1. Introduction to Course

Grandmaster Danny Gormally's How to Win Chess Tournaments explores practical methods of top Grandmasters that the ambitious student of chess can incorporate into their own games to improve results and maximise wins. Using examples from top-level games, Danny explains how top Grandmasters approach the game and are able exploit opportunities more often than lower-rated players.

All too often, the practical aspects of playing over-the-board are neglected in favour of other types of study, with hours spent pouring over essential opening theory; but to go beyond the opening and into a successful middlegame, you must hone other essential skills such as time management, intuition, calculation, avoiding mistakes, reacting under pressure and seeing one move further.

All these considerations and more are carefully covered in this 10-hour, all-rounder interactive course with concrete example games by top Grandmasters, and puzzles to test your understanding at the conclusion of every chapter. In ten comprehensive chapters, you will delve into the skill set and strengths of former World Champions and top players such as Kasparov, Karpov, Spassky, Anand and Kramnik, all masters who dominated the world of chess for decades. There are also practical examples of modern games between well-known Grandmaster professional players, masters who began their journey in the chess club to beyond. Suitable for the beginner to club player, intermediate to advanced, this extensive course offers a complete introduction and refresh of essential skills that all players must establish and develop in order to flourish.

You will learn:

• How to see one move further
• The importance of understanding time
• The value of imagination
• Identifying your opponent's plans and preventing them
• Killing your opponent's threat stone dead
• Sensing danger and snuffing out the attack
• How to avoid playing passively
• Psychological reasons for mistakes
• How to combine calculation with intuition
• How nerves can affect your intuition
• Avoid losing the thread of the game
• To check variations and see beyond the obvious

and much more, in this, GingerGM's first release in our new "interactive" course format. Each section includes puzzles for the viewer to consolidate what they have learnt, and fully-annotated PGN files allow you to play through the moves alongside the videos or at your own leisure. Videos can be watched online at gingergm.com with the "streaming" option at a small additional cost. Several videos are available free, so take a look on gingergm.com/shop!

Regular readers of Danny's articles on the Ginger GM blog will know that he is a thorough analyst and pulls no punches when discussing psychological aspects of the game. GM Gormally is an English Grandmaster who has represented the English national team at the Chess Olympiad and European Team Championship.

Full Contents

• Introduction

Part 1: Why it Pays to go Deep - Avoiding Superficiality

• Why You Need to See One Move Further: Sadler - Tan
• How Nerves Affect our Ability to See Deeper: Gormally - Vakhidov
• The Importance of Seeing Unusual Candidate Moves: Karjakin - Kramnik
• Why Chess is an Ideas Game: Naumann - Gormally
• The Value of Challenging Your Assumptions: Bielby - Symonds
• Puzzles Part 1

Part 2: How to Analyse

• How to Assess Positions and the Importance of Understanding Time: Kokarev - Stukopin
• Why Deep Analysis can Help You Fins Brilliant Ideas: Kasparov - Smirin
• Checking Your Variations and Seeing Beyond the Obvious: Kasparov - Noguieros
• Expand Your Horizon and See Unusual Candidate Moves: Short - Gormally
• The Beauty of Analysis and how it Helps to get Alternative Viewpoints: Ernst - Deviatkin
• Puzzles Part 2

Part 3: Attacking in the Opening with Boris Spassky

• Punishing Weak Play in the Opening: Spassky - Vedensky
• The Value of Imagination: Trionescu - Spassky
• Pin Your Opponent's King in the Centre: Spassky - Witkowski
• Puzzles Part 3

Part 4: Learn Prophylaxis with Anatoly Karpov

• Identify Your Opponent's Plans and Prevent Them: Karpov - Gheorgiu
• Kill Your Opponent's Threat Stone Dead: Pomar - Karpov
• Using Deep Calculation to Fins a Prophylactic Idea: Kasparov - Petrosian
• Prophylactic Play in the Opening: Anand - Pastor Gomis
• Puzzles Part 4

Part 5: Dynamic Pawn Moves with Vladimir Kramnik

• Using a Pawn Move to Change the Character of a Position: Kramnik - Huebner
• Breaking Through Defences with a Dynamic Pawn Move: Kramnik - Beliavsky
• Seize Key Squares: Gelfand - Kramnik
• Launching a Counterattack with a Dynamic Central Break - Eduoard - Nakamura
• Puzzles Part 5

Part 6: Improve Your Sense of Danger

• The Danger of a Lightning Attack and how to Sense the Danger: Bauer - Gormally
• Snuffing out an Attack with a Key Defensive Move: Muzychuk - Tan
• The Dangers of Intermediate Moves: Franklin - Zakarian
• Puzzles Part 6

Part 7: How to Cut Out Mistakes

• Why Understanding is Important in Avoiding Mistakes: Tiviakov - Gormally
• The Value of Patience: Nevednichy - Gormally
• How to Avoid Playing Passively: Sasikiran - Gormally
• Psychological Reasons for Mistakes: Jones - Gormally
• Puzzles Part 7

Part 8: David vs Goliath - How to Beat Stronger Players

• Why Your Biggest Opponent is Yourself: Orr - Gormally
• Hitting the Ground Running: Lipok - Gajek
• Getting the Approach Correct: Gormally - Dreev
• The Value of Going for the Throat: Jarmany - Gormally
• Puzzles Part 8

Part 9: Trusting your Gut Instinct

• Why it is Important not to Panic: Eggleston - Gormally
• Combining Calculation with Intuition: Gormally - Ward
• Using Intuition to Identify Candidate Moves: Gormally - Ansell
• How Nerves can Affect Your Intuition: Arkell - Anon
• Puzzles Part 9

Part 10: Key Moments in Chess Games

• Losing the Thread of the Game: Martins - Gormally
• Using Time Wisely at Key Moments: Gormally - Sanders
• How to React to Coming Under Pressure: Eames - Henderson
• Using Your Experience to Know When to Gamble: Howell - Melkumyan
• Puzzles Part 10
• Conclusion