Parham's attack

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after White's 2nd move

Parham's attack is a very rarely played chess opening . It is one of the so-called open games and is characterized by the following sequence of moves:

1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Qd1 – h5

This opening is named after the American chess player Bernard Parham . However, it is largely unknown under this name and does not have its own ECO code , but is led with a few other openings under the code C20 (1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 - rare moves). This variant was probably first mentioned in 1905 in the American Chess Bulletin under the name Danvers Opening . Parham advocates an early development of the queen in other opening variations such as the move 2. Qd1 – h5 as an answer to the Sicilian defense 1. e2 – e4 c7 – c5.

rating

The move 2. Qd1 – h5 is generally seen as a violation of current opening principles, since according to a widespread view the queen develops too early and thus makes her the target of attacks. In addition, if the queen retreats onto the f3-square, the knight on g1 no longer has the usual development opportunities. However, the move puts Black under pressure, as he may initially feel compelled to defend the e-pawn (the gambit 2.… Ng8 – f6 is definitely an option, see below). The cover is normally done with 2.… Nb8 – c6. After 3. Bf1 – c4 Black either stays

3.… g7 – g6, which makes a later development of the black king's bishop on the g7-square likely,
3.… Qd8 – e7, whereby the development of the black king's bishop over the white queenside is blocked,
3.… Qd8 – f6, whereby the black knight on g8 loses his usual development move.

While the Dutch grandmaster Hans Ree described 2. Qd1 – h5 as a "provocative but well thought-out move" , this move is still rated as weak by almost all other experts. A potential advantage for White is given to this variant only because of its element of surprise, especially in lightning games . Parham himself has played this move in every open game for several decades, with Black the corresponding counterpart 2.… Qd8 – h4 if possible. Apart from winning the championship of the US state of Indiana in 1967, however, he can not refer to any successes worth mentioning, his current rating can be classified as mediocre. He holds the rank of National Master in the USA.

An opening that is also established at the grandmaster level, in which the queen's development takes place similarly early, namely through Black on move two, is the Scandinavian Defense .

use

Hikaru Nakamura, who played this variant in games against other grandmasters

Despite the controversial evaluation and the beginning-like appearance, this opening variant was occasionally played by grandmasters, probably for the first time on April 13, 1973 by Heikki Westerinen in a game against Jon Kristinsson in Oslo. The game ended in a draw after 37 moves, but Westerinen did not repeat this experiment.

On April 22, 2005, the 17-year-old USA champion GM Hikaru Nakamura caused a sensation when he played this variant with white against the Indian grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran at the 13th Sigeman tournament in Copenhagen and Malmö. Nakamura reached a passable position from the opening, but lost the game due to a mistake later on. When evaluating the game on the Internet, he wrote that he thought 2. Qd1 – h5 was a playable move and that until his mistake on move 23 he had had a good position with a chance of winning ( "… I do believe that 2. Qh5 is a playable move, in fact I had a very good position in the game ... " ). Sasikiran finished the tournament with a shared first place with Grandmaster Jan Timman , Nakamura achieved half a point less than the two first place winners.

A month later, Nakamura played the same opening against Grandmaster Nikola Mitkov at the HB Global Chess Challenge tournament in Minneapolis. This game ended in a draw after 55 moves.

The reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen chose this opening on December 26, 2018 in the second round of the rapid chess world championship against IM Shamsiddin Wokhidow from Uzbekistan , the U14 youth world champion from 2015, and lost the game after 36 moves. He could have increased his already existing advantage on move 20 considerably, but stopped the game within three moves!

This opening is seen more often than in grandmaster games in games by amateurs who hope for a quick shepherd mate in four moves. The American actor Woody Harrelson played this variant, for example, in an exhibition match against Garry Kasparov in 1999 in Prague. He reached a draw after receiving support from several grandmasters present. A year later, this opening was played again in an exhibition match against Kasparov, by the tennis player Boris Becker in New York. The game ended after 17 moves with a victory for Kasparov.

Possible sequels

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after Black's 2nd move with a possible answer

Since the variant 2. Qd1 – h5 is very rarely played in games at the master’s level, it has only been insufficiently investigated in opening theory with regard to the best continuation variants. In beginner games, this move is often answered with the error 2.… g7 – g6, whereupon Black loses a rook after 3. Qh5xe5 + on the following move.

A possible continuation for Black is 2.… Nb8 – c6. This is the most common and, according to the traditional games, also the most successful variant. Black is thus defending the pawn on e5 against White's queen and is preparing to answer 3. Bf1 – c4 with 3.… Qd8 – e7 or 3.… g7 – g6. This variant was played by Black both in the two grandmaster games mentioned and in the two exhibition matches with Garry Kasparov.

Another possibility is 2.… Ng8 – f6. This rather unusual move is preferred by some computer chess programs such as Shredder Version 9. After 3. Qh5xe5 + Bf8 – e7 4. Nb1 – c3 0–0 5. Bf1 – c4 Nb8 – c6 Black has on the one hand a deficit of a pawn, but on the other hand achieved a gain in tempo with the prospect of further advantages from White's exposed position Lady.

A gross but unlikely mistake is 2.… Ke8 – e7 ?? whereupon White mates with 3. Qh5xe5 #. This is one of the shortest possible games: White can checkmate in the third move at the earliest, Black already in the second, see fool's mate .

literature

Hikaru Nakamura: Not played on Schäfermatt. In: Jeroen Bosch: Chess without blinkers. Volume 7. New In Chess , Alkmaar 2007, ISBN 978-90-5691-205-5 , pp. 138ff.
Unusual Choices. In: Al Lawrence, Stephen Gorman, Eli Burakian: Knack Chess for Everyone: A Step-by-Step Guide to Rules, Moves & Winning Strategies. Globe Pequot, Guilford 2010, ISBN 978-15-9921-510-5 , pp. 124/125.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Parham's attack with theory table including games, accessed on June 12, 2019.

[1] Parham's attack with theory table including games, accessed on June 12, 2019.