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Hello all there's a lot of free content out there, especially youtube. I am talking about chess content to get better at chess of course a quick note. There are many chess books including this one from former World Champion Garry Kasparov, which I have started but never finished ! I feel I have spent more hours watching youtube chess content than reading chess books with a chess board in the last 12 months. So here's my question opened to you all, regardless of where you are in your chess journey ! Which streamer/content creator has the most useful videos out there 1) GothamChess aka Levy Rozman 2) GM Daniel Naroditsky 3) GM Hikaru Nakamura 4) Anyone else ? Feel free to vote , name the best chess content on youtube aimed at improving in chess. also if you happen to use books more than internet/video, let us know as well. THANKS IN ADVANCE !!

the modern defense is tricky ! Magnus Carlsen played this with Black against Sindarov in July so if Magnus plays this with Black, you can imagine a lot of players will try it as well ! I lost the following game in the same opening , So what is a good way to play with White ? 1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 g6 3. h4 a good way to put pressure on Black is to play h2-h4 with the idea of following up with h4-h5 Most black players will reply 3..h5 on which you play 4 Bc4. Please note that White developed pieces with 2 Nc3 and 4 Bc4, so we havent played d2-d4 yet then a sample line would be  1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 g6 3. h4 h5 4. Bc4 c5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. Be3Nf6 9. f3 Ne5 which transposes into a favorable Sicilian Dragon now our plan is simple, we want to play g2-g4 attacking Black's kingside 10. Bb3 Bd7 11. Qd2 a6 12. O-O-O b5 13. Bg5 O-O 14. g4 Black is having great difficulty to defend hxg4 15.h5 Nxh5 16. Nd5 Re8 17. Rxh5 gxh5 18. Qh2 Qc8 19. Qxh5 Qc5 20. Bh6 b4 21. Qg5Ng6 22. Nf6+ exf6 23. Qxg6 Qg5+ 24. Bxg5 1-0 but you may ask " what if Black doesnt play c7-c5 , i.e doesnt want to enter a Sicilian Dragon ?" well, we have great attacking chances here's a game you can study with dynamic play for White I hope this inspires you to play with White, if like me, you have struggled against the Modern Defense !

There are a lot of positions where the move is almost obvious and we can find our way to win. for instance, Magnus Carlsen won with 1 move , Black to play ! or we can find patterns we have seen before like the smothered checkmate but sometimes Chess surprises us, because the move played didnt come to our minds. sometimes the move seems to lose a piece or make no sense, so we dont even consider it and look for "natural" alternatives. Yet there are positions which can keep amazing us even if we played chess for quite some time. or we are new to chess. EXAMPLE 1 ( you can click ? for the solution, or try to guess the move by playing it on the board) Playing with White is GM Dubov ,an artist on the board ! White to play and win ! . another one White is played by White to play !

I think its important to study and improve our understanding of chess in various types of games. This is why I recommend to play various openings and study games from various players, current top games as well as classic games to get exposure to a variety of styles and positions What is positional chess ? well its not about long calculations, sacrifices and king attacks. Its about increasing the pressure, exploiting weak squares and pawns, coordinating pieces, and manoeuvering. a concrete example ? sure How did White get to win ? first , Black to play aggressively with h7-h5. White responds with h2-h3, because h5-h4 would be met by g3-g4 ok but how did White apply more pressure, playing "positionally" ? well taking control of the a file in a locked down center. 17 Ra2 is not about checkmating. Its about playing Rfa1 to double rooks. its about later on accessing the c4 square with a knight. Black is passive and defending. finally, how do we convert ? next position Qa7 is played. White wants to go into the endgame. the knight on b5 will target the d6 pawns. Does Black has counterplay and can Black target white pawns ? the answer is no. White's play was an example of strong positional play and domination ________________________________________________________________________ now you can replay the whole game using the play button, or replay moves at your leisure. . So here we go, this was a textbook example how to play positional chess by a grandmaster with White against another GM with black. the opening is a Philidor opening by Black. of course Magnus Carlsen is one of the best to apply presssure and win from seemingly equal positions. or very small advantage he is increasing move after move, especially in endgames. would you like to see a recent example from Magnus games ? this is how Magnus Carlsen won against Pragganandha, a young indian GM already in top 20 in the World.

posting a few photos of GMs I could watch ( and sometimes play online) please post the photos of events youattended or played !

Imagine you are playing a chess rated event called Titled Tuesday. You belong to the top 25 best players in the world, so a well known top GM. You think you have a chance to win. But wait, you have White and you are paired against Magnus Carlsen You play a few moves and reach this position White to play   lets see how we got there _____________________________________________________________________________________________   This game took place this year online on chess.com during titled Tuesday. CHESS WILL NOT STOP SURPRISING US. Question #1 What did White play here ? incredible idea worth posting here. Question #2 Who was the player with the White pieces Question #3 Who in the end won the game ?   Good luck, feel free to post your answers below.   (I am not sure turning on the engine will help at all, I do not think this is the top move by the computer but I could be wrong...) ♟️🎆  

We are all busy with "life" whether school, work, or any other day to day activities. I would assume that most of us can't spend time like professionals studying openings for 50 hours per week. Yet, there has to be a way to get a game without knowing the entire theory. Here's my latest blitz game played today My game with 1e4 c5 2 NF3 d6 3 Nc3 !? https://www.chess.com/game/140708599706 Now what is the story behind opening ? Well I mostly play 1.e4 and my opponent replies 1..c5 the sicilian defense lets continue until move 2 In this position, most players would be 3d4 Then we will get a sicilian najdorf or Richter Rauzer. 1e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cd4 4 ND4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 (Najdorf) or 5..Nc6 ( Richter-Rauzer) and here there are so many options for White and for Black to study in a sharp line. so the question is , is 3.d4 automatic ? What about 3.Nc3 developing another piece ? after all when 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 we can play 3.d4 or 3.Nc3 and in 1c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nc6 , 3 Nf3 is a move so why not develop another piece in the Sicilian? of course Black could play 3..e5 to prevent d4 but this creates a big hole in d5 so what do most players do with Black ? They play 3..Nf6 hoping I will play 4 d4 ___________________________________________________________________   Here's a GM example and my game today using the sideline. not a lot of theory is needed, and I am familiar with the main ideas as White. It is quite dangerous if you dont pay attention in the first moves as Black to develop    

Hello guys I just thought What if Chess Pieces Had Social Media https://www.chess.com/blog/KasiDChess/if-chess-pieces-had-social-media Regards @KasiDChess

My game first then a recent TOP GM game played in croatia I like to play 1e4 e52Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 and I follow by d2-d3 and c2-c3 to  build the center. this variation is very popular these days. Here's a recent game of mine but how do top GM play this opening ? let see GM Wesley So he was playing Gukesh the young FIDE world Chess Champion from India _________________________________________________ I recommend practicing the opening by playing it in blitz or rapid. Then checking GM games to get additional ideas how to play with the White pieces

Hi Guys Today I have analysed the game between Gukesh vs Magnus in GCT. https://www.chess.com/blog/KasiDChess/gukesh-vs-magnus-gct-rapid Thanks for reading my blogs Regards  @KasiDChess

