Vienna Game

The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3

White develops the queen's knight instead of immediately committing to Nf3, White's most common second move. Black usually responds with either 2...Nf6 or 2...Nc6. The original idea behind the Vienna Game was to play a delayed King's Gambit with f4, but in modern play White often adopts a more approach, such as by playing 3.Bc4 or 3.g3.

The opening became popular in the 19th century. A book reviewer wrote in the New York Times in 1888 that "... since Morphy only one new opening has been introduced, the 'Vienna'." Weaver W. Adams famously claimed that the Vienna Game led to a for White.: "Mr. Adams and his cronies may be linked to the radical right wing of chess. For all their faulty analysis, they must be given credit for introducing healthy controversy into the staid annals of opening theory. ... Weaver is not content with such halfway measures as equality. All or nothing – right-wing logic, true to form." However, Nick de Firmian concludes in the 15th edition of Modern Chess Openings that the opening leads to with by both sides.

Analysis Black's most common response is 2...Nf6, which usually continues with 3.f4, 3.Bc4, 3.g3, or 3.Nf3. 2...Nc6 is also quite common. The opening features many transpositional opportunities, such as to the King's Gambit. Some lines listed below are sometimes assigned to the Bishop's Opening, but to the Vienna Game by ECO. Some lines are reached without any dominant method, such as the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation, commonly reached by all of 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3, 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3, and 2.Bc4 (the Bishop's Opening) Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3.

Examined in this article are the following common variations: 2...Nf6 (Falkbeer VariationHooper & Whyld 1996, p. 132, Falkbeer Variation. Hooper & Whyld designate the variation as beginning 2...Nf6; however, only lines continuing 3.f4 are listed. The term "Vienna Gambit" is also frequently used to refer to this line, but only on the internet.) 3.f4 d5 (classical line) 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 (main line) 5.Qf3 (Spielmann's move) 5.d3 (originally unpopular but now more common) 5...Qh4? (trap) 5.Qe2 (Paulsen's move) 4.exd5 (King's Gambit, by transposition) 4.d3 (Steinitz Variation) 3.f4 exf4?! (trap) 3.Bc4 (Stanley Variation, also often assigned to Bishop's Opening) 3...Nxe4 4.Qh5 (Frankenstein-Dracula Variation) 3...Nxe4 4.Nf3 (Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit) 3...Nc6 4.d3 (Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation) 3...Bc5 (Spielmann Attack) 3...Bb4 (Reversed Spanish Variation) 3.g3 (Mieses Variation) 3...d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3 (main line) 3.Nf3 Nc6 (Four Knights Game) 3.Nf3 Bb4 (Petrov's Defense, Three Knights Game, by transposition) 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 (Center Game, by transposition) 3.a3 (Mengarini Variation) 2...Nc6 (Max Lange Defense) 3.f4 exf4 (Vienna Gambit) 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 (Hamppe–Allgaier Gambit) 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.0-0 (Hamppe–Muzio Gambit) 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4 (Pierce Gambit) 4.d4 (Steinitz Gambit) 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 (Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation) 3.Bc4 Bc5 (Symmetrical Variation) 3.g3 (Paulsen Variation) 3.Nf3 (Three Knights Game) 3.d4 (Fyfe Gambit) 2...Bc5 (Anderssen Defense) 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 (main line) 3.Nf3 d6 4.Na4 (exchange line) 3.Bc4 (Bishop's Opening, Classical Variation, by transposition) 3.f4 d6 4.Nf3 (King's Gambit Declined, Classical Variation, by transposition) 2...d6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 3.f4 (Omaha Gambit) 3.Nf3 (Philidor Defense, by transposition) 2...Bb4 (Zhuravlev Countergambit)

Falkbeer Variation: 2...Nf6 3.f4

2...Nf6 is the most common move and is named after Ernst Falkbeer. 3.f4 is the classical reply. Black usually plays 3...d5, striking back in the center with a similar idea to the Falkbeer Countergambit of the King's Gambit. Black should not accept the gambit as 3...exf4 4.e5 forces Black to retreat with 4...Ng8 (4...Qe7 is even weaker and can be met with 5.Qe2, forcing 5...Ng8). The classical main line continues 4.fxe5 Nxe4, reaching a position. 5.Nf3, the traditional main move, 5.Qf3, and 5.d3 are all frequently played.

