Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3
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< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...e5(Redirected from Opening theory in chess/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3)
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Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation(FEN)
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R |
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| Moves: 1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ECO code: C40-C99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent: Open Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents |
[edit] King's Knight Opening
[edit] 2. Nf3
Black's valuable center pawn is threatened with capture, but White's pawn remains vulnerable. The question for Black at this point is whether to challenge White's e4 pawn or support his own pawn.
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- 2...Nc6 is the natural move, combining defence of the pawn with control of the d4 square and refusing to commit another pawn. The extent of this move's popularity is such that the typical player of 2. Nf3 as White is already thinking beyond it to their third move, safe in the knowledge that any variation by Black will play into their hands.
In fact Black has a few other options, though all have their downsides.
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- 2...d6, Philidor's Defence, is the other safe option to defend the pawn. It restricts the f8 bishop to the e7 square, and grants White an advantage in territory, but it builds a fortress that cannot be easily battered down.
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- 2...f6, Damiano's Defence, is a wasted move. After 3. Nxe5, the knight cannot be captured as 3...fxe5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qxe5+ is most embarrassing.
If Black decides to go after White's pawn, he has:
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- 2...Nf6, Petrov's Defence. Black refuses to be cramped, but his symmetrical tendencies are unlikely to lead to a very active position either, unless White feels compelled to try and win the game by breaking the symmetry.
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- 2...f5!?, the Latvian Gambit. The Latvian Gambit is the most vocally disagreed-about opening in chess. Depending on who you read, Black has either lured White into a minefield of tricks and traps leading almost inevitably to a violent death, or given away a pawn for nothing.
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- 2...Qe7, the Câmara Defence. The idea here is a possible transposition to the King's Indian Defense by following up with moves like g6, Bg7 and d6 or c6.
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- 2...d5?!, the Elephant Gambit. It is generally considered unsound, because if White plays accurately Black does not get sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn. Otherwise, if White doesn't play accurately, Black's position can soon become overwhelming.
[edit] Statistics
Estimated next move popularity
Nc6 83.5%, Nf6 11%, d6 4%, f5 0.5%, other less than 0.5%
[edit] Theory table
For explanation of theory tables see theory table and for notation see algebraic notation.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruy Lopez | ... Nc6 |
Bb5 a6 |
Ba4 Nf6 |
O-O Be7 |
= |
| Petrov's Defence | ... Nf6 |
Nxe5 d6 |
Nf3 Nxe4 |
d4 d5 |
= |
| Philidor Defence | ... d6 |
d4 exd4 |
Nxd4 Nf6 |
Nc3 Be7 |
+= |
| Latvian Gambit | ... f5 |
Nxe5 Qf6 |
d4 d6 |
Nc4 fxe4 |
+= |
| Elephant Gambit | ... d5 |
exe5 Bd6 |
d4 e4 |
Ne5 Nf6 |
+= |
| Câmara Defence | ... Qe7 |
Bc4 d6 |
O-O g6 |
d4 Bg7 |
+= |
| Greco Defence | ... Qf6 |
Bc4 Qg6 |
Nc3 |
+/- | |
| Damiano Defence | ... f6 |
Nxe5 Qe7 |
Nf3 Qxe4 |
Be2 |
+/- |
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[edit] References
- Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
- Batsford Chess Openings 2 (1989, 1994). Garry Kasparov, Raymond Keene. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.
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