Many watch Carlsen play and wonder, “Only if I knew how he thinks, I could imitate his game and play like him.”
Whoa! Stop there, please.
The way Carlsen (or any top level player) thinks during a game results from years of hard work, dedication and persistence. You cannot imbibe it in a day, my friend.
But understanding how a top level GM actually thinks might help, though.
The way he evaluates a position, his timing on when to attack and when not to, his strategic thinking to gain minor advantages with the bigger picture in mind… the more you study these, the faster you evolve into your own matured self.
That’s where today’s offer comes in. We present to you IM Boroljub Zlatanovic’s latest course, Thought Process in Chess, where he does a great job of decoding some of the best minds in chess and revealing how they “think” during a game.
His training spans over 10 hours, where he divides the various aspects of GM-level thinking into 21 chapters, starting from evaluation to prophylaxis to strategy. A BIG volume of high-quality video lessons ready to be devoured by you!
Here’s what you are going to learn:
- Rubinstein’s step-by-step method. Check out a game from 1911 where Rubinstein shows how to tackle the positional play one step at a time. King safety, then activation of pieces, then restriction of opponent’s play…it’s a masterpiece!
- One minor mistake. Often the masters are great at recognizing those little loopholes in an otherwise solid position (and exploiting them!). Chapter 11 explores a game by Chigorin where he takes his opponent’s weak isolated pawn and rips him apart.
- Every move counts. Most low rated players look for that final blow. That’s not how a GM thinks. He looks for loose ends in the enemy camp. And he tries to exploit them move by move. Zlatanovic has dedicated 4 chapters to the cause.
- Piece value. What happens when you trade off every piece on the board except… you are left with one magnificent piece and your opponent with a bad piece. Check out how Karpov employed this concept against none other than Seirawan in 1989.
- What was Averbakh thinking? Zlatanovic looks at Averbakh’s amazing game against Panno in 1954 and deciphers what every move meant. Why the ambitious 12.h5? Or, the mysterious 16.Nf3 move? You will love learning every bit of it.
So, enough said! Let’s get started!
Outline:
Chapter 1. Evaluation. Rubinstein – Duras
Chapter 2. Evaluation. Formanek – Tatai
Chapter 3. Evaluation. Zlatanovic – Blohberger
Chapter 4. Thought process. Najdorf – Geller
Chapter 5. Thought process. Rosselli – Rubinstein
Chapter 6. Thought process. Averbakh – Panno
Chapter 7. Thought process. Zlatanovic – Sadikhov
Chapter 8. Strategy. Steinitz – Sellman
Chapter 9. Strategy. Karpov – Seirawan
Chapter 10. Strategy. Karpov – Andersson
Chapter 11. Strategy. Marshall – Chigorin
Chapter 12. Strategy. Gorodetzky – Radovanovic
Chapter 13. Strategy. Pancevski – Ozen
Chapter 14. Strategy. Shamkovich – Benjamin
Chapter 15. Prophylaxis. Johner – Nimzowitsch
Chapter 16. Prophylaxis. Petrosian – Peters
Chapter 17. Prophylaxis. Petrosian – Unzicker
Chapter 18. Advantages. Boleslavsky – Shcherbakov
Chapter 19. Advantages. Krasenkow – Protaziuk
Chapter 20. Advantages. Tkachiev – Mikhalevski
Chapter 21. Advantages. Zlatanovic – Petriashvili