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Another example where White plays formations more typical of Black is the Larsen opening. We will discuss it today.

What kind of debut is this?

Larsen's opening begins with a pawn move b per one field - 1. b2-b3

Authorship is acknowledged for Bent Larsen , an outstanding Danish grandmaster. Of course, he was not a pioneer, the move b3 used before, in particular by the Soviet master V. Simagin. Rather, the Dane’s authority played a role.

I would like to note that the popularity of Larsen's debut has grown significantly in recent years. If in 20 beginning of the century 1. b3 was perceived rather as exotic, today such an approach to staging a debut does not surprise anyone.

This reflects a trend at the highest level of chess. TOP players, quite tired of the role of computer programs in opening preparation, are looking for new opportunities.

They often give up trying to gain an opening advantage using well-worn schemes. They are confident that they will be able to outplay their opponent in an equal fight, in less explored positions.

In this case, the color of the figures, to a certain extent, loses its meaning. In the sense that White plays schemes that are more typical of Black, but with extra tempo. Example in the previous article - Bird's debut.

A similar idea is contained in the English beginning, .

The idea of ​​the early development of an elephant b2 logical, but not without flaws.

For example:

On the other hand, in a number of variants the elephant is on b2 may not be located very well. This is the fundamental difference from fiancheting an elephant on g2, where he covers the king and is always “in business.”

By the way, when playing the Larsen opening, White often uses a double fianchetto.

Main options

White gives Black a choice - which order of moves to choose. Let's briefly look at the main options for both white and black.

A) 1…с5

English-Sicilian construction.

During the course 2.е4 a rare variant of the Sicilian defense arises. If White plays 2.Nf3 or 2.Cb2, Black can continue playing in the Sicilian style (for example 2…d6). Or make a claim against the center.

For example:

2…d6

With an approximately equal game. Carlsen – Grischuk , Int., 2016

With White's advantage. Kramnik-Jones, London, 2012

B) 1…d5

« Classic.” Black seems to be playing a closed opening with a color change. Accordingly, White can set up in the spirit of the Dutch Defense (we analyzed the Dutch for White in Bird’s opening):

2.Nf3 Nf6

With equality. Nakamura – Anand , London, 2014

White has the best game. Artemyev-Matlakov , Khanty-Mansiysk, 2013

B) 1…Kf6

A flexible continuation that allows Black to decide on the formation a little later.

Black often plays in an Indian style.

For example:

2.Nf3 g6

White has an advantage in space, but Black's position is strong. Nakamura – Caruana St. Louis, 2015.

2.Nf3 d6

White has initiatives for a pawn. Fedoseev – Nguyen Tiong Son , Berlin, 2015

G) 1…e5

Most common response to move 1.b3. The blacks are not further ado and are declaring their rights to the center.

2.Cb2 Kc6

3.с4

Example option:

With approximate equality. Fischer – Tukmakov , Buenos Aires, 1970

Fischer used the “hedgehog” formation by analogy with the Sicilian with a change in color.

4.е3

White has a slight advantage. Nakamura – Ponomarev , St. Louis, 2011

Summary

Your humble servant has already spoken about the reasons for the growing popularity of Larsen’s debut.

By the way, at the end of my active career, I used this principle a dozen times. And he won almost all the games.

Here is an incomplete list of TOP players who use this principle today with varying degrees of frequency:

Carlsen, Nakamura, Karjakin, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave, Mamedyarov, Morozevich .

Common mistakes and pitfalls

White got checkmated. The cavalry charge ended in complete fiasco.

Black surrendered, they lose a piece after 8…Ng5 9.h4. Robaldoni – Mancini , Bratto, 2008

The Whites surrendered. Forgash-Krutti, Bungalow, 1995.

Black's entire extravaganza is built on the opposition of bishops b2 And g7. The black elephant is protected, but the white one is not. That makes all the difference.

Approximate games

Nimzowitsch–Alekhine , New York, 1927, 1:0

Carlsen – Grover , Int., 2017, 1:0

Ivanchuk – Vachier-Lagrave , Beinin, 2013, ½:½

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At tournaments they often play d4 against Olesya, to which she responds with d5. Today coach Oleg Kislitsyn tells Olesya how to correctly build black defense against d4 .

It is difficult for White to organize pressure on the d5 pawn. The result is a closed position.

2. c2-c4 c7-c6

On the move c4 you should never move your knight to f6 , because after this White will kill cd, Black will kill Nd5. And White captures the center with e4 - completely free of charge. The black knight goes to f6, “giving up” the center.

On the move c4, the d5 pawn needs to be supported by the e6 pawn or the c6 pawn.

