Chess forum by Grandmasters

Struggling with OTB vision compared to online games

Hi everyone,

I recently played in an OTB tournament and noticed that my performance wasn't up to the same level as my online play. My biggest issue was my tactical vision—especially spotting knight forks, pins, and other key threats. I found that I struggle to visualize the board and detect my opponent's tactics in OTB settings compared to online games.

I’m planning to get a physical board to help bridge this gap and practice my OTB skills more effectively. My idea is to use the board daily to train my tactical vision with real pieces, which I hope will help improve my focus and pattern recognition when I play in physical tournaments.

Has anyone else faced a similar issue transitioning from online to OTB play? If so, how did you deal with it, and do you have any tips or exercises for sharpening tactical vision on a physical board? I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions that can help me better prepare for future OTB games!

Thanks in advance!

Replies

Hey Tyler! When I started playing otb I had very similar performances. I realized that as I play more otb and stay focused that soon my online skills will reciprocate into my otb games! I also did more things over the board, like puzzles or master games. I think that should help a lot with the otb. Good luck in your otb games!

Hi Tyler,

I faced the same issue as well in my recent tournament.
As I was used to the online boards, I lost the sense of the real one.

If you are going to play lots of OTB games it's vert reasonable while solving the tactics put them on a physical board and practice that way.

Modern Maroczy Bind 9.Bg5

Hi All,

after modern Maroczy 9.Bg5 my game was the following:

9.. 0-0 10.Qe3 Be6 11.0-0 Qb6 12.Qd2 Qa5 13.Rab1

I was lucky played Nd7 and opponent blunder b4 nice tactic with Bxc3..

But unfortunately Nd7 is not good.

I checked with engine and engine let white play b4. move soon or later.

Interestingly by far better engine say Rac8. But every master game or lichess game nearly went Rfc8..

Do you understand the differences and what would be your recommendation for black after 13.Rab1?

Link to my game: https://lichess.org/Krxi86yM/black#25

Replies

Hey Fred,

I am not getting Rac8 as Rfc8 seems to be much more natural.
I would have continued that way 😅

Multiple imbalances in a position

I'm struggling to come up with plans for each side in this position. For example, will a rook exchange favor black or white?🤔 

Replies

Dear Mike, 

Here Black has dangerous pawns, and once position gets simplified they can start pushing.

As white I would try to enter 7th rank and create threat, especially against the King, but position is complex. I feel Black should be better 🙂

Middle Game Mastery - Pawn Structures

Hi GM Avo sir and GM Gabuzyan sir how about a course on Pawn Structures under Middle Game Mastery section.

Replies

I was looking for something similar but could not find anything here on Chess Mood. (maybe because there is no search function that searches for keywords?). Anyway, I am also in Facebook Chess group where someone posted a similar question and the answer there was that you need to look for topics like ‘pawn break’ to understand how pawns can be used in the middle game. Searching for this, I've found this article:

https://www.chessjournal.com/chess-pawn-break/

Hope this helps finding what you are looking. And yes, I would also like to know if there is already a course on using pawn structures in the middle game.

Here is also a lichess study:

https://lichess.org/study/8i48j3zf

(based on a YouTube video) that I found looking for ‘pawn breaks’ in the study area of lichess (I have not looked at it so I don't know if this is any good, but there seems to be a few 'go to' resources once you know what you are looking for.

They are working on a positionnal chess course ("Strategic symphony") in the rating booster section, I imagine it will contains stuff on the pawn structure (can't wait!).

If you have a premium account on chess.com, there is a lesson by GM Johan Hellsten “Every pawn structure explained” that is interresting. There is about 30 pawns structures that can emerge from the main openings and the associated plans for both sides and a few exercises. 
https://www.chess.com/lessons/every-pawn-structure-explained

Struggling with Premature Attacks in the Dutch Attack - Need Help!

Hey ChessMood family,

I've been playing the Dutch Attack but I keep getting into trouble before move 15. It seems like my early f-pawn push opens me up to aggressive attacks, and I often find myself on the defensive too early. Here's an example from a recent game where I had a hard time defending:https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/121809533959?tab=analysis&move=81 As you can see, I struggled around the middle game after moving the f-pawn early and eventually fell to aggressive play on my kingside. What adjustments can I make in the Dutch to avoid falling into premature attacks and instead, be the one with the initiative? 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance! 😊

Replies

Hi tyler,
in the given example I think the first mistake was 9…h5. This move weakened the square on g5 and allowed 10. Be2 which is where i think you lost the initiative and started having to defend all the weak squares (Note that Qh5 was not a threat just yet as the knight on f6 covers this square). I think that 9…0-0 was probably a better move

After your opponent played 10.Be2 I think taking on g2 was probably another mistake as it allowed your opponent to gain the open g file in front of your king and allowed the infiltration of your opponents rook to g7. I think a good lesson to learn from this game is to think twice before taking a pawn that may open up a file in front of your king and to  try to avoid pawn pushes on the side where you intend to castle. Overall I don't think the issue was pushing the f pawn too early but I think that the  real issue was the open g file.

Hope this helps, Samuel 

Dear Tyler,

9…h5 was a huge mistake as it weakens dark squares on the Kingside, and without that you had a pleasant position.

I would highly recommend you checking all the model games - where you will see how we move our pieces and pawns in that openin 🙂

Benko 3.Nf3 transposition english

Hi Team,

i looked at Benko Gambit 3. Rare:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3…

There is mentioned that after cxd4 Nxd4 it is transposition to english opening which should be covered in english course.

But in english course we are playing 2..g6 so i can't find the transposition.

I know there is a transposition mentioned with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5. 3.e3 but 3.Nf3 i cant find.

Any helps where i can find this transposition?

Thank you all for your help!

Replies

hi Fred,

In the position after Nd4 if you play g6 i’s transitioning, as against any reaction in future we are playing systems with g6 - either going to Maroczy bind, or English systems with g3.

complicated endgame

I've said it in previous posts, I'm working on my endgames. Something in engdames is very conterintuitive for me and I mess up a lot of winning positions or loose draws when we come to that phase of the game. The first courses I watched in chessmood were the endgame roadmap and the essential engames u2000. Now I've begun the advanced courses. I'm still struggling, but I think results are coming. 
 

I was quite happy with this endgame, especially 44. Rb7 and 49. Ke7. 
https://www.chess.com/game/live/121659639697

I'm pretty sure those moves won me the game. 

Turns out, the computer deems 44.Rb7 as imprecise and drawish, even advantage to white due to… g4!  😮😮😮
g4, if taken, deflect the king on a vulnerable square away from his pawns. If not taken, it gives de soon-to-be white queen an anchor to check the king more efficiently. And if the black king goes on e4, it loses to Ra4+, a move that save the rook, maintain the pressure on the black pawn and the queening square in a1 and garanty the queening on h8 on next turn. After g4, the only move that keeps hope to draw is Kg6. 
g4 is a very high level move. Would you have found it? My perception is it's computer-ish. 

Instead, my opponent choose to queen and sacrifice his rook, hoping he could find a skewer to get my rook and then the a-pawn. I knew that, to my king could not go on the 7-rank, nor the g1-a7 diagonal. Also, that in most circumstances, a4 was also forbidden to my king, because some Qf3+ would force the king on the bad diagonal. So I manoeuvered on the few sqares I had left, accepting it would probably be a draw if my opponent choose to take it (wich I doubted, it's really hard to accept a draw when you have a queen and not the opponent). My opponent choose to push and loose. If I'm so happy with 49. Ke7, it's because I had previously saw that move as one of the forbidden one due to the skewer, and needed to spot that only move to understand that the circumstances just had changed and it had become the safest square on the board. That time, the computer approve and it is indeed a winning move. Opponent resigned after me queening. 

Instead of Rb7, the computer prefer to check and then give up the pawn, defend passively against the queening on h8 and pushing the d pawn, going for the draw.
 

But the real mistake that was loosing the advantage was on the previous move, a7. Intuitive move, pushing the pawn protected and close to queening, but it looses the advantage. The computer want to go Rb1+, pushing the king toward f2, then Rh1, forcing the exchange of pawns, and then the passed pawns in the center win the game. I saw that move, but I rejected it because of Kh2, blocking the access to h1. Turns out, the computer says you could go Rb6, and after h7, Rh6+!, pressuring the pawn and controling the queening square by x-ray, after that white has nothing better than exchanging the pawns and you're still having the central passed pawns, the white king being misplaced on the h-file. No an easy line to spot, but I feel that one is not “computer-ish” and I could be able to see something similar in the future. Thoughts? findable?

There is also an interresting miss on move 31. Computer want e4, attacking the bishop. This moves did not cross my ming because seems it's just giving a free pawn, the bishop does not seem to be pinned, since the rook behind is protected. But the computer want to gives the pawn, exchange the rooks and says after that the bad bishop will have hard time preventing the a-pawn from queening and will be forced to sacrifice itself to do so. To in the long run, e4 win a bishop for two pawns. When I saw this line in the analysis, my first thought was it was a master line, above my paygrade. But now that I think about it, I think there is some pattern I should be able to recognize here, with the bad bishop blocked behind his pawns and a passed pawn hard to get. So… maybe I would find it with a better understanding of that patterns? What do you think?

Replies

Nicely played.

Ke7 looks to be a great move.  There is nowhere for the white queen to put you in check, thereby allowing you to promote your ‘a’ pawn (which is basically Game Over for white).

Endgames are, as you know, very difficult!  The ideas can be very subtle, lots of calculation to do, and a small error can be disastrous.  In the beginning and middle game, small errors lead to weaker positions. But there is still a lot of play left to try to find a way to come back. Not true for the endgame.

You've already done a lot of analysis of the game.  Move 44. Rb7 — I completely understand why you would play this. And this is a fast game (10 minutes), so you don't have a lot of time to analyze and think about the response g4.

For me, endgames are an occasion to use lots of time to calculate and analyze. When you don't have that time, you are going to miss things. In this case your opponent missed it too!

So, don't beat yourself up for not finding these. Do celebrate what is a very nice win!

Thank you both for the nice words. 

Jeff, I don't beat me for the mistakes, even after looking at the computer analysis, I'm pretty happy with how I played. 44. Rb7 was not objectively the best move, but I still think it was a good practical decision, that asked a very hard question to my opponent and pushed him to a mistake. It's not the best, but it's a move on the path of being a better endgame player than I was.  Still, I'm interrested to understand the best moves and what's the best way to find them, and I think this game is a very good opportunity to think about it. 

Lichess posts dissapearing

Whenever I post in the Lichess forum nobody responds or reacts to them. I've been suspecting I've gotten banned from Lichess communication. I fact-checked this by anonymously heading to lichess and checking my account's forum posts, and the last recorded one was 9 months ago. I'm so confused because I don't think I did anything wrong to get banned, nor did I get notified this happened (my username is TastyKing if that helps).

Replies

I don't use the Lichess forum so keep that in mind …

• * Can you ask a forum moderator/admin?  Presumably, they would know if you have been banned.
• * Is there a posting requirement?  For example, if you didn't make any posts for 6 months might your account be closed
• * Can you create a new account and make posts that show up?  This would test to see whether your IP address has been blocked.
• * In one of the posts from 9 months ago your comment included “… if you are looking for a stupid opening …” - might this have upset somebody and got you reported?

Mass exchange from middlegame to pawn endgame

While studying KIA (King's indian attack) opening I came up to this variation. And at once remembered chessmood videos about mass exchanges when having some material edge, but in this case it's extreme vacuum cleaner straight to pawn endgame, wow haven't seen smth similar!

If you want you can solve from this position white to move 

https://lichess.org/study/fP8jYMJQ/NJFchmVM

Replies

Wowzer!

You know what we get to do today?

“You know what we get to do today?” is one of my favorite movie quotes. It's from “The Rookie” which is story of a 35-year old man who is trying to make it to the Major League in baseball.  Miraculously, he gets on a minor league team and is struggling. Then one night he is watching young children play baseball, and it reignites his lifelong passion for playing baseball. He shows up for his next baseball team and speaks to his friend the line: “You know what we get to do today, Brooks? Play baseball”. And a huge smile breaks out on his face. 

He found the joy of the game, and worrying about winning or getting to Majors became a secondary concern. He just wanted to play.

So, I ask you: “You know we get to do today?”

I'm sure you know the answer :)

Replies

I didn't know that quote … but I like it!

One that I like, and can be applied when thinking about the Saving Lost Positions course, is from the film Galaxy Quest:

“Never give up! Never surrender!”

How do you train?

I have played chess my whole life, and I have greatly enjoyed the game and sharing my perspective in this forum. But I confess that I have spent very little time actually studying chess. My only “training” is the occasional practice game or puzzles session, but I have been inspired to actually form some improvement plan.

I've read lots of articles on training plans on Chessmood and elsewhere. But I would also appreciate actual input from my peers. So if anybody would be willing to answer some of these questions, I would greatly appreciate it.

What does your chess training look like, on a daily or weekly basis?
How often do you practice tactics, and what is your source of puzzles?
What training methods do you personally love/hate?
How often do you play training games?

Any level of detail is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Replies

My training plan is a big work in progress. I have played a lot, watch a lot of content on youtube - had my debious gambits phase, fortunately I already had good foundations at this point. At some point I began to make regular puzzles. I do my puzzles on chess.com, integrated with my transports, do also some puzzles with my coffeee in the morning. I do a puzzles streak on lichess before playing seriously. 
Now that I am on chessmood, I try to integrate 12 rapid games per weeks, not always easy to manage with my other activities. 
I watch chessmood courses usually before work and after work. 
I also found a book on endgames and try to do puzzles from that book on a regular basis. It's not that structured, but it's slowly becore a little bit more structured. 

My routine:

3x longer rapid games per week - either 15|10 or 30|0

2x hour long puzzle sessions. Used to be daily but I found I needed to work on other things and not just tactics

Some reading about positional chess

Some research about annihilation tactics for my own interest

Binge play some ultra or hyper while blasting heavy metal music. Swear loudly when I blunder.

These are fun questions.

“What does your chess training look like, on a daily or weekly basis?”

• 100 mate-in-2s every day. (It used to be mate-in-1s, but I graduated)
• Some ChessMood videos on whatever I'm currently working on. I try to do a 2-3 chapters of a course per week.
• Twice a week I play 3 or 4 15+10 rapid games. These I fully analyze and talk about with a coach
• 5+3 blitz until my eyes bleed (almost every day). No analysis, but I have recently been using the new FixMood feature to check I'm not making opening mistakes.

