Chess forum by Grandmasters

King in the Center

Hello All,

I thought this was a good example of keeping the king in the center:

https://lichess.org/nebQteex

Glenn

Replies

Dear Glenn,

The Bishop on a3 is super strong; well done!
You can submit your best games (up to 5) in our monthly best games thread in the forum :-)

How many courses can 250k MoodCoins buy?

Hello,

how many courses can I buy in ChessMood with 250k MoodCoins? I have the essential subscription, but it ends in a few months and I would like to buy some courses with these coins (I'm almost at 250k). I can't see the price in the courses, because I have a subscription for now. 

Thank You,

Vincent

Replies

Course price for Moodcoins:

~3-4 hour courses are around 200k-350k. I'm not sure exactly because I have membership, too.

Tactic Ninja - 700k Moodcoin

~4 hours or more - More than 3-4 hour course prices definitely

~2 hours - 150k Moodcoin. Something like that

~1 hour - >100k Moodcoin I think

>1 hour - There are some courses that you can't buy with Moodcoin and can only access with subscription

So, in conclusion. I don't think you'll a lot of courses with only 250k Moodcoins. But you'll probably get a 3-4 hour course or a couple of 0-2 hour courses

Hi Vincent!
The rate is 1,000 MoodCoins = $1, so your 250k coins give you $250 to spend on courses. To see the exact price for any course, go to the course page and check the price in the top right corner.🙂

Why no more free chessmood

Last year for like a WHOLE MONTH we got free chessmood. Where did it go

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Replies

Mmmm…someone named hacker is asking for free access for a month. That’s a good one. Haha. But seriously the site is worth the investment.

Watch Eric Rosen content on youtube.  I think he partners with Chessmood once or twice a year to offer a free month with everything unlocked.   That's how I learned about ChessMood, then after the month I ended up buying a membership!  He is currently doing a speed run using chessmood basic openings (although I don't think he has ALL of the opening lines memorized, so there are sometimes a few places he deviates from the Chessmood recs for some of the more obscure lines)

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/partners

Will give you a 7 day FREE-trial of the Essential Chessmood membership. Maybe after that, then you can work a part-time job or get money from winning a chess tournament and get a real membership. It'll be worth it.

The best games of July, 2026, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of July, 2026" competition.
Under this post, we invite you to post the best games that you will play this month (up to 5 games per person accepted).

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

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

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

P. S.
Here are the winners of June, 2026:

Paulius the Witcher
Mohamed Iyed Saadaoui
Marius Cornee
Wei Xin
Dan Matejka

Replies

Grand Prix Attack

https://lichess.org/QZAo5W4Z

 

Play Chess Online for FREE - 2 Player Chess - Chess.com The pressure kept building up until he just couldn’t take it anymore 😅.

I've always had some trouble with anti sicilians. But here I think I crushed my opponent :)

https://lichess.org/gpx1T1Lt/black#0

https://www.chess.com/game/171132116192
 

https://lichess.org/LtSQHGo4/white

Dear CM team,: it may not be perfect but i love the positional aspect + the double rook sac in this game.

https://lichess.org/IAE0BVYT

https://www.chess.com/game/171285963768 kingside attack against the french

GP attack on my fun account: https://www.chess.com/game/live/171276799780?username=kolous81

avoided trap with a night sac.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171487959082?username=deaglekungfu&move=0

I'm all about attacking chess

https://lichess.org/6hWMUbhp/black

Not the best deffence by my opponent though

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171562668910 beating a GM

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171565674090

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171349970422?username=narek_maquina

https://lichess.org/kzreBlYB#1

Hope u enjoy it

https://lichess.org/kc8tLJea

https://lichess.org/ElMM1YZW5zqf

Great example of kingside attack and passed pawn in the Kings Indian - beating a 2550-rated NM!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171567366864

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/171625816652/analysis I genuinely felt like I was dancing in this game lol so many intermediate moves 😅

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/171639725740/analysis

I won a Benko gambit game with the main ideas like exchanging queens and putting pressure with rooks on a and b files. 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171647684800

The best of the game are the two beautiful combinations

I'm playing black in a French Nd2 line where they play Nf3-I really like this line for black, white can really get into trouble as in my experience OTB they do not know what to play.

