Chess forum by Grandmasters

Ho to play against KinAre there any recommendations based on the chessmood repertoire of openings to play against King's Indian attack ? Nf3-g3-Bg2-0-0-Nbd2-a3 etc...?

Are there any recommendations based on the chessmood repertoire of openings to play against the King's Indian attack (as Black)?

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We play c5 and we can play a dragon setup, or the botvinik setup.

Chess update: 1500 rapid on chess.com

It's been a while since I last posted but… after months where I didn't play much online (only daily games), just otb at my local club, I'm proud to say that I've started playing and training online and after just a few days I've gained 60 points and crossed 1500! Can't say how much thrilled I am. But the best thing is not the rating I've gained, is knowing that the work you're doing is paying off. So thanks everyone supporting me and I'll keep you updated!

P.S: a special thanks to Shouldhavestucktopoker for playing with me daily games!

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Way to go, , Cengia!

I could have sworn I posted to this thread but … I can't see my comment! 🙄

Anyway, congratulations again on hitting 1500.  It just goes to show that your hard work is reaping dividends.

And you are very welcome for the daily games.  It's clearly helping both of us - see my ‘Thank you’ thread.

difference between adult improvers and children

Hi, 

some days ago i listened to the 

chess angle podcast episode 110 ( This week's guest is International Master Michael Rahal.)

and from min 50 or so (min 46 onwards was also interesting )  .. with the adults and children and teaching ideas concepts ..  

learn and know more chess and get better but not easily improve chess rating etc .. 

it resonated somehow with me but 

i am curious about what your opinions are about that topic 

michael 

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😀

forgot the link 

https://www.thechessangle.com/ep-110-im-michael-rahal-on-the-challenges-of-adult-chess-improvement-more/

Interesting, but not nuanced enough IMO. It's right on the over-focus on rating, but there is something about getting past a long time plateau and taking a look at what's going on from an experienced point of view there. There might be no magic pill, but often you're held back by less things than you think and eliminating those roadblocks can make differences. Whereas a kid, they might say they want to be a GM or a World Champion, but they haven't hit a plateau yet, and even if they have they want to play chess. The message that I heard is this IM doesn't have the skills to help adults get off such plateaus (tailoring to specifics rather than general chess education is a lot harder).
 
There is also survivor bias that often strong club player adults are the few that are left, but there are lots of kids, many who will not get anywhere or give up. Thus teaching kids who want to play it's possible to have ideas about how strong they get, when you need to also look at all those who didn't.

I don't think the previous segment is right on openings, players at 1800-1900 are often very opening knowledgeable (maybe not widely, but they have pet systems some of which they've played hundreds of times over decades) and if you don't know enough then you're not going to get a playable middlegame as these days principles are great, mindset is important, but there are too many times understanding what works and what doesn't is important as a few misplaced pieces or not knowing how to play a specific middlegame can be the difference between having equal chances and grovelling from an inferior position. On the other hand learning too deeply (rather than to get a feel what might happen) is a problem with adult learners especially with the time constraints (not also something you can generalise either). As for peaks and forgetting what you looked at, adults generally don't play enough, often focus on too much, and there are individual differences. Also a big part overlooked is looking after your health so you are biologically younger for longer. Many chess players are simply 'unhealthy' in both how they live their lives and how they spend their time while frequently away at tournaments.
 

Chessmood Tournament

Hi Chessmood,

Are the tournaments finished which were played earlier on lichess.org?

If no, can you tell when will we have another tournament

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We were not hosting many tournaments lately but here it is the latest one:

There is a prize tournament! 
1000 dollar Prize Tournament
🗓️ Jul 13 
⏲️ 15.30 (GMT) 
⏳ Time control 3+0 

https://lichess.org/swiss/vqorE4jL

Prizes sponsored by Moon Club, ChessMood, and @ then00biestn00b

*MUST HAVE 50+ RATED GAMES TO ENTER*

Good luck!!! 

Another Scotch Game question.

In the section about The Craziest Variation ever, And in the video Hero Pawn instead of 16.fxe5 black plays d5 attacking the queen? I don't know how to play there, Can somebody help me.

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https://chessmood.com/course/scotch-game/episode/1340

Start at minute 2:45:

..16..d5 17.Qa4 Bb7 18.Nd2!

Suitable rating range on chess.com for challenges

Hi everyone!

What do you think is a sensible rating range to choose for your opponents when playing on chess.com?

I'm usually choosing opponents who sit between -50 and +100.

But do you think the upper range should be more?

Interested in seeing your opinions.

Thanks

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I use -100 +200.

I believe it is the best as you get to play all sorts of opponent ratings.

The - end could be even lower as it is imposed at to play against lower rated players. It may be frustrating to lose, but it is the best way to strengthen what you have learned.

Additionally it is a great way to show that you are truly better than them and you deserve where you are now!

I use - 100 + infinit hoping to play against a gm for fun 🤣

i like to change it often. normally i play -25 infinite to improve when playing against stronger players, but occasionally I go infinite infinite to test out my skills and my performance, like an actual tournament. I prefer going the latter when your about to play a tournie tho

Analysing SLP games?

Hi everyone,

I don't know if this was mentioned in the course (feel free to point it out if so!), but is there an objectively better way to analyse SLP games? 

Stockfish cannot be reliable in such positions since they don't have the practically best moves, so I mostly don't trust it. 

But I also find it hard to deepen my understanding of concepts without an engine. “Maybe it would've been better if I sprung a trap here in this way". “Maybe I should've actually traded here”. How would I objectively reach such conclusions myself if the engine doesn't believe in traps and would nearly always support trading?

Thanks!

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May I answer with a question: What are you trying to gain when you study SLP games? If you're simply trying to find potential to make traps, then studying tactics and mating patterns is probably more productive. Perhaps I'm being shortsighted, but it seems to me that studying lost positions is not terribly productive. 

I believe it is significantly more critical for your growth as a chess player to instead analyze your losing mistakes. Instead of looking back at your games and pondering “How could I have swindled my opponent, when down a piece?”, instead ask “When did the game slip from my grasp?” and “Did I commit a calculation error, miss an opponents tactic, or make a fatal positional mistake?”. It is likely more beneficial long term to fix your mistakes rather than worry about losing a lost position. Saving lost positions is all about creating chaos and giving yourself chances, which you can't really count on. A lost position is indeed lost.

I realize my answer isn't really what you're looking for. I apologize, but my stance is that there are more valuable ways to spend your study time. That being said, if there's a particular game you would like to share, I would be glad to help analyze it and provide my thoughts.

Dutch attack Bb4 Qb3 a5 line

Hi guys I believe in one of the streams or videos GM avetik shared a line after Bb4 Qb3 in Dutch attack instead of Qe7 that was mentioned in the blackmood opening course I believe he suggested a5 instead as a tricky idea to trap white queen. un I can’t seem to find the video anymore! Does anyone know which video this is? Thank you!

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The art of exchanging the bishops -webminar

Hi friends !

Im looking at the step-by-step course for white. Now im learning the line where black plays c5 and after our c3 they play c4.

In the video GM Avetik points there is a webminar called 

 "The art of exchanging the bishops" but I cant find it.

Can someone point me the url please ?

Thanks in advance !

Fernando

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Forget to tell, the opening is the ftrench, e4 e6, d4 d5, Bd3 c5, exd5 exd5, c3 c4, Bc2

Proof that chess.com game review is bad.

Those pieces don't have the same value… it's a bad trade giving the good light square bishop against opponents bad light square bishop. 

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I think the main problem with it is not that it gives bad advice, but it gives too much advice. If it stuck to the really big bloopers where the ‘AI’ has more hope of interpreting the move and giving useful advice, then it would be far better and useful for the weaker players it's trying to help.

yes..  lichess analysis is also free

Question on the Modern Maroczy Bind Course

Hello ChessMood Family,

I just had one quick question on the Modern Maroczy Bind Course. Recently, I saw an interesting idea in the 9.Bg5 line where after 9.Bg5 0-0 and 10.Qe3 Be6, instead of 11.0-0, White can play with 11.Rc1 followed by b3 and f3, so Black does not have time to play with a6-b5 because the pawn on e4 is already defended, which would have not been the case if 11.0-0 was played. Am I missing something, or how should I react to this line?

