Chess Lectures

Monday, September 10
IM Bill Paschall – Mamadyarov Dominates in Biel 2018, Part 2 | Opening, Endgame
Mamadyarov shows his versatile abilities in this round seven victory against the talented David Navara from Biel 2018. Mamadyarov plays a quiet system and actually lures Navara into attacking and overextending himself. In the aftermath of his over-extension, Navara loses a pawn. Finally Mamadyarov shows great endgame skill and understanding of transferral of advantages by giving the pawn back to reach a better ending with equal material but superior structure and king centralization. Overall, a great win and a good illustration of Mamadyarov’s skill set.

Tuesday, September 11
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Another Approach to the Openings | Opening, Strategy
Sergei Tiviakov’s opening repertoire isn’t what most players would call cutting-edge. But despite this, he has had fantastic results with the white pieces for decades, as he delves so deeply into his seemingly harmless systems that he can lay positional traps that even elite GMs fall into – and don’t realize that they are positional traps. This impressive and remarkably easy victory against Loek van Wely is a fine illustration of his repertoire in practice, and in the video I have much more to say about how we can learn from Tiviakov’s approach.

Wednesday, September 12
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Instructive Way of Executing the Plan in Accelerated Dragon | Opening, Strategy, Tactics
How well do you know the different plans in the Accelerated Dragon? In this video GM Perelshteyn presents you all the key ideas: half-open c-file, knight transfer to c4, swinging with the tail. But knowing the ideas is not enough, you have to know when to play each one. Eugene’s opponent is clever and managed to prepare for all the ideas with cunning tricks. Yet, the only open file was lost by White and the invasion happened instantly!

Thursday, September 13
GM Nadya Kosintseva – Play the Taimanov Sicilian (2…e6), Part 2 | Strategy, Tactics
In this lecture we continue learning the Taimanov Variation of the Sicilian Defense. We will go over the sharpest lines of the variation to see what happens if White castles on the queenside. To prepare long castling, White can choose between Qf3 and Qd2 moves. We begin with Qf3 lines since this move order has become pretty popular now. Then we continue on to the Qd2 variations followed by an early f3. The most important thing to understand when you play this position for black: don’t hesitate to attack! Go forward, create threats! Even if your opponent just attacked one of your pieces, it does not mean that you have to retreat. Be active, don’t waste time on slow moves and you should be fine.

Friday, September 14
IM Valeri Lilov – Middlegame Imbalances | Middlegame
The concept of imbalances has always been a tough one when it comes to middlegame. In this video, IM Lilov introduces some important principles one should know in order to find and create imbalances!

Monday, September 3
IM Valeri Lilov
How to Navigate Challenging Positions | Strategy, Middlegame
In this video lecture, IM Valeri Lilov will provide us some exceptional ideas for a continuous defense in tough positions that may actually turn the game around and help us win in the end!

Tuesday, September 4
IM Bill Paschall Mamadyarov Dominates in Biel 2018, Part 1 | Opening, Endgame
Shakriyar Mamedyarov is emerging as the greatest serious threat to Magnus Carlsen. In the 2018 edition of the strong round robin in Switzerland, “Shak” dominated the field, finishing clear ahead of Magnus and defeating the World Champ in one of their individual games. The next World Championship will not feature Mamadyarov, but perhaps this showdown is waiting for us in the future? This series presents the best games of Shakriyar from the Biel tournament.

Wednesday, September 5
FM Dennis Monokroussos Don’t Lose Hope in Your Openings! | Openings
Sometimes we see an opening lose what we can best describe as a model game. The winning side has a clear plan in mind, and is able to execute it as if following a recipe from a cookbook. When we see such games – especially if we are ourselves the victims – there’s a temptation to give up the variation or even the opening and look elsewhere. This is a mistake, albeit a psychologically understandable one. Almost without fail, a bit more research or elbow grease will show us a way to improve the line and make it playable. Case in point: in the Panno Variation of the Fianchetto King’s Indian, Black’s knight on a5 can be hideous. When things go wrong (as they do in two included illustrative games featuring World Champions on the losing side) the knight is out of play and without a future. But the variation, and the seemingly sad knight, can be redeemed as we’ll see in our main game, starring former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Whether you play this particular variation or not, the general point remains: don’t lose hope in your openings!

