Editing Chess opening (section)

==Opening nomenclature==
Major changes in the rules of chess in the late fifteenth century increased the speed of the game, consequently emphasizing the importance of opening study. Thus, early chess books, such as the 1497 text of [[Luis Ramirez de Lucena]], present opening analysis, as do [[Pedro Damiano]] (1512) and [[Ruy López de Segura]] (1561). Ruy López's disagreement with Damiano regarding the merits of 2...Nc6 led to 3.Bb5 (after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6) being named for him as the [[Ruy Lopez]] or Spanish Opening.<ref>{{cite book |first=H. J. R. |last=Murray |title=A History of Chess |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1913 |pages=782–83, 814–15 |oclc=643082 }}</ref> Opening theory was studied more scientifically from the 1840s on, and many opening variations were discovered and named in this period and later.

Opening nomenclature developed haphazardly, and most names are historical accidents not based on systematic principles. In the early 1930s, the nascent [[FIDE]] embarked on a project to standardize opening nomenclature, culminating in the publication of a short booklet in 1933, but this had little impact.<ref>[[Edward Winter (chess historian)|Edward Winter]], [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter13.html#3902._Openings_nomenclature ''Chess Notes 3902, Openings nomenclature''], 21 August 2005</ref>

The oldest openings tend to be [[List of chess openings named after places|named for geographic places]] and people. Many openings are named after nationalities of players who advocated them, for example Indian, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Scotch, Russian, Italian, Scandinavian and Sicilian, or places where important games featuring the opening were played such as Vienna, Berlin, and [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]].<ref name="seirawan2005">{{citation| last1=Seirawan| first1=Yasser| author1-link=Yasser Seirawan| last2=Silman| first2=Jerry| author2-link=Jeremy Silman| title=Winning Chess Tactics| year=2005| publisher=Everyman Chess| isbn=1-85744-386-1| page=36}}</ref> The [[Catalan System]] is named after the [[Catalonia]] region.
{{mainlist|List of chess openings named after places}}

Chess players' names are the most common sources of opening names.<ref name="seirawan2005" />
The name given to an opening is not always that of the first player to adopt it; often an opening is named for the player who was the first to popularize it or to publish analysis of it. Eponymic openings include the [[Ruy Lopez]], [[Alekhine's Defense]], [[Ruy Lopez#Morphy Defence: alternatives to Closed Defence|Morphy Defense]], and the [[Réti Opening]]. Some opening names honor two people, such as the [[Caro–Kann Defence|Caro–Kann]] and the [[Smith–Morra Gambit|Smith–Morra]].
{{mainlist|List of chess openings named after people}}

A few opening names are purely descriptive, such as [[Giuoco Piano]] ({{langx|it|quiet game}}), [[Two Knights Defense]], [[Four Knights Game]] and [[Bishop's Opening]].

Some openings have been given fanciful names, often names of animals. This practice became more common in the 20th century. By then, most of the more common and traditional sequences of opening moves had already been named, so these tend to be unusual or recently developed openings like the [[Sokolsky Opening|Orangutan]], Hippopotamus, Elephant, Hedgehog, and, most recently, the Cow. A few are given humorous names, such as the [[Monkey's Bum]] and the [[Toilet Variation]].

Opening names usually include characterizing terms like "opening", "variation", "defense", "gambit", or "attack"; however, the terminology is inconsistent and imprecise, and is not a useful basis for classification.<ref>Hooper & Whyld, p281</ref> Broadly, these terms are used as follows:

* ''Game:'' Used for some of the oldest named openings, such as the [[Scotch Game]], [[Vienna Game]], and [[Four Knights Game]]. In the 19th century it was used for other common openings such as the [[Sicilian Defense]] ("Sicilian Game") and [[French Defense]] ("French Game").
* ''Opening:'' This usually refers to an opening played by White, such as the [[English Opening]] or [[Bird's Opening]].
* ''Variation:'' Used to describe a branch of another named opening, for example the [[Najdorf Variation]], a line of the [[Sicilian Defense]].
* ''Defense:'' Refers to an opening chosen by Black, such as [[Two Knights Defense]] or [[Caro-Kann Defense]]. Some openings described as "defenses", such as the [[King's Indian Defense]] and [[Sicilian Defense]], can in fact be quite aggressive.
* ''Gambit:'' An opening that involves the [[Sacrifice (chess)|sacrifice]] of {{chessgloss|material}}, usually one or more pawns. Most openings described as "[[Gambit|Gambits]]" are played by White (e.g., [[King's Gambit]]), but a few are played by Black (e.g., [[Latvian Gambit]]). The terms "Accepted" or "Declined" may be appended to the name, depending on whether the opponent takes the offered material, as in the [[Queen's Gambit Accepted]] and [[Queen's Gambit Declined]]. In the case of the [[Queen's Gambit]], the sacrifice of material is only temporary as there is no good way for Black to keep the pawn {{harvcol|Ward|1999|p=10}}. 
* ''Countergambit:'' A gambit played by Black, often in response to another gambit. Examples of this include the [[Albin Countergambit]] in response to the [[Queen's Gambit]], the [[King's Gambit, Falkbeer Countergambit|Falkbeer Countergambit]] in response to the [[King's Gambit]], and the [[Greco Counter Gambit]] (the former name of the [[Latvian Gambit]]) in response to the [[King's Knight Opening]].
* ''System:'' A method of development that can be used against many different setups by the opponent. Examples include [[London System]], [[Colle System]], [[Réti Opening|Réti System]], [[King's Indian Attack|Barcza System]], and [[Hedgehog Defence|Hedgehog System]].
* ''Attack:'' Usually used to describe an aggressive or provocative variation such as the Albin–Chatard Attack (or Chatard–Alekhine Attack), the [[Fried Liver Attack]] in the Two Knights Defense, and the [[Grob Attack]]. The [[King's Indian Attack]] is an exception, describing a [[King's Indian Defense]] with {{chessgloss|colors reversed}}.
* ''Reversed, inverted:'' A Black opening played by White, or more rarely a White opening played by Black. Examples include the Sicilian Reversed (from the English Opening) and the [[Inverted Hungarian Opening|Inverted Hungarian]]. The Reti, King's Indian Attack, Sicilian Reversed (from the English), and other "Black played by White with an extra tempo" often start with 1.Nf3 or 1.c4.<ref>Chess Opening Essentials 4, p. 11, {{ISBN|978-90-5691-308-3}}</ref>
* ''Anti-:'' Prefix for openings designed to avoid a specific line, for example the Anti-Marshall (against the Marshall (Counter) Attack in the Ruy Lopez) and the Anti-Meran Gambit (against the Meran Variation of the [[Semi-Slav Defense]]).