Little a-Pawn, Big Centre
4.a3 Petrosian · sung from White's side
Verse 1
Bishop to b7, knight to c3 4...Bb7 5.Nc3
He plays d5, I take on d5 5...d5 6.cxd5
He takes on d5, queen to c2 6...Nxd5 7.Qc2
Knight takes c3, pawn takes c3 7...Nxc3 8.bxc3
He plays c5, pawn to e4 8...c5 9.e4
Two pawns in the middle, d4 and e4
Chorus
Pawn to d4, pawn to c4 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
Knight to f3, pawn to a3 2...e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
No pin on b4, his bishop stays home
I'll take the centre, make it my own
Verse 2
He plays knight d7, bishop to f4 9...Nd7 10.Bf4
Not bishop d3 first, it scores me poor
He takes on d4, I take once more 10...cxd4 11.cxd4
The c-file opens, my centre's sure
His rook to c8 hits my queen 11...Rc8
His bishop eyes e4, my queen keeps it clean
Chorus
Pawn to d4, pawn to c4 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
Knight to f3, pawn to a3 2...e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
No pin on b4, his bishop stays home
I'll take the centre, make it my own
Bridge
I hold more space, the centre is mine
His bishop on b7 eyes the long diagonal
The queens stay on, the fight runs late
More than half of these games find their fate
Chorus
Pawn to d4, pawn to c4 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
Knight to f3, pawn to a3 2...e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3
No pin on b4, his bishop stays home
I'll take the centre, make it my own
Outro
My little a-pawn took b4 away
He plays c5, pawn to e4 8...c5 9.e4
The whole system is one trade: a quiet pawn on a3 buys White a pin-free knight on c3, and that knight is what lets the centre pawns land on d4 and e4 before Black's pieces are ready.