Sicilian 2...d6 line

Hi,

What to do within repertoire if black plays immediate  3…a6 after our 3.f4

Thanks,

Bs

Replies

Hello. I personally prefer to play these positions with black, but I can tell you that the most annoying move after 1. e4 c5, 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 a6 is just the simple development with either Nf3 or Be2. 3…a6 is a pretty useless move in these systems. I don't know if you know why is it necessary to play a6 in openings like the Najdorf. If you don't play it either Nb5 or Bb5 will come at some point. But here Nb5 would be useless so, just develop normally. I hope it helps. :)

You should transpose to the repertoire https://chessmood.com/course/4-anti-sicilian-with-nc3-part-4

Most of the times you will get the same position or very similar. We recommend to fianchetto the Bishop to g2 in these setups.

Check the course and may the Chessmood force be with you😄. 

How to deal with tilt?

Hi there!

I'm David from Romania and I'm rated around 1600 FIDE. After being on my peak two months ago and winning my city's championship I started falling back. Now I'm on a huge tilt. Between 26-28 July I will have a very strong classical tourney. Any suggestions what to do with my tilt?

Replies

Hi David,

Take a look at the ChessMood article here: https://chessmood.com/blog/5-crucial-steps-to-stop-bad-results-in-chess

You've already started with Step 1 by acknowledging that there is a problem.  Read the rest of the article for tips on how to resolve the problem.

Good luck!  Let us know how you get on.

How to create a Lichess Nickname for GM simul

ChessMood occasionally hosts GM simul events, and I am interested in participating. The upcoming event on Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, will be held on Lichess. My primary question is how to create a nickname with "_ChessMood" on Lichess.

Currently, Lichess does not allow users to change their usernames, except for capitalization adjustments. Due to this restriction, I am unsure how to incorporate "_ChessMood" into my username. Am I overlooking something? Is there a different section on Lichess where a nickname can be added? Creating a new account to achieve this is not an option, as Lichess prohibits users from having multiple accounts.

My main question is: How can I add "_ChessMood" to my existing Lichess account?

Additionally, though less critical, do you ever host events on Chess.com instead of Lichess?

Replies

I think there is a way better solution for this than creating additional users.

When creating a simul, the organizer (the Chessmood GM) can choose to only allow participants that are members of a certain team. In other words - when Chessmood set up the simul, set it up to allow only members of Chessmood PRO team on lichess. 

Chessmood PRO team members are checked before being let into the team, and presuming CM also remove members when their PRO membership expires this would be problem solved once and for all without the need for any additional users.

PS! GIven that anyone (CM member or not) can create a username with _Chessmood ending, the existing solution is not so bulletproof either.

Could someone knowledgeable, preferably ChessMood Staff, please assist me in understanding how to set up a nickname on Lichess? Thank you in advance for your help.

Miss of the day

Hi all,

Well, I missed a golden opportunity to finish off my opponent here (White to play).  I'm hoping that by publicly admitting to it I'll shame myself into not missing it the next time it arises (no guarantee, of course, but it might 😉 )

Replies

No problem, I didn't see Ne7+ followed by Queen h7 at first as well 😉! Guess I have to practice tactics too… 😀

I’m embarrassed to say how long i thought about it before Ne7+ made me smile (Clearance, Tactic Ninjas!).

:)

It's okay that you missed the tactic bro. The key is to keep practicing and gain more experience to become a better player. The truth about success is the chess players at the top failed more times than most players have even tried… Think about Michael Jordan. He stated he missed more game winning shots than anyone, but he also made more game winning shots than anyone. So failure is part of the game on the road to success. At least you are playing and working on getting better. Continue to learn from your mistakes and eventually you won't make those mistakes anymore. Just don't keep repeating them :) 

That one in particulary is not easy to find!

For me especially since ‘it seems’ that with Qe7 Black will be able to escape. Additionally the fact that whites position is so nice already…

Dont worry! With admitting this, you are building up your tactical intuition, so next time, it might ring and tell you that there might be a tactic! And voila!

Grand Prix against 2. ...Nc6.

Hi ChessMood Family!

I recently watched the WhiteMood course and stumbled upon the Sicilian sector. I play the Sicilian myself as Black and so I was surprised to see a critical line missing: “1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 e6!” In the course, only 5. …d6 is given. Am I wrong about this beig a critical line or did they forget to include it? 

Thanks to everyone who can help me, Marius. 

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Replies

Hi Marius,

you are completely right!

It is a critical, rather good line for Black.

That is the exact reason, why ChessMood recommends 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5.

https://chessmood.com/course/sicilian-defence-part-2

Question for our coaches...

