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Chess forum by Grandmasters

3.Bd3 French Nf6 variation

What to do after
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Ne2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. a3 Be7 

Replies

Hi, checked my pgn and from online play have some analysis for you how to continue after Be7 and common move against me f6. Hope that helps

French Attack Wing Gambit

Hello friends, I recently faced the Wing Gambit against the French in one of my recent online games. I was playing as a guest (not logged in) so I do not have the whole game PGN. I took the pawn and White was able to build a nice center with c3 later and I struggled and lost. But my question is - can one of the GMs please recommend some good continuations/plans for Black in this position after 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b4 Or is there some clever move-order you would recommend to not have to face this at all? Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you

Replies

Hi Ghosh, I really think accepting the pawn can be fine and playable. However, if we play 3...Bd7, b4 move becomes pointless and we will take it with the bishop. Otherwise after 4.d4 with 4...a6 we will transpose to the French attack. Good luck!

1. e4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. Bc4 c5 4. h4 Nc6 now what?

In Chicago Open my game started like this 1. e4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. Bc4 c5 4. h4 Nc6 5. h5 e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. h6 Bxc3 8. bxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bb5 and I was not able to fight for an advantage. The game Praggnanandhaa - Artemiev went this way (I was not aware about this while playing my game). Do you have any suggestions on how to improve this line or is this fine for White? Perhaps 9. Bb3. I was thinking about this during the game but didn't think my light square Bishop had any future. Hence I did not go for this. My game: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. Bc4 Bg7 4. h4 Nc6 5. h5 e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. h6 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bb5 O-O 11. Bxc6 Nxc6 12. Qf3 Re8+ 13. Kf1 Ne5 14. Qg3 f6 15. Ne2?! Qe7 16. Bf4 Bf5 17. Re1 Qd7 18. Be3 Qa4 19. Qh4 Ng4 20. Bxc5 Qxc2 21. Rh3 Rxe2 22. Rxe2 Qd1+ 23. Re1 Bxd3+ 24. Rxd3 Qxd3+ 25. Kg1 Qxc3 26. Rd1 Qxc5 27. Qxg4 Qd6 28. Rc1 Rd8 29. Rc8 Kf7 30. g3 Qd7 31. Qxd7+ Rxd7 32. Rh8 Ke6 33. Kf1 d4 34. Ke2 d3+ 35. Kd2 b6 36. g4 g5 37. Re8+? Re7? 38. Rh8 f5 39. Rg8 fxg4 40. Rxg5 Kf6 41. Rxg4 Re2+ 42. Kxd3 Rxf2 43. a4 Rh2 44. Rg7 Rxh6 45. Rxa7 Ke5 46. Kc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Titled Arena Mar 6th"] [Site "Lichess.org INT"] [Date "2021.03.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2608"] [BlackElo "2709"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2021.03.06"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "51"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2022"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2021.10.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.10.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. h4 c5 4. h5 Nc6 5. Bc4 e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. h6 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bb5 Qd6 11. Qf3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Qf6 13. Ne2 O-O-O 14. Qg3 Nf5 15. Qg5 Qe6 16. Kd2 f6 17. Qg4 Ne5 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Rab1 Rhf8 20. Qa4 Kb8 21.Rb2 Nd6 22. Bxd7 Rxd7 23. f3 e4 24. Re1 exf3 25. gxf3 Rxf3 26. Nd4 Rf2+ 27. Kd1 Qg4+ 28. Re2 Rf1+ 0-1

Replies

I took a look at your game, and I do not see the benefit of playing 7.h6. In my opinion, I would just develop with Bd2, or even better playing Bb3 with prophilaxis against d5, I would also consider capturing on g6, but I do not see the value of h6. 

We must keep the opponent guessing. Avetik calls this the door concept, and the only ones who have the key is us, we can open or close it at any time. There is no need to hurry with h6 or hxg6 I believe altough hxg6 is also to my liking.

