Monday, November 24 IM Valeri Lilov The Key of the Opening (openings, middlegame)
What makes an opening successful? This question has been asked by many chess players during the years. The truth is that there isn’t one absolute answer to it. Understanding the opening requires a solid knowledge of the essential principles behind a successful structure. Tune in for IM Lilov’s new lecture to learn more!
Tuesday, November 25 IM Bill Paschall Mamadyarov, Gelfand, and the Problem with the Benoni, Part 2 (openings, strategy)
Wednesday, November 26 FM Dennis Monokroussos Avant Garde Chess (openings)
Hungarian prodigy Richard Rapport is one of the most interesting players to watch nowadays, as he is not just immensely strong but a great attacking player who loves unusual openings. The Nimzo-Larsen (1.b3) is one of his pet lines, and in this game against a strong grandmaster opponent he is already winning after 11 moves and then finishes the game with a great sacrificial attack. Impressive, instructive and beautiful chess!
Thursday, November 27 GM Bryan Smith Giri Against Shirov in the Unive Festival (openings)
Young super-GM Anish Giri recently won a match against GM Alexei Shirov by a score of 4.5-1.5. Here we will see one of his more interesting victories from that match – a sharp Semi-Slav.
Friday, November 28 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Beating the Dutch with 1.Nf3! Part 2 (openings)
Black tries a more flexible approach against 1.Nf3 and 2.d3! setup with 2…d6. However, Grischuk executes similar plan in the center with a timely d4! push. Ponomariov seeks counter-play with …e4, but White still gets a big edge. Grischuk missed a strong idea to win a pawn with Qb5+ and Qxb7, but still played good moves to reach a comfortable middlegame. Watch and learn how to use these simple ideas in your own games.