Opening Principles - The fundamentals and beyond in detail

Course 36 episodes
(1 hour 51 min)

Creators GM Avetik Grigoryan

"Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist." - Pablo Picasso

How do you find the right moves when you can’t remember the opening theory?
What do you do if your opponent intentionally takes you out of the book?

The key is to use chess opening principles to find the best continuation!

Many beginners are familiar with such principles but still struggle to find the right moves in the opening. That’s because their understanding is on a surface level, while a GM’s understanding is much deeper...

What you'll learn

The 3 main opening principles you should follow.
The 4 mistakes you should avoid in the opening and how to punish your opponent when they make them.
Which are the 2 weak squares for each side in the opening.
Why the popular opening advice like "castle early" is bad.
The philosophy behind chess openings.
The principles behind playing a gambit and more!

Add to favorites

Course Content

36
Episodes
1 hour 51 min

Course overview

Unlocked 1m 54s

1. The ultimate goal in chess

Unlocked 52s

2. Story of my friend

Unlocked 2m 10s

3. What are the best squares for the pieces

Unlocked 3m 28s

4. The center and the downtown

8. The two principles

Unlocked 31s

9. Don't bring your Queen out early

Unlocked 3m 39s

10. The exception

Unlocked 3m 18s

11. Don’t move the pieces twice

Unlocked 4m 48s

12. Just follow the principles

Unlocked 7m 4s

13. Egoistic development

Unlocked 1m 48s

14. Senseless moves with pawns

Unlocked 2m 18s

15. What we've learned so far

Unlocked 36s

16. The unequal value of pawns

Unlocked 1m 10s

17. The philosophies of the openings

Unlocked 5m 41s

18. The ideas of gambits

Unlocked 2m 26s

19. Why "Castle early" is bad advice

Unlocked 41s

20. Castling

Unlocked 1m 21s

21. A trick for winning a tempo

Unlocked 5m 15s

22. When to castle opposite side

Unlocked 1m 32s

23. Don't castle just for castling

Unlocked 3m 31s

24. The King in the center

27. The Knight sacrifice on move 3!

Unlocked 8m 32s

28. A common mistake beginners make

Unlocked 2m 6s

29. What about f4 move?

Unlocked 2m 6s

30. f2 and f7 weaknesses

Unlocked 4m 13s

31. c2 and c7 weaknesses

Students give this course an average of 5 out of 5 stars.

Julius kalunga

Thanks a lot a learning

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

I hope you'll put it in practice!?

james Scotland

That was a great course to watch before I go onto Whitemood openings.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Nice!

Steve Smercak

Excellent stuff. Thank You!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Steve!

Krzysztof P.

Very, very informative!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Glad to hear! Thanks!

Bijay Belbase

Brilliant course

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you!

Huynh Hoang

Informative course! It has helped me a lot in practice.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thanks for sharing!

Vinod Mishra

Sir you helped me alot by your articles, by your courses, by your fit personality and much more. I am a 1900 rated player just because of you. You are really an inspirational figure for me .Thank you❤️❤️💖💖

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

wow!!! thank you very much! Let's go!!

Jem Mai

Kaushal Rawat

Worth watching video

Ninja Anass

thank you

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

You're welcome!

Ninja Anass

how do i collect moodcoin i want to open a course but it will take years to collect moodcoins what do i do

Rafiul Islam

This was one of the best courses I have completed from Chessmood, GM aventik constantly provides little insights about opening concepts, mistakes we tend to make at the beginning and how to minimize those within short time to gain more ratings. I really admire the time and effort he invested on this course and also other courses. You have been a torch bearer for players who have just started learning chess Aventik. Thank you, and please provide more good quality content for the future.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, friend!

Zaheem Chess

This is amazing I myself am a lower level player but just a little higher in that category but i didn't know to use my skills in the opening till this I mean i played about 78 games with my opponent doing the f2, f7 blunders but i kinda didn't know to punnish them but took long tactics to mate 5 minutes before my lesson there when i was digesting my knowledge on a game it was almost a model game except i didn't know to punnish Thanks GM Avetik sir

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thank you, for your kind review, my friend!

Gatis Ozolins

Great!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! :)

Siya Mehta

This is nice trick to teach chess to children's

Kaweesha Methsarani

Very useful course .❤❤❤

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Happy you liked it! :)

Yogesh Gupta

Great course! I will definetly reccomend it to lower level players!!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Yogesh!

