Chess Lectures

Monday, April 8
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 9 | Opening, Middlegame
Vladislav Kovalev is a rising star and displays his brilliance in the following masterpiece. White faces the traditional 4…Nc6 in the c5 variation of the Advance and must deal with an aggressive approach. Essentially 4…e6 is solid while this older variation might be objectively a better winning attempt for Black. Kovalev essays the newer idea 5.f4 !? which has attracted interest from many strong players in recent years.

Tuesday, April 9
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Semi-Slav, Fully Slavghtered | Opening, Tactics
Vladimir Kramnik was a great expert on both sides of the Semi-Slav, and it wasn’t just a matter of preparation. Jaan Ehlvest, himself an elite GM, dared follow in the footsteps of an earlier Gata Kamsky game in the wild Botvinnik System – probably the sharpest of all the Semi-Slav variations – and was obliterated by Kramnik’s findings at the board. (Kramnik was unable to recall the theory of the sideline Ehlvest chose, and since he improved on it that was a good thing!) Check out this miniature attacking masterpiece.

Wednesday, April 10
GM Eugene Perelshteyn | Playing the Reversed Openings According to Kramnik | Opening, Strategy, Endgame
In the modern era of highly advanced computer preparation, Kramnik shows the older players how to adapt. Instead of trying to battle vs the young GM in home analysis, he simply sidesteps main-line theory. How? By playing the Reversed Openings! This time i’s the King’s Indian as White. Watch and learn how the experience and knowledge of basic concepts nets him an slight edge in the endgame. The SuperGMs don’t need more than that! The rest is just pure technique!

Thursday, April 11
GM Nadya Kosintseva | A Nimzo-Indian Repertoire for Black, Part 5 – Meeting 4.e3 & 5.Bd3 | Strategy
In this lecture we continue learning 4.e3, but this time White first moves the light-squared bishop out, playing 5.Bd3. From Black’s point of view, there is no need to take care of the dark-squared bishop immediately, so he can start targeting the center immediately with …d5, then …c5. White at some point faces a decision: he either takes on d5 or lets black take on c4. In both cases Black seems to have enough counter play even if he loses the bishop pair after White’s a3. We will consider three common pawn structures – Carlsbad, isolated pawn and hanging pawns – and emphasize important ideas for both sides.

Friday, April 12
GM Robert Hungaski | A Classical Repertoire vs 1.e4: Steinitz Defense vs the Ruy Lopez, Part 2 | Strategy
In part one we looked at the typical Ruy Lopez pawn structures that arise after White goes for a central buildup with c2-c3 followed by d2-d4. In this video we will be looking at a much more aggressive approach. Instead of going for a central buildup white will open the center right away and aim for opposite side castling. Black must be very careful, but with the proper defensive resources we´ll see that white’s attack can easily backfire!

Monday, April 1
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 8 | Opening, Middlegame
White plays in the sharpest manner with Tal’s 5.g4 system against the Caro-Kann in the Advance variation. Black uses the flexible 4…h6 and the result of battles in these lines will determine ultimately if Black’s system can withstand the pressure. There have been successes in these lines for Black, but in this game White is able to sacrifice a pawn for the initiative and he never looks back.

Tuesday, April 2
FM Dennis Monokroussos – The Disimproved Stonewall Dutch | Tactics
We’ve been looking at some of Vladimir Kramnik’s great games, and after seeing a series of his wins over Veselin Topalov we move on to other elite victims. This time we look at an impressive victory over Alexander Beliavsky, then still among the world’s elite. The game began with a Reti/Barcza System, but Beliavsky tried to turn it into a Stonewall Dutch with the traditional bad bishop on g4, outside the pawn chain. It seemed like a good idea at the time; less so after Beliavsky resigned on move 18! Beliavsky’s idea took some critical tempi that would have been better spent getting his king out of the center. He would have gotten away with it too, but Kramnik’s extremely energetic and principled reaction completely refuted the idea. Sometimes, refuting the opponent’s idea involves burning one’s bridges, and Kramnik was not afraid to do so.

Wednesday, April 3
GM Nadya Kosintseva – A Nimzo-Indian Repertoire for Black, Part 4 – Meeting 4.e3 & 5.Nge2 | Strategy
In this lecture we will learn 4.e3 followed by 5.Nge2. White temporarily blocks his light squared bishop in order to guard the c3 knight and avoid doubled pawns when he then plays a3. From Black’s point of view, I recommend to keep the dark-squared bishop on the board, moving it down to f8 after he plays Re8. Next, Black starts targeting the center, advancing more pawns there in a hope to use his lead in development. Sometimes the position may look strategically dangerous for Black, but if he is creative and vigorous enough White can end up in a dangerous situation with his king stuck in the middle, the right to castle lost.

Thursday, April 4
GM Robert Hungaski – A Classical Repertoire vs 1.e4: Steinitz Defense vs the Ruy Lopez, Part 1 | Opening, Strategy
Hello! And welcome to my video series on the Ruy Lopez – Steinitz Variation. In these videos you will become acquainted with one of the most time-tested and reliable systems for black.

Moreover, if you are already familiar with some of my videos and my general approach when it comes to selecting an opening, you will not be surprised that this line also has a great practical value. As soon as move three we are forcing white down a path that we are much more likely to master than our opponent, without sacrificing much in terms of the quality of our position.

The basic premise for black in the Ruy Lopez, and the Steinitz is not the exception, revolves around our ability to maintain the equilibrium in the center. Usually this will mean that we will have to fight to keep our pawn on e5, despite white´s attempts to put pressure on it.

In this first video we will focus on what happens when white chooses the standard Ruy Lopez approach, by nurturing a strong center with the moves c2-c3 followed by d2-d4. Here we will see that black has ample resources, and should white decide to close the center by means of d4-d5, then play can become highly dynamic.

I now invite you to join me as I step into this time machine and try to turn back the dial on an opening that has been unjustly snubbed by recent opening theory, despite its long and distinguished track record!

Friday, April 5
IM Valeri Lilov – Positional Complexities | Middlegame
A lot of times players wonder about the most efficient way to approach complex positions. Truth is there are lots of ways to handle such situations, yet none of them are truly easy. The most effective always remains one though – looking for the positional dangers! Learn more from Lilov’s video!

Monday, March 25
Eugene Perelshteyn – Important Novelty in the King’s Indian Defense – Beating Hikaru Nakamura | Opening, Tactics
What makes an Opening variation playable or unplayable? How does Opening theory develop? Watch this instructive lecture by GM Perelshteyn, where he shares with you a bizarre novelty in the King’s Indian that helped him defeat none other than Hikaru Nakamura! This game changes the course of the entire line!

Tuesday, March 26
FM Dennis Monokroussos – The Elusive Queen | Tactics
We continue our series on Vladimir Kramnik with yet another super-sharp victory over his archrival Veselin Topalov. Topalov, with White, went for an anti-Semi-Slav line that has become even more popular over the past couple of decades, and as usual Topalov did his best to make the middlegame as complicated as he could. Unfortunately for Topalov, his assessment was mistaken, and Kramnik took over the initiative. Topalov was banking on the precarious position of Kramnik’s queen, and Kramnik was skirting the precipice. He held his balance, and with a series of brilliant tactical ideas not only survived but won quickly and convincingly. Perhaps at their mutual bests, Topalov was the better tactician – perhaps. But if so, the margin was narrow, and as we’ve seen Kramnik won many tactical struggles against Topalov, supplementing his more positional wins.

Wednesday, March 27
GM Leonid Kritz – Importance of Controlling the Center | Strategy
This is a great example of how strategic factors outweigh material in chess. White sacrificed a pawn, but got total control over the center, and it was more than enough to see that only he is playing for win. Old principles should never be forgotten, and center control is one of the most important ones!

