Chess forum by Grandmasters

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?

Replies

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

Replies

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 :-)

Response to the King's Fianchetto Against the Dutch Defense

I am a little confused as to what I should do as Black using the Dutch Defense and White does the King's Fianchetto Setup so as to nullify my bishop which would naturally fianchetto. Should I Stonewall setup and continue to  fianchetto my bishop?

Replies

Yes, it is recommended to play the Stonewall set-up, but then you as Black do not fianchetto your Bishop, as you do not play b6/Bb7. It is all explained in the Blackmood Opening Dutch-Attack - section 12 (Stonewall System)

Tactics and Mating Courses

Currently working on the Tactic Ninja course. My latest training games show that I miss checkmates frequently. Should I do the Mating Matador course concurrently with the Tactic Ninja course?

Or should I complete the Tactic Ninja cousre first before the Mating Matador course? 

Replies

Hey Pierre,

Usually, I reply in the Pro members channel only, but as an exception will try to help.

Either way, you need to complete both courses, but I personally think that mixing many courses is a bad idea.

Finish Ninja and then crush the mating Matador!

Good luck :-)

ChessMood Open with $20,000 prize fund!

Replies

Wow!

I will definitely try to attend :)

I have a question. That is can I get fide rating from this tourney?? If yes how?

Someone please help me out

Chessmood open and opening  :)

Shahinyan, David- Quparadze, Giga   1:0

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/chessmood-open-2021/5/1/3

• I'm seriously thinking about registering for the tournament. October 4-12 works well for me, and Armenia sounds like a beautiful place to visit. 🇦🇲
•  

NEW ARTICLE: Be Awesome!

Replies

Hello, Avetik! Awesome article today! You really pleasured my heart... :) Have a nice day!

Great article (and not just because it's asking you to be awesome).

I've noticed those that are always negative or try-too hard / act needy, often getting to the point of that they hate others with what they don't have and become jaded/unpleasant/critical without positivity, 'never' get anywhere. Be it for love, money/wealth, health/fitness, jobs... Often these people have a clique of like minded or placed people who almost celebrate their position in life and others are the problem, be it poor vs rich, politics, academic vs school of life.

Being a pleasant person to be around, positive (at the right times, but not acting fake),  giving credit where credit is due, acting with abundance mentality, trying to activity solve problems to get where you want to be rather than balking at the obstacles you face, seeing threats as opportunities and placing oneself to take advantage when they arise before everyone else does, being your own person and not what is expected of you or your focus...   this and more on average makes a successful person.

Coming from the opposite side of the article - who to help. I made mistakes about 10-20 years ago in that I was wanting to help everyone and offer free advice where I thought it would help others. I was successful academically, and not doing so bad career or financially either then. I found out there are a lot of people that didn't want to be helped. It was either 'misery likes company', or they saw it as acting superior when all I wanted was for others to be successful. Once some people have an idea (like it's down to who you know, where you grew up, what you're born with) changing that is almost not worth it (and anyone that says otherwise as living proof or how they succeeded in way others might follow is taken as an outlier). Facebook was a real eye-opener of what people really thought who would have never said/acted so in person.

I'm more likely to help or guide someone I feel is really trying (plus a pleasant person of course) and likely to be grateful, than someone who needs to sort their own attitudes out first. My parents bemoaned the same that you help people and they never help you back when you need it. I think the answer is focusing on the right people to help.

I had this very big dilemma that why hardworking people don't get success easily (at least in my case)

is it that they are too serious or they don't have any luck left with them?

I saw many people who don't work at all and achieve great heights so I thought to myself, I should work harder than them to achieve such success but the fact is we should not stretch ourselves too much and just be awesome not overthinking about the future results and everything will come into place

This was my learning from this article

Thank you once again !!!

 Awesome !!!! 

Gm Avetik you really awesome... Very inspiring..

Very nice, although in some ways it feels like it's  saying, 'if there is a good move in the position, make the move.' Haha

But at least it can foster awareness, that's a start!

Great article 

I recall when I was starting out in poker I sent messages to the top 1000 players in the poke rankings.

I only got 4 responses! 2 were trying to sell me very expensive courses. One offered some hand advice and the other one ended up becoming my mentor and kick starting my path to being able to play professionally.

After this I alway made a effort to respond to anyone who asked me for help and advice. It wasn't with some ulterior motive I just recall what it was like when I was starting.

By having this attitude I actually gained a lot of coaching business over the years as well as forged friendships/relationships with other strong players who have in turn helped me over time.

Amazing article. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important topic

Thanks for Awesome article.

Nice article. I would like to comment something not related with the article but about coaching.

When I was a youngster in the club, they gaves class 90min per week. Explained you basics, opposition, basic mates, a couple of openings and that was all. The game in the weekend until next Friday evening. 

I left the game for decades and when I decided for a comeback I went to classes, hired coaches and I noticed that most of them were bad. The reason is that if you want to make real progress you must study but no 90min/week, I would say rather 180min/day. So the good coach is not the one who teaches the theory 90min each week. The good coach is the one who uses the 90min to guide you in how to spend the 3 daily hours (alone, you and the material) that you should spend to make real progress.

I want to thank you for making this article Avetik!

This is not only brilliant advice for chess but also a great principle in life.

I found this article to be very resilient to the book you recommended "Unlimited power". The point that giving help is very good psychology for yourself. Also the point that whatever you ask from life; you will get from life.

I really enjoyed how you also encouraged the reader to take action in the end of the article rather than to just read it and say "aha, that is smart information, maybe I will get use for it one day".

Have a wonderful day champion!

