Chess History in a Nutshell 115 – Brilliant Games / Fragments (3)

A good chess trainer is always collecting good examples, because with a clear example, they can better convey the message of their training. My chess archive contains (ten)thousands of games and fragments, classified as much as possible by theme, idea, or concept—usually distinguishing between tactics, strategy, opening, and endgame.

But chess is, of course, much more than this rough classification. In this series of videos, you have already seen many fine examples, and since I have not organized everything strictly by theme either, I would like to show you a few games that deserve to be highlighted from this (digital) archive.

There is actually no clear similarity between the four games I would like to show, although the common theme could be considered “a king’s attack.” As we gradually approach the end of the series on chess history, I begin with three very old games (played in 1844, 1907, and 1948, respectively) that might be familiar. The last game will hardly ring a bell with anyone, as it was played in 1982 during a club match in the highest Dutch club league, between two players with a playing strength of around 2200+ at the time.

The white player was a teammate of mine who managed to brilliantly refute his opponent's frivolous play. Play along in this video and enjoy all the brilliant turns of attack!

The diagram position, however, is from a game Savielly Tartakower and Max Euwe played in Venice in 1948. It is Black to move and it is clear that the white king is in danger. But how can Black take advantage of his exposed position on the board?

Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1 and 2

In this two-part course the emphasis will be on typical pawn-structures.

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