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The Grunfeld Formula!

I strive to make reviews which are not advertisement for the product I’m reviewing, but instructional tools for those, who like me, are on the road to chess mastery. Within this article I’ll make a comparison with different DVDs or Books published on the topic, or which are related, to make aware the reader of how to deepen one’s own understanding, and in which direction to turn our attention. There will also be games and positions one must try to understand without using an engine, because in real tournaments we don’t have someone to tell us how to play. Then once one gets the DVD he/she can check the different understanding gained through studying the games shown in this article, and how Martin explains the same games.  

The Grunfeld Formula!

https://shop.chessbase.com/en/products/martin_the_gruenfeld_formula?Ref=RF70-5OH0EFN840

Andrew Martin is the teacher everyone would like to have. Yes, he is not one of the top 10 players in the world, but he could definitely be in the top 10 as best chess teachers in the world.

Why? Because he is pragmatic, when he makes a video he makes it just long enough to avoid the student loses interest or fall asleep (I like GM Finegold very much, but his videos work better than Melatonin, I fall asleep within 2-3 minutes I begin one of them and don’t wake up till the end – making it a power chess nap!).

Martin is also razor sharp focusing on the important points one should learn and remember.

He begins the DVD with a funny story about Kortchnoi, who when asked what to play as Black grumpily replied: play the Grunfeld against everything, apart 1.e4.

Now when I heard this story immediately came to mind another great from the past: Larsen, who even wrote a book with the same idea!

Zoom 001 is a book which shows some opening patterns in the Grunfeld/Catalan which can be used as Black or White.

Martin admits, maybe he was reading my thoughts, that the DVD will not cover the Grunfeld itself, BUT… ta daaaaa give us a universal repertoire against 1.d4 with the idea Larsen had!!

I needed something like this, because due to the COVID emergency I returned to my old job (Registered Nurse) and my time for studying chess openings is limited. But I’d like to be prepared when OTB tournaments will be back, and I’d like to have a universal answer to use as Black against 1,d4.

The DVD is divided in a theoretical part, where Martin doesn’t give variations to memorize, but ideas and themes one must remember. The point being such system will help to find the right move at the board. Martin treats ideas like: fluid development, where to develop the pieces (yes, it’s important to know to which square a piece belongs and why), how to reach a middlegame playable position, central pawn breaks, active play etc.

After 1.d4 there is of course an ocean of different system White can throw at us like:

The Veresov (2 videos): 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 g6

As mentioned in other articles, I aim at writing for people who want to learn and progress in chess, so please pay attention at the games I’ve selected.

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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 g6 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e4 dxe4 6.Nxe4 f5 7.Ng3 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bc4 c5 10.c3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Qb6 12.Nb3 Nc6 13.0-0 Ne5 14.Be2 f4 15.Ne4 Bf5 16.Bf3 Rad8 17.Qe2 Rfe8 18.Rfd1 Nxf3+ 19.gxf3 Bh3 20.Rxd8 Qxd8 21.Kh1 f5 22.Rd1 Qe7 23.Qc4+ Kh8 24.Nd6 Qe1+ 25.Qf1 Bxf1 26.Rxe1 Rxe1 27.h4 Bf6 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gadaborshev,T2026Gabrielian,A24580–12019D01Adygea rapid op4

The Colle (1 video): 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 d5

Here a beautiful game, in which Black is able to win in the endgame, I suspect because both players were short of time, hence the need to study also the resulting endgames.

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1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 g6 5.Nbd2 Bg7 6.b4 b6 7.Ba3 0-0 8.Rc1 Re8 9.Qb3 Bb7 10.cxd5 Bxd5 11.Qc2 Bf8 12.Qb2 Nbd7 13.Bc4 a6 14.0-0 b5 15.Bd3 e5 16.e4 Bb7 17.d5 Rc8 18.Nb3 Nxd5 19.Na5 Ba8 20.exd5 e4 21.Bxe4 Rxe4 22.Qc2 Bxd5 23.Rfd1 Nb6 24.Bb2 Qe7 25.Qc3 f6 26.Nc6 Bxc6 27.Qxc6 Re6 28.Qb7 Re8 29.h4 Qxb4 30.Bc3 Qe7 31.Qxa6 b4 32.Bd4 Nd5 33.Qc4 Qf7 34.Qb3 Nf4 35.Kf1 Ne2 36.Rc2 Nxd4 37.Nxd4 Rd6 38.Qxf7+ Kxf7 39.Rxc7+ Kg8 40.Rc4 Red8 41.Ke2 Rd5 42.Rd2 Bh6 43.Rd1 f5 44.Rxb4 Bg7 45.Ke3 Re8+ 46.Kf3 Bf6 47.g3 Red8 48.Ke3 Re5+ 49.Kd3 Re4 50.Kc3 Re2 51.a4 Rxf2 52.Rd3 Rf1 53.Kd2 Rf2+ 54.Kc3 Ra2 55.Kb3 Ra1 56.Kb2 Re1 57.a5 Ra8 58.Ra4 Re5 59.a6 Re6 60.a7 Re7 61.Kc2 Bxd4 62.Rdxd4 Raxa7 63.Kd2 Rxa4 64.Rxa4 Kg7 65.h5 Kh6 66.hxg6 hxg6 67.Kd3 Kg5 68.Kd2 Re4 69.Ra6 Kh5 70.Rb6 g5 71.Rf6 Kg4 72.Rg6 Ra4 73.Ke2 Ra3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ipatov,A2512Harikrishna,P26670–12011D30Cappelle op 27th2

