Open Game

Open Game
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves 1.e4 e5
ECO C20–C99
Parent King's Pawn Game
Synonym(s) Double King's Pawn Opening
Double King's Pawn Game

An Open Game (or Double King's Pawn Opening) is a chess opening which begins with the following moves:

1. e4 e5

White has moved the king's pawn forward two squares and Black replies in kind, the result being an Open Game. Other responses to 1.e4 are termed Semi-Open Games, or Single King's Pawn Games.

The term Open Game can also refer to any chess position where ranks, files and diagonals are open, and usually favor tactical gameplay. Bishops are generally stronger than knights on an open board due to their ability to cover longer distances.


Analysis

White opens by playing 1.e4, which is the most popular opening move and has many strengths—it immediately stakes a claim in the center, and frees two pieces (the queen and king's bishop) for action. The oldest openings in chess follow 1.e4. Bobby Fischer wrote that 1.e4 was "best by test". On the negative side, 1.e4 places a pawn on an undefended square and weakens the squares d4 and f4; the Hungarian master Gyula Breyer melodramatically declared that "After 1.e4, White's game is in its last throes." If Black keeps the symmetry by replying 1...e5, the result is an Open Game (Hooper & Whyld 1992) (Watson 2006:87–90).

Defenses

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black knight
b5 white bishop
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Ruy Lopez after 3.Bb5
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
f4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
King's Gambit after 2.f4

The most popular second move for White is 2.Nf3, attacking Black's king pawn, preparing to castle kingside, and preparing for d2–d4. Black's most common reply is 2...Nc6, which usually leads to the Ruy Lopez (3.Bb5), Italian Game (3.Bc4), or Scotch Game (3.d4), though 3.Nc3 Nf6 (the Four Knights Game), often played in the late 19th to early 20th century, or, less commonly, 3....g6, (the Three Knights Game), are other possibilities. If Black instead maintains symmetry and counterattacks White's center with 2...Nf6 then the Petrov's Defense will usually result, though White can avoid the extensive theory of the Petrov by playing 3.Nc3 if he wishes.

The Philidor Defence, (2...d6), largely fell out of use after World War I, as Black players sought positions offering more counterchances than the solid, though passive game which generally arises from this opening.

The Damiano Defense (2...f6) may be met by either 3.Nxe5 or 3.Bc4, with advantage; the Elephant Gambit (2...d5) and the Latvian Gambit (2...f5) are considered very risky for Black, with the latter usually seen only in correspondence play.

The most popular alternatives to 2.Nf3 are 2.f4 (the King's Gambit), 2.Nc3 (the Vienna Game), and 2.Bc4 (the Bishop's Opening). These three openings have some similarities; some of the quieter lines in the Vienna and Bishop's Opening can transpose to positional variations of the King's Gambit Declined, when White plays f2–f4 before playing Nf3. The King's Gambit was popular in the nineteenth century with grandmaster and amateur alike. White offers a pawn for speedy development, as well as to attack Black's central outpost. The Vienna Game also frequently features attacks on the Black center by means of f2–f4.

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
d6 black pawn
e5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Philidor Defense after 2...d6

In the Center Game (2.d4), White immediately opens the center, though if the pawn is to be recovered after 2...exd4, White must prematurely develop his queen. An alternative is to sacrifice one or two pawns by offering the Danish Gambit (3.c3). The early development of the queen in the Wayward Queen Attack (2.Qh5) or the Napoleon Opening (2.Qf3) looks amateurish, though the Wayward Queen Attack has been played in a grandmaster tournament by no less a player than Hikaru Nakamura.

The Portuguese Opening (2.Bb5), Alapin's Opening (2.Ne2), Konstantinopolsky Opening (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3), and Inverted Hungarian Opening (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2) are offbeat tries for White, though none promise any advantage in the face of correct play.

Examples of Open Games

See also

References

    Further reading

    The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of: Open Game
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