Thursday, March 28
IM Bill Paschall Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 7 | Opening, Tactics
In part seven we follow an exciting battle between two of the most successful players in recent years. Grandmaster Vachier-Lagrave plays a classic and aggressive continuation. What seems like tactical chaos is actually a deep strategic concept by White. The Black kingside is hemmed in and the defense is never allowed to properly complete his development. An instructive game which hinges on long term concepts!

Friday, March 29
Nadya Kosintseva A Nimzo-Indian Repertoire for Black, Part 3 – Meeting 4.Qc2 & 5.a3 & 7.Bg5 | Strategy, Tactics
In this lecture we continue learning the classic lines that arises after white’s 4.Qc2 followed by 5.a3. We will go over the schemes of development when white moves the dark-squared bishop to g5 pinning the black’s f6-knight. This set-up, on one hand, limits black’s pieces in their choices, but, on the other hand, gives black additional strategic and tactical tools. Now, the main target for black’s attack becomes the c4-pawn, which can be exposed after black advances c5 and brings his rook to the c-file. We will go over the variations that demonstrate black’s options in attacking on the queen side and learn typical tricks for both sides.

Monday, March 18
IM Bill Paschall Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 6 | Opening, Strategy
The variation with 4.h4 in the Advance Caro-Kann has arisen in the 21st century as one of White’s most aggressive and successful lines. In this battle, a veteran Caro-Kann expert uses the modern 4…h6, a system which has seen renewed interest in recent years. White exploits the classic and key concepts of space and development to overwhelm Black.

Tuesday, March 19
FM Dennis Monokroussos – English or Benoni? Either way, Kramnik Wins | Opening
Once again, we’ll have a look at an exciting, combative game between two of the absolute best players of the past 20 years. Our tendency is to think of Vladimir Kramnik as a paragon of positional play and Veselin Topalov (at his best) as a player with an unsurpassable ability to seize and use the initiative. But as we’ve seen, and see once again in this this game, Kramnik at his best can successfully fight for the initiative against anyone, and use it once he has got it. That’s what happens in this game. Topalov declines the chance to play a Hedgehog with Black, preferring to head for a Modern Benoni-like middlegame. Kramnik had no trouble adapting, and overwhelmed Topalov with his energetic play. No boring Berlins or calm Catalans here!

Wednesday, March 20
GM Leonid Kritz – Great Lesson on Pawn Structure | Strategy
This game is particularly important because of the pawn structure that occurred after Black played 16…f5. First of all, it’s very important to understand that the White’s whole idea – to play f4-f5 – was not good, because eventually he ended up with a bad bishop on g2. Also, it is a good example of how to play against two bishops – in the rigid pawn structure we have in this game, the white bishop pair was pretty helpless.

Thursday, March 21
GM Nadya Kosintseva – (Nimzo for Black) part 2 | Strategy
In this lecture, we start learning the popular 5.a3 move after 4.Qc2. Playing these two moves, white forces the trade of the black’s dark-squared bishop for his knight, while keeping the flexible pawn formation on the queen side. From black’s point of view, I suggest to play d6 right after the castling. As for me, it’s a very flexible set-up that allows black to build a barrier limiting white’s bishop pair. Specifically, in this lecture we will go over schemes of development of white pieces that imply keeping his dark-squared bishop in the initial position; lines with Bg5 will be examined in Part 3. Depending on how white plays, black can increase his presence in the middle with either d5, c5 or e5 pawns. As a result, he gets a solid position in the center, enhanced by opportunities to create a counter play on the sides.

Friday, March 22
IM Valeri Lilov – When to Start an Attack | Strategy, Middlegame
Ever wondered what makes an attack successful? Well, obviously it all comes down to execution but what really makes the execution flow is the ability to situate and regroup our pieces, as well as the opening of files which we get to use against our opponent. Check out more principles in IM Lilov’s new lecture!

