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Chess forum by Grandmasters

Upcoming Benko updates

Hi! 

I would like to learn the Benko this summer. 

If the new version is coming out in the next few weeks I'll gladly wait for it… is there an approximate realease date?

Thanks a lot

Andrea

Replies

Hi Andre,

Benko updates course is under construction and will be recorded in the future, although for sure not in the next few weeks as its and enormous work, and as you can see we are also actively recording other courses as well :-)
Thanks for your patience and good luck!

Modern Maroczy bind doubt

Is modern maroczy bind another way for black to play against white or is modern maroczy bind another way for white to play against black? Do you recommend the maroczy bind or the modern maroczy bind

Replies

Remembering Names of Squares

As an adult improver, I find myself unable to follow what chess players/books are saying when they use coordinates of squares. I have been using Lichess coordinate training for two months, but haven't seen any improvement in my ability. Any advice for me? Thanks!

Replies

How to increase as much as rating under a month

I am 1400 in chess.com how can i increase my rating as much as possible under a month

 

Replies

Real improvement is long-term and requires working on different areas. However, it is definitely possible to design a study plan for one month where you decide to focus on one or two specific topics. But that doesn't necessarily mean that your rating will improve tremendously in such a short amount of time. 

You should check the Study Plan/Chess Improvement Roadmap for 1000-1500 and organize your own study plan according to it.

For instance:

Study (35%):
Tactic Ninja -> Watch one section by day, not more (this is the recommended rhythm by Avetik)
Watch Openings Principles

Practice (55%): 
Warm-up (solve easy tactics before your session / this is advice from the course BlunderProof you will have to watch at some point)
Play 9 games (read Chessmood's blog about how many games you should play on your main account + the possibility to play on another account if necessary as you have to play a lot of games to gain experience at your rating range)

Fix (10%): 
Analyze your games & try to understand the BIG blunders only (most if not ALL of them will be tactics).

If you do all this work, this should already help you to get closer to 1500.

Then you'll have the opportunity to watch Mating Matador, Blunderproof, WhiteMood & Blackmood Openings, Endgame Roadmap, the middlegame courses & commented classical games, etc... ; This looks like a lot but you can definitely learn a lot by organizing your daily routine correctly. 

If you are serious for one year (instead of just focusing on the next month), Chessmood can definitely help you to jump from 1400 to 2000 on Chess.com :)

Question

In tactic ninja in the last example of ”blocking the escape” why can’t knight just block the squares first moving h6 then bishop mate?

Replies

When will ChessMood Courses be unlocked next?

Hello ChessMood,

I have been consistently following your Lichess Blogs and thoroughly enjoyed it. The tips were so good I really improved my chess. This is why I was happy when ChessMood announced the World Chess Day unlock. However, I only found out about it on day 5. Since then, I have been watching all the courses I can, including BlunderProof, Tactic Ninja, SLP, and more! I am curious as to when this sale will happen again, as I shall take note of this well in advance!
Regards,
ChessMoodian.

Replies

We do not know when and if we will unlock the courses again. 😀

The only thing that you can do is be subscribed to our news and check the facebook or instagram account.😀

About stonewall against English opening fianchetto

Dear sir!

after these move 

1.Nf3 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 d5 5.0-0 c6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nc3 0-0

 here white plays 8 e4 what should we do here 

as you suggested after English opening fianchetto bishop we can play stonewall 

kindly guide thankyou so much  sir

Replies

Hello,

The setup you mentioned will rarely happen U2000 level and we are planning to cover this in the advanced 2000+ course on this opening.

Can give a little hint that after d3 ideas we will try to play with Bd6-Nc6-e5 ideas.

Dutch Attack Against London - 7.Nbd2 help

Hi Coaches

A little help please 🙏 Just completed the Dutch course, brilliant, thanks. Now practicing.

What is an idea against Nbd2 when playing Dutch Attack against London? I have faced this twice recently. I have continued with the plan and developed Nd7, however then struggled with white exchanging knights and achieving Ng5

 

Thanks

 

 

Replies

Hello,

In this setups, you can delay Ne4 idea. I usually prefer to do d6-Qe7-Nbd7 and continue with dutch style ideas, based on opponent's replies.

