Confusing Openings

[MJMcCready]

AliReza opened with 1 Nc3 today against Nepo.

[Peter Ackley]

Some years ago I went through a brief phase of playing the Schliemann over the board. Being paired as white against a strong 1.d4 player with a little preparation I managed the following move order:

1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 e5 3.Qd1 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.f4

[Roger de Coverly]

1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 e5 3.Qd1 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.f4

In similar vein there''s a Latvian madhouse which starts

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bc4 fxe4 4. Nxe5 d5 5. Qh5
The reversed version of this position can arise from the Alekhine
1. e4 Nf6 2. d3 e5 3. f4 Bc5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. d4 Qh4

The position at move 3 can also arise from a Kings Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nf6 3. d3 or from 1. e4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. f4

Engines however suggest that the Knight can be taken by White at move 5 with advantage. The 1. e4 e5 2. d3 move order is one of the systems tried by Mike Surtees.

[Kevin Thurlow]

A club colleague of mine confused everybody by playing 1.e4 Nf6, 2.f3 - black thought, "I am playing an idiot" and went 2....e5, only to see 3.f4. As our player played the Latvian as black, he had a position he knew, whereas black probably didn't...

[Jonathan Rogers]

A small number of Latvian Gambit games actually start with 1 Nf3 f5 2 e4 e5!

[Nick Ivell]

I did beat Short with 1.Nc3, so I have a soft spot for it.

Admittedly, he was barely out of nappies,,,

[Kevin Thurlow]

I was helping a new member at a club, who lost to quite an experienced player (1800ish), having played 1.Nc3. The experienced player criticized 1.Nc3 quite severely. Imagine the look on his face when he had black against me a couple of weeks later, and I played 1.Nc3...

Luckily I won. The new player was encouraged.

[Nick Ivell]

By the way, re the above: I would say that 3. Qd1 is a bit of a joke.

White should be playing for something!

[Nick Burrows]

I had a 4ncl game several years back, which went 1.f4 e5 2.e4, when my opponent sank into thought as he didn't have 1.e4 e5 in his black repertoire.

[John Upham]

By the way, re the above: I would say that 3. Qd1 is a bit of a joke.

White should be playing for something!

Would it be enough of a joke to be defaulted by Stewart Reuben?

[Matt Mackenzie]

I had a 4ncl game several years back, which went 1.f4 e5 2.e4, when my opponent sank into thought as he didn't have 1.e4 e5 in his black repertoire.

I pulled that off a few times when I played 1 f4 as my "reserve" opening (as opposed to my usual 1 e4) in my 1980s youth.

[NickFaulks]

By the way, re the above: I would say that 3. Qd1 is a bit of a joke.

I don't agree. It is entirely possible that Black now wishes he could play 3...e5-e6, if only it were legal.

[Geoff Chandler]

I played that 1 e4 Nf6 2.f3 line for years. Good fun although it never quite 'felt' like a Latvian if you know what I mean (or maybe not, half the time even I do not know what I mean.) It is just odd. The same way a reversed Dragon seems not quite right. The g2 Bishop never seems as fearsome as the g7 Bishop. (yes?...no?..or is it's just me,)

I like that 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 e5 3.Qd1 line. Black might think 'here is a duffer' and play a Reversed Danish and White will convince Black they are a duffer when they flick out a perfectly playable Qe2 for the second time in five moves.

Danish 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 Qe7

rnb1kbnr/ppppqppp/8/8/3pP3/2P5/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4

Danish Reversed 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2 e5 3. Qd1 d5 4. exd5 c6 5. Qe2 *

rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/2p5/3Pp3/8/8/PPPPQPPP/RNB1KBNR b KQkq - 0 5

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.p ... result=0-1 has some nice Black wins with 3...Qe7.