Regards, Noam

GM Avetik thank you for the wonderful article you wrote

Thank you for the wonderful and inspiring article!

Chess software

Hi guys, I want to ask if you remember the name of the software that was in the recommendation section on the old Chessmood website. I think it was changing the diagrams from pdf files into electronic versions. Also, does anyone know if there is any software that allows converting Pdf files into PNG or cbv files. Manually, it takes a lot of time...

Replies

Hi Rob,

I do not recall having this type of software in the recommendations but if anyone knows it, feel free to post it here. 😅

I do know that the mobile Chessify app allows you to take a pic of both a real board and a PDF/picture of a board with your cell phone and it converts it into a playable and exportable chess board. (Pgn and other options)

Hi!

Regarding the software that was in the recommendations section of the old Chessmood website, I unfortunately can't remember its name. But if it was intended to convert diagrams from PDF files to electronic versions, it could be something like OCR (Optical Character Recognition) programs.

As for converting PDF files to PNG or cbv files, there are several programs that can help with this. For example, you can use Adobe Acrobat or free online services to convert PDF to PNG. For converting to cbv files, you may need special software for chess databases.

By the way, I like to bet on different sports, including chess. Recently I came across an interesting article https://www.cogniteq.com/blog/sports-betting-app-development-what-you-should-know from Cogniteq about developing sports betting apps. The article goes into detail about what to consider when developing such apps and how they can improve the user experience.

New article: The Power of Fear and How to Use It as Motivation

Have you ever wondered if fear can be a good thing? You just need to use it right as an advantage 😉

Mike Tyson was THE Mike Tyson because of his FEAR.

This might make you pause and think: "Hmm, strange."

If so, you’re not alone. 😅

To learn how fear can work for you, our today’s article is waiting below:
https://chessmood.com/blog/the-power-of-fear

Replies

good article, Hard Times Create Strong Men.

A lot of people work hard their whole lives and still end up like the man in your story. Some people can prevent it by working hard as you did, but some people are handed life circumstances that just make it too difficult to do anything other than work. It is a matter of perspective I think. Nice message on this article overall, I just think it needed to be pointed out that it's not always that simple.

GREAT ARTICLE!!!  It has helped me focus in on why I want to study/get better at chess.  Looking at your fears can be a different/effective approach for finding your WHY!  Thanks again for sharing your story/s to help us improve.  Best wishes to you/ChessMood Team.  

very nice artuile and inspirin i just want to mension tha if you have to much fear it can 
paralyz you

I may be a little late here, but ive always come back to this every 2 weeks to reflect on my successful goals.
Mostly it came down to these 2 things:

Ego driven reason and fear.

3 months before our local school tournament, this is how i felt:
I didn't want to lose! I lost on the first game last year and i don't want to happen again!
Safe to say that was around i saw chessmood. Was glad i was able to stray away from the “trash” youtube chess content ( i haven't seen good ones at that time, hehe) although the problem for me that time was a 600 rated player like me watching courses for 800-1000 rated players and above. The tactic ninja helped me a lot though. I am super grateful that you have published the new course so that beginners can learn from chessmood step by step.

During the tournament, i had 5 wins, 1 loss and a draw. That was crazy considering i lost on game 1 last year! (knockout format, unfortunately losers are eliminated)

Earned the second place and was happy for it. I continue loving chess now although without that high level of dedication i once had due to life.
When there was an entrance exam to our school, I feared that i fail the test so i worked my ass up studying for 2 days. I got the 8th place on the exam passers.
And most recently, I feared that i might not be a part of the ICT club since all i knew about coding was [print("Hello World")] in python. The club's officials told me earlier that i might be a co-lead in the computer programming side of things.
Still, I fear that i might not graduate with honors, so i keep studying topics.

My main point here is that fear is good, IF you know how to use it properly. You work hard and not shrivel in a corner. Then that is how fear will be your greatest motivator. 
 

P.S. Thank you for all these blogs! They have been inspiring me since last year and i hope you keep continuing this!

Second place in a tank full of sharks. Not bad.

Yes that's me. This is my tilt account; I'm tired and have been bingeing too much bullet

https://lichess.org/swiss/4OUP5fnd

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Well done 😎

Mild issue with one of the puzzles in Rise of Champions course

I was nosing around in the annihilation puzzles because yay free mental candy and one of them has a glitch. Just thought I would let yall know

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Maybe try capturing the black king 🤭

I need an advice :) Should we hire her? :)

In ChessMood all our new employees should also pass a test - survive 15 moves against Grandmaster ?

Lily survived 12 moves, shall we do an exception for her? ?

Replies

That's a very open question. I think that would depend on the way she played. Did she show initiative? Did she dare take a risk? Was she inventive or passive? Sometimes you can read someones character a little from the way he/she plays.

Maybe you publish the game, so members can judge for themselves.

Giving another chance is appreciated....as we all make mistake....so let her try again...and see if she could survive....?

Did she show the right mood while playing? Did she keep the right mood while losing? If she did then make the exception! 

However, if she threw the king at you when she lost, what would she do if you didnt hire her? Better think long and hard about this :)

You should have let her play white

I think we should

everyone deserves a second chance :)

Maybe another try for her! If she played genuinely badly then no but if she blundered something in an equal position then yes.

Does it mean that anyone that survives 15 moves against a GM is hired?😂 Are there tryouts

maybe yes if she mostly made good moves

🤣Well, Lily is the best! We were very lucky to be able to work together! Thanks God that Avetik did not follow our hiring policy in this case!!! 😅

Yes

if this is real it's actually a stupid and also mean test. ok, i get if you like everyone to be at least that litte bit into chess to survive till middlegame  but debating that here looks like putting at some kind of job pillory in the community. 

maybe i'm just slow on uptaking some banter or whatever joke. point it out to me and my moral pointer finger :x 

Lily's great lol. Very warm and positive person. Good thing you hired her.

