8:59 I remember Nelson once said that under a closed position, castling right into the direction of the opponent’s pawn chain (like what black does) is usually not a good idea.
Funny thing, if I understand correctly - in the Tarrasch (played here) what was shown was considered the old main line while in the new main line, white does play Ngf3, allowing black to eventually take the d4 pawn if they so choose. Turns out thanks to computers, white is just fine being down a pawn there. White just needs to overprotect the e5 pawn and look to attack on the kingside.
Saying the french defense is a passive opening seems like a tricky statement - maybe I am kind of bias in this regard. Yes, you are giving white the option whether he wants to create a symmetrical position in the exchange variation or staying with an imbalanced position while creating a kingside attack, is in a way negative for black. On the other hand it is kind of interesting that on top GM level the french is mainly played by black in must-win-situation using the imbalances. Nonetheless I - as a 1900 elo rated player - really enjoy your content. Keep going, Nelson.🎉
Haven’t even watched yet but im excited ive been watching so many of your vids lately just got into chess recently been playing against a friend and your vids make it so enjoyable to learn the game.
In my opinion sacrificing the D4 pawn after playing knight to F3 and then castling is the best variant for white, since you get a very strong and active position after this gambit and black will have a hard time to hold the position. The best is no one knows it but everyone thinks that he simply gets a pawn without issues so you will get it very often. You can play it even in classic games vs >2000 and you will have positive results.
Another great video! I really appreciate all the preparation that goes into making these videos, you've really done a lot of work to make sure everything is as clear as possible. I'm currently only rated 900, and this series as well as your other videos are some of the best chess content on TH-cam! A lot of other chess TH-camrs say: "You just go here, and that's winning," but your channel explains why a position is winning, and goes through several steps that aren't as apparent to novices such as myself. It really shows how much thought you put in to your content, to make it accessible to players of all levels. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this series! Thanks and keep it up!
Hey Nelson, love the series, it is beautifully instructed and the way you explain is perfect for beginners like me. Though , at(9:33) , when you play Nf4, this leaves the pawn on d4 undefended ，and after the trade the queen comes into White's position.
Do you mean 1... cxd 2. cxd Nxd4 3. Nxd4 Qxd4? (both pawns take, both knights take, queen takes?) Then white has 4. Bxh7+ and after black takes, white takes the black queen on d4 and has a queen for a bishop.
If a pawn moves 2 squares and lands side by side to your pawn, you can take the pawn by going 1 rank exactly above it. However, you can't play en passant if you play another move. That means when you have the opportunity to play en passing but play another move, you can't en passant anymore, unless if it happens again with another pawn.
I unfortunately have trouble understanding the strategies around creating weaknesses on 'light' / 'dark' squares. Could you please do a video about how to strategize on the colors on the board please? Thank you for being such a cool coach! 😃
@@shadeburst It's more about the squares (light vs dark) than the opening lines that I'm referring to here. Understanding the color weaknesses continues beyond the opening even into the end game. Does that make sense?
@@GirlGeekLovesStampin You will have to ask the experts! I understand color weakness to concern mainly the bishops. If Black for example castles king side and pops the knight pawn forward to g6, they have created a weakness on f6 and h6 where White's dark square bishop can infiltrate. But you will have to ask the experts.
At the end of that line around 12:35 after Bh7+ Kh8. Bf8 instead of gxh6 is really tough for me to figure out I guess you bring a rook to e1 not sure if it's better to go Rae1 or Rfe1, black can't take on h6 so they probably go with cxd4, that's a rabbit hole
Can I request a little bit? Can you cover chess games with a lot of theories like the famous danish gambit , I want to see some possible different attacks that you can analyze and show to us so that i can enhanced using it, thank you ❤❤
Thanks for the effort you put into teaching chess! On the other hands, I'm puzzled how one can advance to being NM without studying Capablanca - Alekhine 1927 WCC match and not being sure of the succession of top World Champions 🙄
Could you do some chess960 games? I'm a beginner, and I feel you learn a lot by analysing starting positions and making plans in chess 960. And it's more fun.
