Dan Heisman's Instructional ICC Videos

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Video Subjects: Thought Process and General Improvement - Tactics and Safety - Openings and Opening Tabiyas - Endgames - Amateur Games - Dan/Master Games

Award-Winning Columns on How to Improve - Dan's 10 Books - Recommended Books - Lessons - Dan's Chess Page

If you like my free Novice Nooks or videos, please consider a tax-deductible charitable contribution to my two Philadelphia Foundation charities.

Below is a set of links to my videos, ordered by subject; the links are to the "full", ICC/WCL members-only versions - the "ID" it will ask for is your ICC/WCL ID.

Take the free previews link for my videos, for ICC non-members. Check out the vast video libraries at Chess.com and Internet Chess Club

* = Videos with highest feedback (each also has a 1-5 star rating, rated by listeners)               ** = The best videos for low rated players to start

1.     Thought Process and General Improvement:

1. Introduction to Pawns

2. Introduction to Thought Process

3. Thought Process (2): Analytical and Non-Analytical Positions

4. Theory of Chess Improvement

5. Introduction to Time Management

6. Evaluation Criteria

7. Common Evaluation Misconceptions

8. Break Moves

9. Guide to P-R3

10. The 20-minute Exercise* 

11. The Maung Lesson

12. Introduction to Mobility and Activity** - PrizeFighter tells you: the video on mobility and activity is the best video I have ever seen on chess.

13. It's a Different Game When You're Way Ahead

14. More Pawns in the Middle Is Good

15. The Margin for Error

16. Strategy Based on Central Pawn Structure

17. Examples of Chess Logic

18. A Key Part of the Thought Process*

19. 20 Minute Exercise #2

20. The Biggest Strategic Decisions

21. Avoid the Common Quiescence Error (also categorized below under "Tactics and Safety")

22. The Three Types of Chess Vision* - Stefjohn wrote: "3TCV is one of your very best videos ever!! Creative and truly groundbreaking work!! Delightful puzzles and your final combo terrific! Never dreamed of conceiving of chess & mind in this way. *****Outstanding!! Thank you. I'll be reviewing this one many times."

23. Initial and Final Candidate Moves

24. 20 Minute Exercise #3

2.       Tactics and Safety:

1. Introduction to Safety and Counting** - Message from ICC's stefjohn: Dan, your notions of safety and counting are pure genius.   A new "soul of the game."  WOW!!

2. Is It Safe?**

3. The Seeds of Tactical Destruction

4. Tempos and Threats** - This is a very helpful one to all players rated U1800!

5. Removal of the Guard

6. The Loman Series* - The original source for this idea is Tim Krabbe, whose incredible website is one of the most interesting chess sites on the web.

7. When is a King Safe?

8. The Safety Table**

9. The Five Ways to Make a Piece Safe**

10. Learning from a Missed Checkmate

11. Avoid the Common Quiescence Error (also categorized above under "Thought Process and General Improvement"); GM Lenderman's advanced videos on quiescence errors at Chess.com

3.       Openings and Opening Tabiyas:

1. Learning Tabiyas: The Closed Ruy Lopez

2. Tabiyas 2: King's Indian Defense Main Line

3. Tabiyas 3: Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack

4. Tabiyas 4: Two Knights Defense: Fried Liver/Lolli

5. Tabiyas 5: Sicilian Sveshnikov

6. Using Openings to Improve

7. Tabiyas 6: French Winawer

8. Tabiyas 7: Najdorf Sicilian

9. Tabiyas 8: Slav Defense

10. Openings vs. Opening Systems

11. Tabiyas 9: Open Ruy Lopez

12. Comparing Queen's Gambit Declined & Slav Defenses

13. Tabiya 10: French Defense: Tarrasch Variation

14. Tabiya 11: Avoiding the Exchange Gruenfeld

15. Tabiyas 12: The Trappy Cambridge Springs Defense

4.       Endgames:

1. King and Pawn vs. King (1)

2. King and Pawn vs. King (2)

3. King, Pawn and ? vs King

4. Queen vs. Pawn on the 7th Rank

5. Rook vs. Connected passed pawns

6. King and Two Pawns vs. King and Pawn

7. Instructive Amateur King and Pawn Endgame

8. Trading Pawns When Ahead

9. King and Pawn vs. King and Pawn

   Amateur Games - If you have a game to submit, put it in your ICC library and email me its location; I don't use all submissions but I do use many

