Premium Chess Courses: The ICC Premium Chess Mega Bundle
Looking for ways to improve your chess rapidly and start beating everybody at your local club or in tournaments?
From openings to chess tactics, whether you’re a beginner or advanced player, the ICC Premium Chess Mega Bundle will provide you with what you need to help you achieve your chess goals.
Get your hands on over 540 hours of premium chess lessons from world-class presenters – plus a whole host of extras such as puzzles and PGN files.
Founded in 1995, ICC was one of the first premium chess sites on the internet. The Internet Chess Club (ICC) traces its roots to a small, loosely organized community of internet chess players going as far back as the 1980s.
The ICC Premium Chess Mega Bundle features an impressive line-up of world-renowned chess coaches including Grandmasters Boris Alterman, Ronen Har-Zvi, Alex Yermolinsky and Larry Christiansen. Also joining the line up are International Masters John Watson, Valeri Lilov, Danny Kopec, Christof Sielecki, and National Master Dan Heisman.
This Mega Bundle is a collection of the best premium chess courses ever produced by ICC and it represents an invaluable guide to increasing the chess strength of players of any level.
What’s included in this bundle?
Here’s what you’re getting with The ICC Premium Chess Courses Mega Bundle:
1. e4 Gambits – GM Boris Alterman (61+ Hours)
The ultra-sharp Evans Gambit
GM Boris Alterman reveals the tricks, tactics and winning ideas behind all gambits beginning with 1.e4.
If you’re looking to have more fun from your chess games and create more memorable games, start adding some gambits into your opening repertoire!
Chess gambits are openings which deliberately offer up a pawn (or more) in exchange for rapidly developing the pieces, starting an attack or getting a firm grip on the center. Played correctly, many of these gambits can lead to the opponent’s defeat in record time.
The late 1800s saw the rise of the ‘Romantic’ school of chess where swashbuckling attacks and killer sacrifices were the norms.
1.d4 Gambits (Bonus) – GM Boris Alterman (44+ Hours)
GM Boris Alterman explores the best 1.c4, 1.d4, 1.f4, and 1.Nf3 Gambits! Here’s just part of what’s included in this course:
The English Defense Gambit (4-part series)
The English Defense (with 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6) came into existence during the height of the so-called “English Chess Explosion” of the late 1970s and through the 1980s when it was championed successfully at the elite level by top English grandmasters such as Tony Miles, Ray Keene, Jon Speelman, and Nigel Short.
Albin Counter-Gambit (3-part series)
Invented nearly 90 years ago by the Austrian master Adolf Albin (1848-1920), the Albin counter-gambit (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e5!?) gives up a pawn for space in the center and is generally thought to be unsound – but Black has many tricks and traps to hold the balance.
The Benko Gambit (4-part series)
GM Boris Alterman explores the Benko Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5). Black’s counterplay is very durable compared to many other gambits, in that the queenside pressure can last well into the endgame. The idea to sacrifice a pawn with …b5 and …a6 was an old favorite of Czech master Karel Opocensky in the mid-1930s.
Tactics for Everyone Bundle – GM Ronen Har-Zvi (7 hours)
In this course, GM Ronen Har-Zvi tackles one of the most important parts of the game: Tactics. And he does this from a beginner and intermediate player’s perspective: everyone will be able to enjoy, learn and improve watching these videos.
Ronen “Indiana-Jones” Har-Zvi starts with “Tactics for Everyone” – a course on basic and not-so-basic tactics in chess – demonstrating how to take advantage of undefended pieces, with what is usually called a double-attack.
If you have loose pieces spread over the board for too many moves in a row, you’re bound to suffer from your opponent’s tactics, aimed to win material, if not the whole game.
Complete Chess Openings Repertoire – IM John Watson (32 hours)
If you are a chess player rated between 1200 and 2000 Elo and are tired of getting nothing out of the opening then you’re going to benefit from IM John Watson’s complete chess openings repertoire.
IM John Watson is an award-winning chess writer, coach, and opening theoretician praised for his emphasis on explaining key strategic ideas.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to memorize dozens of seemingly senseless moves then John’s course will come as a welcome relief!
Learning chess openings should be fun and teach you something new about chess too yet many players don’t even know where to start. This course changes that.
Essential Dan Heisman: From A to Zugzwang (50 hours)
Essential Guide to Middle Game Mastery – GM Boris Alterman
NM Dan Heisman is considered one of the most original and influential modern chess tutors, thanks to his clear-cut approach to chess improvement and his celebrity students including radio personality Howard Stern.
Dan’s award-winning articles, books, and video lectures have helped thousands of players better understand the game they love and achieve their chess ambitions.
Phrases like “hope chess” have become part of improvers’ vocabulary, drawing attention to a problem many were unaware of before.
Now, you can get all of Dan’s chess lessons in one 49+ hour pack, “Essential Dan Heisman: From A to Zugzwang”.
As the name suggests, this is a complete chess course covering every area of the game and every skill you need for success on the board.
Pawn Structures Explained for Club Players – IM Valeri Lilov (16 hours)
Central Pawn Structures Explained – Queenside Majority
IM Valeri Lilov presents the most comprehensive guide to pawn structure available today in the superb, 16-hour Pawn Structure Explained for Club Players.
Understanding how the pawn structure influences the game is the hallmark of a strong chess player but it’s often a mystery to club players.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a position where you’re running out of good moves but don’t know where you went wrong, you’ve probably misunderstood the pawn structure.
Pawn Structure Explained for Club Players will fix this and help you build positions where your pieces have all the activity while your opponent gradually gets squeezed off the board.
The Kopec Lectures: ALL Chess Lectures by IM Danny Kopec (7 hours)
If you’re rated in the 1400-2000 Elo range and are looking to get a lot stronger, there’s one man you should take advice from: IM Danny Kopec.
Very few strong players can communicate what they know in a way club players can benefit from – but IM Kopec was different.
See, IM Kopec was also Dr. Danny Kopec, a Ph.D. in Machine Intelligence and a pioneer in teaching computers how to play good chess. Yes, the same engines that are now way too strong for the world champion.
He was able to break down all the elements of strong chess play and teach both people and machines how to become great at them.
Every Russian Schoolboy Knows – The Best of Yermolinsky (43 hours)
Since 2011, GM Alex Yermolinsky has been holding the ERSBK show on the Internet Chess Club, offering game analysis “Russian style”, providing valuable insight into many aspects of the game with several miniseries on openings, middlegame play and plenty of endings, which is at the heart of this series.
What you’ll find in this package is a compilation of Yermolinsky’s best material. We’ve hand-picked the most valuable and instructional videos produced over the years (2011 to 2015).
You’ll be able to watch Yermolinsky unravel the many endings that players must know: Rook endings (5 videos), Opposite-colored bishop endings (4 videos), Same-colored bishop endings (4 videos), Pawn endings (5 videos), Bishop vs. Knight endings, and a lot more.
YOU GET 43 HOURS OF YERMOLINSKY’S BEST CHESS INSTRUCTION!
Follow the series through the years, as GM Yermolinsky also goes over great material in the opening, in particular, The King’s Indian Defense.
Essential Guide to Middle Game Mastery – GM Boris Alterman (+34 hours)
If you’re aiming at reaching master level, or are chasing the dream of a major boost in your rating, this video series is a must.
Nowadays, everyone is super prepped up in openings. You might be too, and you’re likely getting good positions out of them, but it’s in the middlegame where battles are decided.
In this magnificent video series, GM Alterman (Elo 2611) carefully takes you through all the key aspects and secrets of middle game play.
In this series, you’re not only going to learn the essentials of middlegame play, but you’re also you’re going to master critical topics such as:
The Positional Sacrifice: When a quiet sacrifice can create permanent and lasting damage to your opponent’s position.
The Art of Defense: You’ll learn all the resources you have at your fingertips to deflect your rivals’ attack with 6 videos on this often-ignored but hugely important topic.
Strong Outposts: Find out not only how to create strong outposts, but why they are important and how you can exploit them.
Opposite-side Castling Attacks: Always exciting, but hard to master, GM Alterman shows you how to create and win these attacks when speed is everything and your opponent is also launching their own plans.
And so much more!
Build your Opening Repertoire – GM Alex Yermolinsky (24 hours)
The subject of this course is how to build an opening repertoire. The target viewer is rated somewhere around 1700 USCF, but anyone from around 1300 Elo to near Expert level will find it useful.
How do we choose our openings? Do we just emulate our favorite player? Do we find the name cool? Obviously, our selection process has to be intelligent and individually tailored to our needs.
The sole purpose of the opening is to reach a middlegame position you like to play, are familiar with, and offers you good chances. A number of personality traits have to be considered, and, of course, absolute honesty is required when it comes to self-evaluating. Suppose you have made your selection. What do you do next? Start watching these videos to get a Grandmaster’s advice.
