The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most popular openings in chess! But what do you do if you wish to enter the Najdorf universe for the first time? What would be the right way to learn such complex opening? Grandmaster Victor Bologan proposes this repertoire to answer all the main lines, and sidelines. The Najdorf is a dynamic opening which matches those players who like to play with intensity. But a less well-known rationale is that if one wants to become stronger as player, then the Najdorf is a gym for the budding chess mind! Thanks to a wealth of ideas, strategic themes and tactical patterns, the Najdorf has all one needs to learn how to play the middlegame. Photo: ChessBase

Is the Bird opening an audacious attempt by chess mavericks? Or a slightly offbeat way for White to get an advantage in today's hyper-engine-analyzed opening landscape? Can the Bird's be a way to disorient our opponents using a lesser-known opening? The Bird's is an opening for players who are free spirits, says reviewer Davide Nastasio. IM Lawrence Trent in his latest work addresses this need, covering all of Black's answers, and proudly finding new moves in old lines. If you are a club or a tournament player, searching for a surprise weapon, the Bird's can give a boost to your wins!

Daily training to improve and keep us in shape has to be fun as well as intellectually enlightening. We need to keep up our interest in order to perform well in tournaments. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO likes to do that by engaging with a variety of learning tools. This time he turns his training eye on the new ChessBase Magazine. CBM encompasses different training methods covering all areas, from theoretical opening articles, to tactical and endgame training with video feedback. CBM 187 is a great way to translate your training time into practical success. Here's an overview with examples.

GM Ramesh, one of the most celebrated coaches of Indian chess, turns 42 years old today. He has worked tremendously hard to build Chess Gurukul and currently is one of the best trainers in the world of chess thanks to his untiring efforts. He has helped the Indian team win its first team medal and has trained some of the finest talents in the world like Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh Chithambaram, Karthikeyan Murali, Divya Deshmukh and many others. Recently he published his first book - Logical Decision Making in Chess and Davide Nastasio reviews it and tells you why he thinks the book is a pure masterpiece!

From Tartakover in the early 20th century to Morozevich and Nakamura today, all have enjoyed sidestepping the well-trodden paths of the Queen's Gambit and the umpteen Indians and venturing into the waters of the wicked Veresov Attack every now and then. On some occasions, it was used for quick draws; on some others, for a full-blooded fight. Nevertheless, it has always been a great surprise weapon. When Davide Nastasio felt the need to add the Veresov to his arsenal, he couldn't think of a better way to learn it than from IM Andrew Martin's DVD on the opening. In this review, he shares his impressions.

Pattern recognition and planning are some of the most important concepts to learn if you're on your road to chess mastery. In every position, the biggest hint to finding the right plan lies in the pawn structure. In this DVD, GM Adrian Mikhalchishin teaches how to recognise patterns and find the right plans accordingly. Besides, he also sheds light on some key concepts in plan execution including exploiting weak squares, piece manoeuvring etc. using ample examples from grandmaster games. Impressed by this selection of games, David Nastasio, the author of this review, felt one can find all the wisdom of the Soviet chess school in it.

The King's Indian Defence has been the favourite of many masters including legends like Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. If you would like to emulate one of the openings your idols used to love, this is your chance! In his comprehensive tutorial DVD on the KID, GM Victor Bologan, not only gives an in-depth analysis of the variations but also provides ten puzzles towards the end in order to assess how much the viewers have grasped. David Nastasio, the author of this review, feels he could play the opening like a master, now that he has learned from GM Bologan. He shares his experience below.

Davide Nastasio, a club player from the US, used to believe that the Modern Pirc was not an opening which could be played by black for a win. But when he came across GM Bologan's DVD on the Modern Pirc, he was able to see the opening in a new light. He realised that if he clubbed the Pirc and the King's Indian, he could build for himself a sharp tactical repertoire with the black pieces. Below is his account of his experience with the DVD.

Pieces are tossed in like fuel to burning fire, a king’s pawn shelter ripped apart. One player sees bone-chilling nightmares; his opponent couldn’t hold his thumping heart. More pieces come marauding in, hacking off every defender. The king begins running for his life; in the end, it’s caught en prise. An aesthetic murder is engineered. It’s checkmate! For those romantics who crave for such excitement in their chess games, Robert Ris has selected examples from his professional coaching practice with the aim of helping them understand the method behind what seems madness. A review.

With king pawn openings like the Spanish and the Italian coming back in vogue at all levels, it is essential for players to have something in store against the open king-pawn. And what could be a better than opting for something that offers similar structures in various lines? When Davide Nastasio stumbled upon GM Sam Collins' "Open Games with ...Bc5", he was frightened by the sheer size of the offered repertoire. But as he began digging into it, he realised that with the right "homework", he will have a formidable weapon against 1. e4 in his arsenal. Here are his impressions.

When you play competitive events you will face 1.d4 in almost half of your games as Black. It makes sense to have a firm repertoire against it. With that in mind, famous ChessBase author Daniel King recorded two DVDs Powerplay 23 and 24, the first one dealing with Queen's Gambit Declined and the second with Black's options against the Catalan. However, recently we have people playing so many unorthodox systems with 1.d4 like the London, Colle, Trompowsky, that it is a must to be prepared against them. Powerplay 25 helps you in that respect. And we have Davide Nastasio who reviews this DVD and tells you all about it.

When it comes to chess engines, Komodo 11 is bang up to date and is often referred to as the engine that can think like humans! Amazed by this, Davide Nastasio got his hands on this silicon giant to test it out for himself. After spending several hours exploring the various features of Komodo, he was not only convinced that the engine does analyse positions in a human-like manner but also felt it is an extremely useful tool for the modern chess player. Below is his insightful review.