A Steinitz Variation is any of several

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

s introduced and practiced, or adopted and advocated by

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...

, the first officially recognized

World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...

Openings

* Steinitz Variation in the Caro-Kann Defence: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7Also called the Nimzowitsch Variation or the Smyslov Variation. * Steinitz Variation in the

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, ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.d4 exd4 7.0-0 d6 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 * Steinitz Variation in the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 * Steinitz Variation in the

French Defence The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...

: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 * Steinitz Variation in the

: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 * Steinitz Variation in the

: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 * Steinitz Attack in the

: 1.e4 e6 2.e5 * Steinitz Defence to the

Giuoco Piano The Giuoco Piano (Italian: "Quiet Game"; ), also called the Italian Opening, is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 "White aims to develop quickly – but so does Black. White can construct a pawn cen ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 g5 * Steinitz Variation in the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 d5 10.Ba3 * Steinitz Variation in 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 p ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Ne7 * Steinitz Attack in the

Petrov's Defence 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 ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 * Steinitz Variation in the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ne4 5.Qe2 * Steinitz Variation in the

Philidor Defence The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 d6 The opening is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.c3 * Steinitz Variation in the

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 conside ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 f6 * Steinitz Variation in the

Queen's Gambit Accepted The Queen's Gambit Accepted (or QGA) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 dxc4 The Queen's Gambit Accepted is the third most popular option on Black's second move, after 2...e6 (the Queen's Gambit Declined) and 2.. ...

: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 cxd4 * Steinitz Countergambit in the

Queen's Pawn Game Queen's Pawn Game broadly refers to any chess opening starting with the move 1.d4, which is the second most popular opening move after 1.e4 ( King's Pawn Game). Terminology The term "Queen's Pawn Game" is usually used to describe openings begi ...

: 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 * Steinitz Defence to the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 * Steinitz Defence Deferred to the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 * Steinitz Defence Doubly Deferred to the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 d6Also called the Russian Defence. * Steinitz Variation in the

Scotch Game The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On t ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4Steinitz favored this move and it is commonly identified as a Steinitz Variation in books; however, it originated with English player Wellington Pulling in the 1830s and is named the Pulling Counterattack. 5.Nc3 * Steinitz Variation in the

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5, c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. Ope ...

: 1.e4 c5 2.g3 * Steinitz Variation in the Three Knights Opening: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 * Steinitz Variation in the

Two Knights Defense The Two Knights Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Nf6 First recorded by Giulio Cesare Polerio (c. 1550 – c. 1610) in the late 16th century, this line of the Italian Game was extensiv ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nh3 * Steinitz Variation in the

Vienna Game The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nc3 White's second move is less common than 2.Nf3, and is also more recent. The original idea behind the Vienna Game was to play a delayed King's Gambit with f ...

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.d3 * Steinitz Gambit in the

: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.d4

Illustrations

Notes

References

* * * * {{Set index article Chess openings