Icannos/chess_studies huggingface dataset:
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Queen vs 7th rank bishop pawn"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/BtdK08z1"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "KQ6/8/8/8/8/8/5pk1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ In these endgames, if the pawn is on a bishop file (c,f file), the position is drawn due to different stalemate threats. } 1. Qg8+ Kh1 2. Qh7+ Kg1 3. Qg6+ Kh1 4. Qh5+ Kg1 5. Qg4+ Kh1 6. Qf3+ Kg1 7. Qg3+ { After a sequence of checks, we return to the key position. Black "must" play Kf1 in order to avoid the check and protect the pawn, right? } 7... Kh1 $1 { Wrong! Black refuses to block the passed pawn knowing that taking it leads to stalemate. Since black still threatens to promote here, white has no time to improve the king, and the position is drawn. } 8. Qxf2 $10 { Stalemate!
This exact stalemate configuration can allow you to save many seemingly lost positions in blitz/bullet games. Check out IM Eric Rosen abusing this trick against some strong GMs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB_LLivPlY8 } ( 8. Qf3+ $5 Kg1 $10 { Black is happy to repeat the position and accept a draw. } ) *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Refuting the draw"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/pFMs8Rze"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/3K4/Q7/8/2pk4/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ We know this pawn on a bishop file is a drawn position in general. But here, black's king is not close to the stalemate corner (and white's king is so active) that white is in fact winning. } 1. Qd4+ Ke2 2. Qc3 Kd1 3. Qd3+ Kc1 4. Kc4 $1 { This one tempo is all white needs in order to convert! } 4... Kb2 5. Qc3+ Kb1 6. Kb3 $3 { White allows black the chance to queen, but the active king means that checkmate is unavoidable. } 6... c1=Q ( 6... c1=N+ 7. Ka3 $18 { No stopping mate with a knight either. } ) 7. Qd3+ Ka1 ( 7... Qc2+ 8. Qxc2+ Ka1 9. Qc1# ) 8. Qa6+ Kb1 9. Qa2# { This same idea works in the case of a rook pawn as well. If white's king is active enough, then remember that winning the pawn doesn't end the game - checkmate ends the game. } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 4: Converting the win"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/8oVPOJHd"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/3K4/8/4Q3/4p3/5k2 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. Qf3+ Ke1 { Nice job reaching the key position where the black king is forced to block the black pawn. } 2. Kd4 $1 ( 2. Ke4 $1 $18 { Equally correct. Play Kd4 instead for the solution. } ) ( 2. Kc4 $1 $18 { Equally correct. Play Kd4 instead for the solution. } ) 2... Kd2 3. Qd3+ Ke1 4. Ke3 Kf1 5. Qxe2+ $18 { White wins the pawn and the game.
Now that you know which of these queen endgames are winning/drawing, you should feel much more comfortable converting pawn races where one player queens only one move before the other! } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 5: Win or draw?"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/9tn2T3an"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/1K6/8/Q7/p7/1k6 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Theoretically, the rook pawn means that stalemates are in the air. Is our king active enough to push for a win, or is this just a draw? } 1. Qb3+ ( 1. Qd3+ $6 { Also correct, but how are you making progress after Kc1? } ) 1... Ka1 { Black is forced into the corner, but any king move leads to stalemate, so how do we make progress? } 2. Qd1+ ( 2. Kb4 $4 $10 { Oops. Stalemate! } ) ( 2. Kc4 $4 $10 { Oops. Stalemate! } ) ( 2. Ka4 $4 $10 { Oops. Stalemate! } ) 2... Kb2 3. Kb4 $3 ( 3. Qd2+ { Possibly the right idea, but how are you making progress after Kb3? } 3... Kb3 4. Qc1 $1 $18 { Stops the pawn forever! } ) ( 3. Kc4 $6 { Technically winning, but let's mate in the most direct manner instead. } ) 3... a1=Q { You just allowed black to queen. Is this madness or part of a grand strategy? } 4. Qd2+ ( 4. Qxa1+ $4 { We're trying to win, not draw. Don't give up! } 4... Kxa1 $10 ) 4... Kb1 5. Kb3 $1 $18 { Nicely done! Black has the move, but there are no legal king moves and no queen moves that stop both Qb2# and Qd1# without sacrificing the queen. White has forced mate in 3 from this position. } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 6: Race interference"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/QsWcskPy"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/6P1/4K3/1n6/8/1p6/1k6 b - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1... Nd5 $3 ( 1... Nc6+ $4 { Blunders into a draw after Kf6!, and the knight cannot approach the g pawn. } 2. Kf6 $10 ) ( 1... Nd3+ $4 { Blunders into a draw after Kf5!, and the knight cannot approach the g pawn. } 2. Kf5 $10 ) 2. g7 { An amazing resource! If Kxd5 was played instead, then Kc1, g7 b1=Q, g8=Q Qb3+ skewers the king and queen, winning in a typical pawn race scenario. } ( 2. Kxd5 $5 Kc1 3. g7 b1=Q 4. g8=Q Qb3+ 5. Ke5 Qxg8 $19 ) 2... Ne7 3. Ke6 Ng8 4. Kf7 { So far, so forced. Now how can we convert this position to a win? } 4... Kc1 $1 ( 4... Kc2 $5 { Equally winning. Play Kc1 instead for the solution. } ) ( 4... Ka1 $5 { Equally winning. Play Kc1 instead for the solution. } ) ( 4... Ka2 $5 { Equally winning. Play Kc1 instead for the solution. } ) 5. Kxg8 b1=Q $19 { Excellent! With our knowledge on queen vs pawn endgames, we know that the knight pawn will eventually fall. } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Two bishops mate"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/K40gJB23"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "3k4/8/3BB3/4K3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ As we learned earlier, two bishops and a king is enough material to checkmate a lone king. Now we're going to learn the technique necessary in order to finish the opponent off. } 1. Kf6 { This is the key position to reach. From here, we need to walk the black king all the way into a corner to deliver the checkmate. With our king on f6, we should be aiming for the closest corner (h8) by repositioning our bishops to prevent any escape towards the queenside. [%csl Ge8,Gd8][%cal Bd6b8,Be6c8,Bd6f8,Be6g8] } 1... Ke8 2. Bc7 { Prevent the king from running away from h8. [%cal Bc7d8,Be6c8] } 2... Kf8 3. Bd7 { Prevent the king from running away from h8. [%cal Bd7e8] } 3... Kg8 4. Kg6 $1 { "No escape for you!" [%cal Bg6f7,Bg6g7,Bg6h7] } 4... Kf8 5. Bd6+ { Time and time again, we are seeing how strong the bishop pair is when placed on adjacent diagonals!
