Misplaced Pages

Barcza System

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Barcza Opening) Chess opening
Barcza System
abcdefgh
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rooka7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawnf3 white knightg3 white pawna2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white bishoph2 white pawna1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queenf1 white rookg1 white king8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
MovesNf3 g3 Bg2 0-0
ECOA07
Named afterGedeon Barcza

The Barcza System is a chess opening system played by White, comprising the moves Nf3, g3, Bg2 and 0-0, regarded as non-committal moves whilst Black exposes their intention. It is named after the Hungarian grandmaster Gedeon Barcza who employed the opening on many occasions throughout his career.

After playing the four moves outlined above White will usually choose to direct play into another opening system such as the Réti Opening (by playing c4), the King's Indian Attack (by playing d3, Nbd2 and e4), the Catalan (by playing d4 and c4), or the Hippopotamus (by playing b3 and Bb2). The Barcza System is thus essentially a transpositional tool where White delays committing to a specific structure until it is clear how Black intends to develop. The Barcza System only has independent significance on the rare occasions where play does not enter another opening complex.

The Barcza System has been suggested as a universal system ideal for club players by grandmasters such as Lajos Portisch, David Bronstein and Yasser Seirawan.

References

  1. Horton, Byrne Joseph (1972). Dictionary of modern chess. New York. p. 12. ISBN 9780806501734.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, p202 'White's four opening moves, 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.0-0, create the Barcza Opening. After these initial moves, if White follows up with c4 the opening often transposes into an English Opening. If he plays d4, a likely transposition into a Catalan will occur. And if White plays for d3 and e4, the opening becomes a King's Indian Attack'. Everyman Chess, 2003, ISBN 1857443497.
  3. Lajos Portisch, How to Open a Chess Game. RHM Press, 1980, IBSN 0890582033.
  4. David Bronstein, The Sorceror's Apprentice. Cadogan Chess, 1995, ISBN 1857441516.
  5. Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Openings, pp199-212. Everyman Chess, 2003.
Category: