Chess forum by Grandmasters

Antisicilian with Nc3 part 2 ...Nc6

Maestro, I played this game which went: 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 e5. Here should I still go for f4!? or is this now the wrong plan?

Un abrazo!

Replies

Hi Ramón,

I am not GM or anything but I think that I remember Avetik playing f4 in one of the streams, I also played it twice because I remembered this from the stream, so yes, I would say that is good.

Saludos y continuemos aprendiendo a tope Ramón!

Chess

Replies

Maroczy vs Benoni / Benko: I need your advice

Hi Chessmood friends,

I need your advice:

I have a problem with my White repertoire:

I prefer playing Maroczy as white against Benoni/Benko systems.

I am thinking about 2 following  solutions as White, and I need your advice on each of them:

1st solution:

I am going to play 1-c4 followed by g3 Fg2 : Including the following systems:

1c4 e4 2g3 Reversed Accelerated Dragon

Catalan 

Duch g3

KID g3

Grunfeld g3

Maroczy Bind VS all Benoni/Benko systems!!

MY 1st QUESTION:

What to do against the Slav? Going for the main lines Slav/Semi-Slav?

OR Panov Attack ( 1c4 c6 2e4 etc.),

OR  delaying d4 and playing Reti with e3 , Cf3 ?

OR ...

What is the best answer to 1. - c6? if I start with 1c4, does it give me any bonus facing Slav? or playing the main lines Slav/Smi-Slav still remains the best way to get the most out of opening for White?

--------------------------

My 2nd solution and QUESTION:

If I play 1d4 followed by 2c4, can I prevent all Benoni/Benko family and force black to enter the Maroczy Bind via Cf3 (Against ...c5) by not advancing d4 to d5?

-------------------------

As I mentioned at the very beginning, I am searching for a solution to force Benoni/Benko Black players to enter the  Maroczy system

--------------------------

Thank You All

Replies

I don't see how you can force a Maroczy in all cases: for instance Black can play: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 (Kasparov); usually followed by ...d5 (as a gambit) for active play (e.g. ...Bc5). This is recommended as an antidote to the 3.Nf3 line in most (if not all) Benko Gambit books...

If you play 1.c4 and you are afraid of the slav, just go for a pseudo meran. You´ll play Nf3, e3 and b3, just not play d4. It is rather stratigical, but something tricky for most slav players.

But you should also know what you are doing.

Or if you like avrukhs repertoire books, which would make some sense, considering your repertoire, you could just play a normal meran with e3 and b3.

Hello,

I guess there are really several questions:

1) Can you 'force' Black to play Maroczy after 1.c4 (no, Black can play anything including ...e5 or ...e6/d5 or ...c6/d5) or 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 (no, Black can take and play Kasparov's gambit with ...e5 or I guess delay the decision about the center)

By the way, if Black is actually happy to enter Maroczy structures in either case (1.d4 or 1.c4), it might be that Black is actually AT EASE in these kind of structures. So apart from the fact that you enjoy these type of positions, you are not guaranteed and advantage (even if Khalifman says it is +/= after 20 moves of theory, chances to remember/be able to play this are low), as Black will ALSO like the position and know how to play it.

=Do you want to play on Black's turf?

2) Is Kasparov's line with ...e5 winning? (no, nothing is winning), AND

is it a good line in PRACTICE when Black has prepared it and White gets it once every 50 or 100 games? Probably. Chess book authors will not say 100% of the time that it's best but it's a decent repertoire choice I guess (and what are the odds that a system designed by Kasparov who was the best opening theoretician for 20 years would be 'bad'?)

3) With regards to general repertoire considerations and the slav defence.

3a) I played closed openings for nearlly 25 years (Elo 1800s-1900s; I tried everything d4, c4, Nf3, transposing into d4 systems or not, systems with e3; and even every Qpawn: Tromp, Veresov, Colle d3, Colle b3, and lately London). The Slav is a major headache if you are looking for an advantage OR if you want to force dynamic play. I guess this is why it is palyed my most top players, it simply is one of the best replies to d4. So I guess the best you can hope for against the slav is to get a position familiar to you with a clear plan. This is actually tough as Black has a lot of different systems where the nuances are small. In practice you end up fighting for a small advantage in theory where Black is very comfortable and knows his stuff well.

3b) as a former semi-slav player, for me, the most annoying situation is when White does not give you a clear target/plan. So indeed, as suggested, systems where you delay d4 are interesting. So in terms of move orders, systems with c4/Nf3/e3 are an option. You do not have to enter systems with b3 (they are also not bad and work against both Slav and SSlav), you can wait and in case of dxc4, take back with the Bishop. There are some interesting lines in the book 'e3 poison'.

3c) For the repertoire you suggest (g3 against everything), your Bg2 will always be there but the type of plans/positions you need to know how to play are VERY diverse and it might, in practice, be tough to remember when to play each plan.