In the game, I made 1 mistake, maybe 2. The first is not playing ..Qf2+ straight away, I moved too fast, and the second is delaying the castling move by 1 to see what would happen-it turns out white has Qb3 which I forgot-I recall Avetic playing this once against a GM, but he is a GM, I would definitley castle quicker next time. My last move of the game was innaccurate too-..Rxf3 is mate is game over although white is still lost after my move. 

Anyway-a bit of an introduction becuase for me the game is interesting in that it shows how white can get into trouble very quickly-hardly out of the opening. 

I enjoyed this game, hope you do too.

https://www.chess.com/game/171666753116

Checkmate with a double check!

I'm very proud of Ne3 to finish the game.

https://lichess.org/3mwgfCCS

https://lichess.org/GUiDMvWQ#0

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/171750225084/review?move=36

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171758908652?move=28

A caro-kann exchange variation. Trapping a piece

I pulled this win out of nowhere, a great example of SLP https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/171763204612/analysis?move=127

Punishing early queen deployment: https://www.chess.com/game/live/171817774260?username=kolous81

https://www.chess.com/analysis/collection/mybestgames-BKAhd6tE/89P7GTzB8/games?move=112

These are my four best games in chess.com that i have played . My username is gojosenseiplays so while watching pls watch from that perspective and each of them have a combination or sacrifice.Pls check all of them

https://www.chess.com/live/game/172318808922 in this game i sacrificed my knight to win the queen with a fork 

https://lichess.org/Y7RAtfJX/black Winning with precision and technique

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172018836628/review?move=68

Scandi:

https://lichess.org/et1AqTFR

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172073185652/review?move=41

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172073304792/review

https://lichess.org/v81O8gMa

I was White. I feel bad for Black 😅

French with c4. Nothing spectacular, but l like how I was able to push towards the king:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/172089892700?move=0

https://lichess.org/V6oVarfDmVgZ
 

scotch beauty

I played as white.

https://lichess.org/oP65dDha

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172151326134/review

Played as white using the chessmoood repertoire

Played as Black with the French Attack from the simplified repertoire for Black ! I just joined 2 days ago !!!!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172153664906/analysis?move=0 

Beauty of chess

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172149209718?flip=true

https://lichess.org/eHBG65Pl/white

Quick game in Scandinavian (I was white)

https://lichess.org/LZRZ8Cw4/white#1

Nice speedy french exchange game 

https://lichess.org/JYPsfNr2/black#0

I played white in this game: https://lichess.org/study/F6qXG9Fx

https://lichess.org/ywHrLa02/black

Enjoyed my last move a lot

Found two brilliant moves and won with the Scotch!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171600067726

1.A wipeout in the french 

1. e4 e6 2. d4 c6 $6 3. Bd3 d5 4. Ne2 $6 dxe4 5. Bxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nbc3 Nf6
8. Bf3 a6 9. O-O Bd6 $6 10. Bf4 h5 $2 11. Ne4 Bxf4 12. Nxf4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 g5 $2 14.
Ne2 $6 Qf6 $6 15. f4 g4 16. Qd3 Nd7 17. f5 e5 18. Rae1 Qd6 $2 19. dxe5 Qxd3 20. Bxd3
Nxe5 21. Nf4 $1 f6 22. Ng6 Rh7 23. Nxe5 fxe5 24. Rxe5+ Kf8 25. f6 Rh6 26. f7 Bd7 $6
27. Rg5 Rh8 28. Bh7 $3 Be6 29. Rg8+ Ke7 30. Rxh8 Rxh8 31. Bg8 Kf8 32. Rf6 $1 Bxa2
(32... Bd5 33. b3 b5 34. Kf2) 33. b3 h4 34. Re6 g3 $6 35. Re8+ Kg7 36. f8=Q+ 1-0

2 A nice game against Nc6 sicilian 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. f4 d5 6. d3 Be7 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. O-O
O-O 9. b3 $6 a5 $2 10. e5 Nd7 $1 11. Na4 $6 f6 $2 12. c4 $6 (12. Bb2 d4 13. exf6 Rxf6 14.
Qe2 Bd6 15. Ng5) 12... Qc7 $2 (12... fxe5 13. fxe5) 13. Qe2 $9 fxe5 14. fxe5 Nb6
15. Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Bg5 Bxg5 $2 17. Nxg5 Bd7 18. Qh5 $1 h6 19. Nf7 $1 Kh7 $2 20. Nxh6 $3
Be8 $2 21. Nf7+ 1-0

3 a scotch with a rook sacrifice 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Qe2 Be6 8.
Be3 Nf6 9. O-O-O Bxb3 $6 10. axb3 Qe7 11. f3 Nd7 $2 12. Nd5 Bxe3+ $6 13. Qxe3 Qd8
14. g4 Nb6 15. Bb5 $2 f6 $9 16. h4 $9 (16. Nb4 Qd7 17. Qc3 $1 a6 18. Bxc6 $1 bxc6 19.
Nxc6 O-O) 16... Kf7 $2 17. Nxb6 $9 axb6 18. Bc4+ Ke7 19. f4 $2 Re8 $9 20. g5 $9 Kf8 $9
21. h5 $9 f5 $9 22. h6 Rxe4 $2 23. hxg7+ $1 Kxg7 24. Rxh7+ $3 Kxh7 $6 25. Qh3+ Kg7 26.
Qh6# 1-0

Hi Gabu, ChessMood Friends
My 5 July games:
1. https://www.chess.com/game/live/171883309896?move=0  Scotch is simple - if opponent helps ;-), Brilliant Rook sacrificed...and mating
2. https://www.chess.com/game/live/171925121452?move=0  Maroczy attack with all your pieces!
3. https://www.chess.com/game/live/171967402018?move=0  Caro-Kann attack
4. https://www.chess.com/game/live/171448794812?move=0  Scotch 4...Nxd4, Brilliant Rook sac. for checkmate
5. https://www.chess.com/game/live/171514928492?move=0  GP just wins, Brilliant Rook 

https://lichess.org/ZJ9bnZlM/white#0

Nice king hunt against the scandi - ignore missed mate I was stressing out with ~30 seconds left 😅

Check out this #chess game: Sathishkey07 vs uer1ck - https://www.chess.com/live/game/171414117056

What do you think about my rook sacrifice 

Check out this #chess game: coralcolors1 vs Sathishkey07 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/171919819946

Check out this #chess game: Sathishkey07 vs dixneuf0 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/171710791124

Check out this #chess game: Sathishkey07 vs soulja_dfp - https://www.chess.com/live/game/171580682784

Check out this #chess game: Luminous-10000000 vs Sathishkey07 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/171930626532

After 32nd move I have calculated deeply…until endgame

Tell me about my double rook sacrifice 

 ​I am submitting my top 5 best games for this month!

​Right now, I cannot afford to buy a ChessMood course due to my financial situation. But I love chess, and I have been trying my best to play aggressive and active games. If I win a prize, I will use it to buy a course and keep improving!

https://www.chess.com/live/game/172318808922 my fifth game i wanted to send with a brilliant knight sacrifice to win the queen my username is gojosenseiplays 

https://lichess.org/uyl317oy/white

Here, I played a Scotch game. The interesting thing for me was that I was studying mating matador course, Vukovic Mate, and after I played this game in which I checkmated with it. 😊

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172370390750/review
 

Almost a perfect game in KID Sämisch Variation

🎉 Hello Champions!
Thank you to everyone who sent us their best games of this month.

Once again, we saw creative ideas, strong play, and some really nice wins. There were many instructive moments in your games.
Great work! And now, time for the prizes! 🏆

1st Prize: Lucifear twm

Great positional play!
Playing against a GM, you didn't rush anything. You just improved your position step by step, until your opponent had nothing left to do.
This kind of patience is real strength. Great game!
 https://www.chess.com/game/live/171562668910?move=49

2nd Prize: Irene Jiao
The power of space!
You took the space advantage early and never gave it back. Your opponent's pieces had no squares and no plan.
Very well done!
https://lichess.org/v81O8gMa#81

3rd Prize: Angelo Sifaleras
Attack with opposite side castling!
You used your space to build the pressure, kept the attack going, and finished with a beautiful combination.
Exactly how these positions should be played. Proud of you!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/171600067726?move=63

4th Prize: Richard Dumoulin
A model French game!
The Kd7 idea looks strange until you understand it, and you understood it very well. After that, a strong flank attack did the job.
Proud of you!
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/172153664906/analysis?move=59

5th Prize: JS
Quick pawnstorm in the Exchange French!
You opened the lines fast and followed all the attacking rules, bring the pieces in, don't lose a tempo, keep the pressure.
Very practical!
https://lichess.org/JYPsfNr2/black#36

Congratulations to all of you!
Thanks again to everyone who shared their games with us. See you in next month's contest!

