Chess forum by Grandmasters

how to avoid painful blunders?

how to avoid painful blunders?

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There is an entire ChessMood course on this topic!  It's an excellent course that I highly recommend so I suggest you start there: https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof

If you're having trouble with consistent blunders, consider trying longer games as well as looking at what squares your opponent controls.

How do I deal with my emotions?

Sometimes I don't realize that I'm on tilt. How do know that I am on tilt? 😡

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These 3 articles might help (I found them all useful hehe):

5 Crucial Steps to Stop Bad Results in Chess - ChessMood

How to Multiply Good Results in Chess (chessmood.com)

The Surrender Experiment: How I Raised 100 Points in Three Months (chessmood.com)

Recognizing that you're on tilt can be crucial for improving your chess performance and overall enjoyment of the game. Tilt, a term borrowed from poker, refers to a state of emotional frustration or agitation that negatively impacts your play. By recognizing signs and taking proactive steps, you can manage tilt effectively and maintain a more positive and focused approach to your chess games.

How to Manage and Prevent Tilt

Recognize the Signs Early

Take Breaks

Practice Mindfulness

Set Realistic Goals

Review and Learn

If you're not able to take a short break between games then there's a good chance you're on tilt.

Sparring partner

Hello, my name is Pierre, I'm from the USA (east coast). I am in the 55+ age group, my rating is around 1500. Looking for a sparring partner in a similiar age group and rating. Thanks.

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Hi Pierre,

You'll have better success if you make your post in the dedicated thread for Sparring Partners:

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

Good luck!

1. e3 - Van 't Kruijs Opening

Hi all,

Until around a week ago I'm pretty sure that I'd never faced this opening move from white … and now I seem to see it quite frequently!

I don't recall seeing this in BlackMood Openings (but I May be wrong!) so I'm guessing that it is played fairly infrequently and isn't considered to be very good.  Do we just respond using general opening principles or is there a recommended line?

Thanks.

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Playing against 1. e3 can be an interesting challenge because it's a more unorthodox opening move. You can play e5 but the opponent can play e4 and it looks like you are playing as white which is good if you are comfortable with it. Stockfish plays a flexible Nf6. But the easiest way is just to play principled occupying centeral space with your pawns!!

I have tried to play 1.e4 before and on accident played 1.e3 That is most likely what happened in your games. Just look at the lichess or chess com database for best win rate moves.

In my experience, 1.e3 is usually a blatant wasted tempo or introduction to the Hippo. The Hippo setup is e3,d3,g3,b3,Bg2,Bb2,Ne2,Nd2 and should be met by taking the center as normal. 

As mlg pointed out, you should be careful with what your first move as Black is. If White meets 1…e5 or 1…c5 with 2.e4, then you will be forced to play a reversed King Pawn or English. I'd play 1…e5, but only because I play 1.e4 as White, if that makes any sense. 

Overall 1.e3 is extremely passive and unimpressive, but there is no way to punish it besides normal development.

Edit: I should also add that as Black I frequently see:
1. e3 e5
2. d4 exd4
3. dxe4 d4
which is a direct transposition into the Exchange French

ChessMood videos on multiple computers in house?

I just re-joined ChessMood. 

Will the ChessMood website allow me to also get the training videos, etc on my ThinkPad laptop as well as my PC?

Thanks.

Brian 

“It is easier to fool the people than to convince the people they have been fooled.”  -M Twain

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Yes, most chess training websites, including ChessMood, offer their content in a way that's accessible across multiple devices. You should be able to access the training videos and other resources on both your ThinkPad laptop and your PC, as long as you can log in with your account credentials on each device.

the 'annihilative pin': is there a correct word for this?

Is there a word for when you use a pin like an annihilation? Basically if you can't remove a defender then immobilize the defender? Just curious if a term existed.

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"Annihilative pin" captures the idea of a pin with a profound impact, using terms like "decisive pin" or "strong pin" might be clearer and more recognizable within the chess community.

Sicillian accelerated Dragon, Advance with f3

Dear Avo sir,

In sicillian Accelerated Dragon under Advance section with f3, is there any similarity with Caro Kann fantasy variation? or do we need to see those lines in the caro?

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In the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon and the Caro-Kann Fantasy Variation, there are indeed some similarities in structure and ideas, though they arise from different openings and serve different strategic purposes.

Understanding the specific plans and strategies in each opening will give you a better grasp of the nuances and help you play each position more effectively.

SLP course

why we can't buy some course with moodcoins like SLP course

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You need pro in order to access those courses.

Mood coins

How much chess moodcoins do you need to buy The Rise of the Champions ???