Samarth Dash

It was a very nice journey and really sir I appreciate this course because people teach us openings but they don't teach why we should know this. And this is what I like about u sir, u want to teach us the concepts, u don't want us to just blindly mug up openings and things without understanding it. Sir the I have only one request, Sir can u please make some samples of these courses so by which we can learn without paying but if we are interested we would by it with mood coins or take a membership.

ChessMood

Thank you, Samarth! As you might know, we have huge investments to make all those courses, and the AI coach we're building. We need to cover them somehow, no? :)

Samarth Dash

I understand sir so this might be a future prospect, the course is absolutely worth my every single priceless second, its just amazing. Hats Off to you and your team sir!!!

Stephan Harris

Very informative

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Happy to hear it! :)

Kevin Sanchez

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the ChessMood team for their outstanding course on Opening Principles. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in such an accessible and inspiring way!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Kevin, thank you very much for your kind review.

Swapnabha Neogi

Good job! Keep it up!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Forever! :)

Swapnabha Neogi

Good course to remember and understand the key concept of the opening.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Peter Ackland

Having played chess for 60+ years I wasn't sure I needed to bother with the opening principles course, but I did - and I am glad I did. I now know WHY the fundamentals are the fundamentals.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

What a review! Thanks a lot Peter! I hope your chess will be recharged from now on!

Kaushal Rawat

The way you explain is really awesome 🔥

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! Why 4? What was missing there? :)

Danny Miyoshi

😀😀😀😀😀😀

cecilio gonzalez

Nice and excellent videos

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Gracias!

Dragon Slayer

thanks for nice Videos

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

You're welcome, my friend!

Emma Yang

I have finished the course and to honestly say, Chessmood is always the best in every part. These courses are well-made and give plenty of details. Thanks!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Emma, thanks a lot, dear!

kamaran wriya

thanks for nice Videos . can I contact you? I want to talk directly with your excellency . thanks again

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! Hehe :) Sure, you can message us here: https://chessmood.com/contact

Adhyayan Banerjee

Well, I must say all chessmood courses are like a BRILLIANT MOVE!! Before chessmood I just blundered around not finding a brilliant course as many were just a "PRODUCT" of marketers but chessmood courses are ways to learn and improve crafted by GMs so there is a huge difference!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks for fantastic words!!!

Adhyayan Banerjee

Chessmood completely deserves it!

Jon Duffield

I have watched three of these videos now and am really impressed with the delivery of information. Clear, straightforward and when playing at my local chess club my results have already improved. Can't wait for the next one!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot, Jon!

Methuki Diyathma

Amaizng work.Thank you!!!!!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Happy you liked it! Thank you!

Alex Reeve

Thank you, great course!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Alex!

Emmanuelle Li

Very good

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! :)

Subrata Biswas

Nice!!!!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you :)

Joseph Ford

Rules to live by.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Hehe :)

Ray Wang

Very helpful

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Happy!

Alex Oliynyk

Very instructive and useful course. Thank you very much for your systematic approach

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks too!

Kevin Vincke

Well-structured course. Looking forward to the next one.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Kevin! WhiteMood, BlackMood? :)

Kevin Vincke

Started on WhiteMood already, loving it so far :D

Surya Madamsetty

Very helpful as a 10 year old your article in Lichess brought me to this.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Nice! Best of luck, my young friend.

lakshmi chepuri

hussein hussein

Nice course....

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks :)

Dan Skywalker

Great videos, everything very well explained. Thank you!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, too, Dan!

Teddi Kao

This is the best opening course I have ever come across! The explanations are very clear. Ever since I have watched this course, This has helped me to get into great positions and win many more games against opponents who did not follow the opening principles. I never knew how powerful the f4 move could be until I watched this course. Thank you so much.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thanks Teddi. I hope you'll become even better after watching the opening courses. And you'll see the power of f4 more in Grand Prix attack.

Mark Rodriguez

Great breakdown for a beginner like myself! Very helpful. Thank you and I’m looking forward to learning more!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thanks for sharing, Mark! And looking forward seeing you crossing 2,000.

Massimo Petazzoni

Thank you so much

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, too!

Neera Ann Rajan

Excellent Course

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Ronald Eduardo

Excelent course! I teach chess to beginners, and this material is the best that I have seen in a long time, congratulations!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot, Ronald!

