Chess forum by Grandmasters

Time Pressure Blunders

Hello Chessmood Family,

I have just Finished the Blunderproof Course and noticed that they haven't mentioned about the blunders cased by time pressure. I am searching for it because my main blunders arise from time pressure and do not know how to fix it.

Can anyone give an advise as to how I can reduce these type of blunders.

Thank you!

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evans gambit

where can i find a cours about the evans gambit?

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Hello Anis siad, 

There is no course for the Evans gambit on chessmood, because after 1.e4, chessmood recommends to play the French Attack with e6. So if you play what chessmood recommends, you will never get into a position where White can play the Evans gambit.

I hope this helps you,

Santo Bekking

KIA .v. Sicilian not French ?

I see the module on KIA .v. the French Attack. But I prefer our Sicilian lines. But there is only a module on the Closed Sicilian or 2) Be2 lines. Nothing on KIA which I get regularly. As we don't play the e6 Sicilian what is best ? 

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KIA vs the Sicilian tends to work best against the 2…e6 lines.  But ChessMood plays 2…Nc6 so black gets to play e5 in one jump and/or develop the queen's bishop outside the pawn chain.  Something like 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 and black is spoilt for choice between e5 (reverse Maroczy), g6 (Grunfeld setup), or even Bg4 followed by e6.

Hi Keven,

You can build the setup we use against closed Sicilians with Nc3-g3. 

Like g6-bg7-d6-e5-c5-Ne7-Nc6: Note this was not the sequence of the moves, I was trying to draw the structure.

Good luck!

New article: The 8+ Method: Key Idea to Excelling as a Writer and Course Creator

Perfectionism will paralyze you with fear and steal your joy. 
Settling for mediocrity will limit your potential. 

Don’t let either happen!
You can grow very fast and still have fun by striking the right balance between the two.

Learn how with GM Avetik’s “8+ Method”, shared in today’s article. You’ll also discover: 

🟢 Why it’s hard to find good chess books with high-quality examples?
🟢 How we apply the "8+ Method" in ChessMood while creating our courses.
🟢 Tips for chess coaches to improve the quality of the examples in their files and so much more.

Full article⬇️
https://chessmood.com/blog/8-plus-method

Share your thoughts under this forum thread.

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Absolutely, too much media today is quantity not quality. No one wants to waste their time with a dud be it a course or a TV show. And worse a bad course can make the student think it's them that is the problem.

Some of the best material here is a difficult topic presented in a simple way to get the point home. Unless it's an advanced calculation course, it's pointless if the example requires understanding why some subtle complicated reasonable sideline wasn't also a good / better idea. Better an example where that wasn't a consideration.

And perhaps the (intended?) undertone here, it takes time to put out good quality stuff which means not always adding something each week, or the latest ‘promised’ course, or some ‘promised’ advanced sideline right now. However I think there can be improvement here by keeping students in the loop as far as progress and not publishing a few chapters then weeks for the rest to appear which disrupts any flow. Any news, even bad news is better than no news. Quality takes time.

🤔

I think GM Garry Kasparovs books are the best. Is part of his legacy to future generations although many chess players, even titled, they see this material as a threat. A threat to their mediocre self-esteem. Many complain that his books are full of long variations. I tell them, you don't need to go to the end of his variations. Just read the prose and get the idea. 

A very good book that is not well know at least in the amateur level is Perfect your Chess, by A.Volokitin (a +2600 Ukranian player) and his coach, Vladimir Grabinski. The examples are very well selected.

For the club player I think the best books are Nunns. Everything he does is smart and as a writer also.

BTW, IM Cyrus Lakdawala who has written more than 50 books is very happy because with the chess boom the number of his potential readers has grown exponentially and he has been able after decades to buy a new house. Is the typical case that the formula: authors name + good marketing = successful business 

If I might ask, what are the best chess tactics puzzle books? I find old fashioned paper nicer than online, when you have a bit of time here and there to get in some mental exercise, especially at age 60. And, also, at my age, I am curious about your opinion of the value today of studying very old examples. I found Yakov Neishtadt's puzzle books fun and valuable, with examples mostly from 1920-1990.

Caro Kan Course?

Hey guys, I am new. Wanted to ask if there is a course about the Caro Kan, Cant find it? Is there one? Found a course for Counter attack for White against Caro Kan… hope u can help me, thanks

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Hi E.H.,

there's only the course from the white side against the Caro Kann, which you already found.

As black two openings are recommended vs 1.e4: The French (for lower rated players) and the

Accelerated Dragon (for more advanced players).

Positional chess

What is the best way to improve positionally?

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Hi, good morning.

I'll tell you what helped me years ago.

First, try to think about the best position of your own pieces.

Second, answer if it's possible to do that, in a reasonable way (mentally, pick them up and put them on the best squares): “Is it logical?”

Third and the last one (and the most difficult too), again mentally, rotate the board, change colours. “Where would your pieces like to be?" and “Is it easy to get that?”. If yes, try your best to avoid your opponent gaining those squares.

Practice it and you'll become stronger on that kind of games.

Trompowsky 1.d4 2.Nf3 3.Bg5

Hi Chessmood family I have a question about "Trompowsky" I face this very often 1d4 Nf6 2Nf3 g6 (we play 2..g6 to keep to our familiar Dragon/Benko pawn structure right?). 

Then White plays 3.Bg5 and if Bg7 then likely 4.Nd2 which I understand is quite commonly played.

But it looks to me like we got move-ordered into a pure Trompowsky that doesn't appear to be covered in the course, and White does not play Bxf6. 

Can I ask what's our strategy against this line, or did I miss something in the course explanations. Thanks.

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Hi Alex,

that's the Torre, see here:

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/opening-doubt

playing against Nf3

What should i play against Nf3 ?

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If you play the blackmood opening lines you can answer 1.Nf3 with 1...e6 and follow it up with 2...f5 (or you can play 1...c5 with various transpositions, e.g. into the Sicilian main CM-repertoire, if White plays 2.e4, or into the English CM-repertoire by Gabuzyan, if White plays c4)

Hello Josef, I have completed all the opening courses and my main way is 1. Nf3 c5, so if white plays 2. e4 then 2. … Nc6 and going to the accelerated dragon or rossolimo of the sicilian (depending on oppponent's next move), or if white plays 2. c4 then 2. … g6, going to the Chessmood setup against the english opening with pawns on e5 — d6 — c5, knights on c6 and e7, fianchetoed dark squared bishop and light sqared bishop on e6. If white plays 2. e3, with an intention of playing d4 in the future, I usually play 2. … d5 and then something like a reversed catalan.

Did anyone change his opening shortly before an OTB tournament

Hello Chessmood Family,

I have an OTB tournament in 15 days. Do you think I could change my opening repertoire in this short time? Because the people I will play against are going to study my games, so I must change my opening

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French Attack Main Course

Hi, I have been watching the Starter for Blackmood Openings and I have loved the recommendation with the French and Dutch. I would like to go more in-depth but there are no main courses like the Whitemood openings. Do you have an eta for these main courses for the French and Dutch attack?

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Hi Luna! Welcome to the family and to the forum! 
It will be published this year. At the moment we still did not record it.😅

Please check this thread for more info:

https://chessmood.com/forum/threads/french-defense-main-course?reply_id=17616&page=1

french Schlechter variation problem?

french Schlechter variation. i was having a discussion with a friend and i said a3 was the best move for humans in this variation going e4 e6 d4 d5 Bd3 Nf6 e5 Nd7 c3 c5 Ne2 Nc6 a3 then he said c4. i checked with the engine and it was nearly 2.00+ advantage for white. i wasn't sure how to punish it since there were 0 games played like this on both lichess and masters data base (exepect for one). can someone maybe tell me how to play against it? it will save me some time for sure.

