Chessigma

Chess Opening Trainer

Learn an opening line by line. Play your side's moves, the board answers back.

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Nothing trained here yet, so these stay in A to Z order. Train a course and it moves to the top.

Anti-London board position, viewed from Black's side

Anti-London

Black

The Anti-London: meet the London System with an active 2...c5. Hit the loose b2 pawn with ...Qb6, hunt the f4 bishop with ...Nh5, and pocket the free-win forks.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/40 learned40 lines total
Bishop's Opening board position, viewed from White's side

Bishop's Opening

White

The Bishop's Opening for White after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4: the Urusov Gambit against 2...Nf6, Nc3 and d3 against 2...Nc6, the Lewis Gambit against 2...Bc5, and a punishing line for the most common odd second moves, from 2...c6 to 2...g6.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/34 learned34 lines total
Caro-Kann board position, viewed from Black's side

Caro-Kann

Black

The Caro-Kann: a rock-solid answer to 1.e4. Build an unbreakable pawn wall, refuse the free pawns White keeps offering, and punish the overreach.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/35 learned35 lines total
Dutch Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Dutch Defense

Black

The Dutch Defense for Black against 1.d4: the Leningrad setup with ...g6 and ...Bg7, a plan against the London, the ...Ne4 hop, the ...d5 wall and the Staunton Gambit.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/34 learned34 lines total
English board position, viewed from White's side

English

White

The English: one calm 1.c4 setup for almost everything Black tries. Squeeze with the g3 fianchetto, grab the center with the Mikenas, and win a piece in the very first line.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/22 learned22 lines total
Englund Gambit board position, viewed from Black's side

Englund Gambit

Black

The Englund Gambit: meet 1.d4 with 1...e5 and set the Qb4+ trap. Punish 6.Bc3 with ...Bb4 and win heavy material, often the queen, snap up loose bishops, and answer every common decline with a sound plan.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/29 learned29 lines total
French Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

French Defense

Black

The French Defense, taught for the way club games actually go. Answer 1.e4 with the solid ...e6/...d5 wall, break the center with ...c5, and collect free pawns when White overreaches. One clear plan against the Advance, Exchange, Classical and every sideline.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/40 learned40 lines total
Fried Liver Attack board position, viewed from White's side

Fried Liver Attack

White

The Fried Liver Attack: throw a knight onto f7, drag the king into the open, and hunt it down. Learn the famous sacrifice, the sound Lolli, and clean answers to the Traxler and the Na5 defense. A knockout weapon for 1.e4 e5.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/31 learned31 lines total
Italian Game board position, viewed from White's side

Italian Game

White

The Italian Game: aim at f7 and play for the attack. Crack the center with c3-d4, spring the Fried Liver on the Two Knights, and mate the greedy.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/26 learned26 lines total
Jobava London board position, viewed from White's side

Jobava London

White

The Jobava London: d4, Nc3 and Bf4 for White. Jump the knight to b5 and hit c7, chase ...Bf5 with g4 and h4, and win material before move ten.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/35 learned35 lines total
King's Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

King's Gambit

White

The King's Gambit: the oldest attacking opening in chess. Sacrifice the f-pawn, drag the king into the open, and hunt it down. Loaded with traps and free wins.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/24 learned24 lines total
King's Indian Attack board position, viewed from White's side

King's Indian Attack

White

The King's Indian Attack: play 1.Nf3, g3, Bg2, O-O, d3 and e4 against nearly any defense. Fork bishop and knight with e5, collect the pawns club players give away, and finish with a kingside attack that ends in mate on g7.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/31 learned31 lines total
King's Indian Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

King's Indian Defense

Black

The King's Indian Defense: the fighting answer to 1.d4. One setup against everything, let White build a big center, then tear it open with ...e5 or ...c5. More than half of them grab the free pawn, and it drops a piece.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/29 learned29 lines total
London board position, viewed from White's side

London

White

The London System: a sturdy d4 + Bf4 setup you can play against almost anything Black tries.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/30 learned30 lines total
Petrov Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Petrov Defense

Black

The Petrov Defense for Black after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6: after 3.Nxe5 take back with 3...Nxe4, meet the 4.Qe2 trap with ...Qe7, trap bishops with ...g5 and ...f5, answer 3.Nc3, 3.Bc4 and 3.d4, and add the Stafford Gambit.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/43 learned43 lines total
Pirc Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Pirc Defense

