Chess forum by Grandmasters

Traning games

Hi guys! I want to invite you to practice chess mood openings. I have created a tournament on lichess where we can practice Anti-cicilian with Nc3. The tournament will start on 17.12.2022 at 4pm European time. You can find the link to the tournament below: https://lichess.org/tournament/hGoVbaUO Also, feel free to create other tournaments with chessmood openings and post the links here so that we can get better! Remember: "Practice makes the master" 😊

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Scotch question

In Section 3, 4...Nf6 12: 8...d6 1e4 e5 2Nf3 Nf6 3d4 exd4 4Nxd4 Nf6 5Nxc6 bxc6 6e5 Qe7 7Qe2 Nd5 8h4 d6 9c4 Nb6 10exd6 Qxe2 11Bxe2 Bxd6 - so here I am thinking how to keep c4 which is why I am not fond of 12Bf3 Bd7 13Nd2 Bb4 14b3 Bc3 15Rb1 o-o-o and here I stopped right before 16o-o - but should I be concerned about the c4 pawn? In my game I WAS too concerned. So much that I gave/blundered my pawn playing g4, but realizing that black has difficulties finding the best moves, and so we ended in a draw (where I even had obtained advantage). Nice to try these variations. Erik

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Hi Erik,

We do not understand what you meant by this post after the move 15 if you play 0-0, Ne4, Bb2 you are more than ok. You played very good and very principled moves. There is nothing wrong with your position and you did well playing b3 protecting c4.

💪🤠Anyone of the Chessmood team will be more than happy to have this position, 12.Bf3 a good move move and it is in the course too… You did very well, keep on fighting and learning!!!!😀 

Right plan protecting pawn by maybe more precise is 12. Nc3 awaiting black respond and then b3, or short castle. (12. Bf3 Bb7 , 0-0-0 and seems easy plan for black with compensation for doubled pawn). Overall I think this variation seems good for black forcing exchange queen played by black by some 2700 elo including Aronian. Not easy other line to propose.

Chessmood is awesome

This is by far leaps and bounds ahead of all online resources.. i wish i could have met you guys in person and do some rigorous training after i do all the your courses ....

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It's been two years since they organize the tournament Chessmood Open! You can play the openings in your games and meet them all there! Maybe you can consider the 2023 edition :)

Thank you very much 😍for your kind words!!! This fuels us to work more and more!!! 💥
😈And as Akiba said, yes, you can come to Yerevan at any time, every year we host the Chessmood opening and we are able to meet many of our students… Still if you cannot come to the open, you are welcome to come visit us and we will pay the first beer or ice cream if you do not drink! 😈

French Defense main course

Hi ChessMood family! I was watching French defense in the starter courses, and I heard GM Avetik say something about French defense main course (also some other videos talk about it). But I don't see it in the main course section! Was it removed? Can we have it back ? 😁 Thanks!

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Second that! I suspect it has gotten buried by other projects and just hasn't happened. Btw in the exchange french line given it would be nice if the 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5! Line was given a section. As far as I can tell it forces black to castle kingside even though the top engine move includes the move Bd6, and often later Ne7. It's a big departure from the rest of the exchange french theme and rather confused me when I couldn't find a way to follow my plan without getging a worse game.

Yes, Avetik played the French all his life and he is a true specialist. 😇
That is why we will do a more complete course on the French, following the French Attack repertoire. This is a fact. 
Also we realized that we needed to focus more on the Middlegame and provide our students a very good solid base which is what we are focusing now. 💪
We always strive to provide our students the best courses to improve, not what they want, but what they need. This is our philosophy and what we are doing.😅
 Some people understand this and some people don't but we want you to improve, not to sell courses without any rating improvement. 
Once we finish the courses of the rating booster we will focus again on Openings.🤠

Looking for a Coach

Hello! My name is Jules Carter, I'm 36 years old from the USA and looking for a coach to help me reach my goals. I'm currently rated 1579 USCF and would like to reach 2000 and perhaps even 2200 eventually. I just signed up for ChessMood a couple weeks ago and I'm really enjoying the courses so far and would like a coach that is knowledgeable with the material taught in these courses and wouldn't try to sway me one way or another. I work from home and have a lot of free time on my hands to dedicate to study and practice. I hope someone from the community can help guide me in the right direction! Jules

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Hi Jules,  
Thanks for your message! We checked your uscf stats and we may have someone very nice for you that works with adults with similar profile. We will provide him your email and he will contact you to your email. 🤠

😀Stand by and keep working and enjoying the courses Jules…  

Forcing move Checks

I have a question that persistently bugs me. What should we look for first? King safety, or ensuring we have a proper grasp of what material is on the board? Intuitively I want to go straight for looking at king safety, but that reeks of not reading the question properly before starting to solve it. Equally, I don't want to overcomplicate things and break the natural flow of thought and intuition. I've been spending a lot of time breaking these guidelines down into thoughts that I can use effectively to build good method habits, but naturally there's stuff I'm getting stuck on too. If anyone is so kind as to give me helpful advice, you have my thanks! P.s. Just to clarify, I am talking about the Checks-Captures-Threats mnemonic, which seems to be a pretty good concise checklist for what to look for, but doesn't really teach you how to sort your thoughts all that well.

