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Chess forum by Grandmasters

Other Sicilian Defense variations?

    While I have nothing particularly wrong with the accelerated dragon, in games I just never do well with it.(Which is, of course, my fault, not ChessMood's) I am looking for some recommendations for OTHER Sicilian variations, such as the Kan, for example.  Here are some of my personal tastes so recommendations are more useful:

-rated 1950

-has lots of time to study

-likes sharp but not risky

-likes lower theory openings when possible (but if necessary I'm OK with it.

Replies

Hello Brody,

My other sicilians which I practice are Sveshnikov and 4 Knights Sicilian.

Sveshnikov is very main line and now trendy line 7.Nd5 is rather annoying, but if you're willing to put in work, highly recommend this course https://www.chessable.com/fight-like-magnus-the-sicilian/course/28512/. Also L'ami's course is worth a mention https://shop.chessbase.com/en/products/lami_sveshnikov_sicilian?ref=RF5-TYB55LUOVF 

Speaking about 4Ns sicilian, imo it's much more practical as it's not main-line, has very little sources, big surprise value, esp against amateurs white can go down to some tricks really fast.

These courses really helped me:

https://thechessworld.com/supercharge/four-knights-sicilian/ 

https://www.chessable.com/four-horsemen-the-sicilian-4-knights-defense/course/33443/ 

I'd recommend to study the Accelerated Dragon in more detail. If you never do well with it, there's a lot to learn left on the table. Before deciding to switch, put in the work.

Hi Brody,

there are several options of course. I personally prefer Najdorf as well. The reason we recommend accelerated dragon is comparing to other lines it's easy to learn, to play, and to try to make it more comfortable for our Pro Members. From a learning perspective, it's easier.

Otherwise, there are several playable lines in Sicilian.

Hi Brody,

From what you say I'd recommend taking a look at the Classical Sicilian.  The Dragon is a very principled variation but the problem is it is highly risky with the Yugoslav attack being dangerous.  With the Classical Sicilian you can meet all moves that don't fit in with a Yugoslav attack with g6 and play a Dragon.  The problem is 6. Bg5,  which is stronger than it is against the Najdorf because you normally play Nbd7 in that case.  But the position is still rich with lots of possibilities to generate an attack on the Q side with black.  There is theory to learn in this line but the fact that you can switch to Dragon setups on quiet moves reduces the theory you need to learn by a lot and fits in with the Accelerated Dragon repertoire so you can play both depending on your mood.  1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 (threatening Sveshnikov) 5 Nc3 d6 (going for Classical)
6. Bg5 is the line you need to concentrate on theory wise.  This is the line that shows the downside of Nc6 versus a6 and it demands quite a theory knowledge from white side too which is unlikely at 2000 level.  It leads to an interesting game.
6. Be3 Ng4 is a good line as the Nc6 is better than the a6 you have in this Najdorf line.  (and it is quite good there)
6. Be2 play g6 and go for the Dragon setup

6. g3 play g6 and go for the Dragon setup

6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 Be6 and d5 next.

So all in all you can play this sometimes and at other times opt for the Accelerated Dragon by playing 4...g6.   I think the two go well together as a good way of varying your repertoire with not too much extra stuff to learn as you will be familiar with ideas in the Dragon. 

Ultimately though I think it would be worth spending time sticking with the Accelerated Dragon until your results improve with it because the results are probably not so good because of something you aren't grasping about the position and so it will help your chess overall more if you sort that weakness out first.  Good luck with whatever you choose.

Themes for openings

An idea about themes just got in my mind. I thought it will be so fun if you cover themes which comes in CM openings, For example maneuvers such as QB6-Rfc8- Qd8. in maroczy, f4 f5 attack in grand prix, e6 then e5 in grand prix by white. Something like this. Also an idea such as Bb2 Ba3 Bc5 in maroczy.

Like this f you also make some videos of common themes in cm lines then may be it will be useful for everyone.

You can do it apart from model games sections. You can call it may be typical themes sections. It can be endgames or middlegame themes or openings themes


Replies

Time management Training?

Hi, like chessmood provides all types of playing tournament but can you guys also provide the time related events . I mean events like white have 5 mins to win and black have 6 mins to draw. Time pressure training we will do in them,. This kind of events will teach us how to handle real life time pressure and how to find good moves under time pressure



Replies

I think it is not possible to set tournaments like that on chess.com and lichess.

better would be to work with a partner

Hello Abhi,

This may be reasonable, but for players who want to have training like this. You can try to find a sparring partner willing to practice in time trouble conditions.

Personally, I don't think the format you suggest sounds very common from a black perspective to make a draw. It reminds some reversed armageddon rules :)

Pessimist, Optimist, and Chess Journey

 There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, “Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,” and an optimist who says, “Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.” Either way, nothing happens. —Yvon Chouinard

 I have two questions for you :)
 1. Are you a pessimist or an optimist?
 2. Are you in control of your chess journey?

