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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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Grandmaster Ben Finegold continues his series on "GM Level Preparation" with a video that reviews a case of accidental preparation. His victory over GM Huschenbeth during last year's US Chess Leage season earned him Game of the Week, but how did Ben reach such a fantastic position out of the Nimzo Indian opening? The story may surprise you... | Watch video
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GM Perelshteyn continues his series on practical endings this weekend with the review of a famous "squeezing" by the fourth World Champion. He begins by reminding us why basic, technical rook endings are "must knows" before you can execute practical plans at a high level. He then challenges us to develop the same winning plan that Alekhine developed in his own game against Thomas. | Watch video
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GM Kaidanov reviews a very nice win in the career of Magnus Carlsen over Leinier Dominguez. The game highlights the importance of being aggressive with your pawns, gaining space early and often, and thinking critically in terms of what the position needs, and not just castling or playing other "principled moves" because they are normally correct. Follow those steps, try to guess the moves, and maybe you can play like Magnus! | Watch video
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Want to know exactly how to challenge the Stonewall pawn formation without having your queen's bishop stifled? Should I develop via Bb7 or Bd7? What about my other bishop? Should I play Be7 or Bd6? GM Dzindzi explains all, recommending piece and pawn structures for black while discouraging other setups. This otherwise placid opening can lead to serious problems for black if he is caught off guard! | Watch video
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Another video lecture by Grandmaster Bojkov, another gem by the third world champion reviewed today for our members! Here we watch Capablanca play the white side of the Reti System against Lilenthal in 1936, and though details of how Capablanca outplayed his opponent are slightly advanced, what's clear is that Capa's patience and willingness to convert on the smallest of advantages separated him from his peers by leaps and bounds. | Watch video
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GM Kaidanov launches a new series today in the spirit of Kotov, bringing you the modern day version of how to think like a grandmaster! Gregory provides useful tips on what "critical decisions" are worthy of a good think (like changes to the pawn structure or big piece trades) and as usual, he provides a great example game to go along with his advice! | Watch video
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Here GM Khachiyan reviews a big win he had as black at a tournament he won over President's Day weekend. In his own words, winning this event was a "recession buster", and Melik talks about his philosophy both on and off the chess board going into his game against Matamoros. He ultimately finds a way to convert a better pawn structure into a winning Knight vs Bishop ending, and as usual, he provides great advice on the techniques used to beat his opponent. | Watch video
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Sam brings his review of the games from the Pan-American Team Championships to a close today by providing in-depth analysis of his second encounter against GM Suarez. Sam takes you through his goals of the game, first to equalize and then to succeed with an attack on the queenside. Ultimately, his team's strong position may have caused him to "let up" slightly in the end, but his analysis proves that his strong play could have led to much more... | Watch video
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In the first video of two parts on what is potentially white's most challenging approach to the Pirc, IM Mackenzie Molner does what he's done so well in this series: Make black's position look easy, completely playable, and fun! Part one of two reviews the early captures on c5 by white, the Bb5+ variations, and a few other sidelines every aspiring Pirc player must know! | Watch video