Knight to e1, My Tango

Verse 1

Pawn to d4 and pawn to c4 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4

Knight to c3, then pawn to e4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4

Knight to f3, my bishop e2 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2

Castles short, then pawn to d5 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7

My d-pawn locks the floor, the dance is alive

Chorus

Knight to e1, then knight to d3 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3

Pawn to f3, and pawn to b4 f5 11.f3 f4 12.b4

Pawn to c5, I knock on his door g5 13.c5

He runs at my king, I bite his d-pawn

Verse 2

His knight to f6, pawn to a4 Nf6 14.a4

His knight to g6, pawn to a5 Ng6 15.a5

His rook to f7, my knight to f2 Rf7 16.Nf2

My knight on f2 guards g4 tonight

My g-pawn stays home, his storm needs a door

Chorus

Knight to e1, then knight to d3 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3

Pawn to f3, and pawn to b4 f5 11.f3 f4 12.b4

Pawn to c5, I knock on his door g5 13.c5

He runs at my king, I bite his d-pawn

Bridge

My chain on d5 and e4 leans left

His chain on d6 and e5 leans right

The tightest centre in the book, queens never leave

Seven in ten end in a fight

Chorus

Knight to e1, then knight to d3 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3

Pawn to f3, and pawn to b4 f5 11.f3 f4 12.b4

Pawn to c5, I knock on his door g5 13.c5

He runs at my king, I bite his d-pawn

Outro

Knight to e1, the tango turns 9.Ne1

Pawn to c5 is where he burns g5 13.c5

The whole song rests on one trade the Classical 9.Ne1 makes: White locks the centre with d5 and e4, lets Black throw his f- and g-pawns at the king, and answers with the knight's e1–d3 route and the c5 break on the queenside — a race the measured master sample shows is decided far more often than it is drawn.