Chess library games

Hi everyone, 

as I was watching blunderproof course, I noticed GM Avetik said something about having a collection of his own games that he felt he played the best. I was wondering, although it might sound silly forgive me in advance, how do you keep a library of games like that ? 

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😃

You just want to enter the games that you feel you played very good in a separate pgn file and after entering a few games that pgn becomes a collection or a library

Hi Kyle

As Ben said use pgn files. The best place to do that is in Lichess studies where you can create a library of your games.

There are some youtube videos showing you how to create Lichess studies. Here is an example:  https://youtu.be/LQdg3YQBoUs?feature=shared

Good luck.

Hi Kyle,

💪You do not need a collection of pgns, just one pgn file with your best games on it… 😀

New success story: Over 500 Points in 5 Months After Abandoning a Popular Belief

In his interview with ChessMood, GM Ivan Sokolov shared a popular but harmful belief many chess improvers hold.

Some wear it like a badge of honor🙂

However, our student realized the danger of it, made the right changes and raised 500 points in 5 months!🚀🤩 

What was the belief? 

How did Neo improve in such a short time?

You’ll find the answers in today’s success story:
https://chessmood.com/success-stories/neo-toppinen

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Hard agree.

You are only ‘underrated’ when you've just had severe tilt and have now recovered. A few other exceptions but people do falsely think they are underrated because they play well SOMEtimes.

Congratulations, Neo, on your impressive accomplishment of increasing your ELO rating by 500 points in just a few months! Your dedication is truly inspiring. I've learned three important lessons from your journey: 
1) You've shattered my belief that I was underrated as well. 
2) Your disciplined use of free time to solve tactics has made me realize the value of smart time management in chess. 
3) Your commitment to putting in four hours of practice daily is a testament to the fact that hard work truly pays off.

Great job, Neo! 

👍

Wow this is amazing , 500 points in months

NEW ARTICLE: How to Memorize Chess Openings and Variations – Without Forgetting Them a Few Days Later!

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Wonderful idea. I am working almost the same except the point 1 I am not following. My files are already created but no worries next time I will make another file for my memory test. It will be wonderful.

I just read the article and it is just awesome.  Just one clarification in our chess mood opening course there is a pgn file after every opening.  If I download it and complete it that's mean I followed step number two right?

You really know what we need to learn!!! I'm so grateful!

The article !! is very instructive and effective.It is really helpful.

Dear Avetik, I have an experience that I want to share with you:

In some complex openings like Catalan, KID/Grunfeld (g3 systems), Some Reversed Sicilians etc... we can reach the same positions via different move orders! In these slow/complex openings,  it seems to me that understanding the pawn structures and the relative value of pieces are much more important than memorizing variations. Memorizing interrelated variations and addressing all transpositions in a software is not an easy task at all... To my experience,  in such complex openings, trusting the opening choice, understanding and feeling the position is the key to find the right move.

As always - very instructive. Thank you, Avetik. One thing I like to add re Step 4 - Fix your mistakes:

I find it very useful to integrate Opening Tree into fostering my repertoire and fixing mistakes. At the moment I am in my second iteration of watching the videos form each opening course. Before starting a section, I load my lichess games into Opening Tree from the last months (this might take some time). Then I try to remember the line(s) and the challenges I faced and mistakes I made when playing it. After completing the section and checking the correctness of my pdf, I switch to Opening Tree to analyse what actually happened in my games. In my pdf (and my study plan) I note the date of the 2nd iteration so that I have the starting point for the next period.

Maybe ChessBase (or other tools to store one's games) already allow you to create such trees out of your games - but to my knowledge my tool does not, so I was very happy finding Opening Tree.

This is amazing this i feel like this blog was made for me

Studying openings with PGN files

I am a new chessmood member. Can someone tell me the best way to use the PGN files to study the chess openings? I tried to copy and paste it into a Lichess study, but it gave me an error. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Replies

Hi, what course was it that you got the pgn? Some big pgn files like the tactic ninja cannot be pasted on lichess as they are big. 

If you can, paste them on pgn viewer applications such as chessbase or other local chess gui apps.

French exchange variation question

How should Black respond if White plays 5 Bb5 rather than 5 Be2?

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Assuming that you played Nf3 Nc6  5.Bb5 we go Bd6 and White should follow with c4. After any other alternative than c4 for White, Black will deploy his other knight on e7, will castle and will gradually bring all his other pieces into the fight.

After c4, dxc4, d5, a6, Ba4, b5, dxc6 and bxa4  Black’s pawn-structure might seem to be horrible, but you should not 
forget that White’s powerful light-squared bishop is absent from the board and he is a pawn down at the moment. If Black manages to capture the pawn on c6, or even in a position with equal material, his position would become more promising.

Chess is fun when....

Chess is fun when you are curious about it you will become GM when you are curious for chess

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Should you check when a piece is already pinned to the king?

Hi there,

I'd appreciate a little insight on this scenario, please.  My opponent's bishop is pinned to the king by my queen.  Should I, if I have the opportunity, still check the king?

During the game, I chose not to because it seemed counter-productive and I moved Bc4 to add further protection to the pawn on d5.  However, having now reviewed the game I wonder whether I should have done the move Bb5 because it would have stopped my opponent from casting.

What would you do and why?

Link for reference (not my best game - started off pretty well but then lost my way in the middlegame): https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/108133811341?tab=analysis&move=16

I'll try adding the pgn too …

Replies

It does stop the opponent from castling because of a tactical detail: Bb5+ Bd7? 2. d6! And you win a piece. Bxb5 3. dxe7.

However, since you didn’t notice the tactic, you did the right thing! Without that tactic, Bb5+ would be a helping move for the opponent!

SLP training

How frequently do I need to train my SLP methods?

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This is mentioned in the SLP course. (https://chessmood.com/course/save-lost-positions/episode/6271)
1st is the SLP Gambit (piece donation early in the game)
2nd is if you're a PRO member, there is SLP live trainings on the events tab
and 3rd is to play with a training partner! If you don't have one you can find one in the forums.
Additionally, there are some quizzes in the SLP course that cover the lost positions.

GM Avetik said it is good if you have raiting on your SLP account around 300 elo lower than on normal. So, untill you get that :)

About frequency - do it few times a month to not forget how to do it.

Hop this helps!

Downloading PGN files

Hello friends!

I have a small question. Can we download the PGN or PDF files after completing the course?

Please tell if it is possible or not.

Replies

Hi there,

Usually, there is an ‘Attachments’ folder after all of the sections of the course.  The pgn files and picture files are stored there.

Knowing when to look for a combination

Greetings ladies and gentlemen,

I've been going through the opening principles course (very good btw), and I noticed something in the two example games. You build up an advantage, and then go for the king. 

When do you know to go for the king? How can you tell that the time is optimal?

I've also been reading Irving Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move, and noticed a similar thing. Once a master has built up an decisive advantage (usually developmentally or control of the center or a file or square or …), then he looks for a combination to finish off his opponent. Chernev walks us through the game, but I don't think he fully explained how to know when to look for a combination, and when not to. 

Generally it seems when one has a developmental lead, but is that always the case? Positional superiority alternative to better development? Doesn't better development belong to the category of positional superiority? Some of Chernev's games were focused on the queenside, yet the combination emerged just the same, so the weakness isn't confined to the king or kingside, right? So it can't just be knowing that the king can't defend all threats. 

There simply must be more to this picture that I'm missing, any help, advice, tips, or straight out answers would be very much appreciated. Thanks, have a good day!😁

Replies

Play, play, play and again play! Only experience will tell you when it's the right moment (and yes, at the beginning you could suffer painful losses because of miscalculation: don't give up).
Kingside or queenside doesn't matter.
What do you mean with positional superiority vs. better development? Better development is a (temporary) form of positional superiority.

Hello Jace.

For finding the combination, you must activate your pieces to the correct places. First, you need to check if the opponent's king is weak or not. Then check if your opponent's pieces are passive or he has counterplay or not. If he doesn't have counterplay and his king is weak, look for combination. Attack the king and the opponent will feel the pressure. In this way he might make a mistake and blunder. 

One more thing. Play some attacking games so that you can find combinations and develop your pieces as fast as you can. Even ChessMood has explained us that we need to develop our pieces at the right spot to attack the opponent's king and find a combination. Just see, you will be able to find deadly combinations like Grandmasters do.

Good luck!

Colle System

My friend, regularly plays the Colle System against me and I am not able to find a good setup. If anyone could help me, that would be great!

Replies

With the Colle, i recommend the dutch setup against it 
https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings/episode/4397
 

Since you play the main black reprietore, just play like usual, a dragon setup. 1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 g6 followed by Bg7 Nc6 d6 and then decide between the e5 Nge7 setup or the regular Nf6 setup.

Hope this helps :)

a strong system against the Colle system is a kind of QGD reversed, semislav or something like that:

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 e6 (beware of 4. dxc5 and 5 b4!) 4. e3 d5 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. 0-0 Be7 8. Nbd2 0-0

and white has counterplay in the center.

some problems with the gm call

i want to get a plan,i see the time, do it on the right time and the right place, open the skype and say a hi to chessmood,i wait for it for a long time but theres no one answering ,i dont know whats wrong,i need to get a personal plan,so what can i do to contact chessmood grandmasters for the call?

