3 Mind-Blowing Games that will change how you look at Chess

Summary

This video explores the surprising success of the Caro-Kann Defense at lower chess ratings, where Black has a higher win rate than White. It delves into the historical context of chess strategy, contrasting the romantic era's aggressive play with the positional approach of Steinitz. The video analyzes games showcasing how the Caro-Kann, a solid and quiet opening, triumphs over uncontrolled aggression, especially at ratings under 2000. It illustrates through examples how this defense can be effectively used to exploit opponents' mistakes and achieve victory.

Takeaways

• 🏰 The Kocon Defense, also known as the Caro-Kann Defense, is an opening in chess where Black has a higher win rate than White, especially at lower ratings.
• 🎭 The Romantic Era of Chess (19th century) was characterized by bold moves and aggressive openings, which contrasted with the positional play that favored openings like the Caro-Kann Defense.
• 🔄 William Steinitz's calm, methodical style, focusing on pawn structure and material preservation, was a precursor to the principles of the Caro-Kann Defense.
• 🌪 At ratings below 2000, chaos and gambits are common, but the Caro-Kann Defense often triumphs over such uncontrolled aggression.
• 👥 The video analyzes three example games to demonstrate how the Caro-Kann Defense can succeed against aggressive play.
• 🤹‍♂️ The game between chess legends Tal and Botvinnik in 1961 showcased the clash between aggressive and positional play, with Botvinnik's Caro-Kann Defense leading to victory.
• 🏰 The Caro-Kann Defense aims to build a solid triangular pawn structure that can withstand strong attacks.
• 🔄 The 'Tal Variation' of the Caro-Kann Defense involves an aggressive kingside pawn storm, which can be effectively countered by adhering to Caro-Kann principles.
• 📚 The script emphasizes the importance of not falling for traps and maintaining strong pawn structures, which are key to the Caro-Kann Defense's success.
• 🏆 The script illustrates that the Caro-Kann Defense's effectiveness is seen at both elite and lower levels of play, with examples from both contexts.
• 🚀 The video aims to encourage viewers to consider a different style of play, possibly adopting the Caro-Kann Defense for their own games.

Q & A

What is the significance of the Kocon Defense in chess?

The Kocon Defense is significant because it is an opening where black has a higher win rate than white, especially at lower ratings. It is a solid defense that favors positional play over aggressive gambits, and it is effective against uncontrolled aggression.

How does the Kocon Defense relate to the romantic era of chess?

The Kocon Defense is a stark contrast to the romantic era of chess, which was characterized by bold and audacious moves. The defense is more about calm, methodical play and focuses on maintaining strong pawn structures rather than flashy attacks.

Who was Paul Morphy and how did he influence the game of chess?

Paul Morphy was an American chess prodigy who dominated the game with his wild tactical genius during the romantic era. His aggressive and daring style of play was a hallmark of that period.

What approach did William Steinitz take that was different from the romantic era players?

William Steinitz took a positional approach, favoring quiet openings and focusing on pawn structure and material preservation over aggressive gambits. His methodical style was a departure from the tactical chaos of the romantic era.

How did the style of play below the 2000 rating differ from that of elite players?

Players rated below 2000 tend to exhibit a chaotic style with frequent gambits, whereas elite players like Steinitz and Botvinnik demonstrate a more reserved, strategic approach, often leading to success against uncontrolled aggression.

What is the Tall variation of the Kocon Defense?

The Tall variation is characterized by the move H4, which launches a quick kingside pawn storm. It is an aggressive response to the Kocon Defense, aiming to challenge Black's plans and create threats.

Why is the move H4 in the Tall variation considered effective?

The move H4 is effective because it creates a hidden threat to Black's light-squared bishop if Black continues with E6. It can lead to a loss of material if Black does not respond appropriately.

What is the principle behind the move Bishop F5 in the Kocon Defense?

The principle behind Bishop F5 is to develop the light-squared bishop and prevent it from being stuck inside the pawn structure, which is a key principle of the solid Kocon Defense.

How does the Kocon Defense exploit the weaknesses of an aggressive style of play?

The Kocon Defense exploits the weaknesses of an aggressive style by building a solid pawn structure and patiently exploiting any mistakes made by the attacker. It focuses on positional understanding and material preservation.

