Master the French DVDs
by GM Susan Polgar
Reviewed by Michael Jeffreys
SusanPolgar.com & Chessdvds.com, 2008
3 DVDs, $22.95 each
Length: Vol. 11: 90 mins. Vol. 12: 100 mins. Vol. 13: 120 mins.
Instructional DVDs done the Right Way
After watching a Susan Polgar instructional DVD (and she’s done 14 of them!), one wonders why all chess DVDs aren’t done this way. The quality of her graphics, music, layout, and most importantly chess instruction, are first rate.
Her latest videos are on the venerable French Defense. And thank god. This stodgy defense drives more than a few 1.e4 players crazy. Blocking in your light squared bishop is supposed to be bad, but somebody forgot to tell French players this.
Whenever I played against the French (and this doesn’t happen very often since I am a 1.d4 player), I always felt like I was defending, even though I was White! Luckily, help is on the way.
On the three Mastering the French DVDs, Susan takes you through all the main lines, as well as several important side variations. She not only points out traps that both sides need to be aware of, she is very honest about her opinion regarding a particular line. If she thinks a certain move is poor, even if it is often played, she will say so. I for one really appreciate this, as too often chess authors are afraid to appear biased, and so they hedge. Well, forget that! I want a teacher to tell me exactly what they think and Susan does just this.
The video opens with uplifting classical music and attractive chess graphics. The DVD menu has little blue knights next to each chapter which you can click on to view that particular section.
Here is the full review.
I very much enjoy these French DVD series.
Is it possible to see a sample of French lessons? Thank you
Are there any foreign language subtitles on those DVDs?
Most chess DVDs have no subtitles, which is something I have a hard time to understand (a lot of non-english players, in particular children, don’t understand spoken english well enough to follow a DVD lecture).
Subtitles can’t be that expensive to produce, and would broaden the audience of any training dvd. I, for one, can’t buy a DVD that my children won’t understand…
Susan,
Please give us, your viewers a small sample of your DVD on the French.