The Hungarian Defense is a
chess opening
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 Defen ...
that begins with the moves:
:1.
e4 e5
:2.
Nf3 Nc6
:3.
Bc4 Be7
The Hungarian Defense is a line in the
Italian Game
The Italian Game is a family of chess openings beginning with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. Bc4
This opening is defined by the of the white bishop to c4 (the so-called ""), where it attacks Black's vulnerable f7-square. It is part ...
typically chosen as a response to the aggressive 3.Bc4. With the move 3...Be7, Black avoids the complexities of the
Giuoco Piano (3...Bc5),
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. Bc4 Bc5
:4. b4
The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts, ...
(3...Bc5 4.b4), and
Two Knights Defense (3...Nf6).
White has an advantage in and freer , so Black must be prepared to defend a cramped position. According to
Harding
Harding may refer to:
People
*Harding (surname)
*Maureen Harding Clark (born 1946), Irish jurist
Places Australia
* Harding River
Iran
* Harding, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province
South Africa
* Harding, KwaZulu-Natal
United St ...
and
Botterill, "The Hungarian Defence can only be played for a draw. White should have an edge in most lines."
The opening is seldom seen in modern play. It has been played on occasion by some
grandmasters with strong defensive-, including
Reshevsky,
Hort Hort may refer to:
People
* Erik Hort (born 1987), American soccer player
* F. J. A. Hort (1828–1892), Irish theologian
* Greta Hort (1903–1967), Danish-born literature professor
* Josiah Hort (c. 1674–1751), English clergyman of the ...
, and former
world champions
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
Petrosian and
Smyslov.
The variation takes its name from a
correspondence game between Paris and
Pest, Hungary
Pest () is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two-thirds of the city's territory. It is separated from Buda and Óbuda, the western parts of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable sights are the ...
, played from 1842 to 1845, but was first analyzed by
Cozio in the 18th century.
[Harding & Botterill (1977), p. 130.]
Main line: 4.d4
White's best response is 4.d4 (4.d3 Nf6
transposes to the
Two Knights Defense), seeking advantage in the . Other moves pose fewer problems for Black: 4.c3 Nf6 (
Steinitz), or 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.d4 Bg4.
After 4.d4, Black continues either 4...exd4 or 4...d6.
4...exd4
After 4...exd4, 5.Nxd4 would transpose into a variation of the
Scotch Game
The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. d4
Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On t ...
that gives White a spatial advantage. Weaker is 5.c3, hoping for 5...dxc3 6.Qd5, after which Black
resigned in the game Midjord–Scharf,
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
Olympiad 1974 (though Black could have tried 6...Nh6 7.Bxh6 0-0 when 8.Bc1 Nb4 9.Qd1 c2 wins back the piece, so White should play 8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.Nxc3 with advantage
). Instead of 5...dxc3, however, Black can play 5...Na5 (recommended by
Chigorin), forcing White to give up the with 6.Qxd4 or
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
a pawn. Also is 5...Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 (the
Tartakower Variation) 7.Bd5 Nc5 8.cxd4 Ne6 (
Evans
Evans may refer to:
People
*Evans (surname)
* List of people with surname Evans
Places United States
*Evans Island, an island of Alaska
* Evans, Colorado
*Evans, Georgia
*Evans County, Georgia
*Evans, New York
*Evans Mills, New York
*Evans Cit ...
), but after 9.Bb3 White has the upper hand (
Unzicker).
[Matanović (1981), p. 243, n. 24.]
4...d6
Alternatively, Black generally tries to hold the center with 4...d6, when White has a choice of plans, each of which should be enough to secure a slight advantage. White can simplify to a slightly better queenless
middlegame with 5.dxe5 dxe5 (5...Nxe5? 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Qh5! and White's on e5 and f7 wins a pawn) 6.Qxd8+ (6.Bd5 is also possible) Bxd8 7.Nc3 Nf6, or 7...f6. Or White can close the center with 5.d5 Nb8, followed by Bd3 and expansion on the with c4, resulting in positions resembling those from the
Old Indian Defense. Finally, with 5.Nc3 White can retain in the center and obtain active piece play.
See also
*
List of chess openings
*
List of chess openings named after places
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*{{cite book
, editor-last=Matanović
, editor-first=Aleksandar
, editor-link=Aleksandar Matanović
, title=
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
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 (Chess Informant). It is curre ...
, publisher=
Chess Informant
, location=Yugoslavia
, volume=C
, edition=2nd
, year=1981
, isbn=
Chess openings
1842 in chess