“How often do you practice tactics, and what is your source of puzzles?”

• Every day. For mating patterns, I use Chess Kings. So many mate-in-1 and mate-in-2s there and they are divided up by which pieces are used, so you can focus on just learning how to use rook and bishop well together, for example.
• Other tactics: Still slowly working my way through Tactics Ninja. Finished intermediate moves the other day. Those are very difficult for me. There's lots of good puzzles in that course. I also use Lichess for mixed tactics or specific motifs.

“What training methods do you personally love/hate?”

• I love puzzles and playing games. I use to hate the more difficult tactical puzzles because they were too hard for me, but now that my pattern recognition has improved from all the mating practice, they are getting more enjoyable. Intermediate moves are still very frustrating some times. But no pain, no gain, right?

“How often do you play training games?”

• Don't think I've ever played a training game. Not entirely sure what that is, honestly. 

Okay, back to basics

Well, after making a fool of myself in a game with GM Gabuyzan, it is time for me to take a hard look at what I'm doing. I can't explain all the things that went wrong, but it started quickly in that game. I opened e4, then e5 Nf3 and I'm planning on the Scotch game. He played 2. Nf3. The Petroff. I know this!  But somehow with my illness rattled brain, I said what the heck is this. And played Nc3.  Oh dear. It only got worse :D

He said in the stream that was going to play the Stafford gambit. I would have liked that. Assuming that I could remember the refutation! The good news was that it was a quick game, and I didn't suffer a long time!
 

My slowness at understanding what is happening on the board is really perplexing. So, I've decide to go back to basics. I'm pulling out the speedbag (metaphorically speaking) and going to go back to drilling basics until I can't take it any longer.

So, I've got Laszlo Polgar's book “Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games”, and I'm going to start at the beginning puzzles (mate in 1) and frantically drill myself on these. Then I'll take on the Mate in 2 positions and drill them. My plan is to either develop better board vision, or to exhaust myself trying. I'll check in on occasion and let you know how I'm holding up.

Wish me luck! :D :D

Replies

I feel obligated to say to not be so hard on yourself, everybody has a bad day, blunders are inevitable, etc. 

But if it's a poor game that inspires you to approach your study differently, then that's great! I look forward to reading your updates. Best of luck!

Good luck, Jeff.

To be honest, most of us are going to make fools of ourselves playing against a GM 😉

The best games of September, 2024, and the prizes

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

Jake E.
A Guy Who Plays Chess
James L.
Chess Forever
Tony Weir

Replies

https://lichess.org/BAC2rzOJ He don't have any pawn in front of the king at the end of the game ! Can I delete my post and create a new one if I play a better game this month ?

While watching the Rise of Champions videos I remember Avo talking about gambits and how they can be used to potentially wrong-foot opponents who may know the main line of an opening but not the gambit variation.  And besides - they sound like fun!  

I play the Scotch opening for white and so, after a little research, I came across the Scotch Gambit and Haxo Gambit.  Time to put it to the test …

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/daily/695176797?tab=analysis

For those around my level, or just those not familiar with the gambit, the key points are:

• * After 3 … exd4 we do not retake the pawn with 4 Nxd4.  Instead, we move our bishop with Bc4, targeting the f7 pawn.
• * c3 offers black another pawn, which he takes - this opens the d file for our queen
• * Then we sacrifice our bishop with Bxf7+ (and get a brilliant move in the process - I don't get many of those!)
• * Of course this is followed by Kxf7 - we are now down a piece and a pawn.  But fear not …
• * Qd5+ checks black's king while also targeting the bishop on c5
• * Black's king now needs to retreat.
• * After Ke8 we … don't take the c5 bishop!  Here we play Qh5+.  Why?  Because the likely g6 response opens up black's pawn defence and we can still capture the c5 bishop on our next move.
• *  We can then capture black's marauding pawn on c3 and we are back to even in material but in much better shape.  We can now look to castle and attack black's weakened position (note that black can't castle because of the king's movement).
• * After castling on move 12 Stockfish has white with a lead of around +3.

This really was quite a fun game (of course, it may not have felt like quite so much fun if it went wrong and black won the game!).  I had a brilliant move, accuracy of 89.4 (100 in the opening), and a game rating of 1750 - for a sub-1000 rapid player I was very pleased with this.

https://lichess.org/study/6RKYYkrZ/k4HgNODU

previous month i played this game against a 2511 rated IM , my rating was 1449 ( played this game in 61st national championship of india ) and was so close to defeat a player who was 1100 points more rated from me , i just wasn't able to handle the pressure at the end and lost in about 80 move game . i played from black , i didn't watch the advance section of benko and so after a4 made my own plans

https://lichess.org/huzLIzMI/black#0

Nice attack vs sicilian closed systems with 99% accuracy 

Playing against isolated pawn, trying to exchange opponent's good bishop, and finally tactical shot and mating the king without queens on the board.

https://lichess.org/KtocpcTRGKLA

https://www.chess.com/live/game/119151610987
 

found a nice mate at the end !!

https://lichess.org/EKwjqeezcA7x

Guimard leads to French Attack.

Dear Cm family, a good one in the antisicilian with a ks attack https://lichess.org/ujD3ADFz

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119304635441

I won this game in 12 moves to a player above 1100

https://lichess.org/y8su8DJl/white#0
 

scotch Qe7 h4 , with force mate on move 22 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119343015089

creating a mating net in petrov defence

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119364594425

Here is my game featuring the Grand Prix Attack against a Pirc Defense. This game is a great example of how to dismantle a fianchettoed king's position through coordinated pressure, precise pawn advances, and effective use of the open files.

1. Early on, I established a solid pawn structure with 1. e4 and 3. f4, aiming for a quick kingside attack typical of the Grand Prix Attack.
2. Black fianchettoed their dark-squared bishop, but I capitalized on this with rapid development and effective central control, eventually playing f5 to open up lines against Black's king.
3. Notice how 11. f5 immediately disrupts Black's pawn structure, forcing weaknesses and opening the h-file for my queen and rooks.
4. The critical moment comes when I sacrifice the exchange with 22. Qh7+, exposing the weakened g6 square and making it impossible for Black to defend effectively.

This game is highly instructive for anyone looking to learn how to attack in positions with a fianchettoed king and how to use dynamic play to overwhelm the opponent.

[Event "GameKnot Blitz"]
[Site "http://gameknot.com/"]
[Date "2024.09.07"]
[Round "-"]
[White "zo4rm5"]
[Black "2dos"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. d3 Bg4 8. Qe1 b5 9. Bb3 Nbd7 10. Qh4 e5 11. f5 Nb6 12. fxg6 hxg6 13. Bh6 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 a5 15. a3 Nh5 16. Bg5 Qd7 17. g4 Nf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. Rh3 Rfe8 20. Rf1 Re5 21. Rxf4 b4 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Qxg6 bxc3 24. Rxf7+ Qxf7 25. Qxf7# 1-0

Here is my game featuring the Scotch Game. This game is a powerful demonstration of how to capitalize on passive play by Black and launch a direct kingside assault.

