The philosophy of the Reti is for White to control the center from the flanks with pieces rather than by occupying the center with pawns. Therefor, White employs the double fianchetto and holds back the center pawns d & e.
First, let's clear up a common misconception;
1.Nf3is classified by ECO as a Reti. This is somewhat misleading because after 1.Nf3 the game could evolve into many different openings depending on what is played next. Many refer to 1.Nf3 as a "Zukertort" because Zukertort would sometimes start his games with 1.Nf3. But he would usually transpose into the popular openings of his era. He did not develop a deep opening system based on 1.Nf3.
Richard Reti DID develop a deep opening system based on 1.Nf3 which lead to the evolution of several different openings, and hypermodern chess. This has resulted in some confusion about the nomenclature of some hypermodern openings.
1.Nf3is so named by ECO to honor Reti for his contributions, but it is not enough to define an opening system.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.d4 is not a Reti. That's a Queen's pawn opening.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3 is a Nimzo-Larsen Attack.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.e4 is a Kings pawn opening.
You get the drift...
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 is a Reti IF White plays a subsequent c2-c4.
In this club we play the Reti as an independent opening system. We do not play d4 transpositions.
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Richrd Reti was looking for an alternative to controlling the center via occupation by pawns.
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 is the principle Reti mainline.
1.Nf3 provides center control by discouraging 1...e5 due to 2.Nxe5, so if Black wants a pawn in the center that leaves 1...d5. About twice as often, Black will avoid commitment by playing 1...Nf6 when 2.c4 will then take the game firmly into Reti territory, threatening Black's center control from the very start and forcing Black to decide whether to fortify the d-pawn with
A) 2...c6 the "Reti Slav"
B) 2...e6 - the "Neo-Catalan"
or to counter with
C) 2...dxc4 the "Reti Accepted"
or to avoid immediate contact with
D) 2...d4 the "Reti Advance" Variation aka "Reti Benoni"
These are the four main variations. Any other second move by Black is inferior.
There is more, of course, but this is the basic idea..
The Reti as an Idea
The philosophy of the Reti is for White to control the center from the flanks with pieces rather than by occupying the center with pawns. Therefor, White employs the double fianchetto and holds back the center pawns d & e.
First, let's clear up a common misconception;
1.Nf3 is classified by ECO as a Reti. This is somewhat misleading because after 1.Nf3 the game could evolve into many different openings depending on what is played next. Many refer to 1.Nf3 as a "Zukertort" because Zukertort would sometimes start his games with 1.Nf3. But he would usually transpose into the popular openings of his era. He did not develop a deep opening system based on 1.Nf3.
Richard Reti DID develop a deep opening system based on 1.Nf3 which lead to the evolution of several different openings, and hypermodern chess. This has resulted in some confusion about the nomenclature of some hypermodern openings.
1.Nf3 is so named by ECO to honor Reti for his contributions, but it is not enough to define an opening system.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.d4 is not a Reti. That's a Queen's pawn opening.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.b3 is a Nimzo-Larsen Attack.
1.Nf3 followed by 2.e4 is a Kings pawn opening.
You get the drift...
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 is a Reti IF White plays a subsequent c2-c4.
In this club we play the Reti as an independent opening system. We do not play d4 transpositions.
---------------------------------
Richrd Reti was looking for an alternative to controlling the center via occupation by pawns.
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 is the principle Reti mainline.
1.Nf3 provides center control by discouraging 1...e5 due to 2.Nxe5, so if Black wants a pawn in the center that leaves 1...d5. About twice as often, Black will avoid commitment by playing 1...Nf6 when 2.c4 will then take the game firmly into Reti territory, threatening Black's center control from the very start and forcing Black to decide whether to fortify the d-pawn with
A) 2...c6 the "Reti Slav"
B) 2...e6 - the "Neo-Catalan"
or to counter with
C) 2...dxc4 the "Reti Accepted"
or to avoid immediate contact with
D) 2...d4 the "Reti Advance" Variation aka "Reti Benoni"
These are the four main variations. Any other second move by Black is inferior.
There is more, of course, but this is the basic idea..
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