ChessMood review: scores and evidence
A video course platform (500+ hours) taught by grandmasters, with quizzes, PGN files, study plans by rating band, a forum where the GMs answer, weekly events and a Discord server. It never imports or analyses the player’s own games, has no online play, no native app, and exists in English only.
Overall score
3.2/ 10
Rank
33/ 147
Languages
1
Yearly price
PRO annual price shown $1,188/yr ≈ €1,093 ($1 ≈ €0.92); Essential $948/yr ≈ €872; monthly $129/$99
What the service is
ChessMood was founded by the Armenian grandmaster Avetik Grigoryan, who says he left his job coaching Thailand’s national team before opening the site on 15 February 2019; the publisher is ChessMood Inc., registered in Delaware. The service sells access to a catalogue of video courses filmed by grandmasters — the site advertises more than 500 hours — along with exercises, PGN files, study plans by rating band, a forum where the GMs answer, and weekly live events. There is no online play and no analysis of a subscriber’s games: training runs through the courses and their quizzes. The model is subscription: Essential at $948 a year and Pro at $1,188 a year, both auto-renewing, with a refund available within 30 days of the first payment.
Activity history
- 2026-09A live-event calendar runs from 1 to 29 September 2026: interactive lessons, training sessions by rating band, a simul and one-to-one calls hosted by GM Gabuzyan.
- 2026-08The daily puzzle is still published every day, with the archive running up to 30 August 2026.
- 2026The subscription page advertises "8+ years in business", "3,000+ Students", more than 500 hours of courses and around 80 hours of new content added each year.
- 2019-02ChessMood officially opened on 15 February 2019, after its founder moved back to Armenia.
The scores, evidence by evidence
Every score points to the page read and the fact found there. A fact documented nowhere is not credited: document it, then write to us.
APersonalized diagnosis
0.0A1 :0Importing your games (Chess.com, Lichess, PGN files)
https://chessmood.com/: no import of Chess.com, Lichess or PGN games mentioned
A2 :0Automatic engine analysis of every game
https://chessmood.com/: no engine analysis of the player’s games
A3 :0Recurring mistakes identified across all your games
https://chessmood.com/ — no aggregation of mistakes across the player’s games
A4 :0Types of mistakes covered (tactics, strategy, endgame, time…)
https://chessmood.com/ — no taxonomy of the player’s mistakes
A5 :0Written explanation of each mistake
https://chessmood.com/ — no explanation of the player’s own mistakes (courses only)
A6 :0Stated verification of the diagnoses (procedure, rates)
https://chessmood.com/our-story: nothing about the reliability of a diagnosis
A7 :0Tracking each weakness over time
https://chessmood.com/: no history of playing indicators
A8 :0Comparison with players of the same rating
https://chessmood.com/: no comparison with a rating band
BOpenings
3.9B1 :1Building a personal repertoire
https://chessmood.com/courses: set repertoires (Scotch, Anti-Sicilian Nc3 and so on) with no editor
B2 :2Training the repertoire (drills, games)
https://chessmood.com/course/alekhine-defense: interactive quizzes; https://chessmood.com/events "CM openings in practice"
B3 :0Spotting where you left your repertoire in your games
https://chessmood.com/: no detection of deviations in the player’s games
B4 :1Verification of the lines taught (engine, practice)
https://chessmood.com/course/alekhine-defense: lines from GM Grigoryan; no engine check announced
B5 :0Opening explorer and statistics
https://chessmood.com/: no opening explorer
B6 :3Explanation of opening plans and ideas
https://chessmood.com/courses: plans, traps ("dubious gambit refutations"), model games, video plus quiz plus PGN plus blog
CTargeted training
4.4C1 :0Exercises drawn from your own games
https://chessmood.com/: no exercise drawn from the player’s games
C2 :1Bank of tactical exercises (size, themes, rating)
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: "10,000+ handpicked training exercises" tied to the courses; no difficulty rating observed
C3 :2Endgame training
https://chessmood.com/courses: endgame courses (pawn, rook, queen vs pawn and so on) with quizzes and drills
C4 :3Strategic and positional training
https://chessmood.com/courses — Silent Strategy (632 quizzes), Happy Pieces, the 7Q Method "find a plan" (171 quizzes), Scale Method: 3 themes or more
C5 :2Training defense and alertness
https://chessmood.com/courses — BlunderProof (74 quizzes), Defend with Honor (204), Spartan Shield (73); no difficulty rating
C6 :2Training calculation and visualization
https://chessmood.com/courses: a calculation course, "Calclman", with exercises; no levelled programme
C7 :1Difficulty matched to your real level
https://chessmood.com/courses: courses labelled by 600-2700 band; no adaptive rating
C8 :0Spaced repetition (named algorithm)
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro — no spaced repetition mentioned
C9 :1Personalized training plan
https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans — 4 plans by rating band, "semi-personalized"; neither a daily queue nor a time budget
DPrice and value
