Clemenz Opening

The Clemenz Opening, 1. h3, is classified under A00 among the irregular first moves and is one of the rarest of White's twenty options. The move neither develops a piece nor stakes out central space. Its only concrete effects are to cover g4, which rules out an early ...Bg4 pin, and to loosen the kingside slightly, though far less than 1. g4 or 1. f3 do. It takes its name from the Estonian player Hermann Clemenz (1846–1908). The engine regards the position as roughly balanced, but in online play Black scores noticeably better than White.

Used as a pure waiting move, 1. h3 lets White adopt a Black opening with an extra tempo of dubious value. After 1...e5 2. e4, White reaches the Black side of an open game in which h3 already denies the bishop g4. After 1...e5 2. c4, the game takes on the character of an English Opening, or reversed Sicilian. After 1...d5 2. d4, it becomes a reversed closed game. In each case White's first move is only a minor asset.

The opening is mainly associated with International Master Michael Basman, who used it as a starting point for unorthodox plans. One is 2. g4, transposing to the Grob. Another is 2. a3 followed by a rapid c2-c4, a flank setup known as the Creepy Crawly and also called the Global Opening. In this scheme White keeps the pawns on the edges and aims to undermine Black's center later. The line 1. h3 d5 2. a3 e5 is catalogued as the Classical Defense to this formation. In it, Black simply occupies the center with both pawns.

1...e5 is the most frequent reply, followed by 1...d5, while 1...e6 is a distant third. Both main replies claim central space at once. Black can also fianchetto with 1...b6 or even 1...b5. The bishop then bears on the long diagonal toward White's weakened kingside and makes an early g2-g4 less attractive. 1...f5 is considered less accurate, because 2. d4 leads to a sharp anti-Dutch line that Viktor Korchnoi once played. The symmetrical 1...h5 does nothing to exploit White's slow start. Its only named continuation is the Spike Lee Gambit, 1. h3 h5 2. g4, in which White offers the g-pawn.

An early recorded game with 1. h3 was played in 1857 between Charles Mead, President of the American Chess Association, and Paul Morphy. Morphy had the black pieces and won convincingly.