Grandmaster Chess Tactics #3: Can you spot the line?

[SirWreckNTexan]

He could of moved that knight and placed tension on the opposing rook, I don't understand why they resign with so many pieces.

[mikeusat]

The last thing I was thinking of was moving a knight. The knights seem to be protecting each other and in fairly good position. Anands' rooks were so out of whack that I was looking for rook moves.

[jpsingh1972]

See World Champion Chess Strategies at "Chess Thinking Systems"

[EpicSkillz45]

When's the 2011 championship videos?!

[MilitaryMan006]

in my language the king is called 'funny looking hat'.

[justnofreakingway]

At 3:21 what about knight forks the 2 rooks?

[14ace41]

@justnofreakingway eitherway black has already lost his pawn and this line just leads to an equal piece exchange

[justnofreakingway]

@14ace41 Ok. Thanks =)

[repsak3]

2:47 what if black played rook to d2

[blucrew14]

How about black knight to D4 forking both the white rooks?

[Hedning1390]

The last examples I saw was aggressive moves going after the king, so naturally I was looking for some big tactic, not just a single pawn, even though that is a winning advantage too :P

[fatalfury96]

in my language the knight is called a cavalier

[1gnrfan92]

This seemed more like a blunder from black.

[MrMuqaffa]

I didnt spot it. :(

[noyearold]

1. Kf6 Rxf6

2. Kxc4

and at this point the black knight eventually falls. That was what I came up with. But now I see that I miscalculated since

2. Kxc4 Kc1

3. Re1 Kd3

Ah well. :)

[mjkl86]

I find it interesting that you think nxc4 he "brilliant" move instead of nf4, which is really the good one imo

[zebra00024]

1. Kf3 Rc6?

2. N:c4 R:c4

3. Nf6+ and fork

I don't see any good moves for black after Kf3

Same with

1. Rf2 with fork on f6 idea and pawn still can't be protected well

1. Rd2 also works well here, I think.

[m0onst9er]

I thought the best move was to advance the g4 pawn to g5.

If black captures with hxg5, then hxg5. Then black would either be forced to move his king out of g8 in order to prevent a fork with kf5 (so black would have to play Kh8 or Kg7, but Kh8 is more logical since it won't block the bishop) or play bg7.

It would be bad to then play bg7 otherwise white plays rb8+.

Am I the only one who sees this?

[Pedekas]

@m0onst9er  i saw the same

[beluemma]

I was thinking a little different, good move from Anand. Thanks for the videos

[blacky1448]

Can you please explain why the knight on D5 couldn't move to F6 to fork the rook and the king? Even after that, the knight can take the pawn again. Very nice vid;keep up the good work :D

[gunblade712]

@blacky1448 the square f6 is guarded by the rook on e6

[deathorglory100]

i call the knight "my little pony"....everybody please relax...

[Slaying350]

Seemed like the obvious move for me.

I'm only about 1500 rating and I found that right away.

[ogdenvile]

Yeah more chess stuff, always nice.

[kevinwhall760]

Let me know if you see a flaw in the strat I saw. 1st move having whites rook on e2 move to f2. then the knight on d5 moving to f6. forking the blacks rook on d7 and the king. At that point you can still capture blacks pond on c4, and black is down a rook. please let me kow what you think!

[sandwichappy]

actually these are gm tactics. after serious analysis one must concede that there is no better option. to suppose something needs to be super involved or subtle to be the best move in chess is false and this video demonstrates that very well. if you are not a gm and caught this move quickly you should be glad to note that chess at the gm level does not abandon simplicity, in which case most of what you have learned so far would be of no use. great video!

[VitalSigns1]

Why not just move the black night to C1??

[001124]

Nice vid, Jrobi! But what happens If at 2:53 Blacks move Rd2? I havent found anything wrong for the moment on that move.

[CaraBrimleyRules]

White plays Rxd2.

If Nxd2, white plays Nxe6 and wins the exchange.

If Rxe3, white plays Re2 and wins the exchange.

