Thanks Dennis:

I love the explanations in this video. And humor.

Really appreciate your work.

Gerry

Thanks! You're most welcome.

Thanks Dennis
The explanations were just great. Thanks for fliping the board by the way

incredibly odd benoni variation, but it culminated into a fantastic attack by black.
i also agree with your ending comment about playing at different strengths depending upon
one's familiarity with the position. i'm only a class B player but i beat a master this past weekend
by taking him out of his opening preparation. he played the rather unusual englund gambit,
and i just felt comfortable the entire time. there was no doubt in my mind i would win the game
after he made some awkward moves in the opening. thanks for another great lecture!

Armis: You're welcome!

Macnolds: Congratulations! That's a big leap up, and it shows at least two things. First, that the general point you've made is correct: taking a player into unfamiliar territory will tend to level things somewhat. Second, it confirms that the Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5?!/?) stinks!

I don;t know what move it is, but the point where you have us stop the video to come up with black's plan, and black plays Kh8 and white plays Ng3. It seemed to me that white could play g3 and then Bg2; then white has a fianchetto with a knight on f1 and seemed pretty safe to me. Is this not the case? That is why I thought e4 first to prevent that setup and then Kh8.

plapla: The immediate ...e4 is playable, but maybe not for the reason you're suggesting. I think Black would benefit more from the g3 + Bg2 idea, as ...Ng4-e5 (or ...Nd7-e5) poses a painful dilemma. Allowing the knight to d3 is extremely unpleasant, but Nb2 allows Black to prepare and achieve ...a4. That gives White problems all over the board. So there may be nothing wrong with the immediate ...e4 - the question is whether White can benefit from the delay or if Black benefits from keeping his e & f pawns flexible - but the fianchetto plan appears dubious. In the game, Black enjoyed the initiative, but White could have held with 23.Qc2 e4 24.f4! (rather than 23.Bd3? e4 24.Bc2?!).

Great presentation really enjoy the analysis. Can you please help me,like to know how you were able to highlight squares and make arrows to illustrate key moves/ concept. And is this function of fritz or chessbase or media encoder. thanx sincerely rook.