Allirix 500s play like 1000s, except they are liable to make horrendous blunders at any time. I know because I used to be a 500 (now I’m the best player ever because I’m a 750).
@@Jhoto he didn't say the other ones weren't instructive he just said this one was especially useful for him. But if you can't read comments... 🙃 Sometimes I read a comment and I'm like damn. Must suck to be that guy. Not only is he stupid he has so much hubris. That's what I thought when I read your comment.
Videos of the more advanced classes remind you that Ben can actually give very good advice and that he is a really good teacher. But people will still watch the kids videos more for the jokes and the puns. The truth hurts!
I watch his videos because he's funny, but then I realize he's making fun of people who are bad at chess like me, and I'm just like my guy I just want to learn some chess. Still it's entertaining and instructional if you can deal with being made fun of.
I played the number one rated player in austria, a few months ago in a simul. After all the games ended, we got to ask him questions about the games we played and whatnot. In the game I got completely crushed in a sicilian as black. He didn't even develop half his minor pieces and just steamrolled me with his pawns on the kingside. So I asked him how it comes that a lot of top rated players don't always develop all their pieces as fast as possible and still crush everyone. His answer was that to every general rule in chess there are exceptions and better players just find those exceptions more often. So I guess there's that.
I found this game very insightful. I have been trying to figure out why class A and B players can play so strong at given positions but then completely blunder away the game with silly attacks. Now it all makes sense. I suppose it comes down to being impatient because moves like b6 are not difficult to find. Even Rf1 should have been a no brainer but again class B players often just want to attack and are not happy with a waiting move to better organize their pieces. Great lecture and thank you CCSCA for uploading!!
The puzzle at 48:10 would be great except the obvious, natural move h7 is mate in 4 (Kg7, h8Q+, Kg6, Ncd5, c3, Qh7+,Kg5,Rg1#). Just one more move than Nb1's mate in 3.
This is really helpful, and not just for the actual chess game. Ben's insight into the differences between lower- and higher-rated players is really wonderful. I know I tend to want to play extremely actively, even in a quiet position. Sometimes that just isn't best.
19:30 on - I would play Bc5 with the idea to exchange it with the Kt on d4. White takes Bishop with Bishop(e3) and not Kt (b5) because of b2 (the reason why the Kt is on b5). But if the Bishop (e3) moves then it vacates the d2 square for the black Kt(e4) to fork the Queen and Rook. Of course, White can reply Bc5 with c3. Disclaimer: I have started playing after a very long break and not rated at all. Thanks for sharing. Lot of learning and entertainment.
Yes!!! I've been waiting for this after seeing the previous two lectures geared towards lower categories! I highly agree with your comment on having to win all games in open tournaments. I started playing online first and was very dedicated reading chess books and watching lectures like this one to improve. So I started with a USCF rating of 1000 knowing that I was highly underrated. Over the next three months I played several big tournaments with usually 100-200+ participants and managed to win a prize in all of them. But... I only managed to share first place because I usually had a draw or loss somewhere. Not only do weaker players fold easily but there are also underrated players in the lower categories. One guy played me like an expert level player in one game which I verified with stockfish. Another player took a strategic half point bye to win first place and give me second even tough we had the same amount of wins (I had one loss). A big issue is the many scholastic tournaments which are not USCF rated allowing kids to gain plenty of experience before joining USCF events. The kid that won first prize with a half point bye won the same tournament 2 years in a row! Both times he went undefeated. Talk about horse shit Anyway, I think something should be done by the USCF to make the system fair but I suppose its possible that at the lower levels like categories D and E its always going to be like this due to online players that quickly improve to intermediate level without ever playing a tournament and scholastic players. EIDT: I forgot to mention that I can't be completely upset because I went from 1000 USCF to 1650 within 3 months. I also managed to defeat several 1800 players and draw with a candidate master in classical time controls. Even at 1650 I still consider myself highly underrated. Depending if I can find the time to play another tournament this month I might be able to reach 1800+ USCF by the end of next month and I'm hoping at that point I encounter less nonsense with underrated online players and scholastic players. Thanks for another awesome lecture!
Well, like GM Ben Fingold use to say: "The truth hurts!". If you play enough, the underratingness will eventually turn into realityness. Besides, ELO = EGO, which is pathetic as pathetic liveforms we are, and every games is really played against oneself.
