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A rock-solid d4 + Bf4 system you can play on autopilot against almost anything. Bf4, e3, c3, Bd3, Nbd2, then strike with Ne5 and a kingside attack.

A Caro-Kann built around the c-pawn breaks, Black's freeing ...c5 in the Advance, and the Panov-Botvinnik c4/c5 structures. Solid, with active piece play.

Hand over the center, then blow it up. The KID is the ultimate fighting answer to 1.d4, Classical, Sämisch, Four Pawns, Averbakh, and Fianchetto.

The classical 3.Bc4, fast development, pressure on f7, and the c3+d4 center. Covers the Giuoco Piano, the Two Knights, and Black's sidesteps.

The romantic gambit, played properly: 2.f4 and 3.Nf3. The Kieseritzky (3...g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5) carries the main weight, with the Modern 3...d5, the Cunningham, the Falkbeer, and every declined system covered.

The Spanish torture: 3.Bb5 and long-term pressure on e5. Main-line Morphy structures plus the Berlin, the Exchange, and Black's early deviations.

2.c4 against everything, punish the Accepted, squeeze the Declined, meet the Slav head-on. The backbone of 1.d4 chess.

2.Nc3 keeps every option open, then f4 hits like a delayed King's Gambit. The Vienna Gambit against ...Nf6 and Bc4 pressure against ...Nc6.

3.d4 blows the center open on move three. Forcing, theory-light, and full of open lines, Kasparov's surprise weapon turned club favorite.

The sharpest scoring weapon in chess: ...c5, ...d6, ...a6 and a fight in every line. English Attack, Bg5, Be2, Bc4, the big White tries, met head-on.

The g7 bishop breathes fire down the long diagonal. Yugoslav Attack mains with ...Rc8 and ...d5 breaks, plus the Classical and every sideline.

...e6 and ...d5: give White the center, then break it with ...c5 and ...f6. Winawer sharpness, Advance counterplay, Tarrasch clarity.

...e6, ...Be7, ...O-O: the setup that's held up at every level for 150 years. Solid against the Exchange, active against Bg5 and Bf4 mains.

...Bb4 pins, doubles White's pawns, and fights for e4 without touching the center. Every major White system met with a clear plan.

...c6 keeps the light-squared bishop free and the structure granite. Main-line ...dxc4 with ...Bf5, plus the Exchange and early sidelines.

Let White build the big center, then hit it with ...d5, ...c5 and the g7 bishop. The Exchange main line and every major try against it.

The main-line answer to 1...c5: 2.Nf3 and 3.d4, meeting the Najdorf, Dragon, Taimanov and Kan setups. This is the White side, for playing the Sicilian as Black, see the Najdorf and Dragon courses.

How to meet 1...e6 as White: 3.Nc3 and the Steinitz, plus the Winawer, the Rubinstein and the exchange lines. This is the White side, for playing the French as Black, see the French Defense course.

How to meet 1...c6 as White: 3.e5 grabs space and 4.h4 goes straight at the light-squared bishop. This is the White side, for playing the Caro-Kann as Black, see the Caro-Kann Defense course.

How to meet the King's Indian as White: the Classical with Be2 and Be3, answering ...e5 and ...c5 breaks alike. This is the White side, for playing the KID as Black, see the King's Indian Defense course.

A complete 1...e5 answer to 1.e4: the Ruy Lopez, the Italian, the Scotch and the gambits, all from Black's side. The Black repertoire that was missing while every 1.e4 e5 course covered only White.

How to meet 1...d5 as White: 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 gains the tempo, then take the centre. Pairs with the Scandinavian bishop-hunt trap.

How to meet 1...d6 and the Modern as White: 2.d4 and 3.Nc3, building the big centre Black invites you to build, then proving it.

Take the pawn and give it back on your terms: 2...dxc4, then ...Nf6, ...e6 and a timely ...c5 to free the position. Black's side.

1.c4, the flank opening that keeps the centre in reserve. Meets ...e5, ...c5 and ...Nf6 setups, and transposes into d4 structures on your terms.

How to meet 1.c4 as Black. The library had no answer to it at all, which meant a repertoire could look complete and leave you with nothing against one of the four most common first moves.

