New: Surya Ganguly - Endgame essentials you need to know Vol.1 & Vol.2

by ChessBase Shop - 28/12/2023

In this video course, GM Surya Ganguly joins IM Sagar Shah and drawing from his colossal experience, shares some uncommon endgame wisdom. The material mostly features positions with rook against rook and a pawn, and starts by covering the fundamentals: Lucena, Philidor, and Vancura. But it quickly enters non-trivial territory, likely to challenge even masters: the slippery theoretical nuances of dealing with doubled pawns and pawns on the f- and h-files. So, grab this two volume DVDs and enrich your knowledge in the rook endgames to become stronger. Photo: ChessBase

Endgame essentials you need to know Vol.1 & Vol 2

by Surya Ganguly

Endgame Essentials you need to know Vol.1 - Rook + Pawn vs Rook

Surya presents some ingenious “rules of thumb” to tackle these knotty endings, and at the same time, underscores the importance of actual calculation and understanding, so as not to fall into some crude reductionist trap.

Through this course, he promises something no instructor would ordinarily promise – uncertainty! His aim is not knowing everything — which is a chimera that can only stem from naivety—but realising one can never know enough and, thus, being watchfully comfortable in the uncertainty this realisation affords.

The heartful camaraderie between Surya and Sagar keeps the lecture engaging throughout. As the ever-so-keen host, Sagar does an excellent job of asking pertinent questions every step of the way, questions that a chess improver would have in mind when studying such endings.

On the other hand, Surya often switches roles with him, genially urging him to take the lead and spell out the concepts.

• Video running time: 4 hours 46 minutes (English)

• Training with ChessBase apps - Play key positions against Fritz on various levels

Endgame Essentials you need to know Vol.2 - Test yourself in Rook + Pawn vs. Rook Endgames

The first volume of Demystifying Endgames deals with the essentials of rook versus rook and pawn endings, covering topics like Lucena, Philidor, Vancura, and theoretical cases with rook against rook and pawns on f- and h-files. Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly presents several guideposts to navigate through the tricky waters of these theoretical endings.

In the present volume, he brings more positions - many from top-level Grandmaster games - to help you with

• (a): assessing your understanding of the concepts discussed in Volume 1 and

• (b): complementing that understanding.

Thus, about 70% of the material discussed here is the application of ideas established previously, and the remaining comprises rich examples that do not yield directly to any known rule. Staying true to his philosophy that comprehension and confusion are two sides of the same coin, Surya reiterates the importance of staying alert and warns against the dangers of using theory as a crutch.

• Video running time: 3 h 17 minutes

Buy Vol.1 + 2

Buy Indian Super GMs combo

System requirements

Minimum:

Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, DirectX11, graphics card with 256 MB RAM, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 14/Fritz 16 or included Reader and internet access for program activation.

Recommended:

Intel i5 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX11, graphics card with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, (DVD-ROM drive) and internet access for program activation.

Mac OS

Minimum: MacOS "Yosemite" 10.10

Stream

iPad, tablet, smartphone, PC, laptop etc.

About Surya Sekhar Ganguly

Surya Sekhar Ganguly is one of the most decorated Grandmasters that India has produced. His best achievements include winning the National Championship a record six consecutive times from 2003 to 2008, the Asian Continental Championship in 2009, and such monumental open events as the Fujairah International Open in 2012 and the Belt and Road Open in 2019. He has also represented India in as many as six Olympiads and clinched individual golds at the World Teams Championship twice, in 2010 and 2019. Moreover, he has worked in the team of seconds that assisted Vishy Anand to victory in three World Championship Matches, against Kramnik, Topalov, and Gelfand, in 2008, 2010, and 2012, respectively.