Chess Lectures

Monday, June 20 GM Nadya Kosintseva An Introduction to the Isolated Queen Pawn (strategy)
Isolated pawns: are they a weakness or a strength? In this lecture, we will discuss different strategies for the side that has the isolated pawn as well as for the side that plays against the isolated pawn. You will see some typical examples how to develop an initiative, transferring the static weakness of the isolated pawn into a dynamic strength. On another side, you will learn how to reduce the dynamic elements and what exchanges are favorable or unfavorable for both sides.

Tuesday, June 21 IM Bill Paschall Young Guns at the Polish Championship 2016, Part 3 (middlegame, tactics)
White plays the popular Short variation of the advance Caro-Kann. Black uses a slow and weakening plan on the kingside with 7..h6 and 8…g5. The black king is not entirely safe despite the bishop on g7 and White exploits the situation with the logical plan 10.Ne1 and the thematic pawn break 12.f4 . White is able to migrate his pieces to the kingside and a combinational breakthrough is executed in short order. It seems that this game casts serious doubt on Black’s unusual setup. Perhaps an early c5 for Black, recently played by Navara, is still Black’s most thematic and best chance.

Wednesday, June 22 FM Dennis Monokroussos A ‘Rauzing’ Success in the d3 Ruy (openings, tactics)
White is playing d3 in all sorts of Ruy Lopez variations nowadays, typically to avoid the Berlin endgame (4.d3 vs. 3…Nf6) and the Marshall Gambit (with d3 being played on move 6, or sometimes on move 5 to avoid the Open Ruy as well). But this is not a modern invention; players have been using this more restrained system for many years, going all the way back to at least Wilhelm Steinitz. In today’s game, we’ll see it used as an anti-Breyer weapon by the late great Leonid Stein, one of the strongest (and unluckiest) chess players of the 1960s and ’70s. Oddly, his opponent, Larry Evans, turns the game into a Chigorin, and then odder still played …d5 and …dxe4, which meant that he in effect executed the Rauzer plan against himself! (The Rauzer plan occurs when White plays dxc5 – or dxe5 – in a traditional Closed Ruy structure with pawns on c3, d4, and e4 vs. pawns on c5, d6, and e5. The idea is to create a permanent hole on d5, in the hopes of exploiting it with a well-timed Nd5.) Of course White isn’t just winning by virtue of enacting the Rauzer plan, but it can be dangerous for Black – as we’ll see in this game. Stein wins in style, finishing with some nice sacs and tactical tricks.

Thursday, June 23 IM Valeri Lilov Piece Activity Domination (strategy, middlegame)
Everyone knows that piece activity means to have your pieces more advanced and controlling. Unfortunately, achieving that can prove much more difficult. The best way to learn how piece activity works is to study the great grandmaster games and their unique approach to dominating with their pieces. Follow IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more about piece activity and power play!

Friday, June 24 GM Bryan Smith A Repetoire Against the Modern With 4.Be3, Part1 (openings)
The Pirc and Modern are  cousins. In this series (related to “A Repertoire Against the Pirc with 4.Be3”), GM Bryan Smith shows how the same system can be used against the Modern Defense. In this first part, we will see how to meet the fashionable but quite risky 4…a6.

Monday, June 13 IM Valeri Lilov How to Play Endgames Better (endgame)
Endgames are always challenging as there is very small amount of attacks and little to no tactics that actually work. Nevertheless, there are some other aspects which could make playing endgames a unique and brilliant experience.  Listen to this video to learn more!

Tuesday, June 14 IM Bill Paschall Young Guns at the Polish Championship 2016, Part 2 (middlegame, strategy)
Overall, the following game is a masterful positional game by the rising star Wojtaszek. Black took chances playing very aggressively with the plan of Re8, Bf8 and later the very risky Nh5 idea. Black missed some tactical opportunities, and that is the problem, because as a human it is difficult to play sharp positions perfectly. Although perhaps somewhat lucky black missed his chances; Wojtaszek played strategically throughout. White created a powerful passed pawn on the queenside and balanced this with defensive moves on the other flank. The stronger player comes out on top as black’s counterplay never materialized

Wednesday, June 15 IM David Vigorito Upending a Strong GM in the Midst of Bad Tournament (middlegame)
In the middle of an awful tournament, I manage to beat a strong grandmaster. I had a pessimistic attitude during the game, but if you try hard and calculate, upsets are always possible.

