Dawn Novarina

Monday, January 11  IM Valeri Lilov  Maneuver as Kovacevic! (strategy, middlegame)
GM Kovacevic is known as a great theorist and opening inventor. He was a true middlegame master as well. In his new lecture, IM Valeri Lilov shows a masterful example of utilizing piece regrouping and maneuvering to their full potential!

Tuesday, January 12  IM Bill Paschall   Hungarian Bronze at European Teams Part 3 (opening, strategy)
The prodigious Hungarian GM Richard Rapport leads his team to a win in their match against France. Once again, Rapport takes an experienced player out of book very early , this time with a strange version of the Bird’s Opening. White’s setup with f4 and an early c4 looks strange and certainly should be fine for black. Fressinet, however, is apparently taken off guard. Black’s reaction of playing e6 followed by dxc4 later, simply gives up the center. White takes the center and then black lashes out with an unsound pawn sacrifice to attempt to free his position. Rapport just keeps the extra pawn and then breaks through on the kingside with the beautiful shot 29. f5!

Wednesday, January 13  FM Dennis Monokroussos   Staying Cool Against A Novelty (tactics)
Hellers-Khalifman. Title: Staying Cool Against A Novelty. Tags: Khalifman, Caro-Kann. Description: Playing Black in a big money game in the last round of the 1990 New York Open, future FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman was confronted by a very dangerous novelty, a pawn sac that seemed to give White tremendous play. He didn’t rush past the key moment, nor did he look for some way to bail out with a slightly worse position. Instead, he took his time, worked through the options, and by a process of elimination found a brilliant reply. Confronted in turn by a surprise, his opponent did not manage to keep his own wits about him, and Khalifman went on to win a nice, theoretical important and lucrative game, taking clear first in the tournament.

Thursday, January 14  GM  Leonid Kritz   A Very Suspicious Novelty That Paid Off (opening)
Black plays a very suspicious plan in the opening and gets a position that cannot be good, but White does not find the way to punish him and, moreover, starts a combination that brings only draw, not more. Even worse, he overstretches and loses without any chances.

Friday, January 14  GM Eugene Perelshteyn   How to Play Dynamic Chess! (tactics)
What is dynamic chess? How can you tell when you should sacrifice material for development. Strong plays like Tal, Kasparov, and Shirov have an innate feel for this. But you can develop this as well if you practice and pay attention to the relative value of pieces and king safety. Watch how Eugene plays of his best games of his life to beat a strong GM Holt to prove that dynamic chess still lives in the 21st century!

Monday, January 4 IM Valeri Lilov Winning with the Barry Attack (openings)
The Barry Attack has been one of the most underrated openings for white. The opening provides white with countless original attacks and a number of outstanding challenges against black’s king’s defense. Check out this lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, January 5 IM Bill Paschall Hungarian Bronze at European Teams Part 2 (middlegame, strategy)
Leading the Hungarians to a bronze medal, the young GM Rapport plays an extremely inventive sort of Queen’s Gambit Accepted or Ragozin Variation with reverse colors. Radjabov plays a bit routinely through the game and is slowly forced on the defensive by white’s superb combination of positional play and tactical finesse. Eventually, white is able to exploit his more active pieces and the somewhat exposed position of the black king.

Wednesday, January 6 FM Dennis Monokroussos Great Prep: What Computers Can Do (openings)
Baadur Jobava was and is justly proud of his 2003 game with Evgeny Bareev, all or almost all of which was preparation. Brilliant preparation, too, and at the time of the game even the best chess engines didn’t have a chance of coming up with his idea. In a recent interview Jobava reiterated that claim about contemporary engines, but it turns out that he’s wrong; the silicon beasts have caught up! Have a look at a fantastic game, and admire both what Jobava dreamed up and what computers are now capable of as well.

Thursday, January 7 GM Leonid Kritz A Great Example of Strategic Play (endgame)
The position seemed absolutely equal after the opening, but care needed to be taken to achieve a draw. White used all weaknesses in black’s position and managed to get a point almost out of nowhere. Sargissian played in best traditions of strategic
masters.