4) I guess when you choose a repertoire, 3 considerations come to mind

- a - How good is objectively the opening? = does it guarantee a clear advantage (unless the opening is know as being refuted/clearly inferior like some dodgy Youtube gambits, it does not happen often). If the answer is YES, just learn it and play it

- b- Do I like (=you should read 'am I able to play') the resulting positions. Sometime we 'like' stuff we don't know how to play (to quote GM Avetik: chess players don't always know what they need :-)

The repertoire you suggest, will resutl in many different positions. Do you like the all, can you play them all well? Are you not going to get confused between them?

AND

- c- What are the chances that I get the positions I like?

For instance, I have been interested in the Schara-Hennig Gambit for years. I think it gives very decent compensation for the pawn, the attacking schemes are clear, White underestimates it... etc However, in most games, people tend to respond with e3 systems/some stuff that transposes to more static openings like QGA or symetrical Tarrasch. So In practical terms, I don't get what I'm looking for.

4) Why not simply learn something against the Benko/Benoni?

- eg if you don't like main lines lines with Nd2/Nf3 and taking in c4 with Bf1 give solid (not a great advantage but playable) positions, or lines with 5.b6

- Against Benoni, there are several positional lines that will five you a decent games (including the line with g3 to be consistent with your other systems)

Which brings us to the conclusion I have drawn for myself: I am trying out the Chessmood 1.e4 openings (my Black repertoire already included Benko and Acc Dragon in the lpast luckily, I just came back to them!). I was always put off by the amount of different lines one needs to learn to play 1.e4 (hence my endless research for systems, lately the London like more and more people) but in reality, I ended up in situation where looking for an advantage was tough as the plans were not 'clear' and being confused between variations that are somewhat similar but not exactly.

What I realised looking at the 1.e4 repertoire proposed by Chessmood is that obviously there are a lot of lines to remember but it is easier to RECALL the plans if the positions are very different and if the position you end up with has clear strategic characteristics (isolani, opposite side castling...).

Note: I am not (yet)  a PRO member and I haven't been encouraged to promote the repertoire :-)

Find a plan (Part-2)

As most of you guys knows I am fond of learning positional chess and I am novice but I love to learn and I am working well. I am working on this specific pawn formation or I can say I am doing revision of this pawn structure because I already studied this pawn str in depth 2 years ago but revision makes my game to the next level in any given structure. So I thought to revise this finished structure with my new chess knowledge and ideas.

Here I am sharing an interesting position for you and now you have to find ideas for both sides.

Your task:

1, Tell the assessment of this position.

2. Plans for black and white in given pawn formation.

3. Name of this pawn formation.

Replies

I also know coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan shared some games of this structure in the classical commented section and this position is taken from that same course but I also  studied this same position from different sources too.

OK this one is not so hard.

1.White went to a minority attack.But blacks knight is well placed so there is no problem on queenside for black.Center is closed and black is ready for a kingside attack.

2.For white:

a)Pushing b5 and creating a weakness at c6 pawn

b)Playing f3 and pushing e4 against a kingside attack

For Black:

a)Defending minority attack go on an attack on kingside

b)Excanging LSB.

c)Taking control on e4 square

3.Carlsbad Pawn Structure.Generally arises after Queens Gambit Exchange or Caro-Kann

This time I am sure with my answers :)

Find the plan!

Black's last move was Rc8!  White played h3 . Now solve the task!

Your task::

1. Find the idea behind Rc8.

2. Find a useful plan.

3. Try to find best squares for the pieces.

Replies

Very interesting position.I am not sure about my answers,But I will learn it anyways :D

1.Maybe push c5

2.Exchanging the pieces(Especially LSB),Push c5 or f6

3.Knight to f5,BSB to e7 rooks on c file,Queen to b6 LSB bishops to outside of the board :)

Puzzle for you guys!

Here is avery nice puzzle I found yesterday! tell me if u can solve it!

Replies

this is the puzzle!

Very creative puzzle.I can't solved it first try but I was so close

5 Crucial Steps to Stop Bad Results in Chess

Hey Champions!
We have an interesting article on our Blog about this topic.

https://chessmood.com/blog/5-crucial-steps-to-stop-bad-results-in-chess

If you have any questions, comments or you just liked it, feel free to share your thoughts here :) 

Replies

Very nice post! Thank you.

Personally, my bad time in chess has lasted a long while (easily 1-3 years). I continue to play nevertheless, as I know my breakthrough is coming soon! I too, firmly believe it is important to have PMA (positive mental attitude) to life and chess play.

I enjoy all these fine positive motivation quotes you include in the post and would like to mention two more! Apparently Einstein said failure only happens if you stop trying, so always keep trying your best and Nelson Mandela said "do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again".

Right Mood Right Move...no hoodie blunders! ;-)

True and most of the time we lose games and never come to realize the real reason...its a starting point in checking our faults and take the right action...thank you so much

This was the first article I read from chessmood :) I remember after the worst tournament I had in January, Avetik Grigoryan found me in a very bad mood and sent this article :) After one month I went to play another open tournament where I brought back the rating I lost in the previous tournament :) Today I decided to read it once again and I wanted to share my positive memories here :) 

Daily puzzle 4 September 2020

the daily puzzle on the 4 september i played Kb2/a2 same thing, thinking that after g2 Rf2 Ne2 Rxg2 i was winning. I could not find a different answer, could anybody help me?

Replies

after g2, Rf2 Black would not play Ne2? but Nf3!, Rxg2, Ne5, which is a draw!

1-0 on move 7 :)

Hey champions! 
Today was analyzing a game played by my student. 
Engine shows here a strange move, which gives White's a winning advantage :) 
Can you see it? 

Replies

Nice trap! Thanks for showing it to us!

9...Be6 in the Petroff

9...Be6 in the Petroff

Hello I was playing today and someone played 9...Be6 against our Petroff repertoire. I did not know exactly why it was a bad move and I castled anyway, then Bxa2 and I got a better position trapping the bishop. I was wondering why it is Be6 not played more, how should we proceed here Ne4, Ng5, 0-0-0 and if the bishop captures it will get trapped. Everything makes sense to me but what would you suggest?

Replies

Hey Ed! 
Well, Be6 is not played because it will be under attack after Ng5 or Nd4! 
You can do it ever right away. 

Antisicilian with 2...e6.

Maestro Avetik, I just played a 10 0 game on lichess. The opening went 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 a6 4.g3 Nc6 5. Bg2 Qc7 6. Nf3 and here my opponent played ...d6. In fact, he never played ...d5 which is the move covered in the course. So, I was on my own and decided to play later h3, g4 and f5 attacking on the kingside (my opponent was kind enough to castle there jaja). I won the game very smoothly, the opponent didn't play well, and the attack just went like a knife through butter (at room temperature)...

Please share any insights with regard to any such variation as the one I describe, i.e. without an early ...d5, or no ...d5 at all. 

Replies

Ramon, have you checked Sic part 4. 2...a6? 
We'll play with Nh3! and then f5! 

Opening Course

After the launch of Axel Smith's book E3 poison, many players are giving me problems

Any video in future for that?

Replies

Can you clarify your question please? What opening are you speaking about? 

Great webinar yesterday (Most instructive moments 1600-2400 series)

Thank you coach for your fine webinars. Yesterday (030920) was another excellent lesson (most instructive moments 1600-2400 series ChessMood openings-black perspective). Great teaching & great fun! I even got one of your questions almost correct, so I must be getting better! LOL! ;-)

Today I stumbled across a great game by the best 1.e4 player of all time GM R Fischer (in my opinion), but here he played against 1.d4 with 1.d4 Nf6 (Hort vs Fischer blitz 1970 Herceg Novi). I liked 19....0-0-0 - a delayed opposite side castle with Black getting a great position (and a piece ahead) White resigned 0-1.

In the webinar yesterday, we discussed to castle or not to castle and from all these examples we understand more on this important topic and that every position has to be considered on it's merits and we learn from ChessMood openings & games and from legends games. So, I think, beautiful play by Fischer as Black that needs to be shown & shared even though not a ChessMood opening, lessons can be learnt from these games as we see in ChessMood classical commented games section. Happy study & play all & thanks again GM Avetik! :-)

Replies

Hey Richard! 
Thank you very much! :) 
The game you've added is a really nice one. It would fedinetely be in courses, if white didn't blunder a pawn on d4 on move 8 :) 
But we'll add in a course about now showing your cards :) 
Thanks! 

What is the best way to study openings ?

One at a time or try to learn a bit of each and then build up your repertoire that way 

Replies

Since I decided to sell the farm and completely change my rep to the ChessMood openings, I first watched all the videos to get the ideas, and start putting them into practice right away. Then I followed Coach's advice and after every session I check my play vs each opening to reinforce the variations and the ideas.

If you are not going to adopt all the ChessMood rep, then I would guess 1 at a time wouldnt be bad, however, watching all the videos is good for more then just learning the lines, as there are many hidden gems for basic chess strategy hidden in these videos that will help with any opening. 

I wish you all the best!

Bill, check out this article: https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-memorize-chess-openings-variations

my first ChessMood game

Here's my first game since joining ChessMood.  https://lichess.org/z4b01mmy  I had white and began the Scotch, but my opponent wouldn't play the correct moves!  I panicked when he played 4..Nxd4 and 5..c5, and we both played a handful of bad moves but I finally won.  (I'm rated about 1400 in lichess rapid.)

Replies

well done JC .. check out the takeaways webinars on 800-2400 and 1600-2400 these are excellent help of practical play hints an tips using the ChessMood openings.

In future against c5, best is Qe3 then aim for a setup with Nc3, b3, Bbg2 and castle long O-O-O ... with Queens still on the board ...we pawn storm Black kingside depending on his setup with f3/f4,g4,g5, h4 .. or h4, h5 or h3, g4, g5

Also if Black play Qf6,, use the Nc3 to Nd5/Nb5 aiming for weak-c7-square ... same as what you did in the game!

Why?

In the very first meeting coach ask every player same question "Why you play Chess?". So I wanna know everyone's why.

My why is simple and clear. I wanna become a GM but my first milestone is to get 2000 elo and right now I am 1465 only. I know path is never simple. If it is then all can be GMs. Even before chessmood I knew that becoming a GM in chess is not like turning a lappy on. It request a lot efforts. For those who think becoming a GM is simple can read the article in the bottom.

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-become-a-chess-grandmaster-is-it-easy

My another motto is to travel the whole world so I find chess is only way for that because I wanna make friends from whole world and chessmood is not community it's family so its good to know decent people. 

Another story is secret and only coach know that why I am so dedicated to learn chess and why I sometimes work in crazy way like working 10-12 hrs a day and sometimes more than 15. But coach showed me right path to work and now I combine my hard work with smart work so I am improving.

Once I will reach my goals I will help beginners a lot and make them intermediate faster so they can able to understand chessmood contents well. Because I don't think there is any community which can help intermediate players like us in best way. I know a lot platforms and their contents are useful but what they are missing is active forums. Chessmood is improving day by day so it's best for all intermediate players and advanced players.

Replies

My why?

Chess is first of all fascinating game which can't be decoded, so there's a lot of scope of creativity, imagination and resourcefulness

Next, it makes me independent and responsible, only I and I am responsible for my actions

Becoming a GM makes you happy first of all but it also helps in a way that you get free entry and free stay in most of the tournaments, so you can travel around the world while making a fortune

You make intellectual friends

That's my perspective ☺️

I started playing chess as an adult because I wanted a mental exercise to keep my brain sharp.  I keep playing because I fancy myself somewhat smart and figure I should be able to learn/fight my way off of board 8!

Scotch Game - Question about 8.h4 He6

Hi, I have question about 8.h4 He6 line. There is a nice tactic after 9.g3 Sb4 10.c4 Hf5 11.Kd1 Sxa2 12.Wxa2 Hxb1. What after that?

Replies

Winning with White vs Attack with the Scotch

Both of these courses include the Scotch. My goal here is to learn the Scotch well. Is the "Winning with White" course like an intro to the other White courses? Is it worth going through that before going through the Scotch and the other White courses? A semi-related question: If the "Winning" course is NOT useful for someone who will go through the rest of the White courses, is there a way to remove it from "My Courses"? Thanks.

Replies

Hi Tom,

As it says in the description, Winning with white is an "Starter Course" for 1500 level below players. It includes 1 hour and a half of the Scotch. It is an easy intro. It also has 1,5 h of Sicilian Nc3.

That said, if you do the excellent course "Attack with the Scotch" you do not need to do the "Starter course Winning with White". The lines will be explained more deeply and with a lot more lines.

As for removing it from "My courses" Yeah, we should ask the technical staff to add some new function to allow this. I do not think that at the moment this is possible, I am sure that in the near future it will be.

Good luck with your Scotch adventures, I am winning almost every game in the Scotch after 6 months playing it (If I lose some game is not because of the opening :-) ).

Re: Removing from My Courses

I had my browser go directly to My Courses when I clicked on the ChessMood icon on my toolbar, but I changed it to go directly to Favorites. While there appears to be no option to remove anything from My Courses, there is from Favorites, so that's sufficient for me. Just thought I'd mention it in case someone else was interested.  It's simple to put an icon to the following on your browser's toolbar:  https://chessmood.com/profile/favorites

The Best games of August and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the best games of the August contest.
Under this post, we invite you to post your best games that you will play in June. 

The Prize fund is 350K Moodcoins which is equal to 350$.  

The 1st prize  - 150K
The 2nd prize - 100K
The 3rd prize-  50K
The 4th Prize- 30k
The 5th Prize- 20k

Good luck with your games and keep the Right Mood! 
#ChessMood
#Right Mood - Right Move 

P.S
Here are the winners of July: 

1st-  Moemedi Machobane
2nd- Devansh Shah 
3rd- Rob Dzedzic
4th- Piotr Urbanski
5th- Arman Shahzamani

Replies

Crushed the Scandinavian with flow.

https://lichess.org/ko2mEu18KB9C

Crushed the c5 in 22 moves.

https://lichess.org/ygcjJaghu7qN

https://www.chess.com/live#g=5239785910

a nice win with black against Trompowsky

Unusual castle and crushed a 2200+ player in 15 moves.

https://lichess.org/8KwSZpY9lFs0

My opponent rook is trapped. 

17 move french knockout

https://lichess.org/8rqUhiG59x7A

12 Move french knockout heheeh.

https://lichess.org/GfhsO4Cgcc1E

20 move caro kann winning but mouse slip Qxh5 and lost but I was winning with Qh6 check and you can see that too

https://lichess.org/ibX5TTKHIrCH

My crushing game against  a famous Gm

I play Black: https://lichess.org/ctz3HKv5jvKa

I play Black: https://www.chess.com/live/game/5361232384

I play Black: Simple chess with 99.3 Accuracy:

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5369566915

Positionally crushed him with reversed scotch pawn formation in 26 moves!

https://lichess.org/xlefDugmS7OZ

My saying is almost true. Sicilian vs me is almost 1-0 hehehe here is again my 16 move victory

https://lichess.org/gkv4zfY0DSOQ

Crushing opponent with ChessMood French!

