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Chess forum by Grandmasters
Anti-Sicilian Part 2 (NC6) with Bxc6 - Middle Game plan
Hi fellow Chessmood members: I was trying to find the plans for White once you reach this position in the Bxc6 variation. Apologies if I missed it. Appreciate if someone can point me in the right direction (video or line). Thank you! Jose
Replies
As a follow up, I sort of remember a video section covering 7....c4 8. O-O, cxd3 9. cxd3, O-O .... but I cannot find it. 😓😓😓
Hi Jose,
The thing is the position here is bad for black, as the bishop on c8 is blocked, and they don't have any options to fight for the center because of a pawn on f4. White develops the pieces to the center, I like the h3 move, and Queen can go to h4 sometimes with f5-Bh6 ideas.
Check out our stream games in Rock'n'Rolling with white videos, where we have the best parts from the streams and the variation you ask is also there.
https://chessmood.com/course/rock-n-rolling-with-white
Good luck!
Intuiton vs analysis
Much of this seems relevant to chess: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/when-to-consult-your-intuition/
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Good article David, one has to really get down and think about it. And maybe read twice....
MacCutcheon Gambit
Hi Chessmood family, I really like offbeat ideas, but do you really trust the 'MacCutcheon Gambit'? The videos lack further guidance... 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. exd5 Bb4 For example 7. Bb5+ c6 8. dxc6 bxc6 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nf3 c5 11. O-O cxd4 12. Qxd4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ba6 14. Bd3 Qxd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd3 16. cxd3 *
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The Blackmood openings are for weaker players, so it's less likely a long sequence will occur and if it does (because it was parroted) the player is less likely to make as much of it. When the advanced versions of these are released, then it will be needed to be looked at in more detail, and possibly some changes to suggested lines made if there are clear downsides.
Simplified White Opening PGN error
Getting an error when I try and upload the pgn for simplified chess mood Pirc and Modern defense pgn. Anyone else run into this?
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Hi Brendan!!
This is due to Lichess interface because it does not support the introduction of null moves.
With Chessbase there is no problem to open the file.
The only thing that you can do is to delete the part with null move(s) and then upload it again.😀
opening .rar files
Would someone be able to let me know how to open the .rar files? I'm finding difficulty doing so. Thank you in advance
Replies
They are compressed files, you can use the free software 7-zip to “unrar” them among others.
This one is free and works with all of the compressed files.
Sorry for this, next time I will tell the team to upload zip files instead.😅
Question about the blackmood French?
How do we continue after e4 e6 nf3 d5 exd5 exd5 Nc3? I don't remember from the course. Is it just an exchange variation? I find it vary hard to get the setup with bishop d6 long castle because they will just take my d5 pawn. Thanks for your time and answers.
Replies
Hi Chiller I'm no expert but by trying to answer I might learn what to do as well :-) Nc3 isn't covered in the summarised course but hopefully will be dealt with in a future advanced course. I guess for now it's one of those lines we have to learn on our own - it's part of our growth journey! White's Nc3 does cross our standard plan so we have to adapt to the changed circumstances. No one plan applies to all variations. We can 1) push the pawn 2) defend it with c6 3) defend with Nf6 4) develop with Nc6. Option 1) looks premature and weakening. But it is difficult to see a concrete line that gives white a big advantage. White can play 5. Nb5 but we can play Nc6. I think 5. Ne4 is more challenging. We have to be careful to develop rapidly and be wary of our d4 pawn becoming a weakness. Option 2) 4. ... c6 solidifies our pawn centre but stops our knight going to c6 and limits our light squared bishop. After 5 d4 Bd6 we get a similar set up to our plan. We have compromised the pawn cover if we castle long and because the knight can't go to c6 our position becomes congested. Nevertheless this is playable. Option 3) 4. ... Nf6 simply develops the pieces and castle kingside and just play chess. Black equalises, but it doesn't look too exciting. Option 4) 4. ... Nc6 again this simply develops, we follow up with Bg4 then react to what white plays. For example 5. d4 Bg4 6. Bb5 Bg4 7 h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 Ne7 (Bacrot- Jumabayev 2019) I'm sure there are other options so hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me may give you better suggestions. You need to look at the alternatives and come to the conclusion as to what you want to play. Try it in future games and see how you get on with it. Good luck.
