Chess forum by Grandmasters

advance sicilian dragon

e4 c5, 2. Nf3-Nc6, 3. d4-cxd4, 4. Nxc6-?. 5. Qd4 what am i going to do with this?please sir…

Replies

Hi Jay,
Can you please write the correct move order of what you are asking?
And did you already watch the course on the Sicilian Dragon and made your Pgn file? Because I have the feeling that the variations that you asked and this one too are all covered in the course. 😅

What course should I get

I have enough mood coins to buy a course. I was wondering which course should I get. I'm a 2000 fide rated player. I hope you guys can give me some courses that you guys think will fit me.

Replies

Hi Roy,

I'm in no position to offer personal advice (I haven't even reached 1,000 yet, let alone 2,000!) but you may find the guidance here useful:

https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans/for-above-2000

I find buying the blackmood model games really interesting if you use their openings

I think that you should consider where you are weak in, such as tactics endgames, calculation, etc. Hope this is helpful

Hey,

I’m saving up for the “100 Strategic Masterpieces” course:

https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games

mainly because I like the history of the game so much.  I like to play “guess the move” with those and the “Attacking Masterpieces" course, too.

Hi Roy!

I'm not too good either (~1750 OTB), but I definitely think the Tactic Ninja is worth your savings. It will really boost your tactical vision. If you are already too advanced for this, I recommend you to try CalcMan, which aims at strenghtening your calculation, probably very useful as well! 

Have fun learning! 🙂

Hi Roy!

I think you can buy any opening course which you want to learn or if you are weak at it.

Probably you can buy the middlegame courses like https://chessmood.com/course/chess-exchanges or https://chessmood.com/course/happy-chess-pieces-the-art-of-keeping-your-chess-army-happy if you like positional play.

It may help to improve your game further!

Daily puzzels

To the moderators of Chessmood,

Why can't we draw arrows on the daily puzzels? Is there a reason behind that? 

Replies

Well you should solve the position in your mind, like in a real game… And I mean OTB game… You cannot improve your calculation and problem solving skills drawing arrows and taking notes… 😅

Maybe I have a suggestion, what if you added a tool where you can analyse the puzzel after you solved it or got it wrong! Is that a good idea?

Stockfish suggestions - confused again

Hi all,

Chess is a funny game, isn't it?  Last week I was blunder-free and managed a number of wins in tournament games against players rated much higher than me.  This week I'm blundering left, right, and centre and making hard work of games against people rated at a similar level to me.

I'm guessing I must have been hyper-focused last week because of the excitement of playing players much better than me.  And this week I've allowed my focus to lapse.  Oh well, all part of the learning process!

Anyway, I'd like to ask a couple of questions about Stockfish recommended moves in this game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/114777541735

1. 1. At move 10 I played g6 to block white's check.  The key element of my decision was that I didn't want to just move my king and lose castling rights.  However, Stockfish prefers Kd7.  What is the ultimate destination for the king now?  Do we try to shuffle 3 pieces out from behind the c, b, and a pawns and then move the king across (seems like a lot of work).  Use the mini fort of pawns on e6, e5, and d5?  Or something else?
2. 2. At move 14 I'm still way behind in development and move my light-squared bishop off the back-rank.  Stockfish prefers making another move with the already developed dark-squared bishop (the development isn't a mistake but isn't see as the best move).  I'm tempted just to ignore this advice but thought I'd check what others think.

And finally, to any other beginners out there, if it seems like you may have even the slightest chance of winning then keep playing even when way behind.  In the endgame I'm 16 points down in material - my opponent has 2 queens! - but I finally get to the square that I wanted and my opponent is beaten (his clock runs down but he had no way out).

Which makes me want to ask a follow-up question / question 3.:

I feel as though I should have been able to finish my opponent off earlier in the game but can't see how.  Are there any glaring opportunities that I failed to take? 

Replies

Hello!

As for your first question, G6 is a tactical mistake as it loses the D4 knight. Kd7 just tries keeps the material, additionally, the king will go to c7 (C6 and Kc7) and your extra material will win.

2nd, Bd7 is another tactical mistake! Allows Qhite Bxg6 hxg6 Qxg6 and Kf8 Bc5 or Ke7 Bg5.

As for the third question, you were actually always lost! Your attack was good practically, but it would fail against stockfish.

Lucas Chess

I recently stumbled across a chess training program called Lucas Chess. Does anybody have any experience with this software? Any particular features I should know about? 

Thanks in advance

Replies

Hi Jake,

I'm guessing that you mean this one: https://lucaschess.pythonanywhere.com/

It isn't something I've used before but it looks quite useful doesn't it?  What have you tried so far?

I use LucasChess mainly as PGN-Editor to build and train opening repertoire. Playing against “humanized” engines of various strengths is also pretty nice. A tutor in the background, chess puzzles, tournaments, a lot to keep you busy with improving your chess.

Opening preparation

Hello!!

Just a question I wanted to ask everyone here, but how do you all prepare for your openings? Do you have any tips?

(mainly because, compared to the other phases, my openings aren't as good…)

Thanks!!!

-Roo

Replies

Hey Ruqayyah,

I’ve found a few strategies that have really helped me with learning chess openings. First, watching the ChessMood opening videos gave me a solid understanding of different openings. Here’s how I put that knowledge into practice:

Blitz Games: Play a lot of blitz games focusing solely on practicing your openings without worrying about the outcome. This way, you get a lot of quick repetitions.

Chess.com Bots: Play games against the bots on Chess.com. I set up positions from the openings I’m practicing (like the Caro-Kann, Scandinavian, Scotch Game, etc.) and then play from there repeatedly. This helps me get a feel for those specific positions. Pick an elo that is a little bit about your chess.com rating so the bot makes you feel challenges. 

After my games when I struggle with certain openings or specific lines, I go back and rewatch the ChessMood videos, including the model games and “Racing to …” streams. These videos show how openings are played against different Elo levels and help me understand the typical middlegame plans.

Furthermore, making mistakes and failing a lot is also crucial. The more mistakes you make, especially where felt stuck, the better you’ll understand the opening lines. Second, it's important to not just know the moves but also understand why you’re making them, based on opening principles like controlling the center, developing pieces, and ensuring king safety.

Third, as you play, update your PGN files with your own variations. After each game, review the PGN and PDF files to see how you should have played the opening and understand why your moves didn’t work. Over time, with repetition and reflection, your understanding will deepen, and you’ll start playing the openings correctly automatically.

Hope this helps!

Longer time control simuls?

Hello,

I wonder if it would be possible to run simuls with longer time controls occasionally? If we are to give the GMs a fight, a bit more than 10+5 would be helpful. In addition, more time would give the GM more time to comment on each game, making it even more instructive.

Cheers

Replies

That's a difficult thing to do Harald. We did some tests in the past but we finished having games played for longer than 3 hours and it is too much time. If we do that we must reduce the number of players too. Still, we will talk about it and see if some day we can do something different. 

Thanks for your feedback and suggestion.😀

first game and last game

what is your first game and your last game

Replies

I do not see how this post can be useful to anyone. What do you mean by it? No one remembers his first game… 

My best tournament!

Hey guys!

I just finished my best OTB tournament to date. I played in the lowest rating group (U1520 FIDE) in the national championships. Finished 4th of 43, just a half quality point behind the podium. 40 rating points plus. Way above my expectation and goal.

I believe Chessmood deserves a lot of credit for my improvement, especially the courses Opening principles, Endgame roadmap, Tactic Ninja and Blunderproof.

In addition to playing quite well in most endgames due to the Endgame roadmap, I benefitted a lot from the “How to recover from blunders” sections in Blunderproof. Those pieces of advice helped me shift my focus when my position went from winning to equal after blunders, and helped me secure extra points.

You guys are doing an excellent job creating Chessmood! I especially admire how you are able to teach all level of players, not just the masters.

Happy to be a lifetime member :)

Replies

Forgot to mention it was 9 rounds game 90+30 with 30 additional minutes added at 40 moves

Congratulations Harald!

That's an impressive result.  Keep up the good work!

Congratulations Harald! Well done! That's the spirit! 

Happy to have you here with us!😄
 

Congratulations! Nice tournament!

Fork avoidance blunder

Hi all,

In this game, I've allowed my opponent to get a pawn onto the 6th rank (e6) and it's supported by a knight on f4: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/676145511?tab=review&move=28

Now, if I capture with f7xe6 my opponent's next move is almost certainly going to be Nxe6 forking my queen on d8 and rook on f8.  I didn't want to lose either so I decided against this move.

Instead, I decided to move one of the potential target pieces so that I avoid the fork.  I opt for Qe7.  Well, Stockfish really doesn't like this!  I get a snarky comment about losing a pawn and I go from being 1.6 up on the evaluation bar to 2.1 down.

