A small detail/concept check in Rossolimo

Recently, I played this following game against a ~2600 GM (90/30 time control). It started as 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bc6 dc ... And now due to inexperience playing the white side of this variation, I continued with 5. h3. How should Black exploit this subtle inaccuracy(as played in the game)? 

P.S. after 5~5.5 hrs and almost 90 moves of involuntary passive defense, my opponent gave up trying to win Rook gh against Rook g and gave draw. :p

Replies

Dear @Valdemar_Rasmussen, could you be so kind to include the pgn of the game?

@Valdemar_Rasmussen

The 5.h3 move-order allows the immediate 5...e5 followed by 6...f6 which has scored well for Black in practice.  Having said that I should add that 5.h3 is a perfectly legitimate move-order which has been employed by many strong players, although it does give Black one or two more options as was indicated:  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.h3 e5! 6.d3 f6!.

Hope that helps.

Anti-Sicilian with Nc3!? Part 2

In the Anti Sicilian Part 2  line many  of my opponent played like this 

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 or in the 4th move 4... bxc6.  And i get better version of Rossolimo after d3 followed by f4 - Nf3 as coach Avetik said in the main course. But as i do not know  how to  play better Rossolimo with White is it possible to give me few idea here for further development  or create a small video about this line in the course ?

Replies

Best response to 2)...... c5 after 1)e6 ?

e4 e6 : d4 c5 ?!  ---- I played d5 and got a position I was uncomfortable with a sort of Old Benoni hybrid. For a determined e4 player looking for the Chess Mood lines, what do people prefer if faced with 2) c5 ?!  

Replies

There was a discussion in this thread:

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/hwo-to-play-against-1e4-e6-2d4-c5

course for smithmorragambit

SmithMorra Gambit course is there any course for the refutation of smith morra gambit here i couldn't find it in crushing all the Sicilian sidelines

Replies

Sicilian Sidelines, tranposing into Alapin:

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6

Interesting pawn endgame I got in OTB rapid

Hello Chessmood,

Yesterday I played in OTB tournament, and here's an instructive pawn endgame I wanted to share. On the surface it looks equal and with little time I misjudged the winning idea and played h5, to which white could have made a draw. During this game I remembered Rubinstein's endgame with Kh3, having watched some classical endgames on this site and couple more examples, so they gave me the breakthrough idea. But it's interesting that first h5 with later g5 is only a draw with correct play from white, cause black runs out of tempi. Anyway, cheers!

Replies

French 3.Bd3 with 3...dxe4 and 5...c6 with Bd6 setup

Hello guys,

In rapid OTB game, I used recommended french 3.Bd3 line and game went

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6 5.Bf3 c6 6.Ne2 Bd6 seems passive (cause Bc8 is locked) but at the same time solid, hard to crack setup for black. I played next 7.Nd2 with idea Nc4 (as it was similar idea in one of the videos) but didnt get much out of opening, as later black just played Bc7, Nbd7 and even had a chance to push e5.

So question, how best to setup white's pieces vs this black's play? Txs

Replies

Hi!

There is a similar line like this 1.e4 e4 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 de4 4.Ne4 Bd7!? known as Fortknox Variation here Black idea is Bc6 exchange the Bishop for the f3 knight and put the pawn on c6,Bishop on d6..

Here Black is solid. But this line has a problem White often gets with c4-b3-b4 trying to expand as much space as possibly..

There is a difference between two lines. One Black lacks from space advantage so He needs to exchange some pieces but in the line you mentioned c8 Bishop is the hindrance for a8 Rook which can come to c8. White can continue in the same fashion c4-a3-b4 Gain Space as much as possible Nbc3 comes Maybe we can trade Blacks good Bishop with Bf4 or simply go g3 Limiting the bishop and transposing to catalan type structure. I think After you play all these moves we need to improve the e2 knight only worst piece in Whites camp.

I hope it helps... Regards.

hey Paulisu. I think would be smart if white plays with Nge2 later on Bf4 trying to trade it off, also I think Knight can be placed well on c4 square to prevent e5.

Great tips, txs guys. Another question about this position: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 b6 - looks weird move but french idea to exchange bishop via a6. Here's example game I played https://lichess.org/d5wIinOFZStM , but I dont think i got much from the opening.

I think should have played 3.Nf3 and now 3..Ba6 doesnt quite work 4.Bxa6 Nxa6 5.exd5 gives white substantial edge according to stockfish 12, because of the weakened squares and lack of dev for black.

Any other thoughts how to handle 3..b6?

What is the difference?

https://chessmood.com/course/classical-chess-endgames/episode/2734 2min 1sec in the video. What is the difference between Bf1 and Bb7 here? Don't they both attack the pawn and make black play a5? Is there some tactical refutation? 

Replies

See the point of going Bf1 is not just to attack the a6-pawn.
White also wants to IMPROVE THE BISHOP's postion.

So after 1.Bf1! a5 2.Bc4, White managed to get their Bishop to an active square c4 -square.

On the other hand, after 1.Bb7 a5, White's bishop looks a little silly on b7. Sure it attacked a6, but what else is it doing on b7?
In this case, White will again have to reroute the bishop with 2.Ba6 and 3.Bc4 wasting another useful tempo.

That's why 1.Bf1 is better than 1.Bb7.
The goal is to give the bishop a better job while using the fact that a6 is undefended. :)

Streams ?

Hi -- I'm having a 'senior moment' !!  How do I access the streams to see full games. Thanks 

Replies

Hi Keven

Go to Event's page https://chessmood.com/events

Then scroll down to the event for a Stream, click on that, a page will open for th event and there will be a link to review .. that review link will open Youtube

Tournament didn't go well :(

Hello, today I had quite an important tournament, but I didn't do very well. I prepared quite well for the tournament, but when I was playing I got into winning positions and blundered it away, or missed tactics for my opponent. When I was training however, I made none of these misttakes. Is there any reason for this? What can I do for my next tournament?

Thank you..

Replies

You need to understand what was different and the sorts of blunders made. Was it just you weren't in the same frame of mind, there was ego attached (you needed to win, it was important), over-confidence, tiredness...

What sort of blunders, did you just not evaluate right, blindness, over focus, overlooking distant long reaching pieces, forks, pins, loose pieces...

Also what is your rating?

Some of the problems will go with more experience, but part of it is understanding when you blunder and trying to get back to the right frame of mind.

Anti Sicilian Part 2 Nc6 5... e6 6.... Qa5+

After 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 Nxb5 5. Nxb5   e6 is marked as ?! because of the hole on d6. However after 6. d4, then Qa5+ 7. Nc3 (forced) b5 intending b4. Certainly not as good as the outcomes after 6... cxd4 or 6... a6

Suggestions here, is 6. d4 really playable?

Replies

In this position, after b5, you castle. This is how I see it: The engine evaluation says it's equal. Who cares? In this concrete case, White already has developed 2 pieces, castled and acquired control of the center.  Black still has to develop the King side pieces, castle and on move 7 Black only moved the Queen to a5... I you think that this is playable for Black OTB, just try a few sparring games against the computer or better still a friend OTB of the same level or 200 points more and you will see it for yourself... Advantage in development fades but is one of the most decisive weapons when played correctly David.

Having a good repertoire is not about getting a +0.8 or +1.2 after every line. Is about feeling comfortable with the positions and having a clear path ahead, with some notions of the plan to follow. If you fail the first time, you analize the game, work a better way for the next time and try to remember the idea. Plus we all make blunders, get in time trouble, etc. This is what we need to focus on I think...

The issue with Qa5 and b5-b4 is to slow, we just cattle than after b4 can go Ne2 sometimes to g3, we can but bishop on b2 via b3 or try to prepare A3 and get weakened a6 pawn, depends on opponents reaction. Overall black loses to much time.

Goals of 2022?

I know it's so early to ask you guys about your goals of 2022. But is it still possible for you to write your long term goals? I will share my goals soon.

Replies

My goal is to get to 1500 in USCF OTB.

Is learning chess like learning a language?

The parallels between the two have been done to death in articles, but if the process is the same thing you could take an article on learning language and apply it to learning chess.

Take this article that I got on my browser homepage:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/advice-on-learning-a-new-language-from-people-who-speak-up-to-16?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Change speak, speak, speak to play, play, play
Change grammar to move sequences and vocabulary to learning plans and ideas
Change native speakers to players better than yourself

Now read the article in the context of improving at chess.

Note that in this week's theme tournament I felt I was playing better and being able to play more fluently under time pressure. My secret? I have been playing 3 x 15 0 games each day this week (one morning, one at lunch, one in the evening) which is the only difference.

Replies

I think Chess is like learning a language where you face difficulties and meet dead ends but with practice you can accomplish the goal.

And "Grammarly" or other AI is the Stockfish when it comes to learning a language :-)

Dvoretsky for me????

I am rated 1465

Coach, is it okay if I do Dvoretsky Endgame Manual?

I saw some pages in the start and looked simple but the end is complex

Should I start?

And also for what level is this book designed and how much advantage will lower rated players get from this book

Some 2200 internet coaches and super GM's recommend Dvoretsky without knowing player's level

Should I trust them?

Replies

Good, but advanced and probably unnecessary vs other sources until 2200+

Basic technical endgames supplemented with some practical ones are more than enough IMO until your middlegame is mostly mistake free and it usually comes down to technical accuracy to the result rather than blunder or wrong plan in the middlegame.

Hi Abhi,

I would suggest a combination of the ChessMood Courses with the app "Total Chess Endgames (1600-2400) by Chess King. The has the same user interface like the more known CT-Art for tactics that had been recommend by ChessMood if I remember correctly.

My way of study is as follows:

I watch the video, pause, think and than create a pgn-file with the examples for later repetition.

Than I solve puzzles with the app and bookmark mistakes for later repetition.

At the moment I am working on knight vs pawns, to topic of the next closed tournament. 

Here is an extract of my study plan. The number in the brackets is the number of exercises. 

Good luck, Nils

Knight vs Pawn

Section 1 Knight+Pawn vs. King (20.06.2021)

Section 2 Knight+A-Pawn vs. King+A-Pawn (20.06.2021)

Section 3 Knight+B-Pawn vs. King-A-Pawn (20.06.2021)

Section 4 Knight+Pawn vs Random Pawn (20.06.2021)

Section 5 The Checkmating idea (20.06.2021)

Section 6 Knight vs Corner Pawn

Section 7 Knight vs Random Pawn

Section 8 Knight vs 2 Separated Pawns

Section 9 Knight vs 2 Connected Pawns

ChessKing Practice – 12.1. Knight against pawns

12.1.1. Knight against pawn (21)

12.1.2. Knight against two pawns (49)

12.1.3. Knight against three pawns (3)

12.1.4. King, knight and pawn against king (6)

12.1.5. Knight and pawn against pawn (28)

12.1.6. Knight and pawn against two or mare pawns (21)

12.1.7. Endings with a large number of pawns (21)

Closed Tournament (26.06.2021)

Webinar

Hey Abhi,

Bit difficult to say honestly. I know his books are perfect. I will advise to try, and if you find out it too difficult to go back once you get stronger.

I’m 1925 online, it can be hard at times but very fun and helpful, I recommend it!

Hey! I would say you check it out once you reach around 1700 and also if you feel confident in the middle game and opening then you should definitely try it. Good Luck!

The best games of June 2021 and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of June 2021" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post your 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 May:

Vladimir Bugayev
Green Keo
Devansh Shah
Robert J
Abhi Yadav

Replies

Let's start this month

Botvinnik english ideas realized according to course

https://www.chess.com/live#g=16395451517

https://lichess.org/VLUhhWq0Vrn9 

crushing caro

https://lichess.org/zMIxID405BWP

https://lichess.org/f791ZYZlsVWQ 

grand-prix attacks

https://lichess.org/WrXKyxYrDFHM

https://lichess.org/bLGGem29FVmH

https://lichess.org/b1i6aASRAJ3O

https://lichess.org/xJ25FdqSOmfZ 

vs c3 sicilian

https://lichess.org/lAVhdO2yrGVl 
 
vs french with Bd3

https://lichess.org/1jwMPLfKKa7C

e4-e5 Bc4 with d4, interesting positional crush

https://lichess.org/fNjX8OSAMB8E 

miniature with London system

https://lichess.org/Y4MuPV7iikgP 

a little wing gambit magic vs sicilian

https://lichess.org/L1WiiQDdLN53 
 

Two queen sacrifices in AntiSicilian... none accepted though ;))

