Chess forum by Grandmasters

grand prix doubt

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 { B23 Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack } g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. O-O Nge7 7. d3 d5 8. Bb3 O-O 9. Qe1 a6 10. a4 b6 11. Qh4 Nd4 12. Ng5 h6 13. Nh3 c4 14. dxc4 dxc4 15. f5 exf5 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Bxc4 Nxc2 18. Bxh6 Bxh6 19. Qxh6 Bxh3 20. Bxf7+ Rxf7 21. Qxg6+ Rg7 22. Qxc2 Rxg2+ 23. Qxg2+ Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qd2+ 25. Rf2 Qd7 26. Rg1 Ng6 27. Kh1 Kh7 28. Ne4 Qc6 29. Rg4 Re8 30. Re2 Qc1+ 31. Kg2 Nf4+ 32. Rxf4 Qxf4 33. Nf6+ Qxf6 34. Rxe8 Qg6+ 35. Kf2 Qxe8 36. Kg3 Qxa4 37. h3 Qb3+ 38. Kg4 Qxb2 39. h4 a5 { White resigns. } 0-1

here I did not know what to do after d5 can you please help me, and why is the computer saying that it is -0.5 for black in the opening

Replies

After d5 playing 8.O-O was correct, but then a6 and b6 is too passive - put your knight in the center with 9…Nd4 and after 10.Qh4 play Nec6 or after 10.Nxd4, cxd4, Ne2, dxe, dxe, 12.b5 is the chessmood plan!

Hello Prayan,

This setup up doesn't occur very often U2000 level and that's why it's not included there, however if you face this often you can check the Grand Prix attack in the 2000 above openings where we have a deep strategy against this systems.

Good luck!

Welcome!

Dear PRO Members! Welcome to our new forum. "PRO Members" channel is only for PRO Members! Please, write all your questions, that you want to get answered from our GM team on this channel. With best wishes, GM Avetik

Replies

Hello Chessmood family, I was looking at the Countering D4 Sidelines course and I noticed that in the trompowsky section GM Avetik recommends 2.d5. I looked at the covered possible 3rd moves for white and noticed than 3.Nc3 (transposes into a Veresov) wasn't included. I think this is an issue as the Veresov is a relatively big opening which probably needs its own section like the Jobava or at least a couple of videos? Please can you let me know what you think? Apologies if the Veresov was covered in the videos and I missed it. Thanks. 

how to respond to this line in the Accelerated Dragon

Replies

In the hyper-accelerated dragon with 2…g6 4.Qxd4! is a very good move (that is one of the reasons CM recommends the acc. dragon with 2…Nc6!). But here 6.Qd4 is not to fear and Black can equalize at least.

First you defend your attacked Rh8 with 6…Nf6, then 7.e5, Nd5 and either 8.c4, Qb6, Qxb6, Nxb6 or 8.e6 (again attacking Rh8), f6, exd7+, Bxd7 + e5 (driving away the b. Q and getting a good center) 

We have all this covered in the course, no?

SCOTCH GAME IN ACTION

https://www.chess.com/game/live/85094007835

Replies

Does memorising master games make you better?

Hi Chessmood family, I was wondering if memorising master games makes you better at chess, such as the ones in the must know classical games courses?  I tried searching this up but it came up with mixed answers. Please let me know if it is useful or not? Thanks

Replies

Hi.

In my view not at all. 

It is important to learn new patterns by going through master's games. And typical strategies

in different positions and how they are executed. 

That's why it is often good to see a master vs a weaker player game, because there you see the execution

in the clearest form (no big resistance by the opponent).

By repeating this process, you will recognize patterns, understand them and finally memorize them, 

which is in my view the only thing that counts.

Hi Chess Player,

There is no need to memorize the entire game. In each of them, there are strong ideas which will be good to understand. Overall the value of that game is to see the thinking process of the strong players. More you do that, much more chances you will have to implement strong ideas in your games.

Puzzle-Fixing

Today's puzzle is not working. Not able to move white pieces.

Replies

Guys refresh the page, this happened to me too and after I refreshed the problem was solved.

It's fixed now. Probably more convenient (and likely to be noticed quicker) to ask in the puzzle fixing channel on discord.

do you agree that "best junior players all started at internationals"?

Suppose you can choose the first rated tournament for your kids. You will choose a local one or an international one? Any difference? Our regional chess federation staff indicated "our best junior players all started at internationals", but I didn't quite understand. I guess most people start with local rated tournaments, but please correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is that one should start with local rated tournaments first.