Thursday, September 6
GM Eugene Perelshteyn Positional Transformation & Converting An Advantage | Strategy, Endgame
One of the most overlooked topic in chess literature is positional transformation. In other words transforming one form of advantage into another form. In this instructive game GM Perelshteyn shows you how he first obtained a nice central advantage out of the opening, then transformed it into a bishop pair, then extra pawn, then converted the pawn in the R+P endgame. Black fought back at every step and almost made a draw at the end! The resulting R+P endgame is very instructive!

Friday, September 7
GM Leonid Kritz – New Idea In An Old Opening | Tactics, Strategy
White chooses an interesting plan in a position that has been played many times, and follows the modern trend to activate rooks by moving h- and a-pawns. Looks fascinating, but it doesn’t work out well – Black easily equalizes and then outplays White in the strategic battle that follows.

Monday, August 27
IM Valeri Lilov – How to Make Strategic Decisions | Strategy, Middlegame
Make decisions is always quite challenging, especially when there is no concrete target. That is because when people start thinking, they always search for an immediate idea they can utilize. However, there is much more to strategy than finding a target. Study this video to learn more!

Tuesday, August 28
IM Bill Paschall – Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 6 | Opening, Strategy
This game is a typically instructive example of Botvinnik’s strategic understanding. The struggle highlights White’s superiority in the center. One can see parallels with Capablanca in this example , including rook on the seventh rank and the bishops’ superiority against a knight in the endgame. Botvinnik uses fundamental principles to secure the point.

Wednesday, August 29
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Not Another Boring Draw | Strategy
Despite being one of the world’s super-elite, even reaching the #2 spot on the rating list for a time, Wesley So had never defeated Magnus Carlsen in a classical game prior to the Norway Chess tournament in June of 2018. Shortly before the encounter Carlsen told an interviewer that So was a player who makes “boring draws” and with whom he could draw at will. Carlsen is the world champion and the ratings #1, but in this game he was convincingly outplayed in a beautiful game. If anyone is entitled to talk trash it’s Carlsen, but even for him the old adage that one should let one’s moves do the talking seems to apply.

Thursday, August 30
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – A Tricky Caro-Modern System for Black | Opening, Strategy, Endgame
How do you play for a win when so many openings are analyzed till move 20 these days? In this game, GM Perelshteyn shows you a tricky system based on the ideas of three different openings: Modern & Caro-Cann & Pirc. Try to understand the ideas behind each move and the resulting pawn structures. White was under pressure but managed to find accurate move to neutralize Black’s imitative.

Friday, August 31
GM Nadya Kosintseva – Play the Taimanov Sicilian (2…e6), Part 1 | Strategy, Tactics
Today’s lecture starts a series about the so called Taimanov Variation of the Sicilian Defense. The positions of the variation arise after the following moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6. To begin the course, I introduce the Scheveningen system that may happen in the case of 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 followed by 7.Be2 and 8.0-0. These positions, perhaps, are not so concrete compared to the queen-side castling when White can easily advance and/or sacrifice the pawns on the king side. However, to succeed Black needs to be familiar with the basic strategic ideas and tactical tricks. We will go over the most popular lines to learn what Black should expect and how can he get a counterplay under different scenarios.

Monday, August 20
IM Valeri Lilov – Play the Nimzo | Strategy, Opening
The Nimzo Indian is known as one of the most solid, yet popular openings of our time. What makes it so exciting for players of any level is the simplicity of the opening and its structures. In his new video, IM Lilov will present some of his key observations on how this opening works so well for black.

Tuesday, August 21
IM Bill Paschall – Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 5 | Opening, Strategy
Botvinnik produces the brilliancy prize game of the Moscow 1936 tournament. In this game, we see Lilienthal commit some inaccuracies in the opening, and the punishment is quite severe. White dominates the board with the classic “Maroczy Bind” structure, and Black speeds up his own demise in trying to break free!