Sure you should do it

Yes

While Lily's performance against a Grandmaster is undoubtedly impressive, it's crucial to consider the overall qualifications and fit for the position. A chess match, though challenging, is just one aspect of an employee's capabilities. Perhaps a more comprehensive evaluation, including interviews, skills assessments, and references, would provide a clearer picture of Lily's potential as an employee.

It's also worth considering the precedent this decision would set. If exceptions are made for specific candidates, it could weaken the integrity of the hiring process. On the other hand, losing a potentially talented employee due to a rigid policy might be detrimental to the company.

Ultimately, the decision should be based on a careful weighing of Lily's performance, the company's needs, and the long-term implications

Seeking For Advice, Having Been Plateauing For 1,5 Years

Want to start of saying that I fully appreciate the servise Chessmood is offering, espicially for this month. I've been loving the Podcast Episodes with Avetik and Vladimir Akopian and Authors outside of chess.

Hello Chessmood Family :),
In this post I'm basically stating by current situation and hoping to get great advice from expierenced and stronger players than me.   *When I talk about rating I'm mainly refering to OTB rating  (National German rating/ Fide Elo)

I'm soon turning 16 years old, I'm a german player with an OTB rating of ~1990 (for 1,5 years I've been so close to the 2000, but never crossed). I've been (and frankly am) super frustrated because about 1,5 Years ago I had the same rating.
The painful part is that I play a hell ton of tournaments, from Opens to 1-day-long rated tournaments. Back then I was having a lot of hope, for the fact that I have started playing chess quite late (although a chess club invited me 2 years earlier…it's still haunting me)  at an age of 10 (almost 11). When I started of withabout ~800 my peers have been 1700. I quickly grew, getting to 1600 in a bit more than 1year and played in the german youth championship.

Since than I have made progress, 2200 rated people and FMs seem to be playing really badly and in rapid my perofrmance is usually around 2100.
That's because blunders aren't as important there.
In classical however I usually play a great game, but get into time trouble, overthinking everything and then blundering the game away.
My rating hasn't made any progress while my peers are all catching up to me.
Little Kids have overtaken me from a -200 to a 100 point lead. 


That's the part where I want to ask people who had such experiences already.
It feels like I'm already due for a huge breakthrough but it hasn't come yet.
I'd also be curious if any chessmood courses are recommended or if they are for a little bit lower elo rated players.   Although I can't wait to crush peeps with the Bd3 french.

I'd be glad for any advice from the more experienced.

Cheers.

Replies

I don't know if this will help but I am 1600 rated OTB and I read some articles about plateauing and they always recommend taking a break from chess. How long is up to you. Otherwise, you where saying that you got a lot of problems with time trouble. Maybe you can read the book How To Reasses your Chess by Silman (if te problem lays by planning). Maybe, during OTB games, before moving, write the time of your opponent. This will give your brain the time to check for easy blunders.

Hope this helps

Hello fellow Schlechter variation player!  :)

firstly, great job on your dedication and hard work in chess. It’s normal to feel frustrated when you’re stuck at the same level for a long time. You’re not alone in this…many players have been where you are. Some have given up, and others have found ways to improve.

One thing to remember is that plateaus are a natural part of the learning process in any skill in life , including chess. Here are a few articles that could help you overcome this obstacle.

Change your approach: Sometimes, small tweaks in your training or game strategy can make a significant difference. The article on crossing the plateau and reaching 3000 on Chess.com by GM Gabuzyan Hovhannes shows how small changes in what you do can lead to big improvements.

Address Time Management: Talking about struggling with time management and overthinking is something many people experience. The https://chessmood.com/blog/detachment  discusses how detaching emotionally from the game can help improve your decision-making process and reduce blunders.

Mental and Emotional Management: Feeling like others are doing better than you can be really discouraging... The https://chessmood.com/blog/ostrich-syndrome  highlights how confronting challenges directly is crucial for moving past a plateau.

Improve Your Results: Read the https://chessmood.com/blog/5-crucial-steps-to-stop-bad-results-in-chess article for specific tips to get better results in your games.

There are many articles in chessMood blog related to this, but please read also Noel-s blog on this theme: https://nextlevelchess.blog/overcome-plateau/  .

These tips and resources can help you improve. You might find it helpful to go over your games with a coach or a more experienced player. Remember, many players have faced this and come out stronger. Keep going, and your breakthrough will come soon 💪

Best of luck!

You might find it unusual, but some unrelated chess books on https://chessmood.com/recommendations can really benefit you.

Hi! There are many things that you should take into account in your situation, and talking to a coach would help you a lot, since it seems to me that you need true guidance.

In Chessmood as a PRO member you have the chance to get a talk with a GM to plan your training according to your needs, that would be a thing that you could do.

Also you need a good an consistent repertoire, Chessmood provides this. All the knowledge that you need for going to the next level, we have it on our courses, there is no doubt about it. The question is how you work, what is holding you back, this is what you need to work on, and also the most important thing is how much work are you doing in an effective way. 
Many things to consider but if you are serious about becoming much better, a coach that works along with Chessmood courses is a very good choice. 😀

My advice is take a break from chess take a month off! 
seems like you are chasing a rating rather than improving.

enjoy the summer come back to chess in August break 2000 easy 

Are you sure you aren't simply tired?

I plateaued for most of this year and it took me a while to figure out why.

I thought perhaps it was the horrendous tilt I had chronically for weeks in early 2024 so I took a break. When I came back my play was still patchy despite being more stable and lucid after a break. 

