Dawn Novarina

Monday, May 25 IM Valeri Lilov Early Middlegame Strategies (strategy, middlegame)
The early middlegame stage is quite important to all kinds of chess players. People often forget that strategy isn’t always about attacking, and there is an important preparatory stage before the late middlegame happens. Check out IM Lilov’s new video to learn more!

Tuesday, May 26 IM Bill Paschall Keres Plays Black – Part 4 (openings, strategy)
Again we see Fischer with problems against the Caro-Kann. This time Keres plays to trade off Fischer’s better bishop and leave him with a useless white squared bishop. Unable to improve since his last loss in this opening, Fischer makes matters worse in the middlegame by weakening his already shaky queenside with the advance 18.b4 ? Keres exploits the situation with an active king, better minor piece and an excellent structure. The final endgame is a masterpiece of coordination and the principle of two weaknesses.

Wednesday, May 27 FM Dennis Monokroussos. The Exchange Queen’s Gambit, Revisited (tactics)
It was quite some time ago when we had a look at the Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, and the game we examined was comparatively old. Does it still hold up as a dangerous option for White? In this game we see that it is, and that the thematic plan involving a central pawn roller turns out to be as dangerous today as it was all the way back in Botvinnik’s time. If your opponents don’t play 3…Be7, use it!

Thursday, May 28 GM Eugene Perelshteyn A Fresh idea in the Caro-Kann Exchange Variation (openings)
GM Perelshteyn introduces a fresh idea in the Caro-Kann Exchange Variation with 6.h3! Black has a serious problem to solve on what to do with his c8 bishop. He finds a way to trade it off and castle queenside. However, with a timely pawn sacrifice White gets a strong attack and executes with a cool tactic at the end!

Friday, May 29 GM Bryan Smith The Clear Play of Bobby Fischer, Part 2 (openings)
Only one year after our first video, we see the young Fischer making his international debut at the Portoroz Interzonal, 1959. In this game he wins smoothly in thematic Najdorf Defense style against Raul Sanguinetti.

Monday, May 18 IM Valeri Lilov Piece Domination – Part II (strategy, middlegame)
In the second part of the Piece Domination series, IM Lilov presents a beautiful example on how a great master is able to exploit the advantages of his formation to attack the opponent successfully.

Tuesday, May 19 IM Bill Paschall Keres Plays Black – Part 3 (middlegame)
Keres avoids the dry main lines of the 4 knights game with an early sideline 3…g6, a la Steinitz in his prime. Black keeps tension against the weaker grandmaster and gains ground as Bisguier plays too routinely and concedes the initiative. Black gains a better structure and eventually induces white to weaken the position around his king. Finally white is too tied up to defend. Masterful play by Keres, and a great tutorial on beating a competent yet inferior opponent.

Wednesday, May 20 FM Dennis Monokroussos The Squeeze is On (openings)
Wesley So was in excellent form at the start of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, and this win in round 4 over Rauf Mamedov put him in first place, half a point ahead of Magnus Carlsen. The game is a wonderful example of the value of a space advantage, and So did a great job of maintaining control from start to finish.

Thursday, May 21 GM Eugene Perelshteyn A Miniature in the Accelerated Dragon Qxd4 Variation (openings)
Watch and learn on how a strong IM gets punished in the opening! In the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon 4.Qxd4 variation, White makes one too many Queen moves and finds himself unable to castle. The end is swift as Black gets to White’s king on the open e-file. The game is over before it begins!

Friday, May 22 GM Bryan Smith The Clear Play of Bobby Fischer, Part 1
In this series, we will be looking at some examples of the clear and purposeful play by the eleventh world champion, Bobby Fischer. This first video covers an early game played against James Sherwin.

Monday, May 11 IM Valeri Lilov Piece Domination – Part I (middlegame)
How do you dominate your opponent’s pieces? The answer to this essential question is the core of any successful plan. IM Lilov’s suggestions can help you learn the secrets of the simple domination with your pieces!

Tuesday, May 12 IM Bill Paschall Keres Plays Black – Part 2 (openings)
Keres surprises Fischer by playing the Caro-Kann instead of the usual main line Ruy Lopez with black. Fischer never did find a suitable line against the Caro, and this game is certainly no exception. Keres exploits dark square weaknesses and a space advantage on the queenside in order to organize 2 rook lifts which serve to both defend and eventually attack Fischer on the kingside in his King’s Indian-type formation. White seemed unfamiliar and planless in the game

Wednesday, May 13 FM Dennis Monokroussos Winning in a “Drawn” Pawn Structure (endgame)
Some pawn structures are extremely solid, sometimes to the point where it seems impossible to defeat them (barring an outright blunder from one’s opponent). White’s pawn structure in this game seems to be of that sort; much of the time, White either uses his space advantage and grinds out a win or else Black neutralizes that edge and makes a draw. A black win looks almost impossible. Not so! As van Wely demonstrates against a very strong grandmaster opponent bent on chasing a draw, Black certainly can attack White’s structure. Poor Schlosser quickly finds himself scrambling to defend, and Black wins an effortless-looking game seemingly from nothing. The good news is that we can learn from van Wely’s model and win with it as well.

Thursday, May 14 IM David Vigorito Best Game Winner from 2015 US Championship (opening, middlegame)
In a topical line of the resurrected Schliemann Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Sam Shankland wins the best game prize in the US Championship.

Friday, May 15 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Wesley So’s Positional Masterpiece in the Ruy Lopez (strategy, middlegame)
Wesley So creates a positional masterpiece vs a strong GM in the Ruy Lopez. Gareev eventually runs out of moves in the middlegame and decides to open up the game. But he’s no match for So in a short tactical melee, when Wesley sacs a queen for a rook and two minor pieces!

Monday, May 4  IM David Vigorito Purely Positional Exchange Sacrifice in the Dragon  (openings)
En route to winning his fourth US Championsip, Nakamura goes all out playing the risky Sicilian Dragon. He sacrifices a full exchange in an endgame and causes White a lot of practical problems.

Tuesday, May 5  IM Bill Paschall Keres Plays Black – Part 1 (middlegame, tactics) 
Keres plays black in his coveted classical Chigorin variation against the Ruy Lopez. Black achieves d5 easily in the opening, thus equalizing the game. Geller slips with the materialistic move 22. Qd2 and the black onslaught begins ! When Keres starts an attack he rarely looks back, and this game is no exception. Virtually computer-like accuracy in a generation well before the inception of chess engines !

Wednesday, May 6  FM Dennis M. A Great Battle in the Semi-Tarrasch  (openings) 
The Semi-Tarrasch is a sort of classical counterpart to the Gruenfeld, and while it’s a little less sharp it can lead to similar battles between White’s proud pawn center and Black’s queenside majority. If White doesn’t manage to create a dangerous central passer or convert his extra space into a successful kingside attack, black’s trumps can prevail. In this game, between two of the absolute heavyweights of that era, we see such a battle. Keres is trying to give mate, and Fine is trying to hold him off while breaking through on the queenside. Who wins? Have a look at this game and the rich clash of ideas therein.

Thursday, May 7  GM Eugene Perelshteyn The Art of Subtle Maneuvering in the Exchange Slav  (strategy, endgame)
Learn how to outplay a strong GM with ease in the Exchange Slav.  Wesley makes small improvements in his position and eventually wins an open file.  Then he wins a pawn, the result is just technique…

Friday, May 8  GM Bryan Smith Match of the (19th) Century: De Labourdonnais – McDonnell, Part 3  (openings)
In the third and last part of GM Bryan Smith’s series on the famous 1834 match between Alexander McDonnell and Charles De Labourdonnais we see a pretty and instructive positional queen sacrifice to claim the initiative.

Monday, April 20  IM Valeri Lilov  Setting Up the Middlegame II (strategy, middlegame)
The development and pawn structure are key to any middlegame. Check out IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more about setting these up for a successful strategy in the middlegame!

Tuesday, April 21  IM  Bill Paschall   Black with Larsen – Part 3  (openings, strategy)
The experienced Stahlberg tries to play a solid line with the fianchetto variation against Larsen’s King’s Indian. Larsen tricks Stalhberg in the opening move order by delaying d6. White further wastes time with 14 Qc2, instead of the more normal 14. Bb2. Black takes control of the key d4 square and breaks the queenside with 19…b5 ! White tries to break black’s initiative by sacrificiing a pawn, but in the heavy piece ending with opposite colored bishops, the initiative remains with black along with the extra pawn. Fine technique by Larsen, and finally Stahberg’s flag falls in a totally lost position.

Wednesday, April 22  FM Dennis Monokroussos Sacrificing the Exchange for Domination (tactics)
Many of us are used to seeing exchange sacrifices in the Sicilian where Black plays …Rxc3, but here we have an exchange sac of a very different sort. Black gets a pawn for the exchange, but White has no pawn weaknesses and seemingly no special problems whatsoever. Despite this, White has a problem: his rooks have no scope. Georgiev is able to keep his opponent restricted throughout, and this slow, Petrosianic pressure finally pays off in a model game.

Thursday, April 23  IM David Vigorito   A Theoretical Saemisch Miniature  (openings, tactics) 
In a hot theoretical line of the Samisch King’s Indian, White avoids the most critical continuation and goes for a more positional game. This line is still important, and Black plays a thematic pawn sacrifice that poses some practical problems. White runs some into trouble and then allows a sparkling tactical finish that is not to be missed!

