Chess Opening Theory/1. h4

Beaver Claw
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/7P/8/PPPPPPP1/RNBQKBNR b
Moves: 1. h4
ECO code: A00
Parent: Starting position

1. h4?! ·Beaver Claw

The Beaver Claw (or Kádas Opening) is a rare kingside flank opening. It does little for development, does not fight for control of the center, and weakens White's kingside. It frees the rook, but the rook normally does not go to h3. It could be said that White has made their position worse, as castling kingside is now less attractive. Due to the near-uselessness of this opening, it is rarely seen among serious chess players. However, it could be used to throw off the opponent.

No top masters have ever used this opening in professional play, although some, most notably Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, play it during blitz. Magnus Carlsen played it in the November 2023 "Titled Tuesday" online tournament, where he successfully defeated strong grandmasters, including Alireza Firouzja.

Black's responses

Black has many decent replies.

• 1...d5, staking a claim to the centre and simultaneously making 2. Rh3?? impossible.
• 1... e5, also staking a claim in the center and freeing Black's queen and dark-squared bishop.
• 1... g6?! is rarely played, as it justifies the move 1. h4. White can play 2. h5 to attack Black's kingside.

Statistics

No statistics as 1. h4 is rarely played.

All possible Black's moves

Quick Navigation

Na6 a6 a5

b6 b5

Nc6 c6 c5

d6 d5

e6 e5

Nf6 f6 f5

g6 g5

Nh6 h6 h5

References

• Eric Schiller (2002). Unorthodox Chess Openings (Second Edition ed.). Cardoza. ISBN 1-58042-072-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)