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I think you have to access all courses for Rise of Champions

You have to be a pro member in order to access that course

Doubt in Jobava London

In Jobava London, :  The course recommends - 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.h4 ,h5! 6.Nf3, Bg4 (where black keeps his K in the center). and against 5. Nf3 0-0. It only mentions 6.Be2 and 6.Nb5 in that variation. But, how to deal with this move order : 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.h4 (intending h5 Kside attack, since white has tried black into castling)

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Success Story: How I Gained Almost 300 Rating Points in Just One Month with Chessmood

Hello everyone,

I joined Chessmood on 6-1-2024 thanks to a referal from IMrosen's twitch stream, so shout out to him! 

Since then, I have increased my rating by almost 300 points in just over 1 month, increasing from 838 to 1105!

I started playing chess almost 12 weeks ago back in the beginning of April, so I'm super pumped I was able to reach 1105 in just over 3 months from being literally a complete beginner. 

I want to give a big thanks to the Chessmood team for their amazing courses and live streams. I never would have believed that I could improve my chess skills this quickly, but thanks to Chessmood, I did it!

I attribute these gains especially to the Tactical Ninja course and the opening courses. In fact, ever since I started using the Chessmood openings, my results have skyrocketed.

Before joining, I was using the Pirc/KID and the Stonewall Attack. Once I saw the recommended openings—1. e4, the French Defense, and the Dutch—I immediately switched. I struggled at first, but after about two weeks, I started to get the hang of the new openings.

I really believe Chessmood offers the best training available, from beginner to grandmaster. The program's value is unbelievable, with access to all the courses and especially the live streams. Watching the live streams has greatly improved my play, particularly seeing the CM openings in action.

Furthermore, I carefully studied the CM videos to learn how to punish my opponents' opening mistakes. Also, the opening principles courses was incredibly helpful in understanding the purpose of the openings and how to capitalize on opponent's errors.

In addition, what also contributed to making incredibly fast progress was the consistency in my training, attending the live streams, following the study plans closely based on my rating, and playing lots of games. After I played my games, I carefully reviewed them using the chess engine, learning from my mistakes, and applying those lessons in my next games.

My next goal is to hit 1500 rapid elo, so I will keep everyone updated on how I am doing and I hope to hit this goal in 1-2 months!

If any of you would like to play some games and network with each other, feel free to add me on chess.com @TylerFerland and Discord @tylerferland.

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Hi Tyler!

Thank you very much for your kind words!

That's very nice and encouraging to read! Keep it up and may the Chessmood force be with you!

😄

update 

Training/Sparring Partner

Hi all,

I am new to the ChessMood family(adult improver) and looking for an on- line training partner for rapid games(minimum 15 + small increment) . I have a Fide ELO of around 1930 and like to take this opportunity to train for OTB tournaments to come. 

Openings can be the ChessMood recommended one's but would like to play also others.

You find me on Lichess or on Chess.com with username Cornoledo. 

Looking forward meeting you.

Cheers, Edger

Replies

Dear Edger,

Thanks for the post.

Here is ta thread on the forum, where people find sparring partners.
You can share your post there as well, here is the link https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

Good luck!

Courses need notes and or bookmarks!

😍

It would be great if the courses included a feature for writing private notes. Sometimes, it’s helpful to jot down thoughts or highlight specific parts of a video for future reference. While you can take notes outside the course, it’s not as convenient. It would be really beneficial to have the ability to create bookmarks in the video and add notes. Does anyone else agree?

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Hey Steven,

Thanks for an idea - we do get lot's of suggestions, and if some of them are being offered by many different players we may consider doing that!

I hope you are having a good time on the website, Good luck :-)

New move?

In accelerator dragon main line, after 8.Bb3 Re8 if white go 9. 0-0 then what to do?

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Here it is:

https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-accelerated-dragon/episode/306

Hey Guys,

I saw Thomas provided the right link - thank you!

Learning from pgn games

I have been reading on ChessMood that learning from pgn games is very beneficial.  But I can't find an article that states how to use this technology.  Is there information on how to learn and use this technology?

Thank you

Allen

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Dear Allen,

Pgns are written moves of variations that you are playing.

You learn opening by watching the videos on creating your PGNs.

Afterward, the goal is to master your learned openings - a great system is to learn the moves, play practical games, and then check your mistakes by comparing played games to PGN files.

By doing this repeatedly in period of time you will understand the openings and remember your variations better.

Good luck!

Question about the learning order in the Rating Booster section

I have a question, do we need to complete the courses in the Rating Booster section in order? For example, do we had to learn the Tactic Ninja course first, and then go to the Mating Matador and Blunderproof, or we could mix the order and learn courses we want first?
Currently now, I have finished the courses Tactic Ninja, Mating Matador and BlunderProof, and I'm currently in the Endgame Roadmap course. I'm also learn 1 section per day in the courses “Daily lessons with a GM” and “100 Strategic Masterpieces”
I'm happy to have advices from y'all!