Hi Chiller,
While Norbert provided a great reply, I would just mention that my choice goes to setup with Nc6 - Nge7 - Bf5 or Bg4 and 0-0-0, however, it depends a lot on the concrete moves of the opponent.
Good luck!
The best games of October, 2022, and the prizes
Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions!
Welcome to the "Best games of October, 2022" 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 September, 2022:
Mogens Nielsen
Marcus F.
Jay Garrison
Wenstin
Paulius the Witcher
Replies
Antisicilian attack
The advantage of development
My first ever entry in this "best games" series ?: https://www.chess.com/game/live/58525762539 A Sicilian hedgehog with an exchange sacrifice on c3
Playing against the opponents pieces https://www.chess.com/live/game/58533641393
https://lichess.org/Uc0ey6w9/white#163
What a beautiful mate! https://lichess.org/qQygffzS/white
Nice Game! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/4NUca1NHdg
SLP mode .. after Nc6 giveaway?! https://www.chess.com/game/live/58750800335
Anti Caro-Kann :) https://www.chess.com/game/live/58818057717
Flying Dutchman:-p https://www.chess.com/live/game/58803097011
Simplicity:-p https://www.chess.com/live/game/58802358863
Flying Dutchman part 2 https://www.chess.com/live/game/58793939241
French fries:-p https://www.chess.com/live/game/58715446871
Conan the "chess"barbarian:-p https://www.chess.com/live/game/13949524637
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58812689649
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/58873787827?tab=review Reminding me of the first game of Alekhine's Hundred Games book (Alekhine was black, and it was a Ruy Lopez)
Never give up:-) https://lichess.org/v8cA9uTxod5e
A nice win in anti-sicilian (Rapid) https://lichess.org/JlYCUQr4ELFE
Dutch Attack with b6, Bb7 + Ne4 and Rf6, Rh6, Qe8 Qh5 path .. finished with Nd2 and Qxh3 setting up B+R Opera mate! https://www.chess.com/game/live/58927198735
Complete turnaround and then a crazy queen sacrifice! https://www.chess.com/game/live/58387316309
cool attacking game https://lichess.org/bjwRCgPx/black#0
Hi there Chessmood people, I played my second ever OTB game at the local chess club, which counts for national ELO. It is also the first game I played as white and the first game I prepared for by studying the WhiteMood openings. This is how it went: https://lichess.org/study/0BwgjyCd Studying these lines gave me the practical advantage straight out of the opening and even though the endgame work was a bit sloppy, we got the win in the end. Luckily there are endgame courses as well, right. ? Benn
A very nice win !! ( Rapid ) https://lichess.org/RLtnrBVLOuw1
beautiful attack and mate! https://lichess.org/Ljp0L2gx/white#42
Like to add this game which is played against the Latvian Gambit. Followed the Chessmood lines and got a easy win :-) https://lichess.org/NZ0vTYmm
A nice win!! in scotch game (rapid) https://lichess.org/3xeGTHtVjW4W
https://www.chess.com/game/live/59479231209
https://www.chess.com/live/game/59502098775 I had faster checkmate but its still nice combination:-)
Really very nice win !! https://lichess.org/a9kMuCEcc2qF
A good win !! against FM in simul-custom position https://lichess.org/sPhC6qPJ5TLb
Fast funny blitz game https://www.chess.com/live/game/59683250095
Nice tactics and mating pattern! https://lichess.org/ktHnMIx08emo
Only 20 moves to defeat 2400 in Rapid with ideal development! https://lichess.org/rOpfnyiF/white#24
17 moves mate using the Whitemood opening course, antiSicilian Thanks Avetik! https://lichess.org/qT6M6PXytssF
SLP as per Avetik's stream yesterday. Draw if opponent was careful...he wasn't. https://lichess.org/PxhQbXFkf0Fm