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Hi Geeta,

In the mentioned position center is getting completely closed and White's getting nice chances for a flank attack after castling.
f4-f5 ideas or if required g4 can also be needed, but that's already more concrete. Overall with pieces and pawns White's getting a very powerful game on the Kingside, due to the pawn on e5 which gives them a space advantage.

NEW ARTICLE: Stop Playing Chess When Your Body Doesn't Want To

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Thanks for this article..... I will conduct the experiment and let you know my observations after a few weeks.

Thanks for the article GM Avetik

I started playing chess in the morning from today and I gained 50 points! all the time I used to play in evening and would sometimes gain 8-9 points and lose 10-11 points. basically, I did not make progress with my rating. When I played in the morning, I defeated 2 1625+ one 1615+ and I won against one 1750! from 1596 my rating went to 1643!! Thank you soooo much I don't know how you guys do this sooo well!!Just keep writing articles like this and one day you will become such a big business that you will buy chess.com!!! good luck on your journey! I have never seen a website like your's making new innovations everyday! I just have one request, can you plz plz plz write articles like thrice or twice a week ? plz(: your articles are very usefull!

Thank You So Much, Sir, For The Awesome article

Hi guys, today I have the results from my first 2 days of experiment. I wake up at 7am and my peak alertness hours are: 10am to 2 pm and 7pm to 10pm. Although that sometimes I play tournaments on lichess or chess.com until 11pm :) I have raised around +350 points since I became a chessmood member but in the last 3 days I raised +38 on blitz (now I am 1874). Thank you GM Avetik for the interesting article. I am persuaded that the chessmood courses, articles and material are more than enough for anyone to become a strong chess player. 

Thank you so much Avetik the growth hacker

I knew since I was a kid that I was an owl. I like to stay in bed until 10-11 am. And never play chess before 16h. The best time to play chess I think is in the evening. Even the early Titled Tuesday begins at 15.00h and the late TT begins at 23h CET. It must be very tough if you live in Pacific coast to attend the early TT. 

The Scale Method

when can we get the course engine evaluation chapter ,also exciting to have positional play ,thanks to see this and  answer my question

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Hello,

We will be uploading the entire course in a very near future, can’t mention the exact days.

Thanks 🙂

what to do when I lose importan game

Hello ChessMood family, what can I do to change my mood after losing an important match so that I can continue playing in a good mood?

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Benko Gambit 4.Nc3

Hello, I've been encountering 4.Nc3 against the Benko Gambit a lot recently, and I couldn't find it anywhere in the course. Does anyone know what the move/recommendation is after this move? Thanks.

Armandas

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As a note, the variation I currently play against it is b4, followed by d6 and the regular development of the pieces in Benko. However, I find it is hard to crack open the queenside, and white gets some good active play, as well as our c8 bishop is very hard to develop. Any ideas?

Puzzle error?

Today's (14 th September) had a 3 move stalemate which is good if it didn't have be2+ that forces the black king to take and stalemate us in 1 move

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Hi if 1.Be2+ then simply Kxe2. The Bh6 is still on the board so there's no stalemate.

New Black Mood Openings

Does anyone know if the new black mood opening course will focus on the Accelerated Dragon and the Benko or will it focus on other options for black?  I have had a lot of success with the white repertoire especially since the shorter white mood course came out.  Thanks! 

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Well, on February the 8th, Avetik send an email to all promembers explaining that in the BlackMood  openings, new openings will be offered. If you did not get the email, please leat us know, since all promembers should get the email. He said: Also, soon we’re uploading the BlackMood Openings for below 2,000 rating, and I’ll offer you a new repertoire compared to our main courses.

Now, that said, the new openings will be different because learning the sicilian /anti sicilians and benko with all the maroczy and transpositions it is a very daunting task for beginners.

The only thing that I can say regarding the openings is that they are very fun and with attacking spirit... I am sure that you will all enjoy it.

Still, we do not forget anyone and for our most advanced students, we have good news: Avetik already recorded some new section derived from forum questions in the Caro-kann, with its advanced section too.

And the Benko reloaded recordings are starting too... Good things are coming very soon... 