Dutch what to do if white goes late g3 in the 2 knights

In this position 1. d4 e6 2. c4 ff5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. g3 you have mention in the video that you should always take on the knight if we can double the pawns.however if we continue with a stonewall setup afterwards it wouldn’t be optimal beacuse we give up our dark bishop. How do you think this position should be handled?

Replies

I have encountered similar situations where white basically remains flexible until black shows his cards with …Bb4 or …b6  before switching to g3 setup, making stonewall less attractive. 

The Stonewall doesn't necessarily work with the system you've provided. Sounds like it fits more of a Classical Dutch setup rather than a Stonewall. If you want to still play a Stonewall, it's definitely going to be a positional challenge, especially considering that after the DSB is traded to damage the pawns and the Stonewall builds on the light squares, it gets in the way of your LSB, therefore giving not so good of a position.

I would just play in the way of the Classical if you're going to keep the f5-e6-Nf6-Bb4 system. Trading off your DSB to damage their pawn structure, b6 to fianchetto the LSB onto b7, and plant your knight on e4 followed by a kingside attack is probably one of the optimal ways of playing the line you mentioned.

Wanna learn the French

I wanna learn the French, and I saw that there will be an advanced course on the french. So Gm Avetik can you disclose what lines u will recommend against the three main moves? I would be glad if I could know from which resources u learned french and what books u recommend now!

Replies

Can any mod help me in knowing my answer? I am in a hurry. I have decided that it would be impossible for Avetik to move away from his love against 3.Nd2- Nc6! But at my level, the recommendations seem to be unplayable! Even though I  won a lot of games online, it can hardly be played at my level.

watch blackmood course

New book by Avetik?

Hey everyone, 

 

If I understood correctly from the new course about his best games: Avetik wrote (or is writing?) a book about his chess journey & philosophy.

 

Is that correct? I'm interested to know more if someone has information! Thank you :)

Replies

Yes! :) 
I'll let you know when its out or you can preorder :) 

opening

dear sir!

in the blackmood opening  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Ng8 5.Be3 you suggested planning for black is Ne7-nf5 and c5 but some time white plays 6. Bd3 and dont allow Nf5 also after 5…Ne7 white plays 6.f4 after 6… Nf5 white plays Bf2 and all engine saying white is better kindly guide me thankyou so much!

Replies

Hey! 

Yeah, you play 6…c5 7.dc5 Nec6! and then Nd7 getting back one of the pawns. 

McCutcheon Gambit ?

The key video is OK as far as it goes but on both occasions when my opponent went Nc3 and we entered this variation it went a different way.These were Russian players much higher graded than me on LiChess. In essence, it went e4 e6 : d4 d5 : Nc3 Nf6 : Bg5 h6 :  Bxf6 Qxf6 : e/d Bb4 : then Bc4 protecting the white pawn now on d5. I fought it difficult to get anything out of this. Any ideas would be appreciated . 

Replies

Hi Keven,

We are thinking what to offer here since there are several options, we'll check it out with the team and reply when we reach a conclusion. 😅

Yeah, the course is for below 2,000 players, and Bc4 happens less. 
There are different options. The most practical one is 7…ed5 8.Bd5 Nc6!? and depends on White's move, we might castle long side by playing Bg4/Bf5. 

Sicilian with 3. .... Nf6.

I played this game online. It started 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nf6. After seeing    2. …. d6 I thaught we can go Garnd Prix Attack. So I continued 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 e6, but here I found myself in trouble after  6. O-O a6 7. d4 b5. After a look at my files I think it would be better to go 5. Bb5 instead to exchainge the bishop. Can someone help here?!

Replies

👍

You don't need any help I think. What you wrote is correct: 5.Bb5 is suggested in the course.

Just in case: 

https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-part-1/episode/778

😁

Scotch Game

Hello!

I just played a Scotch game that I won, but after the game was over, I realized that Black missed a move that would have caused problems, and the incorrect move I made to allow it was extremely subtle. I admit that I'm not yet all the way through the complete Scotch course and annotated games, but I wanted to share the game that I played as well as the error which should have cost me a pawn and my attack.