Hi Felix, I played my first tournament almost immediately after I learned chess then abruptly stopped for over ten years - no chess whatsoever. That's why my rating was 1000~ when I picked up again last year. When I returned to chess tournaments I had about 4-6 months of experience as a kid then 1 year since I started playing online (mostly blitz and some bullet). In terms of how long it took me to study chess before playing tournament games again I would say countless hours over the span of that previous year. As of today, I have about 2 years of experience and I have read several chess books about strategy, pawn structure, game endings, tactics puzzles, opening systems, and have watched countless chess videos on youtube. Essentially I spent the majority of my free time studying chess. Chess is a difficult game to master and not everyone has that kind of time to spend learning the game. As of right now I decided to take a break from tournaments so that I can focus on other life priorities. I expect that when I'm ready to return to serious chess I will easily break 1800 USCF and probably 2000. That sounds like a lot but refer to my original comment. If you are wondering how long it takes me to prep for a tournament then I would say 2-3 days or study sessions. I make sure I know my opening system very well and review important concepts up to the night before the tournament. Best thing to do is make a list of areas of improvement and work on that before any tournament. There is also the psychological aspect that you have to prepare for. Expect underrated players in the lower categories for the reasons I mentioned in my original comment. I was already playing at an 1600-1800 level before I decided to play in OTB tournaments and even then I struggled to beat some players. If you want some advice to improve I would say learn as much as you can about pawn structures and game endings. Then spend some time mastering the specific openings you like as white and black. That's in addition to solving tactics puzzles on a regular basis - I usually solve 2-3 per day but they are tough puzzles. This alone should take upwards of 6 months or longer if you spend your time wisely. Avoid too much playing because at the end it doesn't help as much as learning from the masters. I got to the point that I often could play the variations in my head straight from the book. I tried very hard to memorize the board coordinates by color - this actually helps a lot when you are reading chess books. Also, you can look up the games from your chess books online at chessgames.com or chess365.com and play the game there while you read the book - it will save you valuable time.
Supernova especially that last tip is great, thanks! I just wanted to estimate my own progress. I started chess in February 2018 and got to 1300-1400 so far, doing lots of tactics and endgame training, watching TH-cam lectures and I bought a book as well (need to focus on my engineering exams right now though, so chess has to wait another 6 weeks). Thanks for sharing your experience!
Not sure what you are complaining about when you are the perfect example of what you're criticizing. You had a rating of 1000 and now you are at 1650, so you were highly underrated due to studying and playing online instead of offline.
Yes but at the 11:55 position, the check’s golden rules says that before any move first search is to search at a possible check position and if it is possible make a check as Qg6+.
Ben you are a great teacher and a good guy and your barbed wit is part of the fun I like all your videos and are very good at improving lower graded players I am one of those lower graded players and am improving and winning more games drawing more but rare losss Patience is everything which works for lower levels don't panic and attack mindlessly It works !!!
On Ben's favorite puzzle at 1:00:00, for white's third move to release black from potential stalemate, could you move bishop to C7, freeing the black king to move to A7 follow by knight c6 mate? If that doesn't work could someone please explain why
The knights and rook vs king and pawn endgame is a forced mate in 5 even if you play Nd5. You don't have to stop c1=N. For example, 1. Nd5, c3 2. Ke2, c2 3. Ne7, c1=N+ 4. Kd1, Na2 5. Ng6#. The line Nb1 is a quicker mate but only by 1 ply.
I have not played USCF rated tournaments since the 1970's when I was rated between 1500 and 1600. At that time most of the various open tournaments used the Swiss System for scoring. I would always end up starting at table 1-4 because I would be in the top of the bottom half and play my first 2 or 3 games against the best rated players in the tournament. I would usually finish the five or six rounds in Class D one position out of the prize. If 1st and 2nd got prizes I would be 3rd, if 1st, 2nd, 3rd got prizes, then I would be 4th. My rating would improve after each tournament because I was losing to Grand Masters, Masters and strong Class A's and winning games against B, C, D and the occasional Class E players.
In the puzzle at 53:00, isn't it more simple and perhaps elegant to give mate with knight, by first moving the C file knight away to D5, putting king on E2 and simply letting pawn queen? If the pawn gives check by knighting, so what and neither a bishop or rook would threaten white's knights.
Sure that will win the game at some point. But that is not the question, because the position is obviously winning for white. The puzzle on the other hand is about finding that mate in exactly 4 moves. You just changed the premise..
The final puzzle has at least one more winning possibility. Knight, to e4, pawn to c3, rook to g1, pawn to c2 (check), king to e2, pawn to c1, rook to g8, check mate. That’s four black moves.
1:04:20 - I'm just looking to find any mate. I don't really care how many moves I make. Exactly. This isn't chess. Same as Ben says, I'm going to be really boring and take a lot of moves, but I'm not going to give you any chances and (presumably) avoid having to calculate something very complex.
