Some reviews on the Internet are made by GMs and some of them are not _so_ impartial...
I`d like to read some reviews made by amateur players. Is there any site that offers this?
What do you folks think about some of Chessbase`s latest DVDs, like those from Kasim (tactics) or Karsten Hansen (endgames)?
Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Moderators: hgm, Rebel, chrisw
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Ponti
- Posts: 493
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Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
A. Ponti
AMD Ryzen 1800x, Windows 10.
FIDE current ratings: standard 1913, rapid 1931
AMD Ryzen 1800x, Windows 10.
FIDE current ratings: standard 1913, rapid 1931
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Sylwy
- Posts: 4466
- Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:19 pm
- Location: IASI - the historical capital of MOLDOVA
- Full name: SilvianR
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Ponti wrote:Some reviews on the Internet are made by GMs and some of them are not _so_ impartial...
I`d like to read some reviews made by amateur players. Is there any site that offers this?
What do you folks think about some of Chessbase`s latest DVDs, like those from Kasim (tactics) or Karsten Hansen (endgames)?
Well, first of all I like the practical chess. I have a lot of videos & CDs from ChessBase and all the training softs from Convekta.I don' t like videos for a lot of reasons.Convekta is the best in this matter.I like also some CB CDs (Bartashnikov-Basic Principles of Chess Strategy, endgames of Dvoretsky and some others ). To work with CB videos is a hard matter .
Regards,
Silvian
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rdan1987
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
To work with CB videos is a very EASY matter.....on the other hand....to work with Convekta products is not so easy....and sometimes gives you headaches...Sylwy wrote: To work with CB videos is a hard matter .
Regards,
Silvian
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Wwqlcw
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 7:02 pm
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
I don't know how well made these will be, but they certainly will be impartial.
I have quite a few chess dvd's which were intended to be used on a computer the club I run was supposed to be getting. However, the computer never materialized, and neither have the members, who are university students who seem to have better things to do than play chess. Thus, they've turned into personal purchases.
I've reached two general conclusions about chess dvd's: (1) don't expect too much from them, and (2) consider the source. So, for example, anyone who believes it's possible to cover an opening thoroughly in a 2 or 3 hour presentation is expecting too much... even the best of these will require hard copies of books or articles, and databases, to reach the comfort level needed to play the opening over the board. And some of the presenters are simply better at it than others. Let me be more specific.
1. Kasimdzhanov's dvd on tactics isn't that good. After all, what can you do on a tactics dvd except show tactics, which you can get more of across a larger range from any reasonable tactics book? I'd say the same thing happens on Aagaard's dvd's on attacking, which show some nice attacking games, but in the end amount to repetition of some basic principles that everyone but rank beginners already know. This also applies to most of Daniel King's dvd's. They're ok, but more like public lectures than intimate sessions with masters and grandmasters.
2. But there are dvd's that are exactly like intimate sessions with masters and grandmasters. All the other dvd's by Kasimdzhanov, for example, are nothing less than extraordinary. He his this funny voice that changes pitch at odd times, which seems like it may be distracting, but which fades from consideration once he starts analyzing. His "King's Indian" disk is just plain compelling (and this, of course, with the explicit understanding (which he voices himself) that he can't cover everything and isn't going to look at main lines). By the end, I was willing to buy his next dvd even if it was about sorting clothes for laundry. His dvd's on the French are terrific (and, with 3 of them, come closer to the "put into practice immediately" comfort level than other openings covered), as is his (variationally limited) Petroff. Kasimdzhanov is a "major find" in chess talking heads, and, with one exception, I'd say the best overall of all these presenters.
3. That exception is Sergei Tiviakov. His dvd on the Maroczy Bind in the Accelerated Dragon IS sufficiently detailed to play it immediately (if you can just get someone to adopt it against you). The coverage is comprehensive, in depth, engaging, and instructive. It's the single best chess dvd I've ever seen. His coverage of the Alapin Variation is also extremely good, and passes into the territory where one is confident playing it immediately upon completion.
4. Other opening dvd's... not so much. Andrew Martin is enthusiastic on screen, but none of them is sufficiently detailed to go into operation after the dust has settled. He even overlooks a mate in one on the Caro-Kann dvd (a forgiveable fault if Kramnik can do it in a million-dollar match). I'd say they're good for getting an overall idea of what can be done with a specific opening, but have books, articles, and a database at hand if you want any depth.
5. The same applies to Aagaard's "Nimzo-Indian," "Queen's-Indian" pair, which has no pretense beyond that, after viewing them, you'd be able to start playing them in offhanded games (on line, say) to build up your practical experience. Aagaard is witty, engaging, and inspirational in a quiet way (as opposed to Martin's effusive enthusiasm). You come away interested in learning more, I'd say.
6. The Shirov dvd's are in a class by themselves. Here, you really get the idea that you're sitting in a coffee house with a grandmaster who's beaten your ass off in a few off-handed games, and is now going to show you some of his best efforts against other world class players. The titles are misleading, in that, for example, the Caro-Kann dvd is mostly about the Advanced Variation. If you're a CK-player (like myself), listening to and watching Shirov's presentation can require you to (frequently) change your underwear... it's like listening to a master storyteller around a campfire at night. As long as you realize its about the games more than its about the opening, these dvd's are treasures.
