http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-openings/

Albin Counter-Gambit( 1.d4 d5 2. c4 e5) 3. dxe5 d4

Lasker trap first imageEmanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who wasWorld Chess Champion for 27 years (from 1894 to 1921). In his prime Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever.

Another situation in Lasker Trap[Result "*"]Try this game1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 dxe3 6. Bxb4 exf2+ 7. Ke2 fxg1N+8. Ke1 Qh4+ 9. Kd2 Nc6 *

The Albin Counter-Gambit is a hyper aggressive defense for black against the ever so popular queens gambit from white. Black gives up his pawn on e5 so that his d pawn can be nicely placed on d4. This pawn is a huge thorn in the side of white and there are many trap that come from the Albin Counter-Gambit that white has to be on the lookout for. One of the most common traps in the Albin Counter-Gambit is the Lasker Trap which punishes white if he tries to attack the pawn on d4 with e3.

This opening will immediately take a queens gambit player out of his element and gives black many fighting chances. If you are a very aggressive player, especially with black, then you definitely need to learn this opening. For all those queen’s gambit players, this is also good to know as your opponent may throw this at you at any time.

Famous Games using the Albin Counter GambitA Karu vs Keres, 1931

Dodge vs J R Houghteling, 1904

I Sokolov vs Morozevich, 2005

H Wagner vs W Schoenmann, 1919

Lasker vs Alekhine, 1914

Spassky vs V Mikenas, 1959

ExampleG Harari,Hampstead 1998

[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. g3 Be6 6. Qa4 Qd7 7. Bg2 O-O-O 8. O-OKb8 9. Nbd2 Nxe5 10. Qb3 Nxf3+ 11. Nxf3 Qc8 12. Rd1 Bc5 13. Qb5 Bb6 14. c5 a615. Qb4 a5 16. Qa3 Ba7 17. Nxd4 Ne7 18. Bg5 f6 19. Bf4 g5 20. Bxc7+ Kxc7 21.Nxe6+ Qxe6 22. Qxa5+ Kb8 23. Rxd8+ 1-0Fig 129

http://www.chesscorner.com/tutorial/learn.htm1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 The careless move 4.e3? can lead to the Lasker Trap.Example 2

Dodge vs Jay R Houghteling[Result "*"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. e3 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qd1 Bf5 7. f3 Nb4 8. Qa4+Qd7 9. Qxd7+ Kxd7 10. e4 dxe4 11. fxe4 Nxe4 12. Rb1 Nc2+ 13. Kd1 Nf2+ 14. Ke2Bc5 15. Nf3 Bd3+ 16. Kd2 Be3# *

Alekhine Defense(1.e4 Nf6)The Alekhine Defense is a hypermodern defence against the ever so popular e4 opening from white.

Black looks to allow white to chase his knight all over the board with tempo gaining pawn moves that will control the center of the board. In exchange for the center control, black will look to undermine the overextended pawns from white.

The one thing black must always remember is that after his knight has been chased around he no longer can play passively and instead needs to attack the center that white has built up or he will be crushed by the pressure white can build up.

White has three main lines that he can choose from but they all start out with 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6. From here things start to change and each variation takes on its on characteristics. White can choose from the very aggressive line of the four pawn attack where white will look to put his four central pawns in the center. He also might look to play the exchange variation that follows the four pawn attack but instead of the last pawn, instead opts to exchange with the d6 pawn. Black here can choose to play a sharp line capturing with his king pawn or play super aggressive and capture with his c pawn and really open things up.

Famous Games using the Alekhine Defense

Nimzowitsch vs Alekhine, 1926

NN vs Geschew, 1935

P C Gibbs vs Schmid, 1968

G A Thomas vs Alekhine, 1925

Verlinsky vs I Rabinovich, 1925

H Borochow vs Fine, 1932

Benko Gambit

benko gambit

The Benko Gambit is one of the most well respected gambits in chess. For this reason it is one of the main lines stemming from the Benoni Defense.

White can either accept the gambit or decline this gambit with Nf3. Although some players may prefer to decline the gambit if they are unfamiliar you will amost always see white accept with cxb5.

Black’s entire goal is to give up a pawn early on to give himself a big advantage on the queen side. Black will continue to try to give white another pawn with a6. Many players don’t mind playing down a pawn as black because of the great attacking lines that stem from the queen side attack in the benko gambit.

If you play as white in the Benko Gambit and you don’t want to get into the main line, defending your queen side all game, it is common practice to give back the pawn material advantage and focus on building up your central control.

This opening is not for the faint of heart. It’s a very aggressive opening and should be played accordingly.

Famous Games using the Benko Gambit

Shirov vs A Hauchard, 1990

Karpov vs Topalov, 2002

A Greenfeld vs Judit Polgar, 1989

Kiril Georgiev vs I Rogers, 1993

Rubinstein vs Spielmann, 1922

Mamedyarov vs Carlsen, 2007

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit

The Blackmar–Diemer Gambit (or BDG) is a chess opening characterized by the moves:

1. d4 d5

2. e4 dxe4

3. Nc3

The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is one of the most ambitious attempts for white to gain a developmental advantage.

From the second move white looks to give away his king’s pawn. Although many top GM’s find this to be unsound, many club level players have great success with it and if you are a very aggressive player I recommend playing it from time to time.

After white gives gambit’s his pawn he then looks to develop his knight to c3, followed by playing f3. This move only shows that those players attempting to play this opening like to play outside standard theory. After black captures on f3, white can either capture with his knight or can instead play the aggressive line (Ryder Gambit) and capture with his queen, thus allowing the black queen to take an additional white pawn on d4.

If white does decide to play the Ryder Gambit, many times black can fall into the Halosar Trap. If you haven’t checked out the video on the Halosar Trap you can watch it HERE.[Result "*"]

Halosar Trap

1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Qxf3 Qxd4 6. Be3 Qb4 7. O-O-O Bg48. Nb5 Na6 9. Qxb7 Qe4 10. Qxa6 Qxe3+ 11. Kb1 Qc5 12. Nf3 *7th move shown above

It is also very important to remember that this opening can be transposed from other openings. One of the most common lines is white opening with e4 and black responding with the Scandinavian Defense d5. If you don’t like playing against the Scandinavian Defense you can now play d4 and you will have the same position.

This opening is very fun for those players that don’t mind giving up a pawn or two in the early part of a game in exchange for a large lead in development and the potential to chase the opponents king around the board all game long. If you however only like to play when you are up in material this is not the opening for you.

B Bartsch vs Jennen,   1948

E J Diemer vs K Locher,   1948

E J Diemer vs Schickner,   1950

S Paschmann vs Kurschat,   1986

Bogo-Indian defence

The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e6

3. Nf3 Bb4+

   White wins 36.1%   Black wins 21.7%   Draws 42.3%Game: Black resigns1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Bb4 4. Bd2 Bd2 5. Nbd2 d5 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O b6 9. cd5 Nd5 10. Qa4 c5 11. Rac1 Bb7 12. Ne4 cd4 13. Qd4 Qe7 14. Bb1 Rac8 15. Qd3 f5 16. Ned2 Rc1 17. Rc1 Rc8 18. Rc8 Bc8 19. e4 fe4 20. Ne4 g6 21. a3 Bb7 22. Nd4 N5f6 23. Ng5 Bd5 24. Nde6 Be6 25. Qe3 Nf8 26. Ba2 Qd6 27. Be6 Qe6 28. Ne6

Monticelli trapMonticelli vs. Prokeš, Budapest 1926

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 b6 6. g3 Bb7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. Nc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 Nxc3 10. Ng5

Parent Indian Defence

[Result "*"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 b6 6. g3 Bb7 7. Bg2 O-O 8.Nc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 Nxc3 10. Ng5 *

Caro Kann (E4-C6)

The Caro-Kann Defense is one of the most popular openings in response to the King’s Pawn Opening of 1.e4. Black responds with 1….c6 with the idea of thrusting forward with d5 on the next move, attacking the white central pawn on e4. The Caro-Kann Defense is one of the few defenses in chess where black can reach equality in the main line and many people

would consider black to have a better position, especially in the end game when the main line is played out. This is usually because black does not compromise his pawn structure and will usually have an easier end game.

