Openings
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Mieses Opening
One quiet move instead of a claim on the centre
- Set-up systems
- Offbeat
1.d3 frees the c1 bishop and prepares e2-e4, but does not take the centre yet. Most often White builds a King's Indian Attack set-up: Nf3, g3, Bg2, castling. The opening is perfectly playable but modest: White gives up part of the first-move edge and lets Black choose the structure. People pick it to step off the well-worn paths and get a position of their own.
7…Nc6
Moves
(14 plies • 7 moves)- 1–7moves
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
Defining move
1.d3 — wait and see
A quiet move that claims nothing and closes nothing
The d3 pawn opens the c1 bishop's diagonal and supports e4. White postpones the decision: depending on Black's reply, the game can head for a King's Indian Attack, a Closed Sicilian or an English set-up with c4. The price of this flexibility is a centre that Black can occupy unhindered.
Tabiya
A King's Indian Attack against ...d5 and ...c5
Both kings are already safe behind fianchettoed bishops. Black holds the centre with pawns on d5 and c5, which takes the sting out of White's kingside play. White has just played e2-e4 and leans on d5. White wants either to trade on d5 and bring the rook to e1, or to push on with e4-e5. Black has to support d5 and make use of the extra room in the centre.
White’s plan
- Build the King's Indian Attack: Nf3, g3, Bg2, castling, Nbd2.
- Strike with e2-e4 at the right moment and play on the kingside.
- If Black has taken the centre, switch to queenside play with c2-c4.
Black’s plan
- Take the centre with …d5, …e5 or …c5.
- The pairing of …d5 and …c5 blunts White's kingside attack.
- Develop calmly and challenge the e4 pawn when it appears, with …dxe4 or …e5.
History
Samuel Boden played 1.d3 as early as the 1850s, but the opening takes its name from Jacques Mieses, who used it in his 1910 match against Richard Teichmann. In 1997 Garry Kasparov played it against the Deep Blue computer.
Legends who played it
Jacques Miesesas White · Named after the player
Games in the Atlas
No games in the Atlas yet