PRO TIP: The bishop pair, when positioned on adjacent diagonals, control an impenetrable wall of squares. This allows us to dominate kings, pawns, and sometimes even rooks. [%cal Bd6f8,Bd7e8] } 5... Kg8 6. Be6+ { Now that we're nearing the corner, we should be calculating to checkmate. At this point, make sure that the bishop move that controls the square next to the corner (g8) comes with check. We don't want to accidentally stalemate black! [%cal Bd6f8,Be6g8] } ( 6. Bc6 { Bishops can make many different waiting moves while controlling a diagonal. If you need a waiting move to ensure all moves of the "coup de grÃ¢ce" come with check, make a waiting move with a bishop. } ) 6... Kh8 7. Be5# { Notice how throughout this checkmate, very few moves are actually check. We are seeking to control the king's escape route more often than actually check the king itself until the very end. [%cal Be6g8,Be5h8] } ( 7. Bc5 $4 $10 { A typical stalemate that we must avoid. } ) *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Reaching the two bishops mate"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/AWSLJs62"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "4k3/8/8/8/8/8/8/B3K2B w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Now we'll briefly see how we can use similar techniques to what we just learned in the previous chapter to recreate the key position. } 1. Ke2 { As always, we bring our king up in the endgame. } 1... Ke7 { Black does not want to stay pinned to the wall or a corner, so should always seek to stay centralized. } 2. Ke3 Ke6 3. Ke4 Kd6 4. Bd4 { [%csl Bd5,Be5,Bf5,Bc5][%cal Bd4a7] } 4... Ke6 5. Bf3 Kd6 6. Bd1 Ke6 7. Bb3+ { With our bishops placed on adjacent diagonals, the king is now trapped in the upper left half of the board. [%csl Bf5][%cal Bb3g8,Bd4h8] } 7... Kd6 8. Bd5 { The box continues to shrink. [%cal Bd5a8,Bd4a7,Bd5g8,Bd4h8] } 8... Kd7 9. Ke5 Kc7 { There's no fear of black's king breaking through this bishop wall, so we must always seek to improve the king first. } 10. Ke6 Kc8 { The black king is forced against the wall. Now we plan to keep him there. } 11. Be5 { [%cal Be5b8,Bd5a8] } 11... Kd8 12. Bd6 Kc8 13. Bc6 $18 { We've returned to the key position seen in the previous chapter. Can you now finish off your opponent? } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 7: Finishing off the two bishop mate"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/DxfrnDWV"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "3k4/8/2BBK3/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. Bb7 ( 1. Kd5 $5 { If your intention is to place the king on b6 and then mate your opponent eventually on a8, then nicely done! This is the fastest way to mate. Let's checkmate black on h8 instead. } 1... Kc8 2. Kc5 $18 ) 1... Ke8 { Nice! By cutting off the escape route to a8, black's king is forced closer to the h8 square, and his inevitable doom. } 2. Bc7 Kf8 3. Kf6 Ke8 { If Kg8 was played, then Be4 Kf8, Bc6 prevents the king from running and sets up the exact position reached in the previous chapter. } ( 3... Kg8 4. Be4 Kf8 5. Bc6 Kg8 6. Kg6 Kf8 7. Bd6+ Kg8 8. Bd5+ Kh8 9. Be5# ) 4. Bc6+ Kf8 5. Bd6+ Kg8 6. Kg6 ( 6. Be4 $5 $18 { An equally good way to cover the h7 square. Play Kg6 instead for the solution. } ) 6... Kh8 { Excellent! The kings are in opposition, and the bishops control further escape towards a8. The black king is now trapped in a tight cage. Finish him off! } 7. Bd7 ( 7. Bd5 $4 $10 { You forgot to ensure this move didn't stalemate your opponent! } ) 7... Kg8 8. Be6+ Kh8 9. Be5# { This mate is actually straightforward once you appreciate how efficient the bishop pair is when working on adjacent diagonals. This coordination holds true in the middlegame as well.
Check out Magnus Carlsen proving the bishop pair can be stronger than a queen under certain circumstances in this beautiful game from the 2021 World Cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcTOcaGGPDA (the real fun starts at 10:18). } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Knight and bishop mate"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/v9ZS8KA2"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "k7/1NK5/8/1B6/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ We'll also finally cover the infamous knight+bishop mate. Personally I think this checkmate is over-hyped as "too hard to learn." In actual fact, it only requires memorization of one position and one maneuver, and the rest flows naturally.