🤔

Hi,

Sometimes Black after 1.e4 e6 ; 2.d4 doesn't enter a french with 2…d5 but go for 2…c5 .  Andrew Soltis has many years ago written a little book entitled “Franco Benoni” with a small chapter about that variation but more oriented towards Black.

How should W continue ?

It would be great to know ChessMood coaches recommendation .

Many thanks

Replies

Hi Jean-Marie!

Sorry for the delay, we go d5 and play a very good benoni for White. Please look at this thread for reference.

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/best-response-to-2-c5-after-1e6-2453

ChessMood streams

when are the chessmood streams ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????/

Replies

https://chessmood.com/events

You have to be a PRO Member to have access to the streams though.

How to improve in chess

Hi everyone,

how can i improve in chess specifically i am getting struck in middle game and end game.

It can be useful to other players too.

Replies

You should start by seeing some of the rating booster courses like 7Q Method , Endgame Roadmap , Tactic ninja ,etc

You just have to improve your tactical vision and point of view

I recommend you to read these blogs and the study plans according to your level.
https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-get-better-at-chess

https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans
Also, can you be more specific on how do you get stuck at middlegames? Is it tactics? Trouble defending/attacking? Maybe calculation errors?

https://chessmood.com/course/tactic-ninja

https://chessmood.com/course/chess-attack

https://chessmood.com/course/spartan-shield

https://chessmood.com/course/calculation

Advanced versions of Defense and Attack courses are in the middlegame mastery section.

Meanwhile, this course teaches you on how to play during endgames. 
https://chessmood.com/course/chess-endgame-roadmap

If you're having problems on theoretical endgames (lucena, philidor, QvR endgames), this course will be for you.
https://chessmood.com/course/endgames-you-must-know

Advanced endgame theory are on the endgame mastery course sections.

💪💪

Hi, I will say my favorite book called Bobby Fischer teaches chess book. It is for beginners, and it has problems to draw arrow and show or tick the correct answer. when you scroll down it will show the solutions.

hope you find this book useful.   

I agree with Ben Tan, you should do the endgame roadmap and you should also scroll down to the Middlegame Mastery in which the Chessmood coaches give you training in various aspects.

accelerated dragon

What is the best continue for this sir?

Where can i saw a games with this variation?

Looking forward for any suggestion..

thank you so much..

Replies

The suggestion in the course is d5 opening the centre

How to play as white vs hippopotamus defense

Hello everyone 

While playing some rapid games to at chess club some played a weird defense as black. When I asked him about it after the game he said it is  called the hippopotamus defense. I looked it up and it was played in a world championship match by Spassky! Does anyone know how to play against this as white? Is it covered somewhere in our chessmood.com courses? Please help. 

Replies

It is covered in section 13 of Whitemood Starter course

https://chessmood.com/course/whitemood-openings

The power of the e4 opening ...

The power of the e4 opening should never be underestimated 😲:

https://www.chess.com/game/daily/676145499

I can only assume, given that this is the first round of a tournament game, that my opponent has looked at the vast gulf between my rating level and his own and has decided to give me a headstart!

Replies

The same thing happened to Bobby Fischer himself. His opponent wasn't going to arrive, so Fischer actually deviated from his typical “best by test” e4, and the game concluded 1.c4 1-0
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1335872 

Philidor doubt.

Hello chessmood family, I have question as to how to continue if your opponent plays the following line.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Re8 8. O-O Bf8 9. h3 Na6

During the game I played 10.g4 as I was uncomfortable with playing my rook to e1. Though eventually I had to play 11.Re1 after Nc5 and was confused as to how I should respond to c6 d5 plan opening the center.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

Dear Pranav,

After 10.Re1 Nc5 super many moves for White lead to a pleasant advantage as white has more space in the center.

There is 11.b4, 11.g4, 11.Bf4, 11.Nb3 - just the position is better and any of these choices is good.

Question about Dutch vs a3 and Bg5

Hi all

In the Blackmood video (Dutch vs Normal Development, White plays a3), there is the following variation and idea:  

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. a3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 5. Nc3 Bb7 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 d6 9. Be2 Nd7 10. O-O g5,  planning …Be7 and …O-O

But I notice that after 8…d6 9. Qa4+ is very annoying.  Do you have any thoughts on this?  I have tried a few ways to shift the move order but the d6/Nd7 structure seems hard to obtain, and Qa4 is often annoying.

Engine-mining suggests that a good plan might be instead 8…g5 already (preventing an easy Be2), and if 9. Ne5 then 9…h5.  Knight may need to come to Nc6 instead if d6 cannot safely be played.  Appreciate any thoughts.