Somebody, please enlighten me.  How should I have proceeded after White's e6 move? 😎

Thanks 

Replies

Nope, you can figure this one out own your own. Taking the pawn is fine. After the moves 

15.e6     fxe6 

16.Nxe6

how does Black avoid losing material? Both the queen and rook are attacked, so it will take more than one move to save the both of them.

Sorry to answer with a question, but I really think you can get this

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😄. 

Success Story: How I Gained Almost 300 Rating Points in Just One Month with Chessmood

Hello everyone,

I joined Chessmood on 6-1-2024 thanks to a referal from IMrosen's twitch stream, so shout out to him! 

Since then, I have increased my rating by almost 300 points in just over 1 month, increasing from 838 to 1105!

I started playing chess almost 12 weeks ago back in the beginning of April, so I'm super pumped I was able to reach 1105 in just over 3 months from being literally a complete beginner. 

I want to give a big thanks to the Chessmood team for their amazing courses and live streams. I never would have believed that I could improve my chess skills this quickly, but thanks to Chessmood, I did it!

I attribute these gains especially to the Tactical Ninja course and the opening courses. In fact, ever since I started using the Chessmood openings, my results have skyrocketed.

Before joining, I was using the Pirc/KID and the Stonewall Attack. Once I saw the recommended openings—1. e4, the French Defense, and the Dutch—I immediately switched. I struggled at first, but after about two weeks, I started to get the hang of the new openings.

I really believe Chessmood offers the best training available, from beginner to grandmaster. The program's value is unbelievable, with access to all the courses and especially the live streams. Watching the live streams has greatly improved my play, particularly seeing the CM openings in action.

Furthermore, I carefully studied the CM videos to learn how to punish my opponents' opening mistakes. Also, the opening principles courses was incredibly helpful in understanding the purpose of the openings and how to capitalize on opponent's errors.

In addition, what also contributed to making incredibly fast progress was the consistency in my training, attending the live streams, following the study plans closely based on my rating, and playing lots of games. After I played my games, I carefully reviewed them using the chess engine, learning from my mistakes, and applying those lessons in my next games.

My next goal is to hit 1500 rapid elo, so I will keep everyone updated on how I am doing and I hope to hit this goal in 1-2 months!

If any of you would like to play some games and network with each other, feel free to add me on chess.com @TylerFerland and Discord @tylerferland.

Replies

Hi Tyler!

Thank you very much for your kind words!

That's very nice and encouraging to read! Keep it up and may the Chessmood force be with you!

😄

update 

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

2.Nc3 Sicilian Course: 2...e6 Correction

Hello ChessMood Friends, 

I am really enjoying the 2.Nc3 e6 Sicilian Course but have found a few problems that may need correction.

1. In Section 2 (4…dxe4), Episode 5 (7…Nh6), around 7 minutes 32 seconds into the video, g4 is recommended.  Variation (1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Qe2 Nh6 8. b3 Nf5 9. Bb2 a6 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. d3 Be7 12. O-O-O Nd4 13. Qf2 Nxf3 14. Qxf3 O-O 15. g4)  This allows 15…f5!, and after 16.gxf5 exf5 17.Rhg1 (or 17.Qg3 g6, whereafter the Knight or an exchange is lost) 17…Rf7 (though not 17…g6 18.Qh5! Qe8 19.Qh6) 18.Qg3 Bh4!, and in order for the Queen stay on the g-file 19.Qg2 is necessary, but then 19…Qe7 with …fxe4 next.  The engine suggests 19.Qxg7+!?, but still after 19…Rxg7 20.Rxg7 Kf8 21.Rxh7 fxe4 Black wins.

Instead of 15.g4, 15.h4 seems to retain an advantage since 15…f5 16.Qg3 Rf7 17.Ng5 etc.

2.  In Section 2 (4…dxe4), Episode 4 (7…Nf6) around 1 minute 21 seconds into the video, after 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Qe2 Nf6 8. f5 Nxe4 9. Qxe4 Be7 10. fxe6 Bxe6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qxc6+ is recommended, but after 12…Bd7 13.Qe4 0-0 14.0-0 Bf6, Stockfish 16 does prefer Black quite a bit in this position (around -0.4).  I am not sure if this is just an engine thing, but this position does seem rather practical for Black (this is also reminiscent of the 2.Nc3 g6 Sicilian Variations where Black is sacrificing a Pawn after 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Qa4 d6 7.e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Bg7, but perhaps the aforementioned line with 2.Nc3 e6 is a bit stronger, as Black is more active I think)

Any comments/thoughts, especially about the second question, would be very appreciated, thanks!

Replies

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.