Format: 6 hours | Focus: Sacrificial intuition The Hook: You know basic tactics, but you freeze when it’s time to sacrifice. This course gamifies attacking chess.
Smirnov breaks down attacks into three triggers: "Undefended Piece," "Exposed King," and "Clumsy Queen." The new edition includes a "Tempo Calculator" that tells you exactly how many moves you have before the counterattack comes.
Before diving into the nine courses, you must understand why Smirnov rebooted his entire curriculum. gm igor smirnov all 9 chess courses new
Most chess courses are "horizontal"—they teach you a little about openings, a little about tactics, and a little about endgames. The result is a Swiss cheese knowledge base.
The new Smirnov system is vertical. It is designed to build a single, unified Grandmaster brain inside your head. The "All 9 Chess Courses New" are not nine separate topics; they are nine layers of the same pyramid. Format: 6 hours | Focus: Sacrificial intuition The
Smirnov argues that 90% of chess advice is wrong because it ignores the Universal Principles. These nine courses are the codification of those principles.
The Pros:
The Potential Drawbacks:
Most people know "back rank mate" and "fork." Smirnov goes deeper into Thematic Tactics. Smirnov argues that 90% of chess advice is
Format: 9 hours | 500 puzzles sorted by theme The Hook: This is not "puzzle rush." This is tactical vision for real games.
Common tactics courses teach forks and pins. This course teaches the geometry of the board. New chapters include "Laser Pins" (pins that last 5+ moves) and "The Arabian Mate Family." If you only buy one tactics course in your life, make it this one.