Chigorin Defense
Encyclopedia
The Chigorin Defense is a chess opening
named for 19th century Russia
n grandmaster
Mikhail Chigorin
. An uncommonly played defense to the Queen's Gambit
, it begins with the moves:
(Chigorin has another important opening named for him that is also sometimes called the Chigorin Defense. The Chigorin Variation is a popular defense to the Ruy Lopez. See Ruy Lopez for details.)
The Chigorin Defense violates several classical principles: Black does not maintain the center pawn at d5, the c-pawn is blocked, and Black must be willing to trade a bishop
for a knight
.
(Chigorin valued the bishop pair less than most chess masters; some say he even preferred knights to bishops in all positions.)
In return Black gets quick development and piece pressure on the center.
Although opening assessments change as improvements are found for each side, the Chigorin seems to be playable for Black and it is useful as a surprise weapon against the Queen's Gambit. Alexander Morozevich
is perhaps the only modern grandmaster who regularly plays the Chigorin Defense, although in the 1980s, Vasily Smyslov
did employ the opening against Garry Kasparov
. Morozevich has also published a book on the Chigorin Defence, in which he gives both a theoretical and a personal view on the opening.
Because the Chigorin is an unusual defense, the theory of this opening is not as well developed as that for more popular openings.
After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 some of the most commonly played variations are:
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...
named for 19th century Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n 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....
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
. An uncommonly played defense to the Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
, it begins with the moves:
- 1. d4 d5
- 2. c4 Nc6
(Chigorin has another important opening named for him that is also sometimes called the Chigorin Defense. The Chigorin Variation is a popular defense to the Ruy Lopez. See Ruy Lopez for details.)
The Chigorin Defense violates several classical principles: Black does not maintain the center pawn at d5, the c-pawn is blocked, and Black must be willing to trade a 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...
for a knight
Knight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
.
(Chigorin valued the bishop pair less than most chess masters; some say he even preferred knights to bishops in all positions.)
In return Black gets quick development and piece pressure on the center.
Although opening assessments change as improvements are found for each side, the Chigorin seems to be playable for Black and it is useful as a surprise weapon against the Queen's Gambit. Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
is perhaps the only modern grandmaster who regularly plays the Chigorin Defense, although in the 1980s, Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
did employ the opening against Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
. Morozevich has also published a book on the Chigorin Defence, in which he gives both a theoretical and a personal view on the opening.
Main variations
The Chigorin Defense has the ECO classification D07.Because the Chigorin is an unusual defense, the theory of this opening is not as well developed as that for more popular openings.
After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 some of the most commonly played variations are:
3.Nc3
- 3...Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 e5 7.d5 Nb8 or 7.Nf3 exd4.
- 3...dxc4 (or Nf6) 4.Nf3 Nf6 (or dxc4) 5.e4 Bg4 6.Be3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 is a position that occurs very frequently in current practice.
3.Nf3
- 3...Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 (see first diagram)
- 5.gxf3 Qxd5 6.e3 and now Black has two very different, but proven ways of playing 6...e5 7.Nc3 Bb4 and 6...e6 7.Nc3 Qh5.
- 5.dxc6 Bxc6 6.Nc3 and Black has now two well established options 6...Nf6 and 6...e6.
- 3...e6 is a bad move.
3.cxd5 Qxd5
- 4.e3 e5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 Bxc3 (see second diagram)
- 7.Bxc3 and now black's main moves are 7...Nf6 and 7...Qd6.
- 7.Bxc3 has received considerable attention in recent years and 7...exd4 8.Ne2 Nf6 9.Nxd4 0-0 seems to be considered Black's most reliable choice, but the sharper 8...Bg4 is also sometimes played.
- 4. Nf3
External links
- http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessopening?eco=d07869 games at ChessGames.comChessgames.comChessGames.com is a large chess community on the Internet, with over 156,000 members. The site maintains a large database of historical chess games where every game has a distinct message board for comments and analysis. Basic membership is free and the site is open to players at all levels of...
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