Chess Lesson # 62: Best Opening for White Got Me From 1500 to 2100 on Lichess | London System |

[@NMRobertRamirez]

We finally have a strong and well organized opening course for White and one for Black. With these and the FREE beginner to master level playlist from this KZbin channel, it’s all about consistency over an extended period of time 😎💪 ⬇ Course on Black Opening (Counterblow) www.chessable.com/ramirez Course on White Opening (First Strike) www.chessable.com/firststrike Free Playlist (beginner to master level) rb.gy/hw61wt All the Endgame Knowledge I have rb.gy/zels9y All the Strategy Knowledge I have rb.gy/g1iqro

[@karieinarsson7347]

Dude I got addicted to chess 2 months ago and found your videos on Pirc and the London and last week I placed 3 in my school comp! Thank you for these insanely detailed lessons! 🙏

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Kari! Congrats on placing 3 and on progressing so quickly. I am impressed! Thank you so much for letting me know. It is truly rewarding to read comments like yours 💪

[@RaudoitusManninen]

Easy to watch even beginners like me

[@someguy1717]

wow congrats

[@ColHogan-bu2xq]

The best chess teacher on KZbin. You deserve a medal, let me tell you.

[@davidbatchelder85]

yes, he is.

[@asanmiyakhan]

Yes yes. ...he is correct. ...

[@sidneyck]

It's amazing how Robert wins games one after the other. The advantage turns around in his favor so quickly. And the move explanations help a lot in understanding and improving. Obrigado amigo.

[@theshue8067]

without your videos, i have no idea how can i survive in chess. thank you so much

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you! I am glad you are finding them helpful 👍😎💪

[@mbook119]

Thank you for repeating. No need to apologize! Very helpful!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are welcome, Mark! And thank you for your feedback 👍

[@gimelnus]

Repetition/drilling is crucial to automation.

[@mohammedhazari506]

This wasnt just an educational chess video. It was hella entertaining, I literally had goosebumps in the last game. Great content Robert, thanks for this.

[@meliodafugaming8744]

Hoping that you're still active in uploading games like this. Fast paced but the explanations are clear. Thanks for the vids sir.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

We are still going 😎💪

[@rajanmishra207]

​@@NMRobertRamirez yes and I am still learning

[@hellohello-rd1vr]

This has been one of the most helpful videos at cementing London and Czech pirc for me. You’re doing god’s work🙏

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. It means a lot! 👍

[@Italijan93]

Watched the whole series on opposite side castle attack and rly enjoyed it! You dont explain it to fast and as a beginner that means much, also videos are not long like 30-45min so its easier to remember! I think i m going to start from lesson #1 and go on from there! You are a great teacher, glad i found your channel :D Tnx a lot and looking forward to new videos ^^

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You got it, Nikola! Welcome aboard and thanks a lot for your feedback 👍💪

[@moosewild4239]

Wow. That ending you pulled off. Talk about calm under pressure. Nice job.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

😎 I probably got lucky there!

[@marinmasina7810]

Thank you for all the lessons on your channel! I started playing chess few weeks ago, before that I only knew how pieces move. Few days after I started I found your channel and started watching this playlist from video 1. Today I got to this video and just a moment ago first game of the day I was black, started playing Pirc defence, and blunderd but it got me in a situation were i casteled on the opposite side and started attacking, opened files and had my queen and rook prepared to go in, and on the 20th move he blunderd and I checkmated him. Thank you once again ☺️

[@sagark2235]

Hello Robert, I was a good player when I was in school and college. However, with managing office, I don't get a lot of time these days get into the intricacies of mang openings. Therefore, I turned to London system and Pirc, and I found your videos to be helpful. You have got a very nice style of explaining and as a result of that I'm able to remember opening without even putting a lot of efforts. Kudos to you for the great work that you are doing for Chess fraternity. Keep it up, and keep innovating.

[@vversusv1364]

These games demonstrating the previous lessons are very helpful!

[@KnightToD5]

Chess is hard. Chess is fun. Thank you Robert.

