The Chess Mind

A couple of weeks ago, we had the first installment of what will hopefully be an occasional series where I respond to ChessVideos viewers' questions, and this week it's time for the sequel. Quite a diverse range of questions were addressed, and I also presented one of my recent games - something for everyone!

The show can be accessed here (free, on-demand, and with no special software required), and if you're interested in asking questions that might be addressed in a subsequent show, this is the place for you (free registration required).

The most fundamental of all rook ending draws is the one developed by the great Andre Philidor more than 200 years ago. It's simple and easy to learn, and yet, remarkably, even very strong players sometimes fail to execute it. A couple of weeks ago, before heading off to my tournament, I watched two blitz games within about a 10-15 minute period when two very strong players - one a grandmaster - failed to execute that elementary draw. The next day, things grew stranger still: I had a blitz game against an FM opponent, and he too failed to use the Philidor position draw!

As I reflect on it now, I can remember a tournament game played many years ago, against a player rated somewhere around 1800-1900, and he had and then forsook the Philidor draw! So have a look at this video. I show the rook ending from my blitz game mentioned above (and it's a remarkable rook ending for many reasons) and make the proper technique for the Philidor draw as clear as possible. Watch it now, and never have to worry about losing that way again.

As promised in this post, we've turned this week to a new ChessVideos experiment: answering viewer questions. As of the time of the recording, approximately 15 questions had come in, and in this week's show I endeavored to answer all of them. I hope it will prove useful, and if you didn't get to ask a question the first time around, don't worry: we'll do it again soon. Just add your question to this list (free registration required), and hopefully it will be addressed in a subsequent program. Meanwhile, enjoy the current installment, here.

If so, go here. We'll dedicate a number of ChessVideos shows to answering the most interesting and most useful viewer questions. So think up some good ones, go to the given link, and ask away!

In rook endings, we "all" know the Lucena and Philidor positions*, and many of us know the Karstedt drawing idea as well. But Vancura's drawing idea? That ending is less well-known than the three aforementioned techniques; deservedly so, due to its relative infrequency. But seldom isn't never, and Carlsen was able to use it a few days ago to save a rook ending against Ivanchuk despite a two pawn deficit.

It's a really beautiful idea, and even if it never shows up in your games, there's an aesthetic payoff. There's also an instructional one, because the principles underlying it apply to many other rook endings. So you have good reason to check out my ChessVideos show for this week: you'll learn a new technique, some general principles of rook endings, and some interesting moments in the Carlsen-Ivanchuk ending prior to the Vancura draw. As always, the show is free, available on demand and requires no special software.


* Regarding the allegedly universal knowledge of the Philidor Position draw, stay tuned for next week's ChessVideos show.