How To Win At Chess, Step by Step

[@GothamChess]

Let me know if you like me playing in the 10-minute pool. Also, only for today, 25% off all courses: www.chessly.com/courses

[@juowairiabintehossain]

Woaahhhh u have courses???? Ill definitely buy it

[@nbSailent]

levy gm when? 😂

[@kinkarkundu8259]

From when are you a World Chess Champion?

[@kinkarkundu8259]

Oh, You aren't even a Grand Master yet... why should I enroll for your stupid course? What guarantee do you provide that I can become better at chess just by learning from an online course?

[@Flayez-en11]

Great job levy🎉!

[@robertodiurno]

I far prefer this format of playing against anyone in the pool. Playing against 1000-1800 was getting repetitive, and this is my favorite series you do as it allows us to see your thought process and reaction in real time rather than in post-commentary

[@xii-e-04-chengmichaelgaret72]

As a 2100+ rapid rated player, this kind of video is definitely more engaging for me. I usually just skipped to the section of the 1900 and up games of the normal win at chess videos. Hearing your thought process when playing against similar strength players is much more entertaining than just crushing intermediates all the time.

[@MrBisque]

Completely agree, I always cringe at the "guessing and choosing what a lesser player would play" moments. Bolder to try commentary while facing stronger opponents. Seeing Levy in the process of learning so much more valuable for me.

[@SamuelVenturaMusic]

Is that you Levi?

[@HHR224]

yeah...

[@maxhenderson1890]

​@@xii-e-04-chengmichaelgaret72Same, I'm usually around 1950-2000 (2021 elo was my highest), but most of his content aren't very useful for me. It was very useful when I was learning to play however.

[@poohoff]

1) you don't need to make it entertaining, its entertaining as it is and 2) it's really ok if it's longer than an hour

[@Ziggerath]

Yeah for me the whole draw is literally just the games themselves + the sleep aid bonus

[@ngcool4112]

based true

[@senpai4338]

Agreed!

[@AhmedIbrahim-zl2ll]

I never really enjoyed levy covering other people's games as much he covering and playing his own

[@krollo8953]

Yeah I need about 30-40 steps. Idk maybe stockfish can help me with that

[@heroesinhoodies1210]

17:15 it’s reassuring to see that even at Gotham’s level, the top 0.1%, you’re still not beyond making 1 move queen blunders in rapid.

[@marcushaupt1564]

My entire chess learning process consists of watching "Guess the Elo" and "How to Win at Chess" and I could not be happier with my progress

[@KianOntong13]

Check out Daniel naroditsky speedruns

[@Equinox473]

​@@KianOntong13*slowruns

[@trendstubes]

ur elo tho?

[@vPegasus]

You gotta start watching the “How to Lose at Chess”, you’re Elo should skyrocket after learning what not to do

[@derkommissar4986]

​@@vPegasusthat's the best videos

[@mutantlabor]

This is actually great. I like watching Levy get worried. He respects his opponents moves so much more and you can see how giddy he is to comment on his opponent’s strategy the whole time.

[@emmanueltrejo3531]

The first opponent with name at the end UNAM stands for Universidad nacional autonoma de mexico, one of the best univerisities in mexico and all Latam, they are the champions at college level chess at Mexico, curious data point,

[@prplt]

I only know UNAM because of their football team 😂 ⚽

[@ChristianCabralGDL]

Le dió su respeto bien merecido al chavo de la UNAM 😊

[@_The_United_States_Of_America]

Gotham if you want to try something different, for a new concept of "How to Win at Chess," you should hide the ELO of your opponent from yourself, and then at the end of the game guess what you think their ELO is based off of how they played, tactics they used, etc. then you can explain your thought process of why you guess xyz ELO, and maybe some tips on how they can best improve. It would be a combination "How to Win at Chess" and "Guess the ELO."

[@AP0PT0SIS]

This is brilliant

[@theoneandonlyhooda]

the smartest thing ever said by the usa

[@Blissarmyknife]

Nice

[@chrisdonnell7200]

How to Guess the ELO

[@gabrielalencar2070]

This comment should be way further up

[@TossiCheeser]

Wouldn't it be good to give the "Win at chess" episodes a theme like win with d4, win with traps, win with leningrad, win against caro-kann etc. Because I feel like that would make the episodes more rewatchable. One would return to those episodes whenever one would search for something specific. I can't even count how many times I watched episodes about specific openings or traps because I realized that I forgot some things about them and needed a reminder.