There are many variations in the caro kann but the main line continues with 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5. This is an important setup that all caro kann players should look at and understand. Many times a caro kann opening can transpose into a french defense but when the main line plays out, black usually has a pawn on c6. Black will then bring out his light squared bishop and eventually play e6 (usually played after the light square bishop is out so it is not blocked in). With the pawn on c6, black usually decides to bring his knight to d7 and support the future knight that is on f6. Black can bring his queen to c7 while his dark square bishop has many lines and is not blocked in by the pawns.

If the caro-kann does not follow the main lines it usually takes on a french defense so I would recommend studying up on the french defense if you want to play the caro-kann. The caro-kann is not a flashy opening and it’s not super aggressive. The caro-kann is, however, a very sound defense that can lead to an advantage for black near the later stages of a chess match. For those players that have a firm foundation of pawn structure and end game strategies I definitely recommend employing this in your chess games.Game 11.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2 Ngf6?? 6.Nd6 mateGame 21.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Qe2 b5?? 7.Nd6 mate (Smith - Tichenor, South Carolina 1982)Morozevich vs Ivanchuk, 2004 Morozevich vs Bologan, 2004 Kasparov vs Karpov, 2001

Very common trap in Caro-Kann

[Result "*"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qg4 Na6 *

Colle–Zukertort SystemOne variation on the Colle is the Colle–Zukertort System (named for Johannes Zukertort), characterized by developing the dark-squared bishop on b2. The typical plan is: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bd3 c5 In this variation White will eventually play for a kingside attack, despite his apparently innocuous development. This system has been frequently employed at grandmaster level by Artur Yusupov.

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 e6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 Re8 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 cxd4 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg6 14.h4 Rh8 15.Rxe6+ Nf6 16.h5+ Kh6 17.Rxd6 Qa5 18.Nxf7+ Kh7 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Qb3+ 1–0 (Black resigns)

Dutch Defense

Dutch Defense Big

The Dutch Defense is a very active defense in chess against 1.d4. Black looks to control the e4-square while completely unbalancing the position. Later on in the chess game, black will look to future his attack on white’s kingside. One of the key concepts is that the weak f7 square that black has becomes even more a target for white and many times white will focus exclusively on targeting this weakness. In return, black will have very active pieces that are not cramped and should provide for some exciting game play.

White usually fianchettoes his king’s bishop onto g2 to add support on the e4 square that black is attacking. Black also might fianchetto his bishop in the kingside to add pressure on the dark squares. As both sides have very different strategies, most games with the Dutch Defense become very lively and active.

For those players that encounter 1.d4 often and don’t like playing the Queen’s Gambit line, the Dutch Defense gives lots of great counterattacking for black and is a very good alternative.

Famous Games using the Dutch Defense

Birjanis vs Tal

I De Winter vs Spassky

J Brenninkmeijer vs Anand

English Opening

English Opening

The English opening is the 4th most common opening for white. Although the English has its own style, the opening is very flexible and many times transposes into other opening lines. The objective of the opening is to apply pressure on the center d5 square without committing the queen pawn or the king pawn. Since the move is a flank move many players like the English because of its hypermodern style of play (using pieces from the sides along with minor pieces to apply pressure and control the center).

White’s 2nd move depends on black’s response. If black does not immediately try to control the center white can fianchetto his bishop with 2. g3 3. Bg2 and white starts to apply even more pressure on the d5 square and gives white the control over the light squares. Many English games will start out very slow as both sides build up pressure around the center.

The good thing about the English is that you can be very versatile. With all the different openings that you can transpose into, the English can be used against any opponent as you can change your game plan early on. If you like slow methodical games and like to be flexible this is a great opening to use.

The bad thing about the English is there are many traps that exist to defend the English. As with any opening you should be aware of the traps that you might encounter.

Famous Games using the English Opening

Petrosian vs Botvinnik, 1963

Smyslov vs V Liberzon, 1969

E Nikolic vs Fischer, 1968

The French Defence

http://www.thechesswebsite.com/french-defense/

The French Defence is a sharp counterattacking weapon against white’s first move 1.e4. From black’s first move, he looks to black the a2-g8 diagonal which is usually a big weakness for black and prepares to take control of the light squares in the center after 2….d5. Some of the greatest players of all time have had a hard time playing against the French Defense because it plays so much differently than a normal black defence.

The biggest problem you will see if you are black is the blocked bishop on the queen side that is blocked by the very first move of 1…e6. Many times the entire game will revolve around this key weakness of black’s. Always know your weaknesses in a chess game.

One of the big concepts to notice about the French Defense is that black usually counterattacks on the queen side while white will normally focus on the king side. This type of game can many types turn into a race to see who can strike first.

The French Defense ranks second in popularity only to the Sicilian against white’s 1.e4 and as many chess games start with 1.e4, the French Defense is a very good tool to have your chess repertoire.

In this variation, White establishes a pawn chain along dark squares, andBlack establishes a pawn chain along white squares. A pawn chain refersto pawns that are united along a diagonal. Because they can’t capture oneanother, they may remain in place for a very long time. Sometimes, Black isforced to take extreme measures to break White’s pawn chain apart.Game 11.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd75.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qa5 8.Qd2But White makes it worse!8...cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4 White resignsGame 21.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Ne7 5.Bd3 g6?? [Black can play 5… Nbc6 or Nec6] 6.Nf6 mate (V. Ivanov - Martinov. Moscow 1973)

Famous Games using the French Defense

Nimzowitsch vs Capablanca, 1911

Larsen vs Petrosian, 1966

Fischer vs Myagmarsuren, 1967

Fried Liver Attack

The Fried Liver Attack is one of the most aggressive openings from white as you will be sacrificing one of your minor pieces very early in the game.

This aggressive attack starts from the Italian game and will play out if black chooses to defend with the two knights defence (as shown in the picture). If black chooses Bc5 instead of the two knights defence I recommend the Evan’s Gambit, since the fried liver attack will no longer work.

White is looking to sacrificing his bishop on f7 in exchange for a very strong assault against the black king. The black king will be forced to the middle and will be under attack the entire game. It is extremely difficult to defend this properly and you don’t want to play black in this situation.

Fiske / Fuller / Perrin vs Morphy,   1857

Morphy vs S Boden,   1858

Giuoco Piano

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5)

The Giuoco Piano is said to be the oldest opening recorded in chess. Instead of developing the bishop to b5, white instead attacks the center and aims at the weak f7 square. After black responds bishop to c5 you see the tension building up in the center of the board.

