Chess Lectures

Monday, October 6   IM Valeri Lilov Piece Coordination by Boleslavsky (opening, middlegame)
Piece coordination has always been challenging for many players, as it’s difficult to arrange it efficiently during a game. Check out GM Boleslavsky’s amazing game to learn more about using piece coordination in support of your plan!

Tuesday, October 7   IM Bill Paschall Avenging Carlsen in Tromso (strategy, endgames)

Wednesday, October 8   FM Dennis Monokroussos The Craziest Game I Ever Played (tactics)
The following game may not be an illustration of perfect play, but my (rather irresponsible) decision to sac my queen for a couple of pieces and some “play” on move 6(!) led to a series of wild adventures. You might not learn anything, but you will be entertained!

Thursday, October 9   GM Leonid Kritz Beat Super Grand Masters with the Scandinavian (opening, strategy)

Friday, October 10   GM Bryan Smith Decisive First Round Matchups from the Tromso Olympiad, Part 2, (strategy, middlegame)
In the second part of his series of the first round games from the Tromso Olympiad, GM Bryan Smith looks at another game from the match between the teams of Russia and Jordan. Here we see GM Sergei Karjakin taking on Sameer Mansour’s Colle System – the super-GM presses with black, but it can be seen that defeating a master with black in a quiet opening is not simple even for a top player.

Opening Trends 3: The Catalan

by IM David Vigorito

       Recommended for Intermediate Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday, September 29 IM Valeri Lilov Piece Flexibility by Larsen (middlegame, strategy)
Bent Larsen was one of the greatest players of 1970’s. His original and magnificent ideas have earned him the reputation of being one of the most imaginative players of his time. Learn how he uses piece flexibility to its best!

Tuesday, September 30 IM Bill Paschall Vigorito: Our Own Master of the English (openings, tactics)
Here we have a beautiful example of ChessLecture’s own David Vigorito in his element ; playing white in the English Opening. Always showing great positional understanding, particularly in the Closed English, David completely outplays his opponent strategically. This game is a must-see for English Opening fans, and shows why those playing black need to be careful in their level of preparation for this opening. In this case, David used the tricky 1.g3 move order, also a favorite of the author of this video, IM William Paschall.

Wednesday, October 1 FM Dennis Monokroussos An Interesting Anti-Slav Sideline (openings)
The Slav Defense is one of the hottest and most theoretically saturated openings in all of chess. All Queen’s Gambit players need something against it, and French GM Romain Edouard may have just the thing for those of us who would like to surprise our opponents without spending a long time with books and engines in preparation. Maybe there’s no advantage if Black is well-prepared, but your opponent is unlikely to be well-prepared (unless he or she watches this video) and even titled players regularly meet this in an imperfect manner. Have a look and give it a try!

Thursday, October 2 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Surprise Your Opponent with an Unusual Weapon Against 1.d4! (openings, tactics)
Black plays a surprise weapon against d4 with 1…d6! Followed by 2…e5! The resulting position is fun to play with plenty of space advantage on the king-side. White reacts poorly and finds himself in a cramped position that resembles a reversed French. However, after some creative defending by White, Black once again has to find ways to play for a win. Try to solve the super-tricky trap watch the power of a bishop on a long diagonal against two rooks and a knight!

Friday, October 3 GM Bryan Smith Decisive First Round Matchups from the Tromso Olympiad, Part 1
There is much that can be learned from mismatches. The first round of the Olympiad often pits players of widely different strengths against each other, and here we get to see what remains behind the scenes in games between grandmasters of similar strength. In this first video, we see Peter Svidler take on a lower-rated master, Bilal Samhouri.

Studies in: The Dutch Defense

by The Masters of ChessLecture

Recommended for Intermediate –Advanced Players  MORE

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

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

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

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

ECO A80, A88, A85     PGN included

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

Monday, September 22 IM Valeri Lilov Planning by Najdorf (strategy)
Most chess players know GM Najdorf for the excellent opening he has developed. Yet he has been one of the greatest masters of planning for his time and learning from him is always a privilege!

Tuesday, September 23 IM Bill Paschall This Bird’s Can’t Fly (openings, middlegame)

Wednesday, September 24 IM Dennis Monokroussos Caruana Shows the Timing’s Off Svidler’s Taimanov (openings)
Fabiano Caruana recently became the seventh player in chess history to officially achieve a 2800 rating, and it’s great games like this that show why he’s there. His opening preparation is very deep, and once it’s over he proves adept at playing both a wild middlegame and the technical endgame phase as well. In addition to his all-around skill as a player, he is resilient and consistent, and not afraid of anyone in chess – not even Magnus Carlsen, whom he has thrice defeated since 2012. Unseating Carlsen will be a difficult task for any challenger, but Caruana looks as likely as anyone in the chess world to do so.

Thursday, September 25 GM Leonid Kritz Unfortunate compensation (openings, tactics)
A very tough opening as well as tactical fight. It is unclear whose preparation turned out to be better, but it looked like white has an excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn. There was no obvious way to a win, however, and so, slowly, step by step, Kramnik allowed Grischuk to overtake the initiative and convert it into a full point. The game is interesting to analyze because of its nonstandard development.

Friday, September 26 GM Bryan Smith Battle for Space in the Middlegame (middlegame, strategy)
The control of space is a very important factor leading to success in chess. In this video, GM Bryan Smith examines the battle for control of squares in the context of a game from a recent tournament, the Washington International.

Monday, September 15 IM Valeri Lilov Smyslov’s Endgame (strategy, endgame)
Vassily Smyslov was one of the greatest chess players of all time. He was also popular for his magnificent endgame technique and brilliant understanding of quiet positions. Let us learn from one of the greatest endgame players of all time!

Tuesday, September 16 IM Bill Paschall  A Nimzovichian Struggle from the 2014 Olympiad (openings, middlegame, strategy)
GM Bruzon gives another dazzling positional performance a la Nimzovich. This Sicilian has the flavor of a French and any master with an appreciation for blockade and the fundamental Nimzovichian principles will be happy that the tradition lives on with some younger masters of the 21st century!

Wednesday, September 17 FM Dennis Monokroussos A Wild King’s Indian at the Tromso Olympiad (tactics, endgame)
Last time we looked at some miniatures from the Tromso Olympiad, games in which things went terribly wrong for one side or the other. This time we’ll take a look at some of the best chess on the planet, a battle between two of the best players of our time slugging it out in a wild battle. There are sacrifices and combinations and traps and all manner of complicated tactics, and when the battle finally resolves into an endgame it too is sharp and full of interesting moments. The game wasn’t perfect, but it was well-played and enormously entertaining. See for yourself!

Thursday, September 18 GM Leonid Kritz Storm of Exotic Ideas (tactics, endgame)
This is a game that has a lot of cool ideas in it, starting from the very beginning. The rook endgame is a good example for everybody to study because it looked like Ivanchuk was pretty easily winning by bringing his rook behind the a-pawn, but then he missed this opportunity and ended up sharing the point.

Friday, September 19 IM David Vigorito On the Road Again Part 1 (openings, endgames, tactics)

Opening Trends: The Russian Gruenfeld and Anti-Gruenfeld

by IM David Vigorito

Recommended for Intermediate Players  More

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

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

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

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

ECO D98, D97, D70           PGN included

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

Monday, September 8 IM Valeri Lilov Typical Mistakes in the Attack (openings, middlegame)
Often chess players need to follow an attack. The problem is that they make mistakes and often get confused on how to balance the positional preparation and tactical combinations. Learn how to plan your attacks better in this lecture!

Tuesday, September 9 IM Bill Paschall Bolt from the Blue in the Sicilian (openings, tactics)
GM Jobava plays a very rare variation of the Sicilian against the well prepared GM Sutovsky. Jobava plays the unnatural retreat 8…Be6, instead of the normal move 8…e6 which would leave white with a small but lasting advantage. In the game, black’s development is hampered and he falls victim to a sacrificial shot 17. Nd6+ !! The attack that follows hinges on Sutovsky’s followup idea of 19. e6 !! which was surely overlooked by Black!

Wednesday, September 10 FM Dennis Monokroussos Olympic Miniatures (tactics)
The Chess Olympics brings together practically all of the world’s best players every two years, and many more grandmasters besides. Some fantastic chess is played there, but with so many players involved – including a fair number of amateurs as well, representing countries with nascent chess programs – some short and even embarrassing games are played as well. This time around we’ll take a look at three very short games, averaging a total of 12 moves each. The games are amusing, yes, and can cheer us up when we remember our own foibles, but they are also instructive. Have a look, and let’s learn from others’ errors and not just our own.

Thursday, September 11 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Learning Patient Position Play from a Youngster! (middlegame, tactics)
White chooses a solid Exchange Slav in order to outplay his younger opponent using position nuances. However, the youngster shows patience and positional understanding beyond his age! Watch and learn how Black finds all the best defensive moves and then goes on the offensive. White has to scramble and find a creative way to draw.

Friday, September 12 GM Bryan Smith A Complicated Endgame by Alekhine (endgame)
In this video, GM Bryan Smith shows a game between Alekhine and Tartakower, where we encounter both psychological considerations involving playing with a stronger or weaker opponent as well as some intricate and brilliant calculation.

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

Recommended for Intermediate Players        More

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday, August 25 IM Valeri Lilov Kramnik’s Endgame Superiority (strategy, endgame)
Most chess players have heard about the brilliant positional and endgame technique of the 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. What was his secret? Following the right principles or planning? Learn more in IM Valeri Lilov’s lecture!

Tuesday, August 26 IM David Vigorito Winning Ugly Openings (openings, tactics)
In this game I get a big advantage against a master and promptly hang a whole piece! The game is instructive however as I consider the psychology of both my and my opponent’s situation. Eventually I build up so much compensation that even the computer favors White with a piece less even though there are no immediate threats.

Wednesday, August 27 FM Dennis Monokroussos Knight of the Living Dead
Just because a piece is on the board doesn’t mean it’s useful, and in this noteworthy game by chess legend Garry Kasparov it is Alexei Shirov’s knight on b7 that becomes an exemplar of the living dead. It’s still on the board, but it is so cut off from the action that it’s only slightly more functional than a captured piece. Ironically, Shirov’s first attempt to bring it back into the action (or rather, to start doing so) wound up giving White a winning edge, though Black was on the precipice already. Kasparov’s idea was a great one both in its particulars and as a general idea, one that we ought to keep in mind for ourselves. Sometimes the best thing we can do is not something positive for our own pieces, but something “negative”; namely, keeping the enemy pieces shut out of the game.

Thursday, August 28 LM Dana Mackenzie Checkmate in the Endgame, Part 1 (endgame)
Checkmate comes up surprisingly often as a theme in complex (i.e., multi-piece or queen) endgames. Usually it is not an end in itself, as in the middle game, but a strategic device that is used to force concessions from the opponent. In this exquisite example, Alexei Shirov sacrifices three pawns (even four in one variation!) to create piece activity and mate threats. This game also shows that when you have an active king versus your opponent’s passive king, it can almost be like having an extra piece

Friday, August 29 GM Bryan Smith How the Closed Position Opens (middlegame, strategy, endgame)
In this middlegame video, GM Bryan Smith shows how to calculate and evaluate the various ways of opening up a closed position – one of the fundamental skills of play in the middlegame.