Vienna Game for White - Top-Level Repertoire - Part 2 

Discounted

Completing the 3.Bc4 Repertoire

For years, one move stood between 3.Bc4 and a complete Vienna repertoire: 2...Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4!. It questions White’s move order directly, and that is why GM Baadur Jobava held back from recommending 3.Bc4 against 2...Nf6 in 2025.

As the winner of the 2026 Modern Chess Autumn Challenge, Jobava had the right to choose his next course. He chose to return to the Vienna and settle that question.

In 2026, one idea changed the picture. After 3...Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Qxe5 O-O 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Qf4 Na5, White’s usual 9.O-O allows ...Nxb3 and leaves Black comfortable with the bishop pair. Daniil Dubov’s 9.Bd5!! gives White a new path: 9...c6 10.b4 cxd5 11.bxa5 Qxa5 12.O-O.

Dubov played it this year and won a fine classical game against Iskandarov. In Jobava’s own words, that game is the reason this course exists.

What Makes the Course Unique

Vienna Game for White - Top-Level Repertoire - Part 2 is built around a single, confident move order: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4. Rather than sidestepping the sharpest test, the course meets 3...Nxe4 head-on and shows why it is now playable for White.

Against 5...Nc6, the old main line, White answers with 6.Nb5! and creates immediate threats on f7. Against the solid 5...Be7, Dubov’s 9.Bd5!! is the main recommendation.

The course also handles the quieter replies, where Black tries to play without ...Nc6. Against 3...Bc5, the answer depends on Black’s setup: taking the bishop pair with 5.Na4, the f2-f4 advance, the Bg5 pin, or Aronian’s Kh1 and g2-g4 plan in what is essentially a reversed Italian with an extra tempo.

The Author’s Reasoning

The course is the natural continuation of Jobava’s earlier Vienna course, published in August 2025. It keeps the same direction: creative, ambitious, fighting chess that puts the opponent under pressure from the opening.

His reasoning is simple. A line he could not recommend with confidence a year ago is now fully playable thanks to a new idea in the main line.

Map of Variations

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4

3...Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3

• 5...Nc6 6.Nb5! → Chapter 1
• 5...Be7 6.Qxe5 O-O 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Qf4 Na5 9.Bd5!! c6 10.b4 cxd5 11.bxa5 Qxa5 12.O-O → Chapter 2

3...c6 4.d4! → Chapter 3

3...Bb4 4.Nge2!? → Chapter 4

3...Bc5 4.d3

• 4...d6 5.Na4 → Chapter 5
• 4...h6 5.f4! → Chapter 6
• 4...O-O 5.Bg5 → Chapter 7
• 4...c6 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.h3 h6 8.Kh1!? → Chapter 8

3...Nc6 4.d3 → transposes to Vienna Game for White - Top-Level Repertoire

Premium Course Features

• 8 theory chapters
• 2 model games
• 5 Things to Know
• 5 training positions against the engine
• 20 test positions
• Memory File with the key lines
• Memory Booster
• To-Go Version of every chapter
• Video instruction
• Multilingual PGN (English, German, French, Spanish)

Connected Course

This course works hand in hand with Vienna Game for White - Top-Level Repertoire by GM Baadur Jobava and GM Pier Luigi Basso. Part 1 is built on 2...Nc6 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3, the line to which 2...Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 transposes. Together, the two volumes give White one consistent 3.Bc4 system against Black’s main second moves.

Start Playing the Vienna with 3.Bc4

Add Vienna Game for White - Top-Level Repertoire - Part 2 to your library, meet 3...Nxe4 with Dubov’s new idea, and bring the Vienna’s fighting spirit to your next game.

INTRODUCTION

SAMPLE CHAPTER

SAMPLE VIDEO