Video Series: Vishy Anand's Masterclasses
Vishy Anand’s Masterclass
Ready to get a masterclass from a 5-time World Chess Champion? Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand has recorded these masterclasses just for ChessKids! Take your chess to the next level and watch these videos from Vishy, the ChessKid Chief Mentor of India.
1. The Power of the Two Bishops
Want to learn how to take control of the board with a formidable pair of bishops? In Vishy’s first video, he’ll take you through examples of how to carve up the chessboard. (15 minutes)
2. The Power of the Two Bishops, Part 2
In Part 2 of ‘The Power of the Two Bishops’, Vishy Anand is back to show you even more fun and challenging examples. Even when it seems a bishop may be passive, Vishy will reveal the delayed energy! (13 minutes)
It’s time for lesson three. Vishy Anand shows some of his quickest wins ever! A “miniature” in chess is usually when one side wins in fewer than 20 moves, so you know he must have used some powerful ideas to get the “W” so early. (10 minutes)
Part 2 of Vishy Anand’s best “short wins” includes his most important: a miniature in the World Championship! Watch his re-cap to learn some awesome moves. (11 minutes)
They say that the “hardest thing to win is a won game”, and that’s especially true when you’re playing Vishy! The King knows all the drawing resources, including how to build a fortress to stop invasions. Watch and see real-life examples of this helpful endgame idea! (9 minutes)
Now that you’ve seen Vishy build castles in Part 1 let’s see how he tears them down! Watch and see Vishy break down a fortress with the patience of a skilled craftsman. Also, a bonus position: A 2700 GM resigns in a drawn despite a fortress being possible! (8 minutes)
7. Vishy’s Masterclass: Stalemates
It's lesson seven! Vishy is ready to show you how to save a seemingly lost game. No one likes to lose, especially a 5-time World Champion, so he starts with examples from his games on how the tricky stalemate surprised his opponent. (8 minutes)
When is three greater than five? Vishy explains when the math gets weird in chess. He will show when and how to give a rook for a minor piece. The champ has many examples from his games. (10 minutes)
9. Exchange Sacrifices - Part 2
Sometimes a topic is so good that we have to include a second instalment. Vishy Anand has even more examples of when to sacrifice the exchange, including defensive reasons. One example is against Kasparov in a World Championship! (10 minutes)
Don’t be fooled by Vishy’s title -- this is not a video of basics! We assume you’ve seen all of those, and you’ll need your full king-and-pawn ending arsenal to be successful today. Watch the maestro use zugzwang, opposition, triangulation, and all the other fundamentals to finish off his opponents in the ending! (9 minutes)
Sometimes, a topic is so rich with examples that we must cover it in more detail! This time Vishy Anand shows off a gem from Kasparov. These endings come down to one move for either side, so watch carefully and see how deep the calculation gets! (7 minutes)
12. How I Won The World Junior Championship
Before GM Vishy Anand won the World Championship, he was the world junior champion! After a slow start in 1987, he began an impressive winning streak that had him rise to the top of the standings. Here’s the first three of them, explained in great detail. Watch and see if you have what it takes to be a world junior champion! (14 minutes)
Do you want the truth? It is possible that unless you are a Super-GM that you can’t handle the truth. But we think you should try it! Watch our hero Vishy Anand break down some of his most extended attacking calculations ever. Some of these variations are 15 moves or longer. We think you are up for the challenge! (11 minutes)
14. Calculating a Long Attack to Beat Magnus Carlsen
How does one World Champion beat another World Champion? By visualizing very deep into the future. How deep? In some of these variations, Vishy has to start from the middlegame and predict the endgame to make sure his plans will work in the end. Beating Magnus takes a huge effort, and we hope you can do the same one day! (8 minutes)
15. How to Keep Calm Under Pressure
Have you ever played a chess game and gotten nervous? Had the game switched from better to worse? Be surprised by your opponent’s opening? Miss a tactic? Sure you have -- it’s part of being a chess player! Watch and see how the 5-time World Champion stays calm in various situations! (9 minutes)
16. A World Champion's Strong Psychology
In these two very important games from Vishy, you'll be introduced to a World Champion's strong psychology. There's no one there to help you at the chessboard except yourself, so learn from the best on how to be mentally strong! (8 minutes)
15. My Most Important Long-Lost Game
Have you ever seen this important game from Vishy's youth? We can promise you have not! Before becoming India's first GM, Vishy played his country's first IM in a very important game. Today ChessKid opens this treasure box to see how the young Vishy thinks and how he also has a great fighting spirit. Enjoy this never-before-seen game! (8 minutes)