This game is from a tournament (1.5h +15' after 40 moves +30'' per move)... not the best, but it has some interesting ideas with kingside attack.

Most Interesting Game I Ever Played

And A Very Very Awesome King Walk!

https://www.chess.com/live#g=5245448639

My 22 move win with Najdorf.

Story: Before this game I lost two games like melon on chess.com so I felt like damm I don't know it's because of sudden change of interface or my game but then I decided to play super sharp and Najdorf is amazing. Soon will learn about the structures so I wont mess up at least in structure way. 

 Used all basics of structures which I knew but only one mistake was playing b5 without e6 because direct b5 allow Nd5. I felt it and told to myself oh Nd5 gives slight edge to white but he missed and then I won in a nice way after Benko Gambit pawns sacs and then Bd8 key to success. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5245827423

https://lichess.org/xCiasAdr/white#53

Very nice win with french Bd3

This is a game I played in the Candidates tournament - 2nd phase of Championship in Malta. It was a classical game over the board.

Crushing the Scandi - and not one move was my own... all opening prep, thanks to our awesome Coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan!

Queen Sac, I knew it was not mate but I was better  after Qxg7. In time trouble he blundered and I won.

https://lichess.org/Q0Ul0k0Nrtt2

Today Is Very Nice Day

1st Game Was Soild/Positional

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5250283156

2nd Game Was Attack/Tactical

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5250302035

This is a game I posted earlier. All the moves are in the Anti-Sicilian Course!

https://lichess.org/Wg7itY7FkBtu               https://lichess.org/jtaevnUQIyuB                https://lichess.org/VMI6InliYgzM

Sicilian vs me is 1-0 at my level . Here is an another example. I remembered this line so well due to  streams and my revision d6 is the main move in which black play a pawn down super complex position and pressure in queenside but he  missed it and played Bg7? and then I bothered him so well and won with total domination.

https://lichess.org/oqvB5yZIGeAJ

   Bg6 Tactics miss but in the end won with bishop pair total domination hhhehe

https://lichess.org/tPLf3tVYR8NO

Played Scotch & won the match.

https://chess24.com/en/game/pX0RuOG7S2SXzX5jmhKY0w

once I made Nd5 I realised i made a mistake. Instead of that g5 Kg5 Nd5 wins for me. But nice king hunt

https://lichess.org/Pt6Qz8lrCxym

18 move Scotch knockout.

https://lichess.org/pPrfUUhMN2f2

Just to make you guys laugh. Kindly check pawn formation

https://lichess.org/fIDOZWkMjlLO

Smooth endgame after weakness on d4 was exploited and then my rooks won the game in simple way

https://lichess.org/7ORPOpbGJIyc

Power of two bishops on an open board

24 move french win using Fischer's Rg1-g4-g5

https://lichess.org/VIA7uYb6io6O

sac sac mate. 29 move mate against a passive london using basics of KID pawn str. ideas

https://lichess.org/YXEJTVD4/black#58

Beautiful Benko!!

Crushing Sicilian with ChessMood opening and idea. Also benefit of practicing tactics.

Won a scotch game in 16 moves.

https://chess24.com/en/game/4EePuByXT0aWSLu9Mql0kg

Now I am feeling better with Benko.

Simply crushed the Sicilian 

Smashing with the Scotch

https://lichess.org/3TvZwScjdXFG

Very Nice Game (Without Any Minor Pieces)

Positional Game!

https://www.chess.com/live#g=5264346697

Pretty Insane Game!!

Pawn Sacrifice In Opening!

https://www.chess.com/live#g=5264378899

https://lichess.org/EERQCrEQLjcD

Another nice win with white against the sicilian

I forgot line because after 2 month this line came on the board still by using bad tactics my opponent gave me a point in 12 moves

https://lichess.org/C9hTmHEgwyQS

Another Anti Sicilian win

https://lichess.org/kuUZdS5K/white#55

Unusual opening to check my intiative and crushed him in 19 moves

https://lichess.org/t6B8IgsazX0K

London System(Power of Space)

https://lichess.org/HtkdF8Za/black#65

Power of space on both sides and then I won 

https://lichess.org/E68SZNXi6Hf6

Sicilian- Benko Structure play and won in queenside 

https://lichess.org/oUYkUOKST3Ps

Crushed the e5 in 16 moves with Scotch

https://lichess.org/Tttl2eMVlu9F

Crushed Passive Scandinavian

https://lichess.org/U2pK25Shk37E

Violated basics of positional play then got into losing position against 2500+ player then SLP saved my life and gave me a point!!!!

https://lichess.org/TmzlbZcFJ0DW

https://lichess.org/nIJCxPv5/white

Knight trap line then I gave piece back to exploit opponent's king in the center. In 23 moves I won.

https://lichess.org/qTyY5DeV/white#32

Tactics helped me

Good end game.

