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Daily Lessons with a GM

Daily Lessons with a GM

Course 378 episodes
(54 hours 3 min)

Creators GM Avetik Grigoryan GM Gabuzyan Hovhannes GM Johan Hellsten

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“I personally recommend this source to almost all my students. It can be a great complementary addition to the daily chess routine. There is no excuse not to find 8 minutes daily to watch a very instructive video with detailed topic explanations of Grandmaster!”

– GM Boris Avrukh

This course has 365 short lessons, each explained by a Grandmaster in around 7 minutes – covering different topics such as – openings, middlegames, endgames, tactics, etc.
Every short lesson here will give you a practical nugget, like an important rule, a typical idea, that you can immediately start implementing in your game.

At the end of each lesson, there’s a short test to check if you’ve digested the idea properly. The answers to all these tests you can find in a separate video.

Ready?
Sit back, relax and start watching!

What you'll learn

A practical chess idea, concept, typical plan, psychological hack explained in as little time as possible.
Concepts like ‘Show your cards’, ‘Fundamental Defense’, ‘Positional Pin’ that aid practical decision making.
Common patterns that aren’t covered in chess literature but click instinctively in a stronger player’s mind.
Strategies to deal with common chess questions like – ‘How to break solid positions’, ‘How to attack with opposite color Bishops?’, ‘When to fianchetto the Bishop?’ etc.
Common and rare ideas used in attack, defense, tactics, openings, middlegames and endgames.

