Avoid These Needless Moves in the Opening! Know When to Play a3/h3

Рет қаралды 2,576

Күн бұрын

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00:00 Position 1
04:24 Position 2
06:14 Legal's Mate Pattern
08:04 Space Advantage
09:52 Ruy Lopez Tabiya
13:38 Petrosian Variation of the Queen's Indian Defense
16:20 Homework Position
This video delves into the early a3/h3/a6/h6 moves in the opening, aiming to determine the optimal timing for playing these moves. As a coach, what I've observed is that many casual players frequently deploy these moves in the opening, sacrificing valuable time instead of developing their pieces. Often, these moves are made out of a fear of being pinned by ...Bg4 or ...Bb4 maneuvers. We analyze positions that dispel these unfounded fears. Additionally, we explore Legal's Mating pattern to overcome fears surrounding ...Bg4.
Sometimes, these moves stem from rote memorization, as players recall similar moves from grandmaster games. However, this can cultivate detrimental habits, as they fail to understand the rationale behind the move's appropriateness in the current context. Deep learning entails probing the "why" behind each move, a point underscored in this video.
Furthermore, we examine instances where early flank pawn moves are justified, such as in the Spanish Opening and the Petrosian Variation of the Queen's Indian Defense. By linking the flanks with the center, we discern how these flank moves contribute to the battle for central squares. This approach fosters profound engagement with the material and facilitates conceptual understanding.

Пікірлер: 59

@erikfromc Ай бұрын

Homework position: h3 is a wasted move, as ...Bg4 is not scary at all. In fact, white welcomes this move, as it offers the opportunity to harass black's bishop with tempo-gaining moves.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this excellent answer!

@cwgriffin1 Ай бұрын

Dr. Can. Thanks. Your channel is the most instructive chess channel on KZfaq. As for the homework-No!!! Way too passive, serves no purpose. Almost anything else is better. I think Nf3 is the most principled. I like Bd2 . It starts the game of "Kick the Queen."

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

I love your motivating comment, thank you! And an excellent answer to the hw position!

@xSlashPsychic Ай бұрын

Could you make a video on spotting the right moment to take advantage of your positional advantage? Sometimes if you follow the principles and get a winning position out of the opening you may let the advantage slip away. The opponent may just do nothing and wait and eventually it goes back to an equal position. Or maybe you make a move that seems perfectly natural yet it throws away your advantage for seemingly no reason at all.

@eschiedler Ай бұрын

Many winning positions require very hard calculation to convert. The win is there to grab but not easy.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thanks for your feedback. I will soon publish one video on how to convert winning advantages.

@user-ot8bb3ng7o Ай бұрын

A dream video 👏💯 in all my studies and books , never came across information like this, there's a tendency to make these moves when you are out of the opening and running out of ideas,or just phantom fears😮 thinking you are restricting the opponent, when in fact you waste a tempo,with these new information i wish i was younger to go out there like hulk and smash🎉

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

I am so glad to hear your kind feedback! My mission is to fill those important gaps and fix the thought process - for good.

@user-pf9mz2bd2i Ай бұрын

You put out some great videos. Not only that, you do great videos on topics that I have never seen addressed before - like this one, and one I saw the other day about when to exchange the fianchettoed Bishop. And there was one about when to sacrifice a pawn for activity (that's my goal in chess - to one day sac a pawn for activity and after the game find that my sac was correct). Maybe do one about when to fianchetto? I only discovered your videos because I clicked on one thinking you were Andras Toth. A lucky blunder!

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your extremely motivating thoughts ☺️ Andras is great - good to be mixed with him 😅

@mudassirali6837 Ай бұрын

Dr. Can - We should play NF3, because after BishopG4, you can set up something very similar to the Legals trap. I experienced this in my games against the Scandinavian.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Nf3! is the best move indeed!

@michaelf8221 Ай бұрын

Homework: Nf3 definitely. If Bg4, we have h3 Bxf3!? Qxf3 with simple development and we're hitting b7. If Bg4 h3 Bh5!? g4! Bg6 Ne5 and we're going after that bishop. Ideas like h4-h5 are coming and white has the initiative. So h3 first is completely unnecessary and just encourages black to play Bf5, a very solid move.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

I love this answer! So accurate!

