Monday, July 30
IM Valeri Lilov How to Fight for Opening Advantage | Strategy, Opening
The most important rule of the opening is to fight for initiative and advantage. Making it real is a matter of two things: The opponent’s mistakes and our ability to exploit them. In order to understand how to fight for opening advantage, one should first learn the differences between a good and bad development, after which comes the concept of a superior pawn structure. Check out IM Valeri Lilov’s video to learn more about getting an advantage in the opening!
Tuesday, July 31
IM Bill Paschall Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 2 | Opening, Strategy
Botvinnik faces the classic Nimzovich pawn sacrifice in the Advance variation og the French. Black takes the pawn and plays creatively for central control, undermining the center with a timely f6 ! White gives up his key white squared bishop and regrets later the weaknesses on that color complex. Botivnnik destroys the White position using creative methods, but adhering to classical principles. Particularly interesting are the placement of the Black king at f7 and the idea of Qg8 to h7!
Wednesday, August 1
FM Dennis Monokroussos Becoming a GM at 12, Part 2 | Opening, Tactics
Having seen Praggnanandhaa’s win in the previous round, we now see how he finished off his GM norm, tying for first place in the tournament as well. This time he wins with Black, against Dutch GM Roland Pruijssers – again in a Ruy Lopez. Pruijssers’ opening play was very strange, as his opponent pretty consistently plays the variation that arose in the game. Predicting the position after Black’s 13th move was far from impossible, but Pruijssers played a poor move all the same. His opponent didn’t make the best choice on move 19, but nevertheless the 12-year-old showed excellent technique to break down what might otherwise have been a fortress.
Thursday, August 2
GM Leonid Kritz How Not to Play Chess, Super-GM Style | Opening
This is a great example of how you should not play chess. The opening of this rapid game is played so badly by both players that you would never guess these two are top grandmasters. Obviously, the reason is that people today want to experiment in the early stage of the game, but they do it really poorly. After all, the position was very close to being drawn, but Black managed to find almost the only way to get in trouble and eventually lose this game.
Friday, August 3
GM Eugene Perelshteyn Surprise Your Opponent as Early as Move 3 in the Ruy Lopez! | Opening, Strategy, Endgame