Nightmare of Rossolimo

Hi,

Section 2 - 5.c3: 

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 Nxe4 

8.d5 Nd6. After 9.Nc3 in the course is given 9…Bxc3! which seems to be the best move leading to an advantage for black. 

But in the “Review of 5.c3” is given 9.Nc3 a6. 9. ..a6 seems clearly inferior to 9. ..Bxc3! I think Avo confused 9.Na3 and 9.Nc3 in the conclusion. After 9.Na3 we do play 9. ..a6 which seems best.

Would be good to check / confirm what I think.

Btw I love this course!

Replies

Hi Thomas, 

Thank you for your message and for your kind words about the course 😊

You're absolutely right. Against 9. Nc3, the best move is indeed 9...Bxc3. And against 9. Na3, the correct move is 9...a6, followed by Na7 after 10. Bd3. 

We've noted this, and we'll make the necessary corrections in the Review section as soon as possible. Thank you very much for pointing this out! If you have any more feedback or questions, feel free to reach out.

Tactic Ninja quiz problem.

🆘

I've been working through the "Tactic Ninja" course, specifically in section 2 titled "Pin." After the tenth video, "Situational Pin," there's a quiz with three puzzles. In the third puzzle, the solution given was 1...Reg8 2. Nh5 Nf3+ 3. Kh1 Nxe1. However, I played 1...Rhg8 and after checking with a chess engine, it also suggested Rhg8 as the best move. The course's solution avoids moving the knight because it would then capture another rook at e8. But the engine shows that with Rhg8, even if the knight moves, it doesn't result in a better position for White, suggesting an alternate move of 2. b4 instead.

I'm puzzled why the course suggests a move that the engine disputes. Should I report this discrepancy in the course material? If so, where is the best place to do so? Or should I disregard the engine's suggestion and stick to the course's strategy related to the video content?

Replies

Hi Steven, 
Thank you for your message! 

You're right that both 1...Reg8 and 1...Rhg8 are good moves in this position. 
In the quiz, 1...Reg8 is given as the correct solution because it aligns with the concepts explained in the video. 

As for the engine's suggestion of 2. b4, it doesn't change the outcome significantly. You can simply move the Queen to e7, for example, and the knight is still lost with no way to save it.

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out. 
We're here to help!

5.. Be7 in the Schlechter French

After 

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Bd3 dxe4
4. Bxe4 Nf6
5. Bf3 Be7  

How should White Play? Black pushes c5 and it's quite annoying to play against.

Replies

Hi Aaradhya, 

As far as I know, you can maybe take advantage o the fact, they have not played …c5 yet. I would play Nc3 to prepare Be3, which will prevent c5. Nc3 is useful to  prevent Nd5 ideas. I hope this was helpful, Marius.

Hi Aaradhya,

 As far as I know, black usually plays immediately c5 after Bf3. In this position the best move is 6. Nc3, and then, according to my analysis, the most common move for black is 6. … 0-0. You should take advantage of the fact that black has  shown their cards  by castling first with the following plan: Nge2, Be3, Qd2 and 0-0-0 with a kingside pawn push following. 

If black plays 6. … c5, you can either go to an equal endgame with 7. dxc5, or go to the position that resembles the mainline with 7. Nge2 0-0 and 8. Be3. Hope it helps! 

6.Qd2 Jobava

In D4 against Blackside course everything is covered except the jobava 6th Move Qd2 let me tell move order 1.D4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.h4 h5 6.Qd2 what to do here.

Replies

Hi Gokul,

As far as I know, after Qd2 a competitive move is 6. … c5. If white plays 7. f3, which is the best move according to my analysis, you should play 7. …0-0, 8. 0-0-0 Qa5, and continue with a queenside attack with Nc6, a6, b5. Black has a slight advantage in that positions.                 If, on the other hand white plays 7. 0-0-0, you should play 7. … cxd5 8. exd5 Bf5, followed by 9. 0-0, regardless of 9. Kb1 / f3 for white. Your king will be safe and you will start a queenside pawn push with similar moves to the previous line:  Nc6, a6, and b5.

Hope it helps!

Hey there,

I saw this conversation guys, just wanted to let you know we reply to this kind of question In the PRO members channel 😊

How's this for SLP? Those bishops were about to destroy me

Would appreciate feedback!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/693290871?tab=review&move=94

Replies

Which color are you?

Help! I am getting Move-Ordered!

Hi ChessMood Community,

I am currently studying the Sicilian ( I play the Four Knights via 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6. ), and as I looked at 2. Nc3 Nc6, I faced a problem after 3. Nf3:

If I go either 3. …Nf6 or 3. …e6 White can go 4. Bb5 and put me into a Rossolimo I don’t know. On the othet hand if I go 3. …g6 opting for a Rossolimo I know, White can play 4. d4 and I’m an Open Sicilian I don’t know. 
 

