Another Cheating Scandal

Cheating scandal hits FIDE World Online University Championships.

 https://chess24.com/en/read/news/cheating-scandal-hits-fide-world-online-university-championships

Hi guys, does anyone have any idea what really happened here.

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I'm sure 90-99% of people, who don't confess, were really cheaters. 
I know real cases. 
But still, I believe algorithms don't work perfectly... 

Hopefully this pandemic will be finished soon, and we move to real chess :) 

Modern Pirc with c6

How to play against Modern Pirc with c6?
We found a very strong way to counter it, which we share in the last update.
https://chessmood.com/course/modern-pirc - Section 7

Hopefully, you'll enjoy it and crush your opponents who play this system.

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Wow, very interesting (and attacking) line - looking forward to giving it a try in the next closed tournament.

The lines chessmood provides are very useful. But I play them and preserve the Austrian attack.

Request for Payment Method

I am a 1223 Fide rated player and would like to join the monthly pro subscription.

However my bank doesn't support international transactions, nor with paypal.

I request you to consider crypto/bitcoin payment as an alternate payment method.

As we know most of the sites accept bitcoin payment nowadays...

I contacted support but the response was negative :(

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Hello Kishore,

Yes, at the moment we still do not accept Bitcoin. Hopefully in the future we will be able to do it. We do accept credit cards, bank transfers and Paypal.

Looking forward to have you here in the near future.

Best regards from the Chessmood Team

Sicilian ...d6

Dear Chessmood family, ;)

Recently I encountered the next variation a few times against our beloved repertoire:

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.0-0 e6 7.d4! cxd4 8.Nb5 a6!? This move was not yet in my pgn-file.

After 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Nf6 I twice chose 11.f5!?.

The most fun game is added to this post.

Any thoughts on this variation?

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Hwo to play against 1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5 ?

Hello ChessMood family

I faced the odd move order 1.e4 e6 2.d4 expecting the French but Black played  2...c5 .. and I'm unsure how best to respond?

3. Nf3 cxd4 takes us into open Sicilian.

3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 takes us into Benoni structure

3.Nc3 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 takes us into semi-Scotch position where we still have knight on g1

I played 3.Be3 and got myself into a horrible mess .. any guidance would be welcome!

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Hi Mik, if I remember it correctly, David brought up this move order a couple of days ago and the ChessMood Team sugguest going for the Benoni structure pointing out that White had not played c2-c4 yet what was good for White (strange enough - I have this position in my Smith Morra Repertoire where Esserman suggest playing c2-c4 quite soon after 1. e4 c5 2. d4!? e6?! 3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 5. c4). 

The line 1.e4 e6 2.d4  c5 is rarely seen in master play nowadays because after 3.d5 we reach the so called Schmidt Benoni, a structure in which Black is left with a solid but quite passive position. It is important to clearly understand the correct strategy to adopt in such positions and in this case it is primarily one of prophylaxis, at least initially, we will clamp down on Black's b5 break and we will also aim to make it difficult for him to fianchetto his dark squared bishop which is his primary source of counterplay in such structures. Once we have accomplished or 'squeezing' strategy depriving our opponent of space and meaningful counterplay we will seek to infiltrate Black's queenside utilising our main pawn break b4 along with maneuvers like Nc4 coupled with Bf4 to exert mounting pressure.  By the way I would rather you not go for c4 against the Schmidt Benoni, it is not a bad move at all, but it is even more effective to leave this square free for our pieces, especially a Knight.

As always the best way to grasp the above themes properly and be able to apply them in your own games, is to see some of them in action through an instructive illustrative game: 

Anti-Sicilian e6 webinar reschedule?

I notice this is not showing on events any longer - is there an intended date that it's rescheduled for?

Also are events taking place as normal over the Easter (long) weekend?

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I am a bit confused, too.  I hurried back from work, started my laptop, opened ChessMood - and no webinar. I am pretty sure that there was an announcement for today. 

@ ChessMood: It would be very nice If you could send an email in case an event does not take place.

One way to catch up would be after the Elephant one, to do the part 4 Anti-Sicilian and cover both together.

This is now scheduled for Thursday 1st at the usual ChessMood time (but note that for most of us who now have gone to summer time, it will therefore be an hour later). The elephant one is now listed on the schedule for Friday.

Why do we need to play against stronger opponents?