Replies

Anyone can shed some insights here? Thanks!

Doesn't make any sense to me. The main thing is not how you start, it's that you start!

They will improve by facing strong opponents, not bad ones. By waiting one year to let them play competitive chess, you waste one year where they could have learned lots of things about them, how tournaments work & chess. Don't be scared of a number. No one cares if they start with an elo of 1200 or 1800. They will have many years to improve it and get a decent one if they are motivated & passionate about chess. 

Definitely not! Arguably the best junior player of our time would be Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest grandmaster in all of chess history, and he played only at local quads for a long time before he had the rating to play nationally or internationally. If you're interested in knowing more about his journey, his autobiography is a nice read :)

New article: Rook vs two minor pieces - What's stronger?

Hello champions!

Rook vs 2 minor pieces – What’s stronger?🤔

This is one of the most interesting fights on the chessboard. Many players have a hard time evaluating such positions.
 

Today we have GM Boris Avrukh, known for his dynamic playing style, sharing his rules on this classic fight. He talks about:

✅The 7 rules to play Rook vs 2 minor piece positions.

✅What circumstances tilt the battle in one side’s favor?

✅A breakdown of Rook vs different minor piece combinations (R vs B+N; R vs B+B; R vs N+N)

And much more…
 

Read the full article here👇

https://chessmood.com/blog/rook-vs-two-minor-pieces

And share your thoughts with us under this forum thread!

Replies

Awesome article. GM Avrukh is known for being an Openings expert but here also his explanations are brilliant. TYVM 🙂

Unless there is a concrete line which shows a big advantage, most of it is down to estimating probabilities - what is the probability that the exchange will be favourable and when in how the game might turn out - i.e. also which side of the exchange gets a serious chance first and whether that can be weathered until it's favourable. It's the same sort of discussion with taking a pawn vs initiative, and sometimes just being the stronger player you can get away with the weaker side objectively of the bargain all things being equal. In all the cases described it's about whether there is sufficient activity for the pieces, which in the middlegame is usually for the minor pieces, but as pieces trade and lines open it tends towards the rook, with the usual factor of co-ordination favouring bishop pair over bishop and knight over two knights, but depending on pawn structure which generally will be more open as the game goes on. So guide rules aside (which are the probabilities expected in the average game), it's all about knowing the positions you are playing, how they link from opening, to middlegame and endgame and where the chances are. This then gives odds to the gamble that an exchange will be favourable or not. Then there is perhaps some adjustment for style such as favouring a certain combination, which aside from opinion can be down to the skill of handling them, as well as of that of the opponent. For example voluntary going into a rook or bishop + rook vs rook ending against GM Arkell and you're asking for trouble.

articolo eccezionale, grazie!

Nice Article.

Reward daily puzzle

H🤔i. I just solved the Troitzky problem of today, Tuesday 1/8/23, and no reward of 500 mood coins. 

Replies

Yeah, I didn't get the coins today either.

On a positive note, what a great puzzle!

Thank you.

Fixed.😀

Daily Puzzle Bug

I think there's something wrong with the daily puzzles. Today the puzzle is the same as yesterday and I noticed I didn't get any MoodCoins for solving it correctly on the first try yesterday and I also didn't get any when I put the solution again today.

Replies

Thank you.

Fixed.

Two switched around questions in new course

In section three of the seven questions course examples 3 &4s quizzes are switched around please fix this issue

Replies

Thank you! Fixed :) 

Playing Bullet games

Hello, I am Manuel, I have a Lichess rapid rating of round about 2200, I am new to ChessMood and read a few articles also about good time controls. I found out that Bullet is not a good time control - altough I already knew that I spend 10 minutes playing Bullet games every day, so that I can handle games with very few time. I agree that Bullet games aren't good for chess but why are grandmasters like Carlsen, Alireza, Nakamura and so on playing that time controls then?

Thanks a lot for answering my quesiton.
Best wishes
Manuel

Replies

They have reached a playing ability that is so high that playing shorter time controls won't make them worse. While it won't improve their classical chess ability they play it for fun. It also helps them develop intuition. Playing shorter games is also useful if you want to reinforce a new opening or idea you've learned. When you play bullet it isn't as helpful because you're not thinking about every move and making one move blunders. The top players think a lot quicker than common folk like you and me so their bullet games are of a much higher quality.

That's my understanding of it at least, someone else might be able to explain it better but I hope that answered your question. 