This is my situation right now, I don’t have any idea what to do :( 

I’d appreciate every piece of a I can get. :D

Replies

Hey Marius,

I took a very brief look at it and I found (on the Lichess database) that the most played move after 3…Nf6 4.Bb5 is 4…g6 (in the masters and the player database). When they take your Knight you take back with bxc6. I could be wrong (again, I don't know the opening) but it does not look like a challenging opening to me. 

It really depends on your level if you need more knowledge but I recommend checking databases and looking for some high level games to discover some middlegame plans.

Here's the link to a chessable course on the Rossolimo (for white): 
https://www.chessable.com/sicilian-rossolimo-for-white/course/5314/ 
It is made by a 2050 FIDE player, is free and has good reviews.

I am a 1667 FIDE so I could be wrong.

Hope this helps!

Modern Marocy Course

While following a famous tournament in India via lichess broadcast, the game went into a Modern Marocy-- the ChessMood move order is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10. Qd3!? and I could not find this move in the course if I am not mistaken (there is Qd3 move after 9.0-0 but it leads to slightly different position) , white seems to be quite solid. I am not sure what to play against it. White aims to play Be3-Nd4 as I saw in the game. Check the 1st board game out https://lichess.org/broadcast/61st-indian-national-championship/round-2/MzfDru7D/jZnB1D59

Replies

Hey there,

I faced this move either, but it's not much to worry about. I would suggest to continue with 10…a5 and a4 ideas again.
Other options are also possible either. I followed the link, but on board 1 for the first 3 rounds I didn't see the Maroczy bind variation - did I go somewhere wrong?

Can you please post the link to the game?
Also, this type of idea can be very advanced - what is your rating dear friend?

I am trying to understand if you need to dive deeply in this complications :-)
 

draw players

Is there any course to play against players wants to draw?

Replies

Well no, but Noel Studer has an episode on his spotify podcast that explains how to play against lower rated players.

how to play against lower rated opponents - NextLevelChess | Podcast on Spotify

Thanks for the bishop pair course!

I'm finally getting out of a long plateau and I think the difference was finishing up the bishop course and then making sure to use notes I made from it in my games. Not being reckless with my bishop pair made a big difference. Hats off to Hovhannes!

Replies

Daily Puzzle for 19 Aug 2024

The main solution to today's puzzle is flashy, but there are two cooks. It's educational to find them, but from a purist's point of view, the problem is very flawed. Still, I enjoyed it! 

https://lichess.org/study/S6tBRgx0/UNqjk3Mu

Replies

Very nicely done!
It did feel like there might be another way, but good job actually finding them!

Its not too much hard to find, Before going to move you have to check is there any possibility to make a stalemate. In this scenario Rg2,Fxg2,B5,Kc7 stalemate.

Make quizzes more fun

Hello, for all quizzes, is it possible to add sounds for piece moving, and also the possibility to put a music (for example a playlist of several musics, and possible to mute or not)?

Replies

Hey Luc,

Haha interesting idea)) 
Put some music on your phone 😁

In general we listen to student suggestions, and if some idea is being offered repeatedly we might consider working on it.

Thanks, and I hope you have a good time on our website 😉

Summarize an explanation about how to jump from 1500 to 1700

Summarize an explanation about how to jump from 1500 to 1700

Replies

Dear Emma,

Can you please clarify the question :-)

If you are following the streams, we repeatedly do racing events and one of them is from 1500 to 2000, where during the games we discuss common mistakes and issues people face at this level.

Also check out the study plans https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans

Good luck!

French attack question when Nf3 + exd5

I am often get the following position (see picture) or a very similar one with all my pieces in the middle. 

I play Nc6, Bd6, Ne7, then often play Be6 to defend the pawn on d5. Then all my pieces are really close to each other and I get pressure on the bishop on d6 or the queen on d7. 

Should I not worry about this position ? Engine gives is a +0.3. Then what is a good plan? I do not like Ng5 from white attacking the lightsquared bishop or some other times Nb5 attacking the darksquared bishop. 

Am I missing something in the opening? How should I defend the pawn on d5 when attacked (for instance by the Knight on c3)?

Thanks for the help !

Cheers,

Julien

Replies

Dear Julien,

This type of position occurs unlimited times during our events on the website. I don't know your rating but I get to play this vs U1500 level players and vs 1500-2000 level.

There are no very general recommendations it's always concrete - depending on the opponent's exact actions.

Against the Nc3 system, you can just regularly develop with Pawn c6 -Bd6-Nf6.

Another idea is to play f6 and castle long.
I often ignore engine evaluations -  practically it's much easier to play for Black here.
 

