Chess forum by Grandmasters

Opening preparation

Hi Hovhannes, what would you recommend after the line 1.b3 c5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 e5 4.Nf3 d6 5.Bb5?

Replies

Hi Nikola,

I checked the move, to be honest, many options are doable 5…e4, 5…Nf6 - I didn't see any issues for Black. Is anything specific bothering you?

Help in the French exchange please.

Having trouble getting the long castle setup in the exchange French. I love the French Attack. I just have trouble getting into the setup when white plays nf3. instead of c3. Any advice on this would be very helpful. I have watched all the videos and model games I think there is just something I am missing with this set up.

Thanks for your answers. 

Replies

Just go Nc6, Bd6, Nge7, Bg4, Qd7, f6 & 0-0-0 bro. White cannot really do much about your setup in the French attack, which is great. I’m not exactly sure what problem your dealing with.

There are a few modal games from the stream section that addresses this. There Avo just played Ne7 leaving the bishop on f8. Later in the game the bishop gets developed nicely. You can leave the bishop on f8 and follow the usual setup with long castle.

Ya Same Just go Nc6, Bd6, Nge7, Bg4, Qd7, f6 & 0-0-0 bro. White cannot really do much about your setup in the French attack, which is great. I’m not exactly sure what problem your dealing with.

Thanks for pointing out game 81 and saying leave the bishop there. Answered my question thanks.

I beat a 1720 player on chess.com

Hello, 

I was playing a game earlier, and yes I did blunder my knight at the end and luckily my opponent didn't see it, but I beat my first 1700 player at 1723, very happy with this result, outplaying him in the end game. I wanted to share my victory here. https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/170709477842/analysis

Replies

Congrats Tyler,
It's great to watch your progress over time, my friend. Keep going, 2000 is the next? :-)))

Strategic Masterpieces Game 45

In Game 45 of Strategic Masterpieces, in one of the variations (12:23 of the video), the position below is reached

GM Avetik mentions that the g7 pawn will be lost and also the h6-pawn. But what if Black in the position below goes Kh8, with the idea that after Rxg7 there is Rf6+ and White cannot take the rook because of stalemate? Would White just win by advancing the king and e-pawn, or something else?

Replies

White will not take the rook but will reply with Rg6 move :-)
You almost found a draw, haha :-))

Video playback speed stuck?

Hi folks, I have a situation where I put the video playback speed at, say, 1.25x, and then it stays for the next video…sometimes. Okay so far no biggie, I actually like that part for convenience.

But then I have a situation where it sticks at 1.25x or 2x speed, I change it and the change doesn't stick, and I have to grab the video and change the speed every time! What is going on? Can anyone help me figure this out?

Replies

Hi Ben,

Thanks for reaching out!

The player is designed to remember your last-used speed for convenience, but sometimes the browser cache or player settings can get "stuck" on a specific speed (like 1.25x or 2x) and refuse to save new adjustments.

To reset the player's memory, you can try this quick trick:

1. Start a video and change the playback speed to 1.5x (or any speed different from what you currently have).
2. Change it back to Normal (or the specific speed you want to keep).

This toggle usually resets the persistent settings in the player's memory so future videos honor your new speed choice.

Let us know if that does the trick for you!

Course Attachment for Defend With Honor

Hello chessmood,

There is no attachment in the Defend with honor course.

Replies

Thanks for noticing Pawn Bishop,
We are aware of that, and from time to time we are updating the materials :-) 

An opening repetoire for white

I get that the opening chosen is sound, interesting and instructive and designed to develop your chess…but wow there are so many response vatiations! 

I am a chess returner after a 50 year gap…I'm not sure how much complicated “development” I can do in that sense, compared to if I was younger and beginning a chess journey. Agree that many playing system openings have not studied the opening in depth- but one could- and I wonder if that might be a more effective development path for someone only aiming for a finite ceiling of club player?

Replies

It's quite easy to learn actually. I started playing chess 4 years ago at the age of 51. I joined CM in january and I raised my FIDE standard rating with 170+ points in 5 months. All main lines are covered in the White- and Blackmood openings and on my level that helped a lot. The issue is the rating average in my club is still 250+ up. I loved the Sicilian lines as well. But to keep things easier for myself learning one thing at the time I decided to keep French line against 1.d4 it complicates more than enough against the best players in the Club. 

Good Mood Good Move

-Arild

GM Noel Studer has even simpler repertoire (2h for white) in his courses. He speaks about minimalist openings in his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn3bHXi1ssE

I played it before CM and is really easy to remember because you get same positions from many openings and the lines are short. Anyway in general I like now CM more because it goes into positions that I like to play.

Try and decide yourself.