I was starting to find 10|0 didn't seem long enough to think properly so I switched to 30min as my main time control. That helped…but I still got locked into an odd zigzag-shaped pattern where I would improve for a while and then start uncontrollably making one-move blunders.

I noticed that even one 30min game seemed to take a lot out of me. I started playing just 3x a week. I am now finally getting up out of that slump. I am currently rated 1041 which is my highest in months and not so far off my peak of 1083. I miss playing more often but on the other hand the rest days are paying off in spades. 

Is it possible you are also overdoing things and tiring yourself out?

Practical pawn endgame

Nice interactive course: could be nice to have a quizz with all positions frome the live lesson to train.

Replies

Hi Marius! 

Thanks for your comment 😊

Actually, it's hard to create a quiz with all the materials, as there are some situations where the position is winning with different move orders. And that will be confusing for students, as you may choose one of the right moves and it shows wrong. 

In the future, we will have "Endgame Trainer" where you can train your endgame skills 😊

An Endgame with Some Beautiful Ideas!

https://lichess.org/study/u3ktfeWT/PHgd2XGM

Chapter 3.

This is probably the most beautiful endgame I have ever seen.

It was the final seconds of 3+2 blitz, so there were many mistakes.

However, those mistakes revealed the incredible ideas.

In the study, every question mark means a side lost the advantage or equality.

Every ! means it was the only move to keep advantage/equality.

But in particular, 26… a6!! is the introduction to an amazing drawing idea that I managed to find with just 10 seconds on my clock!!

If you have any questions, just ask below!

Enjoy!

Replies

For a 3+2 game, the endgame is very accurate. It seems White underestimated your Bh6-d2 counterplay…a very well played game!!

Wow, nice one! Thanks!

The best games of July, 2024, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of July, 2024" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post the best games that you will play this month. 

The Prize fund is 350K MoodCoins which is equal to 350$.  

The 1st prize  - 150K
The 2nd prize - 100K
The 3rd prize-  50K
The 4th prize- 30k
The 5th prize- 20k

Good luck with your games and keep the Right Mood! 
#ChessMood
#Right Mood - Right Move 

P. S.
Here are the winners of June, 2024:

Abhiraam Devulapalli
Jake E.
Skipper chess
Joseph Zaffarese
Tony Weir

Replies

https://www.chess.com/live/game/113678414101

played long time ago and entered the same game in june, but, yeah

Chess: frogkio vs Xiangxi13 - 65246411121 - Chess.com

https://lichess.org/S2NX4tu2

Nice one, 98% accuracy

A crazy French attack against the King's Indian setup…!

https://lichess.org/NZAQLjTZYX7l

dutch attack. ks play. easy intrusion in kings house

..g5,..h5,..g4 etc.

https://lichess.org/MGmp3eJO/black#16

You are going to love this one

Scotch

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113932184243?tab=review

https://lichess.org/9GgJFMyF/black

amazing attack

A intruding white French with 3. Bd3😁.

https://lichess.org/8DA3M4Ct/white

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114186609567

This is the game i played on chess.com Anti sicilan Nc3

A perfect chess mood french attack ! https://lichess.org/WgOOe5hE/black#37

https://lichess.org/Fn1YtPYG

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.07.10"]
[Result "1-0"]
[TimeControl "1800"]
[WhiteElo "1175"]
[BlackElo "1179"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 e6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Bd7 7. O-O Nd4 8.
Nxd4 cxd4 9. Bc4 Nf6 10. d3 Nxe4 11. dxe4 Bc5 12. e5 O-O 13. Bd3 a6 14. Bd2 Qh4
15. Rf3 Bc6 16. Rh3 Qd8 17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Bd3+ Kg8 19. Qh5 f6 20. Qh7+ Kf7 21.
Bg6+ Ke7 22. Qxg7+ Rf7 23. Qxf7# 1-0

BlackMood

https://lichess.org/BIOZ1WZO#33

90+30

Hello Chessmood family,

Here is a game I won with white against the Caro-Kahn and a great tactic at the end against a CM! Enjoy!

https://lichess.org/hoB3bbuk2vG2

Looong marathon for the black king…..definitely could not see even halfway down that line….

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/114430833149?tab=analysis

https://www.chess.com/live/game/114454224321
 

punishing attack with a nice mate in the end

https://lichess.org/BDKwoZIa/black#68

A game which I think Simon Williams love to see

https://lichess.org/MHvv2Xdi/white#47

Just came back to chess a couple of days ago and this is the best game I 've played since, finishing my opponent with back to back rook sacrifices.

www.chess.com/game/live/114577074443 It all started on move 33, when I thought Rh6 was checkmate and completely forgot about Kxe5, then on move 36 he fell into my rg3-g2xb2 trap, and finally on move 41, I did a nice rook sac with Nf2, seeing that he couldn't take it, and when he did it led to a beautiful stock mate.

Dear CM family, in this french attack game, i got a very nice checkmate sequence. the number of black pieces near the king was already auguring the worst for white.

furthermore, a precision of 99% does not spoil anything.

https://lichess.org/game/export/dmKV7L7x?evals=0&clocks=0

https://lichess.org/iiyqIN0V/black

stopping pawns using knight and bishop

Scotch derivative

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/114605940793?tab=review

 A good game for me in the French advanced line where they play a4. I played the Chessmood line/plan.

No mistakes or blunders and 96% accuracy according to Lichess, I had great control of the centre and a nice attack.

Love it when they lash out with frustration!