7. Some dvd's are almost painful to watch. Van Wely has two terribly interesting topics (the Sveshnikov and the Botvinnik-Moscow), but seems unable to look at the camera or talk to something other than his lapels.
8. Karsten Mueller's dvd must be played with your hand on the pause and rewind buttons... he comes at you at warp speed. With "How to Play the Chess Endgames" just published, it seems obvious he was trying to make video presentations of the material in his manuscript. The two different media complement each other. But there's a lot of it to fit on to 4 dvd's, so it comes at you like machine gun bursts. Important, instructive, but be ready.
9. Of the middle game dvd's, the real gems are Mikhalchishin's "Decision Making in Chess" and "The Secret Weapons of the Champions." He states early on one of them that modern middlegame theory isn't well explained in existing books... and then proves it to you. He provides many "...but of course" and "Aha!" moments throughout, and his examples are just instructive beyond belief. His accent can be overwhelming at times, and, like listening to an old coot professor who knows his material so well that he's sprinting so far ahead of himself he's not watching where he's going some times, he make more than a few little errors about what file or piece or capture he's talking about. Pause and rewind are helpful here, too. But it's golden.
10. Daniel King's first 4 dvd's were little more than for rank beginners. I am much impressed by his 5th, however ("Pawns"). There are another 5 or more projected in this series, and if they continue to build, will be worthy contributions.
11. Nigel Davies' dvd are the longest, and attempt (and largely succeed) at being comprehensive. His "...d6" is dense, and will, I understand, shortly be complemented with a hard copy book. His "Accelerated Dragon," particularly in tandem with Tiviakov's "Maroczy Bind," would give most people enough confidence immediately to try them in serious games. And he's good at explaining.
I could say more but this is beginning to drag. The ChessBase dvd presentation medium (and it's not the only one; I have many of the Dzindzzichashvili dvd's, as well) can be cludgy at times, and are not of uniform quality. But some people learn better in different ways, and this is just another way. If you can afford them, if you understand what you're getting... it's hard to imagine that spending an hour or two with someone who understands chess much more deeply than you couldn't be useful and important.
I have quite a few chess dvd's which were intended to be used on a computer the club I run was supposed to be getting. However, the computer never materialized, and neither have the members, who are university students who seem to have better things to do than play chess. Thus, they've turned into personal purchases.
I've reached two general conclusions about chess dvd's: (1) don't expect too much from them, and (2) consider the source. So, for example, anyone who believes it's possible to cover an opening thoroughly in a 2 or 3 hour presentation is expecting too much... even the best of these will require hard copies of books or articles, and databases, to reach the comfort level needed to play the opening over the board. And some of the presenters are simply better at it than others. Let me be more specific.
1. Kasimdzhanov's dvd on tactics isn't that good. After all, what can you do on a tactics dvd except show tactics, which you can get more of across a larger range from any reasonable tactics book? I'd say the same thing happens on Aagaard's dvd's on attacking, which show some nice attacking games, but in the end amount to repetition of some basic principles that everyone but rank beginners already know. This also applies to most of Daniel King's dvd's. They're ok, but more like public lectures than intimate sessions with masters and grandmasters.
2. But there are dvd's that are exactly like intimate sessions with masters and grandmasters. All the other dvd's by Kasimdzhanov, for example, are nothing less than extraordinary. He his this funny voice that changes pitch at odd times, which seems like it may be distracting, but which fades from consideration once he starts analyzing. His "King's Indian" disk is just plain compelling (and this, of course, with the explicit understanding (which he voices himself) that he can't cover everything and isn't going to look at main lines). By the end, I was willing to buy his next dvd even if it was about sorting clothes for laundry. His dvd's on the French are terrific (and, with 3 of them, come closer to the "put into practice immediately" comfort level than other openings covered), as is his (variationally limited) Petroff. Kasimdzhanov is a "major find" in chess talking heads, and, with one exception, I'd say the best overall of all these presenters.
3. That exception is Sergei Tiviakov. His dvd on the Maroczy Bind in the Accelerated Dragon IS sufficiently detailed to play it immediately (if you can just get someone to adopt it against you). The coverage is comprehensive, in depth, engaging, and instructive. It's the single best chess dvd I've ever seen. His coverage of the Alapin Variation is also extremely good, and passes into the territory where one is confident playing it immediately upon completion.
4. Other opening dvd's... not so much. Andrew Martin is enthusiastic on screen, but none of them is sufficiently detailed to go into operation after the dust has settled. He even overlooks a mate in one on the Caro-Kann dvd (a forgiveable fault if Kramnik can do it in a million-dollar match). I'd say they're good for getting an overall idea of what can be done with a specific opening, but have books, articles, and a database at hand if you want any depth.
