What to do about the Bird's Opening f4 ?

Have seen this twice recently, first I tried to remember the From Gambit and swindled a win. Second I played d5 and it got stodgy !  What does the Chess Mood family recommend ? 

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You might consider 1.f4 c5!? intending to follow up with ...g6 and no matter what setup White chooses we will get positions quite familiar to us from our ChessMood Courses. I would caution against the From's Gambit though 1.f4 e5!? unless you are  ready to meet 2.e4 transposing to the King's Gambit, somehow many players are caught out or forget about this possibility, plus it falls outside our current ChessMood Repertoire so you would be on your own.

I like to play 1...g6 because if white plays 2.e4, then we play 1...c5 and we transpose to Grand Prix Attack. And if he plays Cf3 and g3,  Black equalizes easily. For example: 1.f4 g6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.0-0 0-0 =

If I know my opponent usually plays Stonewall attack, I like to break his structure with c5 and e5! For example: 1.f4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.e3 Nf6 4.d4 0-0 5.Bd3 d6 6.0-0 c5 7.c3 Nc6 8.Nbd2 e5! and Black is slightly better

I have usually played with 1...d5 Follow up with Bf5 or Bg4 Nc6,Qd7,0-0-0 and with attack

Or you can try Kid setup as it undermines the f4 with e5 and could be pleasant for Black. Players with 1.f4 have chances to play Stonewall setup then this would be more effective for black to play d6-e5 as Once Coach said in the forum.

2. a3 line in sicillian

today in an online game I was faced with e4 c5 and 2. a3 move by white and I ended up losing very badly where white played some kind of wing gambit but with a3, after analyzing this game, to my utter surprise it seems many Gm games have been played in top level and even  Carlsen and Caruana have played this, what is the plan for black here coach?

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Of course you played 2...g6 right, what else would a ChessMood devotee do. :-)

I play this quite lot in 5min games and am something like 8--1 in front!  There is a good book I own 'Challenging the Sicilian with 2;a3 !? by Alexi Bezgodov and for a quick refresher Simon Williams opts for it in his Spicey Gambits videos. Yes ...g6 spoils the fun !!

Blitz chess training

One's ability at blitz, particularly faster time controls often seems to be correlated to strength. Perhaps it's because one's intuition and ability to see what's important or stay focused under pressure that counts for much.

So I decided given that my fast chess is bad, that I'd sacrifice my chess.com blitz rating which I struggle to keep above 1700 anyway and play 3 0 which is outside my comfort zone. The aim is to play whatever comes naturally on my move after just checking what the opponent did, but on the opponent's move to spend my time on the what ifs and planning for as long as they give me.

The first few (for a long while) I was playing some really terrible chess like a novice. But what is interesting is that I'm still playing plenty of dreadful moves, but after a drop to mid 1600s, I've now pulled the rating up to 1750 more than I could do at 5 3. It seems that while my chess at that speed is still dreadful, my opponents play is even worse, particularly as I'm strong in the endgame and can play reasonably on auto-pilot there.

I'm going to keep this up for a bit and see if I can play better 3 0  (a start would be not making an obvious blunder) for a little while longer. I'm hoping by improving my focus under pressure that when I come back to slower blitz where I have time, but not enough of it, I will evaluate the important things better quickly and subconsciously so I can spend more of my conscious time on other things. Thus perhaps also in longer play putting haphazard approaches to my move to more of an order and I'll end up playing better chess overall.

Comments or insights welcome.

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Hello,

I should try this too. So far, the only blitz I play is 5+3 and I'm absolutely terrified of any time control lower than that. I usually play 10+0 rapid but I could try this to improve my intuition. Nice idea!

Some Book Recommendations for a 1300+ level player

I am Sidharth Sreekumar. My strength is above 1300+. I need some book recommendations for attack. My style is attack. Is looking at Tal's games good? 

Replies

I would suggest Kasparov's best games by Igor Stohl

I too am an attacking player

Silman's Endgame Course I heartily recommend. It is grouped by rating, which means even a total beginner who just learned the rules of chess can learn something from this book. 

Good way to study the basics, and fun too.

If you want 'attacking stuff', Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson also seems great! 

Hi, you should definitely consider purchasing 100 Endgames You Must Know by Jesus De La Villa if you haven't got it already!

Studying well annotated [in Words as well as variations] game collections of famous GM's like Alekhine, Kasparov , Tal, Spassky, Nunn etc. will help build your attacking vocabulary and instincts. Learn to recognise all the well known mating patterns in their simplest form and then work on detecting them in more complicated settings, after that you need to understand the thought process behind what makes a seemingly obvious tactical combination succeed or fail and it usually boils down to two things, pattern recognition and calculation of the details.

Aspiring players usually have little difficulty with the pattern recognition part, but for some reason they assume this is the end of the story  and once a pattern is spotted everything else will just magically fall into place like in the puzzle books. However pattern recognition and calculation go hand in hand, it is not enough to guess at the moves of a combination because a pattern looks familiar, the combination must be validated by accurate analysis. That's why solving puzzles while useful training can also be quite artificial, if only for the reason that we know a solution exists, in a real chess game however with have no such assurance to compel or thinking. 

Have a look at the following diagram taken from an actual game and please do not use an engine, you will only be cheating yourself out of a valuable exercise. What would you play as White and why, share your thought process:  

The Scotch Game - The Beginners Mind - Part 05 [Final]

Hi guys and Gals welcome to the long overdue final installment of our Mini-Series on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7. If you have reviewed the previous installments you would by now realise not only that White's most effective plan here is to arrange Castles Queenside but also the reasoning behind why that is the case.

A typical continuation following 5...Ne7 above might be 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Qe3 Bb4 8.Bd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d6 10.Qg3 Be6 11.f4 f5 This kind of position should look very familiar if you have been studying the Scotch Courses carefully [For Example: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Qe2 Nge7 8.Be3 0-0 9.0-0-0 f5 10.f4 Negi vs Maiorov - 2012 1-0 (42)]. Our attack on the Kingside is much farther along than Black's on the Queenside, in fact Black's counterplay has not yet begun and he is doomed to passive defence from here on out. One of the most important elements in opposite side Castling is 'Time' and we need to use that time to get our attack going as soon as possible. [See Complete Games at the End of this Article]

Returning to the position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Qe3 Black can deploy his dark squared bishop more actively with 7...g6 and this was a favorite of Ex World Champion Boris Spassky and so should be taken very seriously. Our plan remains more or less the same, that is, Castles Queenside and launch an attack on the opponent's King pronto, the danger now being that Black has potentially more active counterplay than in the lines following 7...Bb4, nevertheless White's attack comes first and he should retain the better chances. [See Complete Games at the End of this Article]

Some of you maybe wondering what if Black annoys us with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Qe3 Nb4!? no worries, this is a temporary inconvenience, we stick to the game plan 8.Qe2! Nc6 9.a3 Bc5 10.Be3 d6 11.0-0-0 with an easy game and pleasant initiative to pursue. [See Complete Games at the End of this Article]

Well folks that's it we have come to the end of our journey, you should now be well equipped with the relevant ideas as well as concrete moves and plans to meet an early 4...Nxd4 followed by Ne7 or Qf6 with confidence. 

Good luck in all your Scotch adventures and don't forget to study the below illustrative games carefully.

Previous installments:

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-scotch-game-the-beginners-mind-part-01

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-scotch-game-the-beginners-mind-part-02

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-scotch-game-the-beginners-mind-part-03

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-scotch-game-the-beginners-mind-part-04

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Thank you, Kevin. Very instructive mini-serie on this line

What do you think of 6.Bc4 as in scotch course, video 7?

This was a fantastic series that you shared with all of us. Thanks for your time, insights and for being such a good person! It is always nice to read your posts very well expressed and very instructive! Thanks!!!!

Another Cheating Scandal

Cheating scandal hits FIDE World Online University Championships.

 https://chess24.com/en/read/news/cheating-scandal-hits-fide-world-online-university-championships

Hi guys, does anyone have any idea what really happened here.

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I'm sure 90-99% of people, who don't confess, were really cheaters. 
I know real cases. 
But still, I believe algorithms don't work perfectly... 

Hopefully this pandemic will be finished soon, and we move to real chess :) 

Modern Pirc with c6

How to play against Modern Pirc with c6?
We found a very strong way to counter it, which we share in the last update.
https://chessmood.com/course/modern-pirc - Section 7

Hopefully, you'll enjoy it and crush your opponents who play this system.

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Wow, very interesting (and attacking) line - looking forward to giving it a try in the next closed tournament.

The lines chessmood provides are very useful. But I play them and preserve the Austrian attack.

Request for Payment Method

I am a 1223 Fide rated player and would like to join the monthly pro subscription.

However my bank doesn't support international transactions, nor with paypal.

I request you to consider crypto/bitcoin payment as an alternate payment method.

As we know most of the sites accept bitcoin payment nowadays...

I contacted support but the response was negative :(

Replies

Hello Kishore,

Yes, at the moment we still do not accept Bitcoin. Hopefully in the future we will be able to do it. We do accept credit cards, bank transfers and Paypal.

Looking forward to have you here in the near future.

Best regards from the Chessmood Team

Sicilian ...d6

Dear Chessmood family, ;)

Recently I encountered the next variation a few times against our beloved repertoire:

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.0-0 e6 7.d4! cxd4 8.Nb5 a6!? This move was not yet in my pgn-file.

After 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Nf6 I twice chose 11.f5!?.

The most fun game is added to this post.

Any thoughts on this variation?

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Hwo to play against 1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5 ?

Hello ChessMood family

I faced the odd move order 1.e4 e6 2.d4 expecting the French but Black played  2...c5 .. and I'm unsure how best to respond?

3. Nf3 cxd4 takes us into open Sicilian.

3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 takes us into Benoni structure

3.Nc3 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 takes us into semi-Scotch position where we still have knight on g1

I played 3.Be3 and got myself into a horrible mess .. any guidance would be welcome!

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Hi Mik, if I remember it correctly, David brought up this move order a couple of days ago and the ChessMood Team sugguest going for the Benoni structure pointing out that White had not played c2-c4 yet what was good for White (strange enough - I have this position in my Smith Morra Repertoire where Esserman suggest playing c2-c4 quite soon after 1. e4 c5 2. d4!? e6?! 3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 5. c4). 

The line 1.e4 e6 2.d4  c5 is rarely seen in master play nowadays because after 3.d5 we reach the so called Schmidt Benoni, a structure in which Black is left with a solid but quite passive position. It is important to clearly understand the correct strategy to adopt in such positions and in this case it is primarily one of prophylaxis, at least initially, we will clamp down on Black's b5 break and we will also aim to make it difficult for him to fianchetto his dark squared bishop which is his primary source of counterplay in such structures. Once we have accomplished or 'squeezing' strategy depriving our opponent of space and meaningful counterplay we will seek to infiltrate Black's queenside utilising our main pawn break b4 along with maneuvers like Nc4 coupled with Bf4 to exert mounting pressure.  By the way I would rather you not go for c4 against the Schmidt Benoni, it is not a bad move at all, but it is even more effective to leave this square free for our pieces, especially a Knight.

As always the best way to grasp the above themes properly and be able to apply them in your own games, is to see some of them in action through an instructive illustrative game: 

Anti-Sicilian e6 webinar reschedule?

I notice this is not showing on events any longer - is there an intended date that it's rescheduled for?

Also are events taking place as normal over the Easter (long) weekend?

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I am a bit confused, too.  I hurried back from work, started my laptop, opened ChessMood - and no webinar. I am pretty sure that there was an announcement for today. 

@ ChessMood: It would be very nice If you could send an email in case an event does not take place.

One way to catch up would be after the Elephant one, to do the part 4 Anti-Sicilian and cover both together.

This is now scheduled for Thursday 1st at the usual ChessMood time (but note that for most of us who now have gone to summer time, it will therefore be an hour later). The elephant one is now listed on the schedule for Friday.

Why do we need to play against stronger opponents?

Hello, champions! 

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Nothing to do with the strength of the opponent, it's all to do with being 5 0 or faster. I can't play at that speed in positions I'm still learning and not make basic blunders - it's too fast. Also when there is streaming going on (Sunday) I learn a lot by watching, I can always play blitz at any time.

So myself, not knowing one single ChessMood opening yet and with the only ranking around 1650 (blitz) and not played at a longer time since 1984, could take part?

In that case it seems great. Perhaps I should wait until after the 1:1 talk?

Where can I read more about it (when to play, how often, time, must I commit for the entire season …) and how should I apply to take part in it? 

I do agree, Coach. But unfortunately, I am more of an early bird than a night owl. However, Saturday's closed tournaments usually offer me a lot of stronger opponents to play against. Right now after today's Philidor session, there is once again a lot to learn:

After 8. ... c5 I thought, that not much could happen and it would only me (White) to have a chance to win. Well, it turned out that "key_space" (2210 at blitz) managed to hold the position and after some inaccuracies and a blunder by me - he was the lucky one. 

I choose not to participate because I'm not that strong yet. I've played many times against strong players and against GMs. I'm not afraid of anybody and I will still go for an attack, no matter the result. It's just a game.. So what if I lose?

Hello coach, I realized how important it is to play the league tournament recently. Earlier I was struggling to pass the 2300 mark in lichess but after playing against stronger opponents now I have reached 2320 and I started to beat 2400 rated players who are much stronger than me. Yesterday I beat a Grand Master in that lichess league and it is clearly an outcome of the chess mood courses and importantly being in the right mood before the match. I have attached the game below and ya I had little bit of luck by my side

Full credit goes to you and my love for the game is increasing day by day

Thank you

I finally got up the Mood and confidence to play in the Bundesliga tonight (Sun 29 Mar)

I'll be honest it was very tough going, being one of the  lowest rated players and playing with the fastest time control 3+0. Consistently been outplayed, and in won positions but still losing on time anyway; there were a few times I wanted to stop and walk away and rather just watch Avetik's stream, but I know that playing against these stronger players will help me in the long term. 

I need to be realistic with my playing strength and level, and as the blogs say getting better is hard work, but if you follow the courses and guidance there will be constant growth.

Hope you see many more of you all playing there soon!

Bundesliga (Important)

Hello, champions! 

From now on Bundesliga will start 1 hour earlier than before. 
So, +3 ChessMood time.

Today I'll also join it and stream!
​https://youtu.be/817SyXOFdrY​​​

For participating go here: https://chessmood.com/event/chessmood-team-in-bundesliga-2-931
​​
See you soon!

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Scotch Passive Move ?

Hi -- I just was confronted in the Scotch Game by Ng-e7 on the fourth move. 

e4--e5 : Nf3 -- Nc6  :  d4  exd :  Nxd4 Ng-e7 . I could not find this in the 'Passive Moves' section?

What is the best response for White here ?  Thanks

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The normal response is 5.Nc3 with likely transposition to 4...Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7 6.Nc3.

Hi Keven

You should check video 7, scotch course. In this game GM Avetik plays your Bc4 in similar position

Commented classical game 33 & 34 question about why black doesn't play Nd4 and let white play c3

Game 33 & 34 on classical game

Why didn't black play Nd4 trying to exchange one of white bishops instead of waiting 4 white playing Na4 or Nb1 and then c3 that prevents that move Nd4?

Thank you in advance

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Hi Claudio,

Trying to answer questions couldn't really figure out which concrete positions are you asking about.

