Dawn Novarina

Monday, July 24 IM Valeri Lilov The Golden Rule of Endgame (strategy, middlegame)
In most times, people have to face a challenging practical endgame. One that involves many pieces, with the exception of queens. Most books don’t really focus on this area, as it is too broad; there are too many different positions and situations a player has to master. Nevertheless, there is one major rule that tops them all. Check out IM Lilov’s lecture to learn what it is!

Tuesday, July 25 IM Bill Paschall European Championship 2017, Part 4 (opening, middlegame)
This high level battle from the European Championship features a hedgehog where black uses a special move order to try to trade pieces in a cramped position. The well prepared Gawain Jones uncorks a new idea of his own 11. Nb5 1? and finds an interesting was to create complications. Black sacrifices the exchange to create serious counterplay, but eventually goes wrong.

Wednesday, July 26 FM Dennis Monokroussos Are You Reti for an Opening Trap? (opening traps)
The Reti is a slow-burn opening, but it doesn’t mean that Black can just do anything against it. The line Black chose with …c6, …d5, and …Bg4 is well known and theoretically sound, but after 5.Ne5 he must play 5…Be6. It’s easy to miss such a move if one doesn’t already know about it, and indeed Black played 5…Bf5. It’s natural, logical, and…bad. White did a fine job of punishing Black, and it’s just the sort of trap that is likely to catch many victims. Reti players should include this in their arsenal, while Black must be sure to learn the 5…Be6 variation if they reach the position after 5.Ne5 in their games.

Thursday, July 27 GM Nadya Kosintseva Opposite-Colored Bishops in the Middlegame (endgame)
You may have heard about the drawish tendencies of the opposite-colored bishops in chess endings. Indeed, sometimes thanks to these bishops the weaker side can build a positional fortress in a situation where he is one, two or even more pawns down. At the same time, in a middlegame, the bishops of opposite colors have one interesting feature. Particularly, very often when one side is attacking the presence of the opposite-colored bishops only increases chances to succeed. Indeed, since one bishop can attack what the other bishop cannot protect, the bishop of the defender plays a minor role in supporting the king and so nominally the attacker has an extra piece. In this lecture, I will show you a few instructive examples that demonstrate how dangerous positions with opposite-colored bishops can be.

Friday, July 28 GM Bryan Smith A Serene Positional Game (tactics)
Rapidly-advancing top player Wesley So won a smooth positional game against Vladimir Kramnik, in the style of Capablanca or Smyslov – or indeed of Kramnik himself.

Monday, July 17 IM Bill Paschall European Championship 2017, Part 3 (opening, tactics)
This lecture features a battle between two rising stars from round 4 of the European Individual Championship 2017. Black employs a rare move order in the Benoni and white counters with ultra aggressive preparation. Black employs a new move with 9…h6, but the depth of his preparation is insufficient. Matlakov has seen deeper and Black’s king is in serious danger.

Tuesday, July 18 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Big Upset in the Fischer Attack (strategy)
Bobby Fischer’s 6.Bc4 against the Najdorf isn’t so popular nowadays, but it hasn’t been played out. Untitled player Vusal Abbasov used it against his near-2700 rated opponent, Anton Korobov, in a recent open event – and crushed him! It was a combination of (presumably) good preparation and certainly good attacking play, and Korobov was overwhelmed. There is still life in 6.Bc4!

Wednesday, July 19 IM David Vigorito A Modern Adjournment (endgame)
In a virtual must-win situation versus a much lower rated player, I end up playing one of the longest games of my career. My opponent rises to the occasion, only faltering on the 92nd move! This game was adjourned – something I have not seen in 25 years.

Thursday, July 20 GM Leonid Kritz Winning A Miniature Out of Nowhere (tactics)
This is a unique game because it seems like the position is so equal that there is nothing to play here, but in reality things turn out to be much more complicated than that. White outplays Black out of nowhere and gets a point in only 25 moves – a truly rare occurrence at this level.

Friday, July 21 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Understanding Pawn Structures from Benoni and Old-Indian Setups (openings, middlegame, strategy)
How well do you understand pawn structures? Watch and learn how a London System can morph into Benoni and then into Old-Indian! GM Perelshteyn teaches you the key concepts and plans for both sides. Can you find the best moves? Prophylactic thinking is the key!

