How to Sense Critical Moments in Chess: Know When to Build or Destroy

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00:00 Position 1
05:31 Position 2
08:07 Position 3
11:48 Botvinnik's Masterpiece
13:50 Michael Stean's Comment
14:49 Form a Plan
17:27 Find the Win
18:18 How to Fight?
19:48 Homework
This video will help you recognize the critical moments in chess. How do we identify when to play dynamically and burn the bridges, and when to play quietly and patiently build our position? We will learn to read the board accurately and understand static and dynamic advantages. If we have a static and long-term advantage, then time is our friend. In such positions, the goal should be to quietly build our position and control the game while preventing counterplay. Conversely, if our opponent has the static advantage, we should seek dynamic play, even involving a sacrifice, to change the situation drastically. Sometimes, we need to sacrifice before the final exit, for instance, if the opponent will achieve strategic domination on the next move. This video illustrates several such moments.
Sensing the critical moment in a game is one of the most important but also difficult skills to master in chess. Spassky said it is what separates the strongest players from the strong ones. Improving at this will also enhance your time management, as you will spend more time on those moments where dynamic action is necessary, while playing faster in moments where simple decisions suffice. Iossif Dorfman also wrote a book on this very concept, titled "The Method in Chess." While that book is aimed at strong players, casual players can still learn and benefit from this concept, especially if it is broken down to its core by good instruction.

[@jstriker8429]

Dr. Can, please don’t ever stop making these educational videos. I started with a rating of 700 Elo in rapid chess in November 2022 and recently surpassed the 1800 mark. I greatly appreciate all the free knowledge you share. Thank you!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Extremely motivating, thank you! And what an achievement to move from 700 to 1800 in one and a half years! Congratulations! What does your study regimen look like if I may ask? 😊

[@jstriker8429]

@@Dr.CansClinic I started playing chess in November 2022 at age 31. Initially I focused on tactics and openings for six months and that helped me reach 1100 Elo, but I plateaued. Seeking to improve, I discovered your KZbin channel and Chessable courses, particularly "The Art of Exchanging Pieces," "The Art of Burying Pieces," and "Chess Crime and Punishment," which were incredibly helpful. Now, I study openings and tactics for 15 minutes daily (sometimes more, depends), review the courses weekly, and play a minimum of 3-5 rapid games each day.

[@cobeferraro3464]

Online rating, not otb. Please differentiate. Regardless though, very impressive climb and keep it up!

[@jstriker8429]

@@cobeferraro3464 I will remember that next time I mention my rating. Thanks!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@jstriker8429 Thank you so much! Impressive! And I am so happy that my courses have likely contributed to your chess growth! It is impossible to say, but all data points are important for me to make sure my courses deliver rating gains! :)

[@zoomingby]

One of the reasons I enjoy watching this guy is because you can tell he loves chess so much. He's smiling even while talking about it. :) That kind of enthusiasm is infectious and appreciated. Have many of your courses and I appreciate supporting such a positive advocate and teacher of the game!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your support! I really love this game. As Tarrasch said, chess has the power to make people happy 😊

[@zoomingby]

@@Dr.CansClinic Keep doing your thing, brother :)

[@eschiedler]

homework spoiler - no engine In this position, both sides have completed development, material is equal, and only a couple pawns have been exchanged, but white has the initiative. White is targeting the c5 outpost with a knight. It will also bury black's white-square bishop. And also it will solidify black's backward c6 pawn as a target. If allowed, white will play Nc5 next. If black plays Nc4, white will trade with the bishop and play Nc5 and gain a tempo on the queen. Alternatively, c5 allows black activity and opens up the diagonal on the white squares for the bishop on b7. c5 Nxc5 Qc6 Nxb7 Qxb7 Rc8 (trying to unpin the white queen) Nc4 Bxc4 Rxc4 and black's pieces are active and controlling the center. White's remaining bishop is weak and black might even be able to create a kingside attack right away. However, white might capture with a pawn after c5. c5 bxc5 Qc6 e4 Nc4 Bd3 Nxa3 Qc1 Rcd8 Be2 b4 Na2 a5 and black can later move Qc7 to threaten Qxa2 c5 bxc5 Qc6 e4 Nc4 Bf3 Qd7 and black is solid c5 bxc5 Qc7 Nd5 Neg4 g3 Qxc5 and black has activated all of their pieces. My best evaluation is that white cedes too much initiative to black after bxc5 and is bit better off with Nxc5. (edit: I missed the c5 Nxc5 Nf3+ sacrifice pattern. Probably because I was distracted thinking I had to calculate so many other lines Like so many have said before, the calculation erros usually come in the first one or two moves.)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you as always for your detailed and excellent analysis! I will soon make a video about such piece sacrifices to remove the pawn cover around the enemy king 😊

