Pterodactyl Defense: Western
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 c5 4.Be3 Qa5+
Western
1.2.3.4.
What Is The Western?
The check is the entire idea. Black concedes the centre, then attacks it from range: the bishop on g7 and the queen on a5 both bear down on d4 and on the c3 square, so White has to meet the check with a move that still holds d4. Nc3, Bd2, Nbd2 and c3 each concede something, and Black picks a plan against whichever one appears.
Black's key resource is ...cxd4, and after Nxd4 Bxd4 Bxd4, the move ...Qe5 forks the bishop on d4 and the e4 pawn. White must cover e4 first, which is what the check was really asking. Treat 4...Qa5+ as development, not a queen raid: it buys the time for ...Nc6, ...Nf6 and ...d6. Close the diagonal cheaply and White keeps the extra space.
The Named Lines Of The Western
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Pterodactyl | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c3 Bg7 4.d4 Qa5 |
| Anhanguera | 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 c5 4.Be3 Qa5+ |
| Rhamphorhynchus | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.dxc5 Qa5+ |
| Siroccopteryx | 1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 c5 4.Bc4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qa5+ |