Fischer's Rule Will Prevent 50% of Your Chess Mistakes

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

🎯 Get the Clear Blueprint to Elevate Your Chess Performance. Learn "The Secrets of Strong Players" - online.chess-teacher.com/course/the-secrets-of-strong-players/

[@hchandu3366]

Literally fell in ❤ with the provided information. For me this gonna be 1st principle of chess " Neutralize the pieces if they enter your teritory". Great video and explain man🎉.

[@nth7273]

You are an underrated chess teacher! Thanks for your work!

[@nth7273]

Do you have a favorite chess channel (other than your own)?

[@neilrhyanllumpera8712]

in 3:25 Black can still go with Nxh3

[@ernestcooper3316]

I want to really learn this game of chess, I mean being a strong player Help me out

[@rxw5520]

I’ve studied chess casually on and off for years, I’ve read beginner books, watched hundreds of videos and played thousands of games, and whenever people discuss how to analyze a position, I’ve NEVER heard anyone just simply say “notice the pieces on your half of the board and neutralize them”. I mean sure you notice where pieces are, but most of us low-intermediates when we see a position, we count material, count attackers and defenders of everything, look for checks, forks, skewers, look to pin something, etc. If none of this jumps out, it’s like ok what now? Increase piece activity? Pawn break?? This idea of neutralizing opponents pieces in your territory “should” be assumed, but it isn’t, so thanks for pointing it out. Failure to address this has caused me a lot of losses as I neglect the first piece into my territory and it snowballs into brutal tactics and mate threats.

[@activepieces]

Agreed, and I am a professional chess coach and Candidate Master

[@cedricgist7614]

You're the first comment I've read - and I tip my hat to you! I just resumed playing after decades of aversion to the game and judging from your comments, you're light-years ahead of me in study, puzzles, and competition. I don't feel like I've been looking for shortcuts, but I have been seeking principles that I can regularly apply with the necessary flexible mindset. Your comment arrested me because with all your experience and exposure, you're telling me that none of the experts you've read or heard simplified board vision to, "Neutralize invaders." I know it's more complicated than that - but man, with all the complexities and nuances of this game, it's nice to latch on to something that seems simple and common sense. Let me end by saying that it seems common sense is an uncommon commodity. Thanks for your comment.

[@jumpingship3001]

First time I've heard this to.

[@DexterHaven]

I studied chess casually for years too... now I wear pants.

[@AJBTemplar]

It's actually commonly recommended. Last time I saw it was either Anna Cramling (months ago) or one of the Botez girls.

[@ChessBitez]

Solution to the puzzle: 1.Rxg7+ Kxg7 2.Ne6+ wins the queen with a fork 1.Rxg7+ Kh8 2.Rxh7+ Nxh7 3.Qxh7# 1.Rxg7+ Kh8 2.Rxh7+ Kg8 3.Qg6#

[@MyBiPolarBearMax]

Beautiful

[@okechukwuokeagu]

Beautiful

[@u.nagarajvaidya7827]

😮wow

[@germinat0r]

I'm new to chess - I get that outcomes 2 and 3 are perfect, but why is the first (and most likely one to happen) reason enough for black to resign? Black would lose the queen, but still has 2 rooks and a knight against a queen and a rook?

[@GTAfresch]

@@germinat0r Because of king safety, blacks King is exposed and it would end in a nice hunt for white

[@jeffkaplan9486]

I had to pause the video "A smart man knows how to get out of trouble, A wise man doesn't get in to trouble" Igor... YOU ARE THE BEST !!!

[@aparnarai3708]

I have heard a different version A smart man solves a problem, a wise one avoids it.

[@BlindHatchet]

That was a great line!

[@DexterHaven]

I knew Hunter Biden wasn't the one who said that first too.

[@upisntdownsilly]

@@aparnarai3708 trouble is more accurate than problem, you can stay out of trouble but youre always going to need to solve problems

[@KororaPenguin]

Of course, away from the chessboard even the very wise cannot see all ends.

[@Om-nq3sl]

The rule is: 2:27 If opponents piece is in your half of the board, try to get it out of there. It can be done by trading pieces or pushing the opponents piece back into his half

[@HeavenStudiosOfficial]

THANKS FOR SAVING ME 9 MINUTES.

[@3300flavio]

Thanks

[@Peter-w4s1e]

No, just let your opponents pieces just hang out

[@andersonarmstrong2650]

In other words: get rid of it!

[@jongler9775]

This advice is pure gold. About the last puzzle, I would say Rxg7+ If king takes the rook, you fork with the Knight and take the black queen. If it doesn't take, he gets mated in a few moves. Crazy stuff.

[@mysticseven6578]

I saw that, but is the attempt much of a gain for white? The captures end in white trading a knight and rook for a queen, while black’s pawn structure remains in tact going into the end game. Sure, a queen and rook have the potential to rip those pawns apart if they can infiltrate black’s territory, but black still seems to have fighting chances. I’m not sure if it’s a notable enough win for white. (Though for all I know stockfish has this position as a mate in 5 or something.)

[@grenvthompson]

@@mysticseven6578 Stockfish says Rxg7 is the only winning move at around +7.5 - after the trade you also get dxc5, giving yourself a passed pawn - and adding 2 pawns to the trade (don't forget the original pawn the rook took). Also Stockfish says g6 by Black is slightly better than Nf6 - but white plays Re1 and Qe2 and has a lot of threats that black cannot properly defend.

[@ThePatriots010304]

It's 100% worth it because white trades a knight and rook for the queen and 2 pawns with a passed pawn on C5. It's a queen and rook vs 2 rooks and a knight with white also being up 2 pawns. Black is in horrible shape and can't sufficiently defend this position. It's winning every single time for white.

[@heesable]

what about Ne6?@@mysticseven6578

[@bradallen1762]

Not only all of that after taking the queen next move I would think is best would be dxc5 creating 2 isolated pawns in that position and all of whites pawns are connected. As long as there isn’t a major blunder it should be unstoppable

[@fizzahyder2965]

If this prevents 50 percent of my mistakes, I'll just watch it 2 times 😎

[@aresorum]

The joke's on you; you'll still make 25% of the mistakes you used to do.

[@hoon_sol]

@@aresorum: I watched it a million times.

[@mattt180]

@@hoon_sol That would take you nearly 16 years on a video that's been out 7 months. That and the video clearly says 741k views. Checkmate!

[@hoon_sol]

@@mattt180: I downloaded it and watched it fast-forwarded by a factor of a million; it took me a bit less than one minute. Check and mate!

[@Imagoofygoober42]

@@mattt180 He watched it at over 27x speed since the day it came out, non-stop. And he downloaded the video so it only counted as a single view. Checkmate.

[@dinos7318]

i like how crystal clear your lessons are. A friend of mine, who is a much more capable player than me, recommended your lessons - and guess what, they seem to be equally valueable for many players of different levels. Please keep up that amazing work.

[@cliffberry1900]

What I love about Igor's excellent method of teaching is that he involves you and makes you pause and really think. Otherwise I've just found myself passively following along with many other teachers- and learning VERY little.

[@anhada.8347]

Hey what about chess vibes

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Engaging with the material instead of just passively following along can truly make all the difference. Your feedback is appreciated!

[@darrylkassle361]

@@anhada.8347 his great too. Like Igor he explains everything in a way even hacks like me can easily understand what's going in. His actually in hospital at the moment with a life threatening blood clot!!! Igor is just as good but unlike a lot of educators he also has a great understanding of the psychology of chess and what to study and why and which methods are best. He has a PhD in psychology i think. What I am really impressed with having studied language before is how well he speaks English. Fascinates me how some people speak as well in a language as a native speaker yet grow up in non English speaking countries.

[@BICIeCOMPUTERconGabriele]

It's also a good channel @@anhada.8347

[@OregonMikeH]

@@anhada.8347 COMMENT OF YOURS IS WELL DESERVES IN THAT BOTH THESE TEACHERS EMPLOY THIS UTMOST IMPORTANT TEACHING AID, HOWEVER I WOULD APPRECIATE IGOR PROVIDING HIS PERSONAL SOLUTION SOMEWHERE IN THE LATER STRING OF COMMENTS.

[@MyBiPolarBearMax]

Remember the corollary of this idea: dont trade off your active pieces! When you can, develop your pieces into the opponents territory as far as you safely can! (Igor did another video on this concept). Love the stuff, Igor, best Chess teacher on YT 👍

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

👍

[@cronoscraiss330]

Can you link the other video Igor made that you mentioned, please? :)

[@andersonarmstrong2650]

There's a book: 'Simple Chess' by Michael Stean, which develops this theme advocating trading pieces that could prevent occupation of an outpost..this has become an objective of my middle game.

