Chess forum by Grandmasters

Avoiding strong Nc5 in French

Hi Gabo,

I have quite often that white plants Nc5 in French with closed queenside. I usually let it, focus on K side activity and remove it later. Examples:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171067570618?move=33

https://www.chess.com/game/live/171331223930?username=kolous81&move=31

If closed it is nothing tragic, but when the attacks weakens it can be very annoying. Taking with B gets a pawn that is blocking center on it's place. What is the right approach to either prevent or remove early or something? 

Replies

Dear Dan, 

This question is conditional and depends on the situation - if you make sure the Knight isn't a concrete issue, leaving it is possible, although I played with captures sometimes, putting the b6 Knight on a4 or c4 - again, it all depends on the concrete position :-)

In Depth French and Dutch Defense Course

Thanks for all the great content! I enjoyed the Blackmood course and learning French and Dutch defenses. Is there a “main course” version of these that I’m missing somewhere? 

Replies

I believe there is an Advanced French and Dutch course in the timeline. There's a live interactive lesson on that was streamed for both. Go through the old streams to find them. 

Hope this helps!

Dear Craig,

We don't have the courses yet, though here are the links for the advanced webinars: 

https://chessmood.com/event/french-attack-advanced

https://chessmood.com/event/dutch-attack-advanced

BugFix thoughts/suggestions

I'm really excited for the idea of Bugfix, but I feel like it could use some improvements.

Just like FixMood, we really need a link to the video where it is discussed or where the quiz originally happened.   Especially since you can filter bugfix to apply over a wide range of courses, sometimes I have no idea where it came from!

Second, during the initial stage, I feel like there ought to be an option to show the solution after a few wrong guesses.   This isn't the daily puzzle.  It seems like, in “stage 1” there should be an option for hint or show solution.   Then in “stage 2”, if I get it wrong again, send it back to "stage 1" (I forgot the names of the stages – e.g the initial fix, then practice stages).  Right now, if I can't solve what is being asked after one or two tries, it is just “guess and check” which doesn't seem like a productive way to learn.  Again, having a link back to the course chapter would also do the trick.

Finally, it would be nice if BugZone kept some sort of statistics of which quizzes I keep getting wrong.  Right now, you answer it right once and it disappears from the bug list (moves to the second stage, but only after a delay),  – but I want to be drilled over and over on a course's quizzes, and then show me which moves I consistently get wrong.   Same with FixMood – it's one thing to see games where I strayed from opening prep, but it would be great to show some sort of stats.  Hey, on move 7 of the Scotch, 75% of the time you play the wrong move, let's drill that position.  For instance BugZone could then let me filter on bugs that I make more than 50% of the time in that position (counting both quizzes and fixmood games), so I focus on my weaknesses.  (Or maybe percentage isn't the right metric, I want to find mistakes I make most commonly in the positions I encounter most commonly).  For instance chessstalker has something that shows repetoire holes, something like that would be useful tying to chess mood content.

Anyway, are other people using BugFix?  How do you use it to best effect?

Replies

I really like it, and like the idea. 

I do wish there was an option to remove / start over though, as it is currently quite large and like you mentioned I can't quite remember where some puzzels were added. 

For me, FixMood only works for White. 

The BlackMood Repertoire is not being detected (and they're all showing in early deviations but I'm sure that I play the first four moves almost always correctly) only the WhiteMood is detected. 

Is anyone else having this issue?

Also, in the Petroff 4.Nxf7 is marked as the right move, even though that's only for the Starter Course.

Thanks

French Exchange Variation with early Nc3

Hello All,

I am looking to understand what to do with our dark squared bishop on f8 if white develops Nc3 before we can get the bishop developed to d6.  I have been seeing this variation a lot, but I don't see a corresponding video addressing this variation.

1. e4  e6
2. d4  d5
3. exd5  exd5
4. Nc3

Normally we want our bishop on d6, but if we develop it there now, d5 pawn is unprotected.  If we move Ne7, we block our bishop in.  

Can someone please tell me what the correct variation is in our BlackMood Openings and the related plans?  Also, is there a corresponding video with this specific variation?

Thank you,

Glenn

Replies

FYI…I was just watching the best stream games for French Exchange and I found game 81, which explains the answer to my question.

