Chess forum by Grandmasters

Benko g3 line early b3 setup question

👍

Hi chessmooders!

Enjoyed the new benko course. Recently I played a rapid game in the fianchetto system where my opponent employed rare early b3+Qd2 setup which I found weird during the game and didn't know how to react properly.

Can you give insights what to do against this setups, I checked with engine but didn't find concrete plan, often it can transpose to Bb7+Qa7 stuff. Thanks! 

https://lichess.org/broadcast/international-chess-tournament-in-memoriam-n-a-buzas-2025/round-6/CfsvHdzg/0fOKSD2z

Replies

Caro-Kann Opening Course Questions

I have a question in Section 3 5…e5!? move. After e5, you have suggested 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Qe2 Qe7 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ and 9…Kxd7 line has not been analysed. After Kxd7, It is very uncomfortable for White. Can you please come up with a solution or a different idea from White side…

Replies

Fair enough, but there's nothing wrong with 7.Bb5+ which yields a slight advantage.

What about the Dutch and e4?

If whites last move was e4, do I transpose

back to the French attack now?

Replies

That's a blunder. You can simply take the free pawn and play Nf6. If allowed protect your pawn with pawn d5. If not 0-0. And you have a great game 

i think the idea is to drive you mad and make you blunder, if you trust yourself and go for the free pawn, and you play calm afterwards your opponent will go mad-CHECK 4X FOR BLUNDERS AFTER THIS! and yes, well, he fell into his own trick!

Maybe it is even better to just dont play the Dutch if white plays e4 and than Nf3 ???

(I do not know what to play that is better but it looks like the Dutch is a very bad choice in that particular case)

here the e4 move is very bad because it is free by the way I like nc3 better dont play is as white 👍

Guys when are you gonna update or add an advanced French and Dutch attack? 
thanks 

This move doesn't make sense.  Just play 3…fxe4 with an advantage.

Take e4 and try to defend the center, keep the advantage

Don't play into these opening video traps. Especially at 1100. Focus on the opening principles whenever they deviate and if yuou want, create some mini-plans in your repertoire whenever those moves bother you but DO NOT make it overly complicated. Keep the defense sound until the middlegame and eventually, the endgame.

Do bare in mind that in GingerGM's games come from a level where high opening preparation is absolutely required. On these levels, there are other openings by CM that are better fit on that level + way more prepared to have these deviations. On lower elos i highly doubt one will remember this exact variation and the niches. Stick with tactics, opening principles when the repertoire is deviated, and the endgames. Only then when you go up you focus on specific opening niches, but absolutely not now as they are taking more time for the same improvement you will have if you would focus on the fundamentals. There have been a lot of articles here in CM about those, read them and work on those. 

benko 4.Nf3

I liked your suggestion on d4 Nf6 c4 c5 d5 b5 Nf3 when you suggested b4. but isn't g6 instead of b4 just tranposes to the other lines of benko?

Replies

Possible but 4…b4 is a better move.  Also if your opponent didn't take 4.cxb5 there's a good chance they wouldn't do so in the future.  After 4…g6 5.Qc2 you'd have to play …b4 eventually.

Dear Eliya,

It is a possible alternative, I did recommend b4 in the advanced section as it gives very interesting chances for the fight as well.

Acheived!

CFSL-Gampaha tournament, my first rated game with rated player and  i win, in the end i got 2 points out of 5 against rated players! 4 above 1460(1win 2draw 1 loss) and one above 1597(loss) Just a half point more this year and i get rated!

Replies

👏

Congratulations! 

Nice going, Zaheem.  I guess hard work pays off ; )

thanks

Missed blunder in the Caro-Kann section

Hi, in the “Attack Against Caro-Kann with the Exchange Variation” course, section 5 - 4…Nf6, The transpositions video you did not mention that if the opponent plays 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. c3 Bg4 6. Qb3 Qd7 7. Bf4 e6?? we should not play Nd2, instead we can win a piece by playing 8. Bxb8! if the opponent takes the bishop Rxb8 we win the queen by 9. Bb5

I had missed this chance in my tournament game and ultimately lost the game. 

Replies

Yes, thanks for telling this

Qxd6? in the accelerated dragon

I have stumbled upon a line in the Nxc6 variation of the accelerated dragon where after Qxd6 Qxd6 Nf5 Rd3 Ba6 white has Bc5! later equalizing the material. What would be a plan for black in such a scenario?

