Monday, September 29 IM Valeri Lilov Piece Flexibility by Larsen (middlegame, strategy)
Bent Larsen was one of the greatest players of 1970’s. His original and magnificent ideas have earned him the reputation of being one of the most imaginative players of his time. Learn how he uses piece flexibility to its best!
Tuesday, September 30 IM Bill Paschall Vigorito: Our Own Master of the English (openings, tactics)
Here we have a beautiful example of ChessLecture’s own David Vigorito in his element ; playing white in the English Opening. Always showing great positional understanding, particularly in the Closed English, David completely outplays his opponent strategically. This game is a must-see for English Opening fans, and shows why those playing black need to be careful in their level of preparation for this opening. In this case, David used the tricky 1.g3 move order, also a favorite of the author of this video, IM William Paschall.
Wednesday, October 1 FM Dennis Monokroussos An Interesting Anti-Slav Sideline (openings)
The Slav Defense is one of the hottest and most theoretically saturated openings in all of chess. All Queen’s Gambit players need something against it, and French GM Romain Edouard may have just the thing for those of us who would like to surprise our opponents without spending a long time with books and engines in preparation. Maybe there’s no advantage if Black is well-prepared, but your opponent is unlikely to be well-prepared (unless he or she watches this video) and even titled players regularly meet this in an imperfect manner. Have a look and give it a try!
Thursday, October 2 GM Eugene Perelshteyn Surprise Your Opponent with an Unusual Weapon Against 1.d4! (openings, tactics)
Black plays a surprise weapon against d4 with 1…d6! Followed by 2…e5! The resulting position is fun to play with plenty of space advantage on the king-side. White reacts poorly and finds himself in a cramped position that resembles a reversed French. However, after some creative defending by White, Black once again has to find ways to play for a win. Try to solve the super-tricky trap watch the power of a bishop on a long diagonal against two rooks and a knight!
Friday, October 3 GM Bryan Smith Decisive First Round Matchups from the Tromso Olympiad, Part 1
There is much that can be learned from mismatches. The first round of the Olympiad often pits players of widely different strengths against each other, and here we get to see what remains behind the scenes in games between grandmasters of similar strength. In this first video, we see Peter Svidler take on a lower-rated master, Bilal Samhouri.