Chess Strategy And Tactics: Emanuel Lasker'S Amazing Games

Emanuel Lasker's most instructive games of Chess 1889-1899 - The Longest reigning World Chess Champion for 27 years

What you'll learn
Ability to appreciate the strength and accuracy of Lasker
Ability to make use of Lasker's openings and strategies and tactics
Ability to see how Lasker's openings vary according to importance of tournament, simul or World championship event
Ability to judge of Lasker was a "Poker Chess player" or just had a better understanding of opening theory than his peers
Ability to improve classical opening knowledge as Lasker played 1…e5 a lot to 1.e4 and 1…d5 to 1.d4
Ability to understand how to tradeoff structure for central control and development e.g. allowing Nxc5 giving bishop up
Ability to see more Lasker's influence on Mikhail Tal and Viktor Korchnoi - especially as a fight - to win
Ability to apply more Lasker's concept of the Truth in relation to it's contrast - e.g. Morphy provided contrast too
Ability to improve understanding of the King's Gambit as Lasker played this quite a bit
Ability to understand more why Mikhail Tal considered Lasker as the greatest of the champions
Ability to understand more why Vladimir Kramnik considered Lasker a pioneer of modern chess
Ability to appreciate that Lasker was also a master of the "meta game" making particular opponents feel uncomfortable in particular situations
Ability to appreciate the Berlin defence old variation as a fantastic solid and potentially advantageous opening foundation for later play with the bishop pair
Ability to appreciate the Berlin defence as often the bishop without counterpart advantage in exchange for some structural damage which is often not exploitable
Ability to appreciate statistically anomoly of both Vladimir Kramnik and Emanuel Lasker actually having a positive win % with Black using Berlin defence
Ability to improve endgames greatly from seeing amazing World championship titanic games getting a variety of endgame tips and strategies
Ability to train your evaluation of chess positions through the rich experiences of the games and the underlying variations
Ability to create evocative ideas and concepts and emotions from these games by gaining empathy from the insights and variations to use in one's own games
Ability to appreciate Lasker on Chessmetrics best players ever 2 year period #2 behind Kasparov and 20 year period ranked #3 just behind Kasparov and Karpov
Ability to appreciate the Evolution of chess style has an early link to modern chess in the form of Lasker who often had better tournaments than his successors
Ability to see influence to World champion Capablanca taking defensive skill and endgame mastery as the specialist subset of Lasker's style
Ability to see influence of Alexander Alekhine in terms of attacking chess and the art of Attack
Ability to see influence to World champion Max Euwe in terms of tactical resourcefulness and solid opening variations
Ability to see influence of World Mikhail Botvinnik in terms of professional preparation for events - e.g. kept lots of stamina in events and often won in end
Ability to see influence to World champion Mikhail Tal in terms of being able to create complexity and win from seemingly bad positions
Ability to see influence to World champion Tigran Petrosian in terms of logic, precision and strong tactical abilities
Ability to see influence to World champion Bobby Fischer in terms of Universal style and chess as as fight- two cats that are very alike indeed!
Ability to see infleunce to World champion Anatoly Karpov in terms of universal style and playing the position appropriately and the value of practical moves
Ability to see influence to World champion Garry Kasparov in terms of exploiting the opponent's weaknesses in openings, middlegame style and personality general
Ability to see influence of World champion Vladimir Kramnik in terms of solid aggressive dynamic style and sharing love of Berlin defence :)
Ability to see influence of current World champion Magnus Carlsen in terms of chess as a fight - not a sport, science or Art - but a Fight primarily
Ability to appreciate Albert Einstein's comments including Lasker "one of the most interesting people I came to know in my later life"
Requirements
Knows how the chess pieces move
Description
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess champion for an amazing 27 years, from 1894 to 1921. This represents the longest reign of any officially recognized World chess champion in history. Lasker is regarded by many as one of the strongest chess players in history. Kingscrusher chooses old masters for the greater clarity of understanding their games without the burden so much of modern technical theory. Beautiful ideas are shown in Lasker games and one can also see the influences on future World chess champions such as Mikhail Tal and Vladimir Kramnik who considered Lasker to be one of the strongest players ever. Kramnik considered Lasker to be the link to modern chess. “I think that Lasker is the discoverer of modern chess. When you look at Steinitz's games, they have a very 19th-century feel. And Lasker had many games that could be played by any modern player. Lasker is the first link in the chain of "global" chess, where different aspects of struggle are taken into consideration. Steinitz largely emphasized only one positional element. For instance, if he had a better pawn structure and an attack on the King, he thought that his advantage was decisive. And Lasker understood that there are different components of the position that balance each other. He discovered that there are various kinds of advantages, and they are interchangeable: tactical advantage can be transformed into strategical, and vice versa. I think that Lasker was a much stronger chess player than Steinitz. It's telling that their 1894 World Championship match (let alone the return match) was completely one-sided."- Vladimir KramnikIndeed it seems many of Lasker's games even incredibly in simultaneous displays show very high levels of accuracy when checking with the state-of-the-art modern engines such as Stockfish with neural network technology.  Between Steinitz and Lasker, the foundations of modern chess were arguably set. The Romantic era of chess was well and truly over, and chess was played in a more principled accurate way. Lasker in particular seemed to be less dogmatic compared to Steinitz, and used "patterns" more in preference to strict principles or ideals, and used these patterns to win games - and generally maximize win probability. Chess for Lasker was primarily a "fight" and not so much a science. Lasker factored in the frailties of being human and appreciate the difficulties of playing certain positions and certain opponents playing certain positions. Taking into account more variables such as the opponent's strengths and weaknesses made Lasker a more dangerous fighter and warrior of the chessboard. “A chess game, after all, is a fight in which all possible factors must be made use of, and in which a knowledge of the opponent’s good and bad qualities is of the greatest importance.”-Emanuel LaskerThere is a claim that Lasker used a psychological approach to the game, and whilst this is true to some extent, the fundamental accuracy of Lasker's play is undeniable. If Lasker tinted his game towards particular strengths and weaknesses of repeat opponents, then this just seems standard nowadays, and follows the Art of War principles in particular:“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”―Sun Tzu, The Art of WarIn this period of time as an example, we see how Lasker defeated Steinitz in two key matches, and Lasker tended to encourage Queenless positions where he felt that Steinitz was not optimal within. This strategy paid off very well, and in fact, Lasker completely crushed Steinitz in the rematch. Lasker went on to prove himself with some major tournament victories establishing his credibility as the World chess champion. This search and eagerness for credibility meant that this was a rich period of playing activity. Lasker himself is quoted as saying:“… in itself, the title of world champion does not give any significant advantages if it is not acknowledged by the entire chess world, and a champion who does not have the chess world behind him is, in my view, a laughing-stock.”– Emanuel LaskerThis course time period of Lasker's chess between 1889-1999 shows the world at the time starting to take Lasker very seriously and accepting his legitimacy as World chess champion. It shows very high accuracy chess and very instructive chess. Kingscrusher has sought the key matches and tournaments which highlight the amazing gifts and advances that Lasker created for the world of chess, and which many of us should pay attention to greatly as Lasker's play passes the test of time like no other master in his Era. He was truly a link to the modern game. Prepare to be amazed if you study the games in this course!

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Lasker Quotations - Part 1 of 3

Lecture 2 Lasker Quotations - Part 2 of 3

Lecture 3 Lasker Quotations - Part 3 of 3

Lecture 4 Vladimir Kramnik Quotations on Lasker

Lecture 5 Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi and Osnos Quotations on Lasker

Lecture 6 What are the Steinitz Elements which Lasker made use of successfully?

Lecture 7 Lasker's use of Steinitz Elements - a context diagram view

Lecture 8 Lasker forging Steinitz theoretical element theory into a fighting weapon

Lecture 9 What is Chess difference between theoretical (Steinitz) and practical (Lasker)?

Lecture 10 Steinitz as Isaac Newton, Lasker as Albert Einstein metaphor in chess terms

Lecture 11 Exploitability of elements - used as licence to seemingly violate elements

Lecture 12 Lasker playing against Dynamic Pawn structures (e.g. Isolated Queens Pawn)

Lecture 13 Lasker playing with Dynamic Pawn structures

Lecture 14 Playing the position - seemingly totally useless advice like "It all depends!"

Lecture 15 How opening imbalances or changes in imbalances can be emphasised by Lasker

Lecture 16 Lasker's Tactical skills with respect to "Weakness of Last move" similar to Tal

Lecture 17 Evolution of Chess Style and Openings revisited

Lecture 18 Game selection and annotation considerations

Section 2: Age 20 - 1889 - Casual games

Lecture 19 Embracing extreme imbalances of semi-open file vs structure - Mieses vs L

Section 3: Age 20 - Breslau "B" 1889-Came 1st on tiebreak against Feyerfeil

Lecture 20 Lazy back rank downside & Tactical use of a shared f-file - Reif vs L

Lecture 21 Smyslov Defence with White passive and doubled pawns exploited - Mabillis vs L

Lecture 22 AKA Hauptturnier A of sixth DSB Congress

Lecture 23 Be like water! - Winning plan flexibility on both sides of the board- Tietz vs L

Lecture 24 The advantage of the bishop pair vs the Knight pair for K attack - L vs Lipke

Lecture 25 Feirefeil's adjournment blunder which led to Lasker playoff

Lecture 26 Key playoff game to win tournament outright - Emil von Feyerfeil vs L

Section 4: Age 20 - Amsterdam Tournament - 1889 (2nd behind Amos Burn)

Lecture 27 Brilliancy game with multiple sacrifices - beautiful art of attack - L vs Bauer

Lecture 28 A counterplay minimising, trap avoiding neat logical consolidation- L vs Foreest

Lecture 29 Opponent does not find punishment of a punishment with K in center - Loman vs L

Lecture 30 Close but no cigar - White messes up possible draw in the endgame - Leather vs L

Lecture 31 Missed tactical opportunity, slides downhill then self-destructs- Gunsberg vs L

Section 5: Age 20 - Match vs Mieses- 1889 - Lasker won (+5 =3 -0)

Lecture 32 Dutch Defence Clarendon Court disaster - King unsafe, bad piece - L vs Mieses

Lecture 33 On brink of defeat but heading to x-ray opponent's K for good luck - Mieses vs L

Lecture 34 Seeing downsides of naughty tricks avoiding their upsides - L vs Mieses

Lecture 35 Trading off losing pedantic battle (loss of h7) for winning war - Mieses vs L

Lecture 36 Delicate precision moves needed in rook and pawn endgame - L vs Mieses

Section 6: Age 21 - 1890

Lecture 37 Chess metrics evaluation of Lasker's relative rank #1 in June 1890

Lecture 38 Lasker's first major drama after leaving hall for 27 mins - Bardeleben vs L

Lecture 39 A super advert for the Slav defence - dynamic aggressive- Berthold L v Emanuel L

Lecture 40 The early evolution of Scotch game which Kasparov later revisited - L vs Scheve

Section 7: Age 21- 1890 Match vs Henry Edward Bird (+7-2=3) - Liverpool, England Feb 17-28

Lecture 41 In 3 collections || Bird Opening: Dutch Variation (A03)

Lecture 42 A hyper modernist approach well ahead of it's time conceptually - Bird vs L

Lecture 43 In 7 collections || Bird Opening: Dutch Variation (A03)

Lecture 44 The Bird is the word - Bird shouldn't chat so much but stay focused - Bird vs L

Lecture 45 In 12 collections || Bird Opening: Dutch Variation (A03)

Lecture 46 Positional disaster on light squares and dangerous attack rook lift - Bird vs L

Lecture 47 In 10 collections || Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation. Traditional (B25)

Lecture 48 Positionally crushing using both sides of board after key mistake - L vs Bird

Lecture 49 In 13 collections || French Defense: Classical Variation. Richter Attack (C13)

Lecture 50 Beautiful undermining strategy helped with Bishop without counterpart- Bird vs L

Lecture 51 In 12 collections || Formation: Hippopotamus (A00)

Lecture 52 A hippopotamus which never got out of the swamp to show its teeth - L vs Bird

Lecture 53 In 4 collections || Dutch Defense: Fianchetto Attack (A81)

Lecture 54 Aggressive Dutch Defence position tamed through inaccurate follow up- L vs Bird

Section 8: Age 21- 1890 Match vs N.T. Miniati - (+3 -0 =2) - Manchester, England - March

Lecture 55 In 2 collections || King's Gambit: Declined. Classical Variation General (C30)

Lecture 56 A Kings Gambit declined opening trap fallen right into - L vs Miniati

Lecture 57 In 7 collections || Colle System (D05)

Lecture 58 Attacking chess creates very difficult problems to solve - Miniati vs L

Lecture 59 In 3 collections || Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation (C25)

Lecture 60 Vienna game with cool defence against direct h-file hack-attack - L vs Miniati

Section 9: Age 22 years old - 1891

Lecture 61 Early evolution of Berlin Wall black playing bxc6 - thorn pawn - L vs Mocatta

Lecture 62 One mistake and collapses due to latent threats underestimated - L vs Mueller

Lecture 63 Queenside castling can be risky in King's Gambit -Thorn Pawn helps- L vs Gibbons

Section 10: Age 23- Mar 7th-18th 1892 London BCA Congress (+8=2-1) - Covent Garden, London

Lecture 64 Solid Petrov's defence systematically dismantled through knight sac - L vs Mason

Lecture 65 A solid Vienna game encourages weakening pawn moves such as g5 - L vs Lee

Lecture 66 Wild Ng4 used but "Simple chess" blockade move might be improvement- Vliet vs L

Lecture 67 Slow move in opposite side castling game changes attack prospects- L vs Rumboll

Lecture 68 Very solid opening gets two bishops without structural damage - Fenton vs L

Section 11: Age 23 - 1892- March 28-April 8th 1892 - BCC Quintagular 9/11 - Convent garden

Lecture 69 Highly optimistic attacking play punished through centre counterplay - L vs Bird

Lecture 70 Conscientious move to keep pawn gives crushing position instead -L vs Blackburne

Lecture 71 Precision needed in simplified endgames with passed pawns - L vs Gunsberg

Lecture 72 Vienna Gambit disaster game - piece sac for several pawns - Blackburne vs L

Section 12: Age 23 - 1892 vs Blackburne (+6=4-0) Covent Garden, London -May 27-June 14

Lecture 73 In 4 collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)

Lecture 74 Blunders are not in a vacuum-White's King x-rayed uncomfortably- Blackburne vs L

Lecture 75 In 8 collections || Queen Pawn Game: Colle System (D04)

Lecture 76 Steady accumulation of tiny advantages leads to huge advantages -L vs Blackburne

Lecture 77 In 6 collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Var. General (D37)

Lecture 78 Complete dark square domination creates natural prophylaxis - Blackburne vs L

Lecture 79 In 18 collections || Center Game: Paulsen Attack Variation (C22)

Lecture 80 Great use of dynamic "Hanging pawns" structure for bishop pair - Blackburne vs L

Lecture 81 In 2 collections || French Defense: Schlechter Variation (C00)

Lecture 82 Novel opening surprise 3.Bd3 vs French gets dark square grip - L vs Blackburne

Lecture 83 In 11 collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation (D37)

Lecture 84 Accumulation of advantages + opponent accumulates disadvantages- L vs Blackburne

Section 13: Age 23 - 1892

Lecture 85 In 7 collections || Spanish Game: Classical. Central Variation (C64)

Lecture 86 Not minding possibility of doubled pawns - Later nice f-file tactics- L vs White

Lecture 87 In 5 collections || Modern Defense: King Pawn Fianchetto (B06)

Lecture 88 Very human when blindfolded - Had losing weakness of Last move - L vs Yeaton

Lecture 89 In 7 collections || Spanish Game: Classical. Central Variation (C64)

Lecture 90 Avg, 7 centipawn loss - c3 d4 plan very effective - Blind Simul - L vs Richards

Lecture 91 In 1 collections || English Opening: Agincourt Defense (A13)

Lecture 92 Fluency with Hanging Pawns structure - well supported d4 break - Delmar vs L

Lecture 93 Queen Knight odds game

Lecture 94 King not tucked away safely leads to powerful forcing move tactics- L vs Beramje

Lecture 95 In 2 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32)

Lecture 96 Light square blockade leading to pin tactics and tempo gainers - Baird vs L

Lecture 97 Scotch Game: Potter Variation (C45)

Lecture 98 Giving up bishop pair and giving dynamic h-file counterplay - Blackmar vs L

Lecture 99 In 4 collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 100 Precise tactical blow and game overall appreciating nuances- L vs Visser

Lecture 101 In 5 collections || Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian. Exchange Variation (B00)

Lecture 102 Precisely exploiting weakness of last move- tactical resourcefulness - L vs Olly

Lecture 103 In 8 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32)

Lecture 104 Power of self-pin for xraying and pinning and backfiring on pinner - L v Short

Lecture 105 Spanish Game: General (C60)

Lecture 106 f-file opening and light square campaign - offering bishop - L vs Pollock & NN

Lecture 107 In 9 collections || King's Gambit: Accepted. Bishop's Gambit Anderssen (C33)

Lecture 108 A crushing King's Gambit - black being too greedy pays penalties - L vs Leech

