Chess forum by Grandmasters

French Attack Advanced course

I was watching the Blackmood starter openings on French Attack. Some videos mentioned going to the Advanced course videos for more in depth study on some lines. However, I could not find the French attack in the more Advanced section. Can someone help point out to where they are?

Replies

Have you checked this?

https://chessmood.com/course/french-defence

The link below shows how to play as White against the French Defence. What about from Black's point of view, how to play as Black with the French against White various possible replies?

Hello,

Chessmood has stated many times that there will be an advanced course on the French defence from black's point of view soon. They haven't anounced the spesific date in wich it will be released yet but the have stated that the course will be created in the future.

Positional Chess Course

when does the positional chess course going to be release? i am struggling to play positional

Replies

Dear Jeremy,

Thanks for your interest but we never provide any release date. We take a lot of time in selecting the best examples and this course is going to be very important. We always try to do our best and we expect to publish it this year, but we cannot say the date.
In the meanwhile you can watch the past webinar from Gabu on the same topic if you did not do it yet: 
https://chessmood.com/event/positional-chess-nuances

😄Also in the Classical Commented Games and the Daily lessons there are many, many positional tips and tactics explained all the time, check them out too. 💪
May the Chessmood Force be with You!😁

Feature Request: Option to load an Engine or copy the FEN on Quizes

Hello, 

Sometimes when I miss on a quiz I can't figure out the correct refutation to my move. I have to manually arrange the board on Lichess and load the analysis there. It would be nice to have a button to load the engine for the position or at least copy the FEN position, because it's too time consuming to set up the board on another platform. 

It would also be nice to comment on positions (like we have on Chessable) so users can ask questions on it. 

I've already found a couple of wrong answers on quizes when settinp up the position on Lichess.

Thank you!

Replies

Hi Francisco! What browser are you using?

On what quiz did you find an incorrect answer in?

You can add the extension or add on in your browser called chessvision.ai to do this. It will recognize the image and automatically transfer it to the board. There is no need to do this process manually.  
https://chessvision.ai/docs/browser-extension/

All in the Mindset

Another example of mind of matter below.  I am SO glad for Blunderproof, and also the Todd Herman interview Avetik did !  These are earning me points and I encourage everyone to make sure they have absorbed these things:

https://youtu.be/pVHyUzX5IQw

In this game I was so pleased with my opening dominance, against a 1600 player in a 70min OTB game.  But I let it slip with liquidation, and then found myself under huge pressure:  

https://lichess.org/study/QSbWesBG/20TWxv6c

I started to picture myself going home to analyse the upcoming loss. HOWEVER, I then remembered to gently bring my mood back as soon as I felt it drop. I remembered that there was no way to get winning moves without a winning mood.  I remembered to use my alter ego, and get up and keep fighting positively.  And I remembered my mental movie theatre where people say “that guy just always keeps fighting, even when he's beat...” 

And I found a counterpunch and he walked right into it and I won !  😀🥴
 

Now I can analyse where I went wrong, with the luxury of a full point!  

I can't express enough how valuable this mindset work is - I think it's a missing ingredient in so much chess training !  😀 Happy fighting, fellow warriors…  

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💪Yeah, keep the fighting spirit up!!!!! 😄

new middlegame course

😅

hey i love all the courses but is there a detailed on on like average middle game plan course? 

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Hello,

So if you want a course on how to form a middlegame plan there is this course on how to create one by asking seven questions about the given poaition: https://chessmood.com/course/scale-method

Also there is a course coming soon as far as chessmood team states, wich will be called middlegame roadmap and will be about general principles of middlegame play.

Hope this helps

New article: Two Lessons from NM Ben Johnson

Champions,

Ben Johnson, the host of Perpetual Chess podcast, has recorded more than 400 episodes in seven years. 
That averages to more than one every week.💪

🟢How has he maintained his consistency for so long? 

🟢What lessons from his podcasting journey can you apply to your chess and more…

Find out in this article:

https://chessmood.com/blog/ben-johnson 

Also today is Ben’s birthday.  
Cheers to all the cool stories and interviews he has covered on the Perpetual Chess podcast! Many more to come…🥂

Send your warm wishes under this thread.

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Doubt regarding opening variation

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. O-O Nf6 7. d3 O-O 8. Qe1 Nd4 9. Nxd4 cxd4 10. Nb5 d5 11. exd5 Ng4 12. h3 a6 13. Na3 Ne3 14. Bxe3 dxe3 15. c3 b5 16. Bb3 b4 17. Nc4 bxc3 18. bxc3 e2 19. Qxe2 Bxc3 20. Rac1 Bd4+ 21. Kh1 Bb7 22. Ne5 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 Qxd5 24. Nc6 Bf6 25. Qxe7 Bg7 26. Qe4 Qxa2 27. f5 Rfe8 28. Qf3 a5 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. f6 Bf8 31. d4 Qe6 32. d5 Qd7 33. Rfe1 a4 34. Ra1 Ra6 35. Qe2 Rxf6 36. Nxg6+ hxg6 37. Qxe8 Rf1+ 38. Kh2 Qd6+ 39. g3 Rf2+ 40. Kh1 Qxd5+ 41. Qe4 Qxe4+ 42. Rxe4 a3 43. Rf4 Rxf4 44. gxf4

I played this game in over the board tournament with a 25+10 time control with an 1800 fide rated opponent. 

On move number 11 Black played Ng4 and when I played h3 to drive it back he played a6, counter attacking my knight. Kindly explain it to me what is to be done in that position.

Note : We both were in time pressure after 35 moves so don't go too deep into the analysis, the game ended in a draw.

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Finish the course or ...

I have a problem i don't know if i should finish the tactic ninja course before playing or moving on to other courses or i can watch other course at the same time.. 

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For sure you should continue playing!  That way you can try to apply some of what you are learning in the courses.

Anti-Sicilian

Good Afternoon

I'm encountering the following line quite often and i'm bit confused how to play against it and what plan to use.

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 e6

 The ideas for 6…e6 and 3…e6 don't seem to be as strong here. Apologies if it is covered in courses, maybe I missed it.

Cheers

Replies

Hi Duane! 
4…Nf6 in this concrete move order is a small incaccuracy. We play Bb5 first, not Bc4, in the advanced repertoire to get the most of the position.

Please check it out even if you play the Whitemood opening since this is the best answer to your question or if your rivals play this move against you:
https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-part-1/episode/778
💪Happy Chess hunting!😅

Tactic definition

Today i've decided that discovered attacks can be considered as a particular subcategory of clearances. In case i will build my own learning platform or i decide to buy chessmood.com, i will base my teaching on this assumption

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😀😅Very good Massimo, but if you decide to buy chessmood.com (others have tried too) we'll just have to say to you “No thank you” 😀

How to use the courses most effectively?

Hi. I'm new to chessmood.

I am wondering, how do I work most effectively with the courses?

I am rated around 1500 on chess.com.

I am currently trying to complete these courses: Tactic ninja, Attack like Viking, 100 classical attacking games (I love to attack but I am never able to finish my opponents even when they play the most ridiculous moves and I have a very strong attack going), endgame roadmap (because I always lose endgames)

Currently, I am trying to do a section of each a day. (Some days I won't have time to do 1 section of all of them)

Is this the best way? Am I doing the most useful courses for me? What is the best way to work with the courses?

I already did BlunderProof and SLP in December with a free month from black friday, but I am not sure I used those courses as effectively as possible.

Chessmood is great!

Replies

Hi Joe!😀

Welcome to the family!!!!  We hope that you will like and learn a lot! 

Below is a copy from a post asking the same question last week, since I was going to write the same, I am just posting it below adding some more comments for you:

This depends a bit on individual needs, did you already have the 1 on 1 call with Avetik or Gabu? This is a crucial moment as a PRO member, do not miss this!
Because during the call depending on your level and needs they will recommend you how to best proceed. 
If you haven't yet, no worries. 😅

The first thing is to check the Study plan according to your level and create a good routine based on the Plan.

https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans

As a general rule you can study courses in parallel of course, for exemple you should watch a daily lesson every day, one section of Tactic ninja every day too, one classic game per day, you can watch some endgame basics too, etc. Then if you study one opening, focus on this one and do not start another one, I do not think that it helps to study several openings at the same time. 😀 😄
You need to create your own routine, the more defined the better and tweak it a bit according to your memory, time, etc… 
😁I hope this helped you a bit, but if you haven't yet, do the 1 on 1 call with a GM as soon as you can… 💪

I need help?

When I play a blitz game it often happens that somedays I play the game so rash as to completely getting out of control and feel that my time is less. But somedays a miracle happens I play a very calm and composed game and also often feel I have like 10mins in my clock. I mostly play 5+3 according to the recommendation. 

Can anyone pls give a solution as to how I can play a calm and composed game like mentioned above.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

Pranav, hi! 

I think we are all human and not robots, we cannot play at the same level everyday. You should play when you can focus and you really want to play. 

