The Rat Defense, English Rat is an
irregular Queen's Pawn Game
The Queen's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:
: 1. d4
It 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 beginning wit ...
chess opening
The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...
characterized by the initial moves:
:1.
d4 d6
:2.
c4 e5
The position can also arise from an
English Opening
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:
: 1. c4
A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, one of the four most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins ...
1.c4 d6 2.d4 e5. Another possible move order can be reached via the
Englund Gambit
The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves:
: 1. d4 e5
Black's idea is to avoid the traditional queen's pawn games and create an with tactical chances, but at the cost of a pawn. The gambit is considered w ...
: 1.d4 e5 2.c4 d6.
The English Rat has been played by top players such as
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
,
Anand Viswanathan,
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and commentator who is an eight-time Russian Chess Champion.
Svidler has competed in three World Championshi ...
,
Richárd Rapport
Richárd Rapport (born 25 March 1996) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 11 months, and six days, making him Hungary's youngest ever grandmaster. He was the Hungarian Che ...
, and
Ilia Smirin.
Assessment
While 3.dxe5 dxe5 4.Qxd8,
transposing into an
endgame, may initially appear to be favorable for White as Black's king won't be able to castle, the pawn on c4 will restrict the mobility of the white-squared bishop, so the endgame is comfortable for Black to maintain .
Gambit lines
* Lisbon Gambit: 3.dxe5 Nc6, which usually continues 4.exd6 Bxd6 (or 4...Qxd6).
* Pounds Gambit: 3.dxe5 Be6.
See also
*
List of chess openings
This is a list of chess openings, organised by the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (''ECO'') code classification system. The chess openings are categorised into five broad areas ("A" through "E"), with each of those broken up into one hundred ...
Related openings:
*
Englund Gambit
The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves:
: 1. d4 e5
Black's idea is to avoid the traditional queen's pawn games and create an with tactical chances, but at the cost of a pawn. The gambit is considered w ...
*
Modern Defence
The Modern Defense (also known as the Robatsch Defence after Karl Robatsch) is a Hypermodern chess, hypermodern chess opening in which Black allows White to occupy the with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and undermine this "ideal" c ...
*
Pirc Defence
The Pirc Defence ( ) is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian grandmaste ...
*
Wade Defence
References
Bibliography
*
{{Chess
Chess openings