See the Videos Page for general information on viewing these videos.
Videos of Amateur Games 2009-2013
If you have a game to submit, put it in your ICC library and email me its location; I don't use all submissions but I do use many. These amateur game videos concentrate primarily on teaching basic (and intermediate!) principles and how they are applied. In some cases "perfect" computer analysis is applied (I usually use Rybka or Houdini) but, for much of the videos, I just do some basic "off the top of my head" analysis which (very) occasionally is incorrect (but hopefully not misleading). If you want the "truth" of the games you are welcome to submit the analysis to a strong engine, but that is not the purpose of the videos. The same can be applied to the "book" knowledge of the opening.
If you have a game to submit, put it in your ICC library and email me its location; I don't use all submissions but I do use many. These amateur game videos concentrate primarily on teaching basic (and intermediate!) principles and how they are applied. In some cases "perfect" computer analysis is applied (I usually use Rybka or Houdini) but, for much of the videos, I just do some basic "off the top of my head" analysis which (very) occasionally is incorrect (but hopefully not misleading). If you want the "truth" of the games you are welcome to submit the analysis to a strong engine, but that is not the purpose of the videos. The same can be applied to the "book" knowledge of the opening.
- An Amateur Game (part 1); An Amateur Game (part 2)
- Doubled Isolated Pawns can Sometimes be Nice
- Don't Close off your Attack
- Considering All Threats
- Rushing Critical Moments
- Save Time for Critical Moves
- Play on and Try to Win
- Handling Complexities
- Any One Move Can Lose the Game
- Playing a Sacrifice
- It Helps to Understand the Opening
- Dance on the Weak White Squares
- Too Bad - Too Fast
- A Million Ways to Win
- Interesting in Every Phase* - at least one vote that this is the most instructive video
- Don't Acquiesce (part 1); Don't Acquiesce (part 2)
- Technique (part 1); Technique (part 2)
- Losing Material Doesn't Always Lose
- Get Those Pawns Rolling
- Instructive Rooks
- Avoid Purposeful Errors
- Endgame See-saw
- Weak Squares and Majorities
- Aggression Pays Off
- Winning the Exchange is not Always Enough
- The Imbalanced Sicilian
- Passive Play When Ahead
- Throw the Kitchen Sink
- King and Pawn Endgames are Tricky - email from Victor Spear on this video: Very rarely have I ever encountered a chess lesson more deceptively profound than your latest ICC entry. On the surface it might seem that it is so "basic" that it might be simply passed over. Nothing could be further from the truth. On closer examination it comes clear that there are more pearls of wisdom per square inch than I have encountered in a long time. You have a wonderful gift of being able to crawl into the mind of the club player and zero in on what is pertinent. You seem to know how I think. What is privilege it is to have you speak to me weekly on a one-to-one basis. You are, quite simply, the best."
- Flexible Opening - Opposite Side Castling
- One Bad Move...Upset!
- Missing That Opening Opportunity
- Instructive Mistakes
- Strategic Misunderstandings
- Tactical Oversights
- The Sense of Danger
- Playing Fast in Slow Games is Silly**
- Danger: Picking off pawns when way ahead
- Sometimes Doing Nothing is Good
- Opening Gambit Pays Off
- Playing Fast in Clear Positions
- Double Blunders
- Random Games Are Instructive**
- Another Instructive Endgame
- Famous Opening Trap
- Doubled Pawns Not Consequential
- Back and Forth Flow
- Frittering Away The Advantage
- Want to Improve? --- Learn This**
- Fine Combination Not Consumated
- One Bad Move in the Opening
- Down a Piece? Fight Back!
- Strong Amateurs in Closed Game
- Making Critical Decisions Way Too Quickly**
- One Bad Move in Time Trouble
- Active King Overcomes Bishop Opposite Color
- Solid Game, Critical Mistake
- Avoid the 'Just Play it Out' Attitude
- How Not to Play When Way Ahead - And Still Win - for how to play correctly, take this link
- Two Pieces Ahead, No Win - Yet
- Simul Game Victory
- Play Too Fast - No Win
- Without a Clock is a Different Game
- A Ton of Instructive Ideas
- How did the e-pawn Survive?
