New Chess Videos for January 14 – 18
Monday, January 14
IM Bill Paschall The Best of Bronstein, Part 7 | Strategy
In this part we see Bronstein playing creatively with Black against a weaker master. Honfi was a solid International Master who was posthumously awarded the title of GM. This game features a very closed system in the French Defense which is a situation where the stronger player can use his strategic understanding to wear down the opponent. Honfi makes some positional mistakes in the middlegame, but it is Black’s sacrifice of a pawn for a coordinated attacking force that decides the battle.
Tuesday, January 15
FM Dennis Monokroussos One Mistake Is All You Get: An Impressive Sveshnikov Win from the Women’s Olympiad | Opening Traps, Tactics
It’s not only super-GMs and even “ordinary” GMs whose games are worth our while; mere mortals often play wonderful chess, too. Case in point: this game from the 2018 Women’s Olympiad. The players went into a sharp line of the Sveshnikov Sicilian, and while Carbajal might have thought she had outfoxed her opponent, it turns out that she had fallen into the trap instead. Padmini played a great game, finishing with a very well executed attack.
Wednesday, January 16
GM Nadya Kosintseva The Importance of Centralization in Queen Endgames | Endgame
In this lecture, I will discuss with you three instructive queen endgames to illustrate the most important principle of this sort of ending. Based on my own experience, queen endgames pretty often are just about centralization. Indeed, if we think logically, we can conclude that the queen is best placed in the center of the board from where it can aim at all directions. Keeping this rule in mind can help you to save time during the games, especially if you cannot calculate everything to the end and should make an intuitive decision. In this case, for instance, sacrificing a pawn or two but keeping the queen in the center can be preferable to defending or going to the edge in trying to win material.
Thursday, January 17
GM Robert Hungaski A Strategic Repertoire Against the Sicilian: Squeezing the Najdorf into a Hedgehog | Strategy
Welcome back! In this second video we leave behind the Maroczy and move on to the Hedgehog, which takes place after the moves 5.f3 a6 6.c4. Understandably, this is the most likely move order you will face from players that intend to play the Najdorf before they run into the unpleasant surprise of 5.f3. In my personal experience, this has been by far the most common reply I’ve faced.
Even though our setup will be exactly the same as in the Maroczy, black’s ideas are quite different. In the Hedgehog structure black is constantly trying to carry out the d5 pawn break and we must remain vigilant to prevent it on every turn. If we manage to do this (and I believe white has all the necessary resources at hand), then black’s position will be reduced to absolute passivity.
Friday, January 18
GM Leonid Kritz Shocking the Eventual Ukrainian Champion After Being Strategically Outplayed | Strategy, Tactics
A very interesting game from both strategic and tactical point of view. First, this is a good example how to punish White for lack of aggression in the beginning of the game – 4…b5 is a really nice idea by Korobov, who went on the win the event. But second, the way White turned the tables tactically is still impressive – and after a defensive slip, the final mating attack culminates in a stunning queen sacrifice!