HOW TO PLAY THE OPENING WITH BLACK
With black your goals in the opening are the same as
with white:
(1) Develop your pieces (2) Control the center
There are many ways to play the opening in chess. An
experienced player may do something unusual to give the opponent an unfamiliar
position. For someone fairly new to the game, it is best to learn the most
reliable ways, and those easiest to play. Because you are black and your
opponent goes first, he has a small advantage at the start. You must make sure he
does not control the center squares. Do
this by putting a pawn in the center, the same way as if you had white. It is
possible to play chess by moving a center pawn later in the game, but you should learn to do this right away, to
make sure you do not get into a bad position. Here is how you should meet the
first move of your opponent.
(A) Your opponent starts with
1.e4 - You can reply to this with either
1...e5 or 1...c5. The move 1…e5 is more common among learning players. The move
1…c5 is the favorite move of the world’s highest-rated player Gary Kasparov,
and many other grandmasters. Here are some ideas used with 1...c5, which is
called the Sicilian Defense. A lot of the time your opponent is going to play
2.Nf3. There are three good moves to answer this. You can play 2...Nc6, 2...d6,
or 2...e6. If he then plays 3.d4, you should take his pawn with 3...cxd4. After
he takes back 4.Nxd4, attack his e-pawn with 4...Nf6. White will have to guard
his pawn with 5.Nc3, blocking in his c-pawn. You do not want him to grab
control of the center by playing c4 before he brings out his queen-knight. Your
next move should make sure the opponent cannot drive your Nf6 away with the
move e5, if you have not stopped this threat already.
(B) Your opponent starts with 1.d4
- You can answer this move with 1...d5 or
1…Nf6. If he plays 2. c4 it is better to not take the pawn, because he will be
able to get his pawn back with a good position. Just guard your pawn with e6 or
c6. Later on in the game, you will want to play the move c5 to stop the
opponent from taking over the center.
(C) Your opponent starts with
1.Nf3 - You can answer this move with either
1...d5 or 1...Nf6. If you play 1...d5, follow the same ideas that you used
against 1.d4. If you play 1...Nf6, make sure your opponent does not control the
center with his pawns. Put a pawn in the center yourself to stop this. You can
answer 2.d4 with 2...d5. You can answer 2.c4 with 2.c5.
(D) Your opponent plays something
else on his first move. If the opponent plays
1.c4 you can reply 1...e5. If the opponent plays a first move other than this,
try to control the center by moving your pawns. Both 1...e5 and 1...d5 are good
answers to most unusual moves. You can also play 1...Nf6 first and then move
your center pawns.
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