Review: “Reinventing the Ragozin” by Surya Ganguly

Ragozin with a modern twist – theory, practice and teaching at the highest level

Structure and didactic design

The Fritz Trainer is clearly structured and is particularly suitable for advanced players and tournament chess players with a rating of around 1900 Elo or higher. However, players below this level will also benefit, as the explanations in this course are so comprehensive and detailed that you can learn a great deal about opening strategy.

Ganguly begins with an overview of the most important positional types and structures that arise after the basic structure 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4. The material is divided into over 20 chapters. Ganguly takes the time to systematically cover not only the main variations, but also relevant side variations and seemingly harmless deviations. This results in a repertoire that is not only complete, but also remains reliable in practical play.

Free video sample: Introduction

Selecting the variations: practical, modern and engine-tested

Ganguly demonstrates a keen sense of balance between theoretical soundness and practical playability in his choice of variations. His depth in critical main lines is particularly impressive:

– In the classical main variation after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3, Ganguly deviates with the rather rare continuation 7…c5, but shows why this is regularly played by top players such as Fabiano Caruana and Matthias Blübaum:

• Against systems with 5.g3 (transitions to the Catalan structure), he demonstrates how Black can actively fight for the initiative with …dxc4 and later …Nc6, …a6, …b5.

• Less common continuations such as 5.Qb3 or 5.a3 are also covered and answered with clear recommendations.

• Ganguly justifies rarer paths that deviate from the absolute main variation – thus justifying the name Reinventing the Ragozin – with his explanations of the opening strategy in the Ragozin, so that they make sense and the intention behind them is always clear.

Depth of explanations: more than just theory

A key quality of Fritz Trainer is Ganguly’s ability to explain even complex ideas in an understandable way. Instead of dry monologues about variations, he regularly explains the goals behind the moves, strategic concepts and typical motives. The course also feels like a masterclass in opening strategy and the middlegame, as Ganguly goes far beyond mere opening knowledge. This is what sets this trainer apart and explains his reputation.

Ganguly attaches great importance to teaching not only specific moves, but also the underlying plans. The combination of clear language, diagrams and commentary makes the lessons very accessible – even if some variations require a high level of concentration.

Supplementary material and practical aids

In addition to the video lessons, the Fritz Trainer contains extensive additional material:

• Compact summaries of opening analyses
• Tactical test questions to check your understanding
• Repertoire structure for targeted preparation
• Chessbase Trainer for playing out practice positions and rehearsing your repertoire

About the author:

Surya Shekhar 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.

Ganguly in the ChessBase Shop…