[@death826able]

Puzzle solution: Rxg7+ If Kh8, then Rxh7+ leads to a checkmate after Nxh7 and Queen takes Knight If Kxg7, then Ne6+ forks the King and Queen

[@Zaral7]

This seems like such a simple concept that I've not seen presented in any of the other chess training/studying I've done so far. It's been really helpful, thanks!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Great to hear! Yes, this is rarely discussed.

[@jhcmusicii6181]

This is the kind of Grandmaster advice that most Grandmaster keep a secret. Thank you it makes analyzing high level games more understandable. I've always noticed that even the best chess players don't really calculate better until the end game when there are fewer pieces but they somehow manage to get the advantage early on in a game. This is one way how. Amazing. I'm my own games I've noticed that the piece in my territory while not a threat initially the opponent will sooner or later find a way to hang you with it. It's limited my chess rankings to a max of 1650 at my best because I never even thought of the idea of neutralizing a threat. I'm more of a bring down the hammer kind of a player. Problem of course if I don't handle that threat then the opponents hammer might be faster than mine.

[@perkalov]

Nahh... it really isn't. There is no concpiracy to keep you from evolving. There is so much "simple rules" to lern that its simply "to much". There is other stuff we "crappy players" need to learn before going close to things like this. This is solid advice, but following the simple rules of opening strategy is still more important. Grab centre, develop, king safety. The reason you don't know "simple" strategical rules like this one is because you don't spend 10 hours a day learning. If you played a lot, you will instincivly dislike having your oponents pieces on you side of the board. I didn't know of this, but I allready instincively follows it. I do not like my oponent having pieces that can't be pushed away by pawns or removed. Say I got a white sqare bishop, and my oponent has a knight. I will instinctivly try to make sure he can't ancor that on a black square in my possition.

[@Jasterouge]

The problem is that long range pieces don’t need to be in your half of the board to be a threat. That’s what really catches many players.

[@jaydenkumar4695]

5:08 thats why he covers that as well

[@abpolsci27]

The reason bishop is slightly better than knight.

[@rodrigomesquita25]

@@abpolsci27 exactly

[@rasmachris94]

I think the principle here is 'most active' rather than just simplifying it down to whatever is on your side of the board. It's whatever is applying pressure to your side of the board in terms of threat potential. A queen staring across the board with none of their pieces on your side is most likely the biggest threat, then rook/bishop. If you have a knight on your side of the board that's obviously going to be your main concern. When you distil a game down to board states like the one at 5:33 the rooks dont have line of sight to apply pressure, neither does the queen and the knights are too far away to make a one turn impact. The only piece that is aiming down sights at your pieces is the bishop. And assuming that the bishop didnt have a line of sight to your pieces, you should be concerned about pawn breaks to open up the sight lines of their more powerful pieces. so locking the pawns in place so they have to make a mistake in moving their more powerful pieces into disadvantageous spots would be best.

[@adammcallister9675]

I ALWAYS exploit this when possible. People ALWAYS forget eventually.

[@samgreatclasher3798]

7:40 Answer of the puzzle Rxg7+ if King takes night e6 is a royal fork If King goes to h8 then there are 2 mating ways :- Kh8, Rxh7+, Nxh7, Qxh7# Kh8, Rxh7+, Kg8, Qg6#

[@aaronf.186]

Makes sense. Most of us under 1500 ELO tend to ignore what our opponent is doing until it’s too late. We’re so caught up in our own tactics, we get caught off guard. So addressing the attacker proactively solves this problem without having to figure out our opponent’s idea.

[@sa9245]

I feel like my problem is I'm one or the other. I can play defensively and try to stop my opponent from doing what they want. Or I can try and create an attack for myself. But if I'm playing defensive I feel like I'm too passive and I don't get to create opportunities to attack or even simple counter play. I basically feel like I'm on the back foot for the entire game and my hope is that they create their own problems. Either by a straight up blunder or even just over extending themselves too much.