Hello, champions! 

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Nothing to do with the strength of the opponent, it's all to do with being 5 0 or faster. I can't play at that speed in positions I'm still learning and not make basic blunders - it's too fast. Also when there is streaming going on (Sunday) I learn a lot by watching, I can always play blitz at any time.

So myself, not knowing one single ChessMood opening yet and with the only ranking around 1650 (blitz) and not played at a longer time since 1984, could take part?

In that case it seems great. Perhaps I should wait until after the 1:1 talk?

Where can I read more about it (when to play, how often, time, must I commit for the entire season …) and how should I apply to take part in it? 

I do agree, Coach. But unfortunately, I am more of an early bird than a night owl. However, Saturday's closed tournaments usually offer me a lot of stronger opponents to play against. Right now after today's Philidor session, there is once again a lot to learn:

After 8. ... c5 I thought, that not much could happen and it would only me (White) to have a chance to win. Well, it turned out that "key_space" (2210 at blitz) managed to hold the position and after some inaccuracies and a blunder by me - he was the lucky one. 

I choose not to participate because I'm not that strong yet. I've played many times against strong players and against GMs. I'm not afraid of anybody and I will still go for an attack, no matter the result. It's just a game.. So what if I lose?

Hello coach, I realized how important it is to play the league tournament recently. Earlier I was struggling to pass the 2300 mark in lichess but after playing against stronger opponents now I have reached 2320 and I started to beat 2400 rated players who are much stronger than me. Yesterday I beat a Grand Master in that lichess league and it is clearly an outcome of the chess mood courses and importantly being in the right mood before the match. I have attached the game below and ya I had little bit of luck by my side

Full credit goes to you and my love for the game is increasing day by day

Thank you

I finally got up the Mood and confidence to play in the Bundesliga tonight (Sun 29 Mar)

I'll be honest it was very tough going, being one of the  lowest rated players and playing with the fastest time control 3+0. Consistently been outplayed, and in won positions but still losing on time anyway; there were a few times I wanted to stop and walk away and rather just watch Avetik's stream, but I know that playing against these stronger players will help me in the long term. 

I need to be realistic with my playing strength and level, and as the blogs say getting better is hard work, but if you follow the courses and guidance there will be constant growth.

Hope you see many more of you all playing there soon!

Bundesliga (Important)

Hello, champions! 

From now on Bundesliga will start 1 hour earlier than before. 
So, +3 ChessMood time.

Today I'll also join it and stream!
​https://youtu.be/817SyXOFdrY​​​

For participating go here: https://chessmood.com/event/chessmood-team-in-bundesliga-2-931
​​
See you soon!

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NEW ARTICLE: How To Win Chess Tournaments: 7 Key Principles

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Hello,

This is a really good article. Thanks GM Gabuzyan! This really applies to me currently since the National Online Scholastic Championships in the USA are in April and I want to win! The 7 key principles really help.

Also, will the interesting variation in the Nf6 Scotch that you played in Round 2 be added into the course?

Thank You.

Thank you for Nice article.

 I have a question . You said that one should be flexible about opening choice not playing the same opening over and over.

 I have  started to  learn chess mood opening should i change them frequently? learn other chess opening as well as? 

Wonderful Article !!

There's an error. In the game against Arman where your opponent had perpetual check, it's with 38...Ng4, not 38...Ng3

Scotch Passive Move ?

Hi -- I just was confronted in the Scotch Game by Ng-e7 on the fourth move. 

e4--e5 : Nf3 -- Nc6  :  d4  exd :  Nxd4 Ng-e7 . I could not find this in the 'Passive Moves' section?

What is the best response for White here ?  Thanks

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The normal response is 5.Nc3 with likely transposition to 4...Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7 6.Nc3.

Hi Keven

You should check video 7, scotch course. In this game GM Avetik plays your Bc4 in similar position

Commented classical game 33 & 34 question about why black doesn't play Nd4 and let white play c3

Game 33 & 34 on classical game

Why didn't black play Nd4 trying to exchange one of white bishops instead of waiting 4 white playing Na4 or Nb1 and then c3 that prevents that move Nd4?

Thank you in advance

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Hi Claudio,

Trying to answer questions couldn't really figure out which concrete positions are you asking about.

Can you post the pictures for positions you need so I can reply?

Thank you.

