I found this opening as I was looking for a good defense against 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 and I saw, using game explorer, that the Mexican defense, which follows with Nc6, has a pretty good winning percentage and looks like it leads to an aggresive and pretty even game. However, it has not been played by masters very often, and I'm asking why is hasn't been. The book opening can be found at http://www.chess.com/opening/eco/A50_Mexican_Defense. I'll accept any challenge with me playing black with the Mexican. Thanks.

If I had white I'd play 3. d5 Ne5 4. b3.

 However, it [the Mexican Defense] has not been played by masters very often, and I'm asking why is hasn't been.

To answer your original question, I am not sure why masters don't play the Mexican Defense very often. It seems to be a good weapon to play against lower rated players. A quick look at ChessBase's Big Database would show a few very good grandmasters have used the defense as a surprise weapon against lower rated players. IM Georgi Orlov wrote a pamphlet on it a few years back in the 90's published by International Chess Enterprises (publishers of Inside Chess before it went online), calling it the "Black Knights Tango". His opinion was that the opening is just simply neglected. I noticed since he wrote his pamphlet many more games have been played with it. Personally, I have played it twice in OTB games, winning both games on time (one I was dead lost, the other I was winning). Nevertheless, I suggest you study a little theory before playing it.

OK I've never heard of it called the mexican defence!  I know there are books on this opening but using the other name: The Two Knights Tango

Jeremy Silman has a 4-part peice on it at http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_opng_shrtcts/01_black_knights_tango.html. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd read it a couple of times.

Thanks for posting this.  I think it definitely bears some looking into.

IM Georgi Orlov wrote s book called The Black Knights' Tango in 1998. Carlos Torre the most famous Mexican player was one of the first practicioners. Hence the Mexican defense. It is a good surprise response in OTB play but in correspondence chess I have found it to be lacking when played against the better players. With correct play White gets a good variation of the Nimzo-Indian defense. The main appeal is its transpositional possibilities.

Thanks. I wish more people opened with d4 so I could use it more often.

 Brilliant!

OG

I looked up the position on Fritz:

My Fritz database has 1245231 games in it; and there were hundreds of hundreds of  games that had the position after 2. Nc6.  Incredibly, there were only 32 after 3. e5.

The opening book attached to Fritz has only 1 game after 3. e5 in it, and it said that it was a win for White.

After 2. Nc6, Fritz reckoned that White had only an advantage of 0.15 of a pawn!

It reckoned that 3. Nf3 was best by quite a bit.

OG

 The Mexican Defense or Two Knights Tango can be found in " UNORTHODOX CHESS OPENINGS ' by Eric Schiller, on page 306.

 I looked it up after a friend used it in a E-mail game, I've played chess for over 30 years and this is the first time I've ever seen it played.

 After 1) d4 Nf6 2) c4 Nc6, Nf3 followed by a3 and Nc3 are generally accepted for White.

Don't use anything from Eric Schiller, especially this book in particular.  I bought it when I was much younger, and the analysis is so out of date and bad that is not particularly helpful.  In addition, you will not understand the ideas of this variation.

Richard Palliser's "Tango!"  Is much, much better.

I think the Mexican is good for black. (But what do I know?)

It was frequently played, with success, by GM Bolgan.

BTW, I don't think Unorthodox Openings was ever intended as a serious reference work, was it? It gives some strange lines and sample games, but it's more light hearted fun?

It could be a good suprise weapon and a good alternative for people who don't like playing the queen or king indian.