Matteo Garavelli

Very good course. Clear and easy explanation and simply but fondamental principles that every chess player must know. I like it very much ☺️

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thanks a lot, Matteo!

Branny Bliss

Now I have been winning lots of games when people play f4 great course and well explained

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Great! Thanks!

Chris Knight

Good to review. Helpful to see thinking process outlined when opponent doesn't follow these.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Tushar Agarwalla

Very nice course. All opening principles are very well explained with examples.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, very much!

Jason Marshall

A truly amazing course that I am sure will help me greatly.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Jason!

Vikram Medelin

Great opening rules with interesting examples.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

pierre Wavresky

Très clair. Merci !

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Merci! :)

Ben Ten

Great Course

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you!

Ben Ten

This is awesome , I always thought we should castle early to keep the king safe, but now i know it's not necessary to castle early

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Yess! :)

Dipankar Ghosh

Great course for beginners ....love it

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Aradhya Adke

Very nice

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Gracias! :)

Raj Kumar

Love it

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Love to see 5 star reviews :)

challa venkateswarlu

nice

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

challa venkateswarlu

soo good i will follow your i tnrouctions

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Nice! :)

Bouhamyd Saad

Thanks a lot and we wish to unlock more free courses please

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! Sure, no problem. If you cover our bills, and salaries for our coaches, and for our developers, and the costs of keeping the website - no problem :)

David Stanford

Essential!

Saeid Mousavi

very useful course and tips.

Nick Mousavi Almaleki

Chess.com lessons suck compared to this. Thanks for the info Avetik!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot, Nick!

Sammith Rao

This is a very good course..

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

salyh ali

Will this course always be free ? thank you

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Maybe no? :)

aditi aggarwal

Great

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks :)

joe gladson

very good

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks :)

mihir patle

I like the course ,I am in worst phase of my chess nowadays because I lost rating in my recent games.I hope ,I will regain my rating.Thank you sir

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you! Focus on long-term growth. Focus on fun. Focus on doing your best. Rating will go up and down. Care for a long term.

Neil Gomes

Solid information through and through!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Neil!

Derek McGovern

An excellent course, with openings principles presented in a clear and concise way. While generally for beginners and lower graded players, more experienced players can also find the course useful.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Derek!

Todd Bultje

I've been discovering that despite being a chess player I'm very sloppy on Online chess games. These courses are excellent!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Todd!

Todd Bultje

ChessMood courses like this "Opening Principles - The fundamentals and beyond in detail" are excellent. I've raised my chess knowledge dramatically during the 6 day free courses. Thank you 😊!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks too!

happy light

Thank you

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, too! :)

Lakshit Dayananda

This is really helpful

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!!

Neil Gomes

Great job in presenting the information!!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Neil!

Riccardo Volpati

Great course Avo

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Gracias, amigo!

Noor Seif

This course is both comprehensive and concise. I think that all of the essential ideas were explained well with good examples! Thank you!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Noor!

Julius Mulius

I am about 2000 fide and it was still refreshing to get the fundamentals down and learn a couple of new interesting things on the way

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot, Julius!

Hesam Dm

Great course

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Petrisor Gavrila

Excellent stuff!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Stephan Briem

excellent

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Gaming highlights

Please even if you consider to make your courses premium please please I have just come to know about this I want to become a GM I am currently 15 and spending 3-4 hours a day in chess and don't know what to do now as I am 1143 in chess.com i started playing chess 4 months ago please do not make your premium please

ChessMood

Hehe :) Of course, thank you for kind words, and that you realize, that ChessMood is an invaluable resource for your journey to GM title. But please, also think about how much resources we spend to record this amount of and this quality courses... How much our developers work and so on... :) Anyway, opening principles course is unlocked currently.

Gaming highlights

Could you please do a favour to us who don't have money to spend on chess.Can you make one course free for sometime .

GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan

Guys this is not a joke :-) Even though I am a GM, I learned very important things here. GM Avetik says that if you have a strong center, and space advantage - it's a reasonable idea to castle to the opposite side and attack on the Opponent's king. Maybe I have done this in my games intuitively sometimes - however, I never applied it as a learned concept. Thanks, brother for teaching me even at this level :-)

Pavithra Gokhale

Great course, crystal clear explanation GM Avetik! Listening to your sessions has started giving me more confidence than other chess related materials on the internet. Thank you so much 😊

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Glad to hear that, my friend! And thanks a lot!

