Comprehensive Guide to Chessable’s Free Short and Sweet Opening Courses
Many chess players struggle to find free yet high-quality opening resources. If you've reached a point where the ten-minute YouTube videos leave you hungry for more, read on. In this blog, I'll share an underappreciated resource for learning chess openings: Chessable's Short and Sweets.
What is a Short and Sweet?
Short and Sweets are free Chessable opening courses which are a preview of a larger paid one. They usually have 10-30 variations annotated by the author, sometimes with an hour or two of video explanations. No matter what opening you play, there is a Short and Sweet out there for you. The Hippo, Van Geet (1. Nc3!?), and Pseudo-Trompowsky (1. d4 d5 2. Bg5!?) all have Short and Sweets for you to explore. One of these courses Odd Openings even shows you what to do against the Sodium Attack!
Why Choose These Courses?
There are some benefits to choosing one of these courses instead of getting your opening knowledge from another source.
- It's free! Unlike books, paid DVDs, etc., all of these courses are completely free.
- It's convenient. Many players do all their opening work themselves to 'blaze their own trail.' While this is fine, picking and choosing lines can be confusing, difficult, or time-consuming. In Short and Sweets, it's chosen out for you, and you just have to study it.
- It provides more extensive coverage than you'd find in a YouTube video by someone like GothamChess or Hanging Pawns.
- The vast majority of authors are titled players! So they're pretty good at chess, and they do know what they're doing.
What to Look For
In my experience, some Short and Sweets are sweeter than others! Many of them have only ten lines, which in my opinion is not enough. Some have even fewer Kings Kalashnikov Sicilian. Some of these courses have annoying little blurbs at the end of each variation, not-so-subtly prompting you to purchase the main course. The most annoying trend is for authors to choose random 20-move Stockfishy lines that we will never see in a real game.
Below, I'll write about Short and Sweets which actually work as a cohesive mini-repertoire. The authors pick out responses to the most critical and popular lines, so you will actually use it in your games. (You may be shocked to know that) I'm not sponsored by Chessable, so I will highlight some negatives as well.
#1 - e4 Repertoires
Some guy once said, "e4, best by test". Here are some great courses for the e4 fans out there (like me).
- GothamChess e4: GothamChess e4
Levy Rozman has become a big name in the chess scene for his YouTube channel. But is his e4 course any good? His course is relatively short, with just 15 lines. While I do love Levy's instruction, 30 minutes of video instruction isn't enough for all the material there is to cover. In terms of lines, he gives the Fantasy Caro, Milner-Barry against the French, 2. Nc3 against the Sicilian, and the Italian (with a small Ponziani distraction, but stay focused). I think this is a good course overall, I'd recommend it to those who are fine with a bit less content or those who like GothamChess.
- Logozar’s e4: Logozar's e4
I really like this course. Logozar provides a great e4 repertoire in 68 lines. He writes (and I paraphrase) that "This is the course I'd send to a master-strength player if they wanted to play 1.e4 tomorrow but had no time to learn all the theory". Of course, for masters, 68 lines is very little theory, but for us it's very comprehensive. He goes for mostly mainlines, which is a big plus. I'd recommend this one over the others because it's more extensive and the lines he suggests are both fun and strong. Below are a sample of the variations he goes for.
- Banzea’s e4: Banzea’s e4
The longest free e4 course I could find. It has a generous 90 lines! However, Banzea only chooses sidelines in every single opening. Some of them are quite odd/rare too, like the Schlechter French (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3!?), the Chekhover (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4!?), and the Westerinen Attack (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3!?). He also goes for the Vienna in e4 e5. This works if you enjoy playing sidelines to catch your opponent off-guard. However, I wouldn't recommend it over the others.
#2 - d4 Repertoires
I've played 1.e4 as long as I've played chess, but I do love 1.d4 too. I don't see why it must be either this or that. Why not both?