Thanks Avo!

https://lichess.org/i9ME7o6BlHue

Attack against b3

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/114656890473?tab=review

CM Antisicilian

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/114657477095?tab=review

Its usually not a good idea to get the Queen out early….this is a typical example where the black queen is tempoed all over the board and almost has n place to hide

https://lichess.org/gKu2cdXu#0

I've seen this idea of a quick smothered mate before, and I finally pulled it off in my own game!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/114800302719 

Hello ChessMood, 

First of all I have to say, I must give you complete credit for this game. This was both my highest rated win to date AND also my first win against a titled player! and I must say it is all thanks to your courses! If it weren't for the amazing Sicilian course I would have never played such a good game! Thank you so much Avetik and family! I hope you like my game I also added some comments 🙂

[Event "Canadian Youth Chess Championship 2024: NCM Ashwin Chunchu (2132) - CM Emanuel Kot (2215): 1-0"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "B23"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/AshwinChunchu"]
[UTCDate "2024.07.13"]
[UTCTime "23:09:57"]

1. e4 { [%eval 0.15] } 1... c5 { [%eval 0.25] } 2. Nc3 { [%eval 0.21] } 2... Nc6 { [%eval 0.27] } 3. Bb5 { [%eval -0.03] } 3... Nd4 { [%eval 0.0] } 4. Nf3 { [%eval 0.0] } 4... a6! { [%eval 0.0] } { He knew the theory! } 5. Bd3 { [%eval 0.0] } 5... Nc6 { [%eval 0.13] } { More knowing-theory-stuff } 6. b3 { [%eval -0.22] } 6... d6 { [%eval -0.1] } 7. Bb2 { [%eval -0.13] } 7... e6 { [%eval 0.03] } 8. O-O { [%eval 0.03] } 8... Nf6 { [%eval 0.04] } 9. Qe2 { [%eval 0.01] } 9... e5 { [%eval 0.22] } 10. Nd5 { [%eval 0.31] } 10... Be7 { [%eval 0.21] } 11. c3 { [%eval 0.19] } 11... O-O { [%eval 0.11] } 12. Bc2 { [%eval 0.16] } 12... Bg4 { [%eval 0.05] } 13. Ne3 { [%eval 0.0] } 13... Bh5 { [%eval -0.02] } 14. Rad1 { [%eval -0.04] } 14... Qc7 { [%eval 0.14] } 15. Nd5 { [%eval -0.08] } 15... Nxd5 { [%eval 0.0] } 16. exd5!? { [%eval 0.0] } { Did not expect that! } 16... Nb8 { [%eval 0.0] } 17. d4 { [%eval -0.02] } 17... exd4 { [%eval 0.49] } 18. cxd4 { [%eval 0.42] } 18... Bf6 { [%eval 0.83] } 19. g4!! { [%eval 0.86] } { The inner grandmaster channeling starts here! In my opinion, this is probably one of my favourite games. } 19... Bg6 { [%eval 0.41] } 20. g5 { [%eval 0.29] } 20... Bxd4 { [%eval 0.37] } 21. Nxd4 { [%eval 0.62] } 21... cxd4 { [%eval 0.94] } 22. Bxg6 { [%eval 0.25] } 22... hxg6 { [%eval 0.3] } 23. Rxd4! { [%eval 0.6] } 23... Nd7 { [%eval 0.82] } 24. Re4?! { [%eval 0.25] } { Inaccuracy. Rh4 was best. } (24. Rh4) 24... Rac8 { [%eval 0.58] } 25. Qe3 { [%eval 0.35] } 25... Qc5 { [%eval 0.59] } 26. Qd3 { [%eval 0.37] } 26... Nb6?? { [%eval 3.23] } { Blunder. Qc2 was best. } (26... Qc2 27. Qd4 Ne5 28. Rxe5 dxe5 29. Qxe5 f6 30. Qe6+ Rf7 31. Rc1 Qxc1+ 32. Bxc1) 27. Rd1? { [%eval 1.85] } { Mistake. Qh3 was best. } (27. Qh3 Qxd5 28. Bxg7 Kxg7? (28... Qxg5+ 29. Rg4 Qh5 30. Rh4 { Why not 😉 } (30. Qxh5 gxh5 31. Rg3 Nd7 32. Bh6+ Kh7) 30... Qg5+ 31. Rg4 Qh5 32. Qxh5 gxh5 33. Rg3 Nd7 34. Bh6+ Kh7 35. Bxf8 Rxf8 $18) 29. Qh6+ Kg8 30. Rh4 $18) 27... Rfe8 { [%eval 2.47] } 28. Rh4! { [%eval 2.35] } 28... Qc2 { [%eval 2.32] } 29. Qd4! { [%eval 2.42] } 29... f6? { [%eval 4.07] } { Mistake. Re5 was best. } (29... Re5 30. f4 Rc5 31. fxe5 Rxd5 32. Rc1 Rxd4 33. Rxc2 Rxh4 34. exd6 Rg4+ 35. Kf1) 30. gxf6 { [%eval 4.02] } 30... Re5! { [%eval 3.91] } 31. fxg7! { [%eval 4.05] } 31... Rc5 { [%eval 4.37] } 32. Rc1! { [%eval 4.75] } 32... Qf5? { [%eval 5.79] } (32... Qxc1+! { Would have been better. But he was at one minute so I can't blame him! }) 33. Rxc5! { [%eval 5.42] } 33... Qg5+?! { [%eval 7.34] } { Inaccuracy. g5 was best. } (33... g5 34. Rh8+) 34. Kf1 $18 { [%eval 6.91] } { My highest rated win to date. This was a massive win as now, I was tied for first with two other people! } *