1. The opening with 1. e4 e5 and 3. d4 led to a typical Scotch Game, where I rapidly developed my pieces and gained central control.
2. Black's setup with 6... O-O and 7... Nbd7 showed a bit of passivity, allowing me to maintain the initiative.
3. By move 9. f3 and 10. g4, I was already preparing a decisive kingside attack, aiming to take advantage of Black's lack of counterplay.
4. The breakthrough came with 13. h5 and 14. g6, forcing Black into a critical defensive position. This pawn storm, combined with my piece activity, created too many weaknesses around Black's king.
5. The final sequence with 15. Bxh6 and 16. Qxh6 perfectly illustrates how to punish a passive kingside defense and deliver a checkmate with precision.

This game is highly instructive for players who want to learn how to transition from a strong opening position into a crushing kingside attack, especially when facing passive play from the opponent.

[Event "GameKnot Blitz"]
[Site "http://gameknot.com/"]
[Date "2024.09.07"]
[Round "-"]
[White "zo4rm5"]
[Black "mik51"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qd2 Nbd7 8. O-O-O Nc5 9. f3 a6 10. g4 b5 11. h4 Bb7 12. g5 Nfd7 13. h5 f6 14. g6 h6 15. Bxh6 gxh6 16. Qxh6 1-0

CM French

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/119424573545?tab=review

https://lichess.org/C8GMH7C7/white

Crushing and Trapping a FM's queen in 19 moves using the French 3.Bd3.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/119471429647

chessmood Opening + mating matador = 🤣🤣🤣 total brutality 

thanks Avi 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119522370687

Crushing my oppoent against Sicilian 2.g6 with AntiSicilian 3.d4

https://lichess.org/lRij790YTYfF

SLP with thematic queen sacrifice checkmate in the end

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119438977731

Here is a neat game featuring a Queen sac, A rook sac, and a bishop sac.
Plus an (almost) perfect conversion.
Pawns matter!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/119622619735

a good gran prix attack vs a pirc which leaded to a material gain (missed the best continuation (Bxf8 instead of cxd4)) but the spirit of the opening is conform: https://lichess.org/o2U33g3u

https://lichess.org/ADaJkPdg/white

Nice 14 move game with a Bishop sac on f7

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119614783489

Scotch, exchange on b6 after blavks a5 makes blacks pawn structure weak.

https://lichess.org/yie1QRoL/white

After so long I am back in chess.

https://lichess.org/O27jVWXcBSfy

this d6 Bg7 line against London is so fun to play and London players hate to see it hahaha.

Crushing pirc with space!

https://lichess.org/fXREStEIhv6O

Destroyed my opponent with a line I love, hope you find it interesting!

Chess: Thiha77777 vs ThankfulBone - Chess.com

Hello I know I am learning the Grand Prix opening but this was a good game for me. Enjoy

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119809890515

A perfect Scotch!

https://lichess.org/vYpT1ynm/white#0.

Dominating The Alapin easily!

https://lichess.org/zSCFRPL2/black#0.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119817034295

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119871600307

Breakthrough with 15…e3!

Here is a nice game I won with the Scotch opening! 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119916001619

https://www.chess.com/live/game/119943591289

My best win ever. I was white 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/119383844933

Attacking The Pirc Defense.

https://lichess.org/HZqp7SIC/white#0.

OTB rapid game, CM Antisicilian my opponent cracked under pressure

Another game from OTB rapid tournament. How often do you give a checkmate with pawn in the middle of the board in Benko ;))

ThankfulBone vs. YujiMoney | Analysis - Chess.com A game that shows that opening prep is just as important as endgame studies, because otherwise the same thing that happened to YujiMoney might happen to you… (yes, it was bullet)

A very volatile Grand Prix attack.

https://www.chess.com/game/daily/696768861

Phase I (moves 1…9): Set up.

Phase II (moves 10…14): Push the pawns.

I wanted to play g4 but the square was unprotected, so 10. Nh4, but then after 12. g4 the knight was loose and Black could win a pawn by 12…Nxe4? (+2.76) (while the engine thinks 12…h6 (+0.70) was preferable. It's amazing to me that the engine finds winning the pawn to be so much worse but the pawn avalanche becomes surprisingly powerful especially after 14. g5! when there is a threat of catching the bishop by e.g. Qh5.

However, the position is already getting very tactical. Engine thinks 15. Nd5 would have been much better (+3.10) than 15. Qh5 (0.00). Also, I get that 17…Rb8 (+2.75) looks slow but still it's surprising that that engine prefers 17…Kh8 (+0.15) by such a great margin.

Phase III (moves 18…23): Mate.

I'm quite happy about finding 19. Ne7+ Kh8 20. Ng6+! when 20…Kg8 fails to 21. Bd5! (21…Qxd5 22. Ne7+) so black has to capture 20…hxg6.

After that it's a simple matter: play fxg6 threatening the queen, check with the queen on the h file and mate on h7. Right?

Well… there's a little move order thing. 21. fxg6? (-3.37) allows black a miraculous save by 21…Ne2+! 22. Kg2 Nf4+! 23. K~ Qf6! when the black knight holds h5 and the queen controls h4, and white has no mate! Fortunately for me, my opponent missed that opportunity.

The sacrifice with 20. Ng6+! was nevertheless correct. White just needed to do the attack in the other order: FIRST check with the queen on the h file, and THEN play fxg6. After 21. Qh4+! Kg8 22. fxg6 black has nothing better than to take twice on f1, after which white threatens mate by Qd8 and ends up winning more material.

To summarize:

• the Whitemood openings strategy against the Sicilian, that is, set up the Grand Prix formation and push pawns, worked very nicely, especially after black got greedy and grabbed a pawn which ended up mobilizing white's pawns
• actually I suspected that there could be some nasty countertactics after 21. fxg6? but I guess I panicked a bit; probably I should have taken a few deep breaths or maybe even sleep over it (this was a correspondence game) as taught on the BlunderProof course, or
• I could have recognized the tactical idea that if a combination does not quite seem to work, try switching the move order (as taught on the Calclman course).

(Of course I understand that computer evaluations are not everything, but in this game it was striking to me how there could be such large swings even after seemingly quiet moves that don't directly drop material.)

https://lichess.org/nZnNCeEY/black#106

My recent win . May be converting was not decent as I played it at 3 am 

What a deadly attack. Time is 3 o6 am 

https://lichess.org/z3kjVruQ/white

OTB 10 min game i' played today, white against Alekhine with nice finish

Dear CM family, please have a look at this game:

OTB 1h30+30s + 30 min after 40 moves. playing a dutch attack with black (stonewall against bg2) hard fight (4 h 30)

https://lichess.org/KzPcHaLy

Dear CM family, 

a good scotch with a strange 6.Ba6 :

https://lichess.org/Bnc1aDbQ#0

Totally demolished him 

https://lichess.org/jmm6dcaI/black#48

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

Qe2 Nxf3 gxf3 after that I forgot lines 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120075037953

WhiteMood vs Sicilian… missed forced mate but fun game!

I just managed to play a clean attacking game, without any mistakes. Unfortunately my opponent resigned just a moment before I could've played Rxh2.

https://lichess.org/k26Dwz1J3fri

DEar Cm family, a black mood opening for black against b3 : with the proposed Bg4 before to play the stonewall setup (f5, e6, d5) which had a great result.

https://lichess.org/JNFcdMA6/black

A bit dirty trick at the end to save a -1 pawn position in a french attack advance

https://lichess.org/KzjwymJc/black

my best game this month (relativeyl high elo of my opponent)

https://lichess.org/vfzaATJR

Dear cm family, in this french, i chosed to play against the isolani. With a bishop against a knight, the position was still venomous in the endgame

https://lichess.org/V89CKvCe/white

Dear CM family, in this french against the isolani, (4.exd5 exd5 5. dxc5) i got finally a bishop against a knight position which was still venomous in the endgame

https://lichess.org/V89CKvCe/white

Decent = game but one mistake by FM and he lost.

https://lichess.org/FDzWOV3lbC7B

https://lichess.org/cVuqzDaP/black

Nice queen sac

https://lichess.org/VyWb7CTV/white

Crazy rook sac on h6!