Yes, I would do that Bb3, then hxg6, after exchanges in the King side, our Queen can go to g4 and create some problems since Black has the pawns on the light squares and our Queen on g4 will be very active and can attack on the KS. 
A possible line would be: 7. Bb3 d5 8. hxg6 hxg6 9. Rxh8+ Bxh8 10. Qg4 

Dear Vishnu, I can see the white's position and in my opinion, it's practical and playable. I would like to remind GM Avetik's post about what kind of questions are we ready to discuss in a forum https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/forum-new-policies. If you are willing to get a minimal advantage in the longest variations which happen in games of super GMs I will encourage you to self-work with the machine on that line. The reason why we aren't diving that deep is it will probably not be used under even 2600 online ratings and it's out of the interests of 99.9% of our community. Good luck and hope to see you winning more and more tournaments Champion!

I did not look at this line, mostly because I don't play 2.Nc3 vs Pirc/Modern. I just wanted to say that the other line given vs the Pirc/Modern, with 2.d4, is extremely well thought out. One of my favorite ChessMood opening courses.

Any news on when blackmood VS English and knight f3 will be uploaded?

Great Course on the French and Dutch. I know there is a section already VS the catalan. The Sicilian defense was a bit much for me. I feel like I can handle the French and Dutch. Maybe I will try the Sicilian in the future. Thanks for your time.

Replies

Hi Chiller, Thanks for the kind words! Sections about English and 1.Nf3 will be published in a near future. I am excited to say the reason is that so many courses are under construction so it takes a little time. Let me tell you that we are going to keep the main setup which we learned in Dutch. Good luck!

Against French 1 e4 e6 2 d4 c5

What do you like to play most against blacks 1 e4 e6 2 d4 c5 I played 3 d5 to take space and it often transpose in to a Benoni not in our repertoire. So i want to play in style on chessmood or what you recomends! 1 e4 e6 2 d4 c5 3 Nf3 it transpose a open Sicilian. or should i try 3 c3 for a French is it possible to transpose to Ld3 French or should be prepared for something else?

Replies

Hi Erik, this has been asked before in the following thread> https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/hwo-to-play-against-1e4-e6-2d4-c5-2195

There is a very good answer by Kevin D (as always), and you can check it out. Avetik's answer is to go d5 and we get a bad Benoni for Black. 

I also want to show you how to search in the forum, because it is very useful and it can save some time… Just in case and only for educational purposes, I am attaching an screenshot of the search that I performed. Please be aware that the Forum Search Button and the Search Button on top are different… ?

French Tarrasch 3..Nc6 mainline

Hi Team, i just had an horrible experience in this line vs an IM online. I had no clue how to face the plans of white. Can you help here? Thank you for your help. Fred https://lichess.org/7xLLFwY1 (Sorry dont know how to get the game inside this chat)

Replies

Personally I wouldn't be using the starter openings with a > 2000 rating. I don't think they're accurate enough, simply because they're largely geared towards beginners and ease of memorization. Maybe once the main courses come out. But with your game, after 6. Nb3, the engine suggests 6...Be7 followed by a5, trying for a4 and attacking the knight on b3. But the major blunder was on move 10 (10...c5) when you failed to defend the e6 pawn and got into a good bit of trouble after that.

Try to test your new openings against players of your own level or a bit higher or lower and that way you will get a better sense of their effectiveness. To compete successfully against FM, IM and GM level will require more than just opening knowledge. 8-)

Hello Fred, I have seen the game. What I would say is that the BlackMood course is designated for the level below 2000 online level. Of course, a french is a great opening but if you want to play it vs GMs, IMs, or world champions (haha ? ) you will need to work and investigate it deeper. Good luck!

Where did I make a mistake ?

I have just recently finished the Dutch Attack course and have started practicing it. Below I have attached one of my recent games. Can someone please tell me where exactly I went wrong in the opening because I feel my Bishop was misplaced in the opening itself.

Replies

Just quickly scanning the game, without using an engine, I'd say 9...Ba6 looks suspicious. To me a more natural move is 9...Bb7. It avoids problems on the long diagonal and you can consider completing your development with d6 and Nbd7 with a nice solid structure.

@Jayaram I much prefer 3...Be7 instead of 3...Nf6.

Thoughts on Tactics Book

I've been seeing a new chess coach. He recommended to me the book, "Everyone's First Chess Workbook" as he thinks the puzzles in that book would be helpful for me to work through. I've been also working through the Tactics Ninja course. My question is, how does this book compare to the course? Does the course pretty much cover what the book does, or more or less? If you've worked through this book, what was your opinion of it? I'm very new to chess BTW. Lichess classical rating of 1681 but I've only been playing seriously for about 3 months.

Replies

Sounds like a sensible idea. The book is available on Chessable so you could do it through that platform if you prefer. I think Chessable is a good way to drill tactics and I use it for that regularly. You can actually access a chapter of the Workbook for free: https://www.chessable.com/everyone-s-first-chess-workbook-free-lesson/course/82717/ The puzzles are generally very easy, but that should absolutely not put you off. The point is to drill drill drill until the patterns become second nature. You need to get to the point where most solutions are jumping off the board at you, demanding to be played. Basic tactical speed and consistency is an essential building block. Update: I see that I didn't address your question about the Tactics Ninja course. Everyone's First Chess Workbook is definitely at an easier level than the Tactics Ninja course, with there being a lot of overlap in the subject matter. Where I see the Workbook fitting in is helping you drill the fundamentals. It will help you get more out of the Ninja course. BTW I haven't done the Ninja course but I have checked out some of the videos and completed the quiz. The videos are awesome but I think you'd find the overall Ninja quiz fairly challenging right now.

I won the Chicago Open U2300 - AMA

Hello ChessMood Family, My name is Vishnu Warrier and I recently won the Chicago Open U2300 section (tied for 1st with 6/7) despite being the 60th or so seed in my section. Ask me anything.

Replies

That is fantastic news! Great achivement Vishnu! If you have time you could share the games with us if you followed the Chessmood repertoire, this way we will all learn from your victory! ? And if you comment them that would be even better of course… No strings attached though…?

Congratulations! Maybe to start would be to share your experience and what might be useful or inspirational for others which might help others to ask useful questions.

I played in that section :) I did terrible.

Well done Vishnu! That is a real achievement. Tell us about your experience. Do you put your success down to working with the Chessmood materials? If so how did you study?

So replying to most questions here in one-mass response (copied and pasted from my FB post lol) Things that worked: 1. Opening Preparation. Having watched all ChessMood opening videos at least 2 times and using the "How Grandmasters Memorize Opening Variations" article by Avetik GM Grigoryan and Hovhannes Gabuzyan on the Chessmood blog, my understanding of the openings I play is the best it has ever been in my chess career. I took the time to create the PGN files by scratch and actually typed in my notes into Chessbase. Yes its slow, but by doing this I recall the plans. 2. Tactics before the tournament. Studying with my Friday study crew and working through 3-4 difficult tactics per day in Perfect Your Chess in the week leading up to the tournament helped me get into a calculating mindset. 3. Most importantly, keeping the right mood. ChessMood Right Mood Right Move is so true. Telling myself when I made an inaccuracy in a game or made a mistake, that mistakes are not failures. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as its not a game losing blunder, I would breathe, say all is ok, I now get a chance to work on my defensive skills and fight and make life as difficult as possible for my opponent to win. Draw is not a bad result. https://chessmood.com/blog/a-secret-weapon-for-handling-tough-positions-and-bad-moods 4. Listening to motivational speeches and podcasts before the game and listening to some trance songs, the same ones I was listening to when I was studying at home. One of my favorites is "What do you stand for" by Inky Johnson. Going into the tournament I was the 60th seed in the section. All I cared about was playing the best I could and to remember the training I had done. Why are others deserving of 1st and I am not? https://chessmood.com/blog/the-power-of-self-belief-in-chess 5. Keeping an excel tracker of my study plan for the day/week. I have all my openings tracked on the tracker of whats been input in chessbase, whats pending, whats next, etc. By taking the time to create the organizational tracker, I am able to be more efficient in my studies. If you want the excel tracker I used, just reply here and i will send it to you. 6. Showing restraint in making pawn moves. Pawn moves create weaknesses and reading a bit of "Small Steps to Giant Improvement" by Sam Shankland helped a lot. I was much more cognizant of pushing pawns in all of my games. 7. Being willing to admit that when I made a mistake and I have to move a piece back to a square where it came from, that's totally fine. Yes it loses time, but sometimes that's the lesser evil than pushing a pawn. 8. Always thinking that there is someone out there outworking me. Waking up early at 4am at least 4x per week. A couple of my favorite quotes "I don't need no alarm clock my goals wake me" and "Someone is waiting for you to mess up so they can take your place" 9. Not giving up after my horrible 0-4 performance in my last tournament in California. I will probably have an 0-9 tournament at one point in my life when I am norm hunting but that is a chance for me to improve. Every game is an opportunity to learn. Things to improve: 1. I really should review my own games. I have always been lazy doing this and this is something I will prioritize before the Vegas tournament in 2 weeks 2. Not playing too fast when my opponent starts playing fast and changing up their tempo 3. Understanding of pawn structures, specifically hanging pawns as most openings I play don't feature this. 4. Slowing down after move 40. The adrenaline of time pressure between moves 30-40 sometimes carries beyond then. 5. Not thinking about the $. In the last round, I was slightly better, and winning would have meant clear 1st. I instead repeated the position and took the draw which guaranteed a minimum of a tie for 1st. I was thinking about the $ and do wish I fought more.

