Uncommon Openings Part 1
Uncommon openings like the Bird's Opening is something chess players like me will get confused at. When I had my gifted membership, I did a lesson on offbeat openings. There are some that are more insane than others. The Bird's Opening isn't too bad, but like 1. h3? The Clemenz? In this post, I'll look into different chess openings that aren't so common from most seen to close to zero. If I'm missing some that I should include, you can comment and I can make a part 2. Hope you enjoy!
Vienna Game
The Vienna isn't bad, I'm just putting it here before the Bird's because it is rare because instead of putting immediate pressure on the e5 pawn, 2. Nc3 defends the pawn on e4. According to chess.com's openings, it is considered "rare" and to be honest, I don't face it often though I will play it occasionally if I want to mix it up.
A sample line of the Vienna would be the Vienna Gambit which is below:
It can later transpose into a main line of the Vienna. I would say that this opening out of all might be the best one out of all in this blog.
Quick Stats:
Evaluation: +0.07
Frequency That I Have Played: 65 games
Vienna Gambit Eval (Falkbeer ; Max Lange): -0.22 ; -0.69
Bird's Opening
The Bird's Opening is okay because it does try to fight for the e4 square but the drawback is the exposure of the king on the e1-h4 diagonal. Black can respond with 1... e5, which would be the From's Gambit. Another Line would be the Dutch Variation, 1... d5.
Frequency That I Have Played: <10 games (I think)
Froms's Gambit and Dutch Variation Eval (From's ; Dutch): +0.45 ; -0.07
The Saragossa (1. c3) is a fairly passive opening and doesn't help develop a knight or bishop. It only allows the queen to come out, which is bad because it can get attacked easily by minor pieces and possibly, pawns. Moving your queen to safety is a waste of moves and can cost development time in your game. I guess it does support a future d4 push put if you wanna play c3 to support d4, just play the Giuoco Piano: Main Line.
Quick Stats:
Evaluation:
Frequency That I Have Played: legit, 1 game from memory
Sodium Attack
Second to last one. No, you don't have to watch your salt intake, it is just what it is called. 1. Na3 does develop a knight but the knight isn't battling for the central squares. Black can easily respond with d5 or e5 taking somewhat control of the center. If white just pushes pawn randomly trying to confuse you as an experienced player, just develop your pieces, get a big center and castle to start an attack. Another pro is that you will combat your salt intake 
Frequency That I Have Played: 1 game (vote chess in progress)
Clemenz Opening
Seriously though but what the heck is 1. h3? Possibly the dumbest opening I've seen by far.
Evaluation: +0.01
Frequency That I Have Played: 1 game
That's all for part 1, now have to write a part 2 I suppose. You should try the Vienna if you like and the Bird's if you want to be risky and hopefully destroy your opponent. I don't know, write about the Nimzo-Indian Defense next. For those who celebrate St. Patrick's Day, happy St. Patrick's and as always, have a good one!
@ryanchen100
