Chess forum by Grandmasters

Sicilian Part 1, Section 1: 8...Bg4?!

From this position, 9.f5 is recommended. However, I don't see any analysis following 9…gxf5 10.Qh4 Bxf3. My analysis goes 11.Rxf3 Ne5 12.Rxf5 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Bb3 Ng6 15.Qf2 (White is slightly better). Is a response mentioned anywhere? Thanks! 

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A variation in Petroff

Hello everyone, I was having a question about the Petroff Defense, in the following line. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 and here 8.Re8!? is not covered in the course which is actually the main line played by 2 2750+ GMs

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If possible, can someone suggest me a plan on how to continue further? Thanks.

White is ahead in development and has a space advantage . Black could eventually play …d5 to equalise the space although White is still a little more active. In general White should try to keep pieces on the board to accent the space advantage. Black would benefit from exchanging pieces.

9.h3 (restrict light square bishop) Nc6 10.a3 (Stop … Nb4 harassing the bishop on d3)Bd7 11.Bf4 (Preparing d5 without allowing …Ne5) Bf8(opening the rook to support …Ne5 if White plays d5 alternatively 11….d5 12. Nb5 Rc8 13.Ne5 white is more active but nothing concrete yet) 12.d5 Ne5 13.Bb5 the light square bishops and one pair of knights will be exchanged so Black can breathe a bit more easily but White is still a bit better.

Gratitude

No questions right now, I've just been meaning to express my gratitude for the superb content and great delivery of all the courses on Chessmood.  I get up at 0430 most mornings, my available study time with young kids at home, looking forward to the next installment :-D  Great work team!  All the best for the year ahead..  Tom, New Zealand.

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Wow, Tom! 
There are a few sentences only in your message, but it speaks a lot about your heart. 

Thank you, my friend! 
It makes my day every time I see such messages and such people joining ChessMood. 
And it makes not only my day, but the team too. 

This message was copied and sent to our workplace at ChessMood, this is how I saw it. 

Thanks again! 
Looking forward to meeting you one day in New Zealand! 
I am a fan of your country, and All Blacks! 

New article: Wobble Your Way: Advance in Chess Without Knowing it All

When learning a new opening, there’s a mistake many players make.

They try to have the perfect preparation before playing a single game in that line.

And it holds them back.

Why does it happen? How do you fix it?

Learn more in today’s article ⬇️
https://chessmood.com/blog/wobbling

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Just going to go and not play chess until I've read every book in my chess library. LOL!

…and I thought I had preparation anxiety.
 

Your article is so well written and so timely! I am a professor that teaches accounting and taxes to students at a university. I tell them all the time to sit for the CPA -Certified Public Accountant exam in the USA which is the top accounting designation. I encourage them to invest in themselves after earning a Master's in Accounting degree. Only 1 or 2 out of 10 will do it and when they do they are suprised when they pass it! You do not need to know it all I tell them but you know more than you think you know. It will not be easy but with proper studying you can do it! Yes you will "wobble" but you can succeed! The biggest hurdle in most success is the first step! I further encourage them by telling them that nobody will ask you how many times did you take the CPA exam? The client just wants to know are you a CPA? I am so happy that I found Chessmood and am a part of this family. Keep up the great work! 

nice article!!

Hi Ave you are right !!!!! 

I'm a member of Chessmood and though I 'm  learning following the courses  just for a few months

I wobble less and less……..till flying  
Cheers

I know the Bishop Opening. I played it all 2019 but I played it with a gambit, the Urusov gambit. After 2.Bc4 mostly you will get the response 2….Nf6. Then 3.d3 and 4.Nf3 transpose to the Giuoco Piano Italian. But the gambit is 3.d4 right away. Here most amateurs are already out of the book and they will play 3….ed or Nxe4. In the first case 4.Nf3 attacking d4 but you also can take directly Qxd4 which will be met by 4…Nc6 attacking the Queen. Is a dubious gambit to play +2000 rated. Or in Nigel Shorts quote when he played the Budapest against Karpov, “is like the WC paper. A one time use.”

About leartning openings I try to memorize the minimum, just what I think is necessary to remember. My method is look for +2700 games and analyze them because these guys understand what they are playing very well so going over their games I think is the best way to “get a feeling” of the Opening in question.

Good luck with your wobbles ;)

Nice article! When are you releasing your book? I assure you I will buy it! I can't wait!

“Go wobble yourself. This was an awful article.”

;)

No, this was not an awful article.  I am so glad that i stumbled upon you folks … for a variety of reasons.

For starters, this article hit me right where it counts.  That fear of, i’m not sure what?  Failure?  Sure.  Not being perfect?  Sure.  It is a common refrain in your blog that the point is not elo points, but getting better at chess and enjoying the process of getting better at chess and being curious about the process of getting better at chess.

