Chess forum by Grandmasters

Chessable

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you know a good way to train your openings is using the website https://www.chessable.com and building your own book with the lines the coaches teach. If you have a hard time remembering from only watching video, this is a great way to build your database and train against it. It also allows you to train on your phone or whatever if you have down time. 

Just thought I would share :) 

Matt

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That's awesome, I didn't know you could build your own books. Thanks

Thanks Matt, for helping others! 

Opening

Is an opening 10 or 15 moves for each opponent? When does the Middlegame start?

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The openi

ng doesn't durate a couple of moves, but it is completed when all pieces are developed and the player has already castled and have connected rooks.

Interesting game on Chess.com??

Hi ALL!!  I just played this game.  No engine.  Just me.  5 minutes on the clock.  the link is www.chess.com/live#game=4203001909.  Please if it doesn't work enter it on the URL line.  Any comments would be appreciated!   Thanks

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Is it only me who can't see the game? 

The chess enigma study time mgt.

I usually have 2 hours to study. Sometimes more unfortunately my brain hurts after 2 hours. How do I break up study. Openings middle game end game? Should I play on different days? Should I play first then study? What if I only have 1 hour? Would it be better to study opening one day middle game the next. End game the next then play? What is an example of an amateur routine for improvement? Am I alone on this?

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Hey Brad! 
The reason I'm having 1-1 calls with everyone who joins PRO Members team, is that everyone is on different level and struggle on something different in chess. 
For now, I advice you to play, make puzzles, and learn (courses + streams). Good ratio will be 70/15/15.  70-play. At first, you need to stop easy blunders. 

Jobava Line is covered!

Hello champions! 
Jobava line is covered. 
https://chessmood.com/course/crushing-d4-sidelines 

If you have any questions, feel free to post in this post.
Regards,
GM Avetik 

Replies

Hi Avetik,

I am enjoying the course so far and learning a lot, although I must confess that I am not fully convinced about Black's chances in the following critical line:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.h4 h5 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Qd2! Bxf3 8.gxf3 [The engines really love this position for White] c6 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Kb1 e6 11.e4 Now it's not clear to me what Black's long term plan should be, does he aim to eventually open the game on the Queenside or does he just sit tight and resist White's attempt to open the game himself. OTB Praxis has shown so far that these positions are difficult to handle for both sides, but I am leaning towards White having the edge with the two Bishops and better long term prospects. I have attached two annotated games from my files by IM Richard Palliser for your attention (particularly the notes) and feedback.

I was also wondering what you thought of:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.h4 h5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Ne5 c5!? My analysis of this position so far has been fairly encouraging for Black. 

The Best Games with ChessMood Openings

Dear Friends, dear chess lovers! 
Please post here your games played online or offline when you win with our ChessMood Openings.
Let's go!  

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I'll start the party off right with a Scotch! 

https://lichess.org/U00eoXGt/white#20

I played really well, but after Qh4 it felt like the initiative was just very natural.  

Attack!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4003091346

Here is a Lonewolf tournament game played on Lichess. A Sicilian/Rossolimo win.  Very nice.

https://lichess.org/ZXQMhlqgBCDq

Hello=) Here is a game against GM (on chess.com). I use Anti-Sicilian system) Enjoy !

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4021568744

Nice game in Benko Gambit!)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4043578376

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4051194896

My game against sicilian with sicilian Nc3 line....crushing kingside and checkmate.

Know your openings and they will serve you well!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4082359363

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4163512717 

Scotch game with h4! 
The source- https://chessmood.com/course/scotch-game 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4163502070 
Another one! 

Accelerated Dragon

Hi, Avetik

For the Accelerated Dragon, where do I find the advance section for The Super ...Re8! line?

How do I continue after 12...Bb7 13.h4 Qc7 14.h5 c5? my engines give +- for that position.

Thank you!

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Hey Man! 
Will record it and update! 

