Chess forum by Grandmasters

Closed Captioning on Videos

Are there any plans (and I know it's a big project) to add closed captioning to the video training? There are times when I don't want to bother other people and would like to follow along the trainings by reading what is being taught. (I'm a big chess book fan, so the written word is one more learning tool at my fingertips.)

Replies

Hi Benjamin, 

That is a good idea but a huge undertaking… 

Sincerely speaking, we are considering to add the CC and subtitles too but we need to grow in order to be able to afford it. 😅

Let's hope that we can do it! Thanks for encouraging us!💪

Super idea!

Improving Chess Visualization Skills. How to see the full board much better?

Hey chess community,

Dealing with a challenge here—despite having winning positions, I often miss easy moves due to visual impairment. I'm part of my country's visually impaired chess team and have played at world championships with decent results.

Wondering if anyone has tips or exercises to improve chess visualization, especially for those with limited board visibility. Your insights are much appreciated!

Replies

Try to see the board in 3D, that's easier than 2D.

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-visualization-trainer.php

I know, but instead of calculating a 2D position, you can calculate it in 3D

Problem with chess planning!?

In the courses examples I came up with a plan on every example, and they were correct. But when I tried it out on a other game, for example a game played by magnus carlsen I could not seem to make a plan in the game from the 7 questions. I need some help??? 

Replies

Could you not make any  plan with the 7 questions, or could you not make the same plan as Magnus Carlsen? 

Endgame help - avoiding stalemate

Hi all,

I haven't yet studied endgames and mates (it's on my ‘to do’ list once I've finished my first 100 games).  In the game below we are in the endgame and I am ahead.  However, it ended in a stalemate and I feel as though I missed an opportunity for a win.  If you look at the game from, say, move 88  how would you finish off the opponent?

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/98381244993?tab=review&move=88

Thanks :-)

Replies

What an excellent learning experience!  Lesson learned from this is that you have to be careful when using your pawns to push the opponent's king back. And don't get the king in a corner where it's easy to stalemate.

Looking at the position where you played 45. … h3.  You have a knight and 5 pawns to the opponent's one pawn.  You can use the other pawns to queen!  I would probably have played 45. … a5 just to get rid of the last white pawn. For example:
45. … a5 bxa5 46. bxa5.  This position would give you 4 passed pawns. Fabulous!  Then just push the a-pawn down the board. The opponent can't get his king over in time to stop it.

Alternatively, there would be nothing wrong on move 45 with pushing the d-pawn. If White moves his king to intercept, then you can queen the h-pawn. You have lots of good options! 

Hope this makes sense. If not, just ask and I'll be happy to clarify.

Happy Chess,

Jeff

If you accidently stalemate, that means you're not looking ahead even a single move. You had 10 minutes to contemplate your opponents response after ..h2 and …d5, but ultimately chose the literal worst continuation.

I realize that sounds cruel, but I hope you don't take it that way. Jeff Hensley's answer is very helpful for this sort of endgame, so be sure you understand it first. My point I guess is that there's never a good reason to not consider how your opponent may respond to your move, at any stage of the game from opening to endgame. It only takes a single move to throw away a game. A game of chess is generally not won by the maximization of brilliant moves, but by the minimization of blunders. 

These sort of thoughts have given me a new perspective on how I view the game, so maybe with any luck they'll provide something to you to. Or maybe I'm just rambling. Anyways, a very well played game overall, and just know that you're not the first nor the last to create an unfortunate stalemate.

I would just have let my h pawn untouched. H and A pawns very often come with the danger of stalemating your opponent. I would bring my king to the e file, then push the f or d-pawn. 😃

Hello,

First of all in the last position, on move 49 I would have played f2+ and not h2+ because if he went to the corner,  next move when white prometes into a queen it is mate (or even into a rook). With h2+ you are begging the opponent to go to the corner, as this is a very common stalemate pattern(). Also, the safest approach is to push the d pawn, as there is no way to stalemate the opponent. Also if he comes to stop your d pawn, he is now very far away from your h pawn, so you promote.

