Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Queen's Gambit Declined

by Robert Ris
4/13/2026 – Sindarov's play at the Candidates Tournament is absolutely impressive and we have a look at his 10th round game against Praggnanandhaa. Did he take a lot of risks opting for a theoretical piece sacrifice in a sharp line of the Queen's Gambit Declined? Or was it actually a very clever practical decision, offering risk-free attacking chances against the opponent's king? In this episode I'll give you my take on his approach and discuss the current theoretical state of this opening variation.
This video course offers you a complete, clear repertoire for Black against the moves 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended variations are easy to learn and not difficult to remember, but also pose White serious challenges.

Sindarov's play at the Candidates Tournament is absolutely impressive and we have a look at his 10th round game against Praggnanandhaa. Did he take a lot of risks opting for a theoretical piece sacrifice in a sharp line of the Queen's Gambit Declined? Or was it actually a very clever practical decision, offering risk-free attacking chances against the opponent's king? In this episode I'll give you my take on his approach and discuss the current theoretical state of this opening variation.

In this DVD, Erwin l'Ami guides you through the fascinating Benko Gambit. As early as move three Black starts a fight for the initiative, a strategy that has proved to be successful in countless amateur and master level games.

Exercise: What did Praggnanandhaa overlook here? White to Play!/p>

Feel free to move the pieces on the live diagram!

This week's show

Watch previous shows

Recent shows

Many more Fast and Furious episodes are available in ChessBase Videos

Links

<< Candidates R12: Sindarov a draw away from overall victory, as Giri misses big chance against Wei
Inside the Candidates 2026 in Cyprus 🇨🇾 | Behind the Scenes - Day 1 >>
Topics: Fast and Furious
Robert is an International Master who mostly spends his time training and coaching talented youngsters. On the PlayChess server The Fast and the Furious is a popular show where he explains sharp opening lines for a wider audience. He is also a well-known ChessBase author who produced numerous DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine as well. Since 2015 he is the organizer of the Dutch Rapid Championships in his home town Amstelveen. He has started a YouTube channel with chess analysis as well.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors

See also

Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Petroff with 4.Nc4

4/7/2026 – An exciting piece of home preparation was seen in the game Caruana-Bluebaum. Fabi introduced a new concept in the Petroff with 4.Nc4, followed by placing the knight on e3 and pushing the pawn to f5. Bluebaum was clearly caught by surprise and failed to come up with an adequate answer. In a position with opposite-castled kings White's attack was really fast and it was checkmate on move 28!

See also

Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Viktor Korchnoi

3/27/2026 – Viktor Korchnoi's favorite opening used to be the French Defense, featuring some positionally risky lines with a lot of fighting spirit. That's what Viktor Lvovich loved to play and so we are going to have a look at some spectacular games he played in this opening.
More...
 1

Video

60m English surprising_your_opponents_with_the_lazy_sicilian

In just 60 minutes, you will be well-equipped with a surprise weapon, which will take most of your opponents out of book right from the start.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register