@Erik_001 Ай бұрын

Wow. Good answer

@DanielDollinger1959 Ай бұрын

Thanks Can, I agree with the idea that h3 serves no purpose. In the opening, I want to develop my pieces as fast as I can. It seems that a lot of these early pawn moves are just reactions to phantom fears. They ignore the long-term agenda. The moves should feed the overall plan or at least try to.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Absolutely Dan! Thank you for your feedback!

@sulemandaud2144 Ай бұрын

I think a old (and somewhat bad) opening variation that can explain some merits of playing h3/h6 is: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d4 Qe7 6. O-O Nf6 7. Re1 d6 8. h3 h6 9. a4 a6 10. Be3 g5 White, with the space advantage, plays h3 to prevent Bg5, relieving any pressure on d4. Black, having delayed castling, plays h6-g5 to attack the h3-hook on the kingside while white is expanding on the queenside. Maybe there are other ideas in addition I missed as a beginner player.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Absolutely, such ideas exist also in quiet Italian game, as we witnessed several times in the recent Candidates tournament. It is important to understand the context and not play them blindly :)

@brainfellow5140 Ай бұрын

Hi Dr. Can, sorry for the late response, I've been traveling and just now catching up on your videos. I'll be replying to the newer ones soon. Thank you! Re Homework: While it does blunt Bg4 or Ng4, I think it's too early and slow to push h3 - a time cost in development - so I'd be inclined to develop Nf3 as there doesn't seem to be an immediate threat to white's position. I did also briefly toy with an alternative idea of f3 but that seems to open the king up a bit too much in the center and again a cost in development time.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much, waiting for your comments! :) Nf3 is indeed correct, for the reasons you have mentioned. f3 feels like a big mistake too, so it is good you have avoided it! :)

@cristiantudorescu9153 Ай бұрын

You are the best. Thanks again for the incredible lessons!!

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Such a motivating comment. Thank you! ❤

@Kasperrkuijpers Ай бұрын

Thank you for this video. I have learned to play Nf3 in the homework position, if Bg4 comes we can play Be2 and then play h3 with tempo. Playing h3 now is a waste of time as black can develop the bishop to f5 anyway.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Absolutely, thanks!

@ezequielsanchez5722 27 күн бұрын

This channel is amazing! Found it late but Im grateful. 🙌🙌🙌

@Dr.CansClinic 27 күн бұрын

Welcome aboard! Really happy to see your comment. Please do not hesitate sharing the channel with your chess friends ☺️🙏

@ezequielsanchez5722 24 күн бұрын

@@Dr.CansClinic I will do!

@Dr.CansClinic 23 күн бұрын

@@ezequielsanchez5722 Thank you so much!

@derkamon Ай бұрын

awesome video, it is also dedicated to ppl in my elo range "1200_1400" as we have no clue how to deal with Bg4 and Bb4, thats why we prefer to shut it down and deal with other problems, also got hard time evaluating the worth of that pin, sometimes I pull it over other opponents, and double the f pawns, and still get myself in a bad position for I am looking for a tactic that does not exist, thinking I have the advantage while the position is still equal homework: I saw this line in the scandinavian, when there is Qh5, followed by Bg4, making the h3 move irrelevant, thus a wasted tempo, so Kc3 is the better choice (I believe)

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind comment! That is a very big issue for that level indeed! Great answer to the hw question! I think you meant Nf3 :)

@eschiedler Ай бұрын

If only a weak a3 move were a good bluff as in poker. homework spoiler - no engine Early in the opening, in this position, an h3 move may concede more control of the center to the opponent. In this case, Nf3 prevents e5. Nf3 e5 Nxf5 threatening Bc4 ... Bxf7+ Nf3 e5 dxe5 Ne4 Qd5 Qxd5 Nxd5 threatening Nxc7+ White can develop normally even if the knight on F3 is pinned. Nf3 Bg4 h3 Bxf3 Qxf3 c6 (protecting the b7 pawn and the a8 rook) Allowing the pin works because of the weakness on b7 and the fact that black is very underdeveloped with little center control. Whereas h3 allows a crucial tempo for black. h3 e5 dxe5 Ne4 Bd2 Nxd2 Qxd2 Be6 and black has solid development. h3 Bf5 Nf3 e6 Bd2 Nbd7 Bc4 Bb4 0-0 0-0 and white has no clear advantage. Also, he Nc6 Nf3 e5 d5 Nb4 Bc4 e4 and white has to fend off threats and play very precisely. edit for typo

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you as always for detailed analysis! How about Nf3 Bg4 h3 Bh5? Is that pin scary for us?