26 move mate 2200 with GP

https://lichess.org/vKLG1rYAl4WP

Includes the great bait sacrifice 31...Nd6! Leaving white in complete Zugzwang.

https://www.chesskid.com/fastchess/game/27671891

A game with a combination resembling super GM Wei YI immortal game!!

https://www.chesskid.com/fastchess/game/27604833

does this happen every month?. I have registered on this website a few days ago

Dark squares domination. Second trade his best bishop on b2 with Nh5 making good knight vs bad bishop position but he declined. Only mistake in opening was making e4 without Nf6.

https://lichess.org/VjZ8UqEoOOUd

Benko Gambit Queenside total domination hehehe,

https://lichess.org/HeGp5XaK/black#50

Forgot basics of Greek Gift during the game but then I played nice SLP.

https://lichess.org/sMd53wpa/black#54

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5283221417

Crazy Game!

On my level. Very satisfied with this game:

https://lichess.org/G1ll3gSe/white

Slow but total domination 

https://lichess.org/jyYfO7Elm33S

So complex battle so some blunders but I won 

https://lichess.org/n9QQ3uCB7UXB

Am back after a few weeks. I was having some online exams so that's the case.

Here is a highly positional game:

https://lichess.org/bTWIE3a5d1UK

Attacking every where. My opponent is clueless.

Minor Piece Game!

Piece Activity!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5287486969

Knight dance win heheh

https://lichess.org/cZVd3Oh2W5pr

Holding a 2300+ player with active rook play

https://lichess.org/zw0wLiKO/white#41

Super passive c5 play crushed with GP

https://lichess.org/QhNdEcFq5kVA

Win a lost position with nice tactics.

Really a nice win with white pieces.

https://chess24.com/en/game/kbNOjZYyRciIOgWTqs2bDw

Another nice win with white pieces using anti-sicilian opening.

https://chess24.com/en/game/NHntWSIGT9qXmcs7mwK6ZA

The 1st game I am publishing. Winning with Scotch game easily and pleasently with no mistakes.

One moment I thought black's h-pawn is unstoppable. But in the end I find the right move and hope that black will play h8=Q. Then I can go Rg8+, Rh8+ and take the new queen. But opponent realize that. In the end good end game.  

Attack without queens

Most Brutal Game Ever

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5297343005

Piece Activity!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5300394484

Scary/Crazy Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5300420582

Not So Good Game But ....Good Example Of "Never Too Late To Resign"

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5300888022

Killed Unusual c4 by exploiting his weak squares and weak king in the center

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5299356650

Caro kann victory in flow!!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5299323324

Unusual c4 again crushed 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5299315009

Nice win in scotch opening

https://lichess.org/J1YwvJ4RbcOO

Benko gives another win. I beat an opponent whose rating was more than 120 of me

I don't say my opening and middlegame was perfect. I just like this setup of active play in the queenside. I do saw how best move can hold black's counterplay but I was not fighting against a GM so I thought to give this setup a try and I won without too much efforts. Another thing is that I am waiting for e4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 lines for black so I did not wanted to play any d6 again so I chose this setup.

https://www.chess.com/daily/game/260608172

Precise play against Bowdler (2. Bc4) move in Sicilian and taking advantage of a misclick to win. h6 instead of Bd6 was best. 

Hi, I like this game I have just played because of the monster bishop in d6

Total pressure on him and one mistake g6 and it was exploited well. Love your content coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan. Thanks for providing such an amazing and deadly weapons against d6 and c5. I am just winning winning winning.

https://lichess.org/zQWQ59QyBZKJ

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5299987732 
My first game in my ENTIRE life with Benko Gambit! Absolutely dominated from start to finish even though I messed up in the opening!

Crushing the scotch easily

Scandinavian attacks!

Awesome Game!!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5310646114

First attacked,then used strategies and won a endgame

Very crazy game.Also I saved a lost position

One of my game is below

I was white played Scotch Gambit and won 

https://www.chess.com/live#a=931444

Here is my first try with the 9.Nd2 line in the 8.h4! Scotch! While there is a spot or 2 I could of played a little better, I am very proud of this game! Fun king hunt to finish!

https://www.chess.com/a/4xsv8ZXcZwLa

Scotch give me another nice win.

A match I played (opening mistake by my opponent)

https://lichess.org/epCrsQdHhh5T

Below is a game I played and won. I was white.

Crushing with the Scotch Gambit

Nice tactic and he loses his queen!

Among My Best Game !!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5310646114

Learning basics of KID pawn formations. Today I saw this structure in book so I thought to apply what I know and I tried my best and black was so slow in kingside attack so I won without any efforts.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5320198945

All Benko Dream Trades but one miss was playing Kf6 in thr end instead of f5 making his d5 pawn more weaker

https://lichess.org/2sTbluXIy3mj

Against disaster in Anti Sicilians heheeh. Just one mouse slip rest was decent game.

https://lichess.org/EhwgZeCt/white#55

Thanks to Karpov for his wonderful positional games. I am hoping to apply them in my games.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5323148056

Nice checkmate in Accelerated Dragon after 5.Nxc6

When black played ... g5 , I thought that I can checkmate him soon as his king is weak and it was opposite sides castle. But I missed the move ... Qxd5. In the end win the ending. 

