# Clemenz Opening

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{{Infobox chess opening
| openingname = Clemenz Opening
| image       = {{Chess diagram||
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |pl
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|  
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
}}
| moves         = 1.h3
| ECO           = A00
| birth         =
| nameorigin    = [Hermann Clemenz](/source/Hermann_Clemenz)
| AKA           =
}}

The '''Clemenz Opening''' is a [chess opening](/source/chess_opening) beginning with the move:
: 1. [h3](/source/b%3AChess_Opening_Theory%2F1._h3)

This opening is named after [Hermann Clemenz](/source/Hermann_Clemenz) (1846–1908), an [Estonia](/source/Estonia)n player.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 81. ''Clemenz Opening''.</ref> It is considered an [irregular opening](/source/Irregular_openings_(chess)) and is classified under the code A00 (irregular first moves by White) in the ''[Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings](/source/Encyclopaedia_of_Chess_Openings)''.
{{AN chess|pos=toc}}

==Description==
Like [Anderssen's Opening](/source/Anderssen's_Opening), 1.a3, 1.h3 is a time-wasting move, as it makes no claim on the {{chessgloss|center|central squares}}, nor does it aid {{chessgloss|development}}. It also leads to a slight weakening of White's {{chessgloss|kingside}}, albeit not as severely as [Grob's Attack](/source/Grob's_Attack) (1.g4) or [Barnes Opening](/source/Barnes_Opening) (1.f3). Since there is no need for White to make such a time-wasting first move,{{cn|date=January 2023}} it is among the rarest of the 20 possible first moves. Nevertheless, [IM](/source/International_Master) [Michael Basman](/source/Michael_Basman) has experimented with 1.h3, usually following it up with 2.g4 (transposing to the Grob), or 2.a3 followed by a quick c2–c4, a line that has been dubbed the "Creepy Crawly". The Creepy Crawly is also known as the Global Opening.

==Black responses==
Black has a number of {{chessgloss|playable}} responses, the most common being 1...d5 and 1...e5, which stake out a claim for central space. Another response, 1...b6 (or even 1...b5), intends to [fianchetto](/source/fianchetto) a bishop to pressure White's weakened pawns and forestall a White kingside expansion with g2–g4.

1...f5 is probably not Black's best reply to 1.h3, since White can then play 2.d4, [transposing](/source/Transposition_(chess)) to a [sharp line against the Dutch Defense](/source/Dutch_Defence) once tried by [Viktor Korchnoi](/source/Viktor_Korchnoi).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1082507 |title=Viktor Korchnoi vs. Hansjuerg Kaenel, Biel 1979 |website=[Chessgames.com](/source/Chessgames.com) }}</ref>

==See also==
* [List of chess openings](/source/List_of_chess_openings)
* [List of chess openings named after people](/source/List_of_chess_openings_named_after_people)

==References==
{{wikibooks|Chess Opening Theory|1. h3|Clemenz Opening}}
{{reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
*{{cite book |last1=Benjamin |first1=Joel |authorlink1=Joel Benjamin |last2=Schiller |first2=Eric |authorlink2=Eric Schiller |year=1987 |title=Unorthodox Openings |publisher=[Macmillan Publishing Company](/source/Macmillan_Publishers_(United_States)) |isbn=0-02-016590-0 |pages=102–03}}
*{{cite book |last=Dunnington |first=Angus |author-link=Angus Dunnington |year=2000 |title=Winning Unorthodox Openings |publisher=Everyman Chess |isbn=978-1-85744-285-4}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=David |authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld |title=[The Oxford Companion to Chess](/source/The_Oxford_Companion_to_Chess) |publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) |year=1996 |edition=2nd |orig-date=First pub. 1992 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}
*{{cite book |last=Schiller |first=Eric |authorlink=Eric Schiller |year=2002 |title=Unorthodox Chess Openings |edition=Second |publisher=Cardoza |isbn=1-58042-072-9 |page=108}}

{{White's twenty opening moves in chess}}

Category:Chess openings

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clemenz Opening](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemenz_Opening) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemenz_Opening?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.