Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nc3

Vienna Game
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 white knightd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3

Vienna Game

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White's wish is to advance the f-pawn two squares to remove Black's powerful e5 pawn and strike at the heart of their position. Now it is possible to play f4 on the second move, for the King's Gambit, but when no Black piece has yet declared its intentions is there not a degree of hit-and-hope about such a move? If you have the patience to let Black build their bridge before you blow it up: welcome to the Vienna Game, a poison-tipped opening from the nineteenth century.

If you should find yourself up against the Vienna as Black, keep your nerve. The harder White tries to checkmate you, the less time they have to develop naturally and control territory; consequently, if you survive the opening your hand is a little freer than in the Ruy Lopez.

Black for the moment has no threat to respond to, save the threat of f4 which cannot be reasonably prevented. When in doubt, develop a knight:

2...Nf6: Falkbeer (or Berlin) Defence

The most common reply as it prepares to counter f4 with d5, adding to the equation another variable for White to keep track of.

2...Nc6: Max Lange Defence

This allows Black to capture the pawn when it gets to f4, without having their active knight subsequently kicked by the e-pawn.

Other plausible moves are 2...Bb4 and 2...Bc5 both of which attempt to initiate a counter-attack.

Theory table

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

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3

2
Falkbeer (or Berlin) Defence ...
Nf6
=
Max Lange Defence ...
Nc6
=
...
Bc5
Nf3 +=
...
Bb4
=
Zhuravlev Countergambit ...
Bb4
f4
exf4
Nf3
Be7
d4
Bh4+
=

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References

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