The Tarrasch Defense is a

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 ...

characterized by the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 c5 The Tarrasch is a variation of the

Queen's Gambit Declined The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 This is known as the ''Orthodox Line'' of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambi ...

. Black's third move is an aggressive bid for central . After White plays cxd5 and dxc5, Black will be left with an

isolated pawn In chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn that has no friendly pawn on an adjacent . Isolated pawns are usually a weakness because they cannot be protected by other pawns. The square in front of the pawn may become a good outpost or otherwise a good ...

on d5. Such a pawn may be weak, since it can no longer be defended by other pawns, but it grants Black a foothold in the , and Black's bishops will have unobstructed lines for development. The opening was advocated by the German player

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

, who contended that the increased Black enjoys is well worth the inherent weakness of the isolated center pawn. Although many other masters, after the teachings of

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 ...

, rejected the Tarrasch Defense out of hand because of the pawn weakness, Tarrasch continued to play his opening while rejecting other variations of the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a ''gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the c ...

, even to the point of putting

question mark The question mark (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. History In the fifth century, Syriac Bible manuscripts used ques ...

s on routine moves in all variations except the Tarrasch (which he awarded an exclamation mark) in his book ''Die moderne Schachpartie''. (See

chess punctuation When annotating chess games, commentators frequently use widely recognized annotation symbols. Question marks and exclamation points that denote a move as bad or good are ubiquitous in chess literature. Some publications intended for an internati ...

.) The Tarrasch Defense is considered . Even if Black fails to make use of their mobility and winds up in an inferior

endgame Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to: Film * ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film) * ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film * ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...

, tied to the defense of their isolated pawn, they may be able to hold the

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

if they defend accurately. In the ''

Encyclopedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of Chess theory#Opening theory, opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Che ...

'', the Tarrasch Defense has codes D32 through D34.

Main line: 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6

In the main line, White will isolate Black's queen pawn with 4. cxd5 exd5 and attempt to exploit its weakness. The most common setup is to

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

the 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 ca ...

in order to put pressure on the isolated d5-pawn, as 3...c5 has relinquished the possibility of protecting the point d5 by means of ...c6. After 4.cxd5, Black may offer the Hennig-Schara Gambit with 4...cxd4. While this was once essayed by

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

, it has never achieved popularity at master level and is considered advantageous for White. On the third move White often plays 3.Nf3 instead (in part to avoid the Hennig-Schara Gambit), which after 3...c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 transposes to the main line. 7. Bg2 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 In modern praxis, 9.Bg5 is most frequently played here, though there are other ideas of note, 9.dxc5 and 9.b3 being the main alternatives. (Other lines are 9.Be3, 9.Bf4, and 9.a3.) During the 2010's, the hitherto forgotten line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 became a topic of theoretical debate at the top level mainly due to the efforts of Russian grandmaster

Daniil Dubov Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov (russian: Даниил Дмитриевич Дубов; born 18 April 1996) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He achieved his final norm for the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 14 days in 2011. He is ...

. This approach to the Tarrasch Defense is therefore known as the Dubov Tarrasch.

Swedish Variation

The Swedish Variation (also called the Folkestone Variation) is a line beginning 6... c4. Black now has a four to three pawn , and will try to expand with ...b5, with White aiming for a central break with e4. The line is considered somewhat dubious and is rarely seen in modern practice. The Swedish Variation has ''ECO'' code D33.

References

* * {{Chess Chess openings

Main line: 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6

Swedish Variation

See also

References