Create your free account

By clicking “Register”, you agree to our
terms of service and privacy policy

Log in

OR

Reset password

Chess forum by Grandmasters

french Schlechter variation problem?

french Schlechter variation. i was having a discussion with a friend and i said a3 was the best move for humans in this variation going e4 e6 d4 d5 Bd3 Nf6 e5 Nd7 c3 c5 Ne2 Nc6 a3 then he said c4. i checked with the engine and it was nearly 2.00+ advantage for white. i wasn't sure how to punish it since there were 0 games played like this on both lichess and masters data base (exepect for one). can someone maybe tell me how to play against it? it will save me some time for sure.

Replies

Hi Geeta,

In the mentioned position center is getting completely closed and White's getting nice chances for a flank attack after castling.
f4-f5 ideas or if required g4 can also be needed, but that's already more concrete. Overall with pieces and pawns White's getting a very powerful game on the Kingside, due to the pawn on e5 which gives them a space advantage.

NEW ARTICLE: Stop Playing Chess When Your Body Doesn't Want To

Hey Champions!

We have this topic in our Blog.
https://chessmood.com/blog/stop-playing-chess-when-your-body-does-not-want-to
If you have any questions, comments or you just liked it, feel free to share your thoughts here. 

Replies

Thanks for this article..... I will conduct the experiment and let you know my observations after a few weeks.

Thanks for the article GM Avetik

I started playing chess in the morning from today and I gained 50 points! all the time I used to play in evening and would sometimes gain 8-9 points and lose 10-11 points. basically, I did not make progress with my rating. When I played in the morning, I defeated 2 1625+ one 1615+ and I won against one 1750! from 1596 my rating went to 1643!! Thank you soooo much I don't know how you guys do this sooo well!!Just keep writing articles like this and one day you will become such a big business that you will buy chess.com!!! good luck on your journey! I have never seen a website like your's making new innovations everyday! I just have one request, can you plz plz plz write articles like thrice or twice a week ? plz(: your articles are very usefull!

Thank You So Much, Sir, For The Awesome article

Hi guys, today I have the results from my first 2 days of experiment. I wake up at 7am and my peak alertness hours are: 10am to 2 pm and 7pm to 10pm. Although that sometimes I play tournaments on lichess or chess.com until 11pm :) I have raised around +350 points since I became a chessmood member but in the last 3 days I raised +38 on blitz (now I am 1874). Thank you GM Avetik for the interesting article. I am persuaded that the chessmood courses, articles and material are more than enough for anyone to become a strong chess player. 

Thank you so much Avetik the growth hacker

I knew since I was a kid that I was an owl. I like to stay in bed until 10-11 am. And never play chess before 16h. The best time to play chess I think is in the evening. Even the early Titled Tuesday begins at 15.00h and the late TT begins at 23h CET. It must be very tough if you live in Pacific coast to attend the early TT. 

The Scale Method

when can we get the course engine evaluation chapter ,also exciting to have positional play ,thanks to see this and  answer my question

Replies

Hello,

We will be uploading the entire course in a very near future, can’t mention the exact days.

Thanks 🙂

what to do when I lose importan game

Hello ChessMood family, what can I do to change my mood after losing an important match so that I can continue playing in a good mood?

Replies

Benko Gambit 4.Nc3

Hello, I've been encountering 4.Nc3 against the Benko Gambit a lot recently, and I couldn't find it anywhere in the course. Does anyone know what the move/recommendation is after this move? Thanks.

Armandas

Replies

As a note, the variation I currently play against it is b4, followed by d6 and the regular development of the pieces in Benko. However, I find it is hard to crack open the queenside, and white gets some good active play, as well as our c8 bishop is very hard to develop. Any ideas?

Puzzle error?

Today's (14 th September) had a 3 move stalemate which is good if it didn't have be2+ that forces the black king to take and stalemate us in 1 move

Replies

Hi if 1.Be2+ then simply Kxe2. The Bh6 is still on the board so there's no stalemate.