Riccardo Volpati

Hi Avo great course of Opening ( few an clear words for explaing eveything); as I'm an adult improver ( my rating is between 1300/1400 on Lichess ) you have "opened" my mind ; I'm sure to improve my chess since now I have founded the right guide , with your help (I'm just an essential member ) and with the Noel's NLT course ( just finished ) ; my next step is to choice the best opening for me with white and black beginning my journey through chess world in the better way , making my chess training planning. In my opinion : there are a lot of GM but few GM able to teach chess as you and Noel May be in the future to become a Pro Member Thank you so much ! Cheers

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks, Riccardo! I am very happy you follow Noel! Looking forward for an email, when you cross 1,500. And then 2000 :)

AQIL IDRAKI

Really helpful!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

I am happy!

Shlok Maheshwari

This course is very good! (Review from my 9-year-old)

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks and cheers to your son!

dhruva roy

Nevan Ashad

Nice course!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks!

Super Champ

it is great

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Yey!

ali khairala

very good

ChessMood

Merci!

Barney Powers

Excellent course. I appreciate that the focus is on 3 primary principals that greatly simplifies the process. Also, a few things to avoid as well as tips for castling and weaknesses. Thank you.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, Barney!

Alejandro Cornejo

Nice course.. very clear and useful

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you!

Dmytro Holiak

Very useful course! Thank you!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, too!

Abhay chaturvedi

very detailed in less time , best course on the internet , thanks avetik , it would be best if this would be free for everyone , i am a math teacher and i want to open a chess club in my district siddharth nagar , india . hope i will teach them about all of these thanks again

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you for kind words, my friend! Yes, this course is unlocked currently, and anyone can watch it. It's our gift to chess world, so they start with right foundation.

Ian Threlkeld

The best courses I have ever seen by far! Thank you Avetic.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot!

Dmytro Holiak

Nice course!

ChessMood

Gracias!

Albert Calinescu

This course was amazing! You are the best teacher I ever came across!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Hehe :) Thanks, my friend!

Ethan Zheng

YESSSSSSSSSSIR

Ethan Zheng

Go here https://media.tenor.com/1Kn_qoP7bJMAAAAM/chess-chesscom.gif

testing trouble

Awesome course. It helped me to improve my basic understanding of the opening.👍😁

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks! Hopefully, no more trouble? :)

Ethan Zheng

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Ethan Zheng

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas! So good :)

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thaaaaaank you! :)

Ethan Zheng

https://media.tenor.com/1Kn_qoP7bJMAAAAM/chess-chesscom.gif

Chatraessh R

It's so good and useful to improve my chess skills I was thankful to ChessMood to give this free courses.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

You're welcome!

Henry Singletary

Always done in excellence. Thank you Chessmood for breaking down opening principles in an easy understandable course!.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, too! :)

Bojan Milanovic

Nice explained, easy to understand. Really one of the best fundamentals opening courses I've seen.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks a lot, my friend!

Neo Toppinen

I think this course does a really good job at explaining the opening principles, not only listing them, but explaining and actually teaching them.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you very much, Neo! Now you can build your opening rep :)

Rextorum Hope

Muy claras las explicaciones y los ejemplos. Muy útil el curso. Muchas gracias.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Muchas gracias, amigo!

Narasimha Rao

Really nice course. I loved the point point - winning a tempo using smart castling .

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks! Yeah, that's a hidden nuance :)

Aaron Chapman

This was encredibly helpful. There were several principles I already used, but I did not know why. This was the first course that actually explains the reason why very well. Thank you!

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you for a nice review and kind words my friend!

Rishu Gg

Amazing course for beginner and people who want to improve their openings. Thanks teacher Avetik . And eagerly waiting for Middle game and End game principle courses for beginners.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thanks! :) Why 4 and not 5? :) What was missing?

Gokul krishna

Thanks Chessmood! I already reached 1800+ but i still dont know much of this.

ChessMood

Then 2,000 is coming soon! Thanks!

Jeff Petersen

Very helpful, thank you!

ChessMood

Great! Thank you, too! :)

Borhene E. LAKHOUA

Awsome, thank you very much

ChessMood

You're welcome! :) Thank you, too! :)

tuguldur Chess

good

Louai Fakher

For me I reach 1600 rating on lichess in different kind of chess rapid classic and blitz and I was just playing the openings blindly without understanding the main principles and the last year I was stuck in 1600 rating even I decrease to 1500 and I stuck there for months , now after taking this course which I finiched it now am completly sure that I will win most of games in the opening stage . Thank you a lot GM avetik for this course it helps me a lot of times

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Thank you, my friend! Please update here, once you reach 1700.

vinay hi

Good

Sam Baker

This course has helped me so much with my openings. I am a beginner and only have a rating of 300. I would recommend this course to anyone who wanted to learn how to start a game of chess.

GM_Avetik Grigoryan

Sam, thanks!

Cayito

Buenísimo curso para iniciarte en los principios de la apertura. Inglés sencillo y entendible con los movimientos que se van dando en el tablero. Muy recomendable para recordar las normas básicas de la apertura.

ChessMood

Muchisimas gracias! :)

Shreyash Buva

Very good course

ChessMood

Thanks!

Anirudh Gazelli

After watching these videos I realized how silly my openings were till now. Thank you GM Grigoryan for making this comprehensive playlist on opening principles.

ChessMood

Hehe :) Thanks a lot! What's your rating? Indeed, especially most of the players below 1,000 all they need, is this course :) And only then build openings.

Henry Singletary

Very good reminder of opening principles. Especially number 3 instead of castle early focus on king safety.

ChessMood

Thanks! Exactly! "Castle early... And get mated :) " vs "take your king to safety :) "

Steven Anderson

It takes a good teacher to be able to explain the basics. Thanks!

ChessMood

Thanks too! :)

Gaurav Joshi

Thnx for this

ChessMood

Thnx too :)

Wolverine Logan

Nice

ChessMood

Thunder Bolt

Explained in an interesting and memorable way

ChessMood

Thanks!

Zyad Mustafa

Very nice

ChessMood

Gracias!

Asif Tayyeb

Very Important ideas & points are being shared by GM, really very helpful to everyone one no matter player is beginner, amateur or expert

ChessMood

Asif, thank you!

rajul dhurwey

nice

ChessMood

Thanks :)

AG Digital

It was awesome loved it

ChessMood

Thanks :)

Herbert Antoine

I have been playing chess for some years now and learned lots of opening principles, however knowing them and not knowing (understanding the reasons, well the why's), after studying this course, I realized how much time going the wrong way, stuck at the bottom of the ladder. Now I have confidence in playing the opening, and looking forward to the middle game principles. Thank you a bunch for a wonderful stimulating, motivating course. Herbert A

ChessMood

Herbert, thank you very much too, for spending time to leave this beautiful review!

Ali ElSaid

Amazing course interactive and easy to follow up during the instructions.

ChessMood

Thanks, Ali!

flori deda

thank you this is very easy to follow and learn

ChessMood

Thanks! I tried my best! :)

Thomas Kearns

Great content

ChessMood

Thanks!

Robert Waller

Great instructions and examples. Well done. Thank you

ChessMood

Thank you, Robert!

sachin kumar bind

Very instructive 🔥

ChessMood

Thx!

Giorgos Kechagias

Great course! I will definetly reccomend it to lower level players!!

ChessMood

Thanks, Giorgos!

Bret Kugler

Great Course!!! The Quiz at the end really helps you further digest the material so it becomes part of you and your thinking.

ChessMood

Thanks, Bret!

Santosh Katakam

good

ChessMood

Neera Ann Rajan

Very good

ChessMood

Thanks! :)

Sherry Gondal

Excellent Course ....do we have affiliate program for this website or courses

ChessMood

Thanks! Yes, of course: https://chessmood.com/refer-a-friend

Johnathan San

Excellent course, clear and concise explanations with examples. A must course for beginners and possible intermediate [layers.

ChessMood

Thanks!

Marc Galichet

Merci pour ce cours très limpide. S'inscrire sur ChessMood était vraiment une bonne idée. J'ai l'impression de faire de réels progrès. Marc

ChessMood

Merci, merci!

yves walravens

excellent.

ChessMood

Thanks! :)

Paul Muresan

very good

ChessMood

Thanks, Paul!

Mad House

Thank you the course is very instructive and easy to understand

ChessMood

Thanks, Mad!

