Irregular chess openings
Encyclopedia
Irregular openings are chess opening
s with an unusual or rare first moves from White. Such openings include:
The above openings are all categorized under the ECO
code A00. Openings that are not "irregular" comprise:
If White plays a regular opening and Black responds in an unconventional way, the opening is not categorized A00. For instance, 1.e4 a6 is classified as B00 (King's Pawn Opening).
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s with an unusual or rare first moves from White. Such openings include:
- 1.a3 (Anderssen's OpeningAnderssen's OpeningAnderssen's Opening is a chess opening defined by the opening moveIt is named after unofficial World Chess Champion Adolf Anderssen, who played it three times in his 1858 match against Paul Morphy...
) - 1.a4 (Ware OpeningWare OpeningThe Ware Opening or Meadow Hay Opening, is an uncommon chess opening in which White opens withIt is named after U.S. chess player Preston Ware, who often played uncommon openings...
) - 1.b4 (Sokolsky OpeningSokolsky OpeningThe Sokolsky Opening is an uncommon chess opening:According to various databases, out of the twenty possible first moves from White, 1.b4 ranks ninth in popularity...
, also known as Polish or Orangutan Opening) - 1.c3 (Saragossa OpeningSaragossa OpeningThe Saragossa Opening or Hempel's Opening is a chess opening defined by the opening moveThe name Saragossa Opening is derived from the Spanish city of Zaragoza...
) - 1.d3 (Mieses OpeningMieses OpeningThe Mieses Opening is a chess opening:It is named after the German-British grandmaster Jacques Mieses.White's 1.d3 releases his c1 bishop and makes a modest claim for the center, but since it does not stake out as large a share of the centre as 1.d4 does, it is not a popular opening move. Of the...
) - 1.e3 (Van 't Kruijs OpeningVan 't Kruijs OpeningThe Van 't Kruijs Opening is a chess opening defined by the moveIt is named after the Amsterdam player Maarten van 't Kruijs who won the sixth Dutch championship in 1878. As this opening move is rarely played, it is considered an irregular opening, and thus it is classified under the A00 code in...
) - 1.f3 (Barnes OpeningBarnes OpeningBarnes Opening or Gedult's Opening is a chess opening where White opens withIt is considered an irregular opening, so it is classified under the A00 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings....
, also known as Gedult's Opening) - 1.g4 (Grob's AttackGrob's AttackGrob's Attack is an unconventional chess opening where White immediately moves the king knight's pawn two squares ahead:-Discussion:The opening takes its name from Swiss International Master Henri Grob who analyzed it extensively and played hundreds of correspondence games with it...
) - 1.h3 (Clemenz OpeningClemenz OpeningThe Clemenz Opening is a chess opening described in algebraic chess notation asIt is named after Hermann Clemenz , an Estonian player...
, or Basman's Attack) - 1.h4 (Desprez OpeningDesprez OpeningThe Desprez Opening is a chess opening characterized by the opening moveThe opening is named after the French player Marcel Desprez. Like a number of other rare openings, 1.h4 has some alternate names such as "Kadas Opening", "Anti-Borg Opening", "Samurai Opening", and "Reagan's Attack". Gabor...
, or Kadas Opening) - 1.Na3 (Durkin OpeningDurkin OpeningThe Durkin Opening, also known as Durkin's Attack, or the Sodium Attack, is a very rarely played chess opening beginning with the move:...
, also known as Durkin's Attack or the Sodium Attack) - 1.Nc3 (Dunst OpeningDunst OpeningThe Dunst Opening is a chess opening where White opens with the move:This fairly uncommon opening may have more names than any other: it is also called the Heinrichsen Opening, Baltic Opening, van Geet's Opening, Sleipnir Opening, Kotrč's Opening, Meštrović Opening, Romanian Opening, Queen's...
) - 1.Nh3 (Amar OpeningAmar OpeningThe Amar Opening, Paris Opening, Drunken Knight Opening, or Ammonia Opening is a chess opening defined by the moveThis opening is sometimes known as the Ammonia Opening, since NH3 is the chemical formula for ammonia. The Parisian amateur Charles Amar played it in the 1930s...
, also known as Paris Opening)
The above openings are all categorized under the ECO
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
code A00. Openings that are not "irregular" comprise:
- 1.e4 (King's Pawn GameKing's Pawn GameThe King's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:White opens with the most popular of the twenty possible opening moves. Though effective in winning for White , it is not as successful as the four next most common openings for White: 1.d4 , 1.Nf3 , 1.c4 , and 1.g3...
) - 1.d4 (Queen's Pawn GameQueen's Pawn GameIn the most general sense the term Queen's Pawn Game can refer to any chess opening which starts with the move:It is the second most popular opening move. The name is now usually used to describe openings beginning with the moves 1.d4 d5 where White does not follow through with an early pawn...
) - 1.c4 (English OpeningEnglish OpeningIn chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
) - 1.Nf3 (Réti OpeningRéti OpeningThe Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves:White plans to bring the d5-pawn under attack from the flank, or entice it to advance to d4 and undermine it later...
or Zukertort Opening) - 1.f4 (Bird's OpeningBird's OpeningBird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move:Bird's is a standard but never popular flank opening. White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-square without occupying it, but his first move is also non-developing and slightly weakens his kingside...
) - 1.g3 (Benko's OpeningBenko's OpeningBenko's Opening , is a chess opening characterized by the moveIt is named after Pal Benko, who used 1.g3 to defeat Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal in rounds one and three of the 1962 Candidates Tournament in Curaçao, part of the 1963 World Championship...
) and - 1.b3 (Larsen's OpeningLarsen's OpeningLarsen's Opening is a chess opening starting with the move:It is named after the Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen...
).
If White plays a regular opening and Black responds in an unconventional way, the opening is not categorized A00. For instance, 1.e4 a6 is classified as B00 (King's Pawn Opening).
See also
- Open Game (1.e4 e5)
- Semi-Open GameSemi-Open GameA Semi-Open Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.e4 and Black breaks symmetry immediately by replying with a move other than 1...e5.The Semi-Open Games are also called Single King Pawn Games, and are the complement of the Open Games or Double King Pawn Games which begin 1.e4 e5.-Popular...
(1.e4 other) - Closed GameClosed GameA Closed Game, also called a Double Queen Pawn Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The move 1.d4 offers the same benefits to development and center control as does 1.e4, but unlike with the King Pawn openings where the e4 pawn is undefended after the first move, the d4 pawn is...
(1.d4 d5) - Semi-Closed GameSemi-Closed GameA Semi-Closed Game is a chess opening in which White opens with the queen's pawn 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5...
(1.d4 other) - Flank openingFlank openingA flank opening is a chess opening played by White and typified by play on one or both flanks ....
(1.c4, 1.Nf3, 1.f4, and others) - List of chess openings
- Encyclopaedia of Chess OpeningsEncyclopaedia of Chess OpeningsThe Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...