Hey guys! It's uploaded in the course. 
https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-accelerated-dragon ​

Developing plans

5. ...Bd6 6.f5 my thinking was it was good to block the bishop with e5 and c5. Is this logical thinking? It also gets prepared for possible King side attack. I think my chess skills for developing deep plans are flawed anyway to strengthen them? I use ChessTempo, CT-ART, and Chess King.

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Brad, f5 is cool, and very logical. 
You kill opponent's bishops! Both of them. He has problem with d5 square. You can go to g4 later. 

Decorative chess set advice for GF

Okay, I think I finally figured out what I want to get my girlfriend for x-mas.

I'd love to get her a nice glass chess set, but I don't know if my budget allows for that.
I'm looking to spend $80-100 on one, maybe a bit more.

Since she is fan of some mystery kind content (Game of Thrones series, Dragon Age game), will it be nice to present https://recroompick.com/best-chess-sets/#product2 a chessboard themed in dragons style? Any opinions?

Thanks, folks!!

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Brian,

First off, if your GF is a chess lover, she is going to appreciate any set you get for her. She is going to like it even more with the amount of effort you give to personalize it for her.

However, I have a couple concerns for you. Concern number one: If she were truly a chess lover, then the best gift you could give her is ChessMood! Concern number 2: If she is a chess lover, why is she not already a member of ChessMood? Concern number 3: If she is already a member of ChessMood, then she is already reading your post and knows what her gift will be! 

All kidding aside, just get her something from the heart and you wont go wrong!

Good luck!

All I could find was the same set you posted. I have seen another that wasn’t glass but I couldn’t find it.

The Champion of October and the Prizes

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Chess.com: 2018 Blitz rating as of Oct 6 

Here is my rating stat in my chess.com account

The goal is 2700!)

Best Games of October and the Prizes

ChessMood Family! 
Under this post, we invite you to post your best games that you will play in October
At the end of the month, we will vote to find the Winner who will join our PRO Members team for 1 month for FREE!

Let's go! 

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This is one of my games to crush my opponent who used grob opening (1.g4). Punishing him in the opening.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4096868697?fbclid=IwAR1gH9UJ_7wyTqfTzynzC5aLQs_LWAOWKTc3VzfT_IwCXY6lP6aVK0qC1QM

This was a fun game for me! 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4110893971

Nice checkmate)

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4118257992

Wanted to play 4.Nf3 But Mouse slip to e2!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4121272290

Here is a game I played last night over the board with a time control of G90+5. I felt like I was in control of this game from move 3, even with the black pieces!

(I added it to chess.com to be able to share it here)

https://www.chess.com/a/2uR4SFiUNZwLa

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4143186194

Nice bishop sac=)

PICASSSOOO vs Davo_Hakhinyan

Live Chess:Chess.com

1)d4-Nf6 2)c4-g6 3)Nc3-Bg7 4)e4-d6 5)Nf3-o-o 6)Be2-e5 7)o-o-Nc6 8)d5-Ne7 9)b4-Nh5 10)a4-f5 11)c5-Nf4 12)cd-cd 13)Nd2-Ne2 14)Qe2-f4 15)b5-g5 16)f3-h5 17)Ba3-Ng6 18)Nc4-Rf6 19)b6-ab 20)Rab1-g4 21)Nb6-Nh4 22)Na8-Rg6 23)Kh1-gf 24)gf-Bh3 25)Rg1-Bg2 26)Rg2-Rg2 27)Qe1??-Rh2! 28)Kh2-Nf3 29)Kg2-Ne1 30)Re1-Qa8 31)Bd6-Qa5 32)Rc1-Bh6 33)Kf3-Bg7 34)Ke2-Qa6 35)Nb5-Qa4 36)Nc7-Qe4 37)Kf1-Qf3 38)Ke1-Qe3 39)Kd1-f3 40)Rc2-f2 41)Ne6 0-1

Thank you for teaching me the Benko!

[Event "2019 Midwest Class"]

[Site "?"]