How to meet 1.Nf3 as Black. Like the English, it was entirely uncovered, and it is the move most likely to transpose somewhere you have not prepared.

Meet the Sicilian with 2.c3, build the big centre with d4, and play a normal game a tempo up in development. No Najdorf theory, no Dragon, no memorising twenty move orders, one system against everything.

Against the French, grab space with 3.e5 and then answer the ...c5 break by throwing a wing pawn at it: 4.b4! It takes the French player straight out of everything they have studied, and White scores 54% with it at club level. Tricky rather than refuting, which is the point.

Answer 1.d4 with 1...f5 and fianchetto: ...Nf6, ...g6, ...Bg7, ...O-O, ...d6. Black takes the kingside space the Dutch is played for and keeps the ...e5 break in hand. Includes the Hopton Attack (2.Bg5), which is what you actually meet most often.

4.b4!, offer a wing pawn to rip open the centre with c3 and d4 while the bishop is still deciding where to stand. The most famous attacking gambit in chess, and it still scores.

Meet the Sicilian by giving up a pawn for the c3- and d-files. White develops fast, Black is behind, and the positions are far easier to play from White's side than the book says.

Two pawns for two raking bishops on the long diagonals. Black can take both, decline with 3...Qe7, or hand one back with 3...d5, all three are here.

Answer 1.d4 with 2...e5, throwing a pawn at the centre on move two. White keeps it with 3.dxe5 Ng4 and then has to survive the knight coming back, this is where the Kieninger Trap lives.

Meet the Queen's Gambit with 2...e5, and after 3.dxe5 push 3...d4, a pawn down with a wedge on d4 that cramps White for the whole game. Home of the Lasker Trap.

4...Bh4+ looks like a free hit, it drives your king to f1. But the bishop now stands on h4 attacked by the knight on f3, and 5...Nf6?? loses it to 6.Nxh4. The most-played mistake anyone makes against this opening.

The Modern Defence 3...d5 gives the pawn back to free the position. After 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 the queen is attacked and 5...Qc6?? picks the one square that loses her, 6.Bb5 pins the queen to the king.

Against 3...g5 you play 4.h4 and the g5 pawn is already loose. 4...h6 defends it, but 5.hxg5 hxg5?? forgets that the h-file opens with a rook staring down it. 6.Rxh8 wins a rook, and often a second one on f8.

In the Exchange Caro-Kann, White pins with 5.Bb5 and then reaches for 6.Ne5 to make something of it. The knight is just hanging: after 6...Nxe5, both 7.Bxd7+ Nxd7 and 7.dxe5 Bxb5 leave you a clean piece up.

Meet the Fantasy Variation 3.f3 by striking with 3...e5. After 4.dxe5 the queen goes to b6, not d6, which hangs to exd6, and lines up with ...Bc5 against f2 and g1. If White grabs with 5.exd5, then 5...Bc5 6.Ne2? is mated by 6...Bf2+ 7.Kd2 Qe3#, and 6.Qe2 Bxg1 is already uncomfortable.

Against the Fantasy Variation (3.f3), 3...dxe4 4.fxe4 e5! hits the center. 5.dxe5??, 5.c3? and 5.d5? all allow 5...Qh4+: after 6.g3 Qxe4+ the h1-rook falls, and 6.Ke2 Qxe4+ 7.Kf2?? walks into mate. Only 6.Kd2, or 7.Be3 after 6.Ke2, keeps White in the game.

In the Panov, 6...Bb4 pins the Nc3; White's natural 7.b3?? leaves the knight undefended, and 7...Bxc3+ 8.Bd2 Bxa1 wins knight and rook for the bishop.

White's Allgaier knight sac 5.Ng5 h6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 overreaches: against the popular 7.Qxg4 and 7.Bc4+ Black keeps the extra piece and soon wins. The sound 5.Ne5 only gives Black a comfortable, level game.

In the Salvio Gambit 5.Ne5 Qh4+ 6.Kf1 Nh6, most club players continue 7.d4, and 7...f3! blows the kingside open: 8.Bxh6 and 8.gxf3 both lose. The greedy 7.Nxf7 runs into ...Nxf7 and drops a piece.

