Learn from the Classics

Successful and good players repeatedly emphasize how important it is to study the classics - the games of the great masters of chess history. But in the age of computers, engines and databases and ever-increasing opening theory, is that really true? Does it really make you better and more successful? On this DVD, Indian IM Sagar Shah shows why studying the classics also promises success in modern chess. First, he shows classic games by chess legends such as Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Korchnoi and Kasparov and explains typical middlegame ideas and patterns. Then he shows how he applied these ideas in his own games! Sagar Shah focuses on the middle game and the opening. The explosion of available information has led to opening theory developing rapidly. But as the author shows, studying the classics gives you a good and stable feeling for the early stages of the game. Using the example of the opening duel between Botvinnik and Petrosian in their 1963 World Championship match, he shows how to use the classics to prepare modern openings and be successful.