To be honest, I've never been one of those guys who thought videos and chess mesh well together. Having to fast forward or backwards for a chess game struck me as being much too bothersome, while staring at some nerd call out chess moves on screen seemed akin to watching paint dry. However, when I got Volumes One (90 minutes on 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) and Two (two hours on 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+) of BASHING THE SICILIAN WITH Bb5, I decided to be fair and give it a watch simply because I absolutely love using the Rossolimo against the Sicilian and recommend it to many of my students.

The first thing I noticed after popping the video into the machine was the lack of any glitzy special effects. Instead we're given a very simple scene: an extremely eloquent grandmaster Murray Chandler sitting in front of a chessboard, telling us about the research he put into the project and also stating that he personally would be happy to use any of the recommended lines against opponents of any class. I found this VERY comforting, since the last thing you want to hear is: "You guys should try these variations out, but I wouldn't be found dead using this garbage!"

Fortunately, I believe that Murray would indeed use the recommended lines against his fellow grandmasters - the Rossolimo is easy to learn, positionally very sound, and can be so poisonous that quick White victories are quite common.

Think of it this way: The game starts 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6. You look in your opponent's eyes and see that he's excited about using some pet system after the usual 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4. What might that be? He could hit you with 4.e5, which is far from easy for White to meet. Or he might try the Taimanov Variation with 4.e6. Other common tries are 4.g6 (my favorite Accelerated Dragon), 4.Qb6, and 4.Nf6 5.Nc3 when both 5.d6 and 5.e5 are lead-ins to endless streams of theory. The problem for White is that you don't know what line Black will choose, so you MUST be well prepared to meet ALL of these systems. Your opponent, on the other hand, knows what he intends to do and just needs to learn that one variation.

All this passes through your mind after 2.Nc6, but you have no intention whatsoever of entering his prepared lines. Instead, you dash out 3.Bb5 and watch his face morph from excitement to disappointment. Suddenly he's in YOUR preparation, YOUR system.

After the introduction, Murray's body vanishes and we are left with a very clear board and the grandmaster's voice. He then takes us on a journey though the basic ideas and variations that make the Rossolimo so enticing, and he presents some very impressive examples while doing so. My favorite was a wonderful trap that's taken the scalps of more than one strong player: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Qb6 4.Nc3 Nd4?! (The position after 3.Qb6 brings back an old but happy memory. In the game Silman - Speelman, Aaronson Masters 1978, Black played the superior 4.e6 but eventually went down anyway after 5.0-0 Nd4 6.Bc4 Ne7 7.d3 a6 8.Nxd4 cxd4 9.Ne2 g6 10.Bg5 Bg7 11.Bb3 Qc5 12.f4 b6 13.f5 gxf5 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.exf5 Bb7 16.Ng3 Be5 17.Qh5 Bxg3 18.fxe6 0-0-0 19.exd7+ Rxd7 20.hxg3 Qe3+ 21.Kh2 Rd6 22.Qg4+ Kb8 23.Qf4 Qxf4 24.Rxf4 Re8 25.Raf1 Re2 26.Rf6 Rxg2+ 27.Kh3 Rg1 28.Rxd6 Rxf1 29.Rxb6 Kc7 30.Rb4 Bf3 31.g4 Kd6 32.Rxd4+ Ke5 33.Ra4 h5 34.gxh5 f5 35.Kh4 Bc6 36.Rc4 Bb5 37.Rb4 f4 38.Re4+ Kf6 39.Ba4 Kf5 40.Kh3 Bxa4 41.Rxa4 Rh1+ 42.Kg2 Rc1 43.Rc4 Kg4 44.h6 Rd1 45.h7 Rd2+ 46.Kg1 Rd1+ 47.Kf2 Rd2+ 48.Ke1 Rh2 49.Rc7 f3 50.d4 Kg3 51.Rg7+ Kf4 52.d5, 1-0.) Forgive this small indulgence - let's get back to the position after 4.Nd4: 5.Nxd4 cxd4 6.Nd5 Qd8 and now comes the very strong 7.Qh5!, which is a move I wasn't familiar with. The example Chandler gives is a fearsome lesson in the power of White's punch: 7.a6 and now Black is already dead, but he doesn't quite know it yet!

WHITE TO MOVE AND EVISCERATE

8.Qe5! (Winning on the spot!) 8.f6 9.Nc7+ Kf7 10.Qd5+ e6 11.Nxe6 and Black mercifully gave up. Impressive - I learned something from this video in the first six minutes!

Though I certainly enjoyed these tapes, I wondered how a player in the 1500 range would react. To find out, I loaned them to a friend (a schoolteacher) who had recently taken up the Rossolimo on my recommendation. His comments: "I've never been very successful memorizing lines from a book. Endless streams of moves on a printed page are both confusing and boring. These tapes, though, were both entertaining and instructive. Listening to Mr. Chandler's voice made the process of studying more personal, and the supplemental sheets of games that came with the videos were a useful added touch. I wish I could learn all my openings in this way!"

It's clear that my friend really loved these videos, and he swore that he would buy them for himself so he could enjoy them at his leisure. A great recommendation!

These tapes are perfect for players in the 1100 to 2200 range. And, evidently, even an old dog like myself can pick up a new trick or two from them. Don't expect anything flashy. Instead, you'll get clear dialogue, easy to follow moves on a crystal clear board, and Chandler's well thought out repertoire and presentation.