Chess Videos

      What about Igor Smirnov courses? Smirnov is a good salesman! He offers a ton of courses promising amazing results, usually at fairly hefty prices, but are they as good as he claims? His Remote Chess Academy offers courses like The Grandmaster’s Secrets-Learn and implement the most essential principles of chess. The course GM’s Secrets will show you how to think like a strong player step-by-step. Cost $57

      Calculate Till Mate-No fluff and no hype – “CALCULATE TILL MATE” is a COMPLETE and UNIQUE 3-in-1 training system that will sharpen your tactics, calculation, and visualization skills like no other chess book, DVD, or training program could. Cost $149

      The Grandmaster’s Positional Understanding-Learn everything about Chess Strategy, GM’s Positional understanding, a beginner chess course which will take your chess play to the next level. Cost $139

      Grandmaster Secrets is a basic course about positional play and one average player who bought is advised on one forum that it in no way compared to Silman's book How to Reassess Your Chess which is available for under $25.

      The general consensus of opinion is that while Smirnov has some sound ideas, the courses offer little in actual content. Watching videos may give some good ideas, but they are no substitute for grabbing a chess set and digging into a good book. I have talked to a few people who have tried various videos and so far none have actually improved significantly, but, come to think of it, the same could be said of books. The real problem is, truth be told, most “students” lack the gumption to put in hours of hard work, preferring instead to look for shortcuts and “secrets.”

      
 If you like videos, Smirnov does have some teaser stuff on his Youtube channel. There is also some other good chess content on Youtube and you may want to check out some of them listed HERE. Two of my personal favorites on Youtube are majnu and kingscrusher. I also recommend chessvideos as they have some excellent training videos by various National Masters, etc.  IM Greg Shahade also offers some pretty good Youtube lectures.