"If you want to see some terrible games and you're in the audience, you can go upstairs. if you're at home, you can look at your own games." LMFAO Ben is so Savage. he was on fire this lecture

"completing undevelopment, setting up for the next game" lol

@33:04.... the Evans Gambit... named after Mr Gambit.

- On this move, you should think here for an hour. - But Mr. Finegold, why should I think for an hour? - It's Grandmaster Finegold and I get paid by the hour. LOL.

People who say Morphy would suck if he came back today aren't thinking clearly... That's only true if he's not allowed to go on the computer or open a book.

Don't listen to the people who say your ego gets in the way of your teaching, or your humor, if anything, I think it makes for a BETTER learning experience! I've learned so much from your classes it's remarkable! Keep up the awesome lectures and keep the crowd laughing! Humor makes the game less tedious and really makes you seem like a cool guy to learn from. Build connection and really makes the videos entertaining. Make more!

"Completing the undevelopment", had a chuckle there.

Excellent lecture. Finegold's bluster is, as some fail to realize, a funny running joke. His sensitivity to the historical context in which Morphy played actually indicates a great deal of humility. It's those individuals who farm content from posting every tedious game of "the next big thing" in chess, games often interesting only to master-level players, who are engaged in "the enormous condescension of history", in E.P. Thompson's words, when they haughtily dismiss someone who couldn't help it if the GMs of Europe of the day were far below his talent. Morphy: a one-of-a-kind talent whose games are a gift to us all.

Who can possibly dislike this video? Ben Finegold rocks!!!!

Watching this on August 7th 2023, exactly 10 years after Ben gave this lecture :D

Omfg the way he rips on GM Ken West is so effing hilarious

"whatever magnus' is plus 10"

This is an excellent lecture, not only because of using Morphy's games, (because they are extremely instructive to class level players), also this is one of GM Finegold's best presentations.

On the next episode of Ancient Aliens: Paul Morphy

this guys deadpan is incredible :D

Just for fun we need a camera scan of the students. I wanna see what "Grandmaster" Ken West looks like.

14:40 "if you want to see some really terrible games, in the live audience, you can walk upstairs, if you re at home you can look at your own games" you can write a Bible from Finegold s quotes.

There's a Morphy game in the lecture I'm uploading now on doubled pawns and double king-pawn openings. Should be live very soon!

I effing love Ben Finegold.

as far as recorded history, Paul Morphy was the first great chess grand master. a true champion. he could not control the quality of his opponents. often giving them a piece or some type of odds. and morphy played many a simultaneous games while blindfolded. at the height of his greatness, he got bored with the game and distanced himself from competitive matches. all chess legends owe paul morphy for setting the chess standard. history itself will always paint the picture for the one who came "first".

The second greatest thing Paul Morphy ever did was introduce me to Ben Finegold.

Only discovered morphy about 6 months ago my fav player of all time

One of the best videos by GM Finegold, in my view: chapeau!

This was your best lecture, in my opinion, GM Finegold. You show Morphy's genius with great humor and skill. I wish I had your memory -

I love Ben. It takes a while to grow on you but once it does you adore the man! He's one of those Hard Knocks type of teachers that smartens you up

Tal went back in time and called himself Morphy.

Another great lecture. Great stuff.

Entertaining and instructive lecture and NOT boring (like most other chess lectures). Thank you GM Finegold.

"if kf2 then ng4 check therefore kf2" my favorite gm

This guy is awesome i wish a had a teacher like that as a youngster.

Love ben's lectures!

Never seen a Finegold lecture before. But instant fan :)

hey GM Ben Finegold thank you for the excellent lecture. Great humor. I am learning a lot of tactics.

I love Ben Finegold's videos , so funny and entertaining, awesome guy

These lecutures are easy to listen to and you look forward to what has to be said- thanks ben for the sober entertainment.

Ben is the best instructor ever. Hilarious, too.

Played out many Morphy games. This man is driven to win the prize at any cost, including if his own pieces get in the way

Mr Finegold, i mean Mr GM Finegold, is hilarious!! :D

That knight move at the end is just surreal! Only a guy like Morphy would have seen that.

I was watching the Akobian lectures. I've never seen GM Finegold before this lecture. He is hilarious.

You're the best, Ben!

Ben Finegold the most entertaining grandmaster *thumbs up*

Love this guy's sense of humor.

very good video - Ben is great

I like this dude alot. Perfect lecturer, witty and he knows his shit.

Morphy was a genius. He was fantastic at quick development and creating initiative. Love to watch his games. He would have been tremendous today.

Ben is so knowledgeable about chess and chess history it’s insane.

I think many people don't get GM Feingold's joke about Morphy's opponents being "terrible" -- they were only terrible for their time. Many of the bad moves were considered "book moves" at the time. Morphy's genius is that he arrived at the modern style on his own!!!

At 7:10, is the move Rook from F4 to G4 good? After the rook sacrifice with the knight on H6, the queen can take the knight and build the attack. then eventually bring the other rook on F6.

i love this guy his humor is great

I can’t understand the first Morphy game still. At 8:14 Ben is talking about him finding Qh4 but what happens after that? Can’t black still trade down? Like what happens if black plays Rf8? Thanks for any help understanding. 😄👍🏼

Morphy is breath-taking.

This man is hillarious. He even makes fun of himself

The reasons why players are better today than in the 1800s are not only improved communications and transport, but also knowledge people accumulated since then. Players of today have a ton more games to analyse than Morphy, and they have computers to do it! He had to make do without all the openings and theory chess players can study today from books written since then. Imho that makes Morphy's accomplishment of taking the game to an entire new level truly remarkable.

This lecture was filmed shortly after Finegold got his grandmaster title, making him the oldest ever chess player to become a GM. So it’s actually a self-deprecating bit that he keeps mentioning it, and it’s absolutely hilarious.

17:00 such a pretty checkmate ❤️

Great stuff

Can anyone list the games that were discussed in this lecture? As in the names of his opponents and the year it was played, thanks!

Thank you for making me laugh after a dreadful day!

The Power of Development

This is my kind of guy

This guy is great.

At 26:43, Morphy checkmated his opponent without ever developing his A-file rook, therefore not attacking with all his pieces. Terrible.

Like most of you guys so forth - rolling his eyes and makes great footwork

If you plug this game into a modern engine, you can see Morphy played the top engine move about 90% of the time. This also becomes clear, if you plug his other games into an engine.

My calculating skills are improving. In the first game I first looked at Rf8+ followed by Qxf8 and for some reason followed up with Rxf8+ and after Rxf8 began looking at checks I could give with the queen but obviously there were no mates let alone perpetuals. So then I looked at Qg5+ and calculated ... Qg6, Qd5+ Kg7 (because if black plays Qf7 to block the check it's mate in 1 with Qxf7#), Rf7+ Kh6. Here I thought I found the mate but then realized 'oh yeah I don't have checkmate here because I moved my rook off of the 4th Rank.' Then I also figured out after all that black can actually block Qd5+ w/ Be6 and White's attack is in shambles. I also realized Qg6 by black is really throwing a hammer into my mating ideas and had a eureka moment of combining my original idea with my new idea. Playing Rf8+ first, saccing my rook to get the Queen off the diagonal to be able to block the check on the g6 square and instead forced to block on the g7 square. So then the new line I was able to calculate was Rf8+ Qxf8, Qg5+ Qg7, Qd5+ Be6 (The bishop block in this line is a pointless means of defense since black's Queen isn't on the g6 square to protect it), Qxe6+ Qf7, Qxf7#.

Every great player seems to reference Morphy. I'm not remotely strong enough to evaluate who the strongest was, but Morphy certainly has to be in the conversation.

This is peak Finegold right here: smart, quick, witty, acerbic, portly, and hilarious. Also very good at chess, confusing the audience.

It's a knight move from f5, but I still expect other pieces to be suggested....LOL...brilliant....!!!!!

My computer is recommending d6 over Qg6 in that first game. Idk why. It could have been because I didn't remove the knight prior to analyzing the game however.

The public demands the Finegold - Morphy matchup!! Make this happen!

More of Paul Morphy please jeje.

Very good

This guy makes me laugh.

I've asked stockfish 10 to analyze the position shown at min 4:25 and it says that is not equal... -2,4

"Bishop c1 completing the undevelopment" xΔ

also who the hell is ken west?

Ben Finegold you are absolutely incredible funny! that joke at 38:48 i laughed so hard :) keep up the good work

What is de player's name who losses the 2 last games of the tournament ?

That Harry Potter reference was 🔥🔥🔥

In the first game, Morphy found Qh4. He probably saw checkmate at 5, but to continue the show, he kept his victim alive.

noob question, what is the meaning of mate with advantage?

what's soundtrack in the begining?

Wonderful :)

This dude is HILARIOUS !!!

where can i find the first game he looks at?

Hilarious commentary!

"He couldn't play you straight up because you would be -30 on move one .." unbelievably funny stuff.

Ng3 Mind = blown. Okay... to see that in a blindfold simul match? Ridiculous.

To quote Spock, "Fascinating." Though I've always wondered if being fascinated broke the Vulcan no-emotion rule.

That napoleon komplex joke nobody got.. so priceless

34:51 Why not pawn on d4 to c3 and then if takes with knight then wins a rook and if doesn't take then simply pushes the pawn forward winning the queen?

31:15 1.h4 results in a stockfish 14 evaluation of -0.6 1.g4 results in a stockfish 14 evaluation of -1.7

that was nice

when can we get gm ken west on a video

When he says Nein Nein Nein in some of his other videos, it reminds me of a kilo of fine gold, which has 999 quality

At 11:04 isn't it mate in 3...Ben says it is mate in 5...i mean Rf8+ forcing Q*f8 then R*f8 forcing R*f8 and then Qg5#

I CALLED EVERY MOVE! lol seriosly though ben is amazing

The thing that impresses me the most about Morphy is that he retired at 14. He gave up chess while he went to an academy, coming out of retirement to play in the 1857 American Chess Congress. To lose those years as a player and then to do what he did, and still hold up to analysis by Houdini--he had to be the most talented player ever.

I have a very similar knight discovery theme in my last own game on my channel. My game was lost totally. But i hoped for a position to arise and it came and i won.