 Looking forward to seeing your honest answers :)

Replies

1. Have always been a lazy optimist

2. Currently I think I am in charge of my chess journey. Mostly thanks to ChessMood’s advice to plan the journey.

On Calculation vs Intuition

I have just watched Classical Attacking Game #4 (Knorre vs Chigorin)

My question is: 

Do you think Chigorin calculated until the end all the variations that GM Avetiks shows us or do you think that he calculated just the most important ones and he trusted in his intuition?

In these attacking games with early sacrifices I always wonder how much is calculation and how much is intuition based on experience and acquired patterns

Replies

I feel like they do not calculate everything. I feel that they calculate at certain level let's say 20 ply or 25 ply then they try to judge that position and due to their chess knowledge, intuition (developed by a lot study of patterns and classics) and playing experience they are able to judge the resulting positions well and they go for sac.

Sergio, no way he calculated all. 
Mostly such sacrifices are based on intuition. 
How to develop intuition, we'll have a separate article, but in a few words, just analyze a lot. 
With becoming a better chess player, your intuition also improves. 

How do you think at chess?

In the book 'How to think at chess'. It's suggested one way of training is to look through positions and record your thinking out loud.

I'm wondering if this could be an interesting exercise to try in a group to compare how different players approach games or positions; the aim being to identify improvements or blind spots in the thinking process.

Anyone interested in giving that a go?

Replies

Sure, I will be interested

Me ready.

See the video in the classical games post a few hours ago. I think choosing some games and recording thinking there to compare results as a group is an interesting approach.

I just need some spare time.

I'm also interested in this.

Classical games

Sir can you recommend any method (apart from replay training ) to study classical games so that we can remember it for a long time 

Replies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Tw1iNDfas

This can help you a lot! Check it out!

Good way to work through games.

The next question is should you take notes / diagrams to return to, or just keep going through games.

Possibly could do with an article on discovering why your moves were weaker (I work with an engine if there wasn't analysis to flick between my and the computer's lines until I understand the difference). This also is for analysing own games - such as in my post Why do we lose.

Also I think there may be benefit in recording (using free sound capture software) your thinking out loud so that you can better understand how you came to a conclusion and what you missed. As mentioned this could be interesting to compare between players to learn how others think to see your own blindspots. Perhaps this video's method is the way to carry that out.

Qb6 d3 French

E4 E6 ; D4 D5 : Bd3 d/e  ; Bx e4 Nf6 : Bf3 C5 : NE2 Nc6 ; BE3  QB6 ( ! ?) 

Classic French move Qb6 but what is suggested here now ?

p/s No idea why type-face is so small !!  


Replies

Yep, been having some games online when black does play Qb6

Some investigations from my pgn

Hello Keven,

As others mentioned I recommend 8.Nbc3. Taking on b2 is bad, we can simply play Rb1 followed by the castle. Whites compensation will be more than enough, much ahead in development only for a pawn.  Otherwise if black doesn't take on b2 Qb6 becomes bit useless.

Question about the Sicilian Defense course

In the attached position

(after 1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 g6
5. Nc3 Bg7
6. Be3 Nf6
7. Bc4 O-O
8. Bb3 Re8
9. Nxc6 dxc6
10. f3 Qc7
11. O-O)

The suggestion is Nh5, but I don't understand why is that.. won't we need to go back after 12. f4? This position is not clear for me at all to be honest.

Thanks!
Regards,
Hugo

Replies

Hello Hugo,

I checked the position you are saying, f4 is not a big issue, but if you want to avoid it you can play with b5 instead of Nh5 trying to obtain a space on Queenside!

French Bd3 3..dxe4 with Nd5 line question and others

Good day!

Learning this amazing Bd3 vs french course and I have a question about section 3 (dxe4) 13 video Nd5.

Though this line with Qxg2 seems dodgy for black to say the least still after entering into my rep pgn and checking with engine, black has this strange 12...f6 move and gets some compensation with very messy position.

Any advise what to do with white? Txs.


Replies

Also while watching 3...Nc6 another question, what if after 4.c3 black takes dxe4 and 5.Bxe4 Nf6 like a delayed dxe4, what then for white? Engine shows something like  6.Bg5, but I'm not convinced and definitely dont want to take 6.Bxc6

HI Paulius!

12...f6 is a messy option for black, which will almost never be faced and is super complex. In real no much to be worried about. Before taking on a8 I liked playing d5 for white giving pawn away in that redaction and only then go after a8 rook.

