Chess forum by Grandmasters

The Power of the Bishop Pair

Dear Pro members

Happy to let you know that we have added 2 more sections in the course ''The Power of the Bishop Pair” 

Watch and hopefully enjoy :-)

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thanks 

Something to listen for your motivation

The Perpetual Chess Podcast is the reason why I have joined the ChessMood community, after I have listened to the episode featuring Avetik.

For all of you (like me) a bit older and wanting to get a master title, this episode is really fun to listen to:

Episode 204- FM Nathan Resika — The Perpetual Chess Podcast

Enjoy!

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thanks!

Cool! 

I remember Nathan from his days at the Marshall in the Village.  Really nice guy who worked hard to improve.  He was really good about going over his losses and he had a good coach, iirc.  

Chessbase repertoire feature

Hey Guys

I made a short video on this feature which is very handy. I made one error in the video in that searching a position from a game you played in the 'rep' database will not return a result unless the move played is main theory. So when your opponent plays a sideline you have to search the move before and then look at your 'rep' variation for the analysis. 

Hopefully this video makes sense and is clear. I have found this feature really handy along with replay training. 

https://youtu.be/PbwJHytxfE8

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Aww thank you soo much. This was very helpful, I use chessbase more than 10 years and I think for every chess player it's a must have program, but I didn't know a lot of features that you showed lol, thanks again.

@Robert_J. I guess whatever works for u. I tend to put all analysis into the sperate database and then copy across to the repertoire database once I am happy with it. Think of the specific opening database as a working base is how I see it and the rep database is almost like the finsihed article.

There will be some replication of course but to make use of the search and training features of a repertoire database its worthwhile and only a drag and drop in terms of extra work

Thanks a lot for this explanatory video. I knew almost everything but I never thought of comparing it with the games of the Chessmood GMS database. By the way, how did you downloaded the Chess.com games? They do not allow to download them in bulk, do they?

Thanks Jamie for helping with this short video. Have been working with Chessbase 16 and loving the new features. The Chessmood GM streams is what I was missing. Hopefully, I can download and create the reference DB to compare all the lines.

Thank you! I learned the `variations fold` feature from your video. It's Life changing! 

Thank you very much for the video @jamie_Wilby. Very useful tips!

Wow Jamie! 
You're doing super job! 
Not just how seriously you work with ChessMood, but also your kindness, sharing value with others. 
Thanks so much! 

Jamie, do you know, does chessbase offer the following feature: 
You download all your games and click "compare with repertoire", and it shows all the games you went wrong comparing to your repertoire. 
We're now working on adding nice features in ChessMood, which will help you guys to memorize the variation easier. The one I said, I didn't find anywhere, but I might be wrong. 

With best wishes,
Avetik 

ChessMood Logo with a christmas hat by me(LOL)

I made a ChessMood logo with a christmas hat because of boredom.It is not so good but I am not a professional about editing photos.I think it is funny lol

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This is a very cute idea! :) 

Aww that's so cute <3 :)

I like it :-)

Wow!

Nice-nice!!! 

Where were you and what did you do in the battle?

Yesterday saw Chess Mood team doing battle in lichess team battle 13A.

CRR was there, where were YOU?!

Fellow Chess Mood warriors, Chess Mood team needs you!

Come & help Chess Mood win these battles. Right Mood,Right Move COGRO!

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I had the same question, you're right we need them :)

Oh! 
Richard, as a PRO Member, you can participate in both teams you know? 
We have 2 teams - ChessMood and ChessMoodPRO (for only pro members and our coaches)

Power of ChessMood Scotch

When you want to reply no, because it wouldn't be Scotch again :D

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lol nice 

Haha :) 

Gabuzyan quote

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Didn't Tal say though you can only take one hanging piece at a time?

Hey Mogens!

Thanks for paying so much attention while I am streaming! Appreciate it :-)

Nice :) 

Pirc Defense question - 3....Nd7

Hi! I played in the Pirc tournament for chessmood members earlier today (amazing by the way, I plan on playing in more).

My opponent played a line that I don’t recall seeing in the opening series videos.

Can you advise on the best plan for white? I prefer the Bf4 setup to the Grand Prix.

the game went:

1. E4 d6

2. D4 g6

3. Nc3 Nd7 

Thank you. 

-Ben

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Benjamin, check out Modern Pirc course, Pasini variation! 

Course suggestion - Unhappy pieces

Unhappy pieces - the art of making your opponent's army miserable

Might work as a good companion to happy pieces. This time on exchanges, space gaining, pawn wedges, overloading, making pieces passive, no available / not having a plan / strategically lost and so on, the idea being that causing problems with the opponent's army gives you the better position (and how to convert it to something more concrete).

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Hehe :) 
David, we're planning to add this course! 

Another tactical trick in c6 Modern (Pirc)

[Note it is often just known as the Modern, although it's also known as the Robatsch defence]

In the 3... c6 line, 6. Nxd5 is refuted, but 6. Nxb5 with the same idea isn't mentioned (my first thoughts about the position], but it also fails due to Qa5+ 7. Nc3 d4.

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Nice! 

Sicilian 2... Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 and other questions

Only dxc6 is covered directly here (bxc6 is mentioned in the rossolimo course, but then that has Nf3 played). It seems there are quite a few games in the database 200 or so in this line (about a tenth of dxc6) so would be useful to have some instruction what to do here if the opponent captures that way (specially here and/or in general the difference is handing the pawn structure).

I think I asked before (but can't find a reply) that there is reference to good rossolimos tempos up with f4 played before Nf3 in the d6/e6/g6 lines, however there is no guide to playing this as White. It might be a good position, but what's the plan from here?

Also why after f4 being played in the g6 lines is Nf6 now played and not the idea of playing c4 as in in the Nf3 lines of the Rossolimo course? How does it differ here that this plan isn't the best now (e5 ?) ?

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Hey David, 
We'll add all these in the section. 

Interesting English sideline not covered in Chessmood course yet

Before Chessmood, I played e6 vs the English (with Black). Since GM Gabuzyan released the course based on e5, I have been playing e5.

However, in this game I faced an interesting sideline, not covered in teh course, that I think it could be troublesome if you are unprepared (as I was). 

White plays e3 and d4, in order to destroy black pawn structure and gain initiative

Analyzing the game, engines suggest 12... g4, instead of 12...b6.

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I would be interested in @GM_Hovhannes_Gabuzyan recommendation against 7.e3 8.d4  or any other English player

Hey Sergio!

I checked out the line and it looks best to me including 12... g5 which is leading to big advantage for black, if instead of taking on d6 whites players 12.h3 you can play 12... bxf3 13. qxf3  and play 13... nf5 which seems pretty nice to me for the black side.

Scotch 4...Bc5 - 7...d6 - 8...Be6 Question

Hi!! in Scotch 4...Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2 d6 8.Be3 Be6 9.0-0-0 0-0 10.f3 Ne5 11.g4 then Black has 11...Bc4 if 12.Qd2 Nxf3 and if 12.Qf2 Black has Nexg4 or Nfxg4. When I use my engine, engine suggest me to play 11.Kb1 Bc4 12.Qf2 Neg4 (or Nfg4) 13.fxg4 Nxg4 14.Bxb6!? Nxf2 15.Bxf2 Bxf1 16.Rxf1 that white is slighty better. What's your opinion ? And is there any improvement that I need to do?

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is there 8...Be6 move in the course?

Hello Chong!

Nice question,

11.Kb1 is a nice move taking king to safety, but my opinion is that would be better to play 11.Qd2 with an idea to play 12. be2 and try to play g4 a bishop on e2 is already protecting pawn on f3!

When do we blunder?

Two situations that are common to blunder in which we saw during tonight's stream:

In difficult positions where the is an 'only' strategic move, which under the pressure we forget to check if it's tactically sound.

On declining a draw and therefore having to 'prove' something.

Any others you can think of?

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Making and analogy with tennis I think there are 2 kind of blunders:

1- Unforced Blunders

2.- Forced Bulders

Unforced blunders rarely happen between players >1800

Force blunders may be subdivided:

a) Blunders forced by time trouble

b) Blunders forced by a strategically worst position that forces you to find the only good move, move after move until you blunder

c) Blunders forced by a tactically worst position that forces you to make a very precise calculation to find the correct sequence of moves in the combination

d) I am sure there are many others...

I think the lack of concentration is the first cause of blunders. :/ 

Hey David,

It's an interesting question. Every single person in the world is gonna be blundering. Even the world champion ) so to say we can get rid of it, will be not real. But I think we can decrease the amount of blunders with several steps.

1.High concentration

2.Good shape ( not being tired)

3.Experience (playing a lot different type of positions will allow to see or feel hidden resources)

4.Not to play very fast and check more and more options possible

5.Sharpen tactical intuition!

In general, I can't predict when will you or I blunder as otherwise it would never happen but think that trying to be very focused on the game will decrease the number of blunders.

The New course - How to play against 1.c4 - English Opening

I'm happy to tell you that we uploaded a new course "English opening, 1.c4".  
I'm going to show you a very practical opening repertoire - how to play against it.


https://chessmood.com/course/english-opening-1.c4-how-to-play-for-black

If you have any questions, please post here. 

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Great news! I am eager to watch it. Thank you maestro

Thank you! I have been eagerly awaiting this course! 

I can hardly wait to watch this and post my thoughts, especially as a new white repertoire course has recently been released on Chessable that has been getting rave reviews: 

https://www.chessable.com/the-iron-english-botvinnik-variation/course/50500/

Thanks Sensei :)

I have already watched it for the first time, without taking notes or writing down a PGN, just trying to understand the ideas. 

Very interesting ideas, easy to grasp and remember, and superbly explained.

I am going to have to change my English Repertoire with black ;-). Currently I play ...e6 instead of ...e5.

@GM_Hovhannes_Gabuzyan, what are the main differences between ...e6 and ...e5? It seems to me that ...e5 is more aggresive and provides better opportunities for an attack on the white king, while ...e6 is quieter

if white start with 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 c5 what should I play. Is this same like english opening ?

https://lichess.org/KgRYc3WOw9Bm

What I love about this course is its simplicity and beautiful explanation! It is so easy to understand and play. Before this course, I played some random Nf6, g6 against the English. Now, thanks to you, I have a structured repertoire against the English. Thank You Coach Gabuzyan!

So far, no complaints and I learned a lot!

Dear Pro Members!

I have a good news for you!

I've added two more sections in the course "English Opening."
I cover there White's 5.e3 with Nge2 setup and 5.a3 Check it out :) 
https://chessmood.com/course/english-opening-1.c4-how-to-play-for-blackThe next time, I'll upload 5.e4 move. 

Hope you enjoy it and win many interesting games!

Good Luck!

Hey, champions! 
A new section - how to play against Botvinnik system is added :) 
A one, that many of you waited :) 
Enjoy :) 

https://chessmood.com/course/english-opening-1.c4-how-to-play-for-black/episode/2111 

Dear Pro Members,

I've added a very important section in the course "English opening", when White plays with e3 d4 plan. It's an important one, as you'll get these positions also playing Benko! 

I hope after watching this section, you'll be very happy facing this setup.https://chessmood.com/course/english-opening-1.c4-how-to-play-for-black

Hope you will like and enjoy it!

Urgent Questions Plz Answer

Hey Guys... I have some Urgent Question... I have a team tmt game at 11:30 IST and I saw that my Opponent plays d4 Nf6 and then Nf3... What can I play? He plays this and on the next move plays c4... Probably this move order to avoid a particular opening.. Plz recommend what to do... 

P.S. His chess24 username is Davit10 He is from Armenia :) :D

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Plz answer as soon as possible!

You can try 2...g6 and after c4 - c5

Rubic's Cubes

Hi guys I know it's a chess forum but still a question came in my mind. How many of you guys are able to solve Rubic's Cubes and which method do you guys apply in solving? 

I am able to solve 3x3 with beginner method but soon I am gonna work on Advanced Methods which every tournament player uses. With that I will be able to solve a cube in less than a minute. World Champs can solve cube in less than 5 seconds. So solving a cube in 1 minute will also be an achievement for me.  I do have 4x4 and 5x5 cubes but due to time issues I never learnt them but soon I hope I will try to find an hr daily for cubing practice so I will do okay in cubing. 

Website useful for cubing:

https://ruwix.com/

You know guys I just love logical things. I am not attracted to any memorization stuffs.. Apart from chess, cubing and computers (once I will reach my chess milestone of 2000 I will do learn ethical hacking so I i will help coach in security of Chessmood.com ) .  I only like Fast and Furious series, home alone series and some south indian movies.  I do like cartoon because I don't believe that cartoons is only for kids. I like Tom and Jerry, Shinchan, Doremon etc. 

Well it's not chess topic but I hope I will find some cubers here. I always have 3x3 in my hand hehehe.

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One of my friends from Germany taught me how to solve it, but I forgot, maybe I can do it in 10 min if not more.

I'm still thinking that for me it is impossible to learn :D

3x3 my best time is 1:40 with the advanced beginner's method.

Previously I used the Singmaster method published in the 80ties in Scientific America, which is way to redundant.

I have looked at the Fridrich method, but I don't feel inclined to learn 400 + algorithms for the sake of gaining one minute.

But it's a pleasant past-time, and useful cubes are getting affordable more and more.

Well, My CFOF is going fine. Yesterday I went though some F2L lessons and center lessons to make me fast. I think in few months I will reach 1 minute and my cuber mentor said that I will reach sub 30 by the end of the 2021.

Queen's gambit (Netflix) any grounding in reality?

Watched the first couple of episodes now.

So the premise (not to give too much away) is by taking tranquillisers (perhaps not a good message) she is able to visualise the chess board on the ceiling and play through many games in her head. Add a copy of MCO and some other chess literature that was around in the 50s/60s(?) USA she becomes a chess genius and can beat 2000+ (USCF) I guess before in later episodes going on to be a grandmaster herself.

Of course it's a fantasy, but it's an interesting question, just by reading chess literature and being able to visualise is there any hope that a player could reach 1300 mostly on their own (sort of like Alphazero), let alone the heights she reaches. Most of us have to play many games against opponents, incur loses, read all sorts of sources, get help from other players/coaches and so on to get a few measly rating points and over the years we gradually improve. I suspect in the 1950s that 2000 USCF wasn't as strong as it is now (and USCF is noted to be overrated vs FIDE, so maybe it's 1500 FIDE today), but even then that's not easy to reach without several years of games IMO.

Oh yes and the blunder in episode 2 was a real facepalm for her opponent given how much time he had on the clock. Perhaps his mind wasn't on chess.

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ChessMood Benko course

How it looks like :D

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lol

Wow! There should also be a rhino named King's Indian defence.

Rate your vision

Rate your tactical and strategic vision from 1-10 

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Tactical - 7, Strategic -5 Ι need to improve.

tactical 7, strategic 2 :D

1 tactical and 2 strategical 

I guess it depends to whom you compare, so I will answer comparing me to the average player in my elo rating range.

I would say:

Tactics: 4

Strategy: 6

I think I am slightly better strategically than the average player in my rating range, but slightly worse tactically.

Tactics-7, Strategy-8

Tactical-6

Strategy-4.5

My mood in concrete positions is the thrice of my mood in slow positions, so I have lost many equal games. One of thing I do frequently in slow positions is opposite side castling, even if I know that's the worst decision. But I have also won by playing super solidly. As for tactical, I give myself 6 because I have missed many tactics during games(I don't mean simple tactics like fork, pin, skewer, etc.) but in attacking schemes I play more confindently and can give myself 7

-2,345,678.

Srsly, 5 on tactics and 5 on strategy.