Anthony Santasiere and Weaver W. Adams, among others, have advocated the gambit, but it also receives criticism. Raymond Keene wrote that the gambit is considered too risky at the grandmaster level.Keene, Raymond. The Times 1 June 2012

Main line: 3...d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3

This is the most common continuation. White obtains open lines and attacking chances, but Black can usually hold the balance with correct play. Black's most common reply is 5...Be7, the Breyer Variation. Other options include 5...Nc6, 5...Bc5 (threatening 6...Bf2+), and 5...Bg4, usually continuing 6.Qe2, the Kaufmann Variation.

In the Breyer Variation, the most common line continues 6.Qe2 Nxc3 7.dxc3 c5 8.Bf4 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Be6. Common deviations include 6.d4, 6...f5, and 7.0-0. White then often launches an attack on the kingside, most often playing 10.h4 (or a later h4). Black often attempts to counterattack on the queenside, frequently playing ...Qa5 at some point.

Spielmann's line: 5.Qf3

This develops White's queen aggressively and is also quite common. It has been advocated by Ben Finegold. Black usually responds with 5...Nxc3, 5...Nc6, or 5...f5 (the Bardeleben Variation).

After 5...Nc6, play most often continues 6.Bb5 Nxc3 7.dxc3 (or 7.bxc3, with the same continuation) Qh4+ 8.g3 Qe4+ 9.Qxe4 dxe4, followed by either 10.Bxc6, inflicting doubled pawns on Black before the knight can be reinforced with 10...Bd7, or alternatively 10.Ne2, allowing 10...Bd7 and often continuing 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 anyway. A less common alternative is 6.Nxe4. Black usually responds with 6...Nd4 (6...dxe4 7.Qxe4 gives up a pawn), with the knight threatening both White's queen and a fork of White's king and rook with ...Nxc2+. The line typically continues 7.Qc3 dxe4 8.Ne2, with Black regaining the knight.

Oxford Variation: 5.d3 This most often continues 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4 7.Nf3 Nc6. Black also commonly plays 7...c5 or 7...dxc3. 6...Be7 and 6...c5 are also seen, as well as 6...Nc6, which typically transposes to the main line after 7.Nf3 d4. It can lead to the Würzburger Trap following 5...Qh4+.

4.exd5 This is White's most notable alternative to 4.fxe5. Black usually continues with 4...Nxd5, 4...exf4, or 4...e4.

After 4...Nxd5, 5.Nxd5 Qxd5 is fine for Black, while 5.fxe5 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Qh4+ forces White either to give up a rook with 7.g3 Qe4+ or to play 7.Ke2. White can also play 5.Nf3.

4...exf4 transposes to the Modern Defense of the King's Gambit Accepted after 5.Nf3 (or to the Bishop's Gambit after 5.Bc4), a line also frequently reached from the Schallopp Defense.

4...e4 enters the old main line of the Falkbeer Countergambit.

Other lines 3...d6 is the only sound alternative for Black, entering a line of the King's Gambit Declined. It most often continues 4.Nf3, followed by 4...Nc6, 4...Nbd7, 4...Bg4, 4...exf4, or 4...Be7. A frequent continuation is 4...Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.d3. The threat of Bxc6 followed by fxe5 (with ...dxe5 and then Nxe5 losing a pawn) leaves Black with no better option than 6...exf4 7.Bxf4, leaving White with a pleasant position. 3...Nc6? is weak due to 4.fxe5! Nxe5 5.d4, when both 5...Nc6 and 5...Ng6 are met by 6.e5 with a strong attack available for White. 4.d3 is the Steinitz Variation, usually continuing 4...exf4 or 4...d4.

Mieses Variation: 2...Nf6 3.g3

The move 3.g3, the Mieses Variation, is a quiet continuation in which White fianchettoes the king's bishop, a line played by Vasily Smyslov on a few occasions, most notably in a win over Lev Polugaevsky in the 1961 USSR Championship.the game continued 3...d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Be6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bf6 9.Ne4 0-0 10.d3 Be7 11.a3 Nb6 12.b4, resulting in a position which the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings assesses as slightly better for White. This fianchetto plan anticipated elements of the later hypermodern treatment of the opening. The best-known example is Mieses's brilliancy-prize game against Eugene Znosko-Borovsky at Ostend 1907.

