Scotch

In Scotch after 1. e4 e5  2. Nf3  Nc6  3. d4 if black does not take the pawn and play 3. ...  d6, then how can I approach?

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I'm pretty  sure this line was covered in one of the Scotch updates. Did you double Check?

Postscript: Now that I think about it, the line you are looking for might be in the Philidor Course since the position is very transpositional.

I think the best line against 3. d6 is: 4. d5 Nce7 5. c4 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. c5 dxc5 8. Qb3 c6 9. dxc6 Nxc6 very playable position for both sides.

Webinar: Questions and Answers about ChessMood Openings

Dear friends, dear PRO Members, my champions! 
This gonna be an interactive webinar with our PRO team. 
You can send me your questions related to our openings in advance. 
You can ask me also about positions, that you feel uncomfortable with. 

I'm going to answer all of them even if it takes hours. 

See you soon!


https://chessmood.com/event/questions-and-answers-about-ChessMood-openings

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This endgame position is good for white as you explained but I don't think I can win this. So some tips needed. You know very well I am not good in endgames.

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/plan-in-the-gp-endgame

Anthony, have you checked Kevin D's series about Scotch? 

Maestro Avetik, I missed today's webinar because of work obligations. I did watch the recording, though. I really liked the way you answered the questions. One discussion about chess improvement particularly I found very interesting. You said you went from 0 to 2000 yourself in about 3 years (from 1800 to 2000 in one year). I would like to ask you two follow-up questions: how long did it take you to get from 2000 to IM level? And, would it be possible for you to single out one or several key factors in your growth? Was it determination? Opening study? Postgame analysis? A good coach? A combination of all the aforementioned? etc. I would be very curious to read your comments.

Hi
I missed yesterday's webinar because of work obligations. I also watch the recording. Thanks for your high quality answer's.

Hi Anthony

I play the Scotch a lot. If you are interested we could play some training games on chess.com

Where can I find Kevin D's series about Scotch? 

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

Dear Unknown User,
during the webinar you gave me a deep and complicated question, which I couldn't answer right away. 
"Many people are playing the 2...Nc6 when I play the Closed Sicilian with white. What should I do if they play 4...a6 Bd3 g6 b4 cb4 Nd5 Nc6?" 

Well, I checked it, 7...Nc6 is really interesting move. 
I tried different moves for White, using both engines Stockfish and LCV, . 
There are few options for White, I would recommend to play 8.Rb1 a5 9.Bb2 Nf6 10.Bf6!? ef6 11.c3. 

The position is very unclear, but it should be much easier to play for White, because of Black's very ugly pawn structure. 

CAN'T DOWNLOAD PGN FILES!

Sir, why can't I download the PGN files after the openings??

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How to use engines (if at all)?

Maestro Avetik,

Recently you dissuaded me from using engine-guided study of chessmood openings, and I have turned my engine off ever since. However, there are several aspects of engines that I don't really understand.

Why should the engine be an exclusive grandmaster's ally? Why should the lower-rated chessplayer stay away from the engine? How exactly does the engine slow down or prevent rapid growth? What is 'a computer move'? Could there be exceptions, i..e situations in which engine use could be useful assistants to lower-rated players, or beneficial to their growth? Are there only cons, or are there any pros, too? And if so, what are the dos and don'ts of engine use?

Many authors and commentators have claimed that the use of engines has been one of the main reasons why today's grandmasters earn their titles at an ever-younger age, so surely, engines can't be that bad, can they?

Most strong amateur players that I know use engines a lot, for different purposes, especially for post-game analysis (finding tactical mistakes and missed opportunities) and opening preparation (consulting databases, finding reliable antidotes against opponents' known opening repertoire, etc.). By strong amateur players I mean, broadly speaking, players in the 1900-2300 ELO range. Players clearly below your own level, but whom I still look up to (and often feel rather intimidated by, especially the 2100+ ones).

I would love to read an article of yours in which you address these issues.

