Chess forum by Grandmasters

PGN files problems

Hi!

I'd like to open the PGN withemood oppenings, but I can't.

Do I need to upload something to open them?
I am speacking about the first attachment. The second one I can open it.

Thanks

Replies

You need to either have a plan with chessmood or have bought the course to see the pgn files. Chessmood is worth the money :)

The file has been downloaded?

If so, can you right-click on: “WhiteMood Openings.pgn” and get an “open with” option in the drop down menu?

Then any software that will read text should do it.

A struggle in the Alapin

Today i played this opening variation in a classical tournament as Black:1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Bb5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Bd7 10. Nc3 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Bxb5 12. Nxb5 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 O-O-O+ 14. Ke2 Rd5 15. a4 Rxe5+ 16. Be3 Nd5 17. Rac1+ Kb8 18. Rhd1 e6 19. Kf3 Be7 20. Bxa7+ Ka8 21. Bd4 Rf5+ 22. Ke2 Nf4+ 23. Kf1 Bf6 24. Bxf6 Rxf6 25. Rc7 Nd5 26. Rdc1 Nxc7 27. Rxc7 Rd8 28. Re7 Rf4 29. g3 Rxa4 30. Rxf7 Kb8 31. Ke2 Rb4 32. Nc7 Rxb2+ 33. Kf1 b5 34. Na6+ Ka8 35. Nc7+ Kb7 36. Nxe6+ Kc8 37. Nxd8 Kxd8 38. Rxg7 b4 39. Rxh7 b3 40. Rb7 Kc8 41. Rb4 Kd7 42. h4 Ke6 43. g4. Although it is clear that i made mistakes later in the game that caused this loss, i was quite perplexed as of what to play after 16 Be3. The 13…0-0-0 line was shown as drawn by the engine although i had to defend a rather unpleasant position with only moves.I have later found that 13…Nd5 is a move which generally lead to comfortable positions. But what would be your recommendation against 10 Nc3 move?

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Dear Andrew,

I carefully checked your game, and it looks like the only mistake was Be7 - you had to play 19…Rf5 check with a draw.
Prior to that, you had played the best engine moves and had an equal position.
 

Cool,

I like a lot your desire to learn deeply and understand the positions, Andrew!
Keep going :-)

French and Dutch Advanced Courses

Hello,

When are the advanced French and Dutch courses previewed to be released? 

It's been quite a while. Thanks in advance for some feedback. 

Replies

Dear Edvinas, 

I appreciate your concern and the desire to learn more. Unfortunately, I can't provide any dates on this - advanced repertoire is something extremely tough to build, with our choice of making openings easy and practical to play for our students :-)

Question on Anti-sicilian

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Nf6 ,where to develop the light squared bishop of white, if white fianchettos on the kingside, black will play g6 instead of e6 and on c4 black plays e6 with the idea of d5 next

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Dear Mashup,

In this case, you can play with 2 ideas.

1. Is Bb5 followed by Bxc6 and than with d3 - playing typical GP structures. Dark squares, the Bishop can go to b2 or e3.
2. g3-Bg2 is still possible, as with the Knight on f6, Black can't have the strong setup of e6-Nge7-Bg7.

Caro-Kann 6.Bg4 What to do?

Hello, very often in the Caro-Kann I am getting this line: e4 c6 d4 d5 exd5 cxd5 Bd3 Nf6 c3 Nc6 Bf4 Bg4 

I looked through the Simplified WhiteMood courses and the Caro-Kann course and could not find a place where this line is covered. Please help me understand how to play against this and where to locate the course which goes over this line. 

Thanks! 

Replies

I actually just found this move was covered in Section 2 of the main course 

12-year-old son is set to compete in a qualifying tournament next month

My 12-year-old son is set to compete in a qualifying tournament next month to represent our country in a major international event. I am looking for a structured daily training path to optimize his preparation over the next four weeks.

He is currently using ChessMood for his opening repertoire. For a typical training day, would you recommend a mix of 20 minutes of tactics, opening reviews, and practice games? Or should he focus on a specific intensive course instead?

I would appreciate any guidance or specific routines you could suggest to help him reach his peak performance. Thank you for your help!

Replies

Dear Kevin,

I would love to help, and I think the best I can do is to share this article with you about tournament preparation https://chessmood.com/blog/the-right-way-to-prepare-for-a-chess-tournament

My advice is, if the tournament closes, it's a bad idea to learn and apply a whole new opening, as there will not be enough time to practice and get experience.

