Opening Compass for Black and White by GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko

Activates Your Inner Compass For Navigating
And Cruising To A Comfortable Position,
Even In Unfamiliar Openings

How would you like to kick off every game, Black or White, with supreme confidence? Knowing you can intuit effective moves, even in unexplored waters? Or play nearly ANY opening like an expert, because you understand the essence of its every move almost instantly?

If you like the sound of that, then step inside the Opening Compass for Black and White by Grandmaster Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko.

Oleksiyenko is a FIDE trainer who has taken national chess teams in Europe… top juniors and 2600-grandmasters… even unrated newbies under his wing.

Because of his broad coaching practice, Oleksiyenko focuses on those critical universal skills to generate rapid and lasting improvement at any level.

Drawing from his experience, he took the time-tested opening principles every chess player and their buddy knows about…

Then polished them into a 4-point framework for navigating the opening, and reaching a pleasant or favorable middlegame consistently.

And here it is:

Center, Development, And Castling,
Plus A Healthy Dose Of Urgency
— In That EXACT Order

You’ve probably heard of these principles before.

But Opening Compass for Black and White gives shape and form to these principles through 4 practice chapters, with 33 complete and deeply annotated games and 68 training exercises.

You’ll see how the exact sequence of:

🧭 Controlling the center
🧭 Developing the pieces
🧭 And castling to safety
🧭 All carried out at maximum efficiency

…led to an advantage game after game. Many times, with explosive results! The exact opening almost didn’t matter…

A Paul Morphy tour de force:
White played according to Oleksiyenko’s framework,
Black didn’t and paid the price!

Nor did the stature of either player, because “center, development, castling, and time” works even against future champs!

Yes, that’s 16th World Champion Magnus Carlsen
getting blown away by our framework
in less than 25 moves!

Just as important:

You’ll also see games where the losing side violated, or seemed to follow our recommended framework, but was misguided in their execution.

This way, you can identify the “exceptions to the rules” and punish thematic-looking but superficial moves by the opponent — as if turning their own knowledge against them!

The pawns on e5 and h4, plus the thematic piece formation,
should’ve given White an attack… but didn’t!
See the first chapter to see why

The second half of the course builds on our framework with a streamlined repertoire for Black and White. Both of which follow Oleksiyenko’s 4 points to a tee.

The repertoire for White opens with the “best by test” 1.e4 then:

🧭 Stifles the Sicilian (1…c5) with a compact version of the Open Variation — then transforms your superior development into long-term trumps in the simplest way possible.

The bishop pair and weaknesses on the
d-file give White a lasting edge

🧭 Plays a methodical build-up against 1…e5 with the Italian Game — which bulletproofs your center before breaking through enemy lines with the d-pawn.

🧭 Meets the Caro-Kann (1…c6) with the Classical variation to secure more space, and enjoy the freer, easier game.

🧭 Denies the French Defense (1…e6) of its cagey positions by opening open lines with the Exchange Variation. This way, your active pieces can zoom to their ideal squares without delay.

Meanwhile, the repertoire for Black:

🧭 Puts up a steel wall against 1.e4 with the Petroff — where the symmetry all but guarantees equality — while still offering rich tactical possibilities.

🧭 And versus 1.d4, it turns to the reliable Queen’s Gambit Declined — then decimates the enemy center with a quick and surprising …c7-c5.

A pleasant and equal position,
with chances to grab the initiative,
in just 9 moves!

The 2-in-1 repertoire also covers sidelines — like the London System, Jobava, Alekhine, and Scandinavian Defense — with simple but effective counters almost anyone can learn.

We’re confident that Opening Compass for Black and White can unlock your intuition for good opening moves — and set your repertoire for success, today and beyond.