Dear CM family, in this game i feel a bit sad for my opponent who loose some  time in the opening (Bf1, c4, e2) and get crushed in a nice french attack with a ks pawn storm.

the ne7 was about to take part to the party (nd5) but all was already over.

a nice pawn promotion discovered mate at the end blasting the king head by 3 heavy pieces (sorry for that violence)

https://lichess.org/hajra3Ru/black

Rb8! love it!

https://lichess.org/Js8lJDls/black#48

 https://www.chess.com/live/game/120489000889

The King walk 

https://lichess.org/iRF2x0FJ/white#0

Nice game. The 7th move was really good.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/120533379313?tab=review&move=39

Check out this #chess game: shareefmoneim vs MTineer - https://www.chess.com/daily/game/704122375

It feels good to play an accurate game!

https://lichess.org/rA16RBi0/black#0.

I guess White wasn't a Chessmood memeber :)

Very happy with the way I weakened some squares, and with the final mating attack.

https://lichess.org/xivgXnQb/black#50

Sicilian 2..e6, it was messy in the end, I missed a few mates but the position from the opening was interesting.

https://lichess.org/KyjRK9Cp/white#36

A perfct Accelerated Dragon.

https://lichess.org/RNvqopWg/black#0.

Very solid game ending in draw. 
 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/120609585941

Some strong tactics in a wiered Scotch!

https://lichess.org/v8OWWRxz/white#0.

a good 8. h4 scotch going in a good knight vs bad bishop ending: https://lichess.org/TiZVcsJz

Attacking The Caro - Kann.

https://lichess.org/bNa8hIs2/white#0.

the hypermobile/active rook from a7 -a4 to h4

https://lichess.org/Fywz2hKS

www.chess.com/game/live/120693636285 A nice miniature!

https://lichess.org/cOgwCJ4f/white#97

A nice rapid game including the Grand Prix Attack, I was having the advantage in the whole game, though the conversion was not the best as it was a tricky position with less time but I would say it was one of the best attacks of my life!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/120787804187?tab=review&move=41

https://lichess.org/UAwB3Wu6/white#71
relentless attack and saw the mate 

https://www.chess.com/a/2hYfVz3aELrzJ?tab=analysis&move=0

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120801581189

I quickly took down a double fianchetto system

https://lichess.org/study/SnHlWENo/qugtpCJ6 

Look at how it's easy to destroy The Czech Defense!

https://lichess.org/B8oP3r7E/white#0.

Not spectacular but pleased how I kept pressuring my opponent

https://lichess.org/D6vet0on/black#60

Attacking The Alekhine Defense.

https://lichess.org/IHlR2xjF/white#0.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120861015369

https://lichess.org/YhOI1cOO/black#72

nice Dutch checkmate 

A Sicilian and a mate in 16 moves!

https://lichess.org/o09MNoxA/white#0.

During our University Intramural Games I was able to play someone featuring the territory of Sicillian Grand Prix:

1.  e4 c5
2.  Nc3 e6
3.  f4 Nc6
4.  Nf3 d6
5.  Bb5 Bd7
6.  0-0 Qb6
7.  Bxc6 Bxc6
8.  d3 Nf6
9.  Qe1 Be7
10.  Qg3 0-0
11.  f5 exf5
12.  exf5 Nd5
13.  Bh6 Bf6
14.  Nxd5 Bxd5
15.  Bxg7 Bxg7
16.  f6 c4+
17.  Kh1 1-0

A game played as Black against 1. d4 with some gret tactics!

https://lichess.org/HUx2NkMg/black#0.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120936705679

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120938457393

the Morphy soul was in me while playing this game just playing like gm Avetik and following his advise if you sacrifice an exchange you should sacrifice another exchange for an attack in this game i realised that i had to open up the position and after long examing the rook sacrifice i go with it there were was one quiet line which was the best one when i checked but i was in attacking mood so i go with the attacking with and opening the king with the bishop sacrifice and going completely 8 down on material for a short time. i liked that variation i don't mind going to bad position any good advice would be appreciated

Pasini strikes again (vs. the Modern), twice!

https://lichess.org/jGNSwLqWO7KL

https://lichess.org/LRpRIqGrCSJW

https://lichess.org/3NF1urjt

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121030210903

try to make a model game for benko gambit following the theory of the benko gambit course

https://lichess.org/OB1Umdrr

Crushed My Opponent

A nice miniature with the French Attack thanks to a beautiful checkmate pattern!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121084196983

I started at a local chess club and this was my first game. Not the best, a lot of mistakes, but I managed to turn an almost losing position from the start into a win. Very proud of that, as I'm only 600 rated online and everyone there is at least 1200 FIDE :)

https://www.chess.com/a/2C5LUA31x4NXY?tab=analysis

A perfect game against 1. d4 with a sideline.

https://lichess.org/NbBSPe0V/black#0.

Slight mistakes but still decent converting I think.

https://lichess.org/7jDbvdpp/black

Maneuvering very well against a Sicilian with 2. …. Nc6.

https://lichess.org/jNADpJn8/white#0.

Gran prix vs pirc / ks attack:

https://lichess.org/UFKvhZw2/white

Scotch like system vs Philidor. Like the “entry square” concept → rook could invade on it before crushing king side

https://lichess.org/MOXcZ97k/white

Scotch game 💪

Check out this #chess game: MTineer vs shareefmoneim - https://www.chess.com/daily/game/705768721

Bishop trapped

https://lichess.org/NXGp6HZJ

Winning against a caro with bg7 setup equal middlegame, then the king better active makes a slight edge

https://lichess.org/llTKVdqh/white

An intense major-piece endgame with a queen sacrifice

https://lichess.org/study/SnHlWENo/W7azgOCS 

A sicilian played in 10 + 5 game against an even rated player. 

I like to attack like a Viking, if there is one move which is kind of surprising - not for vikings :-) this is 18. e5 to clear the road and “bring the piece”! And my accuracy was 95% which I enjoy alot.

https://lichess.org/TcB8YufwvInS

Great accuracy in a Scotch game:

https://lichess.org/BDm1lA8k/white#0.

https://lichess.org/PhnpqMT3/white#41

Scorch 

https://lichess.org/dU3oFC3Pf5w2

I managed to play very nice endgame in our Schlechter French as white!

Please enjoy!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/121297215103
 

I’ve been getting this constantly and believe I figured it out 

straight forward victory 

https://lichess.org/WSAKgT5Y/black#53

I enjoy modern maroczy more but accidentally played main maroczy. It's a cool game still . White got no play.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121332015137

played stonewall defence first time in the style of judit polgar

French Defense: Schlechter Variation, Attacking game till the end. I made a courageous decision 7. g4 opening my uncastled king. However, decent calculations of attack led to strong position until forced checkmate. 

https://lichess.org/n2Zwhsmi/white#33

<iframe src="https://lichess.org/embed/game/n2Zwhsmi?theme=auto&bg=auto#33"width=600 height=397 frameborder=0></iframe>
 
 

RohanKG11 vs PrajnaG: Italian Game: Paris Defense • lichess.org
My Opponent Fell For this trap.
I Was Not Expecting For This To Happen!!!

