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I have now completed a video series covering all 37 games in this book, totaling almost 9 hours.  I made the first 14 videos in December 2008, while still officially a Class "B" player.  The quality is up and down, but I would single out 19, 24, and 12 as a few of the better ones.  A few that are not so good are 4, 18, and 27.

As a training idea, I can recommend going over the raw game score without annotations and without an engine.  Try to figure out the game for yourself-- especially try to see where the loser could have (1) avoided problems in the first place and (2) defused Spielmann's initiative.  After you have reached your own conclusions, you can consult the video (or the book or an engine) to compare your conclusions.  For this purpose I am giving the PGN file below.  Here is also a link to purchase the book.

art_of_sacrifice.pgn
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: pgn
Download File

SHAM SACRIFICES
Positional Sacrifice: leads to forced recovery of the sacrificed material with an improvement in position.
    Game  1           8:44         Spielmann - Pirc, 1931
    Game  2         10:10         Spielmann - Schlecter, 1906
    Game  3         13:11         Pirc - Spielmann, 1931
Sacrifice for Gain: leads to an advantage in material, the sacrificed material being regained by force and with interest.
    Game  4         12:31         Bogolyubov - Spielmann, 1927
    Game  5         10:58         Spielmann - Muller, 1933
Mating Sacrifice: leads to checkmate or to a decisive gain of material.
    Game  6         21:16         Spielmann - Honlinger, 1929
    Game  7         12:19         Spielmann - Tartakower, 1925
    Game  8         11:22         Spielmann - Grunfeld, 1929
    Game  9         12:17         Spielmann - L'hermet, 1927

REAL SACRIFICES
Sacrifice for Development: aims at an unnatural acceleration of one's development.
    Game 10         16:26         Schories - Spielmann, 1905
    Game 11         11:46         Bernstein - Spielmann, 1906
Obstructive Sacrifice: slows down the opponent's development.
    Game 12           9:23         Spielmann - Landau, 1933
    Game 13         16:16         Spielmann - Honlinger, 1933
    Game 14         16:08         Spielmann - Bogolyubov, 1932
    Game 15         13:05         Spielmann - Walter, 1928
Preventive (Anti-Castling) Sacrifice: intended to prevent the opponent from castling.
    Game 16         16:28         Spielmann - Duras, 1905
    Game 17         13:42         Spielmann - Mieses, 1910
    Game 18         18:05         Mieses - Spielmann, 1910
    Game 19         25:10         Gereben - Spielmann, 1934
Line-Clearance Sacrifice: aims at the early employment of rooks on open lines.
    Game 20         10:06         Spielmann - Flamberg, 1914
    Game 21         16:55         Spielmann - Eljaschoff, 1903
    Game 22         12:56         Spielmann - Grunfeld, 1922
Vacating Sacrifice: procures access for a particular unit to a more favorable square.
    Game 23         19:30         Spielmann - Janowski, 1907
    Game 24         17:19         Spielmann - Reti, 1912
Deflecting or Decoy Sacrifice: lures or diverts enemy forces from the main field of battle.
    Game 25         15:18         Spielmann - Forgacs, 1910
(Castled) King's Field Sacrifice: breaks up the hostile King's castled position.
    Game 26         18:16         Spielmann - Dekker, 1934
    Game 27         10:38         Leonhardt - Spielmann, 1906
    Game 28         11:45         Spielmann - Duras, 1907
    Game 29         13:16         Spielmann - Bogolyubov, 1932
    Game 30         16:52         Becker - Spielmann, 1926
King-Hunt Sacrifice: drives the enemy King into the open, where it is exposed to danger.
    Game 31         24:27         A. Rubinstein - Spielmann, 1912
    Game 32         15:56         Spielmann - S. Rubinstein, 1933

SACRIFICIAL VALUES
The Exchange Sacrifice
    Game 33         15:24         Treybal - Spielmann, 1922
    Game 34         12:24         Spielmann - Tarrasch, 1923
    Game 35         10:25         Spielmann - Tartakower, 1909
The Queen Sacrifice
    Game 36         15:08         Spielmann - Maroczy, 1907
    Game 37         10:32         Spielmann - Moeller, 1920

 
 
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John Stuart approves
Newly updated and upgraded, here is the database that I use with SCID
MILLBASE <--click to download (122 megabytes)
  • Free
  • Current as of today, March 31, 2013-- i.e., TWIC volume 959
  • Contains over 1.5M games
  • Contains historical games 
  • Contains modern (1990+) games between players with ELO ratings over 2200
  • Also contains modern games where only one player has an ELO rating over 2400
  • MillBase is in SCID format only 
  • Download is compressed in 7-zip format.
This MillBase update is to celebrate the new version of SCID, version 4.4 (March 2013)!


 
 
Four-hour commentary by Peter Svidler and Yasser Seirawan -- I'm surprised this has only 3,000 views.  What a privilege to sit in on a commentary between two former World Top 15 players.  It helps that Svidler has the diction of an Oxford professor.  Full of extemporaneous insight and intuitive assessments.
 
 
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Black to Play
Black is a talented 10-year-old kid rated about 1600 USCF.  White is a lifetime 1800 with about 3,000 rated games under his belt.  The kid has thoroughly outplayed the wily old veteran, but played the hideous ...f7-f6 from the diagram position at left.  Like most endgame mistakes, this is a completely unnecessary pawn move.  It opens the 7th rank and untethers the knight which can now be harassed.  Correct was simply to activate the pieces-- i.e., Kf8-e7-f6 and then have a look around.  Instead, this really, really, actually happened in a rated club game:

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Final Position
 
 
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I see a lot of lame chess-related advertising in the legal field-- I could fill this blog with examples.  But this one was particularly funny.  Granted, we don't know what White played, but I would say that 1...P-KB3 is generally the absolute worst possible opening move.  I've seen it once, naturally followed by 2...P-KN5 3.Q-R5#.  I also like the man's "Thinker" pose-- as if 1...P-KB3 is the fruit of some deep, sophisticated reflection.

 
 
I donated toward this film's production about a year ago, and I truly enjoyed seeing it last weekend.  

It even turned out to be a good "date movie," which may be the first time that term has ever been applied to a chess-themed documentary.  But that is probably because Brooklyn Castle is not really about chess any more than the Batman movies are about flying rodents -- chess is just a prominent part of the scenery.  On the most superficial level, it's a kids' competition movie that unconventionally has you rooting for the big bad favorites (I.S. 318, the Yankees of scholastic chess) rather than the plucky underdogs.  Others may see it as a political advert for the funding of extracurricular programs.  To me, though, the movie is about a handful of lovable (yes, lovable) Brooklyn kids who despite modest beginnings seem destined for greatness as if they are living out the early chapters of a Charles Dickens novel.  Film critics may applaud the film for getting the audience to care about its characters, but that seems backwards to me, since these awesome kids are the ones responsible for making me care about the movie.

On a related note, I submitted an application last month to volunteer at the local Boys & Girls Club, but I was informed the club is not open on Saturday (my only free day).  Seeing the movie reminded me that I should volunteer with kids somehow.  I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere and now practice law in Beverly Hills.  Without getting too personal, it is fair to say my parents were not exactly bankers, doctors, or lawyers and our version of a summer vacation was to drive a hundred miles and stay at a Holiday Inn.  Without a point of reference, it can be difficult to realize (both meanings) what is achievable.  This movie can help kids and communities to reach and dream beyond their immediate surroundings.

Here is a video interview with the film creator including excerpts from the movie!
 
 
I will donate to UNICEF $10 per qualifying chess video that is uploaded to www.chessvideos.tv, in a cumulative amount up to $500.  For more information please see the information thread.
 
 
I have updated the playlists and links to endgame videos, which you can access through the "Endgame" link in the top ribbon.  

Like most people, I have nary the patience sit down and devote time to watching this stuff, so I have set up a laptop in a kitchen cabinet to play YouTube videos while I am cooking and doing dishes.  I have also watched these while doing a menial task like sorting laundry.  Of course you will want to make the video fullscreen.

Those who are serious can keep a notebook log of videos watched with a little note for retention.
 
 
Newly updated and upgraded, here is the database that I use with SCID
MILLBASE <--click to download (117 megabytes)
  • Free
  • Current as of today, June 27, 2012-- i.e., TWIC volume 920
  • Contains over 1.5M games
  • Contains historical games 
  • Contains modern (1990+) games between players with ELO ratings over 2200
  • Also contains modern games where only one player has an ELO rating over 2400
  • MillBase is in SCID format only 
  • Download is compressed in 7-zip format
 
 
This barnburner of a game is worth watching and re-watching due to its sporting and aesthetic value as well as the prestige of the participants.  Here are four video presentations of the game with comments by presenters rated 2200, 2400, 2600, and 2800 (Kingscrusher; IM Andrew Martin; GM Suat Atalik; and GM Hikaru Nakamura, respectively).