Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. d4/3...exd4/4. Nxd4/4...Bc5/5. Be3
| Classical variation | |
|---|---|
|
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
|
|
|
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
|
|
| Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 | |
| ECO code: C45 | |
| Parent: Scotch game → 4. Nxd4 → Classical variation | |
5. Be3
[edit | edit source]White defends the knight and relieves the pressure on f2.
White threatens a tactic to win a piece: if, say, 5...Nf6?? 6. Nxc6! (trades with tempo on Black's queen) dxc6 7. Qxd8+ Kxd8 8. Bxc5 wins a bishop.
5...Qf6 is the main move, adding pressure to f2 and another attacker to White's knight, which White defends with 6. c3. 6. Nb5?!, the Blumenfeld attack, which lays some traps and threatens Nxc7+ to win the rook, is inferior due to the continuation 6...Bxe3 (threatening 7...Qxf2#) 7. fxe3 Qh4+ 8. g3 Qxe4, and if 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 White's knight is trapped and Black can pick up a rook themselves with 10...Qxh1.
Theory table
[edit | edit source]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical variation | ... Qf6 |
c3 Nge7 |
Bc4 | ⩲ | |||
| Blumenfeld attack | ... ... |
Nb5 Bxe3 |
fxe3 Qh4+ |
g3 Qxe4 |
Nxc7+ Kd8 |
Nxa8 Qxh1 |
⩱ |
References
[edit | edit source]See also
[edit | edit source]
With 2...g6:
With other 2nd moves for Black:
Dutch defence