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It's not clear what you're trying to do - can you clarify? It looks like you're solving puzzles rather than playing, tactical puzzles or daily puzzle (mostly getting stalemates)?

Shouldn't you start by scanning the position and trying to get a feel for what the most important features are? Going through that process should suggest some candidate moves which you can start thinking about.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys.

Daily puzzle moodcoin problem

Hello, I solved puzzles from previous days. One of them was a success without any error but i didnt get any moodcoins? Is this a bug or a known issue? Thanks

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I am having this issue as well.

We're still testing it.
We solve them every day waiting for a day when it fails to give us MoodCoins.
But haven't come across the issue yet.
As soon as we figure out why and how the system fails, we'll fix it! Thank you so much for reporting the issue😅!

New Alapin course

I think this is a good call to separate this from the anti-sicilians given its size and its frequency as a good alternative to the open variations. A few things to note: . In the original course, early Nc3 options were not covered (I did mention this a while ago but didn't provide lines - my bad. This would be on move 7 or 8 for example once c3 is free instead of moving the bishop / after exd6 Qxd6). While I understand you don't want to cover every move, this is quite common and also reasonably dangerous if you're not prepared and a potential favourite of the disgruntled Smith Morra player even though it can be reached by both systems. . The Kopec system (Nf3 c3 Bd3 Bc2 with/without h3) ideas while rare might need a reconsider just to mention it as it was recommended as a system (and had a foxy openings video course) by the late Danny Kopec and attracts the occasional question in the forum. It's not so dangerous against our setups and pretty rare, so understandable not to cover it though. . When I'm playing I often find it hard to remember whether I should be playing for d6, e6 or g6 or something else. Having some positional guide, especially where to develop the bishops depending on what the opponent's setup is would be useful. Thanks for the improvement.

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I've finally had some time to go through this course. I think all my issues above were answered. The tricky Nc3 options were covered, a good system against the Kopec and more consistency with the choice of pawn moves making remembering lines much easier. I certainly liked the discussion of the earlier deviations and then the longer lines in the advanced which I thought help consolidate the material much better, especially as White tries a lot of deviation trickery to avoid the mainlines which can be drawish. That said a few things were lost. The 4. g3 variation which was touted as an alternative to d4, Nf3 without d4 and Bc4 as ways for White to explore without going into well known drawish lines. Perhaps that could come back as an advanced section. Also the old 3 d3 is lost (4... e5 is a nice idea), though I feel it was more a relative of the King's Indian Attack and would like to see that covered in the sicilian sidelines course as quite a few players use the KIA against everything and not always with the lines (2. g3 etc) covered. The d3 line originally covered with g6 in the old course looks like a transposition to one of the lines. A couple of other losses include the c4 idea against early Bc4, Bb3 and f5 against Qxd4 lines instead of d6 which perhaps could be lifted and added into the advanced section. Overall a better course and most welcome to break it out as it's one of White's main anti-open options with a lot more concrete variations than the closed.

Find a partner

I just read the latest email from Chessmood. In it GM Avetik talked about how to grow as a chess player. His recommendation is: Study -> Practice -> Fix -> Repeat. I totally agree. But my issue is all my playing is on Chess.com. So I learn something but whether or not I get an opponent that will play in a way I can use what I learned is very hit and miss. So my question is: how do I find a partner with similar goals. I'm 62, mostly retired and I have the time to invest in learning more. My goal is to reach 1200 (at this time I'm around 900). Thank you Allen

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You can ask in the study/sparring partner pinned topic. Most of getting to 1200 (1500 is a quite reasonable short term goal) is getting tactics and checkmates, basic endgames and simple openings worked on, plus avoiding and taking advantage of blunders and most of that can be done without a partner to get to that level reasonably easy. Much of what sub 1200s play will be trappy or home-brew chess with maybe a little theory, so playing good healthy opening play (openings 101) using tactics and attack (tactic ninja/fearless warrior) to punish opponents who don't play healthy chess, avoiding blunders (lots of them in sub1200 games) and noticing your opponent's mistakes (blunderproof) and being able to finish off basic pawn endings (endgame theory you must know / endgame roadmap) will take you beyond 1200. The danger of using a sparring partner of that level is it's the blind leading the blind and while some things can be good to practice (simple endings which if dead won theoretical can be done with an engine anyway) and the shared journey, I'm not sure how much it'll get you. Study, play, puzzles (simple puzzle rush survival first 20 or so problem, checkmates in 1/2 on lichess and a few others) are probably enough at that level. Most of the opening theory you need will only be a few moves long as just playing simple developing rules will be enough in most cases, which should be easily rememberable if you take notes, and provide a base for learning more detail as you move up. Good luck!

Hi Allen,

Welcome to the family and I hope that you find a chess partner soon, but please your partner request post it here:

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362
Also, check out the posts of other users, maybe your partner is already waiting for you! 😜

Good luck!!!!

Hi Allen, At the 800 (chess.com) level your biggest issue is reducing the frequency at which you gift your opponent material. Conversely, you'll want to increase the rate at which you accept material gifts from your opponent! I've helped a couple of players at this level and I see similar issues in your games. As you start reducing the number of times you give away pieces you'll get much more benefit from the ChessMood openings that you're learning and also from any more advanced concepts that you study. The question is, how to make such improvements. In theory studying tactics should help, but sometimes it doesn't for varying reasons. The most reliable method would be to review your lost games with a coach. If you can't manage a coach, then it is essential to learn from your lost games. Perhaps try collecting the positions where you have made a clear mistake/blunder that gifts your opponent material. I'm not sure how computer savvy you are but you could put them into a chess database, a lichess study, or even just paste them into a Microsoft Word document. The idea is to review the positions a few times, so that you are learning the patterns and how to avoid such mistakes in future. Good luck! cheers, Peter

2 Bishops course_section 6_video number 7. The power of monsters

Good afternoon! I just want to point out one inaccuracy in this video in time 2:55. Comentator is showing line after 23... Qh8 and is saying that 24. Qg5+ Kf7 Rde1 and Nh6+ next move is checkmate, but there is forced mate in 2 after 23...Qh8 24.Nh6+ Kg7 and 25.Qg5++ This time I checked only like 6 times before posting it here! 😀😀😀 With best regards Petrosian64

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Thanks Petrosian,

Dully noted. 😀

Suggestion for Improving

I am stuck at the FIDE Rating of 1300 and nowadays I am not improving. I need some sugggestions and training plans for my improvement.

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Have you seen chessmoods latest article? I think you might be able to get some help from that(https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-get-better-at-chess). Make sure not to study too much, but also not to play too much. Keep a balance. Also remember to fix your mistakes(ideally by yourself first, then you can check with an engine.) There will always be long stretches of time where your rating won't improve, or even go down, however, at least for me, you will always eventually end up having a massive improvement of hundreds of rating points within a short time span after a few tournaments.

CBV into PGN

Hi guys, I want to ask if anyone knows how to change cbv into pgn files. I have a book in CBV format and want to convert it so that I can play some endgame positions against the engine...

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https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/6442/how-to-convert-chessbase-format-files-to-pgn

Daily puzzle alternative puzzle 12/12/2022

On today's daily puzzle, after 1.Nf6 f8=Q 2. e5 cd 3. Ke2 Kb4, 4. Na2 was marked wrong, even though it is an alternative answer to Nd5. (After Na2 Ka3 Nc1 d2 Ra8 Kb2 Nd3 Kc2 Nf2)

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That problem has at least 3 solutions. By the way your notation is incorrect, it should read: 1.Nc3 c1=Q 2.d4+ cxd3 3.Kd7+ (3.Kb7 also wins in the same way as the mainline) Kb4 4.Na2 winning. The notation is given on the side of the board in the puzzles to guide you.

Puzzle of the day Dec 12

Hi, In today's puzzle, the best continuation has been given as 1. Ng7 which is correct of course. Is it possible that there is another continuation in the form of 1. Nf6, as one possible line will be 1.. Qg6 2. Re8+ Kg7 3. Rg8+ Kxf6 4. Rxg6 fxg6 5. a4 and this is also winning. Is my line of thinking correct? Rgds, Debasish

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Correction: 5. a5

I thought that but it's very clever why it's not the right move. Try to work out a clever defence which itself is a puzzle.

NEW ARTICLE: Don't be a Fish

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What you say is true,

But, being a GM or IM does not guarantee anything...

I have tons of videos, courses, and books written by GM and IM cheaters who intentionally skip critical lines to sell their products. Now, I know them!!

On the other hand, some GMs really LOVE what they are doing: Dvoretsky, Mikhalchishin, Sokolov, Shereshevsky ... never sacrifice the quality. And... I know them as well!

The cheaters will cheat... and they will disappear

Just Keep Moving Forward... People will see and judge.

Keep Moving Forward :)

I didn't know that such people were fishing on google. I learn only from Trustworthy sources, Chessmood, chess with Suren, watch fide games, and streams of the GMs playing on lichess and chess.com . I mean, known GMs, such as Grishuk, Nakamura, or even Zhigalko and Zubov, Firouzha and others as well.

True I faced this issue too. I met an IM online on chesss.com and he gave me account of his gf then i sent him 100 usd and he never showed up and blocked me. I texted all chess webs and they said show us legal court proof and they will ban him. Issue for me was I had no idea about how to file a case because he was from abroad but not India.  I was also misguided a lot by many YouTube channels. I don't wanna mention their names but still sad for money they made a huge channel for tricks and traps and a lot people who are new in chess are falling into their trap. Even when I talk to beginners it take a lot time for to convince them that chess is a game of strategy not tricks and  in real world tricks wont work and after i show them basic books name they feel not attracted to study chess because those channel ruined their mindset.  

Yeah not only online but also offline world is super dangerous. I heard from my friend that people in New Delhi are taking more than 3000 usd to train a beginner and they promise their parents that they can make their kid's level to 1600 from beginner. But see money. 3000 usd and getting only 1600 level. This is rubbish. And worse thing is they are reputed coaches in New Delhi. Even in past when I started making small contents from kids then the Secretary of my state called me and asked me to promote chess in my town. I said I tried a lot but people are not into chess in my city and then he said it's useless to make blogs for kids or anyone. Focus on earning and I said ok. I was so irritated by his words and I felt like what the hell.  He said he is 1600 and takes 10 usd per hr and seriously by hearing his words I knew he only sucks time of student and get money but he never helped anyone to improve because all he talked about promotion and money.  I know promotion matters in chess but it's the task of state secretory to promote chess in my town and then we can do more help because he is known to all not me. Anyways in the end I left the call and I  felt irritated. 

I am glad finally I found chessmood where mentors are not marketers and they care for their student's game level instead of filling their pockets.  This is best mindset of a true mentor or in India we call them guru. Even ancient gurus in india were same. They cared for student but not money but modern world people are selling their useless products and mis guiding a lot people.

This article should be read by all the new chess players to prevent them from destroying their carrier.

Great article!

Thanks coach not only i am learning about technical chess but also things which are super important and nobody is talking about because most of them are fisherman and others are victims of it who doesnt know what to do ? but that days are gone now i have right mindset, chessmood and its just matter of time to reach where i belong!

Great article

👍

Puzzle of the day, 11 december 2022

Dear CM community, seems that there is a bug with the puzzle today. Nevertheless, have a good day.

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I just solved it. What bug did you see?

Opening Questions

Hello everyone! Against 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 followed by d4, what is the Chessmood recommendation? Is it the Najdorf? Is the nadjorf course's other sections gonna be added?

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Hello Sidharth!

Our Chessmood recommedation at the moment is the Accelerated Dragon.

https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-accelerated-dragon

We may include the Najdorf again in the future, we started the course but we thought that it would be better to put all the effort in in the AD. We do not play 2.d6 but 2.Nc6...

it's okay to watch more than 4-5 hours of courses per day

hello chessmood family I start to watch courses on 2022/12/01 I did finish tactic ninja courses and I did solve 100 quiz I almost finish SLP courses I did watch 13 sections from mating matador courses is it okay to keep watching like this or should I take a break?

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Crazy variation in the 8.h4 f6 Scotch

I am watching the advanced section videos on 8.h4 f6 9.c4 Ba6 10.Rh3 0-0-0 11.Qe4 Nb6 12.c5 Bxf1 13.cxb6 right now, and the lines after 13...Ba6 14.bxa7 are indeed crazy and very interesting. 🙂 However, I would like to suggest an interesting (to me at least 😅) idea from Black: 13...Bb5, to block the b-file so that it is more difficult for White to carry out Rb3 ideas. If White plays 14.a4 to kick Black's bishop away, Black goes 14...Ba6, and compared to the lines in the videos the a4 square is occupied and White no longer has Ra3 or Qa4 ideas. I understand that GM Avetik and other members of the ChessMood team are probably very busy, but I'd be grateful if a response to this idea could be suggested. 🙂

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Hi lemmings Player,

This was already commented here: https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/scotch-3332

Please take a look.

Course notes

Hey Chessmood fam, I'm loving the video courses, but you know what I love even more? The notes provided ! (the starter courses). The way I study is more by myself and I like reading more than watching videos (or actually doing both for best learning experience). I was wondering if I could ask the GMs to include notes in their master courses as well? Especially since the videos are supppperrr long 😅 If possible, thanks in advance!

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