Description

French Defense Middlegames

25-28 September 2025

3 hours a day / 12 hours in total

Starting at 09:00 California / 12:00 NY / 17:00 UK time / 18:00 CET

€148 for members/€297 for non-members

Join us from 25 to 28 of August on killerchesstraining.com for a new camp with Nikos Ntirlis!

The French Defense is one of the most strategically rich and resilient openings in chess. Solid yet ambitious.

Even when Black is cramped, White must play superbly to win. If White overextends, Black always gets counterplay.

Traditionally seen as the choice of slower, positional players, the French has transformed in the engine era into a dynamic opening where Black often trades structural concessions for active piece play.

In short: the French is for everyone.

Back in 2012–2014, Nikos worked extensively on the French and his work was put in a book he co-authored with Jacob Aagaard. Now he returns to share his updated knowledge and practical insights in this 12-hour camp.

What you’ll learn:

• The main lines of the French today: Winawer, Classical, Tarrasch, Advance, Exchange, and more.

• Strategic themes: pawn breaks (…c5, …f6), exchanges, maneuvering in cramped positions, and exploiting structural features.

• Instructive master games showing typical French manoeuvres.

• Model middlegames through targeted exercises and training positions.

• Practical endgame tips that often arise from French structures.

• How French ideas apply to other openings.

By the end, you’ll feel at home in French Defense positions, with clear plans, new ideas, and a complete repertoire for both Black and White, plus surprise alternatives to keep your opponents guessing.

The training will take time between 17:00 and 20:30 London time each day (9:00-12:30 California, 12:00-15:30 New York, 18:00-21:30 CET). The camp will offer you a full 12 hours of training.

The price for participating will be €148 for existing members of Killer Chess Training and €297 for everyone else (includes a month’s complimentary membership of killerchesstraining.com).

Killerchesstraining.com offers daily lessons and about 9-14 lessons each week, on openings, middlegame and endgames, as well as analysis of games and two weekly homework assignments.

For yearly and monthly members, please log in and you will get this camp at €148.
For non-members: If wish to just attend the camp and get only a membership for one month, add this product to your basket. We will contact you to add manually the monthly membership to your account, which has to include in full the dates for the camp.

If you wish to buy or renew a yearly membership, click here and get this camp for free!