Thank you,

Glenn

What I've been doing is religiously watching the racing from 1500 to 2000 streams because all the tricky variations I get in not only the French Exchange but also all the other simplified lines that aren't covered in the course Gabuzyan will play against at some point in these videos, so I notice which lines I struggle against that he is playing and then I make a lichess study to record the reply and also write it down in a notepad. 

I know the Nc3 line Gabuzyan has played quite a few times on stream and he has a couple of different ways of playing against it 

Scotch ..Bc5 with an early ..a5

hi folks, any ideas on what we do when black plays an early ..a5 in the ..Bc5 scotch?

It happened to me in a game and it took me by surprise. Should we go for an a4 to stop the a pawn or continue with Be3 as per the lines below? 

It looks like here we get the bishop pair.

Maybe there is something else we should do?

If we play a4 are we looking at a futuure 0-0 instead of 0-0-0, and the same question to the Be3 line. Just to know the plans and which line is best for us.

thanks

Replies

Hey Paul,

Here, after a5, there are 2 options - to play with 8.a4 Nb4 9.Bf4 - followed by 0-0-0 or 8.Be3 a4 9.Bxb6 axb3 10. Be3 bxa2 11.Rxa2 Rxa2 12.Nxa2 Nge7 13.0-0 

Both options are interesting, playable positions :-)

Composer of the promotion / blocking study?

Hi everyone,

In the Tactic Ninja –promotion/ Blocking lesson, GM Avetik shows the following study:

FEN: 8/B7/7P/4p3/7k/8/2K5/b7 w - - 0 1

He mentions the composer's name, but I can't understand the pronunciation.

Does anyone know who composed this study (and, if possible, where it was first published)?

Thanks!😄

Replies

Lichess is down / other platforms?

Hello community, which other chess online platforms do you use for playing? Thank you for your recommendations.

best

Joachim

Replies

Chess.com is also a great website!

It’s back! 😎

Opening Sections differ. Why?

I was wondering why in the “Simplified Chessmood Opening” Section for Black, the French (and Dutch against d4) “Attack” is supported. But in the “Step by Step” Section there is no word anymore of the French, instead you are supposed to learn the Scilian Defense. 

Why is that and on which opening shall I learn now? I would love to hear more of the french and exspecially about the dutch (also not mantioned anymore later).

Replies

The French and Dutch Advanced courses are apparently being recorded, though I don't know if there is information on when they will be released (that's why the study plan for 1500-2000 says not to touch the Step-by-Step repertoire for Black yet, because the advanced French and Dutch courses are currently being recorded). That said, if you want to have a look at the current Step-by-Step repertoire, I guess it can't hurt to have more than one option against certain openings, since having two openings to choose from will make it harder to prepare against you, since you're more unpredictable 🤷‍♂️

Discord and MoodCoing problem

I became a Pro Member yesterday and am having a couple of problems. I went through the steps yesterday to get access to the Pro Member channels on Discord and nothing has worked. I still do not have access. I was under the impression this was an automated process. Am I wrong and just waiting on a human to verify me?
Also, I have not got any MoodCoins for doing the daily puzzle in the last 3-4 days.
Thank You

Replies

Hi Caleb,

Welcome to the ChessMood family! 🥳

I just checked your account, and you should have full access to write in the Pro channels on Discord. It's an automated process, but sometimes it takes a short moment to sync if your payment is still processing in the background. If you run into any other issues with it, just let me know and I'll be happy to help.

Regarding the daily puzzle MoodCoins: they are only rewarded if you solve the puzzle correctly on your very first attempt. If it takes a few tries, the system won't award the coins.

New article: The #1 Thing My Father Did for Me (I Didn't Understand Then...)

People help the ones they love. But what if the right help has the right dosage? 

When GM Avetik was facing one of the toughest moments of his chess career, his father chose not to step in.
Sounds strange?

This story will change that perspective forever❤️ 
https://chessmood.com/blog/best-thing-my-father-did

Replies

Good 

My father. 
I have an oddly similar story.

My father was a professional athlete  Baseball. Shortstop, arguably the most difficult position on the field. 