[@cameronschiff132]

That would be pretty dope tbh

[@alejandropimentel8743]

Banger

[@kyleweir689]

Doesn’t Danya do things like this?

[@archiebaldbenedict5391]

what's that got to do with anything- ​@@kyleweir689

[@lukerobertson5222]

I disagree, it’s better to mix up the openings so that it helps you get used to more positions

[@jimgrady9905]

I definitely enjoyed the higher level chess in this series. I would love to see more of this

[@Animathsytb]

This is my favorite episode! I went from 1200 to 2200 due to you, and I missed the old days when to win at chess I just had to watch a "how to win at chess" video from Gotham! Now I can start winning again 🎉

[@hsksjdisis]

How long it took you?

[@Curcubito]

​@@hsksjdisis hes talking bullshttt

[@NieLL1]

how long did it take to get there? and how old are you? I'm 32 and started playing chess again after many, many years. Currently 900 blitz lol

[@liammorin5775]

@@Curcubitowhy would he be lying lmao

[@zay1586]

Damn that's impressive if true

[@Arianschko]

I was once paired up against your second opponent and won in an opposite colored bishop endgame. Crazy how there is a link between me and a master now.

[@AragornAnimations]

I've seen Levy talk about analyzing each game after you play it to get better, and I really love that he shows us the exact process of playing the game and then reviewing it. I really appreciate these videos, keep it up.

[@illrays4808]

Watched you for years now ( during lunch everyday ). You’ve rekindled my love for the game and I’ve now entered my first OTB chess tournament at 42 alongside with my kids! Thank you 🙏. This episode was great! I loved watching you play rapid against 2300s.

[@navidnazari1666]

"The knight can't really moooo~ moo?" 48:14 -GothamChess 2024

[@parsphere6357]

knights tend to get "neigh"

[@parsphere6357]

thats why it cant moo:)

[@treatitlikeaboardgame3508]

Knights only mooo in the cow opening 😅

[@ltdericjones]

I watch almost daily & absolutely LOVED this episode! I also liked some other commenters idea of having ‘win at chess’ w/ x opening / ‘win around chess’ guess the elo version as well. Ps. Thanks for the free Levi bot availability, was generous to share for free & super helpful & fun! Was a brilliant idea to add to supplement the courses.

[@mannylokzzz]

Rapid format is excellent for 2000+ elo. 5 min blitz for sub 2000 to allow for more games with heavy emphasis on middlegame planning/precise endgame play. Love the series. Thanks dude

[@fredmikhli6713]

Quality over quantity even for low Eli

[@heattorture4898]

I'd say a mix would be better, like 2 vs low rated Subs and 2 vs random search pool, as the majority of people are much lower rated, seeing how you deal with lower rated opponents is easier to take in, for me at least.

[@EfrayimBenAvraham-ot9ho]

For future reference, the title is "ONLY FOR TODAY!!!!!!!"

[@petermileo8279]

First day gang?

[@twainrocks4771]

First 5 minutes gang

[@tomixot4172]

now (1 hour later), its ´´THIS IS NEW. DO YOU LIKE IT?´´

[@suberjones6318]

@@tomixot4172 yeah idk why he changed it it was peak

[@erick9826]

"Beating a Chess Master, step by step" - is the title now

[@ziadiyoussef1902]

0:27 what a brilliant way to advertise for the clash of claims event lmao

[@KaiGuent]

This is my favorite series. I like to sit and watch one of these over the course of several days. I like both you playing subscribers and playing randos. This series helps my chess more than other, even if to you it feels repetitive, I feel like with chess I need the repetition for it to stick.

[@tommyvercetti1558]

"it could be a cheater" that'd be the fun part tbh 😭

[@adamh6094]

Love the long format and rapid format, mate. Thanks 🤘🏻

[@drkgon]

Zero likes in 9 seconds Gotham fell off 😔

[@potato-tb5uc]

someone said the same thing in his last video

[@oof8756]

seeing this comment hop around 69 likes is pretty funny

[@SouICoffin]

Except they don't show realtime, so your comment makes no sense, even if not serious.

[@sickegless9years452]

.

[@Ironmannnnnnn]

Ur internet is just bad

[@thomascarte7153]

Deffinetly one of the best series on youtube for chess it was awsome to see the difference from the normal episodes, ie rating and skill wise, deffinetly one of my favorite episodes, and i wouldnt mind a few more like this!