Thanks Nelson, I am really struggling in games when black plays closed and passive!! Cheers mate, keep crushing it! Also, at 10:40 would it be possible to play a Greek gift sacrifice instead of Qc2? This way black doesn’t get a chance to play g6, his king will be made vulnerable and it seems like that could be really good for white too.
Doesn't work! The black bishop can take the knight, and if you try to give a check to black and take the bishop, the bishop blocks in front of the king, protected by the pawn, so you lose two pieces! Very sneaky position for a bishop, I had to use chess engine for the analysis :)
When I face a solid passive defense, I try to remember the three rules of evaluating a position namely Checks Captures and Attacks. Thinking of ways to put a check on opponent's well-protected king often helps me to break open the position.
I got this book for around 9 months and every time I try to read it I fell short because I lucked the discipline or the motivation to just keep reading a chess book. since I you started this series you helped to follow through and do the tasks! Thank you Nelson!
Very Nice Video! Of course en passsant was the move, not only the most tempting, but also the only move that opens up. I overheard a conversation of a lower advanced friend teaching a lower intermediate friend the Hippo, and he says it is very passive and lacks space control, but there are many ways to strike back. It's a cool opening, but is it punishable in the same way that the black player was punished after not striking the pawn chain with f6? Could the person playing against the hippo choose to gain space?
At 9:10 If black didn't castle then the center is closed and White cannot get to the king. But that also prevents Black from playing f6 to open the game as their king is in the center. Then how do I attack the king when the center is closed and to take advantage of the fact that the opponent's pieces are so passive?
French defense is believed to be inferior today. I have played the French as black for years at OTB tournament, and then I switched to Alekhine against e4 and never looked back. You get cramped positions, kingside attacks from white, nowhere to castle mostly, endless problems with the white-squared bishop and a single mistake means you are lost out of the opening.
Nelson, I have a doubt. what should I play (in colle system) when the opponent try to plant his knight on e4 before I try to breakthrough by pushing e4?
A corny joke like that deserves a like. I also thought it ironic that Nelson referred to Alekhine "bumping off" Capablanca, when of course Alekhine himself may have been "bumped off" in the more sinister sense, he being found dead in mysterious circumstances some years later.
I don't play the french but I have the phobia of playing moves like g6 because after the pawn trade it makes the E6 pawn a backward pawn and open for attacks, please address this
When someone plays a French on me I don't mess around, I push the e pawn and put a knight on f3 to protect both pawns. All right so they played their little gambit, without that in the way let's get down to some real chess.
I play the French and don't make the moves you say that I must make. To be fair, I am a 1480 player; however, my point is that a player must play an opening s/he is comfortable with
As much as you find French defence annoying I would like to see you try and play French defence doing an analysis on how to win with French defence. You done a few short videos on briefly how to play but never an extended effort playing it. You find very little intuitive videos on how to win with French defence. Nearly all videos about French Defence are about how to play against not how to play.
The title is wrong, because French defense is not a passive opening. White has to be very careful otherwise black gets the upper-hand very quickly. Capablanca messed with it against Alekhine, but possibly this was before the theory was established reasonably.
Episode No. 10 would be the right name i guess 🙂 Very nice series by the way, i am really enjoying and learning from this priciples, thank you Nelson 🫶
13:15 Nelson: “…you have to en passant”
Me: en passant is forced. Got it.
holy hell
8:59 I remember Nelson once said that under a closed position, castling right into the direction of the opponent’s pawn chain (like what black does) is usually not a good idea.
Funny thing, if I understand correctly - in the Tarrasch (played here) what was shown was considered the old main line while in the new main line, white does play Ngf3, allowing black to eventually take the d4 pawn if they so choose. Turns out thanks to computers, white is just fine being down a pawn there. White just needs to overprotect the e5 pawn and look to attack on the kingside.
You answered my last question perfectly, thanks for your help
Another great instructive game & principles to learn , thank you again !
Saying the french defense is a passive opening seems like a tricky statement - maybe I am kind of bias in this regard. Yes, you are giving white the option whether he wants to create a symmetrical position in the exchange variation or staying with an imbalanced position while creating a kingside attack, is in a way negative for black. On the other hand it is kind of interesting that on top GM level the french is mainly played by black in must-win-situation using the imbalances. Nonetheless I - as a 1900 elo rated player - really enjoy your content. Keep going, Nelson.🎉
Haven’t even watched yet but im excited ive been watching so many of your vids lately just got into chess recently been playing against a friend and your vids make it so enjoyable to learn the game.
I love this series, it is very clear, well explained! Thanks and regards from Germany
German watching a tutorial about how to beat the french defence 😔
@@pouks Just play Belgian Gambit schlieffen variation
I'm a huge fan of this series, my favorite type of chess video
Nelson, each day better your chess analysis. Regards from Venezuela.
thanks nelsi, praying every day that you to not get gout and have a blood clot again brother. have a good weekend
Appreciate that! Been feeling good!
Really good video.i love how you have taken key concepts from a book and made a video on them. I definitely will be checking out more of your videos.
In my opinion sacrificing the D4 pawn after playing knight to F3 and then castling is the best variant for white, since you get a very strong and active position after this gambit and black will have a hard time to hold the position. The best is no one knows it but everyone thinks that he simply gets a pawn without issues so you will get it very often. You can play it even in classic games vs >2000 and you will have positive results.
Another great video! I really appreciate all the preparation that goes into making these videos, you've really done a lot of work to make sure everything is as clear as possible. I'm currently only rated 900, and this series as well as your other videos are some of the best chess content on TH-cam! A lot of other chess TH-camrs say: "You just go here, and that's winning," but your channel explains why a position is winning, and goes through several steps that aren't as apparent to novices such as myself. It really shows how much thought you put in to your content, to make it accessible to players of all levels. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this series! Thanks and keep it up!
I little bit understand how to plan ideas in the game, but it needs to be implemented into the game itself :)
Thank you!
Much better then drama of Gotham
Love this series! Really helps me understand the reasonings behind some of the openings I play such as the Tarrash versus the French. Great job!
I really appreciate how you chuckle at that en passant move 😅😅😅
I just ordered the book "logical chess move by move"
U inspired me to get the book
Hey Nelson, love the series, it is beautifully instructed and the way you explain is perfect for beginners like me. Though , at(9:33) , when you play Nf4, this leaves the pawn on d4 undefended ，and after the trade the queen comes into White's position.
Do you mean 1... cxd 2. cxd Nxd4 3. Nxd4 Qxd4? (both pawns take, both knights take, queen takes?) Then white has 4. Bxh7+ and after black takes, white takes the black queen on d4 and has a queen for a bishop.
Good to see another Logical Chess episode tonight!!
can you please explain 13:31; how can the pawn move diagonally like that and take out the black pawn at the same time?
If a pawn moves 2 squares and lands side by side to your pawn, you can take the pawn by going 1 rank exactly above it. However, you can't play en passant if you play another move. That means when you have the opportunity to play en passing but play another move, you can't en passant anymore, unless if it happens again with another pawn.
@@ArwinaThePlanet Thank you. I have since learned this but I thank you for taking the time to help!
I unfortunately have trouble understanding the strategies around creating weaknesses on 'light' / 'dark' squares. Could you please do a video about how to strategize on the colors on the board please? Thank you for being such a cool coach! 😃
I think that Nelson did a video on eight or ten opening principles about six months ago.
@@shadeburst It's more about the squares (light vs dark) than the opening lines that I'm referring to here. Understanding the color weaknesses continues beyond the opening even into the end game. Does that make sense?
@@GirlGeekLovesStampin You will have to ask the experts! I understand color weakness to concern mainly the bishops. If Black for example castles king side and pops the knight pawn forward to g6, they have created a weakness on f6 and h6 where White's dark square bishop can infiltrate. But you will have to ask the experts.
@@GirlGeekLovesStampin gee as a member you would think your comment would at least be answered. I would be pissed .
@@darrylkassle361 I understand he has a family and we are best effort. It's ok.
Fantastic content. Thanks for putting it together
I don't know if you've already talked about this stuff but the h5 queen counter would be great and different variations of it
Love your chess videos!!
This is the line I play the most against French. Absolutely love the idea of Nd2 Ndf3 rotation.
