José Raúl Capablanca: Most instructive chess games 1901-1918

Name: José Raúl Capablanca: Most instructive chess games 1901-1918
Rating: 4.6 (38 reviews)

Learn From Capablanca's Chess Brilliance: Exploring Tactics, Opening Theory, Middlegame and Endgame Mastery 1901-1918

Created byTryfon Gavriel

Last updated 4/2025

English

What you'll learn

Ability to play "simple positional chess" and reduce complexity
Ability to appreciate Chess "Fundamentals" (time independent insights) that Capablanca was gifted with at very young age - he never opened a book on Openings :)
Ability to appreciate Boris Spassky's view that Capablanca was the best player of all time
Ability to improve and appreciate endgame play
Ability to enrich positional judgement
Ability to appreciate simple positions more
Ability to use aggressive tactical play to drive home positional advantages providing it is safe and efficient to do so
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's influence on future world champions Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov
Ability to pick up Colle-Zukertort model games - a great attacking system for White
Ability to appreciate why Capablanca was nicknamed "The Cuban Morphy" after his match with Frank Marshall in 1909
Ability to improve endgame transitions well in advance by accurate middlegame play and understanding of endgames
Ability to see major King safety prophylaxis especially when playing against attacking players like Frank Marshall
Ability to understand more what Bobby Fischer alluded to about Capablanca in terms of middlegame accuracy to get winning endgames in the first place on arrival
Ability to improve locking down counterplay in endgame - freezing pawns and opponent's King with virtual walls
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's influence on future World champions Tigran Petrosian and Anatoly Karpov in terms of positional play and prophylaxis
Ability to win with minimal opening imbalances - so winning in effect with minimal risks in opening taken
Ability to make use of very tiny advantages from minimal imbalance openings to still try and win
Ability to improve opening theory and tiny advantage independence - still being able to win with minimal sharp theory or tiny advantages
Ability to transcend if-then style analysis in favour of knowing endgame wins, exploiting passed pawns and higher goals
Ability to appreciate the amazing tactical abilities of Capablanca as well as his legendary positional and endgame skills
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's use of opening "systems" like the Colle System to get good opening positions and use middlegame and endgame strengths to win
Ability to appreciate the strengths of the three knights and four knight variations which Capablanca nearly one third of time in preference to Ruy Lopez
Ability to appreciate the "Old Indian" defence but also the "Old Indian" attack with White as a solid system
Ability to simplify with advantage from complex positions using Capablanca's excellent examples
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's alertness in opening phase for nuanced advantage gaining opportunities despite claiming not to have read many chess books
Ability to appreciate Capablanca often playing against two weaknesses or targets to overwhelm opponents in Endgames
Ability to appreciate the humanity of Capablanca - sometimes missing Back rank tactical resources in the middlegame
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's ability to see many of the little 'petit' combinations and tactical shots hidden in complex positions
Ability to appreciate in-depth some key game examples in Capablanca's "Chess Fundamentals" as many games are from this course's date range
Ability to be inspired for major endgame themes such as Aggressive King, Rook on 7th, power of passed pawns and their hooks, Switching attacks, etc
Ability to see Capablanca as brilliant in middlegame and tactics especially x-ray tactics as well as a virtuoso in endgame play
Ability to see key turning points and mistakes of games - not just telling the story of games but trying to get an objective analysis of where things went wrong
Ability to make use of Capablanca's level of pedanticness even in opening moves to extend knowledge of Opening theory and give a modern perspective
Ability to emulate Capablanca more than more complex world champions because of his apparent simplicity, elegance and desire to keep positions relatively simple
Ability to strengthen middlegame evaluations even losing a piece when put in context of powerful endgame transitions where passed pawns are dangerous
Ability to appreciate a positional style which Kasparov indicates that Magnus Carlsen is similar to
Ability to appreciate why Capablanca is thought to be one of the most naturally talented players of all time
Ability to improve endgame strength and middlegame to endgame transitions which is becoming a rarer commodity skill in today's blitz chess and end scrambles
Ability to appreciate that an Encyclopedic opening repertoire is not needed to be a top player - Capablanca showed that he could play quiet but sound openings
Ability to appreciate super instructive chess games where every idea has high visibility, and clarity. The games are not as "muddy" as Tal or Alekhine games
Ability to appreciate clear logically flowing games where the winner did not have to calculate a huge amount of variations
Ability to appreciate Capablanca's "small combinations" which very simply underlined the strategic strengths and positional advantages of his position
Ability to appreciate a quality of a good fighter in the Art of War - efficiency and simplicity of winning - which helps others learn from later :)
Ability to appreciate many instructive endgames - and accuracy needed. The chess equivalent of eating vegetables as good for one's chess nutritional diet :)
Ability to appreciate the nickname earned by Capablanca of "The Human Chess Machine" for sheer accuracy and lack of major mistakes
Ability to appreciate what Bobby Fischer described as a "Light touch" and find the right move very quickly
Ability to appreciate the sheer beauty of silky smooth game accuracy e.g. black vs Albert Whiting Fox
Ability to witness makings of a legend later in 1936 Moscow coming ahead of future world champion Botvinnik despite apparent bias towards Botvinnik
Ability to play more "principled chess" based on the "fundamentals" (founding principles) that Capablanca expresses in his games and general principled play
Ability to appreciate why some Capablanca games are held in hundreds of game collections and Capa fans play over them hundreds of times enjoying them greatly
Ability to appreciate and remember many aesthetic concepts even if most of the concrete variations are forgotten
Ability to appreciate inconspicuous subtle moves, which are the difference between smooth technical victories and allowing opponent messy counterplay
Ability to study one of the clearest world champions - older classic games is often where the greatest fun and insights come from for many studying chess
Ability to appreciate interest "centers" of many important and lesser well known Capablanca games through the instructive index that shortens Capablanca to C
Ability to appreciate Steinitz "accumulation of small advantage" theory combined with minimisation of complexity which Capablanca adds - like code refactoring
Ability to appreciate why Garry Kasparov considers Capablanca to have one of the purest most crystal-clear logical styles in the entire history of chess
Ability to appreciate why Vladimir Kramnik considers Capablanca a genius and an exception that did not obey any rule
Ability to appreciate why Vladimir Kramnik compares Capablanca with Mozart whos charming music appeared to have a smooth flow
Ability to appreciate why Emanuel Lasker considered Capablanca as a genius - and the only genius revealing itself in the probing of opponent's weak points
Ability to appreciate why Mikhail Botvinnik indicated that you cannot play chess until you have studied Capablanca's games
Ability to appreciate why Max Euwe indicated about being humbled when studying Capablanca's games
Ability to appreciate why Garry Kasparov indicates that Capablanca invariably chooses the right option no matter how intricate the position
Ability to appreciate why Bobby Fischer considered Capablanca as possibly the greatest player in the entire history of chess
Ability to appreciate Magnus Carlsen's comment that Capablanca came out of nowhere and just played very clear, simple, yet brilliant chess -"genius"