Monday, March 11
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 5 | Opening, Tactics
Legendary GM Judit Polgar brings her attacking talents to the Advance variation of the Caro-Kann. In this battle against a fellow Hungarian GM, Polgar uses a system that has gained much popularity in recent years. This game is a great display of both positional and tactical skill. Black dubiously gives up the bishop pair and never finds compensation for his spacial disadvantage, inherent in this line.

Tuesday, March 12
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Instructive Positional Win in the Grand Prix Attack | Opening, Strategy
We know of standard plan for White to attack in the Grand Prix Attack. Yet, in this video GM Perelshteyn shows you a cool positional idea that totally locks up Black’s bishop on c8. White controls the entire board and Black is left with no counterplay whatsoever!

Wednesday, March 13
GM Leonid Kritz – New Look in Rare But Increasingly Popular Opening | Opening, Tactics
The 3.e5 c5 line in Caro-Kann is getting more and more popular as white finds better ways to get an advantage in against 3….Bf5. Anand demonstrates a new approach to this position by transposing into a French Defense pawn structure with an extra move time. I think black was okay until he played too impulsively 13….a5, after which his position got worse. Some nice tactical tricks at the end are worth calculating for yourself, before seeing the remainder of the game.

Thursday, March 14
GM Nadya Kosintseva – A Nimzo-Indian Repertoire for Black, Part 1 – Meeting 4.Qc2 & 5.e4 | Opening, Strategy
I’m starting a new, seven-part series about the Nimzo-Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4). This defense is well known from ancient times but still very popular at any skill level, including at the top. Personally, I used to play this opening for many years from the black point of view and always appreciated its solidness together with the variety of counter play it promised for black, and I’ll present my recommended approaches here for you.

Friday, March 15
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Getting the Last Laugh | Tactics
In the previous game Vladimir Kramnik had White in a Sicilian against Veselin Topalov; this time he’s playing Black. In the mid-1990s Kramnik generally played the Classical Sicilian (in the happy days before he put the Berlin Defense on the map; practically turning the Berlin Defense into the whole map), regularly achieving insanely complicated positions. (Recall his 1993 game with Shirov, covered in one of my recent videos.) This was a see-saw affair, with Kramnik finding most of the most interesting ideas and finally winning the tactical battle. Get ready for a mind-bogglingly complex game, and try your hand at figuring things out for yourself.

Monday, March 4
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 4 | Opening, Tactics
This game in part four highlights the modern trend against 3…c5 in the Advance Variation. White chooses not cling to material but mobilizes and gains an advantage with the classic hallmarks of space and development. Black’s decision to play f6 early leads to a weakening of his king position which White is able to decisively take advantage of.

Tuesday, March 5
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Young American Super-Talents Battle It Out in the Italian! | Opening, Tactics, Strategy
Both Jeffery and Sam are arguable the best American GMs in the 18 and under category. In this high-level game, both of them bring the best to the table: Modern opening, sharp tactics, and precise defense. Enjoy and learn from the young super-talents on their way to conquering Mount Olympus of chess!

Wednesday, March 6
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Attacking With *All* One’s Pieces | Strategy
With Vladimir Kramnik having retired from professional chess at the early age of 43, it’s time to take a commemorative look at some of his career highlights – especially against his arch-rival Veselin Topalov. In this blindfold game from 2003, Kramnik won with some fine attacking play, and what made it especially interesting was that the key piece in the attack – that without which the attack would not have succeeded – was his own king! The game was beautiful and unusual, and a display of the exceptional creativity we can expect from a world champion.

Thursday, March 7
GM Leonid Kritz – Efficient Defense | Tactics
This game illustrates how to defend slightly passive positions and watch out for a chance. Out of the opening, Black got a somewhat passive, but very solid position. In such situations it is very important to be patient and not to create additional weaknesses. At the same time, you need to be on the alert for your opponent’s mistakes, and once he makes one – you need to hit hard and quickly.

