Chess forum by Grandmasters

How Good Is Daily Chess (on chess.com) for Chess Improvement?

Hi everyone! I am just wondering, how useful is Daily chess on chess.com for chess improvement, and what is the best way to go about using it?

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In general I think you're better off simply playing realtime games online.  You will develop more practical skills that way.  And you will maximise your learning if you analyse your games, initially without an engine and writing down your thoughts and questions, then checking with an engine.

I played a bunch of Daily Chess when I was first getting back into it.  It was useful for doing opening research, and getting inspired about chess again but I don't think it was that helpful for my level of play in normal chess.  But I was moving the pieces around on the analysis board when analysing, keeping notes on every game, and sometimes spending multiple hours on a single position!  If I wanted to prioritise helping my overall game I would have limited my thinking time to say 5 minutes (or 10 at most) per position, and not moved the pieces around at all.  My results would have been a little worse, but it forces you to exercise visualisation and practical  decision making skills.

Accelerated Dragon

In the sicilian accelerated after e4 c5 nf3 nc6 d4 cxd4 nxd4 g6 nc3 bg7 be3 nf6 bc4 0-0 0-0 nxe4 line what if white takes bxf7 the computer shows its equal i dont know how to take advantage

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After 7.Bc4, O-O it is not a good move for White to play 8.O-O?!, as it allows Black to play 8…Nxe4! with easy equality – Black is not better, but isn’t it already a great achievement for Black to fully equalize after only 8 moves?!!

After 9.Bxf7+ a good equalizing line for Black is 9…Rxf7, 10.Nxe4, Bxd4!, 11.Bxd4, d5!=

defence against wrong alternatives in mating matador

https://chessmood.com/quiz/mating-matador#228

I initially went wrong in this puzzle by Qd1+ when my plan was Qd1+ Ka2 Bg3
I thought there is no difference between Bg3 Qxg3 Qd1+ and Qd1+ Ka2 Bg3 but
before claiming another mistake I decided to check with an engine that I do not miss something and  it seems that I missed a good move of white after Qd1+ Ka2 Bg3(probably not saving move but the win for black is clearly not trivial to find and is less convincing)

I feel that for a full credit the solver should also explain why Qd1+ Ka2 Bg3 is worse.

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Dutch attack vs London System

Hello,

There is something I do not understand in one set of dutch attack againts London System: the line with

 
1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 5. Be2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. Nbd2

In this position should not we play with black Ke4? If we do that, would not be the knight trapped by the white knight in d3? In this case we do not control anymore the g5 square and it is not possible to push d3.

For white having a knight in d3 , iscthe basic of London system. So I do not understand, this black mood setup against London system. Does anyone have any idea?

Regards

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Correcting your post in bold a bit to what I think you mean:

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 5. Be2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. Nbd2

In this position should not we play with black Ne4? If we do that, would not be the knight taken by the white knight on d2? In this case we do not control anymore the g5 square and it is not possible to push g5.

Well Qd8 and Be7 do line up to cover g5, so that's 2 defenders for two attackers, if white were to play h4 (maybe after g3) we can still add a third defender with Rg8 after playing Kh8.

Online training vs OTB training ?

Objectively speaking, is it better to solve online puzzles  or should I set them up on the board?. I mean, we can save so much time with those “plug and play excercices but I'm curious if there's a serious study related to it 

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I doubt there is a serious study.  I think a mixture is good.  You can do more puzzles online but IMO it's worthwhile solving some harder puzzles on a physical board because it also keeps your 3-dimensional board vision in shape.  Also I find it is easier to be disciplined when solving on a physical board.  Less temptation to just try a move to see if it works.  I will write down my solution and check it against the answer.

See to be in touch with the board irl is very important mainly because all the imp tournaments are being conducted irl rather than online,so if ur very much used to the online board,playing irl could be a bit difficult specially when ur looking for improvement (game wise or/and rating wise).

On the other hand,doing every single task with a physical board is quite tiring and very much time consuming…doing chess online has a very strong + point that is saves a looooot of time.

so in the end it really depends on various factors such as ur strength,ur flexibility with the board (how much “used to” ur brain is to the board),what are the tasks u feel like should be done online or to have a physical board set up etc etc. It is for u to decide :)

All the Best!

Does playing against weaker opponents harm your chess improvement?

Hi everyone!

Here I would like to ask a question that I have been wondering about for a long time: What effect does playing lots of games against weaker opponents have on your chess improvement (assuming you analyse your games)? Can it help you improve? Is it not harmful but also not beneficial? Is it actively harmful to your chess improvement and can it weaken your chess and make you a worse player? Or is it dependant on your rating/your opponents rating?