[METALLICAa7xOZZY]

loss of material

[theamazingbird]

i dont think this is a GM tactic to be honest, i saw it in less than a min :/

[geniusjas87]

Ur right it was pretty easy

[Pablofilmmaker]

An interesting question to ask is why not Rf2 ? (threatening Nf6+ AND the pawn on c4) but it fails to BC5! and the pin on the knight ruins everything.

[bastiaan0740]

missed it :/

[PoketoMtg]

I have had a move 2 weeks ago at my chess club, we have weekly tournaments of 10 min blitz and I was play the club leader him being white and it was just so beautiful move that had to sac the knight then winning it right back 2/3 moves later giving me a pawn afterward and it was with rooks and knights.

[SlashBanAll]

Knight could've went from d5 to b6 at the start also.

[h2merge]

@SlashBanAll

White has to protect the rook on e2.

[peternubreed]

Nb6 is loses to Rb7 pinning both knights and double attacking b6! Knight on b6 will fall!

[26gilles]

The best Way is D5-F6 !

[ultimatenarutofan2]

d7 to d2 and it creates plenty of options like white kngiht taking black rook and d2 to e2 and opponent knight takes bishop and e2 takes knightand in check other options are also there just too lazy to state them but d7 to d2 is great move unless if im missing something.

[GetMeThere1]

My first impulse was knight to b6--going after the rook and pawn. It's out of the way there, though, and allows a lot of control to black on file D. Don't know where this takes things, though.

[cballx26]

I'm new to chess I've only played 1 game online and lost. Is it good to use your pawns for defense for your king and set up defenses or do you try to push the other side with your pawns. I'm agressive with my pawns and that's probably not a good thing but idk

[MeLykePie]

You do a bit of both. Usually it's a bad idea to push the pawns that are right in front of your king, because then the king is more exposed and the opponent can checkmate you more easily. But, in some positions, you want to use your pawns to lead the attack and break down the enemy's defenses. By getting more experience you'll understand which is appropriate in whatever situation you're in.

[wubs23]

depends on the game. ^ ^

[DryNogin]

it all depends on your style

[bastiaan0741]

I overcalculated on this vid. White's move was obvious, but i was looking for mate.

[pleutman]

classic example of "overdetermination" in chess. ;when the same irrefutable outcome is reached via two or more different ways. "determination" is power to force a desirable outcome. "underdetermination";=when you dont have enough power to force your desired outcome or to refute your opponents "determination"

[BigGregorHall]

why would you resign if you are only two pawns down?

[berryhill88]

I'm guessing when you are 2 or even 1 pawn down, and playing against a GM, a loss is inevitable, but in this case, he got out of it.

[tanujsoodan1]

gr8 vid

[mark0x9]

(...) Something like:

R.f2

threatening X1. N.f6+, RxN - X2. RxR

or X1. Nf6+, K.g7 - X2 NxR, RxN

winning the quality

Black could defend R.f2 with something like:

K.g7, B.g7, Rd.d6

but then, Nxc4 winning the pawn

Maybe something is missing me, however N.f4 is better.

[mark0x9]

First time I reply to one of your videos, jrobi... I think. Although I've already seen many of them.

So.. first of all, congratulations for the excellent work you've been making ;)

In the 2 first videos I saw the lines.. well in the 2nd (the one about B. Ficher game) I didn't see all the variations, but I came up with BxN and after black captures with the pawn, B.h7

In this one I didn't see N.f4. I was thinking in capturing the pawn on c4 too, but something like:

[axl621]

very nice example

[Vicious620]

I caught it right away...It looked like the best move to me and saw the kinghts only defender was the pawn afterwards. Like the videos by the way.

[jrobichess]

Good catch V!

[paxpacis2]

This is a nice combo but it's something that could happen in mediocre chess parties.

[jrobichess]

I doubt that. =)

[MikeDecipher]

@jrobi

How about Knight on d goes to b6?

That's what I came up in the beginning, and it seems to do the same thing except its the same knight attacking a different rook. The move in the video, the rook is being attacked and can choose not to move off the file to defend the c-pawn (can go to e8 for example maintaining pin). But in the move I came up with, the knight is forking the rook and pawn, virtually forcing the rook to defend the pawn.

Great Vid! I'm becoming a big fan of your channel.

