7/5/2017 – In the recent issue of New in Chess magazine GM Matthew Sadler, having switched jobs and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, watched some ChessBase DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov and progressed to Adrian Mikhalchishin, whom he calls "an entertaining and lively host ... who kept me thoroughly entertained all through the many hours of content. He does however make tactical mistakes, caused by the author's unbridled enthusiasm. Still: definitely a series worth consideration.

6/13/2017 – Wei Ming Kevin Goh is an International Master from Singapore who works full-time but still has the ambition to become a Grandmaster. He definitely has the enthusiasm it takes. On his chess.com blog he recently reviewed Vidit Gujrathi's DVDs on the Caro-Kann - with passion, an independent analytical mind, and a good eye for details. After some criticism he concludes that "this DVD is a must for anyone rated above 1800 who wishes to study the Caro-Kann from both sides" and "you will not regret buying" it.

5/5/2017 – Sergei Tiviakov knows how to win against the French: by playing 3.Nd2! The renowned author and grandmaster regularly plays this move which has brought him a score of about 80% against the French. On a ChessBase DVD he revealed the secrets of this line. French expert Markus Hochgräfe had a close look at the DVD - and was impressed.

4/27/2017 – How to improve your chess? By studying the endgame! And how to study the endgame? Go to Karsten Müller. The German grandmaster is considered to be the world's leading endgame expert and he has published numerous books and DVDs about the endgame. In his "Endgame Magic Show", which runs on the ChessBase server, he regularly shows instructive and interesting endgames. The shows are archived. A treasure.

4/24/2017 – The Berlin Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6) is a very solid line for Black - so solid that players dubbed it "The Berlin Wall". But Alexei Shirov has some ideas "how to crack the Berlin Wall". Hedinn Steingrimsson liked these ideas - and so did Hou Yifan who used Shirov's recommendations to beat Fabiano Caruana in round 1 of the Grenke Classic.

4/1/2017 – French players believe in their opening and if you play with White against a French aficionado you better come prepared. On his DVD "Fit for the French" Viktor Bologan helps you to prepare against the French. He recommends to play 3.Nc3 and to follow the main lines. Markus Hochgräfe, who has been playing the French for years, had a look at the DVD and liked what he saw. But he still believes that Black can do better.

3/13/2017 – What to do against 1.e4? The Caro-Kann offers good opportunities to reach (very) solid or, if you wish, quite sharp positions. On his DVD "The ABC of the Caro-Kann" Andrew Martin explains the ideas of this opening and offers a complete Caro-Kann repertoire for Black. Markus Hochgräfe had a critical look at the DVD.

3/10/2017 – Watching Garry Kasparov playing chess is a treat. A rare treat since the arguably best player of all times stopped playing tournament chess in 2005. On the ChessBase Master Class DVD about Garry Kasparov grandmasters such as Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin and Karsten Müller take a look at the career of the 13th World Champion and analyse what made him play so well. Our reviewer Christian Höthe is happy to say: "Kasparov is back!"

3/8/2017 – The Chebanenko Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6!?) is a solid, strategically interesting system that has caused players with White a lot of problems. On his DVD "The Chebanenco - still improved" Viktor Bologan offers a complete Slav repertoire based on the Chebanenco and explains why the line is so attractive. FM Markus Hochgräfe is a Slav aficionado and took a close look at the DVD. He suggests some improvements but all in all he liked what Bologan offers.

2/27/2017 – What to do against 1.d4? Michal Krasenkow recommends the "Triangle Setup": Black puts his pawns on c6, d5 and e6 - a solid and flexible system that offers Black still a lot of scope to play for a win. This is what FM Markus Hochgräfe was looking for and why he had a careful look at Krasenkov's DVD.

2/12/2017 – Dutch Stonewall is an underrated opening. Players with the white pieces who play 1.d4 usually do not devote much time to studying the best way to deal with it. It's a positionally dubious system, is what they think. However, the Dutch grandmaster Erwin L'Ami has come out with a ChessBase DVD that will change your opinion about the Stonewall. L'Ami calls it a perfect weapon for a fighting game of chess. IM Sagar Shah, a firm adherent of 1.d4 in his chess career, presents his findings.

