My Practical Spanish Repertoire for White 

GM Ioannis Papaioannou     January 24, 2025

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Introduction and Free Preview  Free
VIDEO LECTURE 1  Closed
LECTURE 1 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODEL GAMES  Closed
MODEL GAME 1  Closed
MODEL GAME 2  Closed
Tsakona, Maria - Tsekoura, Stavroula  Closed
Salvenmoser, Stefan - Mesaros, Florian  Closed
Ospanov, Nazar - Pridorozhni, Aleksei  Closed
Narayanan, S. L. - Carlsen, Magnus  Closed
Sam, Gabriel - Kalogeris, Ioannis  Closed
Sipilä, Vilka - Kahlert, Thomas  Closed
Markantonaki, Haritomeni - Terbe, Julianna  Closed
Poupalos, Nikolaos - Theodoridis, Charalampos  Closed
gnejs - Anthypoloxagos  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - Tomashevsky, Evgeny  Closed
Zhao Jun - Kollars, Dmitrij  Closed
Tiviakov, Sergei - De Winter, Arthur  Closed
Goluch, Piotr - Reza, Wojciech  Closed
Morozevich, Alexander - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 2  Closed
LECTURE 2 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODERN CHESS - 3rd MOVE ALTERNATIVES - FULL THEORY  Closed
MODEL GAMES  Closed
Sjugirov, Sanan - Bardyk, Artem  Closed
Tsolakidou, Stavroula - Navrotescu, A..  Closed
Haubro, Martin - Fries-Nielsen, Jens Ove  Closed
Sargsyan, Shant - Nadanian, Ashot  Closed
Martins, Bruno Andre Leite - Moreno, Ale  Closed
Vidit, S.. - Ouakhir, Pierre Mehdi  Closed
Rublevsky, Sergei - Musalov, Ruslan  Closed
Van Delft, Merijn - Riksen, John  Closed
Solodovnichenko, Yuri - Lampert, Jonas  Closed
Kevlishvili, Robby - Esipenko, Andrey  Closed
Djukic, Nikola - Blagojevic, Dragisa  Closed
Sutovsky, Emil - Jones, Gawain C B  Closed
Vokhidov, Shamsiddin - Indjic, Aleksandar  Closed
Magem Badals, Jordi - Rosich Valles, Alfredo  Closed
Sjugirov, Sanan - Beerdsen, Thomas  Closed
Adams, Mark - Naylor, John  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 3  Closed
LECTURE 3 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODERN CHESS - 4...Nge7 VARIATION - THEORY  Closed
MODEL GAMES - 4...Nge7 variation  Closed
THEORY MODERN CHESS - Ivanchuk, V.. - Pranav, V..  Closed
Fedoseev, Vladimir - Boros, Dénes  Closed
Muzychuk, Anna - Dronavalli, Harika  Closed
Fressinet, Laurent - Cornette, Matthieu  Closed
Matlakov, Maxim - Grigorjev, Iljya  Closed
Pichot, Alan - Demchenko, Anton  Closed
MODERN CHESS - 3...a6 - 4...f5 variation - THEORY  Closed
Model Games - 3...a6 with 4...f5  Closed
Tiviakov, Sergei - Sokolov, Ivan  Closed
TCh-FRA Top 16 GpB 2024 - Bauer, Ch - Riff, JN..  Closed
FIDE Candidates 2024 - Vidit, S.. - Praggnanandhaa, R..  Closed
Padmini, Rout - Borisova, Ekaterina  Closed
The a6-d6 SPANISH - THEORY  Closed
MODEL GAMES - The a6-d6 Spanish  Closed
Van den Doel, Erik - Docx, Stefan  Closed
Bayer, Bernhard - Hess, Max  Closed
Boleslavsky, Isaak - Sliwa, Bogdan Stanislaw  Closed
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter  Closed
Georgiev, Kiril - Radulov, Ivan  Closed
Lu, Shanglei - Yu, Yangyi  Closed
Timman, Jan H - Kapnisis, Spyridon  Closed
Kotronias, Vasilios - Heberla, Bartlomiej  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 4  Closed
LECTURE 4 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
DELAYED g6 LINE - FULL THEORY  Closed
Model Games - Delayed g6 Line  Closed
Aryan, C.. - Ivanisevic, Ivan  Closed
Zeller, Frank - Mikhalevski, Victor  Closed
Zhigalko, Andrey - Zubarev, Alexander2  Closed
Dovliatov, Sanan - Allahverdiyev, Anar  Closed
Chandra, Akshat - Li, Ruifeng  Closed
OLD ARCHANGELSK - THEORY d3-c4!!  Closed
Model Games - Old Archangelsk  Closed
