Video

Dad's Army. Yes, that's not one I ever really connected much with but I was younger when I watched some episodes.

Blackadder is of course quality. I missed Friday Night Dinner when I did the list as well so that goes in my top 5.

@@benedictineonchessable What you really need are a lot of "ties" so you can squeeze 8-9 shows into your top 5, you sneaky boy.

@@WowbaggerTheInfinitelyProlonge Fantastic idea!!

@@benedictineonchessable LOL - then add a few "honourable mentions" and no one will want to hurl tomatoes at you.

@@WowbaggerTheInfinitelyProlonge Brilliant. As Donald would say 'absolutely!'

Well, I did say it was my list. Hmm, Father Ted Irish, yes I suppose.

@@benedictineonchessable it doesnt say it in the title though, was my point.

@@johnmullens2857 Yes, I get that but putting 'my' in doesn't sound as good.

@@benedictineonchessable leaving it out makes it a self-important lie.

Yes, that's definitely true. There's certainly something odd about Christmas and Only Fools and Horses for example.

That's a few votes now for Yes Minister and The Young Ones.

Ah, good shout. I remember watching repeats of those.

Hi, Basic Chess Patterns and CCP are already out, but you probably meant Advanced Chess Patterns. The current release date I think is July 22nd! Thanks.

Looking forward to that date.

​​​Thanks. It's been delayed because I've had to make a lot of changes, but I'm happy to do that in order to improve it. Maurice Ashley has recorded over 10 hours of video for this, amazing! I've not even seen it so I'm definitely looking forward to it. ​@@64coates

Thanks a lot. There are two books about 1...d6 to Everything. The Erigorn one and another one that's just come out on Chessable... can't remember who wrote it off hand. I've done a review on the Erigorn book.

czcams.com/video/YnHhRHn_4-c/video.html Here if you've not seen it. Cheers.

@@benedictineonchessable Good to know. The book I am referring to is by Erik Zude and Jorg Hickl, actually Titled " Play 1...d6 Against Everything". Cheers.

@@WarDaddy2023 Right, thanks. I wonder if this is the one on Chessable then, I'll look later. Thanks.

Hi, I've not got a pdf file, sorry.

Yes, I might do another one at some point. Maybe when I have experimented a bit more. Thanks.

Thanks Greg. I just prefer the Chessable default settings. If they have set them up for the maximum efficiency I don't see the point in changing the schedule settings. Extra reps are also good though. It depends on how you are getting on with the isolated patterns and will vary from person to person. Ideally, you should be aiming for almost instant recognition on the one move patterns, 5-7 seconds at most. 10 seconds or so for 2+ move patterns, but as near to instantaneous as possible. Cheers.

@@benedictineonchessable Great. Thanks so much for the response!

@@gregwhittier5206 No worries, cheers.

Ah, nice. Yes it's almost impossible to watch just one episode!

Ah, ok thanks. There is that Queen shuffle idea to improve the dsb could be worth trying that, but if you are happy with the Pirc then that's good.

Cheers, yes it's a great book.

Ha, ha cheers!

It's the old Indian set up against d4/c4. It's called the Philidor against e4 but it depends on move orders. It could be classed as the Pirc in some move orders.

No worries thank you for the suggestion. It very much might be something I take up in my actual games, especially on the black side. I did mean to mention it was a viewer suggestion the truth is I didn't intend to do this review as it is as I have been having mic issues so I just started out sound testing then went on a bit. This is why there are not many variations in the video but I might do a part B showing more. Of course, you can't show too much as it's not far on the authors so you have to balance it out. Thanks again!

Yes, another issue with the French as white is that no matter what line you choose black will know it better.

Good stuff, thanks for the insights. I didn't really look much into the black rep as I was more interested in the white side, but in the end that's not for me either.

I think one difficulty with that is that openings shape the middle game so it's hard to work that in. What you really what is generally chess strategy as then you will be able to play and understand a variety of different structures. Rios' Chess Structures book is pretty good as is a general annotated strategy book like Steve Giddens 50 Most Instructive Games or whatever it is called or 'Giants of Chess Strategy' or another strategic middle game book.

@@benedictineonchessablethanks so much for the reply

@@Socrates... No worries. Is there any particular aspect of the middle game you are interested in?

I never study the opening. The only thing I do is check in review what percentage I achieved. I am only interested in middle games because I think they the most interesting.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting this book.

The Side Stepping book came today. I've read 40+ pages so far and I'm very impressed. Looking forward to reading the rest.

@@benedictineonchessable I have my first OTB with it tomorrow. Looking forward a lot. Thank you for bringing the book to my attention! :D Its bloody brilliant

@@leonromer567 Oh wow, best of luck. Let me know how you get on. Yes, I think it's brilliant! That's my first impression anyway. I just want to read it through.

