Chess forum by Grandmasters

Two switched around questions in new course

In section three of the seven questions course examples 3 &4s quizzes are switched around please fix this issue

Replies

Thank you! Fixed :) 

Playing Bullet games

Hello, I am Manuel, I have a Lichess rapid rating of round about 2200, I am new to ChessMood and read a few articles also about good time controls. I found out that Bullet is not a good time control - altough I already knew that I spend 10 minutes playing Bullet games every day, so that I can handle games with very few time. I agree that Bullet games aren't good for chess but why are grandmasters like Carlsen, Alireza, Nakamura and so on playing that time controls then?

Thanks a lot for answering my quesiton.
Best wishes
Manuel

Replies

They have reached a playing ability that is so high that playing shorter time controls won't make them worse. While it won't improve their classical chess ability they play it for fun. It also helps them develop intuition. Playing shorter games is also useful if you want to reinforce a new opening or idea you've learned. When you play bullet it isn't as helpful because you're not thinking about every move and making one move blunders. The top players think a lot quicker than common folk like you and me so their bullet games are of a much higher quality.

That's my understanding of it at least, someone else might be able to explain it better but I hope that answered your question. 

As far as I know, the problem with playing bullet is that you don't think before you make a move. That practically means that you don't improve as a player because you play the first move that comes to your mind and you don't descover new ideas. Also you get impatient and you tend not to think while playing slower time controls as you get used to bullet, where deep thinking is not possible. I can tell you that from my personal experience as I used to play mostly bullet and very little rapid or blitz at the last month and now I find myself having 5 min on the clock after 40 moves in many 10 min games, which is basically not good. Besides that I agree with your opinion that playing only a little bit helps you in situations you are under time pressure.

For high rated players as those you mentioned (Magnus, Hicaru etc.) I think that it doesn't make them worse because they are so good it doesn't affect them. Also the majority of them play mostly classical or rapid and only a minority of their games is bullet(as far as I know), which basically doesn't affect them.

This is my opinion based on my experience as a player, which is not at all a lot I must say. Hope this helps. 

The best games of July, 2023, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of July, 2023" 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 June, 2023:

Vedant Garg
Ink Kaula
Chess Forever
Sriram M
Vladimir Bugayev
 

Replies

https://lichess.org/study/1lKzp4C0/R6cWJ7zh - My analysis on my OTB games!

Simple logical chess in the Scotch.

https://lichess.org/deVTc3Kd

https://lichess.org/IBUxwrXDrVd9

My favourite French Attack !

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81971372311

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81944963293     

really nice Gran Prix anti Sicilian

some nice bishops staring at king attack https://www.chess.com/game/live/82223994043

Using my knowledge of the Scotch game, tactics and mating patterns that I learned on chessmood, I played this nice game: https://lichess.org/fNFcQ5v5/

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82782653787
not my best game but a nice séquence at the end leading to mate 

Attacking Benko

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/82864857963?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82909299827

Wonderful and Flawless Greek Gift Miniature
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/82987866615?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83011922003

checkmate in 10 moves with the scotch. 

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "ullu8"]
[Black "bunsdoctor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[CurrentPosition "2kr3r/1p3pp1/pqpbpnbp/2p2P2/2N1P1P1/2NP3P/PPP5/R1B1QR1K b - -"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "B23"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Closed-Sicilian-Defense-Traditional-Line-3.Bb5"]
[UTCDate "2023.07.14"]
[UTCTime "00:22:05"]
[WhiteElo "1798"]
[BlackElo "1742"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "ullu8 won by resignation"]
[StartTime "00:22:05"]
[EndDate "2023.07.14"]
[EndTime "00:27:59"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/83032908231"]
[WhiteUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[WhiteCountry "137"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 $1 dxc6 5. f4 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Qb6 8.
Kh1 e6 9. d3 Be7 10. Qe1 O-O-O 11. Ne5 Bh5 12. h3 h6 13. g4 $1 Bg6 14. f5 Bd6 15.
Nc4 {<br /><br />Game may have continued...} (15. Nc4 Qc7 16. Nxd6+ Rxd6 17.
fxg6 e5 18. gxf7 c4 19. Be3 cxd3 20. cxd3 Qxf7 {+4.92}) 1-0

another nice Grand Prix! Anti Sicilian

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82626119917

Nice attack

A nice game where I kept the right mood while having a losing position: https://lichess.org/L0EzvxbGsSKT #NeverResign

Game played in the Avetik mating matador style:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83124340543

I played this ministure game today. However I see that it isn't unique. 

https://lichess.org/1MiNgCCc/black

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83153157463?tab=review

https://lichess.org/b8tdxl7b

Great comeback from middle game one of my best game.

https://lichess.org/wE3HUzW09aFA

Great middlegame in opposite side castling which I did a brilliant exchange sacrifice.

https://lichess.org/rcsxCgwP/white#79

scotch Dh4 with Bd6 Dxd6 Dxe2+ , even in a bullet 2+1 which I m very bad usually , it was an easy winning endgame 

https://lichess.org/1HavIWrhO9jU

How to win in 25 moves 

https://lichess.org/sB3pm6bI/black#61

Crush the Caro kann

https://lichess.org/vk6YXfezgn8M

This was maybe not my cleanest victory (although I still played a good game) but it was really so funny to play !(I was playing with the black pieces) https://lichess.org/6Qk0XUzK/black A wild Botvinnik Gambit in the Semi-Slav !

 A nice games against the Scandinavian defense.  

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83497502213

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83519732211?tab=review

A stockfish accuracy percentage of 95, an estimated rating of 2650, a brilliant move greek gift, all against an opponent 200 points higher than me: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83524012421?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83634409545?tab=review

Does anyone else see the Alapin more than any other Sicilian these days?

https://lichess.org/srcuBxdjciWP

Was My best game

https://lichess.org/LaAoZvxlrgBB

https://lichess.org/JuskaBuY

It wasn't a tactically brilliant game but I beat a player pretty much 2400, 400 points higher rated than me with only 1 inaccuracy, 19 average centipawn loss, and 95% accuracy. I also found some key engine-like moves and am really proud of it.

https://lichess.org/AA2oWuP9kB6J

Nice attacking game where I was even -6.9 at some point

https://lichess.org/arelC5iZ

Here is my best game from this month:  https://lichess.org/oPuZg7LE

I am Epitaph. I played the game with 92% accuracy.

https://lichess.org/tIiEBp80ZMLQ

I was white.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84216068161

4th Game submitted for July

Thank you Chessmood!

https://lichess.org/8c8KL5zx

Saving lost position and winning the game.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84359385625

Nothing special, just normal chess but I had 92 accuracy with no inaccuracies, mistakes, blunders or misses according to chess.com game review. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84459782677
ninja style after noticing the Nxd5 idea!

Yeah, I agree with you, fantastic game! 🤩

A good game in Cochrane Gambit as taught by our GM Avitik.  Even we sacrifice a Knight in f7 square still good attacking game. Thx Coach!!!

https://lichess.org/L6nVLuu0/white#1

Punishing opponents mistakes!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84254391621?tab=review - A nice game in the Schlechter!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84486877981?tab=review - A good game in the opening, getting a winning advantage against an FM with 3250 rating performance!!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84502981909?tab=review - A nice game, winning out of the opening, and converting it.

Some of my most top-notch game games this month.

One more nice game with Cochrane Gambit. Black is totally can't able to develop with our attack.

https://lichess.org/xO0tVygU/white#0

My very first attempt at the Scotch since watching the first few sections of Whitemood openings.  I am a convert already!  I felt like I had a whole new army of White pieces.  Thank you chessmood, may many more happy wins follow :-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84538366425

I ‘ve already submitted a game but this was an amazing one. A 15 move win with the incredible Nf3 sacrifice. That's why you should never use the scholars mate. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84538992883

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84480211741?tab=analysis

Petrosian64

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84551120363
nothing fancy , just a solid game against the dubious pawn sac ( 2..c6 )in the Scandinavian 

Champions,

How are you?

