The second part of GM Davorin Kuljasevic's Understanding the French project is now available. The first course — Understanding the French Defense: Middlegame Structures and Strategy — covered Classical and Winawer structures, the two pawn-structure families that arise from the most theoretically dense lines of the French. With those covered, the project now turns to the three remaining families of central pawn structures arising from 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5: Open French, Closed French, and French Gambit structures.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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3h and 42min PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
The Caro-Kann structure doesn't change much from decade to decade—yet the way it's understood has evolved dramatically. What looked defensive in 1927 became flexible by 1974, and today's elite handle it with a precision that would have surprised even Capablanca. The pawn chain remains the same. The depth of understanding does not.
That's the insight driving Caro-Kann Pawn Structures by GM Vladimir Malakhov and GM Pier Luigi Basso—the third volume in the Malakhov's Structures series. This course doesn't teach an opening repertoire. It teaches you how to think in positions defined by the Caro structure, regardless of how you arrived there
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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5h and 44min PGN Download Memory Booster Interactive Tests Video Content
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There is an old saying among French Defense devotees: the real game begins once the theory stops. Unlike many sharp openings where preparation decides the outcome, the French rewards — and punishes — understanding. A player who has memorized 20 moves of the Advance Variation but cannot explain why White's e5-pawn is both a strength and a vulnerability will eventually be outplayed by someone who has studied the structure itself. This is precisely the insight behind Understanding the French Defense, a new course by GM Davorin Kuljasevic published on Modern Chess.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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3h PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
Nimzowitsch described the French Advance as a system of "blockade and squeeze." Botvinnik refined it. Petrosian made it his own. Karpov turned it into a weapon of precision. And yet, more than a century after the structure's first serious theoretical treatment in 1911, elite players are still discovering new ideas in positions defined by White's pawn on e5 and Black's formation on e6 and d5. That is not a coincidence — it is the mark of a genuinely deep structure. French Advance Pawn Structures – Expert Strategic Understanding by GM Vladimir Malakhov and GM Pier Luigi Basso is built on exactly that premise: that understanding why plans work is more valuable than just memorizing what they are.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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5h and 17min PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
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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.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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6h and 45min PGN Download Video Content
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The Stonewall structure has long divided the chess world. Critics dismiss it as rigid, even passive. Advocates see something deeper: a strategic laboratory where pawn tension, piece coordination, and long-term planning converge into a coherent positional system. GM Evgeny Romanov belongs firmly to the second camp—and his new course, Middlegame Understanding - Stonewall Structures, makes a compelling case for why.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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3h and 7min PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
The Stonewall isn't just another opening variation you encounter occasionally. It's a strategic framework that shows up everywhere—from London Systems gone complex to Dutch Defenses, from Catalan transpositions to Semi-Slav surprises. Most players handle these positions by instinct alone, missing the deeper strategic logic that guides every decision.
GM Ioannis Papaioannou's "Understand the Stonewall Structures" changes that. This comprehensive digital course, drawn from his acclaimed Strategy Wednesday series, reveals the strategic principles that make strong players so effective in these complex positions.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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6h PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
We are excited to welcome GM Evgeny Romanov to Modern Chess with his groundbreaking course Master the Maroczy Bind: Foundations and Deep Plans. This course provides in-depth strategic knowledge of one of the most fundamental pawn structures in chess—the Maroczy Bind.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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2 hours and 27 mins PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
Understand The Maroczy Bind workshop is already a digital product.
Maroczy Bind is one of the most common structures in chess. It can be reached by many different openings and move orders.
The masterclass is divided into 4 lectures and contains 24 well-commented examples and 25 test positions.
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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PGN Download Interactive Tests Video Content
The camp Understand the Hedgehog is already a digital product. This product includes all the videos from the camp as well as the PGN file related to the training sessions. Overall, the material consists of approximately 9 hours of video and a PGN database which includes 99 files!
Sequence: Universal Pawn Structures »
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PGN Download Video Content