Mar 1
i've been considering having an interest in chess ♟️💕
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i've been considering having an interest in chess ♟️💕
Queens basically carry the whole game, but then are expected to go back to good-for-nothing lazy kings afterwards? I don't buy it, and I'm against it. No, they have much more interesting endgame strategies. And after taking time to study each other's openings, they will employ powerful mating techniques. Also, it is clearly an enemies-to-lovers story.
Chess Blog Day #38 - The French Defence
The French Defence is the moves 1.e4 e6.
We saw the move 1...e6 earlier in the Agincourt Defence, against the English. Here we see the French proper, as a response to 1.e4.
The French Defence is played often by players who want a closed, manoeuvring game as opposed to fireworks in the centre.
The game almost always continues 2.d4 d5.
White now has a few options.
The Advance French
3.e5
This continues 3...c5 4.c3 and the fight becomes all about that d4 pawn, with a variety of pieces potentially coming in later to joint this battle.
The Exchange French
3.exd5 exd5. Don't do this unless your plan is to bore your opponent to death.
The Paulsen Variation
3.Nc3 and then (usually) 3...Nf6. Now white should either attack the knight or pin it.
The Tarrasch
3.Nd2. The point here is to make ...Bb4 (Not sure I've mentioned this before but as you might have been able to guess, ... without a number simply indicates a black move.) pointless.
In the Paulsen, black can play the Winawer variation (3...Bb4), pinning the knight to the king.
In the Tarrasch this is pointless since white can just play 4.c3. So if you want to avoid the Winawer, play the Tarrasch.
A chess study by ThatChapThere
Chess Blog Day #39 - The Englund Gambit
The Englund Gambit is 1.d4 e5.
This completely gives up a pawn and is, objectively, what chess grandmasters tend to call "complete bullshit".
However, there's a trap or two. Making it a great way to pull a fast one over an unsuspecting victim.
First, 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 to fight over the floating pawn, and then 3...Qe7 4.Bf4 for the same reason.
Now, 4...Qb4!? begins to set a trap.
If 5.Qd2? happens, you've already won. 5...Qxb2.
And if the Queen tries to X-ray defend the falling rook, pin it to win it. 6.Qxc3?? Bb4.
If white plays the better fifth move, 5.Bd2, you still take the pawn. 5...Qxb2.
Now white is liable to try X-ray defending with the bishop, and then they've fallen into your net. Your response doesn't change from what we saw before.
6.Bc3? Bb4.
7.Qd2 attempts to defend the bishop, but take it anyway. 7...Bxc3.
Now if the knight takes, you can just goggle the rook. 8.Nxc3 Qxa1+.
On the other hand, and this often happens, if the queen takes you can checkmate immediately. 8.Qxc3?? Qc1#
Game Over.
If you are playing white, instead play 6.Nxc3. I've included white's POV for readers who are the sort of people who have to turn maps upside-down when navigating.
A chess study by ThatChapThere
With credit to:
The Englund Gambit, beginning with the unexpected moves 1.d4 e5, is a fascinating chess opening that promises a daring and adventurous game.
Chess Blog Day #37 - The Scandinavian Defence
The Scandinavian Defence is 1.e4 d5.
The best move for white is to take the pawn, and then black should take it back.
2.exd5 Qxd5.
Then white can develop a knight for free.
What do we mean by "for free"?
There's an important concept in chess - that of the tempo.
In this case white play 3.Nc3 and attack the queen. Black doesn't get to continue with their plans, since they have to move the queen to safety. Then white can play another move to advance their agenda, and then black gets to make whatever move they like. So white gets two moves for the price of one.
Black will now move the queen to either a5, d6, or d8.
3...Qd8 is a perfectly good move, but players often don't like feeling like they've done nothing, and keeping the queen out is just as good anyway. 3...Qa5 is the most popular.
And now black has got a good, yet simple, position out of the opening where white can't leverage their e-pawn to take over the centre. What more could you ask for.
