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| Moves | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | D40–D42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Named after | Siegbert Tarrasch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Queen's Gambit Declined | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Semi-Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the following moves:
The Semi-Tarrasch is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (ECO codes D40 through D42).
| This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
Unlike the regular Tarrasch, in the Semi-Tarrasch Defense Black does not accept an isolated pawn, since they intend to recapture on d5 with the knight (as after 5.cxd5, 5...exd5 has long been known to be dubious after 6.Bg5), but they cede a spatial advantage to White. The intended recapture with the f6-knight prevents Black from seamlessly transposing to the Semi-Tarrasch if White has played 4.Bg5.
After 4...c5, White usually plays 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 or 6.e4, which leads to different types of middlegame play and has attracted the interest of strong players with both colors since the early twentieth century.
In this line, White forgoes the fianchetto, with its direct play against d5, opting to keep central tension for the moment by playing 5.e3, after which 5...Nc6 is the normal continuation. From this position, White may choose to inflict the isolated pawn on Black, accept the weakness themselves in return for active piece play, or play 6.a3, with a view to dxc5, followed by b4 and Bb2, aiming for positions in which the extra tempo will come in useful if Black keeps the symmetry; thus, 6...Ne4, once chosen by Bobby Fischer in his Candidates Match with Tigran Petrosian in 1971, gives a different turn.
Symmetrical Variation has ECO code D40.
A chess opening or simply an 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 have standard names such as the "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 French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
In chess, the Smith–Morra Gambit is an opening gambit against the Sicilian Defence distinguished by the moves:
The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves:
The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with 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 Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Chigorin Defense is a chess opening named for 19th century Russian master Mikhail Chigorin. An uncommonly played defense to the Queen's Gambit, it begins with the moves:
The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Tarrasch Defense is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
The Queen's Gambit Accepted is a chess opening characterised by 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:
In the game of chess, Indian Defence or Indian Game is a broad term for a group of openings characterised by the moves:
In chess, the Sicilian Defence, Alapin Variation is a response to the Sicilian Defence characterised by the moves:
A Closed Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