Hello a quick guide about how to prepare and choose openings. Let's say you want to prepare with White and you can choose 1d4 or 1e4. Well, 1e4 tends to be a bit sharper, and 1.d4 more positional in general. But if you have played 1.e4 for a long time, getting to play 1.d4 occassionally can help you broaden your chess understanding. ____________________________________ let say you want to build a repertoire with 1.d4 quickly well you can develop ideas around these lines to avoid the queen's Gambit Declined in the first diagram, you may develop your Bishop to g5. In the second diagram, your bishop to b2. Variety is the spice of life ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bg5 system ideas most of the time ,you will develop Nbd2 to accompany Nf3. Bishop will go to h4 and the other bishop will go to Bd3. Do not memorize lines, just get a feel for pieces would go Now you are familiar with how white pieces "go" but what is Black's most dangerous plan ? well g7-g5 would attack white's kingside. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Once you have decided to go for this system, you need to see a few more games and lines in this system. in this second game, White introduced a2-a4 to weaken the queenside and develop a nice initiative _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Now you are ready to "learn" the moves order GAME 2 [Event "Chessable Masters Play In"][Site "Chess.com INT"][Date "2023.03.13"][Round "4"][White "Fressinet, Laurent"][Black "Neiksans, Arturs"][Result "1-0"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bh4 b6 5. Nbd2 Bb7 6. e3 d6 7. a4 a6 8. a5 b5 1-0 What about Game 1 ? 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Bg5 Bb7 4. Nbd2 e6 5. e3 h6 6. Bh4 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. O-O g5 10. Bg3 g4 11. Ne5 h5 12. Bh4 1-0 Note that the move order is different Black played ..e6 in Game 2 but ..b6 in Game1. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ But you may face players you like the King's Indian Defense so you want to be ready for that. I find a nice game from GM Alireza Firouzja and so on.   Now you may want to look at good youtube videos with "torre attack" and practice in a few rapid or blitz games. Then you can analyze your games and look at other plans/games.   soon enough you will be familiar with main themes and can decide to study further or go for a different line.  

hellofellow members While I cannot claim I can compete with these guys, let me show you how I prepare the opening Lets take Black and the Nimzo Defense 1d4 Nf6 2c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ You need to focus on the key line White will play, memorize the idea, and select a model game First White can play the main line so here you need to select a way to play. There are many moves possible 4..c5, 4..0-0. But I like to play 4..b6 with the idea of Bb7 followed by Ne4. I am not the only one !  https://www.chess.com/game/live/134867349189?username=magnuscarlsen Magnus played Titled Tuesday on March 4th and used 4..b6 to win against GM Bluebaum ________________________________________________________________________________________________ in this first example, Black play f7-f5 and Rf6 But we need to be ready for other lines. One aggressive plan for White is to play a2-a3 accepting double plans, but following up with f2-f3 Here the plan Nf6-e4 will not work as White will control the center with e3-e4. you need a model game with Black. The key idea from the model game is to be ready to retreat with Nf6-e8 since you are not allowed to play Ne4. and then f7-f5 is available to you. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finally, you have to be aware that 4Qc2 is a very popular line for White. This is yet another plan for White. Bxc3 will be met by Qxc3. no double pawns. You need to have a system for Black. I like to play 4..Nc6 but you could prepare 4..b6 or 4..c6 or 4..d6 or 4..0-0. It doesnt matter but you need to look at a few games, select a model game and analyze it. Here you can see that the main plan is ..Re8 and d7-d6 and e6-e5. Sometimes Black plays ..Qe7 to prepare e6-e5. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ in summary 1) be aware of the main plans for your opponent 2) focus on the key ideas and memorize key set-up 3) pick a model game and analyze it 4) practice your openings and if you have problems, look up other games or turn to stockfish to see where you went the wrong way Rinse and Repeat !

Hello members opening a thread to get a pulse. Would you like me to post about openings traps or systems ? create live tournaments ? analyze my games against GMs or famous players ? any other topic/activity u would care. feel free to opine

Tactics,Tactics,Tactics !! There is a famous saying " Chess is 99% Tactics" At beginner and intermediate levels, forks and pins are common motifs to learn. Black to play White just played Rc1. While this move seems logical, bringing the rook to an open file and attacking the knight on c3, it is tactically erroneous. Black can play Ne2+! which forks the king and the rook on c1, ending the game. Lets illustrate the pin with a more difficult position,  Black to play and win ! This elegant queen sacrifice ( Qg2+!!) sets up a pin on the h1-a8 diagonal. Ok but you may say as a Candidate Master, I have mastered the tactical motifs. Well yes and no. I have seen a lot of tactic puzzles but Grandmasters have a much better pattern recognition https://www.chess.com/news/view/2023-puzzles-world-championship-robson-wins Ray Robson is a GM and well known for winning puzzle world championships (until this year where he came in second) so why do I mention Ray ? Well I got paired in a Puzzle Battle with this GM https://www.chess.com/puzzles/battle/2GVnd7iZc You can check for yourself how many puzzles you would solve in 3 minutes.  I solved 34 but Ray solved 60 !! This is quite humbling, but a reminder I need to practice and improve in tactics as well. Oh well....