The London (6 videos): a favorite of world champion Magnus Carlsen. Martin takes into account not only the London with 2.Bf4 but also the London-Jobava system which lately has been popularized by one of GingerGm video courses. We have the London-Jobava when White immediately develops the Nb1. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3

Here one of the games used by Martin as representative of the way the opening should be played:

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1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nc3 a6 4.e3 b5 5.a3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.Ne5 c5 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 c4 10.Be2 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 Be7 12.b4 0-0 13.Bg3 Qd7 14.f3 a5 15.Rb1 axb4 16.axb4 Ra3 17.Qd2 Bc6 18.Nd1 Nh5 19.Be1 f5 20.c3 g5 21.Nf2 Nf6 22.Nh3 h6 23.Bg3 Rfa8 24.Bd1 Qb7 25.Bc2 Be8 26.Be5 Nd7 27.Bg3 Bg6 28.Rb2 Qc6 29.Rc1 Bf6 30.f4 Bh5 31.Nf2 Nb6 32.h3 Na4 33.Bxa4 bxa4 34.fxg5 hxg5 35.Be5 Be7 36.g4 Bg6 37.gxf5 exf5 38.h4 Kf7 39.hxg5 Rg8 40.Nh3 Bh5 41.Qe1 Bf3 42.Qh4 Qg6 43.Kh2 Bxg5 44.Nxg5+ Qxg5 45.Qh7+ Ke6 46.Bf4 Qg7 47.Qxg7 Rxg7 48.b5 Be4 49.Be5 Rb3 50.Ra2 Rg6 51.Bf4 Rg8 52.Be5 a3 53.Rca1 f4 54.exf4 Rxb5 55.f5+ Bxf5 56.Rf2 Rb7 57.Bg3 Rh7+ 58.Kg2 Be4+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gilevich,A2437Lodici,L24590–12019D00ITA-ch 79th11

Please remember to checkout another Chessbase product, a DVD made by GM Pelletier which is quite interesting, because he grouped all the ways Black can play against the London. Why is this important? Because nowadays we play much more chess than in the past. I often play multiple blitz and rapid matches during the year, and in order to win, one needs to have a more universal opening system.

Trompowsky (4 videos) an opening system recently made famous by many IMs and GMs using it, after the moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5

Also in this case I have chosen a game, to illustrate the power of the opening system given to us by Martin. I chose this game, because it’s quite interesting how Black goes beyond conventional chess wisdom, and exchange the dark squares bishop, leaving behind on the kingside a complex of weak dark squares, which cannot be exploited because both queens and dark squares bishops are gone! The game however shows White was better most of the time, but the endgame phase eroded such advantage, till the moment White blundered and lost the game. Clearly this game is a cautionary tale of how the opening preparation is not enough to win the game.

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1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 g6 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 f5 6.e3 0-0 7.Nge2 b6 8.Nf4 Bb7 9.Be2 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Rc1 Qa5 14.Qd2 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Qxc3 16.Rxc3 Ne5 17.Bxb7 Rxb7 18.b3 a5 19.Rd1 a4 20.Rd5 axb3 21.Rxb3 Rxb3 22.axb3 Ng4 23.h3 Nf6 24.Rxc5 Ra8 25.f3 Ra1+ 26.Kh2 Re1 27.Nd5 Nxd5 28.Rxd5 Rxe3 29.b4 Rc3 30.c5 Rb3 31.Rd4 Kg7 32.f4 Kf6 33.Rd6+ Ke7 34.Rb6 Kd8 35.Kg1 Kc7 36.Kf2 d6 37.Rxd6 Rxb4 38.Kg3 Rb3+ 39.Kh4 Rb2 40.g3 Rb7 41.Rf6 Kd8 42.Kg5 Ke7 43.Rb6 Ra7 44.c6 Ra3 45.Rb7+ Ke6 46.g4 Rxh3 47.gxf5+ gxf5 48.Rxf7 Kxf7 49.c7 Rc3 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
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  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Winants,L2517Eden,J23380–12019A45Cappelle rapid op 1st6

