The Amar Opening (also known as the Paris Opening, or the Drunken Knight Opening) is a

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

defined by the move: : 1. Nh3 Analogous to calling the

Durkin Opening The Durkin Opening (also known as the Durkin Attack or the Sodium Attack) is a rarely played chess opening. :1. Na3 The Durkin Opening is named for Robert T. Durkin (1923–2014) of New Jersey. The name "Sodium Attack" comes from the algebrai ...

the "Sodium Attack," this opening could be called the Ammonia Opening, since the algebraic notation 1.Nh3 resembles the chemical formula NH₃ for

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

. The Parisian

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Charles Amar played it in the 1930s. It was probably named by

Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish and French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grand ...

who used both names for this opening, although the chess author Tim Harding has jokingly suggested that "Amar" is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for "Absolutely mad and ridiculous". Since 1.Nh3 is considered an irregular opening, it is classified under the A00 code in the ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is current ...

''.

Assessment

Like the

, White develops a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

to the edge of the board, where it does not control squares. Black's most common reply is 1...d5 which threatens 2...Bxh3, ruining White's

pawn structure In a game of chess, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Because pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus plays a large ...

. White usually plays 2.g3 to prevent this, when Black can continue to occupy the center with 2...e5. World champion

Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...

used the Amar Opening to defeat Aleksey Dreev in a game played at

rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

time controls in the 2018 online

PRO Chess League The Professional Rapid Online Chess League (PRO Chess League and abbreviated PCL) is an online rapid chess league operated by chess.com. It was preceded by the United States Chess League, which announced in 2016 that it would be renamed, reformatt ...

Named variations

There are several named variations in the Amar Opening. The most well-known one is known as the Paris Gambit: 1.Nh3 d5 2.g3 e5 3.f4 Bxh3 4.Bxh3 exf4. In the Paris Gambit, White allows Black a firm grip on the center, and also gives up . Therefore, the gambit is considered dubious. The only named variation in the Paris Gambit is the Gent Gambit: 5.0-0 fxg3 6.hxg3. This variation was first played by Tartakower against

Andor Lilienthal Andor (André, Andre, Andrei) Arnoldovich LilienthalReuben Fine, ''The World's Great Chess Games'', Dover Publications, 1983, p. 216. . (5 May 1911 – 8 May 2010) was a Hungarian and Soviet chess player. In his long career, he played against ten ...

in Paris, 1933.

Notes

General references

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External links

FM Eric Schiller's analysis
{{chess, state=collapsed Chess openings