Réti opening

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The basic position of the Réti opening after 2. c2 – c4

The Réti opening is an opening to the game of chess , named after its inventor Richard Réti . It caused a sensation in the chess world around 1920 because - at that time very unconventional - it did not aim to immediately occupy the center (the strategically most important squares d4, d5, e4, e5) by pawns.

Richard Réti began many of his games in the 1920s with the old Zukertort move 1. Ng1 – f3, which was mostly countered with 1.… d7 – d5 in order to put a pawn in the center, which according to the classical opening theory (propagated especially by chess masters like Siegbert Tarrasch ) should already equal an advantage. But now Réti - instead of the usual Zukertort move 2. d2 – d4, which leads to the queen pawn game - introduced the extravagant move 2. c2 – c4 from the point of view of classical theory, a temporary pawn sacrifice that hinders the development of Black and his central position should weaken. Similar to the Queen's Gambit and the Catalan Opening, Black has the development of the c-file and a center majority as a goal, but without defining the pawn structure. Furthermore, Réti fianchetted both white runners. The move order 1. Ng1 – f3 d7 – d5 2. c2 – c4 is often referred to as the Réti system because move changes occur.

Before Réti, the opening was not taken very seriously. The names “Napoleon Opening” and “Zukertort Opening” also come from this period. Until the middle of the 20th century , this opening had hardly been explored. Réti celebrated many successes with her and continued to refine his strategy. In a famous game he even defeated José Raúl Capablanca , the brilliant world champion who was unbeaten eight years before this defeat, with his "invention" at the great international tournament in New York in 1924 .

Nowadays the opening is considered a well-researched and playable variant, even if the classic moves 1. e2 – e4 and 1. d2 – d4 still have more fans. In the 2013 World Chess Championship , Magnus Carlsen used them against Viswanathan Anand

variants

Réti's usual way of playing is 1. Ng1 – f3 d7 – d5 2. c2 – c4 , and now the black player has the option of accepting the (sham) sacrifice,

• (White can win back the pawn immediately after 2.… d5xc4 by means of 3. Qd1 – a4 +, but also plays the finer move 3. Nb1 – a3 so as not to bring the queen into play so early. 3. e2 – e3 can according to plan Bf1xc4 and further d2 – d4 lead to the accepted Queen's Gambit .)

or to wait with 2.… e7 – e6 in order not to weaken its center and its development. In the second case, the position of 3. g2 – g3 will approximate the contours of the Catalan opening , since the pawn constellation defines the strategy of both sides. In some cases a position can result from the Tarrasch Defense of the Queen's Gambit , otherwise the possibilities are innumerable. 3. b2 – b3 is the typical continuation for the Réti opening, in which White holds back his center pawns and only draws d2 – d3 and e2 – e3 in conjunction with g2 – g3, Bf1 – g2, 0–0.

• However, if you play 2.… d5 – d4 as a black player , the situation is different. Black will try with 3.… c7 – c5 to secure space advantage in the center (a kind of Benoni defense with reversed colors is created) and, since White has to oppose an active strategy of prevention, a long positional battle for the center breaks out.

• 2.… c7 – c6 threatens d5xc4. 3. d2 – d4 leads to the Slav Defense . 3. b2 – b3 is the typical continuation for the Réti opening.

Two of the greatest contemporary connoisseurs of the Réti opening in Germany are the master players Karl-Heinz Podzielny and Klaus Bischoff .

After the move sequence 1. Ng1 – f3 d7 – d5 2. g2 – g3 the transition to the King's Indian attack takes place by renouncing c2 – c4 .

literature

• Jerzy Konikowski, Uwe Bekemann: Reti opening - played right. Joachim Beyer Verlag, Eltmann 2015, ISBN 978-3-9592001-4-1 .