Monday, June 15 IM Valeri Lilov Winning with the Moeller (openings, middlegame)
Playing the Ruy Lopez as black can be painful. One of the reasons is the passive and defensive position that black is getting. Here comes the Moeller system! This is an exciting new approach used by top GMs to counter white’s grip!
Tuesday, June 16 IM Bill Paschall Miles on Hypermodernism Part 1 (middlegame, tactics)
Employing a Reti Opening, GM Miles reaches a position from the Benoni in reverse. Black allows Miles to exchange the white “Benoni” bishop on the long diagonal,which normally would benefit black, but begins to suffer from weakened white squares , most notably f5, as a result. Geller’s counterplay on the queenside reaches a dead end as Miles establishes a space advantage and attacking chances on the kingside. Finally, in a difficult position, Geller grabs a poisoned pawn and the resulting attack is decisive. Black is unable to create a fortress in the ending with rook and knight versus queen.
Wednesday, June 17 FM Dennis M. Great Tragedies in Chess History, Part 2 (endgame)
In 1951 David Bronstein led his world championship match with Mikhail Botvinnik by one game with two games to go. As champion, Botvinnik had draw odds for the match, so Bronstein needed to maintain his lead. Botvinnik had White in game 23 (of 24), and this was essentially his last chance to equalize the scores. Bronstein had things under control for quite a while, but bit by bit, almost inexplicably, he succumbed to the pressure and lost the game, something that seemed to haunt him for the rest of his life, for more than 50 years. We’ll have a look at that game, and we’ll also see that he had an interesting chance in game 24 as well, when he uncharacteristically played it safe rather than going for a very promising attacking option. Stress can overwhelm even the greatest of players, and that’s what happened to Bronstein, who finished with a drawn match and no champion’s title.
Thursday, June 18 GM Eugene P. Instructive game in the French Tarrasch: How to play vs the IQP (openings, strategy)
In a standard French Tarrasch Defense, White tries to exploit the IQP using the typical strategy of blockade and trade of the dark square bishops. However, the game quickly becomes sharp as White sacrifices a pawn for initiative. The ideas of domination and zugzwang are quite instructive!
Friday, June 19 GM Bryan Smith The Clear Play of Bobby Fischer, Part 5 (strategy)
In the midst of his magical 11-0 run in the 1963 U.S. Championship, Fischer routed his strong opponent, William Addison, with the black pieces, using some very instructive positional and strategic themes.