The Rebellious Czech Defense

The moment you all have been waiting for: the Czech Defense up to the nines transferred in the 21st century! 

https://www.chessable.com/the-rebellious-czech-defense/course/309260/

With a Rebel Yell!

how does black respond to (or deviate from) this? honestly i never saw a point to playing the czech . its like a hanham philidor with an extra queen move in exchange for the dangerous f4, and the main advantage it has (allowing the queen bishop to develop ) is prob to whites advantage as he must swap it the minute its challenged, something which white is happy to oblige to. Im happy to be proven wrong though.

Well, there is 6…exd4, 6…Nbd7. 6….Bg4 7.Be3 Nbd7 is main line, too. 
The computer always starts with +1 but it’s not easy. In the majority of games I am better in the early middle-game. There are uncountable refutation suggestions - go ahead, make my day^^

i fail to see how this is better than just playing a hanham philidor , why allow f4 or lose the bishop pair ?

Then the course is just perfect for you. Many black quick wins below ten moves incl.

Random example which I had many times. Not forced but one of those many nice bycatches.

I recommend to watch the trailer video improving Giri vs. Firouzja. This is the Czech dream, extremely good for Black. One obtains such positions time and again.

Big game encounter in Blitz, Niemann-Sarin.

The hype is real. However, in my course you learn:

"30 years ago, I occasionally tried 5...Qb6?!± and even the original book by Pribyl and Jansa from the 80s only gives this move. At that time, it was simply thought to be the best move. The engines were too weak to give a definite verdict. You can experiment with that if you want, but be careful: White can also simply sacrifice the pawns."

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2909333

Nice Czechmate against a NM. The variation with 4.f3 is relatively rare, but some people just play their fianchetto Pirc fuss. Due to all the transpositions with Be3, Nge2, a3, g4, Qd2 in any order, the theory here is enormous, I usually play by ear. The computer refutes every move for both sides at will. This was +2 in the opening e.g.

“Who's afraid of the Plusequal?” Jonathan Rowson, Chess for Zebras. Today, in the age of self-confident engines, this can justifiably be extended to dynamic positions that are +/-.

However, this cool 3+2 game against a NM with FIDE 2251, Blitz 2400, Bullet 2613 was fun.

My new Czech signature: Who's afraid of the Plusminus?

First review: “Obscure Jokes” - that made my day! 😃

"I'm speeding through this course and loving it. The progression of lines in the chapters is very logical and organized well in the chapters. The author has included great annotations, obscure jokes, and many links to reference games throughout. The Rebellious Czech Defense is my cup of tea."

Latest review:

.. This is the ultimate course on the opening, rendering all previous sources obsolete. ...

... Markus Müller has chess culture. I’m a classical philologist and I love my classics: Cicero, Vergil, Nimzowitsch, Rowson... ! :-D It’s just refreshing to read commentary that is intelligent and enriched with references to the classics of chess literature – especially in this age of super-engines and databases. ...

www.chessable.com/discussion/thread/1202625/

Course:

https://www.chessable.com/the-rebellious-czech-defense/course/309260/

The review:

Great, honest work!
(Brief foreword: I have a FIDE Elo rating of over 2200 (much higher online, with a peak of 2695 on Lichess), and I’ve loved chess (especially chess openings) since I was a child. I’ve looked into almost everything at some point, and have often flirted with the Pirc Defense (even though its move order overlaps only slightly with the Czech), as well as with the Philidor and the French – both reasonably close relatives of the Czech Defense. However, my knowledge of the Czech Defense before watching this course was quite limited as it is for most people...)

The Czech Defence lives somewhere in the third tier of chess openings – behind very popular and strong openings (1...e5, Sicilian, Caro-Kann…) and the popular and decent ones (Pirc, Scandinavian…).
With the “Pseudo-Philidor-French” (short: Czech), you’re aiming for a completely different kind of game: the variation is so unpopular that almost everyone probably hasn’t faced it in years – and yet it is solid and sound enough that you won’t lose out of the opening. The typical positions often fluctuate between Philidor, French, less frequently Pirc, despite the widespread label “Czech-Pirc”, and interesting independent „Czech-structures“ (especially after 4.f4!).
Markus Müller presents the Czech in an impressive way – this is the ultimate course on the opening, rendering all previous sources obsolete. After studying this course, 95% of chess players will likely never need to look elsewhere, even when facing heavy preparation. The author himself notes that the Czech is not suitable for a correspondence chess world championship – but that hardly affects any of us.
If you're looking for an opening that allows you to study positional structures with recurring patterns, without too much abstract engine chess, you’ll find exactly what you're looking for here – and possibly discover your personal “lifetime repertoire” in the Czech.

Which brings me to the strengths of this course:

1) Markus Müller is absolutely honest. If a line ends in += or +/-, it’s evaluated as such – plans are outlined, and reference is made to the upcoming middlegame, where perfect objectivity no longer matters as much as practical usefulness. Chess is a game.

2) Markus Müller is absolutely thorough. The course is fantastically detailed. Even the not-so-rare side systems (such as 3.Bd3 or 3.Nc3 c6 4.Be3/Bg5 and many more) are not brushed off with a few quick lines but receive full attention in dedicated chapters – which must be emphasized. I’ve seen many Chessable courses, and it often bothers me when key variations are simply missing. Müller's thoroughness is also evident in the fact that, as far as I can tell, he is completely familiar with all existing sources on the Czech Defence, applies their insights, and builds upon them!

3) Markus Müller establishes a great structure overall. The course is very well organized, and the two quick starters really get you up to speed and ready for training games. The prioritization is also well done, so you quickly know which lines you should study thoroughly (4.Nf3 and 4.f4) and which ones you can perhaps skim for now and revisit in more detail after relevant games.

4) Markus Müller has chess culture. I’m a classical philologist and I love my classics: Cicero, Vergil, Nimzowitsch, Rowson… ! :-D It’s just refreshing to read commentary that is intelligent and enriched with references to the classics of chess literature – especially in this age of super-engines and databases.

5) Markus Müller shows passion. You can clearly feel how much this opening means to him. The best teachers are those whose joy in the subject is contagious – and it shows.

4.f4 is the main line. But do not exspect to get too often as white players often fear a direct approach. And when you get it, prepare to milk the e5-square when white players misplay it early on!
But what about the true „end-boss-variations“? As already mentioned, the course is very honest when a position is objectively += or +/–, which becomes especially clear in the deeply analyzed lines with 4.f4 AND perfect play by white. For example, Gustafsson/Nemec and Müller agree that the line 4...Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be3 Nbd7 8.O-O Be7 9.h3 Bh5 (! Müller) 10.g4 exf4 11.Bxf4 Bg6 12.Nh4 O-O 13.Kh1 must objectively be better for White – even though Müller rightly shows that Black’s chances remain absolutely intact (and below top-level play, may even be very good!), since White has to overextend significantly to achieve this engine-approved advantage – which can easily backfire. To quote a fundamental point:
„Nevertheless, it is very difficult for White to crack this Czech fortress without the help of an engine and convert the advantage into a full point. In practice, this sometimes tips very quickly in favor of Black.“ (Müller)

From now on, I’ll be starting many of my games with 1...d6 (ideally against everything!) and enjoying the fact that the Czech offers such a wide variety of interesting positional types. Great course!

Oh, I posted with my mobile. Gonna check that on my PC later.

I have made some minor updates with ideas from recent games.