Playchess training with FM Dennis Monokroussos

In last week's part one, we saw Tony Miles play the funny 1.c4 b6 2.d4 e6 3.d5 Qh4 against then-world champion Anatoly Karpov, and he got away with it, too – at least as far as the opening was concerned. It took some doing and some creative play of his own, but Karpov eventually bent the position to his liking. Once the position reached an ending where technical skill was at a premium, Karpov was able to gradually grind out the win.

In the game we'll look at this week, in part two, Miles upped the ante in two respects. First, if anything, is opening was even more provocative: 1.e4 a6! Second, he played better throughout the game, and when the ending finally came around this time, Miles converted his winning advantage with confident ease.

The game produced a sensation, as you might imagine, especially considering how rarely Karpov lost any games – let alone with White vs. 1...a6. Those of you who weren't chess fans (or even born, for that matter) at the time are invited to experience this notable moment in chess history, and those of you who were fans at the time are invited to relive it. It was an exciting game, too, and it is also interesting to see how Miles' brainchild has fared as a theoretical weapon since its modern inception.

So: for those of you who want to join me, log on to the Playchess server at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night (I believe that's Thursday morning at 2 a.m. CET these days) – that's today or tomorrow, depending on where you are – and go to the Broadcast room. Once there, find "Karpov-Miles" under the Games tab, and away you go. Hope to see you there!

Dennis Monokroussos' Radio ChessBase lectures begin on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, which translates to 02:00h GMT, 03:00 Paris/Berlin, 13:00h Sydney (on Thursday). You can find the times for different locations in the world at World Time and Date, with exact times for most larger cities here. And you can watch older lectures by Dennis Monokroussos offline in the Chess Media System room of Playchess:

Enter the above archive room and click on "Games" to see the lectures.

Monokroussos in Mexico: World Championship 2007

Dennis Monokroussos is 43, lives in South Bend, IN, where he teaches chess and has worked as an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend.

At one time he was one of the strongest juniors in the U.S. and has reached a peak rating of 2434 USCF, but several long breaks from tournament play have made him rusty. He is now resuming tournament chess in earnest, hoping to reach new heights.

Dennis has been working as a chess teacher for ten years now, giving lessons to adults and kids both in person and on the internet, worked for a number of years for New York’s Chess In The Schools program, where he was one of the coaches of the 1997-8 US K-8 championship team from the Bronx, and was very active in working with many of CITS’s most talented juniors.

When Dennis Monokroussos presents a game, there are usually two main areas of focus: the opening-to-middlegame transition and the key moments of the middlegame (or endgame, when applicable). With respect to the latter, he attempts to present some serious analysis culled from his best sources (both text and database), which he has checked with his own efforts and then double-checked with his chess software.

Playchess Training with IM Merijn van Delft

Everyone is invited to join this weekly training hour on Wednesday evening. Together we will have a look at the most recent grandmaster games. Recurring themes during our analyses and discussions are the latest opening developments and how to work on your own chess.

A word about myself: I was born (March 13, 1979) and raised in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. In 1995 I won the Dutch U16 Championship and played the European Championship in Poland and the World Championship in Brasil. In 1998 I moved to Amsterdam to study psychology and had a great time there. In 2003 I met my wife Evi Zickelbein and ever since we've been living together in Hamburg, Germany. In 2004 I made both master titles: one at the university and one in chess. Since 2005 I've been working fulltime in the chess world: training, coaching, writing, organizing and still actively playing myself. By now I have about fifteen years of experience as a chess trainer. Together with my dad I wrote a book about chess training (Schaaktalent Ontwikkelen), of which the Dutch version is already available and the English version will follow April 2010.

IM Merijn van Delft's lecture starts at 20:00h Central European Time (Berlin, Paris, Rome), which translates to 19:00h London. You can find the times for different locations in the world at World Time and Date. Exact times for most larger cities are here. The lecture is in the "Broadcast" room of Playchess. It is free for Premium Playchess members (50 Ducats for others).

Links The lectures are broadcast live on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!