- See-Saw Game Ends in Upset
- Fast Play Throws Away Upset vs. FM - message from Stefjohn: Hi Dan, Thought your 'Upset FM' lecture was a pure joy. Terrific game selection, wonderfully instructive and poignant lecture and analysis. Thanks a lot.
- Exception: R&P OK vs. B&N
- Win Thrown Away Twice
- Difficult "Resigns" Position vs. an IM
- Instructive King's Indian*
- Complicated Game Played Super-Fast
- Wild Game with Big Mood Swings
- Castling Opposite Sides - Fun Game
- Monstrous Positional Blunder Seals Loss - giving up fianchettoed bishop unnecessarily
- Too Fast or Too Slow - Similar Problem
- This King Exposure Was Fatal
- Another Fast and Badly Played Endgame
- Two Big Blunders Even Out
- Instructive King and Pawn Endgame (again)*
- Black's Early Advantage Fades Away
- This Story's Ending Has Twists
- Well-Known Opening Tactical Pattern
- Played Well for A While Then Fell Apart
- Doubleheader: Tactical Games
- Too Quickly Played Positional Battle
- Piece Against Two Pawns Early
- A Cautionary Tale - Stefjohn wrote: "...your sense of humor really comes thru on this one! Good fun. Hats off to Black for writing some notes; many of us would be tempted to burn the score sheet & pretend it never happened!"
- This Time Fast Play Not Punished
- It Doesn't Take Much to Lose - fixed the ...Ng4 problem early in the video with a patch
- Well-Played Slow Game
- Marshall Attack Becomes Open Ruy
- Wacky, Complicated Game
- King's Indian Attack Had One Chance
- Pretty Correspondence Finish
- One Big Mistake Takes Down the 2200
- Two 1900s on a Roller Coaster
- Immortal "Coulda Traded Queens" Game
- Another Kingside Attack
- Two Weaker Players Play Short, Instructive, Game
- Rooks in the Openings* - Touya tells you: your video with rooks was awesome; --- very instructive video, rooks in the opening...Thank you. Joe
- Big Errors Reverse Fortunes
- Amateur Correspondence Game Close Battle
- Unsafe Play Throws Away 500-Point Upset
- Tough Rook and Pawn Endgame Not Held
- Beating the Lower Rated Player with Kingside Attack* - Stefjohn: very nice work!! A lot of fun and most instructive!! it truly is a gem!
- Playing Aggressively Against an Opponent 500 Points Higher*
- Good Player, Bad Move
- Sharp Opening, One Mistake: Fast Game
- Minor Strategic Errors Add Up
- Crazy Fast Play Keeps Players Weak
- Exciting Game - Both Sides Missed Chances
- White misses one idea, Black misses one move
- Lower Level Commentary to Aid the Needy - this video is annotated at a level for lower rated players ~<1200
- Upset Missed by Cashing in Chips for Too Little
- The Sneaky Pin Double Blunder Game
- Keeping Your Cool in Critical Positions is Key
- What Happens When (a) Break Move (is) Unplayed
- A Guilty Pleasure
- White Wins First Half, Black Wins Second
- Book Knowledge Loses Value if You Blunder
- Game with Instructive Counting Tactics
- Two 1800s in a See-saw Battle
- Sharp Line Leads to Dangerous Defense
- The Great Quiescence Error Game
- Throwing the Kitchen Sink Failed
- Little Mistakes Add Up - Then Subtract
- Strong Player's Fast Play Not Punished
- The Better Analyst Wins - Barely
- Playing Too Fast at Wrong Time
- Endgame Advantage Fades to Loss
- Clever Defense and Good Technique
- A Ton of Instructive Mistakes
- Silly Mistakes Lead to Instructive Endgame
- One Sneaky Pin Too Many
- Up and Down vs Expert
- Recognizing Tactical One Plus Ones
- A Real Spielmann Sacrifice
- Sometimes the Underdog Reigns*
- Sneaky Pin Missed Repeatedly
- Was the Loss Inevitable?
- Fighting Sveshnikov
- Exposing King OK but Later Mistakes Fatal
- Unbalanced Game - Possible Upset - this may be the same game as #139 "Sometimes the Underdog Reigns"
- Galaxy Quest - "Never give up - never surrender!"
- Tactical Rook & Pawn Endgame
- One Big Mistake
- Positional Maneuvering