What is the significance of the game between Tal and Botvinnik in the context of the Kocon Defense?

The game between Tal and Botvinnik is significant because it showcases a clash of styles: Tal's aggressive, tactical play versus Botvinnik's calm, positional approach. Botvinnik's successful use of the Kocon Defense illustrates its effectiveness against aggression.

Why is the Kocon Defense effective at lower ratings?

The Kocon Defense is effective at lower ratings because it can withstand the chaotic and aggressive play often seen at those levels. It provides a solid foundation that is difficult for less experienced players to break down.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 The Romantic Era's Impact on the Caro-Kann Defense

The paragraph discusses the Caro-Kann defense's effectiveness against aggressive play, particularly at lower chess ratings. It delves into the historical context of chess, comparing the romantic era's bold and audacious moves to the more methodical and positional style exemplified by William Steinitz. The speaker hypothesizes that the Caro-Kann's success at lower ratings may be due to its ability to counter the chaotic, romantic-style play that still prevails among lower-rated players. The narrative sets up an analysis of three example games to illustrate how the Caro-Kann, with its solid and strategic approach, can overcome uncontrolled aggression.

05:02

👑 The Battle Between Aggressive and Positional Playstyles

This section focuses on a game between two chess legends with contrasting styles: the aggressive, tactical play of Tal (white) and the reserved, positional style of Botvinnik (black). The game from the 1961 World Championship is used to demonstrate how Botvinnik's Caro-Kann defense neutralized Tal's aggressive opening. Key moments include Tal's attempt to launch a kingside pawn storm and Botvinnik's strategic decisions to maintain a solid pawn structure and avoid unnecessary complications. The summary highlights the endgame where Botvinnik's careful piece development and exploitation of Tal's weaknesses led to a decisive advantage.

10:03

🎭 The Display of Superior Knight Play in Static Positions

The paragraph continues the analysis of the game between Tal and Botvinnik, emphasizing Botvinnik's strategic use of the knight over the bishop in static positions. It describes how Botvinnik's piece placement and refusal to be drawn into Tal's aggressive style led to a significant advantage. The narrative also touches on the psychological aspects of the game, suggesting that the Caro-Kann's calm and methodical approach can be particularly effective at higher levels of play, where precision and exploitation of small mistakes are crucial.

15:04

🌐 The Caro-Kann's Resilience at Lower Rating Levels

This section explores the Caro-Kann defense's performance at lower rating levels, contrasting it with the elite level showcased in the previous games. It presents a game between a 2100-rated player and an opponent using the Caro-Kann, highlighting the challenges and potential pitfalls of playing the opening at this level. The summary points out common mistakes, such as poor piece development and failure to capitalize on opponent's weaknesses, which can lead to a loss despite the opening's inherent strengths. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to consider adopting the Caro-Kann as a solid foundation for their chess progress.

🔄 The Caro-Kann's Learning Curve and Long-Term Mastery

The final paragraph discusses the learning curve associated with mastering the Caro-Kann defense. It presents a game between two 1000-rated players to illustrate the chaotic and error-prone nature of games at this level, even when using a solid opening like the Caro-Kann. The summary emphasizes the importance of patience and consistent practice to improve one's chess skills, suggesting that adopting a solid opening like the Caro-Kann can provide a stable foundation for tracking progress over time. It also invites viewers to join the speaker's Patreon for more content on the Caro-Kann and ends with a light-hearted reminder to take care of pets.

Keywords

💡Kocon Defense

The Kocon Defense is a chess opening strategy where Black counters White's aggressive opening moves with a solid and strategic defense. In the video, the Kocon Defense is highlighted as a method that often leads to higher win rates for Black, especially against uncontrolled aggression seen in lower-rated players. The script describes how this defense can build a 'solid triangular Pawn structure' and how it triumphs over chaos, exemplified in games where Black uses the Kocon Defense to exploit White's weaknesses.

💡Romantic Era of Chess

The Romantic Era of Chess refers to a period in the 19th century characterized by bold, tactical, and sacrificial play. The video script connects this era to the present, suggesting that the style of play from that time is still evident in lower-rated games today. It contrasts the Romantic Era's approach with the positional play of Steinitz, which aligns more with the Kocon Defense's philosophy.