Monday, July 10 IM Valeri Lilov How to Lead a Flank Attack (middlegame, strategy)
Setting up a flank attack sounds like a difficult task. Essentially, it’s all about following the right steps that will lead your pieces and pawns into the correct places to create strong threats against your opponent. Tune in to IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, July 11 IM Bill Paschall European Championship 2017, Part 2 (opening, tactics)
The super strong 2017 European Championship naturally featured some upsets in round 1. The young Italian International Master Basso played a rare move 10.g4 in a fairly well known line of the Classical Nimzo. Korobov plays reasonably most of the game, but overlooks a brilliant queen sacrifice by his resourceful opponent.

Wednesday, July 12 FM Dennis Monokroussos Mamedyarov Wins an Instant Classic (tactics)
I don’t want to give any spoilers here, except to say that this is one of the best games I’ve seen in years. Najer plays very well, making only one mistake, but he comes undone after Mamedyarov’s brilliant sacrificial play. Please don’t miss this one!

Thursday, July 13 GM Nadya Kosintseva Positional Draws in Chess (tactics)
Everyone likes to attack. Indeed, it seems to be fascinating seeing how the initiative runs, bringing more pressure and creating new threats. However, to be a good chess player means also to be able to defend worse positions. In this lecture, I would like to speak to you about the “positional draw”, the important defensive technique that can save a player many games even in absolutely hopeless situations. You will watch an instructive study in which the stronger side could not convert his huge material advantage into victory due to creative play of the defender followed by examples taken from my own practice where the defense was based on setting up a fortress or, in other words, building a construction that is difficult to breach.

Friday, July 14 GM Bryan Smith Beating the Alekhine Defense, Part 4 – Main Line Odds and Ends (strategy, tactics)
In Part 4 of his series on beating the Alekhine’s Defense, GM Smith covers various obscure choices for Black, such as 4…dxe5 5.Nxe5 Nd7, 4…Bg4 5.Be2 c6, 4…Nb6, and 4…Nc6.

Monday, July 3 IM Valeri Lilov Coordination and Powerplay, Part 2 (strategy)
In the second video of the series on piece play, IM Lilov is going to teach you some more principles on coordination and powerplay. The idea of powerplay is defined by a player who can align multiple pieces into one point, thus making a powerplay on that area. The strongest level of attack!

Tuesday, July 4 IM Bill Paschall European Championship 2017, Part 1 (opening, tactics)
The young GM Bognanovich seems like a promising young talent. In this game, facing the popular Berlin defense, he plays the quiet 4.d3 – recommended here on Chesslecture by IM Paschall in his own series. Black reacts normally, but weakens his queenside with a6 and b5, and then tries to strike prematurely in the center with 12..d5. The young grandmaster shows a perfect understanding of the situation and dispatches his opponent effortlessly.

Wednesday, July 5 FM Dennis Monokroussos A World-Class Sales Pitch for the Grand Prix Attack (strategy)
The Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian is a perennial favorite in club play, but seems to be past its “sell by” date in grandmaster play. Perhaps it’s time to restock the shelves, as IM Dionisio Aldama wins a beautiful game with it against the strong grandmaster Zviad Izoria. Aldama came up with a fantastic opening idea culminating in 13.a5 Nxa5 14.f5, and while Izoria does just about everything right in response for the next 14-15 moves he still hasn’t managed to shake off White’s attack. All he had to do is make one mistake – a very natural one at that – and the game came to a speedy end. If you play either side of the Grand Prix Attack, you’ll want to take a very close look at this game.

Thursday, July 6 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Lessons from Losing to a Potential Women’s World Champ (middlegame, tactics, strategy)
In this instructive game, follow GM Perelshteyn’s thought process against Indian’s young talent, a 16 year old girl who holds U12 and U14 Girl’s World Championship titles! Black obtains a typical KID structure and with more time on the clock makes an instructive mistake. Don’t miss it and learn how to to avoid it yourself!

Friday, July 7 GM Leonid Kritz Another Crazy Najdorf (openings, tactics, strategy)
This is again one of those typical Najdorf games where nothing is clear until the very end. This game has a lot to offer in terms of tactical and strategic complications, as well as some interesting opening ideas.

