-
Grandmaster Khachiyan delivers yet another gem of a video lecture today, reviewing one of his own recent victories and highlighting many critical "dos and don'ts" of the French Defense and the pawn structure therein. He focuses on providing examples of which points to target in black's position. He also explains in logical fashion what his opponent misunderstood about the position and why he chose bad plans. | Watch video
-
IM Mackenzie Molner brings the first section of his new video series to a close this month by reviewing a recent victory he had over GM Loek Van Wely! After an interesting variation of the Sicilian Kan develops, Mac highlights that his mind was set on keeping the initiative with attacking moves. Eventually, this approach paid off with a crushing attack... and who knew a former Super-GM would let himself get checkmated? | Watch video
-
GM Dzindzichashvili is back with more Member Analysis today! His focus is on the "lack of positional understanding" that our two players, well, lacked. After a smooth opening, white and black both mishandle the pawn tension along the d-file, and the exchange eventually climaxes with a strangle hold by white on the light-squares. However the game, along with Roman's humorous critiques, are only just getting started! | Watch video
-
Today GM Khachiyan takes a page out of an old book to bring us a lesson on practical defense! He continues a series he started over a year ago on Chess.com with a fresh installment. Melik highlights for us the importance of being both positionally and tactically precise, and when his opponent misses a chance to put him away (strong Knight on d6 allows for a brilliant Rook move) -- Melik slowly works his way back to a winning position. | Watch video
-
IM Mackenzie Molner brings us the second installment to his video series on the initiative today! Here we take our understanding to the next level by reviewing an exciting game between two Super-GMs. The most critical lesson from this game was the importance of creating threats, even at the potential cost of more material (especially if you've already sacrificed something to get the initiative you currently have). Enjoy! | Watch video
-
In this epic battle between two legendary chess heavy weights (and former World Champs too) we see an excellent example of how to attack when the King's are castled on opposite sides of the board! "Who says Petrosian was not a good attacker or tactician?", asks today's instructor, GM Melik Khachiyan. After watching this display of amazing tactics, initiative, intuition, and timing, it's hard to argue... | Watch video
-
In this Live Session match Danny relies on an "old friend" (Blumendfeld Gambit) to get the job done! After a series of tricky tactics in the opening, the game quickly simplifies into a Rook and Bishop vs Rook and Knight endgame with a lone passed pawn to Poppa Bear's advantage. Does Danny convert the victory, or does he allow kingside counterplay that can't be stopped? Watch and find out... | Watch video
-
In this infamous Najdorf English Attack game, the former World Champion Garry Kasparov delivered a powerful exchange sacrifice that would change the way people felt about an entire variation! GM Khachiyan reviews it for us from the perspective of highlighting all the attacking principles. Melik also discusses how to evaluate pieces "subjectively" vs "objectively". Enjoy! | Watch video
-
International Master Daniel Rensch kicks off our week with another Live Session! Taking a break from the overload of "patterns you need to know" Danny sits down and faces a strong opponent who chooses a "less than stellar" opening. After struggling to find a "clear win" Danny gives his philosophy on how to approach such situations. Enjoy! | Watch video
-
GM Shankland brings us the conclusion of his game with GM Meier from last month in today's video, and he offers some great advice on technique and the conversion of a material advantage at the same time. From eliminating your opponent's counter-play, to making sure you continue to calculate accurately in all critical moments -- learn from Shanky and convert your advantages! | Watch video