Chess forum by Grandmasters

French Exchange - White plays Nc3 instead of c3

Hi all - wishing you a very Merry Christmas!  And may 2024 bring a brilliant Mood for all members :-)

I had a question on the French Exchange.  I don't think I can find any guidance in the courses for responding to White playing Nc3 instead of c3.  For example, 1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nc3

I see this Nc3 move quite a lot at my level.  At the moment I am playing Bb4 to pin it, which also helps get my Knight to e7 in line with the kingside attack plans.  Then I try to use the same attacking plans as in the course, trying to exchange the light bishop/ provoke h3/ queenside castle, etc.  If my Bb4 gets kicked (e.g. a3), I try to save it by bringing it back to d6 (because we should be keeping the dark bishops and losing the light ones, and it has already done a useful job of letting out Ng8-Ne7).  But this feels like a loss of tempo, especially as White will want that queenside pawn storm anyway probably.

Is any of this sensible?  Or should we try completely different plans after White plays Nc3 instead of c3?  

Thank you !

Replies

I have the same issue. I have tried to play our normal setup, but with Nf6 instead of Ne7, and ideas with Bb4. It is not very nice to not have any prep after move 4 in a relatively common line at my level. Any advice?

speedy chess mouse

hello guys

I am looking for a good speedy mouse for chess because I play a lot of bullet

Replies

I tried a view wireless gaming mice, but in the end I preferred a wired mouse.  A basic logitech M90 is what I settled on.

Other things are very important too, like internet connection speed and ping time to the chess server, wired connection to your router, minimising what other software is running on your computer while you're playing, etc.

a3 in the sicilian

[Event "Groningen chess festival: Prayan Sai Kumar-Ruurd Kunnen"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/QEIJXBlB/DtjYJiYh"]
[Result "*"]
[UTCDate "2023.12.24"]
[UTCTime "18:34:56"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "B23"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Moluk"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 a6 3. a4 Nc6 4. Bc4 e6 5. d3 Nf6 6. f4 d5 7. Ba2 dxe4 8. dxe4 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Ng4 10. Nh3 Be7 11. Ne2 Bd7 12. Ke1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Bc4 Rc8 15. Bd3 e5 16. Ke2 O-O 17. Ng1 f6 18. Nf3 Bd6 19. f5 b5 20. a5 Nh6 21. h3 { [%csl Gc1,Gh6] } (21. Bxh6 gxh6 { [%cal Gh6g5,Gf6g5] }) 21... Nf7 22. g4 h6 23. h4 Rfe8 24. Bd2 Kf8 25. Rag1 Ke7 26. g5 hxg5 27. hxg5 Rh8 28. gxf6+ gxf6 29. Nh4 Kd8 30. Ng6 Rxh1 31. Rxh1 Kc7 32. Rh7 Nd8 { [%csl Ge3,Gf4,Gg5][%cal Gd8c6,Gh7f7,Gf7f6,Gd2e3,Gd2f4,Gd2g5] } 33. Be1 Nc6 34. Rf7 Rg8 35. Rxf6 Ne7 36. Nxe7 (36. Rxd6 Kxd6 37. Bb4+ Kc7 38. Bxe7) 36... Bxe7 37. Rxa6 Kb7 38. Rb6+ Kc7 39. Bxb5 Rg2+ 40. Kd3 Bc5 41. Bxd7 Bxb6 42. axb6+ Kxd7 43. Bb4 { [%csl Gf5] } *

 Hi I played a game in groningen chess festival and someone played a3 can you please suggest a line or what I have to learn theory of a6 

Replies

How to play as White in the Sicilian after 2…a6 is covered in the following video:

https://chessmood.com/course/4-anti-sicilian-with-nc3-part-4

As Bf1 cannot go to b5 any more after 2..a6 (and Bc4 also does not really make sense due to b7-b5), CM recommends to play 3.g3! and then 4.Bg2, bringing the Bishop to the great long diagonal!

Wow, wow, wow! 
What a post!!! 

Just screenshotted it and saved it in my files. You know why right?
https://chessmood.com/blog/thank-you 

"Why do you play chess?" Is indeed a fantastic question. I should buy today something for Gabu :) 

Thanks for all kind words and welcome to ChessMood family! 
Looking forward to seeing you on the 26th, at Christmas Meetup. 

