Monday, May 21
IM Valeri Lilov King in the Center | Strategy
Many amateur or even club players know that leaving king in the center is punishable if the opponent plays correctly. How to arrange a successful attack if the opponent deviates from the main course of development is the key topic in this lecture. Don’t miss it!
Tuesday, May 22
IM Bill Paschall Adhiban Minatures from Sharjah | Strategy
The Masters tournament at Sharjah Chess Club in the UAE is an elite swiss played with a fast time control of 90 minutes for the game along with a 30 second increment. In this type of time limit, there is less time for grinding wins and good endgame technique. Perhaps the best plan is aggressive play early on with tactics and attack being emphasized. In the early stages, grandmaster Adhiban seems a clear favorite, racking up early miniatures for your viewing pleasure.
Wednesday, May 23
FM Dennis Monokroussos A Beautiful Human-like Attack by a Computer | Strategy, Tactics
Leaving aside questions about AlphaZero, Stockfish is clearly the strongest chess engine at the moment. It is dominating its main rival, Houdini, in the season 11 superfinal of the TCEC. Often when one engine defeats another, it is by accumulating a series of small advantages that are difficult for even strong humans to detect, but the game we’ll look at here is different. Stockfish blows Houdini away in a brilliant and very understandable game – though not one that’s necessarily easy to emulate.
Thursday, May 24
IM David Vigorito Calculation Cornucopia | tactics
In this lecture I do something unusual – I show a variety of fragments from my recent games where there are some unusual tactics. It is not just pattern recognition – you have to calculate! See how you do.
Friday, May 25
GM Bryan Smith Winning from an Innocuous Position | Strategy
Ivanchuk’s unusual strategical mastery is on display in this game, where he wins from an apparently unpromising position with seeming ease.