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Chess forum by Grandmasters

download pgn files of videos

do we have pgn files of the videos if so how to download them

Replies

https://chessmood.com/blog/the-most-effective-way-to-create-chess-pgn-files

In this great article, you'll find the answer and the reason.

Possibility to reset quizz

Can you add the possibility to reset all quizzes for a specific course please?

Replies

Thanks Luc, 

We will add this to the list of updates, not high priority but we are taking not of it. 

Thanks!!!!!😀

How to analyse Rapid Game?

How should I analyse rapid games? I already the recommended method for blitz, but I am not sure what to do for longer time controls. Is it the same, or should I go into more depth?

Replies

Blundering blundering!

So I've just been checking out Aimchess and have a tactics rating of around 2000 but Blunder rating of 680!  This makes sense, my rating (FIDE 1544) has been stuck for a year or more largely because of my silly blunders.  I've really enjoyed the Blunderproof course, but still struggle to get solid routines etched in my head - like checking my moves before playing them.  The spreadsheet I've started completing (seems like a great thing to do) has shown up that I play impulsively and often fail to appreciate an opponent's threats.  Seems straightforward just to change this behaviour but, in the heat of a game, I forget, over and again.  I'd really like to improve, and just reaching out for any advice/support around this issue.  Cheers, Tom (New Zealand)

Replies

Since you said you played too impulsively, I looked up your name on chess.com, and saw you only play blitz and bullet. So I would recommend you to play longer time controls, like rapid. I think this could really help you, because in a rapid game you do have enough time to check your moves and look for opponents threats. So by playing more rapid games you develop the habit of checking your moves before playing them.

I hope this helps you and I wish you good luck at improving! 😀😀😀

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the family and thanks for writing!🤩
We can help you with this, or at least we can try. There is no magic trick but focused right training.😊
Play longer games, 15+10 is perfectly good, no worry about cheaters, there are not so many of them and you should not care about them at all. 😱

You must develop the habit of thinking first in the opponent move, find the why. This takes time and expert help can do wonders. There are several approaches that can be tried to see what works best for you, but you need to trust your coach and have a good connection with her/him, otherwise it is useless.😅

You play chess because you enjoy it, not because you need it, if not it makes no sense.
If you want we can put you in contact with a coach that has experience in cases like yours and you can talk to him. Just let us know.😄

Tom I would recommend  you to pause nd think “ Does my opponent have any threats ?” if no than you can continue with your plan, if yes than try to stop it  if you can't than try to have counterplay . For this you need to play slow games. Wis

Hi Tom.  Let me first of all preface this response by saying that I have only been playing for a couple of weeks!  That said, although I don't have any of my own wisdom to pass on I can share what I have studied and am trying to apply for myself (I'm still making silly blunders).

  1. Play 30+ games.  Hasty responses are more likely to arise in the Blitz-type games.  Become blunder-free with longer time controls and then move back to shorter games if that is what you enjoy playing.
  2. Avoid tunnel vision!  It's good to formulate a plan of action but we need to take care not to continue with the plan if an opponent's last move changes the scenario - there may now be another move that should be made rather than blindly continuing with the plan.  There is a great quote (possibly from one of Avi's articles?) from former World Champion Emanuel Lasker “When you see a good move - look for a better one!”

    PS: Lasker was World Champion for 27 consecutive years!  How impressive is that?!

Avoiding blunders. How to avoid these types of blunders?

Hi guys, this is kind of hard to describe, but I'll try to give an example.

Take a look at the image. This is one of the blunders I recently did. I thought after exchanging all the pieces, I would be a pawn up, forgetting that the rook would swing down and deliver bank rank checkmate. I realized it too late, down a piece, and lost the game eventually. How can I avoid these types of blunders? Thank you.

Replies

Have you looked at the Blunderproof course?

You stopped your calculation one move too early. You should only stop it, 

when the opponent doesn't have any active moves anymore.

I think here it was a technical mistake.

I'm not aware of your rating but I would say that this comes with experience (and some work about it + focus on this aspect during the game). 

Now you made this blunder, you will have to play your next games by focusing on opening principles + king safety/back rank weakness:

King Safety Course?


For Avetik and the GMs:

I have a weakness of king safety and I do not see any material on it so can you guys upload a course on it? 😀

Replies

Hello Yiding Luu!

There is already a course about King Safety under the name “Spartan Shield”: 

https://chessmood.com/course/spartan-shield

If you still struggle with King Safety after the previous course, you can watch this course too:

https://chessmood.com/course/chess-defense

There is also a blog by GM Johan Helssten about it: 

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-defend-in-chess-8-must-know-defensive-ideas

Talent, hard work, or...?