[@mazenahmed2269]

I think the answer to the puzzle is 1.Rxg7+,Kxg7 2.Ne6+ and you grab the queen on the next move

[@redribbon9432]

Umm bt still both are losing equal points... White losing rook and knight and black queen

[@bjornkvaale6464]

No it’s +2 for white since you would get the pawn

[@ssj4stone269]

Yep that's what I think

[@judemorales4U]

I agree with your moves but although you fork black queen and rook, she can move. And she would. Then you take black rook and you will lose your knight. So you cannot just take her.

[@mikemahalo8290]

@@judemorales4U but the king is in check by the knight

[@thomasrad5202]

there is a reason fischer was one of the greatest of all time, in order to simplify such complexities into such a simple and actionable rule gives us a glimpse into his mastery over the game.

[@munashematangira4870]

I love how Igor’s courses have made me brilliantly lazy…I don’t have to think too much to play strong moves …Activity Activity Activity!!!🔥

[@zeebest1004]

Amazing! Laszlo Barczay actually got Bobby Fischer to resign an ez win situation!! 7:33 “White just resigned here”!

[@worshaka]

Puzzle solution: Rxg7 is the move, if Kxg7 then Ne6+ forking the King and Queen, otherwise if Kh8 then Rxh7+ and black decides how mate is given between Nxh7, Qxh7# or Kg8, Qg6# At least I think, I'm still shaky on calculating without moving the pieces for visual confirmation.

[@markhenrychristensen]

I love and admire the amount of effort you put into simplifying all your rules of engagement as much as I love your actual rules. 👍👌

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad it was helpful!

[@williamarthur5336]

Thanks for this great lesson ! About the last puzzle: Rxg7+. If black takes with the king, then Ne6 forks black's king and queen and black will lose the queen. If black doen't take the rook with the king, then it has to move the king to h8 and it becomes mate in 2 for white: first Rxh7+ then black could play Kxh7 and then white will play Qxh7#. If black plays Kg8 then Qg6#

[@ryanscott3261]

I guess you need to recognize when the urgent priority is a defensive/damage control posture before trying to mount your own attack. If you can't 'outrace' the opponent then you should seek to stabilize the losing position first and foremost.

[@peterbrown6224]

Rxg7+, either a royal fork if Kxg7, or hunt the King on h8 with your Rook. Some excellent tips in this episode, thank you!

[@n0denz]

This is really really helpful. One of the things that kept me out of the game for so long is my issue with visualizing things. I'm terrible at seeing shapes in my head, doing mental math, and stuff of that nature. I thought that in order to be good at chess, you needed to be able to play out scenarios in your head, entire games based on the first move. It's nice to know otherwise.

[@aleksaristic1773]

One of the best chess videos I ever watched. Had to comment. Simplicity, sanity and clearness 100%, super practical value of the tip, philosophy, puzzle at the end... this is absolutely TOP!!!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gcjacob]

One more very nice lesson, Igor! Thank you very much!

[@namedperson1436]

It's a nasty position, but Rook G7+ looks very hard to counter (if king captures, Ne6 forks Queen and king). If not then white has an extra attacker on the same h7 square and a forced m8.

[@bazcuda]

Think you meant Ne6, no? Good move with Rg7+! Puts Black in all sorts of problems.

[@namedperson1436]

@@bazcuda After RG7+, if king recaptures you have a king-queen fork with NE6+. If you do it before then you just hang a rook. If king doesn't recapture, then you have three attackers on H7. Let's say the king dances away instead of accepting M1, well, withthe pawns gone QG7 is now mate. But I am not sure if it is as winning if you sacrifice a horse and rook for pawn + queen. And yes, NE4 was my evening retardation kicking in.

[@quintdegourd6342]

Rg7+ of course. I love the elegance of Fisher's play. In hindsight it all seems so simple. No wonder Fisher was bored stiff behind the board and started to play crazy against Nigel Short.

[@Anthony-ls3pv]

Fischer himself denied that he played Short, and Short later made a public retraction of his claim.

