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The Parham Attack

A long time chess debate is on the opening known as the “Parham Attack” or the “Wayward Queen Opening”. The opening starts 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5. Mainly amateurs play this, although Bernard Parham was the first master level advocate, and Hikaru Nakamura also played it a couple times (although not in a major tournament setting). While many chess players “beat down” on the Parham advocaters at the amateur level, some still persist to say that it is good. This article is going to show some lines on why the opposite is true.

Below is the reason for 2.Qh5. Any of the below lines are obviously good for white, but that is if black doesn’t understand what to do and plays terribly.

 


Ok, so first of all I will give the general consensus.  Many Super GM’s have appeared over the years, and the only one who ever said it was good was Nakamura, who as previously mentioned never used it previously. Most grandmasters and strong players take this stance, even most B and C classes accept this as bad.

Ok, so that’s what people are saying, but what are some actual lines that make this bad? Here is the most common line seen

 

So, the question is, who is better here? Well, lets look at the pros and cons.

WHITE

PROS:

Comments


  • 13 months ago

    smariobros

    I think that with this moves, white lost the initiative and break one of the rules of oppening: "don't move the same piece more than once".

    Yes, it's attacked, but why you do such move if you know that your queen will be attacked and forced to go back? Smile

    I agree with MaartenSmit, white don't have a consistent plan anymore, while black may develop better to counterattack effectively

  • 13 months ago

    Trapper4

    Guys, Bernard Parham is the one who created this opening. He is the first one to actually explain it well/use it really well. Here is one of the games a grandmaster played against a super engine:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-t_Fe1TgJs

    Hope this helps. As you can see this grandmatser creamed the super engine.

  • 14 months ago

    MaartenSmit

    You don't need a solidified advantage for an advantage ;)

    But I see your point, and it's true that it's obviously not what white wants. 

  • 14 months ago

    ChristianSoldier007

    thanks for the input MaartenSmit. I honestly like black's position better, but you cant claim a solidified advantage for either side. But whether black is better or equal, both are not what white wants. This is a common overlooked fact is that when testing openings, black wants equality and white wants and advantage

  • 14 months ago

    MaartenSmit

    I think black is better. The white queen is badly misplaced on f3, because it makes both d2-d4 and f2-f4, white's main breaks in this position, harder to achieve. Also black can kick the bishop and queen around while improving his position with moves like ...d5 and ...Bg4. White has serious development issues. The only 'con' you gave black's position was the slightly weakened queenside (I think you mean kingside), but this g6-move (which I think you meant by weakness) can also be a strength. For example, it supports an eventual ...f5 break, and the bishop will be good on the long diagonal as soon as the e5-pawn gets out of the way. And if it doesn't get out of the way, the bishop on g7 is a useful defender for it. Not that it will get attacked a lot, seeing as the white knight won't develop to f3...

  • 14 months ago

    ChristianSoldier007

    sorry, the post didnt work, the rest is in the comments

  • 14 months ago

    ChristianSoldier007

    WHITE

     

    PROS:

     

    Perfect Pawn Structure, strong Bishop, will be able to castle.

     

    CONS:

     

    Misplaced queen thats not doing much, bad knight on g2

     

    BLACK

     

    PROS:

     

    Two active knights and a bishop ready for development, i.e. better total development. Perfect pawn structure, king safety.

     

    CONS:

     

    Slightly weakened Queenside.

     

    Ok, so I went through most of the imbalances in the position. Now for my assessment.

     

    I say the position is dead equal, more or less.

     

    So, you might ask, why do I still not like the opening? Here is the reason. There are many conflicts in chess, such as statics vs dynamics, knights vs bishops, ect. The first battle is in the opening. White is trying to keep his advantage, and black is trying to achieve equality. This is seen much more at the master level than the amatuer level, where things can change. But now you can see why I dont like this. Black got what he wanted, equality. As white, never settle for less, but always go for more. That is why the Parham is not a good idea.

     

     

     

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