Chess forum by Grandmasters

Benko Gambit re-recorded!

Same gambit. New weapons!

One of the very first ChessMood courses, Benko Gambit, returns, reimagined with fresh ideas, sharper lines, and hidden traps to keep the pressure alive 🔥

And the promise remains the same:
Give a pawn… and take your opponent’s breath away 💪
https://chessmood.com/course/benko-gambit

Replies

New course: In GM Banusz's mind

A new GM records a course for our platform.
Please welcome GM Tamas Banusz! 🎉

Peak Elo 2641. Multiple Olympiad appearances.
He breaks down his best games.

Watch here:
https://chessmood.com/course/tamas-banusz-best-games

Replies

The best games of July, 2025, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of July, 2025" 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 June, 2025:

Francesco Brighenti
JP JP
Thomas Maes
Tomas Hanak
Eyden Zinder

Replies

https://www.c4355.com/game/live/140241167090?move=0

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140249353570

Schlecter variation.  I hadn't prepared against 5…Bd6 but managed the win anyway.   I intended 25.Qb4+ to win a rook with a fork, but opponent's reply gave me a fun mate in two instead.  The engine seemed happy enough!  Opponent was rated about 100 points higher.  https://lichess.org/vTlOR7qH/white#1

A caro can with a passive light square bishop for black.

https://lichess.org/QCaQ3KJZ/white

A good game after I had played a sicilian opening which for me is unknown
https://lichess.org/oiWW4aC2/black
 

https://lichess.org/4uUI03Pw

Rating never matters…..
https://lichess.org/Pv5uFrnq#0
 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140338316488

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140340008752

https://lichess.org/Ju2A0eBp/white#1

Good Sunday afternoon,

I played very interesting game in 3 knights opening as white!

Please enjoy!

https://lichess.org/IPDFHo7F/white#0

Me vs The rated- my school best
“Size doesn't matter, rating or rank doesn't matter, only moves matter” -My father

https://lichess.org/Sw0Mmchj

a messy sicilian but  an accurate one

https://lichess.org/c1d4QNsj

one of my fine attacking games , credit goes to  coach avetik for sure

I was happy to score a very accurate win in a tricky opening I wasn't comfortable with

https://lichess.org/study/SnHlWENo/CGPLy0zE

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140437950070

Very proud of how I managed to attack in the exchange Caro (as white). I made a mistake going into middlegame, but found a cool sacrifice and played very well in the complications while low on time :)

One of the first time that i play the stonewall dutch attack. It ended in a draw but i've been very accurate, i saw the sac leading to it and i took it, recognising well what was happening in the position. I would not have been able to do that a few months ago.
NightOwlisLit vs. Lijumaru | Analysis - Chess.com

I minimized his attack and got an exchange advantedge but then blew it to time trouble https://lichess.org/HMRDuNcw/white#94

https://www.c4355.com/game/live/140466687688?move=0

https://www.c4355.com/game/140494203032?move=0

https://lichess.org/UJPCobhx/black A very crazy game with a ton of ups and downs. I used the Dutch Attack when playing this game.

Winning won positions.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140503762838?move=0

https://lichess.org/d6V4oNJv/white#0

https://lichess.org/4oDoT2KJBvUC

I sacrificed three pawns for activity and won the game in 20 moves.

https://lichess.org/ZMwHhuSIneD4

One more where I sacrifice a pawn on three occasions and then a rook. Win in 22

https://lichess.org/inOxEq8C35jj

A positional grind, for a change.

A nice scotch game that resulted in a queen and bishop sacrifice 

Check out this #chess game: ViciousRacoon vs ncarney - https://www.chess.com/game/live/140547677892

punishing an opponent in The scotch using whitemood openings

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140537985918?move=0

A nice Caro kann that resulted in a rook sacrifice to win the game

https://www.chess.com/game/140653438256

Despite the yawn of 4... Kf6, the game turned out to be a good example of the importance of tempo in a chess game, a strong attack

 https://lichess.org/09s5hHaI/black#0

French Attack!

https://www.chess.com/game/140656789942

https://www.chess.com/game/140704316666

https://www.chess.com/game/140697967594

kinda proud of Bf1 at the end

zatchmop vs. Lijumaru | Analysis - Chess.com

quick knockout in jobava attack https://www.chess.com/game/140690240962

and another one https://www.chess.com/game/live/140760010976

still jobava crushes https://www.chess.com/game/live/140760292572

some CM french magic https://www.chess.com/game/live/140690671326

one for benko fans, benko vs London, white didnt seem to know what he was doing https://www.chess.com/game/live/140761377740

