Understanding the Accelerated Dragon!! | Open Sicilian | GM Naroditsky's Theory Speed Run

00:00 Grünfeld is Busted?!?
02:55 intro
03:03 First Move
03:10 Game
24:11 Analysis
39:23 Example Game
41:52 Back to the Game

Background created using Stable Diffusion V2!

Edited by @ClydeBarber (check out some of my original music on YT)

#speedrun #grandmaster #chess #stablediffusion

[chibzyt]

Your teaching style is such a universal gift, Mr Danya, so good

[lukeh]

This is a small anecdote for anyone interested. I just play a game with the exact position and move order as 29:06 but I did not know the continuation. I naively played e5 instead of d5 and quickly got a much worse position - it felt right to strike the centre but I just didn't know the right way to go about it. After the game I had foggy memory that you covered this position at some point and knew that if I search through through this playlist I was sure to find it so that I could get some perspective from Daniel. And if you are reading it then you know I did indeed find it. I find these opening themed speedruns very helpful for learning so a thanks to Daniel that you have helped to improve at least one persons play ;)

[essaysandmore]

Something I really enjoy about these videos is the sense of positivity about the position. Chess can be pretty stressful if you feel like you're one thoughtless move away from throwing it all away. When I watch these videos, I always appreciate when you restate that "We have a good position" or similar sentiments. It puts me at ease compared to other GMs who keep saying that they "blundered" or "misplayed this" or "shouldn't have allowed that".

[kriszed]

Anyone who plays chess should know this is basically the best online lesson chess channel there is. So well explained, makes it sounds so easy and simple

[TheDestroyer]

Not half a mil, you deserve 10x that amount at least Danya with the amount of instructive content you have put out, all for free! Thank you so much for being the chess teacher we all need but don't deserve!

[KinG-tzcm]

Danya, I used to have a really big weakness when visualising lines, but watching every video you put out, seeing you calculate out longer sequences I suddenly realised today that I have a lot less trouble following along. I believe you are the best chess teacher on the internet, and I recommend your videos to everyone looking to improve. Keep doing what you're doing, I'm sure many people like myself are inspired by your hard work and dedication to teaching us this game :)

[AB-xhhi]

Danya at 7:51: "give me 30 seconds in silence". Danya at 7:53: *LOUD TALKING*. His own worst enemy.

[rpd]

GM Daniel I love your coaching style! So refreshing to get a sound, logical, honest & proven advice to improve at chess from you, that means studying & analysis & playing & not chasing quick & weaker ways to improve by not studying chess. Many thanks for your fine coaching & playing & best wishes ;-)

[dakotathomas]

Loved your 'opening' monolog here Danya. Just because a chess youtuber says you should or shouldn't do something is not the end all be all. Every chess player is different and should adapt themselves to the play in which most benefits them, and they most enjoy. Not EVERY single player needs to have the goal of reaching GM level. I feel like people who are relatively new to the chess community believe that they should just play the GM lines and openings, and that restricts soooo many people from enjoying the GAME of chess. Play whatever you want to play folks! Just have fun!!

[reidluttrell]

Understanding opening theory helps you I think in two ways. First of all it shows you the kind of thinking that goes into good chess play in general, and gets you used to the considerations if you actually understand the opening. Second of all it helps you even if your opponent has no idea about theory because you are able to evaluate positions based on comparisons to actual openings.

[sethchristian]

Internets number one chess intructor! Thank you Danya for all your hard work. You’ve made learning chess so enjoyable for me and in the year since joining this channel went from 1200-1800 just from watching your videos and understanding your thought process

[desmundreid]

I recently picked up the Sicilian myself and these videos are a wealth of knowledge to digest. I can't thank you enough for it. Amazing explanations!

[AndTSG]

Just wanted to let you know how much the speed run has influenced and inspired my repertoire. Went out and got the Wesley So e4 course with video and my Wesley impression has skyrocketed to native Filipino ESL levels. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Working on Ivanchuk theory next

[tombryant]

I'm not an expert (not yet but will be) at chess however I've read and collected chess books since 1972. Even wrote a chess column for the Kansas City Star in 1974.

And of course in over 50 years I've checked out instructors like Fischer, Spassky, and many others. My point is that DN is unreal great in my opinion.

He's the best commentator I've ever heard period. DN's commentary of the Hikaru vs Kasparov game was incredibly instructive but what makes Naroditsky a genius is his talent for getting inside the head of folks like Kasparov and articulating their thought processes!

I'm looking forward to reaching expert and beyond very quickly now.

[dasmilyshelf]

Danya makes learning openings, and chess in general, fun instead of boring

[whimsnickal]

Lovely bit of commentary 8 minutes in where Danya spends a minute or doing his best Hikaru impression: "If this then this, this, this, this... actually let's just castle". Great video as ever though, Danya, you have a special talent for teaching chess.

[tolkienfan]

I'm utterly convinced that memorizing positions and moves exercises some of the same gray matter needed for calculation, to the point where studying theory aids in learning to calculate more deeply and accurately.

[impishlyit]

Thanks for the intro bit, Danya! I'm far from as experienced as you masters that make such wonderful YouTube content, but my experience is that it really doesn't matter all that much which specific openings you pick as long as it either is reputable at a high level or (like the Stafford) has so many tricks and intricacies that learning the opening gives you a huge advantage over people who only know one or two lines. Just pick a solid repertoire and learn it, ignore what other people say about your opening unless you can incorporate some lines they know. Knowing the theory *at all* puts you above most of the people you'll face at your level, and most openings are pretty decent at a low- to mid-level.

[rhocrim]

As a 1800-2000 ish player, who has always loved learning opening theory, I’ve never understood the hate on teaching it to those who want to improve. Of course, players need to study their endgames and improve their middlegame senses (where I myself might lack), but I feel like learning openings in your 1000s gives you opportunities to reach positions that allow you to improve your technique

[sw_]

Hey Daniel, you should do a series where you face the highest level of Stockfish using various openings. Then analyze the game afterwards, explaining the ideas that Stockfish and you were trying to implement. I think it would be really fun and fascinating to watch Stockfish play against a grandmaster and then having a grandmaster who's also a great teacher like yourself explain all the ideas. Especially since some of the ideas Stockfish comes up with are completely counter-intuitive and can go against all basic principles. It could be a great learning experience for you and us and who knows, you might even win a game!