Thanks in advance

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The line is just leading to a super practical Maroczy-style position.

I liked the 11…Qb6 or another idea 11…Rc8 12.b3 b5.

Scotch 8. ...h6 line

Hi all,

I have been going through the scotch course and was on the 8. … h6 line in the 4. …Nf6 section and was looking at this line,

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. h4 h6 9. c4 Ba6 10. g3 g6 11. h5 g5 12. Qe4 Nb4 13. Nc3

where 13. …Rd8 is the best move, just threatening d5 again. This move isn't looked at in the videos. Engine gives c5 just stopping d5. The engine line goes 14. c5 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Nd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxc5 18. Qxc5 Bxc5 and we get into this position which seems pretty balanced? Could you help discuss some potential ideas and plans in this Rd8 line or if I should deviate from this line? Thanks for the help!

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Hey there,

I thoroughly checked the variation and I will share my opinion below, but some of the lines are going super-super-super advanced and that knowledge can be even advanced for even GM level. It's good to know the opening lines - but my friendly advice is not to analyze so deeply that it will never occur, and it is better to invest time in the other areas of your chess improvement 😀

Here is what I think: The endgame mentioned in your variations is preferable for white, as they have fewer pawn islands - so the structure is better.

Also on the 14th move, there are ideas like 14.Bd2 or 14.Be3 leads to practical messy positions, which can be quite interesting for the White's side.
 

Also on move 12th White can also try 12.Nd2 which is a very practical move, although you will need to analyze it by yourself.

Good luck!
 

Advice with Dutch attack vs Londo

Hi, chessmood family. I could use some advice here with using Dutch against London.

In some games, I found that after moving my knight to e4 I got it attacked by white bishop on d3, queen on c2 and knight from d2, while it is only protected by the pawn on f5 and the bishop from b7.

For instance, a game could go as follows:

1.d4 e6 2.Bf4 f5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 b6 5.Bd3 Bd7 6.O-O Ne4 (protecting the square g5 to avoid white move Ng5, as reccommended in the blackmood opening.

The think is then, white can move either Nbd2 followed by Qc2 (after c3 or c4). attacking our beautiful knight on e4. For instance:

7.Nbd2 Be7 8.c3 O-O 9.Qc2

I've arrived to this or similar positions a couple of times, maybe changing move order or some slight variations (see the attached image). But the main point is my knight on e4 is now attacked 3 times and defended only 2. In a recent game, I decided to protect it once more with d5. Though the module seems ok with this move, I feel that it should be wrong for our attacking plans, since the d5 pawn blocks de diagonal of our bishop on b7. An alternative would be capturing the white knight on d2, 9…Nxd2, but not sure how to continue after 10.Qxd2. maybe 10…Bxf3 ruining the white castle? Or 10…g5 attacking the bishop?  Any ideas?

Another think I have noticed is that blackmood repertoire and model games with the Dutch vs London considers the move Be2. But most of the times, I played against the move Bd3, which gives more control to whites on the important square e4 (which is where we want to put our knight). How does it changes our plans?

Thank your very much for your time reading and your ideas. They're always welcome 

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against bd3 We still play Ne4 anyways, Bd3 is not a critical move.
you can look at this  threads

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/dutch-vs-london-be2-and-bd3

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/dutch-attack-vs-london-bd3-question

Also this video event where GM Gabuzyan analyzes the games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VEz6DS1sW4

ps: i asked the same question a month+ ago and i'm reusing the answer!

in the short PGN you sent (1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. c4 Ne4 ) you should play Bb4+ instead of Ne4.

the idea is to trade your bad dark square bishop with opponents knight… however you need to remember to take immediately if they play 7.Nc3 to ruin opponent's pawn structure. but if they play 7.Nbd2 you should wait {by casteling for example)  for your opponent to play a3 then take with tempo.  there is also this nice Ndf6 move in 3. a3 to prevent Bb4 (chessmood.com) 

Kasparov swore deep blue had human assistance

In 1997 a match was played between a computer by ibm called deep blue and then world champion Garry Kasparov. At the time it was a shock when deep blue won 3-2 i think but Garry swore the computer was having assistance. But what if theyre was no computer input at all and Bobby Fischer was relaying moves.