Which brings me to more general reasons why i am enjoying ChessMood so much: Not only is the content absolutely first rate (which i suppose is the main point, right? :), but there is a humanness here which is impossible to miss. You are not afraid to point out that some of the lessons we learn by learning more about chess are similar to lessons we learn when we are learning about life.  Yikes! That was a mouthful, but it’s true.  We are living in terrible times, i’m afraid, but eavesdropping on this little community has been nice.

I wish you all peace and kindness.

love The wobble concept, there is another concept that goes along with this called weeble wobble, you can look it up but it’s like you can get pushed down but always try to get back up

Top motivational article GM Grigoryan, sky is the limit!!

In italian we say “Barcollo, ma non mollo”, a sort of “I wobble, but I don't give up”, obviously with a different harmony of the words :)

I think this is the spirit.

You're experimenting with the bishop's opening as an alternative to the scotch? Ok, but what about the king's gambit? I think it is a very underrated opening and maybe it might be a nice alternative to the scotch. Of course, you are a GM and I'm only 1500, so you know much better than me, but I'm just wondering if you considered it. 

This article was amazing like all your articles, by the way!

Positional Chess Course

When is the release of positional chess course?

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Chessmood is currently working on many new courses in parallel and does not provide exact release dates, I guess we just have to be patient - let me refer you to another threat with a similar question, which was answered by chessmood odysseus, where he gives some more information and some tips in the meantime: https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/positional-chess-course

scotch and four knights

Would it be rather a waste of time learning four knights scotch alongside normal scotch? both seems fun, but would learning the four knights help on my scotch game?

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Hi Cate,

I saw this shortly after you posted it the other day but, as I'm a rank beginner, thought I'd leave it for somebody more experienced to answer.  As nobody else has picked it up I'll take a shot - if nothing else it might help get the post a little more attention ;-)

I'm still getting grips with the basic Scotch but if you have already done that then I would have thought that adding a little variety would be a good thing and help you to consider other avenues of play.  Not only that but I don't think that it would require a huge amount of extra effort.  A bold statement from a beginner, I know, but I'm basing that comment on a YouTube video that I watched the other day by GM Daniel Naroditsky.  He said that the basic Scotch was theoretical and complex whereas the Four Knights was much simpler.

So, give it a go 👍

EDIT: This was the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMY6Wr3niUg&list=PLxxZdPlLkH13Xb6-_naPi_vMy1C2lGqqH&index=2

Sometimes the best thing to do is not giving a f**k

Everything was going great. I had won 2 games in a row and than, finally, reached for the first time in my chess career 1400 elo on chess.com rapid. Than I lost the last planned game for that session, and got to 1391. "Doesn't matter", I thought, “Tomorrow, I'll strike back and get over 1400”.

Next day I felt good, confident for reaching 1400 elo. I clicked on play game and I was matched with a 1373. “Ok, let's get back to 1400”. I lost. “Mh, the next 2 games I'll recover my elo”. Lost both of them. Badly.

I outraged. My beautiful elo points vanished like nothing, as I went down to 1366 (and threw away a beautiful attacking position in the third game that day). I wanted it back, I was angry and frustrated, a progress of a month gone vanished in 2 days.

So I played another game. I Lost. And than another to recover from the loss. I Lost again. I was furious. In one day I had lost 5 games and went back to 1351. So I stopped for the session, realizing keep playing wasn't helping me at all.

For one week I quit chess. I couldn't play anymore, I was angry and I thought I was a terrible, horrible, incompetent, stupid player.

After a week, once my anger had calmed, I sat down to reflect. “Really?” I said to myself. “Are you really gonna quit after the commitment, the work you've done, the joy chess has brought to you?” I found encouragement in this quote: “if you have been to that elo, you deserve that elo” and in an article I came across here on chessmood, about focusing on growth, not on results.

So I started playing again. I lost the first game, but than won 2. Soon, I was in love with chess once again.

I'm now in the middle of a mindset shifting: detach from results, focus on growth. I can say I've changed my goals, and I've started studying just to become a better player, not to gain X elo or reach X elo. So I'm sure I'll get mad again, and scream about my elo points vanishing after some bad games. But from now, every moment I dedicate time to this beautiful game, I try to approach it a different way. Just a reminder for everyone, never give up and, sometimes, stop giving a f**k about your points - just focus on your growth.

Thank you all for reading, have a nice day.

P.S. I'll start doing weekly recap again next week!

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You really need to look at this comment which was posted by Chessmood Odysseus in another thread! what you experienced is called “tilting” (losing a game and then being emotional and trying to win the points back … and losing again. And again.  Please check out the the article that is linked here. Sounds like you picked up on the solution by yourself :)

"Our GM friend Noel wrote a very good article about tilting, all is explained here.
You have a problem, you have an addiction, but you are the only one that can overcome it Voran and is is not so difficult with the right advice. Still you need to recognize that you are addicted, otherwise you'll do it again… 
Here is how:
https://nextlevelchess.blog/no-more-tilt/
💪Good luck and may the Chessmood Force be with You!😁 "

I feel for you because I know how much effort you have put in.  Nobody likes losing but it's going to happen (to some more than others, believe me!) - so the important thing is how we react.  We have to embrace our inner Kelly Clarkson and think “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger” :)  I'm glad to hear that you've got your head back in the game again - well done.