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Hey Ramon! 
Nice question. 
I'm writting an article about it, as I see, this is really a confusing topic for many chess players. 

Error on chess.com Sunday Tournament page

I see a notification in chess.com that there is a tournament on Sunday. Clicking on it I get the following error. Any idea what's going on?

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Hunan jan, I just asked our girls to check, it seems okay. 
Can you check it again? 
Is there still the same problem? 

Champions, do we have someone else who has the same issue? 

Opening Choices

Hello Chess mood Team

My current rating is 1628

I want to improve my chess to its peak performance but I am facing a crossroad problem whether I should switch my openings according to your courses or not

I play open Sicilian with white and kings indian with black

If I change my openings, will I get better results in the long run as well

Please answer my query

Thank you

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Hello Devansh, I believe your opening repertoire is good, but the main downside of these openings is that not only do they require a huge theoretical knowledge, but you should also be able to play in very complicated positions. Your openings will be very useful after 2200 level. The recommended openings here in chessmood are the best to develop your chess skills especially in 1600-2200 levels. Personally, I am 1 and a half year a chessmood member and I have raised my rating around 275 points. In addition, the openings here in chessmood are very easy to learn and plat, but there is another advantage: they match together. You can meet middlegame and opening positions, which can arise for 2 or even 3 chessmood openings, such as Maroczy bind, or have similar or inversed pawn structures. I hope you will do your best and improve your chess skills, with or without chessmood openings.

Devansh. 
Our openings are very aggressive and very practical. 
You should read this article: https://chessmood.com/blog/growth-hacking-in-chess-300-rating-points-in-six-month

Hey, the open sicilian requiers a lot of theory and also a lot of understand in different strucutres. the KI is one of the most complex openings. Its nothing wrong about playing them, but you should maybe first play something easier. Maybe rossolim and moscower, and later switch back 

have a nice day

Let's checkmate Covid-19

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Got mine!

Scandinavian 2.Nf6 - Caruana's b3

Dear GM Avetik,

Yesterday I had an OTB classical game and my opponent played the 2...Nf6 Scandinavian. I played the Chessmood's idea of 8.b3 with the improvement 9.Qe2.  The game went 9...Nfxd5 10.Nxd5 Nxd5 11.Bb2 and my opponent played 11....Nb6.  Here I decided to play 12.0-0-0 as I figured that I had a very big lead in development and his king is in the centre....good compensation for losing the bishop pair.

Was my reasoning good?  My opponent played 12...Bd7 13.Nh3 (not sure of this move) e6 14.Rhe1.
He managed to play Qe7 and 0-0-0 and somehow managed to get a good position but at the cost of severe time trouble.  I won the game after 5 hours.
What do you think is best after 11...Nb6.  Engine suggest 12.Bd3 but I don't like block the d pawn.

thank you,

Duncan

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Hey Duncan! 
I'm glad you won at the end. 
Well, your 12.0-0-0 looks very reasonable. Just instead of 14.Nh3 14.Ne2 would be better, so if anytime opponent plays Bc6, you would have Nd4! 

Engines 12.Bd3 I like more. Yeah it blocks the d2 pawn, but the next move is 13.Be4! (almost remove), where from the bishop it transforms to a monster! :) 
Bc8 hates him (No bd7,Bc6), and Black king will also hate him, if he goes 0-0. 

Today Puzzle

I  got  a winning position by Kxe2 but it is showing wrong

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Hey Varun! 
Yeah, you were right. 
The original solution of the puzzle is Rb8 with Bb7! idea. 
But Ke2 wins as well. 

We just removed the puzzle. 
Sorry about that. 

Scandinavian 3...Nf6/6....Qd7

Maestro Avetik,

In this variation, after 7. d5 Bxf3 8. gxf3!? Ne5 9. Qb3 0-0-0 10. Qe3, could you please comment on the move 10....Qf5, suggested by the engine? Should White take on a7 or not (the engine suggests Rg1!?)? Does White really have anything here?

