ChessTerra.com

The Cambridge Springs Defense, with GM Ben Finegold

June 3, 2026 ChessTerra Chess Lectures

♛

♛︎ ChessTerra Notes

Grandmaster Ben Finegold presents a lecture on the Cambridge Springs Defense, providing general opening theory followed by analysis of three master games. Viewers will examine practical examples featuring top players such as Ding Liren, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. This instructional video is ideal for tournament competitors and intermediate players wanting to expand their opening repertoire.

LevelIntermediateLength44 minChannelGMBenjaminFinegold

Cambridge Springs Defenseopening theorymaster games

Chapters

Ready to play?

Play and learn chess for free on Chess.com

Play on Chess.com →

From the creator — GMBenjaminFinegold

The Cambridge Springs Defense, with GM Ben Finegold
Recorded on May 20, 2026 in Roswell, GA

Games:
03:07 General discussion of the opening
13:32 Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa - Ding Liren, Chessable Masters 2022
29:55 Nihal Sarin - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, chess.com blitz 2020
36:59 Ding Liren - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Sportaccord Blindfold 2012

Sponsored by Filip Bém. Thank you Filip!

If you're interested in sponsoring a lecture of your choice, email Karen at karen@atlchessclub.com

Check out Ben's Chessable courses here! https://www.chessable.com/author/BenFinegold/

Signup or gift a chess.com Premium membership to get access to their lessons, remove ads, improve your chess, AND help Ben at the same time!! Upgrade your chess.com membership or join! - http://go.chess.com/finegold.

Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/itsBenAndKaren

Donations are appreciated at: https://streamlabs.com/itsBenandKaren/tip

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_finegold

Intro and concluding music: “Da Jazz Blues,” by Doug Maxwell; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mopxtd1dZM. Thank you Doug!

#benfinegold #chess #

Watch on YouTube ↗

Daily Puzzle

Loading the puzzle…

More daily puzzles →

♟ More videos — same channel

Besides Yourself, Who Would You Root for? #USChessChamps

Besides Yourself, Who Would You Root for? #USChessChamps

"Remove Games From the Tournament!" 😏 Wesley So on His Strategy 🔥♟️

"Remove Games From the Tournament!" 😏 Wesley So on His…

Guess our chess ELO 🤫

Guess our chess ELO 🤫

Rachael Li EXTENDS Lead by a Full Point! 🔥♟️ "Unbelievable!"

Rachael Li EXTENDS Lead by a Full Point! 🔥♟️ "Unbelievable!"

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

<div id="puzzlebot-container"></div>

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@chrisoakman/chessboardjs@1.0.0/dist/chessboard-1.0.0.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@chrisoakman/chessboardjs@1.0.0/dist/chessboard-1.0.0.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@chrisoakman/chessboardjs@1.0.0/dist/chessboard-1.0.0.polyfills.min.js"></script>

<script>
  var board = null;
  var game = new Chess();

  function onDragStart(source, piece, position, orientation) {
    // do not allow dragging when game is over
    if (game.game_over()) return false;

    // only allow white pieces to be dragged
    if (piece.search(/^b/) !== -1) return false;
  }

  function onDrop(source, target) {
    // see if the move is legal
    var move = game.move({
      from: source,
      to: target,
      promotion: "q" // always promote to a queen for example simplicity
    });

    // illegal move
    if (move === null) return "snapback";

    // update the board position
    board.position(game.fen());

    // get a random move from the engine
    window.setTimeout(makeRandomMove, 250);
  }

  // make a random move
  function makeRandomMove() {
    var possibleMoves = game.moves();

    // game over
    if (possibleMoves.length === 0) return;

    var randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * possibleMoves.length);
    game.move(possibleMoves[randomIndex]);
    board.position(game.fen());
  }

  // initialize the chessboard
  function init() {
    var config = {
      draggable: true,
      onDragStart: onDragStart,
      onDrop: onDrop,
      position: 'start'
    };

    board = Chessboard('puzzlebot-container', config);

    makeRandomMove();
  }

  $(document).ready(init);
</script>

<script src="https://revolvermaps2.com/embed.js" data-site="z79wnx94gq4m" data-size="300" data-theme="custom" data-color="ffffff" data-land="d4a843" data-ocean="0f1a2e" async></script>