Hi everyone, I just wanted to write a quick posts with my upcoming plans. My father passed away in December of 2020 and I was quite busy with work and family obligations at the start of the winter, so I was fairly quiet during those months. However, I'm trying to get more consistent with creating content and my own training, so here is my schedule I've been following so far in 2021. Mondays On Mondays, I will be publishing a video on Youtube. In general, I'll be discussing the following themes each month: Week 1: Game Analysis of one of my games. Week 2: Master Game Analysis and Commentary Wee ..read more

  I'll be hosting an arena tournament on Lichess this Friday. I will be streaming the games lives on Youtube (https://youtube.com/betterchesstraining) and hopefully giving instructive and fun commentary. Here are the details below. Hope to see you there! Date: Friday, August 21st Time: 10:00-11:30 AM EDT Where: Lichess.org Format: Lichess Arena Time Control: 10 2 (10 minutes with 2 second increment) How to enter: 1. Join the Better Chess Training Lichess Team: https://lichess.org/team/better-chess-training (it's free and depending on how things go we may plan future activiti ..read more

I'm trying to get a little more organized with my content around the web, so I wanted to share my general schedule with you. Check it out! I'm hoping to stay consistent and I think this schedule will help keep me focused on producing content that I both enjoy creating and that you enjoy watching and reading. Just in case you haven't seen me on other platforms, here are the links: Better Chess Training Youtube Channel: youtube.com/betterchesstraining Backrankbrawler Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/backrankbrawler Backrankbrawler's Notebook Blog: https://www.chess.com/blog/ba ..read more

Magnus Carlsen excels in the endgame (as he does in most aspects of the game). I remember a picture of him from about 10-12 years ago where he was studying Lamprecht and Muller's Fundamental Chess Endings. I recently started reading the book Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen which features many of Magnus' great (and a couple not so great) endings through his career. I created a video on one of his endings from when he was 10-years-old. His opponent was now GM Jon Ludwig Hammer. This game featured a nice attack on a weak pawn then shifting his attack when his opponent moves his pieces to defend ..read more

Hey there! It's been a while since I've written, but I've been keeping busy with chess things. However, I've started a new project in terms of trying to improve at chess. Basically, I'm going to play a standard time control game every day and analyze it. I am aiming for at least 5 games every 7 days so if I get busy and can't get one in, I won't get too bent out of shape. The key for me is make sure I analyze the games. The general goals of each analysis are the following: 1. Find my critical errors (and my opponent's). 2. Try to figure out what the correct move or plan is for those positio ..read more

Interview with GM Max IllingworthGM Max Illingworth is the 2019 Australian Chess Champion (as well as the champ in 2014). We discuss a few areas including his own chess development, his coaching philosophy, as well as training tips. Below the video, I summarize some major points in bulletpoints. Chess DevelopmentSupportive parents were essential in Max's development.He built a good foundation using GM Yasser Seirawan's Play Winning Chess book series (which I have recommended as well).Coaches have played a key role in helping Max avoid misconceptions and lead him on the right path with his ch ..read more