Lecture 109 In 4 collections || Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritsky Gambit (C27)

Lecture 110 Fun vs Petrov's defence - Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit (no Stafford) - L vs Martinez

Lecture 111 In 5 collections || Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation. Traditional (B25)

Lecture 112 Accumulation of advantages whilst opponent accumulates weaknesses- Robinson vs L

Section 14: 1892 Match with Bird - (+5=0-0) - Newcastle Upon Tyne - England

Lecture 113 In 11 collections || Spanish Game: Bird Variation (C61)

Lecture 114 Pawns don't go backwards - early g5 move has implications much later- L vs Bird

Lecture 115 In 37 collections || Bird Opening: From Gambit. Lasker Variation (A02)

Lecture 116 From's gambit - passed pawn breakthrough ties resources down - Bird vs L

Lecture 117 In 3 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32)

Lecture 118 One mistake and position becomes completely lost due to forcing moves- L vs Bird

Lecture 119 In 3 collections || Italian Game: Two Knights Defense. Polerio Defense (C58)

Lecture 120 A truly "blunderful" game where complacency may have crept in - Bird vs L

Lecture 121 In 6 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32)

Lecture 122 A blunder in the opening costs a pawn, later K-side pawn majority - L vs Bird

Lecture 123 After match - invite from Manhattan chess club to go to New York

Section 15: Age 24 - Dec 1892- Apr 1893 - Match with multi time US Champion Showalter

Lecture 124 In 9+ game collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)

Lecture 125 Berlin defence results in a lon grinding game the exchange up- - L vs Showalter

Lecture 126 In 11+ game collections || Colle System (D05)

Lecture 127 Stonewall attack system gets a really dominating attack position- L vs Showalter

Lecture 128 In 6+ collections || French Defense: Classical. Burn Variation (C11)

Lecture 129 Dynamic French defence improved Burn variation with bishop pair-Showalter vs L

Lecture 130 In 2+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: 3 Knights Variation. General (D37)

Lecture 131 Playing against "Hanging pawns" model game - find all downsides!- L vs Showalter

Lecture 132 In 9+ collections || Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Center Attack (C84)

Lecture 133 Waste of great attacking position through not playing quiet move- Showalter vs L

Lecture 134 In 2+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: 3 Knights Variation. General (D37)

Lecture 135 Model play vs Isolated Queen's pawn helped with bad pawn move g6- L vs Showalter

Section 16: Age 24 - Sep 6-13th 1893- vs Ettlinger("draw odds" - if L draws then made loss)

Lecture 136 In 6 collections || Spanish Game: Exchange Variation. General (C68)

Lecture 137 Huge dynamic compensation and piece pressure for material - Ettlinger vs L

Lecture 138 In 2 collections || King's Gambit: Declined. Classical Variation General (C30)

Lecture 139 King's Gambit declined - Shows what happens with funny moves - L vs Ettlinger

Lecture 140 In 4 collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)

Lecture 141 Positional domination then winning a pawn leaving White helpless-Ettlinger vs L

Lecture 142 In 7 collections || Owen Defense: General (B00)

Lecture 143 A brutal hack attack on h-file vs a Double Fianchetto system - L vs Ettlinger

Lecture 144 In 2 collections || Scotch Game: Classical Variation (C45)

Lecture 145 A major missed opportunity after a greedy Opening sequence - Ettlinger vs L

Section 17: Age 24 - 1893 - Interesting games generally

Lecture 146 Weaknesses of absent fianchetto bishop around the King celebrated - L vs Zupide

Lecture 147 Ignoring opponents threat by going for their King instead - L vs Vazquez

Lecture 148 Beautiful resources and plans in Kings Gambit vs fianchetto system - L vs Team

Lecture 149 Dark square exploitation - could have exploited unprotected piece - L vs Labatt

Lecture 150 Bishop's Opening has teeth is black plays inaccurately- L (Blindfolded!) vs Team

Lecture 151 A positional gambit vs the Scotch Opening leading to White K exposed- Visser v L

Lecture 152 Scotch game which explains why 6.Bd3 is a mistake compared to 6.e5 - Team vs L

Lecture 153 Amazing tactical resources behind the scenes for both sides - L vs Intropidi

Section 18: Age 24 - Sep 1893 New York City Tournament - (+13 =0 -0 ) - 13 straight wins!

