Saragossa Opening

The Saragossa Opening is 1.c3, an irregular first move classified as A00. It opens a diagonal for the queen and prepares d4, but it makes only a modest claim to the centre and takes the c3-square away from White's knight. Its strength is that it can transpose into many solid systems, including a reversed Caro-Kann or Slav with an extra tempo for White.

Origins

The opening became popular in the chess club of Saragossa (Zaragoza, Spain) in 1919. The next year club member José Juncosa analysed it in Revista del Club Argentino. In 1922 a theme tournament in Mannheim required the players to open with 1.c3. It had three participants, Siegbert Tarrasch, Paul Leonhardt and Jacques Mieses, and Tarrasch won.

The idea

At first 1.c3 looks unambitious: White could simply play d4 at once. It is not a bad move, though, because it leads into so many solid set-ups. Like 1...c6 for Black, 1.c3 is playable against almost anything, although 1.e4 and 1.d4 are thought to give White better chances of an advantage.

Main lines

Black's most common replies are 1...d5, 1...e5 and 1...Nf6.

• 1...d5 2.d4 or 1...Nf6 2.d4 lead to a solid but passive Queen's Pawn Game. After 1...d5 White can also try the Plano Gambit, 2.e4: after 2...dxe4 3.Qa4+ White gets the pawn back, but Black develops quickly with 3...Nc6 4.Qxe4 Nf6 5.Qc2 e5.
• 1...e5 2.d4 exd4 3.cxd4 d5 is an Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. After 1...e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qa4 White has a reversed Scandinavian Defense.
• 1...c5 2.e4 is the Alapin Variation of the Sicilian. 1...c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.cxd4 d5 gives the Exchange Variation of the Slav, where White has a slight advantage.
• 1...f5 2.d4 is a Dutch Defense in which White has spent a move on the quiet c3.

The Ponziani Opening and the Center Game can be reached from 1.c3 too.

Who should play it

Because 1.c3 transposes so often, a player who uses it needs to know the openings it turns into: the Alapin Sicilian, the Exchange Slav, the Exchange Queen's Gambit Declined and others. Black has no need to fear it: even 1...c6, copying White's idea, is perfectly playable.

The numbers

On Lichess Black wins slightly more often than White: 47.8% against 47.6% in 5.2 million games. Under 1400 Black wins 49.1% and White 46.4%, and between 1400 and 1799 it is 49.2% against 46.9%. Between 1800 and 2199 White edges ahead, 48.0% against 47.2%, and from 2200 up Black again wins slightly more, 47.0% against 46.3%. In 338 master games over the board Black won 32.0%, White 28.4%, and 39.6% were drawn.