Create your free account

By clicking “Register”, you agree to our
terms of service and privacy policy

Log in

OR

Reset password

Chess forum by Grandmasters

WhiteMood #2 Scotch

Hi GMs and everyone, I am really enjoying the progressive courses and also the section on the Scotch, my favourite. I have a question on one of the tips in section 9 “plans against passive moves”. Suggested moves are: 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 OO 8. Qd2 d6 9. OOO

My question is what happens if Black have a wake up call and play 8… d5 instead? 

Thanks 

Replies

Why don't you play exd5 and go Bg5 and try to create some weakness on c6 later? This is what I would do but there are several moves possible… 

about certificates

I took the quiz of the black mood opening and got 49 out of 49 but it is clearly wrong because I did significant number of mistakes and tried again after finding the right move.

I have no problem of giving me the option to try again but I think you should count lines that I failed in the first try as a mistake in calculating the score.

Replies

Thanks, we will maybe consider this for future updates, but this is not an essential priority at the moment.Thanks anyways.

lines that I find hard to memorize

In this thread I am going to post lines that I find relatively harder to memorize in the starter white mood or black mood course with the hope that posting them here will make it easier for me to memorize the line and maybe other people will give tips how to memorize them.(I will start in this post with 2 lines)

1)1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qf6 5.Nf3(the natural move for me seems to be 5.Be3 to develop pieces and also defend the knight).

5.Nf3 defends against the idea of Qxf2 mate but Qxf2 mate is also not a problem after 5.Be3

2)1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5
4.d5 seems to me more natural for white

I understand that 4.dxe5 is also good because after 4…Nxe4 white has the option of Bc4 with some threats but  dxe5 is against my instincts that want to have my knight at e5 earlier than the opponent knight at e4 that is the situation in 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6

Replies

about quiz and idea for improvements

I have fun with improvement so I decided to take the Tactic Ninja quiz and to do it again and again in order to do it faster.

The first step was to do the first 180 problems without measuring time.
I had few mistakes(after a mistake i thought and found the correct move).  Then I decided to see how many I can do in a an hour with a rule that I stop if I get 3 mistakes).

First try 74
Second try 143
Third try 186
 4th try 211

I do not plan to do all the 777 in one hour because it seems to me an exercise of moving the mouse fast(and I am not good in moving the mouse fast with no mistakes) and I think at some point after I get more than 300 in one hour I am going to increase the time that I allow myself to solve the quiz when my target is to do all the 777 in 2 hours.

More comments:
1)I would like to have an option for random order of the problems because when I solve the quiz again and again my memory may also remember that after move A in puzzle k there is move B in puzzle k+1 that help to solve the puzzles faster but does not help in chess.
2)I would like to have an option when I cannot play a move as a solution and need to post all the lines that I need to consider to solve the puzzle.
Practically there are cases when I memorize the first move but do not memorize the justification(I can calculate the justification but if I do it then it is going to take me more time and if I need to post all the lines that I need to calculate before the first move to have a correct solution then I think it may be a better training).
The option to write all the lines that I need to calculate may be useful also to check that when I calculate I do not miss some important line that I need to calculate but is not in the solution because the solution has only one line.
Note that I do not suggest this option instead of what we have but as an additional option because I think that memorizing the moves without calculating is also useful because it can be productive to start  calculating the right lines when you think and not the wrong lines. 

Replies

My chess study journey

Hi everyone, first of all thanks for the answers you gave me the previous days. So, I'm writing this post because last week I've created, following the articles here on chessmood, a study plan to improve my chess. I'm currently rated 1300 rapid on chess.com and around the same blitz. From now on I will commit to write one post per week, updating you with my current status. Why? Well, first because writing every week will force me to follow the plan, second, because I want to encourage you doing the same with studying your chess. My goal is to reach 1800 within June 2024. Wish me luck, see you in the first update next week

Replies

That sounds like a good plan! 👍

Good luck on your chess journey!

