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!