2/11/2017 – "Studies prove: the more patterns you know, the better you play," says Ukrainian GM Adrian Mikhalchishin. He is one of the best trainers in the world: he coached the USSR team, the national teams of Slovenia, Poland and the Netherlands, and was the trainer of Anatoly Karpov (1980-1986) and other famous players. Now he turns his attentions on you: in a new Fritztrainer DVD he reveals the pattern recognition secrets of the World Champions. Don't miss it.

2/9/2017 – An opening destined to become a trend is the rather curious looking Modern-Pirc. Or as some grandmasters are already admiring it, a fusion of the strategies involved in the Modern Defence and the Caro-Kann Defence. If you are wondering how that is done, you are about to find out.

2/2/2017 – In round twelve of Tata Steel, Magnus Carlsen once more played the Dutch Stonewall, an opening he has returned to more and more often, and played a very precise move order. What is special is that this is cutting edge theory that is also presented in this DVD, released just days before that game. In this treatise on the extremely solid opening, GM Erwin L'Ami shares the results of his deep investigation, including new ideas and special move orders.

1/31/2017 – "The positional exchange sacrifice is one of the most powerful and fascinating strategic weapons in chess," states Sergei Tiviakov on his new ChessBase DVD "The Art of the Positional Exchange Sacrifice". Modern practice supports this claim. In a recent game between Levon Aronian and Anish Giri, played in round 8 of the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Giri misjudged the consequences of an exchange sacrifice by Aronian and lost without much of a fight.

1/27/2017 – Studying and learning from Bobby Fischer's games is an arduous and laborious affair. Although Fischer quit playing chess when he was just 29 years old, the number of high quality games that he had played was already quite high. The Master Class Vol. 1 on the life of Bobby Fischer is a boon for players who would like to delve deeper into the life of the eleventh World Champion. Three grandmasters and an International Master dissect the play of one of the greatest players that the game of chess has ever seen. A review by Aditya Pai.

8/24/2016 – "This is the story of how I fell in love with the Pirc Defense" - this is how Moshe Rachmuth begins his review of Dejan Bojkov's DVD about the Pirc Defense. Rachmuth describes how he got to know the Pirc, how he came to like it and how he cherished it more and more when he got to know it better. All with the help of Dejan Bojkov's DVD "Attacking with the Pirc".

7/30/2016 – The idea of critical moments is not hard to understand, and perhaps because of this is so easy to underestimate. These key moments in our games are essentially the turning point, leading to a decisive and negative change if missed or played improperly. Veteran trainer Adrian Mikhalchishin casts his expert eye on this topic to teach the student to recognize them and not misplay them.

7/7/2016 – Jan Gustafsson’s ChessBase DVD Black Repertoire against 1.e4: Open Games covers everything in 1.e4 e5 except the main lines of the Spanish (though it covers Spanish sidelines). "I believe that a basic knowledge of 1.e4 e5 from Black’s perspective is a kind of foundational knowledge for any strong player," writes reviewer Zhigen Lin. "I have no problem in saying that this is hands down the best openings DVD I have ever seen."

6/2/2016 – By now you have seen and read the reports on GM Timur Gareev and his blindfold chess exploits. Aside from his unique focus, and fashion sense, his chess is also very attractive with a disregard for material and talent for attack that make for very enjoyable viewing. Sharing his understanding, he recorded a 60-minute masterclass on the initiative.

5/4/2016 – Each new issue of "New in Chess" is a little event. The latest edition features Sergey Karjakin on its cover and offers a wealth of interesting articles: Mihail Marin, for example, enthuses about Alekhine's computer moves while Nigel Short tells about a remarkable record he holds. And Matthew Sadler has only good things to say about Sergey Tiviakov's latest DVD.

5/2/2016 – In spite of the release of ChessBase 13, the newest version of our flagship program, many players continue to use the older versions. There is nothing wrong with this, but it does mean missing out on the latest features and functions. Here is a review precisely by someone who was using the older program until he found the new power house.

3/14/2016 – The Benkö is an attractive weapon against 1.d4. GM Alejandro Ramirez (photo) has used this opening successfully for years. In part 1 of his two volume series on the gambit he explains what Black should do if White enters Benkö lines. In part 2 of the series he shows how Black should react if White avoids the Benkö. Good to know - not only for Benkö players.

2/5/2016 – Former FIDE-World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov enjoys the reputation of being one of the world's best theoreticians. A lot of top players and federations are very keen to hire him as opening trainer. For ChessBase users things are more easy: they only need to get hold of one of his DVDs. For instance about the Main Line of the Classical French. Review...