It is widely considered to be one of the worst possible first moves for White. International Master John Watson writes, "As far as I can tell, 1 g4 is competitive with 1 h4 for the honour of being White's worst first move. Against an informed or skilled opponent, it is simply masochistic."[1]
The opening takes its name from Swiss International MasterHenri Grob (1904–1974) who analysed it extensively and played hundreds of correspondence games with it. In Grob's newspaper column analysis of this opening, he referred to it as the Spike Opening, a name which is still used occasionally. Other early references used the name Ahlhausen's Opening, after Carl Ahlhausen (1835–1892) of Berlin, one of the first to play 1.g4. Savielly Tartakower sometimes played this opening in simultaneous exhibitions and called it the Genoa or San Pier D'Arena Opening, after the city and suburb of Genoa where he first used it. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1.g4 is called Fric's Opening,[citation needed] and in other parts of the world it is called Kolibri's Opening.
Along with several other uncommon first moves for White, the Grob is classified under the code A00 ("irregular openings" or "uncommon openings") in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings. White has three main plans: to support the g4 pawn with h3; pressure against d5 or on the h1–a8 diagonal, preventing Black from playing ...Bxg4 (e.g. 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4, exploiting the pin against the b7-pawn); or advancing the h-pawn in a kingside attack.[2]
Perhaps the highest-profile game to feature the Grob was when Michael Basman defeated grandmaster and renowned theorist John Nunn with it in 1978.[3] The Grob was also forced upon Anatoly Karpov by former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in a friendly match against Susan Polgar in Lindsborg, Kansas 2005. Gorbachev made the ceremonial first move and played 1.g4. Normally players can simply retract ceremonial moves they do not like. In this case Gorbachev insisted Karpov play on, saying he wanted to "cause some difficulties for the older player."[4][5]
The Grob was included in the opening book for the superfinal of the 12th Top Chess Engine Championship season (April–July 2018). Both finalists, Stockfish and Komodo, evaluated the position after 1.g4 as providing a clear advantage for Black, and both failed to defend the White position.[6]
Responses
International Master Michael Basman and Grandmaster Spyridon Skembris are advocates of the opening. It has a certain surprise value, and the average player is unlikely to know how to refute it and more likely to get overconfident and make mistakes. Moreover, the lack of theory along this line may negate the repertoire of an experienced opponent. Intuitive play by Black can lead into dangerous traps. Many of these traps rely on Black's replying with 1...d5, attacking the pawn with his queen's bishop. White can sacrifice the pawn with 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 with Qb3 to follow, giving White some pressure against the weakened squares d5 and b7.
Black is not obliged to give White these opportunities. In response to Grob's Attack, Black may also play 1...e5. Good responses would be 2.Bg2 (dominating the light-squared center diagonal) or 2.c4, the English Variation, preparing Nc3 to solidify White's control of d5. After 1...e5, Black can take aim at the h4-square, left weak by White's pawn advance. 2.Bg2 h5 will force a weakening of White's pawn structure. 2.d3 (intending to answer 2...h5 with 3.g5) or 2.h3 can be answered by 2...Ne7 with the threat of ...Ng6 followed by ...Nf4 or ...Nh4, disrupting White's kingside fianchetto.[7]
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Keene Defense: 1.g4 d5 2.h3 e5 3.Bg2 c6
Another frequently used setup for White in the Grob is 1.g4, 2.h3, and 3.Bg2. A Black counter-setup might be 1...d5, 2...e5, and 3...c6 (these moves may be played in any order), which, if used in conjunction with an eventual ...e4, negates White's king bishop's influence over the center.
A key element of the Grob is deploying the king's bishop on g2 and having it rule the diagonal. In order to further this goal, White must keep the center clear of pawns. This leads to frequent "tearing at the center" with c4 often being White's third move.
Due to the unusual pawn structure White attains by playing g4 and c4 so early in the game, there is frequently little advantage to castling. Play often devolves into a wild and wide-open game, with a definitive advantage usually resolving itself in the first 20 moves.
Borg Defense
Black's responding to any opening move by White with 1 ... g5 is called the "Borg Defense",[8] Borg being the reverse spelling of Grob.
