Waterville Chess Club - Videos & Movies

Links to training videos and informational videos about chess games and chess masters.

Click on a tab below to reveal the links for that topic.

  • Standard Chess #288 (Pirc Defense) - John Bartholomew - 12/30/2019

  • Chess Fundamentals series. John Bartholomew has a real gift for helping you understand what he is thinking as he identifies important points while playing games that illustrate his topic on Chess.com.
  • #1 - Undefended Pieces - John Bartholomew - 01/01/2015
  • #2 - Coordination - John Bartholomew - 01/03/2015
  • #3 - Typical Mistakes - John Bartholomew - 01/10/2015
  • #4 - Pawn Play - John Bartholomew - 02/15/2016
  • #5 - Trades - John Bartholomew - 09/10/2016

  • Tactics Training series. John Bartholomew has a real gift for helping you understand what he is thinking as he identifies important points while playing games that illustrate his topic on lichess.org: lichess.org has training modes of "Easy", "Normal", and "Hard", and John tackles five problems at each level. Follow along as he solves, or pause the video at the beginning of each problem and solve on your own!
  • #1 - Tactics Training - John Bartholomew - 05/26/2015

  • Chess Endgame Fundamentals series. John Bartholomew explains important endgame principles and techniques; you can practice these endgame positions at Chessable!
  • King + Pawn vs. King - John Bartholomew - 12/19/2015 [20:21]
  • Opposition Exercise - John Bartholomew - 12/22/2015 [12:46]
  • Lucena Position - John Bartholomew - 07/07/2016 [13:43]
  • Philidor Position - John Bartholomew - 07/13/2016 [06:05]
  • First-Rank Defense - John Bartholomew - 09/21/2016 [09:46]
  • Safe Squares - John Bartholomew - 09/23/2016 [06:58]
  • Vancura Position - John Bartholomew - 10/26/2016 [05:19]
  • Short Side/Long Side Defense - John Bartholomew - 02/28/2017 [10:25]

  • Climbing the Rating Ladder series. John Bartholomew [2294] believes there is a lot to learn by showing how lower-rated players play against a higher rated player (with the benefit of explaining his thought process as the game unfolds). Follow along as he points out general concepts and weak moves by the lower-rated opponent. Each video lasts about an hour; start with the first and work your way up the rating ladder. See if the lessons learned here boost your own rating!
  • Up to 1000 - John Bartholomew - 08/27/2015
  • 1000-1200 - John Bartholomew - 08/29/2015
  • 1200-1400 - John Bartholomew - 08/31/2015
  • 1400-1600 - John Bartholomew - 09/02/2015
  • 1600-1800 - John Bartholomew - 09/04/2015
  • 1800-2000 - John Bartholomew - 09/12/2015

  • Climbing the Tactics Training Ladder series. John Bartholomew started another series, emphasizing the importance of tactics training (resetting his rating to 1200). The advantage for us as we follow along is that he thinks out loud as he solves the challenges. Each video lasts between ten minutes and half an hour; start with the first and work your way up the rating ladder. See if the tactics training boosts your own rating!
  • 1200 to 1466 - John Bartholomew - 02/07/2016
  • 1466 to 1563 - John Bartholomew - 03/08/2016
  • 1563 to 1677 - John Bartholomew - 03/31/2016
  • 1677 to 1735 - John Bartholomew - 04/05/2016

  • The author of this series has a lot more videos in this series; we'll add more later.

