In his new 10-hour-long training, Learn from Wilhelm Steinitz, IM Boroljub Zlatanovic takes the theories taught by Steinitz and analyzes how they were put into practice in actual games. A very nice refresher on the classical games played by the legend himself… where he crushed his opponents (like a magician!).
What’s the best way to learn chess fundamentals?
Studying classical games of the legendary masters.
And as to positional chess, Wilhelm Steinitz is the best of his time.
How strong was he as a player? He won the Vienna championship on his third try in 1861, scoring 30 out of 34 points. This was akin to Morphy’s dominance three years ago – thus, he was called the “Austrian Morphy”.
In 1862, he represented Vienna in the international London tournament against the likes of Adolf Anderssen, Louie Paulsen, and Johan Lowenthal. He finished sixth but won the tournament’s brilliancy prize for his game against Augustus Mongredien.
By 1866, he rose through the ranks and was considered London’s strongest player. That’s when he challenged Anderssen, beat him with a score of 8-6, and became the first World Champion. Yet he was not satisfied with the result.
That’s when he started studying a new approach to chess… you know what it is.
3 years later, in the 1873 Vienna tournament, he unveiled his unique positional style of play. He won the tournament ahead of Anderssen, one of the few times he outperformed Anderssen in a non-match play.
This new approach ushered in a whole new era for the chess world. Thus, he was proclaimed the “father of modern chess”.
Are his teachings still going to be relevant in the upcoming 2023? IM Boroljub Zlatanovic thinks so.
In his new 10-hour-long training, Learn from Wilhelm Steinitz, IM Zlatanovic takes the theories taught by Steinitz and analyzes how they were put into practice in actual games. A very nice refresher on the classical games played by the legend himself… where he crushed his opponents (like a magician!).
Here’s what you are going to learn:
- The devastating 14…Qg5! Targets the weak squares and the isolated pawn on e3. Yes, White will reply with 15. Qf3 but Black will double up on the helpless pawn and gobble it up. Steinitz won this game in the next 48 moves. More in Chapter 6.
- Blocking opponent’s play. White played f4 in his last move. Good or bad? Let’s see. It blocks Black from activating his bishop pair and impairs the g6-knight severely. The Black rook feels helpless and White is looking to play e4 next. Highly strategic, right? Learn it from Steinitz then.
- Bad trades. White expects to force a trade-off of the queens and go to the endgame phase. The problem is, the Black king is in a more active position than the White one. See how Black converts this position into an easy win. (Winawer vs Steinitz, 1882 Wien Intl, 0-1)
Studying Steinitz’s games will give you a fresh perspective on the positional style of chess… and how it compares with 21st-century chess as we know it today. This will help develop the depth of your chess understanding and reveal how new ideas emerged from the older days.
Outline:
Chapter 1. Pawn center. Steinitz – Lange. Steinitz – Green
Chapter 2. Pawn center. Steinitz – Paulsen
Chapter 3. Pawn center. Steinitz – Eschwege. Steinitz – Simonson
Chapter 4. Bishop pair. Englisch – Steinitz
Chapter 5. Bishop pair. Steinitz – Zukertort
Chapter 6. Bishop pair. MacKenzie – Steinitz
Chapter 7. Bishop pair. Steinitz – Halprin
Chapter 8. Bishop pair. Steinitz – Chigorin
Chapter 9. Key squares. Steinitz – Sellman
Chapter 10. Key squares. Blackburne – Steinitz
Chapter 11. Key squares. Steinitz – Showalter
Chapter 12. Key squares. Steinitz – Meitner
Chapter 13. Harmony. Steinitz – Neumann
Chapter 14. Harmony. Steinitz – Blackburne
Chapter 15. Harmony. Chigorin – Steinitz
Chapter 16. Harmony. Steinitz – Chigorin
Chapter 17. Initiative. Steinitz – Mongredien (1862 – 1863)
Chapter 18. Initiative. Steinitz – Paulsen
Chapter 19. Initiative. Lasker – Steinitz
Chapter 20. Isolated pawn. Winawer – Steinitz
Chapter 21. Isolated pawn. Steinitz – Lipke
Chapter 22. Isolated pawn. Steinitz – MacKenzie
Chapter 23. Isolated pawn. Zukertort – Steinitz
Chapter 24. Art of pawn play. Mason – Steinitz
Chapter 25. Art of pawn play. Steinitz – Blackburne
Chapter 26. Art of pawn play. Simon – Steinitz
Chapter 27. Art of pawn play. Steinitz – Noa
About the Author:
IM Boroljub Zlatanovic [2438 FIDE]
is an International Master and a professional chess coach from Serbia. He has been coaching chess for over 15 years and his students showed outstanding results in the Youth and Junior Championships. You are at the right place with IM Zlatanovic whether you want to improve: your endgame (basic, typical, complex), middlegame (global strategy, tactics, and typical positions) or expand and deepen the opening repertoire.