3. Kb1-c3 Ng8-f6

When White moves his knight to c3, he cannot move the bishop to f5 , otherwise black will have problems. First you need to move your knight to f6.

On the diagram, moves No. 1-3 in style Slavic defense .

If White moves to e4, Black will move to b5 and strengthen the doubled pawn.

4.Ng1-f3 e7-e6 or Bf5.

When moving the bishop to f5, you need to be careful, because if the queen moves to b3, it will be dangerous.

Many modern chess players playing the Slavic defense strive to make such a position in order to subsequently win the c4 pawn.

Hunting for the c4 pawn

Slavic formations are very treacherous for whites and many are afraid of building a Slavic defense.

Each of us loves to play chess. The beginning of the game is a tough struggle in which successful positions for your own pieces are chosen. It is necessary to take into account that during the opening part you should not just quickly mobilize your own pieces, as is written in all the textbooks that talk about the beginning of a game of chess.

How to play an opening in chess?

Chess is such an unexpected game. During the game, a chess player must:

1. improve the position of mobilized figures;
2. give up bad pieces for exchange;
3. do everything necessary to push back the opponent’s pieces;
4. create unforeseen circumstances for the enemy;
5. follow the original tactics;
6. keep strengthening individual points that are of significant importance in strategy and tactics.

All these tasks, combined with the mobilization of all fighting forces, should answer the question of how to start a game of chess.

An opening that begins with the move c2-c4 and a flank attack is called an English opening. The video of this debut can easily be found on the World Wide Web.

This is a project approved by our readers, in which you or your child will be able to improve their playing skills, complete a chess level, and in a short time grow to a prize-winner of regional tournaments. The teachers are FIDE masters, online training.

It allows the chess player who prefers to start with white to prevent the emergence of modern and deeply thought-out tactics. How to start a game of chess if the first move d2-d4 is abandoned in favor of c2-c4? Accept the gambit with the queen. In recent years, this opening of the game has brought excellent results to opponents and can occur during grandmaster games. The first move c2-c4 does not allow the enemy to take over the tactics after the first move c4 e6 2. Kc3 d5 3. d4. This step will lead to an unfavorable start for the enemy.

Pros and cons of the English beginning

The main advantage compared to the d4 opening is that it is easier to build tactics this way. In this case, White can easily block his opponent's favorite positions. One of the main disadvantages of the first move is that the opponent can immediately respond with the first move e5. Many grandmasters, after the first opening c4 e5, believe that the probability of White winning is extremely low. Therefore, chess players who are afraid of the first response step e5 begin to play this tactic in a different playing order: 1. Kf3 Kf6, and only then the second C4. However, at the first step. Kf3 has one more disadvantage: black can play d5.

In order to see the tactics clearly, it is enough to delve a little into the essence of the process and understand what the Catalan beginning of online chess is.

This is a closed opening tactic in chess that begins with the sequence of moves:

2. c2-c4 e7-e6

By playing g3 on the third move, White does not give his opponents the opportunity to use the Nimzowitsch strategy for defense. White uses this opening with the goal of fighting for victory on the central flank from the very first moves, with the main role played by the king's bishop g2, which, in addition to putting pressure on the central flank, also makes it impossible for the opponent to develop the queenside.

The King's Indian Opening is a flank type opening, which players begin by attacking the opponent's strong side, from the center of the board. The d5 space must be quickly attacked by establishing control with White's king's bishop. A video of this victory can be found on the Internet. The King's Indian opening is a great start and provides many advantages in the game.

Patzer starts from 20

The start of the c20 patzer in chess begins with White's first move e2-e4 and the counter move d1-h5 to Black's first move e7-e5.

Zaragoza beginning in chess

Chess opening starting with the game c2-c3. It was invented in 1917 by a Spanish chess player originally from the city of Zaragoza. In 1921, a tournament was held in which everyone had to start their game with this combination.

Refers to irregular openings in chess and is quite rarely used in modern chess.

We hope that this article told you how to play an opening in chess. Now you have some basic skills and can learn further using our portal.

This article discusses the rules of playing chess for children and beginners. If it’s easier for you to master the material visually, then start the above video. It is more designed for children, but is suitable for beginners of any age.

Chess- the oldest game and has long been compared to battle. According to one legend, even the invention of chess is associated with the order of one ruler-commander who wanted to get a game, so to speak, a simulator of a real battle between two armies. And although living blood does not flow in chess, it is quite appropriate to imagine a chess player as a commander in command of an army of pieces in order to better understand the intricacies of battles at the chessboard. And perhaps we should start with this very chessboard.

