Polish Opening

The Polish Opening (1.b4), also called the Sokolsky Opening and the Orangutan, is an uncommon first move: databases rank it ninth in popularity among White's twenty possible first moves. White gains space on the queenside and prepares Bb2, aiming the bishop at the long diagonal.

Origins

One of the earliest games with 1.b4 was Fleissig–Schlechter in 1893, which Bernhard Fleissig lost in 18 moves. Nikolai Bugaev beat Wilhelm Steinitz with it in a simultaneous exhibition and published analysis in 1903. Savielly Tartakower beat Richard Réti with it in 1919, and Réti in turn won with it against Abraham Speijer at Scheveningen in 1923.

Its most famous outing was Tartakower–Maróczy at the New York 1924 tournament. The day before, the players had visited the Bronx Zoo, where, Tartakower insisted, an orangutan named Susan indicated that he should open with b4; the game was drawn. The Soviet player Alexei Sokolsky (1908–1969) played it often in high-level games and wrote a monograph on it in 1963, which gave it the name Sokolsky Opening. The name Polish Opening, used by modern books and by Lichess and Chess.com, comes by analogy with the Polish Defense (1.d4 b5).

The idea

The opening is largely based on tactics on the queenside or against the f6- and g7-squares, where the bishop on b2 points. Alexander Alekhine, who played in the same New York tournament, wrote that its problem is that it reveals White's intentions before White knows Black's.

Main lines

• 1...e5, claiming the centre. After 2.Bb2, 2...d6 (Czech Defense), 2...f6 and 2...Bxb4 are all playable. 2.a3, the Bugayev Attack, is a reversed St. George Defense.
• 1...d5, claiming the centre without exposing the pawn; after 2.Bb2, one idea is 2...Qd6, attacking b4 and supporting ...e5.
• 1...Nf6, leading to King's Indian (King's Indian Variation), Queen's Indian or Queen's Gambit set-ups.
• 1...c6, the Outflank Variation, often with ...Qb6 or ...a5 in mind.
• 1...c5, the Birmingham Gambit.
• 1...f5, a Dutch set-up.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

• Uncommon, so many opponents have little experience against it.
• Clear plans: queenside space and pressure along the long diagonal.

Weaknesses

• The b4-pawn can become a target, for example after 1...e5 2.Bb2 Bxb4.
• It shows White's plan before Black has committed.

Who should play it

The Polish suits players who like offbeat openings and want to take opponents out of their preparation from move one. It has even been seen at the top: Boris Spassky played it against Vasily Smyslov in a 1960 match (a draw), and Magnus Carlsen used it against Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So in an online rapid event in May 2021.

The numbers

On Lichess White leads below 2200: 49.9% against 45.9% under 1400, 52.3% against 43.9% at 1400–1799 and 50.1% against 44.9% at 1800–2199. From 2200 up Black is slightly ahead, 46.9% against 46.1%. There are only about 2,200 master games, too few to draw firm conclusions.