Chess forum by Grandmasters

New article: How to get better at chess: The 3-step formula and the secret sauce

How to get better at chess?

It’s the most important question. And if you answer it right getting a plan from experts, you’ll have the right direction during your chess journey.

In today's article, GM Avetik shares his proven 3-step formula and the secret sauce, which you can use to speed your growth and have more fun on your journey.

And most importantly, you can use it not only in chess but in any area of your life.

Click here to read the article 👇
https://chessmood.com/blog/how-to-get-better-at-chess

Share your thoughts below.

Replies

Heineken's ketchup? How refreshing! Think you might mean Heinz and be in need of a beer after writing it all. Good article though.

Nice article as always 🙃 Time for us to read all of the articles listed (for the first time or again) and make a strong study plan for 2023 😁

thank you 😀👍

Before chess.com banned me from playing titled players and staff members :(( I had a friend, FM Countofmontecristo and we chat a lot about chess. He is a belgian senior and I remember many things he said. Related with this article I would mention two: a) Everything is playable b) I remember all the theory I learnt at the 80s but from the actual theory I remember nothing. So as Spassky quoted I go OTB with an empty head :)

Study (Tactic Ninja) Practice (Puzzles) Fix yeah, recently I have been practicing this with the puzzle rush as well. I used to just play and not look back at the puzzles I solved incorrectly. (trying to break the records) But after spending time checking the mistakes, I improved the score. :D

Thank you so much, Avetik.

Actually, the article took me way more than 11 minutes ;-) Something like 40 minutes,

during which I took notes and forgot everything around me.

I'll keep you updated how it works. I have (soon had, hopefully) a great tendency to eat too much

without digesting.

Wonderful to fund ChessMood from GM Noël's email.
Happy to get a free trial due to World Chess Day.
Love the part about showing how to use the 3-step formula and the secret sauce and "eat & digest".
Let's grow up!

thx

Superb courses.

I haven't seen this wonderful course before.

nice path to become a strong player.

This is wonderful platform to learn chess perfectly.

I wish to become a GM soon by following this courses and formulas.

Thank you chessmood for this wonderful courses.

A big thanks to GM Avetik.

�👍👍👍�

The 3 step formula is absolutely great i realized just by fixing my problems I improved a lot

Thank you Avetik

Thanks, a lot.
It's an amazing and useful article.

New member here! This is the first thread I found exciting to read! Bookmarked the article. Will read and follow the guide for sure!

Thank You GM Avetik actually it took me 2 intervals to read the article but its amazing.
Thanks for the information and really it was very good and I think u could have added some other things perhaps.

From 1600 to 1718 only after reading your articles — Thanks to ChessMood’s Mindset Advice

I just wanted to take a moment to say a big thank you to everyone at ChessMood.

I went from 1600 to 1718 rapid on Chess.com — not because I studied openings or tactics but because I applied the psychological concepts I learned from ChessMood’s amazing articles.

What helped me the most are : The Snowball Effect : Keep playing while you're winning, stop at 4 -2 games when you lose It helped ride my momentum, and more importantly, avoid tilt Game Session Rule: Limiting each session to 4 rapid games and taking breaks in between changed everything. I stopped fearing rating drops and played with a clear, calm mind. “Smile and Straighten Your Back”: When I misplayed a position during a game or letting my opponent off the hook or getting boring position, instead of getting frustrated I followed the advice — deep breath, smile and straighten your back — and mentally reset. It made me resilient and kept me sharp under pressure.

These small mindset shifts had a massive impact on my results, confidence, and enjoyment of the game.

Thank you, ChessMood, for reminding me that psychology is as important as moves on the board

Excellent article as usual, congrats and many thanks to all the Chessmood team!! I could finally play blitz games decently (I thought I never gonna do it) and I grew about 100 points in this modality in chess.com and besides I'm enjoying playing and not fearing of rating looses any more, and I only read (and practice) from 4 to 10 articles by now! I remember “play e4!” or “e4 repertoire” (not shure the exact name of the articles, sorry), the concept or warming up before playing (tha makes a huge difference!), the making and use of the “CoGrowth files” and after a long year without reading (neither your articles) I found this jewel…I realized I forgot working on studing to keep improving, just amazing! Keep going like this guys! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina!

