Dunst Opening

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Dunst Opening
Image:chess zhor 26.png
Image:chess zver 26.png a8 rd b8 nd c8 bd d8 qd e8 kd f8 bd g8 nd h8 rd Image:chess zver 26.png
a7 pd b7 pd c7 pd d7 pd e7 pd f7 pd g7 pd h7 pd
a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6
a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5
a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4
a3 b3 c3 nl d3 e3 f3 g3 h3
a2 pl b2 pl c2 pl d2 pl e2 pl f2 pl g2 pl h2 pl
a1 rl b1 c1 bl d1 ql e1 kl f1 bl g1 nl h1 rl
Image:chess zhor 26.png
Moves 1.Nc3
ECO A00
Origin Blackburne - Noa, London 1883
Named after Ted A. Dunst
Parent Irregular chess opening
Synonym(s) Heinrichsen Opening, Baltic Opening, van Geet's Opening, Sleipnir Opening, Kotrč's Opening, Meštrović Opening, Romanian Opening, Queen's Knight Opening, Knight on the Left, der Linksspringer
Chessgames.com opening explorer
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

The Dunst Opening is a chess opening where White opens with the move:

1. Nc3

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 Knight Opening, Knight on the Left, and (in German) der Linksspringer.

Contents

[edit] Origin of names

The names Heinrichsen and Baltic derive from Lithuanian chess player Arved Heinrichsen (1876–1900). The opening was also analyzed and played by the New York master Ted A. Dunst (April 11, 1907 New York City–December 18, 1985 Lambertville, New Jersey), giving the opening its most popular name in the U.S. The Dutch International Master and correspondence grandmaster Dirk Daniel ("Dick D.") van Geet (b. March 1, 1932) frequently plays 1.Nc3, so it is often called the van Geet's Opening in the Netherlands. The appellation Sleipnir seems to come from Germany. Sleipnir is Odin's (Wotan in German) magical eight-legged horse, and chess knights are horses with up to eight different possible moves each turn. Czech Jan Kotrč (1862–1943), editor and publisher of the magazine České Listy, said the opening was analyzed by English players. Zvonimir Meštrović (b. October 17, 1944) is a Slovenian International Master who often adopts this opening. The German FIDE Master Harald Keilhack in his 2005 book on the opening states that it has also been referred to as the Romanian Defense, and that he prefers the neutral appellation "Der Linksspringer" or, in English, "the Knight on the Left" (Keilhack 2005:7).

[edit] General remarks

The opening move 1.Nc3 develops the knight to a good square where it attacks the central e4 and d5 squares. Although quite playable, 1.Nc3 is only the eighth most popular of the twenty possible first moves. The third-ranking 1.Nf3 is more than fifty times as popular. Some very strong correspondence chess players employ 1.Nc3 frequently, and it is also occasionally seen over-the-board.

The reasons for 1.Nc3's lack of popularity are that it does not stop Black from occupying the center (unlike 1.Nf3, which prevents 1...e5), and it blocks White's c-pawn from moving, thus making it impossible to play c3 or c4 (which are often desirable moves) without moving the knight first. In addition, after 1...d5, the knight's position is unstable because Black may attack it with ...d4. White can prevent this with 2.d4, but he then obtains a somewhat inflexible position in the Queen's Pawn Game with his knight blocking the c-pawn. More often, White plays 2.Nf3 (and if 2...d4, 3.Ne4), a sort of Black Knights' Tango with an extra move, or 2.e4 (intending 2...d4 3.Nce2 or 3.Nb1!?, with which Van Geet once drew Spassky). If White allows his knight to be chased away in this manner, he cedes a spatial advantage to Black, although he might work to undermine this along the lines of hypermodernism. Also possible after 1...d5 is 2.e3, which Keilhack calls "the Müller game," when White hopes for 2...e5 (other moves are also playable, of course) 3.Qh5!?, e.g. 3...Nc6 4.Bb5 Qd6 5.d4 exd4 6.exd4 Nf6 7.Qe5+! Be6?! (Keilhack recommends 7...Kd8!! 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nf3 Bg4) 8.Bf4 0-0-0 9.Bxc6 Qxc6? 10.Nb5!, when White wins at least a pawn (Keilhack 2005:307-11).

