WEBVTT 00:00.840 --> 00:01.660 Hi there. 00:01.680 --> 00:05.940 In this lecture, we see James Plaskett against Michael Adams in 1997. 00:06.330 --> 00:08.940 This is the British championship, Round four. 00:09.060 --> 00:13.050 So default nice F 693, E six. 00:13.050 --> 00:17.700 So Adams is not playing any risky opening like the king's engine, the fence. 00:18.060 --> 00:21.630 This is very solid classical approach. 00:21.660 --> 00:24.840 We see g3d5, Bishop G two. 00:24.840 --> 00:26.880 So we're in the castle land opening now. 00:27.390 --> 00:28.140 Both sides. 00:28.140 --> 00:35.400 Castle C for D take C four Queen C to a six. 00:35.550 --> 00:40.410 Queen St c4b5, Queen C two, Bishop B seven. 00:40.410 --> 00:44.510 So that really wants to sometimes exchange off the finger. 00:44.510 --> 00:53.370 Can a bishop We have Bishop rd 296 so put in pressure on D four we see rook D one So this is an interesting 00:53.400 --> 00:57.690 temporary pawn sacrifice by James Plaskett. 00:57.690 --> 01:00.360 We have nine saints d four Black dares to take on default. 01:00.360 --> 01:01.770 Adams takes on default. 01:02.940 --> 01:09.900 So 964 Bishop takes G two and then we have Bishop a five. 01:11.370 --> 01:15.090 So this is a very interesting situation. 01:17.720 --> 01:21.600 So here we have Bishop. 01:21.620 --> 01:22.460 E four. 01:22.970 --> 01:24.530 Queen St C seven. 01:24.950 --> 01:28.460 So what has White achieved, though, after these exchanges? 01:28.460 --> 01:33.110 It seems black controls the CFO and white is lost. 01:33.380 --> 01:35.600 The nice council and Bishop. 01:36.020 --> 01:38.560 It does seem a bit sad. 01:38.570 --> 01:48.920 Won't opening here lack of advantage e5 We have knight beefy Bishop c two with tempo so rookie one if 01:48.920 --> 01:51.430 rook c one white's in big trouble. 01:51.440 --> 01:56.600 Bishop takes be free looking at the rook and this position is just horrible. 01:56.600 --> 01:59.270 After rook c one check b4. 01:59.390 --> 02:03.440 It's just a horrible position, so black would be clearly better there. 02:03.440 --> 02:05.330 White's just destroyed here. 02:05.330 --> 02:15.710 Positionally so rook e1c thinks an alternative does seem to be Bishop takes be free for tactical reasons. 02:15.710 --> 02:23.660 So this kind of situation it looks as though well we've just activate the rook but b4 offer e5 and it 02:23.660 --> 02:25.850 gets actually dangerous for white hair. 02:25.850 --> 02:27.620 This is a very tactical approach. 02:28.010 --> 02:36.200 So for example here bishop see 5f6g5 very, very tactical approach, but it should reap benefits. 02:36.200 --> 02:38.180 We can see it starting to reap benefits here. 02:38.180 --> 02:45.020 There's tactical approach that Black's got significant interesting things going on after Bishop C one 02:45.020 --> 02:48.110 bishop takes half to Black's actually better. 02:48.110 --> 02:48.590 Yeah. 02:48.590 --> 02:51.500 It starts to be a horrible position here potentially. 02:53.510 --> 02:55.310 Okay, so that's way off though. 02:55.460 --> 02:57.860 That is kind of speculative for humans to think about. 02:57.860 --> 02:59.770 So this looks like more sensible. 02:59.780 --> 03:02.330 Rook six Simple and strong Knight. 03:02.330 --> 03:11.120 BD two FC eight Bishop C Free 937 Rook EC one Bishop drops back to G six So very very comfortable looking 03:11.120 --> 03:14.960 position for black and off Bishop a five f6. 03:14.960 --> 03:20.780 So putting a rock to that bishop if it wants to go back to C free, we have one pair of rooks coming 03:20.780 --> 03:22.430 off, another pair of rooks coming off. 03:22.430 --> 03:33.470 And so this end game, what's going on here in this game, Black has the bishop here and we have King 03:33.470 --> 03:35.320 F seven, E four. 03:36.020 --> 03:40.400 Now you might think this next decision is a little bit strange structurally. 03:40.430 --> 03:41.960 Guess what Adams plays here. 03:41.960 --> 03:44.420 So this is kind of interesting here. 03:44.420 --> 03:46.970 An interesting test of judgment, trade offs. 03:50.580 --> 03:59.920 OC Adams actually does play five to try and unlock the Bishop potential, even if it's an isolated pawn. 03:59.940 --> 04:02.570 How exploitable is this isolated pawn? 04:02.580 --> 04:04.270 So it's a bit of a trade off. 04:04.290 --> 04:10.380 But if we judge the position concretely, how is this pawn actually a weakness? 04:10.380 --> 04:14.850 Here we see king of one, King six Is it actually an exploitable weakness? 04:14.970 --> 04:21.150 So black essentially, Adams has essentially liberated his late squire, Bishop Knight, by improving 04:21.150 --> 04:21.540 the knight. 04:21.570 --> 04:27.150 Now going to see sex that's more central, a free G5. 04:28.020 --> 04:32.670 And this looks as though Adams is wanting to fix the pawns for the end game. 04:32.820 --> 04:39.690 So I move like G four sometimes in Bishop G five, trying to fix with one pawn, fixing two freezing 04:39.690 --> 04:46.350 strategies every stops that H 593 but now gg4 is interesting. 04:46.680 --> 04:56.640 We have e for and here 94 forces Bishop takes DD four because otherwise free is going to drop. 04:56.640 --> 05:03.780 So Bishop takes the four, E takes might be four, which is an inaccuracy it seems. 05:04.320 --> 05:05.550 It seems here. 05:05.910 --> 05:08.310 That's yeah. 05:08.330 --> 05:16.590 White's under pressure but it is potentially there's better moves here but we see with Knight for quite 05:16.590 --> 05:24.270 a commitment looking at a six trying to get rid of Black's dancing where Bishop it does seem a little 05:24.270 --> 05:29.100 bit scary this position in general but yeah night before probably doesn't help. 05:29.100 --> 05:34.470 Bishop takes b4 he takes King D five this end game after nine of six. 05:34.650 --> 05:36.570 This is a much more definite mistake. 05:36.570 --> 05:39.360 Goes immediately into kind of lost possession. 05:40.020 --> 05:45.090 If 92 this would have been a better move. 05:45.090 --> 05:47.010 G takes her free King takes her free. 05:47.010 --> 05:51.720 Black does have a small edge, but there's work to do with this move. 05:51.720 --> 05:53.010 Knight Have six check. 05:53.010 --> 05:54.930 We have King C four. 05:55.260 --> 06:02.940 And in fact, of the 96h5, there's a magical move here being played to do with this pass pawn. 06:02.940 --> 06:05.790 I wonder if you can guess what it is. 06:07.670 --> 06:09.380 Planks play for 100 points. 06:09.950 --> 06:12.200 In fact, there's two moves that are very strong anyway. 06:12.200 --> 06:14.060 But this is one of the king bee free. 06:14.090 --> 06:15.560 Forget about the b pawn. 06:15.800 --> 06:20.870 The King wants to assist the dangerous pass pawn on king. 06:20.900 --> 06:22.850 Thanks B for just the record. 06:23.090 --> 06:27.050 This is also bad for why she takes a free king. 06:27.080 --> 06:34.660 Takes King B free G for this scenario with D free hair at that point is really dangerous hair. 06:34.670 --> 06:38.300 So, for example, here, this is just going to be winning for black. 06:39.470 --> 06:43.550 So here, for example, that's just winning in its own right, that endgame. 06:43.550 --> 06:45.650 But this seems to be much easier to play. 06:45.650 --> 06:52.400 Just go for the bypass, taking B4, accelerate the king going down the board to support the d pawn 06:52.760 --> 06:56.300 and Plaskett actually was convinced he resigned her move. 06:56.330 --> 07:03.440 39 if f thanks g for Bishop thank you for simply wins the Knights. 