Post your fav. Positional Game

In our studying sessions we see many classical games but there are some game which we love and we feel so happy to see that game. In the current post I want you guys to post any positional game which you think was superb positional masterpiece.,

Here is my one of the fav. game and it's again of Great Karpov. This game not only teaches us how to  play Nd2 well against french but it also explains key ideas of the french Nd2 pawn formations. This game also explains the power of prophylaxis in chess.  Also in the end the final combination was superb. 

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068410

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Najdorf or Dragon?

I have been concerning this question for a long time. I know to play well this openings, thus not letting my opponents to take the initiative. On the other hand, I have studied many classic games, truly magnificent examples of how to fight them. ( I have to confess that my favourite chess player is Super Nezh).

When it comes to dragon, a significant drawback ia that it has a lot of sidelines and requires huge theoretical knowledge. People who are not helped by their memory would never choose it. In addition, although it is a solid opening with a monster bishop on g7, black's position can get unsafe very wuickly, if the one who's playing black is not able to handle the opponents initiative. Also, black is losing a tempo by playing 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6  3. d4 cxd4  4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 ... because he is playing d7-d6-d5 and not d7-d5 at once as in the accwlerated dragon. Of course, I love ro face the dragon since it leads to a tough battle. 

On the other hand, someone who is playing the Najdorf should be very careful, and set defence as a priority. Furthermore, he should be able to handle potential weaknesses, especially the e6 pawn in Fischer Sauzin attack and english attack. The game is more positional with the closed variations and when black keeps the king on e7 square.

All in all, I have been in this dillema for a long time and I decides to publish it to see what you think. Waiting for your answers guys. ;)

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Hey Giorgos.
Overall, if you are ready to learn lots of complicated lines and you don't have problem with Memory - Najdorf is a good choice.
Accelerated dragon is also a solid and agressive variation. + is that there is not so much thing to remember. Another + is that if White doesn't know the theory, Black can get a big advantage. (This happens a lot during the streams, our PRO Members can confirm my words.) 

So, both are fine. Up to you. 

man I personally prefer Accelerated dragon . Even if you have nice memory I still prefer to use it to learn classics like chessmood recommends and study games and in case of opening as you have AD which is super solid and agressive then there is no need to focus on complicated lines right now . Just enjoy AD.

If you prefer to play Najdorf, you can play it as a lifetime repertoire. but you cannot play dragon beyond 2300 level.  another issue is usually lower-level players will prefer to play closed Sicilian whereas, in master level, players prefer to play open Sicilian. so in the lower level, there is less chance to get the Najdorf even if you wish to play it.

Fischer was one of the greatest Najdorf players ever, let us see what he says about Najdorf and Dragon:

1- Fischer said that a turning point in his career came when he realized that he can play for a win with Black too, even against the strongest players.

2- Fischer's Anti-Dragon recipe: "Pry open the h-file, sac, sac... mate!" (commentary on Fischer-Larsen, Portoroz 1958, "My 60 Memorable Games")

If you enjoy tactical games, both Najdorf and Sveshnikov give you excellent chances to win with Black, at the price that you give excellent chances to White to beat you in an unbalanced position. If you are a positional player and you like manouvering and endgames, Caro-kann. 1-e4-e5, and Taimanov Sicilian are better choices for you. 

Thank you all but as I have solved the problem and I have finished accelerated dragon course I have great results, winning my opponents with crushing attack. I also use Schevenningen and Najdorf in shorter time controls. It is real that I don't have any memory problems. My pgn files are bigger than my level I think, 5 times more than the 1st screen.

Posting game in embeded replayer

Hey guys

If anyone could help me this would be great and its been bugging me all day. I am a bit strange like that I have to know everything!

So I saw in the sept games thread some games posted in a nice looking replayer thats embeded into the site. I can't work out how to do it (tried both lichess and chess.com embed features)

If there is a site people are using or I am just doing it incorrectly it would be great if someone could show me how!

Thanks Jamie

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Hi Jamie,

It is easier than it seems. You just have to click the option "Add New File" and select a .pgn file, and magic works ;-)

PRO Members

I wonder how long have you been a PRO Member and what have you learned during that time? :)

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Your Last Tournament

Hello ChessMood family ! (after this sentence I wanna say "GM Avetik is here with you"...) :D

Well, tell us what was your last tournament? how did you play and how much do you miss OTB chess (on the board)?

