Réti Opening

The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves: 1. Nf3 d5

White plans to bring the d5-pawn under attack from the flank, or entice it to advance to d4 and undermine it later. White will couple this plan with a kingside fianchetto (g3 and Bg2) to create pressure on the light squares in the center.

The opening is named after Richard Réti (1889–1929), an untitled Grandmaster from Czechoslovakia. The opening is in the spirit of the hypermodernism movement that Réti championed, with the center being dominated from the wings rather than by direct occupation.

1.Nf3 develops the knight to a good square, prepares for quick castling and prevents Black from occupying the center by 1…e5. White maintains flexibility by not committing to a particular central pawn structure, while waiting to see what Black will do. But the Réti should not be thought of as a single opening sequence and certainly not a single opening move, but rather as an opening complex with many variations sharing common themes.

According to Réti the opening was introduced into master play in the early part of 1923. Réti used the opening most famously to defeat José Raúl Capablanca, the reigning World Chess Champion, in a game at the 1924 New York tournament. Alexander Alekhine played the Réti in the 1920s, but at that time almost any game that began with Nf3 and c4 by White was considered to be the Réti. Réti popularized these moves against all defenses in the spirit of hypermodernism and as the opening developed it gained structure and a clearer distinction between it and other openings.

Hans Kmoch called the system of attack employed by Réti in the game Réti–Rubinstein, Carlsbad 1923, “the Réti Opening” or “the Réti system”. Savielly Tartakower called the opening the “Réti–Zukertort Opening” and said of 1.Nf3: “An opening of the past, which became, towards 1923, the opening of the future.”

MICOS™ is the proprietary chess classification system developed by MasterInChess and protected by international copyright law.

You are welcome to use and share MICOS for personal, educational and non-commercial purposes. Commercial use or integration requires permission from MasterInChess.