1.c3 Venom A Reverse Caro-Kann & London System Repertoire Opening course by Michael Green

A Practical Repertoire Beyond Modern Theory

There’s no better feeling in the opening than catching your opponent by surprise. You play your move and they freeze. They need a few minutes to compose themselves and analyze the new position and they’re already out of book. You sit back, relaxed, knowing that you’re comfortably still in known territory.

Starting the game with 1. c3 gives you that edge from the very first move. You’ll be taking the game into unfamiliar territory right from the start, forcing your opponent to think for themselves.

This course by Michael Green (also known as Chess Lifestyle) is a full White repertoire based on the London System and the Reverse Caro-Kann. The Caro-Kann has a stellar reputation as a solid Black opening – and it’s even stronger with an extra tempo. There are also possibilities to end up in the famous Carlsbad pawn structure and the author dedicates a lot of analysis on how to play this structure and the natural minority attack that comes with it.

In the Caro-Kann, grabbing the pawn on b2 could be very dangerous. But now that the position is reversed, we have an extra tempo to safely capture on b7

So if you’re already a Caro-Kann player, you’ll thoroughly enjoy playing the same types of positions with an extra move, which often leads to a serious advantage.

The London System against other Black setups still packs a punch

Whilst 1. c3 offers the opportunity to play a reversed Caro-Kann, Black can always play a different setup. In these scenarios, the author opts for the flexible London System, giving you a full repertoire against anything Black wants to throw at you.

This low-theory repertoire is an easy way to take control of the game from move 1 without letting your opponent play their pet lines.

The course covers:

🧠The Reversed Caro-Kann against 1… e5
🧠 Full explanations of how the Reverse Caro-Kann compares to its “regular” counterpart
🧠 The London System against all other setups
🧠 Model games on both openings, showing the plans, ideas and tactics that you’re likely to face
🧠 Advanced Material chapters, giving you the option to take a deeper dive into the theory
🧠 A bonus chapter on The Slug… a “creative” alternative opening
🧠 A chapter on the psychology of playing these unique setups