SureshKG78 vs RohanKG11: Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit • lichess.org
My Opponent Fell for this Trap.
 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121418390915

grand prix strike again

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121435243479

Nice Grand Prix game in a weird looking but playable 7.Bd3 line

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121440008631

playing like mikhail tal

https://lichess.org/IprBr9kw/black#0

punishing passive play in the sicilian

https://lichess.org/u42hOMMM/black#0

My opponent couldn't do anything 😅 https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/121455625795?tab=analysis&move=0

Interesting antisicilian

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121478981687

💪

https://lichess.org/1f49iAn1/black#74

Despite my opponent has blundered a piece at move 7, he did his best to save his position courageously.
I steadily developed my advantage until I checkmated his king. 

My achievement in a 37-move blitz game was:

0 inaccuracies

0 mistakes

0 blunders

12 Average centipawn loss

99% Accuracy
 
I'm really proud of this game.
 

https://lichess.org/embed/game/1f49iAn1?theme=auto&bg=auto#74
 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121514400959

scotch game with agression and 90% accuracy

Champions, hello!

Thank you for sharing your games. You all have played some excellent chess this month. We not only enjoy seeing your beautiful moves but also appreciate the understanding you show throughout the game. Keep it up!

Onto the prizes:

1st Prize: Samuel Marsden. You really gave White a nightmare in the Rossolimo! Fantastic win in 26 moves with Black. It was nice to see how you built up an attack by targeting the weak spots. The highlight has to be the beautiful sacrifice and the final finish. Excellent game!

https://lichess.org/cVuqzDaP/black

2nd Prize: Ku rt. You showed great understanding of initiative and patience while attacking. The find with e5-Ne4 to exchange an important defender was a cool idea, followed by a nice finish. You always looked in control, and your opponent had no chance. Good game!

https://lichess.org/TcB8Yufw#38

3rd Prize: Arnav Garg. You showed the dangers of gobbling extra material in the opening while ignoring King safety and development. The way you dragged the Black King out and checkmated it on a central square was brutal. Well done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121440008631

4th Prize: Aron Bekesi. Great prep. You seized the initiative with Nd5. Then, you grabbed a few pawns for a piece. It seemed your opponent neutralized your initiative but you found a way to press. The final position shows how well your pieces and pawns dominated the board. Nicely done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/120936705679

5th Prize: Thomas Maes. Pasini would be proud! You just crushed the Modern Defense with such ease, showing the main idea for White and the dangers for Black in the opening. The Queen sac to finish the game in less than 20 moves is a fitting end. Well done!

https://lichess.org/LRpRIqGr#17

Congratulations to all of you.

And thank you once again everyone for sharing your games!

Good luck for the next month’s contest!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/121518590185

crushing with french attack

https://lichess.org/Kyf5usDexAa0

Another nice game (10+5)  in attacking mode, with a fine pawn move, a clearing sacrifice an a rare mate (and accuray of 91%).

To castle, or not to castle, that is the question

Hi all,

I'm just doing an analysis of my last Rapid game and would like some feedback on my decision and on the Stockfish recommendation (and not one of it's usual 20-movers either!).

The game is here: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/121440623851?tab=analysis&move=21

In summary:

• * I'm ahead in material (+6) - thank you ChessMood Petrov opening!!
• * Black's king has moved and so lost the right to castle
• * I have 1 central pawn and have developed a bishop and my queen
• * Black has no pieces on my half of the board but my king is exposed in the centre
• * It's my move

I considered the following candidate moves:

• * Qb7 - anticipating that black will play Bg7 to attack my queen with the rook on h8
• * Bb5 - pinning the knight on c6 to the queen on d7
• * Nc3 - continue with my development
• * Castle - moving my king out of the centre and contemplating a rook on the open d file

I opted for casting and was happy with this at the time.  Stockfish says that the best move is Bb5 (although I swear it said Nc3 the first time I went through!).  

So, my questions are:

1. Was my rationale for castling reasonable?
2. Would you have castled?  If not, why not?

Replies

I would have played Bb5. You are ahead in material and with Bb5, you can exchange the queens and probably win another piece (computer says it's unavoidable), worst case scenario you simplify (let's say king d6, and then you exchange - it does not work because Nc3 and O-O-O would skewer the king and the queen, but it's easy to miss). After exchanging the queens, you are in an endgame, so you want your king centralized, not castled. And the endgame is very favorable to you because you are 6 to 9 points up material. 
Castling is okay, it's protecting your king and since you decided to keep the queens on the board you want a safe king. But it delays the endgame and keep the game complicated; in consequence, you have more chances to make a mistake and loose your advantage. And also, it's not winning material, and you win material with Bb5. We often hear “don't be greedy”, but here you should definitely be greedy :) 

Hello!

Here is the thing, every move in that position is winning. The differences are little, and anyways we can assume you will win.

There is point of diminishing returns to talk about here. After Bb5, you win the knight, yet you can see by the engine evaluation that it only goes up +1!

Practically speaking, in such situations, castling is always a good move, but here, there isn’t really a reason to not play Bb5.

Dont pay attention to much here, I think this comes down to the fact of you simply missing a tactic (Bb5 pinning and winning the knight). I just wanted to point out the law of diminishing returns. True for economics (as I am currently learning in school!) and chess and many other things. In such situation, if you are not sure, better to just castle.

As for your other suggestions, Nc3 is always a good move, but in such positions, castling is usually prioritizable.

And I understand your idea of Qb7. In an equal position, it makes sense to do this as Black will play Bg7 anyways. However there is also no need to step out of the way so early when you have other moves.

In summary, as always, you should have a basic priority’s that you try to accomplish, keep an eye out for tactics (they really are everywhere!), and just keep in mind the law of diminishing returns.

If it feels safer to get your king to safety, then treat it like a baby.

Hope this helps!

An app for Pro or Pro Lifetime Members

As a member for some time now, I’ve noticed that there still isn’t an app available. It would be really beneficial to have one, especially with the ability to download courses for offline use. When I travel, particularly between chess tournaments, it would be incredibly convenient to access the courses offline on my laptop, computer, or iPad. Having an offline version would be a great addition to the platform. I hope this is something you can consider developing in the near future.

Replies

Dear Steven,

We have also considered this idea, this future may be added one day, but most likely not in the near future.

This takes enormous amount of time and energy, and due to other numerous tasks, our team will have a super hard time also adding the app 🙂

And in general we make some additions on website usually when idea is really good and it’s a good time for it, or too many students are offering the same idea.