This one article has helped me a lot, even though I first read it yesterday. It feels as if I'm developing healthier study habits. I thank this article for that. I have already shared this website and the article with some of my fellow team members. Thank you

Thanks. I kept thinking while reading the article “I've got lots to digest, I study my openings, but it's difficult to get to the same positions in my actual games beyond the first 10 moves… So I guess I cannot really digest them very fast.”

Great insights from GM Avetik. Having a structured plan and consistent practice really makes a big difference in improving at chess. Many players focus only on playing games, but studying strategy, analyzing mistakes, and learning from stronger players is what truly accelerates growth.

Improvement in chess, just like in life or business, comes from the right system and discipline.

By the way, if any chess players or travelers are planning to visit Pakistan for tournaments or events, reliable intercity transport is important as well. Many visitors prefer Rent a Car Lahore to Islamabad for a comfortable and hassle-free journey between the two major cities.

suggestion to chessmood

I recently discovered that Lichess hosts tournaments with predefined opening positions, called thematic tournaments. I even had the chance to play in one today, the starting position was the Scotch Opening, and I got to practice it with both colors against weaker and far stronger players, which was amazing!
i hope chessmood hosts tournements like this, they don't even need a prize as lichess thematic tournements don't have any yet they attract a lot of players

Replies

hello, yes its very useful but only if you get to play white, chessmood dosent recemond e5 and nc6, and if the coaches play black then certain players may lose the love for scotch game

2000-2200

Hello, Coach Gabu

When I was 2000 chess.com and 1700 OTB we took our course study plan but now a lot of things have changed as that was over the summer where I had a ton of time to study but now I barely get 3 hours is there a way we can have another call and refine the plan to help me get to 2200 OTB and 2500 chess.com in the most effective manner. Thank you! For doing so much for us and chessmood.

Replies

Hi Pawn Bishop,

Dear friend, I checked, and our last call was during the summer, and that is a one time option, which we can't repeat so frequently.
And at this level, you need to focus on the advanced level content on the website, if you have any concrete courses to ask about, go on.
But I am sure we discussed the steps what to do from the begining till the advanced levels.

Sicilian part 2

how to play this variation as white e4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 Bb5 Nd4 Nf3 Nxb5 Nxb5 e6

d4 Qa5+

Replies

There, Nc3 is the only move. If you can clarify the question, maybe some moves about further options of Black, I will try to help :-)

Upcoming Lab

Hi CM team! Will the up coming lab allow each user to import their own personalized PGNs? Also, will it allow us to alter/develop our files inside the lab?

Replies

Hi Joshua!
Thanks for your question!

Yes, you’ll be able to upload your files, make changes to them, and also use them in FixMood.

A peculiar endgame positin

Greetings, Gabuzyan! I have recently stumbled upon an endgame position which i eventually lost.After seeing the evaluation(a dead draw), i tried to defend it, in vain. What would be your recommendation/plan in this instance?https://www.chess.com/game/live/165622406636?move=97

Replies

I am not a expert but i try to help you.

You do the right thing.

You will improve alot if you study endgames.

Lern alot of different endgame pattern and defence metods and winning metods.

Not easy to draw in timetrouble.

You need to prevent your opponent to to come to g6 with his king.

So you need to stop that idea 49 play Re7 with the idea of Rg7-g5

a example line 49 Re7 50 Kg4 Rg7+ 51 kh5 Rg6+ and you will have drawn.

A exemple line 50 Re4 Rxe4+ 51 Kxe4 Kc6 diagonal opposition 52 Kd4 Kd6 53 Ke3 kc5 54 ke3 Kd5 55 Kf3 and white can give away the pawn and hold the position.

So it is not working for white to try to win with exchangning rooks cause of this.

White can not improve his king.

I recomend chessmood course about endgame. See every course about endgame and repeat.

try this simulator to try endgame against: Chess Endgame Simulations - Interactive Chess Endgame Training

I have seen many strong player lose endgame in timetrouble. So my advice always figure out what your opponent improvement is and how to prevent it in a game. In timetrouble is much to know about endgame patterns and techniques.

Also it is important to study many conversions to pawn endgame with oppositions.

Lichess have many good puzzles to solve about this topics.

Hey Andrew,

Dear friend, I am a bit confused by your question. Could you please clarify?

Thanks.