Well you could just watch some short and sweet courses on chessable or chess.com as they are mostly only 1 to 4 hours long but cover everything in a short and sweet manner.

It really depends on playing style is. For White if you prefer a sharp line with tactics and attack, then you should play 1. e4. If you prefer positional and quiet positions, then d4 is probably most suitable for you. Of course, both variations have positional and sharp lines. You can find courses online about both of those openings, though Chessmood focuses on e4 for White. 

However, if you really want simple and easy lines to learn that also have some depth, then focus on London System (1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4) as White. It's not that hard to make a mistake and it can counter basically every single Black variation after 1. d4! It's also very good as a reverse-colored opening for Black to counter White sidelines.

But at the end of the day, it really depends on your style and play so go find a right fit for you!

london system as white, modern/pirc as black depending on your style. modern a bit simpler but kind of passive, you dont really attack (at least at the besinning). just 2 simple, 1-hour study openings and you dont have to worry about openings anymore.

I'm looking for a chess site that has free game analysis.

Hey, does anyone know where I can get free game analysis? Something like the Chess site "I won't give the name so I don't advertise". You can just tell me what it's called and I'll look it up on the web so we don't advertise. I'm a young beginner, and I don't have the money to pay for the analysis yet. Thanks in advance.

Replies

You can try Lichess

https://encroissant.org/

This pc software has analysis feature and you can generate report that tells you how many good moves, bad moves you played  =)

Lichess is the website that gives you free analysis you can try it

lichess is good, also in chess.com you can do a self-analysis and just watch the evaluation bar after each move. this lets you understand if that move was good or not. 
if you really want the chess.com style analysis with the feedback, you can use these: chessRef, AeroChess, ChessDream and Chessigma. 

Opening preparation

Dear Hovhannes!

Currently i am preparing for one of my potential opponents in my next tournament.  I know for sure that he plays e6 against our Gran Prix systems and after 1.e4 c5 2 Nc3 e6 3. f4 he plays 3 … Nc6 and then Nge7 with d5. In this instance i did not find  any transitions to Step by Step repertoire, and the main line 4. Nf3 Nge7  5.d4 leads into structures of Open Sicilians. After 5 g3 Black finally gets the chance to play d5 without transitioning to the positions from the e6 course. What would you suggest to play against 3… Nc6 with delayed …d5 move?

Replies

Dear Andrew,

How about in this case playing the systems with g3-Bg2-0-0-d3?

Sicilian Grand Prix

I wanted to ask what to do in the Sicilian after 1e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Bb5 and here if blacks plays Qc7 I encountered in a game and took the knight not sure If its the best way to tackle it

Replies

unnecessary to just give up your bishop pair for nothing… keep developing normally with Nf3 and when your opponent plays a6 respond with Nd5, attack his queen and only then take the knight, doubling his pawns. if he goes for Qd6 and take back your bishop with his queen you can play Ne5, followed by either Nc7 or d4… Bf4, both are winning. 

Queen's Gambit: Sharing an Interesting Engine Suggestion Involving Piece Sacrifices

Hi everyone! I've been playing against bots lately since I had to take a break from chess due to some health issues. I am really impressed with the performance of the engine I am using to help me refresh my memory on my main opening, the Queen's Gambit.

I found this one line it keeps suggesting extremely interesting. The engine has been recommending an early sacrifice of the g-pawn, and sometimes even sacrificing a knight and a bishop in exchange for initiative and a strong attack.

This really reminded me of some of the lines and tactics taught here on ChessMood, so I wanted to share it with you all.

The PGN are below. Thanks!
[Event "Play vs Bot"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.06.21"]
[Round "-"]
[White "CodeMasterForever"]
[Black "Cramling-Bot"]
[Result "1-0"]
[CurrentPosition "r1b4k/3n4/4p3/p6Q/2pP4/5N2/PP3P1P/2K3R1 b - - 1 30"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "D30"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Queens-Gambit-Declined-3.Nf3-Nf6"]
[UTCDate "2026.06.21"]
[UTCTime "01:17:03"]
[WhiteElo "1182"]
[BlackElo "2175"]
[TimeControl "?"]
[Termination "CodeMasterForever won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "01:17:03"]
[EndDate "2026.06.21"]
[EndTime "01:31:39"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/computer/1602169642/analysis?move=43"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/377617625.06e8d03e.50x50o.ecf2fdd68f05.jpg"]
[WhiteCountry "225"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/124922546.3290393a.50x50o.bcd3d40795b5.png"]
[BlackCountry "132"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bf4 O-O 8. g4
dxc4 $2 9. Rg1 Nd5 10. g5 $1 Nxf4 11. gxh6 Ng6 12. Bxc4 b5 $2 13. Bd3 Nd7 14. hxg7 $2
Kxg7 15. Qc2 f5 $6 16. e4 Qe8 $2 17. O-O-O Qf7 18. Ne2 c5 $2 19. Nf4 fxe4 $2 20. Nxg6
exd3 21. Qxd3 c4 $6 22. Nxe7+ Kf6 23. Qa3 b4 24. Qxb4 Qxe7 $6 25. Rg6+ Kf7 26.
Rg7+ Kxg7 27. Qxe7+ $1 Kh8 $2 28. Rg1 Rf7 29. Qxf7 a5 30. Qh5# 1-0

Replies

Questions about advanced French positions

Hi,

I have two questions about advanced French positions. 