Lecture 154 In 3 collections || Semi-Slav Defense: Bogoljubow Variation (D46)

Lecture 155 Positional aggressive pawn sac creates semi-open g-file pressure - L vs Hanham

Lecture 156 In 4 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. General (B30)

Lecture 157 Positional annihilation from a dodgy opening played giving up center- Ryan vs L

Lecture 158 In 3 collections || French Defense: Classical. Vistaneckis (Nimzowitsch) (C13)

Lecture 159 Tactical undermining of black's pawn structure in French Defence- L vs Delmar

Lecture 160 In 14 collections || Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (C46)

Lecture 161 Unprotected pieces classic downside can lose games very easily - Schmidt vs L

Lecture 162 In 6 collections || Scandinavian Defense: Ilundain Variation (B01)

Lecture 163 Outrageous King walk which seemed safe but could have been exploited - L vs Olly

Lecture 164 In 5 collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)

Lecture 165 Solid Berlin Defence gives d3 backward pawn torture and fun squishing - Lee vs L

Lecture 166 In 3 collections || Queen Pawn Game: Colle System (D04)

Lecture 167 Optimistic move backfires leaving the position completely lost-Jasnogrodsky vs L

Lecture 168 In 36+ collections || Spanish Game: Fianchetto Defense (C60)

Lecture 169 Transform from equal to equal+ more chances for opponent mistakes- L v Pillsbury

Lecture 170 In 7 collections || Sicilian Defense: Dragon. Classical Variation (B73)

Lecture 171 Acc. Dragon passive Nd1 punished with d5 and other pawn breaks - Taubenhaus vs L

Lecture 172 In 4 collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense. l'Hermet Variation (C67)

Lecture 173 Dangerous passed 'a' pawn emerges and King helps herd it through - L v Pollock

Lecture 174 In 9 collections || Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Steinitz Deferred (C79)

Lecture 175 Problems put for attack to work force high precision needed - Showalter vs L

Lecture 176 In 41+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit (D08)

Lecture 177 Lasker crushes the Albin Counter Gambit with no so optimal moves - L vs Albin

Lecture 178 In 2 collections || Spanish Game: Schliemann Defense. Schönemann Attack (C63)

Lecture 179 Playing into published analysis of opponent is risky, can backfire - Gossip vs L

Section 19: Age 25 - 1894 - World Chess Championship match against Steinitz

Lecture 180 In 18 collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 181 WC #1 - Exploiting structural weaknesses and Knight vs Bishop - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 182 In 33 collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 183 WC #3 - Iconic e4 f5 pawns with e6 marked as outpost square - Lasker vs S

Lecture 184 In 110+ collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 185 WC #7 - Subtle advantages of castling Q-side for problem setting - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 186 In 20+ collections || French Defense: Rubinstein Variation. Blackburne (C10)

Lecture 187 WC #8 - c5 break had potential under some situations- Knight trap- Steinitz vs L

Lecture 188 In 40+ collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 189 WC #9 - Passed b pawn potential started from opening inaccuracy - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 190 In 15+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense (D35)

Lecture 191 WC #10 - Exploiting dark square weaknesses- f3 played in opening - Steinitz vs L

Lecture 192 In 26+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation. (D37)

Lecture 193 WC #11 - Grinding Magnus Carlsen Style- symmetrical pawn structure-L vs Steinitz

Lecture 194 In 26+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation (D37)

Lecture 195 WC #15 Isolated pawn turns to Hanging pawns then protected passed- L vs Steinitz

Lecture 196 In 19+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense. General (D60)

Lecture 197 WC #16 - Playing against reverse french structure - e3 undermine - Steinitz vs L

Lecture 198 In 15+ collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation. (D37)

Lecture 199 WC #19 - Light square bishop without counterpart creates dangers - L vs Steinitz

Section 20: Age 25 - 1894 - Other games

Lecture 200 In 1 collection || Italian Game: Two Knights Defense. Perreux Variation (C55)

Lecture 201 Two Knights Defence- Past opening theory, endgame blunder- L vs Lukenbach

Lecture 202 In 7 Collections || Spanish Game: Steinitz Defense (C62)

Lecture 203 Sparkling tactical display with bishop sacrifice kicking things off - L vs Helms

Lecture 204 In 1 collection || Italian Game: Two Knights Defense. Open Variation (C55)

Lecture 205 Strong point e5 & semi open d-file pressure causes black issues - L vs Kellner