Lesson Plan

378 episode(s) 54 hours 3 min

Course overiview

1. The useless Bishop

Unlocked 11m 36s

Unlocked 5m 54s

3. Tactics in chess

Unlocked 6m 28s

4. The checks that save games

5. Show your cards | Part 1 | Delaying with castling

6. Show your cards | Part 2 | Dealing with a multifunctional piece

7. What to do when you have weak Pawns?

8. Counterattack with the long diagonal

9. Planning in the mopening

10. Stopping the counterplay first

11. How to break solid positions?

12. Winning winning positions (WWP) | Part 1

13. How to fix a weakness?

14. What you should do with your weak Pawns? | Part 2

15. Attack like a viking | Part 1 | Mobilization

16. Attack like a viking | Part 2 | Open up lines

17. The checks that save games | Part 2

18. King safety

19. Latvian gambit - The refutation

20. When it's exception

21. Attack like a viking | Part 3 | Targeting weak Pawns

22. Attack like a viking | Part 4 | Provocation

23. Chess battery | Part 1

24. Chess battery | Part 2 | Rubenstein's Bishop maneuver

25. Converting an advantage (transitioning to a winning Pawn endgame)

26. Aiming weak Pawns

27. The power of Bishop pair | Part 1

28. The power of Bishop pair | Part 2

29. The power of Bishop pair | Part 3 | Bishop vs Knights

30. Weak central Pawn

31. Sneaky Qa5 and Qa4 checks

Daily lesson tests' answers 1-31

32. Chess battery in counterattack

33. The power of Bishop pair | Part 4 | Transitioning to endgame

34. Helping the Bishop pair

35. Defensive exchanges

36. Defensive sacrifices

37. Bishop pair need air

38. Exploiting hidden pins

39. Listen to your Knights

40. Exchange the brother Bishop

41. Keep the brother Bishop

42. The best setup in the opening

43. Spoiling the pawn structure

44. Bishop pair transformation

45. Right mood - Right move

46. The helpful king

47. Knight & queen

48. Paralyzing the queenside

49. Exploiting the back rank

50. SLP - bluffing

51. Swapping on my terms

52. Sacrificing for attack

53. The king is coming!

54. Material advantage? What's next?

55. Designing the knight's fate

56. Defending in chess (with piece mobilization)

57. Using chess tactics in defense (the lifeline)

58. Improving your pieces (By changing lanes)

59. Defending in chess (Escaping with your king)

60. Don't resign (In a winning position!)

Daily lesson tests' answers 32-60

61. Constructive thinking vs nice-looking moves

62. Exploiting unconnected Rooks

63. Defending in chess (total blockade strategy)

64. GM Vladimir Akopian's important rule (on piece activation)

65. Exploiting entry squares

66. Meeting attack with counterattack

67. Maneuvering the mighty Queen (example from Petrosian - Gulko)

68. To include h4-h5 in a position or not? | Part 1

69. To include h4-h5 in a position or not? | Part 2

70. What if your opponent avoids opening theory? (French defense example)

71. A modern Rook (uncommon way to activate a Rook)

72. How to remember variations in your opening repertoire?

73. What would Vaganian play?

74. Using GM Vladimir Akopian's rule in attack | Part 2

75. Elephant gambit | The refutation

76. Playing ugly chess can give you an advantage (sometimes!)

77. Entry squares for the Queen (very specific squares!)

78. To exchange Queens or not? (check an important factor!)

79. Don't play chess on autopilot (or pre-moves)

80. Chess counterattack

81. Playing flexible chess moves

82. How to crash-through with your attack? (hint-sacrifice!)

83. An important tactical pattern (from Radjabov-Vachier Lagrave)

84. Reversed chess battery

85. Active moves vs passive moves

86. To accept or decline a chess sacrifice? (a very important tip!)

87. Attacking a King (by using pawn-majority)

88. How to launch a queenside majority attack? (in Maroczy-bind structure)

89. Before you exchange Queens in the opening, check this factor

90. Chess prophylaxis (important defensive strategy)

Daily lesson tests' answers | 61-90

91. The last daily lesson with a grandmaster

92. Endgame tactics | Part 1 (why are they tough to notice?)

93. Endgame tactics | Part 2 (from Wang Yue - Alexey Dreev)

94. A Knight raid to exchange an important Bishop

95. When to fianchetto your Bishop?

96. Do this when you face a strange move order in the opening

97. Choose the correct move order in calculation (Alekhine - Hoelsdar)

98. Rook vs Pawn endgames

99. Queen trap in chess | Part 1

100. How a grandmaster spots chess tactics

101. How to fix Pawns and create weak squares?

102. Queen trap in chess | Part 2

103. Rook vs 2 separated pawns endgame

104. Rook vs Pawn endgame (different pawn promotion)

105. How to exploit a weak back rank? (by deflection)

106. Outflanking in Rook vs Pawn endgames

107. The right way to activate the King in endgame

108. Why you should challenge a fianchetto Bishop?

109. Shouldering in Rook vs Pawn endgame

110. Anchoring technique in Rook vs Pawn endgame

111. What is fundamental defense in chess

112. Ugly but fundamental defense in chess

113. How to use outflanking + anchoring in Rook vs Pawn ending?

114. 3 downsides of grabbing a toxic b2 Pawn in the opening

115. Vacating squares | An uncommon tactical pattern

116. Instructive idea from Ding Liren vs Grischuk, FIDE Candidates 2021

