Chess Lectures

Monday, April 18 IM Valeri Lilov Simple Chess (middlegame)
How do play simple and successful at the same time? The answer to this question is the key to the wins of almost every strong master in the modern chess. Check IM Lilov’s new lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, April 19 IM Bill Paschall The Changing of the Hungarian Guard (strategy, endgame)
The top player in Hungary is no longer a Polgar, Leko, or Almasi. Richard Rapport has surpassed the other top Hungarians. Using a creative approach in the openings, a great positional sense, and excellent technique, Rapport is now a top player and a force to be reckoned with. In the following game, facing one of the best players in the world; Levon Aronian, Rapport puts all of his skills on display! White punishes blacks strange setup with 6… Nc6 in the opening and outplays Aronian to win a pawn. After some inaccuracies and some tough defense by Aronian, Rapport converts a beautiful endgame win with bishop vs knight.

Wednesday, April 20 FM Dennis Monokroussos Even White Needs to Develop in the Opening
Sargissian-Li Chao: Even White Needs to Develop in the Opening. (Tags: ) It is a truism that Black especially needs to develop rapidly to stay out of trouble, at least in the Open Games. But while the burden may be less severe on White in the Closed openings, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. In this game between two 2700+ level players, White got himself in trouble as early as move 6. Black had to play brilliantly to prove the advantage, and did so until the last hurdle. White escaped with a draw, but it wasn’t easy!

Thursday, April 21 GM Leonid Kritz A Quick But Effective Tactical Fight (strategy, tactics)
This game went off the traditional paths right away and went into some type of complicated strategic and tactical jungle. It seemed that White should be better, but in fact a couple of brilliant moves by Howell destroyed the whole logic of White’s construction and brought him a fully deserved point.

Friday, April 22 GM Eugene Perelshteyn How To Win In An Equal Endgame When Your Opponent Has No Plan (endgame, strategy)
Are plans important in the equal-looking endgame? This game is a perfect illustration what happens when you play without a plan. Black made logical-looking moves and found himself in a difficult position. Why? Because he failed to anticipate White’s plan and had no plan of his own. As a result he fell apart rather quickly after making two active moves… A must watch for all players who need to improve their endgame skills!

Monday, April 11 IM Valeri Lilov The Two Weaknesses Concept (strategy)
The Two Weaknesses concept is a really good one when it comes down to transforming an advantage. All the great masters in history have had an opportunity to use it, yet it often remains misunderstood in terms of practical application by the majority of intermediate and even some advanced player. How to use it successfully is the major topic in this lecture!

Tuesday, April 12 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 7 (opening, tactics)
A classic Marshall Attack in the Spanish game by Michael Adams as black against a top notch opponent. Polgar plays the fashionable d3 variation of the Marshall Gambit accepted, where she finds Adams is well prepared. White tries a new plan with the idea of 18.Qf3 and Bd1, but is forced to make the extremely weakening move 20.g4. In this relatively early chess computer era, it is possible that Polgar’s preparation was just not strong enough, she didn’t see over the horizon and Adams was able to question the new system with a natural and dangerous attack, typical of the Marshall variation. Perhaps Polgar could have defended with perfect play, but over the board it proved too difficult.

Wednesday, April 13 FM Dennis Monokroussos The Catalan Anti-Sicilian? (middlegame, tactics)
In a recent game I faced the Sicilian, and after a sideline on my part and a rather more unusual reply from my opponent an odd middlegame arose in which White’s play bore an odd resemblance to a Catalan. My opponent focused his efforts on neutralizing my queenside pressure, but it came at the expense of his king, leading to a more typical Sicilian outcome.

Thursday, April 14 GM Leonid Kritz An Interesting Opening Idea in the English
The most interesting part of this game was the opening idea c5 + Bxc6. Black reacted very badly by taking the pawn and getting into a very passive situation. In general, I think that this game shows that Black should not hurry with Nc6, but develop the king side first, and play Nc6 later when no tactical tricks are available anymore.

Friday, April 15 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Positional Domination Requires Tactics To Put Away Your Opponent (strategy, tactics)
Have you noticed that positional factors alone don’t win games? At some point you need to apply tactics to put your opponent away. This game is a perfect example how Black failed to find several tactical ideas that would win the game on the spot. As a result, White was back in the game, and even took over the initiative, but then the White player missed tactics and lost right away. The lesson: no matter how great your positional skills are, tactics are still essential!

