaining
lectures I have ever seen!
Unfortunately, he allowed Tolya to escape with a draw and you can just see/hear
the heartbreak in Yasser’s face/voice.
CONS
A few minor quibbles:
In the previously mentioned game versus Weinstein, since Yasser really wants
us to see the ending, why not simply start there? Instead, he starts from the
beginning of the game and rapidly clicks through the moves, skipping right through
some interesting parts without any commentary or while saying, “This part isn’t
the main thing… what I want to show you is coming up.” From the viewer’s perspective
this is a bit frustrating. And the solution is so simple: If you are a ChessBase
presenter, and you want to show us an endgame, please START with the endgame
position.
Secondly, sometimes Yasser has problems clicking through his games at certain
points. He will get confused and start clicking on one variation when he means
to show another. Then he will apologize, and have to break his connection with
the viewer, to focus on his computer monitor and get things back on track. If
it happens once or twice, okay, but several times is too many and interrupts
the flow. This is where a little time spent rehearsing would pay dividends.
Please note that the above criticisms are minor, and that overall this is a
great DVD. It is my hope that by pointing these two little “hiccups” out, Yasser’s
next DVD, (and he mentions at the end that he has plans for at least two more)
will be that much better.
The Bottom Line
This DVD is a real gem for several reasons. First, besides his “Chess Pro
Mentor” series which came out over two decades ago, Yasser really hasn’t
put much material out in video format. That alone makes this DVD somewhat special.
Secondly, you are getting great games taught to you by a world class GM. His
annotations are clear and easy to follow, making this a wonderful DVD for the
class player. Of course, there is much here for the titled player too, as Yasser
is an original thinker and would often try out ideas that were a bit off the
beaten track.
Yasser Seirawan interviewing Boris Gelfand for ChessBase in Wijk aan Zee
2006
The Openings that Yasser plays and that are covered on the DVD include: The
English, The Caro-Kann, French, Pirc, and the Nimzo-Indian. I should also mention
that included on this DVD is a nice bonus: A small database of all 22 games
fully and extensively annotated by Yasser.
For those times when you just want to sit back, relax, and let a world class
GM take you through his career by showing you some of his very best games, told
with charm, wit, and great stories, this is the perfect DVD!
Running Time: 5 hrs.
Order
Yasser Seirawan's My Best Games DVD now
