Chess forum by Grandmasters

English Opening

😁

What to play after 

1c4,c5

2Nc6,g6

3g3,Bg7

4Bg2,Nc6

5Nf3,O-O

6O-O,d6

7d3,E5

8Nd2

How should I continue after Nd2

6

Replies

Hey there,

The move sequence written is incorrect, as 5… 0-0 is impossible, as the Black Knight is still on g8.
I assume you are referring to the position on the image.

Black can castle there, and if White plays Re1 with an idea of Nf1-Ne3, we can play Be6 and d5!
 

Sicilian Sidelines Bc4

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/YWz2Lo9Pt/analysis

In this position after pawn takes in the course it covers ne2 move but what do we do in nd1. Facing it a lot. Please, explain the next moves and plans and ideas.

Replies

Hi Pawn Bishop,

This line overall with f4 after Nc6 is a practical way of playing at the U2000 level; however, if you want to know more theory, you can check these lines at the step-by-step repertoire, where we play with 3.Bb5

Grand Prix Doubt

Hello everyone, I had one question about the Grand Prix systems for White.

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.O-O e6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nb5 a6.

I came across this while preparing for my tournament and need help on this line. What is the best way to continue for White?

Thanks in advance.

Replies

Hey there,

After a6, you need to capture on d4 as the Knight is hanging.

If you have question, somewhere else please let me know.

 

scotch problem

what to do after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2 0-0 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 a5 10.a4 Nd4 11.Qd3 Nxb3 12.cxb3 c6 13.0-0-0 d5 14.Qc2!N Be6 15.exd5 cxd5 16.Nxd5 Bxd5 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Rxd5 Qxf2 19.Bc4 Be3+ 20.Kb1 Qxc2+ 21.Kxc2 b6 22.b4! when black simply doesn't take the pawn and reroutes their bishop to attack it forcing us to take or push the pawn. If we take the pawn, then black simply plays Bb4 and it is still a draw.

Replies

this was not covered in the advanced section of the course

Hi Eli,

This exact line is not just advanced, but is super, super advanced, and I have faced it once, only against a 2650 FIDE-rated GM.
If the opponent knows so far and knows ideas deeply, probably they are on this super GM level, so against them, you might need a repertoire accordingly. 

This position is still practically playable for White with a little edge.

NEW ARTICLE: To Succeed at Chess, Start with WHY

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Nice article on the dreaded (but ever so important) why question!

(Does size matter so much? How big is yours [your why] may not be as valid as the quality of intent of yours? Have you ever seen a "mustard" seed [or any seed] grow into a full size plant? Why does that happen? Does one seed have a greater burning desire than its other fellow seeds? We all want to reach our full potential, but conditions are not always right for some to do so unfortunately.)

Still, this why question, is the bane of all parents at some stage with young children.

When it comes with (or goes with) love though, it is indeed very powerful. Give them roots & give them wings & they will grow up to do great things! I can testify to & verify that to be true. It even applies to chess coaches and chess students!

I am not a good chess player, but as I change my mindset on this & play more I will improve (& my "why" is my own and special), but I was a good sportsman (especially at Squash rackets) in my youth. My son is a very good chess player,  as he learnt good chess by simply playing good chess as a junior (age 8-16yrs). I fondly remember one of my friends, who was a good squash payer, playing many games with me, as squash training & being competitive and encouraging to improve my play & we both had good fun with this and I improved. Later, I took professional coaching, but this was never the same and not as much fun, so even though it was useful, it was quite different.

It would be nice to replicate this "serious, yet fun" mode with some other good chess players for my chess training too, but so far I have found nothing as good, but this site helps! Maybe one day here I may find a kindred spirit to share chess play &  improvement with. I have just started enjoying interacting with one particular good chess player on his Twitch chess stream & I am learning to improve from this which is excellent!

Well, may we all aim for & reach the stars & fulfill our dreams & goals with our own unique special "why", but remember, chess is a game, which we are very blessed to play and study with these fine resources.

Right Mood, Right Move..