This past month, we saw some really nice games. Thank you for sharing them with us! It was a pleasure to go through each one. Good job! 

Moving on to the prizes for the best games of July 2023 now:

The first prize goes to Druva Sookraj for this fine attacking game in the Anti-Sicilian. The patience you showed by refusing to cash in the extra material despite having so many chances, really stands out. Good execution too! Well done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81944963293

The second prize goes to Tomas Hanak for this nice game in the Scotch. You not just built up an attack but also paid attention to the opponent’s plans on the queenside and neutralized it before going all in! A good model game!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84480211741?tab=analysis

God Grace (cool name!) takes the third prize for this 17-move win with Black. You just crushed the opponent and finished off beautifully with the Greco’s mate. Amazing game! 

https://lichess.org/HHCOlBOq/black#  

Zubin Schweitzer bags the fourth prize for playing the following beautiful classic. You grabbed space, made your pieces happy, temporarily sacrificed a pawn for initiative, and finished off nicely by bringing the Bishops to the Kingside. Lots and lots of useful lessons!

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=C8lwzh61/Kv1Rc34/jv0jMc+57b+jjJ+nRTvOuy93z/oIyxM7BI+Q+O8L7EEW236

The fifth prize goes to Denis Page. There’s a difference between a safe King and a castled King. This game shows that. Well played Denis, you were brave and alert (Nd4!) to take the initiative when there was a small opportunity. And to checkmate White in 14 moves is really incredible. Nicely done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82782653787  

Congratulations to all the winners! And a big thank you to everyone who shared the games.

Keep the right mood and keep the CoGro!

See you in the next month’s challenge!

Scotch Game Doubt

Hi chessmood, I was going through the scotch game course when I realised something: in section 1 you talked about e4,e5,nf3,nc6,d4,exd4,nxd4,bb4+,c3,bc5,be3 and then bb6. But you did not mention the option of 6.Qf6 which transposes into e4,e5,nf3,nc6,d4,exd4,nxd4,bc5,be3,Qf6,c3 line . This would have not been a problem if you recommended this line with 4.bc5 but you recommended 5.nb3 which is quite different. So this is kind of a problem as I don't know what to do against 6.Qf6 in bb4+ line? Please let me know what you think. Thanks

Replies

It doesn't really transpose because black is a tempo down when they waste a move with Bb4-c5.

The extra tempo helps white quite a lot in that position.

See this game https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-white/episode/5590

New section , Our story

I just noticed this new section which seem to be in progress. it’s very interesting and generous from GM Avetik to share all the details on how it all started ! I m very glad to be part of it ( as a member ) . 

Replies

Suggestions for open sicilian as white

Hi,

I'm struggling to find a decent open Sicilian repertoire as white especially against Najdorf and dragon responses from black. I didn't see any open sicilians in the white chess mood openings unless I missed it. Would you consider adding such content?

Thanks.. Love the site!

Replies

Chessmood recommend the Closed Sicilian in their White repertoire as it is the most practical & lethal weapon according to their opening philosophy for players below 2200/2300 FIDE.

So I don't think you will see the Open Sicilian soon as they are working heavily on middlegame and endgame courses at the moment. 

Hi Mitch,

Yes Akiba is right. We do offer the an aggresive Closed Sicilian, mixed with GP and there are no plans to offer an Open Sicilian repertoire in the near future. 😅

Against Hyperdragon I play Grand Prix it's a nice attack

Expanding on stonewall Dutch vs moves that arent D4

First of all I have to say thanks for updating the blacKnopf course for all the other moves. After playing some fast online games and analyzing them I noticed that there is an annoying plan white can go if he isn’t play d4 that gives him a great position. They can preapere the e4 advance against our f and d pawns with d3 and Nbd2 as happened for example in this game 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 f5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O d5 5. d3 c6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. e4 . going for an e4 break I think ismainly The different thing white can do vs stonewall if he doesn’t play d4 so if you can cover that in a video it can be great!