[@Thenerdyman1]

Gotham, it’s me Mac. The one with the Rubik’s Cube at the chess kid festival. I love your content, and keep up the good work

[@Sams-ch1jg]

He didn't see your comment

[@xxswagmastermike_7kxx568]

44:00 I put this entire sequence of moves into an engine and just watched in awe as you made the top engine moves back to back, bringing it back into an equal position and eventually winning! I truly believe you have what it takes to be a GM if you put in the work.

[@nathanbrodie1]

You should play with their rating covered so you don’t know what to expect then guess their rating

[@nathanbrodie1]

Can title it mystery elo chess

[@bpro5848]

That is a novel idea! Would be good content for him too

[@p4gyt710]

YES

[@RendallRen]

☝

[@Ghost-hy1tl]

No

[@obadiahjonesmusic]

I’m so glad this is now a weekly series! Can’t get enough 👏🏼

[@ilijapetkovski]

Thanks for all you do for the community Levy!

[@briandoile5011]

That first game playing defense was amazing. I face players that love to do these sort of sacrifices all the time. Sometimes it works. Good job.

[@ØŦỮヅ]

Who names their child gothamchess😂😂

[@jangroberde2822]

Couldn´t agree more (sarcasm btw)

[@nbSailent]

😂😂

[@professorx3060]

Smh my head

[@SouICoffin]

Who names their child user?

[@ØŦỮヅ]

​ur mom🤓@@SouICoffin

[@b3nch451]

I really like gotham actually getting challenged in rapid. Its still very insightful, but also pretty exciting

[@dRAFTsTAMP42]

Levy never fails to not watch his own videos

[@InitiallyJayKay]

I found this episode extremely informative, more content like this please

[@GeorgeEpting]

And seeing more of what your saying with the computer you can see the connection not just with pawns only now continuation presents its self in best moves situation.yeah its fun and dicey❤😊

[@leviathan7477]

I love it! This is my favorite series on your channel because you do such a good job explaining your thought process. It has really helped me with my own process of coming up with ideas and calculating them

[@LevyRozmoments]

Levy never fails to win at chess

[@ozkupelaileenyc4330]

Except at GM norm tournaments

[@parsphere6357]

real

[@pastorofmuppets4552]

17:15 for if you ever feel bad about hanging a piece

[@Volroxian]

Its not going to be *only today* ..

[@filipcifersky3724]

Only for today is the title of this video.

[@PhonkAttack4DX]

​@@filipcifersky3724weldone your very intelligent

[@ShanomoBro]

I don't comment often, but just wanted to say (in case you read this) thanks for the open beta on your chess bot and specifically access to some primo content. The e4 course in amazing, I went through all of the Vienna (as I play it), and some of the French and Sicilian to see new concepts and love how you present the ideas and how the little drills help nail down the accuracy to your lines. Still haven't seen a lot of it despite going hard with the chess study, and having access to the drills/bot anytime with the course would be great next time a good special is on :) Cool to see you play the French Def. Gambit in this video too after studying it!

[@maxdercoole227]

26:50 Levy never fails to take

[@abuzaynab9363]

How did you even get to 26:50 the vid is approximately 2 minutes ago

[@potato-tb5uc]

how did u watch it to 26 mins within 2 minutes of the video being published

[@larsborghuis1726]

Vid: is 3 minutes online @maxdercoole227: already 30 minutes in the video

[@jazper2020]

😂​@@larsborghuis1726

[@BloxxingDinosaurus]

It disturbs me how stupid the replies are, it is very obviously possible to skip ahead to a random part of the video and make a comment like that when you see Levy take an opponent's piece.

[@Elephants-zq2kg]

I love this. I have been wanting to see a master level player talking through their thoughts against opponents of similar skill. 10/10 will watch again :)

[@amirirsymov7699]

Levy, please make some videos about chess history

[@sujaewa]

The first game was incredibly instructive, the pressure was insane but that's the type of game where we can learn a lot!! Thanks for this 🙏

[@Jrush2000]

Levy almost hanging his queen is the most relatable part of the episode

[@schmuglyt4618]

Levy never fails to upload

[@PhonkAttack4DX]

Its his job 🤦

[@JuanAlmeydaArg]

I love this format. I wish I could see all the combinations that you see live during your games. So far, I can only think 2 moves in advance

[@sorcerer7002]