Excellent.  I look forward to reading about your study plan and your weekly progress.  Good luck! 😎

Sicilisn Defense

What to do after (white to play) (anti sicilian with Nc3 and d6) Be3 then d5 threatening d4 winning a piece

Replies

Continue watching. Originally, 10.Be3 was proposed, but some later it was corrected to 10.Bb5!

Scotch Game

What to do after - 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Nf3 Bc5 6. Nc3 Nge7 7.Nb5 Bb6 8. Be3 Bxe3?

Thank You!

😀

 

Replies

Take a look at the picture attached, this is the continuation that I would do. We probably worked it out time ago with Avetik, but I do not remember exactly when. Anyway, it shoud be more than enough…😃

A bad blitz game with the what avetik call the french attack

https://lichess.org/MsXrjUURiTin

4…e5 is theory but 5.Bb5 is not covered in the starter course.
I needed to play 5…exd4 but did not evaluate correctly the line 6.cxd4 dxe4 7.Nxe4 when I cannot capture d4 because of a pin and also memorized Bb5 dxe4 Nxe4 Qd5 that is not in this position but in position when the pawn is still at e6 so playerd dxe4 Nxe4 Qd5(exd4 is still better at this point but white can reply Nf3).

After my opponent found the best move 7.Qe2 I blundered by 7…Bd7(7…Nf6 is the only move but I did not like Nxf6+).

I thought later that I could play 7…f5 but analysis by the computer after the game showed me that 8.Ng3 Qxg2 Nf3 is winning for white.

My opponent failed to punish me and gave me a second chance when I needed to play 8…Nxe5 but I did not like 9.Bxd7+  when Nxd7 losing to Nf6+_ and after Qxd7 I did not like a possible pin of the knight so I played.
8…Qxe5 that allow my opponent to get a decisive advantage by 9.Nf3 Qe7 10.Bg5(my opponent gave me another chance by 10.0-0 but I decided to castle and only after it understood that I needed to play 10…f5)
After 11.Re1 the move f5 is also not good and I decided to develop my knight 
When I played 12…Qxe4 I already planned the game line 14…Nd6 but only after playing this move I understood that white has Bxc6 so it does not win a piece(otherwise I could try 14…h6 .  Inspite of it I went for Nd6 with the idea that at least I make my bishop active and missed 14…Nxf2 when 15.Bxc7 is not good for white because of Bc5(when the computer suggested in the analysis 14…Nxf2 my first thought was that it is not good because of 15.Bxc7 but I knew that the engine saw something after 15.Bxc7 so continued to think and found Bc5)

Replies

Dear Uri,

Bb5 is not covered in the Starter Course and neither is in the main books that offer this variation. The reason is simple: it is not a good move that automatically allows us to destroy the center with exd4 and dxe4 equalizing and having a good game, probably with the Bishop pair too if White wishes to take on the Bishop. 
Ask yourself constantly about the opponent threats instead of memorizing lines, that should reduce your blunders I believe.😀

December 6th Daily puzzle

Today's daily puzzle is a nice stalemate trap, but on the last move if you attempt to promote to a rook it doesn't mark it as correct, eve though a queen or rook would work. Am I missing something?

Replies

Promoting to a Rook would also be correct, even though it is not recognized by the official cm solution. In a few cases this has happened before with other puzzles as well, but the main thing I guess is that you recognized the stalemate idea of the solution

Any advice for a classical chess tournament?

I have my first classic chess tournament in 7 days

Are there any tips or articles I can follow to achieve a good result?

I usually play online and have only played OTB a few times. What advice would be helpful?"

Replies

https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-win-chess-tournaments-7-key-principles

this article should help. One of the main tips I can give you is to just enjoy the game! Otherwise, why are you playing chess?

Petrov's Defense

Hi GM Avetik.

In Petrov's Defense course Section 8 - 5. …. Nf6 Video-6 11. …. h6 We srtared with this position.

After the naive 11. …. h6 the line went 11... h6 12. Rxe7 Rxe7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nd5 Re8 15. Qd2 Bxf3 where everything is logic and we arrived at this second positin.