Ha, I got that hard puzzle by logic. I figured we have to force him to promote a way of our choosing which implies we need to create a capture promotion and take away the forward promotion. Then it all fell into place. Nb1 takes away stalemate and creates a capture promotion. Ke2 runs to where promotion won’t be check. Rc1 blocks and creates mate when he promotes. .
A fine video. GM Finegold didn't remark on it but his opponent was rated somewhere in the 1700's and he is better than that. White understood the position well and made lots of sensible moves. It took a fair while for GM Finegold to get on top.
@@DomDeDom it is a chess puzzle for finding mate in 4. In an actual game sure you can do whatever is easiest to you. But in order to solve the puzzle you need to do what it suggests.
i take the simple lesson here look after what is defended and what is not in every move . if i can do that in every move i think i will be a much better player
Plus, look what squares a move takes, and what squares it gives. Doesn't help playing against Fritz 10, though. That program is relentless and I get crushed even though I tried to adjust the rating, lol.
cocaine is a helluva drug, Mr. Sniffles. ;) Okay, that was a low blow, Mr. Finegold...your youtube vids have drawn me back to playing chess again and you are one of the most important reasons why people get into it. Thank you for that...you have made me find joy in something again.
"...so if I'm black, then the lower opponent might draw. But if I make the game really interesting, and they play really well...that's not possible. Why is their rating so low if they're playing so well?" You're such a dick...but you are SO relatable to the average player. Thank you for that...because it's hysterical while teaching us what we never knew.
senior year of high school we had a middle aged guy who thought his rating was 782. rest of my friends and I were beginners and we were all 1580+. he came off a 3/5 win tourney vs. higher rated players but next month's chess life had him at 782 again. guy had a master's degree in chemistry. finally the prez of our club had mercy on him, "Ray, that's the expiration date of your USCF membership."
@@Blaisem This was a while ago, but IIRC, the logic was that the C3 Knight halts movement of the black Pawn. Your move is to advance White Rook to H4, which places the pawn in jeopardy next turn, but it also prevents you from disturbing the position of the F6 Knight / H6 Pawn. This leaves Black with only one legal move: the King. Anywhere the king moves is checkmate given the position of the F6 Knight and H6 Pawn. Knight takes King at G8/H7, and Pawn takes King at G7. Again, I may be misunderstanding the point of the puzzle because there may be rules that the students were given that I don't know.
@@aureate In chess, if the only move you can make is to place your king into check, then the game is a stalemate. A stalemate is a draw. In order to win, you have to actively checkmate the enemy king on your turn. Rook H4 gifts the opponent in a losing position with a stalemate.
G6 makes f5 better because white king is safe and black king will most likely castle king side so when playing f5 you have two points of contact, the bishop on e6 and g6 pawn which means white can either mess up the pawn structure around black's king side and the black's lightsquared bishop will have to move surrendering the d5 square for a white knight.
I've won a similar game with B N vs R someone told me R was better in end games than B N in the end game, but i did what you did just used B to protect and just shoved my pawns.
In the puzzle I saw mate in 5! 1 Nce4 1 c3 2 Ke2 2 c2 3 Ng5 3 c1=N+ 4 Kf3 4 Ne2 (Nd3(Nb3(Na2))) {doesn't matter where the black knight goes...) 5 Nf7# :D
"Whenever my opponent does something, that mean whatever they did makes their position not what it was."
-Finegold 2018
Sounds like a finegold class
"See, he was there, playing good chess, so I robbed his house"
Law of zugzwang
Truer words have never been spoken.
"One of my wives - can't remember which one"
Classic Finegold.
11:35 "That makes noise. Don't do that. Just put it down." BONG - cracked me up.
Yeah, smart kids.
Then he broke a pen. What a disruptive kid. lol
I think Ben is the rude one here
I like that he told the kid to stop in no uncertain terms. I guess this is the advanced class. In the easy classes he seems overly tolerant.
Sol Feinberg nope he tells the kids to be quiet all the time, a lot of the time they're just noisy but they're only kids so they gotta learn somehow
I'm 1200 so technically I'm under 2000
What a coincidence I'm also under 2000, 500 here
I vsed an insanely strong 500 today in a tournament. I've always thought 500s just didn't know the rules but damn
Allirix 500s play like 1000s, except they are liable to make horrendous blunders at any time. I know because I used to be a 500 (now I’m the best player ever because I’m a 750).
@@jarretberenson1214 hey, identity theft is a crime
the boss man ?
