Strengthen your chess foundation with IM Nisha Mohota

When Nisha Mohota was planning to record a DVD for ChessBase, a lot of topics crossed her mind. After a lot of thought and effort she decided to create a manual that would give club players crucial and important knowledge related to endgames, middlegames and openings in one place. It was a very ambitious project, but knowing the perfectionist that Nisha is, she left no stone unturned in trying to create high class educational material.

"Strengthen your chess foundation" is the name of Nisha's DVD

Usually ChessBase DVDs contain four hours of video training. Nisha's DVD contains six! Have a look at the sample video of eight minutes where she introduces herself, talks about how she started playing chess and the contents of the DVD. The thing which struck me as very surprising was the ease and comfort with which Nisha speaks in her first clip. When I myself recorded a DVD for ChessBase, sitting inside the studio and talking to no one, was quite weird. Naturally I was a tad nervous! But, Nisha shows no such symptoms.

Maximize the video, sit back and enjoy!

It helps that Nisha is not only a strong chess player – a full-fledged International Master, but also an experienced trainer. We asked Nisha to tell us what is it that chess players would gain by watching her DVD. The loquacious girl from Kolkata says, "Many chess players have this problem - what exactly to think on the board. The parents of some of the young kids warn them, "Don't come back before spending two hours at the board!" The child goes to tournament hall confused – "What do they really want me to think about?"

I have tried to explain what they can think about, how they can think. In chess, as in life, decision making is extremely important. This habit is essential to become a stronger player. In today's world, when chess is becoming more competitive, youngsters are collapsing under pressure. Some reprimand themselves too strongly for errors and instead of enjoying the beauty in chess, they just take it as a punishment to themselves.

That is why I have dealt with a rare branch - the psychological aspect of chess - to err is human etc. Also there are some must know patterns, structures, endgames which can't be learnt with calculation. I have tried to give as much knowledge as possible of some really must-know stuff in chess. So basically my DVD is a mix of knowledge and application which every practical player should balance to grow as a player."

"I have learnt a lot from ChessBase DVDs, and here I am now, making my own DVD!"

Nisha deals with both theoretical as well as practical aspects in her DVD. Take for example the first one that is a theoretical position which every chess player should know.

What should Black play here?

Solution:

The notes above are very comprehensive and together with Nisha's explanation makes your task of learning quite easy. Here's a practical position that arose in Mohota's game against Davit Petrosian.

Black to play. What should he do? Go back to d6 or d8?

Nisha at the Wildpark in Hamburg, making the goat earn her reward! (photo by Frederic Friedel)

Buy Nisha Mohota's "Strengthen your chess foundation" from the ChessBase shop

More about Nisha Mohota

Nisha Mohota started playing chess as the age of seven. She became India’s youngest WIM in 1995 and India’s fourth WGM in 2003. Since February 2011 she is a full IM – her highest ever Elo rating was 2416.  

Nisha has represented India in 25 countries. Her accomplishments include qualifying for the 2001 and 2008 Women World Chess Championships as well as playing for India in 2004, 2008 and 2010 (Women) Olympiads. She won the Indian National Women Premier title in 2005.

Nisha's first love, chess, helps her continue her other passion: writing, photography and travelling. She also loves to learn foreign languages and has a diploma in Spanish, which she wants to master in future! She is employed with Oil India Limited (OIL), a petroleum company, as a sportsperson.