The main line of the variation begins with 3...d5, usually continuing 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3, followed by 6...Bd6, 6...Nc6, or 6...Bc5. Black also has the more alternatives 3...Bc5 and 3...Nc6, which normally transposes into one of the other lines. White often plays 4.Bg2 and 5.Nge2.

Stanley Variation: 2...Nf6 3.Bc4 The move 3.Bc4 leads to a position which can also be reached from the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4). Black's main choices are 3...Nxe4; 3...Bc5, which transposes to the King's Gambit Declined after 4.d3 d6 5.f4 Nc6 6.Nf3; 3...Nc6, usually continuing 4.d3, entering the Berlin-Vienna Hybrid Variation, followed by 4...Na5, 4...Bc5, or 4...Bb4; and 3...Bb4, after which 4.f4 Nxe4 5.Qh5 0-0 leads to wild but probably equal play, or White may play 4.d3, 4.Nge2, or 4.Nf3.

After 3...Nxe4, White usually plays 4.Qh5 (threatening Qxf7#), and Black almost always replies with 4...Nd6. After 5.Bb3, Black can either go for the relatively quiet waters of 5...Be7 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nxe5, known as the Alekhine Variation, or the complexities of 5...Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 (or 8...Qf6 with the same continuation) 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6, which the Irish correspondence chess player and theorist Tim Harding extravagantly dubbed "the Frankenstein–Dracula Variation". White can also instead trade queens with 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 (5...Be7 allows 6.Qxg7) 6.Qxe7+ Bxe7.

If White instead plays 4.Nxe4, this permits the fork 4...d5. 4.Bxf7+ is considered weak, though after 4...Kxf7 5.Nxe4 d5 (inferior is 5...Nc6 6.Qf3+, when Black cannot play 6...Kg8 because of 7.Ng5, Davids–Diggle, London Banks League 1949 while 6...Ke8 leaves the king awkwardly placed in the center) 6.Qf3+ (6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bh6! wins for Black) Kg8 7.Ng5 (hoping for 7...Qxg5?? 8.Qxd5+ and mate the next move,Schottlaender–Ed. Lasker, simultaneous exhibition, Breslau c. 1902) Qd7!, with a large advantage for Black in view of having the and a strong pawn center. 4.Nf3 is another option, entering the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit.

Vienna Gambit: 2...Nc6 3.f4 exf4 With 3.f4, White sacrifices a pawn to gain control of the center, with a similar idea to the King's Gambit. The term "Vienna Gambit" traditionally applies to the move sequence 2...Nc6 3.f4. It is frequently used online to refer to the equivalent move in the Falkbeer Variation (2...Nf6 3.f4).

Steinitz Gambit: 4.d4

The Steinitz Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.d4, was a favourite of Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion. White allows Black to misplace White's king with 4...Qh4+ 5.Ke2 (see diagram), hoping to prove that White's pawn center and the exposed position of Black's queen are more significant factors. Unlike Steinitz, who famously opined that, "The King is a fighting piece!", few modern players are willing to expose their king this way, and the Steinitz Gambit is rarely seen today.

Hamppe–Muzio Gambit: 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.0-0

This extremely gambit is usually followed by gxf3 7.Qxf3 (see diagram). As with its close relative in the King's Gambit, the Muzio Gambit, White sacrifices the knight on f3 in return for a powerful attack against the black king. It is named after Austrian theoretician Carl Hamppe and classified under ECO code C25. The Dubois Variation continues 7...Ne5 8.Qxf4 Qf6.

Hamppe–Allgaier Gambit: 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 This is another extremely line that resembles the Allgaier Gambit of the King's Gambit. Unlike in that line, after 5...g4, White cannot play 6.Ne5, which would be the equivalent of the Kieseritzky Gambit, due to Black's knight on c6. Black's knight is not particularly useful in defending against White's attack after 6.Ng5, however.

Pierce Gambit: 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4