Elsewhere, there were the biggest icicles I've seen for a long time. Not to be walked under, unless you are researching for a crime story involving a melting piece of evidence.
Magic of Chess Tactics
By FM Claus Dieter Meyer and GM Karsten Muller
Three hours and 30 minutes
ChessBase
This is a revised, updated and reformatted version of the 2002 American book by the same name (published by Russell Enterprises).
The presenter says there are two ways to look at the material: by player - the tactical magicians - or by theme. Both methods are catered for.
Particular attention is paid to the games and methods of Tal, Nezhmetdinov, Spielmann, Stein, Bronstein and Shirov and the material is presented via 38 video lectures, by an animated GM Müller, who is clearly very much enjoying the subject matter. Only so much of the material could be made to fit onto the DVD and there are planty more game snippets provided in a text file (384 in all).
Shirov’s original foreword is included from the 2002 book (he was a good choice) and other bits and pieces from the printed version are here also, including photos of some of the payers and various text files.
The viewer is advised to turn off the notation window and try and enter into the spirit of the tactical positions to develop their own vision. The DVD is‘...primarily…aimed at aspiring players from club to master level who seriously want to improve their chess understanding’.
Nezhmetdinov - Tal
USSR 1961
17 Rxf6!!
...and then later on...
Nezhmetdinov - Tal
USSR 1961
23 Nxf6+!!
1-0 (29)
Tactics can occur at any stage of the game.
Some of the endgame exmaples are just as stunning, such as this one:
Szypulski - Silbermann
Cologne 1992
1 Rxg5!! hxg5 2 h6 Ke7 3 Nd5+!
Here's one for you to try.
Bronstein - NN
Simultaneous Display, 1959
White to play and win
This is an inspirational DVD and a real treasure trove of tactical play.
1.e4 Repertoire
By IM Sam Collins
8 hours
ChessBase
IM Collins makes his ChessBase DVD debut with this King’s pawn repertoire.
There’s a huge amount of material here; approximately 8 hours, split into 53 video clips.
The ‘Introduction’ introduces the basic philosophy behind the recommendations. The general idea is to play lines which go against the grain of the opponent’s intentions. For example, a player adopting the Sicilian is angling for positions with an extra centre pawn, something White tries to ensure won’t happen with 1 e4 c5 2 c3. There are similar plans to sidestep Black’s desires in all the major openings.
The material is split into these sections:
Sicilian Defence: 20 video lectures (1 e4 c5 2 c3)1 e4 e5: 13 lectures (including the Italian Game, Two Knights’ Defence, Petroff Defence and Philidor Defence.
The French Defence: six lectures. The recommended Tarrasch Variation involves a pawn sacrifice:
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Bd3 c5 6 c3 Nc6 7 Ngf3 Qb6 8 0-0 cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4
Trent - Deslandes
2008
19 Bxh7+ and 1-0 (25)
The Caro-Kann: six lectures, looking at The Panov-Botvinnik Attack 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4
After the 'big four' come the minor defences:
Alekhine Defence: three lectures
Scandinavian: one lecture
Pirc/Modern: two lectures
There are some interesting choices and I like the psychological aspect of thwarting the opponent's desires. IM Collins is a good presenter and his quiet, Irish-accented voice exudes calm and confidence in the material.
Winning Structures
By GM Adrian Mikhalchishin
Five hours
ChessBase
GM Mikhalchishin’s new DVD on the chess strategy takes a good look at various pawn structures on the first alf of the DVD, followed by a larger section devited to the Isolated Queen’s Pawn (‘I.Q.P.’).
The first half looks at 'Champion Structures' and primarily discusses the games of Rubinstein, Keres and Geller, linking each Grandmaster with a specific favourite structure.
For Runbinstein, this involves accepting a doubled f-pawn, such as in this example:
Swiderski - Rubinstein
Vienna 1908
9 Bxf5 exf5
He liked the structure so much that even did it when more obvious moves beckoned:
Rubinstein - Kmoch
Vienna 1922
12 gxf4 (most of us would play the normal 12 Nxf4)
The ideas behind all of the featured structures are very well explained and I felt I had learned a great deal.
The subject of the 'Isolated Queen's Pawn' is covered in eight substantial lectures. It is‘…one structure that stirs so many emotions. Some players enjoy it - to play and handle this sort of positions. Some players hate it, simply. Some players are afraid of it; some of them avoid it.'
Instead of fearing it, this DVD tries hard to persuade viewers to embrace the opportunty to take on an IQP and enoy the resulting freedom. When the action starts, there is lots of fun to be had...
