Monday, May 30 IM David Vigorito Tricky Idea Against the Classical Sicilian (opening, middlegame)
Just when I thought I had seen everything, my opponent shocks me in a Sicilian with an extremely rare knight hop on move 6. This funny idea could prove to be a useful surprise weapon. It worked against me, and even after I turned the game around a bit, it was not enough to win.
Tuesday, May 31 IM Bill Paschall Selections from the US Championship 2016, Part 3 (middlegame, tactics)
Nakamura plays white against the cagey upstart Jeffrey Xiong. Black takes a risk by playing a sharp defense against such a strong player. Nakamura is well prepared in a rare, but suddenly trendy variation. Black makes a terrible mistake with the anti-positional move 16…Bh6, but would be worse in any case. White displays great technique and tactical vision in the end.
Wednesday, June 1 FM Dennis Monokroussos Domination! (tactics)
Wei Yi is known as a great attacking player who thrives in sharp openings, but he didn’t become the youngest 2700 in history by being one-sided. In this recent game he accepts a weak queenside pawn structure for piece pressure on the queenside, especially on the b-file, the h1-a8 diagonal, and the b6 and d6 squares. His opponent is a grandmaster too, but he proves completely unable to solve his problems, and he is lost by move 16 or so at the latest. The end of the game is just cruel, or comical, or a bit of both.
Thursday, June 2 GM Leonid Kritz How to Outplay Your Opponent Out of Nowhere (tactics)
Eljanov played an opening allowing Black to get an equal position in different ways. The plan with b3 objectively cannot be considered dangerous. However, White showed that even in such a line, there are always chances to trick your opponent. After a couple of imprecise moves by Navara, Eljanov got a slightly better position, and used his chances in an excellent way.
Friday, June 3 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Lesson From My Komodo Match, Part 1: Avoid KID Attack! (strategy, tactics)
In the first game of the Handicap match vs Komodo, Eugene gets 5 free moves in the opening. Is it enough to beat the monster? Watch and learn how Komodo unleashes the amazing KID pawn storm!