Under this link, you can find all the recordings of our events 
https://chessmood.com/events

And you might see several games in this structure.

Thanks for the question and good luck.
 

Whenever I have a question about a position I get out of the opening, I immediately go look at the model games and also the past live streams to see how I am supposed to play the position by reviewing the typical attacking plans that arise in the middle game. Afterwards, I review my games to see how close I was to playing it the correct way and make adjustments accordingly. I do this over and over and over until I internalize the position so in the future, I always know the correct way to play it based on the chest mood openings.

 I hope that was helpful 

Lucas Chess

I recently stumbled across a chess training program called Lucas Chess. Does anybody have any experience with this software? Any particular features I should know about? 

Thanks in advance

Replies

Hi Jake,

I'm guessing that you mean this one: https://lucaschess.pythonanywhere.com/

It isn't something I've used before but it looks quite useful doesn't it?  What have you tried so far?

I use LucasChess mainly as PGN-Editor to build and train opening repertoire. Playing against “humanized” engines of various strengths is also pretty nice. A tutor in the background, chess puzzles, tournaments, a lot to keep you busy with improving your chess.

Lucas Chess has the ability to import pgn's and create a tactics training session. So, if you have your favorite puzzle collection in pgn file format, Lucas Chess will help you train with those puzzles. There is a small learning curve to set up Lucas Chess to do this, but once done your puzzle set is always available via the Tactics training menu.

My deadly bishops!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/117781753943?tab=analysis

Replies

NEW ARTICLE: The Myth About Chess Tactics and Solving Chess Puzzles

Replies

<3 Very helpful article

I liked this article a lot, it is very insightful. 

Nice, Yeah fb is full of myths but whenever anyone ask me any question about how to improve I guide them learn classics, and basic endgames and tactics daily max an hr. But work on strategy. Thanks coach for wonderful article. I spent 20 to 30 percent of my time on visualization book of Ian!

Nice article. I never used to spend a lot of hours in solving puzzles. Instead I watch the commented classical games course and I am currnetly studying Bishop endgames, in which I was weak. Solving puzzles is 5% of the time I devote in chess, I solve them around 20' daily.

I have fallen for this trap. It's really eye opener.. Need to devote time for strategy, classics and endgame too.And ofcourse opening as per the level requirement.. Thanks for amazing article.. Keep writing more..

Just found this blog post and it makes total sense. I used to follow the tactics ftw advice, and I did see a modest elo increase. However, these two things has had a much more noticeable effect: implement a thorough blunder check before each move, and studying endgames. Also, reading Silman's How to Improve Your Chess, currently. Good stuff. 

WWP Piolet question- EX.2

Why can't we go for other exchange after 1. … g5 2. Nf3 Bh3 3. Kxh3 Qxh3 4.Bd1 g4+ 5. Kh4 Ng6+ 6. Kh5 Qf5+ 7. Kxh6 Nf4 threatning mate on g6? I know I might be missing something but in my games I go for this type of risky shots and sometimes wins sometimes loses. What should be mindset or decision making should be here?

Replies

Dear Don,

Can you please clarify which section you are asking about? There are several EX. 2 in the course.

Thank you.

I checked the offered variation.
It sounds quite interesting either :-)

As you can see in the video GM Avetik offers several possible options for each move - the goal is the same, to exchange and simplify. In other words, trying to explain the logic of traded being good in positions with enormous material advantage😀

Caro-Kann 5...Qc7 line. Unlisted possibility 7... Nf6

Hello. 
I am wondering if there is any difference if black tries an “Accelerated Dreev Line” ?
In this video

https://chessmood.com/course/caro-kann-defence/episode/162
and in advance section 

https://chessmood.com/course/caro-kann-defence/episode/1050

black is always playing 7… e6. However, what if he tries 7… Nf6 instead. Does it change anything?

Replies

Hey Alexander,

It seems like 7…Nf6 is possible, but I don't see a difference.
The thing is 7…e6 keeps more flexibility and can allow some Bd6 moves at first if required, while after 7…Nf6 Black sooner or later will play the e6 move.

Quiz for main Caro Kann course?

Hello everyone. 

I'm working my way through the main Caro Kann course having been through the smaller basic WhiteMood course initially. Very much enjoying it however I am wondering whether there is a quiz for the main course as I can't find one?

Perhaps it hasn't been formulated yet but I wanted to check that I haven't missed it. I find the quizzes for the other courses a very useful way of learning the principles and suggested main moves. 

Thanks!

Replies

Hmm…it appears not, but there is a ‘Take a Test’ option.

Doing better. Still got blunderitis haha

I was going to resign but figured I can always just go punch a wall when I inevitably lose…then I pulled off a little SLP

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/117336018217?tab=analysis

Replies

Well recovered.

Never give up, never surrender!