Page:The chess-player's text book.djvu/113

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TEXT BOOK
101



CHAPTER I.

THE KING'S KNIGHTS OPENING.[1]

FROM this fine old game, handed down to us by the earliest writers on Chess, we have derived many of the most striking and favourite openings practised.

GAME I.

WHITE. BLACK.
1. P. to K's 4th. 1. P. to K's 4th.
2. K.'s Kt. to B.'s 3rd.

Your move of the Kt. gives the name to the opening. By this move, observe, you threaten to win his King's Pawn. Now he may protect it in five different ways— namely, by

P. to K. B.'s 3rd (which is bad).
K. B. to Q.'s 3rd (which is bad also).
Q. to K. B.'s 3rd (which is not very good).
P. to Q.'s 3rd (which is much better).
And Q. Kt. to B.'s 3rd (which is considered the best).

He may also leave it unguarded, and attack your King's Pawn with his K.'s Kt. We must content ourselves with examining the consequences of his adopting the two best of these moves. Suppose, therefore, in the first place, that he defends his Pawn by

2. P. to Q.'s 3rd.

This known as Philidor's defence, because that celebrated master recommended it as preferable to all other

  1. ↑ The very limited space at command in a little treatise like this forbids our doing more than indicate the leading moves of those openings touched upon.
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