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek - Firouzja, Alireza  Closed
Nakamura, Hikaru - Artemiev, Vladislav  Closed
Sokolovsky, Yahli - Puranik, A..  Closed
Quesada Perez, Yu - Wang, Justin  Closed
Mosadeghpour, Masoud - Padmini, R..  Closed
Liang, Awonder - Yip, Carissa  Closed
Navara, David - Luch, Michał  Closed
MODERN CHESS - a6-Bc5-Nge7 VARIATION - THEORY-PLANS  Closed
MODEL GAMES - a6-Bc5-Nge7 System  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - Batsuren, Dambasuren  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - Halkias, Stelios  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - Yu Yangyi  Closed
Kramnik, Vladimir - Chyzy, Jakub  Closed
Svane, Frederik - Romanov, Evgeny  Closed
Paraskevas, Georgios - Maji, Subhodeep  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 5  Closed
LECTURE 5 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODERN CHESS - Berlin - Theory/Plans  Closed
INT - fe5 de5 structure - Model Games  Closed
Palac, Mladen - Jovanic, Ognjen  Closed
Carlsen, Magnus - So, Wesley  Closed
Vitiugov, Nikita - Pasztor, Balazs  Closed
INT - Semi-open files - Model Games  Closed
Nakamura, Hikaru - Carlsen, Magnus  Closed
Nihal, Sarin - Martirosyan, Haik M  Closed
Nihal, Sarin - Nakamura, Hikaru  Closed
Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo - Oparin, Grigoriy  Closed
Nakamura, Hikaru - So, Wesley  Closed
Moscow - Slow Italian Structure - Model Games  Closed
Palac, Mladen - Smith, Axel  Closed
Karthikeyan, Murali - Lazavik, Denis  Closed
Ashraf, Artin - Ronka, Erik  Closed
Dubov, Daniil - Eljanov, Pavel  Closed
Efimenko, Zahar - Reuker, Jari  Closed
Anand, Viswanathan - Fressinet, Laurent  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 6  Closed
LECTURE 6 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODERN CHESS - 5.d3 Part 1 - Bg7/Be7 - Plans/Theory  Closed
Re1-Bg5 in g6 setups - Model Games  Closed
Sahidi, Samir - Kriebel, Tadeas  Closed
Korneev, Oleg - Samaridis, Konstantinos  Closed
Tiviakov, Sergei - De Winter, Arthur  Closed
Oparin, Grigoriy - Bai, Jinshi  Closed
Kucharska, Honorata - Ciolacu, Alessia-Mihaela  Closed
Re1-h3 in g6 setups - Model Games  Closed
David, Alberto - Chartier, Thibaud  Closed
Papaioannou, Ioannis. - O'Gorman, Tom  Closed
Niemann, Hans Moke - Van Foreest, Jorden  Closed
Carlsen, Magnus - Tang, Andrew  Closed
Vidit, Gujrathi - Carlsen, Magnus  Closed
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof - Carlsen, Magnus  Closed
Tiviakov, Sergei - Madaminov, Mukhiddin  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - Sturt, Raven M  Closed
Vallejo Pons, F... - Mesaros, Florian  Closed
Suleymanli, Aydin - Artemiev, V...  Closed
Durarbayli, Vasif - Tan, Justin Hy  Closed
Maraimov, Khudoyor - Gyana, Sai Santhosh M  Closed
VIDEO LECTURE 7  Closed
LECTURE 7 - INTRODUCTION  Closed
MODERN CHESS - 5.d3 Part 2 - Bc5 lines - Theory/plans  Closed
Moscow - a3-Na4 idea - Model Games  Closed
Jakovenko, Dmitrij - Wei, Yi  Closed
Prag, R.. - Mikaelyan, Arman  Closed
Caruana, Fabiano - John, M..  Closed
Pichot, Alan - Nguyen, Thai Dai Van  Closed
Perunovic, Mil - Perossa, Nicolas  Closed
Seo, Jung Min - Blomqvist, E..  Closed
Yu Yangyi - Narayanan, SL..  Closed
Harshad, S.. - De Guzman, R..  Closed
Nd2-Nf1, L.. - Model Games, F..  Closed
Carlsen, Magnus - Gretarsson, Hjörvar Steinn  Closed
Lei, Tingjie - Muzychuk, M..  Closed
Aronian, Levon - Caruana, Fabiano  Closed
Bellahcene, Bilel - Unuk, Laura  Closed
Pranav, Anand - Urazayev, Arystanbek  Closed
Aronian, Levon - Sevian, Samuel  Closed
Q&A Session  Closed

