{{Short description|Chess opening}} {{Infobox chess opening | image = {{Chess diagram|| |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd |pd|pd|pd| |pd| |pd|pd | | | |pd| | | | | | | | | |pd| | | | | |pl|pl| | | | | | | | | | | |pl|pl|pl| | |pl|pl|pl |rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl }} | moves = {{ubl|1.e4 d6 2.d4 f5 or|1.d4 f5 2.e4 d6 or|1.d4 d6 2.e4 f5}} | ECO = B07 or A82 or A41 | nameorigin = János Balogh | parentopening = {{ubl|Pirc Defense or|Staunton Gambit or|Pillsbury Defense}} | AKA = Balogh Countergambit }}
The '''Balogh Defense'''<ref name="OCC_p28">{{citation |last1=Hooper |first1=David |authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld |title=The Oxford Companion to Chess |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |edition=2nd |origyear=First pub. 1992 |entry=Balogh Defence |page=28 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}</ref> (also known as the '''Balogh Countergambit''') is an unusual chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 d6 :2. d4 f5 It may also arise by transposition from the Staunton Gambit of the Dutch Defense, 1.d4 f5 2.e4, if Black declines the gambit with 2...d6. Or it may arise by 1.d4 d6 (the Pillsbury Defense) 2.e4 f5.
The opening is rarely seen today because it weakens Black's {{chessgloss|kingside}} somewhat and often results in a backward e-pawn or a {{chessgloss|hole}} on e6 after Black's bishop is exchanged. Hikaru Nakamura used the line to beat grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn in the HB Global Chess Challenge 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1947849 |title=Perelshteyn vs. Nakamura, Minneapolis 2005 |website=Chessgames.com |access-date=19 October 2025 }}</ref> {{AN chess|pos=toc}}
==History== The defense is named after János Balogh (1892–1980), who was a Hungarian International Master of correspondence chess, and a strong master at {{chessgloss|over-the-board}} chess, who analysed it in ''Wiener Schachzeitung'', 1930. The opening variation 1.e4 d6 2.d4 f5 was first published by Cozio in the first volume of his 1740 treatise. The line was played in game 5<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1269250 |title=Kieseritzky vs. Horowitz, rd 5, London 1846 |website=Chessgames.com |access-date=25 October 2025 }}</ref> of the Kieseritzky–Horowitz match in 1846.<ref name=OCC_p28 />
==Assessment== International Correspondence Chess Master Keith Hayward has written a series of articles arguing that the defense, though risky, is {{chessgloss|playable}}.<ref>Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210125032411/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_One.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 1]}} from Chessville.com</ref>
Most books, if they mention the Balogh Defense at all, say that it is refuted by 3.exf5 Bxf5 4.Qf3 Qc8 5.Bd3. Hayward recommends the move 5...Bg4 in response. An alternative line is 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bd3. Balogh liked 4...Nc6, but Hayward considers 5.exf5{{chesspunc|!}} Nxd4 6.g4 difficult for Black, instead recommending 4...fxe4, with the continuation 5.Nxe4 Nxe4 6.Bxe4.
==See also== * List of chess openings * List of chess openings named after people
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{wikibooks|Chess Opening Theory|1. e4/1...d6/2. d4/2...f5|Balogh Defense}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120730133131/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_One.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 1]}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102180331/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_Two.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 2: Janos Balogh, the Man and His Games]}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102061641/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_Three.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 3: White plays an early exf5]}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102144659/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_Four.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 4: Balogh's Main Line]}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102074035/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_Five.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 5: Remaining Lines]}} *Hayward, Keith R. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130119015036/http://www.chessville.com/UCO/TRNT/BaloghCounterGambit_Part_Six.htm Balogh Counter Gambit, Part 6 (analysis of Perelshteyn–Nakamura)]}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061024033834/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kaiss13.pdf Symmetry and chaos: Balogh's Defense.] from Chesscafe.com
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Category:Chess openings