Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. f3

Now leaving opening theory: This page represents a rare sideline. Before making new pages for following moves, please consider line notability.

White's pawn on f3 prepares to play 3. e4. However, this breaks the principle of not pushing one's f-pawn early in the opening. It weakens White's kingside and takes away the natural development square of the king's knight. This is usually played with the idea of transposing into the Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

This move usually compels Black to play 2...d5 in order to increase Black's control of e4. If 3. e4 anyway, White doesn't have enough support to defend the pawn. 3...dxe4 4. fxe4 Nxe4 ±, Black is up a pawn. 4. Nc3 is the usual idea: White transposes into the Blackmar-Diemer gambit, a line otherwise seen after 1. d4 d5.

Otherwise, say 3. c4 e6 and White has ended up playing a queen's gambit declined, and the incorporated of the unusual move f3 proves to be weakening move and a waste of time.

"Paleface" is a supposed Native American term for white Europeans. The name "paleface attack" for this line against the Indian defence then seems to be intended to evoke a European offensive against the American Indians (the Indian defence is not named for Native Americans, but for Indian chess masters like Moheschunder Bannerjee whose games against John Cochrane introduced the defence to the West).

The name goes back to at least 1986, where it was used in Eric Schiller's book on the Blackmar-Diemer gambit. He may have coined it.^[1]

One of the earliest appearances of 2. f3!? was in 1931 at the Buenos Aires Copa Geniol.^[2]