Friday, January 8 GM Eugene Perelshteyn How to Play in Symmetrical Pawn Structures (strategy, endgame)
How to play equal-looking positions for a win? Are all Symmetrical pawn structures just draws? Watch this video and learn valuable lessons on trades, pawn structures, weaknesses and more!

Monday, December 28 IM Valeri Lilov How to Use Advantage in Space (strategy, middlegame)
Having advantage in space is common for many games. Taking advantage of it is a different story. In this lecture, IM Lilov takes his time to explain the key principles behind exploiting an advantage in space and better piece activity.

Tuesday, December 29 IM Bill Paschall Hungarian Bronze at European Teams Part 1 (middlegame, strategy)
Hungarians score bronze at the European Teams ! Young phenom Richard Rapport lead his team with some stellar games. In part one, we see a flawless positional performance. Rapport avoids theory and maintains a sound structure, all the while his opponent overextending and desperately seeking ways to coordinate. White exploits pawn structure advantages, better coordination and finally pawn weaknesses before a decisive strorming of the opponents’ exposed kingside. Rapport also shows maturity in the middlegame by giving up the bishop pair to slow down the counterplay for black on the kingside.

Wednesday, December 30 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Trap in the Nimzo-Indian (openings)
The Karpov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian (which can also arise via the Panov Attack against the Caro-Kann) is an important main line, and one very plausible option for White was seen in a 2001 rapid game Vladimirov-Kasparov. Plausible – but not good! To see the interesting details, have a look – you may well get to win the same game for yourself.

Thursday, December 31 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Learning from Kramnik: How to Convert a Slight Edge in the Endgame Part 2 – 20 Years Later (strategy, endgame)
20 years later after the Lautier game, Kramnik is still amazing at converting endgames with a slight edge. This time, it’s Nepo who’s on the ropes and he never has a chance in this game. Take notice how Kramnik avoids opening theory, plays unambitious chess and yet outplays a strong 2700 GM with ease!

Friday, January 1 GM Bryan Smith Only Moves (strategy, tactics)
In this video, we see how surprising traps and complications are hidden in an apparently overwhelming position.

Monday, December 21 IM Valeri Lilov How to Punish Bad Openings (strategy, openings)
Many amateur or even club players know that bad play in the opening is punishable if the opponent plays correctly. How to arrange a successful attack if the opponent deviates from the main course of development is the key topic in this lecture. Don’t miss it!

Tuesday, December 22 IM Bill Paschall A Tense Benoni (strategy)
Chesslecture’s IM William Paschall reviews his own recent original game with white in a topical line of the Modern Benoni. White tries a creative but very risky plan with 10.g4 and 11.Kf1, which has rarely been played in practice. The game is tense and interesting, but finally black begins to defend too passively and falls behind. To improve in chess, it is critical to review one’s own games, and the following was a learning experience for both the author and hopefully all of our ChessLecture viewers!

Wednesday, December 23 FM Dennis Monokroussos Bishop’s Opening, Part 3 (openings)
One important option for Black against the Bishop’s Opening is transposition into the King’s Gambit Declined. This option was mentioned in an earlier part of the series, but this time we take a very deep look at it, completing our repertoire series on this somewhat underestimated option for White against 1.e4 e5.

Thursday, December 24 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Learning from Kramnik: How to Convert a Slight Edge in the Endgame Part 1 (strategy, endgame)
Learn from the best! Young Kramnik demonstrates amazing understanding of the endgame and comes up with a winning plan in a “completely” equal position. Lautier plays active chess true to his style to sac a pawn to reach a R+P endgame. However, Kramnik has a nice surprise prepared to take the game to the technical stage. Enjoy boring chess!

Friday, December 25 GM Bryan Smith A Tempo-Up Benoni (openings)
In this video, GM Bryan Smith shows an intricate and complex game which was the decisive last round of a recent tournament.

