Garry Kasparov MasterClass review

What separates a chess enthusiast from a world champion?

In Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass, you’ll get a chance to learn from the icon himself. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a curious beginner, this MasterClass promises to sharpen your thinking.

But can Kasparov’s teaching truly elevate your chess game? In this Garry Kasparov MasterClass review, we’ll dissect the course content, see what others have said,  and explore alternatives, so you can decide whether this MasterClass is really worth the investment.

But if you’re short on time, here are the highlights:

About Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov needs no introduction in the world of chess. His achievements speak for themselves:

• Youngest undisputed World Chess Champion, crowned in 1985 at the age of 22
• Reigned as World Chess Champion, outranking his fiercest rivals for over 20 years since
• Held the no. 1 world ranking from 1984 until his retirement in 2005

In this MasterClass, Kasparov will share his insights, strategies, and thought processes, helping you elevate your own game.If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend checking out the trailer for Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass:

About MasterClass

Imagine learning culinary skills from Gordon Ramsay, mastering film composition from Martin Scorsese, or honing your acting skills from Hollywood icon Samuel L. Jackson. MasterClass offers you the opportunity to learn from the masters themselves.

Whether you’re an aspiring chess prodigy or writer, MasterClass boasts a vast library of 200 courses to cater to a wide range of interests.

In this collaboration, MasterClass offers a rare opportunity to learn the intricacies of the game from chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

An inside look into Garry Kasparov's MasterClass

This MasterClass consists of:

• 29 exclusive video lessons spanning a total of 7 hours
• A downloadable workbook with additional context and definitions for more advanced chess terminology that Garry uses
• Downloadable Portable Game Notations (PGNs)

Lessons 2-5: Fundamentals, Double Attacks, and Skewers

Garry opens with the idea that there is no universal strategy when it comes to chess. He focuses on the importance of timing in chess and knowing the vital moments.

He also shares why pattern recognition gives you an upper hand in chess.

In these lessons, he shows:

• Psychological distractions against your opponent
• Making your opponent less comfortable
• How a simple attack can decide the game
• Examples of sacrificing pieces for your ultimate victory
• How you can defend yourself against a double attack

“Don’t try to play the game against your natural instincts.” – Garry Kasparov

Lesson 6-8: Discovered Attacks, Pins, and Deflection/Attraction

Garry recalls his game in 1991 against Gelford in Paris. It was fascinating to see him reconstruct the board position from a game decades ago.

In these lessons, Kasparov reveals:

• The dangers of a discovered attack and how even top players can miss this move
• The deadliest form of a double attack
• Opportunities for surprising counterattacks through relative pins
• How to induce a piece to move to a square it might not want to occupy

Lesson 9-11: Interference, Overload, and Winning Trades

These lessons are Kasparov’s top-rated lessons in MasterClass.

Garry shows the classic cases of interference, a tactic that disrupts the harmony of the enemy’s position and cuts communication lines between enemy pieces.

He also shows:

• How you can combine interference with other tactics
• Ways to force an overloaded piece to abandon one of its responsibilities
• The deadliest and most effective form of overload
• Combinations of tactics from previous videos in a simple move that can change the whole game

“[A] good trade could be a very powerful tool to advance your cause, to improve your position, and to cause sudden damage for your opponent.” —Garry Kasparov

Lesson 12-14: Endgames

The richest part of this course is Garry Kasparov’s dedication to six separate videos on endgames and openings alone.

Garry devotes three parts to endgame techniques, sharing that many Soviet chess trainers emphasized endgame study early on to teach the power of the pieces.

While endgames can sound complicated at first blush, especially for beginners, Garry explores:

• The clarity and simplicity required in endgame strategies
• Direct, distant, and diagonal opposition techniques
• Tactical motifs for pawn and rook endgames
• Creative and counterintuitive moves that can save seemingly lost positions
• Method for checkmating with a bishop and knight and the role of the king
• Using one piece to restrict the movement of an opposing piece
• The combination of the concepts of zugzwang and stalemate

He also shows how small advantages can be decisive in the final phase of the game and how minor inaccuracies can lead to significant consequences.

Ultimately, Garry emphasizes the importance of reducing complexity to focus on fundamental principles.

Lesson 15-17: Openings

Is there a piece of universal advice on openings?