New Black Mood Openings

Does anyone know if the new black mood opening course will focus on the Accelerated Dragon and the Benko or will it focus on other options for black?  I have had a lot of success with the white repertoire especially since the shorter white mood course came out.  Thanks! 

Replies

Well, on February the 8th, Avetik send an email to all promembers explaining that in the BlackMood  openings, new openings will be offered. If you did not get the email, please leat us know, since all promembers should get the email. He said: Also, soon we’re uploading the BlackMood Openings for below 2,000 rating, and I’ll offer you a new repertoire compared to our main courses.

Now, that said, the new openings will be different because learning the sicilian /anti sicilians and benko with all the maroczy and transpositions it is a very daunting task for beginners.

The only thing that I can say regarding the openings is that they are very fun and with attacking spirit... I am sure that you will all enjoy it.

Still, we do not forget anyone and for our most advanced students, we have good news: Avetik already recorded some new section derived from forum questions in the Caro-kann, with its advanced section too.

And the Benko reloaded recordings are starting too... Good things are coming very soon... 

Just stay with us, learn and please: Do win lots of rating !! Nothing makes us happier!!

Dear Coach and CM members,

i ve just heard in the black mood french attack, ed5 https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings/episode/3909 that Avetik said "in the main course i will recommend you Bb4 instead of Be7.. what is this main course on the french attack ? 

How I work on Concentration.

In the bottom, I am sharing my opinion and my experience about power of spells. 

Many works a lot but never improve. Even if you have right contents such as chessmood and many other. I think there are many reasons of not improving but I thinking biggest one is Concentration. Now a days people are seriously suffering from lack of concentration. Even guys GMs works on their concentrations skills.  This is because they are also human and no matter you are a GM or amateur you must work on your concentration skills. There are many ways by which you can improve your concentration. In the bottom I am sharing what my culture teaches us. It does not mean you are forced to follow me. I am sharing it for good knowledge. I think God is one and one call him Shiva another person can call him Jesus. Those people who truely believe in Spiritual things will never waste their time in case of names of God. They respect all religion because they know all religion have same God with different names. Now let's come back to topic.

First Method and most effective one:

Power of Spells that can open your mind in a way in which you never expected. There are even scientific proofs that spells of Lord Shiva improve concentration to the next level. You can google it if you want. In the bottom I am sharing the benefits of this powerful spell which can help you in concentration and memory skills.

Benefits of Om Namah Shivay

https://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/and-more/benefits-of-chanting-om-namah-shivaya_1853404.html

After reading the above post if any of you feel interested about how to chant spells in most effective way then let me know so I will guide you from which I learnt from best mentors. It's not gonna be super complex task but it will change your intelligence level.  The reason behind that is most posts are in Hindi Language so it's impossible for a foreigner to understand what the author is trying to say. So instead of learning from wrong mentors on youtube I can share you the right idea in translated forms from the right mentors or I can say my spiritual mentor. 

The spells I love:

Spells of Lord Shiva: Om Namah Shivay, Namah Shivay.

Spell of Mother Durga:  Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Viche

Note: There are many deep things you need to know in order to work on spells in right way because chanting spells in right way with pure dedication matters.  I am not an expert in this field of spells but I know from where to start and how.

Second Method:

Now let's go to the topic by which you can improve your concentration without the spells. Because some people do not like to chant spells of different cultures. But the method I am sharing in the bottom is not based on any religion but it's an art by which you can improve your concentration.

1. So what you have to do is take a paper and make a dot on the paper with red or blue or black pen. Then paste it on the wall in a way so once you will sit in front of it then it will be clearly  visible to you. Like in the pic I shared. The guy sitting in front of point can see the point without moving his neck. 

2. You also need a met so you can sit on it. In these things met should be new and it can be used only by you not your family member. 