Anyway, he was an all-round athlete, excellent at whatever he tried … 

And the best, (one of the) best thing he did for me, like you, was the thing he he didn’t do: He never pushed me to be an athlete 

(And he always allowed me to make my own important decisions. He supported me, of course, but all those things I really messed up?  Did it all by myself, but that’s another conversation)

Turns out, the acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree. I’m a decent athlete who loves to just enjoy the process of getting better at something without overly worrying about, say, my rating in chess, for example (now I’m sounding like you :)

Thanks to our fathers for the times they knew when to step back.

French Tarrach 3.Nd2

In the short black opening version it says after 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6, ,,, that there is more to see/study in the main course. But I cannot find the Main course - where do I find it (I only find black playing sicilian, caro-cann and a few more,)?

Replies

Dear Erik, 
After finishing the courses that we are doing now on middlegame and endgame, we will go back to openings, publishing the Main course of the French attack which will be a complete repertoire targeted for advanced players. At the moment, there is only the French Attack course, which is enough to start playing it and get a good feel for it until 2000 rating. 
Of course since it is a practical repertoire the lines are not analyzed deeply in purpose.
If you are an advanced player and are very interested in this line, I would recommend you in the meanwhile the fantastic book by Dmitry Kryakvin The Modern French Volume 1 Tarrasch and Various Lines from 2020 where he also teaches this line with Nd2 and Nc6 and has very good analysis.?

How are you doing with the French main course as black? 

Just tried Tarrach again with 3-Nc6. 4c3 e5 5.Bb5 exd4 6.Qe2  Be6 7.Ngf3 dxc3 8.bxc3 a6 9.Ba4 Nge7

10.Ba3 b5 11.Bb3 d4 12.cxd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Qxd4 14.0-0 Ng6 I made it out alive and won, but I think there must have been better moves.

Philidor/Scotch game against c5?

Hi there, CM family

I was playing against a Philidor defense that soon transposed into a Scotch game. The first moves were as follows:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nxd4 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7.Bf4 So far, so good: I'm following the indications of the Chessmood Scotch repertoire. But then black tries to chase away my beautiful queen on d4 withe the move 7…c5

The module says that this is a mistake for the black, and gives an the evaluation rises to +2.2. But I just can't see what is the black mistake. I just moved my queen to e3, but somehow I filled that I'm missing something, maybe a clear way to take advantage of the dubious move 7…c5 and punish it. Any idea?

Thank you very much

Replies

PS: I can see that the pawn on d6 is now weak, and it can be attacked after O-O-O followed by e5. Is this the idea?

Positionally speaking c5 is a very bad move.

You're practically winning the d6 pawn by force, you get the d5 square, and a lead in development.

Just play Qe3, 0-0-0, and you're already threatening e5.

Black's dark square bishop is already a bad bishop and it requires to move d6 pawn to make it good bishop. Moving c5 on move 7 is a mistake because it becomes difficult to make black's dark square bishop good with a pawn on c5. That player could have played Be7 and castle king side to bring his rook into the game.

Issue with the move is as follows:
 

1.  The d6-pawn is now a backwards pawn and is very weak, and is a target which becomes a problem when white plays 0-0-0.
2.  A major hole on d5 appears, in which white already has three pieces controlling and can add a fourth one.
3.  Given black was already behind in development, they should have just developed pieces and got the king safe.

The move c5 is a mistake because it loses time and significantly weakens Black's position. Stockfish evaluates the position at +2.2, meaning White has a decisive advantage.

Why c5 is bad:

These were the mistakes I found

• Tactical Vulnerability: The queen is now attacking the c5 pawn directly. Black must spend a move defending it or lose material.

• Weakening the Kingside: By playing c5, Black ignores development. White can now play Qe3, preparing to castle queenside (0-0-0) and launch a fast attack on Black’s uncastled king.

• Control of the Center: The move doesn't challenge White's central dominance and creates "holes" (weak squares) in Black's pawn structure that White's pieces can exploit.

