Schliemann Defense
You play Black · 5 variations
Mixed practice
The machine picks a different variation every time.
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10 positions: find the next theory move in each. No take-backs, no hints.
Main variations · 2
Other variations · 3
What is the Schliemann Defense?
The Schliemann Defense, also called the Jaenisch Gambit, is one of the sharpest answers to the Ruy Lopez: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5. Instead of defending, you attack the e4 pawn at once, aiming to open the f-file and seize the initiative. It is a risky counterattacking opening full of forcing tactics, closer in spirit to a King's Gambit with colours reversed than to a normal Spanish. It is not a mainstream defence at top level, but it is fully playable and dangerous in the hands of players who know it well.
Main ideas and plans
White's most testing reply is Nc3, the Dyckhoff Variation, which defends e4 with a piece. The critical line is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Nxc6, and now ...Qg5 (the Classical Variation) or ...Qd5 (the Möhring Variation), both leading to wild positions where you must know the tactics precisely. Calmer options on move five are ...Nf6 (the Tartakower Variation), aiming for simple development, and ...Be7 (the Kostić Defense). Your general ideas: open the f-file, develop quickly, put your bishop on c5 or e7 and your knight on f6, and use the half-open f-file against White's kingside.
The quiet d3 keeps e4 protected and aims for a slightly better position without tactics; against it you usually take on e4 and develop with ...Nf6 and ...Bc5, accepting a simpler game. The Schönemann Attack, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d4, opens the centre at once, while taking on f5 with the e-pawn lets you push ...e4, gaining space and chasing the knight from f3. White's main tactical weapons are checks on h5 along the weakened e8-h5 diagonal, knight jumps to e5 and pressure on e6 and g6, so always watch your king. If the initiative disappears, White's healthier pawns and safer king can tell.
Who is it for?
The Schliemann suits aggressive players who want to avoid the long, slow battles of the Closed Spanish and are happy to take risks. There is less theory than in the main Spanish lines, but it is very concrete: in the Nc3 lines a single inaccuracy can lose, so memorise the critical forcing sequences and review them regularly. The risks are a weakened king, a loose structure and a well-prepared opponent steering into favourable lines. Learn first the Nc3 main line up to the knight capture on c6 and your two queen moves, and have a simple, solid set-up ready against the quiet d3.