I've watched probably most if not the vast majority of Grandmaster Ben Finegold's video's, this is probably the most instructive one I've seen.
Also one of the funniest.
I can tell you havent watched many lol. The "vast majority" are instructive. But if the info goes over your head ....... 🥴
@@Jhoto he didn't say the other ones weren't instructive he just said this one was especially useful for him. But if you can't read comments... 🙃
Sometimes I read a comment and I'm like damn. Must suck to be that guy. Not only is he stupid he has so much hubris. That's what I thought when I read your comment.
Does he have any other under 2000 lesson?
@@Jhoto rude
Videos of the more advanced classes remind you that Ben can actually give very good advice and that he is a really good teacher.
But people will still watch the kids videos more for the jokes and the puns.
The truth hurts!
wdym? He is funny enough here too. I laughed and learned
guilty as charged
He doesn't do many higher level videos or more people would watch them.
I watch his videos because he's funny, but then I realize he's making fun of people who are bad at chess like me, and I'm just like my guy I just want to learn some chess. Still it's entertaining and instructional if you can deal with being made fun of.
@@siLence-84 LOL, lefty got triggered.
I've watched A LOT of his lectures and I think this is BY FAR the best one. It offers some real insight into how stronger and weaker players think.
10:29 "That's a very juicy square for my knight"
Kid: *schlurp*
How do you choreograph your jokes so well?
that kid answering the questions is pretty good
He is well on his way, got all the answers before the older guys
Anybody here knows who the kid is? It is better for him now to manage his own content in TH-cam. Dollar.. dollar.. ;)
I’m so thankful GM Ben FineGold sharing this content.
"There was a domino effect which isn't good cause we are playing chess." - Finegold 2018
Love the juxtaposition of the clean, jazzy intro with Finegold's surly style. Hilarious
icrlp05 knowing jazz musicians, it makes sense.
So glad i found this channel. Ive been almost obsessed with the game of chess the past couple of months
--Always makes fun of videos for being published 5 weeks after the lecture
--Lecture from 10/1/2017
So many weeks ago I can't count that high
@@kmarasin That sounds like something Ben Finegold might say
The lecture was recorded before I was born
Except for maybe 'you at home'. Why weren't you at the lecture 'you at home'? How come?
Wow that last puzzle (Finegold's favourite) was insanely amazing!! Shows how great chess can be. 57:45
@Billy Farrington Right, it's strange Ben didn't mention this variation.
Billy Farrington thats mate in 5, so it doesn’t work
Joran De Braekeleer watch it again, 1:01:47
@@noobmasteryoyo5136 Yeah you're right, thnx for the correction!
When he called 1700 low rated, it hurt.
Fide rated 1700 to be precise.
truth hurts
Great analysis. Great explanation of psychological aspects. Grandmaster Finegold is the best chess teacher.
Yes, this was a fantastic lecture for me as a class B soon to be A player.
I don't believe in psychology. I just believe in good moves. - Bobby Fischer
warrenginmartini dumb quote to be honest
This might be the best explanation you've ever made...I am in awe.
20:02 what sort of plan is this? NEVER PLAY F6
1. White doesn't have a light squared bishop
2. Open the file!
3. The Dutch like to take it one step further with f5, regardless of bishops.
Sicarius Noctis he is somewhat ok with f5, but he almost always attacks people for playing f6 lol
I played the number one rated player in austria, a few months ago in a simul. After all the games ended, we got to ask him questions about the games we played and whatnot. In the game I got completely crushed in a sicilian as black. He didn't even develop half his minor pieces and just steamrolled me with his pawns on the kingside. So I asked him how it comes that a lot of top rated players don't always develop all their pieces as fast as possible and still crush everyone. His answer was that to every general rule in chess there are exceptions and better players just find those exceptions more often. So I guess there's that.
you a chest master too?
@@GoDbax if you mean me, no I'm not. I'm rated somewhere between 1700 and 1800.
Finegold is the perfect stereotype for your elementary school history teacher.
Every teacher in elementary school is a history teacher. Except for maybe gym, music and art teachers.
I don't have a chess rating, but I did solve the puzzle at 48:20 (pausing the video for about 7 minutes). I do have a go rating over 2000.
That 1700 guy played really well. He has to be higher by now.
You can look him up on USCF he's 1800
@@radar9561 lol us ranking
Are you any good at chess?
@@siLence-84 what's your profile pic from?
Where am I?
1:04:50
The 3 move mate I saw was Kd6, black does anything, Qc4, black does anything, queen mates anywhere along c6-c8 that works.