Thursday, June 16 GM Leonid Kritz A Duel Between Two World Champions (endgame, tactics)
A very good game played by Hou Yifan against the world’s strongest chess player! Even though she lost, the position was equal almost until very end. All Hou needed was to keep the queens on board and not to enter this “drawn” pawn endgame that turned out to be lost. This game showed once again, by the way, that there is no real weapon against the Petroff Defense today. Carlsen choose the unambitious line 5.Nc3 and did not get any advantage after the opening. All Black needed was to keep concentration until the end, which Hou unfortunately did not do. But maybe next time..

Friday, June 17 GM Bryan Smith A Repetoire Against the Pirc With 4.Be3, Part2 (openings)
In the second part of his series on meeting the Pirc with 4.Be3, GM Smith shows how to meet 4…c6 with the sneaky move 5.h3

Monday, June 6 IM Valeri Lilov How To Defeat A World Champion (middlegame)
How do you beat the strongest player in the world? This is a question that not so many people take seriously. Of course we have the Rocky movies and many other inspiring stories, but defeating a much stronger opponent has always been a challenge. Check IM Lilov’s lecture to discover the answers to this intriguing topic!

Tuesday, June 7 IM Bill Paschall Young Guns at the Polish Championship 2016, Part 2 (middlegame,strategy)
Two of the top young stars of the Polish chess scene go head to head in a very theoretical variation of the Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Bg5. Black chose to avoid playing e6 in the opening and must tread a narrow path. Duda makes a tiny slip with 18…Rg8 instead of 18…Rf8 and he is left on the defensive. White gains a vital tempo and is able to switch from a direct attack to an endgame where he has a powerful passed pawn. The position proves too difficult for black to hold.

Wednesday, June 8 FM Dennis Monokroussos The King is Dead; Long Live the King (openings)
Fabiano Caruana is the 2016 U.S. Chess Champion, finishing a point ahead of defending champion Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So. Although the following game was played early in the event (in round 4, of 11), it wound up providingthe margin of victory for the new champ. The game was a Najdorf Sicilian, and although that is perhaps the single most analyzed variation in all of chess, players are finding new avenues in it all the time, and by move 9 a new position had been reached. Nakamura isa great improviser, but on this occasion it was Caruana who did a better job navigating the unusual situation, and he outplayed his opponent both strategically and tactically. An impressive win for the #1 player in the United States and the #2 player in the world.

Thursday, June 9 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Lesson From My Komodo Match, Part 2: Trust Your Intuition! (strategy, tactics)
In the second Handicap match vs Komodo, the starting position is 1.e4 e6 2.d5 Ke7??  Can a Grandmaster punish the engine?  Yes, the lesson is trust your intuition!  But is it enough for a win? Watch and learn amazing defensive move that only computer can play…

Friday, June 10 GM Bryan Smith A Repetoire Against the Pirc With 4.Be3, Part 1 (tactics)
In his series on meeting the Pirc with 4.Be3, GM Bryan Smith shows how White can meet Black’s flexible play with his own flexibility. The first part deals with the lines where Black plays 4…Bg7, rather than delaying the development of the bishop.

Monday, May 30 IM David Vigorito Tricky Idea Against the Classical Sicilian (opening, middlegame)
Just when I thought I had seen everything, my opponent shocks me in a Sicilian with an extremely rare knight hop on move 6. This funny idea could prove to be a useful surprise weapon. It worked against me, and even after I turned the game around a bit, it was not enough to win.

Tuesday, May 31 IM Bill Paschall Selections from the US Championship 2016, Part 3 (middlegame, tactics)
Nakamura plays white against the cagey upstart Jeffrey Xiong. Black takes a risk by playing a sharp defense against such a strong player. Nakamura is well prepared in a rare, but suddenly trendy variation. Black makes a terrible mistake with the anti-positional move 16…Bh6, but would be worse in any case. White displays great technique and tactical vision in the end.

Wednesday, June 1 FM Dennis Monokroussos Domination! (tactics)
Wei Yi is known as a great attacking player who thrives in sharp openings, but he didn’t become the youngest 2700 in history by being one-sided. In this recent game he accepts a weak queenside pawn structure for piece pressure on the queenside, especially on the b-file, the h1-a8 diagonal, and the b6 and d6 squares. His opponent is a grandmaster too, but he proves completely unable to solve his problems, and he is lost by move 16 or so at the latest. The end of the game is just cruel, or comical, or a bit of both.

