Openings
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Polish Defense
The flank pawn goes first, the centre can wait
- Offbeat
Black answers 1.d4 with 1…b5. The pawn takes control of c4, prepares a bishop on b7 and grabs space on the queenside. The price is the centre: Black stakes no claim to it, and White simply occupies it with 2.e4. In this direct form the opening is thought dubious and is rarely seen, while the delayed …b5 after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 looks far more respectable.
2…Bb7
Moves
(4 plies • 2 moves)- 1–2moves
- 1.
- 2.
Defining move
1…b5 — a flank pawn instead of a centre pawn
The move that gives the opening its name and its problem
The b5 pawn stops c2-c4 and clears b7 for the bishop. But it does nothing for the centre. After 2.e4 White threatens 3.Bxb5, and Black needs concrete compensation, not general talk of space.
Tabiya
2.e4 Bb7 — a crossfire
White has pawns on d4 and e4. Black's bishop presses on e4, White's bishop on f1 presses on b5, and each side sees a target in the other camp. White can guard e4 with Bd3 or Nc3 and keep the centre. Black hopes for the open diagonal and play on the queenside.
White’s plan
- Guard e4 with Bd3 or Nc3 and keep the centre.
- Develop and keep the threat of Bxb5 in the air.
- Use the queenside weaknesses before Black can cover them.
Black’s plan
- Press on e4 with the b7 bishop.
- Support the b5 pawn with …a6 and build queenside play.
- Add …e6 and …Nf6, then hit the centre with …c5.
History
The opening goes back to the Polish player Alexander Wagner, who brought it into practice in the early 1910s. Its name echoes the Polish Opening, 1.b4.
Games in the Atlas
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