Grand Prix - remembering ideas from model game (Rublevsky) helps https://www.chess.com/game/live/60450010077 Passini attack in action https://www.chess.com/game/live/60109860577 strange grand prix https://www.chess.com/game/live/59932209581 https://www.chess.com/game/live/59932776407 benko Nf3 b4 https://www.chess.com/game/live/59934104977
I just watched GM Vishnu interview and I was very impressed. And I played this game. https://lichess.org/n3vdEbvx/black#0
Clean Game! https://www.chess.com/game/live/60024566785
French Advanced with double pawn in b-file. Nice and easy game by attaching the d4 pawn. Thx Coach for the line. https://lichess.org/Szk6vDVr/black
slow game https://www.chess.com/game/live/60102677743
Saving Lost Positions (SLP) is important. Opponents usually relax when they win the Queen, which is a mistake. Here they lost the game because they were so far ahead then made mistakes. 20 moves. https://lichess.org/2Nfp0TCx/black#42
One miniature game :-) https://new.chess24.com/game?id=a5d49bb343b7
https://lichess.org/XcY7hvDN/white#31 Queen sacrifice mate!
https://new.chess24.com/game?id=99aceb4854ba
https://new.chess24.com/game?id=2a6cb458429b
Attacking the king!
Today I played two different types of really great games. https://lichess.org/nR7gUBs3BdPF Opening was better version Rossolimo for white. I played really aggressive ,all the pieces working together and finally checkmated opponent! https://lichess.org/ogsGiKk8/black#0 This game was very positional, but It became complex endgame by my exchange sacrifice for the 3pawns. I successfully pushed 3 connected passed pawns with my pieces help, and won!
Attacking like a viking
I was white. [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.10.07"] [Round "?"] [White "ramakanha"] [Black "JAISHRIKRISHNA123"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "1902"] [BlackElo "1979"] [TimeControl "1800"] [EndTime "0:54:16 PDT"] [Termination "ramakanha won by checkmate"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 a6 7. a4 e6 8. Nd2 Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Ngf3 O-O 11. O-O e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Nd4 Qg5 16. Qc1 Qh4 17. Qe3 Bd7 18. a5 Rae8 19. Qg3 Qxg3 20. hxg3 Re5 21. Rfe1 Rfe8 22. Kf1 h6 23. Rxe5 Rxe5 24. Re1 Ne4 25. Nf3 Re8 26. Re2 Nc5 27. Rxe8+ Bxe8 28. Bc2 Bb5+ 29. Ke1 Ba4 30. Kd2 Bxc2 31. Kxc2 Ne4 32. Kd3 Nxf2+ 33. Kd4 Kf8 34. b4 Ke7 35. Kxd5 g5 36. Kc5 Kd7 37. Kb6 Kc8 38. Ne5 f5 39. Nf7 Ne4 40. c4 Nxg3 41. Nd6+ Kb8 42. Nxb7 g4 43. c5 Ne4 44. c6 f4 45. b5 f3 46. gxf3 g3 47. fxe4 g2 48. c7+ Kc8 49. Nd6+ Kd7 50. c8=Q+ Kxd6 51. Qg4 g1=Q+ 52. Qxg1 axb5 53. a6 Ke5 54. a7 Kxe4 55. a8=Q+ Ke5 56. Qe8+ Kd5 57. Qd1+ Kc4 58. Qc6+ Kb4 59. Qb1+ Ka3 60. Qa8# 1-0
clean game https://www.chess.com/game/live/60536456585
This was a game played two weeks ago against 1900 lichess, (I am 1600 currently,), in which I was dead lost but managed to bounce back after a nice tactic. Hope you enjoy the game! https://lichess.org/vPwMTgvc#87
A new way to counter the London System. https://lichess.org/p9LjzZUJ0hHs
https://new.chess24.com/game?id=ed3b0f7fe262
Miniature of 14 moves... https://new.chess24.com/game?id=bce4a7c66e5a
Incredibly tactical game!! https://lichess.org/0CBVCi2P/white#35
I won coach Gabuzyan in Simul!! https://lichess.org/bEbUa33V/black#42
Sicilian https://lichess.org/AZKwVjUb/white#61
Alekhine Chessmood variation https://www.chess.com/live/game/60376204417
Dutch Stonewall https://www.chess.com/live/game/60358949763
Dutch, fun finish https://www.chess.com/live/game/60163209319
Dutch attack/reversed closed sicilian with nice king hunt https://www.chess.com/live/game/59766015003
Qxh5! https://www.chess.com/live/game/59673626659
Dutch attack https://www.chess.com/live/game/59068863767
Scotch https://www.chess.com/live/game/59045965003
Hello champions!