💡Paul Morphy

Paul Morphy was an American chess prodigy known for his tactical genius and daring attacks, a representative figure of the Romantic Era of Chess. The script mentions Morphy to illustrate the type of play that dominated during the Romantic Era, which is later contrasted with the positional play that emerged afterward and is akin to the Kocon Defense.

💡William Steinitz

William Steinitz is recognized as the first official World Chess Champion and is noted for his positional approach to the game, which was a departure from the Romantic Era's tactics. The script describes Steinitz's style as methodical and focused on pawn structure and material preservation, which is similar to the principles of the Kocon Defense.

💡Positional Play

Positional play in chess emphasizes piece activity, pawn structure, and long-term strategic planning over immediate tactical gains. The video uses the Kocon Defense as an example of positional play, where maintaining a strong position and exploiting small advantages can lead to victory, as opposed to the aggressive, chaotic play often seen in lower-rated games.

💡Tactical Genius

Tactical genius in chess involves recognizing and executing complex sequences of moves to gain an advantage or deliver checkmate. The script contrasts this with the Kocon Defense, suggesting that while tactical brilliance might be flashy, it can be less effective against solid positional play, as seen in the historical shift from the Romantic Era to Steinitz's dominance.

💡Pawn Structure

Pawn structure refers to the arrangement of pawns on the chessboard and their influence on the game. The script mentions how the Kocon Defense aims to build a 'solid triangular Pawn structure' to withstand attacks, illustrating the importance of a strong pawn foundation in achieving a defensible position.

💡Miky Tal

Miky Tal was a Latvian chess Grandmaster known for his attacking style and tactical prowess. The script contrasts Tal's aggressive approach with the methodical and principled style of Binic, who used the Kocon Defense effectively against Tal, demonstrating how positional understanding can overcome tactical aggression.

💡Bishops vs. Knights

The script discusses the trade-off between bishops and knights in certain positions, suggesting that knights can be superior in static positions with limited board control, while bishops might be better in open positions. This concept is highlighted in the context of the Kocon Defense, where knights are often favored for their ability to exploit specific weaknesses in pawn structures.

💡Endgame

The endgame in chess is the final stage of the game where few pieces remain, and the objective is to promote a pawn or checkmate the opponent's king with the remaining pieces. The script uses the Kocon Defense to illustrate endgame principles, such as the king's central role and the importance of pawn structure, showing how a well-played endgame can secure victory.

💡Chess Intuition

Chess intuition refers to a player's ability to evaluate positions and make decisions without relying on deep calculation. The video suggests that high-level players often rely on intuition to assess positions quickly. This is exemplified by the script's discussion of how a player might 'feel' that Black is better in a position, even without extensive calculation.

Highlights

The only opening where black has a higher win rate than white is the Kocon defense.

The romantic era of Chess was marked by bold moves and brutal sacrifices.

William Steinitz introduced a calm, methodical style that favored positional play over aggressive gambits.

Steinitz's dominance with his positional style is said to have ended the romantic era of Chess.

Players rated below 2000 often exhibit the chaotic style of the romantic era.

The Kocon defense often triumphs over uncontrolled aggression.

The Tall-Binik game of 1961 showcased a clash of styles between aggressive and methodical play.

The Tall variation of the Kocon defense is known for its effectiveness.

Binik's play in the Tall-Binik game demonstrated the superiority of the Knight over the Bishop in certain positions.

The endgame principles of the Kocon defense involve keeping the king central for faster action.

The effectiveness of the Kocon defense is due to its calm exploitation of opponents' mistakes.

At lower levels, the Kocon defense can struggle against aggressive play, but it can still prevail.

The Kocon defense's triangular pawn structure is one of the strongest in Chess.

The human intuition plays a significant role in evaluating Chess positions, even over engine evaluations.

The Kocon defense's success at lower levels is attributed to its solid structure and patience.

The video analyzes games to demonstrate how the Kocon defense overcomes uncontrolled aggression.

The Kocon defense is not easy to master and requires a solid understanding of positional play.

The video encourages viewers to adopt the Kocon defense as a way to improve their Chess skills.