[paxpacis2]

@MikeDecipher The rook will go to b7 and pin the Knight to your rook and you lose your knight

[petkkk]

i agree

[DelCristo41]

@paxpacis2 Really? Cos it was a chess world championship match or something....Talk the talk....bet you dont walk the walk

[paxpacis2]

@DelCristo41 so? just because you've seen the move in a grandmaster's game, doesn't mean normal chess players won't see it. Tell me why a mediocre chess player with about 1500 Elo wouldn't see that move. I guess every person I know who plays chess would find it

[ledzeppeman]

@paxpacis2 I would love to see that. I consider myself mediocre. I'm 1827 right now and I saw a different line I that may be as good with material odds difference.

1. Nxd4 Rxd2 2. Nf6+ Kg7 3. Nxd7... and black has to move his knight on the next move t to a1 or c1. also the material is better inclined in this position for white. The position in the video showed 18/16 materialistic odds for white. The position I just explained shows 13/11 materialistic odds which favors white more than 18/16.

[paxpacis2]

@ledzeppeman I don't know what you're talking about, because you can't play this moves, but if you meant

1. Nxc4 Rxe2 2. Nf6+ and so on, that doesn't work because Rxe2 sets you on check.

So it goes 1. Nxc4 Rxe2+ 2. Kf3 Re6 3. Rxb3 and you traded a rook against a knight

[buenotc]

thanks man...

[nioor]

What's wrong with knight B7? Gains the pawn too.

[jsobiranski]

1. Nb7 is an illegal move. If you meant Nc7, then that move obviously loses to 1...Nxc7.

[nioor]

oops i meant b6

[Justice1337]

Rb7

[Nadrealis]

1. Nb6.. Rb7 pinning the knight.

[t0kes42o]

its little guys, towers, horsies, pointy things, bitch, and G.

thank you

[paxpacis2]

Don't judge somebody because someone says Tower instead of Rook. In other languages this piece in fact is called Tower.

[bastiaan0741]

In my language, for example. And the knight is called 'the horse'.

[paxpacis2]

@bastiaan0741 In my language the Knight is called "Jumper" and the Bishop is called "Runner"

[kiko111113]

@paxpacis2 in my language the Rook is called a cannon !

[hexecutioner]

@paxpacis2 indeed... in spanish there called ""Torres" .. translates to towers.... also happens to be my last name....

"

[BongBeastyPimp]

well in the second line you looked at where rook goes to e4 instead of knight from e3 X c4 king f3 then rookf7 then f6 is a weekend squar and i think white goes up an exxchange for rook for knight

[Zeruckiven]

i'm not too good with chess formations overall, but moving b3 to c1 doesn't look so bad. or is there some kind of complicated reason why this would be bad?

[itachi7860]

lol ^_^

[YeahWhateverMayn]

Brilliant move! It would be interesting to see how the game would/could have went from there, since my matches never ends with a forfeit.

[pinkyfrogs23]

Thank You jrobi. Your videos are very helpful and very IMPRESSIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wgangstersp]

Because black will play tower B7.

[breakcue101]

Im kinda new at this but why wouldnt he move the knight to b6?

[King0Darian]

I wanna be a grandmaster.. any tips? :P

[mjimbooyah]

G5 h6xg5, h4xg5 Kg7, knight f6 (threat to rook) rc7, knight f5 + g6xf5, rxre6 f7x e5,

Knight to e8 + and captures other black rook.

sorry for the notations.

[FretDancer69]

Wouldnt this be GM Chess tactics #2 , i cant seem to find #2, sorry if i'm wrong. Nice vids by the way man! Keep it up

[wellhungpawn]

Interesting video, but I would not call it GM tactics. Granted, a GM did play the move, but this is a move that I found easily, and could find easily OTB. If you wanted to show some really good tactics, maybe take a look at some of Tal's sacrifices, or Fishcers queen sac for that matter. Or perhaps a tactic used to force a stalemate when way down on material, rather then a relatively common sense move that a GM happened to play. This was a strong move but did not require any special insight.

[jrobichess]

Sometimes I find the subtle yet decisive ones just as interesting as the flashy tactics, especially when the players involved rank among the best in the world. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[eddiewalthorn]

I learn so much from your videos. i am starting a chess club at my school and your videos are gonna be the standered ciriculum

[jrobichess]

Glad to hear you're getting a club up and running eddiewalthorn! Keep me posted on how things go and thanks for checking out the vid!

[markfitz93]

good movie i like it keep making them

[jrobichess]

Thanks markfitz93!

[xelmiradorx]

at the beggining the white horse instead could have check the black and eat the rock (tower) of the black :S !! i dont think this is a gm game

[jrobichess]

That doesn't quite work because the knight just gets taken by the other rook.

[iLoveMoneythemost]

man r u guys crazy what does that have to do with grandmastet tactics?morezevic just mad a posizional blunder much earlier on, thats 1 0f my weaknesses too and its nice to see gm do them too but whats interesting about it? if u want to see real gm tactics watch how moretevic has beaten anand in a rapid match in russia with kings gambit.

[colourwins]

yes, I would have thrown hot coffee in anans face, just to feel good

[ergotwotwo]

I got the first move probably out of luck, but didn't see the second, that was tricky, thanks for sharing!

[HalfEatenDimSim]

I would of just kicked the board over

[intrepidtraveler99]

i thought g5 was also strong

[Syncdev]

Man I love it when I get the move right

[jrobichess]

Good catch Syncdev!

[mfan180]

Ok well i dont know how to annotate that well but i'm still captain of the chess team and i haven't lost a match in forever

This is the move I saw..

Pg5, Nf6 forking the king and rook. Even if the rook took the knight pawn takes rook. White comes out ahead because in end games a rook is much more valuable then a knight.

Anyone think my idea is good or bad?

I really didn't think this over too long so idk

[cLiPz0r]

the king can just go away if there is too much trouble. Remember: Black may still move ;)

[ponderer331]

you need to play new players

theres almost no one in the world who cannot lose

[GGL09]

Nice lie sir!

[LittleChessElf]

I saw the knight move. The knight was pinned, so Kf4 is the natural move, at least for me anyway. But the line he came up with was pretty smart. I don't think I would've come up with that one...

[awyren]

good tutorial

[honeybobkins]

I didn't spot the brilliant line, but I came up with a line that might have been good. It was just at a quick glance, though.

..g5 - hxg5 Even if he didn't take it would work the same.

hxg5 - (A move, many possibilities)

Nf6+ Forking the king and rook, moves the king, takes rook attacks bishop...

Followed by rook b8 and yea...

Anyone wanna criticize? ^_^

I'm sure there are alot of moves that are better, but that's the move I would've done most likely unless I noticed the line that happened/

[uhmbenice]

Honeybobkins here is one thought 1.) hxg5 Rxd5 2.)Rxd5 Nc1 if Re1 or Rc2 then Nd3 and a three fold rep threat is developed so white would have to move the king over to exchange the knight for the rook leaving black down only a pawn which is what black was already down to begin with. anyways still playable i bet

[ZORGtheALIEN]

he wouldn't move the king to get out of check he's just take the knight with the rook.

[CUTTERNOCUTTING313]

I SPOTTED THE LINE!

[MoIsMyNameNow]

i thought the highst rating was 2500

[SolidLanding]

in white's first move, why is rook to b8 overlooked? Is there something i don't see?

[goofydog07]

yes.. there is no reason to go there

[UnderDog988]

i didnt spot that line but if you move your rook to f2 it does the same thing because your tretening a fork king and rook so he has no chose but to move and your horse is free and can also take the pawn

[PYLemire]

he can play Bc5 and then you can't take the pawn and playing Nf6 end up being 2 rooks against a rook a knight and a bishop so it's good for black.

The video's move is the best move anything else won't end up as well.

[UnderDog988]

ok sorry dude but you wrong cause if he move the bishop to fork your horse and rook then you just move the horse on d5 to f6 and you check king and fork him whit rook so instead of loose just a peon the guys trades a horse for a rook which bad.

[PYLemire]

The line goes like this:

Rf2 Bc5 Nf6+ Rxf6 Rxf6 Bxe3

Now black has a bishop and a knight for the rook which is not bad as you said but instead way better then the real line for black.