Replies

Dear Ben,

I checked the position.
Here is the thing -  we recommend this opening at the U2000 level and our main logic is practical preparation. I have never seen player U2000 be prepared in a rare line with a move like Qa4 :-) 

However, if you want to avoid that, my recommendation as well as the engine one is to play 8…g5 for Black with interesting ideas on the Kingside.

Thanks for the question and good luck!

Correspondence games

Where do you stand on correspondence games?

Stay away from them, casual, serious, … ?

In my case, I don't always have time for rapid/standard live games. Would a few moves on correspondence games be a good alternative?

It basicly is a puzzle each time altho it is more random then like tactic ninja.

Analyzing comes way later as the games take longer, I know. But as I do want to get stronger and I do play live games I just don't always have the time.

Are correspondence games really that bad?

I thought about having 10 games going and make 1 move on each every day.

Replies

Hi Gabriel,

If they work for you, and it sounds as though they would, then I say ‘Go for it!’.  At least you still get to play some chess that way.

chessbook.com ?

Hey,

has anyone tried chessbook.com?

Looks like it might be a nice way to practice ChessMood openings but I’m not really navigating the site very efficiently.

Comments? Suggestions? Advice?

Replies

First it's nice but it's not free past 100 moves i think? It also uses lichess data base to review the moves. I do think that it's decent but i prefer lichess study as a free alternative or just chessbase if you want to buy a software for opening preparation. 

Another point is that these types of software (including chessable) teach memorisation of openings rather than understanding. I would follow the advice of our teachers on this site and play your openings, learn from your mistakes and gradually build your repertoire on Lichess studies/ chessbase. It takes time, entails plentiful losses but is probably the best way to learn your opening, long term. Good luck!

Thx for the responses!

I’m definitely all in when it comes to the CM 
“understanding the moves” approach to openings, time and ”plentiful losses” for sure.

Why not, eh?

Increase in Forum Ad Posts.

Recently (especially as of right now) I’ve noticed a lot of ads in forums.

For example somebody posting an ad in a 5 year old forum.

Im assuming that this is not intentional and these people will face some punishment?

Replies

Hi Armandas, 

Yes, we check all the posts carefully, sometimes due to different time zones, it can take a moment though.

Every time someone posts an add in our forum, or does not behave appropiately, the post is deleted by one of us and we ban the user IP for life. 

It's the only thing that we can do.

Article: How Grandmasters Memorize Opening Variations

Replies

The first question that needs asking is how do we remember? This needs to be considered.

Why do we remember our own phone number over say the number of our best friend (because we often repeat ours to others, and we autodial the friends number - before mobiles I could remember friends numbers). Repetition is one aspect.

Why do we remember what we were doing when someone very famous died in tragic circumstances (Kennedy assassination or Princess Diana for example) but we can't remember what we had for dinner last Tuesday - novelty, emotional content, standing out from other events.

When we can't remember where we left our keys, but work out where they are because of what we were doing when we last had them - reasoning

When we're completely unaware of a song we once heard many times, but someone hums the tune or mentions a lyric, and suddenly it's back, including where you were and what you were doing when you heard this song 20 years ago - association. Smell is very powerful in this aspect and can bring back a flood of memories.

Our memory is associative. Put simply, a key unlocks a memory. If the key is unique, and strongly associated to the memory, you will often remember (I can remember what I ordered last time I went out for dinner Friday, as well as a few weeks ago the previous time, but not what I ate on Sunday). The more keys to a memory the more likely any one of them will help you remember it.

The problem with chess, and one for non-professionals is that positions look similar. The flow is linear (I go here, they go there) and positions are slowly transformed. Not every move can be ascribed a reason that is very memorable, and even if so, many others will look like the same reason can be applied. Often several moves look good, but only one leads to positions studied. Sometimes these other moves are deep mistakes. The d6 anti-Sicilian is a problem with both its sharp nature and branching. Professionals have the advantage that more of their brain will be wired to recognise chess positions, and connections are stronger because they spend more time with chess positions. I can't tell similar looking cats apart, but I bet vets can. I struggle with names because I don't meet often and work in such an environment that names are important, yet teachers can remember all the pupils in several classes they take.

Understanding the moves is undoubtedly the most important piece (even if you did remember the move, what is it doing?), but this is still memory and memorisation. Here it is using reasoning as a key to find it. If you forget the reasoning, you may or may not be able to work it out from scratch. No one is going to tell you that you learnt a reason on this move. Not all moves have reasons, some moves are natural, fashion, the right move because others are bad and so on. Perhaps that's not such a problem for a GM who will also use their more developed chess skill and intuition to find the correct move (or at least dismiss some of the candidate moves), but it's a big problem for club players.

What's described by playing many games with a training partner is repetition (as well as active learning) which is a key aspect of memorisation. However when you stop repeating, things fade, and for anyone who has tried the chessable approach will know this problem as well as the overburden of workload. You can't just spend all your time repeating memorising openings, and you still make mistakes. Sometimes there is a lot to be said about cramming before a game if your opponent plays a specific line. It's short term, but it does the job.

Another memory difference between professionals and amateurs is chunking, in which a famous experiment showed that strong players can reconstruct chess positions better than lower rated players. However if a random position is set up, they didn't perform better. Thus the idea of chunking (having fewer bits of information to remember by being familiar with pawn structure and king positions for example) was seen as the explanation. Add in more experience, superior knowledge a master will have less they need to remember (compensated by them learning more difficult openings).

I get the idea of the article though that just trying to repeat the lines again and again, rewatching videos, or worse playing through them once and assuming that's it before looking for the next shiny thing isn't enough.

I don't yet have an answer, but aside from the article's suggestions, I would add:

reduction (reduce the load down to a few critical positions which can be repeated or other tricks used, leaving out all that you can find over the board). Less information is better. Use flashcards to repeat.

Cross referencing - often moves are chosen to keep similar positions to other openings we know, and the ideas will also be similar)

Frequency/application (study games from those openings so you see the position often in other contexts than your opening pgn)

Patterns and the rule of 3 (we take notice of things that form patterns or repeat, and 3 times or more is an indicator of a pattern). Especially if it's slightly different (a variant on play it as Black is flip the board left for right, the positions look different, and sometimes new things are seen).

and if all else fails, mnemonic devices (sparingly).

The more things you do, the more likely one will succeed when you need it. Just don't be like the guy that tried to remember all the lines of Understanding the Chess Openings using mnemonics, because even if he pulled it off for all 200 or so variations (theoretically possible but difficult as well as to maintain and time consuming), it probably wouldn't be a lot of use practically. Sometimes it's just confidence we've done all we can and we'll play good chess at the board.

The problem of repertoire is that every student is different. I remember a Kramnik quote where he says that he was convinced that the way one plays reflects his character so one should choose (perhaps with the help of a coach) the openings where he feels more confortable.

About Chessable my favourite course is GM So explaining how he outplayed Magnus in the 960 WC (I am refering to his thought process). I think 960 is a great tool for learning. At the end what you do? Looking for weak squares in yours and your opponents camp. Finding good diagonals for your bishops, nice outpost for your knights, the pawn structure (few islands but that offer some open files for your rooks) and what is of most importance, grab space. So in 960 we must think about development just like in standard chess, but beginning in move one instead of move 10 or 20.

I remember when I started with 960 like most of my unexperienced opponents, we started to play the pawns to open diagonals for our Queen and Bishops, but as we swimmed in unknown waters we moved the pawns only 1 square ahead. Then I asked myself why I move 1 square when in standard chess normally we move 2. So I started to move 2 and grab space from my opponents and began winning many games.

Hey ChessMood family and coaches! I was just wondering if this idea (to start ChessMood events where Black starts the game, play these against chessmood family,etc.) was going to be implemented soon because I have been searching for it but I couldn't find them yeah 😅😅

Free Chess Database for training...

Very good free training database chess software

http://scid.sourceforge.net/ you can also get pgn files from 

http://theweekinchess.com/twic and also 

https://chess-db.com/public/index.jsp 

To start your own personal databases. I bought chess king and got Houdini 5 pro and a lot of games I exported from chess kings database for cheap. Just one word of caution the engine works in scid but if you upgrade to chessbase they won’t let you use engine from any place that’s not part of their software so when I upgraded to chessbase I had to keep scid to use my Houdini 5Pro.

Replies

Thanks Brad

Thanks Brad! 

I did it again!

Hi, dear chessmood family! 

I did it again, I managed to finish in first position in the over-50 section of a province tournament. And my 11 yo son finished on 3rd position in the general classification of the same competition! A perfect day for both of us! I'm very proud of my son, indeed.

And all thanks to the whitemood and blackmood repertoires and other important courses. I'm starting to feel the results, and that all the hours dedicated to study the outstanding CM courses are paying off! 

T H A K S !!!

Replies

Many congratulations to you and your son.  👏

It's a great feeling when things begin to come together and reward your efforts, isn't it?

Congrats! That's amazing being in the podium with your son. Enjoying your chess journey is really important and you're following this path with your son. 

The best games of June, 2024, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of June, 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 May, 2024:

Roy Li
Mateo Jackson
Samuel Marsden
Skipper chess
Marius Cornee

Replies

Probably my favorite line in Benko

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/111002463753?tab=review

otb 60+30

https://lichess.org/m4pWDbYF#71

My best ever result for otb chess game - https://www.chess.com/a/xVHkFmLS2RU9C?tab=analysis 

https://lichess.org/njIWE4w8#43 60+30 otb

I have attached the pgn file.

This has been played in the Munich Open 2024, (90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 min + 30 sec increment).

My opponent (Black) has 1750 ELO, my rating is 1850.

I was happy to have a Sicilian on the board and I was more than hot for a fight.

I succedded to keep the pressure high, therefore my oppenent made some weaker decisions and I finally could decide in a nice finish.

https://lichess.org/AXnRE9Ax/white#35

https://lichess.org/8mX9O9sA/black#44

A game of intuition 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/111173481505
 

A nice defense against the Stafford gambit  petroff Variation .  A festival of trapped pieces ! 

https://lichess.org/2fYaFHw6/white#67

https://lichess.org/LJnf64Ih/white#41

A Caro Kann where the queens come off. According to the engine I played a perfect game-the chessmood line takes the credit.

https://lichess.org/LJ58CP04/white#49

Chessmood sicilian

https://www.chess.com/live/game/111267053619

https://lichess.org/6KWrGZ2R/white

Nice and quick Chess mood Sicilian, 11 moves.

https://lichess.org/5nhmjBcA/white

Surprising attack on uncastled king in an antisicilian

https://lichess.org/badnMXvp/white

https://lichess.org/IOnys3ba/white

Fighting a morra with an alapin:

https://lichess.org/3A4IHa0P/black

My Game against an FM 2382 in World Junior 2024 in Caro can. My opponent did not expect that i knew the g6 variation in Caro can

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 g6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Ne5 Bg7 9. Bxf5 gxf5 10. Nd2 O-O 11. O-O e6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Re1 Qb6 14. Nb3 Ne4 15. Re3 f6 16. Rh3 e5 17. Bc1 f4 18. Qh5 Ng5 19. Rh4 Qd8 20. g3 Qe8 21. gxf4 Qxh5 22. Rxh5 Nf3+ 23. Kf1 e4 24. Nd2 Nxd2+ 25. Bxd2 f5 26. Ke2 Rf6 27. Rg1 Rg6 28. Rhg5 Rxg5 29. Rxg5 Rf8 30. b3 Rf6 31. Rh5 h6 32. Be3 Kf7 33. Kd2 Ke6 34. Rh3 Rf8 35. Rg3 Bf6 36. Rg6 h5 37. Kc2 Kf7 38. Rh6 h4 39. Rh7+ Kg6 40. Rxa7 h3 41. a4 Kh5 42. Rh7+ Kg4 43. b4 Bh4 44. Kb3 Ra8 45. a5 Re8 46. c4 dxc4+ 47. Kxc4 Bxf2 48. Bxf2 Kf3 49. Bg3 Kg2 50. a6 e3 51. a7 e2 52. Kc5 Rg8 53. Re7 Kf1 54. Kb6 c5 55. dxc5 Rg6+ 56. c6 Rg8 57. Kb7 Rxg3 58. hxg3 h2 59. a8=Q h1=Q 60. Qa1+

https://lichess.org/HzdMrTEe/white#56

The Pasini variation against the Modern strikes again.

A nice attack (even without the best moves!) in the Scotch: Steinitz, Horwitz Attack

https://lichess.org/wmOBCIdyMSK4

I played this game against my local regional champion.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 O-O 8. Bc4 a6 9. Qd2 d6 10. O-O-O Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. Bd5 Nxd5 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Nxd5 a5 15. h4 b4 16. h5 e6 17. hxg6 Rh8 18. Qh6+ Kg8 19. gxh7+ Rxh7 20. Qxh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8# *

win in the Sicilian 2..Nc6. It transposed into a closed sicilian, accuracy was good and a nice bishop sac.

https://lichess.org/study/NcKh4u0a/xJzaHua4

https://lichess.org/C4nNOTjD/black

Must watch game

https://lichess.org/pf5Qfu1N/white#58

brilliant rook sacrifice!

https://lichess.org/b0iMa7pu1t7H

Here is my 1st win against the Scandinavian defense.  Also remembered when cramped to trade the pieces. Then I saw the mate! Thanks GM Gabuzyan! https://lichess.org/xj9XunCG/white#0

https://lichess.org/0UA5jvsD

Nice pawn storm with white against sicilian in opposite side casting

https://lichess.org/2OTPYZWWmiTD 

A nice tactical shot and a quick win for me!

https://lichess.org/study/xejALumO/ljLJvqsz

Good afternoon!!