In this final position we want to reach, we have trapped the king in the corner (that is the same color as our bishop) with only the bishop and king. [%csl Ga8,Ga7,Bb8,Bb7,Bb6,Ba6] } 1. Nd6 { Since we have a light squared bishop, all that's left to be done is control the dark square (a7) with our knight from a square (in this case c8) that doesn't interfere with our final checkmate. } 1... Ka7 { The black king has nothing better to do but oscillate hopelessly between a7 and a8, hoping for stalemate. Note that the final maneuver here must come with check, so just as in the previous checkmate, we use the bishop for any waiting moves throughout. In the current configuration, no waiting moves are required. } 2. Nc8+ Ka8 3. Bc6# { Now that we see the final checkmate is delivered by the bishop on the long diagonal, it's clear the knight belongs on c8 to control the a7 square. Placing it on b5 was impossible, and c6 would have been in the way of the bishop delivering checkmate. Now let's back up and see how to arrive at this checkmate. } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Best defense in the W maneuver"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/Fp4RIzlQ"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/k7/1NK5/8/1B6 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. Nd4 { As we've just learned, this is the correct time to start the W maneuver. But what if black escapes up the board? [%cal Gb3d4] } 1... Ka5 $1 { The best defense. Black willingly walks closer to the a8 corner in a bid for freedom from the cage white has created. Here is where the magic of the W maneuver shines: } 2. Kc4 $1 Kb6 3. Nb5 $3 { White simply continues the W maneuver as if nothing different is happening! Because while it looks like black is escaping, in actual fact, the king, knight, and bishop have everything under control! [%cal Gd4b5] } 3... Kc6 4. Bf5 $1 { The key move! Now it's clear that the black king hasn't escaped anywhere, but is stuck in the same cage as if he hadn't left the a file at all.
This pattern of putting the bishop and knight on the same color so that together they control all the different squares of the chess board is a nice take-away from learning this checkmate to apply to other positions in your own games. [%csl Bd6,Bc7,Bc8,Bd7,Bd5,Bc5] } 4... Kb7 ( 4... Kb6 5. Be4 $1 { Again note the cage is shrinking. [%csl Bc7,Bb7,Bc6,Ba7,Bc5,Bb5,Bd6] } 5... Ka6 6. Kc5 Ka5 7. Bc2 $18 { Transposing to the main line } ) 5. Kc5 { The cage shrinks again, and black is forced back onto the a file. [%csl Bc8,Bd7,Bd6,Bc6,Bc7,Bb6,Bb5] } 5... Ka6 ( 5... Kb8 $6 6. Kb6 { Walking towards the corner is not any better. The king and bishop keep black onto two squares. Now we can coordinate our pieces for the final checkmate. } 6... Ka8 $18 { Can you visualize the forced checkmate in 3? } ) 6. Nd6 { Now that black has returned to the a file, the white knight continues the W maneuver. [%cal Gb5d6] } ( 6. Be4 $5 { If you only want to memorize one specific configuration, feel free to take a few extra moves to setup the same configuration we've seen before: [%csl Ba7,Bb7,Bb6,Bc6,Bb5,Bb4] } 6... Ka5 7. Bf3 { A bishop waiting move just to setup the same configuration we've seen already. } 7... Ka4 ( 7... Ka6 8. Bd5 Ka5 9. Bb3 $18 { Reaching the original main line. } ) 8. Bd1+ { [%csl Ba3,Bb3,Bb4,Bb5] } 8... Ka5 9. Bb3 $18 { Reaching the original main line. } ) 6... Ka5 7. Bc2 { We quickly return to the normal configuration we're used to seeing. [%csl Ba4,Bb4,Bb5,Bb6] } 7... Ka6 8. Bb3 Ka5 ( 8... Ka7 { Running towards the corner we're trying to mate black in never works out. } 9. Bc4 Kb8 10. Kb6 $18 { Again a wall is quickly formed, trapping the king in the correct corner. Mate follows shortly. [%csl Ba7,Bb7,Bc7,Bc8] } ) 9. Nb7+ { At long last, finishing the W maneuver. [%cal Gd6b7] } 9... Ka6 10. Kc6 Ka7 11. Kc7 Ka6 12. Bc4+ { [%csl Ba5,Bb5,Bb6,Bb7] } 12... Ka7 13. Bb5 $18 { The same mate in 3 we've already seen is right around the corner. } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 8: Starting the W maneuver"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/pm8M5Lt4"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/6N1/5KB1/8/6k1 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ On which wall should you be marching the king along? How do you begin the W maneuver? } 1. Nf2 $1 Kf1 { Exactly! Because we have the dark squared bishop, we need to force the black king away from h1 and towards his inevitable doom on a1. White is now starting the W maneuver. } 2. Bh2 Ke1 3. Ne4 $1 Kf1 { Excellent. The d2 square was covered, so black retreats along the 1st rank. } 4. Nd2+ Ke1 5. Ke3 Kd1 6. Kd3 Ke1 7. Bg3+ Kd1 8. Bf2 ( 8. Nc4 $1 $18 { The fastest way to mate! But let's first throw in Bf2 to reset our pieces to the configuration we have seen time and time again. } ) 8... Kc1 { Nice. We have successfully completed the first leg of the W maneuver. Time to continue it! } 9. Nc4 $1 Kd1 10. Nb2+ Kc1 11. Kc3 Kb1 12. Kb3 Kc1 13. Be3+ Kb1 $18 { Excellent! The king is trapped on only two squares, and we are now ready to calculate to mate. This final position is mate in 4. Do you see it?
GM Aman Hambleton also explains this maneuver in an educational chessbrah video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ3gi_yFW40 } *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 9: The tricky defense"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/PuKFAifD"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/5K2/5N1B/4k3 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Let's revisit the same position, but see if you can stop black from escaping if they make a run for it instead of avoiding the a1 square at all costs. } 1. Ne4 Kd1 { This time, seeing all this space on the queenside and none of white's pieces near there, black makes a run for it. } 2. Ke3 ( 2. Nd2 $4 { Oops. The d2 square wasn't yet protected! } 2... Kxd2 $10 ) 2... Kc2 { Yes! We continue the W maneuver! } 3. Nd2 Kc3 { Yes! We continue the W maneuver! } 4. Bd6 $1 Kc2 { Excellent job finding the crucial move that cuts off the final escape square for the black king. Now let's force black back onto the 1st rank. [%csl Bb4,Bb3,Bc4,Bd4,Bd3,Bd2,Ba3] } 5. Be5 ( 5. Bb4 $5 $18 { Equally good, controlling c3. Play Be5 instead for the solution. } ) 5... Kd1 6. Kd3 Ke1 7. Bg3+ Kd1 8. Bf2 $18 { Perfect. After a brief foray away from the 1st rank, the black king is once again safely sealed, and progress has been made towards checkmate on the a1 square.
