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Chess forum by Grandmasters
Hastings Masters
Round 1 - draw vs an 2260ish FM Not helped by the weather, I arrived about 20 mins late. My cycle ride of 30 mins from my accommodation took about an hour. Best described as rain, wind, hills and unmade roads / potholes. However getting through the time control just in time, I took a draw against an FM. Both of us missed winning chances which goes to show titled players are not invulnerable (I've beaten FMs in the 2000-2100 range before). Black 14: Qg5 is the ChessMood line here. Nd4 is the main move in the Mega Database 2018 with a score of 1 win, 2 draws to White, no mention of Qg5. Black 16: Up to now the computer evaluation is a small advantage to White, which is pretty much the status quo for this line. Unfortunately the aggressive f5 upsets the computer giving White a significant advantage. But can my opponent make something of this? When faced with this position on move 16, how to find the right plan for Black when faced with this over the board? I saw c3 weakens the d3 square which gives me something to play against. As long as White doesn't get to strengthen the centre or get a winning attack along the f-file I believe I'm okay. White 18: This was a lemon. It shows that FMs don't play the right moves all the time either. Nf3 or exf5 was best here. e5 has some nice ideas to get the pieces on the e5 square as in the game, but it just doesn't work concretely. Black 19: Again how to find the right plan. While this looks good, Be6 was better here. I guess it's again a concrete evaluation showing the plan isn't right. White 21: This doesn't work. Free pawn. Black 22: Harry scared me! Qd6 wins outright - I missed that this was winning the piece whatever damage Harry does. Black 23: Qd6 or c4 was better here. Qd5 didn't work. My thought was if Nxg6 then because of Nf2 the bishop is now pinned. Black 26: Re8 was better, but I think this gives me more chances. Black 28: A bad move. I hadn't seen how strong c4 Bxc4 Qc3 was, though it's the computer's preferred line, though probably harder to hold. White 30: This just doesn't work. I think White missed my 31st. Black 31: I can afford to give back the exchange here. White 34: Concretely, getting on with Nh3 - g5 is better here. White is trying to stop Qa1+ Qe1 holding the bishop. Now it's 0.00. White 35: Of course not falling for something like Qd6 Qe1+ winning the knight. Black 43: Almost considered Kf8 here, wouldn't be a good idea though. White's king is weak and Black can just keep moving the king up and down, so it's a draw. 0.5 / 1 so far
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Tomorrow's game is against GM Gormally. He drew today against a 2041(!) IM. So maybe the chance for a nice upset. Games are being relayed, so tune in and support the mood telepathically ;) https://chess-results.com/tnr668610.aspx?lan=1 https://hastingschess.com/
Commiserations for your game vs Wilks. That looked like a disappointing one after being ahead for so long.
Round 2 vs GM Gormally I'd prepared Nc6 Sicilian, but he decided to play the Scandi. It wasn't because he was avoiding showing the other strong players what he'd prepared for the tournament, but that he'd been coaching a student in that line. Black 3: As we know this isn't the critical line against Nf3. Black 4: g6 isn't covered by Chessmood and it's the 5th most popular move having been played by Tiviakov. Would be interested to know how the Chessmood GMs would suggest playing against it. It works out fine for me though. White 8: It's possible to play h3 here to stop Bg4. I'd considered going queenside and going for the typical attack, but I wasn't convinced that I'd be able to keep control of the centre and then might find myself under attack. Black 9: I think this helps me. The bishop is strong on f3. White 11: b4 was suggested after the game intending b5 which is nearly winning. White 12: g3 was another idea, but I think we're conditioned to finish development which I do with a nice position. Black got some ridicule in the UK Patzer's chess.com team group (for which we both play) for just about beating me in a 'UK patzer derby'. Indeed this is good for White and not a good advert for the Scandi. Sure against a GM it's a handicap and he'll come back as he did due to my mistakes, but it's very risky given I'm playing around 2150ish+ irrespective of what my rating says and round 1 result should ring alarm bells to anyone thinking they'll get it easy. White 15: here h3 would have been a good idea since it takes away g4 and if h4, g4 White 17: this was my mistake, the c-pawn can't easily be attacked, was better leaving the tension there with the advanced d-pawn. White 21: Unfortunately I chose the losing move of my candidate moves. Both c5 and Ne2 were better. Black 21: I hadn't seen this idea. White 23: Unfortunately due to Bxb2 this doesn't save the game, but Black admitted to overlooking this idea. Danny thought I should have carried on for a bit at the end since he didn't see the win as that simple, even though there isn't anything for White. I guess being a piece down against a GM you assume he'll be able to convert it, but perhaps I should have considering making him play it out just as I would an 1800. 0.5/2
Round 3. My opponent was 2072 FIDE, but his national rating (ECF) was almost 2200. Unfortunately his SLP paid off, but a small tweak to my play and beating these sort of opponents the way I managed to get ahead here and I'd be moving closer to playing at FM level. I'd seen he played the Rossolimo, with one c3 Sicilian also in the database. He mostly plays the Bxc6 line, but perhaps my first round had put him off. I'd prepared that one with mnemonics about red quinoa [should be] eaten fast, real boys not quitting night operations and the need to brawl now (it's not _quite_ that rough here), but I did look through the Re1 videos as he'd played that and I was able to reproduce the theory. White 12: This deviates from Chessmood Qd2 suggestion and later the Q goes to a3. The only game is Timman - Kotronias with the g5 h6 Rg8 Bg8 idea mentioned in the course. Black 12: Nd4 beats Kotronias' move according to the engine. Black 14: c5 is also considered good by the engine when Qc1 instead of Qd2 has been played which might have made life easier. The king heads to h7 after Nf6+ Kf8. Black 16: Instead of castling qside which gives White a target, the king can run away with Kf8, g8 etc White 17: White should seal up the kside first, so the engine suggests Bg3-h4, f4 Black 17: The engine suggests Bxe5 here, but I don't think this is a good practical move, given Nc5xe6 would follow. g5 and try to find a way to press on the kside seems a much better alternative. White 19: This is wrong way to go about it as Black holds. a5 and if not b5 giving c5 to the knight, then b5 follows Black 20: Engine suggests taking on e4 which I had to do eventually gives near equality here since bxc6 is not scary. White 22: This gives equality, the engine thinks the way to win is play c3/c4 and then come via the centre. White 25: this puts Black ahead. Black 35: Everything was engine perfect up to here. Rg7 was better. White also had a penchant for time trouble. Black 44: Should exchange a pair of rooks here, and the ending would not have happened. Black 49: This pawn break was incorrect White 50: Rh6 is equality Black 52: Had I seen the danger I'd have played Kc4 Black 53: A horrid mistake that takes away the escape square from the king. Now White has mate in 7 which he finds. 0.5/3
I'd played this opponent before so I knew I was getting a French. Last time it was a draw in the advance variation. This time I'd prepared 3... c5 as he'd had two database games in this line, but also looked at 3... de as he had one game, but the opponent had played c3 to defend d4, so I didn't know which line he would play. White 10: So far all theory as covered in the course, unfortunately no advanced section! so hopefully that will appear soon. White 15: The engine suggests Qxb7 here as the only way to keep the advantage (hence needing the advanced section to know when to capture as taking on b7 looked counter-intuitive). So Qxb7 Rfb8 Ra6! and the queen comes back to f3. And despite taking a pawn in front of the king the engine thinks White is winning. White 19: I offered a draw here. Opposite bishops should draw here, and I wasn't looking for another long game.
