Introduction

On February 26th, 2024, one of the biggest, proudest moments of my professional life (so far) happened – the publication of the Chessable course Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 – Part 1, which I co-authored with none other but the renowned Grandmaster, commentator and opening theoretician, GM Jan Gustafsson.

To celebrate this moment and my part when it comes to the marketing of the course, I have decided to write an article in which I will talk about how the course came to be and what kind of lines and “style” a prospective student should expect out of it.

I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful.

Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 – Part 1

Basic Information About The Course?

Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 is a repertoire aimed at providing you with an overall 1.e4 repertoire. In the first part of this repertoire, we will be covering everything apart from the French, Caro-Kann, and the Sicilian. In other words, we are covering 1.e4 e5 complex and everything else Black can throw at us after 1.e4.

The course consists of:

• 579 Lines/Variations available to the user to “train”
• 59 Informational Variations
• 37 Annotated Model Games
• 166 Tactical and Strategic Puzzles
• 285.175 Words
• 20 hours and 28 minutes of video, presented by GM Jan Gustafsson

Which Lines Are Recommended In The Course?

A) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 the Italian with 3.Bc4 will be our choice

and now:

A1) After 3…Bc5, we will be going for the sharp Dubov Italian after 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.b4!?

A2) After 3…Nf6, we will be going for what I – for some reason – called the Three Knights Variation with 4.Ng5, when the principled line in the absolute mainline is 4…d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5 c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3!?

B) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 we will be going for 3.d4. In the absolute main line of the system after 3…Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 Jan has decided to recommend the move 7.Nd2!?, which was used by Magnus in his World Chess Championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi. And Jan was a member of Magnus’ team!

C) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7, Jan has decided to go for the move 6.g3!?, which doesn’t look so aggressive at first, but can quickly lead to wild stuff after 6….d5 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bg2!?. Otherwise, we will want to secure a stable space advantage and slowly suffocate Black.

D) In the Philidor Hanham after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7, Jan has come up with a rare move 5.a4!?, seizing space on the queenside immediately. Once again, the idea is to suffocate Black. And if they play 5…a5 we go 6.g4!? and claim we are getting a better version of the 5.g4!? Gambit with the moves a4 and a5 included.

E) Against the Scandinavian Defence, we will be going for the absolute main variation with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 and play principled chess, since White has a good chance of seizing the initiative and fighting for the advantage without necessarily trying to sacrifice a pawn or do something crazy at all costs.

F) Against the Alekhine Defence, we have decided to go for the maximalist approach with the Four Pawns Attack, arising after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4! This line is not very challenging, but also quite practical, since it significantly reduces Black’s options compared to the other variations of the Alekhine.

G) Against the Pirc/Modern, Jan has decided to go for the not-so-aggressive-looking Classical Variation after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 at first glance, this setup doesn’t fit into the repertoire with the word ‘Aggressive’ in the title. But it is a rather practical choice because it allows us to play it against both Pirc and Modern move orders. Besides, this setup still has a lot of ‘aggressive’ potential due to the possibility of advancing the e-pawn rather quickly. For example, one of the main variations of the Pirc complex arises after 4…Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6. O-O c6 7.Re1 Nbd7 8.e5 Ng4 9.e6 where we once again sacrifice a pawn for long-term compensation, fully in the spirit of this repertoire.

I) Finally, the last two chapters deal with all the other 1st moves Black can throw at us after 1.e4, such as 1…Nc6, 1…b6, 1…a6 and many others. In these last two chapters, we didn’t try to reinvent the wheel but occupied the center and tried to play principled chess.

(Do note that all the other moves after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, as well nonsense such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5?! or 1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5?! are also all covered)

What Is The Philosophy/Style Of The Course?

As the title of the course suggests and the lines above demonstrate, throughout this repertoire, Jan has tried to suggest combative and aggressive lines where White tries to pose immediate problems to the opponent and fight for the initiative from the get-go. Often, we should be willing to sacrifice at least one pawn to achieve our aims.

However, there are also places (most notably the Three Knights chapters) where we are the ones willing to grab some material and then fend off our opponent’s initiative. Although the positions are again crazy-looking and highly tactical, as the following example demonstrates:

The general idea was to avoid playing strategical positions and “typical” structures as often as possible, but rather to prefer a more concrete, move-by-move approach. The idea is to get our opponent into a position where the better-prepared player has better chances – and we hope that it will be us after going through the material in this repertoire.