Monday, November 14 IM Valeri Lilov Anand’s Winning Blitz (middlegame)
Even wondered how strong masters play fast chess so easily? The simple answer is that they get to keep a very harmonious position for the most part. The great Vishy Anand is a brilliant example of using such strategy to win many of his rapid and blitz games. Check out this lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, November 15 IM Bill Paschall Boris Spassky’s Spasstacular Attacking Miniatures, Part 10 (tactics, strategy)
White plays a rare line against the Slav; the ultra aggressive Geller Gambit. Black weakens his kingside with h6 and later with f5 as well. White has kingside threats as well as play along the c-file, where black is backward. The timely break by Spassky with 23.d5 opens decisively the lines into black’s position. There are far too many weak points in the black position and white wins easily with his better mobilized forces. Time and coordination prove more important than material!

Wednesday, November 16 FM Dennis Monokroussos How To Win With a 33-move Combination (endgame)
A 33-move combination, really? Strictly speaking, no. But in another, purely practical sense, yes. After 18 moves only the queens, a pair of knights and a pair of pair of pawns have been traded, but Laurent Fressinet sees that through a fairly long and mostly forced series of moves and exchanges the contours of a hugely better endgame will arise. Not every move is absolutely forced, but there really wasn’t all that much that poor Nils Grandelius could do. The game is a brilliant illustration of the power of a dominant, outposted, blockading knight against an irrelevant bishop, and as a fringe benefit the game might even be of theoretical value and constitute a sort of positional trap.

Thursday, November 17 GM Leonid Kritz An Unforgettable World Cup Finals – Part 4 (tactics)
This was the last of four classical games that Karjakin needed to win in order to save the match. Svidler played a
terrible opening and was basically lost after 10 moves. However, Karjakin did not find the right way to play and the game turned into an almost equal endgame with small, symbolic advantage of white. I’m pretty sure that under normal conditions Svidler should be able to keep the draw, but in this game he probably could not keep his nerves. And so, another series of bad mistakes and the match moved into tie breaks.

Friday, November 18 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Important Lesson on Pawn Structures and Opening Transpositions (tactics, strategy, openings)
It’s important to know pawn structures that can arise from many openings. In this game, when faced with a new move as early as move four, White juggles many ideas from Reti, Catalan, QGD, and QID to get a nice edge. Black puts up a good fight to keep the game balanced; however, he falters in the late middlegame and allows White a nice attack with a rolling center and two bishops. A bonus with nice tactics at the end!

Monday, December 7 GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense Part 4: Wildness on the Board (opening)
Another important variation in Ragozin Defense that you need to know if you decide to play the opening with black. By playing 7.Rc1 White attempts to prevent Black from playing his main idea c5. In order to get enough counterplay Black has to be precise and force the white bishop on h4 first, and then still go for c5 even though it looks very provoking. The analysis shows, however, that in all lines the position of Black is good enough to play on. Black has to act vigorously and he will have his chances.

Tuesday, December 8 IM Bill Paschall Boris Spassky’s Spasstacular Attacking Miniatures, Part 9 (tactics, strategy)
Spassky leaves the main line Winawer with the Nimzovichian 5.Qg4 and 6. dxc5. Black plays a slightly passive setup with Ne7-g6 and white builds up an attacking initiative. A classic Spassky attack featuring the two bishops and a kingside buildup culminates in a smashing attack for white. Black sacrifices the queen out of desperation, but it’s too little too late.

Wednesday, December 9 FM Dennis Monokroussos The Straw That Broke the Allies’ Backs (tactics, strategy)
While the game is a bit of a mismatch, it is still one of my favorites due to several especially interesting decisions by the victor, then-future world champion Jose Raul Capablanca. The first moment of interest came on move 17, when Capa makes a move that seems positionally atrocious, but is actually well-founded. The second comes on move 23, when he make a sac that looks very natural, but after the reasonable sequence that follows it isn’t immediately clear how he’s going to break through. His solution is not the only one, but it is simultaneously brilliant and amusing, and makes the game an especially memorable one.

