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| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | C25–C29 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Named after | Vienna, Austria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Open Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheVienna Game is anopening inchess that begins with the moves:
White develops the queen's knight instead of immediately committing to Nf3, White's most common second move. Black usually responds with either 2...Nf6 or 2...Nc6. The original idea behind the Vienna Game was to play a delayedKing's Gambit with f4, but in modern play White often adopts a morequiet approach, such as by playing 3.Bc4 or 3.g3.
The opening became popular in the 19th century. A book reviewer wrote in theNew York Times in 1888 that"... sinceMorphy only one new opening has been introduced, the 'Vienna'."[1]Weaver W. Adams famously claimed that the Vienna Game led to aforced win for White.[2]Nick de Firmian concludes in the 15th edition ofModern Chess Openings, however, that the opening leads toequality withbest play by both sides.[3]
Black's most common response is 2...Nf6, which usually continues with 3.f4, 3.Bc4, 3.g3, or 3.Nf3. 2...Nc6 is also quite common. The opening features many transpositional opportunities, such as to theKing's Gambit. Some lines listed below are sometimes assigned to theBishop's Opening, but to the Vienna Game byECO. Some lines are reached without any dominant method, such as the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation, commonly reached by all of 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3, 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3, and 2.Bc4 (the Bishop's Opening) Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3.
Examined in this article are the following common variations:
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This sharp line is named afterErnst Falkbeer. Black usually plays 3...d5, striking back in the center with a similar idea to theFalkbeer Countergambit of theKing's Gambit. Black should not accept the gambit as 3...exf4 4.e5 forces Black to retreat with 4...Ng8 (4...Qe7 is even weaker and can be met with 5.Qe2, forcing 5...Ng8). Black may also transpose to theKing's Gambit Declined with 3...d6.
Anthony Santasiere andWeaver W. Adams, among others, have advocated the gambit,[6] but it also receives criticism.Raymond Keene wrote that the gambit is considered too risky at the grandmaster level.[7] White usually responds with 5.Nf3, 5.Qf3, or 5.d3.
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This is the most common continuation. White obtains open lines and attacking chances, but Black can usually hold the balance with correct play. Black's most common reply is 5...Be7, the Breyer Variation. Other options include 5...Nc6, 5...Bc5 (threatening 6...Bf2+), and 5...Bg4, usually continuing 6.Qe2, the Kaufmann Variation.
In the Breyer Variation, the most common line continues 6.Qe2 Nxc3 7.dxc3 c5 8.Bf4 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Be6. Common deviations include 6.d4, 6...f5, and 7.0-0. White then often launches an attack on the kingside, most often playing 10.h4 (or a later h4). Black often attempts to counterattack on the queenside, frequently playing ...Qa5 at some point.
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This develops White's queen aggressively and is also quite common. It has been advocated byBen Finegold. Black usually responds with 5...Nxc3, 5...Nc6, or 5...f5 (the Bardeleben Variation).
After 5...Nc6, play most often continues 6.Bb5 Nxc3 7.dxc3 (or 7.bxc3, with the same continuation) Qh4+ 8.g3 Qe4+ 9.Qxe4 dxe4, followed by either 10.Bxc6, inflicting doubled pawns on Black before the knight can be reinforced with 10...Bd7, or alternatively 10.Ne2, allowing 10...Bd7 and often continuing 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 anyway. A less common alternative is 6.Nxe4. Black usually responds with 6...Nd4 (6...dxe4 7.Qxe4 gives up a pawn), with the knight threatening both White's queen and a fork of White's king and rook with ...Nxc2+. The line typically continues 7.Qc3 dxe4 8.Ne2, with Black regaining the knight.
This most often continues 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4 7.Nf3 Nc6. Black also commonly plays 7...c5 or 7...dxc3. 6...Be7 and 6...c5 are also seen, as well as 6...Nc6, which typically transposes to the main line after 7.Nf3 d4. It can lead to theWürzburger Trap following 5...Qh4+.