I never thought that I would miss OTB tournaments, but now I feel that I really miss it, my last tournament was in January, 8 months without tournaments, the last 18 years this has not happened to me :D

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My last tournament was Nov 29-Dec 1 last year. I was 3/6 and didn't feel I played well. I had 2 games that I threw away big advantages in, one draw one loss from those 2. Unfortunately that was the first 2 rounds, and was hard to recover. 2 1/2 of the last 4 was not a bad finish, but I expected more of myself :)

My last OTB game was Dec 2019. Yes, one thing this situation gave us is appreciation for the 'obvious'. It wasn't so obvious, it was precious!

Who knows when it will end? In 1 year? 10 years?

Around 2007 was my last tournament over the board! (I gave up chess for over 10 years)

Hi

I promise myself to play 40 OTB games this year, I have a good start 5 in january, 9 in february, but since then only playing online, some slow games, but mostly blitz/bullet.

Here in Uruguay they are coming back with OTB tournments, so I am considering coming back in november probably.

Best Regards

marc

16 years ago, I won a tournament at Paris. I won the first prize scored 8.5/9 and won 1000 euros 

It could be the beginning of my chess career, but I have stopped playing chess after that event, until this Covid 19 lockdown, when I made a mistake twice: playing chess again ... after 16 years :D

Psychology in Chess

Some players quote the phrase of the famous chess player- Bobby Fischer: I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves!

What do you think about this? Do you believe in psychology or not?

I totally disagree with this, I believe in psychology and sometimes it's even more important than good moves. For me, chess is 50% psychology :)

I want to know your opinion on this.

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Psychology definitely plays a roll in chess! I believe that because our minds are our weapon in chess, anything that effects our mind, will effect our game.

This could be little things like lack of sleep or distraction, or bigger issues like the lack of confidence. 

This is another reason Coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan is so great as a coach. He addresses psychology in our chess growth before most people even realize it,  just by the name of the company: ChessMood! 

Anything we do to make our minds stronger can only make our game stronger in my opinion.

Jay

It’s chess pieces, not a man I play against! Svetozar Gligoric

Can't we just play against pieces and enjoy the game??

Of course psychology is important.

I remember one time playing a game (2016), bad opening, weird moves and was a pawn down. Understandably, my mood wasn't good. So I went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, enjoyed the good feeling of that, and giggled a bit =)

Probably others thought it strange but I was feeling much better when I returned to the board.

And I won that game!

Preparation before tournement

How well prepared do you think is nessesary before a tounement?

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As much as you are able to. But the last week before the tournament you should take a break. Preparations have not to be only chessy, but the physically and psychologically too

https://chessmood.com/blog/the-right-way-to-prepare-for-a-chess-tournament I think you haven't read this yet :)

2-3 months of intensive chess trainings, 3 times in week physical activity, and how to prepare mentally, I think it's individual, you should find what makes you happy, gives positive emotions and relax.

Thankyou so much for your answers and recommendations for article to read.☺️

What's the Assessment of this position?

It's white to move.  Write down your assessment!

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Alekhine defence 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5

Hi everyone. Dear Avetic Grigoryan yesterday i played Rapid game ( in lichess Alekhine) defence with withe . My opponent have a 2520 elo my elo 2086 . We played 1. e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6:   i played 6. c4 Nb4 7.a3 Qxd4 :  I have watched Alekhine defence course in chessmood , and you said that it is a better variation of Scandinavian defenc which i also watched.  Now my question. Please can you explain me more about ideas of this variation, i send you my game: https://lichess.org/zFciz1PD/white

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I think that this 4...dxe5 line is not yet uploaded to the course, I also was looking forward to see what the Chessmood team prepared. Even if you watched the course this line was not yet there I think. I will follow this thread with interest, thanks Gor!

Gor, the course is not completed, the other sections are coming. 

@Kevin_D, have you seen Topalov's game with a4 Ra3? 

Hi everyone, I also encountered the same Alekhine variation in my slow game. I lost, mainly because my openent played without mistakes according to engine and I was in general too passive.

We definitely need the some ideas for White.

What is your assessment?

Which side would you prefer to play, and why?

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In positions only with rooks, columns matters more, in my opinion White is better, have g column to access black King using h pawn to open g file,  black counterplay on c column isn't that clear,  they must press on b column, but is less direct

Whose turn is it to play?

Material: Even

King safety: Even

Pawn Islands: Even

Pawn structure: Even

Space: Black slightly better

Activity of the pieces: Even. Black may control b and e file. White may control g and d file. 

Plans: White wants to play b3 to cause weaknesses

Black wants to play f4

I see it as a fairly balanced position, but I would choose black due to slight space advantage and piece activity

I think black is slightly better because of the small space advantage and the king can come to the center easier, but in the end it will be draw :D

Thanks everyone that answered! I was wanting to see if my assessment was correct, with out influencing the answers you all would give.

The way I saw the position was a slight edge for black, because the b file could be a problem for white more then the d or g file would be for black.

I want to play a5-a4-a3 with rooks on a8 and b8 Benko style. I also like the push f4, although I think the a5 -a4 plan is more straight forward.

Thanks again for your replies and if someone has more insights then what I saw @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan?) I would love to hear your thoughts!

Jay

An interesting position. It very depends on whose turn.
If white - then after 1.b3 black pawns structure will be crushed, and after 1...cb3 2.ab3 Black's a7 pawn become also a weakness.

If it's black to move - should be something around equal, but to play with Black gonna be harder, as they should be careful with b3 and e4 breakthroughs. 

How to break rating Barrier?

From the past 2 months I am stuck around 2100 elo online and sometimes I lose like melon. I am studying a lot but also I am trying to apply what I am learning but still I do not know why I am losing so much. I keep right mood during I play but still I do not win winning positions. On the other hand when I analise games I am able to see more deeper and clearer lines.  Here I saw 10 ply deep and image was also clear in my mind that h6 was his only move to defend the position but still during I play I am not able to win those games which I am supposed to win. 

Note: Is is due to over training because I am currently doing:

1. Paul Morphy Move by Move 

2. Petrosian Move by Move.

3. Silman's Endgame Manual.

4. Pawns Structures (current one is KID).

5. How to reassess your chess 4th edition

6. Beginner Pattern Recognition.

7. Capablanca's Best Endings 

8. Visualisation Training daily 30 puzzles from Chess Visualization Course: General tactics Book by Ian Anderson

I am not saying I should be 2300+ online right now but due to this training and right mood playing I think I deserve minimum 2200 elo strength online. Because I already maintained 2100 2 months ago. 

So I am super eager to know why I am just losing. Even though I studied more than 600 classical games. I can even sometimes remember those critical positions. All suggestions will be useful. I am not demotivated. I am just curious to know why I am losing. 

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Hi Abhi,

I am sure all your hard work will pay off. You just need to be patient.

I hope this quote helps you:

"You work for a long period of time and the results don't really show, but at some point everything just comes together and you start to play better, or get more confidence."

Fabiano Caruana

Sometimes it is a good idea just to take a break! You are burning out.. Slowing down might be the answer for you. Stop playing and studying chess for 2 days, preferably when you don't work and relax. When you get back after 2 days analyze your last games and you will understand what you need to fix.

My feeling is that you try to play all openings instead of focusing in a few. It's better to master one opening than to play 10 in medium level.

Hi Abhi,

I made the same error as you when I was much more younger : I thought that studying day and night a lot of chess books (I own more than 1500 in 7 languages ?!) would make me a better player.

But  a tournament chess game is not like a scholastic exam. Knowledge is not sufficient ?! To know is the first requirement, but to know "how to do it" is much more important. Example : you have studied 3 or 4 books explaining how to treat positions with Isolated Queen Pawn the pros and cons.

That doesn't mean you are suddenly become a stronger player  winning in the process 100 points Elo or so. You are now aware of the pecularities of that structure and your theoritical judgment has made a jump forward but practically you remain at your level. Now you KNOW but you don't yet KNOW HOW which is most important for your game. Only after having played many many games with IQP you will become an expert of that structure.

This is the response I have made for myself about the question "Why is it so difficult to progress in chess ?". I hope it will be of some help for you also.

Jean-Marie

I think you have a lot of pressure during the game that prevents you from playing well to the end.

Thanks for the answers. I loved the quote by 

Sergio Carrera

I feel more motivated and I am gonna work more. 

Your favorite course

How many courses did you watch completely and which is your favorite?

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I finished all the courses. When I joined chessmood I finished all the courses in less than 20 days and made my own pgn files because I loved the contents. Let me tell you something about my opening history.  I was always a e4 player. In the bottom I am not only sharing about my fav. courses but I am sharing why I love them.

Accelerated Dragon was my first opening and my fav, one too because I won tons of games with it. I left that because that time I had no knowledge of Qxd4 lines in Hyper Accelerated Dragon and I had no ideas how to play Nc6 well because of Bb5 but when i joined chessmood I saw it so well and loved it.  Finally my love on AD came back due to amazing contents and my fear of Rosolimmo was solved.

Benko Gambit again was my last opening which I added in my repo. I learnt it from other sources but never got results like I got when I joined Chessmood. I loved the Benko Gambit so much . This is also my fav. and familiar opening in chessmood repo.

Against London and Trompowsky I just loved what coaches shared. I also love KID pawn formations and I am learning KID  structures. So I am happy  to play against London System because some players allow KID pawn formations and I win a lot games without any efforts. I call it cheating hehehe because coach told me never play new opening but only add new openings in repo once u will become 2000+ but with KID str. I am crushing people in London System.

I also loved the content of Maroczy Bind. The game of Li Quem Liem is still in my mind and it's super explained by coach . I decided to work on maroczy first. As coach said don't go for modern one in the beginning so I only saw it once and I forgot ideas of Modern one heheeh.

I also loved the content against Scandi. I searched a lot but never found any ideas well to play against this opening. But chessmood gave me hope and I started to play against it with confidence with Nf3!

I also saw and loved the content on GP. Or I can say 1-0 for me hehehe. I am winning almost all my games with GP. I rarely lose any games with GP. So I love the setup of GP against Sicilians and d6. I decided not to revise lines of Bf4 which coach explained against Pirc. I saw it once made my base and never came back to that because GP is superb.

Now against Caro Kann. I always played Caro Kann exchange before chessmood. I loved this opening due to my knowledge of Carlsbad Str. I studied this str. in so depth so I am crushing people at my level like melon.

Here is an example:

https://www.chess.com/live/game/5494218858

   For my own detailed ideas about this game then kindly visit my post and if I missed anything in the ideas section then let me know . Thanks.

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/carlsbad-ideas-lets-debate

After reading my above posts and watching my game you will understand why I loved this caro kann a lot because it's reversed carlsbad and it gives additional advantages for white.  So I just love Caro kann and I am winning tons of games with Caro Kann Exchange Variation.

Scotch I also loved a lot. It was my first time ever when I learnt scotch so in the beginning it was tough for me to remember lines but now I am winning a lot with Scotch.

Philidor and Petroff I saw once but not revised the lines yet. The reason is that they are not common at 2100 level but before rl events I will def. gonna revise the lines 5 times.

My score against French is not so good. I can say it's due to my lack of knowledge but content is superb and tricky one too.

I haven't finished yet Alekhine course due to my tough training schedule.

So that's all about my fav. openings lines and variations and reasons that why I love them so much.

Summary:

Fav. Openings are : Caro Kann Exchange Variation, Scotch, Benko Gambit and Grand Prix.

Final words I forgot to tell about amazing Classical Commented Games. I just loved it so much. In the beginning I had issue in answering the questions but now I am doing a bit better. I saw more than 700 classics in past 5 months and grasped positional and attacking and strategic eye. I also loved the content on happy pieces.  Now my next step is to see 2550 games based on 25 chess patterns. I wanna finish this work in 5 months from now.

English opening 2. g3 line

Am I right in thinking this is the line you were recommeding agaist 2.g3 ? Was there a course coming covering this? I'd be interested if so!

https://www.chess.com/explorer?moveList=c4+c5+g3+g6+Bg2+Bg7+Nc3+Nc6+Nf3+e5+O-O+Nge7+d3+d6+a3+O-O+Rb1+a5+Ne1+Be6+Nc2+d5+cxd5+Nxd5+Ne3+Nde7+Nc4+Rb8&ply=21

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Hi Thomas,

The Black repertoire against the English is coming really soon, GM Gabuzyan is already recording the videos and the first part will be uploaded very soon. This is the latest info as in yesterday's streaming the first game played was in this line. I am attaching a picture for your reference and entertainment of the moment when Avetik says to Gabuzyan that this month they are going to upload the first videos.

Check the stream if you want to follow the game!