Monday, June 26 IM Valeri Lilov Coordination and Powerplay (strategy)
The piece coordination concept is probably the most critical in all middlegame strategy. What is basically means is a way to get our pieces together and set them up towards a target or a plan. Check out IM Valeri Lilov’s lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, June 27 IM David Vigorito Nyzhnyk’s Pet KID Line (opening, tactics)
Facing the Fianchetto Variation in the King’s Indian, Ilia Nyzhnyk wheels out his pet line, an old system named for Simagin, where Black gives up his light-squared bishop. Norowitz grabs a pawn but Nyzhnyk gain a remarkable initiative, conducting an attack on the very light squares that he seemed to concede in the opening.

Wednesday, June 28 IM Bill Paschall Highlights from the 2017 Russian Team Championship, Part 3 (middlegame, tactics)
The creative Nepomniachtchi begins with a typical King’s Indian Attack, but immediately leaves book with the strange 11.Bg5. Black’s play is aggressive and optimistic and as he extends his center, white is coordinating his pieces. Ian actually missed one very interesting combination, but soon embarked on another tactic that created chaos by sacrificing a piece for three pawns. Even with best defense, it would have been difficult, as the coordination of white’s forces is very powerful.

Thursday, June 29 GM Nadya Kosintseva King Activity in the Middlegame (middlegame)
In spite of the fact that the King is the most important piece in chess, it often remains inactive until the game transposes into an endgame. Indeed, in the absence of queens the king feels safer going to the center of the board where it can contribute more, supporting own pieces or bothering opponent’s ones. Although it is the most common scenario, I want to show you some instructive examples from the games of great chess players that illustrate the king at work in the middlegame. You will see how the transfer of the king, in a situation where the weaker side cannot launch a counter attack against it, can help the stronger side to increase his pressure and identify a new target for his attack.

Friday, June 30 GM Bryan Smith Coffeehouse Chess, Part 8 (openings)
In this video we will see some instructive opening play followed by an unnecessarily speculative attack, with the defender’s miscalculations finally punished by an entertaining king hunt.

Monday, June 19 IM Valeri Lilov Pawn Structure Complexities (strategy, middlegame)
The pawn structure is the most valuable part of creating a good strategy. We need the pawns to both open good files and diagonals, as well as provide our pieces with the strong positions to exploit those opportunities. How to create a complex, yet fundamentally successful pawn structure is the topic of IM Lilov’s lecture.

Tuesday, June 20 IM Bill Paschall Highlights from the 2017 Russian Team Championship, Part 2 (middlegame, tactics)
Veteran grandmaster faces super hot super GM Mamedyarov. With white, Najer avoids Shak’s favorite Grunfeld with an early f3, transposing to a type of King’s Indian/Benoni. Black doesn’t seem to know the latest theory, but improvises with a very aggressive setup; offering somewhat dubious pawn sacrifices at seemingly every turn. Najer can’t avoid the Mamedyarov whirlpool of complications and his king gets drawn out with of fluffy of tactics.

Wednesday, June 21 FM Dennis Monokroussos How to Assess and Play Positions with Symmetrical Isolated Pawns (tactics)
Positions where both players have an isolated d-pawn can be boring and lead to a quick draw, but by no means always. GM Aleks Lenderman proved this in excellent style against IM Enkhbat in a recent game, and we can draw some lessons from this Lenderman’s master class that we can use in our own games.

Thursday, June 22 GM Eugene Perelshteyn What Is It Like Playing a SuperGM? (opening, middlegame, strategy)
GM Perelshteyn shares his recent game against his strongest opponent ever, Dutch SuperGM Anish Giri! Giri proves to be the master of openings as he demonstrates a new plan in an obscure side-line. However, his technique to convert an extra pawn is simply superb! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what it’s like to face one of the world’s best players!

Friday, June 23 GM Leonid Kritz A Strategic Classic from Kramnik (openings, tactics)
A very strong game from Vladimir Kramnik who outplayed Anand in a seemingly very simple position. The main point to note is that Black should have tried to open the game with f6, and not let White slowly increase pressure. In general, it is very difficult to play such positions without any counterplay.