When you are forcing the king to any corner from the middle of the board, keep these knight, bishop, and king walls in mind. You must get your king up as much as possible, but the trick to pushing the king towards the edge of the board is forming walls that the king cannot escape with the bishop and knight duo. Once your opponent's king is stuck on the edge of the board, setup for the W maneuver and prepare to mate him! } ( 8. Nc4 $5 { Also good. Play Bf2 instead to reset to the configuration we are used to seeing. } ) *
[Event "Advanced Endgames You Must Know!: Thanks for enjoying this study!"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ/FPKteiB9"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "8/5pk1/8/2K2Q2/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.08.01"]
[UTCTime "17:27:52"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Be sure to like this study and share with your friends if you enjoyed it! Feel free to ask/answer any questions in the chat room if you're stuck on a key idea. You can check out my other instructive studies too if you're working on improving your game.
-NoseKnowsAll

* Beginner endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj
* Intermediate endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/UsqmCsgC
* More endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/xtDSXkyi
* Advanced endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ
* Rook endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/bnboDhFM (the next in the series)
* Knights | How to dominate your opponents! https://lichess.org/study/kI8ikTU4
* Bishops | Slice through the opposition! https://lichess.org/study/kNn68T8l
* Rooks | Infiltrate for activity! https://lichess.org/study/U7tTRtdj
* Always sacrifice the exchange! https://lichess.org/study/h3ccaYFE
* Beautiful checkmates https://lichess.org/study/YtBYXc3m } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Introduction"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/9oEBdISn"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "11:30:36"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Hi everyone, welcome back the my new study about the Caro-Kann. I will be going through most of the variations, but there's a lot of hard lines. So let's get started } 1. e4 { Play c6 } 1... c6 { The Caro-Kann belongs to the group of semi-open chess openings for Black and occurs after the moves 1.e4 c6
It is named after two German chess players, Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann. } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Basics and Key Concepts"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/3FzNB6ce"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "11:43:48"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ In the Caro-Kann Defense, Black starts to fight for the center from the very beginning of the game and creates a very solid c6-d5 pawn chain. } 1. d4 d5 { The Caro-Kann operates on similar principles to the Slav Defense and French Defense, in that the pawns will be placed primarily on 1 color (in the Caro-Kann Defense, the light-squares c6, d5, e6) and the pieces will emphasize control of the dark squares in the center (c5, d6, e5 etc.). } 2. e5 { With 2â€¦c6, Black supports his d-pawn with the c-pawn instead of the e-pawn. The advantage is that Black does not block in his light-squared bishop on c8 which is still free to move outside the pawn chain to g4 or f5. } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Disadvantages"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/3TotSLNK"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:15:23"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Disadvantages:
The Black c-pawn blocks the c6-square for the b8-knight. This knight often has to be developed to the more calm d7 square.
Black has to accept that White gets a space advantage in several lines. } 1. e4 c6 { [%csl Gc6][%cal Gb8c6] } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Main line"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/NTXcYYGD"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Short Variation"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "11:45:04"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. e4 { Play c6 } 1... c6 2. d4 { (Go to chapter 2 if you forget) } 2... d5 3. e5 { Play Bf5 (c5 is also a variation we will cover that in the next chapter) } 3... Bf5 { [%cal Gc8f5,Ge7e6,Gc6c5,Gb8c6] } 4. Nf3 { Play e6 } 4... e6 5. Be2 { This is the Short Variation
Play Nd7 } 5... Nd7 6. O-O { Play Ne7 } 6... Ne7 { This is the main line, black has some ideas of c5, Nc6, etc... [%cal Gc6c5,Ge7c6,Gf8c5,Ge8h8] } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Botvinnik-Carls Defense"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/rp1zM8MC"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.29"]
[UTCTime "19:37:36"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. e4 { You know what the first moves are :) } 1... c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 { Now play c5. } 3... c5 { This at first seems blundering a pawn, but if white takes you win it back by e6 } 4. Nf3 ( 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 ) *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Classical Variation"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/AlI4kqlp"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B19"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "11:59:57"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. e4 { The first move :) } 1... c6 2. d4 { Now? } 2... d5 3. Nc3 { Here, instead of e5 white plays Nc3, capture the pawn } 3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 { The most common move here is Bf5, but you can also go for Nd7 or Nf6 Nxf6 and now either exf6 or 5 gxf6.
Play Bf5 for now. } 4... Bf5 { White has many ways to run the knight, but he chooses the main one. } 5. Ng3 { Run your bishop } 5... Bg6 { Nice! } 6. h4 { White wants to trap your bishop with h5, how do you defend } 6... h6 { Great! This gives the bishop a retreat square } 7. Nf3 { Play Nd7 } 7... Nd7 { This is a good move because
1. Develops a piece
2. Opens the rook
3. Prepares classic development (e6, Nf6, Bd6, Qc7, O-O or O-O-O which is also ok) } 8. Bd3 { The white bishop wants to trade for your's and get you doubled pawns, what should you do?
(Obiviously Bxd3) [%csl Ge7,Gg7][%cal Gf8g7,Gf8e7] } 8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 { Your dark bishop wants some space, how can you bring him space? } 9... e6 { Great! } 10. O-O { The bishop has space but what's it's best square? } 10... Bd6 { Nice! } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Advance Variation"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/bHcNMz1S"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Short Variation"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:24:48"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. d4 d5 2. e5 { One of the 4 options that the white has, e5 is slightly the most common of all.
