The Barcza System is a chess opening system played by White, comprising the moves Nf3, g3, Bg2 and 0-0, regarded as non-committal moves whilst Black exposes their intention. It is named after the Hungarian grandmaster
Gedeon Barcza
Gedeon Barcza (August 21, 1911 – February 27, 1986) was a Hungarian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. He was eight-time Hungarian Chess Championship, chess champion of Hungary.
Chess career
In 1940, Barcza took third place, behind Max E ...
who employed the opening on many occasions throughout his career.
After playing the four moves outlined above White will usually choose to direct play into another opening system such as 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 fian ...
(by playing c4), the
King's Indian Attack
The King's Indian Attack (or KIA) is a chess opening where White adopts the setup more commonly seen being played by Black in the King's Indian Defence. The King's Indian Attack is characterised by the following moves: the central pawns are de ...
(by playing d3, Nbd2 and e4), the
Catalan (by playing d4 and c4), or the
Hippopotamus (by playing b3 and Bb2). The Barcza System is thus essentially a transpositional tool where White delays committing to a specific structure until it is clear how Black intends to develop. The Barcza System only has independent significance on the rare occasions where play does not enter another opening complex.
The Barcza System has been suggested as a universal system ideal for club players by grandmasters such as
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch (born 4 April 1937) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik". One of the strongest players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated in twelve c ...
,
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein (; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in World Chess Championship 195 ...
and
Yasser Seirawan
Yasser Seirawan (; born March 24, 1960) is a Syrian-born American chess grandmaster and four-time United States Chess Championship, United States champion. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1979. Seirawan is also a published chess au ...
.
[Yasser Seirawan, ''Winning Chess Openings'', pp199-212. Everyman Chess, 2003.]
References
{{Reflist
Chess openings