With love,
Avo 
 

Dear Jeff!

Thanks so much for the kind words to our team, and I appreciate so much your feedback on our 1-1 call!
I hope that helps, and that you reach your goals with Chessmood!

Good luck and Happy New Year!

When can I start playing the Accelerated dragon?

Hi, new member here. I have really been enjoying WhiteMood openings and the Dutch attack, but the French attack does not seem to be working that well for me. I am getting good results and winning 61% of my games in the French, but I just don't like the positions I am getting, as I have trouble getting attacks like in the Scotch and the Dutch. I am rated 1492 in chess.com rapid. When can I start playing the Accelerated dragon? I don't mind learning some theory.

Replies

You can start the accelerated dragon whenever you want. But it would even better to try and understand the structures of the French Attack to improve more. For detailed information refer the following blog👇

https://chessmood.com/blog/change-opening-repertoire

Hi guys! I am looking for some good partners to improve my chess skills in online games on lichess.org and chess.com . My ratings vary from time controls, but they are round 1650. My lichess profile: giorgoskehagias509 and my chess.com profile: Giorgos_Kechagias. You can also contact me in my gmail: [email protected]                 Finally, I am located in GMT+2 zone Greece. I can play in any time controls but I prefer 5+3, 8+1, and 10+0, in order to stay focused. See you soon guys ;)

Replies

Hello

My name is Remy, and I'm looking for partners 

1700 on lichess

1350 on chess.com

I am in france

Hello,

If you are looking for a training partner there is already a pinned topic on the forum in wich it is recommended to look for one.

Link here: https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

The blunderproof course on this exact topic: https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof

The tactic ninja course (as not having a sharp tactical vision is often the problem): https://chessmood.com/course/tactic-ninja

The mating matador course (for even more sharp tactical vision): https://chessmood.com/course/mating-matador

I recomend you to watch the blunderproof course first and if you indeed find out that you need to get better at tactics, then watch the other. Now if you don't have access to the courses, you can read this article about the same topic, in wich the blunderproof course is briefly explained, and don't forget to work on your tactical vision, this is very often the cause of blundering.

Link of the article: https://chessmood.com/blog/stop-blunders-in-chess

Hope this helps

Note that by positional blunders I include moves that I understand they were blunders during the games and not something that the engine is telling me.

I also wonder if not noticing an important  capture is not a blunder even if it did not cause tactical mistakes.

I will give the last bad blitz game that I played today with my comments here
making the comments take more time then playing the game and as you can see most of them are about my thoughts and not about engine evaluations.

https://lichess.org/BlloFElq/black

1)8…0-0 was a positional blunders and in the game after my opponent played d4 I understood that I blundered by not preventing it or by allowing white to play it with a tempo by playing Bc5

2)when I played 15…Qf6 I missed Qd3 and when the engine may not consider 

Qf6 to be a blunder even when it is not the best me from my point of view missing Qd3 is a blunder that I will probably not do at long time control.

3)I needed to play 17….Be6 and not 17…Bh5
I can understand why the engine say that 18.f4 gives a clear advantage for white because of the idea f5 against Bg6 but I did not think about it during the game.
I am not sure if to consider it as a blunder
4)when I played 20…Rxe3 I calculated the line 21.fxe3 Qg3 22.Ne5 Qxe3+ 23.Kh1 and thought in the worst case I can win another pawn by 23…Bxe5 24.dxe5 Qxe5 and missed 25.Rf5
I wonder if to consider it as a blunder because the engine does not consider 20…Rxe3 as a blunder even if it is not the best move.

5)I think 21…Qg3 is a mistake but not a blunder.

6)23…b5 is a blunder based on the engine
I saw the opponent threat 24.Nxf7 and hoped to get some chances after 23….b5 24.Qxc6 Rc8 25.Qxd6 Rxc2 when I did not see in my calculation that the rook at c8 is not protected(of course I could see it in the analysis without an engine).