[edit] Possible continuations

[edit] 1...e5

This natural move is playable, but dangerous if Black does not know what he is doing. One of the main lines is 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5. Keilhack writes that this variation "occurs rather often and offers excellent chances for an early knockout" by White and that "only two [moves] (5...Bb4 and 5...Bc5) do not immediately ruin Black's game" (Keilhack 2005:26). (See, e.g., the Dunst-Gresser game given below.)

[edit] 1...d5

This is one of Black's best replies, occupying the center and underscoring the unsettled position of White's knight. As noted above, 2.Nf3 or even 2.e3!? are possible responses, but 2.e4, immediately challenging Black in the center, is most common. Then Black has five plausible responses: 2...e6 and 2...c6 transpose to the French and Caro-Kann Defenses, and 2...Nf6 transposes to a variation of Alekhine's Defence. Black's other reasonable moves are 2...d4 and 2...dxe4. Keilhack writes that the Van Geet Attack, 2...d4 3.Nce2 followed by Ng3, is "the core of the 1.Nc3 opening," "a fully independent entity which strives for early knight activity on the kingside," usually with Ng3, Nf3, Bc4 or Bb5, 0-0, and d3 (Keilhack 2005:44). Alternative lines for White include the unusual 3.Nb1!? (as noted above) and, after 3.Nce2, playing along the lines of a King's Indian Attack with g3, Bg2, f4 (often before Nf3), Nf3, and 0-0 -- a line Keilhack calls the "Lizard Attack" (Keilhack 2005:125).

1...d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 leads to more open play. Then Black has a number of playable moves, including 3...e5, 3...Nc6, 3...Bf5, 3...Nd7, 3...Nf6, and even 3...Qd5!?, when 4.Nc3 transposes to the Scandinavian Defense (Keilhack 2005:131, 144, 146, 158, 172, 176). After 3...e5, White's thematic move is 4.Bc4, when several of Black's plausible moves lead to disaster, e.g. 4...Be7? 5.Qh5! and White wins at least a pawn after 5...g6 6.Qxe5 or 5...Nh6 6.d3; or 4...Nf6? 5.Ng5! Nd5 and now 6.d4!, 6.Qf3!, and 6.Nxf7!? Kxf7 7.Qf3+ are all possible, with positions similar to the line of the Two Knights Defense beginning 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! (Keilhack 2005:133-34). However, 3...e5 4.Bc4 Nc6! is playable (Keilhack 2005:135-43).

International Master Richard Palliser, in his 2006 book Beating Unusual Chess Openings, recommends 1...d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Nd7 for Black. He explains, "Black doesn't attempt to refute White's opening or to gain lots of space (as with 2...d4), but simply settles for sensible development. The position should be compared to both a Caro[-Kann Defense] and a French Rubinstein. Black will hope to demonstrate that he has gained from the omission of an early ...c6 or ...e6, while White will generally omit d4, preferring a set-up with Bc4 and d4" (Palliser 2006:143). After 4.Bc4, the natural move 4...Ngf6!? leads to very sharp and unclear play if White responds with 5.Bxf7+!? Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Kg8 7.Ne6 Qe8 8.Nc7 (Keilhack 2005:158-63); (Palliser 2006:144-46). More solid is 4...e6 ("!" -- Keilhack) (Keilhack 2005:164-70); (Palliser 2006:144-48).

[edit] 1...c5

1...c5 is often played by devotees of the Sicilian Defence, into which the game often transposes, either immediately after 2.e4 or at a later point. Alternatively, White can remain in independent 1.Nc3 lines, at least for the time being, with 2.Nf3 followed by 3.d4, which gives Black a large choice of possible responses. One line Palliser recommends for Black is 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 (again 3.e4 transposes to a Sicilian) cxd4 4.Nxd4 d5!? (seizing the center) 5.Bg5 Nbd7! 6.e4 (more critical than the passive 6.e3?!) dxe4 7.Qe2 e6!? 8.0-0-0 Be7 9.Nxe4 0-0 when "White doesn't appear to have any advantage" (Palliser 2006:154-56).

