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Train this openingAbout this opening
Black hits your center pawn immediately and invites you to push past it, accepting a cramped position in exchange for a half-open file and a queenside pawn majority. d5 is the most played move here and it is the critical test, closing the center on your terms. After d5 e6 Nc3 Black chips at the wedge and the structure becomes fixed. That structure is the whole game: you have a space advantage and a central pawn majority, Black has the file and a majority on the other wing. It is unbalanced from move three, which is exactly why sharp players choose it.
Plans
- Push d5 and close the center while you have more space.
- Play e4 and f4 to roll the central majority forward.
- Watch the half-open file, where Black's rook will land.
- Restrain the queenside majority before it starts moving.
Where the pieces belong
- Pawn: d5, the wedge that defines the structure
- Pawn: e4, the front of your central majority
- Knight: c3, holding the wedge in place
- Pawn: f4, preparing to advance the majority
- Bishop: e2, modest and ready to castle
Sharply unbalanced. You advance in the center, Black plays on the queenside and down the half-open file, and neither side can afford to be slow.
Variations
Benko Gambit
3. d5 b5
Benoni Defense: Hromádka System
3. d5 d6
Benoni Defense: Modern Variation
3. d5 e6
Benoni Defense: Weenink Variation
3. dxc5 e6
Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch
3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. O-O Nc6
Vulture Defense
3. d5 Ne4