The opening has been called the “quiet game” but for anyone who has played this opening, after the initial build up in the center, the Giuoco Piano becomes anything but quiet. There will almost certainly be many exchanges in the middle as both sides vie for center control, opening the board up.

White eventually plans to bring his pawn to d4 and black plans to bring his pawn to d5. As you can tell from the setup, there are no attacks from the outside but instead everything runs through the middle.

This opening is somewhat tricky and there are many variations that you many want to study more if you plan on playing the Giuoco Piano.

Famous Games using the Giuoco Piano

Capablanca vs NN, 1918

Nimzowitsch vs Capablanca, 1913

Loyd vs S Rosenthal, 1867

Game 11.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.Ng5 O-O 6.d3 h6 7.h4 hxg5?? 8.hxg5 Nh7 9.Qh5, threatening 10.Qxh7 mate (Greco, 1620)

Game 21.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O d6 5.d3 Bg4 6.Nc3? [6.Bg5 is a good alternative] 6...Nd4 7.Be3 Nxf3+ 8.gxf3 Bh3 9.Re1 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Qg5+ 11.Kf2 [or any other King move] 11...Qg2 mate (Unknown - Poole, England 1952)

Halloween Gambit

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5

The Halloween Gambit, or the Muller-Schulze Gambit derives from the Four Knights Game but then takes on a very aggressive approach as white sacrifices a knight for a pawn with the hopes of controlling the center with white’s pawns. White hopes to do this by driving back black’s knights while pushing forward his pawns.

Even though black will be retreating his knights, black has more than enough compensation for white’s temporary advancement in the center. If black plays correctly, he should have a very good game.

Many times though, black is unaware how to defend correctly and white will easily be able to gain back the material sacrificed and often execute an attack on black’s king that black is unable to stop.

For those players that like experimenting with different gambits to keep their opponents off guard, this is one worth studying. In competitive play I would not recommend playing this

but against an average chess player or even in a blitz game, the joys of pulling of a win with an obscure gambit are sometimes worth the risk.Game 11. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Ne5 Ne5 5. d4 Nc6 6. d5 Ne5  7. f4 Ng6 8. e5 Ng8 9. d6 cd6 10. ed6 Qf6 11. Nb5 Rb812. Be3 b6 13. Qe2 Kd8 14. O-O-O Qe6 15. f5 Qf5 16. Qc4 Qe5  17. Qc7 Ke8 18. Bd4 Qf4 19. Kb1 Ra8 20. Re1 Be721. g3 Qd2 22. Bg2 Qg2 23. de7 N8e7 24. Nd6 Kf8 25. Qd8#

The King’s GambitKing’s Gambit Accepted (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4)1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bg4 6.Qe2 Bxf3?? 7.Nf6 mateKing’s Gambit Declined (1.e4 e5 2.f4 without 2…exf4)1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.fxe5 Qh4+ 4.Ke2 Qxe4 mate (Tchineoff - Maillard, Paris 1925)

The King’s Gambit is one of the oldest openings in chess and for good reason. The possibilities the opening presents have intrigued the greatest chess minds for years including greats such as Spassky, Tal, and Fischer. White, on the second move challenges black’s center and begins an attack at the black kingside.

Black can accept or decline the gambit. Most players choose to accept the gambit and try to counterattack the now semi-exposed king side of white. If accepted white should focus their attention on the f7 square which is now a big weakness for black. After 2 exf4 white has two good options. The first option is to immediately start the attack with 3. Bc4, putting immediate pressure on the f7 square. The second option is 3. Nf3 which defends against 3 Qh4+ and also starts to develop an attack on the king side.

The good thing about the King’s Gambit is it is very unpredictable. If your opponent is not very familiar with how to defend they can find themselves in big trouble early. Most games are very wide open and have exciting and dynamic lines. For the creative chess player that likes to use exotic combinations and wild sacrifices, the King’s Gambit is the perfect opening

Famous Games using the King’s Gambit

Morphy vs Anderssen

Fitzgerald vs Loyd

Morhpy vs Rousseau

Spassky vs Fischer,   1960

J Rosanes vs Anderssen,   1863

Matschego vs Falkbeer,   1853

Kings Indian Defence(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7)

Kings Indian Defense

The Kings Indian Defense is one of the most solid defenses in chess. Black builds an extremely strong defense around his king and then looks to counter attack depending on where white’s structure is weak.

Play normally starts in the Kings Indian Defense with the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6.

This defense is a hypermodern idea that allows white to control the center of the board early on while black looks to develop his minor pieces early on and move his pawns towards the center later on in the game.

Although the Kings Indian Defense is a very solid opening for black it is also very passive in the early stages and if you are a very aggressive player you will not enjoy this opening. Much like any opening in chess, though, in the middle stages of this opening will allow for many opportunities for counter play.Example1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 O-O 6.Nf3 Re8 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.e5 Ng4 9.e6 Ndf6 10.exf7+ Kxf7 11.h3 Nh6 12.g4 [threatening 13.g5 and pinning both Knights] 12…Nd7?? [the wrong Knight. Best is 12…Nhg8] 13.Ng5+ and 14.Ne6, winning the Queen (Atkins - Conde, England 1925)

Larsens Opening (1.b3)

larsens-opening

Larsens Opening is a change of pace from the typical openings where white looks to control the center of the board with this d and e pawns. Instead white will play his bishop to b2 and control the dark square diagonal which will put pressure on black’s king side.

This is not an aggressive opening but does give white many favorable positions and also is poorly prepared for by black.

If white wants to play more aggressive he can always play e3 followed by f4 and start to push forward on the king side. While e3 isn’t common, in Larsens Opening is makes a lot of sense because the dark square bishop is already out of the pawn chain on b2.

For those players that want to mix it up and like playing openings that their opponents might not be prepared for, this is a great opening to try.

Example1.b3 b6 2.Bb2 Bb7 3.f4 e6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.c4 Bd6 6.Ne5 Bxe5 7.Bxe5 Ng4 8.Bb2?? [perhaps 8.h4 is best to prevent the Queen from checking] 8…Bxg2! And if 9.Bxg2 Qh4+ 10.Kf1 Qf2 mate (Deiber - Delarge, Postal)1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 d5 3.e3 e6 4.f4 g6 5.g4 Bg7 6.Be2 Nxg4 and if 7.Bxg7 Qh4+ 8.Kf1 Qf2 mate (Johansen - Budde, Germany 1986)

Latvian Gambit

Latvian Gambit(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5)

The Latvian Gambit is a very aggressive opening defense for black against one of the more common openings for white. This opening is not seen much at master level chess as most masters refuse to give up material early on in a game. Below master level play there are strong advocates of the Latvian Gambit and I personally enjoy the possiblities that arise from this opening.

What makes this is such an interesting opening is that white does not have many good moves besides accepting the gambit. If white refuses the gamit, black will have the same aggressive style of play with this f file open, potential for a castle rook, but also black will not be down in material. This is why it is far more common for white to accept the gambit with

Nxe5. From here black has many options, all of which are very aggressive. Many Latvian Gambit games are filled with crazy and wild sacrifices. I would not recommend playing this opening if you are only looking to go down 1 pawn in material and claw back the rest of the game. The Latvian Gambit usually is an all out war, doing whatever it takes to checkmate your opponent, even if that means giving up a few pieces.The Latvian Gambit can lead to some pretty complicated positions where it’seasy to lose track of events. If you’re comfortable in these types of positionsand your opponent is not, things are likely to go your way. You arrive at theinitial position for the Latvian Gambit after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 (seeFigure 4-14).

