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Defend with Honor

Defend with Honor

Course 146 episodes
(9 hours 41 min)

Creators GM Johan Hellsten

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While it's much more interesting to attack and have the initiative in our hands, sometimes opponents will attack us and we'll need to defend.

Many chess players don't like to defend, however, after watching this course you'll hopefully have more pleasure when you do it.

The key is to know the main principles and Grandmaster Johan Hellsten will teach you that...

Here are some of the positions taken from the course:

Defend with honor

To help you grasp the defensive concepts better, the course is divided into the following sections:

1. Mobilization
2. Defensive exchange
3. Blockade
4. Prophylaxis
5. The brave King
6. The escaping King
7. Sacrifices
8. Counterattack
9. Intermediate Moves
10. Obstruction
11. Deflection
12. Perpetuals
13. Counterthreats
14. Tactical Tricks
15. Accepting Sacrifices
16. The Process of Elimination

Ready to become a better defender?
Let’s get started!

What you'll learn

Important defensive concepts like prophylaxis, blockade, piece mobilization, etc.
How to run away with the King at the right time, when under attack.
Using exchanges to diffuse an attack.
How to use tactics and sacrifices to get out of a difficult position.
Using the process of elimination to make smarter decisions while defending.
The art of counterattacking.
Using intermediate moves to save the game.
Using perpetual checks to bail out and more

Lesson Plan

146 episode(s) 9 hours 41 min

Course overview

1. Introduction

2. Bringing in the Queen 1

Unlocked 2m 54s

3. Bringing in the Queen 2

Unlocked 5m 53s

4. A distant defender

Unlocked 4m 58s

5. A distant defender 2

Unlocked 6m 22s

6. Thanks to the Bishop 1

Unlocked 4m 31s

7. Thanks to the Bishop 2

Unlocked 5m 23s

8. A smart Knight 1

9. A smart Knight 2

Unlocked 6m 28s

1. Introduction

2. Swapping Queens 1

3. Swapping Queens 2

4. Swapping Queens 3

5. Swapping Queens 4

6. Eliminating a key attacker

7. Eliminating a key attacker 2

8. Eliminating a key attacker 3

9. Eliminating two key attackers

1. Introduction

2. The best blockader

3. The best blockader 2

4. Another good blockader

5. Yet another good blockader

6. A double blockade

7. In the footsteps of Petrosian

8. The pawn blockade

9. The pawn shield

1. Introduction

2. Hiding the King

3. Hiding the King 2

4. The King move

5. The King move 2

6. Overprotection 1

7. Overprotection 2

9. Preventing enemy plans

1. Introduction

2. The brave King

3. Another brave King

4. Ready for a walk

5. The bravest piece

6. A fearless King

7. Visiting a colleague

8. Another fearless King

9. Morozevich's Monarch

1. Introduction

2. A little escape

3. Another smooth escape

4. Run for your life

5. Safety first

6. Relying on the King

7. Home sweet home

8. What a nice journey

9. Travelling again

1. Introduction

2. With an open mind

3. Payback time

4. French style

5. Thanks, dear Rook

6. Neutralizing the attack

7. A heroic Rook

8. A radical choice

9. Two great Bishops

1. Introduction

2. Trading places

3. Perfect coordination

4. An amazing resource

6. The only way

9. A psychological trap

1. Introduction

2. A smart sequence

3. A vital check

4. Two in a row

5. A little pawn push

6. A clever check

7. What a surprise

1. Introduction

2. Obstructing the Queen

3. Third rank obstruction

4. Another obstructor

5. Breaking the pin

6. Turning the tables

7. Favorable congestion

1. Introduction

2. Deflecting the Queen

3. Getting back the 1st rank

4. Ruining their attack

5. A deflecting check

6. Another disruptive check

7. A heroic bishop

1. Introduction

2. Using the Diagonals

3. Two Great Rooks

4. An Astonishing Resource

5. A Strong Tandem

6. Preparing the Perpetual

7. What a Combination!

1. Introduction

2. Threat vs Threat

3. Remember the 1st Rank

4. Going for their King

5. Exploiting Undefended Pieces

6. Non Standard Defense

7. Crossing the Board

1. Introduction

2. Saving the Day

3. A Nice Trick

4. A Heroic Bishop

5. Tempting but Wrong

6. A Nice Cooperation

7. Attracting the Queen

1. Introduction

2. Up for the Challenge

3. Facing the Greek Gift

4. Suffer but Prevail

5. Everything under Control

6. A Very Narrow Path

7. A Methodical Defense

1. Introduction

2. A Lesser Evil

3. Avoiding the Pitfalls

4. At Crossroads

5. The Right Check

6. Checking One by One

7. Three Choices

Course conclusion

4.9

Students give this course an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars.

Let's go

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Course 146 episodes (9 hours 41 min)

Creators GM Johan Hellsten

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