Can you post the pictures for positions you need so I can reply?

Thank you.

@Claudio_Thoux

The link that you posted it points to a video, not a picture. But if you are referring to the initial position when you click the link, it is white turn here. If previously, before playing Rd8 the knight goes to d4, white can take it and win a clean pawn.

Can you take a screenshot of the position that you are referring to? Because I was trying to find the moment too and I could not see it at first glance. Thanks Claudio!

Anyone else facing the stafford gambit a lot?

This is a pretty popular gambit on twitch with eric rosen. It may have a lot to do with my level (~1000-1400) but im getting it kind of a lot when I want to play the scotch (and they go petroff defense). I've been declining the gambit by playing  4. d4 to defend the knight but maybe accepting the gambited knight is better? I just want them to be out of whatever comfort they have with the gambit line. Just wondering if anyone had go to response to this.

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Hey! GM Danya made a vid about it on his YT! he gave a clear defense against it! just check it out!

I faced it a lot too! but not so much these days!

You can check out this lichess public study: Stafford Gambit Study (lichess.org)

I don't recall ever having it. What's the idea of the gambit if declined (defer d6, d5 in one, play b6 Bb7 instead - I guess capturing Nxc6 opens lines with dxc6)? Can I just retreat Nf3 and transpose where Black has shown his cards by playing Nc6?

@daniel schleith

Acceptance is certainly the strongest course but your 4.d4 is also an excellent and practical way to decline the Stafford while still retaining some advantage. 4.Nf3 is not as strong because in many lines Black gets to go d5 in one move instead of two.

Well done daniel I like your thought process in dealing with Gambiteers. :)

One sound way of accepting the Gambit not mentioned by Daniel Naroditsky is:1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.e5 Ne4 6.d4 [6.d3 Bc5 7.dxe4 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qxd1 Don't fall for that one, it's the main idea behind The Stafford.] 6...Be6 7.c3 with a big advantage for White. 

Yeah... And I'm very sad to see some IMs or GMs teach it to their students, telling it's a wonderful gambit. 
In reality, I feel Black is just lost. 

You should just now this 7.c3 move, with idea d4, then e5. 

Is it covered in any course, where someone recommends this gambit?
I haven't seen it. With very clear reasons, of course, why they didn't cover this move :)  

I'll cover this soon in the Abracadabra openings section :) 

@Kevin_D, what do you think about 7.c3? 

I have seen it just a couple of times. Last time was just a few weeks ago and I am sure it was down to IM Rosen streaming it & uploading to his YouTube channel. I won easily against it, mainly as my opponent played it badly! Still, it is one of those openings that is just bad! Except if it is played by a good player, who actually knows it & how to play, then it might be challenging I guess!

IM Rosen & Jonathan Schranz & several other chess streamers seem to delight in promoting dodgy gambits (Nakhmunson gambit?!). I do not mind this generally, but sometimes they go very silly and are shown to be very foolish! That is their choice... et comme les francais dit "chaque un a son gout"!

In conclusion I am sure you can find a sound good way to beat this Stafford gambit..follow Avetik & Kevin's advice! GL .....Right Mood, Right Move COGRO!

Caro Kann Exchange Variation - Looks like an interesting alternative.

Hello, ChessMood Family!

In the picture below, the move recommended is Bxd6. During a game, I thought about an interesting idea Ne5 and played it. My idea was to use the pin over a4-e8 diagonal. What do you think?

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Hi Sidharth

This move is covered in the course Section2.10 7...Qd7 (1:40). Coach mentions this is a the lesser path to follow as Black will look to play 10...Qc7 11. Nxg4 Bxf4 12. Nxf6 gxf6. Yes Black pawn structure is broken but they have opposite color bishops, push f6-f5 to close out Bd3 and King will sit on f8.

Perhaps there is more to it, but the 10.Bxd6 main line has given me an easier path and plan to play with good results!