Examples

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.d4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 d6? 5.Qh5+ Ke7?? [now 5…g6 had to be played] 6.Qf7 mate (Unknown - Cornelissen, Eindhoven 1974)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Nd5 Qd8 8.Nd4 Ne7 9.Nxf6 c6?? [perhaps 9…g6 is Black’s best move] 10.Nd6 mate (Kranzle - Krause, Mannheim 1939)

http://www.thechesswebsite.com/latvian-gambit/

Nimzo Indian Defence(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4)

Nimzo Indian Defense

The Nimzo Indian Defense is an extremely solid defense that is seen at all levels of play. Many players playing as white will try different variations to try to avoid going into the Nimzo Indian Defense lines.

Black looks to double up the pawns on the c-file in exchange for his dark square bishop. With the knight on c3 the key defender of the e4 square, black really starts to focus his energy on controlling the e4 and the light squares.

This defense has many different variations and you could spend the rest of your life just trying to cover half of them. The good thing is that there are many ways to mix up your play and keep your opponents guessing. If you are a strategic player that likes to methodically

build up a strong game plan and dominate your opponent in the middle/end game then I highly recommend you try this opening

The Nimzo-Indian is an excellent opening for players who enjoy strategic

struggles. Black wants to damage White’s pawn structure, fix it in place,and then attack the weaknesses. White usually gets the advantage of the twobishops and often has a strong center, which White can use to launch a kingsideattack. Although White has several ways of playing against the Nimzo-Indian, no one has developed any sure way to secure an advantage.

Example1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 Qe7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 d5 8.b3 c5 9.dxc5?? [time to play 9.Bb2] 9…Qf6 threatening 10…Qxa1 and 10…Qxf2 mate (Foley - Wall, Dayton 1982)

Petrov Defense

Petrov Defense

The Petrov Defense, sometimes referred to as the Russian game is one of the more popular games with GMs because of its generally drawish tendencies. Many other players prefer to play the Petrov Defense so that they can avoid the lines of the Ruy Lopez, the Italian Game and the Scotch Game. For those players that like to play e5 but don’t like the normal defenses, then this might be a good alternative.

Black has to be careful with how he continues in the Petrov. If white captures on e5 then black can’t continue to mirror and take on e4 or he will end up being down in material. Instead black should first play d6, forcing the white knight back and then take on e4. If both sides want to open things up, then they can exchange knights on c3 which will usually result in a queenside castle for white and very aggressive play from both sides.

Famous Games using the Petrov Defense

Leko vs Kramnik,   2004

Janowski vs Marshall,   1912

Lasker vs Pillsbury,   1895

Anand vs Kramnik,   2005

Example1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Ne5 d6 4. Nf3 Ne4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc67. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nc312. bc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cd5 Qd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. Qc1 Na5  17. c4 Qe4 18. Bd1 Qd3 19. Re3 Qc4 20. Re5

http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-openings/

Pirc Defense

Pirc Defens (1.e4 d6 or 1.e4 g6)

The Pirc Defense is a hypdermodern defense, meaning that it doesn’t try to control the center early on with his pawns. Instead black tries to attack the center with this minor pieces from the sides and then once the foundation is in place, then looks to undermine the center control that white usually has.

There are two main attacks that white has to play against the pirc defense. The Austrian Attack is the most aggressive as white pushes his f pawn to f4, exposing a weakness on his king side but putting added pressure on the king side of black. It is usually a good idea to aggressively attack a king that is castled on the side of a fianchettoed bishop which black does in the pirc defense with the moves g6 followed by Bg7.

The second move that white has is the Classical System which develops the second knight to f3 and looks to build up a stronger center control before white looks to attack.

In both cases, black will have counterplay but has to be cautious about playing to passive. If black is not careful he can find himself in lots of danger and a position that is too cramped to move. Black will have great play if he attacks the center for white before white has a chance to attack.The Austrian Attack, a system of attack against the Pirc, was developed by theViennese players Hans Müller (1896–1971) and Andreas Dückstein (1927–)but was first played in an international tournament in 1896 in Nuremberg.White essentially tries to overrun Black’s position with center pawnadvances. The Austrian Attack commences after the moves 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf63.Nc3 g6 4.f4

Example1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nd7 3.Bc4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Kf6 (6...Kf8 7.Ne6+ wins the Queen) 7.Qf3 mate (Hamlisch - Unknown, Vienna 1992 and repeated in Tal - Streicher, Riga 1950)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nd7 3.Nf3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7? [4…c6 or 4…Nf6] 5.dxe5 dxe5?? 6.Qd5 threatening 7.Qxf7 mate. 6…Nh6 fails to 7.Bxh6 (BELLE - Van der Giessen, Netherlands 1978)

The ponziani opening

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3)

begins with the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3. White looks to build up a support for a later push of d4, controlling the dark squares in the center of the board.Named after Domenico Ponziani (1719-1796), this once-popular opening has been played less and less in favor of more active openings.Many chess players find c3 to be inferior to both the Ruy Lopez, 3. Bb5 and the Italian Game 3. Bc4. While I will agree that the Ponziani is not seen at the GM level often and is thought to be equal for black, there still is much theory to be explored in the opening and white has many opportunities to come out far ahead if black is not well prepared.

As white’s ideas are very transparent, black can either play a quite game with Nf6, a sharp game with d5 or even a gambit with f5. Each of these defenses against 3. c3 completely change the outcome of the game and it’s very important to know the key concepts and main lines associated with each defense.

Whether you are looking to catch your opponent off guard or you want to come prepared for a worthy opponent, the Ponziani opening is a must know for every chess player.Example1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Nb8 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Qd4 d6 8.Qxe4 f5 9.Bb5+ Kd8?? [9…Bd7 may be best here] 10.Bg5, threatening 11.Nf7 mate (Balabanov - Moros, Frunse 1984)

Famous Games using the Ponziani Opening

Eichborn vs Anderssen,   1854

W Schmidt vs Simon Friedl,   2000

Velimirovic vs Smejkal,   1979

Taylor vs Hebden,   2004

Dubois vs De Riviere,   1856

http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-openings/

The Queen’s Gambit

The Queen’s Gambit is probably the most popular gambit and although most gambits are said to be unsound against perfect play the queen’s gambit is said to be the exception. After 1. d4 1…d5, white stakes claim to

center control by playing 2. c4. The objective of the queen’s gambit is to temporarily sacrifice a pawn to gain control of the e5 square.

If black accepts the gambit 2…dxc4 white should reply 3. e3 which not only gives the d4 pawn an extra defender but also frees up the bishop to attack and regain the pawn. Black will have a hard time holding onto the pawn after 3…b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 6. Qf3. In the Queen’s Gambit accepted line, white is able to gain a center presence, good attacking chances and his pawn on d4 threatens to advance. Black will have to concede his pawn on c4 and focus on counter attacking white’s advances. This is why the queen’s gambit is not considered to be a true gambit. There are many different variations for black if he chooses to decline the gambit.