Looking forward to reading the weekly recaps again.

That’s why I mainly play on lichess with all ratings turned off 😃

Thank you ChessMood team for the Tactic Ninja!

During the open access to courses to celebrate Avo's birthday, I watched lots of the various elements within the Tactic Ninja course and made some notes.  This morning I re-visited my notes on pins and on discovered checks, and then played a game …

I managed to get a double-pin on the opponent's king (one was the queen and the other was a pawn that I'm sure they were desperate to use to capture my rook).  I know, I know, this is commonplace for most of you but for me this is real progress!

I don't think that they were very happy about this - they had been taking their time to consider each move but after the double pin they became frustrated and started throwing pieces at me (the ones that they could anyway)!

To be fair, I'm sure that I wouldn't have been happy if it happened to me (and it probably will at some point!).  For today though, I'm happy.  Thank you ChessMood team :)

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If you're up for sharing the position so we can enjoy that tactic too, that'd be appreciated!

How to memorize the name of each squares?

how to memorize the squares? what is the best way, i am newbie and i find it hard to name every squares? To those who memorized the squares, how ? what did you do? can you help me 

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In chess.com there's a very good training for this: https://www.chess.com/vision

You can practice the coordinates there.

Dan

New article: The secret to lasting love for chess

Do you know people who loved chess a lot, but over time, they started to lose their love for chess?
 

When the journey starts, everyone enjoys each moment of playing chess. 

But then some start to get angry and frustrated. Every loss hurts them more.

Soon enough, chess became a pain. And gradually, they lose their love for it and quit.
 

Why does this happen? Maybe you’ve had similar feelings or are going through such a phase? 

In today’s article, GM Avetik throws more light on this. You’ll discover:
 

?Why do people lose their love for chess? 

?A concept you need to know to understand if you’re losing your love for chess.

?The secret to keep loving chess despite all the losses and painful moments.
 

The article has stories – of people who lost interest and quit. 

And of those who faced the problem, changed their approach and soon scored 3 GM norms ?
 

Enjoy reading! And do share it with your friends, especially those who you feel are losing their love.

Read it the article here ?
https://chessmood.com/blog/lasting-love-for-chess

And once you finish reading, share your thoughts under this forum thread!

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Thank you so much @ChessMood ?

This is a fine article. I'd like to suggest that there are several other sources of joy that we can cultivate in chess. There is the joy of learning. In each game, chess is revealing some of its infinitely complex secrets to us. This can lead to deeper appreciation of the game itself, as well as better practical play. There is the joy of participating in a worldwide and historical fellowship, with roots at least 1500 years ago. In playing chess we are affirming our belonging in that fellowship. I'm confident I could walk into a chess club anywhere in the world and receive a friendly welcome, no matter the politics. In playing chess we are also fostering the game and strengthening its future for coming generations. Remembering this can give deep satisfaction. There is joy that stems from the intellectual beauty of the game. Who has not felt great after carrying out a complicated combination, creating something from what appeared to be nothing? And last but not least, winning is fine, but we can also share the joy when our opponent wins. We can be happy in their happiness. (This is the Sanskrit concept of Mudita, which is held to be one of the highest of values.) I'm sure there's more, but this is what come to mind right now. Thank you Avetik for the article.

Dear Avetik thank you so much for writing on a topic so important yet so undervalued.We are generally taught to live in a way where victory is just okay but loss is really bad.In chess however there will be many painful moments like losing a good game by a single blunder and so on.As a professional player aged 18 I myself have faced these moments where i feel like quitting but then when i again play my best the satisfaction is next level.Its really important to enjoy the moment when we win After all we all are humans with so many emotions.....Amazing article!

Great article Avetik - and a topic that I often find myself coming back to as a player! I don't usually have anything to comment on in your articles (they're great!), but I did feel that there was one clear distinction that hadn't been made in this one. That is, the difference between winning/losing against players stronger/weaker than yourself. I believe there are 4 scenarios: 1. Beating someone stronger than you. 2. Beating someone weaker than you. 3. Losing to someone stronger than you. 4. Losing to someone weaker than you. (if we ignore draws for a second). For option 1, we are happy. For option 2, we feel content/neutral. For option 3, we neutral/slightly negative. For option 4, we hurt. So I do think players feel a lot of joy when they beat someone above the level they expect to beat. And I think that's its good that we only feel this joy against stronger players, because as soon as you feel that same joy from beating anyone, then you'll find yourself playing in low rated tournaments just to "win". This is quite like my mother, that challenges low rated players on chesscom because she likes to "win", even if it means beating players she knows she can beat! And to me, I think that it's important to feel the negative emotions when you lose. If you didn't feel as bad when you lost, there wouldn't be a balance of your emotions, and you'd fall into a "peaceful mentality", which imo isn't fit for a tournament chess player. For instance, someone in the forum commented: "And last but not least, winning is fine, but we can also share the joy when our opponent wins. We can be happy in their happiness." I have a lot of respect for this philosophy when going about life, but I would question how far you can push yourself as a tournament player with this mentality? Asides from this, I do like your overall point about getting more love out of chess. And I saw on the chessmood forum that a reader brought up another interesting point - which is to enjoy the process of learning. To enjoy reaching a deeper understanding of the game. I think this can be really positive, and I've used this to sustain my desire to keep playing and competing! On a personal note, despite my negative emotions at times with chess, I've found myself always returning to chess. And I think in a way, that is my proof for my "lasting love for chess". I agree that I can make more progress if I didn't take the setbacks so harshly, but at the same time, I think if you care about something deeply, its only natural to hurt a lot from the setbacks! So all in all, I think it's ideal to feel really happy when you beat someone stronger than yourself, and feel really hurt when you lose to someone weaker than yourself. But use these experiences to grow, and come back stronger and stronger!