COGRO ChessMood family...best wishes and much love to you all  :-)

I started play chess when i am at grade 6. Nobody teach me how to play it..i just watch my grand father when playing..im not talented like other's but i felt fun playing it..one day there's a tournament in our town, i want to participate but my uncle wont allow me because he though im not good at it..that's the start i took a chalenge, i watch every game of some elite chess player in our town and study it before i sleep and after some weeks i defeated those some of the elite and also i defeat my uncle..im now 35 i want to be the number of my town but there is one that i cant defeat badly..it turns that were even or sometimes i have lost to him..when this pandemic come this chess mood appear in my wall, free for 7 days...i only watch some of the video because i dont have computer, i only rent in the computer shop..but in that little time i crush my opponents 10-0...im so happy but after that he study my moves with the computer and i cannot defeat him like the other day because some of the line i did not watch it...and i cant proceed to pro because i dont have any paypal or credit card... My goal is to become number 1 in the city and become a GM someday.. and i want to prove to my family that i will fulfill my dreams without there support.. for now i only solve those puzzle everyday but i cant solve it in the first attemp... Thank you chess mood...someday i will become pro member..thank you so much..sorry for my grammar..

A good teacher teaches and a great teacher inspires!

Thank you Avetik sir for this wonderful article.

Waiting for the next article:)

Amazing article! Start with why and find your why by Simon sinek best books I have ever read.

I liked this article and some of the other articles you have released on lichess and chessmood. I can't afford a coach so this for me helps to work on my chess psychology and just the way I view life in general

The link sends me to 404…

That was a great article! It helped me really understand the mindset I should have not only in chess improvement but in every goal I have in my life. Everyone must ask this question to himself in everything he tries to accomplish in his life.

I am new to this platform and I found it by luck, by a blog posted on lichess about the 10 days where all courses were unlocked. I said to give it a try for these ten days as I have not the money to afford any expenses about chess. It was one of my best decisions in my chess journey. I stayed even after the end of the offer. I have not watched many courses as I can't buy them at the moment but your articles keep me motivated and helped me understand not only the right way to study and improve my chess, but also the reason why I want to do this, the mindset I should have. I hope that one day I will manage to buy a course through mood coins. Thank you for all your help. Keep up the great work!! 

I want and must be an FM with a rating of 2290 by the age of 18 because otherwise I will enlist in the IDF and there for three years I will not have access to chess and I will never fulfill my destiny of playing chess and learning it every day with other chess players [By the way, 2290 because if you get this rating you get an outstanding player]

my why is that I want to show that it is possible to become a GM before college in a Gen Alpha world and that Skibidi toilet is not brainrot.

Boxing/MMA/Muay Thai will always have these very heartwarming stories on the fights and the fighters themselves. They definitely will have a warm place at my heart. Guess you could say the same about chess, but you're not… y'know beating each other up (at least physically).
This and the Patterson/Johansson blog has been my favorite blogs so far that i've literally made it as bases for essays and speeches in school.
Really looking forward to these fight-based blogs Mr. Avetik! if you can write another one in the future, can you pleaswe make it basaed on an MMA story? 😀 There are really good stories there, but since this is a chess based blog, some may be irrelevant, so i understand.

I want to become a WIM, cuz I I want to prove to my coach that I will do it before him, and become a chess player that even stronger than him!

I want to become a grandmaster .because our country don't have that title i want to be a one who represents that title to my country and also want to become  a inspiration for my youth

I hope that your website help me to achieve my goal 

also hope for a reply soon

I want to become a national master chess to strengthen my discipline and focus, proving to myself that I can dedicate myself to something challenging, while also enjoying the journey and the game itself.

Where is 9Dh3 en 2Kc3 Kc6 3Bb5?

Antisicilians for black

Where is the advanced section with 9Qh3? Anti sicilians (for black) Section 5 Video chessmood againt chessmood line. Gabuzyan mentions that the advanced section deals with 9Qh3. 

Replies

same, I couldn’t find it. Just heard Coach say it a lot of times during streams and remembered the line well.

Hey there,

I will try to explain in a few words here.
That position arises for both White and Black sides in our repertoire, and we are eventually getting playable positions for both sides.

After 9.Qh3 Ne7 10.Bb2 Be5 - White plays f4 - now capturing is bad due to Rxf4 and super strong compensation, so Black needs to play Bd4+, and after Kh1 - we continue with b6 or b5 leading to an interesting and playable position for both sides.

 

French Advanced question

hi! I had a recent game as black that went 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bd7 4 f4. 

