Monday, March 13
IM Bill Paschall – The Genius of Leonid Stein, Part 3 | Middlegame
Stein was dangerous in all openings with White or Black. In this game against the experienced Czech GM Filip, Stein playing an English type of formation; which was easy as he was extremely well versed in the Sicilian as Black. In the following example, Leonid takes a rather boring symmetrical English to start with and injects incredible life into the position by creating dynamic imbalances. By the end of the battle White’s bishop pair dominated the board and the Black king was walking a tightrope.
Tuesday, March 13
GM Leonid Kritz – Carlsen Returns to the Spanish Game (Slowly) | Strategy
Good sign for all Spanish (Ruy Lopez) players – the world champion plays the Spanish Game again! Even though Carlsen does not go into main lines and avoids the possibility of the Marshall Attack, at least he shows that he has some ideas against Berlin Wall. Very slow moving game, typical for Carlsen, in which he acquires advantages inch by inch and eventually, without really having done a lot, gets an absolutely won position. Typical masterpiece of strategic playing by Magnus.
Wednesday, March 13
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – 16-Year-Old Carissa Beats the World Champ! | Tactics
It is not often that you see a 16-year-old phenom outplay a reigning World Champion as Black. Yet, this is exactly what Carissa Yip did vs. Ju Wenjun in the recent Cairns Cup in St.Louis. Carissa’s opening prep was superb and she got exactly the type of dynamic position that she excels in! The rest is an instructive strategic masterpiece with a beautiful tactical finish!
Thursday, March 13
FM Dennis Monokroussos – Remembering Gennadi Kuzmin | Tactics
The late Gennadi Kuzmin, who died this February, was probably unknown to most chess fans outside of Ukraine, at least if they weren’t aware of the chess scene in the 1970s. At that time Kuzmin was one of the world’s best players – in the top 15 at his peak – and he qualified for three consecutive Interzonals at a time when that meant proving oneself in the Soviet Championships – then the strongest annual super-tournament in the world. He didn’t remain in the elite for such a long time, turning his attention to training (he worked with the young Sergey Karjakin, for example), but this game from 1990 gives a glimpse into the depth of his talent. His GM opponent played the opening in a perfectly logical way, and as it turned out, it lost practically by force. Proving this, however, involved a deep tactical trick, one which led subsequent Najdorf players – like Kasparov – to take note and to vary. See for yourself: it’s a game that’s both theoretically important and tactically brilliant – and those two elements are perfectly connected.
Friday, March 13
GM Nadya Kosintseva – The Catalan: Open Variation with 7.Ne5 | Strategy
In this lecture we will consider a variation of the Catalan system that arises after the moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Ne5. Compared to the more popular 7.Qc2, this line limits Black’s responses if he wants more than equality out of the opening. For instance, he cannot play 7…b5 to guard the c4-pawn since his rook on a8 is hanging. Also, he cannot completely equalize by playing 7…c5 to trade first the White’s central d4-pawn and then the queens, since White’s light-squared bishop will make it difficult for Black to develop his queen side. The main line is 7…Nc6 and it’s an absolutely non-obvious decision for someone who sees the position for the first time because Black willingly produces tripled pawns. Both sides should play creatively: White – in order to avoid many trades and keep targets for his attack; Black – in order to fix his pawn weaknesses and activate the pieces.