|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECO | C20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Named after | Bernard Parham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Open Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonym(s) | Wayward Queen Attack Danvers Attack Patzer Opening |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chessgames.com opening explorer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Parham Attack (also known as the Wayward Queen Attack, Danvers Attack, or the Patzer Opening) is an irregular chess opening beginning with the moves:
The opening is named after American chess master Bernard Parham, the first master-level player known to have advocated it. Parham also advocates early development of the queen in other positions, as in his favored line as White against the Sicilian Defence, 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5?!
The Parham Attack violates a conventional opening principle because it develops the queen too early and subjects it to attack, although it is relatively safe after retreating to f3. Nonetheless, the opening causes Black some problems. Left to his own devices, Black would probably develop with ...Nf6, ...Bc5, and ...Nc6. The Parham Attack hinders this by first forcing Black (unless he wants to sacrifice a pawn) to defend the e-pawn (usually with 2...Nc6), then after 3.Bc4 forcing Black to either play 3...g6 (virtually committing Black to fianchettoing his king bishop), 3...Qe7 (blocking the bishop), or 3...Qf6 (taking away the knight's best square). In 2005, the Dutch grandmaster Hans Ree called 2.Qh5 "a provocative but quite sensible move."[1]
As with the similar Napoleon Opening (2.Qf3?!), White hopes for the Scholar's Mate, e.g. 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7#. In both cases, Black can easily avoid the trap, but 2.Qf3 does not pose the impediments to natural development of Black's pieces that 2.Qh5 does. Incidentally, Black's worst possible response to 2.Qh5 is 2...Ke7?? 3.Qxe5#.[2] (This line ties with a few others for the fastest possible checkmate by White.)
|
| This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
Despite its amateurish appearance, this opening was played in two grandmaster (GM) tournament games in 2005. U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura played it as White against Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran at the May 2005 Sigeman Tournament in Copenhagen/Malmö, Denmark.[3] Nakamura got a reasonable position out of the opening but lost the game due to a mistake made in the middlegame. He later wrote on the Internet, "I do believe that 2.Qh5 is a playable move, in fact I had a very good position in the game, and was close to winning if I had in fact played 23.e5."[4] Sasikiran went on to tie with Timman for first place in the tournament, with Nakamura half a point behind.[5]
The previous month, Nakamura had played 2.Qh5 against GM Nikola Mitkov at the April 2005 HB Global Chess Challenge in Minneapolis. That game ended in a draw after 55 moves.[6]
More often the opening is adopted by chess novices, as when actor Woody Harrelson played it against Garry Kasparov in a 1999 exhibition game in Prague.[7] Harrelson achieved a draw after being assisted by several grandmasters who were in Prague attending the match between Alexei Shirov and Judit Polgár.[8] The next year Kasparov again faced the opening as Black, this time winning in 17 moves, when tennis star Boris Becker played it against him in an exhibition game in New York.[9]
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
Because most games with the Parham Attack have been played at weak scholastic tournaments, 2...g6?? has often been seen, losing a rook to 3. Qxe5+. The two moves that have received attention from higher-level players are 2...Nc6 and 2...Nf6!?[8]
This is the most common continuation. Black defends his e5 pawn from the queen and prepares to meet 3.Bc4 with 3...Qe7 or 3...g6. Grandmasters Sasikiran and Mitkov both played this move against Nakamura in 2005.[3][6] Garry Kasparov also chose it in his exhibition games against Boris Becker and Woody Harrelson.[7][9]
Introducing a speculative gambit. (See diagram.)