I don`t think there is the best move for black. I usually play 1...c5 which often leads to the Sicilian or the English.
Even 2.g3 is not a real problem for black.
Nf6 is a good move, too - no doubt about it.
Is 1...Nf6 really the best way to defend 1.Nf3?
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1) Nf3 is not a major commitment. Frequently White wants Black to make a pawn commitment early so he can set up a strategy to work against it. By responding with 1)...Nf6 you take a more flexible and patient response. The problem with meeting 1) Nf3 with 1)...d5 is you can get into a reverse system which may not give white any advantage as such but can give him a position he would normally play as black but with an extra tempo. At our level, that is well within some players comfort zone. I am not beginning to suggest 1)...d5 is bad, just that as white I am more than happy when they do it. I play 1) Nf3 over the board all the time.
Jul 5, 2012
0
#4
JamesColeman wrote:
Depends what you mean by "best". There are many playable options. But you also have to think about your normal response to 1.d4. For instance 1...d5 is a perfectly good and sound way to respond to Nf3, but there's no point playing that if you're a King's Indian player for example, as after 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 you'll be out of your repertoire etc.
Yes, d5 is a nice move too. Just out of curiosity, what is usually your response to 1.Nf3?
I've noticed ... Bg5 followed by Bishop-Knight exhange is a threat to Nf6!!!
latinokooljb wrote:
I've noticed ... Bg5 followed by Bishop-Knight exhange is a threat to Nf6!!!
If you mean after 1) d4 Nf6 2) Bg5 can be annoying but not unmeetable. However after the extra tempo used in 1) Nf3 Nf6 2) d4 g6 3) Bg5 Bg7 is nothing to worry about.
My usual response to 1. Nf3 is 1. ... f5. Now White is almost forced to soon play d4 and play against the Dutch: probably not what he had in mind. I go into my all-purpose Leningrad Dutch formation. Now I have chosen the terrain and have thrown a monkey-wrench in my opponent's flexibility strategy.
Ricardo_Morro wrote:
My usual response to 1. Nf3 is 1. ... f5. Now White is almost forced to soon play d4 and play against the Dutch: probably not what he had in mind. I go into my all-purpose Leningrad Dutch formation. Now I have chosen the terrain and have thrown a monkey-wrench in my opponent's flexibility strategy.
What do you go against the Anti-Dutch 2.d3? If im feeling like a Dutchie I would play 1...d6 and then 2...f5 otherwise if 2.e4, then c5.
In an f5 system I would be happy playing c4 and getting an assymetrical position; I would not be playing d4 but d3 instead like Lava said. If black then plays e5 alongside f5 then we have a reversed Grand Prix Sicilian.
Thanks for the replys friends.. It's a mixed response though! It seems 1...Nf6 move is not that popular after all.
Estragon wrote:
The question, as I understand it, is "Is the best answer to 1 Nf3 just ...Nf6, or not?"
The answer is YES. With all due respect, there is no better defensive move no matter what your usual defensive preferences. It is a strong developing move which creates no weaknesses and allows no particular initiative by White.
@Estragon: thanks for the direct answer. If I face 1.Nf3, I can now confidently go for 1...Nf6.
Ricardo_Morro wrote:
My usual response to 1. Nf3 is 1. ... f5. Now White is almost forced to soon play d4 and play against the Dutch: probably not what he had in mind. I go into my all-purpose Leningrad Dutch formation. Now I have chosen the terrain and have thrown a monkey-wrench in my opponent's flexibility strategy.
