EDUCAÇAO FÍSICA PROFESSOR WILLIAM PEREIRA: ChessCafe.com Weekly Newsletter, April 29

234 Depot Rd.
Milford, CT 06460
1-877-91-CHESS
(1-877-912-4377)

Issue #4
April 29 - May 5

Welcome to the ChessCafe.com weekly newsletter. You can keep up-to-date with new product releases, read reviews of selected products, and follow the latest postings at ChessCafe.com. Plus, try your hand at solving our weekly puzzle. Enjoy!

Here & There

Morphy Gleanings
Many chess players are unaware that Paul Morphy wrote a chess column. From August 6, 1859 until August 4, 1860, Morphy “conducted the Chess Department” in the New York Ledger. There were fifty-two columns, the twenty-fourth of which is available now in The Skittles Room.

Incredible Abundance
This week Mark Donlan reviews ChessBase Magazine #129, edited by Rainer Knaak. He writes, “the contents of ChessBase Magazine can keep one occupied for hours on end ... Once you try one issue of ChessBase Magazine, you will want to sign up for a subscription so as not to miss another.”

Shulman-Ivanov
Today's Video Spotlight features the Armageddon Blitz Play-off at the 2008 Foxwoods Open between GM Yury Shulman and GM Alexander Ivanov. In the final position, Ivanov loses his queen to a removal of the guard tactic.

Free Shipping!
Don’t forget that all orders of $75 or more are shipped free, UPS Ground, anywhere in the continental U.S. Certain restrictions apply, but most ChessCafe.com readers will be able to take advantage of this great offer!

Book Notes

For players who lack either the time or inclination to study reams of opening theory the Closed Sicilian is an excellent choice. In his new DVD, GM Nigel Davies introduces the viewer to the different strategies and variations through a series of instructive games.

The Sicilian Kan is the most flexible and easy to play variation of all the lines in the Sicilian. On this DVD, IM Andrew Martin will teach you how understanding certain principles and development will help you master this dependable repertoire for Black.

Free UPS Ground Shipping on All Domestic US Orders of $75 or more!!*
Order Now To Save!

Reviews in Brief

ChessBase Magazine #129
Edited by Rainer Knaak

ChessBase Magazine is published six times per year and has now reached its 129th issue, yet it may be one of the most underutilized resources available to chess players. I dare say that even subscribers may not take full advantage of it. But this is not due to any deficiency with regard to the product. It is because there is simply such an incredible abundance of material, so much in fact that each issue of ChessBase Magazine comes with a twenty-two page printed booklet that serves as a table of contents to the DVD.

The main stories in this issue are the tournaments at Wijk aan Zee and Linares and the Topalov-Kamsky match. Highlights include analysis from Karjakin, Carlsen, Radjabov, and van Wely, with extensive video annotations by Shirov on two of his games from the Bundesliga. Furthermore, there are eleven opening surveys, as well as two short repertoire suggestions in video format.

The contents of ChessBase Magazine can keep one occupied for hours on end or at least until the next issue comes out. Players at all levels can benefit from the training material and opening surveys. The list of contributors reads like a who’s who of top players and theorists, with names such as Carlsen, Caruana, Giri, Karjakin, Krasenkow, Marin, Radjabov, Stohl, and Tiviakov to name just a few. Once you try one issue of ChessBase Magazine, you will want to sign up for a subscription so as not to miss another.

Read the full review here.

Chess Explained: The Main-Line Slav
by Valentin Bogdanov

The back cover of this book describes the Gruenfeld as “an opening of grand ideas, which need to be understood well in order to get to grips with the theory and handle the resulting positions.” As with other titles in the Chess Explained series, this book presents twenty-five deeply annotated games in which the author tries to convey the basic principles and theory of a particular opening.

In taking on the Gruenfeld, IM Bogdanov has a monumental task in that nowadays many novelties are introduced deep in the middlegame beyond move twenty, and even your average club player tends to be reasonably well-booked in the main lines. Thus, while the Gruenfeld may be theoretically sound, it will require a fair bit of memorization to become adept at this aggressive counter attacking opening.

In fact, the chapter on the highly theoretical Rb1 Exchange main line is contributed by GM Viacheslav Eingorn, who was a pioneer of this variation. The reader can also take comfort in the fact that IM Bogdanov happens to be one of Eingorn’s seconds, so rest assured that this book is written by a Gruenfeld specialist.

New Catalog Additions

4/24: Foxy Openings, Vol. 80: King’s Gambit, Part 2 (DVD)
4/24: Foxy Openings, Vol. 79: King’s Gambit, Part 1 (DVD)
4/23: Foxy Openings, Vol. 78: Nimzo-Indian (DVD)
4/22: Foxy Openings, Vol. 77: Sicilian Kan (DVD)
4/20: ChessBase Magazine #129 (DVD)
4/19: The Closed Sicilian (DVD)
4/18: Power Play 9: Major Pieces vs. Minor Pieces (DVD)
4/17: Fischer World Champion! (2nd ed.)
4/16: New In Chess Yearbook #90
4/15: Chess Tactics for Champions (restock)
4/14: The Endgame (restock)
4/13: Tiger’s Modern (restock)
4/12: The Berlin Wall (restock)
4/11: Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces (2nd ed.)
4/10: The Sveshnikov Reloaded (restock)
4/9: New In Chess Magazine 2009/2
4/8: A Spanish Repertoire for Black (restock)
4/7: Questions of Modern Chess Theory (restock)
44/6: Practical Chess Defence (restock)
4/4: The Life & Games of Carlos Torre (restock)
4/3: Chess Explained: The Main-Line Slav
4/2: Chess Explained: The Gruenfeld