Transcripts

I discovered something insane from 400

rating all the way up to 2,000 the only

opening where black actually has a

higher win rate than white is the kocon

defense and after days of digging deep I

think I figured out why but to

understand the answer we have to travel

back to the 19th century during what's

known as the romantic era of Chess an

era marked by bold and audacious moves

brutal sacrifices and aggressive

openings like

these players like the American Prodigy

Paul morphe dominated with their wild

tactical genius then came William

steinitz the youngest of Taylor Joseph

Shin's 13 Sons he learned to play Chess

at age 12 and later moved to the United

States but he couldn't keep up with the

Tactical chaos so he took a completely

different approach schin played

positionally favoring quiet openings

over aggressive gambits instead of

throwing Pieces away for a flashy attack

he focused on Pawn structure kept all

his material intact and won easily in

the end

games his calm methodical sty is

identical to the philosophy of the kocon

defense and his dominance was so

overwhelming it's said to have put an

end to the romantic era of Chess but why

am I telling you about these ancient

players because I believe the romantic

era is still alive today it lives on in

the style and attitude of players rated

below 2,000 chaos rains on the board

gambits are

everywhere but here's the catch they all

seem to lose to the carocon defense some

patterns are just too strange to ignore

so in this video we're going to study

three examp example games that show how

this reserved opening seems to triumph

over uncontrolled aggression and in true

old school fashion our first game will

pit two chess Legends against each other

two legends who in terms of Chess style

couldn't be more different tall with the

white pieces played E4 an opening that

aligns well with his daring attacking

style and tactical Brilliance he was

known as the Magician of Ria for a

reason but on the black pieces was miky

binc the most principled of chess

players methodical the kind of guy that

checks his stool three times a week to

make sure all is in order he believed

preparation beats intuition patience

beats creativity and with a calm reply

of C6 in game 18 of the world

championship match of 1961 a clash of

two opposites was well underway in

Moscow D4 by tall was met with D5

challenging the center and if you're an

aggressive player with the white pieces

E5 is the move for you it gains kingside

space and sets the stage for a ferocious

attack but the kocon is a solid defense

and the aidea is to build a solid

triangular Pawn structure that will hold

steady against any attack white throws

at you but before binc does that he

plays Bishop F5 so his light squared

Bishop isn't stuck inside the pyramid

that is solid kocon principle but tall

wasn't going to let binc dictate the

pace of the game he played H4 launching

a quick kingside Pawn storm why if you

watched part three of my previous video

about Pawn storms you know why but this

wildly aggressive move comes with a

hidden threat if if black blindly

continues with his plan of E6 he will

lose his light squared Bishop if you

want to figure out how pause the video

now the idea is G4 hitting the bishop

and after Bishop E4 F3 by white means

the only safe square is G6 but after H5

you'd be surprised by the number of

kocon players that fall into this trap

every single day the move H4 has proven

to be so effective it is now known as

The Tall variation of the kocon defense

but binik wasn't going to fall for it on

this day he played H6 creating a safe

Square for his Bishop on H7 but after G4

he gets second thoughts and plays Bishop

D7 I'm guessing he was worried about the

move E6 but viik is not going to ruin

his Pawn structure even if you offered

him a free Pawn for it he was that type

of player and after C3 and C5 on move

seven of the game we see the first white

piece move wild tall was that type of

player but viek defends his Pawn with

the move V6 but that leaves him with a

bit of an issue this is a bad Bishop

that's a bishop with limited movement

because it is in the same color complex

as your Pawn chain so after Knight E2 B

venc pushes to exchange his bad Bishop

for tall's Knight we are witnessing

world champion level positional

understanding at play but tall's

aggressive style comes with the belief

that Bishops will always be better than

Knights so he welcomes The Exchange in

fact he helps it happen with the move

Knight A3 so takes takes and after takes

takes the question is would binc give up

yet another Bishop for a knight just so

he can ruin White's Pawn structure the

answer is yes takes takes and this is

the position on the board white has the

bishop pair Advantage but he has

terrible pawns these are doubled pawns

this is a backward Pawn weakness and it

can be argued that these are

overextended so will T use his Bishop

pair to launch a devastating attack or

will he lose slowly in a quiet end game

Knight C6 black immediately attacks

White's Pawn weakness Bishop E3 protects

and queen A5 check eyes another one of

White's multiple Pawn weaknesses but he

is not in a hurry to capture it this is

the opening and binc is developing his

pieces I personally would be all over

that pawn but binc is as principled as

they come tall plays Rook B1 attacking

Black's Pawn but instead of going for

complications BV calmly plays Rook B8

protecting his B7 Pawn chaos is the last

thing you want as a carocon player

especially if your opponent is miky tall

Bishop H3 is played creating a square

for the king to occupy and be in some

form of pseudo castled position here you

would think the next move for a

principled player like binc is to Castle

and ensure his King's safety but in some

positions the king might be safer in the

center than on the king side this is one

of those positions because as soon as

binia castles the pawns the Rooks the

Bishops and the queen will descend

mercilessly upon Black's King tall is

