Courses (45)

For decades, the Symmetrical English was valued above all for its solidity. Black mirrors White's development, and the question has always been when, and how, to break the symmetry.
GM Mitrabha Guha gives a clear answer. In the modern main line, 1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4, Black plays the surprising 7...h5!?.
The point is concrete. Black provokes h2-h3, and that pawn will often end up hanging. A mirror-image opening turns into a fight with a clear target.

The English Opening can be like a Sicilian with an extra tempo, and White usually spends that tempo on comfort. Develop quietly, keep the centre fluid, wait to see how Black commits, and only then choose a plan. The whole appeal of 1.c4 is that White gets to be patient while Black reacts.
GM Mahammad Muradli's repertoire is built to take that comfort away. From the opening moves, Black becomes the side asking the questions — either out-waiting White with a quiet finesse, or forcing an immediate confrontation in the centre. The tempo may belong to White, but the initiative does not.

We are excited to introduce English Opening – Jobava’s Repertoire, the latest course by GM Baadur Jobava and GM Pier Luigi Basso. This course provides a complete and aggressive repertoire for Black against the English Opening, based on 1.c4 c5.

This course is the final piece in Jobava’s Full Repertoire for Black Against the Closed Openings, following his two highly successful courses:
1) The Ambitious Queen's Gambit Accepted
2) Jobava London Reversed – Top-Level Repertoire for Black
By combining these three courses, you will have a fully structured and practical repertoire against 1.d4, 1.c4, and all Closed Openings, crafted by one of the most creative and aggressive players of our time, GM Baadur Jobava.

When Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana choose to adopt reversed Sicilian ideas with White, there's a reason. GM Anton Korobov's new course on 1.c4 e5 2.d3 explores this exact transformation—taking one of the most respected and dynamic structures in chess, the Najdorf, and wielding it with an extra tempo.
The concept isn't new, but Korobov's systematic treatment offers something rare: a complete repertoire that combines strategic depth with practical punch. The system has attracted both world champions and rising stars like Arjun Erigaisi and Vincent Keymer, highlighting its credibility at the highest level.

The English Opening presents a unique challenge for Black. Unlike 1.e4 or 1.d4, where White's intentions are immediately clear, 1.c4 keeps the position fluid. White can transpose to Queen's Gambit structures, adopt Reversed Sicilian setups, or steer into independent English territory. For Black, this creates a dilemma: commit to sharp theory and risk transpositions to unfavorable lines, or choose a flexible system that might lack concrete direction.
GM Valery Kazakouski and IM Dragos Ceres resolve this tension in 1.c4 e5 for Black: Flexible System with ...d6. Their approach centers on the robust 1...e5 followed by the universal ...d6 setup, which maintains strategic balance across all major White continuations. The course doesn't promise forcing advantages—it delivers something better: consistent playable positions where Black understands the plans and can fight for the initiative.

There is a long-standing paradox in repertoire building: the player who opens with 1.c4 is often trying to sidestep theory, yet the resulting positions can be just as complex and principled as what they hoped to avoid. GMs Pier Luigi Basso and Szymon Gumularz have built their new course around exactly this insight — rather than retreating into solid passivity, they arm Black with active, space-grabbing responses at every turn, turning the English into a battlefield of Black's choosing.

After 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6, White faces one of the most flexible yet underexplored junctures in modern opening theory. Black's natural King's Indian-style development signals ambitious plans, but White has the opportunity to steer the game toward Reti structures that reward deep positional understanding rather than theoretical confrontation.
In 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 for White - Deep Understanding, GM Ioannis Papaioannou presents a complete strategic framework for handling this system against all of Black's major setups. This is not a repertoire based on forcing lines—it is a deep positional journey into how strong players actually think in flexible Reti structures.

When Pavel Eljanov began developing his English Opening repertoire, he noticed that 1.c4 e6 2.g3 represented a distinct challenge requiring its own dedicated treatment. While his previous courses had covered Black's symmetrical responses, King's Indian structures, and direct central challenges, the setup with ...e6 and …d5 demanded a separate approach. His solution centers on 3.Bg2 followed by Nf3, O-O, and (depending on how black continues) b3—a flexible formation that maintains White's opening advantage while adapting precisely to Black's chosen structure.

The Symmetrical English Opening is often misunderstood as harmless or drawish. In reality, it is one of the richest strategic laboratories in chess, where a deep understanding of pawn structures, piece coordination, and long-term plans matters far more than concrete memorization.
In Symmetrical English Opening – Deep Understanding, GM Ioannis Papaioannou delivers a fully structured, concept-based course that covers all major Black setups against White’s flexible central approach with d4, c4, and Nf3—regardless of move order.

When GM Ivan Cheparinov set out to create a complete repertoire against 1.c4, he faced a fundamental question that confronts every strong player: should you meet the English Opening with the symmetrical 1...c5, the solid 1...Nf6, or the ambitious 1...e5? His answer reveals a deeper philosophy about modern chess preparation. Rather than choosing the path of least resistance, Cheparinov selected 1...e5 as a counterattacking weapon that combines concrete equality with practical fighting chances—a rare combination in an opening where White typically dictates the game's character.