Anderssen's Opening

Anderssen's Opening is 1.a3, an irregular first move classified as A00. It does little for development or the centre and works more as a waiting move. It is named after Adolf Anderssen, who played it three times in his 1858 match against Paul Morphy. It is also the very first of the 1,327 openings listed in the index of the Oxford Companion to Chess, which is ordered from White's left-hand side of the board to the right.

Origins

In December 1858 Morphy and Anderssen played a match at the Hôtel de Breteuil in Paris: the first to win seven games would win, and draws did not count. Anderssen won the first game, but Morphy then won three in a row. Anderssen answered by opening with 1.a3 in his three following games with White, the sixth, eighth and tenth. He lost the sixth, drew the eighth and won the tenth, 1½ points out of 3, but Morphy won the match in the eleventh game.

All three games followed the same moves through move seven, and in each the players transposed to a Reversed Sicilian structure with an exchange of pawns.

According to Philip W. Sergeant, Anderssen used 1.a3 again in 1877 and 1878, beating Louis Paulsen, George Henry Mackenzie and James Mason with it. Steinitz played it against Blackburne in Vienna in 1873.

The idea

Some players value its psychological effect, or hope it will help them against an opponent who knows more opening theory. It is often played as a joke or as a challenge to oneself.

Main lines

Black's more common replies are:

• 1...d5, a straightforward claim on the centre.
• 1...g6, preparing to fianchetto the king's bishop.
• 1...e5. White can answer 2.c4, as in the Morphy–Anderssen match, reaching a Reversed Sicilian structure where the pawn on a3 may be useful, or 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3, transposing to Mengarini's Opening.

Who plays it

A modern proponent is the Croatian International Master Zvonko Krečak. In March 2010 Magnus Carlsen played it against Vassily Ivanchuk in a blindfold game at the Amber tournament and lost. In January 2023 Hikaru Nakamura used it against Carlsen in an online Titled Tuesday on Chess.com and won.

The numbers

On Lichess White wins 47.9% of the 1.9 million games and Black 47.0%. Under 1400 Black is ahead, 49.7% against 44.4%, and between 1400 and 1799 it is 49.0% against 46.6%. From 1800 up White is ahead: 48.6% against 46.1%, and 48.2% against 44.4% from 2200 up. In 838 master games over the board Black won 29.6%, White 28.6%, and 41.8% were drawn.