Section 21: Age 26 - 1895 : Simuls

Lecture 206 Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation. General (D37)

Lecture 207 King kept too long in the center caused black to have to sac pawn - L vs Swift

Lecture 208 In 2 collections || Italian Game: Evans Gambit. Main Line (C51)

Lecture 209 A powerful Evans gambit with a King exposing piece sacrifice - L vs Hooper

Lecture 210 In 7 collections || Four Knights Game: Spanish. Classical Variation (C48)

Lecture 211 An important piece sacrifice in Three Knights opening- L vs Mclaren 1895

Lecture 212 In 2 collections || King's Gambit: Declined. Classical Variation General (C30)

Lecture 213 A classic King's Gambit f-file attack but not without possible issues - L vs NN

Lecture 214 In 1 collection || King's Gambit: Accepted. Allgaier Gambit (C39)

Lecture 215 Classic King's Gambit Accepted - with an interesting Knight sac - L vs Herzfeld

Section 22: Age 26- 1895 : Hastings 1895 - strongest tournament of time

Lecture 216 In 7 collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack (D37)

Lecture 217 Rd1: Hanging pawn structure loses dynamism after inaccurate move - L vs Marco

Lecture 218 In 18 collections || Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Open (B32)

Lecture 219 Rd 3: Octopus knight on e3 translates to protected passed pawn - Schlechter vs L

Lecture 220 In 15 collections || Bird Opening: From Gambit (A02)

Lecture 221 Rd 5: Bird's opening gambit - positional pressure, structural attack - Bird vs L

Lecture 222 In 16 collections || Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation. Normal Line(D55)

Lecture 223 Rd 6: Pawns don't go backwards and piece strain leads to tactics - L vs Janowski

Lecture 224 In 11 collections || Italian Game: Evans Gambit (C51)

Lecture 225 Rd 7: Many pieces pointed at King after d5 central break - Pollock vs L

Lecture 226 In 10 collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)

Lecture 227 Rd 8: Simple effective plan of Nf5 and fianchetto bishop on g7 - L vs Walbrodt

Lecture 228 In 49+ collections || Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Modern Steinitz Defense(C72)

Lecture 229 Rd 9: c5 break but switch to x-raying King and tactics there - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 230 In 9 collections || French Defense: Steinitz. Bradford Attack Variation (C11)

Lecture 231 Rd 11: A huge risk in opening pays off due to black's slow play - L vs Gunsberg

Lecture 232 In 32 collections || Spanish Game: Fianchetto Defense (C60)

Lecture 233 Rd 12:Passed 'a' pawn proved to more dangerous than counterpart - L vs Pillsbury

Lecture 234 In 3 collections || French Defense: Rubinstein Variation (C10)

Lecture 235 Rd 13: Black plays an interesting dynamic follow up for equality - L vs Tinsley

Lecture 236 In 10 collections || Queen's Gambit Accepted: Normal Variation. (D26)

Lecture 237 Rd 14: A fantastic knight sacrifice generating number of issues - L vs Teichmann

Lecture 238 In 11 collections || Three Knights Opening: Steinitz Defense (C46)

Lecture 239 Rd 16: A secure route into a very favourable endgame scenario - Schiffers vs L

Lecture 240 In 4 collections || Spanish Game: Open. Open Variation (C80)

Lecture 241 Rd 18: A beautiful light square grip strategy leads to domination- Vergani vs L

Lecture 242 In 12 collections || Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D32)

Lecture 243 Rd 21: Isolated Queen's pawn structure perks brilliantly demonstrated -Burn v L

Section 23: Age 27- January 1895 : St. Petersburg strong all play all

Lecture 244 In 68+ collections ||Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Modern Steinitz Defense (C71)

Lecture 245 A very cute tactical combo exploiting King lack of escape squares- L vs Steinitz

Lecture 246 In 20+ collections || Italian Game: Evans Gambit. Lasker Defense (C52)

Lecture 247 A crushing g-file attack from an Evans Gambit gone wrong - Chigorin vs L

Lecture 248 Dynamic play and one passive move leads to White in reactive mode- Steinitz vs L

Lecture 249 An intense struggle with opportunities for both sides - Chigorin vs L

Lecture 250 Iconic Game full of rich attacking possibilities for both sides- Pillsbury vs L

Lecture 251 A pawn capture which liberates the Queen with decisive effect - L vs Chigorin