Black chess mood openings

I am 2000 in fide so my question is can a 2000 player use black mood chess openings as their main repertiore as black.will it be useful, will it be easy for your opponent to prepare against                                                                                  

Replies

I think Chessmood’s repertoire is definitely playable at that level! Do keep in mind that people will start to handle the openings a lot better as your rating increases. The choice is up to you — play the openings you know and understand well (with less theory), or learn new openings with much more theory, that are objectively more sound (although, if you don’t have a good feeling for those positions, it will always be unsound, regardless of the engine eval). As for the preparation: I am quite sure your opponents won’t have ChessMood, and their repertoire is full of sidelines; so I actually think it will be hard for your opponents to out-prep you. That is, if you haven’t any previous games with the repertoire in the database. 

TL;DR

you can definitely play the chessmood repertoire, but it might be a good idea to learn some more mainlines as you progress — learning multiple openings/options to play is a good idea anyway, to maybe surprise your opponent. 

What I‘d do: learn chessmood openings, but also some other openings, based on your preferences. Like this you can choose what to play, based on the opponent and your (chess)mood

Grand Prix - Bc4 e6

In the WhiteMood Starter Course, Avo names the standard setup for the Grand Prix Attack as occurring after the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Bg7 6.d3 Nf6 7.0-0 0-0, with many possible move orders leading to this position. He further states that if Black plays e6 before White plays Bc4, White should either trade the bishop off on c6, fianchetto it on g2 or not develop it at all/wait and see where it goes later on, depending on the variation. Now, in almost all my encounters where I've played e4, Nc3, f4 and Nf3 and Black has not played e6, when I play Bc4 Black instantly plays e6. And I'm sat there wondering what to do with my bishop, since it seems a bit pointless staring at the e6 and f7 pawns, but wasting moves putting it on b5 or withdrawing it seems equally (or even more) stupid. So what do I do in this scenario? Would it be better never to put the bishop on c4? But then most of the course (the three games against Avo's skeptical friend) would be pointless, which doesn't seem likely to me. Therefore I'd like to know how to deal with e6 after I've played Bc4, specifically, what to do with the bishop on c4.

Replies

im not a professional but i'll try to help. first of all i dont think e6 is very good because it really weakens black's dark squares. also, one of the main problems with early e6 is that it might come with a quick d5 break gaining tempo on your bishop. but in this case where the e6 happens after d6, its less of a problem as black wastes 2 moves for the d5 break, and you will probably be the faster to attack. actually when looking at the engine, if black plays the late e6 its an inaccuracy and the recommended move is d4 - immediately opening the center and starting your attack. what to do with the bishop? keep it there, it might help in the future. also keep in mind that if black doesnt go for d5 it remains a major weakness for you to attack, so he is kind of forced to waste a tempo moving it. i hope its not bullshit😶

The best games of June, 2026, and the prizes

Hello ChessMood family, hello champions and future champions! 
Welcome to the "Best games of June, 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 May, 2026:

Jayden Fide
Joseph Zaffarese 
Anis Chess
Andrew 
Kamil ch

Replies

Started as a Modern, continued as a KID.

If black is not quick in finding counterplay on the kingside, white's attack arrives faster on the queenside

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169574751328

https://lichess.org/gI6S2xH1/white

https://lichess.org/BTcVuYx5/black

A nice game with a queen and a knight sac

A nice attacking game in the Scotch, Classical, Potter Variation! I found a brilliant move and also another good sacrifice! I also missed an easier checkmate in two but overall I enjoyed this attack!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169622448488

I am weixinchess, I am going to share some of my games playing against the Sicilian with the Grand Prix Attack.

Game 1: https://lichess.org/NncV5ar0

I immediately goes f5 once Black castles short, and slowly building up pressure against the Black King. At the end, I spotted a Nh5+ double check with Queen and then mate idea, but my opponent went Kh8, but I still goes Nh5+ anyway!

Game 2: https://lichess.org/4bs95js0

My opponent didn't play …Nc6 in the first few moves, so I cannot go Bb5, and I decided to go with the f4-g3-Bg2 setup. During the game, I find a way to win an exchange and win the game.