[@dragosantrach6283]

Great analysis

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

What is the continuation after black , ......Nf3+ Bxf3 ,the Night in c5 threat queen in d7

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

I think some thing wrong with the first line after 1........,c5 2.bxc5,Qc6 3.e4 ,Nc4 4.Bd3 ,Na3 5.Qc1,Rcd8 6.Be2 ,it free bishop in d3 imposible for white to gift free bishop

[@jaakkokarki1778]

Well e4 leads to Qxg2# Perhaps it was meant to be e3

[@sqa1824]

This is the perfect video for me its just as I told you in the previous videos I hope this will help me ❤

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad it was helpful!

[@newstatejim]

Lovely video, I'd love to see more of this theme, I'd like to improve my understanding of statics and dynamics in chess.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! Will take a note of it.

[@buraksaglam8988]

When you say "This is a BEAUTIFUL mistake!" i feel that you even pay tribute to the aesthetic aspects of blunders. This is another level. Not: Hocam kitap tavsiyeniz var mıdır acaba? Yerli yabancı fark etmez.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Mistakes can be beautiful too, i.e. they involve superb teachable moments - as we can lay down what went wrong in the thought process. 😊 Jan Markos'un Under the Surface kitabini cok seviyorum, biraz felsefi tarafina da giriyor satrancin, ama cok ogretici ornekler de var.

[@buraksaglam8988]

@@Dr.CansClinic Çok teşekkür ederim hocam.

[@user-ot8bb3ng7o]

Wow a MASTERPIECE of a video 💯💯👏👏helps to look at the game differently,waking up this mind to be sensitive to time, time advantage=dynamic manuvering🎉this has added a subtle depth in vision over the board wow great video 👏💯

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to hear your kind feedback!

[@richardminhle]

Quiz answer: We needed the Bb7 improved so 1.c5 - Nxc5 2. Nf3+ sac to clear the Bb8 vision, Bxf3 3. Qd6 with mate threat at h2, g6 is forced 4. Bxf3 to gain back material. I believe the mate on either g2 or h2 is coming soon.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Very close, thanks! Before we insert that ...Nf3+, we sac the exchange with ...Rxc5 to get rid of that annoying knight.

[@fredgandolfi2356]

Excellent content. Thank you

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for your motivating feedback.

[@bluefin.64]

After watching this lesson and scanning the final position a bit, the only move that looks good is ...c5. White's knight is going there anyway and would make both the b7 bishop c8 rook miserable. After sacrificing the pawn Black's pieces have some freedom, and the c8 rook is thinking about White's queen. Even if White takes the b7 Bishop, Black's position is much more active than before, when he looked like he was getting squeezed. If this is right then you can take credit. It's very unlikely that I would have thought of it half an hour ago. I'm decent at sacrificing for an attack, but I seldom think about positional compensation, and I don't trust myself when I do.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Congratulations, you changed your mental models! 1...c5 is a must to not bury the b7 bishop. Then we sac the exchange after Nxc5. The follow up is difficult to see from the initial position, but logical to understand: ...Nf3+ piece sac will gain access to the white king by removing the pawn cover surrounding it. Then it is good that our b7 bishop is now alive and pointing towards the kingside.

[@davidmchugh7264]

Good work Dr can

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much!

[@michaelf8221]

"Simple chess" haha just after talking about this game being featured in Michael Stean's book

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Yes that is a great title!

[@brainfellow5140]

Thank you Dr. Can for a great video, a lot to think about in this lesson! Re: Homework - white's last move Nb3 telegraphs to me that they want to go Nc5 to outpost square and fork the queen and light-squared bishop (bad bishop currently), I don't think they'd care about Na5 as even though it's also an outpost, it doesn't gain any great benefits... defending c5 with dark-squared bishop either Ba7 or Bd6 doesn't look like it gains any great benefits and ties up that piece, so those are not candidate moves imo.. I see a potential battery if the black queen were on c7 lined up with the dark-squared bishop pointing at h2 would allow a nasty discovery Nf3+ followed with mate on h2... so could either move queen directly to c7 to proactively get out of the coming Nc5 fork and set up that discovery, or instead move Rcd1 to get a battery on the open d-file. Once again I am having trouble here where I see good candidate moves but the move order is unclear...