[@davidken4344]

Hi Igor...love all your lessons and would be great to meet you one day. You are an absolute inspiration😊

[@killermouse01]

I really appreciate how simple and useful this advice is. I've played chess occasionally for years and only begun to take it seriously. But i'm definitely finding that some educational material is just too far over my head for where i'm at right now. This was simple, to the point, and effective advice to help guide my general thought process and analysis. Much appreciated! And made a new subscriber!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Chess rule to prevent blunders and improve your performance 00:09 Example-1 00:57 Example-2 01:42 Most common chess mistakes/blunders [Prevent them] 02:26 Bobby Fischer's Golden Chess Rule 03:26 Example-3: Donald Byrne vs Bobby Fischer 04:44 Example-4: Bobby Fischer vs Laszlo Barczay 07:39 Puzzle of the day

[@Rat.s]

❤❤

[@AlexScorpionVn]

In description please

[@eufrosniad994]

Thank you for this. Just one comment as feedback. At first I was about to give a dislike and leave the video because it felt like you were just doing a puzzle video with a click bait title. Luckily, I watched until you introduce the rule. It would have been good if you started with the rule and then went to puzzles to illustrate the point.

[@cronoscraiss330]

Well I found it good that way he did it.. because this forced us a bit to think for ourselves and to see that we eventually not yet think the way Fisher does, as we might consider other moves. Also he actually does say, that he will show the rule just in a bit, and then he goes through those examples once again. So you really experience the difference of finding moves using the new rule. ❤

[@Drawfill]

Pretty good advices! As someone who plays mostly bullet, I don't really have time to come up with a plan sometimes and this just makes it way way easier to plan my defense/attack without thinking TOO much.

[@CousinJamess]

Bullet is the biggest reason why lower rated players dont grow fast. Bullet completely hinders your ability to learn more thoughtful chess. if you want to play better stop playing bullet and play 10 min and higher.

[@Drawfill]

​@@CousinJamess Yes i'm aware... but I just won't do it. 10 minutes+ is just not fun for me idk

[@pokerchannel6991]

I see. that is really simple and pretty straightforward. Neutralize the active pieces of the enemy. It is a good directive and gives our side the easy answer as to which moves to make.

[@hololiveenjoyer5655]

Thanks I needed this, I was 1300 blitz a month ago, then a lot of stuff happened even my elo lowered down to a whopping 1000. Trying to get my groove back and perhaps get even better.

[@ReflectionOcean]

By YouSum Live 00:00:00 Rule by Robert Fisher enhances chess performance. 00:00:09 Analyzing positions crucial for strategic decision-making. 00:00:25 Trading off pieces strategically alters game dynamics. 00:02:28 Neutralizing opponent's active pieces is key to success. 00:03:50 Proactive play prevents future troubles in chess games. 00:05:36 Securing position upfront allows for relaxed, comfortable play. 00:07:05 Creative moves can lead to unexpected, decisive victories. 00:08:00 Understanding key differences elevates chess performance levels. By YouSum Live

[@carlphilippgaebler5704]

In the puzzle, if Nf6 guarding h7... White can Rxg+. Black only has Kh8 and KxR. Kh8 loses to Rxh7. (Either NxR - QxN++, or Kg8 - Qg7++.) With KxR, White has Ne6+ royal fork; White trades R+N winning Q+P, with tempo.

[@colemanhoyt5437]

I peaked at 1550 USCF 4 years ago and nobody ever taught me this. I feel like the climb back is so much less steep because of this advice. This is free positional literacy and you don't even have to be a tactical wiz to benefit from it!

[@guneyedyn2717]

Royal fork after sacrificing Da ROOOOK!!!

[@billyrodriguez9499]

The answer to the chest puzzle is rook takes g7, if the king takes the Rock night to e6 making it a family fork! If King to h8 rook takes h7, and if night takes 87 Queen to h7 checkmate. And the only other option is if King to G8 and then Queen to g6 checkmate!

[@captainoldspices3119]

This is gold. Thank you, Smirnov!

[@neoxyyofc]

I have your course of positional understanding like GM's and I got all answers correct !! thank you

[@anthonylesar7337]

Another excellent chess rule explained in such a way that you will never forget it. Thanks !

[@unixue1]

Thank you for this solid information. I am 700 elo and am aiming to get to 1000 and I feel like the 8 minutes of this video have been a completely great use of my time learning about threats and your teaching about Bobby's rule. Thank you very much. PS. I subbed 😀

[@AkshayDeoke]

Igor may not be world no. 1 in chess, but he is world no. 1 in teaching chess. He teaches chess so simply. My game has improved a lot watching these videos. Thank you.

[@mazyzazie4048]

Superb analysis, lucid teaching, as usual.

