New Chess Videos for July 27 – 31
Monday, July 27
IM Bill Paschall – World Chess Championship 1894: Lasker Takes the Crown – Part 3 | Middlegame
In this third part of the series, we take a look at the game that seems most pivotal in the match. Steinitz, playing Black, sticks with his solid but defensible variation against the Spanish. Lasker gains some advantage but is forced to sacrifice two pawns to continue his attack. While on his best day, perhaps Steinitz could and should have defended successfully, Black’s king cannot weather the storm. The loss seems to send Steinitz into a tailspin in the match, perhaps Steinitz losing faith in his own play.
Tuesday, July 28
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – How to Win an Equal Position in the Maroczy Bind Using Archy the A-pawn! | Endgame
In this typical Maroczy Bind endgame, White achieves his goal: two bishops and a nice bind. Yet, out of nowhere GM Malakhov uncorks incredible counterplay on the queen side. This is an instructive idea: put the black a-pawn on a3 and bishop on b2 and start playing against the c-pawn. All of a sudden, White finds himself on the defensive, and his position falls apart.
Wednesday, July 29
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Create a Hook; In Comes the Rook! | Openings
Danil Dubov is one of the most creative players in the chess world, to the extent that Magnus Carlsen often works with him for inspiration and opening ideas. In the Lindores Abbey tournament he uncorked one creative opening idea after another, and in this particular game against 2016 world championship runner-up, he succeeded magnificently. The opening started as a staid Queen’s Gambit Declined, but when Karjakin played the usual …h6, seen in (at least) tens of thousands of QGDs, Dubov replied with Bf4 (not Bh4) and then g2-g4, aiming to pry open lines for an attack against Black’s castled king with g4-g5. The plan was a success, and although Black is theoretically okay, proving it at the board is very difficult. If it proved too tough for the “Minister of Defense”, it’s unlikely that our opponents – or that we, if we’re playing Black in this variation – will succeed in solving the problems White is posing. So, if we play either side of the QGD, we will want to know about this line – come have a look.
Thursday, July 30
GM Nadya Kosintseva – Play the Caro-Kann Defense – Part 4: Facing Lines Without 2.d4 or 2.c4 | Strategy
In this lecture about the Caro-Kann defense we will consider lines when White does not push the d-pawn forward immediately but rather keeps it on the second rank or brings it to the third one.
In the case of 2.d3, I suggest to play first 2…e5 with the intention to bring the d-pawn forward later, for instance to meet White’s aggressive play with 3.f4. However, if White starts with 2.Nf3 black does not have good alternatives to 2…d5 and then after 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6, he does not even mind to take on doubled pawns since it leads to his faster development and still a very solid position that White cannot easily break through.
Friday, July 31
GM Robert Hungaski – Catch White Off Guard in the Advance French – Part 2 | Strategy
We continue our study of Black’s sideline 5…Nge7!? In the Advance French. Now we leave behind the old main line (6.Bd3) covered in the previous video and focus our attention on White’s most recent attempts at securing an advantage. In this video we will be focusing on 6.Be2 followed by 7.Na3!? In this field, the games of Sergei Movsesian stand out, as he is the main advocate for White’s position.