[Date "2019.10.13"]

[Round "5"]

[White "Graham, Paul"]

[Black "Me"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A58"]

[WhiteElo "1935"]

[BlackElo "2019"]

[PlyCount "56"]

[SourceVersionDate "2018.12.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. b3 g6 7. Bb2 Bg7 8. g3

O-O 9. Bg2 d6 10. Nh3 Nbd7 11. O-O Qb6 12. Qd2 Rfb8 13. Bc3 c4 14. b4 Bb5 15.

Qb2 Qa6 16. Nd2 Nb6 17. Ne4 Na4 18. Qc2 Nxc3 19. Nxc3 Ba4 20. Nxa4 Qxa4 21.

Qxc4 Rxb4 22. Qc6 Nd7 23. Rab1 Rxb1 24. Rxb1 Qxa2 25. Be4 Nc5 26. Rb4 Nxe4 27.

Qxa8+ Qxa8 28. Rxe4 Be5 0-1

Hi! This was a game played with white pieces in a recent lichess tournament, starting from Bishop's Opening position

https://lichess.org/ARYsnU6F/white

Enjoy!

2 games played over the board

[Event "NÖ LL"]

[Site "?"]

[Date "2019.10.27"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Steiner, Bruno"]

[Black "Khachatouri, Saro"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A45"]

[WhiteElo "2150"]

[BlackElo "2000"]

[Annotator ""]

[PlyCount "78"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. c3 d6 6. Bc4 g6 7. Ne2 Bg7 8. O-O

e5 $2 9. dxe5 $2 dxe5 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Bb3 Na6 12. Kh1 Nc5 13. f4 Bg4 14. f5

Rad8 15. Qe1 Nd3 16. Qd1 Nf4 17. Rxf4 exf4 18. Qe1 gxf5 19. Nxf4 Qg5 20. Qf2 c6

21. Rf1 Be5 22. g3 Kh8 23. Nf3 Bxf3+ 24. Qxf3 Bxf4 25. gxf4 Qg4 26. Qxg4 fxg4

27. Kg2 Kg7 28. Kg3 h5 29. f5 f6 30. Kh4 Kh6 31. h3 gxh3 32. Kxh3 Rd3+ 33. Kh4

Re3 34. Rd1 Re8 35. Be6 Re7 36. Rd8 Rxe4+ 37. Kh3 Rg7 38. Rh8+ Kg5 39. Rd8 Kf4

0-1

and

[Event "Landesliga Niederösterreich"]

[Site "?"]

[Date "2019.10.06"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Khachatouri, Saro"]

[Black "Mlynek, Peter"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B12"]

[WhiteElo "2000"]

[BlackElo "2100"]

[Annotator ""]

[PlyCount "79"]

[EventType "tourn"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. Nc3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 Nd7 7. Nge2 Nb6 8. Bb3

Ne7 9. O-O Ned5 10. Nxd5 Nxd5 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Be7 13. g4 Bg6 14. f4 Qd7

15. f5 exf5 16. Qf3 (16. Qe2 $1 fxg4 17. e6) 16... f4 17. Bxf4 O-O 18. Rae1 Kh8

19. Re2 Rae8 20. h4 Bxh4 21. g5 Qf5 22. Bc2 Qe6 23. Bb3 Qf5 24. Bc2 Qe6 25. Qh1

Qg4+ 26. Rg2 Qh5 27. Bd1 Bf2+ 28. Kxf2 Qxh1 29. Rxh1 Be4 30. Bf3 Bxf3 31. Kxf3

f6 32. Rgh2 fxg5 33. Rxh7+ Kg8 34. Rh8+ Kf7 35. Rxf8+ Rxf8 36. Bxg5 Ke6+ 37.

Ke3 Rf5 38. Rg1 Kd5 39. Bf4 Rf7 40. Rg6 1-0

Hope it's not too late to submit one. My only rated win against an FM.

Benko main line questions

1. In your repertoire suggestion for the main line with 12.a4, you say that White should sacrifice the bishop (19.Bxg5) and keep the knight. However, keeping the bishop seems more dangerous to me: Bg5 supports the march of the h-pawn and makes it much harder for Black to shift pieces to the kingside (no ..Re7 or ..Qd8). The combined threat of Qg4 and advancing the h-pawn seems extremely dangerous and much easier to play for White. Engines struggle to defend this position and often propose computer moves (e.g. ..f5 pawn sacrifice) as Blacks only chance of survival. Whats your take on this?

