Review: Charlie Storey's The Black Sniper – A Hypermodern Weapon for Attackers!

by Lars Milde
6/16/2025 – Do you have problems getting into the game with Black because there are simply too many openings? Lars Milde, a club chess player for decades and currently active at SV Werder Bremen, has a tip for you: The Black Sniper is a complete repertoire against virtually all white openings. The reviewer explains why he likes Charlie Storey's approach so much. Read how you can develop this unique video course into a universal repertoire for yourself...
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Charlie Storey: The Black Sniper –
A Hypermodern Weapon for Attackers!

The “Black Sniper” is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions that make it difficult for opponents to adapt," reads the introduction to this course. In fact, the new edition of the course is a wonderful addition to the first publication from 2017. It is by no means a re-evaluation of the variations from eight years ago, but rather a development of the system in times of ever-stronger chess engines.

Throughout my life, I have enjoyed playing systems with g6 and Bg7 (King's Indian, Benko Gambit, Benoni and Pirc) with Black. So I was immediately very interested in Charlie Storey's course "The Black Sniper: A Hypermodern Weapon for Attackers!" What struck me right away was that Charlie Storey named all his variations after well-known and successful football clubs, so I asked him via WhatsApp why he did do and got the following wonderful answer:

"The ECO Chess Key is wonderful if you are a computer, but human brains need something to connect with to make memory. Why not have names for positions with a common meaning? Better still make the names have an emotional connection, which also aids memory. Now you have it - passion and reference with emotion – football clubs. Of course, your nations clubs will have more passion, so I will challenge you, Lars, to name the top 5 German clubs, and you can make up the reference positions. ... When I get around to building my Sniper website your names will be crystallised! Hope this helps!"

The Black Sniper is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions, leaving opponents struggling to adapt.

Free reading sample: Introduction

The introduction as ChessBase book

This interactive video course is divided into three training sections:

  • Systems after 1.e4
  • Systems after 1. d4
  • Systems after 1.c4 and "other Snipers"

… and various training elements:

I particularly liked the "Bonus" section, with additional analyses, all variants of the Black Sniper from 2017 and the author's collected games:

The bonus part in the classical view


The length of the videos varies greatly, ranging from ten to a maximum of 36 minutes. Normally, I would consider a video length of 30 minutes or more to be tedious, but in fact, the long videos are the most interesting and important ones, while the short ones are less important and are more or less about sidelines. This is not about learning variations for their own sake, but explicitly about strategy, important levers and tactical twists.

A free reading sample:
Arsenal Variation 

Each example video also has a variation tree in PGN format for training, editing and adding to, which can of course be saved.

In the main variations after 1.e4, an important reorientation of the Manchester United System is noticeable: After 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.dxc5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 - while the 2017 course recommends 5...Nf6, Storey analyses the variation 5...Qa5 in detail in the new course. However, the games included in the course clearly show that the author actively plays both systems and considers them to be equally good.

In the variations after 1.d4, it is important to mention that Charlie Storey has supplemented his course with new fashionable variations. Important analyses in the Burnley variation after 1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.Bf4 c5 (London System) and in the Bournemouth variation after 1.d4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 are well explained and the necessary counterplay is presented.

Personal experience

In my practice, I encounter the Bayern Munich Variation after 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Lg7 3.c4 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Qb6! almost every day. I can only recommend that everyone study it thoroughly; it's worth it, and you get excellent counterplay with Black.

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

I particularly liked the system presented against 1.b4, which my club mate FM Olaf Steffens repeatedly uses successfully against me. Olaf is the "king of long-legged bishops" in our club, and Storey recommends a King's Indian setup with d6 and e5 to neutralise the bishop on b2.

I have already had success with this in two rapid chess games and will therefore use it in the club soon. Since studying the system, I have used it exclusively in all my chess games with great success. Here is a recent example from an online game on the ChessBase server.

A word about the training exercises: if you have studied all the videos, you will be able to complete the exercises quickly and correctly, which is a great way to review what you have learned.

The Sniper is a universal opening framework which can be played against all main first white moves - 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, 1.f4 and 1.Nf3. Black plays 1…g6, 2…Bg7 and 3…c5 against practically anything!
The Sniper – officially created in 2010 - has now been tested with success against top grandmasters and computer programs and still manages to ensure new and creative opening situations full of imbalance - and hence winning prospects for Black. DVD author Charlie Storey has used the Sniper, in conjunction with deep computer analysis, to help gain 145 UK Open victories and has seen his students employ it successfully in European Youth Championships.

Conclusion

‘The Black Sniper: A Hypermodern Weapon for Attackers!’ by Charlie Storey is by far the best, most fascinating and most sophisticated opening training course I have ever seen and worked through at ChessBase. I have never seen the strategic subtleties presented here in such depth before. The author's ingenious idea of integrating the PGN data from the first course into the new one is the ideal combination of strategy from the videos and the fine-tuning of the PGN file. A MUST for every king's fianchetto player!

Charlie Storey in the ChessBase Shop...

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Topics: Black Sniper, Charlie Storey, Product reviews
Lars Milde, 58 years old, is an enthusiastic club, tournament and correspondence chess player and a member of the chess department of SV Werder Bremen. He currently plays for his favorite club in the Bremen city league and is a volunteer for the chess department's public relations work. His main job is in retail. “When I retire in a few years, I want to do nothing more than play chess and look after my grandchildren, who have yet to be born!”
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