A theory deviation

Greetings, Hovhannes! I have recently played as white against the sicilian as follows: e4-c5,Nc3-b6. What would be your recommendation against this move?

Replies

I Would Suggest 3.f4

Well, it's a passive way of playing these structures.

You can choose either G3 setups, or the Bc4 ones, or f4, and then decide. It's not a move to worry about.

Increasing Natural Strength In Chess

Hello Coach,

I have a question regarding my chess improvement and I would really appreciate your guidance.

For a long time I have been receiving advice from many different sources. One person tells me to focus on endgames, another says my attack is weak, someone else suggests something different. Because of this multi-guidance, my training direction has not been very clear.

Before joining ChessMood, I had a coach who focused almost entirely on openings. Because of that, openings are the area where I feel the most confident, and I do get decent results from my preparation.

From the ChessMood courses I have gained a lot of knowledge about middlegame and endgame ideas. However, when I face real positions in games, I often try to apply rules or concepts from the courses, but I realize chess cannot always be played by formulas. I feel that my natural ability to understand and evaluate positions is still not strong enough, even though my chess.com rating is around 2100.

My goal is to become a player who can handle any type of position confidently. Could you please guide me on how I should train to develop deeper positional understanding and practical decision-making during games?

Thank you for your time.

Replies

Dear Friend,

From reading your post, I understood that you have been learning a lot recently.
Chess growth is a thing of patience, and right after watching a video, the rating doesn't immediately go up :-))))

The formula is Study - Practice - Fix - Repeat.

Just follow it, especially the fixing part - find and learn from your mistakes, and over time, it will greatly enhance your chess understanding.

The best games of February, 2026, and the prizes

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

Thomas Maes
Gaspar Veres
James L
Tina Vehl
STM Ten

Replies

OTB game from Lithuanian chess league - deep french theory and blunder by FM opp https://lichess.org/broadcast/lietuvos-sachmatu-auksciausioji-lyga-2026/round-1/GUA7EykE/iIlCAbL0

And another one, theme: good maroczy N vs bad Bishop https://lichess.org/broadcast/lietuvos-sachmatu-auksciausioji-lyga-2026/round-2/SOM52PDC/bxf7w87E

opp color Bishop demolition https://www.chess.com/game/live/164772694584

working on my attacking skills :) https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164202402054/analysis?move=23

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164207847616

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164250869064/analysis?move=0 I was attacking very aggressive here trying to punish my opponent's early Qf6 move

February game 1: https://lichess.org/ATDXTXlb/white#71

a karpovian game in a gran prix, fighting in the queenside.

wish you all to have some amazing games.

https://lichess.org/38qYSxLqGw8G

a squeeze in a ChessMood line

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164291726800/analysis stonewall dutch nice end game conversion

Scandinavian gone wrong…for my opponent.

Check out this #chess game: peterbago vs AerosV - https://www.chess.com/live/game/164303381840

Hi there, Chessmood Family!

I'd like to share with you a recent game I played during an OTB tournament against the Caro-Kann defense. I'm particularly happy with my rook lift to f3 to g3 and with my knigh play starting from move 26. That knight was the MVP of the game!

Hope you enjoy it

https://lichess.org/study/gid2PoHS/88WplIYG

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164314342470/analysis?move=57 an ecstatic game with a funny knight sacrifice which resulted in an endgame which I somehow managed to win

https://lichess.org/nqbEtI1F5X5A

Smothered mate

Check out this #chess game: MTineer vs Modar100 - https://www.chess.com/game/live/164337979814

French for black when they go Nd2 and c3. I lost this line in most of my games so I had more analysis on it, always nice to win.

I think I got it pretty good.

https://lichess.org/H8qjPQ1x/black#82

Amazing Game play

Almost a model game in the scotch

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164421189312/analysis?move=26 I'm starting to have a better understanding of the Grand Prix attack

I was losing, but I fought back and won.

https://www.chess.com/game/164489890918 a short game with a brutal attack in the grand prix

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164515245054?username=ladymorgana81

Petrov, same side castle . explosive

a nice scotch game Bb5 variation https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164542857962/analysis

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164565450852

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164565563712

2 similar games vs same opponent

won both pretty good attacks

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164590453790/analysis?move=66 attacking game against the caro kann

Check out this #chess game: Edorin97 vs CR2R - https://www.chess.com/live/game/164608448876

Fun quick attack I've had before sleep :) I'm playing white

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164603061108/analysis?move=83

Check out this #chess game: Pawnmood vs d3b0emma - https://www.chess.com/game/164689170148

not a model game but would love to learn as I never get positional games because of chessmood repertoire.