I broke my leg a week before Moscow Open, 2012. 
You know…The combination of snow, mountains, my love for skiing, and my extreme character… I had no chance 😊
 

So, I traveled to cold Moscow with a cane, and I was like Al Pacino from the classic “Scent of a Woman.” 
 

I liked it. Girls liked it. I liked it even more.  

But I didn’t like the news that the playing hall wasn’t in our hotel. They said, “It’s just a five-minute walk.” And missed mentioning, “It’s 30 minutes if your leg is broken.”
 

Additionally, they said it right before the 1st round! 
That meant I was going to be late, and according to the “absentee rule” I was going to lose by forfeit.


My roommate was the American Grandamster Ray Robson. 
And in the 1st round, he was my opponent.


According to the society’s “brilliant” rule—win at any cost—many would just go to the game, and claim victory. Nobody would blame them.


But Ray didn’t. 
He stayed with me.


On my right I had my cane, and on the left—Ray Robson, who was keeping me from falling on the ice.  


We got to the playing hall late. 
The arbiters didn’t know what to do. Should they give us both forfeit?


Luckily the chief arbiter was a very kind man. 
I explained everything. He smiled. Warmly shook Ray’s hand and let us play.


***


After a 5-hour battle, Ray won :) 

He crossed 2,600. Then in the future, he crossed 2,700 and became one of the top American chess players.


No doubt, he is super talented. No doubt, he has worked very hard.
But I believe, above all, life led him there because of his awesomeness.


Happy birthday to this wonderful sportsman and my friend, 
Ray Robson! 

Feel free to share your wishes to him here: 
https://twitter.com/GmAvetik/status/1717186168565964815 

Replies

What a great sport Ray was.  It's a pity that there aren't more like him.  (For what it's worth, there is no way that I'd want to win by forfeit in those circumstances either.  It just wouldn't feel right.)

I've wished him Happy Birthday on Twitter (I refuse to call it X!)

Happy Birthday Ray Robson! 😃🎉

🥳🙃🥳🥳Happy Birthday Ray!!! 🤩🥳 That was very nice of you! 
And Avetik, Nice picture!!! Brother, you look like a blind man with the sunglasses and the cane, I know that you were always wearing sunglasses, but Moscow with snow and Winter time is not so sunny… 🤣😂 

Learning Openings

Is it ok for me to put moves in a lichess study while looking at the opening videos? I always look back like a few seconds after I make the move on the video, then go back to the board. Video, then board, video, then board ,and on. Is this OK for me?

Replies

Hi Sabarish, 

No, it is not the best system, you do not pay attention to the explanations, you are just copying the moves. This makes no sense improvement wise.

Please check this post by GM Avetik where he explains what we think is the best way and why:  https://chessmood.com/blog/the-most-effective-way-to-create-chess-pgn-files

😃

By the way if you are a pro member, please make your posts in the PRO members section. 👍You will get priority. 😅  

Doubt Scotch Game Section

Hello chessmood family 😀 !

I found a mistake in the Scotch Game Section of WhiteMood Openings.

 

Here, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Qf6, GM Avetik recommends in the video “How to continue after 5… Qf6” going with the setup Nc3, b3, Bb2, Long castle.

 

While later on in the section in the video “Summarizing 4… Nd4” he recommends

going with the setup Nc3, Bd2, Long castle.

 

Which one is the right one and could you please fix it, so nobody will get confused by this in the future. 

 

Keep the right mood 😀 , 

Santo Bekking

 

Replies

Hello, in my opinion, due to this being a stabile rapertoire its probable that the same setup working for multiple moves or lines! Of course there is the possibility of a mistake, but thats just what i think.

I'm my opinion, go for the bb2 setup. Bd2 doesn't make much sense as it blocks the s file for the rook. Also I have found bb2 idea to be more practical. All in all, it's up to you, whichever you find more comfortable for you is what matters :)

Hi Santo, the easier one is the one with Bb2, this is the main one recommended. Avetik showed another option that was not on the script, but Bb2 is very easy and has lots of punch. 😃

Moodcoins and dollars

How many moodcoins are equal to a dollar 

 

Replies

1000 MoodCoins = 1 $.

Not everything can be bought by MoodCoins.

Middlegame Roadmap?

I've been waiting on the Middlegame Roadmap course for a while - any idea which topics will be covered in this course? I've been looking to upgrade my middlegame and would love to start doing a deeper dive into the topics while the course is being created. Thanks so much!!

 

I also feel like it will help supplement courses like the 7Q course - being able to better understand concepts like weak squares, good/bad bishops, etc. 

Replies

Hi Charles! Did you watch the 100 Classical games already?😁
There you will find excellent games but many, many Middlegame related themes explained too in the meanwhile.

We are working on the course and with some others simultaneously, but yes, it will include most of the middlegame motives.😅

How do you practice middlegames?

In your study plan, you talked about how to practice openings; But how do I practice middlegames in training games? Because for example, I worked on creating active pieces today, how do I practice that in my games?

Replies

I think that you practice while playing by being conscious of the moves that you are doing. When you play you automatically apply middlegame concepts, the trick is to do it knowingly and understand why. If you practice piece activity, then make your pieces active and don't lag piece development, if you achieve this in your games, you can cross this theme from the studying list… I hope this makes sense… 😅

How should I study middlegames?

How should I study middlegames? I have done openings now I am trying more around middle games and endgames. Thank you very much!

Replies

Hello,

Depending on your level we have lots of middlegame courses in both U2000 and little advanced Middlegame mastery sections on the website. We cover topics like attack, defense, evaluation, planning and many many others and all of this is mainly a middlegame.

Also commented classical and attacking games, where you will see lot's of middlegame ideas as well.

Good luck!

Delayed Alapin

Hi Chessmood team,


Thanks for the wonderful course on Alapin Variation also covering delayed Alapin. Today I played a game and got a new idea from white with a4 - a5 - a6. I got really restricted and luckily white made couple of mistakes and managed to win.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 d6 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.O-O Be6 9.Bxe6 Qxe6 10.a4 Qd7 11.a5 Nc4 12.a6 b6 13.Qe2 Nd6 14.d4 cxd4 15.cxd4 g6 16.d5 Nd8 17.Ne5 Qb5 18.Qd1 Bg7 19.Nc3 Qb4 20.Ra4 Qc5 21.Rc4 Nxc4 22.Qa4+ b5 23.Nxb5 O-O 24.Nxc4 Rb8 25.Nc3 Rb4 0-1

The course covers until move 9. Any idea on how to approach 10. a4?

Replies

Hello, a move like 10. Nd5 is a good follow-up due to it centralizing the knight, and he cant kick your knight with 11.c4 bcs it leaves a hole on b4! Any other pawn push is met with either blocking the position or taking if he pushes d4 to make a weak pawn which u can attack later.

Why is Two Bishop Advantage so Important in Chess?

Hello everyone, when I watch GM Avetik courses he again and again says about two bishop advantage but why is two bishop advantage so important?

 

Thanks!

Replies

Hello,

I had the same question too, but I think the answer is that if you know how to use the bishop pair it is really strong and can outplay a knight and a bishop or a rook in many positions. First of all they control a great deal of squares, both light and dark squares, so it is much harder to have dark or light squares weaknesses. That's one reason why it is better than having a bishop and a knight or two knights(most of the times of course). The other one is that they are long ranged pieces, so in open positions they are more dangerous than the knights(in closed positions the knights are far better of course). Briefly, I think that having the bishop pair is important because each bishop alone completes the other one if you understand what I mean (they have the power to control only one coloured squares alone so together they control both).

If you want more informations and better explanations on how to turn the bishop pair into an advantage read this article by GM Gabuzyan: https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-use-bishop-pair

Also you can check out this course about the same subject: https://chessmood.com/course/bishop-pair-power

thanks!

Pratik, when you have time, please watch the course “The Power of the Bishop Pair” 
https://chessmood.com/course/bishop-pair-power
Then you will understand and learn why is an advantage and how to use them…. 😀

If you reach the end of the game if you have two bishops + a king, and your opponent has only a king, it will be easier for you to win, than if at the end of the game you have a knight and a bishop.

Improvement Suggestions

Hello guys My Name is DharM
I am from India
I am 16 years old
I have a FIDE rating of 1647 (present) 1789(peak) 1 year ago
Chesscom rating of 2100(present) 2325 (Peak) Sometime in the pandemic
Now I can't focus myself well in online games
Joined as Pro Member recently
My White openings are Solid. Some of them are Chessmood recomended while some are not like Open Sicilian
WIth Black I play Najdorf and Gruenfeld And follow Chesmood recommendation For the English and other Sidelines
I started doing Blunderproof course as it was suggested by GM Avetik Sir in the Improvement plan
Planning on doing the SLP course next
I think my positional and endgame skills are good for my level
But I think that I don't feel the positions with initiative naturally
Like some positions with attack for a pawn
I prefer Concrete calculation over the positions with attack!
I am also doing Perfect Your Chess for Calculation
Now in my list are Opening repertoire for Black and improving my feel for initiative and attack
I am also trying to learn some classics
At present I have very less Knowledge about classics or Instructive ideas/plans played by the masters
Now I doing the Endgame U2000 course without the video Just thee Quizzes
If I get the Quiz Wrong then only I would watch the videos
Is it ok??
Looking for your suggestions to improve
Thank You
DharM

Replies

Dear Uma,

We think that you are in the right path. If you follow the plan and work consistenly you will improve your play and chess understanding a lot.
The book Perfect Your Chess is very good but very advanced too, it is targeted to FMs so maybe it will be very challenging. 

Other books for you can be found in this link: 
https://chessmood.com/recommendations
Of these books tactics related, if you find Perfect Your Chess too difficult, go for: Chess School 2 by Sergey Ivashchenko, easier at the beginning but increases the difficulty exponentially, simply one of the best!
You should watch one classical game from Avetik course every day and take some notes on the best moves to remember them.
Then Classical Endgames and Attacking games, your classic knowledge with grow very fast…

As for the system that you are working doing the quizzes first, it's ok if you alreday know the positions. You must be effective in your training, it's your mind that we need to entice to work and calculate.
Take it easy with the Repertoire, try to understand the ideas and check the mistakes in your games against your repertoire always, take notes too!
As for in doubt, go back to the Study Plan, everything is layed out for you to follow….
Keep working hard, I know it's not easy to work and improve in chess, but if it is what you like, no one can stop you from becoming the best possible version of yourself as a chess player!
😅🤩

Could we start learning simplication before SLP

dear chess mood family

 

i stuck mygame many times winning chance with highest rating all!!.

i lost and mistake because of less than opponent on how to winning 

Example more material , opponent just move to save game and make pressure.

SLP not directly mygame i analysis my games from record

 

 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 { B99 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line } 10. Kb1 b5 11. e5 Bb7 12. Qd3 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14. Qg3 Rc8 15. Qf2 O-O 16. Nb3 Rfd8 17. Bd3 Nxd3 18. cxd3 b4 19. Na4 Qc6 20. Nb6 Rc7 21. Rhg1 Qb5 22. Nc4 Qxg5 23. h4 Qg6 24. Ne5 Qf5 25. Qe3 Nd5 26. Qg3 Bf6 27. Rge1 Bxe5 28. Rxe5 Qf6 29. Rxd5 Bxd5 30. Qxc7 Bxg2 31. Nc5 Qxh4 32. Nxa6 g6 33. Nc5 Bf3 34. Rc1 Rd4 35. Qb8+ Kg7 36. Qe5+ f6 37. Nxe6+ Kf7 38. Qxd4 Qg5 39. Nxg5+ { Black resigns. } 1-0

Replies

The WWP (winning won positions) course goes through this. It's the opposite technique to SLP and SLP helps plus gives you warning on what your opponent might try.

You are playing openings very difficult for your level, that require lots of understanding and memorization. That's why you spend so time because you do not feel the position in my opinion. Also you need to work a lot in your tactics and visualization because you miss lots of chances and get in worst positions.
Are you following Avetik's study plan? No matter how many times I will write this, but Chessmood study plan works if you follow it… 
💪I wish you good study!😁

I checked the other game you posted and what I m seeing is a tactical problem . After winning a queen you gave a piece for no reason . Blunder proof course could help you probably as psychology of why we blunder will make you understand why and when it s happening to you. After that , you can check SLP , WWP or simplification if they ever do a course only for this ( it s section of WWP ) . But ninja tactic course , whatever your rating,  is probably the best to do first . When I joined in march 2023, I checked quickly many of the final quizzes and felt I was ok but came back to it after 6 months and did it from the beginning . I m impress how much impact it seem it made for me so far ! 

Question on White plans in Owen Defence

Hi - I lost a game this week from a good opening position, because I played a bad mistake (9.e5?) in the linked game, and followed up by missing a fairly simple tactic.  These problems came from my mindset being frazzled by earlier confusion in the opening, when I couldn't find a satisfactory plan.

 

Could anyone comment on White's good plans for moves 7/8/9 in the attached? I played this game before studying Owen Defence in Whitemood (working my way through course), and didn't get f4 on the board.  But still, I feel the position was very dominant.  I have put some annotations in - don't worry about the rest of the game, but moves 7/8/9 would be very helpful for thoughts on what White should be aiming for please! 🙂

 

https://lichess.org/study/oLUgXvvR/Y8k3ALfK

Replies

Against the Owens I generally like to go with a compact pawn centre by default, so I tend to avoid c4 unless it looks really good.

In that particular game, 7.Re1 is one move that appeals to me.  There's no real master plan other than reenforcing our strong centre and completing development, although experience has taught me that e5 is often powerful at some point in such positions and Re1 helps with that possibility.

The other thing about Re1 is it's quite flexible and a bit of a waiting move because we're not committing our pawn to c3 yet.  If black plays c5 next then it makes more sense for us to play c3 to keep our centre intact (although there's the d5 option too).  But in the meantime it could be useful to keep the option of c4 open.

A downside of Re1 is that black can answer with e5.  Now we have two heavy pieces lined up on the e-file but with no immediate prospects of playing e5. However our position is still good.  I'd probably meet e5 with c3 and play the position like a Ruy Lopez, following up with Nbd2-f1-g3 with a slow buildup on the kingside.

Another option I like is 7.Bf4 because it prevents black from playing e5.  Again, my focus here is mainly on developing and keeping my centre intact.    If they play Nf6 I'd be tempted to spend a tempo on h3 just so my bishop has a good spot to drop back to if need be.

Anyway, that's a couple of ideas for you.  For sure there are a number of good approaches here!

Hi Ben,

We at Chessmood, checked your game and the other games in your lichess study a bit. Very impressive with so many comments, I guess that you are a member of the Chess dojo and you are commenting the classical games so detailed because of that. (Although maybe you don't need to write so many details because we believe that during your game you are even thinking in the narrative of the game)…

In this game in particular, I would suggest you to watch the section on the Owen, 15 min explaining the opening that we will play with White and why. You obviously did not have the ideas clear at all in the game, we do not play Nf3 so soon, we play first f4, etc.
Watch it again, please, take notes (short notes) and understand why we recommend one move instead of another one…

https://chessmood.com/course/whitemood-openings/episode/3821


Also since I saw your games, I would recommend to stop talking to yourself so much during the games (I hope this makes sense), you need to calculate more and base your decisions in calculated moves. You need to work on tactics too, I hope that you are doing the Tactics Ninja and continue with all the Rating booster courses, one by one if you really want to improve.
😍Follow the plan laid out by Avetik and you will improve for sure. Good luck and study hard! 💪

Trouble calculating without a physical board

Hi. I am not sure if this is normal, but I have issues with calculating on screen. On a physical board I can calculate long, branching lines and keep track of the position pretty well, but on my computer or phone, it feels way harder to calculate. How do I get rid of this problem?

Replies

Do you play at the same time control and playing conditions when you are OTB or on the phone?
That may be one of the main reasons…

To be honest, practicing tactics/calculation with a screen looks like the simple solution to solve your problem. Check Chessmood recommendations for online trainers & the app CT-ART and spend 30mn-1h daily if you can solving tactics (between 1 and 5 mn for easy puzzles and between 5 & 10 for more complicated ones) and you will improve with more time and experience. 

It's the same with players switching from online chess to OTB, they will have to adapt and develop the muscle until it's natural for them :)

First OTB Tournament since joining - great success!

Hi Guys,

Just a little success story I guess. I entered a classical tournament this passed week and got surprisingly good results. This really strengthened my confidence in ChessMood, and I'm very grateful for all the wonderful courses.

We had 26 participants in the U1800 section, and I was the 15th strongest with 1457 ELO. I tried out the CM openings for the first time in a slow tournament, and I have to say, they worked very well, even though I basically always played stronger opponents, and CM openings are new for me, I played different things before.

All in all, I won 4, drew 1 and lost 2 (to the eventual co-winners) games. I beat 3 higher rated opponents, the best one was against a 1660 ELO in the Grand Prix attack. I finished 5th, even though I was leading the whole tournament after 5 rounds with 4/5 and a great tiebreak score. I also gained 32 rating points, which is quite a lot for me. My performance rating was 1649, so about 200 points above my actual rating.

For me, the biggest help was the Tactic Ninja course (I'm about halfway through) and the BlunderProof course, along with the opening courses of course. And also the article about nutrition in chess on GM Studer's site.

Even though this is just the first step as I try to play more OTB, it is a very promising one, so I'm sure I'm on the right track with ChessMood!

Thanks for reading!

Replies

Hi Balazs ! Congrats for your good results ! it’s always nice to hear positives stories like yours . 

Congrats!!!

Thanks for your post! This is very good to hear! Keep it up, keep studying and enjoying the game!! 
😀

Hey Balazs,

Good to hear this! Congrats and thanks for kind words!

Keep it up!

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