Hope that helps

Anti-Sicilian with e6 - missing advanced variations

There is reference in video 3   4... d4 5. Bb5+ Nd7 to an advanced section with 10. b4 which doesn't seem to be present aside from a quick skim over in the video. Given this course is the theme of the upcoming tournament is this material available yet (even if not in recorded form)?

Also there is mention of more material in 5... Bd7 to be discussed in the advanced section

In 4... dxe4 with Nc6 and a6 (video 7) there is the mention of further advanced material after 12. d4.

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Regarding the first variation, yes, after b4, we get a pretty nice position benko gambit style. Maybe something could be added but the position is very good for white and very easy to play. If I ever get there I will have no problems playing this position but maybe it can be expanded in the future

Regarding the second one, in my notes after Bd7 the variations are very long. Are you sure that we need more material?

As for the 3rd one, yes maybe in the future for an advanced course it may be added, but I did not already remember all these variations and your post made me realize about it.

I think that at our level, our plate is so full already that it is difficult to follow up with so many amazing variations...

@ David Flynn

Some lines need to be recorded yet, it is not easy at all for the Chessmood team to prepare all the materials, everything is original and requires many, many hours of preparation behind the scenes in order to record a course. Avetik, Gabuzyan and Johan at the moment are the faces behind the videos but there is an enormous number of hours spent on research and checking. Still, we will never be able to cover everything or to do everything right. Neither it will be to everyone's liking, but any chessmood follower can see the evolution of the site, slowly we are having an almost full repertoire. If you had become a pro user at the beginning of the site, the repertoire was at 30%, now it is at 85% maybe, yet some courses are planned to be recorded again in order to offer you all the best contents possible (within our reach). Also, just as a personal note, if Avetik says that the line will be in the advanced section, the line will be there. He always keeps his promises.

We also take into account the number of views of the courses, maybe you are mostly concentrated in opening theory, but the majority of users may be viewing the middlegame courses. Therefore, the interest should be shifted to the middlegame and we should provide more contents there too based on our pro members preferences. Sometimes you spend countless hours in a course that you believe it is very good and people are more interested in other things, nothing to say there... Everyone has different tastes, different needs, but be assured that we will provide the best contents possible (again within our reach and time) for all of you dear pro members. :-)

A Doubt in the French Bd3

I was playing a 60 + 30 game on lichess. My opponent played french and the game went like this: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6 5.Bf3 c5 6.Ne2 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Ne5 9.Nc3 a6 10.Qe2 Nxf3+ and here I played 11.gxf3. What to do now against Nd5, the move he played.

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One option here would be to just take on d5 (and then 0-0-0; black dares not to forsake too much king safety/tempo to grab a2 pawn) and ask black to choose between having an ugly isolated pawn on d5 or being incredibly behind on development that his AFK bishops and rooks are just targets for tactics later. (also if black castles short, then something like Bd4+heavy pieces stacking on the g file usually just ends the game instantly since black is not adequately prepared to defend g7). 

Sidhart, I just copied into a pgn the line that you requested for and added all the comments from the book: Tackle the French: A practical repertoire with 3. Bd3 from a guy that is called chessforlife. I do not really know the author but since it is based in our Chessmood repertoire, I bought it long time ago. I do believe that he just based the repertoire in our Chessmood lines, but anyways, the line that you mentioned is here and it should be more than enough.

Anti-Siclian Part 3 Yang-Artemiev 9... d5?

This move is not mentioned in the course and it's interesting because it's an obvious try, aiming for d4 and forking the N and B. Unfortunately for Black the tactics aren't on his side due to the king in the centre and 10. f5 gives a winning game:

10. f5 d4 11. fxe6 fxe6 12. e5

If 12... Nxe5 13. Bxb7 Ra7 14. Bf4 Rxb7 (or dxc3 first) 15. Bxe5 dxc3 16. Nf4 cxb2 17. Bxb2
    12... dxc3 13. exf6 cxb2 14. f7+
    12... dxe3 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Qh5+

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