How to Unlearn Bad Chess Habits and Dominate Your Opponents: Exposing Your Chess Crimes

[@kennethgatto1032]

After watching your videos and taking your fantastic Chessable courses, my chess "Felonies" have turned into "Misdemeanors"! Thank you so much for the very instructive videos/courses!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I loved your comment 😊 Hopefully in a year, you will be completely cleared 😂

[@kennethgatto1032]

@@Dr.CansClinic Your videos are my "get out of chess jail free" cards!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@kennethgatto1032 😊😊

[@athulprakash4447]

Homework: It should be cxb6, opening up black's king. After black's axb6, there are 2 open lines and our Queen and rooks are coming along the a and c files; meanwhile out King is safe. If c6, we do get a passed pawn, but it closes the position. With opposite side castling and major pieces on the board, open files should be more valuable.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent answer, thanks!

[@nimzo2000]

I'm so glad I found this channel.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I am so glad you have joined the club 😊 Thank you for your motivating thoughts.

[@milehighslacker4196]

@12:50, I chose dxe5 because after ...dxe5 the Black Queen is not on an open diagonal toward my King (she is blocked by her own pawn). For the homework, I am not good enough to figure out whether the advance or the capture is better. I am not sure how to figure out whether cxb6 or c6 is better if White's plan is to double (or triple) on the a-file. If White's plan is to check on e5 to trade the Queens, then double on the e-file, my assumption would be to advance the c-pawn so as not to end up with blockaded doubled b-pawns. In general, I would only choose to double the b-pawns if the attack on the Black King were going to be quick and successful.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for your kind answer! I see where you come from with dxe5 ...dxe5, but we are awakening that poor bishop on f8 by capturing on e5. That is a major concession to my mind... In the final position, cxb6 is better as it gives us two open files to attack the enemy king. Otherwise, Black's pawn storm is raging after ...h4. Time is everything in that position.

[@milehighslacker4196]

@@Dr.CansClinic @12:50, after Nf3 Black has ...exd4, and can then push his ...d-pawn to awaken the ...f8-Bishop anyway. If we are trying to shut out the f8-Bishop, I would think the move White should play is d5 (instead of Nf3). But then I am a mere novice at best. Thanks again for making me think more about chess!

[@eschiedler]

Good luck with your Crime and Punishment course. May it be rewarded with further success.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much!

[@rituparna7059]

By Dostoyevsky

[@peterintoronto6472]

Lovely as ever. You could extend your metaphor of talking to your pieces to talking to the squares!! I sort of like to imagine what the squares might say in your version of events -- a landscape architect I know always carries on conversations with what the spaces are whispering would go well there (or once did go there but disappeared).

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you Peter! I have some plans of making a video on attacking squares instead of pieces.

[@anthonyjaglal]

Another enlightening video 👏💯 great idea to study blunders,madey a book on blunders 💡as early as chess begginers we spend so much time on puzzles and mate in so many moves,and blunders go under the radar😔I think a study of blunders may be important too

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 😊

[@ioannisyapitzakis4677]

Many thanx! Passionate, ''mind stuck'' presentation dear colleague!🙂

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much, dear collegue! Glad you found it useful.

[@GaryWalters-tk2lp]

As per usual great content and very well put across, you certainly have a way of simplyfing the positions which makes learning much easier. What I really like about your style is that you have taught me to evaluate the position first and only then make a logical move, this on its own has changed my thought process for the better, I don't always get it right but you really have improved my game so much, thank you for all your effort in putting these videos together. Taking the pawn even though it left me with three pawns on the same file just came straight to me before you gave the options as it opened up lines for my heavy pieces, I would not have seen this a month ago 👍

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I am so humbled to hear your kind thoughts. Really motivating! The orientation phase is sooo important and neglected! I am happy that it has helped you already!

[@stevesidare2493]

Great video! I think I'd play c6 to have a protected passed pawn and use the A file for Queen and Rooks.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much 🙏 c6 is logical, but I guess they will easily defend a7 with their heavy pieces, while starting their pawn storm with ...h4.

[@cristiantudorescu9153]

Fantastic video as always. Thank you! 😄

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

My pleasure! Really glad that you liked it.

[@The_Dark_Knight__999]

axb6 (open some lines!) In an opposite-side castling position, the c6 and a protecting passed pawn are irrelevant.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent, thank you!

[@rnelson2226]

Thank you for your courses and videos. I really like the idea of making your pieces happy and the opponents pieces sad. Keep up the great work.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you very much! Really appreciate such motivating feedback.

