Monday, December 22 IM Valeri Lilov The Master Secrets Part 1
Understanding how the masters think has always been a challenge to most players. Chess masters account for about less than five percent of chess players worldwide. The masses are left to guess and wonder what chess masters know and do that others don’t. Check this video to learn what you need to know to be a part of that elite group that is set apart from the rest of the chess world.
Tuesday, December 23 IM Bill Paschall Bluffing with a Good Image
IM Paschall illustrates the advantage of cultivating a good image as a sound player. Sometimes risky or tricky variations can be employed to gain an opening advantage if the opponent is too “trusting”. This illustrative game shows again how one such bluff has worked time and time again in many games
Wednesday, December 24 FM Dennis Monokroussos Giving It All Away
We all know and love the old 19th century games where the players sac a queen and a couple of rooks to deliver mate. They’re impressive and entertaining too, even if the level of resistance was pretty low. But such games are a relic of the distant past, right? Not necessarily. The game we’ll see today was played in 1993, featuring GMs who are alive and well today, and outdoes all of the earlier games. The winner, Grigory Serper, sacrifices *every single one* of his pieces – and the sacs are all eventually accepted, too! The whole combination – or series of combinations, really – is sound, and he meets with very decent resistance too. I don’t know if Serper’s feat is unique, but at the very least it’s exceedingly rare.
Thursday, December 25 LM Dana Mackenzie When Flashy is Not Necessarily Best
A recent U.S. Chess League game between GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Conrad Holt featured three stunning sacrifices by Naroditsky, and was named Game of the Week. Yet the game ended in a draw. What went wrong for Naroditsky? Perhaps his youthful exuberance. He repeatedly let his emotions over seeing a “brilliant” combination outweigh calm, patient, objective analysis. Holt’s stubborn defense also deserves credit, and his drawing method in the endgame has to be seen to be believed.
Friday, December 26 GM Bryan Smith Carlsen Takes the Lead in Sochi
In game two of the 2014 World Championship Match, Magnus Carlsen managed to defeat Anand’s Berlin defense in an interesting game. Here GM Bryan Smith looks at the key moments from that game.