Kronberger Variation

The Kronberger Variation, 2. Na3, develops the queen's knight to the rim instead of c3, keeping the c-pawn free and leaving the knight able to reach c4 or b5. It is an offbeat anti-Sicilian. Grandmaster Vadim Zvjaginsev used it to beat Alexander Khalifman in the 2005 Russian Championship Superfinal. The engine rates the position as balanced, yet Black scores well online. The usual reply is 2...Nc6, after which 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bc4 is the Nemeth Gambit.