Chess Basics: What is a fianchetto in chess?

In order to become a skillful chess player, one should learn all the tricks of the trade and should be well versed in the chess strategies, openings, tactics, formations and what not. But one need not memorize all these things to become an effective and skillful chess player. All he or she must have a thorough understanding of the basic elements of chess and the chess strategies will come naturally to you.

One of the many concepts in chess one should be aware of, if not familiarize himself or herself, is fianchetto.

I will try to explain the term and its relevance in chess here.

The word "Fianchetto" is an Italian word meaning "flanking" . In the game of chess, when the Knight's pawn advances one or two squares and the Bishop moves in front of the Knight, this is called The Fianchetto.

The aim is to counteract your opponents advances on the centre squares. It gives your bishop a long diagonal right across the board and dissects the centre squares which as we know are vital to any chess attack. You can play it either Queen's or King's side. It allows you to be more aggressive with your Bishop right from the very start of the game. It can also provide you with an escape route for your Bishop if it gets blocked by your centre pawns.

The most common fianchetto can be seen in the Sicilian Dragon and the Benoni defence amongst others. The Fianchetto played on the Queens side is usually stronger than the Fianchetto played on the King's side as the Kings defences would be weakened by the the pawn structure. If you do both it is called The double Fianchetto) The theory of the experts about this generally warn against a double Fianchetto as you are better to have one Bishop attacking and one defending if you are to use this tactic.

Another benefit of the Queen's side Fianchetto is that if your opponents castle on his King's side then your Bishop is pointing straight at the King's defence like an Exocet missile. Your opponent has to continually be wary and guard against a surprise attack. Nevertheless, there is a school of thought which says castling into the fianchetto is very strong defensivley unless your opponent has castled on the opposite corner. The choice is yours.

So how would you counteract this tactic. The easiest way is to cram your pawns into the centre squares and stifle his attack. This would usually do the trick but if he did the same a battle would result in the middle of the board and the centre squares could open up again and his Fianchetto attack would be still on. You should try and cover the centre squares with your pawns before you even consider the Fianchetto so you have control as to when you want to move them and allow your Bishop into the attack.

I have personally found that attacking the side the Fianchetto has taken place on with your pawns (as long as you have not castled on the same side of course) can work. It can leave the Bishop vulnerable and open to attack. Attacking the pawns around the Fianchettoed Bishop will wreck and weaken the whole structure. Also remember at the beginning of the game if you use this strategy, your knight can end up being left in it's starting position as if it moves in front of the Bishop it will block the bishops attack. It is therefore dangerous to exchange your Fianchettoed Bishop for another piece and leave your opponents same coloured bishop on the board. If it moves on to that same diagonal your Rook could be trapped by your Knight and have no escape.