Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan presents a lecture on the English and how to best respond to c4. Presented by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
I sometimes think that watching Yasser's videos is more fun than actually playing chess. He explains games with a perfect pace, like taking a walk on a promenade, enjoying so much the view.
Yasser, I can’t see anyone being a nemesis. You’re so seemingly gentle and kind that people would feel bad about beating you even if they could! Seriously, you strike me as peaceful as Mr. Rogers. Add to that you’re brilliant at the game. Great video.
I once had the pleasure of playing against Yasser Seirawan in Seirawan chess, which is a variant of his own creation. He complimented my play and told me I had good instincts despite being leagues above me, which seemed very humble and down to earth. That experience stuck with me. His advice for me was simple, but memorable. "Dazzle them with brilliance, and if you can't manage that, still remember to smile."
really instructive, after i watched the first time i had to watch again to study the position and I discovered that Yasser at 1.25 speed seems really natural anyway
GM YASSER IS JUST THE BEST & AS SOMEONE COMMENTED ITS MORE FUN SEEING HIM LECTURE ON CHESS THAN ACTUALLY PLAYING CHESS. THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO CHESS EDUCATION
Unfortunately a lot of the interesting analysis was missed by the cameraman who didn't follow the speaker when they are talking whilst pointing at the screen.
+Phil Mc That would be the fault of the editor, who does not remove the board when Yasser works the screen. It's an unfortunate drawback of this format.
Very instructive BUT the online board obscures the board Seirawan uses, Seirawan's style is to point out on the board his ideas and the online audience doesn't see this.
A lot of Yasser's lecture is lost to us beginners due to poor editing which kind of defeats the object of the video. Lecture somewhere else please Mr Seirawan.
The modern computer doesn't like it at all will give you about a 60% "accuracy." Peace and love. There's simply never lived a more beautiful player than Yasser (.) Peace and Love
I love your channel. This very lecture is very helpful as I want to improve my openings. I used to play "kids-style" before (getting pawns in the center, develope peaces, castle), but now I've come to the point when I really have to get the ideas of openings.
There`s nothing wrong with putting pawns in the centre, developing and castle, it`s a very good way of opening, but i still get your point.. it`s nice to try other things
Well, just putting pawns in the center and somehow survive the opening gets boring with the time... And I don't always want to ask my friend Fritz! what the opening is called ;-)
Well anyway who am i to say what somebody shoul play, or not. It`s really a matter of taste. As white i do play mainly classically for the occupation of the centre with pawns, and build up my play from there. With black i tend to favor more"Hyper modern" Style. I surely dont have a massive knowledge of the openings and all the various modern trends etc., but im also not total and complete beginner, rated about 2000..
Hey Martin, if you're interested in improving your understanding of the openings I strongly recommend Modern Chess Openings 14th edition; that book was a real turning point for me in my opening preparation. Besides providing a wealth of book opening lines, they also provide you with concrete ideas for each opening variation.
16:40 I think this is the line Yasser is talking about off screen, but please correct me if I misunderstood: 1. Qb3+ Kh7 2. cxd6 cxd6 3. Ba3 ... 4. Nd2 ... 5. Nc4 ... 6. b6 ...
So the idea was to play an opening that was strong on positional themes and not dependent on tactical variations. I'm not as good but tend to prefer the same. So now I wonder what he decided on for black? The Sicilian is extremely tactical and well studied, so not a great option. So what instead? (I used to prefer the Dutch and Caro-Kann, but both have drawbacks and don't really work to the same strategy)
Why does Seirawan say it takes longer to study QGD longer than KID or the Gruenfeld? I play the Queens Gambit Declined because its solid and seems easiest to me, especially if you accept the "gambit" on move 3 or whatever. Dxc4, c5 and exchange. But of course you can keep it closed trying for a complex game.
I think he;s looking at it from White's perspective. He means learning all of the sub openings that come from 1.d4 d5 2.c4 like the Slav, the Semi-Slav, the Tarrasch, the Semi-Tarrasch , even the Chigorin. plus the QGA, and the 'normal' QGD. When you play white against the KID or the Gruenfeld you can concentrate on one variation in each opening. On the other hand you could just play the exchange variation and that really cuts down the learning time although you need to be a great endgame player to make it work.
+Steve Veasey Not true. Both the Gruenfeld and the King's Indian have tons of theory behind them and are very topical at the highest level of play. Grandmasters need to study these more because they're played more often, and are considered more trying than the QGD
That's because you need to work on it to improve. Improvement in chess is like any other subject, you need the knowledge (lessons) and then practice. Also even if you learn something the real learning happens while you sleep, so you probably will not see improvement until a few days in
This is a terrific opening and if I was black ...I was terrified of the c4 move.. but now I am ok with it.. I will be using this a lot going forward. Incidentally, Bobby Fischer played this c4 opening a lot, some call it an English Opening, others call it a Scandinavian defense. Either way.. brilliant opening for sure!!
@@SantoshP1354 It doesn't create an attack (as it doesn't attack any enemy squares), but it does prepare b4, so probably it is just as good (just playing a different move order)
GM Seirawan, I played chess in Oregon when you began your career, you were famous then! However, you had an older gentleman who functioned as your tutor/friend who played in tournaments at the same time, was rated much higher than yourself and guided your chess development. BE HONEST about your history and how you came to the English!!!!
@@teocantsleep4611 Yes, I did and that is exactly why I commented on his forthrightness. He was NOT just a kid learning to play chess. He was groomed and mentored by an adult (some guy from Europe or Russia). He had all the advantages that anyone could want. Yes, Seirawan was good but who wouldn't be when developed like he was. But to hear him tell the story: "I was just a humble prodigy who cam to chess out of my own intellect ", uh no I don't think so.
Disagreed, i prefer GM Yasser's lectures, he's more experienced, has good stories, more showmanship and at his prime was a better player than Akobian. Although i do enjoy Akobian's lectures as well Yasser is just another league.