Scandinavian Defence 2...Nf6 line

Hi ChessMood Family,

I recently faced 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.4.Bc4 b5 5.Bb3 Bg4!? This continuation is not analysed in the courses, and when I checked my database after the game it showed the line to be very playable and scores fairly well for Black. So my question is what is the most promising way forward for White 6.f3, 6.Ne2 or 6.Nf3

Replies

Hi Kevin, I realized this move order also, when I prepared for a game in our club championship.

The course covers 4. ... Bg4 5. f3 Bc8 6. Nc3. When b7-b5 is included (4. ... b5 5. Bb3 Bg4 6. f3 Bc8), I was not so sure whether 7. Nc3 is good or not because Black might attack the knight with b5-b4. In the game Sveshnikov-Bogdan, 1994, Black did not attack the knight on c3. But this happened in later games quite often. And this attack on the knight also happens in the line 7. Qe2 a6 8. Nc3 b4 9. Ne4 Nxd5.

I guess, I would have played like in the game Van Kampen-Yam, 2013 waiting with Nb1-c3 until Black has taken on d5:

7. d4 Nxd5 8. Ne2 e6 9. Nbc3 a6 10. a4 b4 11. Nxd5

I asked Avetik to take a look at this post. We are on it.

Hey-hey! 
Sorry for the late reply. 
Just recorded it. 
Will be edited and added today. Check out section 9, it'll be video 53 - b5 with Bg4. 

Kushal, it was covered. 
4.Na3! 
I also answered your question about 3...Qd8 in another post. 
Please ask your questions in one post. 

Defense against d4+f4 Stonewall Attack Course please!

This line is rare but it would be good to see a course on the ideas of fighting against it as black.  Thank you!

Replies

Have a look here: https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/in-the-opening

Thanks Kevin.  That's a nice game.  I would like if they also added a course on it w/ some more explanation & sample games.  Cheers.

Sicilian sidelines grand prix with 5.Bb5 part 7 improvement for black

Hi guys,

been watching Sicilian sidelines and in my pgn found possible improvement for black in this line. Credit goes to IM Sielecki in his chessable sicilian course if I'm not mistaken

Replies

Yes I like Bb5 but I think the best move is 5. Bc4. The top moves are like this : 5.Bc4 d6 6.d3 e6 7. Bb3 and the position is equal but I rather play black. Also after 5. Bb5 Nd4 the best move for white is 0-0, according to stockfish 12 and Komodo 13!!! . Nice analyze from your lessons !

The four-piece chess puzzle that took me 2 hours to solve

    I was reading 'Chess Tests' by Mark Dvoretzky and I was just doing some puzzles when I encountered a deceptively simple puzzle.  It was a light-squared bishop and h-pawn versus an active king and, as most know, if the king gets to the corner the game is a draw.  I am 1950 USCF and it took me 2 hours to solve.  Can you solve it quicker? Tell me your solution!

FEN TEXT: 8/8/8/8/8/2K4B/5k1P/8 w - - 0 1 

LINK TO LICHESS:https://lichess.org/177gGP1H

If you want to set it up on the board, There is a white bishop on h3, a white pawn on h2, a black king on f2 and a White king on c3.  If anyone knows how to put images in the forum, please tell me how to do so!


Replies

Hi Brody

2minutes .. but I knew the idea that white bishop needed to protect f7 and g6 squares, hence Bd7 and then Be8 :)

This is covered in Bishop endgame course. https://chessmood.com/course/endgame-bishop-vs-pawn/episode/2199

Nice puzzle !

The best games of April 2021 and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of April 2021" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post your 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 March:

Avinash,
Keok Woltek
Mateus Damaceno 
Karl Strohmaier 
Valdemar Rasmussen 

Replies

 Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/OCLdwe6Z/white#0

Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation

https://lichess.org/vEx9J3c3/black#0

Attack Attack and Attack


https://lichess.org/NFyZ0MYjpiND

A game without a mistake or blunder.

An attacking game in berserk mode in 3+0

Winning against 2340 rated opponent.

One of the best move I have ever played.

23 ... Rxg2

https://lichess.org/JTLInLWK/white

French Bd3 Nc6 pawn trap on d4

Mate with Bishop and Knight vs Rook and two passed pawns.

Positional play in Italian Str. Training.

https://lichess.org/sp9mYlM3nCCJ

https://lichess.org/QqfGD5pc/white#49

Cool Knights!

Scotch Game

https://lichess.org/WWA7cNzR36tK

Sicilian Defence

https://lichess.org/YrMaoXeY/black#0

Sicilian Defence

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

Tactics in Bullet

Again Tactics in Bullet

Found 24 ... Qc2 !! in Bullet.

