Chess forum by Grandmasters

Closed Sicilian vs Open Sicilian

Hey Chessmood Family!
I saw in a video where GM Avetik said he thinks the closed sicilian is better than open, but he seemed to be half joking, half serious. I really like the Chessmood repertoire against the Sicilian Defense. I was wondering if what coach said is really true? or do we need to learn Open Sicilian eventually?

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hi Kyle, the open Sicilian has way too many variations and lines and will take weeks to learn plus Sicilian players prepare mainly against the open Sicilian so  you are walking straight into their preparation. i don't think its good to learn open sicilian

Hello Kyle, you don't have to eventually learn the open Sicilian, but if you are over 2000 rating I recommend you to learn the basics of it if you love attacking chess, to understand better chess clasics e.g. Tal's. As Hamza said, Sicilian players prioritize preparations against the open Sicilian, but in 2025, it is almost impossible to catch someone by surprize by plaing the closed. Before joining chessmood, I started by learning the open but it was very big and hard to remember, because I was low rated back then, under 1500, and it was one of the first opening families I tried to learn, but eventually got bored of it. However, sometimes I play the open to switch things up, chosing Schvenningen or Shveshnikov variations for black. With the white pieces I rely almost exclusively on the closed. 

For me personally I love the closed sicilian grand prix attack but playing open sicilian like the alapin can get your playing expirence where you slowly postionally out play your opponet which I think is a good expirence and suitable if you like slower positions.

Silent Strategy - Test Your Knowledge

Thanks for the test! I really enjoyed it. Especially since I scored a 95!   :D

I was actually surprised that I was very confident on all of the puzzles (except for the one I missed). My confidence is growing, and that is a great feeling.

Thanks, GM Gabu!!

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Dear Jeff,

Another time I am feeling proud and excited to see your out results!

Thanks for your kind words!

Keep crushing!

Error in Tactics Ninja Course

Just finished the free month with ChessMood; some great stuff here.
I think there is an error in the Tactics Ninja course in I think it was the first skewer puzzle.
If you don't give a check before taking, you get hit with the same skewer in reverse.
 

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Hi there.
Can you please specify in which section, after which video you found the error?
Thank you!

Hi there. 

you may check your doubts through engine and thanks for commenting here

Nightmare of Rossolimo Question

In Rock n Rolling sicillian sidelines with black, the first game in 6.be3 closed systems line, avetik said gabuzyan said you play rb8. But in the actual course he recommends e5. am I missing something here?

thanks

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Lovely checkmate I happened to see pretty much by accident lol

Quite proud of that. I almost didn't notice it lol, I was going to trade rooks…

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2 problems in the Scotch

In the scotch after e4 e5 nf3 nc6 d4 exd4 nxd4 bc5 Nb3 and Bb4 how should we respond and also after e4 e5 nf3 nc6 d4 exd4 nxd4 nxd4 qxd4 qf6 qe3 according to me the move bb4 is not covered in the courses could you please suggest something

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These Variations are not covered by chessmood because they do not want their courses to be convoluted with such lines that you might never get on the board.

After the delayed 5… Bb4+ Variation you can respond for simplisity with 6. Bd2.

If Black takes your Bishop, you get a much better version of the main lines in which you can use the same plans as shown in the course.

If he defends the bishop with 7… a5 you play 8. a3 after which Black either exchanges the bishops or plays 8… Be7 9.Be3(so that a5-a4 can be met with Nd4) with a comfortable position.

As for 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 5. Qxe4 Qf6 I would recommend 6.Be3 Qxd4 7.Bxd4 with a slightly better position due to the small space advantage and strong Bishop on d4. 

Tell me if something is still unclear for you.

