Chess forum by Grandmasters

Can black survive?

Black to move...

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If Qf2 I don't see anything, but I may be wrong

We have the first Grandmaster PRO Member!

We have the first GM Pro Member! 
Alexey Kislinsky, welcome to team :) 

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Welcome!

New Project for PRO Members

Dear Friends!
I am very excited to announce that from the 1st of June we start a new project for PRO Members!
As many of you have problems in the middlegame, I will analyze and upload 1 classical game each day explaining ideas, plans, what and why.
This will help you a lot with middlegame, as you will see so many new ideas, which will grow your chess understanding and your chess level.

#Let's_keep_constant_growth

With best wishes,
GM Avetik

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Looking forward to it coach!

How to Play for a Win against the Maroczy Bind?

The Accelerated Dragon is a very solid and sound opening, but as the title suggests it is exteremely difficult to generate any winning chances against the acid test, that being the Maroczy Bind. To make matters worse for Black some aggresive new ideas have recently surfaced that make the Bind even more potent than before. Below are a couple of illustrative games to highlight how White can cut across two popular plans Black typically employs:

Fier,A (2561) - Ahmad,Al Khatib (2336) [B36]
25th Abu Dhabi Masters Abu Dhabi UAE (7.23), 13.08.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.f3! Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2 a5 11.Na4 Nd7 12.0-0-0! Relatively rare but very strong b6 13.h4 Ba6 14.Kb1 Nc5 15.Nc3 f5 16.h5 fxe4 17.hxg6 hxg6 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Qd5+ Rf7 20.Qxe4 Qc8 21.Bd3 Rf6 22.Qd5+ e6 23.Qxd6 Bxc4 24.Be4 Rb8 25.Rc1 b5 26.b3 Qe8 27.Bg5 Rf8 28.Qh2 Rf5 29.Qh7+ Kf7 30.Bh6 Qf8 31.Bxg7 Qxg7 32.Qxg7+ 1-0 My conclusion is that 12.0-0-0 closes the chapter on 11...Nd7, but perhaps 11...Be6 deserves deeper investigation.

Sousa,Andre Ventura (2373) - Pintor,S (2040) [B38]
6th Famalicao Open 2018 Vila Nova de Famalicao POR (4.6), 31.07.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be2 d6 9.f3! Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bd7 11.Qd2 a5 12.h4! h5 13.0-0-0! Very strong a4 14.g4 e5 15.Be3 hxg4 16.Bg5 gxf3 17.Bxf3 Qc8 18.h5 Nxh5 19.Bxh5 gxh5 20.Bh6 f6 21.Rdg1 Rf7 22.Rxh5 Qc5 23.Qg2 a3 24.Bxg7 Qe3+ 25.Kc2 Qxg1 26.Rh8# 1-0 Again this 0-0-0 idea poses serious problems for Black, and forces him to consider his early move order and typical plans very carefully. Who knew that this Yugoslav Attack style play that we see in the regular Dragon would also prove effective in Maroczy Bind as well.

So ChessMood family I welcome your thoughts an ideas on how to generate some winning chances against the dreaded Bind. 

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Kevin, good question! 
Right now I am working on the new course, advanced Maroczy Bind, which will be ready soon! 

Closed Sicilian with 2... g6

One of my recent opponent played 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6. I didn't know it so I played f4 but I got a bad position out of the opening (in the end I drew the game). After the game I found out that the main move is d4, so what would you advise me to play if I meet g6 again?

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Fantastic answer by Kevin! 
In the first game 14.Qa6 I believe is the strongest move! 
About Rb8, need to check...

There is also a quite interesting idea against 2...g6 3.d4 cd 4.Qd4 Nf6 5.Be3!? Bg7 6.Qd2! 
Idea is going to dragon line without wastng time on Bc4 and Bb3! 
It's a very fresh idea played by GM Demchenko againt GM Dubov. 

By the way after we get a clear advantage, the 2...g6 will be the 5th part Anti-Sicilian! 

Sorry guys I mistakenly deleted my earlier post, oops :(  Let me try to reconstruct it as best I can. I had expressed that I too was wondering how best to meet 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6!?, as 3.d4 recommended by both GM Robin Van-Kampen on chess24 and GM Alexei Kornev in his book Rossolimo and friends didn't seem fully convincing to me. See below games for details:

Dastan,B (2520) - Nguyen,P (2421) [B27]
Graz Open A 2018 Graz AUT (6.3), 21.02.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Qa4 d6 7.e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Bg7 9.Bb5
0-0 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bxc6 Rb8!? 12.0-0 Qc7 13.Re1 Rb6!N 14.Bf3 Bb7 15.Bf4 Qc8 16.Bxb7
Qxb7 17.Qa3 Rb4 18.Bg3 Rc8 19.Rad1 Bf8! with excellent compensation. 

Jovanovic,Zo CRO (2518) - Guseinov,G (2664) [B23]
European Rapid 2018 Skopje MKD (11.7), 09.12.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Qa4 d6 7.e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Bg7 9.Bb5 0-0 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bxc6 Bd7 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Bxd7 Qxd7 [with sufficient compensation]  14.Be3 Qxa4 15.Nxa4 Rxc2 16.Rac1 Rxc1 17.Rxc1 Nd5 18.Bd2 Bd4 19.Rc4 e5 20.Kf1 f6 21.Ke2 g5 22.g3 Kf7 23.Nc3 Rd8 24.Nxd5 Rxd5 25.Be3 Bxe3 26.Kxe3 a5 27.g4 Kg6 28.h3 h5 29.Ke2 h4 30.b3 Rb5 31.Kd3 Rd5+ 32.Ke2 Rb5 33.Kd3 Rd5+ ½-½ 

GM Guseinov is an Accelerated Dragon specialist whose games are well worth studying, and curiously he also specialises in the 2.Nc3 Anti-Sicilian for White.

Thanks very much for your input GM Avetik, I will check out the Demchenko vs Dubov game for sure and look forward to the fifth part of the Anti-Sicilian Course.  

Right mood right move as always. :)

Crushing with Scotch game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/3680234628 

And again h4! :) 

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Fun game!

Another #SLP!

Keep saving a few of these. How about all of you?

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/3715269030

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Bro, wrong link... You should give us the link without that ...analyze...

Time Management Notes Part 1

- These are my notes from the webinar 

• Knowing chess and playing chess are very different

• Don’t recommend to play a lot of correspondence games

Basic Problems with Time Management

1. Play too slow

• Time pressure

• Not enough time for the rest of the game

• Some players spend too much time in the opening stage which does not allow them to have the time they need when faced with critical positions later on in the game

• Losing due to time pressure is not a good excuse

• Chess is just a game: At home, chess is a science as you try to find the best moves. However in a game, it is just a game. Since you have limited time, you cannot find the best moves every time.

• Don’t try to find the best moves all the time unless it is a critical moment

2. Play too fast

• Quality of moves goes down

• Some players spend too much time in the opening stage which does not allow them to have the time they need when faced with critical positions later on in the game

3. Noticing critical positions

• Comes with experience

• Be aware that at some point of the game, there will be critical moments

• Spend more time in critical moments

Standard Games v. Blitz Games

• Cannot play blitz games as good as standard games

• Play as many good moves as possible

• Knowing the opening well or playing must-play moves can save time; can lead to spending more time in the future than your opponent

• Good time management leads to higher-quality games

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These are great notes! Thanks for posting them!

Wooooow!!!
Kevin, super!!!
Fantastic!!! I am shocked! 
It seems you liked the webinar and took lots of value from there. 
Thank you for sharing your notes! 

 

Let the giants fall!

I am winning games against much higher rated players! This is my best on chess.com so far! Will we get a course to fight the Scandinavian defense soon? 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/3707117894

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Hey!

I checked your game.Your opponent blundered few times,in scandinavian defence I prefer to play with c4 and Nc3(in general)instead of c3 Nbd2.Hope soon we will have scandinavian defence video course.

Best Regards GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan!

How to Crush the Polish Opening

Have an upcoming game against player who always plays 1.Nf3, any 2. b4. I have my own ideas, of course, but am curious what others think. One idea I have is to play 1. Nf3, c5 taking away a free 2. b4.  Yes, 2.b4 can still be played, but I think challenging a confirmed Polish in such a manner might be disconcerting for him. 

Other ideas?

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If your opponent wants to play the Polish, you should not be looking for ways to avoid it but rather welcome it.

1.b4 is well met with 1...e5 or 1...d5, while 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b4 is still well met by 2...e5!. Remember that Flank Attacks or Flank Openings, all things being equal, are best countered by taking the center, that's strategy 101. Check your Database or an Online Database for games played by strong Black players in the above lines to get a flavor for how play develops, you will see that Black often wins with mating attacks.

Scotch Game

Here is a game against a strong opponent on Chess.com. This game shows how quickly black can go wrong in this opening. This was a daily game with a 3 day/move time limit. I hope it will open in this format. Enjoy the game

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A very nice game Jeff! 
A typical crush with Scotch! 
Did you learn Scotch game here or you played it before joining our PRO team? 

Our Goals

Dear Friends, dear Pro Members! 
Let's put some certain goals and keep track on them!  

On what level you are now? How much is your rating, what is the next goal? 

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I am a coach, and all my goals are related to my students.
But I also put a personal goal, so we all grow together motivating each other, and I hope on my personal experience to motivate you :) 

Now my online rating in chess.com is around 2700. 
My next goal is to get 2800. 

I know it's gonna be tough, on that lever are playing Grandmasters who work on themselves every day!
I am retired, and I am a coach, but I'll do that! 
I believe in the Right Mindset, Right Mood, and the power of our Openings! 

Till the end of the year, I'll try to get 2900.
The next goal is 2800. 

Right Mood - Right Move! 

