Even the chess master was once a beginner (Irving Chernev) and I remember being low rated too. When I first learned the rules of chess, I didn't even know what a Grandmaster was or that ratings existed! From my vague memories of chess back then, I'd estimate I was about 700 rating ability. I've had to deal with pawn-pushing opponents a lot to reach the ability I have now, so yeah we all have to go through it. I guess this is a long way of saying you are not alone. Hope this video and others on my channel help you deal with your chess opponents :)
Great video, thanks so much for the discussion of these three positions! @27:00 the tactic I saw was 13.Ngxf7 Nxf7 (or risk losing the ...h6-Knight) 14.Bg5 winning the Black Queen. If ...Qxg5 then 15.Qxf7# mate. If ...Bf6 then 15.Bxf6 winning the Bishop then the Black Queen (never mind the fork of the Black Queen and the ...h8-Rook). Stockfish says the tactic in the video was stronger, but I am not sure I would have played to win a pawn when I could have played to win the Queen.
I should have found this video earlier when I was this elo and not tryharding so much that I outplay my elo rating by about 300 points just for people like pawn pushers This is still a great video
Thank you; hopefully my channel can help you for the level you are at now too. I've got videos at a range of rating levels because I want to include everyone on this chess improvement journey :)
Thank you, your explanations were clear and helpful. It all make a lot of sense! My follow qn would be - when is the right time to push pawns? Or do you want to avoid pushing as much as possible and have the aim of playing mostly with the pieces? Cheers!
Glad the video was helpful :) Different chess openings feature different pawn structures and different plans, so sometimes you'll push pawns (gain space, control the center, play for pawn levers etc.) and other times you'll avoid pushing pawns (developing pieces, keeping pawns in front of a castled king close by etc.). Several videos on my channel go more in-depth to those specific situations, but certainly think twice about ANY pawn move because they can't go back once they advance, unlike the other pieces.
a2/a7 and h2/h7 are common prophylactic moves to prevent your opponent from pinning your knight to your King and Queen, a tactic which is part of theory in many lines. a2/a7 also prevents a later fork of your king and rook, which is essential if you are playing chicken with your opponent to see who castles first instead of castling ASAP. h2/h7 prevents a protected knight from forking your queen and your rook (protected to avoid being taken by your king). There are many reasons to employ these prophylactic moves, and the statement that either side should _welcome_ leaving themselves vulnerable to common pins and forks is ludicrous. I’ll admit that it takes practice to get the read on whether any given prophylactic move is necessary in a given game, but having fallen victim to _both_ of those vicious forks in the past (one person forking my queen and rook with their knight protected _and_ my king in check), I often go with ‘better safe than sorry’ when it comes to prophylaxis in chess.
If you continue depending on these too early prophylactic moves you will never get better at chess. You will always be crushed by those who punish you properly
The person I play most just plays either D4 and E4 or the other way around and just keeps building on it. It's so tough to break through. They will nearly always choose to be white as well.
1. d4 or 1. e4 can become many solid openings and these are also the two most popular first moves in chess. If they play solid, you have to play solid as well. If they push pawns and constantly violate opening principles, then it typically makes your job a little easier. As for them usually choosing the white pieces, most players switch colors after each game, or randomly draw for colors out of fairness.
@@kesetokaiba they normally push the Queens pawn first whether they are white or black and then they will always play the Kings pawn straight after. We normally only have one or two games per day but they usually set the game up so they choose white or get lucky when we choose randomly.
@@travisfoster4161 Having the center pawns advanced two squares together (on d4 and e4 with white or d5 and e5 with black) is called a "pawn duo" and is actually a good beginner strategy of controlling the center. Usually you want to prevent the opponent from doing this. For example if you were the black pieces: 1. d4 d5 2. e4 is the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit chess opening, but not objectively that good because white won't be able to keep the pawn duo in the center. 2...dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 and the black side is just up a pawn and securing their own in the center. Black is already slightly better. Granted, in this example, the game is only on move 3, so there is a ton of chess left, but if you eventually lose the game, it wasn't because of the first few moves. :)
@@kesetokaiba nice how long? and dont make educational chess videos at 800 elo . show your own matches and the key ideas which beginners can learn from.
@@phoenixfly-c2i I have a few videos like that already and plan to have a few more videos of my own chess in the future. This was one of the first videos on my channel and I like to mix up the rating range so everyone feels included. :) Check out some of my other videos like the one on How To Attack Positionally or How To Dominate The Chess Board (Conquer in the thumbnail). Those show some of my own chess as do a few other videos too.
I thought c3 at 9:40 bc if they dont tale you take and they have to take with a pawn then d4 is destabalized and they take you have another pawn tk pressure the center
Yes, c3 is a logical idea, but a3 is better because you open up the a-file for your Rook whereas c3 might open up the c-file, but your Rook isn't ideally placed on c1. The point of openings lines of attack here is to bring your pieces into play actively. The c3 idea is a decent plan in a practical game, but a3 better understands the time factor of piece activity (c3, opening the c-file and getting the Rook to c1 takes time whereas a3 and using the a-file is quicker).
Maybe he's pointing 2 thumbs at himself and announcing his statement with gusto? Dunno. So hard to tell without a GIF to add context. 😂🤣 Thanks for the video!
I've played a really good player lately who played a5 Ra7 and he or she later brought the rook to the h-file. And from that moment i had a really hard time. After a while i got in time trouble. So when someone pushes every pawn 2 spots it's really crazy. Confusing.
In a case like that, it is usually best to ignore their moves and keep developing pieces and controlling the center. The ...a5 move does nothing to fight for the center, or develop a piece. ...Ra7 develops a piece, but to a square it is bad on and this also does nothing for the center. Best of luck :)
This is great, especially the first example, which is common in the trenches of low ELO chess. I like that you acknowledge it's not actually that terrible for the pawn pusher. I've done a couple of opening principles courses and their pawn pusher examples are those wasting time with wing pawn pushes that are easy to deal with ("you follow your principles and build the center!" they say) but the push in example 1 is really just an overemphasis on particular principles (space and central control) to the exclusion of another (development). In shorter time controls, they can get a big time advantage as you're bewildered, creating a closed position that feels hard to crack. Then you lose on time, feeling like you're still losing despite playing "the right way."
Exactly! Plus I'd sometimes get frustrated at the position being closed and try to sacrifice material to "open it up" and you guessed it...it opens up with me down material and no advantage. I'm glad you found this video helpful :)
Many good moves, but for starters after ...Nf5, white can play Ngxf7 since the knight left h6 to protect f7. One cool line is Ngxf7 Rg8 Bg5! and the black queen is trapped!
a2/a7 and h2/h7 also prevent assholes from forcibly trading their bishops for my knights, knowing full well that knights are _dead_ useful to later maneuver into a fork that the opponent doesn’t see coming and/or can’t stop. I love using knight moves to outmaneuver my opponents, and being stripped of that possibility so early in a game always makes me consider resigning on the spot. I usually talk myself out of it, and see if I can get the other minor pieces and Queens off the board as quickly as possible to turn it into a long ass rook and pawn endgame. If I can accomplish that, then I have claimed my fun back.
Yup it sure is, but I gave a sample line regarding the more logical Bxc4 in the pgn diagram in the chess.com club (link in YT video description). I chose not to address this in the YT video because the video is long enough and it is actually complicated stuff. For purposes of this video, Black is losing by a lot, so it makes sense to look at if they try to keep the position closed (...c4) even at the cost of a pawn because allowing the position to open up typically favors the side better developed (white side in this example). :)