[@bhanubanerjee23]

I like these lessons when you teach us moves in live game because in reality the opponent sometimes do unexpected moves which is very much required to be addressed carefully. Thank you very much for the lesson sir 😀

[@Josh-vf7cs]

I am glad i am not the only london lover Thks for this vid

[@eolodra8653]

Thanks bro, your one of a kind, very helpful. Don't be tired on sharing your knowledge because you help a lot of people who loves playing chess. Now I'm learning the concept and ideas. God bless you always and your channel.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you so much! It's always great to read comments like yours. Please, let me know if you ever have any questions! 👍

[@imronrosadi8694]

Thank God for knowing You. Solved many of my problem. Keep health and keep sharing

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You got it! It's great to know you are finding value in these lessons 🙌😎

[@ricardocolbert5493]

Awesome demonstration coach, that last game was a “cliff hanger “ your training method has in proved my understanding of the game by volumes , thank you

[@martinsima4297]

the last game in this video was real battle, uff...very helpful to see the way you think in chess game.Great lesson, as usually.

[@Pugs-fp4uh]

Enjoyed this video. I have gone from 800 to 1100 playing these 2 openings exclusively for the last month and a half or so.

[@דוידמורדוך-נ9פ]

Excellent teacher. Thanks to you I have victories in chess. Fun to have you. Keep it up. Much appreciation and respect

[@UragonKadi]

I used what I learned from you using London and pirc and I won every game until i got tired

[@Roosyer]

You got tired of winning? who are you...Trump? Lol...kidding

[@exuviumisopods]

I really liked how at the second London system that you played, you managed to save your trapped Bishop; and with such an aggressive opponent. Excellent!

[@tarekfakhoury2401]

Wow those games were amazing Coach Ramirez. I wish I can play like u in a smooth easy relaxed style.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You will! Soon, you will be defeating me in a smooth and relaxed style 😎

[@tarekfakhoury2401]

🙂. Coach I watched ur games at chess.com. Ur game against Itzky the Chinese player was amazing 👏👏. Iam learning a lot from u

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@tarekfakhoury2401 ahhh that must be an old one. You will also find many blunders I have made lol

[@yamentyour7671]

Really you are the best chess teacher in KZbin. I learned a lot from you thank you go ahead.

[@HeartRains]

Mr Robertz ...this opening is love ♥️♥️.... There may get variations at the beginning.... But is 💣

[@stevechoatie249]

Good play of the various openings and techniques you have been teaching. It's also nice to see even a NM makes mistakes like the rest of us. Of course if you weren't trying to teach us during the limited time you have for the game I suspect you would do even better.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Glad you liked it, Steve. I am not sure if I would do better without trying to teach though 😜

[@davidbatchelder85]

I had to view it one more time, it never gets old. What a job. It is assisting me a great deal. May Jesus bless your entire family, Amen

[@taorefentse9514]

The last game was awesome! You fought a good fight there.

[@sakuragi_hanamichi3263]

Also I want to say, it is good idea you are doing practical videos explaining what you already explained, everyone just says the info.

[@edmundhilgen3795]

Thanks for sharing london system with opposite side castling .I will have to try it.

[@Hi-bj3jj]

Stellar videos!! Gold

[@davidstrachan8912]

Such a good video. Thanks

[@stevesidare2493]

You really swindled that last one!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

ahh I am not proud of that one. I got lucky I guess 😬

[@danbone]

Please more videos on the London system!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Absolutely!

[@Onoins425]

Superb as usual. You make it look sooooooo easy!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you, Lynch! Glad you liked it and I hope you use these ideas in your games 👍

[@Onoins425]

@@NMRobertRamirez yes, it has! I always use the London and have been using Black Lion, but this Pirc looks worth looking at at

[@elsambrianacedo9282]

thanks for the great videos NM Rob. Now I'm already 1900+ in my lichess accont, Still hoping to get there at 2100 soon.:)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! You are more than welcome 💪 And please, keep training consistently and you will soon break through 2100 😎

[@rejuantamim6939]

thanks a lot .please make more videos on london system .you are a great teacher

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are welcome! And yes, we will certain have more lessons on this great opening 👍

[@COOL_DAD]

Nice. Can you make a playlist with the London system, time to work on a new opening for myself

[@davidbatchelder85]

another great job to show reality

[@fanoflanguages7278]

Useful study material for opposite side attacks. In the Czech Pirc the normal plan is to castle on the king side, but you castled queen side to illustrate the opposite side attack. What is your opinion of the standard Pirc and the Black Lion openings?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

I actually play the standard Pirc as my main opening for Black. I have been using it for over 15 years. I have a student who tried implementing the Lion and he did not really get much out of it. I am not a fan either and when helping him prepare it, I realized it is not as rich and dynamic as the standard Pirc. However, that does not mean it is bad or that I would not use it sometimes.

[@mwk1979]

@@NMRobertRamirez I'm intrigued by the Czech Pirc. But it seems like it could easily transpose into a Black Lion. The main differences are it could force white to put his bishops on awkward squares like d2 or d3 and black has a better chance of early development of the white square bishop on c8. Is this enough to get more rich and dynamic positions?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@mwk1979 I like to teach the Czech Pirc as a solid opening that will easily take you to the middlegame. Instead of memorizing lots of theory, you can focus on your middlegame and endgame, which is what truly matters. Eventually, we will be learning more ambitious openings for black. I myself play the regular Pirc with g6 and Bg7, which I find extremely dynamic and I have been using it for over 15 years along with the King's Indian Defense. You do not have to end up playing the regular Pirc, but if you decide to try it, the fact that you already know the Czech Pirc will make the transition a little easier.

[@ashutoshkumarsingh5908]

Great sir🙏

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you!

[@hans4189]

You deserve more views.

[@antoniolechiara1578]

hey coach, time for another question! As a beginner, I'm really appreciating these lessons since I can be more able to identify and prevent mistakes. Anyway, I wouldn't want to go too far with them, spending time looking at tactics I can't still handle. With that said, which is the last lesson (or isolated ones still missing from now on) you would suggest me to watch, in order to focus mainly on the most self-consistent part for a beginner?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hey Antonio! The truth is that these lessons are in a specific order. Notice how I am constantly making reference to prior lessons because many times you need things we covered before in order to fully understand some of the subjects. I think you should continue little by little through the lessons because you need every piece of content we are covering. You do not want to have gaps in your learning process. What you can do is from time to time, look at the titles of the lessons from the beginning to see what subject you should go over again and reinforce. With that said, it is really important that you complement these lessons with lots of tactics training from websites or books. Also, if possible pick up a book like the one I have in my book recommendations about Magnus Carlsen. I recommend this book to beginners specifically because in it, you will find whole games where the author explains move by move from opening to middlegame. And of course, play games. Hope this answers your question, Antonio 👍

[@antoniolechiara1578]

@@NMRobertRamirez Thanks for your reply, as always. Yes, so far I've been watching all the lessons in order. Maybe is better for me to slow down in order to watch the successive lessons only once I've had the chance to practice for long enough on the previous ones.

[@asanmiyakhan]

Hello sir. ...thank you for this vdo. ...

[@sakuragi_hanamichi3263]

This was nicely explained. Great series, thanks dude! Can you add another video to this playlist explaining when it is right to sacrifice a bishop or knight at h6? And how to defend against it because most of the time it doesn't work? People do it a lot against me but I know from previous analysis with the engine, most of the time it doesn't work so I accept it and then defend by tucking the kind to the side and bringing the rook but sometimes I blunder mate in 1 haha right after defending correctly.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Thanks a lot for your kind words 🙌 I am sure we have talked about the sacrifice on h6 at some point in this course. I will look for the specific lesson and add it to this playlist. Otherwise, I will post a lesson on it 👍💪

[@rizalonia539]

Brilliant move

[@aditchokhani1277]

Hey Robert I am very grateful that u post such a wonderful lessons.I have a question out of this video 'I usually play good in phone but in real life I do blunders especially I keep wasting my pawns and lost a tournament because of this. Can u give me a practice aur advice plz it will mean a lot

[@rizalonia539]

Beautiful attack

[@TheSkylion80]

Thanks for another amazing lesson! I love the repetition and that you often refer to previous lessons. At 9:55 you played g4 and commented that you should have played h5 first. Would you play h5 with the intention to play h4 after and to prevent white from playing h4 to lock the attack? According to the computer g4 is the better move.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I felt like if they did h4, my attack would become more difficult to execute.

[@TheSkylion80]

@@NMRobertRamirez Thank you, Rob!

[@suryasahishnukalipatnapu5915]

Loved the video looking forward to reach 2000 elo

[@BamaRider]

Very helpful, nice to not have to remember so many moves but follow a system. For 1 month been playing this opening, and I know where my pieces go each time and know what to look for after so many games. I know what black is going to do before he does because I've seen the position many times prior. It has been my experience the Queens go off the board rather early with this opening. With the queens gone, and at least 1 bishop from each side, I will move my king out of the castle position and into the action. Is this a sound strategy?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! I just saw this comment. It looks like KZbin had it on hold, but I also feel like already reply to it 🤷‍♂️ Anyways, your strategy makes perfect sense to me. As we approach the endgame, the checkmate threats start to disappear and our king are welcome to become more active 💪

[@banzaiburger]

Robert, as a follow up to this awesome video, do you still recommend this and what are your thoughts on the Jobava London?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Danny! I do 😎 And the Jobava is a great opening. Just make sure you prepare it well and review master games to understand the typical middle and endgame positions 👍

[@rizalonia539]

Ur really master of ur opening

[@ChessJourneyman]

He was stumped by a 1300 rated opponent and couldn't castle until his opponent blundered, so...

