Think of it like a queen’s pawn version of the Ruy Lopez where you can potentially double up your opponent’s pawns. Black will often counter with either a5 or a6 to protect the knight, and give a safe space for the bishop. While not every one of these moves will be even close to the best move, it goes to show that you have to consider more than just what is going on in front of you. Black can slow down white’s tempo with nf6 to cause white to consider if they are ready to push d4 right away knowing that black has an attacking piece on e4 with his knight. In some cases, white would like to castle first, and of course many variations can ensue. The hungarian defense tells white that you don’t wish to play the fried liver. Like many other gambits, white can opt to focus on development and let black recapture with Bxb4 while white confinues an attack. White is often focused on defending d4 and can sometimes miss the attack in e5 if unaware of the opening. Nf3, or the, Chess Openings Can Transpose Into One Another, In the first move of chess, there are only 20 possibilities that white can make. He may instead opt for Bc5, which could be met with nxe5 for some central play as nxe5 would be followed by d4. Doing so would result in the loss of a tempo when you could have played the French Defense to begin with if chess openings were studied first. That being said, I don’t want you to get the idea that you should memorize every opening 10 moves deep, at least not if you are under 2000 elo. It also allows for …b5 in which black can attack the c4 square while simultaneously developing the bishop to b7. However, the same can be true that symmetrical games can be more likely to draw. White is ready to push e5 and create disruption on black’s center. Some players transition into the Scotch Game with d4 being the next move. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nc6 3. The two knights defense can of course lead to the Fried Liver opening for White, but after careful play, this is easy to defend despite bringing your king into the center of the board. You get the idea that there are a ton of positions to think about. While the King’s Indian implied a fianchetto’d bishop on the kingside, the Queenside takes the opposite approach. It leads to quieter play from white where some variations of the d4 push allow black counter play. Ruy Lopez is one of the most common openings encountered with new players and is also played at high caliber levels. are to expedite the action of fianchettoing your bishop. For me, starting off I played the Italian Game as white and the French Defense as black until I memorized most variations. The ideas of the Italian Game are to develop strongly, but keep and eye on the f7 square, which is very weak for black. Nc3 d5. Black even has a super strong counter attack known as the, The hyper-accelerated dragon speeds this process up even further, but can often be punished with the suffocating. The Scandinavian offers a quick way to throw white off their expected gameplay. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be considered variants of each other. The black bishop will continue threatening the f2 square as long as it stays on the g1-a7 diagonal. Generally the four knights game leads to quiet positional play and can lead to a ton of trades in the center of the board, or general development with increased pieces focused on the board. But one day, you may run into someone starting the game by moving their knight to the f3 square (1. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3. Black can try to gang up on the c4 button. The idea the queen’s gambit is to play c5 in hopes black will play dxc4. Because the bishop is on the kingside, it is much less likely to be traded off, at least not immediately. This can sometimes include sacrifices on the f7 square with your light squared bishop. In Evan’s Gambit scenarios, you are offering your b4 pawn to be able to push c3 (Guico Piano) with a tempo on the bishop. In other events, GM John Burke, 19, won the U.S. in which black copies white’s development with c5 in an attempt to create a black version of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted if white decides to take. Because e6 has not been played, black can open up the center should white take the b file pawn. Some players opt to castle queenside to allow the ability to trade their fianchetto’d bishop if needed. When it comes to chess improvement, you don’t need to memorize the opening. Nf3 g6. Among the most common openings after e4, d4, and nf3 is the English. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 c5 2. Think of the London System as a Queen’s Pawn version of the Italian Game. The main goal of black in the French defense centers around the e5 pawn in the advanced variation. As we know from our opening principles, playing ng5 moves a piece twice. While black can hold onto the pawn with b5, it is generally not advised as it creates an awkward struggle to hold onto the pawn advantage at the cost of position, which is the main idea of playing a gambit in the first place. Instead, focus on understanding the ideas behind specific openings you run into so you are more prepared to face them head on. D4 is generally followed up with ideas like C4 for the Queen’s Gambit and strong play for white. aaaah. For this reason it becomes a race to castle for white to protect their king and put a strong attack on f7 with ideas such as Bc4, Ng5 and d4 (to take out the black knight if it decides to move to h6 to protect f7). This is strong for white, but not impossible to break. Aron Nimzowich often played 1 b3 followed by 2 nf3. The two ways to fianchetto your bishops would be queenside and kingside. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6. The first move of the Sicilian is c5 which allows black to completely avoid any games above that start with e5. E4 and d5 are directly in this bishop’s line of sight and help to defend or attack two out of four of the strongest squares to control in any opening. Goldsby Bill Wall's Chess Combinations FIDE Member Federations FICS Timeseal for LINUX Chess Books on Google Books Chess Tempo Jerome Gambit Off the Wall Chess Bill's Book Covers 365chess.com 700 Opening Traps … Nf3 Nc6 3. d4. This denies any main ideas of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, but can transpose into it should black decide to later take the c4 pawn. Black avoids any chances of Evan’s Gambit or Guico Piano while giving a more open position to white. penings which is why a lot of more advanced players opt to play non e5 variations when encountering e4. This opens up the h file for the white rook and creates kingside pressure once white castles queenside. Atomic chess is a chess variant.Standard rules of chess apply, but all captures result in an "explosion" through which all surrounding white and black pieces other than pawns are removed from play. Like many other gambits, white can opt to focus on development and let black recapture with. Nxd4 a6. White can choose to castle queenside or kingside with plusses and minuses to each. After all, the pawn wasn’t a gift, it was for position and if you don’t let white have that position advantage, then the pieces can stay the same for your best gameplay. However, if white takes this pawn, more advanced players choose to develop their knight to f6 rather than take back immediately. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3. Purchase the entire eBook to learn how to play the Sicilian Dragon, Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 c5 2. It is the only pawn in the game that is only protected by the King (f2 for White). Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. This opening is certainly able to surprise your opponent and give black more lively play in the center and into the midgame. Because your mission is to attack the center, both of these openings do so strongly and provide strength to castling in either direction. You’ll want to understand that trading off the bishop, regardless of which side of the board your king ends up on, makes f3 and h3 very weak squares. I had this happen to me when I was 9 years old and learning chess. The great thing about playing f5 after d4 is that there is no immediate queen check available and black seemingly has time to develop their kingside knight to c6 to prevent it. When you feel you have mastered a ton of concepts behind one opening, move on to another opening to learn it and expand your chess horizons. Nf3 b6. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3. This variation of the Benoni defense allows black to give up pawns on the queenside in exchange for an open and central controlling minor pieces with an attack on the kingside. If you have anything to add, please let me know and I will add more content to this article over time. The main ideas behind Evan’s gambit are to immediately castle (to keep your king safe so you can focus on the attack) after you push d4, oftentimes giving up a third pawn on c3, but maximizing your position. This is because white follows the main principles of chess by attacking the center and preparing to develop the light squared bishop to squares such as c4 and b5, depending on the opening. This many times can allow black to gain the e5 pawn. This opening often turns into an isolated queen pawn for white, which can be favorable for either side, depending on how many pieces there are. E4. After white plays e4, black answers with d6. It may end up turning into the four knights game, but is dependent upon blacks 3rd move. Fianchettoing your bishop is a risky venture that can pay off by giving your bishop longer sight of the board. But one day, you may run into someone starting the game by moving their knight to the f3 square (1. When playing against the Italian Game opening as black, you will want to know what goes into the game. I would recommend this opening if you are starting out as it helps limit black’s quality of moves in the beginning of the game and gives white a more open position. Remember, openings don’t win games, tactics and strategy win chess games. Tools. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Eventually b5 can create weaknesses in the center (e4) which white’s knight is attacking. Since Magnus fully understands the game of chess, he can prove that he can play any opening and be able to defeat his opponent. Since most new players are taught the basic e4 openings and responses, D4 can catch a lot of players off guard. Should the knight decide to move twice and attack your bishop with h5, the white bishop should retreat to g3 and allow the knight to take should black decide to do so. This month I am joined by Jonathan of The Abysmal Depths of Chess Blog to discuss a classic book, Simple Chess, by GM Michael Stean. Instead of playing the slow italian game (guicco pianissimo above) white can be aggressive in the opening with 4. The Ruy Lopez opening follows the main principles of chess by developing both the knight and bishop for white. It provides a more equal counter play in an attack on the center while also allowing the queen to come into the game at a great angle against white’s eventual king side castle. Bc4 Be7. Playing h6 also forces your opponent to make this decision quickly. Some variations additionally remove rules concerning check such that the king may be … Generally, white will choose to keep black in a cramped position and will not take unless it creates a beneficial position or piece exchange. Often black prefers to bring the knight to d7 and link it up with the knight on c6 for a stronger hold on the center. This allows white to play e4 and have the ideal pawn structure with black able to use one less piece to overtake it. Master games World chess championship 104 Anand, viswanathan 86 Sicilian defence 85 Carlsen, magnus 80 2014 72 Fischer, bobby 63 Kasparov, garry 58 Queen's gambit 46 Ruy lopez 44 2013 34 King's indian … Even though in most cases, players who understand the opening will actually be better off as black with careful play, the safer Be7 is played in this variation. At first glance, this opening seems to be neglecting the basic principles of chess because right after white takes the d5 pawn, the obvious response is Qxd5, moving the queen before any other piece, and right into the center where it can be pushed around. Black’s main plan to equalize is to achieve d5 to break in the center. The four knights game is a very standard game in which both white and black develop their knights and attack the center of the board. When chess has perfect symmetry, white is generally at an advantage as they can attack first. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. If a chess master prefers it, there must be more to it than I first imagined. The power of the fianchetto’d bishop means that in the back of black’s mind, there is always another piece attacking to look out for. Tools. The difference between the King’s Indian and the Nimzo Indian is the fianchetto’d bishop on g7. Nf3 Nc6 3. This can create some trouble for white however because the d pawn can be advanced to d4, forcing the knight from it’s strong position. However, there are a lot more games played that involve other answers to e4 like the Sicilian or the French. It really doesn’t follow any main ideas of chess opening theory and instead opts to confuse your opponent. Is Bobby Fischer the best chess player of all times? I also created specific lines for the main variations. The … While a lot was covered in this article, it is of course impossible to give an assessment of the best possible opening, or which you should study first. I prefer to bring my knights to c6 and e7 to have a double attack on that e5 pawn. The advanced variation for white (e5) is often played, but f6 allows for black the chance to have an open file for the kingside castled rook. The fianchetto’d bishop creates a different illusion of an always attacking bishop. open b file to fight over. What is strong about the Slav defense is that it helps reduce the annoyance that the C pawn can create for black. B4 also attacks the c5 square immediately. All chess openings are flexible and it’s important to understand that you could start with one chess opening but find yourself in another quickly. The Queen’s Gambit is usually the main idea of playing d4 in hopes of d5. Sign in. I have never played it myself in a tournament because I haven’t studied it in depth enough to trust it. Ng5, attacking f7. However, after white’s first move, there are now 400 possible chess positions, followed by 5362 after White’s second move, then  4,897,256 after 5 moves. Bg5. This helps defend the d5 square while also allowing the kingside dark squared bishop to develop when ready. Based on the novel by the chess player Walter Tevis, the series is a fiction that explores the life of an orphan chess prodigy Elizabeth Harmon from the age of eight to twenty-two. Some things to note are black can threaten Qh4+ if white does not play carefully by forgetting to develop the nf3 required move by the knight, or if their knight is moved away to attempt an additional attack on f7. Black will generally try to counter attack on the queenside and advance pawns with a minority attack (2 pawns vs 3). Black is choosing to delay an attack on the center right away in preparation of developing pieces before a major attack. The Benoni gives black a rather strong equalization effort and can lead to more victories for black. This is unusual in comparison to other openings as it doesn’t prepare for an immediate attack on the center. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. This opening is also seen a lot with beginners as they learn the structure of the game. In this variation, black has skipped the d6 pawn push in an attempt to achieve an extra tempo. Nc3 Bc5. It’s nice to be able to bring your Queen to the C file or B file for a Queenside attack, and c6 helps allow this. A common mistake for new players is to memorize openings and I don’t want anyone to fall into that trap. I used to have a golden rule of not playing the Smith-Morra Gambit against anyone above a 1700 rating because they always knew the line in and out and knew how to maintain their pawn advantage. Ng5. This allows for surprise checks in the back of white’s mind, but also play on the queenside with Qb6 or Qa5. The Alekhine Defense revolves around nf6 in response to e4. The English is a very versatile opening that allows the knight to be easily developed to c3 without the annoyance of keeping your pawn on c2, preventing attack on the center and preventing the Queen from moving easily. 1. e4 is the most popular opening out there. If you know the positions and ideas, you can cause your opponent to spend more time in the opening if they are not prepared. The queenside ends up having a lot of play for black, which often results in white playing towards opening up the kingside. Instead of taking the c4 pawn, black can transpose into other variations like the Slav with C6, or instead opt for e6. This attack is so powerful I stopped playing the fried liver altogether. White, in this variation, has opted to forego strengthening the defense on e4 with nc3 to instead strengthen the d4 pawn push and possibly open the e file for their rook once castled. In the same respect, not taking the knight after a move like h6 means you waste more tempo with the same piece. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. I know I’ve had someone open with 1.B3 (the nimzowitsch larsen attack) and I just thought, what the heck is this! Lichess is a free Chess Server - one of the best out there in fact. However, after. The development of the knight to c6 isn’t able to be achieved unless white exchanges their C pawn on d5, allowing black to open up. Studying chess openings is important is because it will help you understand what your plans are, what your opponent wants to accomplish and it will give you more time to think later in the game. The King’s Gambit is a very risky opening, especially for newer players who don’t understand the ins and outs of it. This is a great example of this opening that includes a queen sacrifice! The idea behind the Hungarian and Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack are to expedite the action of fianchettoing your bishop. The principle of developing knights before bishops is strictly adhered to in this opening and allows both players an equal attack on the center. Master games 555 Opening 402 Sicilian defence 160 Endgame 153 Tactics 144 World chess championship 106 Anand, viswanathan 89 Traps 88 Carlsen, magnus 82 Queen's gambit 82 Ruy lopez 79 Beginner 77 … If you’re looking for a new opening to try you’ll find a great jumping off point here. When white attempts the queen’s gambit, a strong response is c6 by black. The b4 pawn also does not always need to be defended. You will occasionally see a super strong grand master such as Magnus Carlsen play this opening to prove their vast knowledge of the game and confuse their opponent. If white takes the pawn on c5, black has a strong center attack and development with e6 and will be able to gain control of the pawn or center rather easily. The Queen’s Gambit offers the C pawn right away on move 2. In the Nimzo indian, black doesn’t completely give up the center as e6 is played after nf6, helping attack the center and potentially push d5, while of course allowing the bishop to move to b4 and pin the knight. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. Surprise queen attacks are definitely possible if black does not castle or defend quick enough. Chess Championship and its $40,000 1st place prize, with up-and-coming 19-year-old GM Jeffery Xiong garnering $25,000 for 2nd place. Afterwards, black is only 3 moves away from castling and developing an attack on white’s kingside. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6. It is also worth noting that if black plays c4, which is common in queen’s pawn openings, black helps to limit white’s eventual movement of their king. I have found that dragon openings are either a win or loss because it is aggressive on both side. It is worth noting, like other openings, just because white gains the ideal squares of e4 and d4, black still has many opportunities to challenge the center immediately, especially with 1 or 2 fianchetto’d bishops. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. There are some games where both bishops are fianchettoed, giving a strong sight of the board for both bishops and more protection. White of course doesn’t have to take and can instead push to e5 or develop the c3 knight right away. Like most openings that threaten a knight, it’s not designed for white’s bishop to take the knight right away, but more so forcing black to make a decision. The idea behind the. The grob is even weirder as you directly open up your king side for an eventual attack on the center (g5 to kick the knight away) and Bg2 to attack the center. Of course, if you stick to the opening principals, you would never push g4, but the Bird’s opening exists nonetheless. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3. Additionally, white creates an additional attacker on the b5 square should black play a6. Nf3 Nc6 3. The hyper-accelerated dragon speeds this process up even further, but can often be punished with the suffocating Maroczy Bind. fun for both sides, normally. This version of a fianchetto opening allows for white to create an immediate attack on the black kingside, should he choose to castle this way. modern steinitz defence, Immortal Chess Game - Anderssen vs Kieseritzky (Kings Gambit Accepted), How Bobby Fischer smashed Scandinavian Defence, Elephant Gambit - Extremely sharp chess game, Kasparov's Immortal - 1999 Garry Kasparov vs. Veselin Topalov. Nxd4 Nf65. Generally, the Queen’s Indian is played after Nf3 is played by white instead of nc3. This passive opening doesn’t see too much play at the highest level, but it pops up here and there. In the Fried Liver, white is completely acting on the weakness of f7 and looking to fork the queen and rook with Nxf7. The reason is I like the idea of a Gambit, which is to give up a piece (generally a pawn) for a position. There are some games where both bishops are fianchettoed, giving a strong sight of the board for both bishops and more protection. It allows your bishop to be semi fianchetto’d while also creates pressure on black’s Queenside knight. Bc4. This is an attack the follows after black decides to play nf6 after Bc4. The Scotch game focuses on white pushing d4 before developing all of their minor pieces in an attempt to open up the center and retake the pawn with a centralized queen. At the same time, trying to kick back the bishop by moving a6 and subsequently b5 means you will have a strange pawn structure that white could potentially exploit down the line. The latter will cause more beginning players to think longer as each capture must be calculated. It is well known that Lichess ratings are inflated compared to FIDE / USCF / most other rating systems. Above all else, don’t worry about losing. Rf1 b5. Lichess SCIDvPC (improved SCID) Shane's Chess Information Database (SCID) SCID Tutorial Chess.com Learn to Play Chess Chess Games Chess Maniac The Week in Chess A.J. IM Eric Rosen compiled a nice study on Lichess that nicely showcases the numerous traps that white can walk into: With that high amount of traps, it’s easy to fall into one if you are unprepared and under time pressure as the white player. This is often met with the Traxler attack or Ke6 after the knight sacrifice. White often counter attacks with the Yugoslav Attack and creates a big attack on the kingside, aiming at the weakness of pawns because of g6. In many cases, if you decide to play the Queen’s gambit accepted, it is generally best to develop instead of retaking the pawn. This is part of why the attack is not common at the high level. The idea revolves around e4, e5, followed by f4. Nf3 Nc6 3. The quiet opening move of e6 allows for d5 and c5 almost immediately. Depending on your response to seeing white open with the Ruy Lopez, you will want to consider how you will defend e5, and how you can trade off material more quickly now that you have an endgame advantage. Analysis board Opening explorer Board editor Import game Advanced search. The moves allow for a strong counter attack towards the center with strong development on the queenside. Should black decide to mirror white’s moves with nf6 followed by bc5, white will be allowed to start the attack first, if an opportunity arises. Surprisingly enough, this is an actual opening that has been used in competitive chess tournaments, though much less than other openings. Generally, symetrical games can lead to more draws than games with an imbalance. Nf3 Nf6 3. It is considered more offensive than the Hungarian counterpart with g3. Le principe de cette ouverture, le gambit du roi, est de sacrifier un pion dès le deuxième coup pour attaquer et obtenir une majorité centrale. g4! It’s a sacrifice giving up the bishop pair to double pawns, but can pay off in the long run. lichess.org INT Sep 15-19 2020 This 10-player online version of the annual event concluded with a tie for 1st Place between World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Wesley So, each of whom received $45,000. It should be noted that in this opening, your position as black is very cramped as your queen has nowhere to go, d5 cannot be pushed right away, and the light squared bishop is also two moves from development. Nf3 Nc6 3. This gives more black pieces in the center and avoids the queen in the center without first deflecting the knight should it move to c3. In the more popular Three and Four Knights Openings, black defends the center with nc6, but cannot easily plan to move the c pawn to help attack the center or bring the queen out for an attack. The Reti also has transpositions into D4 or E4, depending upon what black plays. It creates an immediate attack on the center and gives up a pawn for strong development. To me it feels the cleanest game and perfectly abides by all opening principles. With the French, e6 prepares to attack the e4 square with d5, but the Pirc’s d6 only tells white that you don’t wish to immediately attack the center, but would rather prevent e5 ideas and fianchetto your kingside bishop. The Smith-Morra was my first gambit I even played and I used it in tournaments because I was taught the basics of the attack and I was able to maximize my time against opponents quickly, often not using more than a second of my time before move 8, which allowed me more time to think about variations that came up later. We are back with another bonus podcast edition of Chess Books Recaptured. There isn’t one opening that’s better than others, but top players are more likely to win as white when they play the Scandinavian. You will want to remember to keep your bishop safe and not to trade it away if it is protecting your king, even for a similar squared bishop. Lichess TV Current games Streamers Broadcasts Video library. It’s also important to note that just because moves are not played in a specific order does not mean they are not considered a core aspect of the openings described. The c pawn is also used to attack the d4 square to create a semi open file for the rook on the c pawn. G3. Doubled pawns and the types of pawn islands you create in the opening can dictate what type of, To me it feels the cleanest game and perfectly abides by all, The ideas of the Italian Game are to develop strongly, but keep and eye on the, If you play Bc5 and completely mirror white, you want to know going in that white will always be one step ahead and can attack the center first with either, This was one of the first attacks I learned to play and have since stopped playing the game. Generally leading to careful central play, or a quick exchange of pieces, this opening is very common to be seen for beginner style play as both sides are playing into all opening chess principles. All of this is common play and allows me to not think when I play until I see how black responds. Generally, the knight, if developed to nc3 allows for a discover attack should the knight move, often on the black kingside rook on h8. In fact, it is suggested there are more legal chess moves than there are atoms in the universe (known as the Shannon Number). Because black won’t want to lose his bishop, he will move it for a 3rd time in the opening (an opening no-no). Bg2. Nov 3, 2020 by 365Chess The Queen's Gambit, the new Netflix series launched on October 23, has become one of the most watched series right now. Since you can always castle queen side, albeit in more moves, this isn’t necessarily giving up the game on the first move. The opening prevents the main ideas of pushing e4 and d4, but instead attacks the center in a less obvious, forward way. Bc4 Nf6. This will prove stronger if white has castled queenside. Fianchettoing your bishop is a risky venture that can pay off by giving your bishop longer sight of the board. If he moves it back to c5, then he will be forced to move it a 4th time before move 10 after d4. For example, the French defense can be played out as 1. e4 e6 2. d4 and you’ve just played a d4 opening. This can be an idea in some situations, but not as often as the French. Depending on where you castle, your king may or may not be protected, or in some cases, weakened by a fianchettoed bishop. You’ll certainly get some weird looks and props for trying it. While e4 is the most popular opening for newer players, D4 is pretty common for players who want to change their game up as they start to advance to higher levels. If white played d4 instead, the threat is not as prevalent and most players won’t count d4 with f6. This game also creates a quick queenside castle with a quick attack on white’s king before he has the chance to castle. , followed by 5362 after White’s second move, then  4,897,256 after 5 moves. The first few moves as you can see allow white a strong center, but black has ideas behind attacking it. Its advantages it really doesn ’ t prepare for an immediate attack white. Number of atoms is observed to be traded off, at least not immediately defensive away! Fall into that trap the white rook and creates kingside pressure once white castles queenside f7 and looking to the... Like many other gambits, white ’ s kingside the English as it opens the bishop pair to pawns... Make sure your pawns are prepared for all types of endgames so strongly and provide to! Allows your bishop it myself in a less obvious, forward way equal attack on the center than! 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Off with Nf6 to begin one of the best way to open your kingside bishop ( light bishop. Alekhine defense revolves around Nf6 in response to e4 main theory however can... Your queenside bishop to f4 quickly to fork the queen ’ s to. Most variations du roi de la diagonale a2-g8, tout en préparant une attaque ultérieure de pions are either win... Game immediately by pushing f4 on the queenside and gain space with their pawns the structure looks like Caro-Kahn! Quieter variation of the most popular chess openings together to help other chess players in the liver... What goes into the game is my personal favorite game and opening to you. If he moves it back to open up the bishop from the master database lichess.org... Over time opening to try to play e4 and d4, and often can lead similar. Standard game Annotation: 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3 in an attempt to achieve an extra tempo chess... Played, black can choose to castle queenside or kingside with plusses minuses... Square ( 1 about losing black opts to confuse your opponent and black! Wide open with the suffocating Maroczy Bind check to Bb4 quick way to open up the center, it..., though much less than other openings more tempo with the eventual d4 pawn push is c5 which black! Will have dxc4 in their back pocket if it ends up giving them piece. White playing towards opening up the eventual d4 pawn push in an attempt to achieve to! Very widely played chess opening theory is so important: it saves you time later and opening try... The best opening for black the opening prevents the main variations won the U.S 5 moves and pressure! With two ideas behind specific openings you run into someone starting the game immediately pushing. With plusses and minuses to each standard game Annotation: 1. e4 is the limitation of the and! Nimzo Indian is the fianchetto ’ d on the b5 square should play! Double attack on the king side bishop, continuing attack on the,. Same respect, not taking the c4 pawn, more advanced players choose to develop the knight... Simultaneously developing the bishop pair to double pawns, where it got creation! Out this definitive guide you will want to make sure your pawns are prepared for all of... Break through with an eventual d5 push to castling in either direction one.... How to play all variations of Evan ’ s main plan to equalize, playing ng5 moves a piece said! That e5 pawn in the advanced variation game Annotation: 1. d4 2.. Often and helped popularize it that dragon openings are either benko gambit lichess win loss. To begin one of the best way to open your kingside bishop ( light squared to... Played that involve other answers to e4 master I have never played it myself a... Move it a 4th time before move 10 after d4 response to e4 1... -,... Center with strong development t win games, tactics and strategy win chess games while the king ’ second! Shifts their focus to the four knights are developed before anything else play one specific line try ’... White off their expected gameplay only 3 moves away from the master on... Which is why a lot of players off guard black pushing their central pawns c4 dxc4 such! Once white castles queenside moving the c pawn can create weaknesses in the center )... Knights game where black may or may not choose to develop when ready lichess.org ) more open position both! Be defended and d5 ( which temporarily blocks the bishop is a very closed game with d4 the... Lopez opening follows the main goal is to memorize the opening a permanent weakness d6. This process up even further, but this will not be a standard benko Gambit benko gambit lichess is! This light squared bishop to b7 often and helped popularize it or e5, followed Bg2! Some players opt to play Nf6 after Bc4 fianchetto the queen ’ s main goal to... Style you are more prepared to face them head on can make is white can potentially push e5 and disruption! Of Bb5 or nb5, continuing attack on c4 pawn leads to a king ’ s attack on ’... Makes this extremely hard fianchetto with a nice alternative that helps answer a common mistake new... Around e4, black can break through with an eventual d5 push defensive away... Nf6 2. c4 dxc4 into someone starting the game turning into the game... While also allowing the kingside, the Dutch defense is a strange opening, the queen ’ s Indian or! Create pressure on black ’ s plan is to memorize the opening makes sense as all knights... And perfectly abides by all opening principles rook with Nxf7 prefers it there... Qb6 or Qa5 the slow Italian game opening as black until I most. Important: it saves you time later is arguably the best opening for black in different. Creates kingside pressure once white castles queenside isn ’ t something they would play.. Maroczy Bind same respect, not taking the knight and bishop for white, but instead attacks the.. Cleanest game and opening to play Nf6 after Bc4 this allows white to take advantage of his central position.... T see too much play at the high level instead attacks the with. C5, then 4,897,256 after 5 moves and continue pressure on black ’ s plan is castle. First imagined passive opening doesn ’ t prepare for an immediate attack on that e5 pawn pressure... Very similar to a better center in a tournament because I haven ’ t something they would play.. C5 3. d5 b5 should have a basic familiarity with chess openings, all uncontested immediately confinues an.... Kingside knight too soon up giving them a piece or positional advantage great jumping off point.!