Dunst Opening

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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

The Dunst Opening is a chess opening where White opens with the move:

1.Nc3

This fairly uncommon opening may have more names than any other: it is also called the Heinrichsen Opening, Baltic Opening, van Geet's Opening, Sleipnir Opening, Kotrč's Opening, Meštrović Opening, and the Queen's Knight Opening. The names Heinrichsen and Baltic derive from Lithuanian chess player Arved Heinrichsen (1876–1900). The opening was also analyzed and played by the New York master Ted A. Dunst (April 11, 1907 New York City–December 18, 1985 Lambertville, New Jersey), giving the opening its most popular name in the U.S. The Dutch International Master and correspondence grandmaster Dirk Daniel ("Dick D.") van Geet (b. March 1, 1932) frequently plays 1.Nc3, so it is often called the van Geet's Opening in the Netherlands. The appellation Sleipnir seems to come from Germany. Sleipnir is Odin's (Wotan in German) magical eight-legged horse, and chess knights are horses with up to eight different possible moves each turn. Czech Jan Kotrč (1862–1943), editor and publisher of the magazine České Listy, said the opening was analyzed by English players. Zvonimir Meštrović (b. October 17, 1944) is a Slovenian International Master who often adopts this opening.

1.Nc3 develops the knight to a good square where it attacks the central e4 and d5 squares. Although quite playable, 1.Nc3 is only the eighth most popular of the 20 possible first moves. The third-ranking 1.Nf3 is more than fifty times as popular. Some very strong correspondence chess players employ 1.Nc3 frequently, and it is also occasionally seen over-the-board.

The reason for 1.Nc3's lack of popularity is that while 1.Nf3 prevents 1...e5, 1.Nc3 does not prevent 1...d5. After 1.Nc3 d5, Black threatens to chase the knight with 2...d4. White can prevent this with 2.d4 but he obtains a somewhat inflexible position in the Queen's Pawn Game with his knight blocking the c-pawn. More often, White plays 2.Nf3 (and if 2...d4, 3.Ne4), a sort of Black Knights Tango with an extra move, or 2.e4 (intending 2...d4 3.Nce2 or 3.Nb1!?, with which Van Geet once drew Spassky). If White allows his knight to be chased away in this manner, he cedes a spatial advantage to Black, although he might work to undermine this along the lines of hypermodernism. Also possible after 1...d5 is the trappy "coffeehouse" line 2.e3 e5 (other moves are also playable, of course) 3.Qh5!?, e.g. 3...Qd6 (3...Nc6 4.Bb5) 4.d4 exd4 (forced) 5.exd4 c6 (5...Nf6? 6.Qe5+! Be6 7.Nb5; 5...Be6 6.Nb5 Qb6 7.Bf4) played in offhand games by the Danish master Ove Kroll.

1.Nc3 is considered an irregular opening, so it is classified under the A00 code in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. Transpositions to more common openings are possible. For instance, 1.Nc3 e5 2.e4 transposes to the Vienna Game, and 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 reaches a position in the Scandinavian Defense, or Alekhine's Defense if Black plays 2...Nf6, while 2...d4 may transpose into the King's Indian Attack after 3.Nce2 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.d3 e5 6.g3. The Dunst can also transpose into variations of the Sicilian Defense (1.Nc3 c5 2.e4), Queen's Pawn Game (1.Nc3 d5 2.d4), French Defense (1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 e6), Caro-Kann Defense (1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 c6), Bird's Opening (1.Nc3 d5 2.f4!?), Scotch Four Knights Game (1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.e4), Three Knights Game or Four Knights Game (1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e4 and now 3...Bc5 or 3...g6 is a Three Knights, while 3...Nf6 is a Four Knights), Nimzowitsch Defense (1.Nc3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e4, or 2...e5 and now 3.d5 Nce7 4.e4 or 3.dxe5 Nxe5 4.e4), Latvian Gambit (1.Nc3 f5 2.e4 e5?! 3.Nf3), Pirc Defense (1.Nc3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 soon followed by ...Nf6), and Owen's Defense (1.Nc3 b6 2.e4 Bb7 3.d4). Transposition to a Dutch Defense is also possible after 1.Nc3 f5 2.d4. However, more dangerous is 2.e4!, intending 2...fxe4 3.d3, a reversed From's Gambit, as I.A. Horowitz recommended in Chess Openings: Theory and Practice, p. 779)).

Here is a quick victory by Dunst himself against ten-time U.S. Women's Champion Gisela Gresser. It illustrates the problems that White's rapid development can pose if Black is not careful:

Dunst-Gresser, New York 1950 1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 d5? (better is 5...Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd4 Be7 8.e4 0-0 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bf4 d5 11.0-0 dxe4 and the game was soon drawn in Ekebjaerg-Oim, 14th World Correspondence Chess Championship) 6.e4! Be7 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Bxg5 10.Qe2+ Ne7? (Losing at once. 10...Be7 11.0-0-0 is also very awkward. Although it's unpleasant, Black should have tried 10...Kf8.) 11.Qe5! Bxb5 12.Nxc7+ Kf8 13.Nde6+ (now 13...fxe6 14.Ne6+ wins Black's queen) 1-0 (notes based on those by Tim Harding)

Van Geet, another of this opening's champions, routs his opponent almost equally quickly:

van Geet-Guyt, Paramaribo 1967 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3 g6 5.Bc4 Bg7 6.d3 c5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.c3 Nge7 9.Ng5 O-O {Now White has a surprising attacking move.} 10.Nh5! Bh8 (10...gxh5 11.Qxh5 h6 12.Nxf7 is disastrous; 10...Na5 11.Nxg7 Nxc4! 12.dxc4 Kxg7 is forced.) 11.Qf3 Qe8 12.Nf6+ Bxf6 13.Qxf6 dxc3 (This loses by force. Again it was necessary to harass the bishop at c4 by ... Na5.) 14.Nxf7 Rxf7 15.Bh6 1-0 (notes based on those by Eric Schiller at chessgames.com)[1]

[edit] References

Wall, Bill (2002). 1. Nc3 Dunst Opening. Chess Enterprises. ISBN 0-945470-48-7.
Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.