1. An Amateur Game (part 1); An Amateur Game (part 2)

2. Doubled Isolated Pawns can Sometimes be Nice

3. Don't Close off your Attack

4. Considering All Threats

5. Rushing Critical Moments

6. Save Time for Critical Moves

7. Play on and Try to Win

8. Handling Complexities

9. Any One Move Can Lose the Game

10. Playing a Sacrifice

11. It Helps to Understand the Opening

12. Dance on the Weak White Squares

13. Too Bad - Too Fast

14. A Million Ways to Win

15. Interesting in Every Phase* - at least one vote that this is the most instructive video

16. Don't Acquiesce (part 1); Don't Acquiesce (part 2)

17. Technique (part 1); Technique (part 2)

18. Losing Material Doesn't Always Lose

19. Get Those Pawns Rolling

20. Closed Maneuvering

21. Instructive Rooks

22. Avoid Purposeful Errors

23. Endgame See-saw

24. Weak Squares and Majorities

25. Aggression Pays Off

26. Winning the Exchange is not Always Enough

27. The Imbalanced Sicilian

28. Passive Play When Ahead

29. Throw the Kitchen Sink

30. King and Pawn Endgames are Tricky - email from Victor Spear on this video: Very rarely have I ever encountered a chess lesson more deceptively profound than your latest ICC entry. On the surface it might seem that it is so "basic" that it might be simply passed over. Nothing could be further from the truth. On closer examination it comes clear that there are more pearls of wisdom per square inch than I have encountered in a long time. You have a wonderful gift of being able to crawl into the mind of the club player and zero in on what is pertinent. You seem to know how I think. What is privilege it is to have you speak to me weekly on a one-to-one basis. You are, quite simply, the best."

31. Flexible Opening - Opposite Side Castling

32. One Bad Move...Upset!

33. Missing That Opening Opportunity

34. Instructive Mistakes

35. Strategic Misunderstandings

36. Tactical Oversights

37. The Sense of Danger

38. Playing Fast in Slow Games is Silly**

39. Danger: Picking off pawns when way ahead

40. Sometimes Doing Nothing is Good

41. Opening Gambit Pays Off

42. Playing Fast in Clear Positions

43. Double Blunders

44. Random Games Are Instructive**

45. Another Instructive Endgame

46. Famous Opening Trap

47. Doubled Pawns Not Consequential

48. Back and Forth Flow

49. Frittering Away The Advantage

50. Want to Improve? --- Learn This**

51. Fine Combination Not Consumated

52. One Bad Move in the Opening

53. Down a Piece? Fight Back!

54. Strong Amateurs in Closed Game

55. Making Critical Decisions Way Too Quickly**

56. One Bad Move in Time Trouble

57. Active King Overcomes Bishop Opposite Color

58. Solid Game, Critical Mistake

59. Avoid the 'Just Play it Out' Attitude

60. How Not to Play When Way Ahead - And Still Win - for how to play correctly, take this link

61. Two Pieces Ahead, No Win - Yet

62. Simul Game Victory

63. Play Too Fast - No Win

64. Without a Clock is a Different Game

65. A Ton of Instructive Ideas

66. How did the e-pawn Survive?

67. See-Saw Game Ends in Upset

68. Fast Play Throws Away Upset vs. FM - message from Stefjohn: Hi Dan, Thought your 'Upset FM' lecture was a pure joy. Terrific game selection, wonderfully instructive and poignant lecture and analysis. Thanks a lot.

69. Exception: R&P OK vs. B&N

70. Win Thrown Away Twice

71. Difficult "Resigns" Position vs. an IM

72. Instructive King's Indian*

73. Complicated Game Played Super-Fast

74. Wild Game with Big Mood Swings

75. Castling Opposite Sides - Fun Game

76. Monstrous Positional Blunder Seals Loss

77. Too Fast or Too Slow - Similar Problem

78. This King Exposure Was Fatal

79. Another Fast and Badly Played Endgame

80. Two Big Blunders Even Out

81. Instructive King and Pawn Endgame (again)*

82. Black's Early Advantage Fades Away

83. This Story's Ending Has Twists

84. Well-Known Opening Tactical Pattern

85. Played Well for A While Then Fell Apart

86. Doubleheader: Tactical Games

87. Too Quickly Played Positional Battle

88. Piece Against Two Pawns Early

89. A Cautionary Tale - Stefjohn wrote: "...your sense of humor really comes thru on this one! Good fun. Hats off to Black for writing some notes; many of us would be tempted to burn the score sheet & pretend it never happened!"

90. This Time Fast Play Not Punished

91. It Doesn't Take Much to Lose - fixed the ...Ng4 problem early in the video with a patch

92. Well-Played Slow Game

93. Marshall Attack Becomes Open Ruy

Games by Dan or other Masters

1. Parting With The Lady - This video's title is in memory of the late master Jerry Hanken. Dan vs. Computer in King's Indian Defense

2. King's Indian Complexities (Dan vs. Computer in King's Indian Defense)

3. It's Not How You Start*

4. Dan Isn't That Bad Any More

5. A Tal-Like Sacrifice

6. Ever Young Imbalanced Game (not amateurs, but still instructive and fun)

7. My First Game Against A Master

8. Dan vs. The Computer: Live and Verbalized - "touya tells you 'Your latest video is awesome!'"

9. Dan vs. Computer #2 Slower Game (Part 1) - (Part 2)*

Note: These amateur game videos concentrate primarily on teaching basic (and intermediate!) principles and how they are applied. In some cases "perfect" computer analysis is applied (I usually use Rybka or Houdini) but, for much of the videos, I just do some basic "off the top of my head" analysis which (very) occasionally is incorrect (but hopefully not misleading). If you want the "truth" of the games you are welcome to submit the analysis to a strong engine, but that is not the purpose of the videos. The same can be applied to the "book" knowledge of the opening.

Dan's weekly instructional videos Take link for the same instructional videos in reverse chronological order - free to ICC and WCL members;

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