Replies

You could try this form:

https://chessmood.com/contact

Good luck!

You need to go the Events page and then look for the 1 on 1 call event and book a call.

Very easy.

This is the next one

https://chessmood.com/event/1-1-call-with-new-pro-members#

😀Waiting for your booking… 💪

Course Recommendations

I'm pretty new to Chessmood, and I've wondering of the courses that I should take. Which ones are the most helpful in your opinion? Thanks.

Replies

Depends on what you would like to be better on, but generally:
Tactics & Mating Patterns: Tactic Ninja & Mating Matador
If you blunder a lot: Blunderproof
How to play in the endgame? : Endgame Roadmap
How to play in the opening: Opening Principles
There's a lot of material in these courses, and i hope you enjoy them 😄
 

Your most foundational two skills courses are Blunderproof and Tactic Ninja if you ask me. Go delve into those before anything else.

Hi Nobody (nice handle btw),

Good ideas have been posted, Maybe the place to start, if new here, is the Study Plan:

https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans

It“s pretty comprehensive. They have several plans tailored to various ratings (although they are all worth reading to get a feel for making progress) and should give you a good start.

Don’t forget the Blog, which has a gazillion (or so) good articles about the details of chess improvement … and life!

Don’t forget “life!”  The folks at ChessMood haven’t :)

Good luck, this site is good.

What is this weird notation on the Capablanca's chess fundamentals book?

I don't know if its because im reading an old version of the book, but i can't understand some of these notations. What is a K -Kt 1?

Replies

That's called as the Descriptive Notation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_notation). It was used to be the standard notation for games, books, etc, until about the 1980's. (thank god for that) After that, the standard algebraic notation was used. 

There is a blog on chesscom on how to read the notation: https://www.chess.com/blog/chess_dot_tom/how-to-read-descriptive-notation

Looking as you are reading the old CF book, i recommend you to look at a more recently published version, or you can read an eBook version on forwardchess (https://forwardchess.com/product/chess-fundamentals?section=Best%20Seller) (It's Free!)

Alapin Sicilian

What are your thoughts on the Alapin Sicilian as an opening choice for White? i don't think i have the time to learn the closed Sicilian but i d'ident try yet.

Replies

It is also a good anti-sicilian too. It's about taste… 😁

I do play the Alapin Sicilian and most of the players under 1700 rapid (chess.com) do not play the right moves but if they do the position will be quite balanced. I like this opening and it doesn't take a long time to learn it.

Chess improvement follow up after tactics training

I have finished most of Ninja Tactics, mating matador and can solve most of the quizzes. I have also covered attack/ defence,  7Q method, endgame roadmap. However, in my practice games, I still need a lot of improvement in my positional understanding, what to do in different pawn structures, how to handle different endgame positions. How else can I use Chessmood to improve these aspects of my game?

Replies

Hi Luke,

I remember that we recommended you to watch one classical / attacking / endgame game per day, and that will take a whole year if you work with one game correctly. It takes one hour per game normally (at least). 
You can also do one daily lesson or even 2 in one day. That will also add 30 min more.
You must start too with the Endgame course under 2000 if you are having problems with endgames, that's for sure a good thing to do.
Then you must analyze the games but you did not tell us anything about the openings. What are you doing there? Because to understand the middlegame plans and structures goes connected with the opening. We always explain a bit the middlegame plan in our opening couses… Can you please clarify on this?😃

Did you have your one on one call with a GM which is part of the benefits of being a PRO member?

Alekhine, What to play after 7.Nd7?

The postion occurs on alekhine, after 4.Bg2, 5.dxe5, Nxe5, 6.Bxe2 Qxe2, with the threat of qb5+ to win the pawn. 7.Nd7 - seemingly a multipurpose move, Defends the check and after Qb5, the d5 knight jumps to b7. What to play here? Do we castle? Play c4? Or trade the knights?

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Can you please provide the first 3 moves as well as I don’t remember playing Bg2 in the Alekhine.

Memorizing ChessMood Openings

Before disclosing the idea, let me talk a bit about my past experience with chess.

I used to play chess a lot when I was young. My national rating was 2180 at peak. I was considered CM (Candidate Master). In those days one would get FIDE rating only if you reached a Master title.

Then I stopped playing chess for 30 years and worked on my business career and focused of my family.  I only restarted playing chess recently, after we moved to live in another country (France). 

In the last couple of years I won some games against the master and international masters, but too often I got a very bad positions out of the opening against the strong players. At the Master level and above the opportunities (i.e. opponents blunders) to save yourself out of bad opening are rare.