Well played, coach! 2 Brilliants and an amazing checkmate for an unbelievable finish! This is my vote for the best game in February!

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164650703438?username=chessmood

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164708727316/review?move=1

a game with anti-sicilian 2.g6. Completely crushing black in the opening itself.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164711210702/analysis?move=75 a positional game followed by a brutal KID attack

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/148577617824/review?move=39

I had a really nice move when I did Rook takes on e5 (move number 17)

https://www.chess.com/game/164781307330

QGD miniature:

https://lichess.org/ZfXZJTZijLQ7

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164812832234/analysis great control of the open file even though had a misclick with rb6

https://lichess.org/study/9ODSBs4N/YiucoMCl

my greatest game of all time because i simply broke him down with briliancy after briliancy

POV: What you get when you play blitz(I was black, shocked when my opponent played this)

Chess Analysis Board and PGN Editor - Chess.com

PS: This was actually played on lichess, I analyzed on chess.com cuz I knew there was a brilliant.

https://www.chess.com/game/164855807586?action=createLiveChallenge&move=0

A game in which 2450 rated played a bad gambit with 3.f5 in scotch and got crushed in 13 moves

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164774379916?move=0

A game in which I beat my opponent (2345) with the dutch

Pawngrabbing gets punished:

https://lichess.org/KKDOCDWaMrU2

Some nice and smokey scotch

https://www.chess.com/game/164872644400

A maroczy with a nice endgame conversion

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165035320720/analysis

a true french attack https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165083513560/analysis

a double sacrifice in a gp moder pirc setup https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165268024444/analysis

https://lichess.org/z8asnNJc/white

99% accuracy in a Dutch.

Surprised myself.

february game 2: https://lichess.org/SijssQYa/black

february game 3: https://lichess.org/kWMg8hWl/black a nice dutch attack

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164891400500

nice rook sac that leads to mate

https://lichess.org/oLO7ZBsa/white#0

a nice game where i sac the queen

https://lichess.org/p1VochH5

i think this was a good attacking game

https://www.chess.com/game/164910334940?action=createLiveChallenge&move=1

My victory against an FM in the caro-kann exchange in a long endgame

Invite everyone to the party!

https://lichess.org/lLgdpNfm9l1F

https://www.chess.com/game/164934172456

My greatest game ever against caro kahn

a Model game

Check out this #chess game: Edorin97 vs AmirGhavam72 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/164934134554

Attack against 1… b6, with a few Brilliancies according to chess.com

Perfect OTB classical game punishing opponent's slow development with pawn sac 10.e5 and later exchange sac.

https://lichess.org/study/FYgcIjgL/RSsMy89t

Play Chess Online for FREE - 2 Player Chess - Chess.com i'm black, nice sacrifice to win time with bold attack

I was Black !! And there is a fantastic game (OTB) I played against FM and won in a very classy way ! Just check it out !!

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 Nf6 12. h3 Bd6 13. Re1 Ng4 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. d4 Nxf2 16. Qxf2 Bh2+ 17. Kf1 Bg3 18. Qe2 Bxh3 19. gxh3 Rae8 20. Be3 Bxe1 21. Qxe1 Qxh3+ 22. Kf2 Qh4+ 23. Kf1 Qxe1+ 24. Kxe1 Rxe3+ 25. Kf1 Rfe8 26. Nd2 g5 27. Kg1 Kg7 28. Nf1 Re2 29. Ng3 Re1+ 30. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 31. Kf2 Rb1 32. Nf5+ Kf8 33. Ng3 a5 34. Ne4 h6 35. Nc5 Rxb2+ 36. Ke3 Ke7 37. Na6 c6 38. Nb8 a4 39. Bd1 Kd6 40. Bf3 Rxa2 41. Nxc6 Rc2 42. Kd3 Rf2 43. Ne5 f6 44. Ke3 fxe5 45. Kxf2 a3

An awsome game with scotch-nd4 nd4 qd4 with qf6, i managed to attack even without the queens. the opponent was trying to make me scared and disconnect by saying that hes looking for my address, he needs me to wait he's tracking, but this was everytime i was gonna win, so right mood right move and mated him.
https://lichess.org/ncNcJ5e5/white#0

The-Chess-Prince +105

1Inaccuracy

0Mistakes

0Blunders

13Average centipawn loss

96%Accuracy

OTB game. How fast you can get in trouble against CM opening, final position speaks for itself

an absolutly amazing bullet game i played for fun where i got 3 brilliants!

