Zaragoza opening
| 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 |
The Saragossa opening after 1. c2 – c3
The Zaragoza opening is an opening of the game of chess and arises after the first white move
- 1. c2-c3
It is one of the closed games and is classified in the ECO codes under the key A00 as "irregular opening".
It is named after the Spanish city of Saragossa . In 1922 a themed tournament was organized for the opening 1. c2 – c3 in Mannheim with three participants, Siegbert Tarrasch , Paul Leonhardt and Jacques Mieses . Tarrasch won the tournament.
Opening ideas
1. c2 – c3 is initially an ambitious move, it opens the diagonal d1 – a4 for the queen , but it has little effect on the center , namely only on the square d4. In addition, the pawn on c3 has the disadvantage that it takes away the knight's natural c3 square. The Saragossa opening can develop into the Caro-Kann Defense or the Slav Defense with a faster pace for White, which further strengthens the already solid defenses.
Black has a multitude of possible answers, the natural ones are 1.… d7 – d5, 1.… e7 – e5 and 1.… Ng8 – f6.
| 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 9. Bc1 – b2
By moving trains , positional images of the queens' pawn game or the Colle system can be created. After 1.… e7 – e5 White can go into the Alekhine defense with exchanged colors with 2. Ng1 – f3 , in which move c3 (analogous to c6) fits into the opening system.
Not safe for Black, after 1.… d7 – d5 2. d2 – d4, the move is c7 – c5?!, After which the Slavic Defense is reached with swapped colors and increased speed for White. With 3. d4xc5 White can capture the gambit pawn and try to maintain it after, for example, 3.… e7 – e6 with 4. b2 – b4.
The Czech grandmaster Vlastimil Hort , who opened more often with 1. c2 – c3 or after 1. d2 – d4 d7 – d5 2. c2 – c3, played an interesting variant against Dragoljub Velimirović in Novi Sad in 1976 : 1. d2– d4 c7 – c5 2. c2 – c3 d7 – d5 3. d4xc5 e7 – e6 4. b2 – b4 a7 – a5 5. a2 – a3 b7 – b6 6. c5xb6 a5xb4 7. c3xb4 Bf8xb4 + 8. a3xb4 Ta8xa1 9. Bc1– b2 (see diagram). Since Ta1 and g7 are threatened, Black has to sacrifice the quality on b1. White remains with a removed passed pawn and the pair of bishops and is better, Hort won after 29 moves.
literature
- Ferdinand Schmidt: The unrecognized chess opening: new ways to Saragossa 1. c2 – c3 . Mädler, Dresden 1999, ISBN 3-925691-20-0 .
- Theo Schuster : New chess openings . Completely revised edition. Falken, Niedernhausen 1995, ISBN 3-8068-0478-8 , pp. 85-87.