A Closed Game (or Double Queen's Pawn Opening) 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 Defens ...

that begins with the moves: :1. d4 d5 The move 1.d4 offers the same benefits to and as does 1.e4, but unlike with the king's pawn openings where the e4-pawn is undefended after the first move, the d4-pawn is protected by White's queen. This slight difference has a tremendous effect on the opening. For instance, whereas the

King's Gambit The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. f4 White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...

is rarely played today at the highest levels of chess, the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a '' gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...

remains popular at all levels of play. Also, compared with the king's pawn openings, transpositions between variations are more common and important in the closed games.

Specific openings

The Richter–Veresov Attack, Colle System, Stonewall Attack, Torre Attack, London System, and Blackmar–Diemer Gambit are classified as Queen's Pawn Games because White plays d4 but not c4. The Richter–Veresov is rarely played at the top levels of chess. The Colle and London are both ', rather than specific opening variations. White develops aiming for a particular formation without great concern over how Black chooses to defend. Both these systems are popular with club players because they are easy to learn, but are rarely used by professionals because a well prepared opponent playing Black can equalize fairly easily. The Blackmar–Diemer Gambit is an attempt by White to open lines and obtain attacking chances. Most professionals consider it too risky for serious games, but it is popular with amateurs and in

blitz chess Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blit ...

. The most important closed openings are in the

family (White plays 2.c4). The Queen's Gambit is somewhat misnamed, since White can always regain the offered pawn if desired. In the

Queen's Gambit Accepted The Queen's Gambit Accepted (or QGA) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 dxc4 The Queen's Gambit Accepted is the third most popular option on Black's second move, after 2...e6 (the Queen's Gambit Declined) and 2 ...

, Black plays ...dxc4, giving up the center for free development and the chance to try to give White an isolated queen pawn with a subsequent ...c5 and ...cxd4. White will get active pieces and possibilities for the attack. Black has two popular ways to decline the pawn, the

Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...

(2...c6) and the Queen's Gambit Declined (2...e6). Both of these moves lead to an immense forest of variations that can require a great deal of opening study to play well. Among the many possibilities in the Queen's Gambit Declined are the Orthodox Defense, Lasker Defense, the Cambridge Springs Defense, the Tartakower Variation, and the Tarrasch and Semi-Tarrasch Defenses. Black replies to the Queen's Gambit other than 2...dxc4, 2...c6, and 2...e6 are uncommon. The Chigorin Defense (2...Nc6) is playable but rare. The Symmetrical Defense (2...c5) is the most direct challenge to

theory—Can Black equalize by simply copying White's moves? Most opening theoreticians believe not, and consequently the Symmetrical Defense is not popular. The

Baltic Defense The Baltic Defense (also known as the Grau Defense, or the Sahovic Defense) is a chess opening characterized by the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 Bf5!? The Baltic is an unusual variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD). In most defenses to t ...

(2...Bf5) takes the most direct solution to solving the problem of Black's queen bishop by developing it on the second move. Although it is not trusted by most elite players, it has not been refuted and some very strong grandmasters have played it. The

Albin Countergambit The Albin Countergambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e5 and the usual continuation is: :3. dxe5 d4 The opening is an uncommon defense to the Queen's Gambit. In exchange for the gambit pawn, Black has a ...

(2...e5) is generally considered too risky for top-level tournament play. Similarly, the Marshall Defense (2...Nf6) is very rarely seen in grandmaster play, as most theoreticians consider it definitely inferior for Black.

Diagrams

References

* {{citation , last=De Firmian , first=Nick , authorlink=Nick de Firmian , title=

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 , publisher=Random House Puzzles & Games , year=1999 , isbn=0-8129-3084-3 *Closed Game Chess terminology

Specific openings

Diagrams

See also

References