[@Myzteryx]

Last puzzle: Rxg7 If Kxg7 Ne6 Double check with queen If Kh8 Nf7 = Material advantage for white

[@zpiks6729]

This is such a pretty simple vision of chess but clearly the most accurate, thank you for this !

[@Hailmich10]

Very instructive and easy to understand!-Thanks!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks!

[@wa1ufo]

Simple but effective! Thanks Igor!

[@rafaney5104]

Re7:g7+. If Kg8:g7, Ng5-e6+ and take the queen. If Kg8-h8, Rg7:h7+ If Nf6:h7, Qc2:h7#. If Kh8-g8, Qc2-g6#.

[@sammarks9146]

Excellent tip! I have tried to do this in games, but it has been more of a casual thought up until now. Definitely going to make it part of my strategy!

[@valnovanoth]

Last puzzle: Rxg7+ and if king takes it's royal fork, if Kh8 then Rxh7+ followed by Qg6#

[@HearterSG]

you always hear about attacking chess, but this 'defensive chess' rule is really useful. thanks!

[@bluebearie7230]

for the 7:45 I think I'll keep it simple and short. Rxg7+, kxg7 (king has to take back. this is -4 in material) Ne6+ (forking king and queen. this is +6 in material after black takes our Knight) In the end we'd get +2 in material. with a bonus of getting rid of black's queen in the process

[@grenvthompson]

+3, white gets a free pawn after losing the knight.

[@TheGreatQuest-w3j]

I am here just for Igor He is only teacher worth listening and watching ❤

[@williambrennan1658]

For the puzzle of the day Rxg7+ if Kxg7 then there is Ne6+ and you win the queen. Or if Kh8 then its mate in 2. Rxh7+ followed by Nxh7 and then Qxh7# Also if Kh8 in repsonse to Rxh7+ then there is Qh6 #

[@reneflug4243]

Puzzle: Rook takes g7 check, if King takes back then Ne6 will fork Q and K, if K goes to h8, then checkmate is unstopable cause Rh7 check, if N takes then just queen Qh7 checkmate, if King goes back to g8 then Qg6 is also mate.

[@himeshbeck3343]

7:43 1)Rxg7,kxg7,Ne6 fork 2)Rxg7,Kh8,Rh7check,Nxh7,qxh7# 3)Rxg7,Kh8,Rh7check,Kg8,Qg6 #

[@Crisslendin_]

Excellent narration. I will follow up constantly

[@SerbAtheist]

Failing to seriously consider an attack the opponent is launching is the biggest mistake of a beginner. It's not even that they can't see it or would be unable to calculate what the opponent is trying to do. It's that they are usually simply in denial about the severity of the attack, foolishly thinking that the opponent will just twiddle their thumbs or something while they themselves prepare an attack of their own, which is usually painfully slow as is expected for that level of skill. But just seriously considering the opponent's attacking moves was a big psychological leap for me as a player.

[@nychold]

Last puzzle: Rxg7+. If Kxg7, Ne6+ winning the queen for a knight and rook. If Kh8, Rxh7+ and mate in 1 (Nxh7 Qxh7# or Kg8 Qg6#)

[@klauspokorny4381]

1. ... Nxf6 2. Rxg7+ Kxg7 (after Kh8 black gets checkmated in 2 moves starting with 3. Rxh7+) 3. Ne6+ Kh8 4. Nxe8 and 5. dxc5 and white has an decisive material advantage and the black king is in a very poor position. This video is actually very interesting, as I never have heard of "Fischer's rule".

[@Kesy_lazy]

At 6:10, as a user of the Igor Smirnov Academy, I would definitely play Qc6, not caring about a knight move that doesn't seem to be such a huge treat

[@Daniel-G-P]

Another amazing video. Igor is the best.

[@vigneshwarvigneshwar7367]

1) Rxg7 kxg7 is the royal fork on Ne6 2) if kh8, Nf7 is the fork... Rxf7 and Rxf7 white is up an exchange...

[@scacchifilosofia]

Wonderfully insightful, thanks!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@theUroshman]

Your video lessons are genuine pearls of chess wisdom, and your sense of humor is awesome as well!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you like them!

[@ngtecksen7298]

Sincerely GM Igor, this is very useful. Thank you for the tip, hope you recruits someone for the manager role soon. 😆

[@clintcheshire7613]

Excellent tip and teaching. Thank you.

