Barnes Opening
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Barnes Opening
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Sequence
1.f3
Possible Variations4
1... e53 variations
1... f5Gedult Gambit1... f5 2. e4 2... fxe4 3. Nc3About this opening
With 1.f3 White plays one of the worst possible first moves: it develops nothing, takes the g1-knight's best square and weakens the e1-h4 diagonal. After 1...e5 White must already avoid 2.g4??, which allows Fool's Mate with 2...Qh4#. Black gets a pleasant game with 1...e5 followed by d5. The Barnes Opening is named after Thomas Wilson Barnes, famous for beating Paul Morphy eight times — with sounder openings.