I personally wish your son good luck, and will be waiting for your updates about his results :-)

plans against d3, e4 in the dutch

Hello

I have encountered white playing d3 with an idea of e4 already a few times, including 2 OTB losses. However I don't really know how to adapt our blackmood setups to this play. It can happen both in the Reti and in the English opening. Here is an example of a game I played recently:
https://lichess.org/E8w1OOkk/black

Focus mostly on the opening, since both I and my opponent played quite badly for the rest of the game.

As You can see I went for the stonewall setup as we usually do against Bg2, but instead of d4 white played d3 and e4 on the next move. After exchanges in the center I was left with a weak paw on e3 and less active pieces. I find this position very unpleasant for black, but I think it's impossible to stop e4 from happenning. Also after e4, alternatives to taking on e4 seem to be bad too. Going for the fianchetto setup, when white already played Bg2 also seems to be even worse, so maybe Black should play a completely different setup, not one explained in the course. I hope someone would be able to clarify, what is the best play for black in such positions. Thank You for all Your answers.

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How do I find this move to maintain the draw?

There's plenty of room for improvement in this game, but I have a specific question after move 56.

https://lichess.org/study/Jv3c7UN3/Ltsxt75F#112

The engine tells me the only move that maintains the draw is 57.Bc2. What principle would help find that move? Sure, I was in time trouble, but I could have had ten minutes left and not realized that was the only move there.

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Dear Andrew,

In chess, sometimes positions are just concrete, and there are no principles but concrete calculations.
Don't blame yourself because the Bc2 move isn't one I would claim to find easily, especially in time trouble.
The point is to be in the right place and prevent the opponent's knight maneuvers, but once again, it's very tough :-)

When theory becomes practice

I just studied today the Deflection module of the Tactic Ninja course. Later, I played a game in Lichess and my opponent got into a bad line of the Scotch gambit. I had advantage, but it's always difficult to deliver the finishing blow. But thanks to the course, I saw it instantly.

The black queen took my knight on e4. What move did I instantly play thanks to the course?

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Kh1? 🤣😅🤣😅 🤣

 I will leave the answer to the others, but great job of implementing your knowledge. Ninja is GM Avo's course, but it's a pleasure to see our students doing well based on their acquired knowledge from the courses. Wish you good luck, keep going :-)

ah yes kh1 destroying the defender of the queen

Rxd7+

if Nxd7 then Qxe4

if Kc8 then Rxc7+ Bxc7 Be6+ Kd8 Re1+ Nd7 Qxd7# 

Please add this line in 2.Nc3 a6 line

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3. g3 b5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Nh3 Nf6 ?

This line is missing, I drew the game in offline rapid tournament with higher rated. But no idea , can we analyse further?

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Dear Don,

I would love to help. Can you please put the game link here?

NEW ARTICLE: How To Win Chess Tournaments: 7 Key Principles

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Hello,

This is a really good article. Thanks GM Gabuzyan! This really applies to me currently since the National Online Scholastic Championships in the USA are in April and I want to win! The 7 key principles really help.

Also, will the interesting variation in the Nf6 Scotch that you played in Round 2 be added into the course?

Thank You.

Thank you for Nice article.

 I have a question . You said that one should be flexible about opening choice not playing the same opening over and over.

 I have  started to  learn chess mood opening should i change them frequently? learn other chess opening as well as? 

Wonderful Article !!

There's an error. In the game against Arman where your opponent had perpetual check, it's with 38...Ng4, not 38...Ng3

Thanks! The tips helped me win a tournament.

ChessMood Anti-Spam/Scam Watch: Keeping Our Board Clean

We’re all part of the ChessMood family, and just like in chess, one careless move can affect the entire board.

This thread is for reporting suspicious or spam accounts so we can keep our community focused, safe, and distraction-free.

If you come across:

• Irrelevant promotions
• Suspicious links
• Gambling or unrelated advertisements
• Repeated spam behavior

Drop the username and a short description here.

Let’s keep it respectful and responsible:

• No false accusations
• No personal attacks
• Only report clear spam/scam behavior

Think of this as our collective defense strategy — spotting threats early and protecting the game we all love.

Together, we keep the board clean. ♟️🔥

Replies

Hey ChessMood family 👋

Just wanted to say this thread is something we’re building together to keep our space clean and focused.

If you ever come across anything that feels like spam or suspicious, feel free to share it here with the username and a short note. No pressure, just helping each other out.

Let’s keep it respectful and supportive, just like our games and discussions here.

At the end of the day, we all love chess and this community — so let’s protect it together ♟️❤️

Dear friend,

Thanks for being concerned and trying to help.

Wanted to let you know we are mon and deleting spam posts and accounts several times during the day.

Lyvora Capsules 

Anti-sicilian part 2

Does anyone know where in the course (excluding the welcome section) Avetik discusses what to do after d6 before Nxd4?

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French exchange after 5. Nc3

Hello, I'm following the black mood opening course french defense, aggressive setup against ed5 (exchange variation). I think 1 variation is not covered, what to do after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3? As this knight attacks our d5 pawn, we can not play Bd6 because our queen will not defend our d5 pawn anymore. We can not play directly Ke7 because we need to develop our f8 bishop before... What to do? It looks like we must abandon our aggressive setup...

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I've been running into this variation a LOT in my blitz games as of late. The last 7 exchange French's I've played have all had this move order and I too wish to know how to combat it. Following this thread for sure, hopefully we can get a solid answer! If I find anything, I'll also post here.

Hi Luc and Jules… Hapy New Year to you!

Luc, don't be so pessimistic! 😅 We would never recommend a line in the French that must be abandoned on the move 5! 😄

This is a first practical repertoire and as such we cannot include all the replies to every move, that's why there is a forum and webinars and streams too.😃 
We do not recommend the move move 4...Bd6 for Black because it reduces somehow our possibilities, we will not be able to develop the bishop to b4 in some variations as in this case.

Therefore against 5.Nc3 we should go Bb4 pinning the knight. This will allow our knight to go to e7 and follow more or less our usual plan.💪 
 

i rekomen you to play afer e4 e6 d4 d5 ed5 ed5 nc3 c6 and the new plan bd6 nf6 (if you got chek ne7) 0:0 bf5 ngd7 re8 ne4 ndf6 and rewaly akive poitzion and hard to play for white

Thank you for raising this, Luc. I came looking through the forums for advice on this variation because I am also seeing it a lot at my level (1400-1500 rapid on chess.com). Nc3 from White as early as move 4, after the exchange on d5, is by far the most common continuation I am facing, and I do think it is an omission that it is not even briefly touched upon in the course. 

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

The problem is that this seems to throw a spanner in the works immediately and makes it difficult for us to reach our desired setup. Since Bd6 is not an option now, Bb4 seems the best square for our dark squared Bishop. Be7 feels passive and doesn't allow us to play Nge7. 

However, the move Bb4 has three major drawbacks I have found. Firstly, the b4 square is no longer available to our c6 Knight, so we cannot play Nb4 in response to opponent's Bd3. This makes White's development very easy for them. Secondly, our control over e5 is weakened and White can maybe exploit this by sticking a Knight there later on. Finally, we are in danger of losing the Bishop after White kicks it with a3, forcing the exchange and giving White the Bishop pair advantage. Moreover, White doesn't have to rush the move a3 out. For instance, they can wait until it looks like we're committing to castling long, then play a3 and open up the b file for an attack.

For example:

4. Nc3, Nc6

5. Nf3, Bb4

6. Bd3…

…and we cannot play Nb4 as we might have liked to attack the Bishop on d3…

6. … Nge7

7. 0-0, Bg4

8. h3, Bf5

9. Bxf5, Nxf5

10. Re1+ …

…now look what happens if we continue as per the course recommended moves …

10. Re1+, Nce7

11. Qe2, Qd7

12. Ne5 …

Ouch! We are already paying for not having control of e5.

Ok, so what if we don't play Bf5, but go with something like Bh5 instead?

8. h3, Bh5

9. a3, Bxc3

10. bxc3, Qd7

11. a4, 0-0-0

12. Re1, f6

13. Ba3…

It is difficult to see a good plan for Black here, whereas White has the Bishop pair, the semi-open b file, and is having all the fun. Engine analysis suggests our best move is something prophylactic like a6 (to deny b5 from the Bishop). If we play the more aggressive g5 now, continuing with the plan suggested in the course, then White has a range of good options to punish us like a5, Bb5 or even the tactical shot Ne5! 