As far as I know, the problem with playing bullet is that you don't think before you make a move. That practically means that you don't improve as a player because you play the first move that comes to your mind and you don't descover new ideas. Also you get impatient and you tend not to think while playing slower time controls as you get used to bullet, where deep thinking is not possible. I can tell you that from my personal experience as I used to play mostly bullet and very little rapid or blitz at the last month and now I find myself having 5 min on the clock after 40 moves in many 10 min games, which is basically not good. Besides that I agree with your opinion that playing only a little bit helps you in situations you are under time pressure.

For high rated players as those you mentioned (Magnus, Hicaru etc.) I think that it doesn't make them worse because they are so good it doesn't affect them. Also the majority of them play mostly classical or rapid and only a minority of their games is bullet(as far as I know), which basically doesn't affect them.

This is my opinion based on my experience as a player, which is not at all a lot I must say. Hope this helps. 

The best games of July, 2023, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of July, 2023" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post the best games that you will play this month. 

The Prize fund is 350K MoodCoins which is equal to 350$.  

The 1st prize  - 150K
The 2nd prize - 100K
The 3rd prize-  50K
The 4th prize- 30k
The 5th prize- 20k

Good luck with your games and keep the Right Mood! 
#ChessMood
#Right Mood - Right Move 

P. S.
Here are the winners of June, 2023:

Vedant Garg
Ink Kaula
Chess Forever
Sriram M
Vladimir Bugayev
 

Replies

https://lichess.org/study/1lKzp4C0/R6cWJ7zh - My analysis on my OTB games!

Simple logical chess in the Scotch.

https://lichess.org/deVTc3Kd

https://lichess.org/IBUxwrXDrVd9

My favourite French Attack !

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81971372311

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81944963293     

really nice Gran Prix anti Sicilian

some nice bishops staring at king attack https://www.chess.com/game/live/82223994043

Using my knowledge of the Scotch game, tactics and mating patterns that I learned on chessmood, I played this nice game: https://lichess.org/fNFcQ5v5/

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82782653787
not my best game but a nice séquence at the end leading to mate 

Attacking Benko

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/82864857963?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82909299827

Wonderful and Flawless Greek Gift Miniature
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/82987866615?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83011922003

checkmate in 10 moves with the scotch. 

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "ullu8"]
[Black "bunsdoctor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[CurrentPosition "2kr3r/1p3pp1/pqpbpnbp/2p2P2/2N1P1P1/2NP3P/PPP5/R1B1QR1K b - -"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "B23"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Closed-Sicilian-Defense-Traditional-Line-3.Bb5"]
[UTCDate "2023.07.14"]
[UTCTime "00:22:05"]
[WhiteElo "1798"]
[BlackElo "1742"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "ullu8 won by resignation"]
[StartTime "00:22:05"]
[EndDate "2023.07.14"]
[EndTime "00:27:59"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/83032908231"]
[WhiteUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[WhiteCountry "137"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 $1 dxc6 5. f4 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Qb6 8.
Kh1 e6 9. d3 Be7 10. Qe1 O-O-O 11. Ne5 Bh5 12. h3 h6 13. g4 $1 Bg6 14. f5 Bd6 15.
Nc4 {<br /><br />Game may have continued...} (15. Nc4 Qc7 16. Nxd6+ Rxd6 17.
fxg6 e5 18. gxf7 c4 19. Be3 cxd3 20. cxd3 Qxf7 {+4.92}) 1-0

another nice Grand Prix! Anti Sicilian

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82626119917

Nice attack

A nice game where I kept the right mood while having a losing position: https://lichess.org/L0EzvxbGsSKT #NeverResign

Game played in the Avetik mating matador style:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83124340543

I played this ministure game today. However I see that it isn't unique. 

https://lichess.org/1MiNgCCc/black

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83153157463?tab=review

https://lichess.org/b8tdxl7b

Great comeback from middle game one of my best game.

https://lichess.org/wE3HUzW09aFA

Great middlegame in opposite side castling which I did a brilliant exchange sacrifice.

https://lichess.org/rcsxCgwP/white#79

scotch Dh4 with Bd6 Dxd6 Dxe2+ , even in a bullet 2+1 which I m very bad usually , it was an easy winning endgame 

https://lichess.org/1HavIWrhO9jU

How to win in 25 moves 

https://lichess.org/sB3pm6bI/black#61

Crush the Caro kann

https://lichess.org/vk6YXfezgn8M

This was maybe not my cleanest victory (although I still played a good game) but it was really so funny to play !(I was playing with the black pieces) https://lichess.org/6Qk0XUzK/black A wild Botvinnik Gambit in the Semi-Slav !