Here GM Avetik noticed Qxh6 and spoke about it.But he was affraid that Black's king could run to the queenside. He advised us then to go gxf3 where we stiLl have advantage. In reality Qxh6 is a direct easy win and Black's king can not run without losing tons of material leading to a much easy simple win.

Here is the forced line: 16. Qxh6 Bxd5 { The move that GM Avetik was concerned about. } 17. Bh7+ Kh8 18. Bf5+ { The magic move. Blocking the king's path. Engine gives here mate in 14. } 18... Kg8 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. Qh8+ Ke7 21. Re1+ Be6 22. Rxe6+ Kd7 23. Rxe8+ Kc6 24. Rxd8 { Simply wow! }.

You can have a look to the included gif to see the moves.

Best regards.

Replies

I don't why i haven't received any answer! The question was here for 8 days! 😢

Ilias, indeed a beautiful variation with a nice Qg7 mate. 

Here is how I try to make the things in every course:

1) Don't overwhelm with variations. 
It's easier to remember than White is winning after even a simple gf3, then to be worried, “what if I don't remember the Bf5 move.” 

2) I still go in depth variations when it's a main line and high chance you'll get that position. 

Of course, some people write books and record courses, where critics can't find anything wrong there. 
I don't do that way. I don't create for critics. I create for chess lovers and ambitious chess players and I try to keep things very practical. 

Is it easy? Not at all :) 
Can you find improvement in my variations? Yes!  

Should you add in your files? Yes! If you're sure you don't complicate your life and will remember that all. 

Thanks again for the beautiful variation with Bf5 and Qg7 mate! 

Intangible Weaknesses

I lost a 30-minute game today to a friend who is easily 400 points lower rated. I worked hard to get a crushing position, got into time trouble, and absolutely melted down in three critical positions over a span of six moves, culminating in dropping a piece to a simple fork.

This year my most devastating and/or embarrassing losses have been due to being under time pressure and getting tunnel-vision rather than normal mistakes or blunders.

Losses like that make it hard not to take a break for a while, because it seems like no matter how good at chess I get, if someone can stick around until the clock gets low, I will almost inevitably make the kind of mistake that I almost never make outside of time pressure. No matter how many puzzles I solve, how many ChessMood courses I blow through with ease, how many hours I spend watching masters' instructive games and tournament recaps, it seems that the problem I have can't be solved with improving my chess. There aren't a lot of courses that can fix your inability to play under pressure or time mismanagement.

I've never been bothered when I lose because I didn't understand the position or the move, because that's something I can use to improve. But how do you improve an intangible? Has anyone else overcome crippling anxiety in time pressure?

For the record, I have watched the BlunderProof course, and I did love the quote about “there's no such thing as pressure" because we create pressure with our ego. I just don't know how to use that idea to rationalize that I somehow have enough time to think and make good moves when in reality I really have to just rely on instinct and patterns.

Replies

Hi Joel,

Have you seen our webinar on the topic of time management?
Here is the link https://chessmood.com/event/webinar-time-management

This should help a lot :-)
Good luck 😉

Question: Null moves in courses, how?

Just a quick question: in many CM courses/presentations I see null moves - one side moving again without giving move to other side - to illustrate a plan usually, etc.

I know that in chessbase null move is ctrl + shift + 0, but in presenting no way you are holding those keyboard keys, as you move so fast.

Question is how you do it? Thanks 

Replies

Hi Paulius, you can assign another key, in my case I use the N. Chessbase allows you to customize the shortcuts. It's very easy…

Don't use Null moves in the openings though!
It may be overexciting and you will get good positions in any case.

Just joking 😁 
Good luck!

Lessons from GM Akopian Vladimir

The position (https://prnt.sc/qkBJqSsDhH0t or see the screenshot below) is from my game, which we were analyzing with my coach GM Akopian, without engines.

In the actual game, I played 1...Nd6, blocking the opponent's passed pawn. That's why there are knights in chess, isn't it? :)

Now imagine my surprise when he stopped me and said "It's a wrong move."