So if I were you, I would try to get familiar with the most common stalemate patterns (as the one in your game, if you knew it you would never end up there). You can find some videos on Youtube if you want with tips on how to avoid stalemate if you want,  I found this one wich I think is decent about some tips on how to avoid stalemate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-WKm5-bwXI and this on on stalemate patterns (it has a lot inside so don't memorize them all, just  watch this to get familiar with them and understand them): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jphC0ucqFc

Hope this helps

From the episode, we’ve extracted 6 valuable lessons which you can use in your chess and life from GM Bassem Amin, who’s also one of the strongest ChessMoodians. Read here 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/bassem-amin

Share your thoughts with us under this forum thread.

Replies

Inspiring!

Advice sought re Lichess puzzle (again!)

Hi all,

OK, my beginner brain is struggling with the solution to this puzzle so I'd appreciate some feedback.  

I'm fine with Rb4xb2 and the follow-up Rb8xb2.  What I don't understand is why it is preferable to then take the rook on b1 (putting white in check) rather than taking the queen on c2.  Surely the white queen takes the rook if the suggested solution is used?

Puzzle: https://lichess.org/training/2cqcQ

Replies

You cannot take the queen due to a backrank mate (Rb8+).

New success story: No excuses, no compromises... And then 500 points in 4 months

Champions, meet the 16-year-old who raised over 500 rating in 4 months! 

Discover how he:

🟢 Used the chess improvement formula to get better.

🟢 Made time for chess while balancing school & extracurricular activites.

🟢 Stayed detached while having goals and much more!
 

Read the full story👇
https://chessmood.com/success-stories/jeffrey-sweeney

Replies

😀

THANK YOU CHESSMOOD FAMILY.THIS WILL HELP

How much time did Jeffrey spend on studying chess on chess mood per week or per day to get to where he did in 4 months?

NEW COURSE LAUNCHED: Rook vs Bishop Endgame

You’ll be surprised how tricky Rook vs Bishop endings can be.

Sometimes, your opponent may be down an exchange and a central pawn, yet they still have serious chances to secure a draw if you don't know the right technique. 

In the course with GM Gabuzyan, you'll discover the most important theoretical positions and concepts of this endgame as you'll see:

• The winning technique in Rook + pawn vs Bishop position.
• The danger you should avoid when pressing for a win in Rook + pawn vs Bishop endgame.
• How to evaluate Rook vs Bishop endgame with 2 vs 2 pawns.
• Can the side with the Bishop defend in a 3 vs 3 pawn situation?
• Is Bishop + 2 pawns enough to win against a Rook and much more!

Start watching the course here👇

https://chessmood.com/course/rook-vs-bishop-endgame

Replies

My chess improvement journey: week 4

Hi! This is the end of the first month of my chess journey.
This week wasn't as productive as I had hoped. I had problems with insomnia and so my performances decreased a bit. But that doesn't mean I'm not learning from this!
I've tried hard to fix my tendency to blunder pieces by hanging them, the process is slow but I'm making progress.
From the study side, I can say I'm studying the fork pattern, because it's the one I miss the most. I decided to make the process a little faster, because I feel like I can, so now I'll go through 3 section per day instead of one.
Overall this was a good month. I've built the habit of studying chess daily, and I've learned lot of things and better discovered myself as a player. 
Short recap this week, it's all, see you next week!

Replies

Well done for pressing on when it wasn't easy (but note that there is no harm in taking a rest sometimes!).

I don't know about you but I find that I am much better at spotting forks that help me than I am at spotting potential forks for my opponents - it can be quite annoying when they make a move and you suddenly realise what you missed 😉

What to do about this?

Hi I have been losing many games and have reached my highest losing streak and I have been taking lot's of breaks and have tried playing on my other accounts and have been losing there as well and I took a 3 day break from chess and still I am losing.

Look at the time lines under the losing streak as well.

Thank You!
 

Replies

Well Jickyasu, you should play when only your Mind body and Heart only wants to play or else your Game will not be in tip- top shape and  you will not be focused  instead you can use that time practice. Hope this helps you

Hello,

Try not worrying if you will lose again, just play, or wait until you have the mood to play chess. I think you should just not worry about the result, this doesn't show you are a bad chess player it just show you are in a bad period, everyone has its downs.

