Mayhem in the Morra

For young and developing players a very important piece of advice is to study open positions and to understand the value of coordination of the pieces plus the role of the centre. These goals can be achieved just by answering 1.e4 with 1...e5. Some players claim that these positions are not sharp and interesting enough, and they believe that different Sicilians should be one’s choice, but that is not completely correct. The idea of this DVD is to show that 1.e4 e5 can be extremely entertaining and that Black can obtain interesting counterplay in every opening. There are two lines proposed in the Spanish systems plus the most active alternatives against other white choices. Video running time: 6 h 48 min. Video sample System requirements Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard

The Goring Gambit is one of White's most dynamic choices after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. With 3.d4! White immediately challenges Black's "pawn anchor" on e5 while prying open lines for rapid, aggressive development. After 3..exd4 White can, of course, opt for the Scotch Game with 3.Nxd4 - which is quite sound for White - but we recommend that you choose the gambit with 4.c3, daring Black to grab a pawn with 4..dxc3. If Black accepts, white will get a lead in development and many opportunities for a prolonged initiative. There is a line that modern theory favors black, but we show you how to avoid it. If your opponent is too scared to accept the gambit with 4..dxc3, then there are declining moves with 4..Nf6, 4..d5, and 4..d3. Against all these more sedate lines we will show how to keep Black under pressure. A number of top players have adopted the Goring gambit over time; among them are GM's Tal, Stein, Gufeld, Velimirovic, and Ljubojevic. FM Ken Smith, one of the authors, has been playing middle gambits(Danish, Goring, BDG, & Smith-Morra) all his 47-year chess career.

The Ponziani Opening enjoys a long history, but for some unknown reason it has been neglected in recent times. Don't be fooled by its apparently harmless reputation: the Ponziani is full of tricks and catches many unsuspecting opponents by surprise. It's also a perfect weapon for those who don't fancy learning the masses of theory associated with more high-profile openings like the Ruy Lopez.

The Italian Game (sometimes referred to as the Giuoco Piano) is one of the oldest openings around, and also one of the first lines a player learns when he or she is introduced to chess. It leads to play that is easy to understand: both sides develop their pieces logically and begin attacks on the opposing kings. The Italian Game gives both White and Black the opportunity to play either aggressively and in gambit fashion, or in a restrained and positional manner. One of White's most exciting and attacking options is the legendary Evans Gambit, which has been brought back into the limelight in this modern era by such uncompromising players as World Champion Garry Kasparov, Alexander Morozevich,and England's Nigel Short.

The Four Knights is an opening with a long and distinguished history. Despite its deceptively quiet appearance, it can lead to extremely sharp play

The third volume of the popular series "Opening for White according to Anand -1.e4" deals with the Caro Kann Defence. It has the reputation as the opening of the chess-academics. Capablanca, Botvinnik, Petrosian and Karpov - this list of great chess-champions that have been life-long devotees of the Caro-Kann Defence can be easily extended.

This volume deals with various openings after 1.e4 e5, and lines covered include: Marshall Attack, Traxler variation, Frankenstein-Dracula variation, Falkbeer Counter-Gambit and more.

In this book Marin reveals his own opening repertoire, which he prepared for high-level international competition. But besides giving concrete answers to any worries players might have about facing the Open Games, Marin uses his renowned writing skills to lucidly convey the main strategic ideas.