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Vienna Frankenstein Dracula Variation

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Avatar of Amplepawn
Amplepawn
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May 22, 2017
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#21

I thought that was an irish gambit reversed..  Learn something new everyday.

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MickinMD
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May 23, 2017
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#22
pfren wrote:
MickinMD έγραψε:
 
 

By the way, the move order in your example: 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 should NOT, in my opinion, be immediately transposed into the Vienna because of the 3 Nc3 Nxe4 possibility. 3 d3 is better and then 4 Nc3 5 f4 can win a lot of games. 

2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 can be met in two ways. One is 3...c6 4.Nf3 and now either 4...d5 5.Bb3 Bb4+! (used by Caruana to beat Magnus) or simply 4...d6 when white is playing a very unambitious variation of the Philidor (with a pawn at d3 instead of d4). And of course 3...Nc6 4.Nc3 Na5! is another reliable way to play as Black.

Feel free to play any opening you've worked at as white, but you shouldn't expect anything resembling an advantage with the Vienna.

Thanks for the insights.

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MickinMD
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May 24, 2017
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#23

An interesting alternative, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6, for anyone like me that may want to avoid the possibility of Frankenstein-Dracula, is 3 g3, called the Paulsen Variation, which is discussed in detail here: http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/03/glek-four-knights-and-paulsen-vienna.html

I may use this as White if I get 2...NF6 and use my more-typical try-to-get-f4-in Vienna variations for 2...Nc3 and some other moves.

Of course, I'm not recommending it now but will spend some time looking at what it leads to.

Tamburro does recommend it in Openings for Amateurs (thanks kindaspongey for pointing this book out in another thread). Four of the seven pages Tamburro spends on it are visible in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon (once inside, click on "surprise me" then go forward or back to pp. 233-6 - sometimes requiring a few clicks to get it change sections):

https://www.amazon.com/Openings-Amateurs-Pete-Tamburro/dp/1936277506/

 

Avatar of madscientist2969
madscientist2969
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May 24, 2017
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#24

This is what I play against it: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qf3+ Ke8 6.Qxd5

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madscientist2969
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May 24, 2017
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#25
[COMMENT DELETED]
Avatar of Tals-pet-rabid-chipmunk
Tals-pet-rabid-chipmunk
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May 24, 2017
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#26
Best. Name. Ever
Avatar of tmkroll
tmkroll
May 24, 2017
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#27
madscientist2969 wrote:

This is what I play against it: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qf3+ Ke8 6.Qxd5

4. Bxf7+ is bad,. It seems attractive at a certain level because you stop Black castling and can get the pawn and the piece back but Black has the Bishop pair, 2 central pawns, etc... and a slight advantage right out of the opening... however in this particular line Black has Nf6 too.

Avatar of osctestaccount
osctestaccount
Closed: Inactive
Jul 24, 2019
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#28
Yigor wrote:

I'd play like this:

 

 

Nothing Frankensteinian, just a normal chess possition.

I also like to go with this line.

Avatar of osctestaccount
osctestaccount
Closed: Inactive
Jul 24, 2019
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#29
MickinMD wrote:
pfren wrote:

The truth about the Frankenstein- Dracula is that he has noo teeth.

 

 

Thanks for the input! So what would you recommend for White after 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 - of would you avoid the Vienna altogether?

My last time I chickened out of 3 Bc4, but still won:

 

This is a beautiful game. Nice post. Thanks.

Avatar of dawson_632
dawson_632
Jul 24, 2019
0
#30

play vienna qgd its better thanks i tried it very solid

Avatar of ekaustville
ekaustville
Nov 13, 2023
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#31
Avatar of tygxc
tygxc
Nov 13, 2023
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#32

This is the only occurence in a World Championship match

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1013151

Avatar of ekaustville
ekaustville
Nov 15, 2023
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#33

1

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drawling1
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Jul 5, 2025
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#34

@chessmakta video

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IM pfren
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Jul 6, 2025
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#35

8 years ago, I claimed that the Frankenstein- Dracula has no teeth after the modest 5...Be7(!).

Today, engines can find enterprising play even in "toothless" positions. The remarkable gambit idea is 26 yo:

Impressive miniature. although Black's play was poor.

The 6.f4!? idea was repeated after 24 years by the young Norwegian GM JS Christiansen in a Greek Open. My former pupil GM Spiros Kapnisis has analysed the game for Chessbase, I will just put the game here without comments.

Since then the idea has been repeated nine more times in slow games, and the overall score for White is a stunning +8 =2 -1. Last instance by the winner of the 8th Sharjah Masters-A tournament, Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou.

Objectively Black is OK after 6.f4!? but Black has to be extremely accurate, and the position is full of pit holes.