IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) – E4 New York Style Index Review

E4 New York Style Review: The Verdict in 60 Seconds

Rozman’s 1.e4 course is a practical repertoire, not a theory reference, and it is honest about that. Each chapter is short — between 5 and 15 minutes — and built around one plan rather than a tree of variations: the Vienna with an early f4, an anti-Sicilian with a3 or b3, a b3 or Two Knights system against the French and the Advance with an early h4 against the Caro-Kann. The plans echo each other from chapter to chapter, which is what makes a three-and-a-half-hour repertoire realistic to learn in a week.

Depth is the weak spot by design. Critical main lines are shown where they matter — Rozman includes the sharpest Vienna line even though, by his own estimate, players below 1500 will rarely play it — but many sidelines get a sentence on video and the rest is left to the PGN. Practice value is high: five practice games against subscribers show the chapters on a real board, and the repertoire PGN lets you drill the lines in any chess program. For a wider choice of White repertoires, browse our chess courses list.

Meet the Coach

That last point matters more than it seems. In Chapter 17, which covers Owen’s Defence (1.e4 b6), Rozman stops to say that he has a whole course on that structure from Black’s side. The White course then shows you how he meets his own Black weapon — Bd3 to protect e4, then Nf3, and e5 at once if Black brings a knight to f6. It is a small but useful honesty check: he does not hide the answer to a system he also teaches.

Getting E4 New York Style

E4 New York Style Review: The Repertoire Map in Minutes

The product page lists the chapters in file order. For this E4 New York Style review we grouped them by Black’s reply, because that is how you meet them over the board, and added the real runtimes. The Sicilian has the biggest share, but you study only one of its two halves — a3 or b3 — so in practice it costs you about 21 minutes.

Underneath the map is one simple logic. Rozman wants every reply answered by a plan you can recognise from a previous chapter:

A Worked Example: The Vienna Gambit With 5.Qf3

Rozman singles out the opening chapters as the ones to study hardest, so for this E4 New York Style review we followed the critical line of Chapter 1. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4, Black’s only fully respectable answer is the central strike 3…d5. Here is how the course handles it.

1. Accept the main line. 4.fxe5 Nxe4 is forced, and White must decide how to challenge the knight. The two most popular moves are d3 and Nf3; Rozman recommends the third, more direct choice, 5.Qf3.
2. Read the threat. 5.Qf3 develops the queen and hits e4: if Black does nothing, White exchanges on e4 and wins the d5-pawn. Black has three serious replies — 5…Nxc3, 5…Nc6 and 5…f5 — and each gets its own section.
3. Recapture toward the centre. Against 5…Nxc3 White plays 6.bxc3, because the b-pawn recapture prepares d4 and a broad pawn centre. With d4 and Bd3 the two bishops aim at Black’s king, with Qh5 ideas and a knight route via h3 or e2 to f4.
4. Remember the one trick. If Black hits back with an immediate …c5, d4 is not possible yet. The answer is Qg3, which ties Black’s dark-squared bishop to the defence of g7 — …Be7 would drop the pawn. White then develops with Nf3 and Rb1 and plays d4 later.
5. See it in a real game. Rozman adds a 2018 grandmaster game from the Reykjavik Open in which White’s queenside pawns become loose but the bishops, the f-file and Rb1 against b7 give a lasting initiative — a pattern he says he has reached many times himself.

This is the course at its best: one forcing main line, the reason behind each recapture and a single trick to remember when Black deviates. You will not get a 20-move theoretical tree, but you will know what to do at move six, which is where most club games are decided.

Second Example: The b3 French and Long Castling

Chapters 9 and 10 show a different kind of repertoire choice. After 1.e4 e6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2, White deliberately allows …dxe4: Black spends time winning a centre pawn while White develops with Nc3 and Qe2, often castles long and only then recovers e4 with the knight. If Black holds the pawn with …f5, the course recommends d3 to open lines; White may stay a pawn down for a while, but with three pieces out and both bishops aimed at the king, Rozman shows lines where Black is already struggling to find moves.

The honest part comes in the intro to that chapter. Rozman warns that an unusual reply can leave you “on your own very early” in the b3 lines, offers the Two Knights in Chapter 11 as a calmer alternative and says plainly that you do not have to take every recommendation. That flexibility is what turns a list of lines into a repertoire you can actually own.

The Index, Turned Into a 7-Day Repertoire Build

The complete file list — 23 videos plus the PGN — is on the course page. Here the order matters more than the list, so we arranged the chapters by how often you are likely to meet each reply and paired each block with the practice game that uses it. Every day therefore ends with the lines in action. Day 3 assumes you pick one Sicilian system; all times are real runtimes.

Test Yourself: Five Repertoire Questions

Any useful E4 New York Style review should tell you whether the course fits your level, so here are five questions drawn from the chapters. If you already know all five answers, the course will mostly organise what you play; if not, these are exactly the ideas it teaches. Tap a question to reveal the answer.

E4 New York Style Review: Strengths and Gaps

A course that admits its limits

Rozman never pretends a 3h 30m repertoire solves chess. He includes main lines he says weaker players will rarely see, warns when a system can leave you on your own early and closes the course with a description of how well-prepared players simply reach a playable position and then start thinking. That realism is rare in opening courses aimed at club players, and it is the main reason this E4 New York Style review trusts the recommendations.

Practice games that reuse the chapters

The five practice games are five-minute games against volunteer Twitch subscribers, rising from about 1100, and each one lands in a chapter you have just studied: a b3 Sicilian, two Caro-Kann Advance games, a Vienna and a Scandinavian. Rozman says outright that ten- or fifteen-minute games are fine for your own practice. In the second game, when his opponent meets 4.h4 with …h5, you also see how he chooses between Bd3 and Bg5 at the board — something a PGN alone cannot show.

Where the course stops

There is no Open Sicilian and no classical 1…e5 theory, and some lines lean on surprise value. If you want more Vienna depth, IM Andrew Martin’s ABC of the Vienna is a natural companion; for the Caro-Kann Advance from a grandmaster’s point of view, look at GM Victor Bologan’s Caro-Kann Advance Variation. If you prefer the Ponziani, the Italian and a Fantasy Caro-Kann, the separate GothamChess 1.e4 Repertoire covers different lines.

After the E4 New York Style Review: Which Repertoire Fits You?

Rozman’s opening courses are built to work together. Use this table to choose by colour and first move; every product link opens the page with the full file list.

FAQ

Is this E4 New York Style review based on the real course files?

Yes. Every runtime comes from the 23 video files, every example and quote from the full transcripts, and the course facts from the Chessly catalogue and the repertoire PGN.

How long does the repertoire take to learn?

As this E4 New York Style review shows, the videos run 3h 30m and you only need one of the two Sicilian systems. Our 7-day plan keeps each day under 40 minutes of video, with one practice game at the end of most days.

Does it work together with E6B6 New York Style?

Yes. E4 New York Style is the White half and E6B6 New York Style the Black half of the same GothamChess pair. Chapter 17 even shows how White meets 1…b6, the structure behind the Black course.

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.