Now imagine my double surprise, when he added that I should have given up my passed pawn and played 1...e4!

He said: "If sacrificing a pawn can open up more than two pieces, you should go for it."

Indeed. my Rook, Bishop, and Queen would be happier without that pawn, and it's the first line according to the engine.

This was just one of the many lessons that I took from him and got from 2,500 to 2,600.

Happy birthday, GM Vladimir Akopian 🥳

 

Here are a few useful links, to learn more about Akopian's lessons: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbPoayWDePY&t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqlSHnnI6E&t 

https://chessmood.com/blog/vladimir-akopian-interview  
 


 

Replies

NEW PRO MEMBER

Hi I just got the Pro Feature with everything when will I get myself with a GM the 1-1 call and everything other promised like live teachings and such ?

Replies

You can book it on the events page.

Welcome to the family Medin! 😃
Yes, go to the events page and there you can see the next live events and you can also book your 1 on 1 call. 
The next day is tomorrow: https://chessmood.com/event/1-1-call-with-new-pro-members

Good luck and happy learning!😄

my first OTB game with the new repertoire with black 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 Nc6

https://lichess.org/QxKKI82W#9
This is the game I played yesterday against a weaker player(about 300 elo point weaker than me) when I failed to win and forunately this tournament is not for fide rating so I only lose rating in my local israeli rating because of the game.

comments:
I won the opening stage and Nc6 surprised my opponent but I never got a decisive advantage.

I will explain my thought in the game here.
1)I hesitated between 6…Qxf3 and 6…Nf6
6…Nf6 is better based on the computer but in the game I decided that I want my opponent to have a weak pawn at d4 and I did not like the fact that after 6…Nf6 7.Qxd5 Nxd5 8.dxe5 Nxe5 white has no isolated pawn(the engine say this line is very good for black and white needs 8.Be4 Be6 before dxe5)

I calculated the line 6…Qxf3 7.Nxf3 cxd4 8.Bf4 but thought I am a pawn up after dxc3 inspite of not being sure maybe my opponent has some compensation after 9.Nxc3 Bd6 10.Bxd6 cxd6 but decided that in the worst case I can sacrifice c7 and get an equal position and I did not thought that I have much in the 6…Nf6 line.

2)Explanation for the mistake 14…Nxe3.  At the time I played this move I thought to win the pawn a2.
I calculated 14…Nxe3 15.fxe3 Bxa2 16.Ra1 Bc4 17.Rxa7 Ba6 and thought the white rook is trapped but unfortunately missed 18.Ra8+ in my calculations(I did not check this calculation because I thought in any case I do not have to capture a2 and I have a pair of bishops and did not find a move that I was happy with it but in case of seeing 18.Ra8+ at this time I would play 14…Rhe8 that the engine also believes to be better.

3)After playing 14…Nxe3 15.fxe3 I saw 18.Ra8+ in my calculations so I played 15…Rhe8 because I saw nothing better.  I understood my opponent can play 16.Kf2 that is positionally better than castling and he played it.

4)After 16…Bxc3 the engine say that white has the better position but I did not understand it during the game.
I saw that the knight help white to attack me in the c file and did not like it so decided to trade it.  I thought that I still have some minimal positional advantage after trading the bishop because I have only 2 pawn islands when my opponent has 3 pawn islands.

5)I blundered by 38…Kc3 that is a losing move.  I simply did not calculate 39.Rb5 at the time that I played 38…Kc3 at time trouble probably because this idea did not work earlier.  During the opponent time I found that 39.Rb5 is winning.  My opponent did not understand it during the game and was surprised by my 39…Rh6 move(He did not see that he can win my queen by Qh8+ after both pawns promote).

6)I saw during the game when I played 44…Kc6 that 45.a6 is winning but felt it is my only practical hope and of course rejected 44…g5 as a move that does not give a practical hope.

