Torre Attack

The Torre Attack is named after Carlos Torre Repetto, Mexico's first grandmaster, who used it to defeat former World Champion Emanuel Lasker. White develops the king's knight before committing the c-pawn and then puts the dark-squared bishop on g5 to pin the f6-knight. In the narrow sense the name covers 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5, the Classical Defense, but the same bishop move is used against other second moves. After 2...g6 3. Bg5 it is the Fianchetto Defense, a branch of the East Indian Defense. After 2...d5 3. Bg5 it is classified as the Tartakower Variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, and the name is also applied to 2...b6 3. Bg5.

White's setup changes little from one reply to the next. The usual development is Nbd2, c3 and e3, with the light-squared bishop on d3 and the king castled short. From there White has two main ways to attack. One is to post a knight on e5, if possible backed by f4. The other is to force e2-e4 while the bishop on g5 keeps the f6-knight pinned. An early c4 abandons the system and usually transposes to the Queen's Gambit or one of the Indian defenses. The Trompowsky Attack, which also puts a bishop on g5 against the f6-knight, sometimes transposes into Torre positions.

In the Classical Defense, 3...d5 gives White the option of transposing to the Queen's Gambit Declined. The sharpest branch is the Wagner Gambit, 3...c5 4. e4, in which White gives up central material to open lines quickly rather than continuing with the slow buildup.

Against the fianchetto, after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7, White normally chooses 4. Nbd2 and sometimes 4. c3. After 4. Nbd2, common lines are 4...O-O 5. c3 and 4...d5 5. e3 O-O. In recent years White has made more use of the Torre setup against a kingside fianchetto.

Top players rarely adopt the Torre as their main system against 1...Nf6, and the statistics do not show a particular advantage for White. The opening is popular at club level because it requires little theory, involves little risk, and still lets White aim for the middlegame initiative. Players associated with it include Savielly Tartakower, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian early in his career, Alexey Dreev, Pentala Harikrishna, Krishnan Sasikiran and Jan Timman.