Openings · A00

Grob's Attack

1.g4 — the most committal first move that gets played by people who win with it, and the one that most needs a reason.

1.g4played as White

The idea

The pawn takes f5 and h5, and after Bg2 the bishop hits d5 through the hole the pawn left. The theory that exists is sharp and short: 1…d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4! is the point, hitting d5 while the bishop is off the queenside.

It is not refuted, but it is not free either: the squares round White's king are permanently soft, and the opening's value is surprise. Played twice against the same opponent, it is a weakened kingside and nothing else.

Practise the line

You play White; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

Your move 1 of 10/1

1.g4

Your move. Drag a piece, or tap it and then its square.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level. Each is ordinary opening theory — a named trap, or the error every coach corrects — not a statistic, and not drawn from anybody's games.

Chasing the pawn back

1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Qb3

The mistake: Answering 2…Bxg4 with 3.h3, trying to win the pawn back at once.
Why it costs: The pawn was never the point. 3.c4 attacks d5 immediately and, after the trade, Qb3 hits b7 and d5 together while Black's bishop is on the wrong side of the board. A move spent on h3 gives Black time to defend both.
Instead: 3.c4, every time. The gambit pawn buys tempo against the centre; taking it back is what the opponent wants.

Castling short

1.g4 e5 2.Bg2 d5 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.O-O

The mistake: Castling into the hole that the first move made.
Why it costs: The king ends up on an open or half-open g-file with h3 and f3 permanently soft and no pawn able to cover them again. The one structural fact about this opening is where the king should not go.
Instead: Castle queenside, or leave the king in the middle behind d3 and e3 and play on the queenside. The kingside is where the opening spent its capital.

Playing c4 into a pawn on c6

1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 c6 3.c4 e5

The mistake: Playing the standard 3.c4 after Black has already answered 2…c6.
Why it costs: …c6 is the point of the whole defence: d5 is held by a pawn, so 3.c4 has nothing to hit, and …e5 next gives Black the centre against a player who has weakened both wings in three moves.
Instead: 3.h3 and d4, or 3.g5 with a slow game. Against a prepared opponent the Grob needs a plan; against an unprepared one it needs about four moves.

Try it on one of your own

The board above is for the line itself; this is for a game you played. Paste a game in this opening, or pull one from chess.com, and every move is graded against what the engine would have played. Open the board, read how the grading works, or go back to the other openings.