Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1 and 2
In this two-part course the emphasis will be on typical pawn-structures.
In the previous instalment we saw that Richard Reti quickly became one of the world's top players. His games made a great impression on many players and some of them are still admired today.
However, when he began to write more and more about chess, he did not play as often as before. But he enriched the chess world by composing wonderful endgame studies.
The most famous is the following, in which he introduces the manoeuvre that is named after him - the "Reti manoeuvre".
Solution: 1. Kg7! h4 2. Kf6 Kb6 Or 2…h3 3.Ke7 and White's c-pawn will queen. 3.Ke5 Now White's king is in time to help his own pawn to queen or to catch Black's h-pawn. 3…h3 Or 3… Kxc6 4.Kf4 and White's king is just in time. 4.Kd6 with a draw.
It is funny that Reti, who had studied mathematics, in this study shows that in chess the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line.
To this day, Reti's study is instructive and surprises with its simplicity and magic. In the video I show two more impressive examples of this theme.
I also show other studies, the last of which is perhaps the most beautiful. In the diagram position, White has a rook and a bishop for two pawns. However, it is not easy to see how White can stop the e-pawn from queening. There is a stalemate trick hidden in the position, but in fact White is winning. Do you see what White can do?
Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
This week’s show (for Premium Members only)