 A nice games against the Scandinavian defense.  

https://www.chess.com/game/live/83497502213

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83519732211?tab=review

A stockfish accuracy percentage of 95, an estimated rating of 2650, a brilliant move greek gift, all against an opponent 200 points higher than me: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83524012421?tab=review

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/83634409545?tab=review

Does anyone else see the Alapin more than any other Sicilian these days?

https://lichess.org/srcuBxdjciWP

Was My best game

https://lichess.org/LaAoZvxlrgBB

https://lichess.org/JuskaBuY

It wasn't a tactically brilliant game but I beat a player pretty much 2400, 400 points higher rated than me with only 1 inaccuracy, 19 average centipawn loss, and 95% accuracy. I also found some key engine-like moves and am really proud of it.

https://lichess.org/AA2oWuP9kB6J

Nice attacking game where I was even -6.9 at some point

https://lichess.org/arelC5iZ

Here is my best game from this month:  https://lichess.org/oPuZg7LE

I am Epitaph. I played the game with 92% accuracy.

https://lichess.org/tIiEBp80ZMLQ

I was white.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84216068161

4th Game submitted for July

Thank you Chessmood!

https://lichess.org/8c8KL5zx

Saving lost position and winning the game.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84359385625

Nothing special, just normal chess but I had 92 accuracy with no inaccuracies, mistakes, blunders or misses according to chess.com game review. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84459782677
ninja style after noticing the Nxd5 idea!

Yeah, I agree with you, fantastic game! 🤩

A good game in Cochrane Gambit as taught by our GM Avitik.  Even we sacrifice a Knight in f7 square still good attacking game. Thx Coach!!!

https://lichess.org/L6nVLuu0/white#1

Punishing opponents mistakes!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84254391621?tab=review - A nice game in the Schlechter!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84486877981?tab=review - A good game in the opening, getting a winning advantage against an FM with 3250 rating performance!!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84502981909?tab=review - A nice game, winning out of the opening, and converting it.

Some of my most top-notch game games this month.

One more nice game with Cochrane Gambit. Black is totally can't able to develop with our attack.

https://lichess.org/xO0tVygU/white#0

My very first attempt at the Scotch since watching the first few sections of Whitemood openings.  I am a convert already!  I felt like I had a whole new army of White pieces.  Thank you chessmood, may many more happy wins follow :-)

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84538366425

I ‘ve already submitted a game but this was an amazing one. A 15 move win with the incredible Nf3 sacrifice. That's why you should never use the scholars mate. 

https://www.chess.com/live/game/84538992883

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84480211741?tab=analysis

Petrosian64

https://www.chess.com/game/live/84551120363
nothing fancy , just a solid game against the dubious pawn sac ( 2..c6 )in the Scandinavian 

Champions,

How are you?

This past month, we saw some really nice games. Thank you for sharing them with us! It was a pleasure to go through each one. Good job! 

Moving on to the prizes for the best games of July 2023 now:

The first prize goes to Druva Sookraj for this fine attacking game in the Anti-Sicilian. The patience you showed by refusing to cash in the extra material despite having so many chances, really stands out. Good execution too! Well done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/81944963293

The second prize goes to Tomas Hanak for this nice game in the Scotch. You not just built up an attack but also paid attention to the opponent’s plans on the queenside and neutralized it before going all in! A good model game!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/84480211741?tab=analysis

God Grace (cool name!) takes the third prize for this 17-move win with Black. You just crushed the opponent and finished off beautifully with the Greco’s mate. Amazing game! 

https://lichess.org/HHCOlBOq/black#  

Zubin Schweitzer bags the fourth prize for playing the following beautiful classic. You grabbed space, made your pieces happy, temporarily sacrificed a pawn for initiative, and finished off nicely by bringing the Bishops to the Kingside. Lots and lots of useful lessons!

https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=C8lwzh61/Kv1Rc34/jv0jMc+57b+jjJ+nRTvOuy93z/oIyxM7BI+Q+O8L7EEW236

The fifth prize goes to Denis Page. There’s a difference between a safe King and a castled King. This game shows that. Well played Denis, you were brave and alert (Nd4!) to take the initiative when there was a small opportunity. And to checkmate White in 14 moves is really incredible. Nicely done!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/82782653787  

Congratulations to all the winners! And a big thank you to everyone who shared the games.

Keep the right mood and keep the CoGro!

See you in the next month’s challenge!

