Berlin Defence: free opening course

Key ideas

• Against 4.O-O, take the e4 pawn. White wins it back, but Black gets the two bishops and a very solid position.
• In the Berlin endgame the king walks to e8 or c8. Without queens it is safe there, and the rooks connect later.
• Use the bishop pair. Push the h-pawn to h5 to stop White's kingside pawns, and keep the knight on f5.
• Against the Anti-Berlin, put the bishop on c5, castle and support e5. Then the knight travels from e7 to g6.
• Watch the e-file. With a white rook on e1, a black knight on e4 can get pinned against the king on e8.

The 6 variations in the course

• Berlin endgame: 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 … — White wins the pawn back with d4 and dxe5, and the queens come off early. Black loses the right to castle but gets the two bishops. The king stays on e8, the knight sits on f5 and the h-pawn stops White's kingside.
• 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5: the main line: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 … — White attacks the e4 knight with the rook. Black retreats to d6, and after the trades on e5 both sides castle. Black puts the bishop on f6, challenges the e-file and gets a solid, equal game.
• 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Bxc6: the early trade: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 … — White trades on c6 before taking on e5. This common choice gives Black the two bishops for nothing. Black develops, castles and takes the e-file with an easy game.
• 4.d3: the Anti-Berlin: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O … — White protects e4 with a pawn and avoids the endgame. Black puts the bishop on c5, castles and supports e5. Then the knight travels from c6 to g6, and Black gains space on the queenside.
• 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5: the queen fork: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nxe5 Qd4 6. Nf3 Qxe4+ … — White trades on c6 at once and grabs the e5 pawn. Black answers with a queen fork, wins the pawn back with check and trades queens. In the endgame Black has the two bishops and stands a little better.
• 4.Nc3 Bb4: the Four Knights: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 … — White defends e4 with the knight, and the game becomes a Spanish Four Knights. Black copies White's set-up, trades on c3 and unpins with the queen. The knight goes from c6 to e6, and Black is solid.

Traps you will learn (3)

• 5...Nxd4? 7.Re1: the pinned knight — After 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4, grabbing the d4 pawn with the knight looks free. But after the trades on d4 the e-file opens, and Re1 pins the e4 knight against Black's king. Black loses a piece.
• Anti-Berlin: 6.Nxe5? Qd4 — In the Anti-Berlin, after 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6, the e5 pawn looks free. But 6...Qd4 hits the e5 knight and threatens mate on f2 with the c5 bishop. If the knight retreats, it is checkmate.
• 6...Nxb5?? 7.Nxc6+: the discovered check — In the 5.Re1 line, taking the b5 bishop looks natural. But the e5 knight jumps to c6 with a discovered check from the e1 rook, and it also attacks the queen. Black loses the queen.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.