1 Kd6, Kb6; 2 Qc4, Ka5; and I don’t see a 1 move mate (Qa4+, Kb6) th-cam.com/video/qlX_806ZwOk/w-d-xo.html
Ben "Let's rob his house" Finegold
Just remember its all about positioning and tactics
This one was especially terrific.
1:01:34 mate in 2 1.bc7-k7 2.b7
Ka8
I found this game very insightful. I have been trying to figure out why class A and B players can play so strong at given positions but then completely blunder away the game with silly attacks. Now it all makes sense. I suppose it comes down to being impatient because moves like b6 are not difficult to find. Even Rf1 should have been a no brainer but again class B players often just want to attack and are not happy with a waiting move to better organize their pieces. Great lecture and thank you CCSCA for uploading!!
Supernova it’s funny that my engine actually recommends the “bad move” Nxe6 in the critical position.
@@jobo6846 Ben himself said that that is not a bad move. White's intention behind the move (and his followup) was what's wrong.
I was all excited because I solved the puzzle, and then I remembered I've seen this video before.
The puzzle at 48:10 would be great except the obvious, natural move h7 is mate in 4 (Kg7, h8Q+, Kg6, Ncd5, c3, Qh7+,Kg5,Rg1#). Just one more move than Nb1's mate in 3.
That's mate in 5 not mate in 4.
this is some seriously incredible teaching. prob the single best chess video for beginner/intermediate players Ive ever watched! holy crap, ben.
I like the fact that he jokes
Big ups to Ben for use of the word "heretofore".
This is really helpful, and not just for the actual chess game. Ben's insight into the differences between lower- and higher-rated players is really wonderful. I know I tend to want to play extremely actively, even in a quiet position. Sometimes that just isn't best.
One of Ben's best lectures. Enjoying it for the 2nd time.
19:30 on - I would play Bc5 with the idea to exchange it with the Kt on d4. White takes Bishop with Bishop(e3) and not Kt (b5) because of b2 (the reason why the Kt is on b5). But if the Bishop (e3) moves then it vacates the d2 square for the black Kt(e4) to fork the Queen and Rook. Of course, White can reply Bc5 with c3. Disclaimer: I have started playing after a very long break and not rated at all. Thanks for sharing. Lot of learning and entertainment.
At 41:46 there's Qxa4, Rxa4, Rxf1+, bg1 and then Knight f2 checkmate as the Bishop is pinned.
Ok but after Qxa4 white can play Qxe6
Also simpler for the puzzle at 1:03:00 is to take c2 with queen, nothing here prevents the perhaps more elegant mate with knight on c7.
Is there fund raiser for Ken West moving to Atlanta? I would donate to it.
no he wont
"Don't be a debil" lmao great advice
Yes bring Ken West to atl
Yes!!! I've been waiting for this after seeing the previous two lectures geared towards lower categories!
I highly agree with your comment on having to win all games in open tournaments. I started playing online first and was very dedicated reading chess books and watching lectures like this one to improve. So I started with a USCF rating of 1000 knowing that I was highly underrated. Over the next three months I played several big tournaments with usually 100-200+ participants and managed to win a prize in all of them. But... I only managed to share first place because I usually had a draw or loss somewhere. Not only do weaker players fold easily but there are also underrated players in the lower categories. One guy played me like an expert level player in one game which I verified with stockfish. Another player took a strategic half point bye to win first place and give me second even tough we had the same amount of wins (I had one loss). A big issue is the many scholastic tournaments which are not USCF rated allowing kids to gain plenty of experience before joining USCF events. The kid that won first prize with a half point bye won the same tournament 2 years in a row! Both times he went undefeated. Talk about horse shit
Anyway, I think something should be done by the USCF to make the system fair but I suppose its possible that at the lower levels like categories D and E its always going to be like this due to online players that quickly improve to intermediate level without ever playing a tournament and scholastic players.
EIDT: I forgot to mention that I can't be completely upset because I went from 1000 USCF to 1650 within 3 months. I also managed to defeat several 1800 players and draw with a candidate master in classical time controls. Even at 1650 I still consider myself highly underrated. Depending if I can find the time to play another tournament this month I might be able to reach 1800+ USCF by the end of next month and I'm hoping at that point I encounter less nonsense with underrated online players and scholastic players.
Thanks for another awesome lecture!
Well, like GM Ben Fingold use to say: "The truth hurts!". If you play enough, the underratingness will eventually turn into realityness. Besides, ELO = EGO, which is pathetic as pathetic liveforms we are, and every games is really played against oneself.
how long did you "study" and "exercise" before playing your first tournament? beginning from when you picked up chess for the first time?