Just stay with us, learn and please: Do win lots of rating !! Nothing makes us happier!!

Dear Coach and CM members,

i ve just heard in the black mood french attack, ed5 https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings/episode/3909 that Avetik said "in the main course i will recommend you Bb4 instead of Be7.. what is this main course on the french attack ? 

How I work on Concentration.

In the bottom, I am sharing my opinion and my experience about power of spells. 

Many works a lot but never improve. Even if you have right contents such as chessmood and many other. I think there are many reasons of not improving but I thinking biggest one is Concentration. Now a days people are seriously suffering from lack of concentration. Even guys GMs works on their concentrations skills.  This is because they are also human and no matter you are a GM or amateur you must work on your concentration skills. There are many ways by which you can improve your concentration. In the bottom I am sharing what my culture teaches us. It does not mean you are forced to follow me. I am sharing it for good knowledge. I think God is one and one call him Shiva another person can call him Jesus. Those people who truely believe in Spiritual things will never waste their time in case of names of God. They respect all religion because they know all religion have same God with different names. Now let's come back to topic.

First Method and most effective one:

Power of Spells that can open your mind in a way in which you never expected. There are even scientific proofs that spells of Lord Shiva improve concentration to the next level. You can google it if you want. In the bottom I am sharing the benefits of this powerful spell which can help you in concentration and memory skills.

Benefits of Om Namah Shivay

https://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/and-more/benefits-of-chanting-om-namah-shivaya_1853404.html

After reading the above post if any of you feel interested about how to chant spells in most effective way then let me know so I will guide you from which I learnt from best mentors. It's not gonna be super complex task but it will change your intelligence level.  The reason behind that is most posts are in Hindi Language so it's impossible for a foreigner to understand what the author is trying to say. So instead of learning from wrong mentors on youtube I can share you the right idea in translated forms from the right mentors or I can say my spiritual mentor. 

The spells I love:

Spells of Lord Shiva: Om Namah Shivay, Namah Shivay.

Spell of Mother Durga:  Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Viche

Note: There are many deep things you need to know in order to work on spells in right way because chanting spells in right way with pure dedication matters.  I am not an expert in this field of spells but I know from where to start and how.

Second Method:

Now let's go to the topic by which you can improve your concentration without the spells. Because some people do not like to chant spells of different cultures. But the method I am sharing in the bottom is not based on any religion but it's an art by which you can improve your concentration.

1. So what you have to do is take a paper and make a dot on the paper with red or blue or black pen. Then paste it on the wall in a way so once you will sit in front of it then it will be clearly  visible to you. Like in the pic I shared. The guy sitting in front of point can see the point without moving his neck. 

2. You also need a met so you can sit on it. In these things met should be new and it can be used only by you not your family member. 

3.  You also need a hanKee so you can clean your eyes once the tears will come. 

4. The max time you need to spent on Point Concentration is 10 to 15 mins. Don't do more than that in the beginning. 

5.  Try to avoid non- veg things during you will work on this skill.

6. Room should be clean also  and if possible choose a room in which not many people comes. So it  will become empty.

7. Choose a time in which there is pin drop silence in the home. Best timings are 4 am or 5 am in the morning and 6 or 7 pm in the evening.

8. Turn off the fan so when you wwill try to focus on point then no air will annoy you because if air touches your eyes then it will be troublesome for you to focus on point well.

9. Now sit down on mat and start focus on the point. Don't try to think of any thoughts. In the beginning many thoughts will come in your mind but do not try to force them to go away. They will soon go away from your mind. Within few weeks you will see difference in your concentration. 

10. During you focus do not try to close your eyes. Try to focus and if tears come a lot then use hankee to clean it for a sec then again start looking at the point. Within some weeks tears will not annoy you because your eyes will be concentrated on the point so well.

11. When you will do this training then sometimes you will see light on point instead of the real point. So , don't be scared it's a sign that now your mind have no thoughts. When light comes if means are doing alright.

