Chess forum by Grandmasters

Scandinavian e6 2nd move

Good day Druva here . I am wondering whats the best response to e6 after e x d in scandinavian Thank you so much

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Hello Druva, In reality this is a rare gambit for which I have a proper analysis. The best variation is this: 2. ... e6 3. dxe6 Bxe6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. d4 0-0 7. h3 Re8 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Bg5 Bf5 10. 0-0 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bg6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Nb5 Qd7 15. Nc4 in this line white maintains a +1.8 advantage. I am not sure if this variation is included in the chessmood course "against the scandinavian".

The side that accepted the pawn should be hurrying to put their king to safety and at times, give the pawn back for active development of pieces. The side that sacrifices the pawn is aiming towards quick attack and faster development of pieces in the center, applying immense pressure against the other king. it's a compromise between temporary being the upper hand in dynamic and efficient pressure vs long term being lower hand material wise if the side that accepts the gambit is a solid defender. so move order is evolving around this concept.

Cheating!!!!!

Cheating!!! I beleive it was Napoleon hill who wrote a book like getting rich or something like that. In it he talks about pretty much everything you wrote GM Avetik. Take a look at that book! Maybe some author stole it from him and thought he was Napoleon hill!!!

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Hi Marc,

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/new-article-legal-cheating-and-my-top-secret

This is the thread for the Cheating article, maybe you can post this reply ther with the other posts and once you do, I will delete this thread. Thanks Marc! 

Why there are no tournaments?

Why there are no tournaments for chessmood members (pro or not pro) in lichess? There could be even thematic tournaments? I see this team https://lichess.org/team/chessmood-pro but it seems it is not active.

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Hi Renate,

We used to organize many tournaments in the past, we participated in the Bundesliga as a team too. The problem is that there were not enought players. Having such different time zones was one of the main causes, but it is difficult. 

😅I am sure that in the future, once we have more users, we'll try again. 😅

Where to play online rapid tournaments?

Do you know of a chess server that regularly holds rapid tournaments? I'm looking for at least 10+5, or better, 15+10. I was very surprised to discover that neither lichess nor chess.com seems to regularly hold tournaments slower than 10+0. (Slower user-organized tournaments seem to occur irregularly and only attract a handful of players.) I also couldn't find any other server that looked promising.

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ICC were holding one (over now) e.g. https://new.uschess.org/national-chess-congress-action-icc and I know there was at least another one being held there at one point that anyone could enter as long as they weren't camera shy. A bit of Googling around might help you.

Perhaps have a look at some of the clubs on the two main servers. For example I know that my chess federation runs regular informal rapid tournaments (restricted to people from my country though). There's also Untitled Tuesday on chess.com (https://www.chess.com/club/untitled-tuesday). That one's 3+1 not rapid but it's an interesting example of a regular tournament organised within the club structure.

Hi, i find this "private" daily one on lichess .. Suisse Tournament UTC time 15:30 I think https://lichess.org/swiss/rw5jrPLC you need to sign up to this list i think (reminder about 10 min before on lichess messages) try it

Check https://www.lichess4545.com/ It's the best place to play training games.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Today I played my first five classical games (30+0) on lichess. So far so good!

Longer than rapidplay, but 45 15 - 4NCL spring congress, but the games are between 19:30 and 21:30 UK time every other Tuesday starting from the 17th which might not suit. Entries close this Tuesday. https://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/online/arrangements_spring23.htm

Every Friday evening, the ICC and USCF host USCF-rated rapid tournaments (swiss). Fridays are 15 & 5 tournaments (5 rounds). Saturdays are 12 & 3 rapid tournaments. Note.. I believe you do have to be a USCF member for these rated tournaments.

French Attack Question

In a game I was playing as black it became the french attack. I reached this point in the opening I'd like some feedback on 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Ng8 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Na4 Be7 Now normally it's to follow up with a6 after Be7 to stop this knight move but they went ahead and did it right away instead. Was moving my Bishop to e7 the best move or was there something else to play?

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Hi again Noah! 

