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In chess, braving the gap often leads to disaster after a few moves. We should be able to avoid things going so far. The ChessBase Opening Encyclopaedia offers you an effective remedy against all sorts of semi-digested knowledge and a means of building up a comprehensive and powerful repertoire.

Whoever plays the Najdorf Variation is following in the footsteps of Fischer, Kasparov, Anand, Gelfand and Topalov. Recent years have witnessed enormous development in this opening, and despite that the last word is a long way from having been said on the matter. Nowadays new ideas in the opening see the light of day above all with the support of chess engines. And it is not rare for tomorrow’s theory to be forged in the “Engine versus Engine” struggles in the computer room on playchess.com. The new Najdorf Powerbook 2013 brings both of these together: the latest state of theory based on 58 000 master games in conjunction with more than 1 070 000 top class Najdorf games from the engine room on playchess.com. These enormous numbers demonstrate how where “human theory” still has only a handful of games to show, the engines frequently “deliver” examples in their hundreds and even thousands. Here is an example in what is perhaps the most important line of the Poisoned Pawn Variation: 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e5 h6 11.Bh4 dxe5 12.fxe5 g5 13.exf6 gxh4 14.Be2 Qa5 15.0-0 Nd7 16.Kh1 Qg5

The more reduced the material on the board is the more important it is to be able to estimate the potential of the pieces correctly. In endgames with asymmetrical material this is absolutely crucial. The new 12th DVD in Karsten Müller‘s popular series continues the journey started with the 11th to discuss endgames with an uneven material balance. This time the endgame expert from Hamburg analyses the following constellations: • rook against knight • rook and knight against two knights • two rooks against rook and knight • rook against bishop and knight • rook and bishop against bishop and knight • rook against two knights The very important aspects „coordination“ and „harmony of the pieces“ can be studied well in those endgames and help to improve the practical play. Especially the geometry of the knight can be analysed in great detail. This avoids knight forks not only in the endgame as long as you remain in the „knight check shadow“. The international acclaimed endgame expert looks at the winning motifs of the side with the rook like giving back the exchange, opening lines and restricting the knight with many well chosen examples. Of course the question of the right exchange also plays a vital role, when converting the advantage. Video running time: 5 hours 38 min. (English)

The information explosion has led to a massive increase in opening theory. But how often do you win a game with a prepared line? What gives strong players the edge over their opponents is not some blockbuster novelty, but a deep understanding of the pawn structures to which their openings lead – an understanding that lasts into the middlegame and endgame, and is transferable between different openings with similar structures. In this DVD, Sam Collins looks at the Advance French Structure (white pawns on d4 and e5 against black pawns on d5 and e6, with an open c-file) which, while characteristic of 3.e5 in the French, is also typical of other French variations, the Advance Caro-Kann, the Queen’s Indian, the Catalan, the Slav and various Anti-Sicilians. The blocked centre forces play to the wings. White will normally concentrate on furthering his kingside ambitions, supported by the space advantage conferred by his pawn on e5, either by piece play or by the typical pawn advances h4-h5 and f4-f5. Black, for his part, seeks queenside counterplay, simplification, or a well-timed break with ...f6 leading to a central battle. The relatively closed nature of the positions leads to strategic play where knowledge of typical plans for both sides is of decisive importance. Video running time: 3 hrs. 36 min.

While almost everybody is spending 95% of his opening preparation time on major lines, there are some tricky players including strong GMs (I am not an exception) who prepare for their opponents some side lines, which contain many an underwater reef. I decided to collect those secondary openings in one single DVD. From now on openings such as the Pirc, the Scandinavian and the Alekhine Defences will not appear to you in your nightmares any more. The 1.e4 player should be actually thank Black for choosing these openings, since he is providing White with a better centre, a stable advantage and generally speaking pleasant play. The only thing White needs to do is to spend some time studying the lines. I will not bother you with encyclopaedic approach. There is a more practical way. Against each opening I recommend one repertoire:

• For the Pirc I have prepared for you the Austrian Attack
• Major lines against the Scandinavian
• And for the Alekhine I decided to go for the positional lines with Nf3.

Enjoy the videos and be critical please: I don’t claim to give you the ultimate truth, I just want to help you to enrich your chess vocabulary! Video running time: 4 hours 30 min.