Larsen's Opening
Encyclopedia
Larsen's Opening is a chess opening
starting with the move:
It is named after the Danish
Grandmaster
Bent Larsen
. Larsen was inspired by the example of the great Latvia
n-Danish
player and theoretician Aron Nimzowitsch
(1886–1935), who often played 1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3, which is sometimes called the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. It is classified under the A01 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
.
The flank opening
move 1.b3 prepares to fianchetto
the queen's bishop
where it will help to control the central squares in hypermodern
fashion and put useful pressure on Black's kingside. Often, the b2-bishop is a source of recurring irritation for Black, and it should not be treated lightly.
Although Bent Larsen was initially very successful with this opening, it suffered a setback in the 1970 USSR vs. Rest of the World
match in Belgrade
, in which Larsen played this opening against reigning World Champion
Boris Spassky
and lost in 17 moves. (Of the 42 games between Spassky and Larsen, Spassky won overall with 19 wins, 6 losses, and 17 draws.) Larsen was also decisively defeated when playing this opening against Rosendo Balinas, Jr.
at Manila
in 1975.
), which prepares a quick kingside castling
. According to ChessBase
, 1.b3 ranks sixth in popularity out of the possible twenty first moves while the fifth-ranking 1.g3 is about three times as popular. Larsen frequently used unconventional openings of this sort. He believed it to be an advantage in that Black, usually unfamiliar with such openings, is forced to rely on his own abilities instead of relying on memorized, well-analyzed moves of more common white openings.
The relative unpopularity of 1.b3, compared to 1.g3, is probably because 1.g3 usually leads to fianchettoing the king's bishop with 2.Bg2. Later, c4 is often used to strengthen the fianchettoed bishop's diagonal. However, after 1.b3 and 2.Bb2, if f4 is played to strengthen the bishop's diagonal, this weakens the kingside.
In more recent times, 1.b3 has been repopularized in freestyle chess, for similar reasons – a player with unlimited access to computer-based opening books can build up a large opening repertoire and thus create a theoretical minefield for Black, unless he or she is either prepared well enough to go into a safe line, or manages to lead the game into an even more offbeat line, negating the book difference.
Less common lines include:
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
starting with the move:
- 1. b3
It is named after the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
. Larsen was inspired by the example of the great Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n-Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
player and theoretician Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer...
(1886–1935), who often played 1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3, which is sometimes called the Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack. It is classified under the A01 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
.
The flank opening
Flank opening
A flank opening is a chess opening played by White and typified by play on one or both flanks ....
move 1.b3 prepares to fianchetto
Fianchetto
In chess the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward....
the queen's bishop
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
where it will help to control the central squares in hypermodern
Hypermodernism (chess)
Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...
fashion and put useful pressure on Black's kingside. Often, the b2-bishop is a source of recurring irritation for Black, and it should not be treated lightly.
Although Bent Larsen was initially very successful with this opening, it suffered a setback in the 1970 USSR vs. Rest of the World
Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World
There have been two chess matches featuring USSR vs. Rest of the World and 1 match Russia vs. Rest of the World. The first two matches were between a team from the USSR and a team of players from the "rest of the world"...
match in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, in which Larsen played this opening against reigning World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
and lost in 17 moves. (Of the 42 games between Spassky and Larsen, Spassky won overall with 19 wins, 6 losses, and 17 draws.) Larsen was also decisively defeated when playing this opening against Rosendo Balinas, Jr.
Rosendo Balinas, Jr.
Rosendo Carreon Balinas, Jr. was a chess Grandmaster from the Philippines. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1975 and the International Grandmaster title in 1976...
at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in 1975.
Popularity
The move 1.b3 is less popular than 1.g3 (Benko's OpeningBenko's Opening
Benko's Opening , is a chess opening characterized by the moveIt is named after Pal Benko, who used 1.g3 to defeat Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal in rounds one and three of the 1962 Candidates Tournament in Curaçao, part of the 1963 World Championship...
), which prepares a quick kingside castling
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
. According to ChessBase
ChessBase
ChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
, 1.b3 ranks sixth in popularity out of the possible twenty first moves while the fifth-ranking 1.g3 is about three times as popular. Larsen frequently used unconventional openings of this sort. He believed it to be an advantage in that Black, usually unfamiliar with such openings, is forced to rely on his own abilities instead of relying on memorized, well-analyzed moves of more common white openings.
The relative unpopularity of 1.b3, compared to 1.g3, is probably because 1.g3 usually leads to fianchettoing the king's bishop with 2.Bg2. Later, c4 is often used to strengthen the fianchettoed bishop's diagonal. However, after 1.b3 and 2.Bb2, if f4 is played to strengthen the bishop's diagonal, this weakens the kingside.
In more recent times, 1.b3 has been repopularized in freestyle chess, for similar reasons – a player with unlimited access to computer-based opening books can build up a large opening repertoire and thus create a theoretical minefield for Black, unless he or she is either prepared well enough to go into a safe line, or manages to lead the game into an even more offbeat line, negating the book difference.
Main lines
Black has several options to meet 1.b3. The most common are- 1...e5, the Modern Variation, is the most common response, making a grab for the centre and limiting the scope of the White Bishop. Play on this line typically continues 2.Bb2 Nc6, attacking and defending the e5 pawn, respectively, and then 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.f4 is the main line.
- 1...d5, the Classical Variation, is the second most common, also making a grab for the centre and preserving the option to fianchetto the King's Bishop to oppose the White one. Here, white uses 2.Nf3 to hopefully transpose to a reversed Nimzo-Indian DefenceNimzo-Indian DefenceThe Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:This hypermodern opening was developed by Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto,...
or another Indian defence. This can also be reached by the move order 1.Nf3 d5 2.b3. - 1...Nf6, the Indian Variation, developing a piece and not committing to a particular pawnPawn (chess)The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
formation just yet. 2.Bb2 and if 2...g6 then 3.e4, taking advantage of the pinned knight (e.g., not 3...Nxe4 4.Bxh8, winning a rook at the price of a pawn). - 1...c5, the English Variation, retaining the options of ...d5, or ...d6 followed by ...e5. 2.c4 transposing to an English OpeningEnglish OpeningIn chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
or 2.e4 tranposing to a Sicilian DefenceSicilian DefenceThe Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
. - 1...f5, the Dutch Variation. 2. Nf3.
Less common lines include:
- 1...e6, with black setting up a variation on the French DefenceFrench DefenceThe French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
. Here Keene recommends 2.e4 and if 2...d5 then 3.Bb2. - 1...c6, a Caro-Kann variant preparing for ...d5. Again Keene recommends 2.e4 and if 2...d5, 3.Bb2.
- 1...b6, the Symmetrical variation, is completely fine for black.
- 1...b5, the Polish Variation.