@@benedictineonchessable i scored a brutal win. Endgame/Queen Exchange line and since the book shows soooo many model games after that queen trade i knew the plans and destroyed him in the endgame. Clean win and i love the book even more now :) + he was the stronger player

Thanks. Yes, I will be posting my final review of this book in a few days. Thanks for watching, much appreciated.

Oh right, the bishop on e6. Yes, looks odd. At the moment I don't think I will be tempted to switch to 1. c4, no. There are a lot of variations and things to know and I don't think the book offers much in the way of plans and ideas, but I've still got a few days left for it to change my mind. I've got the book 'Side Stepping Main Line Theory' coming soon. I'm going to do a similar experiment with that one.

@@benedictineonchessable best of luck! Excited to hear your verdict!

Cheers.​@@leonromer567

Hi, my point is that someone could have played the correct line without even realising why the Queen move is incorrect. It was only by playing over the incorrect line that we can see the refutations and the defensive patterns. The main point is that if you are doing random chess puzzles then it's much better to make the most of it and exploring the various continuations (if relevant) than just clicking on 'next puzzle' and potentially missing out on something. In many cases there might be nothing of interest in which case then you can just click on to the next puzzle, but sometimes it's definitely worth exploring in a bit more detail - even if this is just a couple of minutes.

Hi, no I wouldn't calculate an inferior line in a real game as it's a waste of time (it's hard enough calculating good lines). I meant calculating/playing around with variations during analysis - exploring a little further beyond the puzzle if it throws up interesting positions. Also many puzzles stop too short because there could be multiple good moves often these are worth exploring a little too.

Thanks, I'm just trying it out for a bit of fun.

Good stuff and good luck! 👍

Ha ha cheers. Yes it's mine. I originally produced it for myself as a private course but then was persuaded to publish it.

I'm currently doing the chess idiot challenge: czcams.com/video/Gvxwso5b76I/video.htmlsi=8LDsBxC3lzQu0X8e

Hello, thank you for the intelligent comment! I know what you mean. I think the main thing in visualisation training though is in having the power to HOLD the position in your head. As you say you find it hard visualising the position 3+ moves ahead. This is very normal. The vast majority of us amateurs do. I would just focus on visualising the position during visualisation training. Forgot about the tactics and patterns as you can train that separately and that should be a main element of training... When you do more complex tactics/calculation training you put them both together and that's when you start to see dramatic results.

@@benedictineonchessable I see your point, yeah it will certainly be harder to solve the final position just by visualising it, without noticing many of the motifs upfront. Which makes sense to do during visualisation training. Thank you for the advice.

@@Oleg72855 No worries, thank you for the comments. When you are calculating you need to consider absolutely everything - tactical, positional, evaluation etc. But in in training you have the advantage to be able to break things down into different components. This is where the different elements of training come in. This is the way I see it anyway. Nobody tells the professional sprinter in the gym during a heavy weights workout that they are not running very fast. It's not the point. If you see what I mean? Cheers.

Oh right, good to know thank you. 👍

I will never make a salesman!

This looks a very interesting book, thanks I've just ordered it. I also have 'The Idiot Proof Chess Opening Repertoire' on order. I will review both of these. The Side Stepping book is co-authored by Steve Giddens who is excellent and the book sounds very interesting indeed. Thanks for the recommendation.

@@benedictineonchessable Cool, I look forward to it. Thanks. Even though I don't play much, I do enjoy your content a lot.

@@keithwald5349 Thanks a lot!

1500 CC i have not played IRL tournaments yet

18-25 years old seems to be a sort of halfway house. So you're in luck! After 25-30+ it's much harder.

Keep playing a lot while your brain is still somewhat young! Even if you quit at some point the level you can reach now will be much harder to reach later in life

Thanks. Yes, it's not you at all it's just how it is. This is not to say that you can't get good at faster time controls as you can, it just takes time building up all those patterns.

Quality post! Fully agreed.

Cheers!

What website was that?

You said there is a website that talks about black setups, and it's in the description. But other sites are there.

@@onatkorucu842 I don't think I said it was in the description because it wasn't very good. I think that was my point.

@@onatkorucu842 I think it was this one: thechessworld.com/articles/openings/5-best-opening-systems-for-club-players-for-black/

Thanks

Ah yes, thanks. That's another good option.

Not really. The Caro is more passive than the French, as there's no queenside attack for it. You also have to know plans against sharper variations than the French (Tal variation, the Shirov g4 stuff, the g4 bayonet, the Panovs, the Fantasy variation, the Goldman attack, etc.)

Not sure if you're aware, but a couple of your courses are now part of chess dojo 0.3

@@brianhegarty2902 Oh yes, thanks. Someone pointed that out to me the other day. Cheers.

Cheers.

Ha, ha cheers. It's called 'going on a rant!'

Choosing titles is always a pain

People seem to either love or hate this opening