First, how to play in the advanced French e5 c4 lines when White plays Nc3 d5?

Second, in what positions do we play f6? I see in the simplified repertoire that sometimes Avetik recommends to play f6, but I hesitate because it weakens the e6 pawn and weakens the king position a bit.

Thanks!

Replies

Dear Tyler,

By any chance, did you check the Advanced French webinar that GM Avetik made?
Here is the link https://chessmood.com/event/french-attack-advanced

If you will stil have further questions, I would love to help.
When playing f6, you need to make sure that the activity you gain on the f file and opening your pieces is good enough to compensate White's open e file and the weak pawn on e6 - there is no such rule like always do it here or there :-)

I would advise analyzing your games - and whenever you played f6 - sometimes good and bad, try to understand the differences :-)

Two Rooks against Queen

Dear Chess Mood members,

Hope you are all doing well.

Is there any video / material / link you could recommend that deals with two rooks against queen situations?

I always thought it is equal but my opponent yesterday led me to this situation and the engine showed winning advantage for him.

I ended up just checking his king for a long time. 

Thanks for the feedback. 

Paco

Replies

Hmmmmmm, let me think….

Oh, I know a very nice guy ( GM Gabuzyan) who recorded 4 daily lessons on that topic!
Explaining the Queen vs 2 Rooks concepts.
https://chessmood.com/course/daily-lessons-with-gm/episode/4798

This is the link for the first one - the other ones are just below it - numbers 319-322 :-)

Hope you enjoy it :-)

French Defense: Franco Sicilian Defense

c5)

Hi everyone,

I’m currently following the ChessMood repertoire against the French Defense. However, I’m struggling to find a consistent approach against the Franco-Sicilian (1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5).

I’ve been trying to stick to the repertoire's ideas (playing Bd3), but after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5, playing 3.Bd3 feels uncomfortable because I lose the d4 pawn (or I have to deal with complex, long-term imbalances). It seems to transpose into positions that feel like a Benoni, which I don’t know well and are outside my current knowledge base.

How do you guys recommend handling this in line with the ChessMood philosophy? Should I be looking for an early c3, or is there a specific way to handle the Bd3 lines that avoids those uncomfortable Benoni-style structures?

Any advice or guidance on how to navigate this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

Dear Jose,

In that position, White continues with 3.d5, gaining the space advantage, and that allows to comfortably place the pieces in the center. 
Usualy Black respons with 3…exd5 4.exd5 d6 - you can develop the Knights - Bd3-Bf4, I recomend to meet a6 with a4 not to allow the b5 move :-)

What to do after Calclman?

After watching the Calclman course, other than doing the course quizzes, is there anything else I can do to further improve my calculations? Any books/websites to recommend?

Replies

There is the fantastic book “Improve your chess calculation” written by Ramesh RB. But be warned: It's so demanding (and often frustrating). Although Ramesh would probably disagree I think the rating should be at least 1900 FIDE.

Betting the farm on ChessMood

Hello everyone,

I'm conducting an experiment in which I am trying to become a strong chess player (2000+) while starting in my mid-40s with a busy job and life. I have been documenting my progress on my blog, but my studies have been scattered for the past month and a half since I started the experiment.

The two major problems I have encountered are:

• There are a million resources available, both free and premium. The issue is curation. It is like a buffet of random chess skills. I find myself jumping from one resource to the next without following a concrete plan that helps me develop my chess abilities.

• Many people don't know how to teach chess. I teach technology and Italian, and I find the way chess is often taught puzzling. Many resources lack storytelling and are essentially a series of moves. OK, but why? Perhaps it is because I am a beginner, but I find many resources lacking in good teaching methods.

Then I came across ChessMood. It is a mystery to me why it is not more famous in the chess world!

I took the currently free Opening Fundamentals course by Avo and, wow, that's what I'm talking about. Finally, someone who can truly teach chess by explaining key concepts. It is not just move this or move that, but the reasoning behind it, presented in a progressive manner suitable for beginners. The instructor is also funny and entertaining. By far, the best chess content I have come across so far.