Can I buy an unfinished course with ChessMood coins

Hello ChessMood family,

Is there any chance to purchase the 'Calcuman - Calculate Like a SuperHero' course with ChessMood coins before it finishes?

Replies

Hello and Happy New year,

No there is no wa to buy the Calcman course with moodcoins yet as it is unfinished and really new. You can buy some unfininshed courses with moodcoins, as the WhiteMood Model Games one, but it is a lot more completed than the new course about calculation.

Hello and Happy new year🎉🎉🎉

Sadly There is no way you can by Calcman course😢. you can buy courses with moodcoins with the option" Get lifetime access" but in many courses including Calclman have no option like that .

Tactic Ninja Quiz

With hint now is much better but I think it could be improved a little bit more 

ex. Quiz 109 instead of Rd7 Nd7 Qc7+ Ka8 Qc8 Nb8 Qb8# if you play Rd7 Nd7 Qc7+ Ka8 Bd7 it says it's wrong but it's still a forced #

And there are more examples. 

Thank you anyway!

Replies

True, this is also going to win. However, the second line is a mate in 5 moves (with Bxd7), while the preferred move is Qxc8 a mate in 2. I think it's probably better to try to find the fastest mate, because the longer the line goes on, the more likely I am to make some mistake in the calculation or a horrible blunder on the move.

Practically speaking, it's going to be almost impossible to include every possible line. There are some puzzles where there is an alternative line which has a forced mate in a dozen moves (as opposed to the main line which is a direct mate in one or two moves). The number of combinations and lines to include becomes very large.

But, I agree with you on this point: a win is a win!

Happy Chess!

Jeff

Claudio when we solve problems, we look for the fastest way always, all the books on tactics are like this. If you can mate on 5 moves or in 2, you should do it in 2, and as such we made the course (like all chess tactics books)… There is no sense in adding lines of possible moves since it will be a never ending story. We should look always for the best and most forcing moves.😅

Anti Sicilan part 1

How do you recomend white play after 1 e4 c5, 2 Nc3 d6, 3 f4 Nc6, 4 Nf3 Nf6 ?

Replies

This is covered by GM Avetik in the opening repertoire for White in the course “Anti-Sicilian with 2.Nc3 d6 (Part 1)”, to be precise in section 3 - minor lines, 3. Grigoryan A. - NN (Online Simul Game).

4…Nf6 is not accurate (better is g6/Bg7/Nf6), we play 5.Bb5, threatening Bxc6+, and planning d3/O-O/Qe1, and after 5…Bd7 we continue with 6.e5 … (see video instruction by GM Avetik).

Importance of history of thinkings to blunders

https://lichess.org/bF1j9js6dn7g

I think that it may be productive for a course about blunders and it is important to understand that the history of the thinking in the game can also cause blunders.

In this game I made the stupid blunder of 48…Ka3 instead of promoting my pawn to queen 

I can explain the reason for this blunder that is related to the history of my thinking in the game.

1)I calculated during the game 46…a3 47.Bxb3 Kxb3 with a simple win for black.
2)I calculated during the game 47…a2 48.Kb2 a1=Q+ and I thought I need the knight to help the pawn to promote.

3)When my opponent played 48.Bxb3 I saw that I missed in the calculation the fact that I cannot capture Kxb3  because the king protect b3 and I thought that I lost the knight that I need to promote my pawn so I even did not consider promotion in the next move.

Without the history of my thinking I am sure I could play a1Q and not blunder by Ka3. 

I had 3 seconds increment but they did not help me to think correctly at time trouble.
 

Replies

Hi Uri.  Have you looked at the BlunderProof course?  It's very good.

For this type of situation, where my opponent plays a surprising move that somehow indicates my previous calculation was faulty, I believe it's important to do a quick mental reset.  I would not immediately try to apply logic based on my previous calculation because I already know that calculation was faulty!  So I try to scan the board to reassess the situation, and go from there.

Easier said than done when you're short of time, but chess would be boring if it were too easy :-)

Also, you should join the Discord!

