Chess forum by Grandmasters

Repertoire

Hello,

It would be great to have a repertoire against Colle Zuckertort, Londoner, Kingsindian Attack, Bird etc. etc.

Greetings

Christoph

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Any relation to IM Christoph Scheerer of infamous Blackmar Diemer Gambit fame and other Wacky Openings :D

The London System was already covered, I guess the KIA and Colle Zuke will eventually follow but these are all pretty lame systems vs King's Indian or Benoni setups, with many ways to equality or better. 

Webinar - Typical Mistakes with ChessMood Openings 12 May 2020

Just saw the Replay of the TMWCO Webinar quite interesting, but just wanted to clarify for Avetik that the Kevin in the chat was not me, probably it was Kevin Hall (Kevin H in the forum) or some other Kevin. :)

Warm Regards,
Kevin D

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Hehe :) I know :) 
It was Grandmaster Kevin Goh Wei Ming :) 

Individual Coaching

Hello dear PRO Members! 
I have cool news for you. 

We noticed that many of you have issues with analyzing your games yourself and finding the mistakes.
And many of you were asking about individual training.  

Here we go...! 
We decided to offer private lessons as well ???? 
Mostly we'll check your games, find mistakes, and fix them to speed up your growth. 

I am sure you understand, that there will be a limited amount of seats and we'll accept students on a "First-come, First-take" basis.

+ we'll offer you a "PRO Members Only" discount price!

I'll ask you to fill this short form to apply for individual lessons. 
https://forms.gle/edqFFCRQKa38URZq5


With best wishes,
GM Avetik 

P.S COFAGRO(Constant and Fast Growth)

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French Defense

How can I play after 1.e4 e6   

                                          2.d4 d5

                                         3.Bd3 Nc6

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Hi Nguyen Doan Giang

After 3..Nc6 Black can no longer play for the pawn break c7-c5, but Nlack can play e6-e5. Here are some lines.

/Kim Skaanning

I have another line here in my notes, I do not know which is better, maybe someone who knows more will tell us what is better:

3..Nc6, 4.Nf3 dxe4, 5.Bxe4, Nf6, 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.c3 e5 9.d5

Coach played against this line in Saint Louis this summer.  He mentions in his analysis he has 4. c3 but decided to play 4.Nf3 in that game due to the opponent/tournament situation.

https://youtu.be/sfCQUpgd248

Both c3, and what I played in Saint Louis are interesting.
Will add it in the adv. section

Analytical Skills

How to work on analytical skills? 

I am  a beginner and doing a bit ok in tactics

I do not know but I failed to find simple plan of f6 here 

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Define simple :P

Chess works in pattern recognition. If you have never seen this plan before you can look at the diagram for an hour and still not find it. For instance, if you haven't seen smothered mate before, even if you are a genius, there is no way you can find the solution.

So how to improve? My way is by reading books, watching videos and games. When working on a specific opening, I go through a collection of games. There are many on the internet. It helps me when I analyse games of good players based on my repertoire. There are typical moves in each opening, typical sacrifices, typical motifs. This helps in pattern recognition.

P.S. don't be hard on yourself

Torre Attack

Hello ChessMood Family! 
Some of you are super good in theory. 
Was wondering what do you play against Torre Attack? 
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 

Kevin D, waiting a long reply from you :) 
You are an expert in all openings. 

Thanks in advance! 

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The last time I answered such a question, mine was the only suggestion. This time I'll wait for someone else to start the ball rolling. :D  

Hi

I can start the Torre Attack suggestion.
In many of the lines against the Torre Attack I have seen, black has to be carefull not to drift into a undynamic position.
I like the suggestion from GM Robin Van Kampen in his KID video series Cutting Edge KID (King's Indian Defence) at chess24

Here are the lines in a PGN.

/Kim Skaanning

Coach, you saw my one game I played against this and I basically failed miserably.  

With that being said, since then when I face it online I do follow the d5/c5/Nc6/Qb6 set up if I can, since that is what FM Kamil Plichta recommends in his book "Too Hot To Handle: The King's Indian Defense" but honestly I haven't faced the Torre very often. 

Thanks to Kevin and Kim for their ideas! 