Replies

Hello chess friends, i have the same question ! Could be a different order like 1. Cf3 e6 2. g3 f5 3. Fg2 Cf6 4. d3 d5 5. 0-0 Fd6 6. c4 c6 7. Cc3 0-0 8. e4 and now after 8. … fxe4 9. dxe4 dxe4 10. Cg5 white has a small edge and it becomes difficult to apply an attacking plan. Any advice here on how to react against d3/e4 setup ? Many thks !

I can't make a video… but I could try to offer a solution.

I looked through the line a few times, and it seems that the early Bd6 seems to be a little inaccuracy considering the fact that e4 pretty much kills the idea of Bd6. If played improperly, e5 will be wide open for white to play and you'll be in a little space disadvantage (after 7.e4, 7…fxe4 8.dxe4 Be7 9.e5!). I would probably tell you to play Be7 before e4. It doesn't follow principled Stonewall ideas, but at least it hides from the sudden e4 pawn push. If e4 still happens, O-O is a good move to develop your pieces.

Hope it helps

Just learning french attack ...

Could you help me with this opening? 

1. e4  e6
2. d4  d5
3. nf3  bd7
4.  nc3  c5
5.  be3 

I'm not sure that c5 is the right move, and that makes everything else uncertain, too. If it is correct, does black go qb3 to take pawn at b2, but get pinned by rb1? If not this, what is the right plan?

I'm very confused, and I don't see this in the beginner's course … or maybe I've missed it.

Thank you

Replies

If they play Nf3, you can simply take the e-pawn. I'm assuming you meant Nc3? If Nc3, I usually play Bb4.

What's the coins for?

I've like 23k coins which I accumulated a year ago to unlock courses but I can't seem to find any courses which I can buy with the coins ,so what exactly is it for?

Replies

The coin is for buying courses. You can choose a course, click "Or get lifetime access", click "Buy course" and there is an option to buy with coins. But I don't think you have enough yet.

Upcoming Benko updates

Hi! 

I would like to learn the Benko this summer. 

If the new version is coming out in the next few weeks I'll gladly wait for it… is there an approximate realease date?

Thanks a lot

Andrea

Replies

Hi Andre,

Benko updates course is under construction and will be recorded in the future, although for sure not in the next few weeks as its and enormous work, and as you can see we are also actively recording other courses as well :-)
Thanks for your patience and good luck!

Modern Maroczy bind doubt

Is modern maroczy bind another way for black to play against white or is modern maroczy bind another way for white to play against black? Do you recommend the maroczy bind or the modern maroczy bind

Replies

Remembering Names of Squares

As an adult improver, I find myself unable to follow what chess players/books are saying when they use coordinates of squares. I have been using Lichess coordinate training for two months, but haven't seen any improvement in my ability. Any advice for me? Thanks!

Replies

How to increase as much as rating under a month

I am 1400 in chess.com how can i increase my rating as much as possible under a month

Replies

Real improvement is long-term and requires working on different areas. However, it is definitely possible to design a study plan for one month where you decide to focus on one or two specific topics. But that doesn't necessarily mean that your rating will improve tremendously in such a short amount of time. 

You should check the Study Plan/Chess Improvement Roadmap for 1000-1500 and organize your own study plan according to it.

For instance:

Study (35%):
Tactic Ninja -> Watch one section by day, not more (this is the recommended rhythm by Avetik)
Watch Openings Principles

Practice (55%): 
Warm-up (solve easy tactics before your session / this is advice from the course BlunderProof you will have to watch at some point)
Play 9 games (read Chessmood's blog about how many games you should play on your main account + the possibility to play on another account if necessary as you have to play a lot of games to gain experience at your rating range)

Fix (10%): 
Analyze your games & try to understand the BIG blunders only (most if not ALL of them will be tactics).

If you do all this work, this should already help you to get closer to 1500.

Then you'll have the opportunity to watch Mating Matador, Blunderproof, WhiteMood & Blackmood Openings, Endgame Roadmap, the middlegame courses & commented classical games, etc... ; This looks like a lot but you can definitely learn a lot by organizing your daily routine correctly. 

