Openings
OpeningsOpening Principles: how to play the first ten moves wellCenter, development, castling and keeping the queen home: the rules that replace memorization in the first ten moves, with diagrams and a punished queen.OpeningsThe Italian Game: a beginner’s guideLearn the Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4): the ideas, the modern Giuoco Pianissimo, the Two Knights Defense and Black’s counterplay, with diagrams.OpeningsThe Ruy Lopez: ideas, plans and main variationsThe Ruy Lopez explained properly: what 3.Bb5 actually does, the Morphy Defence, the Exchange Variation, the Berlin, and the white plan c3, d4, Nbd2, Nf1, Ng3.OpeningsThe Sicilian Defense: the most combative answer to 1.e4The Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5) explained: trading a wing pawn for a center pawn, the half-open c-file, the Najdorf, the Dragon and opposite-side castling.OpeningsFrench Defense and Caro-Kann: the solid answers to 1.e4French (1.e4 e6) and Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6): the two solid answers to 1.e4. The Advance, Exchange, Tarrasch, Winawer, Classical, and which one fits you.OpeningsThe Queen’s Gambit: the gambit that is not really a gambitIn the Queen’s Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4) nothing is sacrificed: the pawn always comes back. Learn the center fight, the Declined, the Slav and the minority attack.