Planning Unveiled: A guide for improvement – IM Lawrence Trent

10 out of 10! IM Lawrence Tren

10 out of 10! IM Lawrence Trent uses a selection of high caliber games from players such as Kramnik, Anand and Karpov to illustrate his blueprint for how to properly evaluate a position, come up with a plan and then execute it. There are no wild tactics, king hunts or checkmates here, just the more quiet moves needed to improve the position. This video is best for the intermediate player needing help in finding the best move when there are no immediate tactics or knock out blows to be found. IM Trent is a very good presenter, paces the lessons well and has a charming British accent. Also, this is a topic that is rarely presented in most chess videos. It is easier to find good opening, tactics or endgame videos than an Evaluation/Planning video. Kudos to IM Trent for his hard work and to Chess 24 for this topic. The Chess 24 video does feature a split screen with the board on the left, the presenter on the right and the moves in writing underneath making it easy for the viewer to follow along. Annotated PGN's of the games and puzzles are also provided to cement the knowledge. I also like the fact that the chapters are descriptive, not just numbered, which make it easy to find a specific game fast.