praying for the move castles and but

venc knows it so he continues to tickle

tall's weak spots by playing Queen A4

attacking the D4 Pawn after Rook D1

protecting black captures on A3 and he

is now a pawn up which to bvc is enough

of an advantage to take to the end game

so after King G2 but viik plays Queen A6

asking for a queen trade and Tall

obliges takes takes and Tall advances

his kingside pawns the attacking idea

Remains the Same so but venc

intelligently places his King on D D7 an

endgame principle if the Queens are off

the board and there is no risk of

getting mated the king is much better

placed in the center than in the corner

because in an end game the time your

king takes to get in on the action will

likely be the difference between a win

draw or a loss sometimes it comes down

to one move you would know that if any

of your games ever made it to the end

game but the theme of allout attack rign

Supreme in 1,000 rated chess games and I

guess I made this kocon video to prove

to you that if you defended your king

like how you defend Donald Trump you

would be well above 2,000 Lo at this

point anyway white plays Rook B1

challenging Black's control of the B

file but if tall wants to trade Rooks

thank you for fixing my doubled pawns

tall who I bet is fuming at B vinik's

attention to Minor Details and

conservative style in general advances

his King to Aid these Pawns in the

attack but vinc on the other hand is in

pure positional mode he notices that his

two knights are somewhat superfluous

what does that word mean comment below

if you've been studying a lot of Chess

and I will pin it for everyone to see

anyway but vinc identifies the square C4

as a beautiful Outpost for the Knight

and plays Knight A5 white responds by

exchanging Rooks fixing Black's Pawns in

the process and then playing F4 this is

not the middle game position tall had in

mind coming into this world championship

game and Knight C4 is how but ginuk

shows us the superiority of the Knight

over the bishop in these static

positions Bishop C1 is played and Knight

C6 attacks White's Pawn on C4 how would

you defend it there is only one logical

move the Rook is now stuck protecting

the C4 weakness and here is a quick

positional trick to use in your games if

you ever have a three-point piece

holding down a five-point piece in a

standoff you are essentially two points

of material ahead of your opponent and

you should be looking to use your

temporary material superiority to your

advantage I personally would be pushing

these pawns forward looking to create an

extra problem for white to deal with but

binia cops for Knight before luring this

Pawn to capture A3 places the pawn under

the protection of the bishop but Knight

A2 seeks to trade that Bishop

immediately F5 takes takes but black has

to be careful here this is not a free

Pawn that's because Knight takes A3 will

be met by Rook A1 Knight C4 and all of a

sudden White's Rook infiltrates and gets

ready to cause all sorts of problems on

these two ranks that's how easily a win

can slip away in a game of chess but B

is not the type to succumb to Greed he

simply played B5 and this is a dream

position for every kocon player the game

is not decided by a huge explosive

attack but by a cold and calm

exploitation of all your opponent's

minute mistakes tall plays Rook A1

protecting his Pawn but do you remember

the positional trick I told you about it

is in BC's interest to keep this Knight

and Rook standoff and he does just that

King E7 shifts Focus to the king side

where this measly Bishop is set to go

toe-to-toe with this monster of a piece

why does the kocon have the highest win

rate you ask imagine unleashing this

level of detail oriented psychopathy on

your fellow 1200s you're going straight

to Hell King F4 is followed by Rook C8

after which G5 initiates a series of

captures Rook C6 is played by bvc daring

any piece to enter the sixth rank King

back to F4 tall at this point is fuming

on the inside and after Rook H6 and

Bishop G4 protecting the H5 Pawn but

viik won't make the mistake of tying

down his five-point Rook to a

three-point Bishop he Ops out of the

pawn debate but his destination Square

means that white can now free his Rook

Rook C1 and this Pawn cannot be captured

The Rook would be hanging so after 40

moves of solid and principled chess but

vinc decides to play for a trick F6 and

an already frustrated tall Falls for it

pawn takes pawn pawn takes and then

Knight takes E5 is a huge blow to White

surprisingly neither of of these two

pieces are hanging The Rook is protected

by the Knight and the Knight cannot be

captured because this Rook is hanging

black is too clean pawns ahead in an end

game at GM level this is game over tall

plays a few more moves and then puts an

end to his misery he resigned and in the

following days went on to lose the world

championship title to binc a brilliant

portrayal of the strength of the kocon

defense at the elite level but how does

the kocon fa at lower levels E4 C6 and

F4 is on the board

this 2,100 rated leeches player has

turned to aggression as early as move

two but in pure kocon Spirit his

opponent who I hope is doing okay

wherever he is replies with D5 an

instant strike at the center E5 is

played by white bypassing the central

conflict and marching his Pawn straight

toward Black's King the kocon defense is

in for a tough test in this game but

after Knight H6 it seems it is in the

hands of an expert every time there is a

Pawn on F4 or something shielding the

view of this dark squared Bishop this

route becomes an option for developing

the Knight Knight F3 is met by Bishop G4

moving the bishop out in preparation for

E6 which after the weird move D3 is

played completing the triangle of Pawns

this is the strongest shape in nature

there's a reason why the pyramids are

still standing today it's basic high

school physics I could teach you but I

don't want to alienate my fellow South

African viewers

[Music]