Very nice article Avetik. I faced some times same not for losing game but as a female adult player faced so many challenges in life like lack of support of family & coach.Not able to balance in giving time to play tournament or to family & kids education etc.

You really saved my chess carrier, from now i will not just apply till chess but also in life. joining chessmood was my best investment until now. keep doing good work and be ready to take my interview because i am working smart, and with right mood with best chess website in the world

Now I know why my love for chess has spiraled downwards I can try to fix it and begin love it more and more again. Thanks for the article.

Great article - you've identified a problem that's been there my whole life but I was only dimly aware of.

But I gotta ask - what happened to Henry? Is he playing again? I bet he is…  

PGN Tactics Ninja File

In the PGN Tactics Ninja File, what quizzes are included?
It seems to me that it is only the quizzes described in the videos.

Thanks!

Dan Mintz

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Hi Dan,

Yes, the quizzes in the videos, this is the contents of the file in case you want to work with the pgn file as some people requested.
😁😀

When is Avetik's book coming out?

I've heard that GM Avetik is writing a book. I'm so excited! I'm sure I will be one of the first people to buy it.

I just had a question. When is the book coming out (approximately) ?

I'm sure it will be one of the best chess books ever!

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💪If everything goes well this year, but no promises here, Avo is very busy trying to keep us happy and working hard for you… 😁

I defeated a trash-talker

Hi all,

I just wanted to share this game I played recently. I'm not proud of my gameplay, but it is the story that makes the game worth sharing. 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100377895779

I miscalculated some tactics around move 20 and wound up with a significant material deficit. I kept playing on because I knew there were some lurking back rank threats, and I'm not really one to resign often anyways. Around move 30 my opponent actually messages me and very impolitely criticizes me for not resigning. I ignore it, and we reach the position after move 37 where I realize that I have the gimme threat of …h5 and …Rxf2#. When he quickly played 38.h4 I am able to respond naturally with …h5, disguising my threat. 

I literally jumped out of my chair in excitement when he failed to defend the mating threat. My friend who witnessed the whole ordeal was just as ecstatic. This is shamefully one of my happiest chess moments; it is not often that you are able to fool a trash talker.

Thanks for reading!

PS: For those curious I actually had a brilliant opportunity to play 18…Ngf6 with an advantage and a fascinating position. Ah well, this makes for a better story.

Replies

Nice story but “humiliated” may be a bit strong… Better “defeated” to be a post accessible for all ages? 😅

The best games of January, 2024, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of January, 2024" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post the best games that you will play this month. 

The Prize fund is 350K MoodCoins which is equal to 350$.  

The 1st prize  - 150K
The 2nd prize - 100K
The 3rd prize-  50K
The 4th prize- 30k
The 5th prize- 20k

Good luck with your games and keep the Right Mood! 
#ChessMood
#Right Mood - Right Move 

P. S.
Here are the winners of December, 2023:

Vicentiu Iorga
God Grace
Paulius the Witcher
Igor Krayushkin
Paul Nguyen
 

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A pretty accurate Scotch, eventually the opponent lost on time even if it was a Classical game, trying to decide what to play.

https://lichess.org/WY1UIA3W/white#33

https://lichess.org/rQSmtBz1/white#59

Hello ! Here is one of my first game of 2024 : 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/98121016121

A crushing scotch with h4 and Qe6.  Hope you like it ;) 

Blackmood Opening

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/98288689265?tab=review&move=63

a game when I won by attacking the opponent king(rapid 15+10 in chess.com)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/97857683641


I thought about sacrificing earlier but prefered to improve the position of my pieces first because I do not like to sacrifice without being sure that my sacrifice works(when I played 27.Nxh6 I already calculated till the end of the game).

I can add that the game is from white mood scotch opening

a game where my opponent can't stand dutch defence

https://lichess.org/IoUvwWtt/black

a game where I have given my everything and my opponent did one blunder so he loose

https://lichess.org/90pcTafM

bishop sacrifice

dexcanberra vs. IcelatedPawns | Analysis - Chess.com

https://lichess.org/YT9aTbv5/black#34

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98384718827

I definitely need to attend the mating pattern course!

https://lichess.org/KeuL6xpF/white#44

A game where nice intermezzo at the end!

https://lichess.org/6lcUMTgZ/black#50

In the end my opponent accused asked me if i was GM Chess: crazyotakunerofan vs FMchesstrainer - 98460350873 - Chess.com

https://lichess.org/qpfmIhbq

According to chess.com engine I played 2 brilliant and I was only 1700 that time

https://lichess.org/4wDNfPoF/white King Rush!

A nice and short english.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98641045513.

a devastating attack with a brilliant bishop sac

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/98531056781?tab=review

This time my opponent played Grob's 1.g4. Good thing I had just watched Blackmood Openings Punishing the Grob so this time I was ready for it with the key move c6!

https://lichess.org/jzSYqmLL6Qlj

A Maroczy Bing with precise endgame technique and everything becomes easy.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98751300573.

Sicilian Dragon: When the opponent plays an inaccurate move in the opening.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98547962465?username=akton618

Grand prix : The opponent ignore my attack and got checkmated quickly 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98803621599

Philidor

https://www.chess.com/live/game/98824476165

My best victory of this month is a correspondence game that didnt last long.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/608214133?tab=review

https://lichess.org/jNS1NxnL/white

https://lichess.org/tw2tKPCK/black

nice game with lots of tactics and a space advantage

an opposite side castling attack playing the king's Indian defense, with 2 great and 1 brillant move https://www.chess.com/game/live/98901425873

😀

A very clean game in the Catalan : https://lichess.org/h1mj75t2/white

Started learning the Chessmood openings and the Scotch game lines are awesome : https://lichess.org/A79CF19y

Recently started Chessmood and its really helped my chess , thank you so much Avetik and co

An attacking masterclass is my OTB tourtament!!!

The last part of the game was in time pressure, so I went for the line I calculated.

https://lichess.org/study/kMT0ZBbB/xEteIb0d

An unusual nice Caro - Kann with some nice pins!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98933045491.

CM Benko

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/98944465609?tab=review

an inaccurate plan by my opponent and I punished it immediately

https://lichess.org/xZAzvbcN/black#23

https://lichess.org/cp2TpEKa/black double queen sac

One of my best games ever in terms of accuracy, with a queen sac at the end and a very beautiful finish(Re1 also worked but I had to sac the queen for the beauty of the combination)

https://lichess.org/EW9SdAmT/black#50

https://lichess.org/VbIDsTNP/black

Not chessmood opening but a decent game in Najdorf

https://lichess.org/UL7uN3Lj

Funny game: An unfortunate blunder but who cares? :-)

https://lichess.org/PfvHUE3q/white#0

played badly but a lovely finish with underpromotion for mate

https://www.chess.com/live/game/98933063101

all analysis Grand Prix attack

After doing the double check section in Tactic Ninja course, I was surprised how useful it is!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99009310289?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/97743038141 

A good game in scandinavian

MMmaaxxxx vs 1stCesnq - https://www.chess.com/live/game/99002646431 A nice game in Schlechter variation as black against my sparring partner

A good attacking game in French Exchange variation. I followed our coach method clearly when the opponent attacks our Nc6 to return back to Nb8 and capture the c7 pawn with Bd6. After that opponent doesn''t have much attack really nice. thx Coach for your course.

https://lichess.org/g70lXzdJ/black

CM Benko - 2

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99119738645?tab=review

CM Antisicilian miniature

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99120292361?tab=review

A beautiful game where I didn't let the opponent go to the castle by activating all my riders

https://lichess.org/EN3eYpCdhTdW

Punishing a bad owen's defense in a very short game.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99184426287.

https://lichess.org/wSqqDyyJ/black

interesting d4 kings indian

https://lichess.org/ClAh3FmG#32

A nice attacking game in the pirc defence

Scotch with Nxd4 for black as GM Gabuzian predicted for most of under 2000 .

i always forget to put my bishop on f4 and too often play it on g5 but this time my opponent gave me the chance to continue in a bulldozer way ! 
https://www.chess.com/game/live/99239127217

Destroying my opponent's dubious and greedy play.

https://lichess.org/v3Dl3YoS/black#40

The black King went for a walk!   A crushing game!

https://lichess.org/AxoUBxPs

Once I played that game, well known lyrics popped up in my mind:
"In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man,
 And now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can…" (C) LZ

It is a real joy and pleasure to checkmate His Black Majesty on d4 square just on 20th move!

