8/6/2026 – Every summer, Ivan Sokolov visits the ChessBase studio in Hamburg to record new courses. Over the years, these recordings have developed into some of the most important middlegame training series in the ChessBase catalogue, aimed primarily at ambitious players rated 1800 and above. Sokolov is refreshingly direct about the level required: “1700 and below, please find a different course.” His lessons are demanding, practical and based on coaching methods he has refined while working with elite players and national teams.
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The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Master your middlegame with the complete strategy series – now available as a bundle at a reduced price. Take your chance to save and improve! Master your middlegame with the complete strategy series – now available as a bundle at a reduced price. Take your chance to save and improve!
Ivan Sokolov's ChessBase Training Courses on offer
Ivan Sokolov is a Dutch Grandmaster, acclaimed author and former world top player. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1988 and the Dutch Championship in 1995 and 1998, reached number 12 in the world and defeated five world champions in classical chess: Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov and a young Magnus Carlsen.
His second career as a coach is just as remarkable. Sokolov has worked with the national teams of the UAE, Iran and Romania, coached Alireza Firouzja and Parham Maghsoodloo before they became international stars, and led Uzbekistan’s young team to Olympic gold in Chennai in 2022. His courses combine the experience of a world class player with the clarity of a coach who knows how to explain difficult middlegame concepts to a broad chess audience.
For a limited time, selected Ivan Sokolov courses are available at a special price.
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. The King’s Indian Defence is one of the most dynamic openings in chess - and Pirc structures share much of the same DNA. With colours reversed (the King’s Indian Attack), these setups can be just as powerful. What may look modest at first often transforms into highly complex middlegames, where timing, precision, and a deep feel for dynamics make all the difference.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Misplaced Pieces
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed. In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen - Spassky
You will learn how Black's dynamic piece activity and structural counterplay more than compensate for White's extra tempo in the colour-reversed setups. The Benoni family of openings has toppled world champions, decided match games under the highest pressure, and rewarded those brave enough to play them with some of the most electrifying chess imaginable. In this Fritztrainer, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov - continuing his successful series "Understanding Middlegame Structures" - takes you deep inside the complexities of the Colour-Reversed Benoni, the Colour-Reversed Benko Gambit, and the Colour-Reversed Blumenfeld Gambit.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Colour Reversed Banoni - Game 1
Master your middlegame with the complete strategy series – now available as a bundle at a reduced price. Take your chance to save and improve! Master your middlegame with the complete strategy series – now available as a bundle at a reduced price. Take your chance to save and improve!
5/11/2026 – In this ChessBase training course, Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of colour-reversed Benoni, Benko, and Blumenfeld structures, showing how Black’s active piece play and dynamic counterplay can fully compensate for White’s extra tempo. The course focuses heavily on understanding pawn structures, long-term middlegame plans, open files, and queenside pressure, giving players practical strategic guidance rather than pure memorization. It is especially suited for advanced players who want a deeper understanding of one of chess’s most aggressive and strategically rich opening families.
1/29/2026 – In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
IM Andrew Martin shows why this 19th-century opening weapon still is a fantastic choice for club players. The Evans produces exciting chess and teaches the art of attack.
The major part of the material on which the Petroff Defence Powerbook 2026 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 357 000 games. This imposing number is supplemented by another 17 000 from Mega and from correspondence chess.
Petroff Defence Powerbase 2026 is a database which contains 6475 high class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 682 annotated.
Videos: Felix Blohberger presents the surprise weapon 4…a6 in the Four Knights Game. Mihail Marin analyses the English Opening with 1.c4 e5 2.g3 g6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg2 Nc6. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 37 analyses by Berg, Radjabov and others.
Renowned for its solidity and strategic soundness, it has been a cornerstone of the repertoires of elite grandmasters including Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who relied on it successfully in the Candidates Tournament.
€39.90
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