Famous Games using the Queen’s Gambit

Anand vs Ponomariov, 2002

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 Nc6  8. Qe2 Be7 9. Rd1 O-O 10. dc5 Qc7 11. b3 Bc5 12. Bb2 b6  13. Nbd2 Bb7 14. Rac1 Nb4 15. Ng5 Qe7 16. Ndf3 h617. Nh3 Rfd8 18. Nf4 Rd1 19. Rd1 Rd8 20. Rd8 Qd8 21. Ne5 Nbd5  22. Nh5 Be7 23. h3 Qc7 24. e4 Nb4 25. Nf7 Kf7 26. Ng7 Bc8  27. Nf5 b5 28. ab5 ab5 29. Ne7 Ke7 30. Bb5 Qc2 31. Ba3 Qc3  32. Qc4 Qa1 33. Kh2 Qa3 34. Qc8 Qa5 35. Qc5 Kd836. Qd6 Kc8 37. Qe6 Kb8 38. Bc4 Qc7 39. e5 Ne4 40. f4 Nd241. Qh6 Nc4 42. Qf8 Ka7 43. Qb4 Nb6 44. e6 Nc8 45. Qd4 Kb8  46. Qe5

Kasparov vs Gulko,   1982

Topalov vs Kramnik, 2006

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 exd4 6.Qb3 Be7 7.Bxf7+ Kf8 8.Ne5 Bc8 9.Bxg8, threatening 10.Qf7 mate (Green - Varley, Internet 1996)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nc3 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.Bxc4 dxc3?? [5…Nc6] 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qxd8 wins the Queen (Donnelly - Pollington, England 1963)

The Queen’s Indian Defence

(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6)

The Queen’s Indian Defense is an extremely solid hypermodern defense against the d4 opening from white. It usually arises if white chooses to avoid the Nimzo-Indian defense by bringing his knight to c3 and instead opts to first bring his knight to f3.

Black now has the option to play b6, preparing to fiachetto his light square bishop and try to take control over both the center light squares as well as the long diagonal.

White has a few options but usually will opt for g3, challenging the long diagonal by fianchettoing his own bishop to g2.

Unlike some of the other Indian defenses, black has many opportunities to play aggressive which makes it very popular at top level play.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Ne4 6. Qc2 Nxc3 7. Qxc3 Be7 8. Bf4

Bf6 9. Qd2 d6 10. e3 Nd7 11. Be2 g5 12. Bg3 g4 13. Ng1 Bxg2

Famous Games using the Queen’s Indian Defense

Kasparov vs Portisch,   1983

Radjabov vs Anand,   2002

Karpov vs Korchnoi,   1994

Kasparov vs Karpov,   1986

Tal vs Hecht,   1962

Sultan Khan vs Capablanca,   1930

The Reti Opening

(1.Nf3)

The Reti Opening has at times been referred to as the Opening of the Future. It is called this because of how easy it is to transpose into a variety of different opening lines. Many players have a very defined defense as black but against the Reti, black is forced to almost wait and see which opening line white will take. Some of the main opening lines that the Reti will transpose into are the Queen’s Gambit, the English, the Ruy Lopez, or the King’s Indian Attack. As you can tell, white has many different options to choose from, even after he has already moved.

Most players are more comfortable moving a pawn on their first move as white to control the center but the Reti opening uses a flank technique to attack the center with its minor piece and allows for quick castling on the kingside.

White also puts pressure on the e5 square which black would like to occupy but white also does not commit to a specific center pawn structure.

For those players that have a good understanding of multiple openings and are used to developing the king’s knight to the f3 square early on will really enjoy playing the Reti Opening as it gives you more options than other defined openings.

Fischer vs Panno, 1970

Miles vs Browne, 1982

J L Hammer vs Carlsen, 2003

Example

1. Nf3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Ng5 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. Qe2 c6 6. Ngxe4 Nbd7 7. Nd6# *

The Ruy Lopez

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5)

The Ruy López is the most famous of all the chess openings. It’s named

after a Spanish clergyman, who systematically studied it in the mid-16thcentury. Also called the Spanish Opening in many countries, it involves asophisticated and intricate method of play that can make the defender feel asthough Black is slowly but surely being squeezed to death. This accounts for

its nickname of the “Spanish Torture.”

The Ruy Lopez is the cornerstone of classical play in chess. There are probably more variations for the Ruy Lopez than any other opening. With the common use of the double king’s pawn opening (1.e4 e5), the Ruy Lopez is one of the most played openings that any chess player will come across. It’s almost imperative that any chess player study some of the more popular defenses against the Ruy Lopez and understand some of the key concepts of the opening.

From the beginning, white looks to develop his bishop while pinning down black’s knight to the king. Although many openings focus on the f7 square early on, the Ruy Lopez is a slower and more methodical approach to attacking black’s king.

Always be aware of what your opponent is trying to do when playing the Ruy Lopez, as many players have a very specific defense designed for playing against the Ruy Lopez.

The Ruy Lopez is sometimes considered a slow and boring opening but the better player should usually come out with the win. There are not as many tricks or surprises in the Ruy Lopez and is recommended against any opponent that you know you have a distinct advantage in skill level.

Famous Games using the Ruy Lopez

Capablanca vs O Bernstein,   1911

Fischer vs Larsen 1966

Kasparov vs Smyslov 1981

Example

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Nf6 6. O-O Nxe4 7. Nxe5 Nxe5 8.Qh5 Bd6 9. d4 Nc6 10. Qxf7# *

http://www.thechesswebsite.com/chess-openings/

The Scandinavian Defence

Center Counter Defense (1.e4 d5)

The Center Counter Defense, also known as the Scandinavian Defense because of the analysis of this defense by Scandinavian players in the 19th century, usually sees an early Queen development by Black. Several traps arise from this defense.

The Scandinavian Defense (also known as the Center Counter) begins with themoves 1.e4 d5 (see Figure 13-4). It’s a direct challenge to the White pawn one4. The main drawback to the move is that there may be a slight loss of timefollowing the moves 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3, when the Black queen is obliged tomove again.

The Scandinavian Defense is one of the oldest recorded openings in chess. From the very first move, black looks to undermine the center control of white after the common e4 move by white.

Nine times out of ten white will catpure the pawn on d5 and I recommend that you spend the majority of your time learning the scandinavian defense, assuming that white captures the pawn on d5.

Black then has two options. The first option is the main line which is to recapture the pawn on d5 with his queen. Then after white play Nf3, black can decide to bring his queen to a5 or back to d6. It is considered bad play to retreat back to d8 since the queen just came from that square. You shouldn’t play the scandinavian if you are looking to merely retreat your pieces when they could stay active.

The other response black has is to play Nf6 and not recapture right away on d5. This is done for two reasons. One black is giving up material to build up a stronger center and get better development from their minor pieces.

The second reason is that the main line is for white to give back the material and black will have a better developed plan than they would with their queen exposed.

Famous Games using the Scandinavian Defense

Schlechter vs Mieses,   1909

NN vs P Kruger,   1920

Max Weiss vs Blackburne,   1889

Anand vs Lautier,   1997

E Canal vs NN,   1934

Examples

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Ne5 Bh5 7. Qxh5 Nxh58. Bxf7# *

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. Nc3 Nxd5 6. Nxd5 Qxd5 7. Qf3Qc4 8. Qxb7 Qc6 9. Qc8# *

Scotch Gambit(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4)Scotch Gambit

There are a few ways to offer a gambit as white in the Scotch Game. The most common, and one that we will focus on this page, is white playing Bc4 instead of taking with his knight on d4.

This does many different things but it delays the middle control of the board with the knight and pawn in exchange for a very powerful bishop that eyes down on the f7 pawn from black.

