The Austrian Attack is a
chess opening
The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...
characterised by the following moves:
:1.
e4 d6
:2.
d4 Nf6
:3.
Nc3 g6
:4.
f4
The opening is a variation of the
Pirc Defence
The Pirc Defence ( ) is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian grandmaste ...
. After 4...Bg7, typical continuations include the 5.Nf3 0-0, an immediate attack with 5.e5 Nfd7, or a counterattack with 5.Nf3 c5.
The Pirc Defence is one of several
hypermodern responses to the opening move
1.e4. The aim of the Austrian Attack is to take advantage of Black's hypermodern approach by establishing a broad pawn centre early in the game. The general strategy for White is to use the pawn on f4 to support a breakthrough with e4–e5. Black will often
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
early and attempt to find counterplay with c7–c5, or in some cases, e7–e5, or the of the queenside knight.
Performance
The
Chessgames.com master game database records approximately 1,850 games which opened with the Austrian Attack. Of those games, White won 39.4%, Black won 28%, and the remaining 32.6% were
draw
Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to:
* Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them
* Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes
* Draw ...
s.
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Life
Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
successfully employed the Austrian Attack against
Rudolf Charousek
Rudolf Charousek (; 19 September 1873 – 18 April 1900) was a Czech born Hungarian chess player. One of the top ten players in the world during the 1890s, he had a short career, dying at the age of 26 from tuberculosis. Reuben Fine wrote of h ...
in 1896, securing a win in just 17 moves.
Edward Lasker
Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author ...
unsuccessfully used the opening against
Miguel Najdorf
Miguel Najdorf ( ; born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf; 15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was a leadin ...
, resigning after 42 moves. In 1952,
Isaac Boleslavsky
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky (, ; 9 June 1919 – 15 February 1977) was a Soviet chess grandmaster and writer.
Early career
Born in Zolotonosha in Ukraine to Jewish parents, Boleslavsky taught himself chess at age nine. In 1933, he became sch ...
tried the opening against
Vasja Pirc
Vasja Pirc ( ; ) (December 19, 1907 – June 2, 1980) was a Yugoslav chess player. He is best known in competitive chess circles as a strong exponent of the hypermodern defense now generally known as the Pirc Defence.
Pirc was champion of Yugo ...
(after whom the Pirc Defence is named), but they agreed to a draw after move 62.
In the 17th game of the
1972 World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match for the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll in Reykja ...
,
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigra ...
opened with 1.e4.
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...
responded with the Pirc Defence, for the only time in his career.
[ Botterill 1973, p. 118] Spassky played the Austrian Attack. The game proceeded as follows:
:1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Bd3 Qxc5 8.Qe2 0-0 9.Be3 Qa5 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Rad1 Nc6 12.Bc4 Nh5 13.Bb3 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qxc3 15.f5 Nf6 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Na5 18.Rd3 Qc7 19.Bh6 Nxb3 20.cxb3 Qc5+ 21.Kh1 () Qe5 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Re3 Rc8 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Qf4 Qxf4 26.Rxf4 Nd7 27.Rf2 Ne5 28.Kh2 Rc1 29.Ree2 Nc6 30.Rc2 Re1 31.Rfe2 Ra1 32.Kg3 Kg7 33.Rcd2 Rf1 34.Rf2 Re1 35.Rfe2 Rf1 36.Re3 a6 37.Rc3 Re1 38.Rc4 Rf1 39.Rdc2 Ra1 40.Rf2 Re1 41.Rfc2 g5 42.Rc1 Re2 43.R1c2 Re1 44.Rc1 Re2 45.R1c2
By playing 21...Qe5 instead of 21...Rf8–c8, Fischer offered the
exchange sacrifice
In chess, the exchange is the difference of a rook for a (i.e. a bishop or knight). Having a rook for a minor piece is generally advantageous, since the rook is usually more valuable. A player who has a rook for a minor piece is said to be '' ...
as a means of blunting Spassky's kingside attack. The game ended on move 45 owing to
draw by agreement
A game of chess can end in a draw by agreement. A player may offer a draw at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. In some competitions, draws by agreement are restricted; for example draw offers may be subject to the d ...
despite Spassky having a slight material advantage.
on Chessgames.com
References
Bibliography
*
{{Chess, state=collapsed
Chess openings