Naiditsch Q&A

The Naiditsch Method 1&2 – GM Arkadij Naiditsch
Super GM Arkadij Naiditsch (peak rating 2737) is back, examining some of the greatest games from the past few years from the world’s greatest players.

GM Naiditsch begins with a deep exploration of the Najdorf, an extremely sharp and powerful opening, showing how rich it can be, and how many creative options Black has as their disposal.

Next, GM Naiditsch analyses some of the greatest attacking games of recent memory, from a beautiful queen sacrifice from Radjabov, to Caruana’s daring pawn rush. You’ll pick up some of the key attacking ideas being employed by the world’s best.

Many players understand the general opening principles and learn basic endgame tactics, but often fall apart in the middlegame. How do you find a plan in this crucial part of the game? By examining 7 recent masterpieces, GM Naiditsch reveals the nuances of the middlegame, unveiling the positional and strategic ideas you can employ in your games. Turn those tense close games into victories!

What good is all this master-level material if you struggle to think straight in the important, stressful games? Building upon his Tournament Preparation Guide, GM Naiditsch uses four of his own games to delve into useful tips and advice for preparing for that last round game.

Summary:

Chapter 1 – Exploring The Najdorf

Anish Giri – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Every move counts!
Vishy Anand – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Moves so good even engines struggle to find them!
Teimour Radjabov – Alexander Grischuk
Punishing unprepared opponents.
Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Radoslaw Wojtaszek
When White quickly goes wrong.
Wei Yi – Thien Hai Dao
When Black gets it wrong.
Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura
Surprising the opponent.
Chapter 2 – Instructive Attacking Games

Teimour Radjabov – Olexandr Bortnyk
The great attack comes from a good position.
Wesley So – Garry Kasparov
Using all the pieces dynamically.
Constantin Lululescu – Gabor Papp
Finding sharp tactics.
Wen Yang – Vladislaw Artemiev
How Wen Yang won with the amazing rook sac 13. Rxf7!!
Fabiano Caruana – Teimour Radjabov
Storming up the board with the daring 22. h4!
A R Saleh Salem – Siva Mahadevan
Using pins and decisive sacrifices such as 22. Nxe6!!
Vladimir Kramnik – Rainer Buhmann
Sacrifices and tactics! Fighting a strong defence.
Li Chao – Laurent Fressinet
Cold-blooded attacking!
Chapter 3 – Middlegame Masterpieces

Leinier Dominguez – Ildar Ibragimov
Finding deep plans.
Vladimir Kramnik – Levon Aronian
Understanding symmetrical pawn structures in The Slav.
Vassily Ivanchuk – Wang Hao
Using all of your resources.
Magnus Carlsen – Vishy Anand
Combining center play with a hidden attack.
Dmitry Jakovenko – Dmitry Andreikin
Limiting the opponent’s options.
Peter Leko – Fabiano Caruana
Strategic domination.
Veselin Topalov – Peter Svidler
Finding precise middlegame plans.
Chapter 4 – Winning The Last Round

Nigel Short – Arkadij Naiditsch
The will to win.
Arkadij Naiditsch – Sipke Ernst
Pouncing on opponent’s mistakes.
Arkadij Naiditsch – Laurent Fressinet
Being psychologically prepared.
Maxim Rodshtein – Arkadij Naiditsch
Choosing the correct opening.