There is nothing wrong with Be7, it is a good move targeting both sides of the board. I asked Gabuzyan too to reply, it may take a while though… 😅Happy learning!!! 😃

1..e6 against the English, Bird etc

hi folks, is there a pgn file or video on the 1..e6 opening where white does not play 1 e4 or 1 d4? Before I joined this great site in December and started learning the openings, I played an OTB tournament and in 3 games as black I faced 1 f4 twice and then the English. I am not sure what my opening and plan should be now that I hope to play 1..e6 in my next tournament in 2 weeks. Thanks for any help! Paul

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I don't think there is a course on meeting the Bird. The closest might be this section of the course about playing against the Nimzo-Larsen (1.b3): https://chessmood.com/course/larsens-opening-1.b3-how-to-play-for-black/episode/3501 So probably for the full ChessMood repertoire the recommendation will be 1...c5 like against the Nimzo-Larsen. That's good if you play the Sicilian because it can transpose, e.g. after 2.e4. For French players I'm not sure what the recommendation will be.

Looking for a coach

Hey all, I'm looking for a coach to help me with my chess progress. Ideally, someone that is focused more on building up a strong chess foundation instead of quick rating points improvement. I'm working properly on my chess since dec'20 and started playing jun'19. Current chess.com rating (rapid 1813, peek 1834), OTB I played only one tournament and won one game against, so I don't have a rating. Playing style I enjoy is pressuring the opponent from the first move, but I do not playing in a Tal style of crazy sacrifices since my calculation/intuition is not that great. Age, 35yo. The time allocation for chess is 10 hours a week, with an additional ten dedicated to tactics only (with a book + pen&papper). Optimal hours are between 1 pm - 8 pm CET. F.

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Hi Faik,

😀We will get in touch with you via email and we will try to find a good coach suited for you, it may take some days but we are on it. 💪

Anti-sicilian main line with 8..Bd7 9.Nd7 Nd7 not covered

I think that 8..Bd7 9.Nd7 Nd7 is not covered in the course, but it seems normal move. Opening bishop, moving knight to b6. ELO 1900 player played these moves spending 1 second. [WhiteElo "1926"] [BlackElo "1907"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Qa4 d6 7. e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Bd7 9. Nxd7 Nxd7 10. Be3 (10. Bb5 Bg7) 10... Bg7 11. Rd1 O-O 12. g3 Qc8 13. Bg2 Nb6 14. Qb5 Qe6 15. O-O Qc4 16. Bxb6 (16. a4 Qd4) 16... Qxb5 17. Nxb5 axb6 18. Rd7 Rxa2 19. Rxb7 Na5 20. Rxe7 Rxb2 21. Nd6 Rxc2 22. Bd5 Rd2 23. Bxf7+ Kh8 24. Ne4 Re2 25. Bd5 Bd4 26. Rd7 b5 27. Ng5 Bg7 28. Ne6 1-0

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Hi Renate,

The move you are suggesting for Black is possible. What I recommend to play is going 10.Bb5 Bg7 11.0-0 0-0 and 12. Rd1

In my opinion that is a good practical position for white and not so easy for the Black to decide with the Queen.

Good luck!

main courses of french attack

Dear CM coaches, in the french attack course against King's indian attack, we heard GM Avetick says that against, 1.e4 e6 2. d3 d5. 3. Nd2 "while the main move is 3... Nf6, which i will recommend you in the main course" but here you recommend to play 3... e5. my question where is the main course of the french attack ? wish you a good day

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It will be published this year. At the moment we still did not record it.😅

Please check this thread for more info:

https://chessmood.com/forum/threads/french-defense-main-course?reply_id=17616&page=1

Important missing line in Alapin

Today I got surprised by 10.a4!. If I'm not mistaken, this move isn't covered in the course. It's the most popular move in this position and scores well (66%). As I learned the hard way, the plan a4-a5-a6 followed by d4 and Nf3-d4-b5 can be quite dangerous. Allowing this line seems to be the price to pay for choosing the straightforward 8...Be6 over the more complicated 8...c4 (which was offered in the old course). Would be good to have it covered in the advanced section.

