Susan Manley

Middlegame Positions and Problem Solving

by IM David Vigorito

             Recommended for Advanced Players

Review middlegame decision making with David Vigorito.

Middlegame play sets the scene for the endgame. What material you have, where it is on the board and your options are considerations. Here David takes us through numerous middlegame problems, shows us the thought process for analyzing what to do, and solutions.

Content: 82 minutes of instruction and analysis in a series of 2 lectures.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.39 out of 5

Members of ChessLecture.com said: I love the ideas of multiple different types of problems and their solutions rather than the usual game analysis with a couple of slowly developing tide turning positions. Great bang for the buck!

IM David Vigorito is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. USCF rated at 2479, David was the Champion of the Boylston (Boston) Chess Club. He played in the 2006 U.S. Championship after finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the U.S. Open in Phoenix. David is a successful chess author – his Challenging the Nimzo-Indian is very well received by critics and players alike.

The Best of Reshevsky

By IM Bill Paschall

   Recommended for Intermediate – Advanced Players    MORE

   Presented by International Master Bill Paschall for ChessLecture.com

   For those of you that are D4 players Bill says studying Reshevsky is a must!

       Samuel “Sammy” Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 –     April 4, 1992) a chess prodigy that grew into a leading American Grandmaster.  

Rshevsky was a strong contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s: he came equal third in the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament and equal second in the 1953 Candidates Tournament. He was an eight-time winner of the U.S. Chess Championship. An outstanding match player throughout his career, Reshevsky excelled at positional play, and could be a brilliant tactician when required. He took a long time over his opening moves, and often found himself under time pressure – but this sometimes unsettled his opponent more than it did Reshevsky. Reshevsky was an accountant, and a well-regarded chess writer.

Content: 2.5 hours of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.25 out of 5

Fans on Chesslecture.com said: The explanations of the positional issues are fantastic. Thanks for the great lecture.

IM Bill Paschall currently resides in Budapest, Hungary. Bill was the Boylston Chess Club Champion 2002, finished 1st at the Foxwoods Open 2002, Three-Time New England Open Champion, and has defeated more than 20 IGM’s in tournament play. Bill has extensive experience training both adults and children privately and in the schools.

Opening Trends 3: The Catalan

by IM David Vigorito

       Recommended for Intermediate Players

Opening Trends is an exciting series where IM David Vigorito examines how tournament chess is changing, nuances in the game are coming into play and exciting trends are being set.

The Catalan opening is where White adopts a combination of the Queen’s Gambit and Reti Opening White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, The Catalan derives its name from Catalonia—a nation inside of Spain. Used by Kramnik three times in the World Chess Championship in 2006, the Catalan has recently gained a good deal of attention by high-level GMs. The Catalan was also played four times by Anand in the World Chess Championship in 2010 in both instances the opponent was Topalov, See that game and others explained in this DVD.

Content: 108 minutes of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures.   PGN included

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.04 out of 5   ECO E06, E08

Members of ChessLecture said: A very useful “Starter- pack” on the Open Catalan! Many Thanks!

IM David Vigorito is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. USCF rated at 2479, David was the Champion of the Boylston (Boston) Chess Club. He played in the 2006 U.S. Championship after finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the U.S. Open in Phoenix. David is a successful chess author – his Challenging the Nimzo-Indian is very well received by critics and players alike.

Studies in: The Dutch Defense

by The Masters of ChessLecture

Recommended for Intermediate –Advanced Players  MORE

Content: 2.4 hours of instruction and analysis in a series of 6 lectures.

With GM Jesse Kraai, GM Eugene Perelshteyn, IM John-Paul Wallace, LM Dana Mackenzie, and IM David Vigorito.

The Dutch Defense was employed regularly in the past by Alekhine, Larsen, Morphy and Najdorf. The high-water mark for the Defense occurred in 1951, when both Mikhail Botvinnik, the world champion, and his challenger, David Bronstein, played it in their World Championship match. Not found as often in modern games, but regularly used successfully by GM Hikura Nakamura.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.48 out of 5

ECO A80, A88, A85     PGN included

Fans on Chesslecture.com said: Very clear and concise lecture. I not only learned how to play against this structure of the Dutch but also received side lectures on when to give up the bishop pair, the right moment to open up the position, and above all, a tactical motive to burn into memory.

Opening Trends: The Russian Gruenfeld and Anti-Gruenfeld

by IM David Vigorito

Recommended for Intermediate Players  More

Opening Trends is an exciting series where IM David Vigorito examines how tournament chess is changing, nuances in the game are coming into play and exciting trends are being set.

In this DVD David analyzes the Gruenfeld which he considers is reaching its height of popularity. David examples a popular line the Russian Gruenfeld and the Anti-Gruenfeld where white plays F3 on move 3.

Content: 1 hour of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.37 out of 5  

ECO D98, D97, D70           PGN included

IM David Vigorito is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. USCF rated at 2479, David was the Champion of the Boylston (Boston) Chess Club. He played in the 2006 U.S. Championship after finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the U.S. Open in Phoenix. David is a successful chess author – his Challenging the Nimzo-Indian is very well received by critics and players alike.

Studies in: The Caro-Kann Defense by IM David Vigorito

Recommended for Intermediate Players        More

Content: 2.5 hours of instruction and analysis in a series of 5 lectures.

The Caro-Kann is a solid defense against e4. This opening has seen steady growth in popularity in recent years. Employed by such greats such as Kasparov and Karpov.

