Monday, November 18
GM Eugene Perelshteyn – Spassky Punishes Pirc Defense With A Model Attack | Opening
It’s not often we see an aging GM play attacking chess. Yet, this is exactly what Spassky does 12 years after his match vs Bobby Fischer. He plays perfect attacking chess and destroys young Seirawan, who’s one of the top GMs at that time. Every move is aimed at the enemy king, and total disregard for material! Learn how to play from the best!
Tuesday, November 19
IM Bill Paschall – Old School Technique at the Isle of Man | Opening, Endgame
Endgame technique is timeless. Younger and less experienced top players and faster and faster time controls are reducing the level of endgame skill at the highest echelons of the chess world. The following game bears significance not only for the endgame itself, but for thinking about the transitions to such an inferior endgame and the concessions that one side has made in the middle game. Grand master Boris Gelfand has been one of the best players in the world for over thirty years. In this example we see his ability to accumulate small advantages without risk and convert to a full point victory against an inexperienced young talent.
Wednesday, November 20 – FM Dennis Monokroussos
How to Avoid Losing with Rook and Four Pawns against Rook and Four Pawns | Tactics
It’s bad enough losing rook and three vs. rook and four. That’s a theoretical draw, in the normal case where the side with the extra pawn doesn’t start with a big space advantage, but it’s not always easy to hold. But rook and four vs. rook and four? That should be a breeze – especially for a super-GM like Ruslan Ponomariov, a player who was celebrated for his good technique even when he was a teenager. Except that it wasn’t, in this 2010 game with Magnus Carlsen. Ponomariov did start the ending with one small problem, but the position was still entirely drawn. But you know Carlsen: he kept posing one small problem after another, and finally Ponomariov snapped. In the video I show not only the key moves in that ending, but also the key decision points, in the hope that when we’re in a situation like Ponomariov’s we can avoid his fate by improving our decision-making. (It will also help if we’re not facing Carlsen.)
Thursday, November 21
GM Leonid Kritz – The Marshall Gambit Defeated! | Openings, Tactics
A rare instance of White winning against the Marshall Attack in the Spanish. Although, if Black played 22…c5, the game probably would have ended in a draw. Still, a brilliant game from Radjabov, and in particular the 26th move by White is remarkable.
Friday, November 22
GM Nadya Kosintseva – Play the Sozin Attack vs the Najdorf Sicilian, Part 6 | Strategy
In this lecture we will finish our series about the Sozin Attack covering the line after 8…Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7. Compared to 9…Qb6 that we discussed in the previous lecture, the black queen seems to be more naturally placed and Black can already castle next move. White can still create some threats against the black king after he moves his queen to the g-file or target the d6-pawn from there but in general the positions of this line are less concrete and lead to less forcing play than before. However, White feels comfortable and can continue increasing his pressure gradually without taking any risk.