Van't Kruijs Opening

The Van't Kruijs[1] Opening (Dutch pronunciation: [vɑn ət ˈkrœys]) is a chess opening defined by the move:

1. e3
Van't Kruijs Opening
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Moves1.e3
ECOA00
Named afterMaarten van't Kruijs
ParentIrregular chess opening
Synonym(s)Van't Kruys Opening

It is named after the Amsterdam player Maarten van 't Kruijs (1813–1885) who won the sixth Dutch championship in 1878. As this opening move is rarely played, it is considered an irregular opening, and thus it is classified under the A00 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

Discussion

The opening 1.e3 is not popular. According to ChessBase, it ranks eleventh in popularity out of the twenty possible first moves. It releases the king's bishop, and makes a modest claim in the centre, but the move is somewhat passive. The queen's bishop's development is somewhat hindered by the pawn on e3, and White usually wants to take more than a modest stake of the centre.

Although not very aggressive for a first move, play may transpose to lines of the English Opening (c2–c4), Queen's Pawn Game (d2–d4), or reversed French Defence (delayed d2–d4), reversed Dutch Defence (f2–f4) positions or the modern variation of Larsen's Opening (b2-b3).

There are a few experimental moves that can be tried, however. For example, after 1.e3 e5, White can play 2.e4!?, therefore making it a truly reversed king's pawn opening. This is often used when White has much knowledge of the opening when playing as Black. Therefore, this can be used to ensnare a few opponents into traps. Since this gives the first move advantage to Black straightaway, however, this is not recommended. Similarly, 1.e3 f5 2.e4 goes to a reversed From's Gambit, where White is practically playing as Black.

The Van't Kruijs Opening is not a common choice for grandmasters, but its ability to transpose into many different openings explains its attraction for some players such as the Czech grandmaster Pavel Blatny, Aron Nimzowitsch,[2] and Bent Larsen. Garry Kasparov has used the move against the Fritz chess engine to get it "out of book".

See also

References
  1. Also spelled Van't Kruys.
  2. Aron Nimzowitsch playing 1.e3 at Chessgames.com

Further reading
  • Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996). The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
  • Dunnington, Angus (2000). Winning Unorthodox Openings. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-285-4.
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