Black

The Pirc Defense: a hypermodern answer to 1. e4. Hand White the center, then dismantle it with well-timed ...c5 and ...e5 breaks. One fianchetto setup against everything, with a ready plan for the Austrian Attack, the 150 Attack, and the premature e5 push.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/35 learned35 lines total
Ponziani board position, viewed from White's side

Ponziani

White

The Ponziani for White after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6: 3.c3 and d4 for a big center, then d5 and e5 to kick the knights. Sacrifice on h7 when Black castles early, win the b4 bishop with Qa4+ and punish the Jaenisch grab.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/30 learned30 lines total
Queen's Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Queen's Gambit

White

The Queen's Gambit, 1.d4 d5 2.c4, against every reply but 2...dxc4. Trap the bishop that runs to a5, own the Carlsbad with the e4 break, and hit b7 with Qb3 when the Slav bishop leaves.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/33 learned33 lines total
Queen's Gambit Accepted board position, viewed from White's side

Queen's Gambit Accepted

White

Black grabs the gambit pawn but can't keep it. Learn one quiet recipe (3.Nf3, e3, Bxc4) to win it back cleanly, plus the sharp 3.e4 attack on f7 for aggressive days.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/28 learned28 lines total
Ruy Lopez board position, viewed from White's side

Ruy Lopez

White

The Ruy Lopez, the classic Spanish Opening, taught the attacking way: pin the knight with 3.Bb5, then break with an early d4 against every Black defense. One recipe, plenty of traps, move-by-move.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/40 learned40 lines total
Scandinavian Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Scandinavian Defense

Black

The Scandinavian Defense: meet 1.e4 with 1...d5 and strike the center at once. Park the queen on a5, pin the knight to wreck White's pawns, and pocket the free pawns a greedy White hands you.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/26 learned26 lines total
Scotch Game board position, viewed from White's side

Scotch Game

White

The Scotch Game: open the center on move 3 and play for the attack. Crush the knight trade half your opponents fall for, and spring the free-win traps.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/28 learned28 lines total
Sicilian Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Sicilian Defense

Black

The Sicilian Dragon: the sharpest way to fight 1.e4 as Black. Drill one attacking setup, punish the calm lines half your opponents actually play, and hold the line against the Yugoslav.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/28 learned28 lines total
Slav Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Slav Defense

Black

The Slav Defense for Black against 1.d4 d5 2.c4: ...c6 and one simple rule per White setup, the Cambridge Springs fork, the Meran and the Exchange.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/33 learned33 lines total
The Open Game board position, viewed from Black's side

The Open Game

Black

The Open Game: answer 1. e4 with 1...e5 and fight for the center from move one. Punish the early queen, dodge the Fried Liver, and pocket the free wins a greedy White keeps handing you, with one solid system behind it all.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/40 learned40 lines total
Vienna Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Vienna Gambit

White

The Vienna Gambit: meet 2...Nf6 with 3.f4 and turn Black's natural pawn grab into a fast attack. Spring the Qe7 queen trap, take the knights that wander to g4 and h5, and answer the 3...d5 counterpunch with Qf3.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/55 learned55 lines total
Vienna Game board position, viewed from White's side

Vienna Game

White

The Vienna Game: a trap-rich 2.Nc3 + 3.Bc4 attack. Punish the copycat with 4.Qg4, clamp the kingside with f4-f5, and spring a clean Bh6 mate.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/24 learned24 lines total
White vs the Caro-Kann board position, viewed from White's side

White vs the Caro-Kann

White

White vs the Caro-Kann: crash the Advance with the h4 bayonet. Trap the light-squared bishop with g4, hunt the greedy queen into the corner, and keep the Exchange as a calm Plan B.

PositionalTactical
DefensiveAggressive
EasyBookworm
0/23 learned23 lines total
Player-made

From the Community

Opening courses built by players like you. Build your own, and like the ones you find useful.

Create your own course

Build a repertoire from scratch and watch your coverage climb.

