Identifying Critical Moments in Chess by NM Ben Johnson Chessable (Release 26 August 2024)

Chess Games Are Won or Lost
Through These 5 Critical Moments
— Here’s How to Ace Them

Identifying Critical Moments in Chess sharpens your senses for those game-deciding, pivotal positions. So you can think more when it matters most, find the only path to an edge, while avoiding time troubles and blunders.

The clock ticks non-stop as your average chess game runs for 40 hard-fought moves.

You can’t analyze all of them to a definitive conclusion.

But you can capitalize on those moments, when a clear best move exists. A chance to seize the initiative with a series of threats… punish over-aggression by the opponent… or win tons of material.

National Master Ben Johnson has identified 5 such critical moments in his first Chessable course.

Johnson was a former National High School Champion, a USCF Master, and the founder of the Perpetual Chess Podcast.

Since 2016, he’s been picking the brains of the biggest names in the game, including Grandmaster Vishy Anand (5-time World champion), Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (5-time US champion) and International Master Levy Rozman (“the Internet’s chess teacher”)… Uncovering their secrets to mastery.

In Identifying Critical Moments in Chess, Johnson teaches you one of the key skills which often come up in his interviews.

The same which helped him…

Gain 100 Rating Points Against
Increasingly Stronger Players, Even
With Limited Study Time

That’s because when you can sense “the moment,” you’d know when to move fast, when to slow down to think more. So good time management and more precise tactics often follow!

In the first chapter, Johnson teaches you how to tell whether or not your position demands a closer look.

🎯 Calculating deep but coming up empty? Snap out of the trance by asking this question.

🎯 Then run the position through the 4 “criticality checks.”

From chapters 2 to 7, Johnson explains the 5 types of critical moments and how to achieve the best outcome… Both when defending and pressing the advantage.

Discover:

🎯 How to call the bluff of a higher-rated opponent. Follow these 3 steps in chapter 2, and leave them with the burden of proof — if there’s any!

White’s 200-rating-point advantage “on paper”
is ripped to shreds, after Black calls their
bluff to net an extra piece!

🎯 The maximum amount of time to spend proving or refuting a sacrifice. So you can assess your chances accurately, without burning through your clock.

🎯 Why adult improvers are especially prone to miss winning material.

🎯 The 3 symptoms of the Fancy Play Syndrome — how to punish them and bank an extra pawn or piece.

19.Bh6?! is Fancy Play symptom #3.
See the rest and how to exploit
them in chapter 3.

🎯 This ‘trigger’ move in chapter 4, which alerts you to incoming attacks.

🎯 How to play devil’s advocate like a 2-time US champion, and uncover “impossible” tactics.

🎯 Plus, sections on using mating threats, vulnerable back-ranks, and endgame transitions to gain the advantage.

Finally, in chapters 8 and 9, sets of mixed puzzles help you distinguish non-critical and critical moments apart.

So even when facing a strong, determined opponent — you stay cool as a cucumber, and carry out the techniques from the course.

Everything you’re getting inside are key to spotting the decisive moments in your games… pouncing on winning opportunities the instant they appear… and avoiding time-trouble-induced blunders.