@eschiedler Ай бұрын

@@Dr.CansClinic Following Bh5, g4 Bg6 Nf5 and white is well ahead, no counter-attack available for black. White will be so far ahead, in most lines Bg2.... 0-0 will be proper.

@KF1 Ай бұрын

Great video again. For the homework assignment, no h3. If we can simply develop and encourage a trade of their light bishop for our knight, we are going to have more fun in a position without a locked center where our own light square bishop may thrive and cook spicy tacos.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Indeed, h3 would be a mistake there!

@user-gg6df4xr3i Ай бұрын

Chess crime & punishment on chesssable,solves all your problems (While your there buy the rest and watch your chess change forever and your elo go up)

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

❤ What else can I say?

@user-gg6df4xr3i Ай бұрын

@@Dr.CansClinic Coach,the botvinnik english set up...Yes or no? Control the centre and attack the flanks in most cases...Out of the english set ups,this one clicks with me.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

@@user-gg6df4xr3i That one is good and flexible. You can even aim for that with reverse colors - since it is a system opening.

@user-gg6df4xr3i Ай бұрын

@@Dr.CansClinic Thanks coach! ill be buying some books this weekend and get stuck into the opening.

@user-pf9mz2bd2i Ай бұрын

Normally if the game starts 1e4 e5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 Bg4 4. exd5 Black is playing the Albin-Blackburne gambit and plays 4...Nd7. Of course, playing 3 h3 in order to avoid this gambit in bonkers.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

If it is a poor gambit, let them play and destroy themselves!

@user-pf9mz2bd2i Ай бұрын

Indeed, to get an advantage White should accept the gambit. But like most gambits, you need to know what you're doing. E.g. after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Nd7 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. Be2 Ngf6 7. Nc3 Qe7 white can play 8 Nd4! because 8...Nxe4? runs into 9. Nxe4 Qxe4 10. f3, winning back the piece and White has a happy position. GM Avetik Grigoryan said he was playing 8.Nd2 in the above line, and lost twice in this line to a sub 2000 player. Then he found the 8 Nd4 move the next day, which refutes this gambit. This was part of one of the ChessMood courses.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

@@user-pf9mz2bd2i Thanks for this analysis!

@JustMe3.1415 Ай бұрын

Hi again! I have written before, giving feedback on you and your content. That I appreciate it. Can also relate to the work you put into it. Can so understand that you want the channel to grow. And maybe are a bit confused why it doesn’t. I don’t either. But I can tell why I don’t come back on a regular basis. I follow chess channels to explore the thinking process, to grow so. The drawback with your channel is that commercials are tuned on. So distracting in my thought process. In just this video there where multiple ones. This do not happen in all the other chess channels I follow. I would consider to turn off your commercials, instead focus on growth. Sure that exposure will create benefits in your other platforms. Just my thoughts. Hope it was okay to write here, could not find an email address in your presentation.

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Hey! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. Really appreciate it. Can you please give some examples of other chess channels that do not monetize their videos? I thought that was a default for the vast majority. I will consider your idea, and may even ask my subscribers on YT what they think about it. I have YT Premium for several years, so I cannot really judge how annoying is to watch my videos with ads. I thought the quality would compensate for that annoyance, but apparently you disagree :) Thanks again and looking forward to hearing from you!

@julioalferez7258 Ай бұрын

What's up with the crows in the background?

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

I worked with them during my PhD. studies.

@milehighslacker4196 Ай бұрын

I said 5.h3 and completely missed the homework :-( After 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 ...does White then play 8.a3 ?

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

Thank you. What if Black preserves the pin after 6. h3 Bh5?

@milehighslacker4196 Ай бұрын

@@Dr.CansClinic I'm happy to say that in the 13 games I've had, I've never played 5.h3, and I've played 5.Nf3 10 times. Sadly, I have only won 4 of those 10. Black usually preserves the pin (never captures on f3.), and I am more fearful of playing 7.g4 than any h3 move. :-)

@Dr.CansClinic Ай бұрын

@@milehighslacker4196 Thanks for the feedback. That fear is the major reason for those early h3 moves I think :)