Game 3: https://lichess.org/buAau6Jd

My opponent collapsed under pressure as I built up pressure against his pinned Rook.

https://www.chess.com/game/169716752480
 

https://www.chess.com/game/169720437964
 

another Caro Kahn victory 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169721827462
 

french victory 

Don't try 1.b4 against me https://lichess.org/Eh9EVa8LJpe7

Jobava attack crushes QGD a6 setup https://www.chess.com/game/live/170090075308?move=0 (even youtube video lol https://youtu.be/oLwaAHDhv08)

Using chessmood dragon attack (Golsta-Juknis game) https://lichess.org/study/fP8jYMJQ/tCHa0Aa3#last

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/169759877796/review?move=92 slowly building on advantage

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/169581062356/review?move=50 nice game

Classic smothered mate.

https://lichess.org/RPxu8U8v/white#1

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169923905200?move=0

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169972017482?move=0

A classical OTB game. I am embarrassed to admit I remembered 5.Nf3 from the ChessMood repertoire, but after that I was out of book.: https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/game/?p=qECYBDYZFXse8Cd9t9qPEvMTCSpQUzowjuls6I8jamw28YrzxACmBmXw89uS9lCk

A short bullet game, with the king drawn out and checkmated in the centre:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169901654484

Chess: kirbyplayse4 vs wGovindrajs - 169969037556 - Chess.com not perfect but beautiful finish :>

https://lichess.org/1gXCgWhy7hpt

This scotch worked well for me:

https://lichess.org/SEsIToXf/white

https://www.chess.com/game/live/169994472204 an interesting attacking game

https://www.chess.com/game/170017714690
 

dragon victory 

French Attack: https://lichess.org/wsCNFCchNFt8

https://lichess.org/tfyPY1qt/black#162

https://lichess.org/fqn5Tytm/white#33

https://lichess.org/JaEHHrdL/white#74

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170091182542?move=0 

Mc cutcheon in FA

https://lichess.org/OHsYtuxI

Dutch Attack: https://lichess.org/DwldSZgg4lG6

French Attack: https://lichess.org/17YJAQfy/black#0

I've just started to play the open sicilian as white. I encountered an accelerated dragon in this game. Didn't know much theory but I think I found some nice moves ! : https://www.chess.com/game/live/169281368324

Second Scotch this month: https://lichess.org/EvQ0s1ih/white

This month I played two games against GM Zhigalko Andrey in simuls hosted on lichess. Got one win and one draw ! I was really lucky in both games and was worse out of the opening. Btw that draw could've been a win if I tried harder …

https://lichess.org/qo97g8oM/black

https://lichess.org/Si1ICIIgBZLa

French Attack - Exchange Variation: https://lichess.org/6vlRIKlo/black#0

Dutch Attack vs London System: https://lichess.org/CXFHj1HT/black#0

“Caro kan nicht”, 7…Qc8

https://lichess.org/giHVAdlE

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170374862232 

In this game my position was just flowing, and my opponent was just moving pieces here and there and waiting for me to launch an attack on his king.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170377556432 beating an IM in the kings indian 

Check out this #chess game: Edorin97 vs Limitless_205 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/170409731424

Discovering my love for the Bird

https://lichess.org/zp3qsq0d/white#75

Positional gain, black resigned disgusted:

https://lichess.org/tZ7lxDy3

Nice fight, always in the sharp line 

https://lichess.org/ZXAdhvyW

😀

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170443826830/analysis

My game. I am White. I love this game because I found a lot of tactics ;). Plus, I'm not that high rated so I think I did pretty well in this game.

Check out this #chess game: ABond58 vs Xevorin - https://www.chess.com/live/game/170373387352

Not the best game because I made some mistakes but I played the Dutch in this

https://www.chess.com/live/game/170336232256

One of the best games I played in my usual trompowsky attack. Played this game after watching the Silent strategy course. 

Check out this #chess game: Crazyelmer vs Edorin97 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/170509753972

Fun game in French

Check out this #chess game: Xevorin vs RasheedAtia - https://www.chess.com/live/game/170509730322

https://lichess.org/nb4To1Dj/black#42

The French Attack - Exchange Variation: 

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

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170262181002

Damiano pawn wins against alekhine defense

https://lichess.org/vu2UkCK2

Just played the “perfect” game against the caro.

Super happy with this one.

https://lichess.org/aIhIbiJKVg0J

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

french attack exchange line, 7.c4 

https://lichess.org/YRj2bvJ8/black

Game 1:

I implemented what I have learnt so far from the rising champions course, and feel like I absolutely crushed an opponent at my level with the knowledge!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170676789726

Game 2: 

I straight up blunder a knight at the start…, and miss a hanging bishop later, but keep fighting and pull of a win. Learning the common mating patterns certainly helped visualise / come up with the plan I had to mate the opponents king.

