Master expert-built repertoires and tactics with interactive, coach-guided lessons.
26 patterns explained by the coach, each with 10 worked examples and expert-level puzzle sets.
Free members study every opening into the middlegame. Go Pro to drill from memory, play the coach, and unlock timed challenges and puzzles across all openings and tactics for $29/month.
The sharpest, most respected answer to 1.e4. Black grabs space with ...a6 and plays for a full-blooded fight from move one.
A hypermodern weapon: let White build a big center, then tear it down with piece pressure and timely pawn breaks.
A flexible, low-theory Sicilian that surprises opponents and consistently creates unbalanced, winnable positions.
A practical, aggressive repertoire for White built around fast development and pressure on e5. Easy to learn, hard to meet.
A rock-solid, strategic defense to 1.e4. Build a resilient pawn chain, strike at the center with ...c5, and outplay opponents in rich middlegames.
A super-solid answer to 1.e4 with none of the French's bad-bishop problems. Reach a healthy structure and a comfortable, resilient middlegame.
One of the easiest openings to learn, with a solid structure and real attacking potential. Set up on autopilot, then strike.
Win a tempo, sac a pawn to open lines, and go straight after the king. Principled, coach-approved aggression.
One of the simplest, most reliable ways to meet 1.d4: equalize fast with clear ideas instead of a mountain of theory.
Sacrifice the knight, drag the king into the open, and hunt it down. Pure attacking chess.
A flexible flank opening for White. Control the center from the wings, transpose at will, and steer the game into positions you understand best.
A hypermodern system for White. Develop the knight, fianchetto the bishop, and attack the center with pieces instead of pawns.
A universal setup for White you can play against almost anything. Fianchetto, castle, and launch a kingside attack with a clear, repeatable plan.
A fighting, uncompromising weapon for Black. Give White the center, then blow it up with a kingside pawn storm aimed straight at the enemy king.
A bold, imbalanced defense for Black. Concede space in the center in return for dynamic piece play, a queenside pawn majority, and the long diagonal.
One of the most respected defenses to 1.d4. Pin the knight, double White's pawns or dominate the center, and enjoy rich strategic play.
An aggressive, kingside-focused answer to 1.d4. Grab space with ...f5, aim for a big attack, and take White out of comfortable territory.
A refined Dragon for Black. Play ...g6 early and delay ...d6, gaining the fast ...d5 break and sidestepping the dangerous Yugoslav Attack.
A dynamic, deeply-analyzed Sicilian. Accept a backward d-pawn and a hole on d5 in exchange for active piece play and the bishop pair.
A flexible, resilient Sicilian built on the 'small center' of pawns on d6 and e6. Solid, elastic, and full of latent counterattacking energy.
A powerful positional weapon for White. The fianchettoed bishop on g2 exerts long-term pressure on the center and queenside for the entire game.
The most aggressive Sicilian. Fianchetto the bishop to g7, castle, and race White in opposite-wing attacks where the sharpest player wins.
A natural, principled Sicilian. Develop both knights early and meet White's most testing setups with sound, active piece play.
A flexible, sophisticated Sicilian. Develop with ...e6 and ...Nc6, keep your setup fluid, and choose your plan based on what White reveals.
A rock-solid yet combative answer to the Queen's Gambit. Black builds a ...c6/...e6 fortress and grabs the bishop pair with a timely ...dxc4.
Defend d5 without locking in the light-squared bishop. The Slav is famously tough to crack and a favorite of world champions.
The most classical, respected defense to 1.d4. Black declines the gambit, builds a solid structure, and equalizes with precise piece play.
Accept an isolated queen's pawn in return for free piece play and open lines. The Tarrasch trades structure for activity and initiative.
A refined Tarrasch: recapture on d5 with the knight to avoid the isolated pawn, aiming for a freer, more balanced middlegame.
Sacrifice a wing pawn for lasting queenside pressure. The Benko gives Black long-term positional compensation and easy-to-play plans.
A hypermodern, ultra-solid defense. Black fianchettoes the queen's bishop to fight for the key e4 square and neutralize White's center.
Meet 3.Nf3 with a check on b4. The Bogo-Indian is a clean, low-theory way to reach sound, comfortable positions as Black.
A bold central pawn sacrifice against the Benoni move order. Black grabs a big pawn center and dynamic piece play for the material.
A provocative, hypermodern system with ...b6 and ...Bb7. Black invites White to overextend, then strikes at the center from the flanks.
Hand White the center, then dismantle it. The Modern fianchettoes the king's bishop and counterattacks with flexible, hypermodern plans.
A hypermodern counterattacking defense to 1.e4. Black concedes the center, develops flexibly, and strikes back with ...e5 or ...c5.
Provoke White's pawns forward, then attack the overextended center. The Alekhine is the boldest hypermodern answer to 1.e4.
Strike at e4 on move one. The Scandinavian is straightforward, sound, and lets Black reach clear, well-understood structures fast.
A compact, solid defense with ...d6 and ...e5. The Philidor is easy to learn and gives Black a sturdy, resilient setup against 1.e4.
The Petrov (Russian Defense) is Black's soundest, most symmetrical answer to 1.e4 — a favorite of elite players seeking rock-solid equality.
Sound, classical, and easy to learn. All four knights come out early, leading to harmonious development and rich strategic middlegames.
A flexible 2.Nc3 system that can go quiet or explosive. The Vienna keeps options open and often catches 1...e5 players off guard.
The romantic era's most famous attacking gambit. Sacrifice the f-pawn to blast open lines and hunt the enemy king from move two.
A razor-sharp Italian sideline. Sacrifice the b-pawn to gain time, build a big center, and launch a direct attack on f7.
Blast open the center early. The Scotch Gambit trades a pawn for rapid development and dangerous attacking chances against 1...e5.
Sidestep mountains of theory with 2.Bg5. The Trompowsky pressures Black's knight early and steers the game into your own territory.
A reliable system with Nf3 and Bg5. The Torre is easy to learn, hard to face, and gives White a clear plan in almost every game.
The d4 answer to the Trompowsky spirit: quick Nc3 and Bg5 to pressure d5 and f6, steering into aggressive, offbeat play.
Grab the e5 square with 1.f4. Bird's Opening leads to reversed-Dutch structures with clear kingside attacking plans.
Answer 1.e4 with a quiet fianchetto: ...b6 and ...Bb7 target e4 from afar. An offbeat, flexible system that avoids mainstream theory.
A cheeky, aggressive pawn sacrifice against 1.d4. Black plays ...e5 early, regains the pawn with active pieces, and hunts for tactics.
Turn the tables on the Queen's Gambit. Black counter-sacrifices with ...e5, jamming a bold pawn on d4 and playing for tricky, active piece play.
Fianchetto the queen's bishop with 1.b3 and control the long diagonal. A flexible, hypermodern system that sidesteps mainstream theory.
The ultimate surprise weapon: 1.b4 grabs queenside space and the long diagonal, dragging opponents into unfamiliar, creative battles.
The hardest move to find: a non-checking, non-capturing move that quietly creates an unstoppable threat.
Calculate a deep sequence of forcing moves — checks, captures and threats — to a winning conclusion.
Find the one precise move that holds a difficult position — a saving defense hidden in the chaos.
Put the opponent in a position where every legal move worsens their game — the compulsion to move loses.
Promote to a knight, rook or bishop instead of a queen — because the lesser piece does the job better.
When lost, engineer a position where you have no legal move — turning defeat into a draw.
Interpose a piece to cut the line between an enemy piece and the square or piece it defends.
Force an enemy piece away from a vital defensive duty, then exploit the square it was guarding.
Lure an enemy piece — often the king — onto a specific square where it walks into a tactic.
Exploit a piece burdened with too many defensive tasks by attacking one of them.
The in-between move: instead of the expected recapture, insert a more forcing move first.
Sacrifice a piece to vacate a square or line for another piece to deliver the decisive blow.
Sacrifice to rip open a file or diagonal toward the enemy king, then pour your pieces through.
Chase the enemy king out into the open with a storm of checks until it is mated.
Weave a web of control around the enemy king so that mate is inevitable, even without checks.
Give up a rook for a minor piece to gain lasting positional or attacking compensation.
Save a lost or worse position by giving an endless series of checks the opponent cannot escape.
Exploit a king trapped behind its own pawns by deflecting or removing the back-rank defender.
Attack or defend through an enemy piece along a line — the value lies behind the front piece.
A repeating see-saw of discovered checks that harvests enemy material one piece at a time.
The most forcing move in chess: two pieces check at once, so the king is forced to move.
Move one piece to unveil an attack from another behind it, creating two threats at once.
Unveil a check from a piece behind, freeing the moving piece to capture or threaten anything.
Eliminate the piece that guards a key square or piece, then take what it was protecting.
Sacrifice pawns to force a passed pawn through the enemy line and promote.
Corner an enemy piece that has no safe squares, then win it with a quiet attacking move.