In my case, on both chess.com and lichess, my blitz rating is many hundreds of points lower than my rapid rating, because I haven't played much blitz recently (mostly I have been playing rapid), and because I had some bad periods of tilt in the past. I'm rated 1500 chess.com rapid and 1700 chess.com blitz, and 1800 lichess rapid and ~1300 lichess blitz. If I played loads of games against much weaker opponents in blitz to raise my rating to where it should be, what would be the effect on my general chess improvement? (I will analyse my games and practice my openings)

I would really appreciate help and thoughts on this question, especially from chessmood coaches and especially GM Avetik, who is probably my favourite chess player in the world.

One last thing: I am writing this with less than 15 minutes left in 2023, so Happy New Year!  😃

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Perhaps there's a mistake in your post . You said your blitz rating is lower than rapid, then said you're 1500 chess.com rapid and 1700 blitz?  I'll assume you mean 1700 rapid and 1500 blitz.  I think at that level it's normal for blitz to be a bit lower.  According to https://chessgoals.com/rating-comparison/#chesscomotb a 1700 rapid is typically about 1600 blitz, but of course it'll vary between individuals.

In lichess your rating discrepency is bigger so it looks like you have some catching up to do there.

In any case, you should just play some games in “the pool” and you should encounter a variety of different strength opponents.  It won't take long for your rating to get close to its correct level.  Even if you get some easy opponents to start with, I don't think this will hurt your improvement.

I would play a variety of opponents, but try to get more stronger than weaker. After all you're learning from the opponent as well so seeing how stronger players play is important. If you only play weaker opposition you might find that you tend to over-attack because opponents can't stop it, where as a strong player can put up a defence or counter. That said you still need to punish mistakes and that's what weaker opponents are for.

Of course ratings aren't always a great indicator of strength +- a couple of hundred points.

There's always a limit you shouldn't cross and you'll be fine :) Let's look at the positive aspects of it :

1. It increases your confidence (assuming one wins most of his games against lowers).
2. You start trusting your abilities as a good chess player.
3. Your rating increases!
4. Because of all the positive effects you now like chess more and have a positive approach towards it which is very essential!

   BUT THERE IS A CATCH! You shouldn't play tooooo manyyyyy games or you'll never really learn how to face higher rated opponents! Also if you don't keep your thoughts in check, winning too much might result in over-confidence….Not to mention if you cross the limit and play more games than needed it will result in your rating increasing way more than your playing strength….

   [ Let's  be honest,what's the fun in winning easily anyway :P ]

   Conclusion : A limited no. of games against lower rated opponents doesn't hurt and is actually quite essential in chess improvement :)

Query on Effectively improving from Chessmood Middlegame Mastery Courses

How to properly maximize the gains from the course the wolf of the chess street ?I am solving the quizzes but can't apply it in practical games .And how many sections can I watch per day?

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To maximize the gains:-

1. Try to watch one section at a time this way you can grasp the concepts better.
2. After watching each video if you made wrong in finding the move then you can put the same position in chessbase or lichess and check with an engine or training partner or coach which would be better
3.  Then you can after finishing the section you can try writing the things you learned in a word file. The benefits are mentioned here https://chessmood.com/blog/bold-unbold-technique
4. Then after Finishing the course continue with other course but try to keep a remainder after one month to solve "The Test" and see if you can do it properly

   All takes time my friend but this is a good way to maximize the gains. I practical games you will often get position to trades so when checking try to see if you did the right trades.

   Hope this helped!

https://chessmood.com/course/4-anti-sicilian-with-nc3-part-4

As Bf1 cannot go to b5 any more after 2..a6 (and Bc4 also does not really make sense due to b7-b5), CM recommends to play 3.g3! and then 4.Bg2, bringing the Bishop to the great long diagonal!

Wow, wow, wow! 
What a post!!! 

Just screenshotted it and saved it in my files. You know why right?
https://chessmood.com/blog/thank-you 

"Why do you play chess?" Is indeed a fantastic question. I should buy today something for Gabu :) 

Thanks for all kind words and welcome to ChessMood family! 
Looking forward to seeing you on the 26th, at Christmas Meetup. 

With love,
Avo 
 

Dear Jeff!

Thanks so much for the kind words to our team, and I appreciate so much your feedback on our 1-1 call!
I hope that helps, and that you reach your goals with Chessmood!

Good luck and Happy New Year!

When can I start playing the Accelerated dragon?