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165067378958/analysis?move=0

Check out this #chess game: Edorin97 vs Mufti70 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/165069488134

Dismantling Elephant Gambit with a nice finish (forgot the theory though)

Vaganian Gambit works perfectly:

https://lichess.org/alG7a2Kjh0FM

Tough fight in an offbeat, Jobava approved idea:

https://lichess.org/F0gpfvmUzj5h

Hi,

Dutch is really fun to play. Interesting finish going to rook up endgame:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/165108219092

My opponent gave me the center and I punished him for it https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165116750992/analysis?move=58

Fun ending to a Scotch. I found the middle game confusing and chose to sac the exchange for a chance at the king.

Pasini variation strikes again:

https://lichess.org/kNhSx9DN/white#55

Sicilian with a nice mate in the end

2 games I liked this month.

One 30min+30s and the second one a Caro Kann Blitz

https://lichess.org/IC7ysxCj/white#0

Nice finish. Third time Nf6+ was the best move I saw it

february game 4

Punishing the colorado gambit:

https://lichess.org/AyTbxr2z

I used ideas from the 7q method course and end game roadmap to win this game

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/165260189422/review?move=0

Tough defense French: https://lichess.org/Vd7vemxBWm67

Caro with the same rook sacrifice twice on f6

Another OTB rapid game. How one mistake can cost in CM opening.

Nice attacking game. At one moment the threat of catching the queen with Rd4 was deadly.

https://lichess.org/c4mtQChO/white

1. https://www.chess.com/game/live/164929238500?move=0 Caro-Kann, Complex Weak Squares in Attack
2. https://www.chess.com/game/live/164247444692?move=0 Caro-Kann, 2 brilliants
3. https://www.chess.com/game/live/164777232866?move=0 Scotch traps Her Majesty
4. https://www.chess.com/game/live/164381717932?move=0 Knight that killed Wolf (username) - Calclman tracking
5. https://lichess.org/GgPPa2G56uNE GPix deadly attack above 2000

The dutch attack, proves again to be valuable: thank you cm and Avo.

https://lichess.org/gsxnGH9C/black#62

A beautiful finish after I sacrificed the rook four times in a row.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/142499705360/analysis

I finally got one point against this skilled opponent, thanks to cm openings [thank you CM]

https://lichess.org/Y5oLWLLo/white#43

2 brilliant moves in French: https://lichess.org/84xiuJ4x

4 brilliant moves in Scandi: https://lichess.org/RUXdvhdq

My highest-rated Rapid win: https://lichess.org/u8MYuWwu

3 Scicilian Games

https://lichess.org/iQWR4d8M

https://lichess.org/bicF4bSt

https://www.chess.com/game/live/164539928392

Petrov’s Defense – Knight Sacrifice

https://lichess.org/pUbnKDKs

French Attack – Nice Rook Sacrifice

https://lichess.org/ql7JioaE/black

A crazy attack against white in the french https://www.chess.com/game/live/165402801156?move=0

My favourite SLP in my chess carreer, not by just sacrificing everything, but by jusing active pieces [Site "Chess.com"]
[Result "*"]
1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 d6 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. O-O
Bf5 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. cxd4 g6 12. Nc3 Bg7 13. Be3 O-O 14. Qf3 a5 15.
a3 a4 16. Ba2 Qd7 17. h3 Rfc8 18. g4 Bd3 19. Qxf7+ Kh8 20. Be6 Qd6 21. Bxc8 Rxc8
22. Rfd1 Rf8 23. Qa2 Bc2 24. Rd2 Bb3 25. Qb1 Nc4 26. Re2 Nxe3 27. Ne4 Qf4 28.
fxe3 Qf3 29. Qd3 Bd5 30. Rf2 Qxh3 31. Rxf8+ Bxf8 32. Qf1 Qxg4+ 33. Kh2 Qh4+ 34.
Qh3 Qxe4 35. Rf1 Bh6 36. Qc8+ Bg8 37. Qh3 Bxe3 38. d5 Bf4+ 39. Kg1 Qd4+ *

an the last game of february : a smothered mate.