Chess board for beginners

Naturally, every commander must study the location and terrain of the area where he will plan and conduct battles. In this regard, it is easier for a chess player, because he will spend all his battles on the same “terrain”, on a standard chessboard. But experienced players study this “terrain” thoroughly, they remember literally by name the proper name of each cell, its color, they know in which place on the board the hottest fight is most likely to take place, how and which pieces are best to move there...

Don't neglect studying the chessboard!

The theater of military operations where you have to fight chess battles is a square, in turn divided into black and white squares - fields. There are 64 fields in total, 32 white and 32 black.

Black and white fields alternate and, it would seem, the board is symmetrical; you can turn it any way you like, nothing will change. But that's not true. Before you start the game, make sure that the left corner field closest to you is black.

Each square of the chessboard has its own name - coordinates. To do this, use the Latin letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h and numbers from 1 to 8, written along the edges of the board like this:

Rows of 8 fields opposite each number are called horizontals, and columns of 8 fields opposite each letter are called verticals. Accordingly, horizontals and verticals are designated by their number or letter. Horizontal 1, horizontal 2... or vertical a, vertical b, etc. Thus, each field belongs to one vertical and one horizontal, and from this each field gets its name - coordinates. For example, a field located simultaneously on the vertical f and horizontal 4 has a name - field f4.

The fields of a chessboard of the same color that are on the same line are called diagonals. It's easy to guess that they are running diagonally on the board.

Rules for moving pieces

Chess armies line up on the battlefield face to face. The forces of the parties before the battle are absolutely equal and the result of the battle depends only on the talent and knowledge of the commanders. Pawns are lined up in front of each army.

White has 8 pawns on the second rank and Black has 8 pawns on the seventh rank. The pieces are lined up behind the pawns.

• Rooks stand in the corners of the board:

• knights stand next to the rooks:

• next to the horses are elephants:

In order not to confuse the places of the queen and the king, you should remember the simple rule “ The queen loves her color". Thus, the white queen should be placed on a white square, and the black queen on a black square. The side of the board where the kings are at the beginning is called the king's side, and where the queens are - the queen's side.

Starting location on the diagram:

On a wooden chessboard:

White always makes the first move in a chess game. A move is the movement of one piece from one square to another, either free or occupied by an opponent’s piece.

Now let’s look at how and what pieces make these moves, and find out the capabilities of our soldiers.

Rook

The rook is a straightforward and powerful piece, the long-range artillery of chess, and can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically.

Elephant

The bishop is also a long-range piece, a chess archer, and can move any number of squares diagonally. It is easy to see that each bishop can move on squares of the same color, or only on white, or only on black. On the square of which color the bishop is in the initial position, he will move along squares of the same color until the end. Therefore, elephants are called white-field and black-field elephants, respectively.

Queen

The strongest piece, combines the capabilities of a rook and a bishop. Can move any number of free fields in any direction straight, horizontally, vertically and diagonally.

Horse

The horse is the most cunning figure. If the other pieces move straight along open lines, then the knight is not like that. The knight moves two squares straight horizontally or vertically in any direction, and sharply turns 900 in any direction. The diagram shows how a knight on b6 can move. He steps over squares b7 and b8, turns and stands on square c8. The result is a route similar to the letter “G”. Therefore, it is easy to remember “The horse moves in the letter L.” And you can rotate this “letter” any way you like. The diagram shows all the knight's moves from the e5 square. It should be noted that during its move, the knight must go through the “letter G” from beginning to end; it cannot stop in the middle of the “letter”.

An interesting feature of the knight is that it is the only piece that after each move changes the horizontal, vertical, diagonal and color of the field on which it stands.

Another trick of the knight is that he can “take the barrier” and “jump” over neighboring pieces during his move. In the diagram we see that the knight on b1 is surrounded by pawns and a bishop and, in order to make a move, it seems to have to wait until space is cleared for it to move. This would be true for any other piece, but not for the knight. The knight easily overcomes the barrier and can, at the player’s request, jump to squares a3 or c3, or d2

King

The most important and valuable figure. The goal of a chess battle is to capture the enemy king and checkmate him.

The king, like the queen, can move horizontally, vertically, diagonally in any direction, but only one square.

However, once per game the king has the right to make a quicker move, castling. If all the pieces standing between the king and the rook have left, and the king and the rook have not yet made moves,

the king can move two squares towards the rook, and the rook “jumps” over the monarch, covering him with its wide back. This is what the position of the rook and king will look like after a short castling to the king’s side:

And so after a long castling to the queenside:

It is imperative to remember that, although both the king and the rook move during castling, according to the rules, castling is considered a move of only the king. Therefore, if you want to make castling, you need to start it by moving the king two squares to the side, and then moving the rook. You should not first move the rook towards the king and then hide the king behind it. In this case, the opponent can say: “First you touched and moved the rook, move the rook, don’t touch the king.”