[@brainfellow5140]

Thank you Dr. Can, another very instructive video! Re: Homework - imo taking on b6 seems bad because black will just recapture and blockade white's doubled pawns which will become easy targets and hard to defend. I think advancing c6 makes more sense to get the protected passer. One plan might be to get the rooks and queen behind the passed pawn and ram it down black's throat. The white bishop can stay near the king for defense, since it's mostly out of the action right now. An exchange of queen could start first with Qe5+, but I think it would make more sense to keep the queens on the board to help drive white's attack.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your comment! But aren't you worried about Black's pawn storm on the kingside? Don't you think we need more dynamic and direct counterplay on the queenside? ☺️ That would be the main argument for keeping the c- and a-files open 😉

[@brainfellow5140]

@@Dr.CansClinic This one is much harder for me to visualize... exchanging on b6 does open the files around black's king at the price of blockading the doubled pawns which could be a useful resource. I'd probably start with Qe3+ then, get the queens off the board to reduce danger on the king side, then after the queens are gone and rook sits on e5, exchange on b6, then double rooks on the e-file to pile up on e6. Perhaps you could explain or review this in another future video. Thank you again for your instruction.

[@adamblomquist5581]

Thank you for your vids! I'm finally starting to understand, your an excellent teacher!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Your words mean a lot to me. Please share the channel so other people know about this free content. Thanks in advance!

[@chesslover8829]

I would take on b6. Opposite-side castling and mutual pawn storms require White to play actively and forget about creating a passed pawn on c6. To continue the attack, White will need to transfer his heavy pieces to the open a-file.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent, thanks!

[@musicdecoratestimewhitenoi6714]

Love the format. I have one of your Chessable courses...it's helpful to consider options and then have the benefits and drawbacks explained.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Love your feedback ☺️ Thank you for studying my course!

[@Erik_001]

Great content. Every word is so engaging.

[@KF1]

Cool name, good comment

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Humbled by your kind words, thank you!

[@sunnygoal9947]

Hello, nice video with great lessons. Thanks

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! :)

[@Vinterfader]

Great content again. I feel that I have somewhat worked through these issues now (2000 lichess) but it takes time..

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! It is always good to review these and brush up on hidden crimes 😊

[@pakasokoste]

Fantastic video as always! I did well on almost all positions! On crime 2, I didn't see the drawback of e5, on the contrary, I thought that pawn was restricting the knight, covering f4 and d4. But yeah I didn't see that it gives up d5. Great video!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your great feedback! I hear you. ...e5 at first sight looks like an OK move, placing a pawn in the center and limiting the enemy knight...

[@Mikejones011990]

Just hit 1500 rapid (10 minute games). Really appreciate you walking us through your thought processes. I bounced around 1300-1400 for what seemed like a century. We're all at different levels, but putting in the work and making progress feels great. Thanks again!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Nice work! Happy for you. Have you checked my rating climb series and the episode on how to reach 1500 ELO? ☺️ Were they relevant do you think?

[@Kasperrkuijpers]

Thank you for another great video. In the homework exercise I find it a tough one, and if I would have this position I would be tempted to play Qe4+ to exchange the queens, but luckily you gave us candidate moves to choose from. c6 seems better to me, a7 is weak and by exchanging on b6 we help black getting rid of a weakness (b6 becomes weak, but not as weak as a7 was), while creating 2 weaknesses ourselves on b4 and b5 - b5 almost impossible to defend even. The exchange does create open a and c lines, but I don't see how white can exploit that. c6 creates a strong passed pawn and limits the black kings mobility. Plans like Qa2-a6 threatening Qb7 come to mind, or Qa2 followed by Ra1 to put pressure on a7

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for writing your thoughts! I hear you - you want to attack a7 after c5-c6. But it looks like Black can easily defend that point, even with ...Rh7. And notice, his pawn storm is coming on the kingside, which will lead to open lines.

[@andrejennings1577]

Good Morning...once again I recommend all to invest in his Chess Crimes course, I'm learning so much from your courses. I also recommend Fundamental course...I am a casual player and have learned so much in short time...thank Q DR. Cans

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Good morning, and thank you so much for your kind feedback! Really glad to hear that you learned a lot from those courses. ❤😊

[@mikkelhansen3714]

16:00 ok but after a3+ following up with b4 is absolutely bananas. Why not go c4, trying to open up lines and thus keeping options open? Ofc ax is better but b4 is the real crime no?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

True, ...b4 is a bigger chess crime.

[@mohammadnaufal1027]

Interesting chess topic, guided by very good chess coach 👍

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much!

[@AgentSmith-w8s]

Unbelievable Chess coaching and enthusiasm for the love of the game,my book shelf is crying out for some physical books by Dr Can,Quality chess or new in chess please give him a book deal....(With extra chapters as well please :) than the chessables...

[@Dr.CansClinic]

❤ I am so humbled by your kind words... Really hoping to publish a book one day!

[@AgentSmith-w8s]

@@Dr.CansClinic Again,id buy straight away and try and get it autographed...

[@ShakilAhmed-be3nc]

Very good concept sir you are a chess dedicated person ❤

[@Dr.CansClinic]

So nice of you. Yes I am :)

[@erikfromc]

Prior to watching this video, I would have been satisfied to "win" a protected, passed pawn. I would have failed to see that the open lines to the enemy king while castled on opposite sides would be even more valuable. Thanks for the lesson!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to help you change your mental models 😊

[@greatdanelegend7001]

Homework position: cxb6 for sure. It is a position of opposite side castling with the queens still on the board, so it's all about attacking the enemy king. cxb6 opens up 2 different files for our rooks and queen that are already well-positioned to swing over and create threats. If we make a passer with c6, we will likely never be able to make use of it, since Black will try to attack us with all their power by trying to open up lines with f4 or h4. The only thing we could try is create some threats on the weak a pawn, but the opponent could play Re7 which not only defends but also prepares to put the rook on the open g file. Perhaps the situation would be different if the queens were off the board and it would be harder to attack the enemy king, since a protected passed pawn is certainly valuable in the endgame

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent! You avoided the crime.

[@buraksaglam8988]

Hocam size hayranım. Jeremy Silman' ın strateji anlatımından aldığım keyfi sizde buldum. Taktikler her yerde ama stratejik unsurlara değinen birini bulmak çok zor. Sağ olun var olun.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Cok motive edici yorumun icin tesekkur ederim 🙏

[@Abishkarplayz-cheese-pg7ku]

great videos, I would love to see some playlists coming up for this channel.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! I already have 7-8 playlists. Have you checked it carefully? 😊

[@Abishkarplayz-cheese-pg7ku]

@@Dr.CansClinic Thanks, I love your channel.

[@sasthanatarajan4760]

Sir If u have some time pls make a video on Why some masters advancing the pawn from h2 - h4 before castling on the King side and also a2 - a4.? Thank you sir..!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for your feedback! I will write it down to my video idea list.

[@shawnnevalainen1337]

I think studying instructive mistakes can be very effective. Your intuition is probably better than ours given your academic background, but I notice that Dvoretsky uses "tragicomedies" in his endgame manual, so he must agree, and Fischer famously focused on losing moves when he studied, which is the same idea. I like the themes you choose, and I appreciate your clear examples.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I really believe in the value of such training. Dvoretsky's book on tragicomedies is also very good.

[@risingmojofilter]

Homework: At the risk of committing a chess crime, I'm going to say cxb6 is the better move. After axb6, we have two open files on either side of the king, and we have 3 different pieces that can easily be mobilized to fight for those files, while it will be more difficult for black. Two controlled files on either side of the king is like 2/3rds of the way to mate. My plan would be Qc2, if Rc8, Qa5, and bring both the rooks to the a and c files respectively.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

You are cleared of your chess crimes. Clean sheet!

[@Naa-ee7nq]

@@Dr.CansClinic i have to admit that at first sight c6 looks very good, encroaching on the king and creating a protected passer - but i guess black has time to defend and undermine it

[@davidnelson4960]

You make a rebuttal implicitly against silly risk. My friend jean calls these crimes green or ever foolish mistakes. By the way, he's a NM who took the opportunity of your course and found it insightful.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for the feedback. Good to hear even a NM found it useful!

[@piyushpkurur78]

Hello chess lovers, these are definitely not the best chess lecture. These are some of the best lecture on any topic. There is lot to learn from your presentation style that is not just limited to chess. I am hooked.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

So amazing to hear your kind thoughts 🙏

[@irjake]

It's not related to the chess at all, but I just wanted to say I love the way Dr. Can rolls his R's - it always makes me smile.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That has recently become a habit, I don't know why 😊 WHHHYYYY am I doing it??

