Réti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4

Develop the knight, hit d5 from the side with c4, fianchetto and castle by move five: the same five moves against nearly everything, and no early tactics to fall into. You keep the centre pawns at home until you see what Black has done, then choose the structure that suits you.

Spar this opening

Your setup

Knightf3
Bishopg2
Bishopb2 / e2 / d3
Knightc3 / d2
Queene2 / c2
Pawnsc4 g3
CastleO-O

c4 before Nc3. The c-pawn goes first. A knight on c3 with the pawn still on c2 blocks the one pawn move the Réti is built around, and you are left playing a passive Queen's Pawn game without the d-pawn.

Ideas

Hit d5 from the side

Nf3, c4 and Bg2 all pressure d5. Your centre pawns stay home.

Black's d5-pawn is the centre of their position. Instead of fighting it with d4, you attack it from c4 and from g2 and wait. Black must either defend it, trade it, or push it, and each of those tells you what to do next.

c4 before Nc3

Never put the knight in front of the c-pawn.

The whole opening is c4 against d5. A knight on c3 with the pawn behind it means that push never comes, and you are left with a passive game where Black has the centre for free.

When Black takes c4

Qa4+ or e3 and Bxc4 gets it back. Never chase the pawn with pieces.

The c4-pawn is not a gambit. If Black takes it early, Qa4+ picks it up at once after the block, or e3 and Bxc4 recover it with development. If Black tries to keep it with ...b5, a4 breaks the pawns and your bishop lands on b5 with check.

Against ...d4: undermine, don't blockade

If Black pushes ...d4, play e3 and trade it off. A pawn on d3 would only fix it.

A pawn on d4 looks impressive but has nothing behind it. e3 attacks it at once; after exd4 the file opens and your pieces come out with tempo. Blockading with d3 turns their pawn into a permanent wedge and shuts in your own bishop.

The second bishop: b3 and Bb2

Castled? Now b3 and Bb2 so both bishops look at the centre.

The b2-bishop watches e5 and d4, and it gives you the tidy bxc4 recapture if Black ever takes on c4. With both bishops on long diagonals, Black's centre pawns become targets rather than assets, and you can choose between e3 and d4 or a slow cxd5 later.

Or just play d4

Against ...d5 and ...e6, d4 gives you a Queen's Gambit Declined.

The Réti is also a move-order weapon. Because you played Nf3 first, Black has committed their d- and e-pawns before you have shown anything. If you prefer a classical centre, d4 and Nc3 now give you a Queen's Gambit Declined with none of the Indian defences allowed.

When the book runs out

Castled with both bishops out? Choose the centre: cxd5 and d4, or e3 and Qe2.

By now Black has shown their structure. If they have ...c5 and ...d5, trade cxd5 and push d4 to open lines for your bishops. If they are solid, e3, Qe2 and Rd1 build slowly. Never rush: the Réti wins by being ready when the centre opens, not by opening it early.

The structure

The Réti picture: castled by move five, the c-pawn and the g2-bishop both leaning on d5, and b3 coming to put the second bishop on the long diagonal.

Traps

The greedy queen on d4

Nf3 d5 c4 d4 e3 Nc6 exd4 Qxd4 Nxd4

The tell: Black recaptures on d4 with the queen while your f3-knight is still watching the square.

The queen looks safe because the knight on c6 defends d4. It does not matter: Nxd4 takes the queen first, and ...Nxd4 only gets a knight back. Recapturing with the knight was the right order for Black.

Nxd4 too early

Nf3 d5 c4 d4 Nxd4 Qxd4

The tell: Black pushes ...d4 and the pawn looks free because nothing sits next to it.

The pawn is defended from behind by the queen on d8. Taking it with the knight loses a piece for a pawn. Undermine it with e3 and let the trade happen on your terms.

Clinging to c4

Nf3 d5 c4 dxc4 e3 b5 a4 c6 axb5 cxb5 b3 cxb3 Bxb5+

The tell: Black takes on c4 and tries to keep the pawn with ...b5.

The queenside pawns cannot hold each other. a4 hits b5, ...c6 props it up, and b3 breaks the chain. You end with a bishop on b5 giving check, Qxb3 coming, and every Black piece still at home. Material is level, development is not.

Model games

Main line: double fianchetto

Nf3 d5 c4 e6 g3 Nf6 Bg2 Be7 O-O O-O b3 c5 Bb2 Nc6 e3 b6 Nc3 Bb7 cxd5 Nxd5 Nxd5 Qxd5 d4

Five moves of development and a castled king before anything happens in the centre. Then b3 and Bb2, Nc3, and only after Black has committed does cxd5 and d4 open the board for both bishops.

The Advance: undermine and develop

Nf3 d5 c4 d4 e3 Nc6 exd4 Nxd4 Nxd4 Qxd4 Nc3 e5 d3 Nf6 Be3 Qd8 Be2 Be7 O-O O-O

Black grabs space with ...d4 and you take it apart with e3. Knights come off, the queen has to recapture, and Nc3, d3 and Be3 chase her home while you finish developing.

Into the Queen's Gambit Declined

Nf3 d5 c4 e6 d4 Nf6 Nc3 Be7 Bg5 O-O e3 h6 Bh4 b6

The same opening with the other centre plan: after ...e6, d4 and Nc3 give a Queen's Gambit Declined that Black never had the chance to avoid. Nf3 first means the Indian defences never appear.

How the coach grades a move

Every move you play gets one of six grades, from the engine’s view of the position, with the book’s verdict taking over when it is harsher. The sentence beside it is always the reason. Tap it for what the move did, why this opening wants it, and whether anything was better.

Best: Nothing better was available.
Good: Within a few percent of best. Noise at this depth.
Playable: A small real gap. The better move is named, play goes on.
Inaccuracy: Seven to twelve points of winning chances. The game stops to show you.
Mistake: Twelve or more, or a move the book warns against, or a broken order rule.
Blunder: Twenty-five or more. Usually material.

Catalogued as A04–A09 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the reference index most databases sort by.