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170585834472

Game 3:

I am down a Queen + Pawn for a Knight + Rook, but still manage to fight back to an even score at one point! 

I fumble and loose, but get to briefly experience the power of two Bishops working together against a queen, which was really cool. Happy getting that experience and at least giving myself the opportunity to win. 

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170632898716

Game 4:

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170397846854

From how this game ended, you may be able to recognise that I had recently learnt the Opera mate!

I don't think the game is that special, but I did correctly predict my opponents last two moves, and recognised that I could implement the pattern I had just learnt to win the game. 

Not sure what the standard for best is, but these are the best for me, as they are where I have managed to apply skills / knowledge I am working on, or otherwise gained useful experience. 

Interesting Frech…first I was not sure how to continue but came with a nice finish by activating pieces: https://www.chess.com/game/live/170660300978

My candidate games:
1. https://www.chess.com/game/live/170174704570?move=0 Caro-Kann with 2 Brilliants, take outpost, space, bring pieces
2. https://www.chess.com/game/live/169900801522?move=0 Caro-Kann quick with nice checkmate sequence
3. https://www.chess.com/game/live/169774080750?move=0 Caro-Kann, standard game and pawns eater
4. https://www.chess.com/game/live/169820145138?move=0 Scotch with Brilliant Rook forcing mate
5. https://www.chess.com/game/live/169898334762?move=0 Scotch with many exchanges, pawn chain, King invades through weak squares and decides
 

Online blitz. Not much of a contest, but a model game showing what happens if black just blindly castles in the Pirc. I did miss mate in 3 on move 19, but at that point anything wins anyway.

[Event "?"]
[Site "Chess.com iPhone"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. Qd2 O-O 6. O-O-O c6 7. Bh6 Nbd7 8. h4 Qa5 9. h5 Nxh5 10. g4 Nhf6 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Qh6+ Kg8 13. g5 Nh5 14. Be2 Re8 15. Bxh5 gxh5 16. Rxh5 Nf8 17. g6 Qa6 18. gxh7+ Kh8 19. Nf3 Ng6 20. Nh4 Bg4 21. Rg5 Bxd1 22. Nf5  {*}

one of the coolest mates I had in a game so far :D I swear I calculated it till the end before my opponent resigned! https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170770624010/analysis?move=71

French attack against 2..b3?

https://lichess.org/dyizeUNQ

What about Italian game https://lichess.org/Pa6NRDh2JZPM and Queens gambit declined https://lichess.org/SZiBAN92kQIs ?

Check out this #chess game: Edorin97 vs ChumakBogdan1996 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/170833263542

And my final game for this month

Knight ! Knight ! Knight ! Gettt Thee Kinggg !!

https://lichess.org/nNcXpjrS16KN

nice mate :anti Sicilian part 2 : 11…Bd7?

https://lichess.org/33MfTnzr

I finally got a good game
https://lichess.org/TVAPcJy3/white
 

Hello All,

New member here & a late entry with two games:

https://lichess.org/XzEZB4bR5JeY

https://www.chess.com/game/daily/991621752

Cheers!

A nice tactic in the Grand Prix:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170711172124

https://www.chess.com/game/live/170688901884

crushing gm using ideas from chessmood courses like wwp

https://lichess.org/vcvli8bk70Li

Kindersurprise variation

https://www.chess.com/game/170922883982

I had no idea in the opening and pretty sure I didn't play it accurately, but got a chance to attack and didn't wait to use it (thanks gabu for the attacking fearlessly course)

Here's my June batch. I played many games with a b3-e3-f4-setup for White, with pretty good results

https://lichess.org/gD2DfQdG/white#0

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

https://lichess.org/BFfNbLqZ#0 - this is probably the craziest of all

https://lichess.org/OH5LTKUT#0

https://lichess.org/ggoAc662#0 - and this one is the most accurate

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170458565894/review

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170780790436/review

sillyreview vs. doublenvie | Analysis - Chess.com played with my game review account lol

Hello Champions!
Thank you to everyone who sent in their best games of the month.