Hi, new member here. I have really been enjoying WhiteMood openings and the Dutch attack, but the French attack does not seem to be working that well for me. I am getting good results and winning 61% of my games in the French, but I just don't like the positions I am getting, as I have trouble getting attacks like in the Scotch and the Dutch. I am rated 1492 in chess.com rapid. When can I start playing the Accelerated dragon? I don't mind learning some theory.

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You can start the accelerated dragon whenever you want. But it would even better to try and understand the structures of the French Attack to improve more. For detailed information refer the following blog👇

https://chessmood.com/blog/change-opening-repertoire

https://chessmood.com/blog/slp-method-how-to-save-lost-positions

And you can share your thoughts and ideas under this forum thread.

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this game - https://lichess.org/O8VDCbNmudWp

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/86128211857?tab=analysis

Currently a rating of 1700 on chess.com

Played against an even rated opponent. I blundered a piece. Still won it, because of SLP ;)

Hi guys! I am looking for some good partners to improve my chess skills in online games on lichess.org and chess.com . My ratings vary from time controls, but they are round 1650. My lichess profile: giorgoskehagias509 and my chess.com profile: Giorgos_Kechagias. You can also contact me in my gmail: [email protected]                 Finally, I am located in GMT+2 zone Greece. I can play in any time controls but I prefer 5+3, 8+1, and 10+0, in order to stay focused. See you soon guys ;)

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Hello

My name is Remy, and I'm looking for partners 

1700 on lichess

1350 on chess.com

I am in france

Hello,

If you are looking for a training partner there is already a pinned topic on the forum in wich it is recommended to look for one.

Link here: https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

https://chessmood.com/blog/improve-chess-tactics

And share your thoughts under this forum thread!

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CT-ART 6 is now CT-ART 10. Is not really a courses but a bunch of tactic courses from the platform learn.chess.King This platform has about 90 courses and summing. I own several courses like GM Panchenko, Total Endings that has 2700 exercises and some 50 Theoretical themes. I use the 300 pawn Endings to practice calculation. When I bought CT-ART 6 the Peshka horrible interface had been changed by a multiplatform enviroment and learn.chess.king has its own web with the +90 courses displayed and my CT-ART 6 was not a software but access to several tactical courses mostly for post-beginners, club and intermediate tacticians . So I concentrated instead in solving Studies and my tactical awarness on chess.com jumped from +2000 to +2800 in a short time. A GM qualified compositions solving as Advanced Tactics and I couldnt agree more. But still once in a weak I train puzzles at chess.com because I am an OTB player and puzzle patterns from games difere from patterns of Study solving.

I just realize I can only do well in fast games(1+0 and 3+0) and fast puzzles mode(3 min puzzle rush/battle and puzzle racer) and hoping to improve in my slow games by solving tactics for a long time ? Thanks for the nice article!

ChessCoach Andras suggests the following to get into good calculation habits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5V8-CBQMBg He suggests doing mates in 3 on lichess (you can select puzzle by type) to get into the right habits of looking at checks, captures and threats roughly in the order of most forceful first. I think it also serves as a good warm-up before a match.

Nice article. It inspired me to give CT-ART another try (CT-ART 4 on Android). I didn't like the UI last time, but now it seems OK. Might be my new phone with a bigger screen, or maybe I just got used to it.

Avetic, there is a very interesting and beneficial book I recommend reading, "Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning". It is about key insights the science of optimal learning has discovered, some surprising. The authors are cognitive scientists at The University of Washington, St. Louis, a top tier university in the U.S.

Hello Avetic, what's your opinion on chesstempo.com free tactics training? To tell you the truth, I'd rather save a bit of money… Thank you!

Blundering

Hello I am 2361 rated player on lichess and when analyzing my previous 30 lost games, I found that I lost 17/30 of them by missing my opponents tactics and 8/30 as strategical mistakes. Can you please suggest a way to cut these losses? :)  

Thank You!

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Hello,

First of all you are a human, so eliminating the blunders is almost impossible (even GM's blunder), but you can indeed reduce them. I am not the right person to advise you on how to do this, but you can watch the following chessmood courses on this topic.

The blunderproof course on this exact topic: https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof

The tactic ninja course (as not having a sharp tactical vision is often the problem): https://chessmood.com/course/tactic-ninja

The mating matador course (for even more sharp tactical vision): https://chessmood.com/course/mating-matador

I recomend you to watch the blunderproof course first and if you indeed find out that you need to get better at tactics, then watch the other. Now if you don't have access to the courses, you can read this article about the same topic, in wich the blunderproof course is briefly explained, and don't forget to work on your tactical vision, this is very often the cause of blundering.

Link of the article: https://chessmood.com/blog/stop-blunders-in-chess

Hope this helps