Barcza System

Barcza System
7	7
6	6
5	5
4	4
3	3
2	2
1	1
Moves	Nf3 g3 Bg2 0-0
ECO	A07
Named after	Gedeon Barcza

Last updated January 20, 2024

The Barcza System is a chess opening system played by White, comprising the moves Nf3, g3, Bg2 and 0-0, regarded as non-committal moves whilst Black exposes their intention.^[1] It is named after the Hungarian grandmaster Gedeon Barcza who employed the opening on many occasions throughout his career.

After playing the four moves outlined above White will usually choose to direct play into another opening system^[2] such as the Réti Opening (by playing c4), the King's Indian Attack (by playing d3, Nbd2 and e4), the Catalan (by playing d4 and c4), or the Hippopotamus (by playing b3 and Bb2). The Barcza System is thus essentially a transpositional tool where White delays committing to a specific structure until it is clear how Black intends to develop. The Barcza System only has independent significance on the rare occasions where play does not enter another opening complex.

The Barcza System has been suggested as a universal system ideal for club players by grandmasters such as Lajos Portisch,^[3] David Bronstein ^[4] and Yasser Seirawan.^[5]

Related Research Articles

The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences, known as openings, have standard names such as "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.

The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

The Pirc Defence is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a centre with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc.

The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves:

The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:

Bird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move:

The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves:

The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose "traditional" or "classic method" begins with the moves:

The Caro–Kann Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) lists codes E01–E09 for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2; other lines are part of E00.

The Dunst Opening is a chess opening in which White opens with the move:

The Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack is a chess opening typically starting with the move: 1.b3 but sometimes introduced by the move order 1.Nf3 and then 2.b3. The flank opening move 1.b3 prepares to fianchetto the queen's bishop where it will help control the central squares in hypermodern fashion and put pressure on Black's kingside.

The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening named after Johannes Zukertort that begins with the move:

The King's Indian Attack is a chess opening system where White adopts the setup more commonly seen being played by Black in the King's Indian Defence. The King's Indian Attack is characterised by the following moves: the central pawns are developed to e4 and d3, the knights are developed to d2 and f3, the king's bishop is fianchettoed at g2 following the g-pawn's move to g3, and White castles kingside.

The Polish Defense is the name commonly given to one of several sequences of chess opening moves characterized by an early ...b5 by Black. The name "Polish Defense" is given by analogy to the Polish Opening, 1.b4. The original line was

A flank opening is a chess opening played by White and typified by play on one or both flanks. White often plays in hypermodern style, attacking the center from the flanks with pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. Some of these openings are played often, although more often by advanced players than beginners, and 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 trail only 1.e4 and 1.d4 in popularity as opening moves.

The King's Fianchetto Opening or Benko's Opening is a chess opening characterized by the move:

The Scandinavian Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:

References

↑ Horton, Byrne Joseph (1972). Dictionary of modern chess. New York. p. 12. ISBN 9780806501734.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, p202 'White's four opening moves, 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.0-0, create the Barcza Opening. After these initial moves, if White follows up with c4 the opening often transposes into an English Opening. If he plays d4, a likely transposition into a Catalan will occur. And if White plays for d3 and e4, the opening becomes a King's Indian Attack'. Everyman Chess, 2003, ISBN 1857443497.
↑ Lajos Portisch, How to Open a Chess Game. RHM Press, 1980, IBSN 0890582033.
↑ David Bronstein, The Sorceror's Apprentice. Cadogan Chess, 1995, ISBN 1857441516.
↑ Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, pp199-212. Everyman Chess, 2003.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Horton, Byrne Joseph (1972). Dictionary of modern chess. New York. p. 12. ISBN 9780806501734.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[2] Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, p202 'White's four opening moves, 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.0-0, create the Barcza Opening. After these initial moves, if White follows up with c4 the opening often transposes into an English Opening. If he plays d4, a likely transposition into a Catalan will occur. And if White plays for d3 and e4, the opening becomes a King's Indian Attack'. Everyman Chess, 2003, ISBN 1857443497.

[3] Lajos Portisch, How to Open a Chess Game. RHM Press, 1980, IBSN 0890582033.

[4] David Bronstein, The Sorceror's Apprentice. Cadogan Chess, 1995, ISBN 1857441516.

[5] Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, pp199-212. Everyman Chess, 2003.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]