117. Backward moves with the Knight

118. Non-standard breakthrough in chess (thank you Pavel Eljanov!)

119. Bishop and Rook-Pawn vs King endgame

120. Bishop and Pawn endgame (the central pawns)

Daily lesson tests' answers 91-120

121. Stafford gambit | The refutation

122. What is multitasking in Bishop vs Pawn endgame?

123. Passed Pawn vs Bishop endgame

124. Cross pin tactic with Queen + Bishop

125. Cross pin tactic with Queen + Rook

126. Insane moves with the King

127. An instructive defensive concept (Khalifman vs Kramnik)

128. Knight and Pawn vs King (endgame basics you should know)

129. Pawn and Knight vs Pawn

130. The power of a centralized Queen

131. Knight vs Pawn endgame | When the King is far

132. Knight vs Pawn endgames | Stopping the Rook-Pawn

133. Why you should see the whole board

134. Which passed Pawns can a Knight single-handedly stop?

135. 2 Rooks crushing through the 7th rank

136. Using open lines to crush though the 8th rank

137. What is a useless open line?

138. Colorado gambit | The refutation

139. How to fight for the open Line?

140. Can backward Pawn be a strength?

141. Controlling an open line with doubling

142. Checkmating pattern with 2 Knights in the middlegame

143. If there's Ng6, remember Qh5 (a subtle pattern) | Part 1

144. If there's Ng6, watch out for h4-h5 | Part 2

145. Common tactical pattern with Nxe5 (or Nxe4) in the opening

146. Backward moves with the Bishop

147. The Boden's mate | Mating pattern

148. The Windmill | Chess tactics

149. Advancing the future Queen in Pawn endgames

150. The Anastasia's mate | Checkmating pattern

151. Arabian mate (and its history) | Checkmating pattern

Daily lesson tests' answers for May | Lessons 121 - 151

152. Punish early Queen development (by not attacking the Queen!)

153. Blind Swine mate (and It's history) | Checkmating pattern

154. The intermediate move | Chess tactics

155. Blackburne's mate | Checkmating pattern

156. Nxe5 tactic (after which h5 hangs)

157. Killer pin: The pin which paralyzes the position

158. Invisible en passant (to stop attacks, get rid of weaknesses)

159. Using Pawn majority in the centre

160. Stop the development of Bf8 with Qg4, Qg3

161. The right time to pause and think in the opening

162. Greco's mate | Checkmating pattern

163. Typical method to defend in worse opposite colored Bishop positions

164. The Balestra mate | Checkmating pattern

165. The power of an exchange sacrifice on a key square

166. The Morphy mate | Checkmating pattern

167. Anderssen's mate | Checkmating pattern

168. The Hook mate | Checkmating pattern

169. The Vukovic mate | Checkmating pattern

170. The Mayet's mate | Checkmating pattern

171. Your secret weapon in hopeless positions

172. Breakthroughs that are 'Invisible'

173. How to choose between 2 attractive recaptures?

174. The problematic Bg6(or Bg3)

175. Desperado | Chess tactics

176. Push the passed Pawn!

177. How to create a passed Pawn?

178. The Bishop is still in quarantine...

179. Pawn sacrifice to quarantine a Bishop

180. Queen vs Pawn - A complete guide for the tournament player

181. Damiano's mate | Checkmating pattern

Daily lesson tests' answers for June | 152 - 181

182. Ahead in material? Exchange!

183. How to create more weaknesses and win a slightly better endgame?

184. Sudden Queen trap | Part 3

185. Open the center to deal with a flank attack (an important principle)

186. h-File mate | Checkmating pattern

187. Exploiting weak b7 (b2) pawn when there's no Bishop

188. Epaulette mate | Checkmating pattern

189. Queen + Bishop battery in opposite colored Bishop

190. Paralyzing Pawn

191. Paralyzing Pawn (part 2) | Pawn sacrifice

192. Regrouping your pieces

193. Killer tactical pattern (with Ba3)

194. Killer tactical pattern (with ...Bh3)

195. When you shouldn't play active chess in the opening

196. Weak King or weak Pawn, where will you attack

197. My Godfather's favorite lesson

198. Watch the backrank with X-ray tactic

199. To castle or not to castle? That's the question

200. Throwing a bomb

201. Sometimes, exchange your opponent's bad pieces!

202. Exchange the defensive piece

203. How to attack with opposite-colored Bishops

204. Decoy the King & hunt it down!

205. When a Queen or Knight can't stop a passed-pawn (typical pattern)

206. 1st rule to remember when playing against a weak Pawn

207. Push your flank Pawns (a4, a5, h4, h5) to weaken the position

208. How to create weak squares by pushing your Pawns

209. Provoking your opponent to create a weak square

210. You wouldn't believe such backward Queen moves exist

211. Happy Bishop ?

212. Can 2 happy Bishops ?? be worth more than an exchange

Daily lesson tests' answers for July | 182 - 212

213. Sudden piece trap (Vishy Anand's spectacular idea vs Kramnik)

214. The overloaded Bg2

215. Sac the Pawn, ruin the structure!

216. Grandmaster's guide to Greek gift sacrifice (all you need to know!)

217. How Double Bishop sacrifice can give you a crushing attack

218. Saving private Ryan behind enemy lines in chess

219. A subtle move that prevents castling (part 1)

220. When to play Ba3, sacrifice an exchange to prevent castling (part 2)

221. 'Do I castle short or do I castle long'