Course content

21 sections • 310 lectures • 32h 25m total length

My passion for Capablanca's thematic clarity12:59
Explore Capablanca's endgame clarity and thematic play, from aggressive kings to a rook on the seventh and past pawns, illustrating Bloom's model of learning in memory, understanding, and creativity.
Nimzovich vs Capablanca strategic bishop exchange theme7:32
Examine Capablanca's strategic bishop exchange to weaken white's light-squared defenses, infiltrate on light squares, and secure a decisive positional edge against Nimzowitsch.
Capablanca's quotations on opening,middlegame and endgame phases12:52
Capablanca chess quotations5:19
Capablanca's Chess Metaphor quotations10:29
Capablanca's chess metaphors frame the game as attack and defense, guided by natural intuition, concentration, and simplification that dominates endgames and openings in match play.
Capablanca's Losing related Quotations8:11
Capablanca's Quotations on other players7:55
Emanuel Lasker quotations on Capablanca3:52
Max Euwe quotations on Capablanca5:19
Alexander Alekhine quotations on Capablanca4:55
Bobby Fischer quotations on Capablanca1:46
Bobby Fischer quotations on Capablanca9:02
Explore how Bobby Fischer's quotations illuminate Capablanca's influence on his style and his view of Morphy, Steinitz, and Alekhine, while highlighting simple openings and brilliant middlegame ideas.
Mikhail Botvinnik quotations on Capablanca7:40
Tigran Petrosian quotation on Capablanca3:46
Anatoly Karpov quotation on Capablanca2:25
Garry Kasparov quotations on Capablanca3:20
Vladimir Kramnik quotations on Capablanca5:01
"Play the Position" vs "Be an Agile Chess player"7:00
Capablanca's "Fundamentals" emphasis3:49
Why prioritize endgames then middlegame first?9:31
Endgame passions8:06
Capablanca's tactics and combinations and overall accuracy6:46
Capablanca's Chess Openings - a means to an ends - kept simple!7:45
Game selection, analysis and index priorities6:03
Selects Capablanca’s most instructive wins from key matches, using an opening-focused index to guide analysis of turning points, variations, and strategic ideas.