Contents of the DVD

01: Introduction [08:51]

Psychology
02: To err is human 1 - Anand,V - Ivanchuk,V [04:02]
03: To err is human 2 - 'Deep Fritz 10' - Kramnik,V [04:02]
04: Conclusion Psychology [02:07]

Endgames
05: King + pawn vs king - K+P vs K - basic opposition [07:04]
06: Distant opposition - KP vs KP - distant opposition [02:30]
07: Breakthrough [02:53]
08: K vs P - The rule of the square [02:17]
09: KP ending - calculation [02:30]
10: KP ending - interference [02:13]
11: The Lucena Position [04:27]
12: N Grigoriev 1937 [01:15]
13: The Philidor position - defense 1 [02:52]
14: The Philidor position - defense 2 [03:27]
15: King, bishop and rook pawn vs king and pawn - The wrong Bishop; The right Bishop [01:39]
16: King, bishop and rook pawn vs king - Example 1; Example 2; Example 3; Example 4; Example 5 [06:37]
17: A problem - king, bishop and rook pawn vs king - Troitsky 1896 [03:35]
18: King, bishop and rook pawns h3 and h2 - draw: Example 1; Example 2 [03:33]
19: Rook vs bishop - R vs B - the right corner; R vs B - The wrong corner [06:16]
20: Bishop pawn vs bishop - L Centurini 1847; Example 1; Example 2 [10:01]
21: Opposite colored bishops - extra pawns: Example [03:41]
22: King, bishop and knight vs king - B+N mate [08:31]
23: King, knight and pawn vs king - Knight- the short range piece; N+R'sP vs R'sP; Theoretical draw; KNP vs K; Theoretical draw; [05:16]
24: The knights cannot lose a move - KNP vs K [04:11]
25: King, rook and knight vs rook - R+N vs R [00:34]
26: Knight against rook's pawn - Example 1; Example 2; Example 3; Example 4; Example 5 [05:01]
27: King and two knights vs king - Example 1; Example 2; Example 3 [03:15]
28: Bishop vs knight - Example 1; Example 2; Example 3; Example 4; Troitsky 1924; Goldberg,G - Tolush,A; [11:24]
29: H. Khajali vs N. Mohota - Game [22:19]
30: Rook endings with rook pawn - Example [07:09]
31: Passive Defense - Knight's and Bishop's pawn: Example 1; Example 2 [03:24]
32: Rook endings - the Vancura position and pawn on the 6th rank: Example 1; Example 2 [08:14]

Middlegame
33: Intro - pawn structure 1; pawn structue 2; P position - with relation to N [13:14]
34: Pawn Islands - Example [04:35]
35: A position can be reached from various move orders - Example [09:10]
36: Positions with an isolated queen pawn - characteristics [05:50]
37: Positions with an isolated queen pawn - couple [02:45]
38: Hanging pawns - Example [04:53]
39: Doubled pawns - Example [07:42]
40: Rubinstein,A - Nimzowitsch,A - The importance of the pawn structure [13:53]
41: Lasker,E - Capablanca,J [21:39]
42: Radjabov,T - Ivanchuk,V [06:27]
43: Mamedyarov,S - Ragger,M - Pawn breaks [05:50]
44: Double Attack and pin - Yu Yangyi - Carlsen,M; Anand,V - Kramnik,V; Adhiban,B - Abasov,N [15:28]
45: Prophyllaxis and pin - Euwe,M - Alekhine,A [08:30]
46: Fighting back - Anand,V - Carlsen,M [15:24]

Opening
47: Opening - Understanding the moves; 3.Bc4 Nf6 Nc3?!; Two Knights; [27:05]
48: Beautiful game - Zhao Jun - Xiu Dishun [08:46]
49: Conclusion [04:34]

Interactive positions
50: Position 1 [00:54]
51: Position 2 [00:54]
52: Position 3 [01:32]
53: Position 4 [02:56]
54: Position 5 [01:15]
55: Position 6 [01:32]
56: Position 7 [02:03]
57: Position 8 [01:15]
58: Decision making 1 [01:23]
59: Decision making 2 [05:26]
60: Decision making 3 [02:22]
61: Decision making 4 [01:40]
62: Decision making 5 [01:24]
63: Decision making 6 [01:46]
64: Decision making 7 [01:28]
65: Decision making 8 [03:34]
66: Decision making 9 [02:59]
67: Decision making 10 [01:11]
68: Decision making 11 [02:16]
69: Decision making 12 [01:52]