[@leedsmanc]

Thank you for actually providing the valuable lesson promised in your video title!

[@WillBrooks-h9d]

Good. Chess Lesson! I will now use Fisher's. Rule! Thanks Sir🙂

[@ThePatriots010304]

7:45 it's either mate in 5 or black loses the queen and then it's a slow painful death for black.

[@thetransferaccount4586]

this rule is really simple yet so easily overlooked, thank you

[@dragonslayer6944]

puzzle solution Nf6 Rxg7 sacrifice Kxg7 Ne6 royal fork

[@brucelittleboy3594]

We often encounter the advice to improve our worst piece. It's also good advice to challenge your opponent's best piece.

[@Emmanuel-o4z]

0:30 Since I'm a beginner, I understand a beginner's mind. I believe that white wanted to use that g2 pawn to attack the black horse, so he moved his white horse out of play but when the black horse captured his h3 pawn, he realized that he had wasted a move and committed an inaccuracy.

[@todesque]

GM Smirnov provides the absolute best practical advice for club players. When I’m playing chess, it’s usually his voice that’s in my head. To take is a mistake. Neutralize threats in your half of the board. Go forward. Counter attack. Keep creating threats.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Great to know!

[@todesque]

@@GMIgorSmirnov Oops! I forgot to list the number one piece of advice you give: ''To take is a mistake.'' I edited my comment to include it. Keep up the great work!

[@itz_suro]

I reincarnated my love for chess recently and as a selflearner I find this the best piece of advice. Thanks mate!

[@Zeckellin]

Rxg7+; if KxR, Kne6+ and fork the Queen; if Kh8, Rxh7+; if KnxR, QxKn checkmate; if Kg8, Qg6 checkmate.

[@kobe51]

Thanks Igor🙂

[@billhopen]

the principle I never hear discussed is my rule "try to accomplish two or more things with one move" bobbies move @4:35 threatening queen ALSO move his horse forward in an attacking position, so he forces queen to respond, while aggressing on on white's king stronghold. when you force opponent to move or retreat, that's good ONLY IF you are forcing him to move to a less powerful position AND the manuver has left you in stronger position

[@ShadowCider]

For the final puzzle, I'd say Rxg7+, black has only two responses for this, either Kxg7 which is followed by a nice royal fork with Ng6 winning the queen for a rook. Or black goes Kh8 avoiding that tactic and you play Rxh7+ so black has to run to the left with Kg8 instead of taking the rook on h7 with Nxh7 because then you take with Qxh7#. So black goes Kg8, then you follow with Qg6#

[@balasavenedintulashabalbeoriwe]

He is a great teacher and makes this Chess game very enjoyable to learn!

[@doyinakinola6700]

At 7:42 I would play Rook G7 Check. When King takes rook, I'd go Knight E6 forking the Queen and King

[@badjaeaux]

7:47 1. Rxg7! Kxg7(else mate in 2) 2. Ne6 (Royal fork)

[@radiomalarkey1584]

Great vid! I just started chess aged 52 three weeks ago, fun game but with soooo many layers lol. Quality information for Mr Blunder over here good chess sire!

[@telaferrum]

Edit: dang there was a way easier answer Attempt at puzzle. Now that black has defended against the mate in 1, white still has to defend the rook on rank 7 while trying to keep the mating threat alive. Move the other rook on rank 1 to the e file to connect the rooks, which will also help in the mating sequence. Black might consider reinforcing the attack by moving the rook on f file to the e file, but now white has a winning exchange by capturing the e8 with its e7 rook. If black recaptures with its queen, white captures with rook, black captures with knight, and white is up significantly in material. If black recaptures with knight, white can resume the mating attack with queen to h7 also winning a pawn. Black king escapes to f8 with that rook gone, but black chases with queen to h8 for checkmate with white rook blocking e7. Suppose black responds differently to black connecting the rooks. White's main idea is rook e7 to e6, then capture the knight on f6, then the mating sequence. Black's main concerns are to stop white from removing the black knight. Barring that, white needs to move f8 to create an escape square from the king and get white rooks off the e file to make e7 a second escape square. Black can try to preempt this by moving rook c8 to c6 with the idea of a rook exchange on e6. White can still play rook e7 to e6, and black captures with rook c6 to e6. This prevents the mating sequence. Although white could recapture with its other rook then capture the knight, black can recapture with rook f8 to f6 to create all the escape squares for its king, and still be up a point in material after white queen captures the h7 pawn. So instead of recapturing with rook, white can recapture with knight for a queen rook fork to win 2 points of material. Not as decisive as I'd like but I haven't found better. It's still queen and rook vs queen and knight endgame. Black can also initiate a discovered attack in white's queen with pawn c5 captures d4, but I haven't found any significant change to the lines other than forcing white queen to d3. Alright let me see what other folks found.