Of course, as much as we try, it is not completely possible to avoid playing quieter positions and typical structures. Most notably in the Scandinavian chapters, where one often gets the structure where White has the pawn on d4 and the opponent has the pawns on e6 and c6 (albeit usually a good version). Some positional variations can also be seen in the Pirc, Open Philidor, and Philidor Hanham chapters, but we don’t necessarily mind entering a positional variation if it is considered to be better for White.

Can I Expect To Obtain A Won Position Directly Out Of The Opening?

Depends on the opening we are talking about. One very important thing to mention is that our approach in the 1.e4 e5 mainlines was different than the approach in the rest of the course.

Against other openings, White is objectively able to fight for the advantage. In most cases (most notably the Scandinavian and Alekhine) we have tried to maximize our chances and go for the most principled and aggressive setup. But even in the Pirc and the Philidor, where we have opted for a more practical and fresh approach, we have tried to be as ambitious as possible and objectively fight for the advantage, instead of just “getting a game”. Against all of these openings, Jan has been able to demonstrate a path toward an advantage. Although one could debate

However, in the 1.e4 e5 complex, it is objectively very difficult to fight for the advantage in the mainlines – especially in aggressive ones. Therefore, Jan was trying to come up with variations that are aggressive, lesser-known, and not total nonsense. The verdict is that both The Dubov Italian and the main variation of the Three Knights with 8.Qf3!? are comparatively fresh, challenging, venomous – and objectively not that bad for White.

Of course, we are not claiming that White has an objective advantage in these lines. But the same can be said about any variation in the 1.e4 e5 complex. The good thing is – even in the worst-case scenario where Black finds all the best possible moves, we are not seriously risking to be worse. Our hope when playing these lines is that most of our opponents will not be that well-prepared and able to find the best moves.

True, such an aggressive way of playing does entail a certain degree of risk, because even if we reach an “objectively equal” position, it might still be a rather difficult one to handle for both sides. But we figured this degree of risk is acceptable and something we are willing to live with.

How This Course Came To Be?

When this repertoire was first announced, I am sure many of you were wondering: ‘How on Earth did a schmock like you get to collaborate with someone like Jan?’ To be completely honest, I am still in disbelief. But to explain how exactly this collaboration came to be, let me take you on a brief stroll down memory lane.

For a long time, I have had an idea to do a very specific opening repertoire for the White pieces. However, back in 2021 (or was it 2022?), when I was still working for Chessable in the capacity of the Publishing Manager, I received an email from Jan where he pitched that very same idea. Given his stature and the fact that specific repertoire fits rather nicely with the ‘Chicken Chess’ brand, I figured my ideas of executing it myself were not very likely to materialize, so I more or less gave up on that idea.

However, by mid 2023 a lot of water under the bridge has passed. And still, there was no news about Jan’s new repertoire/return to Chessable. I had the suspicion that Jan might find the writing part of course production challenging, so I figured I might ask if he would be interested in ‘joining forces’ and collaborating on this project. In June 2023, I reached out to our mutual ‘acquaintance’ Mr. Dodgy, and pitched the idea. Fortunately, the response was positive and after the ‘summer break’ we agreed to collaborate on a repertoire together.

True, the final topic of the repertoire was not the one we initially envisioned. But we still put our hearts and minds into this project that has been in the works since October 2023.

How Was The Work Between You and Jan Divided?

One common question people have when they see a project that includes the collaboration of two (or more) is: ‘I wonder how the work on this project was exactly divided?’. In the case of this repertoire, the answer to this question is comparatively straightforward.

Jan was responsible for the analytical portion of the work. That includes choosing the variations, doing the analysis, and providing me with files featuring this analysis. My input in this domain was restricted to double-checking the databases and doing my best to ensure, say, that the moves relevant at the lower levels (according to the lichess database), are also covered.

As for my part, I was primarily responsible for writing all the annotations in this course. As well as anything related to the course design, such as organizing the material in chapters or deciding which lines to present as trainables and which to include as clickables. I did all the work on the non-filmed chapters (such as selecting and annotating the Model Games) independently.

Conclusion

I hope this article provides you with a good introduction/overview of this repertoire. If you are interested but are still unsure about whether the course is for you – you can also check the Free Short & Sweet version on the course on Chessable.

Looking forward to seeing you inside the courses :).