In 13 collections || Four Knights Game: Spanish. Symmetrical Variation (C49)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Ne70:05
Passed pawn potential and Zugzwang as a key tool to create passer - Corzo vs C10:45
In 130+ collections || Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit (C25)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 h6 7.Nxf7 Kxf70:05
An amazing tactical refutation of a dodgy opening - clarity after - Corzo vs C15:01
Capablanca delivers a stunning tactical refutation of a dodgy opening, exploiting diagonal pressure, a decisive exchange sacrifice, and precise calculation for a crushing win.
In 115+ collections || Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit. Chigorin Variation (A83)0:02
1. d4 f5 2. e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 c6 5. Bxf6 exf6 6. Nxe4 d5 7. Ng3 Qe7+0:05
King infiltration creates too much pressure on both sides of board - C vs Corzo10:18
In 230+ Collections || Queen Pawn Game: Krause Variation (D02)0:02
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.e3 Nc6 4.b3 e6 5.Bb2 Nf6 6.Nbd2 cxd4 7.exd4 Bd60:05
Colle-Zukertort B on b2 amplification and d-pawn passer exploited - C vs Corzo20:23
Capablanca demonstrates Colle–Zukertort B amplification, using the bishop on the long diagonal to pressure dark squares and the king, leading to an endgame with confident simple chess.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Nd4 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.exf5+ Be70:05
Schliemann Opening Counterplay shut down and rook on 7th later - C vs Marshall10:10
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Ne4 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Bd3 Nxc30:05
Nimzo-Indian benefits - undoubling pawns for great central pieces- Marshall vs C16:19
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.c3 Bg4 5.d3 Be7 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.O-O O-O0:05
B hemmed in leads to N on f5 leads to backward g7 pawn target - C vs Marshall9:19
Witness Capablanca's precise, aggressive play against Marshall in the 1909 match, converting a backward pawn into a winning attack with rook pressure and a tactical exchange.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.O-O a6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bd70:05
Disaster opening leads to doubled pawns and great piece outposts - C vs Marshall14:54
Exposes a disastrous opening in Capablanca vs. Marshall, yielding doubled pawns and powerful outposts, then dominates with centralization and Nimzowitsch-style blockades for a decisive attack.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Ne4 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Bd3 Nxc30:05
Richness of attacking and defensive resources - scary thorn pawn - Marshall vs C23:42
Capablanca dissects Marshall's 1909 game, revealing rich attacking and defensive resources centered on the thorn pawn and c4 structure. A remarkable saving resource for white nearly draws.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.exf5 e4 6.Nh4 d5 7.d3 Be70:05
King safety prophylaxis castling Queenside and endgame transition- C vs Marshall16:53
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Ne4 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.cxd5 Nxc30:05
Pride (Arrogance) before a tactic fall-Rook reverse gear removed - Marshall vs C15:31
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Be6 7.Bg2 Be70:05
Exploiting a pawn majority creates passed pawn benefits and hooks- Marshall vs C18:21

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.O-O Nc60:05
Cold shower tactical moves reduce the tactical heat potential - C vs Marshall12:07
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.d4 e40:05
Missing a simplifying combination means K safety losing factor - Roething vs C11:17
Capablanca demonstrates a simplifying combination that would improve king safety by trading attacking pieces. White misses this tactic, unleashing a crushing attack as the queens come off and extreme sacrifices.
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd60:05
Capablanca was human after all in a rook and pawn endgame - C vs Kreymborg12:18
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c6 4. c4 e6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O0:05
Tactical demolition after black creates too many K-side weaknesses - C vs Jaffe9:40
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.d3 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd50:05
Dark squares around King get severely weakened making smooth attack- Jaffe vs C10:20

