Chess - Irregular Openings Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1.g4

Playing 1.g4 or 1. ..g5 is the Grob opening or Grob's Attack. It was named after the Swiss IM Henri Grob. In 1979, IM Michael Basman employed this opening fairly successfully and wrote "The Killer Grob."

Answer: Fred Attack

Some players call it the Spike because of the characteristic flank thrust of the KNP. Kolibri means hummingbird in several languages. It's called Fric's Opening in Czechoslovakia. For a time, Carl Ahlhausen popularized the opening in Berlin, hence the name Ahlhausen's Opening.

Answer: 1.g3

1.g3 is often called Benko's Opening. This is actually a very popular move. It has vast transpositional possibilities and hence, it is very flexible. 1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 is the King's Indian Attack. 1.g3 c5 2.c4 becomes the English Opening. It is arguably one of the best of the unorthodox openings.

Answer: A00

The Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) classifies chess openings with a letter-number code. The code derives from an analysis of games collected in the Chess Informant, which is a collection of the best master games played over a certain time period.

It's now published 3 times a year. A00 is the classification for irregular openings. A50 covers Indian systems. B00 includes games where White plays 1.e4 and Black plays something other than 1. .. e5. D00 includes double Queen Pawn openings.

Answer: 1.Nc3

Not named after Kirsten Dunst but the perhaps less well known Ted A. Dunst. This opening has more names than any other irregular opening. Actually, 1.Nc3 is not too bad. It can transpose into the Vienna with 1.Nc3 e5 2.e4 or the Richter-Veresov Attack with 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bg5. The major drawback is that it blocks the QBP, thereby restricting development.

Answer: All of them

They are all names for this opening. It has also been called the Reagan Attack and the Samarai Opening. There is little to recommend this opening unless you are fairly certain that your opponent will respond with 1. .. g6. By playing 2.h5, threatening 3.hxg6, White may even have an advantage.

Answer: Mieses Opening

1.d3 is named after the German master Jacques Mieses. 1.d3 has the virtue of being able to transpose into many "reverse" openings. For example, 1.d3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 is a Pirc Defence in reverse. Likewise, 1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 e5 would be a King's Indian Defence in reverse. Garry Kasparov played this opening against Deep Blue in 1997. The result was a draw, however.

Answer: 1.b4

1.b4 is called the Sokolsky Opening, named after Alexey Pavolovich Sokolsky. It's also known as the Orangutan and Polish Opening. It has been employed by former world champions Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian and Vasily Smyslov in match play, but for the most part, it's not that commonly seen in master tournaments.

Answer: Barnes Opening

1.f3 is named after Thomas Wilson Barnes, who was a contemporary of Paul Morphy, (1837-1884) the "unhappy genius." 1.f3 is unarguably the worst possible first move. 1.f3 e5 2.g4?? Qh4# is known as Fool's Mate. 1.f3 also obstructs the best square for the KN as well as creating a weakness on f2. Black can simply develop normally and occupy the center to gain a significant opening advantage.

Answer: 1.Na3

The Durkin Opening, 1.Na3 as with the other irregular openings may be used as an element of surprise or to take an opponent out of familiar opening territory. It is likely that White will have to waste several turns to get the N to a better square. Orthodox theory suggests that one should occupy the center with pawns and develop knights towards the center of the board.