Monday, June 24
IM Bill Paschall – Great Matchups: Korchnoi – Spassky Candidates Final 1977-78, Part 1 | Opening, Endgame
This series examines critical games from the Candidates Final (1977-78) to determine the challenger to Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship. After a first round draw, Korchnoi comes out swinging with his favorite Winawer French. Black sacrifices a pawn in classic fashion and plays for the initiative. White plays the middlegame with less energy than Black, missing a clear forced draw and eventually blundering in a difficult defensive situation. This game set the tone for Korchnoi’s domination of the first half of this classic matchup.
Tuesday, June 25
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Rehabilitating Levitsky’s Reputation | Tactics
Stepan Levitsky is best known as the victim of …Qg3!! – a move so famous I probably don’t even have to tell many of you where it’s from. (For those who don’t know, watch the video. :)) While he could not be considered an all-time great, Levitsky was a good player, a master who won an early Russian championship and scored a fair number of wins against Alekhine when he was on the cusp of becoming a world-class player. It seemed good, therefore, to let him be seen as a player in his own right and not just as a famous victim, and his win over Freiman from the 1912 All Russian Masters event is worth a look. It does have an extremely embarrassing moment for both players, but the rest of the game was generally well-played, and Levitsky’s final attack was quite impressive. Have a look, both because the game is interesting but also to remember a good player as something more than someone who got “posterized”.
Wednesday, June 26
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Punish 2…Nf6 Sicilian Once and For All! | Opening, Tactics, Endgame
What to do when Black provokes you with 2…Nf6 in the Sicilian? Don’t be afraid to push your pawn and develop quickly! GM Perelshteyn shares simple rules of how to punish your opponent: rapid development and don’t be afraid to sacrifice pawns to open up the game! The attack continues right into the endgame.
Thursday, June 27
GM Leonid Kritz – Positional Illusion | Strategy
After a relatively unambitious opening, White seemed to have a strong attack on the kingside. However, it was rather an illusion – Black played very calmly and showed that White does not have any specific threats. In a position where most players would be scared, Anand shows brilliant understanding of strategic elements of the game.
Friday, June 28
GM Nadya Kosintseva – A Complete Hypermodern Repertoire for White: Play the Reti System – Part 1 | Strategy
We continue considering schemes of development with Black’s Bf5. The beginning moves are the same: 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.0-0 Bf5 5.d3 but then Black plays 5…h6 rather than 5…e6. The idea behind this move order is to be prepared to White’s Nh4 and keep the bishop on the diagonal b1-h7. Since Black delays the development on the king side white starts playing by force – 6.c4 followed by Qb3 aiming at the b7-point. The positions become dynamic and require energetic play from both sides.