they ain't here for none of that anyway

white plays a move on the queen side

because Black's grip on these two

squares has put his kingside dreams to a

complete halt after Knight F5 and Bishop

E2 Queen B6 is played by black eyeing

all the dark squares in White's Camp

simple development and a solid Pawn

structure black is putting on a kocon

master class after the move d4 the

engine gives a minus 1.3 Advantage for

black it's gone through thousands of

variations and moves into the future to

come up with that evaluation but as a

human being how can you evaluate which

side is better in a particular chest

position well you have something that

the computer doesn't feel or should I

say intuition in this position

everything seems equal except for these

two pieces this is White's bad Bishop it

has virtually no movement because it's

stuck in the same color complex as its

pawns this is Black's bad Bishop but the

difference is that it's outside the pawn

chain and is of more use than its white

counterpart by virtue of that with just

one glance at the position you can feel

that black is better without calculating

numerous lines what's the average

lifespan of a stand-up comedian in North

Korea I don't know but I have a feeling

about it that's that highlevel intuition

the human brain is awesome and so is the

move C5 in this position it seeks to

undermine White's Pawn structure but

also sets up a sneaky trap and white

Falls for it all black has to do is

eliminate this Defender and this Pawn is

up for grabs a series Ser of captures

occurs after which Bishop takes F3

leaves White's Pawn undefended but white

still has to be careful here it's easy

to go from a bad position to totally

lost in just one move Bishop D1 is

correct black develops his bishop and

after Knight C3 and castles he is a

clear Pawn up with more developed pieces

and an active Rook white can feel the

game slipping away so he decides to lash

out with G4 hoping to create some

kingside chaos and rely on his Bishop

pair to prove Superior to Black's

Knights but Knight C6 leaves white with

a difficult question where to put the

king castling deflects this rook and

defeats the purpose of the pawn storm

also it loses immediately to Knight C2 a

discovered check that will capture a

free rook on the next move so after some

thought white awkwardly plays King D2

and it's met instantly with the thrust

B5 the engine recommends H4 for white

boldly sticking to his original plan but

white chickens out and plays A3 thinking

it stops the B4 Pawn Advance it doesn't

capturing before loses on the spot a

painful realization white plays Knight

A4 hitting the bishop which retreats to

E7 in the next few moves white achieves

absolutely nothing and worsens his

position by playing B3 because after B5

the only retreating Square for the

Knight cuts off the protection of this

Pawn black takes and after the Knight

retreats to D3 black plays B4 he is now

two pawns up but these aren't just

normal pawns they're protected past

Pawns this is an advanced protected past

Pawn the ultimate form of a pawn its

power is over 9,000 white blockades it

with Rook A2 but if you remember the

trick I told you about earlier this is a

five-point piece tied down to a

one-point Pawn no bueno but it's even

worse because Knight A5 leaves white

helpless to protect the pawn so takes

takes takes and now the bishop is under

Fire it fleas to E3 and we should take a

moment to appreciate the effectiveness

of the kocon style of play no while

attacks on the king no fancy sacrifices

just a calm dismantling of your

opponent's ego one move at a time a

quick win is always nice but sometimes

you just want to take your time and

watch as your opponent slowly descends

into hopelessness move by move I'm a

good person I swear anyway Rook C6 is

played and in the following moves black

converts the position by trading pieces