Will the lessons ever be on a mobile app?

i use my phone mainly. I’m hardly ever on the computer and I try to go through the lessons but having to navigate on the mobile website is so cumbersome and it doesn’t keep your place. Is there any plans for a mobile app?

Replies

Or even just puzzles from each lesson for quick refreshers. 

I use Firefox as my mobile browser and it seems to keep my place whenever I return to the tab.

Might be worth trying.

Rossolimo 5.c3

In the following varaition:

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nxe4 8. d5 Nd6 9. Nc3. In the course GM Avetik says to play Bxc3, but in the Review he says to play a6. Which is correct?

In another line:

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6.Qa4 0-0 7. d4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nxe4 9. d5 Nc5 Qa3 
GM Avetik says to play nd4, but after Nxd4 Bxd4 and Rd1 white is winning. I think that line is wrong.

Thak you!

Replies

HELP: I can't figure out my level

Hi everyone,

I'm having some trouble figuring out my current level. I've read the article about the study plan and the corresponding rating chart. Right now I'm rated 919 on Lichess, playing only 5+3 blitz, which, as far as I understand, is the time control Avo recommends.

According to the chart, that should correspond to around 500 on Chess.com, so I've been following The Rise of a Champion. I just finished the tactics section, but the problem is that the vast majority of the exercises feel very easy—almost to the point of being boring.

Is that normal? Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

I also tried playing on Chess.com, but almost nobody seems to play 5+3 there. Most people play 5+0, and I don't really enjoy that time control.

I'd really appreciate some advice. I don't want to waste time studying material I already know, but I also don't want to jump into courses that are too advanced for my current level.
 

thanks to everyone

Replies

If you are 500-1000, any course recommended by that plan is worth looking at. Skip what is truly review. If it is new to you but easy, you are lucky.

If the puzzles are too easy u can try to do tactics ninja course, maybe try to take the test and solve the first few puzzles first if they are too hard then u can try the courses recomended in the study plan.

Bug out zone

How can I find the bug out zone in order to revisit puzzles?

Replies

If I got the question correctly, this is what you need :-)

Go to your profile - AI coach - Bug zone.

HELP ME

How to checkmate the black king with only one move

Replies

d5xe6 ep

2ways

1. 1-Rxf7 Kh8 2-Qf6 Bg7 3- QxBg7#
2.  1-Nh5 Kh8 2- Qf6 Bg7 3 - QxBg7#

Dxe6 en passant and their f pawn is pinned so they cant play f6

the answer is dxe6#

I think the answer is 1. Rff7+ Kh8 2. Rh7#

All the best, Kingston.

1.dxe6# 

Cool and Tricky one!

It took me a few minutes to see en passant. En Passant Checkmate!!! 😎

dxe6# en passant checkmate 

en passant is a checkmate

answer is dxe6

I also don't know!

It's dxe6 - as Black's last move is pawn e7-e5 - it's a trick puzzle :-)

Absolutely beautiful!!

amazing!

The opponent's last move was e5, something the graphic seems to exclude. With that context in mind, the solution seems to be dxe6#.

answer is dxe6

dxe6

DXE6

de6 mates the king

DXE6 checkmates the king. Nice puzzle

Dutch stonewall for black - white 7. Nc3 0-0 then 8. Ne5. Plan for black?

Any ideas on how black could play if white just plonks the knight on e5 then support it with Bf4 or f4? Just like in some lines of the London?

One idea I have is to play Ne4 myself, play Nbd7 to trade the N then after pawn retakes, retreating the bishop to e7 and playing c5 and on the queen side. 

I've checked the courses but couldn't find this idea of white covered. Thanks in advance!

Replies

Assuming the starting moves are: 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Nf3 c6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Ne5? I would think 7. Ne5 more common from a search, but I do see 8. Ne5 after 7. Nc3 in online databases. It is the 8th most played move in my database but still scores OK. 8. … Nbd7 is the most played response.

What would your plan against 5. c4 in french exchange variation?

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c4

Should I take or not the pawn after Be2? 

Replies

I would play Bb4+ with the idea of Nge7 or Nf6. If white plays Bd2 you could exchange and play Nf6 without worrying about the pin. If white answers the check with Nc3 I would play Nge7. I would not take on c4 If it puts the white bishop on c4 before you control d5.

Study partner for KID

I'm a 2000 rated chess.com player and ive been facing a lot of d4 in my otb tournaments and would like to practice KID and is looking for someone who mainly plays d4 and is around 2000 rating on chess com.

Thanks

Replies

Hello

There is already a topic about finding a study partner. Ask there as it is also pinned and it is more likely that you will get an answer. If you can't find it this is the link.

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/studysparring-partner-1362

Thanks

Hello , can we play?

caro-kann

I am crushing the Caro-Kann but in the 6…Bg4 mainline I am facing 7...Qd7 then 12...Bf5 and it leads to drawish positions because even though Black weakens their pawn structure they get a central control over e4 so they play Ne4 and sometimes even g5 and we can't really create an exciting attack! :(

Replies

I think once they get Bf5 you just take and have an advantage but my opponent kept on getting the queenside play and making me have a weakness

Crushing the Caro-Kann!

I am crushing the Caro-Kann but in the 6…Bg4 mainline I am facing 7...Qd7 then 12...Bf5 and it leads to drawish positions because even though Black weakens their pawn structure they get a central control over e4 so they play Ne4 and sometimes even g5 and we can't really create an exciting attack! :(

Replies

Help pls

help why was i pro member now im basic member, my dad didnt change the subscription, today this morning and yesterday i had pro, but now its saying i have basic like wtf??

Replies

Hi there! This usually happens if a recent renewal payment wasn't fully completed, which causes the system to automatically downgrade the account back to Basic. Let me look into this for you right now—I will check your account details and send you an update via email shortly!

position where white, defending not optimal move

Tactic Ninja ->section 13(decoy and attaction)->decoy and Mate->training->position #8->FEN "6k1/p4pp1/3bb3/3p1q1p/P6P/1P2P1P1/4KPN1/2Q2N2 b - - 0 1"  

black plays Qf3+(which is credited as correct move)

white plays Kf3 and  black responds Bf4#→

however unless I am missing something white could have played Kd3 avoiding the mate?Although the move in the position was within the theme of the course, it was not forced and seems that white did have a better option. 

Replies

Study new content or review already learnt ones?

How do I know if I should study new content (like move on to a new course) or review content I already learnt (doing things like the course quizzes and BugZone)? The thing is, sometimes, some of the things I have learnt, I do not get many opportunities to apply them in games

Replies

Dear Teddi,

The test and quiz examples are meant to help you apply your knowledge and see how it is going.
However, it's a very good idea over time to revise the learnt materials. Let's say once a month, once every 2 months.
You can try to make some short summaries, and instead of watching the entire courses again, go through the summaries you have made.

In general, I really welcome revisions, as it's hard to take away 100% of the knowledge from the first attempt!

BlackMood vs 1.Nf3?

I can't find the BlackMood course for how to play against 1.Nf3 (2.g3) setups.

Also, 1.b3 is covered, but 1.g4 1.b4 1.f4 1.e3 1.d3 etc…. aren't covered. Hopefully a course covering all these unorthodox setups will come out soon.

I know that these are all covered in the Starter Course, but hopefully there will be proper courses since they aren't as rare as they seem.

Replies

if it is Blackmood, not chessmood advance black

i believe it goes like, 

1.nf3 e6
2.if nc3, d4, g3 we play nf6
the idea is to delay the decision of f5 or d5, because f5, e4 would be an issue. so if we switch to dutch at a point we will move the night back or forward depending on line and play d5 on e4, also the blackmood course covers g4,b4,f4,c4,e3,d3 and etc.

Chessmood has this idea i think.
total beginner-rise of the champs (gambit openings)
regular beginner to intermidiate-blackmood, white mood(simple chessmood openings)

higher intermidiate to advance-chessmood openings(adavnce e4,  playing sicilian and stuff)

At the end of the day, these are uncommon enough to simply not worry about them.

Just play principled chess.

For example, against Reti setups I just play closed sicilian / botvinnik setups.

You can play that against basically everything except 1.d4 to be fair.

1. f4 is covered, it's called the Bird opening. Some of them are just under their names and not the move specifically. I.e. The Bird, The Grob etc…

About Nimzowtisch....

Dear coacbes,

Do you think that the one century aged “Praxis of my system” is yet worthy if study in 2026 ? (With Stockfish in the background naturally.)

Many thanks

Replies

Hey there,

Nice question :-)
Well, modern Stockfish, of course, is stronger than any chess player ever existed; however, learning from good classical books helps you to develop chess understanding, get deeper into the nuances of strategic chess, and, in general, teaches the way of thinking of strong chess players. I never really enjoyed the mentioned book myself, but I know it's quite famous, and lots of players used to learn through it.
 

NEW ARTICLE: A Lifehack to Speed up the Growth in Chess

Replies

Great life advice. Thank you for writing this. Inspired

It was a good Blog. I believe, as you do, that you must formulate realistic but uncomfortable high goals to be able to reach your potential. The “public” communication of the goals is the commitment to and the handshake with yourself. When I was a working citizen, I always formulated my goals for next year(s) and was not afraid of communicating them broadly, especially to my bosses. Since I am very lazy by nature (I am convinced it is due to my genes) it helped me a lot to put the gun to my head.

I do assume however that the area in which you formulate the goals must have high priority to you. Otherwise, the goals only will be some exercise without any commitment, or the goals will be trivial.

My time perspective, as a senior citizen, is also quite different from the young girls and boys aiming for IM/GM titles. I just love it when young people put up that kind of goals and work for it. I only hope they will get a lot of help to formulate good and the right goals and a lot of help to reach the goals as well. It seems ChessMood is a blessing.

I remember first time I met my golf coach. After a cup of coffee and a chat he told me to meet him at the driving range in 15 minutes. Take the opportunity to warm up, he said. After exactly 15 minutes he showed up. He asked me to hit some balls with a short iron and then some balls with the driver. Well, he said, if you want me as a coach you should throw away all your books about golf. You know too much theory than is good for you. You must also do exactly what I ask you to do on the training. When I came home the same afternoon, I was not too happy. Anyhow I packed my golf books in boxes, I had a lot of them. Put the boxes away, out of my sight. On the driving range and the golf course I did what he told me and expected. At least as much as was within my capacity. Eventually we become good friends and I became a decent single handicapper.

This experience tells me that challenging goals and hard work not always will give you the result you expect. It is important to have the right goals and identify the right activities and the right training. To work fast and wrong is the worst-case scenario. Much better to work slow (but fast is better) and right.

I have taken up chess again after long hibernation. Except from Correspondence Chess at ICCF. I learned more about using the computer than I learnt about chess when I played Correspondence Chess. My current Blitz rating on lichess.org is around 1700.

I have not had the 1 to 1 meeting yet but my goals are clear, within the next three years I will;

·         On a regular basis play Blitz/Bullet above 2200

·         On a regular basis play 20/40 min above 2100

·         Played 10000 (65 games/week) games with at least 8000 games within my opening repertoire (CM’s)

 I am currently working on my activities for year 1. I do hope I can postpone the 1 to 1 meeting to end of December or beginning of January. I would like to think through the activities. I do not mind if the meeting with a GM will mirror my first meeting with my golf coach if the result will be as good.

Hope I have put the gun to my head!

/Göran

Hello Sir!

Interesting! Sir, I wanted to ask that isn't Gun near head a Fear motivation (which may increase stress) ? I read somewhere that the best way to work is to work not to achieve some goals but to work as a matter of Duty. It said something like 'If we stop working then our body (both physical and mind) will start dying. So we should work not only to achieve some things but work as a matter of duty.' 

Sir, your views of this?

I loved the blog And the pictures

I was always afraid of posting my goals. But, I want to change and I have gathered up confidence. By the end of this year, I will be an FM. I am currently rated 1958 FIDE. If I don't, I will shave my head!