6/27/2022 – These video courses feature a black repertoire against 1.d4, 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended variations are easy to learn and not difficult to remember, but also pose White serious challenges.

4/13/2022 – After the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 Black usually chooses the classical Tarrasch Defence with 4...exd5. 4...cxd4, on the other hand, leads to the Schara von Hennig Gambit. Still quite popular in the 90s, this gambit went out of fashion in the meantime. But recently a series of online games at the highest level (above all thanks to Alexander Grischuk) generated new interest. Robert Ris presents the latest developments in his opening video for the ChessBase Magazine Extra #206. Watch an excerpt from his video analysis!

4/1/2022 – Opening videos: Robert Ris shows the latest trends in the Hennig-Schara Gambit. Mihail Marin presents a Fianchetto setup against the Gruenfeld and King's Indian. Total playing time of the videos: just under one hour. "Lucky bag" with over 80 analyses by Anish Giri, Nijat Abasov, Romain Edouard, Marie Sebag and many others. In "The brilliancy" between the new rapid chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and world champion Magnus Carlsen - commented by Anish Giri! - with 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 a trendy variation of the English Opening appeared on the board. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as download or on DVD.

3/7/2022 – For those who haven’t recently done any calculation training, there is the Calculation Training Booster. After all, every chess brain needs regular stimulation, as you don’t want to become a lazy player - avoiding calculating critical variations or simply failing to calculate properly.

2/22/2022 – Are you looking for a simple, easy-to-learn repertoire against 1.e4? Then the Scandinavian with 3…Qd8 is yours! After 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 the retreat 3…Qd8 leads to a very solid type position for Black. At the expense of two tempi, the pawn structure has been defined, and hence a clear developing plan can be made for our minor pieces.

1/28/2022 – Hundreds of different Fritztrainers have been teaching us chess on ChessBase for more than a decade. Maybe you sometimes wonder what else the authors do? "Meet the Fritztrainer" takes a look behind the scenes, telling us more about the private life of your favourite chess trainer. We already had the pleasure to talk to the Dutch Fritztrainers GM Jan Werle, and IM Merijn van Delft. Today we speak with another very active Fritztrainer from the Netherlands, who also has his own weekly show on ChessBase - IM Robert Ris.

12/9/2021 – Winning a brilliancy is a delight! Fritz 18 shows you how to do it - with the "Evolving Genius" function. The program gives subtle hints, you find ways to play fantastic games. The renowned author and coach IM Robert Ris has tried it and played a spectacular, fast and furious game which he shows in a video. But Fritz 18 helps everyone to play brilliant games. And you can share these brilliancies and take part in our Fritz 18 lottery and win great prizes!. A lot of readers have already sent in brilliancies, we show the most beautiful victories in loose order! So, join the action and send your brilliancy to brilliancy@chessbase.com"!

10/25/2021 – The advance g2-g4 is a well-known motif in various lines of the Sicilian. In the Taimanov Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7) with 6.Be3 a6, however, the move 7.g4 was established in top chess by Anish Giri just over half a year ago. In the current ChessBase Magazine Extra #203 Robert Ris explains the ideas of this very concrete concept in his opening video. Total playing time: 38 minutes. You can watch an excerpt of his analysis here. Take a look!

10/8/2021 – Fans of the French Defence usually know their lines and structures very well, and they are happy to play their pet systems, even when the engines grant White a slight advantage. But 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3!? is a good way to bring French experts out of their comfort zone. In a "60 Minutes" video, Dutch IM Robert Ris, an expert for sharp systems, shows how White can use 3.Bd3!? to get promising play against the French Defense. IM Martin Neubauer had a look at the video.

9/13/2021 – Do I have to defend against my opponent’s threat, or can I simply ignore it and look for my own chances? A typical question which has often been asked during practical play. This two volume series on Calculation in Attack & Defence is the ideal guide to develop a good sense for attacking play, while keeping an eye on your opponent’s defensive resources and possible counterplay against your own king. At the same time you’ll be challenged to defend against your opponent’s threats and, given the chance, turn the tables by launching a devastating counter-attack yourself.

6/28/2021 – Planning in chess is a fine and important art. On his DVD "Strategy Training: How to Make a Plan" Robert Ris shows how to master this art. Jana Schneider, one of Germany's top women players, had a look at the DVD and liked what she saw.

5/21/2021 – Practice what you preach: in a theme blitz tournament on playchess.com the well-known and popular ChessBase authors Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Mihail Marin, Robert Ris and Merijn van Delft showed why they like and what they know about the openings they present in their courses. If you missed the live transmission of the entertaining event on twitch.tv, here's a summary with highlights from the games.