I played MODEL game in Skandinavian defence as white with very nice tactical finish, which I spotted immediately!

Please enjoy!

Hello all finally won a game playing the Grand Prix opening in the Sicilian.  https://lichess.org/Ao1aJp4vn5KK

https://lichess.org/4S0ntSIQ/black

https://lichess.org/nzad5a8A/white#27

https://lichess.org/RPmHfCPX/white#39

https://lichess.org/SzhCnXzn/black

Not faultless but a nice game. I would not have played in this style before joining ChessMood

https://lichess.org/OlOlRg1M/white#43

https://lichess.org/8W7jLL5n/white#39

https://lichess.org/Ar1byJkB/black

Sharp French Attack with rook & queen sacrifice to deliver Beniowski's mate, but opponent has resigned at the last moment.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/111926549443?tab=review&move=36

destroyed the Sicilian like anything 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/111943999593
 

not a great start but a beautiful finish

The black king was targeted from the beginning through some sloppy play but got the idea down….

 https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/111962533159?tab=review

https://lichess.org/aqzSeJ2K/white#47

https://lichess.org/HFJWZPQe/white#53

Interesting sacrificial idea!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/663104317?tab=analysis

https://lichess.org/zn28Jco9/black#56

https://lichess.org/tvcqRQft/white

https://lichess.org/ycZLW4VJ/white#33

https://lichess.org/NmuLaUnl#25

Sicilian, GrandPrix. Sacrifice rook + bishop + knight in all-or-nothing attack against black castle.
Also 1st win against 1750+ rated opponent

first game+win in the lichess 4545 league 😀
https://lichess.org/U3E43bgo/black#0

https://lichess.org/UrtMhWg6/white#0

A game where I played a nice kingside attack which ended in a pawn-up endgame. Sadly I blundered the pawn and it ended in a draw.

I built up a strong attack, and then executed a very unique form of the Rh7 sacrifice. The queen and the Bishop (plus e5 pawn) nicely mated the king!

https://lichess.org/Dxlve1jw/white#1

An anti sicilian, convincing attack:

https://lichess.org/cfUxT6Ws

3k4/1Q2R1pp/2rp4/8/8/P6P/1P3PP1/6K1 b - - 0 35

What a game !

Round 5 from the Nottinghamshire Championships.

Demonstration of the d6 Grand Prix Attack - Move 15 could be titled White to play and mate in 16.

(file doesn't upload properly) 

[Event "Nottinghamshire Championships"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Flynn, D."]
[Black "Gunaranthne, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[SourceDate "2009.09.29"]
 

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. O-O Nf6 7. d3 O-O 8. Qe1
a6 9. a4 Bd7 10. f5 Kh8 11. Qh4 Nb4 12. Bh6 Nxc2 13. Ng5 Nxa1 14. fxg6 fxg6 15.
Rxf6 e6 16. Bxg7+ Kxg7 17. Rf7+ Rxf7 18. Qxh7+ Kf6 19. e5+ Kf5 20. Nxf7 Qe7 21.
Qh3+ Kf4 22. Qf3# 1-0

https://lichess.org/vovaqi0e/white#41

Hello everyone, 

It's been quite a long time since I last played some good blitz game. But I'm starting again 😆 and here is a great attack game in the caro kann with a nice bishop sacrifice : https://www.chess.com/game/live/112387836833 

https://lichess.org/gXGQKxnA/white

amazing scotch attack!!

My best game :https://www.chess.com/game/live/65246411121 from long time ago but I still think this is my best game

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 5. Qxd4 d6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bf4 a6 8.
O-O-O Be7 9. f3 O-O 10. g4 c5 11. Qe3 Qa5 12. g5 Nh5 13. g6 fxg6 14. Bc4+ Kh8
15. Nd5 Nxf4 16. Nxf4 b5 17. Bd5 Rb8 18. h4 c4 19. h5 Bg5 20. Nxg6+ 1-0

Got an attack with white in the french

mogensbn vs arbas: French Defense: Schlechter Variation • lichess.org

https://lichess.org/sI6Zb8jb/white#37
 

I watched the course 2 hours before the game!!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/112460448117

It wasn't perfect and I forgot the exact move order in the opening, but the ending was very nice.

