Flank and Hypermodern Openings · A09
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4
The Réti Opening is a hypermodern classic invented by Richard Réti in the 1920s. White avoids central occupation with pawns and instead develops pieces to control the center from a distance. The typical plan involves a fianchettoed bishop on g2 and a c4 pawn challenge against Black's center.
The Réti is one of the most flexible openings in chess — it can transpose to the Catalan, English, Queen's Gambit, or Slav depending on how both sides develop. Magnus Carlsen regularly uses Réti-type positions to reach complex middlegames on his own terms.