79.00 EUR

The camp My Practical Spanish Repertoire for White is now available as a digital product! This comprehensive course includes all the videos from the camp as well as the PGN file related to the training sessions. The material consists of 10.5 hours of video and a PGN database with 145 files!

In the current course, you’ll find the following lectures:

✅Typical Spanish Strategies

✅1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 - Alternatives for Black on Move 3

✅1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 - Alternatives for Black on Move 4 - Part 1

✅1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 - Alternatives for Black on Move 4 - Part 2

✅Fight the Berlin Variation

✅1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 - Part 1

✅1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 - Part 2

Besides providing you with a reliable repertoire for White, this course by Papaioannou will improve your overall chess understanding. As we know, the Spanish Game is the cornerstone of the chess strategy!

Now, we shall take a look at the different lectures.

Typical Spanish Strategies

The first lecture lays the foundation for mastering the Spanish Opening by exploring its key strategies from both White's and Black's perspectives. GM Ioannis Papaioannou emphasizes the importance of understanding the arising positions, rather than relying solely on memorized theory.

This repertoire is designed to prioritize understanding over theoretical depth, but in critical areas, GM Papaioannou provides well-paved theoretical guidance. A central theme is learning when to play the move d2-d3 and recognizing situations where a more energetic response, such as d4 or c3 followed by d4, is necessary.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer DSVUGCNBAH06BIX6E4MOND79UOUQDD0I

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 - Alternatives for Black on Move 3

Spanish-1-c745275785

In this lecture, GM Ioannis Papaioannou examines Black’s alternatives to the mainline move 3...a6. While many of these third-move sidelines are not particularly challenging, they often require a blend of practical understanding and occasional theoretical knowledge to achieve the best results.

Papaioannou highlights simple, easy-to-play lines that provide White with a stable advantage. However, there are critical situations where concrete theory must be memorized to maximize your opportunities. A key concept to remember is that Black’s early inclusion of 3...a6 4.Ba4 can significantly alter the nature of the positions. In many cases, when ...a6 is delayed, White has the option to deviate from Ba4 and instead choose more favorable continuations.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer FHDPMAJHNSVKXRUNPXGLVVOKUWKLDEQK

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 - Alternatives for Black on Move 4 - Part 1

Spanish-2-85eb7e353f

In this lecture, GM Ioannis Papaioannou examines Black’s alternatives to the mainline move 4...Nf6 after the inclusion of 3...a6 and 4.Ba4. The addition of ...a6 often improves Black’s position by providing the flexibility to play b7-b5, among other options. However, there are cases where including ...a6 may not be optimal, such as in the line 3...f5 compared to 3...a6 4.Ba4 f5.

The recommended approach is to follow the same principles used against Black’s third-move alternatives, ensuring simplicity and ease of memorization.

Key lines discussed include:

An important position arises after 4...Nge7 5.O-O Ng6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 b5 9.Bb3 Bb7 10.Rd1!.

