Getting an engine-approved edge is great.
But you’re not playing engines. You’re playing humans. And humans can be beaten in fun, creative ways no engine would ever suggest.
This week, we’re looking at openings built to do one thing:
Get inside your opponent’s head!
Before we dive in…
Our Rapid & Blitz Sale runs until May 10.
Enjoy up to 50% off on 130 courses. Worth a look if speed chess is a priority this year.
Onto our new releases:
4 repertoires to unnerve your opponents…
A brand new feature that answers, “Did I play the opening right?”
Plus two Youtube videos to help bring out your A-game in your next tournament.
Check these out:
Lifetime Repertoires: Plichta’s 1.e4 – Part 1 Sicilians by FM Kamil Plichta
This psycho-tactical 1.e4 repertoire doesn’t just attack your opponent’s Sicilian. It makes them doubt it. Built by a Black-side 1…c5 specialist, it arms you with ideas Black hasn’t prepared for. The result? They’re fighting on two fronts at once — your threats and their own discomfort. That’s how games are won!
Check it out
1.Nc3: An Underdog’s Repertoire
The plan? Create positions that feel as strange as Chess960 for Black — with 1.Nc3 and the Napoleon Attack. FM Fishchuk proved it works when he beat the 300-point rating favorite GM Oleksiyenko with it. Oleksiyenko was so impressed, he had to present it on video himself.
Check it out
Raven Sturt’s Electrifying 1.e4 e5 Repertoire – Vol. 1 by GM Raven Sturt
Take White “out of book” before move 5… into unbalanced structures where they’re playing by ear and you’re playing from understanding. At its core is the Bird’s Defense against the Ruy Lopez and a sharp unexplored Italian. White’s best play? The engine gives them +0.3. The rest — the know-how and practical edge — are all yours.
Check it out
Understanding the Kan Sicilian by FM Reynold Fernández & CM Rafael Alcides
Here, you get every ounce of Black’s winning chances in the Sicilian at a fraction of the study… and minus the accelerated heart-rate. Your a6 and e6-pawns keep White at bay, while giving your pieces the open lines they need to thrive.
Check it out
Now here’s a question we all asked at some point:
“Did I play that opening right?”
Now you get a definitive answer! Our new Game Review Course Check compares the moves you played in your game to your opening courses. Then it flags exactly where you deviated.
This way, every game you play becomes a diagnostic. You see the exact move where your prep ended, where improvisation began, and which lines to study to close the gap. Read on.
If you’re done ‘studying’ chess and want to train to win…
Then head over to our Youtube channel, where we welcome two big names in chess improvement.
One shows you how to slow down those aggressive 1.e4 opponents. Another shares with you some of the training methods of the elite.
Watch These Videos:
3 Blind Spots Making You Blunder with GM Mykhyalo Oleksiyenko
You probably know that the old advice of “checks, captures, and threats” doesn’t go far enough. In this video, the former Ukrainian Chess Champion shows you 3 other “must-look-for”s to improve your tactical recognition.
How to Train for Competitive Chess with GM Ivan Sokolov
The coach behind Uzbekistan’s 2022 Olympiad gold shows you the some of the training methods of the elite. From using an opening pyramid to eliminate mid-game panic… structure scouting to find an opponent’s hidden flaws…to logic-driven tactics training.