Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol. 1-4 - Chess Software Training Download

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol. 1-4 (Download)
Ivan Sokolov

Vol 1

In this chess download we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this DVD is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.

Vol 2

Practical Play In this chess download, I have selected the material aiming to improve the viewer’s middlegame decision making process and broaden his/her middlegame understanding in general.

Vol 3

Throughout my playing career I have found the Hedgehog (with both colours) one of the most difficult type of positions to master. With White (the side with more space) there is always a danger to overextend oneself (or miss your opponent’s pawn break). While playing Black (the side with less space) there is always a danger to mistime your pawn break, or simply to not get counterplay and be overrun.

Vol 4

Studying this video course should greatly improve the viewer’s handling of dynamic pawn positions! As with all my other video courses material here is predominantly aimed at improving players and tournament players.

Windows 7, DirectX9 graphic card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9 and internet connection for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX10 graphic card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or better, 100% DirectX10 compatible soundcard, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and internet connection for prognostication. Minimum: MacOS "Yosemite" 10.10

Vol 1

I hope my selected material will inspire the viewer to take similar decisions in his/her own games. I have structured this DVD into 4 chapters: 1. Minor Sacrifices 2. Rolling Pawns 3. Allowing pawn islands 4. Dynamic ideas with g- and h-pawns Every chapter consists of model games displaying different aspects of the theme. The variety of games should give you enough insights to spot these strategies in your own practice.

• Video running time: 4 hours 50 Minutes (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Database with more examples

Vol 2

Practical Play In this chess download, I have selected the material aiming to improve the viewer’s middlegame decision making process and broaden his/her middlegame understanding in general.

I have structured this DVD into 4 chapters: 1. What to trade, what to keep 2. The king on f8 defends himself 3. Open file 4. Creating crises Every chapter consists of model games displaying different aspects of the theme. The variety of games should give you enough insights to spot these strategies in your own practice.

• Video running time: 4 hours (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Extra: Database with more examples

Vol 3

The complexity of those positions is best illustrated in a Kasparov-Kramnik game – with both players allowing seemingly “obvious” mistakes. Charbonneau-Anand is another good example – a player of Anand’s stature landing in a terrible position, then missing his good attacking prospects. The game result was one of the biggest upsets of 2006 Chess Olympiad. There are different types of Hedgehog positions - many of them coming from the English opening where the White bishop is fianchettoed. In this video course I consider the “basic Hedgehog” pawn structure; like the one coming from the Kan Sicilian for example. Choosing the right plan at the right time is the key here - the ensuing positions are full of dynamic possibilities. I endeavour to show the most common (and a few less common!) plans for both sides and try to pinpoint typical mistakes and motifs. The basic aim of this video is to improve understanding of these complex positions and to help tournament players score better!

• Video running time: 4 hours (English)
• Extra: Training with ChessBase apps - Play key pawn structures against Fritz on various levels

Vol 4

Isolated pawn structures can obviously come from many different openings. In this video course I have picked up isolated pawn structures coming from the classical Tarrasch defence D34; for which a considerable part was inspired by the games of Garry Kasparov. I believe studying the classical Tarrasch isolated pawn structures (and related pawn structures) to be an excellent way to improve understanding of those types of positions. Choosing my games selection, I wanted to show typical plans for both sides based on high level instructive games. Hanging pawns in the centre can come from different (though usually 1.d4 systems) openings. “Hanging pawns in the centre” structures are difficult to master because a good feeling for the “transformation timing” is needed! Sometimes those “transformations” are pawn-break related, unleashing dynamic power; while sometimes they are related to taking space and not being bothered about surrendering central squares. I have tried to show typical plans aiming to improve the viewer’s knowledge, and also practical play level. Sicilian Rauzer double f-pawn structures are fashionable nowadays and are seen at all levels. Dynamic timing is everything! Most of the time, temporary pawn sacrifices are an essential part of this “dynamic timing”. While it is difficult to give exact set of rules here, typical ideas do repeat themselves and I have tried to show these in this video course.

• Video running time: 5 hours 30 minutes (English)
• Extra: Training with ChessBase apps - Play key pawn structures against Fritz on various levels