Learn the key ideas and variations in every mainstream chess opening!
The Closed Variation of the Ruy Lopez has been one of the most popular openings at grandmaster level for generations. Learn the key move orders and ideas for both sides!
Learn about some of the less popular, but nevertheless, interesting variations in the Ruy Lopez. These include the romantic Schlieman Variation, the positional Exchange Variation and the exciting Open Variation.
Want to learn an opening that doesn't require too much theory and was a favorite of Bobby Fischer? IM Keaton Kiewra teaches you what you need to know to play either side of the fascinating Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation!
Looking for a way to fight for an edge against solid 1.e4 e5 players? Why not try the Ruy Lopez with 5.d4 and learn about it from one of the world's leading experts. IM Keaton Kiewra will show you the ins and outs of one his favorite openings!
Learn how to play the Ruy Lopez Marshall Attack for both White and Black. The Marshall gives Black great attacking chances at the cost of a pawn, leading to exciting play.
In the Berlin Defense White can force a complicated endgame or head for open play. It's considered one of Black's most solid defenses against the Ruy Lopez.
Join GM Ben Finegold on an instructive tour of the Philidor Defense. If you want to play with a pawn on e5, but don't want to work through hours of Ruy Lopez theory, this could be the line for you!
Join GM Dejan Bojkov as he analyzes two games by one of the somewhat forgotten masters of the past. Grandmaster Isaak Boleslavsky nearly qualified for a world title match in 1950, so he knew how to play and specialized in classic openings like the Ruy Lopez. See how Boleslavsky finds the right squares for his pieces and picks apart Black's weaknesses in these fun and instructive games.
Understand what makes the most popular openings great
In this course, I will try to teach you how to react to a dubious looking move that you have never seen before in the opening. Theory is all fine and good, but you need to be able to punish early mistakes on your own as well!
The fact is, all openings demand a certain amount of memorization. But far more important than the memorization of a bunch of moves is the understanding of what the pawn structures call for, where your pieces should be placed in these situations, and what the plans for both sides offer the respective players. The material in this course is designed to give you a taste of what these "prepackaged" plans look like, and this will help you search for such setups and plans in your own systems.
A Kaleidoscope of Openings - Former US Champion John Grefe takes the novice and early intermediate level players on a guided tour of many popular openings.
This module with 100 challenges has something for everyone. FM Craig Mar includes some opening traps, endgames, combinations, and positional challenges. Many of the challenges are at the intermediate level (USCF or Elo ratings between 1300 and 2000) and many are at the expert and master (USCF or Elo rating above 2000) level. Mar chooses positions from many sources including his own games as well as GM's, IM's, and amateurs.
