Kádas Opening: Myers Variation

The Myers Variation is about unbalancing the game immediately. You start with 1.h4 — not a move that fights for the centre, but one that prepares a rook lift or just throws your opponent off. After 2.d4 and 3.e4, you're targeting Black's central pawn on d5. The point is to lure Black into capturing on e4, after which you get rapid development with Nc3 and open lines for your pieces. If Black instead plays something passive or inaccurate, you can seize a lead in activity. You are not trying to be better in the computer sense here — you are trying to create practical problems at the board.

Stockfish's top move in this position is dxe4. That's Black accepting the pawn sacrifice. The engine's recommended line goes dxe4 d5 a6 Nc3 — Black gives back the pawn with d5, then plays a6 to stop Nb5 ideas, while you develop your knight with Nc3. This line leads to a balanced but slightly comfortable game for Black. In practice, across 155 games where Black played dxe4, White still scored 33.5% — not great, but a reminder that even the best reply is far from crushing for Black. Your job is to know that dxe4 is fine and you should just keep developing naturally.

Across 289 games from this exact position, the results are tough: White wins 32.9%, draws 6.9%, Black wins 60.2%. That is a challenging outlook on paper. But look closer — the most-played move dxe4 accounts for over half of those games (155), and White's score against it is 33.5%. Against the second-most popular move, cxd4 (49 games), White jumps to 42.9% — a much healthier result. Against Nf6 (only 9 games), White scores 44.4%. So while the objective engine evaluation says you're slightly worse, your practical chances improve dramatically when Black chooses a suboptimal move.

Three common Black replies are marked as inaccuracies by the engine, each losing about half a pawn or more. Here is what to look for: - cxd4 (49 games, White scores 42.9%): Black captures on d4 instead of e4. This is an inaccuracy losing about 0.5 pawns. The engine says dxe4 was better. After cxd4, you can recapture with the queen (Qxd4) or develop with tempo — you get active play. - Nc6 (27 games, White scores 29.6%): Developing the knight looks natural but is an inaccuracy losing about 0.7 pawns. Again, dxe4 was better. You can push forward in the centre. - e6 (25 games, White scores 20.0%): A passive move that loses about 0.5 pawns. This one scores especially poorly for Black — you should be able to build a strong centre presence. The takeaway: if Black does not take on e4, you often end up with a tangible edge.

When Black plays dxe4 (the engine's best and most common move), keep calm. Play d5 to force Black's queen away, then Nc3 developing with tempo. You'll have a solid position with active pieces, even if the computer prefers Black slightly. When Black plays cxd4, you have options to recapture actively — Qxd4 keeps pressure on Black's position. When Black plays Nc6, Black has already missed the chance to take on e4, so you can look for ways to maintain your central pawn duo or gain space. In every case, remember that the Myers Variation is not about memorising deep theory — it is about outplaying your opponent in a position they rarely see.