How are you all doing today? 😊
Thank you for sharing your games! We enjoyed going through them and seeing you score some nice wins. Keep it up!
Moving on to the prizes for the best games of October 2022 now:
The first prize goes to Mik B.
What a nice game you played in the Duch attack: bringing all the pieces and then sacrificing a Queen to mate. Well done!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58927198735
Andreas Sym takes the second prize. In the French exchange variation, you managed to create imbalances, create an attack and finish off the game beautifully. Great game!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/59502098775
The third prize goes to Giorgos Kechagias for beating the London System with a nice Kingside assault. The maneuver from Nb6 to Ng5 was very interesting! Good job!
https://lichess.org/p9LjzZUJ/black#43
Ovi Sacasan takes the fourth prize for the following miniature in the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack – clean and elegant! Congratulations!
https://lichess.org/qT6M6PXytssF
The fifth prize goes to Yuma Okabe for this fine attacking game in the Caro-Kann Defense. Well done!
https://lichess.org/Ljp0L2gx/white#53
Congratulations once again to everyone. Thanks for sharing your games. Keep the CoGro!
See you in the next month’s contest. Wish you all the best!
I just realized that GM Gabuzyan in his "Interactive lesson: The Games of Chessmood Champion" analyzed exactly those games. So I received the honor of having my own game commented by our coach. Just wanted to thank very much for this service and all the kind words about this game. It gives me motivation to try to get another game running in the competition. Marcus
Grivas Sicilian
Any thoughts on the reputation of the Grivas Sicilian for under 2300 FIDE? e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6 Could be an interesting alternative to the accelerated and maroczy.
Replies
I don't know much about the Grivas Sicilian but if I was learning another Sicilian I would strongly consider the Classical. It's well thought of in terms of soundness but isn't as popular as the biggies like the Najdorf and Sveshnikov. Also, it can be played using either 2...Nc6 or 2...d6 which provides some nice flexibility. For example you might want to have the option of avoiding the Rossolimo. I guess the down side is that the Classical is more theoretical than the Grivas.
Why parroting chessable style shouldn't be the only method to learn
Interesting article: https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2022/10/26/variable-mastery/ The summary is that by using multiple methods to reach the solution we're more likely to be more effective. (It's also known for a long while that if you have multiple ways of recalling something, if one of them fails you can use another approach.) Related to chess: learning opening lines (only) chessable style rather than also using other strategies to work out the move that is good or leads to known positions is a good idea. Ideas might be remembering the target position, reasons we play or don't play moves (elimination is important particularly if the move looks reasonable), to find some way of adding emotion to a particularly surprising move which we wouldn't choose, understanding why we would chose other moves before the one we want to remember, understanding the position, linking related positions links, experience (especially losses), the classics, different ways to attempt to train or recall the information, not getting hung up over remembering one line and neglecting the rest, different information sources,... It also suggests mixing up problems which I think is something ChessMood should do so the method isn't obvious. For example in Endgame Roadmap, the quiz seems to go in chapter order, so the first few puzzles are all about doing the same thing. Puzzles are easier when the theme is known, so it would be better mixed up so that you're having to work out what the idea is, not remembering roughly the order of material or it likely being a similar idea to the previous puzzle.