Scotch Game Doubt

Hi chessmood, I was going through the scotch game course when I realised something: in section 1 you talked about e4,e5,nf3,nc6,d4,exd4,nxd4,bb4+,c3,bc5,be3 and then bb6. But you did not mention the option of 6.Qf6 which transposes into e4,e5,nf3,nc6,d4,exd4,nxd4,bc5,be3,Qf6,c3 line . This would have not been a problem if you recommended this line with 4.bc5 but you recommended 5.nb3 which is quite different. So this is kind of a problem as I don't know what to do against 6.Qf6 in bb4+ line? Please let me know what you think. Thanks

Replies

It doesn't really transpose because black is a tempo down when they waste a move with Bb4-c5.

The extra tempo helps white quite a lot in that position.

See this game https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-white/episode/5590

New section , Our story

I just noticed this new section which seem to be in progress. it’s very interesting and generous from GM Avetik to share all the details on how it all started ! I m very glad to be part of it ( as a member ) . 

Replies

Suggestions for open sicilian as white

Hi,

I'm struggling to find a decent open Sicilian repertoire as white especially against Najdorf and dragon responses from black. I didn't see any open sicilians in the white chess mood openings unless I missed it. Would you consider adding such content?

Thanks.. Love the site!

Replies

Chessmood recommend the Closed Sicilian in their White repertoire as it is the most practical & lethal weapon according to their opening philosophy for players below 2200/2300 FIDE.

So I don't think you will see the Open Sicilian soon as they are working heavily on middlegame and endgame courses at the moment. 

Hi Mitch,

Yes Akiba is right. We do offer the an aggresive Closed Sicilian, mixed with GP and there are no plans to offer an Open Sicilian repertoire in the near future. 😅

Against Hyperdragon I play Grand Prix it's a nice attack

Expanding on stonewall Dutch vs moves that arent D4

First of all I have to say thanks for updating the blacKnopf course for all the other moves. After playing some fast online games and analyzing them I noticed that there is an annoying plan white can go if he isn’t play d4 that gives him a great position. They can preapere the e4 advance against our f and d pawns with d3 and Nbd2 as happened for example in this game 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 f5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O d5 5. d3 c6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. e4 . going for an e4 break I think ismainly The different thing white can do vs stonewall if he doesn’t play d4 so if you can cover that in a video it can be great!

Replies

Hello chess friends, i have the same question ! Could be a different order like 1. Cf3 e6 2. g3 f5 3. Fg2 Cf6 4. d3 d5 5. 0-0 Fd6 6. c4 c6 7. Cc3 0-0 8. e4 and now after 8. … fxe4 9. dxe4 dxe4 10. Cg5 white has a small edge and it becomes difficult to apply an attacking plan. Any advice here on how to react against d3/e4 setup ? Many thks !

I can't make a video… but I could try to offer a solution.

I looked through the line a few times, and it seems that the early Bd6 seems to be a little inaccuracy considering the fact that e4 pretty much kills the idea of Bd6. If played improperly, e5 will be wide open for white to play and you'll be in a little space disadvantage (after 7.e4, 7…fxe4 8.dxe4 Be7 9.e5!). I would probably tell you to play Be7 before e4. It doesn't follow principled Stonewall ideas, but at least it hides from the sudden e4 pawn push. If e4 still happens, O-O is a good move to develop your pieces.

Hope it helps

Just learning french attack ...

Could you help me with this opening? 

1. e4  e6
2. d4  d5
3. nf3  bd7
4.  nc3  c5
5.  be3 

I'm not sure that c5 is the right move, and that makes everything else uncertain, too. If it is correct, does black go qb3 to take pawn at b2, but get pinned by rb1? If not this, what is the right plan?

I'm very confused, and I don't see this in the beginner's course … or maybe I've missed it.

Thank you

Replies

If they play Nf3, you can simply take the e-pawn. I'm assuming you meant Nc3? If Nc3, I usually play Bb4.

What's the coins for?

I've like 23k coins which I accumulated a year ago to unlock courses but I can't seem to find any courses which I can buy with the coins ,so what exactly is it for?

Replies

The coin is for buying courses. You can choose a course, click "Or get lifetime access", click "Buy course" and there is an option to buy with coins. But I don't think you have enough yet.

Upcoming Benko updates

Hi! 

I would like to learn the Benko this summer. 

If the new version is coming out in the next few weeks I'll gladly wait for it… is there an approximate realease date?

Thanks a lot

Andrea

Replies

Hi Andre,

Benko updates course is under construction and will be recorded in the future, although for sure not in the next few weeks as its and enormous work, and as you can see we are also actively recording other courses as well :-)
Thanks for your patience and good luck!