Schacksnack

Today’s guest is the chess legend Boris Gelfand — a six-time Candidates participant, winner of the 2009 World Cup, and the 2012 World Championship challenger. He talks about modern chess, the young generation, Magnus Carlsen, and the upcoming 2026 Candidates. Gelfand also shares how he trains his students and what every chess player must understand about decision-making. Plus stories from his prime years training with Kasparov.

In this video, IM Thomas Engqvist analyses the classical game Alekhine–Znosko-Borovsky, Birmingham 1926 — one of the games in which Alexander Alekhine consciously aimed for simple positions and endgames as part of his preparation for the 1927 World Championship match against José Raúl Capablanca.

Alekhine understood that in order to defeat Capablanca, he first had to learn and master Capablanca’s positional style. This game is a clear example of that approach and belongs to what Mikhail Botvinnik later described as Alekhine’s positional period (1921–1934), which followed the earlier combinational period (1908–1921) and preceded the later psychological period (1934–1936).

The game is highly instructive from a practical point of view. It demonstrates how a player can profit from exchanging pieces when the opponent’s pawns are advanced and potentially weak. Although the position is objectively close to equal, it is extremely difficult to defend in practice — something Alekhine shows with great precision and authority.

This video is intended for all categories of players who are fascinated by chess history, classical games, and the legacy of Alexander Alekhine.

In this 37-minute discussion, IM Thomas Engqvist presents #28 on his list of the Top 30 Chess Books: The Art of Chess Analysis by Jan Timman (RHM Press, 1980).

The video focuses exclusively on hard-fought world-class games from the 1970s, tracing his journey as an analyst from International Master in 1971 to full-fledged Grandmaster by 1979. Influenced by Botvinnik, Timman emphasises the importance of developing strong analytical skills as the key to becoming a better chess player.

IM Engqvist explores the insights and lessons from Timman’s early career, illustrating how his thinking and analysis evolved over the years. The discussion is aimed at intermediate and above players (approx. 1800+ Elo), offering both educational and practical takeaways.

Follow along as Engqvist highlights memorable games, strategic patterns, and the evolution of Timman’s analytical approach to chess.

The 1948 Interzonal Tournament in Saltsjöbaden was a landmark event in chess history. It was the first Interzonal organised by FIDE and served as a major qualification tournament for the 1951 World Chess Championship.

In this video, chess enthusiast Björn Knöppel presents a fascinating book by Swedish Grandmaster Gideon Ståhlberg, devoted to the legendary Saltsjöbaden 1948 Interzonal. The tournament featured 20 players in a round-robin format and was won by David Bronstein, who, together with seven others, qualified for the 1950 Candidates Tournament.

Special attention is given to the celebrated game Lilienthal–Najdorf, which received the tournament’s brilliancy prize and remains a classic example of creative and dynamic chess.

🎥 Filmed by IM Thomas Engqvist

In this 22-minute video, IM Thomas Engqvist presents #27 on his list of the Top 30 Chess Books: John Nunn’s Chess Course – A Complete Chess Education Based on the Games of World Champion Lasker (2014).

The discussion focuses on the book’s treatment of middlegame themes, with particular emphasis on Emanuel Lasker’s games. Lasker was one of the most important figures in chess history and served as the second official World Champion from 1894 to 1921. Through Nunn’s analytical lens, Lasker’s practical approach to the middlegame becomes a central learning tool.

This video is both a summary of the book and a series of reflections on the ideas and examples that made the strongest impression on Engqvist. Special attention is given to the value of studying John Nunn’s instructional style, especially in comparison with classical authors such as Max Euwe. Engqvist also touches on other middlegame books by Nunn, noting how later works incorporate more modern games and perspectives.

John Nunn is widely regarded as one of the most influential British chess authors, known for his clear, rigorous writing across all phases of the game. This video places John Nunn’s Chess Course in that broader context.

The video is intended for all chess players, regardless of playing strength, who are interested in improving their understanding of the middlegame through high-quality chess literature.

In this video, chess enthusiast Björn Knöppel presents what he considers to be Alexander Khalifman’s immortal game. Khalifman, the 14th FIDE World Champion after winning the knockout event in Las Vegas in 1999, produced several brilliant games throughout his career — but the one featured here stands out for its extraordinary tactical clarity.

The game is taken from Gennady Nesis’ book Khalifman: Life & Games (Everyman Chess, 2000). Nesis, who trained Khalifman for 17 years, offers deep insights into his pupil’s style, and Knöppel shares both background about Khalifman and his impressions of the book before guiding you through the game itself.

The highlight is a stunning Rubinstein-style combination, where a quiet move concludes a sequence of sacrifices and checks — the kind of silent finishing touch that elevates a tactical idea to true artistry.

ilmed by IM Thomas Engqvist.

Björn Knöppel har bestämt sig för att sälja av ca tre fjärdedelar av sin stora boksamling med flera tusen böcker. Många böcker har hans egen autograf men även andra kända spelare som till exempel Ulf Andersson och Viktor Korchnoi finns med i hans samling. Om du är intresserad av att komma i kontakt med Björn Knöppel går det att nå honom på två sätt:

bjorn.knoppel@gmail.com

mobil 070 64 29 572

Björn Knöppel (Foto: Lars OA Hedlund)

In this episode, IM Thomas Engqvist presents and analyses no. 26 in the Top 30 Chess Books series: Igor Zaitsev – Attacking the Strongpoint (2020). While Steinitz spoke of attacking the opponent’s weakest point, Lasker emphasised psychology, and Nimzowitsch championed prophylaxis, Zaitsev offers a strikingly different perspective: the deliberate attack on a strongly defended point. Over-protecting a key square or pawn, he argues, can invite a powerful assault precisely because it is so heavily guarded — a principle that also mirrors the battlefield strategies of Alexander the Great, which is discussed in detail.

Engqvist refer to this as the Alekhine–Zaitsev concept, since both players consciously and systematically demonstrated that a well-prepared attack on a fortified point can increase activity, dynamism, and ultimately undermine the opponent’s structure — but only once one’s own position has been strengthened through the accumulation principle. Elements of the idea can be found in the games of Paulsen and Steinitz, although they did not fully formulate it as a structured concept. Classic examples include Steinitz–von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895, along with many instructive games by Alekhine and Zaitsev himself.

He also examine Zaitsev’s combinational style. A deeply original player, he introduced many ideas later adopted by Karpov in World Championship matches against Korchnoi and Kasparov. Born on 27 May 1938, Zaitsev served as a leading trainer and coach from 1971 to 1991, working with Polugaevsky, Petrosian, and Karpov. Remarkably, Attacking the Strongpoint is his only book, published in 2020 by Russell Enterprises.