Lecture 252 King stranded in the center and f4 intensifies the pressure- L vs Steinitz

Lecture 253 Opposite colored bishops scenario with Rook mostly locked out- L vs Chigorin

Section 24: Age 27 - Aug 1896 : Nuremberg Tournament - crowning achievement

Lecture 254 How threats can compromise the opponent's position leading to mate - Porges vs L

Lecture 255 A rough edged game but improvements seem often counterintuitive - L vs Schiffers

Lecture 256 A dangerous attacking coordination around the opponents King - Steinitz vs L

Lecture 257 A curious story of neglect and not "marking" attacking players - L vs Showalter

Lecture 258 Creating counterattacking chances through piece teamwork - L vs Chigorin

Lecture 259 An orchestra on both sides of the board keeping focus on King - L vs Chigorin

Lecture 260 An attacking potential wasted leaving possibility gain advantage - L vs Albin

Lecture 261 A dreamy Berlin defence with very logical plans available - Teichmann vs L

Lecture 262 Another dreamy Berlin defence with winning seeds set in opening - Winawer vs L

Lecture 263 A near total opening disaster averted then advantage is created - L vs Schallopp

Lecture 264 A very interesting queen sacrifice for rook bishop and pawn - L vs Marco

Lecture 265 A mass of pawns emerging after black unwisely takes on e3 - L vs Tarrasch

Section 25: Age 27 - Nov 1896 : World championship rematch vs Steinitz

Lecture 266 WC #1 - An aggressive piece sacrifice in opening creates interest- Steinitz vs L

Lecture 267 WC #2 - WCA wonderful exploit of K and rooks doubled and facts - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 268 WC #3 - Opposite colored bishops and opposite side castling - Steinitz vs L

Lecture 269 WC #4 -An orchestral grind both sides of board- 2 passed pawns - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 270 WC #6 - Accepting two sets of doubled pawns for dynamic pressure - L vs Steinitz

Lecture 271 WC #10 - Doubling pawns, dark square pressure, passed pawns- L vs Steinitz

Lecture 272 WC #11 - Passed pawn majorities but White creates targetable pawn- Steinitz vs L

Lecture 273 WC #14 - Endgame tips for rook and pawn endgames to know about- L vs Steinitz

Lecture 274 WC #16 - Right fundamental plan but then walks into a tactic - L v Steinitz

Lecture 275 WC #17 - A underprotected bishop leads to a key winning tactic - Steinitz vs L

Section 26: Age 30 - 1899 : London Chess Tournament - 30 May - 10 July

Lecture 276 A magnificent King hunt game taking advantage of soft spot a7 pressure- L vs Lee

Lecture 277 No game was ever won by resigning - create problems for opponent - Mason vs L

Lecture 278 Fragmented pawn structure reforms creating connected passed pawns - Cohn v L

Lecture 279 A fascinating endgame where the King was able to target pawns - Showalter vs L

Lecture 280 An interesting material imbalance of piece vs 3 pawns - L vs Janowsky

Lecture 281 Giving opponent lots of positional advantages with passive opening- Tinsley vs L

Lecture 282 Granite to the bishop, then swap structure for King side pressure- L vs Chigorin

Lecture 283 Staunton Gambit vs Dutch Defence creates dynamic play for White - L vs Bird

Lecture 284 Fascinating opening tradeoff of B for N and pawn towards center- Blackburne vs L

Lecture 285 Beautiful piece harmony of bishop with pawns and nice attack later-Chigorin vs L

Lecture 286 Isolated Queen's pawn disaster game with slow and weakening b4 - Maroczy vs L

Lecture 287 Dutch Stonewall structure dark square weaknesses highlighted - L vs Tinsley

Lecture 288 Opening Imbalance investments needs more investments for max returns- Bird vs L

Lecture 289 Pawns don't go backwards and pawn targets in bishop endgame - L vs Pillsbury

Lecture 290 Juicy d6 knight outpost and orchestra on both sides of board - L vs Showalter

Lecture 291 Double fianchetto in black side of Ruy Lopez and great f5 attack later- Lee vs L

Lecture 292 Brilliancy prize game featuring double piece sacrifice K attack- Steinitz vs L

Lecture 293 An unsound piece sacrifice in the opening accurately refuted - Schlecter vs L

Section 27: Conclusions and Philosophical points

Lecture 294 Conclusions and Philosophical points

Lecture 295 Bonus Lecture

Beginner to Intermediate level players