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Chess forum by Grandmasters
Closed Sicilian when black plays h7-h5
A version I've started encountering lately goes as follows:
1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 e6
3. f4 a6
4. Nf3 Nc6
5. g3 h5
and similarly if we play 4. g3 then 4.. Nc6 5. Bg2 h5
This kind of makes our standard plan with h2-h3 & g3-g4 more difficult or even impossible, and instead black has an annoying possibilty of pushing h5-h4, and often the castle queen's side.
Any CM recommendation here?
Replies
Hello Yair,
H5 move very much weakens black's kingside. We can regularly develop our pieces, castle, and try to play in center, sometimes with d4 and open up position. In that case, the h5 move will be absolutely useless in my opinion.
Modern Maroczy Bind - Nxc6
Hello dear friends,
After e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 dxc4 Nxd4 g6 Nxc6 bxc6 c4 Nf6 Nc3 d6
or after
After e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 dxc4 Nxd4 g6 c4 Nf6 Nxc6 bxc6 Nc3 d6
i reach a position which should be somehow equal, sure not hard to play for black, but also i have a feeling it's not hard to play for white also. Is there a recommendation how to handle this position? After the simple Be2 and short castle of white it feels they have no problems at all.
Did someone made some experiences with this type of positions? I did not find sth. in the maroczy courses.
Thank you for your help mates.
Fred
Replies
I'd be happy to get this position because it's both easier to play and objectively better than what we normally get in the (modern) Maroczy. We play moves like Bg7, 0-0, Rb8, Nd7-c5, Qc7 or Qa5 and have nothing to worry about. Due to our pawn on c6, White can never play Nd5, which is otherwise often annoying.
Hello Fred, the upcoming position you have mentioned is equal. According to my analysis, white has a +0,2 advantage. But if you have completed the accellerated dragon and benko gambit you will have any doubts here. The best line is: 8. Be2 Bg7 9. 0-0 Nd7 10. Be3 Rb8 we delay castling a bit 11. Qc2 Nc5 12. Rab1 a5 13. Rfd1 Qc7 14. f4 0-0 15. Bf3 a4! now if white starts exchanging, white's "b" pawn will be hanging. Then we bring the second rook on the "b" file being cautious about white's "f5" ideas at the same time. Anyway, this is a pleasant positiion to play. Hope this helps and correct me if I am wrong somewhere.
Hi Fred!
I think it's easy to play for black if you know the ideas.
I would say that sometimes depending on the opponent's actions we may try to play d5 in the center.
Or We can try to use the b file and transfer the knight to c5 square playing on the queenside. That would also open up your g7 bishop. If white will reply with b3 one day, with the knight on c5 you may try a5-a4 ideas weakening the opponent's structures.
Out of my experience, my choice will be the 2nd idea and I would say there is an equal game.
Good luck!
Accelerated Dragon 7.Qd2
Hi Mates,
just a quick question: Will we go after 6.Be3 Nf6 7. Qd2 with Ng4 Nxc6 dxc6 into a somehow weird endgame or will we go for short castle and try to transpose into some other stuff?
For example: 7.. 0-0 8 Nb3 d6..?
Thanks for your opinion :)
Fred
Replies
I also saw that after 7..Ng4 8.Nxc6 most people play bxc6 which runs unfortunately into Bd4 and after e5 Bc5 which is somehow uncomfortable
Exactly, you pointed out very well the problem of 7.Ng4 in your second post. That is why we go 7. Qd2 - ....0-0 Now we castle. In some games I met 8.Bh6? which is a blunder. The normal options are f3 and also 0-0-0. If f3 now we can play d5 getting a full extra tempo compared to the standard Dragon. If 0-0-0 now Ng4 is possible, why? And this is the variation that you should remember:
Now it is not the same since after 9.Nxc6 bxc6 if Bd4 we have Bh6 available! 11.f4 and e5...
Happy hunting @Fred_Erik!
The best games of December, 2021, and the prizes
Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions!