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That's an interesting one thanks. The top 3 engine moves are Qd7, a6, and Nd5. All are about equal according to Stockfish. If I faced this in a game I'd probably lean towards Qd7 because it's the move that best solves the problem of our awkward kingside. I'd be looking to followup with e6, Be7 or Bd6, and O-O. Of course the downside is that it allows white to achieve their plan of a5-a6 but you can't have everything :-) a6 is the other move I might play because it stops white's plan. I do find the hole on b6 somewhat ugly though. I would not play Nd5. Not an intuitive move for me although I do understand the prophylactic point of allowing a5 to be met with a6. Something about this position makes me want to keep it simple. What did you play in your game, and what would you play if facing this again?

Hi Peter,

There could be several moves against a4 like Qd7 or Nd5, and since positions are not concrete I tried to explain the main ideas to our auditories, as well since I have seen your notes about the previous lines with c4, of course, you are welcome to make your choice and can try to advance in that variations.

Thank you!

Hastings masters - the post mortem

So I've shared 10 games I've played. All my opponents are reasonable irrespective of grade, as any amateur that enters such a long tournament (aside from a couple of locals) is a good player for their rating. Unlike weekend tournaments no one is going to let you walk over them or be satisfied with a quick draw, so every game must be approached with care. Some of those I lost to/drew with were doing well against strong players as well. I have some ideas on what I need to improve, certainly on average I'm using more time than when I last played there. However given I've shared my games I'd like some opinions on what I should be focusing on to improve and suggested training ideas. If you're less than 2000 while I welcome feedback, please indicate your rating.

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I played through all your games, some more than once, and even followed a few live. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. So far in my return to chess I have not felt ready to play in any big tournaments so this sort of reporting is useful for me in terms of remembering what I'll be in for. I thought you did well to come back from consecutive losses to finish with 1.5/2. I have some thoughts about what you might want to work on but need to figure out how to express them clearly, then I will post them here.

4NCL spring online congress

A good chance to enter an online tournament with prizes for those who want to play tournaments but can't get to where they are being held. https://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/online/arrangements_spring23.htm (details and entry fees) Games (45 15) are every other Tuesday starting from the 17th between 19:30 and 21:30 UK time on lichess. Open isn't looking terribly strong so chances to win it, entries close 5pm on Tuesday.

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Richter-Veresov Attack

Have I missed something or do we have nothing in the courses against the Richter-Veresov Attack, as per the below? 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nc3 (or 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5). What is our recommendation here?

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Hi Yair,

I remember a couple of years ago that I played a wrong plan with QS fianchetto. Avetik told me to go g6 and normal development should do. Many moves tranpose to the d4 sidelines as for example if they play d2.

I will add this to the lines that we need to expand anyways and let Avetik know about it.
 

Anti Sicilian Part 2 ... how to face Bg4 and Qa5

I recently played a game where I was following the Anti Sicilian Part 2 line where my opponent deviated from the ChessMood theory of 9. ... e6 with 9. ... Bg4 followed by 10. ... Qa5 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nf3 Nxb5 5. Nxb5 a6 6. Nc3 d6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Nf6 9. Bg5 Bg4 10. O-O-O Qa5 Has anyone faced this and how best to respond and why?

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I didn't have this line seems very rare 10..Qa5. Probably the strongest direct 11.e5 with powerfull compenstation d:e 12.Ne5! Bd1 13.Rd1 with threat Bf6 and Qd7X oder 11..Bf3 12. g:f d:e 14. Qd3 with strong compensation and black king in center

Hi Bradley, In my opinion, we can capture on f6 and spoil the pawn structure of the opponent. Even though black gets 2 bishops vs our knights, the center is closed. we are much more ahead in development so white has an advantage.

In same line i want to know how to proceed against 8..... Bg4?

Question

One of the benefits of the PRO members subscription was a 1 on 1 call where we also go over/create a training plan. How do I go about doing this?

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Hi Noah,

It is very easy, just go to Events & more and select “Events”. Or click below:

https://chessmood.com/events

Then select the 1-1 on call with new PRO members that works with your schedule, there are several options always available.

Click on see more and follow the instructions after pressing the “Book a call” button… 

😀If you have any problem, just let us know…💪

How to analyze games ? any course or video ?

Good evening, I really should analyze my games but I don't know how to do it, and when I start looking at my games I get super bored, any tips to help me out ? Is there any chessmood course or maybe a video of one the team members explaining how to analyze games ? I cant thank you enough, stay save !