222. The smart way to be greedy in chess

223. GM Gabuzyan's favorite chess topic

224. What to do if your opponent's King is stuck in the center

225. When ugly moves can improve your position

226. How the h-Pawn can create unexpected problems in solid positions

227. Play on both sides of the board (when, why & how)

228. The disadvantage of playing Nd2/Ne2 (instead of Nc3/Nf3)

229. Where to castle when you have space in the center

230. A powerful Pawn break to crush the center and ruin the Pawn structure

231. Invisible defense

232. A mate pattern with Queen and Knight against doubled g-Pawns

233. A Pawn sacrifice (...e4-e5) to activate your pieces

234. A common mistake while defending opposite-side castling positions

235. When it's time to exchange Queens

236. The right time to exchange Queens and ruin your own pawn structure!

237. The ideal time to launch a pawn storm in same-side castling

238. When you can't launch a pawn storm in same-side castling

239. How to attack with your pieces in same-side castling positions

240. The right time to abandon a strong outpost

241. How to deal with an overextended Pawn

242. A key reason behind blunders in strategical positions

243. A simple and strong Bishop maneuver that's easy to miss

Daily lesson tests' answers for August | 213 - 243

244. Exchange the main defender during an attack

245. How multifunctional moves can improve your position

246. The crazy Bb1! Idea used by Mikhail Tal and Nepomniachtchi

247. 3 reasons why a Knight is the best blockader of the passed Pawn

248. Hidden cross pin

249. When to avoid exchanging opponent's most advanced piece

250. A powerful attacking idea with g6 (or ...g3) to accelerate your attack

251. The power of a flexible Bishop

252. How to create back rank problems by pushing your Pawn to the 6th rank

253. Sometimes, development might be useless. What to do in such cases

254. When a back rank mate is unstoppable

255. A simple way to close the flank and stop opponent's attack

256. What to do when you are exchange up?

257. Grandmaster shows why the Nf7 sacrifice is so powerful!

258. Watch out for backward moves with the Rook!

259. A strategy to stop Pawn push with your pieces

260. A strategy to stop Pawn push with your pieces | Part 2 ft. Bishop

261. A strategy to stop Pawn push with your pieces | Part 3 ft. Rook

262. A strategy to stop Pawn push with your pieces | Part 4 ft. Queen

263. Rook vs 2 pieces - Is having a Rook always worse ?

264. Peter Leko's idea shows how en passant can halt opponent's attack

265. 2021 European champion's game shows the power of Queen and Knight

266. Rc3 attacking sacrifice | Typical exchange sacrifice | Part 1

267. Rc3 positional sacrifice | Typical exchange sacrifice | Part 2

268. Mikhail Tal's Re6 sacrifice | Typical exchange sacrifice | Part 3

269. Rf6/Rf3 sacrifice | Typical exchange sacrifice | Part 4

270. How to quarantine a Knight? | Part 1

271. How to quarantine a Rook? | Part 2

272. The quarantined Queen | Part 3

273. A simple question that'll help you find the right move

Daily lesson tests' answers for September | 244 - 273

274. Petrosian's piece sac to get strong central Pawns (part 1)

275. Kramnik's piece sac to get strong flank Pawns (part 2)

276. Give up the Rook and get strong Pawns! (part 3)

277. Queen vs strong Pawns (part 4)

278. How to dislodge a Knight in the center? (Anand vs Svidler)

279. Practical tips to NOT resign in drawish positions

280. "It's not over until it's over!"