Chicago Open Games - Unfortunately, cannot upload PGN. Here is the main link. I will update with the comments on all games and reupload them later this week or next. Thank you. https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=9kIXj39ew5z4dlAW9AwO5vd1sw2x4kgLJEMBvF3+YVDcIpf65T73VA6krjXdg3dA

Congratulations! Vishnu, Keep Up the Good Work.

Sicilian e6

Hi--- Sometimes get e4 c5 : Nc3 e6 : f4 a6 : Nf3 (?) d5 or some variation on this a6 + d5 theme . What is the best approach here ?

Replies

Hi Kevin, This line is covered in part 4 of the anti-sicilian with Nc3 and a6 in the advanced section there is coverage of the hybrid with e6 and a6. 4. Nf3 is wrong and you should play 4. g3 to avoid the move order tricks but Avetik explains it all in the course. https://chessmood.com/course/4-anti-sicilian-with-nc3-part-4/episode/3452 Happy watching ?

I'm wondering if anyone has experimented with bringing the Open Sicilian into their repertoire via 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3. Although the Grand Prix is cool, I think if you're a 1.e4 player who never plays the Open Sicilian then you're missing out on lots of good stuff. Obviously the downside of the Open Sicilian for white is that there's an incredibly huge amount of theory. With this move order we can skip some of the most theoretical lines like the Najdorf and the Dragon, while still having good chances in the fight for an opening advantage. The Sicilian is after all the most common reply to 1.e4 so it's good to have some different options against it.

Keep Me Logged In broken

Has anyone else noticed that the Keep Me Logged In option is broken? I have to log in again after just a few hours. Not a huge issue - just a minor nuisance.

Replies

Can I ask which browser are you using?

@ Richard Rubin Re: Keep Me Logged In broken Yes, I reported that issue as well in another post sometime back, so rest assured it's not only happening to you.

Thanks again for the explanation, I already sent this to the tech team. Thanks!!!?

1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Qc7

Hi! I wonder your recomendation against 3..Qc7 i can not find a video on that? 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Qc7 What do you suggest for white? I played 4 Bxc6 Qxc6 5 f4.

Replies

Hi Erik 4.Nge2 is flexible. I believe I saw it in a stream. If now 4. -, a6 then 5.Bxc6 Qxc6 6.d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4. And if 5. -, dxc6 we have 6.f4

8 Months to get to 2200

Hello ChessMood Family ? I am sharing with you my situation in the hopes of some recommendations. If I can make 2200 USCF before the end of next February, I can make the U.S. Youth Team. I am currently 2068 USCF rating. What should I be doing/practicing/learning?