Now I was a bit unsure if I should continue with the ..a6 and ..Bb5 plan or instead switch to ..Nh6, c5, Nc6?

In the game I combined both ideas but maybe this is flawed.

 For example, If I continued 4..Nh6 5 Nf3 a6 6 Bd3 Bb5 7 Bxb5 axb5 8 0-0 am I perhaps a bit worse as white has played f4 and a rook behind it, perhaps a future f5 id s threat.

I was ondering if this is not ideal for black and so maybe forget the ..a6 and ..Bb5 idea and just go for ..Nh6, c5, Nc5, Nf5 etc?

What would you recommend?

Thanks

Replies

Hey, Paul

When I used to play these lines as black, I heard coach correcting me that we choose the plan with c5, nh6, and some point of time nf5 if opponent goes f4.

 Problem - The problem with the exchange bad bishop line with a6-bb5 is that opponent can go be3 and then prevent our c5 move which is crucial.

Something Like this (How you should continue) -

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/55VrtUnuq8/analysis

Dear Paul,

Against f4, the idea becomes to quickly attack on d4, as White loses time with that move, and also weakens the control over the c1-h6 diagonal, which allows Nh6 ideas.

This is the link to yesterday's event, where I got that position a few times - you can check for better understanding https://chessmood.com/event/racing-from-1511-2000-1

Daily Puzzle Repeated

I am sure of my memory that I have done this Daily Puzzle before. (Maybe a month or 2 ago)

I did that from Chess Mood only. I remember spending a lot of time on it.

Replies

Hi Manish,
That’s okay, it can happen 🙂
Sometimes puzzles repeat after a while, especially if they’re among the most instructive ones.

Repeated daily puzzles help train your mind and attention, and for everyday tasks, it is worth considering reliable local services such as    plumber etobicoke, which provides information about professional plumbers in Etobicoke, a list of services, costs, and the possibility of quick dispatch to solve any problems.

opening cours

can you make opening course about roylobz and etalian game full cours and all varation for high level it will attract lot of chess players 

and creat all french  for black 

Replies

Hello Ibrahim, Chess mood doesn't offer these openings but the openings they have are the most aggressive and best scotch over Italian/Ruy Lopez any day I would pick scotch and there is a French course for U-2000 and they're working on the 2000+.

Calculation or strategy first ?

I have a question, what is more importante for someone 700 rating , calculation course or strategy course ?

Replies

Neither. At your level, tactics are above all. All you need to do to win more games is stop hanging your pieces, and take the pieces that your opponent hangs. Openings and strategy are irrelevant. Calculation? Maybe, but all you really need in that area is to be able to see your opponents threats. As for endgames, you need to be able to mate with Q, RR, and R, and you should know the most basic K&P endgames. Good luck!

The choice between calculation uae betting app, which offers the best online bets, registration bonuses, activity rewards, and lucrative offers for regular users.

Dutch attack against f3

hi, I recently played an OTB game and was faced by f3 against our Dutch attack (see picture) achieved after 1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e3 Bb4 5 Bd3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 b6 7 Ne2 Bb7 8 f3 0-0 9 0-0. 

I did not find anything about his variation in the courses. I had difficulties finding a good plan in this position. Does someone has suggestions about how to play?

Thanks a lot !

Cheers,

Julien

Replies

Hey Julien,

In this position, attacking is no longer convenient because the pawn on f3 blocks the diagonal. However, the absence of the Knight on f3 weakens White's control over the central squares. Here, I suggest the strategy of playing d6-Nb7 with the goal of preparing e5, possibly followed by Qe7 and Rae8.

If the pawn on f5 is hanging, it’s safe to play g6 before e5, as Black isn’t concerned about weakening the a1-h8 diagonal due to White's doubled pawns on c3 and c4, which block their dark-squared bishop.

Preparing Openings vs. Opponents in Tournaments

Hello,

As I am progressing and getting up the rating ladder, more and more people started preparing vs. me in tournaments, especially in local ones where everyone that is basically above 1900-ish OTB level knows each other and prepares opening for the game.
 

