Mastering Pattern Recognition in the Opening
Pattern recognition is an important tool in modern chess, as it helps you to understand better the characteristics of a position. Particularly when you have been confronted with a surprise opening system played by your opponent, it helps when you can just
Happy New Year everyone! In this first Fast & Furious show of 2021, I am looking back at my favorite game of 2020, Dubov - Karjakin, Russian Championship 2020.
Of course, a lot has been said and written about Dubov's masterpiece against Karjakin in the last round of the Russian Championships, which took place last month, but I still think it is interesting to discuss some ideas and recent developments of the line that Dubov tried in this game (and yes, everybody would like to imitate Dubov's playing style!).
This specific variation (6.b4!?) of the Italian Opening, which occurred in the game, is incredibly complex and even strong computers are struggling to evaluate the positions correctly. In any case, there are many tactical resources which often remain hidden, and I decided to try to do my best to explain the key ideas and tactical motifs for White.
But first a warm-up: In the position below Black decided to take on g2 with his queen. Was this a good idea?
You can move the pieces on the live diagram!
Master Class Vol.10: Mikhail Botvinnik
Our experts show, using the games of Botvinnik, how to employ specific openings successfully, which model strategies are present in specific structures, how to find tactical solutions and rules for how to bring endings to a successful conclusion
Robert is on air every other Thursday at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 16:00 EST)
Special attention will be paid to Intermediate Moves, Quiet Moves, Sacrifices on Empty Squares, Mating Patterns, Ignoring Opponents Threat, Calculation in Defence and Method of Comparison. Plus 50 interactive examples to test your knowledge.
Many more Fast and Furious episodes are available in ChessBase Videos