Thursday, December 10 GM Leonid Kritz An Unforgettable World Cup Finals – Part 3 (tactics)
This was supposed to be the last game of the match because Svidler was leading 2-0 and needed just a draw with white. For a long time it looked like he ie getting there, and at the end he was actually winning, but another unbelievable blunder ruined not just this game, but also fundamentally changed the flow of this final match.

Friday, December 11 IM David Vigorito More Insight into the Reti Opening (USCL 2015 – Part 17a) (opening, endgame)
Only a few days after my USCL game with IM Schroer, I found myself in a must-win game against old friend FM Bill Kelleher. Again I played the Reti Opening. I varied a bit in this game but get a nice endgame with lasting pressure. There is a nice theme in the game with keeping one piece locked out of play in order to win on the opposite flank.

Monday, November 30 GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense Part 3: The Crazy Rook Causes Trouble! (openings)
A very interesting and complicated line in which the black rook gets to g2 and seems to be lost after White blocks it with his bishop on g3. However, surprisingly Black finds enough resources to create dynamic play and to force White to look for best moves in order to… get an equal position! A line that is a must because of its sharpness and level of complication.

Tuesday, December 1 IM Bill Paschall Boris Spassky’s Spasstacular Attacking Miniatures, Part 8 (tactics, strategy)
White opens with a King’s Gambit and black returns the sacrificed pawn in the opening with 3…d5. Later, Sakharov weakens his kingside slightly with 13…g5 and 15…h6, holding onto the f4 pawn. Spassky whips up a huge sacrificial attack seemingly out of nowhere. In truth, white’s good central control and better development made this brilliant attacking win possible. Great intuition, creativity and calculation displayed by Spassky in this classic game.

Wednesday, December 2 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Desperate Fight For the Initiative (tactics)
Garry Kasparov was the #2 player in the world even when he was a teenager, but that didn’t mean he had nothing to learn from his elders. In this game he plays against Boris Spassky, and while Spassky was no longer a threat to the world championship he was still an elite player, not only immensely strong but psychologically astute and full of wiles. Kasparov obtains a winning advantage with objectively better play, but Spassky’s persistent battle for the initiative and all costs bears fruit. Kasparov is bamboozled, sinks into time trouble, and ultimately loses on time in a lost position.

Thursday, December 3 IM Valeri Lilov How to Manage a Flank Attack (strategy)
The most common attack in chess the one which starts on the king/queen’s flank. Those attacks require many features to be successful. On one hand, we need a solid central command and space control. It could still prove difficult to advance it without knowing the right steps to follow when attacking. See IM Lilov’s new lecture on being successful with a flank attack!

Friday, December 4 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Student Game Analysis: Playing Against the Stonewall (openings, middlegame, strategy)
Like the English and don’t know how to handle the Stonewall? You have the perfect opening for this, just don’t commit the d-pawn to d4. White achieves a big edge with simple d3,e4 center break. Black plays poorly with cookie-cutter plan of Bd6,Nbd7,Qe8 and ends up in a lost position quickly. The rest is just technique.

Monday, November 23 GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense, Part 2: Why Most Players Take on d5 First (openings, strategy)
Why do most players take on d5 first and then play Bg5, rather than develop the bishop immediately? The important difference between taking on d5 and playing Bg5 versus playing Bg5 right away is that Black has an additional opportunity after 5.Bg5, namely he can capture the pawn on c4 and play this position. Even though Black gives up some initiative and White has certain compensation for the sacrificed material, the position of Black turns out to be more than just playable – there is enough potential for him to defend and even fight for counterplay.

Tuesday, November 24 IM Bill Paschall Boris Spassky’s Spasstacular Attacking Miniatures, Part 7 (tactics, strategy)
Spassky shows his prowess against the Winawer French, Black plays a bit passively in the opening and Spassky takes the initiative with active pieces and the bishop pair. Spassky finishes his attack with a classic rook lift and sacrifices said rook decisively.

