Special: AVRO 1938. "All in One": Anish Giri and Igor Stohl dissect two topical opening lines. Analyses from Norway Chess 2020 by Duda, Firouzja et al. Videos by Erwin l'Ami, Daniel King and Mihail Marin. 11 opening articles and much more!
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nd5
Seven brave players faced the international champion from the Netherlands to give him a hard time in the gambit that he discussed in ChessBase Magazine 199. This did not work out as planned. Robert Ris consistently took seven out of seven!
In the tournament, half of the 26 games played with the thematic 6.Nd5 were won by White, which is quite a decent result, and definitely speaks in favour of this gambit continuation, especially since every participant was able to prepare for it in detail. None of the games ended in a draw!
Prodigy Sreyas Payyappat from India performed particularly well. Unfortunately, the internet connection of the DJEM U12 winner broke down in the last three rounds, so that he could only finish five out of seven games.
The whole atmosphere of the tournament was great. Just as it should be on a blitz evening. The praise goes to all participants, who played the rounds fairly and with a lot of joy, and had fun kibitzing. Robert Ris himself added a little highlight after the tournament and discussed the opening in more detail on ChessBase + Zoom, together with the players, who were also allowed to ask opening-specific questions.
All the games played can be viewed and replayed here.
A World Champion's Repertoire against the Queen's Gambit Declined
This DVD offers a complete repertoire for handling this solid opening, often featuring a dynamic approach to pose the opponent more practical problems. Both of the main continuations 3...Nf6 and 3...Be7 are covered in two separate parts.
It is always a good sign, if more than half of the tournament participants have a hand in their face.
Black preferably plays 6. ..Nxd5 7.exd5 Qh5+, to get the pawn back.
After the tournament, Robert Ris gave a small lesson on ChessBase, where all the players could also ask questions.
Robert Ris
Robert Ris (1988) is an International Master from The Netherlands, who nowadays is active mainly as an online chess trainer. For ChessBase he has recorded various training DVDs. In his Fast & Furious show on the PlayChess server sharp opening lines are explained sharp for a wider audience. On his personal website http://www.robertris.com you will find out more about his training services.
Ris has already released several Fritztrainers and has achieved a large fan base with his relaxed, informal manner.
Furthermore, it is highly recommended to watch his popular "Fast and Furious" show, which deals with creative and crazy opening ideas.
The Stafford Gambit in 60 Minutes
Looking for a surprise weapon against 1.e4? Try the Stafford Gambit! After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5, rather than following the solid lines of the Petroff after 3...d6, Black prefers to sacrifice a pawn with 3...Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6.
