New Chess Videos for June 4 – 8
Monday, June 4
IM Valeri Lilov Space Advantage in the Opening | Strategy, Opening
The most common advantage in chess is the space advantage. Often players get to an opening where they can seize space and control of many squares, but they don’t know how to do it. In this lecture, IM Valeri Lilov provides good direction on how to plan once we get that kind of advantage.
Tuesday, June 5
IM Bill Paschall Clash in the Caveman Variation of the Grunfeld | Opening, Tactics
It seems fitting that the wild and primitive idea 5.h4 should be named the Caveman variation against the Grunfeld. Top players are slowly running out of new ideas and such an aggressive line makes sense in the hands of a player like Mamedyarov. The variation in question leads to wild complications! Let’s see if we can make sense of the opening here and what went wrong for Navara in this game.
Wednesday, June 6
FM Dennis Monokroussos Too Tricky for Their Own Good | Tactics
By “their” in the title I meant it literally, as a plural. Both sides kept ratcheting up the complications, and neither player was ready to handle the mess he had created. Or at least not completely ready. Both sides made good moves and found some nice ideas, and they showed that the supposedly boring Petroff can create blazing complications right from the jump, even by move 10. In this thriller White found the more interesting ideas, but also made the biggest mistakes. White gets the moral victory, Black the victory in the tournament table, and we as chess fans get the biggest victory of all.
Thursday, June 7
IM David Vigorito The King’s Indian Student, Part 1 | Opening, Tactics
I begin a series of ‘must-know’ games in the King’s Indian. These are the games that I grew up on as a student in the King’s Indian, and they are the games that every aspiring King’s Indian player should know. Piket-Kasparov is a very famous game for the final move played, but the opening/early middle game is rich in ideas that make it ‘required reading’.
Friday, June 8
GM Bryan Smith Kramnik’s Whirlwind Attack | Strategy, Tactics
In the third round of the Candidates Tournament in Berlin, Vladimir Kramnik produced a sparkling attacking victory with the black pieces, initiated by a tiny rook move. Here we will examine this exciting game.