Chess forum by Grandmasters

New article: 7Q Method: Your Roadmap to Formulating Chess Plans in Any Position

Do you ever look at your position, feel clueless, and not know what to play next or how to think? By asking these 7 questions, you can find a solid plan in almost any position 😊

Discover how in today’s article:
https://chessmood.com/blog/7q-method-chess-planning

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sir to me this article was really helpful but when i was going through the example i found out that i was just checking candidates moves and calculating variation for justifying the weakness of pawn or attack which i do naturally which hinder the process and make it difficult to had more precise positional solution to the question for ex in many position you said that the opponent can use this or that weak square for their knight but i can't simply think of it easily as it is not the part of my candidate moves. making all the calculation blurry so how to avoid it.

On question 7 on the board that says white to play the pawn is supposed to be on h2 but it's on h4

Edit: I see the black dot in the corner, and you wrote that it's white to move. I think you accidentally made a move while taking the picture

Would you recommend playing slower time controls, such as 15+10, while we are learning the 7Q Method? My thinking is that the extra time would allow us to really apply the method during our games and get comfortable with it. Then, once we have mastered the 7Q Method, we can transition back to faster time controls.

Thanks for your input!

thanks for giving

Alapin 12.Re1 feels uncomfortable

Hi All,

following game (https://lichess.org/gRWt9qml/black#23) i played after funnily watched today whole alapin course.

My opponent played 12Re1 and after 12..Qd7 i got somehow in trouble.. felt uncomfortable getting a kngiht to e5 and what i played was even worse.. i checked afterwards and all 3 mastergames played Qd5. what would you recommend here? i think this Re1 idea after Na3 i couldnt find in the videos.

Thank you for the help in advance. :)

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How to Spend MoodCoins?

I have some mood coins but how do I spend them on courses?

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On the page of a video, you should find an option in the top right that says "Get lifetime access". If you click on it, there should be several options regarding your payment method, one of which should be using moodcoins. (This is a quote from Peter M. that I am kindly copy and pasting, Thanks Peter!)

Thanks, but when I went to the BlunderProof Course, I didn't find any button that says " Get Lifetime Access".

You can spend mood coins like this: First go to your profile, then go to courses and there you go !!! 😀

Hi!  

I have some Information for you:

1. Go to the Courses page and pick your course
2. Select the option “Or get lifetime access”
3. Select the option “Buy the course”
4. In the right-hand section titled “Choose your payment method” the last option will be MoodCoin.

Remember that $1 = 1,000 MoodCoin.  So, if the course costs $300 that is 300,000 MoodCoin.

Need to earn some more?  Details are here: https://chessmood.com/moodcoin

Can you use mood coins for a premium membership?

Feature suggestion: Fixmood for custom repertoires

Hi!

Great job on the latest site updates! Fixmood looks very cool!

One thing though - I do not play the Chessmood openings, so I wondered if you would consider making support for custom repertoires in Fixmood? 

Uploading PGN with the repertoire would work great. Preferably with support for multiple files, so the files do not get so big, and I can change out parts of the repertoire more easily. Even more awesome, though obviously not straightforward, would be the ability to create/edit the repertoire directly on the this site.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers,

Harald

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Try chessbook.com. You can import your repertoire by pgn and then link an account and it will tell you where you deviated from your repertoire. The only issue with this is it only let's you practice some moves before it asks for a subscription, but a useful tool nonetheless.

Hope this helps, Samuel

Dear Harald,

I did send your request to our technical team, and once they have the answer, you will get the information!

Thank you 😊

hi

hi

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hi

hihi

Anti-Sicilian 2... Nc6

I found out that in the line 4… e6 and 5… a6 after b3, which is the recommendation, i see often g5 instead of d6, which always crushes me, how to counter that? I saw few lines in the database: After b3, g5, Bb2, Bg7, Na4, Bxb2, Nxb2, g4, Ne1, h5 engine says its pretty equal but seems like black is attacking.

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Anti-sicilian Nc6 line

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nf3 e6 5.0-0 a6 6.Bd3 Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3 Qc7

What to do as white in this line. I have been losing some games here.

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Dear Rahul, 

In the given position White plays with ideas of 8.b3 Bd6 9.Qh3 - followed by Bb2 - sometimes f4.

There is a concrete line if 9…Ne7 10.Bb2 Be5 11.f4! and if Black accepts with 11…Bxf4 12.Rxf4 Qxf4 13.Rf1! and White have a big advantage - I would recommend to check the last position with the engine for better understanding.

If after 11.f4 Bd4+ 12.Kh1 - often White traded Bishop on d4 with Na4 or Nd1 - that position is interesting and playable for both sides.

MacCutcheon Gambit

Dear CM coaches, it would be interesting to have model games from this line. by the way the rating of the simplified chessmood openings (800 -2000 elo) are FIDE like or online ? (anyway by using them i got good results even against 2200 Fide rated players)

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There are model games Marius:

https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings-model-games/episode/4602

They are chess.com online blitz ratings. The equivalents to other rating systems can be found in the study plan. Check it out.😀

https://www.chessjournal.com/chess-pawn-break/

Hope this helps finding what you are looking. And yes, I would also like to know if there is already a course on using pawn structures in the middle game.