In these lessons, Garry emphasizes the importance of having diverse opening strategies in your repertoire. He explains:

• How to find a psychologically and strategically satisfying opening
• Strategies for turning the tables when opponents use your preferred openings against you
• The concept of Tabiya and its significance in opening theory
• Why sharp openings like Sicilian or Grunfeld are not for those who lack the time for study
• The importance of creativity in chess openings

Even though Garry has built a database of almost 20,000 different analyses of various openings, he encourages players to stay open to new ideas.

Lesson 18-21: Simul

In these videos, Garry Kasparov simultaneously plays against three players with ratings of 1266, 1515, and 2103.

He then dedicates a video for each player to analyze their game individually in a conversational manner, touching on tactics, strengths, and how players could’ve handled different situations differently.

Lesson 22-23: Case Studies of Opening and Endgame

These lessons take a different form from his usual MasterClass format. 

In Kasparov’s case studies of an opening and an endgame, he demonstrates:

• An analysis of various scenarios for the students
• How chess borrows the concept of tempo from music
• The mechanics of Evans Gambit, an aggressive opening he used against his 1995 tournament game with Viswanathan Anand in Latvia
• Why players should employ a more aggressive strategy when learning
• The importance of regularly reviewing essential endgame positions

Lesson 24-25: Garry’s Journey and How to Analyze

Garry chronicles his rise in the world of chess, recounting how his gift manifested in his childhood and how he learned by watching his parents play and solving chess problems in the newspaper.

His more structured lessons end in these last six videos.

He delves less into the technical aspects of chess and more into the soft skills and habits to strengthen players.

He encourages:

• Analyzing your own games relentlessly and finding your own weaknesses
• Noting your mistakes and owning up to them
• Considering and improving on flawed decision-making processes that produced disadvantages in the game

He warns against clinging to past successes.

Lesson 26-29: Computers and Chess, Mental Toughness, Closing, and a Bonus Lesson

Garry addresses the role of machines in aiding players’ study of the game of chess. But despite their entanglement in the lives of players today, he insists that chess is a psychological game in which players’ emotions affect their game. 

He insists that:

• Competing against human players avoids diminishing your creative thinking skills
• Spending decades closely examining chess is a significant part of what makes chess deeply enriching

He then shares, with strokes of vulnerability, how he persists in mental toughness during mistakes he’s made in his career and encourages all players to keep improving.

What I liked about Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass 

Interactive and varied formats

Garry describes the way he plays chess as dynamic and states that he aimed for his MasterClass to reflect that as well, and I think he delivers.

This course would take breaks from the more formal lessons to show Garry’s strategies live in action, and he weaves passionate storytelling with demonstrations, analyses, and a live game.

As somebody who takes courses in MasterClass, it was refreshing for me to see how this course also allows you to interact every time Garry showed a board position and paused so you can think about how you would handle a situation.

Rather than being a passive viewer, this MasterClass encourages active participation from students in an intellectually stimulating way.

Expansive downloadable resources

While other MasterClass courses only have class guides as a companion, Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass also comes with Portable Game Notations along with an expansive class guide that also serves as a workbook to enhance learning.

His class guide goes beyond simply reviewing the lessons and provides illustrated exercises to provoke critical and creative thinking, additional pages for students to jot down notes, and recommendations of learning resources for further reading.

Contagious enthusiasm

Despite retiring in 2005, Garry’s passion for chess remains fiery, and I found it engaging to watch him recount board positions from his games from over a decade ago and speak the language of chess to a broad audience, not just professional players.

Throughout the course, Garry was encouraging to players of all levels, whether you’re watching his MasterClass to play with family or compete in tournaments.

What I think could be improved

Adding analyses of modern games

Kasparov’s analyses of recent high-level chess matches would be a timely and relevant addition to his vivid analyses of his own past games.

Real-world preparation tips

A bulk of the course focuses on tactics and strategies, and Garry also devotes a substantial amount of time to delve into the psychological aspects of chess.

A helpful addition to his MasterClass would’ve been sections covering practical tips in preparing for competitive games and developing study routines. 

Who is this course for?

Anyone who's interested in improving their chess game will benefit from this MasterClass, but I think this course is best for the following people:

• Developing players: The course covers core chess concepts but also techniques to solidify your foundation and climb the rating ladder.
• Kasparov fans: If you're fascinated by Kasparov's skills, this is a unique opportunity to learn directly from a chess icon.

How much does Garry Kasparov's MasterClass cost?

Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass can be accessed through a subscription to the platform. Since MasterClass is a subscription-based platform, individual courses can't be purchased on their own.

MasterClass offers three membership tiers, all billed annually:

• Individual: $120 per year($10 per month) – This is the most basic plan which allows access to all courses on the platform on one device at a time.
• Duo: $180 per year ($15 per month) – This plan lets you share your membership with one other person, enabling access on two devices simultaneously.
• Family: $240 per year ($20 per month) – This subscription tier extends access to up to six devices, perfect for sharing with your household.

MasterClass also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee should you find yourself unsatisfied with your course.

If you sign up for a subscription and decide within 30 days that you're not satisfied, you can contact MasterClass support to get a full refund. 

Alternatives to Garry Kasparov's MasterClass

The Udemy course, The Complete Guide to Chess Tactics, goes more in-depth in strategies from opening to checkmating with over 21 hours of video lessons, which is thrice the length of Kasparov’s MasterClass.

It’s taught by Tryfon Gavriel, a FIDE Candidate Master and British Regional Chess Master.

He also has a variety of other chess courses, from chess calculations to positional chess.

For those who want to play in real-time while learning, ChessTempo is a popular resource.

It’s an online platform designed to help chess players of all levels improve their skills through a variety of training tools. That includes thousands of chess puzzles for tactics training, specific exercises for endgame scenarios, and tools for learning and practicing openings.

You can access a comprehensive database of annotated games, play against chess engines, and track your progress with a rating system.

Garry Kasparov's MasterClass: what others have said

My aim is to write the most in-depth MasterClass review, so I also wanted to include what others have said to have a well-rounded perspective.

Some users feel the course is more introductory than in-depth.

Sprcow of Reddit pointed out, “A total beginner who hasn't studied tactics would probably find the series fascinating, but then become lost quickly… whereas a 2k player might derive only limited value”, while also praising the course for introducing students to plenty of ideas.

Others feel that since there are a ton of free resources on chess out there, Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass is expensive since the platform requires a yearly subscription to access even just one class.

One Reddit commenter noted, “Probably there are cheaper options for much more material being aimed more specifically at your level, whatever it is.”

Kysono of Reddit mentioned, “The subscription is only worth it if you watch multiple other MasterClass courses as well.”

On the other hand, the course has been praised mostly for Garry’s personality and presentation.

Jseego on Reddit wrote on Reddit, “[T]he best thing (so far) is Kasparov himself. It's just fun to hear him describe the game, and talk about his unassailable perspective.”

Norman D’Souza, whose review has been featured on MasterClass, called it “an excellent class” covering basics to complicated positions.

Shane Orr praised Kasparov for sharing personal matches and unique tips, saying, “This is information you can’t find anywhere else.”

Overall, while the course may not be perfect for every level, its production quality, valuable insights from a chess legend, and engaging content make it a worthwhile investment for many chess enthusiasts.

Is the course content unique?

Chess is a very old game, and there are tons of resources and well-documented strategies on it.

What’s unique about this MasterClass is that it’s taught by Garry Kasparov, who reigned as world champion for two decades. There’s no other platform in which Garry is as expansive on his approach as in this MasterClass.

You’ll get inside the mind of Kasparov and see how he handles high-pressure situations and his approach in different scenarios.

Is Garry Kasparov's MasterClass worth it?

In my opinion, Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass is worth it if you are a beginner since this will expose you to a lot of ideas all at once and motivate you to apply an aggressive approach to leveling up your game.

But if you’re an advanced player, what you’ll get the most of this MasterClass is the experience of learning from one of the greatest chess minds in history, along with tips and tricks that you can pick up from Garry’s 

Overall, beginners and developing players will benefit the most from Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass inspirational teaching and foundational concepts, while advanced players will appreciate the strategic depth and historical perspective Kasparov provides.

The course’s blend of instructional content, game analysis, and personal anecdotes makes it a compelling resource for anyone looking to improve their chess skills and gain insight into the mind of a chess legend.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass cost?

A MasterClass all-access pass costs $120 a year ($10 a month). This gives you access to Garry Kasparov’s MasterClass, alongside 200+ other courses.

How long is Garry Kasparov's MasterClass?

The Garry Kasparov MasterClass on chess is 7 hours and 20 minutes long and spans 30 video lessons.

Can you get Garry Kasparov's MasterClass for free?

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to access Garry Kasparov’s entire MasterClass for free currently. MasterClass offers paid memberships that grant access to all their courses, including Kasparov’s, and offers refunds if you’re not happy.

Can I get a refund if I don’t like Garry Kasparov's MasterClass?

MasterClass offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on their membership. If you sign up for a subscription and decide within 30 days that you're not satisfied, you can contact MasterClass support to get a full refund.