IM Eric Rosen compiled a nice study on Lichess that nicely showcases the numerous traps that white can walk into: With that high amount of traps, it’s easy to fall into one if you are unprepared and under time pressure as the white player. Black simply creates a more destructive bishop that can’t easily be kicked around by being fianchetto’d on the kingside. in which black copies white’s development with c5 in an attempt to create a black version of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted if white decides to take. In the Nimzo indian, black doesn’t completely give up the center as e6 is played after nf6, helping attack the center and potentially push d5, while of course allowing the bishop to move to b4 and pin the knight. At first glance, this opening seems to be neglecting the basic principles of chess because right after white takes the d5 pawn, the obvious response is Qxd5, moving the queen before any other piece, and right into the center where it can be pushed around. The goal of RagChess is to help all players become better at chess by understanding theories, openings, tactics, & more through videos and in depth guides, 1. e4 is the most popular opening out there. If you play Bc5 and completely mirror white, you want to know going in that white will always be one step ahead and can attack the center first with either Evan’s Gambit (4. b4) Giuoco Piano (4. c3) or Giuoco Pianissimo (4. d3) (all of these are shown below) and you will be one step behind. Goldsby Bill Wall's Chess Combinations FIDE Member Federations FICS Timeseal for LINUX Chess Books on Google Books Chess Tempo Jerome Gambit Off the Wall Chess Bill's Book Covers 365chess.com 700 Opening Traps … A popular opening in the 19th century, where it got its creation. As the center position opens into opening tactics, white will have b5 in the back of their arsenal of tricks to push the knight from its position. Is Bobby Fischer the best chess player of all times? I know it has certainly thrown me off when I was first starting off, but by following the basics of the opening, you will be prepared. You’ll learn the main ideas behind some of the best & most popular chess openings, all in one place. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. The quiet opening move of e6 allows for d5 and c5 almost immediately. , followed by 5362 after White’s second move, then  4,897,256 after 5 moves. Junior Championship and GM Joel Benjamin, 56, coasted to victory in the U.S. Senior Championship. After pushing e6 to defend the center, black opts to start with a kingside attack and fianchetto the queen side bishop. Nf3, or the Reti). g4! Let me know in the comments if there is anything you’d like me to shed more info on: Studying chess openings is important is because it will help you understand what your plans are, what your opponent wants to accomplish and it will give you more time to think later in the game. To me it feels the cleanest game and perfectly abides by all opening principles. This opening often turns into an isolated queen pawn for white, which can be favorable for either side, depending on how many pieces there are. You wouldn’t want to protect the e4 pawn with d3 because you would be giving up your castling position or a pawn after dxe5 and dxe5 then QxQ+. If white allows black the chance to take on c4 instead of trading away pieces, white has the opportunity to push e4 and gain full centralization control. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. You’ll want to understand that trading off the bishop, regardless of which side of the board your king ends up on, makes f3 and h3 very weak squares. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. The Dutch Defense is a response to white’s D4 with f5. When white attempts the queen’s gambit, a strong response is c6 by black. Black even has a super strong counter attack known as the, The hyper-accelerated dragon speeds this process up even further, but can often be punished with the suffocating. Standard Game Annotation: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. B4 also attacks the c5 square immediately. The four knights game is a very standard game in which both white and black develop their knights and attack the center of the board. It provides a more equal counter play in an attack on the center while also allowing the queen to come into the game at a great angle against white’s eventual king side castle. 1. e4 is the most popular opening out there. This is a main theory however and can occur frequently. Named because the pawn structure slightly resembles a dragon, the Dragon is a popular variation in which black decides to fianchetto the kingside bishop by pushing g6. The french defense had been my go to response against e4 for years. Black can also choose a more popular d6, going for pinning the knight on nf3 with bg4 in an attempt to open up the king’s side pawn structure. The name of the opening makes sense as all four knights are developed before anything else. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. E4 is also a move with two ideas behind it as it opens the bishop’s attack on c4. If you know the positions and ideas, you can cause your opponent to spend more time in the opening if they are not prepared. In the Fried Liver, white is completely acting on the weakness of f7 and looking to fork the queen and rook with Nxf7. In fact, it is suggested there are more legal chess moves than there are atoms in the universe. Bishops do well with long diagonals, and in the opening bishops have less power. Nxd4 Nf65. Standard Game Annotation: 1. e4 e5 2. These games are call slow for a reason, and often can lead to “boring” play. The Alekhine Defense revolves around nf6 in response to e4. The English is a very versatile opening that allows the knight to be easily developed to c3 without the annoyance of keeping your pawn on c2, preventing attack on the center and preventing the Queen from moving easily. The black bishop will continue threatening the f2 square as long as it stays on the g1-a7 diagonal. Black also has the option for the Austrian Defense in which black copies white’s development with c5 in an attempt to create a black version of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted if white decides to take. The reason is that you created weakened squares next to your pawn that was pushed on either g3 or b3 and removing the bishop removes a protector for those squares. If white played d4 instead, the threat is not as prevalent and most players won’t count d4 with f6. This is a quieter variation of Giuoco Piano where white pushes d3 to protect the e4 pawn first before c3. 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