GM Grigor Grigorov continues the six-month Opening Builder project in October 2026 — Repertoire Builder: French Defense for Black – Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation.
This is the third stage of a journey designed for players who want to build a real, durable repertoire — not a collection of memorized lines. The focus remains on understanding structures, plans and decision-making rather than accumulating theory.
August established the foundation with the closed pawn chain of the Advance Variation. September turned to White's most principled continuation after 3.Nc3. October takes on the move that avoids both.
With 3.Nd2, White declines the theoretical debate and keeps a flexible, healthy position. After 3...c5 4.exd5 exd5, and once White plays dxc5 — sooner or later — the game reaches the structure that defines this whole variation: Black with an isolated queen's pawn on d5.
This is a different family of positions from anything the project has covered so far. The isolated pawn is a dynamic asset and a long-term weakness at the same time — it grants open lines, active pieces and genuine attacking chances in the middlegame, and becomes a target the moment the queens leave the board.
Knowing when to attack, when to push the pawn, and when to transform the structure is the whole art of these positions — and it is exactly what the two sessions address.
Theory is kept intentionally light — only what is required to reach the right kinds of middlegame positions. The emphasis is on understanding what each side is playing for, and how plans emerge naturally from structure.
A central idea of Opening Builder is that openings are not an isolated phase. They are a gateway to the middlegame. By focusing on fundamental structures from the very start, you learn to enter the middlegame with clarity, confidence and a clear sense of direction.
There is a further benefit this month. The isolated queen's pawn is not the property of the French: the same structure arises from the Tarrasch Defence, the Queen's Gambit, the Panov Attack and the Semi-Tarrasch. Learn to handle it here, and you meet it again across your whole repertoire.
August Fundamental Structures after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 The closed French pawn chain — the ...c5 break, pressure on d4, and the light-squared bishop.
September Fundamental Structures after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 White's most principled continuation, and the structures that follow from it.
October Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation The French isolated queen's pawn after 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 exd5 — activity against structure, in the middlegame and the endgame.
November Fundamental Structures in the Winawer – 3.Nc3 Bb4 Dark-square strategy, the doubled c-pawns, and the imbalances that make the Winawer one of the richest structures in chess.
December & January – Repertoire Construction Phase
With a strong structural foundation in place, the final phase focuses on:
This phase transforms understanding into a ready-to-play system suitable for long-term competitive use.
✓ Dates: 20.10.2026 and 27.10.2026
✓ Platform: Zoom
✓ Coach: GM Grigor Grigorov
20.10.2026 – Paris | New York
🕒 17:30 – 19:00 | 11:30 – 13:00 – Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation – Session 1
🕒 19:30 – 21:00 | 13:30 – 15:00 – Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation – Session 2
27.10.2026 – Paris | New York
🕒 17:30 – 19:00 | 11:30 – 13:00 – Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation – Session 3
🕒 19:30 – 21:00 | 13:30 – 15:00 – Fundamental Structures in the Tarrasch Variation – Session 4
🕒 21:00 – 21:30 | 15:00 – 15:30 – Q&A with GM Grigor Grigorov
Opening Builder is not about "winning the opening."
It is about entering the middlegame with understanding — knowing what you are playing for, and why your position makes sense.
By the end of six months, participants do not simply know lines. They possess a living repertoire — grounded in structures, adaptable to change, and resilient against theoretical trends.
This is opening preparation — the Modern Chess way.
🎓 This event is free for academy members.