Hi Felix, I played my first tournament almost immediately after I learned chess then abruptly stopped for over ten years - no chess whatsoever. That's why my rating was 1000~ when I picked up again last year. When I returned to chess tournaments I had about 4-6 months of experience as a kid then 1 year since I started playing online (mostly blitz and some bullet). In terms of how long it took me to study chess before playing tournament games again I would say countless hours over the span of that previous year. As of today, I have about 2 years of experience and I have read several chess books about strategy, pawn structure, game endings, tactics puzzles, opening systems, and have watched countless chess videos on youtube. Essentially I spent the majority of my free time studying chess. Chess is a difficult game to master and not everyone has that kind of time to spend learning the game. As of right now I decided to take a break from tournaments so that I can focus on other life priorities. I expect that when I'm ready to return to serious chess I will easily break 1800 USCF and probably 2000. That sounds like a lot but refer to my original comment.
If you are wondering how long it takes me to prep for a tournament then I would say 2-3 days or study sessions. I make sure I know my opening system very well and review important concepts up to the night before the tournament. Best thing to do is make a list of areas of improvement and work on that before any tournament. There is also the psychological aspect that you have to prepare for. Expect underrated players in the lower categories for the reasons I mentioned in my original comment. I was already playing at an 1600-1800 level before I decided to play in OTB tournaments and even then I struggled to beat some players.
If you want some advice to improve I would say learn as much as you can about pawn structures and game endings. Then spend some time mastering the specific openings you like as white and black. That's in addition to solving tactics puzzles on a regular basis - I usually solve 2-3 per day but they are tough puzzles. This alone should take upwards of 6 months or longer if you spend your time wisely. Avoid too much playing because at the end it doesn't help as much as learning from the masters. I got to the point that I often could play the variations in my head straight from the book. I tried very hard to memorize the board coordinates by color - this actually helps a lot when you are reading chess books. Also, you can look up the games from your chess books online at chessgames.com or chess365.com and play the game there while you read the book - it will save you valuable time.
Supernova especially that last tip is great, thanks! I just wanted to estimate my own progress. I started chess in February 2018 and got to 1300-1400 so far, doing lots of tactics and endgame training, watching TH-cam lectures and I bought a book as well (need to focus on my engineering exams right now though, so chess has to wait another 6 weeks). Thanks for sharing your experience!
Not sure what you are complaining about when you are the perfect example of what you're criticizing. You had a rating of 1000 and now you are at 1650, so you were highly underrated due to studying and playing online instead of offline.
"You guys arent playing GM's in tournaments your playing Rufus and Dufus"
"You can't beat me by taking hung pieces" My dreams are ruined XD.
That's my favorite way to beat people. My second favorite is my opponent walking into a one move tactic.
@@12jswilson My favorite is walking into a one move tactic to mate them a few turns later
Yes but at the 11:55 position, the check’s golden rules says that before any move first search is to search at a possible check position and if it is possible make a check as Qg6+.
Qb6+ désolé
Rawr!
@ 1:01:29 isn't there another mate in 2? Bishop C7, King A7 is the only move for black after that. Then Pawn B6 is checkmate.
I think that it's mate in 3. After what you have played, King goes A8 and then Pawn B7, checkmate.
King back to a7
Great lecture, great advice, great puzzles!
54:57 when the kid says "the truth hurts" 😂
25:26 "they're from New York so they're already not too bright" 😭😂
Priceless.
Ben you are a great teacher and a good guy and your barbed wit is part of the fun
I like all your videos and are very good at improving lower graded players
I am one of those lower graded players and am improving and winning more games drawing more but rare losss
Patience is everything which works for lower levels don't panic and attack mindlessly
It works !!!
On Ben's favorite puzzle at 1:00:00, for white's third move to release black from potential stalemate, could you move bishop to C7, freeing the black king to move to A7 follow by knight c6 mate? If that doesn't work could someone please explain why
You are right, that does work.
@@MrCheeze king goes back to A8 I think so it's not mate, I goofed it :/
@@elizabethbaze1072 whoops lol even thinking that there must be a mistake I wasn't able to see that and figured it must work
Very instructive indeed
Great video, thank you.
The knights and rook vs king and pawn endgame is a forced mate in 5 even if you play Nd5. You don't have to stop c1=N. For example,
1. Nd5, c3
2. Ke2, c2
3. Ne7, c1=N+
4. Kd1, Na2
5. Ng6#.
The line Nb1 is a quicker mate but only by 1 ply.
Bens little quips are really underappreciated by his audience.
