4/28/2015 – Development! Development! Development! This could just as well have been the title of the first DVD in the Power Strategy series by GM Mihail Marin, whose lesson on the topic will help emphasize not only its importance, but also the myriad ways it can be leveraged, exploited or punished for lack of. A fascinating and profound presentation.
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In this video course experts examine the games of Steinitz. Let them show you which openings Steinitz chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
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The word strategy is such a vast and generic description that it can be hard to know what to expect even with the lengthier caption “From the Opening to the Middlegame”. After all, that could mean the transition, involving any number of aspects, some or all. Here the Romanian grandmaster makes the point of his focus clear from the onset and with a single-mindedness that impresses.
A beginner player is usually given the classic set of guidelines for the opening: develop your pieces, occupy the center, castle the king. This small checklist can easily leave the part on development somewhat diluted among the other items on this to-do list, but as will become clear time and time again, nothing can substitute proper development.
This lectures and commented games on this detailed DVD are divided as:
Deviating from natural development - punishment
Converting an advance in development
Maintaining development advantage
Developing sacrifices
How to catch up in development by ignoring minor threats
The tactical benefits of perfect development
All aspects of development are covered, and all using examples of games by top players, some lesser known than others. Marin also shows that while the greatest players understand this principle to perfection, even they are prone to excesses that can be punished mercilessly, whether it be Petrosian, Fischer, or others.
The list of video lectures is well-organized and impressive
An important adage imparted by the author is that before one can break the rules, seeking exceptions, one must first master it. After all, if you break a rule without realizing what conventional wisdom dictated and why, then the deviation was not an expression of creativity but one of ignorance.
Who better than Tal to illustrate the power of development?
The games to exemplify the lessons are all well-chosen, and leave one with a deeper understanding of what
the consequences of proper or improper development are, including how to punish and how to recover from it.
At the end of the lectures, are a series of video quizzes helping to reinforce the lessons at hand and if you want some further examples, GM Marin has also selected over 50 games providing comments to help emphasize the role of development in those particular games.
The grandmaster selected over 50 games, all with comments emphasizing the importance of development
Whether a teacher trying to find material to really illustrate the significance of development, or a student wishing to improve, this is an interesting work that puts the concept of development under the microscope like no other. The only important caveat, if come can call it that, is to realize that while the general idea of development is often viewed as a ‘beginner’ notion, this is not a beginner work. It presumes an intermediate level of play in which this deeper look will benefit.
Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech as well as the author of Typing Tomes, a powerful typing program.
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.
The Italian Four Knights is the ideal choice. It combines the solid foundation of classical openings like the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game with an active, initiative-driven style of play.
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.
€14.90
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The word strategy is such a vast and generic description that it can be hard to know what to expect even with the lengthier caption “From the Opening to the Middlegame”. After all, that could mean the transition, involving any number of aspects, some or all. Here the Romanian grandmaster makes the point of his focus clear from the onset and with a single-mindedness that impresses.