Monday, April 4 IM Valeri Lilov Aspects of Attack (strategy, middlegame)
The key aspects of attacking are quite clear. Having good development, strong coordination and opponent’s restriction are just a few of the important features one needs to possess in order to maintain a successful attack. Check out IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, April 5 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 6 (endgame, strategy)
Black tries an alternative queen retreat with 6…Qd7 in an open variation of the French Tarrasch. In his favorite setup with white, Adams shows good preparation and plays into a long variation where White has chances against the Black king. Adams keeps black under constant pressure and despite Fridman throwing every defensive trick possible at White, Adams keeps pushing forward for the win. Even when a win seems impossible; down a pawn in a rook ending, Adams pushes black over the edge with his fantastic king position and virtually perfect technique. This game illustrates both Adams’ attacking prowess as well as his ability to transition between different phases of the game to maintain an advantage. Vintage Mickey Adams!

Wednesday, April 6 FM Dennis Monokroussos Not Flawless, But Brilliant (opening, strategy)
One of Hungarian great Lajos Portisch’s calling cards is his 1966 win over Svein Johannessen from the Havana Olympiad. Portisch found a very deep idea revolving around 18.Bxh6, and the result was a beautiful win. Yet there were some missed opportunities by both players, and it’s no discredit to them to see that the computer has only increased the aesthetic value of this game. It’s great fun to analyze, too – enjoy!

Thursday, April 7 GM Leonid Kritz A Strategic Jewel Ends With a Nice Tactical Trick (strategy, tactics)
A very strong performance of MVL against the former world champion. It seems that Anand messed up in the opening, which does not happen too often, and was completely overplayed in the strategic sense. He had some chances later, but failed to use them and, finally, fell to some tactical combinations of his opponent.

Friday, April 8 GM Eugene Perelshteyn How To Identify When Your Position Starts To Slip (middlegame, strategy)
How can a Grandmaster lose with White from a good position? Eugene tries to examine his painful loss to Shabba to answer this question. The lesson: pay attention to position factors such as center pawns, open files, bishop pair. Each concession of a positional factor adds up and eventually tips the game in Black’s favor.

Monday, March 28  IM Valeri Lilov Quiet Moves (middlegame)
Have you ever been carried along in the flow of an attack, relentlessly striking at your opponent, but finding that you are missing just one little thing? Maybe you should stop and think about it, and you may find a quiet move in the position. The quiet moves are the most difficult. The flashy sacrifices and bold attacks that fill chess columns and magazines are a relatively easy part of technique compared with finding the right moves when there are no tactical solutions.

Tuesday, March 29  IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 5 (middlegame, tactics)
This gem features a classic Adams attack with White in the Sicilian Defense . Adams’ king is completely safe , whilst it’s counterpart come under a sacrificial attack. Unlike, many players who insist on opposite side castling in the Sicilian, Mickey manages to whip up attacks with little or no risk to his own king. Black wasted some time with the maneuver Na5 and back to c6 in the late opening. This enabled Adams to get in a favorable e5, and the strong sacrificial attack that followed it with 22.f5

Wednesday, March 30  FM Dennis Monokroussos Outfoxing Najdorf Players with 2.Nc3 and 3.Nge2 (openings, opening traps)
When White meets the Sicilian with 2.Nc3 it might mean that he wants to play the Closed Sicilian or the Grand Prix Attack, but there’s a third possibility: it might be a move-order trick aimed at those who prefer certain sorts of Sicilian lines, especially the Najdorf. In this recent game from the Challengers’ event in Wijk aan Zee Jorden Van Foreest played 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 against the Sicilian, and Sam Sevian’s attempts to maintain a Najdorf-style position backfired horribly. He was probably lost within ten moves, and this despite playing all natural and sensible-looking moves. This is an opening trap worth attending to, especially if you’re a Najdorf player!

Thursday, March 31  GM Eugene Perelshteyn Testing a New Idea in the Queen’s Indian Defense (openings, tactics)
Can you play a relatively new idea on move 5 in a position with over 6,000 games? The answer is yes! Watch and learn how to make QID more dynamic with 5…g6!? White reacts well to the new move, but misses an important idea and finds himself struggling for a plan.

Friday, April 1  GM Bryan Smith The Dazzling Tactics of Alekhine (openings)

Monday, March 21 IM Valeri Lilov Early Attack Punishment (strategy, openings)
A common mistake made by chess beginners is that they will often see an opportunity to attack, and act hastily. The premature attack leads to disaster for the beginner because it can create opportunities for the opponent to win or get an advantage. Proper execution of punishing must take into account all of the attacker’s weaknesses and exploit them while defending! Check out this new lecture to learn more!