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I own a few Chessable opening courses, OK more than a few :-), but just use them as reference material. I don't use Chessable spaced repetition for trying to memorise openings at all. To me it felt too mechanical with not enough emphasis on understanding. I much prefer putting my entire opening repertoire into my own database files, with lots of different comments that are meaningful (and memorable) to me. I review the lines from time to time, particularly before a tournament or club game. And of course I use the ChessMood technique of reviewing the openings from blitz games at the end of an online session. I think it's helpful to sometimes review lines using a physical board too.
SLP: Avoiding exchanges exceptions
In exceptions the case where you do want to exchange pieces not pawns isn't covered and that is where it's a theoretically drawn endgame, especially fortresses. The most common one which appears even in beginners' games is B+wrong rook-pawn.
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Maroczy bind with 10.h3
Is this variation covered? I watched almost all the very good Maroczy series but couldn't find it. I am referring to: 1. e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2 Bg7 8.Be3 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. h3!? Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. Qc2 a5 13. Rad1 Nd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Bg4! Ne5 16. c5! with huge pressure on the d6 pawn This variation has been considered almost a refutation of the Bd7-c6 approach in some courses (ie. David Martinez on chess24). And 10. h3 is the first line of my engine. I've seen more recently Duda going for 6... Nxd4 and then pushing a5-a4 before committing the bishop to d7 or e6... I thought this was the reaction to avoid the new 10. "h3" line. But I would highly appreciate your opinion and advice. Thanks Andrea
Replies
6...Nxd4 is the Modern Maroczy, which has its own course and is generally recommended over the Maroczy. (6...d6 followed by 7...Nxd4 may be more precise.)
Dear Andrea,
If you are feeling uncomfortable with this variation, you choose the Modern Maroczy which have covered as well 🙂
Additionally, please check out our forum policies through this link https://chessmood.com/forum/pro-channel/forum-new-policies
That might be helpful for future questions as well 😁
All the best!
GM Gabuzyan.
I just wanted to add, that after reading Gabu's reply, it may look a bit harsh, but no bad intention was meant in the reply.😀
English is not our main language and when written it may be subject to different interpretations.😅
Regarding the link to the policies, we do not recommend to use the engine much and we do not see much sense in debating engine lines, we are convinced that it is not good for your chess development unless you are 2300 FIDE more or more. There are better ways to spend the learning time to be more effective. 🙂
Regarding this line, yes, it is one of the problematic lines on the Maroczy Bind introduced lately but we are not trying to do a theoretical competition with every course or book published, we are aware that is difficult to play for Black. That is why we introduce to course to learn the basics and get a feel of the position, but we recommend the Modern Maroczy for Advanced Players.
If you are an advanced player, by all means learn the Modern Maroczy and use the normal Maroczy as a base for ideas.
On the team, we all love the Modern Maroczy, lots of lines are similar and it is easy to learn, normally you will be in the driving seat with a lot of time on your clock compared to your opponent.
Try it and let us know what do you think, by the way, if it is not too much to ask, what's your rating?🙂
Chess Journeys Podcast
I was this week's return guest on the Chess Journeys Podcast! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-69-jay-1850-uscf/id1577673957?i=1000584889710
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Interesting stuff thanks Jay.
Thanks Jay And congratulations on your progress.
Also, your thoughts about rewiring your brain using large scale repetition of the fundamentals are quite similar to my own. For my approach, I have over 5000 tactical puzzles on rotation in Chessable. A range of difficulties, but quite a lot of easy stuff that's aimed at players many hundreds of points below my rating. I even include the 600 mate in 1s from this fun course https://www.chessable.com/the-unexpected-mate-in-1/course/19247/.