I've done quite a bit of analysis on this and I think White has the favourable position. Furthermore, I don't think it is the case that they have to play particularly well to get there. These are fairly logical moves for the most part that intermediate rated players can find.

So, what to do about Nc3? 

I honestly don't know. I've looked at playing Be7 and going for a different setup with short castling, but it feels boring and passive. The best I can come up with at the moment is to get to this kind of position and make sure I remember not to try something like g4 prematurely, but rather play defensive and solid for a few moves, and keep an eye on the b5 square for White's Bishop. It's not like we're losing. It's just that I would prefer White's position.

Does anyone have any thoughts or alternative ideas?

French, Exchange Variation

Hello dear Chessmood family,

I’ve watched all modal games for the French exchange variation, around 15 games or so. On all games, white will either play h3 making our pawn storm more efficient, or they will play slow moves on the queen side. However, if white doesn’t  move their king’s pawn and start a fast  pawn storm on the queen side, they get to my king much faster than I can get to his king.

I’m around 2050 rapid in chesscom. I’m finding my self under a lot of pressure playing this set up if the opponent doesn’t play h3 and pawn storm fast. 
 

Are there any modal games that addresses this? 

Thank you!

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Prophylaxis

Dear team, There is no video related to Prophylaxis. Can you add prepare some videos

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Facing kia prep

Recently  after playing nc6 sicilian i face d3 nf3 nd2 and kia attack and i could not find any chessmood refference for this opening so can anyone tell me how they improvise or where to find chessmood prep here

Replies

Dear Shankar,

Did you try to apply our regular setup with d6-e6-Nge7-0-0?
And is something difficult there for you?
If so, please post the position or the game, and I would love to help :-)

French Attack Exchange Var. advice

Hi,

I am studying the chessmood-opening course for black with the french attack. And I am missing some lines which occure quite often in my games in the exchange variation.

I am struggling against the following moves:

4...Nc3 and later the infiltration to b5

4....Bb5+

or this line:

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Be2 Nc6 6. O-O Bg4 7. h3 Bf5 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. Nh4 Qd7

My main hurdle in these lines is to get the set up with long castle.

I would be happy for any advice and it would be nice to include these in the Section 3 of the French course.

Thank you very much.

Replies

It’s probably an AI bot, just ignore it.

Against Bb4+ you have 2 decent options:

• Bd7 and exchange the bishops. You would exchange the light  square bishops anyways later in the game.

• c3. there is a modal game from the streams section that this is played. In this case you have to O-O and play normal development chess. Not all exchange variation games lead to a long castle.

Against the knight infiltration to b5. I would play a6, he will probably exchange it for the bishop and it would be dangerous to castle queen side with a6 being played. Another game that I would O-O instead. 
you can also just ignore the knight for the moment, but it will probably be exchanged for the bishop anyways. I think I would O-O in this case too. Without the knight on c3 his pawns storm would be much faster than ours. 

or this line:

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Be2 Nc6 6. O-O Bg4 7. h3 Bf5 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. Nh4 Qd7

the correct move order is 4..Nc6 instead of Bd6.

You have to retreat the bishop to e6 before playing Dd7. You don’t want to exchange that knight for your bishop. The knight being in h4 is good for us because it means you will play later f6 then g5 with tempo! 

searching positions in the CM videos

CM introduced a nice feature of being able to search videos in the FixMood feature. Is there a way to have a board that I can set up a position myself and search the CM videos? For example, I just played a game as White with the Grand Prix attack. The game went 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 a6. I wanted to find the video that discusses this position but it is taking so long to go through each video to find this position. I cannot even tell if this line exists or not. It really slows down the “study → play →fix” loop that CM recommends for development.  Being able to quickly search for exact positions in the videos (if they exist) would be amazing in my opinion.

Replies

I have the same problem. The Sicilian is especially difficult as there are so many transpositions. It is difficult to know if your position is in the e6, d6 Nc6 (etc.) file. 

However I guess that what seems a simple request is probably a mountain of work for a developer. Maybe soon in the future when coding can be done by AI then theses requests might be actionable.

Hey there,

Thanks for a nice suggestion 🙂

I asked our technical team, we have many plans and they are working step by step on the improvement.

We will try to make our students experience as good as possible on the website 😊

French defense

Kindar suprise variation

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