This is White's most notable alternative to 4.fxe5. Black usually continues with 4...Nxd5, 4...exf4, or 4...e4.
After 4...Nxd5, 5.Nxd5 Qxd5 is fine for Black, while 5.fxe5 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Qh4+ forces White either to give up a rook with 7.g3 Qe4+ or to play 7.Ke2. White can also play 5.Nf3.
4...exf4 transposes to theModern Defense of the King's Gambit Accepted after 5.Nf3 (or to theBishop's Gambit after 5.Bc4), a line also frequently reached from theSchallopp Defense.
4...e4 enters the old main line of theFalkbeer Countergambit.
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| 8 | | 8 | |||||||
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The move 3.g3, theMieses Variation, is a quiet continuation in which White fianchettoes the king's bishop, a line played byVasily Smyslov on a few occasions, most notably in a win overLev Polugaevsky in the 1961 USSR Championship.[8]
The main line of the variation begins with 3...d5, usually continuing 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3, followed by 6...Bd6, 6...Nc6, or 6...Bc5. Black also has the morequiet alternatives 3...Bc5 and 3...Nc6, which normally transposes into one of the other lines. White often plays 4.Bg2 and 5.Nge2.
The move 3.Bc4 leads to a position which can also be reached from theBishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4). Black's main choices are 3...Nxe4;[9] 3...Bc5, which transposes to theKing's Gambit Declined after 4.d3 d6 5.f4 Nc6 6.Nf3; 3...Nc6, usually continuing 4.d3, entering the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation, followed by 4...Na5, 4...Bc5, or 4...Bb4; and 3...Bb4, after which 4.f4 Nxe4 5.Qh5 0-0 leads to wild but probably equal play,[10] or White may play 4.d3, 4.Nge2, or 4.Nf3.
After 3...Nxe4, White usually plays 4.Qh5 (threatening Qxf7#), and Black almost always replies with 4...Nd6. After 5.Bb3, Black can either go for the relatively quiet waters of 5...Be7 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nxe5, known as the Alekhine Variation, or the complexities of 5...Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 (or 8...Qf6 with the same continuation) 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6, which the Irish correspondence chess player and theoristTim Harding extravagantly dubbed "theFrankenstein–Dracula Variation".[11] White can also instead trade queens with 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 (5...Be7 allows 6.Qxg7) 6.Qxe7+ Bxe7.
If White instead plays 4.Nxe4, this permits thefork 4...d5,.[9] 4.Bxf7+ is considered weak, though after 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe4 d5! (inferior is 5...Nc6 6.Qf3+, when Black cannot play 6...Kg8?? because of 7.Ng5,[12] while 6...Ke8 leaves the king awkwardly placed in the center)[13][14] 6.Qf3+ (6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5? Bh6! wins for Black)[15] Kg8 7.Ng5!? (hoping for 7...Qxg5?? 8.Qxd5+ andmate the next move,[16] Qd7!, with a large advantage for Black in view of having thebishop pair and a strong pawn center.[17][18] 4.Nf3 is another option, entering theBoden–Kieseritzky Gambit.
White sacrifices a pawn to gaincontrol of the center, with a similar idea to theKing's Gambit. The term "Vienna Gambit" is frequently used incorrectly to refer to the equivalent move in theFalkbeer Variation (2...Nf6 3.f4).
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| 8 | | 8 | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
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The Steinitz Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.d4, was a favourite ofWilhelm Steinitz, the firstWorld Champion. White allows Black to misplace White's king with 4...Qh4+ 5.Ke2 (see diagram), hoping to prove that White's pawn center and the exposed position of Black's queen are more significant factors. Unlike Steinitz, who famously opined that, "The King is a fighting piece!", few modern players are willing to expose their king this way, and the Steinitz Gambit is rarely seen today.
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| 8 | | 8 | |||||||
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This extremelysharp gambit is usually followed by gxf3 7.Qxf3 (see diagram). As with its close relative in the King's Gambit, theMuzio Gambit, White sacrifices the knight on f3 in return for a powerful attack against the black king. It is named after Austrian theoreticianCarl Hamppe and classified underECO code C25. TheDubois Variation continues 7...Ne5 8.Qxf4 Qf6.