Magnus Carlsen Plays the Chessmood Grandprix (Bc4)

Dear chess friends,

During one of his blitz sessions no other than World champion Carlsen played the grandprix following the chessmood lines. Is carlsen secretly a member :o?

https://youtu.be/crL8VU_431U?t=3251

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MC is world champ so he knows most of the novelties. Also I am sure his team follow chessmood maybe chessmood GM's games. But yeah may be one of his team member is chessmood pro. Rest Avetik sir will explain for us hehehehe.

Thanks Kayode for posting that Video link, very inspirational to hear Magnus' commentary and thoughts on our Grand Prix Line. I would encourage anyone who finds similarly instructive material to post the links.

Take care.   

Haha :)))) 
I can't reveal people's names, who learn in ChessMood but want to keep it secret. 
What I can say, is that we have many Grandmasters :) 

Caro Kan Exchange variation

 Caro Kan Exchange 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e:d c:d 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 e5 6.d:e N:e5 7.Qe2 Qe7 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.B:d7 GM Avetik recommendation in video is after 9...N:d7 10.Q:e7 white has same advantage true. But black has better move after 9...k:d7! and after that black atleast has better devlopment Pieces, white lasted 3 tempo with Bishop to exchange in d7 whitch is anti opening moves and black Knight in e5 and Queen e7 has same presher in E file for white isnot easy to Castle, personly i like black position very easy game and atleast equal, now the qustion?  5...e5 is it realy bad move? Do you have better variation? sorry for my english i tipe not good i now.

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Hey Saro! 
Yeah, Kd7 is a good move for Black. You can go 9.Bf4 very strong move. Black has problems. 

9..Bb4 against Scotch 8...Qe6 9.Nd2

Today I played against an FM (blitz 2406) and he played 9...Bb4 here:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.h4 Qe6 9.Nd2 Bb4

I not sure whether we covered this line.  My reaction in the game was 10.c3 Ba5 11.g3 0-0 12.Bh3 Qe7 13.0-0 d6  Here I blundered  missing the discovered attack on my B on h3.

Was 10. c3 good or was a3 better?

thanks,

Duncan

N.B. This is my first post on the forum. There is always a first time!!

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Hey Duncan! 
No, we didn't cover Bb4 move. It's a novelty and it seems to a very bad one :) 
What's the idea of it?? What if we play a3? 
If he takes on d2, why he gave us 2 bishop advantage? 
If go goes to a5, what is he doing on a5? 
We can go c4 and he can't go even Nb6, because of b4, his bishop will be trapped. 
If after a3 he goes back, a3 was a very useful move, we defended b4 square from any Nb4 moves in future. 

What you played, Duncan, c3, it's also good. 
But a3 I think gives opponent questions, that he can't answer :) 

French against NM

Easy win against an NM in online play (5+8). Out of book after 10.Qxf3, I found 11.0-0-0 and 12.Nc6, which was all it took. My opponent was clearly struggling, spending much time from move 3.

I'm worried that our French repertoire won't hold up against prepared players in OTB games, but it's definitely a good surprise weapon.

PS: One game earlier, I killed the same opponent in the Sicilian Grand Prix attack. :-)

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Hey Peter! 
Good to hear that you start to play e4! :) 
Especially crush like this. 
Against french definitely the best move 3.Nc3, but then as I mentioned before, you'll need to remember super amount of material. The course probably will be more than 8 hours!! 
Bd3 is a super practical. 
The best is probably early Be7 as was mentioned in another topic about Bd3, but than maximum Black will equalize and the fight will continue. 

Against Scandinavian 2. ... c6

After 1.  e4  d5   2. exd5  my opponent plays  2.  ....    c6.  How  should I approach?  What is black's plan and white counter plan in this position ? 

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@Tanmoy

You have taken me back to childhood with that dodgy Coffee House line :). I could give you a long analysis showing why Black has insufficient compensation after: 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 c6 3.dxc6!

However a more practical solution is just to transpose to our line against Scandi or Caro depending on what Black does: 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 c6 3.d4! [Exclam for simplicity] now 4...cxd5 5.Bd3 is our line vs Caro or 4...Qxd5 5.Nf3 is our line vs Scandi. Nice huh, there are plenty such move-order tricks in Chess Openings, you just need to be alert and think outside the box.

Facing rare gambits can be tricky and intimidating when you meet them first time over the board or online, but the key is not to panic and if you see no clear refutation just play sensible moves that aid the development of your pieces. When the contest is over you can search for a refutation in the post game analysis.