Qxd4-d3 Sicilian positional N vs B https://www.chess.com/game/140798822292

e5 french adventures as white https://lichess.org/0GpvDZnr0mjP

attacking the pirc https://lichess.org/uuVmiTWrjeeE

dutch crusher https://www.chess.com/game/141211615288

jobava for the win https://www.chess.com/game/live/141249083846

another mess in jobava https://www.chess.com/game/141251789662

french h6 sac variation grind as black https://www.chess.com/game/141253256536

Dutch Attack!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/140704000880/review?move=61

Alekhine's Defence - ChessMood gambit!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/140713577824/analysis

My first time facing the Nimzo-Larsen Attack in months, but I vaguely remembered 2. … Bg4.  Thanks for spending some time on this in the starter BlackMood course!

https://lichess.org/pPgn7tSH/black#1

My first chance to launch a proper Dutch Attack.  Success!  My opponent cracked under pressure and resigned on move #38.  I don't know how to not show my subsequent play versus the engine.

https://lichess.org/0uIagFRL/black#1

After I finished the course of { Attacking the Pirc defense}, this is My best game ever against Pirc defense. Engine showed accuracy 99%. 

https://lichess.org/uHs6r73r

https://lichess.org/SyKplAIF6IHV

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140779227632
 

was watching fearless warrior 

sac section 

thanks Gaz 

Power of the bishop pair (and centralised rooks 😁):

https://lichess.org/zWX5CHkAYWvB

Nice win vs. the Catalan:

https://lichess.org/CiYcYvbeAaMh

Develop!

https://lichess.org/OU2Fm59eK4ax

https://lichess.org/ED01TXrs

I got to play against karpovs second lev gutman 

Nearly perfect versus a Caro-Kann.  The minor pieces dance around an isolated pawn.

https://lichess.org/nDHQ76sG/white#1

https://lichess.org/study/tfrLfGDX/Z8qE2HEY

Here is a nice attacking game I won with the Benko Gambit - it was the 5…e6 line in the 5.Nc3 variation, when I started attacking the center right away, later continued to push in the center and finally attacked the white King

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140807563592
 

nothing special just a solid game 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140817209896
 

solid attack with a good rook sac

bringing the pieces 

i finally broke the fear, and past the barrier of 900
https://www.chess.com/game/140834408662
 

This is an old game I played when I was 700 ELO. Now I've improved thanks to this family! :-
https://www.chess.com/game/live/85837852289 
PS: Ah the ad bots suck.
 

Scotch rules!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/140867847548

I'm switching to ChessMood against Scandi (Nf3). I rarely face this (my second game) and I don't know the opening well, but I played this against a higher-rated opponent:

https://lichess.org/B2Ar0MKYpz9X

I'm very happy with my longer calculation at the end. I got to say “oh no, my bishop" while hanging a mate-in-two ("oh no, my checkmate?") :) And all that after sacrificing a pawn.

Win in 31 moves.

https://lichess.org/4ADC0lCbaZZU
I drew this with lichess stockfish 8! Fifty moves without progress but it trolled me on the last move😅
First time playing Catalan!(being an e4 player myself). Actually made a century(100moves exact)!😂
Please hit like 🥺

I play black here.  My questionable sacrifice paves the way to a quick victory.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/140890993456

Benko model game (played with black)

https://lichess.org/lHtcO2JdAfjs

😀

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d4 c6 5. c4 Qa5 6. Nc3 e6 7. h3 Bb4 8. Bd2
O-O 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qc7 11. Bd3 Nbd7 12. O-O b5 13. cxb5 cxb5 14. Bxb5 a6
15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Re1 Nh5 17. Qc2 Ndf6 18. Ng5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Nf4 20. Kg1 Nxd3 21.
Qxd3 h6 22. Ne4 Qe7 23. Nxf6 Qxf6 24. d5 Qg5 25. Qg3 Qxg3 26. fxg3 exd5 27.
Rad1 Rad8 28. Rd3 f6 29. Red1 Kh7 30. Rxd5 Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Kg6 32. Rd6 Re8 33. Kf2
a5 34. Bxa5 Re5 35. Bc3 Rf5 36. Kg2 Kg5 37. g4 Rf4 38. Bd2 1-0

I played white against the scandnavian 

😀

https://lichess.org/study/OaXlI2Mu/P3sFKYp4 

OTB game played in US Amateur Team West Round 1 

Some of the best games of July 2025 really raised the bar! I was especially impressed with how immersive the new strategy titles were—great storytelling and insane graphics. The prize pools for online tournaments were also massive this month!