Round 5. A marathon game (6.5 hours of play, 91 moves) with a really nice ending. My opponent plays d4 Nf6 anything goes, so very hard to prepare. In the database he'd played Benko with e3 (and wasn't quite punished accurately with the Nxe4 trap by GM Jones IIRC), London, Jobava and also the Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit (1. d4 Nf6 2. g4?! - my guess looking at it is to get a KI up a tempo for the pawn since the knight has to move from g4, but as long as you attack the centre and avoid the traps it looks harmless). I'd prepared the Jobava and the Veresov (I use GM Dhopade's Chessable repertoire against d4 since I'm not satisfied with the Chessmood (d6) London - if they miss the traps (and some have been playing it for 10+ years) theory ends in a very drawish position. This solid position is exactly what many White players gunning for a draw or a grind are looking for. d6 here doesn't integrate well with a few of the move orders where d5 would be preferred, plus missing a few major lines and still waiting for the Benko rebooted). So it wasn't much a surprise when he offered the Blackmar-Diemer (which is also missing from GM Dhopade's repertoire). As I've suggested it's a good candidate for a Abracadabra Gambit course as it's very dangerous at club level - IMO more sound/practical than the ones offered (Latvian maybe aside), though not quite enough compensation at top levels. I'm also not dealing with it perfectly myself. Unfortunately the 'antidote' Nxe4 doesn't work if they play 2. f3. Not that that move order happened here, I'd correctly predicted 2. Nc3, and I suggested 'Let's have some fun' as I took on f3. And what fun it was. White 5: Qxf3 is also possible here, but traps aside, White doesn't get enough for the d-pawn that drops - GM Colovic gives Qxd4. Black 5: c6 is also possible (GM Colovic's course - on the way to the Queen's Gambit), but why play this now and not leave it for later and the option of c5 open. White needs to get an attack in, and getting Bf5, e6, Be7/b4 in quickly as Black to neutralise, so c6 can wait until Nd5/d5 is a threat. If 6. d5 then c6 (or e6) giving back the pawn for tempo is winning. Black 7: c6 is also possible here stopping d5. There is a couple of tricks for Black to watch out for, both of which I've fallen into. The first is taking on f7 and after a king recapture e6 is pinned so if the f-file is open Bf5 drops. The second is a quick knock-out attack with g4 g5 maybe with h4. This is one reason I like holding back c6 here, it gives Black that extra tempo. Of course d5 becomes a possibility. Black 8: The good thing is without the f-pawn this is a tempo allowing castles. Black 9: Rushing to castle, much better here is Qe7 and O-O-O, especially since c7 hasn't been disturbed. Black 11: While Black is still better this is a concession. See how easier my game would have been with this pawn back on f7, particularly the endgame where White could just block it by putting his king on a light square, where as on f7 it would have been an easy win. On the bright side, the dangerous light squared bishop is now swapped off. Black 14: The engine likes Bb4 and I spent a long while thinking about this, but couldn't see it clear enough dealing with the knights and Bxf6. Just Bxc3 though doing damage was all that was called for. Black 15: A mistake. Qc6 and not caring about the damage was better (again another move I'd considered). White 16: Qb3 the other candidate was better, now Qc6 doesn't work due to Ne5. After Qh4 advantage is back to me. Black 18: The simpler Ne7 was better, and that would mean not giving up the c-pawn which was part of White's compensation in the ending. Going for B vs N as I did was still better for me, but this would have been much easier. Black 21: e5 is necessary to maintain advantage White 22: Re5/e2 needs to be played here, the good looking defend the pawn with b3 is a mistake. Black 22: e5 - another chance to push this pawn, I should have calculated this because Nxe5 isn't possible as it allows Bf2 to work after the rooks double. Black 25: Again e5 is called for with or without a rook pair exchange. White 27: The wrong plan, Ne5 was better, letting the queens come off adds power to my bishop since bishops can lose a tempo knights can't, plus BxN was pawns on both sides should be better for me. Black 34: Staying on the long diagonal with Ba1 was better, particular as getting control of e5 is important. I thought I could just waltz in my king, but it wasn't so simple. Black 39: The engine thinks Bxe5 is winning here. I didn't want to give up my bishop, but I have the active king. Low time was part of the issue though. Black 40: Bc3 keeping on the long diagonal was needed. I wanted to keep the king out, but it's not possible for long. Black 43: I needed to activate the king with Kd6 quickly. Boxing the king didn't help. Black 49: 'Surprisingly' this is equal as the king and knight can prevent entry. White 53: This is now winning due to Nd3 c5, but practically isn't not easy. White 54: c5 was needed now, with the idea of getting the king to the queenside while the bishop can't do anything, at the right moment of course. White 57: c6 now opening up the queenside for White to exploit. Notice the importance of the active king. White 59: I thought I was lost here, but b6 hangs on White 67: The losing move? The extra kside pawn is enough. He assumed that that wrong bishop endgame was enough and a few moves later offered a draw stating that fact. However I had other ideas. White 72: Nf5 is the drawing move since h5 is not possible without losing the extra pawn. He assumed capturing the g-pawn is enough. This is a problem with relying on concepts (wrong bishop for rook pawn) vs what's on the board and using that idea dogmatically without analysing carefully. Black 74: Tablebases kick in here and it's a draw with best play. Black 76: Is this drawn or not - draw by tablebases, but practically? The engine is useless (beware following blindly) as it thinks b5, b4 is winning, which if you've done the Must-Know Endgame Theory course, you'll know otherwise. Black just plants the king on h1 and waits. White 79: The knight is a short range piece, Nd6 is better keeping an eye on both sides of the board. On a3 it's too far away. Tablebases say it's a draw still, but practically... Black 81: I wanted to stop the king getting to f5 and holding the pawn White 85: Kxb6 is the losing move, now it's winning for Black. Nc4 is better (and the only drawing move) as the king captures the pawn and has to spend another move getting back to where it was. The knight can capture 'en-route' to somewhere else. Now to win, capture the remaining pawn and shut out the knight and king while promoting. What a game, exhausting and demonstrating the need for stamina, fitness (and more sleep!).
Round 6: Playing against a kid, which at a 2000 rating he was obviously doing well for his age, but had a severe lack of concentration, particularly when it became difficult for him. He rattled out the 'theory' and then I punished him, but one mistake and unfortunately it was a much more difficult to save. He then was interested in actually thinking. White 14: This is where the problem starts. I hadn't seen that after his next Rfc8 that c3 is going to be needed and now f5 means the knight has to go back to the awkward d2 square stopping development, otherwise there is a Rxc3 tactic. After Rfc8 I saw it but it was a little too late. Bd2 was easily winning for me. Experience I guess, was it reasonable that someone at my level should see this over the board? White 20: A blunder under pressure since I'd overlooked I can't move back because b2 drops. I had looked at Kd3 which the engine does put as okay for White, but it just looked to me that having the king there was difficult practically but was the best try. Chess can be a cruel game sometimes.
Round 7. Unfortunately another loss. I'd got the English move orders mixed up. I had worked out that he was going to play the e4 line most likely so had the a6, b5 gambit ready. It doesn't work here because of d4 which Nc6 stops and I'd have much rather played Nc6 than Nd7 which I had forced on me. Black 4: Nc6 here which stops d4 ideas. White 7: d4 was probably a better idea here White 9: This was a surprise, since the pawn is on d6, this works with a double attack. It's not losing, but it's complicated and not as good for Black as when the knight is on c6, since it now needs to go to d7. Actually Qa4 is a mistake since e5 wins the exchange since d5 is not possible due to Bxd5 and the fork, so the exchange has to be given up. Black 10: I didn't want to play this, but I thought I had to, and hope to close the centre. However Ngf6 is okay, since e5 works out okay for Black. White 12: This gives me some respite. I can now win back the pawn. Black 18: According to the engine, Qe6 needs playing now. Black 20: Now Ra4->d4 is what needs playing. I hadn't seen the coming tactic. Black 22: This makes a losing position even worse. White 23: This finishes it off nicely.
Round 8: Not going my way with another loss despite a promising attack. Black 5: This annoying move that stops Nc3. In the course I believe Bb4+ first then Bc5 is covered but not Bb4+ Be7 which I'm sure is mentioned in a post somewhere. I decided it looks like a philidor, and so I was going to try the Karpov plan vs the Antoshin line. White 9: I wanted to stop Bg4-Be6 and h3 was in plan to plan g4 White 10: The engine shows O-O or f4 better here as Black should play d5 with equality Black 11: Again d5 Black 14: We'd both overlooked Nxd4 cxd4 Nxe4 Nxe4 Bc6 White 16: Routing the knight to g3 as per the Karpov plan White 17: with the threat of g5 trapping the knight White 18: g5 was better Bf1-e2 is too slow White 24: The engine prefers Rhe1 due to Nd5 instead of Ng8 White 31: despite a potential attack, Be2 is better here keeping the pawns intact. Now it's equality, as I couldn't get f5, f6 to work which was my plan White 32: Bd1 is the move here with the idea of Nf5+ Be6 Nd5. Nf5+ also keeps equality, but Nd5 loses. I think often it's not that my opponents win games, but I lose them.
Round 9 was a disappointment. It was against the underrated kid from India, which while having a 1200 FIDE, was playing around the 1700 mark. After getting short of time (I'm tending to overthink) before the time control, due to tactical complications I simplified into a winning opposite colour bishop ending 2 pawns up, only to mess it up to a draw on a single move mistake. To my opponent's credit he played the endgame very well and I wasn't the only player he'd draw that ending with (and the other looked far more winning when I glanced at it). White 8: This move is passive, and Bc4 (not b5!) or Nc3 was called for here. Black 8: Perhaps the g6/Bg7 plan is better, but I often find in those lines e6 being a problem, so I opt for the move bishop e6 Be7 plan as in the current Alapin course. Black 19: The engine likes Rad8 and Qb6 here, but practically I don't want my queen in the firing line. Black 22: I secure things with h6 but e5 straight away is possible Black 23: same comment Black 35: Rd5 and f5 are both winning, but I was getting short of time, and was wary of tricks on the kingside, so I decided to simplify into a winning opposite colour bishop endgame, which given more time I wouldn't have Black 55 b5, b4 would be more sensible White 56: f4 is better Black 60: This is the wrong move since the king can get to c3. Letting the king get to h8 isn't a problem as White will be forced to swap the two pawns for the bishop and given a move headstart on the the f pawns, should get to g3 in time. Now it's drawn.
Round 10: A shot at redemption. Despite the generous time control 40 in 1.30 hrs 30 inc + 50 mins at time control, I was using up most of my time in most rounds. I had a 6.5 hour game and another round where the game was the last to finish. However here I had a problem, due to train strikes I needed a lift back (although the train would have given a limit too) and if my opponent finished first he didn't want to wait around. This meant playing a fair bit faster. Black 6: This just isn't good for Black, the engine gives it between 1.6 and 2 after d4. White 8: The aim is to isolate the pawn in a dispersal manner rather than removal of neighbours. With d5 intended, the pawn is going to need guarding by the heavy pieces. White 13: The need is to stop d5. However given the slow kingside development, d5 isn't possible due to the discovery. Black 15: So here is the Sicilian meets KI. Black's plan is to castle, stash the king and bishop off the g-file, and push the pawns with the heavy pieces to follow. White's plan is to open up the queenside or win the d6 pawn before getting mated. White 18: The bishop has to go so that the queenside can be opened up White 19: b3 is possible, and if c3 b4 then Qb5 to round up the pawns, but I thought fixing with c3 first then playing b3 to open up was simpler. White 20: f3 is unnecessary since the bishop can go to b6 anyway and leaves a hook for the g-pawn. White 30: Kh1 and Qf1 were possible, but I'd then have to work out what to do with Rc7. I had to calculate this carefully so that I didn't end up in a mate or losing material. So I'd calculated to at least move 37 if not further and saw I was fine. White 35: One of the things I had to see was that with the queen on g2 Kc2 is not possible as Nd4+ is a fork and double pin winning the queen. However here I'd seen that I could cover the checks and the a pawn was going to be a problem. I'd now calculated pretty much to the end of the game against reasonable defences. Black 37: Qa3+ is more challenging as the a pawn is picked up, but the mate threats are nasty. The other plan was to win e4 and d5 and try to defend with the queen leaving a race between a/d and f-pawns White 38: Now no checks White 39: a6 wins here since the same problems occur. I however focused on manoeuvring the queen to f7 where the e-pawn can be captured, but not the d-pawn leaving me with a winning pawn race. White 45: a6 is probably more practical, the forced swap isn't going anywhere Black 49: My opponent said that there is only one move, however Nd4+ is also possible, but again I can stop the pawn with Qa1 anyway. The irony is I finish long before the other player giving me the lift. While my opponent was 1700 and wasn't putting up a big of a fight as a stronger player, I think forcing to myself to play faster may have given me a better game. After all there is more time left if a critical position arises.
Final score 3.5/10 which isn't as good as I'd hoped for, I would have liked to finish where the 2100s were finishing so 4.5 or 5 was more my target. Certainly I have to win more games, and it's more me not winning than my opponent's beating me in almost all cases.
Model game 2 de5 Alekhine defense
I'm happy I didn't notice Shaynian tactic on minute 5.15 (Nf7) but a better one Ng6🥳🥳!! Since I could not see why it could have been wrong I checked with engine and it's is 1st choice! Ng6 hg6 Bg7 Bg7 fg7 Kg7 (actually didn't notice f5... but it's worst for Black) Qf6+ Rf4 over!😃😃
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Vs Reti Opening?
Hi Chessmood family, I keep facing Reti opening lately on chess.com, and I don't really know what's the best response to it. I was wondering what is the Chessmood recommendation for this? Thanks!
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I usually play 1...c5 and I think this is also the CM recommendation. The play more often than not transposes either into our Sicilian lines (after 2.e4) or into our English lines after 2.c4!
i like to play 1...d5, and works!🙂
Sicilian with 2.. Nc6, 3.. e6 and an early Ba6
I find this line quite challenging: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. f4 d5 6. d3 Ba6 with 7.. c5-c4 coming. What do we play? 7. Nf3 c4 and then 8. d4 was what I played recently online, and it wasn't overly comfortable. Another option is 7. b3 c4 8. dxc4 and now black can play either 8.. dxc4 or 8.. Qa5 and both seem quite good for black. Any ideas?