When White grabs the e5 pawn with 9.Nxe5, 9...Nxe4! unveils the g7-bishop and hits the c3-knight. The tempting fork 10.Nxf7? meets 10...Bxc3+ and ...Kxf7, and a knight retreat drops the a1-rook to ...Nxc3 and ...Bxc3+.

In the Samisch, 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.g3 invites 9...Nxg3!, forking the h1-rook and the f1-bishop. About half of club players answer 10.Bf2, which runs into ...Nxf1 and a string of trades that leaves Black a clean pawn up; the other half find 10.Qf2!, after which Black is about a pawn worse.

After 4...Nf6 5.Qd3, Black's premature 5...e5?? runs into 8.O-O-O and the crushing 9.Qd8+!! queen sacrifice mating by force, and the more common 5...Bf5? drops a piece to 6.Nxf6+ and 7.Qxf5; declining with 5...Nxe4 keeps Black safe but hands White an easy game.

In the 4...Nd7 line, 5.Qe2 threatens 6.Nd6#; Black's natural 5...Ngf6?? allows it, while the correct 5...Ndf6 leaves White comfortably better.

After 5...Bg4 6.h3, the pin-keeping 6...Qh5? drops the bishop to 7.hxg4, and after 6...Bh5 7.g4 the natural-looking 7...Nxg4?? sacrifice is unsound: 8.hxg4 Bxg4 leaves Black a piece down for two pawns. 7...Bg6 is the move, and even then 8.Ne5 followed by 9.Nc4 can hunt the queen down.

Black's Dragon-style 6...g6 in the Fischer-Sozin lets White play 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5, when the natural 8...dxe5 loses the queen to 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qxd8.

In the c3-Sicilian, snatching the loose e4-pawn with 4...Nxe4?? runs into 5.Qa4+, a double attack that forks Black's king and stranded knight and wins it with 6.Qxe4. After 4...Nc6 5.d4, the same grab is met by 6.d5.

In the QGD, White's greedy 6.Nxd5?? runs into 6...Nxd5! 7.Bxd8 Bb4+, the check comes with tempo and Black emerges a clean piece up.

The famous underpromotion. After 4.e3?? Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3, White's natural 6.Bxb4 allows 6...exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+!, a knight, not a queen, winning material.

3...Nd4 offers the e5 pawn. 4.Nxe5 is playable for White, but after 4...Qg5 the greedy 5.Nxf7?? loses on the spot to 5...Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#, and 5.Ng4? and 5.Nf3? drop a piece too. Against the correct 4.Nxd4, Black is somewhat worse.

The oldest trap worth knowing: Nxe5! offers the queen, and ...Bxd1?? is mated by Bxf7+ Ke7 Nd5#. It comes up most after 4...Nc6 5.h3 Bh5? and 4...h6. When Black sidesteps the mate White has usually still won a pawn; against 4...Nf6 or 4...c6 the trick does not work and White plays quietly.

After 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 Nxd4 7.Nxd4 exd4, White's natural 8.Qxd4?? walks into 8...c5 and 9...c4, the b3 bishop is boxed in by a wall of pawns and cannot escape.

In the Budapest, 7.a3?? invites 7...Ngxe5, and when White grabs the bishop with 8.axb4, 8...Nd3 is smothered mate on the board.

4...Ng4 5.h3 h5!? dangles the knight as bait. 6.hxg4?? opens the h-file onto White's king and Black mates. It is a genuine gamble though: if White declines, Black is about a pawn worse, and those lines are included rather than hidden.

In the Smith-Morra Accepted, 9...Nd4 hits the queen, and White's natural 10.Nxd4?? allows 10...Qh2 mate, the queen slipping in behind the pawn wall.

Against the Fantasy (3.f3), 3...Qb6 hits b2 and d4 together. After 4.Nd2 e5, the natural grab 5.dxe5?? runs into 5...Bc5, d4 has vanished, f2 is pinned, and the g1 knight is stuck. Note it needs 4.Nd2: against 4.Nc3 the same plan does not work.