(my first one) https://lichess.org/h8T8JKFM

My best (or most spectacular) games from February, without comments this time:

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164175707250/analysis

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164535518464/analysis

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164813356468/analysis

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/164788678714/analysis

https://lichess.org/N2wBEvTy#0

https://lichess.org/7XPJouGJ/white#0

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

Hello Champions!

Thank you for sending in your best games of the month.
You demonstrated creativity, strong strategic understanding, and achieved some impressive victories. Your games contained many valuable and instructive moments.
Excellent work! Now it’s time to move on to the prizes! 🏆

1st Prize: Dmytro Shulzhenko

When I saw the last moves, it was more than wow!
With the aggressive play, you developed quickly and kept the opponent’s King in the middle.
Brought all your pieces to the attack and delivered a stunning checkmate. Bravo!
https://lichess.org/RUXdvhdq#39

2nd Prize: Jayden Kai Jie

Well done with the opening principles!
While your opponent played a passive opening, you took the space and the center, and with the opposite side castles, your attack was more than quick enough to crush their King.
Attacking masterpiece!
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/142499705360/analysis?move=19

3rd Prize: Kamil Ch

Great Caro Game.
All by the rules, Ne5 - space advantage, pieces into the attack - and devastating finish 🙂
Proud of you!
https://www.chess.com/game/live/164929238500

4th Prize: Mogens N.

Amazing GP Attack!
The game was fightful, with chances for both sides, but what you did as the finish was so impressive, I couldn’t skip this game.
Mating Matador!
https://lichess.org/IC7ysxCj/white#40

5th Prize: Glenn Turpin

The Grand Prix Monster
Brought the pieces, sacrificed, and checkmated - the beauty of GP Attack, with your fantastic execution.
Great job!
https://lichess.org/bicF4bSt#31

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

Spammers

I have found recently that many companies are using the fact that ChessMood is a friendly place to create BOT accounts and spam advertisements.

For example:

1.e4 c6 2.d4 Nf6 - Chess forum by Grandmasters

Can You Really Make Money Mining Crypto on Your Phone? - Chess forum by Grandmasters

And many more.

I hope these spammers can be punished.

Replies

Hi there,
Thanks for your message!
Yes, we remove those spam accounts as soon as we notice them, and we’re continuously tightening our moderation to keep the community clean and friendly.

Here are some more:

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/how-do-you-ensure-accurate-cost-planning-for-demolition-projects

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/your-daily-balance-starts-with-green-nature-farms-cbd-gummies

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/discover-the-gentle-power-of-green-nature-farms-cbd-gummies

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/why-green-nature-farms-cbd-gummies-stand-out-in-wellness

https://chessmood.com/forum/main-channel/green-nature-farms-cbd-gummies-a-natural-approach-to-daily-calm

Dear Marius,

We are trying to give a permanent solution to this. Thanks for helping a lot.
But before that, during the day, we are checking the forum several times and deleting those posts, and preventing their further actions.

Tactic Ninja - Feedback

Hello All,

I was wondering if ChessMood is planning on coming out with an analysis report on the test portion of Tactic Ninja. In other words, it would be nice if after taking the test at the end of the course if we could see which tactics we got wrong along with the section that it relates to so that restudying those areas would be time efficient.

Thank you,
Glenn

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Dear Glenn,

This is a future we are considering to have, thanks for suggesting 🙂

Course publication request

In chessmood we have 2 repetoires e4 and sicilian/e6. Firstly can a course be published for advanced e6 with d5 and f5, because they are very strong and simple. As GM Avetik mentioned, there is always a line we play for both black and white-Can a course be published like ‘cross openings with e6’ and ‘cross openings with c5’ or something. A course which highlights the best lines which give equal fighting chances where the better player will win, like strong attack vs strong defense, for e6 and c5.

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Your second idea dosent need a seperate course:

Just look in the main courses where the lines intersect, they talk about it there.

balance coins

how do you get balance coins and how do you spent them?

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mood coins

how do you spend mood coins?

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Hi Leo,

You can use Moodcoins to purchase individual courses on the platform.

Conversion Rate: 1,000 Moodcoins = $1

Step 1: Navigate to the specific course you want to purchase.