A win over 2400 with GP

https://lichess.org/tuexbf22sZS2

My best SLP ever against 2500+ titled player

https://lichess.org/aY3r10fJbzvu

No blunders, no mistakes, no inaccuracies, 7 average centipawn loss, I might get banned :)

2 pieces sacrificed for the initiative 

https://www.chess.com/a/2JH4nuUD4Knk6

17 move grand prix win

https://lichess.org/Lrar0n3ZlvfK

SLP against 2400

https://lichess.org/XLdxLybGWZGq

Beating the Scandinavian ...Nf6

Black mixes up two plans?!

ThoNoJu vs Henkyhenk: B01 Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation • lichess.org


Saving a lost position and winning against 2120 rated opponent. 

Saving a lost position and winning against a 2150 rated opponent. 

https://lichess.org/a0AbWTVQlSfE 

https://lichess.org/Dtr8yGuhtQTp 

May the Pasini be always with you :) (Unfortunately due to possibly the website outages, uploading a PGN file appears to be too bugged to do so at the moment.)

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2021.04.08"]

[Round "?"]

[White ""]

[Black ""]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B06"]

[WhiteElo ""]

[BlackElo ""]

[TimeControl "180"]

[EndTime "10:34:54 PDT"]

[Termination "White won by resignation"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be3 d6 5. g4 b5 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. h4 h6 8. g5 hxg5

9. h5 gxh5 10. Rxh5 Nd7 11. Rxh8 Bxh8 12. Qh5 Bg7 13. Bxg5 c5 14. e5 dxe5 15.

Bxb7 cxd4 16. Bd5 1-0

https://lichess.org/cFlrYVHm 

Beautiful king hunt leading to checkmate

https://lichess.org/p1BPQVvToKEj 

AntiSicilian quick win against 2450

French squeeze 

Caro attack

Blundered the bishop with later rook sacrifice

SLP after blundering the whole rook

French Defense squeeze.

Win with Scandi

https://lichess.org/8rErmdsrhgPC

Without Moving My King

https://lichess.org/Yy0st2IB

Modern defence, strong attack after bad start

https://lichess.org/8brsFlvDCoUn

Positional play training so no openings stuffs

https://lichess.org/lFUNZqDPyNvH

https://lichess.org/DMIL2mt29tLM

a fine win in Benko with black : 

https://lichess.org/8LzuZYcolsGs

https://lichess.org/VPRUp363xnJB 

And SLP in the old sicilian where I saved a position my opponent had +4.7 engine edge. 3 forks to win.

What about a mix of the Taimanov variation with chessmood openings? My mixes of the sicilian variation when I am on the black side have given me about 50 rating points. 

https://lichess.org/akdCfNOe/white

Fighting Benko against 2400 strong opponent

Trompowsky for black

Latvian gambit, of course forgot the refutation, just tried to play with normal moves ;))

 Alekhine Defense

https://lichess.org/Mw44nsEu/white#0

A perfect game

<iframe src="https://lichess.org/embed/0Pe3jF2K?theme=auto&bg=auto" width=600 height=397 frameborder=0></iframe>


https://lichess.org/akdCfNOe/white

Bf4 versus the Pirc

https://lichess.org/yF09FVFmWYdg 

Caro attack

https://lichess.org/4pCsipMz92vi

Cute mate

https://lichess.org/5uzb5ouJHAfX

Crazy

https://lichess.org/tUwAFoWktmU9

Crazy AntiSicilian from todays Bundesliga

Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/Xk8Gxfuj/black#0

Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/IwWQK4Sq/white#0

Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/e6A2tjCk/white#0

I knew ideas and forgot line of caro still was able to won against 2500+

https://lichess.org/MwVn4SQcxXbH

https://lichess.org/akdCfNOe/white

So do men play against carokann... ;D.  https://lichess.org/AhxGThy8

Typical exchange sacrifice on c3.

Positional squeezing in AntiSicilian with exchange sacrifice

A good match:

https://lichess.org/WZF6m6SjTzaX

An interesting match:

https://chess24.com/en/game/AyrHMg9zQHePWfVzXdBNSQ

Scotch against 2400

Scotch attack against Qh4, missed checkmate in one move though :))

https://lichess.org/DhqE5QqK6AuG

I won by mounting pressure on my opponent until he cracked!!! I also Sacced TWICE!!!

