Aulas

Silman's Lessons in Strategy (2)

Silman's Lessons in Strategy (2)

Challenge your strategic knowledge with IM Jeremy Silman!

Did you work through Silman’s Lessons on strategy and you’re looking for more challenges? Then this is the perfect follow up course for you! In this module, IM Jeremy Silman continues with strategic positional challenges. Some are long, and experts and masters will not find many of these to be easy. The course also provides a look into some of the top players and chess tales of the 1990s. Improve your strategic abilities today!

Here is what you will learn:

  • The importance of keeping an open mind.
  • How to take advantage of holes in an opponent's position.
  • Various ways to break down a powerful pawn center.
  • How to turn advantages in space and development into something more tangible.


"I learned more chess from Mr. Silman than anybody else. The amount of effort he has put into teaching chess and making it fun and accessible to everyone is incalculable. I started from 1200 several years ago in an advanced age with a goal to play 1800 OTB chess one day. I quickly discovered Mr. Silmans works. Made it to 1970 FIDE, beat a couple of 2200s, in large part because of Mr. Silman’s books and very chess strategy lessons. Done all of them (!) on chess.com and have read nearly every article with great pleasure. Thank you Mr. Silman." - Chess.com member Gus2105

Pia Cramling-Haik, France 1989

Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling (playing White), one of the strongest female chess players in the world has more central space, enjoys a lead in development and is applying pressure down the open d-file.
14 Desafios

Lev Alburt-D. Gurevich, Long Beach 1989

For those that are interested, the opening moves were 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Na6 10.h3 Bd7 11.e4 Qc8.
5 Desafios

Klaman-Smyslov, USSR Championship 1947

Weakening a complex of squares is always a dangerous thing to do. Here we see how White punishes Black for his holes on g7, f6, e7, b7 and c6.
5 Desafios

Variation from Klaman-Smyslov, USSR Championship 1947

Weakening a complex of squares is always a dangerous thing to do. Here we see how White punishes Black for his dark-square hole on f6.
5 Desafios

Reti-Yates, New York 1924

White's pieces form a striking picture-everything is aiming at Black's seemingly powerful center. Can White break this center down or is the central space going to eventually push the White forces back?
15 Desafios

Izmailov-Kasparyan, USSR Championship 1931

A glance at this position may tell us that White stands well, however, the truth is often different than immediate impressions may lead us to believe.
8 Desafios

Piatsetski-Silman, San Francisco 1995

White has just played his Knight to e5. Should Black capture this piece and open the d-file for his opponent or is there something better available?
4 Desafios

Silman-Balinas, San Francisco 1995

White has an obvious advantage in development and space. How can he increase this edge and turn it into something more tangible?
2 Desafios

Cusi-Silman, San Francisco 1995

A glance may tell us that White is better with the superior pawn structure. However, all is not as it appears to be and many conflicting factors exist in this complicated position. What is Black's best move?
3 Desafios

Stein-Tal, Leningrad 1971

The late Mikhail Tal, playing Black, was World Champion for one year (1960) before M. Botvinnik, a drinking problem and a resultant decline in health conspired to strip the title from him.
11 Desafios

Samisch-Alekhine, Dresden 1926

Alekhine, playing Black, won the World Championship from Capablanca in 1927. Famous for his attacking and calculating powers, he was also able to handle all types of positions with depth and artistry.
11 Desafios

Donner-Tal, Zurich 1959

The late, great former World Champion M.Tal (playing Black) was famous for his spectacular sacrifices and his ability to inject life into almost any position.
4 Desafios

Capablanca-Alekhine, St. Petersburg 1913

This early clash between the two great rivals ends in a win for Capablanca since at that time the great Cuban was clearly superior to Alekhine in playing strength.
4 Desafios

E.Lasker-Capablanca, Havana 1921

The great Emanual Lasker didn't do very well in his match with Capablanca. Some said it was his age, while Lasker blamed the Cuban climate.
8 Desafios

Castaldi-Reshevsky, Dubrovnik 1950

A famous child prodigy, the late Samuel Reshevsky (playing Black) was one of the world's top five players during his prime years.
3 Desafios

Rubinstein-Salwe, Lodz 1908

Akiba Rubinstein (playing White) was one of the top two players in the world (along with E. Lasker) from 1908 to 1911.
12 Desafios

Karpov-Spassky, Leningrad 1974

Former World Champion Boris Spassky (playing Black) had just won the Soviet Championship and came into this Candidates Match as a slight favorite. The young Anatoly Karpov, however, stunned everyone.
7 Desafios

Hubner-Gheorghiu, Skopje 1972

Robert Hubner (playing White) has been Germany's top player for many years. Here he crushes Romanian Grandmaster Florin Gheorghiu, one of the few players to have ever beaten Fischer in a tournament game.
4 Desafios

Spassky-Korchnoi, Kiev 1968

This was from the candidates match between soon to be World Champion Boris Spassky (playing White) and the great Victor Korchnoi in 1968.
3 Desafios

Smyslov-Reshevsky, Match Tournament 1948

Vasily Smyslov (playing White) took the World Championship from Botvinnik in 1957 but lost it back to Botvinnik a year later.
4 Desafios

Kotov-Levenfish, Soviet Championship 1949

The late Alexander Kotov (playing White) was a Soviet Grandmaster who authored several books on chess, the most famous being, Think Like a Grandmaster.
5 Desafios

Marco-Muller, London 1898

Georg Marco (playing White) made his home in Vienna and was well known as a man who simply hated to lose.
6 Desafios

Capablanca-Botvinnik, Nottingham 1936

Any battle between such giants as Capablanca (at the time a former World Champion) and Botvinnik (a future World Champion) is always interesting.
6 Desafios

