Chess Opening Trainer
Learn an opening line by line. Play your side's moves, the board answers back.
Anti-London
BlackThe 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.
Caro-Kann
BlackThe 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.
English
WhiteThe 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.
French Defense
BlackThe 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.
Fried Liver Attack
WhiteThe 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.
Italian Game
WhiteThe 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.
King's Gambit
WhiteThe 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.
King's Indian Defense
BlackThe 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.
London
WhiteThe London System: a sturdy d4 + Bf4 setup you can play against almost anything Black tries.
Pirc Defense
BlackThe 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.
Queen's Gambit Accepted
WhiteBlack 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.
Ruy Lopez
WhiteThe 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.
Scandinavian Defense
BlackThe 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.
Scotch Game
WhiteThe 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.
Sicilian Defense
BlackThe 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.
The Open Game
BlackThe 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.
Vienna Game
WhiteThe 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.
White vs the Caro-Kann
WhiteWhite 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.
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
BlackThe Sicilian Defense is the most popular and aggressive response to White's opening move e4
Halloween
White
French defense, fantasy gambit
WhiteWho 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.
The Alien Gambit
WhiteA lesson diving into Volen Dyulgerov's brilliant legacy, the Alien Gambit. Are you not entertained?
Caro-Kann Defense
Black
The Kerkhof Attack - exd4
WhiteA great opening all the way up to 2000+ Elo-rating. It's a very simple opening that largely bypasses the middle game.
French Defense
BlackThe French Defense aims to challenge White's central control immediately, typically leading to closed positions, unbalanced pawn structures, and strategic counterattacks on the queenside.
The Kerkhof attack -Nxd4
WhiteThis 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.
Gold Coins Game
BlackPlay-by-play recreation of the Gold Coins Game.
The Catalan
White
Immortal Pawns Game
WhiteMove-by-move replication of the Immortal Pawns Game.
Imported repertoire
Black
Scotch Gambit
White
Imported repertoire
Black
Ballistic Gambit
WhiteWin a free queen
The b3 French
White
Modern Defence
BlackThe 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.
Imported repertoire
White
Rhys-Antao Game
WhiteIn respect for rhys and antao
rook gambit
White
King's pawn Opening: Damiano Defense
White
Imported repertoire
White
Shree gambit
WhiteWhich opening should we build next?
Pick as many as you like. No sign-in needed.
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.
All openings you can train
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.