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Chess forum by Grandmasters
10-minute Racing to X games (instead of 5-minute)
Hi Chess Friends, One of the most instructive aspects of ChessMood for me is the "Racing from X to Y" series. I love seeing the openings we're using while listing to the reasoning behind the moves. I do wonder, however, if 10-minute games would be even more instructive. For example, I noticed on YouTube that GM Daniel Naroditsky has a similar series of videos called Sensei Speed Run (or something like that). He's not using our openings, of course, but he does play 10-minute and 15-minute games. This gives him a lot more time to explain every move and not get into time trouble. Could the ChessMood GM's try this approach for a few videos just to see if people find it even more helpful? Thanks, Richard
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PGN Files
Hello, I'm new on this page and I started to watch the courses. There is also the blog article which says to build own PGN-Files. So my question is: How to build this files? Is there any software or web service which I can usw?
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The best software to build your own files is Chessbase. But if you don't want to spend money, you can use Lichess studies which are really nice and free. ? The two articles: - https://chessmood.com/blog/the-most-effective-way-to-create-chess-pgn-files - https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-memorize-chess-openings-variations
Hello, You can use SCID vs PC, is a good & free replacement of ChessBase
endgame technique
Hi guys, I had this endgame in a classical game. This occured after alapin variation. Black is pawn up but I couldn't find a winning plan. Any suggestions on how could black win this position. Thank you so much.
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Is this really a winning endgame? The only plan I see is to get the king to the kingside and try to create a passed pawn there but you always have to be careful White cant get the knight to c6
Question for Avetik or Hovannes Gabuzyan...
Hi ChessMood coaches, I'd like to know which ratio time between study and practice you recommend for a player rated 1800-1900. Many thanks for your answer
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New success story: How Adam raised around 200 points with a slow and steady approach
Hello champions!?
Recently, we interviewed our family member – Adam Musson.
Despite spending only 1 hour on chess every day, Adam got out of a rating plateau and raised his rating by around 200 points!
And in the interview, Adam talks about:
✔️ The 2 key things he focused on every day in training that helped him gain rating.
✔️ A detailed breakdown of the training method he uses to study openings
✔️ An advice he would give to anyone who has only 1 hour to spend on chess every day.
We also threw some rapid-fire questions at Adam and got some interesting answers.. ??
Hopefully, you’ll pick up some useful ideas to implement in your chess improvement journey!
Check out the complete interview here ?
https://chessmood.com/feedback/adam-musson-story
On this forum thread, you can drop your questions and congratulatory messages to Adam!
Have a nice day! ❤️
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Great work Adam, keep it up! ???
Congratulations Adam. Yes, the Chessmood material is high quality chess education. I appreciate the commitment of GM Avetik and GM Gabuzyan, in creating good material. Is not only for the money, it's for the game :)
Congratulations !! Adam ??
Congratulations Adam! I found your story to be inspiring and, most importantly, appreciated all the practical advice on the details. I'm looking forward to any future advice from you!
Congrats Adam! Keep up the strong work.
How to name the new course?
ChessMood family, I need your fantasy!
Soon we're publishing 2 courses about Attack!
1 - for advanced players. It'll be called "Attack like a Viking!"
2- for beginners, below 1,500 players.
How to name it?
Any creative ideas?
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Fearless Attacker
"Attack Like a Tiger" (based on the book Chess for Tigers) or "Beginning Attacking Ideas" or "Attack Then Run Away" (based on my games)
The Path to Valhalla
TALanted Attacks Aggression Lesson Extensive offensive.
Avetik - Here are some ideas: - Attack like a Champion - Attacking Principles - Attack and Win - The first steps to play attacking chess
Avet Attack - reads in English have it attack.?
vienna game
GM Avetik do you have any cources on the Vienna Game
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No, we do not have any course regarding the Vienna game. Against e5 we play and teach the Scotch, very practical and fun to play at all levels. Check with out ….
Dumb Opening prep punisher
How to punish bad positional play in the opening. I know how to punish a piece blunder or a trapped piece but when someone wastes time with pawns but doesn't hang anything. I keep trying to develop my pieces in the opening but always find that there are no way to attack anything in my opponents position.
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Well, you should watch the opening principles course and I am sure that you will know what to do. At least you should watch the following video, showing exactly how to punish the excessive pawn moves in the opening.
https://chessmood.com/course/opening-principles/episode/3425
Happy learning!?
Sicilian sidelines after 2.Nf3 Nc6
Is there a course where sidelines after 2. Nf3 Nc6 are covered? E.g: 3.c3, 3.b4, etc. Thanks
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2.Nf3/3.c3 transposes to 2.c3, hence see the Alapin course. 3.b4 was discussed here: https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/delayed-wing-gambit
English opening vs Dutch attack
is it applicable to play with the dutch attack against english opening, c4 Nc3 g3 system?