Wednesday, August 22
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Finishing in Style | Tactics
Russian GM and former Candidate Dmitry Andreikin tied for first in the 2018 Xtracon Chess Open after winning a crucial last-round game over reigning World Junior Champion Aryan Tari of Norway. The main lines of the Closed Ruy are strategically deep, but they can often become tactical at a moment’s notice. Perhaps Tari forgot about that, thinking that his knights might soon take up dominant posts on c5 and c4. A good idea in theory, but tactics intervened…

Thursday, August 23
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – The Power of Two Bishops in the Accelerated Dragon | Opening, Strategy, Tactics
What happens when white tries to sidestep main line theory in the Accelerated Dragon? First, Black’s center is improved. Then Black wins the bishop pair. The rest is very instructive way to convert these static advantages. And the best part is, you don’t even need to be a GM to do this! Watch and learn how GM Perelshteyn’s student masterfully executes all the key ideas.

Friday, August 24
GM Leonid Kritz – Svidler’s Najdorf Resists Keres’ Attack | Opening, Tactics
White adopts the aggressive Keres’ Attack against Svidler’s Najdorf Sicilian, with non-standard and dynamic ideas. Black meets these well, and White overreaches.

Monday, August 13
IM Bill Paschall Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 4 | Strategy, Middlegame
This is a middlegame masterpiece by Botvinnik. In this example, Botvinnik uses the concept of space advantage to a masterful degree, despite the early exchange of queens. White exploits the cramp in his opponent’s position and pushes the Black pieces back with timely pawn moves. A great example of coordination and also of the active king in the endgame.

Tuesday, August 14
FM Dennis Monokroussos The Perils of Slow Play in the Sicilian | Tactics, Endgame
It used to be said that in the Sicilian White wins the short games and Black wins the long ones. There are Sicilian endgames that are good for White and short games won by Black, but it’s not bad as a rule of thumb. White starts with more space and a lead in development, but if he does nothing with it Black’s extra pawn in the center and other strategic pluses can take over. That’s what happens here: White’s play is too slow, and after he misses a small tactic Black obtains a superior ending with the bishop pair and wins in good style.

Wednesday, August 15
GM Eugene Perelshteyn Strategic Masterpiece by Le Quang Liem in the Maroczy Bind | Opening, Strategy
In this game 2-time Aeroflot winner shows deep strategic understanding of the Maroczy Bind for Black. Le Quang Liem masterfully maneuvers his queen to h8, trades dark square bishops and wins on the dark squares. Do you think two rooks plus a pawn is better than a queen? Liem proves us all wrong! Watch, Study, Enjoy…repeat!

Thursday, August 16
GM Leonid Kritz How to Win an Equal Endgame | Endgame
This game is a great example of how to play endgames. In a position that seemed dead drawn, White found chances to play for win and actually converted his small advantage into a point. A real masterpiece from Harikrishna.

Friday, August 17
IM Valeri Lilov Simple Endgame Strategy | Strategy Endgame
In endgames, people often feel confused because they do not know what to think about. Most importantly, they cannot identify a pressure point and that makes them frustrated. In his new lecture. IM Valeri Lilov covers a simple method you can use for all your endgames!

Monday, August 6
IM Bill Paschall – Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 3 | Strategy, Middlegame
Botvinnik demonstrates in this game some of his classic ideas about strategy. Firstly, we see him allowing the doubled pawns , something he used regularly to great effect. Also notable is his affinity for the bishop pair, which was of paramount importance in this game. The most striking idea from the battle in question is his key positional exchange sacrifice with …Rd4!, which effectively negated White’s initiative. Although hardly a perfect game under the microscope of a modern computer, Botvinnik’s creativity and adherence to his principles is quite instructive.

Tuesday, August 7
FM Dennis Monokroussos – The Joy of Creativity | Tactics
Few players in modern chess history are as stylistically distinct as Mr. Fire on Board, Alexei Shirov. In this game we see one of his most jaw-droppingly brilliant ideas – and the point is just as shocking as the move itself. I won’t give any hints about the move, but that the idea is to produce a minutely better ending than he could achieve by routine moves is amazing. Watch, and I hope you’ll be as thrilled as I was when I first saw this game and the star move.

Wednesday, August 8
GM Leonid Kritz – What Opening Is It?! | Opening, Strategy
A very unusual way to play against Sicilian was demonstrated by Harikrishna in this game. After an obviously sub-optimal opening line, White still got a playable position due to mistakes that Black made. Later on, a very important strategic plan for this pawn structure was shown – how to play on the c-file. For those who play this type of position with either white or black, this game is very instructive.

