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- Anti-Paulsen Sicilian, Part 3 – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Paulsen Sicilian begins with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 (diagram). This variation was named after the 19th-century chess master Louis Paulsen, where play usually continues 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6. There are other options on move 3 for White, such as the 3.c3 Alapin, but in this […] - Anti-Paulsen Sicilian, Part 2 – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Paulsen Sicilian begins with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 (diagram). This variation was named after the 19th-century chess master Louis Paulsen, where play usually continues 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6. There are other options on move 3 for White, such as the 3.c3 Alapin, but in this […] - Anti-Paulsen Sicilian, Part 1 – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Paulsen Sicilian begins with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 (diagram). This variation was named after the 19th-century chess master Louis Paulsen, where play usually continues 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6. There are other options on move 3 for White, such as the 3.c3 Alapin, but in this […] - French Defense for White with 3..Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 (Part 2) – GM Mihail Marin – iChess Club
GM Mihail Marin continues his exploration of the French Defense from White’s perspective. This is the second part where GM Marin looks at play after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 (diagram). If you haven’t seen it, catch part 1 here. With 4..Be7, Black removes the pin […] - Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 4.h4 Part 2 – IM Ekaterina Atalik (iChess Club)
The Advance variation of Caro-Kann begins with the moves 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5. Black plays 3…Bf5 in order to free the dark-squared bishop. In the past couple of years, 4.h4 has become very popular for White (diagram). In the previous video, which you can watch here if […] - French Defense for White with 3..Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 (Part 1) – GM Mihail Marin
In this article, we continue our exploration of the French Defense chess opening from White’s perspective. In the last video, GM Mihail Marin looked at play after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4, which you can watch here. In this video, he looks at play after […] - Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 4.h4 – IM Ekaterina Atalik (iChess Club)
The Advance variation of Caro-Kann begins with the moves 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5. Black plays 3…Bf5 in order to free the dark-squared bishop. In the past couple of years, 4.h4 has become very popular for White (diagram). What’s the point of 4.h4? White looks to hinder Black’s […] - French Defense McCutcheon Variation – GM Mihail Marin (iChess Club)
The McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense is defined by the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 (diagram). Black basically ignores White’s threat of e5 and looks to counter-attack with this sharp line. White needs to be aware of Black’s positional threats (Black mainly wants […] - The Reti Opening: Black’s Early Bishop Development – GM Bryan Smith (iChess Club)
Starting with 1.Nf3, the Reti Opening is actually not easy to define with a specific series of moves, as with other openings. It is an opening that can be reached through many move orders and transpositions. Essentially, it is an opening where White holds back the center pawns […] - French Tarrasch with 3..c5 – GM Mihail Marin (iChess Club
The French Tarrasch variation begins with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2. (diagram) This is a flexible setup for White, named after Siegbert Tarrasch, one of the strongest chess players from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This variation with 3.Nd2 became popular in the 1970s and 1980s when […] - Ruy Lopez Neo-Arkhangelsk with 7.c3 – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The so-called Neo-Arkhangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 (diagram). This is different from the Arkhangelsk Variation where Black plays 6..Bb7. In the Neo-Arkhangelsk (or Modern Arkhangelsk), Black won’t look to fianchetto the […] - The Reti Opening with 2..c6 – GM Bryan Smith (iChess Club)
Starting with 1.Nf3, the Reti Opening is actually not easy to define with a specific series of moves, as with other openings. It is an opening that can be reached through many move orders and transpositions. Essentially, it is an opening where White holds back the center pawns […] - Controlling the Attack – Fer Broca (iChess Club)
We all love attacking in our games, but we have to consider our opponent’s possibilities at every stage too. In this month’s iChess Club member’s game, NM Fer Broca looks at a fascinating game in the French Defense. Black plays with vigor, quickly opening up some dangerous lines […] - Caro-Kann Two Knights Variation with 3..Nf6 – IM Ekaterina Atalik (iChess Club)
The Caro-Kann is a chess opening for Black that begins with 1.e4 c6. In the mainline, play continues with 2.d4 d5, however, in the last couple of years the Two Knights variation has increased in popularity, played by the likes of Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and MVL: 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 […] - French Tarrasch with 3..a6 – GM Mihail Marin (iChess Club)
