1.Nc3 Opening

Is there any name for 1.Nc3 opening?

Why isn't it popular?

1. Nc3 is called the van Geet opening and it's definitely playable.

The reason it's not popular is probably because it doesn't really do a lot. Compare it to the popular 1. Nf3. That move has a clear purpose: the Knight on f3 controls the square e5 so Black can't take the square with his Pawn. But the d Pawns are protected by the Queens, so after 1. Nc3 d5 is still possible.

Another problem is that 1. Nf3 often transposes into English or Queen's Pawn openings. Which means you don't want to move your f pawn anyways. 1. Nc3 on the other hand blocks the c Pawn.

That's why 1. Nc3 is often used for move order tricks only.

Yeah, blocking the c-pawn on move 1 locks you out of transposing to English, Queen's Gambit lines. I guess you could prepare to move into a Vienna Game/Gambit with e4 or a Jobava London with d4?

(Based on Black's opening move.)

There is no good reason to play 1.Nc3 over 1.e4 except if you seek a few certain opening moves, which aren't even super good for white, or if you want to get out of theory.

That being said, I've never been a fan of normal opening moves anyways.

It's not very good for white to be honest, and despite 1300 games I only have like what, three games with 3...Be6? So I can't really make an assessment on it. Still I'm sure there are ways to get around it, for example Bb5+ followed by re-routing the bishop to b3 to trade it off. Sure it takes longer but it's a closed position.

I played a 100+30 game against a national master who tried that strategy against me, and it didn't go out very well for white. But it's still an interesting idea regardless. I already have this game annotated so I'll just post it with annotations.

I’m not sure if it is a valid concern but I remember years back looking at the opening and thinking it lets black choose exactly what they want. You can for example play e4 first and nc3 later and you have limited blacks potential pawn structure more or d4 first and then nc3. But 1. Nc3 just from my perspective seems to give black all the options and they can choose what they like to play freely.

2.Nc3 d5 2.e4 does not threaten Black in any way.

2.d4 (transposition to Veresov/ Jobava London) or 2.Nf3 (White Knights Tango) make more sense.

Let's face it, you don't play 1. Nc3 because you think it's the most challenging opening move. You play it to get a game and because you've got some tricks up your sleeve.

@9

"2.Nc3 d5 2.e4 does not threaten Black in any way."
++ Other possibilities do not threaten either. Here is a correspondence game.

1.Nc3 was all I played in 2021 and the first half of 2022.

After 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3, 4...Be6 is indeed black's best move probably, but almost nobody plays it, and even fewer people follow up correctly after e.g. 5.c3 a6! (never seen this move out of thousands of games with 1.Nc3)

None of the moves threaten black in any theoretical sense. But given the huge popularity of Jobava London lately it definitely has the least surprise value out of the three, and is probably the least appealing to most 1.Nc3 players, who tend to prefer the unorthodox.

jobava is a very sharp fighting weapon though

this turned into some sort of closed sicilian

the dusnt/van geet attack is its own opening and the attacks white can get are often superior to what white can normally get from a closed siciian which has been considerably defanged by theory.

in fact the number of players even among masters who have fallen to a kingside attack in these lines considerable. theoretically, and thanks to computers, some reliable counterformations can squeeze a tiny advantage out of white but the positions remain quite complex with almost no material exchange prove fertile for the stronger player.

yes, a lot of players use it a transpositional tool but they are independent lines, and those that fail to respect the independent significance of these lines often get in trouble quickly

i have won so many games this way

or this way

with moves like qf6 instantly losing

That's the name that I learned it by.