Thursday, August 9
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Instructive Way to Advantage in the Symmetrical English | Opening, Strategy, Tactics

Friday, August 10
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – I Try to Play Like Tal – But Lose! | Opening, Strategy
Have you ever played a brilliant sacrifice only to find out that it doesn’t work? Well, GMs do it too. In this game, GM Perelshteyn intuitively feels like he has to sac a piece but the logical move is refuted with cold-blooded defense! Instead, there’s a hidden sacrifice still present in the position. Can you find it?

Monday, July 30
IM Valeri Lilov How to Fight for Opening Advantage | Strategy, Opening
The most important rule of the opening is to fight for initiative and advantage. Making it real is a matter of two things: The opponent’s mistakes and our ability to exploit them. In order to understand how to fight for opening advantage, one should first learn the differences between a good and bad development, after which comes the concept of a superior pawn structure. Check out IM Valeri Lilov’s video to learn more about getting an advantage in the opening!

Tuesday, July 31
IM Bill Paschall Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 2 | Opening, Strategy
Botvinnik faces the classic Nimzovich pawn sacrifice in the Advance variation og the French. Black takes the pawn and plays creatively for central control, undermining the center with a timely f6 ! White gives up his key white squared bishop and regrets later the weaknesses on that color complex. Botivnnik destroys the White position using creative methods, but adhering to classical principles. Particularly interesting are the placement of the Black king at f7 and the idea of Qg8 to h7!

Wednesday, August 1
FM Dennis Monokroussos Becoming a GM at 12, Part 2 | Opening, Tactics
Having seen Praggnanandhaa’s win in the previous round, we now see how he finished off his GM norm, tying for first place in the tournament as well. This time he wins with Black, against Dutch GM Roland Pruijssers – again in a Ruy Lopez. Pruijssers’ opening play was very strange, as his opponent pretty consistently plays the variation that arose in the game. Predicting the position after Black’s 13th move was far from impossible, but Pruijssers played a poor move all the same. His opponent didn’t make the best choice on move 19, but nevertheless the 12-year-old showed excellent technique to break down what might otherwise have been a fortress.

Thursday, August 2
GM Leonid Kritz How Not to Play Chess, Super-GM Style | Opening
This is a great example of how you should not play chess. The opening of this rapid game is played so badly by both players that you would never guess these two are top grandmasters. Obviously, the reason is that people today want to experiment in the early stage of the game, but they do it really poorly. After all, the position was very close to being drawn, but Black managed to find almost the only way to get in trouble and eventually lose this game.

Friday, August 3
GM Eugene Perelshteyn Surprise Your Opponent as Early as Move 3 in the Ruy Lopez! | Opening, Strategy, Endgame

Monday, July 23
IM Valeri Lilov – Secrets of Technical Chess | Strategy, Middlegame
What is more relevant: Technical or Tactical chess? This key question is quite complex as both of these are quite important, each in its specific way. Find out how to evaluate them in IM Lilov’s lecture!

Tuesday, July 24
IM Bill Paschall – Botvinnik’s Best Strategic Victories, Part 1 | Middlegame, Strategy
In the first part of this series we see Botvinnik’s surprising decision making in action. There is more than one surprising move that will change the way you think strategically. In this example Botvinnik shows when it is correct to make the exception to the rule and break with stereotypical play.

Wednesday, July 25
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Becoming a GM at 12, Part 1 | Strategy, Tactics
Indian youngster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu just became the second youngest GM in history, earning the title at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days. He achieved his final norm at the Gredine Open in Ortisei, Italy, and probably earned it with this brutal win in the penultimate round against Luca Moroni (himself a teenage GM). Moroni played a dodgy Ruy sideline, perhaps hoping his opponent would be unfamiliar with the variation. It didn’t work, and when he took too long to castle his opponent punished him in an instructive and impressive game.

Thursday, July 26
GM Nadya Kosintseva – The Principle of Two Weaknesses | Tactics
Sometimes, in spite of the fact that we have an advantage, either material or positional, our opponent is able to resist by bringing all of his resources to defend the weak area. In such situations, if we can open a second front and create another problem in his position, it can stretch his defense and so make the resistance more challenging for him. In chess terminology we usually call it the principle of two weaknesses, meaning not only another weak point in his position but also creating more opportunities for own pieces or just playing on both sides of the board. In this lecture I will show you three instructive examples to explain this principle in practice.

