Torre Attack: free opening course

Key ideas

• Pin the f6 knight with the bishop on g5. The pin slows Black's play in the centre.
• Build a solid base with pawns on c3, d4 and e3. The knight goes to d2 to support e4.
• Push the e-pawn to e4 when your pieces are ready. This break opens lines toward Black's king.
• Against an early queen on b6, you can give the b2 pawn. Fast development is worth more than the pawn.
• If Black chases the bishop with the g-pawn, drop it back to g3. If Black takes it, the h-file opens for your rook.

The 6 variations in the course

• 3...c5 4.e3 Qb6: the b2 pawn gambit: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. Nbd2 Qxb2 6. Bd3 cxd4 … — Black hits b2 with the queen. White gives the pawn, develops fast and uses the open b- and e-files. Black has to be careful, because the queen is far from home.
• 3...c5 4.e3 cxd4: aiming at h7: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 cxd4 5. exd4 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O … — Black trades on d4 and White takes back with the e-pawn. White puts the bishop on d3, the knight on e5 and the rook on e1. White gets space and attacking chances on the kingside.
• 3...h6 4.Bh4 g5: the h-file opens: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bh4 g5 5. Bg3 Ne4 6. Nbd2 Nxg3 … — Black chases the bishop with the h- and g-pawns. White drops it back to g3 and lets Black take it. The h-file opens and White builds a strong centre with c3 and e4.
• 3...Be7 4.Nbd2: the e4 break: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 Be7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. e4 d5 6. e5 Nfd7 … — Black breaks the pin and castles. White pushes the e-pawn to e4 and then to e5. The game looks like a French Defence where White has more space on the kingside.
• 2...g6 3.Bg5: against the King's Indian set-up: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. c3 Nbd7 … — Black fianchettoes the bishop and castles. White takes the centre with e4 and c3 and keeps the bishop active. When Black chases it with the g-pawn, holes appear near Black's king.
• 2...d5 3.Bg5: the Queen's Pawn Torre: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bg5 e6 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nbd7 6. Nbd2 Be7 … — Black takes the centre with a pawn. White builds a solid chain of pawns, castles and puts a knight on e5. The queen joins from f3 and White plays on the kingside.

Traps you will learn (2)

• Poisoned b2 pawn: 7...Nd5? — In the b2 gambit Black must hurry to develop. The knight jump to d5 wastes time. White castles, chases the queen with the rook and gets a crushing lead in development.
• Pawn storm: 6...Nbd7 and 9...fxe6? — With the bishop on c4, the knight move to d7 takes the retreat square from the f6 knight. White pushes the e-pawn to e6. Taking it opens the diagonal to Black's king, and White wins a piece.

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.