3.  You also need a hanKee so you can clean your eyes once the tears will come. 

4. The max time you need to spent on Point Concentration is 10 to 15 mins. Don't do more than that in the beginning. 

5.  Try to avoid non- veg things during you will work on this skill.

6. Room should be clean also  and if possible choose a room in which not many people comes. So it  will become empty.

7. Choose a time in which there is pin drop silence in the home. Best timings are 4 am or 5 am in the morning and 6 or 7 pm in the evening.

8. Turn off the fan so when you wwill try to focus on point then no air will annoy you because if air touches your eyes then it will be troublesome for you to focus on point well.

9. Now sit down on mat and start focus on the point. Don't try to think of any thoughts. In the beginning many thoughts will come in your mind but do not try to force them to go away. They will soon go away from your mind. Within few weeks you will see difference in your concentration. 

10. During you focus do not try to close your eyes. Try to focus and if tears come a lot then use hankee to clean it for a sec then again start looking at the point. Within some weeks tears will not annoy you because your eyes will be concentrated on the point so well.

11. When you will do this training then sometimes you will see light on point instead of the real point. So , don't be scared it's a sign that now your mind have no thoughts. When light comes if means are doing alright.

11. Now, how to understand that you are successful in this method. When you will see only light on the point instead of your point and it will stay for 10 or 15 mins then you are successful in this method. 

That's all guys. Try any of these methods. It will be super useful for your concentration. I am still searching for right video in english on these topics but still I found no useful video in english format. Once I will find it then I will paste link here and it will be useful for you all. 

Good luck.



Replies

Wow

Super!!

Thanks, Abhi for your valuable advice. It will help us in our life as well as chess!

By the way, are you Indian? Your chess.com id says you are from the US?

Thanks for sharing, Abhi

@skipper_chess it's abhi_mary_1997 on chess.com and lichess

Anyone who started to apply the methods I shared?

Amazing post! 

How many of you tired the above methods?

Question Galore...........

😅

Hi Chessmood team !!

Here are some of the problems that really trouble me…

  1. How to play in Zeitnot?
     In a classical time control when I reach the 4th-5th hour I usually start to make use of my time advantage and end up in time trouble as well………(Literally 5 mins later) And boom I blundered. This has cost me alot of my games…( Pls note my stamina isn't bad)

 

 

 

  1. How to notice an opponent's resources in a time-efficient manner?
    Usually in my games, I am found missing a lot of my opponent's resources even though I am spending a good amount of time looking for them...What are the main criteria to recognize them as soon as possible

 

 

 

 

  1. 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 Nge7 9. Bb3 O-O 10. Nbxd4 Na5 11. Be3  
    Here as far as I saw in the advanced section Avetik sir didn't cover the move 11..b6! .This is one of the suggestions of engines and I encountered it in a recent online blitz game. The idea is simple to bring the bishop to b7 without wasting time with a6-b5. Also black can now grab our bishop with Nxb3 without worrying much about the bishop on c8 as it will develop easily.  How to counter this move?

 

Sorry for causing so much trouble😅

 

Always appreciate the reply and support.

 

Regards

Vedant

Replies

I mentioned it in the discord chat, but just wanted to followup and say that after some more experimentation I really believe that there is some value to solving puzzles “from the other side”.  In other words, if it's a white to move puzzle flip the board so that you're viewing it from black's perspective and solve it like that.  It definitely feels different, perhaps because it is triggering slightly different patterns and/or thought processes.

lichess is better than chess.com for doing this sort of training because it remembers the flipped setting between a sequence of puzzles.  Chessable also remembers the setting.  On lichess it's fun to try this even with the “Easiest (-600)” setting.

Hi Vedant,

Out of your post I assumed that you have time management issues as you often get into a time trouble.
Here is the link for the time management webinar https://chessmood.com/event/webinar-time-management

Good luck!

The given position in Sicilian Grand Prix is very practical white has moves like c3, c4, Rf2, Qe1,Qd2 - You can pick a continuation which feels better for you as all of them are leading to a positions which I think are much easier to practically play for white.

Attacking Maneuvers

Hello All!

