For years, amateur chess players have been trapped in a frustrating cycle: memorizing openings they don’t understand, losing won endgames, and freezing under time pressure. They buy random courses, watch hours of content, yet their rating remains stagnant.
Enter GM Igor Smirnov. A Ukrainian Grandmaster and former top-100 player, Smirnov has spent the last decade deconstructing the "Matrix" of chess. He doesn’t teach moves; he teaches systems.
Recently, Smirnov made a seismic shift in the chess education world. He scrapped his old library and released GM Igor Smirnov’s All 9 Chess Courses New—a complete, interlocking ecosystem of training. If you have searched for the term "gm igor smirnov all 9 chess courses new", you are likely wondering: What are these courses? Do I need all of them? And is this the key to finally hitting 2000 ELO?
This article breaks down every single new course in detail, explains how they connect, and reveals why this holistic system is different from everything else on the market. gm igor smirnov all 9 chess courses new
For the ambitious chess player navigating the crowded market of online chess education, one name consistently rises to the top: Grandmaster Igor Smirnov. The Ukrainian GM, coach, and founder of the Remote Chess Academy (RCA) has become a global phenomenon, not by promising quick tricks, but by delivering a systematic, psychological, and deeply practical approach to improvement.
Recently, Smirnov consolidated his life’s work into a comprehensive package known as “All 9 Chess Courses.” But is this simply a bundle, or a genuine roadmap from beginner to master? Let’s break down every course in the arsenal.
Before diving into the specific courses, it is important to understand the teaching style. Unlike many platforms that rely on memorizing opening lines or solving thousands of tactical puzzles in a vacuum, GM Smirnov focuses on conceptual understanding and psychology. For years, amateur chess players have been trapped
His courses are built around the premise that chess improvement comes from understanding general principles, typical patterns, and the logic behind moves, rather than pure calculation. The production quality is generally high, featuring video lessons with graphical overlays that highlight key squares and pieces, making complex ideas easier to visualize.
Before diving into the nine courses, you must understand why Smirnov rebooted his entire curriculum.
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. For the ambitious chess player navigating the crowded
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.
Smirnov argues that 90% of chess advice is wrong because it ignores the Universal Principles. These nine courses are the codification of those principles.
This is where you learn to transition from the opening to a winning attack. The new version focuses on "Structural Levers."
Often considered the starting point, this course addresses the most fundamental question: How do Grandmasters think?