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Polish Opening

Queenside Defense

A00positionaloffbeat

  1. 1.b4e6
  2. 2.Bb2Nf6
  3. 3.b5a6
998 games53%42%

A Polish Opening line in which Black meets the early b4-b5 advance with 3...a6, striking at the pawn and contesting White's queenside space at once.

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About the Queenside Defense

After 1. b4 e6 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. b5, the Queenside Defense answers with 3...a6, challenging the advanced pawn before White can consolidate it. The usual reply is 4. a4, which supports b5 and is played in most games; 4. c4 and 4. e3 are the main alternatives, the first of which has scored best for White. Engines regard the position as level.

Popular continuations