Welcome to the "Best games of December 2021" 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 November:
Vedant Garg
Wenstin
Michael Larsen
Ilja Haitin
Anonymous :)
Replies
Beautiful game!
https://lichess.org/AO0FMP0N/white
When your opponent transposes into your main line, thinking he is taking you out of book haha!
A beautiful and amazing game
https://lichess.org/rIuXnTOUFYY4
squeezing the opponent until he cracks!
https://lichess.org/NZaTfJB5NSSd
crazy Bd3 french
https://www.chess.com/game/live/32721669471
https://lichess.org/PHhfKpUuFaks\
My best attacking game with the black pieces
Exchange Sac- Not Satisfied ☹☹☹
Queen Sac- Fully Satisfied $$$$
https://lichess.org/iWGYcPra/white#62
though at move 40 i played Be5 i was actually going to play Bd4 but then opponent showed sportsman spirit. It is because of him/her that i could show this
Pawn storm in antisicilian
https://lichess.org/EQ3hIg6i/white#1
queen geometry in antisicilian
https://lichess.org/JmaldIJw/white#34
Pirc turned into antisicilian grand prix attack
https://lichess.org/8dnfYZ4g/white#17
CM positional alekhine
https://lichess.org/hqCpaF8i/white#0
Slp with knight and rook mating net
https://lichess.org/CJS7PMiRV8F3
Benko
https://lichess.org/izEIMbv3qs4i
After 13...Ne5 my initial plan was to put the bishop on d5, but I found out that Qe7 works because the Bishop takes the knight d5 square. If Ba2 there is c4. I know I need to react fast here and I found Bh6!?. My plan is that black cannot play the queen to c7 or e7 due to Nd5. Rg8 I can meet with Bxg7 and Rxg7 and black f6 pawn is weak and King cannot castle. So the critical line is Bxh6 Qxh6 Nxc4 but I have Qg7 Rf8 and Nd5 Bxe6 and Rxf6 and white wins.
[Event "Penang Closed Online Chess Tournament 2"]
[Site "Malaysia"]
[Date "2021.12.11"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Shan Wen, Tin"]
[Black "Chong Kai Ni, Agnes"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "1771"]
[BlackElo "1559"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. O-O e6 7. d4 Nxd4 8. Be3
Nxf3+ 9. Qxf3 a6 10. a4 Ne7 11. f5 f6 12. fxe6 Nc6 13. Qh3 Ne5 14. Bh6 Bf8 15.
Nd5 Be7 16. Bg7 Rg8 17. Qxh7 Bxe6 18. Nc7+ Qxc7 19. Bxe6 Rxg7 20. Qxg7 c4 21.
Qh8+ Bf8 22. Qxf6 Qe7 23. Qh8 b6 24. Rf2 Nd7 25. Bxd7+ Kxd7 26. Raf1 Qxe4 27.
Rf7+ Kc6 28. Rxf8 Qe3+ 29. Kh1 Rxf8 30. Qxf8 {Black Resigned} 1-0
https://lichess.org/AgmT6qKe/white
win vs GM in OTB rapid 10+5 kinda with chessmood pirc ideas learned
strong 2N+2R!
https://lichess.org/Mc7yc2r5/black#80
Play like Mikhail Tal
https://lichess.org/z1ZH31VPqOYW
Sicilian Endgame: The power of pass pawn
my second queen sac this month
https://lichess.org/UXZquiatCkUK
https://www.chess.com/game/live/33381827371
https://lichess.org/CeVQqRSsq56z
Crush the Caro-kann
https://lichess.org/CwTcfAYVPv2Q
my third queen sac this month. this time otb
A game that shows the example of what happens to an opponent when you know your opening and then continually apply pressure... they eventually crack!
Hey! This is my first try to post something here.
I knew nothing about the openning.
Knight sac!!
https://lichess.org/YPBwRrke/white
nice game
https://www.chess.com/game/live/33923975615
https://lichess.org/Ss6zr1tV#0
play london system and trick 2400++ rated player
fantastic game !
