There's a deep philosophical issue here (elucidated by Simone Weil). In her essay on the Iliad, she noted that when someone loses in battle -- or just before -- they cease to be human and become "meat" or "wood" or an obstacle to be brutally killed. This is endemic in warfare -- the enemy is dehumanized. You are doing the same here with the use of "materialism" and the transformation of a pawn into wood. It is not just materialism that keeps us from sacrifice: it is a residual belief (or a ghost of a belief) that a pawn is a living being (pawns were peasants, after all) and should not be wantonly destroyed, thrown away, or be used as the means to another end. There is a strong trace of this in chess, an ethical impulse. This may seem crazy: the whole point is to kill the king, so doing everything to get to him is part of the game. But. But what is revealed is the brutality and amorality of chess. It is a war game. You call it beautiful; but it is also deeply brutal. (So is evolution, etc.). Calling it materialism reveals the darkness.
Thanks as always for yet another insightful take, Peter. This somehow reminded me of Slavoj Zizek takes. Jesse Kraai puts it this way: "Pawns are not people." Also on the positive side, think about the pawn sacrifice this way. In the final position of this video (the homework), the d5-pawn is making our bishop really sad. And White will blockade that pawn with Nd4 next. Thus, the pawn is showing love for the bishop by sacrificing itself. Now the bishop came back to life and it is not a dead piece (a tall pawn?). So the pawn died but it had awakened the dead bishop. Thinking of sacrifices made by parents for the prosperity of their children, etc.
Yes, of course, you are right if we keep working with the bouncing back between metaphor and board. The theory of "sacrificial violence" (Rene Girard) and others is fully here. Weil states that the moment of humanity is when the victor suddenly realizes that the lost victim is a human being and recognizes that we are both alive and stops in his tracks. That is where peace begins. In chess it may be that the holiness of the moment is when we acknowledge that our opponent played a beautiful game. It may also be as you say that the pawn has become noble in sacrifice and the bishop needs to recognize this and acknowledge it. Of course some of this is confused by the weird fact that the pawn can become a queen, which gives it the possibility of an inherent nobility. @@Dr.CansClinic
Homework: White wants to put the e2 knight on d4 to blockade our d pawn and make our bishop completely useless. Therefore, we sac with d5. Not sure what he would take with. Taking with the f3 knight would expose the diagonal between the g pawn and the bishop. Taking with the bishop makes it potentially skewerable to White's d pawn in the future. Taking with the knight weakens the defense of the bishop. I don't really see a follow up for black in either case though
Great video, these kind of moves are probably a weakness of mine (as ~1800 fide player), especially when there is not a very concrete follow up. I found the homework exercise tough. d4 is the obvious first move, as otherwise white can place a knight, bishop or pawn there leaving black with 2 bad bishops. I did look if anything else is worth considering, like Rxc3, Bh4 and Bxb4 which are all forcing but lose material with no compensation as whites position is solid. Nc6 as developing move is too slow (but probably something many people will play in this position) as white just responds with Ned4 or Nfd4. So the first move is d4, opening up our light squared bishop. White will take the pawn, but now it is not clear to me what the follow up is. Nc6 seems sensible, developing and attacking the knight or bishop on d4, if that piece retreats it leaves d3 hanging, but our knight is also terribly placed blocking our bishop. Qd5 setting up a battery looks promising but the knight on f3 blocks the attack. So not sure what the best follow up is after d4.
Very well said, and great analysis! ...d4 is the move! After Nxd4 Navara went ...Nc6 and he got great play on the light-squares. You don't need to calculate until you regain the pawn before playing ...d4. You simply play it to activate your bishop and not let White bury it with Nd4. But yes, people have trouble playing such moves where they don't see tangible returns. I will release a Chessable course on this very topic soonish! Stay tuned!
Dr can,love your teachings and i have all your chessables.Your the chess coach i awlays wanted sir,many many thanks.May i ask your advice please,I like to play more positional chess these days (older player) and was wondering what you would recommend as white? against e4 and against d4? i have been looking at your games on lichess and you seem to play e4,nadjorf alot...Some fanstatic wins by the way! Please could you do a series of player type openings on your channel? (Aggressive,defencive,tactical,offbeat opening player) Many thanks again and look forward to your next chessable.
I am so happy hearing it, thank you so much!! Please don't hesitate asking any questions while studying my Chessable courses. Yes, I was influenced by Kasparov and Fischer when I picked up Najdorf as a teenager, and I still occasionally play it. Interesting idea! I will think about it. I also have plans of making a series on typical opening patterns we must know in our openings. Typical middlegame ideas stemming from those openings.
Thank you for the reply sir,very interesting indeed.My influences was boris spassky and Kasparov.Thank you for your hard work its a fantastic channel,younger people do not realise how lucky they are to have the internet and this type of information in seconds rather than go to the library and read a book.I have many many chess books! Can't beat them unless there is something else like your channel and chessables.Look forward to your future endevour's :)@@Dr.CansClinic
🎉🎉 I really think a compilation of these videos can become a book 🎉💯👏as books help focus an concentration, nowadays,everything is so fast on computers,that we soon forget to memorise
I think there's a fear factor for lower rated players like me. If I sac material for activity and fail to capitalise on that activity, then I face the latter stages of the game down material. I guess it's a coincidence issue. Probably another reason why kids are so much better at chess 😂
Indeed, fear is playing a large role here. But the game simple has 3 dimensions with several trade-offs. Material is only a single dimension - and the one that is the easiest to measure. Also think about it this way: your bishop would be simply crying for the rest of the game in the final position if you did not sacrifice the pawn with ...d5-d4. That would be regrettable. So we can also look at the positive sides of such pawn sacrifices.
homework spoiler - no engine Both colors are almost completely developed and castled to the king side but white has the edge due to more space and has the minor pieces on more active squares to challenge control of the center. Black can not delay in order to equalize or do better. White threatens Ned4 and completely dominate the center and blockade black's white square bishop. Black's black square bishop will remain weak as well. Black d4 Nexd4 Nc6 Qd2 Nxd4 Nxd4 and black trades one of the knights to have the bishop pair and can probably control the open c-file with rooks and can plan for Bd8 Bb6 to have two active bishops. whereas white's bishop has only a partial diagonal.
Hey can!
can you please start a coaching service! you the only one who can simplify complex concepts, nobody does it like you
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏 I am doing coaching occasionally, it is a passion!
@@Dr.CansClinic where can someone get in contact with you? so they can arrange a coaching session
you can contact me on cankabadayi85@gmail.com@@fifatrickster51
Good Morning, he explains (why) logic in the simplest form. He's AMAZING!
I wish I could give him a million likes on each of his videos ❤
Most instructive channel on RUclips.
That is so humbling to hear, thank you!
Thanks Doc. Yes please more videos on piece sacrifies and tactics would be appreciated 🙏
Thank. you. Will do that!
There's a deep philosophical issue here (elucidated by Simone Weil). In her essay on the Iliad, she noted that when someone loses in battle -- or just before -- they cease to be human and become "meat" or "wood" or an obstacle to be brutally killed. This is endemic in warfare -- the enemy is dehumanized. You are doing the same here with the use of "materialism" and the transformation of a pawn into wood. It is not just materialism that keeps us from sacrifice: it is a residual belief (or a ghost of a belief) that a pawn is a living being (pawns were peasants, after all) and should not be wantonly destroyed, thrown away, or be used as the means to another end. There is a strong trace of this in chess, an ethical impulse. This may seem crazy: the whole point is to kill the king, so doing everything to get to him is part of the game. But. But what is revealed is the brutality and amorality of chess. It is a war game. You call it beautiful; but it is also deeply brutal. (So is evolution, etc.). Calling it materialism reveals the darkness.
God Damn bro you're a read individual
Thanks as always for yet another insightful take, Peter. This somehow reminded me of Slavoj Zizek takes. Jesse Kraai puts it this way: "Pawns are not people." Also on the positive side, think about the pawn sacrifice this way. In the final position of this video (the homework), the d5-pawn is making our bishop really sad. And White will blockade that pawn with Nd4 next. Thus, the pawn is showing love for the bishop by sacrificing itself. Now the bishop came back to life and it is not a dead piece (a tall pawn?). So the pawn died but it had awakened the dead bishop. Thinking of sacrifices made by parents for the prosperity of their children, etc.
Yes, of course, you are right if we keep working with the bouncing back between metaphor and board. The theory of "sacrificial violence" (Rene Girard) and others is fully here. Weil states that the moment of humanity is when the victor suddenly realizes that the lost victim is a human being and recognizes that we are both alive and stops in his tracks. That is where peace begins. In chess it may be that the holiness of the moment is when we acknowledge that our opponent played a beautiful game. It may also be as you say that the pawn has become noble in sacrifice and the bishop needs to recognize this and acknowledge it. Of course some of this is confused by the weird fact that the pawn can become a queen, which gives it the possibility of an inherent nobility. @@Dr.CansClinic
@@peterintoronto6472 wow never expected to read such comments on a chess educational video!!
Thank you
Welcome!
d4 is clearly the move; I wanted to get in Rxc3 as well, but couldn't find a way, or a threat on the a8-h1 diagonal and couldn't do that either.
Thank you! Navara played ...d4 as well!
Incredible lesson as always. Keep up the good work!
It is a great pleasure to hear it! Thank you!
Very appetizing content there is so much value, thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
I am so glad to hear it, thank you so much for your motivating words 🙏
Great lesson Can! Thanks!
Glad you liked it Mason!
Homework: White wants to put the e2 knight on d4 to blockade our d pawn and make our bishop completely useless. Therefore, we sac with d5. Not sure what he would take with. Taking with the f3 knight would expose the diagonal between the g pawn and the bishop. Taking with the bishop makes it potentially skewerable to White's d pawn in the future. Taking with the knight weakens the defense of the bishop. I don't really see a follow up for black in either case though
Beautiful positional pawn sac ...d5!
Great video, these kind of moves are probably a weakness of mine (as ~1800 fide player), especially when there is not a very concrete follow up.
I found the homework exercise tough. d4 is the obvious first move, as otherwise white can place a knight, bishop or pawn there leaving black with 2 bad bishops. I did look if anything else is worth considering, like Rxc3, Bh4 and Bxb4 which are all forcing but lose material with no compensation as whites position is solid. Nc6 as developing move is too slow (but probably something many people will play in this position) as white just responds with Ned4 or Nfd4.
So the first move is d4, opening up our light squared bishop. White will take the pawn, but now it is not clear to me what the follow up is. Nc6 seems sensible, developing and attacking the knight or bishop on d4, if that piece retreats it leaves d3 hanging, but our knight is also terribly placed blocking our bishop. Qd5 setting up a battery looks promising but the knight on f3 blocks the attack. So not sure what the best follow up is after d4.
Very well said, and great analysis! ...d4 is the move! After Nxd4 Navara went ...Nc6 and he got great play on the light-squares. You don't need to calculate until you regain the pawn before playing ...d4. You simply play it to activate your bishop and not let White bury it with Nd4. But yes, people have trouble playing such moves where they don't see tangible returns. I will release a Chessable course on this very topic soonish! Stay tuned!
A piece of wood getting in the way. Classic.
I love it too!
Great content sir.thank you 🙏🏻
So nice of you, thanks!
Dr can,love your teachings and i have all your chessables.Your the chess coach i awlays wanted sir,many many thanks.May i ask your advice please,I like to play more positional chess these days (older player) and was wondering what you would recommend as white? against e4 and against d4? i have been looking at your games on lichess and you seem to play e4,nadjorf alot...Some fanstatic wins by the way! Please could you do a series of player type openings on your channel? (Aggressive,defencive,tactical,offbeat opening player) Many thanks again and look forward to your next chessable.
I am so happy hearing it, thank you so much!! Please don't hesitate asking any questions while studying my Chessable courses. Yes, I was influenced by Kasparov and Fischer when I picked up Najdorf as a teenager, and I still occasionally play it. Interesting idea! I will think about it. I also have plans of making a series on typical opening patterns we must know in our openings. Typical middlegame ideas stemming from those openings.
Thank you for the reply sir,very interesting indeed.My influences was boris spassky and Kasparov.Thank you for your hard work its a fantastic channel,younger people do not realise how lucky they are to have the internet and this type of information in seconds rather than go to the library and read a book.I have many many chess books! Can't beat them unless there is something else like your channel and chessables.Look forward to your future endevour's :)@@Dr.CansClinic
I am so happy to read this, thank you so much for your motivating words! Stay tuned for more! @@AgentSmith-w8s
At 3:26 what stops Black QxR C8 check and mate?
The bishop on h6 covers the c1-square!
🎉🎉 I really think a compilation of these videos can become a book 🎉💯👏as books help focus an concentration, nowadays,everything is so fast on computers,that we soon forget to memorise
Great idea, I will keep that in mind!
4:13 There is a funny line:
Qb7 h3 a5? Rc7?? Qb1+ Kh2 Qb8!!
Also
Qb7 g3 a5? Rc7?? Qb1+ Kg2 Qe5+!!
Does Rxf2 also work for the first position or am I high?
That allows Rxg5+.
I think there's a fear factor for lower rated players like me. If I sac material for activity and fail to capitalise on that activity, then I face the latter stages of the game down material. I guess it's a coincidence issue. Probably another reason why kids are so much better at chess 😂
Indeed, fear is playing a large role here. But the game simple has 3 dimensions with several trade-offs. Material is only a single dimension - and the one that is the easiest to measure. Also think about it this way: your bishop would be simply crying for the rest of the game in the final position if you did not sacrifice the pawn with ...d5-d4. That would be regrettable. So we can also look at the positive sides of such pawn sacrifices.
I meant "confidence issue", sorry. But yeh I totally see it. I think this is a major reason behind my plateau at 1200-1300.....!
Good Morning, i wish i could give you a million likes on each of your videos ❤
Thank you so much for your extremely encouraging thoughts! Really motivating to read!
homework spoiler - no engine
Both colors are almost completely developed and castled to the king side but white has the edge due to more space and has the minor pieces on more active squares to challenge control of the center. Black can not delay in order to equalize or do better.
White threatens Ned4 and completely dominate the center and blockade black's white square bishop. Black's black square bishop will remain weak as well.
Black d4 Nexd4 Nc6 Qd2 Nxd4 Nxd4 and black trades one of the knights to have the bishop pair and can probably control the open c-file with rooks and can plan for Bd8 Bb6 to have two active bishops. whereas white's bishop has only a partial diagonal.
Beautiful!