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! You are seeing some good things with ...Nf3+ ideas, attacking the white king. But we must activate our b7-bishop first, before we engage in this attack. What is that dynamic move that awakens this bishop? 😊

[@brainfellow5140]

@@Dr.CansClinic Still having a hard time with this one... The answer is probably c5, but I don't completely see why since it gives away a pawn and Nc5 comes anyway with tempo on the queen. I guess my plan of Qc7 could still take effect, but I still feel like we need a rook on the d-file, I still keep l,ooking at Rcd8...

[@Vinterfader]

This one if a few channels that have a real positive impact on the quality of my play. The videos are a great primer before playing a few rapid games. Chessnetwork is the only other channel I can easily name that has this effect. Du äger, doktorn 😉

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Humbled by your motivating comment! 😊 That impact is really the main target of this channel. Tack så jättemycket!

[@Kasperrkuijpers]

Thank you for this video Dr. Can, interesting positions and very thought provoking. In the homework position we have more active pieces with potential to start a kingside attack with oir bishops and knights staring at the kingside, but our light squared bishop is blocked by our c6 pawn for now. Nc5 is a threat that would bury our light squared bishop. Therefore c5 sacrifing our pawn looks like a great move. After Nxc5 our bishop pair is so strong I'm tempted to sacrifice the exchange with Rxc5, followed by Neg4 when the pawns on h2 and g2 become hard to defend

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts! 1...c5! is a great move, the final exit before our bishop gets buried with Nc5! Great exchange sac to follow too. Black followed it up with ...Nf3+ sacrifice, gaining access to the white king! I will make a video about such sacrifices soon! 😊

[@user-ot8bb3ng7o]

Time for book🎉 there's no understanding of chess knowledge if it cannot be put together like a puzzle, these videos helps integrate knowledge into a whole,🎉

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I would love to publish a book one day 😊

[@riwaaraafat4254]

The video should be one hour at least not just 20 minutes Great lesson as usual ❤

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! It is always a tough choice with video length, as some subscribers think 1-hour would be too long... Please check my course The Art of Awakening Pieces for around 5 hours of instruction 😊😊

[@riwaaraafat4254]

Well , then you could make part 2 of the same topic in another video Of course i will Thanks again, your content really helps me

[@pommedemer1922]

for the hw position id play c5, if NxC5 then Rxc5, after bxc5 then ill go Qc6

[@josephpraful3211]

that's too much material sacrifice I think.. white can defend with f3 after Qc6

[@josephpraful3211]

I was thinking of starting with Qc7.. preparing a knight discovery attack.. also vacates the d7 square for a knight in order to defend against Nc5 and the eventual c5 push

[@mikkelhansen3714]

@@josephpraful3211 A wise grandmaster once said "Always sacrifice the exchange"

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great! Your first moves are correct. Can you see a better candidate than ...Qc6? Do we have a sacrifice that makes the white king naked?

[@MrAco71]

Yes Qc6 Nf3

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

In minute 9.25 position 3 ,black d5,if white 1.exd5 , Rcxd5 2.Qxd5, Rxd5 3.Rxd5 , queen trade 2 rook ,and a pawn I think white better in this postition Sir

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Probably ...e4 + e3 is a better choice than ...Rcxd5, with similar ideas to the mainline.

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

Ok sir

[@WHAT-gm1xm]

Hello 👋🏻 man tell me when should we trade pieces and i always play closed position 😢 and lost the game Which is best Kings Indian vs Caro Cann vs Italian opening

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Hey. I created an entire course on piece trades, please check it out: www.chessable.com/the-art-of-exchanging-pieces/course/82374/ I very much like Caro Kann, but it depends on your style.

[@GaryWalters-tk2lp]

Great lesson again but although I've got to grips with the explanations, which make sense to me the homework position is beyond me. There's so much that I'm seeing I just don't know what's right! My evaluation tells me black has all 7 of his major pieces ready for an onslaught on the enemy king and the pawn sacrifice to c5 just opens up all avenues but should we prepare it first with Qc7 or Qd6 to provoke g3 or f4 from white, otherwise we have the follow up Nf3+ and the battery from our queen and bishop can't be stopped but that seems like hope chess? Or counter attack, possibly one of the knights to g4? Do I just push c5 and then when the white knight captures recapture with the rook leaving white two isolated pawns which we can then target, also leaving all of our pieces with open lines, if I was Michail Tal then probably so but I'm not him lol 😊 I'm sure to most its just obvious but sadly on this occasion I can't seem to make out the wood from the trees but i have enjoyed giving it a go 😊, I'll look forward to seeing the answers from those with the experience 👍😅

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I am really happy that you gave your best to the puzzle and understood the gist of it - that we should seriously consider ...c5! It is the final exit before our bishop on b7 gets buried, so perhaps this move should be played without much calculation. The followup is difficult indeed. Black sacrificed the exchange with ...Rxc5 and then went for a knight sacrifice with ...Nf3+. The idea is to remove the pawn cover around the white king and give mate with the remaining pieces. Very sharp position emerged. I will soon make a video about such piece sacrifices, so please stay tuned, and don't be too harsh on yourself with this one!