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Ramon, I would worry about such engine move Qf5 if I would play on 2600 Grandmaster level. 
Qf5 is very engine move. For human - we stop to think after 0-0-0 Qe3. 

Afterall, yeah after Qf5 Rg1! white has big advantage. 
Once again, you're moving not the most productive way. 

Try fast finish all the courses without going very deep and analyzing with engine, as Grandamster should do. Finish fast the courses and start practice + watching the streams. 

Don't make the mistake that many others do and then wonder why they don't grow fast. 
Maybe I'll need to write a separate article of danger of working with engine wrongly. 

Scandinavian 3. ...Nf6 / 5...e6 and 8...Nc6

Maestro Avetik, in this variation, after 9. Qxb7 Nb4 10. Qb5+ c6 11. Qa4 Bg6, instead of your very logical suggestion 12. Na3, the computer actually suggests 12. 0-0!?? allowing Nc2, with a very big advantage for White. I don't understand that at all.

Does it make any sense to you? 

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Yeah possible. 
I just explained that pawn sacrifice doesn't work for a simple reason. 

Ramon, for taking the most value, you should really stop working with engine on your level.  

Is it possible to win games on high levels without calculations?

What do you think? :) 

Answer it before watching this game :)
 https://youtu.be/yipFqS7Kuvg 

And answer it after watching the game :) 
 

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Your thoughts on the Sveshnikov

i am interested in your thoughts on the Sveshnikov, as it is a opening, with a lot of dynamic play, deep strategical ideas and the player with the better understand can win very fighting positions. there also positional and attacking variations. 

What are your thoughts about that?

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Hi Master,

I give my answer comparing 2 Sicilian systems:

1- Accelerated Dragon:

Pros:

. Easy to play

. Very Logical

. Not much theory to learn

Cons:

. Maroczy Bind: Black has very low chances to win. (This is a fact, and not my opinion)

2- Sveshnikov Sicilian

Pros;

. Excellent chances for Black to fight for a win

. Very creative and dynamic chess

Cons;

.Too much theory to learn

My conclusion:

Accelerated Dragon is probably the best choice for lower rated players to start with.

I think it's better to start learning and playing the Accelerated Dragon, and then when we have a reliable system in hand, going to add another Sicilian system such as Sveshnikov  or Taimanov to our repertoire.

Please share your opinion with us as well, dear Christoph. 

Christopher, mostly I agree with Kourush. 
Sveshnikov is also okay. The problem is too much theory. 
And even for GM level, white has hundreds of make to make draw. 

Overall with Black pieces just play chess, don't think about draw or win. Just play. 
Below 2400,2500 level, with any openings is possible to win. 

Maroczy is drawish? Not at all... 
You see what happens during the streams, during Gabuzyans streams and you can see my results of my main nickname "Avetik_ChessMood". 
If you face 2600 players, yeah maybe it's tough to win. 
But don't worry about it now. 

Any complete the best chess schedule daily chess training?

Any complete chess schedule daily chess training?

What chess type study to train everyday?

When do to study? How many ours training every type study?

Thank you.

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Heri, it's a very personal question. 
It depends on ones time he has to invest in chess, his goals, his budget, his weak and strength points in chess, his level and many other factors. 

There is no such thing as 1 study plan for everyone. 

THat's the reason we have welcome 1-1 calls with all the PRO Members to give them personalized study plan. 

Benko Gambit vs GMs

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Swapnil is a Benko player?? 

Benko is a good weapon for beating all levels. My 2 openings against 1. d4 are Benko gambit and Modern benoni with e6. Although when I meet lower rated players, I prefer Nimzo indian defence, a flexible opening which allows me to win faster. Great games! In general, I believe a lot of players oversetimate the material advantage and thus is the reason why they don't kike Benko. I personally do not care about material advantage and that's why I may go for King's gambit against <1700 players.

Scandinavian 3. ...Nf6 / 6. ...Qf5

Maestro Avetik, in this variation, after 7. Nbd2 you give 7. ... Nb4 8. 0-0.