@Claudio_Thoux

The link that you posted it points to a video, not a picture. But if you are referring to the initial position when you click the link, it is white turn here. If previously, before playing Rd8 the knight goes to d4, white can take it and win a clean pawn.

Can you take a screenshot of the position that you are referring to? Because I was trying to find the moment too and I could not see it at first glance. Thanks Claudio!

Anyone else facing the stafford gambit a lot?

This is a pretty popular gambit on twitch with eric rosen. It may have a lot to do with my level (~1000-1400) but im getting it kind of a lot when I want to play the scotch (and they go petroff defense). I've been declining the gambit by playing  4. d4 to defend the knight but maybe accepting the gambited knight is better? I just want them to be out of whatever comfort they have with the gambit line. Just wondering if anyone had go to response to this.

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Hey! GM Danya made a vid about it on his YT! he gave a clear defense against it! just check it out!

I faced it a lot too! but not so much these days!

You can check out this lichess public study: Stafford Gambit Study (lichess.org)

I don't recall ever having it. What's the idea of the gambit if declined (defer d6, d5 in one, play b6 Bb7 instead - I guess capturing Nxc6 opens lines with dxc6)? Can I just retreat Nf3 and transpose where Black has shown his cards by playing Nc6?

@daniel schleith

Acceptance is certainly the strongest course but your 4.d4 is also an excellent and practical way to decline the Stafford while still retaining some advantage. 4.Nf3 is not as strong because in many lines Black gets to go d5 in one move instead of two.

Well done daniel I like your thought process in dealing with Gambiteers. :)

One sound way of accepting the Gambit not mentioned by Daniel Naroditsky is:1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.e5 Ne4 6.d4 [6.d3 Bc5 7.dxe4 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qxd1 Don't fall for that one, it's the main idea behind The Stafford.] 6...Be6 7.c3 with a big advantage for White. 

Yeah... And I'm very sad to see some IMs or GMs teach it to their students, telling it's a wonderful gambit. 
In reality, I feel Black is just lost. 

You should just now this 7.c3 move, with idea d4, then e5. 

Is it covered in any course, where someone recommends this gambit?
I haven't seen it. With very clear reasons, of course, why they didn't cover this move :)  

I'll cover this soon in the Abracadabra openings section :) 

@Kevin_D, what do you think about 7.c3? 

I have seen it just a couple of times. Last time was just a few weeks ago and I am sure it was down to IM Rosen streaming it & uploading to his YouTube channel. I won easily against it, mainly as my opponent played it badly! Still, it is one of those openings that is just bad! Except if it is played by a good player, who actually knows it & how to play, then it might be challenging I guess!

IM Rosen & Jonathan Schranz & several other chess streamers seem to delight in promoting dodgy gambits (Nakhmunson gambit?!). I do not mind this generally, but sometimes they go very silly and are shown to be very foolish! That is their choice... et comme les francais dit "chaque un a son gout"!

In conclusion I am sure you can find a sound good way to beat this Stafford gambit..follow Avetik & Kevin's advice! GL .....Right Mood, Right Move COGRO!

NEW ARTICLE: Which Chess Books? Openings? Courses? The 3 Golden Rules When Asking for Recommendations

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Great article @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan!

If you don't mind, I would like to know this answer from you

I am 1628 fide rated player

I am a crazy opening and engines fan and focus on openings very heavily and try to out prepare opponents

I do read pawn structures (from udemy and ChessBase) and attacking play, but  I still get inferior positions sometimes because of lack of opening knowledge or I sometimes mix up moves in positions that I may have drilled it the same day

My biggest fear (possibly), is I don't want equal positions directly without any fight 

I love to press opponents but sometimes get pressed myself badly

My style is more tactical in nature so sometimes I lose patience and get squeezed

As of now, I can spend 3 hours max on chess but after 2-3 months, as my exams are finished, I will give 6-7 hours to chess

I would be really grateful if you could suggest to me something

Great article. I think an advisor should recommend books according the style of the player.

I hired in 2019 a GM who played 1.d4 and as black 1.d4 Nimzoindian 1.e4 e6, so really we stopped talking about openings since I play the Scotch, the Najdorf and the Modern Benoni. He liked things to go slowly and I played in a rush, dropping the 1780 FIDE rating in 220 points.

I too would like to know this recommendation from you Coach Avetik!

I am 13 years old and I am a very passionate player.

