Chess Opening Theory/1. a4

Ware Opening A00 Starting position 1. a4?! · Ware opening 1. a4?! is an unorthodox opening. It does not help White to develop their pieces or stake a claim to the centre. It is almost like White has passed their first turn: functionally, they are playing a tempo down. It is most common with beginners who think that their rooks are powerful pieces, and wouldn't it be good to develop them first? Unfortunately, rook lifting (a4, Ra3, Rd3 etc) is too slow and gives Black plenty of time to develop all their minor pieces. Rooks come alive later in the game, when files begin to open. After 1. a4, Black gets to decide which pawn to put in the centre. 1...e5 is the main line (as much as there is a "main line"), taking space and opening the a3-f8 diagonal for Black's bishop. As long as White responds with something like 2. e4 then they do not fall too far behind and the game is even. A classic beginner blunder (called sometimes the meadow hay trap) marries the plan of an early rook lift with a lack of board vision: 2. Ra3?? Bxa3. 1...d5 is also very sound. 1...a5?!, which might be called the "symmetrical variation", at worst fails to capitalise on White's irregular play. History 1. a4 is named for Preston Ware who played it in 1880 during the 5th American Chess Congress.Ware v Congdon, 1880. Chessgames.comWare v Delmar, 1880. Chessgames.com With the black pieces he played 1...a5.Mackenzie v Ware, 1880. Chessgames.com Contemporaries of Ware called 1. a4 the meadow hay opening.The fifth American chess congress and its international tourney. The American Chess Journal 1880-04-01 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn43v8 1 3 Magnus Carlsen played it against Teimour Radjabov in the 2012 World Blitz Championship, apparently as an in-joke referencing Radjabov's comment, "Everyone is getting tired. You might as well start with 1. a4 and you can still beat them."Carlsen v Radjabov, 2012. Chessgames.comhttp://www.chessvibes.com/reports/grischuk-wins-2nd-world-blitz-title-in-astana ChessVibes Grischuk wins 2nd World Blitz title in Astana 10 July 2012 11 July 2012 12 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120712124143/http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/grischuk-wins-2nd-world-blitz-title-in-astana dead In May 2024, the opening gained notoriety after Grandmaster Brandon Jacobson, under the pseudonym Viih_Sou, won a sixty-nine game blitz match against Daniel Naroditsky by playing 1. a4 and 2. Ra3? with White and 1...a5 & 2...Ra6? with Black every game, voluntarily sacrificing the exchange. Chess.com banned Viih_Sou for fair play violations and the line became known as the "banned gambit" or "Viih_Sou gambit". Jacobson took to Reddit to reveal their identity and deny allegations of cheating.An offer you can't refuse... https://en.chessbase.com/post/an-offer-you-can-t-refuse Ris Robert 2024-05-05 ChessBaseIt's me. Viih_Sou. Brandon Jacobson, Reddit.com/r/chess. Brandon Jacobson went on to win with 1. a4 (though not 2. Ra3?) against Hikaru Nakamura in the 2024 World Rapid Championship.Jacobson v Nakamura, 2024. Chessgames.com Theory table 1 2 3 4 Crab Variation ...e5 h4- Symmetric Variation ...a5 = Wing Gambit Accepted ...b5 axb5Bb7 Wing Gambit Declined ...b5 a5- Cologne Gambit ...b6 d4d5 Nc3Nd7 =/+ Ware Gambit ...e5 a5d5 e3f5 a6- =/+ References See also Ware Opening fi:Shakkiaapinen/Peli/1. a4