If you are serious for one year (instead of just focusing on the next month), Chessmood can definitely help you to jump from 1400 to 2000 on Chess.com :)

Question

In tactic ninja in the last example of ”blocking the escape” why can’t knight just block the squares first moving h6 then bishop mate?

Replies

When will ChessMood Courses be unlocked next?

Hello ChessMood,

I have been consistently following your Lichess Blogs and thoroughly enjoyed it. The tips were so good I really improved my chess. This is why I was happy when ChessMood announced the World Chess Day unlock. However, I only found out about it on day 5. Since then, I have been watching all the courses I can, including BlunderProof, Tactic Ninja, SLP, and more! I am curious as to when this sale will happen again, as I shall take note of this well in advance!
Regards,
ChessMoodian.

Replies

We do not know when and if we will unlock the courses again. 😀

The only thing that you can do is be subscribed to our news and check the facebook or instagram account.😀

About stonewall against English opening fianchetto

Dear sir!

after these move 

1.Nf3 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 d5 5.0-0 c6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nc3 0-0

 here white plays 8 e4 what should we do here 

as you suggested after English opening fianchetto bishop we can play stonewall 

kindly guide thankyou so much  sir

Replies

Hello,

The setup you mentioned will rarely happen U2000 level and we are planning to cover this in the advanced 2000+ course on this opening.

Can give a little hint that after d3 ideas we will try to play with Bd6-Nc6-e5 ideas.

Dutch Attack Against London - 7.Nbd2 help

Hi Coaches

A little help please 🙏 Just completed the Dutch course, brilliant, thanks. Now practicing.

What is an idea against Nbd2 when playing Dutch Attack against London? I have faced this twice recently. I have continued with the plan and developed Nd7, however then struggled with white exchanging knights and achieving Ng5

Thanks

Replies

Hello,

In this setups, you can delay Ne4 idea. I usually prefer to do d6-Qe7-Nbd7 and continue with dutch style ideas, based on opponent's replies.

Dutch what to do if white goes late g3 in the 2 knights

In this position 1. d4 e6 2. c4 ff5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. g3 you have mention in the video that you should always take on the knight if we can double the pawns.however if we continue with a stonewall setup afterwards it wouldn’t be optimal beacuse we give up our dark bishop. How do you think this position should be handled?

Replies

I have encountered similar situations where white basically remains flexible until black shows his cards with …Bb4 or …b6  before switching to g3 setup, making stonewall less attractive. 

The Stonewall doesn't necessarily work with the system you've provided. Sounds like it fits more of a Classical Dutch setup rather than a Stonewall. If you want to still play a Stonewall, it's definitely going to be a positional challenge, especially considering that after the DSB is traded to damage the pawns and the Stonewall builds on the light squares, it gets in the way of your LSB, therefore giving not so good of a position.

I would just play in the way of the Classical if you're going to keep the f5-e6-Nf6-Bb4 system. Trading off your DSB to damage their pawn structure, b6 to fianchetto the LSB onto b7, and plant your knight on e4 followed by a kingside attack is probably one of the optimal ways of playing the line you mentioned.

Wanna learn the French

I wanna learn the French, and I saw that there will be an advanced course on the french. So Gm Avetik can you disclose what lines u will recommend against the three main moves? I would be glad if I could know from which resources u learned french and what books u recommend now!

Replies

Can any mod help me in knowing my answer? I am in a hurry. I have decided that it would be impossible for Avetik to move away from his love against 3.Nd2- Nc6! But at my level, the recommendations seem to be unplayable! Even though I  won a lot of games online, it can hardly be played at my level.

watch blackmood course

New book by Avetik?

Hey everyone, 

If I understood correctly from the new course about his best games: Avetik wrote (or is writing?) a book about his chess journey & philosophy.

Is that correct? I'm interested to know more if someone has information! Thank you :)

Replies

Yes! :) 
I'll let you know when its out or you can preorder :)