A Surprising System in the Open Game
What if I told you playing the Vienna can suddenly twist into the Ruy Lopez? Or I can show you how little your opponents really understand e4?
I love the game, and those who know me know I love to experiment in all kinds of opening lines, whether for fun, or diving headfirst into complications.
So today's blog... Call it fun, maybe ridiculous, but of course with the serious analysis you know me for!
“HURRY UP AND TELL US,” I can already hear you yelling. Fine. The system I’m bringing you today is built around one move with White: a3.
AM I INSANE?
Before you click away saying, "This guy recommends trash", and, "I'm not gonna play it," give me some time to enlighten you on the real potential of playing an early a3 in e4/e5 openings, confusing your opponent, and leaving yourself laughing quietly in your chair as you see your opponents struggle to play e4 with the Black pieces.
The idea is simple: by playing a3 early, you delay committing to mainlines, remove Black’s prep, and steer the game into familiar e4-e5 structures where familiar plans matter more than memorized theory.
TLDR: In this blog, you'll learn how to sidestep mainline theory, and learn how to play the Black side of e5 with both colors, effectively cutting your workload in half.
"I like the moment when I break a man’s ego"
-Bobby Fischer
0. Origins
1. Theory
1.1 How to Begin
1.3 Reversed Spanish
1.4 Reversed Scotch
2. Model Games
2.1 Reversed 4N Scotch Model Game
2.2 Reversed Spanish/Italian Model Game
2.3 Reversed Scotch Model Game
3. Other Information
3.1 Why I Didn't Cover Certain Lines
3.2 Resources
KEY DISCLAIMER
You don't need to remember all of the lines in the blog. While the analysis is deep, I mostly want to highlight clarity in the positions. Through the variations, you should be able to get started playing the a3 system and have some understanding of where the game goes and general plans.
Quick Survey
The official opening name is the Mengarini variation of the Vienna. Ariel Mengarini was a strong American master who loved to play offbeat openings, and notably drew Fischer a year before he got his Grandmaster title. Mengarini often played a3 systems, like this, and was later named after them in the Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. a3) and Vienna (1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. a3).
Here is a game he played a few years before his Fischer draw, starting off great, but mysteriously he starts losing the thread badly.
The Theory Section
Here, you'll find all of the lines sorted, and an introduction to this a3 system.
What you need to remember is this can be much easier if you already play the e5 side of e4, but for the most part, I'm also teaching you it through this blog. We should treat it with thematic play, as the plans will come naturally with some experience.
Let's get into the basics!
My belief is that the 4 Knights Scotch is a poor opening; this in the sense we can kill the entire opening's point and play. My typical approach when playing with Black has no simple counter and it gets plenty of play beyond equality, and so playing against it with the White pieces is just another means for an easy game for me.
Example below... The 4 Knights Scotch: Schmid Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxe4!?, the tabiya. The temporary Knight sacrifice aims to exploit the potential pin along the open e-file, regain the Knight, and when all goes well, you keep a pawn or return it, but gain compensation. Generally, these plans are straightforward to play, and sometimes you just need a little study to touch up on critical lines.
Model Games
Last part! Of course, there's lots of theory you can study but what are moves if they don't come in a game? A local master told me the best way to improve is to immerse yourself in master games of the opening you're studying.
So, when you approach these games, try to guess the next move without clicking next.
4 Knights Model Game: Dubov - Liren
Spanish Model Game: Tari - Ambrogi
Scotch Model Game: Makropoulos - Frendzas, Athens 1984
Why I Didn't Cover Certain Lines
I found that some lines transposed, like 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 into a favorable Vienna, so it is more satisfactory to take the White side there. Also since the focus was around 1. e4 e5, I wanted to gauge future interest in a3 lines, because I have plenty more viable ideas there to share!
Gonfreeccs - Chessable's Dynamite 1. e4 covers the a3 4 Knights Scotch
Lichess - A Study I found on lichess covering a3 lines, I did not reference it though.
