FM Viktor Neustroev – The Spicy Italian Game Index Review

Spicy Italian Game Review: Verdict in 60 Seconds

FM Viktor Neustroev’s Chessable course is a White repertoire for the Giuoco Piano with c3 and d3, built around an early Bg5 that invites …h6 and …g5 and a well-timed d4 break. The surprising part is not the opening idea, which the author himself calls no novelty, but the teaching design. Every chapter comes in two parts: an overview with model games, then the main analysis. More than seven hours of the course are overviews, so a club player can learn the plans first and return for the deep lines later. In this Spicy Italian Game review that design is the main reason the course scores well despite its enormous length.

Structure and depth both earn nines: each Black setup has its own chapter and its own overview, and the main analysis runs to almost four hours in the biggest chapter. Practice value is high but not perfect because so much time goes to rare deviations, and the single PGN is the only study file — there are no separate exercise sets. If you are still comparing White systems against 1…e5, our chess courses list groups the opening courses in the store.

Meet the Coach

Argentina also explains one of the course’s best chapters. In a blitz game against a young International Master there, Neustroev met the rare 4…d5 line, could not find a way to an advantage and lost on time. Instead of leaving the line out, he analysed it and added a full chapter with a model game. That is the attitude of a working coach, and it fits his own view of the game: “What’s the purpose of playing chess if you don’t enjoy the game?” (If the Hungaski name sounds familiar, our index review of How to Play the Nimzo with Doubled Pawns covers the GM’s Nimzo-Indian course.)

How to Get the Course

Where 25 Hours of Video Actually Go

The product page lists the videos in folder order. For this Spicy Italian Game review we grouped them by purpose instead: the starter videos, all seven overviews, and the main analysis for each Black setup. The diagram shows why the course feels lighter than its runtime — the single biggest block is the overview material — and which Black setups get the most theory.

Inside each chapter the logic of play is the same. The scheme below is the thread that ties 25 hours together:

Worked Example: Refuting the Early …d5

Chapter 2 is the clearest example of how the course turns one bad experience into a repertoire weapon. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 the course does not play the Fried Liver; it continues 4.d3, hoping for …Bc5 and a transposition. The deviation is 4…d5.

1. Read the position. After 5.exd5 Nxd5 Black has opened the centre early and moved the same knight twice. The e5-pawn is now the target, so White’s task is simply to develop faster.
2. Develop with a purpose. 6.O-O comes first, with Re1 next to hit e5. Neustroev’s first mistake in his own game was the slow a4–a5 plan, which only gave him an equal position.
3. Meet the best defence. The most testing reply is 6…Nb6, gaining a tempo on the bishop. White answers 7.Bb5, saving the bishop with a threat of his own, and Black defends with 7…Bd6.
4. Find the key move. According to his analysis the strongest continuation is the knight sacrifice 8.Nxe5. White exchanges on c6 to remove a defender, pins the e5-bishop on the open e-file and wins the piece back with a healthier pawn structure.
5. Study the model game. The chapter overview then shows a game between two International Masters in the quieter …Be7 and …f6 line, where h3, Bb3 and d4 lead to tactics that punish an early black castling.

For this Spicy Italian Game review, the lesson is bigger than the line: when Black opens the position before finishing development, White does not need tricks — he needs tempo moves and an open e-file. The same logic returns in several later chapters.

Second Example: The Queen on e7 as a Target

Chapter 3 deals with Black setups built on …Nf6, …Bc5 and …d6 without an early …a6 or …a5, and it is the author’s favourite, partly because both model games are his own. One recurring idea is worth knowing before you watch. Many players put the black queen on e7 early; Neustroev admits that even a professional would struggle to name a single clear purpose for it. White’s reply is to castle, put a rook on e1 and wait for the right moment for d4, because after …exd4 the push e5 opens the e-file against the queen and creates discovered attacks.

Two more rules from the same overview round it off. First, if White needs to remove the c6-knight to win the e5-pawn, the bishop can go to d5 and take on c6. Second, once Black’s king’s knight leaves the centre for h5 or h7, White should consider d4 at once, even if it costs a pawn. For this Spicy Italian Game review, these rules mattered more than any single move: they tell you what to look for when the opponent plays something the files do not cover.

The Index, Turned Into a 6-Week Study Plan

Twenty-five hours cannot be studied in a weekend, and the course page already lists every file. So we turned the index into a plan built from the real runtimes, following the author’s own advice: learn the overviews and model games first, then go deep in the order Black setups appear most often in practice.

Test Yourself: Is the Spicy Italian for You?

A Spicy Italian Game review should also help you check your level, so these five questions come from the chapters above. If you can answer them, you already think like the course; if not, the overviews will teach you exactly these points. Tap a question to reveal the answer.

Spicy Italian Game Review: Strengths and Gaps

Overviews first, theory second

The seven overview videos add up to 7h 13m — more than a quarter of the course. Beginners can stop there, as the author suggests, and still leave with a working repertoire; stronger players get the plans before the variations, which makes the deep chapters much easier to remember. Few opening courses are designed this deliberately, and it is the strongest point of this Spicy Italian Game review.

A coach who studies his own problems

The 4…d5 chapter exists because the author lost a blitz game in it, and he says so. Throughout the course he keeps adjusting the plan to the setup Black chooses rather than forcing one recipe on every position.

Where it gets heavy

Single videos of three to four hours are hard to watch in one sitting, so use the plan above and pause often. The course is White-only and stays with d3, so it does not teach the open 4.d4 lines, the Evans Gambit or the Fried Liver. If you prefer the classical c3–d4 approach, Krykun’s Dynamic Italian Game is the natural alternative; if you want a gambit option for White, look at ABC of the Evans Gambit.

Which Italian Course Should You Choose?

The store carries several Italian Game courses, and they take different routes. Match the course to the kind of game you want; each link opens the product page with the full file list.

FAQ

Is this Spicy Italian Game review based on the real course?

Yes. Runtimes come from the 17 video files, and all examples, rules and quotes come from the lesson transcripts.

I am a club player. Do I need all 25 hours?

No. The introduction, quickstarter and the seven overviews (about nine hours together) already give you a playable repertoire; the main chapters can wait.

Does it help if I play 1…e5 with Black?

Yes, as a preview of what White is aiming for. For a Black repertoire against the Italian, see Gambit Buster or Friedel’s Part 2.

How is the course delivered?

Digital files. Crypto payment only. Fast delivery is handled manually after payment confirmation. Download links remain available for 7 days; save your files locally.