[edit] 1...Nf6

Keilhack writes that "1...Nf6 is one of the most unpleasant replies for the 1.Nc3 player. Black keeps all options open, he can choose between a central (...d5, possibly followed by ...c5) and an Indian (...g6, ...Bg7) setup. . . . Among the many possible [second] moves [for White], none really stands out." (Keilhack 2005:338). The most straightforward moves for White are 2.d4 and 2.e4, but neither promises White a significant advantage. After 2.d4, 2...d5 leads to the Richter-Veresov Attack (3.Bg5) or another type of Queen's Pawn Game where White, having blocked his c-pawn, has little chance for advantage. After 2.e4, Black can again play 2...d5 with a type of Alekhine's Defense; or 2...d6 3.d4 g6 with a Pirc Defense or 3...e5 with a Philidor's Defense; but most solid is 2...e5, leading to a Vienna Game or, after 3.Nf3 Nc6, to a Four Knights Game -- neither of which offers White an appreciable advantage. Keilhack also analyzes a number of offbeat possibilities, including 2.b3, 2.Nf3, 2.f4 (an unusual form of Bird's Opening that Keilhack calls the "Aasum System"), 2.g3, and even the gambit 2.g4?! Palliser writes that none of the alternatives to 2.e4 "really convince or should greatly trouble Black over the board" (Palliser 2006:142).

[edit] Transpositions to other openings

The move 1.Nc3 is considered an irregular opening, so it is classified under the A00 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (also see List of chess openings). Transpositions to more common openings are possible, many of which are discussed in the preceding section. In addition, 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 reaches a position in the Scandinavian Defense; 1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.e4 leads to a Scotch Four Knights Game; 1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e4 Bc5 or 3...g6 gives a Three Knights Game; 1.Nc3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e4, or 2...e5 and now 3.d5 Nce7 4.e4 or 3.dxe5 Nxe5 4.e4, yields a Nimzowitsch Defense; and 1.Nc3 b6 2.e4 Bb7 3.d4 is an Owen's Defense. Transposition to a Dutch Defense is also possible after 1.Nc3 f5 2.d4, but Keilhack considers 2.e4! more dangerous, intending 2...fxe4 3.d3, a reversed From's Gambit (Keilhack 2005:369-70). Black alternatives to 2...fex4 include 2...d6, when 3.d4 tranposes to the Balogh Defense; 2...e6?!, when 3.d4 transposes to the Kingston Defense; and 2...e5?!, when 3.Nf3 produces a Latvian Gambit, but 3.exf5!, as in a game between Steinitz and Sam Loyd[1], may be stronger.

[edit] Sample games

Here is a quick victory by Dunst himself against ten-time U.S. Women's Champion Gisela Gresser. It illustrates the problems that White's rapid development can pose if Black is not careful:

Dunst-Gresser, New York 1950 1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 d5? (better is 5...Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd4 Be7 8.e4 0-0 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bf4 d5 11.0-0 dxe4 and the game was soon drawn in Ekebjaerg-Oim, 14th World Correspondence Chess Championship) 6.e4! Be7 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Bxg5 10.Qe2+ Ne7? (Losing at once. 10...Be7 11.0-0-0 is also very awkward. Although it's unpleasant, Black should have tried 10...Kf8.) 11.Qe5! Bxb5 12.Nxc7+ Kf8 13.Nde6+ (now 13...fxe6 14.Ne6+ wins Black's queen) 1-0 (notes based on those by Tim Harding)

Van Geet, another of this opening's champions, routs his opponent almost as quickly:

van Geet-Guyt, Paramaribo 1967 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3 g6 5.Bc4 Bg7 6.d3 c5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.c3 Nge7 9.Ng5 O-O (Now White has a surprising attacking move.) 10.Nh5! Bh8 (10...gxh5 11.Qxh5 h6 12.Nxf7 is disastrous; 10...Na5 11.Nxg7 Nxc4! 12.dxc4 Kxg7 is forced.) 11.Qf3 Qe8 12.Nf6+ Bxf6 13.Qxf6 dxc3 (This loses by force. Again it was necessary to harass the bishop at c4 by ... Na5.) 14.Nxf7 Rxf7 15.Bh6 1-0 (notes based on those by Eric Schiller at chessgames.com)[2]

[edit] References

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