Wednesday, November 25 IM Dennis Monokroussos A Wild Shootout Ends In A Draw (tactics)
I’ve played my share of crazy games over the years, but this may be the tactically richest game of them all. Neither I nor my opponent were fully up to the challenge – this won’t be so surprising once you see the game for yourself – but we both played with energy and imagination, and produced a game that will at least entertain if not instruct. (Though I hope a little instruction will seep in as well.)

Thursday, November 26 GM Eugene Perelshteyn The Unknown Side of Young Kasparov:  Positional Masterpiece & Principle of Two Weaknesses!  Part 2 (strategy, endgame)
Once more, we see the eighteen year old genius from Baku follow in the style of his coach, Mikhal Botvinnik. Gary plays slow, boring, positional chess against the IQP. What looks like a game heading for a draw is quickly spoiled but a slight inaccuracy by Black, weakening the queenside pawns. The rest is yet another lesson on the principle of two weaknesses! Watch and learn and be surprised by mature positional understanding from young Gary.

Friday, November 27 IM David Vigorito Inside Coverage of the USCL 2015 – part 17 (opening)
Continuing coverage of the U.S. Chess League sees me facing off against veteran IM Jonathan Schroer of the Carolina team. I use the Reti Opening and get a position that I have had many times, but with colors reversed (London System). So this lecture should also be of interest to King’s Indian players. This is a good system to play to avoid a lot of theory while still gearing up for a good middlegame fight. It’s ok if the position is equal if you can play it better than your opponent!

Monday, November 16 GM Nadya Kosintseva Queen’s Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defense, Part 1 (opening)

Tuesday, November 17 IM Bill Paschall Boris Spassky’s Spastacular Attacking Miniatures, Part 6 (strategy, tactics)
Spassky again displays a scintillating combination of both tactical and strategic ability. In this game we see again his preference for the knight tandem in a middlegame with a somewhat closed position in the center. His tactical prowess and creativity are embodied by a wild rook sacrifice. A top level opponent might have held on against Spassky’s creative attacking play, but few could find the draw in such mind boggling complications.

Wednesday, November 18 FM Dennis Monokroussos Carlsen Gets Away With Telling a Tal Tale (tactics)
We’re all used to seeing Magnus Carlsen grind out wins the endgame, and we’re all used to seeing him avoid the sharpest variations in order to “just play chess”. But when forced to, he can head into the swamp and try to prove that 2 + 2 sometimes = 5, as the all-time king of complications, Mikhail Tal, used to put it. After getting outplayed in the early middlegame by Veselin Topalov, a great calculator and lover of complications himself, Carlsen goes all out with a sacrificial attack that is at least two parts bluff, but he finally wears Topalov down, induces some errors, and pulls out the win in a crazy game.

Thursday, November 19 IM Valeri Lilov How to Attack Gradually (strategy, middlegame)
Attacking gradually has always been a problem to many players. We all know that at a certain point, out attack needs a slower and more preparatory approach to get going. Knowing how to do it without losing our grip and initiative could be challenging. In his new video, IM Lilov presents a classical game that illustrates which patterns are most significant to improve our attack gradually.

Friday, November 20 GM Leonid Kritz An Unforgettable World Cup Finals – Part 2 (opening, tactics)
Both players made lots of mistakes in this game, and at the end they cancelled each other out to end up in a completely drawish position. However, Karjakin had two more fatal blunders in his pocket for this evening….

This week, we are proud to announce the debut of our newest lecturer, Grandmaster Nadezhda “Nadya” Kosintseva. Nadya, who has been ranked as high as #4 on FIDE’s rating list for women, has been winning gold medals since before she was ten years old, and became a GM in 2011. She is currently a graduate student in finance at the University of Texas at Dallas, and together with Leonid Kritz, forms one of the strongest married chess couples in the world.

Nadya’s first lecture, released today, is short but full of fireworks, bringing us the first in a series that should interest anyone looking to play sharply against the Queen’s Gambit: the QGD Ragozin Variation. In subsequent lectures, Nadya will demonstrate a complete attacking repertoire against all White options in this sharp opening.