The Rarest Chess Opening (0 games!)
We all know that the most common opening move is 1. e4. Most e4 players know that the most popular continuation is 1 ... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6, but what is the least common opening?
To answer this question, I searched through Lichess's database of 7 billion games.
On move one, the least-played move is by far Na3, known as the Sodium Attack. This move has been played only 735,951 times or 0.01% of games. In second place is h3, played 5,300,046 times—so it's not even close who wins here.
OK, so Na3—then what? Black sees White's attempt to confuse them and confuses White in return with the move h6. Now White has run out of plans and turns to their last resort: pawn to f3. On move two, we have reached a position that has only occurred 19 times. What would you play here as Black?
If your answer was e5, Nc6, c5, or c6—congratulations! You've already reached a position that nobody has ever reached!