Play Bf5 } 2... Bf5 ( 2... c5 { Alternative } ) 3. Nf3 { Play e6. (Freeing your bishop from prison) (Just being sarcastic) } ( 3. Bd3 Bxd3 4. Qxd3 e6 5. Ne2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. O-O Qb6 8. Nd2 Nge7 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. Nexd4 Nxd4 11. cxd4 Nc6 12. Bd2 Be7 13. a4 a5 14. Rfc1 O-O 15. b3 Rfc8 16. Rc2 Ra6 17. Rac1 Rb8 18. h3 h6 19. g4 Qd8 20. Kg2 g6 21. Ng1 Rb6 22. Ne2 Nb4 23. Bxb4 Rxb4 24. Rc7 b5 25. Ra7 Ra8 26. Rxa8 Qxa8 27. axb5 Qb7 28. Nc3 Rxb3 29. Rb1 Ra3 30. Qc2 Bb4 31. Rb3 Rxb3 32. Qxb3 Qb6 { Guseynov, A. - Suleymanli, Aydin, 0-1, 6th Marmaris Karya IM, 2019, https://lichess.org/R8zpp6pb } ) 3... e6 4. Be2 { Play c5 } 4... c5 5. Be3 { Now the bishop has moved to defend the pawn you can play Qb6 defending and attacking } 5... Qb6 { [%csl Gc5,Ge3,Gb2][%cal Ge3c5,Gf8c5,Gb6c5,Gb6b2,Gc1e3,Gc1b2] } 6. Nc3 { Take the b2 pawn } 6... Qxb2 { Ok, there's too much lines I won't go in to right now, moving on :d } 7. Qb1 *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Exchange Variation: Classical Line"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/TO0kR2gN"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B13"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation, Rubinstein Variation"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:32:28"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ What if white takes the pawn? } 1. exd5 { Just take it back with your pawn } 1... cxd5 ( 1... Qxd5 2. Nc3 { Loses a tempo and helps white develop faster } ) 2. Bd3 { Play Nc6 } 2... Nc6 3. c3 { Play Nf6 [%cal Gc3d4] } 3... Nf6 { Now you have finished developing both of your knights! } 4. Bf4 { Play Bg4 } 4... Bg4 5. Qb3 { Looks scary at first, but black can defend [%csl Gb7][%cal Gb3b7] } 5... Qc8 { Simply defends it } 6. Nd2 e6 { After Black can play Be7 then castle, and i wont go too much further because it's too complicated. } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Exchange Variation: Panov attack"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/ExaTlaNs"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B14"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/8/3p4/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Panov Attack, Main Line"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:35:40"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ What if white plays c4? Well i will go through the main line } 1. c4 { Play Nf6 } 1... Nf6 { This is a good move because it defends the pawn with your knight so the queen won't be attacked if black takes with the queen. } 2. Nc3 { White attacks the pawn again, what should you do? } 2... e6 { Great this defends the pawn and opens the dark-squared bishop. } 3. Nf3 { Play Bb4 } 3... Bb4 { Now black wants the exchange his bishop for knight also for doubled pawns [%csl Gc3][%cal Gb4c3] } 4. cxd5 { White doesn't want doubled pawns so white takes the d5 pawn
(Takes with your knight) } 4... Nxd5 { This attacks the white knight a second time. [%csl Gc3,Ge1,Ga1][%cal Gd5c3,Gb4c3,Gb2c3,Gc3e1,Gc3a1] } 5. Bd2 { White chooses the guard with the bishop
What to do? (Psst your king is in the center) } 5... O-O { That's it! Ok we'll stop for now } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Accelerated Panov Attack"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/mQcHRiNT"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B10"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Modern Variation"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:48:04"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. c4 { This is the Accelerated Panov Attack it's like the panov but earlier
Play d5 } 1... d5 2. exd5 { Trade } 2... cxd5 3. cxd5 { Don't take immediately because your will lose a tempo after Nc3
What to do to win the pawn? } 3... Nf6 { This attacks with the knight so black can take with the knight } 4. Nc3 { Take the pawn with your knight } 4... Nxd5 5. Nxd5 Qxd5 *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: The Two Knights Variation"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/tzow2abR"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B11"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack, Mindeno Variation, Exchange Line"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:41:12"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. Nf3 { White develops both knight in the two knights variation
play d5 } 1... d5 { [%csl Gc3] } 2. Nc3 { Play Bg4 [%csl Gf3,Gc3][%cal Gf3d4,Gf3e5,Gc3e4,Gc3d5] } 2... Bg4 3. h3 { Take the knight } 3... Bxf3 4. Qxf3 { Now black has exchanged his bad bishop for whites good knight. Play e6 } 4... e6 { Forming a triangle structure. } 5. d3 Nf6 { Black develops, white develops, we will have a great game. (Moving on) } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Fantasy Variation"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/u9AK3H6t"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: MarÃ³czy Variation"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:45:55"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. f3 { Take the pawn } 1... dxe4 ( 1... e6 { Alternative, Heres a game with e6: } 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Bf4 Ne7 4. Qd3 b6 5. Ne2 Ba6 6. Qe3 O-O 7. O-O-O c5 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Qxc3 Nd7 10. Bd6 Rc8 11. Qe3 Re8 12. Nc3 Bxf1 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rhxf1 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nf6 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. dxc5 Rxc5 18. Rd4 Re5 19. Qd3 Rd5 { Dufour, Michael - Eman, Juan, 1/2-1/2, CAN-VEN 2017, https://lichess.org/KZ5PMZgW } ) 2. fxe4 { Find a move that strikes the center } 2... e5 { Great! This targets the d4 pawn } 3. Nf3 { Play Bg4 } 3... Bg4 4. Bc4 { Defend your e5 pawn with a knight } 4... Nd7 { [%csl Ge5][%cal Gd7e5] } 5. O-O { My arrows are some development moves you could continue with in your games.