Bloodgood, Claude (1976). . Chess. Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
January 25, 2023
grob, attack, redirects, here, airport, grand, canyon, west, airport, unconventional, chess, opening, which, white, begins, with, move, abcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghmoves1, g4ecoa00named, afterhenri, grobsynonym, spike, opening, ahlhausen, opening, genoa, o. 1 g4 redirects here For the airport see Grand Canyon West Airport Grob s Attack is an unconventional chess opening in which White begins with the move Grob s Attackabcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghMoves1 g4ECOA00Named afterHenri GrobSynonym s Spike Opening Ahlhausen s Opening Genoa Opening San Pier D Arena Opening Fric s Opening Kolibri s Opening 1 g4It is widely considered to be one of the worst possible first moves for White International Master John Watson writes As far as I can tell 1 g4 is competitive with 1 h4 for the honour of being White s worst first move Against an informed or skilled opponent it is simply masochistic 1 Contents 1 History and usage 2 Responses 3 Borg Defense 4 See also 5 ReferencesThis article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves History and usage EditThe opening takes its name from Swiss International Master Henri Grob 1904 1974 who analysed it extensively and played hundreds of correspondence games with it In Grob s newspaper column analysis of this opening he referred to it as the Spike Opening a name which is still used occasionally Other early references used the name Ahlhausen s Opening after Carl Ahlhausen 1835 1892 of Berlin one of the first to play 1 g4 Savielly Tartakower sometimes played this opening in simultaneous exhibitions and called it the Genoa or San Pier D Arena Opening after the city and suburb of Genoa where he first used it In the Czech Republic and Slovakia 1 g4 is called Fric s Opening citation needed and in other parts of the world it is called Kolibri s Opening Along with several other uncommon first moves for White the Grob is classified under the code A00 irregular openings or uncommon openings in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings White has three main plans to support the g4 pawn with h3 pressure against d5 or on the h1 a8 diagonal preventing Black from playing Bxg4 e g 1 g4 d5 2 Bg2 Bxg4 3 c4 exploiting the pin against the b7 pawn or advancing the h pawn in a kingside attack 2 Perhaps the highest profile game to feature the Grob was when Michael Basman defeated grandmaster and renowned theorist John Nunn with it in 1978 3 The Grob was also forced upon Anatoly Karpov by former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev in a friendly match against Susan Polgar in Lindsborg Kansas 2005 Gorbachev made the ceremonial first move and played 1 g4 Normally players can simply retract ceremonial moves they do not like In this case Gorbachev insisted Karpov play on saying he wanted to cause some difficulties for the older player 4 5 The Grob was included in the opening book for the superfinal of the 12th Top Chess Engine Championship season April July 2018 Both finalists Stockfish and Komodo evaluated the position after 1 g4 as providing a clear advantage for Black and both failed to defend the White position 6 Responses EditInternational Master Michael Basman and Grandmaster Spyridon Skembris are advocates of the opening It has a certain surprise value and the average player is unlikely to know how to refute it and more likely to get overconfident and make mistakes Moreover the lack of theory along this line may negate the repertoire of an experienced opponent Intuitive play by Black can lead into dangerous traps Many of these traps rely on Black s replying with 1 d5 attacking the pawn with his queen s bishop White can sacrifice the pawn with 2 Bg2 Bxg4 3 c4 with Qb3 to follow giving White some pressure against the weakened squares d5 and b7 abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghAfter 1 g4 d5 2 Bg2 Bxg4 3 c4 abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghAfter 3 c4 d4 4 Bxb7 Nd7 abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghRomford Countergambit after 5 Bxa8 Qxa8 6 f3 d3 Black is not obliged to give White these opportunities In response to Grob s Attack Black may also play 1 e5 Good responses would be 2 Bg2 dominating the light squared center diagonal or 2 c4 the English Variation preparing Nc3 to solidify White s control of d5 After 1 e5 Black can take aim at the h4 square left weak by White s pawn advance 2 Bg2 h5 will force a weakening of White s pawn structure 2 d3 intending to answer 2 h5 with 3 g5 or 2 h3 can be answered by 2 Ne7 with the threat of Ng6 followed by Nf4 or Nh4 disrupting White s kingside fianchetto 7 abcdefgh8 877665544332211abcdefghKeene Defense 1 g4 d5 2 h3 e5 3 Bg2 c6 Another frequently used setup for White in the Grob is 1 g4 2 h3 and 3 Bg2 A Black counter setup might be 1 d5 2 e5 and 3 c6 these moves may be played in any order which if used in conjunction with an eventual e4 negates White s king bishop s influence over the center A key element of the Grob is deploying the king s bishop on g2 and having it rule the diagonal In order to further this goal White must keep the center clear of pawns This leads to frequent tearing at the center with c4 often being White s third move Due to the unusual pawn structure White attains by playing g4 and c4 so early in the game there is frequently little advantage to castling Play often devolves into a wild and wide open game with a definitive advantage usually resolving itself in the first 20 moves Borg Defense EditBlack s responding to any opening move by White with 1 g5 is called the Borg Defense 8 Borg being the reverse spelling of Grob See also EditList of chess openings List of chess openings named after people Irregular chess openingsReferences Edit John Watson Mastering the Chess Openings Volume 4 Gambit Publications 2010 p 275 ISBN 978 1 906454 19 7 Benjamin Joel Schiller Eric 1987 Unorthodox Openings Macmillan Publishing Company p 75 ISBN 0 02 016590 0 Basman Nunn Oxford 1978 Chess for Peace with Mikhail Gorbachev 2 November 2005 Gorbachev supports Chess for Peace initiative See the TCEC archive season 12 superfinal games 45 and 46 Martin Andrew 2004 How To Meet The Polish amp Grob www jeremysilman com Archived from the original on 29 February 2012 B00 Reversed Grob Borg Basman defence macho Grob Bibliography The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of Grob s Attack Basman Michael 1991 The Killer Grob Cadogan ISBN 0 08 037131 0 Wall Bill 1988 Grob s Attack Chess Enterprises ISBN 0 931462 86 X Dunnington Angus 2000 Winning Unorthodox Openings Everyman Chess ISBN 978 1 85744 285 4 Schiller Eric 2002 Unorthodox Chess Openings Second ed Cardoza pp 201 210 ISBN 1 58042 072 9 Bloodgood Claude 1976 The Tactical Grob Chess Archived from the original on 2008 07 01 Retrieved 2008 06 30 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Grob 27s Attack amp oldid 1133092917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