Ironically, while trying to keep up with these releases, I fell behind on my coursework. I had to turn to finance assignment help to catch up on a few deadlines. If anyone’s in the same boat, this helped me out: https://myassignmenthelp.expert/finance-assignment-help.html

Balancing gaming and studies isn’t easy, but thankfully some academic help saved the day 😅

Anyone else juggling school and gaming lately?

https://lichess.org/F7FdbTHDHOjT

The brilliant blunder 

https://lichess.org/GNKqbKRB/white simple game. Shows how to use pressure and rapid development of pieces. Made sure black's pieces were inactive in the game and start attacking to create pressure as pressure is priceless. He cracked and I crushed him. 28 moves resignation. 😀😀😀

https://lichess.org/OaHgEsqy9GjJ

FM brings his queen out early and resigns in 15 moves

https://lichess.org/jQpAzO7OODBs

Never resign!

 Hi all! The games have been awesome so far! :)

I’ve just finished the first course and am currently working on Tactic Ninja. With all the puzzle-solving, especially the daily Chess Mood puzzle, I feel my understanding is growing day by day.

This month, I’m proud to say that I found 17. Nxc5:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140311391128

Good luck to all - and most important: Enjoy the journey :) 

Matthias

https://lichess.org/PoTfz4Xp/black#0

This endgame line is underrated

Miniature for the Milner-Barry gambit

https://lichess.org/2Ay5NGHuwsYB

I hoped to put the smothered mate on the board at the end, but sadly the opponent allowed #1 instead.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/141061023012
 

https://lichess.org/ffArgBvj/white#30 

Nice sicilian D6 line

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 a6 3. g3 b5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. a4 c6 6. a5 d5 7. O-O c5 8. c3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Ne7 10. Bd2 Nec6 11. Re1 Bb4 12. Bxb4 Nxb4 13. Ne5 O-O 14. e4 dxe4 15. Bxe4 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 N4c6 17. Nc3 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Nc6 19. Re4 Nxa5 20. Rh4 Nc4 21. Qh5 h6 22. d5 exd5 23. Nxd5 Qd6 24. Rf4 f6 25. Re1 Ne5 26. Ne3 Qd2 27. Rd1 Qxb2 28. Nf5 Kh7 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. Rd7 Rf7 31. Rg4 Kf8 32. Rxf7 Nxf7 33. Qc5 Ke8 34. Rg8 Kd7 35. Qd5 Kc7 36. Rxa8 Nd6 37. Qc5 Kb7 38. Ra7 Kb8 39. Qc7# 

Messed around a bit in the opening, but some nice sacrifices won me the game, courtesy of the Fearless Warrior Course :) 

2 rooks, and a knight sacrificed! 

Winning with an opening advantage

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141087510980/analysis

Winning with a pawn up without risks.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141088090700/review?move=94

Crushing with chessmood openings.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141088541464/analysis?move=36

Give a pawn for activity and try not to stay worse (20.Ne3).

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141088912636/analysis?move=39

😀

https://lichess.org/simul/mn4KzFXM Had to include this

This game felt like a slow win, grinding away move after move, resisting an early king-side attack. 

https://lichess.org/DUDHx0lQ/black#1

https://lichess.org/m4FpR2Nz/white
 

very solid straight forward attack 

Tearing apart White's weakened pawn center in the Alekhine Four Pawns. Note that on move 13 is infinitely much better to take on d4 than to take the exchange when after 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qxc6 Ke7 White has a big edge due to my dubious king position and bad development. 17…Bb4 was a funky move when I was already winning, but it worked. Just had to be careful not to play 33…Ka6?? when 34. Rc6# would come.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141209336626/analysis

Dominated a Scandinavian Defense using WhiteMood counter. Didn't even need to think too deeply. Thanks so much, Avo!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141228143386/analysis

Sudden end to a miniature. White resigned because in the final position he is unable to defend f3 and h2 simultaneously

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141232357656/analysis

And the last one for today, punishing some bad opening play

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141232689078/analysis

Grand Prix with sharp attacking play

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140255188550

Scotch Attack

https://www.chess.com/game/live/140474268262

Crushing Owen defense

https://www.chess.com/game/live/141060642380

https://lichess.org/9AWxDvKxqk7m

Not sure if simul games count, but this was probably my best game this month:

lichess.org/FZ32vb0MZJtu

https://lichess.org/3ZsybTyc

https://lichess.org/study/4EO1sxxz/Rhg29BoD

One of my best OTB games at my club to date :) Although I did blunder in the middle game, which did cost me the game essentially. From that moment on I tried to put as much pressure on my opponent as possible.

https://lichess.org/broadcast/ecf-english-championship-2025--open/round-4/xfk55zKy/30uCCI09

nice endgame grind in caro kann

https://www.chess.com/game/live/141071738122?move=0

https://lichess.org/LJ4Ed2VX/black

I played online. I played as white. Time control was blitz(5min + 5sec).
This game turned into a Grand Prix Attack vs Pirc Defense.
I played the Grand Prix Attack against the Pirc Defense for practice, and the game followed a typical pattern.
https://www.chess.com/game/live/140281418804
 

Starting my SLP training https://lichess.org/Mz04E7TH/white#25 

I've got a pawn for a rook with two pairs of minor pieces off.