Personally, I am unsure of two things:

1.What to do if someone prepares a surprise against my opening rep? Whenever I play locally, everyone knows basically all my preparation and uses it against me. For example, just in my last tournament, my opponent prepped a weird line in Rossolimo vs me where they go Qe2-Qe4-Qh4, and I couldn't do anything to get an edge, and it was just a painful one-sided game for White the entire time. This happened, although my opponent was a d4 player, he prepared e4 for me. But at the same time, I don't want to have to learn 2-3 really detailed openings, especially for all the sidelines…

2.What is the best way to prepare for the opening before the game? Is it more effective to prepare a surprise if you know someone very well? Or should I just review my preparation beforehand? I feel like I am playing good chess even above my level, but getting out-prepared in almost every single game, and making it much harder to win. Going back to the example I mentioned, I therefore prepared 1.d4 and my response to it (basically just reviewing my lines for 1.d4 and his response to my Black rep.), but of course this was all irrelevant as he surprised me with 1.e4, not 1.d4!

I feel like if I can get this aspect down of playing in chess tournaments I will surely get to the next level.

Thanks in advance 

Replies

Hey there,

When you play a repertoire that opponents know, they will often be prepared.

I always played Najdorf, but I knew it so well that it was tough to surprise me, and even if it happened managed to play positions with an understanding of the opening.

And it was a long process of play-practice-fix-repeat cycle.

And about the question of playing a new line based on prep - it's a possible idea, but it depends so much on your chess level. 
As if someone 1700 rated used super high-level complex prep - often they might find out that they don't understand the positions at all, 
So even if looking for a surprise, try to choose positions that you will be able to play easily and understand easily.

Good luck!

Study/sparring partner

Hey guys im 1850 fide 

Can we play training games from certain openings 

and analyze or train certain positions

Replies

You will have better chances for finding a sparring partner here - Study/Sparring partner - Chess forum by Grandmasters

scotch problem

How to play against 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Qe2 Nf6 8.Be3 Be6 9.0-0-0 Qe7 10.f3 0-0-0!? interesting move where black doesn't trade the bishops

Replies

Hey, Eli Se

This is covered in the course Scotch Game (6. The fantastic plan! Popov I. - Dvirnyy D.) 

instead of f3 our line is g3 on move 10 it is explained in the video above.

Chessmood Openings Review

Dear, Coach Gabuzyan

Is it possible to make short review video on all the ChessMood openings so before a tournament we can just watch the videos and it will all stay in our mind fresh because not all Chessmood opening courses have these a few do but it would be much easier and effective to just review all openings and for me I find it easier to watch the videos than look over pgn's. Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely, Pawnbishop

Replies

I completely agree

Hey Guys,

I am not quite certain about this unusual inquiry - what are the short videos about the openings?
How to understand what to include and what to exclude?
Usually, the idea to master the opening is to watch the videos → create PGNs → practice the lines → check the games, and compare with the files → repeat this over and over again until you fully master the variation.

My advice about lines that occur rarely, check the pgns or revise videos if you are forgetting - I am doing it as well with very rare lines.
But creating short videos on courses I don't find reasonable, because we don't make the variations longer - on the contrary, our goal in the courses is to provide the most relevant information.

As well, if you want to prepare for tournaments, here are a few articles that can help - https://chessmood.com/blog/the-right-way-to-prepare-for-a-chess-tournament

https://chessmood.com/blog/grandmaster-tips-the-right-way-to-prepare-for-the-chess-game

Feedback and request

Hi,

First of all, thank you very much for creating this wonderful platform. Special thanks to GM Avetik and GM Gabuzyan. My son is really enjoying the courses!

He is 11 years old and tried ChessMood for 2–3 days before we finally took the annual subscription. As you can see, he had been stuck around the 2000 Chess.com rating mark for the last 10 months. We worked hard together to improve his chess and his rating. He has been taking personal lessons from a retired GM twice a week — now over 80 sessions — which, to be honest, haven’t been very helpful, and we are about to stop those. During the last 10 months, he has also studied many books such as The Amateur’s Mind, Arthur Yusupov’s Training Series (2 books), Silman’s Endgame Course, How to Reassess Your Chess (about 60% done), and My 60 Memorable Games by Fischer (34 games completed), along with watching Sensei by our beloved GM Naroditsky 😭.

He has done all this sincerely, and his understanding of chess has improved significantly over time, but his rating remained stuck, which was quite frustrating. I was in two minds about whether to go for KCT for JA or ChessMood. In fact, I wasn’t very aware of this platform until one day, while listening to a chess podcast, I heard about ChessMood. My son leaned towards ChessMood, and I towards KCT. I’m so glad I listened to him — the results speak for themselves.

He has already completed four courses (Tactics, Mating, Blunderproof, and Calculation Master) and felt very positive about all of them, except the Mating one, which he found a bit too simple for his level. He is currently watching the newly uploaded Naroditsky Games course — with a very heavy heart. We are both deeply saddened by the demise of Naroditsky.

I’ve attached his recent Chess.com progress — almost an 80-point gain! You can see the long plateau where his Elo stayed above 2000 from January 2025 until October 2025. I’m still not sure what exactly these courses have done differently, but they’ve clearly made an impact that all our earlier efforts couldn’t. He says the examples in the courses are great, and he’s already visualizing some of the patterns in his own games, gaining decisive advantages. Whatever it is — it’s working beautifully. Once again, thank you very much!

Now, may I please request something? He is an e4 player with White and has his repertoire ready, which he’ll start adjusting according to your recommendations — which is great. However, we’re a bit stuck with his Black openings. He currently plays the Dragon and the King’s Indian, and unfortunately, these aren’t covered in the current repertoire. My question is: are these openings in the pipeline to be published?

I completely understand it’s impossible to cover every individual preference, but the King’s Indian is a very popular opening, and I’m sure many ChessMood members must be playing it. If not planned, could you please recommend the best alternatives or resources for these openings? He has a repertoire, but I think he lacks clarity about the fundamental aims and objectives of these openings — he tends to play them as far as he can recall, using only basic opening principles.

I have so much more to write, but I’ll stop here for now and will share more feedback on my son’s progress as we go.

Thanks again to the whole ChessMood team — including Lily, who also helped me decide in favour of ChessMood!

Warm regards

Replies

Hey there,

Thank you so much for your kind words. We appreciate it a lot!
We are happy to see your son's progress!

Regarding the mentioned openings, we might have more variations in the future, but we can't really mention when, and what exact opening that might be, as it's not decided, and for now, we are producing the courses in other directions.

About what to recommend, we do have Benko and Accelerated Dragon as our opening choices, which I personally use a lot in my games.
If you want to find the exact openings that you have mentioned, I am assuming there might be some other sources online.

Thanks once again, and wishing lots of luck to your son on his chess path!
 

I bought this book https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Kings-Indian-Defense-Batsford/dp/0020306210 back in 1990 when I was actively playing the KID and I thought it was a great book. It's not a bunch of memorizing variations (which I don't like to do), it's about the different pawn structures that arise in the opening and the appropriate strategic and tactical plans based on the structures. Maybe the ideas are out of date now, but I think there a PDFs of the book online so it's worth a look.

Opening doubt

🙂

I was looking for a course to play against Reti and couldnt find one. Is it that only I couldnt find it or there really isnt one? If not then can I get an idea how to play in it (fide 1900) cause I have a match tomorrow and though I have been researching I couldnt find something proper.

Replies

1.Nf3 c5 Should turn into the English Opening.

I was looking for a course to play four knights game

A little funny...

i have raised 560 points on chess.com in 16 months! I never noticed! i started at 484 and now 1044!

Replies

Wow, congrats on raising 560 points in 16 months!  Going from 484 to 1044 shows amazing dedication and improvement.

�🤫�

Wow

Congrats!

A course against modern defense

😱

Dear GM avetik, every time I want to learn a new opening, I just open my favorite bar and click on chessmood however when I did the same today it was quite different, I came to know there is no course against modern defense. Please create one.

Replies

Hello, 

First of all there are some video on how to play against the modern pirc in the simplified version of the white mood openings in the section of the pirc defence. But if you want something more detailed there is a complete course on how to face the modern pirc defence, which is the full name of the opening known as modern defense. Check this out, I believe this is what you are looking for. 

Link here: https://chessmood.com/course/modern-pirc

Hope this helps

AI

Curious how your AI development is going? 

Replies

Hi Arnie, thanks for asking about our AI development! It's definitely in process. We are actively working on the AI coach and are very excited about it. We'll be sure to share more details with everyone as it progresses. We appreciate your interest!