Sachin Agrahari

too easy to understand.

ChessMood

Thansk! :)

Tom Benemann

Great introduction!

ChessMood

:) Thank you!

Amarnath Keerthi

Great job!!

ChessMood

Thanks!

Eugene Chweya

I really enjoyed this course. Segmenting the course into bit-size video formats was the best feature for me. The theories and examples were also perfectly explained. Thank you Mr. Avetik. I'm looking forward to learning more from you.

ChessMood

Eugene, thank you very much! Glad you liked the way we made it.

roland kennedy

Terrific. Gets straight to the core instruction that early stage players need. Best i have experienced on the topic of 'openings'. Useful. Applicable. Ageless. Thank you!

ChessMood

Thank you, too for this beautiful review!

Kesom Simulium

Best

ChessMood

Yaay!

Jean-Marc Sabourin

Excellent !!!

ChessMood

Merci!

jenna ash

very good

ChessMood

Thanks :)

jenna ash

good

Pratik Tambi

good

ChessMood

Thanks!

Jalal Haidarah

Great jop

ChessMood

Thank you :)

Adham Ghaly

A Great Entry Level Course.

ChessMood

Thanks, Adham!

Robert Fetner

great course

ChessMood

Thanks, Robert!

Austin Blevins

Awesome course!...can anyone please link me the Nepo game from chapter 24?

ChessMood

Thanks, Austin! Here you have it: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1461298

Ananya N K

the best

ChessMood

Merci!

Mir Arbaz

Amazing, imagine all the beginners who start using these principles in their games leading to a huge increase in rating points!

ChessMood

Thanks!

Yorick Bekoutou

Really amazing stuff in year, and the explanations are so crystal clear

ChessMood

Yorick! Thanks a lot!

lz a78

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR KIND ACT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UNLOCKING THIS GREAT COURSE FOR FREE !!!

ChessMood

YOU ARE WELCOME!!

Allan Sunga

very helpful and easy to follow course. Great job GM Avetik...

ChessMood

Thanks! We're happy you loved it!

Dipankar Ghosh

You guys are great to say..How you all are sharing the content with everyone and reaching to all its totally commendable and appreciable ..wishing all happiness for whole cheesmood content creators...

ChessMood

Deep-big-huge thanks from all our team!

Barry Phillips

Good

ChessMood

Dave Browne

The best basic chess lesson I've seen online, thanks.

ChessMood

Wow, Dave! Thanks for such words!

A. T.

This is so good Thanks Avetik!

ChessMood

Thanks too! :)

Rob Widham

awesome course, where are the middlegame and endgame principle courses though?

Elizabeth Tanyous

Really Amazing as usual 😍 and also will watch it more and more 🙏🏻 and can't wait the next courses😍 thank you i appreciate

ChessMood

Hey Elizabeth! Thank you very much. What's your rating?

Tony O'Donovan

Another great course from chessmood

ChessMood

Thanks Tony! Trying our best :)

Casey Davis

Excellent course. Very helpful to one who learnt openings before becoming more au fait with basic opening principles.

ChessMood

Thanks, Casey!

Tiago Morita

Great course on opening principles!

ChessMood

Thanks, Tiago!

Gharsallah Marwen

Good job ! Amazing

ChessMood

Gracias!

Boris Silbermann

great course!

ChessMood

Thanks, Boris!

Brendan Morris

Easy to follow

ChessMood

Thanks :)

Tony O'Donovan

Fantastic course

ChessMood

Thanks, fantastic man! :)

Sritej Devarakonda

This is the most important course for beginners, it also helps the intermediate and advanced players.

ChessMood

Sritej, much appreciated!

Peiheng Chan

good lesson! love you so much Avetik!!!

ChessMood

Thanks, my friend! :)

Michael Wilson

Very Informative.

ChessMood

Gracias Michael!

Ali Akbar

Amazing ?

ChessMood

If its a question, yes, we think so! :)

Ahmed Younis

A great and very instructive course. Well done :)

ChessMood

Thanks, Ahmed!

Kishwor Bhandari

The opening concepts that I have learned in around 2 years, and which have been stored in my brain like a messed up knowledge, is well summarized and brushed up by GM's less than 2 hours lecture. Thank you GM for your nice efforts??.

ChessMood

Hehe :) Thanks, Kishwor! Keep learning from the right sources, and you'll see a fast growth.