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.Bxf60:05
Release of a central square gives major attacking pivot for tactics- C vs Morris8:32
In Capablanca vs Morris, the release of the central d4 square becomes a major attacking pivot, enabling a forcing tactical sequence that secures a decisive advantage.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Nc3 exd4 7.Nxd40:05
Key blunders relate to missing a particular "only move" option - C vs Hodges16:59
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.O-O0:05
Amplification tactical resources of "diagonal of death" - C vs Tennenwurzel13:56
1.d4 d5 2.e3 c5 3.Bd3 c4 4.Be2 Nc6 5.f4 Bf5 6.Nf3 e6 7.O-O Bd60:05
Violation of some principles but not punished by opponent - Kreymborg vs C18:53
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Bd7 7.Nbd2 Be70:05
Knight manoeuvre to f5 before castling reaps tactical benefits - C vs Walcott9:10
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Be2 Nbd70:05
Self-weakening moves starting with Ne5 spell structural disaster - Smith vs C9:33
Capablanca demonstrates how self-weakening moves starting with Ne5 spell structural disaster in the Smith vs C game, illustrating a decisive positional collapse.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 d6 7. c3 Be70:05
Early Ruy Lopez 5.d3 Nf1 h3-g4 plan made use of with great effect - C vs Baird10:52
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Nbd7 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nc3 dxc40:05
An intense Slav defence struggle helped by some inaccuracies - Johner vs C19:13

In 143+ collections || Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (C65)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Be7 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.d40:05
ICONIC GAME - Brilliancy prize - Knight Knives on f5 and h4 - C vs Bernstein21:11
In 34+ collections || Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Anderssen Variation (C77)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d30:03
One inaccurate bishop move and advantage accumulation unstoppable - C vs Burn13:59
In 144+ collections || Queen Pawn Game: Colle System (D40)0:02
1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nf3 c5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.dxc5 O-O 7.a3 Bxc50:05
Isolated Queen Pawn structure creates tactical opportunities - C vs Janowski22:51
In 53+ Collections || Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D32)0:02
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Be70:05
Converting an extra pawn in the endgame using King aggressively - Leonhardt vs C20:38
In 83+ Collections || French Defense: King's Indian Attack (C00)0:02
1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. Be2 Bd6 6. O-O Qc7 7. Re1 Nge70:05
Missed key forcing move results in strategic and K-safety issues- Nimzovich vs C18:04
In 18+collections || Queen Pawn Game: Krause Variation (D02)0:02
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 Nf6 4. e3 Nc6 5. dxc5 e5 6. b4 Qc7 7. Bb2 Be60:05
Simplifying from dangerous position then getting winning tactics- C vs Spielmann18:00

Match scores0:04
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Bg40:05
Very risky g4 played by Capablanca allowing aggressive dynamic play- C vs Chajes10:38
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Re80:05
Bishop pair not made use of leaving White with passed pawn advantage- C vs Jaffe16:28
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Qd3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.c3 Be7 6.Be2 c6 7.Nbd2 O-O0:05
Disastrous opening by White allowing tactic winning central pawn - Jaffe vs C7:22

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.Bb5 h60:05
Instructive Opposite Colour Bishop Endgame overloading Bishop - Nimzowitsch vs C13:58
Two matches played in Berlin 1913 vs Teichmann and Mieses0:03
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.Re1 d60:05
Pinning penalty in Ruy Lopez when h3 not played but d4 plan used- Teichmann vs C11:12
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.e3 O-O 7.Rc1 b60:05
Critical mistake in opposite coloured bishop endgame - C vs Teichmann16:54
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 d6 4. c4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. e4 O-O 7. Be2 e60:05
Giving up fianchetto bishop weakens dark squares and invites attack- C vs Mieses11:52
Capablanca analyzes a 1913 exhibition game with a Benoni-like structure, showing how rook lifts create multiple targets and pressure on weak dark squares to counter hyper modern play.
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O-O 7.O-O-O Re80:05
Amplification of dangerous bishop against a Queenside castled king - MIeses vs C26:27
Capablanca and Menzies navigate an opposite-side castling clash, amplifying a dangerous bishop to press a queenside king, turning an exchange down into a winning tactical attack.