[@GaryWalters-tk2lp]

Thank you so much for taking the time and explaining the homework position in the way you have just done, breaking it down into steps like you have just done indeed makes it easier to see and highlights the importance of the move c5, very much appreciated, wonderful teaching, thank you

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@GaryWalters-tk2lp My pleasure!

[@Abishkarplayz-cheese-pg7ku]

Hi Dr Can, do you take students in to coach, I am currently looking for chess teacher.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Hello! You can contact me on chesscom or lichess, and we can discuss :) Usernames are on the video description.

[@cynica2616]

Dr. Can, I started playing chess in December 2020 and have made significant progress. I consistently beat a friend who has a FIDE rating of 1917, in rapid format and I have a rating of 2450 in lichess rapid. However, in blitz, my friend has a rating of 2300 on Lichess, while I am currently at 2050. My friend believes that with hard work, I could reach a 2600 rating in blitz within a year. Could you advise me on how to train effectively to improve my speed chess skills?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

What a great achievement in such short time! How did your training look like ever since you started playing? Usually, the best way to get better at blitz is to get better at chess :) But obviously, playing more in that time format can help, also getting better at tactical patterns, so you see them quickly in games (this is contra to deep calculation which requires more time). Also perhaps a system opening that you can easily adopt in blitz games to get a playable position you understand well and know recurrent patterns.

[@user-gg6df4xr3i]

On position 1 i acutally saw Rc8-Rc3 trying to deflect the queen on d2 to take it then Qxf4 with a plan of Qxh4 but the follow up is unclear even though qhite dosen't have a square (e3,f2,g3)to cover the incoming check on h4....

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for the feedback, that move was not in my radar 😊

[@user-gg6df4xr3i]

@@Dr.CansClinic And i was wrong but,that is what i first saw on the board so to speak...don't think i would have taken the g-file pawn to open up lines the king but...i can't quite see a follow up and 2 pawns for a rook? Ill have to study it.

[@rv706]

Great channell! Though... sometimes I have the feeling that your strategical suggestions (in the problems) only work because of random tactics and not because of the positional/strategic reason that you say. For example, in the second problem, if the situation was slightly different, White wouldn't gain a piece, but the position would end up being equal-ish regardless from the "not wasting time" idea. Maybe I'm mistaken (I'm not a very strong player). Of course, one could argue that chess _is_ ultimately just about specific tactics.

[@mikkelhansen3714]

Well tactics flow from good positions and a sacrifice of a pawn is very little material which results in extremely active pieces for white, whilst black loses time (and the game) with extremely passive pieces. It is not that random to be winning a piece in situations like those, but obviously if black had developed his queenside earlier, things may look more equal:)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your motivating comment! Yes, chess is always a blend of tactics and strategy. Good looking strategic moves must be justified with concrete calculation. Sometimes the most logical strategic move turns out to be a blunder due to a particular detail. But despite this, tactics generally flow from good positions in chess. Position 2 is a great example of this. Once White had 3 active pieces vs. Black's sleeping queenside, tactics favored White (the bishop got pinned without ever moving).

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you!

[@KF1]

Dr. Can, I was playing against stockfish this weekend and became very discouraged. Seemed like every move was met with a tactical counter, and I thought chess is a game for the robots now, no longer for people. It makes me want to quit chess entirely. Do you ever feel this way, and what do you do about it?

[@KF1]

Also, for the homework position, C5. Not even calculating, it just looks necessary

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I hear you. But I never play against Stockfish, unless it is a theoretically won endgame that I want to improve my conversion skills. Otherwise it gets demoralizing. I would not quit chess for tactical wizardy of the engines. There is so much strategic depth to the game, and it is still very fun to play against humans :) Having said that, we should improve our tactical/calculation skills too as the game is very concrete after all (strategy must be justified by tactics).

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great!

[@KF1]

@@Dr.CansClinic Thanks. It is demoralizing. Calculation is my weakest area. I will try to improve on that. Appreciate it!

[@rv706]

Is the last problem coming from a Slav/semiSlav?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Yes, it resembles a semi-slav.