7)I think that 25…f6 is a blunder and I simply did not see 26.Nxc6 otherwise I could play the better 26…Bxe5 when I still have knight and a pawn for the rook(engine say that it is also losing but I did not understand it and I think it was my best hope)
8)I consider 26…Ne6 to be a blunder even if the engine does not agree and I needed to play 26…a6(did not see capturing b5 pawn and thought that I need to activate my pieces)
Note that I already had less than 40 seconds on my clock when I played f6 and Ne6 and time pressure(inspite of having an increment of 3 seconds) caused me to blunder from my point of view

9)when I played 33…Bf4 I blundered by not seeing the fact that I lose a pawn by 34.Re7+ and Rxa7
It could be an excellent idea in SLP mode but it was not and I saw that I can capture the rook at a7 during the game only at the time my opponent played 37.Kh2 and I wonder if I need to consider the fact that I did not see Bxa7 earlier as a blunder.

37…Bxa7 does not save the game but it was my best chance and I missed a  draw later in the game

10)42…Ke6 was not a mistake(stockfish prefers Ke8 but I ignore it espacielly when a weak engine like fruit2.1 that has a better human style from my point of view without the nnue evaluation and not a positional monster like stockfish  likes Ke6)

11)44…Rxd6 was the last mistake or blunder(not sure what to say about it).  I thought the pawn endgame is probably losing but I was not sure and I did not believe that a move like g6 Rd7 or Kd7 can save me because it seems to me I get no progress with it when the opponent can make progress(of course without time pressure I could avoid going to losing pawn endgame because I would not play a move that I am sure to be losing even if I believe that other moves are also losing and I will probably see that g6 45.b5 Rxd6 46.Rxd6+ is good for me because g6 prevents the opponent king the move Kf5). 

Replies

I played a second blitz game that was relatively better and again the question is what to comment about blunders.

https://lichess.org/i505zdFU/black#36

comments:
1)I could get the advantage with 15…Nb4 but I will ignore it because not playing it is not a blunder that I understand easily(I will only mention that I considered Nb4 during the game but did not think that it is better.

2)I missed 27…Bxa4 that the engine only consider as a mistake but missing a capture by myself can be also considered as a blunder.
I thought initially to capture back with the queen when playing 27…Nc4 but saw even before the opponent move that I need to capture with the pawn not to lose my queen and I wonder if to consider the fact that I did not see the fact that 27…Nc4 28.Bxc4 Qxc4 lose the queen at the time of playing Nc4 as a blunder.

3)The engine considers 32…Bb5 as a blunder and claims 32…Rd8 or 32…Kb8 as better but at time trouble I prefer to trade pieces and I saw that I cannot protect c2 and did not consider the fact that the opponent has problems after Nxc2 because the knight is pinned.

Note that my opponent does not have to capture c2 immediately and could also avoid the endgame.

4)35…Re8 was a positional mistake but I did not like exd5 Nxd5 when I cannot play Rc8 and did not see that I have Rc8 and thought that it is losing a pawn because of not calculating Nxc8 but calculating Kxc8 and had to play a move so I played non blundering different move with the rook.

5)I played the endgame later perfectly 

Middlegame Roadmap

Hi Chessmood Team,

First of all I wanted to say Merry Christmas to you all CM Team and all members of the CM champions. 

I have been struggling quite a bit during my game in the middlegame part. I get good position from the CM position, I feel like I know my line but I am having a hard time converting the advantage. 

I was wondering when will the course middlegame roadmap be ready on your end? I feel I could benefit from it. 

Thanks again for the great courses!!

Kamel 

Replies

Merry Christmas Kamel! 🎉

Chessmood is working on the middlegame roadmap course along with other courses.  

For now, you have 2 options:

You can just go through the “Rating Booster” section, you will learn the most important skills you need in the middlegame (good tactical vision, know how to attack/defend, SLP and WWP, etc.

or

You go through the “Middlegame Mastery” section, where you will master all the middlegame concepts.

Whether you chose option 1 or 2, depends on your rating. Please check out the study plan ( https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans )

for more information about this. 

I hope this helps you! 😃

French attack as black

I am reviewing the chessmood openings as black the French attack. In the first 3 options black wants to play Ne7 and the Nf5. What is the proper response if white plays Bg5 after Ne7 to prevent Nf5 and pin it? 

