Mieses Opening

The Mieses Opening (1.d3) is a modest first move that frees White's dark-squared bishop and makes a small claim on the centre. It is named after the German-British grandmaster Jacques Mieses and is classified as an irregular opening under A00. It ranks tenth in popularity among White's twenty possible first moves.

Origins

Its most famous use came in the third game of the 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue. Kasparov chose 1.d3 because he believed the computer would play poorly once it had to rely on its own calculation rather than its opening book; the game was drawn. David Levy had already used it in a 1984 prize match against Cray Blitz, which he won.

The idea

Since 1...d6 is playable for Black against any first move, the mirror move is playable for White too. 1.d3 does not take as much of the centre as 1.d4, which is why it is not popular, but it keeps White flexible and can transpose to a King's Indian Attack set-up.

Main lines

• 1...e5, the Reversed Rat; 2.Nd2 is the Valencia Variation.
• 1...d5, 1...c5, 1...Nf6 and 1...g6 are all reasonable replies. 1...c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 is the Venezolana Variation, and 1...g6 2.g4 the Myers Spike Attack.
• Kasparov–Deep Blue went 1.d3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.a3.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

• Flexible: it can transpose to a King's Indian Attack set-up.
• Releases the dark-squared bishop.

Weaknesses

• It stakes out a smaller share of the centre than 1.d4.
• Black has many reasonable replies.

Who should play it

1.d3 suits players who like flexible set-ups such as the King's Indian Attack and are happy to play a defence with colours reversed and an extra move.

The numbers

On Lichess Black wins more often at most levels: 50.2% against 44.6% for White under 1400, 50.0% against 45.7% at 1400–1799 and 48.1% against 47.1% at 1800–2199. From 2200 up White is slightly ahead, 46.9% against 46.3%. In 800 master games over the board Black won 34.9%, White 32.6%, and 32.5% were drawn.