Recommendation about In depth concept of the centre ( Master Level )

Hello dear pro members and grandmasters , 

I would like to directly ask this question to our  chessmood grandmasters about the Center in chess .In some recent days I am realizing that center in chess is actually a very big concept and plays a significant role in deciding the result of a game.Therefore I have decided that I want to bring my concept of the center to

 a master level . I read Aron Nimsowitch My system book but soon heard that it is outdated so now I am confused on what 

resource should I take up to understand the concept at a master level .My current fide is 1600 .Kindly give me some recommendations.

Thank you. 

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Dear Ar Ray,

Indeed, you are right and the center is super important - on our website, you can learn the Silent Strategy course - where in different sections we highlight the importance of the center, as well as in commented strategic and attacking games, you will often face the concepts about the center importance.

Crushing the Scandinavian

Guys for Crush the Scandinavian course after e4 d5 exd5 qxd5 nf3 bg4 be2 nc6 h3 Bh5 d4 0-0-0 c4. In the course after qd6 the line after d5 shows only ne5 but what about bxf3 which is blacks reply after Qd7

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Hello Game Wetcher,

in this scenario I prefer to play 9. Bxf3 and if 9. … Qe5+ Qe2, going to an equal endgame, strengthening the queenside pawn chain with b3 at some point. 

If 9. … Qg6 then 10. 0-0 Ne5 Be2.

If 9. … Ne5 immediately, which is the “main” move, 10. Nc3. Here, most players will just exchange their knight for our light - squared bishop on f3, we play Qxf3, 0-0 and Bf4. If after 10. Nc3, they reply with 10. … Nf6, then 11. 0-0 Nxc4 12. Bg5 with Rc1, Nb5, Nxc7 plan, potentially Qa4 as well, with a potential discovered attack with the knight at opponent's king, a position at around +1.6 advantage.

Hope I covered you, waiting for your reply. Cheers! 

Questions about Events by a Essential Member

In the "Completed events" part, I've saw that in the past, the ChessMood team had organized events like "SLP", "Pawn and Rook endgames", "Training Tactics", "Ask me anything", and other topics in interactive lessons. But now, I've saw that you guys only hosts simuls, 1v1 vs GM, and Racing with ChessMood openings. I'm not a Pro member yet, and during these free days, I've decided to join the zoom to view these lessons, as my membership will ended next month and I'm planning to get a Pro membership. The main part of the membership is the events, but in my opinion, this has downfall in recent time. Can you guys share your thoughts and experiences as a Pro Member? Because in my opinion, spending another $200 a year is not effective much, as the events always repeats and we don't have nothing new... Thank you so much, and I hope that the ChessMood staff will answer my questions.

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I would love to see more variety in the events. For example, the events you were mentioning, Kamikeize.

There are so many interesting topics for future webinars.

Yes from these types of events we also learn much more .I actually only like the play 1-1 against a gm .other than that I think there could be much much more better events that what is scheduled nowadays . Of course apart from these events chessmood guys are just absolutely wonderful and precise about what they bring to the table . I very much want to see IM David Shahinyan do much much more of those interactive events like those practical endgames .his rules are so crystal clear and on point. He does a great job .He can do much more of those events .

How I made a big (non-chess) mistake in a game of chess

Hey guys,

My last training session was a classical (90 30) game on lichess. I was feeling tired before and was already running late, which was a 2 in my pre-training KPI. During the game, I noticed that it wasn't getting any better. I could bring myself to calculate lines as usual, but when it wasn't my turn, I found myself getting overly distracted and impatient, two things that I've almost never had in any classical game, OTB or online. 

Now about two hours into the game in a roughly even latish middlegame, it happens. I move my queen, anticipating my opponent's plan, and then a cold sinking feeling sets upon me. My queen was no longer protecting my knight, and any moment now I would be down a piece. To put this into perspective, my classical rating in lichess is above 2000. I cannot remember the last time I just hung a piece cleanly, in one, no tactics involved. 

This wasn't the mistake. It was what I did next.

I hit “takeback”, opened the chat and typed one word. Misclick. 

