{"success":true,"post":{"title":"Review: My Sokolov-Strategy, Part 1","url":"https://en.chessbase.com/post/review-my-sokolov-strategy-part-1","date_unix":1780729200,"date_pl":"4 godz. temu","date_original":"Sat, 06 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT","description":"Do you know this feeling? You often emerge from the opening with a good – or even advantageous – position, only to fail to convert your edge because you do not fully understand the resulting positions and choose the wrong middlegame strategy. Jochen Schwarz, a club player from Bremen, wants to improve in this area. To do so, he has enlisted Ivan Sokolov – through his video series *Understanding Middlegame Strategies* – as his “coach” in order to strengthen his skills. In the first installment of his series *My Sokolov Strategy*, he presents the opening episodes of this video course series.","full_content":"In this dynamic and practical video course, IM Andrew Martin arms you with powerful antidotes to White’s most annoying sidelines.\n\nThe now 14-part series Understanding Middlegame Strategies by Dutch grandmaster and author Ivan Sokolov explores a wide range of middlegame themes. The first volumes focus on opening-independent topics such as dynamic pawns and practical middlegame play. These are the volumes I would like to present in this article.\n\nThe later volumes deal with positions arising from popular opening systems such as the Maroczy Bind in the Sicilian Defence, the Tarrasch Variation of the French Defence, or the Catalan Opening. The focus is not on opening theory, but on understanding the resulting middlegame positions and the strategic ideas that arise from them.\n\nNotes on the Understanding Middlegame Strategies Series as a whole\n\nIt was clearly never the author's intention to create an “encyclopaedia of middlegame strategy”. Neither the topics covered in the individual courses nor the chapters within those courses follow a rigid structure, nor do they aim to cover every aspect of middlegame play.\n\nVolume 1 begins with Dynamic Pawns, followed by Volume 2 on Practical Play. With Volume 3, The Hedgehog, Sokolov turns to a specific opening structure, only to return to pawn-related themes in Volume 4, Dynamic Pawn Structures.\n\nAt first glance, this may seem somewhat unsystematic, but it offers several advantages. The courses do not build on one another. As a result, there is no need to purchase the entire series; instead, players can choose the volumes that are most relevant to their interests. For example, one might start with Volume 2, Practical Play, then move on to an opening-related course such as Volume 6, Structures in the Ruy Lopez, before returning to Volumes 1 or 4 to study dynamic pawn play.\n\nThroughout the series, Ivan Sokolov impresses with a wealth of fascinating and highly instructive examples, which he presents with great clarity, expertise and an engaging style.\n\nUnderstanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 - Dynamic PawnsIn this DVD we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this DVD is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.\n\nThe topic of the first volume is Dynamic Pawns. Sokolov divides the course into four chapters:\n\nIn Chapter 1, I found the following example particularly fascinating. The position after Black's 13th move appears equal and, at first glance, not especially exciting.\n\nHowever, Artur Yusupov had the uncastled black king firmly in his sights and found a double pawn sacrifice that completely transformed the position. Just five moves later, all of White’s pieces are actively directed against the black king, who never had the time to reach safety.\n\nAfter the four main chapters, the course concludes with a number of practical training positions in the interactive FritzTrainer format, all of which are directly related to the themes discussed in the preceding chapters.\n\nHere is an example. Can you find White's continuation in this position?\n\nUnderstanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.2 - Practical PlayIn this Video-Course Ivan Sokolov has selected the material aiming to improve the viewer’s middlegame decision making process and broaden his/her middlegame understanding in general.\n\nUnderstanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 and 2These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.\n\nIn this volume, Sokolov aims to show how we can improve our ability to make the right decisions in middlegame positions. At the same time, the course seeks to deepen the reader’s overall understanding of middlegame strategy.\n\nLike the first volume, this course is divided into four main chapters:\n\nHere is a highly instructive example from the first chapter:\n\nAt first glance, the position looks rather quiet and balanced. Like many players, I would probably have chosen a move such as Rc1 or Qb3 here and, at best, gone on to achieve a draw. As Sokolov explains in detail, however, Botvinnik found the correct plan by playing 14.Nd4!, initiating the key exchange. After the light-squared bishops are traded, the white knight occupies the outpost on c6, supported by White’s b-pawn.\n\nLike the first volume, this course also includes a number of interactive test positions based on the strategic themes covered in the lessons.\n\nUnderstanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.4 - Dynamic pawn structuresStudying this video course should greatly improve the viewer’s handling of dynamic pawn positions! As with all my other video courses material here is predominantly aimed at improving players and tournament players.\n\nAs Sokolov explains, this video course is designed to significantly improve the viewer’s handling of dynamic pawn structures. The main topics covered are:\n\nThe transition from general strategic themes to the highly specific Richter–Rauzer structure in the Sicilian Defence came as something of a surprise to me and felt a little abrupt. However, Sokolov more than makes up for this by providing additional databases of model games as well as a large number of interactive training exercises.\n\nIf one can overlook the somewhat unsystematic arrangement of the courses and topics, the Understanding Middlegame Strategies series offers a wealth of high-quality training material. Ivan Sokolov presents the content with great expertise, clarity and a very engaging, likeable style, making these video courses both instructive and enjoyable to study.\n\nIvan Sokolov is a Dutch grandmaster and the author of several popular chess books. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1988 and the Dutch Championship in both 1995 and 1998. For more than two decades, he has been among the world's elite players and has scored victories against many of the strongest grandmasters in the game.\n\nYOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.\n\nIn this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital.\n\nVideos: Nico Zwirs examines two Petroffs from the 2026 Candidates. Robert Ris has a tip against the Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 3…c5. Fiona Sieber reveals a surprise weapon against the Najdorf. ‘Lucky Bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, L'Ami et al.\n\nYOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.\n\nIn this powerful new course, endgame expert Karsten Müller teams up with rising star Leon Mendonca to deliver what truly matters: 10 essential rules that every player must know.\n\nLearn from legends! Get the full Master Class series on the World Champions at a discounted bundle price.\n\nIn this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!\n\nFrom the 2026 Candidates Tournament, featuring a video review by Dorian Rogozenco, to Jan Werle’s opening video on the French Tarrasch Defence, and Oliver Reeh’s tactical column ‘Top Grandmasters at Work’. Analyses by Giri, So, Wei Yi and many others.\n\nWe use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be","guid":"https://en.chessbase.com/post/review-my-sokolov-strategy-part-1"},"position":2,"total_cached":10,"cache_age":101}