Sicily, Madrid, France and Berlin linked to major chess openings

30 Aug 2026, 08:51 am IST|
Sicily, Madrid, France and Berlin linked to major chess openings
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The French Defence emerged from an 1834 correspondence match between Paris and London.

The Sicilian Defence dates back to Giulio Cesare Polerio.

Ruy López gave the Spanish Opening one of its first systematic analyses, and the Berlin Defence was revived by Vladimir Kramnik in his 2000 world championship match against Garry Kasparov.

Sicilian DefenceFrench DefenceBerlin DefenceRuy LóPezVladimir Kramnik