What opening is this?

What is this

I'd call it weird, but maybe it's a lagitimate formation ;).  1.Nf3 2.c4, and often with both Bishops fianchettoed as in your diagram, is a Reti.  The Queen and Queen's Knight seem misplaced though.  In a pure Reti formation the following would be different than your diagram.  

a-pawn on a3

R on  a2  (In a pure Reti, but not played that often, IMO.  Played when/if the position calls for it.)

Q on a1  (Again, in a pure Reti, but not played that often.  Played when/if the position calls for it.)

Nbd2 rather than Nc3, almost always in the Reti and King's Indian Attack.

--

P.S.  What's with that USCF rating?

Haha, it's for a laugh.

And thank you. I play this opening sometimesm and believe it or not it works.

Looks like a stonewall formation, and probably transposed from an English Opening.

looks like garabage

Zeroality wrote:

I play this opening sometimesm and believe it or not it works.

I don't believe it - black just moves his knight out and back, out and back, while you bring out all your pieces??

On a serious note, making a sequence of moves regardless of what the opponent does is not a good way of playing the opening. It "works" because you outplay your opponent throughout the rest of the game, not because your opening is good.

Charlie91 wrote:

Looks like a stonewall formation, and probably transposed from an English Opening.

Aint the stonewall something more like this?

You can't transpose it with the english, unless you move a pawn back...

maximus_dragon wrote:

looks like garabage

LOL

If this thread was to be called "the best opening ever", i'm sure your comment, and most people that makes this kind of comment would state "what a wonderful system, you control the whole board, and it also cleans your kitchen OMG"...

Nothing against you in particular, just a social phenomenon comment.

lanceuppercut_239 wrote:

Zeroality wrote:

I play this opening sometimesm and believe it or not it works.

I don't believe it - black just moves his knight out and back, out and back, while you bring out all your pieces??

On a serious note, making a sequence of moves regardless of what the opponent does is not a good way of playing the opening. It "works" because you outplay your opponent throughout the rest of the game, not because your opening is good.

I agree that you win because you outplay your opponent, but this is a system most probably, like the reti, or the stonewall, or the hedgehog, etc...

But anyway, if you don't know how to play with it, which are the best pieces, good bishop, good pawn structures to go with it, which pieces to exchange, the overall strategic point of it, and over all, how to play, you won't make it... and hope your opponent does not know sharp lines against it -if you don't know how to play with it-.

To the previous poster who noticed that the pawns are all wrong for the stonewall - you beat me to it!

Other than that, it could be a version of an English, but it can't be a Reti unless black plays d5. The Reti isn't a formation as much as it is a method of white attacking black's d5 pawn center with c4 while omitting d4.

All that being said, I don't know a name for this set-up. There's no handy "King's Indian" or a name anything like that.

Hmmm, I'd be interested to see black's most common repiles and how you get to that position. It look's very defensive to me, but most hypermodern formations do, so that's just my opinion. Also, the pawn structure is full of holes. But if it works for you, that's all that matters. I'd definately check it out in action if you posted a link to a game where it worked for you...

White's setup comes from the English. It could also transpose from a Reti or Benko (1. g3). I have had the position as White a few times (depending how Black plays), but I found it slightly passive. Sometimes the Q should be on c2 with Rac1 (or b1) and a3 with a willingness to play b4. All you have to be is cautious about Black attacking Kingside.

It's simply an idealized hypermodern formation. Some hypermodern formations can be deployed almost regardless of what the other side does. Certainly saves on memorizing openings. The medieval Arabs, who played chess in the days before the pawns could move two squares on their first move causing an early engagement of forces, catalogued a large number of standard battle formations that could be set up, rather than the large number of opening sequences we use today. I often use the standard formation approach to cut down on the need for opening memorization: I do it by using the Leningrad Dutch Defense.

I won't insist on my explanation, but I'm familiar with the Stonewall Attack.  Sorry about that.

i have developed in this manor quite a few times. lookks like a kid trying to make designs with the pieces rathwer than an opening...as for the knight flip flop thing...he's psyching you out to make you confused...and it apparently works!

i don't know about the other pieces, but aren't the pawns in something called the Semi-Slav Defense? I might not be correct, but I remember it looking something like that.

I just tried it in a few games against GNUchess and i'd have to say it's not amazing.  the D7 pawn when backed up by other pieces can tear through it, along with the G8 bishop.

I don't know if there is a name for that formation but it can easily be reached in the Nimzo/Larsen Attack (A01) I've played several games which had that position.

edit: except the e-pawn is usually but not always on e3

2nd edit: of course with the black pieces in the position shown it would be quite rare indeed - but not impossible ;-)

that setup at the top with no black pieces movegd looks like the bird system  developed further..f4, Nf3, e3,yet he decided not to play c3. i won a couple of games in live chess tonight pulling the knight back and forth. it forces the opponent to show his hand...but it can backfire if done one too many times, you cant develope in time to recover....it does have potential though believe it or not.

kopec?