Dresden Opening

The Dresden Opening arises after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4, when White ignores the usual third moves (3. Bb5, 3. Bc4, 3. d4) in favor of a flank pawn move. With pawns on c4 and e4, White takes firm control of d5 and lets the b1-knight come to c3 behind the c-pawn, a setup that resembles a reversed Sicilian structure. The drawbacks are concrete: the c-pawn can no longer support a pawn on d4, which becomes a natural post for Black's pieces, and the pawn on c4 takes away the bishop's most active square. The line belongs to a small group of rare third moves that together make up well under one percent of games.

Black has several good answers. 3...Nf6 is the most common, attacking e4 at once; the cheeky 4. Nxe5 in reply is known as the Goblin. 3...Bc5, the engine's first choice, aims the bishop at d4 and f2, while 3...d6 is a quieter option. The engine considers the position roughly balanced, with a slight lean toward Black, and Black scores better than White on Lichess.