Horwitz Defense

The Horwitz Defense is a chess opening defined by the moves:

1. d4 e6
Horwitz Defense
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e6 black pawn
d4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.d4 e6
ECOA40
Origin19th century
Named afterBernhard Horwitz

This response to White's Queen's Pawn Game, is named for the German chess master and writer Bernhard Horwitz (1807–85), who is known to have played it four times against fellow German master Daniel Harrwitz between 1849 and 1852.[1] Players such as the English grandmaster Simon Williams often use 1.d4 e6 as a way of playing for the Dutch Defense while avoiding the Staunton Gambit (1.d4 f5 2.e4!?).[2][3]

As such the opening has little independent significance. It is likely to transpose to other openings listed below.

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code for the Horwitz Defense is A40.


A famous game was played in this defense between Edward Lasker and George Thomas. The Queen was sacrificed and the King walked to the other side of the board.[4]

See also

References
  1. "CHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  2. "Review: The Aggressive Classical Dutch". Chess News. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  3. Williams, Simon (2003). Play the Classical Dutch. London, England: Gambit Publications. ISBN 978-1901983883.
  4. "Chaos in a Miniature by Edward Winter". www.chesshistory.com. Retrieved 2023-02-06.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.