Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bb5/3...a6/4. Ba4/4...Nf6
| Morphy defence | |
|---|---|
|
a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h | |
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) | |
| Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 | |
| Parent: Morphy defence | |
| Responses: | |
4...Nf6
edit4...Nf6 develops a knight and threatens White's e-pawn. White can defend it directly, or focus on development knowing that, in the long term, the pawn is not really at risk.
Defend the pawn
editWhite has several ways to directly defend the pawn.
5. d3 is the Anderssen variation. By defending with a pawn, White essentially eliminates any option of ...Nxe4. This also means White renews the threat of Bxc6 dxc6 Nxe4, as Qd4 no longer forks White's knight and pawn. This variation is an option for White to avoid learning the extensive theory after 5. O-O.
5. Nc3 is the Tarrasch variation. This develops a piece and defend e4. White usually ends up play d3 as well after 5...b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d3.
Both these options are playable but, compared to the mainline, both interfere with the plan of playing c3 and d4. Without playing c3 and d4 to create some central tension, it will be difficult to generate open files for the rooks; additionally White's star attacker currently residing on a4 is risks get swapped off if it does not have the option of retreating to c2.
Defending e4 with 5. Qe2, the Wormald attack, retains the option of c3 and d4 and introduces the medium-term plan of shifting the king's rook across to d1 in a single move after White castles kingside. The downside is that it places the queen on a file that's very likely to get opened, or at least half-opened. Put your rooks on open files and your queen on a closed one!
Realise the truth: the pawn doesn't need to be defended
edit5. O-O is the mainline. White castles their king to safety and is ready to bring their rook to e1. Black can take the pawn with 5...Nxe4, the Open Spanish, but White can get Black's e-pawn back in exchange (6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5⩲).
This is the most subtle way to maintain material equality: Black makes no net gain in material and White gets to spend time on a developing move instead defending the pawn. Moreover, opening up the e-file while White is castled and Black is not creates tactical opportunities for White. Therefore, Black in fact usually does not capture. The most common line is 5...Be7, the Closed Spanish, leaving the pawn and preparing to castle.
Other moves
edit- 5. d5 is the Mackenzie variation. White opens up the centre early. This sideline avoids facing Closed Spanish positions: Black must either take the e4 pawn, 5...Nxe4, transposing into the Open Spanish after 6. O-O; or take the d4 pawn, 5...exd4, then 6. O-O Be7 7. e5 kicks the knight before White recaptures the pawn on d4.
- 5. Bxc6 is the Bayreuth variation. White wastes time compared to capturing the knight on turn four.
- 5. c3 is the Jaffe gambit. c3 is a thematic move in the Spanish to prepare d4. In this position it allows 5...Nxe4 and 6. O-O? is too slow to recover the pawn. White may play 6. Qe2 Nc5 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. d4 (the e5-pawn is pinned) Ne6 9. Nxe5 instead.
Theory table
edit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed Spanish (mainline) | O-O Be7 |
Re1 b5 |
Bb3 d6 |
c3 O-O |
h3 | |
| Open Spanish | ... Nxe4 |
d4 b5 |
Bb3 d5 |
dxe5 Be6 |
||
| Anderssen variation | d3 b5 |
Bb3 Bc5 |
O-O d6 |
c3 | ||
| Wormald attack | Qe2 b5 |
Bb3 Bc5 |
c3 d6 |
|||
| Tarrasch variation | Nc3 b5 |
Bb3 Bc5 |
O-O O-O |
d3 d6 |
Bg5 h6 |
|
| Mackenzie variation | d4 exd4 |
O-O Be7 |
Re1 b5 |
Bb3 d6 |
Bd5 Nxd5 |
|
| Bayreuth variation | Bxc6 dxc6 |
d3 Bd6 |
||||
| Jaffe gambit | c3 Nxe4 |
Qe2 Nc5 |
Bxc6 dxc6 |
d4 Ne6 |
Nxe5 |
References
editSee also
edit
- Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.
With 2...g6:
With other 2nd moves for Black: