# Chess Therapy | Finding Balance with Ram Dass

- Link: https://coffeefordessert.com/2026/10/12/chess-therapy-finding-balance-with-ram-dass/
- Published: 2026-10-12T04:45:00-05:00
- Author: Chad Ambrose

Balance means staying centered while the other side leans too far, which is the 
Ram Dass idea behind today’s game. The calm side here is Black.

1.e4 g5. The Borg. White throws a knight at f7 on move 6. 6.Nxf7 Kxf7. Black’s king
takes it and stays there. No castling. No panic. It stands on f7 the rest of the
game.

White keeps pressing. The bishop on c4 falls. Black’s queen settles on d3. White
castles long and puts a rook on the same file.

**r1b5/pp1p1k2/4pbr1/4n2p/4NQp1/2Pq4/PP3PPP/2KR3R w – – 4 18**

17…Rg6. The black queen sits on d3. White can take it. Should White? Look at the
knight on e5 before you answer.

18.Rxd3 Nxd3+. The knight checks the king and hits the queen on f4 in the same move.

**r1b5/pp1p1k2/4pbr1/7p/4Nnp1/2P5/PPK2PPP/7R w – – 0 20**

19…Nxf4. Black has two rooks, two bishops and a knight. White has a rook and a knight.
0-1.

The king on f7 never moved again. Balance is not standing still. It is not reaching
for what is not yours.

I wish you the best of luck!!

The Chess Zone – Coffee For Dessert.

Check Coach Chad’s mistakes in the full game.

Full game

Find more moments to study in the full game. Copy the PGN into Lichess → Analysis
Board to study on your own.

    ```
    [Event "?"]
    [Site "Chess.com iPhone"]
    [Date "2024.08.16"]
    [Round "?"]
    [White "Guest4285328959"]
    [Black "Guest8608171640"]
    [Result "0-1"]
    [FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
    [WhiteElo "1600"]
    [BlackElo "1600"]

    1.e4 g5 2.Nf3 g4 3.Ne5 h5 4.d3 Bg7 5.d4 c5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.dxc5 Qa5+ 8.c3 Nc6 9.Bc4+ e6 10.Bg5 Qxc5 11.Qd2 Qxc4 12.Qf4+ Nf6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nd2 Qd3 15.e5 Nxe5 16.O-O-O Rg8 17.Ne4 Rg6 18.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 19.Kc2 Nxf4 {0-1}
    ```