07:03.740 --> 07:05.210 That's a winning position. 07:05.490 --> 07:09.710 If King RD to then the king is overloaded, she takes her free. 07:09.800 --> 07:13.400 The knight can't really help f to the free check. 07:13.880 --> 07:26.030 And this is totally hopeless because now King C two here D one quitting if King d1g takes F free F two 07:26.030 --> 07:29.000 again, it's just overloading White's position. 07:29.480 --> 07:31.310 Well, it's just overloaded that. 07:31.520 --> 07:33.500 So yeah, very interesting stuff. 07:33.980 --> 07:39.560 So King be free ending the game so very interesting game. 07:39.560 --> 07:45.860 Very interesting choice of opening very solid, not taking risks in the opening with more wild openings, 07:45.860 --> 07:50.150 just solid classical play and against the Catalan. 07:50.150 --> 07:56.540 This approach of dc4, you might think, well, this is attacking chess. 07:56.540 --> 07:57.440 What is this? 07:57.590 --> 07:58.820 Is it worth simplifying? 07:58.820 --> 08:00.950 Getting rid of the Catalan bishop? 08:00.950 --> 08:07.940 In a way, it does seem to imply that, yeah, just get rid of the Catalan bishop as a priority. 08:07.940 --> 08:08.990 That's a good piece. 08:08.990 --> 08:11.600 Could we say that this is a simplification strategy? 08:11.600 --> 08:14.780 Trying to get rid of a worse piece for a better piece? 08:14.780 --> 08:17.210 And there's also a cost to that better piece. 08:17.210 --> 08:18.860 You know, the loin square weaknesses. 08:19.100 --> 08:20.120 So yeah, it's interesting. 08:20.120 --> 08:29.120 Nine times D for just getting rid of the Catalan bishop and this invoicing, this kind of simplification. 08:29.120 --> 08:36.230 It does seem as though Black's got a more simple kind of risk free position here. 08:37.550 --> 08:39.650 Without that Catalan bishop Black's got. 08:39.650 --> 08:46.790 The bishop are here, Black has got the edge, it seems here off to Bishop C two and just builds on 08:46.790 --> 08:48.410 that edge from the opening. 08:48.410 --> 08:54.680 So yeah, kind of very professional game without too much risk taken with wild crazy openings or openings 08:54.680 --> 08:56.840 which imply you have to attack or not. 08:56.840 --> 08:59.900 And if you if you attack, it's like going to be two results. 08:59.900 --> 09:01.190 Either you lose or you win. 09:01.190 --> 09:04.520 No, this is slow and steady just from the opening. 09:04.520 --> 09:06.410 So it's kind of admirable. 09:07.160 --> 09:11.960 So I hope that these Adams games, they rub on us, rub something on us. 09:11.960 --> 09:19.550 This idea that we can be slow, steady, play solid openings and grind in the end game, look out for 09:19.550 --> 09:20.450 the end game. 09:20.720 --> 09:23.570 And it's a bit like Capablanca, his huge enthusiasm. 09:23.570 --> 09:30.080 Capablanca has huge enthusiasm for pass pawns, king activity and trying to crush pieces, the opponent's 09:30.080 --> 09:33.590 pieces, trying to make your pieces much better than their counterparts. 09:33.590 --> 09:40.730 So it's a slow, gradual accumulation of advantages with the bishop here not minding the pawn there. 09:40.730 --> 09:44.060 So the white square bishops are a bit of a pain here. 09:44.720 --> 09:50.210 And yes, not minding the bishops dropping off the board at some point or one of them. 09:50.210 --> 09:54.530 Yeah, this is just absolutely brilliant now for black and it's completely lost. 09:54.530 --> 09:56.660 So yeah, I've really amazing game. 09:56.660 --> 10:01.340 Just shows major technique, absolute technique, riskless technique, beautiful stuff. 10:02.540 --> 10:05.540 If you're a fan of Capablanca, you have to be a fan of Adams as well. 10:06.050 --> 10:07.070 And Karpov. 10:07.250 --> 10:08.210 Okay. 10:08.270 --> 10:09.170 And so much.