Forums

Giveaway chess: the 1.e3 theorem: proven that white does not win after 1.e3

Sort:
ZZXatu

Some posts or info that come up say that 1.e3 in giveaway chess is safe for white. Some even say 1.e3 is a win for white. At first glance, it might not seem obvious that BLACK instead wins after white's first move of 1.e3. Here's how.

(you have to visualize it on a variant chess board or setup position mode on chess.com)

1.e3 b5 2.Bxb5 Bb7 3.Bxd7 Bxg2 4.Bxe8 Qxd2

When black captures a piece, you simply take the rook with the bishop. The white bishop has to keep taking pieces while your queen eventually gets sacrificed, leading to a winning endgame.

 
bbeanzonpizza

This is the suicide defense, and with best play it is a loss for black. It's a very common opening though, and like a lot of antichess is very sharp, so black still has chances if white makes a mistake (At my level, I still make a lot of mistakes happy.png). @Firebatprime has a 2 part video review on how to navigate this opening with white