11/5/2012 – "Recently ChessBase has hit upon a formula which I suspect will be a great success," writes John Watson. "They've introduced a series of videos limited to an hour, and available by download." Watson has studied the London System and watched Henrik Danielsen's "60 Minutes", in which the Icelandic GM not only gives a repertoire versus Black's most common setups, but presents some new ideas.
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Henrik Danielsen: Pressing Straightaway – The London System
Review by John Watson
Recently ChessBase has hit upon a formula which I suspect will be a great success:
they've introduced a series of videos limited to an hour, and available by download,
called '[X]...in 60 minutes', e.g., Attacking the Semi-Slav with g3 in 60 minutes
by Robert Ris or An Anti-Sicilian Repertoire in 60 minutes by Loek van Wely.
It seems to me that this is perfect for the average player, for whom six-hour
presentations are somewhat intimidating, and for the everyday worker require
the patience and consistency to split into various viewings over what might
be a week or two. The '60 Minute' series videos are more focused and require
only one session or at most two for the average player, and they cost less than
the full-length ones (9.90 Euro). For me, the requirement to download is actually
a benefit: I get the product more quickly and save shelf space.
Pressing Straightaway: The London System 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4 in 60 Minutes;
(Download); Henrik Danielsen; ChessBase (2012)
Let's look at a couple of examples. Of the 24 '60 minutes' videos by ChessBase.
Only two are not about openings, showing again how players are ever-hungrier
for opening knowledge; this is a trend which shows no sign of stopping. I've
been researching the London System recently and watched Henrik Danielsen's Pressing
Straightaway: The London System 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4 in 60 Minutes. This isn't
a complete London System repertoire, since it only covers lines with 1...d5.
This is a large subject, however, and includes a wide variety of combinations,
e.g., ...d5 and ...e6, ...d5 and ...g6, ...d5 and ...Nc6, and ...d5 and ...c5,
and others. Danielsen has a lot of experience playing the London, and not only
gives a repertoire versus Black's most common setups, but presents some new
ideas.
Danielsen's solutions to an early ...c5 and to Grunfeld structures with ...g6
are excellent, and he's convincing in his claim that Black will have a difficult
time fully equalising in all these variations. Obviously, anyone who plays the
London on whatever level will want to have this video. For a more general treatment
on the London versus all defences, ChessBase has Nigel Davies' London System
from 2008, in DVD format, whereas traditional readers may prefer the comprehensive
treatments in the books Play the London System by Cyrus Lakdawala, and Win with
the London System by Sverre Johnsen and Vlatko Kovacevic.
Sampler: Henrik Danielsen - The London System 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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