Tuesday, March 22 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 4 (openings, tactics)
In this video we see Michael Adams playing black in a classical Nimzo-Indian. White, an expert in the Samisch variation, avoids it and goes into a main line, perhaps fearing Adams’ knowledge of opening theory. A typical hanging pawns position is reached where white has the bishop pair, but he seems unfamiliar with his surroundings. Black demonstrates the potential of the black knights using the weak squares in the position to create tactical threats. Adams combines a sound strategic opening with great tactical vision, embarking on a long and forced variation beginning with a surprising piece sacrifice. Black was victorious, having calculated quite deeply that one of his key pieces would not in fact become trapped in white’s position. This game illustrates both Adams’ fundamental strategic style, as well as his ability to calculate well and deeply in key tactical lines.

Wednesday, March 23 FM Dennis Monokroussos Remembering Paul Keres, Part 5: The 1970s (strategy, tactics)
We conclude our series with a game played by Keres two years before his death, when he was still a top 10-15 player despite being in his mid-50s. Even this late in his career, he shows his ability to play creative, sacrificial chess, outdoing his creative young opponent both strategically and tactically. It’s an impressive win, and the opening is of interest to those who play or face the Modern.

Thursday, March 24 GM Leonid Kritz How To Play With Your King In The Center (opening, tactics)
A very interesting game between two creative players. Topalov plays very aggressively from the beginning, loses much time, but forces the white king to stay in the center. Aronian shows how to play this type of position and proves that initiative is more important than general considerations.

Friday, March 25 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Facing the Youngest IM in the US: A 12 Year-Old Wonder! (strategy, tactics)
How do you expect a 12-year old to play? I didn’t expect him to play in “boring” style, but this is exactly what the position demanded and young Awonder demonstrates maturity beyond his years. Learn about backward moves, overprotection and prophylactic thinking from a twelve-year-old!

Monday, March 14 IM Valeri Lilov Veresov Attack by Veresov (openings)
The Veresov is little-played and understood when we compare it to other queen’s pawn openings, like the Trompowsky, Torre Attack and London system. As such it can be a very dangerous weapon in the right hands. Very few club or amateur players will be properly prepared to play against it. The Veresov is an attacking opening, based on quick minor-piece development followed by effective pawn levers to open the game.

Tuesday, March 15 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 3 (openings, tactics)
Adams with white shows good preparation in a rare line of the Sicilian Kan variation. White sacrifices a pawn in the center in a position analogous to the Advance variation of the French. Black gets greedy by grabbing another pawn at b2 and falls tragically behind in development. Mickey seems in good combinative form with the creative 14. Bf5!! exploiting his development edge. Although black manages to castle finally, he was never really in the game, and white executes a decisive attack just in time. Overall a very impressive and efficient win by Adams against a decent grandmaster. Somehow just too French-like to escape an Adams crush!

Wednesday, March 16 FM Dennis Monokroussos Remembering Paul Keres, Part 4: The 1960s (openings)
Paul Keres’ last trip to the Candidates came in 1965 when he played a quarterfinal match against Boris Spassky, the eventual winner of the cycle. Keres won game 1 of the 10-game match, but Spassky won games 3-5 to take a two-point lead. Game 8 was do-or-die for Keres, and he came through in the clutch with a fine win, giving himself a fighting chance to save the match. He didn’t succeed, but he came closer to beating Spassky than anyone else did in that cycle.

Thursday, March 17 GM Leonid Kritz A Very Interesting Battle at the London Classic (strategy, tactics)
The game became interesting from the very beginning, and at some point Topalov got a large advantage and should logically get a point. However, at this tournament he had lots of bad luck and also this time he overlooked Giri’s attack. Very interesting complicated battle with both strategic and tactical aspects.

Friday, March 18 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Evaluating Middlegame Positions: Statics and Dynamics in Practice (opening, strategy)
What’s better: pawn structure or two bishops, king safely or extra pawn?  Pay attention to how these concepts are seen in practice at GM-level and how certain decisions are made with static and dynamic factors in mind.

Monday, March 7 IM Valeri Lilov The Attacking Potential (strategy, middlegame)
Attacking and tactics are linked, since one goal of strategic, “attacking” play is to increase the power of your pieces and create fertile conditions for tactical strikes on later moves. Sometimes this is a matter of arranging your pieces so that they have more freedom of movement and denying the same freedoms to your opponent; sometimes it is a matter of coordinating your pieces so that they are aimed at the same sector of the board; sometimes it is a matter of arranging your pawns to help achieve those same purposes for your pieces. Learn more from IM Lilov’s newest video lecture!