Sicilian Defense

https://lichess.org/s8OutgOn/black#0

 Russian Game

https://lichess.org/tZE2JC4k/white#0

 Caro-Kann Defense

https://lichess.org/3DP0k9Vn/white#0

Power of Space

https://lichess.org/i2dqZyqAuMHQ

Power of minority attack

https://lichess.org/zV23aC1jNHA7

Power of initiative

https://lichess.org/xNeWL9Y7hUDk

Good french against 2400, ending was bad but managed to win in time trouble

Countering the Scotch ...Qf6

Beating the Alekhine ...Bg4

Beating a weird delayed ...Qd6 Scandinavian

Carlsbad Nd6

https://lichess.org/1Blxn9xDqyLd

Positional play in double fianchetto

https://lichess.org/UxrEJj7HBliQ

Testing double financhetto

https://lichess.org/76xVrx4QMCPD

Attack in stonewall str.

https://lichess.org/0uQwN2z5O0mh

Positional play 

https://lichess.org/7Sv1PlGiLTgF

Caro str. win

https://lichess.org/nvo9z3NmmUHz

SLP str.

https://lichess.org/k9nywvmqKpHZ

https://lichess.org/sYGBw4gg 

Testing positional play

https://lichess.org/5vgXvxgdKBxV

English opening play!

https://lichess.org/vPR5dljs#65

Grand Prix is fun but I am sad that I mixed up lines I think in game

https://lichess.org/WXogWs9D3d7S

Testing positional play 

https://lichess.org/L1ge3gvozAKE

Short kings gambit game

https://lichess.org/study/3dJhG6Ay

Again handled 2400 well positionally

https://lichess.org/89sCE4VlqQJT

A Qb4 Chessmood surprise in the Nc6 Sicilian

Fun finish to this one!

Rubinstein str. training 

https://lichess.org/yefg28hw/black#62

Testing positional play

https://lichess.org/67jrIcPElHSK

Catalan pawn str. play

https://lichess.org/aBOIZk6UsAAF

Minority attack!

https://lichess.org/ZXIwm2imZYCv

Power of Space

https://lichess.org/X3PqllRefo0K

Caro crushing win

https://lichess.org/gAFFfcP1ARiM

This game made my day. This game gave me valuable point to reach 2299! My best rating ever and funny thing is that Grand Prix was my first cm opening which I studied. My feeling of this opening is amazing!. My opponent felt like hell during this game facing Rxf6 then facing Bg5 then Bb8!!. I dont know what engine may say but it's one of my best games of my life. Crushing an almost 2400 in style. All credit goes to cm Grand Prix and presentation of coach @GM_Avetik_Grigoryan .My feeling of Grand Prix is superb !!!

https://lichess.org/AEBO7hKdDmzP

Take a look at pawn storming!

https://lichess.org/YNrOyCrz/black#14

Testing my positional play

https://lichess.org/oaqeKx3wH9HS

18 move english win

https://lichess.org/UJuKuVvz4ZQt

Learnt this c5 move against catalan from live commentary and tried to apply it in practice

https://lichess.org/DWtegeuV/black#34

Power of bishop pair

https://lichess.org/zHk45lY4/black#54

attacks in pirc with Bf4-Qd2

https://www.chess.com/game/live/8444585457 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/12075220253

https://lichess.org/vSfsATpQaZLW 
 

Attack!!

https://lichess.org/H0tibkn3

btw i am white in the game(EighthAccount)

Chess is fun

Achieved highest elo in my life on my second account 2300+ using cm line. This was my last game French Bd3

https://lichess.org/fHt9I2YdX1bL

https://lichess.org/heCudvmn/black

Caro-Kann Defense

https://lichess.org/x360f66W/white#0

Test my catalan str. feeling

https://www.chess.com/game/live/13359233333

Good Game!



Tried to follow chessmood opening & win the match.

https://chess24.com/en/game/94Zoy9n8QNuA9-MBSR8Zvw

Good win.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/12583130567

I’ve begun transitioning from 5 minutes to 10, as I find I need the longer time to really think through the positions.  As a result, my rating in the longer games has gotten over 2300.  

https://lichess.org/ihLewUnI/white

Stafford Gambit

I usually use a system with 6.Se3, but now I've tried the Avetic weapon.

https://lichess.org/QrE3KWOu#7

Hey, champions! 
Thanks for all your posted games. 

The 1st place goes to Claudio Thoux for his crazy attack! 
https://www.chess.com/a/2JH4nuUD4Knk6 

The 2nd place goes to Vladimir Bugaev for killing with Grand-Prix attack 
(The game you can find on the 2nd page)  

The 3rd place goes to Tiraturyan David for his nice tactic. 
https://lichess.org/2oGKGXry#32 

The 4th place goes to Abhi Yadav, for his very deep positional game. 
https://lichess.org/aBOIZk6U#40 
Abhi played another cool attacking game. Here is the link:  
https://lichess.org/AEBO7hKd#31   

The 5th place goes to Paulius Juknis for crushing the Pirc defense.
https://www.chess.com/game/live/8444585457 

Thanks for your participation. 
Keep the growth. 

Right Mood - Right Move! 
See you in May. 



Why are you losing?

