I was a 700 player since 2013 when I started playing chess.. I am from Tunisia north africa and chess is not popular nor do we have chess clubs in my state.. but then in 2018 I started watching your videos.. now I'm 1834 rated and peaked at 1912 all thanks to you and your lessons and advices.. you also made me play the sicilian defence with black lol.. and every time I give up on it you drop an other video giving me more ideas and making me like play it again.. I really wanna thank you so much.. your contribution to the chess game is just on an entire level on it's own.. a chess GM giving free lessons for almost all levels.. thank you so much.. you are the besttestest.. est
Fellow Moroccan here, I share your struggle with the clubs but not for long as I just started playing chess about 10 months ago 😅😅, I just hit 1300 rapid but I hope I get as good as you are 😂
Another great GM Finegold video! 20 years ago Danny Kopec was my chess coach and I asked him how he invented the Kopec System. He said he had trouble remembering opening variations and saw that after 2.Bd3, he could quickly get the piece to safety and then just go Ruy Lopez the rest of the way. The Kopec System is definitely an opening that doesn't get enough credit... It's especially useful for players who need something quick & easy against the Sicilian. Thanks for covering it!
"That doesnt mean you are right and im wrong, but probably we are both wrong" lol, i loved that comment. I hate the sicilian with all my guts, but this lecture actually helps me understand a lot about how to play againt it. Excellent work Ben, thanks for sharing!
Greatest 1hr on the Sicilian! Well done Ben… Currently learning Sicilian for both sides and can see how much you have to learn on 2nd and 3rd moves. Will give some thought to pet systems and anti-Sicilians. Much love fam
Every single lecture/lesson/"truth hurts" discussion I'm fortunate enough to watch, really connects the dots/neurons in my brain regarding opening intentions and uses for each format/variation. My son will be watching your videos in a few years when he can comprehend what you're really unveiling. Thank you!
I do enjoy Ben’s style, he’s great! Main takeout for me, there is an infinity of more or less equal variations, explore and get to know your way around the smaller roads if you want your opponent to get lost
Great lecture Ben, thanks. Nearing 1700 on lichess I have only *just* started facing open Sicilians. Been playing c5 since day one, but for all that I have very little practice against the main lines. So this was a big help!
Great lesson with the sicilian opening and different types of play. I usually play much more with the sicilian with the black pieces and I feel like I have a slightly much better advantage. I also like to play the kings indian with black and it seems to be a nightmare for the white pieces.
I benefit from Mr Feingold's lectures, plus he's got a great sense of humor which helps when dealing with a serious game. I watched part of a Nakamura lecture on the Sicilian and, unfortanately, I stopped watching it because Nakamura was demonstrating in Blitz fashion showing a barage of combinations without appropriate explanation in my opinion.
Ah i hate when i face wing gambit but my score against it is above 80% in rapid and blitz and for some reasons i dont know why i cant learn the theory for how to play against wing gambit! If you are expert at wing gambit definitely you crush many Sicilian players:)
@@maxrusty3596 Lol. I typically play the French against e4, but it can end up in a Sicilian basically because C5 is good against Nf3 in the French, but then it's no longer the French really.
Lecture got really interesting in the end, white sicilian looks like fun! Last year i started playing sicilian with black, i went for accelerated dragon but didn't have great success with it. Kan sicilian is easier to play and almost nobody knows it. I wouldn't have studied any sicilian lines if it wasn't for Kan sicilian. Shoutouts to Levy's video where he mentioned the Kan variation. TOP 8 BEST Chess Openings
I have a question about center flank pawn openings. Why is the Sicilian 1)...c5 ok to play as black, English 1) c4 ok as white but from what I read from GMs books, the Dutch 1)... f5 is trash against d4?? I guess that you could even throw the 🕊️ Bird in there as trash, 1) f4. GM tnmts never see the Dutch Def or birds opening. 'splain it to me Lucy 🤔
I'm no expert, but here's my guess. Dutch and Bird's open on the kingside, and weaken the king early by opening the diagonal in front of it, and you usually have to make moves to defend against an opponent's queen coming down that diagonal and causing you a lot of trouble. Sicilian and English open queenside which instead opens the diagonal for the queen to develop, and leaves the King in safety still.
But can't you just castle long and avoid those open diagonals? Also, history World champion Botvinnik didn't seem to have a problem defending d4 with the Dutch
Yeah it's basically the difference between king and queen every time. If you want to know the mechanics of it, I suggest trying out the theory of each in a mirrored position, taking both sides.