P.S. What is the right way to get advantage from the ... g5 mistake and weakness of black king?

An Anti-Sicilian and I feel I played the position well. I felt like I was in control the whole game.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5330027285

My best Caro-Kann to date https://www.chess.com/live/game/5329997750

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5063190316

I have a big advantage, sac a queen for just a knight without direct checkmate, but he was tied down completely!

Using the ideas we learn from  ChessMood to control the opening, and then punishing our opponents mistakes always makes us feel good and know we are learning from a reliable source! Thank you Coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan for everything you do!

King Attack is still alive :D

An another bongcloud.

My opponent blundered his bishop. He thought it was back rank mate, but my bishop can interposed.

https://www.chess.com/a/24Lk36zKxjhW6

This one was against ArtTeo 2440+ in chessmood-tournament 23th August.

It was the last game. 20 secunds left of the tournament and ArtTeo let the time run out...

If else I would have beaten him... 

Very Nice Game!

Awesome Mate!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5344230295

"Houdini"

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5344262452

Good Game!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/5344300127

Hi,

I played this game yesterday. It was a G/90 +30s in the Chess Dojo Round Robin tournament (Chess Dojo is a Discord server run by IM Kostya Kavutskiy, GM Jesse Kraai, and IM David Pruess). This is a Bg5 Modern Maroczy that I studied over the last few days. I am a new PRO member on this site. 

While I had forgotten many variations, I remembered the key ideas, tactical patterns, etc due to Avetik's great explanations. GM Jesse Kraai and IM Kostya Kavutskiy were commentating live on the game and they did not see b5 coming, but it is of course thematic and well known to people who've studied the Modern Maroczy. From there on, I played mainly for activity not really caring much about the e7 pawn. GM Kraai thought white was doing fine but I disagreed with that assessment (when I checked their stream after my game) because I think white has many ways to go wrong and black had the safer position due to superior activity of the pieces, and that was borne out in the game. 

I'm usually an attacking player and always have had issues facing the Maroczy but this is the first time where I felt like I knew the positions deeper and had an arsenal of ideas I could draw upon. Hope you enjoy the game!

Game 3 in this lichess study: https://lichess.org/study/aM6aYB3o, I've also attached a gif. 

Thanks!

Vishnu

Nice positional game. I took advantage of space advantage and created a weakness in the dark squares. I tried not to hurry and improve my pieces before attacking

Crushed passive e6 in Sicilian

https://lichess.org/t07XVbriVw6L

Crushed Smith Morra Alapin lines hehehe

https://lichess.org/FSzj8WD1/black

Passive Scotch Crushed

https://lichess.org/MH8dxzSv5WXI

https://lichess.org/GJrNbtMcfVz3

Benko gambit Piece up game Na4 hehehe

https://lichess.org/ZSFxnwsrsDQv

One right trade and my knight dominated

https://lichess.org/z9gy4nFoPL5T

Pawn Str, and right trades

https://lichess.org/M4jThrjSjR87

Acc. Dragon wins in a few moves.

Nice win against French with tactics. During game I was not sure with the rook sacrifice, it was a desperation. But engine confirm that it was the best move.

Again acc. dragon against same opponent and this time my opponent is failed with ... Qb6!

Benko get another win.

"Daring King Walk"

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5349016816

"Defence"

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5349054064

Killer Scotch  Attacks heheh

https://lichess.org/Ak0DcMR3aSkU

Yes, I forgot to take on f7 earlier but then I found amazing Rxg6!!

https://lichess.org/jrzd8ZEk/white#45

Passive against Scotch is 1-0

https://lichess.org/Ak0DcMR3aSkU

Grand Prix from the black side (Online Olimpiad)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5263170403

Sacked pawns for initiative and then I won 

https://lichess.org/fm0TpTUy5xmY

Crushed the London System

https://lichess.org/YBiQaQUYqG9i

Sweet Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5353376781

Crazy Attacking Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5353384892

Scary Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5353498272

Good Game...

But I LOST On Time!!!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5353395397

A quick Benko Gambit 

https://www.chess.com/a/2RgabxGzzZwLa

Simple and positional domination

https://lichess.org/L6qrs0XpMMSG

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5358339298

Deadly sacrifice Rxf2!! to checkmate white king...

 Smooth Game

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5358641020

Good Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5358577940

a fine positional win against a GM (!) with benko gambit 

https://lichess.org/oZggGl45F3Lk

It surprised me that Chess.com marked this odd Sicilian game as 99,2% Accuracy!

Carro- Kann in a  bullet game

I am white  

Using just the idea of g4, h4, g5 and playing normal chess with Scotch.

