5 Most Unusual Chess Openings Played by Grandmasters

BEFORE YOU READ I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER JOINING THE CHESS TIGERS.

THEY ARE A GREAT CLUB AND DO LOTS OF TOURUNAMENTS AND ARE WORLDWIDE FROM AMERICA TO JAPAN !

PLEASE PUT YOUR FAVOURITE OPENING IN THE COMMENTS!  

     Zviaginsev’s 2.Na3 against the Sicilian

It may have started as a joke, but the move 2.Na3  quickly popularised among chess players. Technically, it is not a joke by Vadim Zviaginsev, and he was the first Grandmaster to play it, winning a game against Khalifman. It is said that Khalifman  laughed when he saw Zviaginsev play 2.Na3.

Tony Miles’ unforgettable 1…a6!

 Many know that Miles beat Anatoly Karpov with 1…a6 vs 1.e4. The idea is pretty easy black wants to play b5, Bb7, followed by e6 and c5, with a Sicilian type of position. It is obvious that white has more than just one advantage, but the game can’t be decided in the opening and it is a middlegame battle. Miles won the game but never again played 1…a6. 

Mihai Suba’s 3…Qe7 against the Ruy Lopez

The Ruy Lopez is by far white’s most popular opening against 1…e5. It is hard to imagine that black can change the beaten path of years and years of practice in this opening. However, the Romanian GM Mihai Suba played 3…Qe7 from time to time with reasonable results. Black’s idea is to play 4…Nd8 followed by c6 / d6 / with a sort of Philidor / Pirc defense. 

Kovalenko’s 2.Be2 against the Sicilian

In 2015 Kovalenko won the  Najdorf Memorial employing the move 2.Be2 against the Sicilian defense. The plan was to continue with f4-Nf3-d3 and so on, depending on black’s setup. This plan was known before, however by a different move order, 2.d3 or 2.f4.

Tarrasch’s 3…Qa5 in the Alapin

The idea of Qa5 against the Alapin belongs to Dr Siegbert Tarrasch who won a game against Simon Alapin in Vienna 1898. Black breaks the opening rules in order to change with white’s immediate thoughts of playing d4. Many Grandmasters have taken this move in tournament practice, Sergei Movsesian is one of them, but Oleg Romanishin has also used it in his games. Of course, Qa5 has a very big reputation, but for a rapid game or an unprepared opponent it is still a considerable choice.