While the Scotch Game can be one of the slower games and can lead to very unexciting matches, the Scotch Gambit takes it to the other extreme as both sides have the opportunity to give up material early on in exchange for a non-material, yes crucial, advantage.

If you play this opening it’s always important to know how to respond to your opponents moves because one misstep and you will find yourself very behind.

The Scotch Opening’s name is derived from a correspondence match betweenLondon and Edinburgh in 1824. It was all the rage for the next couple ofdecades but then faded to relative obscurity. What was old became newagain when Garry Kasparov revived the Scotch and featured it in successiveWorld Championship matches.

[9…Ke8 had to be played][5…Be7?

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 dxc3 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. Nxc3 Bb4 7. e5 Ng4 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Ng5+ Kg8 10. Qd5+ Kf8 11. Qf7# *

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Bc4 Be7 7. e5 c5 8.Qf4 * [if knight moves then Qf5 mate]

The Scotch Game

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4)

The Scotch Opening’s name is derived from a correspondence match betweenLondon and Edinburgh in 1824. It was all the rage for the next couple ofdecades but then faded to relative obscurity. What was old became newagain when Garry Kasparov revived the Scotch and featured it in successive

World Championship matches.

The Scotch Game has recently regained popularity as many top level players have used it as a surprise against players who are well equipped to face the Ruy Lopez. The Scotch is very similar to the Center Game where d4 opens up lines for development and also gives white early center control. In the Scotch Game, black will be able to develop easy and white should look to take advantage of its special and center control.

Any chess player that likes to play 1.e4 should study the Scotch Game as there are many subtle traps that black can fall into that will give white an overwhelming advantage. Most players expect white to play 3.Bb5 or 3.Bc4 and when white instead transposes in the Scotch Game (3.d4), they sometimes will make amateur mistakes, leaving the door open for white to take control of the game.

It is also very important to study the Scotch Game as black and learn the different lines and find the line that fits your playing style the best. The Scotch Game is an opening that if you are not prepared you can be in a lot of trouble early on so know the key concepts of the opening.

Famous Games using the Scotch Game

Karjakin vs V B Malinin, 2002

Kasparov vs Karpov, 1990

Showalter vs Gossip, 1889

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bb4+ [more common is 4...Nf6] 5.c3 dxc3 6.Qd5 d6?? 7.Qxf7+ Kd7 8.Be6 mate

Position after move 2 D6 is wrong move Check mate

[Result "*"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. Qd5 d6 7. Qxf7# *

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.e5 c5 8.Qf4 and if the knight moves, Qxf7 mate (Wall - Burton, Wichita Falls, Texas 1971)

Position on 3rd move Moving the N leads to mate[Result "*"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Bc4 Be7 7. e5 c5 8.Qf4 Nh5 9. Qxf7# *

The Semi-Slav Defence

Slav: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6

Semi Slav : [Result "*"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 *

The Slav and Semi-Slav are defenses to the Queen’s Gambit (see Chapter

14). In both cases, Black uses the c-pawn to defend the d-pawn to avoidhemming in his light-square bishop. In the Slav, the bishop generally developsto f5, or sometimes g4, whereas in the Semi-Slav, the bishop often develops

on the flank. This chapter covers a few of the most popular variations.

The Semi-Slav Defense is one of the most popular defenses for black against the Queen’s Gambit line from white. This opening is seen at all levels of chess competition and is often seen as one of the most sound defenses at top level play.

Black spends most of the time in the Semi-Slav developing pawns and pieces to control the light sqaures in the middle of the board. It differs from the Slav opening in that the light square bishop on c8 is not developed before the pawn structure is formed with e6. This allows more time for black to build up a solid pawn structure around the d5 pawn, but at the cost of slower development from his light square bishop.

White typically has two main ideas that he can play for. The first is to develop his dark square bishop on c1 befor he closes the pawn structure with e3. The second is to immediately play e3, protecting the pawn on c4, while delaying the development of the dark square bishop. Depending on

how white responds many times will determine much of the dynamics in the game.

Black will typically counter attack on the queen side of the board and try to make a push for the center control of the light squares. If black can equalize, he should be better off in the end game with a much better pawn structure.

Famous Games using the Semi Slav Defense

Aronian vs Anand,   2007

[Event "FIDE World Championship Tournament"]

[Site "Mexico City MEX"]

[Date "2007.09.14"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Levon Aronian"]

[Black "Viswanathan Anand"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "D43"]

[PlyCount "82"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6

6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Ne5 h5 10. h4 g4

11. Be2 Bb7 12. O-O Nbd7 13. Qc2 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bg7 15. Rad1 O-O 16. Bg3 Nd7 17.f3 c5 18. dxc5 Qe7 19. Kh1 a6 20. a4 Bc6 21. Nd5 21... exd5 22. exd5 Be5 23. f4 Bg7 24. dxc6 Nxc5 25. Rd5 Ne4 26. Be1 Qe6

27. Rxh5 f5 28. Kh2 Rac8 29. Bb4 Rfe8 30. axb5 axb5 31. Re1 Qf7 32. Rg5

32... Nxg5 33. fxg5 Rxc6 34. Bf1 Rxe1 35. Bxe1 Re6 36. Bc3 Qc7+ 37. g3 Re3 38.Qg2 Bxc3 39. bxc3 f4 40. Qa8+ Kg7 41. Qa6 fxg3+ 0-1

Kramnik vs Anand,   1997

Topalov vs Vallejo-Pons,   2006

Carlsen vs A Groenn,   2005

Mamedyarov vs Ivanchuk,   2007

Example1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 g5 6.Bg3 Be7 7.Nb5 O-O 8.Nxc7?? Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+, winning the Queen (Corrie - Wall, Thailand 1974)

[Result "*"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 g5 6. Bg3 Be7 7. Nb5 O-O 8. Nxc7Bb4+ 9. Qd2 Bxd2+ *

In the above game the white looses queen

The Sicilian Defence(1.e4 c5)

The Sicilian Defense is the most popular defense against white’s opening 1.e4 and is used extensively at top level play. It is a very aggressive defense and immediately stakes claim at the center, denying white the double pawns on e4 and d4. Many chess champions actually prefer to start with 1.d4 because of how well the Sicilian Defense plays against 1.e4.

Eventually the c-pawn of black is usually exchanged, opening the semi-open c file for black to bring his queen or rook to and add pressure to the queen side attack.

White not only has to worry about black’s defense but also the counter attack that the Sicilian Defense presents. White tends to have the advantage on the king side while black will usually look to attack on the queen side.

For those chess players that play against the 1.e4 opening quite often, the Sicilian Defense is an opening that you should spend quite a bit of time studying. There are many variations and they each are designed for specific types of players.