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The e6 variation of this is covered in the Nc6 advanced section of part 3 anti-sicilian, and Ba6 is covered after e5 and O-O happen so that might be a good start for the investigation. Personally it should get a mention in part 2 that it's here and also some coverage of other moves to e6 as it's mentioned a better rossolimo, but there is no course on playing that as White. There are quite a few games in the rock-and-roll with white games, but allowing Bxc6 is such a common move in blitz it really needs more coverage. Nd4 etc is great for OTB when it is very common, but Bxc6 is seen a lot (most common) below 2000 chess.com blitz.
Sharing a game I just had in this line on chess.com: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. f4 d5 6. d3 Ba6 7. b3 c4 8. dxc4 dxc4 9. Qxd8+ Rxd8 10. Nf3 Bb4 11. Bd2 Nf6 and this is already quite difficult to play for white, and I went on to lose this. Quite astounding opening play for a 1600-rated player in a blitz game, but I'm really getting this a lot.
Remembering your prep
When you start playing players above 1800 who appear in databases, when you've got some time before the round to see what they play, you often go to your database/chessmood to refresh the theory what to play against their pet line. Particularly under 2200 you get players who play the same thing again and again, so sometimes your prep is a hit and gets you a good position in something you're familiar with which can help win games. The problem is cramming too much and then starting to forget, or getting lines blurred. The thing to remember is that knowing every line is probably unrealistic particularly when you've got an hour or two to prepare. Select maybe 3 or 4 mainlines and leave it at that. Have a look through the others sure, but try to understand why they branch from the mainlines (bad move, gets punished etc). Part of chess is being able to recreate the theory or good games from knowledge of the theory and typical ideas. One way to remember mainlines (you need to remember them for a few hours, not for days on end) is to make simple mnemonics from the key moves. It doesn't have to be like a database, it should just be a memory jogger. The more ways you remember something, the move likely you're going to recall and this is just adding an extra dimension. So it doesn't need to be complete, or completely unambiguous. There is a danger that completely relying on systems can lead to confusion between the moves, so you should also be able to find the moves logically (i.e. remember the ideas and what you were trying to achieve / traps etc). Problems leaving the your line occur when two or more moves look reasonable (and may be), and this is to keep you on track with what you're familiar with. Let's take my prep yesterday, Nc6 sicilian. I'd identified two lines my opponent played, so there was a chance he'd follow them (not this time though a titled player is much more likely to diverge), so let's look at Nxb5 with 6... Nf6. So no need to remember the first few moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 Nxb5 5. Nxb5 d6 6. d4 since I know that's what I've prepared. so here is the rest of the line: 6... Nf6 7. Qd3 a6 8. Nc3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 e5 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 h6 12. f4 Ne7 13. Bd2 O-O 14. O-O-O Rc8 15. g4 Nxg4 16. Rhg1 The problem with remembering chess moves (and there are number of systems to convert squares and pieces to memorable things) is that pieces and squares repeat across lines so this makes peg and memory palace/journey systems less effective, although still possible given this is for short term. Simpler is just making phrases out of the pieces you need to remember using the first letter or sound to match words, and then remember a phrase. Without going into too much into mnemonics and what makes them effective (Use Your Memory, Tony Buzan is a good guide) making it personal, clever or emotionally charged makes something more memorable than just random words. I still remember the OSI network layer model (https://www.networkworld.com/article/3239677/the-osi-model-explained-and-how-to-easily-remember-its-7-layers.html) from 30 years ago with the phrase 'All Prime Sausages, Taste No Dairy Products!' with each first letter giving me just enough information to help recall the layer name which begins with the letter. So on to the line above. I have a friend called Anthony who loves [drives me mad with] his conspiracy theories. So picking the following moves / groups, I get: d6: Do Nf6: Not Qd3: Quote a6: Anthony cxd4: 'Cause e5: Every Nf5: Frickin' h6: Horrible f4: F(Th)eory Be7 Bd2: Betrays O-O O-O-O: Our Rc8: Relative g4: Growth Not every move is mentioned and I try to avoid obvious replies. It's a little weak in that Do Not can become Don't in your mind and you drop a move, as well getting the Fs mixed up is quite easy, but it does work pretty well, given if you leave the analysis room 5 minutes before the game, you've got to keep this in mind for about an hour at maximum. Longer term systems I'm working at.
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Thanks for the thoughts DF....Its good to keep in mind.
Mnemonic techniques for remembering opening theory do not appeal to me. I'd rather put more time into the following things which all help me remember my openings: - general opening study aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the moves so that I can reconstruct them if necessary - playing more blitz and/or training games with my opening repertoire - writing good notes in my opening files
Thanks David, great tips. In blitz I mostly remember from CM repertoire the ideas, rarely the exact moves, but in classical when I have more time to prepare (usually about 2 hours, if longer you risk getting tired for the actual game) I look extensively through my pgns which I update often from learning something online, etc. I also try to base my prep on model games and ideas from chessbase. Also I noticed that preparing openings for classical even if opponent doesnt play into it, helps for future as an experience in that opening, usually in the next games of the tournament. The dilemma I have the most is usually before the preparation is what line to choose against specific opponent (cause my classical rep is quite wide), should I go for what I usually play or surprise with rarer line or prepare some crazy line directed against his repertoire, do you have more insights in this decision what to play process?
2023 Goals: Play more
Based on what I saw in the Christmas Meetup video, I'm making the same mistake as many other ChessMood members: I'm not playing enough. So in my 2023 chess goals I have several items related to simply playing more games! I'd like to share two of these: 1) Play 1000 focused online blitz games (a mix of 3+0 and 3+2 time controls) 2) Play 100 focused online rapid games (a mix of 10+5 and 15+10 time controls) All games to be downloaded and lightly annotated without the engine, then checked with engine. I like the simplicity of these goals. For starters, they are nice round numbers that are easy to remember :-). And it's simple to break down: about 20 blitz games and 2 rapid games each week on average. Very simple to track progress too. Has anyone else done something similar?
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Yeah same here. I'm without work for a bit and done a lot of study so time to get in the experience while I can.
Hi, well, for me (retired) I am trying to play more OTB long games in 2 clubs currently and "3" Tournaments 7 or 9 rounds (Easter, Summer and Fall) somewhere in "nice" places (to combine with biking or hiking) plus if found at the right time some 5 Rounds tournaments over Weekends. This makes roughly almost 50 long games (1/week) to analyse. For the Blitz and Rapid online .. well perhaps what I can do is to fix afternoons 10 games per week and quickly analyse them somehow. But .. combined with the 1/3 1/3 1/3 rule it is already a lot. Thus not sure what to cut?
tactics ninja
right now i am working with tactics ninja i have completed one time full course with using chess board and solving every position on chess board but not yet done the quiz. i had a idea in my mind that to finish this course 6 to 7 times with solving every position on chessboard and also quiz part later. do you think its too much or 2,3 times with quality is enough let me speak about my tactical goal i want my tactical skill like alireza firouzja so let me clear one thing i am not afraid to work hard i just want to know that if goal is like this and i am in my foundation years so 2,3 times is enough or 6,7 times is perfect with goal ?
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Why not 4 or 5 times? :) I also finished the course last year and am going through it for a second time from the beginning, one section per day, as Avetik suggests. I'm already feeling a lot of value in repeating the material and may do the course another time (though I'll repeat Mating Matador first). I think at some point, if you're getting 100% of the tactics quickly, there will be diminishing value in repeating the course again and again and again and probably more value in spending your time on new puzzles and/or courses.
