Monday, August 28 IM Valeri Lilov The Problem of Structure (middlegame, strategy)
In many games, people of all levels wonder how is it possible to achieve a more successful pawn structure right from the opening. While the answer is usually quite simple, learning to evaluate it could be very challenging. Let IM Lilov teach you more in this video!
Tuesday, August 29 IM Bill Paschall The Rise of the Italian Game, Part 1 (opening, middlegame)
Jakovenko plays a plan with an early a4 which is somewhat rare in the Italian. Aronian plays creatively, and aggressively, first with an early b5 and later with the amazing 24… g5 !! pawn sacrifice to open lines against the White king. In the end , white lost due to the weakness around his king, the move h4 and perhaps the faulty exchange 13.Bxe6 , which opened the f-line as an attacking avenue for Black. Another multifaceted Aronian masterpiece is born.
Wednesday, August 30 FM Dennis Monokrousos Sometimes the Karpov Variation Isn’t Solid Enough (opening, tactics)
The Karpov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian (which can arise through the Caro-Kann as well!) is an excellent repertoire choice for Black, combining both solidity and chances to play for a win. The general theory is also pretty stable, but here as everywhere in chess, new ideas show up from time to time, and Ponomariov used one in this game. Objectively, Black has sufficient resources, but one must figure things out over the board, and at least this time around Black failed to do so. Macieja made a surprising error (or two) and was punished, but even apart from the results of this game there is much we can learn from it.
Thursday, August 31 IM David Vigorito Running Interference (middlegame, tactics)
An English Opening meets English Defence and turns into a Queen’s Indian. Caught off-guard in the opening, I play to just get a sensible position. We quickly end up in an old main line of the Queen’s Indian Defence. Although I win the game in the endgame, I missed a great chance to win with an interference theme. Can you find the idea that I missed?
Friday, September 1 GM Bryan Smith Adventures in the PRO Chess League, Part 2 (strategy, tactics, opening)
In part two, Bryan Smith analyzes the third and fourth games for the Philadelphia Inventors against Las Vegas in the PRO Chess League. Rapid games – with 15 minutes per side, plus 2 seconds added after each move – make every game a tense adventure.