Accelerated Dragon board position, viewed from Black's side

Accelerated Dragon

Black

The Sicilian Defense is the most popular and aggressive response to White's opening move e4

by 3mo ago

0/11 learned1753 coverage
Halloween board position, viewed from White's side

Halloween

White

by 3mo ago

0/14 learned2829 coverage
The Alien Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

The Alien Gambit

White

A lesson diving into Volen Dyulgerov's brilliant legacy, the Alien Gambit. Are you not entertained?

by 3mo ago

0/9 learned1625 coverage
French defense, fantasy gambit board position, viewed from White's side

French defense, fantasy gambit

White

Who wondered what the fantasy would do against the french defense ? Let's find out in this gambit line which goes against every principle of the french defense for black. Be warned, this opening is hard to play and may transpose into a lot of lines. Prepare yourself to learn a few openings while learning this one.

by 3mo ago

0/18 learned2092 coverage
The Catalan board position, viewed from White's side

The Catalan

White

by 3mo ago

0/108 learned1728 coverage
The Kerkhof Attack - exd4 board position, viewed from White's side

The Kerkhof Attack - exd4

White

A great opening all the way up to 2000+ Elo-rating. It's a very simple opening that largely bypasses the middle game.

by 3mo ago

0/7 learned3392 coverage
Caro-Kann Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

Caro-Kann Defense

Black

by 3mo ago

0/21 learned1754 coverage
The Kerkhof attack -Nxd4 board position, viewed from White's side

The Kerkhof attack -Nxd4

White

This opening is for players up to 2000+ Elo rating. It requires very little theory and relies on the key idea of pushing the d-pawn to d4 before the opponent expects it. It largely skips the middlegame struggle to transition straight into an endgame or winning position.

by 3mo ago

0/7 learned2071 coverage
Stockfish's Queen's Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Stockfish's Queen's Gambit

White

Defeat age old overplayed moves and strike with deadly accurate precision by Stockfish with Queen's Gambit.

by 4w ago

0/18 learned1733 coverage
Slav Defense: Rock Solid Repertoire board position, viewed from Black's side

Slav Defense: Rock Solid Repertoire

Black

The Slav Defense: a bulletproof answer to 1.d4. Free your light-squared bishop with ...Bf5 before playing ...e6, lock down the center, and punish White's overreach. Essential lines against the Main Line, Exchange Slav, and the London System.

by 1mo ago

0/5 learned612 coverage
French Defense board position, viewed from Black's side

French Defense

Black

The French Defense aims to challenge White's central control immediately, typically leading to closed positions, unbalanced pawn structures, and strategic counterattacks on the queenside.

by 3mo ago

0/7 learned1789 coverage
Ballistic Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Ballistic Gambit

White

Win a free queen

by 3mo ago

0/5 learned995 coverage
Gold Coins Game board position, viewed from Black's side

Gold Coins Game

Black

Play-by-play recreation of the Gold Coins Game.

by 3mo ago

0/5 learned1667 coverage
Modern Defence board position, viewed from Black's side

Modern Defence

Black

The Modern Defense is a coiled spring of hyper‑dynamic counterplay. Black invites White to build a center, only to strike back with venomous pawn breaks, fianchetto pressure, and piece activity that explodes at the perfect moment. This is an opening for players who trust flexibility over dogma, counterattack over symmetry, and precision over panic. The Modern doesn’t fight for the center early — it lets White overextend, then tears the structure apart with …c5, …e5, and the deadly …f5 thrust. If you like setups that feel calm on the surface but hide tactical violence underneath, welcome to the Modern Defense.

by 3mo ago

0/18 learned916 coverage
Scotch Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Scotch Gambit

White

by 2mo ago

0/5 learned405 coverage
Immortal Pawns Game board position, viewed from White's side

Immortal Pawns Game

White

Move-by-move replication of the Immortal Pawns Game.

by 3mo ago

0/5 learned5 lines total
Imported repertoire board position, viewed from Black's side

Imported repertoire

Black

by 3mo ago

0/28 learned1330 coverage
Anti-London system with f6 board position, viewed from Black's side

Anti-London system with f6

Black

f6, seemingly a dubious move in most situations, works perfectly fine against London system. Catch your opponent by storm as they play their usual "muscle memory" moves and slip up before they know it.

by 3w ago

0/11 learned1999 coverage
Stafford Gambit board position, viewed from Black's side

Stafford Gambit

Black

by 1mo ago

0/5 learned710 coverage
dark knight gambit board position, viewed from Black's side

dark knight gambit

Black

by 1mo ago

0/5 learned64 coverage
King's pawn Opening: Damiano Defense board position, viewed from White's side

King's pawn Opening: Damiano Defense

White

by 2mo ago

0/7 learned3043 coverage
Imported repertoire board position, viewed from Black's side

Imported repertoire

Black

by 3mo ago

0/62 learned62 lines total
Shree gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Shree gambit

White

by 3mo ago

0/5 learned241 coverage
Nuclear Bomb board position, viewed from White's side

Nuclear Bomb

White

King pawn game (e4) and smash opponent queen

by 1d ago

0/5 learned5 lines total
mangarini sacilian board position, viewed from White's side

mangarini sacilian

White

by 1d ago

0/13 learned2203 coverage
Halloween Gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Halloween Gambit

White

its is for strong development, and getting a little advantage in the opening, but u have to sacrifice smthg

by 2w ago

0/5 learned390 coverage
The Italian Game! board position, viewed from White's side

The Italian Game!

White

This Is For Players Who Want To Learn The Italian

by 1mo ago

0/5 learned1059 coverage
Fools Mate board position, viewed from White's side

Fools Mate

White

This is the worst possiable opening

by 1mo ago

0/5 learned234 coverage
Cane gambit board position, viewed from White's side

Cane gambit

White

This gambit will earn you a free queen

by 1mo ago

0/10 learned494 coverage
The b3 French board position, viewed from White's side

The b3 French

White

by 1mo ago

0/38 learned38 lines total
Imported repertoire board position, viewed from White's side

Imported repertoire

White

by 1mo ago

0/8 learned1228 coverage
Rhys-Antao Game board position, viewed from White's side

Rhys-Antao Game

White

In respect for rhys and antao

by 2mo ago

0/5 learned203 coverage
rook gambit board position, viewed from White's side

rook gambit

White

by 2mo ago

0/5 learned109 coverage
Imported repertoire board position, viewed from White's side

Imported repertoire

White

by 3mo ago

0/56 learned56 lines total

Learn chess openings by playing them

What is the Opening Trainer?

The Chessigma Opening Trainer is a free chess opening trainer that teaches real repertoires move by move. Pick a course, play your side's moves on the board, and the board answers back with what opponents actually play at club level. A coach explains the idea behind every move as you go, and when you miss one, you replay the line until it's automatic. Each course also comes with a written guide covering the main variations, typical plans for both sides, and the traps worth knowing.

Which opening should you learn first?

With White, start with the Italian Game if you like open, classical positions, or the London System if you want one setup that works against nearly everything. With Black, the Caro-Kann is the most dependable answer to 1. e4, the Sicilian Defense is the ambitious one, and the King's Indian Defense handles 1. d4. Gambit players should look at the King's Gambit or the Fried Liver Attack.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Opening Trainer free?
Yes. Every course is free to start: the opening guides are free to read and the first lines of every course are open to everyone, with no account needed. Signing in saves your progress, and a Supercoach subscription unlocks the full line set of every course.
Which chess opening should I learn first?
Pick one opening for White and one for Black and stick with them. For White, the Italian Game or the London System give you a clear plan from move one. For Black, the Caro-Kann against 1. e4 and the King’s Indian Defense against 1. d4 are solid, teachable systems. One well-drilled opening beats five you half know. For the long answer, we ranked the best chess openings for beginners by how they actually score in millions of club games.
Can I train openings as Black?
Yes. The Caro-Kann, French Defense, Sicilian Defense, Scandinavian Defense, Pirc Defense and King’s Indian Defense are all taught from Black’s side of the board, anti-White-system courses included.
How is this different from watching opening videos?
You play every move yourself. The board answers back with the opponent’s most common replies, a coach explains the idea behind each move, and when you slip you replay the line until it sticks. Recall practice beats passive watching for openings, which are mostly pattern memory.
What happens when my opponent leaves the main line?
The courses spend most of their time on exactly that. Each one covers the sidelines and the punishing replies to common mistakes at club level, not just the theory line a grandmaster would play against you.