The course is divided into 34 training videos, offering around 24 hours of top-level instruction, by one of the most experienced teachers!
Heisman’s Endings Bundle by National Master Dan Heisman (16 hours)
National Master Dan Heisman, one of the most instructional chess coaches in the world, brings us this winning video collection on chess endgames.
Dan tackles the classics here, including the Lucena position and Pawn endings, but in this really useful series, Dan also focuses his attention on several different subjects, such as zugzwang, pawn promotion, technique, the all-important 7th rank, and more.
And NM Heisman also gives examples taken from amateur games, which illustrate brilliantly how the club player normally deals with endgames, and how it is possible to improve!
33 Chess Strategy Concepts that Took World Champions Down (19 hours)
ICC Chess Concepts – Improve your worst piece.
Are you tired of being outplayed by stronger opponents in tournaments? Are you ready to see your rating skyrocket like never before? If so, then we’ve got exactly what you need.
To beat a stronger player, you need to be ready to take advantage of any mistakes they could make throughout the game. This video series focuses on chess strategy concepts, ideas, and patterns that are essential to spot those opportunities.
IM Christof Sielecki demonstrates that even the strongest players in the world lose games against lower-rated players.
This series comes in with more than 200 sample positions and games that feature a world champion losing a game against a non-world champion, sometimes even against a clear underdog.
If even World Champions are taken down when they do not follow the correct chess strategy concepts, but the opponent does, why not your next opponent in your next tournament?
The Trompowsky Attack Package (12+ hours)
The Trompowsky Attack with 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 – named after the Brazilian master Octavio Trompowsky (1897 – 1984) – is a great choice when you want to spring a surprise on your opponent when you might feel your game is getting predictable.
If you want to play the Trompowsky Attack (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) you must know that this opening is very popular at the club/tournament level and regularly gets played by GMs too.
Here are some of the benefits of playing the Trompowsky Attack:
- It’s a flexible opening system for White
- It forces players expecting 2.c4 to think very early
- It immediately challenges Black’s first move
Despite its popularity, if you play the Trompowsky, it will still come as a surprise to many players who respond to 1.d4 with 1…Nf6.
Mastering Pawn Play – GM Alex Yermolinsky & IM John Watson (23 hours)
When evaluating a chess position, every Grandmaster considers four key factors: king safety, material count, the activity of the pieces, and pawn structure.
Most amateurs tend to pay too much attention to piece activity and material, and neglect assessing critical pawn play and pawn structures when deciding on their strategy.
How many times have you played what you thought was a good game, just to realize you’re now facing a lost ending?
Many of these endings are lost because players don’t truly understand pawn play and pawn structures. However, you can change that with this course and master the keys of pawn play.
Crucial topics are covered such as pawn chains, isolated pawns, doubled pawns, pawn endings and more.
The King’s Indian Defense (16 Part Series) – IM John Watson (8 hours)
Sixteen videos covering the main lines of this hypermodern defense. John Watson gives you a clear picture of how to play the King’s Indian Defense, covering the key concepts, the squares to fight for, and the most popular variations.
In doing so, John explains not only what Black’s objectives are, but White’s too!
In must-win situations, the Kings Indian Defense has been trusted by World Champions such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Mikhail Tal.
It’s a hypermodern defense, where Black builds a strong defense around the king and looks for counter-attacking chances in the middlegame.
With this course, you’ll get a complete picture of how to play this chess opening with confidence.
How to Play The Ruy Lopez + e4-e5 Compilation (36 hours)
For 1.e4 players, the most principled choice after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 has often been the Ruy Lopez with 3.Bb5.
As the World Chess Championship match unfolded between champion Magnus Carlsen and Russian challenger Sergey Karjakin in 2016, we couldn’t help but notice that the Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Opening) continued to be the preferred method of attack and defense at the elite level.
One of the oldest and most trusted openings, it originated in Spain by Ruy Lopez de Segura in 1561, and since then has always had a prominent role in the world of top-level chess. In fact, Anatoly Karpov once said that if you really want to get better at chess, you should strive to understand the Ruy Lopez from both sides.
At some point in a chess player’s career, you’ll need to try and master positional play and that’s where the Ruy Lopez fits the bill.
The ICC Premium Chess Mega Bundle is guaranteed to help you improve by focusing on a variety of topics including deep opening preparation, understanding of chess strategy, chess tactics, classic game analysis, endgame principles, and much more.