I think it depends - if you can do all of the problems within about 10 seconds each are you're getting them 99% correct you're probably better to move on. Perhaps a good indicator would be if you can see the solution yourself between the time Avetik says who is to move and then Avetik giving the solution - and you can do so without pausing the video - you probably know that position well enough and don't need to look at it further. I'd only put the position on a board if I was having trouble with it. I wouldn't move the pieces though until I thought I'd solved it, or I'd given up trying to solve it
Happy New Year 2023
Happy New Year 2023 all at ChessMood. May all our hopes & dreams come true & may we all have a happy & healthy new year in 2023 (on & off the chessboard, but especially on & over the board!) ;-)
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WhiteMood Simplified Openings
Hi, The Pgn's for Chapters 6 Pirc and 18 Scandi Gambit won't import to Lichess as there are "Null" moves in the files which Lichess can't parse. Is there a way to fix this? Love the openings! Thanks Rob
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The best games of December, 2022, and the prizes
Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions!
Welcome to the "Best games of December, 2022" 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 November, 2022:
Andreas Sym
Marcus F.
Regis H
Amit Mishra
Ovi Sacasan
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https://www.chess.com/game/live/63743361417
Thank you Chessmood....you make a difference!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/63775798915
A nice win https://lichess.org/ZUXhaI8Vh9H9
https://lichess.org/study/ao5G4QFV/BD5QnnCo (I am with black, Rapid, at the board game)
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63858575749?tab=review Good accuracy with Maroczy, smooth win.
https://www.chess.com/live/game/63747041681 Sicilian small tactics:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/63745283243 Thats what happened when youre not focused on chessboard:-( and you relax(nice mate):-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/63726060449 One reason that you should play more longer-time games:-)
https://lichess.org/2RzvVj8c/black Good afternoon, I played very nice Schotch game today (OTB). Game is not without mistakes, I should play 13. h4! instead g4, so my opponent cant block my pawns expansion with Qh4 as in the game, but the biggest blunder came after 22... d4?? where I should trap my opponents Queen with Ne5 instead taking the pawn d4, that is really embarassing but luckily I managed to win the game. Hope you enjoyed the game!
[Event "Karnataka State Open 2022"] [Site "Mysuru"] [Date "2022.12.03"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Dhanush, Ram M"] [Black "Sriram, Kote"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C91"] [WhiteElo "1728"] [BlackElo "2105"] [Annotator "Dhanush Ram M"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.10.29"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "IND"] [Source "ChessEra"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. d4 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Bf8 12. Ng3 Bb7 13. d5 Na5 14. Bc2 c5 15. b3 Bc8 16. h3 g6 17. Nh2 Bg7 18. Qf3 Rf8 19. Bd2 Bd7 20. Ngf1 Kh7 21. g4 Ng8 22. Ng3 Bf6 23. Qg2 Bg5 24. f4 Bxf4 25. Bxf4 exf4 26. Ne2 Qg5 27. Rf1 f3 28. Rxf3 Kg7 29. Ng3 Rae8 30. Raf1 Nb7 31. Qf2 Nd8 32. Kh1 Qe7 33. Ne2 f6 34. Nf4 Qe5 35. Qd2 Nf7 36. h4 Nh8 37. Rg3 Rf7 38. Nf3 Qe7 39. g5 fxg5 40. hxg5 h5 41. Nh4 Qe5 42. Rgf3 Ref8 (42... Bg4) 43. Nhxg6 Nxg6 44. Nxh5+ Kh8 45. Rxf7 Bg4 46. Nf4 Qxg5 47. Nxg6+ Qxg6 48. Qh2+ 1-0
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63976227219?tab=analysis I'm white
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. f4 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 a6 7. O-O e6 8. a4 Nge7 9. Bd2 Bd7 10. Kh1 O-O 11. Qe1 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Bxd4 13. f5 exf5 14. Bg5 Qe8 15. Qh4 Nc6 16. Nd5 Bxb2 17. Bf6 Bxa1 18. Qh6 Bxf6 19. Nxf6+ Kh8 20. Qxh7# {Black checkmated} 1-0 played on ICC 90mins +30sec Timing
Its always nice feeling to sacrifice a queen ;) https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63688046289?tab=review
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64152145895 very nice (what else:_)) romantic evans gambit:_)👨🏫
A nice win in scotch game https://lichess.org/gtjP9BE9JBEK
French, after watching too many tactic ninja videos https://www.chess.com/live/game/64175054615
17.e5!!? Sacrificing 2 pawns for great compensation https://www.chess.com/live/game/64176856583
French defense. I have been struggling to do well with French defense, but this was my first major breakthrough! Mated him just in 16 moves ! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64251710489
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64179746657 Budapest "almost-:)"gambit and complicated sacrifices like "Rashid Nezhmedinov style":-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64311054637 My opponent ask me for a draw so i agree,chess is a game for having fun doesnt bother win or lose and dont forget the fair play:-) merry Christmas to everybody :-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64314063769 Friday! the day of tactics:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64316985215 Blitz funny games:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64317012845 Fantasy variation:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64317067715 Two knights defence ,with Ng5 and a wrong answer:-)
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64327188105 Beautiful game in the pirc with a very neat tactic and amazing finish!
beautiful game https://lichess.org/NplcRt1D/white
I was fortunate enough to have the chance to play ChessMood's brilliant 7.Rxa4!! in the 2...Nf6 gambit of Scandinavian, and won a nice game overall, except for a moment where I forgot my opponent could exchange my knight on c6 😅: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63744108339
Model game https://www.chess.com/game/live/64509576373
A nice Win! in scotch game https://lichess.org/CYMYpzvH0KFX
Absolutely dominating!!!! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64669326007
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64707789973 good sacrifices and matting pattern!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64721529977 A solid Scotch game with a victory over a 2000 rated player. We went deep into the 8.h4 line.
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64749748209 Dragon variation:-)
https://lichess.org/rrD4SFi4mziV Alapin variation Some sicilian funny blitz traps:-)
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64771427409 Dutch defense classical variation. This got me over 2000 elo in blitz on chess.com. Just 1 month ago I was 1700-1800. Chessmood openings are too powerful!
Another Dutch attack. Unfortunately no rating points on this but I still had great fun! My opponent rated 250 points higher than me. https://lichess.org/9xYwFvS7rFne
https://www.chess.com/live/game/64918318869 Another alapin variation and check mate with king went for walking:-)
https://www.chess.com/game/live/65019662135 Beautiiiifull and romantic! French 'attack' exchange variation vs highest rated player I encountered so far - 2100 elo! Chessmood too powerful
https://lichess.org/7sf00PYeAQbc Rxa2 nice sacrifice to confuse the opponent.
https://www.chess.com/game/live/65077266481 Beautiful Checkmate whih is not often seen at 2200 rating!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/65077767171 A good clutch by me in the end although i became a dirty flagger in this game Lol
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65189383569 Funny checkmate:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65193666857 Funny checkmate part 2:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65193730941 Funny checkmate part 3:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65194244805 Very good game with a tougher opponent
Studying Spartan shield really paid off at the end of this game https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65211055267?tab=details-tab
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65265577039 French defense c5 variation:-)
https://www.chess.com/game/live/65326172069 This 2200 tried to troll me it seems, but thanks to tactical ninja I found a great tactic which exposed his vulnerable king!
