Kingston Defence
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The Kingston Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the opening moves (see algebraic notation):
giving the position at right.
The first record of the defence being played is Schiffers-Chigorin 1880. The first record of a win by Black is the 1892 victory of Elson over Emanuel Lasker. The move fell into disuse until 1989, when the publication of a monograph suggested new possibilities for Black in the most critical line, which is the Exchange Variation.
General considerations
The Kingston Defence shares a weakness with the French Defence -- in the form of the constrained queen's bishop -- and a strength with the Dutch Defence -- namely the early thrust of the f-pawn, which often supports a knight on e4. (These French and Dutch similarities led to the first, uncomfortable name for the defence: Frutch.) White's decision at move three tends to define the nature of the game that follows. If White pushes the e-pawn to e5, the following pawn formation often results:
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A typical sequence in the Advance Variation would be: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 f5 3.e5 Ne7 4.Nf3 c5 5.c3 (if 5.dc Ng6) Nbc6.
Black has more space on the queenside (see chess terminology), and will fianchetto his queen bishop to bear down on White's kingside and deter a pawn thrust to d5. Black's rook will contest the c-file. With the centre almost blocked, Black may decide to put his King on e7 or f7, creating the opportunity for a kingside pawn storm which might catch out a White who is unfamiliar with the defence.
If, on the other hand, White decides to exchange on f5, the game frequently arrives at this pawn formation:
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A critical line in the Exchange Variation is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 f5 3.ef ef 4.Bd3 Nc6?!, after which 5. Nf3 preserves some positional advantage, whereas 5. Bxf5 leads to the very sharp 5... Qf6, causing a rapid clearance of central pawns.
Black has played his pawn to d5 in order to prevent White from placing his king bishop on c4, which would make Black's kingside castling either impossible or unwise. So White has created holes on e5 and e6, which a knight on g5 can exploit to dangerous effect. Black's principal counterplay exists in moving his king knight to e4, which can be supported by manoeuvring the queen knight to f6 and, if permitted, launching a pawn storm with ...g5. If ever White nudges the knight on e4 away by playing f3, it is usually best to retreat the knight to d6.
Black can quickly castle kingside, but White has a simple plan in playing c4 and Qb3 to put pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal and exploit Black's slow development on the queenside.
Further reading
- Wilson, Gavin (1989). Crack the Frutch: How to Play the Kingston Defence, Kingston upon Thames: Phnumpic Press. ISBN 095141030X.