A chess study by ThatChapThere
Chess Blog Day #35 - The Russian Game
The Russian Game is the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6.
Unlike the standard 2...Nc6, which leads into the Italian or Spanish and defends black's pawn, The Russian Game leaves black's pawn hanging with a counterattack on white's.
However, black has to be careful not to keep copying. After 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?!, white has 4.Qe2, attacking the knight.
The knight must not make the mistake of cowering back from whence it came.
4...Nf6?? is met by 5.Nc6+, and the Queen is dead. Even if she moves to block the check, the only place she can move to, the knight still dispatches her majesty.
Black should instead copy again, with 4...Qe7.
Now white takes the knight with 5.Qxe7.
It might seem like black can't get a knight back, since white's knight is defended, but it's pinned to the queen so 5...d6 and the pawn can take it next move.
White is still a good bit better though, so black shouldn't have copied white earlier. Instead of taking the pawn back immediately, the white knight can be kicked back first.
3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4.
And the game is anyone's
The Stafford Gambit
Black has another option. Instead of taking back or attacking the knight, black can simply ignore the fact that they're down a pawn and play 3...Nc6!?.
White can accept by taking the knight with 4.Nxc6 or decline and give the pawn back with 4.d4. Neither way is completely safe.
The eminent expert on the Stafford Gambit, Eric Rosen, can explain this opening far better than a Tumblr blog could ever hope to. I highly recommend this video.
A chess study by ThatChapThere
Chess Blog Day #34 - The King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3.
The King's gambit is, as you may have noticed, the mirror image of the Queen's Gambit. The name even makes sense too!
This graph (made hastily using Google sheets) shows off the key differences.
The pawn can be taken with 2...exf4 and this is probably the best move.
Now white can play 3.Nf3 or 3.Bc4.
The classical variation
The classical variation is 3.Nf3 g5
Here black defends the pawn before the bishop can even attack it.
The pawn can be immediately challenged with 4.h4 and then black will kick the knight away with 4...g4.
Alternatively, black can decline the gambit with a countergambit.
The Falkbeer Countergambit
This is far from the only countergambit chess opening. Hitting a gambit back with another gambit is very common. 2...d5.
If white makes the mistake of playing 3.fxe5??, black can win the game with 3...Qh4+ 4.g3 Qxe4+ 5.Qe2 Qxh1.
If white alternatively plays 4.Ke2 black has 4...Qxe4+ 5.Kf2 Bc5 6.d5 Bxd4+ 7.Qxd4 Qxd4+, winning the queen instead.
So white should instead play 3.exd5 met by exf4.
Where both players have a lot of attacking chances on open lines.
A chess study by ThatChapThere
Chess notation thoughts:
Keep using it!
I don't know chess notation, just pictures would be better.
Chess Blog Day #33 - The Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is the moves 1.d4 d4 2.c4
Unlike on the kingside, moving the knight out first is not such a good idea.
This is because the pawn is already defended, so you're not causing black any problems, leaving them free to do whatever they want. On top of that, in 1.d4 openings white usually wants to play the c-pawn too, and now it's blocked.
In the Queen's Gambit, white plays this ideal pawn push immediately.
In fact, it's not a real gambit, since white can always get the pawn back. Let's see how.
In the Queen's Gambit Accepted (often shortened to QGA), black takes the pawn immediately. This is fine, so long as black doesn't try to hang onto their extra pawn.
White could get the pawn back straight away, with a fork, but this isn't the best option.
3.Nc3 a6 is what usually follows.
And now 4.e3, attacking the pawn.
And now black can play 4... b5, but it doesn't save the pawn.
5.a4! and the b5 pawn isn't really defended because the a-pawn is pinned to the rook.
Now two pawns are attacked, so black has to save one of them. 5...b4.
And now the pawn can be taken. 6.Bxc4!
But why? Isn't the knight attacked?
White can hit back after 6.bxc3?? with Qf3!, forking the rook and f7.
So no matter what, white never ends up down a pawn, making the Queen's gambit a false "gambit".
A chess study by ThatChapThere