Courses (142)

When IM Kushager Krishnater set out to create the second installment of his Open Sicilian repertoire, he made a deliberate choice: avoid the mainline theoretical highways where preparation battles are won and lost at move 25. Instead, his approach treats the Sicilian as a strategic battleground where understanding trumps memorization.
Against both 2...e6 and 2...Nc6, Krishnater recommends lines that are fresh, relatively unexplored, and designed to steer opponents away from their home preparation. The philosophy is consistent throughout: choose the move that creates normal Sicilian structures rather than entering forcing variations that reward the player with the stronger engine.

The Open Sicilian has always been chess's ultimate proving ground. While theory sprawls endlessly across hundreds of sub-variations, elite preparation has increasingly favored a different approach: flexible, pressure-oriented systems that force opponents into uncomfortable territory early. Rather than memorizing 25 moves deep into established main lines, the modern trend is toward fresh move orders and sideline deviations that retain all the objective punch while amplifying practical discomfort.
IM Kushager Krishnater builds his repertoire on precisely this philosophy. His complete Open Sicilian system after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 promises maximum practical pressure without sacrificing theoretical soundness.

When GM Vidit Gujrathi sat down to face Alireza Firouzja at the Candidates 2024, he didn't reach for the safe repertoire choices that dominate modern preparation. He played 6.Bc4 — the Sozin Attack — and Firouzja's surprise was visible.
The line Fischer and Kasparov wielded as a weapon had become a rarity at the absolute top. But rarity isn't the same as refutation. As Vidit proved, and as GM Jose Martinez Alcantara and IM Dragos Ceres demonstrate throughout this course, the Sozin remains one of the most concrete and dangerous systems White can employ against the Najdorf and Classical Sicilian structures.

For decades, the Dragon existed in uncertain territory—too dangerous to die, too sharp to be trusted. Bobby Fischer declared it lost. Yet there were always believers, grandmasters who saw something the verdict missed. Now, with modern chess engines rewriting opening theory, those believers are proven right. GM Sina Movahed's new course presents the Dragon not as a rehabilitation project but as a fully operational weapon for Black, armed with the dynamic resources modern engines have finally revealed.

When Magnus Carlsen deployed the Sveshnikov to claim the 2018 World Championship tiebreaks, he confirmed what elite players already knew: this system has become Black's most reliable answer to 1.e4. The razor-sharp complications after the mainline 7.Bg5 have been analyzed to exhaustion, turning the opening into a memory contest. But what if White could sidestep the theoretical arms race entirely and still fight for an advantage?
GM Jose Martinez Alcantara and IM Dragos Ceres offer a different path. Their new course, Sveshnikov Sicilian for White - Top-Level Repertoire, centers on 7.Nd5 — a positional approach that trades the knights early and establishes a powerful pawn on d5. This isn't a quiet line: it's an ambitious attempt to dictate the character of the middlegame from move seven. Instead of navigating memorization duels in the 7.Bg5 labyrinth, White builds a strategic framework where understanding matters more than move order recall.

The Kalashnikov variation has long existed in the shadow of its more theoretically demanding sibling, the Sveshnikov. Yet this structural similarity masks a fundamental philosophical difference. Where the Sveshnikov commits Black to theoretical battles starting from move five, the Kalashnikov preserves strategic flexibility by delaying ...Nf6—a seemingly modest adjustment that reshapes the entire character of the position.
GM Vladimir Georgiev and IM Nikola Nikolovski have built their new course around this principle: avoiding White's Bg5 pin and maintaining the option to exchange the dark-squared bishop via ...Be7-Bg5 transforms tactical complications into strategic clarity. The result is a complete repertoire against the Sicilian that works across all levels of play while catching opponents off-guard with its relative rarity.

The Classical Sicilian — 2...d6, 3...Nf6, 5...Nc6 — has defined world championship chess for decades. Magnus Carlsen wielded it to reach the top. Vladimir Kramnik trusted it in critical matches. Now GM Aydin Suleymanli presents a complete repertoire that channels this legacy while addressing the engine-era innovations that have reshaped every major line. This is not a historical survey; it's a fighting weapon built for players who understand that the Classical Sicilian's complexity is its strength, not its weakness.

The Paulsen Sicilian has long been a weapon of choice for players who want to outplay their opponents from a position of strategic complexity. Black's setup with ...a6 and ...e6 is deceptively flexible — it avoids early commitments while preparing a rich middlegame where initiative often shifts gradually. For decades, White's responses were either sharp and double-edged or solid but uninspiring. GM Jose Martinez Alcantara and IM Dragos Ceres propose something different: 5.Bd3, a move that is flexible, concrete, and immediately sets the terms of the game.

For most of its history, 3…Nd4 in the Ruy Lopez has been the kind of move that earns a raised eyebrow rather than serious theoretical concern. GM Mahammad Muradli's starting point for this course is a simple observation: the same idea in the Rossolimo Sicilian is an entirely different story. After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4, Black sidesteps conventional theory entirely, gaining initiative, active piece play, and a pawn structure White has almost never faced before at a practical level. This course provides a full Black repertoire built around that idea — concrete, thoroughly prepared, and almost entirely off the theoretical map.

For over a century, the Scheveningen Sicilian has stood as one of Black's most resilient answers to 1.e4—championed by Kasparov, analyzed by generations of world-class players, yet often sidelined in recent years due to the aggressive Keres Attack (6.g4). GM Pier Luigi Basso's latest course dismantles that hesitation. Rather than treating the Keres as an obstacle, Basso reframes it as the central battlefield where the Scheveningen reveals its true character: meeting flank aggression with precise central counterplay. The message is clear—stop fearing the Keres, start playing the Scheveningen the right way.