That's it, I'm working on keeping my answers as concise as possible to keep Coach Avetik happy :-) and I hope you found the suggestions useful. 

Cheating in ChessMood

Dear friends, dear ChessMood Family! 
Unfortunately, many people are cheating in ChessMood, for generating MoodCoins. 
This is just a kind reminder, that in our policies is clearly written, that such accounts will be blocked and may lose access to ChessMood material forever. 

If it happens again, we'll start to ban people. 
This is not a ChessMood community. This is ChessMood Family. 
Please be respectful to everyone. 

With best wishes,
ChessMood Team 

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Hmm....the problems all have had one specific theme for the last many days.  It could be they are not hard.  You can find all the blind alleys, and what is left works!

That being said, the problem today, where white is trying to queen the b-pawn and black needs to ride his knight hard, is just diabolical.  I think today, for maybe the first time, I now see why instructors say to work on chess studies.  There is just so much in these things, and every piece on the board has a function.  

Yes, cheaters should be banned.

Abhi, I can imagine that players are cheating in daily puzzle section.

This is disheartening and sickening! Here is someone who is putting out immense effort on this website to help players, even nonpaying ones! Lots and lots of free material They don't have to create any awards, purely from the goodness of their heart!

As a result, instead of being grateful,  there are those who want to rob Avetik and team by cheating, then congratulating themselves that they are so intelligent....

I hope the rules will be strictly enforced ASAP by immediately banning and reporting those should be everybody's duty...will be mine at least!

Bravo Arnav!!

Correspondence Games

Hi all, in regards to playing correspondence games online, what are some of the precautions one would take against those who cheat? I know its impossible to always know, maybe only after the game ends and running an engine check.....

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I would try to help you, brother. But didn't understand the question. 
Can you clarify it please? 

If you are going to play correspondence, there are some clubs left that forbid computers, but god knows how they enforce that.  Meaningful correspondence chess is ALL computers, and expensive ones at that.  By that I mean 16 core minimum (used to be 12 core) and plenty of RAM (32 gigs).  Please note that means 16 CORES, not 8 cores = 16 THREADS.

What it really has come down to after around 2005, when computers started getting really good, is that it is now who can afford the BEST computers.  Note also I said computer (S) meaning one will not be enough.  So really, it is a who has the most money today.

If you would like another reason to redirect your efforts, look at the last 3-4 ICCF World Championship Finals crosstables.  Now count the draws ... oops, better to count the wins :)  I think you will see my point.

The only way to get a 'fair game' is to play your uncle!

Pirc Declaration of War - analysis error

Thought I'd mention that in the below position, 18.Nxh7 (as recommended in the course) is roughly equal, but 18. Bd3 wins. Alas, the resulting positions are too complex for humans to understand. :-)

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Peter, the idea of these videos was to show you the ideas of the position, not go to full deep analyzes. 
In many variations in our analyzes, I am showing you the 2nd line, which gives a clear advantage, rather than one that gives +2, but you'll need to remember 30 minutes material.  
Anyone can sit with an engine or cloud engine and find mistakes even in Carlsen's analyzes.  
Once again. The courses are not for 2800+ level. 

Anti-Sicilian NC3

Good Day GM Avetik, can we have a pictures/pattern recognition on when to push the f4 pawn to f5 especially during middlegame? Many thanks

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Hey Rod! 
Soon, I am going to launch new sections in each course, where it will be section "Common Mistakes of our PRO Members", where one more time I'll explain the positions. 
But for now, if you watch the streams, you should have already a very good understanding, when f5 and when e5. 

Scotch question about the craziest variation

8 h4-f6 9 c4-Ba6 10 Rh3-fxe5 11 Bg5-Nf6! 12 Re3-0-0-0 13 Ra3 what about 13...-Bb7

14 Rxa7 and now Qb4 (Qe6 is unclear if black improves on a game of Cheparinov)

15 Nc3-Qb6 (maybe d5TN is even beter) and black is fine in Darini-Sibashvili 2018

how can white improve (maybe 13 Nd2

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Running the rook around to a7 just for a pawn, while our king sits in the middle, looks wrong.  13.Nd2 looks much better.  If black makes the natural d6, now we can go chase the a-pawn, Re8 seems to misplace the R, and other moves we just get the pawn back.  Quite a tough position for black to play

Franck, the position of Black is very dangerous. 
1. After 0-0-0 13.Rb3!? is very interesting with idea Qd2, Qa5, even if Black goes h6 attacking our bishop. 

2. After 0-0-0 13. Nd2 is interesting. 

3. The most dangerous one is 13.Ra3 Bb8 14.Nc3! with idea 14...d5 15. cd5 cd5 16. Rb3! Rd6 17.Rc1! with strong initiative. 

Modern Philidor Course - 4.Nge2 Line

Thanks Avetik for another interesting installment in combating the Philidor Defence. I myself used to be very attracted to this 4.Nge2 line, but switched back to the more popular 4.Nf3 after finding it difficult to get an edge after [1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nge2 Nbd7 5.g3 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.a4 b6 8.0-0 a6 9.h3 h5! A typical idea often seen in many lines of the Najdorf], I don't remember seeing this h5 idea being covered in the videos but I could be wrong. Also after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nge2 Nbd7 5.g3 Black can now switch plans with 5...g6 and we have been tricked into a decent line of the Pirc outside our Repertoire. Perhaps an update or two would be in order showing how best to counter both the h5 ideas and a possible transposition into a Pirc. Below is an annotated game by GM Gawain Jones, with a few notes thrown in by me, that further illustrate the h5 idea in more detail:

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Hey Kevin! 
Thanks for the great feedback as always. 
Yeah, h5 is an interesting option for Black. I will cover it in the advanced section. 
Also will take a look to g6,Bg7. In a few words, it will be a very similar plan. As in Karpov's famous game. 
Against pirc g3's only problem is when black goes c5 with Knight on b8 and without e5. 
In this case, it will be a very easy game for white. 
Anyway, I'll add that to the advanced section.  

Is Maybe the variation with 5 g4 not very dangerous for black

Kevin, you should love this! :) 
https://chessmood.com/course/philidor-defense/episode/1371 

Scotch

How to punish this line?

e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 d5??

I know black violated opening basics so I need help.

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I am thinking Bb5 is good here and bothers black's center

Looks pretty awful for black - I would go 4.Nxe5 after Nxe5 5.dxe that pawn on e5 is a nightmare for black and if he goes 4...dxe 5Bb5 looks very awkward for him

French with Bd3! Can you solve these puzzles?

ChessMood Family! 
Just recorded one more section in the French Defense course, in the evening we'll add it. 
But before that, I offer you to find answers in these 2 positions. 


Position 1. With the last move, Black played a5, with idea Ra6. How to finish the attack? 
Position 2. White to move. How to finish the game faster and in cool way? 

 

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1... not sure ...

2. Qf6 

Got them coach!  Want us to post answers here?

1.Ne6

2.Qf6

The 4th section in French is uploaded. So you'll find the answers there with many interesting ideas and improvements in the theory.

https://chessmood.com/course/french-defence/episode/1360 

It's around 30 minutes.​
​Enjoy and keep the COGRO! (Constant Growth)

Puzzle 1: 1) Nxe6 Qf8 2) Nxc7 Qe8 3) Nxa8 or 1) Nxe6 fxe6 2) Qg4+ Ng6 Qxe6#

Puzzle 2: 1) Qf6 Nxf6 2) Nxf6#

4 minutes for both

Robatsch (modern) defence

Team,

I'm coming across this opening quiet often and having a lot of trouble with it. How do you like to approach this opening? Any suggestions would be great.

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The Modern is like the Pirc. In one of the streams I think Avetik recommend 1.e4 2.d4 Nc3 3.f3 followed by Be3-Qd2 with h4-h5 ideas and attacking on the kingside. 

Another system that I personally like is the Austrian Attack with 1.e4 2.Nc3 3.f4 4.Nf3 but this variation has a lot of theory and leads to very complex positions. 

Hi Kevin.  Try 4 BG5!!!  1.e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 nc3 g6 4 bg5!  Why?  Strong move BG5!  Austtians lots of theory.  F3 ECT  black I think can go into Kings Indian.  And c5 Gambit by black is why samiech no longer played.  Read up on Bg5.  Called Byrne line.  Shirov as white played it in 1992 with an awesome game!  Marc

Hey Kevin1 The Material is ready already, will record it soon, when I am back from the USA.