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 an uncommon opening starting with the move 1.a4. This is a very rare and useless opening as it does nothing to control the center or develop a piece. While it does threaten to bring the A1 rook into the game, black can stop this threat with 1... e5, which gives black better piece activity and more control of the center. This opening can be used in online matches to gain a psychological advantage, similarly to the Bongcloud opening.

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 -	=/+

References

Eric Schiller (2002). Unorthodox Chess Openings (Second Edition ed.). Cardoza. ISBN 1-58042-072-9. 

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