BALTIC DEFENSE

The 'Baltic Defense' (or '2...Bf5 Defense') is the chess opening that begins with the moves
:1.d4 d5
:2.c4 Bf5
(The similarly-named Baltic Opening is a different opening played by White that begins 1. Nc3.)
The Baltic is an unusual variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. It has not found widespread acceptance among chess masters, but some world-class players have used it including grandmasters Paul Keres and Alexei Shirov.
In most defenses to the Queens's Gambit Declined, Black has difficulties developing his queen bishop. This opening takes a radical approach to the problem by bringing out the queen bishop immediately.
White has a number of moves in reply to this opening, including 3.Qb3, 3.Nc3, 3.cxd5, 3.e3, and 3.Nf3.

Contents

References

Further reading

External links

References

★ Nunn's Chess Openings, Nunn, John (ed.), et al., , , Everyman Chess, 1999, ISBN 1-85744-221-0

★ Polugajewski, Lev, "Damengambit, Tschigorin System bis Tarrasch-Verteidigung", Sportverlag Berlin 1984

Further reading

★ ''Baltic Defense to the Queens Gambit'', by Andrew Soltis, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-228-6.

External links

★ [1] an online chess database