Daily Archives: September 8, 2014

Opening Trends: The Russian Gruenfeld and Anti-Gruenfeld

by IM David Vigorito

Recommended for Intermediate Players  More

Opening Trends is an exciting series where IM David Vigorito examines how tournament chess is changing, nuances in the game are coming into play and exciting trends are being set.

In this DVD David analyzes the Gruenfeld which he considers is reaching its height of popularity. David examples a popular line the Russian Gruenfeld and the Anti-Gruenfeld where white plays F3 on move 3.

Content: 1 hour of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.37 out of 5  

ECO D98, D97, D70           PGN included

IM David Vigorito is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. USCF rated at 2479, David was the Champion of the Boylston (Boston) Chess Club. He played in the 2006 U.S. Championship after finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the U.S. Open in Phoenix. David is a successful chess author – his Challenging the Nimzo-Indian is very well received by critics and players alike.

Monday, September 8 IM Valeri Lilov Typical Mistakes in the Attack (openings, middlegame)
Often chess players need to follow an attack. The problem is that they make mistakes and often get confused on how to balance the positional preparation and tactical combinations. Learn how to plan your attacks better in this lecture!

Tuesday, September 9 IM Bill Paschall Bolt from the Blue in the Sicilian (openings, tactics)
GM Jobava plays a very rare variation of the Sicilian against the well prepared GM Sutovsky. Jobava plays the unnatural retreat 8…Be6, instead of the normal move 8…e6 which would leave white with a small but lasting advantage. In the game, black’s development is hampered and he falls victim to a sacrificial shot 17. Nd6+ !! The attack that follows hinges on Sutovsky’s followup idea of 19. e6 !! which was surely overlooked by Black!

Wednesday, September 10 FM Dennis Monokroussos Olympic Miniatures (tactics)
The Chess Olympics brings together practically all of the world’s best players every two years, and many more grandmasters besides. Some fantastic chess is played there, but with so many players involved – including a fair number of amateurs as well, representing countries with nascent chess programs – some short and even embarrassing games are played as well. This time around we’ll take a look at three very short games, averaging a total of 12 moves each. The games are amusing, yes, and can cheer us up when we remember our own foibles, but they are also instructive. Have a look, and let’s learn from others’ errors and not just our own.

Thursday, September 11 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Learning Patient Position Play from a Youngster! (middlegame, tactics)
White chooses a solid Exchange Slav in order to outplay his younger opponent using position nuances. However, the youngster shows patience and positional understanding beyond his age! Watch and learn how Black finds all the best defensive moves and then goes on the offensive. White has to scramble and find a creative way to draw.

Friday, September 12 GM Bryan Smith A Complicated Endgame by Alekhine (endgame)
In this video, GM Bryan Smith shows a game between Alekhine and Tartakower, where we encounter both psychological considerations involving playing with a stronger or weaker opponent as well as some intricate and brilliant calculation.