Chess Opening Theory/1. e4

King's Pawn Opening
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation(FEN) rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR
Moves: 1. e4
ECO code: B00-B99 and C00-C99

King's Pawn Opening

1.e4

White's aggressive opening move opens lines for the queen and king's bishop and fights for control of the squares d5 and f5. 1. e4 is the most traditional of White's first moves, is popular at all levels of the game and is the favoured opening move of world champions Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov, Fischer calling it 'best by test'. Openings with 1. e4 tend to emphasize violent tactics over slow maneuvering.

At this point Black must decide how to face White's aggression. With a pawn on e4 White's simplest plan is to play d4 on the next move, giving himself a strong 'classical' centre, so the most aggressive replies by Black challenge White's control of d4.

• 1...e5 challenges it directly, establishing an equal share of the centre though allowing White to maintain for longer the initiative conferred by having the first move.
• 1...c5, Sicilian defence, creates an unbalanced position of attack and counter-attack and is the most popular move.
• 1...Nc6 is playable but does not prevent d4 since the knight cannot take the pawn without the queen recapturing.

Alternatively, Black may challenge White's central control by targeting the newly arrived e4 pawn, either with

• 1...d5, with a likely exchange of central pawns leading to a wide-open game in which minor piece placement is crucial, or with
• 1...Nf6 inviting White to build a large centre that may later be attacked.
• 1...f5, the Fred defense, is considered by many to be a poor move but leaves White many options though most lead to an imposing center for white that black will attempt to dissociate with flank pawns.

Other first moves by Black allow White to place pawns on e4 and d4, with Black conceding a spatial disadvantage in order to prepare a counterattack.

• 1...e6, French defence, a popular move. Black follows up with d5. The main disadvantage of this opening is that Black's light-squared bishop becomes blocked behind his pawns
• 1...c6 also prepares d5, but without blocking the bishop.
• 1...d6 and
• 1...g6 are related moves - where one is played, the other usually follows soon. The aim is to set up a solid but dynamic formation with Bg7 and usually Nf6 before deciding how to fight for the center.
• 1...b6 is occasionally played but allows White to attack quickly.
• 1...a6 neglects the centre and is not recommended to anyone less skilled than Tony Miles.

Rarely played moves by Black include

• 1...a5, is also not recommended, as it weakens Black's position.
• 1...Na6, Lemming Defence, which is too passive.
• 1...Nh6, Adams Defence, which is also too passive.
• 1...h6, Carr Defence, which wastes time and weakens Black's kingside.
• 1...h5, Pickering Defence, which does not help development.
• 1...g5, Borg Defence
• 1...f6, Barnes Defence, weakens the Black king.
• 1...b5, Polish Gambit, unsound because 2. Bxb5 gives White a free pawn.

Statistics

Approximately chances: White win 39%, Draw 29%, Black win 32%
Estimated next move popularity: c5 41%, e5 25%, e6 13%, c6 7%, d6 4%, d5 4%, g6 3%, Nf6 2%, Nc6 0.5%, other moves less than 0.5%

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables see theory table and for notation see algebraic notation

1. e4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Sicilian Defence	e4 c5	Nf3 d6	d4 cxd4	Nxd4 Nf6	Nc3 a6	Be2 e6	O-O Be7	f4 O-O	Be3 Qc7	=
Ruy Lopez	... e5	Nf3 Nc6	Bb5 a6	Ba4 Nf6	O-O Be7	Re1 b5	Bb3 d6	c3 Na5	Bc2 c5	=
Caro-Kann Defence	... c6	d4 d5	Nc3 dxe4	Nxe4 Bf5	Ng3 Bg6	h4 h6	Nf3 Nd7	h5 Bh7	Bd3 Bxd3	=
French Defence	... e6	d4 d5	Nc3 Nf6	Bg5 Be7	e5 Nfd7	Bxe7 Qxe7	f4 O-O	Nf3 c5	Qd2 Nc6	=
Pirc Defence	... d6	d4 Nf6	Nc3 g6	f4 Bg7	Nf3 O-O	Bd3 Na6	O-O c5	d5 Rb8	Qe2 Nc7	∞
Scandinavian Defence	... d5	exd5 Qxd5	Nc3 Qa5	d4 Nf6	Nf3 c6	Bc4 Bf5	Bd2 e6	Nd5 Qd8	Nxf6 Qxf6	=
Modern Defence	... g6	d4 Bg7	Nc3 d6	f4 a6	Nf3 b5	Bd3 Bb7	Qe2 Nc6	e5 Nh6	d5 Nb4	∞
Alekhine's Defence	... Nf6	e5 Nd5	d4 d6	Nf3 Bg4	Be2 e6	O-O Be7	c4 Nb6	h3 Bh5	Nc3 O-O	=
Nimzowitsch Defence	... Nc6	d4 d5	Nc3 dxe4	d5 Ne5	Bf4 Ng6	Bg3 f5	Nh3 e5	dxe6 Bxe6	Nb5 Bd6	+/=
Owen's Defence	... b6	d4 Bb7	Bd3 e6	Nf3 c5	c3 Nf6	Qe2 Be7	O-O Nc6	e5 Nd5	dxc5 bxc5	+/=
St. George Defence	... a6	d4 b5	Nf3 Bb7	Bd3 Nf6	Qe2 e6	O-O c5	c3 d5	e5 Nfd7	dxc5 Nxc5	+/=

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References

• Batsford Chess Openings 2 (1989, 1994). Garry Kasparov, Raymond Keene. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.