2. In the main line with 12.Re1, you recommend 12...Qa5. However, 13.a4 (with play similar to 12.a4) seems very dangerous, as Bd2 will once again come with tempo. Is this reason enough to prefer 12...Qb6 or 12...Ra6?

Thanks!

Peter

Replies

Hey Peter! 
Have you checked the advanced course? I offer to play Qb6 tricky move instead of usual Nbd7. 
Also, my advice - don't go so deep especially analyze openings with engines, if you are not an IM or GM yet. 

Please reserve a 1-1 call in the events section, so we will see, how can I help you the most.

Regards,
Avetik 

Yes I've seen the advanced course. The drawback of 11..Qb6 is that it doesn't connect well with the rest of the repertoire: after 12.Re1 or 12.h3, it's too late to transpose to 11..Nbd7 12.Re1/h3 Qa5.

Since you spend much time showing that 11..Nbd7 12.a4 isn't a straightforward refutation of the Benko and that 12..Qb6 is still quite playable for Black, I thought I'd give that a shot. However, 19.Nxg5 instead of 19.Bxg5 seems to refute your otherwise interesting line, especially in a practical game between humans.

Background: I'm trying to build a repertoire that I can confidently play against CM/FM/IM level opposition in OTB games, knowing that my opponents will prepare for myself. So far I really enjoy the ChessMood opening recommendations for Black. (I play 1.d4/1.c4 as White.) Also the "Crushing opponents with ChessMood openings" streams are great!

Small suggestion: Adding a game index (start time/link and opening played) in the description of the "Crushing opponents with ChessMood openings" videos would make them even more useful!

[Event "Rated Blitz game"][Site "https://lichess.org/pZkrqtky"][Date "2019.10.31"][Round "-"][White "Ardrich"][Black "Spirochete"][Result "0-1"][UTCDate "2019.10.31"][UTCTime "03:05:32"][WhiteRatingDiff "-6"][BlackRatingDiff "+40"][Variant "Standard"][TimeControl "300+0"][ECO "A46"][Opening "Indian Game: Spielmann-Indian"][Termination "Normal"][Annotator "lichess.org"]1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 { A46 Indian Game: Spielmann-Indian } 3. dxc5 b6 4. c6 I don't know how I should reply dxc5 should I have answered with e6 instead?

The Best Games with ChessMood Openings

Replies

This is one of the games from chess.com, which uses the opening system from chessmood--against the anti-sicilian sideline. Develop slowly, attacking the weak spot, and exploit it,

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4097232229?fbclid=IwAR1nC0qJWC0MWpQ0UUQ5T7Z1e_ams8x4v0k2hUOLAh174d4aSnyfSa_H6Z4

Nice checkmate in crushing Sicilian with White (Nc3 move), punish opponent in the center and checkmate him.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4097273760

London System Course

Very interesting and thought provoking course. I also wanted to mention that the overwhelming choice of strong London System specialist against our chosen ChessMood line is:

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 (4.Qd2!? is a specialty of GM Daniel Naroditsky) Bg7 5.h4

Perhaps you could upload an antidote to the above lines in future London System videos.

Best Regards,

Kevin D

Replies

Hey Kevin! 
I know how carefully you check all the lines, so when you say something good, it's very important for me. 
Nc3, so-called Jobava line, will be the next section. 
Jobava line? Or how it called? 

Preparing for a known opponent - part 2

So my next Monday night game is with the white pieces against the Strong FM Pedram Atoufi (rated 2400) and I would love to get a win against him! He plays both the Pirc and the Philidor's Defense. I am including the last 3 games I have played against him (all losses) for reference to the lines he plays. Any help on how I should play is greatly appreciated. 