Monday, June 12 IM Valeri Lilov Anand’s Romantic Masterpiece (strategy)
The romantic era of chess is gone since the early 20th century, yet once in a while we can see its brilliant shades in the games of great players. One of the greatest chess players, Vishy Anand, showed this once again in his latest masterpiece against a strong Russian chess master.

Tuesday, June 13 IM Bill Paschall Highlights from the 2017 Russian Team Championship, Part 1 (openings, strategy)
Nepomniachtchi plays the creative b3 variation and is met by a very solid “Hedgehog” type defense from Black. After missing a fantastic sacrificial line, white’s knight is sidelined on a3. The problem piece played a key role in deciding the result. In the end , White’s king suffers due to his attempt to rescue the bad knight. As is often the case , White goes down in flames when his attack flounders in the Sicilian.

Wednesday, June 14 FM Dennis Monokroussos Winning Quickly With the Caro-Kann (openings, tactics)
The Caro-Kann is a very solid opening, but it can be played for a win. In the recent U.S. Championship Yaroslav Zherebukh tried surprising Hikaru Nakamura with a sideline. Had Nakamura responded in the way prescribed by “official” theory he’d have equalized, but in such a way as to have very few chances to play for a win. Doubtlessly well-prepared, he played more sharply, and forced Zherebukh to take some risks if he wanted any chance for an edge. Zherebukh tried to keep the game quiet, but didn’t manage at all. Everything went wrong for him, and Nakamura won in just 21 moves, with White resigning in a position where his choices were to lose his queen or get mated. The Caro-Kann is not an aggressive opening, but it can be played with ambition!

Thursday, June 15  GM Eugene Perelshteyn Big Upset at the 2017 US Chess Championship by Zherebukh (openings, middlegame, strategy)
Who would have thought that a wildcard, a student from SLU Yaro Zherebukh would be tied for first at the USChampionship after 7 rounds.  How did he beat one of the top seeds GM Caruana, who’s over 2800?  Watch and learn his understanding of Ruy Lopez Breyer variation proves superior to a Super-GM.  Caruana never had a chance after an opening inaccuracy and Yaro makes it look easy!

Friday, June 16  GM Leonid Kritz New But Bad – How Not To Play The French Defense (openings)
In this game Pelletier tried to surprise Anand with a rare continuation in the opening. 7….b6 and the sequence Nc6-Nbd7 is as strange looking as it is suspicious. Anand shows very a simple way to play against such “novelties”. The main point to keep in mind here is that after 10 moves Black stayed with the bad bishop forever and the rest is history.

Monday, June 5 IM Valeri Lilov Crushing the Sicilian (openings, strategy)
The Sicilian Defense is arguably the most popular opening in chess. Playing against it could prove to be a difficult task for the unprepared chess player. In this video, IM Valeri Lilov provides a strategic approach to handling the Sicilian from the white side.

Tuesday, June 6 IM Bill Paschall Lecture Learning from My Losses 2017, Part 2 (openings, middlegame)
One of the most important ways of improving is by the study of your own games. IM William Paschall is seeking to improve his own game and give you analytical insights by going over a recent loss in a GM-norm tournament. In addition to uncovering our mistakes, we must understand the psychological factors that lead us to defeat.

Wednesday, June 7 FM Dennis Monokroussos Something New and Crazy in the Najdorf (openings)
It wasn’t that long ago that White’s 6th move options against the Najdorf could fit on one hand: 6.Bg5, 6.Bc4, and 6.Be2, with an occasional 6.h3 or 6.f4. Then the Byrne Attack came on the scene (6.Be3/6.f3), sucking almost all the air out of theory for other moves. But in the last few years, the choices have proliferated: 6.g3, 6.Rg1, 6.a4, 6.Nb3, 6.Qf3, 6.Bd3, 6.a3, and now…6.h4. It’s almost brand new territory, and in today’s game it was clear that the players were feeling their way, somewhat unsure of what to do. So here’s your chance to get on the cutting edge, and shock your local Najdorf player with a crazy new option.

Thursday, June 8 GM Eugene Perelshteyn What Happens When Your Winning Plans Get Derailed (openings, middlegame, endgame)
It’s easy to play when you think you have an overwhelming position.  But what happens when things get complicated?  It’s very easy to go wrong.  Watch and learn how GM Perelshteyn makes one mistake in a winning position and has to fight back!  The game becomes very tense and complex.