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If you are looking for how to analyze blitz games, chessmood has a good article titled- Blitz Chess game analysis-Why and how to do it ?

I read online 9 tips to analyze your games- 1.Write down your thought process of the game. 2.Replay the game and look for other options. 3.Use a chess engine. 4.Pay special attention to key moments. 5. Analyze your game with a coach. 6.Visit a chess database. 7. Note down the mistakes 8.Note down the corrections. 9.Draw your conclusions. 

**** To Shubhi Kumar from Chessmood Odysseus: We edited this post because it made reference to other webpages that we do not exactly know. 

This post from Avetik should help you:

https://chessmood.com/blog/analyze-blitz-chess-games

And also this video too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcwmeoV4Dm0

😀

Nimzowitch Defense with 2.e6

Last week I played a game where my opponent played the Nimzowitsch Defense, the game went like this : 1.e4,Nc6 2.Nf3,e6 i wasnt sure what to play so i just played the most normal looking move 3.d4,d5 4.e5,f6 5.c3,fxe5 6.Nxe5,Nxe5 7.dxe5,Bc5. could anybody tell me what the best approach is against this opening?

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I now found out that playing d4 and the e5 was what GM Avetik recommends, but I am still not sure what i am supposed to play against this early f6 move

Chessmood has an article on the Nimzowitsch Defense- Nimzowitsch Defense-How should you react? You should read that article. It tells you all about this opening. There is also a course on the same.

French attack, section 5 vs Nd2

Dear cm family, i faced after 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.c3 f6 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.Bb5 and wasn't able to find a good answer. I played 8.. Ncb8? and went on to win but it seemed too passive. What do you recommend? Cheers

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By looking at this position, you can go Bd6 and develop one more piece, there is nothing wrong if they take on c6, our Light square bishop can go to a6 and also we would like to play e5 anyways and open the position with both bishops. 

Yes, Bd6 is definetively the move, giving you 4 developed pieces while the opponent only has 3. You can castle in the next move or after e5 too…  

😀Ncb8 is way too passive, yes… Develop, develop… You must think how to develop, no going back if no needed… 💪

Alapin: White plays Be3 - to take or not to take?

I get the Alapin in almost every game (it completely boggles the mind why white players willingly opt for this epitome of boredom) and often white plays Be3 when I still have a knight on d5, and the question arises, should I take and when is it optimal to take? This can of course happen through various move orders, but here's an example: 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. c3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd5 6. cxd4 d6 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. Be3 Any general guidelines on how to approach this?

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Often I'd leave it there. Why strengthen the isolated d-pawn you're meant to be attacking and open the f-file for White (unless something concrete such as picking up the e3 pawn after recapture or blockading e4/d5? Have a look at my Hastings round 9 game in the earlier thread which while not quite that exact line, I just build up against d4. That's also the suggestion in the updated Alapin course to play against d4 with all the pieces.

Exactly, like David said, we need to concentrate our attack on d4 and sometimes even b2. After9…e6, our plan should be Be7, 0/0, Rd8 and Rc8. If Ne4 in this position, we play Qc7 supporting a possible Nf4. Also with Qb6 we can attact the d4 and b2 pawns.
As far as the opening is concerned you reached a very good middlegame position with chances for both but I always prefer to attack the IQP on d4, at least I know what I must do… 😀

By the way if you take on the e3 Bishop it is not an IQP anymore, you can do it depending on concrete moves, but if the opponent has a weakness, just attack it.

Question About Sparring/online events

Hey All, Does chessmood organize online classical tournaments? Something in which players play 1 game per week. Much like the league4545 on lichess? How easy is it to find a sparring partner on chessmood? I'm thinking about signing up, but I'm on the fence. Thanks

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Although I am not sure, but chessmood does not have tournaments or sparring partners. Chessmood is a chess educational platform but not a playing platform like chess.com or lichess.com.

Hi Alfred,

At the moment we are not hosting any league or championship for games. We did in the past participate in the Bundesliga but unfortunately there were not enough members to keep the events going. 

Maybe in the future it there is enough interest we can try to organize it, but we must understand that we are people from all over the world with very different schedules… 

Maybe it can be feasible, we will see how it goes this year… Avetik is preparing lots of things for our Chessmood family and I am sure that everyone will like it… 😀