4.2D1 :1What the free plan actually lets you do
https://chessmood.com/course/alekhine-defense: free intro (5 episodes); daily puzzle; courses locked
D2 :0Annual price of the full plan
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: PRO $1,188 a year, about €1,093
D3 :2Commercial transparency (price shown, trial, cancellation)
https://chessmood.com/refund-policy: prices shown, "30-day money-back guarantee" (first subscription), cancellation from the account, automatic renewal
D4 :2Number of paid tiers (how simple the offer is)
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro — Essential $948 a year, Pro $1,188 a year; two tiers
ERigor and honesty
2.5E1 :1Published evidence of effectiveness
https://chessmood.com/success-stories: "500 points in 7 months"… with no method and no sample
E2 :1Chess verification of the content (positions, lines)
https://chessmood.com/forum: questions and reports answered by the GMs; no engine check announced
E3 :1Transparency of the method (algorithms, code)
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: "All current and upcoming AI features" left undescribed; the method is the GM courses
E4 :0Marketing claims that can be checked (no overselling)
https://chessmood.com/success-stories: "raised their rating up to 500 points in 1 year" with no source; blog post on the "Golden Method"
FContent and method
9.3F1 :3Courses organized by rating level
https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans: <1000, 1001-1500, 1501-2000, 2001+; courses spanning 600-2700
F2 :3Course authors named and titled
https://chessmood.com/our-story: GM Grigoryan, GM Gabuzyan, GM Hellsten, GM Studer, GM Avrukh, GM Leitao and others
F3 :3Content formats (text, video, interactive)
https://chessmood.com/course/alekhine-defense: 62 videos plus quizzes and tests plus PGN; https://chessmood.com/blog written articles
F4 :2Published method of progression
https://chessmood.com/chess-study-plans: what to study and how, plus the study/play balance per band; not derived from a diagnosis
F5 :3How often the content is updated
https://chessmood.com/daily-puzzle: archive dated 26-29 Aug 2026; https://chessmood.com/events sessions every 3 to 5 days
GPlaying and practice
0.8G1 :0Playing humans online (pool, anti-cheating)
https://chessmood.com/: no online play between members
G2 :0Realistic artificial opponents
https://chessmood.com/: no computer opponent
G3 :0Replaying one specific position against the machine
https://chessmood.com/: no practice from a given position
G4 :1Tournaments and organized competition
https://chessmood.com/events: "Play 1-1 against a Grandmaster", simuls; monthly game competition
HExperience and accessibility
1.3H1 :1Platforms available (web, iOS, Android, desktop)
https://chessmood.com/: web only; the iTunes search API and Google Play (30 Aug 2026) return no ChessMood app
H2 :0User ratings and reviews (stores, press)
No store listing; https://chessmood.com/success-stories holds in-house testimonials
H3 :0Interface languages available
one language observed — https://chessmood.com/: <html lang="en">, no language selector
H4 :0Accessibility (keyboard, screen reader)
https://chessmood.com/: no accessibility information
H5 :1Offline use and known incidents
https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/57750022: AWS/DigitalOcean/Cloudflare; no incident reported
IPreparation and study
0.0I1 :0Preparing for a named opponent
https://chessmood.com/ — no opponent preparation
I2 :0Annotating and sharing games (studies)
https://chessmood.com/courses — downloadable course PGN files; no annotation tool
I3 :0Entering a game played at a club (photo, scoresheet)
https://chessmood.com/ — no way to enter a game
I4 :0Searching your games (filters, position)
https://chessmood.com/ — no game import and no game search
JHuman coaching and community
5.0J1 :3Access to human coaches
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: the "Ask Grandmaster" forum, a "1-on-1 bonus call", GM lessons on students' games (events)
J2 :2Size and activity of the community
https://chessmood.com/forum: "Best games of August 2026" competition; Discord with 1,880 members (invite API w3mb9WUk6A)
J3 :0Tools for trainers, clubs and schools
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: no coach or club area mentioned
J4 :1Engagement mechanics (streaks, virtual currency, reminders)
https://chessmood.com/moodcoin: MoodCoins are earned, not bought; countdown promo banner on the home page
KPersonal data and interoperability
4.4K1 :2Exporting your data (games, repertoire)
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: "Downloadable PGN + homework files"
K2 :1Protection of personal data (GDPR, hosting)
https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/57750022: ChessMood Inc., Delaware, Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Yandex Metrica; GDPR not cited
K3 :1Public API and source code
https://chessmood.com/become-a-pro: PGN only; no API and no code
Also, outside the grid
Features found that no criterion measures. They do not count towards the score.
- Forum where the GMs answer
- Weekly streams and webinars
- One-to-one call with a grandmaster
- Downloadable homework PGN files
- Members' Discord server