Great series!!
At the end of that line around 12:35 after Bh7+ Kh8. Bf8 instead of gxh6 is really tough for me to figure out I guess you bring a rook to e1 not sure if it's better to go Rae1 or Rfe1, black can't take on h6 so they probably go with cxd4, that's a rabbit hole
This might be an idea for a future video. How about demonstrating all of the possible games that require only ten moves or less?
Strong content. Nice job. Subbed.
Thank you so much, I learned a lot from this.
This is the most informative and smallest game ever.🙂👏🏻
Can I request a little bit? Can you cover chess games with a lot of theories like the famous danish gambit , I want to see some possible different attacks that you can analyze and show to us so that i can enhanced using it, thank you ❤❤
Speaking of passive openings, could you please share you method of playing against the hippopotamus defense? Thanks.
Hey Nelson I have a suggestion please try chess 960 game it is very fun it will be good to see yr analysis 👍
Thanks for the effort you put into teaching chess! On the other hands, I'm puzzled how one can advance to being NM without studying Capablanca - Alekhine 1927 WCC match and not being sure of the succession of top World Champions 🙄
Could you do some chess960 games? I'm a beginner, and I feel you learn a lot by analysing starting positions and making plans in chess 960. And it's more fun.
Thanks Nelson, I am really struggling in games when black plays closed and passive!! Cheers mate, keep crushing it!
Also, at 10:40 would it be possible to play a Greek gift sacrifice instead of Qc2? This way black doesn’t get a chance to play g6, his king will be made vulnerable and it seems like that could be really good for white too.
Doesn't work! The black bishop can take the knight, and if you try to give a check to black and take the bishop, the bishop blocks in front of the king, protected by the pawn, so you lose two pieces! Very sneaky position for a bishop, I had to use chess engine for the analysis :)
When I face a solid passive defense, I try to remember the three rules of evaluating a position namely Checks Captures and Attacks. Thinking of ways to put a check on opponent's well-protected king often helps me to break open the position.
I got this book for around 9 months and every time I try to read it I fell short because I lucked the discipline or the motivation to just keep reading a chess book. since I you started this series you helped to follow through and do the tasks! Thank you Nelson!
That's great!
5:03 I play nf3 all the time saccing the pawn for an early development. Engine prefers it too.
Very informative
Very Nice Video! Of course en passsant was the move, not only the most tempting, but also the only move that opens up.
I overheard a conversation of a lower advanced friend teaching a lower intermediate friend the Hippo, and he says it is very passive and lacks space control, but there are many ways to strike back. It's a cool opening, but is it punishable in the same way that the black player was punished after not striking the pawn chain with f6? Could the person playing against the hippo choose to gain space?
@Nelson, is that the book you found at a bookstore or flea market for like $2?
At 9:10 If black didn't castle then the center is closed and White cannot get to the king. But that also prevents Black from playing f6 to open the game as their king is in the center. Then how do I attack the king when the center is closed and to take advantage of the fact that the opponent's pieces are so passive?
French defense is believed to be inferior today. I have played the French as black for years at OTB tournament, and then I switched to Alekhine against e4 and never looked back. You get cramped positions, kingside attacks from white, nowhere to castle mostly, endless problems with the white-squared bishop and a single mistake means you are lost out of the opening.
Thank you, Nelson, so much for all this awesome content! You forgot to put the orange symbol on the video picture. 😅
Can you please make a video on punishing your opponent on not castling
I think it would help all of us in some way or the other...
The en passant is easy to see, but you need to visualise the game through to the end from that point before making at move
Nelson, I have a doubt. what should I play (in colle system) when the opponent try to plant his knight on e4 before I try to breakthrough by pushing e4?
13:16 "You have to en passant"
Got it - always en passant. Thanks
"En passant is forced" confirmed.
Chess anarchists are timbering their shivers rn
Off topic question. It was the most recent video...Do you have a discord? I don't see one
hiiii can you put the videos of this serie in a playlist
Yes, Capablanca was from Cuba, but there's no need to call him a third-world champion.