Hi guys Today we will see Magnus's Shortest game ever https://www.chess.com/blog/Chessmastergm2020/the-shortest-game-of-magnus-carlsen Regards @KasiDChess

Tactics win games ! Firouzja wears Emporio Armani when playing chess but also shows style on the board! White to play and win ! . . Solution is here https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/rFJ7YSMBC?tab=analysis nice to see Alireza win against a GM in less than 15 moves ! Did you find it as well ? https://www.chess.com/game/live/131324942855?username=firouzja2003

https://www.chess.com/play/arena/3961841 Link Above Sunday Jan 19 2025 5:00pm Eastern Time Blitz, come play and learn. unrated, lots of fun. I will play everyone !  We need 5 players to register for tournament to take place. You dont have to play the entire thing, the tournament will be Arena format for 1 hour. the most points wins

Hi there I get a lot of questions about openings. Which openings to study ? How ? is the sicilian good for Black ? should I play the London System with White? _________________________________________________ Good questions but in my experience, tactics in blitz and bullet games are essential. if you dont get to trick your opponent in the opening, you will have to play in a middle game. in fast-paced chess, mistakes are bound to happen, and if you can find a winning tactic, you will score more wins and gain rating points, whichever is your level. __________________________________________________________________ here's an example of what I practiced in puzzle battle 43 puzzles is pretty much my maximum in 3 minutes.  if today I play 2 battles and average 33 puzzles I will lose rating points. if I average 39-40, at least I will be competitive. Regardless of the opening, whether it will be Sicilian Dragon, Nimzo Defense or English Defense. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ At basic level, we need to learn and practice "easy,fast" tactics and then more "difficult" ones. Why ? because we dont know what will get in our games, maybe 1 move blunder or maybe a 4-moves combination. we shall be ready for both. ______________________________________________________________________________________ what are easy puzzles ? I will list examples here and you can guess move on board or replay solution by clicking ? or Hint for help. all diagrams given as puzzles did you solve this fast ? I would think so.  These were easy because they are short, the candidate move or solution seems familiar. in the first one, we checkmate in 1 move. in the second one, we use a classic pattern to win the queen in a discovery pattern. you would need to know all classic motifs, which I call building blocks before tackling next level. for instance you need to know back rank mates, forks and double attacks, interference, smothered mates, deflection, perpetual checks patterns. all that good stuff. now what are example of medium level tactics ? here are 3 example for you to solve . . . . . congrats if you found the 3 medium level positions. These were harder for a host of reasons. less familiar patterns, longer variations, more candidate moves. in certain positions after move 2, there were several ways to continue but 1 was stronger than the others. in the first batch of positions once you found the right move, there wasn't much debate about sequence of moves

How to play with the King's Indian with White. an idea which is idea to play is Nge2!? folllowed by Ng3 Typically against Nge2 strikes back with c7-c5 and we close the center with White. What is the drawback on Ng3 ? well Black has h7-h5 This is modern chess ! White hasn't finished his/her development. The King is on e1. But we have secured the center ! The chess engines like Stockfish are stating White is safe because of the grip on the center. and on h7-h5, White has Bg5! which is annoying. Would you like to see variations and a recent game with it ?  @Riley is an expert from Brazil. Anonymous account at 2800 rating.

Is it possible to trick your opponents with Black ? sure.. even if they are 2500 rated ? of course, I have lost many times because of openings traps. but I can also present a few good ones. Lets play the sicilian defense but we need to trick our opponent in a line they dont know as well. no sicilian dragon, no sicilian najdorf. LETS PLAY THE SICILIAN KAN and in here we go h7-h5 with the brutal idea to play for checkmate. ..Ng4 and Qh2 _________________________________________________________ and ladies and gentlemen, this is how we checkmate our 2500+ opponent in 12 moves !!