 

  1. e4 e5
  2. Nf3 Nc6
  3. d4 exd4
  4. Nxd4 Bc5
  5. Nb3 Bb6
  6. Nc3 d6
  7. Qe2 Nf6
  8. Be3 0-0
  9. 0-0-0 Be6

This was the first Black move that I don't recall seeing in any of the videos, but I continued with the typical plan of attacking on the kingside with f3. However, what I'm overlooking is the strength of the move Ne5 and Bc4 from Black. In this position, Stockfish 16 suggests Kb1 followed very closely by my move f3.

10. f3 Qe7

I'm not sure I understand why Black played Qe7 here, but it's not relevant to my error.

11. g4!? Ne5!

This is the move that indirectly causes a problem after Black's reply, …Ne5! This was the second opportunity I had to play Kb1. I saw the moves Nc4 or Bc4 coming, so I prepared to move my bishop out of the line of fire by playing Kb1, but it was too late and I didn't realize it. I didn't play Kb1 on move 11, because if I had, there would have been no good escape square for my bishop after …Nc4. I would have been forced to either take the bishop on b6 or retreat to g1 and leave the c1-h6 attacking diagonal. Most importantly, the move Kb1 hadn't even entered my calculations before move 12 because I wasn't considering the move Ne5 followed by Nc4.

12. Kb1? Nc4?

Here, Stockfish said that Black should have played Bc4! and been winning either the f3 pawn and gaining the initiative (if 13. Qe1) or winning the queen and two pawns for 3 minor pieces (if 13. Qf2). However, after Nc4, I played Bc1 just as I had planned never realizing my mistake until after the game. I wanted to point out this line in case it is of value to someone else. I also would like to request a video covering the move …Be6 in the …Bc5 lines if it doesn't already exist (again, I am still in the process of watching the full Scotch course). I will share the remainder of my game as it turned out to be quite a nice game other than the minor mishap!

13. Bc1 Ne5

14. h3 Bc4 { h3 was preparing to play g5 followed by f4 }

15. Qg2 Ba6?

16. Bxa6 bxa6

17. g5 Ngd7

18. f4 Nc4

19. Nd5 Ne3?? { That was of course the blunder that ended the game }

20. Nxe7+ Black Resigned

 

I want to add that I am extremely pleased with the Scotch course! I have never felt like I had more of an understanding of how to play any opening since I've been playing chess. I am going to continue and finish the full course. I am optimistic and excited by the prospect of finally having an opening repertoire. I think that's been my biggest overall weakness in both classical and blitz. Thank you for being so thorough with the opening courses!

Replies

I want to correct one sentence, but I've already edited once so I can't update it. Please change this sentence:

“I didn't play Kb1 on move 11, because if I had, there would have been no good escape square for my bishop after …Nc4.”

to

"I didn't play h3 on move 12, because if I had, there would have been no good escape square for my bishop after …Nc4.”

Dear Joel,

10.f3 is perfectly good. 11.Kb1 is a nice move taking king to safety, and we play this move many times in many variations, but we analyzed with GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan's a similar position without the Qe7 but Ne5 played one move earlier, and he said to me that it would be interesting to play 11.Qd2 with the idea to play 12.Be2 and try to play g4 later. The bishop on e2 is already protecting the pawn on f3! Don't go g4 so fast in these positions. 😀

Scotch Game 4...Qh4 Line

Hello Again!

I am writing hoping that my comment will be helpful to some who are struggling with the 4 …Qh4 line in the Scotch Game. I personally am not a big fan of the Nc3 line followed by getting my pawns doubled and the complicated game that arises thereafter. Perhaps it's because I am not a master, but until watching the advanced course, I have been playing 5. Nb5.

When GM Avetik changed to recommending the Nc3 line due to Black's Bc5 and Nd4 moves, I was disappointed. However, I want to point out the move that I am going to try for a while so that I can keep playing the Nb5 line.

After the line:

  1. e4 e5
  2. Nf3 Nc6
  3. d4 cxd4
  4. Nxd4 Qh4
  5. Nb5 Bc5
  6. Qf3 Nd4

Here I am going to try the move Nxc7+. The continuation is as follows:

7. Nxc7+ Kd8

8. Qf4 Nxc2+

9. Ke1 Qxf4

10. Bxf4 Nxh1

11. Nxh8

This to me seems to be easier to play. White is not down an pawn and has only 2 pawn islands compared to Black's 3. Further, Black has the isolated pawn in the endgame which is a target for White. If there is a serious issue that I'm not considering, please let me know. But I like this line better than the 5. Nc3 line.

Replies

Labourdonnais Variation

I was aiming to play the French attack and ran into the Labourdonnais Variation. Any thoughts on the best way forward? Since Carlsen recently played it (July 4, 2023), perhaps it deserves a closer look.

Replies

After f4, which is not a good move so soon, we can go d5 as per the program. I like d4 against e5 instead of the more usual c5. And against Nf3, dxe4, Nxe4 and c5 with very interesting play Sicilian style.

chess

hi evryone i have a question i m new student hear i wann improve my chess so how can i use this platform and how much 

 

Replies

While the courses are unlocked (over the next 100 hours), I would recommend that you explore classes at your level. There's no commitment and the content is very good. You describe yourself as a new student. If that means you're new to the game of chess, they have many courses for you. If you are an experienced player but you are a “new student” on chessmood.com, you will also find courses to fit your level.

To start, from the home page, click “Courses and More” to expand the menu, then select the “Courses” link. I hope that helps.

Welcome. Enjoy the unlocked courses and if you like it, then the following link contains the information on the costs.

https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro

Chessmood proposes 4 different study plans depending on your rating (U1000, 1001-1500, 1501-2000, and >2000).

You should have a look at the first one as you will find the courses they recommend to watch for your rating range and lots of tips :) : https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans/for-beginners

With Blackmood Opening against Bird 1.f4

a)How do we play after 1.f4, e6 2.Nf3, f5, if White continues with 3.g3?

This seems to prevent our Nf6/b6/Bb7/d6 set-up (White is first on the long diagonal), or do we want to continue with 3…b6 right away, e.g. 3.g3, b6 4.Bg2, Bb7 5.O-O, Nf6 6.d3, but even then we cannot really continue with our set-up 6…d6 !?

b)And how do we play after 3.d4, Nf6 if White does not continue with 4.c4, but with 4.e3? We can again play 4…b6 5.Be2, Bb7, but after 6.O-O we again cannot really continue with our usual set-up 6…d6 !?

Replies

Odysseus, maybe you could ask GM Avetik as the “Master” of Blackmood Openings for his thoughts on how to play as Black in these 2 variations - thanks!! 

Hi Didi,

Just in case this is not that concrete and so many options are playable. 

Answer to question a) Yes, looks like b6-bb7 will be possible - depending on the opponent's moves you will continue the development. 
You can play Qe7 prior to d6 in order to protect the e6 pawn in advance.

Answer to question b) if white goes with this d4 setup their light squares are super weak anyways and you can continue the development trying to extract max positional values out of that. It's impossible to cover all white replies and GM Avetik just gives positional insights on how to play that structures.

Doubt in Sicilian Line

Hi ChessMood,

I was going through this line- e4,c5,nf3,g6,bc4,bg7,0-0, e6,c3,ne7,d4,cxd4,cxd4,d5,exd5 and I was wondering why the engine suggested exd5, giving us the IQP as well, whereas I thought nxd5 would be better as we don't have the IQP? Also is there a specific reason why you recommend the accelerated dragon in the black mood openings instead of hyper- accelerated because isn't the hyper accelerated just a cheat opening to escape the theory of the rossolimo and later transpose into the accelerated? 

 

 

Replies

CM recommends the acc. dragon (allowing the Rossolimo with 3.Bb5) and not the hyper acc. dragon (2…g6), as White then would have at least 2 good lines playing either 3.d4, cxd4 4.Qxd4 +=, or 3.c3, which is also good for White and a difficult variation for Black, as Black has already played g6.

Dear Chess Player, 

The line you mentioned is not in our openings, and usually we don't analyze the other lines here. You are very much welcome to ask questions from our lines, although very deep engine analyses are not appreciated. Even though our variations are clear, often we try to make good practical choices and offer easier positions to play.

As an exception, I would tell to you that in your mentioned variation instead of c3 white can get an advantage with the d4 move which opens the position. Since Black has played g6 their bishop will go to g7 and square on d6 would be pretty weak.

Good luck 😀

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