Thursday, June 2 GM Leonid Kritz How to Outplay Your Opponent Out of Nowhere (tactics)
Eljanov played an opening allowing Black to get an equal position in different ways. The plan with b3 objectively cannot be considered dangerous. However, White showed that even in such a line, there are always chances to trick your opponent. After a couple of imprecise moves by Navara, Eljanov got a slightly better position, and used his chances in an excellent way.

Friday, June 3 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Lesson From My Komodo Match, Part 1: Avoid KID Attack! (strategy, tactics)
In the first game of the Handicap match vs Komodo, Eugene gets 5 free moves in the opening. Is it enough to beat the monster? Watch and learn how Komodo unleashes the amazing KID pawn storm!

Monday, May 23 IM Valeri Lilov The Potential Power (strategy, middlegame)
Many times the success of any plan depends on the proper connection between pieces and pawns. In his new lecture, IM Lilov is explaining the importance of making a better pawn structure and how that influences any player’s plan.

Tuesday, May 24 IM Bill Paschall Selections from the US Championship 2016, Part 2 (middlegame, tactics)
A superior attacking game by the young super-gm Wesley So. Akobian plays the Rubenstein variation of the French, and this is probably not a great decision against such a strong attacking player. In this variation, Black “gives up” his central strong point on d5. White has open lines for attack and the ability to castle on opposite sides. So weakens Black’s kingside spending a tempo on 11. Qc2 then shifts the queen to the more aggressive e2 square. The attack features some original sacrifices that created great practical problems for the defender. Although a computer could perhaps have defended successfully, GM Akobian understandably succumbed.

Wednesday, May 25 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Bad Middlegame Structure Can be Great in the Endgame (middlegame, endgame) 
It is common for Black to have his king in the center in the Rauzer Variation of the Classical Sicilian, hiding behind pawns on d6, e6, f6 and f7. That structure is somewhat precarious, and one of White’s main plans is to pressure e6 (beginning with f4-f5) until something breaks. It is a dangerous middlegame situation for Black, as we all recently saw in the crucial last-round game between Karjakin and Caruana in the Candidates. If, however, the queens come off, it can be a completely different story. In today’s game we see that Alexey Suetin allowed Mikhail Botvinnik to escape to an endgame, and even though Black was a pawn down his fine structure and powerful bishops gave him the advantage. His realization of the advantage was something less than perfect, but the end was amazing.

Thursday, May 26 GM Leonid Kritz When Playing the Najdorf, Do Not Forget the Theory (openings)
A very interesting, sharp game. More or less typical for English Attack of Najdorf variation. However, it is rather a good example of how to punish your opponent if he forgets an opening line. With 13….Be7 Van Wely lost too much time and got into a position that is difficult to defend. He got some chances in the further course of the game, though, and could almost equalize, but made another mistake and lost in a very interesting way.

Friday, May 27 GM Bryan Smith Challenging the Caro-Kann with 2.Ne2, Part 3  (openings)
In the third and final part of his series on 2.Ne2 against the Caro-Kann, GM Smith shows how to meet Black’s alternatives the main lines on move two and three.

Monday, May 16 IM Valeri Lilov The Attacking Cores
Every successful attack requires some key features to become really successful. These features we call “attacking cores”. Learning how to find and determine these cores is essential for any player who wants to improve his attacking skills!

Tuesday, May 17 IM Bill Paschall Selections from the US Championship 2016 Part 1
GM Robson surprises the experienced Alex Onischuk in the opening, playing the London system with white. Gata Kamsky and Magnus Carlsen have shown this quiet system to have some teeth recently, and this game is no exception. Robson takes of advantage of Black’s inexact play to score a full point , based on an advantage in pawn structure and king safety. Black’s 11th move, a6 seems dubious and in the end, he has too many weaknesses and simply cannot avoid the loss of material. An excellent game from Robson, both strategically and tactically.

Wednesday, May 18 IM David Vigorito Carissa’s Pet Line Topples Strong GM
In this game 12 year old Carissa Yip completely outplays a strong Grandmaster. The game shows that knowing your pet line well is often more important than its objective value. After some quick tactics the youngster shows fine technique to deny the GM any chances for a swindle.