Tuesday, March 8 IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 2 (strategy, endgame)
Adams opens with an unusual King’s Indian attack move order versus the Sicilian Defense. Having taken his opponent into original territory, Mickey goes on to give what is basically a clinic on pawn structure chess. Black almost manages to hang on, but Adams shows excellent technique converting in a bishop vs knight ending with a powerful passed outside pawn. The entire game is a testament to the practical and strategic side of Adams’ chess. Adams is strategically brilliant and alert tactically as always.

Wednesday, March 9 FM Dennis Monokroussos Remembering Paul Keres, Part 3: The 1950s (opening, tactics)
Before round 14 of the 1955 Interzonal in Gothenburg, Sweden, three Argentine players prepared a new line of the Najdorf Sicilian for Black. As it turned out, all three – Miguel Najdorf, Oscar Panno, and Herman Pilnik had the opportunity to play it at the same time, against three Soviet players: Paul Keres, Efim Geller, and Boris Spassky, respectively. It did not go well. The three Soviets, starting with Geller, found all the best moves at the board and thrashed their seemingly well-prepared grandmaster opposition. We’ll see how Keres handled his victim, and catch up a bit on the current status of the variation.

Thursday, March 10 GM Leonid Kritz Anand’s Mispreparation at the London Classic

Friday, March 11 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Carlsen Shines in Qatar: A Miniature vs. Mamedyarov
Carlsen plays a Super-GM and makes it look so easy! What did Mamedyarov do wrong in this game? In the words of the World Champ:
“6.Bxf6 loses the bishop pair and the game, a wise man said…” Do you love the bishop pair just as much? Maybe you should too!

Monday, February 29  GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense, Part 10 (openings)
In the second part of the 5.Qa4 line, we discuss separately the 6.e3 move. In general, this line is considered harmless for the black side, but still promises a competitive advantage from knowing the correct order move and an ability to recognize strategical nuances of different pawn structures. Instead of long forced variations, we will learn some standard plans and typical maneuvers of the pieces which enhance additionally general understanding of chess. This completes our ten-part discussion of the sharp, counter-attacking Ragozin Defense to the Queen’s Gambit.

Tuesday, March 1  IM Bill Paschall The Genius of Michael Adams Part 1 (openings, strategy)
This game is a classic Adams squeeze against the Sicilian Defense. In a fianchetto Najdorf, white restrains black on the queenside and then expands with his own kingside pawns. Adams combines positional and tactical motifs throughout the game to launch a crushing attack against the weakened black kingside. Adams shows great attacking instincts as well as good care and respect for the safety of his own king. Of particular significance is Adams’ sacrifice of a pawn in the middlegame to gain the bishop pair as well as time and initiative. Not many players are capable of crushing a 2700+ rated opponent in this manner.

Wednesday, March 2  FM Dennis Monokroussos Remembering Paul Keres, Part 2: The 1940s (strategy)
This week we look at a slightly more sedate game – but only slightly! Playing Black in a world championship event, Paul Keres manages to beat a former world chess champion in just 25 moves – a startling accomplishment. This is all the more impressive given that his opponent, Max Euwe, was a very good theoretician. Keres was one of the greatest specialists ever in the Ruy Lopez, especially on the black side, and this week’s game offers ample confirmation of that claim.

Thursday, March 3  IM Valeri Lilov The Secret of Tal (middlegame)
Let’s remember Great Tal and his “Attack Strategy” towards the goal. Tal developed a strategy towards understanding and making the best of the uncertain states on the board. He created illuminative terms for chess theory which can be used as pillars of a business development strategy. According to Tal, in the course of chess party, there comes a moment where the player with the lead in development has to attack or risk losing this advantage. Thus Tal affirms that, the main advantage is preparation, lead and attacking at the right time. Lilov’s latest lecture shows how Tal did this beautifully!

Friday, March 4  GM Leonid Kritz A Very Non-Standard Development (strategy)
Both players like aggressive and non-standard ways of playing, but this game was rather strategic in its nature. Black played interesting, but not necessarily good, so after Aronian solved all the opening problems he got a position with light pressure. A couple of small mistakes made the position of Jobava lost and Aronian converted his advantage easily.

