New Chess Videos for June 1 – 5
Monday, June 1
IM Bill Paschall – Selected Games from the Carlsen Invitational 2020 – Part 1
In the midst of a global pandemic the best hope for chess is online! Magnus Carlson organized a super tournament featuring Rapid and Blitz formats. This series will highlight some of the most interesting games from the event. In the first video we see the Blitz sensation Firouzja taking on one of the top ranked players in the world in a super sharp Najdorf ! This tournament is surely not going to disappoint in terms of exciting chess.
Tuesday, June 2
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Winning with the Philidor Ring in the Queen’s Indian! | Opening, Strategy
In this game White chooses a passive setup and allows Black to execute a powerful positional idea: the Philidor ring. The knight gets a central stronghold, supported by the two pawns. One strategic idea is replaced by another, then morphed into a nice space advantage with a bishop pair for Black. Eventually, White has to sac an exchange to get some breathing room, but can you find the simple winning plan for Black?
Wednesday, June 3
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Before b4, Not Too Bad; After b4, Worse (Schlechter) | Tactics, Endgame
The great Carl Schlechter, who missed becoming world champion in 1910 by the slimmest of margins, was most known as a safety-first player, but these characterizations must always be taken with a grain – or a lump – of salt. No one without the ability and willingness to take risks and play dynamically could reach the levels Schlechter did, and in this miniature we see the kinds of wild flights of fancy he was capable of (even if he relatively rarely indulged them). Fleissig’s choice of 1.b4 antedated Tartakower’s debut of the opening in 1924, but then the way he handled this opening against Schlechter probably helped bury it for the next 31 years. Still, the way Black finished the game is beautiful, and offers a nice chance for the viewer to test his or her tactical prowess and imagination. Have a look, and enjoy.
Thursday, June 4
GM Leonid Kritz – Candidates 2020: How to Win with Four Isolated Pawns | Tactics
At some point during the game white had two pairs of double pawns, all of them were isolated. Impressive enough, when it happened, after 19.cxb5, white’s position was almost won. It has been a while since we saw a win against Marshall at the highest level, so who knows – maybe this game will start a new trend?!
Friday, June 5
GM Nadya Kosintseva – Facing an Early …Qb6 in the Sicilian | Tactics
In this lecture we will go over a rare Sicilian line that arises after the moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Qb6. Black moves the queen out early in order to either drive the white knight out of the middle or force a trade on c6. The queen itself is not well placed on b6 but Black is ready to lose a tempo just to reduce the potential of White’s attacks. At the same time Black creates a pressure on the b2 pawn and sometimes it can delay the development of White’s queen side pieces. However, White can ignore Black’s intention and play 6.Be3 sacrificing the b2-pawn in order to begin forcing play as soon as possible. As a result, we will observe a tactical fight that requires White to be vigorous and creative to prove an old rule: “Don’t move the queen out too early.”