OTB game from Genova open, sicilian GP for the win https://lichess.org/broadcast/genova-international-chess-festival-2024/round-6/qV7ne9vE/WB8XgRC2

Beat my first master (FM) today-well actually Chessmood did! 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/114947944003
sicilian kingside attack

A miniature where I defended against lots of pressure and sacrificed my queen for checkmate

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/114962979301?tab=review&move=41 

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Enter New Game"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[PlyCount "67"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Be3 Bc5 6. c3 Nge7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O b6 9. f4 d6 10. Qd2 Bb7 11. b4 Bxd4 12. cxd4 Rfe8 13. b5 Na5 14. Nc3 Qe6 15. f5 Qd7 16. Rf4 d5 17. e5 Nxf5 18. Raf1 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 f6 20. Bg4 Qe7 21. Qh3 fxe5 22. Be6+ Kh8 23. Rf7 Qg5 24. Qf3 h6 25. Rf5 Qd2 26. Bf7 Qxd4+ 27. Kh1 Red8 28. Ne2 Qb2 29. Qh5 Qd2 30. Rxe5 d4 31. Be8 Qd3 32. Rf8+ Kh7 33. Qxh6+ gxh6 34. Re7# *

AdhyayanB vs SaptanshThota: Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation • lichess.org a beautiful game with attractive and accurate sacrifices following the chessmood repertoir . Thanks a lot chessmood team for giving me a great repertoire full credit to GM avetik and team.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/114997135601
 

trapped the queen exactly as in the course didn’t even have to think!

thanks for the home cooking Avi! 

https://lichess.org/study/cRXxmrSi

Hello!!

I played recently 2 OTB tournaments and I managed to play very good game!

Hello GM avetik and team I would like to showcase a game where I had 98 percent accuracy and just 8 average centipawn loss. First I created a stunning advantage in the opening thanks to chessmood course FRENCH WITH BD3 then I was able to find the most accurate moves and calculated a marvelous pawn break sacrifice and won against a higher rated opponent here is the game https://lichess.org/1PSRauXM

A game that I managed to win with Black with 97.7 percent accuracy.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115023508125?tab=review

A great game where I destroyed an opponent who really didn't know how to play against the Scotch. 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115211956361?tab=review

I punished his bad opening play and converted with a nice rook sacrifice at the end.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115221548581?tab=review

Our small chess club organized a tournament for the Fide 100 World Record attempt:

https://lichess.org/swiss/aAvUYwZs

in the first game I was able to set a pretty trap sacrificing a rook, and my opponent took the bait:

https://lichess.org/6jUZX822/black

https://lichess.org/Klp5Z4J0

Great win against caro-kann

https://www.chess.com/game/live/114421171887
With this win I managed to beat my chess.com blitz peak rating from last year

https://lichess.org/Qg2YvnSSouvn
And with this one, I crossed for the first time 2200 classical rating on lichess

98% accuracy with Black in blitz: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115185527259

97.7 accuracy with Black in blitz (publish earlier): https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115023508125?tab=review

https://lichess.org/KRa1Asqm/black

https://lichess.org/mbpjzaXJvsFV

A very interesting endgame

1. e4 { [%eval 0.15] } 1... d6 { [%eval 0.45] } 2. Nc3 { [%eval 0.29] } 2... Nf6 { [%eval 0.48] } 3. f4 { [%eval 0.0] } 3... c6 { [%eval 0.81] } 4. Nf3 { [%eval 0.6] } 4... g6 { [%eval 0.82] } 5. Bc4 { [%eval 0.24] } 5... Be6 { [%eval 2.02] } 6. Bxe6 { [%eval 2.04] } 6... fxe6 { [%eval 2.08] } 7. O-O { [%eval 1.77] } 7... Bg7 { [%eval 2.34] } 8. Ng5 { [%eval 2.46] } 8... Qd7 { [%eval 2.23] } 9. e5 { [%eval 2.4] } 9... dxe5 { [%eval 3.15] } 10. fxe5 { [%eval 3.06] } 10... Qd4+ { [%eval 3.51] } 11. Kh1 { [%eval 3.35] } 11... Qxe5 { [%eval 3.7] } 12. d4 { [%eval 3.68] } 12... Qd6 { [%eval 3.37] } 13. Re1 { [%eval 1.68] } 13... Nfd7 { [%eval 5.2] } 14. Nxe6 { [%eval 5.42] } 14... Be5 { [%eval 5.23] } 15. Qg4 { [%eval 5.17] } 15... Bxh2 { [%eval 6.08] } 16. Ne4 { [%eval 5.86] } 16... Qb4 { [%eval 6.12] } 17. c3 { [%eval 6.2] } 17... Qa5 { [%eval 6.2] } 18. Kxh2 { [%eval 6.1] } 18... Na6 { [%eval #5] } 19. Bg5 { [%eval 6.62] } 19... h6 { [%eval #6] } 20. Nd6+ { [%eval #5] } 20... exd6 { [%eval #5] } 21. Nd8+ { [%eval #5] } 21... Kf8 { [%eval #3] } 22. Rf1+ { [%eval #8] } 22... Qf5 { [%eval #9] } 23. Rxf5+ { [%eval #8] } 23... gxf5 { [%eval #3] } 24. Qxf5+ { [%eval #2] } 24... Nf6 { [%eval #2] } 25. Qxf6+ { [%eval #1] } 1-0

Destoyed the Pirc defense in a very accurate game

https://lichess.org/590ANs2m/black

Mind - blowing attack with sicilian defence

This is why I love the chessmood line in the Sicilian, it's so dangerous and fun to play as white.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/115396772275?username=redlion43

Hey GM avetik and team check this out AdhyayanB vs BRAINCRUSHER_2012: Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Dragon • lichess.org

I missed a quicker checkmate, but enjoyed this Grand Prix:  

https://lichess.org/study/Za0RkscI/9aGkAr2f

95.2% accuracy in the Najdorf. I'm still in the Rating Booster courses, will learn the ChessMood openings as soon as possible.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115456077757?tab=review

Played a good game with Grand Prix attack.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/115474122039

Model game in CM French trap :)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115534693671?tab=review

https://lichess.org/ndCt9pGO/white#0

nice attack vs the alekhine

A complete massacre in the scandinavian: https://lichess.org/game/export/WEgsTZNK?evals=0&clocks=0

Nice mate to the King in the center

https://lichess.org/n3kl7s2ibk0A

Here is a nice OTB game I played earlier this July against a 1900 USCF. I was black, and I was able to correctly refute the Evans gambit and sacrifice my queen (which the engine approves). My conversion was pretty clean, and I got 97.4 percent accuracy in 41 moves! 😀😀

the game (for some reason the link wasn't working so I downloaded the “animated gif” of the game; hopefully it still counts in the contest): 

My favorite french mating pattern:
https://www.chess.com/game/live/115633716419

Great sacrifice and mate sequence

https://lichess.org/P8772rRJ/white

"Ojkkjvgh vs taxipeter: Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation • lichess.org" https://lichess.org/mlBOIjNJ/white#44

Some blitz games i played with a 2000 uscf rated friend (there were sacrifices in all the games lol)

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Me"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Bf4 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 O-O 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Qd3 f5 8.
c4 d5 9. c5 Nc6 10. e3 a5 11. h4 b6 12. cxb6 Ba6 13. bxc7 Qe8 14. Qxa6 Rxa6 15.
Bxa6 Qd7 16. Bb5 Nc3 17. Ne5 Qxc7 18. Bxc6 Qe7 19. f3 Rb8 20. Kd2 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "me"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 c5 7. Rc1 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Nc6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bb5 Rb8 12. Qa4 a6 13. Bd3 Rxb2 14. Bxa6 Bxa6
15. Qxa6 d4 16. Nb5 Rxd2 17. Kxd2 dxe3+ 18. Kxe3 Bh6+ 19. Kf3 Qd3# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "me"]
[Result "*"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. b3 dxc4 8. bxc4
c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qb6 11. Qc1 Bd7 12. Nd2 Nc6 13. e3 Rac8 14. Rb1 Qc7 15.
Nb5 Qb8 16. Nb3 a6 17. Nc3 Be6 18. Na4 Ne5 19. Nb6 Nxc4 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 21. Nd4
Bd5 22. Bxd5 Nxd5 23. Qd1 b5 24. Ba1 Qa8 25. Nf3 Bxa1 26. Rxa1 Rd8 27. Qe2 e5
28. Rfd1 e4 29. Nd4 Nc3 30. Qc2 Nxd1 31. Rxd1 f5 32. a4 Qd5 33. axb5 axb5 34.
Qb3 Kh8 35. Ra1 Rd7 36. Qxb5 Qxb5 37. Nxb5 Rb7 38. Nd4 Rb2 39. Ra8+ Kg7 40. Ra7+
Kh6 41. Ne6 Nd2 42. Nf8 Nf3+ 43. Kg2 Rb1 44. Rxh7+ Kg5 45. h4+ Kg4 *

I might have to delete my other comments on this post, as this game overshadows them all. 

I added some commentary. Enjoy!
https://lichess.org/study/SnHlWENo/0VL0AmU8 

CM French trap - part 2 ;)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/115783227743?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/115942778593

Check out this #chess game: rufinofernandez vs MTineer - https://www.chess.com/live/game/115867810577

My plan started when I realized that my opponent was very greedy for the middle pawn d5, then I started preparing to get rid of his queen through the discovered check with bd6, blocking the queen’s protection of his desired pawn. After that, I lured him when he captured the pawn with Ncxd5, so I eliminated this knight with my light bishop for the first great move ! 😃. When my opponent realized his blunder, my knight was attacked on the d4 square. I protected him with the other knight without changing my plan to threaten the discovered check and won a brilliant move !! After my opponent removed his king to safety for thwart my plan, I withdrew the pledged a good knight and began preparing for a new attack plan under my defense rounds.Then I move the knight on the d4 square without protection, heading towards the king's wing with the other knight.In the end, I got my second brilliant move !! So my opponent began attacking me, destroying my rook and threatening queen. Then I left my back rank as it was and continued attacking through That lonely brave heart knight who kept fighting in the opponent king's wing alone without support destroying his defence line and made many damages on his area until he was killed under my opponent king hand "May God have mercy on him and forgive him" to recoup my rook and get asecond great move !. After that my opponent try to resist but he resigned at the end.

Fulix vs ROBERT_LOPEZ: Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation • lichess.org

https://lichess.org/RNqAaoS7/black

https://www.chess.com/live/game/116067056089

My best game since a lot of time against passive play in the scotch.

2 of my games in Lichess.

https://lichess.org/MECZoJLAZNjY A positional win in the French 3.Bd3 line.
https://lichess.org/LSiYEal3UIxL A win in the Sicilian Najdorf, although I misses some chances in this game.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/113917827307

I sacrificed a pawn in the Scotch opening and later found a brilliant move…!

https://lichess.org/ulQ6yuUi/black

– I outplayed a Super GM (Dmitry Andrekin) ! using the Modern Marocy Bind for Black in 3+0 blitz

-There might be some inaccuracies here and there, but I am proud not to be worse against a Super GM!

Im not posting this game because it was flawless.