Replies

Dear Andrew,

To make sure I understood your question correctly, can you please post the picture of the position?

Dear Andrew,

In the provided PGN, all seems correct and Black is slighly better - it's already a great achievement to get a better positions by Black right out of the opening.

Although instead 20…Re8, I like 20…Rd8 move, that keeps the rooks in the game. Plan for Black is to attack weak White pawns on the Kingside.

Weird French Sicilian line

How to play against this??
 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/5RDNQ72JGW/analysis
 

what are are typical plans and ideas. Thank you.

Sincerely, Pawn

Replies

In those positions, we are playing with 3.d5 and obtaining the Space advantage.

The plan is to develop the Knight to c3, the other one usually to f3. Organise the castle and play in the center.

Black can have a couple of developement options; however, in all occasions after 3.d5 White maintains a decent advantage.

Refreshing Opening lines

Hello, 

I have completed step-by-step white repertoire and started black repertoire and It’s been a long time since I reviewed those lines. what would you recommended is the best way to go over them. For me looking over the Pgn doesn’t help. I use the website chess-tempo to review the lines. But I am also looking at going over the conclusion or summary at the end of the courses. What would you recommend to go over the lines??

Sincerely, Pawn

Replies

What you are doing is fine.

Additionally, I highly recommend practicing your openings and then checking the games with PGNs to ensure everything is done correctly.

In case of lines that rarely occur, it's a great idea to check them from time to time to refresh your memory.

Maroczy and Modern Maroczy

Hi, Is the Modern maroczy and Maroczy bind the same course but improvements or are they transposition to something else.

Thank you,

Replies

The Modern Maroczy is a slightly improved version (from Black’s perspective) of the Maroczy. It’s a related variation that differs in some details.

The Modern Maroczy is a different option. 

The unique idea where Black tries to get some space on the Queenside. 

Maybe there can be some transitions as the structures are quite similar. So I would advise learning both if you want to play this opening. 

Playing white and opponent plays Benko against us

Hello everyone,

I am learning the Benko since the new videos just came out and having fun. But it looks so bad for white sometimes in this opening.  So I have a question for all, what do we play as white when our opponent tries to play the Benko against us?

Replies

If you play ChessMood’s White repertoire, Black can’t play the Benko against you. If you play 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4, I’d recommend to accept the gambit and play either the mainline or 5.e3, which is perhaps more practical.

Dear Henry,

That's why we play Benko!
To make White's life harder.

Since we are not playing d4 in our repertoire, it will be tough to recommend a line. If you want to accept Benko, you can try to learn some of the advanced sections, where often both sides get interesting playable positions.

Caro-Kann question??

I get this position in a lot of games, but I always seem to mess up.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/nJstNBNs8/analysis?move=0

can you please tell me the common ideas and plans we do.

Thank you,

Replies

Hey there,

The thing is, those positions aren't really very concrete. Black can try to play in different ways - White just has an edge due to their bad doubled pawns.

Sometimes Nf3-e5 is interesting, sometimes pushing on the Kingside and getting more space. Bringing pieces to the good locations - like Re1.

Dirty flagging achievement

No pieces? No problem. Not sure how I pulled this off, I really haven't had enough caffeine this morning

Replies

oh yeah I have done this

Just won at 4 person chess!

Got my opponent's queen too which was fun!

Replies

New article: Does bullet chess make you better or worse?

Does playing bullet actually help improve your chess? 

GM Avetik Grigoryan reveals the answer to this question, backing it up with science. He also shares:
 

✅ How this time control affects your game.

✅ Why streamers and GMs play bullet, and should you follow in their footsteps or not?

✅ A former world champion’s perspective on playing bullet chess and more…
 

Read the full article here 👇

https://chessmood.com/blog/does-bullet-chess-make-you-better
 

Hopefully, it points you in the right direction of chess growth 💪

Share your thoughts and opinions under this forum thread.

Replies

My real beef with bullet is that opponents don't play real openings and often play dumb moves to waste clock time. Otherwise it would be a good way to practise many openings in a short period.