Another busted Stafford Gambit with a pawn sac on a2 from Black that did not work. Bd2 should be played before h3 on move 6, but it transposed anyway. It is nice to see how the Stafford gambit players know that they are going down (and they know it) once you play c3, Bd2, h3 and c3... If we could see their faces... ;-) The only mistake according to Stockfish was not playing d4, but I played e5 with the hope that they would take on a2 trapping the bishop... We will need to add a swindle mode to Stockfish....
Hi
https://lichess.org/H788Mte3/white#33
A model game in a Vienna!
I liked 12.Bg5! which although the engine is not a fan of but it is practically difficult to play and mistakes follow and I won!
Good Game
https://www.chess.com/game/live/34094423707
Amazing Game!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/34100490907
Got a Brilliant from chess.com
A nice win !!
https://lichess.org/nrb4rnUjMyhS
Nice Game
https://www.chess.com/game/live/34268996711
A nice win
https://lichess.org/lGcmzIEGvlwW
Sicilian Grand Prix Attack and mate !
https://lichess.org/eNLYOKONOJLZ
https://lichess.org/0OM7u2cn#31
perfect game!!
https://lichess.org/a7Dg6pGn/black
was going to the best game of my life but I just blunder the game away due to time shortage
but still, a pretty good game, not gonna lie
queen sacrifice in the opening, and then again a piece sacrifice to open up the king and got a Brilliant from chess.com and many more things
https://www.chess.com/game/live/34617001725
king side attack!!!
https://lichess.org/RahgG5E5/white#0
Not perfect and pretty low level, but i was proud of the nice mate my opponent allowed.
Colorado Gambit
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/34704594491?tab=analysis
Here is my final game at the North American Open.
[Event "2021 North American Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.12.30"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Garrison, Jay"]
[Black "Fajerdo, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[BlackElo "1871"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.30"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 Nxb5 5. Nxb5 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. dxc5 Qa5+ 8.
Nc3 Qxc5 9. O-O Nf6 10. Be3 Qa5 11. Qd2 h6 12. h3 Qd8 13. Rad1 g5 14. e5 Nh7
15. e6 fxe6 16. Nd4 d6 17. f4 gxf4 18. Bxf4 e5 19. Bxh6 Bxh6 20. Qxh6 exd4 21.
Nd5 Rf8 22. Qg6+ Kd7 23. Qxh7 Kc6 24. Nxe7+ Kb6 25. Nd5+ Kc5 26. Qc7+ Kxd5 27.
c4+ 1-0
Beautiful attack!!
https://lichess.org/2SPwKIbTj2oL
Do you have a win award with a higher rating difference? I'm a already a candidate! December and January:
https://lichess.org/sek7TZGP9f3r
https://lichess.org/rHYj1yxt8MbB
One of my personal favorite game!
https://lichess.org/Wtczrm8D/white
With a amazing rook sacrifice and kingside attack
Hello ChessMood family! Wish you all a very happy New Year! It was a pleasure to go through your games! Keep up the good work! Moving on, here is the list of prize winners for December 2021... The first prize goes to Jay Garrison for his creative attacking play in the Anti-Sicilian 2.Nc3 Nc6. Find the game here https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-best-games-of-december-2021-and-the-prizes?page=3 The second prize goes to Wenstin for this beautiful attack on the opponent's King stuck in the center! https://lichess.org/0OM7u2cn The third prize goes to Vladimir Bugayev for punishing early Queen moves in this game.https://lichess.org/JmaldIJw/white#33 Khokan De takes 4th place for the pretty finish with a Queen sacrifice. You can find the game here https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-best-games-of-december-2021-and-the-prizes?page=2 Aayush Shirodkar takes the 5th prize for this 20-move miniature with a nice finish. https://www.chess.com/game/live/34100490907 Congratulations to all of you, and thanks once again for sharing your games :) Keep the right mood and crush your goals in 2022! Looking forward to seeing you all grow this year. Enjoy!
Anti-Sicilian Part II Question - . e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. 0-0 e6 (Be7 Bf6 plan)
Hello,
I was playing my IM friend today and he played the plan of Be7-Bf6 before developing the g8 Knight to e7.
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. Re1 d6 8. b3 Be7 9. Bb2 Bf6
According to the theory Avetik gives https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-part-2/episode/342 I am supposed to play b3 before Re1 as I did in the game but I didn't see this plan mentioned elsewhere in the forum or the course so mentioning here. Even though my move order wasn't totally precise, I don't think that would change the outcome of the way Black played with d6 e6 Be7 Bf6. Please correct me if I am wrong :)
Do you have any suggestions on how I can handle the position better? Pasted game below. Having an issue pasting the screenshot sorry.
FEN: 6k1/4b2p/p1r1p1p1/1pp1Pp2/5P2/PPPrNR2/4n2P/1R2B2K w - - 0 41
PGN: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. Re1 d6 8. b3 Be7 9. Bb2 Bf6 10. Rb1 Nge7 11. Bf1 O-O 12. a3 b5 13. Qc1 Bb7 14. Nd1 Ng6 15. g3 Nd4 16. Bg2 Rc8 17. d3 Qb6 18. Ne3 Ne5 19. Nxe5 dxe5 20. Ng4 Qd8 21. Qd1 Rc7 22. Bc3 Rd7 23. Rf1 Qe7 24. Qd2 Bg5 25. f4 exf4 26. gxf4 Bh4 27. Ne5 Rdd8 28. Kh1 Qd6 29. Rg1 Be7 30. Qf2 f6 31. Ng4 f5 32. e5 Qd7 33. Ne3 Bxg2+ 34. Qxg2 g6 35. Ba5 Rc8 36. Be1 Qc6 37. Qxc6 Rxc6 38. Rg3 Rd8 39. c3 Ne2 40. Rf3 Rxd3
Replies
I believe that in this exact move order, general principles should apply, when they play Be7 and Nf6, we play e5. Here playing Be7 and then Bf6 should be similar, I would go for e5 on move 10. Not playing e5 allows Black to develop freely and Nge7 makes Black's position whole. That said, I will ask our GMs to take a look at it. But I like the line: 10. e5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Rxe5 dxe5 13. Qh5 Ne7 14. Qxe5
Hello Vishnu,
I checked the line offered by @Chessmood_Odysseus and I really like that a lot. That exchange sacrifice seems to be very attractive and I can see good chances for white's advantage.
This plan by Black of getting the dark-squared Bishop to the long diagonal is quite challenging to our setup. Pentala Harikrishna presents a similar approach in his chessable repertoire, and I was unable to crack it. I will start a separate thread to discuss the Harikrishna line, although I think I may have already posed the question here inside another thread where it probably got buried and forgotten.
Book Recommendation for studies
Anyone plz recommend a book on studies (or composition) ? i want to improve calculation
Replies
As for knowledge Jacob Aagaard's books - "Excelling at Chess Calculation" and "Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation" are probably best.
In case you just starting with chess (let's say if your FIDE rating is bellow 1800/2000), and above material maybe somewhat difficult to you, then maybe something simpler would help, on following book: "Chess Calculation Training For Kids And Club Players" by Romain Edouard
Hi,
I found this one very interesting:
https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/10/13/episode-198-im-cyrus-lakdawala-returns
Rewire your chess brain by Cyrus Lakdawala.
And a quite old one that I bought many years ago (in German) - but still very good - is this
Karpov/Gik: KARPOV'S ENDGAME ARSENAL (I guess that this is the English edition of "Schach Studien - Schachstudien der Weltmeister").
Check out Yusupov series, 9 books in total, helped me improve calculation and strategy
As usual the question comes down to:
What is your rating?
Are your tactics good already?
Which part of calculation do you have problems with (e.g. visualisation, ideas, organising thoughts, knowing when to cut off and when to continue, diagnostic thinking vs checking...)?
If you're below 1700 (and it's fun if you're higher rated) and your tactics need a refresh, then take a look at the tactics ninja course (1 section a day).
Also this is a series on youtube about calculation from an IM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzzyR_YIZz0
My Year In Review
The year 2021 is hours away from ending. For some of us it has been a good year, and others may want to forget it. Whichever group you fall in, it is still a great idea to look back through the year for the lessons you can take into 2022!
My year started with the idea I can only control my own actions, since the year before was difficult for hitting my numerous number goals. ( You can read last years review here https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/review-your-year-like-you-review-your-games ). I had decided to restart all the ChessMood videos over as if I was brand new. It was an ambitious goal and started out great! Then my mindset shifted and I changed course (more on that shortly). Needless to say, I didn't re-watch all the courses again, though I did review all my opening files regularly.
I had found in 2020 that I get distracted very easily, so in January, I disabled all of my social media. No more Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media on my phone. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have recovered many hours a week that was just spent scrolling through things that didn't pertain to my goals, and now have been able to use that time on chess.
I have also continued my health journey and have been able to maintain a healthy weight, and added 5 miles of walking to my routine every day. It is amazing how much clearer the mind is when the body is healthy, and I am now a firm believer in this as I have been able to personally witness my own change!
The year hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns though. My schedule changed during the early part of the year that has made it impossible to catch any ChessMood events live. I really miss interacting with the ChessMood family in real time. I also had a major family tragedy while I was away at the US Open in August, which forced me to withdraw and fly home immediately, and left me mentally stressed for many weeks afterward. We all have had tragedy hit, as it is part of life, and I wont dwell on details here, just know we are well, and have moved on as we should.
Now that the heavy stuff is behind us, lets get back to chess! It has been both a great year for my game, and a poor year for my rating. How is this possible you ask? Well, let me explain!
In the early part of the year, I was struggling with time zones and schedules, and found it very difficult to meet with my coach (online) on a regular basis, and therefor didn't feel like it would be good for my game to continue trying to try to force myself to jam in a lesson somewhere in the cracks. Instead, I started looking for a coach that could meet on my schedule, who wouldn't want me to change all of my openings (I am quite comfortable with ChessMood openings and wasn't giving them up! haha), who would also genuinely want my success, and believed in my ability to achieve my lofty goals. I was lucky that I already knew someone that fit all of this criteria, I just had to see if he had time to work with me! In late march, I contacted my friend, GM Rogelio Barcenilla Jr, and he agreed to start working with me starting in April!
GM Barcenilla immediately started giving me home work to fix the biggest holes in my game. (this is why I changed my mindset on my activities for the year, as openings were not my problem, they were actually already a strength! So I didn't need to review all of the videos again.) I have taken copious notes every time I get to sit and work with GM Barcenilla (once a week) and now have stacks of notes that I review regularly. The formula we are using is tried and true: Play tournament games against strong opponents, review these games together to identify areas of opportunity, and use study time between tournaments to address those areas.
So this has been very good for my chess! I have learned so much more about chess, and new ways of thinking about the game, that it has formulated the way I am looking at next years goals!
But before I get to those goals, I need to answer your great question! I didn't forget that you wanted to know how my game can be improving but my rating isn't! (this isn't completely true, my online rating raised by about 200 points, but I am talking about OTB rating.) The answer to this is actually simple: I have only been playing open sections, where I am always one of the lowest rated there. My opponents average rating has been almost 400 ELO points higher then mine (I am about 1700 FIDE as I write this, but will go up slightly since I played well in Vegas and the results haven't posted yet), and a few of my opponents have been 700+ ELO more then me! These players are very good and have been hard to beat, so my rating hasn't moved much, but the experience has been priceless! So the bottom line is I am not frustrated with my rating not going up, as I know it is only a matter of time.
As I was going through my notes from the times I have spent with GM Barcenilla, I saw certain words repeated over and over. I realized that these words were actually key concepts to chess mastery and are the areas that need the most study. The other thing I realized from this review, is it takes improvement in ALL of these concepts before your game levels up, because it only takes one of them to continue to hold you back!
