Chess forum by Grandmasters

Is it possible if you can give me an estimate when the Advanced openings with french-Dutch Attack are going to be out?

❓

Is it possible if you could give me an estimate?

Replies

Hi Eli,

I noticed you asked a similar question in another thread, and GM Gabuzyan already replied there. 
To repeat his point — we are planning to have a more advanced course on those topics, but we can’t provide an exact date or estimate.

We’re working on many courses in parallel, and timelines sometimes shift, so we prefer to announce only when it’s confirmed.

Thanks a lot for your understanding 🙂 

trainingspartner

Hello everyone on chessmood, I am looking for a trainingspartner for
learning / practice the Scotch game and French Attack. My rating on lichess is classical 1500. I am located in Germany, MEZ timzone. If anybody is interested, lichessname ronalting. Thanks for replay 

Replies

Challenge me to a daily with you as white and play the Scotch, or you as black and play the French. My username is piedraven.

Hi ronalting, I'm also interested in practicing the Scotch Game and French Attack! I'm in the MEZ timezone as well, and my Lichess rating is around 1400Sprunki Game. Feel free to send me a challenge anytime, looking forward to learning together!

Hey in case you didn't see my answer, I'm on Lichess as well as chesscom, my name there is Adrenalectomy - sorry I'm a dumbass and forgot you said Lichess!

Mindset shift

Today I have been competing in a tournament where I managed to lead a drawn or slightly better knight endgame into a loss. It was not about lack of my knowledge or strength of my opponent, but about my mindset. The issue is that I exaggerated the amount of  advantage on my side which led to an incorrect assesment of the position. Is there any technique of evaluating an endgame position the right way and then playing according to what the position demands?

P.S. The aforementioned endgame occured on move 26 of the pgn, moves made before may not be what i actually played because i dont exactly remember the moves and i havent annotated the game. Thanks in advance. 

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Nbd7 12. c3 Re8 13. Be2 Qc7 14. Bg3 Qc6 15. Nfd4 Bxe2 16. Nxe2 Nh5 17. Ned4 Qg6 18. Qf3 Nxg3 19. hxg3 Nf6 20. Rfe1 Re4 21. Qf5 Rae8 22. Kf1 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Kf8 25. Rxe8+ Nxe8 26. Qxg6 fxg6 27. Ke2 (27. Ne6+! Ke7) 27... Ke7 28. Kd3 Nf6 29. Nb5 a6 30. Nd4 Kd6 31. f3 Nh5 32. Ne2 *

Replies

Dear Andrew,

Depending on the level, you can watch the Endgame Roadmap for the U2000 level.
As well, we have 100 commented endgames - where we explain the endgame masterpieces, trying to share the way of thinking and analyzing the thoughts of great players.
For theoretical endgames, you can watch MET, and advanced ones are in the Endgame Mastery section.

The method of thinking you can learn in the Roadmap. And more deeply technical ideas, ways of thinking from commented games.

Can you please add french attack to your Step by step 2000+ courses?

😀

Can you please add it?

Replies

Hey there,

Previously, I mentioned that we are planning to have a more advanced course on those topics, but can't mention the exact days.
We are producing different courses/content, and while sharing the upcoming plans, we can't provide dates or estimations. 

Thanks for understanding :-) 

Simplified Scotch Game

Hi friends and I have a question; in the Simplified ChessMood Openings from the Scotch Game (2nd section) at the 7th video in 3:00, what happens if Black plays Nh5 but there is a Bishop on e7? The dark-squared bishop for White cannot be traded, moving the f4 bishop away results in a loss of tempo after Bf6. Also Black can go for a Bg5 approach to trade the dark-squared bishops as the f4 square is also guarded by the knight? Is this natural and we can go for the kingside attack anyway, or a different solution?

I am really confused.. I might go to the f3 then Be3 approach but I am not sure if it's really that recommended.

Replies

You can go first f3 and then Be3 but there is nothing to fear about Nh5. 

If he follows it with Be7-f6 then you can (after retreating the queen) attack the knight with Bf1-e2 which forces black to give up his bishop to save his knight. 

If he instead plays Be6-g5 then you can just ignore it and go for the tipical plan as he wasted a lot of time just to exchange one piece.

Scandinavian Early Bf5

I recently playing this game and sudden lost to this person who played early Bf5 line in third move. May I know what is idea and how can I counter it? According to the course, usually they play Nf6 first after that only Bf5. Below is the link to the game.

https://lichess.org/ZQ27bsJm

Replies

Hey Soul Chess,

I offer you to play with Be2 - so now Qe4+ is not a threat, and after 4…Nc6 5.d5 0-0-0 6.c4! - with a better position.

Thank you.

Imbalances

Where to find a course or blog or something about evaluating piece imbalances.

Here are some examples: (not counting pawns)

BB vs R, BN vs R, NN vs R, 

RR vs Q, BBN vs Q, BNN vs Q, BB vs Q, BN vs Q, NN vs Q

RR vs BBN, RR vs BNN

Please help😌🙏

Replies

There is a blogpost from chessmood for rook vs 2 minor pieces:

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

I know you specified course/blog, but there is a really good book called How to Reassess your Chess: Chess Mastery Through Chess Imbalances. I just read the 4th edition and it was great. It had all the imbalances.

Hope this helps

There is also quite new book Chess Imbalance by Flores Rios - the same author who created a book about pawn structures. Might wanna check that out. Also there is this chessmood webinar https://chessmood.com/event/hidden-powers-of-queen-webinar

Would love to hear Hovhannes's perspective on this game

I think I did a good job of using the principles in the two bishops course! I used to be terrible at operating without a rook and I think I got better at that lately

Play Chess Online for FREE - 2 Player Chess - Chess.com

Replies

Question on Kinder Variation 6...Nh6 7.Be3

Hi ChessMood Family

I played an IM recently who found solid moves against Kinder variation.

1.e4 e6  2.d4 d5  3.Nc3 Nf6  4.e5 Ng8!?  5.f4 c5  6.Nf3 Nh6!  7.Bd3

This stops Black's useful later Nf5

7… Nc6  8.Be3.  And here I could not decide best plan and liquidated centre, which is not good.

After engine analysis, I came up with following plan.  

8… Ng4  9.Bg1 c4!?  10.Be2 Bb4.  Followed by Qa5, Bd7 and maybe OOO (or Ke7).  The point being to gain big space advantage and better pieces, damage White pawns with Bxc3 when we want, and leave White King with castling problems.  Our knight on g4 can come back via h6 (and we might even get h5 in first).

I know c4 is not thematic for Black in our French Attack because we want to pile on the d4 pawn,  but I could not find a convincing line otherwise.  What does ChessMood family think?

Replies

Hi dear Ben,

Let me please mention that we recommend these lines in the simplified Blackmood openings, meant to play at the U2000 online level, where people don't ever make such advanced ideas as IMs, and if you are constantly facing such strong competition, you will need to learn the advanced openings.

About the position, I checked as well, and it seems like after 8.Be3 c4 9.Be2 Bb4 or Nf5 leads to an interesting game.
Usually, c4 isn't thematic, but in this case, it's quite reasonable, and Black will try to play on the Queenside.

Feature Request: Add age suitability

Its nice that all courses have a suggested chess.com blitz rating, but it would be even better if there was an age suitability.

 For example, a relative of mine has a really young child who wants to learn chess, and I want to recommend the Rise of Champions course seems great, starting the chess journey from the perfect place!

However, will they understand the course? Are all courses friendly for all ages or only 10+?

Please tell me.😃

Replies

There's no 18 rated content, no, lol.

Looking for Model Games in the ChessMood Dutch Attack

Hi everyone,

I know ChessMood has model games in the BlackMood Opening Model Games course, but those are part of the paid content. Since I don’t have access right now because of my financial issues, I was wondering if anyone here who plays the Dutch Attack could share some of your own games for me to study?

I’d love to see how you all approach the Dutch Attack in practical games — move orders, common middlegame plans, even mistakes we can all learn from. Wins, losses, or draws are all welcome =)

If you’ve played the Dutch Attack, could you please drop a few PGNs or links?

Thank you =)

Replies

None of the below are “model” games lol. Some of them were lucky escapes. I'm still learning and figuring out the dutch myself. Feel free to look around though!

https://lichess.org/VtUgbkpJ6w6h

https://lichess.org/6jVelhoXB0A8

https://lichess.org/study/toXAGiza/A4enuoHC

https://lichess.org/study/toXAGiza/CCRWbVz2

https://lichess.org/study/toXAGiza/1vZZhsTM

https://lichess.org/study/toXAGiza/lTe3cQVa

You might also try looking through the “best games of the month” threads (past and present). There are frequently Dutch Attack games being posted there, and they are all pretty high quality games.