Great lesson and best puzzle ever. Many thanks for sharing with us.
"You went to three classes - who did that make happiest?" A: The people in the fourth class.
I have not played USCF rated tournaments since the 1970's when I was rated between 1500 and 1600. At that time most of the various open tournaments used the Swiss System for scoring. I would always end up starting at table 1-4 because I would be in the top of the bottom half and play my first 2 or 3 games against the best rated players in the tournament. I would usually finish the five or six rounds in Class D one position out of the prize. If 1st and 2nd got prizes I would be 3rd, if 1st, 2nd, 3rd got prizes, then I would be 4th. My rating would improve after each tournament because I was losing to Grand Masters, Masters and strong Class A's and winning games against B, C, D and the occasional Class E players.
I miss the classroom lectures with GM Ben. :(
In the puzzle at 53:00, isn't it more simple and perhaps elegant to give mate with knight, by first moving the C file knight away to D5, putting king on E2 and simply letting pawn queen? If the pawn gives check by knighting, so what and neither a bishop or rook would threaten white's knights.
You see, the problem isnt that you must checkmate, which is trivial, the problem is that you mate in 4.
@@thomy2562 well thats a little prescriptive
26:50 Checkmate? Queen takes on A4 if white recaptures rook takes F1 and then knight F2 next move.
You lose your queen like that, because bishop interposes the rook.
I love that he is so rea here, in the higher rated class.
18:23 New engines say E3 is the best move, with Rd1 a close second.
Hi, for the puzzle 52 minutes in, the simpler solution is not to let black pawn advance and advance your own pawn. It forces kG7 then Queen checks.
Sure that will win the game at some point. But that is not the question, because the position is obviously winning for white. The puzzle on the other hand is about finding that mate in exactly 4 moves. You just changed the premise..
@@DeglintoNisto I see, thanks
26:28 ..Qxa4. If Rxa4, Rxf1, Bg1 Kf2++
"I wanna win with little risk, but when I'm black, you gotta take some risk."
-GM Ben Finegold
Thank you, that you first thought about the rg1 idea as that of ocean's, cause I solved it just because of that
The final puzzle has at least one more winning possibility. Knight, to e4, pawn to c3, rook to g1, pawn to c2 (check), king to e2, pawn to c1, rook to g8, check mate. That’s four black moves.
Pawn to c1 (promote to knight) puts you in check. Then you have to make another move, so not mate in 4.
20:11 Ke4-d2 is mush better move
you get free tower roww
55:19 even if black promotes to a knight, you can still mate right? Just move Ke3 where ever black moves his knight you still have M1
@Stag It's a mate in 4 puzzle, thats mate in 5 :)
@@yz249 Oh that's the deal, I must've tuned that out
very excoting and instructive thank you Ben! ;)
1:04:20 - I'm just looking to find any mate. I don't really care how many moves I make. Exactly. This isn't chess. Same as Ben says, I'm going to be really boring and take a lot of moves, but I'm not going to give you any chances and (presumably) avoid having to calculate something very complex.
These puzzles were mindblowing, raaaaawr! Nice ones!
I plugged the last problem into an engine analysis, and it gave me a solution where white castles, lmao.
I like those lessens ... GM Ben you are amazing
Ha, I got that hard puzzle by logic. I figured we have to force him to promote a way of our choosing which implies we need to create a capture promotion and take away the forward promotion.
Then it all fell into place. Nb1 takes away stalemate and creates a capture promotion. Ke2 runs to where promotion won’t be check. Rc1 blocks and creates mate when he promotes.
.
A fine video.
GM Finegold didn't remark on it but his opponent was rated somewhere in the 1700's and he is better than that. White understood the position well and made lots of sensible moves.
It took a fair while for GM Finegold to get on top.
55:38 - What was wrong with rook G1? Still checkmate! I know black can promote to a knight with a check, but it doesn't stop checkmate
You need to find the fastest mate.
@@schuller623 It might not be fast but it was simplest to me. I'm not GM material 🙄
@@DomDeDom it is a chess puzzle for finding mate in 4. In an actual game sure you can do whatever is easiest to you. But in order to solve the puzzle you need to do what it suggests.
at 30:35 wouldn't ke2 be a checkmate?
King to E2...? Its not a legal move.
f2 is check but the knight blocks the bishop allowing the king to move to G1
Yeah I got no idea what the me from 2 years ago was thinking :/
i take the simple lesson here look after what is defended and what is not in every move . if i can do that in every move i think i will be a much better player
Plus, look what squares a move takes, and what squares it gives.