Nice try against the pirc This a kind of SLP game at the end 1 e4 d6 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4 g6 4 d3 Bg7 5 f4 O-O 6 Nf3 Bg4 7 O-O Nc6 8 Be3 Nd7 9 Ne2 Nb6 10 Bb5 Bxb2 11 h3 Bxf3 12 Rxf3 Bxa1 13 Qxa1 e5 14 Bxc6 bxc6 15 fxe5 d5 16 Bh6 dxe4 17 Rf6 Nd5 18 Bg5 exd3 19 cxd3 Nxf6 20 Bxf6 Qxd3 21 Qc1 g5 22 Qxg5+ Qg6 23 Qh4 Rfe8 24 Nf4 1-0
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65351383299 Nice -morning coffee -:-) e4-c5 game
I'm really proud of this exchenge sac! https://lichess.org/10Hgpm7C/white#0
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65366381365 Very funny checkmate 😀
one good antisicilian 2..e6 [UTCTime "16:45:00"] [WhiteElo "1977"] [BlackElo "2154"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "180+2"] [ECO "B23"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed"] [Termination "Normal"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 { B23 Sicilian Defense: Closed } 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nf6 6. Bb5+ Nbd7 7. Qe2 Be7 8. f5 exf5 9. Nd6+ Kf8 10. Nxf5 Nb6 11. Nxe7 Qxe7 12. Qxe7+ Kxe7 13. O-O a6 14. Re1+ Be6 15. Bf1 h6 16. b3 Rad8 17. Ba3 Nfd7 18. d4 Rc8 19. c4 Kf6 20. d5 Bg4 21. Bd3 Bxf3 22. Bb2+ Kg5 23. gxf3 Nf6 24. Re5+ Kh4 25. Rae1 Rhe8 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Bxf6+ gxf6 28. Rxe8 { Black resigns. } 1-0
This my best SLP game! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65431892321?tab=analysis
Attacked the Sicilian c5-d6-e6 setup with g-pawn charge. https://lichess.org/U73qnyqRryeM
Insane game vs Petrov defense, which I currently am a bit unfamiliar facing. But thanks to the saving lost positions course, I managed to pull a win off! Crazy game https://www.chess.com/game/live/65498605649
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65526213075 miscalculation?blunder? By the way good game:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65526769583 Classic game non-stop tension :-)
I think this is the worst game ever I lost my knight at the opening I did start SLP mode to get a draw after totally losing position https://lichess.org/HPVnjC8p/white#79
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65555034837 King hunting :-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65559133831 Smells like Tal:-)!!!!
[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result "*"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 c5 4. g3 Nc6 5. b5 Nb8 6. Bg2 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. d3 e5 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. Ne4 Qc7 11. Qa4 O-O 12. Nxc5 Qxc5 13. Ba3 Qc7 14. b6 Qd8 15. Qxa7 Na6 16. Qxa8 Re8 17. Nd2 e4 18. Nxe4 Nf5 19. Nc5 Nxc5 20. Bxc5 Qg5 21. Qa4 Rxe2 22. Rae1 Qd2 23. Qe8+ Rxe8 24. Rxe8+ Bf8 25. Bxf8 Ng7 26. Bb4+ Nxe8 27. Bxd2 Ng7 28.Bb4 1-0 my over the board game
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65619246447 Nice:-) 🤠
2100 elo blitz French Attack Romantic Variation https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/65625098183?tab=review
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65628858237 Classic Evans gambit 😻
[Event "ICC 90 30"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2022.12.24"] [Round "-"] [White "laurenpar"] [Black "amicusUK"] [Result "0-1"] [ICCResult "White resigns"] [WhiteElo "1947"] [BlackElo "1846"] [Opening "Nimzovich-Larsen attack: English variation"] [ECO "A01"] [NIC "VO.08"] [Time "08:02:45"] [PlyCount "74"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. b3 c5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. g3 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 e5 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Bg2 d5 10. O-O Ba3 11. Na4 Bxb2 12. Nxb2 O-O 13. c4 Bf5 14. a3 Rad8 15. b4 Qa6 16. c5 Qb5 17. Re1 a5 18. Qa4 Rb8 19. Qxb5 Rxb5 20. Nd3 Re8 21. a4 Rbb8 22. bxa5 e4 23. Nc1 Nd7 24. e3 Nxc5 25. Bf1 Ra8 26. a6 Rec8 27. Ne2 Nxa6 28. Nd4 Bg4 29. Reb1 c5 30. Nb5 Nb4 31. a5 h6 32. Nd6 Rc6 33. Nb7 Nd3 34. Rb5 c4 35. Rxd5 c3 36. Bxd3 exd3 37. Rxd3 Rc7 {White resigns} 0-1
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65781191507 Bxb6!
French Tarrasch, Nc6 https://www.chess.com/live/game/65808159739
[Event "Rated Rapid game"] [Site "https://lichess.org/h4x9wAkz"] [Date "2022.12.17"] [White "kata17brzost"] [Black "mahalasapai89"] [Result "0-1"] [UTCDate "2022.12.17"] [UTCTime "21:44:08"] [WhiteElo "1822"] [BlackElo "1659"] [WhiteRatingDiff "-8"] [BlackRatingDiff "+10"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "300+5"] [ECO "E76"] [Opening "King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack"] [Termination "Normal"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. f4 { E76 King's Indian Defense: Four Pawns Attack } O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. a3 e5 8. fxe5 dxe5 9. d5 Nc5 10. Bd3 Bg4 11. O-O Nfxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 f5 14. Bc2 e4 15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 fxg4 17. Nd4 Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Qf6+ 19. Kg1 Qxd4+ 20. Qxd4 Bxd4+ 21. Kg2 gxh3+ 22. Kxh3 Rf8 23. Bxe4 Rf2 24. Rb1 Be5 25. Kh4 Bf4 26. Bxf4 Rxf4+ 27. Kg5 Rxe4 28. b3 Kg7 29. Rg1 Re3 30. b4 Rxa3 31. Kf4 Rf3+ 32. Ke5 Rf6 33. Re1 a6 34. Kd4 Kf7 35. b5 axb5 36. cxb5 Rd6 37. Rf1+ Ke7 38. Re1+ Kd7 39. Rf1 Ke7 40. Re1+ Kf6 41. Re8 Bf3 42. Rf8+ Kg7 43. Rxf3 h5 44. Rc3 Rd7 45. Kc5 Kf8 46. Rf3+ Ke7 47. Rg3 Kf6 48. Rf3+ Ke5 49. Re3+ Kf4 50. Re6 g5 51. Rf6+ Ke5 52. Rg6 Rxd5+ 53. Kc4 Ke4 54. Re6+ Re5 55. Rh6 h4 56. Rh7 c6 57. b6 Re8 58. Rxb7 g4 59. Rc7 g3 60. Rxc6 h3 61. Rg6 g2 62. b7 Rb8 63. Re6+ Kf3 64. Rf6+ Kg3 65. Rg6+ Kh2 66. Kc5 Rxb7 { White resigns. } 0-1
Passini attack (missed e6 after Nbd7) https://www.chess.com/game/live/66240837379 Maroczy and the long diagonal (not the one you suspect) 😃 https://www.chess.com/game/live/65212185045 weird gambit game https://www.chess.com/game/live/66073469169 anti sicilian, quick KO https://www.chess.com/game/live/66066081669
An OTB training game earlier in the month (I was White): [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [Result "1-0"] [Opening "Trompowsky Attack"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nd2 Bf5 4. e3 Nbd7 5. c4 c6 6. Qb3 Qb6 7. c5 Qxb3 8. axb3 e5 9. b4 Ne4 10. Nxe4 Bxe4 11. f3 11 h6 12. Bh4 Bh7 13. b5 g5 14. Bf2 Bg7 15. h4 O-O 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Kd2 g4 18. Ne2 exd4 19. exd4 Nf6 20. Nf4 Rfe8 21. Be2 Nd7 22. Rh4 f5 23. Bd3 Nf8 24. Rah1 gxf3 25. gxf3 a6 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Rh5 Rab8 28. Kc3 Re7 29. b3 Rf7 30. Bxa6 Ra8 31. Bd3 Ra2 32. Bc2 Rfa7 33. R5h2 Ra1 34. b4 Kf7 35. Rxa1 Rxa1 36. b5 cxb5 37. Bb3 Bg6 38. Bxd5+ Kf6 39. Bh4#
I just sliped bishop to a6, and super SLP!! https://lichess.org/QF16ujDM/white#17
An online game I played on chess.com. I was White.