Castling is not possible:

• if the king or rook had already made moves during the game;
• if there is any piece between the king and the rook;
• if the square on which the king is located or the square it must cross or occupy is attacked by an opponent's piece.

If only the rook is attacked or crosses the square attacked by the opponent, castling is allowed.

Pawn

Pawns are ordinary soldiers, foot soldiers of the chess army. With its characteristics, the pawn resembles an ancient Roman legionnaire. Alone, a legionnaire separated from the formation is weak as a combat unit, but a formation where legionnaires support and protect each other can sweep anyone out of its way. In battle, a phalanx of legionnaires is doomed to move only forward. If other types of troops - cavalry, archers, can maneuver, move back, to the side, then the formation of legionnaire infantry always slowly and inevitably moves straight towards the enemy. To turn and retreat means to break formation and die.

The pawn is also obliged to move only forward. From the initial position to two or one field, at the player’s request, with the next moves - only to one field. In the diagram, pawns a2 and b2 are in the initial position and can move to two squares or to one. Pawn a2 is on square a3 or a4, and pawn b2 is on squares b3 or b4. It can be seen that the rest of White's pawns have already moved, so they can only move one square. Pawn c3 can go to square c4, pawn g6 to square g7, pawn h5 to square h6.

The pawn, unlike other pieces, simply has a different move and a capture move. Let us again remember the Roman legionnaire. Covered with a wide, heavy shield-scutum and armed with a short sword-gladius, the legionnaire stabbed not directly in front of him, but obliquely from the shield, forward and to the side. The pawn also shoots forward and sideways, diagonally one square. In the diagram, the d4 pawn has its shield against the shield of the black d5 pawn and cannot hit it, but it can fatally sting the knight on c5. The g6 pawn can penetrate the rook to f7 or the black pawn to h7.

As you can see, the black pawn e7 is in the initial position, and therefore has the right to move two squares forward, to e5. It does, but square e6 is under attack by the white pawn f5, and it is fraught for infantrymen to run across squares within the range of the enemy’s sword. In this situation, the white pawn on f5 can take the black pawn that ran past, and itself move to the e6 square. This capture is called an en passant capture. Such a capture is possible only immediately, in response to a push by an enemy pawn.

When the pawn, having overcome all dangers, reaches the horizontal line, it, at the player’s request, turns into any piece except the king. In the vast majority of cases, the pawn is turned into the most powerful piece, the queen.

Other rules of chess

As you know, in any battle, soldiers do not just maneuver on the battlefield, they attack and beat enemy soldiers, and themselves defend themselves from enemy attacks. Chess pieces are no exception; they also attack, beat the enemy and defend themselves from attacks.

Moves in chess are performed by opponents in turn. A move may consist of simply moving your own piece, or it may involve capturing an opponent’s piece. At the same time, it is removed from the board, and the piece that captured is placed in the place of the captured piece.

In the diagram, the black queen, during her move, can take the white rook on e3, in this case the rook is removed from the board, and the queen who captured it moves to the e3 square. Also, the queen can take the bishop not a6. In this case, the bishop is removed, and the queen moves to a6. Other possible captures by different figures are also shown.

An attack on the king is called a check. The diagrams show check to the king from various pieces.

The player must defend against check. There are three ways to do this: leave the king, cover the king with your piece, or take the enemy’s attacking piece. In the diagram, the white queen attacked the black king, the check was announced. Black can leave with the king, close with the rook, or capture the checking queen with the bishop.

If a position arises where the king is in check and the player cannot make a single move to avoid it, this means that the king has been checkmated. From Arabic the phrase “checkmate” is translated as “the king is dead.” The main goal of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king. In chess it means losing. The party ends.

The diagram shows checkmate to the black king. White rook d8 gives check; it is impossible to close or capture the attacking rook, as well as to escape from check.

Chess games are not always played to checkmate. Often a player who has received a bad position and considers his position hopeless, gives up without waiting for checkmate, since he is sure that checkmate is inevitable sooner or later. However, even in the most difficult position, if the opponent is inattentive, the losing player can avoid defeat and claim a draw.

If a position arises in which the side with the right to move cannot use it, since all its pieces and pawns are deprived of the opportunity to make a move according to the rules, and the king is not in check, this means that the board is stalemate. The game ends and a draw is declared.

