Chess forum by Grandmasters

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.

How much years have you all played chess?

I played for 4 and a half

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one year my elo is 1600

I started playing chess during COVID lockdown

I played chess for 4 years

I learned the moves as a nine year old and am now 51, but I wouldn't say I 'played' for all those years. For most of them I have been fumbling around in the dark. Javing fun, but still reinforcing bad habits and falling over my feet. Now I have a wee stubby candle and am making slow, slow progress.

I started playing chess during the COVID lockdown online as a leisure activity. But I became so interested in the sport that I started playing in OTB tournaments as well.(once the lockdown was lifted)

Modern Defense with 3...a6

I ran into this line recently: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 a6 planning 4...b5. Looks like this move order sidesteps our Pasini variation because 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 a6 4.Be3 b5 5.g4!? b4 is a bit annoying. Stockfish prefers 5.h4 or 5.Qd2 but I haven't dug into the lines yet. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this variation.

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Hey! Sorry for the late reply. 
You can go 4.g4!? without Be3

And theoretically speaking 4.f4 is the strongest answer vs 3…a6 
 

100 classical masterpieces game 48

in reference to the best answer to the 1.b4 opening or to the nimzo-larsen opening (2.. Bg4), Eric Hansen played it also recently : https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2438296

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Duras gambit

Hello comrades! Is there any effective way to refute the Duras gambit? I know it is very dubious and I even laughed at the player at our chess club who told me he would play it against me, but then I just got crushed. I tried playing it the same way we play against the Colorado, but it didn't work out. Would be awesome if someone told me how to refute this dubious opening :)

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Just take the pawn for example 1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 c5(Since it is a pseudo-attacking opening all one mover threats) 5.c3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4(More aggression)7. Nh4 Nd6 8. 0-0! cxd4 9. Nxd4 Re1 We gave back the pawn but we have a huge initiative and the engine gives +4 to +5.

I also would play the same line as A D but my preparation finishes sooner.

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 d5? 3.Qh5

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 There is no compensation here for Black c5 5.c3

1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. Bd3 There is no compensation here for Black Nc6 5.Nf3

I do not think that you should remember anymore, just take the pawn and keep it with d4 Bd3.
💪This is all you need as opening preparation for this, nothing more. 😀

Strategy not to loose such endgame

https://lichess.org/study/GA3NmSKO/374vaUe4 My game against FM, 2205. I knew that endgame is a bit worse for black, but it is not lost. I misplayed it. It was time pressure and Rapid. But can you give some suggestions to loose, what I was doing wrong in endgame (beside very concreate 29...c5 was bad).

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The point of the exchange Lopez is White can get a passed pawn, Black cannot. Black should be looking to keep pieces on, even though c5 might have been a mistake, it's probably more the strategy at fault which means small errors get amplified, especially as knight endgames are somewhat like pawn endgames.

I guess you knew it, but Qf7 seems to play directly into the hands of an Exchange Ruy player. For the endgame, you have more activity at move 21 so I'd be looking to use that activity to somehow keep white contained. The engine points out that 23...Nb4 was good. Probably you were worried about the trapped knight after 24.c3 Nxa2 but it turns out b5-b4-b3 saves the day. As a general strategy in this endgame I'd be looking to: - keep my superior king position - gain space on the queenside by advancing my pawns there. - un-double the c-pawns if the opportunity presents itself Not so easy for sure.

Feeling Unfocused---How to remedy?

Hello ChessMood Friends! At times I experience the feeling of being unable to focus---like being on autopilot while playing and unable to actually think---and It is hard to actually try my best while playing. Any suggestions on how to counter these feelings?

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My suggestion is to annotate some of your recent games. When annotating the games, try to spend a decent amount of time without an engine otherwise it'll just be a Stockfish regurgitation exercise :-). As well as looking for clear mistakes, look for alternative approaches and hidden possibilities. Last but not least, publish the games in a blog and/or by posting them here. That keeps the whole exercise real as you know other people will be reading what you write.

Hi Brody, I think Avetik explained this nicely in Blunderproof course hyperfocused chapter https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof/episode/4427

Interesting Benko game & commentary

GM Matthew Saddler published a video on his Youtube channel with excellent commentary of a recent Benko game. Lots to learn here, and it's also interesting to hear his general thoughts on the Benko. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR7TZOBXHbQ

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excellent find Peter, thanks, good ideas how to play vs annoying e3 line and win the pawn back on b5

This is indeed a very nice video. I believe that we are also going to use this approach on the benko with e3 instead of the more complicated lines with e6. (If I'm not mistaken) 

Thank you for this instructive Video. It also helps lowering the resistance against Bxc3. This seems to a good move in Benko quite often but it doesn't feel Natural :)

Nightmare of Rosolimo :(

Hello the wonderful Chessmood Team, Yesterday in my club a friend prepared against the chessmood line and played this move 10.Be3(the course covers Nbd2) which is not covered in the course soon I was unfortunately squeezed. Soon after coming to my home I immediately began to find and antidote against this move but after an hour or so I failed so now I have come to the doctor(Chessmood) for the help😀. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. d4 d5 8. e5 Ne4 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Be3 The point of 10.Be3 is that black will be practically forced to take on d4 and have some pressure on the dark squares and c6 pawn while the b2 pawn isn't that of a weakness. The response is appreciated a lot😀 Regards Vedant

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Hi, 10. Be3 !? played as white but many strong GM. Mostly black take c:d and Qb6 but I think interesting is also 10.. Rb8 11. Qc1 c:d 12. c:d f6 and then Bf5. Please look on game P.Svidler - K.Shevchenko .. 1/2 fide grand swiss 2021.

I think this was debated here too:

https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/9-be3-rossolimo

😅😀

Grand Prix e6 Stockfish line

In the line 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.f4 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Qe2 Nd4 8.Nxd4 cxd4 9.f5 e5 10. Bc4 h6 11.Qh5 Qe7 12. Ng5 hxg5 13.Qxh8 Nh6 14.0-0 Stockfish gives this absurd move 14...d3! with an evaluation nearing -2. Instead of going for the exchange as was recommended my Stockfish seems to just prefer the simple castles on move 12 with a small advantage for White. What does GM Avetik propose here?

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Training plan

Hello guys, When I first be a pro member, I had a call with GM Gabuzyan and he suggest a training plan for me. He gave me some guidelines but for every day I make a plan For example 1. Daily lesson with GM 2. Watch half the chapter of Grand Prix Attack and then make a file on Chessbase (also on chessable) 3. Play 2 blitz games with Grand Prix attack My question is: is it ok ? Whats your way of planning your chess days? Is there anything that I have to keep in mind? Thank you chessmood family

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I would add solving puzzles (for instance 10-15 puzzles daily before you start your blitz games) + solving Chessmood's Daily Puzzle (those are chess studies which are good to improve your calculation and creative thinking). Also you can add reading one article from the chessmood blog from time to time. In my opinion, those articles dealing with psychological issues are way under rated by most chess players who want to improve! For instance, a way of planning my chess day is: - 15/20 puzzles - 3 classical games played by world champions (from Steinitz to Karpov for now only) - playing guess the move - Middlegame or endgame (reading 3-5 pages daily from a book) - Practice (9 blitz games and/or 2-3 rapid games) - Analyzing my games (Check if I respected the opening principles (for now I'm still working on building my rep & files), try to understand what went wrong if I lost (without the computer) and then I check my analysis with the computer at the end). I watch instructive videos when I have free time but don't really consider them like work because it's difficult to be fully focus/Same with reading articles. I'm 2300 online and would like to reach 2400-2450 next year. I know it's bad to have such goal, and better to be focused on growth than ratings/results, but I'm human 😜 For 2023, I'm not sure if I should stick to this study plan or improve it. So not sure if I helped but at least I shared with you what I could ha! 👍 Also I would like to reduce by 90% my use of engines and develop my analytical skills more + improving at visualization 😎

It's good to have one or two medium term training goals, such as play through the first 50 Classical Masterpieces or complete the Tactic Ninja course. Then just get into the habit of chipping away at these things every day or two. It's also good to solve some tactics *every* day. Even just 5 puzzles is better than nothing. If you make it a habit you won't need to plan it :-)

Appraoch towards chessmood

How to start or begin with chessmood. I am able to play or win may be because of luck good in short time controls. But not in long time controls. Can u suggest me a remedy for that. And moreover there are. Lots of courses given. How to begin with this.

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Too many possibilities. What's your rating and when you analyse your games, either by yourself or with an engine, what common factors are there. What do you think is holding you back?

Hi Sreenath!

😀I seem to remeber that you have been a promember of our family for a while.😅

First, did you book your call with one of our GMs to guide you?

Second, what courses did you already complete? Did you do all the rating booster section?

Also, please be so kind to provide other data about you, like age, available time to study, your rating, etc. The more info the better… 😅

Where can I Find the Homework?

This is probably a stupid question, but I've been watching the Starter Course for White and Avetik mentioned the homework a couple of times. Can anyone tell me how to find this please? I'm sure I found a download link at one time but I cannot find it now 😢

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Ignore me - I've found it. Now I just need to find out how to unpack a ".rar" file...

I'm starting to win with the Scotch!!!

I'm actually beating higher rated players since learning the Scottish opening! Okay, at some point I am going to come up against someone better prepared, but my confidence has been given a huge boost. Thank you chessmood!!! 😄

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That is good news Mary!😍 You have been a while with us and we are happy that your are getting good results.🤩

Still do not think that it is about just the Scotch, these are just the opening moves of a chess game. We are sure that you improved in all areas and the time spend studying is showing, otherwise no one wins a game just because of the opening 🤠(although sometimes happens😅).

COGRO, Keep on learning, keep on playing, keep on winning!!!😀

Caro Kann exchange question

https://lichess.org/study/3Q73OCzx/cWP7KUpf What if black doesn't play Bh5 in this line? I believe that Bh5 is the best, but Club level player won't find it (if doesn't know). Multiple club level playeres already played here a6-b5. Should I go Ne5 immediately? In one game I tried Qc2 and then Ne5 at some point, but then Ng5 idea doesn't work any more.

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Dear Renate You got an excellent position in move 14, very good!
It does not matter too much if you go Ne5 or Qc2, although Ne5 is normally played first. If they go a6, at some moment, after Ne5 normally they go Bh5 and Bg6 reaching the same positions. transposing. 

You have to play both Ne5 and Qc2 usually. The plan that Avetik proposes does not involve Bg5, as you played in this game. When you take on g6, you open the h file and we will attack trough there. 
One of the recommended ways is to play Nf3, Ne5, f3, Kh2, Rh1, h5. Although in your game you had an exceptionally good position where you could bring the Queen to the h file very fast. We do not know how it went later because you did not show it  but you got a very good and promising position.
And this is it, just be aware that you attack on the h file and do not forget to stop Black's attacks on the Queen side. 
Happy hunting Renate!!!

🤠

Benko gambit alternative

I belive it would be a good option to have alternative for Benko gambit. Are there any suggestions? Or how should I move from my current choice smoothly? I am not ready to play Benko, tried it some years before on level 2000+ and it didn't work well for me. I will probably return to it but need also alternative. My current choice is Nf6 with Nimco Indian with b6, or Catalan someyimes with Bb4 or Be7. On English opening I play c4 e5. I never put bishop on g7. Basically that is my porblem of ChessMood black repertoire. I always had problems witg Bg7 so I avoid it.

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Hopefully there will be the Blackmood Dutch option for stronger players soonish in the future. The problem would be that their move order requires you also to know the French (or to research the additional lines yourself). Unfortunately I think anything else suitable for +2000 play would take too long and too much resource to record and support (for example the Benoni being probably the next most reasonable choice and also there is KI experience, but would they be able to find a decent repertoire cutting out the most theoretical options).

Why not just start playing the Benko in online blitz? That way you can learn the theory and work on mastering the typical middlegames with little pressure. Regarding an alternative to the Benko, I personally feel that it makes sense from a repertoire perspective to pair the Benko with either the King's Indian or the Grunfeld. The point being that these openings also fianchetto the king's bishop, so there will be some commonality with how you deal with sidelines. There is also some benefit regarding dealing with move order tricks and transpositions. Both of these openings have a reputation for being somewhat theoretical, but I think people tend to worry about that too much. If you understand the ideas you can play either opening without knowing tons of theory. If you always had problems with the bishop on g7, then that sounds like a learning opportunity :-)

I think the Benoni could be a good complement, as there are touchpoints between the Benoni and the Benko.

Hm, give a try to the Budapest defence, even though it is kind of a sidelines, but there are a lot of tricks, or if you want a more solid one, Queen's Gambit Accepted is also very good, since you avoid Catalan (if they try to play it anyway, there is Nc6 strong move with following e5!) and most 1. d4 players underestimate this opening, while you can get a good playable positions against an isolated pawn. By the way, here are my PGNs (the comments are in Russian since I made them for myself 😀) for Queens Gambit Accepted and Pseudo-Catalan (d4 Nf3 g3 Bg2, a system which used to be very annoying for me to play against, but then I found a strong weapon against it): https://lichess.org/study/6tC3Vs6c https://lichess.org/study/5oXovHud

Well, we are also offering the Dutch in the Blackmood openings, you could take a look at it and try if you like it.
It is a simple FUN and attacking opening repertoire that can help you to play different positions too and is very easy to learn.

That also depends on your level, and your goals of course, maybe you can explain to us your need to change, your rating, etc. If you are a good nimzo indian player, no problem with it, it is an excelent opening.

Trying new openings should be fun and because you want to learn, but changing the nimzoindian for the benko is not something that you need to do unless you want to learn and enjoy a new opening and new positions.

What worries me it that you yourself said that you are not ready… Why?
Are we ever ready? This is a game, and after some moves you are on your own, you can invent, improvise, let your imagination flow… Unless you are very result oriented but after trying a new opening online for some months you will have the right feeling already to play OTB I think.

Our benko course is easy to understand and has some very good lines that our monster Gabuzyan plays at GM level all the time without any problem whatsoever, you can rest assured that you will not be worst if you play it (and of course accept that you are playing a pawn down, gambit fun style, with very similar plans).

The zoom event format

Thought this Saturday's event worked well and was a lot of fun. Certainly much easier to interact over zoom than type, and it gives some people a chance to 'sit in the chair' with the grandmaster which probably is better for learning than typing. A downside would be that it wasn't streamed via YouTube live as well. I'm imagining a number of people wouldn't have zoom, or were a bit shy to go on (there was no requirement to actually participate, and even then you didn't have to turn your camera on). Possibly multiple people speaking could also be done in some events to take questions and answers from the whole audience without typing, though I think it might benefit more those who are less shy, more confident with their English and would require the repeated request of going on mute unless you're talking. Some experimentation could be done though. Wondering how others found it.

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Perhaps suggest making an explicit suggestion that cameras don't have to be turned on to participate. Other than looking a mess on the day (and having to get dressed, shower etc :), if the event is recorded for later it might run into laws where minors are involved. Perhaps a note suggesting that the event may be recorded for later viewing and turning a camera on implies you are happy to be recorded, and if under 18 have parental approval. Not sure if that's enough (or the kids will actually ask) but maybe one for the lawyers. Or simply capture the board and the chat but not the camera images for the Youtube stream / recording.

1) Nf3 ?

Do we hope for a Benko with Nf6 or c5 accepting we are probably heading into Maroczy Bind ?

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I think it should be c5 because if they play something like 2.c4 transposing to the English then the ChessMood line usually requires an eventual Nge7.

Hi Keven,

If speaking about Blackmood we are going to choose the 1…e6 or if about the main repertoire we are choosing c5 setups with different transpositions.

London/Jabova

Hi all, I played a London/Jabova line as white with an early g4 in a OTB tournament and got a huge attack and win in 20 moves and I would like to know how I should respond as black now that I am using the 1..e6 chessmood starter repertoire; I have not seen this position in the course. 1 d4 e6 2 Bf4 f5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 g4 and I got a great position after 4..Nxg4 5 e4. What should black have played as in a practical game white got a good initiative and kingside attack in the game. Thanks Paul

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Dear Paul,

Next time you will not have this problem anymore.😜
https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings/episode/4378
Remember that the Bishop to b4 is one of the main options in our Dutch.
After 3.Nc3 you can already go Bb4 pinning the knight, nothing wrong with this. If we can get rid of our Dark Squared Bishop we do it, isn't it? Then we will do it here too.
Still you played Nf6 which is also good but 4.g4 is simply a bad move.
You have different options, taking Nxg4 is good, and if e4 Bb4 again… 
Also fxg4 and if e4, Bb4 again

Last one 4.g4 Bb4, gxf5, is good too. 

Also you need to be flexible and not castle kingside right away if the opponent throws his pawns at you… 😅
My point is what would you play in the future against this Nc3 in the Dutch?😁

Preventing overthinking

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-stop-overthinking-everything I think it's true to some degree that your chess personality mirrors your own. Overthinking is a problem for many of us, and this article suggests some ways to prevent it. John Nunn, I believe, said that chess skill correlates with IQ, but this is disputed by Nakamura who claims to have an IQ around the average. Of course IQ itself isn't a reliable measure, but there is some suggestion that the cleverest aren't always the most practical (overthinking tendency being one of them). Note I've seen players in low time think when they only have one plausible (sometimes legal) move, as if trying to work out the consequences.

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Interesting article thanks. Have you read The Seven Deadly Chess Sins by Rowson? Old hat to many I guess, but it was written during my break from chess so I only recently started reading it. Brilliant book that takes a deep look at overthinking and other related issues. Below are my thoughts on each point from the article. 1) Put aside perfectionism Yes and no. An example of yes would be when you're trying to choose between two good looking positional moves. In such situations it's usually better to make a relatively quick decision backed by judgement and a modest amount of concrete analysis, as opposed to spending a ton of time trying (probably unsuccessfully) to figure out the absolute best move. On the other hand, it's easy to think of times when perfectionism is required. An endgame that comes down to a single tempo for example. Or when you're considering playing a queen sacrifice that forces mate (or does it?). 2. Right-size the problem Mostly I'd say this one doesn't seem to apply to chess. 3. Leverage the underestimated power of intuition Yes, this one is super important. As they say, pairing intuition with analytical thinking is key. 4. Limit the drain of decision fatigue Ways to do this in chess are: - Knowing your opening theory well so you can play a good number of moves from memory in the opening. - Understanding typical middlegame positions that you're likely to encounter out of your openings, so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel regarding planning and piece placement. - Having solid endgame technique, so that you don't have to try to solve endgames from first principles. 5. Construct creative constraints The obvious way to apply this to chess is clock management. It's worth having some sort of concrete targets regarding how fast you play. I'll admit that I struggle here so I'm interested to hear what others do.