Keene - Miles
Hastings 1974
18 Nxg6!! hxg6 19 Bxg6 fxg6 20 Qb1 1-0 (26)
Petrosian - Balashov
USSR 1974
15 d5! exd5 16 Bg5 and as 16 …g6 fails to 17 Rxe7!, Black tried 16 …Ne4 but lost after 28 uncomfortable moves.
Despite the pronounced Russian accent and habit of occasonally going over things a trifle too quickly, the presenter does a very good job and coneys a lot of wisdom. It's a very good DVD and one which will probably be of most benefit to serious players, county standard and above.
The Trompowsky - The Easy Way
Second Edition
By IM Andrew Martin
4 hours
ChessBase
This is an updated edition of an older disc. The original 30 lectures are augmented by seven new ones featuring games from 2007-2009.
The illustrative games start with pioneering play by Vaganian back in the mid-1970s, with Julian Hodgson picking up the baton in the 1980s.
There's good General discussion on the value of a giving up a Bishop for Knight early on to compromise an opponent's pawn srtructure (Rubinstein would have very happy with the Bishop pair and doubled f-pawn!) and other matters, such as the importance of building a big pawn centre, are covered too.
Then there's a systematic survey of the main options: 2 …d5, 2 …e6, 2 …c5, 2 …Ne4 and a summing up of loose ends.
A lot of the play is still sharp and original. The recent games generally show White prodicing the goods, whether Black chooses a thoeretically good line or not.
‘Trompowsky graveyards, the world over, are littered with corpses of guys who go in for the pawn snatch in the variation…’
1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 c5 3 d5 Qb6 4 Nc3 Qxb2
Konenkin - Airumian
Chigorin Memorial 2008
This line is apprently ok for Black, but over the board it can end up looking like this...
Konenkin - Airumian
Chigorin Memorial 2008
‘…a typical demolition job in this variation’.
Love it or loathe it, the Trompowsky is here to stay. I would say this DVD presents an optimistic assessment of White's chances, but few will resist giving 2 Bg5 a try after IM Martin's motivational presentation.
Fritz Powerbook 2010
The brand new Powerbook ‘…represents the state of the art of current theory’.
It features 1.6 million games, all from a very high level. It is possible to load a tree of variations and then with one click find all of the game relevant to a particular position and assess the success rate before deciding to add a line to one’s existing repertoire.
The 'Strongbook', also included on the DVD, features 87355 games from players with an ELO rating of 2550 or above.
A definite boost to the strength of your Fritz and ChessBase programs.
Missed a review? Pop along to my archive:
http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2007/12/chess-review-archive.html
Some of England’s finest players - including Nigel Short and Michael Adams - have enjoyed playing at the Staunton and it has provided excellent, high-level experience for our younger generation of stars, such as Gawain Jones and David Howell. The latter has played in more than most; he was a 12 year old FIDE Master when he played in the inaugural event.
The tournament - and in particular, the Anglo-Dutch match aspect - had been boosted over the last four years by generous sponsorship from Jan Mol. A new sponsor is being sought from 2010 onwards.
Given the recent success of the London Chess Classic and the push to try and bring the World Championship to London in 2012, chess in the UK is definitely looking brighter than it has done for many years. It's a good time to get involved.
If anybody out there has a desire to be involved in sponsoring the Staunton Memorial, please contact GM Ray Keene at: keenechess@aol.com
More details about the events from previous years can be found here:
Here’s a reminder of some of the finest moments from 2003-2009...
Daniel King - David Howell
2003
25 Qxf6+! 1-0
Tea Bosboom Lanchava - Erwin L’Ami
2006
14 …Rxe2+! 15 Kxe2 Qf2+ 16 Kd1 Qf1+ 0-1
Jan Timman - Gawain Jones
2007
13 Bxg7 Qg5! and Timman missed the best move (14 Kf2) and could find nothing better than 14 Qxf4 (0-1, 38)
Gawain Jones - Loek van Wely
2007
25 Qxf8+! 1-0
David Howell - Ivan Sokolov
2009
28 Qh8+! Ke7 29 Rxf7+ 1-0
Viktor Korchnoi - Simon Williams
2009
Korchnoi missed 46 Rd4! and played instead 46 Rc8+ but won anyway after many adventures. 1-0 (76)
The following position was reached at the end of a Staunton game in 2004 and might well be the one seen by most people...
Jonathan Levitt - Daniel King
2004
0-1
Does it look familiar? It was from the game staged by Daniel King and Ray Keene for BBC4’s recent ‘How to Win at Chess’.
I’m sure we all agree that having chess on the TV can only be of great benefit to our favourite game. If you enjoyed watching the show and would like to see more, why not drop a line here? : http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/
Middlesbrough's famous 'Bottle O' Notes'
We did not feel tempted to use this!
Snowbound Middlesbrough
The football stadium
A glimpse of the Transporter Bridge
The night-time view is impressive too.