Real Interviews

excellent

ChessMood

Thanks! :) When do we organize an interview? :)

Ashish Kumar

Very nice

ChessMood

Thanks, Ashish

Mt Tr

I've been playing chess for a couple years and was aware of the opening principles, but this really went to the next level in cementing them in and found it to be a really useful review! One friendly piece of feedback - it would be nice if your quizzes gave more feedback (e.g. what principle, or video chapter, are they testing? Why were they looking for the answer they're looking for / why was that particular puzzle chosen - to highlight what?) Very much enjoyed!

ChessMood

Thanks a lot my friend for kind words! And thanks for feedback. We assure you, we'll make the quizzes better.

Daniel birhanu

great job

ChessMood

Thanks, Daniel!

ja ja

Great!

ChessMood

Mohamed Ben Youssef

So satisfying

ChessMood

Hehe :)

Punit Dodhiya

if you study this course properly and after that i suggest to watch games of greco so one can understand how this principles work in practice

Olaf Mueller-Michaels

Fantastic course.

ChessMood

Olaf, thanks!

Christopher Aach

Very useful and informative.

ChessMood

Thanks, Chris!

Ovi - Silver Cloud

Thanks Avetik. Learned a few principles I didn't know. Great job, you're #1 teacher!

ChessMood

Hehe :) Thanks, Ovi! But I still need to eat lots of bread and cheese to be number 1 :)

Nils Philipp

Very nice. I liked most the examples of how to punish violations of the principles and the easy to remember setup. Maybe more examples and examples from the announced Middlegame Principles course could be put together as a kind of "Master vs Amateur" course (which could also include games from the rocketing streams).

ChessMood

Thanks, Nils!

Joseph Flynn

Reveik Poobalan

I'm so happy I joined chessmood. GM Avetik is the best thing to happen in chess for a lot of us. So passionate to teach, so passionate to create a family with positive vibes and good nature.

ChessMood

Thanks a lot, Reveik!

Sriram M

Great concept ! I am certain I heard "Middle Game Principles" in one of the videos. Looking forward to it.

ChessMood

Super!

Hovig Aramali

Very good course! Well organized with nice demonstrations/examples! The course is for beginners and chess coaches who teach chess at the beginner level! Thank you ChessMood! :)

ChessMood

Thanks a lot, Hovig jan!

Timothy McGovern

Ignoring what to do when an opponent violates principles is common among most chess teachers, so I was very pleased to finally see some ideas on how to punish that type of bad play. This was an excellent primer on not only how to learn an opening repertoire, but why.

ChessMood

Timothy!! Thanks a lot!

Krishnanunny Menon

Explained beautifully

ChessMood

We try :) Thanks!

Shankar j

Nice work. I liked the idea of breaking the course into multiple sections with 1-2mins videos which is letting us to have some pause and grasp the concept. Keep up the good work. Thanks a lot

Kevin D

The most important course on the site so far, and exceptionally well produced! An invaluable resource for players new to the game, as well as the more experienced ones just wanting to fill in any gaps regarding their Opening fundamentals. Even seasoned players are well served to refresh their Opening fundamentals from time to time, as it helps re-calibrate one's thought process, and even such a legendary player as Mikhail Tal was known to employ this practice as a regular part of his training regimen.

ChessMood

Kevin, thanks a lot!

Fernando Cacela

Fernando Laroca

Excelent course!

ChessMood

Gracias!

Juan Suarez

Amazing work!

ChessMood

Thanks, sir! :)

Artyom Manukyan

GM Avetik Grigoryan

After having a successful playing career where he became the Armenian Champion in 2010, GM Avetik Grigoryan found his passion for chess coaching and switched to it full-time.

Since then, he has guided many ambitious players to become Grandmasters and International Masters and has over 10 years of coaching experience.

He believes anyone can improve at chess, with the right mood and proper direction. And with that vision, he founded ChessMood in 2018.

After having a successful playing career where he became the Armenian Champion in 2010, GM Avetik Grigoryan found his passion for chess coaching and switched to it full-time.

Since then, he has guided many ambitious players to become Grandmasters and International Masters and has over 10 years of coaching experience.

He believes anyone can improve at chess, with the right mood and proper direction. And with that vision, he founded ChessMood in 2018.

Currently, this course is free and unlocked for all!

Course