12/13/2023 – The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most aggressive answers to 1.e4, and its theory develops dynamically - the young German grandmaster Luis Engel brings all aficionados up to date with his two-volume Fritztrainer course. Christian Höthe had a look at the course and is enthusiastic.

12/17/2021 – Jon Edwards is a passionate chess player, a passionate chess teacher and one of the world's best correspondence players. He knows how important it is to study openings and to study them with the right tools. In the current issue of the "American Chess Magazine" Jon Edwards had a look at the ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia, a tool he uses "every day".

6/28/2021 – Planning in chess is a fine and important art. On his DVD "Strategy Training: How to Make a Plan" Robert Ris shows how to master this art. Jana Schneider, one of Germany's top women players, had a look at the DVD and liked what she saw.

12/17/2020 – The Budapest Gambit is an excellent opening if you want to have as much fun as you have success — the ideal opening for Simon Williams. IM Martin Neubauer watched the DVD and sent a review, noting that the fun factor makes this a system especially suited for blitz games on the internet.

3/15/2020 – Roven Vogel won the U16 Youth World Championship 2015 and at the beginning of this year he qualified for the next Tata Steel Challengers Tournament in Wijk aan Zee by winning the Qualifiers in Wijk. To get a better understanding of how the best players study and work, he took a close look at Caruana's DVDs about the Ruy Lopez. Which he considers to be entertaining and helpful for chess players of all levels.

8/8/2019 – A meteorite can pass through the atmosphere burning — a fulgent light in the darkness. Igor Kurnosov, who died six years ago today, passed through the chess world like a meteorite, leaving many interesting games in his wake. DAVIDE NASTASIO reviews the book which celebrates a life cut too short. | Photos provided by the publisher, Elk and Ruby

7/15/2019 – As Jacob Aagaard writes in his foreword to Understanding Minor Piece Endgames (Müller and Konoval, 2019), “every new book written by Karsten is an event for me”. Reviewer GUY HAWORTH brings you an in-depth look at this essential endgame extravaganza replete with illuminating examples.

6/26/2019 – These days there's no shortage of information on opening theory. Everyone, even an amateur, with a bit of study can play main line theory like a pro GM. In such circumstances, perhaps it's all the more salient to question to our opponents using openings which are sound, but less mainstream. That's what Simon Williams sets out to do in his latest DVD on the Torre Attack, and DAVIDE NASTASIO has the review.

4/6/2019 – Recently a new book on endgame studies was published, written by IM Yochanan Afek. He belongs to that very rare breed of composition grandmasters, with more studies to his name than we have seen elsewhere. His book is a treasure trove that provides insights into how, on occasion, the games Afek or others have played gave him the ideas for his study compositions. Review by Frederic Friedel.

4/4/2019 – Do you want to enjoy four exciting games annotated by one of the youngest GMs in chess history? Or discover the latest trends in the London and Anti-London? How about being introduced to one of the most brilliant games in history? And what about your tournament preparation, an update to your repertoire? A library of 35000 games could surely be helpful! If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it's time to check out the latest CBM Extra 188!

3/19/2019 – Amateurs hope to learn the secret to magically becoming good at chess. But the secret is already known: learn endgames! The benefits can become obvious, even from a superficial study. One learns how to coordinate different pieces and this can lead to stunning victories. But there's much more — improvements in calculation and visualization come from endgame study which are essential qualities that differentiate the great players from the mediocre ones. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO thinks GM Karsten Mueller's last book on understanding endgames with minor pieces is one everyone should read in order to improve at chess.

9/21/2018 – One of the most important tasks at the board, during a game, is to evaluate candidate moves and calculate the correct sequence. GM Christian Bauer, a famous expert on the Scandinavian Defence, has a new book out from Thinkers Publishing, which uses his own games as examples. Many different middlegame topics and ideas are explained in this innovative book, notes reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO who looks at two fully annotated games.

7/19/2018 – 40 years ago this week, Karpov and Korchnoi started their fight for the world title in Baguio City on the Philippines. Yesterday we published a lengthy interview with Karpov, who won the match 6 : 5, but Korchnoi almost became world champion. A good occasion to take a look at Genna Sosonko's new book "Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi", a fine memoir of one of the most interesting chess players of the 20th century. | Pictured: Korchnoi and Sosonko | Photo courtesy Elk and Ruby

6/21/2018 – International Master Robert Ris, well known for his Chessbase DVDs, has now published his first print book. In it he gives special attention to three essential elements of practical play, all key elements for every ambitious player seeking to improve. The first part of the book explores essential knowledge of rook endgames, offering a clear method to learn them. Then focus on tactical play and the way one should think, and how to cultivate one's own ability to sense the opportunity for a tactical strike. Ris also examines important aspects of positional play which will lead to a deeper understanding of the game. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO looks at how Ris' teaching approach can help serious chess students master all the facets of the game.

