Beating 1.d4 Sidelines: free opening course

Key ideas

• Strike at d4 with ...c5 early: system players want a calm centre, so make them decide about d4 before their attack is ready.
• Use ...Qb6 (or ...Qa5+) to hit b2 when White's dark-squared bishop has left c1; it often forces an awkward queen move or a concession.
• Against the bishop on g5 or f4, gain the bishop pair (...h6, ...Ne4) or trade it off with ...Bd6, which takes the sting out of White's kingside plans.
• Develop the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain (...Bf5 or ...Bg4) before ...e6 whenever White's setup allows it.
• Once White commits to a structure, aim for a pawn lever: ...b5-b4 on the queenside, ...e5 in the centre, or pressure on the half-open c-file.
• Watch b7 and c7: in many of these systems White has Qb3, Nb5 or Nc7+ tricks if Black gets greedy too early.

The 5 variations in the course

• London System: ...c5, ...Qb6 and ...c4: 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. c3 Qb6 5. Qb3 c4 6. Qc2 Bf5 … — Black hits d4 and b2 at once. After Qb3 c4 Qc2 the white queen is pushed back, Black develops the bishop to f5 with tempo and later expands on the queenside.
• Colle System: ...c5, ...Bd6 and ...Qc7: 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 … — Black copies White's harmonious set-up but adds ...c5. When White prepares the e4 break, Black puts the queen and bishop on the b8-h2 diagonal and meets e4 with active piece play.
• Trompowsky: 2...Ne4 3.Bf4 c5: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. f3 Qa5+ 5. c3 Nf6 6. Nd2 cxd4 … — Black kicks the bishop with ...Ne4 and then hits d4 and b2. After the queen trade on b6 Black gets a half-open a-file and an easy game in the endgame-like middlegame.
• Torre Attack: ...e6, ...c5 and ...h6: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nbd2 cxd4 … — Black puts the question to the g5 bishop with ...h6 and takes the bishop pair, then plays ...d5, ...Bd6 and castles with a sound position and long-term trumps.
• Jobava London: ...c5, ...cxd4 and ...a6: 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 cxd4 5. exd4 a6 6. Nf3 Nc6 … — Black hits the centre with ...c5, then plays ...a6 to stop Nb5 tricks. After ...Bg4xf3 White has the bishop pair but Black has a sound structure and clear piece play against d4.

Traps you will learn (4)

• Englund Gambit Trap — A famous trap in the Englund Gambit. If White defends e5 with Bf4 and then blocks the queen's attack on b1 with Bc3, Black's ...Bb4 and ...Qc1# finish the game.
• Kieninger Trap (Budapest Gambit) — In the Budapest Gambit Black pins the d2 knight with ...Bb4 and ...Qe7. If White greedily takes the bishop with axb4, ...Nd3 is a smothered checkmate.
• Halosar Trap (Blackmar-Diemer, watch out) — A warning for Black in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. After grabbing three pawns and attacking the white queen with ...Bg4, taking the queen allows Nxc7 mate.
• London ...Qxb2 Trap (watch out) — A warning for the ...c5/...Qb6 plan against the London: if White answers ...Qb6 with Nc3, grabbing b2 lets Nxd5 threaten Nc7+ and the a8 rook falls.

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.