One thing that is mentioned in Wetzell's "Master at Any Age" is 'getting the best bang for you buck'. That is older players may not have the luxury of being able to spend time everywhere, nor may an experienced player need to. There are usually one or two areas that are causing the most points/games/problems in someone's game and time spent there is going to pay more than on other areas (It's perhaps not so simple as that as sometimes you need to build foundations for later too).

Here's an idea. Go through your last 20-30 standard length games. If you don't have a lot of time, use auto-analysis on lichess or chess.com. For each game irrespective of the result, try to find 3 errors (I also note the move number and url). Move the pieces if necessary to try to understand why the computer marked it as an inferior move. Note the errors, and also if you were in time trouble (difficult to define since go for long enough and time will usually become a problem, but worth noting if the game finished with less than 5 minutes, and your opponent had significantly more time - or if one of your chosen errors happened in low time).

The aim is to look for patterns. I seem to be quite often opening up lines for the opponent's pieces. I also get into time trouble a lot (45 or 60 minutes even with 15 or 5 seconds increment is not a lot for me, so much of this will be less of a problem when going back to over the board chess).

Here's my last 10.

Opponent Rating Colour Result Link Opening Time trouble? Mistake 1 Mistake 2 Mistake 3
nigelico 1931 White Loss https://lichess.org/RQpTof6iL0uN Pirc GP with e5 Yes 45 Weakening own pawn (trying to win) 9 Tactical blunder (missed opening lines to king for pawn sac) 51 Tactical blunder – capture clears square for king
Budapest23 1769 White Win https://lichess.org/D2OpEBYlOVfL Sicilian GP Nc6 Yes 16 Gives up strong king placement to swap queens 13 Choosing inferior move (cutting off calculation too early) 31 Strategic blunder (lost opportunity to give opponent extra island or get passed pawn)
dulal66 2003 White Win https://lichess.org/Kc4uUBcjxHLF Siclian GP e6 Yes 11 Strategic blunder (opening lines for opponent) 15 Knight couldn’t be captured (missed strong outpost)
MarkTWIC 2092 Black Draw https://lichess.org/8n893VGYqc7n Maroczy Bind Yes 34 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure) 35 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure) 33 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure)
acsouthall 2073 Black Loss https://lichess.org/lgbBAogMLbTj c3 Sicilian Yes 8 Wrong pawn structure (target for attack) 35 Should block structure (capture gives weak pawn each) 31 Capture gives passed pawn to watch (no good discoveries)
adrielAU 2156 Black Loss https://lichess.org/HSOeXKQDTWeb Benko a4 Yes 58 Tactical blunder fork (low time) 57 Tactical blunder fork (low time) 21 Wrong slow plan (should undermine centre straight away)
ranger440 1725 Black Win https://lichess.org/uz55oiNXbzP8 Jobava e3 Yes 8 Give square to knight by bad pawn advance 15 Tactical error (should eliminate good knight)
easthantsuk 2005 Black Draw https://lichess.org/IW61KiJvd6Pt Benko b6 Yes 28 Strategic blunder (opening c-file for rooks) 23 Tactical blunder (exchange opens pin line) 18-20 Tactical (didn’t fight queenside occupation well)
thepace 1475 White Win https://lichess.org/blH3w7XwvSrH Caro kann ex Qc8 Yes 41 Tactical (change target to distract Q to ex weak pawn) 36 Defending instead of counter-attacking 30 Defended instead of attack where stronger
MaxTheMeme 1803 Black Win https://lichess.org/blwBfgL0Wwvi b3 No 10 Tactical blunder (allowed counter-attack when P down) 18 Allows knight to come to outpost 5 Opening theory, didn’t weaken kingside with intermediate check

Replies

Sorry if you need to 'go to specsavers' to read the above post - the editor decided that the whole post should be in a small font.