Thursday, May 19 GM Eugene P. Danger of Playing Strategically Risky Openings: The Sozin Silician

Friday, May 20, GM Bryan Smith Challenging the Caro-Kann with 2.Ne2, Part 2
In the second part of his series on the offbeat 2.Ne2 against the Caro-Kann, GM Bryan Smith explores Black’s alternatives to 3…c5 – the critical moves 3…d4 and 3…Bf5

Monday, May 9 IM Valeri Lilov Pawn & Piece Power, Part 1
The concept of pawns and pieces working together is widely known to all chess players. However, it is only possible to use that concept in conjunction with a strong plan and precise move candidates. Check IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, May 10 IM Bill Paschall Battles from the Aeroflot Open 2016, Part 3 (middlegame, tactics)
Black follows a known line in the Rossolimo Sicilian with the somewhat risky looking 10…g6. Things get interesting as Black allows White’s dark squared bishop to post itself at d6 and then follows up with the very slow and somewhat dubious maneuver Na5-b7. Finally , after the logical, but weakening 15.h5, white embarks on a tactical sequence reminiscent of world champion Wilhelm Steinitz. White simply sacrifices a piece to gain time and trap the black king in the center! The entire sacrifice is sound and black collapses quickly, missing the best defense.

Wednesday, May 11 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Great Win for the Underdog (opening, tactics)
The late Gyula Sax (1951-2014) was a very strong grandmaster who twice qualified for the Candidates. He had an aggressive, attacking style that often proved effective, but in this game against the untitled (but 2410-rated) Hans Kestler his aggression proved his undoing. David-beats-Goliath stories are good for all of us (at least for those of us not named “Magnus Carlsen”), and this was an instructive and impressive game too – especially for those of us who play the Pirc or play exceptionally gung-ho systems against it.

Thursday, May 12 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Danger of Playing Strategically Risky Openings: The Dutch (opening, tactics)

Friday, May 13 GM Bryan Smith Challenging the Caro-Kann with 2.Ne2, Part 1   (strategy)
In this series, GM Bryan Smith shows the unusual – but promising – move 2.Ne2!?, an offbeat way to battle the Caro-Kann. The first video of the series deals with the most critical lines.

Monday, May 2 IM Valeri Lilov (strategy, middlegame)
Piece coordination is relevant in many ways towards a player’s plan and the plan’s efficiency. Setting up two pieces to work together in support of an idea may sound easy, but it can prove more challenging in the different positions. See a beautiful masterpiece by the great Alexander Alekhine to learn more about how to use your pieces to the best of their potential!

Tuesday, May 3 IM Bill Paschall Battles from the Aeroflot Open 2016, Part 2 (middlegame, tactics)
Gata Kamsky was very active in the first half of 2016. In this game he goes to his pet line, the London System as White. Is it possible that Kamsky was the influence that gave Magnus Carlsen the idea to play the London System recently as well? With this solid line, Kamsky avoids having to study main stream theory and transfers the battle to the middlegame and ending. This time, his opponent, GM Goganov , makes the classic mistake of taking pressure off the white center with the pawn push 13…c4. Seen as far back as the early 1900’s this type of position was proved to be favorable for white by the great Akiba Rubinstein. Kamsky goes on the attack on the kingside after 13…c4 and never looks back.

Wednesday, May 4 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Near-Miss For White Against the Modern Benoni (tactics)
Levon Aronian was among the leaders in the recent Candidates tournament until a bad run near the end, and had he managed to defeat Fabiano Caruana in round 5 it might have been him (rather than Sergey Karjakin) on his way to a match with Magnus Carlsen. This game was a very tense Modern Benoni that was well-played by both sides but in which Aronian had a very dangerous attack brewing. Caruana’s 22nd move was an error, and here Aronian had his chance. He found a fantastic line, one that even the computer doesn’t start to appreciate until several moves in, whereupon it is persuaded: White wins! Unfortunately, Aronian lacked faith in his own idea and he played something else, letting Caruana escape with a draw. It is nevertheless an exciting and instructive game, well worth examining.

Thursday, May 5 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Don’t Be Afraid to Sac Pawns for Dynamic Play! (tactics, strategy)
When you can sacrifice a pawn? What about two pawns? Watch and learn what it takes to have dynamic counterplay. Don’t forgot Tal’s wise words that while your opponent is busy taking your pawns, he’s not developing and losing time! Black achieves great position and patiently improves to demonstrate that centralized pieces are more powerful then mere pawns.

Friday, May 6 GM Bryan Smith Logical Progression by Euwe (opening, middlegame)
We will see how Max Euwe transformed the winning of an opening argument to a superior middlegame, and finally showed excellent technique in the endgame to tame the dynamic imagination of Alexander Alekhine.