Do these games have to be standard chess or is chess960 allowed?

Bring your pieces…

https://www.chess.com/live/game/112524069167

https://www.chess.com/live/game/112551709441
 

91.2% accuracy with a brilliant attack against the Caro

1.d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nd2 Bf5 6. Qb3 Qc8 7. Ngf3 e6 8. Bb5 a6 9. Bxc6+ Qxc6 10. Ne5 Qc8 11. O-O Be7 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. c4 O-O 14. exd4 Bxd4 15. Qa4+ Nd7 16. Ndf3 Bxe5 17. Nxe5 f6 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Qb4 Rd8 20. h3 e5 21. Be3 Qc6 22. Rfd1 Kf7 23. c5 Rd5 24. Qa5 Rc8 25. b4 Qd7 26. Rxd5 Qxd5 27. b5 axb5 28. Qxb5 Rd8 29. Rc1 Bd7 30. Qb3 Bc6 31. Qxd5+ Rxd5 32. Rc3 f5 33. f3 Rd1+ 34. Kf2 f4 35. Bc1 Bb5 36. g3 g5 37. Rc2 Ke6 38. gxf4 gxf4 39. a3 Kf5 40. Rb2 Bc6 41. Bd2 Ra1 42. Bb4 Rd1 43. Bd2 Kg5 44. Rc2 Bb5 45. Bc3 Kf5 46. Rd2 Rxd2+ 47. Bxd2 e4 48. fxe4+ Kxe4 49. Bc3 Bc6 50. Bd2 Bd7 51. Bc1 Bxh3 52. Bb2 Bg4 53. Bf6 Kf5 54. Bh4 h6 55. Be7 Bd1 56. Kg2 Kg4 57. Kh2 Kf3 58. Bd6 Ke3 59. Bf8 f3 60. Bxh6+ Ke2 0-1

This is a Rapid tournament game of mine with black…. I played against a 1928 FIDE rated player… It was my highest rated win… I guess it should be called a positional game with a very nice endgame

Here are more games with some great attacks

Typical Dutch Attack : https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112549871571

Who said French exchange is boring ? https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112550488377

An interesting carokann with g6 and a nice g4 pawn break : https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112540216577

Still learning the french defence, but nevertheless, a solid game 😀 https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112647649571?tab=analysis

https://lichess.org/IJAgqygo/white#79
I recovered and found a nice mate! 
Queen and knight thanks matador !!!

https://lichess.org/n0aJhe0s/white
first time I got to play this variation

awesone Avi thanks for the French course

myesmart vs. max777770 | Analysis - Chess.com

My best game of June 2024 with a 98.8 accuracy. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/112760996441

Here's a chaotic blitz game where the aggressive Keres attack produced huge attacking potential

https://lichess.org/UzzIXSHPfVYR

A nice attacking game, giving up a worthless h6 pawn and sacrificing the bishop to open up lines.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112803000221?tab=analysis&move=0

Nice attack in our Scotch line against Bc5

https://lichess.org/vRStRmwl/white#53

French attack with a great sacrifice: https://www.chess.com/game/live/112873823015 

A winawer with a very strong attack and a great sacrifice ! 
https://www.chess.com/game/live/112877953055

How to punish incorrect opening play: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/112890558647?tab=analysis&move=0

Notice how Blacks Queenside (a8 rook and b8 knight) never got to develop. I made sure they wouldnt escape me :)

Also the Nh5-Bd6-Nf6 combination is very satisfying!

Edit: Here is the Lichess study, with my notes, for the game. https://lichess.org/study/ByQW93Nf/2mC80iJC

It is chapter 5 if you cannot find it.

https://lichess.org/RZo9Qrly

Opening Avenger

https://lichess.org/LdtDEqtm/white

Winning with GPA! 

This is a game where for the first time I knew at move 20 out of 27 that I had won! Therefore I sacrifice a pawn and later a rook because I had a mating pattern clearly in my head. I could have finished the game earlier, so my calculation are not very precise. Sill, I think it is a good example about how knowing the main idea of an opening and basic tactical patterns can help punishing passive play. 

In particular, playing e5 at move 21 was key in keeping the attack going. It is the best move (by far) according to the engine and a nice pawn sacrifice which I just did because I had already found the mating pattern.

I really enjoyed this game and I am happy to share it with you !