https://lichess.org/A09BIBZ6/white#1

FM thebalernobull vs Green_Keo: Analysis board • lichess.org

My first time playing a titled player, my opponent was 300+ higher rated than me, and I managed to draw the game. If not for time pressure, I may have won the game.

Antisicilian against 2500 IM

https://lichess.org/mOLu78E4/white#1

Lovely Game!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/16560352569

Full Domination!

https://lichess.org/jAbViulw/black#56

Positional French against someone rated 200 points higher than me.  Once my knight got to c5 it never moved again

https://www.chess.com/live/game/17196754965

https://lichess.org/pBpO9261jthZ 

french Bd3 positional win. I know i missed tactics

my best mate for today

https://www.chess.com/game/live/17295792325

all initiative based

Carlsen Variation rocks also

https://www.chess.com/game/live/17389365087

Fire the PANZERSHREK!!

https://lichess.org/pKXu1UDi139B

Liquidation favoured me which my opponent missed 

pawn endgame simple win

https://lichess.org/nzDnsmx7rl7Q

coolest mate for me today

https://www.chess.com/game/live/17596328277

A great win/good weapon against the Najdorf!

https://lichess.org/Ypv1x6LXP2oY 

 Scotch Game

https://lichess.org/jScdhC6g/white#0

 Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/J6yD1apn/black#0

Crushed Caro-Kann completely, no mistakes 7 centipawn,

https://lichess.org/p3OSRPEM/white#61

https://www.chess.com/game/live/17953261383  gruenfeld fun!

Here is my final game from the National Open. One of my favorite games I have played in a long time. Was a roller coaster of emotions! I am sure there are mistakes, but I kept the right mood and kept fighting till the end

https://lichess.org/Oz0bmAWXXyUp 

Power of catalan

https://www.chess.com/game/live/18043345255

https://www.chess.com/game/live/18111107111

Beautiful bishop sacrifice and force a checkmate

Beat an FM in this game.  I messed up the opening bc I couldn’t remember what to do when they don’t take on c6 right away, but I managed to fight back

https://www.chess.com/live/game/18147130729

https://www.chess.com/game/live/18186166535 

gp 

https://lichess.org/BxnuBlDw/black

Learning basics of attacking

https://www.chess.com/game/live/18276072577

My Prep’ against 1.b3 si I’m not sure if that qualifies as a best game…

Event "Chesstempo game"]
[Site "Chesstempo.com"]
[Date "2021.6.24"]
[Round "?"]
[TimeControl "300"]
[White "kdser"]
[Black "fandorine"]
[WhiteElo "1955.54"]
[BlackElo "1802.05"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 e4 5.Ne2 Bd6 6.d3 a6 7.Bxc6 dxc6 8.O-O Bxh2+ 9.Kxh2 Ng4+ 10.Kg3 Qg5 11.Qd2 Nxe3+ 12.Kh2 Qxg2# 0-1

https://lichess.org/q5EyUELx/white 

Fave Game

https://www.chess.com/game/live/18372126507

How quickly things can get away from black when faced with a ChessMood opening! Black gets mated on move 14!

Passive play against Sicilians.

https://lichess.org/X7dG3I9tLEh6

Seeing Najdorf now a days just because I am working on attacking. Ignore opening but middlegame was full of fire . I did not missed Bc4 but I thought may be it wont give me issue in middlegame but i was wrong but still fire on board.

https://lichess.org/wM73LKQyZ49k

https://lichess.org/uRrObsogk8GJ Positional win against KID.

https://lichess.org/ATUMH5pS/black I was black.

Still, I am Black. https://lichess.org/7bPKbXctcxAx 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/16282520383 I am white here.

Just trying to be creative in unknown positions. 

https://lichess.org/UrZeyEqpjI6I

https://lichess1.org/game/export/gif/black/8VSwXxho.gif my win with GM

https://lichess1.org/game/export/gif/black/8VSwXxho.gif

French

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/16550715661?tab=report

Modern Benoni

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18141046915?tab=report

Alekhine’s Defense

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18292229201?tab=report

Scotch Game

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18354665677?tab=report

Sicilian

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18460833573?tab=report

my game in grand prix

https://lichess.org/yplhspem/white

my game in the scotch

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18604785105?tab=analysis

in both games i am white

Crazy game with white

Keeping the initiative with white and controlling the open file

Hopefully im not to late I forgot to post. whats the cutoff date anyway ? 

Heres a game that like Morphy Opera House game every move was forced!

https://chessmicrobase.com/microbases/14925/games/1153289

devansh290403 vs. Lina_0927 

Crushing the petroff

Chess: devansh290403 vs shangzexu - 18673866303 - Chess.com

Crushing the pirc!

Positional win with Catalan against KID.

https://lichess.org/L7xQCPrWMxhA

https://lichess.org/5zF4ZmvsxROG

This was my game played as white in lichess. I crushed Sicilian totally without any mistake. 

Scotch queen trap

https://lichess.org/n2h2BYeA/white

c4 break wins this Benko game

Mate in 7 anyone?

Hello, Champions and ChessMood family! 
Thanks for all your games.  
And it's very cool to see your growth. 

The 5th prize goes to Andy Crust, for the cool attack in Caro-Kann
 https://lichess.org/p3OSRPEM/white

The 4th prize goes to Paulius Juknis. 
He played many cool games. Especially good ones were attacks in Caro-Kann and this:
https://lichess.org/Y4MuPV7i  

The 3rd prize goes to Michael Larsen for the nice attack and Nef5 move! 
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/18460833573
 
The 2nd prize goes to Vladimir Bugayev for the crazy attack. 
 https://lichess.org/A09BIBZ6/white#65 

The 1st prize goes to Valdemar Rasmussen, for a very nice game with positional queen sacrifice in Maroczy Bind. 
The game you can find on the 1st page. 

Thanks, everyone! 
Looking forward to seeing you in July. 


#RightMood_RightMove
#COGRO (constant growth)

PGN Files for the middlegame

Hey I have a question about pgn files. Would you suggest to make pgn files about courses like happy pieces as well or should I just make pgn files about the opening courses? 

Thanks for your help !

Replies

Personally I'd just note down positions of interest or even where they are in the videos so you can review them several times. Maybe at most 10-20.

Easier working with less information than more.

Hi Noah,

I do create pgn-files with the complete games that are covered in the courses. Most games were available in the databases I use (Live Database by ChessBase for Premium Members and the the free chessgames.com).

Than I add as a comment the starting position in case not the whole game is covered in the video.

You could than decide when to apply "A super effective training technique with your chess book" that Coach Avetik shows here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Tw1iNDfas&list=LL&index=16&t=2s

You could play through the game before watching the video or some weeks later as a repitition.

Good luck,

Nils

Hey Noah,

The reason we create PGN s for the openings is that we need to remember the theory and have to check it out very often. About the middlegames, I have never done it personally , since there are billion middlegame options. I would just recommend to carefully study them and try to learn the ideas :-)

Can a player with rating 1600,16yrs old become a gm in 4 years

Hi sir,sorry to disturb you,but i am not able to sleep,my interest on chess has grown into passion and now i want to become a super gm,that is a professinal strong super gm,i am 16 right now,with a fide rating of 1606,i know this sounds awkward to you,but can i become gm in 4years,4years because i will be 20 in 4years,and it might take more years to become a super gm,i dont know anyone else except for u to ask this question,people who are not even a gm are telling that u cannot and some tell u can,but u r a gm,CAN I BECOME A GM IN 4 YEARS,IF SO,HOW CAN I AND HOW SHOULD I PRACTICE CHESS ,pls reply sir,i will be waiting for your reply..

Replies

Well first of all anyone can become GM in chess if they have burning desire to become GM.  Before you think about becoming a Grandmaster you should read this blogs which can open your eyes about how to become GM and what are the obstacles you are gonna face and what are the qualities you need to develop in you to become a future GM. I am sharing some selected blogs which can open your eyes and will be helpful for your journey.

How to Become a Chess Grandmaster - Is it Easy?

 In this article coach Avetik will open your eyes about obstacles and issues in the path of becoming a Grandmaster and how people lose track and how hard work combined with smart work required to become GM . Another important thing is financial help. Without money we cant hire coaches and it will slow down the process of becoming a GM and a lot more info is there.

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-become-a-chess-grandmaster-is-it-easy

Secret 1: Burning Desire

https://chessmood.com/blog/burning-desire

Why It’s a Must to Study Classical Chess Games

https://chessmood.com/blog/why-It-is-a-must-to-study-classical-chess-games

The Power of Self-Belief in Chess

I think it is really important in life to believe in yourself that yes I can and I will do it. But you should also live in reality.  realistic goals are possible to achieve but if we think  in unrealistic sense then it is terrible. For example thinking of becoming world champ. But still believing in yourself that yes I can and I will become Grandmaster combined with your super hard work can make you Grandmaster one  day.

https://chessmood.com/blog/the-power-of-self-belief-in-chess

Winners Never Quit!

This is really important for you. No matter how much loses you face . Never give up. Life is so painful and not full of happiness all time but you have to be a Warrior who knows only about how to become a winner.

https://chessmood.com/blog/winners-never-quit

To Succeed at Chess, Start with WHY

This is very important to know your Why. Without knowing Why you will not be committed to become a GM. Share your Why and only a very strong Why will motivate you to work hard  even in those conditions in which normal person's mind break and they lose hope. 

https://chessmood.com/blog/to-succeed-at-chess-start-with-why

My Why:  To reach milestone of 2000 FIDE

My Why is based on my past pain of losing friends who left me because they thought I am dumb in chess and I can't improve. They were FIDE 1900s guys . They were in my team. In the beginning I thought they are kind but even after so much loses of 1990s in team event no one allowed me to play a single game of chess there. It's my pain and my why so I can prove myself so well in front of everyone. My why is to help players and give them right path. My why is to prove myself that yes I failed in past it's because of lack of guidance a lot more why are there. 

So find your very strong Why and see difference in your work level.

Learn the Right Lessons From Your Mistakes

We can't play perfect chess all time. It's nearly impossible. But with right training you can improve your accuracy to make right moves on board. So never ignore your wins and loses and analyze them to find the areas in which you are strong or weak and learn from them.  More info is in article.

https://chessmood.com/blog/learn-the-right-lessons-from-your-mistakes

Don’t be a Fish

This is very important. You should find a chess mentor who guide you well. Do not fell into Fish traps. I wasted my one year under  a 2200 FIDE coach and he did not provided me right information. That's my another Why to help people. Because I do not want them to learn in wrong way. I know time is so precious but some dumb coaches can suck your money and time. You are lucky that you are in Chessmood.

https://chessmood.com/blog/do-not-be-a-fish

Chess isn’t for the Weak:

This is reality of life as well as chess too. If you are weak all can take advantage of you . So never sell yourself short. Be brave and work so hard and never let others to bother you. No matter it's your parents, family, friends or anyone. If anyone stops you to reach your goals then just ignore them. In my case I failed from past 7 years but now after so much struggle finally my family is supporting me and they believe that yes I will reach 2000 once events will start. There was also times in which my whole family was against me.  Sometimes they even tried to put boards away from me but I never gave up . I was standing alone in front of them that no I want to do chess and finally all of them agreed that only one year of event we will give you and prove yourself. So now in 2023 I have to reach 2000 . Right now I am just 1465. 

https://chessmood.com/blog/chess-is-not-for-the-weak 

Read the above article and be a winner. Fuck of those from your life who say you Can't . Those who say that you can't are those kind of people who never think of success. Failure is okay if you have desire to become successful but you should learn from your failures. But those kind of people never learn from their mistakes and what happens in the end that they also try to stop  others like hey man I did not became GM so you also can't. Remember: "Impossible means I am Possible"  but in realistic sense. So becoming A Grandmaster  is possible for you and also for me too even though I am 24. 

Mistakes Are Not Failures

This is true and learning from mistakes is essential to become pro. Without mistakes you cant learn. 

https://chessmood.com/blog/mistakes-are-not-failures

In the end I just wanna say Yes, if you have burning desire to become A Grandmaster then You Can Become a Grandmaster one day . But you should work so hard to reach there and you should be super Positive about it and you should also handle life situations well.  Also try to find dedicated partners who are your well supporters. 

Best of Luck Man!  Never Give Up!!!

Best Wishes from Abhi!!!

I hope after reading my big post combined with Chessmood articles can motivate you that yes you will become successful one day if you work in proper way.

if you want to work with my team then text me on lichess and I will share how my team works.

https://lichess.org/@/cat-prep-time

To give an honest answer, unlikely, very unlikely, but don't let that stop you trying.

This is just based on the number of players who have gone from 1600 to 2500 in 4 years and from the age of 16, I would suspect close to 0. Even the rare 12 year olds that make GM, often started at 6 or younger, and have an advantage due to their stage of mental development.

4 years, 7 days a week is a little under 1500 days. If you spent every one of those on chess, and optimised the amount of time, and studied the right things (very difficult without a good trainer), you would make progress, but my feeling is if you even made 2300 by that point, it would be a huge achievement by most player's standards.

To go from 1600 to 1900 isn't too much of a leap, the problem is going from 1900 to 2200, and beyond that you only get there by playing increasingly fewer strong players. To get the GM you're going to have to get 3 GM norms which means playing in international tournaments and beating that level opposition, as well as getting your grade that high to get the title.

Plus are you really going to spend all that time on chess and nothing else - no university, no back up career, no meeting other people, friendships (outside of chess)? Can you do that financially and are mentally strong enough,and let's just say you do get there, will you be happy due to all that sacrifice?

Hi Ritvik,

Even if possible it's gonna be truly difficult, but as well if you make it, it will be an outstanding success. It's doable, but you need to put super effort and keep supper discipline every single day. You may need some extra year or 2 in case. During the call, you have got a study plan. How to use your time, your schedule. Keep up ding what we decided. Once you have the progress of 200-300 elo points let us know as well. 

Once  again your goal and timing will need lot of effort and discipline and all depends on you, I always thought there is nothing impossible :-)

Open Files: How to Exploit them

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Thanks for Nice article. Material present in such  way that is  is easy to understand and enjoy a lot. 

An important question

Now a days we are living in modern world in which there are many commentaries, podcast of gms, youtube channels and a lot online companies like Chessmood. Do you guys think we should blindly trust what super gms recommend ?

Without even analyzing your level do you think it's good to listen what Fabi and Magnus said about books? 

I see so many people listens to podcast , commentaries and unknown gms and just blindly follow the path they shared. 

I think this is not good way to improve in chess. You should understand your level and then pick books or courses which suits your level. 

When I had one on one with Coach Avetik. He shared me so many valuable advice  which I am sharing in bottom.

1. For tactics he said use chesstempo but as I love books so I said I will go for books and he said okay.

2. For endgame he said that it's good to do simple books but not Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and his reasoning was that you wont fully take advantage from the book. It's not like you cant understand concept but in case of solving you will miss so many hidden resources because it's designed for 2000+ elo players. I have a nice friend who is currently 2200 FIDE and he even told me same. He tried to solve this book with his teammate who is 2300 FIDE but both struggled even in pawn endgame. So now you can understand the level of the book. I also tried it once but I did failed to see so many hidden points.  So conclusion is that why choose a book if you cant fully see all the hidden resources .So I left that book and I am doing from simple ones and learning faster too.

3. For middlegames he suggested me to go through cm courses on middlegames and he suggested me not to pick Tal, Kasparov, Fischer in the beginning of my study because they will be more complex and I may miss critical things. So I followed his advice and now after one year now I think I am able to go to Fischer's games atleast. 

There are so many things he shared too in one on one. I followed all the things and I see difference in my game and level of understanding too.

So , guys share your opinions . Is it good to blindly listen what popular IM, GM said or listen to those who are successful and connected with you also. 

I learnt a cool thing in past from a book called " Copycat Marketing" In the book author said that if you want to become successful then just copy what the successful person did. With this you can easily stay away from the mistakes which he did in his journey you get success faster. I apply this idea in my work also and I feel difference. My teammate who is 2200 is so connected guy so whenever I listen to his advice I see difference in my play. 

Do you guys have teammate? 

Do you guys listens to podcasts and blindly trust them?

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I think those who are connected with us and are successful can share best advice to us than those IMs or GMs who never met you and knows nothing about u. I am not saying do not listen to gm's suggestions. Do listen them and share it with those people who are successful and around you so they can share right path to you.

I agree with what you say here, but not everyone will follow that advice. Sometimes (particularly the young) will want to do what they want to do. They more you try to change their mind the more determined it makes them, as frustrating to you as it might be. In the end if you offer advice (even the best in the World) you have leave it at that. Agreeing to disagree is all you can do. Let them learn by their own experience, and from mistakes along the way.

I've been in a position to help people many times throughout life and maybe make a big difference from the problems I've solved, but some people don't want advice (in fact many don't even want unsolicited advice when they talk about problems, just sympathy or to wallow with others of a like situation, but that's another story.)

Engine addicts

I met so many players who are engine addicts in openings and middlegames prep also . Sometimes they try to refute main lines and even though their refutations sucks but still they just say oh I refuted this bla bla bla. So, I thought to share you this amazing article and it will open your eyes. after you read this story.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/gukesh-wins-110th-hillerod-and-cannes-open-consecutively

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impressive quote from the article:

While Gukesh's performance and live rating of 2565 is impressive, what is even more jaw-dropping is the fact that the youngster says he has never used an engine for his preparation!

Building a strong chess foundation

Continuing a discussion about endgame studying from another channel...

I appreciate some younger players have a lot of time on their hands to put into their chess study, but what's the best way of getting to be a stronger player. Of course I can only give advice up to about the 2000 level because I've not travelled beyond, though I have a lot of understanding of learning mechanisms. Would be interesting to hear from the 2300+ players.

A common analogy of learning a skill is building a house. Let's say you have almost unlimited time and resources.. Most builders would clear the land, put in foundations, and build the structure from the ground up, only then adding in features like windows, doors and interiors. Would it be a wise move to plant part of the foundation, but then work on a single wall, get it to near finished before working on another? Or move from one wall to another, never finishing getting the basic structure up?

What I'm getting at is how your chess skill builds itself physically inside your head. Young players (probably) have a big advantage here as not so much is mapped out (more free space), and can spend lots of time really developing the area devoted to chess (like building a purpose built housing estate that functions as a whole and is well connected), where as adults who have less time and are already well developed can not make so much new development and it is spread out (they have to build the houses around what is already set there as well as compete with others putting up their houses). The memories and skills located close to one another will stimulate and work with each other, where as ones spread throughout will not as much. That's my theory at least.

On a practical level though, let's say you could know 100 (for arguments sake) chess things that are automatic and available to you when you play (going back to the analogy let's say that's the house estate site where you are locating houses that can accommodate 100). You'll use these things with almost perfect intuition and insight. Other stuff won't be so automatic, you'll need to think, and the chance of missing stuff/blundering is much greater. Now which 100 would you select? Would it be some interesting but probably not so practical endgame study, you might see something similar 1 in 500 games or less, or the real fundamentals that come up more frequently?

In other words I believe that spending lots of time on things that come up time and time again, or those that are foundations for the more complex will lead to greater improvements and most likely increase the ultimate ceiling rating than less important things (even spotting blunders very quickly or just taking full account of what changed due to the opponent's move almost every time without fail is worth so many points).

It was said once (and I did a crude survey that roughly agreed) that most players don't improve significantly after playing (seriously) for about 8 years. Maybe this is part of the reason.

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Very nice food for thought @David_Flynn. I would like to ask the opinion of some promembers. Particularly people more or around 40 years old that have improved their game and also I would like to know how much time do you spend on EFFICIENT chess training.