The DVD covers all the possible openings White can play, apart 1. e4, so there is a section dedicated to the English (1.c4), the Bird (1.f4) and also 1.b4 sometimes called Sokolsky (one video), one interesting statistics say this move is the ninth in popularity. However it is important to be prepared to face it, especially if one plans to go to an important tournament like the World Open, where I did face it, in one of the rapid side events of such difficult tournament. Also in this game we see the importance of having ideas on how to win in the endgame.

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1.b4 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 Nbd7 6.0-0 0-0 7.c4 c6 8.d3 Re8 9.Nbd2 e5 10.Qb3 Qe7 11.a3 b6 12.Rfc1 Bb7 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Nc4 a5 15.bxa5 b5 16.Nb6 N7xb6 17.axb6 Nxb6 18.d4 Na4 19.Nxe5 Nxb2 20.Qxb2 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Qxe5 22.Qxe5 Rxe5 23.Bf3 Ra6 24.Rcb1 Rc5 25.h3 Kf8 26.a4 Bc8 27.axb5 cxb5 28.Rxa6 Bxa6 29.Be2 Ke7 30.Kf1 Kd6 31.Bd3 Kc6 32.Ke2 Kb6 33.Kd2 Bc8 34.f4 Be6 35.e4 Bc4 36.Bc2 Rc7 37.Rb2 Kc5 38.Ke3 Ra7 39.f5 g5 40.e5 Re7 41.e6 fxe6 42.f6 Rf7 43.Bb1 Rxf6 44.Bxh7 b4 45.Bc2 Rf1 46.Rb1 Rf8 47.g3 Rh8 48.Rh1 Ra8 49.Bg6 Ra3+ 50.Kf2 Ra2+ 51.Ke3 Rg2 52.g4 Re2+ 53.Kf3 Bd5+ 54.Kxe2 Bxh1 55.Kd3 Bg2 56.Bf7 Kd5 57.Kc2 Bxh3 58.Kb3 Bxg4 59.Kxb4 Kd4 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Petrochenko,M2023Belenkaya,D22940–12018A05St Petersburg-ch (Women)1

then the kind of universal 1.Nf3 which can give rise to the Reti ( but Martin also mentions the King’s Indian Attack, KIA)

The KIA was a favorite by Fischer who thought in his younger years to have found a way to avoid studying openings. Because he wanted to use the King’s Indian defense (KID) as Black against 1.d4, and KIA as White against most of Black’s defenses. Such idea doesn’t work well at top level, while it can work for the amateur player, who attends weekend tournaments from time to time. We have a possible transposition into the KIA (is treated with 3 videos) after the moves: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.d3 0-0

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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 e5 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Be2 Re8 8.f3 c6 9.0-0 d5 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.exd5 Bxb5 13.Ndxb5 a6 14.Na3 b5 15.Qb3 Nbd7 16.Bg5 Nc5 17.Qb4 Qb6 18.Kh1 Nd3 19.Qh4 h6 20.Bxh6 Bxh6 21.Qxh6 Nf2+ 22.Rxf2 Qxf2 23.Ne4 Nxe4 24.fxe4 Rxe4 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firt,S2315Mirumian,V25080–12009A10CZE-chT 09103.8
Braitt,M-Fier,A25900–12014A08Itajai JASC Cup 54th1.2

and also 1.b3 the Nimzo-Larsen attack, which can also transpose into different openings.

Martin gives the antidote to this opening. However, he also mentioned a historical game between Karpov and Browne, which I was curious to see. Because as in many openings everything goes around the control of D5. Karpov being one of the greatest players of all times, definitely can teach me something. So I went to see some of his battles against Browne, I believe I found the game Martin mentioned, and paid particular attention to the dance and fight around D5. However this game is worth your time just for seeing the difference in class between Karpov and Browne in the endgame.

