Monday, October 5 IM Valeri Lilov Study the Classics Part 1 (middlegame)
Wanting to understand chess without studying the classics is like wanting to land on the moon without knowing if the Earth is round, or wanting to become an incredible pianist without dedicating hours upon hours of daily practice. Studying the games from the great players serves many purposes: you will learn more strategic plans; better understand how to recognize and exploit positional strengths and weaknesses; improve your pattern recognition and ability to form suitable plans; and have greater awareness of tactical opportunities.
Tuesday, October 6 IM Bill Paschall Fischer and the Two Bishops, Part 7 (openings)
Fischer allows Byrne to play a symmetrical type of Fianchetto Grunfeld where white is slightly passive. Black finds a way to open the game for his two bishops with the central break 12…e5. White carelessly weakens his f2 point ; the base of his pawn structure, allowing Fischer to sacrifice to open lines for his two bishops. The white kingside is fatally weakened on the light squares and the black bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal wins the game with a little help from Black’s queen.
Wednesday, October 7 FM Dennis Monokroussos Bishop’s Opening, Part 2 (openings, strategy)
We continue our look at the Bishop’s Opening, and this time we examine a more theoretically significant variation with 4…Na5. White often replies with 5.Nge2, but I’m going to suggest that we borrow an idea of Steinitz’s from the Scotch. White can grab a pawn in the main line, and while Black’s compensation may be sufficient with perfect play, there are plenty of ways for him to go wrong. Indeed, as we’ll see in our featured game, even when Black’s compensation is initially sufficient according to the silicon oracle it may not be easy to maintain it. Ivanchuk took the pawn, consolidated step by step, and won with ease against a very strong grandmaster.
Thursday, October 8 GM Leonid Kritz ‘Popular’ is Not a Synonym For ‘Good’ (tactics)
Friday, October 9 GM Bryan Smith A Repertoire for White in the Ruy Lopez: Part 9 (openings, tactics)
The Marshall Gambit is a critical answer to the Spanish. Here, GM Smith suggests some ways to combat – or rather, avoid – the Marshall.