I am self taught and never had a chess coach. When I discovered ChessMood after listening to the Perpetual Chess podcast it occurred to me that with this method I have a chance to raise my chess to the next level - my goal is to get a master title in 3-4 years. I am quite good at tactics and strategy but very bad at openings repertoire.

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I think this is a great question, though I'm only 1900 FIDE at the moment and was only here a few months. Personally I have simply been watching some videos from time to time, letting it seep in with interplay between understanding and memorization (obviously one view is not enough here^^), and happy with my opening progress for now.

Hopefully more qualified ppl can answer the question better :)

Wetzel suggested a flash card approach in his book Master at Any Age, although you can use hand-drawn figures. I've had mixed success with this, but the main thing has to be cutting the information down, particularly to that which is critical or difficult to remember, and not just repeating the things you already know or what you can work out at the board.

Would be interesting to know how GMs actually deal with their large PGN files, sure keeping playing them will help (you need a training partner for that much stuff as you might not see it for years), but even then it will fade quickly or not being able to recall correctly under pressure. Then there is the theory changing...

First, your document with diagrams is beautiful.

Second, great question. Let me link you to a question I asked that got very good answers that apply here as well: https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/how-do-you-study

Following @Richard_Dickinson's advice, I got a 30-day trial of Chess Position Trainer (CPT) and found it to be very easy to use. You create your white and black repertoire and then import your games as you play them. You'll notice where you diverge from the repertoire, the program will help you do timed repetitions so you memorize without doing it every day. Lastly, it works with Positions, so if you have several different move orders or openings that get to the same critical position, they'll all be connected, so your notes on one will be reused for the others.

I wish you best of luck studying and continuing to kick ass

Its quite interesting to use WORD doc instead of pgn file, and I can see your reason. How deep do you go with this method? How many different moves of your oponent, let`s say in move 6, can you track this way? 

How did early 20th century chess legends train and improve?

Looking at games from Capablanca, Lasker, Alekhine, it's remarkable on how they played like that on a high level at a time where information was scarce, what was it that made them THAT good? Was it just self analysis? or did they play like a trillion games before they got good? How did they approach books? And was there any of these training strategies are still effective today?
Genuinely curious on what the answers is since I never lived during a time when engines never existed in the first place😄

Replies

The great chess players (  like Capablanca, Lasker, and Alekhine) were really good because they practiced a lot, studied old games, and learned from other players. They took chess seriously and thought hard about their moves.  they didn't have computers but their methods of learning are still helpful today : practicing a lot (like really a lot ) and playing against strong opponents. as GM Avetik Grigoryan wrote in the study plan :

The chess improvement formula : Study -> Practice -> Fix -> (Repeat) Despite having fewer resources, they followed this simple strategy for getting better at chess.

lastly Like any sport or discipline, some individuals have a natural aptitude for chess.

Information was a little harder to get, but it was not scarce. I clearly remember ordering (via regular mail) various chess periodicals and also Chess textbooks, which did a great job on openings, middlegame, and endgame study. Reviewing and analyzing games—especially losses—was as important as it is today, and I'm positive the GMs you mention did a lot of that.  

Computers and chess engines have undoubtedly elevated chess study to a new level. However, something may have been lost. I have study texts and notes that I've marked and highlighted before computers, laptops, and cellphones; I review my handwritten notes from time to time when part of my game needs work.  

In my opinion, it's important to set up a physical board with chess pieces and visualize in true 3D. This may take longer, but it's a great way to reduce screen time and helps with manual dexterity and coordination.

( The super GM tournament (Candidates) that just finished in Toronto, Canada, was an example of the highest level players – men and women – who sat opposite each other using real chess sets, handwriting their moves. )

Third question from 7 Q - where am I strong

This is from the Course 7Q Method - How to find a plan in any position

Why are we not strong in the queenside due to our pawn majority there? Is it because we have no pieces there? :-)

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Hi here's my take: Although we have more pawns on the queenside, Black controls the b-file so we cannot easily advance the pawns. Clearly our bishop is bad and the knight has a strong outpost on d4. I think Black actually has the initiative on the queenside. If we try to advance our pawns with b3 we can never exchange our bishop, Black can advance a7-a5 and increase the pressure on the queenside. Or if a2-a3 the knight still goes to d4.

I've watched this video some time ago already and I have to admit that White's best move did not occur to me immediately. Until I remembered to ask the next questions which pieces are not happy and need to be improved or traded. 

Alex's explanation is very good. Also Avetik explains why this Queen side majority is not enough in the minute 5 onwards of the video. Please check it out. 
Also just wanted to add that just counting the number of pawns is not enough, because then Black would have a majority in the center, but we cannot completely agree on that, do we? 😃