Step 2: Click the "Buy this course" link on the right side of the page.

Step 3: On the checkout page, select Moodcoins as your payment method.

Hi Leo,

You can use Moodcoins to purchase individual courses on the platform.

but you can't buy pro

Conversion Rate: 1,000 Moodcoins = $1

Step 1: take the course that you want to purchase.

Step 2: Click the "Buy this course" link on the right side of the page.

Step 3: On the checkout page, select Moodcoins as your payment method.

puzzle error

3. Bring the pieces!
in this puzzle Rd6 should count as a valide moove.. it's even the best move according to the engine

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maybe its a error by chessmood

Hi Anis,
Thanks for letting us know.

This quiz comes right after a video explained by a GM. In some positions, there might be other good moves, but the idea is to apply the concept that was just taught and play the move from the lesson.

Hope that makes sense 🙂

NEW ARTICLE: Chess Time Controls: Which is Best Suited to You?

Hey Champions!

We have this topic in our Blog.
https://chessmood.com/blog/what-chess-time-control-to-choose
If you have any questions, comments or you just liked it, feel free to share your thoughts here.

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coach loved it. I will make a new account on lichess so i will play only training games like this and for the main account I keep my ratings. I am a player who wanna keep both ratings and game. so I will use new account for training 5 min + 3 sec increment time control and old account is just for rating and rare games. Another point is that I can't play freely when i play with my normal account. I feel worried about rating and losing so for that Dummy Account is best and useful for my chess skills.

thanks for the lesson.

I prefer 15+10

yes, i like g5/3 as you recommended in the article much better than g3.

Can we change chessmood Sunday tournaments from g3 to g5/3?

Before reading this article, I had no idea which time control suited to me. I used to play mostly blitz and rapid 3 to 15 minutes but without increment. Now I will switch to 3+2, 5+3, and 15+10.

Thanks for sharing excellent article !!.I learned a lot.

Very helpful article, thank you coach. The most important part was Dr. Grigoryan's advice, "concentrate on becoming a better chess player, and your rating will follow". It sets the focus on the right thing.

(As for me, I play 15+10, but even that's fast for me.)

Before reading this article I preferred 10+0 time control. Now I am going to try 5+3. I am more concerned about improving my game than I am about just having fun

I like 5+3 too!

Can we have this time on our Sunday tournaments?

Okay, it seems many want 5+3 control on Sunday tournaments.
Let us think about it :)

Hi Maestro, great article. I've been playing some 5+3 games as you recommend, and I will keep doing that, especially for practicing the chessmood openings. That said, I also quite like 10+0, which I've always believed might help me in OTB rapid tournaments, of which there used to be a lot in my region (i.e. before the coronavirus), usually 30+0, so no increment, meaning that time management becomes more important. What do you think of online 10+0 games? OK or too slow?

Following GM Avetik advice, I have stopped playing 10+0 and 30+0 games. Now I play 5+3 for blitz games and 15+10 for rapid games. I am happy with the change as it allows me to train and improve in winning "winning position" as he recommends

Sir, if our purpose is both improving your game and practicing the new opening reportoire, is it good to play 60+0.

Is there just one suitable one time control?

I can't play faster than 5 0 and I lose a number of games with 0 inc, so 5 3 is about as slow as I like to play. If people didn't play nonsense at 1 0 I'd play that just to get through a lot of opening lines. Blitz I'm generally looking to practice openings rather than anything too serious and fills odd moments. I will blunder quite a bit at this speed as I'm relying on instant judgements and not always aware of lurking problems. I think Chessmood puts far too much emphasis on blitz.

15 0 is a good speed to practice a bit of thinking, but the game itself doesn't last too long so it can be played once a day (when time allows).

30 0 I don't play online, but is good over the board for a tournament that lasts one day.

45 15, 60 15 are good online time controls for long play

My preference for over the board chess though is 40 moves in 2 hrs, 1 hr finish. I think league speed of 35 moves in 1 hr 15, 15 minutes finish, or 60 10 means players become weak in their endgames.

Hi! 5+3 is not one of the default time controls available on chess.com, so should I switch to 3+2? Or maybe 5+5?