Chess.com - Fair play violations

Hi all,

I've now had two of these messages in the last couple of days.  Am I just unlucky or is this sort of thing widespread?

“We have detected that one or more of your recent opponents has violated our Fair Play Policy. As compensation for potentially unfair rating losses, we adjusted your following ratings:”

Replies

That means that one or more of your opponents has used an engine to make the best moves. This is considered “cheating” and not allowed on any chess site.

Some people consider cheating as a big problem, especially in events with prizes. 

There is a very small amount of players that cheat on chess.com, but luckily it is getting detected. Don’t worry too much about it, it doesn’t happen often. 😅

I also get these messages sometimes, but not very often. You will get more of these messages if you play more (You will play against more opponents, and therefore also more cheaters).

I have had more than two of these messages for daily games

Happened to me a few days ago.

The real kicker?

I BLUNDERED MY QUEEN and this guy still resorted to cheating.

about missing check and captures in the next move

In almost every game that I do not win in blitz at time control of 5+3 there is at least one capture or one check in the next move that I simply miss.

There are other tactical blunders like missing an imprtant threat that is not a capture or check but I think that I can increase my rating from almost 2100 at blitz to 2300 if I am able to prevent only this type of blunder.

Note that by missing I do not mean not evaluating correctly the capture or the check but simply not consideing it and I also do not mean missing some capture or check that is not the next move of me or the next move of the opponent after the move that I play.

I wonder if people can give good suggestions how to prevent only this type of blunders at 5+3 time control(they usually do not happen to me at long time control).

For the record here is one of my games when my opponent lost without this type of blunder.

https://lichess.org/D7rJVvjDrwks

18.Ne2 was the worst possible move and the only move that lose by mate in 2 but at least my opponent did not miss a check or a capture in the next move. 

Replies

How to make the process of learning opening enjoyable and efficient

Dear Chessmood,

As all of us know that as we progress to become stronger players we must learn new opening to get a grasp of new positions and to have a back to surprise your opponent. But the issue which I think I feel is that I do not enjoy learning openings especially the ones which have concrete theory.

So can anyone pls recommend a way to make the opening learning process fun to learn as well as maintaining the efficiency of remembering them.

Thanks in Advance!

Replies

You do not have to learn that many openings. Until you are playing at a very high level, the risk of running into targeted preparations is very low, so you can just learn one opening repertoire for white and one for black, then add stuff to your PGN files as you run into it. 

Hi Pranav,

The process of learning the openings is different at the different levels.
As Neo mentioned it's not needed to dive super deep around U2000 level, as most of the knowledge will never appear on the board.
However at a higher levels the process is by learning the theory - creating PGNs - playing practical games - revising and fixing opening mistakes and again the same circle, unless you feel really comfortable in that lines.

Good luck!

Grand Prix, A6, e6, Nc6 setup.

Hello, recently Ive been facing this variation online and OTB:

1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. F4 A6 4. Nf3 Nc6

In this variation or a transpotion.

How do I face this? It seems to me that Black gets a very good position, usually following up with d5.

Thanks is advance!

Replies

It's in the advanced section of the main course. We go for a set-up of g3 Bg2 Nh3

Good question. I think that A4 (after A6) is the only move that gives white a chance to fight for an advantage, except for the line that David Flynn mentions.

How Good Is Daily Chess (on chess.com) for Chess Improvement?

Hi everyone! I am just wondering, how useful is Daily chess on chess.com for chess improvement, and what is the best way to go about using it?

Replies

In general I think you're better off simply playing realtime games online.  You will develop more practical skills that way.  And you will maximise your learning if you analyse your games, initially without an engine and writing down your thoughts and questions, then checking with an engine.

I played a bunch of Daily Chess when I was first getting back into it.  It was useful for doing opening research, and getting inspired about chess again but I don't think it was that helpful for my level of play in normal chess.  But I was moving the pieces around on the analysis board when analysing, keeping notes on every game, and sometimes spending multiple hours on a single position!  If I wanted to prioritise helping my overall game I would have limited my thinking time to say 5 minutes (or 10 at most) per position, and not moved the pieces around at all.  My results would have been a little worse, but it forces you to exercise visualisation and practical  decision making skills.