Botvinnik-Zagorovsky, Sverdlovsk 1943

White has an edge due to the isolated d-pawn and White's control of d4. How can Black cure the ills of his position before they become too acute?
7 Desafios

Kmoch-Alekhine, Kecskemet 1927

Alekhine (playing Black), the only man ever to die with the World Title, was generally thought to be an attacking player. Here, though, we see him piling up positional pressure
1 Desafio

Schlechter-E.Lasker, 5th Match Game 1910

This short match (just ten games long) for the World Championship has become a great mystery in the hazy history of chess.
3 Desafios

E.Lasker-Burn, St.Petersburg 1909

White's chances on the kingside clearly give Lasker (playing White) the superior position but Burn (a very defensive player) is hoping to get some counterplay on the queenside. How has he misread the position?
7 Desafios

Lobron-Karpov, Hanover 1983

White (Lobron) has sacrificed a pawn for pressure against the Black position. His immediate threat is Rxe7 followed by Nd5, making use of the pin on the f6-Knight.
3 Desafios

Miles-L.Portisch, Plovdiv 1983

White has acquired quite a nice position. What should Black do to defend himself?
6 Desafios

Tal-Najdorf, Belgrade 1970

Najdorf, is a legend and finds a way to pull the teeth from the mouth of White's upcoming assault.
3 Desafios

Korzubov-Lerner, Tallinn 1983

Black has a poor game because he has no active play while White can open queenside lines of attack at his leisure. Should Black just try to grimly hold on or is there another idea present in the position?
5 Desafios

Denker-Smyslov, USA vs. USSR Match 1946

Arnold Denker (playing White) was once Champion of the United States and was famed for his vicious attacking play. Against players like Smyslov, however, he was simply out of his league.
6 Desafios

Smyslov-Botvinnik, Moscow 1958

This game, played under the emotional strain of a World Championship match, appears to be going White's way -- the Black King is anything but safe. How can Black hold back the storm?
5 Desafios

Gufeld-Taimanov, Moscow 1969

White has all the chances and it looks like the Black King may be in for a rough ride. How can Black demonstrate the safety of his King?
2 Desafios

Vitolinsh-Mukhin, Riga 1972

Black is down an Exchange but his threat of ...Qb6+ is very hard to stop. White lost quickly in the actual game but it turns out that a defense does exist. How can White save himself?
6 Desafios

A.Petrosian-Khazai, Yerevan 1970

Black, who is in real trouble, finds a defense so shocking that it causes White to make a major error!
5 Desafios

Topalov-Yusupov, Novgorod 1995

Veselin Topalov (playing White) is one of the World's finest young Grandmasters (only 19 years old at the time of this game) who is rapidly heading towards a number one ranking.
7 Desafios

Illescas-Beliavsky, Madrid 1995

Illescas (playing White) is Spain's strongest player. His opponent, Big Al Beliavsky, is a feared attacking player who has long been thought of as one of the World's best players.
2 Desafios

Smyslov-Xie Jun, Prague 1995

Black thought she was alright but former World Champion Smyslov (playing White) shows the Woman's World Champion that she still has a few things to learn about positional play.
7 Desafios

M. Adams-Shirov, Dos Hermanas 1995

Michael Adams (playing White) is a young, aggressive English Grandmaster who has won many international events. His young opponent, Alexey Shirov, is a tactical genius who has been among the top ten in the world.
4 Desafios

Piket-Gelfand, Dos Hermanas 1995

The young Jeron Piket (playing White) is, together with veteran Grandmaster Jan Timman, Holland's best player. Here he defeats Boris Gelfand.
4 Desafios

Gulko-Short, Riga 1995

Boris Gulko (1994 U.S. Champion), playing White, has the two Bishops and the better pawn structure but Black has active pieces and a big threat of ...Nxc3.
7 Desafios

Gelfand-Korchnoi, Horgen 1994

Black's Knights are superior to the White Bishops at the moment but if the Knights get chased back then the Bishops may end up ruling.
6 Desafios

Kasparov-Yusupov, Horgen 1994

Garry Kasparov (playing White) has been one of the most dominant World Champions. His amazing opening preparation and his tactical powers make him an almost irresistible opponent.
5 Desafios

Kiril Georgiev-Morozevich, Tilburg 1994

Kiril Georgiev (playing White) is an experienced Grandmaster from Yugoslavia. His opponent, Morozevich, is a young man who smashes his opposition by vicious attacks and strange opening choices.
5 Desafios

Gligoric-Smyslov, Amsterdam 1994

This imbalanced position offers difficult problems for both players. What is the best set-up for the Black army?
6 Desafios

Khuzman-Hodgson, Amsterdam Open 1994

Julian Hodgson (playing Black) is an English player who lives for wild positions and unusual openings. He has had this position in several games.
2 Desafios

M. Adams- V.Anand, Linares 1994

Anand has gotten better with each passing year and is now recognized as one of the four best players in the world.
3 Desafios

Salov-Ljubojevic, Buenos Aires 1994

Black appears to be more aggressively placed and his center pawns give one a feeling of power. The truth is, though, that Black is in a very bad way.
5 Desafios

Seirawan-de Firmian, Key West 1994

It's not exciting but to Seattle's super Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan (playing White) such positions provide the consummate pleasure. How did Yasser knock his opponent out of the box?
6 Desafios

Peter Svidler-Andrey Sokolov, Elista 1994

Peter Svidler (playing White) is a teenage Russian Grandmaster who may easily turn out to be a world beater.
7 Desafios

Silman's Lessons in Strategy (2)

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Lançado em 11/15/2007