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In chess, an exchange variation is a type of opening in which there is an early, voluntary exchange of pawns or pieces. Such variations are often quieter than other lines because the early release of tension minimizes the possibility of surprise tactics or sharp, forcing lines, particularly where it results in a symmetrical pawn structure.
White may choose an exchange variation as a relatively risk-free way to try to exploit White's first-move advantage. Players such as Mikhail Botvinnik and Yasser Seirawan used the Exchange Variation of the Slav Defense this way.
White may also play an exchange variation in an effort to draw the game. This approach is not without risks. International Master John L. Watson has written that in the Exchange Variation of the French Defense, "Black can always make the struggle an unbalanced one if he chooses". [1] Moreover, playing so blatantly for a draw may place a psychological burden on White: "White has already ceded the advantage of the first move, and he knows it, whereas Black is challenged to find ways to seize the initiative." [2]
Not all exchange variations are quiet; the Exchange Variation of the Grunfeld Defense is regarded as one of White's sharpest and most aggressive options, since it allows White to build up a massive pawn center, which Black will try to undermine. The Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined often involves attacks by one or both sides on the enemy king.
Exchange variations involving the exchange of pawns often lead to symmetrical central pawn structures, as in the Slav Defense and the French Defense, among others. The resulting pawn structures may also be asymmetrical, as in the Caro-Kann Defense and Queen's Gambit Declined. In the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation pieces (White's bishop and Black's knight) rather than pawns are traded. In the Exchange Variation of the Grunfeld Defense, both a pair of pawns and a pair of knights are traded.
The diagram at right shows a position in the Exchange Variation of the French Defense, after the moves:
The position is completely symmetrical and White's advantage is limited to his right to move. The Exchange French is usually regarded as a passive alternative selected by a White player eager for a draw, but Paul Morphy and more recently Garry Kasparov have used it as a winning try.
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 Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:
The Caro–Kann Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Benoni Defense, or simply the Benoni, is a chess opening characterized by an early reply of ...c5 against White's opening move 1.d4.
The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Marshall Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:
A Semi-Closed Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5.
The World Chess Championship 1886 was the first official World Chess Championship match contested by Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. The match took place in the United States from 11 January to 29 March, the first five games being played in New York City, the next four being played in St. Louis and the final eleven in New Orleans. The winner was the first player to achieve ten wins. Wilhelm Steinitz won the match 10–5, winning his tenth game in the twentieth game of the match.
A Steinitz Variation is any of several chess openings introduced and practiced, or adopted and advocated by Wilhelm Steinitz, the first officially recognized World Chess Champion.
The Marshall Gambit may refer to a number of chess openings named after the American chess master Frank Marshall.
The 1935 World Chess Championship was played between challenger Max Euwe and title-holder Alexander Alekhine. It was played in various cities and towns in the Netherlands from October 3 to December 16. Euwe was the winner by overcoming a three-point deficit as late as the ninth game.
The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio, Philippines from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won, thereby retaining the title.
The 1981 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Merano, Italy from October 1 to November 19, 1981. Karpov won with six wins against two, with 10 draws. The two players had already played against each other in the World Chess Championship match 1978 in the Philippines, when Karpov also won.
The Nadanian Variation of the Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: