December 21st, 2011 | Author: 
Interesting Dutch Development
On Sunday in my French league game I faced, what must be, the most critical line in the Classical Dutch.
Originally I assumed that 7…Ne4 8 Nxe4 would leave White with an advantage but the more I look into this line the less convinced I am. In actual fact, in my last three games played in this variation I have scored 3/3, against decent opposition.
In this game I was paired against French Grandmaster Jean-Luc Chabanon, who had obviously prepared for the game and currently has a rating of around 2490, so a real test for the variation. I will take a look at the game in the video below.
Play like Tal: Interactive Trailer!!
- Play Like Tal with GM Simon Williams
Order DVD | Description | Promotional Videos | DVD Contents | Reviews | Discuss Order DVD Available now! ^Top Description “Chess, first of all, is art.” – Mikhail Tal Arguably one of the world’s most exciting chess players of all time, Grandmaster Mikhail Tal will always be remembered as an attacking genius. [...]
A first of it’s kind!!! An interactive chess DVD that can be played on all platforms!
I presented this two DVD box set, the aim of which is to get the viewer to try and think along the same lines as the great Magician from Riga, Tal!
Our interactive promotional video can be viewed below. If you want to go straight to the interactive part, jump to around 8:30 on the video!
The Killer Dragon: Parts 1 + 2: Trailers!
- Killer Dragon with GM Simon Williams
Order DVD | Description | Promotional Videos | DVD Contents | Reviews | Discuss Order DVD Available now! ^Top Description The Dragon variation is considered to be one of the sharpest openings in chess. Made popular due to its aggressive nature, it is little wonder that the Dragon has attracted the likes [...]
The promotional videos for Killer Dragon Parts One and Two have arrived!
I was the presenter of these DVDs and they fully cover the Dragon and Dragadorf. They are quite heavy going, especially DVD one, but they should put you in good shape to be an expert in the Dragon within no time!
They are both around 6 hours long, with a total viewing time of roughly 12 hours. See the trailers below!
The Killer c3 Sicilian: Trailer!
- Killer c3 Sicilian with IM Sam Collins
Order DVD | Description | Promotional Videos | DVD Contents | Reviews | Discuss Order DVD Available now! ^Top Description Over the years, the c3 Sicilian, otherwise known as the Alapin Variation, has become increasingly popular not least because it avoids the reams of theory associated with Open Sicilians, but also because [...]
The trailers have finally arrived!
You can view the c3 Sicilian one below. The DVD will be ready to ship late Friday 9th of October/early Monday 10th of October.
Sam Collins is the presenter. Sam has a clear and concise presenting attitude and he has already filmed a large number of DVDs gaining invaluable experience.
He will aim to answer any questions on the DVD by the end of next week.
Music and Blitz Chess? Another experiment from gingergm…
A while back we did a couple of tests on gingergm to see whether certain types of music would help one’s speed chess skills.
These tests were obviously highly scientific and I expect the results will change how people approach the game of chess forever.
This time I am going to take a song that a friend made for me. His name is Simon Fox or SFX, he is the lead vocals and guitar for ‘Thelement’, but he also occasional tries his luck with the odd, old school rave song.
French League: Round 8: Meier-Williams
Why did I not play the Classical Dutch! The two loses that I had in the French League was when I choose to meet 1 d4 with 1…Nf6.
I do understand that hindsight is a double edged tool but after my victory in round 1 I should have stuck to my guns and played the Classical Dutch!
Anyway, I opted to play the Kings Indian Defence this time, but again I did not know what I was really doing and my opponent played very well and went onto beat me. Video below, any advice is more than welcome!
French League: Round 7: Williams-Marcelin
Yet another White in round 7 (cheers captain!), this time against French Grandmaster Cyril Marcelin. Marcelin has not played for some period of time but he picked a very interesting opening that I had never encountered before.
The game quickly came to life and I managed to get the advantage in the ensuring tactics. This time I managed to convert my advantage.
If only I could play with the White pieces in every game! A video of the encounter is attached below!
French League: Round 6: Williams-Nisipeanu
In round 6 I was paired against top Romanian player Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. A great player who frequents some of the strongest tournaments in the world.
I was looking forward to an exciting, crazy game, but my opponent choose to play the Czech Benoni, an opening that has a very solid reputation.
My opponent sacrificed a pawn early on and the game became very interesting after that. I managed to keep things under control and I came a whisker from winning.
Round 5: French League: Postny-Williams
In round 5 I tried the Benoni defence for the first time in my life. I lost the game but it had some very interesting moments.
The reason I picked the Benoni was that I was inspired by a game that I commentated on at the Gibraltar festival. That game is briefly given below and it was awarded the best game prize.
I have also just finished filming gingergm’s first ever interactive DVD. I believe this is also a first ever in the chess world. The name of the DVD is, ‘Play like Tal’. As you may have guessed it is a DVD based on Tal’s games and he had some great victories in the Benoni defence.