Opponent Rating Colour Result Link Opening Time trouble? Mistake 1 Mistake 2 Mistake 3
nigelico 1931 White Loss https://lichess.org/RQpTof6iL0uN Pirc GP with e5 Yes 45 Weakening own pawn (trying to win) 9 Tactical blunder (missed opening lines to king for pawn sac) 51 Tactical blunder – capture clears square for king
Budapest23 1769 White Win https://lichess.org/D2OpEBYlOVfL Sicilian GP Nc6 Yes 16 Gives up strong king placement to swap queens 13 Choosing inferior move (cutting off calculation too early) 31 Strategic blunder (lost opportunity to give opponent extra island or get passed pawn)
dulal66 2003 White Win https://lichess.org/Kc4uUBcjxHLF Siclian GP e6 Yes 11 Strategic blunder (opening lines for opponent) 15 Knight couldn’t be captured (missed strong outpost)
MarkTWIC 2092 Black Draw https://lichess.org/8n893VGYqc7n Maroczy Bind Yes 34 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure) 35 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure) 33 Allowed king to advance (endgame pawn structure)
acsouthall 2073 Black Loss https://lichess.org/lgbBAogMLbTj c3 Sicilian Yes 8 Wrong pawn structure (target for attack) 35 Should block structure (capture gives weak pawn each) 31 Capture gives passed pawn to watch (no good discoveries)
adrielAU 2156 Black Loss https://lichess.org/HSOeXKQDTWeb Benko a4 Yes 58 Tactical blunder fork (low time) 57 Tactical blunder fork (low time) 21 Wrong slow plan (should undermine centre straight away)
ranger440 1725 Black Win https://lichess.org/uz55oiNXbzP8 Jobava e3 Yes 8 Give square to knight by bad pawn advance 15 Tactical error (should eliminate good knight)
easthantsuk 2005 Black Draw https://lichess.org/IW61KiJvd6Pt Benko b6 Yes 28 Strategic blunder (opening c-file for rooks) 23 Tactical blunder (exchange opens pin line) 18-20 Tactical (didn’t fight queenside occupation well)
thepace 1475 White Win https://lichess.org/blH3w7XwvSrH Caro kann ex Qc8 Yes 41 Tactical (change target to distract Q to ex weak pawn) 36 Defending instead of counter-attacking 30 Defended instead of attack where stronger
MaxTheMeme 1803 Black Win https://lichess.org/blwBfgL0Wwvi b3 No 10 Tactical blunder (allowed counter-attack when P down) 18 Allows knight to come to outpost 5 Opening theory: didn’t weaken kingside with intermediate check
cowleyMike 2039 White Draw https://lichess.org/UwO5iGQSA2KF French Yes 35 Heavy piece ending: Tactical missed defence of pawn by mating threat 28 Heavy piece ending: Tactical blunder (pawn capture allows mutual attack) 12 Opening theory: need to counter attack queen
A971907447 1835 White Loss https://lichess.org/D1CTDXTI8rjW Alekhine Yes 47 Rook ending – wrong assignment, rook needs to be more active 9 Tactical blunder – bad calculation 24 Tactical blunder – bad calculation
StaplesN 1938 Black Draw https://lichess.org/oxKSwq33y4lz English b3 No 34 Failed to see opponent’s opportunity to win 9 Tactical blunder – cut off too early, didn’t notice rook hangs 17 Positional – remove strong knight, weaken pawns
Martenator360 1661 Black Win https://lichess.org/8dC8joa3d95h c3 Sicilian No 20 Keep two bishops, centralise king 15 Give up extra pawn for better position
SpeedElephant 1873 Black Win https://lichess.org/jafVXnhuvbbk Benko Qc2 Yes 48 Calculation – allowed draw 46 Heavy pieces – co-ordination 42 Heavy pieces – co-ordination
EBChess1390 1455 Black Win https://lichess.org/H0kYcNFJTYvs Accelerated No 12 Alternative move additional possibilities overlooked (threat of mate)

dulal66 1950 Black Loss https://lichess.org/pB2clKoV0WMe c3 Sicilian No 13 Swap pieces to lessen attack 8 Opening theory
bishopbandit 1999 White Loss https://lichess.org/6lH8ZBjqMR0O Caro kann Qc7 Yes 18 Sacrifice material back to develop 15 Don’t give opponents tempos 20 Sacrifice material back to develop
acsouthall 1982 White Draw https://lichess.org/QFpevrVUGu0S French c5 Yes 24 Overlooked winning pawn 11 Forgot theory
MaxTheMeme 1758 White Win https://lichess.org/0e4kiYMMpJpR French dxe4 Yes 55 knight ending: Blunder need to cover square (missed sacrifice) 48 knight ending: Help bring king into action 34 knight ending: allowed knight to good square
pcprinciple 1826 Black Win https://lichess.org/zukYZoUdPCg6 Benko Qc2 Yes 33 Not controlling squares for opponent’s queen entry 39 Allows king access to pawn 45 Not preventing breakthrough on kingside
xPulzify 1602 Black Win https://lichess.org/Ilif5tk9uKon GPA Bb5 Yes


BehindBlueEyes 2116 White Win https://lichess.org/AlMOY6qq6x1P French dxe4 Yes 16 Gives good square to knight via exchanging 13 Clear c3 to give queen space to move to 22 Not preventing chasing knight from outpost f4
itsthebishop 1645 Black Win https://lichess.org/YfXAXLbSLSDh Clemenz No 13 Tactical blunder – pawn move leaves open line to capture bishop 11 Castle into attack 5 Should prevent long diagonal from opening
PHRchess2020 1398 Black Win https://lichess.org/yEr1Oe6wH33t Zukertort Yes 21 Bishop bad defender – use pawn 19 Push bishop to bad square 14 Outpost better than repairing pawns
Mircea_Mesesan 2131 White Loss https://lichess.org/C3dTuZlAtW3A Sicilian GP Nc6 Yes 25 Tactical blunder 23 Tactical: overlooked exchange and fork 21 Should develop piece, overlooked undermining defender
Singhals0987 1500 Black Win https://lichess.org/6bNbA7tvUpkn f4 Sicilian Yes 10 Allow double of pawns for outpost 18 Push back well placed knight
David Wilson1980 2065 White Loss https://lichess.org/QYVvrkeh5533 Sicilian GP Nc6 Yes 31 Opening line for opponent 21 Weakened pawns 11 Open position to get play


