The ABC of Alekhine - $52.95
Alekhine‘s Defence is an excellent opening to play if one wants to go for the win. Black invariably gets a tough and resilient position with ample opportunity for counterchances. With 1...Nf6 he immediately throws down the gauntlet to the pawn on e4 and tries to take the initiative from the very first moves. This is a particularly effective game-plan at club level, where knowledge of exact theory is sketchy and where a passive response to immediate aggression is commonplace. In the ABC of the Alekhine we take a look at how the opening stands in 2007. IM Andrew Martin provides sound, active recommendations for Black, which can be used at all levels of play and demonstrates that the Alekhine is actually in pretty good shape. To underestimate Alekhine‘s Defence would be a big mistake indeed! Video running time: 5 h 40 min
 

International Master Andrew Martin is 50 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England. He is the current Manager of Coaching for the English Chess Federation and has authored some 12 DVD‘s for ChessBase. He is a noted writer and chess trainer.

System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard

Decision making in chess - $52.95
The theory of the critical moment in the chess game was explained once by GM Iosif Dorfman, who suggested that every game has 5 or 6 “forks” at which the important decisions are made. Accordingly, all major erroneous decisions are made at these moments when there are multiple possible choices. Mikhalchishin describes different critical moments in detail and explains how to react correctly. Understanding the play at such a critical moment is the key to improving one’s results and general understanding of chess. Critical moments are characterized by the presence of between 2 and 4 different possibilities – the exchange of pieces, the calculation of a long variation, a positional solution or transposition into an endgame. Mikhalchishin shows how to perform correctly in the above situations. Video playing time: 3 h 26 min.
 

Adrian Mikhalchishin, a Grandmaster since 1978, is currently among the top 5 world trainers and FIDE Trainers Committee Vice-Chairman. He trained the team of USSR in 1980’s ,national teams of Slovenia, Poland and Netherlands, and was the trainer of Anatoly Karpov (1980-1986), trained Zsuzsa Polgar, Alexander Beliavsky,Maja Chiburdanidse, Arkadij Naidich and Vasily Ivanchuk.

System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard

The Maroczy System - $52.95
The Maroczy System of the Sicilian Defence is one of the modern openings where Black attacks the white centre mainly with pieces. After the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 the pawns c4 and e4 secure White a space advantage in the middle, however, it is exactly these central pillars which may easily become targets of the black counterattack. Sergei Tiviakov has been applying this system with Black in his tournament practice since 1991 and is considered one its greatest experts. His explanations make it easy to understand the black set-up where recognizing typical recurring piece manoeuvres is far more important than concrete knowledge of variations. The Maroczy System can be learned within the shortest of time, and due to its solidity it is best suited to score good results even against strong opponents. Video running time: 3 h 15 min.
 

Born in Krasnodar (Soviet Union), Sergei Tiviakov was a member of the Smyslov school and gained the titles of World Youth Champion at U16 and U18 levels. In the PCA-World Championships, he reached the candidates‘ matches in 1994; in the same year he represented Russia in the Chess Olympiads. Although he has considered himself a professional chess player since 1989, Tiviakov also finished his degree in agricultural economics. Since 1997 Tiviakov has been living in Groningen and he has become a naturalised citizen of the Netherlands. With his new home country he won the title in the European Teams Championships in both 2001 and 2005 and was victorious in the championship of the Netherlands in 2006 and 2007.

System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard

Queen’s pawn openings - $52.95
Queen‘s Pawn Openings such as the Trompowsky, the London System, the Colle System, the Torre Attack and many others crop up all the time at club level. From time to time they are popular with Grandmasters too! It is essential for players at all levels to have something prepared, or one runs the risk of getting smashed by a standard plan. The players who use these openings usually understand them very well and know how to angle the game in the right direction for them and the wrong direction for you. IM Andrew Martin presents solutions for Black against the following remarkable array of QP Openings: The Trompowsky, The Pseudo-Trompowsky, The Torre attack, The Colle System and Colle Zukertort System, The London System, The Stonewall, The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, The Prie System 2 a3, The Reversed French, 1 d4 Nf6 2 g4?!. Move orders with 1...d5 and 1...Nf6 with either ...g6 or ...e6 are all covered. You may not agree with all of Martin’s suggestions, but you will certainly get a decent position as Black with chances to play for the win every time! This is just what the club player needs. Video running time: more than 6 hours!
 

International Master Andrew Martin is 50 years old and lives in Sandhurst, England. He is the current Manager of Coaching for the English Chess Federation and has authored some 12 DVD‘s for ChessBase. He is a noted writer and chess trainer.

System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard