The Shankland Method Strategic Calculation by GM Sam Shankland Chessable +PGN (Release 9 Sep 2024)

The Shankland Method for
Making “Impossible” Moves Work and
Building a Strategically Won Game

Sam Shankland won the 2018 US Championship, brought home gold from the 41st and 42nd Chess Olympiad… while his peak rating of 2731 put him at #22 in the world. When stubborn resistance prevents his ideal move, Shankland breaks them down by asking this one question.

Imagine playing picture-perfect chess in the first 15 moves…

Then receiving a protected outpost as a reward. If only your bishop isn’t under attack, bringing your knight to d6 is automatic.

White doesn’t have the time to
bring his knight to d6 it seems.

But… “What happens if I do it anyway?”

Your knight arrives on d6 unscathed, while a
discovered check looms over the black king’s head!

You match the opponent’s aggression. Breaking through d5 to open lines for your pieces is a no-brainer — except it loses a pawn.

With the threat of g4-g5 hitting the
f6-knight, pushing d5 drops material.

“What happens if I do it anyway?”

You shut down White’s heavy pieces with a blockade
on d6, while their king starts to feel some heat!

Your mass of pawns are itching to advance and gain space in the center. But they’re going to drop like flies.

Pushing e5 allows White to pick off the pawns
and bust through the e-file, where the king lies!

“What happens if I do it anyway?”

You assert your dominance in the center and cut
through the board with your bishops. That h2-pawn
is also dropping soon!

You’ve just seen the Shankland Method at work.

When your ideal positional move fails due to a tactical detail, it prompts you to see beyond the obstacle. So you can uncover that resource, which makes your “impossible” move work.

And when a tactic does stop you? It can help you smooth out that speed bump. So you can carry out your plan full steam ahead!

Asking The Question is Step One

Probing “What happens if I do it anyway?” is half of the method.

Your ability to identify that dream move, visualize how the tactical elements interact, and your consistency in applying the method matter just as much.

And that’s exactly what we’ll build in The Shankland Method: Strategic Calculation.

Originally released in 2016 through iChess, the course contained 54 annotated games presented through video.

In them, you’ll analyze positions in a wide range of scenarios to make sure you’re applying the method correctly every time… complete with detailed annotations by Shankland to check your thinking.

Since that original release, Shankland has gained better awareness of his thought processes, and “created” even more instructive examples of his method.

In the Chessable edition:

🎯 Shankland analyzed all 54 games in the original course and recorded all the videos anew. So you’re learning the best version of the Shankland Method from the man who invented it.

🎯 He also added 10 of his recent games, where he shows you the possible challenges and opportunities in applying the lessons.

🎯 Plus, the most instructive moments in the games were turned into 150+ MoveTrainer exercises, and organized into 5 progressive levels to ease your learning curve.

So next time you sit down and play, you won’t even have to consciously ask: “What happens if I do it anyway?”

Because you’ve built the habit of looking beyond tactical obstacles, then calculating 2, 3, even 4 moves ahead… until the position clarifies to your advantage.