My rating over the board is around 1200-1300. I'd like to reach 1600 within the next 12-18 months then hopefully one day, I can reach 1800-2000 :)

Rossolimo 17.Bh4

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Hey Kevin! 
Sorry, will add the 2nd difference. 
And thank you!:)

Kevin, the 2nd difference is updated! 

How should you study and play?

Is it better to study a little and play in the same day? Or is it better to study say 3 days and on the 4th play a lot of games?

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Not sure it really matters as long as you get work done. I heard its better to study 2 hours a day for a week. Rather than 14 hours one day and no hours for the rest of the week.

First and formost I think it is important to be enjoying what you are doing. If you have been studying for an hour and you are no longer enjoying it, you are less likely to retain what you are learning. 

That being said, I think you should be doing a mix of each every day. When you are playing well, play more and study second. When you feel you are not playing well, play a few games and study more. 

Keep in mind there are tons of ways to be studying too. So if doing puzzles is making your brain hurt today, go play through a few master games. You can also study your openings, or endings, or watch your favorite player stream. 

Enjoy the process, and the learning wont be work. And play along the way! 

I hope this helps

English, Reti and Pirc help!!!!

Hello ChessMood family,

       a 2000 rated player coming to my Chess club to play against me tomorrow. I need some opening preparation against Reti Opening, English Opening and the Pirc Defense for black. Any help would be great. I think he is too strong for me, but I want to give him as much headache as possible. Hope you guys can help. Thanks!!!!

https://chess-db.com/public/pinfo.jsp?id=1005480 Here are his games, his name is Jeroen Wismeijer.

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I would like to suggest the Symmetrical English 1...c5 against both The English and the Reti but that depends on whether you have the Sicilian in your Rep, if not it's not to late to view the Accelerated Dragon courses offered  here.

Hey Bobby! 
1 day is absolutely not enough for learning 1 new opening, especially 3! :) 
If it is some exact line, exact move in some position- it's cool to prepare.
But to learn a whole opening from 0- no. It will be even worse bro, you will mess it up everything. 

Better just go to the game with fresh head. 
 

Whoo Hoo!

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https://lichess.org/EjaZ0K0J/black

Feedback and ideas about forum

Dear PRO Members! Welcome to our Forum! Our technical team worked a lot on this to make it very comfortable for you! 
Any feedback, ideas on how to make our forum better - WELCOMED! :) 
Feel free to share your ideas below this post :) 
 

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I like the options lichess have under tools section . You can upload a pgn and then analyze . it will be easy if our forum have similar options . If we upload a pgn and then view it here in browser with the annotations and input from GM's it will be great . So I should be able to create a question 2 ways 

1. I have my own pgn file ( annotated or just game ) , then I upload it here and ask question , lets say I will specifify in move so and so I am not sure what to do . you can view the game  right here in browser and dont have to download the pgn in your desktop software , add your comments and upload it here . 
2. I can launch an analysis board like lichess and play through the moves to reach the position I want to be answered , so I dont have to have a chessbase like tool to create pgn for asking questions . You should be able to view the position and add your analysis , comments if you think .

All these time these Analysis board should have option for download the content as pgn , basically export option . So that I can take your answer as pgn and include in my database quickly .

I like the options under tools in lichess . see if you can integrate these lichess stuff in your forum than to invent the wheel one more time . 

Maybe you could provide homework! :)

How to fight against Rossolimo! The new video course is updated

Dear Friends, dear Pro Members! 
In this video course, I explain the main ideas of fighting against Rossolimo and show the lines why Caruana stopped playing Rossolimo during the World Championship match.

The material was made by me and GM Melkumyan, just because he is an active player, I recorded the videos. 
https://chessmood.com/course/nightmare-of-rossolimo
Enjoy ♥
 

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Awesome! Thank you!

#SLP

Another lost position saved! 

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https://www.chess.com/live/game/3699052448

I guess I should include the game LOL

Thinking system/discipline

Hello ChessMood family,

    Can you help me with my thinking system? I find I lose games because I reacted too quickly after my opponent's move and lose the game because of it. How can I maintain the discipline throughout the entire match? I feel rushed when playing blitz but I feel much more at home with 90 min classical format. How does somebody keep the same level of analysis,thought process and ability to anticipate dangers early. Any help would be great. Thank you.

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Robert, This is a great question! 

The first thing to realize is you can not maintain the same level of analysis in 5 minute chess as in 90 minute chess. But that is ok! Neither can your opponent! 

There are 3 things that jump to my mind that can make things better for you in blitz. 1. Get very familiar with your openings. Not just memorizing lines, but knowing the different plans that arise, so you don't have to spend a lot of time looking for the right way to proceed. 2. Spend time studying tactics puzzles. It will help you detect patterns more quickly in your games, also saving you time. 3. Jusy play. You will start recognizing your blunders before they happen and avoiding them.

I am sure Coach and the rest of the ChessMood family will have additional words of wisdom! 

You got this my friend! 

Thank you Coach Avetik and everyone.