The truth is that I don't even know nothing about premoves. Playing bad chess is no fun for me. And as a rule of thumb when more time more quality is displayed. So I enjoy watching SGM play their best chess OTB in classical time controls.

Great article 👌.

Great article by GM Avetik

Maybe you forgot to tell us that we should play rapid/classical time control if we have time,only to play blitz time control when we don't have many spare time but still want to improve our chess skills?😂 This article finally solved my "puzzle" on why my bullet and blitz ratings is always higher than rapid and classical,while other people who don't play bullet frequently is vice versa!

Thank you coach, it's just up to me to take the right way and be in the 1%...

Excellent article. I fully endorse and agree with it.

I hate playing fast chess and my friend likes playing fast chess so a few weeks ago he sent me the article on why I should play blitz chess. Needless to say I am happy this now exists 😆

I feel like I was a better calculator before adapting to faster time controls.I hated bullet and I liked rapid more than blitz or bullet for a better quality of chess. I was more ''obsessed'' with finding the best move in every position. I sometimes get in that ''mind-set'' but it won't last long.Blitz or bullet have made me catch up with other players' speed (you need to have a bullet skill/rhytmn to be a good blitz player imo) but after analyzing my games there are blunders or mistakes that make me a little frustrated even if I have won some of them. Currently I feel like my brain has gotten numb but I have decreased the amount of time for blitz or bullet games per day and my 1st games tend to have better quality.

Yeah

Kahneman actually won the Nobel Prize in economics. I know him well from many years of undergrad and grad training in econ and finance, but one could easily consider him more of a psychologist. Another great book to consider on learning is, "Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning", by cognitive scientists at The University of Washington, St. Louis, a top tier school. The book has very valuable lessons for life, some that may surprise you. Thanks for a great article, as usual.

Very nicely written GM Grigorian, Kramnik is like the ultimate dictator (in a good way 😀😀😀) for me and if he says that bullet is damaging my chess, then it is damaging my chess!! Petrosian64

After my rating dropped from ~1800 to 1400–1600, I reflected on what went wrong: I played 100–200 bullet games and neglected rapid/blitz, then took a short break, started playing again around 1200, and my rating kept dropping. Eventually, I stopped playing to figure out the why and the solution.

Reading this article helped me connect the dots: bullet reinforced System 1 autopilot thinking, while System 2 — deliberate calculation — barely got exercised.

Now I’m focusing on longer time controls, calculation, and proper endgames. I’d really appreciate any advice or feedback from GMs here on how to efficiently rebuild my strength and avoid bad habits.

Logging out

Hi,

Apparently I am logged in on 4 devices. I can't find a way to logout from the account. How can i do this?

Thanks
 

Replies

Few doubts....

in whitemood-scotch game, … Qf6, Be3 what if Be7
or Nd4 Nd4, Qd4 what if c6? getting a shield before going gun on gun? 
Just asking…

Replies

The Chess Prodigy Who Beat a Billionaire

In the glittering towers of New York City, a teenage chess prodigy from Queens challenges the elite and proves that true power comes from courage, not privilege. Discover how a pawn became the king in this inspiring story of class, strategy, and hope.

A Classic story of The Pawn Who Toppled a Queen.

Here is the Link (Below):

https://bedtimestoriesforall.com/the-chess-prodigy-who-beat-a-billionaire-the-pawn-who-toppled-a-queen/

Replies

Question regarding 1.d4

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3, are there any recommendations by Chessmood in the courses? Such sidelines have become so common above the 2000 FIDE mark. Would appreciate some advice!

Replies

Hi there, this move order is covered in d4 sidelines corse > in London system chapter. So after 2.Nf3 you can play g6. If 3.Bf4 it's already covered in the course. If 3.c4 then I suggest you can try d6….Nbd7 followed by e5 at the right time. Playing similar structures and ideas

New opening courses

Chessmood, could you please make new opening courses that are as funny as the rise of champions. I gotten used to the funny things at the end of the rise of champions videos and I find the advanced opening courses just a bit unfunny.:)

Replies

What you don't find it funny to crush your opponent with the Sicilian defense or by channeling the a viking helmeted Gabu with a glorious attack.

True story:  I was playing a friend and he played the winged gambit.  In the chat I said:  Gothem vs Gabu.   My friend and I still laugh about it.  BTW:  Gabu won :D