Why not 8. Qa4+ instead?

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Hey Ramon! 
You're correct :) 

July 14 Webinar

Jul 14 web.

I cannot get anything...anyone else connected?

20 minutes in and I cannot get online?  I had to pull some major strings to be here for this web-cast and I see nothing.  Very disappointed.

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Hi

You can see it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKwuA8R_RBg

/KS

Hey friend! 
Sorry to hear that...

Any time, when you go to the website, at the top will be "Join the event" 10 minutes ago the event. 
You'll not just click "join the event".   

Sorry again about that. We're now redesigning the website and polishing all the technical issues making everything more comfortable. 

The Scotch Game - The Beginners Mind - Part 03

We're back and just to recap, the position under consideration is the following:  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 This continuation for whatever reason is very popular at the 1200 - 1700 level. Now if you have read Parts 1 and 2 you may have come away with the impression that 4...Nxd4 is a very bad and naive move, but truth be told the move is not as bad as it looks provided it is connected with the right idea. If you doubt me and think that 4...Nxd4 isn't worth taking seriously,  then just know that Ex -World Champion Boris Spassky has used  the move on more than one occasion to defeat strong opposition, and I will show some of those games in the final instalment.

The correct continuation after 4...Nxd4 5.Qxd4 is 5...Ne7 but why? Isn't the f6 square just  a better and more active square for the Black Knight, the answer is yes and no.  Yes in general  Knight's are best placed on f6 and f3 in the opening, controlling more central squares and protecting one's Castled King especially the vulnerable h2 and h7 pawns. However Chess is not a game of generalities, generalities are best used as guidelines not doctrine, Chess is a game foremost of specifics, priorities and problem solving. The problem Black has to solve here is how to dislodge White's dominating Queen without compromising his structure or losing too much time and 5...Ne7 intending 5...Nc6 satisfies those objectives. Curiously a move such as 5...Ne7 would rarely occur to a 1200 - 1700 player because that level  hardly thinks in terms of specifics, they just want to attack something immediately or if they must defend it has to be a against a direct threat to one of their pieces or pawns.  

Before we delve further into the position after 5...Ne7 I want to mention that in another thread the question was asked 'How to improve calculation' and I commented that this was a very complicated topic with many layers, I will now reveal a secret tool used by strong players to help them calculate better and find the right moves and plans and a given position, are you ready, the secret tool is called "Comparative Thinking" this is when you borrow  known ideas from a similar position maybe even another Opening and try to apply them to the position in front of you, this is where your knowledge of Classical Commented Games could come in handy. Now back to 5...Ne7, and a personal experience to illustrate how comparative thinking could work in practise, many years ago I played some Blitz Games with black against the strong Cuban GM Jesus Nogueiras and he crushed me badly with the following line as White: 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nxd5 4.Nxd5 Qxd5 5.Ne2 Look familiar :) at the time I was very angry with myself, I mean how could I lose to such a ridiculous move, true Jesus was much stronger than me but still. Jesus had sensed my frustration and after the blitz session had finished he graciously agreed to analyse the above position with me and the lessons learned I can now apply to our Scotch position after 5...Ne7 today and that's pretty much how comparative thinking works, a pattern triggers a déjà vu moment and you use it to help navigate and evaluate the current position before you. This is also why it is so important to analyse your own games, it helps you build a mental rolodex of positions, plans and structures that you will probably meet again and again.

Okay, moving on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Ne7 I can bet that one reason why this move escapes attention at 1200 - 1700 level is that on the surface the pin  6.Bg5 looks extremely unpleasant now there are two ways to go about solving this problem:

Way 1  is brute force calculation which should lead you to work out that 6...Nc6! is both safe and strong, this is why I emphasise that at 1200 - 1700 level learning to count efficiently is much more important than trying to memorise reams of opening lines, why, because if you cannot figure out over the board that 6...Nc6! is working, then how will you be able to find and play the correct strategic move 5...Ne7 without prior knowledge. The weakness of brute force calculation, at least for humans, is that it costs lots of energy, energy that we would like to conserve for more critical moments later in the game, which brings us to......

