2/18/2026 – I have a look the game Mamedyarov-Ibrahimli from the second round of the Azerbaijan Championships. Interestingly, the two players followed for a very long time my game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from Reykjavik 2013! In a Flohr-Mikenas System, White voluntarily accepted to play with isolated doubled pawns on the c-file in order to develop a lot of play with its major pieces through the center. The similarities between both games is simply striking and are absolute modelgames from White's perspective. Still, a well-prepared Black player should be able to neutralize this concept, but when caught by surprise I can tell you from my own experience that these positions are highly unpleasant to play with Black!

2/10/2026 – One more miniature from the Tata Steel Masters. In round 10 the game between the two Candidates Matthias Bluebaum and Anish Giri featured a rather unusual opening line. After the moves 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 Black gives up its dark-squared bishop on c3 and locks up the centre and places its pawn on e5. This invention was made back in 1969 by the Dutch IM Johan Barendregt and has recently been seen in quite a number of games. The imbalances in the structures guarantee fire on the board and one mistake may decide one's fate. In this episode of the Fast & Furious show you'll learn more about the ins and outs of this trendy line!

1/26/2026 – In my next Fast & Furious show I am having a closer look at the spectacular 27-move victory of Javokhir Sindarov with the Black pieces against Matthias Bluebaum. Against the Krasenkow Variation of the King's Indian (6.h3) the young Uzbek quickly left well-known territory just to avoid a theoretical battle. An excellent practical decision, as Bluebaum clearly didn't feel comfortable in the complicated middlegame and quickly lost track. In this installment I'll explain both sides their thematical plans and explain why one shouldn't automatically trust the engine's evaluation.

1/11/2026 – In the game Wei Yi-So, White opted for the Zukertort System which is gaining more popularity lately. In my video course The Menacing Colle & Zukertort System for the Club Player I discussed the unusual concept with castling queenside for White and I am glad to see the Chinese top player followed by recommendation. Despite the disappointing result, White had all the reasons to be satisfied with the outcome of the opening and got a promising attack. In timetrouble some huge chances to convert were not taken and White even lost due to a cruel blunder.

1/8/2026 – First of all, I'd like to wish the viewers all the best for the New Year 2026 with a lot of exciting Fast & Furious episodes! In the last week of 2025 Magnus Carlsen managed to add two more World Championships to his CV by winning both the Rapid and Blitz section. I have a look at his black game against Artemiev from the Rapid event, in which he chose one of his favorite lines in the Anti-Meran which had served the Norwegian pretty well on previous occasions. In the current game, things were less fun for Black due to a grave error on move 15 after which White was completely winning. Come and watch if you are interested in learning more about this specific variation!

12/22/2025 – Twenty years after Topalov’s legendary knight sacrifice in San Luis, history echoed on the same stage. Ivan Cheparinov revisited the famous Najdorf line against Alexey Shirov — and after a 65-minute think on move 21, “Fire on the Board” struck back with a brilliant finish. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/16/2025 – This week we are having a look at a spectacular miniature played in the Greek Championships. The game Nikolaidis-Alexakis featured the Benko gambit in which Black opted for the modern treatment with 5...e6. Black even got the chance of sacrificing a knight on move 10, how often do you see that happening still in grandmaster play?? | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/9/2025 – This week an Indian top Grandmaster 2662-rated lost a game in only 16 moves! In this week's episode we will see what went wrong in a sharp line of the Queen's Indian Defence with 5.Qc2, which includes an early pawn sacrifice. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

11/29/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into the FIDE World Cup which has seen a lot of interesting games, featuring spectacular openings as the KO-format forces players to take a lot of risks.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

11/25/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into the FIDE World Cup which has seen a lot of interesting games, featuring spectacular openings as the KO-format forces players to take a lot of risks.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

11/15/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation played in the game Dubov vs Meier.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/27/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into 3...d6 in the Italian Game palyed in Niemann vs Caruana.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/18/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into a tricky sideline of the Ruy Lopez (8.Bd2!?). White came well prepared and managed establish a firm grip in the centre.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/3/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into the Rossolimo with 3...e6, showcasing Nguyen’s model Bundesliga win that highlights Black’s central dominance and precise calculation. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/19/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks at the game N. Yakubboev vs A. Demchenko from the Grand Swiss in Samarkand, which illustrates how it is still possible to be creative and bold in the opening: White sacrificed his bishop on move 8 (!) and went on to win a fine miniature. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/8/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris examines a spectacular queen sacrifice in a line of the Alapin. This sacrifice was tested in the first round of the Grand Swiss in Samarkand — and it passed the test with flying colours. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/2/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris presents a really wild game - at the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica Zdroj Yakubboev and Bluebaum found a way to turn the solid Queen's Gambit into absolute mayhem. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

8/25/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris takes a look at a game by the new French Champion, Marc’Andria Maurizzi, who defeated Christian Bauer in a topical line of the French. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.