An Open Game (or Double King's Pawn Opening) is a chess opening that begins with the following moves:
:1. e4e5
White has moved the king's pawn two squares and Black has replied in kind. The result is an Open Game. Other responses to 1.e4 are termed
Semi-Open Game
A Semi-Open Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.e4 and Black breaks symmetry immediately by replying with a move other than 1...e5.
The Semi-Open Games are also called Single King Pawn, Asymmetrical King Pawn, or Half-Open Games (or Ope ...
s or Single King's Pawn Games.
It should not be confused with the term "" (lowercase o and g), referring to a chess position where ranks, files and diagonals are open, and tending to more tactical gameplay.
Analysis
White opens by playing 1.e4, which is the most popular opening move and has many strengths—it immediately stakes a claim in the center, and frees two pieces (the
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and king's
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
) for action. The oldest openings in chess follow 1.e4.
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...
wrote that 1.e4 was "Best by test." On the negative side, 1.e4 places a
pawn
Pawn most often refers to:
* Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game
* Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral
Pawn may also refer to:
Places
* Pawn, Oregon, an his ...
on an undefended square and weakens the squares d4 and f4. If Black keeps the symmetry by replying 1...e5, the result is an Open Game .
Variations
The most popular second move for White is 2.Nf3 (the King's Knight Opening), attacking Black's king
pawn
Pawn most often refers to:
* Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game
* Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral
Pawn may also refer to:
Places
* Pawn, Oregon, an his ...
, preparing to castle , and preparing for d2-d4. Black's most common reply is 2...Nc6, which usually leads to the Ruy Lopez (3.Bb5), Italian Game (3.Bc4), or Scotch Game (3.d4), though 3.Nc3 Nf6 (the Four Knights Game), often played in the late 19th to early 20th century, or, less commonly, 3....g6 or ...Bb4, (the Three Knights Game), are other possibilities.
Black's most popular alternative to 2...Nc6 is 2...Nf6, usually leading to
Petrov's Defense
Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence (also called Petroff Defence, Petrov's Game, Russian Defence, or Russian Game – russian: Русская партия) is a chess opening characterised by the following moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nf6
Tho ...
, though White can avoid the extensive theory of the Petrov by playing 3.Nc3.
The Philidor Defense (2...d6) has the disadvantage of restricting the mobility of Black's king's bishop, and typically leads to solid but passive positions for Black. For this reason, it largely fell out of favor in the 20th century as Black players sought more dynamic options, however it is still occasionally seen at grandmaster level.
The
Gunderam Defense The Gunderam Defense, also known as the Brazilian Defense or the Câmara Defense if followed by moves ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...Nf6, creating the typical King's Indian formation, is a rarely played chess opening starting with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. ...
(2...Qe7) is an offbeat choice which blocks the development of the king's bishop, and has never achieved widespread popularity.
The
Elephant Gambit
The Elephant Gambit (also called the Queen's Pawn Countergambit or Englund Counterattack) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 d5
Although the Elephant Gambit is considered unsound, it has been used fr ...
(2...d5) and the
Latvian Gambit
The Latvian Gambit (or Greco Countergambit) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 f5
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been analysed in the 17th century by Gioachino Greco, after whom it is sometimes ...
(2...f5) are considered very risky for Black, with the latter usually seen only in correspondence play. The Damiano Defense (2...f6) may be met by either 3.Nxe5 or 3.Bc4 with advantage and is almost never seen.
The most popular alternatives to 2.Nf3 are 2.f4 (the
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. f4
White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...
Bishop's Opening
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Bc4
White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing the d-pawn to d5. By ignoring the beginner's maxim "develop knights before bishops", White ...
). These three openings have some similarities; some of the quieter lines in the Vienna and Bishop's Opening can
transpose
In linear algebra, the transpose of a matrix is an operator which flips a matrix over its diagonal;
that is, it switches the row and column indices of the matrix by producing another matrix, often denoted by (among other notations).
The tr ...
to positional variations of the King's Gambit Declined, when White plays f2–f4 before playing Nf3. The King's Gambit was popular in the nineteenth century with grandmaster and amateur alike. White offers a pawn for speedy development, as well as to attack Black's central outpost. The Vienna Game also frequently features attacks on the Black center by means of f2–f4.
In the Center Game (2.d4), White immediately opens the center, though if the pawn is to be recovered after 2...exd4, White must prematurely develop their queen. An alternative is to sacrifice one or two pawns by offering the Danish Gambit (3.c3).
The early development of the queen in the Danvers Opening, also known as the
Parham Attack
The Danvers Opening,''Edward Winter''at chesshistory.com also known as the Kentucky Opening,''The_Talking_Drum_featuring_Bernard_Parham''_6_July_2003_is_an_unorthodox_chess_opening_characterized_by_the_moves:
:1._ ''The_Talking_Drum_featuring_Ber ...
(2.Qh5), is usually played only by amateurs, though
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru NakamuraNapoleon Opening, 2.Qf3, has even less to recommend it as Black can easily block any mating threats without compromising their development. The Portuguese Opening (2.Bb5), Alapin's Opening (2.Ne2), Konstantinopolsky Opening (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3), and Inverted Hungarian Opening (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2) are offbeat tries for White, though none promise any advantage in the face of correct play.
Centre Pawn Opening
The Centre Pawn OpeningHooper & Whyld (1992), p. 72. ''Centre Pawn Opening''. (or the MacLeod Attack) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. c3
The opening was played 17 times in the New York 1889 tournament by 19th-ce ...
Bishop's Opening
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Bc4
White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing the d-pawn to d5. By ignoring the beginner's maxim "develop knights before bishops", White ...
Ponziani Opening
The Ponziani Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. c3
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in the literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton, generally consid ...
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. Bc4 Bc5
:4. b4
The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts ...
Elephant Gambit
The Elephant Gambit (also called the Queen's Pawn Countergambit or Englund Counterattack) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 d5
Although the Elephant Gambit is considered unsound, it has been used fr ...
Latvian Gambit
The Latvian Gambit (or Greco Countergambit) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 f5
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been analysed in the 17th century by Gioachino Greco, after whom it is sometimes ...
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. f4
White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...
Bongcloud Attack
The Bongcloud Attack or Bongcloud Opening is an irregular chess opening that consists of the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Ke2
It is considered a joke opening, and is associated with internet chess humor. Being a poor move, its usage can suggest a se ...
Diagrams
See also
*
Closed Game
A Closed Game (or Double Queen's Pawn Opening) is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. d4 d5
The move 1.d4 offers the same benefits to and as does 1.e4, but unlike with the king's pawn openings where the e4-pawn is undefended after ...
(1.d4 d5)
*
Encyclopedia of Chess Openings
The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator ( Chess Informant). It is curren ...
*
Flank opening
A flank opening is a chess opening played by White and typified by play on one or both flanks (the portion of the chess board outside the central d and e files). White often plays in hypermodern style, attacking the center from the flanks with ...
List of chess openings
This is a list of chess openings, organized by the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () code. In 1966, Chess Informant categorized the chess openings into five broad areas ("A" through "E"), with each of those broken down into one hundred subcat ...
*
Semi-Closed Game
A Semi-Closed Game (or Semi-Closed Opening) is a chess opening in which White plays 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5. (The openings starting 1.d4 d5 are the Closed Games.)
Important openings
By far the most important ...
(1.d4 other)
*
Semi-Open Game
A Semi-Open Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.e4 and Black breaks symmetry immediately by replying with a move other than 1...e5.
The Semi-Open Games are also called Single King Pawn, Asymmetrical King Pawn, or Half-Open Games (or Ope ...