The game with many mistakes (unrealized chances with tactics), But with nice night  vs rock end game. I found many mistakes after with engine, but in any case enjoy how I managed to transform such a difficult position without space and weak spots for nights to equal endgame 
https://lichess.org/knfK0hqA/black

https://www.chess.com/live/game/99368140417
 

french exchange variation with a strong middle game 

https://lichess.org/lCrO4IPB

nice anti sicilian attack….. thank you

Theve already posted 2 games not even played in January and deleted them once I confronted them about it…

https://lichess.org/usnr5txg/black

https://lichess.org/lJMdWhDv/black

chessmood vs smith mora gambit

IcelatedPawns vs. Moseaf_83 | Analysis - Chess.com

Hey guys! For those of you concerned, we have blocked the user "God Grace", and he won't be able to post any games and participate in any forum discussions. 

Thank you for keeping the forum atmosphere friendly and respecting each other 😊

It's rare for me to play a outplay Sicilian like in this game.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99488626049.

And playing against French with 3. …. Nf6.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99493384577.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/99508478153
caro khan strong attack

A game where I was slightly worse out of the mopening, but then my opponent let me start a strong attack that contained 3 ‘brilliancies’ (and a queen sac)!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99513672373

https://view.chessbase.com/cbreader/2024/1/21/Game4946437.html

https://www.chess.com/live/game/99521057297
french attack. Exchange variation with a nice sac

https://lichess.org/ewKSoUq9/black

saving a lost position

A nice Scotch:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99591680199.

Hello everyone! I joined chessmood today!! pls guide me how to use it :) 

A brilliant combination of tactics in the 

Grand prix attack with the white pieces .

https://lichess.org/Ci1R60oL/white

https://lichess.org/Wtu6rYzf/black

Clean game with a slight positional advantage 

https://lichess.org/HSO7WfBVuUa3 

A crushing mating attack from the opening, and finally a beautiful sacrifice to finish the game off!!

https://lichess.org/Z7XBEFVc/white#69

Nice attack against the French with a beautiful finish.

https://lichess.org/TFfWU4zY/white#41

Comeback from a bad opening:

https://lichess.org/r5Paj0ab

I liked my little “cross pins” around move 14-20, or so, even though i had my usual oversights :/

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/596993795?tab=review&move=65

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99688935515

i forgot the line as white in the schlecter variation after c5 exd5 Qxd5 . The move suggested by chessmood is Nc3 as the queen cannot take on g2 . In my game,  i did not calculated it , so i went with Nf3 which seemed logical . My opponent( 1992 rapid chesscom before the game ) thought he was fine with the extra pawn but he resigned after move 13 ! 
https://www.chess.com/game/live/99691948215

A good game against London with Rg8 and h6, g5 line attack. Till end Bf8 not came to game and finish with nice sacrifice mate. Thanks for GM which I use to follow this idea from streaming games where our GM Gabuzyan use to play against london. :-)

https://lichess.org/HcXo5FE4/black

This is a funny game I played in the modern defense. I played a move that was marked as a blunder, but the computer quickly saw my plan and lowered the evaluation back to 0. And thanks to a blunder by the opponent, I had 2 queens by move 11 :)

https://lichess.org/qg90w8tm/white#21

We had some nice games during the scotch event! I wanted to share with you some of my games: 

Here is my game against my friend Vedant, I wanted to play for the win, so I tried to find an imbalance by ruining my pawn structure for an open file: https://lichess.org/Qv9PQ2Cm

This is a game I lost… but that doesn't mean it's not interesting! I tried to sacrifice my queen for 3 pieces and was winning… unfortunately, I blundered when low on time and lost. Still, it's a nice game:  https://lichess.org/6PgxLJVg 

Hello ChessMood Family,

Excited to share my top games for January 2024:

1. Scotch Tournament: Had a great game against GM Gabuzyan. https://lichess.org/30ReCH5qFKXV
2. Zonal OTB Classical: Won two key games in rounds 6 and 8 using ChessMood French. https://lichess.org/study/WBlqNFu5
3. French Defense Surprise: Beat a higher-rated opponent with the innovative Ng8 move. https://chess-results.com/PartieSuche.aspx?art=36&id=5081490
4.  

Looking forward to the community's thoughts and learning from other members' games!

Check out this #chess game: elilynlovesmario vs VinzClortho21 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/99795139465

French attack, mac cutcheon gambit declined from white, loss of a quality  but finally getting  the point.

https://lichess.org/bjRCF7gs/black

White attack against French with Chessmood Be3. The whitemood openings work!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99860027877?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99864272843
 

dutch , my opponent played a different move order and delayed putting his Bishop on  g2 . Which I took advantage . He could have complicated the position according to the engine but not easy to find on a rapid game ! 

Playing with the right mood in a Philidor.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/99876797361.

A perfect short accurate game (Accelerated Dragon).

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/97863558013.

A very accurate game:Saul2305 vs tobafotoba: Slav Defense • lichess.org

A very accurate game beating an IM! tobafotoba vs IM Kaisa014: Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation • lichess.org

A nice game in the scotch game with a brilliant double rook sac

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99999223057?tab=review&move=48

A very tactical game in English vs a 2500 Rated FM

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99924744469?tab=review

Also a nice game from me, 2 brilliant sacrifices in the London System against a nearly 2400 FM.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99923028695?tab=review

https://lichess.org/ZP00GYo0

My first game in The Maroczy Bind after have understood the structures through the course (A big thanks to GM Avetik!). I felt really comfortable to play it (Used to have big difficulties facing that); even if I missed an earlyer shot.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100014112571.