There are more variations, but we'll stop for now. [%csl Gh8,Gc7][%cal Gg8f6,Gf8d6,Ge8h8,Gd8c7] } *
[Event "Import"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/tPeuj1h3"]
[Date "2017.05.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Giri, A. (2782)"]
[Black "Carlsen, M. (2855)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "B12"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Short Variation"]
[Termination "Normal"]
[TimeControl "-"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:53:58"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 { [%csl Gc6][%cal Gc7c6] } 2... d5 3. e5 { [%csl Ge5][%cal Ge4e5] } 3... Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Bb4+ $5 { manuring the bishop to c7 to play f6 and undermine the centre [%csl Rc7,Rh2,Rf6,Re5][%cal Rf8b4,Rb4a5,Ra5c7,Rc7h2,Rf7f6,Rf6e5,Rb8d7,Rd7e5] } 6. c3 Ba5 7. O-O Nd7 { [%cal Gb8d7] } 8. a4 Bc7 { [%cal Ga5c7] } 9. Nbd2 f6 { everything i explianed happenes [%csl Gf6][%cal Gf7f6] } 10. Re1 { preparing typical ruy-lopez knight manuare [%cal Rd2f1,Rf1g3,Rf1e3] } 10... Nh6 11. Nf1 fxe5 12. dxe5 O-O 13. Bxh6 gxh6 { black has chances of counter-play [%csl Rg1][%cal Gg8h8,Rf8g8,Rg8g1] } 14. Qd4 { [%cal Gd4h4] } 14... Be4 15. Ng3 c5 16. Qe3 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Qg5 $1 { trading the queens off to destablize the centre [%csl Ge5][%cal Gg5e5] } 18. Qxg5+ hxg5 19. Bg4 Rae8 20. Re2 Nxe5 { Black is just up a pawn [%csl Rc5][%cal Rd7e5] } 21. Bh5 Rd8 { [%csl Gd8][%cal Ge8d8] } 22. Rd1 { [%cal Gd1d8] } 22... c4 { preparing nd3 [%csl Rd3][%cal Re5d3,Rc7h2,Rf8f2] } 23. Nf1 Nd3 { 0-1 White resigns. Knight is immortal and black pieces are crushing no hope for white [%csl Rf2,Gh5,Gh1][%cal Rd3f2,Rd3b2,Gc7h2,Gf8f2] } 0-1
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Credits"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/HxRvK84N"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "11:44:11"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Credits to https://www.ichess.net/blog/caro-kann-defense-complete-guide/ for some comments
Also credits to @Mahith1708 for annotating games and commenting. } *
[Event "ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹ The Caro-Kann! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡¹: Conclusion"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/uCpG2wNB/iHxnNLuh"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Justin_Wen"]
[ECO "?"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[Opening "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[UTCDate "2021.07.17"]
[UTCTime "12:51:39"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ I hope you learned something in this study! If you liked it please give it a like! When this study reaches 1500 likes i will make a study on the sicilian defense. Please put suggestions in the chat. See you in my next study!
Optianal: You can join my team for more fun tournaments. https://lichess.org/team/justin_wens-team } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: Introduction"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/E9SccSB6"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "D00"]
[Opening "Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System"]
[UTCDate "2018.03.22"]
[UTCTime "01:33:25"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Hi! You've probably heard about an opening for white called the London System. In this study, I will teach you the basics of this popular opening.

If you enjoy this study please click the heart button
(under the h1 square). Thanks!

Please check out my new 2022 study where I'm learning the Classical Sicilian https://lichess.org/study/nrGAXGfg Thank you! :) } 1. d4 { We will be starting with d4. It is not as aggressive as e4 can be but d4 is a good middleground between aggressive and solid games.
To start off as an example I will show you the ideas where black plays 1...d5. 1...Nf6 is a popular choice as well. [%cal Bd7d5,Bg8f6] } 1... d5 2. Bf4 { This is the trademark move of the London Opening, where you play d4 and Bf4. The idea is to build a solid pyramid in the center with e3 and c3, and the bishop on f4 will be very well placed.
This is as far as I will go for this chapter. In the next few chapters I will go into more detail on the ideas.
PLEASE DON'T STOP HERE. Continue through the next 14 chapters (in the top left corner) [%csl Ge3,Gc3,Bf4][%cal Ge2e3,Gc2c3] } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: Sacrifice Combinations"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/o5w9t6or"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "D00"]
[Opening "Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System"]
[UTCDate "2018.03.22"]
[UTCTime "17:35:56"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ The London is NOT a boring opening. It can be very tactical for white too, and there are sacrifices that you may find in the 1 e4 openings. In this chapter I will show you a typical combination } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. c3 c5 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 Qe7 { Black is threatening to play e6-e5. How do we stop it? Can you guess the right move? [%csl Re5][%cal Re6e5] } 9. Ne5 { We block the e6 pawn! [%csl Ge5] } 9... Nd7 { Here if you want you can play f4 and go into an immediate Stonewall, but here there is a nice combination. [%cal Rf2f4] } 10. Nxd7 { This combination works only if black recaptures with the bishop and not the queen. Recapturing with bishop will look most natural to average players, so be happy! [%csl Gd7][%cal Ge7d7,Rc8d7] } 10... Bxd7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Ne4 { [%csl Ge4][%cal Gh5c5] } 15... g6 ( 15... Qc4 16. Ng5 { [%csl Rh7][%cal Rh5h7,Rg5h7,Yh5f7,Yg5f7] } 16... Qd3 { [%csl Gh7][%cal Gd3h7] } ( 16... Rfd8 17. Qxf7+ Kh8 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Rd1 ) 17. e4 { [%cal Rd3h7] } ) ( 15... Qe7 16. Ng5 ) 16. Nxc5 gxh5 17. Nxd7 Rfc8 18. Nf6+ Kg7 19. Nxh5+ Kg6 20. Nf4+ Kf6 21. Ke2 { [%csl Gg2,Gh2] } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: - Black plays Grunfeld"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/Z7RDkuTT"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Opening "Indian Defense"]
[UTCDate "2018.03.22"]
[UTCTime "02:03:29"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Are you wondering how I draw my colorful arrows and circles?

Green = Right Click
Red = Right Click + Shift
Blue = Right Click + Alt
Yellow = Right Click + Shift + Alt [%csl Gb6,Gb5,Gb4,Gb3,Rd3,Rd4,Rd5,Rd6,Bf3,Bf4,Bf5,Bf6,Yh6,Yh5,Yh4,Yh3][%cal Ga3a6,Rc3c6,Be3e6,Yg3g6] } 1. d4 { Alright... BACK TO THE SUBJECT.. :) In this chapter we'll look at when black plays Nf6+g6, and combines this with d5.
The method I recommend involves e3. So this means we can transpose into this variation if black plays d5 and Nf6 early, and only after that do they play the move G6. [%csl Ge3][%cal Bg8f6,Bg7g6,Bd7d5,Ge2e3] } 1... Nf6 ( 1... d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 { Remember as soon as they go g6 you go Nc3 [%csl Gg6,Gc3][%cal Gg7g6,Gb1c3] } ) 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 { Meet g6 with Nc3 [%csl Gc3,Gg6][%cal Gb1c3,Gg7g6] } 3... d5 { If your opponent is a Grunfeld Defense player, or they just want to stop you playing e4, then they will play this d5 move.
So now we can't go e4, so what do we do? [%cal Re2e4] } 4. e3 { This is my recommendation. You play e3. [%csl Ge3][%cal Ge2e3] } 4... Bg7 5. h4 { And then you play h4. So this is what I think you should play when your opponent plays D5. So when you can't play e4, play e3 and h4.
GOLDEN RULE #1: PLAY E3 AND H4 (Against Grunfeld) [%csl Rh4,Re3][%cal Rh2h4,Re2e3] } 5... O-O 6. h5 { Because now we're going all out with h5!! :) } 6... Nxh5 { A losing move!! } 7. Rxh5 { BOOM! We sacrifice the exchange with Rxh5!! [%csl Rh5][%cal Rh1h5] } 7... gxh5 8. Qxh5 { And Qxh5. We sacrificed the exchange, but honestly black is losing here!! We just develop our pieces and threaten mate. Bd3, Nf3-g5, 0-0-0 Rh1. Black won't be able to defend this. [%csl Bd3,Bg5,Bh1][%cal Bf1d3,Bg1f3,Bf3g5,Ba1h1] } 8... f5 9. Qh2 { Very subtle move, getting out of any Nf6 tempos on the queen, and simply threatens to take on c7! [%csl Gf6][%cal Rh2c7,Yb8d7,Yd7f6,Gf6h5] } 9... Na6 { Don't take the knight because it will open the file for black [%csl Ra6][%cal Ga8b8,Gb8b2,Yb7a6,Yf1a6] } ( 9... c6 10. Bc7 { Very important you go here before taking the knight [%cal Gf4c7,Gc7b8] } 10... Qd7 11. Bxb8 { Because we played Bc7 first, now black can't come to b6. [%cal Gd8b6] } ) 10. O-O-O { [%cal Gf1d3,Gg1f3,Gf3g5,Gd1h1] } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: - Black plays Copycat"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/wCHfU2BA"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "D00"]
[Opening "Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System"]
[UTCDate "2018.03.22"]
[UTCTime "15:32:45"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. d4 { In this chapter I'll look at a variation you may see frequently } 1... d5 2. Bf4 Bf5 { It's where black plays this copycat move Bf5. There is a slight weakness with this move and that is that it leaves the b7 pawn unguarded.
Here you have two ways to play. The safer way is to play e3 and Bd3. The more aggressive, riskier way is to play c4 and Qb3. [%csl Rf5,Rb7][%cal Ge2e3,Gf1d3,Rc2c4,Rd1b3] } 3. c4 { c4!! And this idea is to attack with a quick Qb3 similar to how black plays Qb6 against us. [%csl Gb7][%cal Rc4d5,Gd1b3,Gb3b7] } ( 3. e3 { This e3 move was played by Magnus Carlsen. } 3... e6 4. Bd3 Bxd3 5. Qxd3 { From here we get a very easy game. Depending on black's response we can play either c3 or c4. [%cal Gc2c4,Gc2c3] } 5... c6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. c4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Rad1 ) 3... e6 4. Nc3 { Develop a piece first [%csl Gc3][%cal Gb1c3] } 4... c6 5. Qb3 { And now you attack this pawn like black does to us. [%cal Rb3b7] } 5... Qb6 6. c5 { And now black MUST take the queen cause our bishop on f4 is preventing the black queen from going to c7 [%csl Rc7][%cal Rf4c7,Gb6c7] } 6... Qxb3 7. axb3 { And now you have the plan to go b3-b4-b5, maybe play e3 and even Nf3-h4 to exchange off black's best piece [%csl Gf5,Gb5,Re5][%cal Gg1f3,Ge2e3,Gf3h4,Ya1a7,Gb3b5,Re6e5] } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: - Black Plays Benko"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/wmu0bOgR"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Opening "Indian Defense"]
[UTCDate "2018.04.14"]
[UTCTime "16:24:50"]
[Variant "Standard"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 { The Benoni Systems [%cal Rc7c5] } 3. d5 { White's best choice [%csl Gd5] } 3... b5 { Here black plays this b5 move, as it is iconic in the Benko Gambit. You may encounter this move if you're playing against a Benko Gambit player. White should not fear. [%csl Rb5,Rc5,Rf6][%cal Rb7b5,Rc7c5,Rg8f6] } 4. a4 { First we provoke the pawn forward. [%cal Ba2a4,Ra4b5] } 4... b4 5. f3 { And now, I think this is white's best choice. f3 prepares e4. [%csl Gf3][%cal Ge2e4] } 5... d6 ( 5... e6 6. e4 exd5 7. exd5 Qe7+ 8. Kf2 ) ( 5... Nh5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 d6 8. e4 g5 9. Bf2 ) 6. e4 Nbd7 { Now that we controlled the center, we need to develop our pieces. [%csl Ge4,Gd5,Gf3,Bb1,Bd1,Bf1,Bg1] } 7. Nd2 { The knight controls the weakened light squares [%csl Yc4,Yb3][%cal Yd2c4,Yd2b3] } 7... g6 8. Nc4 { Preparing to play Qd2 and Bh6 [%csl Bd2][%cal Bd1d2,Yd2h6] } 8... Bg7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. Bh6 { Exchanging off black's painful dark squared bishop [%csl Rg7][%cal Yh8b2] } 10... Ne8 11. Bd3 { White has a small edge here, a space advantage and black will lose their best piece
But as white you need to be a little prepared for black's counterplay with f7-f5 [%csl Ge2,Rg7][%cal Gg1e2,Rf7f5,Rf5e4,Gg1h3] } *
[Event "üçÑ Ideas in the London System üçÑ: - Black plays Benoni"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/KjivNw7F/vkhdz80G"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/FunnyAnimatorJimTV"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Opening "Indian Defense"]
[UTCDate "2018.03.22"]
[UTCTime "02:03:41"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ I think the Benoni systems by black are the most challenging for white by far. If you are playing black and your opponent plays the London, I highly recommend you play the Benoni against it. You can see I went into more detail for black in chapter 12, "Anti-London" } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 { Nf6 + c5 = Benoni
Okay here you have two main options as white: e3/c3 (you are ready to accept a draw) or d5 (you play for a win).
We want to play for a win as white, so let's play d5 [%cal Gd4d5,Re2e3,Rc2c3] } 3. d5 { The idea is that we want to play into the Benoni Pawn Structures
Here black has two moves. Qb6 is more critical, but I cover d6 too [%csl Gd5][%cal Rd7d6,Rd8b6] } ( 3. e3 { As white, at this point you just have to hope and pray black doesn't play Qb6. If they play any other move then you just play c3 in a flash. (That way in case black ever plays Qb6 in the future, you can meet it with Qb3.) [%csl Gc3][%cal Bd8b6,Gc2c3,Gd1b3] } 3... Qb6 { OK......Black played Qb6. Now what?
I really don't recommend playing b3 here. Instead we should try to sacrifice a pawn with Nc3. } 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Nb5 { Na6 is worse; Nd5 is better [%cal Rb8a6,Gf6d5] } 5... Na6 ( 5... Nd5 6. Rb1 ( 6. a3 a6 7. Rb1 Qa2 8. Ra1 Qb2 9. Rb1 ) 6... Qxa2 7. Ra1 Qb2 8. Rb1 Qa2 9. Ra1 Qb2 ) 6. a3 { Idea is to play Bc4 and Ra2 trapping the queen.
Black is going to lose material here [%cal Gf1c4,Ga1a2] } 6... d6 ( 6... cxd4 7. Be5 e6 8. Bxd4 Bb4+ 9. axb4 Qxb4+ 10. c3 Qe7 ) ( 6... Nd5 7. Rb1 Qa2 8. Bg3 d6 ) 7. Bc4 Bf5 8. Ra2 Bxc2 9. Qxc2 Qxc2 10. Rxc2 ) 3... Qb6 { Here we don't want to play moves like Bc1, so the only other option is Nc3. [%cal Bb1c3,Rf4c1] } ( 3... d6 4. Nc3 e5 5. Bd2 ( 5. Bg5 Bf5 ( 5... h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nge2 a6 10. a4 Bg4 ) ) ) ( 3... b5 4. c4 d6 5. cxb5 a6 6. bxa6 Bxa6 ) 4. Nc3 { Here as white we must be willing to sacrifice the pawn and play aggressively. [%csl Rb2] } 4... Qxb2 { Here black got 1 pawn, but he's going to have to waste 3-4 tempi in exchange for it. As white here, that's usually a decent deal. [%csl Rb2][%cal Bd8b6,Bb6b2,Bb2b6,Bb6d8] } 5. Bd2 { Here black has to play Qb6- if he doesn't he will lose material (Qb4 and a6 still do work but they are inferior) [%csl Rb6][%cal Rb2b6,Yb2b4,Ya7a6] } 5... Qb6 ( 5... a6 6. Rb1 Qa3 7. e4 d6 ) 6. e4 d6 7. f4 { As white we must play aggressively and actively, so we need to attack in the center [%csl Ge5][%cal Gf2f4,Ge4e5] } 7... g6 { I will show you how one line can go } 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Nfd7 10. Nf3 Bg7 11. Rb1 Qd8 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ng5 Nf6 14. Bb5+ Kf8 15. dxe6 Kg8 16. O-O { White has an edge here. All the pieces are out in the open and active [%csl Rh8,Ra8,Ge6,Gg5,Gf1,Gd2,Gd1,Gc3,Gb1,Gb5][%cal Yb1b7,Yf1f7,Yg5f7,Yg5e6,Yg5h7,Yd2h6,Yd2a5,Yb5a6,Yb5e8,Yc3d5,Yc3b5,Yc3e4,Yc3a4,Yd1h5,Yd1d8,Ye6f7,Ye6d7] } *