In the diagram, White has a rook and a king, against a lone black king. White is anticipating victory and is ready to checkmate in a few moves and win. However, it's Black's turn to move. They don’t have a Shah, but they have nowhere to go. The rook cannot be taken, it is protected by the king, the a7 and b8 squares are under attack by the rook. Pat. Draw.

Another draw situation is a threefold repetition. Often achieved by a perpetual check. In the diagram, White has a material advantage and is ready to checkmate with his next move. However, it's Black's move and he moves his queen to f2 and declares check. The white king must retreat to h1; there is no other way to defend himself. But Black checks again, returning the queen to f1. The white king has no choice but to return to h2. There is no way to avoid continuous checks. And after repeating the position three times, a draw is declared.

A draw is also recorded:

• if both sides made the last 50 moves without capturing and without moving a pawn;
• if there are not enough pieces left on the board to checkmate.

And of course, players have the right, by mutual agreement, to fix a draw if none of them sees a way to win.

A beginning chess player should also remember an important rule: chess commanders, having given a rash order, cannot immediately cancel it. They do not take backward moves, but having touched a piece, they are obliged to move it. “Touched - go!”

The Everlasting Party(The Evergreen Game) is a chess game between Adolf Andersen and his longtime rival Jean Dufresne. This game was played in Berlin in 1852. It was distinguished by a brilliant combinational style and was published many times in print.
In the opening, Andersen achieved a positional advantage, then sacrificed two knights, an exchange and a queen, declaring checkmate on the 24th move. Wilhelm Steinitz called this game "unfading (Immergrun - evergreen) in the laurel wreath of the great German masters."

Andersen - Dufresne
Berlin, 1852
Evans Gambit

1.e2-e4 e7-e5 2.Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3.Bf1-c4 Bf8-c5 4.b2-b4 Bc5:b4

The Evans Gambit, a popular opening at the time, saw White sacrifice a pawn for an attack.

5.c2-c3 Bb4-a5 6.d2-d4 e5:d4 7.0-0 d4-d3

Black doesn't take the pawn c3, so as not to contribute to the development of the white knight on this square and remove the pawn from the field d4 to prevent the formation of a strong White center in case c3:d4.

8.Qd1-b3 Qd8-f6 9.e4-e5 Qf6-g6 10.Rf1-e1 Ng8-e7 11.Bc1-a3 b7-b5

Black, in turn, sacrifices a pawn to force the development of his queenside.

12.Qb3:b5 Ra8-b8 13.Qb5-a4 Ba5-b6 14.Nb1-d2 Bc8-b7 15.Nd2-e4 Qg6-f5 16.Bc4:d3 Qf5-h5

White's next move sacrifices a piece. It would be strong 17. Ne4-g3. But with his next move, Andersen begins the planned combination.

17.Ne4-f6+ g7:f6 18.e5:f6 Rh8-g8

Andersen's next move looks like a blunder, since Ф:f3, due to the ligament along the line g, black takes the knight and threatens with checkmate in one move on g2.

19.Ra1-d1 Qh5:f3

Black's last move was long considered a mistake after the supposedly correct move was proposed by German chess master Paul Lipke in 1898 19. …Rg8-g4. Lipke reviewed the four sequels in detail 20. Ce4, 20. Re4 20. Bc4 and 20. c4, concluding that at best Andersen could only achieve a draw.
A quarter of a century later, Emmanuel Lasker approved in his “Textbook of Chess” Black’s saving response proposed by Lipke and criticized White’s nineteenth move. In his opinion, the winning move was 19. Ce4. Lasker offered three winning options: 19...d5 20. B:d5 Q:d5 21. Rad1; 19...Rg4. 20. Fs2; 19...Qh3 20. g3 R:g3. 21. hg Q:g3+ 22. Kh1 C:f2 23. Re2.
But subsequently Lipke's analysis was refuted by O. Hoppe and G. Geckner. In two of his variations, White actually won. Lasker's analysis also turned out to be erroneous. After "victory" moves 19. Be4 Qh3 20. g3 Rxg3. 21. hg Q:g3+ 22. Kh1 C:f2 23. Re2 Black didn't lose at all, but with a counter-attack 23...Nd4! themselves achieved victory.

20.Re1:e7+ Nc6:e7

Black falls under a mating attack. In this situation, Black's best move is 20. …Ke8-d8, although it helps them save themselves from immediate checkmate, but not from defeat, as Richard Reti proved.

21.Qa4:d7+ Ke8:d7 22.Bd3-f5++ Kd7-e8 23.Bf5-d7+ Ke8-f8 24.Ba3:e7x