Spanish-3-97aa5ccc66

The move 10.Rd1 is a key idea, preparing to exploit Black’s potential weaknesses, particularly after 10...c5 11.Bxf7+!.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer GXX72FYHVNTAUS1PD6W6PVVAC3N4DRBT

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 - Alternatives for Black on Move 4 - Part 2

In this lecture, GM Ioannis Papaioannou examines three key systems for Black after the inclusion of 3...a6 and 4.Ba4:

    1. The Delayed ...g6 Line (4...g6):
      Unlike 3...g6, the inclusion of ...a6 and 4.Ba4 allows White to immediately strike with 5.d4!, a dynamic move leading to a more favorable structure for White. In case of 5...exd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Nxc6 bxc6, the position becomes easier for White to handle as the bishop on b5 is no longer under attack. Additionally, after 5...b5, White must remember some theoretical nuances but still achieves a comfortable setup. Papaioannou also provides alternative options like 5.c3 or 5.O-O followed by 6.c3, transposing to typical structures from 3...g6.

    2. The Old Archangelsk (4...Nf6 with ...b5 and ...Bb7):
      This system can arise from various move orders, but the end position is always consistent. Papaioannou emphasizes the importance of understanding the resulting structure rather than memorizing specific move orders. After reaching the main tabiya with 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.O-O Be7, White can break with 8.c4!, gaining a clear and comfortable advantage.

    3. The a6-Bc5-Nge7 System:
      After 4...Bc5, White’s straightforward response is 5.c3 followed by 6.d4, putting immediate pressure on Black's setup. Papaioannou highlights the differences between this system and earlier deviations like 3...Bc5, emphasizing how the inclusion of ...a6 makes Black's play slightly more challenging. Proper handling of this line provides White with a harmonious and pleasant position.

 SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer C5VSOL4GWZ8E0QSAPIKPXEAYB7NOJEX5

Fight the Berlin Variation

In this lecture, GM Ioannis Papaioannou tackles the Berlin Defense, renowned as one of the most solid openings in chess. Instead of entering deeply theoretical battles, the suggested approach focuses on understanding key plans and ideas, leading to positions that are rich in strategic play.

After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5, Papaioannou suggests the move 5.O-O, steering away from heavily analyzed mainlines. Following 5...Nd4 6.Be3, White avoids the traditional 6.Nxd4, which typically grants Black a comfortable position. The sequence continues with 6...Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3 Bxe3 8.Qxe3, reaching a harmonious middlegame.

Spanish-4-67f5321d5f

These typical positions allow White to:

This practical repertoire ensures that White can confidently navigate the Berlin Defense without needing extensive memorization, relying instead on clear strategic objectives.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer WM14VGHDID6X66MFZZXXRD9IGD3NWSYW

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 - Part 1

In this lecture, GM Ioannis Papaioannou explores the 5.d3 variation in the Spanish Opening, an excellent choice for players seeking to avoid the vast theoretical demands of the mainline Spanish while still posing significant challenges to opponents at any level.

The line begins with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3, a flexible setup that provides White with multiple strategic opportunities. Compared to the traditional mainlines, this approach simplifies preparation while maintaining strong practical chances.

Spanish-5-703c718725

Key points of this lecture:

The lecture also distinguishes this position from the line 3...Nf6 4.d3 Bc5, which leads to entirely different structures and plans. With its balance of simplicity and strategic depth, this variation is a practical choice for players at all levels.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer J95W97U9JZO452LT0A82XWY6ZQNW7CAE

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 - Part 2

In the final lecture of the series, GM Ioannis Papaioannou examines b5/Bc5 systems within the 5.d3 variation of the Spanish Opening. This setup provides White with a solid yet flexible framework, emphasizing understanding plans over memorizing theory.

The line begins with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3, where White retreats the bishop to b3 rather than c2. With the bishop positioned on the long diagonal, White avoids unnecessary moves while countering potential ...Na5 plans, which are less effective in this setup.

Spanish-6-c3aa34b7d7

Key concepts from this lecture:

This lecture demonstrates how White can maintain a stable position while posing practical challenges for Black, ensuring a balanced yet ambitious way to handle the Spanish.

SAMPLE EXAMPLE

Chess Viewer VIQH28JMT88F6W1Y5VFGWE3G6QHYZ2PB