Friday, March 8
IM Valeri Lilov – Grandmaster Buildup | Strategy, Middlegame
Ever wondered how Grandmasters build up their positions until all the power is there and all they need is a small push to take it all on their opponent? Well, check IM Lilov’s video to find out!

Monday, February 25
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 3 | Opening, Strategy
The Caro-Kann is one of the most solid and reliable defenses for Black against 1.e4. The most aggressive choice for White is the Advance variation, a favorite system for top players, in the last twenty years becoming essentially the most critical test. In this battle, a top exponent of the Caro-Kann quickly goes wrong and white crashes through both strategically and with a brilliant tactical flourish.

Tuesday, February 26
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Smyslov’s Favorite Game | Endgame, Tactics
Vasily Smyslov (1921-2010) was one of the greatest players of the 20th century. He was the world champion (1957-1958), a participant in four world championship title events, eight Candidates events, a two-time Soviet champion, a winner of 17 medals in Chess Olympiads, a top player for more than 40 years, and on top of that an important writer on the endgame and a study composer to boot. With a resume like that it would seem impossible for Smyslov to pick out his favorite game, and if he could it must be a game from his successful world championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik, right? Surprisingly, the answer is no. His favorite game was played when he was just 14, against a player who is otherwise essentially unknown to chess history. It isn’t his greatest game, but it has a very attractive finish and offers a charming snapshot of the boy who would be among the world’s elite in only five years or so.

Wednesday, February 27
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – How to Attack White’s Center in KID Fianchetto Variation |

Thursday, February 28
GM Nadya Kosintseva – A Tricky e6-Sicilian Line | Strategy
In this lecture, I am going to analyze a rare e6-Sicilian line that allows black to create strong pressure on the white’s center. Specifically, quickly moving the knight to f6 as well as the dark-squared bishop to b4, black attacks the e4-point – almost forcing white to push the central pawn to e5. It gives black the d5 square at his disposal, which he uses to increase his pressure on the e1-a5 diagonal. White, in his turn, should be vigorous enough to create counter threats on the king flank since black moved the pieces away from that side of the board. As a result, the position may become irrational already in the beginning of the game and require non-standard decisions from both sides. In this case, the objective evaluation of the position does not matter so much and the player who is better prepared for all these complications will have more chances to succeed.

Friday, March 1
IM Valeri Lilov – Files and Pieces | Strategy, Middlegame
Ever wondered what makes a plan successful? Well, obviously it all comes down to execution but what really makes the execution flow is the ability to position and regroup our pieces, as well as the open files which we get to acquire against our opponent.

Monday, February 18
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 2 | Opening, Strategy
The Advance Variation offers White some lasting advantage against the Caro-Kann Defense. In this game we see the World Champion display the value of White’s spacial advantage for attacking purposes. Perhaps this system appeals to many players as there are several systems to choose from of varying aggressiveness. Magnus chooses a careful setup, but the closed nature of the position allows him to avoid exchanges and gain dangerous attacking chances.

Tuesday, February 19
FM Dennis Monokroussos – The Precarious Dutch Defense | Strategy
Austrian GM Stefan Kindermann is and has long been a huge fan of the Dutch Defense. Perhaps some players will know more about the Dutch than he does, but few if any will have the combination of specific knowledge and felt experience when it comes to handling that opening. And yet even he went awry most speedily in his game with Anton Korobov from the current season of the Bundesliga. Kindermann went for a strategically dubious plan whose benefit was the elimination of White’s ability to castle. A battle of imbalances: a reduced influence in the center for Black, awkward development for White. Who benefited the most? In this case, very clearly, White, and Korobov won a strategic masterpiece. Dutch Stonewallers, beware!