[@kevin.s04]

Appreciate you a lot for making this free.

[@olivernugent4614]

It did prevent 50% of my mistakes - meaning I only lost every game because of the other 50% of mistakes.

[@ReflectionOcean]

- Neutralize opponent's active pieces (0:28) - Offer trades to reduce threats (3:10) - Push threatening pieces back (4:49) - Secure your position before attacking (6:13) - Simplify the game to avoid overworking (6:24)

[@AlTheEngineer]

This was a very pleasant video, thank you for the tips!

[@MarieVeverka]

Thank you so much love from Uzbekistan.You are doing great job

[@Opin10n]

This actually make so much sense. When i watching 0-1800 elo games the material on either team is one sided. Either black is up material or down material by mid game. When i observe games 2k and up players arrive to end game with even material

[@AhmedEssam-cq8ne]

7:43 I would have played Rxg7+ Black has only 2 options 1. Option 1 Kxg7 Ne6+ (forking the queen) 2. Option 2 Kh8 Rxg7+ Black has 2 options 2.1 Option 1 Nxh7 Qxh7# 2.2 Option 2 Kg8 Rg7+ (going back to the same idea of option 1) Kh8 Qg6 (threatening forced mate in 2)

[@eclecticexplorer7828]

It is easy to see how white should respond to the final puzzle. Rxg7+. If black takes the rook with the king, then Ne6+ wins the queen. If black instead plays Kh8, then Nf7+. If black responds to the knight check by taking the rook with the king, he loses his queen. His best move appears to be Rxf7, then white recaptures with the rook. White has won a rook and a pawn for a knight, his rook is still deep in black's territory and no longer threatened, and black's king is highly exposed. Good lesson, BTW.

[@Stefan-xh1hi]

This lesson I think is very valuable for beginner’s and intermidiete player to have as a rule of thumb. But I think you should have pointed out that there are situations where it’s actually better to leave your opponents piece deep in position, if it’s actually not capable of achieving anything and is rather misplaced.

[@AlexWyattDrums]

There are exceptions to every single chess rule. As you said this is geared toward casual to intermediate players looking to reduce their loss rate and win more games. The value of keeping the video simple outweighs getting in the weeds with the exceptions, imo.

[@Stefan-xh1hi]

@@AlexWyattDrums Are you familiar with Daniel Naroditsky? He is very careful about creating ”chess rules” since there are always exceptions and every position have to be played individually based on the key factors in the position. This video is awesome, but if he would have gotten into the details most players would have gotten a wider perspective on the topic, esspecially more advanced players.

[@AlexWyattDrums]

@@Stefan-xh1hiI love Danya, his videos have helped me a lot. I think his is a different approach though, his videos are normally longer and more detailed, so I love him when I want to get into specifics for every aspect of the game. But I still think it’s very valuable to be reminded of general principles in a simple way, because they likely apply to the vast majority of positions for the vast majority of players. They especially help in blitz when you don’t have time to get in the weeds calculating, or can’t yet rattle off lines in your head with perfect accuracy like a Danya. As a strong intermediate to advanced player myself, I now sometimes get overconfident thinking I can calculate my way out of trouble, when really I should have kept it simple and followed Bobby’s rule and stayed out of trouble.

[@DaxRED-j6n]

You have a solid understanding of translating concepts from a Higher level to a more palatable format for people that haven't spent their entire lives playing the game and using its terminology. I feel that it is one of the things that most "Good players" lack the understanding of. Which I find funny for they are clearly intelligent on some level.. But yea... Gets a little bit annoying when they say stuff and do not have the understanding that what they are saying is not helpful. THIS video was spot on. Thanks

[@malikshazzy4808]

7:43 i would go rook g7 king takes then knight e6 forking king queen and rook.