I legit started shouting at 17:27 , when he said he is gonna move his queen to f7💀

[@t-banan]

Gotham gotta do a speedrun series from 0-2000

[@MatthieuSCHREK]

I'm not gonna lie, this episode was top quality in every aspect. I loved every second of it. Very instructive, very entertaining, very everything. It is such a treat to be able to hear Levy's thinking in position I have trouble with : Caro Kann, Horwitz attack ( sorry I don't play the scandinavian ). Awesome opponents, awesome games ... I bow down to the greatness of this video. Matthieu, small time french chess youtuber

[@kaloiangold6628]

Hi

[@JeffPHamm]

I really enjoyed this format. One of the benefits is that you don't have to try and "think like a 1000", but you just play the ideas you have , which you explain well. To improve, it helps to understand what higher level thinking is, and then to try and emulate it. Also, and maybe in this format something that could have a bit more time dedicated to it, is the post-game analysis phase, showing how to get the most out of it. And well done, particularly that first game. I thought you kept your cool in a very difficult looking position and to see how you found ways to fight back was very eye-opening.

[@CheckmateFC]

Levy plays against random players to show he hates his subscribers. What a shame!

[@Krisenaa]

His subs never show up to games!!

[@asansfakeaccound5466]

i just wanted say thank you for letting us use chessly courses and levi bot for 2 days for free. i took three hours to study caro kann course and thanks to prep i already showed a few 2000s what the pain is. everything seemed pretty simple for my level of understanding and i just know what to do. for now i don't see any holes in what i'm encountering compared to course, so if i had money i would definitely think about buying next one.

[@gamechannelminecraft6583]

"Congrats to everyone Who is early and who found this comment.. 🐼🐧...,,,

[@OJJ3464]

♟️🎵cheess aaa gaaameee

[@joefish33]

Best video of this series that I've seen! Watching you play 1000-1500s is maybe more helpful to my game, but I really enjoyed watching your thought process in difficult matches. It made it more entertaining. I could watch matches like this for hours. The way you can play competitively and explain simultaneously is remarkable.

[@pesterian41]

If only you spent as much effort at studying chess like you do at clickbaiting you'd be GM

[@johnadams3751]

Loved this!! Both concepts of playing lower rated (around my level) and top tier games and getting a picture of key concepts at a high level

[@dannygough2200]

First

[@dannygough2200]

Imagine no being first 😂

[@dannygough2200]

😂😂😂😂

[@dannygough2200]

Moha ha ha ha ha

[@dannygough2200]

Hihihihi

[@OJJ3464]

Hahaahahahaahah

[@melvado]

This was probably my favorite 'How to Win at Chess' episode to date....and honestly you could do it against people at your level for 10 hours and I'd watch it...

[@davidfairbanks5917]

Really curious why the final black move of the last game was given a "good move" rating when it looks like a classic blunder...

[@rootbeerfloathaspop3301]

Stockfish doesn’t seem to call moves bad if a player was already losing 🤷‍♂️

[@nickhewett8815]

Yes! Love the jeopardy, and the humility with which you happily show your errors. Regardless, none of your videos are boring. Perhaps they are to you, but I, for one, will never get tired of your wisdom and NY banter.

[@FabiisonBeats]

This series is not getting boring at all Levy!! I freaking love it

[@kristofnagy7813]

More of this Levi pls this is so instructive

[@TSKDeadshot]

Started watching gotham about a year ago and picked chess back up. My elo was probably in the negatives before i found this guy, im about to crack 800 now

[@aplguy99]

I think you should continue to do lower Elo sub episodes and you can do higher Elo games as well if you're bored. I have watched every episode in this series since December this year and just crossed 1100 Elo and these are great learning tools for your viewers and I think hitting all elos of skill in this series benefits your broad range of subscribers. Keep them coming I am a big fan!

[@christopherheckman7957]

30:23 Nelson Lopez just posted a video a day or two ago, where he points this out (pawns on f2, g2, and h2, knight on f3 is great defense, but if one of those pieces moves, then an attack is possible). 1:00:04 Sacrifice THE ROOOOOOOOOOK!!!

[@LoveMyPadres]

loved it!! you can do more of these, but don't neglect doing the ladder ones. This series is the very best thing you do.

[@Ljouwert]

Finally finished this episode. I mostly watch one game a day. Really like the concept.

[@MaxTheFireCat]

Those new win at chess videos are slowly getting me back to chess. Really liked the series, just chill watching and snacking

[@dashdigital5869]

Very cool. More of these, please. Very informative. I'm a beginner/intermediate player and have always wanted to get as good as I possibly can at chess.

[@vassiliosavlonitis5813]

Absolutely awesome. Yes, very instructive to see these higher level games. Or maybe a speedrun, where the level goes up gradually.

[@majormoron605]

Happy Easter, Levy! Please keep this format up, especially with the higher level opponents. That stuff´s very educational, gives great insight into spotting more obtuse tactics and anticipating attacking ideas for your opponents

[@rainbowfriedman7658]

You finally stopped farming magnus.

[@sub.consciousnz1312]

this video is excellent, your best one for a while - also could genuinely see your excitement for the game

[@droussel7359]

I really enjoy watching you play strong rapid games. We see you play blitz pretty much exclusively, but I feel rapids have more depth while keeping a good pace. So yes, I really like this concept of you playing random stronger player.

[@AnOntologicalOpponent]

I appreciated this high level game breakdown, I would appreciate it if you could do more videos like this one Levy. 🙏

[@KingKill124]

For me this is your best series and this was the best one of the series ... It's great to see you playing your hardest to win while being instructional. Would love to see more of these and maybe a chess960/Fischer Random how to win at chess

[@ismaili76]

I like the series “how to win at chess” and don’t see it boring. I enjoy hearing the thought process.

[@christopherholmes395]

I like you playing rapid games in this series. I learned to take time to think about what your opponent is doing before moving and to look for lessons learned when analyzing games.

[@matwith2teas]

I love watching you play against people your level, when playing against weaker players you don't really have to worry about dealing with making a mistake or then getting a brutal attack

[@moozens]

I really love the 1hour+ episodes and choosing players randomly is fine too. Whatever floats your boat

[@Jack-kz4nb]

yes i want more vids like this

[@СветофорКолумб-е1ч]

2:52 "There's a lot of people cheating. I'm not talking about my opponent, I'm talking for me personally." - Guys, call Kramnik, we've caught another one.

[@Socrates...]

Please play more random games at this level in the future, thank you. Very entertaining to watch

[@ironcode]

Love the concept, playing strong players and giving it your best. Please keep it up!

[@GeorgeEpting]

Yes earl in the game the knight over the queen in my theory is number one which they fixed in deep fritz 8 to stop my jbird which ive beaten 50 times before the fix then the bishop is a nother number one move and it does also work as s fix position, thanks gor this game❤😊

[@GeezusMcGandhi]

I dig the format - fun to have the randomness and the skills needed to adapt to whatever situation

[@MajorLeagueGuitarist]

That game against Munger_Avenue was amazing! I think this series is great and agree with others that it’s interesting to see your thoughts in a longer time format against players your range. Interesting to see what it’s like for you to try and figure out what your opponent at your level is up to rather than just easily beating us lower level elos!

[@RickOShay84]

I like the old format. But let me tell you, these videos are so informative. I've learned a ton from them. And my boi is back at getting his GM title (which I think he will accomplish this time).

[@GangsterJabs]

Yes! Make more of these videos with this format! Also, I wish it was longer so don't be scared to make the video even longer

[@hwtatton7648]

Thanks Levy, I really enjoyed watching you play against very strong competition.

[@ostranrose]

i think as a beginner/intermediate player (1800 Rapid) i learn more from watching Advanced players play while analyzing their ideas so i like thus new way of how to win at chess good job levy ❤

[@chess6208]

27:55 I didn't see that idea, only saw the fork

[@KingNovastars]

Levy never fails to come back from a losing position.

[@kxjab]

As someone who is very new to chess, it's sometimes hard for me to keep up with some of your videos when you're playing super fast and the position is changing so dramatically so quickly. I really enjoyed these 10 minute matches, I feel like it was much easier to understand your explanations and reasonings for moves. Much love and hope you and everybody had a nice easter!

[@VMK115]

This is very helpful. You're explaining moves very well and tactics on this level are not too crazy, so I can see some or at least understand them (I'm 1500). These games also give much more emotion as you actually can lose. We need more of this format for sure!

[@Ladifour]

I can't speak for the older videos since I haven't seen them yet, but the 10 minute format against similar opponents probably is responsible for more developed ideas clashing, I liked how the games in this video were quite tense and educational because of this.

[@soliduh7073]

Its never dull, I love these series! Love your step by step approach. Keep it coming!