(28 games - going before that would mean non-Chessmood repertoire)

Next step is to find maybe 5 things that need focus. The idea of the large number of games is to find recurring patterns. Note the timetrouble is fairly subjective here, and may be due to time well spent or not, may have contributed to bad decisions or not, plus time-controls are shorter than over the board ones so should be less of a problem there.

Also only up to three errors were found which might hide other things, and not always does the computer evaluation point out the worst problems (some are also not error - playing a variation that makes life more difficult that eventually did lead to errors).

IoI... great job! 

Twitch chess Chess Mood course streaming

Hi all

I just finished watching GM Hohvannes Gabuzyhan webinar on Modern Maroczy a few moments ago, which was great (as all Hohvannes webinars) and after this, I went to Twitch chess and to follow some chess streams, where I am seeing a streamer (ChessLifestyle) streaming "Chessable + Chessmood" training and Rook vs Pawn course (by GM H Gabuzyhan). Is this all good & acceptable to ChessMood? Are some ChessMood courses public and available to stream? Are there Chessable & ChessMood courses and these are streamable? What is the Chess Mood policy on any & all of this? (btw I posted on the same issue on the Chess Mood Facebbok group too).

NB Apologies..I tried to upload a screenshot but without success..yet..I will try again!


Replies

wow!! I am sure that is not acceptable! 

I'd use the contact us link, you'll get a response faster.

Hey champions! 
Thanks for informing :) 
These are good guys and are our affiliate partners. 

This way they want to introduce others to ChessMood. 
They will not stream all our videos :) No worries :) 



Who is the strongest Chessmood student?

I was just curious and wondering who is the strongest OTB member of Chessmood (without of course taking into account Avetik et al.)... 

I have seen a couple of players over 2200 fide, I wonder if we have an IM or FM between us??? 

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We have GMs over 2600+ too

Ha, ha, ha... !!

That's a nice question, but I do not think that it will be answered. There are GMs, IMs., WGM, WIM, FM, CM and all kind of FIDE titles between our PRO Members.

 Saying their name publicly would mean an automatic advantage for their rivals. If the rival knows that you are going to play the line of our repertoire, then he could become a PRO Member or buy the course and prepare for that line specifically. (Note that they will not easily succeed though...)

 We have a blog post for our PRO members to do their introduction to the rest of the family, voluntarily, but many PRO Members did not do it. My guess is that many are trying to avoid this or there can be thousands of reasons for not doing it... Whatever it is, we love you all anyway!!! ;-)

 These are my four cents on this, and if you want to freely introduce yourselves to the rest of the pro members:
https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-members/chessmood-pro-members

Look here "A super game by our first Grandmaster PRO Member! Sargsayn S. - Kislinsky A."

https://chessmood.com/course/modern-maroczy-bind/episode/475

The 3 Rules....

Hola,

In an article of the blog GM Avetik recommends to follow the 3 rules before asking  for recommendation(s) to make progress. So let's go :

1.I'm an adult player (best french Elo 2100) fallen back to 1885 FIDE. My goal : to climb (if realistic to 2200.)

2.I've the chance to enjoy much time and can work on my chess at least 4h / day.

3.My weakest point is probably the opening (I now study intensively the ChessMood Repertoire but before I just browsed some opening books before an important game ?!). Contrary to most chess players I dislike opening study and like much more endgame or middle game study.

My question is :

1.How to organize my chess study time,

2.Which books or sources (aside ChessMood naturally !) could be recommended to attain my goal ?

Many thanks,

Jean-Marie


Replies

Could be interesting to try the exercise I mention in Why do we lose to make sure it's really the opening that is responsible for your problems so you can allot time and focus effectively.

NEW ARTICLE: How to Use the Bishop Pair – 11 Key Concepts

Hey Champions!

We have this topic in our Blog:

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-use-bishop-pair

If you have any questions, comments or you just liked it, feel free to share your thoughts here.

Replies

Thanks for sharing very useful & instructive article !!


Just one question????????
In part one, how can black play Rf4+ and win the biskop? White Can then just take the rock????? There must be something I don’t see??!!????

Avetik- yes that sentence. Now I understand :-)

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