Best

New openings

What opening would you like to see that's not yet in ChessMood courses?

I would like to see Sveshnikov :)

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King's Indian Defense for Black

Against 1.e3 and 1.b3

Against Stonewall for Black

Against Veresov, Torre 

Against Kings Indian Attack for Black

Pawn structures (if possible)

Open Sicilian for White after 1 year (once I reach 2200 fide), currently 1628

Technical techniques to convert winning positions into win video series

I Hope that it will take everyone's game to the next level

Thank you

1- Sveshnikov or Taimanov Sicilian for Black

2- Black repertoire against the Minor Openings: 1.f4, 1.g3, 1.b3 etc.

3- Ruy Lopez for White

4. Something other than Benko Gambit for Black. 

( Benko Gambit: I think anyone with half a brain knows that White is objectively better, but of all the lines that Black can choose where he accepts a worse position for practical chances in an unbalanced game, I think the Benko is one of his best options.) Sam Shankland

Against the Sicilian I would be happy to see Shveshnikov, Taimanov or Schevenningen variations & I am waiting for a full cpuese against the english opening, because when i play against the english I go to the symmetrical variation and either trying to transpose into Maroczy Bind, or playing like against the Gran Prix attack, fianchettoing my king's bishop and advancing my queenside pawns. Grünfeld would be also interesting for black. For white a course against Nimzowitch 1. e4 Nc6 defence is completing the repertoire. 

Modern Benoni for sure.

I am afraid that I would like no additional openings in Chessmood because I think it would defeat its purpose. I think the point is to have just one Repertoire so we can be specialists in it and practice , watch the repertoire  in the streams and fix our errors. 

I mean that we should not have different openings against one opening (One Sicilian is enough ;-). I would focus on adding advanced content to the existing openings, Model games, Common mistakes, etc, and adding courses against openings not fully covered yet (English Opening) or against sideline openings

Some may dislike it, but it is my opinion ;-)

The KID and Sveshnikov, which I can play, but not that well.  

I'm not faring too well with the Maroczy Bind, whichI don't love, but I'm giving it a shot here.  :-)

I would like to see against e4 c5 Nf3 d6 Bb5 Nd7 and Ba4! 
This is what GM Max Illingworth play and has quite good results! I would like to know how to play this as Black!

https://www.chess.com/blog/Illingworth/a-leading-expert-shares-his-best-anti-sicilian-weapon this is his Blog where he has mentioned this Variation!

Thanks everyone for your answers.

Quiz - Scotch Game

Hey, champions! 
I am happy to announce that our technical team created the first quiz. 
It will help you to memorize the variation, field where you have the biggest challenge. 
It should help you very much. 

This is a test version. 
I would love to see your feedback and ideas on how we can improve it and offer you even better version. 

https://chessmood.com/quiz/attack-with-scotch-game 

Enjoy :) 

P.S 
Here is my result :) 
I could solve a quiz I created myself :D :D :D  
Can you? :) 

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Due to streams I remembered most of the ideas. I got decent score. Ineed to work on scotch anyways. 

I think it was decent. My opinions are mentioned in the bottom.

1. If possible then include hint and hints will be shown to the user only if a user fail to find the move. For example in scotch test there was a position in which Qd2 and Qd3 are options and only one is good and vice versa. So if a user fail in the position then hint will help him a bit.

2. If possible then include the specific video from which the position is taken. So if we fail to understand why we missed the idea or any other thing then we can directly click on the video and see why our move was wrong.

That's my two opinion.

I am out of words to explain how the website is improving!

Keep it up chessmood team!

my score is 16/20

It is great. It is much needed for our practicing the lines.

Kudos to the technical team for executing this quiz idea along with the Coaches. Looking forward to quizzes on all the courses. My idea for bettering it would be to show the move that wasn't found by the one taking the quiz after an 'x' number of attempts.

This is great. "Show hint" is needed - didn't remember a few positions and literally tried 20 different moves.

Using quizs to reinforce opening memory is the best feature I've been waiting for! Huge Thanks, GM Avetik and team. 

Sir where can we found this course except forum? In the courses? 

I managed to get 20/20 ( lnot more that 3 tries in 16,17,20) but when I go to profile and then certificate, it says that Jora Aleqyan is a Pro member. Well, I am not Jora Aleqyan although I am a Pro member and have completed the quiz. Please fix this bug!

I think I got much  higher score that I expected. I have just finished the course and went to the quiz :) It is amazing that Chessmood does so big progress. Keep up the good work!

It's a very great idea

Got 17/20

I like to do this test from time to time, in order to refresh my opening. I think that this is a really good idea, a good way to practice the opening.

That said I would like to ask to put this link to the Quiz in the Scotch Game course. I know it is not maybe the definite one, but even writing (Beta) Quiz to the Scotch somewhere in the course page will be helpful and more convenient for everyone.

The same goes for the quiz with the 100 Commented games, I wanted to do the quiz again but now I could not find the thread easily and instead I am writing it here. Everything related to the course in the same page can only help.

(Actually looking for "quiz" in the forum search will do the job, but I forgot the word "quiz" and was difficult to find)

Best regards and keep up the good job!

Happy I got 20/20 and having lots of fun with scotch, its my favourite opening already!

anyway great quiz and hope to see more of them!

That was cool 19/20. I expected Kd1 position but it wasn't there :D

MoodCoins

How many moodcoins do you have and how did you earn it? mine is still 12.000 by solving puzzles. When I was new in chessmood I always forgot to move pieces on puzzles :D

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I earned some coins by solving puzzles. But I am a book guy so I like to solve positions from books so I feel more motivated. I earned most of my mood coins by winning chessmood best games event. I am so happy that coach liked my games and thinks that I am improving. Another thing I did was sharing chessmood on fb and even destroyed my old fav. fb account hehehe. I shared chessmood in my own 22k fb chess team and there I try to help beginners whenever I can. I asked them to join and some above 1500 players joined chessmood.

I got 9000 out of the 55000 moodcoins I have by having the best answees in forym conversations. Now I am in the top 10 with best answers.

Chass game embeded in the form post

Hi everyone,

I've see some people posting forum message with a game viewer emebed. See an example

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/alekhine-defence-1e4-nf6-2e5-nd5-3d4-d6-4nf3-dxe5-5nxe5

I wonder how to do that? Tnx.

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Hi Robert,

You just need to attach it to your post or your reply. Attach your pgn file of the game by pressing the "Add New File" button, on the bottom left side of the text box where you write your message. That's it! Easy! Looking forward to see your games!

ChessMood openings

Which Chessmood opening is your favorite and why?

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I love Anti Sicilian Grand Prix. If you ever followed my games on fb then you already know the reason hehehe. I am crushing almost all time 2100 elo players on lichess with my GP knowledge.

In case of Caro kann I am also doing fine against it. Almost 1-0 in sidelines and decent results against main lines.

Caro Kann

https://lichess.org/ibX5TTKH#38

Crushed a 2100 using chessmood opening theory. If I am not wrong then e5 move is in advanced section and c4 is mentioned in the main course for a player who is not advanced but I liked e5 more.

https://lichess.org/gkv4zfY0#25

https://lichess.org/ygcjJagh#38

A very interesting question, let me start by saying that I heard about this site by accident and didn't really expect to find anything special here. There are many many chess websites out there promising more or less what ChessMood offers, but most of them are not worth your time and I can detect very quickly the conscientious ones from the ones that are just in it for a quick buck.

My expectation was to quickly peruse the site extract anything useful from it that I could and quickly move on.  Then a curious thing happened when I examined the Caro Course: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 so far everything is typical, however I was blown away when I saw that ChessMood also covered 7...Qb6?!/!? in their course, I have been studying the exchange caro for many years and have many respected sources such as Perelshteyn, Dzindzichashvili, Nigel Davies, some Chessable.com sources and others and none of them  take the time to consider the best way to meet this move. Every successive author lazily copying from each other while offering very few new insights, you would almost think that 7...Qb6  was an outright blunder not deserving any attention, but you would be wrong as it has been played at GM level with success! I had to work out on my own the best way to meet this rare but playable line. When I reviewed the ChessMood video covering 7...Qb6 I immediately understood this site was different, and that this was a conscientious team serious about delivering topnotch instruction and knowledge to all levels of chess player without relying on transparent and widely used marketing gimmicks. 

