Grünfeld Defence: free opening course

Key ideas

• The g7 bishop is the main weapon: together with ...c5 and ...Nc6 it hammers the d4 pawn.
• In the Exchange Variation let White have c3, d4 and e4, then attack d4 at once with ...c5, ...Nc6, ...Bg4 and ...Qa5.
• Trading on c3 gives White a big centre but also a weak c3 pawn and a loose a2 pawn; ...Qa5 often hits both.
• Against Qb3 or Bf4 systems, play ...dxc4 or ...c5 and develop quickly; the white queen becomes a target for ...Be6, ...b5 or ...Nb6.
• Watch the long diagonal tactics: if the c3 pawn or the d4 pawn loses a defender, ...Bxc3 or ...Bxd4 often wins material.
• Do not grab material carelessly on d4 when White has Bc4: Bxf7+ followed by Qxd4 is a classic trick.

The 6 variations in the course

• Exchange Variation: Classical 7.Bc4: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 … — White builds the c3-d4-e4 centre and develops with Bc4, Ne2 and Be3. Black attacks d4 with ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Bg4, drives the c4 bishop away with ...Na5 and fights for d5.
• Exchange Variation: Modern 7.Nf3 and 8.Rb1: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 … — White develops with Nf3 and Rb1, pressing on b7. Black hits d4, checks on a5 and grabs the a2 pawn, then develops quickly with ...Bg4 while White uses the extra space.
• Russian System: Hungarian 7...a6: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O … — White grabs c4 with the queen and builds the centre with e4. Black plays ...a6 and ...b5 to gain time against the queen, then ...c5 and ...Bb7 to attack the centre from the side.
• Russian System: Smyslov 7...Bg4: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O … — In the Russian System Black pins the f3 knight with ...Bg4, retreats the f6 knight to b6 to hit the queen, and then trades on f3 to win control of e5 and the light squares.
• 4.Bf4 with ...c5: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 … — White develops the bishop to f4 and plays e3, hoping for a solid edge. Black hits back with ...c5 and ...Qa5, regains the pawn on c5 and develops with easy play.
• Fianchetto Variation with ...c6 and ...d5: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 … — White fianchettoes with g3 and Bg2. Black plays the solid ...c6 and ...d5. After the exchange on d5 White tries Ne5 and f4, Black stays solid with ...e6, ...Nfd7 and ...Nc6, then challenges the e5 knight.

Traps you will learn (3)

• Exchange: the ...Bxc3 pin — With the white queen on d2 and Black's queen on a5, the c3 pawn is held only by the queen. If White pushes the d-pawn, the long diagonal opens and ...Bxc3 pins the queen to the king.
• Hungarian: the ...Nxc5 fork and the open d-file — In the Hungarian line the d-file is open between the two queens. If White puts the bishop on d3, ...Nxc5 hits queen and bishop, and after ...Nxd3+ the queen cannot recapture because of ...Qxd3.
• Exchange: the ...Bxd4 Bxf7+ trap — A watch-out trap: in the 7.Bc4 Exchange, grabbing the d4 pawn with ...Bxd4 looks like it wins material, but after the trades on d4 White plays Bxf7+ and takes the black queen with Qxd4.

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.