Monday, February 22  GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense, Part 9 (openings)
White plays 5.Qa4 with a check, forcing knight to go on c6. Because now Black’s knight on c6 is blocking the own “c” pawn, it becomes significantly more difficult for Black to open lines on the queen side. Instead, Black tries to use the unstable position of the queen on a4 and delay in the development of White’s pieces. Part 1 covers three continuations for White: an active knight jump 6.Ne5, next 6.a3 betting on the bishop pair and finally 6.Bg5 transferring to a Carlsbad pawn structure. We will discuss separately 6.e3 in Part 2.

Tuesday, February 23  IM Bill Paschall Steinitzian Classics Part 5 (openings, tactics)
Black accepts the ever dangerous Evans Gambit and plays the dubious 5…Bc5. White holds a devastating spacial advantage in exchange for the material , but follows up with some small inaccuracies. Black missed a clear chance to simplify with 10…Nxc4 in the opening. Steinitz should prefer 10.Bd3 , to keep pieces on the board and punish the bad knight on a5. Afterwards , black is starved for space. Steinitz gets a bit carried away with his queen sacrifice , but the game makes for an entertaining miniature in a very tricky line. Simply 18.Nxe5 would have allowed Steinitz an easy win without the fireworks.

Wednesday, February 24  FM Dennis Monokroussos Remembering Paul Keres, Part 1: The 1930s (tactics)
Paul Keres was born 100 years ago this January, and as one of the greatest players of all time never to become world chess champion, his career is well worth remembering. Over the next weeks we’ll look at a game he played in each decade of his professional career, starting from the 1930s and going through the 1970s, when he passed away. Early in his career he played very sharp chess, and in this week’s video we’ll see him crush the English master William Winter in a short game full of sacrifices. (In the space of just 19 moves Keres sacrificed three pawns, then a piece, then – admittedly a sham sac – another piece, and then the exchange.) This brilliant game, won when he was a teenager, put Keres on the map.

Thursday, February 25  IM Valeri Lilov Long Term Prospects (strategy, middlegame)
When evaluating the position, our aim is not only to ascertain the site that has the advantage. It’s also to predict the upcoming events, any future changes of the positional factors. We also have to evaluate the positions that may appear on the board after particular lines are played. Check out IM Lilov’s new lecture to learn more!

Friday, February 26  GM Bryan Smith The Fierce MacCutcheon, Part 6 (openings)
The series winds up with an excellent win by Hikaru Nakamura using an obscure system in the main line.

Monday, February 15 GM Nadya Kosintseva QGD Ragozin Defense, Part 8: Classical, But Not Boring Bd3, Part 2 (opening, tactics)
In the second part of the Bd3 line, we consider Bh3 move after Black’s g6 instead of exchanging the white-squared bishop. Similarly to the part-1, Black needs to organize the counter play against White’s weaknesses on the queen side and watch out for breaking e3-e4. You will learn the positional nuances and typical tactical tricks for the both sides and, as a result, will be able to understand the invisible logic of the opening.

Tuesday, February 16 IM Bill Paschall Steinitzian Classics Part 4 (opening, tactics)
Steinitz plays his favorite Vienna Gambit and black goes astray losing control of the center after the faulty 4…dxe4. Steinitz gains central control and sacrifices a piece to trap the black king in the center and prevent his harmonious development. Steinitz paralzyes the king and traps the black rooks out of play, then breaking through tactically with his coordinated forces. A model game for white !

Wednesday, February 17 GM Eugene Perelshteyn. Carlsen Shines in Qatar: Positional Masterpiece Against a Strong Russian Junior (strategy, middlegame)
Did you ever expect Carlsen to play in an Open tournament? Magnus is either bored or loves a challenge… World Champ teaches us a thing or two about positional chess: space advantage, a bishop pair, the h-pawn rush, an exchange sac…what more can use ask? Enjoy!

Thursday, February 18 IM Valeri Lilov Smyslov’s Positional Mastery (strategy, middlegame)
Vladimir Kramnik once said about Smyslov: “He mastered all elements of play. Smyslov was a brilliant endgame specialist, all in all his play resembled a smooth flow, like a song. When you look at his games, you have that light feeling as if his hand is making the moves all by itself while the man is making no effort at all – just like he was drinking coffee or reading a newspaper! This has the feel of Mozart’s light touch! No stress, no effort, everything is simple yet brilliant. I like this feature of Smyslov and I am fond of his games.” How did Smyslov succeed in his games? Learn from this video lecture!

Friday, February 19 GM Bryan Smith The Fierce MacCutcheon, Part 5 (openings)
In this game by the author, the closed but extremely sharp positions after 8…Kf8 are examined.