The move 2.Nc3 is one of the most popular sidelines against Alekhine's Defense. White players seeking to avoid theory often pick this line, but NM Sam Copeland shows how to punish this choice with tricks and transposi...
The Chase Variation is like a pitchfork: dangerous, but it has some gaps. The pawn structure even looks like a pitchfork early in the game! Learn to dodge White's attacks and punish White's poor structure in this video.
Playing Bd2 is a solid way for White to handle the Sicilian pin variation, but it may not be the most aggressive way to go for an advantage. Learn how to handle both sides of the line in this lesson.
If you've tried Alekhine's Defense, you've probably been a little scared when your opponent pushed all four center pawns to jumpstart the attack. But don't fear—NM Sam Copeland tells you the secrets to counteract this...
The Exchange Variation is White's simplest option against Alekhine's Defense, but it may also be the best. Learn the simple route to a good position and easy counterplay in this lesson.
Are you interested in original chess and maybe not so much theory? Alekhine's Defense is perfect for you. In this video, learn about the Modern Variation, which is playable all the way up to the top levels of chess.
Picture this: You're all set to play your normal open Sicilian as White, when suddenly your knight is pinned as early as move five! Is it time to panic? Not if you've watched this lesson, which will teach you how to p...
Alexei Shirov is known as a dangerous attacking player, but you might not have seen this masterpiece. In this game, Shirov takes down the Sicilian defense in under 30 moves, using an aggressively placed king to force...
We've now reached the start of the first official world chess championship, with the legendary Steinitz taking the crown. But the match wasn't a coronation. His opponent Zukertort was also strong, and won this game wi...
Paul Morphy was decades if not centuries ahead of his time in chess. Watch how this American chess prodigy became the world chess champion with his ultra-logical style of play.
How does a grandmaster think compared to a lower-level chess master? Watch this informative new series where WFM Alexandra Botez analyzes positions before passing the baton to GM Daniel Naroditsky for his thoughts.
Take a journey with us to the fanciful chess of yesteryear in this review of the first unofficial world chess championship all the way back in 1834. GM Jesse Kraai gives you a history lesson with these important chess...
There's endless debate about if chess is an art, science, sport, etc.—the truth is it's all of these, but in the moment it is a competition. Learn from GM Naroditsky how to take a practical approach to blitz chess in...
It's happened to everyone. The game has gotten out of hand. Your opponent is objectively winning. Should you smash that resign button? Maybe not. Learn the art of the swindle, setting traps for your opponent in a wors...
Time scrambles are an inevitable part of fast chess if you play enough, so you need to know what to do in them. GM Naroditsky is himself a beast in time pressure, and he will teach you how to be like him in this lesson.
There is a saying that applies in many competitive pursuits: It's better to be lucky than good. While that might not be entirely true in chess, it's a good idea to have luck on your side. In this first lesson, the sp...
Enjoy this replay of the 2019 Speed Chess Championship match between Nakamura and Dobrov, which was played at the start of October. Can the top seed repeat his title?
Former FIDE World Champion, Ruslan Ponomariov, discusses his experience in Fischer Random chess and what to do when you don't know what to do on the first move. In Fischer Random, you can even make a huge mistake on m...
The King's Gambit is supposedly a not-so-serious opening. But if it was good enough for the legendary world champion Boris Spassky, perhaps it's worth another look. Find out how Spassky used the King's Gambit to defea...
Four queens on the board at the same time? It can happen even in a high-level game, like this exciting battle from the Moscow Open. Find out which side used its two queens to beat the other two royal ladies.
It was a wild game where both sides' kings were under duress, but in the end the rising chess prodigy Jeffery Xiong came out on top in this battle from the 2016 world junior championship. Take a look at this amazing g...
Sometimes your chess opponent is so legendary that you can consider an unlikely draw as a win. Such is the case with Anatoly Karpov, one of the best ever, and this game where a much-lower-rated player managed to draw...
The chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja could be the future world chess champion, according to GM Simon Williams. But even a player of his talent is not immune to losing a game to a much-lower rated player. Find out how a...
How many pieces can you sacrifice and still win the game? Enjoy this thriller of a battle with the stunning victory by the chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja in this new series on amazing games.
When you play the Berlin Endgame, you know that you're in the same position as the world's best grandmasters have been in some of the most important moments of chess history. GM Hammer shows you how to play this advan...
