1.Nc3 and Why Isn't it Played more?

I didn't forget.  I simply chose 3 books at random that are roughly the same price that have vastly different reviews and levels of quality.  There is literally ZERO ATTEMPT to name all classics, or even the best book.  So saying I forgot a book just shows that the whole point behind the post literally sailed right over your head!

I was making an unfunny joke. Especially with "golden god" word choice. But lets end this here.

oh please, this is comfortably dealt with via 5.c3 c5 6.nf3 f6 7. bb5+ nd7 and either 8. qe2 or d3 is well for White.

I played against SF8 as black, and the move order darkunorthodox chose is what stockfish chose.

 "knight on the left" has pretty much been THE Nc3 bible for many years, a lot of the lines are taken from correspondence players including GM's that specialize on it as well which is somewhat unusual for an opening book.  Dismissing the book, for being a book asinine, especially when you havent taken a look.

If your definition of "well for White" (from your other post) is dead equal.  Congrats, you proved my point that White has an equal game after 1.Nc3 (Note to move 8, line c, of Game 23.)

conclusion: White is ok, black is ok. 1.Nc3 is ok.

Nobody ever said it was refuted.  It is inferior to c4, d4, e4, and Nf3.

You will die of starvation if you do not eat for 2 months straight.

If you eat nothing but potato chips for 2 months, sure you will survive, but there are better things you could be eating like meats, fruits, vegetables, etc.

Well, chess is the same way.  You will not die playing 1.Nc3, but you do not get the "healthy" slight advantage that you get from the big 4.

However, it is fun to have a different position every once in a while.

There are numerous different positions that come from the big 4.

thrillerfan is the master of amateur comments.

the dead equal line you refer to, if played in the correct order (c3 before nf3) yields a higher win percentage as white than black in database, but even ignoring that, white gets all the fun in this position. Black is pretty much trading away his only good bishop prematurely just to limit some of white's tactical possibilities.  It's not just about evaluations here, its about who gets a position worth playing, and while black isnt terrible, white gets all the counterplay.

Having a higher percentage in a database does not validate the line.  All that says is Black does not know what he is doing if you reverse the order of the 2 moves.

That would be like saying that if 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 scores 53 percent for White and that 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 scored 54 percent that White is now better than he would have been if he played 1.e4 first!

All that matters is the numbers after Black's 7th move with the correct moves played.  At that point, it does not matter if it is c3 and then Nf3 or Nf3 and then c3, White flips his moves and Black flips his responses and you have the same thing.

The fact that one move order might allow for some trap to be fallen for by those that do not know it does not increase the validation of the line against correct play.  Now you are playing hope chess if you are banking on Black screwing it up.

No the order matters big time, c3 first allows white to play qf3 if black plays an annoying d3 clogging white, 

I got 2 engines that say 5..Nc6, not c5. But you are prepared for that no doubt.

"Unclear" is rather relative.

In recent correspondence games, white has scored just 25% from your #19 position after 9...b6.

The line 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ngh3 Be6 is analysed as good for Black by Smurfo in his Scandinavian book (or course using the move order 1.e4 d5 2.Nc3 d4 etc). Kotronias analyses in his Scandinavian book 2...dxe4 3.Nxe4 Bf5 as another super Caro, where Black did not need to get ...c6 in.

In general 2.e4 is totally harmless, and 2.d4 opting for a Jobava/ Veresov is more challenging.

5...nc6 is a mess if black plays it right. a Rapport-esque position for sure

if you want to avoid this clusterF , you can play the natural d3 instead of nf3 .

In pure positional terms, white's problem piece is the f1 bishop, hence 5.c3 a6! is the most consistent approach.

very interesting, i never seen 5...a6 here before, but im not quite convinced yet.

they are ton of possible sidelines to the black plan i suggested so i would welcome suggestions and improvements, but i dont think 5...a6 is problematic, white just changes plans. Very strangely the engine seems to solidly prefer white slightly in these lines (more than i imagined actually).

* meant 10. qc3 looks fine here.

unrelated to the lines i been discussing but one line that i disliked for white when he plays 2.d4 has been

I have no less than 50 games with 5...a6, so this is hardly new. 48 of them from ICCF and IECG/LSS, and a couple OTB, one of them featuring Sveshnikov Junior as Black.

The line you are trying to analyse has been played already in 20 correspondence games, with white scoring just 21%.

I already don't like your 6.cxd4, and I think that white should postpone this capture for a more appropriate time. I think white's best play is featured here, although Black was just great after the opening phase.