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| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | C40 (–C99) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Open Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The King's Knight Opening is a chess opening consisting of the moves:
White's second move attacks the e-pawn. Black usually defends this with 2...Nc6, which leads to several named openings. Of the alternatives, the most important are Petrov's Defense (2...Nf6) and Philidor's Defense (2...d6).
| This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
Most games (more than 80%) continue with 2...Nc6.
Some moves from here include:
Of the alternatives, 2...Nf6 (Petrov's Defense) is considered fully respectable and is common in grandmaster games. Philidor's Defense is playable but is seen more rarely.
A number of less popular continuations are possible. These openings are generally considered to be less sound than those mentioned above. These openings are all categorized in the ECO under code C40.
A chess opening or simply an opening refers to the initial moves of a chess game. The term can refer to the initial moves by either side, White or Black, but an opening by Black may also be known as a defense. There are dozens of different openings, and hundreds of variants. The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants. These vary widely in character from quietpositional play to wild tactical play. In addition to referring to specific move sequences, the opening is the first phase of a chess game, the other phases being the middlegame and the endgame.
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator. It is currently undergoing its fifth edition. ECO may also refer to the opening classification system used by the encyclopedia.
The Giuoco Piano, a branch of the Italian Game, is a chess opening beginning with the moves:
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
Rodrigo "Ruy" López de Segura was a Spanish chess player, author, and Roman Catholic priest whose 1561 treatise Libro de la invención liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez was one of the first books about modern chess in Europe. He made great contributions to chess opening theory, including in the King's Gambit and the Ruy López opening that bears his name. López was also the strongest player in Spain for about 20 years.
The Philidor Defence a chess opening characterised by the moves:
Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence is a chess opening characterised by the following moves:
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Three Knights Game is a chess opening which most commonly begins with the moves:
The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The King's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:
In chess, the pawn structure is the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus largely determines the strategic nature of the position.
An Open Game is a chess opening that begins with the following moves:
The Göttingen manuscript is the earliest known work devoted entirely to modern chess. It is a Latin text of 33 leaves held at the University of Göttingen. A quarto parchment manuscript of 33 leaves, ff. 1–15a are a discussion of twelve chess openings, f. 16 is blank, and ff. 17–31b are a selection of thirty chess problems, one on each page with a diagram and solution. Authorship and exact date of the manuscript are unknown. Similarities to Lucena's Repeticion de Amores e Arte de Axedres con CL iuegos de partido have led some scholars to surmise that it was written by Lucena or that it was one of Lucena's sources. Although the manuscript is generally assumed to be older than Lucena's work, this is not established. The manuscript has been ascribed possible writing dates of 1500–1505 or 1471.
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 Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of: 1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3 |