Wednesday, February 20
GM Eugene Perelshtey – A Brilliancy With a Major Flaw! | Tactics
How often do you find yourself rejecting your opponent’s sacrifice with a thought “yes, he must have calculated it all out.” Well, this is actually a common mistake a Grandmaster can make as well! What looks like a winning sacrifice for White, turns out to have a major flaw. Can you find out why? Hint: It’s not easy and it involves an intermezzo!

Thursday, February 21
GM Robert Hungaski – A Strategic Repertoire Against the Sicilian: Sidelines Against 2…Nc6 | Strategy
As we come to the end of our journey, we wrap up our discussion with some minor alternatives black has after the move 2…Nc6. Arguably, this is the most challenging move-order for our system since black has three distinct options that will prevent our desired pawn structure altogether (Four Knights, Sveshnikov and Classical – Moreover, black can also play the Scheveningen through the 2…e6 move-order).

Our goal will be to tackle the Lowenthal, Kalashnikov and Accelerated Dragon (lines which are not possible through the 2…d6 & 5…g6 move-order discussed in part 1). Although the Lowenthal is the only one of these three that does not allow us to place a pawn on c4, we will see that white does not have too much trouble achieving the easier position. In the latter two cases, we will encounter familiar structures and thematic play.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and I welcome your comments and suggestions!

Friday, February 22
GM Leonid Kritz – Fight the Dragon ‘Old Style’ | Tactics
An interesting game by Smirin in which he shows some “new old” ideas on how to play against the Sicilian Dragon. Black obviously allowed white too much, and got in trouble. He probably had to try to stop white’s attack by playing h5 himself, and not allowing white to play h5. However, as it is typical for contemporary Dragons, the game ended in a bad endgame for black, and not with a check mating attack.

Monday, February 11
IM Bill Paschall – Crushing the Caro-Kann, Part 1 | Opening
In this series we look at modern examples of attacking play against the Caro-Kann featuring the dynamic Advance Variation. This battle from the 2018 European Championship highlights the difficulties which Black faces against this system. Gawain Jones is one of the best prepared up and coming grandmasters in modern chess. This game highlights his pinpointing a new idea and his use of classic advantages like space and development.

Tuesday, February 12
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Black Bamboozled in a Curious Catalan | Opening
Mickey Adams is a very solid player who knows his opening systems very well. And he’s a great player, too, but even those three characteristics were insufficient to immunize him against Radoslaw Wojtaszek’s ingenious opening idea in their game from the 2018 Isle of Man tournament. Wojtaszek’s pawn sac in a sharp Catalan line was rare but known – Adams had previously faced it a few weeks earlier, in the Olympiad – but his 15th move was something new. It was a tricky position, and surprisingly, it proved too tricky for Adams. See for yourself – and if you play either side of the Catalan, it’s a game you’ll want to be familiar with: for White, it’s another tool in the toolbox; for Black, you’ll want to make sure to avoid Adams’ fate!

Wednesday, February 13
GM Leonid Kritz – Strategic Excellence But Tactical Inability | Strategy, Tactics
This is another great example of what we can see today pretty often –
one side fully outplaying another strategically, but then suffering
because of tactical complications. Smirin controlled the game completely, until he overlooked the 19…d5 and 20…Na5 idea, which was very strong. Afterwards black should have overtaken the initiative, but luckily he played too passively and white came back and got the point.

Thursday, February 14
GM Nadya Kosintseva – How to Take and Hold a Pawn Playing Against the Catalan System with 5…Nc6 | Strategy
In this lecture, we will discuss a specific line of the Catalan system that implies sacrificing a pawn for white and accepting this sacrifice for black in hopes of keeping the material advantage at least for a while. The beginning moves for white are d4, c4 and then at some point g3 followed by Bg2. Bringing the bishop to the long diagonal, white puts strong pressure on the black’s queen side. Black, in his turn plays d5 and e6 to limit the white’s bishop. Next, if white does not guard the c4-pawn black can take it quickly and then hold it, for instance, by pushing the b-pawn two squares. What is interesting, white does not try to restore the balance immediately and instead focuses on his development and occupation of the center. As a result, the main question that arises here is what will matter more: black’s material advantage or white’s initiative? We will see.

