Minority Attack - GM Yasser Seirawan - 2015.09.15

Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan demonstrates the minority attack with two of his games. The concept refers to a number of pawns taking on a weakness of a larger number of pawns. This is the first edition of a new weekly class called "Mastering the Middlegame."
Yasser Seirawan vs Mikhail Tal, Niksic (1983): E35 Nimzo-Indian, classical, Noa variation, 5.cd ed
Jaap Houben vs Seirawan, Meesterklasse -2010 (2009): B13 Caro-Kann, exchange, Rubinstein variation

[@jasonrawls6959]

Yasser's love for the game is infectious.

[@augustgreig9420]

Just like his smile.

[@bobby2ram]

Such a wonderful teacher and chess player is Yaseer Sir. Not only does he explain so lucidly he makes complicated positions look simple by his laughter

[@tigerbait1016]

yasser is a legend. they should do a legend class on yasser!

[@augustgreig9420]

It's funny you mention that because I believe Finegold has done a legends class on Yasser at his chess club and scholastic center in Atlanta.

[@mikewilliams7745]

I counted the score between Seirawan and Karpov when Karpov was World Champ and shortly there after. Of the 24 games the score was Anatoly Karpov 12.5 vs 11.5 Yasser Seirawan. That is pretty dag on good!!!

[@MK-13337]

He was the nineth or eight best player in the world, and at that time they had a lot of draws in the top, so the scores are usually even^^

[@GeometricStalemate]

Yasser has 4-0 vs. Tal, excluding draws.

[@flpsnk4848]

Awesome, amazing teacher Seirawan is, my immediate recognition of good moves has improved. All hail the Yoda of chess!

[@TheStupidLama]

+flpsnk4848 Very much agree I do

[@augustgreig9420]

Yasser's calm demeanor and willingness to listen to his students suggestions while taking them seriously becomes all the more apparent when you compare him to a teacher like Finegold.

[@ministerofleisure]

"...and i like pawns." god i love yasser. this guy is a treasure.

[@augustgreig9420]

He really does love pawns. If you read any of his books he makes this very clear.

[@imanshaf8429]

Forget about chess. Just listening to him is relaxing

[@TheZeroLimb]

I have a feeling that this class "mastering the middlegame" is going to be very instructive. Thanks in advance.

[@jaylenlenear7850]

His inner dialogue with himself being this calm has probably helped him out a lot

[@mournblank]

you cannot say Yasser without having the "Yes Sir" attitude :)

[@haritejanamala4595]

great new concept.Thank you sir.

[@baracatjr]

Seirawan = very nice person, best teacher

[@ricecake123]

I love how he says mikhail like michael

[@peristiloperis7789]

Nobody can deslike this without feeling gulty after that.

[@peterpan3914]

This is basically the same lecture like 2 years ago It's called "minority attack | pawn structure from 2013.07.24

[@LordDeuce-ul7my]

Great game Yasser.

[@filipj4377]

I see yasser video, I like before watching. And then set the speed to at least 1.5 :P

[@adithyabhaskar5789]

You're the BEST.

[@manmoth_1990]

At 34:38. I'm curious about the move c3-c4 for white. Could someone explain why not striking in the center is the principled thing to do with such a lead in development? I might be blundering all my pieces here, but it seems like an interesting option to utilize the advantage.

[@asmitbhattacharya2958]

Yasser: Always Check the opponent's king if it can drive it to the corner Me: gets my Bishop trapped...

[@steveb.3726]

When he turns to the board I can't see what he's pointing at. Why doesn't he use the software to show stuff?

[@Atzenk33p3r]

Yasser going hard in the paint as always

[@GymChess]

Well, he didn't exactly "offer" the c7 pawn - the d4 pawn was also hanging...

[@denizifran3676]

I dont understand why he is saying ouch @46:35 because if Kxd3 Qf1+ king moves and the white queen falls. so you cant take the pawn and then it is gonna queen

[@SiwakSerg]

20:47 What bothers me here is the question: "Why did Michael Tal play Nb7 now?"

[@davidcaughell6571]

what is the software used for this lecture?

[@LemonChieff]

omg I never knew GM Yasser Seirawan got to play Mikhail Tal :O

[@spd-kv6sd]

I don't know who really invented the minority attack. But in the 1920s even José Raúl Capablanca speaks of it, refuting one of the positions in the Queen's Gambit Declined. Maybe we could argue it was him, but it was not popular until like Karpov?

[@peimanenato]

What is minority attack?

[@michetix7885]

33:58 I quite doesn't understand why he didn't play f3 can someone explain it to me thanks

[@yousteveaaaa]

43:00 Qxd4 + is a threat right ?

