WEBVTT 00:01.440 --> 00:02.370 Hi there. 00:02.400 --> 00:07.200 In this lecture, I want to talk about success in the combination or phase of attack. 00:08.730 --> 00:15.380 So the attacking plans are great at combinations, especially for example, ALEKHINE Geismar. 00:15.390 --> 00:17.730 But there's also other plans you might not have heard of. 00:17.730 --> 00:22.020 Like this medicine, of which this example I'll show you soon is from. 00:22.020 --> 00:24.390 He was a brilliant master of combinations. 00:24.690 --> 00:28.440 In fact, Mikhail Botvinnik said no one saw combinations like this mentioned off. 00:28.920 --> 00:35.790 So basically, in the combination phase of attack, we have to realize our calculation skills are very 00:35.790 --> 00:38.390 poor, especially compared to modern chess engines. 00:38.400 --> 00:41.580 They can see millions of positions in microsecond. 00:41.580 --> 00:42.450 We can't. 00:42.450 --> 00:44.520 So we have to keep things fairly simple. 00:44.640 --> 00:51.900 So you'll see this concept in my complete Guide to Chess Tactics that I recommend prioritizing forcing 00:51.900 --> 00:53.100 move variations. 00:53.100 --> 00:59.310 So you get an attacking position where the king is exposed and you've got to deliver the final combination. 00:59.310 --> 01:01.650 So here the king is exposed, for example. 01:01.650 --> 01:02.820 So how do we do that? 01:02.820 --> 01:06.030 We've unlimited, you know, calculation capabilities. 01:06.480 --> 01:12.840 I say to all my teammates, at least chess and my students in general, this golden phrase, which is 01:12.840 --> 01:18.390 easy to remember to use in your own games, check all the checks, check all the captures and check 01:18.390 --> 01:20.670 all the major threats, especially in mating one. 01:21.360 --> 01:25.560 So with this advice, it helps prioritize forcing move variations. 01:25.560 --> 01:32.790 And it's good to invest in relatively forcing move variations which are more likely to come up and may 01:32.790 --> 01:35.970 yield something within those calculations. 01:35.970 --> 01:43.080 There might also be tempo gaining resources, which is important on the chess board to gain time, to 01:43.080 --> 01:46.650 be swift, to not allow defensive resources to build up. 01:47.520 --> 01:54.000 And also quite often, if you're calculating quite a bit in chess and they don't seem to do anything, 01:54.000 --> 01:55.380 they're ridiculous variations. 01:55.380 --> 02:02.760 It does sometimes highlight clarify weaknesses within the position which you might be able to tap into 02:02.760 --> 02:05.940 later if the circumstances even slightly change. 02:05.940 --> 02:08.700 So that kind of measures your enthusiasm. 02:08.700 --> 02:11.550 It's like a test of your enthusiasm and alertness. 02:11.910 --> 02:17.730 When you calculate forcing variations which are weird and wonderful, you'll find that on days you're 02:17.730 --> 02:18.810 able to find combinations. 02:18.810 --> 02:22.860 That kind of is very helpful and it's not something computers would do. 02:22.860 --> 02:26.070 They wouldn't like be calculating completely junk variations. 02:26.070 --> 02:29.160 But for us, it shows that we are actually awake. 02:30.390 --> 02:35.430 So basically, yeah, within full signal variations. 02:35.430 --> 02:38.940 If you can make, for example, two moves in succession, it's often going to be winning. 02:38.940 --> 02:44.940 So you can see that the importance of tempo gaining, which is talked about a lot in chess circles for 02:44.940 --> 02:46.980 winning games, it is important. 02:46.980 --> 02:49.650 Just take that very simple mathematical example. 02:49.650 --> 02:51.600 Imagine two moves in a row. 02:51.630 --> 02:53.850 You could be often knocking out the opponent. 02:53.850 --> 02:57.330 So within the combinations, the forcing with variations. 02:57.330 --> 03:01.020 There's also the notion of gaining tempo, gaining time. 03:01.020 --> 03:05.700 So hitting the opponent's queen, which leads to a checkmate, that's important as well. 03:05.730 --> 03:14.490 There's also sometimes it's the case that checking, checking on checks, sometimes taking priority. 03:15.570 --> 03:18.030 Four escape squares. 03:18.030 --> 03:19.780 Sometimes you get rid of the opponent's king. 03:19.800 --> 03:20.460 Escape squares. 03:20.460 --> 03:26.700 A quantum move may be more important than a check because it makes all the checks much more effective. 03:26.730 --> 03:29.880 Quite often when you take away king escape squares. 03:29.880 --> 03:36.270 So this isn't the main emphasis of this course, but I thought it was essential to mention it. 03:36.720 --> 03:43.590 So if you want to improve your tactics, The Complete Guide to Chess Tactics My Tactics Training Course 03:43.590 --> 03:48.510 The Art of Checkmate is a fun one for checking or checkmate combinations in particular, where you'll 03:48.510 --> 03:53.730 be testing that balance of taking away escape squares versus playing forcing move checks. 03:54.120 --> 04:01.440 So, yes, it's kind of it's very, very helpful to be a tactics and commentary player because when 04:01.440 --> 04:05.970 you get those attacking positions like this, then you can play a beautiful combination. 04:05.970 --> 04:09.290 So here, what happens here? 04:09.300 --> 04:11.910 What do you think Black played in this position? 