Friday, June 9 GM Bryan Smith Beating the Alekhine Defense, Part 3 – the New Main Line (tactics)
In Part 3, GM Smith shows how to meet the popular Miles System, 4…dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6.

Monday, May 29 IM Valeri Lilov Punishing a Bad Opening (opening, middlegame)
What do you do when your opponent plays a bad opening? Most players try to punish him right away with some early and unprepared attacks, while others rely on a simple approach to finish their development faster. The best approach stands somewhere in the middle. Let Valeri Lilov teach you more in this lecture.

Tuesay, May 30 IM Bill Paschall Lecture Learning from My Losses 2017, Part 2 (middlegame, strategy)
One of the most important ways to improve at chess is to analyze your own games, and perhaps one’s losses are the most instructive of all. IM Paschall takes a deep look at a game he lost in a recent event. In this video not only moves and ideas, but psychological factors are considered as well.

Wednesday, May 31 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Finesse for Black in the London System (strategy, tactics)
I’ve covered the London System in a number of shows, and in most of them I’ve shown neat finesses that White has used to cause Black some problems. In this video it’s Black who gets the helping hand, thanks to Levon Aronian. Black’s 6th move looks docile at first sight, but it is motivated by a couple of subtle ideas that appear to give Black full equality. In this variation, the ball is back in White’s court.

Thursday, June 1 GM Leonid Kritz A Crazy Najdorf (tactics)
This is a very interesting game in the Najdorf Variation. White chose a line with h3 and seemed to have lost a move time in a very sharp position. However, after 16.b4!?!?! the game gets totally out of control and we witness fire on the board, with many mistakes on both sides – a game in which the winner is the one who does not make the last mistake.

Friday, June 2 GM Bryan Smith Beating the Alekhine Defense, Part 2 – The Old Main Line (tactics)
In Part 2 of his series on the Alekhine Defense, Bryan Smith shows how to meet the old main line, 4…Bg4 followed by 5…e6.

Monday, May 22 IM Valeri Lilov Structural Domination (strategy, middlegame)
In this lecture, IM Lilov explores the key values of structure and restriction. These two concepts are very closely related to each other as a good pawn and piece structure guarantees a space command and limitations over the opponent.

Tuesday, May 23 IM Bill Paschall The Reemergence of Aronian (opening, strategy)
Levon Aronian has come tantalizingly close to the very top of the chess world in the 21st century. He clearly has the talent to be a challenger for the World Championship , but he has faltered in the important Candidates tournaments. Could this great master be on the verge of a breakthrough? In the 2017 Grenke Chess Classic, Levon dominated the event ahead of Magnus Carlsen. Is this event and the following game proof he has what it takes?

Wednesday, May 24 FM Dennis Monokroussos Fool Me Once, Shame On Me; Fool Me Twice… (opening traps)
It’s best to learn from others’ mistakes, but sometimes we have to learn from our own errors instead. Sometimes, though, we don’t even manage to do that, even if we are one of the very best chess players in the world. That’s what happened to the great Akiba Rubinstein, who fell for a certain trick in a 1928 game against Max Euwe, and then made the same type of error in a very similar position just 18 months later against Alexander Alekhine. Let’s learn two lessons from these games: first, to avoid the trap (or to alertly catch our opponents in it); secondly, to pay attention to our errors so we don’t repeat them!

Thursday, May 25 IM David Vigorito Nakamura Nails the Hammer (opening, strategy)
Facing Nakamura’s sharp King’s Indian Defense, Jon Ludwig Hammer goes for a quiet line which was recommended in a popular repertoire book. Nakamura has a nice little novelty prepared. Hammer goes for what looks like a safe, symmetrical position, but as if by magic the Black position expands and sweeps away his opponent.

Friday, May 26 GM Nadya Kosintseva The Spectacular Tactics of Wilhelm Steinitz (tactics)
In this lecture, I would like you to watch one of the most brilliant games of Wilhelm Steinitz, who was the first official World Chess Champion. It was played 5 years before his death and considered to be one of the brightest achievements by Steinitz as a tactician. This game is a must-see classic due to its well-calculated and spectacular mating combination – after which his opponent “is reported to have made no comment but to have put on his hat and quietly walked home…”.