Buy video with moodcoins
Hello, I am new and discover this website recently. Before buying a membership i wonder if i can buy video with moodcoins. I don't see the moodcoins price for the videos. If someone could help me it will be nice. Thanks for your reply.
Replies
On the page of a video, you should find an option in the top right that says "Get lifetime access". If you click on it, there should be several options regarding your payment method, one of which should be using moodcoins.
Jobava line with 5. Be2, delaying Nf3
After: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Be2, I see a few options: a. We can go 5.. 0-0, but aren't we then giving white possibilities for initiative with 6. f3 and a king's side attack? b. On the other hand, 5.. c5 is not good here due to 6. Nb5. c. We could go 5.. c6, but then white could play 6. Nf3 and we would have wanted our pawn on c5 instead of c6. What is the recommendation?
Replies
5...0-0 followed by ..c5 is good. 6.f3 is premature and makes Ng1 unhappy. Black strikes first with 6...c5 followed by ..Nc6 and ..Qb6. I also play 6...0-0 after 5.h4 h5 6.Nf3 and like it better than what's given in the course (see previous discussions). Delaying castling is possible but not mandatory in this line.
Hello Yair,
Black can play with castle and after f3 ideas quickly prepare central break through Nbd7-Re8-e5!
Chess Variations...Useful?
Hi all, what do you think of chess variations such as chess360 that assigns different positions to pieces? It seems counterintuitive to me when learning lines here at Chessmood and nuances that are already hard to remember. Yet they're still popular even with higher rated players.... Cheers!
Replies
I think 960 is *more* popular among professionals. That's because they are tired of standard openings and the resulting positions, which they've been studying their entire life. While I think that playing some 960 could also be beneficial for amateurs, I find standard chess challenging enough and like the optimal placement of pieces in the standard starting position.
Scandinavian Video course
Hi, I have been watching the Scandinavian video course and it was very interesting 🙂. I learnt a lot from the videos and I really appreciate the work. However, near the 50-second mark of the Section 5 (3...Nf6) 6...Qf5 video, there seems to be a small mistake? The course recommended 8.0-0 after 7.Nbd2 Nb4, claiming that a knight on c2 wouldn't do anything, but here 8.Qa4+ instead seems to win a piece immediately 🙂.
Replies
Sorry about making so many posts lately 😅. The database seems to suggest that after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3, 3...g6 is the third most played move from Black, and the fianchetto positions seem to independent from any other variation covered in the course. I wonder if GM Grigoryan could kindly recommend an approach against this setup? 🙂
Moodcoins for solving daily puzzles
Hi, I purchased the essential membership several days ago, and I notice that I didn't get moodcoins for solving the daily puzzles since then. I'm wondering if this is a bug? Thank you very much.
Replies
Hi Lemmimgs player,
We tested with your account the daily problems and we could not find anything wrong.
You must solve the puzzle right on the first attempt. Otherwise you will get no coins if you failed once.
Do your homework?
For those going though the Whitemood/Blackmood courses....Avetik keeps mentioning at the end of each course to : " download the PGN files and do your homework". I am solving the associated quizzes...Is there something more I should do? Any help on this is, as always , appreciated!
Replies
How to open the attachments?
Hi all. I cannot open any attachments to do the homework because they are RAR files. I am trying to use chessbase to open the files. Am I missing something obvious? Thanks in advance.
Replies
They are compressed files, you can use the free software 7-zip to “unrar” them among others.
This one is free and works with all of the compressed files.
Sorry for this, next time I will tell the team to upload zip files instead.😅
New video bar pause issue
Maybe outside of Chessmood's control, but on Android the control bar sometimes lingers after pause obscuring the board. Useful additions with the new bar to adjust the resolution and speed are appreciated.
