Opening library

An aggressive King's Gambit Accepted weapon, sac the f-pawn, develop Bc4, and play for a kingside crush. Deep coverage of 3…Qh4+ plus answers to 3…d5, 3…Nf6, 3…g5, 3…c6, 3…Ne7 and 3…b5.

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. 50 lines.

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. 18 lines.

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. 50 lines.

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.