I said I was going to quit sharing specific games, but I want to share this one not to request help, but to give the ChessMood team of masters an idea of the types of struggles that would be wonderful to create a video series about.

In this game, I was able to apply an attacking pattern that I just saw in an annotated classical game of Fischer's. It's video #25, I believe. I understood WHEN to attack, how to use my bishop to prevent h5, and then push my own h-pawn to begin the attack. But where I struggle is figuring out how to execute the attack once it has already begun and not leave my opponent chances to defend.

I'm frustrated with my attacking skill, because when I review this game, the engine says about half my moves allowed the opponent to survive with accurate play. This is a game I should have lost my advantage because I didn't know how to execute the attack once it began.

I don't know how the concept of finding accurate moves during an attack could be put into a video course, but this game highlights one of the biggest reason why I believe I am struggling to make progress. Bringing the pieces into an attack, breaking through pawns, provoking weaknesses, and finding concrete tactics aren't super complicated for me, but making moves that restrict the opponent's defensive chances IS very challenging.

Again, I'm not requesting special help on this game. But I would love to see a future video course about how to identify the right ideas DURING an attack.

Thank you!

https://lichess.org/xbAwZ3Zi/white

Replies

French Tarrasch , 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.c3 f6 7.Nh4

Hi chessmood family ! My opponent  delayed taking on f6 and I got some problems continuing development! I continued g6 8. exf6 Qxf6 9.Ndf3 Be7 ? 9.. h6 has been played with better results in the past but I can’t say I like black set up in this rare line .. What do you think ? 

Replies

Just to be clear , I will put the moves from the start .

1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.c3 f6 7. Nh4 g6 8. exf6 Qxf6 9. Ndf3 Be7 ?! 10. Bg5 Qg7 

i went for 7… g6 but I see Qe7 is another option . After 7..g6 he took on f6 and I continued Qxf6 but was it ok after Nh4 ?      I played Be7 but  it in the database of chesscom  h6 is an option but white has an easier game to me . How to avoid this line ? Or how to play it ? 

Jobava London Black Line

Hello chessmood family,

I was wondering what the plan was for black in GM Avetik's recommended line: d4,nf6,nc3,d5,bf4,g6,e3,bg7,h4,h5,nf3,bg4,Qd2,bxf3,gxf3 ?

Replies

Hi it's explained in the Jobava Line part 9 "We give our bishop". Since white played gxf3, there is no more pawn on the g-file so white can't easily break through against our pawn structure f7-g6-h5. Meanwhile we play e6, c6 and b5, and Nd7 advancing quickly in the queenside. White's king is weak. If he castles short his king is already exposed and if he castles long it will run into our queenside advance. 

Moder Marocy move order

In the video Avetik says that we should play first d6 and only then take on d4 in Moder Marocy 

 

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 

and not (6... Nxd4 first)

He says that he will explain it, but I cannot find where it is explained - why we cannot start with Nd4 first and why it is inacurracy?!

Replies

Somewhere in the course is given 6..Nxd4?! 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Bg5! Bg7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.Bd3! a5 11.b3 and if ..a4 simply 12.b4.

White's setup prevents at least the “modern Gurgenidse” (with a5-a4 before Qa5), because we don't have the Nxe4 trick anymore,

because of white's Bd3.

I can't tell where you can find it exactly, but it is in the course.

Hi Ink,

The thing is immediate capturing on d4 gives little more flexibility to white, while d6 is leaving them less choice.

So it's practically better to choose the move order he recommends.

Good luck!

Asking for advices

Hi. I have problems against the Ruy López as black and against d4,d5,c4 queen's gambit as black. What are the easiest and strongest lines to learn? Btw I'm 1300 elo

Replies

Please read this: https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans/for-intermediate-players

This will help you more than learn moves on the Ruy Llopez or the QG…😀

Play e6. (and never take the c4 soldier, it makes for a more dangerous game)

Don't worry about the openings for now. Just focus on Stater Cm course on Opening and then work on tactic Ninja course and combine it with playing and you will not gonna have big problems!