[@vandanapuramesh1532]

Dear Dr., You are really a doctor of chess And also you connect to us to the point in your videos. My sincere request is you provide videos of all the puzzles in your chessable course when we buy. Presently it is only possible for hifh amount. When. We buy move trainer version we are only getting small part of video instead of full version. When I purchased my son only looked video part and tried some puzzles.but the issue is video version is very costly.why don't to reduce the price or increase the length of videos. I hope you understand

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind words. Really motivating. Unfortunately, I have no say for prices on Chessable. It is Chessable who decided. But there are occasional sales that you should keep an eye on. I hope you would like to support your favorite authors too, so we can make a living 😊

[@KF1]

I love these videos. C'mon one more like to make an even hundred. Dr. Can deserves 10,000 for this.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to hear your feedback. Please do not hesitate sharing the channel with your chess friends 😊

[@paulmcmillen5925]

I like the use of the word "outpost". I made some wrong choices this time. Good lesson.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for the feedback! One step at a time.

[@adnanghaleb2196]

Thanks

[@Dr.CansClinic]

You are welcome!

[@Joshua.0777]

Please please 🙏 make a video on Sicilian najdorf English variation because your teaching is better than anyone else I hear before I appreciate your content and work keep making such videos

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your kind feedback. Do you want it for White or Black? :)

[@Joshua.0777]

@@Dr.CansClinic thank you sir for giving attention to my comment I want this as black (btw I am from India) lots of love for your content

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@Joshua.0777 Thanks! I am a Najdorf player myself, and I will surely cover that at some point!

[@Joshua.0777]

@@Dr.CansClinic thank you so much sir

[@ModernMozart1104]

Pretty good video but what is wrong with Qe2? Pushing the pawn helps black develop the bishop with a capture, check, and subsequent castling. Seems like a bad move.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Which moment in the video?

[@ModernMozart1104]

@@Dr.CansClinic It's the very first position

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@ModernMozart1104 It should not be a bad move, but the a2-bishop may be suffering after ...Bc5+.

[@ElizabethGreene]

I've been playing the London opening for a while now and have committed crime 4 repeatedly. Oof. I've also responded with c6, and that hasn't been great either. Lesson learned.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

So glad that the lessons are learned! Thank you for your honesty.

[@iancunningham2440]

I can rarely pay any attention to such strategic ideas without losing due to (tactical) calculation errors (if I don't want each standard game to last multiple hours or have to rely on note taking)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That is why playing slow games is crucial to set the right habits.

[@iancunningham2440]

@Dr.CansClinic Easier said than done when you're playing online (especially from the perspective of human players' general lack of willingness to play classical games on (typical) online chess sites).

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@iancunningham2440 I agree. People tend to play blitz chess in online classical games. Over the board classical is the best.

[@iancunningham2440]

@Dr.CansClinic I just wish there was a way to internalize ALL the positional & calculation habits for blunder/mistake avoidance at the same time.

[@richardsrensen4219]

as usal great teaching so even i can undestand it !

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super nice feedback, thanks!

[@norbertdrust9009]

I would create a passed pawn. I wish I had found your channel a year ago. I’d be much more advanced in chess today!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Your words mean a lot to me. It is never too late! Welcome on board.

[@magicja]

Is Qe2 a bad move?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

It is not a bad move at all :)

[@mudsi01]

Cxb6, because it opens up the lines

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks.

[@shadeburst]

You should have ten times as many subscribers! I am NOT criticizing BUT KZbin is a visual medium and you might want to think about your studio lighting and composition. One of your IRL students might be able to help with an intro screen and theme music. The Jerzy Grotowski/Lars von Trier minimalist approach doesn't always work. Are you by any chance an admirer of Ted Hughes?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your feedback. I got a new computer now with a better camera. I am still using the natural light instead of standardizing all videos by the studio light (I also have that). I would really appreciate if you shared the channel so we can reach more people 🙏 I conducted my PhD. studies on raven cognition. Hence the crows.

[@Deadeye1967]

1'm 1300 and do these mistakes, it's hard to unlearn.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

It will take a while, there is no easy fix in chess universe, as in life. Now you gained awareness, and you can check out my course for consolidating and starting this unlearning process 😊

[@Deadeye1967]

@@Dr.CansClinic Okay Doc, thanks for replying and your advice. Keep up your good work.

[@AaradhyaSharma-ho8um]

I always wonder why you have a crow at back

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I did my PhD. studies on raven cognition.

[@AaradhyaSharma-ho8um]

@@Dr.CansClinic Nice!

[@magicvoice0741]

♥️♥️👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😘😘

[@Dr.CansClinic]

❤😊

[@magicvoice0741]

c×b6!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent!