WEBVTT 00:00.970 --> 00:01.690 Hi there. 00:02.340 --> 00:07.050 In this lecture, we're going to have a look at one of my favorite games of Emmanuelle Laska, who is 00:07.050 --> 00:09.250 the second official world chess champion. 00:09.810 --> 00:17.160 He reigns for a record 27 years after he defeated the first world chess champion, Willem Steinitz, 00:17.580 --> 00:18.970 in 1894. 00:20.340 --> 00:28.230 Some statisticians like Jeff Sonus basically say there's a significant amount of statistical evidence 00:28.770 --> 00:34.410 to support the claim that Emmanuel Laska was, in fact, the most dominant player of all time. 00:36.700 --> 00:42.280 This game, played in 1889 in the Amsterdam tournament, is one of my favorites, so let's have a look 00:42.390 --> 00:43.550 for the bird's opening. 00:43.570 --> 00:45.570 Start off with and now it's free. 00:46.120 --> 00:48.370 So why is trying for a dance going to grip? 00:49.510 --> 00:50.200 And we see be. 00:50.570 --> 00:54.430 So this is actually scored many, many, many games in Blitz. 00:54.430 --> 01:01.660 And I love this idea personally of kind of getting very aggressive. 01:01.660 --> 01:11.470 Bishops pointed at opponents Kingside ESX Bishop to seven, and then we see Bishop Differe. 01:11.480 --> 01:17.920 So both bishops are just, you know, looking at the opponents, Kingside, black eyes kind of welcoming, 01:17.920 --> 01:24.670 won't start square strategy here by putting pawns conveniently on adjacent line squares and the specialists. 01:24.670 --> 01:26.900 And then here we see big things. 01:26.950 --> 01:34.270 Night ciphering Bishop be seven Afri like BDM, both sides council. 01:36.010 --> 01:42.130 Now Ninety-two, this has a very interesting intention sometimes of night, Jeoffrey. 01:43.810 --> 01:47.930 And the Knights can also pose some serious problems for blacks. 01:47.950 --> 01:55.840 Kingside see 593 Queen C7 and now ninety five is played. 01:56.740 --> 01:58.120 Nighttime's Bishop. 01:58.120 --> 01:59.890 Thanks Quincy Sexo. 01:59.890 --> 02:06.520 This sets up an x ray battery against G2, so sometimes C4 might actually be dangerous. 02:06.760 --> 02:13.030 We see queene to defending to parang potential France for example f f five. 02:13.030 --> 02:14.380 That would have been a bit too casual. 02:14.380 --> 02:21.760 Perhaps C4 and White could be in big trouble if, for example, B takes them once in big trouble because 02:21.760 --> 02:27.580 of GTA and differe so, you know, these, these operations are troublesome basically. 02:27.580 --> 02:29.320 So we need to sort that out. 02:29.950 --> 02:35.830 A6 and here actually ninety five is played. 02:35.950 --> 02:37.360 Very, very interesting move. 02:39.280 --> 02:42.520 We see nitrites h5 if rook Effy eight. 02:42.610 --> 02:48.400 Can you see a tactical frat's which is really very, very interesting here. 02:50.960 --> 02:54.530 OK, in this fashion night, Thanksgiving would be powerful. 02:55.310 --> 03:03.020 So it creates a pen and here Queen G5 Light can't move because of Queen G7 meeting and why it ends up 03:03.020 --> 03:05.770 significantly better essentially in this position. 03:06.890 --> 03:12.160 So Black actually plays night STS 85. 03:12.750 --> 03:14.510 Now there's the wings of the last move. 03:14.510 --> 03:15.980 It's neglect 87. 03:16.580 --> 03:19.790 Should white auto recapture or is there something much better? 03:23.150 --> 03:29.180 OK, I hope you've picked up on my general recommendations for awareness, whether they be threats from 03:29.180 --> 03:34.880 the opponents or actually even captures, you don't always have to recapture in chess. 03:35.270 --> 03:37.970 There's a great resolution of tactical possibilities. 03:38.450 --> 03:44.360 And sometimes your whole apparatus in the middle game processes section of prioritizing forces moves 03:44.700 --> 03:51.590 can come into action at the most surprising moments where you in theory, you know, we're going to 03:51.630 --> 03:55.490 also recapture the opponent was convinced, but guess what? 03:55.730 --> 04:01.010 And then you lose your place here at this very moment if I give you five seconds for the video. 04:06.180 --> 04:11.920 OK, he actually plays an absolutely brilliant bishop sacrifice Bishop takes 87, opening up the black 04:11.920 --> 04:12.300 king. 04:12.900 --> 04:14.760 Queen takes 85, King James. 04:15.090 --> 04:16.500 And now guess what? 04:16.500 --> 04:16.920 Here. 04:21.770 --> 04:31.760 OK, Dubbo Bishop Sack really opening up the black king, even more threatening Queen Chapman's black 04:31.760 --> 04:37.170 took if F thinks as an example than the rook can actually come in with Brooke. 04:38.210 --> 04:40.520 This works very, very well, for example, of this. 04:44.260 --> 04:52.330 Or if King, G7, Rotary, French I or the Queen and Queen eight track and Queen seven is pretty strong, 04:53.030 --> 04:56.340 for example, like this, it's all pretty strong. 