1/11/2022 – Sometimes bad performance at a tournament can spur you into action. It can make you have a close look at the holes and weaknesses in your play. This is exactly what happened with our reviewer Aanjaneya Phatak. 20-year-old Aanjaneya, who works on chess without a coach, decided to go to the MP Masters Chess 2021. He lost 47 Elo point making his rating fall from 2212 to 2165. But from that experience he realized that he needed to add new openings to his arsenal. That's how he got his hands on Markus Ragger's latest Fritztrainer for ChessBase on the Grunfeld Defence. In this article Aanjaneya narrates his experience of working with Austria's first ever 2700+ GM.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
The premiere chess database with over 11.7 million games
€229.90
Power openings: Grünfeld Defence Vol. 1 by Markus Ragger – A Review
I just completed studying the newly launched “Power Openings - The Grunfeld by Markus Ragger". Before diving into it I just wanted to tell you my story of why I wanted to study this Fritztrainer released by ChessBase. Recently, I played at the MP Masters Open in Madhya Pradesh, India and there I was getting kicked around in the whole event. My rating dropped from 2212 to 2165. I did manage to defeat two International Masters but I lost to every lower other rated player!
To sum it up in one line - basically I got hit by every lower rated player in the opening stage. It was the first time that I was playing in a classical event after my 29 games were published in the Mega Database/Online Database. I was terrified of my opponents' preparation against me as regardless of my colour I was getting outplayed in the opening stage. So in the last round I decided to play 1.d4 (instead of my main weapon 1.e4). I was paired up against Indrajeet Mahindrakar, who usually plays the Kings Indian Defence. I had prepared something nice against it. When I played 1.d4, he hit me with the Grunfeld, which frankly we both didn’t know well.
Opening the game with 1.d4 (That's me on the left) | Photo: Niklesh Jain
This is a mistake! Black should start first with the move ...c5!
IM Sagar Shah explains why starting with ...0-0 before ...c5 is inaccurate
So after being placed last in this closed Round Robin tournament, I decided to widen my repertoire. I didn't want my opponents to be able to guess and find nice antidotes against my openings. It was a nice lesson to me that after my games are online I have to change or be more concrete at my opening preparation. Although, I played such a terrible game in the Grunfeld, my fire to learn it became huge and simultaneously this Ragger offering was launched by ChessBase. That's how I decided to get my hands on it!
There are two volumes and the first one dives deep into lines with cxd5 and the second one without that capture
Markus Ragger is the first Austrian player ever to reach 2700 Elo threshold. He achieved this in 2017.
The first question that could arise in the mind of any person who wants to study the Grunfeld is - are there any other resources out there which could be better than these Fritztrainers? You have Peter Svidler's Chessable Course. First things first – It’s expensive! Secondly – The course is huge and unnecessarily huge! I have seen and studied both of these courses and I would say that Svidler's course is humongous. Also remembering becomes one of the biggest issues while going through Svidler's course. Here's one example that compares both the courses:
Now what is the conclusion of all this analysis? Of course Peter's course is much more detailed and it consists of all the possible moves but can the course be memorised? I highly doubt it. Well if you are 2650+ player maybe you could memorise all of this but for normal players with limited memory it is just a big bite to take. Ragger has recommended nothing that is bad/dubious or incomplete lines. He has freshly refined the Grunfeld and has made it manageable to the normal public. He has cut the theory down and has made it easier to digest. It consists of every critical lines and detailed analysis wherever needed. There is a lot of deviation from the traditional lines and exploring these unknown grounds was quite enjoyable for me.
Let us have a look at one of my favourite lines of this Fritztrainer:
The main move in this position is Na5 but like he does on this DVD Ragger recommends ..Ne5!?
A bad result can often motivate you to work hard and fix the holes in your play
Contents of Vol.1:
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5
- 5.Bd2, 5.g3, 5.Na4, 5.Qb3/Qa4
5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7
- 7.Ba3, 7.Bc4, 7.Be3, 7.Bb5, 7.Qa4, 7.Bg5
7.Nf3 c5
- 8.Rb1, 8.Be2, 8.h3, 8.Bb5, 8.Be3
• Video running time: over 5 hours (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Training with ChessBase apps - Memorize the opening repertoire and play key positions against Fritz on various levels
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
Aanjaneya PhatakAanjaneya Phatak is a 20-year-old chess player from Pune, Maharashtra. He is currently rated 2212. He is a self-taught player and uses books, DVDs and other material to improve at chess on his own.
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.
Videos: Nico Zwirs examines two Petroffs from the 2026 Candidates. Robert Ris has a tip against the Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 3…c5. Fiona Sieber reveals a surprise weapon against the Najdorf. ‘Lucky Bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, L'Ami et al.
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.
In this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.
In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
From the 2026 Candidates Tournament, featuring a video review by Dorian Rogozenco, to Jan Werle’s opening video on the French Tarrasch Defence, and Oliver Reeh’s tactical column ‘Top Grandmasters at Work’. Analyses by Giri, So, Wei Yi and many others.
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.
€39.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