04:11.910 --> 04:13.560 Let's have a look at this example. 04:14.040 --> 04:21.840 Blacks are playing plays, actually a beautiful queen saying, Rook, thanks for so Rook takes age, 04:21.840 --> 04:22.470 too. 04:23.100 --> 04:24.720 And we have a forcing move. 04:24.720 --> 04:27.620 Double check and double checkers forced the king to move. 04:27.630 --> 04:30.690 So the king's been dragged down the board, you know, King D fall. 04:31.020 --> 04:35.460 And now, believe it or not, a quiet move is in order here. 04:35.490 --> 04:36.660 Bishop G7. 04:39.240 --> 04:44.880 So and White really has trouble with the king in the center here we have a fall and it's actually a 04:44.880 --> 04:46.500 force mate in eight here. 04:47.790 --> 04:48.210 So. 04:48.210 --> 04:50.310 But can you actually work it out? 04:50.310 --> 04:55.320 I mean, I'll give you a few seconds to pause the video. 04:55.320 --> 04:57.840 You might want to work out the force mate in eight. 04:57.870 --> 05:01.920 It's definitely good to be good at mating the opponent's king in the final phase. 05:01.920 --> 05:05.280 Otherwise, what's the point in building up attacking positions? 05:05.370 --> 05:06.240 So. 05:07.200 --> 05:11.550 It's good to know how to get those positions, and you've got to know how to exploit those positions. 05:12.150 --> 05:16.920 But yeah, I have some other more concrete courses on how to exploit such positions and calculations 05:16.920 --> 05:17.640 in general. 05:17.670 --> 05:20.960 So the Complete Guide to Chess Tactics talks about this a lot. 05:20.970 --> 05:26.690 But here the mating, the attacking pattern fundamentally is bringing the king down the board. 05:26.700 --> 05:31.200 But we are now in actually a technical combination as well. 05:32.070 --> 05:35.100 And in fact, the move played here is C five check. 05:35.100 --> 05:36.240 We have D tanks. 05:36.240 --> 05:40.200 D tanks and black is French thing now C five checkmate. 05:40.200 --> 05:41.670 The knight controls the E5. 05:41.820 --> 05:44.250 So we have Bishop de Free Knight. 05:44.280 --> 05:45.540 E takes the free shank. 05:45.540 --> 05:47.970 The king's been brought down the board after D five. 05:47.970 --> 05:48.960 Check it out. 05:48.990 --> 05:53.100 See tanks can be five and now Rook B eight. 05:53.100 --> 05:54.600 Check King 85. 05:54.780 --> 06:03.120 I hope you can spot the final make pattern night C six Check White resigned on King 86 we'd have. 06:05.300 --> 06:16.000 For example, 93 to b4 is checkmate, but also Rook B six is checkmate as well. 06:16.010 --> 06:17.360 So there's two in the end. 06:17.780 --> 06:22.280 So it's better not managed to weaken the opponent's king but is absolutely brilliant and combinations. 06:22.280 --> 06:25.910 So an attacking player who's not brilliant accommodations would be a rare bird. 06:25.910 --> 06:27.740 That would be an unfortunate thing. 06:28.070 --> 06:28.700 Yeah. 06:28.940 --> 06:37.100 As attacking players, we do have a certain skill set to to kind of evolve looking at the ingredients 06:37.100 --> 06:43.430 for attacking chess, especially King's safety king safety issues and then being able to exploit them 06:43.430 --> 06:49.910 with forcing moves, variations and the Art of Checkmate, which is sometimes making quiet moves to 06:49.910 --> 06:53.360 take away escape squares to make checks more important. 06:53.360 --> 06:59.990 So, yeah, within the whole art of attack, we do have quite a few phases, but in the commentary phase 06:59.990 --> 07:06.530 we will get a lot of compensatory tests in this course because we're looking at attacking games and 07:06.530 --> 07:09.530 they are nice to test to make sure you're awake at least. 07:09.770 --> 07:12.260 But it's the attacking patterns as well. 07:12.260 --> 07:15.140 The how to get there, which is key in this course. 07:15.140 --> 07:18.980 We really want to know how to get to these attacking positions. 07:19.370 --> 07:21.710 Okay, So I hope you enjoyed this example. 07:21.710 --> 07:25.550 So in a nutshell here, this isn't a major focus of this course. 07:25.550 --> 07:27.200 It isn't nuts and bolts tactics. 07:27.200 --> 07:27.650 This course. 07:27.650 --> 07:35.270 It's about the attacking patterns in general for how to get amazingly good positions where you can finish 07:35.270 --> 07:38.870 off the opponent with beautiful tactics and combinations. 07:38.870 --> 07:40.670 So I hope you got a few points here. 07:41.420 --> 07:46.910 And yeah, we've got to, as humans recognize we're humans, we have weaknesses, we have to keep things 07:46.910 --> 07:47.240 simple. 07:47.240 --> 07:49.310 We can't calculate like millions of variations. 07:49.310 --> 07:56.570 So keeping things simple when we calculate stuff is also, in my experience, it shows how awake I am 07:56.570 --> 07:59.060 If I'm calculating even junk stuff that's valuable. 07:59.060 --> 08:00.230 Junk stuff is often valuable. 08:00.230 --> 08:04.970 Data gives you insights into the possession probes being sent into the position. 08:04.970 --> 08:06.500 You're getting insights as well. 08:06.500 --> 08:14.960 So yes, calculations are important and basically, yeah, we're in for a really fun ride with the master 08:14.960 --> 08:20.450 game examples both in how to get the positions and how to exploit the positions with beautiful combinations. 08:20.450 --> 08:21.260 Okay. 08:21.710 --> 08:22.490 And so much.