Hi there! Here's my preferred time controls Online play - chess_com or lichess If have 1-1.5 hour for playing session, then I usually go for one 15+10 game to warm up and train my calculation and then the rest 3+2 for opening improvement and just for fun. I analyse after each game what I did wrong in the opening and mostly run built in analysis of chess_com for blunder check. I don't like bullet (completely agree that it harms improvement) and games without increment as it's really annoying to lose on time in completely winning positions (I'm not a fast player :)) and also when low on time it turns into premove scramble which I dont like as well For live OTB play I like both classical 1h30mins+30s with or without added 30mins after 40moves and also rapid play (12+5, 10+5). Though I prefer classical for improvement purpose.

Is 3+0 a good substitute to 5+3 if I don't have much time to spare?It is because I would usually play 10+0 when I have time.

As always, very helpful article. Thank you, Avetik!

Thanks to this article, I learned new things and saw some of my own ideas confirmed. I have been using Classical tempo and I think I will continue this way for a long time from now on. Maybe when I get a little stronger I'll switch to Rapid, but I think it's too early.

I love playing classical, with the time to think and make calculations (and, of course, I still lose! ) But the suggestion of playing lots of blitz/rapid games with the aim of e.g. practising new openings, not worrying about the end result or ratings, is a very good idea. I'll try it!

I don't even know what 5+3 or 3+2 means. Is it 3 minutes for the whole game, plus 2 minutes per move , or what?

And why do the recommended time controls seem to be so fast? I'm used to 40 moves per 2 hours myself.

I want to improve my middlegame, tactics, and stop blundering. I still don''t know what the best time control to play is.

😃

i thouhot online 15+5 no 5+3

😀

I like playing rapid 10+0 the most.

Because my rating is already 1760.

Thanks to Chessmood

I prefer 15=10 but I'll try. 15+5 now hanks to chessmood

My favorite time control is 3+2 for blitz and 15+10 for rapid and 90+30 for classical

scotch tournement on lichess

hey folks, there is a scotch tournement in lichess Scotch Game SuperBlitz Arena #i652MYqC • lichess.org it's the perfect occasion to practice your openings guys

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for some reason chessmood courses are unlocked

i mean i dont have a pro membership or anything but for me all courses are unlocked

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It's chessmoods 8th anniversary so all courses are unlocked for everyone

Its the 8th anniversary of chess and they have all the courses for 8 days

t's the 8th anniversary of chessmood so they have unlocked all the courses for 8 days and when there is any special event example birthday then they will unlock every course

Sicillian opening

How to play against this variation as white 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 d5 4. Nf3 d4 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. Ne5 Qd8 8. Ne2 f6

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Hi Arjun!

4. 5...Bd7

I can not find f6 move either. Cause it seems not a natural move and it weakens the kings position. In the video Avetik say Bd6 is best move for black around 3min.

after 8 f6 9 Nf3 only played 3 games on chessbase. I think 9 Nd3 TN with idea of Nf2 and d3 is intresting for white

9 Nd3 c4 10 Nf2 d3 11 cxd3 cxd3 12 Nc3 Nc6 13 Qh5+ g6 14 Qf3 Bc5 15 0-0 should be okey for white with idea of B3 Bb2.

9 Nf3 d3 10 Nc3 Nc6 11 0-0 Qd7 12 cxd3 ( if 12.. Qxd3? Qb3 and a Doubleattack on e6 and b7 so 13.. Qd7 and white can play d3 with a better game ) 0-0-0 13 a3 Qxd3 14 Ne1 Qa6 15 d3 with idea of Be3 it seems like a playable position for white but not easy to find this move cause it are Engine moves and it is many other moves to check to understand the positions.

Lets see what Avetik or Gabuzyan say what the most practical way. I guess the best is that you make a “deep position analyse” on your engine.

I think you need the machine to spend many hours on that position for better assessment.

Often is Avetik telling do not go to deep. This position maybe its important but remember it is a rare line.

I checked the position, and I think Nd3 is the best move - c4 isn't dangerous as we go Nf2 and then d3.
Often, White will try to play with 0-0 and c3 - depending on what Black does.

Request to provide the "RACING FROM 2000 TO 2700 " STREAM LINK IN THE PRO MEMBERS FORUM

Hello I just became a pro member yesterday .can I get the live events of “RACING FROM 2000 TO 2700” PART 1 TO 12.If someone can provide me.with the links it will be really helpful.or at least tell me.where I can get the links .