[UnderDog988]

yeah your right i just saw that :D gj thanx for the feedback by the way

[PhillipCreeper]

Great Video! It also goes to show that sometimes two knights are more effective than a Knight and Bishop. It seems at this position that the black biship is limited to basically defense and not closer to the center where he would be more effective.

[fullmoon32x]

I had to post it twice cuz of the character limit ☺☺☺☺☺

[fullmoon32x]

If he declines the pawn offer just go on with the plan i mentioned. if he takes and you take back, its the other players turn. he can't really do anything. if he spots your plan and moves bishop g7 you can do what the grandmaster did. It's only a slight interference, but it the opponent doesn't see it, you'll have a really happy ending.

[PYLemire]

That wouldn't end up too well in fact.

g5 hxg5 Kg7 Ng6 Re7

then what? Nothing is crushing there black is fine and your knight can't do anything

[fullmoon32x]

I did not spot the the line that it mentioned. However, I spotted a different line. First you move pawn to g5. If he takes you can take back and then next turn you will have the crushing move knight to f6.

[godzac]

The knight would end up having to leave the square anyway (with a variation such as this)..

1. g5 hxg5 2. hxg5 Kg7 3. Nf6 Re7 4. Ng4 Nc1

[Simpsonsfan1993]

I'm no huge chess player, but I spot that line right away ! You can see rook is pinning the knight down since there is no defender on E2Rook.

I must admit I do not understand how this move is so well played...

Anyway, I must say I love your videos JRobi, and I watched the Can you spot the line #4, it's incredible.

[smalls1955]

Actually it reminds me of the sort of thing Karpov was capable of at his peak.

[smalls1955]

from this you can easily see why Anand is the player he is....backward Knight moves are notoriesly easy to miss! Good game Vishy.

[curleysloth]

What about ...Nc1?

[jrobichess]

Black still goes down a pawn: ...Nc1, NxE6, NxE2, NxF8, KxF8, NxC4.  Thanks for checking out the vid!

[curleysloth]

How about ...Nc1, Nxeg Nxe2, NxF8 Rd2?!

White must move his rook because of Nd4#, and is threatening white's pawn on a2. I haven't found a defence, but what do you think?

[curleysloth]

...I forget to mention... B3 pawn is also threatened because the reveal check gives the knight a free move. With both pawns hanging, the rook in threat and white's knight has no means of being rescued, this seems like a pretty strong attack for black, but I am not a strong enough player to analyze this into endgame.

[curleysloth]

OK... so the best I can do is this:

...Nc1, Nxe6 Nxe2, Nxf8 Rd2, Rc5 Kxf8, Rxc4 Rxb2 -- then, Rb4 Rd2, Rd4 Rb2, etc... a draw over the pawn on a3. I'm probably missing something, but I'd love it if you could tell me what. Thanks so much for posting this stuff. It's a huge help.

[curleysloth]

ok, last post I promise... Just wanted to say, ignore that last part -- Rd4. I wrote that in haste... obvious blunder. And I'm starting to think that all of this doesn't pay off. After ...Rd2, a4 saves the pawn. Maybe you'll find something stronger in this line though. Thanks again.

[curleysloth]

ahem... c4. not a4. Darn dyslexia..

[getabeta]

after white Nf4 black knight Nd4

[Dizeazed]

I agree. Black loses a pawn, oh well. Reply with knight to D4, threatening both rooks... Right?

[Dizeazed]

Just kidding... Can't believe I overlooked the white pawns. Bah!

[getabeta]

yes and it proctects the black rook on e6.

It can still fail but only if white plays properly.

[ajsahaf]

this is really amazing. I've been playing online chess for almost 4 years now and I've found that coming across such tactics and smart moves in an actual games is really astonishing, whether it's you or your opponent that pulled it off. but I guess this share of experience is also great. thumbs up

[medra1980]

Anand probably came up with the knight move 8 moves before that, and the black player had already seen at that same time that he was gonna lose the pawn, Morozevich probably played the most favorable variation, but still two pawns behind is hard on pro level

[dslilik]

Morozevich made the best move, as it was anand first to move, and he had to defend. I read about moving the white rook to b8 ))))) it is ridiculous, as you stupidly loose the knight from d5 in a situation when you can win one... :))) it's better to be quiet sometimes, cause you can appear stupid to others

[abioks]

the knight on d5 is defended by the other knight isnt it?

