Vienna Game
Like the Italian, but the queen's knight comes out first — and that keeps f4 in your pocket. Against ...Nf6 you play the Vienna Gambit and most opponents under 1200 are lost by move 6; against ...Nc6 you play a quiet Italian setup.
Spar this openingYour setup
- Knightc3
- Bishopc4 / b3
- Knightf3
- Pawnse4 d3
- CastleO-O
Nc3 before f4. The knight on c3 guards e4. Push f4 before it's there and ...Qh4+ or ...Nxe4 punishes you.
Ideas
The knight guards e4, so the f-pawn is free to hit e5 when it suits you.
After 2.Nf3 the f-pawn is stuck behind the knight. After 2.Nc3 you decide next move: gambit with f4 against ...Nf6, or a quiet Bc4 setup against ...Nc6.
The Vienna Gambit. If they take, e5 kicks the knight and you're miles ahead.
3.f4 exf4? 4.e5 and the f6-knight has to go backwards — ...Ng8 is a common reply at this level and the game is already decided. The correct answer, 3...d5, is hard to find; then fxe5 Nxe4 Nf3 and you have the centre.
With the knight on c6, f4 doesn't work. Bc4, d3, Nf3, castle.
After 2...Nc6 3.f4 exf4 there's no e5 kick with effect, and ...Qh4+ ideas come fast. Play the Italian setup instead; you can still consider f4 later once d3 and Nf3 are in.
After 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4, kick the knight with Nf3, never d3.
5.d3? Qh4+ 6.g3 Nxg3 7.hxg3 Qxg3+ and you're losing. 5.Nf3 develops, covers h4, and asks the knight what it's doing on e4.
After e5 hits the f6-knight, every retreat costs them; develop with threats and castle.
...Ng8 undoes their development; ...Ng4 gets hit by h3 (and Nf3 covers e5); ...Qe7 then Qe2 keeps everything. You're up two or three developing moves — cash it in by opening lines, not by grabbing pawns.
Same plan as the Italian: castle, d3 and c3 if quiet, or f4–f5 and a kingside attack after the gambit.
In the quiet lines the knight walk Nge2–g3 and a later f4 are your plans. After the gambit the e5 pawn cramps Black and your f- and e-pawns lead a kingside attack.
The structure
Traps
The tell: Black's knight lands on e4 in the gambit and you're tempted to kick it with a pawn.
d3 opens the e1–h4 diagonal. After ...Qh4+ g3 Nxg3! hxg3 Qxg3+ Black has won material and your king is in the open. Kick the knight with Nf3 instead.
The tell: Black takes on f4 without ...d5.
e5 sends the knight home. After Nf3 and d4 you regain the pawn with a huge lead in development — Black has one piece out and it's on g8.
Model games
Against ...Nc6 you build an Italian setup with the knight already on c3; f4 stays available for later.
The main line of the gambit: Black finds ...d5, you take, kick the knight with Nf3 and keep the centre.
The line you'll see most under 1200: Black grabs the pawn, the knight goes home, and you're three moves ahead.
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 C25–C29 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the reference index most databases sort by.