Monday, November 12
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Nervous Start to a World Championship Match | Tactics, Strategy
Fabiano Caruana’s first game as the challenger against Magnus Carlsen wasn’t a rousing success. He held on by a thread, completely outplayed despite having the white pieces, and it was practically a miracle that Carlsen failed to convert his advantage. Anyone can lose to Carlsen, of course, even with the white pieces, but it’s possible that this was as much a case of nerves as anything else. As great a player as Caruana is, and as many times as he has played Carlsen in the past, playing one’s first game in a world championship match is something completely different. A surprisingly large number of challengers have lost the first games of their match, and gone on to win. It takes time to get used to the stage, and in today’s video we’ll see a remarkable confirmation of this idea. Tigran Petrosian was one of the most solid players ever, at the peak of his form, and he went on to defeat Mikhail Botvinnik in great style in the match. But in game 1, he was unrecognizable, losing a terrible game with White, making both tactical and positional errors. So let’s not jump to any conclusions about the current match: Caruana will acclimate, and may go on to win.
Tuesday, November 13
IM Bill Paschall – Highlights from the 2018 World Junior, Part 1 | Opening, Strategy
The World Junior Championship of 2018 was filled with amazing players, but pre-tournament favorite GM Parham Maghsoodloo managed to triumph. In the first game from the event, the creative attacker Maghsoodloo derails a solid player with an aggressive and unorthodox system against the English as Black. Maghsoodloo is already devloping a strong following as Champion of Iran, a country with growing chess strength. In this series we will cover some of his games and other interesting battles from the top talents of 2018.
Wednesday, November 14
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Punish the French with a Direct Attack! | TActics
What happens when Black makes an early mistake in the French? Watch and learn how to punish your opponent with a direct kingside attack. What are the key elements to make this attack work? Pawn structure, Two Bishops and of course the h-pawn push!
Thursday, November 15
GM Robert Hungaski – Queen’s Gambit Accepted: A Simple System for Black, Part 3 | Strategy
As we move forward, we leave behind the closely related options that involve White’s pawn going to e3 (whether with 3.e3 right away or by inserting the move 3.Nf3 first). Now it’s time to deal with White’s direct assault on the center after the move 3.e4.
In this video I will be proposing a line that is not considered the main line, but one which has a good reputation nonetheless. That is the move 3…Nc6. The point of this move is to provoke White’s center (particularly the d-pawn) to prematurely advance so that it can later be undermined by means of the …e7-e6 pawn break. In this sense, the line is analogous to the Alekhine Defense (1.e4 Nf6), with the very important difference that the black knight is chased away towards the kingside (as opposed to the queenside). This greatly reduces White’s aggressive possibilities as he must be mindful not to over-expose his king should Wshite ever pursue the knight with f2-f4.
Friday, November 16
GM Leonid Kritz – Strategic Slip-Up Allows Amazing Tactical Escape | Endgame
Aronian totally outplayed his opponent in the opening and middlegame by applying an interesting idea – taking on f4 with the e-pawn and then putting his bishop on e3, creating pressure against Black’s queen side. However, at the end, the rising young star found a fascinating tactical solution and destroyed the piece of art that White created until then. A really fascinating fight!