6/23/2017 – Being swamped with work in a new job and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, GM Matthew Sadler watched DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov’s The Art of Defence and The Art of the Positional Exchange Sacrifice. He calls the first "masterly – a good DVD, with a slightly weaker start and a very strong finish! Recommended!" The second is "another fantastic effort from Sergei – I think we’ll stretch this one to five stars!

4/27/2017 – Magnus Carlsen was born in 1990, in 2010 he became the youngest number one in the history of chess, in 2013 he was World Champion, and in May 2014 he reached an Elo-rating of 2882, the highest Elo-rating of all time. The new Fritztrainer Master Class DVD invites you to study and to enjoy Carlsen's chess. It contains all games of the World Champions and on videos with a total running time of 7 hours and 39 minutes experts explain the characteristics of Carlsen's play.

4/18/2017 – Are you looking for a tricky opening with Black? Something that offers dynamic play based on a strong strategic foundation? Let Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, currently rated 2673, show you the lines he personally prefers and has employed successfully in practice (recently against Vachier Lagrave, Radjabov, Jobava and Anand). Total running time 4½ + 3¾ hours of invaluable instructions.

2/11/2017 – "Studies prove: the more patterns you know, the better you play," says Ukrainian GM Adrian Mikhalchishin. He is one of the best trainers in the world: he coached the USSR team, the national teams of Slovenia, Poland and the Netherlands, and was the trainer of Anatoly Karpov (1980-1986) and other famous players. Now he turns his attentions on you: in a new Fritztrainer DVD he reveals the pattern recognition secrets of the World Champions. Don't miss it.

2/1/2017 – Moldovan GM and trainer Victor Bologan has played the Modern Pirc all his life. It brought him a lot of success – like winning the New York Open 1997, the strongest open of that time, with four wins with Black in the Modern Pirc. "This opening is actually a mixture of the Caro-Kann and the Pirc – very flexible and rich," Bologan says. "By studying it you will definitely refresh your chess brain and get a lot of new ideas." Improve your results with his instructions.

1/17/2017 – The Berlin Defence gives White a hard nut to crack – after 5.d4 White has trouble proving any advantage. Top Latvian GM Alexei Shirov proposes a different approach: play 5.Re1 and you will get a symmetrical position that is not boring at all. With a whole range of grandmaster games Shirov shows that White can indeed develop pressure and seize the initiative, and that the position is full of subtleties. His latest DVD gives you a first-class weapon against the Berlin and helps you to be at least one step ahead of your opponent.

11/4/2016 – Are you frustrated by the regular games that come after 1.e4 e5? Are you, like Magnus Carlsen, looking for a way to generate playable but unbalanced postions? Well the moves 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 lead to exactly that. A leading expert, Sam Collins, explains the key ideas of 3…g6 and provides a complete repertoire for Black, suitable for regular use. Over four hours of video, 800 key games, and interactive training with video feedback.

10/21/2016 – He calls it "one of the most romantic of all openings", one you can play with white when you go 1.e4. Savielly Tartakower said that this attacking opening was invented to make men understand that chess is a gift from the gods. You cannot get higher praise than that. Or a better teacher than GM Simon Williams, whose aggressive style has brought down a number of top-class opponents (like Carlsen and Gelfand). His latest DVD has 4½ hours of gripping video.

10/17/2016 – The ChessBase Online Shop is constantly increasing the number of products in its repertoire. We have DVDs on practically every opening, with hours of video lessons provided by world-class experts. Today we bring you a list of hot items – absolute essentials – guiding you through the opening after playing 1.e4 or reacting to that move. Each product has a short description and a video sample. Our October shopping guide contains a useful 1.e4 overview in PGN.

10/3/2016 – Evgeny Tomashevsky was playing the Modern Scotch with black in the first round of the 2012 Tal Memorial. He lost the game to Teimour Radjabov. Fast forward to 2016 – Tomashevsky playing the Modern Scotch with black, once again, this time against Nepomniachtchi. He loses again! We investigate both the games in this article, with analysis by Teimour Radjabov and Alejandro Ramirez. And we show you a DVD that presents the white strategies in detail and also outlines a dynamic way for Black to counter the latest trends.

9/16/2016 – A solid mix of solid play and aggression - that is what Black wants with the Queen's Gambit Declined. And that is what Daniel King wants to give you on his DVD "Powerplay 23" - a "Repertoire For Black With the Queen's Gambit Declined". German amateur Sebastian Vigl, who now seems to be an ardent fan of the QGD, had a look at the DVD and shares his impressions in a personal review.

9/11/2016 – The Master Class series by ChessBase is an excellent way to acquaint yourself with the World Champions. Last week Master Class Vol. 07 dealing with the life and games of Garry Kasparov was released. With runtime of almost nine hours and experienced grandmasters like Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin and Karsten Mueller explaining you the details, this is the ideal way to learn what made Garry Kasparov absolutely invincible! A must-have for every ambitious player.