- Shankland d4: Shankland d4
This is the bible for 1. d4 players. Shankland's repertoire is ambitious, comprehensive, and strong. It has nearly sixty lines and lots of video explanations. Shankland chooses mostly mainlines for his repertoire and covers Black's critical responses more than sufficiently. However, in my opinion, this is quite a difficult course to work through. Shankland doesn't aim for simplicity in this course, and at many times I feel he's careening in the opposite direction. I also find his annotations are sometimes too succinct. Shankland presumes his target audience can fill in the gaps. This is a very, very good course, don't get me wrong. However, I'd only recommend it to advanced d4 players. Below is a course which I think is also great and easier to digest.
- Barrish d4: Barrish d4
The course I'd recommend to an intermediate 1. d4 player. I love Barrish's explanations; they are clear and logical. I also like the lines. At the repertoire's heart is the legendary Exchange QGD, the weapon of many World Champions. His other choices include the Reshevesky against the Nimzo-Indian, 3. e4 against the QGA, the Exchange Slav (which is more than a boring draw offer), 2. Bg5!? against the Dutch (one of my favorite variations!) and the Anti-Grunfeld with 3. f3.
- GermanMC's d4: GermanMC's d4
The last course I will speak about was made by a 2000 USCF player under the pseudonym of GermanMC. Unfortunately, I don't have many good things to say about this course and cannot recommend it. There is no video instruction and the author's explanations leave a bit to be desired. People who are first learning openings (especially club players) need explanations over lines. While GermanMC provides a lot of lines, he doesn't offer a high level of instruction. The above free courses are better.
#3 - Anti-e4 Repertoire
...because sometimes our opponent gets to play the first move!
- Two Knights Defense: Two Knights Defense
This course covers the Two Knights Defense, and a lot of it is dedicated to the Polerio. The Polerio is a gambit against the Fried Liver that leads to fun attacking games. It's a very fun course to work through. The course includes 27 model games and thematic tactics taken from master games! Aside from the Polerio, the course also covers a modern, somewhat crazy idea of meeting the Giuoco Pianissimo with the plan of playing h6 and g5! Check out the 4. d3 h6 chapter in the course if you're interested. I must warn you, the lines are long, concrete, and sometimes forcing. This course is not for the faint of heart or the weak of memory. But if you do get through it, you will be rewarded for elite theoretical knowledge compared to your peers (probably) and you will have many great wins against your bamboozled opponents.
- Anton Teaches e4 e5: Anton Teaches e4 e5
Another 1...e5 course, but this one is less chaotic than the Two Knights course. Anton covers the critical lines, like the Italian and Ruy Lopez. This is a good option for those who want to play 1...e5 and avoid the King’s Pawn Opening’s more theoretical lines.
#4 - Anti-d4 Repertoires
I guess this is the place to put these in. Sometimes people are sick of 1.d4 and want to play something different.
- The Fianchetto Variation: The Fianchetto Variation
The Fianchetto Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined is a great choice for players who want to avoid heavy theoretical battles. The course covers the classical setup with ...g6 and ...Bg7, providing a solid but dynamic option against 1.d4.
- The King's Indian Defense: The King's Indian Defense
A classic and aggressive option for those who want to take the fight to White from the get-go. This course covers the key plans, ideas, and variations in the King's Indian Defense, offering a solid foundation for players who enjoy complex positions and counterattacking play.
#5 - Other Repertoires
Some other courses.
- Reversed Sicilian: Reversed Sicilian
Neiksans, who you might recognize from his role as GothamChess' coach, gives you some great coverage on the English Opening for Black.
- Every Gambit Refuted: Every Gambit Refuted
Brief refutations to some lesser-known gambits. Only five lines, but the main course is much more comprehensive.
- Beat b6 Defenses: Beat b6 Defenses
A deep dive into beating b6 defenses, useful if you're preparing specifically for this setup.
- Anti-London System:
- Anti-London System
- Agadmator’s Anti-London System
- Another Anti-London System
Three separate courses dedicated to countering the increasingly popular and ever-annoying London System.
- Odd Openings: Odd Openings
Covers some strange and uncommon White first moves.