Here is also a lichess study:

https://lichess.org/study/8i48j3zf

(based on a YouTube video) that I found looking for ‘pawn breaks’ in the study area of lichess (I have not looked at it so I don't know if this is any good, but there seems to be a few 'go to' resources once you know what you are looking for.

They are working on a positionnal chess course ("Strategic symphony") in the rating booster section, I imagine it will contains stuff on the pawn structure (can't wait!).

If you have a premium account on chess.com, there is a lesson by GM Johan Hellsten “Every pawn structure explained” that is interresting. There is about 30 pawns structures that can emerge from the main openings and the associated plans for both sides and a few exercises. 
https://www.chess.com/lessons/every-pawn-structure-explained

Struggling with Premature Attacks in the Dutch Attack - Need Help!

Hey ChessMood family,

I've been playing the Dutch Attack but I keep getting into trouble before move 15. It seems like my early f-pawn push opens me up to aggressive attacks, and I often find myself on the defensive too early. Here's an example from a recent game where I had a hard time defending:https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/121809533959?tab=analysis&move=81 As you can see, I struggled around the middle game after moving the f-pawn early and eventually fell to aggressive play on my kingside. What adjustments can I make in the Dutch to avoid falling into premature attacks and instead, be the one with the initiative? 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! 😊

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Hi tyler,
in the given example I think the first mistake was 9…h5. This move weakened the square on g5 and allowed 10. Be2 which is where i think you lost the initiative and started having to defend all the weak squares (Note that Qh5 was not a threat just yet as the knight on f6 covers this square). I think that 9…0-0 was probably a better move

After your opponent played 10.Be2 I think taking on g2 was probably another mistake as it allowed your opponent to gain the open g file in front of your king and allowed the infiltration of your opponents rook to g7. I think a good lesson to learn from this game is to think twice before taking a pawn that may open up a file in front of your king and to  try to avoid pawn pushes on the side where you intend to castle. Overall I don't think the issue was pushing the f pawn too early but I think that the  real issue was the open g file.

Hope this helps, Samuel 

Dear Tyler,

9…h5 was a huge mistake as it weakens dark squares on the Kingside, and without that you had a pleasant position.

I would highly recommend you checking all the model games - where you will see how we move our pieces and pawns in that openin 🙂

Benko 3.Nf3 transposition english

Hi Team,

i looked at Benko Gambit 3. Rare:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3…

There is mentioned that after cxd4 Nxd4 it is transposition to english opening which should be covered in english course.

But in english course we are playing 2..g6 so i can't find the transposition.

I know there is a transposition mentioned with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5. 3.e3 but 3.Nf3 i cant find.

Any helps where i can find this transposition?

Thank you all for your help!

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hi Fred,

In the position after Nd4 if you play g6 i’s transitioning, as against any reaction in future we are playing systems with g6 - either going to Maroczy bind, or English systems with g3.

complicated endgame

I've said it in previous posts, I'm working on my endgames. Something in engdames is very conterintuitive for me and I mess up a lot of winning positions or loose draws when we come to that phase of the game. The first courses I watched in chessmood were the endgame roadmap and the essential engames u2000. Now I've begun the advanced courses. I'm still struggling, but I think results are coming. 
 

I was quite happy with this endgame, especially 44. Rb7 and 49. Ke7. 
https://www.chess.com/game/live/121659639697

I'm pretty sure those moves won me the game. 

Turns out, the computer deems 44.Rb7 as imprecise and drawish, even advantage to white due to… g4!  😮😮😮
g4, if taken, deflect the king on a vulnerable square away from his pawns. If not taken, it gives de soon-to-be white queen an anchor to check the king more efficiently. And if the black king goes on e4, it loses to Ra4+, a move that save the rook, maintain the pressure on the black pawn and the queening square in a1 and garanty the queening on h8 on next turn. After g4, the only move that keeps hope to draw is Kg6. 
g4 is a very high level move. Would you have found it? My perception is it's computer-ish. 

Instead, my opponent choose to queen and sacrifice his rook, hoping he could find a skewer to get my rook and then the a-pawn. I knew that, to my king could not go on the 7-rank, nor the g1-a7 diagonal. Also, that in most circumstances, a4 was also forbidden to my king, because some Qf3+ would force the king on the bad diagonal. So I manoeuvered on the few sqares I had left, accepting it would probably be a draw if my opponent choose to take it (wich I doubted, it's really hard to accept a draw when you have a queen and not the opponent). My opponent choose to push and loose. If I'm so happy with 49. Ke7, it's because I had previously saw that move as one of the forbidden one due to the skewer, and needed to spot that only move to understand that the circumstances just had changed and it had become the safest square on the board. That time, the computer approve and it is indeed a winning move. Opponent resigned after me queening. 