Monday, April 27  IM David Vigorito   Another Topical Saemisch King’s Indian  (openings, strategy)
Two King’s Indian specialists go head to head. This game is unusual because John Watson was an expert in this opening line before his young opponent was even born! Watson wins what could be the game of his life against the super strong Gawain Jones in a line where Jones could be considered one of the world’s top practitioners.

Tuesday, April 28  IM Bill Paschall   Black with Larsen – Part 4  (openings, tactics) 
Larsen defeats a world class Nimzo expert and author with the Black pieces in a main line variation. Taimanov deviated from theory with his move 10.Rc1. Black plays incredibly creative chess with his risky and dynamic advance 14…g5 and Taimanov goes for a desperate , all-in attacking chance. Larsen shows his skill in cool calculation in refuting the attack and forcing an exchange of queens into a simply winning position.

Wednesday, April 29  FM Dennis Monokroussos   Winning With the Isolani When the Defender Lacks an e-pawn  (middlegame) 
In most isolated d-pawn middlegames, the side facing the isolani generally has an e-pawn. This is not so in the Tarrasch French when White takes on d5 and Black recaptures with the pawn; White’s e-pawn has just been exchanged. This sort of structure can arise via other openings as well, and it’s worth knowing how to play this and to see how it differs from the more usual sorts of isolated d-pawn positions. In this game, Jobava gives a powerful demonstration of the attacker’s chances (that is, the side with the isolated pawn), and we’re also treated to a virtuoso performance on the theme of LPDO, that is, Loose Pieces Drop Off.

Thursday, April 30  GM Eugene Perelshteyn   Tactical Genuis of Tal: Ignore Your Opponent’s Threats When Attacking! (openings, tactics) 
Learn how the magician from Riga approaches chess. You’re attacking me?  I will just ignore it and attack you instead!  This is his motto in this game and an experienced GM Geller falters after defending accurately for a while.  What’s the secret of Tal’s success?  Relentless pressure on his opponents eventually causes them to blunder!

Friday, May 1  GM Bryan Smith   Match of the (19th) Century: De Labourdonnais – McDonnell, Part 2  (openings)
Wild complications with multiple pieces hanging, followed by a beautiful and adventurous endgame with mutual chains of passed pawns make this one of the most exciting battles of the nineteenth century.

Monday, April 25 IM Valeri Lilov The Pawn Structure Value (middlegame)
The importance of pawn structure is often misunderstood by the beginner and intermediate chess player. It is quite clear that pawns are important, but in what way? How could a good pawn structure affect our plan and is there a way to setup one from the very start? In this video, IM Lilov tries to give good answers to these and other questions regarding the pawn structures.

Tuesday, April 26 IM Bill Paschall Battles from the Aeroflot Open 2016, Part 1 (strategy, tactics)
The younger Tigran Petrosian plays much in the style of his namesake. Playing white in a common variation of the symmetrical English, Petrosian encounters a strange move from GM Moiseenko in the form of 12…Nb6. Black allows Petrosian to smash his pawn structure with 13.Bxc6 ! Moiseenko should simply retreat with the usual 12…Nde7 . After the exchange on c6, black goes totally on the attack, but leaves many weaknesses and opportunities for white in his wake. A creative and inspiring game combining attack and defense. White and black both miss some opportunities, but the game remains instructive and entertaining.

Wednesday, April 27 FM Dennis Monokroussos More Problems for Black in the Taimanov Sicilian (openings, tactics)
The Taimanov Sicilian has been a very successful opening for Black for some years now, and White has tried one approach after another searching for an advantage. The latest try, which has been faring quite well, is the system with 7.Qf3. This is not a refutation of the Taimanov, of course, but now it’s Black who is switching from one idea to another trying to find equality. In an earlier video we looked at 7…Ne5; this time we see 7…Nf6 coming up short in our main game. White’s kingside attack breaks through, while he neutralizes Black’s queenside counterplay with relative ease.

Thursday, April 28 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Lessons from Nimzowitsch: Effective Use of Blockade in Practice (strategy)

Friday, April 29 GM Bryan Smith A Masterpiece in the Kalashnikov (opening, tactics)
In this video, GM Smith explores a fantastic sacrificial victory for the black side in the Kalashnikov Sicilian – the game Nunn-Nataf.