Here are the 5 concepts I will be working on this coming year, and you should know that these concepts apply to every stage of the game - opening, middlegame, as well as the endgame - and in this order.
I will be practicing applying these concepts to every game and every position I can.
1. Patterns - The entire game is centered around our ability to recognize patterns, and they are infinite. We must learn to recognize as many of them as we can. Checkmates, tactics, pawn breaks, and on and on and on. I will be working on mastering as many patterns as I can.
2. Principles - We all know the principles. We spout them off offhandedly all the time: Rooks on open files, knights before bishops, king safety, passed pawns must be pushed, etc. We must get better at recognizing which principle applies to the patterns we found in the current position. I will work on learning to apply principled moves in the games I play and the positions I study.
3. Pressure/Prophylaxis - These concepts are married. You must look at them together, as trying to separate them will make you forget either your plan or your opponents, and doing that will spell disaster! You must ask yourself after EVERY move, what is my opponent doing? Once you know their idea, then you can look for a move that recognizes the patterns in the position, is principled, and applies pressure to your opponent so he forgets his own ideas! Sounds easy, right? Of course not! Chess is hard! But we can do this, and we see it from the great masters all of the time! I will be working on applying pressure on every move!
4. Calculation - Lets be honest here. The best calculators become stronger players faster. The ability to calculate further then your opponent can win you many games. If we have recognized the patterns, and found a principled move that applies pressure but don't calculate it properly, then it could just as possibly be a bad move. What looks good 3 moves deep can actually be a blunder on the 4th move, and if we don't calculate it, it could be bad news for us! I will work on calculation by always trying to see just one move further. If I am seeing 3 moves clearly, I will work to see the 4th. If I am seeing 4 moves, I will work to see the 5th.
5. Evaluation - Here is where the true champions are made. Most of us have become pretty good at looking at a position on the board and seeing that white is better, or black is better, or it is about equal, even with out the computer telling us. The hard part is evaluating the positions you have calculated 7 moves deep. If you are not evaluating positions at the end of your calculation as diligently as the position that is currently on the board, then you might as well not calculate at all. Those that can develop this skill the best are those that lose very few games, as they very seldom find themselves in lost positions. I will work on evaluating every position I calculate going forward, and hone this skill to the best of my ability!
Thank you to all of you who take the time to read through my ramblings! A wise man once told me you should share your goals with the world, as you will hold yourself more accountable. It is my sincere hope this helps others as much as it helps me!
Here is to another year together with all my ChessMood brothers and sisters!
GM Jay
Replies
Great post. Enjoyed it. Can relate to the part about calculation. I learnt (after a loss) I had to be concrete here, just because something 'looks' bad (e.g. enemy rook is lined up against my uncastled king) doesn't necessarily mean it is.
Hi Jay
Great to hear from you & that you are working well to overcome life & chess challenges! Best wishes to you for a happy New Year 2022. I wonder if we could collaborate a bit on chess improving this year?
We do have slightly different goals (if you do not know or remember, I am all-well mainly- about 5 minute blitz play, but I did jointly win the u1600 OTB tourney at my local chess club last October) but the same aim, to improve at chess. I had resigned myself to improving on my own due to previous attempts at collaborations with others at chess ending in failure & seriously, you were the main inspiration for me keeping my membership going here! Now you know ;-)
I have hesitated to ask you this before, but it feels like it is now or never, so, I would be honoured to work together & prove this buddy-buddy thing can work as described by our mentors here. Still, I perfectly understand if you do not want to try such a thing with me, but I sincerely hope you do & we can sort something out, so please let's discuss this soon to start this year.
Would Skype be a good way to contact (Messsenger or other) or whatever we could use? I am getting ahead, but look forward to your reply & will be happy whatever you like, so no pressure!
Again, many best wishes, Richard
When a 1550 player defeats a WIM
First defeat a player with 2421 rating, now a WIM! I'm a master capybara! rs
All thanks to GM Avetic and his insane attack lessons!
Opponents see my rating and ignore that my stinger is deadly!
https://lichess.org/rHYj1yxt8MbB
Replies
Very Good Game
Yes, i am aware that i was lucky in this victory. I will follow your guidance!
Winnig is fun, but no ilusions!
NEW WAY TO WIN MOODCOINS
As I watched sections in many courses, I have a suggestion that I believe ChessMood administration takes into consideration as per the following:
1) The Test section in all courses shall be in such a way to enable the "student" to submit answers and win points.
2) Each quiz in the test shall have timing, let's say 1min or 30seconds, etc... in order to help the person taking the quiz to enhance and quicken his thinking.
3) After completing the test, the "student" shall receive a score; accordingly, this score shall be converted into Moodcoins.
Hence, this will make the courses more interesting and challenging and force the "students" to get encouraged to watch more courses.
The video of the solution of the quiz section shall be available to the "student" after he finishes the quiz.
What do you think?
Replies
Pretty Interesting Idea
DAILY PUZZLE OF JANUARY 1, 2022
Dears;
I have tried to solve the daily puzzle of January 1, 2022 and the correct way to solve it is to promote the f-pawn to Knight. However, the system is giving "error - try again" when I promote the f-pawn to Bishop while I cannot see any error.
In both cases, the ending with a Knight and Bishop or double bishop will be won for the white; hence the system shall not give "error - try again" when the f-pawn is promoted to a bishop.
Do you second me?
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If you had a light-squared B a n d a dark-squared B, then the ending would be won, but please look at the puzzle again and you will se why only promoting into a N is correct ... ;-)
Important missing line in 4...Bc5, 8...Nd4 Scotch
I just faced this line in an online game and would appreciate if it was covered.
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https://chessmood.com/course/scotch-game/episode/1983
Scotch game question!!
sir i have a question about the scotch game...i find hard to react in 6th move Qf6 move..in section 2 of scoth game...1. e4-e5 2. Nf3-Nc6 3. d4-exd4 4. Nxd4-Bc5 5.Nb3-Bb6 6.Nc3-Qf6....
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Hi Jay
I think Qe2 and then we just transpose into the other lines after d6 or Nge7... we also have Nd5 options, along with h4, Bg5 ideas.
Hope this helps
Hello Jay, according to my analysis, Mik is right, but the whole line goes like this: 7. Qe2 Nge7 8. h4 h6 9. Be3 d6 10. 0-0-0 Bd7 11. g3 0-0-0 12. Bxb6 axb6 maintaining a slight +0,2 advantage and switching to the queenside. Hope this helps!
I just play Qe2, Be3 and long castle reaching normal positions. Remember that when the knight goes to e7 we use to play f4.
Na5 .v. Bb5 ? Sicilian
Hi -- Sure I saw some comments on this in another thread but cannot find it. Just played a game where my opponent played this move. Hence e4 c5: Nc3 Nc6 : Bb5 Na5 . Ideas ?
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Just be ready to enter a favorable Open Sicilian effectively a tempo up.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and the entire ChessMood family a happy and prosperous new year!! :-D
Few ways to Improve in chess.
I'm stuck in 1800 lichess rating. What should I do?
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Work hard. No magic pill sorry
I would recommend to read Chess Strategy for Club Players by Herman Grooten. I'm sure you will jump to 2000 after this read :-)
If you are a PRO Member, you should watch all the Commented Classical Games etc. If not, you should watch the videos available on the Chessmood's Youtube Channel.
There are also lots of interesting articles in the Blog section of the site, you should read some of them and apply the tips, make your daily chess routine etc.
Good luck & Happy holidays :-)
Below 2000 on lichess games are lost due to tactical ability.
https://chessmood.com/blog/which-chess-openings-books-courses-to-learn
GM Harikrishna's Antidote to our Anti-Sicilian Setup
The title of the thread says it all and I was unable to find any real White advantage after Harikrishna's idea of 9...g6!?, which I think is a novelty. Hopefully, the ChessMood team will be able to do better than I did:
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How about 7.Nd5!? idea (instead of 7.b3) which was analysed in Gawain Jones book "Coffeehouse chess 2021"? Does Harikrishna mention it?
I played OTB classical game with 7.Nd5 this summer vs IM and got good position as white
After 9...g6 10.Nd5! 10...Bg7 11.Nf6 Bf6 12.e5 gives white easier game.
I went deeper, but we didn't create this repertoire showing how to get advantage for White by playing 1.e4 :) :)
If anyone could do so, would get a noble prize :)
Our repertoire is super practical. Please don't forget it.
Merry Christmas :)
When a 1500 uses a Mortal Gambit!
https://lichess.org/sek7TZGP
é assim que eu trato caras com somente 2409 de rating!???? is how I treat guys with only 2409 rating!????
I ended my opponent's dream of becoming a GM! Thanks GM Avetik!
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Nice one, it does not happen often that you can defeat a 2400 with such rating difference. Well done Irair!
excuse me
i am not a pro member but still i can see pro member forums
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Thanks @Lebuta_Dampty for the info, but can I ask if you can see the contents of the posts? Because a normal user can see the titles of the posts but not the contents. Thanks in advance!
Looking for Training Partner
Good day! Hi, guys.I am Yong Zhun from Malaysia and my lichess blitz rating is 2334,rapid is 2266.
I would like to find a traning partner. Pls help me thanks!
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i am interested
Hello, my name is Jean-Pierre Singher.
If you are looking for a training partner, I might be available. I am from Canada eastern time zone.
My rating is close to 2100 in tournament games with 1 hour and 30 minutes + 30 seconds.
Let me know if ok for you.
I am interested as well. My blitz is well over 2200 and my rapid is 2300 on lichess. I am from US Central Time Zone.
Let me know if you are interested.
By the way, you can also post at what time can you train and time zone, what kind of training would you like to do in order to find someone, your age, availability, etc... The more detailed the information provided, the easier will be to find someone....
Hello guys, I am yongzhun and 15 years old from Malaysia and my time zone is GMT+8. I can train with you anytime if u re free. I will use zoom as our platform.And our training consist studies opening, middlegame and endgame together. Hope can find a suitable partner for me. Thanks!
Question about Daily Lesson with a GM 351
At 6:08, i.e. https://imgur.com/a/PFUrFfp, instead of the given 1...Kxg2, why not 1...Kf4 2.Kd5 (2.Bc2 Kg3) 2...Ba7 etc.? Black aims to swap g4 for e4, getting a passed pawn of their own, and White can't protect both pawns with the Bishop.
I thought this also draws. Can someone tell me what am I missing?
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You could enter the position on the lichess analysis board and click the book icon. This opens the tablebases. You can also turn on the engine and explore your idea to understand why it doesn't work.
This position as GM Hovhannes shows is just lost for Black, no matter if you play Bxg2 or Kf4 as you suggest. The extra pawn on the a file is decisive. For example you mentioned a possible variation: In case of 1...Kf4 White will play 2.Kd5 you said 2...Ba7 but this a big blunder due to Bxg4 and after Black takes the Bishop, Kxe5 will be impossible for White. Black can never get a passed pawn on their own if White plays correctly.
Is it a good idea to play more than one opening to improve?
Is it a good idea to play more than one opening to improve? This would expose oneself to different types of positions, different pawn structures, plans etc. (e.g. 1. ..c6 differs considerably from 1. c5).
Would this improve my middle games strength, or should I rather aim to stick with only one opening and become an expert in this one opening only, understanding the intricacies of this opening extremely well?
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Hello :)
I've read some interesting posts about this subject a few weeks ago on another platform.
Here is the link: https://www.chessable.com/discussion/thread/507784/openings-span-classhighlightdepth-orspan-breadth-/
An interesting fact is that the interesting answers come from a strong player who is part of the Chessmood Family :D
Happy holidays!
imho. i myself like to change my opening after 50-60 rapid game, so i can get the "Feel" of some opening. and then focus to learn deeply to the opening that more "my style". So I have a depth understanding for some opening with Black or White, and some moderate knowledge to others opening.