and advancing his

pawns that didn't stop white from

setting one final trap though Rook C 1

leaves the Knight undefended and black

Falls for it except the bishop simply

retreats to f8 in case of any back rank

Shenanigans those two seconds of Hope

are what kill you on the inside white

resigns just in time for us to come full

circle and find out what happens when

1,000 rated players go toe-to-toe in

kocon defense Waters E4 by Steven a

strong leeches player who it seems had a

rough day at the office yesterday faces

the kocon defense at the hands of a

player named Michael who I'm assuming

was born on December 5th 1995 take good

care of your password sir anyway white

expands with D4 and black replies with

D5 asking a question of White Center

White goes for the advanced variation

and after Bishop F5 C3 and E6 are we

about to witness Flawless kokan play at

1,000 rating no unfortunately calm and

patient is not the way of the 1000s C5

is played and after the Bishops are

exchanged

Black's Pawn structure is in mild

disarray but white plays B3 I think the

idea is to go Bishop A3 and then capture

on C5 a terrible plan you don't want to

spend two moves to make a threat that

can be parried by one move these are the

kinds of small mistakes that accumulate

into a bad position but black replies in

kind playing Knight E7 a blunder it

leaves the C5 Pawn hanging but somehow

this blunder is the best move in the

position if white takes C5 not only only

does he ruin his beautiful Pawn

formation but he also won't keep the

extra Pawn after a move like Knight

C6 Knight E7 is a 2,500 level move these

1,000s are out of control white develops

a knight preparing to Castle and black

plays yet another engine recommended

move but after Bishop E3 the move F6

brings us back to 1,000 L land I

wouldn't be looking to open the center

if I had an unced King like this one

that's how you get M it on move none

but takes takes is met by castling and

after Bishop D6 it looks like Black's

King will be safe after all but at the

expense of a pawn a pawn which white

doesn't capture due to circumstances

Beyond his control black takes the

chance to trade it and surely now he

will castle and bring his King to safety

no Bishop C7 first because at 1,000 Lo

the queen belongs on D6 aiming at the H2

Square drooling waiting for the Knight

to move white sees through this plan and

plays G3 defending against a threat that

hasn't even been made yet so black

castles and goes back to the drawing

board but why am I analyzing such a

terrible game you ask the truth is the

kocon is not an easy opening to master

don't be fooled by how easy the previous

kocon players made it look most of your

games will be as chaotic as this one if

not more and that's okay I feel it's

better to learn a solid opening on which

you can track your long-term progress

than to give in the chaos and play your

latan or chimpanzee gambits which you

will abandon as soon as you hit

1,500 let me know what you think anyway

after all that speculation white finally

reveals the brilliant idea behind

G3 Knight H4 offers a trade of knights

takes takes and instead of capturing the

pawn with the queen which I think would

have worked marvelously black makes his

intentions obvious by playing Queen D6

even my little brother with the IQ of a

dead baboon can see these two pieces are

up to no good f F4 is played instantly

but black has one more trick left in the

tank H6 Knight D2 and G5 enticing white

with a free Pawn takes takes and takes

is the kind of Happiness only a dirty

chess player is familiar with Queen

takes H2 brings us to the end of my

attempt to introduce you to a different

style of play if you find it interesting

this is where you can start your kocon

journey you can also join my patreon

where I will be posting my kocon

speedrun early next week take care of

your pets and see you on the other side