Great answer, Ricardo. I always try to steer my opponent into my favorite lines too. I play Nf3 as white and also answer 1.Nf3 with Nf6, as it gives me flexibility. With Nf6, I usually try to steer the game into a Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, King's Indian Defense or Queen's Indian, depending on what white does next or what type of mood I'm in. As white, my 1. Nf3 usually ends up as a King's Indian Attack, a London System, a Colle or even a Pirc/Modern, if black plays passively. I prefer to avoid the Queen's Gambit and white side of the Sicilian though, as I feel that would most likely be steering the game into my opponent's strengths. I used to have a system against 1. Nf3 f5, but haven't played it in years. Not enough people play the Dutch to warrant spending a whole lot of time analysing it. Advantage to Ricardo Morro. lol
Estragon wrote:
The question, as I understand it, is "Is the best answer to 1 Nf3 just ...Nf6, or not?"
The answer is YES. With all due respect, there is no better defensive move no matter what your usual defensive preferences. It is a strong developing move which creates no weaknesses and allows no particular initiative by White.
Well, even if you take it in the theoretical sense, it seems there should be many moves that are "best" as there should be more than 1 response that hold the draw in a perfect game.
waffllemaster wrote:
Estragon wrote:
The question, as I understand it, is "Is the best answer to 1 Nf3 just ...Nf6, or not?"
The answer is YES. With all due respect, there is no better defensive move no matter what your usual defensive preferences. It is a strong developing move which creates no weaknesses and allows no particular initiative by White.
Well, even if you take it in the theoretical sense, it seems there should be many moves that are "best" as there should be more than 1 response that hold the draw in a perfect game.
I understand that. However, the fact that people less ofen play 1...Nf6 gave me an impression that there is something wrong with that move which I think now, is not the case.
I agree with Nf6 being the most flexible and solid answer to Nf3 (along with d5). The only inflexibility I see in Nf6 is that an early f5 can't be played, so a Dutch player would probably want to choose f5, e6 or d5 instead. I always play Nf6 against 1.Nf3, 1.D4 or 1.C5 though. I can transpose into a number of defenses with that.
Is there any famous game started with 1.Nf3 Nf6?? If yes, can someone post a game here?
Mar 11, 2018
0
#18
ajinjoy wrote:
Is there any famous game started with 1.Nf3 Nf6?? If yes, can someone post a game here?
It doesn't get much more famous than this. This was the first time Capablanca lost in about 8 years.
1.Nf3 is an opening "move", not an opening. ECO classifies 1.Nf3 as a Reti, but it is not the Reti opening unless you play the Reti moves which follow, mainly c4 and hold back the center pawns and fianchetto at least one bishop.
If you play 1.Nf3 2.d4 that's a queen's pawn opening.
1.Nf3 2.b3 is a Nimzo-Larsen attack.
etc.
1.Nf3 controls the center by discouraging 1...e5 due to 2.Nxe5, leaving Black with only 1...d5 as an immediate center pawn grab.
However Black can avoid commitment by playing 1...Nf6 and that is the most popular response to 1.Nf3.
1...Nf6 does not "defend against" 1.Nf3, it waits to see what White has in mind. Knight moves are not commitments, pawn moves are commitments.
This game actually shows the main drawback to 1. ..Nf6 pretty clearly, which is that it allowed Reti to stake out a huge queenside space advantage. Capablanca was obviously concerned about leaving positional tension unresolved (this was Reti's main strength, after all), but in the process it allows Reti to find beautiful sixth-rank squares for his rook and knight.
Indeed, after 29. Nc6, Capablanca's best try may have been 29. ..Qxc4 30. Nxa7 Re2 - black's still down an exchange, and perhaps a full piece if white can manage to spring Rxd7 at some point, but white's remaining knight will take time to get out of the corner, and black has some useful threats against a white king who's short on defenders.
The most amazing thing about this game is that Capablanca was clearly trying to nullify Reti's known strengths, and push towards an endgame, which was his own's well-known strength. Despite this, Capablanca never gets there, resigning as he is about to lose his queen for a rook.
Everywhere it's saying that 1...Nf6 is the best way to defend 1.Nf3. I like playing 1.Nf3 but rarely did people play 1...Nf6 against it. So, what really is the best move for black? What do you think?