Konstantinopolsky Opening

Konstantinopolsky 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
Moves	1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3
ECO	C44
Origin	Konstantinopolsky vs. Ragozin, Moscow 1956
Named after	Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Parent	King's Knight Opening

The Konstantinopolsky Opening is a rarely played chess opening that begins with the moves as illustrated below:

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. g3

Description

According to The Oxford Companion to Chess , the Konstantinopolsky Opening was introduced to master play in the game Alexander Konstantinopolsky vs. Viacheslav Ragozin in a team championship in Moscow in 1956. ^[1]

The opening is rarely seen at the top levels of chess, although some grandmasters such as Savielly Tartakower ^{[ citation needed ]} (who played many unusual openings) have experimented with it. Black is considered to achieve an easy game with the natural and strong 3...Nf6 4.d3 d5.^{[ citation needed ]}

The opening has been described as a form of "anti-preparation" that takes the game " out of book ". ^[2]

See also

• List of chess openings
• List of chess openings named after people

References

1. Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992). The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN   0-19-866164-9.
2. Bryant, Todd (May 2024). "Konstantinopolsky Opening (C44)" (PDF). Chess Life . pp. 29–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2025.