The site also outlines a complete path to chess mastery if you are willing to study and practice.

So I decided to bet everything on ChessMood. I will sign up for the paid subscription and use it as my primary tool for chess improvement. If you are curious, I wrote about my exact plan here: https://chessatanyage.com/my-chess-improvement-study-plan/

The two questions I have are:

• In my plan, being busy, I'm playing 2 Rapid games (15+10) per day (along with some correspondence games). Is this enough “practice”?

• For those of you who have tried the Pro version: Is it worth the difference in price for you? Or do you find yourself mostly using the resources available in the Essential subscription?

Thank you in advance,

Tony

Replies

Hi Tony and welcome.

If it makes you feel any better - I started my chess journey (not that long ago) in my 50s!  You can read my post here: https://retiringrichie.com/starting-chess-in-retirement/

And you are completely right, it's very easy to suffer from information overload.  ChessMood is a great resource and the people here are very friendly.

I'll be interested to watch your progress (liked and subbed on your YouTube April 2025 Update video).  Good luck!!

If you want a game anytime I'm ShouldveStuckToPoker on Chess.com.

Thank you for sharing, this mean that anyone can start learning chess at any age. With the right resource like ChessMood, it is easy to understand and enjoy the game.

Dealing with updating PNG

Hello everyone!

It's my first time learnign chess in a more proper way.

I was trying to update the PNG from WhiteMood Openings on Lichess but I get 

“Error parsing PGN: Null moves are not supported at line 20, column 65” so I am able to update only a few chapters. Am I doing something wrong?

Replies

Dear Friend,

The thing is, now Lichess doesn't accept the null moves, and that's why the version with null moves of PGNs doesn't work.

In the future, we might have this resolved, but now the files must be without null moves :-)

Moderne Pirc 7.Ke7

hi,

the first section explain and recomend the following variation against the modern pirc (for player below 1800)

1. e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.Bc4 c5 4.h4 h6 5.Qf3 e6 6.Nb5 d6 7.Qg3 and e5 or Bf8 or Be5; but how to continue against 7. … Ke7 - strange move, but I was not able to handle - ?

Replies

Dear Carlo,

Something is wrong in your line - you posted 2.Nf3 rather than 5. Qf3 - I assume you meant 2.Nc3

After 7…Ke7, which is a normal move in this line, I like 8.a4 to stop a6-b5, and in that case, after a6 Nc3, you can play against the opponent's King in the middle - develop the pieces and try to open up the lines.

New article: Stop Chasing Rating Points and Titles. Do This First

What if the reason you're stuck isn't your training, your openings, or how many hours you put in, but the way in which you approach it all?
In this article, GM Avetik shares a lesson from his coach Dr. Rao Srikumar that flipped his thinking about chess, work, and life upside down.

Read it here 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/be-do-have

Replies

Happy Birthday Dr. Rao…..

Happy birthday, Dr. Srikumar! This was a great lesson :)

Happy birthday DR Ran Srikumer

Happy birthday coach Rao and many thanks for your wisdom

Thank you for your wisdom.

♟️

Happy birthday Dr. Rao……..may you always be at the top in your life and in chess

Happy B’day Dr. Srikumar!  Have a wonderful day and year ahead! 

Happy birthday Dr Rao. Thanks for the words of wisdom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY doctor rao

Happy birthday Dr Rao. I can't thank you enough for giving me a brilliant advice for not just chess but also for my life ahead too.

Happy Birthday Dr. Rao!🎂 Thanks for all the advice!

Happy Birthday Dr. Rao! 🥳
Thanks for your advice! 

🥳Happy Birthday Dr Rao. Thank you Avo. 

Happy Birthday Rao!

Thank You Avo!

BDH❤️

belated birthday Wishes Dr. Srikumar!!! Have a great year ahead!!

😀

Happy Bday Sir Stay Happy For Life

:)

Happy Birthday sir, rooting for your great health and happiness!
I just suffered a loss in the first round of a classical tournament and this blog really helped me. 
Thanks Avo

Happy Birthday Rao Sir.

And thank you very much Rao!

Thank you Avo and chessmood team!

😊

Belated Happy Birthday Mr Rao ! आपका जीवन दर्शन अनोखा है और अचानक से आपने मुझे खुश रहने के लिए पुनः प्रेरित कर दिया है! शुभकामनाए आपके प्रसन्नचित्त और अच्छे स्वास्थ्य के लिए!! 

Happy belated Birthday. Hope everything is good for you and everyone. 

7 Tips How to Keep Concentration during a Chess Game

Replies

Very good article on concentration!thanks

Really great article! :)

Great article!

Aren't there only 6 pro-tips?