Friday, February 15
GM Robert Hungaski – A Strategic Repertoire Against the Sicilian: Facing the Taimanov (…Nc6, …e6) | Openings, Strategy
The Taimanov Variation has become one of black’s most reliable Sicilians. Black adopts the inherently solid Kan pawn structure while restricting white’s options, especially with regards to the possibility of white placing a pawn on c4.

While it’s true that white’s options to put the pawn on c4 might have been restricted, they have not been eliminated! Here we will analyze 4.Nb5, popularized by Karpov. I believe this is not only a variation that allows us to stay true to our philosophy, but also one of the most unpleasant (though not necessarily the most theoretically challenging) lines black players will have to face. Now black will be basically forced to adopt a Hedgehog-type of pawn structure. A far cry from your typical Taimanov positions!

Monday, February 4
IM Bill Paschall – The Best of Bronstein, Part 10 | Opening, Strategy
In our final segment of the Best of Bronstein we see further evidence that the great creative genius was extremely versatile. The following win against strong Hungarian GM Pal Benko displays Bronstein again willing to play with or without Queens on the board from the early going. A new path in the opening leads to a classic queen-less middlegame where both sides “castle by hand”. The most instructive features of this masterpiece are Bronstein’s enduring space advantage and his hallmark appreciation for the coordination of the pieces.

Tuesday, February 5
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Wild and Wooly Super-GM Chess | Tactics
12 games, 12 draws. That was the story during the classical phase of the 2018 World Championship, and the London Chess Classic wasn’t any better with eight draws in eight classical games. But it need not be this way, and in the Aronian-Mamedyarov game from the 2018 Olympiad it wasn’t. Mamedyarov took risks throughout, and while he was objectively lost for a while the position was never clear. Laboring against Mamedyarov’s seemingly eternal initiative, and especially Mamedyarov’s fantastic 22nd move, Aronian cracked and lost. When players are willing to take risks, and both Aronian and Mamedyarov are such players, there will always be plenty of decisive games.

Wednesday, February 6
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – A Fighting Draw with the 3-Time US Chess Champion | Tactics
GM Perelshteyn faces 3-time US Chess Champ, Joel Benjamin, and the game quickly leaves theory and enters uncharted territory. We have opposite-side castling but who’s better? How do you attack? How do you find the best plans? Watch and enjoy a high-level game loaded with lots of instructive moments including a rook sacrifice, queen sacrifice, and finally a fighting draw!

Thursday, February 7
GM Robert Hungaski – A Strategic Repertoire Against the Sicilian: Facing the Kan (…e6, …a6) | Strategy, Openings
If you look up the published materials, as scarce at they may be, on the 5.f3 system against the Sicilian, you will only find a discussion relating to the 2…d6 move-order. What I propose to do now is extend that discussion and offer you a comprehensive repertoire that will enable you to achieve the desired pawn structures (Maroczy and Hedgehog) against almost every possible Sicilian variation.

We now leave behind the 2…d6 move-order and begin our discussion of 2…e6, most commonly played by black when aiming to play the Kan Sicilian. Here we will analyze the move 5.c4, which exploded in popularity after Magnus Carlsen beat Anand in game 6 of their 2014 World Championship Match.

Arguably, the situation is more complex than in the 2…d6 move-order, since the f8-bishop is not hindered by its own pawn and can seek a more active post outside the pawn chain. Therefore, we will focus primarily on this. Should the bishop recede into the comforts of the pawn chain there is a high probability that the game will transpose into the variations we discussed in the second video of this series on the Hedgehog structure.

Friday, February 8
IM Valeri Lilov – Breaking Through the Position | Middlegame
A lot of times, players wonder about the most efficient way to approach better positions. Truth is there are lots of ways to handle such situations, but the most effective always remains: looking for the breakthrough!