I'm not that trappy yet - I usually don't make bad moves on purpose - but I'm getting there. I offered a pawn as a bait and it worked :) 

The opening was rocky - they refused the sacrificed knight (twice).

Also, my SLP account is higher rated than my real account. Probably won't last, but the opponent was also higher rated than me (on my main account).

I played online. I played as white. Time control was rapid(15min + 10sec).
This game turned into typical closed sicilian.
The content in daily lesson 83 was helpful.
https://lichess.org/cinl1HSqm6nX

https://lichess.org/veXMt8Fb/black#46 

I was black, and a mouseslip on the first move turned it into the barnes defense, apparently. I improvised and I ended up with some beautiful sacrifices and an arguably more beautiful pawn checkmate. 

Thank you coaches, I could never have calculated or been fearless (haha!) to play these daring moves before this. 

Sincerely, 

Ananth 

SLP Chess is more fun

https://lichess.org/IHzPltgi/white#34

Hi there! My name is Gabe Hoffman, and this was my best game of July. I played against an 1800-rated player named Aaron Peakmease, and I was rated 1272 at the time. This game was played at the Cornhusker State Games in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 19, 2025. The time control for this game was G120 d5. I played White in this game.

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2025.08.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "rpmfast"]
[Black "sicilianlover32"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[WhiteElo "924"]
[BlackElo "958"]
[Termination "sicilianlover32 won by resignation"]
[ECO "B70"]
[EndTime "2:11:12 GMT+0000"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/141344176664?move=0"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd3
Nc6 9. O-O-O Ng4 10. Be2 Nxe3 11. fxe3 Qa5 12. Kb1 Be6 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. exd4
Rfc8 15. d5 Bd7 16. Nb5 a6 17. Na3 b5 18. c3 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rxc3 20. Qd2 Qxa3 21.
Ka1 Rac8 22. Bd3 b4 23. Rhe1 Bb5 24. Bb1 b3 25. Re2 bxa2 26. Qxa2 Bxe2 27. Qxa3
Rxa3+ 28. Kb2 Bxd1 0-1

A sicilian with 2 outpost in f6 and d6.

https://lichess.org/eCgiyi7h/white

Hello champions!
How are you?

Thank you for sharing your best games. It was a pleasure to review them. You scored some beautiful wins, and we found many instructive moments and ideas. Now, on to the prizes…

1st Prize: Super Pawn
Amazing win in the Anti-Sicilian. 9.Bb5 was an important move that kept the Black King in the center. The final move added a touch of class to an already beautiful game. Nicely done!
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/141088541464/analysis?move=36

2nd Prize: Ash Pv
Super game in the Benko! Using the half-open file, collecting weak pawns, and setting up tactics, you completely outplayed your opponent. Well done!
https://lichess.org/9gIEGujX/black#73 

3rd Prize: Norbert R. 
A beautiful game, showing how to attack in an opposite-side castling position. Superb execution of important ideas!
https://lichess.org/3ZsybTyc

4th prize: Sarah Chess. 
Fantastic game and a big victory! Coach is proud :) Well played!
https://lichess.org/FZ32vb0M/black#48

5th prize: Angelo Sifaleras. 
Super game in the Sicilian with the Grand Prix Attack! You nicely punished Black for ignoring development and King safety in the opening. Well done!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/140255188550 

Congratulations to all of you!

And thank you once again to everyone for sharing your games.
All the best for next month’s contest!

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New article: The Fork Tactic in Chess Explained

Hello champions!

Today we’ve launched an article that covers everything around the fork tactic that beginners should know. You’ll learn:

• What’s a fork, it’s different types.
• Why are Knight forks hard to visualize (as shared by a neurologist)?
• How to get better at noticing Knight forks?
• 5 ways to get out of forks and so much more!

Read it here👇

https://chessmood.com/blog/fork-in-chess

And you can share your thoughts and the solutions of the puzzles under this forum thread.

Replies

Excellent article as usual ! My answers are 1- Nb5 aiming at c7 2- Nd5 aiming at e7 after rook avoid attack 3- Qxd8 Qxd8 Bc4 + followed with Nf7 + 4- Qxe7 if Qxe7 f6+ and a royal fork on d5 or h5 with an exchange up

Knight forks are also hard to see as there are 6 patterns (ignoring reflections and rotation) and can happen between lots of pieces. With a pawn on e4 a knight can fork that and 26(!) light squares together. Doing knight training and coming up with some of my own improved me about 100+ points and helped me win the British U125 (~1500) championship with 5/5 long ago (2 games involved knights significantly IIRC).

1.nb5 forking c7 2.nd5 idea of both nb6 and ne7 3.qd8 qd8 bc4 kh8 nf7+- 4.qe7 qe7 f6 kf6 nd5 if qf6 nh5

1.  Nb5 +-  (winning at least a pawn and getting a big attack; or winning a pawn and an exchange)
2.  Nd5 +/- (winning at least an exchange)
3.  Qxd8 Qxd8 2. Bc4+ Kh8 (2…Qd5 3. Bxd5 +-) 3. Nf7+ Kg8 4. Nxd8+ Kh8 5. Nf7+ Kg8 6. Nd6+ Kh8 7. Nc8 (winning a knight and a pawn) +-
4.  Qxe7 Qxe7 2. f6+ (Qxf6 3. Nh5+ +-) 2…Kxf6 Nd5+ (winning a Rook for a pawn) +-

Thoughts on Scotch Gambit?

I plan to keep Scotch Game as my main, but I also have learned to like elements of the Scotch gambit.  I'm curious what the Chessmood coaches think about this opening.

Replies

Hey Joshua

We are not offering that opening in our repertoire, but I think it is an interesting variation and you are welcome to play it if you enjoy it as well :-)

Identifying Weaknesses

People say that to improve, you should work on your weaknesses, and to find those weaknesses, you should analyze your games.

I analyze my games, and I can see when a move that I played was bad, but often don't see why. As far as I've seen, engines aren't much help here unless the reason is tactical. How can I pinpoint my weaknesses if I don't understand my mistakes?

Replies

Here’s how my journey has gone.

In the beginning my biggest issue was blundering pieces so my analysis was about deciding by it happened. I didn’t need an engine for that since the issue was in my process.

The second step was looking at missed tactics. You’ve already mentioned that the engine works there.

The third step was trying to see potential tactics. The engine works there by looking a earlier moves and seeing how they could leaded up to the tactic.

Then it got hard. What I’ve found is first I learn new things studying a course. The more I learn, the more often I can see where I went wrong. Finally I am able to see it on the board and change my play. For me this last part is a slow, incremental process. It’s not been linear at all, more like a roller coaster.

Dear Sarah,

It's usually very tough for a player to perfectly understand their own mistakes in the games. That's why people are having coaches - stronger players to point out what was wrong and why. However GM Avo has this article, at least helping on the topic about analyzing your own games - https://chessmood.com/blog/analyze-blitz-chess-games

Beginner GPA against g6 and e6

Sorry if this is posted already and I cannot find it. I really enjoy the GPA lines, but I have found that at my current level (15+10 rapid ~1500 chesscom) that my opponents very often go for an early e6, without having played d6. This is usually in response my playing Bc4. After 0-0 and d3 getting the usual set up, black generally plays d5 gaining a tempo on my bishop, and this seems like a really good position for black. 

Is there some general guidelines for this sort of line (outside just studying the higher level course?). I find with blacks pawns on e6 and g6 that the usual white f5 break isn't as effective. If there was a way to bait out the e6 move early than I would just develop my light squared bishop to b5 instead, but this doesn't seem possible to me.

Many thanks!

Replies

Dear Patrick,

That Bc4 GP is an under 2000 simplified set-up. However, if you are constantly facing the right d5 setup and you are unhappy with those positions, in the advanced opening courses step by step openings for White, you will find much more concrete playing ideas for the White side.

Scotch Game Step-by-step h4 variation

Is there an alternative to the h4 move shown in the position below which was covered in the course.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/4hVKv3UUdc/analysis
 

It is very hard to play and can’t even understand most of the arising position how much every I practice and analyze.

My stats in this variation -

Replies

Dear Pawn Bishop,

There are some alternatives in that position - c4 is one of the main moves. 
Our h4 is uniqe and interesting, positions are also hard for Black. I have tried it in so many games myself. If you are playing it against strong opponents, some deeper engine work can be required on your side as well. It's impossible to include much more in the courses as then the materials will become 20-30h hours+ and will be super hard to learn. My advice is to check your games carefully and keep practicing. 
At a distance, it can be quite reasonable.
 

e4 g6

Hey all, in which section of the chessmood white openings this is covered? I think it’s called modern Defense. Have problems finding it.

Replies

Hi Ulrich,

I seem to recall asking the same question a while ago.  I then found it when I went back through my notes - it is covered within the Pirc section. 🙂

Thank you for the answers, gonna check this section out!

Schlechter variation against French - analysis query

In the Schlechter variation against the French course, Section 4. 5….Nbd7, Sub-section 4.Nice Checkmate: Avetik says after 14. Qxf3 Nf8 that we play 15.Nh5 and Black's best move is to come back with 15…Nd7 (time 02:09) and defend f6 which then allows the spectacular 16.Qf6. However Stockfish says that instead of 15…Nd7 Black plays 15…Nf5 with equality - a move not considered in the video.  Instead of 15. Nh5, Stockfish gives the immediate 15. Qf6 with a winning advantage - this can transpose back to the line in the video after 15…Nd7 16 Nh5 but Black has other options. If the above is correct then perhaps you can consider this for any future revisions.

Replies

VR Chess Rating Dive

Chesscom recently released MerlinChess for Oculus which lets one play with people on the Chesscom website with a virtual chessboard.  While still in early release, they have my favourite time control of 15+10 active and I have been playing on there for about two weeks.  The weird thing is, my brain does not work as well in VR.  For some reason, my chess is 100-150 rating points worse then on my 2D desktop.  Has anyone else experienced this, or can think of a reason for it?  Are parts of my brain too busy processing the visual information to help with calculation?

Replies

Hey Groo,

The brain is a funny thing - fantastically powerful in some ways yet incredibly simple in others.  In particular, the brain likes patterns.  I suspect that, at the moment, the pattern recognition that you have developed in 2D hasn’t synced with your 3D play - that is, your brain sees them as different activities.  I’m sure that your brain will catch up shortly 😉

A discovery

Getting ready for first ever rating tournament.
Curiousity made me discover a few things…
From November 14-2024 to July 30-2025, ive raised 478 rapid rating.(lichess-1542)
April 14-2025 to August 2-2025, ive raised 288 blitz rating.(lichess-1613)
June 6-2024 to August 8-2025, ive raised 409 rapid rating.(chess.com-974)

I think i have shown some good growth in 2 years. Chessmood's opinion?

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Honestly as much as you have improved, I think its just better for the rating to only be an estimated measure of your performance, rather than using as a measure to see if you have improved or not. You can just ask and see for yourself if you think you have improved based on the skills you have learned and those skills affecting the playstyle greatly I guess, this part is just only my opinion, as I have been trying to detach myself from rating and focusing only on improving. There are some chessmood blogs based on detaching your rating if you want to read it, and if you think you would benefit from that.

Logging out from all devices

Hi,

The website is saying that i am logged in on 4 devices while I am logged in only 2. There doesn't seem to be a way to logout from all devices from the account. How do i do this? If not, it is an issue as my account could be accessed by hackers…Pls guide

Replies

Hey! 😊
I’ve logged you out from all devices just to be safe.

If you're still seeing something weird, I’d recommend changing your password — just in case.
And of course, if this keeps happening, feel free to write here anytime. We’ll help right away!

New article: Endgame roadmap: 9 strategies on how to play chess endgames

“I lose almost every equal endgame.” 

“I’ve already read 6 books about endgames, but it doesn’t help much...” said a chess improver to GM Avetik.
 

They wanted to improve their endgame, but something wasn’t working. 
 

In today’s article, you’re going to discover:

?Why they were struggling to improve at endgames.

?Why and how GM Avetik created the endgame compass. 

?How the endgame compass can help you think in endgames.
 

3 weeks after ‘using’ this compass, the chess improver touched their dream rating!?
 

At the same time, as promised, we’ve also added all the sections to our Endgame Roadmap course.
 

And after you read the article and watch the course, you’ll never say, “I don’t know what to do in endgames.”
 

Read the article here?

https://chessmood.com/blog/chess-endgame-strategies
 

And watch the full course here?
https://chessmood.com/course/chess-endgame-roadmap

Replies

The Endgame Roadmap sounds pretty much like the course An Endgame Expert by GM Smirnov. I don't want to post a direct link to avoid accusations of promoting other sites but it should be easy enough to find and compare the ideas.

Hi, I am enjoying the course and learning a lot. I have a question. In the section on creating passed pawns you give an ending from one of your games that won a prize. Who was the opponent and in which event?. I would like to look at the complete game if possible. Chessmood has already helped me to improve my play. Thank you

Hi,
I'm a free user of chessmood. I read this article andwatched the unlocked pieces of the course. its what i needed. I often get advantage in the opening, then in the middle game with my coach! but i always screw up in the endgame. Pawn up still lose. i believe this course it making a difference. im still screwing up in endgames, but slowly slowly im reducing my mistakes

“What the f…”

This course turned me happy and angry at the same time. Happy to learn sth new and angry about other coaches with whom I have worked before. I also read dozens of endgame books,  but such a simple advice: In the endgame, we place our pieces to attack weak pawns…, I never got before. And I remember dozens of games where I placed my pieces acc. to middlegame “rules”….Now, I understand what has been my mistake. 

