The Grunfeld is a sharp hypermodern opening: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5. Black lets White build a big pawn centre in order to attack it with pieces - the g7 bishop, ...c5 and ...Nc6. The main branches are gathered here: the Exchange Variation, the Russian System, the Bf4 System and the Closed System. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The thin arrow on the board shows the next move.
You can also play the move on the board: pick the piece up and put it on the square.
The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Grunfeld Defence (named after the Austrian grandmaster Ernst Grunfeld, who played it in 1922) is one of the most vivid embodiments of hypermodernism. With 3...d5 Black invites the exchange and lets White occupy the centre with pawns, in order to fall on it with pieces afterwards.
The main idea is that in the Exchange Variation Black immediately starts pressing on White's big pawn centre: the g7 bishop rakes the diagonal while ...c5 and ...Nc6 attack the d4 pawn. If the centre holds, White wins with space; if it collapses, Black takes over the initiative.
The Grunfeld is a weapon for dynamic, counterattacking players. Fischer, Kasparov and many of today's elite grandmasters have handled it superbly.
The main line is the Exchange Variation 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4: White builds an imposing e4-d4-c3 centre and Black attacks it at once with ...c5, ...Bg7 and ...Qa5. This is the opening's central argument.
The Russian System 5.Qb3 targets the c4 pawn and Black's centre. The Bf4 System means fast development and holding the centre, while the Closed System 4.e3 is the quiet route with no early complications.
The Grunfeld is the most critical of the Indian replies. Black lets White build an enormous pawn centre and starts shooting at it immediately: after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 White has pawns on c3, d4 and e4, and Black has the g7 bishop firing straight into that centre.
Black's plan is clear from move one: ...c5 and ...Bg4 or ...Nc6, pressing on d4. Every piece traded makes the big centre weaker, and in the endgame the doubled c3 pawn becomes a liability.
The opening demands precision: if White's centre holds and he gets in h3, Be3 and Rc1, Black simply has too little space. You cannot play on general principles here - the break has to come on time.
The classical route is 5.e4, building the centre with the plan Be3, Nf3, Rc1 and h3. White's task is to hold the d4 and e4 pawns and avoid exchanges. If the centre survives into the middlegame, the space decides.
The alternative is the Russian System 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3, where White presses on d5 in advance and denies Black his usual play. Another popular option is 4.Bf4 or 4.Bg5, steering the game away from the main theoretical lines.
Worth remembering: after the exchange on c3 that pawn is a permanent weakness. So White needs active play in the centre and on the kingside; a transition into a quiet endgame usually suits Black, not him.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
After 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2. White has built the big e4-d4-c3 centre and Black attacks it immediately with the g7 bishop and ...c5, ...Nc6, ...Qa5. The opening's central argument.
After 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4. White has taken the c4 pawn with the queen and builds the centre; Black prepares ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Bg4.
After 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.Rc1. White develops the bishop quickly and holds the centre, avoiding the Exchange Variation - a manoeuvring positional game.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
White's big pawn centre is not only a strength but a target. Black must press on it from the very first moves (...c5, ...Nc6, ...Qa5, ...Bg4): delay, and the centre becomes an unstoppable force.
If White gets in d4-d5 or e4-e5 with tempo, his centre goes on the offensive and cramps Black. Keep those squares under control and be ready for exchanges that open the position for the g7 bishop.
The Grunfeld's strength is the long-range bishop on g7. Do not block the long diagonal with your own pieces and pawns; on the contrary, open it with ...c5 and exchanges so that the bishop strikes at White's centre and queenside.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
That is the whole idea of the Grunfeld: an occupied pawn centre is not only a strength but a target. Black attacks it at once with the g7 bishop and ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Qa5. If the centre holds, White is better; if it collapses, the initiative is Black's.
In the King's Indian Black plays ...d6 and takes on the centre later, throwing pawns at the king. In the Grunfeld he strikes with ...d5 at once, inviting the exchange, and attacks the centre with pieces from move one. The Grunfeld is more dynamic and more concrete.
It demands precision: Black deliberately gives White a powerful centre and must strike at it in time. Play inaccurately and the centre crushes you; play correctly and you get excellent dynamic counterplay. That is why strong practical players love the Grunfeld.
Bobby Fischer played it, and Garry Kasparov above all, for whom it was one of his main defences with Black. The Grunfeld is still a popular weapon for elite grandmasters who play for the initiative.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
Самая тяжёлая часть любительского турнира - не найти игроков, а расписать туры и не запутаться в очках. Эту часть закрывает приложение, причём бесплатно и без регистрации по анкете.
4-5 туров за вечер даже при большом составе
когда собрались своим кругом и хочется сыграть со всеми
когда турнирная строгость не нужна - просто вечер шахмат
Vibe Chess проводит шахматные тусовки — вечера-нетворкинги в городах России - Москве, Санкт-Петербурге, Казани, Екатеринбурге, Новосибирске и других. Для компаний проводим корпоративные шахматные турниры, а все города и форматы собраны на главной странице.
Открой приложение Vibe Chess - там расписание встреч и шахматных мероприятий в разных городах России, запись и твои турниры.
