Daily Archives: April 11, 2016

Monday, April 11 IM Valeri Lilov The Two Weaknesses Concept (strategy)
The Two Weaknesses concept is a really good one when it comes down to transforming an advantage. All the great masters in history have had an opportunity to use it, yet it often remains misunderstood in terms of practical application by the majority of intermediate and even some advanced player. How to use it successfully is the major topic in this lecture!

Tuesday, April 12 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 7 (opening, tactics)
A classic Marshall Attack in the Spanish game by Michael Adams as black against a top notch opponent. Polgar plays the fashionable d3 variation of the Marshall Gambit accepted, where she finds Adams is well prepared. White tries a new plan with the idea of 18.Qf3 and Bd1, but is forced to make the extremely weakening move 20.g4. In this relatively early chess computer era, it is possible that Polgar’s preparation was just not strong enough, she didn’t see over the horizon and Adams was able to question the new system with a natural and dangerous attack, typical of the Marshall variation. Perhaps Polgar could have defended with perfect play, but over the board it proved too difficult.

Wednesday, April 13 FM Dennis Monokroussos The Catalan Anti-Sicilian? (middlegame, tactics)
In a recent game I faced the Sicilian, and after a sideline on my part and a rather more unusual reply from my opponent an odd middlegame arose in which White’s play bore an odd resemblance to a Catalan. My opponent focused his efforts on neutralizing my queenside pressure, but it came at the expense of his king, leading to a more typical Sicilian outcome.

Thursday, April 14 GM Leonid Kritz An Interesting Opening Idea in the English
The most interesting part of this game was the opening idea c5 + Bxc6. Black reacted very badly by taking the pawn and getting into a very passive situation. In general, I think that this game shows that Black should not hurry with Nc6, but develop the king side first, and play Nc6 later when no tactical tricks are available anymore.

Friday, April 15 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Positional Domination Requires Tactics To Put Away Your Opponent (strategy, tactics)
Have you noticed that positional factors alone don’t win games? At some point you need to apply tactics to put your opponent away. This game is a perfect example how Black failed to find several tactical ideas that would win the game on the spot. As a result, White was back in the game, and even took over the initiative, but then the White player missed tactics and lost right away. The lesson: no matter how great your positional skills are, tactics are still essential!

Monday, April 4 IM Valeri Lilov Aspects of Attack (strategy, middlegame)
The key aspects of attacking are quite clear. Having good development, strong coordination and opponent’s restriction are just a few of the important features one needs to possess in order to maintain a successful attack. Check out IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, April 5 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 6 (endgame, strategy)
Black tries an alternative queen retreat with 6…Qd7 in an open variation of the French Tarrasch. In his favorite setup with white, Adams shows good preparation and plays into a long variation where White has chances against the Black king. Adams keeps black under constant pressure and despite Fridman throwing every defensive trick possible at White, Adams keeps pushing forward for the win. Even when a win seems impossible; down a pawn in a rook ending, Adams pushes black over the edge with his fantastic king position and virtually perfect technique. This game illustrates both Adams’ attacking prowess as well as his ability to transition between different phases of the game to maintain an advantage. Vintage Mickey Adams!

Wednesday, April 6 FM Dennis Monokroussos Not Flawless, But Brilliant (opening, strategy)
One of Hungarian great Lajos Portisch’s calling cards is his 1966 win over Svein Johannessen from the Havana Olympiad. Portisch found a very deep idea revolving around 18.Bxh6, and the result was a beautiful win. Yet there were some missed opportunities by both players, and it’s no discredit to them to see that the computer has only increased the aesthetic value of this game. It’s great fun to analyze, too – enjoy!

Thursday, April 7 GM Leonid Kritz A Strategic Jewel Ends With a Nice Tactical Trick (strategy, tactics)
A very strong performance of MVL against the former world champion. It seems that Anand messed up in the opening, which does not happen too often, and was completely overplayed in the strategic sense. He had some chances later, but failed to use them and, finally, fell to some tactical combinations of his opponent.

Friday, April 8 GM Eugene Perelshteyn How To Identify When Your Position Starts To Slip (middlegame, strategy)
How can a Grandmaster lose with White from a good position? Eugene tries to examine his painful loss to Shabba to answer this question. The lesson: pay attention to position factors such as center pawns, open files, bishop pair. Each concession of a positional factor adds up and eventually tips the game in Black’s favor.