9/27/2025 – The technique of calculating variations is perhaps one of the most important techniques that defines a chess player's playing strength. An entire generation of top players, including the current World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, have a reputation of being true calculating machines. David Navara brings the secrets of calculating variations from the perspective of an absolute top player with a peak rating of 2751 to your home. Lukas Köpl, himself a trainer and advocate of the technique of calculating variations, reviewed David Navara's contribution. | Photos: ChessBase
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The technique of calculating variations through the eyes of a top player
Structure and didactic structure
In addition to opening knowledge and positional and strategic ideas, a player must always be able to test their own ideas and plans in concrete terms. The FritzTrainer is structured according to the individual techniques of these calculations and is particularly suitable as an overview. Each chapter contains a short theoretical text alongside the chapter title, which is then taken up and explained in a video by Czech grandmaster David Navara.
Exercise selection: practice-oriented
Navara has selected only exercises from practice for his FritzTrainer, which is in keeping with his philosophy of prioritising the practitioner above all else, with the help of a pragmatic approach to variation calculation. The course therefore always includes tips on how to calculate from the perspective of a practical game, so that aspects such as time management are not neglected.
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Practise opening variations with three modes.
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Explanations: Compact compass for your own practice
David Navara's explanations of each topic are short and concise. He gets straight to the point and doesn't get bogged down in endless explanations. This allows you to capture the technique as a small building block for your own practice and incorporate it into your own training when solving tactical problems or in your own training in calculating variations.
Additional material
The Fritz Trainer is intended purely as a lecture, providing an overview of the technique of calculating variations. In addition to the exercises discussed and solved during David Navara's theory chapters, which provide an example of the presented technique, there is unfortunately no database of exercises that could have been used to test the students' understanding of the theoretical concepts.
The only additional material is the extensive and well-structured database, which is already sufficiently prepared for your own training or in your club.
Conclusion: A valuable and comprehensive contribution to the theory of variation calculation
With "Your Calculation Compass," David Navara contributes to the modern treatment of variation calculation, highlighting developments since Kotov's groundbreaking work as well as important building blocks that can serve as a guide for ambitious chess players during their own games. Navara always keeps the practical aspect of a chess game in mind. The lack of exercises is the only negative point I see, as after reviewing the FritzTrainer, I would have liked to practice what I had learned directly with selected exercises.
Positive:
✔ Theory of variation calculation ✔ Logical and methodical structure ✔ Clear explanations by Navara ✔ Structured database for reuse ✔ Focus on a pragmatic approach for tournament players
Negative: ✔ Missing exercises on the respective topic
The two Video-Courses offer you the chance to solve 66 exercises with multiple questions. These exercises are presented in the interactive format, which makes them accessible for players of different strengths as we will go through the thought process ste
About David Navara
David Navara (*1985 in Prague) is the most successful chess player in Czech history and has been part of the extended world elite for many years. He was supported early on by renowned coaches such as Luděk Pachman and won numerous national and international youth titles. At the age of 14, he became an International Master and earned the Grandmaster title in 2002.
Navara is a multiple-time Czech national champion and has represented his country at every Chess Olympiad since 2002, usually on the top board. His international successes include reaching the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup and winning the European Blitz Championship in 2022. Alongside his tournament career, he studied logic at Charles University in Prague and has been a full-time chess professional since 2010. Navara is known for his fairness and his deep, strategic style of play.
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Lukas KöplLukas Köpl, born in 1989, is a passionate club and tournament player who has been successfully working as a chess coach for over 15 years with an active coaching and referee licence. His wider field of expertise includes journalistic work for chess magazines and publishers, as well as active club and youth work. As a chess player, he has represented several clubs in various leagues over the years.
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