In 6 collections || Three Knights Opening: General (C46)0:02
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 5. Kxf2 Nxe5 6. d4 Nc6 7. Be3 d60:05
Opening trap in three knights variation gives huge advantage- C vs Liebenstein6:37
In 10 collections || Indian Game: Wade-Tartakower Defense (A46)0:02
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 e6 5. e3 Bb4 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O c40:05
From difficult position, diagonal opens when opponent wins pawn - Whitaker vs C19:16
In 120+ collections - Four Knights Game: Ranken Variation (C48)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 a6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Bg4 7.h3 Bh50:05
Instructive Endgame: RR vs RR -2 rooks each but black has doubled c and d pawns0:03
Self-freezing pawns leads to White having a free hand on K-side - C vs Janowski15:37
In 12 collections || Indian Game: Wade-Tartakower Defense (A46)0:02
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. e3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nbd7 5. O-O e5 6. dxe5 dxe5 7. Nc3 c60:05
Tragic passive usage of dark square bishop without counterpart- Morrison vs C12:16
In 2 collections || Four Knights Game: Nimzowitsch (Paulsen) (C49)0:02
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Re80:05
Nf5 plan and central pawn tension maximised winning a piece - C vs Tenenwurzel8:56
In 11 collections || Old Indian Defense: Normal Variation (A55)0:02
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.Nf3 c6 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O0:05
d4 pressure then clear tactical combination to win the exchange - Rubinstein v C8:14
In 20 collections || Indian Game: Wade-Tartakower Defense (A46)0:02
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nbd7 4.Bf4 c6 5.Qc2 Qc7 6.e4 e5 7.Bg3 Be70:05
Instructive Endgame : Queen and B (and thorn pawn!) vs Queen and Knight0:03
Thorn pawn and outside passed pawn need balance with K safety - Kline vs C20:06
In 8 collections || Four Knights Game: Nimzowitsch (Paulsen) (C49)0:02
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Re80:05
Dark square pressure around opponents king helped by weakening g6 - C vs Kupchik13:41
In 10 collections || Indian Game: Wade-Tartakower Defense (A46)0:02
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. e4 Nbd7 5. Be3 e5 6. Bc4 c6 7. Bb3 b50:05
Provocative Wade variation and White improvises badly in opening - Zapoleon vs C10:51
In 42 collections || Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation (D45)0:02
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 e6 5. d4 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bd3 Bd60:05
Naughty g5 move not punished with weakness amplification tactics - Stapfer vs C12:25

Requirements

Know how the chess pieces move

Description

Discover the strategic and tactical genius of José Raúl Capablanca, a renowned Cuban chess player and the World Champion from 1921 to 1927. His approach to the game, particularly his mastery over positional play and endgames, is often regarded as the most instructive among all World Champions.

This course dives deep into Capablanca's career between 1901 and 1918, offering a thorough analysis of his key games. Known for his simple openings that highlight his strengths in middlegame and endgame, Capablanca's playstyle offers a wealth of knowledge for every chess enthusiast.

Witness his rise to fame, starting with a stunning victory against Frank Marshall, one of the strongest players in the United States at that time. Observe how Capablanca took the world by surprise, earning eight wins, one loss, and 18 draws in a match with Marshall. Follow his journey to the international San Sebastián tournament in 1918, where despite initial protests over his entry, he emerged victorious, proving his critics wrong with dazzling displays of skill and strategy.

In this course, we strive to provide an unbiased analysis of Capablanca's games, aiming to bring out the 'truth' of the games to help you improve your own play to the maximum. This course will enrich your understanding of opening theory, middlegame tactics and strategy, and the art of playing the endgame.

While the course intentionally bypasses Capablanca's hundreds of Simul games to focus on his most important tournament and match games of this period, the lessons learned here will undoubtedly enhance your confidence and skills in chess. Indeed, by studying the games of Capablanca, you will uncover inspirational concepts and philosophies that can elevate your game to new heights.

Who this course is for:

Beginner to intermediate players who want to improve their endgames
Beginner to intermediate players who want to improve their positional understanding
Beginner to intermediate players who want to improve their "simple chess" which is a way of playing in an effective and efficient and safe manner

José Raúl Capablanca: Most instructive chess games 1901-1918

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction24 lectures • 2hr 41min

Age 12 - 1901 - Match vs Juan Corzo- won +4-3=6 - Corzo was champion of Cuba12 lectures • 57min

Age 20 - 1909 - Match vs Frank James Marshall - Won (+8-1=14)16 lectures • 2hr 6min

Age 21 - 1910 - New York State championship - (+6-0=1) - Won 6 Lost 0 Drew 110 lectures • 56min

Age 22 - 1911 - New York Championship - 2nd behind Marshall (+8-1=3)16 lectures • 1hr 48min

Age 22 - San Sebastian (1911) - Capablanca won 1st with 9.5/14 (+6 -1 -7)18 lectures • 1hr 55min

Age 23 - 1912 Casual Games and Consultation Games2 lectures • 9min

Age 23 - 1912 Matches vs Charles Jaff and Oscar Chajes7 lectures • 35min

Age 24 - 1913 - Interesting Exhibition and Casual Games11 lectures • 1hr 21min

Age 24 - 1913 American National Tournament - (+10-1=2)32 lectures • 2hr 9min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: