Chess forum by Grandmasters

French exf6 question making e6 pawn weak

This game played by me https://lichess.org/zo9LVhTB

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Ne2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.a3 Rb8 8.0-0 Be7 9.f4 (to play f4-f5 Ng3 Qg4 to start attack on kingside which was told by GM Avetik in French Webinar) 9...f5. In the game, I thought 10.exf6 would be good for me cuz I create a weakness on e6 pawn and having e5 square for my strongpoint but when I check with my engine it shows equal. In the game I can make any progress to attack the e6 pawn weakness and ended in a draw. Then I checked with my engine, it says I should play b2-b4 to gain space on queenside. My question, is exf6 good move or not. If not what is the better option for white to play after 9...f5?

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I am not sure what will be the best response after f5, but I think even after exf6 you got a very nice position after few moves, unfortunately you could not convert well, but I got mad when I saw in which position you took the draw :) why you didn't continue the game? I think there's still a lot of chances to win, just keep the Queens and annoy him :)

Hey Chong! 
Ususally after f5, when you take on f6, you get a slight edge. 
However more problematic is when you don't touch it. 
In your game, I would play b4! 
And if at some point he goes 0-0, then g4 will start a checkmating attack! 

Usually f5 moves in french, lives them without counterplay... 

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 course question

Hi ! ChessMood Pro Members. When someone plays 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 with me and in all black course was suggested to play Nc6 so it can tranposes to the maroczy, dragon, rossolismo. But when I am playing with Nc6 with ChessMood Promember there is 3.Bb5 (which was covered in Anti Sicilian part 2). My question is, will there be courses how to play against 3.Bb5 movein anti-sicilian for black?

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I believe it's work in progress.

In a webinar or stream, it was mentioned, I believe, that the best line for black is  3.-Nd4 4.Nf3 -e6 5.0-0, -a6 6. Bd3 - Nc6 . You can find this line in the advanced course

Hey Chong! 
It's already recorded. We're going to edit and upload it soon. 

Can you find it?

ChessMood Family????

After each online session, I recommend to download your just played games and briefly check them out, mostly paying attention to the opening part (check if you have done all correctly) and check the blunders.

 The same I do, after each session. Here is a very nice move I missed playing with Black. Can you find it?

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The most obvious move 1...f4 doesn't seem to work. 2.Bxf4 Rxf4 (2...Bxd4 3.Qxd4 Rxf4 4.Qxd5) 3.Qxf4 Bxd4? 4.Rc8+ Kf7 5.Rc7 

What about 1...g5! 2.Bxg5 e3! (3.Bxe3 f4) 3.Bxe7 exd2 4.Rd1 Re1+ 

or 1...g5! 2.g3  Bh6 3.Rxd5 f4

ChessMood endgame tournament

I would like to practice also the endgame courses that we're able to watch. Is it possible to create an endgame tournament as well? :)

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That sounds good! Maybe we can alternate every Saturday. For example, one Saturday we do an opening tournament and one Saturday we do a "Rook Endgames" Tournament so we can practice both.

I'm in the Lichess4545 league and we're playing through "100 Endgames You Must Know".  Perhaps we could play through the Chessmood endgame course positions over a series of weeks here.  The Lichess4545 league pairs players and we play both sides of a few positions.  I don't know how it would work here, but I'm learning a lot over there.

Wonderfull idea for the endgame tournament (Avetik please take notice).

I think we can do it without Lichess4545 (I am also a member there). Chessmood could prepare a normal Lichess tournament with a starting position.

And if this is not done, we could do it ourselves :)

I propose that you put here in a reply the prefered day and hour for the ending tournament.

Nice idea! Rook and Pawn Endgames seem specially hard for me. The idea is easy to grasp, but not the execution, so it is very important to practise 

Yeah, the problem is, from exactly what position to play? :) 

Surprise in the French Defense 7...Qb6!?

At first I though this was a bad move as it was not covered in the course. Later I checked the engine and my response was not a good one as I was worse after couple fo moves.

Somehow I managed to fight back and won in the end.

Full game has been posted on the page 5 in the best December games: The best games of December and the prizes - ChessMood

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Ohh that was a nice game, I liked it.

I don't think this Qb6 can be a good move, because, if he takes on b2, then you're gonna be so ahead in development. I will definitely play for white in that position, and if he doesn't want to take on b2 then the Queen doesn't stays good on b6, because our bishop looks at her :D

Robert, after 7...Qb6 you just to 8.Nbc3. 
if 8...Qb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.0-0 with initiative. For example 10...Be7 11.Nb5 Qa5 12.Bf4! 
or 10...Qa5 11.dc5

If 8...cd4 9.Nd4 Bc5 10.Bc6! bc 11.0-0 with Na4 - Black has problems. If 11...Qc7 then Ne6. 

Is there a course for beating 1.Nf3 as black?

This is not covered yet, correct? 

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The best advice to be able to stick to our chessmood openings would be to play 1…c5. Then you are ready to play our accelerated dragon lines after 2.e4, Nc6 …
Or after 2.c4 you play 2…g6, transposing into the English, as recommended by coach Hovhannes Gabuzyan, and after 2.g3 you also play 2…g6, 3.Bg2, Bg7, so that you can transpose into the English again after 4. c4, Nc6 … or after 4.O-O, Nc6, c4 …

Hi Kevin!

After 1. Nf3 as @Didi_Mayer mentioned we are playing with c5. So if e4 it transposes to Sicilian which we are happy to see. If white is trying systems with c4 then you can watch the course of English and will know what to do. As well Maroczy bind is covering another part of white possibilities. And if white is just playing some random setups with g3 you can build positions as we are doing in the English course as well using similar structures.

Scotch 4...Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb4+

5...Bb4+ is the most frequent move after 5...Bb6 and is recommended by GM Mikhalchishin in his "A practical repertoire against the Scotch" video course. How should we respond?

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5…Bb4+ is weaker than 5…Bb6 and White gets a good position after 6.c3, Be7, f4, d6, Bd3, Nf6, O-O. White has a strong center and some space advantage.

as I remember we don't have that move in the course right?

Hey! 
Good questions. 
There are different ways here. 
I've added on my list, will try to add material in the next month. 

Crushing d4 Sidelines Course

The pgn file is not quite right. There are 2 'Trampowsky' System and 1 London System and 0 Jobava System, like this:

https://imgur.com/a/rJYLdZF

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Oh, right. Sorry about that. 
And thanks for saying. 

Commented Classic Games Course

I hate to be a cheerleader but this course is a must for every chess player under 2200, just for the ideas alone.  Each game is presented quickly enough that you don’t get bored but goes deep enough so you understand the strategy and tactics and also how the great player deviates from what lesser players might do in the same position.  

Cheers to the GM Avetik who created it.  

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Exactly! I also like this course so much.

Hey Tom, thank you very much! 
Have you started to watch the Attacking games and Endgames? 
I think you should love them too :) 

P.S 
Tom, may I ask you to copy your words and paste into the "review" part of the courses? :) 
https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games 

16000 dpi gaming mouse

I been having problems with my mouse and remembering GM Grigoryan upgraded to a 16000 dpi razer. I also upgraded to a 16000 dpi mouse. I also have a pvc aluminum mouse pad. Do you guys really set the mouse on 16000 dpi the motion of the mouse covers the whole screen moving an inch. The best setting I found is about 3500 dpi without the aluminum mouse pad. I haven’t experimented quite enough with this yet I’m trying to get the feel of the mouse it’s so much different than the $20 version I have been using. Any advice? 

Replies

Hi Brad,

I use it at 10000 dpi. I think that 16000 is too much, but if you get used to it, why not? The problem is getting used to it. I am using the mouse all the day long at 10000 dpi and I have no problem. You just need more practice and start with less dpi, then when you get used to the speed, you can go to the next dpi level if you feel like you need it... I started gradually like this too. Now less than 10000 is slow for me...

Hey Brad! 
I bought it, but later my friend told me that 16.000, only professional gamers use :) 

I'm using now 4000 and slowly starting to add more speed. 
You should find out what is suiting you best. 

Chess.com Game analysis

HI All

Does anyone know the process that chess.com uses when analyzing one's games and establishing a certain "accuracy percentage"?

For example, do Best move and Book move have equal weight, while mistakes, blunders and inaccuracies deduct various values from the total "accuracy percentage"? And maybe brilliant move adds a bonus?

I believe its a decent engine feedback in general....

Replies

I think, only chess.com guys know the answer :) 
It's not standard at all, how they calculate accuracy :) 

Can I completely skip Maroczy Bind and only learn Modern Maroczy?

As Avetik said, Modern Maroczy Bind is a superior than Maroczy Bind. 

To save time, is it fine to only learn Modern Maroczy and skip the Maroczy Bind course?

Am I losing anything. Thank you so much!

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That's a nice question Kevin. I did both courses and I am playing the Modern Maroczy whenever I can. I think that yes, you could skip it but the old maroczy bind has lots of ideas that you can also use in the modern. I watched both but once you enter in the Modern Maroczy everything is covered to the last detail, so yes, I guess that you can. Think of the "old" one like the foundation, and then you go to the Modern, with more concrete variations which require more memorization.

I would at least look at all the videos to get a feeling for the position but learning only the Modern Maroczy seems reasonable. But make sure you understand the reasons what issues the modern Maroczy  attempts to solve.

I recommend learning both, but if you do not, at least watch the standard maroczy videos and grasp the ideas, even if you do not learn the concrete movesin each variation, and only learn modern Maroczy

Thank you, all, for being so helpful!

Hin Kevin,

I believe you will also need to learn the Classic Moroczy Bind , because some move orders from the English oppening will not let you play the Modern Maroczy bind.

Kevin, I would recommend to watch Maroczy Course first, to understand the ideas better, before moving to the modern Maroczy. 
Also, in the Maroczy course, you'll need to learn Maroczy with g3. 

Anyone else have this issue?

The opening courses are very good, GM (Jim) Avetik explains it in detail in bite sizes so it is easy to understand.

But I haven't been creating 'proper' PGN files of the courses I watched, because I didn't want to input a wrong move. Might have some paranoia here.

How do you guys do it? Aren't you worried you'd 'do it wrong' or do you just dive in and it doesn't matter if you don't input it 100% correctly?

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This is my approach

Step 1 (preparation)

First I watch the indroductions and Reviews of the section to get a general Idea of the line. Then I include the the videos' numbers in my pgn-file as a cross refernce and play through the variation allready in the pgn (for the section I am about to watch). 

2) Adding lines in the pgn fule

In case the line is not too complex I add the lines after watching each video with the engine running. For more complex lines I take notes while watching. Usualy I work with two screens. 

I am aware of the articles that recommend to fully concentrate on the content and not to take notes. However, I need good pgn to check my games and to prepare for OTB games (and our tornaments on soecific openings). 

First I watch the episode, then in ChessBase I note as far as I can remember, and then I check if I did it correctly or not.

Hey man! 
Thanks :) 

Have you read the 2 articles about Memorization and creating the PGN files?
These should help. 
https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-memorize-chess-openings-variations 
https://chessmood.com/blog/the-most-effective-way-to-create-chess-pgn-files  

Scotch Bc5 - 7. ... a5 in our line

Hey,

What's the best way to meet this line?

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2 a5

It's not the main line, but Carlsen has played it. It also seems that Malakhov consistently plays it.

Replies

I think it is important for White to play 8.a4 here (preventing Black from playing 8…a4 himself) and then after 8…O-O, 9.Bg5, h6, 10.Bh4 … (transposing to our recommended chessmood lines), and White must not fear 8…Nb4, 9.Bg5!, h6, Bh4 or 9…O-O, O-O-O with a good game for White

R+B orN vs Q

Hello ChessMood family, I have a question. I have a record of losing many games with my queen against rook+minor piece and I have given below one of my favorite losses. But recently I tried to play the new variant named Automate in chess.com. It is simple to play (though I was two queen down in that game!) just setup up a position and an engine will play for both side. I ended up in a R+B+6P vs Q+7P position. I thought I will lose but then it started repeating moves and eventually drew. Is it really difficult to win? There are many examples where R+B orN vs Q wins.

Replies

Nice puzzle

Hey everyone,

Today one of our ChessMood family member IM David Shahinyan posted a puzzle in our Facebook group, so if you're not there probably you haven't seen that, and btw you should join to see more nice posts there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/chessmood :)

"Dear ChessMood family and chess lovers.

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I found a line which gives advantage to ehite in the long run. 1. Qxb7+ Kxb7  2. Bf3 f5  3. b4 Kc8  4. b5 Bf6  5. b6 Nc4  6. b7+ Kxb7  7. Na5++ Kc7 8. Nxc4 Be7 9. c6 is my evaluation. I also considered 1. Nb8+ or 1. Nb4+ but they don't give to white much.

Benko Gambit 4...a6 5.b6

I can not find 5.b6 in the Benkö gambit repertoire. Would appreciate it if anyone would direct me to the right video.

It is not in the pgn-file either so perhaps it is not covered?

Replies

Hi Göran,

I play d6 and continue development. The pawn is finally captured by the knight: Nb8-d7-b6

For example:

5.b6 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.e4 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bg2 Nbd7 10.0-0 Nxb6 or

5.b6 d6 6.Qb3 Bb7 7.Nc3 Nbd7...

Did you watch it?

https://chessmood.com/course/happy-chess-pieces-the-art-of-keeping-your-chess-army-happy/episode/1489 

Probably the most lovely video of mine from Chessmood.  :) I just don't want people to miss this amazing game! So happy to see it included in courses!

Who has already watch it?

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I had already watched it before Chessmood, but I never get tired of watching it again 

Yes, the whole "Happy Pieces" is outstanding. I knew this game but Avetik's explanations makes it really easy to understand. When I saw it in other books or videos, the explanation was much shorter on the possible opponent moves. When you listen to Avetik's explanations it is clear why this move is possible, and that is something that not so many people can do... I also liked a lot the section on the rooks! Making your rooks happy is wonderful, in my last games, I activate them all the time an many games I see one of my opponent's rook still in the initial square at the end of the game... 

Yeah I saw this too, it an amazing idea :) the course is also amazing.

New course - "Defend with Honor"

Hello, champions! 

I'm happy to announce that GM Johan Hellsten joined ChessMood team and started to record a course about defensive play in chess. 

The first 2 sections are uploaded. 
Enjoy, while others are on their way. ​​
​​
https://chessmood.com/course/chess-defense 

If you have any questions related to the course - feel free to post them here. 

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The picture is amazing :D gonna watch it soon.

I had not watched any content from GM Hellsten before, but now I can say that I like his style as well as the content.

Defense is not generally as well covered as attack in Chess literature. 

Welcome and Thank you GM @Johan_Hellsten and thank you @ChessMood_

Champions, GM Johan Hellsten has added one more section - Blockade! 

Merry Christmas

Hello ChessMood Family, Hello champions! 

From all our team we wish you and your families to have a smile in your souls, and that all our dreams in chess and life come true!

 With love and best wishes, ChessMood team

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Merry christmas to my mentors. Thanks for providing wonderful courses for us. Because of your team I am alive in chess world and working a lot. Thanks and have a wonderful time!!!

Merry Christmas Chessmood family! Thank you for all that you do to help me improve. I am really excited for what is to come in 2021

- Mateo

Merry Christmas Chessmood

Happy new year! Good time to make a new year's to-do list