281. Trust no one! Not even Nepo or Carlsen! ?

282. How would you activate a Knight?

283. When Lasker made his Knight happy against Capablanca

284. Use this attacking idea in opposite-side castling position

285. On which side of the board you should play? | Part 1

286. On which side of the board you should Play?

287. When should you play on your weaker side? | Part 3

288. Create play where you could be potentially stronger | Part 4

289. The beautiful Bxf7 sacrifice

290. Happy Queen | Part 1

291. Happy Queen | Part 2

292. A simple strategy that makes your attack irresistible

293. How underpromotion can be a powerful weapon

294. SLP - Creating traps

295. Outside passed Pawn explained in 7 minutes!

296. Why winning Pawn endgames is the secret to winning positions

297. Is giving up an exchange (Ra1) for fianchetto Bishop (Bg7) worth it?

298. This Rook + Knight draw pattern might help you save lost positions

299. The downside of f3 which protects Be3 from Ng4

300. Should you sacrifice exchange after Bh6 Bh8 Bf8?

301. Artificial castling

302. How to get extra value out of a Queen exchange

303. Should you grab the dangerous Pawn with Bh2? (Spassky-Fischer)

304. To grab the dangerous Pawn with Ba7 (Ba2) or not? | Part 2

Daily lesson tests' answers for October | 274 - 304

305. When it's safe to capture the dangerous Pawn with Ba2 | Part 3

306. Alekhine shows how to use the Alekhine Gun

307. A strategy that'll make your attack unstoppable! ?

308. A simple, smart way to fight for d4-weak square

309. How 2 Knights can paralyze a position

310. Double pin

311. The way to create an eternal asset in the endgame

312. 3 effective strategies to grab an isolated Pawn

313. A strong blockader in opposite color Bishop middlegames

314. A good time to push the h-Pawn

315. A lesson from Jonathan Penrose vs Mikhail Tal game

316. Pawns don't move backwards!

317. An endgame strategy that can be more efective than King activation

318. An effective way to cement a Knight on an outpost

319. The strategy for playing Queen vs 2 Rooks positions

320. Keep the King safe in 2 Rooks vs Queen positions

321. A strategy to maximize your advantage in 2 Rooks vs Queen position

322. Go for an attack in Queen vs 2 Rooks positions!

323. Why a Pawn on f6 is a powerful attacking asset

324. How to find unexpected moves, stop counterplay & blow minds ?

325. 3 Pawns vs 1 piece. Who's actually stronger? Here are 2 guidelines...

326. 3 Pawns vs 1 piece

327. Rook on 7th rank in the endgame is not always good!

328. Bishop vs Knight | Who's stronger in opposite-castling positions

329. An advanced strategy to create problems with the h-pawn

330. We enter from 8th rank!

331. A simple strategy to play against a bad Bishop

332. A defensive maneuver in opposite castling positions

333. A strategy to play with space advantage in KID, French defense

334. An unexpected tactical pattern

Daily lesson tests' answers for November | 305 - 334

335. How a difference in Pawn structure changes the position's evaluation

336. The power of an unstoppable triple fork

337. The secret to convert strategically winning positions into a win

338. Follow this practical advice when you see a winning move

339. Use this strategy when you're forced to return material

340. How to destroy enemy Pawns on 7th rank and make your Rooks stronger

341. The all-important Be3 vs fianchetto Bg7

342. Your Rooks need the right support on the 7th rank

343. Crush a Scandinavian gambit with active play! (1.e4 d5 2.ed5 c6)

344. Why passers are less important in Rook ending, compared to other endings

345. Should you recapture with the Bishop or the Pawn (Dutch defense)

346. The right way to block the opponent's passed Pawn in Rook endgame

347. When and why it's good to keep the tension

348. Make your Bishop pair stronger with a simple strategy

349. When 1 Pawn can block 3 pawns combined!

350. How to play against the semi-Hippo setup

351. How to defend in opposite color Bishop endgames

352. Strategy with a passed Pawn in opposite color Bishop endgame

353. Use this strategy when there's tension in the center

354. The strategy to coordinate your Bishop and Pawns

355. Provoking and attacking a weakness on h6

356. What's a traitor Pawn? What does it have to do with King safety?

357. The most common mistake beginners make

358. A common opening blunder arising from ChessMood repertoire

359. A smart hack to remove a Knight from a strong square

360. Have you heard of a 'positional pin' ?

361. A subtle way to create connected passed Pawns

362. Strengthen your attack using the h-Pawn

363. Before starting an attack with h4, prevent opponent's ...h5

364. How to become good at tactics without solving million positions

365. Svidler's unbelievable defense!

Daily lesson tests' answers for December | 335 - 365

5

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

Let's go

Course 378 episodes (54 hours 3 min)

Creators GM Avetik Grigoryan GM Gabuzyan Hovhannes GM Johan Hellsten

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