Chess Opening Theory/1. a4

Ware Opening
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/P7/8/1PPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR b
Moves: 1. a4
ECO code: A00
Parent: Starting position

1. a4?! · Ware Opening

The Ware Opening, named after the US chess player Preston Ware, is a rare opening starting with the move 1.a4. This opening is nearly useless, as it does nothing to control the center or develop a piece. While it does prepare Ra3, Black can stop this with 1... e5, which is a move that Black probably would have wanted to play anyway. Despite its flaws, the Ware Opening can be used to unsettle the opponent, similarly to other unorthodox openings.

Statistics

This opening has no statistics, as it almost never occurs among serious chess players and is a fundamentally unsound opening.

Theory table

	1	2	3	4
Crab Variation	... e5	h4 -
Symmetric Variation	... a5	=
Wing Gambit Accepted	... b5	axb5 Bb7
Wing Gambit Declined	... b5	a5 -
Cologne Gambit	... b6	d4 d5	Nc3 Nd7	=/+
Ware Gambit	... e5	a5 d5	e3 f5	a6 -	=/+

All possible Black's moves

Quick Navigation

Na6 a6 a5

b6 b5

Nc6 c6 c5

d6 d5

e6 e5

Nf6 f6 f5

g6 g5

Nh6 h6 h5

References

Eric Schiller (2002). Unorthodox Chess Openings (Second Edition ed.). Cardoza. ISBN 1-58042-072-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.