Vienna Game: free opening course

Key ideas

• Nc3 before Nf3 keeps the f-pawn free: f2-f4 opens the f-file against f7 and Black's king.
• In the Vienna Gambit, fxe5 gains space and drives Black's knight from f6; your pieces then flood out with Nf3, d4 and Bd3.
• The bishop on c4 (or b3) and a queen on h5, g4 or f3 form a battery against f7, so watch for Qxf7 mates whenever Black's knight leaves f6 or d6.
• Against ...Bb4 pins, a well-timed Bg5xf6 and bxc3 gives you the centre pawns and a half-open b-file.
• Do not hurry with d4: first finish development with Nf3/Ne2, d3 and castling, then break with f4 or d4.

The 5 variations in the course

• Vienna Gambit: 3...d5 main line: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Be7 6. d4 O-O … — Black answers 3.f4 with the principled central strike 3...d5. White gains space with fxe5, builds a centre with d4 and Bd3, and after the f-file opens White's pieces aim at Black's king.
• Vienna Gambit: 3...exf4 4.e5: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 exf4 4. e5 Ng8 5. Nf3 d6 6. d4 dxe5 … — If Black accepts the gambit, 4.e5 kicks the knight back to g8. White regains the f4 pawn later and enjoys a big lead in development.
• 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Qg4: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Qg4 Qf6 5. Nd5 Qxf2+ 6. Kd1 Kf8 … — When Black mirrors with 3...Bc5, the queen jumps to g4 to attack g7 at once. Black often grabs f2 with ...Qxf2+, but the king on f8 and the knight on d5 give White excellent attacking chances.
• 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxc3+ … — A calm, strategic Vienna. White supports e4 with d3 and keeps f2-f4 in reserve; after the typical ...Bb4 pin, Bg5xf6 gives White a solid centre and a kingside plan.
• Frankenstein-Dracula: 2...Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 … — A warning line. If you play 3.Bc4, Black may grab e4 and the game becomes wild: White wins the a8 rook, but the knight on a8 may never escape and Black gets a strong attack. Learn it so you are not shocked, and know the f7 mating ideas along the way.

Traps you will learn (3)

• Mate on f7 in the Frankenstein-Dracula — The knight on d6 is the only piece guarding f7 against the queen and the b3 bishop. If Black takes the b5 knight with it, Qxf7 is mate.
• The poisoned queen trade (4.Qg4 Qf6 5.Nd5 Qg6?) — In the 4.Qg4 line, Black may try to trade queens with 5...Qg6. After the trade the d5 knight forks king and rook on c7.
• Vienna Gambit: the knight on g4 — After 3...exf4 4.e5 the f6 knight must retreat. 4...Ng4 looks active, but the white queen simply takes it.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.