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.

Dealing with the Bishop to b5 in the Sicilian

By IM Bill Paschall

Recommended for Intermediate – Advanced Players     

The Rossolimo Variation, 3.Bb5, is a well-respected alternative to 3.d4. Originally criticized by Kasparov but later played by him.

Content: 2 hours of instruction and analysis in a series of 3 lectures.                            

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.5 out of 5  ECO:B30

Fans on Chesslecture.com said:mellow yellow….smooth versed lecture…we like it like that….thanks

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. 

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!

Pawn Strategy

       by GM Bryan Smith

UPC 885007551812   MSRP: 19.95   Recommended for Intermediate-Advanced Players

Content 3 hours of chess theory and discussion in a series of 5 lectures.

Bryan takes us through various strategies for using Pawns in your game. Illustrated with real games the lectures cover topes of : Pawns In the attack, Petrosian’s Pawn Artistry, Doubled Pawns and Weak Squares, Break the Rules Sometimes, Breaking Through the Pawn Chain.

ECO: A37, A46, E21, E90, D07

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 3.81 out of 5 .

Fans on ChessLecture.com said: You make it look so easy 🙂 Lecture was fantastic. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series.

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.

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!

NEW Queen’s Indian Theory and Practice

by GM Leonid Kritz

Recommended for Advanced Players

Presented by Grandmaster Leonid Kritz for ChessLecture.com

GM Kritz outlines several variations of the Queens’s Indian including The Main line and the Main Modern Line. Including 4.g3. Plan 4….Ba6.5.b3 b5

The Queen’s Indian is regarded as the sister opening of the Nimzo-Indian, since both openings aim to impede White’s efforts to gain full control of the center by playing e2–e4.

A hypermodern., yet solid defense to 1.d4 advocated by Aron Nimzovich.

Content: 1.25 hours of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures.

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.46 out of 5

Fans on Chesslecture.com said: Excellent lecture continues on part one showing black has lot of counter play in this interesting line. Thank you Leonid !

GM Leonid Kritz was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1984. He started playing chess at age of 4, at Spartak Moscow Chess School. Youth World Champion under 16 in 1999, became grandmaster at the age of 19 years in 2003. Participated at FIDE World Cup in 2004, represented Germany at Chess Olympiad 2004, and European Team Championships 2005 and 2007. Co-winner of SPICE Cup 2008.

GM Leonid Kritz was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1984. He started playing chess at age of 4, at Spartak Moscow Chess School. Youth World Champion under 16 in 1999, became grandmaster at the age of 19 years in 2003. Participated at FIDE World Cup in 2004, represented Germany at Chess Olympiad 2004, and European Team Championships 2005 and 2007. Co-winner of SPICE Cup 2008.

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!

Achieving GM: The Ultimate Goal

a 2DVD set

Recommended for Intermediate – Advanced Players     

GM Jesse Kraai, GM Bryan Smith and IM Bill Paschall.

GM Jesse Kraai shows us what was important in his self preparation to achieve the title of Grandmaster. Kraai then walks us through his GM norms game by game and how his knowledge was applied. GM Smith talks us through his GM norms and what he faced in every game. Our bonus lecture by IM Bill Paschall shows us a game where Bill set back someone’s aspirations for GM.

ECO: N/A    Content: 5 hours and 50 minutes of instruction and analysis in a series of 11 lectures.     

Members of ChessLecture.com rated this series a 4.47 out of 5      

 Fans on Chesslecture.com said: Excellent example of fighting tournament chess. Nice insight on how your mental state at the time affects your decisions at the board. Well done sir!

GM Jesse Kraai: currently resides in Berkeley, California. His most notable chess achievements are winning the Denker Tournament of High School Champions in 1989 and 1990, and competing in the US championship from 2002-2006. Jesse received his final GM norm at the Foxwoods Open 2007 and has a Ph.D in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. Jesse is an active chess coach.

GM Bryan Smith grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and currently 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 and the first GM ever from Alaska.

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.

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!