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Yes, it is a good option too. It will transpose to the other Dutch lines in most cases. Please chech this post too>
Yeah I believe the Dutch is pretty resilient to 1. c4 move-order tricks
Scotch 4 Bc5 6 Qf6?
I had played the Scotch with 5. Nb3 in a tournament long before I knew about your courses and my opponent played 5 Bb6 6. Nc3 Qf6? I played 7. Qe2 and he played a combination of d6, Ne7, O-O, Bxe3 after my Be3 and Be6 followed by Bxb3 when I castled queenside, I understand maybe its not so good but I lost that game because Black was faster in his attack, maybe you could cover this interesting 6 Qf6 move a bit? Its also quite natural if Black doesnt know the theory because its also a move in other Scotch lines and Black can think Qe2 is bad for us
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These should help: https://chessmood.com/course/scotch-game/episode/1964 https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-white/episode/4082
Think like a Grandmaster
Hey, champions!
We're going to have a webinar with one of the best coaches - GM Avrukh Boris, on the topic “How Grandmasters think.”
It's gonna be an interactive event.
You can post the questions here, and I'll try to ask him during the event.
For more info and for taking a seat, click the link below.
https://chessmood.com/event/think-like-gm-boris-avrukh
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Keeping it on the subject, the main question I have would be is how to train to be able to think that [whatever he's demonstrating]. Often when you look back on something you've mastered you think well if only I'd tried that and done that first, then I'd have got there a lot quicker and sometimes these insights are not always forthcoming in lectures unless you ask. The suggestion might need to be considered from different viewpoints: for those who have an hour a day, and those who are putting lots more time in.
1.What is the best training method to improve calculation for 2150+ elo players up to FM level? - solving random tactics, workbooks on deep calculation (Volokitin, Ramesh), where's the secret? 2.What's your favourite thing or course from chessmood that gives most benefit for an improving player? 3. Tips on breaking plateau (stuck on the same 2100 level for many years)? 4. Tips on winning against lower rated opponents? Thank you.
A couple of questions for Grandmaster Avrukh: 1) Do Grandmasters always consciously make a list of candidate moves before starting to analyse? 2) How much variation is there between grandmasters in terms of their thinking process? Thanks!
Friends, later we'll also invite him for a general Masterclass.
This one is about Grandmaster thinking. What're the differences? Etc…
Would be good if your questions are related to it.
Excellent discussion Avetik, it was really cool to listen to. Among other things it makes me realize how far I have yet to go with my chess progression...I am just grateful I have ChessMood to help me along the way!
Improving calculation / visualisation
Hi everybody, I believe I have found the perfect website for training calculation skills. Continue reading to find out more... I am rated ELO 2060 currently and preparing for my next tournament that starts on Monday. Before the tournament I have set up a goal to improve my calculation skills. I imagined one needs to practice a lot. But how to practice, that is not so easy to figure it out. There are many books, websites tools, etc. After some research I realized that solving tactics is the way to go, but they should be at the right level (just a bit above my level) so I can push myself to improve. If they are too easy I will not improve if they are too hard I will get discouraged. I tried the popular chess websites (lichess, chessdotcom and chessbase) but somehow the tactics there are a bit too random for me, even though I like chessbase tactics the most. I am also a chess teacher using the famous Dutch chess curriculum called "The Steps Method". I went to their website looking for updates on the programme and stumbled upon a free feature they call puzzles. Every week on Monday they upload 48 puzzles. (6x8 Mon-Sat). Each day starts with the puzzle at level 1 and ends with a puzzle at level 8. For those who do not know the Steps Method the levels correspond to: Level 1: ELO 0 - 800 Level 2: ELO 801 - 1400 Level 3: ELO 1401 - 1600 Level 4: ELO 1601 - 1750 Level 5: ELO 1751 - 1900 Level 6: ELO 1901 - 2100 Level 7: ELO 2100 - ???? Level 8: ELO ???? - ???? So everybody can participate. My experience so far: - It's good to start from level 1 not matter your strength as a warm up and get a good feeling to solve some tactics before it gets harder - There is a real difficulty increase from one level to another - Puzzles are well chosen and from real OTB games with instructive content - So far I have never solved all levels on the same day without an error. Today maybe will be the first time. I have solved 1-7 correctly and I am readying for level 8. - Levels 1-4 I solve on the screen, levels 5-8 I setup on the board - It usually starts to get difficult for me at level 6, sometimes at level 5, but for sure at level 7 and 8. - So you can see that it quite corresponds to my ELO strength. Give it a try: https://www.stappenmethode.nl/en/puzzle-monday.php Enjoy!
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Interesting set of exercises thanks. Based on these eight, I agree they are the sort of positions that occur in games quite frequently. Nice range of difficulties too. I wish the board could be made larger, and I would prefer if the board was flipped when it is black to move, but neither issue was a huge deal. I managed to solve all eight, but I will freely admit that I got a little lucky on the last one. I saw the overall idea well enough, and calculated some sensible variations, but overlooked one defensive idea. Somehow I had chosen the correct square for the rook to defend against that idea. Could have been the magic of intuition, or more likely just dumb luck :-) For calculation training, I try to focus on: - Seeing the full solution right through to the end. - Seeing all the defensive tries. I think that was advice from RB Ramesh, and probably others too. I also find my level of confidence my solution is a useful thing to monitor. How to train this stuff, including the different types of training material and what they are good for, is an interesting topic.
