Van ’t Kruijs Opening (1.e3)
Van ’t Kruijs Opening (1.e3)
Definition
The Van ’t Kruijs Opening is defined by the single initial move 1.e3 for White. By advancing the king’s pawn only one square, White quietly prepares to develop the dark-squared bishop, keeps the central structure fluid, and remains highly flexible regarding future transpositions. The opening is named after the 19th-century Dutch master Maarten van ’t Kruijs (pronounced “fahn t KROWSS”), who often began his games this way.
Historical Background
Maarten van ’t Kruijs (1813-1885) was a leading Dutch player in the pre-Steinitz era. Although few of his games survive, contemporaries such as Adolf Anderssen praised his skill. Dutch annotators noticed his frequent use of 1.e3, and the move entered the literature bearing his name. For decades it languished as an off-beat curiosity, but modern computer preparation and the rise of rapid & blitz chess have breathed new life into this flexible first move.
Strategic Ideas
- Flexibility: 1.e3 keeps every central pawn still in place, allowing White to choose between
d4,c4,f4, or even an earlye4break later. - Solid Structure: The move supports d2-d4 and controls the d4 and f4 squares, echoing French-Defense structures—but with colors reversed.
- Modesty & Surprise: Unlike sharp first moves, 1.e3 reveals little of White’s intentions, often steering opponents out of their preparation.
- Piece Development: The dark-squared bishop can emerge via
Bd3(Colle-style),Be2, or evenBb5+after an early a2-a3. - Transpositional Power:
- to the French Exchange: 1.e3 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4 or 3.Nf3
- to the Queen’s Indian Attack: 1.e3 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.b3
- to the King’s Indian Attack: 1.e3 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.c4
Typical Plans
- White often plays
Nf3,d4,c4, castles, and chooses a center break with eithere4orcxd5. - Black can react symmetrically (
...e5/...d5) or fianchetto the king’s bishop looking for an early strike at e4.
Example Mini-Lines
Below are sample continuations that illustrate the opening’s flexibility:
- Reversed French Exchange Structure
1.e3 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.exd4 d5– both sides have half-open e-files, and White’s dark-squared bishop may come to d3 or b5. - King’s Indian Setup
1.e3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.c4 d6 5.Nc3– virtually identical to a Main-Line King’s Indian, but with colors reversed and an extra tempo for White. - Colle-Like Pressure
1.e3 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3– White prepares Bb2 and an eventual e3-e4 break.
Notable Games
- Magnus Carlsen vs. Anish Giri, Tata Steel Blitz 2012 – Carlsen employed 1.e3 to dodge Giri’s Grunfeld preparation and ultimately ground out a technical win.
- Hikaru Nakamura vs. Vladimir Kramnik, Zurich Blitz 2015 – Nakamura’s 1.e3 transposed into a Catalan-type middlegame that he converted in a rook ending.
- Richard Rapport vs. Levon Aronian, Norway Chess Armageddon 2021 – Rapport steered the game into a sharp reversed French, sacrificing a pawn for initiative.
The following miniature shows the basic ideas in action:
[[Pgn| e3|e5|d4|exd4|exd4|d5|Bd3|Nc6|Nf3|Bg4|O-O|Nxd4|Re1+|Be7|Nbd2|Nf6|c3|Ne6|h3|Bh5|Qa4+|c6|Ne5|O-O|Ndf3|Bd6|Bg5|h6|Bh4|Qc7|g4|Bg6|Nxg6|fxg6|Bxg6|Ng5|Nxg5|hxg5|Bxg5|Bh2+|Kg2|+-]]This line (a reversed French) highlights: development to Bd3, castling, and central thrusts once development is complete.
Practical Usage
The Van ’t Kruijs Opening is popular in:
- Club play, where surprise value and avoidance of memorized theory pay dividends.
- Rapid & Blitz among grandmasters; the move appeared dozens of times in elite online events of 2020-2023.
- Correspondence/engine experimentation; engines give 1.e3 a perfectly respectable evaluation (≈ +0.20).
Interesting Facts & Anecdotes
- Despite its humble look,
1.e3scored a remarkable 60% for White in the 2016 Chess.com Blitz Championship. - Maarten van ’t Kruijs reportedly beat Henry Bird in a casual London game starting with 1.e3, inspiring Bird’s own off-beat first move 1.f4 (the Bird Opening).
- FIDE master Carsten Hansen dubbed it “the Swiss-Army-Knife Opening” because of its ability to morph into almost anything.
- The opening has occasionally been called the “Amsterdam Attack,” though the term never caught on widely.
Summary
The Van ’t Kruijs Opening (1.e3) is a flexible, strategic first move that avoids heavy theory, invites transpositions, and offers a solid yet unbalancing struggle. While unlikely to replace 1.e4 or 1.d4 at the very top level of classical chess, it remains a potent practical weapon—especially when surprise and versatility are paramount.