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Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind 6/13

https://youtu.be/oe2TvICi2HQ

Winning Chess Moves: Yates vs Capablanca, Moscow 1925

In today’s feature position, Fred Dewhirst Yates (white) has just played 38. Ka1 leaving Jose Raul Capablanca (black) with a decisive advantage in king safety, material, space and force. Capablanca puts the final nail in the coffin with a brilliant 38th move after which Yates (white) immediately resigns. What is black’s winning move? What isContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Yates vs Capablanca, Moscow 1925”

Francisco Friday for 6/10/2022

When it comes to attacking in chess, the stronger, the faster and the more difficult to deal with, the better. In today’s game, attacking maestro Francisco Anchondo uses a well conducted early pawn storm to penetrate his opponent’s defenses with brute force. [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.12”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”]ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 6/10/2022”

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind 6/6

https://youtu.be/cKF1IufYIF0

Francisco Friday for 6/3/2022

Popular with beginners who strictly follow the time honored opening principles they have been taught, The Four Knights Opening has a reputation of leading to a rather dull positional game. However, Francisco Anchondo makes a habit of taking an opening with a dull reputation and running it through a metaphoric knife sharpener until it canContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 6/3/2022”

Chess Position Worth Sharing 146!

“Capablanca’s phenomenal move-searching algorithm in those early years, when he possessed a wonderful ability for calculating variations very rapidly, made him invincible.” – Mikhail Botvinnik White to move mate in 3 (Jose Raul Capablanca vs Abraham Friedman, Simultaneous Exhibition in Cuernavaca, Mexico 5/1/1933.)

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind 5/30

https://youtu.be/A7F9_zy9LQo

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind 5/23

https://youtu.be/f90Dconn-r4

Francisco Friday for 5/20/2022

First debuted by Adolf Albin against Emanuel Lasker in 1893, the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) is a good surprise weapon for attacking chess players who seek to take a Queen’s Gambit player out of their prep. Decades ago, Francisco Anchondo taught a masterclass in the San Francisco Bay Area on this hyperContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 5/20/2022”

Winning Chess Moves: MVL vs. Aronian, Superbet Romania 2022

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave round 6 game against GM Levon Aronian at the Superbet Romania chess tournament came to a sudden conclusion after MVL (white) errored with 25. Kd4. How does Grandmaster Aronian (black) punish his opponent’s careless king advance? Black to move and win (Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, R6 of the 2022 Superbet Romania, Bucharest).

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind 5/16

https://youtu.be/Gmo7RLbnWfg

Francisco Friday for 5/13/2022

Long established San Francisco Bay Area chess instructor Francisco Anchondo turns the tables on the Fried Liver Attack by using the good old Traxler Variation. [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.04”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.c3ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 5/13/2022”

Chess Position Worth Sharing 143

The 1927 World Championship Match was a fiercely contested clash of chess styles. Jose Raul Capablanca had a straightforward playing style which, combined with his famously precise endgame play, was his recipe for success. Alexander Alekhine, on the other hand, preferred creating complexities and oftentimes employed risky attacks in route to his victories. Capablanca wasContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 143”

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind

May 09, 2022 https://youtu.be/BmXIwrYZrJU

Francisco Friday for 5/6/2022

Attacking maestro Francisco Anchondo had the black pieces in the chess game below. As for white, “Le fue como a los perros en misa.” [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.02”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 f5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Qc2 Bc5 6.Be2 Bb6 7.Na3 a6 8.b4 d6 9.Bb2 f4ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 5/6/2022”

Chess Position Worth Sharing 142

Tonight I showed Werner Springe vs Hans Gebhardt, Munich 1927 to my chess students at Gomes Elementary School in Fremont, California. This game, played by relatively unknown players, is a delightful choice for a chess lesson. In the position below, black has just played pawn to h6 threatening white’s bishop. What is white’s best move?ContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 142”

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 45

A training game against my student took an interesting turn today. I had the black pieces and after some opening inaccuracies committed by my opponent, I believed I had the game well under control. However, I let down my guard and nearly lost the game in dramatic fashion. What is white’s threat and what isContinueContinue reading “So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 45”

Blitz Chess Mondays with Lauren Goodkind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rke9MdIgLGA

Winning Chess Moves: Le Quang Liêm vs. Jorden Van Foreest, 4/28/22

Chess Superstar GM Le Quang Liêm played a spectacular finish in route to his Round 7 victory over Dutch Grandmaster Jorden Van Foreest. In this first diagram, Van Foreest (black) has just played 23… Bd6 threatening white’s queen. Position after 23… Bd6 GM Le Quang Liêm ignores his opponents’ formidable threat and replies with oneContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Le Quang Liêm vs. Jorden Van Foreest, 4/28/22”

Chess Position Worth Sharing 141

“A popularly held theory about Paul Morphy is that if he returned to the chess world today and played our best contemporary players, he would come out the loser. Nothing is further from the truth. In a set match, Morphy would beat anybody alive today… Morphy was perhaps the most accurate chess player who everContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 141”