8/4/2026 – Do you know the feeling? You often come out of the opening with a promising position, only to struggle to convert your advantage because you do not fully understand the resulting middlegame. Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, wants to improve this aspect of his game and has enlisted Ivan Sokolov as his "coach" through the video series Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the third and final part of his review, he looks at three courses (12 to 14) devoted to reversed-colour openings and their strategic characteristics, hoping to gain a better understanding of how to meet these systems with the black pieces.

8/1/2026 – Alongside its latest releases, ChessBase's Summer Specials also include a selection of older Fritz Trainers, such as titles from Daniel King's long-running PowerPlay series and Karsten Müller's endgame courses. This raises an interesting question: can Fritz Trainers that are up to 20 years old still be used on modern computers, and how well have they stood the test of time? Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, revisited a number of these classic titles and also reveals his personal favourites among these old gems.

7/11/2026 – Does this sound familiar? You often reach good positions from the opening, only to fail to convert your advantage because you do not understand the resulting positions well enough. Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, wants to improve in this area and has enlisted Ivan Sokolov as his 'coach' through the video series "Understanding Middlegame Strategies". In the second part of his series, the reviewer presents three courses dealing with opening-specific positions arising from the Sicilian, French and King's Indian. He has installed the Apple Mac OS X versions and describes how they differ from the Windows versions.

6/6/2026 – Do you know this feeling? You often emerge from the opening with a good – or even advantageous – position, only to fail to convert your edge because you do not fully understand the resulting positions and choose the wrong middlegame strategy. Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, wants to improve in this area. To do so, he has enlisted Ivan Sokolov – through his video series *Understanding Middlegame Strategies* – as his “coach” in order to strengthen his skills. In the first installment of his series *My Sokolov Strategy*, he presents the opening episodes of this video course series.

4/18/2026 – What skills define a modern grandmaster, and what can amateurs learn from them? It is a combination of strategies, insights, and techniques compiled by the English GM and coach Nicholas Pert in a two-volume video course. From the opening through tactics and strategy to the endgame, the author explains the thinking and preparation of masters using illustrative games. Jochen Schwarz has examined the Pert course in detail and reviewed it.

3/14/2026 – The concept behind Chessbase's "60-minute" courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under 10 Euros. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on quite "specialised" opening variations. In the second instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important 60-minute courses for 1.e4 players against the French Defence.

1/11/2026 – The concept behind ChessBase’s “60 Minutes” courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under ten euros. There are also courses on middlegame or endgame topics, but most of them present rather “specialised” opening lines. In the second instalment of a small series, Jochen Schwarz introduces the most important 60 Minutes courses for 1.e4 players against the Caro-Kann Defence.

11/22/2025 – The concept behind Chessbase's "60-minute" courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under 10 Euros. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on quite "specialised" opening variations. In the second instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important 60-minute courses for 1.e4 players against the French Defence.

10/17/2025 – The concept behind the "60 Minutes" courses is simple: one hour of video instruction for just under 10€. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on opening variations. In the first instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important "60 Minutes" courses for 1.e4 players against the Sicilian.

8/23/2025 – In the late 1980s, a company was founded in Hamburg that created a revolutionary product for the chess world: a chess database program for personal computers, destined to change the game forever. As one of the very early ChessBase users, I would like to share the story of its development from my own perspective.

7/19/2025 – The French Defence is a powerful, combative opening that can bring you both enjoyment and success if you study it properly. But it’s not so easy to find the "right" course among the many ChessBase courses on the French. Jochen Schwarz, a player from northern Germany and a coach in the south, has been playing the French for many years and has gained extensive experience with the FritzTrainer courses on this opening. He wants to help you find the French Defence video course (or courses) that best suit your needs.