This featured maybe the most beautiful endgame I have ever seen.

The amount of ideas both sides had to fight for a draw was amazing.

The fun starts at move 20.

https://lichess.org/study/u3ktfeWT/PHgd2XGM

Chapter 3.

In particular, 26… a6!! is the introduction to an amazing idea that i stumbled upon is 9 seconds. I turned around a seemingly hopeless endgame with that idea, and even managed to win.

Enjoy!

This game was a 30+30 fide rated game the ratings in the game is the fide rating

I wanted to submit this game as i tried the vienna for the first time to surprise my opponent in an otb game and i won it against a higher rated player  

i hunted my opponent's king and later converted the advantage in the rook ending 

game link: https://lichess.org/study/LjlGYqdH/ZnRomFUK (chapter 4 is the game for submission )

another game played in the same tournament  were i used the grand prix attack against the sicillian and won a beautiful game me and my opponent made many inaccuracies and blunders but the surprise value of the opening made me win the game

game link : https://lichess.org/study/LjlGYqdH/npscpHKO ( chapter 3 is also the game for submission )

Successful king hunt.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/116169078241

When are the results announced I am really scared and waiting

Hello GM avetik and team I would like to showcase a game where I had 98 percent accuracy and just 8 average centipawn loss. First I created a stunning advantage in the opening thanks to chessmood course FRENCH WITH BD3 then I was able to find the most accurate moves and calculated a marvelous pawn break sacrifice and won against a higher rated opponent here is the game https://lichess.org/1PSRauXM

https://lichess.org/GB3GSUrI/white#38

I really feel as if I am beginning to make progress with my chess development 😎.  This is probably my best game so far with 92.8% accuracy and a Brilliant move.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/678183847?tab=review

eagerly waiting 

guys what are the predictions for who will win

A perfect example of blackmood french attack, wit the kd7! famous move: So bad i missed it up in a draw:

https://lichess.org/d4g8VfyW

When can we expect the results?

Sir when can we expect the results we are eagerly waiting, I know it might be tough to choose but still we are all a bit curious for the results 

Hello champions, how are you all doing today?

Thank you for sharing your best games for July 2024. There were a lot of brilliant moves and interesting plans. We enjoyed going through all of them. Now, let’s move on to the prizes:

1st Prize: Saphira Bond. The move 17.Nf4 was an interesting find, but the best part is what happens on move 25! For everyone watching this game, go to Black’s 24th move, pause, and find the only winning move for White. Congratulations and thank you for this beautiful game!

https://lichess.org/P8772rRJ/white#1
 

2nd Prize: Jake E. We lost count of the brilliant moves in your game! It was one brilliancy after another, from the creative Ba8 to the crazy queen sacrifice. Well done! Thank you also for taking the time to add your comments. We appreciate it!

https://lichess.org/study/SnHlWENo/0VL0AmU8
 

3rd Prize: Alex Ung. You demonstrated why the Queen and Knight make such a dangerous attacking duo, especially against an exposed king. Sacrificing a full rook was a bold move, and your finish was precise. Congratulations!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/116169078241
 

4th Prize: Abhiraam Devulapalli. Your move 17...Rb2! crushed White’s defense. But the brilliancy came later, with a move that looked like giving away a free bishop, making the whole combination very attractive. Nicely done!

https://lichess.org/590ANs2m/black#17
 

5th Prize: Manolis Kouk. Your game is the Scotch version of “h4-h5, sac, sac, and mate!” Fischer would be smiling and proud :) A short and simple execution of a classic idea. Well done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/116067056089
 

Congratulations to all of you!

Thank you once again to everyone for sharing your games. All the best for next month’s contest!

Feedback on my tactics? I'm working at improving after a long slump

Thoughts on this game?

https://www.chess.com/game/live/115736440363

Replies

From my perspective, you played a good match, but you could do better.

Instead of 6. Nd5, you could play a move that developes a piece, attacks a piece or make your king safe, like 6. Be3, 6. h3 or 6. 0-0.

On 13. Be6, your opponent is threating to capture a pawn, it's better to defend it with a move like b3.

And 14. the pawn is still under attack.

16. Nxg7, the opponent's king can escape after taking the knight, and black can now attack the white king.

20. f4, nice move!

27. Rf7, and you will win a queen for a rook!

I hope I helped you!

Thanks guys! Much appreciated

Quite the SLP

I usually resign if I'm down pawns in an endgame but this time I thought…Self you have rooks. Double them and attack those pawns.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/116346006867

Replies

Well done for fighting on!

I don't understand why your opponent resigned though.  Why didn't he take your last pawn with his rook, you then capture the rook with your king and it's a draw because of insufficient material.

I looked at it again and I think that game could have been drawn in under 4 seconds. Line up rook. Take pawn. Done.

Sometimes positions look visually bad and people feel intimidated instead of thinking of replies I guess.

It's odd. I fully gave up on winning that game. I stuck around sheerly because I felt it would be a good learning experience to see if I could use my rooks to clean up some pawns.

Benko Gambit Line

Hi, I have a question about the Benko Gambit line in the screenshot below.

I could not find it covered in the course (or as in this game: https://lichess.org/oYKGzJdL#9)  Only Qc2 was covered - or perhaps I am confusing the move orders. Thanks for your help

Replies

Hey Matthew,

To be honest this line is not critical and both ideas - either capturing on c4 or pushing b4 is quite nice.

My personal preference is to push b4 with getting a space advantage on the Queenside.

Good luck!

special offer

so special offer is for Essential plan only, am I correct

Replies

No, no guys, its Essential plan. 
Which we cut from 948 to 588. Which is 49/mo.