My opponent (Eva1982) accepts after a few seconds. I am relieved for a brief moment, and then a horrified feeling set in as I realized just what I had done.  

I had lied to another person and deceived them just to rectify my mistake on the chessboard. Me, usually a calm, collected, and honest person. And it had worked. 

Any scrap of focus I had before was gone now. I was sitting there, thinking not about the game, which I played more or less on autopilot, but on what I had done. I felt ashamed, guilty, angry with myself, anger at the lack of focus, the blunder, my dishonest reaction to it. 

Eventually, I re-opened the chat. I wrote: “I was being dishonest before. I lost my focus and just blundered. I would like to continue the game, but would you want me to drop half a point at the end (e.g. I win = I offer draw; drawn position = I resign)? I don't want to dishonestly gain rating points I shouldn't have just off your kindness”.

I received no answer. They must play in focus-mode, like I do all the time. So I continued the game. 

Eventually, we reached a dead-drawn position, and they took me up on the offer, so I resigned as proposed. 

What really touched me is the first message they sent after my apology: “very worthy. a rare case”.  I was grateful that they, in some way, still respected me. 

I am writing this in an attempt to clear my conscience and to humiliate myself to prevent this from ever happening again. If you are reading this, dear Eva1982, thank you for your understanding. I truly appreciate it.

To all the other readers, I would really love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you had a similar experience before? If so, how did you deal with it? How would you have reacted if you received an apology like this during a game? I thank you in advance for any and all responses, comments and thoughts.

Jami

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Quite the story! I think you handled the situation admirably. If we never made impulsive decisions that we would regret later, then chess and life as a whole would be lots easier. You made a mistake and were brave enough to admit it. Good work, and now try to clear your mind and move on.

Quick question 

I can’t buy courses any longer using mood coins has something changed or am I just missing it

thanks 

How do we handle 1. Nf3 ... 2. b3?

Hello Chessmoodians,

I just faced this opening from a 1500.  I had no clue what to do and am having trouble finding ChessMood material on how to handle this in the future.  I responded e6 to Nf3, but then do we go with French or Dutch structures or something else?  I went French and my opponent ended up double-fianchettoing with no activity in the center until later and I just had no clue how to proceed.  The whole game was an unenjoyable downward slide.

Could someone please link a BlackMood model game or something else which would help me prepare for this opening?

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Hi Groo,

Isn't this the Reti?

https://chessmood.com/course/blackmood-openings/episode/6174

I sometimes like to look at the lines in 365chess.com too:

https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=3&n=51&ms=Nf3.e6&ns=3.51

Honestly you won’t face this very often, so it’s just not worth your time trying to learn something new or focusing on this too much.

I wouldn’t reccomend a French as White will likely be playing some c4 setups (which you will not know about).

Personally, I wouldn’t reccomend a just play the Dutch, just not the Stonewall. Just make sure when White plays g3, you answer with b6.

From here you should be good to go!

Hope this helps!

How do you study Chessmood Opening and Practice on Real Games?

Hi everyone, I am a chess beginner and I am wondering how everyone study WhiteMood / BlackMood Opening?

Do you study bit by bit? Or do you study all lines first, and playing them in real game, and slowly fixing them if any move was misplayed? What would you do if you were me to approach the learning? 

Any advice from you is very much appreciated😄Ready to learn from the amazing community here!

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I just play games and when I feel like learning some theory would help me (or I'm just curious), I watch the videos for the specific opening. If, at some point, I decide that I need to remember lines, I use spaced repetition.

I learned the starter courses bit by bit over 2 months.  I am still making my way through the model games.  I started with BlackMood, as that has less variations.  After learning a section, I turned the course quiz moves into PGNs using Chess.com's analysis function and then imported the PGNs into two Chessable courses (one for black and one for white) I created for myself, so that I could practice the first few moves of each opening through spaced repetition.  I practice 10 or more of these at random daily.