Friday, July 27
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Botvinnik Pawn Center in Modern Practice | Opening, Strategy
Know your classics! In this modern gem we see a classic Botvinnik pawn center obtained from e3 Nimzo. Where did Black go wrong to allow such a dominating position? You would have to go way back in the opening to figure that out. Black tries to find the center but to no avail… Enjoy this modern miniature!

Monday, July 16
IM Valeri Lilov – Benefits of the Space Advantage | Strategy, Opening
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, July 17
IM Bill Paschall – Shankland’s Seismic Domination | Opening, Tactics
Grandmaster Sam Shankland continues to dominate the American chess scene. Fresh from his upset victory in the US Championship, Shankland puts his rating on the line in the American Continental Championship in Uruguay, a Swiss system event featuring some of the best players from all the Americas. Again the rising star, who is now solidly over 2700, puts on a great performance, winning the tournament outright with an undefeated nine points from a possible eleven. In the feature game we see incisive yet solid opening play paired with precise and decisive calculation.

Wednesday, July 18
FM Dennis Monokroussos – A Tricky Modern Line, Part 2 | Strategy, Tactics
Last time we looked at the Modern Line 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 Black tried the tricky 4…d5. In the battle of wild tacticians we see 4…d6 instead, aiming to bother the Bc4 with …b5 and …a5. This strategy didn’t work either, as Judit Polgar sac’ed and attacked until Black broke – and it didn’t take very long, either. It would go too far to conclude from these two games that the Modern with 3…c6 is unplayable, but we can see that it’s very dangerous when White knows what to do.

Thursday, July 19
GM Leonid Kritz – Don’t Play h5 in the Opening! | Tactics
Today’s chess in general can be described as a battle of extraordinary ideas. Some of them are good, but most are just bad. And this is one example of such. Black plays too early on the kingside with 7….h5, and out of nowhere gets into a slightly passive position without any counterplay. From there, it takes Aronian much effort to convert his small advantage into the point.

Friday, July 20
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Botvinnik Pawn Center in Modern Practice | Opening, Strategy
Know your classics! In this modern gem we see a classic Botvinnik pawn center obtained from e3 Nimzo. Where did Black go wrong to allow such a dominating position? You would have to go way back in the opening to figure that out. Black tries to find the center but to no avail… Enjoy this modern miniature!

Monday, July 9
IM Bill Paschall – Showdown at the Poikovsky Corral | Opening, Endgame
Dmitry Jakovenko dominated the 2018 edition of the Poikovsky/Karpov tournament , which is organized in Siberia every year. A favorite player of the author, this year’s winner displayed his usual excellent positional play combined with superb endgame technique. Jakovenko should be considered one of the most correct and classically styled players among the world’s elite. The game in question illustrates both an interesting and increasingly topical line of the Advance Caro-Kann as well as a classic bishop vs knight endgame.

Tuesday, July 10
FM Dennis Monokroussos – A Tricky Modern Line, Part 1 | Opening Traps, Strategy, Tactics
The Modern line 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 can lead to lively play with danger for both sides. The temporary sac 4…d5!? 5.exd5 b5 has some especially tricky lines, as we’ll see, but if White knows what to do, a slight though comfortable edge will be his reward. We’ll see what White should and shouldn’t do as he wins a near-model game.

Wednesday, July 11
IM Valeri Lilov – Old School vs. Youth | Strategy, Middlegame
How do young players go against much more experienced opponents? Is it possible to defeat the younger generation with old school methods? Tune in to this lecture to learn more!

Thursday, July 12
GM Leonid Kritz – How Not to Play an Opening | Tactics
This game is a good illustration of how to convert a stable, static, strategic advantage without giving your opponent even one little chance. Black certainly messed up in the opening and got a very passive position, allowing Gelfand to get – it seems – an easy point. In reality, it is very important to understand how White converts his advantage without allowing black to get any sort of counterplay.

Friday, July 13
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Carlsbad Pawn Structure at Tata Steel | Strategy, Tactics, Endgame
In this modern take on the classic Carlsbad Pawn Structure we see a lot of key ideas. Try to guess each player’s move and the ideas behind it. Svidler outplays Hou Yifan in what seems to be a nice positional game, but tactics appear out of nowhere! Now, try to guess what’s going in the complex endgame. Could Hou Yifan save the game at the end?