This is probably the most impressive move I ‘ve played in my life. I could have finished the game easier and faster but eventually my opponent’s defenses were crushed after the incredible Qg7 with forced mate to follow.

https://lichess.org/dInTgJk5/white#26

Outplying an opponent in a middle game in Benko / Declined.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100044728375.

Simply destroying a Pirc Defense in 16 moves.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100050718935.

CM Scandinavian

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/100060900413?tab=review

Played this blitz game 3/2 otb with IM who i couldn't beat before

https://www.chess.com/analysis/library/33qUmsD6Vk?tab=review

Bishop and Queen sacrifice

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100078392353

What we can call playing a perfect game.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100103485891.

I beat a GM!

https://lichess.org/ejEWzj64/black

I_Am_AlphaZero vs. chhatturangam | Analysis - Chess.com Beat cm with 100 accuacy

Chess: I_Am_AlphaZero vs chhatturangam - 99797558467 - Chess.com 

Lilyways vs. IcelatedPawns | Analysis - Chess.com

Nice tactical SLP ending

https://lichess.org/Xt2PkW2b/white#51

Crushed dudious play in the opening with a great attack.

https://lichess.org/hFgW24Qt/white#24

https://lichess.org/0ECd64uI/white#69

Chess: BlackHole7625_R vs GM_Drunkienstein - 98277291535 - Chess.com

best comeback and powerful attack

and winning against a player 500 points more than me

Trying the accelerated dragon but getting a smith morra: https://lichess.org/3JoabGiq/black

Benko played OTB classical

i am black in this game 

https://lichess.org/1fR64esi/black

There are times when I think I play perfect chess. Sheer joy when that happens. 

https://lichess.org/qaJqg0HB/white#45

A game of effective calculation 

https://lichess.org/LeS3XELP/white#41

A nice OTB classical game against a  ~1950 young player.

 ( https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/97976449643 ) Probably the best game I have ever played. My opponent was rated much higher than me, but I managed to get a crushing attack with the Scotch. At the end I used my knowledge from the mating matador course to finish the game in a beautiful way. 😃

A nice accurate Scandinavian.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100308174377.

i handled the piece sacrifice and he had nothing to play for

https://lichess.org/L6Qtnaw3/black

I start to really feel at home when playing the grand prix attack and I now understand how easy the attack is ! 

What's funny is that I never really learned my lines but I still manage to get decent opportunities just by trying to follow the ideas I know from the models games and events. 
In this first game I found a nice tactical idea with a N sacrifice to open the position. Besides the pawn storm, one tactic and naturals moves, I didn't do anything crazy… free win, free Elo ! 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/100345985293?tab=review&move=34 

 

In the exchange French attack, the ideas are really straightforward and without much theory I could just go all-in on the king and found a really nice piece sacrifice that allowed me to crush his position and open his king enough to get an easy play in endgame. 
Again in this game I didn't do anything crazy, just easy plans, pawn storm, a thematic sacrifice and easy win ! 

 https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/100344188377?tab=review&move=27

I must admit that blackmood and whitemood openings, even at 2000+ on chesscom, give me a lot of straightforward games without theory headache. Also the accuracy given by chesscom engine shows how easy the opening is to play since the best moves usually are logical and naturals. Thank you so much for this crushing repertoire, I have better results since I switched from a complicated opening repertoire to an easy one !

It becomes more and more difficult to surprise me in Caro - Kahn even after some inaccuracies.
https://www.chess.com/game/live/97979948805.

https://lichess.org/C7GClGBJ Finding a Sacrifice in a closed position to rip open opponent's King position is always a fun way to play!

Dominating a Scotch / Main Line.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100394518525.

A few submissions.

https://lichess.org/T6tjws69/white#22

Normlish scotch game where white attacks on the kingside while black tries to generate counterplay on the queenside. Black creates a hook on h6 which I exploited to open the h file, which lead to an accurate rook sacrifice for a lot of material gain. 

https://lichess.org/p1Vyi8PW/black#23

This game shows just how quickly whites position can fall apart in botvnnik-carl positions 

https://lichess.org/nGhn6Wa1/white#17

An alapin Sicilian which transposes into a wierd slechter french, but it worked out, the f3 bhisop being a killer.

https://lichess.org/erfvUsal/black#15

A game where white tried a thematic pawn sacrifice in caro-kann and got a better looking position, but it shows you still have to be carefull.also cool checkmate :P

That is all I have for this month, thank you. Have a great day!