But, if you are a complete beginner, perhaps you don't need to worry about openings so much and look more into the strategy and tactics courses.  I did pretty much all the Below 2000 section before worrying about Blackmood or Whitemood Openings.  If you don't know what to do in the middlegame and endgame, struggling to memorize openings by brute force won't get you very far.  Trust me, I did exactly this for the first few months of my chess studies.  Once you better understand chess overall, the openings are easier to memorize as they “make sense.”  

Tactic Ninja typo think so

On promotion isn't it the slav not semi-slav??? Semi-slav according to my knowledge is where c6 d5 e6 pawn structure with bishop on c8

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Hi, just thought yall might like an update from me

I made it to the final round of a chess correspondence tournament that has been going on most of a year. First place is out of reach due to some blunders, but I will place at least 5th out of about 400-500 people.

This isn't the hugest achievement, but I'm very proud of it, because long-form chess is not my forte. I am far more at home in blitz and bullet where I can use my main weapons of sheer speed and dirty flagging. 

Just thought I would share, and big thanks to Avetik and Hovhannes for all their help.

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Congrats bro!

Excellent stuff.  Well done, you should be very proud 😎

Being in the 98th or 99th percentile of a variant that is not your strong suit is quite impressive!  Nice job.

Update: I was wrong, there's actually 5 and I got eliminated. Still proud of making it through 3 over most of a year.

Great

Bugzone is here

😀

Bugzone is here!

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When to give up bishop for doubled, isolated pawns?

I'm trying to understand the difference between the following two positions. Black to move and decide whether Bxc3 , giving up the bishop pair for doubled isolated pawns, is a good move or not.

Position A:

r1bqk2r/pppp2pp/2n2n2/1B2p1B1/1b2P3/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R b KQkq - 4 7

Position B:

r1bq1rk1/p1pp1pp1/2p2n1p/8/1b2P2B/2NB4/PPP2PPP/R2QK2R b KQ - 1 9

I know the answers, because the engine told me what to do. But I'd like to understand why, in position A, Bxc3 is the best move while, in position B, it's a mistake.

So what makes Bxc3 good in position A while it's bad in position B?

(I know that there's another factor - in position A, it's important to eliminate the knight because otherwise it can pressure the pinned piece in a few moves. However, the engine still wants to take it immediately to ensure that the pawns get doubled).

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Dear Lukasz,

I couldn't open the positions - can you please post the pictures?

rossolimo line

Hi. In one of my games I played as black and the game went e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 g6 0-0 Bg7 Re1 Nf6 and then my opponent played Nc3. now after 5.Nc3 before Re1 we play e5, but now we can't because the pawn is unprotected. and if we play 0-0 after e5 it transposes to a different theory we are not playing as black. so what to do there for black?

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Dear Eliya,

In that position, Black castles and if e5 - Ne8 - Nc7 - when White captures on c6, we recapture with the d pawn.

amazing game crushing the caro kann

😀

One of my best games. 

Eli Se vs Ray Fergerson US Amateur Team West 1700 board 9:

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 e6 7. Qe2 Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Ne5 Bd7 11. f4 Rab8 12. O-O a6 13. Rf3 b5 14. Rh3 h6 15. Nd2 b4 16. g4 bxc3 17. bxc3 Rb2 18. g5 Nh7 19. gxh6 g6 20. Bxg6 fxg6 21. Nxg6 Re8 22. Qg4 Kf7 23. Ne5 Ke7 24. Qg7 Kd8 25. Nf7 Kc7 26. Nxd6 Kxd6 27. Qxh7 Rxd2 28. Qg7 Re7 29. Qg3 Rh7 30. f5 e5 31. Qg6 Be6 32. Qxe6 Kc7 33. Qg6 Rh8 34. Qg7 Kd6 35. Qxh8 1-0 black resigns

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

for explanation on moves

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Very nice game! Congratulations!

Indeed, a nice one!