Replies

In the advance and the exchange, I have had good results with h6, g5 and going queenside or keeping the king in the center, as we get to launch a pawn storm with tempo. Could be completely wrong though. 

Just f6 Henry, to start the King side attack at the same time.

Benko Gambit

Is it okay to play benko gambit during classical game? 

Replies

Gabuzyan played it in the Armenian championship, so I think it is probably OK.

1.e5 c5 2. Mf3 Nc6 3.c3

Hai Champions.

Is there any cover for c3 line as below in Chessmood course

1.e5 c5 2. Mf3 Nc6 3.c3

Thanks in advance

Replies

Hi,

yes, here:

https://chessmood.com/course/counter-sicilian-alapin/episode/4040

My goal was 1000 by New Year and now I've got blunderitis

I was 969 and for some odd reason I'm just terrible lately and dropped to 880. What do I do? Anything I can do to defrag my brain?

Replies

Hi there,

It's frustrating, isn't it?!  Have you had a chance to read Avo's article about ‘How to stop blunders’?  Or studied the BlunderProof course? Links below:

https://chessmood.com/blog/stop-blunders-in-chess

https://chessmood.com/course/blunderproof

I think this is the best way. https://chessmood.com/blog/golden-method-to-increase-rating-in-chess

But, IMPORTANT-keep in mind that this won't raise your chess skills. So, if you want to raise your rating, either do this or learn some new and unique opening, but than you must learn it REALLY good, and since you don't have much time left untill New Year, I don't suggest that. Or, if you don't want to try them because you don't have much time left, than you'll have to rellax and play. Or, tell yourself that you will buy a cake if you do it 'till next year, so you have a good reason to do it ;)

I think this article will help: https://chessmood.com/blog/raise-your-chess-rating-by-cutting-your-losses

Good luck in making the goal!

• Did you stay focused throughout the games?  (paying as much attention to your opponent's moves as you do to your own)
• Did you double-check all critical moves?
• Did you (and I'm thinking here in terms of the example game that you provided) begin to relax when you were ahead and release the pressure on your opponent?
• What did you do between games?  Did you shut yourself away somewhere so that you could mentally prepare yourself for the next game?  Or did you allow yourself to be distracted by watching other games?  (I'm speaking theoretically here as I've never played in a tournament!)

  Good luck!

  See your losses as a opportunity to learn. Analyse your losses and learn the right lessons from them. A coach can help you very much with that.

  Everytime I face a bad mood during a game, I just use this magical trick:

  https://chessmood.com/blog/a-secret-weapon-for-handling-tough-positions-and-bad-moods

  
  I would highly recommend you to do that as well! 😃

  Use these 5 steps to get out of a bad period: https://chessmood.com/blog/5-crucial-steps-to-stop-bad-results-in-chess

  
  Remember that after losing just 3 games, it doesn’t need to be a bad period. 😁

  For now, just try to learn the right mistakes from your games, keep a good mood, and continue what you are doing. 

  Good luck improving! 👍

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/the-best-games-of-december-2023-and-the-prizes

Uri, we think you are taking a very wrong approach to learning and improving chess. 

Checking engines all the time will not make you stronger, but weaker. It will destroy your self steem and it will make it impossible for you to enjoy chess because the engines will find always better moves.
Please see this article: https://chessmood.com/blog/vishnu-prasanna-coach-of-gukesh

Also we do not see the utility in having the 5 min games from the streams, played live while teaching in the webinar and selected by GMs for their instructive value to be analyzed by an engine.

First, when we do the courses we check the important variations with cloud engines that cost lots of money every time, and we do that when we believe is needed based on our long experience as GMs, teachers and coaches.

We appreciate your intentions, but PLEASE refrain from doing this since it has no teaching value and of course it will provide no money or extra income as you were hoping for.

The affiliate program is a complete different topic. Please check below for all the info. 
https://chessmood.com/refer-a-friend

Thanks for your understanding.

1. https://lichess.org/study/mTMuXuva
2. https://lichess.org/study/LjAJSrx8
3. https://lichess.org/study/LawI2yDo
4.  

Thank you for your time and assistance!

Stephane

Replies