4/1/2017 – French players believe in their opening and if you play with White against a French aficionado you better come prepared. On his DVD "Fit for the French" Viktor Bologan helps you to prepare against the French. He recommends to play 3.Nc3 and to follow the main lines. Markus Hochgräfe, who has been playing the French for years, had a look at the DVD and liked what he saw. But he still believes that Black can do better.
new: ChessBase Magazine 225
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
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.
€21.90
Viktor Bologan: Fit For the French - A Review
On this DVD Viktor Bologan offers White a complete repertoire against the French Defense. He divides his material into 22 chapters and recommends 3.Nc3 with the intention to head for the mainlines afterwards as the best way to fight the French. After 3…Nf6 he recommends 4.e5 instead of the alternative 4.Bg5. Against the Winawer 3…Bb4 he advises to play 4.e5 and 5. a3 and to enter the very sharp lines with Qg4. I have been playing the French for years and although the DVD offers a repertoire for White I still found it very interesting.
7: A very nice idea for White is 7…Rb8 8. a3 b5 9.Ra2! – a prophylactic move directed against Black’s idea …b4.
9: In the line 8.Qd2 b5 9. a3 Qb6 10.Ne2 b4 11.axb4 Qxb4 12. c3 Qb7 13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.Ned4 I like Bd7 instead of Bologan’s proposal 14…Be7. Black should be close to equality.
21: This is the most important chapter of the whole DVD. The lines arising after 7.Qg4 Qc7 8.Qxg7 are very sharp and you really have to learn theory to find your way in these positions. But I do not entirely agree with Bologan’s summary ‘White is better’ after 12…d4. I think, Black is okay in this line and in practice he has scored 3.5/4. This does not mean that Black is better (my engine claims that White is slightly better) but it shows the danger White faces in practice. A typical example is the game Pacher-Petrik 2011:
I also disagree with Bologan’s summary after the alternative 11...Bd7 followed by a later 16…Na5. I think the position after 17.Rb4 a6 18.g4 Ne3! is quite playable for Black, see the recent game Wlodarczyk-Guth, 2016:
Summary:
Bologan offers White a complete repertoire against the French. He advises White to play 3.Nc3 and to follow the main lines afterwards. This means that you will have to learn a lot of theory if you want to follow his recommendation. Therefore, the target audience of this DVD should be players with a rating of 1800+ though grandmasters will also profit from Bologan’s work. He explains the variations and the typical ideas in the various positions very well and closes each with a nice summary. Fortunately (at least for me who regularly plays the French with Black) some of the lines Bologan gives in the sharp Winawer with 7.Qg4 Qc7 can be improved. All in all I would rate this DVD with an ‘’A-“.
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 Nimzo-Indian has stood the test of time for over a century: Still a top choice for elite players today, from Magnus Carlsen to Praggnanandhaa, it remains one of Black's most reliable ways to fight for real chances against 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nc3.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
Italian Game Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains 8571 top class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 479 are annotated.
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others.
If you're looking for a dynamic alternative to the Slav, Queen's Gambit Declined, or other mainstream systems, the Chigorin Defence offers exactly what modern tournament players need.
€34.90
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.
