Opening Courses (882)

Nowadays the Moscow variation is extremely popular, and one of the reasons is the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen. His approach to the chess has changed the way of thinking for many - not to strive for advantage in the opening, but get an easy play with a logical development of the pieces. Don't be mistaken though - Magnus Carlsen may play off-beat variations but he does know them really well. Right now pretty much all of the top level players who choose 1.e4 play a decent amount of the Moscow variation as well.

The current database completes GM Mihail Marins' Catalan project. This time, he focuses on Black's attempts to avoid the Catalan.
After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, the author deals with two highly popular moves - 3...Bb4+ and 3...c5.
True to his approach, in this database, Marin advocates positionally sound but not necessarily fashionable lines. That makes the suggested repertoire valuable from a practical point of view. By following Marin's recommendations, we have good chances to surprise our opponents.

GM Mihail Marin continues with the examination of the theoretical subtleties of the Catalan. The current database contains 1 article about the typical Catalan Endgame, 12 theoretical chapters, and 20 Test positions.
After reading the current database, the reader will learn how to deal with Black's absolute main line against the Catalan. The author provides a number of important novelties.

The theoretical importance of the Catalan is obvious to anyone who is following the recent theoretical developments. Nowadays, you will hardly find a top player who does not have the Catalan in his repertoire. Being always on the top of the wave, Modern Chess team decided to start a project concerning this fashionable opening.

GM Mihail Marin is the perfect author when it comes to a positional opening like the Catalan. Moreover, it is important to point out that Marin is playing this opening for almost 30 years.

In his first database for Modern Chess, Brazilian IM Renato Quintillano is analyzing two of the most aggressive Black's choices against 1.e4 - The Pirc Defence and The Modern Defence. The author provides us with quite an interesting repertoire, not only rich in ideas, but also in new concepts of play in these setups. In the database, you can find some very sharp lines and a lot of endgame positions, which the author analyzed in depth.

In the second part of his repertoire against 1.c4, GM Boris Avrukh deals with the systems based on 2.g3 and 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3
Against these two move orders, we cannot reach the Reversed Dragon with Bc5 which was discussed in Part 1.
Of course, you can still play Reversed Dragon by employing the main line with Nb6. Nevertheless, Boris doesn't like the fact that White has too many possible options.
As always, Avrukh chooses a very aggressive repertoire. Systems after 1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 and 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 are positionally unbalanced and very complex.
Avrukh did a fantastic job by providing the readers with a variety of novelties and sometimes even with new concepts of play.

French Defence is a tough nut to crack. This opening has a reputation for being a very good counter-attacking weapon. It was used with success by almost all the great players at the past and nowadays. Since the arising middlegames are extremely complex, usually, all three results are possible.
Above-mentioned considerations explain why the choice of weapon against the French Defence is so important when we play 1.e4.
In the current database, IM Renier Castellanos suggests a positional repertoire against the French which is based on the so-called Tarrasch Variation.

Every chess player has faced the dilemma of how to meet the English opening.
1.c4 is objectively a weaker move than 1.e4 or 1.d4, but it is by far the trickiest option for White on move 1. With so many transpositions, different setups and move orders, White has plenty of options to turn the game into the desired setup.
That’s why we are pleased to announce this database in which one of the top theoreticians in the world – GM Boris Avrukh, provides you with a complete, aggressive repertoire against 1.c4.
Black has many choices after 1.c4, but the Reversed Sicilian (1…e5) is by far the most principled move.
Hence it is no surprise that GM Avrukh decided to base his repertoire on it.

After dealing with all the Nf3-based systems, GM Mihail Marin completes his Modern Benoni with another amazing database. This time, he deals with dangerous systems like Three Pawns Attack, Saemisch System, Penrose System, as well as with some relatively rare variations.
As always, Marin divides his database into three sections - Pawn Structures, Theoretical Section, and Test Section.

In our computer-driven time, the level of preparation is drastically increasing. Sometimes, even top players face difficulties to outplay regular 2300+ rated players. This problem is even bigger when it comes to playing for a win with Black. In most of the openings Black struggles to obtain a playable position. Nevertheless, exceptions exist.

If you need an opening which is dynamic, strategically sound and offers plenty of possibilities to outplay your opponent, the Modern Benoni is your bread and butter. In his latest database for Modern Chess, one of the best Benoni experts in the world, GM Mihail Marin provides you with a complete Benoni repertoire.