Way 2 Pattern recognition that we call up from our mental rolodex, we have seen a similar construction before and intuitively know what tactics to look for and what manoeuvres work best. This approach is used heavily by strong players when evaluating positions, with brute force calculation only coming into play to verify the details.  

Let's stop here for today and I will leave you with this question. What are the possible drawbacks of Black's 5...Ne7 to c6 manoeuvre. While you ponder that please check out the following link which is not entirely relevant to our discussion but I enjoyed it alot and thought that you might too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LHDaV5Dih8

Hope to see you soon with Part 4

Part 2 Here: https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-scotch-game-the-beginners-mind-part-02

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Thanks again, eagerly waiting for part 4.

After 5......Ne7, the possible drawbacks are:

1. Black wastes time.

2. We have a strong e4 central pawn. Yes, they do can play d6 but it will not be as strong as our e4 pawn.

That's my point of view. Waiting for your kind reply :)

Low rated players think that if they bring our queen out in the centre, they can attack it, but in reality the queen is staying very strong on d4 square.

Kevin, I've no words to explain how much I appreciate all the help you provide to our Family members!  Thank you! 

Thanks for the valuable tips and insights provided in respect to game play and the thinking process to employ. Respect for anyone who selflessly shares knowledge gained to the ones who are working hard on improvement.

Great articles about the Scotch, Kevin ????

Post your craziest chess moments!

For me it's about Bobby Fischer and I cried 2 hrs when I thought of him after I saw pawn sacrifice movie. I am a big fan of him and once my game will improve I will study all his classics win and I will try  to learn from his games more because he is my idol

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Mine is when I lost against my friend and wouldn't stop crying! (c'mon! I was 7 that time!)

books for middle-game and end-game?

Hello, I am new here, just joined.

I would like some books recommendations (in English or Russian language) for middle-game and end-game improvement/study.  My long-time-control rating (OTB, over-the-board) was probably in the 1900-2000 ELO range (former USSR Cat-1 norm, back in 1977!!) and I want to to aim for ELO 2200 on long-time-control, i.e. USSR Candidate-Master norm. I currently train playing against Stockfish engine version 10/11 on long time controls, over-the-board.

I have read Nimzowitch My System and Romanovsky Middle Game (Plan) books and read also

book by Issac Lipnitsky titled

Looking for more books and also for suitable end-game books for Cat-2+ players of 1800+ ELO.

Thank you

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Welcome to ChessMood @yuri_budilov!

It sounds to me like you have been playing chess for a long time! 

At the bottom of the page, there is a link that is titled "We Recommend". In that link, Coach gives the books to start with for study. I am sure you will find several that will interest you as well as be instructive.

I hope this helps!

Hi,

For practical endgame:

Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso

Shereshevsky: Endgame Strategy

For middlegame:

Books written by Dvoretsky, and Sokolov

+ Best games written by world champions: Petrosian, Alekhine, Karpov ... 

I Think, First You Should Learn 1.e4 Before Learning 1.c4 ,Because From 1.e4 You May get Positional Positions,Strategic Positions,Attacking Positions and many Important Types Positions.So you will get Knowledge Of All Kind of Positions.You May Improve in all these types of positions.Here in Chessmood you can learn 1.e4 For white(full repertoire).Here We Have Very Tricky Openings.

With Chessmood Openings I have Won with Many IM'S in Classical Tournments and My Student Also won and drawed with Many IM's and WGM(Only Because Of Opening).Here you can learn Many Different Opening Ideas Aganist (Sicilian,Scotch,French and all Other Openings). For Your Aim I think these Openings Easily Helps You.For the study plan,Books you may call to Coach on Skype. 

Hey Yuri! 
check it out this page - https://chessmood.com/we-recommend 

I don't think to learn 1.c4 is the best approach for your level, but if you really want it, Marin's book is quite good. Many variations are old, but for your level, it would be ok.