Monday, September 3
IM Valeri Lilov
How to Navigate Challenging Positions | Strategy, Middlegame
In this video lecture, IM Valeri Lilov will provide us some exceptional ideas for a continuous defense in tough positions that may actually turn the game around and help us win in the end!
Tuesday, September 4
IM Bill Paschall Mamadyarov Dominates in Biel 2018, Part 1 | Opening, Endgame
Shakriyar Mamedyarov is emerging as the greatest serious threat to Magnus Carlsen. In the 2018 edition of the strong round robin in Switzerland, “Shak” dominated the field, finishing clear ahead of Magnus and defeating the World Champ in one of their individual games. The next World Championship will not feature Mamadyarov, but perhaps this showdown is waiting for us in the future? This series presents the best games of Shakriyar from the Biel tournament.
Wednesday, September 5
FM Dennis Monokroussos Don’t Lose Hope in Your Openings! | Openings
Sometimes we see an opening lose what we can best describe as a model game. The winning side has a clear plan in mind, and is able to execute it as if following a recipe from a cookbook. When we see such games – especially if we are ourselves the victims – there’s a temptation to give up the variation or even the opening and look elsewhere. This is a mistake, albeit a psychologically understandable one. Almost without fail, a bit more research or elbow grease will show us a way to improve the line and make it playable. Case in point: in the Panno Variation of the Fianchetto King’s Indian, Black’s knight on a5 can be hideous. When things go wrong (as they do in two included illustrative games featuring World Champions on the losing side) the knight is out of play and without a future. But the variation, and the seemingly sad knight, can be redeemed as we’ll see in our main game, starring former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Whether you play this particular variation or not, the general point remains: don’t lose hope in your openings!
Thursday, September 6
GM Eugene Perelshteyn Positional Transformation & Converting An Advantage | Strategy, Endgame
One of the most overlooked topic in chess literature is positional transformation. In other words transforming one form of advantage into another form. In this instructive game GM Perelshteyn shows you how he first obtained a nice central advantage out of the opening, then transformed it into a bishop pair, then extra pawn, then converted the pawn in the R+P endgame. Black fought back at every step and almost made a draw at the end! The resulting R+P endgame is very instructive!
Friday, September 7
GM Leonid Kritz – New Idea In An Old Opening | Tactics, Strategy
White chooses an interesting plan in a position that has been played many times, and follows the modern trend to activate rooks by moving h- and a-pawns. Looks fascinating, but it doesn’t work out well – Black easily equalizes and then outplays White in the strategic battle that follows.