"Sacrifice when you think you have a decent chance"....GM Hohvannes Gabuzyan. https://lichess.org/6qQqex4LaIHw
https://www.chess.com/live/game/65993108519 Muccutcheon variation with very nice end:-)
A nice win https://lichess.org/XUIGzLU8u7YF
https://lichess.org/study/xejALumO Hello, I played very nice game in dubious Rossolimo kind of structure and finished it with very nice mating attack. With regards Petrosian64
Full scale attack on the first day of the month! https://www.chess.com/game/live/63659280147 Following the attacking princples! https://www.chess.com/game/live/64351908219 Capitalizing on strategic advantages https://www.chess.com/game/live/64851116405 I felt like being under pressure in this game.. but followed the opening rules and everything went ok! It was nice to see afterwards that I was never losing as I was afraid. https://www.chess.com/game/live/65375433605 Going for it! Development versus material https://www.chess.com/game/live/65779982647
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66038513189 French exchange variation:-)
I missed a few moves, but fun attack in the grand prix https://www.chess.com/live/game/66040285929
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66045194487 Funny checkmate 😂
Here is my game: https://lichess.org/kZiNpW3V/black#0 I am playing as black
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66081164929 Nxe5!!
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66126724833 Good year to everybody:-)
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66167401887 Nice bishop sac:-)
I love chessmood openings https://lichess.org/HndJdUXpd9SF
I'm playing with white https://www.chess.com/game/live/66213046485
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66219687455 Last game of the year:-) 😄
https://www.chess.com/live/game/66220297483 :-)chess playing is never enough:-)
I am black in this game.
https://lichess.org/study/km9dqBDL I am white, Blitz game
My last bullet game of the year. I have the white pieces and played the Chessmood Scotch, which I love. It's a miniature. Knowing the typical plans was super helpful for me here, but the finishing sequence was my favorite part as I found 3 moves I don't think I'd have found without the Tactics Ninja and Mating Matador courses. Thanks Avetik! (I promise I'll stop playing bullet... soon.) https://lichess.org/KDS3sBuT#0
My last blitz game of the year. This one was satisfying for the blend of attacking out of the opening, followed by defense against counterplay, winning material, surviving by giving some back, then converting the endgame by sacrificing my extra knight. Games like this make me feel like all the facets of the game are coming together to form a clear picture. Nothing brilliant, just a sense of improvement across all aspects of the game, with clear room for further improvement across all aspects of the game. https://lichess.org/ZoNbdRLD/white#0
https://www.chess.com/game/live/66291121399
https://lichess.org/R45fyUi7tXkt https://lichess.org/6o5IZq2D/black#0 I hope these are good :) sorry I'm late
Is it possible to post a game which I played today because January's forum hasn't started?
https://www.chess.com/game/live/66480140219 I am Black in this game. Sorry if I shouldn't have sent it because it is today's game.
Hello Champions!
It was the last month of 2022, and there were a lot of fireworks in the games we saw 😉 We enjoyed it every time we saw something explosive happen on the chessboard!
Let’s move on to the prizes for the month of December 2022.
The 1st prize goes to Praful chess for the impressive 14.b6 and the queen sacrifice with 15.Qxa7 – What a move! Well done!
The 2nd prize goes to Keep Cool for this beautiful win with the Black pieces. What an amazing finish with 23…Nf2+ and 25…Rd1. Keep it up!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64707789973
Vladimir Bugayev wins the third prize for this game in the Caro Kann Exchange. Great finish with h4-h5-h6, and a beautiful Queen sacrifice with Qf6! Good job!
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/63688046289?tab=analysis
The 4th prize goes to Rubik Cubik for this fine attacking game. You gave a perfect demonstration of being patient and bringing all the pieces into the attack. Great play!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/64351908219
The 5th prize goes to Andreas Sym. A great game showing how to attack when the Kings are castled on the same side. Excellent buildup and a smooth finish, well done!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/65265577039
Congratulations to all of you!
Thank you for so many lovely games, champions! Looking forward to many more amazing victories in 2023.
Wishing you the right mood and all the energy to achieve your goals in 2023.
phantom pictures in calculation
Hello, and happy new year. i noticed one of my re-occurring mistakes/blunders. Somehow when trying to "calculate" certain lines I ``see" pieces at 2 places somehow and blunder, I found it is called ``restbild" or "shadow pictures" or similar. Sometimes lines become more complicated then needed or I just do (or not do) another move, assuming that pieces are still at their place. For example in this position from a longer OTB game with black I had thought that Kg6-Kf5-Kxe5 does not work because of Kg6-Nf3+ Kf5 Nd4 that I would loose the e6 pawn as the night would be on f3 defending e5 and at the same time on d4, forking my king and the e6 pawn. So I played Bg5 .. Anyway, I guess I am not alone with this. But are there particular ways of trying to reduce such fake shadows from the opponent or the own side? Grateful for any tipps.
Replies
Here's my idea: When solving tactics puzzles, try writing down the entire solution before checking it. That will encourage you to accurately track where the pieces are, particularly if some pieces move more than once in the solution. It might help to solve more endgame puzzles, because there are fewer pieces so the chance of a piece moving multiple times in the solution is higher.
Dutch Stonewall or normal development?
Just a quick question. In the Dutch after 1.d4 e6 2.e3 f5 3. Be2 should we aim for the stonewall as white intends Bf3 to challenge the h1a8 diagonal?
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How about delaying the decision with Nf6 ? If they go 4.Bf3 then answer d5 with Stonewall, but if they go 4.Nf3 you can think about playing b6 and Bb7.
Sedlak in his Dutch how to play book notes that stonewall's biggest strength is suppressing the bishop on g2, therefore in chapter 1 he advises more or less same plan as Peter below, that if white goes for a g3-less system, black should also adapt and not play stonewall, but closer to nimzo/QID formation with b6+Bb7+ if allowed, Bb4 to remove knight on c3.
positive stress level, when playing concentrated.
