This 60-minute course is a selection of exciting and practical openings that are both easy to learn and enjoyable to play. Current opening theory can be lengthy and complex, so exploring less conventional options can bring a fresh variety to your games. While this is not a complete repertoire, the included openings cover several bases. As Black, you will be equipped with the dynamic Portuguese Variation of the Scandinavian Defence against 1.e4 and a creative 3…h6 line against 1.d4. As White, we explore the aggressive Scotch Gambit and the versatile King’s Indian Attack that can be quickly yet effectively added to your repertoire. The video section highlights the main ideas behind these openings, while more detailed opening files are available for closer review.

Grandmaster Harshit Raja, India’s 69th GM, has created a practical and powerful 1.e4 repertoire - perfect for players who want to play aggressively without drowning in opening theory. Whether you’re playing online or over-the-board, this course gives you solid attacking weapons that are easy to learn, fun to play, and difficult for opponents to face. 

Free sample video: Introduction

Free sample video: Scandinavian Defence

How much time should we really spend memorising long opening lines? Especially in today’s world of rapid and blitz games, it’s become more important to build a repertoire that’s practical, flexible, and easy to remember - yet still powerful and rich in ideas. That’s exactly the concept behind this series: a repertoire for the “lazy” (but smart) chess player, inspired by the legendary coach Chebanenko, who believed in teaching his students openings with typical ideas and repeatable patterns rather than endless theory.

Free sample video: Introduction

Free sample video: 2...d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.g3 Bd6

Every game begins with the opening - and even sometimes ends there! That doesn't have to be the case. With the ChessBase tutorials, you can rapidly get up to speed. "Openings Vol. 1: Open Games (1.e4 e5)" is the first part of a five-volume series on the basics of chess openings. Here you will learn from experienced coaches and experts just what you absolutely need to know about the individual areas, which basic plans are followed, how to play them and what pitfalls to watch out for. In 23 video lessons you will learn everything you need to know about the King's Gambit, the Vienna Game, the Italian, the Evans Gambit, the two-knight game, the Scottish, the Steinitz and Berlin defences, the Open Spanish or the exchange variation, Marshall, Philidor and Russian and much more.