Here David examines some sharp and some simple lines as well as a game where he was beaten in the Caro-Kann.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.43 out of 5     ECO B12, B13, B19   PGN included

Fans on Chesslecture.com said: your lectures are always well analyzed and you manage to explain the games very comprehensibly

IM David Vigorito is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and has been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. USCF rated at 2479, David was the Champion of the Boylston (Boston) Chess Club. He played in the 2006 U.S. Championship after finishing in a tie for 3rd place at the U.S. Open in Phoenix. David is a successful chess author – his Challenging the Nimzo-Indian is very well received by critics and players alike.

The Reti for White

by GM Eugene Perelshteyn 

  Recommended for Intermediate and Advanced Players

Presented by International Grandmaster Eugene Perelshtyen for ChessLecture.com

The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves: 1. Nf3 d5, 2. c4 Named after Richard Réti (1889–1929), an untitled Grandmaster from Czechoslovakia, this opening is in the spirit of the hypermodernism movement that Réti championed, with the center being dominated by counter attacks from the flanks.

In this DVD Eugene demonstrates two interesting lines for white in the Reti and then gives us an example of the Reti in action with his best game in the 2008 Spice cup.

Content: 87 Minutes of chess theory and discussion, in a series of 3 lectures. ECO: A04, A05

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.58 out of 5

Fans on ChessLecture.com said: An excellent, insightful lecture. Thanks pure sweetness. I like these flexible openings, as i am a beginner player. This is great! Thanks and well done.

GM Eugene Perelshtyen earned his third GM norm after sharing first place in the 2006 Foxwoods Open, giving him the official GM title. He won the Samford Chess Fellowship in 2002, an award that amounts to $64,000, which is awarded to the top American player under 25 years old. Eugene also led the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to several Pan American championships from 1998-2002. Eugene also won the highly prestigious US Junior Championship in 2000. Eugene recently co-authored the books Chess Openings for Black, Explained and Chess Openings for White, Explained.

The Exchange Sacrifice on c3 in the Sicilian

by GM Bryan Smith

Recommended for Intermediate-Advanced Players  More

An exchange sacrifice occurs when one player gives up a rook for a minor piece. It is often used to destroy the enemy pawn structure. In the Sicillian Defense it is used where Blacks  knight on c3 with a rook to establish a minor piece on a strong square. In this DVD Bryan explains the sacrifices with both the Scheveningen “small center” structure of pawns on d6 and e6 and as well as the Sicilian Dragon.

Content 2 hours of chess theory and discussion in a series of 3 lectures.

ECO: B90, B56, B35    Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.02 out of 5

Fans on ChessLecture.com said: A very instructive video! I found it informative in all facets of the game.

GM Bryan Smith grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and resides in Philadelphia, PA. Some of his accomplishments include clear first in the 2008 National Chess Congress, first place in the 2006 U.S. Masters (qualifying to the 2007 U.S. Championship) and first place in the 2008 King’s Island Open, as well as winning many other Grand Prix tournaments. He was on the national champion UMBC chess team from 1999 to 2001. Bryan is the highest rated player ever from Alaska. Brian became a Grandmaster in 2013.

The Najdorf Poisoned Pawn: Then and Now

by GM Bryan Smith

            Recommended for Intermediate-Advanced Players

A pawn is said to be poisoned because its capture can result in a positional disadvantage and or the loss of material l. The best known of these is a line of the Sicillian Defense, Najdorf Variation . One of the pioneers of this line was David Bronstein , who tied the 1951 World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik 12–12. Bobby Fischer later became an practitioner, playing it with great success.

Recently revived GM Bryan Smith shows you how it was historically used, and how our modern top class players such Anand are using it.

Content 2 hours of chess theory and discussion in a series of 3 lectures.    ECO: B97

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 3.62 out of 5 .

Fans on ChessLecture.com said: Bryan: These two lectures on the Poison-Pawn you did are fantastic! Can you please do at least one more poison-pawn lecture to update where this opening stands today?

GM Bryan Smith grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and resides in Philadelphia, PA. Some of his accomplishments include clear first in the 2008 National Chess Congress, first place in the 2006 U.S. Masters (qualifying to the 2007 U.S. Championship) and first place in the 2008 King’s Island Open, as well as winning many other Grand Prix tournaments. He was on the national champion UMBC chess team from 1999 to 2001. Bryan is the highest rated player ever from Alaska. Brian became a Grandmaster in 2013.

Basic Ideas Behind the Pirc Defense

by International Master Attila Turzo

Recommended for Beginner to Intermediate Players

The Pirc Defense sometimes known as the Ufimtsev Defence or Yugoslav Defense normally refers to the opening 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6. It is named after the Slovenian International Grandmaster Vasja Pirc.

On this DVD IM Turzo walks you through the basic variations and shows you the things to consider at every step.

Members of Chesslecture.com rated this series a 3.79 out of 5

Content: 140 minutes of instruction and analysis in a series of 5 lectures

Members said: I play the Pirc defense and learned a lot about the plans against the various setups white might choose. I am looking forward to watching the rest of the series. 5 stars.

IM Attila Turzo currently resides in Hungary. Attila’s his achievements are 1998 Hungarian Junior Champion and earned his IM title in 1997. Attila also won the First Saturday Chess Tournament in May 2004. Turzo is a professional chess coach.