Friday, April 24 GM Bryan Smith   Match of the (19th) Century: De Labourdonnais – McDonnell, Part 1
In this series, GM Bryan Smith covers the Match of the Century – the 19th century, that is. This fascinating and tactical game took place in the 21st game of that match. Enjoy the twists and turns of some top-level 19th century chess!

Monday, April 13  IM Valeri Lilov   Setting Up the Middlegame (middlegame)

Setting up a good middlegame position is a major challenge for many players, due to the complexity of features and components required. In his new lecture, IM talks about getting a good middlegame structure out of the opening.

Tuesday, April 14  IM Bill Paschall   Black with Larsen – Part 2 (middlegame, tactics)

Larsen plays a rare variation of the Czech Benoni. The experienced Flohr misplaces his white squared bishop in the opening and allows Larsen to steal the initiative with well timed pawn sacrifices on both flanks. Larsen breaks through then by means of a classic Benoni style exchange sacrifice followed by an attack on Flohr’s king. This game is clear evidence that the initiative is far more important than material in the hands of a fighting player.

Wednesday, April 15  FM Dennis Monokroussos   How to Build An Attack (opening, attacking chess, prophylaxis)

My opponent in this rapid game was a good player, but he played a little too provocatively and carelessly in the opening. When that happens
– and it happens to all of us – even a very good player can have a very bad day. I was able to first shut down any possible counterplay he might have
achieved on the queenside, and then turned my attention to his insufficiently guarded kingside. It was a nice attack, but the real work was done in the preparation stage.

Thursday, April 16  IM David Vigorito Revenge Against Cuban Super-GM (Kind of…)   (calculation, strategy)

Just two weeks after my loss to Bruzon, I face him again, but this time I have White. Everything goes wrong in the opening, or so it seems, but I am able to muster enough energy to hold him off this time.

Friday, April 17  GM Eugene Perelshteyn Modern Way to Face the Grunfeld with 3.f3!  (opening, tactics, space advantage)

Learn a new system against the Grunfeld that involves gaining space in the center KID Saemish style.  Wesley So makes is look easy and White obtains a large space advantage right out of the opening.  Black’s cramped pieces and no active plan result in poor maneuvering his knight from f6 to c6 only to be punished by a thematic Nd5! idea.  Try to find a nice bonus of a windmill at the end!

Monday, April 6  IM Valeri Lilov Key Principles – Part II
In the second part of IM Lilov’s new series, you will learn more about the principles of attack and how to utilize them effectively against our opponent.

Tuesday, April 7  Bill Paschall Black with Larsen – Part 1
Larsen displays his creativity in his favorite Dutch Defense. White quickly misses his best chance and loses the initiatove. This game is great example of Larsen’s fighting spirit with the black pieces

Wednesday, April 8   FM Dennis Monokroussos Recent Fragments: Tactics & Endgames
In open events one usually gets a bit of everything, so in this video I’ll show a few interesting moments from some of my recent games. The first example offers a nice if simple middlegame tactic as a bit of warmup and the second offers a reminder that tactics show up in endgames as well. The last example also presents an endgame, but this time tactics play almost no role; what matters is schematic thinking.

Thursday, April 9   IM David Vigorito A Birthday Bashing
In this game I am pitted against the highest rated player I have ever faced – and on my birthday no less. We will see that super-GM’s make mistakes, however, although in the end the Cuban GM proves to be too strong.

Friday, April 10  GM Eugene Perelshteyn Learning Strategy and Prophylactic Thinking from the Best! Part 3: Learn from Jussupow
Watch and learn how the best of Dvoretsky’s student achieves a strategic masterpiece through simple prophylaxis!  Learn to think about your opponent’s moves even if you’re attacking.  A nice bonus is a missed combination at the end pointed out by Tal!

Monday, March 30 IM Valeri Lilov Key Principles – Part I (strategy, middlegame)
What are the key principles we need to follow during a chess game? How to make sure they work to our advantage? Check out IM Lilov’s new video to learn more!

Tuesday, March 31 IM Bill Paschall My Best Hits, Part 4 (openings, tactics)
IM Paschall reviews a win with white playing 1.e4 against a strong GM. Paschall varies from his usual repertoire in order to play against his own favorite variation of the Sicilian. This video shows the advantage of understanding the inherent weaknesses of your own defenses and being able to play practically to put your opponent in an uncomfortable situation.

Wednesday, April 1 IM David Vigorito Surviving a Glitch (tactics)
This game has many layers. My opponent plays a passive opening and I gradually gain the upper hand. it only takes one moment of relaxation though (where I foolishly play for a trap) to give my opponent a chance to steal the game. when he hesitates I am able to quickly shift gears and go from material up to material down in order to reestablish dominance.