Crushed unusual London System

https://lichess.org/YYDXstNiYVHn

Learning KID Structure so thought to apply it in practice and I won bec he had no idea of structure

Win against Petroff

https://lichess.org/sztxwr6mrbL2

Nice And Clean Game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5363512634

Maneuvering!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5363497491

I beat 1800+ player just using  Nightmare of Rossolimo idea and basic end game knowledge.

Beating my opponent strategically with Potato Variation(Seriously,the oppenings name is potato variation)

Won a nice game with closed sicilian.

https://chess24.com/en/game/Xi4QP27PS7OmB20Cvqoa5Q

Coach I learnt from you to apply the concepts into practice so here I applied what I learnt about KID pawn formations. I put it in practice at my level and I am winning. Yeah theory may be wrong but ideas was ok

https://lichess.org/m0nrmop2nLKp

Second game and I thought to apply the same KID ideas in different opening

https://lichess.org/UjPUllgM062r

My training match on positional chess using d4. I played d4 to check my positional understanding level.

https://lichess.org/OpJOHbWzNHzA

KID pawn formation in different opening. I did not wanted to play Bb4. It was mouse slip

https://lichess.org/ua0ZOhexTkAc

16 move g4 crush

https://lichess.org/cAOrI7cXBoo6

Hi, I am sending 3 games for your consideration, I played with a very good mood the last days and it has been reflected in my games. I also changed the time to 5+3 as Avetik suggested and I automatically won many more games.

This one is my first Sicilian following our Nh3 repertoire against a6. Nobody played like this against me before, I knew that my knight could go to f4, after that I sacrificed everything. (The knight sacrifice was a miss)... I think that this is my best game of the month for sure.

Hi again,

I am posting 2 more games, the first one is a Benko, with a nice finish at the end with a Queen sacrifice.

The second one is a nice example of a pawn storm on the king side in the Scotch, a 4 pawns attack we could say...

Smooth Win with Caro Ex

https://lichess.org/2Sz0W5yL6TeY

Winning without chessmood openings, with Fischer Sauzin attack + 1 inaccurate knight sacrifice and 1 queen sacrifice in classic 30+0. My opponent couldn't take advantage of my Nf6+ sacrifice in Tal's style.

https://lichess.org/LJPUK9jg

https://lichess.org/0R1BCKb9

https://lichess.org/OVxxkNG7

My unusual openings so I can check my middlegame skills. Check out the final mate

https://lichess.org/2XnpJqkjetO7

Some positional domination:

He blundered the knight at move 21, but the position was already hopeless.

Hope you guys enjoy!

"Never Resign"

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5378048235

"Crazy Game"

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5378016646

Smooth

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5378077402

 Minor Piece

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5373133957

Positional Game!

https://lichess.org/NpN7JVlapEj8

Attack!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5373092286

Dismantling the French I

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5273295655?tab=report

 Dismantling the French II

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5338141453?tab=report

 Winning against the Scotch Steinitz

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5287347809?tab=report

 Fun with the Modern Benoni

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5307381735?tab=report

 Winning with the Alekhine I

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5329539169?tab=report

 Winning with the Alekhine II

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5345119072?tab=report

 Pick the Pirc

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5334565977?tab=report

 Crushing the Caro Kann

https://lichess.org/ocbq4ccG/white#77

Kings Indian/Benoni - the engine didn't like my set up but it was an easy win.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/5379083168?tab=report 

I play White:

https://lichess.org/lP6e0s0DJVyX

Hello ChessMood Family!

There have never been posted so many nice and instructive games.

Thank you! 

The 5th prize goes to Kourosh Asgari for his positional game

The 4th prize goes to Duncan Vella for his nice game in the Benko Gambit. 

The 3rd prize goes to Captain Hook for winning the famous Grandmaster Atalik, in a nice way, playing f5!! in the opening  

The 2nd prize goes to Edo Tokyo for his monster attack, bringing the opponent's king from e8 to c2 and checkmating there. 

The 1st prize goes to Abhi Yadav for his attack in the Petroff which he finished with a nice Queen sacrifice Qg7!! 
All the game was cool! Even the Be2 maneuver played earlier.
https://lichess.org/Q0Ul0k0N#59 

By the way, while checking the games you have posted, all our coaches said the same thing. "Wooow, Abhi is becoming stronger and stronger." 

Really, it was a big difference, many nice attacks and positional games posted by Abhi. 
His Fischer attack, with Kh1!! and then Rg1 was also very cool! 

We also felt that Abhi, you're watching all the courses and doing lots of homework! 
Very good, keep it! 

Congratulations winners and everyone, who has raised rating in August or feels that he became better in chess. 
The prizes will be sent to your accounts today. 

See you in the competitiont "Best games of September."

With best wishes,
ChessMood team 

Streaming series "From 1600 to 2400" summary

Hey, champions! 
Under this post I invite you to post your takeaways from the streaming series, what did you learn? 

P.S 
Unfortunately because of the technical reasons, I can't add the PGN file here, but I'll send you on your emails. 

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