Chess opening courses

17 playable repertoires for White and Black, from first move to middlegame plan.

Each course is a tree of lines you learn by playing. Pick the colour you want to build a repertoire for, then train the same lines until they come back without effort.

Play as White

London System
A full White repertoire with the London pyramid. Meet ...d5, ...c5, ...Bf5, King's Indian, Dutch, and the common sidelines through typical middlegame plans.
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c3
80 lines
Jobava London
A sharp London cousin: 1.d4, early Nc3, Bf4, Nb5 ideas, and opposite-side castling plans.
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3
10 lines
Queen's Gambit
A practical White 1.d4 repertoire after 2.c4. QGD, Exchange, QGA, and Slav essentials.
1.d4 d5 2.c4
12 lines
Italian Game
Good first course
A practical White repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. Quiet Italian structures, Giuoco Piano, and Two Knights essentials.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
12 lines
Fried Liver Attack
A tactical White course in the Two Knights: Ng5, the Fried Liver sacrifice, ...Na5 main line, and Traxler awareness.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
10 lines
Ruy Lopez Essentials
A practical White repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. Morphy Closed Spanish, Exchange, and key sidelines.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
12 lines
Scotch Game
A full White Scotch repertoire. Classical 4...Nf6, Mieses, ...Bc5, the sharp sidelines, and the Scotch Gambit, taken into typical middlegames.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4
80 lines
Vienna Gambit
A sharp White weapon after 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3: the Vienna Gambit with f4, plus quieter Bc4 ideas.
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3
10 lines
Evans & Smith-Morra
Two practical White gambits: the Evans vs 1...e5 and the Smith-Morra vs the Sicilian, including Declined lines.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3
10 lines
Alapin Sicilian
A practical Anti-Sicilian for White: 2.c3, big centre with d4, vs ...Nf6 and ...d5.
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5
10 lines

Play as Black