I am 1900 USCF and around 1600 FIDE, though both should be much higher after the virus.

My goal is to become a top Grandmaster and inspire others to learn and play chess!

I can invest 2-3 hours on chess on school days and much more on weekends.

As for my style,  I like both attacking and positional chess, though I would say I like positional a little better. I love endgames as well.

Thank You!

P. S. As I mentioned in another forum, the National Online Scholastic Championships are coming up and I am hungry to win!

Caro Kann Exchange Variation - Looks like an interesting alternative.

Hello, ChessMood Family!

In the picture below, the move recommended is Bxd6. During a game, I thought about an interesting idea Ne5 and played it. My idea was to use the pin over a4-e8 diagonal. What do you think?

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Hi Sidharth

This move is covered in the course Section2.10 7...Qd7 (1:40). Coach mentions this is a the lesser path to follow as Black will look to play 10...Qc7 11. Nxg4 Bxf4 12. Nxf6 gxf6. Yes Black pawn structure is broken but they have opposite color bishops, push f6-f5 to close out Bd3 and King will sit on f8.

Perhaps there is more to it, but the 10.Bxd6 main line has given me an easier path and plan to play with good results!

Hope that helps

Anti-Sicilian with e6 - missing advanced variations

There is reference in video 3   4... d4 5. Bb5+ Nd7 to an advanced section with 10. b4 which doesn't seem to be present aside from a quick skim over in the video. Given this course is the theme of the upcoming tournament is this material available yet (even if not in recorded form)?

Also there is mention of more material in 5... Bd7 to be discussed in the advanced section

In 4... dxe4 with Nc6 and a6 (video 7) there is the mention of further advanced material after 12. d4.

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Regarding the first variation, yes, after b4, we get a pretty nice position benko gambit style. Maybe something could be added but the position is very good for white and very easy to play. If I ever get there I will have no problems playing this position but maybe it can be expanded in the future

Regarding the second one, in my notes after Bd7 the variations are very long. Are you sure that we need more material?

As for the 3rd one, yes maybe in the future for an advanced course it may be added, but I did not already remember all these variations and your post made me realize about it.

I think that at our level, our plate is so full already that it is difficult to follow up with so many amazing variations...

@ David Flynn

Some lines need to be recorded yet, it is not easy at all for the Chessmood team to prepare all the materials, everything is original and requires many, many hours of preparation behind the scenes in order to record a course. Avetik, Gabuzyan and Johan at the moment are the faces behind the videos but there is an enormous number of hours spent on research and checking. Still, we will never be able to cover everything or to do everything right. Neither it will be to everyone's liking, but any chessmood follower can see the evolution of the site, slowly we are having an almost full repertoire. If you had become a pro user at the beginning of the site, the repertoire was at 30%, now it is at 85% maybe, yet some courses are planned to be recorded again in order to offer you all the best contents possible (within our reach). Also, just as a personal note, if Avetik says that the line will be in the advanced section, the line will be there. He always keeps his promises.

We also take into account the number of views of the courses, maybe you are mostly concentrated in opening theory, but the majority of users may be viewing the middlegame courses. Therefore, the interest should be shifted to the middlegame and we should provide more contents there too based on our pro members preferences. Sometimes you spend countless hours in a course that you believe it is very good and people are more interested in other things, nothing to say there... Everyone has different tastes, different needs, but be assured that we will provide the best contents possible (again within our reach and time) for all of you dear pro members. :-)

A Doubt in the French Bd3

I was playing a 60 + 30 game on lichess. My opponent played french and the game went like this: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6 5.Bf3 c5 6.Ne2 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ne5 9.Nc3 a6 10.Qe2 Nxf3+ and here I played 11.gxf3. What to do now against Nd5, the move he played.

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One option here would be to just take on d5 (and then 0-0-0; black dares not to forsake too much king safety/tempo to grab a2 pawn) and ask black to choose between having an ugly isolated pawn on d5 or being incredibly behind on development that his AFK bishops and rooks are just targets for tactics later. (also if black castles short, then something like Bd4+heavy pieces stacking on the g file usually just ends the game instantly since black is not adequately prepared to defend g7). 

Sidhart, I just copied into a pgn the line that you requested for and added all the comments from the book: Tackle the French: A practical repertoire with 3. Bd3 from a guy that is called chessforlife. I do not really know the author but since it is based in our Chessmood repertoire, I bought it long time ago. I do believe that he just based the repertoire in our Chessmood lines, but anyways, the line that you mentioned is here and it should be more than enough.

Anti-Siclian Part 3 Yang-Artemiev 9... d5?

This move is not mentioned in the course and it's interesting because it's an obvious try, aiming for d4 and forking the N and B. Unfortunately for Black the tactics aren't on his side due to the king in the centre and 10. f5 gives a winning game:

10. f5 d4 11. fxe6 fxe6 12. e5

If 12... Nxe5 13. Bxb7 Ra7 14. Bf4 Rxb7 (or dxc3 first) 15. Bxe5 dxc3 16. Nf4 cxb2 17. Bxb2
    12... dxc3 13. exf6 cxb2 14. f7+
    12... dxe3 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Qh5+

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Scotch Doubt - Very complex for me (Even for engine!)

I was playing in a tournament yesterday and I got one player. I played the scotch and it went like this. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.h4 a5 9.c4 Ba6 10.g3 and here, he played a move which is not in the course. 10...Qc5 and I played 11.Qe4 Be7 12.Nd2 Nb6 13.Nb3 Qb4+ 14.Bd2 Qa4. This position was complex for me and I lost this game without making any mistakes. Even for Stockfish 13! Stockfish 13 suggested 15.Nxa5 (during the game I thought it and found 15...Bc8!) and when I put in 15...Bc8! 16.Nb3 Ba6! (17.Na5 is met with Bc8 and it's a draw - Note: It was a must win situation) 17.Qg4 Bxc4 it says Black is better.

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Would this line against Black's Queen be too dangerous for White after 15. ... Bc8

Hi Sidharth,

Interesting, playing these lines I never faced Qc5 but looks like a playable movie.

I checked with the strong engine on my own and discovered 11.Nd2 recommendation instead of 11Qe4.

All further moves are really complex. If 11...Be7 12.Bh3 or if 11...Qd4 there is strange 12.a3 move. 

I Will try to investigate this as well, but if you noticed during the streams and as mentioned in the course as the second option against 8... Qe6 there is a much simpler 9.Nd2 option. 

So if you just want to play easier positions check it out in the course :-)

English Opening

One of my opponent played liked this 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6

5. Nc3 g6 6. g3  when i tried to play Benko.

How to continue for Black ? is this 3. ..... cxd4 is ok ? 

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You want to look at the Maroczy Bind course 6. g3 for this, it's a transposition. This transposition was also mentioned in the first section of the English course.

One of the great things about the Chessmood repertoire is that there are transpositional opportunities so odd moves or move orders don't leave you in yet another system to learn.

NEW ARTICLE: Elephant Gambit | The Refutation

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Nice work - shame we can't like the original post. Used to play at a club where a 2000 level player would play this opening, and it was frustrating despite knowing how to defeat it, not being able to remember the exact sequence under pressure so he'd often get away with things. Another caveman's opening sent back to the stone age hopefully - looking forward to reviewing the course.

Perhaps the Saturday after the e6 tournament we can be beating elephants (real elephants will not be harmed).

Just had a 3 minute game which ended badly for the opponent: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nxe5 dxe4 4. Bc4 Be6 (not covered in the course, but it's awful) 5. Bxe6 fxe6 6. Qh5+ (what else) g6 7. Nxg6 Nf6 8. Qb5+ (computer prefers Qh4) c6 9. Qb7 Nbd7 (blunder) 10. Nxh8 Rb8 11. Qxc6 Rc8 12. Qxe6+ - good night Nellie!

We should invite Eric Rosen to the upcoming closed tournament on the Stafford. 

Well, having read the article (the video course is still on my to-do list),  I gave it a try. Unfortunately, my opponent went for a rather tame line:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5? 3. exd5 Bd6 4. d3?!

More in the Elephant's spirit would have been to respond with 4. ... f5 (there is one game of Corbin, one of the few Elephant's aficionados in the database with this reply), however, 4. ... Nf6 was ok, too. I then decided to finally sacrifice to pawn with 7. ... c6 and to enjoy a bit more active position. Later, my opponent blundered a piece and the game became quite tactical with not too much time left.

I think I will use the Elephant Gamit as a kind of surprise in our next club games (they all know that I usually play the Petroff).