I consider myself a specialist when it comes to openings, which is reflected by a long history of publishing respective material and the many posts I already created in my blog at the bottom of the starting page, be it on concrete variations or on generic topics. Studying openings always appealed to me, as it is a creative process, which was even more the case before the advent of the engines and big data. In contrast to the mathematical structure of technical endings, opening study sometimes is more an art then a science. My love for openings also came from the realization of its importance for success. Only after I started to systematically work with ChessBase, subsequently creating opening files in the four digits, I managed to break the barrier of Elo 2600 (2650 in today’s currency) in 1996.
I see no reason why ambitious amateurs should not apply the methods, which make professionals successful. Of course, there are differences. An amateur won’t be able to maintain such a broad opening repertoire as a pro, but this is not a problem against amateur opposition. Also will an amateur not have the time to perform a big amount of analyses himself. Rather will he have to rely on professional offers. Therefore, I see the market for PGN Analyses booming in the near future.
Switching to digital data will help many players to circumvent the 4 principal mistakes they might be prone to commit when learning openings. These pitfalls are partly caused by the dominant available material, which is the opening book. Opening books have their merits, but also suffer from severe structural shortcomings, which tend to encourage bad training habits. Digital data in return encourage good habits, which are related to active learning.
The market for ChessBase- or PGN Analyses is segmented, as almost any other market. My products belong to the high-end sector, which is defined by specific characteristics. Among others, I try to respect the meta-level requirements of an opening repertoire.
Beside my engagement in generic analyses I also help clients to solve individual opening problems.
Available Products:
The Four Knights Sicilian
Anti-Morra Gambit
More topics are in preparation.