Monday, November 13 IM Valeri Lilov Karjakin’s Defensive Concepts (strategy)
Many strong players realize the importance of defending the opponent’s threats at any critical position. Identifying these threats, as well as finding the best candidates is always a challenging task. In this lecture, IM Lilov provides a good example of GM Karjakin’s concepts to a successful defense.
Tuesday, November 14 IM Bill Paschall Exciting Clashes from the 2017 World Cup, Part 2 (openings)
Aronian rolls past Ivanchuk, as Black seemed unprepared for the line played in the game. Ivanchuk, who has an extremely wide opening repertoire,perhaps couldn’t remember the line and was completely unable to counter White’s initiative. Black simply failed to complete his development effectively.
Wednesday, November 15 FM Dennis Monokroussos Black is Rickety vs. the Richter-Rauzer (opening, tactics)
The Classical Sicilian (i.e. an Open Sicilian with 2…d6 and 5…Nc6, or 2…Nc6 and 5…d6) has had its periods of great popularity, but it has come upon hard times in recent decades. It’s certainly playable, but White has more than one way of playing without risk for an edge. This is in distinction from, say, the Najdorf or the Taimanov, where White can play for a draw or a win, but not for a win with a draw in hand. In today’s game, we see an example of how Black is struggling. Sevian’s 14.Ne4 improved on one of his earlier games, and after this he was playing with house money: Black was suffering in a position where White had attacking chances and a central bind as well, and he quickly succumbed. Classical players, beware.
Thursday, November 16 IM David Vigorito Carlsen Eliminated from World Cup (tactics)
A two game match can be a dangerous thing, even for the world’s best player. Here the champion goes down with White (he was unable to recover with Black). The game starts quietly, but the Chinese GM boldly sacrifices a pawn in the style of the Marshall Attack. The idea was probably not completely correct, but it is easier to attack than defend. When Carlsen misses his chance, Bu attacks with great energy and scores a tournament altering upset.
Friday, November 17 GM Bryan Smith 6.h3 Against the Najdorf, Part 3 (tactics)
In part three of his series on 6.h3, Bryan looks at the same line from Black’s point of view, showing a game where he played the recent line 6…e5 7.Nde2 b5.