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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 pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. Some of these openings are played often, although more often by advanced players than beginners, and 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 trail only 1.e4 and 1.d4 in popularity as opening moves. Classification * 1. c4 – English Opening * 1. Nf3 – Zukertort Opening– characteristically followed by fianchettoing one or both bishops, and without an early d4, can lead to the Réti Opening * 1. f4 – Bird's Opening * 1. b3 – Larsen's Opening *1. g3 - King's Fianchetto Opening, also known as Benko's Opening In addition, some flank openings that are considered irregular: *1. a3 – Anderssen's Opening *1. a4 – Ware Opening *1. b4 – Sokolsky Opening, also known as the Polish Opening or the Orangutan Opening * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Defense". ''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage. Opening moves that are considered standard are referred to as "book moves", or simply "book". When a game begins to deviate from known opening theory, the players are said to be "out of book". In some openings, "book" lines have been worked out for over 30 moves, as in the classical King's Indian Defense and in the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defense. Professional chess players spend years studying openings, and continue doing so throughout their careers, as opening theory continues to evolve. Players at the club level also study openings but the importance of the opening phase is smaller t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnes Opening
The Barnes Opening (sometimes called Gedult's Opening) is a chess opening where White opens with: :1. f3 The opening is named after Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825–1874), an English player who had eight wins over Paul Morphy, including one game where Barnes answered 1.e4 with 1...f6, known as the Barnes Defence. Along with several other uncommon first moves, it is classified under the code A00 ( irregular openings or uncommon openings) in the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings''. Strategy Of the twenty possible first moves in chess, author and grandmaster Edmar Mednis argues that 1.f3 is the worst. Grandmaster Benjamin Finegold teaches "Never play f3". In his text on openings, Paul van der Sterren considered 1. f3 beneath mention by name: The move does exert influence over the central square e4, but the same or more ambitious goals can be achieved with almost any other first move. The move 1.f3 does not a piece, opens no for pieces, and actually hinders the development of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Openings), and are the complement of the Open Games or Double King Pawn Games which begin 1.e4 e5. Popular defenses The most popular Black defense to 1.e4 is the Sicilian, but the French and the Caro–Kann are also very popular. The Pirc and the Modern are also commonly seen, while the Alekhine and the Scandinavian have made occasional appearances in World Chess Championship games. The Nimzowitsch is playable but rare, as is Owen's Defense. The Borg Defense and the St. George Defense are oddities, although Tony Miles once used St. George's Defense to defeat then World Champion Anatoly Karpov. The Sicilian and French Defenses lead to unbalanced positions that can offer exciting play with both sides having chances to win. The Caro-K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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" openings, whose philosophy is to delay direct occupation of the with the plan of undermining and destroying the opponent's central outpost. It also regularly occurs in Indian defences. The fianchetto is less common in Open Games (1.e4 e5), but the is sometimes fianchettoed by Black in the Ruy Lopez or by White in an uncommon variation of the Vienna Game. One of the major benefits of the fianchetto is that it often allows the fianchettoed bishop to become more active. A fianchettoed position, however, also presents some opportunities for the opponent: if the fianchettoed bishop can be , the squares the bishop was formerly protecting will become weak (see ') and can form the basis of an attack (particularly if the fianchetto was performe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transposition (chess)
In chess, a transposition is a sequence of moves that results in a position which may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in the opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves. Players sometimes use transpositions deliberately, to avoid variations they dislike, lure opponents into unfamiliar or uncomfortable territory or simply to worry opponents. See review at In chess the verb "transpose" means to shift the game onto a different opening track from which it started. Transposition tables are an essential part of a computer chess program. Transpositions exist in other abstract strategy games such as shogi, Go, tic-tac-toe and Hex. Examples Positions reached by different routes For instance, the first position can be obtained from the Queen's Gambit: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 But this position can also be reached from the English Opening: :1. c4 e6 :2. Nc3 Nf6 :3. d4 d5 so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 category of the semi-closed openings are the ''Indian systems'', which begin 1.d4 Nf6. As these defenses have much in common and have a great deal more theory than all the remaining semi-closed openings put together, they are treated in a separate article; see Indian defense for details. The third most common response to 1.d4 (after 1...Nf6 and 1...d5) is 1...e6. 1...e6 rarely has independent significance, usually transposing to another opening, e.g. the Dutch Defense (2.c4 f5 or 2.Nf3 f5), French Defense (2.e4 d5), or Queen's Gambit Declined (2.c4 d5). Another possibility is 2.c4. 2...Bb4+ is the Keres Defence (also known as the Kangaroo Defence), which is fully playable, but also little independent significance, since it often transposes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the first move, the d4-pawn is protected by White's queen. This slight difference has a tremendous effect on the opening. For instance, whereas the King's Gambit is rarely played today at the highest levels of chess, the Queen's Gambit remains popular at all levels of play. Also, compared with the king's pawn openings, transpositions between variations are more common and important in the closed games. Specific openings The Richter–Veresov Attack, Colle System, Stonewall Attack, Torre Attack, London System, and Blackmar–Diemer Gambit are classified as Queen's Pawn Games because White plays d4 but not c4. The Richter–Veresov is rarely played at the top levels of chess. The Colle and London are both ', rather than specific opening ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Indian Attack
The King's Indian Attack (or KIA), also known as the Barcza System (after Gedeon Barcza) is a chess opening for White, characterized by several moves. The center pawns are developed to e4 and d3, the knights are developed to d2 and f3, the king's bishop fianchettoes at g2 following the g-pawn's movement to g3, and White castles kingside. The resulting arrangement has multiple positional themes: the pawn at d3 and the knight at d2 both defend the pawn at e4, the knight at f3 attacks the center, the fianchettoed bishop may influence the center following subsequent moves, and castling removes the king to safety while bringing a rook into the game. Unlike other chess openings, The King's Indian Attack is not a specific sequence of moves, but rather a ''system'' for White where the moves may be permuted at the player's discretion, in response to the moves of the black pieces. When a game opens with most or all of the above moves, to the exclusion of moves which typify other openin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amar Opening
The Amar Opening (also known as the Paris Opening, or the Drunken Knight Opening) is a chess opening defined by the move: : 1. Nh3 Analogous to calling the Durkin Opening the "Sodium Attack," this opening could be called the Ammonia Opening, since the algebraic notation 1.Nh3 resembles the chemical formula NH3 for ammonia. The Parisian amateur Charles Amar played it in the 1930s. It was probably named by Savielly Tartakower who used both names for this opening, although the chess author Tim Harding has jokingly suggested that "Amar" is an acronym for "Absolutely mad and ridiculous". Since 1.Nh3 is considered an irregular opening, it is classified under the A00 code in the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings''. Assessment Like the Durkin Opening, White develops a knight to the edge of the board, where it does not control squares. Black's most common reply is 1...d5 which threatens 2...Bxh3, ruining White's pawn structure. White usually plays 2.g3 to prevent this, when Black can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunst Opening
The Dunst Opening is a chess opening in which White opens with the move: :1. Nc3 This fairly uncommon opening may have more names than any other: it is also called the Heinrichsen Opening, Baltic Opening, Van Geet Opening, Sleipnir Opening, Kotrč's Opening, Meštrović Opening, Romanian Opening, Queen's Knight Attack, Queen's Knight Opening, Millard's Opening, Knight on the Left, and (in German) der Linksspringer. Origin of names The names Heinrichsen and Baltic derive from Lithuanian chess player Arved Heinrichsen (1879–1900). The opening was analyzed and played by the New York master Ted A. Dunst (1907–1985), giving the opening its most popular name in the United States. The Dutch International Master and correspondence grandmaster Dirk Daniel ("Dick D.") van Geet (1932–2012) frequently played 1.Nc3, so it is often called the Van Geet Opening in the Netherlands. The appellation Sleipnir seems to come from Germany. Sleipnir is Odin's (''Wotan'' in G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durkin Opening
The Durkin Opening (also known as the Durkin Attack or the Sodium Attack) is a rarely played chess opening. :1. Na3 The Durkin Opening is named for Robert T. Durkin (1923–2014) of New Jersey. The name "Sodium Attack" comes from the algebraic notation 1.Na3, as ''Na'' is the chemical symbol for the element sodium. Similarly, the Amar Opening (1.Nh3) is sometimes referred to as the "Ammonia Opening". White may follow up by playing c4, e.g. 1...d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nxc4. Assessment This development of the does little to utilize White's advantage of the first move. On a3 the knight does not control squares, and White would have to move this knight again (e.g., to c2 or c4) for it to follow common rules such as controlling the center. Angus Dunnington suggests that combining this with a gradual central expansion should give White a reasonable position. Variations *Durkin Gambit (1.Na3 e5 2.Nc4 Nc6 3. e4 f5) See also * List of chess openings * List of chess openings named after peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |