„Empire Chess Series Vol. 4 – Nimzo Indian“ by Damien Lemos and Will Stewart, OCL 2013

„Empire Chess Series Vol. 4 – Nimzo Indian“ by Damien Lemos and Will Stewart, OCL 2013

In summer 2013 someone asked me, if I’d heard about a new series, which could be a possible challenger to the reign of Chessbase and their DVD’s. That’s how I first come in contact with this series and became interested in it. The main questions I wanted to get answered were:
1. Does “Empire Chess” has potential to become an alternative to the well-established DVD’s by Chessbase
2. What about the quality, the inner structure and the quantity of the material inside those clips in general

For this very first review about this DVD series, I would like to point out some interesting aspects of this DVD which I noted when going through it again and again.
First of all the two “authors”: Will Stewart is a strong player (Fidemaster) with a rating of close to 2300 at the time of recording and is responsible for the general explanations in the clips. He supports GM Damien Lemos, who is the one presenting the repertoire and giving all the moves as well as the verbal explanations why they are played, which he prefers and important nuances which are relevant for those picking up this new opening. This team works perfectly well since Damien explains the content for (in my opinion) stronger audition and Will for players around club level, for whom he often explains basic strategic things, tricks and tips on how to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes.
As both authors state in their clips, this work is not meant to be a cutting edge coverage of the latest trends in the Nimzo, but instead the first starting point for chess lovers interested in adding the Nimzo to their existing repertoire or to use it as the very first opening weapon against 1.d4. For this purpose they give the audience a general overview of the main systems available to White as well as their recommended antidotes to them. I’ll explain the repertoire later on.
Due to their teamwork, including both, amateurs as well as semi-professionals, they reach many players all over the world and thus attract the attention of relatively weak players who look for something new. Until recently, Chessbase was the only one who could really claim a monopole in the world of chess. But with the appearance of new chess DVD’s like this one, this reign could soon be challenged.
What about the quantity and quality of their work? Regarding the quantity I could tell, that all relevant systems are included. As a player who uses the Nimzo himself, I can say that you’ll have everything covered so you’ll be able to play this opening right after finishing the final clip. But quantity doesn’t matter much, quality instead is what counts. The authors did not choose the most critical and topical lines, but one can hardly blame them for this since they declared in a very clear tone that they didn’t intend to do so by all means! They want to introduce this highly instructive opening to you and intend to show lines, which illustrate thematic features, motifs and ideas as well as some kind of flexibility. In that sense, they keep their promise. I have to admit, that their work is very good for those learning a new opening system like the Nimzo Indian.
Now let’s see what’s inside this repertoire. You can find a brief overview over the different lines below:
Classical (4.Qc2)
4…0-0 variation with 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4!?
Rubinstein (4.e3) 
4…0-0 variation and if White plays the with Nge2, they want to put the rook on e8 in order to evacuate the bishop to f8.
Leningrad (4.Bg5)
4…c5 variation, followed by …d6 if White pushes his d-pawn to d5.
Kasparov (4.Nf3)
Here, for instructive purposes, the recommendation goes with the immediate capture 4…Bxc3+!? which gives the typical Nimzo-flavor and will suit those of you, who like to play according to their general understanding of the position. At club level, the understanding is generally far more important than memorizing concrete variations.
Saemisch (4.a3)
Against the Saemisch, which could be seen as the critical test for the whole Nimzo, because White is willing to spend a tempo to let Black execute his positional threat. The recommendation goes with 5…b6, which aims to put immediate pressure on the weak c4 pawn by putting the knight on a5 (Nc6-a5) and the bishop to a6 (Bc8-a6).
f3 variation (4.f3)
4…d5 variation – An old way to meet this line and certainly a sound one, putting a    pawn in the centre!
Of course there are also some drawbacks and negative things I noticed. It’s just fair to show that as well. In general it’s great that there are two teachers, explaining the content. But the little window, especially with that huge microphone in front of them, gives the whole scene a rather “weird” taste. In my opinion it’d be much better if some improvement would be done in that area. The authors and the way they explain the content is great and I wouldn’t change anything at all there. But regarding the general make-up it still needs improvements in order to be a true challenger for the crown!
The other thing I would like to point out is that a .pgn file is missing, including all relevant lines so those, who don’t have much time, can easily include those lines in their files by copying/pasting them in their respective folders. Unfortunately I couldn’t find that in the downloaded files.

Conclusion:
An interesting project and I’m definitely looking forward seeing more “Empire Chess” DVD’s coming up. There are some aspects which need to be improved and one can hardly blame the team for making mistakes, especially at the very beginning of their career. But the content is good, I may even say very good, and you will definitely get what you paid for and what is promised! A good work, by promising players designed for ambitious and chess loving players! In view of the lines chosen and their instructive value, my recommendation goes for all players starting from 1500 up to 2200/2300.
Lukas Wedrychowski

Source:www.dailychess.org