I was losing and getting tilted, then my kitten tried to steal my bean salad, and I laughed so hard I stopped caring and won lol

Proud of pulling this off without any rooks too. I rely on my rooks a lot and feel defenseless without them

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/142963990918

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2025.09.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "sarvjeet1600"]
[Black "piedraven"]
[Result "0-1"]
[CurrentPosition "5b2/5P2/8/8/8/1kqK4/8/8 w - - 0 63"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "C21"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Danish-Gambit-3...dxc3"]
[UTCDate "2025.09.10"]
[UTCTime "17:23:14"]
[WhiteElo "1170"]
[BlackElo "1204"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[Termination "piedraven won - game abandoned"]
[StartTime "17:23:14"]
[EndDate "2025.09.10"]
[EndTime "17:36:02"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/142963990918/analysis?move=123"]
[WhiteUrl "https://www.chess.com/bundles/web/images/noavatar_l.84a92436.gif"]
[WhiteCountry "69"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/216792023.7f07b8f0.50x50o.05bf042244a8.jpg"]
[BlackCountry "73"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Bb4 5. Bc4 Ne7 (5... Bxc3+) 6. Bd2 O-O 7.
Bd3 $6 d6 $6 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 h6 $6 11. a3 Bc5 12. O-O Ng6 13. Rfe1 $6
Ne5 14. Qg3 Qf6 15. Nd5 $4 Qe6 $9 16. Nxc7 $6 Qf6 $4 (16... Qg6) 17. Nxa8 $9 Nxd3 $9
18. Bf4 $4 Nxe1 $9 19. Rxe1 Nc6 $6 20. Nc7 Ne5 $6 21. Bxe5 $6 dxe5 22. Nd5 Qd8 $2 23.
Qxe5 Re8 $6 24. Nf6+ Qxf6 $2 25. Qxe8+ Kh7 26. Re2 Qf4 27. Qd7 Bd6 28. g3 Qe5 29.
Qf5+ Qxf5 30. exf5 g6 31. f6 g5 32. h4 Kg6 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Rd2 Bc5 35. Rd5 Bb6
36. Rd7 Kxf6 37. Rxb7 Kg6 38. Kg2 f5 39. f4 gxf4 40. gxf4 Kf6 41. Kf3 Ke6 42. b4
Kd6 43. b5 Kc5 44. a4 Kb4 45. a5 $6 Kxa5 46. Rf7 Kxb5 47. Rxf5+ Ka6 $6 48. Rf6 Kb5
49. f5 a5 $6 50. Rd6 $6 Bc5 51. Rd1 $6 a4 52. f6 Kb4 $6 53. f7 $2 a3 $1 54. Rd5 Bf8 55.
Rd1 Kb3 56. Ke3 a2 57. Kd3 Kb2 58. Rd2+ Ka3 59. Rd1 Kb2 60. Rd2+ Kb3 61. Rc2 $2
a1=Q 62. Rc3+ $6 Qxc3+ 0-1

Replies

Bugzone

Hello, Chessmood

The Bugzone AI feature has collected almost 283 bugs or puzzles that I was just doing for a tournament to prepare so I was just wondering how can I refresh it and remove them all and start fresh. 

Sincerely, Pawnbishop

PS: I got first place in the tournament 

Replies

Hey brother,

Congrats on your first place! Amazing!!!

I redirected your inquiry to the technical team, so if there is any way, they will let you know :-) 

Hi Pawn Bishop,
First of all, congratulations on winning the tournament, that’s fantastic! 🤩

Currently, BugZone doesn’t have the option to refresh and start from zero, but our dev team is working on new features to make the tool better and better. Thank you for sharing your suggestion, we’ll definitely consider adding this option in the future.

Best regards,
David

Opening Learning

Recently I will start to learn the ChessMood Opening Repertoire.

Should I completely ditch my previous one, or keep reviewing it once every while?

If I keep it, I will have two repertoires, which sounds good, but my brain might not fit all that information.

My FIDE is around 2000.

Replies

I am also around 2000 fide so do not tale my word for it.

I think that you should get as much experience with the chessmood repertoire as possible and therefore should not play your old repertoire for a while. While it might be sometimes handy to know multiple openings, it is not such a great advantage compared to other areas that could have been improved instead.

I myself would not mind ditching my old repertoire (which I already did a year ago) if it is too time-consuming to review it from time to time. If you wonder if it will fit into your head, it might just be. 

I hope that helps

Question on calculation

Lately I've been training my patterns and tactics, and I had an interesting experience in a blitz game today. Here is the game: https://lichess.org/ZhgVoZbR/black

I reached a critical position in the dutch attack where I knew there was a major problem when my opponent played 19. Bc4. I immediately knew that 20. Nd2 was the right move. Then right when my opponent played 21. Bxc5, my brain immediately knew there had to be a sacrifice leading to a mate, and when I reviewed the game, there was a mate in 6. This is very good because my pattern recognition has been dramatically improving and is a clear sign that my training is paying off.

The problem was when I got to this position, I had an extremely difficult time calculating the full line until the end, so I ended up blundering a mate in two. This highlighted something about my style: I'm more of an intuitive player. I can often feel when a move and idea is correct. But when I know I'm in a critical position, I realize I need to calculate precisely, and that's where I struggle. It's hard for me to visualize the board move by move in my mind. 

So my question is: Any advice on how to improve calculation and visualization skills so that when my intuition tells me “there's something here”, I can actually work out to the finish? Should I be training this skill deliberately, or is it something that naturally improves over time as I do more puzzles and tactical exercises?

Thanks 

Replies

Dear Tyler,

It's great to hear that your training is paying off and you can feel the patterns.
In the calculation course, I advised how to improve the visualization part in the last section.
Even though we can feel the patterns, there are sometimes calculations hard fore even super GMs.
The way to train it is to practice and practice and practice. 
However, this is a skill that can be improved throughout the entire chess career.

ChessMood Prices

Is the pro membership worth it? I have gotten a free course before, and it was incredible.

Replies

What do you think is the most complex opening or variation there is?

What do you think is the most complex opening or variation there is?

Replies

My guess would be the Ruy Lopez, since it's been around forever, is still very popular at the elite level (therefore has been played and analyzed by top players a lot) and there are loads of options and sidelines after almost every move until about move 20 (and probably beyond)

i think it is the sicilian because both sides have alot of variety 

Catlan for sure or some queens gambit side lines

It's probably the Grünfeld opening for Black.

(1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5).

 It reaches to a lot of complex lines that you should know, especially when it comes to Carlsen's repertoire against the Grünfeld (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5) which leads to a lot of lines where Black has to play a lot of critical positions where one mistake can throw the game. You can even look at the chessable course (Lifetime Repertoires: Peter Svidler's Grünfeld Part 1) which contains the main and sublines. There is even a part 2 for that. Each course literally contains a jaw-dropping 1000+ variations!

Either mar de la Plata variation of king's indian, poisoned pawn variation of Najdorf

Of the top of my head: Ruy Lopez lines, Najdorf lines, perhaps some QGD lines (although I don’t believe that one too much).

Ok so I just took a look, yeah the Mar Del Plata line is loooong. Theres a reason why I play Nbd7 instead of e5!

There are lines in the Winawer French and the Botvinnik Slav with crazy pawn sacrifices and exposed Kings. Certainly any variation can become complex, but these are especially chaotic.

New article: The Magic of Doing the Right Thing

There’s a beautiful Armenian proverb:
“Do a kind thing and throw it into the water.”

Kindness always comes back, though not exactly when or how you expect 😊

Feeling stuck in life or chess? Our just-published article might give you the spark you need… or simply remind you that magic often starts with doing the right thing.
Read it here 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/right-thing-magic

Replies

Hi Avetik! I have been reading many of your articles in Lichess and from there only I got to know about ChessMood. Thus, last year I decided to buy the PRO Membership and have renewed it this year too. I must say even though this year my chess rating hasn't gone up that much (2150 to 2053 till now), your every blog sparks a light in me. Even though, am stuck I feel edified by your blogs. I don't know what the future awaits for me, but surely I would like more blogs from you. I have never seen you in person but I hope to get a chance :)

Thank You for writing the blogs and inspiring me and many alike.

E6 sicilian

Hello Avetik 

In e6 sicilian what if black dont play 3….d5 ?

for example 3…..a6 

Replies

That's mentioned in the 2… a6 Sicilian course though it is hard to say what to do in a generall case. 

Either Bc1-b5 or d2-d4 might be the next moves.

Personally, I just play the Closed Sicilian setup with g3, Bg2, etc. I score pretty well, get positions I know, etc.

English Fianchetto 10.Bd2

Hi All,

following line: 1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.0-0 d6 6.Nc3 e5 7.d3 Nge7 8.a3 a5 9.Rb1 0-0…

Here are 3 Main moves mentioned: 

10.Bg5 f6 Bd2 and now we can safely play Be6 because ng5 not possible (at least my interpretation)

10.Ne1 here we can also play safely Be6 because Ng5 again not possible

10.Nd5 Nxd5 ok easy to understand this plan. :)

But… what to do after 10.Bd2? 

h6 loose a tempo to Bg5 f6 line

Be6 not possible due to Ng5 i assume

engine says Rb8 but the lines looks not really intuitive. 

Can you help understand some ideas here and have a recommendation? :)

Thank youu

Replies

Dear Fred,

In the given position, the main idea for Black is to make d5.

I would advise after 10.Bd2 h6 - to be able to go Be6 and d5 and fight for the center again.

Since White is not on time to prevent it with Ne1-Nc2-Ne3, Black tries to play in the center.