The Polish Defense is the name commonly given to one of several sequences of

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

opening moves characterized by an early ...b5 by

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

. The name "Polish Defense" is given by analogy to the

Polish Opening The Sokolsky Opening (also known as the Orangutan or Polish Opening) is an uncommon chess opening that begins with the move: :1. b4 According to various databases, out of the twenty possible first moves from White, the move 1.b4 ranks ninth ...

, 1.b4. The original line was :1. d4 b5 as played by Alexander Wagner, a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

player and openings analyst, against Kuhn in the 1913 Swiss Correspondence Championship. Wagner published an analysis of the opening in ''Deutsches Wochenschach'' in 1914, when he was living in Stanislau, Galicia,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now Ivano-Frankivsk,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). Later the name was also applied to :1. d4 Nf6 :2. Nf3 b5 and other variants where Black delays playing ...b5 until the second or third move, which are sometimes called the Polish Defense Deferred.

Details

With ...b5, Black tries to take control of c4, but 1.d4 b5 is generally considered dubious after 2.e4, threatening 3.Bxb5. ''

Modern Chess Openings ''Modern Chess Openings'' (usually called ) is a reference book on chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith (1872–1955) and John Herbert White (1880–1920). The fifteenth edition was published in ...

'' (''MCO-14'', 1999) allots two columns to the Polish, commenting that the variants where Black waits and plays 2...b5 instead of 1...b5 are much safer. Earlier editions of ''MCO'' give only a single column of analysis and consider only the 2...b5 lines. ''MCO-9'' (1957) states that the Polish "fails because it neglects the centre". That negative verdict was softened in the next edition, ''MCO-10'' (1965), to say that the Polish "neglects the centre, but is not refuted". ''MCO-12'' (1982) retains the "not refuted" assessment and notes that the Polish can result by transposition from the Réti system. Other judgments have been harsher. The 1...b5 Polish was deemed "entirely valueless" by

I. A. Horowitz Israel Albert Horowitz (often known as I. A. Horowitz or Al Horowitz) (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) was an American International Master of chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling ...

in 1964. The Polish is closely related to the St. George Defence (1.e4 a6, usually followed by 2.d4 b5) into which it often transposes. Boris Spassky played 1.d4 b5 against

Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (, ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style ...

in the decisive 22nd game of their world championship match in 1966. Spassky , but rejected an opportunity to

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

, as he was behind by a point in the match and with at most three games remaining, he was practically forced to play for a win. Petrosian won the game, thus ensuring retention of his title. The Polish can be used to combat certain variations of the

Réti Opening The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose "traditional" or "classic method" begins with the moves: :1. Nf3 d5 :2. c4 White attacks Black's pawn from the , which may occasion 2...dxc4. White may couple this plan with a kingside ...

King's Indian Attack The King's Indian Attack (or KIA), also known as the Barcza System (after Gedeon Barcza) is a chess opening for White, characterized by several moves. The center pawns are developed to e4 and d3, the knights are developed to d2 and f3, the king ...

. In particular, 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 is a fully respectable opening that has been successfully played by former world champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Che ...

, among others. It prepares to

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

Black's and prevents White from playing the otherwise desirable c4. Note that here 3.e4 would allow 3...Nxe4. White's second move commits him to fianchettoing his rather than developing it along the f1–a6 diagonal, due to the weakness that would result on the . 1...b5 against the

English Opening The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move: :1. c4 A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, one of the four most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins t ...

is known as the Halibut Gambit (or Jaenisch Gambit).Chess Opening Explorer
/ref>English Opening: Halibut Gambit (A10) – Openings – Chess.com
English Opening Halibut Gambit – Chess Opening
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 30em Chess openings 1914 in chess Chess in Poland

Details

See also

Further reading

References