5/30/2020 – The famous French musician, pianist and composer Jason Kouchak is an avid chess fan. During the time of the Corona lockdown he spends his time playing chess or watching online tournaments. But actually he wanted to be at the Holland Park Chess event, to give a live chess performance with his friend, actress Helena Bonham Carter, as white queen.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
This interactive video course of over 8 hours, provides an in-depth exploration of the Pirc Defence, a favoured opening for people looking to play for the win with the black pieces.
€49.90
What does Corona mean for you?
Corona offers us the chance to think about ourselves and our surroundings, a chance to rethink our expectations and reassess our place in the world together. Basically it is a chance to be kinder to each other and to reconnect by finding harmony in humanity.
Where are you at the moment?
Currently I am living in Paris to be with my mother in these uncertain times.
What is your life like at the moment?
Life is the way you use your time, energy and space. There are times when it is a challenge, as it is almost impossible to make long-term plans, but I try to manage expectations and focus on the positive aspects of this "New Normality", because I believe that all of us together will become stronger and take less for granted in the future.
Jason kibitzing at the match Juraj vs Patrice
How many of your shows did you cancel because of the corona pandemic?
Unfortunately I had to cancel some concerts in London and one in Paris, which was planned for Beethoven's 250th anniversary this spring.
I also had to postpone the 10th anniversary of the launch of Holland Park Chess until autumn. This was to be a ballet and chess performance with a guest appearance by my friend Helena Bonham Carter as White Queen on the 'Queen's Journey'.
How do you spend your time instead?
I find much more time to read the Russian classics and I have rediscovered my favourite French childhood books like The Little Prince and the wonderful fables of Fontaine. I also have a training session every morning including running, yoga and karate. In the afternoon I practice piano and write new music.
Chess training with Daisy
Do you follow chess tournaments online?
Yes, I follow these tournaments daily and recently I had a lot of fun watching the top players at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. I have some favourite commentators like Judit Polgar and Lawrence Trent, who have wonderful chess anecdotes to tell. I think it's great that more people inspired by the play of the grandmasters are taking part in online tournaments during the lockdown.
Questions: André Schulz, Translation from German: Johannes Fischer
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
London System Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
€9.90
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