[@mohammedtarek2681]

Hello bro, Can you explain in a video about the last game I think it's called Macdonell Attack!

[@marzianeri8372]

Would you use a different account (on another platform, since usually you can't have two in the same place) or time control to practice new concepts? Or keep them in your main account? My rating is still pretty low (600 elo) and actually many concepts you teach are kind of advanced, I get the main idea but can't really put in practice in real games, a bit more in puzzles, so it's more out of curiosity at the moment.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! You can do that too. Have you been following these lessons in order?

[@marzianeri8372]

@@NMRobertRamirez I am binging them in order and see what I can retain. I will probably soon restart from where I stopped following everything and practice every concept more in depth. I think after the mate with two bishops. I still can't visualize everything, but it's three months I play chess and am pretty far from my teen ages, so I know I will need time to improve. :)

[@joelrivera9394]

I'm your new subscriber mabuhay and God bless.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Joel! Welcome aboard 👍

[@robertgonsalves1966]

Nice presentation. Just a suggestion. If you could edit the video and keep all the games of one particular opening in it and label it accordingly it would help viewers down the line to find what they are looking for. Just a suggestion

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thanks a lot! I have done that with some videos, but I should go back to prior ones and do the same 🙌👍

[@robertgonsalves1966]

@@NMRobertRamirez Thanks. That will definitely help future viewers to find what they want

[@stillmattwest]

How long does it take to get to a 2000 rating? Me: I'm hoping to get there after probably two years of study and practice but I'm not sure if I have the talent to make it possible. NM Ramirez: Like twenty minutes and ima stream the whole thing. Seriously though, these videos are great. The best instructional chess videos I've found.

[@paulpereira4004]

At 6:46, what if black did not play Qd6? Since in that way you would not get the pin on the queen later on. So if play continued: 7. Nxg5 Kd7 8.Qf3 Bf6 then is the idea to continue the game with a superior position in exchange for the sacrificed Bishop?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

If Kd7, the problem is that their king would remain in the center, which justifies the sacrifice. For instance, we could have done Nxe6 forcing their king to come to the center and be more exposed. We just need to remember to open up the position to allow our pieces to attack the king (moves like e4 or c4). As a matter of fact, we could have done e4 or c4 before taking on e6 since their king cannot hide to c8 due to the e6 bishop being hanging. Let me know if it makes sense, Paul 👍

[@amrshehab7019]

I hope you see my comment i really need answer when i solve puzzles i solve almost all but keep calculating alot to get it right so when iam in a game i cant look every move if there is a tactic here to win any thing i just keep building my strategy unless i have a clear one move tactic to do i see it so do i need my mindset to search for a tactic everyove or just have a quick lock and keep on my strategy or what do i do ?

[@crwarrior7clash107]

At 19:30 why wouldn't you take the Knight on D5 with your pawn? I must be missing something obvious but I can't see it!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! The problem was that they could have done Rac1 pinning my queen 😬

[@crwarrior7clash107]

@@NMRobertRamirez Ah I see now! Thanks for explaining. I'm donating when you hit 5K btw - not long now :) (I've been watching since 1.8K subscribers).

[@uvknights]

Nice video

[@eshw23]

It would be great if you can do some rapid games, i think there better for intermediate like me to learn from, thanks

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Yes, many people had mentioned this and that's why I used a different format for lessons # 94 and # 95. Let me know what you think if you go over those two 👍

[@worldofrandom.]

at 6:03 why is Bc6 a bad move

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Good question. The reason is that Be6 is blocking the e-pawn, which needs to be moved in order to develop the other bishop. Even if they are planning to develop that other bishop via g7, Be6 is not good since it is blocked by its own d5 pawn making it less active. Hope this makes sense 👍

[@worldofrandom.]

also reminder abt the video about poison pawns( like b2 and g2 )

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@worldofrandom. yes, of course. We are getting there 💪

[@kishorebalan5423]

In 19:11 If rook moves f8, what will happen? Is this good move for black?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Nice one! 💪 The only problem with it is that White can play Qxb6 and everything will be simplified and we are down material 👍

[@arjungupta5441]

What if play pawn f4 instead of capture at e4 0:56

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Do you mean c4? In that case, we simply retract to c2 👍

[@WanZo1984]

Hye Coach, what about English opening for white? is it effective?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Absolutely! 👍💪

[@WanZo1984]

@@NMRobertRamirez thank you Coach,but for white i prefer ruy lopez opening, but for black i prefer the pirch defense like you teach, but how about white open with queen gambit? still we can use the pirc defense?