😃
A corny joke like that deserves a like. I also thought it ironic that Nelson referred to Alekhine "bumping off" Capablanca, when of course Alekhine himself may have been "bumped off" in the more sinister sense, he being found dead in mysterious circumstances some years later.
What's the name of the book again?
After white plays e5 do you ever play knight e4 to insentivise trade and open the position that way?
If you play the French defense as black, what's the best way to free your light square bishop?
13:17 Ironic that "en passant" is a way of dealing with the French Defense.
can't wait to play the french defense against you in the next club tournament 🤣
As black, I usually avoid the French defense because the light-squared bishop from Black’s queenside gets shut in after 1…e6.
I usually run into it from the Scandinavian: e.g. 1 e4 d5, 2 d4 (instead of exd5) e6 but that could just be me.
The algorithm is real.
I don't play the french but I have the phobia of playing moves like g6 because after the pawn trade it makes the E6 pawn a backward pawn and open for attacks, please address this
When someone plays a French on me I don't mess around, I push the e pawn and put a knight on f3 to protect both pawns. All right so they played their little gambit, without that in the way let's get down to some real chess.
I play the French and don't make the moves you say that I must make. To be fair, I am a 1480 player; however, my point is that a player must play an opening s/he is comfortable with
7:53 *Kf1*
Very informative
I really think books become more important to get to 200 after 1800
I’m having a lot of problems with closed positions. I have no idea what to do.
Man literally describes the french defense
Also, en passant never happened anytime I played chess. Why should I still know it?
Can anyone help me my game rating stuck in 1200 elo I solve daily puzzles and play games how can I improve my game and thought process
Git gud
Check which openings you lose to the most and try to learn a tactic at a time.
same
Use jobava london (IM ALEX BANZEA)
Use brain
9:11 lol noone gonna castle king side as a black there is so many attacker that side like 2 bishops two knight queen.
Please make jobava london , i think that opening very strong for beginner & simple
London sucks
A passive opening is exactly what ended Eric Rosen's winning streak.
Instead Nd 8 n A5 it's not good for black
Is this from Logical Chess?
Oh by the way, my rating used to be 330. Thanks to you, now my rating is at 370.
I used to hate the French but now I play the b3 gambit and it's quite decent 😂
Goota make sure you underschtand your openings !
In the one line you showed isn’t that the French winnower
I feel the same way about the French...
As much as you find French defence annoying I would like to see you try and play French defence doing an analysis on how to win with French defence. You done a few short videos on briefly how to play but never an extended effort playing it. You find very little intuitive videos on how to win with French defence. Nearly all videos about French Defence are about how to play against not how to play.
Also France will lose the euro 2024 semifinal
When the whites begin with d4 I begin with french defense and i have a good winning rate against the d4 opening...
My opponent would just push c4 then what
Nah I hate the french defense, your feelings are valid
❤❤❤
The French has a record at losing at every war !!!
Actually France is the country with the most war victories.
Dont compare a chess opening with real wars of france. French defence is a good opening for passive players if played correctly
Though I appreciate the joke, it's getting kinda overrated, to be honest.
100 years war, War of the 1st - 5th Coalitions, WW1... Just to name a few.
@@Hand_leodjdjdjdk It is just a chess joke, sorry for the offense non meant.
French won over 1000 battles
An passant is a forced move anyways
The title is wrong, because French defense is not a passive opening. White has to be very careful otherwise black gets the upper-hand very quickly. Capablanca messed with it against Alekhine, but possibly this was before the theory was established reasonably.
...O-O-O is better than ...Nd8, lol.
❤
Passive players are nauseating.
As for the French Defence, you're right!
I’ve watched too much Ben Finegold so playing F3/F6 is never an option
Luckily en passant is forced so you can't miss it.
French defence is so gaaaay... 🙂
Liumm
Lmao
That’s France for ya
Like you play an opening to get pounded by your opponent
Bro gay isn't offensive
Fr it sucks its boring and trash
15:30 How about Nxg6?😏
It is now allowed to queen in
Too much blah blah
Episode No. 10 would be the right name i guess 🙂
Very nice series by the way, i am really enjoying and learning from this priciples, thank you Nelson 🫶