Here is the game: https://lichess.org/8jrnRbhk/white#1  

https://lichess.org/Pa28SSY5

I punished my opponent's premature attack in Caro kann Exchange variation

This miniature in the Budapest gambit featured a rook and queen sacrifice with checkmate on move 15 !

https://www.chess.com/live/game/113018346855 

CM English setup against f4

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113023790049?tab=review

www.chess.com/game/live/112318186341 

A nice king-hunt in the Van Geet Opening.

found a forced mate in 7 at the end of the game! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/107959060748?tab=analysis&move=0

Although bullet, still an awesome sacrifice which is not immediately obvious.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113293823121?tab=review

https://lichess.org/apQEy0C3

Mind - blowing rook sacrifice in middlegame

This 30+30 OTB game which I was playing in time trouble for most of the game,I was ~1600, my opponent was ~1725 ( FIDE )

I played a vienna gambit which got into a scotch-ish looking position after d4, I was attacking for a bit but in time trouble I allowed my opponent a bit of counter play on the queenside but managed to trade into a better, if not winning endgame. Then slowly I won the queenside pawns and after stoppin my opponents passed f-pawn, my 3 connecte passe pawns were too much and my opponent resgined 

https://lichess.org/ee3P9mbPVBpB

destroyed the caro kann with brilliant attack

what happens if white trades dark square bishop in Marozcy bind

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113381423695?tab=review

An online lichess game I played-

https://lichess.org/mTqvLn0q/white#108

even though my opponent was 150 points lower rated, I only got a pawn out of the opening and had to slowly convert the rook endgame, but IMHO a good example of how to convert a winning endgame.

https://lichess.org/Y97MF40a/black

An online game I played. I don't know what my opponent was doing from the Start, but still it is a perfect example for Opening Avenger. I won this game as black

CM Caro model attack ;)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113445572913?tab=review

https://lichess.org/KT0PFWZEl8d6

Fm victory!

my win vs GM in classical time control in only 15 moves, the game should be called the “price of greed”

https://www.chess.com/a/36Ywc9uYrZT2S?tab=analysis

Exchange French

https://lichess.org/72Fnu6gm/black#42

https://lichess.org/D2LGTZik/black#49

A game with a lot of ‘blunders’ (lichess calls them this but in reality they are small mistakes in a very hard position) but the overall idea remains: My bishop pair was dominating this game.

EDIT: Again, here is the study https://lichess.org/study/OI9WBhGI/W7a13Bt4 for anybody wanting to see my thought process.

One mistake in CM Antisicilian and the game is over

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113512793693?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/live/game/113514011337

https://lichess.org/7bYTb2xB/black#0

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113239270929?tab=review

My first time in a while playing bullet on chesscom, and I played this nice sacrifice!

A great example of how to punish the opponents pawn play in front of their own king!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113587795759?tab=analysis&move=0

It's not perfect by any means (I blundered) but I was really happy with this game, primarily because of the huge difference in the ratings between me and my opponent (and because my queen capture plan worked - yes, my opponent shouldn't have fallen for it but …)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/672317463?tab=review

Check out this #chess game: KaliusWest vs MTineer - https://www.chess.com/live/game/113521243673

Hello champions! How are you?

You all shared many great games with us in June. We enjoyed playing through them. It was fantastic to see you playing fearless chess and putting pressure on your opponents. Well done!

Now, onto the prizes:

1st Prize: Abhiraam Devulapalli. A rook sacrifice, then a double bishop sacrifice, and finally a winning combination! You played a beautiful attacking game. It looked like the opponent was going to defend, but you kept the pressure and forced a mistake. Fantastic! Congratulations!

https://lichess.org/apQEy0C3

2nd Prize: Jake E. On move 12, it looked like an equal position. But out of nowhere, you sacrificed a rook, and three moves later, there’s a checkmate. What a beautiful miniature!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/113018346855

3rd Prize: skipper chess. This game is a great example of how to destroy a fianchetto setup, even when both kings castle on the same side. After the 18. Ng5 sacrifice, one would usually capture with 19. Bg5, but instead, you showed a very nice follow-up idea. Good job!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/113293823121?tab=review

4th Prize: Joseph Zaffarese. It's remarkable how you attacked in the Sicilian Grand Prix with such ease and without taking too much risk. You traded the opponent’s defenders, got your major pieces into the battle, and wrapped up the game with a nice queen sacrifice! Well done!

https://lichess.org/vovaqi0e/white#41

5th Prize: Tony Weir. 11…Bxh3! starts a very dangerous French attack! After that, you kept increasing the pressure, forcing White to make a mistake and lose. You completely destroyed the Exchange French variation! Amazing!

https://lichess.org/72Fnu6gm/black#42

Congratulations to all of you.

And thank you, champions, for sharing your games!

Let’s keep going for the remaining half of 2024! 

All the best for next month’s contest!