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1.c4 c5 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 g6 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 f5 8.e3 0-0 9.Nge2 a6 10.Rc1 b5 11.d3 Bb7 12.0-0 d6 13.Qd2 Qa5 14.Rfd1 Rab8 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 b4 17.d4 Rfd8 18.Rcd1 cxd4 19.exd4 Kf8 20.c5 Na7 21.Ne3 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 dxc5 23.dxc5 Rxd2 24.Rxd2 Rc8 25.Nd5 Rxc5 26.Nxb4 a5 27.Nd5 Rc6 28.Ne3 Rc5 29.Nf4 Bh6 30.Rd5 Rxd5 31.Nfxd5 Bxe3 32.Nxe3 Ke7 33.Kf3 Nc6 34.Nc4 Ke6 35.Ke3 Kd5 36.a3 Ke6 37.Kd3 Kd5 38.f3 h6 39.Kc3 h5 40.Kd3 f6 41.f4 g5 42.Ne3+ Ke6 43.h4 gxh4 44.gxh4 Ne7 45.Kc4 Ng6 46.Ng2 Kd6 47.Kb5 Kd5 48.Kxa5 Ke4 49.b4 Kf3 50.b5 Kxg2 51.b6 Nf8 52.Kb5 Nd7 53.a4 Nxb6 54.Kxb6 Kf3 55.a5 Kxf4 56.a6 Ke3 57.a7 f4 58.a8Q f3 59.Qe8+ 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
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  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anatoly Karpov-Walter Shawn Browne-1–01972A30San Antonio2

Martin is honest, he says one cannot really play the Grunfeld against everything, but for those cases, he will recommend a different approach.

What I like of this repertoire is something that is difficult to explain if one didn’t feel it.

Let me try to convey it. As one progresses in chess, he or she becomes to feel the problem of the center, the problem of the activity of the pieces which is tied to whom has more space and controls the center. The opening repertoire proposed by Martin, with this push to C5, is what makes me feel slightly better than my opponent who will be put under pressure, and will have less space to maneuver his pieces.

This DVD is over 6 hours long, 2 databases are included in this DVD, one of theory and one of games, and then a video section of exercises where Martin drills us to find the right continuation, and like a teacher tests us on the material he taught, to be sure we understood the main salient points. Martin covered much more than what I can cover in a review.

Pro and Con: When I opened the DVD the menu was really small, and I admit my sin, I began a 10 minutes tirade against publishers and video makers for making everything too small for my old eyes.

However the day after, I opened the latest Chessbase Magazine, issue 200, and it was the same, too small!

At that point I understood there was a problem with the settings of the new computer I’m using. I noticed while looking all around the Chessbase interface the 100 in the bottom, I correctly thought it was the zoom factor and changed it to 150, and now I could finally enjoy the DVD menu at a decent and easy to read format.

I hope this experience will help other Chessbase users who also found the menu too small.

If I may add a small criticism, not related to Martin, but to the chess industry in general. Martin begins the DVD with a game from 1988, where Ivanchuk is Black. Now, once I know the name of the Black player, I automatically know the result, and I also know I will not achieve such excellence in the chess field. Yes, maybe Ivanchuk is not one of the top 10 in the world nowadays, but I’m pretty sure he can play a simul with 25 master level players, and surely take all of them down, because he is one of the chess geniuses of the 1900.

In the game given in the introduction Ivanchuk demolishes a Colle (a very solid opening) in 25 moves against another GM level player who was rated around 2500. Obviously the rhetorical question is: how could a 2000 rated player like me copy the great play of a legend like Ivanchuk?

But let me prove it. White just played 20.Nf3, how would you continue from here?

Ivanchuk played a great move which I thought of playing, because my point was strategic, I wanted to find a way to attack C3, but I didn’t realize Ivanchuk went few moves farther, and was playing to give checkmate! Just for this game one should buy the DVD, because it will enlighten your day when you understand what happened.

On the Pro side Martin is a superb teacher, he finds games which perfectly outline the way we should play, and which are easier to remember. This is the definite reason why one needs to buy the DVD. We can find the same material if we search within Chessbase Megabase, but we will not be able to find example after example of games which teach us how to play this Universal Grunfeld System.

Martin also makes the videos short enough for which nobody can use as excuse the classical: “I don’t have time.” Because one can watch a video while having breakfast, or in the evening before sleeping, in this way trying to use our subconscious to re-organize our understanding of the lessons taught by Martin.

A small mistake in the database of bonus games, the London-Jobava system is called: London-Jobova.  

Final Thoughts: I believe one should get all the Chessbase DVDs made by Martin because he is a great teacher. I like his teaching style, and I believe it suits me. One can also learn a lot about middlegames, because Martin continues to point out at the critical moments of the game, making each lesson a development and improvement in chess understanding for those who are interested in progressing on the road to chess mastery.

The bonus database, with Martin’s game selection, is also very important, because if one doesn’t care about the videos, these over 100 games can teach and remind us all the important ideas one should have grasped from the video-course.

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