Can you imagine how long it must have taken to play one game to a draw?

That long-distance method of chess playing was common before instant communication made playing remotely so much faster. It got its name from a correspondence chess match between a player in Edinburgh and one in London. This game is also on the list of Open Games. Source: Wikipedia Credit: Schach Niggeman The Scotch Game Before computer chess, there was correspondence chess played by mailing these cards back and forth. You don't know yet? Luckily, we have a full-length article that will tell you all about it. To understand why you have to know just how versatile this opening can be. Of all the possible openings, currently, the Ruy Lopez is one of the most oft-played. What makes them unique is what happens after the kings' pawns face off.įor the Ruy Lopez, here's what the notation looks like: 1. Just because these and all of the other Open Games feature that move pair, it doesn't mean that they all play the same way. There are dozens of games that open with those moves among them are: If you are unfamiliar with algebraic notation, that translates to White moving their king's pawn two squares to e4 and Black mirroring that move, ending up on square e5. There are chess games and there are Open Games, which are also chess games but they are all identified by a specific pair of opening moves: 1. Studying chess openings and defences is the right place to start. That means getting good at playing chess. maybe not win, exactly, but to improve their Elo rating. One trait unites chess players - grandmasters and novices alike: the desire to. After all, it's perfectly alright if you love ice cream but detest sorbet and can't imagine how anyone would eat something so disgusting, right? None of this is evidence that chess players are any more irresolute than the average person who does not play chess. Maybe the master making the comment might have his name included if he's particularly renowned. Or, before chess theory became a thing (in the early 20th Century), they were relegated to a few lines of notation in some manuscript. It's been that way throughout (chess) history.Ĭhess masters of bygone days loathed this gambit and despised that opening and, through their words, caused those tactics to fall out of favour - forever consigned to chess theory. And, at any time, a player may change their preferences. Some particularly enjoy the middlegame while, for others, the endgame is what really counts. Some players are mad for speed chess or blitz chess while others consider themselves chess purists: only conventional games will satisfy. Any halfway decent chess buff will be able to see what you’re angling for from a mile away.In chess as in everything else, humans are fickle. The biggest downside of the Danish Gambit is that it typically only works on inexperienced players. What they don’t see is that their single-mindedness has left avenues open for White’s three most powerful pieces-both Bishops and the Queen-while they themselves have only one piece deployed. They’ve already stolen three of their opponent’s pieces while suffering only a single loss themselves. If Black unwisely opts to advance to b2, White finally uses Queen’s Bishop to stop the marauding pawn.Īt this point, Black is feeling pretty confident. White then moves pawns to d4 and c3, inviting consecutive captures from Black’s single pawn.Īs Black continues collecting pieces, White sneaks out their King’s Bishop to c4.

In the Danish Gambit, White kicks off the game by moving e2 pawn to e4, prompting Black to counter e7 to e5. The Danish Gambit may be one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it has the potential to end a game in a heartbeat if staged correctly.

Top 10 opening chess moves