7)I was still in a lost position until my opponent blundered with 49.f5 and even later my opponent could force me to defend KRP vs KR pawn endgame that I was not sure if it is a draw or losing.  In the final position I understood that is a draw because my opponent cannot capture my pawn without allowing me to trade rooks into a drawn KPK endgame because my king can get into f7. 

Replies

Question on Stafford after 7..Qd4, 8. Rf1

Hi GMs and other experts!

Yesterday I got beaten by a Stafford Gambit.  I survived the main dangers - I had not seen or studied 7… Qd4 before I did find Rf1.  But after this, I lost a lot of time trying to survive, and ended up giving back the pawn and was so down on time that I lost the game many moves later on the clock.

 

https://lichess.org/study/Zdc1jKSD/t9laqeQm#last

 

My question is after 8. Rf1 Qe5?!  was I unwise to play 9. f4 kicking the Queen?  I was struggling to find the usual c3/d4/e5 ideas over the board.  But after f4 I felt huge pressure on the e1-h4 diagonal and was short on tempo moves and I gave back the pawn.  

 

My guess is the 9. c3 was better, because then if Qh2 (which I irrationally feared), I can simply play 10. d4 and 11. Bf3.  Any thoughts very much appreciated on this section of the game (or any other of course! 😀) 

 

 

Replies

Updated link with annotations in case of interest:  

https://lichess.org/study/Zdc1jKSD/2fq8FESj

Dear Ben Wi,

You replied yourself the question. We don't go f4 in the Stafford, what we do is c3 and then Qc2 and go D4. This is the normal plan that you could implement perfectly fine ☺️ in your game. You saw ghosts in Qh2. You should think about the 4 knights of the Apocalypse, D3, Be2, h3 and c3. They are a team 💪😌

Dancing Queen

Hi all,

 

Sometimes I come across an opponent that bounces their queen around the board causing me all sorts of trouble.  I know I should be pleased about this as they aren't developing other pieces but it always seems to cause me trouble.

 

Below is a recent example.  How would you punish my opponent's play? 

 

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/95516349085?tab=review

Replies

On move 7 you missed an opportunity to trap the queen of white, so that would already have punished them. 

On move 10 you should have developed a piece instead of making a pawn move.

On move 12 you missed an opportunity to skewer whites queen and win a rook.

On move 15 you tried to exchange the queens, however, you should not have done it because of the following reasons:

White has a unsafe king, it's in the center and you are ready to attack it with your developed pieces and queen, because the queen is the strongest attacker. So don't exchange your strongest attacker when opponents king is in danger!

You could have won tempos on whites queen, by playing Rc8 for example. You develop a piece and white is forced to move the queen away.

On move 16 you missed Qc1+, winning many material.

So actually I think you did the development very well, you just didn't see the tactics at the crucial moments. 😁

Anti-sicilian, part 1, 5... e6

Hello dear coaches and pro members: what to play after black move 5… e6, in the grand prix attack?

Thanks and good day

Replies

Hi Marius,

Can you write all the previous moves to know the exact position that you are referring to?

Thanks 

Blunder sharing

Hi guys, 

I recently watched the BlunderProof course and I would like to create a discussion in which we can share their blunders and mistakes so other people can learn from them. For this, I want to share with you one of the biggest blunders I have made to date.

I was playing my first OTB tournament and I had no real experience on tournaments, so I made a lot of mistakes with time control and emotional management. On the other hand, I had no ELO level so my opponents didn't really think I could beat them and played worse than they should.