Replies

Hi Brody, We are all here trying to improve, and so we are all trying to solve the question of what to study :-) For your situation, you don't supply many details (such as what you have been studying already) so I guess it is hard for people to make specific recommendations. At a high level, I think there are three possible approaches: 1) Hire a good coach, and follow their guidance. The major disadvantage here is that it costs money! Other than that, I suspect it is the most effective approach. 2) Analyse your own games, which should inform you which parts of your game will be most profitable to work on. Note that this is not just quickly running over your games with an engine. It requires a lot of critical thinking and self-reflection, which isn't for everyone. 3) Just follow a generic program, where you allocate time to working on all aspects of the game. That way you will definitely spend at least some time working on the area of greatest need even if you're not sure what that is, and the other stuff won't hurt. This approach is the simplest, but the challenge is to make sure you spend some time on all areas and not just the ones you find most interesting. Did you do a 1:1 meeting with a ChessMood GM and get a study plan? If not, that could be a good first step. Additionally, I have two specific recommendations based on recent personal experience: 1) Solve the ChessMood Daily Puzzle every single day. Sometimes it's quite easy, but it's almost always an interesting position that is good for exercising creativity. When I solve it, I focus on visualising the solution to the end, and on finding all the defensive tries. 2) Try blindfold chess. You are at a level where you should be able to manage this. It's not for everyone, but I believe it has a good payoff if you can stick with it. Good luck!

Yes, Brody, you should provide more details about yourself. Time availabilty, what did you study already, what do you play… Everything and more in order to be able to give you some advice. Of course, as Peter M said, if you did not have the 1 on 1 call, you should… 

Please provide more details, like how many tournaments you can play until the next February because to win 134 elo in 8 months may not be so easy… The last Chicago tournament you said that it did not go well for you… 

?

English opening e5 and d6 move

I have just looked back at my pgn file in the English Course.

 My question is the following: 

In Section 1-Introduction we continue with 5..,e5

 In Section 2 - 5.Nf3 nr. 9 Introduction we continue with 5..,d6 

Why this difference? 

In both Cases the moves before that are the same:

 1.c4, c5 2. Nc3, g6 3.g3, Bg7 4. Bg2, Nc6 5. Nf3

Replies

I am not the biggest expert but in some cases the moves can be interchanged and the position may transpose, that said, I truly believe that the order is first d6 and e5 in the 5 Nf3 line. In other lines it is not important and the order can be changed. In other lines, normally first e5, then in some cases even Ne7 can be played before d6…

Did you watch "10. Explanation of d6 and e5 difference" in section 2?

?Sorry I did not realize about the exact move order, I updated my post.?

Hey Tina, It's actually the same. So you can try to choose a sequence that is easier to memorize. If you choose e5 first don't forget to play d6 on time and have important Be6 tempo in some variations. Good luck!

Scotch game after move 10..cxd6 in advanced section!

Hi i have a question how white is playing after 10..cxd6 black is keeping the bishoppair and get rid of the double pawn. You do not discuss this. Should white go for 11 Nc4? if Be7 12 Bg5 and black seems to have problem to castle can yo give me some details please? https://chessmood.com/course/scotch-game/episode/925

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Give moves 1 to 9.

This is the position that Erik is refering to Kevin D… I do not see anything wrong with Nc4, but let's see what can we come up with…?

Hi Erik, In that case, black will need to spend more time on development and castle. White can go Knight to f3 or c4. With good options for the pieces and better structure. Will develop, castle and than uses open files and lines to pressure on black's central pawns. Good luck!

Closed tournaments

Hello Chessmood family !? Do you remember Guys our closed tournaments on lichess which are very helpfull to train practise skills. Frequent visitors had many fun. Is it possible to return this form with schedule to our chessmood events? Topics are very easy to say like for example endings or unbalanced positions. Take care !?

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I have been part of the family for a few months now. So I never experienced this. It is however exactly what we need to help us practice and improve various aspects of the game. I would love to see this resurrected.