And this course is full of “What the f… ” moments for me :-).

So I'm very happy to improve and apply this knowledge in the next tournament.

👍

Thanks! So useful Avetik and the course helps even more! Thanks!

anything here specifically to help with visualization

I am looking for a structured way to work on better board visualization  - any suggestions

Replies

U can try visualate short games and solve tactics bt with no piece move till calc ends 

That’s explained in one of the sections of the Calclman course - good luck 🫡

I did something recently,
1. Look at the board and all possible moves for white and black on starting positions(real board)
2. Close your eyes and dictate few moves with a partner
3. Play for a while with eyes closed(ask friend to go easy a bit)
4. Do the same but ask your friend to go full brain
5. Test in an actual game(eyes open_calculate moves by closing your eyes)
6. After few games-eyes open or close full board is greatly visible!
Try it!

Thanks all

French Attack Exchange Variation: How do you deal with 4.Bf4 reply from White?

Hi everyone, regarding the BlackMood Opening – the French “Attack” (Exchange Variation), I faced 4.Bf4 in one of my games. Should I still go for 4...Nc6 followed by 5...Bd6, and not worry about whether the dark-squared bishops get exchanged?

Since the dark-squared bishop is usually considered my “good” bishop in the French, I didn’t really want to trade it. In that game, my opponent developed their dark-squared bishop to f4, controlling the d6 square. So instead of playing ...Bd6, I played ...Be7, which felt very passive—but at least I kept the bishop.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you =)

Replies

I faced this very move a few days ago.  It was really annoying!  I tried keeping the dark-squared bishop and managed to drive the white bishop back eventually.  However, I ended up in a really awkward position and ended up losing.  I'm only a 1550 player, so would love to hear what strong players have to say about this, but I think, next time, I will just trade the bishop.  That bishop on f4 hijacked my game.

I haven't quite faced it but maybe go equal. change both bishops. Give knight some duty. Im not high rated but just an opinion

Bd6 looks good followed by Qxd6 and 0-0. In some lines you can go for Qb4+ forking and winning a pawn. Also Re1 If white allows can be really annoying. Gl

New Feature: BugZone is Live!

Champions, 

The BugZone feature is live!
It’s a place where your mistakes live... until fixed.

You solve a training exercise and miss it? Goes to BugZone.

You fail a puzzle in a quiz? Goes to BugZone.

You click the hint button while solving? Yep, BugZone.

We collect all your mistakes in one place. 

Sounds cool? 
One more thing. 

Then, when you come back and solve it correctly, it doesn’t go to “Fixed.”

It goes to “Corrected.”

And if you solve it a third time (you can do it only after 72 hours!), then it finally moves to “Fixed!”

Cool?
Now the coolest part! 

Our AI Coach will soon be able to see where you struggle and where you shine.

It’ll use that info to build your personalized study plan.

Not yet... but very soon. 

Love it? 

Here is the link:
https://chessmood.com/profile/ai-coach/bugzone   
 

Play around with the feature. 
And if you have any requests or find a bug, please post them here.  
 

Ah, and keep in mind that we start collecting your Bugs from this moment. 
So if you go there and see 0 bugs, don’t be surprised.

You’re not perfect, haha :)
 

With best wishes and love,

GM Avetik♥️ (or Avo, as my friends call me)

Replies

I have been using this feature lately and it's really helpful. I normally keep a list of mistakes from Tactics Ninja Training Level 1 &2 and revisit a day later. I can still revisit but no longer need to keep track of the problems missed. And then a delay and retest is very helpful to make sure I get the concept. Im also using this for chess mood opening quizzes. Thanks for this!

Is this a "Lifeline" or a different kind of tactic?

Hello Chessmood - I was able to execute a nice tactic in my recent game getting back into the game from a lost position. Avetik, would you call this an example of the lifeline?

https://lichess.org/jpttz7Wy/black#42

Move 21. … Rxd5!

Removing the defender of the enemy queen and at the same time adding a defender to my hanging queen AND at the same time capturing material!

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Not completly sure, but I thought in lifeline tactics, both pieces are hanging, and then one of those hanging pieces comes to defend the another hanging piece (and then they arent both hanging I think..? I am not so sure, I will need to review my notes on that). For example, if the rook was hanging and the queen. Also your queen is defended, theirs isn't after you capture their knight, so its not a lifeline tactic for you because its not hanging. I just feel like its more of they blundered a piece, thinking the Queen is defended by the knight that is defended by a pawn and bishop, and it is, but for you to capture has a much greater threat of taking the free queen, so they can't ever recapture the Knight. And then later if they decide to trade off the queens, you just win a minor because rook can just take back. So basically with a much greater threat, it doesn't matter how many defenders the knight has as they just can't ever use these defenders unless if their queen was defended by another piece.

To me, this looks more like a simple remove the defender theme. Of course the rook protecting the queen is also highly important, but i do not know if there is a specific name for it. It does happen very often though, maybe we should come up with one ;)

Chess.com time control

For me personally I enjoy to play blitz 3+2 but get in a habit of overplaying and playing bad games but when i play rapid I get bored quick what do you guys best recommend for chess improvement?

Replies

If you get bored playing how can you really improve ? Try to first enjoy the process of thinking about chess positions, about what your opponent plan is, what your plan is, finding good moves, finding positionnal advantages and weaknesses and then you can improve. You can not do this in a hurry !

I think chessmood has good articles about mental state playing chess (i mean, it's called chessmood), you should check those out. 

Hey Jerry, 

Read these 3 articles. They will help you organise your playing sessions in a productive way.

https://chessmood.com/blog/what-chess-time-control-to-choose
https://chessmood.com/blog/golden-method-to-increase-rating-in-chess

https://chessmood.com/blog/analyze-blitz-chess-games

Good luck! 

French attack , advance var. Bd7 Be2

I played a slow game online today and my opponent had white and played very well . I know I made a mistake at move 17 … by taking on e5 but I am trying to figure out if Be2 has to be played differently than usual … a friend of mine showed me a different move order from an another game . I will add a link for my game and the game he shared to me . https://www.chess.com/game/live/141526047966?move=0
 

[Event "Zadar op-A 17th"]

[Site "Zadar"]

[Date "2010.12.15"]

[Round "5"]

[White "Tomazini, Zan"]

[Black "Drazic, Sinisa"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B28"]

[WhiteElo "2257"]

[BlackElo "2524"]

[Annotator "Win10"]

[PlyCount "74"]

[EventDate "2010.12.12"]

[EventType "swiss"]

[EventRounds "9"]

[EventCountry "CRO"]

[SourceTitle "CBM 139 Extra"]

[Source "ChessBase"]

[SourceDate "2011.01.05"]

[SourceVersion "1"]

[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.05"]

[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Bd7 5. Nf3 a6 6. Be2 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb5 8. Bxb5+

(8. Nc3 Bxe2 9. Qxe2 {back to familiar scheme}) 8... axb5 {Black allowed the

doubling of his b-pawn, but it is not even clear if that/^s a disadvantage.

Black. Black will soon move the pawn to b4, gaining space and also fixing a2

as a weakness} 9. O-O b4 $1 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. Re1 Nge7 12. Nf1 Nf5 13. Ne3 Nxe3

14. Bxe3 Be7 15. g3 {In the next stage of the game, White tries to build up an

attacking position on the kingside, which, however, doesn/^t turn out to be

dangerous enough.} O-O (15... h6 16. Z0 Qb6 17. Z0 Kd7 18. Z0 Ra6 19. Z0 Rha8 {

is even better plan for black}) 16. h4 Ra6 {Black prepares to put pressure on

White/^s a-pawn by doubling or potentially even tripling heavy pieces on the

a-file. Note that Black only has this plan available because he allowed his

b-pawn to be doubled.} 17. Ng5 Qb6 18. Qh5 h6 19. Nf3 Rfa8 {Now Black wins

that pawn, while White doesn/^t have anything real on the kingside.} 20. Nh2

Rxa2 21. Rxa2 Rxa2 22. Ng4 Qa6 23. Bxh6 (23. Nf6+ Bxf6 (23... gxf6 $2 24. Qg4+

Kf8 25. Bxh6+ Ke8 26. Qg8+ Kd7 27. exf6) 24. exf6 Qd3 25. fxg7 Rxb2 26. Bxh6 (

26. Qxh6 Qh7 27. Ra1 Rb1+ 28. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 29. Kh2 Qh7) 26... Rb1 27. Bc1 Qh7) (

23. Nxh6+ gxh6 24. Bxh6 Qd3 25. Re3 Qg6) 23... g6 24. Nf6+ Bxf6 25. Qf3 Be7 26.

h5 Ra1 27. Bc1 Nxd4 28. Qg4 Rxc1 29. Rxc1 Ne2+ 30. Kh2 Nxc1 31. hxg6 Qe2 32.

gxf7+ Kxf7 33. Qf4+ Kg7 34. Qxc1 Qxf2+ 35. Kh3 Qf5+ 36. Kh2 Qxe5 37. Qd1 Bd6

0-1

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Dear Denis,

This game was played with around 2200 online player, who applied some concrete ideas, and as you remember in general Blackmood is for U2000 players. However instead of immediately calturing on e2 it is possible to start with Nge7. That prevent the c4 idea that happened in a game.