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read deep thinking  by Garry Kasparov 

it was bobby Fischer all that time😱😟

The result wasn't that much of a shock to those of us who had been paying attention to progress in computer chess in those years.  In any case it was clear to most objective observers that there was no cheating/assistance going on.  Garry was in a difficult situation emotionally/psychologically, so I don't think anyone really holds those things he said against him.

I’m not sure what the argument is here.

Frankly, Deep Blue did not cheat.

It is neither productive for their team, or chess in general if they did.

Second, who would have helped them and actually beat Kasparov in a match.

Third, computers anyways got stronger (further evidence of Deep Blues win) so it doesn’t really matter.

Fourth, (this will be controversial) Kasparov is a bit of a sore loser. There are many videos of him being extremely rude to people he lost to.

At this point, all evidence points to it being an actual computer.

You can say otherwise, but you are grasping for air as they say.

We are basing the word of Kasparov, known to be sore loser and likely didn’t even realize how strong computers were at that point, against the Deep Blue team who also had spectator evidence.

Honestly, there is really nothing more to discuss here.

Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue (youtube.com) that is a link to a youtube video by rheinfeld on the issue

Beginner/Intermediate Player Seeking Advice On Openings

Hello,

I'm currently rated 980 on chess.com and have been playing chess for two months. I've been utilizing the Stonewall Attack as White and the King's Indian Defense as Black, which I learned from Robert Ramirez's Chessable courses "Counterblow" and "First Strike." However, since joining ChessMood a week ago, I've noticed recommended openings for both White and Black.

Given my need to focus on tactics, strategy, and endgames, and considering the recommendation to allocate only 10% of study time to openings for players under 1000 Elo, should I stick with my current openings or switch immediately to the ChessMood recommendations? How significant is the difference between continuing with the Stonewall Attack and King's Indian Defense versus following the recommended openings?

I want to make sure I am following the chessmood advice as closely as possible, I was just confused on what to do here. 

Please let me know,

Thanks :)

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Hi Tyler,

I'm only a beginner myself but I think that you've probably answered your own question - you should devote most of your time to tactics and relatively little to openings.  Perhaps take a look through the unlocked ‘Opening principles’ ( https://chessmood.com/course/opening-principles )course and then focus on tactics after that.

So I decided to throw out what I have learned so far about openings and just stick to the CM openings and listen to the wise advice of GMs :) 

I recognized I have difficulties listening to one source and sticking to their system, so this is a weakness I have to work on to not think I am smarter than the coach and combine my own thing. CM knows best!

😉

Hi Tyler! Im not sure if i have kid and stonewall videos, but I do have a lot of chess opening books and videos! i can check to see if I have them!

As a beginner myself. I'll put into practice the advices I found here

Opponents weaknesses and how to exploit them chess.

Could you kindly guide me on the best course for strategies to identify an opponent’s weaknesses in order to gain an advantage? I am particularly interested in exploiting these vulnerabilities, highlighting weak squares, provoking weak points, and forcing the opponent into defensive positions.

Thanks in advance.

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In the book How to Reasses your Chess by Silman is a whole chapter written about weak pawns/squares.
If you don't want to buy it (which I understand), here is a list from different weak pawns: isolated pawns, doubled pawns, backwards pawns. There is also a lot of content on youtube about these themes I think.

Question #1 is: “What problems does the opponent have?”

https://chessmood.com/course/chess-planning-7q-method/episode/6469

There are very nice examples- not only in this chapter but all over the course.

"My System" by Aron Nimzowitsch - This classic book introduces many fundamental strategic concepts, including the exploitation of weaknesses in the opponent's position.
You could maybe read this

important question

in The 2nd option and the paradoxical move (chessmood.com) at 05:35 why do we take the bishop and not fork the knight and bishop?