Example

Game:

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Bc4 Nf4 5.Qf3 Ng6?? [Black must play 5… Ne6] 6.Qxf7 mate (Correa - Ba [Result "*"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Bc4 Nf4 5. Qf3 Ng6 6. Qxf7# *

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Bc4 Nf4 5. Qf3 Ng6 6. Qxf7# *

Game

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bc4 Na5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qd4 Bg7 9.Ng5+ Kf8 10.Ne6+, wins the Queen (Kurtes - Berta, Hungary 1958)

[Result "*"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 g6 6. Bc4 Na5 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qd4 Bg7 9. Ng5+ Kf8 10. Ne6+ *

There are some other variations but we do not discuss here

Famous Games using the Sicilian Defense

Ljubojevic vs Kasparov, 1983

Mamedyarov vs Carlsen, 2008

Stripunsky vs Nakamura, 2007

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cd4 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. g4 Rc8 11. Kb1 Ne5 12. h3 b5 13. f4 b4 14. Nd5 Nd5 15. ed5 Nc4 16. Bc4 Rc4 17. f5 Qa8 18. b3 Rc5 19. Bh6 Bh6 20. Qh6 Rd5 21. Rhe1 Re5 22. Rf1 Qg2 23. Rf4 Rc8 24. g5 Rc2 25. Nc2 Bf5 26. Rc4 d5 27. Rc7 Re3 28. Ka1 Qh2

Last position of above game

The Slav Defence1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6

3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 (Semi Slav)

3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 (Slav)

The Slav is one of the primary defenses to the Queen's Gambit. Although it was analyzed as early as 1590, it was not until the 1920s that it started to be explored extensively. Many masters of Slavic descent helped develop the theory of this opening, including Alapin, Alekhine, Bogoljubov, and Vidmar.

The Slav Defense is one of the most popular openings with GM’s. This is for two reasons. The first is that it is one of the most solid lines to play against the Queens Gambit and with the Queens Gambit being a regular opening at high level play, many top players have become fans of this opening.

The Slav also allows for lots of different variations so those players that like to be creative and don’t like to play the same variation every game will really enjoy the Slav Defense because it offers just that.

In the second move black looks to defend his pawn on d5 with his c6 pawn. This is done so that his pawn on the e file can stay as needed and not block the way of the light square bishop.

In the main line of the Slav Defense white looks to dominate the center of the board and black looks to control the b4 square and later make a push towards the c5 and e5 squares.

Famous Games using the Slav Defense

Rubinstein vs Alekhine,   1911

Janowski vs Capablanca,   1916

Van Wely vs Topalov,   2006

Ponomariov vs Wang Hao,   2007

Topalov vs Kamsky,   2006

Aronian vs V Popov,   2005

(1) Szekely,J - Canal,E [D10]Budapest Budapest, 1933

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.Nxb5 cxb5 6.Qf3 Qc7 7.Qxa8 Bb7 8.Qxa7 e6 9.d5 exd5 10.Qd4 Nf6  11.Nf3 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Nc6 13.Bxb4 Nxb4 14.Qc3 Qa5 15.Nd2 d4 16.exd4 Nfd5 17.Qg3 0-0 18.Kd1 Qa4+  19.b3 Qa3 20.bxc4 Nc3+ 21.Ke1 Nc2#

The Smith Morra Gambit

1. e4 c5

The Sicilian Defence.

2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3

White's 3.c3 introduces the Smith–Morra Gambit. Black accepts the gambit pawn.

The Smith Morra Gambit is a sharp and aggressive line against the Sicilian Defense from black. If you play e4 as white for any length of time you probably run into the Sicilian Defense quite often.

This gambit is only for very aggressive players as are most gambits. White looks to not only take black out of the normal sicilian lines but also looks to use the advantage in development to overwhelm the black king.

White usually looks to put his bishop on c4 (attacking the weak pawn on f7). Then looks to castle king side after his knight comes to f3. Then eventually his rooks would like to come to the open c file and the semi open d file. After this white will have a lot of attacking lines at his disposal.

Black has to play rather carefully during this game and many Sicilian defenders had to play against the Smith Morra Gambit.

1.e4 c5 2.d4 (the Smith-Morra Gambit) 2...Na6 (Black should play 2...cxd4) 3.Bxa6 bxa6 4.dxc5 Nf6 5.e5 Ne4?? 6.Qd5, trapping the Knight. (Wall - Somarian, Internet 1996)

Famous Games using the Smith Morra Gambit

A Zaitsev vs Y Sakharov,   1968

Fischer vs Auner,   1960

Tal vs Neibult,   1991

Tartakower vs Najdorf,   1948

Trap in Smith Morra Gambit

[Result "*"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. e5 dxe5 8.Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. Nb5 Kd7 10. Nxe5+ Ke8 11. Nc7# *

Siberian Trap un Smith Morra Gambit[Result "*"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4 9. h3 Nd4 *

The Vienna Game

The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves:

1. e4 e5

2. Nc3

is one of the most fundamentally sound openings in chess. It follows all of the basic opening principles and allows for creativity for both aggressive and non-aggressive players.

Black has three main options to respond to the Vienna Game. They are 2….Nf6, 2….Bc5, 2…..Nc6. Each response from black opens up the door for white to choose how the game will proceed.

White can play a quiet game, simply developing minor pieces towards the middle of the board and try to stay ahead in time and space, or white can play a gambit with f4, transposing into various King’s Gambit lines.

For those players that enjoy playing the King’s Gambit, Halloween Gambit, Three Knights Game, or just simply want something different than the Ruy Lopez, I recommend this opening. It is easy to learn and gives you lots of options that your opponent might not be ready for.

Famous Games using the Vienna Game

Najdorf vs NN,   1942

Mieses vs Janowski,   1900

Tartakower vs Rubinstein,   1925

Lasker vs Von Popiel,   1889

The Würzburger Trap is a chess opening trap in the Vienna Gambit. It was named around 1930 for German banker Max Würzburge

[Result "*"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. d3 Qh4+ 6. g3 Nxg3 7. Nf3 Qh5 8.Nxd5 Bg4 9. Nf4 Bxf3 10. Nxh5 Bxd1 11. hxg3 Bxc2? 12. b3 *

The Accelerated Dragon *

The Accelerated Dragon (or Accelerated Fianchetto) is a chess opening variation of

the Sicilian Defence that begins with the moves:

1. e4 c5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. d4 cxd4

4. Nxd4 g6

Caro-Kann: Apocalypse AttackThis is mainly to brief the Apocalypse attack against the Caro-Kann and it's use as a surprise weapon. Seems excellent for taking Caro-Kann players out of familiar territory. Have come across this in my studies preparing for Caro-Kann Exchange variations. 

The Caro–Kann Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

1. e4 c6

The Caro–Kann is a common defense against the King's Pawn Opening and is classified as

a "Semi-Open Game" like the Sicilian Defence and French Defence, although it is thought to

be more solid and less dynamic than either of those openings. It often leads to

good endgames for Black, who has the better pawn structure.

[Result "*"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5 e6 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Qb6 7. c4?! Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Ne7 9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Na4 Qd8 12. Qc2 Bd6 13. Re1 Qc7 14. Bd2 Nf515. Nf3 dxc4 16. Qxc4 a5 17. Nc5 *

The Baltic Defense 

The Baltic Defense (also known as the Grau Defense, or the Sahovic Defense) is a chess

opening characterized by the moves:

1. d4 d5

2. c4 Bf5!?