You can also play longer time controls to have more time, rapid games 15 +10 will make you play more slowly and understand better the positions.
Please read the blog, there are several articles related to this, but this one is my favorite one: https://chessmood.com/blog/surrender-experiment

 😀

Mating Matador Correction

Hi guys. My training partners and I are currently working through Mating Matador and loving the material chosen. We did find an error in Section 13 Back Rank Mate Example 3 as pictured here. Avetik mentions that 2 …Qf6 doesn't work as White has 3. g5  hg5 4. Qb4+ taking the b3 pawn. But 3…Qf4 appears to win instantly in the same manner as the main 2…Qg5 line. Not sure if this was caught before, but such errors are inevitable and they keep us on our toes! 

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Yes, Qf6 is also working, well found! Taking note of it😀! 

No sound when moving pieces in quizzes?

There are no piece moving sounds at all on ChessMood?
thanks

Dan

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No, at the moment we do not have this feature and I think that even Chessable being from Chesscom have this feature either. 

We may study to implement this but no promises here. 

Thanks for the suggestion, though.😅

Robatsch / Modern Defence (e4 g6)

Hi there,

I've been going back over my notes for the WhiteMood Openings (and looking again at the contents list for the course) and I can't see any mention of the response where black plays g6.

I realise that the number of people playing it (using the 365Chess database) is only around 2.97% but that's higher than the percentage for the Alekhine (2.27%) which is covered. 

So, for those of you who have encountered it - how did you respond?

Yes, I know it's rare.  And yes, I know there are other areas that would be better use of my time.  I'm just curious! 😀

Replies

Nevermind - just found it!  It's within the Pirc section.  

Yeah, to basically anything unknown to me, I play the Grand Prix attack! Fun!

Memorising the chessboard

some people claim that memorising the board and being able to tell the color of the squares is crucial for developing calculation skills, is it really the case?,and why?

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It can always help to memorize, but you learn it also with experience, I never memorized but I know it naturally… It depends on how much did you play and how much attention you pay to details I guees…

Still I do think that it can help to know it and do visualization exercises too, in fact the games are happening in head, the more and clear 😁you can see there, the better… 

Thank you, ChessMood

I'd like to give a big thanks to the entire ChessMood family for creating this platform for a great chess learning experience. 

I come here to take lessons often, especially as I've faced many failures at my career, and coming to ChessMood has always been comforting. 

I hope I can fly to Armenia to meet everyone one day ! 

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Thanks a lot Kyle for your kind words!!! You are most than welcome to come! Armenia is a great country! 😁

Hi

😀

Hi this is my first time in forum 

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Hi Sahasra,

😁😄

Welcome to the family! Check some posts, and post any question you may have, chess - Chessmood related… We'll try to help… 😀

French Exchange

Happy New Years

After move 1. e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Bd3 dxe4  4. Bxe4 Nf6 5. Bf3 Black plays …c6. It seems the Bishop ( Bf3) is very limited in moves. What should I do with this Bishop and how should I continue?
As always be in happy chessmood

steve

Replies

Sorry for the delay Steve, I meant to reply to your question sooner but without realizing a week went by!
😇

Our bishop may be limited but even more limited is Black's light square Bishop and also Black's knight natural developing square has been taken. Black is getting into a very passive position and we should play actively. This move is not in the course because it is just bad, but you could develop in the following fashion. Let's start by Ne2 to be able to castle, then if Be7 (black moves are not so important because he is too passive) Bf4, c4, O-O, Nc3, Re1, maybe Qd2 or Qc2 and Rad1… It depends, but your priority is fast development and attack on the Queen side since we have 4 pawns against 3 as a general plan. 
I hope this helps! 😆  And again sorry for the delay!!! 

Queen's Gambit and Sicilian

Hi,
I play the Queen's Gambit as White. I was looking at the WhiteMood Openings and the “Step by Step opening repertoire for White” section, but can't find any videos on Queen's Gambit. I am not interested in changing my opening to e4, but want to improve on the Queen's gambit. Which videos can help me build a repetoire for the Queen's gambit?

Thanks in advance!

Replies

Hello,

So chessmood recomends only e4 openings. You won't find any videos on this site about the Queen's Gambit from the white perspective. If you want to know the reason why they chose to teach only 1. e4 GM Avetic explains it in this video. (https://chessmood.com/course/whitemood-openings/episode/3876)

If you don't want to change your opening, you can find courses about Queen's Gambit in other sites, like Chessable for example. There are also some great videos on youtube with analysed games of this opening or with explained theory if you can't afford buying a course. I recommend Hanging pawns for opening theory below 2100 level but you have to decide by yourself wich variation you will play, he explains a great deal of them without suggesting a repertoire.

Hope this helps