5. The same applies to Aagaard's "Nimzo-Indian," "Queen's-Indian" pair, which has no pretense beyond that, after viewing them, you'd be able to start playing them in offhanded games (on line, say) to build up your practical experience. Aagaard is witty, engaging, and inspirational in a quiet way (as opposed to Martin's effusive enthusiasm). You come away interested in learning more, I'd say.
6. The Shirov dvd's are in a class by themselves. Here, you really get the idea that you're sitting in a coffee house with a grandmaster who's beaten your ass off in a few off-handed games, and is now going to show you some of his best efforts against other world class players. The titles are misleading, in that, for example, the Caro-Kann dvd is mostly about the Advanced Variation. If you're a CK-player (like myself), listening to and watching Shirov's presentation can require you to (frequently) change your underwear... it's like listening to a master storyteller around a campfire at night. As long as you realize its about the games more than its about the opening, these dvd's are treasures.
7. Some dvd's are almost painful to watch. Van Wely has two terribly interesting topics (the Sveshnikov and the Botvinnik-Moscow), but seems unable to look at the camera or talk to something other than his lapels.
8. Karsten Mueller's dvd must be played with your hand on the pause and rewind buttons... he comes at you at warp speed. With "How to Play the Chess Endgames" just published, it seems obvious he was trying to make video presentations of the material in his manuscript. The two different media complement each other. But there's a lot of it to fit on to 4 dvd's, so it comes at you like machine gun bursts. Important, instructive, but be ready.
9. Of the middle game dvd's, the real gems are Mikhalchishin's "Decision Making in Chess" and "The Secret Weapons of the Champions." He states early on one of them that modern middlegame theory isn't well explained in existing books... and then proves it to you. He provides many "...but of course" and "Aha!" moments throughout, and his examples are just instructive beyond belief. His accent can be overwhelming at times, and, like listening to an old coot professor who knows his material so well that he's sprinting so far ahead of himself he's not watching where he's going some times, he make more than a few little errors about what file or piece or capture he's talking about. Pause and rewind are helpful here, too. But it's golden.
10. Daniel King's first 4 dvd's were little more than for rank beginners. I am much impressed by his 5th, however ("Pawns"). There are another 5 or more projected in this series, and if they continue to build, will be worthy contributions.
11. Nigel Davies' dvd are the longest, and attempt (and largely succeed) at being comprehensive. His "...d6" is dense, and will, I understand, shortly be complemented with a hard copy book. His "Accelerated Dragon," particularly in tandem with Tiviakov's "Maroczy Bind," would give most people enough confidence immediately to try them in serious games. And he's good at explaining.
I could say more but this is beginning to drag. The ChessBase dvd presentation medium (and it's not the only one; I have many of the Dzindzzichashvili dvd's, as well) can be cludgy at times, and are not of uniform quality. But some people learn better in different ways, and this is just another way. If you can afford them, if you understand what you're getting... it's hard to imagine that spending an hour or two with someone who understands chess much more deeply than you couldn't be useful and important.
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Sylwy
- Posts: 4466
- Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:19 pm
- Location: IASI - the historical capital of MOLDOVA
- Full name: SilvianR
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Agreed ! 100% !
Regards,
Silvian
Regards,
Silvian
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playjunior
- Posts: 338
- Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:53 am
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Roland, excellent review, thank you very much for your contribution.
Btw, do you have Kramnik's My Path to The Top DVD-if yes, what is your opinion about that?
Btw, do you have Kramnik's My Path to The Top DVD-if yes, what is your opinion about that?
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rjand
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:56 pm
- Location: North Carolina, USA
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Wow Roland that was excellent! 
Looking forward to reading more of your posts!
My Best,
Rick
Looking forward to reading more of your posts!My Best,
Rick
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Ponti
- Posts: 493
- Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:13 am
- Location: Curitiba - PR - BRAZIL
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Great review, thanks!
I'll think about getting one or two of those DVDs and give them a try...
A. Ponti
AMD Ryzen 1800x, Windows 10.
FIDE current ratings: standard 1913, rapid 1931
AMD Ryzen 1800x, Windows 10.
FIDE current ratings: standard 1913, rapid 1931
-
Wwqlcw
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 7:02 pm
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
No Kramnik, unfortunately. Something for the future, as I do have a limited budget.
I also have the Kasparovs, the only one of which I've watched, however, is the one on the Queen's Gambit. It was quite good. His series on the Najdorf was viewed by our Sicilian expert, and he pronounced them "outstanding." He won 2 of his last 3 tournaments outright, with many more highly rated players participating, so he must have picked up a thing or two.
I also have the Kasparovs, the only one of which I've watched, however, is the one on the Queen's Gambit. It was quite good. His series on the Najdorf was viewed by our Sicilian expert, and he pronounced them "outstanding." He won 2 of his last 3 tournaments outright, with many more highly rated players participating, so he must have picked up a thing or two.
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playjunior
- Posts: 338
- Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:53 am
Re: Wanted: well made and impartial review of chess DVD`s
Then I should pick them up I guess, because I play Najdorf and...it hurts 
It would be more precise to say "I suffer Najdorf".
It would be more precise to say "I suffer Najdorf".