King's Pawn Opening: What to Know Before You Use It
“So-and-so player has opened with the King’s pawn…” “They’re playing a King’s pawn game…” If you’ve been to a chess club or seen a depiction of chess in film or television, you may have heard such phrases as these before. But what do they mean? Simply put, the King’s Pawn or King Pawn is the pawn that starts the game in front of the King, i.e., on e2 for White or e7 for Black.
King’s Pawn Algebraic notation
We use this Cartesian coordinate system to name squares by ranks (horizontals) and files (verticals). For example, the black Queen starts the game on the d8-square. The old system (descriptive notation) named squares based on which piece started the game on the file in question.
To illustrate, the ‘a’ and ‘h’ files were instead called the ‘Queen Rook’s file’ and the ‘King Rook’s file,’ respectively. The ‘c’ and ‘f’ files were called the ‘Queen Bishop’s file’ and the ‘King Bishop’s file,’ respectively. Therefore, the e-file was the ‘King’s file,’ and the e-pawns were known as King pawns.
Descriptive notation is largely out of use today since it is more complicated to standardize across world languages, among other reasons. We now leave the discussion of descriptive notation incomplete, as the focus was simply to understand that King’s Pawn Opening refers to games starting with 1.e2-e4.
Why 1.e4?
1.e4, the opening move called “Best by test” by Grandmaster (GM) and former World Champion Bobby Fischer is totally logical. White does their best, with their first move advantage, to stake out central territory on the board. Despite also using the King’s pawn, the move 1.e3 falls short of this goal and is therefore considered a ‘second-rate’ move we will not discuss in this article.
There are other ‘first-rate’ moves (also sharing the aim of central control) aside from 1.e4, but the King Pawn opening is the most direct. Immediately, the d1-h5 diagonal is opened for the d1-Queen, as well as the f1-a6 diagonal for the f1-Bishop. These light squares often prove active and aggressive for the white pieces, and of course, developing the King’s Bishop quickly allows for castling, as well.
In this article, we’ll explore some typical attacking games in the King’s Pawn Opening. We’ll see some tactical themes through these games and discover Three Things to Know Before Using the King’s Pawn Opening.
Number One - King’s Pawn Can Often Lead To An Open Game
The first important thing to know about the King’s Pawn opening is that, compared to other openings, there is a higher chance of an open game. An open chess game is exactly what it sounds like - the board is open. This means that ranks, files, and diagonals are cleared of pawns. The main obstructors are the center pawns, AKA the ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ pawns, or the ‘e’ or ‘d’ pawns.
No matter how we call these pawns, their absence will allow the line pieces (i.e., Bishops, Rooks, and Queens) to shine at their full attacking potential. Let’s look at an example of a King’s Pawn Opening leading to an open game:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4
White initiates the Evan’s Gambit, which we’ll see again, sacrificing a pawn for control of the center with c2-c3 and d2-d4.
4.b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Qf6
White’s strategy seems to already be paying off; Black develops awkwardly as the natural-looking 9…Nf6 already runs into problems.
After 9... Nf6 10. e5, White begins to reap the benefits of an open game: 10…dxe5 11. Ba3 (immediately using the a3-f8 diagonal) Bxd4 12. Qb3 when White is for choice: the a3-f8 and a2-g8 diagonals are in use, and the d/e files make the d8-Queen and e8-King look like targets for the white rooks.
10. Nd5 Qg6 11. Nf4 Qf6 12. e5 dxe5 13. dxe5 Qf5 If 13…Nxe5, 14.Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Re1 wins for White. 14.e6 f6 only White stands to gain from the opening of the e-file, and the game concludes swiftly, only 10 moves later: 15. Nh4 Qc5 16. Be3 Qg5 17. Nf3 Qa5 18. Bxb6 Qxb6 19. Nd5 Qa5 20. Nd2 Nd4 21. Nb3 Nxb3 22. axb3 Qc5 23. Qh5+ Kd8 24. Rad1 1-0 This open game was too much for Black, and he resigned in the game.
Paul Morphy - J. Arnous de Riviere, Paris 1863
Focus On Your Development In The King’s Pawn Game
The second important thing to know about the King’s Pawn Game is how crucial it is to focus on the development of your pieces in the opening. As noted in the introduction, 1.e4 is a good step towards opening diagonals for our Queen and Bishop, but you will find the most success when you develop all the pieces into the game as quickly as possible. Let’s look at another game to see what happens when one player gets the pieces out quickly, and the other falls behind in development.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 h6? This move does nothing for Black’s development 9. Qb3 Qe7 10. Nc3.
