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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nc3/2...Nf6/3. Bc4/3...Nxe4

< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...e5 | 2. Nc3 | 2...Nf6 | 3. Bc4
Vienna Game, Falkbeer Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 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 white bishopd4 black kinge4 black knightf4 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 black kingg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/2B1n3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK1NR w

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4

Vienna Game, Falkbeer Defence

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Frankenstein-Dracula Variation

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The funny "Frankenstein-Dracula Variation" name was given to this variation by Tim Harding. It reflects on the scary nature of the variations implied.

White is temporarily a pawn down. They may put this immediately to rights with:

4. Nxe4

following up the inevitable 4...d5 with 5. Bxd5. But then 5...Qxd5, and the knight finds itself pinned against the vulnerable g2 square. So Nxe4 should not be played with the intention of recovering the pawn. By extension, White's solid third move was in fact a gambit!

The more active response to the loss of the pawn is

4. Qh5!

And as White seeks to enact revenge with a series of checkmate threats, all hell breaks loose. This is one of the sharpest of all chess variations, right along side such bloodthirsty openings as the Sicilian Dragon and Evans Gambit.

At low playing levels, a variant commonly seen is 4. Bxf7?!, followed by 4...Kxf7 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Qh5+ Kg8. With this method, White recovers the pawn, but his opponent has a powerful pawn centre, and his slightly exposed King does not offer enough compensation to White (7. Ng5 Qe7).[1]

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 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4

4
Qh5
- 		=
Nxe4
- 		=/+
Bxf7
- 		=/+

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References

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  1. ↑ Ludek Pachman, Eröffnungspraxis im Schach.
 

Wikipedia has related information at Vienna Game

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