A nice game in the caro-kann with a brilliant exchange sac

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/100350775221?tab=review&move=50

Nice crash of Sicilian with grand prix attack (it is not my main variation for white, still)

https://lichess.org/maOgH5m1

Even if I had an easier win but I went for something even cooler

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=ZJMwqFdDF+hkZVNGTgIviPTxDLjk1hPM8L6JhEk2yAIXRvSoUeHo4sqNqwZQ6Ht9

https://www.chess.com/game/live/100450416611
 

not a perfect game but I like my f7 move and my attempt to sac the queen ! 

Pretty finish after my opponent missed my extremely pretty combination an took my rook on e3. I could have won a lot easier with Rh6 but, believe it or not, I played Re3 to enable this move and then I forgot to play it.

https://lichess.org/hClsr8uI/black#15

Hello champions, how are you?

You all played some beautiful games in the first month of 2024. So many beautiful sacrifices, fearless attacks, punishing the opponent in the opening… It’s great to see. Keep it going!

Now, onto the prizes:

1st Prize: Chess Donkey (interesting name), for an outstanding attacking game in the Scotch. Your build-up and the finish, including the Rook and Queen sacrifices, were brilliant. Great job!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/97976449643?tab=analysis&move=52

2nd Prize: Shubman Gill Fan. In the Scotch, 4…Nxd4 is never a good idea. Your game is a good example of how to play with White. It’s only made better by the double Rook sacrifice to mate the Black King. Well done!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/99999223057?tab=review&move=48

3rd Prize: Joseph Zaffarese, for your game in the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon. Your Bh8 was a monster as you created a winning attack despite being an exchange down. The finish with the Rook sacrifice was beautiful! Nicely done!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/99795139465

4th Prize: Manolis Kouk. Your game is a lesson on punishing rubbish opening moves. And the Qg7 sacrifice, where the Queen could be captured by two different pieces, was stunning. Well done!

https://lichess.org/dInTgJk5/white#55

5th Prize: Jake E. Your game was like a showdown between pawns on the 4th rank vs pawns on the 6th rank. You showed a good understanding by smashing open the position with 17.f5 and later wrapped up the game with a Rook sacrifice. Good job!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/98559306959

Congratulations to all of you.

Thank you, champions, for sharing your games!

Let’s keep the CoGro for 2024! 

All the best for the next month’s contest!

How should we analyze our games on our own?

Hello everyone i wanted to know really badly everyone says that analyzing our games are really big improvement but how?

Replies

There is a great article by GM Avetik on why and how to analyze your (blitz) games: https://chessmood.com/blog/analyze-blitz-chess-games - hope you find it helpful!

I also like what I call the detective method. Like in a whodunnit novel, everything is revealed at the end, the clues were earlier in the book, but not always obvious and plenty of red herrings. Chess games can be the same. A position might be losing, but unless it was a stupid blunder that caused it, it's sometimes worth going backwards to see how it arose. How did a mistake earlier lead to this? Then when you get to the mistake, understanding what was wrong with the move and why an alternative might have been better can be a lot more obvious. It could be something as simple as giving the opponent a key square and the moves later see the opponent making use of that. Another move perhaps guarding the square with a tempo is then easier to understand why it was better.

Another use of this technique is understanding an engine move offering. So the engine suggests a move, but it's unclear why that move is better. Of course one needs to be careful that it's not because of 20 moves of forcing analysis no human could see, but when it's a bit more positional, what if that move isn't played, play a few moves to see what happens. Then work backwards to understand why the computer offering would have improved things somewhere along the line. This can also be done when calculating. On getting to the end of a line, understanding what problems were encountered and working backwards to see if some other move in the sequence would have improved things.

A follow-up question:  How do I best study master's games?

I have often heard that studying the games of strong players is a key to success, but I am unsure of how to go about doing it. Is there a database somewhere of notable games with annotations? Perhaps there is already a wonderful article on the subject, but I would appreciate a few pointers. I don't really even know where to begin, but am willing and eager to learn.

This one will help you too: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcwmeoV4Dm0😁

Help against d4 opponents as black

Hello apologize if I missed something  but I have looked through all the courses for a good response to d4 opening as black. I have reviewed the blackmood dutch section twice but am looking for something else and something against stronger opponents.  I am 1650/1750 on chess.com and 1900/2000 on lichess.org.  When I play OTB I am playing against 1800 to 2200 USCF rated players in the USA. I really appreciate the help. 

Replies

ChessMood also offers the Benko which is a good fighting opening.  On the one hand people will wonder out loud whether it really is sound, but on the other hand you'll find that many opponents don't really like playing against it :-)

If the Benko is also not to your liking, there are plenty of books and courses out there for other openings. To a large extent it's a matter of selecting something that you find appealing. If you're not interested in something then you're unlikely to study it and learn it well!  My other main advice would be to try to keep it relatively simple.  Hugely complex theoretical openings are probably going to take too much effort to learn.

Lastly, transpositions and move orders are important for 1.d4 openings - more so than in 1.e4 openings.  Consider how you like to face the London and the Jobava, and whether that fits in with the opening.  Consider also how you want to play against 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 and whether there's much overlap with your system vs 1.d4.

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…  

Replies

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