11. Now, how to understand that you are successful in this method. When you will see only light on the point instead of your point and it will stay for 10 or 15 mins then you are successful in this method. 

That's all guys. Try any of these methods. It will be super useful for your concentration. I am still searching for right video in english on these topics but still I found no useful video in english format. Once I will find it then I will paste link here and it will be useful for you all. 

Good luck.

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Wow

Super!!

Thanks, Abhi for your valuable advice. It will help us in our life as well as chess!

By the way, are you Indian? Your chess.com id says you are from the US?

Thanks for sharing, Abhi

@skipper_chess it's abhi_mary_1997 on chess.com and lichess

Anyone who started to apply the methods I shared?

Amazing post! 

How many of you tired the above methods?

Question Galore...........

😅

Hi Chessmood team !!

Here are some of the problems that really trouble me…

1. How to play in Zeitnot?
    In a classical time control when I reach the 4th-5th hour I usually start to make use of my time advantage and end up in time trouble as well………(Literally 5 mins later) And boom I blundered. This has cost me alot of my games…( Pls note my stamina isn't bad)

1. How to notice an opponent's resources in a time-efficient manner?
   Usually in my games, I am found missing a lot of my opponent's resources even though I am spending a good amount of time looking for them...What are the main criteria to recognize them as soon as possible

1. 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 Nge7 9. Bb3 O-O 10. Nbxd4 Na5 11. Be3  
   Here as far as I saw in the advanced section Avetik sir didn't cover the move 11..b6! .This is one of the suggestions of engines and I encountered it in a recent online blitz game. The idea is simple to bring the bishop to b7 without wasting time with a6-b5. Also black can now grab our bishop with Nxb3 without worrying much about the bishop on c8 as it will develop easily.  How to counter this move?

Sorry for causing so much trouble😅

Always appreciate the reply and support.

Regards

Vedant

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I mentioned it in the discord chat, but just wanted to followup and say that after some more experimentation I really believe that there is some value to solving puzzles “from the other side”.  In other words, if it's a white to move puzzle flip the board so that you're viewing it from black's perspective and solve it like that.  It definitely feels different, perhaps because it is triggering slightly different patterns and/or thought processes.

lichess is better than chess.com for doing this sort of training because it remembers the flipped setting between a sequence of puzzles.  Chessable also remembers the setting.  On lichess it's fun to try this even with the “Easiest (-600)” setting.

Hi Vedant,

Out of your post I assumed that you have time management issues as you often get into a time trouble.
Here is the link for the time management webinar https://chessmood.com/event/webinar-time-management

Good luck!

The given position in Sicilian Grand Prix is very practical white has moves like c3, c4, Rf2, Qe1,Qd2 - You can pick a continuation which feels better for you as all of them are leading to a positions which I think are much easier to practically play for white.

Attacking Maneuvers

Hello All!

I said I was going to quit sharing specific games, but I want to share this one not to request help, but to give the ChessMood team of masters an idea of the types of struggles that would be wonderful to create a video series about.

In this game, I was able to apply an attacking pattern that I just saw in an annotated classical game of Fischer's. It's video #25, I believe. I understood WHEN to attack, how to use my bishop to prevent h5, and then push my own h-pawn to begin the attack. But where I struggle is figuring out how to execute the attack once it has already begun and not leave my opponent chances to defend.

I'm frustrated with my attacking skill, because when I review this game, the engine says about half my moves allowed the opponent to survive with accurate play. This is a game I should have lost my advantage because I didn't know how to execute the attack once it began.

I don't know how the concept of finding accurate moves during an attack could be put into a video course, but this game highlights one of the biggest reason why I believe I am struggling to make progress. Bringing the pieces into an attack, breaking through pawns, provoking weaknesses, and finding concrete tactics aren't super complicated for me, but making moves that restrict the opponent's defensive chances IS very challenging.

Again, I'm not requesting special help on this game. But I would love to see a future video course about how to identify the right ideas DURING an attack.

Thank you!

https://lichess.org/xbAwZ3Zi/white

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