I was thinking the same thing! Those tournaments were very fun. Of course, half the games went 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 e6...

The best games of May, 2022, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of May, 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 April, 2022:

Mik B
Michael Larsen
John Fallon
Regis H 
Mogens Nielsen

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A super complicated Maroczy battle which I won (that too against a 2300 player)

Philidor game .. simple healthy chess, bring pieces into play, opponent king in center open position with e6 and a WWP finish https://lichess.org/aRyoyXnemZEC

1..c5 vs English https://www.chess.com/game/live/45423578505 funny queen trap in pirc https://www.chess.com/game/live/46893107513 queen trap again, this time in botvinnik setup vs rare g3 sicilian https://www.chess.com/game/live/46971707621 quick crush vs 2..g6 sicilian https://www.chess.com/game/live/47060499533 adventures in the dutch vs FM https://www.chess.com/game/live/47233315411 scotch attack chessmood style https://www.chess.com/game/live/47235090613 quick crush in Bb5 grand prix using CM knowledge https://www.chess.com/game/live/47235653181 quick KO in the Bd3 french, knowing CM stuff helps https://www.chess.com/game/live/47324381275 how to dismantle our sicilian grand prix :( https://www.chess.com/game/live/47325013547 acc dragon knockout in the opening https://www.chess.com/game/live/47666436551

My game against a CM . I launched a great attack as i was taught by coach , i lost but i am proud of this game https://www.chess.com/game/live/45420639223

https://www.chess.com/live

Non-boring French exchange https://lichess.org/K6KVvmQznfzz https://lichess.org/6lZhSvqO/

A nice win in scotch game https://lichess.org/BoBon0Mu2dqC

A nice win sicilian closed https://lichess.org/AnVTJwolE1KB

Smooth https://www.chess.com/game/live/45846639069

https://lichess.org/mTkvXmEF/black#0 One of my highest rated victories.

One Goal! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/45930696035

French Tarrasch https://www.chess.com/live/game/45997804955

Hello everyone. Winning a rook endgame down two pawns. Good luck to all! https://lichess.org/b8Klt1pg/white#111

Nice king hunt after Rxg7 https://www.chess.com/live/game/46291804091

https://www.chess.com/game/live/46351753161 Aggressive from the opening, constant pressure, pawn sacrifice for activating 3 pieces! and finally a brilliant knight sacrifice to trap opponents queen!! Just 21 moves but every move made count.

Unique Game https://www.chess.com/game/live/46461681093

https://www.chess.com/live#g=46643501039

Opponent played passive and beautiful checkmate! https://lichess.org/bViwoncz/white

https://www.chess.com/live#g=46685974943

https://www.chess.com/game/live/46711769345 25. Rf5!!

When you win like your idol in one of the most prestigious games of your life. Compare this game to the game played by my idol (https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1018624)

Exchange Caro-Kann with a nice finish: https://www.chess.com/game/live/46212589459

Unusual french line: https://chess.com/live/game/46995003581 Nice checkmate!!

Defeated a FM ,took advantage of weak squares and points https://www.chess.com/game/live/47054509285

Benko gambit ? https://lichess.org/EodAKC1RgaW7

Defeated an IM with brilliancy!! https://www.chess.com/game/live/47133626841

Dancing Knights https://lichess.org/msTTro391tm4

Python strategy against 2500 :) https://lichess.org/H8tz19BRe8V4

Piece play a la Kasparov.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AJcGKVD1bpXaBiwyWiKxHLdiI_8vsow5/view?usp=drivesdk

Check out this #chess game: raghulbronstein vs erocattivo - https://chess.com/live/game/47577611033

Stafford Gambit - whitemood reply https://lichess.org/npln3TBi

Super Crazy Game! https://www.chess.com/game/live/47672968787

Attack in scotch with a hook checkmate in the end

Antisicilian attack

CM Scotch in action

Blackmar-Diemer gambit for black

CM french

CM Antisicilian

Started recently to play sicilian for black, one of the first experiences

Beating 2500 Nf3 with black

French Exchange https://lichess.org/MAQpbm5a/white#49

Hello champions!
 

