Courses (261)

When GM Felix Blohberger began searching for a practical weapon against the Grünfeld and King's Indian Defense, he wasn't looking to compete with mainline theory. Instead, he identified a subtle move order shift that changes the entire character of the position: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nbd2. By developing the knight to d2 rather than c3, White sidesteps decades of established theory while maintaining concrete advantages in the resulting structures.

When Alekhine, Capablanca, and Botvinnik approached the Carlsbad structure, they were not seeking tactical fireworks—they were testing the fundamental principles of positional chess. Over a century later, this structure remains a proving ground for understanding pawn minorities, piece coordination, and endgame transitions. While opening theory has shifted and engines have reshaped preparation, the Carlsbad endures because it is built on long-term strategic logic rather than concrete variations. GM Vladimir Malakhov and GM Pier Luigi Basso have created Understand the Carlsbad Structure not as a repertoire course, but as a study of chess thinking itself—an exploration of how one pawn formation has shaped elite practice from 1927 to the present day.

When GM Alexey Dreev introduced 6...Qa5+ against the Advance Variation in 2016, the move seemed like a quiet theoretical footnote. His student at the time, GM Pier Luigi Basso, tested it at the European Championship against GM Andriasian—and it held. Nearly a decade later, that same partnership has produced something more ambitious: a complete Caro-Kann system built on fresh paths and independent thinking. The Caro-Kann for Black - Part 1 isn't about learning another opening repertoire. It's about understanding why certain positions work, where theory is vulnerable, and how to maintain a critical edge when everyone else is still following the mainline.

Rook endgames are not merely the most frequent endgames in tournament chess—they are often the positions where games are decided. GM Felix Blohberger approaches this reality with remarkable honesty: before creating this course, he revisited the subject himself, studied existing material including Dreev University's rook endgame courses, and then set out to present the topic through the lens of someone who has defended critical positions at the World Cup. The result is Rook Endgames - Essential Knowledge for the Practical Player, a course built not around abstract theory, but around the positions that actually appear when the clock is ticking and the result hangs in the balance.

When Capablanca introduced 4.Qc2 against the Nimzo-Indian nearly a century ago, he established what would become the Classical Variation—a line respected for its soundness and strategic depth. Yet respect for a variation doesn't mean accepting drawn positions. GM Pier Luigi Basso and GM Szymon Gumularz return with Part 2 of their Nimzo-Indian series, completing what Part 1 began: a fighting repertoire built on elite-level preparation that refuses to surrender the initiative.

For decades, the Tarrasch Variation with 3.Nd2 has been White's "safe choice," a solid system that avoids the theoretical labyrinths of 3.Nc3 while maintaining classical correctness. But what happens when a single quiet move transforms this stable landscape into a battlefield?

GM Baadur Jobava and GM Pier Luigi Basso present their answer: 3...h6. This modest-looking move conceals a sophisticated strategic trap. By delaying ...Nf6 until White commits the knight to f3, Black eliminates White's dangerous plan—the aggressive f2-f4 thrust after e4-e5. What appears to be a tempo loss becomes a profound positional weapon when ...g5 explodes on the kingside, turning the Tarrasch player's "safe" choice into an uncomfortable fight.

When GM Aronian Levon faced Kramnik's 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 in 2014, he responded with 5...Bc5—a move that signaled a shift in how elite players approach the Four Knights and Scotch complexes. Rather than accepting the sterile equality of 5...Bb4, Black chooses positions where genuine winning chances coexist with technical risks. This philosophy forms the backbone of GM Pier Luigi Basso and GM Vladimir Malakhov's new course, where classical openings meet modern demands for dynamic counterplay.

The Nimzo-Indian Defense isn't just surviving in 2026—it's thriving at the highest level. When rising stars like Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, and Erigaisi consistently reach for the same opening with Black, the message is clear: this isn't nostalgia for Botvinnik's era, but a living, breathing weapon that delivers results against the world's best preparation. GMs Szymon Gumularz and Pier Luigi Basso have decoded exactly why these elite players trust the Nimzo-Indian, and their new course reveals the engine-approved concepts driving this renaissance.

When Dreev and Basso concluded their previous two volumes on the Catalan, they left one critical junction unexplored—the moment after 4.g3 Bb4+, where Black's check forces White into a labyrinth of transpositions. This third installment confronts that complexity head-on, offering not just a repertoire but a conceptual framework for understanding why the same positions arise from wildly different move orders.

The leitmotif here is transposition as weapon rather than obstacle. Where many players see confusion in the multiple routes to similar structures, Dreev and Basso reveal a unifying logic: the early Bd2 creates a tempo advantage that subtly reshapes familiar Catalan positions. After 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O, Black's responses split into distinct strategic families—and White's extra move proves useful in each.

While most players struggle through endless Marshall and Berlin theory, a quiet revolution has been unfolding in elite practice. GM Pier Luigi Basso's latest course reveals how top players like Praggnanandhaa, Caruana, and Pranav have transformed 1...e5 from a theoretical burden into a concrete, aggressive weapon built on two revolutionary ideas: the Nge7 Spanish and the ...d6 Italian approach. These aren't cosmetic improvements—they're fundamental rethinking of how Black should handle White's main tries.