5/17/2018 – Nigel Short once said, "Modern chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it, checkmate ends the game!" The art of checkmating our opponent is something that we learn when we are young. But once we know what checkmate is all about, we hardly go back to that subject. In order to ensure that you polish your art of pattern recognition related to mating attacks, Daniel King has come out with his latest Powerplay DVD — Powerplay 26. It's named as checkmate challenge — essential knowledge. In order to tell you what this DVD is all about, IM Sagar Shah takes you on a journey of three tales. Three tales of mating attacks by players of three different generations!

5/2/2018 – CHESS Magazine reviewer SEAN MARSH finds Andrew Martin's "surprising Sicilian" quite persuasive, and "rife with dangers for both sides". Find out why, along with a sample game and video from Martin's latest DVD video series.

4/26/2018 – Excellent calculation is one of the secrets of champions. We often calculate for 10-20 minutes, even landing in time-trouble, only to discover our time was essentially wasted. In this DVD, the actual thinking process one should follow is clearly explained, even proven through the analysis of many examples from real games. If you want to learn how to think through a position effienctly, and make sound decisions at the board, reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO says, give IM Robert Ris a chance and, after five hours of intensive training, the board will never look the same!

4/14/2018 – REVIEW: This DVD gives an insight into the mind of one of the top professional chess players of our time. The way he prepares, his opening knowledge, the way he studies, what he finds important or useless. Clearly, a must-have DVD, not only for knowing more about the 1.b3 opening, and how it is played today but for the huge amount of ideas conveyed through the videos. Davide Nastasio explains why.

4/4/2018 – Chess mastery is a bit like a PhD in a university, many subjects need to be studied: openings, middlegames, endgames, tactics, checkmate patterns etc. One of these fields to add to the curriculum are beautiful games which can help raise our aesthetic appreciation of the game, while at the same time giving us ideas and interesting maneuvers we can apply to our games. Reviewer Davide Nastasio takes a look at Simon "Ginger GM" Williams' picks in his entertaining DVD "Most amazing moves"!

3/26/2018 – When is chess the most enjoyable? When you win! Carl Portman, author of the book Chess Behind Bars, reviews Fritz 16. "Playing against an engine is now once again the very definition of fun! A host of features, including "Assisted Analysis", which gives you discreet visual hints as you move, and emoticons, which show Fritz’s mood, are there to help you. Even with little knowledge of chess, you can enjoy many an exciting game, and more importantly, victory, against Fritz.

3/8/2018 – The Pirc is an opening which can give White the false confidence of having the initiative. Black lets White build a huge central pawn structure, and then, like in a guerrilla warfare attacks those pawns, and the weak squares behind. Don't miss the chance to learn an opening which will deepen your understanding of many pawn structures! Davide Nastasio has the review.

2/20/2018 – Licensed chess professionals recommend patients take at least one DVD or book on the KID every year, in order to keep their combinations robust, and tactics sharp. If you are in doubt about the amount of vitamin KID you should take, Davide Nastasio provides a small dose, and a prescription for Victor Bologan's DVD, which is sure to cover all your tournament needs.

2/8/2018 – American Chess Magazine #5 is out, featuring a dashing Magnus "Clark Kent" Carlsen on the cover. The issue is packed with great stories, and we present the annotated game from Vassily Ivanchuk's World Cup run. That prompted ACM reader Art Jensen to send in this photo of his own cat "Taz" enjoying the article! The issue also includes reviews of two ChessBase DVDs.

2/3/2018 – The open games are the formative backbone of a chess player. They teach fundamental lessons on initiative, development, and material value. A common example can be when we sacrifice a pawn to gain a needed tempo. It is the sacred duty of every chess player, young or old, to try to play 1...e5 against 1.e4, and gain knowledge, and understanding, which will reflect in tournament games, as well as understanding high level praxis. The latest Sam Collins DVD provides the basis for such enrichment of our chess understanding!