Thursday, April 2 GM Leonid Kritz Top Grandmaster with an Amateur Opening Preparation (openings)
This game is interesting for two reasons. First, for players who do not know theory in depth this game represents an interesting battle in itself. Second, it does not happen too often that a 2800 grandmaster loses because he simply does not know theory and his opponent has to find no single move at board. The line with 14….Ng4 is mentioned in commentaries to one of G. Kasparow’s games, but as is evident from this game this line is not playable. Well, it is not enough to read comments to play against Anand…

Friday, April 3 GM Bryan Smith Rubinstein’s Great Endgames, Part 8 (endgame)
In this final video of Bryan Smith’s series on the endgames of Akiba Rubinstein, we see a wonderful display of classical positional themes in Rubinstein’s victory against Richard Reti.

Monday, March 23  IM David Vigorito   Needle in a Haystack (openings) 

Tuesday, March 24  IM  Bill Paschall  Mohr Flohr! Part 4  (middlegame, tactics) 
We see a classic battle with the great Emanuel Lasker. Black captures dubiously white’s outposted knight on e5 in a typical hanging pawn middlegame. Flohr gains the initative with 2 raking bishops and breaks through with an ingenius exchange sacrifice, which in turn gives him a monstrous passed pawn. Lasker is unable to generate any serious counterplay. A masterful win against one of the greatest chess players of all time.

Wednesday, March 25  FM Dennis Monokroussos   One Diagonal Per Bishop (tactics)
When one plays both …e6 and …g6, there’s a serious danger that very weak dark squares will result. If the bishop develops along the path cleared by the e-pawn, then h6 and g7 are likely to be weak; if it is fianchettoed instead then d6 could be a problem, and in both cases Black can have trouble with the f6 square. Those difficulties were convincingly demonstrated in the game Bitensky-Ciobanu from the 2015 European championship, as you will see. Black wound up with dark squared problems all over the place, and eventually fell prey to a beautiful kingside attack that highlighted all the weak dark squares in her camp. White’s attacking play was instructive, but one shouldn’t forget about the preconditions that made it possible – that’s very instructive too, even if only as a model of what we should avoid.

Thursday, March 26  GM Eugene Perelshteyn   A Surprise Weapon in the Accelerated Dragon: Invite White to Castle Long! (openings) 
Learn a cool weapon to steer the game in the regular Dragon on your own terms with 8…Nd7!  An original idea by the creative genius Bent Larsen.  The knight transfer allows a fight for the critical c4 square.  This old idea is completely overlooked in modern theory and you can easily surprise your opponents!  Also, get a master class on a positional exchange sacrifice in the best traditions of Petrosian.

Friday, March 27  GM Bryan Smith  Rubinstein’s Great Endgames, Part 7 (endgame) 
In this game, Akiba Rubinstein shows unusual and deep strategic maneuvering in exploiting the two bishops in an endgame resulting from the Exchange Variation of the Spanish Game.”

Monday, March 9 IM Valeri Lilov Exploiting Lead in Space (middlegame)
What do we know about space? Most players fight for the center to restrict the opponent’s pieces and get more space. What should we do after this? IM Lilov’s suggestions can help you reveal the full potential of winning with a space advantage!

Tuesday, March 10 IM David Vigorito Inside Coverage of the USCL 2014 – part 13 (strategy, tactics)
US Chess League continues with a win over former US Champion Joel Benjamin. Both sides try to drag the each other into unfamiliar territory with an unusual opening move order. I was able to use my experience from both sides of an unusual opening to bring down my even more experienced opponent!

Wednesday, March 11 FM Dennis Monokroussos Tartakower the Grandmaster (openings, middlegame, endgame)
Last time we saw Tartakower overwhelm a weaker opponent with some sharp, crazy opening play. In this game, we see that he could be just as devastating against another top player using a more well-rounded approach. Richard Reti was one of the very best players in the world and around his peak at this point, but Tartakower very smoothly outplayed him with the black pieces, besting his great opponent in all three phases of the game (opening, middlegame and ending). It’s so smooth that it’s practically a model game, and it’s very rare that one top player can win in such a style against one of his peers. His ability to win games of all sorts, from openings of all sorts, makes Tartakower a good model for both students and for those looking for entertainment as well, and I hope you’ll find this game (and the last one) enjoyable and instructive.

Thursday, March 12 IM Bill Paschall My Best Hits, Part 3
IM Paschall shares his most spectacular win with features an ultra-sharp variation against the Benko Gambit. Black varies from the main line and Paschall employs a creative double pawn sacrifice in the opening to disrupt his opponents pawn structure. Black sleepwalks through the early middlegame and his king is shredded in the center.

Friday, March 13 GM Bryan Smith Rubinstein’s Great Endgames, Part 6 (endgame)
In this classic endgame, Akiba Rubinstein demonstrates the advantage of a superior king position in a complex king and pawn ending.