Franco-Indian Defence

{{Infobox chess opening

|openingname = Franco-Indian Defence

|image = {{Chess diagram||

|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd

|pd|pd|pd|pd| |pd|pd|pd

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|pl|pl|pl| |pl|pl|pl|pl

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|moves = 1.d4 e6

|ECO = A40

|birth = 19th century

|nameorigin = {{ubl|French Defence|Indian Defence|Bernhard Horwitz|}}

|parentopening = Queen's Pawn Game

|AKA = Horwitz Defence

}}

The Franco-Indian Defence (also Horwitz Defence) is a chess opening defined by the moves:

: 1. d4 e6

This response to White's 1.d4 is so named "because it may lead to the French Defence, or to one of the Indian Defences; it may, however, take a different course."{{citation |last1=Hooper |first1=David |authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld |title=The Oxford Companion to Chess |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |edition=2nd |origyear=First pub. 1992 |page=144 |entry=Franco-Indian Defence |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }} Alternatively, author Eric Schiller has proposed the name "Horwitz Defence", after the German chess master and writer Bernhard Horwitz (1807–1885), who played it against Daniel Harrwitz between 1849 and 1852.{{Cite web |title=CHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?pid=15966&side=black&node=75540 |access-date=2020-07-17 |website=Chessgames.com }}{{citation |last=Schiller |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Schiller |title=Unorthodox Chess Openings |publisher=Cardoza Publishing |year=1998 |edition=1st |page=196 |isbn=0-940685-73-6 }}

The opening has little independent significance and is likely to transpose into other openings. English grandmaster Simon Williams often uses 1.d4 e6 as a way of playing for the Dutch Defence while avoiding the Staunton Gambit (1.d4 f5 2.e4{{chesspunc|!?}}).{{Cite web|date=2019-01-22|title=Review: The Aggressive Classical Dutch|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/the-aggressive-classical-dutch|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Chess News|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Simon|title=Play the Classical Dutch|publisher=Gambit Publications|year=2003|isbn=978-1901983883|location=London, England|pages=}} One of the few independent lines is the Keres Defence (1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+), where White usually plays 3.Bd2, avoiding a transposition to the Nimzo-Indian Defence; however, transpositions to other openings such as the Bogo-Indian Defence are still possible.

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code for the Franco-Indian Defence is A40.

{{AN chess|pos=toc}}