Gm Igor Smirnov All 9 Chess Courses Free May 2026

The students who succeed are not the ones who hoard 9 PDFs on a hard drive. The students who succeed are those who study one concept—like "prophylaxis" or "passed pawns"—for a week straight.

GM Igor Smirnov is one of the few grandmasters who actually gives away his core knowledge on YouTube. If you cannot afford the $29 monthly membership, simply subscribe to the RCA YouTube channel and the "Remote Chess Academy" podcast.

By James Peterson, Chess Strategy Analyst GM Igor Smirnov ALL 9 Chess Courses free

By investing 50 hours into his free YouTube content, you can replicate the knowledge of the 9 courses, even if you don't own the high-resolution videos or PDF workbooks. If you are dead-set on the actual structured courses, here is the only legitimate way to get them at near-zero cost:

GM Smirnov has uploaded hundreds of hours of content to the Remote Chess Academy YouTube channel. While not the full 9 structured courses, many of the core principles from courses like Positional Understanding and Tactics are explained in his 15-minute video lessons. You can build 70% of the knowledge for free—just without the workbooks and PGNs. The students who succeed are not the ones

However, a recurring whisper in chess forums, Reddit threads, and Telegram groups is the search for:

Searching for these via torrents or Telegram channels puts your digital security at risk for a minor financial gain. Yes, you should look for free resources. No, you should not look for stolen courses.