Here's my take on one DVD if anybody's interested:
How to Play the Queen's Gambit (Series No. 1) Kasparov
I wouldn't call this "how to play." I'd call it "history of." K. takes you through the opening from Lasker Defence to Tartakower System, includes important games, like Steintz-Lasker to Karpov-Korchnoi VERY quickly, dodging in and out of variations faster than you can drop a pawn. K is not the greatest speaker, but his knowledge and memory are phenomenal, as he runs through lines at breakneck speed. He's like a college professor who has too much in his lesson plan and not enough time to get through it. The QG is simply too big. It says "series No. 1" so maybe there's more opening stuff ahead, if this is profitable. I'd say it's for 1600 USCF and above or anybody interested in history of QB. According to ads you can watch it on ordinary dvd player or using the media system in fritz/chessbase. None of my dvd-tv players would play it, probably because it's in PAL code, good for Western Europe--not U.S. However the dvd player in my computer plays it fine (because it is code free??) and it also works ok in Fritz, with the media update. You'll shell out 34.95 (USCF members) from Chesscafe.com, which I've found to be an efficient delivery system. Hope this helps anybody interested. By the way, has anybody producing these things given a thought to production? Kasparov in front of a curtain and the position are ok most of the time, but how about a nice picture of Steintz and Lasker when he talks about their game--anything to get away from that chintzy backdrop. Maybe a little dramatic music at the beginning--or maybe i'm asking too much.
Yea, I would like to see his head spinning a few times to break up the monotony. Gee, I don't want the June Taylor Dancers or the Eagles cheerleaders (well, let me think about that...) but the guys who make videos could put in a few touches, here and there, to liven up things. Did you notice a lot of tournaments on the internet now have a live mini-cam. Chessplayers are human and like to see human's under stress, their reactions, etc, not just a disembodied voice and pieces moving around a chessboard. In this video Kasparov looks like he's holed up in a cheap hotel room with only a computer to keep him company.
Yeah, I totally agree. I think the chess programs have got to become a little nicer. I guess they just want to focus on the chess and put as much money into that as they can. But I still think they'd sell more if it was a bit more, I don't know, flashier. Not flashier in a bad way, I just couldn't think of a word.
Well, I thought it would be a nice touch to see pictures of Lasker and Steinitz when Kasparov discusses their game. It's strange if you think about it, chessplayers interested in the history of the game have never seen moving images of Lasker or Capablanca or Alekhine. And some of the younger players haven't seen movies of Fischer! All we get are a few fuzzy pictures in books. Is chess the only sport where we don't have images in our head of our champions? Plenty of movies of Babe Ruth, but what did Rudolf Spielmann look like? I remember being surprised by a picture of Lasker. I thought, based on his games, he was a tall, thin intellectual. Now, here he was a short, dumpy man with a black moustache that covered most of his face. Now, who was the first world chess champion to be in motion pictures?? there's a trivia question for you.