Doesn't help playing against Fritz 10, though. That program is relentless and I get crushed even though I tried to adjust the rating, lol.
It is very good! Thank You!
cocaine is a helluva drug, Mr. Sniffles. ;)
Okay, that was a low blow, Mr. Finegold...your youtube vids have drawn me back to playing chess again and you are one of the most important reasons why people get into it. Thank you for that...you have made me find joy in something again.
"...so if I'm black, then the lower opponent might draw. But if I make the game really interesting, and they play really well...that's not possible. Why is their rating so low if they're playing so well?"
You're such a dick...but you are SO relatable to the average player. Thank you for that...because it's hysterical while teaching us what we never knew.
sorry if I just double posted
1:03:01 What if white's 3. move is Bc7 and the 4. Nc6?
"Can I go to the bathroom...?"
lol
"you played g5" "i played what?! g5??" made me laugh
senior year of high school we had a middle aged guy who thought his rating was 782. rest of my friends and I were beginners and we were all 1580+. he came off a 3/5 win tourney vs. higher rated players but next month's chess life had him at 782 again. guy had a master's degree in chemistry. finally the prez of our club had mercy on him, "Ray, that's the expiration date of your USCF membership."
the most instructive chess video on the internets
"He's here, which means he's not home, so I robbed his house"
at 1:02:57 during the puzzle. Why can't white play bishop c7 leaving black with a single legal move of king a7 followed by knight c6 mate?
There are many similar variations to that. The problem with them is that the king goes back into the corner after Nc6+.
Like Nystel said because Nc6 isn't mate, just check.
”You with a comment that doesnt make sense” 😂
Excellent lecturer
At 30:30 - Rook to F2 is mate.
No. It's check but the knight blocks the bishop allowing the king to move to G1
At 48:21, couldn't you just move Rook to H4, force Black into moving King, and then win? Or do you have to win in precisely 4 moves?
where is the black king going to move?
@@Blaisem This was a while ago, but IIRC, the logic was that the C3 Knight halts movement of the black Pawn. Your move is to advance White Rook to H4, which places the pawn in jeopardy next turn, but it also prevents you from disturbing the position of the F6 Knight / H6 Pawn. This leaves Black with only one legal move: the King. Anywhere the king moves is checkmate given the position of the F6 Knight and H6 Pawn. Knight takes King at G8/H7, and Pawn takes King at G7.
Again, I may be misunderstanding the point of the puzzle because there may be rules that the students were given that I don't know.
@@aureate In chess, if the only move you can make is to place your king into check, then the game is a stalemate. A stalemate is a draw. In order to win, you have to actively checkmate the enemy king on your turn. Rook H4 gifts the opponent in a losing position with a stalemate.
@@Blaisem I see. I'm still learning chess and wasn't aware of that. It's a frustrating rule.
Did one of the people in the class say "take with the horse"?? Terrible
stephen0793 Because it is a horse.
It's called a horse in some other languages
It's a caballo in spanish, not a caballero
here in Mexico we say "caballo" to that piece
In Arabic we call it (Hissan) which means horse
the best teacher ever!!!! wish you could come to India to teach
10:07 why doesn't G6 stop F5 and makes it even better?
Second question: 18:38 why is Knight to G5 no option?
G6 makes f5 better because white king is safe and black king will most likely castle king side so when playing f5 you have two points of contact, the bishop on e6 and g6 pawn which means white can either mess up the pawn structure around black's king side and the black's lightsquared bishop will have to move surrendering the d5 square for a white knight.
Bishop takes queen for free and the retreat if you needed it to in the game at 37-42 mins
I've won a similar game with B N vs R someone told me R was better in end games than B N in the end game, but i did what you did just used B to protect and just shoved my pawns.
Love these puzzles. Rawrrr!
New at chess and just watching random videos but at 30:30 isn't Nf2 check mate? I have a feeling I'm completely blind and missing something here.
That blocks the bishop. White would have kg1.
@@Evilanious Of course. Tunnel vision confirmed.
suspicious nose problems
coca cola
Everything you just wrote = very suspicious.
Not that suspicious, just a side effect of him using cocaine
The truth hurts
Yayo, yayo, all I know is yayo
Everyone class with Ben Finegold
In the puzzle I saw mate in 5!
1 Nce4
1 c3
2 Ke2
2 c2
3 Ng5
3 c1=N+
4 Kf3
4 Ne2 (Nd3(Nb3(Na2))) {doesn't matter where the black knight goes...)
5 Nf7#
:D
I thought I solved the puzzle like that, because I didn't saw black can promote to a knight with check and survive 1 move longer.