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GM Bojkov is back, this time in the Roaring Twenties, explaining how Capablanca could pull another endgame rabbit out of his hat. Starting from a position in which most modern grandmasters would shake hands, the third world champion slowly outplays future world title contender Bogoljubov. After dominating the open file, Capablanca prevents all counterplay and finishes with a pretty pawn mate. Still, Bojkov is amazed at how a world-class player could lose without making any obvious mistakes. | Watch video
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WGM Tatev Abrahamyan continues to show you how to walk the tightrope between winning and losing in the Winawer. Here she highlights the Bg5 idea by white, focusing on the critical ...c4 to get white's other bishop off the board. Abrahamyan loves the French and gives plenty of recommendations for which lines are her favorites. Spoiler alert - she chooses systems that let black attack white too! | Watch video
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Are you trying to become a grandmaster by analyzing positions a dozen moves deep? GM Melikset Khachiyan shows you that two or three moves at a time is plenty! Here he beats an FM by only calculating in small chunks - what he called "bushes". Khachiyan achieves his strategical aims without once envisioning the position more than a few moves ahead. Chess just got a lot easier! | Watch video
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After 7 installments of Yugoslav Attack formations, IM Keaton Kiewra switches gears and talks about how Dragon players should face the more restrained Classical System, which involves white castling kingside instead of queenside. He shows what to do in case of either Be3 or Bg5 setups. In the stem game, a strong Yugoslav GM shows that maybe his opponent should have played his country's namesake opening after all! | Watch video
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The ever-modest GM Gregory Kaidanov begins his video series on positional play with, what else, a loss! He builds an attacking position despite playing against the isolated queen pawn, but loses his initiative when white creates a giant outpost. Kaidanov warns students to be critical of all exchanges, while showing how backward knight moves (Silman's favorite!) can sometimes save the day. | Watch video
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We all know Capablanca's endgame acumen, but GM Eugene Perelshteyn tells us that another world champion is equally deserving of our attention. Here Smyslov methodically overruns Gligoric, as Perelshteyn shows you how to envision a winning plan before starting your endgame journey. Even a doubled pawn can be enough for victory! | Watch video
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WGM Abrahamyan is back this month to continue her series on all things French! She provides a very instructive breakdown of the positional secrets to the Winawer Pawn Structure, then she reviews the theory of her "recommended lines" against the sharp, main line 7.Qg4 systems. | Watch video
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Melik walks us through a recent game of his where he used his "backup opening" to defeat his lower rated opponent, IM Amanov. He talks about the positional strengths and the flexibility behind his opening choice, and why he feels it's a solid one for players looking from a different approach to 1.e4. Take notes on his opening advice, and enjoy the instructive finish. | Watch video
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In today's Member Analysis video, Roman reviews a variation of the Exchange Ruy that seems to offer "little action" after the queens are traded off early on. However, as he highlights, nothing could be further from the truth! The theory of how the great American Champion, Bobby Fischer, played the line for both sides proves that there is much theory to know, and that neither player should lose focus in the opening... | Watch video
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Enough examples of the "other things" Capablanca did well, let's review some endgames! Grandmaster Bojkov heard your call! Today he analyzes two of the Cuban World Champ's finer ending achievements, with victories over Riumin and Reshevsky, the late Capablanca displays for us his flawless technique and amazingly accurate execution of even the smallest of endgame advantages... | Watch video