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Depending on your need, it makes sense to do different courses in different orders. Let's say you're very strong at tactics, but not so good at saving lost positions. It's more logical to do SLP before Tactic Ninja then (or, at least prioritise completing SLP).

Different players have different strengths and weaknesses, so the course order doesn't necessarily matter in that case, as long as you're doing what's helpful.

Of course, I may be wrong, but this is just my opinion :))

Roo

I is not necessary that you have to through the courses in order. The courses are based on your ratings and which concept you have to improve on.. 

I hope that masters from the ChessMood family can answer my question.

Hi,

here you can see a very detailed training plan. Just choose your level and follow the steps / the order recommended.

Of course the answers already given are very good :-)

https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans?scrollTo=#section-choose-your-level

Opening preparation

Hello!!

Just a question I wanted to ask everyone here, but how do you all prepare for your openings? Do you have any tips?

(mainly because, compared to the other phases, my openings aren't as good…)

Thanks!!!

-Roo

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Hey Ruqayyah,

I’ve found a few strategies that have really helped me with learning chess openings. First, watching the ChessMood opening videos gave me a solid understanding of different openings. Here’s how I put that knowledge into practice:

Blitz Games: Play a lot of blitz games focusing solely on practicing your openings without worrying about the outcome. This way, you get a lot of quick repetitions.

Chess.com Bots: Play games against the bots on Chess.com. I set up positions from the openings I’m practicing (like the Caro-Kann, Scandinavian, Scotch Game, etc.) and then play from there repeatedly. This helps me get a feel for those specific positions. Pick an elo that is a little bit about your chess.com rating so the bot makes you feel challenges. 

After my games when I struggle with certain openings or specific lines, I go back and rewatch the ChessMood videos, including the model games and “Racing to …” streams. These videos show how openings are played against different Elo levels and help me understand the typical middlegame plans.

Furthermore, making mistakes and failing a lot is also crucial. The more mistakes you make, especially where felt stuck, the better you’ll understand the opening lines. Second, it's important to not just know the moves but also understand why you’re making them, based on opening principles like controlling the center, developing pieces, and ensuring king safety.

Third, as you play, update your PGN files with your own variations. After each game, review the PGN and PDF files to see how you should have played the opening and understand why your moves didn’t work. Over time, with repetition and reflection, your understanding will deepen, and you’ll start playing the openings correctly automatically.

Hope this helps!

Mistake in BlunderProof??

Hai!

In section 6 of BlunderProof (5. Resigning in a fine position?!), in the first position Avetik shows, he says after 1…Bc3 2. Rc2 Rxb2, after 3. Rxb2 you can get an equal ending. But, instead of that, can't you just play 3. Bd4+? After 3…Bxd4 you can take the rook on c8, and if they move the king, you take on b2, and after Bxb2 then Bxb2 wins a piece (because the b2 bishop prevents checkmate on c1).

Of course, I'm probably wrong, but I just thought I'd ask :))

Thanks!!

Roo

Replies

Exchanging queens

Hi all,

This game is littered with mistakes on my part (I shouldn't really have been playing …) but I'm particularly interested in this one as I don't understand the rationale.

I had just put the opponent in check with my queen and the opponent had defended by placing his queen between his king and my queen: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/116685611395?tab=analysis&move=70

I declined the exchange because:

• * I was behind in material (albeit only -2)
• * My opponent's pawns were more advanced than mine with a good chance that I would have to use my remaining piece (a bishop) to guard against the most advanced one promoting.

However, Stockfish thinks that an exchange is the best move. ???

If you were to find yourself in this position how would you proceed?

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I think because you can win back the two pawns and draw with Qxg2+ Kxg2 Kxe5. But it is a win for white if the queens stay on the board.

The queen trade is best, because like Dane said, you just win back both the E5 and c6 pawns. Then it is equal. Keeping the Queens on endangers your king and keeps you a pawn down.

Thank you both.

I was worried that white's knight would be a danger and take my bishop while it sat guarding the c8 square.  However, it isn't the only attacking piece is it?  I need to be utilising my king too - in combination with the bishop the 2 pawn deficit is, as you both rightly point out, quickly overcome.

About Dutch Attack....

Dears coaches,

The last book released by NIC is written by K. Georgiev and entitled “London System against Dutch”. I don't know the full content of the book but the sample pages show that it fits in exactly with the ChessMood under 2000 repertoire.

Will it submit some changes in the future ?

Thanks

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Dear Jean-Marie,

That kind of Book can be interesting for the advanced 2000+ levels, which will not affect our U2000 repertoire.

We are thinking about advanced Dutch and French courses for the 2000+ level, and if we record that. Of course, we will consider different resources, including the book you mentioned.

Thank you very much for the information, good luck :-)