Game 1 - https://www.chess.com/a/GvXzweq4ZwLa

Game 2 - https://www.chess.com/a/mBDbxUAAZwLa

Game 3 - https://www.chess.com/a/mBDbxUAAZwLa

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Jay last 2 are the same game. 
After g6, Bb5 is a good game! 

Post Analyses of the stream on 23.10

Hey guys! 
We had a few very interesting games.
2 of my opponents were really cheating :)

1 won clearly :)
Here are 3 positions, which I wanted to share with you.

1. I checked my analyses, instead of h4, the move I played in the game is fine, but f4 is giving more advantage! More about it, will be on upcoming course "Crushing Scandinavian" 

2. I played Re3 in the game, but it's better Qc2 immediately, and no worry about Bc4, because of Qa4, and a7,c6 pawn, K on c8 are really weak. I need Rh3 for attack, so Re3 changing the Rooks was a mistakes. 

3. Bhabatosh, you were right, Nd1 was winning, I missed it :) 

Thanks everyone who was with us, hope the stream was valuable.

See you after tomorrow! 

Replies

Preparing for a known opponent

Every Monday night I play a G90+5 game, and this week I got my pairing very early, so I have time to prep for my opponent! 

I will be playing black against an expert level player, and he almost always plays the Kings Indian Attack with white, with his first moves being 1.e4, 2. Nf3, 3. g3 and 4. Bg2.

I have played this gentleman 17 times in over the board play! I am 3 wins 3 draws and 11 losses against him, however we have not played since I started with the ChessMood openings, so I know I can surprise him!

Any ideas how I should play against his set up is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any help!

Replies

To prepare for this game I re-watched GM Gabuzyan's  Sicilian sidelines course for ideas and studied the games I played with this opponent in the past. Overall I feel I played well, and came away with a victory, even though I tried to throw it away near the end haha!

For those interested, here is the game. (It was played over the board with a time control of G90+5, but I put it into chess.com so I could share it here)

https://www.chess.com/a/2uR4SFiUNZwLa

Hey Jay! 
Against KID Attack, c5, Nc6, g6, Bd7, d6, e5! is a very strong setup as I have explained and played during the streams few times.
Then Nge7, 0-0, h6, Be6 and f5 or d5. 
If op plays somehwere c3, d4, he has a problem with ed4, cd4, Bg4! 

French Defence 3.Bd3: 7...e5 in the main line.

Hello coach, hello everyone

The past week or so I have encountered this line 3 or 4 times (from different opponents):

1.e4 e5 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 dxe4 4.Bxe4 Nf6 5.Bf3 c5 6.Ne2 Nc6 7.Be3 e5!?

The first time I still thought to myself that my opponent was out of book and improvising, but I completely failed to show any advantage in any of those games and even got into serious difficulties in 1 or 2 of them.

So, the fact that I never saw it before and now suddenly in just one week 3 or 4 people have played the same line that brought me trouble, makes me suspect that it is no coincidence and that a new line has been invented/published/advocated somewhere.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks! Raf

P.S. Slightly off topic, I also encountered 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 Nc6!? and with only 3+0 time, I didn't manage to come up with anything more incisive than 4.exd5, giving away my opening advantage.

Replies

Hey Raf! 
I am so sorry...
I thought it's in the courses but couldn't find.
I am flying back to Armenia, and will check out, if the video is lost, or I forgot to record.
Anyway, will be fixed, sorry about that.

Two words, after 7...e5 you take Bc6 bc, 9.de5 Qd1 10.Kd1 Ng4 11. Nd2! Ne3 12.fe3 then Nf3 and it's a better endgame.

Hey Raf! 
We updated french course with 7...e5. 
Did you like it? 

d4,nf3 and d4,bf4

Hello Coach and ChessMood family, what is the best reply for black against, d4,nf3 or d4,bf4. I face this opening line quite often, let me know your thoughts and ideas, thank you. 

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Hey Bobby! 
Will make a videos soon. 

The WINNERS of September Challenge

It's high time to reveal the WINNERS of September Challenge!

Let's go!

"The Best game of September" goes to Anastasis Koukas!

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Didn't see this until now lol :) I assumed it already expired ? :(