This is another extremelysharp line that resembles theAllgaier Gambit of the King's Gambit. Unlike in that line, after 5...g4, White cannot play 6.Ne5, which would be the equivalent of theKieseritzky Gambit, due to Black's knight on c6. Black's knight is not particularly useful in defending against White's attack after 6.Ng5, however.
The Pierce Gambit, 3...exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4,[19] usually continues 5...g4 6.Bc4, and is also often reached by transposition with 5.Bc4 g4 6.d4. It is also frequently reached from theQuaade Gambit of theKing's Gambit. After this, the most common continuation is 6...gxf3, followed by 7.0-0 or 7.Qxf3, with White sacrificing a knight for activity. Black's main fifth move alternative is 5...d6, a line also frequently reached from theFischer Defense of the King's Gambit. 5...Bg7 is also played but is less well regarded.
Louis Paulsen played 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 four times with the white pieces – games against Meitner, Rosenthal, Gelbfuhs, and Bird in theVienna 1873 chess tournament. Three wins with the variation 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 named the "Paulsen Variation" of the Vienna Game, and the fourth win after 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 vs. Henry Bird.[20]
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White's most common move after 2...Nc6, theMax Lange Defense, is 3.Bc4. Black most often replies with thesolid 3...Nf6, but an alternative is 3.Bc4 Bc5. White's move 4.Qg4 is awkward to meet. 4...Kf8 and 4...g6 are thought the best moves, but neither is too appealing for Black. The natural 4...Qf6?? loses to 5.Nd5! Qxf2+ 6.Kd1, when White's king is in no real danger, and White has multiple threats: 7.Qxg7; 7.Nxc7+; and 7.Nh3 Qd4 8.d3 threatening to trap Black's queen with 9.c3.[21] Despite this, 3...Bc5 still sees play.
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This is an offbeat butplayable alternative, as played (for example) by former world championJosé Raúl Capablanca againstIlya Kan at Moscow 1936.[22] Some possible moves are 3.Bc4, 3.Nf3, and 3.f4. With move 3.Bc4, ...Nf6 and ...Nc6 can be found above, or Black can play ...d6.
White can continue with 3.Nf3, and if the move 3...Nc6?! (transposing to theThree Knights Game) 4.Nxe5! Nxe5 5.d4 Bd6 6.dxe5 Bxe5 7.Bd3 leads to a large advantage for White.[23] Stronger is 3...d6! Then 4.Na4 Nd7 5.d3 Ngf6 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Nxc5 Nxc5 9.Ne1 Ne6 10.c3 d5 is about even.[24] The main line runs 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Bg5 (6.Be2 d5 7.e5 Ne4 8.0-0 Nxc3 leads to equality[24]) h6 7.Bh4 0-0 8.Nb3 and now de Firmian inMCO-15 gives 8...Bb4 9.Bd3 Re8 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3 g5! 12.Bg3 Nxe4, when Black's "chances are at least equal".[24]
After 3.f4, ...d6 leads to theKing's Gambit Declined.[24] Weak is 3.Qg4 Nf6! 4.Qxg7 Rg8 5.Qh6 Bxf2+ when Black had a large advantage in Tsikhelashvili–Karpov, USSR 1968, since 6.Kxf2?? Ng4+ would win White's queen.[24]
Another offbeat possibility is 3.Na4, the Hamppe Variation,[25] when 3...Bxf2+! 4.Kxf2 Qh4+ 5.Ke3 Qf4+ 6.Kd3 d5 leads to wild complications favouring Black, as in the famousImmortal Draw game Hamppe–Meitner, Vienna 1872. The quiet 3...Be7, however, leaves Black with a good game.[26]
It is clear, however, that since Morphy only one new opening has been introduced, the 'Vienna,' of which the 'Steinitz Gambit' is an outcome.
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