Monday, January 23 IM Valeri Lilov Mastering the Openings (opening)
Setting up the right strategy in the opening is a top priority task for everyone. While most chess players try to study long book lines to feel better prepared, they often get confused when the opponent chooses a sideline or moves astray from the well-known book lines. How to find the right strategy and what are the keys to a successful opening? Check out IM Lilov’s lecture to learn more!
Tuesday, January 24 IM Bill Paschall A Grand Battle (opening, strategy)
Grandmaster Julio Granda Zuniga is having a resurgence of late. He is known for his lack of theoretical knowledge, but makes up for that with terrific creativity, fighting spirit and technique. In this game he avoids any opening debate with 4.Bd2 against the Nimzo. Granda steers toward a better structure with 10.dc and then showcases his creativity with the elegant and original maneuver Rc3-Rd3-Rb3-Rb4 from where the rook operates perfectly. White gains a positional advantage firstly, and then goes up a pawn to transfer to an ending where he showcases his technique. Grandelius has one chance for counterplay, but misses his shot.
Wednesday, January 25 FM Dennis Monokroussos Refuting the Caro-Kann? (openings, tactics)
The title is an exaggeration, of course, but one of Black’s current options against the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann has taken a serious hit. Volokitin grabs the initiative early on against the strong German GM Daniel Fridman, and aside from an inaccuracy on move 14 he plays a splendid game, crushing his opponent in a miniature.
Thursday, January 26 GM Leonid Kritz How Not to Play the Nimzo-Indian (openings)
In this game Black got a very comfortable position after the opening, but then instead of playing slowly and positionally, he decided to play sharply and opened the position with 15….d5? This is a typical mistake in such situation because White’s bishops captured the board immediately. The lesson to learn from this game is that depending on the pawn structure fighting for the center may not always be optimal.
Friday, January 27 GM Bryan Smith Kasparov against the Torre Attack (strategy)
In 2015 the retired former world champion Garry Kasparov played a blitz match against his former challenger, Nigel Short. Although these were blitz games, they were of a high quality and Kasparov won in crushing fashion. Here we see one game, where he uses a sharp system against the Torre Attack which could be of great interest to players of the King’s Indian Defense.