GM Martinez Alcantara and GM Basso - The Be7 Open Spanish
The Be7 Open Spanish: Breaking the Equality Barrier
For decades, the Open Spanish carried a particular stigma—Black played for a draw, White squeezed for fifty moves, and the outcome was predictable. Between 2019 and 2024, GM Jose Martinez Alcantara and GM Pier Luigi Basso dismantled that narrative with a weapon that transforms Black's position as early as move six: 6...Be7 in the Open Spanish. This isn't a sideline curiosity—it's a complete repertoire built on sharp, unbalanced structures that leave opponents unprepared.
This first part focuses exclusively on the Open Spanish lines, while all White deviations will be addressed in Part 2.
The Strategic Logic Behind 6...Be7
After the standard opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4, Black's classical choice has always been 6...b5, leading to the main lines with over 30,000 games in the database. Martinez Alcantara and Basso's approach with 6...Be7 sidesteps this entire theoretical landscape.
The critical position arises after 7.Re1 b5 8.Rxe4 d5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.Rxe5 bxa4, producing an asymmetrical pawn structure with the two bishops and long-term dynamic potential absent from other Spanish variations.
Unlike Cheparinov's repertoire with the Marshall Attack, which embraces sharp tactical complications through a pawn sacrifice, the Be7 system achieves imbalance through positional factors—the unusual pawn formation, the bishop pair, and flexible piece placement. The position after 10...bxa4 offers Black genuine winning chances while maintaining objective soundness.
Course Structure and Technical Coverage
The course delivers 11 chapters covering every White response, from critical mainlines to sidelines. Chapter 6 examines the key position after 11.Qe2 c6 12.Nc3 a3, where Martinez Alcantara and Basso's recommendation diverges from the common 11...Be6, favoring a more flexible setup. The authors address modern attempts like 11...f6 (analyzed in Chapter 5), explaining why forcing a draw contradicts the system's fighting spirit. Recent practical tests are also covered—Chapter 7 tackles Aronian's 10.Bxb5+ from the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, while Chapter 11 neutralizes Jobava's ideas in the 6.Re1 variation.
The complete course includes:
- 11 theoretical chapters with detailed analysis
- 30 interactive test positions for tactical training
- Memory Booster for efficient retention
- Over 2.5 hours of video instruction
- Basso's signature 15-minute repertoire overview
- To Go versions of each chapter for rapid preparation
- Multilingual PGN files (English, French, German, Spanish)
Course Details
If you're looking for a Black repertoire in the Open Spanish that creates genuine imbalances from the opening, Martinez Alcantara and Basso have developed a system tested at high levels for five years.