Thank you for sharing all your games! You all have played some fantastic games in May. There were some beautiful attacks, sacrifices and good principled chess!

Keep up the good work!
 

Moving on, here’s the list of winners for the best games of April 2022: 
 

The 1st prize goes to Lebuta Dampty. What a beautiful way to finish off the game with a Rook and Queen sac. Also, the quiet move Ra2 was a class!

Check it out on the page below.

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-best-games-of-may-2022-and-the-prizes?page=2
 

Regis H takes the second prize, for starting and finishing off a beautiful attack in the Scotch. 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/46291804091
 

Mik B bags the third prize for the following game where they find a principled way to grab the initiative and punish the opponent for developing the Queen early. 

https://lichess.org/aRyoyXne#41
 

Paulius Juknis takes the fourth prize for another fine attacking game in the Scotch. Great attack mixed with a calm defense on the Queenside.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/47235090613
 

The 5th prize goes to  Aayush Shirodkar. What a way to trap the opponent’s Queen with the last 3 moves of the game!     

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/45930696035
 

Congratulations to you all. And once again champions, thank you for sharing your games!

You all are doing good! Keep the #cogro!
 

Wish you all the best for June’s contest!

Dutch c4 e6 d4 f5 Nc3 Bb4 g3

Dutch c4 e6 d4 f5 Nc3 Bb4 g3...is my 3rd move wrong? Should have I played Nf6 first and on 4 g3 going for stonewall system?

Replies

Yes, it was wrong. In Openings when there is a choice it is always better to first make the moves that have to be played anyway, in that way you retain maximum flexibility and avoid showing your cards prematurely.

I wouldn't quite call it "wrong". Perhaps it isn't optimal but should be very playable online at almost any level.

Dutch attack against English opening c4 Nc3 g3 Bc2

Do we still go with stonewall against English opening c4 Nc3 g3 Bg2? Thanks in advance

Replies

Yes I think so, it makes sense and in many cases it will transpose to some positions that we know. Avetik is working on the section on how to attack against other 1st moves like 1.c4, 1.Nf3 and others. It will be uploaded in the near future.?

Achieving an idea Stonewall setup against the English can be very problematic, so your repertoire will need to be more flexible. See below illustrative model games for clarity - If you have a sharp eye you will notice that this is the mirror image of how we play with Black when White attempts the Stonewall Attack against us:

Hey Claudio, Yes, that's the point. If we choose the Blackmood course setup, we are not mixing it with the English.

French Attack against 2.f4

My opponent recently played 1.e4 e6 2. f4 I continued with d5 and it was like the advanced variations but white had already supported e4 with f4 and I found this difficult to break through. Any suggestions? Our opening was 1.e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c3 d4 6. Bc4 ( I didnt this made sense at first but it proved to be dangerous) Ne7 7. d3 Nf5 8. O-O Be7 9. g4 Nh6 (my knight was kicked out the curb for a long time) 10. h3 b6 11. a3 a5 12, Qb3! (And all of the sudden there was an attack on my f7 and e6)

Replies

My usual caveat: I'm not very experienced in chess. My comments come from working through the position with Stockfish 15 and anything else I can personally see in it (which probably isn't much). But for most of the opening you were actually ahead as black, up until 8...Be7, which I think was too passive. You could have either prevented g4 with 8...h5, or attacked the c4 bishop with a6 followed by b5. Na5 could have put more pressure on the bishop if necessary. Also, after 12. Qb3, 12...a4 would have more or less neutralized that threat and it'd be forced to retreat to c2 or d1. Here's a PGN with some potential sidelines and continuations.

Hi David, Something similar about f4 ( on move is covered in the course). If you don't play d4 as black but continue developing, soon or late white will go for d4. And then the attack on that pawn will be very easy as you are faster than usual. F4 move is not supporting pawn on d4 and in some sense, it's a waste of time.

Here's an amusing bullet (1+0) game I recently played with French vs 2.f4. Yes, I know I shouldn't play bullet, but old habits can be hard to break :-)

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