Training60 Minutes

Korchnoi and Zak described 3 Nc3 as ‘A risky move leading to great complications in which a single inaccurate move by either side can have fatal consequences.’ If that’s the kind of chess you like playing, you are in the right place.

The Steinitz Variation in the French Defence is characterised by the move 4.e5. White closes the center and Black tries to build up pressure by playing c5. Pähtz favorite variation is playing 7...Be7 which is the topic of this 60 Minutes course.

This 60 Minutes video course provides you with very important practical knowledge of how to play with or against the bishop pair.

Don't you have time to follow the latest and aggressive developments inthe main lines of the Sicilian? But do you want to obtain a comfortable position with White? In that case you should aim for the solid but venomous lines of 3.b3 against 2...e6.

The variation 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 aims to throw Black off his normal game right from the word 'go', where he'll be forced to play accurately and deal with a number of intricate nuances just to get an equal position.

A surprise weapon against the Spanish is the Norwegian Defence arising after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5. Black delays his development but often gets very dynamic counterplay.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 dxc4. Without a White Knight on c3 the positon becomes radically different to the earlier line, but the idea of disruption is still the key to understanding Black's play.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 dxc4! In this precise position 3...dxc4 is disruptive. Black plans ...b7-b5 and often...b5-b4 hitting the Knight on c3.

The Scotch Gambit is a brazen yet utterly sound system for White who immediately opens up the position, by sacrificing a central pawn, in an attempt to assassinate the enemy king as quickly as possible.

Mikhalchishin's new work sheds light on fresh ideas in the hyper-sharp c3 variation, the classical line, which is specially well played by Caruana, as well as further entertaining developments in the Semi-Arkhangelsk with a temporarily delayed b7-b5.

You exchange the bishop on f4 to open the g-file (gxf4) and double rooks there. Black will protect his weakness on this file with all his forces. You transfer your pieces to the other side, create a new weakness there, and the opponent will be helpless

In this 60 minutes video GM Nadezhda Kosintseva offers White a repertoire to counter the Löwenthal Variation.

Caro-Kann players typically love their solid structures and modest setups, but with this bamboozling sideline they will be forced to enter unknown territory right from the off!

If you're one of those French Defence players who has been desperately searching for a reliable and easy-to-learn system against White's two main 3rd moves (3.Nd2 or 3.Nc3) then this is the 60 Minutes for you! The Fort Knox variation (3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7!

On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.