The French Tarrasch variation begins with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2. (diagram) This is a flexible setup for White, named after Siegbert Tarrasch, one of the strongest chess players from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This variation with 3.Nd2 became popular in the 1970s […] - Lines of attack! Member’s Game Analysis – Fer Broca (iChess Club)
Our very first Club member’s game features a principled and attacking response to the tricky opening move 1.b4 (diagram). NM Fer Broca looks at how Club member Louie is able to control White’s dangerous bishops before opening up his own lines of attack. Black sacrifices the exchange to […] - Caro-Kann Two Knights Variation with 3..Bg4 – IM Ekaterina Atalik (iChess Club)
The Caro-Kann is a chess opening for Black that begins with 1.e4 c6. In the mainline, play continues with 2.d4 d5, however, in the last couple of years the Two Knights variation has increased in popularity, played by the likes of Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi and MVL: 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 […] - Ruy Lopez Neo-Arkhangelsk with 7.a4 – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The so-called Neo-Arkhangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 (diagram). This is different from the Arkhangelsk Variation where Black plays 6..Bb7. In the Neo-Arkhangelsk (or Modern Arkhangelsk), Black won’t look to fianchetto the […] - French Tarrasch with 3…Nc6 – GM Mihail Marin (iChess Club)
The French Tarrasch variation begins with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2. (diagram) This is a flexible setup for White, named after Siegbert Tarrasch. This variation with 3.Nd2 became popular in the 1970s and 1980s when Anatoly Karpov often played it to great effect, such as in […] - The Reti Opening with 2..d4 – GM Bryan Smith (iChess Club)
Starting with 1.Nf3, the Reti Opening is actually not easy to define with a specific series of moves, as with other openings. It is an opening that can be reached through many move orders and transpositions. Essentially, it is an opening where White holds back the center pawns […] - The Scotch with 4…Bb4+ and Minor Alternatives – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The Scotch opening begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 (diagram, left). In this video, the third in a series on the Scotch, IM Robert Ris explores play after 4…Bb4+, as well as minor alternatives that Black may attempt. If you missed part 1, click here […] - The Scotch Opening with 4…Nf6 – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The Scotch opening begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 (diagram, left). In this video, the second of three on the Scotch, IM Robert Ris explores play after 4…Nf6, known as the Mieses variation. If you missed part 1, click here to watch it. This is […] - The Scotch Opening with …Bc5 – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The Scotch opening begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 (diagram, left). In this video, the first of three on the Scotch, IM Robert Ris explores play after 3…exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5. This is one of Black’s main options, so it is important to know how to […] - Sicilian Rauzer Attack with 8…Bd7 9.f3 (iChess Club)
The Rauzer Sicilian begins with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 entering a Classical Sicilian with White’s main move 6.Bg5, followed by 6…e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0. In this video, the second of three videos on the Rauzer Sicilian, IM Robert Ris explores […] - Fireworks in the Petroff Defense – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Petroff Defense begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 (diagram). Often when we see a Petroff, we understand that Black is playing a solid defensive system, and chances are the game is set to be a long one. Indeed, the Petroff Defense has the reputation of […] - Sicilian Rauzer Attack with 8…Bd7 9.f4 – IM Robert Ris (iChess Club)
The Rauzer Sicilian begins with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 entering a Classical Sicilian with White’s main move 6.Bg5, followed by 6…e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0. In this video, the second of three videos on the Rauzer Sicilian, IM Robert Ris explores […] - How to Play Against The Modern – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Modern Defense begins with the moves 1.e4 g6 and is a hypermodern approach where Black allows White to occupy the center with pawns, and later looks to attack that center from the flanks. In this exclusive iChess Club video, Grandmaster Damian Lemos takes a look at how […] - Magnus Carlsen’s Bogo-Indian – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club)
The Bogo-Indian is a chess opening for Black that occurs after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ (diagram). Black delays placing his pawns in the center in favor of developing the kingside rapidly. Although seen at all levels of chess, it’s a particularly good opening for club players […] - Queen’s Gambit Declined Ragozin – When White Doesn’t Capture on d5
The Ragozin Defense is a variation in the Queen’s Gambit Declined chess opening that arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 (diagram, left). The opening is flexible and can be reached through a number of different move orders. This defense was developed by the […] - How to Play Against the Reti – GM Damian Lemos (iChess Club) – Part 2
The Reti System is a very flexible opening for White that starts with the move 1.Nf3. There are a number of responses available for Black – GM Damian Lemos recommends 1…d5 (diagram). White can respond with a number of moves such as 2.b3, 2.c4, or 2.d4. In this […]