Error in Subscribing to ChessMood

I am facing a problem in subscribing to the Essential Monthly Package @$59/month. I am getting the following message every time I try to make the payment-

This link has expired. This means that your payment has already been processed or your session has expired.

 Kindly suggest how to resolve this issue.

Replies

Hi Shubi!
Instead of talking about your case with payment details in an open forum, could you be so kind to send an email to
[email protected] and explain exactly which payment and how are you trying to pay? 
Our customer happiness department will get back to you asap. 😀

Do you have an opening to recommend to me?

Can you recommend me an opening that I should learn (I'm 1800 in lichess)

Replies

Please read this: https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans/for-intermediate-players

😀

Discord for chessmood

Would be great to create a chessmood discord server 

Replies

There's one already: discord.gg/w3mb9WUk6A

Practical Endgames

Hi everyone, I have been strugling a lot in practical endgames where there is no theory and I need to find a plan, I have been doing Endgame Roadmap and 100 Classical Endgames, do I have to do anything else?

Kindly suggest,

Thanks!

Replies

Read this article:   https://chessmood.com/blog/chess-endgame-strategies

And there are also these two courses

https://chessmood.com/course/classical-chess-endgames

https://chessmood.com/course/pawn-endgames

There are also some great endgames in the 100 Classical Masterpieces course.  For example games 16, 28-34, 42, 52, 53, 93 to 97.  Probably a few others too.

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nf3 e6

… here it's said in the course that 5.Nxd4 isn't good because of cxd4 6.Ne2 Nf6 which is given as good for black. However, 6..Qg5 seems much stronger, see a very current example:

 

https://lichess.org/broadcast/international-master-tournament-of-sv-wuerttemberg/round-8/82AXRmZX See the Maisch game.

 

Not too relevant, since we don't go 5.Nxd4, but still…

Actually, I first heard of this move from David Shahinyan.

 

 

Replies

Hello Thomas,

Yes, you are right we anyway don’t play this variation for White’s side with capturing on d4. And also you mentioned the correct Qg5 move.

Thank you 🙂

New success story: Career gambit to winning silver alongside Anand

“I quit my job, accepted Emil Sutovsky’s offer and decided to study #chess for 2 months”, says our hero Alexander Shapiro on participating at #FIDERapidTeams for team Freedom.

He made the most of this once-in-lifetime opportunity by winning silver alongside Anand & co at the World Rapid Teams!

Discover Alexander's crazy success story as he shares: 

  • How he prepared for the event.
  • The people who helped him.
  • The Viswanathan Anand & Vidit Gujrathi effect.
  • The dinner conversation with Dubov.
  • What he learned from super GMs and much more.

    Full story👇

https://chessmood.com/success-stories/alexander-shapiro

And you can share your congratulatory messages with Alexander under this forum thread.

Replies

wow what an experience!! Congratulations!!!

Congratulations, Alex! Did you ask for an autograph or get any other remembrance from the team members?

Well played Alex. Is a once in a lifetime amazing experie<nce and you did awesome.

I see your team didn't lack creativity with Dubov and Rapport ;)

congratulations alexander for silver medal. great job

Even if it becomes hard and not doable,stories like these remind me to never quit chess. Big congratulations Alex and to many more wins. There is no better feeling than feeling extremely tired but knowing you have accomplished what you wanted. Chess is so beautiful. 

Nice going.. congratulations…

great job alexander, super!!

#RightMoodRightMove

#Cogro

Wow ! What an incredible journey on a such short notice ! Going all in for 2 months after getting this once of a life time opportunity , you must have felt overwhelmed with satisfaction of having done the right thing ! You have all my admiration for having been able to concentrate your efforts in 2 months and still delivering at the right moment , sustaining the pressure , fatigue , stress etc… I can only imagine how you could have felt at the end ! What an inspiring story ! and you did it with the help of the chessmood course ! Thank you for sharing this story ! 

This website uses cookies. To learn more, visit our Cookie Policy.