Chess Patterns ❯ Types of Opening ❯ Irregular Opening

Irregular Opening

In the opening, when White wants to go off-beat and plays a somewhat unusual move, we have the so-called Irregular Openings.

The most commonly played are the Polish Opening (1.b4, also known as the Orang Utan Opening), the Anderssen's Opening (1.a3), the Van't Kruijs Opening (1.e3), and the Mieses Opening (1.d3). Less frequently played, and generally considered less sound, are the Grob Opening (1.g4), the Saragossa Opening (1.c3), the Kádas Opening (1.h4), the Clemenz Opening (1.h3), the Ware Opening (1.a4), the Ammonia Opening (1.Nh3), the Barnes Opening (1.f3) and the Sodium Attack (1.Na3).

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Master the Irregular Openings

When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Irregular Openings. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this type of openings.

EVERY Opening Chess Move Ranked
For a complete overview of Irregular Openings we suggest this wikipedia page. For a quick intro, this YouTube video by Chess.com is a great start.

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How to play against unusual/provocative moves and openings
Do you feel “disrespected” when they play an inferior/unusual opening against you? This highly instructive video by ChessCoach Andras is definitely for you.

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Bongcloud Speedrun Redux Part 1
Even if it starts with 1.e4, the Bongcloud is considered an Irregular Opening. How else would you categorize it? GM Hikaru Nakamura famously played it over and over in an epic speedrun. Enjoy this redux.

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FCO: Fundamental Chess Openings*
This is a must-have book for all chess players who want to take their Openings seriously. Paul Van der Sterren explains ALL the openings in detail (not just with diagrams)!

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Chess Opening Names*
Don’t miss this book (the first of a two-volume series) by Nathan Rose if you want to know the who, when, and where of the most important Openings. It's really a fun and interesting read.

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