9/6/2016 – There have been many chess geniuses, but Kasparov is one of the greatest. And one of the most remarkable. He was World Champion for fifteen years and won countless tournaments. He did it with his wonderfully dynamic style of play, his scientifically perfect openings preparation and his tactical brilliance. Not to mention the overwhelming will to win. In the ChessBase Master Class series four experts examine all aspects of his genius. Nine hours of video lessons.

8/29/2016 – Aaron Nimzowitsch knew how to teach chess and he knew how to study the middlegame. His advice was to “study typical pawn structures.” Every structure has its typical plans and to know these plans helps you to find your way in these positions. On this new DVD the author, one of the world's foremost trainers, explains the most common central structures every chess player should know: The Hedgehog, the Maroczy, Hanging pawns and the Isolani. Don't miss it!

8/25/2016 – "Tap into your creative mind and start the game on a fresh note," says GM Timur Gareyev. "The Trompowsky, 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5, is an opening outside of conventional wisdom. Create challenges and make your opponent solve problems early on." This DVD by the world renowned blindfold expert expresses his passion for active play where time prevails over matter and where you have to be prepared to play gambits. He deals with sacrificial openings and more solid, positional structures. A cool way to improve your results.

8/4/2016 – The Thyagaraj Sports complex in New Delhi witnessed a jam packed crowd on 25th of July 2016. The reason? It was the game between Dabang Delhi and Patna Pirates at the Pro Kabaddi League 2016. But what on earth is the connection to chess? India's very own International Master Tania Sachdev was at the venue and sung the national anthem before the start of the game. A proud moment for every Indian chess player.

8/1/2016 – Imagine you are a player rated 2000. How would you feel if one month later, your rating would be 2400+? Ojas Kulkarni from Bangalore, Karnataka, has pulled off something incredible in the bygone 37 days. In four tournaments, all part of the Catalonian circuit in Spain, Ojas has gained 400 points. We have a brief coverage with games and analysis. And we reveal the secret of his remarkable progress!

7/7/2016 – Jan Gustafsson’s ChessBase DVD Black Repertoire against 1.e4: Open Games covers everything in 1.e4 e5 except the main lines of the Spanish (though it covers Spanish sidelines). "I believe that a basic knowledge of 1.e4 e5 from Black’s perspective is a kind of foundational knowledge for any strong player," writes reviewer Zhigen Lin. "I have no problem in saying that this is hands down the best openings DVD I have ever seen."

7/6/2016 – Looking for an interesting, exciting, aggressive and flexible opening to play against 1 e4!? Then the Black Lion is just the opening for you! The Lion gets ready to roar after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0–0 c6. This opening, first brought into the limelight by Dutch amateur players Jerry van Rekom and Leo Jansen, now gets the grandmaster treatment. Simon Williams suggests a simple to learn, yet deadly system of development for Black. Add it to your tournament repertoire.

6/27/2016 – Erwin l’Ami is a member of the Dutch national team, and was the second of former World Champion Veselin Topalov. In two remarkable new DVDs – almost seven hours of recordings on each – he takes you on a journey through time and shows gambit lines in Open Games (after 1.e4 e5). You will encounter the infamous Frankenstein-Dracula Gambit, the Cochrane, the Belgrade and, of course, the King’s Gambit. Don't miss it!

4/19/2016 – A lot of people do have a solid repertoire against the main lines but do not know what to do when the opponent surprises them with an offbeat opening. On his new DVD the renowned English grandmaster and coach Nick Pert shows how Black can successfully counter openings such as the Pseudo-Trompowsky, the London Sstem, and other offbeat openings. More...

1/4/2016 – This is clearly sound advice – play through the games of Alekhine, Botvinnik and Capablanca to improve your understanding of chess. But just sitting back and enjoying them does not do much for your own playing strength. Sagar Shah tells us how to actually absorb the classics, as he did, and use the ideas in one's own games. His DVD contains a wealth of historical and training material.

12/30/2015 – Opening theory evolves at a startling rate, and most instruction deals with concrete variations and lines to wield the openings in battle over the board. However, in this series of lectures, the erudite GM Adrian Mikhalchishin discusses the evolution of the exchange sacrifice in opening theory and its many manifestations. A fascinating and entertaining course.

12/23/2015 – How often have you heard the above advice – coaches exhorting you to study the ABC of chess: games of Alekhine, Botvinnik and Capablanca. But just sitting back and enjoying them does not do much for your own playing strength. In this DVD Sagar Shah tells us how to go about absorbing the classics, as he did, and using the ideas in your own games.Review by IM Nisha Mohota.