Thanks for your understanding and good luck 🙂

Needing a comeback

Hello Chessmood-Family,
I recent times I've been very frustated with my chess,
I'm turning 16, I am rated ~1950 Fide.
About 1,5 years ago I was rated 1960.
since then I've played  A LOT.
Many Opens and one-day-tournaments.
Back then I was considered good, basically 2000 by 14/15.
Since then I've noticed Opponents getting weaker (aka. me getting stronger), but my Rating flactuated a lot.
I'm capable of performances of 1800 , as also 2200 (almost beating (alsmost) German U18 Champion (FM), but drawing and playing on the level of FMs.
But generally my results for some reason have been terrible.
I somehoe manage to hang pieces like a 1000-rated player after 4-5h of play.
Now Children with ages of 13/14 in my club have overtaken me (reaching ELOs of 2200!), I can't stress how frustrated and envios I am.
While I was working my A*s off, reading books, listening about 50h of Podcasts about chess and Neuroscience(for chess, including the Chessmood-podcast of course) , but those Kids keep beating GMs and when I ask them how they train , they answer something like “I don't train at all", “nah, I don't like reading”, seriously, a 14-year old kid rated 2200-fide told me he doesn't chess at all.
Because my chess club now focuses on them, they basically left me behind,
don't support me, treating me like sh*t.

I can't explain it, I'm already feeling that it's late for me, 16 and only ~2000, while I know that I am capable of more.
I have an upcoming tournament in a bit more than a month from now, actully it's 2!  16 Games in one week (7+9) in open tournaments with Titled players and GMs, I want to take a break from chess as I am disgusted, but then I'd like to make a comeback at these tournaments, but I don't know how, what to do before the tournament, should I train? What should I train?
Why should I train this?.

I'd be happy for anyone taking the time to read this post and giving advice.
Thanks in Advance, and have a great Night Chessmood-family
 😁😀😘

Replies

Hello!

I am 13, and rated 1871 FIDE, so consider how seriously you want to take my advice.

How often do you play tournaments? It sounds to me that you may be stressing and tiring yourself out a lot under the pressure of achieving greater results. 

Second, what have you changed since 2-3 years ago? What helped me to cross 1600 was simply playing new openings and picking up different skills from them. If you play tactical openings all this time (or are naturally a tactical player) maybe try some positional openings (and vice versa of course.)

As for the blundering part, I cannot fully answer as I suffer from the same thing myself. What has helped me though, is studying “Noticing your opponents resources” (or something like that) by Dvorestsky.

Fourth, it seems to me that you may be losing your love for chess. I understand your angry, etc, but maybe try and re-kindle that love? The ways that work for me (if you need some suggestions) is solving  beautiful studies, and just playing sacrificial blitz.

Finally, if you want to talk more, you can message me on Lichess “ARMANDAS_130”.

I hope this gives you some new insights, and good luck on your journey and upcoming tournaments 😁.

If you feel at the level of MF in terms of chess knowledge, but you don't improve your rating, you should play fewer tournaments a year. Choose some tournaments a year and prepare well for these tournaments. As for what you should train, you should consult a coach. I recommend playing 6 classical tournaments a year maximum. I tell you this because the same thing happened to me a year ago. I had approximately 2000, I played every month and ended up with the same 2000 due to the fatigue of so many games, although I reached a peak of 2200 in the middle of the year.

Well done on being so open and honest, and sorry you're having a tough time. You're a much more accomplished player than me, so I don't want to give you advice on how to train.

What I would say is that it comes across very clearly from your post that you've sadly fallen out of love with chess. I suspect you're not playing to your full potential currently because you're finding the game frustrating and you're not in a good place in terms of your mindset and mood. I get the feeling you would benefit from a break. 

Perhaps you could consider taking a few weeks away from the game? Make it a clean break - absolutely no playing, studying or puzzling, nothing. Instead, fill your time with something else. Take up running or something. 

After a while, hopefully you'll get the bug again and come back re-energised and your performances might improve as a result.

I would also suggest that when you do return to the game, focus less on your results, more on the process of playing and your performances. If you get the performance right (i.e. you play well) then the results will look after themselves.

Hi,

I don't want to repeat what others said, so I'm just saying two things:

Okay, the first one is actually a blog post: https://chessmood.com/blog/lasting-love-for-chess

The second is that I agree with Philip on taking a short break and everything he wrote. I'd just like to supplement it by saying that it (a short break) can also help to remove bad habits (we all have them).

Try to remember why you loved chess, smile when you remember 🙂

Hi , the main thing seem to be your mood . Comparing yourself with younger promising kids is negative . Everyone is different and you should focus on your weaknesses to improve that specifically. Analysing your games and taking into account all external factors should pointed out the problems . Having a coach to help you do that can be part of the solution . To keep on raising becomes more difficult and we all have plateau at different levels , to overcome that takes time , patience , humility and efficient work . Good luck ! 

Similar to what Denis said below, you need to realise that everyone has their own chess journey.  Focus on your own journey, on your  own enjoyment, on achieving your own goals, and on improving your own knowledge and skills.  At your age and level there are still plenty of great things that you can do in chess should you wish to.

For your upcoming tournament I would recommend the following training:

– solve plenty of tactics, with the vast majority being between easy and moderate difficulty, but make sure you're taking enough care to see all the key lines and get a high percentage correct.    You need to build your confidence and practice accuracy.

– revisit some of the favourite games you've played in the past to remember the feeling of playing well.

– study a few inspirational games by famous GMS.  Perhaps even memorise one or two and then show them to some chess friends.

– do some light opening revision.  Regarding theory, focus mainly on avoiding opening disasters and reaching playable middlegames where you are familiar with the important ideas.

Good luck!

You might be playing to many tournaments without learning from the games. Do the bold-unbold technique https://chessmood.com/blog/bold-unbold-technique and don't start another tournament without unbolding most of the things you learnt from the last tournament you played. I am not 100% if this will help though

I can totally understand the frustration you’re feeling right now. You’ve put in a ton of effort—reading books, listening to podcasts, training—and yet it seems like others, especially younger players, are overtaking you without much effort. This situation can feel discouraging, but it sounds like you’ve fallen into some traps that are blocking your growth, not just in chess, but also mentally.

Trap 1: Comparing Yourself to Others

It’s easy to look at other players—especially younger ones—and feel like you're getting left behind. But this constant comparison is feeding your ego and creating unnecessary frustration. As Avetik says, focus on your own growth rather than measuring your success against others. Just because someone else seems to improve faster doesn’t diminish your potential. Everyone’s journey is unique. Detach from others' progress and redirect that energy toward your own improvement.

Trap 2: Results-Oriented Thinking

You mentioned being stuck around the 1950 rating and feeling like you're plateauing. Ratings can be a helpful tool, but when you focus too much on them, they can overshadow the joy and growth in the game. Like Avetik often says, detach from the result and shift your focus back to the process of learning. Your rating will naturally follow once you let go of this need for quick results. Enjoying the game and building skills will ultimately help you improve faster than obsessing over your rating.

Trap 3: Expecting Perfection and Beating Yourself Up

The anxiety you feel during games that last 4-5 hours and cause you to blunder isn't because you're not capable—it's because your ego is getting too wrapped up in the outcome. This leads to stress, which clouds your focus. Avetik suggests that instead of worrying about what the result means, focus on playing your best moves in the moment. The enjoyment of solving each position should be the reward, not just whether you win or lose.

Mindset Shift: Focus on Growth and the Joy of Chess

What if, instead of feeling the weight of expectations, you saw each game as an opportunity to learn and enjoy? Avetik often says, "Results will follow your growth." The secret to getting to the next level isn’t just more training or pushing yourself harder—it’s learning to love the process, making your blunders and setbacks part of the journey. When you focus on input, like improving small parts of your game or refining your thought process, the output (results) will naturally improve.

