After 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 the move 7...Nc6 has recently been a popular way to avoid truck loads of Najdorf theory - it was used several times by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. However, last week at the World Youth Championship in Greece several black players fell victim to a line that was discovered recently by GM Kuzmin. Want to know all about it? ChessVibes Openings #96 tells the story, and much more. Subscribe easily via Paypal, credit card or iDEAL.

What is ChessVibes Openings?

Every issue consists of a PDF Magazine and the accompanying PGN file. The PDF consists of four pages (A4 size) with the following contents:

• What's hot? A round-up of this week's important opening developments, with statistics about the frequence and score of the week's most important opening novelty (page 1)
• What's not? Which openings are not recommended at the moment, according to the top players? And why not? (page 1)
• Game of the week Each week you'll find the theoretically most important game analysed by our two IMs, with a detailed survey of the opening phase (page 2).
• This week's harvest Four more new important opening ideas from this week (page 3) revealed and described with explanation of the opening and early middlegame (page 3).
• It's Your Move An interactive element: every week two exercises, of which the solutions/explanations will follow one week later. This will improve your understanding of certain opening, middlegame or even endgame themes even further.

How to pay? Click on one of the buttons:

Payments can be done directly via Paypal, or by credit card after creating a Paypal account which takes a minute. Please drop us an email if you prefer to pay by bank transfer!

For Dutch clients it's possible to pay via iDEAL, the Dutch online bank system with which you can pay safely, secure and comfortably.

This week's issue: #96, November 3, 2010

ChessVibes Openings #96 We take a close look at the second half of Nanjing, which left Carlsen as the clear winner. This brought the young Norwegian back to the top of the live rating list. We also examine the Hoogeveen Crown Group & Open and the Youth World Championship. All about the 8.Qc2 Catalan which was analysed in our Game of the Week Anand-Topalov, Pearl Spring tournament (Nanjing) 2010.

Other lines that are covered:

• Sicilian Najdorf, 7...Nc6
• Caro-Kann, Panov
• Gruenfeld, Exchange
• Catalan/Benoni

Did you know... Did you know that professional poker player Howard Lederer initially sought to become a chess professional? However, at some point he discovered poker, and 'the rest is history' – Lederer soon became a poker pro. He also is part owner of Full Tilt Poker, one of the best online poker sites according to real money pokerpoker site reviews. Lederer uses the skills that helped make him a great chess player to be one of the best poker players in the world.

Last week's issue: #95, October 20, 2010

ChessVibes Openings #95 Just a week after the Masters Final in Bilbao, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2010/2011 started in Nanjing, China. We also discuss the first round of the Unive tournament (Hoogeveen) and the final phase of the European Club Cup. All about the 3...Qd6 Scandinavian which was analysed in our Game of the Week Shirov-Tiviakov, Unive tournament (Hoogeveen) 2010.

Other lines that are covered:

• Petroff, 3.d4, 8.Qh5
• Queen's Gambit Declined, Lasker variation
• Slav, 6.Ne5
• Schlechter System

Previous week issue: #94, October 20, 2010

ChessVibes Openings #94 Vladimir Kramnik won the Grand Slam Masters Final in Bilbao, the strongest round-robin ever. In this issue we zoom in on the highlights of the event, while also taking a closer look at the European Club Cup, with Aronian, Mamedyarov, Grischuk and more. All about the McCutcheon French which was analysed in our Game of the Week Anand-Shirov, Bilbao Masters Final 2010.

Other lines that are covered:

• Ruy Lopez, Breyer
• Sicilian, Kan
• Sicilian, Najdorf
• Queen's Indian

Ehm... can I have a look?

Here's what ChessVibes Openings #16 (April 22, 2009) looks like:



FREE SAMPLE ISSUE - ChessVibes Openings #16 - click to download!

• What's hot? A round-up of the most important opening developments of mid-April, including statistics about the frequence and score of the Chebanenko position after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Nhf6
• What's not? This week 1.e4 e5 was hot, as the top players categorically avoided the Semi-Open Games. Interestingly, the classical 1...d5 was also much more popular than the more modern answers to 1.d4, at the FIDE Grand Prix in Nalchik.
• Game of the week "I didn't spend much time on it before the game, but I prepared seriously for this tournament and we did investigate this line", Peter Leko said at the press conference in Nalchik, after his game against Sergei Karjakin. Page two has a closer look at this highly interesting draw in the Chebanenko.
• This week's harvest For more opening ideas from the Ruy Lopez Marshall, Sicilian Taimanov, Queen's Indian and Ragozin Defence.
• Opening expert This week Rustam Kasimdzhanov is highlighted. The former FIDE World Champion and current second of Anand has a broad repertoire, switching from hypersharp openings like Dragon and Anti-Moscow to positional Queen‚Äôs Gambit lines.

FREE SAMPLE ISSUE - ChessVibes Openings #16 - click to download!

What does it cost?

As a subscriber you'll receive the PDF Magazine and accompanying PGN files in your mailbox every week.

A one-year subscription is € 25 (that's less than € 0.50 per issue!) - for price in US $ click here

How to pay? Click on one of the buttons:

Payments can be done directly via Paypal, or by credit card after creating a Paypal account which takes a minute. Please drop us an email if you prefer to pay by bank transfer!

For Dutch clients it's possible to pay via iDEAL, the Dutch online bank system with which you can pay safely, secure and comfortably.

July 1, 2009: Eugene Manchester reviews ChessVibes Openings for ChessCafe

In the July 1 issue of ChessCafe's Book Review (mirror here) ChessVibes Openings was reviewed by Eugene Manchester. Some quotes: "So, who-ya-gonna-call? Opening busters? Not quite. For the reasonable price of 25 euros per year, once a week you can receive intelligent, interesting opening surveys and analysis presented by a team lead by Dutch IMs Merijn van Delft & Robert Ris."

"The format and presentation are consistently of high quality, with variety of coverage and opening analysis."

"The cost per year is roughly equivalent to a good chess book. Each week you get a four- page issue packed with opening analysis, at least two thoroughly annotated games with one or more of that week's featured openings, a glimpse into the world of the latest opening novelties, in short, a quality weekly opening report."

May 7, 2009: GM Hedinn Steingrimsson reviews ChessVibes Openings for Chess Today

In issues 3103 (Thursday, May 7) of Chess Today, the daily chess newspaper which also comes into your inbox by email in PDF, ChessVibes Openings was reviewed by GM Hedinn Steingrimsson from Iceland. Some quotes: "What I like about ChessVibes Openings is their focus on the trend and discoveries that are revealed in super tournaments and by very strong players. It makes sense for all tournament chess players and opening theoreticians to follow these developments and getting an overview from ChessVibes Openings definitely saves time."

"I find it positive that there is consistency in the openings covered so that the readers will with time have a certain repertoire available based on different theoretical articles from ChessVibes about e.g. the Anti-Moscow Variation."

"For those that really want to find out how to get a better position out of the opening and are willing to enter complications and do some homework in order to succeed, ChessVibes Openings can be recommended."