The Baltic is an unusual variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD). In most

defenses to the QGD, Black has difficulties developing his queen bishop. This opening

takes a radical approach to the problem by bringing out the queen bishop immediately.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Bf5 3. Nc3 e6 4. cd5 ed5 5. Qb3 Nc6 6. Nd5 Be47. Nc3 Nd4 8. Qa4 b5Looses rook

Berlin Defence: 3...Nf6 [edit]

The Ruy Lopez (/rʊ.ɪ   ˈloʊpɛz/ ; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈruj ˈlopeθ/ˈlopes]), also called the Spanish

Opening or Spanish Game, is achess opening characterised by the moves:

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bb5

Berlin Defence 3...Nf6

The Berlin Defence, 3...Nf6, has long had a reputation for solidity and drawishness and is

sometimes called "the Berlin Wall".[20] The Berlin Defence was played in the late 19th century and

early 20th century by Emanuel Lasker and others, who typically answered 4.0-0 with 4...d6 in the

style of the Steinitz Variation. This approach ultimately fell out of favour, as had the old form of

the Steinitz, due to its passivity, and the entire variation became rare. Arthur Bisguier played the

Berlin for decades, but always chose the variation 4.0-0 Nxe4. Then in 2000,Vladimir

Kramnik used the line as a drawing weapon against Garry Kasparov in Classical World Chess

Championship 2000, following which the Berlin has experienced a remarkable renaissance: even

players with a dynamic style such as Alexei Shirov, Veselin Topalov, and Kasparov himself have

tried it, and Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand both used it (Carlsen extensively so)

during the 2013 World Chess Championship and 2014 World Chess Championship.

Anand, Viswanathan - Almasi, Zoltan 1-0C67 Bundesliga 0203

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. a3 h6 12. Re1 Be7 13. Ne4 Be6 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Nc5 a4 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18

. Re4 Be7 19. Be3 c5 20. Rd1 Rf8 21. Kg2 Rf7 22. Kg3 b5 23. h4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd825. h5 Kd7 26. c4 c6 27. Rf4 Ke8 28. Rxf7 Kxf7 29. Kf3 g5 30. Bc1 b4 31. b3 axb3 32. a4 Ke8 33.Ke2 Bd8 34. Kd1 Bc7 35. Be3 Bxe5 36. Bxc5 Bc3 37. Kc1 Bg7 38. Bxb4 Bd4 39. Bd6 Bxf2 40. Kb2 Bd4+  41. Kxb3 Bg7 42. a5 Kd7 43. a6 Kc8 44. Kc2 1-0

The Black Knights' Tango 

The Black Knights' Tango (also known as the Mexican Defense or Kevitz–Trajkovic

Defense) is a chess opening beginning with the moves:

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 Nc6

Garry Kasparov vs Alex Yermolinsky

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. a3 d5 5. Nc3 a6 6. cd5 ed57. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Bd3 Be6 11. O-O Nd712. Bg3 Bd6 13. Rc1 Bg3 14. hg3 Ne7 15. Na4 c6 16. Qc2 a517. b4 b5 18. Nc5 Nb6 19. ba5 Nc4 20. a6 Bc8 21. a4 Ba622. Ra1 Qd6 23. ab5 Bb5 24. Qc3 Qc7 25. Rfb1 Nd6 26. Bc2 Nb7  27. Nb7 Qb7 28. Qc5 Rfb8 29. Ne5 Ra1 30. Ra1 Nc831. g4 Nb6 32. Bf5 Rd8 33. Rb1 Na4 34. Qc2 Nb6 35. Bh7 Kh8  36. Bd3 Bd3 37. Qd3 f6 38. Ng6 Kg8 39. Qf5 Re840. Nf4 Qc7 41. Qg6 Re7 42. Nh5 Nd7 43. Rc1 Nf8 44. Qc2 Re6  45. Nf4 Rd6 46. Ra1 Qc8 47. Qc5 Rd8 48. Qb6 Rd649. Ra7 Qg4 50. Qb8 Rd7 51. f3

White wins

The Bowlder Attack

The Bowlder Attack is not often seen at high-level chess.

I've noticed the Bowlder attack being played a lot on this site as a response to the Sicilian. The bowlder is characterized by 2.Bc4, and is usually answered by 2. ...e6, or 2. ...Nc6. Looking through the game explorer, 

The last screen in the game

[Result "*"]

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Nxd7 7. d4 c4 8.Nc3 f6 9. Bf4 Ne7 10. Qe2 g5 11. Bd6 Qb6 12. Bxe7 Bxe7 13. b3 Qb4 14. Qd2 O-O15. Nxd5 Qxd2+ 16. Nxd2 Bd6 17. Nxc4 Rfe8+ 18. Kd1 Rac8 19. Nxd6 Nb6 20. Nxb6axb6 21. Nxe8 Rxe8 22. Re1 Rxe1+ 23. Kxe1 *

Budapest Gambit

The Budapest Gambit (or Budapest Defence) is a chess opening that begins with the moves:

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e5

Despite an early debut in 1896, the Budapest Gambit received attention from leading

players only after a win as Black by Grandmaster Milan Vidmar in 1918. It enjoyed a rise

in popularity in the early 1920s, but nowadays is rarely played at the top level. It

experiences a lower percentage of draws than other main lines, but also a lower overall

performance for Black.

The Kieninger Trap is named after Georg Kieninger who used it in an offhand game

against Godai at Vienna in 1925.[49] It occurs in the Rubinstein variation  

Kieninger Trap

[Result "0-1"]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. a3 Ngxe5 8.

axb4?? Nd3# 0-1

ContentsAlbin Counter-Gambit...........................................................................................................................................1

Alekhine Defense...................................................................................................................................................3

Benko Gambit........................................................................................................................................................4

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit......................................................................................................................................5

Bogo-Indian defence.............................................................................................................................................6

Very common trap in Caro-Kann...........................................................................................................................9

[Result "*"]............................................................................................................................................................9

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qg4 Na6 *...............................................................................................9

Colle–Zukertort System...............................................................................................................................9

Dutch Defense.....................................................................................................................................................10

English Opening...................................................................................................................................................11

The French Defence.............................................................................................................................................12

Fried Liver Attack..........................................................................................................................................13

Giuoco Piano...................................................................................................................................................14

Halloween Gambit........................................................................................................................................15

The King’s Gambit................................................................................................................................................16

Kings Indian Defence...........................................................................................................................................17

Larsens Opening..................................................................................................................................................18

Latvian Gambit....................................................................................................................................................19

Nimzo Indian Defence.........................................................................................................................................20

Petrov Defense....................................................................................................................................................21

Pirc Defense........................................................................................................................................................22

The ponziani opening..........................................................................................................................................24

The Queen’s Gambit............................................................................................................................................24

The Queen’s Indian Defence...............................................................................................................................25

The Reti Opening.................................................................................................................................................27

The Ruy Lopez.....................................................................................................................................................28

The Scandinavian Defence...................................................................................................................................29

Scotch Gambit.....................................................................................................................................................31

The Scotch Game.................................................................................................................................................32

The Semi-Slav Defence........................................................................................................................................35

The Sicilian Defence............................................................................................................................................37

The Slav Defence.................................................................................................................................................40

The Smith Morra Gambit.....................................................................................................................................42

The Vienna Game................................................................................................................................................43

The Accelerated Dragon *...................................................................................................................................44

Caro-Kann: Apocalypse Attack.................................................................................................................45

The Baltic Defense...............................................................................................................................................46

Berlin Defence: 3...Nf6 [edit]...................................................................................................................46

The Black Knights' Tango.....................................................................................................................................47

The Bowlder Attack.............................................................................................................................................48

Budapest Gambit..........................................................................................................................................48

Number 10. The Ruy Lopez. Perhaps the greatest most complex openings out there. I respect this opening as it was proven that if white plays the lines correctly, he will carry a small advantage. Its also a great opening since it explains develop and castle early and build a attack. This opening was invented sometime in the 1400 by someone who had a name called Ruy lopez