[@TheSpyroMiner]

yasser is awesome ;= ))

[@gentleqez5172]

7:21 After d5, surely Qa4+, just wins the b4 bishop, right?

[@AlexanderEbel]

Gentle QEZ Nb8-c6 covers the check and the bishop.

[@B.N.Y-1980]

ياسر سيروان ....فخور انك سوري الاصل

[@mohd1nagyyyyy]

هل هذا كلام حقيقي ؟

[@BamThwok76]

I like the opening music. Was it composed just for chess.com?

[@tomsmith4452]

+BamThwok76 ur not on chess.com youtube page so stop saying that :P

[@BamThwok76]

Tom Smith Oops! Was it composed for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis?

[@tomsmith4452]

+BamThwok76 yup :)

[@BamThwok76]

Tom Smith That was fast! Thanks

[@danielmanahan692]

@12:44 Yasser missed an important instructive moment to discuss why not black playing Qb4 and forcing a significant structural change with forcing a queen trade, and the computer analysis gives white a lead over a point, but in an endgame that might mean much. It would have at least been very instructive.

[@danielmanahan692]

+Humboldt ChessLyfe After b5 attacking the Knight Black can play Qb4 pinning White's unprotected queen, and force a queen trade. it would be educational to explore the advantages and disadvantages for both sides at this point, and that opportunity was missed in the lecture.

[@Veaseify]

+Daniel Manahan like he says' The cheapo potential of the position goes down with each trade' that was talking about getting the Rooks off so it would be even more beneficial for White to trade Queens. Structurally here Black is lost, his only chance is to get some counterplay with the heavy pieces.

[@danielmanahan692]

+Steve Veasey so it would be a good instructional moment to go over what would have happened in that forced line and what advantages if any black could have gotten. it is worth mentioning especially since it changes the dynamics of the game so much white's queen is better, so it is not so clear that a queen trade is always bad for black in that situation. was I the only one who noticed that queens could have been forced off the board at that moment?

[@Veaseify]

***** White's whole strategy in these kinds of positions is to trade down to a winning endgame so it isn't in the defenders interest to exchange pieces. The same principle applies to the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez, if you are familiar with that opening..

[@danielmanahan692]

+Steve Veasey so talk about it. missing that opportunity was a mistake, which was my point. we need to see in calculation what could have happened. not gloss over it like it is a moot point trust me, this is not a moot point. queen trades absolutely change the dynamics of the game and in multiple ways not just including what you mentioned. I put this into the computer to see what it would do, and white won, but do you think it was so obvious how white won? it was not. it is worth going over. instead of arguing with me. put it in the computer, see for yourself. it is an instructive moment to cover in a lecture.

[@MinetGros]

I guess the book Bent Larsen read was Nimzowitsch's "The System". Still an excellent book and highly recommended, esp. in the original German,

[@manmoth_1990]

Doubt so. "My System" is not an openings book, but a book on chess principles. Also, I guess Seirawan would remember his name if it was "My System". He did write the foreword to the latest international edition.

[@MinetGros]

I read an article once whwere Larsen praised Nimzowitsch as an inspiration in his youth.

[@ministerofleisure]

Nh4. Yasser is an animal.

[@somebodys7404]

Car-you-wanna

[@vitalityendurance1456]

hey saint luis chess club, can you pls show us a Julian picture?

[@jimgardoufy3647]

Every game of Chess must be slow, positional with very little in the way of Exchanges and stuff. And Every game MUST end in a draw

[@isaiahgunn6435]

yasser you should do a game focused on the traxler counter in the two knights defense. i think that would be fun to see your enthusiasm portrayed in the lecture

[@GeometricStalemate]

Yasser has a 4-0 score vs. World Champ Mikhail Tal!

[@blue_genes]

minority attack; not to be confused with attacking minorities

[@aeilers1]

Good lecture. Listen to him, he always says Cariuana rather than Caruana. Why doesn't anyone tell him? Annoying

[@STLChessClub]

We've all tried. Yasser pronounces as Yasser does.

[@MarkDOES6886]

AT 8:30, you don't win the Bishop if Knight C 6...

[@abhi_shek1196]

Shut up

[@rinrts5695]

showing 0 minority attacks in a minority attack lesson. How to troll your class 101.

[@neilbhavikatti6720]

You must have an extremely low amount of brain cells

[@Thegamer-yp7qq]

I love u Yasser. I want marriage but unfortunately I am not gay

[@NoWayToHell]

You ARE gay

[@felikinrobertson2393]

who's watching in 1.25x

[@averagejohnson3985]

This title scared a few Fascists