My apologies for the brief digression above but this has been an opinion I have been meaning to articulate for some time now. To get back on track, my favorite opening so far has been how to meet the g3 Maroczy Bind as Black:  1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Bg2 0-0 8.0-0 I am primarily a King's Indian player and this position which can be reached by many move-orders is very important for my repertoire as a whole. The reason why I love this line so much is because of how practical it is, if I choose to play Benoni it works, If I choose KID it works, if White plays 1.Nf3 it works, if White plays 1.c4 it works, you see where I am going with this :-) The line is virtually move-order proof and can be employed in many situations.

Looking forward to reading the what and why of other subscribers. :D 

Postscript: I forgot about Nightmare of Rossolimo which is also an extremely impressive course, it is the most well explained and lucid coverage of this line that I have come across to date. So for the moment it's now a tie as to my favorite Opening course.

Sicilian 2.Nc3 lines...I was looking for something new against c5 and I’ve found it in ChessMood :) 

Benko Gambit is a very dynamic opening against 1. d4, which I am broadly using. Comparing to my King's Indian, although it is a good opening and I maintain it, as well as Modern Benoni, for my aggresive style, Benko Gambit is my first choice against 1. d4 fitting well to the fact that I love to attack.

Rossolimo, Maroczy and Accelerated Dragon.

- Acc. Dragon because of Re8! move

- Maroczy because of the strategic ideas

- Rossolimo is probably my favourite. You can find decent courses on Acc. Dragon and Maroczy in other sites (not nearly as good as Chessmood, but pretty decent), but Chessmood course on Rossolimo is truly unique.

Before ChessMood, I was a 1.d4 player. I preferred quiet positional struggles and slowly torturing my opponents.

Since ChessMood, I have fallen in love with the Scotch opening. It has turned this passive player into an attacking monster that will hit your king hard and fast!

for me it is the coverage of the rossolimo. 

What about you?

The following courses I like most:

A) Maroczy Bind, and Modern Maroczy Bind

Because I like to play it as White, and the best way to learn an opening is to play it with both colors.

B) Accelerated Dragon.

Because I like to play it as White with an extra tempo:

1.c4 e5 2.g3! Playing the same pawn structure with  a tempo down gives me a better understanding.

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

I have a question for you Susanna:

What is the best book on Sicilian Sveshnikov?

What about this book on Chessable.com : 

"Fight Like Magnus: The Sicilian"

I used to play the Sveshnikov Sicilian 16 years ago, and I had very good results with it.  I have stopped playing chess since 2004, and now I am working on my chess opening repertoire. I am 2130 at Chess.com now.

Thank you

Svetozar Gligoric Award

It’s chess pieces, not a man I play against! Svetozar Gligoric

Svetozar Gligoric was one of the top players in the world and one of the World’s most prominent, owing to his particularly engaging personality.

At the chessboard, Gligoric was an uncompromising fighter and at the same time a symbol of gentlemanhood and correctness. 

Last year, at the first quarter Presidential Board meeting, FIDE decided to establish a fair play award named after Svetozar Gligoric.

Read the full news here:

https://fide.com/news/205

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just watched the "exchanging bishops" video and played a few games

I just played white against the French and followed the few moves I could remember (I had prepped for the Sicilian; he wanted to try something new against much-lower-rated me).  I got to this position and wanted to trade my dsb but Stockfish hated it - https://lichess.org/5LBQQLrj/black#19  I eventually got a crushing advantage (!) but gave it back and ultimately lost.  Was my thinking correct that my dsb was bad, but my execution off?

The rematch was my horrible attempt to defend against 1.d4.  I got to this position where I thought it would be good to defend my K with my lsb and trade if he wanted to - https://lichess.org/HntdT6lm/black#18  Again, the computer evaluation was horrible in my opponent's favor, and got much worse with that move.  What was wrong with my thinking?  His thinking turned bad a bit later when he blundered the initiative and I found the win. :-)

I understand that the two-bishop advantage exists.  Should I not have been thinking of exchanges in these games?

Replies

Can anyone answer my questions?  I'm U1600 Lichess classical so the answer doesn't have to be very deep!

The biggest problem with the DSB trade in the first game is you demolished your own pawn structure with the trade. It created 4 very weak pawns in your structure.

In the second game, the biggest issue game the move before with the b6 move. This severly weakens the light squares on the queen side. Then the next move you trade off your LSB (The defender of the light squares) which made your weaknesses more pronounced.

This is the basics to why these 2 exchanges were bad, and others may want to add more.

I hope it helps at least a little and I wish you all the best as you continue to grow! #COGRO

Jay