Instead of Rb7, the computer prefer to check and then give up the pawn, defend passively against the queening on h8 and pushing the d pawn, going for the draw.
 

But the real mistake that was loosing the advantage was on the previous move, a7. Intuitive move, pushing the pawn protected and close to queening, but it looses the advantage. The computer want to go Rb1+, pushing the king toward f2, then Rh1, forcing the exchange of pawns, and then the passed pawns in the center win the game. I saw that move, but I rejected it because of Kh2, blocking the access to h1. Turns out, the computer says you could go Rb6, and after h7, Rh6+!, pressuring the pawn and controling the queening square by x-ray, after that white has nothing better than exchanging the pawns and you're still having the central passed pawns, the white king being misplaced on the h-file. No an easy line to spot, but I feel that one is not “computer-ish” and I could be able to see something similar in the future. Thoughts? findable?

There is also an interresting miss on move 31. Computer want e4, attacking the bishop. This moves did not cross my ming because seems it's just giving a free pawn, the bishop does not seem to be pinned, since the rook behind is protected. But the computer want to gives the pawn, exchange the rooks and says after that the bad bishop will have hard time preventing the a-pawn from queening and will be forced to sacrifice itself to do so. To in the long run, e4 win a bishop for two pawns. When I saw this line in the analysis, my first thought was it was a master line, above my paygrade. But now that I think about it, I think there is some pattern I should be able to recognize here, with the bad bishop blocked behind his pawns and a passed pawn hard to get. So… maybe I would find it with a better understanding of that patterns? What do you think?

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Nicely played.

Ke7 looks to be a great move.  There is nowhere for the white queen to put you in check, thereby allowing you to promote your ‘a’ pawn (which is basically Game Over for white).

Endgames are, as you know, very difficult!  The ideas can be very subtle, lots of calculation to do, and a small error can be disastrous.  In the beginning and middle game, small errors lead to weaker positions. But there is still a lot of play left to try to find a way to come back. Not true for the endgame.

You've already done a lot of analysis of the game.  Move 44. Rb7 — I completely understand why you would play this. And this is a fast game (10 minutes), so you don't have a lot of time to analyze and think about the response g4.

For me, endgames are an occasion to use lots of time to calculate and analyze. When you don't have that time, you are going to miss things. In this case your opponent missed it too!

So, don't beat yourself up for not finding these. Do celebrate what is a very nice win!

Thank you both for the nice words. 

Jeff, I don't beat me for the mistakes, even after looking at the computer analysis, I'm pretty happy with how I played. 44. Rb7 was not objectively the best move, but I still think it was a good practical decision, that asked a very hard question to my opponent and pushed him to a mistake. It's not the best, but it's a move on the path of being a better endgame player than I was.  Still, I'm interrested to understand the best moves and what's the best way to find them, and I think this game is a very good opportunity to think about it. 

Lichess posts dissapearing

Whenever I post in the Lichess forum nobody responds or reacts to them. I've been suspecting I've gotten banned from Lichess communication. I fact-checked this by anonymously heading to lichess and checking my account's forum posts, and the last recorded one was 9 months ago. I'm so confused because I don't think I did anything wrong to get banned, nor did I get notified this happened (my username is TastyKing if that helps).

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I don't use the Lichess forum so keep that in mind …

• * Can you ask a forum moderator/admin?  Presumably, they would know if you have been banned.
• * Is there a posting requirement?  For example, if you didn't make any posts for 6 months might your account be closed
• * Can you create a new account and make posts that show up?  This would test to see whether your IP address has been blocked.
• * In one of the posts from 9 months ago your comment included “… if you are looking for a stupid opening …” - might this have upset somebody and got you reported?

Mass exchange from middlegame to pawn endgame

While studying KIA (King's indian attack) opening I came up to this variation. And at once remembered chessmood videos about mass exchanges when having some material edge, but in this case it's extreme vacuum cleaner straight to pawn endgame, wow haven't seen smth similar!

If you want you can solve from this position white to move 

https://lichess.org/study/fP8jYMJQ/NJFchmVM

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Wowzer!

You know what we get to do today?

“You know what we get to do today?” is one of my favorite movie quotes. It's from “The Rookie” which is story of a 35-year old man who is trying to make it to the Major League in baseball.  Miraculously, he gets on a minor league team and is struggling. Then one night he is watching young children play baseball, and it reignites his lifelong passion for playing baseball. He shows up for his next baseball team and speaks to his friend the line: “You know what we get to do today, Brooks? Play baseball”. And a huge smile breaks out on his face. 

He found the joy of the game, and worrying about winning or getting to Majors became a secondary concern. He just wanted to play.

So, I ask you: “You know we get to do today?”

I'm sure you know the answer :)

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I didn't know that quote … but I like it!

One that I like, and can be applied when thinking about the Saving Lost Positions course, is from the film Galaxy Quest:

“Never give up! Never surrender!”