[@LukePalmer]

Where did you introduce the london, I think I missed that one

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Lesson # 58 👍

[@Scireforall]

Why the rating increasing quickly? Which chess platform is this?

[@elizabethvicentemachaca6815]

3:03 he had Ke5 I think.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Elizabeth! Interesting move indeed trying to deflect the f3-knight, but I think white could have just moved the queen since the d2-knight was ready to replace the f3-knight 👍

[@MrDanielfff777]

Nice

[@frankbrown6305]

Do you think playing blitz is good for beginning players?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Frank! I don't think so. Many bad habits can be picked up from blitz and bullet. It can be a good part of our training, but it should not be played in excess. I typically have my students play 15|10 and some days, we play blitz because at the end of the day, it is important to get some exposure to playing under time pleasure. Hope this makes sense 👍

[@mehdilolar286]

never tell us do not try at home (pirc opositside) because I will try that xD heheheheh

[@justanotheruser7885]

19:06 rook to f8

[@MegabladeChess]

Bro I also wanna play with you!!! MY RATING =2200+

[@neetaspirant8822]

Done

[@rv706]

"Fianchetto" is an Italian word: it has a "k" sound, not a Spanish "ch" sound.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you!

[@rv706]

@@NMRobertRamirez: You're welcome. Yours is certainly not the only chess channel in which I've corrected this little pronunciation mistake.

[@karanarora1468]

👍

[@PatrickRecordon]

Why advertising the London so much? It’s a pain in the arse to face it with black pieces

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! This lesson is a follow up to lesson # 58 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fafSaaKFr89_hZY

[@psychojustin3064]

31/10/21 10:30 AM

[@N3KLAZ]

can't believe you are a NM :D that was quite bad play at times

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback! 👍 Enjoy your day 💪

[@aridojikatochiri9120]

[@ChessJourneyman]

2100 already causing him major trouble. Makes one question that FM title when ~1600-1700 fide is ~2000 on lichess. Food for thought

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! Even lower rated players have made me sweat over the board, but this lesson ―and the entire course― is not about how bad I am. We are trying to create a community where we all contribute and hopefully we help each other improve. Hope you found some value in this lesson and thank you for contributing that food for thought 👍💪🙌😎

[@robertedson2374]

unintelligible!!

[@RickyGunawan95]

Hi Robert, How are you? I have 2 questions if you don't mind to answer 1. On Game 5 16:47 when your opponent did Bd2, is it always better to do Qc7?Why not Qb6? I did chess analysis using chess.com and it often tells to do Qb6. 2. Up till now I always play rapid 15|10 which allows me to have more time to think, but I still sometimes ended up losing time. How do I get a faster thinking time? Should I play blitz or keep grinding my tactics, Pirc and London Opening so I can get used to it more? Thank you, have a good day

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Ricky! I am doing great. Hope you are well too! Regarding the Qc7 move, you are right -you can do Qb6 sometimes, but more often than not we have to move it again to c7. In this specific case at 16:47, Qb6 would be threatening the b2-pawn, but I would never take it due to Rb1 followed by Rxb7. It is true that you control a nice diagonal (g1-a7), but White can do Qe2 and Be3 forcing you to move the queen again. So, to answer your question, it is not always better, but you almost never can go wrong with c7. Sometimes, I even do Qc7 instead of Qa5 in the first place. Regarding question # 2, tactics and mastering your openings will certainly help, but at the end of the day it mainly has to do with playing blitz. I typically have my students play some days 15|10 like you do and other days, we make it blitz day and they do 5|5 and towards the end some 3|2. The important thing is to not play blitz only. Continue the way you are, but do some blitz from time to time. Hope this makes sense. Otherwise, let me know and we can talk more about it, Ricky 👍

[@RickyGunawan95]

@@NMRobertRamirez Hi Robert sorry for the late reply. I read your comment about Qc7 and try to research about it. I suddenly stumbled on this video where Akobian play Czech Pirc. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYinaWWuZr51osk IMO right now Qc7 is really a strong move because it keeps the pressure on the e5 square. And yes I also play blitz recently. Haven't got the feeling of improvement but I'll keep trying to play it once in a while to see if I can make progress. Thanks Robert!