Top 35 Chess Principles
Top 35 Chess Principles - according to NM Nelson Lopez

  • Chess Vibes - NM Nelson Lopez

  • I Overreacted... - Chess Vibes - 03/01/2022 [15:54]
  • Expectations vs Reality - Chess Vibes - 09/05/2021 [6:47]
  • How To Find Your Weaknesses In Chess - Chess Vibes - 08/08/2021 [12:53]
  • 8 Chess Concepts Every Chess Player Should Know - Chess Vibes - 07/11/2021 [16:58]
  • 4 Times Castling in Chess Is Bad - Chess Vibes - 07/03/2021 [09:29]
  • Chess Rating Climb 1000-1200 Rating Range - Chess Vibes - 05/24/2021 [33:46]
  • Chess Rating Climb 800-1000 Rating Range - Chess Vibes - 05/21/2021 [48:37]
  • 75 Chess Terms - Chess Vibes - 05/04/2021 [26:32]
  • The 10 Best Chess Plans for the Middlegame - Chess Vibes - 04/27/2021 [13:01]
  • 4 Simple Steps to Blunder Less - Chess Vibes - 04/07/2021 [13:14]
  • Why 3 Pieces are Better Than a Queen? - Chess Vibes - 04/05/2021 [06:26]
  • How to Learn a New Chess Opening - Chess Vibes - 04/02/2021 [22:25]
  • Win as Black Against Fried Liver Attack - Chess Vibes - 03/28/2021 [26:04]
  • Chess Rating Climb 1200-1400 Rating Range - Chess Vibes - 02/17/2021 [43:09]
  • How to Choose a Chess Opening - Chess Vibes - 02/09/2021 [11:43]
  • 35 Vital Chess Principles - Chess Vibes - 02/04/2021 [18:50]
  • 5 Tips to Break 1600 - Chess Vibes - 01/27/2021 [15:57]
  • 6 Tips to Break 1400 - Chess Vibes - 01/20/2021 [17:33]
  • 6 Tips to Get Past 1000 - Chess Vibes - 01/12/2021 [14:28]
  • 3 Reasons Stuck at 800 - Chess Vibes - 01/08/2021 [10:27]
  • 3 Chess Endgame Principles You Need to Know! - Chess Vibes - 11/07/2020 [07:31]
  • Note: I will be adding a lot more videos over time. Click on the Chess Vibes link above to visit NM Nelson Lopez's YouTube channel.
  • Gotham Chess - IM Levy Rozman
  • Win in 8 Moves with the Englund Gambit - Gotham Chess - 05/19/2021 [35:33]
  • Stuck at Chess? - Gotham Chess - 01/14/2021 [19:04]
  • Four Steps To Evaluate Any Chess Position - Gotham Chess - 03/02/2021 [23:54]
  • 105 - Gotham Chess - 06/14/2020 [17:27]
  • 105 - Gotham Chess - 07/19/2020 [38:16]
  • 105 - Gotham Chess - 09/09/2020 [34:47]
  • 105 - Gotham Chess - 01/08/2021 [32:58]
  • Note: I will be adding a lot more videos over time. Click on the Gotham Chess link above to visit IM Levy Rozman's YouTube channel.
  • NM Robert Ramirez
  • Chess - Board Vision - NM Robert Ramirez - 07/10/2020 [10:23]
  • Tactical Combinations - NM Robert Ramirez - 08/28/2020 [11:42]
  • The F-Pawn Mistake - NM Robert Ramirez - 09/21/2020 [9:46]
  • The Best Opening for Black - NM Robert Ramirez - 11/15/2020 [26:46]
  • Playing Czech Pirc Defense - NM Robert Ramirez - 11/21/2020 [37:21]
  • Czech Pirc Defense Against f4 - NM Robert Ramirez - 12/02/2020 [11:38]
  • Czech Pirc Defense - NM Robert Ramirez - 01/10/2021 [35:49]
  • Playing Czech Pirc Defense - NM Robert Ramirez - 01/17/2021 [37:00]
  • The Best Opening for White - NM Robert Ramirez - 12/05/2020 [14:40]
  • The London System - NM Robert Ramirez - 12/14/2020 [22:09]
  • Note: I will be adding a lot more videos over time. Click on the NM Robert Ramirez link above to visit his YouTube channel.
  • kingscrusher
  • Dody Pirc Defense - kingscrusher - 04/18/2021 [16:22]
  • Fatal Tactical Flaw in Scandinavian Opening - kingscrusher - 04/18/2021 [7:03]
  • London System Opening Horror Story - kingscrusher - 04/15/2021 [15:19]
  • Amazing King Walk In Endgame - kingscrusher - 04/15/2021 [7:16]
  • Hanging Pawns Iconic Chess Game - kingscrusher - 04/17/2021 [12:40]
  • Win With London System Opening - kingscrusher - 04/16/2021 [18:34]
  • Note: I will be adding a lot more videos over time. Click on the Kingscrusher link above to visit his YouTube channel.
  • Hikaru Nakamura
  • Immortal Chess Game! - Mega-exciting sacrifices abound! - Sinquefield Cup 2015 - kingscrusher - 08/30/2015
  • Bobby Fischer
  • Bobby Fischer's 21-move brilliancy - ChessNetwork - "Jerry" - 09/02/2017

    Bobby Fischer creates a chess masterpiece in only 21 moves against Robert Eugene Byrne, an International Master, at the 1963/1964 United States Chess Championship, held in New York. At 20 years young, Grandmaster Robert James Fischer was already among the world's very best chess players. In this brilliancy, Fischer demonstrates how to inject multiple imbalances into a highly symmetrical position, how to properly highlight these differences to benefit oneself, and how to accurately assess the true value of the pieces as they rest on the board.
  • AlphaZero
  • AlphaZero's Attacking Chess - IM Anna Rudolf - 12/06/2018

    AlphaZero vs. Stockfish 8: English Opening. "Google's DeepMind has just released a new academic paper on AlphaZero -- the general purpose artificial intelligence system that mastered chess through self-play and went on to defeat the world champion of chess engines, Stockfish. In this video chess International Master Anna Rudolf takes a look at a never-before-seen game from a match played in January 2018, and discusses how the playing style and attacking chess of AlphaZero compare to computers and humans."
  • Read the academic paper in the Science Magazine.

ChessEdge video chess lessons started February 2017. "Few chess players learned chess in a way which would allow continuous improvement and stay stuck for years. There are thousands of chess books and it is difficult for the average player to organize all these chess ideas which often confuses more than helps. On this channel Bill teaches you how to prioritize chess strategic principles and tactics and share his Six Power Move Chess Thinking System which ties all the elements of chess together and has enabled him to beat chess experts and recently a Fide master in tournament play."

The most sadistic mate in history: Tarrasch turns the screw against Nimzowitsch (commentary by Bruce Wallace). Enjoy.

Movies About Chess

Searching for Bobby Fischer

Searching For Bobby Fischer [1993]. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 100%/86%. "After he beats his dad (Joe Mantegna) in a chess match, Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc), a 7-year-old, gets noticed for his talent. He becomes interested in speed chess at the park and learns the game from a hustler named Vinnie (Laurence Fishburne). However, Josh's parents invest in the services of Bruce (Ben Kingsley), a famous coach who has very different practices. Between Bruce's methods and the stress of the competitions, Josh learns that even a chess prodigy cannot make all the right moves." Check out the trailer!

A movie on Netflix about a fictional chess prodigy during the Sixties: The Queen's Gambit. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an audience score of 97% (and you can tell from the trailer that there is plenty of drama to keep non-chess players watching). The New York Times has a particularly interesting review of the series: I'm a Chess Expert. Here's What 'The Queen's Gambit' Gets Right.

A movie on Netflix about a chess match held during the Cuban Missile Crisis: The Coldest Game [PG-30]. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an audience score of 47% (and I admit there were a couple of violent scenes). But if you like international thrillers with a hint of chess [they didn't really show any real games], you just might enjoy it. Those of us who were alive at the time probably were totally unaware of this chess game in Poland at the time (probably because this story is fiction)!