4/10/2012 – The Bulgarian GM's third DVD for ChessBase isn't about openings, but instead aims to instruct amateur players on the power of queens, rooks and bishops in both the middle and endgame. 48 carefully selected games, all thoroughly explained. "The price of $39.95 might seem steep, compared to a book, but cheap for a 5½ hour lesson with a GM," writes IM John Donaldson in this review.
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Dejan
Bojkov: Chess Highways
Review by John Donaldson
William John Donaldson, 53, has been an IM since 1983, with two GM norms
under his belt. He is also an author, organizer, journalist and six-time captain
of the US team at chess Olympiads. In 2006 he was named USA Zone President
in FIDE. He is constantly writing and producing chess books, mostly biographies
of historical chess figures.
Bulgarian Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov’s third DVD for ChessBase differs
considerably from his first two which were devoted to teaching openings (the
Kalashnikov Variation of the Sicilian and the King’s Indian). This time
around, with Chess Highways, he aims to instruct amateur players on
the power of queens, rooks and bishops in both the middle and endgame.
The medium for teaching this material is 48 carefully selected games and positions
which are thoroughly explained. The mini-lessons run from roughly five to ten
minutes (running time for the DVD is 5 hours 38 minutes). Bojkov is well-prepared
and familiar with his material. Although English is not his native language
he is easy to understand and pleasant to listen to.
The examples are divided between classics and more recent games. Those of
a certain age are likely to remember the famous game Karpov-Unzicker, Nice (ol)
1974, which is featured here. The soon-to-be World Champion won a beautiful
encounter in which his control of the only open file played a pivotal role in
deciding the game.
The following example from the author’s practice, which is also featured,
drew inspiration from Karpov’s gem. Note this accompanying game replay
is an abridgement of the audio commentary.
[Event "Zwolle"] [Site "?"] [Date "2007.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[Black "van den Doel, Eric"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C90"] [PlyCount "113"] 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 Na5 8. Bb5
a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. Nf1 Re8 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15.
Ne3 g6 16. Bb3 Rb8 17. a4 b4 18. Bd5 Ne7 19. Bc4 Rf8 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. Bxd5 Bg7
({Better is} 21... Bg4 22. h3 (22. a5 Bg5 23. h3 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 Bd2) 22... Bxf3
23. Qxf3 {with a slight advantage for White.}) 22. Nd2 Kh7 (22... a5 {was needed.})
23. a5 Be6 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Nc4 $16 {Although Fritz 9 (the strongest engine
by the time that the game was played) evaluated that this position is in favor
of Black (!) I am inclined to think that White is strategically winning. My
plan is simple-to put the knight on b6, after which he has or to stay at one
place when I exchange on b4 and later win this pawn, or exchange on c3, after
which I double the rooks on the b file under the knight protection and penetrate
with the them in the proper moment.} Rb5 $6 { This loses a couple of tempos.}
({Better is} 25... Rf7 26. Nb6 bxc3 27. bxc3 Qh4 28. Qe2 h5 29. Rab1 Rbf8 (29...
Rfb7 30. Rb3 (30. Rb2 Bh6 31. Reb1) 30... g5) 30. Rf1 {although here too, White
conducts easily his plan.}) 26. Qe2 Bf6 27. Reb1 Rb7 28. Nb6 bxc3 29. bxc3 Rbf7
30. Rf1 Bh4 31. g3 Bg5 32. Nc4 Qd7 ( 32... Rb7 33. Rab1) 33. Rab1 Bd8 34. Rb8
h5 35. Kg2 $6 ({I started to feel quite nervous in his own time trouble, and
missed the clear win with} 35. Rfb1 $1 Rxf2 36. Qxf2 Rxf2 37. Kxf2 Kh6 38. R1b7
Bc7 39. Rh8+ Kg7 (39... Kg5 40. h4+ Kg4 41. Kg2) 40. Ra8 Kf6 41. h4 {winning.
The rooks enjoy their files greatly. For some reason I thought that somewhere
in this lines he can come with his queen on a4 and find some perpetual.}) 35...
Bc7 36. Rxf8 Rxf8 37. Rb1 Rb8 38. Rxb8 Bxb8 39. Qb2 Qb5 ({Somewhat more tenacious
is} 39... Ba7 40. h4 {with a clear advantage.}) 40. Qxb5 axb5 41. Na3 b4 42.
Nb5 {Now it is under control again, though Fritz evaluates for quite a long
time that it is slightly better for Black (!).} Kg7 (42... d5 43. Kf3 b3 44.
Ke2 b2 45. Na3 c4 46. dxc4 Bd6 47. Nb1 dxe4 48. Ke3 {winning}) 43. a6 b3 44.
Kf3 Kf6 (44... b2 45. Na3 Ba7 (45... c4 {only chance} 46. dxc4 Ba7 47. Ke2 Bc5
48. Nb1 Kf7 49. Kd3 Bxf2 50. Na3 Ke7 51. Kc2 Kd7 52. Nb5 Kc6 53. a7 Kb7 54.
Nxd6+ Kxa7 {with a large advantage.}) 46. c4 {is winning.}) 45. Ke2 b2 46. Na3
Ke7 ({Or} 46... d5 47. c4) 47. Kd2 Kd7 48. Kc2 Kc6 49. Nc4 d5 50. a7 Bxa7 51.
Nxe5+ Kd6 52. Nxg6 dxe4 53. dxe4 c4 54. f3 e5 55. Nh4 Ke6 56. Nf5 Bg1 57. h4
1-0
Chess Highways should prove useful to two groups of amateur players. The first
is those who are starting, particularly young players who need a solid grounding
in the fundamentals. The second group who would benefit from the work are experienced
adult players who do better learning from DVDs than books.
The System requirements for this DVD are : Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or
higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard.
It does not require Chess Base to run, instead using ChessBase Reader which
is provided.
The price of $39.95 might seem steep compared to a book but cheap for a 5½
hour lesson with a Grandmaster.
Born in 1977, Dejan Bojkov is a Bulgarian GM who qualified from the Sports
Academy of Sofia as a trainer, a profession which he has followed in various
countries. After his work as a trainer in Kavala (Greece), he was employed
ba ex Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova as her trainer.
Bojkov was champion of Bulgaria in 2009 and was a member of the Bulgarian
team at the European championships in 2009. In cooperation with Vladimir
Georgiev he has written "A Course in Chess Tactics" which appeared
as a Gambit publication in 2010.
GM Bojkov has also written more than 30 reports for the news pages chessbase.com
and chessbase.de. He has also produced a number of training DVDs, which
you will find here.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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€89.90
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Dejan
Bojkov: Chess Highways
