The Chess Mind

Last week's ChessVideos show (still available this week, and probably for as long as that enterprise remains in business) was part one of a two-part series exploring the interesting anti-French line 1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3. I tried in that presentation to make the line look as attractive as possible, and that wasn't hard to do. In practice, especially in quick games, Black often falls apart quickly, and not necessarily due to any overt blunder. Sometimes Black makes the most natural moves, only to discover it's time to throw in the towel by move 20.

Still, that's far from the end of the story. If it was, then everyone would play this against the French, all of you would have already known about it, and the French would be considered a dubious opening. So as a matter of principle, there simply must be a solution - and there is. Or rather, are: Black has many ways to achieve a good game, but they require some mental and psychological agility. It's not a bad exercise to try to come up with some replies on your own before watching this week's show or switching on your computer. Once you're ready to compare answers, you can have a look at my presentation for this week (free, available on-demand, and requiring no special software). And if you've found some promising ideas I haven't mentioned there, for either side, please comment it here and/or there.

It's a line I've covered on the blog and its predecessor, but that was long, long ago. The variation, invented, as far as I know, by German FM Stefan Bücker, begins 1.e4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3. That was all I knew about it when I learned of its existence, and over the years I worked out some interesting ideas that proved quite dangerous, at least in games with short time controls. Objectively, it's dubious in the extreme, but practically speaking, it can be a rather nasty weapon. To see how it works and what makes it as effective as it is, tune in here and see for yourself. (Next week will be part 2.) The show is free, available on-demand, and requires no special software; the main requirement is an alert mind. Enjoy the show and give the line a try!

Upon writing the title, I wonder: is there a rook ending I wouldn't describe as instructive? Probably, but it's not all that likely to occur in a real game. In any case, the ending I cover in this online lecture is instructive (trust me!), and it also shows how slippery they can be. Check it out - it's free and available on-demand - and let me know what you think.

We all associate the Najdorf Sicilian with rook endings, right? Okay, maybe not, but in the game covered here, play rapidly went from a very early middlegame almost directly into a pure rook ending. The opening was of interest, but the focus of the show - or rather, its follow-up - will be on the ending.

The show stops at the start of the ending, and the viewer is challenged to spend some time working on it for himself before part 2 is posted. So watch part 1 for the entertainment, put in some elbow grease, and then return to part 2 next week for the instruction. Rook endings may not be as much fun as a game full of sacrifices, but knowing how to play them is a must for every tournament player. Consider this an invitation to eat your veggies; I'll do what I can to make them palatable.

(Reminder: my ChessVideos shows are not only free, but available on demand.)

It's not meant as a serious theoretical treatise, so if you watch the video, play the line I cover and still lose to Mssrs. Carlsen, Nakamura or Baburin, it's your fault, not mine. That said, I think you'll be entertained by the games presented and might find a useful weapon for blitz and other quick games.

The show's free and can be viewed on demand, but why wait?

For the casual readers of this blog, remember that I do two wholly distinct chess audio programs each week. One is on the Fritz/ChessBase/Playchess.com server; that takes place every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET. (That's about 2:15 from now, and you can read more about this week's show here, with directions on how to watch it (for free if you watch it live; for a nominal fee later on in the archives) in this post.)

The second weekly program is completely different. No special software is required - it's pretty much covered by a normally functioning web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. This second show, which is also weekly, can be accessed for free, on-demand, on ChessVideos.tv. This week's show, which features yours truly on the White side of a Najdorf Sicilian, can be accessed here, and to judge from the viewer comments so far it's a show worth watching. Best of all, the ChessVideos' admins write that "[t]he opening of the game is relatively peaceful, but the analysis is a hoot." How can you top that? It's clearly chess tv worth watching.

One of the most eventful games I've played in the last month or two was the battle with Aleksander Stamnov from the 11th North American FIDE Invitational in Chicago about three weeks ago. I was faced with an unfamiliar opening but played very well and achieved a significant, probably decisive advantage in the early middlegame. Soon afterwards, however, I slipped up and let him escape, after which I had to scramble to stay alive. Eventually I reached an ending where I had very good drawing chances, then a guaranteed draw, then the better half of the draw...and then won! Crazy chess - but that's how it goes with mere mortals, this side of eternity. My preference, both for myself and as a fan, is for clean victories featuring beautiful combinations or logically consistent positional play, but there's something to be said for a good scrap, too.

So have a look here - it's free, requires no software and is available on demand - and you'll find an exciting game with some very well played moments, a little interesting opening analysis, and some psychological comments that may prove helpful to some of you. My hope is that you'll find it instructive, but even if you don't you're bound to find it entertaining. See for yourselves.

Now that the USCL Game of the Year countdown is complete, it's back to more free-wheeling topics with my weekly ChessVideos.tv shows. In my latest presentation, I offer a recent miniature - not because the game is so magnificent, but because one position early on is incredibly rich. If you start watching, and then stop the recording after White's 7th move and then start analyzing on your own (and for a long time!), I believe you will benefit greatly from the exercise. But whether you put a lot of time into it or a little, or just watch for entertainment, I think you'll be fascinated by the ideas present in that position. Here, once more, is the link: the show is free, requires no special software, and can be watched on-demand. Enjoy!

It has been up for a few days, but as they hadn't advertised it on the front page I didn't realize that it had been uploaded. So: for those who would like to see my presentation of the runner-up in the US Chess League's 2007 Game of the Year contest, you may do so for free and on-demand. The program can be accessed here.

Thanks to a goof-up on my part, the video for the 3rd place game in the US Chess League's 2007 Game of the Year contest is in the wrong location (at least for now). Here's the link.

[Reminder: This was probably the best game of the year, not only in my opinion but in that of two IMs I've spoken with, and in USCL blogger Arun Sharma's, too. So it's definitely worth your time to check it out!]

In the countdown to the US Chess League's 2007 game of the year, we've reached the second of our prize-winning games, the 4th place contest between Larry Christiansen and Patrick Wolff. The former won a very nice attacking game, which I've covered on my ChessVideos show for this week. It's free and available on demand; just go here and start it up.

As mentioned here, the 5th place game in the USCL 2007 Game of the Year Contest was Bhat-Nakamura, and it was quite the battle from start to finish. See for yourself here, as I cover the game for ChessVideos.tv - it's free and available on-demand.

My coverage of the USCL countdown continues here; next week, coverage begins of the money games.

My latest ChessVideos show (link) presents a game I won many moons ago, and with which I was quite pleased at the time. It's not a bad game, positionally speaking, but as you may see, if you're alert, there might be a mistake lurking in the bushes. See if you can find it (you've already got a leg up - you know there's something to be found), but don't look so hard that you don't enjoy the game for its other merits.

The identity of the 9th and 8th place finishers in the U.S. Chess League 2007 Game of the Year contest have already been revealed, but those games secrets haven't been, at least not until now. I've analyzed them in a combined presentation for ChessVideos.tv, and now we can say that their secrets...still haven't been fully revealed. Still, the video should help, and as the games are instructive and entertaining, it's worth your while to have a look. Enjoy!

My latest ChessVideos presentation is ready for viewing. It's a pawn ending I composed 22 years ago, and it makes for an instructive and surprising exercise. I hope you enjoy it, and look forward to your feedback.

It's not the best game of my life, but my ChessVideos show this week covers one of most picturesque games of my life, against my highest-rated tournament victim. This win, as those who have known me for some time probably know, was against GM and erstwhile Candidate Leonid Yudasin from the New York Masters in 2002. We both misplayed the opening somewhat, but at one point in the early middlegame I committed a felix culpa, sacrificing a piece for two wonderful central pawns. To say that this sac worked out would be an understatement, but I missed and Yudasin rejected a finesse that would have put my idea out of business. As things turned out, my central pawn mass turned into a mighty pawn phalanx - just how mighty you'll need to see for yourself! Pop some popcorn, sit back, click here and enjoy.

After a couple of weeks off from reviewing USCL's 2007 Games of the Year, my latest show on ChessVideos.tv takes a compressed look at the last three games to be eliminated. The show is free and available on-demand, right here.

On ChessVideos.tv, I've been presenting USCL Games of the Year, but not for the next couple of weeks; instead, we'll have a look at a couple of my own games. This week we'll look back to one of my games from the 8th North American FIDE Invitational, played last month in Chicago, IL. The game is my fourth round win over young Indian IM Arjun Vishnuvardhan, a Sveshnikov Sicilian where I was able to exploit my opponent's inaccuracies in the opening to win in thematic fashion.

Have a look - the shows are free and can be accessed on-demand.

The United States Chess League is doing a countdown of the 20 best games of the 2007 season, and this week we're down to #13: Molner-Arnold. The game was a characteristically sharp Najdorf Sicilian with 6.Bg5, and saw Molner devise not one but three major sacrifices for long-term compensation. It was a very interesting game, in my opinion, and you can watch my video presentation here.