04:58.450 --> 05:00.830 So we have King thanks G7. 05:00.850 --> 05:05.010 So double Bishop Sack Queen for Jack Kennedy. 05:05.320 --> 05:10.330 And I won't pretend that the so-called Little Mermaid pattern where you're kind of mowing the lawn and 05:10.330 --> 05:17.410 straps and hair Ruhengeri checkmate is Frattini's black resourcefully defends this with A5 opening up 05:17.410 --> 05:19.300 the queen for eight sex. 05:20.920 --> 05:24.340 So for example, if rook G-8, then yeah, this is just amazing mating. 05:25.420 --> 05:31.050 So e5 I cage free Jack Quinn and sex. 05:31.450 --> 05:34.880 Unfortunately for black, it would have been a great idea. 05:35.890 --> 05:41.260 Unfortunately though, white can actually not just win the Queen, but guess what white plays here, 05:41.530 --> 05:46.930 which makes this whole thing a much more convincing because White has invested quite a lot of material 05:47.290 --> 05:47.860 to just win. 05:47.860 --> 05:54.790 The Queen is not always great to bishops or sacrifice free sex on the point scale. 05:55.000 --> 05:58.520 Oruc 11, Queens only off nine. 05:58.810 --> 06:01.060 However, in this position, one is white playing. 06:02.870 --> 06:10.040 There are unprotected pieces and they tend to fall off between these seven Forkin, both those pieces, 06:11.330 --> 06:17.680 if you know, was too casual with a five and six and black is actually equal technically. 06:18.320 --> 06:24.730 So quinsy seven wins one of the bishops and now black guy is in big trouble. 06:25.820 --> 06:32.290 So the game continues a little bit longer, but black is in huge trouble by here offtakes. 06:33.020 --> 06:37.100 A5 sets another gigantic problem for black. 06:38.330 --> 06:43.030 If Bishop takes E5, then can you see what white plays in this position? 06:46.210 --> 06:57.430 OK, Queen H5 would head, for example, these two friends, they mine and the bishop, and if since 06:57.760 --> 06:59.270 then, Queen takes you five. 07:00.340 --> 07:02.670 So this is big trouble. 07:02.860 --> 07:10.300 The -- is not recaptured, but now A6 Rabassa seven, leaving both rooks kind of unprotected. 07:13.600 --> 07:19.810 If sex was played here instead then Estevan check strong winning that bishop. 07:22.730 --> 07:32.360 So we have Rokeby seven and now putting even more pressure on on the seven point twenty six F six and 07:32.360 --> 07:36.310 now a funny little combination, all of us won't play anything. 07:39.470 --> 07:47.510 OK, Route 66 check, this is very, very dangerous indeed. 07:48.850 --> 07:56.110 So we have bishop things, queen have sex chank looking at the rock that's protected, but now Queen 07:56.110 --> 08:01.870 HHI picks up the rock on B seven of the Czech Queen takes up seven. 08:02.200 --> 08:06.790 Black could have resigned now, but played on a little bit. 08:07.660 --> 08:10.480 And here white simplified with queen takes differe. 08:10.490 --> 08:14.560 It's an easily won and game if the road takes a black. 08:14.650 --> 08:23.080 She was here so this is one of my favorite amanuensis games double bishop sacrifice showing the actual 08:23.290 --> 08:25.780 tactical brilliance of Emmanuel Laska. 08:26.680 --> 08:29.290 So he reigned for such a long time as world champion. 08:29.680 --> 08:34.260 Someone on YouTube was getting ready to actually go over many, many games. 08:34.540 --> 08:39.800 I discovered the accuracy of Laska, even with modern modern engines, was phenomenal. 08:40.840 --> 08:43.230 He's like a super accurate player. 08:44.370 --> 08:50.880 I'm talking, you know, as accurate as Bobby Fischer was much later, quite often, Laska was immensely 08:50.880 --> 08:57.510 accurate games and also he seems to be a brilliant psychologist and I would say the use of psychology 08:57.510 --> 08:59.310 to maximize win probability. 09:00.300 --> 09:07.230 You know, if he thought the opponent liked attacking positions, he might put them on the defensive. 09:08.220 --> 09:16.170 And take them out of that role that they like or he might exaggerate that role, burden with responsibility, 09:16.500 --> 09:21.840 you know, give them super, super attacking positions and they get so optimistic again, he gets win 09:21.840 --> 09:22.510 probability. 09:22.950 --> 09:30.930 So it's like he's using psychology in quite a lot of his games and it makes his game style a bit unpredictable, 09:30.930 --> 09:32.990 a very, very dynamic and adaptive. 09:33.390 --> 09:37.140 So it's actually one of the least understood world champions. 09:37.140 --> 09:42.140 But if you actually look at the accuracy of some of his games, they're absolutely amazing as well. 09:42.540 --> 09:45.600 So Laska is a very, very dangerous player indeed. 09:46.530 --> 09:48.150 Very, very interesting study. 09:48.840 --> 09:52.770 I've immensely enjoyed looking at all of his wins that I covered. 09:53.310 --> 09:54.770 And this is one of my favorites. 09:55.260 --> 09:58.200 I hope you enjoyed this game too much.