Learn chess openings by playing them
Guess every move and see the idea behind it.
Sicilian
- Sicilian Defence — Najdorf — Sharp and asymmetric — Black fights for the full point
- Sicilian Defence — Dragon — Opposite-side castling, all-out attacks on both wings
- Sicilian Defence — Accelerated Dragon — The Dragon without …d6 — saving a tempo to hit d4 with …d5 in one go
- Sicilian Defence — Sveshnikov — A permanent hole on d5 traded for two bishops and raw activity
- Sicilian Defence — Alapin — Sidestep 10,000 pages of Sicilian theory and just build a big centre
- Sicilian Defence — Closed — Refuse to open the centre and just attack on the kingside instead
- Smith-Morra Gambit — Give up a pawn to get every piece out and both open files for free
Ruy López
- Ruy López — Berlin — Solid and endgame-focused — the drawing weapon of champions
- Ruy López — Closed — Slow manoeuvring, long-term pressure on Black's position
- Ruy López — Exchange Variation — Wreck Black's pawns, trade everything, win the endgame
- Ruy López — Marshall Attack — Black sacrifices a pawn in the Spanish and attacks for the next thirty moves
- Ruy López — Open Variation — Grab the e4-pawn and take the Spanish somewhere White can't grind you
Italian & Open Games
- Italian Game — Classical development, long-term piece pressure
- Two Knights Defence — Black ignores the threat to f7 and invites the sharpest game on the board
- Petrov Defence — Counter in the centre instead of defending — the great grandmaster equaliser
- Philidor Defence — Cramped but genuinely tough — a fortress that takes real skill to crack
- Vienna Game — A quiet-looking developing move that hides a genuinely wild gambit
- Vienna Gambit — A King's Gambit with the knight already developed and the king safer
Scotch
- Scotch Game — Classical — Open play and piece activity from move three
- Scotch Game — Mieses Variation — Aggressive queen sortie, pressure on f7 from the outset
- Scotch Game — Schmid Variation — Flexible development, avoid early theory with Bc4
- Scotch Gambit — Sacrifice a pawn for rapid development and open lines
Romantic Gambits
- King's Gambit Accepted — The romantic era in one move — a pawn for the centre, the f-file and a fight
- King's Gambit Declined — Refuse the pawn, aim the bishop at f2, and let White's own gambit backfire
- Evans Gambit — One pawn to deflect a bishop and build the biggest centre in chess
- Danish Gambit — Two pawns for two monster bishops raking the whole board
French
- French Defence — Closed centre, queenside counterplay, fight for e5
- French Defence — Winawer — Trade a bishop for doubled pawns, then let White eat the kingside
- French Defence — Advance — Lock the centre, take the space, and leave Black's bishop entombed
- French Defence — Tarrasch — Develop the knight to d2 and the Winawer simply never happens
Caro-Kann
- Caro-Kann Defence — Solid and structural — a good pawn structure from move one
- Caro-Kann — Advance — The French Advance, except Black's bishop got out first
- Caro-Kann — Karpov Variation — Develop the knight to d7 first so the kingside never gets shattered
- Caro-Kann — Panov Attack — Turn the solid Caro-Kann into a raging isolated-pawn attack
Queen's Gambit
- Queen's Gambit Declined — Classical and solid — control the centre with pieces
- Queen's Gambit Accepted — Accept the pawn and fight for equality with active play
- Slav Defence — Defend d5 with the c-pawn and the problem bishop walks free
- Semi-Slav — Botvinnik Variation — Both sides give up material in the opening and neither king ever feels safe
Indian Defences
- King's Indian Defence — Allow White the centre then attack it with pieces and pawns
- Nimzo-Indian Defence — Bishop pair pressure and flexible pawn structures
- Grünfeld Defence — Invite White to build a huge centre — then spend the game demolishing it
- Queen's Indian Defence — Fight for e4 with a fianchettoed bishop and give White absolutely nothing
- Modern Benoni — A ruined structure and a queenside majority — Tal's favourite kind of chess
- Benko Gambit — One pawn for two open files and pressure that never, ever stops
- Budapest Gambit — Throw a pawn at move two and get every piece out with tempo
Dutch Defence
- Dutch Defence — Classical — Control e4, build on f5 — flexible and rich in ideas
- Dutch Defence — Stonewall — Rigid pawn chain, strong d5 outpost, attack on the kingside
- Dutch Defence — Leningrad — Fianchetto the bishop, build a powerful kingside presence
Other Black Defences
- Scandinavian Defence — Trade the centre off on move one and always get the same position
- Pirc Defence — Let White have the centre and undermine it once the king is safe
- Modern Defence — Delay everything, commit to nothing, and let White overextend
- Alekhine's Defence — Offer the knight as bait and let White's centre chase it into overextension
White Systems
- London System — Solid and reliable — same setup against anything
- King's Indian Attack — Reverse King's Indian — kingside attack with reversed colours
- English Opening — Flexible hypermodern control of the centre
- Catalan Opening — Long-term bishop pressure down the g2 diagonal
Traps & Tricks
- Légal Trap — Hang the queen on purpose and mate with three minor pieces
- Fried Liver Attack — Sacrifice a knight on f7 and march the black king up the board
- Blackburne Shilling Gambit — Offer a free pawn and mate on move seven when White takes it
- Elephant Trap — The d7-knight looks pinned. It isn't, and White loses a piece finding out.
- Lasker Trap — An underpromotion to a knight — on move seven
- Noah's Ark Trap — Three pawns walk forward and the Spanish bishop simply never gets out
- Englund Gambit Trap — Throw a pawn away on move one and mate on c1 eight moves later
- Fishing Pole Trap — Dangle a knight on g4 and open the h-file when White bites
- Siberian Trap — Accept the Smith-Morra, ignore the attacked knight, and mate on h2
- Magnus Smith Trap — The Dragon fianchetto is one move too early and the queen falls
- Scholar's Mate — The four-move mate — worth knowing so it never happens to you