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Chess Opening Theory/1. a3

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The latest reviewed version was checked on 27 August 2023. There are 2 pending changes awaiting review.
Anderssen's Opening
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 white pawnb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 black kingb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/P7/1PPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR b

Moves: 1. a3
ECO code: A00
Parent: Starting position

1. a3 · Anderssen's Opening

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This opening move does little for development or control of the center. In some cases, White can transpose the game to an opening where 1. a3 might have been useful, but using a tempo on such a move already on move one seems premature. In fact, this opening is based on the idea that White is playing with the black pieces, but he has the move 1. a3 already played. If a game starts 1. a3 e5 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3, Black cannot proceed in Ruy Lopez-fashion, and if Black plays 3... Bc5, then 4. Nf3 puts Black into the Two Knights' Defence and White's a3 precludes many possibilities.

Named after the German chess player Adolf Anderssen, who played this opening a few times against Morphy, this is a prophylactic waiting move that allows Black to choose an opening down a tempo, should a3 be useful in such cases.

Black's responses

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There are a variety of ways for Black to respond to this move, including:

  • 1... e5 may transpose into an English (1. c4 e5 2. a3), where a3 is a useful move for White. It covers and prepares b4, and allows White to set up a structure similar to that in the Najdorf or Kan for Black.
  • 1... d5 makes transpositions into the Polish Opening or a reversed Pirc highly likely, should White eventually play b4 or d3/g3.
  • 1... g6 may thwart White's plans if they planned to play b4 and Bb2 as the a1-h8 diagonal would be first occupied by a black Bg7 in that case, provided that Black fianchettos their bishop immediately.
  • 1... c5 may transpose into an a3 Sicilian, or White may play b4 and attack c5.
  • 1... Nf6 will likely transpose into other aforementioned lines.

Statistics

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Approximate chances

White win 30%, Draw 39%, Black win 31%.

All possible Black's moves

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Quick
Navigation 		Na6
a6
a5
b6
b5 		Nc6
c6
c5
d6
d5
e6
e5 		Nf6
f6
f5
g6
g5 		Nh6
h6
h5

References

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.


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Wikipedia has related information at Anderssen's Opening

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