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Let's break it down, the pawn you want to push for forking will be protected by your queen and your knight against white bishop and queen, but after white push his pawn to g4, your knight will be forced to move and leave your center pawn,🤔 then white bishop will take your pawn without problem!😊

I hope you understand it well💎😉

You are right. …d4 is the best move in this position, winnning a piece.

But: Black made 3 moves in a row- Ne7, Nf5 and c5. That is just to show a realistic follow up

for Black. You can assume that White will not blunder a piece. But then you will still have the Nxe3 option,

ruining White's pawn structure. 

In short: Avo just sketches ideas.

Does USCF ratings tend to be more inflated than FIDE ratings?

I was searching for this, but could not find any good results, so i'll ask it here - Are USCF ratings more inflated than FIDE ratings? I have seen National Masters at 2100 fide but 2200 in uscf rating. Is there a reason for it? Less FIDE tournaments in the US? Or another reason? 

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It's a different system with a different pool of players.  It would be somewhat surprising if it produced identical ratings.

Traditionally people in both systems have typically has a higher USCF rating.  I imagine things have changed a bit since the recent change to FIDE ratings, and that is still playing out.  Players above 2K will usually have a lower FIDE ratings, but under 2K I'm not so sure.

Yes, it's commonly observed that USCF (United States Chess Federation) ratings tend to be slightly higher on average compared to FIDE (International Chess Federation) ratings. There are several reasons that contribute to this difference:

Rating Pool Differences: The USCF rating system and the FIDE rating system have different player pools. USCF ratings are based on tournaments primarily held within the United States, which may have a different distribution of player strengths compared to the global pool of players that FIDE ratings encompass.

Rating Inflation: Over time, rating inflation can occur in any rating system due to various factors such as more players entering the system, improved playing conditions, changes in competition levels, and adjustments in rating calculation formulas. USCF has seen periods of rating inflation in its history, which could contribute to higher ratings compared to FIDE.

Rating Floors and Ceiling: The USCF rating system has a rating floor of 1000, which means that a player's rating cannot drop below 1000 regardless of their performance. This can result in a compression of lower ratings and potentially inflate higher ratings. FIDE does not have a similar rating floor.

Different Tournament Frequencies: The frequency and availability of FIDE-rated tournaments vary globally. In some regions, especially outside Europe and parts of Asia, there may be fewer FIDE-rated events compared to the United States. This could lead to less frequent opportunities for players to establish or maintain their FIDE ratings accurately.

Regional Competition Strength: The strength of competition can vary significantly between regions. A player might perform differently in tournaments with stronger or weaker competition, affecting their rating in each respective system.

Regarding the specific case of a National Master being rated differently in USCF and FIDE, it could be influenced by these factors. A National Master at 2200 USCF and 2100 FIDE could indicate that their performances in USCF tournaments are relatively stronger compared to the global competition measured by FIDE.

In summary, while both rating systems aim to reflect a player's relative strength accurately, differences in player pools, rating calculation methods, and tournament availability contribute to variations between USCF and FIDE ratings.

FOUND THIS ANSWER ON CHAT GPT

Won an OTB tournament, thanks to CM!!

Hi, chessmood family

I won the over50 first prize in the OTB chess tournament at my university, thanks to the amazing chessmood courses: openings, tactics, ant-blunders, and it was also very useful in some important games the WWP course.

Thank you very much, CM team, it would hav'nt been possible without you! 

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Excellent! Very well done. 👍 

congrats!! btw funny picture 😂

by the way why are you saying CM as they are Gms ? the difference is quite big 

Nice one! Keep it up Xesc! Felicitats!💪

Caro-Kann course mistake on section 5

In section 5 (4..Nf6), video number 2, 0:41
after e6, Nd2 is a miss, white can win a free piece (Bxb8)  because the alignment of the king and the queen (I verified with the engine just in case)

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Yes, Avetik when recording the transpositions messed up the move order in this one. In this exact move order, yes, BxN is the best move. Well spotted. He just had to move the knight first instead of the e6 pawn to make his point. By the way this trap is also explained in the course.