We saw many creative ideas, strong strategic play, and some truly impressive victories. 
Your games were packed with valuable and instructive moments.

Excellent work, and now it’s time for the prizes! 🏆

1st Prize: Paulius the Witcher

Amazing game in Accelerated Dragon.

Very well done by following the theory and then launching a quick attack with the opposite side's castles. All done masterfully, and the cherry on the cake in the face of the final combination.
Great game!
https://lichess.org/study/fP8jYMJQ/tCHa0Aa3

2nd Prize: Mohamed Iyed Saadaoui

Amazing scotch game.
Very good attack with growing pressure, and eventually destroying the opponent’s pieces - just Scotch brilliancy!
Well done!
https://lichess.org/aIhIbiJK#69

3rd Prize: Marius Cornee

Positional masterpiece!
The position where your opponent resigned speaks for itself 🙂
Amazing positional maneuvers and execution, proud of you!
https://lichess.org/tZ7lxDy3#49

4th Prize: Wei Xin

Silent strategy in action.
You sacrificed the exchange just for a Bishop. But the Bishop dominated the dark squares and the entire board, and that was stronger than the Rook.
Amazing chess understanding. Proud of you!
https://lichess.org/NncV5ar0#46

5th Prize: Dan Matejka

Decent French game.
You followed the general rules with the development and pressure on the opponent’s weaknesses, using the weak dark squares on the Queenside with good cooperation of the pieces.
Very practical!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/170660300978?move=22

Congratulations to all of you!
Thank you once again to everyone for sharing your games.
All the best for next month’s contest!

Questions About King Safety

In the Scale Method, king safety is taught as one of the most important evaluation factors. I understand that the pawns in front of the king are the main defenders, and that advancing them can weaken the king — especially when queens are still on the board.

However, I’ve noticed many practical situations where we do push the king protector pawns, and I’m trying to understand how to evaluate these positions correctly.

For example:

In Racing Streams (1500–2000), I’ve seen Gabuzyan push pawns in front of his castled king during an attack.

Sometimes we push the h‑pawn to create a window for the king. 

In positions with a bishop pinning a knight, we sometimes push the h‑pawn one square to force the bishop to decide.

In the French Exchange, there are lines where we play f6 and still castle king‑side, even though f6 looks like a weakening move.

In some same‑side castling attacks (like certain Dutch Attack structures), we push king‑side pawns to attack the opponent's king. 

So my question is:

How do we know when it’s actually okay to push the pawns in front of our king, and when it’s too dangerous? I’m struggling to balance the idea of “king safety is critical” with these practical examples where pawn pushes seem justified.

I’d appreciate guidance on how to evaluate these situations using the Scale Method, and what factors make a pawn push safe vs unsafe.

Replies

I was watching the Racing to 2000 streams, and in one of the games Gabuzyan mentioned that situations where pushing the pawns in front of your king is okay is explained in the attacking courses. So I’m going watch Fearless Warrior, since I haven’t completed that course yet. 

add an English reportier for white

I need it

Replies

Dear Friend,

Thanks for the suggestion, we are not adding openings based on requests, as trust me, everyone wants to play something different, and in that way, all the chess variations should be covered :-)))))

However, the English course for Black can also give you some ideas on how to play with White as well :-)

A line I never found in the scotch game course

😀

I am currently going through the scotch game course, and I am looking at some of the sections past the main section because I was interesting in refuting +Bb4 because I had seen it in some of my games before. I looked a model game section which had the model game for it, and in the video GM Avo said he played the line which he taught us before in a section, I am looking for this video with the Bb4 video but have not been able to find it. Could somebody please tell me if I'm missing it and it is in plain sight or it is not a video 😀

Replies

Potential issue with quiz in Tactical Ninja?

For the test, position 7/8 has no answer with black to move.

Replies

Wait never mind I just figured it out

Petrov Defence with 3...Nc6

Hi, I was watching the opening cours on the Petrov Defense. I am missing a line against 3….Nc6 which happens almost always in my games. I never faced 3….d6. And I kinda struggle against 3….Nc6.

What is the recommended plan here? Any advide?

Thank you very much.

Replies

Hi Jan

This is the Stafford gambit.

You can find the course in the section: Refutations of the abracadabra gambits

Good luck!

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