[dslilik]

yes, every piece is defended by anoter one, only the attaking pieces are not defended(rooks) as they don't need to, instead, they have good positioning where they can't be attacked, as it is too risky

[zeUbermensch]

i would have played white rook to b8 and then pawn to g4 with the possibility of bringing the knight in for check

[dickyp1]

even though it doesn't get you check mate... it's on!!!

[dickyp1]

rook to E4???? no...

black rook to E3...

white rook to e3

black rook to D2

always potential for slauaghter, never give in...

no mercy... black wins.

[godzac]

Yes! Correct..

[Mikahel1142264]

^^

But, if Black move H6 to H5.

White will make what?

I think, probably G4 to H5.

So, after, you have the choice.

Maybe G6 to H5 for continue that,

or put F8 to H6.

so the Horse can be killed (hum, im not an english man so i dont know all word, i will use this one xD) by Your H6.

Sure, white turn, but what he will make?

I dont know, the guy see he cant make a lot, so maybe move F2 to F1. Black Knight into D4 and white will be have a problem, no?

[dobtoronto]

okay, is there any value in black moving the knight to d4 to be captured there and split white's pawns?

[Mikahel1142264]

B3 on C1

if it's black turn (i talk about first position)

[jrobichess]

Good comment - black still goes down a pawn with the following though: ...Nc1, NxE6, NxE2, NxF8, KxF8, NxC4 still getting that pawn (it would be really bad for the king not to take the knight after NxF8).

[dadajay18]

I initially thought of pawn to G5... so then later on if black captures pawn at G5 then the white can again capture pawn from H4 to G5 and then then white can move Knight to F6 delivering a check and also capturing a Rook on D7.....

Of ocurse there might be many logical mistakes I might have made in this assumption as Black might already be aware of this situation... But I guess there is nothing much Black can do with this move of pawn to G5..

PLease give me feed back!!

[absurdiverse]

I'm just wondering: What do you think of white moving the rook to B6 at the start?

[maxamix1]

it dosent result in a material gain... but it's a good move too

[xenoreiatsu]

chess can be won in 4 moves for the white side.

[absurdiverse]

Yes, if black doesn't know what they are doing.

[kingpinGR]

black can win in 2 moves

[xenoreiatsu]

hm? how so?

[kingpinGR]

f4 e6

g4 Qh4 Mate!

[xenoreiatsu]

hm i dont see that

[jrobichess]

I don't see it. What variation did you see it under?

[chankilla01]

BEUATIFUL

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking out the vid chankilla01!

[someoneor2]

Knight F4! Gorgeous.

[jrobichess]

I agree. =)

[RG350D]

olympians are not only physically fit, but they have to be mentally fit as well...

[Shular67]

Black knight to E1? Probably still works out to the lost pawn, but black may end up in a better position after the exchange.

[merchant139]

Thank you for this video. Very informative, and the way you present the idea of "removing the defender" is clear and helpful...

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking out the vid and commenting merchant!

[PandaBearFire]

Wouldn't the best move for black to be horse to d7, so that way it forks the 2 rooks. thats what i would've done; the white's rook on b5 have no support so the best he will move that rook (or kill the rook on e6 but you can kill his rook) and you can take that rook on e2 and the horse will kill that rook.

TahDahh =D

[PandaBearFire]

**made a grammar mistake T_T... in the brakets, "(or kill the rook on e6 but you can kill his rook)" i meant the horse kill the rook not the rook :P

[xFayte]

Uh.. no

[123hoythere]

is chess an actual sport?

[blitzforthewin]

Sports are related to athletics. Chess is a strategic game

[jrobichess]

Chess is on the verge of becomming an Olympic event. Hopefully that will happen within the next few years - I think it would be a great addition!

Chess is a game of minds. I wa