2/9/2022 – There are plenty of openings to choose from and learn. Which one to prepare and where to begin? We are here to solve that dilemma. Austria no.1 and FIDE Trainer Markus Ragger explained the basics of the Grunfeld Defence. He even included his most recent games in this two volume ChessBase DVD. The opening course has been created with thorough research and utmost care because he himself plays it in his career. Check out the 100+ minutes long interactive session with IM Sagar Shah where Markus Ragger shows and explains a lot of lines of the popular opening and answers audience questions too. Photo: ChessBase India
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You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
€21.90
Markus Ragger on Grunfeld Defence
Learn the basics of Grunfeld Defence - Austria no.1 GM Markus Ragger | Video: ChessBase India
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
About Markus Ragger
Markus Ragger was born in Klagenfurt on 5 February 1988. He attended primary school in Maria Saal and graduated with honours from the Ingeborg Bachmann Gymnasium in Klagenfurt. Afterwards he did his civilian service at the Disabled Support Centre in Klagenfurt. He studied mathematics at the University of Klagenfurt for one semester before devoting his full attention and energy to chess. Markus is a professional chess player, has two children and lives in Graz.
Chess was in Markus' cradle. His grandparents played chess against each other every day and so he learned the rules as a toddler. At the age of 6 he joined his first chess club Maria Saal, for which he still plays in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Successes
- 16-time Austrian National Champion in the General Class
- Winner of the First Bundesliga with clubs in 9 different countries (AUT, BIH, CZE, ESP, FRA, GER, HUN, NOR, SLO)
- 67 points from 112 appearances on the 1st board for Austria at European Team Championships and Olympiads
- Since May 2010 first and so far only Austrian with more than 2600 elo points
- October 2016 first and so far only Austrian with more than 2700 Elo points
- February 2017 Highest Elo rating with 2703 Elo points, Highest world ranking 41st place
- 11 top-10 rankings in individual European and World Championships
- Best chess player in the German-speaking world
- Voted Austrian "Chess Player of the Century" in 2020
Shahid AhmedShahid Ahmed is the senior coordinator and editor of ChessBase India. He enjoys covering chess tournaments and also likes to play in chess events from time to time.
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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