On the fourth round I played this game with Black pieces:

[Event "XVII Torneo de Promoción de Almansa B"]
[Site "Almansa"]
[Date "11/08/22"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Alfonso Magraner del Val"]
[Black "Alejandro Carretero Hernández"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[WhiteTitle "-"]
[WhiteTeam "Monteolivete"]
[WhiteFideId "https://ratings.fide.com/profile/24514721"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[BlackTitle "-"]
[BlackTeam "Excálibur"]
[BlackFideId "https://ratings.fide.com/profile/32099959"]
[TimeControl "90'+30''"]
[Termination "Rendición"]
[Board "20"]
[UTCDate "2022.08.11"]
[UTCTime "19:36:55"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation, Westerinen Line"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/kaasslejandro"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 (6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5) 6... dxc6 7. dxe5 Ne4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Re1 Nc5 10. b3 Bg4 11. Ng5 Bh5 12. Bb2 h6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Rxe4 Bg6 15. Re2 Bc5 16. c4 Ke7 17. Nd2 Rad8 18. Nf3 Bd3 19. Rd2 Be4 20. Rad1 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Kxd8 24. Kf1 Ke7 25. Ke2 Ke6 26. f4 g6 27. Kf3 Kf5 28. Bc1 Bd4 29. Be3 c5 30. h4 c6 31. Bc1 h5 32. Bd2 f6 33. exf6 Bxf6 34. Kg3 Ke4 35. b4 Kd3 36. Be3 Bd4 37. Kf3 Kxc4 (37... cxb4 38. c5 a5 39. Bxd4 Kxd4 40. f5 gxf5 41. Kf4 a4 { [%cal Gb4b3] }) (37... Bxe3 38. fxe3) 38. bxc5 Kd5 (38... Kd3 39. f5 gxf5) 39. Bxd4 Kxd4 40. f5 gxf5 41. Kf4 Kxc5?? (41... b6 42. cxb6 axb6 43. Kxf5 c5 44. f4 c4 45. Kg6 c3 46. f5 c2 47. f6 c1=Q 48. f7 Qc8 49. Kg7 Qg4+ 50. Kh6 Qe6+ 51. Kg7 Qg4+ 52. Kh6 Qf5 53. Kg7 Ke5 54. f8=Q Qxf8+ 55. Kxf8 Kf4 (55... Kf5)) (41... a6) 42. Kxf5 Kd5 43. f4 c5 (43... Kd6 44. Kf6 c5 45. f5 c4 46. Kg6 c3 47. f6 c2 48. f7 c1=Q 49. f8=Q+ Kc6) 44. Kg6 c4 45. f5 c3 46. f6 c2 47. f7 c1=Q 48. f8=Q Qg1+ 49. Kxh5 Ke6 (49... Qd1+ 50. Kh6 Qd2+ 51. Kg6 Qg2+) 50. Qh6+ Kf7 51. Qf4+ Kg7 52. Qc7+ Kf6 53. Qd8+ Kf7 54. Qd5+ Kf6 55. Qd6+ Kf7 56. Qf4+ Kg7 57. Qg5+ Qxg5+ 58. Kxg5 b5 59. Kf5 b4 (59... Kh6 60. Ke4 a5) 60. Ke4 a5 61. Kd3 a4 (61... Kh6) 62. Kc4 b3 63. axb3 a3?? 64. Kc3 Kh6 (64... a2 65. Kb2 a1=N) 65. b4 a2 66. Kb2 1-0

I had to fight in a drawish bishop endgame where I got a winning position but at some point my opponent found a way to draw the game by queening at the same time as me so then we had a drawn queen endgame.

Nevertheless, this affected my mood so I was not thinking properly since that point and when my opponent exchanged the queens at the end and started playing instantly because he had 30 seconds on his clock I started mooving same fast as him to make his time run out, even though there was a 30 second increment in each move. 

For 5 moves I moved instantly full of nerves thinking that I had a winning position and now it is a draw and by move 63 I had completely convinced myself that I would lose the game because I completely forgot about the possibility of the game ending in a draw, so I made a horrible blunder thinking for a moment that this move could return me the victory when, in reality, it loses the game. 

The most embarrassing thing in this story is at that point I still have 40 minutes on my clock. 

I learned a lot from that tournament, and I hope you guys could also learn something from this, as I learn from the mistakes of other people too. 

Replies

Funny idea! 😁

bro you are unrated but play like a 2200 and play Berlin LOL very nice game 

This website uses cookies. To learn more, visit our Cookie Policy.