Avetik's Approach to Detachment

In one of his articles, Avetik talks about how Kobe Bryant focused not on winning, but on constant improvement. The key was detaching from the results and just focusing on playing his best. If you can bring this mindset into your training, you’ll start seeing chess as something to be enjoyed rather than a stressful task that defines your worth.

TL;DR: Forget the rating, forget the comparison. Focus on your love for the game, enjoy the process of learning, and trust that results will follow. By detaching from the outcome, you’ll relieve the mental pressure and start playing at your full potential. This next tournament could be a fresh start, not because you’re chasing a rating, but because you’re rediscovering the joy of chess.

Good luck, and remember—you’ve got this!

Hi Bd3,

I feel with you! 

I talked about the same issue to GM Noël Studer once. He told me that the problem might be the difference between skill and knowledge.

Your knowledge is more and more increasing according to what you tell. But you could lack the skill to bring it on the chess board. If you are interesed in further investigation: Just google skill+ knowledge+ chess and find many articles on this subject. And find out that you are not alone 😃 Good luck!

French Exchange with delayed c4

I am have a diificult time with the French Exchange where White plays c4 on move 6. Because I have developed my dark squared Bishop to d6, the c4 move opens an attack post for the light squared White Bishop on c4 after the exchange of pawns. I researched this position on some online databases, but I cannot find any example games. Please advise, thanks.

Replies

Hi,

According to the BlackMood course on this (How we should react against 3.c4), exchanging the pawns means a weak d4 pawn for white, and GM_Avetic recommends to do this after white moved their light-squared bishop (losing a tempo). However, if we've already played Bd6… well, I only started to play the Fench attack only a few days ago, but in my understanding move order is somewhat important because of this problem. So, before c4, I'd move my light-squared bishop first (Bg4 instead of Bd6), then the queen and sooner or later white has to play either Nc3 (so no c4 move) or the bishop (then the later c4 can be taken because of the tempo). Thus c5 is no longer a threat (also covered in the course).

So, generally speaking, instead of solving the problem, try to avoid it.

But I'm not sure that not winning that tempo is such a big issue, so you might simply take it as well in this position and start attacking the d4 pawn.

If it's suboptimal, someone wiser please correct me.

Hello!

I do not play the French, but here are my thoughts.

First, allowing c5 (especially with our bishop on d6) is dangerous as now White achieves a space advantage.

In order to counter that (let’s say we have White another move so 7. c5 Be7) we need to use a pawn break. In similar positions those are e5 (to attack d4, the base of the pawn chain) and b6 (attacking the head of the pawn chain.).

B6 is usually less effective as it is on a wing (e5 is central) and it attacks the head of the chain not the base. Since we don’t have an e-pawn, allowing c5 is not good Unless we get another target.

If we want to allow c5, this suggests Bb4+. However after Nc3 Bxc3 bxc3 (we take the knight as otherwise our bishop might get trapped) the resulting positions are not practical and just hard to play for Black. I wouldn’t reccomend this.

This really leaves dxc4 Bxc4. Now you cannot play your setup anymore as Nge7 runs into Ng5. So instead Nf6. Play might continue Nc3 0-0 0-0 Bf5! (Now you want to play Na5 potentially) and you get an interesting IQP game. Objectively equal, but a simple plan is to play h6 (stopping Bg5, pretty important) Ne7, c6 , and Ned5. After that do usual IQP stuff.

Here is the line from the position. 6… dxc4 7. Bxc4 Nf6 8. Nc3 0-0 9. 0-0 Bf5 followed by h6 Ne7 c6 and Ned5.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps. 

Caro-Kann question

When I first joined ChessMood back in June, I noticed that there wasn’t a course on the Caro-Kann, which happens to be one of my favorite openings. I was a bit disappointed to learn this but decided to proceed with my purchase anyway. I’m glad to see that the Caro-Kann course is now available, but I’m curious as to when it was released. I didn’t notice it initially, and only found it after browsing through all the courses again. I looked around the site to see if there was a release date for the course, but I couldn't find one.

Could you please let me know when it became available? Also, if there’s a specific section of the website where release dates are listed, I’d appreciate it if you could point me in that direction. If not, may I suggest adding release date information somewhere on the course page?

Thanks for your help!

Replies

It looks like I got excited to fast! :( your course is about how to defend against the Caro-Kann. This makes me sad some. But I can still use it some. I really hope to see a Caro-Kann Course soon., 

Dear Steven,

Our Caro-Cann course is from White’s side.

And it has been there for several years.

For Black we don’t offer Caro-Cann as we already have our suggested repertoire.

We tried to offer some practical and easy to play positions 🙂

If you are keen to learn Caro for Black, there might be some other sources.

We might add more openings for Black in future, but it’s not decided yet and can’t tell for sure if we will have Caro or not.

Different players - different preferences :-)

I hope even without Caro-Cann you are still en your experience on our website.

Good luck, and let us know if you have any other questions :-)

Ratio of Wins/Draws/Losses

Hi all,

I just accepted an invite to play a daily game on Chess.com.  I don't know the person so thought I'd take a quick look at their profile.  Their ratio of Wins/Draws/Losses for daily games is 156 / 22 / 8.

Is that a suspiciously high amount of wins or just the sign of somebody that chooses to play against lower rated players a lot (I'm around 1100 in daily and they are 1600).

Replies

Logically, few people would have win rates far from 50% because of the elo system and matchmaking. However, my guess is that they are repeatedly playing a friend, which is skewing their statistics.

There could be other explanations, including cheating, but I highly doubt it.

A quick update on this game:

It was a normal opening and then I made a couple of mistakes (not full-on blunders but not ideal) - thinking about it, that's normal for me too!  My opponent seized on these mistakes and I ended up being a piece down.  Nothing unusual there - I'm still learning and I would expect an opponent 500 rating points above me to capitalise on my mistakes.

The game continues and I begin to build an attack.  My opponent fails to spot the threat until it is a mate-in-3 scenario and then very sportingly offers me a draw!  And before I've even finished laughing at the offer of a draw they challenge me to another game.  And then, presumably because my continued laughter meant I didn't respond quickly enough to the new challenge … they sent another challenge!

I declined the draw and both challenges and finished off the game.

Perhaps this is normal behaviour among some chess players (I've seen it twice in the last week) - “I've basically lost this game and my ego is so fragile I'll see if my opponent will accept a draw offer because they a) feel sorry for me, b) accidentally click on the button to accept the offer, c) don't realise that they are way ahead.” - but it seems pretty unsporting to me.  Not the sort of player I'm going to want to play another game against.

What is your experience of this kind of draw offer?  (I'm guessing that it doesn't take place at higher rating levels - I can't imagine Hikaru facing a mate-in-3 scenario against Magnus and offering him a draw!).

King Safety Course?

For Avetik and the GMs:

I have a weakness of king safety and I do not see any material on it so can you guys upload a course on it? 😀

Replies

Hello Yiding Luu!

There is already a course about King Safety under the name “Spartan Shield”: 

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

If you still struggle with King Safety after the previous course, you can watch this course too:

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

There is also a blog by GM Johan Helssten about it: 

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-defend-in-chess-8-must-know-defensive-ideas

If you're managing multiple chess accounts or platforms for learning and want to maintain privacy while switching between them, tools like masqad.com can help ensure you're doing so securely and without detection.