5/17/2021 – The Fritztrainer thematic tournament starts today at 19:00 CEST (13:00 ET, 17:00 UTC) and will be hosted live on Twitch.tv by Daniel King and Arne Kaehler. The discount day, which starts Monday, 17 May, 18:00 CEST (12:00 ET, 16:00 UTC) offers a great opportunity to support your favourite Fritztrainer. But first and foremost, this tournament should be fun and it should offer us fine games with interesting openings to watch. We are looking forward to seeing the players in action: Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Mihail Marin, Merijn van Delft and Robert Ris.

5/14/2021 – On 17 May, 19:00 CEST (13:00 ET, 17:00 UTC) our Fritztrainers will compete against each other in a theme tournament with randomly picked Fritztrainer openings. Daniel King and Arne Kaehler will accompany them LIVE on Twitch.tv through the evening. Will the two Dutch IMs be able to hold their own against the Grandmasters from Uzbekistan and Romania? Which of the chosen Fritztrainer openings will perform best? Six different openings will be played, from the Benoni to the Traxler Counterattack.

4/9/2021 – Our ChessBase Magazine subscribers recently received a particularly interesting offer: A thematic tournament with Robert Ris! "Play the Author" lets readers play chess against their favourite author in a round-robin tournament. Another attraction is the predefined opening that is played in each round. In the first "Play the Author" episode, a gambit in the Sicilian Defense was chosen, which Robert Ris had already discussed in detail in CBM #199. | Photo: Frans Peeters

7/18/2020 – Half his life he has spent teaching chess to players of all ages, especially young talents, and his success as a trainer has a lot to do with the fact that he himself was successful in his teens. In his ‘most memorable game’, Robert Ris analyzes the win that gave him tournament victory at the U20 Dutch Open when he was just 14 years old!

1/27/2020 – There are two types of vision during a chess game. The first, which we use quite often, is to calculate variations in our head. We ask ourselves, "what happens if I move this and my opponent moves that...?" Often such vision is sharpened by the knowledge of common tactical motifs. The other type of vision is more abstract, and belongs to the realm of human imagination, we use the word "plan" to describe it. DAVIDE NASTASIO reviews IM Robert Ris' video series aptly titled "How to make a plan".

12/5/2019 – Recently the gambit line with 6.♘d5 against the Classical Sicilian has been seen in quite a number of games by some talented Dutch youngsters. IM Robert Ris shows some examples. Tune into the live show at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 1 PM EST) which is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. In the diagram, it's Black to play!

11/21/2019 – IM Robert Ris is back from his own playing trip to the European Club Cup in Montenegro and shares one of his own games. Tune into the live show at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 1 PM EST) which is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. In the diagram, it's Black to play!

9/5/2019 – From ChessBase Magazine #191: International Master Robert Ris shows you the structure arising after 3..g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6. He concludes that the ensuing structures offer Black great dynamic chances. Even when the engines prefer White, the good news for Black is that he is never without counterplay.

2/19/2019 – Karsten is joined by Robert Ris. This week's show is live at 14:00 UTC (15:00 CET, 9:00 AM EST) and FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)!

6/21/2018 – International Master Robert Ris, well known for his Chessbase DVDs, has now published his first print book. In it he gives special attention to three essential elements of practical play, all key elements for every ambitious player seeking to improve. The first part of the book explores essential knowledge of rook endgames, offering a clear method to learn them. Then focus on tactical play and the way one should think, and how to cultivate one's own ability to sense the opportunity for a tactical strike. Ris also examines important aspects of positional play which will lead to a deeper understanding of the game. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO looks at how Ris' teaching approach can help serious chess students master all the facets of the game.

4/26/2018 – Excellent calculation is one of the secrets of champions. We often calculate for 10-20 minutes, even landing in time-trouble, only to discover our time was essentially wasted. In this DVD, the actual thinking process one should follow is clearly explained, even proven through the analysis of many examples from real games. If you want to learn how to think through a position effienctly, and make sound decisions at the board, reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO says, give IM Robert Ris a chance and, after five hours of intensive training, the board will never look the same!

3/31/2018 – Nowadays, people tend to prefer working on their chess by studying opening variations with engines, neglecting the practical side of our game. This DVD emphasizes the importance of training your calculation skills. Dutch IM Robert Ris made a selection of training material which he uses in lessons with students ranging from 1400 to 2400. But Ris believes that this material is suitable for players of various strengths because anyone can benefit from practicing calculation in a structured way.