Hello, being now a retired researcher physicist (since 2 years) and having time to re-learn again chess (after a break of almost 40 years) and other sports. Anyway, when "asking" the why (I want to improve in chess) question I am always a little confused (well it is related to the "how" are things and not ``why" is the universe like it seems to be ..one of the first things I learned in school from my first physics teacher.. ). So in any case it was the "fun" of finding things out and improve the understanding and doing better which motivated research and some self introduced stress. So I believe that it is this my ``why" in chess as well, or perhaps more precise the enjoyment of being somewhat stressed by playing and improving chess. So the process itself and that it is still possible after retirement (and being 67 years in a few days) and for a "few" more years. By chance i watched this youtube video today and thought it would be time to share these thoughts on the forum. In short as I understand it, the best motivation internal dopamine comes under some kind of internal stress when being concentrated on a certain activity. This video might be interesting for many chess learners.. https://youtu.be/1TSTnDRnIAs Another aspect in this was a test with a garmin sport watch measuring heart rate and variability (yes I try to do biking, cross country skiing (with both better technique compensates for the "age" and now less and less running because i slow down ..😀. ). Thus was curious and tested it during an OTB Blitz tournament (early December) in my club and in a club long game (i asked my opponent before, I think such connected watches are not allowed in tournaments normally. Be careful in case you try). Ok, somewhat surprisingly both tests showed a stress level similar when playing intense chess or biking or running. May be some of you want to try. I will soon make the experiment with 1h intense chess training when following a chessmood video ..😀
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Ninja Quiz #111
Who would play g8QB just to get a won N+BvK checkmate when Queening gets the much easier to win skewer with the Queen? I tried Queening several times and was always "wrong". There's no stalemate with the Queen move, so how can that be wrong?
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There is a stalemate with black playing Kd2.
As Peter said, you need to avoid the stalemate by promoting to a Bishop.
Hedgehog Attack!
Magnus knows his classics and played this wonderful game in the World Rapid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlineHLpvLo The relevant ChessMood classical games: https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games/episode/1636 https://chessmood.com/course/chess-classical-games/episode/1635
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Thanks Peter, I have not had much time to check the games of the World Blitz and Rapid but I love your post!!!😍
Nice of you to post this game analogy! Happy New Year and lots of FIDE points to 😀you!!!
Dutch vs London - Be2 and Bd3?
**re-posted to correct previous errors** First of all I want to say ChessMood is fantastic. I wish I'd have found this site a year ago when I first started - it provides a progressive way of building up skills and in the case of openings, doesn't assume a GM level of knowledge and explains PLANS for the middlegame. Thanks to the team for creating such a great resource! I just started the BlackMood starter and started with the Dutch. My question relates to the London System - the London was the first opening I learned as white. I don't play it now, but the system I learned via various Youtube videos and a course on another site included the white bishop being placed on d3, in the middle of the triangle of pawns. However, the DutchMood starter repertoire says Be2 is the most common move in the London. This seemed strange to me given the above and prior experience as black against the London, though I've never played the Dutch against it. Doing some investigation, after 1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 b6 it appears the top 3 most popular moves by White with Lichess set to 1000 to 2000 level are: 1st - 5. Bd3 2nd - 5. Nbd2 3rd - 5. Be2 If I change the setting to 1800-2000 it appears Bd3 and Be2 are roughly equally common. In master games, Be2 is most common (49 games), but Bd3 is second and there's not a huge difference (32 games). So it appears according to Lichess that Bd3, compared to Be2, is more commonly played at lower levels, about equally at around 2000, and less but still reasonably often by masters. Just wondering if a video or chapter might be planned to be added to the course for white playing a Bd3 setup? If not, does white playing Bd3 prevent us from playing any plans given in the course? Thanks a lot! :)
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Bd3 is not a critical move with our Be7 fianchetto, we play Ne4 anyways.
You can see this thread for more info. There is a video explanation included and this position happens a lot in the speedruns that we do on the events, if you watch them you will find many cases of London with Bd3.
Check it out:
https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/dutch-attack-vs-london-bd3-question
Happy New Year!
New article: Why I always try to be a beginner
Can you be a master and a beginner at the same time?
What about Grandmaster-beginner? 😊
The answer is not only you can, but it's a huge advantage!
Check out Grandmaster Noel Studer’s article about the power of a beginner's mind 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/beginners-mind
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I found many coaches that only want to cash in. Being a chess coach means prepare the lessons, knowing the pupils repertoire, knowing his caracter and model his style and repertoire according to It and so on. About being far from the beginners mind, is related to feel their self-steem attacked. This is a mediocre mind set that reflects a complete lack of talent. So is losing ones time with these type of people because smart guys are always eager to learn, in chess and in Life.
Thanks for this informative article. I could relate to the mentioned scenarios. From now on, I will 'try to be a beginner' as well.👍
Sound principle. I'm a Zen student too so I fully believe in this!
Donate Mood Coins To Give A Poor Player A Chessmood Membership
I believe it would be awesome if Chesmood members would each give a few Mood Coins and accumulate a membership to sponsor an aspiring chess player that cannot afford one. I'm sure Avetik or Hohvannes, maybe Lili would know someone who could benefit and make it possible. It would also make Chesmood look really good to the world. I would be first in donating if Avetik would warm up to the idea. Anyone else? Cheers!
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Middle->Endgame
I've noticed most of my blitz losses are around this point. Opening mostly fine, endgame great, but towards the end of the middlegame are where the problems leading to losses occur. This also includes tactical errors (perhaps due to being overloaded and running short of time here). Suggestions for training here?
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To some extent I think this is fairly natural. As we learn our openings, and get stronger in general, the critical mistakes come later in the game. Probably you're right about being short of time too. It's simply harder to track all the tactical relationships between the pieces accurately as the pace of play increases. One thing you could try is to extract positions where you've made tactical errors from your games and put them into a custom Chessable "course". I haven't done much of that, but I have been using their custom course feature for something else and it's pretty straightforward for anyone with moderate IT skills. Training easy tactics daily, minimum 15min (often more) is what I do, definitely helps with blitz and should help with your specific issue. A lot of it simply comes down to seeing the basics super quickly. Again, I use Chessable for this because I believe there is value in repeating problems to speed up pattern recognition. I also like Timed Puzzle Rush on chess.com. Also, there is the general approach to the practicalities of blitz. A good enough move played quickly is often better than the best move played slowly. Where "good enough" means a non-blunder that somehow improves your position. If it builds pressure on your opponent, or even caries a threat, all the better. But above all else it shouldn't be a bad mistake. Even at the 2300 level players will go wrong soon enough if you can just keep making moderately decent moves quickly. Finally, I've come to believe that when reviewing blitz games we should always go through the entire game without the engine first. Add a few comments and try to find improvements this way, forcing yourself to think. Only once this is done should the engine be used to check things and add further insights. Anyways, talk is cheap. I have an aggressive goal for my own blitz rating in 2023, so let's see if I can follow my own advice and see whether it actually works.
Grand Prix Attack Interesting Line
Hi! I have a question on the line 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. 0-0 Nge7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 and 8...a6 forcing us to take, and in Anish Giri's Najdorf course he gives the line 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Ne7 11. f5 gxf5 12. exf5 and 12...e5 and claims that Black has a wall in the center, and will finish development with Qc7 and Rg8 to come. He also wants to potentially castle long. My engine says triple zeroes. What does GM Avetik think about this?
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The idea of an opening is to get a playable middlegame. We cannot always have an advantage. I think in a case such as this we need to think of our middlegame plans and prepare for a hard fight. I'm certainly not a very strong player so I couldn't advise specifics here - but I question as to how often you expect to play against this line.
There is a mistake in the line you posted. After 6.O-O it is not legal for black to play Nge7.
Hey!
In the line you are asking about I like the option of Nf3 and if Qc7 than Bb3. The position is very practical and interesting for both sides. White has some good lines and diagonals. I would locate Queen on e2 and bring the Rook a1. Of course, it's concrete and depends on the opponent's moves as well.