Awesome recommendation! Thank you
king's Indian
How to win in for black strategies
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Hi, could you be more specific please?
I think you should try to break open whites center with pawn breaks.
Live with NM Robert Ramirez on his YouTube channel
GM Avetik, Thank you for the invitation to listen to your interview this morning. It was enjoyable to listen to but mostly it made me feel very grateful to have found Chessmood! For both the amazing content as well as the fantastic community to be a part of. I really hope your outreach efforts are able to be heard and felt across the chess world. More people need Chessmood! Thank you for putting together such a great resource. Leslie
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Thank you Leslie!!
You are always supporting us, not only with good words but with your presence in the streams too. It is very much appreciated.
By the way, Hovhannes said that you played very good against him last day. Very nice! Keep the good mood and the good work!!
Thanks a lot, Leslie brother!
Why some opening courses disappears
I have noticed some opening courses disappeared. For example, Alapin variation disappeared in "Sicilian' sidelines" courses although it is acceptable due to a new alapin course. Nevertheless, the new course deal with some different set-ups from the older course in some variation so that we cannot re-watch these older variation in the older course. In addition, in the accelerated dragon course, "craziest variation" section (I don't remember exact name) disappeared in the advanced section, which, I believe, deal with 7. Be2 d5. I think these disappearances are for some modification of the courses and it's very welcoming. But it's confusing for me because some of the variations I use disappears in the course without notice (as far as I know). Let us know which sections are changed or modified and why if your work does not become too much hard. I really appreciate your hard work on ChessMood!!
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Hello Enju-san,
Regarding the Dragon course, I believe that you are confused with the “Scotch course”, there we have the “craziest variation” section in the advanced course, but we never had any advanced section for the Be2 variation. It is a line that happens a lot in the streams but we never had an advanced section. The course was published in 2019 and remains unchanged.
As for the Alapin, yes, there are basically 3 lines that changed a bit and since Gabuzyan recorded the course on the Alapin again we did not want to confuse our members. If we keep 2 different repertoires it would be confusing. If you watch the Alapin course you will see very fast what is the minimal difference if you have the old lines. I know that it may be troublesome for you and we apologize for it, but it will be much easier to adapt to the new setup, you will not see much change, I promise. ?
By the way, are you going to Chennai too?
Course request: Color Complexes
Hey ChessMood Genius GMs, I remember watching a course on ChessMood about weak squares, and I think it touched on color complexes. Then the other day I noticed a 9-hour video course elsewhere that is entirely about color complexes. A sample video showed a position in which a pair of rooks shouldn't be traded because White loses the ability to control the light squares after that. I found it very instructional! Is there any chance such a course is on the horizon at ChessMood? This is a topic that players usually don't fully understand until they are at least class A players. Thanks! Richard
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Have you started going thru the Classical Masterpieces? There's a good amount of comments about this subject in there.
Appreciation
I have joined within 3 months and the massive improvement in my approach and the opportunity to have a fighting position out of the opening is a tremendous gift you have given us. Forever grateful chessmood family!
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This is indeed very nice to hear!! ?We are very happy for you!!☺️
Keep learning, keep growing!!!?
Classical Attacking/Endgame Courses
I have a question about how to approach these courses. Would you recommend that we view the courses one game per day? For the 100 classical masterpieces course, there's a note before the course recommending that we only watch one game per day, so I'm wondering if you would recommend the same approach for the other two classical courses.
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Hi Alex,
Well, that depends a bit on the time available for chess study that you have, but yes, as a general rule Avetik always recommends one per day. It is the same for the other 2 courses. Chessmood started in 2018 and the most seasoned members have already watched the first courses and continue with the other ones.
White plays 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 is it covered
Hi have given a cursory look at the summary of the opening courses. I have always wished to play the Benko but never did so because my knowledge was that White can avoid it by playing 2.Nf3. Is this line covered in the course? By looking at the summary it doesn't seem so.
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I don't think it is covered in the opening courses, but you can see in the streams that g6 is the move that fits with the repertoire there. See some games in the "Rock 'n' Rolling with Black" course where 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 is played: https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-black/episode/4349 https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-black/episode/4350 https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-black/episode/4353 This last one transposed back to a Benko: https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-black/episode/4313
Hi Luca, you can also look at this thread where I replied showing the transpositions to the openings offered by us. After 2.Nf3 g6 and then White has many possibilities that will take us to different openings but they are all commented individually. Check it out:
https://chessmood.com/forum/threads/question-regarding-the-black-repertoire?reply_id=15553&page=1