White is far more developed than Black: His King is castled, and only the c1 bishop needs to move for the Rooks to be connected. Black, however, still has two minor pieces at home: his King on e8, and his Rooks remain in the corners.
What’s worse, Black’s next move loses further time, exchanging the a5-Bishop (which has already moved three times) for the c3-Knight (which has only moved once).
[product skus="B0451EM,B0454EM,B0487EM10…Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Bd7 12. e5 (opening the position to exploit the lead in development) dxe5 (12... O-O-O loses to both 13.Rb1 and 13.Ba3) 13. Ba3 exd4 14. Nxd4 Qf6 15. Rae1+ Nge7: Ready to castle and solve his problems, right?
Wrong! White’s superior development grants him an opportunity for a spectacular tactical combination, starting with a Queen sacrifice: 16. Nxc6! Qxc3 (Recapturing on c6loses a piece on e7 after 17. Qxf6) 17. Rxe7+ Kf8 18. Rxf7+ Kg8 (18…Ke8 19. Re7+ Kf8 20. Rxd7+ Qxa3 21. Rf7+ Kg8 22. Rf3+ picks up the a3-Queen, remaining a piece ahead and winning) 19. Ne7+ Kh7 20. Bb2! Be8 21. Bd3+ Qxd3 22. Rxg7# 1-0
S. Globus - R. Gross , Riga 1884
Piece Activity Is Key In The King’s Pawn Game
The second important thing to know about the King’s Pawn Game is that piece activity usually plays a major role in the game. What’s piece activity? Well, to be active, each piece has different requirements or desires on the chess board.
Bishops and Rooks, for example, can only thrive with open diagonals and files, respectively (hence the relevance of the open game). The Queen can cause a devastating impact but can also be made to move via attack from lesser pieces. The Knight, uniquely, requires proximity and centralization. Piece activity means the pieces function as they’d like and are in coordination with one another against the King.
A disparity between the two armies, in this regard, is often decisive:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 Nxe4 8. dxe5 O-O 9. Bd5 Bxc3 10. Bxe4 Bxa1
Let’s take a survey of the position after 10 moves in another Evan’s Gambit. In terms of our first important point, the open game, we can see the central pawns do nothing to obstruct the white Bishops. For development, Black doesn’t seem too bad; the King is castled and only one minor piece remains at home (the c8-Bishop).
However, Black is missing an important defender in his f6-Knight (we’re discussing piece activity, but don’t forget pieces must sometimes also defend!) and has lost some time capturing ‘free’ material. As a result, White now has an opportunity to demonstrate excellent piece activity via a typical sacrifice known as the Greek Gift:
11. Bxh7+! Kh8 (11…Kxh7 was necessary, but after 12.Ng5+ Black faces an unpleasant choice between sacrificing the Queen on g5 (now or after 12…Kg8 13.Qh5) and bringing the King out further with 12… Kg6) 12. Ng5 g6.
13. Qg4 (The white pieces are springing to action against the King, while the pieces on a1,c6, and c8 are all spectators) Bxe5? (13…Nxe5 offered more resistance by way of covering f7, but after 14. Qh4 White is still for choice).
14. Qh4 White is completely winning; the Queen and minor pieces threaten the black King (e.g., starting with a discovered check on the h-file), who has insufficient support.
14…Kg7 15. Ne6+ fxe6 16. Qh6+ Mate is now unavoidable
16…Kf7 17. Bxg6+ Ke7 18. Qh4+ Rf6 19. Ba3+ The c1-Bishop, though not previously developed, springs quickly to life (unlike its c8 counterpart) 19… d6 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8+ Ke7 22. Qg7+ Rf7 23. Qxf7# 1-0
Mikhail Chigorin - S. Alapin, St. Petersburg 1883
Piece Activity Summary
To conclude on piece activity, please note how White’s attack was largely conducted by the Queen and light-squared bishop. Neither his rooks nor his b1-Knight ever featured in the battle. Despite this, the attack was successful for two reasons.
First, the black pieces were far from active themselves; those on the Queenside barely moved, while the King’s Knight and Bishop left the board/became sidetracked, capturing a1, respectively.
Second, the White pieces all got what they wanted: 19. Ba3+ used a clear diagonal, 12.Ng5 (with proximity) always looked to assist with a Qh7# idea, and of course, the star of the show was the white Queen, always disturbing the black King.
Final Thoughts
The King’s Pawn opening, 1.e4, is the most direct try for an attacking game. To increase your chances of success with it, remember the following three concepts: The King’s Pawn opening often leads to an open game, focus on developing your pieces in the opening, and remember the importance of piece activity.