Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2...Nc6/3. Nc3

Black Knights Tango
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) r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/2n2n2/8/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR b
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3

Black Knights Tango

3. Nc3

White add pressure to d5 and supports a possible later e4. The downside is Black can free the e-pawn and pin the White Knight by playing Bb4.

Theory table

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

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3

	3	4	5	6
	Nc3 e5	d5 Ne7	e4 Ng6	Be3 Bb4	∞
	... e6	e4 Bb4	f3 d5	cxd5 exd5	∞
	... d5	cxd5 Nxd5	e4 Nxc3	bxc3 e5	+=
	... d6	Nf3 e5	d5 Ne7	e4 g6	+=

References

• Georgi Orlov (1992), Black Knights' Tango, Batsford, ISBN 1879479036
• Georgi Orlov (1998),The Black Knights' Tango: Outwit Your Opponents from Move 2!, Batsford, ISBN 0713483490
• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.