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Is it ever really possible to master something without learning to love it? You can continue to "force feed" yourself technical, and boring positions in the endgame if you want, but you may never learn to like the final stage of chess and therefore, never really become a great endgame player. Or, you can learn to appreciate the finer details of a game like the great Ulf Andersson, and become an endgame master yourself! | Watch video
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IM Rensch explains that there are two different types of chess players, and two different types of people therein: Those who love to win, and those who hate to lose... Figure out his latest "crazy talk" in the critical stage of this game, and stay tuned to find out whether Danny has enough compensation to justify his blunder of a pawn in the early stage of the middlegame. | Watch video
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FIDE Master Valeri Lilov is back again with another Opening Lecture for beginners! Today he covers the defensive ideas of the great Aaron Nimzowitsch, and even though this opening is not considered "the most main line choice", FM Lilov stresses that it should not be overlooked either, and that black indeed does posses some tricks in this variation... | Watch video
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When the best in the world actually has to play defense, he does it pretty well! In the game McShane-Carlsen, London Classic 2011 the "world's greatest amateur" had the world #1 on the ropes, but when Magnus puts on a defensive clinic (clearly recognizing white's plan as well as which pieces to exchange and when/how to exchange them) the young Englishman is unable to crack black's blockade. Enjoy GM Shankland's review and take more notes on how to play defense! | Watch video
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Similar to the first installment in his new video series on Prophylactic Thinking, GM Kaidanov brings us one position after another, stressing the need for us to think about what our opponent's (not our own) next move and plans will be. Gregory's examples vary in difficulty and style, but all prove the importance of weighing the coming threats and how to deal with them. | Watch video
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With his next installment, GM Bojkov explains how his student captured her first National Title (Bulgarian Women's Championship). The game itself was a tricky one, with Isolated Queen Pawn strategies dictating the plans for both sides. After a surprise opening choice (the Alapin against the Sicilian) both players venture in one of the sharpest, modern variations for a complicated middlegame. | Watch video
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Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn starts a new series today, reviewing the most exciting games from the 2012 US Championship. He will continue his coverage for the next couple months, displaying all the most critical, instructional and exciting moments for our members to learn from and enjoy! Batting lead off are two of America's youngest talents, a round 1 game between GM Lenderman and GM Robson. | Watch video
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Sam acknowledges breaking a promise with his latest video lecture on the concepts of defense, but we would have all missed out had he not! After claiming to have wrapped up the ideas of defense (both concrete and practical) surrounding Opposite Colored Bishop positions, GM Shankland played a highly instructive game against IM Yankovsky at the California State Championship that simply had to be included in this video series. | Watch video
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This weekend Roman tackles one of the "Big Guns" of the Modern Nimzo Indian with style! GM Dzindzichashvili gives us his own personal recipe for dealing with the immensely popular 4.Qc2 Classical Variation. In this slightly unorthodoxed approach, black aims to outplay the Bishop Pair with key square control and great Knight play. He ends with his patented "second option" for those who remain unsatisfied... | Watch video
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In today's video white experiences the terrible consequences of playing too slowly on the kingside, neglecting to play for a normal (aggressive) plan of driving the f-pawn against the Scheveningen structure. IM Rensch clarifies when the g2-f3-e4 pawn chain can lead to an effective pawn storm on the kingside, and foreshadows the coming videos on the English Attack pawn structure. Kasparov display more brilliance in the Najdorf and wins with ease... | Watch video